Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 683 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 Saltneter Sol, = to be heard. The pursued had been shrewd enough to hide, and wait for Sol to lose him, When the latter realized this he adopted the plan of beating up the bushes, but without success. He could uot find or hear the unknown, and it became evident that the latter had used due care and made his escape, ‘An’ I’m all the cause of it!” muttered Sol unjustly reproaching himself, ‘*;,Why didn’t I o fur help at once?—but that’d only given him etter chancetoescape. Anyhow, l’ll go, now!” He hurried away and tramped on until an uneasy feeling came over him, ‘Why, ’ve gone more than fur enough ter get back! Where’s the house? Have I gone wrong?” So it seemed, and helooked upand around in a vain attempt to discover the points of com- pass. He was completely lost. Annoyed by this continued i!l luck he shifted his course to what seemed right, and then resuuied his pro- ress, Ill luck still attended him, and he was about to give up in despair when the woods suddenly ‘faded away before him, he came out into open land, ani saw a wide sheet of water before him. He was.on the bank of the Hudson, ‘Wal, this isa p’izon shame!” he lamented, ‘¢ Here I’ve not only lost myself ter my allies, but I’ve hada clew ter young Joseph an’ not been able ter hold it, This ’ere night must be ruled by a malev’lent planet, fur it’s full o’ triberla- tion. ‘Tis, by sixty! Wal, w’ot bel goin’ ter do now? I’ve got the lay o’ land an’ kin start back ter Brown's, but w’ot good would itdo? The garcus is all over thers, an’ ef I went back I might find ’em gone—or I might git lost ag’in. Shall [ go back, or not?” While considering this point he was looking out over the river. Dark as the wood had been, it was fairly light upon the stream. Thus it was that, while he stood in irresaqlu- tion, he heard the sound of oars and looked for the cause with some hope of success, ‘** It’s comin’ down the river; mebbe 1 kin git a ride down ter the Flyin’ Fish—” He stopped speaking as the boat appeared to his view. It was several fathoms from shore, but was being rowed in a slow, halting way, as if the oarsman was not familiar with his task. **Only one man in it; so thar’s plenty o’ room fur me, Hullo! what’s that? B’jinks? I b’lieve that ’tis a boy!” Freshly excited, the raftsman kept his gaze upon the slight figure he had discovered in the boat, and the suspicion grew upon him that he was looking at the lost Joseph. What was to be done abort it? If he called out, and the two proved to be Joseph and his captor, the former would make prompt efforts to get out of the way. ‘* B’jinks! [’ll swim for them!” To think was to act, in this case, and Sol cast off his coat and shoes and plunged into the water. lt has been stated before that he was ** almost as much at home as a fish ” in the liquid element, and he started with strong, steady strokes, Not yet was the boat fully abreast of him, and they would lack but little of meeting at a com- mon point. Then, unless the stranger was a better oarsman than he seemed, Sol believed that he could run him down, On came the boat, it’s impeller showing no suspicion, e and Sol gradually neared each other, and, asthe boat passed by, the swimmer pursued rapidly, gaining with each stroke, e could see the smaller voyager well enough to make out that he was a small boy, and his hopes increased, So did the vigor of his strokes, and he gained until, at last, be flung up one hand and laid hold of the stern of the boat. For the first time he began to think with pru- dence. He could vault into the craft, if left alone, but what good woulditdohim? He could not compete with the man in a struggle, and would put his own life in jeopardy without help- 2, ea boy. e hung on and meditated, and, the longer he hung, the more he felt inclined to believe he had found his proper position. He could keep it for a long time, half-supporting himself by clinging to the boat, and, when the oarsman landed, would be ready to follow him further. This plan he proceeded to carry out, There was perfect silence in the camp. The man rowed on in an erratic course, now and then missing the water entirely as he madea stroke, or dipping ah oar so deep that he swung the buat around greatly—in brief, rowing so like a novice that a weight greater than Sol’s might have hung at the stern and he been none the wiser, As for the young passenger, he said nothing, but, clinging fast to the seat, appeared to be a good deal alarmed by the water around him. Sol kept his place as silently as the others. The further they went the more cause he had for hope, for they would bring up ultimately, if they kept on, at the place where the raft was, The hope was proved fruitless, The boatman began to hesitate and scan the bank; then, at last, he turned and rowed toward it. Just at that point it wasa barren stretch of land, but Sol bailed the change, Finally, the stranger landed and drew up the boat so that it could not drift away. Then, without a word, he picked his small companion up in his arms and walked away. Sol followed as near,as he dared. . ‘* This little chap is Joseph!” he decided, ‘‘I kin see the curlin’ hair his granddad tol’ about, an’ I don’t see as there kin be any mistake. He’s awful still, but Lsuspect this snake has skeered him inter obliviousness.” Grimly the raftsman pursued, and, as he went, he kept a sharp watch for some one to whom he could appeal for help. Their course was such that there was a faint hope of their running upon Fordrest and Hill, as the two lat- ter returned to the raft. On went Sol and his game, their way being across a marshy tract of land. The pursuer thought that he was using all possibie care, but the man finally proved that he was equally on the alert. Suddenly he turned and came back rapidly. Sol obeyed his first impulse and dropped down, hoping that the tall grass would hide him. He was disappointed; the man stopped beside bim and roughly ordered: ‘*Get up!” ‘*1’m comfor’ble here,” murmured So] ‘* Get up, I say!” The raftsman reluctantly obeyed. ‘* What are you doin?’ added the stranger. ‘*'Takin’ a nap.” ** You’re a liar! Why do you foller me?” ‘*T was goin’ this way.” **So I see, but why were you doggin’ me?” ‘* Mister,” responded Sol, rallying, ‘* you labor under a most p’izon misapprehension; you do, by sixty! Ive been out tryin’ ter lure the finny denizens o’ the aquemous realm ter engulf a curved bit o’ metal in their gullets, In other words, I’ve been fishin’—” ‘* Rubbish! Why did you spy upon me?” ** Now, mister—’ ‘* Answer!” shouted the man. ‘* Say, who is tellin’ my story, anyhow?” The stranger made a rush to seize the cour- ageous raftsman. The latter leaped backward nimbly, and would have escaped bad not his foot caught in the grass, He fell, and tho man seized him. ‘¢ Run, Joseph, run!” cried Sol, seeing that the small boy had been set at liberty; but, if his di- rection “was comprehended, its object was too much dazed to obey. “Pll fix you!” pursued Sol’s enemy; and, though the latter struggled desperately, he was soon overcome, Then the victor, with singular skill, twisted the marsh-grass into ropes and bound tae rafts- man’s hands and feet, and finished the work by thrusting more of it into bis victim’s mouth as a ag. ot See what you’ve brought yerself to!” taunt- ed the unknown, ‘* Here you are, bound fast and unable to yell for help; an’ as nobody comes out on this marsh, the chances be that you will starve ter death here. Serve ye right fur meddlin’!” CHAPTER XIII, LEFT TO HIS FATE, Son tried to speak, but only made a wordless gurgling. ¥ ** I hope you'll enjoy yerself!” his enemy added. The raftsman would have given a good deal for the power of speech then. ‘** Still, there may not be much fun in it,” con- tinued the man, kicking his prisoner slightly. * Sol silently vowed to make “‘ fun” for his per- secutor, if he ever had a chance, ‘*’You will live quite awhile, ef the marsh grass don’t get on fire,” went on the stranger. ‘** Of course a spark from a locomotive may fire it, in which case you would go up in smoke in short order, like well-cured bacon, Ef there is no fire, you will last some time. Did you have a good supper? I wvope so, fur it will make a difference, later, As | said, nobody ever comes out here, an’ ef the ravens don’t feed you, you'll prob’ly be quite hungry before you starve!” This kind of talk did the man a good deal of : ty is Agee 7 ja? } +14 6 4 ) Wl “~ ‘ - as sid! . , , ? . / good, and he chuckled gleefully over what he considered his wit. He tried to think of more to say, but, failing, finally announced that he would leave, He picked up the boy and walked away in the darkness, Once more Sol was left alone, and left in a most wretched state of mind, He reproached himself unjustly. He thought that he ought to have succeeded better, when the wonder was that he had done so well, He could not hope to equal a powerless man in strength, and his per- serverance had been remarkable, Nevertheless, in spite of bis good work, he was menaced with utter defeat. Joseph and his captor were receding, and there was nobody to oppose the kidnapper. Sol, however, did not take his defeat passively. Nossooner was the abductor out of sight than he began to struggle, hoping to break his bonds of marsh grass, It was tough and pliable, but there was hope of disarranging it, he thought. If the raftsman had been writhing in the marsh fire of which his enemy spoke he would not have twisted about much more than he did in the moments following his first opportunity. Bringing all his strength to bear, he fought the w~ TON we OT eee bonds zealously, indifferent to the pain caused — his wrists. For some time it looked as if he was doomed to fail, but, after the lapse of many precious seconds, the thongs slipped suddenly. One more wrench and his hands were loose, He tore the gag from his mouth, He drew his knife and cut the bonds on hig ankles, He was free, at last! Springing to his feet, he looked in the direc tion the kidnapper had gone. As he had expected, the man had disappeared. ** Now, furarace!” muttered the indefatiga- ble raftsman;and he started on a run as rapid as the grass would.allow, The marsh was but narrow, and he svon reached a road, The question then became, which way had the object of pursuit gone? A broad, muddy ditch lay between the road and the grass-land, and Sol bent low and began to search for footprints. He was soon success- ful; he found where his enemy had taken to the road, As the latter had come across the field in a diagonal direction, it was only fair to presume that he intended to keep on toward the south, | and Sol drew a long breath and sped on down the road as fast as his young legs would carry him, Looking eagerly for the pursued, he ran with- out any further attempt at method, There was a whistle and aroar behind him, and then a railroad train passed, but he did not heed it, Just ahead, however, was a village, and he saw the train stop. Seized with sudden fear, he made every effort to reach the station before the train left, but in vain; he saw the conductor signal, and the train began to move, At that moment a man who carried a boy in his arms ran out of the station and leaped upon the last of the moving cars, Sol recognized both man and boy. “Stop the train!” he tried to shout, but, robbed of breath by his hard run, it was only a wheezy call. He reached the platform, but the train was several yards away and gaining faster than he could go, He sunk upon a -trunk, panting, and the station-agent looked at bim curiously. ‘* Missed it, didn’t ye?” he made comment, Sol did not heed him, ‘* Ts there a telegraph-office here?” he asked, se No ) The raftsman was silent, but, just then a car- riage rolled along, and was about to pass the station when he caught sight of its oecupants. They were Mr, Fordrest and Tom Hill, He sprung toward them. ‘¢ Hold up!” he eried, huskily. “Why, it’s Sol!” exclaimed Fordrest, ‘* He’s gone!” added the boy, excitedly ‘Who is gone!” ‘* Joseph !’ “What?” ‘¢ He’s been took away on that train!” ** How do you know?’ ‘¢ ve seen him; I tried to stop ’em, but I was ‘* Are you sure it was my grandson?” ** Sartain sure!” ‘Tell me what has happened,” It was a good deal to tell and make a short story of it, but Sol succeeded remarkably well. It was a narrative of stirring adventure, too, >