The Sunday Oregonian., July 21, 1901, PART FOUR, Page 28, Image 28

25
THE STTKDAY OREGOyiAN, PORTLAND, JULY 21, 1901.
:zz - : ! Its
j! THe Princess of
'J tKe Purple Palace. j
a story oi we reKin siege.
By William Murray Graydon.
(Copyright, 1901. by the Author.)
CHAPTER II.
In vain the lad tried to free himself. A
.horrid fascination riveted his eyes on the
devilish face of his enemy -with the glit
tering steel poised above him. He
screamed hoarsely, and a husky shout
answered. There was a quick patter of
feet, the uplifted arm wavered, and as
the would-be assassin turned to look be
hind him, a heavy blow cracked his skull.
He lurched to one side and fell.
Alec, grateful beyond words for this
timely intervention, breathless and un
nerved, was quickly helped to his feet by
a lad of about his own age, who held a
short, thick truncheon in one hand. It was
easy to guess his nationality.
"Hurt?" he asked.
"No; thanks' to you. I'm all right,"
Alec panted. "But that knife would have
settled mo in another second
"It's lucky I was near," broke in the
young stranger. "I say, .we must cut and
run for it."
A shrill clamor fairly drewned -the
words. Though the attack and its end
ing had transpired In less than a min
ute, the little band of puisuers had al
most reached the spot.
"Sha! sha!" (Kill! Kill!) they cried.
Alec whipped out his revolver and
pointed it at them, and at once the cow
ardly pack turned in panic and confusion
and scuttled oil down the narrow street.
"Look at them running," said the
strange lad. "I wish all the Boxers were
like that"
"I'm afraid they're not," Alec replied.
"I don't believe those chaps are real
Boxers at all, but this one is," pointing
to the ruffian with a red sash, who lay
in a limp, huddled heap on the cobble
stones. "Come along," he added. "Now
is our chance."
A very favorable chance it was, as
tho sequence proved. The sight of Alec's
revolver had a salutary effect on the
scowling Chinamen who were in the neigh
borhood, for they slunk right and left
without offering any violence to the two
young foreigners, who hurried on from
street to street, twisting like hares, until
not an echo of the hue and cry that had
followed them for a time reached their
ears. Then they halted to gain breath
by the porch of a Buddhist temple that
stood In the shadow of the city wall.
Also, took a good look at his rescuer.
He saw a slim, wiry lad with sandy hair
and complexion, bluish-gray eyes, and
plain, good-humored features the sort of
face that instinctively wins one's liking at
first sight
"You are an American?" he asked.
"Right, And you?"
"I'm the same."
"Good! Shake."
Their hands met in a tight grip.
"How did you get here?" Alec Inquired
of his companion, who gave the name of
Dan KHUgrew.
"I slipped out to meet the guards," was
the reply, "and I lost my way In trying
to get round a crowded part of the Grand
avenue. You don't belong to our lega
tion, do you?" he added.
"No, but that's where I am bound for
now," said Alec. "I have a letter for
the American minister," feeling to make
sure that the precious missive was safe.
"It is from my father, who is military
instructor to the Viceroy of Shan Se."
Stop! The command came from the
Chinaman In the yellow jacket.
"And my father," replied Alec's new
acquaintance, "is one of Mr. Conger's sec
retaries. We've only been over here six
months. Do you know Washington
that's where we lived."
"Never been there," said Alec. "But we
mustn't stand here any longer, or we may
stop living altogether. It's not a healthy
neighborhood for us."
They left the shelter of the temple, and
were soon mingling with the crowd at 'the
lofty Chlen Men gate, which had been
kept open, for the arrival of the troops,
beyond the usual hour. They passed
through Into the Tartar City, and with
lessened anxiety, reassurred by an occa
sional glimpse of a foreign soldier, they
made their way towards the legation quar
ter. "We're all right now," said Alec. "I'm
surprised that the people take the com
ing of the guards so coolly."
"They know what it means." Dan re
plied, in a confident tone. "The Boxers
will have to shut up shop and go out of
business."
The assemblage was so dense that the
lads experienced considerable difficulty in
getting through by the nearest route, so
they turned off among the Imperial gov
ernment buildings, to the north of the
ieastera end of Legation street. In this
.ifer?.. Vr liiy'
pretentious quarter, which was little less
crowded, they halted curiously by an
open gateway. Within, across a vast
paved court, rose a splendid mansion. A
terrace of pink stone, flanked by massive
bronze urns and curved storks led up to
the main entrance. The embattled par
apets, roof and gables were covered with
purple, tiles, which lent a striking and
brilliant effect to the house.
"Who lives here?" Alec Inquired.
"A Lord High somebody or other I
forget his name." Dan replied. "They call
It the Purple Palace."
Just then, through the parting ranks of
the people in the street, approached two
mounted men in purple liveries clqsely
followed by a carriage that was partly
of European make. It was closed in
with red curtains, which, as the vehicle
passed the two boys, were lifted suffi
ciently for them to catch a glimpse of a
young girl, whose delicate Oriental fea
tures were crowned by a mass of dark,
fluffy hair, ornamented with bodkins of
green jade. She favored Dan with a smile
and a nod of recognition, then drew back
into the shadow.
"Who was that?" Alec exclaimed in
surprise.
As he spoke the sharp crack of a pistol
was heard from opposite the lads, and
Instantly all was tumult and commotion.
The man who had flred was swallowed
hopelessly by the crowd. The carriage
to which a pair of fine horses were at
tached, rolled on through the gateway,
and stopped with a Jerk. A dignified, el
derly Chinaman, in a yellow jacket, his
face livid with rage, leaped to the ground.
Then half a dozen attendants sprang out
from the courtyard of the Purple Palace,
and, with cries of anger, unsheathing their
swords as they ran, they made furiously
at Alec and Dan, who had been left iso
lated by the sudden scattering of the by
standers. They had barely realized their
peril when Ihe cold steel flashed before
their eyes.
Were the two brave boys, after emerg
ing In triumph from the deadly perils of
w
tMVt
She favored Dnn vrlth, a smile and
a nod of recognition.
the native city, to be cut down almost
in sight of the American Legation? They
expected nothing else, as for an instant
of chilling horror they stared death in the
face, and then a single word shouted in
the Mandarin dialect, rang loudly and im
periously above the babel of savage, clam
oring voices.
"Stop!"
The command came from the China
man in the yellow jacket, whose keen
glance had discovered the Imminent dan
ger of the young foreigners. He spoke
just in time to save them. As they shrank
back the glittering swords hissed over
their heads, to be reluctantly lowered and
sheathed the next moment. There was a
hoarse murmur of disappointment from
the throng of spectators. The palace ser
vants, equally disappointed, but not dar
ing to disobey the word that had thwarted
their murderous Intent, indicated with
angry gestures the revolver that Alec had
thrust carelessly into his belt when ho
entered the Tartar City. But their mas
ter, with unmistakable meaning, first
swept hl3 arm toward the crowd, and
then pointed to a bullet hole In the sleeve
of his jacket.
"There, that ought to satisfy you," Alec
said. In a native tongue, to one of the
attendants. "You are wrong, my good
.fellows; I didn't fire that shot. Will you
tell me the name of your honored mas
ter?" "His highness, Prince Lan," was the
sullen reply, given in English.
"Yes, that's It I remember now," ex
claimed Dan. "He has lots of pluck to
expose himself like this. He makes a
splendid mark for a second shot"
Some one -else, apparently, thought the
same. The young girl suddenly showed
herself at the carriage window and called
entreatlngly to the prince, who at the
same moment seemed to realize that he
was inviting disaster. With a glance at
the crowd, which had begun to press for
ward again, he made a sign to his ser
vants. Back they hastened to the court
yard, and In a trice the heavy gates had
clanged shut.
"That's what I call cool treatment,"
said Dan. "Not even an apology."
The lads were left outside, confronted
by the mob of two or three hundred na
tives that filled the street before the pal
ace. They seemed mostly to belong to the
lower classes, and they had been wrought
up to a dangerous pitch of excitement by
the recent stirring event. With black
scowls and threatening looks they re
garded the young Americans.
"They mean trouble," muttered Dan.
"Keep cool," Alec whispered. "Don't
let them see we're afraid."
"Foreign devils!" cried a man from the
rear.
The Insulting epithet was taken up by
others, and a couple of stones were hurled,
though with poor aim. The situation
looked very serious.
"Show them your revolver," urged Dan.
"I've half a mind to pound on Prince
Lan-'s gate. Shall I?"
But just then a most fortunate diver
sion occurred. The distant blast of a
bugle heralded the approach of the for
eign troops, and at once the crowd, their
feelings of hatred transformed Into eager
childish curlosltly, began to melt rapidly
away in the dlrecton of the sound.
The lads waited several minutes before
they followed at a slower pace, and they
had gone but a dozen yards from the pal
ace when Dan suddenly stooped and with
an exclamation of surprise picked up
an object at his feet. It was a brass
mounted pistol, oddly engraved, and large
of calibre for its size.
"That has been dropped by the scoun
drel who flred at Prince Lan," said Alec.
"He dived into the crowd so quickly that
I didn't get a glimpse of him."
Dan was staring at the weapon. "I
fancy I've seen this before," he said
slowly.
"Where?"
"On on a certain person at the Amer
ican Legation."
"That's queer."
"It's more than queer, if I'm right. But
4? r
I may be mistaken." Dan put the pistol
in nis pocKet. "uome on," he added.
"I want to see the guards march past."
"I don't understand that attempt to kill
Prince Lan," said Alec, as he hastened
with his companion towards the Legation
quarter. "I've heard of him before, and
It strikes me he Is a prominent member
of the government."
"I know very little about the prince,"
Dan replied, "except that he used to be
long to the Tsung 11 Yamen, but doesn't
now."
"And the girl?"
"I'll tell you what I know about her
It Isn't very much. She came to Wash-
i GRAYHEAD AND
"I'm sick to death of beef," said the
leader of the No Quarter 'band of gray
wolves, as he threw himself down under
a tree.' "I intend to have a bite of horse
flesh before I'm many days older."
"How do you propose to get it?" asked
Wolvermans, a young and conceited wolf,
who "was dying for a chance to oust Gray
head from the leadership. "The horses
are pretty well organized 'round here.
You need to be a sight smarter than you
are to outgeneral old Don, their captain.
Beef's all right if one could get enough
of It," and he looked at his spare flanks.
"Beef may suit your taste, but It doesn't
mine; I mean to have horse. That's what
I called you together for," retorted Gray
head, and he looked keenly at the wolves
sitting on their haunches in a circle
around hlm. "All of you lie low tomor
row," he continued; "I don't want Don to
get wind of even one wolf. He thinks
now that we have all gone across the next
range after Mr. Gilbert's herds. Meet me
under the leaning pine tree at 7 o'clock
tomorrow evening, every one of you!" He
glanced fiercely at Wolvermans, as he
added: "I'm leader; disobey me at your
peril!"
"I think It's time some of us had a
voice in the council; I can't go things
blind," said Wolvermans, while the other
wolves' hair stood on end with astonish
ment that he should dare to dispute with
their mighty leader. "And let me tell you
right here that if you mean to pit your
brain against Don's, you'll get left. How
many of our bands has he not overthrown
in his day?"
Grayhead Spcaka Hii Mind.
"A hen-brained saphead like you may
fear Don," growled the old wolf; "I don't.
Tough as he is, I mean to enjoy a steak
off him. Don't dare dispute with me,
Wolvermans, or I'll kill and eat you for
supper; I'm. hungry enough to do it."
"Cannibal!" hissed Wolvermans, as he
got up and strolled away, with affected
unconcern.
He had not gone far when ho heard a
pattering of feet, and looking around he
saw Miss Grayhead, the leader's young
daughter, running after him. She was as
gentle as it is possible for a wolf to be;
that Is, although she was au fierce and
merciless as the rest of her tribe In hunt
ing animals for food, she hated the wolves
to quarrel among themselves.
"Oh, Wolvermans!" she cried. "Why
will you so anger my father?"
"It Is he who angers me," answered
Wolvermans.
"Well, have patience. If you vex him
too much he will not let us set up house
keeping In that lovely little cave we found
in the canyon last week."
"That's 80. I'll try to keep my temper
If only to please you, my fair bride to
be."
Satisfied with, this promise, Miss Gray
head kissed her paw to Wolvermans, and
ran back to her papa and mamma, stop
ping only to catch and eat a Jack rabbit
which was so unwary as to jump out in
front of her.
Wolvermans walked on, forming plan
after plan whereby he might obtain the
leadership, and yet secure the paw of
Grayhead's charming daughter. At last
he devised a scheme which satisfied him.
An owl was sleeping In the tree under
which the wolves received Grayhead's or
ders. It was getting towards time for him
to awaken for his night hunt, so Gray
nead's first word aroused him. He listened
attentively to all the conversation, for he
was a beautiful owl, well versed in the
languages of four-footed animals.
"Here's a pretty go," he said to him
self, "and the worst of It Is the old var
mint's right. Don Is off guard. As I flew
by last night I heard him tell his eldest
son, that handsome bay gelding, that they
might breathe freely as the No Quarters
had gone away for a few days. But what
am I wasting my time thinking for? I'm
with a horse against a wolf any day. I
must warn Don," and off he flew.
Mr. Bad Ovrl.
As he skimmed along, Mr. Owl espied a
belated mouse on Its way home. He
swooped down upon the little furry crea
ture and was about to eat it up, when an
owl of bad character, with whom he was
not on speaking terms, bounced down and
J I I ffiE ' AROUND I - r,?!Uj& ' i,J2rcC? '
!: mrrzmw. r m
xfflw7NK mMirmrrK'hrFVYi "aAA vvz "U2 sl fTr:
V-erJT1 vmvW'-MVJM'WAvvc " ---. u-- k Ta- jw- i i -
i1 L .. . . L V .--(? sr-'.ffifci- I1
Ington a year ago with the suite of the
new Chinese minister, and was there for
a montn or more. Tiiey called her the
Princess Peach Blossom, which I suppose
is English for her Chinese name. I saw
her twice, once riding on Pennsylvania
avenue and once at the minister's house,
where my father took me."
"Is she Prince Lan's daughter?" asked
Alec.
"That's more than I can tell you."
"Wasn't the Prince in Washington at
the time?"
"No." declared Dan. "I never heard of
him until I came to Pekln."
"It's a pretty name, that of Princess
HIS WOLF PACK MEET
snatched the mouse from him and even
prepared to eat it before his eyes.
Dignified as Mr. Owl was this Insult
aroused his temper. He attacked the other
bird, and a pitched battle ensued, during
which the mouse, which had been sham
ming to be dead, escaped to Its hole. At
first the fight was pretty nearly even, but
very soon Mr. Good Owl gained on his op
ponent and at last had him at his mercy,
lying on his back. He planted his foot
on the otheu bird's breast and said se
verely: "Now, consorter with Wolves, confess
your sins, for you have only a few mo
ments to live."
"It would take more than a few mo
ments to confess my sins," laughed the
wicked owl, and I am ashamed to say
that he winked; "butN there is one thing
that weighs even on my conscience. Gray
head bribed me to lie to the horse captain,
and I told Don the wolves had gone away.
Grayhead wants me to report every move
of the horses to him. He will then know
how and when to attack them tomorrow
night. He dare not send one of his own
folks as spies, for Don can smell a wolf
a mile off."
"You vile creature!"
"If you virtuous owls won't consort with
a fellow, what is he to do?"
"Do you repent then?"
"Well,, yes. If I had a show again. I'd
Dfi different."
"Then I'll give you another chance. You
must report all the horses' proceedings ,to
Grayhead just as you promised."
"What are you glvln' us? Are you fii
Grayhead's pay, too? Hypocrite! I won't
do it. I've repented, I say, and I'm darned
if I'll get the horses into trouble."
"You judge me by yourself. Don has
not a better friend in the world than I.
Now, to prove to you that I am speaking
truth, I will take you home with me, and
we will arrange with my wife -what shall
be done. You will go about in her compa
ny until after the struggle between the
horses and wolves. Come with me."
Mrs. Owl Fnrlons.
He took his foot from the repentant
owl's breast and assisted hfm to his feet,
and the two owls then flew back to Mr.
Owl's home, in a hollow tree. Mrs. Owl
was mad when she saw them come, for
she had a headache, and had told her
husband to bring home her supper. Now
TnUNDER MADE TO ORDER.
Even on the clearest, calmest day, says
the New York Herald, thunder artificial, it
Is true, yet strangely like natural thunder
can be manufactured by any one who will
try the following simple, newly-devised ex
periment: Get a piece of ordinary twine two or three
feet in length, and place it around the back
of your head, according to tho manner shown
In the accompanying picture. Next bring
the two ends forward past the ears, or, rather,
past the auricles. The ears must then be
closed by keeping the Angers pressed firmly
over them, and at the same time the fingers
or hand must be pressed firmly over the twino
at the point where It lies directly outside each
auricle. Now ask some one to pull the two
ends of the twine with his thumb and Index
finger, and then, a firm pressure being mean
while maintained, to let them slip slowly
through the Angers.
At once an Illusion of thunder will be pro
duced. You will hear peal arter peal, anu
the Armor tho pressure on the twine the
louder will bo the sound. If a few knots are
tied In the twine a still more startling Illu
sion will be produced.
ANCT1C CITY. SUMMER RESORT OF THE BUG ELITE.
' "'" ' .' ' i '' ' i i i I'l lJuM
Peach Blossom," his companion said, re
flectively. "But I like the Princess of the
Purple Palace better. She isn't half bad
looking for a Chinese girl."
The Princess of the Purple Palace! It
sounded ancient and romantic', with its
suggestion of tales from the Arabian
Nights. She had crossed Alec's life like
an Oriental vision, and he wondered
vaguely if he would ever see her again.
Little did he dream of the perils he was
shortly to encounter, of the sea of hor
ror and bloodshed In which he was to
swim, for the sake of the little Eastern
maid with the picturesque name!
(To be continued.)
A BLOODY FATE )
he hhd not only come back without it,
but had brought a stranger. And when
she found that Mr. Owl wanted her to go
out with the notorious Mr. Nocturne, she
was simply furious.
"That such a thing should be proposed
to me, a respectable, married owl, Is
monstrous!" and she dashed angry tears
out of her eyes with her wing. "No. I
will not listen to you."
(Mr. Owl had to take her on one side, do
a lot of talking and plenty of gesticulating
with his wings before he coulu convince
her, but when he said it was to circum
vent Grayhead, she was all eagerness, for
once one of her owlets had accidentally
rallen from the nest, and before she could
Pick it up Grayhead had come along and
snapped little Owlle up, swallowing it al
most at one gulp. Not satisfied with this
horrible act, he had leered up at Mrs. Owl
with cruel eyes, and asked:
"Why don't you raise fatter owlets while
you're about it? There was a darned
poor flavor to that chick."
This to a bereaved mother about her
baby owl! No wonder that now she was
ready for anything which promised pun
ishment. The three owls flew off together
and while Mr. Owl talked to Don, Mrs
Owl and Nocturne sat on a tree, and he re
galed her with stories of Grayhead's wick,
edness.
Mr. Owl and Don talked for nnito n innc
time, laid their plans and decided what
Nocturne was to tell Grayhead. The usual
plan of horses, when suddenly attacked by
wolves, Is to form a square with the young
arid weaker ones inside, the strong ones,
whose duty is to try to beat the enemy to
death with their feet, on the outside. But
Don and Mr. Owl, having time to prepare,
decided on another scheme! They wanted
If possible, to kill the whole band.
All next day Nocturne was going back
wards and forwards carrying news of the
horses' sayings and doings to Grayhead,
Mrs. Owl hovering near to see he did not
break faith. However, he was reallv re
pentant and proud of being restored to
good society, and ho did his best. The
last information he took to Grayhead was
this:
"Thinking that you are away, the horses
feel perfectly secure, and Don, who Is
tired out with the constant watchfulness
he has exercised against your band, pro
poses taking a good rest tonight. At C
o'clock he will lie down in the center of
a small, open plain surrounded by trees.
The other horses will be sleeping or graz
ing on the north of this plain, beyond the
trees. The wind is blowing from north
to south, so they can't scent you. If you,
Mr. Grayhead (here the cunning Nocturne
put on a most respectful air), and your
grand army of warriors will come in on
the south side and very quietly surround
Don. you can kill him almost before he
awakens, or is able to warn the other
horses. Then, their leader being gone, any
of his followers will be an easy nrev. and
you can have great sport and a glorious
feast of horseflesh. Don appointed the
learned Mr. Owl as his watcher on the
south side, but he Is In my way; so don't
be surprised If you hear a hooting."
Grayhead licked his chops In anticipa
tion of the feast he was so soon to enjoy,
and promised Nocturne all kinds of good
things and the freedom of Wolf Land
when the horses should be vanquished.
Then he went to meet his wolves, gave
them their Instructions and at 7 o'clock
they set forth on their nefarious errand.
It happened that Wolvermans and Miss
Grayhead were running near each other.
It might not have Keen accident, for she
was very fond of the ambitious wolf, while
he really only cared for himself.
"I have been talking to father." she
whispered, "and I think you will find, if
you talk to him tomorrow, that he no
longer opposes our match."
"No: I don't think myself he will op
pose anything very much tomorrow," an
swered Wolvermans, amblgously. He was
thinking of his scheme.
"My heart forebodes me. I wish we ate
grass like horses, and didn't have to kill
our food."
"Silly! East grass If you want to. Do
you really think grass likes to be eaten?
Wouldn't it rather live and go to seed?
Horse eats grass, I eat horse what's the
difference? You think and talk too much.
I like to kill and eat and fight" His eyes
glowed so fiercely in the darkness that
Miss Grayhead shivered and shrank away
from him,
Very quietly the wolves crept through
the trees and low bushes till they came
to an opening, and there, right In the cen
ter of the little plain, just as Nocturne
had said, lay the magnificent Iron-gray
stallion, so feared and hated by all the No
Quarters. Grayhead gnashed his teeth at
the sight, and could almost feel them close
on the hamstrings of the splendid animal
and see him fall a helpless prey.
Very cautiously Grayhead led his band,
round the edge of the plain until they
completely encircled the sleeping horse.
Then he gave the signal to charge, and at
that very Instant, just as each wolf moved
swiftly forward towards the quarry, there
was hei d the hideous hooting of an owl
from a neighboring tree. The wolves did
not heed It; they were too Intent on their
prey. The horses did. though.
When the wolves, still keeping their cir
cle, were within six feet of Don, he sprang
up, leaped over the line of wolves, clear
ing them at a bound, and galloped to his
bold horses, who had been hiding among
the trees on three sides of the plain, and
at the signal from Mr. Owl, had come
forth unobserved by the wolves, about
whom they now formed a perfect circle.
As soon as he heard of the No Quarters'
proposed attack, Don sent a messenger
for assistance to the neighboring herds;
they had responded by sending their brav
est horses, so it was a very formidable
array that now faced Grayhead and his
band.
Still all might not have lost, for Gray
head had a great brain and was aulck at
expedients, had not Wolvermans, fired by
hatred and ambition, chosen that moment
to put his villainous scheme into execu
tion. In the confusion consequent on the
discovery of their danger, he saw his op
portunity; flew at Grayhead's throat and,
before any wolf could Interfere, killed the
chief.
Then he tried to take the place of leader,
but no one would follow him. All was ex
citement and confusion. Each wolf tried
singly to escape and they tumbled over
each other In their hurry, and were tram
pled to death under the hoofs of the trl-
TRY THIS, JUST FOR FUN.
Here Is a new and amusing experiment,
which any one can tryr as the only materials
required are a tumbler, a cork, some cara
board and a small pleco of paper.
If you place some cardboard over a glass
filled with water, you will notice, after a
little time, that It has become raised, espe
cially In the middle. If no such chance has
taken place, the reason is either because the
rim of the glasB was not entirely dry. or be
cause tho cardboard does not completely cov
er its surface, and, therefore, before begin
ning the experiment, attention should be paid
to these two points.
You way next place on the cardboard a
small cork, intended as a seat far a little
frog, that you can easily cut out of paper.
After a few minutes the cardboard will be
come depressed as a result of moisture, anu
this quick transformation will cause It to ex
pand so" greatly that the frog and cork will
bo sent flying Into the air.
umphant horses. Wolvermans, creeping
slowly among the dead and trying to
"possum." and so be overlooked, passed
the dying Miss Grayhead.
"Oh, Wolvermans." she slid, faintly,
"your selfish ambition has destroyed us
all. My father might have circumvented
even Don, if you hadn't killed him."
"Hold your tongue, or I'll kill you, too."
snarled the unfeeling brute.
Don heard the words, caught sight of
Wolvermans, and, bounding forward,
stamped the life out of him.
A fairy dove, whose home was In a
pine tree near, awakened by the noise of
battle, flew over the field of carnage, and
seeing Miss Grayhead In the throes of
death, glided down and whispered In her
ear:
"Be of good cheer, gentle wolf: death
is your best friend. Your dawning soul,
freed from this wolfish form, will find a
dwelling place In the body of a dog, be
loved alike by man and horse." .
These words of fair Import fell like
balm on the heart of Miss Grayhead, and
she sighed and gladly died.
Don and his gallant horses were com
pletely victorious. Not one of the No
Quarters escaped to tell the tale of that
night's awful massacre. There was great
rejoicing amongst the cattle, horses and
all the animals on which Grayhead's
band had preyed. Don was' appointed
captain of the district for life, with Mr.
Owl as chief counsellor. There was peace
In the land.
As to Nocturne, he became quite a re
formed charactr. Mrs. Owl, who took a
motherly Interest In his career, made a
match for him with a pretty young owl,
and the next Spring they raised a brood
of the cutest and most promising owlets"
ever seen. F. E. HAWSON.
S4S '
-Jk tSOTSiC
. .... .
The Rapacious,
' Ubicpaitovis Flea. )
' Some Very Interesting Facts )
Concerning o Very Tiny Pest 'j
The flea possesses all the piratical In
stincts bloodthirst, rapacity, cruelty. He
is, further, as Ingenious in devising tor
ture as he Is untiring In the torment of hlg
vict:m. Possibly ho cannot nelp all this.
Possibly it comes from acting out tho
nature with which he finds himself en
dowed. Tho flea Is built upon lines that make
him forever hungry. The more rapaciously
ho sucks blood, the faster It Is voided. In
his case, indeed, appetite grows byNvhat
he feeds on. In the feeding he assimilates
lnflnlteslmally, thereby growing, after a
few days of plenty, less a starveling ato
my. But his continuous-performance ap
petite is far from being the oddest thing
about him. Proportionately to size, he is
the Samson of the universe. If an ele
phant had the same relative strength, he
could come near to oversetting a steel
framed sky-scrapper.
A flea, wingless, with a body out of all
proportion to his head, and all over less
than the sixteenth of an Inch In length,
will leap upon a strict plane surface over
a yard. This, too, when he ha3 been
hatched in hair, or straw, or sand, and
never known what It was to have a full
meal. lie makes the distance in a position
analogous to the human standing broad
jump. Give him the advantage of leaping
downward, nad he will easily cover six
feet. Moro marvelous still, he will spring
perpendicularly upward from one to two
feet. Fancy a man or boy standing flat
footed and all of a sudden leaping over
a church spire.
Cat and Copr Flea Hostility.
To fight like cats and dogs Is the syno
nym of continuing strife, but even cats
and dogs do not fight so bitterly as cat.
fleas and dog fleas. Oddly enough, the
cat fleas are bigger than the dog fleas, so
should be always victors. But hero as
elsewhere condition tells. If the cat fleas
are lazy and luxurious fat they can never
grow tho small, lean, keen-backed dog
fleas kill them out. The combatants stand
up to fight, qalte like a pair of prize-rinff
ornamonts. As they have six legs they
have plenty to stand on and still spare
a couple with which to belabor each oth
er. Upon neutral ground, as a floor or walk,
the cat and dog fleas keep the peace. But
let one Invade litter, or a coat sacred to
the other, and there is straightaway a
fight to a finish. Something even moro
curious than this inborn antipathy is that
dog fleas will not live upon cats, nor cat
fleas upon a dog.
Fleas lay eggs after the Insect manner,
which hatch out tiny wrigglers very near
ly Invisible to the naked eje, yet capable
of feeding on moisture and microbes at
least one judges that to be the diet, slnco
fleas breed so largely In sand, straw and
litter where other food is lacking and
after a while spinning themselves cocoons.
Tho cocoons are no bigger than tiny
grains of sand, but under the microscope
they show as semi-translucent ovals,
beautifully banded with pink and pearl.
Rain just at the hatching time often kills
a whole brood of sand fleas, but enough
always escape to moro than make good
the loss.
Deak Like a Blrd'K.
A flea's beak is sharp and hard, some
thing like a bird's., only more pointed. Ho
does not wear it out always, but folded
neatly under him until he is ready to feed.
That, however, is hardly accurate. He 13
always ready, but has not always tho
chance.
A flea blto is not poisonous, save and
except in the rare cases where a flea has
previously been biting infected tissue. Cer
tain French scientists have shown that
both fleas and bed-bugs could thus carry
tubercular infection. Further, rats and
rat fleas are greatly dreaded as helping to
spread abroad the fearful bubonic plague.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
RABBITS AS STEEPLECHASERS.
Long-Eared Pets May 'Be Trained to
Play Games.
"A great many of our readers have
written us about their pets, and a num
ber of these have told us about pet rab
bits, so now we are going to tell them
how to play a game with these long
eared pets that is quite unusual," says a
writer in the New York Herald. There
upon he goes on to say:
"First make the rabbit jump over a
smalL obstacle, such as a stool or any
thing not moro than a foot or so high.
Then give him a piece of carrot, a bite
of cabbage leaf or something else that
he likes very much. Repeat this several
times and then place two obstacles be
tween him and you and call him, showing
him some more of the goody he has al
ready tasted. He will jump over the ob
stacle at once and come to get his re
ward. "Then Increase the obstacles, which can
be easily dono by turning chairs on their
sides, placing empty boxes, coal scuttles
and similar objects In the line. Be sure
and give him a nibble of his reward
every time he jumps over all of them.
After a few trials he will understand
perfectly what 13 required of him, and
what he will get by doing it.
"Now, make the chain of obstacles as
long as you can and start the rabbit to
race against time. This can be done by
timing him carefully every trial, and when
he covers the course slowly give him a
small nibble, and when he beats his
own previous record give him a larger
bite.
"If you have two rabbits you can have
a great deal of sport in training them
both to this game and letting them race
for the slice of carrot or turnip. Rab
bits are great jumpers and they will never
tire of the game while you have any
vegetables left, or until they are com
pletely full and can eat no more."
"The Deceptive Cross."
The signature attached to the letter, sub
mitting the optical ilustlon, "The Decep
tive Cross," published in the "Page for
Boys and Girls," last Sunday, should have
read: "P. J. Glanz, Engineer United
States Quartermaster's Department;" In
stead of "P. J. Glauz, Engineer United
States Lighthouse Department," as was
printed.