Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 5 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

i} : i} ey ew ee Be ne ere eee —— wy 22 Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. is Naomi’s child instead of Mar mores Henry Sampson got the names confoun some way or other.” ‘‘Thank the good Lord! Naomi’s child—sis- ter Naomi’s boy,” said Uncle Jerry, reflectively. “Yes, my friend, Mr. Carew found the old settler who had raised Mave from a child; and among the relics of your sister’s family they possessed this picture.’ He took from his pocket a time-worn picture case, and opening it, handed it to Uncle Jerry. A cry burst from the old man’s lips as his eyes fell upon the face of the picture. “Yes, yes!” he cried, his eyes filling with mist, “it is the face of my poor sister, true enough. Oh, Naomi! what a cruel, heartless brother I have been to you and Ruth and Mar- !? yo # kissed the picture, while scalding tears chased each other down his wrinkled face. A few moments of silence ensued when the old man burst forth: | ‘““You know not, gentlemen, what recollec- tions—boyhood recollections—this face brin up. and: they reproach me for the miserable life I have led as a recluse—refusing the love of my sisters and friends, when I might have been happy. But now they are gone—all gone, No, not all, either; thank God I have Irene and Mave to continue the remainder of life’s jour- ney with.” ‘Then you feel satisfied that Mave Conrille is your nephew, by the evidence produced, do you?’ questioned Simon Carew. ‘““What more could I ask, Mr. Carew? Yes, I am satisfied; tell Mave to come here if it is his desire so to do, and make Glendale his future home. Dear me! if I could only find Margery now, or her children, I believe I could live and die happy.” ‘ ‘Then you are not entirely happy?’ said New- bold. “Not altogether, Mr. Newbold: somehow or other, it seems as though there is something wanting, or some one still absent. I don’t know why I feel so, for it is one of those unaccount- able things of life—a mystery of a sort of fun- gus growth—coming and going—no one knows why, nor where. But, be this as it may, there is a void in my heart that no earthly power can fill. At least it seems so.” A smile, slightly disdainful over the face of Irene Lamar, while her eyes drooped and her cheeks colored as if wounded by the old man’s remarks, ‘Time changes the heart as well as the head, Uncle Jerry,” said Newbold, philosophically; “‘and there is no ares RA peace and happi- ness your two young relatives will bring to your declining years.” ‘‘T hope for everything in them. Upon them shall I center all my future happiness and earth- ly are ttg ewbold and Irene exchanged glances, while their fingers played in silent conversation. The two men took their departure in the course of an hour or two, Mr. Newbold promis- ing to send Mave to his new-found friend and new home upon the morrow. And when the morrow came, Mave Conrille with all his earthly effects tied up in a small bundle, made his appearance at Glendale and ente upon a new life with the blessings of kind-h old Jerry Grimes, CHAPTER XX, RUNNING THE GANTLET. VAGABOND Jor knew the speed of his elks, and keeping the high ridges where the snow was not deep, he soon left Ishtahaba and his follow- ers far behind. He kept north until he had the point of timber, then turned and wound gradually around until headed toward the south with the storm upon their backs. Grace Manville had kept her face covered— not only to shut out the storm, but to conceal the dizzy, dangerous rapidity with which she was carried over the plain; but when beyond all resent danger, Joe slackened the speed of his faithful and addressed his companion thus: ‘‘Now, Miss Graceful, we've got the wind on our backs, the red-skins out of reach, and so you can look out, if you want to,” Grace at once uncovered her face and glanced around with a look of great relief. en she lifted her eyes to the face of her young rescuer, beaming with all the gratefulness of her wo- man’s heart. ‘‘ Joe,” she said, ‘I declare I scarcely know how to express myself to you for this kindness.” “Oh, gallinippers! if that’s what’s worryin’ you, Graceful, don’t think any more "bout it,” replied, Joe. “I know you feel thankful and obliged, and all this, so that’s enough for me. What do you think of the situation, eh?’ ‘Tam so completely bewildered that I can- not answer that, Joe,” the maiden replied, with a smile that denoted her embarrassment. “You have been changin’ about so rapidly, Miss Graceful, that I expect it has knocked the pints of your compass all topsy-turvey; but ou’ll soon git your bearings again. I’m goin’. be back to camp afore night, if Baalbee and Nineveh don’t give out; and if they’ve had any- thing to eat since they were taken from me they'll go through all right.” ‘*T hope so, Joe; for if I don’t get out of this wintry storm and its surrounding dangers, I shall surely die.” ‘*Oh, great mollysanders, Graceful! you don’t want to say die now. If we find things all right when we git back to camp, our troubles 1 be over with.” ‘* But what of Captain Howard, Joe?’ **Tam pleased to inform you, Miss Graceful, that he’s well as could be expected.” “Then he has been rescued?’ ** Yes, ma’am.” A ery of joy burst from the maiden’s lips. “‘Oh, that I may be permitted to meet him soon!” she exclaimed. ‘‘I know there is some- thing or somebody dreadfully wrong somewhere, or else I would never have been here. Dr. Cud- more’s presence confirms this.” ‘‘He’s an awful mean, p’izen scamp, Miss Graceful; but then [ll bet you a fip he’s got a bee in his bonnet afore this,” | ogee do you mean by that, Joe?” Grace “‘T mean he’ll not go taggin’ after you and me soon fret. ” “ Joe!” Grace exclaimed, as a thought flashed through her brain, ‘‘ did you kill him when you fired — the enemy just before we started?’ ‘“*T don’t know, Graceful; I didn’t wait to see,” was Joe’s r nse; “but I rather think he keeled over as though he had one of his wings ses sa ‘I should be sorry, Joe, if you had killed him, much as he might deserve death.” “Why, Graceful, thar wouldn’t be any love lost, would thar?” ‘No, not on my part; but then, I should re- t to know that you, a boy, had slain a fel- ow-being.” ** Tt wouldn’t sound well, [ll admit; but then we folks raised in the West look at sich things different from what you do, Graceful. It’s either or death here; there’s no half-way grounds. It’s run or fight—live or die.” ** But Lam afraid you all overlook the duty of Christians,’ Grace answered. **'No, we all go to meetin’ whenever the preacher ’ll let up on deer and elk huntin’ long enough to give us a sermon. I know the Lord’s awful g to me, and helps me out of lots of bad scrapes; but then a feller’s jist bound to shoot. enemies are no ters of saint or sinner, and I can’t see but that it’s a Christian duty to civilize an Injin or renegade, even if it has to be done with a chunk of lead instead of the 1. Everybody seems to foller the course laid out for him by the Lord or the Old Scratch, and the best man wins. An Ingin but follers the instinct of his nature, and the devil is that nature. So it is with the good and bad; don’t it seem so, Graceful?’ “T see you believe in things being foreor- dained, Joe,” said Grace, with a smile. ‘*T dont know what you call it, Graceful, but if I git back to camp alive, I'll know the Lord intended it should be so; but if I am to die, Pll die, and that’s plain enough. The Lord knows where we're go this very minute, and if we are going into danger, why don’t he stop us if he don’t want us to git hurt or killed?” The last word scarcely fallen from his lips when a line became detached from one of the elk’s page ane stopping the team, the youth t out to rep it. As he walked around in ront of the animals, he found they were stand- ing upon the steep bank of a water-course that had worn a deep channel across the plain. ‘Great mollyhorns!” burst involuntarily from Joe’s lips; ‘if the elks taken two more steps we'd ’a’? been plunged over into Snake ! ** Oh dear!” exclaimed Grace, shuddering with fear, ‘‘ what a narrow escape! There, you see, Joe, that _we were going into danger, and the hand of Providence intervened and saved us. Had the line not become detached, you would not have stopped as you did.” ‘‘T’]] acknowledge the corn, Miss Graceful; but then wasn’t it all so ordained?’ replied the lad, re-entering the sleigh; ‘‘ but then, I’m real- ly sorry it wasn’t ordained otherwise than that this plagued creek must be here, for it’s goin’ to give us trouble.” “Why, Joe, can’t we cross it anywhere?” “Pm afeard not; I know we can’t go back and head it, nor I don’t believe we can eross it between here and the Lizardriver, It is adeep, treacherous channel all the way across the prairie. It’s a regular snake, sure enough, in the grass. Now, to get across the river, I see lain enough, that we have got to work west at east five miles, and that’ll throw us out of the way tenmiles. Dash the luck, I say!” and the youth spoke as if half-discouraged. “Oh, well,” replied Grace encouragingly, ‘““ we can soon make that distance. If we don't get to camp by dark, we’ll get there soon after.” ‘I don’t mind the blunder on account of the extra distance we'll have to travel, but the ad- vantage it'll give the Ingins. If they should figure out the result of this oversight, they may meet us up the river. You see they can easily cut across lots and gitin ahead of us. I'll de- clare I hate this, Miss Graceful. I don’t see Miia hy was doin’ that I didn’t think of this be- ore. ‘‘T regret it, also, Joe,” replied the maiden, ** but then it cannot be expected that a boy will, or can think ofeverything. I think you have already exceeded yourself in every respect.” ‘* Well, there’s only one way of it, Graceful; and so we’ll have to make the best we can of that,” replied our hero, turning westward. ‘‘ But I know the dashed blunder ’s goin’ to throw us into the night, if not into the hands of the In- gins.” Grace saw that the youth was bitterly disap- pointed, and that his manly pride had been deeply wounded by what he had seen fit to term ablunder. She knew that it was his indomitable courage, presence of mind, physical endurance, and hope of success that had led him on in his wonderful adventures; and should his young spirit give way under this disappointment when it had been so buoyant and hopeful, there would be little proeeens of their escape. So she en- deavored to relieve his mind of its depression by kind and OCONEE words, in which she ex- pressed full confidence in his ability to cope with the dangers before them. They journeyed on over a rough, broken plain until about the middle of the afternoon, when they reached the timber bordering the Lizard river. When they had reached the river itself, Joe concluded to follow down the stream upon the ice. It would be a little further to camp, it was true, but then he felt sure he could more than make up the extra distance in having the advantage of a smooth, level and well-defined route. Acting upon this conclusion, they were soon speeding down the river; and after jour- neying a mile or two upon their new course, the youth drew up under a high sheltering bank to rest and feed his team. He cut some green linden bushes, which he placed before the ani- mals, and from which they neatly trimmed the buds and twigs in a few minutes. Grace told Joe that Cudmore had placed some provision under the sleigh-seat the day before; and upon examination, the fugitives were de- lighted to find a portion of it still there, along with the doctor’s medicine-case anda flask of brandy. They made a hearty dinner off the cold provisions, and felt re relieved. Grace omg got out of the sleigh and walked around to relieve her body of the cramp her long confinement had made so painful. hen the elks aad trimmed up the boughs placed before them, Vagabond Joe harnessed them to the sleigh, and their journey continued, the faithful, never faltering animals showing no eo of ratiae ight finally settled over wood and plain; and for the first time in many days, the storm subsided and a clear, frosty sky burst from its long, dark confinement. é stars studded the blue vault, making it almost as light as day where no shadows lurked. The air became keen and crispy. “Tm afraid,” Joe finally remarked, ‘ that we're goin’ to have a spell of weather colder’n Greenland’s icy mountains. Cold snaps that jist freeze the hair off of a buffalo-robe general- y follers sich storms.” ““T hope you may prove a false prophet, this time, Joe,” Grace replied, - Yes, I wish we could have to-night and to- morrer fair as a June day, and we’d all git out of this ps ed Lizard valley. I’m gittin’ enough o artrentiiea this pop, Miss Graceful, [I can stand haydoogins of fun with the men and boys, but when it comes to two pretty gals, ten- der as angels, shiverin’ and sufferin’, it takes all ot barely ous of me; and don’t you forgit i GONG JOCKS