Beadle's Dime Novels No. 38: The Wrong Man — page 97: what you’re looking at

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

THE BI JCK-HOUSE. = 99 “Lord! golly! hebbens! Which ankle did the cuss bite? He must have bit both, or else both am swelled amazin’.” fle seemed in a quandary, unable to recollect where he had been wounded. “T's forgotten. Qu’ar how bofe ancles swell. Maybe neither one ain’t bit by the sarpent eS Overjoyed at the prospect, he minutely examined each an- kl so far as the moonlight would enable him, the result of waich was that he could not divine where he had been hurt. Encouraged by this, he made search for the reptile itself, and was unable to find it. While cautiously searching, his hand countered a brier, and the cause of his slight wound was ediately manifest. “Yah! yah! what a fool Cato made of himself!” he hed, as he resumed his burden and journey. The distance to the block-house was not less than two miles, but it was accomplished by the trusty and happy negro in a time that exhibited very considerable powers of pedestri- anism. On app ing the little isolated building, Cato manifested a degree of caution altogether disproportioned to the likeli- hood of interruption. At last, apparently satisfied that no one was near the spot, he stole to the door, produced a large key from his pocket, inserted it in the lock, and turned back the bolt with a sudden wrench. The door, owing to the sides - of the building being slanting, flew open with a force which might very materially have disarranged the poor boy’s ideas, had not his brains been protected by a cranium whose thick- hess, on this occasion at least, was not to be found fault with. Recovering from his surprise (for he was more scared than hurt), he stepped softly into the block-house. The block-house had been erected at a time when two or three settlers, besides Enoch Sedley, were the only white in- habitants within many miles; in constructing it, Sedley had the guiding spirit. In order to secure the arms and ammunition, from time to time deposited there, as any cir- Cumstance gave rise to apprehensions of the Indians, a strong | lock was obtained from New Orleans. In giving the order own house in for this, Sedley had bethought him of pagenring another sf the same time, with which he might * conmiclooolks.Cconn —_—=