Beadle's Dime Novels No. 35: East and West — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

FISHING BY TORCH-LIGHT. 9 have been observed by one having the secret of her retreat would have been a manner so shy yet watchful, an appear- ance of beirig “ all eyes and ears,” that would fully have just- ified the sobriquet of “ fawn” which had attached to her. - What she now heard and saw, herself unheard and unseen, was a.party down at the mill, consisting of her father’s sawyer, Nat Arnold, two other hands, and her own brother Frank, preparing spears and torches for a fishing excursion up the creek. She knew, when she heard Frank’s voice, that there was company in the cabin, but she preferred to sit there in the dark, watching the weird picture made by the men work- ing in the glare of the torches, rather than to join in the family talk which she guessed was going on within. As the men worked eagerly at some job they were in haste to dispatch, she was absorbed in noticing - how strongly their - gwarthy features were brought out in the ruddy glow of the piteh, how their red woolen shirts seemed just suited to the ficures and the light, what a fine handsome fellow her brother Frank was, and how little Nat Arnold’s face and figure suffered by comparison. If she could only give colors with charcoal, she would try to reproduce that scene on the chimney to-mor- row. | "As she gazed, the picture suddenly dissolved, and its several parts came rapidly toward the house. = “Come, now, hurry up, boys! We'll make better headway With the old fiat-boat than with the others. John and Charley can pole along, while you and I, Nat, attend to the spearing.” _“ Pd like to try my hand at a pickerel,” muttered John. “You'd do better trying your jaws on one in the morning,” replied Frank. “So now, get your torches set right in the for’ard end and push her along out, quick.” “ Here we go!’ “No we don’t; she’s tied up to something on the island,” said Nat. ; “Give us a little light here, Charley—stand aside there— bless us! what have we got here?” “You didn’t think I should let you carry off my bridge, “me asked Minnie, quietly smiling at the surprise . Commicloooks.corm