Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 56 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

ee SA ———e eee — eee SSSR Ese — oe ee —_ . plainly that all woul rae - —~--—- -—— --— ee - —$—$_ ee - CHAPTER V. GRIZZLY BEAR CAVERN. Fuitu of eager hope, Ned Mackintosh left his friend, Nick Whiffles, and started toward the Black- foot village, with the purpose of gaining one glimpse of Miona—she for whom he was willing to brave and to do so much. Reaching the small creek to which reference has been made, he was not a little surprised to find an Indian canoe tying against the bank at his feet. “Now, if there is no owner near, I call that ex- tremely fortunate,’’ he muttered, as he furtively rlanced about. ‘“‘I can cross to the opposite side, ond then, capa when the red fellow comes back, he will think he forgot and left it thére.”’ He gave one vigorous shove, and sprung in. The canoe moved about half-way across the creek, and began drifting downward, when Ned picked up a paddle; but, as he dipped it into the water, it. oc- curred to him that the safer way would be for him to deseend the creek to the river, and then steal along shore. By this means he would avoid leaving the telltale trail that has proved fatal to so many similar en- terprises. So keeping the boat in the center of the stream, he gently used the paddle, and glided easily down the current, reaching the river itself at the end of a few minutes. Still hopeful and confident, he paddled along, keeping close to the shore, and was within a very short distance of the village, when he saw the heed of a large canoe, coming around a short end in the river. As quick as a fiash the young man ran his boat under the shore, where the overhanging limbs looke1 dense enough to cover him, and with some apprehension awaited the coming and passing of this new danger. He was not kept long in waiting. The measured dip of paddles came nearer and nearer, and when nearly opposite, the bushes in front of him were cleft in twain by the prow of the other boat, and he was captured! It was done so quickly that the astounded young man had no thought of resistance ere he was seized and his arms bound. ‘*Whatis the meaning of this!’’ de demanded, in- dignantly. ‘I came with the traders. This is daw gerous to you [”’ The last words were uttered in the Blackfoot tongue. In doing so, Ned entirely forgot himself, and com- ae a blunder which he saw on the instant was atal, In the canoe were both Woo-wol-na and Red Bear and when they heard their own tongue used so well and forcibly, a dim suspicion of theirs at once be- came conviction. The appearance of the young man with Nick Whif- fles, during the early part of the day, caused both to suspect that he was the boy-lover of four years before, who had promised to return for Miona, Still, the changes in his personal appearance were so great, that ag Nest not dare to feel oe un- til they descried him lurking in the vicinity of the village, and heard him use the tongue he had learned from his old friend Nick Whiffles. Then, as has been shown, all doubt became certainty, and there was no eee as to what disposal should be ma eof They could easily kill him, but there were some slight opener ie oom that vengeance might be visited upon them if they did this, as the sharp eyes of ck Whiffles would be apt to detect and report the crime, while he could be quietly carried to the rocks and dropped into Grizzly Bear Cave and left to die of starvation, without the slightest trace remaining to tell the tale of his fate. Understanding that he had sealed his own doom, Mackintosh attempted no entreaty, resistance or threats. The baleful scowl and exultant looks of Red Bear, and his pe heartless father, told too be thrown away there. Sad, unspeakably sad as it was, he had brought his own fate upon him. Speeding swiftly down the river, they speedily passed the village, and then on for several miles, un- til they reached the hard, bare rocks, where the heaviest foot could leave not the slightest print to be- tray its passage. ere the body of the despairing, wretched Ned Mackintosh was lifted from the canoe and carried across the rocks to the opening of the cavern. This was irregular in shape and some four or five feet in diameter. Holding the captive for a moment, one of the Indians cut the thongs that bound his sal 8, = that his limbs were entirely free, and then et go Down through the dark, cold air of the cavern he whizzed, certain that his last moment was at hand, and that the next instant he would be a crushed, a shapeless mass at the bottom. ; But, instead of striking the flinty rock, he splashed into chilling water, sinking down fully a dozen feet when he came in contact with the cold stone, an sprung upward again. As he rose to the surface, he looked about him, but could see nothing at all. Everything was blank darkness, and only when he raised his eyes could he detect the round, jesged hole above him, through which the dim, fading light of day entered. Strik- ing out, however, he took but a few strokes, when he came against an obstruction, climbing upon which he found himself upon a broad, flat rock, clear of the water. ** Saved from one death to die another a hundred- fold more dreadful!’ murmured the poor sufferer, as he seated himself upon the rock, and tried to think cally upon the situation, eee eS . ome (ee es oe oo Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. —_—_—_—— The night so rapidly deepened that when he looked | lowered down the of ning, Nick calling out to his upward, it was impossible to discern the entrance to the cavern, while the gloom around him Was abso- lutely impenetrable. He did not dare to move from where he was sit- ting, lest he should stumble into some pitfall worse | than the one from which he just extricated him- self, and so he prepared to spend the night where he was, “There is no possibility of my escaping from here,’’ he reflected, ‘‘ or they would not have cast me in. Nothing but the intervention of Heaven, through Nick es, can save me, ‘** Will he suspect what has become of me? 1 pret mised to rejoin him by dusk, and it is past that time now. He will wait and search all the night and all to-morrow, but there is no trail by which to guide him here. He is keen-witted, and so is Calamity, but what clew can they gain to my whereabouts? “Oh! if Miona could only know, how quick would me out of this living tomb. I long for day- — at I may know precisely my situation.”’ e found that his revolver was still left in his pock- et, with his powder-flask and ammunition, but his captors had kept his rifle. e sat for a long time upon the damp, hard rock but finally dro off into slumber, which lasted through the en night; for, when he awoke the first thing that attracted his notice was da light we through the round hole over his head, and which letin enough illumination to disclose the en- tire interior of his prison home—Grizzly Bear Cav- € ettin rn. It was over fifty feet in diameter, very irregular in shape, tapering up to a hight nearly half as great where the opening was to seen. Every side in- clining inwardly toward this, one glance only was needed to show the prisoner that it was utterly inac- cessible, that no gymnast in the world could leave the cavern, without assistance from the outer world. He had some hope during the night, that some stream ran ———— it, and by means of a long dive he might succeed in escaping, but even this frail hope was dissipated, when he saw that it was nota stream, but a deep pool, which had gradually filled from the — through the sides of the rocks, and, that when it reached a certain point, the over- pen 2 Sas re by filtering through the ground and No; Ned Mackintosh was indeed in his tomb, un- less some friend would come and save him. The more he thought, the more improbable did if seem that Nick iffles would suspect his fate, and — 4 indeed was the foundation upon which he could build any hope. So excited and feverish and wretched did he feel for the first twenty-four hours that he scarcely thought of food. Back and forth he walked, paus- ing now and then to quench his thirst, and to keep his brain from going wild with the thoughts that were racking him, Late at night, he lay down, exhausted and wearied, and slept a feverish, unrefreshing slumber. He awoke several times, and his sufferings would have excited the sympathy of any one. When morning came again, he was sensible of the pa of hunger, and the thought occurred to him that possibly there might be some fish in the pool that were obtainable. So he spent a couple of hours in groping around with his hand, and sure enough he caught one weighing nearly a pound. This he carefully pre- served, eating morsel by morsel, until nothing but the bones were left, in the meanwhile hunting for more. But search and work to his utmost, he could find no more, and he was subjected to the gnaw- ing pangs of hunger again. Then came the pacing to and fro, like the cage lion, then exhaustion, fever and delirium, all alone in the gloomy cavern. Night and day were all the same, and he lost the consciousness of the passage of time. Whether ae ee been there three days or a week he could no , Why need he seek to know? Death was coming yt but surely. Why rack his brain? It only added keenness to his anguish. Forgetfulness, oblivion, stupor, were mercies now. Then came dreams so vivid that he scarcely knew whether he was awake or asleep. : And lying thus, he seemed see his old friend Nick Whi — and a and Miona, floating through the air overhead. Se ag to be look- ing. mournfully at him, and beckoning him to come. e sought to move, but could not. ** Halloa, Ned /”’ ned his mouth, but the words came not. , Ned Hazel !° He made an effort to rouse himself, but the stupor could not be shaken off. ‘* Halloa, Ned, are you hungry ?” Again he struggled with the ene and cst inkl tion of adying man. Rising to the sit po he gasped, moaned, and then feebly wailed: ‘* Yes, 1am here, Nick /”’ The strained and listening ear of the trapper heard the faint cry, just as Calamity’s whine told that he had also caught the same sound. ‘*Hold on, Ned! keep up a good heart!”’ came back the cheery voice of Nick, ‘I'll soon have you out of there!” Then the trapper rose to his feet muttering: ‘It’s "bout twenty-five feet down to that water. When I tumbled in, the other feller had to cut a young tree, and pass it down there, and I climbed up, and throwed it over the edge of the rock yonder, where it’s layin’ yet, if nobody ain’t took it away.” A few minutes’ search discovered the sapling, with its knotty protuberances, and this was carefully He o 77 _ you ng friend to stand from under. “Thar ain’t much need of that,’’ he added to himself, ‘‘ it’s all water right thar, and so deep that | the stick has got to be rested ag’in’ the side of the ol, When it was at last adjusted, the top scarcely protruded above the surface, so little was there to spare in the length of the sapling. ‘*Now, Ned, come right up that like a monkey.”’ “Oh, Nick! Iam too weak to stand!” ‘* By mighty!’ muttered the ho: ror-stricken Whif- fles, “is it as bad as that? Then Ill go down to yer, and ef I can’t get you out, I'll stay thar and die with yer. Calamity, you keep watch above, | fur I don’t b’lieve you can climb a tree.” she fly to my rescue? She would find some means of | reaching his hands out in the gloom. tion, | Fastening his rifle to his back, the trapper care- fully descended, foot by foot, until he stood on the roc a4 floor below. “Nick, my darling boy, whar are yer?” he asked, ‘Here, Nick, here!’’ and astaggering form pitched into his arms. ‘*God bless you, my boy!’’ murmured the trapper, the tears running from his eyes; ‘‘don’t try to help yourself; I'll take care of yer?”’ It was a work of incredible difficulty to ascend the knotted tree, with him in his arms; not on ac- count of his weight, but the task of climbing wiih ma one arm free. e tree bent fearfully under the additional weight and tough and muscular as was the trapper, he was utterly exhausted, when at last he reached the top, and lay down panting and almost breath- less, beside the still weaker Ned Mackintosh. But Nick speedily rallied, and lifting his “ boy” again in his arms carried him to his canoe, and then he sped homeward, driving his boat with the fury of a madman through the water. Ned rallied and ate some of the food brought to him, and the trapper never paused through the night. The young man finall popped into a pleas- ant slumber, from which he did not awake until the succeeding day was far advanced, when he roused up, ate more food, and then listened to the story of his true and tried friend. When he heard all, and cially the part that Miona herself had borne in rescue, his emotions can scarcely be described, “The noble, brave girl!’’? he murmured; “she shall be rescued! Only wait till I recover and am myself again!”’ ‘Yas; the first thing is for rom to be yourself ‘in, and you ain’t goin’ to do that in a hurry.” “Saut Ned did do it in a hurry. Young, vigorous, and healthy, he x poo regained his usual condition under the careful nursing of Nick Whiffles, who fur. nished him with an extra rifle, and took him on seve- ral hunts, before he pronounced him fit to engage in the recapture of his beloved Miona, Just one week from the time of his emergence from Grizzly Bear Cavern, Nick Whiffles declared that the time had come for the rescue of the affi- anced of Ned Mackintosh, CHAPTER VI. ON THE ELK RIVER AGAIN. On the next morning a canoe was gliding down the Elk river, in which were seated Nick es and Ned Mackintosh, and the dog Calamity. The former was in the bow, and with his rifle rest- ing lazily between his knees, was watching his young friend, who was using the paddle, as he had been wielding it for the last two hours. ‘*How do I make out?”’ he asked, with his usual pleasant smile. “‘AmI doing as well asI did four years ago?” “T sorter fancied you didn’t at first,’ was the re- ply, “‘ but you l’arned it too well in them days to for- et it soon. I don’t see as your stroke can be much improved, How’s your wind?” “All right; I haven't forgotten to take plenty of exercise, although it has been of quite a different character from this.”’ ‘* Hush /’ Mackintosh ceased paddling, and the two men heard distinctly the trappers’ song! It sounded quite a distance away, coming through quite an intervening stretch of woods, but it was un- mistakable. | ‘“T declare,” exclaimed Ned, di his paddle across the gunwale and leaning back in the canoe. ‘That calls up the past more vividly than anything or a few minutes, Nick,” e closed his eyes, and listened, and as he did so, he felt that he was indeed a boy again. He-was once more roaming through the great wil- derness of the North-west, chasing the antelope and buffalo, setting his trap on the mountain streams, and sighing and dreaming over the beautiful daugh- - ter of the Phantom Princess, At last he opened his eyes, and said, with a smile; ‘The dream was pleasant, but it has past. Where are the trappers, above or below us?” ** Above, ”’ “They are coming down-stream?”’ “Yes; they are gaining on us purty fast.” ‘Are you sure they're not Hudson Bay men?” “They're Nor’-wesiers—I can tell any of ‘em by their songs. Do you want ’em to passus?” | ‘‘Yes: I would like to see them, and we will let them go through their business with the Blackfeet, before we appear on the stage.”’ Toying idly with his paddle, the trappers soon came in view. They were in three large canocs, averaging a dozen men in each, advancing with a regular, steady sweep, keeping time with the words of a stirring song. “How natural that looks!’’ exclaimed Ned, as he watched them with a kindling eye; “I am living over my boyhood again.”’ | 0)(@)@) (E@) AL cS (E