Beadle's Dime Novels No. 305: The Girl Scout — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

MYSTERIOUS WARNING. : 48 equally eligible were to be found al] along that shore. His desire had some other object than the mere possession of a few hundred acres of ‘passable land. “Til study it out when I go over the land, to-morrow,” muttered Rod. “Never you fear but I do. I know there’s copper there for I’ve seen the carbonate myself, but how much there is I don’t know. But what is copper if you can’t find means to transport it? That is the question,” He approached the door of his father’s heuse and dis- mounted, turning his horse into a broad pasture near and leaving the bridle on the fence. As he approached the door he was surprised to see a bowie sticking near the knob pin- ning a piece of paper to the woodwork. “ What's up now, I wonder?” said Rod, as he plucked out the bowie. ‘“ This means business certain.” He opened the paper and tried to read it by the light from the window, for he did not like to carry it into the house. Failing to read it he lighted match after match un- til he had mastered the contents. It was one of those mys- terious warnings sometimes used to intimidate as coming from secret societies, and bore the representation of a coffin and dagger rudely drawn in red, Rod tore up the paper impatiently. “Oh, pshaw! Do the fools think they can scare me with their warnings? It is simply ridiculous.” He entered the house and at once retired to his room. He was a heavy sleeper and in a few moments was oblivious to all outside things. The morning was just breaking when he awoke and found pinned to the bedclothes, a paper Jike the one he had read the night before. It ended thus: “ Go not to section forty if you would live, I have warned you; beware !” “T’d go if I knew I went to my death,” cried Rod, crump- ling the paper in his hand. “Some day I’ll find the hand Which wrote this and when I do there will be a fight,” He dressed hastily, found his instruments, and mounting rode away to Jess Turner’s house. coOmcecoooks.conn