Rocky Mountain Sam — page 53: what you’re looking at

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

44 “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. say. That, my young friend, is all I know of Robert Scar- let, the renegade. As I said before, I sometimes think him insane.” «And I think him the blackest villain that ever pol- luted the face of God’s earth!” cried Dutton. “It is perfectly natural that you showld think in that wise, and crazy or not crazy, be certain of it, his life will be of little value should he ever fall into our hands, or, after what has happened, into the hands of the military — authorities. But come,” said the old man, rising. ‘*Let us to bed at once. ‘To-morrow, you know, is to be a day of action, my boy.” CHAPTER VI. THE AVENGERS OF THE ATR. Oh, for the power to lightly spring Over the Sierras that glance and gloom! Oh, for the condor’s sweeping wing— The wild-hawk’s flight, the eagle’s plume! To track to their lair the secrets dread, By crag and chasm, and peak concealed, That here have been left of the earthquake’s tread, When the solid globe to its center reeled. The aeronauts, after quitting their mother earth at Chap- man’s Ranch, had the pleasure of witnessing the sublime spectacle of an evening sunrise—that is, the reappearance, as they soared aloft, of the sun, which had sunk below the western horizon—and then crossing the mountain barrier safely effected a landing, though not without some difficulty on account of the darkness. When the balloon was safely housed they gathered to- gether at the cabin, where the old squaw, Minnetrapa, was busily engaged in preparing them an ample meal, and everything looked exceedingly snug and cozy. ‘‘We'll have to start at daybreak,” said the professor; ‘and ‘Teddy and I will have to be up betimes to get the bal- loon ready and lay in our ballast.” As he spoke, he opened the little cupboard and helped himself from the big stone bottle, which his shock-headed — subordinate regarded with an affectionate and wistful gaze, CO m Eomrcbooks