Beadle's Dime Novels No. 213: Squatter Dick — page 65: what you’re looking at

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

Avid Mart RECONNOITERING. i? obs ~ > + Jee “It would ns biain that they. one Seah hetrasved: dine the deadly reception they had met with, and.as Dick Laflin was the scout or spy last seen in the neighborhood, and the one who assired them all was right at the mansion, upon his shoulders-the suspicions must full. Hence he did not care to risk a meeting. | He stealthily skirted the pond until he steal near the point where he had. swam, it when he struck bis first blow for _¥engeance, and gliding silently along upen_ his, belly, he en- tered the still, slagnapt water, Turning upon his back, only allowing a slight portion of his face to appear above the sur- face, and using bis limbs slowly beneath him, he floated acrosg in such skillful silence that.had an enemy been within arm’s length, he would not bave heard a ripple, »dattin bad aimed his course so as to strike the island. at a palnkit hit # chomp of bushes overhung the water, and. pre- served such a straight line; that he Junded in, their. shadew, Cantiously turning over, he paused anc listened intently. » ALL was silent, save ihe usual snmmer noises ; the chirrup- ing O msects, the deep bass or shrill treble of frogs, and the Talat whispering of the: wind «mong the tree-tops.. These he heard, but nothing more serious, It seemed As though the island was totally deserted. . But he was far too, good.4) swamp-scout to run, risk neediessly,ior to take a.step befyre well. assured as, og re- sults. Drawing his knife he slowly. crawled from tbe water, and keeping close in the deep simile, proceeded toward the log-house, thoroughly examining eyery inch of the groaud Le- fore and around hime gis se moor 84) boo so La_this manner he proceeded until he reached), t the rear of the building, where he peered through the chink, All was ¢larkness avd silence withia, Crouching gown ad phieing an ear te the aperture, he listened baneutly, for & moment, but without any immediate, result. » Then he staried.. The sound of a think, groan amet bis. ear. Again it. sounded, low.and hollow, but full of deathly agony. Tk was no sham. He well knew that such a groan could not be imitated ; that. ipowas. the, gaspings of one who was hurt unto death, and whose.life was ebbing rapidly.out, _ . . Btill he semained motionless, naneeins with all his sattionane. Eo micboate.con