Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 5 — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

— ————— ee ~ — Vagabond Joe. 25 enemy the same advantage in following them up. Fi nstead of growing warmer when the sun rose up over the tree-to ab colder; and the men on guard actua y ered. “T tell ye what, boys,” declared Old Bill, ‘¢it’s no use talkin’ "bout goin’ to the fort to- day; for it’s growin’ colder and colder every second. y fingers are so cold now that ye could break ’em off like So ptm and if we attempted to cross Ten e Prairie, we'd all freeze stiffer ’n pokers. Them tender little gals would freeze less *n no time; I know they would.” “Well, what are we to do?” demanded Cap- tain Howard. . , ‘“We’d better stick fo the timber. We can weather her through here as long as we keep our sculps in the right place.” ‘‘T’ll tell you what we might do,” said Vaga- bond Joe, to whom all listened with respect; “we ht travel as fur as the timber goes and then camp again. By bearin’ a leetle to the south we will strike the South Lizard valley; and there it won’t be so cold. Here we git all of the north wind fresh from the open plain, and I tell you what, it’s enough to singe the hair off a dog’s back.” ty I don’t know but the boy’s right,” said Old ill, ‘* He generally is,” remarked one of the hunt- ers. ‘Then suppose we break camp at once and start for the South Lizard valley,” su Howard. ‘I think I can walk there without any trouble.” o this suggestion all readily agreed, and ina few minutes they were ready for departure. Vagabond Joe harnessed Baalbec and Nineveh to his ‘‘ jumper,” in which Myrtle and Grace were given seats. The youth was to walk be- hind and drive the team, while the rest of the party, excepting Howard, were to be deployed upon each side, before and behind, to cover their retreat. In this order the journey began, the savages following up; though keeping a goodly distance — the unerring long-range rifles of the hun- rs. Their Lh abrw was very slow, owing to an unex uble. The sharp hoofs of the elks broke through the snow, which kept the animals lunging and worrying along in a man- ner that retarded their progress. The women were, at times, compe to walk, and had he not known the young master’s great love for his elks, Old Bill woule have advised him to un- harness them and turn them loose. They could have made time without the team, and yet the old trapper could not muster up the courage to suggest it be abandoned. yrtle and Grace would have enjoyed the journey very much, had it not been for the con- stant ger lurking upon the trail. They pre- ferred walking to riding, for they could keep warmer by the exercise, and then it lightened the burden of the elks, for whom Grace cherish- ed the feeli of a Bergh. The girls had conceived a mutual affection, strong as sisterly love. Their young spirits seemed to flow as smoothly together as the lim- pid waters of two saostoad brooks; and in each other’s society they experienced a great men- tal relief. The course of the party lay toward the south- east; and about noon they struck the east ridge overlooking the valley of the Hobbamocko, or in other words, the home of the Evil Spirit. This name had been applied to the valley by the Indians. It was a narrow valley, so deep and densely wooded that the sunlight seldom found its way to the damp, moldy earth. The red-skins had, doubtless, comceived a sim- ilarity in the shadows of this valley, and that wherein dwelt the Evil Spirit, as taught them by tradition: and had kept aloof from the place with superstitious fear through all the long ages they had occupied the country. Even the white man, and animals, had become imbued with a similar distrust and passed by the valley of Hobbamocke with hasty footsteps and staring eyes. "But, from the summit of the east side, the valley of the Evil One did not look so ghostly that celd, December day. There was no foliage upon the trees to deepen the shadows; and so the noontide sun beating down into the valley, whose environing hills shut out the chill winds, ve it a look of warmth and comfort inviting the weary travelers. ‘It'd be a jolly place to camp down there,” proclaimed Vagabond Joe. “The In wouldn't molest us unless some white villain should convince them that it is all moonshine bout it bein’ the home of the Old Scratch. Tl tell you, friends, I always had a kind of a rever- ence for this valley. I don’t know why itis. It always impressed me with a feelin at’s just like my remotest recollections of chilhood—re- collections that are so mixed —— I can’t git head nor tail of them—dreams begun, but never finished.” ‘‘ Wal, I never had any very romantic feelin’ for the valley,” declared Old Bill; ‘and so I allers give her a wide berth. I hav’n’t been this close to the place for seven or eight years. I war never here in winter time before. And, to come right to facts, I war never in the valley in my life; nor I never see’d any body who was.” ‘Strange, indeed,” said Captain Howard, ‘*that the minds of men become so affected by superstitious stories. Still, it is but the general result of one’s suroundin The mind, no dif- ference how well-educated, seems to seek a level even lower, like water, with the general surface surrounding it. This is one of the facts of civil- ization that no argument can gainsay.” “‘T don’t go anything on scientific doctrine capt’in,” put in Bildad Meeks. ‘‘ Solid facts tell for ’emselves. The reason this valley is shunned is because it is; and that’s all thar is of it.” The party continued on a short ways, when an exclamation suddenly burst from Joe’s lips; and stopping his team, he said, pointing into the jae “By mollyhorns, boys! do you see that?” “Wal, what?’ demanded Old Bill. “That column of blue smoke rising from that pos acctel manpprne was the youth’s response. very eye was at once directed toward the object in question. A thin wreath of blue smoke, just discernible inst the white hill beyond, was seen curling slowly up into the air from an immense mound of snow that seemed to have been thrown, like a great white sheet, over a clump of dense bushes. ‘*There’s a fire under that snow-pile,” an- nounced Joe; “that Iam determined on. And it appears to me that’s the top of a chimney it’s issuing from. What do you think ’bout it, Cap?” Pit really does look like a chimney; and it is my opinion that there is a cabin there covered with an immense snow-drift.” **T never hearn of sich a thing afore,” pro- tested Old Bill. “If itis a cabin, it must ’a’ been put there recently—what d’ye think, Joe?” ‘*T don’t know what to think,” said Joe, gaz- ing eng men bel up and down the valley, as if rf ber to recall something of the vague past; ** but I'll declare, I either dreamed of a cabin in this valley once, or else I’ve seen it some time in the dim . lactually don’t know which it is —whether either; but n, ve got it runnin’ in my head that way; and solam goin’ down into that valley to around now and see whe has got a fire under that snow-pile, anyhow. It may be a friend; and if so, we might find quar- ters with him a day or so till the cold weather ; ’ su ‘Tm afraid, Joe, that you'll into trouble if you go down there,” observed Captain How- ard. ‘‘It may be a pack of red-skins burrowed under that snow-drift.” “Tl run all risks, anyhow,” Joe decided, “if you folks ’ll take care of Baalbec and Nineveh.” ** Do be careful, Joe,” said Grace Manville, earnestly; while Myrtle fixed a look upon the lad’s face that betrayed the deepest anxiety and concern. Vagabond Joe shouldered his rifle and saun- tered leisurely down the steep hillside, his friends watching him with intense interest. When he reached the edge of the narrow valley he stopped and looked around him as though he had been suddenly placed in some serious pr ae r or else had lost or forgotten some- “I tell you what, my friends,” averred the captain, “this valley appears to impress the mind of that boy with something of more than common interest.” “He acts very queer, I declar’,” admitted the president of the school-board ; “but then, that very Vagabond Joe is an enigma, take him as you will.” **T never, in all vr born days, see’d his beat,” d Old Bill; ‘‘ he’s not afeard of the devil, and’s full of more tricks, and pure boy cussed- ness than any young kid that ever capered over these ’ere peraroes.” Vagabond Joe moved carefully forward to- ward the great snow-pile, from which smoke was issuing, and in a few moments stood at its began moving sround the bank, and’ soon dis moving aroun ® and soon a from view of those upon the hill watching his every movement. When the boy ——— the west side of the mound, he discovered a narrow, black-throated opening leading through the snow and a dense growth of wild vines and bushes, to the interior of the huge mound. For a moment the youth stood undecided as to the course he should pursue; but, finally, he stepped into the passage and began cautiously along its dark windings. He h not gone far when, to his utmost rise, he struck the wall of a log cabin. Over and around the cabin, wild grapevines and parasites had interwoven a mesh so dense ‘hat the snow had not sifted through, but lodging upon the out- side, aided the vines in concealing the cabin from view. Decay and ruin, mold and mustof years hun over and around this hidden domicile. An yet, there was an abundance of e evi- dence of its having been quite recently — —no doubt by some snow-bound hunter, ugi- tive or Indian. At least, this was the conclu- sion at which Joe arrived, for he could not think that any others than those named would ae alone in that desolate, God-forsaken valley. A passage along the base of the building had been recently cut through the vines, and follow- ing this around, Joe finally came to the door of the building. Here he paused, and again lis- tened. He could hear no sound within. An ominous, deathlike stillness pervaded the dark- some place that seemed more like a catacomb rife with a rank and unwholesome odor. Gathering courage, however, Joe finally rais- ed his hand and with his knuckles rapped softly upon the door. Instantly, a faint sound within was heard. Then footsteps were heard approaching the door—slowly, cautiously. Joe’s heart rose in his throat, and his hand dropped to his pistol. He stepped back a pace or two from the door, and when he heard the latch raised, and saw the door swing slowly poe upon its whee wooden hinges, a feeling in to horror seized upon him. CHAPTER XXIV. WHO WAS IN THE CABIN? THe door of the hidden cabin half open. A fire — upon the inside flung a : ight out into the shadows that enveloped the form of Vagabond Joe. The glare of the light blinded him for a moment or two; but a form ge in the doorway shut off this blinding light. The form was that of a man—a white man. ‘““Who demands admittance?’ he said, speak- ing in a weak and feeble tone. “I, Joe, whose surname is Vagabond,” replied our hero. ‘* What brings you here?” the man in the door again demanded. : ‘* Curiosity,” was the laconic reply. * Will you walk in, sir?’ “If you’ve no objections,” answered Joe, stepping across the threshold. 16 youth found himself in a small room with a yawning fireplace, barren walls, upon which the dust of years had accumulated, and pervaded with an odor of must and mold. In one corner were some shelves, upon which were arranged dishes and cooking utensils, most of which were black with dirt and rust. A table satin one cor- ner. A few rude stools were scattered about the room. An old coon-skin cap hung upon the wall. Broken spider-webs hung in great dust- laden curtains from the joists. ‘* Well, stranger, you’re hid away here pretty snug,” said Joe, g around him. ‘Yes; although it appears that Iam found,” answered the man. ‘‘ Seems to me you're not as stout as you might be, stranger,” persisted the youth, regarding the stranger with a look full of boyish curiosi- ty. ‘No, my bey, I have been nearer dead than alive for a week ; and it was only by the mercy of God I stumbled across’ this cabin.” , ‘Well, well, replied Joe, “then you found this house deserted when you come here, eh?” ““Yes—with no sign of life having been here — in ten years. Dirt and decay were profuse upon ev side; and I must say a still remain. The house seems to have been left, with every- thing in it, by its owner, who never came back. I have never been adjoining room; as you see, the buil } ‘It is, by mollyhorns!” exclaimed ing the fact for the first time. ‘The partition-door is barred upon the insi and I have been too weak to b itopen. Gi only knows what secret it holds. Had I been Comichoo cS —— = — — ee a ae ee eee in oe 06, notic- ° co ——————— oy