Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1155 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

a west was once the and savage glory. Then the woods abounded with game and the rivers and lakes with fish, and he took them without fear or contention. But, at last, the crack of the white man’s rifle awoke him from his dreams of savage bliss and aroused him to action: All the Jealousy of his nature was excited. Grasping his tomahawk and scalping-knife, he went forth to meet the intruders who had come to hunt and trap/ipon his grounds. From that time dark shadows went flitting through the woods or stealing over the plains like spirits of evil. Theair was rife with the 2 ea of death, but, despite its peril, the bold wnter and hardy pioneer pressed forward to contend with the red-man, and plant the seed of civilization. Our story opens when the settlers had gained a fhm foothold in the eastern portion of the territory, and many daring trappers had pene- trated to the very heart of. the ‘Indian coun- a 7 ith two of those fearless men our story ially deals. was in October, and the day was near its elose. Down in a little valley on the banks of a pur- ling stream that found its way into the crystal waters of Lake Boyer, stood a curious-looking structure built entirely of stone, and in the form of a cone. It was small, but firmly con- structed, showiog the unmistakable handiwork of the white man. A door in the side looked down the valley, and jts sides were pierced by numerous | oles., / The location was well selected for this rude trapper-home, the valley being inclosed b high, ru bluffs, whose face was covered with clustering penalties and prickly ash. It could be entered by one course only, and that was by following up the little stream which found its source within the valley, and was fed by nume- “On the day On the day and hour in question the figure of one of the occupants of that conical structure issued ftom within, and, pausing just without, swept the valley and hills around him with an eo glance. e was a youth, probably in his eighteenth year. His form was not overly large for one of age, but perfectly developed in all the attri- butes of manhood. His broad shoulders, deep chest, and muscular limbs denoted strength and the quick glance of the eye and the ease and grace of movement were indicative of ye le- ness and activity; and all these, taken toge er were proofs of high health and vigor. is face wore an expression of great firmmess and deci- sion. It was handsome, but bronzed to the hue of an Indian’s by ye to.sun and wind. He was dressed in a complete suit of buck- skin, with the exception of his cap. This was a decidedly odd affair, made of the feathered skin of a gray hawk. From this novel cap, and the, remarkable keenness of his vision, Harry Houston, the oung trapper and ranger, had been styled ‘Hawkeye y” by his friends. He was armed with a rifle, knife and toma- hawk, and, ashe was in the midst of an enemy’s : mid it required great.precaution to guard against a surprise by the cunning foe; hence his careful survey of the valley and bluffs around him on issuing from the conical hut. ** How is ’t, Hawkeye?” called a voice from within, when the youth had scanned the sur- at, bluffs; ‘*see any red-skins hanging erround ?”’ ‘* No,” replied. the young trapper; ‘‘ it’s not eA they’ let themselves be seer. if they were ‘‘In course they’d keep hid, if they could,” returned his companion; ‘but Pve known 7em eyes 0’ yourn to see a red-skin thro’ a.‘en-foot ** Hold on, old friend, you’re going i ex- tremes i said Hawkeye Harry; *' an as I’ve no time to spare, I believe Vil run down to the lake and look after the traps.” “ Well, if ye do, Harry, keep yer eyes skinned, fur I have every reason to believe thar’s red- skins hankerin’ arter our skulps.. Old Optic is no greeny in ich matters,” / AN right, Optic, Pll. take your advice,” - said our hero, and throwing his rifle across his . shoulder, he set off at a rapid pace down the Keats haste, bo kon het ane toh aw wa about him. He would have done this without bis friend’s for few were better posted ae f _ ‘it ae “Wakes S ; ame = of the red-man.. There he Itved in all his characteristic laziness Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. young woodsman, and through force of habit, precaution had become second nature to him. He soon reached an open plateau where the little creek debouched from the valley. Here he left the stream, and crossing the opening plunged into the deep woods beyond. A few minutes’ walk now brought him to the lake around whose shore he ‘had. set a number of ie aving made certain that no lurking ene- mies were about, either upon the bosom of the lake or in the woods, he began a careful exami- nation of his traps. The first one he came to he’ found contained an otter. Securing the animal, he reset the trap and moyec on’ to the second, But here he met with a disappointment. The trap was sprung and shayea signs of havin contained an otter, but it was gone. He woul have thought no more about it than that the animal had escaped had he not made another discovery. Human tracks were in the sand upon the Salicle and it required but a single glance to tell him that they were made by the moccasined feet of an Indian. ‘‘By George!” he exclaimed, ‘‘Old Optic is right. The red-skins are around, darn their thieving pictures! And now I might as well pack my traps to the Cone,and turn my atten- tion to Indian-hunting and red scalps. But I'll see where these tracks lead to, first.” Dropping his rifle in the hollow of his left arm, the youth followed the imprints around the lake shore. They led him to the third trap, which he saw had been robbed also. But here the red robber had quit the lake shore, and turned off into the woods. The young trap- per followed his trail, and, to his surprise, soon discovered that the thief had been joined by a number of other Indians. ~awkers Harry followedon. The trail was broad and plain, and he was thereby enabled to move quite rapidly. But the shadows of even- ing were beginning to gather over the forest and it would not be long before darkness would conceal the trail. However, as it was fresh, he had hopes of overhauling the party before dark- ness set in. The main object of his pursuit was to ascer- tain whether the savages were a war or a hunt- ing-p , and to what tribe they belonged. By gaining this information he would be en- abled to judge of the magnitude of the danger and trouble to which he and his old friend Op- tic would he exposed, With every faculty on the alert, he pressed forward, and just as the sun was going own he was brought a sudden halt by sight of a thin, white wreath of smoke floatin up from the tree-tops a short distance in him. vance of He at once concluded that the Indians he was following’ had halted for the night, and that the smoke was Parc from their camp-fire. So, leaving the trail, he began a careful reconnois- sance of the place where he supposed the en- campment to be. But to his surprise he found neither Indians nor fire, Then he thought he might have been mistaken in the smoke; but, upon a more careful survey of the surroundings, he saw that he had not been deceived, Above the top of the very tree—a giant bass- wood—under which he was standing, he saw thin wreaths of smoke rising upward and drift- ing. are in the breeze. aby ut, from whence did it originate? There was no sign of fire about. The tree showed no break in the surface of. its bark for fully fifty feet above where the first limbs put out. There was nothing suspicious about the tree, yet it was a mystery wheré the smoke came from, Near by, a little creek went rippling over its stony bed, and poured its waters into the Boyer river a few rods away; and while H stood pondering over the mystery of the smoke, his racticed ear caught the sound of swashing wa- r—a sound that was not natural, and that broke. suddenly aud harshly upon his ear, . The sound emanated from water flowing be- low where he stood! Glancing around, he was not a little startled by ‘seeing a black object heave upward in the center of the creek by some unknown power! At that Pons the creek was over ten feet wide and scarcely two inches in depth. A few feet lower down, the water rushed over a kind of rapids, the foot of which was some fifteen feet below the surface of the stream above the "ae wke ob; SP cucabe eek of the creek, but evening prevented him from upward from the é gathering shadows of eo was ~ oy" . Ds . es upon the black gai a definite of little of that superstition so characteristic of border-men, and was on the —— of advancing: to examine the strange object more closely when a new sight caused him to start back inte the shadows, with sudden alarm. CHAPTER IL '“* MORE MYSTERIES. It was a strange, fearful object—some living creature—a black, hairy mass, that arose trom the very bed of the creek. Was it a human or was it a beast? was it either? the youn the next instant, before he could arrive at any definite decision, -he was startled by a low scream, like that of a panther. The sound came from the dense thicket on the opposite side of the stream, not over three rods away, ana clutching his riffe jn a firm grasp, he turned hic eyes upon the tiicket, expecting to see, the next moment, a eos come bounding from its covert toward him. But he was happily disappointed. No beast made its appearance, nor was the scream repeated, Slowly his head was turned, and his eyes again sought for that fearful form that he had seen rise from the bed of the stream; but, to his surprise, it was gone/ Even the black object which had at first made its appearance, ha vanished as mysteriously as it had come, and the water was rippling as smoothly on as when he had first cet upon its bosom. Harry, considerably mystified by what he had seen and heard, resolved to know what it all meant. For the first time, he had witnessed that for which he could not account. Without the slightest fear, he pushed out from his covert and waded into the stream. As before stated, the water was not over two inches in depth, and’ being clear as crystal, he was enabled to see every pebble in the stony bottom, despite the gathering shadows. But, on reaching the point whére the mysterious creature had arisen, he was surprised to find the bed of the creek of solid rock and gravel. There was no sign of an open in the bottom, All that he did see was that the gravel and sand had been disturbed. Approaching darkness preyented further in- v tions, and, regaining his covert on the shore, he resolved to wait a while longer, in hopes of receiving some adequate explanation of the mystery that had baffled him. Soon after dark the moon came up, and as the shrubbery on the east side of the creek was quite low and sparse, its soft beams fell upon the ripp!- ing waters of the stream, andenabled the youn trapper to watch closely that point which ha SO Ascoly arrested his attention before night. As the hours wore on, a deep silence came over the woodland, that was unpleasant to the watcher, Such a silence was not natural in the forest. at that time. To one versed in wood- craft and nature’s voice, it boded danger. Not the chirrup of a cricket, the hum of an Insect nor the rustle of a leaf could be heard; and even the ripple of the little stream seemed toned dovn to a sad murmur. , With every faculty on the alert, Harry waited and watched, ., The minutes dragged by on leaden.feet,. Then to the ear of the young trapper came a plash, plash in the water in the stream, above where he sat. The sound was produced by some one or some- thing wading in the bed of the creek, With steaty eye he watched for the approach of the unknown. = - He soon came—a tall, powerful Indian war- rior, naked to the loin-cloth, with plumed head, and face and breast streaked and ringed witr war-paint, until he appeared the demon ot: hideousness, He clutched a to awk in ene hand, and was moving in an attitude and manner that de- noted extreme caution. | ‘Hawkeye Harry knew he was an enemy to be feared, yet he could not help admiring his tall, erful form and handsome proportions. Just opposite Harry the vy stopped and bent his head in the attitude of. listening, when something went whi through the air and struck the savage upon the tufted head.” With a wail he staggered forward, and fell full ry in the water, where he lay struggling in all the agonies of death for several moments. Ang from me shadows of ae opppeite side 0 e stream, the young trapper saw a human | creep out ‘ho the water and a the prostrate Sopot Sam Tnee Ds py) @ moon shone | Harry could not ak on Muar b,./45 x <at Da fo . ~ + "=. " ih 4 - , * ~ , = : >" >* . 1 i " ) « * ! Cc trapper asked himself; but : a