A League of Three: Boy's Detective Stratagems — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

> r ° = ee — oe ee 2 CHAPTER I. THE OATH. “WE swear.” The circumstances under which the words were spoken with which we begin our narrative were strange and pecul- iar, and in order that our readers may understand their full significance we will relate that in a mountain town up in the State of New York one severe winter there fol- lowed a series of very sad incidents. ‘T'wo years previous to the opening of our narrative a young gentleman had eome to the town asa teacher. He was accompanied by his wife, a delicate but exceedingly pretty woman, and 4 lovely daughter of thirteen summers. The whole family at once became very popular with the kind-hearted moun- taineers. Addie, the daughter, was beloved by every one in the connty for miles around. Within three months after the arrival of the teacher his pretty wife died, and in less than two years Mr. Robert Velkanau became the vic- } tim of pneumonia and was carried to his grave, and out of ) the family of three only Addie remained—a beautiful but | ‘4 _ penniless orphan. Among the lads living in the moun- tains was Madie Heath, also an orphan. He was a re- | markable lad, and in this, the ninetenth century, there EONMICLOOO KS CE)