Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 56 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. through the impressive ceremony of ma the most celebrated young warrior of the Blackfoot tribe. Miona was not prepared to consent to this, and she asked for a delay of twenty-four hours at least; but Red Bear had aicvady submitted to her whims until his patience was well-nigh exhausted. e used all the persuasive eloquence of an Indian lover to induce her to change her mind; he said that Woo-wol-na was cting their coming at the town that very night; that he expected the ceremony would bé celebrated without fail, and there was dan- ger in thwarting the wishes of such a great man. His at was ready, and if Red Bear had ay barge the Ossian Serenade, there is little doubt but that he would have sung: “Oh, come with me, in my light canoe Where the sea is calm and the sky is blue, Oh, come with me for I long to go To the isles where the mango apples grow.” As may be supposed, young Mackintosh was a deeply interested spectator of the scene. Of course, it was beyond his power to comprehend with any certainty the meaning of the words uttered, but the actions and gesiiculations of each showed that there was considerable feeling and that it was increasing. Perhaps the consciousness that she had friends near at hand, made Miona somewhat bolder and more defiant than she woukl have been otherwise. Certain it is that she had begun by heeding the re- quest of her lover, and had been usually bland and conciliatory. This, however, had produced the op- posite effect from what was intended, and he had made urgent demands for her to leave this * country seat’ at once. She had dallied with him as long as she could, and finding herself unable to convince him of his error, she had ended by rns, Pps to accompany him, d Bear rose from his seat in his anger and ges- ticulated savagely toward her. At this juncture Ca- lamity whisked out of the lodge so skillfully that even Miona herself did not see him, and hurried = ag to his master with the missive about his neck. Mackintosh would have hastened to the animal to claim the precious letter he bore, had he not been enchained to the spot by the threatening character of the interview between the Indian and the loved one of his heart. There was no telling but what the savage, in his fury, might offer her violence, and he felt it incum- bent to remain near enough to protect her. ** Let the dusky scoundrel but attempt to lay his hand upon her,’’ muttered Ned, as he cautiousl brought his rifle round to position, ‘‘and I'll erac that shaven skull of his quicker than lightning.” Red Bear gesticulated furiously, butas he still held no weapon in his hand, Mackintosh reserved his fire. He seemed to be vehemently to Miona, who sat quiet and collected, still engaged in her bead- wore and only now and then loo up in his face. t her replies were could only divined, but the passion of the Indian seemed to increase, until there could be no doubt that the girl was really in danger. Suddenly Ned saw a knife gleaming in his hand, and he felt that it would not do to delay longer. So he aimed straight at the head of the oot chief, CHAPTER X11. IN THE WOODS. At this critical juncture, a shadowy arm over the shoulder of Ned Mackintosh, and grasped his rifle in such a manner that when the trigger was pres the hammer fell upon the sinewy fingers in- stead of the percussion. ‘What do you mean?” demanded the excited young man, turni a friend of that red demon’s? **Easy; I’ve been watching the varmint, Ned, and if there was any er of his harmin’ a hair of her head, my ball would have been ahead of yourn; bu he’s only done it to scare her; he thinks too much o her to want to lose her by his own foolishness. Look ag’in and tell me what you see,”’ Casting his eyes in the direction of the lodge, the baal gy that oe ig 3 fy ogee ane seated im again—another proof of the su or saga- city of the old trapper. - * *“ Here’s your pencil and your paper; take ’em and git out of this, fur it ain’t safe to trust you here. ll take yer place.”’ Ned did as commanded, withdrawing deep into the woods, where he was certain of being beyond the ey and hearing of friends and enemies alike. He held in his hand a letter from Miona, and he was de- termined to read it even though he was compelled to risk not a little in doing so. Reac a spot where he felt all was secure he crouched down upon the ground, like a man engaged in doing a guilty Site and cautiously raked some dry leaves together. pon these he spread a num- ber of dead and then drawing forth his match- safe struck and touched a light to them. As the tw up, he looked furtively around; but he was in a sort of hollow and dense undergrowth which inclosed him on every side, and leaning over the blaze, he eagerly devoured the hastily written lines. ** DEAREST EDWARD: “What you and Nick Whiffles do, must be done to- night, for I amt to be taken back to the village to-morrow, where I will be more closely guarded than my poor father was four years ago, I have been expecting you, knowing that you must have escaped, thinking your love would have hastened our movements more than they have; and when 4 was taken here, I was really in despair, for I thought angrily upon Whiffles; ‘‘ are you | you would never find me. I am more glad than I can tell you that you are so near me, and I hope soon to be with you, and clasped in the arms of father and mother, who, you said, were going to cross the ocean with ree shall wait and listen for some signal from Nick, and be ready to pera my part in end- ing this dreadful captivity, t becomes worse and worse each day—”’ ‘ Then followed some very loving manifestations, — it closed with a prayer and a signature, ‘* Thine wn.” The Phantom Princess, ort / the years ppent in the wilds of America, had not forgotten her duty to her child, and so it came to pass that she expressed herself with as much fluency upon paper as she did in conversation, and Ned Mackintosh, in his romantic love for her, at times fancied that she still excelled him in her literary knowledge. The precious letter was carefully read over, and the tiny fire was hastily stamped out and all was darkness n, ‘*] shall have to let Nick know what I have been doing,”’ he soliloquized, as he walked away, “for he must be made to understand that it won’t do to wait till to-morrow before noving further in this case.’’ He heard nothing from the other lodge in which the light shone, but, as he carefully made his way to where Nick was still acting the part of guardian, he caught the glimpse of a moving figure in front of en eine and he instantly inquired of Nick what meant. ** Red Bear has just left to go to the other cabin. I think he’s goin’ after that old squaw to help carry the gal to the canoe,”’ ** And we are to lie here and look on?”’ The were: replied to this question by uttering a low whistle, which instantly caught the listening ear of Miona. She threw a sort of blanket around her shoulders, started to her feet and came to the en- trance of the lodge, npn around in the darkness for some other aiding signal. The whistle was repeated, and the next moment she came hurrying across the clearing, and immedi- ately after was with her friends. e time was critical, but Ned Mackintosh took the slight figure in his stout arms and pressed her fervently to him, kissing her face again and again, and murmured: ** Miona ny own, I have you at last, and no power on earth sh separate us again.’’ She could only sob and murmur her love in return tog Nick couldn't see the necessity of either just then. ‘*There! there! that'll do,”’ said he; “ wait till we t where the varmints are a little more scarce than ere. Mackintosh released the girl from his embrace, but still fondly holding one hand in his own, turned to the old trapper, and said: ‘*Lead the way, Nick, and we will follow.”’ Back again across the clearing the three shadowy fgets stealthily made their way, while Calamity, ike the pointer of a hunter, trotted in advance. Just within the cover of the woods, Whiffles paused a moment, and 9 pgs the shoulder of Mackintosh, inted to the 1 they had just left. Following he direction of finger, the two saw Red Bear and his mother hurry toward the building, with the intention of taking the “‘ queen ”’ forcibly to the e. vite was precious, and without waiting another moment, the three gro through the wood until they reached the e of the creek, where the canoe lay. Noiselessly an a pcsent Aas took their seats in this, and Nick pushed out into the stream. Instead of tr the prow downward toward Elk river, he continued on up the creek, several powerful strokes of his paddle sending the boat directly by the lodges, and on into the gloom V2 ae: S was barely accomplished when a couple of quick whoops announced that the flight of Miona had been discovered, and the hurrying search had already begun. With the signal of alarm, the girl shrunk closer to the side of her lover, as if she felt that there was now her only safety. ‘* Have no fear,’’ he whispered, as he gathered his arms about her; “ they shall never, never take you from me.” **T know it,”’ she replied, her heart full of a delight which had only come to her dreamily and vaguely during the past years. Nick Whiffles’s whole attention was given to the management of the boat, which he sent forward with astonishing power and speed. It was observ- able that the creek was narrowing, and the current was growing more rapid as they advanced. Only a few miles more could the water be turned to account. The trapper was carrying out the purpose he had announced, of attempting their escape by a new route. Instead of goi own into the river, he in- tended to pass overland across the country to the stream which found its way into the south branch of the Saskatchewan, and so on to Fort Churchill in the Far North, where the parents of Miona were so anxi- ously awaiting her coming. With the sounds of alarm that Red Bear made, when the flight of the girl was discovered, all outcry ceased, and the fugitives knew not what steps were being taken by way of pursuit. Nick believed that the Blackfeet would entertain no icion of what had taken place until the morrow, and their efforts would all be misdirected between now and then, so that these previous hours would be so much gained. This pleasant belief, however, was dispelled by a discovery which Miona made at this moment. She told her lover that in the hurry of her flight from the lodge, at the summons of her friends, she had drop- the note. he had sent her upon the ground, where she had left it lying, and where it would be sure to catch the eye of Red Bear, the moment he entered and found she had fled. ‘** But I don’t think he will be able to read it,’’ she added, as Ned told it to Nick, “‘as he hasn't much education in the English language “That is unnecessary,” replied the trapper; “‘ he'll know what it means the very minute he sets eye on it, — he'll know that me and Ned have run away with you,”’ ‘* But he will not suspect we have taken this direc- tion,’ replied Mackintosh. ‘* He won't know it, but he'll ’spect it, and as like as not he’s follerin’ hard after us this very minute.” ‘* Let him follow!’’ exclaimed Mackintosh. ‘‘If he catches us, are we powerless to help ourselves? For my part, I can’t help believing I would experience a genuine pleasure in wang that treacherous scamp as a et. Why was he fool enough to leave Miona alone, when it was so easy for her to slip out and make off?’’ ; ‘* He wouldn't have done it if he had knowed we war about, and she wouldn't have run away if she hadn’t knowed we was.”’ Now and then Nick paused in his paddling for a few seconds and listened, but nothing of his pursuers was heard, and the only sound that reached their ears was that of the wind blowing through the trees around them. The three noticed that quite a breeze was blowing and that it was and mpOren sing. The faint moon, too, was obscured by flying clouds, and there was every indication of a rapi Kappr ing storm. The air was quite chilly, and Nick decla that a drenching, driving rain would be upon them by day- break. “Will that be favorable or unfavorable to us?” asked Ned. “‘It will be the worst thing in the world, for we’ve got to ae till the storm ends, and that'll give the varmints the time they want to find where we've one, and chances are they'll overhaul us afore we it across to the other stream,”’ 9 But we are leaving no trail.” ‘That don’t make no difference; just as soon as they l’arn we've headed toward the north, they'll know what p’int I’m aimin’ for, and they'll know how to head us off.” ‘*Then we can turn back and take another direc- tion.” Nick made no reply, for he did not wish to alarm his companions, but the course proposed by Mackin- tosh was the very one he wished to avoid. Turned back into the apo” again, with a band of Black- feet between him and British ‘territory, it would be almost impossible to escape discovery or recapture by these bloodhounds, who would watch every avenue oF escape, and close around the three, with a celerity and certainty almost impossible to thwart. Nick es knew another thing that was not especially pleasant to him, although no reference to it had yet escaped his lips, and it was certain that it would never be learned 1 ey others through him, His position toward Woo-wol-na was in one re- spect an anomalous one. The titude which that chief still retained for services done many years be- fore, was such as to cause him to overlook the he had acted in the rescue of Hugh Bandman death; but, in forgetting that, the forbearance of the Blackfoot leader reached its utmost limit. It was certain he would discover the part played y Nick in this business, which was far more ous in every respect. For helping in the abduction of Miona, Woo-wol-na had no forgiveness, and none would be more ready or eager t he to take swift and sure vengeance upon the old eapper for it. In case Nick should succeed, he woul compelled to change the loca- tion of his “home” to some point where he would be safe beyond the vengeance of his enemies, who, infuriated by their disappointment, would burn the old cabin to the ground, All this I say Nick fully understood, and there was acertain sadness in the thought; but, at the same time, it did not abate his energy for his friends in the least. He had gone into this business, fully un- derstanding the risk involved, and yet he had done so, not willingly only, but with an eagerness to benefit those ys loved so well, and to do an actof humanity, which his conscience told him was right, Some three or four miles were ed, and then the creek became so narrow, and the current so rapid, that further progress in the canoe was out of the question. It was therefore run against the bank, and the three disembarked. ‘“‘ Now, if I leave the boat here, the varmints will be sure to find it,” said Nick, “and it'll show ‘em just where to take our trail.” “Take it with us, for you'll need it at the other stream,” said Mackintosh, stooping down to lift it from the water. ‘“‘No,”’ replied the trapper, “‘we don’t need it fur that. Is’pose I got a dozen boats in the different streams around the country, andif we kin only make that creek, I know where to pur my hand on what I want. This boat is quite hefty to carry with us, but I'll take it part way, so that it shan’t help them an Pd With which he lifted it over his h and strode off through the woods, the lovers following, and Ca- ity in advance of all. There could no longer be any doubt that a storm was rapidly gathering and would soon break upon them. The ps light of the moon was so obscured by the tumultuous clouds conataney sweeping past its face, that ar their way with considerable difficulty thro the wood and over the broken country. Mackintosh noticed that the ground was rising so rapidly that they were ascending quite an elevation, pone some high ridge that was the water-shed of this section, GOmicboo (E cS