Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 5 — page 17: what you’re looking at

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

Vagabond Joe. 17 ised to git him out of his trouble, and I’m going to do it.” In a few minutes more the hunters had com- leted their snow-house, which had been made arge enough to accommodate the whole party. All but two, left on guard, moved into the domi- cile, when a fire was lighted. A hollow tree open at the bottom was inclosed in the struc- ture to be used as a chimney, the same as Vee- abond Joe had done in erecting ‘‘ Crystal Pal- ace. When Grace saw Old Bill kindling a fire at the foot of the tree, a shudder ran through her form, for her thoughts reverted to the moments of agony that she had passed through in her ad- venture with the panther, the fall of the burn- ing tree, and her capture by the savages. ith the cooking: utensils procured by Vag- abond Joe, a sumptuous meal of venison was prepared, (trace kindly assisting in the labor. agabond Joe unharnessed his elks and fed them some of the provender he had brought along for them; then he cut arm-loads of green brush and placed it where the animals could feed upon the buds and bark—the only food of the wild deer and elk during the long win- ters. Night again closed over the woods, and the coming of the shadows was attended with many misgivings as to what was in waiting for the little band of hunters, and their fair charge. Guards were stationed upon all sides; and every precaution taken that was necessary to guard against a surprise by the erg & Everything within the power of the hunters was done to increase the safety and comfort of Miss Manville. There was no sacrifice that any of them felt was too great to be made in her be- half; and so each one took especial pleasure in the mental resolution to die in her defense, if need be. Vagabond Joe was, by the consent and urgent request of all, relieved from further duty that night; for it was quite evident to his friends that he had overtaxed nature’s physical powers by days of constant eg Pre dangers that had found no relief in the m of sleep or quiet rest. Joe readily acquiesced in their wish, and roll- ing himself in a blanket he laid down upon the oe He soon fell asleep and slept soundly. he men by the fire talked in low tones, and dozed upon their seats. The guards outside paced their beats with un- relaxing vigilance. About midnight the wind went down, the storm slackened, and the clouds became broken and scattered. In another hour the sky was clear and twinkling with its myriads of sega. The moon was up in the zenith, and her light and the whiteness of the snow, made it almost light as day around the camp. Clear as it had become in so short a time, the air was comparatively warm, and Neutral Bill had little hopes in this sudden breaking away of the clouds, and the state of the weather in general, being a permanent end of the storm. ‘It’s a bad sign, boys,” he remarked; “ you never see a storm clear off so sudden in the night, but it begins ag’in before the morrow’s t. Bear this in mind.” e bark and howl of wolves could be heard afar off in continual jowering; and now and then the guards caught sight of a dark, skulking form plunging through the snow near camp. As the night advanced the cries of these cow- ardly scavengers of wood and plain burst forth far Bae the river. It seemed as though they were massing their forces in that direction pre- paratory to a grand movement, and that their cries were the signal for their neighbors to fall into the ranks. ; The guards outside stopped their beat and lis- tened. The unearthly sound seemed to be ap- proaching, for it not only grew louder but clearer. Down from the northern prairie, up from the southern wood, and along the silent river the terrible howl] and cry of the beasts rolled like the seething roar of an advancing tor- nado. The very air seemed to quiver with the terrible sounds vibrating through it, Neutral Bill shook his head mt ewe § ‘‘ Pandymonium has let loose her evil spirits,” he said, gravely. Le ‘“They’re comin’—a million strong,” grumbled Bildad Meeks, the president of the school board. “T don’t understand it,” said Old Bill; ‘they can’t all be arter a deer, or an Injin, or a white man, Thar must be something far more entic- ing to sich a scad of the hungry critters.” ‘Great. mollyhorns!” exclaimed a voice be- hind them, and turning they saw that Vagabond Joe was at their side, listening to the wild tu- mult of beastly voices, Ther *ve treed somethin’, ‘What do you think of that, Vagabond?” asked Old Bill, turning to the youth. “Think it’s a lively batch of gallopaders— must be a thousand or two of the satanic crit- ters,” replied Joe. “Wel , their howls and yelps commingle so like the hum of bees’ wings that I can’t tell ex- actly whether there’s a dozen or a million.” “*T hope they won’t stop ’round here,” put in Bildad Moeks. ‘If theyll keep on up the river they can get all the red-skin bones they want to pick,” was Joe’s opinion; ‘‘ but then the captain’s there, and a wolf won’t eat a red-skin when it can git any- rr better—Jemintly! isn’t that a lively rack- t, though?” Several minutes by, and in the mean- time, the frightful noise of the wolves drew nearer and nearer. At length it seemed to pause directly north of camp, near the river, and change into a snarling, gibbering murmur, high above which the wild, terrified and heart- rending scream of a woman pierced through the wintry night. CHAPTER XIV. A WOMAN’S CRY. ‘“My great Redeemer!” exclaimed Vagabond Joe, excitedly, ‘‘ didn’t you hear that scream?” ‘*T heard sumthin’, Vagabond, sure as death,” answered Old Bill; ‘‘and it sounded very much like a wail of human fear—ah! there it goes ain! ‘Yes, and so let’s to the rescue, boys—ever- body!” shouted Vagabond Joe, running into the snow-hut for his rifle. ‘‘ Up, men! there’s work for us—sormebody’s in danger!” In a moment every man was upon his feet, and with rifle in hand, plunged away through the snow toward the river on whose banks the wolfish horde held carnival. They soon came in sight of a sea of surging, shaggy forms gath- ered around something over which they were trembling, rolling and leaping like the black sediments of a boiling caldron—a living whirl- pool, twisting, writhing and seething. There m have been a hundred wolves in the pack—grim and gaunt with hunger; and it was with no little care that our friends ap- proached them. The hunters could see them surging to and fro, fighting and snarling, though they could not see the object of their desperate fury. Now and then, however, they eould see a wolf leap straight into the air as if trying to pluck something from the bushes over- head ‘‘By mallysanders!” said Joe, ‘‘there’s some- body in the bushes they’re tryin’ to catch. it man, woman or child.” ‘* Seems to be the case,” affirmed Old Bill. Suddenly a huge wolf, more active than his fellows, bounded upward as if shot from a spring-trap. A scream ‘of human terror—that same woman’s shrieks—rung out, distinct and startling. The wolves closed in from each side, leaping into the air like two rebounding waves coming together and falling back upon them- selves. ** [t’s clear enough to me now, boys,” said Joe; ‘‘there’s a woman in the bushes there just above them wolves! Come, let’s charge them.” They advanced upon the animals, and when a few paces closer a dark object, clinging to a slender pot ge that was bending low under the weight, was lifted from against the dark back- ground of shaggy forms and outlined e-bay the white snow beyond. They could see that it was a human form that had either been bound to the sapling, or else was clinging there in a desperate effort to escape the jaws of the hun- gry pack below. The form ap to be wrapped in a blanket, one corner of which hun quite low. This the animals could reach, an seizing it in their mad leaps, caused the bush to Sa up and down, gradually settling lower and ower. At a signal from Old Bill the hunters fired upon the k with their rifles, then drawing their revolvers, charged upon the ainimals firing and yelling as they went. With a howl of dismay that seemed rife with almost human disappointment, the wolves were forced to give way; and as they scattered into the woods the hunters hurried forward to find the person clinging to the sapling had been securely bound there, The body was wrapped in a blanket, and tak- ing hold of the pendent corner, already torn to shreds by the wolves’ sharp teeth, the bush was bent low enough to release the own’s slight form, which was received in the arms of two of the men. * Ah!” exclaimed one of the latter, “it must be a child, judging by the weight.” “Tt wouldn’t ’a’ made a bite apiece for all that hord of wolves,” replied the other. “Who is it, any way?’ asked Vagabond Joe, for the face of the unknown was covered with the blanket enveloping the slight form. As if. in answer to the lad’s question, the stranger stirred in the arms of the two men, and an excited voice cried out from the folds of the blanket: ‘*Save me! oh, save me from them horrible wolves!” It was rather a childish voice. ‘* My great Lord!” cried Vagabond Joe, “‘ that is her voice! her voice! Oh, what has befallen the settlement?’ ‘What ails you, Joe? are you going crazy?’ asked Old Bill. ‘* No, no; hurry to the hut with her! She A be freezin’. Iseenow that some inhuman devi have tied her there to die. Hurry on, them tarnal wolves are comin’ back? The two men, with the stranger in their arms, turned and moved rapidly toward camp, fol- lowed by their companions, and closely pressed by the returning wolves that seemed determined upon not being cheated out of the delicate mor- sel that had =o hotig tempted their hungry maws. When near the snow-house, Vagabond Joe ran on ahead to arrange a couch for the woman, his boyish face wearing a look of mingled fear and joy. As he approached the door of the structure he was startled by the discovery that his sleigh and elks were gone. He darted into the hut, and, glancing around, uttered a cry of boys, for horror. It was empty! Grace Manville was gone. ‘‘ Oh, my Lord, friends!” he cried, runni back to the door, “we have committed an awf . awful blunder!” Miss Graceful and my elks and sleigh are all gore! The red devils have been here while we were away!” An exclamation that was fraught with the bitterest surprise and disappointment burst from the lips of the party, and for a moment it seemed as though the diversion this startlin news created would enable the wolves tos a march upon them. But Vagabond Joe was equal to any emergency, and at once rallied the little band from their momentary stupor. ‘“Men!” the young borderman exclaimed, ‘‘we mus’n’t let them wolves come closer. See! er are crowdin’ right up towards us!” e hunters turned and opened fire upon the snarling horde; while the two men, with the un- known female, entered the hut and deposited their burden upon a couch—the one so lately occupied by poor, persecuted Grace Manville. Then they hastened outside to assist their friends in driving away the wolves. Not until the wild, famishing beasts had been half slain did the survivors leave the field to their human foes, ‘hen the battle with the wolves had been won, Vagabond Joe turned, and hastening in- side the hut, began removing the blankets and wraps from about the form and face of her whom they had so recentiy rescued. As the last one was removed, and the eyes of the girl, for girl she was, and those of our hero met, a light of recognition flashed in those of each, and a cry of joy from their lips. CHAPTER XV. THE WEAVERS AT WORK. Isa1anH NEWBOLD, land-agent and tor, sat in his office in Fort Dodge on the day after Christmas, busily engaged in writing. Before him lay an open letter bearing date of a year Eseriom, and signed, ‘‘ Your Friend, Henry mpsen.” To this letter, while writing, Mr. Newbold had occasion to refer nearly every word he penned; and sometimes, when he wished to write a word, he would look through the letter for a similar word. In fact, the land-agent acted, for all the world, as though he were try- ing to imitate Henry Sampson’s style of pen- manship—a very peculiar hand indeed. That his motive in doing this was not alto- ther of the most honorable kind, was evident om the uneasiness that he betrayed while at work. Ifa footstep the door, he would con- ceal Sampson’s letter snd cover his own work with a blank warranty deed. If the author of his uneasiness called, the agent would appear to be busy on this paper; but if he passed on, his copying was resumed. resently there came a soft rap upon the door. which startled the land-agent with a smile of recogni ‘ion, and rising, he advanced and opened the door, admitting a gentleman and lady. Eomicbooks (E(O) —— ee ~-— o_ a mM — eo