Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 8 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

mh = i a ee SS es? == ss « = ea = e ——__________. __ —— eee ee Se 12 —_—____ —__--- flicting tracks, that it could not but puzzle and delay their enemies. Near noon, and at the very moment that Seth paused to take a survey of the suspicious valley-like depression, and when not more than a furlong in the rear, Haldidge caught sight of three Indians just ahead of him. They were sitting upon the ground, in perfect silence, and seemingly waiting for the ap- proach of some one. The hunter found himself as much saw. himself or not he could not tell, but, before ventur- ing further, he made up his mind to gain a further knowledge of their intentions. Haldidge had one formidable difficulty to contend with: the wood at this particular spot was open, and almost devoid of the protecting undergrowth, so that if was about impossible to ap roach them closer without discovering himself to them. He no- ticed lying a short distance behind them a large, heavy log, apparently much decayed. In fact, this was so near them, that could cd pig it, he could overhear everything said. He had a slight knowl- edge of the Mohawk tongue—not enough to converse in it—but still enough to understand the drift of a conversation. Accordingly he determined to reach the Se at all hazards. Haldidge desired, if erect to communicate with Haverland and warn him of the proximity of danger. To do this, it was necessary to make a long de/our, and upon further consideration he decided not to at- tempt it. Lying flat upon his face, he worked him- self toward the log mentioned, keeping it between himself and the Indians, and approaching it as si- lently and as steadily asasnake. So cautiously and carefully was it done, that it required at least twenty minutes to reach it, and all this time the Indians maintained the same unbroken silence. At length the concealment was reached, and the hunter no- ticed with se mph that it was hollow. He lost no time in en g it, where, coiling himself up in as small a space as possible, he took himself to listen- ing. As if to completely favor him, there was a small rent in the log, through which even the whis- pers of the savages could be heard, and which also admitted a thin ray of light. Here Haldidge cramped himself up and listened intently. But not a word was exchanged between the Indians, who remained as motionless as statues. In the course of a few minutes he heard a footfall upon the leaves, and a second after several sav seated themselves upon the very log in which he had eoncealed himself! He judge that there were at least a half-dozen. Those whom he had first seen sppeared to have risen, and, meeting the others, t : had all seated themselves upon the log to- gether. They immediately commenced conversing in so low and guttural tones, that their deep base voices communicated their tremor to the log. Haldidge started as he soon learned that they were conversing about himself and the three fugitives. Of Seth they seemed to have no knowledge. He discovered that they had lain in ambush a short distance ahead to entrap Haverland, Graham, and Ina, and they were debating how he should be disposed of. They knew that he was acting in the capacity of scout and sen- tinel, and were fearful that he might detect the am- bush, or at least escape it himself. At this point, one of the Indians, probably impelled by some whim, stooped and looked into the log. Hal- dge knew, by the darkness thus occasioned, that one of them was peering in it, and he scarcely breathed for a few seconds. But the face was re- moved, and the hollow being dark within—the small rent being on the opposite side of the hunter—the savage felt reassu and resumed the conversation. But Haldi was doomed to have a trial of his nerves, of which he had little dreamed. When he entered the log, it was head foremost, so that his feet were toward the opening, and his face was in the dim light beyond. e ju the rotten cavity extended several feet further back; but, as there was no me sa Rag entering further, he did not attempt to explore it. It was while he lay thus, his whole soul bent to the one act of listening, that he was startled by the deadly warning of a rattlesnake. He comprehended the truth in an instant. There was one of these reptiles in the log him! It is di to mp ee a more fearful situation than the hunter’s at this moment. He was lite environed by death; for it was at his head, his fee and above him, and there was no escape below. He had just learned that his death was one of the objects of the Indians, so that to back out into their clutches would be nothing less than committing suicide. To remain where he was would be to rd the sec- ond and last warning of the coiled rattlesnake. What was to be done? Manifestly nothing but to die like aman. Haldidge decided to risk the bite of the rat- tlesnake. Despite himself, the htinter felt that the reptile was exerting its horrible fascination over him. Its small eyes, gleaming like tiny yet fiery stars, seemed toemit a magnetic ray—thin, pointed, and palpable, that pierced ap into his brain. There was a ma- lignant subtlety—an irresistible magnetism. Now the small, glittering point of light seemed to recede then to approach and expand, and then to wave and undulate all around him. Sometimes that bright lightning-like ray would shiver and tremble, an then straighten out with metal-like rigidity, and im- siquate steele into his very being, like the invisible nt of a spear. There was a desire on the part of Haldidge to shake off this influence, which wrapped him like a mantle. There was the desire, we say, and yet there was a languid listlessness—a repugnance to make the ef- fort. The feeling was something similar to that produced by a powerful opiate, when we are first re- plexed as was Seth to account for what he | ether it was some stratagem to entrap | ath “T suppose so; but there’s enough left to occasion | covering from it. There was that dim consciousness —that indistinct knowledge of the outer world—that certainty that we can break the bond that holds us, by one vigorous effort, and yet the same sluggish in- difference that prevents the attempt. Haldidge drew his breath faintly and slowly, yield- ing more and more to that fatal, subtle infihence. He knew he was charmed, and yet he couldn’t help it. It was now impossible to shake off that weight which pressed him down like an incubus, That outer world—so to speak—had now receded, and he was in another, from which he could not return without help besides his own. He seemed to be moving, flit- ting, sinking, and rising, through the thin air, borne pers and downward, hither and thither, on a win of fire. The he was complete, That extraordi- nary power which instinct holds over reason—that wonderful superiority which a reptile sometimes shows he can exert over man, the snake now held over the hunter. At this point, from some cause or other, one of the aves struck the log a violent blow with his hatchet. Haldidge heard it. He drew a long breath, closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, looked down at his hands upon which his chin had been resting. The charm was broken! the hunter had shaken off the fatal spell! Like the knocking at the gate in Macbeth; which dispels the dark, awful world of gloom in which mur- derers have been moving and living, and ushers in our own world, with all its hu g tide of human life and passions; so this blow of the Indian’s toma- hawk broke the subtle, magnetic spell of the serpent, and lifted the heavy mantle-like influence which wesepe Haldidge in its folds. He looked downward and determined not to raise his eyes again, for he knew the same power would again se above him. The se nt, seeming its loss of influence, rattled once more, and pre to strike. Haldidge stirred not a muscle; in fact, he scarcely moved since entering the log. But the snake did not strike. The continued death-like still- ness of the hunter evidently seemed to the reptile to be death itself. He coiled and uncoiled himself sev- eral times, and then lifting his head, crawled directly over his neck and body, and passed out of the log! Here he was killed by the Indians. Now that the hunter was himself again, he pre- paret for further action. The Indians had arisen rom the log and were at some distance. He could hear the mumbling of their voices, but could not distinguish their words. After awhile these ceased, and he heard no more. Haldidge was now filled with apprehension for the others. He had enough faith in the power and cun- —— Seth to feel pretty confident that he would neither lead any one into ambush or fall into one himself, let it be prepared as skillfully as it might be; but then he could know nothing of the Indians in the rear, who might surprise Haver and G m at any moment. e hunter at length w so restless and uneasy that he emerged from his hiding-place as rapidly and silently as possible. He looked cautiously around, but no savage was in vy Filled with the most painful me es e hastened through the wood, avoiding the trail of his friends, however, and finally came in sight of them. Before making him- self known, he concluded to reconnoiter the place. While doing so, he saw the head of an Indian rise slowly above a_ bush, and r over at the uncon- scious whites. Without losing a moment, he raised his rifle, took a quick but sure aim, and fired. Then pry san hows to Haverland and Graham, he sprung for an instant into view. | “ ae for cover,” he shouted; “the Indians are upon us!” - n an instant every one of the whites was invisi- e. CHAPTER XVIL. ENCOMPASSED BY DANGER. At the first warning of Haldidge, Hayerland com- rehended the threatened danger in an_ instant. atching Ina in his arms, he sprung into the wood, sheltering himself behind a tree so Soe that Ina, till that moment, did not comprehend the meaning of the startling movements around her. ‘* What is it, father?’’ she whispered. ** Keep quiet, daughter, and don’t move.”’ She said no more, but shrunk beneath his shelter- ing form, believing that his strong arm was capable 8) gate fo her against any foe, however formid- b able. Graham, at the alarm, had leaped toward Haldidge, and the two sheltered themselves within a few feet of each other. The shot of the hunter had been fatal, for that yell which the North American In- ye pi the animal, gives when he receives his death-wound, was h , and the fall had also reach- ed his ears. Minute after minute passed away and nothing fur- ther was heard of the savages. This silence was as full of meaning, and as dangerous as any open de- monstration upon the part of the Indians, What rect oe they might be concocting was a mystery to all but themselves. At length Graham ventured ot *'What do you aeons they're up to, Haldidge?”’ ‘‘ Hatching some devilish plot, I expect.”’ ‘*Tt seems it requires a good while to do it,”’ “Don’t get impatient; they'll show themselves in | _ to do or how we are goi time.” “Have you any idea of their number?’ ~ “There was something like a half-dozen prowling 7? 0 . ‘* There is one less now, at any rate.” Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. | | gal ; — eee a little trouble at least. Where did Alf go with the a 7 Off yonder, a short distance. Hadn't we better get closer together?”’ ““No; I don’t know as there is any necessity for it. | We're as safe, drawn up in this style, as in any other ly conscious of | | ' | I can imagine.” : ; ‘*IT am afraid, Haldidge, they will make an attempt to surround us. In such a case, wouldn't Haver- land be in great peril?” ; “They can’t get around him without running their heads in range with our rifles, and Alf is a man who'll Do DERty sure to discover such a trick without any e 1 me ** Where can Seth be?” ‘*Not very far off; that shot of mine will be pretty sure to bring him.” “ Haldidge, how was it that you discovered these Mohawks? Did you know of their presence before you fired?” “Yes, long before. I’ve an idea they've been track- ing ou for an hour or two.”’ ‘Why, then, was their attack deferred?” ‘*They have made no attack, remember. I don’t believe they had any such intention. There is an ambush somewhere ahead that they have laid, and it was their idea to walk you into that.”’ ** What was their notion in watching us so closely ?”’ ‘*They were hunting for me, for I heard them sa as much, and, I suppose, in case you didn’t wal ato er trap, why, they were go to make the attack.”’ “Can it be that Seth has fallen into the snare?”’ asked Graham, in anxious tones. ‘*No, sir; such a thing can’t be. He isn’t sucha fool as that amounts to. He is making himself — erally useful; you can make up your mind to F He is a smart chap, for all he is the most awkward, long-legged, gawky person I ever came across.” “T am puzzled to know who he is. It seems to me that he is onl playing a part. Several times in con- versing with e has used language such as none but a scholar and polished gentleman would use. At others and most of the time, he uses that nly mode of expression, which, in itself, is laughable. At any rate, whoever he may be, he is a friend, and the interest which he takes in the safety of Haver- land and his family, is as efficient as it is si Mee ‘“* Maybe the interest is in Ina,” said Hal e, with a sly look. “T understand you, but you are mistaken. He has assured me as much. No; there seems nothing of that f at all in him. He loves her as he would a child, but no more.” “How was it that he made that awkward tumble into the Indians’ hands, when they gave you such a hard run for it?” “That was all peg my own blundering. *He was cautious enough, but 1 became so impatient and careless that I cine ekg him into the danger which would have n fatal to any one else. It was no fault of his.”’ ‘**T am glad to hear it, for it seemed odd to me.”’ This conversation which we have recorded, it must not be supposed, was carried on in an ordinary tone, and with that earnestness which would have lessened their habitual caution. It was in whispers, and hardly once during its ogee did the two look at each other. Sometimes they would not speak for several minutes, and then exchange but a single question and answer. It was now toward the middle of the afternoon and it became i evident that the night would have to be spent in this neighborhood, “*T do hope that Seth will make his appearance be- fore dark,”’ remarked Graham. ‘“Yes; I hope he will, for it will be dangerous when we can’t see him.” ‘* He must be aware of the threatened y” “Yes; I am pretty confident that he is not very distant.” ‘* Hallo! what’s that?’ whispered Graham. “Ah! keep quiet; there’s something going on there.” A deathlike silence ed for a few minutes; then a slight rustling was heard close by Haldidge, and as he turned alarmed gaze toward it, the form of Seth Jones rose to his feet beside him. ‘“Where did you come from?” asked Graham, in astonishment. Pt have been watching you. In a little trouble, eh?” ‘* We've found out we've got neighbors.” . “They're not very nigh neighbors, leastways. “What do you mean?” : ‘There isn*t one in a quarter of a mile.” Haldidge and Graham looked at the speaker in as- tonishment. “T tell you, it’s so. Hallo, Haverland!” he called stepp out from his concealment. “Come out here; there is nothing to be afraid of.” The manner of the speaker was singular, but the others well knew that he was not one to him- self or others to danger, and accordingly all gathered around him, ‘* Are you not running great risk?’ asked Haver- land, still experiencing some slight misgivings at stepping upon a spot which he well knew was so dangerous a short time before. ‘No, sir; Ireckon you needn't be at all skee for if there was any danger of them Mohawks, wouldn’t be standing here. “Tt’s getting toward night, Sar Megan we should make up our minds at once as to what we are going to spend it.”’ “Can you shoot a gun: ed Seth, suddenly, of Ina. ‘““T don’t believe you can beat me,’’ she answered, lightly. , “ That is good.’ COMME NOC)