Newspaper Page Text
MODERN FABLES
BY GEORGE ADE.
Copyright, 1901. by Robert Howard
Russell.
Once there was a sentimental Totty
■who told the Girl Friends all about her
Kind of Man. She said she would drop
the Flag on all Farmers. If she couldn't
pet someone in the Scratch Division
6 he would do without.
"The Man who wins my cardtacal
Regard must be Tall and Dark, with
Raven Hair tossed back from a Brow
of Alabaster Whiteness,” she said, as
she reached for another Olive. ‘“He
must be Brave, yet Gentle. I would
have him a Chesterfield as to Manners
and as Bright as Winston Churchill. In
Thought and Speech he must be as
pure and unsullied as any Young Lady
In Ocean Grove, N. J. Withal, he is
to be Strong and Manly. He who
would hold down my Rocking Chair
must be a Chivalrous Gentleman, and
don’t you forget It.”
That evening a Red-Headed Boy
wearing striped Flannels and smoking
a Bull-Dog Pipe came to the Front
Gate and Whistled. She upset four
Flower Pots in getting to him.
Moral: Nothing ever works out ac
cording to Specifications.
THE MODERN FABLE OF THE EX
PANSIONIST WHO PURCHASED
MORE WISELY THAN HE
KNEW.
Once there was a Man who was
Land-Hungry. He could not get too
many quitclaim Deeds into his capa
cious Maw. He wanted to own all
the adjoining Property.
But every time that he dickered and
got anew Tract, his frontage was
thereby increased. So the more he
bought, the more he had Adjoining and
the more intense was his desire to Pur
chase.
By the time that he was Well Off, he
had to starve himself in order to meet
Payments. He stagegred along under
seventeen Mortgages and got Nervous
Dyspepsia and walked the Floor at
Night.
When he died, the Preacher said that
he had gone to the Promised Land. The
Mourners drew their own Conclusions.
His Daughter married a New Yorker
who surveyed the Estate and found
that he would have room for Golf
Links and a Polo Field.
Moral: Be satisfied with all the
Land on two sides of you.
THE MODERN FABLE OF THE
FOOZLE AND THE SUCCESS
FUL APPROACH.
On a Ship bound for Southampton
were two Americans who were taking
their Money to England in order to
offset the Balance of Trade.
They intended to go to London and
hang around and look Wistful until
the Nobility and Landed Gentry would
take some Notice of them.
Each had a patent Scheme for secur
ing Recognition.
The first chased himself to Regent
Street and bought an entire Outfit of
MR. DOOLEY ON THE POET’S FATE.
— ' * ' ' ' •
BY F\ F*. DUNNE.
Copyrighted, 1001, by Robert Howard RnsaeUb
Copyright, 1901, by Robert Howard
Russell.
“Who was It said he didn’t cara who
mad* th' laws lv a counthry If he cud
on’y write th’ pomes?" asked Mr. Doo
ley.
“I niver heerd,” said Mr. Hennessy.
"Well, 'twas some friend lv Ho
gan’s," said Mr. Dooley. ‘‘An’ th’ man
was wrong. He was wrong. Hinnissy.
I don’t want to make th’ laws lv th’
counthry. I’m doin’ pretty well to keep
thim that ar-re made now. An’ as f’r
th’ pothry. I’d as lave 'twas wrote be
other hands thin mine. I was r-readin’
In th’ pa-aper th’ other day lv a la-ad
down in th’ midway that says Long
fellow that I used to think was a rale
good pote—he wrote life is rale, life Is
earnest, d’ye mind, an’ I believe th’
same mesilf —Longfellow ought niver
to’ve left th’ plumbin’ business an’ Mil
ton was about as much lv a pote as
Edward Atkinson an’ Shakespere ought
to be took up f’r obtainin’ money be
false pretinces.
"Ivrybody has a crack at a pote whin
he gets a chanst. There’s me friend,
Roodyard Kipling. X don’t mind tellin’
ye he ain’t my kind iv a pote. Hogan
is more to me taste. Did ye iver r-read
his pomes ‘Oh, Star,' an’ ‘Oh, Moon’?
Well, that’s as far as he iver wint. He
goes home at night an’ takes off his
coat an’ sets down with a pencil in his
mouth an’ writes: "Oh, Star,’ an’ ’Oh,
Moon,’ an’ thin he can’t think iv an
nythlng that wud do justice to thim. so
he says, Oh, th’ divvle,’ an’ comes over
here f’r a dhrink.
"Roodyard Kipling is a diff’rlnt kind
lv a pote. He don't keep pothry f r
style so that he can turn out behind
it an’ say, ‘Boys, what d’ye think iv
that f’r high shteppin’ pothry? Com
fort an’ not display is his motto. Whin
he asks what ilogan calls th’ Muse f’r
to come up an’ spind a week with him,
he doesn’t expict her to set all day in
th’ hammock on th’ front stoop singinj
about th’ bur-rds. She’s got to do th’
week’s washin’, clene th’ windows, cook
th’ meals, chune th’ pianny, dust thj
furniture, mend th’ socks, an’ milk th’
cow be day an’ be night she’s got to set
up an balance th’ books iv an empire.
Whin this Mus 4 has thrown up her Job
at Kipling’s, she’l} I>* a * S° o<l a second
girl as anny pote wud want to hire.
So Roodyard Kipling’s pomes is In
gr-reat demand. They're warranted
not to tear or shrink or r-run in th’
wash an’ he’ll guarantee to fit all sizes
an ’ages. Will ye have wan or two
hip pockets In ye'er pome, Mr. Rhode*?'
he says. ‘Boy, wrap up this package lv
■eif-rlslng pothry f'r th' Canajeen mar
British Clothes. He to use the
sound of A as in Father and say Mean
Things about the Boers. He held his
Hat in his Hand whenever he ap-
proached a Title. He went out of his
Way to run down the vulgar Ameri
cans. Consequently he was walked
upon and despised as a Toady.
The other Man allowed his Hair to
grow down oyer his Collar. He wore
a Buck Taylor Hat with a Leather
Strap around it and kept it at an An
gle of 45 degrees. He refused the B.
and S. and demanded Cocktails. When
he met an Englishman he called him
Paid and held out his Flipper and said
he'd be catawampously Jiggered if he
wasn't all-fired Proud to meet him.
He plucked the Tail Feathers from the
gullorious Bird of Freedom and waved
them defiantly at the Lion and the
Unicorn. He said that the British
Isles were merely a Break-Water for
the Continent and -wouldn't make a
Patch on the Land of Liberty.
He was invited to all the drawing
Rooms because it was a Pleasure to
meet such a breezy and Typical Amer
ican.
MORAL—When you are in Rome do
as the Romans expect you to do.
THE MODERN FABLE OF THE
MERITED REBUKE TO THE
EXCURSIONIST.
A Traveler at a rag-weed Junction
moved up to a Lunch Counter and ne
gotiated for the Sandwich of Com
merce, sometimes known as the Boxing
Glove. Then he opened it cautiously
to see if there was a Prize in £very
Package. He found that he had
drawn a microscopic hunk of Ham,
which he missed twice when he tried
to apply the Mustard.
He was of New England Stock, so
he began to Roar.
"Is it right to take Real Money for
these masquerade Goods?” he demand
ed. “Do you have the immortal Rind
to say that a galvanized Bun and one
little Oasis of Ham are worth ten
cents?”
“We have no time in which to dis
cuss the Menu," replied the Proprietor.
“The Train pauses here only .three
Minutes.”
"But wouldn’t there be a fair Profit
for you, even if you gave a fresh Roll
and a nice thick slice of Hana?” per
sisted the Traveler.
“Once, Just after I got Religion, I
started in to give the Public real Sand
wiches,” said the Proprietor. “Strange
to say. the Customers were Leery and
thought there was something wrong
with the Meat. Many asked me if I
was not Green at this Business. The
Man who rushed up to buy two would
reduce his Order to one, and then give
me the Laugh. I found that I could
not stand out against Tradition, sin
gle-hartded. So I got back into Line.”
Moral: Order Pie.
THE MODERN FABLE OF THE
ROOKY WHO BELIEVED THE
LITHOGRAPHS.
A County Boy rode into Town on a
Load of Oats and stopped to look at a
ket. I can do this kind lv a war pome
f’r ye f’r eight an' six.’ An’ so it goes.
He’s got orders to put th’ annyul ray
port lv th’ Bank lv England, th’ crop
statistics iv th’ Agricoolchral Depart
mint an' th’ quotations iv th’ stock ex
change in pothry. His pothry will be
listed nex’ year an’ ye can r-read it on
a ticker in a saloon. He had a pome
th' other day showin’ that th’ English
army ought to buy more horses an’
mules, f'r as he plnted out, a horse can
r-run fasther thin anny man, no mat
ter what his record may be. 'Twas a
good wurrukin’ pome. I didn’t like it
as much as th’ ‘Oh, Star' kind but. sure,
live an’ let live Is me motto., an’ if a
man wants to lnsthruct his counthry
what it ought to do be playin’ his ad
vice on a harp or doin’ a jig, ’tis not
f’r me to criticise him. I don’t want to
hang Roodyard Kipling because he had
a pome that sounds like a speech be
Lyman J. Gage on th’ legal tlndher act.
But ’tls dlff’rint with me fellow citizens
an’ fellow lithry Joynts. A few years
ago Roodyard Kipling come over here
an' got pnoomony iv th’ lungs an’ It
looked f’r a long time as though th’
nex' pome he figured in wud be wrote
with a stone mason’s chisel. Well, sir.
It leaked out that he had a bad chest
an’ th’ kind-hearted American public
begun to weep into its beer. They was
a line iv tillygraft boys a block long
at th’ hotel with messages iv condo
lence fr’m friends iv his he niver see or
heerd iv, copies iv th’ same havin' been
sint to th’ local newspaper. Th’ pa
apers was full lv tlndher remarks to th’
gin’ral effect that If Kpling died, Lith
rachoor wud count th’ cash ray
glsther, put up th’ shutters
an’ go out Into th’ night
Th' articles was accompanied be sl
lictions fr’m his copyright pomes.
Conductors on th' sthreet cars sobbed
at th’ mlntfon lv his name, fatal cock
tails was named afther him, near lvry
clergyman In th' counthry side-tracked
th’ sermon on vice an’ bracketed Kip
ling with Martin I,uther an’ Rlckefel
lar. Down on th’ stock exchange,
sthrong men cried ns they said: "Poor
Kipling! What did he write?” Th’
Amalgamated Browning. Omar Khay
yam an’ Wait Whitman Association iv
tin workers iv Baraboo, Wis., held a
meetln' an' raysolved that Civilization
wud lose an eye If Kipling wint, an’
it was th' sinse iv th' meetln' that th’
threasurer be Insthructed to hire a
copy iv his book an* sea if it was as
good as they said. Th’ sicker he got.
th’ bigger man he was. lvry time
his tlmprachoor wint up, his repyta
tlon as a pote advanced tin degrees.
Bets was offered In th’ pool rooms five
to wan an' no takers that he cud give
Homer an’ Shakespere twinty pounds
an' a bating. If he’d gone out, they
were goln' to put spectacles an a
THE MOBNING NEWS: SUNDAY. SEPTEMBER 8. 1901.
The Modern Fable of the Girl Who
Could Compromise in a Pinch.
Picture in the Window of the Bee-Hive
Store. It was a colored representa
tion of a Hero leading a Charge. He
had a Starry Banner in one hand and
a Sword with a Tassel in the other.
The Air was full of Explosives, but the
gallant Lad in Blue was dodging all
of them and leading on to Victory.
The Boy looked at the Chromo and it
struck him that he rather carry Old
Glory over the Ramparts than stay at
Home, especially as the Season for
shucking Corn was near at hand.
Therefore he went and joined the
Regulars and served his Country by
taking care of the Colonel’s Horse. Aft-
er he had done this for about three
Years, he began to lose faith in the
Bee-Hive Picture. He did not see much
chance of getting into the Papers.
One Day the Commanding Officer no
ticed that he was Despondent and ask
ed the Reason, for it worries a West
Point Man to see a Private wearing
away under a Secret Sorrow.
“I want to be a Hero and get into
the School Histories,” said the military
Hostler.
“They don’t get into the School His
tories,” was the Reply. “They get into
the Prisoners’ Dock. Fame has a kick
back to it worse than an old-style Mus
ket. I know of seven Heroes who will
trade Jobs with you.”
Moral: Every Chromo has a Sequel.
THE MODERN FABLE OF THE
THIRD AND LAST CALL.
A Public Official presiding at a Mar
riage License Counter put his Head
through the Window and shouted
“Next!”
There sidled up a well-seasoned Gir
lie who said she would take a $2.00 Writ
of Attachment which she might use in
gagging and binding a Helpmate.
"What is the Victim’s Name?” asked
the Clerk.
"You can search me," was the reply.
“I wish to goodness I knew. I’ve been
waiting for him ever since the war.
I can’t imagine what keeps him.”
“What good is a License unless you
have your Prey already in the Stock
ade?” asked the Official.
“I want one with a Space left blank
so that I can use it in a quick Emer
gency,” she replied. “I can’t afford to
take Chances. It is getting too late
in the Afternoon. Eighteen Years ago I
sent my Heart’s Idol out for the
Parchment that would legalize our
undying Love, but he happened to get
on a Green Car Instead of a Yellow
one. He missed the Court House two
miles and caught a Train for Los An
geles. I had to sit up for two Nights
picking the'lnitials out of my Trous
seau. Another time I planted one in a
Waiting Room while I went after the
Permit. A Girl came in to dust the
Room and he had to move, so I haven’t
seen him since. Next time I get one in
Chancery there will be Immediate Do
ings. I will simply say ‘You’re On.’ and
flash the Document. And then. If he
runs away he will have to carry a lot
of Weight.”
Moral: Never put off until To-mor
row what should have been done early
In the Seventies.
fur coat on th’ goddess lv liberty an’
call it Kipling.
“Thin he made th’ mistake iv his
life. He lived. If ye iver get to be
a pote, Hinnissy, don’t take any
chances on fame. Cinch it. Jump into
th’ river. But Roodyard Kipling didn't
know. He wint away an’ settled down
an’ begun to hammer out a few
lenths iv jinted pothry to sind over to
his kind frinds in America. An’ what
did his kind frinds do? I picked up a
pa-aper th’ other day. I raymimber
’twas wan that had' conflssed to ire
that if annythlng happened to Kip
ling, th' editor wud feel that he
cudden't go on with his wurruk with
out a substantial increase in salary.
Well, they was an article about a man
that had killed his wife, an’ it says:
‘Misther 80-an’-so, a well-known an’
pop'lar burglar on th' west side, yis
terdah was so uni’orchnit as to sink
an axe into Mrs. So-an’-so. It is be
lieved he acted undher gr-reat provo
cation.’ Nex' to this piece iv society
news was a scholarly article on Rood
yard Kipling. ‘We have Just been
r-readln’ a pome be that confidence
op’rator. Roodyard Kipling, an' if
there is a pressman in this buildin'
that cudden't write a betther wan,
we'd feed him to his own press. We
do not see who buys th' wurruks iv
this fiend in human form, but annv
body that does ought to be put in a
place where th' green goods men car, t
got at him. Whin we recall th’ tears
shed whin this mlscreent was pre
timlin’ to be sick, we feel like com
plainin’ to th’ polls. If he iver comes
to this counthry again, we will be wan
Iv tin thousan’ to go out an’ lynch him.
To think iv th’ way this imposter has
beer threated an’ thin see that young
swan iv Main Street, our ow ) towns
man. Hlgble L. Duff clerkin' in a shoe
store, makes us ashamed iv our coup
tnry
“An’ there ye ar-re. That’s wl.at
h.itpens to a pote whin he's fourJ oat
as' no pote can escape. Th' Amal
gamated Assicyatlon iv Barabio has
htii.rre th' Society fr th’ Previn lon
!• Kipling, th' Stock Exchange Is
r-readin’ th’ polls gazette, an’ ye won t
anny more hear Kipling mintioned in
th' pulpit thin ye will th’ Bible.”
“I don’t suppose he cares,” said Mr.
Hennessy.
"Well, maybe he don’t know,” said
Mr. Dooley. “But it ought to be a
lesson fr anny young man who thinks
lv goin’ into pothry. They’re on y wan
thing fr a pote to do: Just as they're
about to hang th' lorls his brow be
fure they begin to throw th’ bricks,
he ough to pass away. Th' nex’ best
thing is to write his pothry where no
wan can see him an’ lock It up in th'
cellar till he’s gone. Thin they may
blame it on some wap else,'*
PRINCESS OF
THE PURPLE PALACE.
By William Murray Graydon.
Copyright, 1901, by Wm. Murray Gray*
don.
Chapter X.
The Last Hope.
When the purple dusk of evening
shrouded the besieged area and silenced
the screaming shells and the sniping
rifles of the enemy, men with picks
and spades were digging a deep, long
trench near the French legation. With
in the blood-soaked compound, await
ing burial, lay a ghastly, angular pyra
mid of dead bodies, all that was left
of the 17 Chinese soldiers caught that
afternoon in the temple. They had been
ruthlessly slaughtered with the bayo
net, and not a voice could say that
their fate was not richly deserved.
In a small room at the rear of the
British legation, where Mr. Killigrew
and a couple of marines had hurriedly
A COLUMN OF SMOKE AND RUBBISH ROARED HIGH IN THE AIR.
carried him on a stretcher, Alec Drury
struggled back to consciousness. He
had been put on a couch, with a pillow
under his head, and when his swollen
temple was bathed with a sponge the
oozing water revealed the presence of
the yellow stain that was skilfully
rubbed into his skin. He quickly pulled
tound and, opening his eyes, he recog
nized the familiar faces of Mr. Killi
grew, Dr. Baird and the faithful Kin
Soon.
“The mine! The mine!" were his first
eager words. "Has it been exploded
yet?”
“What mine, my boy?” asked Eus
tace Killigrew, with a peculiar glance
at the surgeon.
The latter shook his head. "No; the
lad is all right,” he said gravely.
“Of course I am,” exclaimed Alec. "I
mean the mine that the Boxers are dig
ging beneath the French legatlon.Ping
Tang found out about it, and I deter
mined to get through the enemy's lines
to warn you. I should have been here
earlier, but for those fellows at the
temple—”
"This must be seen to at once,’ ’in
terrupted the secretary. "But first tell
me-my son? I can bear the worst. If
he is dead—”
“But he isn’t,” Alec said triumphant
ly. “Dan was alive and well when I
left him, and he is in a safe place
where no harm can come to him.”
The words had to be repeated before
Eustace ipiligrew would believe them.
He was nearly overcome with emotion,
and tears of joy and gratitude dimmed
his eyes.
“Thank God!” he said hoarsely. “This
news will do my wife more good than
all the doctors and drugs in the world.
It will break the course of the fever.”
Having recovered his composure, and
put a few questions to Alec, he hurried
away to give some instructions relating
to the supposed mine. He was back in
less than ten minutes.
“Now, my boy,” he said, “to hear
your story.”
Alec, who had meanwhile partaken
of some food, and been further
strengthened by a glass of weak bran
dy and water, started without delay on
the narrative. In a clear voice, lucid
ly and graphically, he related the thrill
ing and almost incredible experiences
that had befallen himself and Dan
from the time they rescued the Prin
cess Loo-Lao from her kidnappers un
til the departure of Ping Tang, on the
evening of June 26. from the hiding
DON’T NEGLECT
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The Most Important Organs In the
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Many of our great men die from
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and Ankles. Rheumatjpm. Bad Blood.
Gout, Gravel. Inflammation of the Blad
der. Sleeplessness. Anaemia. Nervousness,
Headache, Neuralgia. Urine looka badly,
with strong odor, frequent desire to pass
water, Dizziness.
All these diseases would go if the kid
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Stuart’.s Gin and Buchu give energy,
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Thoroughly tested for twenty years.
Stuart'a Gin and Buchu pleasant to take.
You can rely on this grand cure for weak
kidneys. Free medical advice given on
kidney troubles. Stuart Drug Cos., 14
Wall a treat, Atlanta, Ga,
place in the wall of the imperial city.
"We expected him back very short
ly," he continued, "but we waited and
waited in vain, and we had quite given
him up when he came a *?ouple of
days ago. That was about midnight
of the 9th. He was awfully weak and
crippled from a bullet wound in the
thigh, which he got the morning after
he left. Of course that kept him on
his back for more than a week, and as
soon as he was able to walk at all
he gave his comrades the slip. He told
us about the mine that the enemy were
digging under the grounds of the French
legation, and he also said that he knew
of a way by which we might get
through the lines; he had brought
clothes and other things with him, so
as to rig out the three of us in Boxer
disguise. But the Princess was ill with
a slight touch of fever, and Dan
couldn’t walk because he had sprained
an ankle while drawing water from a
well near the wall—our supply was ex
hausted. and we had to venture out
for more. As for Ping Tang, his wound
was open again, and he wasn't fit for
anything but bed. That’s why I came
alone. I knew how important it was
to warn you about the mine, and I
hoped that if I succeeded in getting
into the legations it might be possible
to send a relief party across the city
to the wall.”
“And you actually did succeed!” ex
claimed Eustace Killigrew. "Marvel
ous! I don't see how it was done."
“I followed Ping Tang’s instructions,
that was all,” Alec replied modestly.
"He fixed me up like a Boxer, and I
started after dark last night. When I
got among the enemy I was stopped
and questioned several times, but I
managed to give a good account of
myself. Next I fell in with a lot of
Chinese soldiers and they made me
Join them and took me along to the
temple near the lines, where they in
tended to hide until they had a chanca
j i
“SAVE HIM!" HE BEGGED. "SAVE
MY YOUNG MASTER!”
to rush our sentries. I couldn’t get
away, and so I was caught with the
rest this afternoon. A Freneh marine
knocked me down with his rifle, and
I was half-stunned when they march
ed me into the compound. Then I
saw you. Mr. Killigrew, and cried out.
and all I remember after that is a diz
zy pain in my head that blinded me.”
"You must not talk any more at
present, my young hero,” said Doctor
Baird. "What you need now Is a good
long sleep, and I prescribe It for vou.”
"One or two questions first, doctor,"
demurred Mr. Killigrew. ‘‘Tell me,
my boy, are Dan and his companions
absolutely safe In their hiding place?"
"They are, sir. Take my word for
that. Nobody else knows the secret
of the wall, and they won't run any
risk of betraying it by venturing out.”
"And they have food and water for
how long?”
"For two or three weeks, sir. I
should say,” Alec replied. "But what
about the rescue party?” he addea.
"And is there any news of my father?”
"None,” Mr. Killigrew answered,
"but I trust that the Viceroy of Shan
See Is protecting him. As for the
other question, we will postpone that
till to-morrow."
’’That also is impossible, I fear.”
Eustace Killigrew replied. "You can't
get back—it is one thing to enter the
legation quarter, another to leave it.
We must wait and hope. Your report
is at least encouraging, and I trust
that another fortnight will see the
army of the powers before the gates
of Pekin. My wife, you will be glad to
hear, has taken a decided turn for the
better. As for the mine.nt is not pos
sible to locate It. nor is there any sign
of digging operations in that direc
tion. All we can do is to be vigilant
and watchful. But I hope that your
Chinese friend has misinformed you."
Ping Tang was not mistaken.. To
ward the close of the afternoon of the
18th bugles sounded alarmingly from
the camps surrounding the French le-’
nation, and a moment later two terrific
Tickles The Palate and
Hits The Spot.
Murray Hill Club
Whiskey *
TRY IT ■■■■'■■l . THAPgWttaC
Jos. A. Magnus &
explosions followed in quick succession
—two dull roars that mingled with the
exultant cries of the enemy and the
rattle of musketry, and hurled bricks
and debris high in the air. Of five men
who were standing over the spot where
the mines exploded, three were engulf
ed and nver seen again: the other two
escaped miraculously. An entrance
was burst into the legation, and the
small garrison had to fall back to an
inner line of defence, which they were
able to hold. The Chinese fired the
abandoned buildings and occupied the
ruins, and the next morning the im
perial banner waved over what had
been the residence of the French minis
ter.
Simultaneously with the eruption of
the mines a desperate attack was made
upon the German legation by a body
of Chinese soldiers, who broke into the
club and gained the tennis-ground be
fore they were met and repulsed, at the
point of the bayonet, by Count Soden
and his handful of men.
The blow he had received on the head
did not incapacitate Alec for duty, and
those final trying days of active hos
tilities found him doing his share with
the rest of the defenders, now at one
post, now at another.
From the 17th of July the siege took
on anew aspect, and an armistice be
gan—if it can be so called. Sniping con
tinued whenever an opportunity offered,
but the organized' attacks ceased and
the big Krupp guns were silent. Neither
side, however, relaxed vigilance or pre
paration. The legations’ defences were
strengthened more and more.
The first cheering news was brought
by a Japanese messenger, who had
cessfully passed through the enemy s
lines and returned. From this source it
was learned that the allied forces had
taken Tien Tsin on the fourteenth of
julv, and that they were to march Im
mediately on Pekin. So the month
wore on.
The garden of Prince Fu’s palace
known as the Su Wang Fu-was one
of the most important positions held
by the defenders,since it lay opposite to
the British legation. It had withstood
many desperate attacks and a furious
shell-fire during the siege, and from,
time to time, as Its strategic value in
creased, the Italians and Japanese who
occupied it had been reinforced from
the various legations. Here, late in tne
afternoon of the tenth of August, ex
posed to a drizzling rain, a number
of men were employed In digging a
trench a few yards Inside of the outer
line of defense. The spot chosen was
one that offered exceptional advant
ages for the enemy to drive a mine,
and the object of the labor was to dis
cover and baffle any such possible de
sign.
scarcely 20 yards separated the two
positions, and the Chinese dragon-sol
diers and the foreign marines, as they
stood at the loopholes behind their re
spcctive barricades, could almost look
into the muzzles of one another’s rifles.
Not a shot had been exchanged that
day; grim and silent was the ugly
Krupp gun, mounted only 50 yards dis
tant, which before the armistice had
accurately raked the post with shell
and shrapnel. In the trench, under the
supervision of Mr. Caetani of the Ital
ian legation, the men toiled shoulder
deep, plying pick and spade, cutting
their way along foot by foot. Alec
Drury and his faithful shadow Kin Soo
were well to the front of the line, and
next to them were William Cocket and
Nick Kllemoff. who were as chummy
as ever, and were seldom seen apart.
Among the others were Austrians, Brit
ish, and customs and student volun
teers: when special work was to be
dene men were selected without re
gard to nationality.
"I'd rather be lootin’ than doin’ this
’ere,” grumbled the I.ondon cockney,
"but I don’t see much chance of that."
“Don’t worry,” said Alec. "There's a
good time coming, by and by.”
"And when it does come.” remarked
the Russian, shaking a fist in the direc
tion of the imperial palace, "we will
make ourselves even with these yellow
dogs.”
"We will,rather," vehemently assent
ed Cocket. “What do you think?" His
spade hung poised in the air for an in
stant. “ ’UIIo, what's the row about
now?” he added.
All stopped to listen, wondering what
had happened to call forth the pro
longed, hearty cheering that floated
from a point beyond the British lega
tion. It was something out of the com
mon. certainly.
"May I go and Inquire, sir?” Alec
asked of Mr. Caetani.
Permission was given, and the young
American climbed out of the trench
and sped on his errand. He was back
in five minutes.
"Hurrah! Hurrah!" he cried, waving
his cap. “A messenger has just come
in through the enemy’s lines bringing
letters from Gen. Gasalee and Gen. Fu
kushima. A strong relief force is with
in a few marches of Pekin —Gen. Gasa
lee says that he expects to arrive by
the 13th or 14th.”
The good news spread throughout the
Fu, from barricade to barricade. And
much noisy enthusiasm was manifest
ed.
“Any use to keep on with this ’ere?”
inquired Bill Cocket, when the wave
of cheering had spent itself.
“It is more important than ever,”
replied Mr. Caetani, “to make sure
that no mines are being excavated un
der our feet. The Chinese know more
about the relief force than we do, and
they will make desperate efforts to re
duce the legations in the little time
that is left to them. The crisis of the
siege is not yet passed. Let the work
proceed.” •
The wisdom qf the Italian attache’s
words —which were to prove prophetic—
was appreciated by the man. who led
to with renewed energy. Alec, leaping
back to his place* In the trench, sent
the loose earth flying as he drove his
pick. Relief in sight at last! How the
joyous tidings thrilled him.
“Two or three days more will see the
end,” he told himself.; “and then I shall
surely get some word from my father.
I wish Dan and the others knew how
nearly their troubles were over. But
they won’t have long to wait.”
A moment later, without the least
warning, a terrific, explosion occurred
half a dozen yards to the right of the
digging operations, toward the British
legation. A column of smoke and rub
bish soared high in the air, and at
the same instant a black chasm yawn
ed at the very feet of the workers who
were extending the end of the trench.
Whree men slid into it, and two had
time to scramble quickly out again be
fore a subsidence of the shattered earth
buried the hole from sight.
Fortunately the mine did no damage
to life, for nobody had been over the
spot at the time; but fright and panic
followed the explosion, and as the
debris showered down and covered a
wide area, and the ground settled Into
a shaltow erhter, with crumbling, quiv
ering sides, a hoarse uproar mingled
with the savage yells of the Chinese
soldiers. A bugle blared the alarm
across the Fu. and a couple of rifles
went off. However, as it was seen
that the enemy was not ready to push
their doubtful advantage and make an
attack, the excitement abated.
“Where's young Drury?” exclaimed
Cocket, looking anxiously about him.
“'E was workln’ alongside of you,
Nick.”
The Russian dug the pulverized soil
from his eyes with one hand, and with
the other pointed to the sunken end of
the trench.
“The lad’s down yonder—clean swal
lowed up,” he answered hoarsely.
With a wild cry Kin Soon sprang
into the cutting and seized a pick.
“Save him!” he begged. “Save my
young master!” J
But the appeal brought no response,
for it was a useless thing that the
Chinaman asked his comrades to do.
“We are lost. There is no hope for
us. That syplng dog will fetch the
Boxers here, and they won’t have to
search long to find the movable stone.
Alas, that I should have brought this
peril upon you! And yet the sword
scarcely hangs closer over us than does
death by starvation.”
He who spoke was Ping Tang! The
place was the gloomy. 111-lit chamber
within the wall of the Imperial city,
and the time was Just after dark on
the evening of the tenth of August, the
same day that had witnessed the ex
plosion in the grounds of the Su Wang
FU. The little group were huddled
on the floor. Ping Tang uttering self
reproaches and old Nan-Ho wringing
her hands with brief and terror, while
Dan Killigrew and the Princess Loo-
Loa stared with set faces at the flick
ering candle. Ping Tang, after going
forth that evening to search for food
in the adjacent parts of the oity, had
returned empty-handed and with an
alarming story to tell. He had been
seen—seen by the dusky figure of a
man who must have followed him back,
and who had glided stealthily away as
the lad peered out at him from the
shelter of the thornbushes. Doubtless
the fellow was a spy of the Tiger’s,
and he would report to his master with
all haste.
“If there Is anything to be done, It
must be done at once,” said Dan, after
a brief interval of silence. “If we get
away from here before the Boxers
come, could we find another hiding
place?”
Ping Tang shook his head. "I know
of none,” he replied. "We should all
be captured.”
“Hurrah, I've Just thought of some
thing!” exclaimed Dan. ‘'Those dis
guises you brought with you a month
ago. when we couldn’t make use ot
them. If there Is time to rig ourselves
out, we ought to Btand a pretty fair
chance of getting through to the lega
tions.”
’’Walt!”
That single word Ping Tang spoke
ominously. He slipped from the room,
was gone five miqjites, and returned
with deeper despair than ever showing
on his yellow face.
“There is no hope; the disguises are
useless,’ he said. “I opened the slab a
couple of Inches and listened. I heard
footsteps creeping slowly by, to and
fro. Just beyond the thorn bushes. Two
men must have seen me, and while one
has gone to seek LI Sheng, the other
remains here to watch.’ ’
Silence followed this disheartening
announcement; the end was now in
evitable.
“Promise me, my son,” begged old
Naji-Ho. “that you will plunge a knife
into my heart rather than let the Box
ers take me alive."
"Perhaps we shall yet escape them,
good mother,” said the Princess Loo-
Lao, quite clamly. "Since ail else has
failed, you must trust yourselves to
rr\e. I have long had a plan in mind,
and the time has come to try It. now
when our lives hang by a thread."
"Nothing can help us," Dan said bit
terly.
Loo-Lao Ignored the remark. “How
far will the spy have to go in search of
Li Sheng?” she asked.
"To one of the camps outside the Le
gation quarter,” "Ping Tang answered.
"Then it may be two hours before
the Boxers arrive?”
’That is likely,” was the reply.
"And could you slip away from the
man who is watching the wall, and
carry a message for me?”
"It is possible,” assented Ping Tang.
"Well, if you can do that, there is
more than a hope for us.”
"What do you mean, Princess?” Dan
asked incredulously. "What can help
us now?”
"This,” replied the girl, and putting
a hand to her bosom she produced a
heavy gold ring, curiously carved, that
was strung on a fine chain worn round
her neck.
(To be Continued.)
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17