Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 429 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

Duncan Dare, the Boy Refugee. EE LL toward the windows in the end of the school- room. They had been closed by one of the scholars. As he looked his eyes fell upon a dark object resting along on the top of several bat-hooks. It was his rifle, which he had brought, as often he was wont to do, to hunt for game on his way home after school, In an instant he had sprung down the aisle be- tween the desks and seized it. The men were almost upon him when he threw it to his shoulder, with the cry: ‘*Stand back, master! stand back, Mister Bolls, or I will shoot you, for I will not be beat- en likea dog!” * The two men halted as suddenly as though they had come against a stone wall. They could not face that hunted boy at bay, and they hobbled down behind the desks with cries of alarm. Seeing that he had frightened them, Duncan Dare burst ous into a merry laugh, walked quickly toward the door and said: ‘*To-morrow, in school, master, you may whip me, but not now.” So saying he left the school-house, and walked swiftly away toward the forest. CHAPTER V. FLOGGED. ‘‘TioTHer, the tiger has shown his teeth,” said Duncan Dare, advancing to the piazza, where his mother sat alone, engaged in sewing, aud watching the golden sunset, The boy’s face was flushed, and he carried the rifle upon one shoulder, while a string of game, scnirrels and birds, hung across the other. ‘Why, Duncan, what do you mean?” asked Mrs. Dare, glancing at her son, and adding: ‘“Why! what a nice string of game you have!” ‘Yes, mother, and shot without a miss, for my aim was true this afternoon, although T had cnough to unnerve me, for, as I said, the tiger showed his teeth to-day.” ‘¢ Explain your meaning, my son, for I am at a loss to understand you. ‘* Tere, Liza, take this string of game, and we will have some for supper,” said Mrs, Dare, and, when the negress had departed with the game, she turned again to her son in aninquiring way. ‘* Old Silas tried to whip me to-day, mother. ‘“Ah, Duncan, you were wrong to provoke him to it,” replied the mother. ‘*T did not do one act, mother, at first; but he accused me of not knowing my lessons, which was not true, and told me to remain in after school, ‘“Then he accused me of throwing a paper ball at him, when Robbie Fleming did it; but of course I would not tell on Robbie, ‘* As he kept at me, I determined to have the game as I was having the fame, so I cut some pegs and tacked Billy Morse to his seat, so he could not get up when called for his lesson. ‘‘The scholars all laughed, and the dominie rushed at me and knocked me down—do you see where he struck me with his fist?” ‘‘Oh, Duncan! your face is all bruised; why, oh why did he do a thing so cruel?” ‘‘ Because he hated me for saying what I did yesterday, mother; but that is not all, for when Jessie Hampton called out ‘Shame!’ he turned upon her tostrike her with his stick, when I tore it from his hand and told him to whip me, but not her.” ‘* Duncan, my poor boy!” groaned the mother. ‘‘ Then he made me remain after school, sent na note to Barney Bolls to come there, and after Cismissing the scholars the two came forward to whip me, one with a rope to first tie me, and the other with several large sticks—sticks, mother, not whips. ‘*T determined not to let them flog me, and so I looked out how to escape, when I saw my rifle, which you know I often carry to school, and I s rung to it, seized it, and they quickly dropped Ccown behind the benches when I told them I vould shoot if they came on, ‘‘ Mother, it was awful funny to see those men hide, and [| could not help laughing.” ‘“TItis no laughing matter, my poor boy, for ycu to threa*ten their lives.” ‘‘ Mother, [ did it to save my life, for I believe those men would have beaten me to death; but I told the dominie I would come back to-morrow and let him whip me before the school, provided he used a switch, anc not the sticks, and Pll not complain.” ‘‘Oh, my son! my son!” cried Mrs, Dare, her deen emotion almos* overcoming her, ‘* Mother, that is the man you said you would marry. oe tee what do you think of him?” ‘* Duncan, do not ask me, but this quarrel be- tween you and Master Finn must end where it is, for it must go no further.” ‘* Well, Pll let him flog me to-morrow, and I suppose he will cool off then; but that will be the last time he shall ever strmke me,” and Dun- can went to his room to get ready for supper. His mother seemed very sad all the evening, and retired early, and her distressed look the next morning, told Duncan, boy though he was, how deeply she had suffered. But he bid her good-by, and started briskly off on his way to school. ‘*Good-morning, master,” he said pleasantly, as he entered and found he was late; but then he knew that the dominie had called the scholars in earlier that morning when he saw that he was not there. Silas Finn smiled grimly and said: ** You are late, Duncan Dare,” ‘‘ ‘Yes, sir, but I am here, and ready for my whipping.” wh ou shall have it, sir, before the day is over,” was the stern response, and Duncan walked to his seat, the bruise on his forehead made by the master’s fist showing plainly, and catching the eye of Jessie Hampton, who smiled sadly and shook her head. When the noonday recess hour came,-Dominie Finn gave out that there would be no afternoon school, as he had to attend to some work else- where, and then he called out fiercely: ‘*Dunean Dare, come here!” The boy arose promptly and advanced to the front of the master, his face pale, but fearless. ‘** You evaded a whipping last evening by es- caping from the school-house, and so I shall administer it now.” ‘* Yes, master,” was the calm response. Silas Finn then took up one of half a dozen stout switches, and, amid a deathlike silence, said: ‘*Take off your jacket, Duncan Dare.” ‘* Yes, sir,’ and the boy threw off his sailor- jacket, Then down upon the broad young shoulders came the blow, but the boy did not flinch. Again and again the stick rose and descended, and still the brave boy stood unmoved, His face was as white as a corpse, his teeth were hard-set, and his hands clinched tight, while the sweat stood in beads upon his forehead. Still no cry of pain came from him, although the cruel blows cut the skin. At last the stick broke in two, but, with the same cruel smile, Silas Finn turned and took up another. ‘*Oh, master, for the love of God, stop!” came in a wail from Jessie Hampton, and the ice thus broken, from the lips of all the scholars went a plea for mercy. But Silas Finn knew no such word as mercy, and again the blows descended thick and fast until exhausted with passion and his wicked work, the master sat down. ‘*Go, now!” he said hoarsely. Duncan Dare gave him one look, and all who saw it remembered it long after, when they had grown to be men and women, and he staggered toward the door, while Jessie i ge pe sprung forward, seized his jacket and followed him, the rest of the scholars crowding after, for the master bade them go, ‘* Boys, some of you must go home with poor Duncan,” said Jessie. ‘* No, I will go alone, for I want to think,” said Duncan, and waving all back, he walked off alone and disappeared in the forest, Jessie still standing and looking after him as long as he was in sight. CHAPTER VI. SILAS FINN MAKES A VISIT. Upon the afternoon following upon the cruel scene that occurred in the little school-house, Mrs, Dare was walking in her little flower-gar- den, looking after her roses, which she had seemed to neglect of late, though they had ever before had her greatest care. A worried look rested upon her face, and the bright smile that was wont to rest there, had given place to a look of sadness and suffering. Evidently her mind was ill at ease, and she seemed anxious and nervous, for she often for- got the work she was engaged in and stood like one i a deep reverie, a bunch of flowers in her hand. Suddenly she glanced down the road and started. Her eyes fell upon a horseman, and he was approaching the farm-house at a rapid trot. t did not take her long to recognize in the horse Barney Bolls’s old blind enimal-of-all- work, and in the rider, Silas Finn, Now, Silas was a learned man, and a got teacher, but he certainly was not a good rider. He sat on a horse much after the style of a pair of tongs, and moved about upon his saddle as though it was scorching him. He looked unhappy up there, and handled the reins much as rogch he was driving the animal instead of riding. He had spruced himself up, but the exertion of his unusual exercise had gotten him all awry, and he was a sorry-looking creature when he half got off, half fell off at the hitching-pust near the house. Mrs. Dare had recognized him at a glance, and it seemed to add but a drop more to her bit- terness, for her face became whiter, and the hand that held the roses trembled. She walked toward the house, to anticipate *Liza’s coming after her, and entered the parlor where Silas Finn was surprised before the loek- ing glass, striving to re-arrange his disordered vilet. ‘‘Mr. Finn,” she said, as. she entered the room, The schoolmaster jumped as though her voice had been a pistol-shot. ‘* Ah! Mrs. Dare, I was just admiring. your portrait as it was reflected in the mirror there, See! how distinctly it is revealed!” Mrs. Dare knew that it was his own portrait that the master was admiring; but she said, quickly; ‘* No school this afternoon, Mr. Finn?” ‘*'No, madam, the school was given a holiday this afternoon, for the fact is, I wished to come over and see you.” ‘Yet Duncan has not returned,” she said, somewhat anxiously. ‘* No, but he will be along soon; but I regret to tell you, Mrs. Dare, that I was forced to chastise him to-day, though not so severely as he deserved.” ‘* You have, then, struck my boy?” said Mrs. Dare, in a voice and manner that was threaten- ng yet seemingly she held herself under con- rol, ‘*Mrs. Dare, I was forced to do as I did, for Duncan has been very unruly of late, and his example encouraged the other scholars to act re- bellious. ‘* You know that I have been most kind in the past to Duncan, so much so that many have said he was my pet; but of late he has broken out ina number of different ways that I could not pass over, and so I had to let him be master or assert my authority, for he defied me.” ‘* This is strange indeed, sir, for it is not my son’s nature to be bad. ‘* When was it his conduct changed so?” ‘*The past two weeks.” ‘* And it is just two weeks since I promised to become your wife?” * Yeas ** And Duncan only knew of this yesterday?” ‘* From me, yes.” ‘*T have not se gar on the subject to him be- fore, for I dared not tell him what I had bound myself to.” ‘* It is then so distasteful to you,” sneered the schoolmaster. ‘* You know, sir, my motive, and you need not ask me; but certain it is, when you had my pro- mise to marry you, then you began your perse- cutions of poor Duncan.” ‘*Mrs. Dare, yousurprise and pain me, for your words are not true. ‘*Dunean brought upon himself all he has re- ceived, and, if he intends to continue his defiant course, I shall have to drive him from the school, ‘* As it is, I should advise that you get him a berth aboard ship, fora few years at sea will make a man of him.” ‘Why do you wish me to send my boy upon the sea, the cruel sea that robbed me of my hus- band?” and the tears came into the beautiful eyes of Mrs, Dare. ‘‘This is pleasant, to hear you speak thus of the late lamented David Dare,” the schoolmaster said in a sneering tone. . ‘*Mr,. Finn, why need I disguise what I feel, when you so well know it? ‘‘ But [regret deeply that you have brought it to open warfare between Duncan and yourself, for he is a high-spirited boy and will suffer deep- ly at heart for this, while he is not one to for- give a blow even from his school-teacher, ‘* Duncan has been full of mischief always, and has played a number of pranks about the neigh- borhood, but he is not a bad boy, and you were wrong to chastise him and before the school.” ‘IT know my duties, madam, and I shall carry them out as I deem best. ‘*T rode over to see you, that you might know ; ee ew I I ee Oe el ee ee