Jack and His Seven Foes — page 156: what you’re looking at

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

2 te *: or) : hl A . "so —" whys 7 ‘ he ins al be cdi aD ; at , =~ = oe 2 - ras ACK AND HIS aa —_o q ‘ ~~~ - we J SEVEN FOES eos P “_ ma’ " - «ts, Pp. he, boy did not stir because he was de ad. BPivere was the wound at the back of Vis head, dealt by a eruel, murderous aoe sats ~— he : It was nile whe was thus an ts i | i and he gave a description of the Swag- cerer and the Panther. i by “Nobody like them had Been their i TG ~ vs hand. <A giant could not have received way,’ said the diggers, and, as it was a it and lived. now near sunset, “they all returned to ay _ The father stood still fora moment; | the settlement. ea then, with a sudden movement, stooped It was nearly dark when they arrived, Bs en aud raised the little boy. and Ralph postponed an intended visit | : | “Hugh, speak to me!” he cried. | to the spot where the murder was com- oe Oh, TO en! it cannot be. You are | mitted. Bi not dead.” “Can you take up the trail? ”’ asked ve But there were the sightless eyes, the | Harold Deane. em parted lips, and the loose, dangling limbs “Tf there is only the shadow of it,” na, to answer him. A deep groan burst | rephed Ralph. my from his lips. 4 Bind the murderers, and bring me mi. ‘Who have we injured?” he cried. | to them,” said Harold Deane. Aad “Who have we made an enemy of ? yale they ave the men I suspect,”’ said ee Who could have done this hellish | Ralph, “I cannot do it.” aa deed ?” ‘ ‘Why not?” asked Deane. pe And then he began to ramble, and “They are wanted by another. Let | stare about him; but in a little time he | me tell you his story.” de recovered himself, and, with his dead Ile told it to all the settlement, stand- ih darling in his arms, went upward. ing on a block-stone near the camp-tire. Mrs. Deane was watching for his ‘In a dense circle, the people stood coming, and as soon as he emerged from | amazed, listening with wonder and the wood with his burden, she uttered a | horror. piercing shriek and ran towards him. And while he told the tale two men “Steady,” he cried, “don’t touch | not far away lay lstening to it unob- him yet, Marie. We must bear it.” served. She saw the blood that had oozed from They had crept up and lay under a the wound, and high above all sounds | lot of loose rubbish, boards, and tools | rose her voice— tossed aside for the night. HO “Murdered !” It was an old story to them. hi “Yes, Marie, some fiend has killed “ He speaks ike an eye-witness,’ the a him.” Panther whispered. ll The other diggers now saw that some- “He had a good teacher to tell it a thing was wrong, and leaving their work, | him,” replied the Swaggerer. | clustered around the sorrowing parents. And indeed Ralph had related the Bhs The story was briefly told, and loud | story lke one who had been on board | 4 cries and curses rent the air. | the ‘‘ Albatross.’ Breathlessly his audi- a Work was abandoned for the day, | tors listened. ai and ina little while fifty armed men) When he paused there was a silence, f were scouring the country. | every man and woman standing still, “4 They believed the murder had been _some holding their breath, and none 4 committed by Indians, but found no | speaking. i ‘signs of them. | he crackling of a wood fire close by “The only person they met was a thin, | sounded loud and sharp in the stiliness. . wiry trapper coming towards them. Then suddenly, as if led by one a He gaye a good account of himself, | impulse, a sound burst from every lip— 4 and no suspicion was attached to him. cries, groans, and deep anathemas. if Nevertheless it was thought wise to The combination was appalling to the 4 ask him to stay in the settlement for two men crouching hard by. ee a day or two. Their haggard taces blanched, their | “T am pressed for time,” le said. | lips quivered, and they tremble d from Z “1 am hurrying on the trail of men | head to foot. ’ who may have been guilty of this crime.” Like hidden rats they lay, and dare a « What are they like?” they asked. | not move while the assembly remained. | oa COMIGEMOOKS COMM laa