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Se leet ete
WRAPPY DAYS ‘7
13
heavily wooded, the forest stretching back
to a range of snow capped mountains, dis-
tinctly seen in the distance.
rom the river the forest was
_ heavy, enough, but down close to the
water's edge it was more nen, and there
mong the trees o| ivory hunters
caught sight of their first elepban
a huge male. He stood at the
water's. ‘edge drinking. Every now and
then up would go his trunk and he would
squirt a great stream of water over his
feathery hide.
“That’s one, sure,” said Tom, “but I
don’t see any others. Where are the rest
of them, Tinpot? I don’t believe you see
them any more than I do.”
“Yes, boss! Me see one—two—twenty
—hundred!” cried Tinpot. “Look there ! p
“I see them!” Inez exclaimed.
“So do I,” said Jack.
ack had’ been scanning the shore close-
ly While the others talked. Back from the
water’s edge, in among “the trees,
caught sight of a number of huge, slate-
colored objects. which Tom took to be
re pat Jack saw them more,and knew
better.
all dere. Missy ia stay here.
“It's our chance!” he called down from
the pilot house, where he
“We'll get over there under that blu: ff.
Get the rifles ready, Tom, there’s seri-
ous work ahea
“What's the row?” called Ed Rice,
* looking out of the engine room. “Are the
Belgians upon us or w!
“Elephants!” cried Tom.
“By Jove, you don’t say. so! Well,
that’s what we want.”
“Stick to your engine, Ed,” shouted
Jack. “There’s business ahea: d.”
Ed went back to the engine room and
Jack Ww worked the steamer in under the
Here a careful examination was made
o make sure that the coast was clear,
something Jack slays insisted upon be-
fore making a lan
Tinpot went ashore ‘and made the haw-
ser fast to a tre
‘om got the “rifles ready and then all
hands went ashore.
‘Do you suppose they, are still there?”
" questioned Ed _ Rice. ve they been
standing still all the while waiting for us
to come and shoot t!
Ed’s answer came in 2 a "most unexpected
‘fashion,
Suddenly there was a shrill trumpeting
and a huge mass of rocks and earth dis-
Todged from the edge of the bluff came
tumbling down at their feet.
“Hil Hil’ cried Tinpot, pointing up
-to the top of the bluff.
here stood a huge male elephant look-
ing down at them, his trunk waving an-
grily in the air.
CHAPTER XII.
THE FIRST ELEPHANT HUNT.
etied Tom. “Let him Lave it!”
“No !” exclaimed Tinpot.
“what, one ° ulephant? We Want two—
Fame Whe le lot—ye
“Tinpot is boss,” said ack “He un-
_ derstands this business and we don’t.”
“It was too late to fire TOW, for the ele-
phant had vanished.
The ground shook as he trotted off,
trumpeting loudly to carry his warning
to the le:
“Will they stampede?” asked Jack.
- “Dey may, boss, and den dey may not,”
said Tinpot, who was immensely flattered
by what Jack had said about his being
boss. “Follow me, gem’n. | Tinpot show
you how dis ting am done.
The cook led up to the top of the
bluf by *t way 80 Steep that it was all
.they could do to cli
When they reached the level and looked
into the forest which stretched out before
nez.
* said Tinpot. “Dey
‘Too dan-
Look dere.
What
gerous. Come, now, boss.
See dat big tree?”
then? plied Jack, “I see it.
+; “Boss get over dere by tree,
“All right, Tinpot. What “Jext?”
“Boss Tom get over dere by dat odder
big tree—dat one with de crooked trunk.”
«ce tM_ your man, Tinpot,” said Tom.
Shall Igo now?”
“Right away, quick. Boss Ed, him stay
here, , tase de , elephants dey come dis
“ina ‘ou, Tinpot?” asked Jack as he
moved oF toward the tre
@ go scare up de herd, ”* replied Tin-
Pot, and he made one dive right into the
thick of the woods.
boys having taken their
- Places, waited with intense anxiety.
lenly a_ shrill cry Nas heard in
the c foest, half animal, half hi
t first Jack th ought it was nthe ery of
" gome_ wild beast, but when it was three
times repeated a pavick succession, he
new it was
The result was ‘inmediate, All at once
the, trumpeting of an elephant was heard,
other answered and then came a
noise ‘Tike thun
‘he gr chun ‘trembled « as though an
earthquake was on and all in an instant
the whole herd of elephants rushed out of
cover and made for the edge of the. bluff,
with Tinpot following and repeating the
ery at short intervals.
Jack’s heart was in his mouth. Prob-
ably no elephant hunter in his first ex-
perience ever felt absolute calmness, but
in an instant this feeling passed away and
Jack was perfectly c
They are coming my
“The bluff will turn them
Then the wisdom of Tinpot's arrange-
ment became apparent, for in case the
herd turned and went in the other direc-
tion there would be the chance for Tom
to get in his shot and should they keep
on close to the bluff there was Ed Rice to
head them o
But it did not work out either of these
ways.
Elephant hunting has its ups and
downs just like anything
As they neared the bluff ‘the elephants
broke ranks and followed three directions.
Part of the herd came toward Jack and
part turned toward Tom, while two fe-
Inales with their calves, seemingly mixed
up, forged straight ahead toward Ed
ice.
mmense !”” thought, Jack.
all going to get a shot
“Get down under the bluff, Inez” whe
. peaks Get d
under the bluff.
ow much Tack blamed himself for giy-
ing this order will soon
Ine: more than Vanished over
the sedge “of the bluf than Jack got his
way,” he thought.
back.”
“We are
no chances.
a
nee. newhere he had read that the place
to take an elephant was in the forehead,
and he so aimed at a big male which
came rushing toward him.
His rifle had scarcely spoken when
‘om’s cracked also, but Jack had all he
could do to think of. himself just then.
here was a wi ery from the big
beast and a furious waving of the trunk.
Then the fore legs seemed to double up.
With a mighty effort the elephant re-
covered itself, staggered forward a few
steps, and then fell on its left side with a
force which shook the eart!
There was no chance to get in another
shot, for this portion of the herd, seeing
its leader fall, immediately stampeded
into the forest, ut Tom had brought
down his elephant, so there were two.
Ed Rice made a miss of it and was
glad to get out of the way and let the
big, beasts pass him.
ooray !” shouted J ack,
anyhow, and big ones, too
We had no more than poken when a
mild ery from Inez was heard under the
“Four tusks
“IJeavens! -What was that?” gasped
ack, making a rush for the edge.
ut Ed Rice was nearest and got there
rst.
“Niggers! Niggers!” he cried, and,
flinging up his rifle, he fired dow
With one bound Jack gained. ‘the edge
of the hate and looked over,
In the cove were three big canoes filled
with blacks.
One was close in shore and there was
poor Inez on the bank struggling in the
grasp of three half naked savages.
S. me, Jack! -Save me!” she
shouted.
Jack raised his rifle, but he instantly
let it fall again.
'o fire now would be to hit Inez to a
certainty, for the savages were backing
toward their canoe.
“Foll me, Tom!”. shouted Jack.
“Never mind the ivory now! Get i
shot if you can.’
At the same moment Inez was thrown
roughly into the canoe; which was in-
stantly paddled away from the shore.
[ro BE CONTINUED.]
THE DEWEY MEDALS ARE STILL CO-
ING BY THE THOUSANDS. HAVE YOU
SENT FOR ONE?
ee
It is for strictly practical reasons that
he Bible is generally used for packing
tna leaf. It is usually printed in small
ype -and is always very evenly set, and
the impression of the type on the paper is
yery slight, but enough to hold the gold
in place without injuring it. Another
book that is used for the same purpose is
the Book of Common Prayer, the small
type editions, of course. The paper is al-
ways very fine and smooth, and, when
printed, the leayes are just adapted for
the purpose ¢ of holding the gold leaf,
(This story commenced in No. 249]
THE BOY ROUGH RIDERS ;
TWO YANKEE | LADS IN THE
PHILIPPINES.
A Story of Thrilling Adventures. _
By JAS. D. MONTACUES
Author of “The Boy ner “Hustling
ay "<The ee Ath tie klub, ”
wey alt Negineys ” “ Nec
ete,, etc,
CHAPTER XVI.
THE MAGAZINE BLOWN UP—A RIDE FOR
E.
When Bancroft and his fair compan-
ion looked away from the plaza before
the magazine that they might not wit-
ness the execution of Tom and the army
scout, and it seemed that the Filipino cap-
tain was about to give his men the order
to fire, it certainly appeared that the fate
of the condemned jmmericans was sealed.
But, as Jack had not joined him,
croft could not help thinking that the Tad
must have succeeded in gaining admis-
sion to the magazine.
This was indeed
We left Jack on the. way
zine, and now, before we relate what
transpired at the plaza immediately after
Bancroft and the disguised lady looked
away from it, and waited.for the final act
of the tragedy, which was apparently
about to ensue, we will follow the brave
lad on his way
tended execution.
After he parted with Bancroft on the
street the boy rough rider did not pause
until he reached the plaz:
hen he halted for a moment and men-
tally rehearsed what he meant to say to
the guards.
They were four in number, and Jack
saw them pacing their beats about the
magazi
Tiaving looked at the sun and estimated,
to the maga-
to the scene of the in-
sentinel at the front of the magazine.
une Filipino halted and presented his
eevack held out Taglo’s pass and a letter
showing that Taglo was a trusted emis-
sary of the insurgents and directing that
all Filipinos should permit him to go
where he would.
“I wish to inspect the magazine,” said
Jack briefly, as the Filipino took his pa-
pers.
“No one is allowed to enter without an
order from the governor. If such you
have, swell and good. not, you cannot
‘o in,” ; answered I the soldier grufily, as he
opened the pap
“You will find ¢ that I am acting under
authority, higher than that of your local
governor,” ‘decks d. 8
“Ah, thal i true, General Luna’s or-
ders must e obeyed. Yes, your papers are
quite sufficient. You can go in,” said the
sentinel when he had glanced over Jack’s
documents.
Then he stood aside and Jack entered
the magazine through a large doog which
was not secured.
e lad wondered why the door was
not. fastened, but as soon as he was in-
side it he comprehended the reason. Sey-
eral Filipinos were in the magazine en-
gaged in preparing the powder and am-
munition for remo
The sight of these men rather discon-
eerted Jack for, of course, he could not
set his fuse and arrange to blow up the
building while the Filipinos were there.
hat they regarded him curi-
ously and he observed that one of them
stepped to the door and accosted the
Ta ck overheard the latter tell his ques-
tioner that he had a right to be there, as
¢ had an order from General Luna.
“after that Jack walked about and pre-
tended to inspect the contents of the
ile he experienced the most:
painful suspenses and hoped and prayed
that the Filipinos might go out in time
or him to set the fuse and arrange for
the blowing up of the magazine before
the sun set.
‘ortune favored the daring young
American at la:
‘inally, ‘chen “Jack saw, as he looked
at the sun through a narrow window, that
he could not much longer delay his prep-
arations, the Filipinos all passed out of
the building.
Then Tack set to work.
He set his fuse—a “time fuse,” to ex-
plode in ten minutes, and so placed it that
jt would set fr to @ yast quantity of
powder, and if the fuse did | pot fail be
new the building was doo:
When he set the fuse he & Sewe the p
oners and the firing party taking ate
bla
‘And he thought he could get at a safe
distance before the explosion took place,
while he was sure the sun would not have
entirely disappeared before the fuse
reached the po’
0 8 Thee was taking desperate
chances and possibly the execution squad
might fire before the magazine was blown
But he was doing the best he could to
save his comrades and he had to leave
something to chance
soon as Jack “had set the fuse he
glided out of the magazine, unseen by
the guards, who were watching the firing
party, and as quickly as possible he
passed around a corner of the building
ad hastened away.
He intended now to make a swift de-
tour along the edge of the plaza and reach
the grove in which he expected to find
Bancroft and the lady without delay.
uards were grouped before the
door of the magazine “when. Jack left
it and the forms of those men screen
the lad from the sight of his friends in the
e.
Returning now to the latter, we proceed
with the direct narratio:
Scarcely half dozen seconds had
elapsed after the captain of the execu-
tion squad had given his men the order to
aim, when the fetonation of a terrible ex-
plosion shook the e
magazine was blown up. Jack had
accomplished his puvpo:
The len building “was completely
demolished by the terrible force of the
explosion.
‘Timbers were hurled high in the air and
flung in every direction. ames
leaped up, amid the dense cloud of black
smoke.
The men who composed the firing party
were overthrown and some of them wei
hit by fying timbers,
ut Tom and Dan were unharmed, be-
cause they, were further from the shat-
tered building.
e smoke was wafted over the
plaza in great clouds immediately after
the explosion, Bancroft rushed out of the
thicket. But he had scarcely left it when
he encountered Tom and the army scout.
b
had prevented the firing of the death vol-
ley, andi ran toward the gro’
“Ta whom you have “known as the
Black. Monk and your friend. Horses are
in the grove, Let me cut the cords that
ind you. Then we will ride away for
our lives,” cried Bancroft, as he met the
fleeing prisoners.
They paused almost speechless, pant-
ing and surprised, but Bancroft quickly”
severed their bonds and in a moment or
so they were in the g1
t that, moment Sack arrived there.
“Quick! To horse! Not moment
must be lost, now !” said the young rough
rider,
He leaped into the saddle and the oth-
ers followed his example. Putting spurs
to their spirited steeds the little party of
Americans rode rapidly through the grove.
gro
"Thence they dashed across extensive
fields and plantations, keeping the Erove
tween them and the village, The t
of twilight is but brief in the Paitippines,
and very soon the night had c
As yet the fugitives heard no sounds of
pursuit,
And now they allowed their horses to
proceed more leisurely.
Then_ brief explanations
change!
‘And Jack made Tom and Dan_under-
stand how he had blown up the Filipino
magazine and so carried out the order of
the American commander, while he at
the same time paved the way for their
escape.
“T feel that we have just come out of
the very shadows oft the Valley of Death,”
said Tom, shudder
And Dan said, in’ solemn, tones:
“It was a close call d old Dan
thought he would never see another sun
were ex-
“Then both the rescued ones enthusi-
petically praised Jack’s cunning and
brave
He th anged the conversation by intro-
ducing Bancroft by his proper name, and
in a few words explained what the latter
had related about himself and Inez Ri
mon
“And now we must seriously consider
our situation, and di upon our
course,” * said Jack in conclusion.
ey. answered Dan, ie must ex-
pect that a most determined pi rsuit of us
will be made and that the, Eilipinos will
spare no effort to c:
”
Ss.”
. “Tt am glad that use Migros i is not free