Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 22 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

- - —_— ~~ —_-.--— —— a le oer Se > —_—_-< ————— — ~ a ted er were ee —_. ——_ —— ——— 3 oo o--— — —$——$ ——__— ny would permit him to do so; and then he fell to wondering about M ie, whether she would be blamed for visiting Uncle Benny so mutch, and if the | ! accident of his meeting her at the old sailor’s would | be considered an offense, and finally he fell asleep. When he awoke it was hardly yet day. He looked for the captain but he was absent. He listened for his footsteps; but only the sound of the | distant surf, and the waves rolling in on the beach, came to him. He arose, dressed and went out of the tent. Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. — - = rr eee But he had been more than repaid otherwise for his labor. Quite a portion of the forecastle was still remain- ing, though, of course, charred and blackened, and | here he found two or three seamen’s chests. A search of these revealed man peers stern should their stay on the island be pro- onged. Among them he found what he was now most | anxious for—a double-barreled gun—one barrel rifled _ for ball cartridge, and a pair of heavy navy revolvers. | The bright glow on the eastern horizon showed | that genial day was breaking on land and sea. He walked all around the tent, but saw nothing of Captain James. inking that perhaps he had gone down to the reat basin for water, Julian went in that direction. idway toit his attention was attracted by a vast quantity of birds that were filling the air with their cries. They were hovering over the cliff, coming up from below with great velocity, and darting down again with equal force. Their movements were so unusual that he changed his course and descended to the ledge, coming out to the face of the cliff in that direction. To his surprise the birds did not appear to heed his approach, but continued to dart back and forth with é same discordant cries. Wondering what the explanation of this could be, Julian approached the face of the cliff, which was here perpendicular, and looked over. At fi he saw nothing unusual. But ten or twelve feet below him was around hole in the face of the cliff, perhaps two feet in diameter—one of the many fissures peculiar to the ledge, but rounder and smoother than any he had ever seen. It was toward this opening in the rock that the birds seemed mesg all their rage and outery. Something must be in there Julian thought. could it be? some wild animal? A thrill of dread, as he remembered their defense- less condition, swept over him; but Julian was brave, as we know, and thought wisely, that a danger known could be far more easily met than one of which he knew nothing. If he could only see what it was, he said to him- self. He lay down on the ig | edge of the cliff and stretching himself over as far as he dared, strove to peer into the darkness beyond the Yee In this endeavor the birds seemed to recognize him as an ally, and ceased a moment their wild cries, hovering about in such numbers and so near that a oe sweep of his arm would have brought down ozens. lor a minute he gazed down steadily into the fissure, but could see nothing but the grayish brown of the slimy rock. ; Lut, suddenly, something at the bottom of the fissure seemed to move. Was it imagination? ‘fe looked again, and slowly from out the back- round of duskier hue, he saw two glittering eyes ~ sd upon him with a terrible ~ deimaies glare. jfe quivered from head to foot. A cold shudder ran through him, 1é recalled with horrified intensity the fascinating, serpent-like eyes in the den of the land-shark, Of that terrible struggle to retain his consciousness at that time when he felt those long, merciless fin- ge-s plucking at his breast. What terror there was even in the remembrance. He shook like one in an ague, and nearly fell from at the cliff. Only by the strongest effort did he recover his equilibrium. e succeeded in gaining his feet, and without a speed for the tent. Not lance behind, he ran at f till he was safe within did he draw a long breath, and even then he looked out as if half expecting to see those terrible eyes coming ; the slope. He looked about him for the captain, but he had not yet returned. Where was he? Had he gone to the skeleton rock, and if so should he follow him? CHAPTER XII. ‘Yn CAPTAIN'S VISIT TO THE WRECK—THE DESTROYER. Hap Julian been less excited by his discovery of the saurian, reptile or beast, whichever it might be, that had so startled him, and looked down along the shingly beach below, where they had left the stores, lie would have seen the confirmation of a visit from the ype still more devastating than that of the ight previous. me oe and casks were crushed into splinters and tueir contents scattered, and even the stout cans containing preserved meats were broken and some of them emptied. He would also have seen, had he looked behind him when he ran, Captain James standing on the broken bowsprit of the dismantled wreck, waving his hand to him warming £01 the captain had made an earlier discovery t J mp A discovery the fear of which had been in his thoughts all the day revious—had troubled him unpleasantly when at he rock after finding the skeleton—t had kept him wakeful and watchful all the night. For he had discovered the cause of t strange cry, and what it was that had wrought such havoc among their scanty stores. Agreeing with Julian in the possibility of fire-arms —pistols at least, be found on board, the captain had taken advantage of the low tide, and his wake- fulness, to make his way out to the wreck, and while thore had made his discovery and found retreat sboreward cut off for a time. | volvers and ammupition in his =: $C tC lillie tm ' | He was fortunate, too, in finding ammunition for these in a copper, water-tight flask. Placing the re- ckets, and with the gun slung upon his shoulder, the captain was about eaving the wreck when he discovered the presence on the beach of their mighty visitant. To have ventured ashore then in the moonlight | would have been madness, and he resolved to wait | quietly till the setting of the moon, and the dark hours preceding the dawn, should give a better hope of escaping observation. But wearied out he fell asleep where he was, only awakening just in time to see by the oe daylight Julian running from the cliff. And now, at ever land at once, for Julian, it was evident, had discover- oe the monster, and would be doubly alarmed at his absence, Since he had come out to the wreck the tide had | —_ to the full, and landing was much more diffi- cult. But Captain James was not the man to hesitate. With his weapons placed easy to his hand, the cap- tain descended to the float—one of the hatchways— and noiselessly paddled along the shore till he was oes the camp where the distance was much less. e landed and hurried up the slope, being met by Julian, who had grown much alarmed, as he had an- ticipated, at his absence. At sight of the double-gun Julian uttered an excla- mation of delight, only exceeded when the captain took the revolvers from his pockets and presented him one of them. **Oh, sir,’’ he gasped excitedly, ‘‘we have imme- diate use forthem. Are they loaded?” * They are, and we are that much better off than we were. Your suggestion about searching the wreck was a good one. I felt yesterday it was, eo 8, e isola- our only chance of safety—either that or tion of the skeleton rock.” “You know, then,”’ said Julian, ‘*‘ the terrible dis- covery I have just made?” **I do,”’ said the captain, “but even with these weapons we must take the enemy at a disadvantage, or we shall be powerless. We may cope with some danger even-handed, but not with it.”’ “* Now, then, isthe time,”’ said Julian, eagerly. ‘I looked right down upon it, sir; such terrible eyes. In- deed, sir, I could see nothing else.” ‘All the better,’’ said the captain; ‘if we can still see them, it will be our best opportunity. Come! but — * a = hou Seinidor d proceeded to load e out theamm on, an ) both barrels. He then made another examination of the pistols, and then set forth by the route Julian had taken. By this time the sun had risen and was shivi brilliantly, sending ney lanes of shimmering ligh far over the sea, and tipping the waves with little ets of burning gold; but anaes was not upon e sun nor as they advan He was looking along the top of the led “ The birds are gone, .” he said abruptly. “‘ What ” said the captain, quicken- does that mean?’ **Tt means, perha ing his steps, “that their enemy and ours has taken his departure. Let us see.”’ They reached the cliff, the spot where Julian had been, and, as he had said, the birds were gone. Le noiselessly they approached the verge and 00 over. Those terrible eyes were no longer visible, but far out to sea, beyond the point of rocks, there was a —— line in the water, which cut the rippling waves, and from that direction came an occasional discord: ant cry—the same they had heard in the night. Julian turned toward Captain James, to call his at- tention to it, but he had observed it. ‘* He is off for to-day,’ said the captain; ‘‘ we can rest in peace till the next tide. He is sure to come a ,,No wonder we find no living thing on the nh . ‘*The poor fellow at the top of the rock must have led a terrible life while he lived; but for the rock in- deed, and its isolation, his existence would have been brief. For us, we are 1 Mone. cone wining to cope with it; but we must have all the advantage possible besides. It will be a battle to the death, whichever ‘*We must begin by re moving our stores to the to of the rock,”’ concluded the captain, “or we sh soon have have none left. See what the monster has eaten and destroyed aaah he added, look- Oh Would it not be better, sir,’ said Julian, “ to go on board the wreck, and take up our quarters?” ‘* Not to remain,”’ said the captain, ‘‘ as it will be liable at any time to break up: ut to-night we will take up our ition there, if on reflection it seems desirable, and watch the enemy.”’ ‘But why not make it our fort, and attack him from it?” asked Julian, eagerly. The captain smiled gravely, and shook his head. ‘“‘Not strong enough as it is,” he said, “but it might be strengthened. We will see. But let us re- turn to breakfast. This watching and fasting and anxiety has left me very hungry, and a boy’s appe- tite is always good, I believe, eh! Julian?” concluded the captain cheerfully ulian assented, and they retraced their steps. things likely to | hazard, he determined to | | | ——— ‘What do you make it out to be, sir?” asked Ju- lian, as they went along, thinking of the two terrible eyes he had seen. “It can’t be a wild beast—is it an alligator?” ‘* No,” said the captain, looking at him steadily, as if marking the effect of his words. “It is an enor- mous sea-serpent!”’ CHAPTER XIIL UNCLE BENNY TO THE FORE. DREAMS are not always true, nor on the other hand are they always false! So wrote some years ago a well-known author, whose wide range of experience and keenness of ob- servation gave him an air of authority; and in the case of Julian’s singular dream, these words may have application. For something had actually transpired at home very similar to what had been reproduced in his vision. No sooner had Squire Lawson definitely learned of Julian’s departure, than acting on the authority he held as the boy’s legally qualified guardian, he pro- ceeded to take possession of his property. The first intimation of Julian’s purpose was con- veyed to him by his daughter Maggie after her return from the accidental meeting at old Benny | Haven's. | That the squire’s state of mind at hearing of Ju- lian’s departure, or running away, as he called it, was not a pleasant one may be inferred from the fact that he punished Maggie for bringing the in- formation, by locking her up and ordering her fed on bread and water for forty-eight hours, as if she had been an accessory before the fact. Largely conducive to this wrathful state of mind was no doubt the supposable fact that Julian had .taken with him all the ready money of the late widow Adams—upon which it would seem Squire Lawson had looked rather gloatingly. That the boy would come to no good, and that he would never return, the squire did not hesitate to as- sert; but in this, as in some other cases, it is not un- likely that the wish was father to the thought. At | any rate he took a of the property, secured a tenant for orthwith, and before Uncle Benny Haven was aware what was going on, they had _ taken full possession, and when he did make a final attempt to secure legal recognition as Julian’s guar- | dian, as being chosen by the lad, he found himself laughed at for his trouble. Julian’s declaration of choice not ha been made before a m rate, had no validity in law, conse- quently the old sailor found himself powerless to act in Julian’s behalf. This did not prevent him, however, going to Squire | Lawson and protesting very strongly against his roceedings, to which = ln oe the squire merely een and snapped rather contemptuous language, finally ordering Uncle Benny out of his magisterial presence. By this time the lion-like nature of the old man was aroused, and he resented both the words and the manner of their utterance in a manly, if not wholly magisterial manner, which left the squire prostrate and oe at the nose on the floor. Hurrying home with the step of a yee | after this encounter, Uncle Benny found an arriv at the cabin. It was that of the letter Julian had written him, stating his a to sail in the Hong Kong, his en- counter with the land-shark and other matters. And while he was reading the letter for the sec- ond time there came another arrival—that of Maggie Lawson. She brought the information that the had ne in t excitement for a constable to arrest im, and her love for the old sailor, and her fear of —_ might happen, had brought ‘her swiftly with e news. But the old sailor was now fully aroused, and as he expressed it, alive from clew to earing, and not to be caught napping. Had he n thirty years younger, he could not have proceeded with greater celerity or more delib- ee os than now, to carry out the purpose e 5 These two arrivals, he told Maggie, decided his course, and he proceeded at once to ee up a few articles in a small bundle for a temporary absence. He showed e the letter from Julian, and the messages the sent to her, which made the young irl glow with delight. But her eyes sud- ai: fiiled with tears. ‘You are going to him, Uncle Benny?”’ she said. “That is my purpose Maggie,” declared the old sailor, with t deliberation, eominies as he spoke the filling of a large money-belt from his money-box—the same he had shown Julian, “IT may not be in time,” he continued, ‘to find him before he sails and bring him back here, but I shall try it at least, and I am taking with me money a to follow him if néed be to the end of the world.”’ ‘Oh, if Icould only go with you!” cried Maggie, ay her hands, : “There is no reason that I know why you can’t, e,”’ said Uncle Benny, “except, of course, the objection of the old frayed snifter, the squire, and he’s only your step-father, at most, who mar- ried your mother for her money, and she died a year after with his treatment, as everybody knows, or I wouldn’t mention it,’ be added, half apologeti- cally. “No reason for you not going if you wish except that,” continued the old sailor, completing his pre- paratory packing up, laying down the bundle on a ocker, and taking her hands. ‘ Why, how has the old shark been treating you lately?’* he questioned. 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