The Maid of the Mountain — page 58: what you’re looking at

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

60 THE MAID OF THE MOUNTAIN, - their backs and bound. And by the time the lariats had been procured, and a portion of the Regulators descended, the door of the haunt was closed, and Elliot and the Yankee were in the heart of the mountain. ‘ CHAPTER VII. THE SECRET HAUNT. Tue prisoners, lifted in the arms of stout men, were car- ried into the dark passuge. They heard the click of a spring behind them, and knew that retreat was cut off. Elliot saw that he was in bad hands, ‘The mountain outlaws wasted no love on a man like him, who hunted them down without merey. But, even in his great danger, his eyes and ears were open. For a time, the first were of no service to him, for the passage was dark as night. By and by faint gleams of light began to appear, and the distant sound of voices to be aud- ible. “T’ve carried them long enough,” a one of the captors. “Let ’em walk the rest of the way.” The cords were removed from their limbs, and they were set upon their feet. “ Now, look hyar, stranger,” said the mountaineer, “ le’ me yer may bet yor iy dyed 4 <r Boe yer do, yer TH ‘shoot “ Shall we blindfold ‘em, Dave » said one of the men. “ No,” replied the first speaker. “As we don’t mean th -_ ever see daylight ag’in, what’s the use ?” =f ; “ Don’t talk that way,” said Simpkins; “I don’t like mis : “Who the devil ar’ yer, anyhow ?” demanded the other, turning sharply upon the speaker. “Me? Don't you know me,ch? Wal, my name is Josh Simpkins, and I live way up by Bennington, Varmount. My Ca oe Everybody knows him. He’s bin an elder — in the chureh fer mor’n ferty year.” connicloooks.com