Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 408 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

: i : — = ee — ———— as — _—_— ee ee - search for his horses, and our hero got water in & flask in which he always carried spirits for usé in emergency, and dropped it through the 1 pom , So that Belle Sold’ catch it in the lap Of her diess, ln the same way he gave his match-safe and materials with which to build a fire. Then he left her, to get food and the means of effecting her escape. Rushinz home as fast as he could through the gathering twilight, he found his mother by adop- tion surrounded by several sympathizing neigh- bors. By his instruction she got rid of them with a woman’s nice tact. They doubtless suspected that something lay beneath this polite invitation to leave, but they went, expressing their sympathy. Then Mrs. Briggs bustled about getting warm clothes for Belle, while Little Leather-Breeches put up food and candles and a ball of twine, She plied him with a flood of questions, but he told her indefinitely that he had found Belle hiding in a cave where she was safe from pur- suit. He packed everything in a long bundle, which was small enough the other way to be got through the opening. Then Mrs. Briggs was about to get ready to accompany him, but he dissuaded her. ‘If you were seen going out with me,” he said, ‘‘ every one would know that we had found her, and it would be the easiest thing in the world to follow us. But, alone, I can easily elude pursuit, even if the truth is suspected.” it was a hard struggle for the loving mother to forego the opportunity to see her outcast child, perhaps the last time for she knew not how long. She charged Little Leather-Breeches with an almost endless message. It would be impossible for him to remember half of it. 3ut its whole purport was love and confidence in her innocence; and Little Leather-Breeches repeated enough of it to make Belle weep tears of gratitude and feel that all would not be lost so long as she retained her mother’s love. She exchanged her wet clothes for dry ones and ate heartily, and it revived her strength and courage. Then Little Leather-Breeches instructed her how to fasten one end of the ball of twine toa jagged point of rock, and explore the corridors, paying out the string as she went, so that she could always find her way back. He had also supplied her with some flour tied in a bag, so that, by striking it against the wall she could mark the various corridors as she en- tered them, and thus might avoid going down the same one twice. “And now, dearest,” he said, finally, ‘‘ keep your presence of mind, and you can do this as well as if | were with you. When you reach the mouth of the cave, come directly to the knoll northwest of the witch’s hut, about a quarter of amile. That is where I am now. I will wait here, so that you will be sure to find me, whether you come back above or under ground.” * Oh, Will! how good you are to me! If I ever get out of here alive, I will show you how I love you!” ‘ i won't say good-by, my darling—only, has- en! She threw a kiss up in his direction, though, the night having fallen. she could not see hig face. ut he could see her, in the light of her fire and the candle she carried; and he saw the brave smile with which she left him. Then she went down the corridor, the light of her candle was swallowed up, and the muffled echo of her footsteps died away. He waited bréathicsdlay, his heart now beating so wildly with anxiety that its dull thud in his ears drowned every other sound. ‘*God protect her!” he whispered, feeling a cold chill of dread creep over him. For a moment he blamed himself for letting her go out of his sight. To what nameless ter- ie she gone with that hopeful smile on her ips? But then reason told him that this was the only way, and he tried to control his fears. Still he waited, staring down into the cavern at the waning fire, and fairly counting the min- utes. As the time passed his mind became agitated with a conflict of wild hopes and fears. Every once in a while he thought that he heard footsteps, not in the gloomy cave, but near him among the night-shrouded crags. Then he would start up with a glad cry of re- lief. She was coming! A bound, and she would be in his arms! But it was only the dropping of a twig, or the joosening of a stone from its place. a SSS" Little Leat He would turn again to his agonized vigil, only to stare at the embers slowly crumbling and burying themselves in white ashes. ** This will never do!” he cried, at last. ‘‘ She has been gone for hours! Something has happen- ed to her! Oh, why did I not find means of getting to her, instead of leaving her to face these hidden perils alone?” He was nearly crazed with suspense. An icy sweat stood on his forehead, yet his brain seem- ed on fire. He kept repeating to himself: ‘*My God! my God!” Not a sound had come from the cavern. the voices of nature whispered about him. Then suddenly a wild, agonized shriek filled the cave with blood-curdling stridor! ‘Good God!” he cried aloud, quivering fh every limb, as he pressed his face close down over the opening. Not a sound followed. Then his whole soul leaped from his lips in the wild Cry : ‘*Belle! Belle! me!” His blood was frozen by the horrible response. The cave echoed and re-echoed with a round of fiendish laughter. Something like the wing of a monster bat fluttered for an instant below, and the dying embers were wholly extinguished. He stared into the darkness, dumb! Only Belle! in God’s name, answer CHAPTER IX, CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD. For a time Little Leather-Breeches lay flat on the rock, so frozen with terror that he hardly breathed. Then he woke the wild echoes of the cavern with his cries, ‘Belle! Belle! Belle! What has happened to you? For God’s sake, speak to me!” But not a sound answered him, Then wild frenzy seized him, and leaping to his feet, he fled down the mountain-side as if pursued by a legion of fiends. In the horror of that moment he lost all pre- sence of mind, and rushed on at a pace that would have been perilous even in the daytinae. Now he tripped over a twig, sprawling his length, tearing his clothes and bruising and lacerating his flesh. Up and on again, tostep into a hole and crash once more to the ground. Before he reached the level land, he looked as if he had passed through a desperate life-and- death struggle. : His clothes were in tatters, his hat was gone, he was covered with blood and dirt. So he rushed headlong into the presence of his ado; ted mother, ‘Will! Will! for heaven's sake, what has happened? You have found her? She is dead? yr is it that those fiends have got possession of ier?’ ‘**] have no time to explain,” he cried. “I Ae lp wetete B int nad and ropes, and more can- dles, It was lucky that, besides hunting, he had given a great deal of his time to prospecting, and so had some mining-powder in the house. Of this he took what he thought he would want, and slung it over his back with a coil of rope. Candies and matches he thrust into his pock- | ets. Then, before setting out, he looked to the loading of his revolvers. “Will, what are you about to do?” cried the widow, alarmed by this warlike preparation. ‘*[ am going to fetch Belle to you, living or dead, as I find her, if it costs me my life!” he cried, almost breaking down with grief, as he thought of the more terrible contingency. “You are not going to fight all of those men?” ‘* Men or devils, I am going to fight every- thing that stands in my way to-night!” **T shall go with you, Will!” ‘* No, mother, you must not. ‘You can do no good, and—” ’ “I can prevent you from rashly putting yourself in the grip of the law. Will, you are all that I have left. I can’t bear to have you too under the ban.” ‘There is no danger of that, mother. not going to fight our neighbors.” ‘‘ Whom are you going to fight, then?” mal! don’t know. hosver ues Belle in their wer. ** ‘What do vou mean?” ‘You must not ask me now. I will tell you everything when I come back.” Little Leather-Breeches wished to spare his Iam eee ee eee Cit ee | a mother the horrible uncertainty that haunted him. ‘Trust me,” he pleaded. ‘* And above all, do not detain me! There is not a moment to lose!” ‘“My son, what is the meaning of this mys- tery?” ‘Tt is only in kindness to you jthat I do not tell you now. Waituntil—” ‘Why are you so terrified; and whom have you been struggling with?” “Tt isn’t that. It is only that I have been running, and have had two or three ugly falls in the dark. There! if you want to do the best for Belle and every one, stay here in the house, and let me go without any more delay.” And the mother, more and more bewildered, afraid to oppose him and afraid to let him go, finally yielded. It was the darkest hour just before dawn. No one was yet astir in the village, and Little Leather-Breeches’s aim was to get off unobserv- ed. He got away to the hills, and then striking a light, searched for a crevice into which he could tamp his powder, so as to enlarge the hole enough to admit his body. Without knowing what danger he was rush ing into, he was resolute to face it alone. ‘There is no time to drill holes,” he said. ‘*'This break in the rock will have to serve.” He charged it with powder, and then tamped it in solid with some reddish, sandy clay. Then he lighted the fuse and ran to a safe dis- tance. By this time the dull glow that had appear- ed in the east while he was at work was streaked with red, and the fleecy clouds were taking on the iridescent tints of mother of pear]. For a moment all was still, save the sighing of the wind and the monotonous *‘Caw! caw!” of an early crow that was slowly flapping over- head, Then, as the east began to quiver with tremu- lous light, came a puff of white smoke, followed by a roar that woke the hills to wrathful rever berations. High in the air tossed the fragments of rock, to return to earth in a pattering shower. Little Leather-Breeches ran forward, crying: ‘*It won’t do to have another such upheaval, or I shall have the whole village up here to see what is going on!” But it proved to be unnecessary. The aper- ture had been enlarged enough to admit the passage of his body easily. Fastening a rope to a spur of rock near by, he dropped the free end into the black hole. ‘*T may never see the sunlight again!” he said, a chill of apprehension creeping over him, when the moment was at last come to descend. He looked about him. A wild desire seized him to wait and see the sunrise. But he thought of Belle and the unknown cause that had cut short her cry for help. With a sense of self-reproach that he could waste an instant, he swung down into the hole and slid down the rope into the darkness. Too late he reflected that he ought to have lighted a candle, so that he could see about him as he descended. However, he reached the floor of the cavern without incident, and all about him was as still as death. He looked up, to see the stars shimmering Jambently through the opening. Then he struck a light. There was the fire, its embers black and scat- tered about, ‘That, at least, was done by some human hand,” he reflected. Then he turned to the string which led away into the darkness of one of the corridors. He was about to follow this, when an irresis- tible longing to take a last look at the world he had left behind before plunging into the dark unknown turned his eyes to the opening over- head. Then his heart leaped! Just as the setting sum nad illumined his face the night before and called forth a glad cry of recognition from Belle, so now the rising sun fell upon another face, its owner kneeling on the opposite side of the orifice. ‘*Mumbo Jumbo!” he cried, involuntarily. ‘Yes, my dearie!” replied the old witch. ‘* What are ye doing down there?” “The blast has called her out, bad luck to her!” he muttered, trying to think how he could get rid of her without the danger of having her attract the attention of the villagers to what she had discovered. ‘*Ha! ha! ho! ho!” she chuckled. ‘“ ¥cu're caught in there like aratin a trap, ain’t you, my lovey?”