Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 22 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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; : ‘ 10 darkness that precedes dawn having supervened, and feeling weary with the srngeie and satisfied that it had ended in victory—whether the serpent was dead or had made off to sea—the captain and Julian lay down and slept soundly until near midday. When they awoke the air was filled with the cries of birds, which Julian thought sounded like a chorus of thanksgiving. ; There was a long irregular line of whitish gray in the water drif ng out to sea, over which the birds were hovering in great excitement. The captain pronounced it to be the upturned co of the monster. removed the barricades, and came out on the broken deck. It had taken, Julian estimated, more than one hundred and fifty rounds of ammunition, and many thrusts of the long knives to win the conflict. = it was Be Fagan Fc ay now rest in peace, an renew e) ey re- vurned to the island and their tent on he eaainit. , CHAPTER XV. THE TIDAL WAVE—ANOTHER SURPRISE. Tue balance of the day was occupied in gatheri together combustibles for the beacon fire, of whic the captain had previously spoken. It was placed on the highest point of ground, not far from the tent, and composed of the most inflammable material to be found on the island. That night eg slept, especially the captain, in = — of a security which had before been unteit, They were quite busy the next forenoon, but after dinner they set out for the rock at the east end of the island, taking with them a spade and a few yards of sail-cloth, for the purpose of burying the skeleton, which purpose, as will be remem- bered, had been postponed by their fight with the sea serpent. They found everything as they had left it on the occasion of their former visit to the place. The bright sun, which had that da Ided the tree-tops, and the glassy surface of the little har- bor, and the whole top of the rock with a cheerful aspect of welcome, to-day shone dull and mistily, and the ine far from being clear as on the former visit, had in it a drowsy haze which the Sor remarked as presaging something un- usual, A nebulous gathering in the southern horizon, too, seemed to indicate, he thought, a sudden change. As there had been no thick weather since their arrival on the island, he told Julian they must pre- pare for it by housing themselves more strongly on their return. With these incidental observations, they then ave their attention to the especial purpose that had —— them to the rock. Tenderly, and with reverent hands, they gathered up the relics of frail mortality, wrapping them in the piece of sail. Descending the rock, they carried them to a int midway between the grove and tent, where he sunshine rested all day. They opened =are in the yielding sand. With uncove heads they knelt, and the cap- tain uttered a brief prayer—part of the burial mes Ma at sea—and the solemn task was soon com- pleted. They returned to the rock. The slab in the niche, whereon the skeleton had rested, was distinctly outlined, but fit so closely that > was found impossible without other tools to raise it. Julian remembered the chisels that were in the sailor’s chest on the beach, and asked Captain James if he thought they would answer. ‘* Just the thing, if we only had them,” was his nse, “ rl go for them at once,” declared Julian, start- ing off at a rapid pace, and a moment after the captain, looking down, saw him running through the grove, w ng ch , as was his wont. The captain ed about a little outside, and then ng within the walls, sat down on a stone seat commandi a view from the small, round windows of the little harbor, and waited for the a return. cool sheeabs Ubtot tack; tase ts wal woelionty r t not for long; but he was su startled by heating a terrible roar, unlike anything he had ever heard. I€ had in it something of the sound of a falling cataract—of distant thunder rolling momentarily nearer, and of the hissing sharpness of an advanc- ing tempest. t the same moment myriads of birds, screaming discordantly, flew hted ‘ Captain James, with a * power ee of r upun him, his feet and ed strong out. As he did so, he saw the trees of the grove before and around him bowing low, to what seemed an immense wall of seething, driving foam, which perros by on rock b> ag Paha ; e stood, —_ ro ray over went rushing pas e pn, Ma My avalanche. - a What had happened? He instinctively sprung toward the low stone door and gras it clingingly, as he asked himself the question. Had the island suddenly sunk, or had the ocean suddenly risen to whelm him? Before his startled mind could solve the thought, the gigantic wave had passed, the trees of the grove mbes abate and he saw the mighty volume of water go rolling on, n " dal wave!” he exclaimed, as the truth burst SC Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. upon him. “What a narrow escape! But great eaven! Julian! Where is Julian?” In an instant he had clambered to the highest point of the rock, and was gazing toward the tent, with anguish in his face. Julian was not there! “ae as he withdrew his glance, he caught sight of m “A boat, sir, sure! and a movement on board, Two men I think, sir.” Springing lightly to the deck again, the comman- der ordered the yards squared, and the man at the wheel to run down to it. A few minutes showed that the look-out was cor- rect, that it was, indeed, a boat with somebody on ard. three rods distant he saw him caught | In a few moments more they were within hailing Safe! h ~ broken branch, and clinging in the top of one | distance. . of the tallest trees. | Two men were plainly seen standing up and wav- He called to him, and Julian answered cheerily enough, but with evident amazement at his almost miraculous preservation, in his tones. The bo limb that caught him dripping and than ful to the top of the skeleton rock. he two castaways shook ds and embraced each other. Julian was on the beach, he tcld the captain, when he first heard the roar of its coming. He had secured the chisels and put them in his pocket, and when he saw the long, k line with its white crest advancing, he started to run, but it over- took him before he had taken a dozen steps. He had felt himself caught up and borne irresistibly onward, and gave himself up for lost, when he was suddenly arrested by his clothes catching the broken braneh, to which he had instantly fastened with all viclde ht and clung for life until the passing water e up. They knelt on the a and gave thanks to the Giv- er of all good, for their preservation. Laying aside his outer clothi , which was, of course, thoroughly drenched, Julian produced the chisels, and after some little difficulty they succeeded in raising the slab, which proved to be about four inches thick, and turned it backward on its _ A cavity, perhaps a foot in depth and width by three in length, was disclosed. There was a seaman’s cutlass, in a good state of reservation, and some few iron and brass articles or culi use, but the main object revealed within was a stout box of iron, bound at the corners and edges with brass. It occupied more than half the ace within. The captain took hold of it to lift it.out, and ut- tered an exclamation of surprise at its great weight. and climbing down, came “IT was correct, Julian,” he said, significantly, “in thinking that sure results would ce ollow our search for your uncle. We are evidently on he eve of a new discovery.”’ ‘You think this, then, some of the old pirate’s long-hidden treasure, sir?’’ questioned Julian, taking hold of one end of the box. ‘*Bearing in mind the name and date on the face of the cliff, below,’’ replied the captain, “it looks like it, my oer He took hold of the other end of the box as he snake, and it required their united efforts to raise it from its long repose. Resting it upon the of the niche, the light, which had grown faint, fell somewhat more phys e upon it, disclosed an inscription engraved on lid. “See if you can make it out, Julian,”’ said the cap- tain; ‘‘a tremendous fog is rising seaward, and our stay here must be brief,” he added, glancing out at the window. Julian bent over the box. There was an engraved death’s head and cross- bones, and underneath, in writing, a terrible denun- ciation of any one who should open the box—save he whose name was engrav da on the side. Julian moved to permit the fast waning light to fall upon the name. t was in large, antique letters, much corroded like the rest, by time and the elements, but it flashed upon him like lightning from a dark sky. ee name !—wonder of wonders!—was BENNY Ha- VEN CHAPTER XVI. A BOAT AND A RESCUE. A storm so tremendous as that which had over- taken the Hong Kong, was not likely to have left the Punjab scathless. But the course of the latter vessel was not in the hag path of the hurricane, when she first felt its fe) rce, When it did strike her, however, she was com to close-reef every sail, batten down og ary and scud before it under bare a She was driven widely from her course, but those certipaet fii which taj ieee asia a getiane ship be em nw e ew many a gallan p one down, to feel any special regret at a divergénce that was not without remedy. e mo after the storm, as we know, rose sm ang A n the ocean, and the commander having taken not without surprise at finding himself blown so far from the track, was about resuming his course, when the voice of the look-out at the mast-head was heard hailing the offi- cer of the deck. = oo is it?’’ questioned that official through his pe . ‘*A boat, sir, I think, but I can’t just make it out.” to the rie away?’ demanded the officer, springing nD e g. “Two points on the weather bow, sir.”’ By this time the commander was on deck, and or- deriug the man at the wheel to bear up two points, he took the glass, and sprung up beside the officer, while a number of those in b , including Uncle Benny, clustered closer. “* Mast head there!” “ Ay, ay, sir ” “Can you make her out yet?” | | shook himself loose from the friendly | ————— 2. a signal. a sensation on board the Punjab had increased to quite an excitement, and passengers as well as crew were all clustering to the bulwarks on that side, and Uncle Benny had been joined by the two young girls, Maggie and Jesso. “How came they here, Uncle Benny, have they been wrecked?” inquired Maggie. ‘*Must have come in the boat, my dear,’’ was the old sailor’s practical reply. ‘‘ But wrecked of course, and ae the only survivors.” **Oh, I hope not!’’ cried the two girls in chorus. They looked over the side. By this time the boat was Somming under the quarter, and willing hands were dropping ropes into her, which, were eagerly ped. Uncle Benny gave one glance into the boat below, a reeled Ww pale and shaking with emo- tion “That name, Maggie,"’ he gasped hoarsely—“ that name on her gunwale, can you make it out? my eyes are dim.” Maggie uttered a cry. She could, alas! too surely, ‘‘The Hong Kong!” The name on the boat showed the ship to which it had belonged. The old sailor trembled for a moment like a main- sheet escenns 7s the wind, with the two date. girls clinging to on each side in excitement and alarm, ed his was not the soul to blanch when duty called. He rallied again on the instant, and bidding “his two wards,” as he had lately called them, to remain quiet where they were, he went forward to where the two men were being drawn on board, It was the steward and purser—who it will be re- membered disappeared from the gaze of Julian when the mast of the Hong Kong went by the board. The same crash, it apbesred. had carried away the yawl boat, and the found themselves in the water near it, and had seized upon it as drow men grasp at straws—with a gripe that nothing bu death can loosen. They had gee to it until daylight, when they had succeeded in righting and bailing her out. They were very much worn and exhausted, and were een taken into the commander’s cabin. Uncle Benny, at his request, accompanied them. Po enlace suitably refreshed, they told their story. In response to the sy 5) quese of Uncle Ben- ny, they told how they had last seen Julian standing with Captain James, on the bow, only a moment be- fore the Hong Kong struck. The only glance they had of the land induced them to think it a huge, poo reef, outlying a jutti coast or small island, for they had been swept aroun and past the point by astrong current, clinging to their overturned boat, and barely eopentns being ashed to pieces among the breakers. An as many seconds as it took minutes to tell it, reef, island and breakers vanished away leeward. Then arose the question between Uncle Benny and the commander, at this unsatisfactory conclusion, how far the men must have drifted ore they suc- ceeded in righting the yaw], and how far they had come since. The rescued men could not say. They had no means of knowing. The commander got out his charts andemade an extended examination, but could find no mention of any reef or island in the vicinity he supposed him- self to be. What should be done in view of all the facts? It hardly required the earnest solicitations of Uncle Benny, backed by the urgent entreaty of the Princess Osaeca to induce Lieut. Berry, the commander, to attempt to find this unknown land. And it was at once determined to cruise two or three days at least, in that locality, in the hopes of finding it; or, Ker. haps, of ing in with one of the other boats t had been launched. Many of the passengers, as well as the lieutenant- commander, had already heard from either Uncle Benny, or Maggie, Julian’s history, and the roman- oe, wate of his search for uncle, Captain The singular name of his uncle had, perhaps, given to the boy’s enterprise a greater interest than it oth- erwise would have had—added to which one-half of the crew, at least, among whom the story had par- tially got wind, were of the firm opinion that the search was ney. a ene ee expedition, for the gold and hidden store of the.old pirate himself, and were not slow to declare their detire to join ina search for the searcher. The story of Julian’s encounter with the land- shark, and of his rescue by Captain James at the critical moment, when the merciless pagers of his betrayer were tearing his mother’s Bible and its treasure from his unconscious clas created an impression among the p rs very favorable to that gentleman; and it was with more than the ordinary rezret due a stranger, that they heard of the disaster to him and his vessel. The princess, it appeared, was especially saddened by the intelligence, she having met Captain James on what she called a memorable occasion, while EGomie (©) 8(0)(0)