Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 1014 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

~~ " ~ a) ad =. a See et, kz ; - 4 = om ’ . . a | 6 - Sit still, Ned—still as a statue, There’s | native, who had been Middy Ned, the Runaway. laying ’possum, hurled something near you I want to hit, and if you | his spear with surprising strength. It struck move amuscle you'll scare it,” While speaking, Frank had drawn out and leveled the heavy horse-pistol at a large snake which was coiled and waving its head, its forked tongue darting in and out, awaiting the first movement of the unconscious Ned to strike. With the last word, Frank fired at the forked tongue. His hand was steady as a rock, his aim good, and when Ned turned bis head to see the game, the huge snake, with half its head carried off, was writhing a half-dozen feet away. Ned grasped the situation in an instant, and turning to express his gratitude, saw Frank pale and trembling, and almost fainting. The strain bad been so great, that had the poor fellow been on his feet when his nerves relaxed, he certainly would have failen. | | | | | him, but Fravk was not idle, and as the plucky the gorilla in the right arm, causing bim to drop his club, and with a humanlike cry of rage and pain, he turned on his assailant. The native had come dangerously closs, and with a few mighty leaps the gorilla was upon | little fellow was stricken down by the king of | ‘“*How can I thank you!” exclaimed Ned, his | remorse for the injustice of the previous day in- | delight by dancing around him and uttering creased by his friend’s agitation, ‘Oh, don’t speak of it,” said Frank, shud- dering, ‘‘ let us go and look for water.” As they proceeded on their uncertain way, Ned, anxious to make amends for the past, and express his ,ratitude for the present, said: ‘*] acted and spoke very meanly yesterday, Frank, but I hope you'll overlook it—and to think of your saving me from a horrible death to-day!” He had commenced quietly and penitently, and the outburst of genuine gratitude and self- reproach with which he finished proved too much for Frank, who laughingly asked: ** And what would you have had me do, Ned, let the snake bite you because you were a little rusty yesterday?” Ned looked confused, and muttered something about being down right mean instead of a little rusty, but the laugh pub them on the old foot- ing, and he went on with renewed vigor, not- withstanding his constantly increasing thirst. Soon, this thirst became almost unbearable, end both were in a very exhausted condition, when, about noon, they came upon a small stream of rather brackish water, ed was dashing forward when Frank re- strained him, ‘*Go easy,” he said, ‘‘ if you are too eager, the result may be as bad as none at all.” Still) under the infiuence of the renewal—as he considered it—of their friendship, Ned submit- ted, and did not at once indulge in the tremen- dous draught he had promised himself, which was very fortunate for him, as, had he done go, tue result might have been serious. illness. Having satisfied their thirst, the next question was how to obtain food, and Ned remarked that he would like’to have some of the cush-cush he tiad refused the previous evening, ‘* Bat, not at the same price, § presume?” said Frank. ‘‘No, no! What do you think of our chances of getting away?” asked Ned, ** From that particular tribe, I think we are safe,” replied Frank, ‘* Rolling over the bare, hard earth, we cannot have left any marks by which to trace our course, but we must look out for other tribes, This river must lead to the sea and by following it we shall not only reach the coast, but be certain of water and food!” ** Food?” echoed Ned, ** Yes—fish. I’ve got a line in my pocket, and, while I’m digging for worms, you gather some dry wood, and dig a hole in which to bake the fish.” Springing up as he spoke, Frank set about looking for bait while Ned hurried back into the woods, In a few minutes the former, (having pro- cured all the worms he needed,) began fishing and almost immediately hooked a fine fish, He had just landed it, when several sharp cries, fol- lowed first by the report of a pistol—whbich he knew to be Ned’s—and then by a roar such as Frank had never before heard, reached him from the forest, Dropping the fish, and drawing the heavy pis- tol as he ran, Frank dashed into the forest, and guided by a second pistol-shot, arrived upon the scene of a battle between Ned and a native on one side, and a huge gorilla on the other. Although wounded in several places, the go- rilla had all the advantage when Frank arrived onthescene, He had the native—a mere boy in appearance—down under one foot and had just knocked Ned senseless with a blow that would have broken his skuJl, had he not dodged and received it slant wise, On the appearance of his third enemy, the orilla advanced waving bis club threatening- y. Be had come within ten yards of Frank, who stood stock still awaiting him, when the | cm a | the African forest, the latter in turn fell with a | bullet fired through the ear, and into his brain, Frank hadrun up to within two yards of the gorilla before firing, and the result was instant death, It was with his own spear that the native had been struck; the blow did no damage to his bard bead, and he was on his feet running to look at Ned as soon as Frank, Ned was already recovering consciousness, and on discovering this, the native testified his joyous cries, Then he went back to the dead gorilia and danced around him, but the cries he uttered were those of contempt and defiance, accompanied by threatening gestures, While the really plucky Tittle fellow—he was four feet in height—was thus engaged, Ned sat up and became so interested and amused that he forgot, for the moment, the splitting pain in his head, Suddenly the native caught sight of him, and running to him, knelt and kissed his hand, Then prostrating himself before the as- tonished boy, the native raised Ned’s foot and placed it on his neck—all of which Frank, who was an interested spectator, understood as meaning that the native was Ned’s slave, ‘* How do you feel? Good enough to eat some nice fish?” asked Frank, ‘Tye got a splitting head, but it hasn’t spoiled my appetite,” replied Ned, He arose, and began to gather up the wood as hespoke, but the native took it from him, and completed the work, causing Frank to laugh and say: a You're all right now, Ned—you’ve got a ser- vant,’ The native not only carried the wood to the bank of the stream, but, on seeing the fish Frank had considered such a prize, snorted con- temptuously, and in a few minutes speared two much larger. These he quickly cleaned and cooked, and they were soon disposed of—gun- powder proving an excellent substitute for salt, and humger all the ‘“‘ sauce” that was needed, While eating, Ned told how he had, in ‘his search for dry wood, come across the native aod the gorilla. The former had foolishly thrown @& spear, wounding and enraging the animal, which, otherwise, would not have molested him, and when Ned’s attention was attracted by the shrill cries of the man and the thunder-like roars of the animal, the native was about to have his brains beaten out. While stillsome distance away, Ned fired the horse- pistol, and missing, came quite close to render the small pistol more effective—so close that, as he fired, the gorilla sprung and knocked bim ‘* And you know the rest,” said Ned, in con- clusion, ‘* Which isthat you’ve made a friend at the risk of your life—and a valuable one be’d be, if he could only talk English! However, we must keep moving along,” and Frank aroseas a signal for their immediate departure, Ned and the native followed Frank’s example, but the direction they were taking seemed to alarm the negro, who, plucking Ned’s sleeve, motioned him to go in the opposite direction, Ned called his friend’s attention to this, but Frank only laughed, saying: ‘* He wantsto take you back and introduce you to his friends,” Although said in jest, this was the truth, and the little native exhibited great perplexity as well as alarm on seeing they intended to pursue the course they had taken. After a few minutes he again plucked Ned’s sleeve, and motioning that he was going away, but would return, started back at full speed. CHAPTER IX, CAPTURED—ESCAPED, NED called attention to the great rute at which the native was traveling, and this was the first notice of his departure Frank received, He looked very grave, as he turned and saw the — flying along the narrow path on the river nk. ‘* What’s the matter?” asked Ned. ‘* Nothing—yet. I hope your black friend is | all right. we mustn’t trust to looks in this place morethan any other, so, stir yourself, my boy.” Ned ‘‘ stirred” himself, and they made good progress until nightfall, when they camped for the night, Frank’s line furnishing.«fish, and the neighboring trees (where Ned espied some birds’ nests,) eggs, which the latter roasted in the ashes of the fire that baked the fish, Both were hungry, and eat heartily—with the result that the drowsy god claimed them much earlier than usual, it being but nine o’clock when both were sound asleep. An hour after, they were awakened to find themselves again prisoners in the hands of Kitonga—the negro king, to whom they had been sold—and, in less thana quarter of an hour, they were back in the village from which they bad escaped the previous night. As if to show the hopelessness of another attempt to escape, the boys were placed un- bound in the same hut through whicb Frank had cut the hole, but now a guard stood on each side, “This looks dangerous,” commented Frank, adding: “I can now understand the little black fellow’s alarm. We must have made a loop after leaving here, and he saw we were walking back to our starting point,” ‘*T wish,” he continued, after a moment,” that I bad not been so confoundedly sure—conceited —of what I was doing.” He evidently expected more reproaches from Ned—indeed he was inviting reproach—but the latter had learned a lesson from the past, and soothingly replied: ‘* Never mind, Frank, never mind—you did. our best, and angels can do no more, ‘* Perhaps the little fellow, seeing the way we were traveling, has gone for un iM ‘Why, do vou think he belongs to another tribe?’ asked Frank. ‘*I do. I was looking at him pretty closely, and I think he’s a dwarf. One thing, I feel sure of—that although so small, he is much older than you or I,” Further conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Bamwa, the interpreter, who ap- red to havetaken a liking to the boys, and who told them that, notwithstanding their run- ning away, he had, through the king’s wives, prevailed upon Kitonga not to torture and kill . them, as he had declared he would when their escape was reported to him. ‘* ‘Your guard’s head was cut off five minutes after you were missed,” concluded Bamwa. ‘‘And what will be done with us?” asked Frank. ‘* After you have prostrated yourselves before the king, and obtained his pardon, you will be given to his wives, whose slaves you will be. They are much interested in you, and your du- ties will be light,” ‘¢ Much obliged to them for their interest,” said Frank, while his companion in misfortune asked : ‘‘ Suppose we don’t prostrate ourselves and ask the old brute’s pardon—what then?” Bamwa gasped on hearing the epithet Ned ap- plied to his royal master, and looked around in terror to see if the guards had heard4at, forget- ting that they did not understand English. ‘* Hush! You will not be so foolish; you would be tortured to death until you died. Noth- ing but the interference of the king’s wives has saved you from that to-night,” he replied, and, asif fearing to hear more treasonavle expres- sions, hurried out of the hut. For afew minutes after Bamwa’s departure silence reigned in the hut. There was plenty of food for thought in the interpreter’s communi- cation, and although by obeying his instructions unishment could be avoided, still they would be slaves, subject to every whim of the king and his four (young) wives, gre ‘‘ Well, what do you think of it?” asked Frank, after a while. ‘‘ Shall we stoop to con- quer—submit for the present, and watch our chance to escape? Slavers areliable to call here at any time, and they would never refuse to help us. traws show which way the wind blows, and the many little incidents which it would not be of interest to relate here, but which revealed to Frank the intensely independent character of his comrade, led him to expect a scornful rejec- tion of any suggestion tending toward submis- sion. To his astonishment, Ned quietly replied: ‘7 don’t sea anything else we can do. For tunately, they don’t appear to suspect that we are armed, so when it comes to the worst, as it must some day, we won’t cross the Styx without company.” He looked like an honest fellow—but- -- — ae