Rocky Mountain Sam — page 178: what you’re looking at

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

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM, 169 ‘Norah Rafferty, plase your honor, an’ this is my dear brother, Paddy, at your sarvice.” ‘I’hey soon extracted from the whilom captives that their father possessed a small stock farm within a few miles of Fort Benton. They had gone down the river on a boating expedition on the preceding day, and had been captured by the Indians, who after getting from them all the informa- tion they could respecting the strength of the fort and the numbers of the garrison, had decided .to burn them to death, which hapless fate had been averted by the timely arrival of the balloon. Of course they were overjoyed to learn that they were being borne directly to Fort Benton, and would soon, in all probability, meet their parents and friends. Mr. McGuire improved his opportunities for doing the agreeable so well and gallantly that before reaching the journey’s end he had, to all appearances, created a very favorable impression on the mind of Miss Norah, besides hopelessly losing his own heart. It still wanted two hours of sunset when the balloon hovered over the extensive barracks, out-buildings, and corrafs, constituting Fort Benton, and a short time there- after they effected a a descent, much to the surprise of the officers and soldiers of the garrison. No sooner were they fairly landed than Norah and _ her brother were brought face to face with their poor father, who had come in from his ranch in the almost forlorn hope of hearing some tidingsfrom his lost ones, and whose meet- ing with his children was a most touching sight. Leaving Sam and Teddy to explain the adventures of the day to the excited groups of which they speedily became the center, Professor Max Airy immediately sought the com- mandant, and in the presence of a number of other officers gave him a detailed account of everything that had taken place from the second capture of Miss Chapman and Fay- away. : ‘‘You bring important intelligence, indeed,” said the commanding officer, after reflecting some moments at the conclusion of the professor’s story. ‘I was aware that some of the Blackfeet were on the war-path—as, indeed, when are they not at some place or another? but was unprepared to hear of so general a rising. Lieutenant Dutton shall be reinforced at once.. Though our garrisons here are by no means overcrowded, I can at least spare a full company of “comicbooks (e(e)