Chatterbox, 1905 Part 128

'Pick them up,' Charlie said, 'and run back with them at once.'

'Can do,' Number One replied, and, collecting the rifles, ran back to the ladder, climbed up it, and handed his prize over the wall to Barton.

Then, running to the barrow, he resumed his work of picking up cartridges.

'We needn't trouble about the others,' Charlie said when they had collected all but about thirty, which were scattered over a wide s.p.a.ce, and, slinging the sack over his shoulder, he started for the ladder. At the same moment four shots were fired at him from the houses facing the mission, but without touching him or his companions. Mr. Wilkins, Barton, and Fred returned the fire instantly, but their opponents were hidden from view, and their shots were wasted--at least, they imagined that they were wasted; but it was a very fortunate thing for them that they had not touched a Boxer, for the fanatics no sooner found that they were unhurt by the foreigners' fire than they jumped to the conclusion again that they could not be wounded. One of them, springing up from his place of hiding on the roof, tried a standing shot at Charlie, but, before he had time to fire, Mr. Wilkins's rifle rang out, and the Boxer fell forward into the street. His death was not witnessed by the other Boxers, for they were in a different house. One of them exposed his head for a moment, and Barton and Fred fired simultaneously, and one, or perhaps both, hit it. But the other Boxers kept under cover, and one of them shot Number One through the left arm.

Ping w.a.n.g and Number One climbed the ladder in safety, but Charlie, whose progress was hampered by the sack, had not reached the foot of it.

'Drop the sack and run!' Fred shouted, but his brother either did not hear or would not take his advice.

'Run, Charlie! never mind about the sack,' Fred again shouted, but Charlie was now close to the foot of the ladder, and had no intention of losing his prize. A bullet tore up the ground a yard in front of him, and Fred, in desperation, fired the contents of his magazine at the spot where the man was hidden. The rapidity of the firing apparently frightened him, and Barton having wounded the other man, Charlie climbed the ladder without further harm; but just as he reached the safe side of the wall, a crowd of fully one hundred Boxers rushed round the corner, and began a determined attack on the mission.

(_Continued on page 398._)

INSECT WAYS AND MEANS.

XII.--HOW INSECTS GROW.

Those of you who have kept silkworms or other caterpillars must have noticed that these insects, from time to time, become listless, cease feeding, and finally 'moult,' or change their skin; but it may not have occurred to you to inquire _why_ this change is necessary.

The reason is certainly a curious one, since it is the caterpillar way of growing. With most living creatures, growth is continuous until the full-grown size is reached; that is to say, it takes place by imperceptible degrees. Boys and girls add to the number of their inches so gradually that neither they themselves nor their friends can perceive the change, except by reference to old measurements. You cannot _see_ people or animals growing, because the process is so steady and gradual.

But with the insects, and their relatives, the crabs and lobsters, this is otherwise. Owing to its peculiar nature, the hard outer skin, which is of h.o.r.n.y, or, as it is called, 'chitinous' nature, cannot grow gradually, and so the skin has to be cast off periodically. This casting-off process is known as 'moulting.' At each change of skin a sudden and easily noticed increase of size takes place; and, before further growth is possible, another moult must be undergone.

Directly after each moult the body will be found to be quite soft, but the skin quickly hardens again.

The manner in which the 'old clo'' are cast off is curious. For some time before the change takes place, the insect appears to 'sicken,'

taking no food and wearing a very mournful air. At last it wakes up into something like activity. Now is the time to watch. If--in the case of a silkworm, for example--the watching is begun a little earlier than this, it will be found that the day before the change, the insect deliberately binds its hinder legs to the leaf on which it rests by silken threads.

This done, it remains motionless. Soon after, through the transparent skin, a second head, larger than the first, will be seen; then the body is raised, and the skin is separated from it by the formation of a fluid which circulates between the old skin and the body. Next, by a series of vigorous movements, the old skin cracks along the back, and the insect first pushes out its head and the fore-part of the body, and then withdraws the hinder part. In a few minutes all is over, and the old skin is left bound to the leaf by the silken threads. How complete this change is may be seen from the fact that even the breathing tubes and the inner lining of the digestive organs are cast off.

This process, in the case of the caterpillar, takes place no less than four times--in some caterpillars five times. Ten days separate each of the first four moults, and an interval of sixteen days elapses between the fourth, or fifth, and last. This last moult is followed by a still greater change, the caterpillar pa.s.sing into a state of coma, or sleep, during which it is turned into the b.u.t.terfly or moth. For this purpose it spins a winding-sheet of silk, or digs down into the ground and forms a case, or coc.o.o.n; or else it hangs itself by the tail, and becomes strangely transformed into what we call a 'chrysalis.' From the coc.o.o.n, or chrysalis, as the case may be, the b.u.t.terfly or moth sooner or later makes its appearance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1.--Dragon-fly moulting.]

To give an idea of the great increase of growth in insects, let us take the case of the silkworm. At the time of hatching, the little worm weighs about the one-hundredth part of a grain; when fully grown, it weighs ninety-five grains. During this time, therefore, it has increased ninety-five thousand times its original weight, and it has eaten sixty thousand times its weight of food!

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 3.--Empty Case of a Newly-moulted c.o.c.kroach.]

The change from the worm-like caterpillar to the b.u.t.terfly is a great one, and, if we did not know it so well, would be startling. This change is known as a 'complete metamorphosis.' The dragon-fly is another insect with a complete metamorphosis. How the dragon-fly moults you will see in the ill.u.s.tration (fig. 1): even an acrobat might envy him!

Carefully examine the series of figures from A to D. The empty case at A shows the last stage of the larval life. Out of this case the young dragon-fly is just emerging. In C he has gained his freedom, and is stopping to take breath and allow his wings to expand. By the time this has taken place, they will be nearly as long as the body (as in D).

The locust furnishes us with an instance of what is known as 'incomplete metamorphosis.' In other words, the young, when they emerge from the egg, are very little different from the parent form. The youngest locust in the ill.u.s.tration (fig. 2) is obviously a locust, though he lacks wings; but there is no promise of the b.u.t.terfly in the worm-like caterpillar.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 2.--Stages of Locust's Growth.]

The c.o.c.kroach, like the gra.s.shopper and the locust, only undergoes an incomplete metamorphosis. The empty case of a newly-moulted c.o.c.kroach is shown in fig. 3. The slit(s) along the back marks the spot where the insect crept out.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Some More Toys from the Streets.]

TOYS FROM THE STREETS.

(_Continued from page 382._)

The most remarkable toy in our second ill.u.s.tration is that in the middle. It is a wonderful j.a.panese screen or fan, which shuts up into the s.p.a.ce of a few inches. These fans are made in three sizes, the largest, and the very latest, as far as invention goes, being eighteen inches in diameter. The whole of the fan is made by machinery! An amazing machine cuts out each layer of paper of the proper size and shape, and when all the parts are ready, sticks them neatly together.

Most j.a.panese toys--which really _are_ j.a.panese, not mere imitations of j.a.panese designs--are made by hand; but this one is due to machinery alone.

The other toys in this picture are mostly machine-made, and their uses can be easily seen. But the cup and ball, and the 'two bears,' as the strange figures hammering on an anvil in the top left-hand corner are called, are made by hand. The latter comes all the way from a little village in Austria, and the figures are cut out by the villagers in their homes, before being fastened together. The sewing-machine is one of the most popular toys: thousands of gross of these have been sold, according to Messrs. Lawrence, of Houndsditch, who very kindly gave us some facts about this business. A 'gross' means one hundred and forty-four; when you consider that many times one hundred and forty-four thousand have been made and purchased, you will see what a vast trade is done.

The little train in a box, a very popular toy, is made in Germany, mainly by machinery. All the wheels of each carriage go round, and the carriages themselves can be unhooked and used separately. The funny little camera--of course, it does not take real photographs--is an English toy. So is the tiny tin of biscuits. The biscuits are real, and are made specially for these wonderful little boxes.

(_Concluded on page 403._)

THE LOVER-DOLL.

Pardon, dearest Araminta, If I go not on my knees, For my joints are out of order, When I bend they crack and wheeze.

When I saw you in the doll's-house, Then I felt young Cupid's dart Striking through my crimson waistcoat, Till it stuck within my heart.

Though my blood is not the bluest, Still, for you (the fact remains) I would gladly shed the last drop Of the sawdust in my veins.

Do not scorn me, Araminta, To my suit your favour lend; I would fold my arms around you, Only that I cannot bend.

For, before I fell in love, dear, Ere I hoped with you to wed, Careless Mistress Baby dropped me Down the stairs upon my head.

But I'll probably recover When I've had a dose of glue, And, come life or death, will ever Be to Araminta true.

HIS FIRST WOLF HUNT.

By HAROLD ERICSON.

It happened in Russia, when I was spending the winter with a cousin who lives in St. Petersburg. This was ten years ago and we were mere boys, both of us. There is plenty to do in Russia, in winter, for those who like sledging, skating, ice-yachting, and so on, and I think I thoroughly enjoyed all these forms of amus.e.m.e.nt. Well, one day near the beginning of the winter, before the really great snows had fallen, a big wind came and swept away every particle of snow that had fallen from the twenty miles of ice which divided St. Petersburg from Cronstadt, thus giving us such an opportunity for a day's skating on a grand scale as we might never meet with again throughout our lives.

My cousin Tom had an idea in the evening just before bed-time, with the result that we ordered sandwiches for an early hour next morning and went to bed promptly, our minds full of the delightful day we were going to spend on the Gulf of Finland, now a shining field of splendid, smooth ice.