Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 70 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

oaks me | it followed as a moral necessity that he should go astray. It was a long time before Percy became aware of this fact. The novice in wood-craft is always the most certain he is right, when he is the fur- therest wrong, and so he toiled confidently for- ward, only pausing to draw his snowy handker- chief across his forehead, and to rest himself from carrying the heavy rifle. Twelve o’clock came and passed, and Fitzsim- mons sat down on the face of a flat rock to take another draught and rest, with an unpleasant conviction stealing over him that he was astray. He had hardly entertained this thought, when, raising his gaze, he was startled by what was certainly one of the most singular sights upon which any mortal had ever gazed. CHAPTER IL. THE CABIN IN THE AIR. THAT portion of the ravine, where Percy Fitz- simmons had halted, was several hundred yards in width, each side rising to a great hight; on the left the rocks were as perpendicular as if laid | and as Fitzsimmons began to realize again that _ | —e of re | | Old Zip’s Cabin. _ a ee ee ee —™” the linen in hand, and swayeditover hishead,as | ‘‘ They have been waiting dinner, I suppose,” ‘hip! hip! hurrah!” This was continued several minutes, but the suspended cabin gave no sign; all remained as silent as the tomb—no face or answering hand- kerchief appeared at the window—and Percy began to fear that his attentions were all in vain. At this juncture, Percy noticed that the cabin was without anything corresponding to a chim- ney and he gave up bis observation in disgust. ‘T suppose, maybe, the family that live there have gone to Saratoga or Newport to spend the summer, and so there is no use of a fellow send- ing up his card. Hello, up there!” But this hail was equally fruitless of response, and Percy walked directly under the structure and looked up at it. *Tve a great notion to fire a bullet into it, and see if they wouldn’t answer that, but then if there’s a lovely maiden there, it might shock her.’ As there seemed no probability of learning anything more about this curious contrivance, in place by the hand of man. On the right, the | he was somewhat a-hungered, he moved on up masses of stone projected forward, as the top | the ravine on his return homeward. was approached, so that the ravine was a hund- red feet wider at the bottom than at the top— » that if a venturesome man should crawl to the would be as if he were gazing from the landing on a pair of stairs down the wider side. All this was striking enough to arrest the at- tention of any one passing through the ravine below, excepting perhaps one who was as hungry, and anxious to get home, as was Percy; but it was not this which caused his start and gasp of wonder, as he adjusted his eye-glasses and looked upward. On the lower side of this rocky, inclined wall, was suspended a cabin, resting apparently like Mahomet’s, in mid-air. [t wasso far beneath the upper edge of the cliff, that a stone dropped from the top would not graze it, while it was elevated fully seventy-five feet above the ravine below. Well tr Percy Fitzsimmons forget his anxiety and hunger, in his wonder at this sight, for the question instantly rose in his mind: ‘“What is the meaning of this? Who built that cabin? And after it was built, how in the name of the seven wonders was it gotten u there? And what was it put there for? Anc who lives init? And what keeps the babies from falling out, and how does a fellow get in there? Is ita burglar-proof structure that the inventor has brought out here to experiment upon, so that no one can steal his ideas?” A hundred such questions as these went through the mind of the gaping Percy, as he stood in the ravine looking upward until his neck ached. The cabin was very small, being not more than a dozen feet across, and a few feet greater in length. It had a front and back door, and one window on each of the four sides—all oe narrow, and intended probably for outlooks more than anything else. The floor of the cabin was of heavy planking, and the roof was so steep, that no missile, if thrown upon it, would remain there an instant. A close scrutiny of the flooring, by the aid of Percy’s eye-glasses, gave him a suspicion that there was something like a door, opening either up or down, sufficient to admit the passage of a goodl man. The walls, bottom and roof of the cabin were made of omg doubtless heavy enough to be proof ene bullets fired from any direction, and each window was provided with two long, narrow panes of glass. ‘‘ That looks so queer that (ll lay down on my back, and take another survey of it, without twisting my neck off.” After Percy had viewed it in this manner, in silent amazement, for perhaps fifteen minu his thoughts found expression in words: “Now, if that cabin is there, it has been put there for some purpose, and there must be some- body living there. I shouldn’t wonder if there was some enchanting young lady imprisoned in there, like the wife of Bluebeard, and that she is wai for me to come and rescue her. I wonder if I can draw her attention.” Filled with this brilliant idea, the exquisite hastily resumed the sitting position, and draw- ing forth his Handkerchief almost blew off the - of his nose in his effort to signal the fair one above. All the time he was thus occupied, he kept one eye cocked upward on the look-out for the re- turning signal; but failing to see any, he took ’ | ' | | of the precipice and look over, his view | something to eat. a a tle _ *T wonder if uncle Hugh knows anything about that; V’ll ask him if | ever find my wa out of this blamed place, and get where there’s By Jove! but the kitchen smelled good when I left.” When Perey had gone by the hanging cabin for a considerable distance, he naturally looked back to see whether it had taken any new phase upon itself. There it hung, seeming to project from the face of the rocks, like a knot or excrescence growing upon the side of a tree, and without any vislble means of support. urthermore, a man, most probably the owner, was making his way into it. Something like a rope seemed to be fastened around his body, or else he was sitting in a loop made by it, and he was ascending. And that too without any effort of his own. Some power was drawing him steadily and quite rapidly upward; and “Fitzsimmons watched until his was directly beneath and against the floor of the cabin, when the trap-door seemed to a and the man disappear made a plunge into the sea, with the waters in- —, closing over and burying him out of sight. sf I must get somebody to introduce me to that chap,” concluded Perey, as he resumed his walk homeward. ‘‘I should like to have the construction of that edifice explained. I think the diagram of that building would make my fortune as an architect, but just now I should like most deucedly to get something to eat. Here it is two o’clock and dinner is getting cold to a dead certainty.” Unexpected good-fortune attended the per- severing labors of Percy Fitzsimmons in mak- ing his way out of the wood. He knew that he was lost, but in taking the cross-ravine, he had selected the very one that speedily led him out of the mountainous forest, into the very under- brush through which he had passed on entering t. ‘* By Jove! but that is lucky,” he exclaimed, in delight. ‘‘ Now I’ve got but a short distance cle Hugh’s. The old fellow will think it rather hunt thatI couldn’t wait till he came in from him.” It was a warm day in August, and both shoulders and both arms of Percy ached from carrying the heavy rifle of his uncle; but he was ravenously hungry, and walked rapidly down the road: natura] to him. ‘* Just let me throw myself outside of one of to the road, and then it’s all plain sailing to un- | ) | though he were-on the point of bursting into a | he concluded, as he stepped within the gate, ‘*so I am in zood time after all.” But before he placed his hand upon the latch of the door, a vague fear crept over him at the | unwonted stillness of the place, and unconscious- | ly he moderated his “ee and walked lightly, as we do when nearing the room in which a dead _ friend is lying. Percy had raised his hand to lift the latch, when his eye rested upon a sheet of paper, hastily folded and lying upon the sill, with his name in pencil in the large, bold, angular char- acters of a farmer. Hastily picking it up, he read: ““My DEAR NEPHEW: ‘**Don’t remain at the house one minute after re- ceiving this warning! Old Zip was here but a few minutes ago, with the news that a party of Sioux | Indians are making for this point, with the intention no doubt of massacreing us all. He providentiail discovered them a few minutes after meeting wit you, I wished to remain, so as to take you away with us, but he would not permit that, as it would insure the destruction of us all, and he tho gs it _ probable that we should find you in the wood. If we do not ZIP will return for you, as soon as we find uge. Incase you return to our doom- house, do not wait a moment after reading this hastily scrawled note, but make all haste for the wood, where you were hunting, and we will manage to find you. Your UncLe Hues.,”’ This was astounding tidings indeed, and Percy Fitzsimmons stood for a moment like one par- alyzed. en, dropping the paper to the ground, he _ glanced furtively about him, in the expectation of seeing the dreaded red-skins rushing from _the wood upon him; but the same oppressive stillness rested upon nature, as though no hu- man being had ever broken in upon this prime- _ val solitude, ‘*T ought to travel, that’s certain,” he whis- _pered, still listening; ‘but I’m blessed if I like to take to the woods again as hungry as I am. I think Ive got time to swallow a mouthful or two.” Having resolved on this, he opened the door, which had been purposely left unfastened by Hugh Fullerton, and entered. e house of the farmer was similar to many that are still found on the Minnesota frontier, as if he had | being of moderate size, made of boards, with some resemblance to the building generally known as the “cottage,” and quite attractive in the interior as well as the exterior arrange- ments. Great as was the hurry in which Fullerton and his wife had taken their departure, the _housewife had gained time to “ tidy up” some- what, so that there was an appearance of neat- ness extremely attractive. But Percy Fitzsimmons was looking for some- thing to eat, and recom there was none in tho Oo room, he made a dive was certain of finding it in abundance. ‘‘Suppose they took it all away with them!” he gasped, in horror, as he paused for an instant in descending the stairs. He speedily reached the pres orm and cool apartment, and the first thing t struck = wt was one of aunt Han.’s snowy loaves of = ; r the cellar, where he r with a plate of golden butter sitting be- _ side it. queer that I was so anxious to be off on a_ the field. However, Pll make it all right with | with an energy altogether un- Dashing back again up-stairs, the delighted Percy speedily procured a dinner-knife and re- turned. “By Jove! but that pays a fellow,” as he caught up the loaf and sliced off a huge “so upon which the fragrant butter was recklessly dashed. ‘* How much better that that should be eaten by a Christian than by a barbarian,” he mut- tered, as he devoured the stuff with a most ravenous appetite. ‘‘ Hello! there is some meat and pudding.” Indeed Percy was enjoying himself exquisite- ly. Hunger is said to be the best sauce, and aunt Han.’s anti-dyspeptic dinners, and then [ll | lay off all the afternoon, smoke my cigar, and read till I drop to we nl And at the vision his fancy painted, he has- tened his footsteps, looking continually for a sight of his welcome goal, ‘Hello! there she .is!” he suddenly exclaim-— ed, as he caught sight of the substantial struc- ture, whose windows and roof looked particu- larly inviting, as seen across a field of waving — corn. ‘‘ That’s the oasisin the desert! that’s the Continental! that’s Atlantic City and Cape May, all boiled into one—that is the rising sun to the ship-wrecked mariner.” s Percy approached the house, he was a lit- noyed to see no one about the building or in the yard. never had the gentleman relished the choicest viands at the suppers of his club, as he did this homely diet, prepared by the farmer’s wife in Minnesota. In the zest of his enjoyment all thought of the Indians was forgotten for the time, and Percy ate like one who was doing it under contract. In the midst of his feast he had a narrow es- cape from a fearful death. As he sat down up- on an inverted tub and devoured his bread and _ butter, his eyes kept wandering about the apart- ment, when they suddenly rested on somethin white, that lay in an open paper upon a sma side-shelf. “That’s sugar, by Jove!” exclaimed Percy, springing up, ‘and I’ve always had a weakness for that.” (eo) (EColp ae exeye) <S