Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 886 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

fh is hy My - CHAPTER X, THE CAVERN NYMPH. THE strange white-bearded man who had so suddenly disappeared almost before Old Disas- ter’s very eyes, had entered an underground passage by means of a secret door, set within what appeared to be asolid wall of ledge-like rock, There wasa thick mass of bushes before the door, therefore the night-shadower had not discovered in what manner he was eluded. Carefully closing the door behind him, the strange man stooped and laid the body of Junar- do at his feet. A moment luter he found and lighted something which resembled a candle. - Stooping, he lifted Junardo on his right arm. with remarkable ease. Bearing the light in his left hand, he passed along a narrow passage. Not once did he pause, although the passage was long, winding and in places strewn with stones, Finally he entered a small round cavern-cham- ber. As he did so there was a little cry of delight, and a small, graceful form came for- ward. The old man saw before him a girl, and a very beautiful one, at that. Her face was pale—a pallor which plainly told of a lack of free-air exercise; but a slight tinge of color had come into it as she saw the white-bearded man. She was dressed neatly, in direct contrast to the old man, who wore half-civilized garments, * Ah, father, back again!” she cried in a pleas- ant tone. Then noticing the form he carried, she added: ** Mercy! what have you there?” ‘¢A dead man, child!” replied the strange maninadeep voice. ‘lt have brought him here to experiment on. By the marks on his throat, I see he was strangled, His body has not be- come stiff, and therefore he shall live again !” The girl did not speak for a moment, but she regarded the man whom she called father, in a peculiar manner. ‘Chere was a look of mingled pity and fear on her sweet, sad face, A fire was burning within a sort of natural fireplace at one side of the cavern. Above it was a large hole that led upward through the rock and earth. The smoke from the fire as- cended this natura] chimney and escaped far above by two-scores of tinyholes. From ashort distance the smoke would not be noticed. Not far from the fireplace was a couch of furs, Upon this the strange man placed his ghastly burden, and even as he did so a feint groan came from the supposed dead man’s lips, Life was not yet extinct! ‘* Hoe is not dead!” muttered the white-bearded man, a look of genuine disappointment appear- ing upon his face. ‘‘ Again I shall be unable to make the great experiment. Once more the privilege-is snatched from my fingers. Fate is against me,” $33 ‘‘Poor father! poor father!” whispered the girl; but her words were so low that he did not hear them, She advanced and laid one hand upon his shoulder. ‘¢ Wather, if the man is not dead it is our duty to restore him and do what we can to save his e. The old man did not at once reply. His lips moved and he repeated words which seemed meaningless. The girl shrunk back, the look of fear again showing upon her face, ‘‘ He was strangled,” muttered the man, after atime. ‘*The marks were on his throat when I first saw him.” ‘‘He was stabbed!” cried the girl. ‘ Look, father! there is the knife!” She pointed toward the hilt, which seemed to indicate that the blade was buried in Junardo’s left breast, ‘‘ Am I blind?” exclaimed the man, as he gazed at the knife-haft, which he seemed to’see for the first time. ‘‘ I saw the marks on his throat, but in my haste I did not see this knife.” He examined the position of the knife closely and then said;» ‘¢Tt would seem that such a stroke must brin almost instant death, yet this man lives, ti must be that the blade entered his breast in a slanting manner. Perhaps it struck a rib and was turned aside. It is too far to the left to strike bis heart, yet such a stroke, were the ane driven straight home, would produce ea ” He took hold of the hilt of the knife and his touch caused thé wounded man to groan, Evi- dently Junardo was fast recovering conscious- mess, “The thick folds of this blanket and his Old Disaster, the Border Nomad. continued the white-bearded man, ‘‘He has bled considerably, ‘* Child, get bancages, for I shall withdraw this knife and must dress the wound,” The girl flew to obey, and while she was gone her father carefully removed the knife. As he thought, the blow had been a glancing one, the blade being turned by striking a rib. The wound, although serious, was not necessarily fatal were the patient cared for byskilled hands. But Junardo had been choked into unconscious- ness and had lost considerable blood. Thecave- dweller knew that it was very coubtful if he could be saved, When the girl returned with the bandages, she found that her father had cut away the clothing and disclosed the wound. It was bleeding afresh, but with his daughter’s aid the hermit soon dressed the cut in a really skillful manner. When they had finished they discovered that their patient had opened his eyes and was star- ing at the darkness which served as a. ceiling. ** Ah,” said the white-bearded man, ‘‘so you have recovered? How do you feel?” Junardo did not reply. He turned his eyes See them, but in their depths was a vacant ook, ** He is dazed,” observed the girl. some liquor, father. good.” ** Bring it, child.” Swiftly she complied. The hermit held the bottle to Junardo’s lips and allowed a few drops to pass into his mouth. The unfortunate man had been choked into un- consciousness, and then struck by the knife. [t was almost a miracle that neither the chok- ing or the blow from the knife had proved fatal. The liquor did not seem to drive the vacant look from the sufferer’s eyes. ‘* He is deranged,” observed the hermit. Then he picked up the bloody knife that he had removed fromJunardo’s breast. He held it so that the light feli upon the letters ‘‘ E. D. 8.” cut upon the handle, The girl started as she saw them. ‘* FTis initials!” she whispered, hoarsely. The man heard her words, ‘Yes, his initials. I know whom you mean, but there may be a hundred men with the same initials. There is little chancethat this is Ethan Sherman’s knife. I hope not, for if it were, it would appear that he was an attempted mur- derer.” The girl said nothing more, but moved slowly from the couch, Her hands were tightly clinched, and ber bosom rose and fell with emo- tion. ‘*Tf it should be!” she murmured. ‘‘ Perhaps ‘* Give him A taste may do him much heis among these Hills searching for me. Shall we ever meet again? ‘*{f father would only go from here, But he will not. He swears he will have revenge on Marshal Baylor. Poor father! He is so wild at times, and | fear him so! _'o-night, when hoe left the cave, he was having one of his terrible spells. It is useless for me to ask him where he found this wounded man, for he probably does not remember. He never remembers after one of the spells, ** He has an idea that he can restore life to a dead person, He has been a great student and has experimented all his life with chemicals. Were it not for his knowledge of strange ex- plosives, he would have been. slain by savages many times. But he always succeeds in fright- ening them away. ‘‘Tf Ethan Sberman is alive and true to me, God grant that be may find me. No longer does father desire that | shall marry a wealthy man. The treachery of Marshal Baylor cured him of that. Whata fiend that man is! I do not understand why father does not wreak vengeance upon him, as he has bad hundreds of chances to do, But hesays the time has not yet arrived.” , ‘During the remainder of the night the hermit watched by the couch upon which Albion Ju- nardo lay, Junardo slept some, but did not speak once for hours. | The girl spent as much time as she dared in the open air, never going far from the secret entrance to the underground passage. At an early hour the following day she was in the ra- vine, and it was her voice that Ethan Sher- man heard as hestood on the brink far above her. She heard bis wild cry and recognized her own name; then, terrified and excited, she hastened into the passage and closed the en- trance, ; With trembling limbs she hurried along the winding passage until she reached the cavern clothes beneath have done much to protect him,” ' chamber. . | ‘‘ Father,” she cried, pantingly, ‘‘I heard a voice while I was in the ravine. ‘Three times it called my name, and it sounded like Ethan’s voice, Something tells me that he is near.” ‘‘Then,” said the old man, gravely, ‘‘it was his knife that we found in the breast of that man lyipg there!” % CHAPTER XI. RESCUED FROM RED HANDS, JARIUS JACKWOOD, as we shall continue to call the young miner, had halted and allowed Old Disaster and Kthan Sherman to go on with- out him. As Jackwood was behind his com- panions, this act was not noticed, and he was not missed until they reached the ravine. Jackwood had resolved to explore the ravine in the vicinity of the spot where Sherman had heard the voice in song. The oe man was deeply affected by the news of his parents’ and sister’s supposed death. Sherman’s coolness had also touched a tender spot in his sensitive nature, . When Disaster and Sherman had disappeared, he exclaimed: ‘* Dead—murdered by the reds! A terrible fate! I cannot believe that dear Amy is dead— that I shall never see her again. Even when my parents doubted, she still believed me inno- cent, A purer, truer girl never breathed! I was wild and reckless, yet her tender heart al- ways clung to me, and her pure kiss on my liquor-stained lips often brought a blush of shame to my cheek, ‘* | wonder now that, reckless as I then was, Doyce Bradon did not attempt toinduce me to have a hand in that Brocton robbery, What a miserable creature that man is! He was ready to swear away my liberty that he might obtain a shorter sentence. He led my feet along the road to ruin, and he has placed a black stain upon my name, which may never be removed. How I hate him!” Jackwood clinched his hands, and his whole form quivered with the intensity of his emo- tion. After a few moments he turned and made his | way back along the course that he had traversed with Sherman and Old Disaster, Not knowing what dangers he might encounter, he stole © cautiously along, keeping under cover as much as possible, and holding his rifle ready for use, | ‘‘T would givé much to again meet that mys- terious boy of the scarlet sash,” he muttered, ‘* The sweet face of that handsome lad has left an impression on mind that is not easily erased, I feel a strange interest in him,” After a time Jackwood reached a spot where he could see the tree beneath which Ethan Sherman had stood with a ropearound his neck, Thers appeared to be no one in the vicinity.” ‘‘T wonder who those ruffians were?” solilo- quized Jackwood. ‘* They seemed to be a regu- lar band of desperadoes. If we had not ap- eared just as we did they would have hanged Sherman,” After he had made eure that there was no one but himself near the spot, he passed the tree and continued toward the path which led down into the ravine. He reached the path just as Old Disaster and Sherman were passing down the gorge below. Jackwood was careful to keep back so that they would not see him should they glance upward, and finally they disappeared — down the ravine. ee ‘‘Now,” said Jackwood, ‘‘lam going down and explore this place, 1 do not care to return © to the cabin while Ethan Sherman is there, He believes me guilty of robbery, and forgets that he is shadowed by a greater crime,” Down into the gorge he made his way and be- | gan to examine the ground foot by foot, inch by inch, For nearly an hour he was thus occu- — ied, when suddenly a cry of joy burst from his ps. | Close to the edge of the little stream, plainly — outlined in the soft earth, he perceived tne im. print of a tiny, moccasined foot, evidently a woman’s. 3 ‘¢ She lives!” he exclaimed, joyously, ‘I feel. sure that she lives and has beenhere! Sherman — heard her “pty ” Se ay Strangely enough, Jackwood did not appear © to doubt but that the imprint was made by the — foot of his lost sister. For an hour he coor searched for some further trace, and although — he passed and repassed the bushes before the secret entrance to the underground pocnyae, he - found nothing to reward him for his toil. ele: After a time he found a snug spot in the midst of a small but thick mass of bushes and sat down to watch and wait. He felt sure that