Penny Dreadfuls, 1916 · page 360 of 400
Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil: A Young Virginian in the Revolution — page 360: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is running prose from page 340 of a Victorian penny dreadful titled *Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil*. The text recounts a violent street incident in Barbados involving a character named Unaka (identified as Cherokee), who attacks Dick Knatchbull over a stolen Voodoo charm. The resulting chaos draws military intervention, and Unaka is court-martialed and condemned to death—a verdict that troubles Tom Anderson and others who question the trial's validity, particularly the use of an interpreter and Colonel Forbes's insistence on a death sentence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
340 Tom ANDERSON, DarRE-DEVIL A precious hour was wasted in ineffectual effort. No - sooner had De la Jonquiére set foot on the pier than he received a line from [om:— For God’s sake, come! At Coleridge’s house. There Eugéne found him; in a state bordering on dis- traction. From the Bishop they got the miserable story. Unaka met Macaya in the street and discovered, strung round the Carib’s neck, Tom’s Voodoo charm, which Macaya had managed to steal. Unaka, unable to explain himself in any other way, had jumped on the Carib, beaten him, and seized the sacred Voodoo talisman. He was bent, solely, on recovering Iom’s property; but at this instant Dick Knatchbull came up, and, thinking Macaya was be- ing robbed, struck Unaka a slugging blow with his fist. It was the first blow ever dealt the haughty son of braves. He plunged his knife in Dick’s side. Then — pandemo- nium. The military was called out. It was necessary to protect the Cherokee against the Bridgetown mob. To add to the excitement, Macaya had assembled “the rest of Dick’s Caribs,”’ and the pack sat down on the ground and howled like half a hundred wolves — their way of crying aloud for vengeance. Colonel Forbes, — “‘a self-sufficient old granny,’ the Marquis termed him, — as Comman- dant of the Post pro tem, had tried the Cherokee by court martial. He had been condemned to die. Tom burst out: “Court martial! Without an inter- preter? Nobody in Barbados speaks Cherokee save the prisoner and myself !”’ His Lordship the Bishop of Barbados and the Wind- ward Islands shook his head. He was sorely distressed. “When you left on this cruise there was no one here who understood Unaka’s tongue. But a week ago a Cherokee squaw was brought from the Rebel plantations for the slave-market. She acted as interpreter.” “Old Forbes thinks a court martial without a death sentence is unmilitary!’’ said De la Jonquiére fiercely. They drew up a petition, oh, how hurriedly! Every soul ECONMMICOOOKS. © m