Beadle's Dime Novels No. 38: The Wrong Man — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

» > | THE WRONG MAN. “ But you surely are mistaken. Hugh goes with the boat - his brother haa set off for Canada.” “Canada be d—d!” exclaimed the drunken boatman. “| tell you that’s all a flam: he’s going to Orleans with us; an all I wonder is, what’s kept the h—l-cat sneaking round he these two days, like a ’possum in a hen-roost, when the was all loaded, and the river falling every minute. So wild spree or other, I’ll be bound.” Enoch Sedley stayed to ask no further question. He h not yet ascended more than half-way up the hill, and the remaining portion was of greater steepness than that which was passed. But a sudden apprehension of evil seemed to have seized his mind, and striking his heels into his horse’s side, and jerking him smartly by the bridle, he urged him once more into a faster gait. Ina few moments he reached a place where a small path diverged from the road toward the srow of the bluff, along which it ran in the direction of his own cabin. On turning into this, an opening among the trees let in the twilight, and something which lay in the path before him attracting his attention, he sprung from his horse, and raised it from the ground. It was the bonnet of his niece ; and a little further on, her white kerchief, pure as the bosom it had lately covered, lay like a thin snow-curl on the grass. The old man, with the experienced eye of one whose long nabitation in the woods had led him to be a heedful and shrewd observer of the slightest trices, cast a quick, knowing glance around, as if with the purpose of discovering some further evidence of the nature’ of the violence he feared had been committed. Beneath a dogwood bush that stood near the path, the number of fresh scarlet leaves that strewed the ground seemed greater than could well have been scattered by the Gentle southern breeze; and one of its smaller branches, newly broken, and stripped of its leaves and twigs, betrayed the ssp of a struggling hand. Sedley scarcely paused to make “nese observations ; his practiced eye, sharpened by apprehen- sion, detected them as he hurried toward his cabin. On reaching it, he strode into the deserted ajartment, and in a loud and earnest voice called upon his niece. No answer Was returned, and his heart sunk within him as he once more, Sut in a fainter tone, repeated her name, For a single » Cconmmclbooks.com