Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 92 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

OD ee eee Benches supplied with stools, lined either side of the room, while at the further end was a large smelt- ing furnace in full blast. Upon the floor was a stamping machine turned by a crank, and also, a machine somewhat resembling a printing press. Men, young and old, were working at the benches —at the furnace and at the machines—men pe Be of all raiment except a breech-cloth, as were Hal and Dave; some of them as young as Hal, while 3 omy upward to men of old age. ** You see ’em all!’’ Canada Chet said, with a wolf- ish leer; “ ye mark ’em? Wal, they're all mine, an’ so are you. You've seen the last o’ the outside world, fer yer lifetime. In heer you’re doomed to work in issuing counterfeit money, until ye aire ready ter put in under the sod. To ther right, here, ye see a sentry-box, containin’a man. He watches my slaves. At a sign of disturbance, or laziness among them, he pulls a signal, and in comes my lion, ter trim them out. I'll show ’im ter ye,”’ and the ruffian made a motion to the man in the sen- try-box, who in turn dispatched a signal for the man, A moment later the door opened and he entered. A swarthy, low-browed, villainous-looking fellow he was, with a gb tes ogee of the muscular, and as spry asa cat, He was armed with a thin-lashed bull whip, and there was a glare in his bloodshot eyes like to that of a madman. ‘*You're not wanted, Le Garo!” Canada Chet said. ‘* You may retire. I only wanted these slaves to see you!”’ The man bowed and retired, Then the chief turned to Hal and Dave. ‘You see ther sorter man who bosses you,” he said, grimly. “If you obey and work, all kerect; ef ye don’t, he’llcut ye open. Your work will be ter turn thet stampin’ machine, hour "bout, until a new recruit is nabbed, when you will be put at some- thing else.”’ Then sare on his heel, the King of the North left the room, locking the door after him. ‘*We are doomed to imprisonment for life,’’ Hal whispered. **Not so,’’ Dave returned. ‘Keep quiet; do as you are told, and we will outwit them yet. Take courage,” CHAPTER Vi. A SCRIMMAGE—THE HEAD, THAT was an unenviable situation in which Old Anaconda and Amasa Scroggs were placed. Both saw the Indians simultaneously, and both were not a little alarmed. Had there been but a few of them, the dwarf would have had more hopes; but they niumbered full a score, and were led on by the great chief, Sitting Bull. Old Anaconda gave Amasa Scroggs a keen glance, a suspicion arising in his mind that this same man from Kalamazoo might be some treacherous rene- gade, whom Sitting Bull had placed out in the woods as a decoy. But it required only one glance to dissipate this thought, for Scroggs was as white as a ghost, his knees knocking together and his teeth chattering in affright. **Oh eR ln on Holy Moses!’ he gasp- ed, endeavoring to get behind the Dwarf Destroyer. “ Oh, Jewhittaker Jimminy! what shall we do? oh! what shall we do?” ‘““Shet your port-hole, an’ we'll do ther best we kin, shoot me fer a fiddler ef we won't!” Old Ana- conda replied. ‘‘Can ye shoot?” ‘*Yas; I kin plumb a squar’l every time at a thou- san’ yards,’’ Amasa assured, hopefully. ‘‘Then cum behind ther fire hayr, an’ when I fire ou fire, an’ don’t waste a pin’s head o’ lead on any- thi but a greasy red-skin. D’ye heer?” “Yas; I’m with ye, heart an’ scalp!"’ the Yankee replied, with grim humor. e two men lea nealy behind the protection of the smoke which arose from the fire, and held their guns ready for rough work. “Lordy! what awful-looking chaps!’’ Amasa mut- tered, glanc around the stump at the ay ee approaching foemen. ‘‘Phew! what would Sally say ef she could see me now? She allus sed I'd nev- er figger nor make a general. Bet a quarter o’ beef I can make a scatterin’ among them chaps over yander! Ready, little boyee?”’ 7 “ asi Old Anaconda replied. ‘‘ Shoot certain. ow ‘9 The next instant, the report of two guns echoed through the- surrounding forests. There was a re- sponding yell from the red-men. Old Anaconda had fired direct at the heart of Sitting Bull, but the bullet seemed not to take effect, for the terrible chief of the Sioux came on. The effect of Amasa Scroggs’s fusilade had been more disastrous to the noble red-men, for his musket had been hea loaded with buckshot, and as a result four red- went to the ground, more or less wounded. Anaconda noted the success of the shot witha rin, ** Good shot,” he said, with a chuckle, “ and, now, while ‘ye’re loadin’ up, I'll keep up ther divartisse- ment jes’ fer fun, ‘ye see.” And his repeater, he carefully arose until he caught sight of a red-skin, when he “* let drive.”’ own went the savage, with a death-howl, while the Dwart Destroyer gave a significant half-screech, half- . “*“ Another skunk on ther list, in atonement fer thet loss o’ two years ago, Oh! but the list is get- ting long, yet_my soul thirsteth for more. Come erlong, ye red-hued sons 0’ Old Nick. I'm ready ter accommodate ye;” and the Destroyer’s rifle went to his shoulder, and cracked several times in rapid succession. Canada Chet. Each shot was answered by a terrible yell, such as can only come from an Indian who has received his death-blow. ‘* Jerusalem! what kind 0’ a machine d’ye call thet?’ Scroggs demanded, as he arose from the process of loading his musket. ‘‘ Swow ter gracious ef that don’t almost lay over my constitution.” ‘*T should remark thet same,”’’ Anaconda observed. ‘* Quick, now! Give the cusses another salute, while [ replenish my magazine.”’ Scroggs oases to obey, and the cannon-like report of his gun soon burst out yt the night, fol- lowed by an indiscriminate pandemonium of yells and screeches of rage. Old Anaconda peeped from behind the stump, then burst into a loud laugh. Fifteen of the previous score of assailants lay yrone upon the battle-field, while the remaining five, including Sitting Bull, were now skurrying for cover, at a high rate of speed. The Dwarf Destroyer quickly sprung to his feet, and his rifle again flew to his shoulder, with that rapidity of aim and fire characteristic of him. But this time his bullet went wide of its mark. ‘* Wal, they’re gone!"’ he muttered, as the last red- skin ewe seared under the coverof the forest. ‘* The next work is to raise the scalps of them out yonder, but thet job’ll hev ter be postponed fer ther pres- ent. I opine we'd better gn fer cover ourselves.”” ‘Lordy! Jerusalem! juns thar,’’ Amasa said, inalarm. ‘‘@Guess I don’t want to git my scalp. raised.”’ “Ef ye ain’t particklar about hevin’ it appropriat- ed, ree better cum along wi’ me,’’ Anaconda re- lied. ‘* What aire ye doin’ out in this country, any- ow, Slab-sides?"’ “ Lookin’ fer a job,” was the reply. ‘* Know uv anybody as wants to a cheap hand?” ‘What kin ye do?” “Wal, I kin ‘most do an thing, though I'll allow I’m thar when ye cum ter hoein’ pertaters, huskin’ corn or choppin’ wood.”’ ‘**Do you know how to lift the ha’r frum the top- knot uv an Injun?” “Oh! Jerusalem, no! Ye don’t mean to say as you could hev ther heart to do sech a thing?’’ * Waal, I'll allow, few know how pay better’n yer uncle!’"’ the Dwarf Destroyer replied. ‘I’ve got poe sculps up at my roost to make a fancy bed- ‘* Jewhittaker! what would my gal, Sally, say, ef she war ter heer ye say sech athing? Folks ain’t used ter sech quilts out in mazoo,”’ “Kalamazoo be hanged!’ Anaconda grunted., ‘*Cum erlong, ef ye’re goin’ ter sail in my ship, It’s high time we war skinnin’ out o’ this.”’ aking an opposite course from that taken by the red-skins, they hurried into the woods, Here old Anaconda threw himself upon the ground, and pressed his ear thereto. He arose directly, and there was an anxious ex- pression upon his features. ‘*Thar’s heaps o’ ther red hellions in ther wood,”’ he said, peering keenly around in all directions; ‘‘ an’ consequently thar’s work fer ther old Destroyer. I’m goin’ ter Sittin’ Bull’s village, ter rescue ther Owens, ef they've been tuk thar, as I cackylate they hev.”’ ‘*W'at! Not whar all them Injuns ar’? Scroggs gasped, in horror. ‘Yas; perzactly thar,’’ the scout responded; “ an’ ef ye ar’ skittish about goin’ along, ye can hev ther choice of stayin’ heer in ther woods.”’ Amasa groaned. What was he to do? To accompany the venturesome scout, as,it were into the jaws of death, was a thing undesirable; while to be alone in the forest, possessed equal ter- rors for him, since he had learned of the presence of the Indians. ‘Come! w'at are ye goin’ ter do?” Old Anaconda demanded, impatiently. ‘‘Time is sculps wi’ me, an’ I can’t afford to be foolin’ about long.” ‘** Guess I'll stay here,” the man from Kalamazoo at last decided, ‘It’s six o’ one an’ half a dozen o’ t’other, wich place I stay. Lordy! I wouldn’t go ter an Injun village no quicker’n I'd cut my own head off.’ ‘Which, jedgin’ frum ther size 0’ yer fly-trap, you are perfectly able ter do,” the Destroyer retorted, with a grin. ‘‘ Waal, good-by ter ye! Luk out fer yer hair, an’ take my Christian advice an’ shute every red skunk ye git a popat. Tell ye w’at I'll do Yankee Doodle! Jest you drap thet Sitting Bull, an raise his hair, an’ I'll give ye enough sculps ter put with it ter make ye a hunting-shirt—will, by gum!” “Git eout! I wouldn’t do sech a thing. What would Sally say?”’ “Sally be hanged. Luk out fer yer natteral wig, now, an’ don't let no red-skin raise it!’ And with these injunctions the eccentric dwarf seout hurried away into the forest. After he had gone Amasa Scroggs penned sharply around him, to assure himself that there were none of the savages in his immediate vicinity. None were in sight, which was to him as good as a blessing. ‘* Wonder whar I'd best skedaddle to anyhow ?”’ he soliloquized. ‘Guess I'll go South and see what I can find thar.”’ cei from his pocket a compass, he located the desired direction and set off. It might now be observed that he was more cautious in his movements, and that he betrayed some of the peculiarities of the scout by advancing ees and keeping a sharp watch out on either and. In this way he a for several hours, when he finally pa to find himself at the edge of the same glade in which he and Old Anaconda had fought the ttle with the Indians under Sitting Bull. Yes, there could be no doubt of it, for there was the stump, in the center of the moonlit glade, still burning, and there were the bodies of the slain savages. : He had become bewildered in his tramp, and returned to his starting point! But hold! what sight is this his eyes behold? There is an object of some kind OOS about the burning oy Sy. strange, ball-shaped t ing, what- ever it might be, about the size of four men’s heads combined. From where he stood the Yankee had a good view of the thing, and his hair began to stand upon end, as he perceived that it was indeed a human head, mounted upon a pair of feet, by which it managed ‘OThe feat ll th 1 e features were a ere, only upon an enlarg- ed scale—the mouth, the eyes, the nose, the mk and indeed, the whole face being perfect and natur- al, while the rest of the head and neck from the fore- head over back was covered with long coarse hair like a buffalo’s mane. And this frightful object, literally a walking head, was moving about the burning stump, from which would occasionally emanate a glare of blood-red light, to be followed, perhaps, by a glare of green and blue. Amasa Scroggs stood in the edge of the forest, and ganed at the strange spectacle like one dumbfound- The devil’s own region, by ious,”’ he gasped. r Gosh all fish-hooks! I etinas thay don’t rates. apih- in’ but dwarfs up this way, an’ thet ‘ar cuss out thar don’t look as ef et war human. Sumbody’s puta bull head on him, I'll swow ef they hain’t. etler then ther dwarf Injun-killer, 'll swow ter gracious. Oh! Lordy! Jerusalem!” These latter ejaculations were caused by a . tic column of red fire shooting from the eee into the air, and reddening the very night as with a shower of blood. It was as if the heavens and the earth were afire, for a few moments. Then it died out, and the stump burned natur- ally. The Yankee had crouched down upon his haunches, expecting instant annihilation, his teeth chattering like castanets. ‘*Oh! Jewhittaker, I want to go home to m Sally,’ he gasped, white with affright. ‘Oh! go all fish-hooks, this is a awful place. It’s possessed Dy the devil, sure Pop. Wonder what has become of the Injine-killer. t he’d be skeart, too.”’ The Walking Head still continued to busy itself about the burning stump, as if, indeed, a herald of his Infernal Majesty, it had been sent down on earth to hold its infamous orgies, Amasa crouched in the edge of the wood and watched. His limbs refused to move, and he could only squat there and behold the incantation. ‘““Gosh! Sally she'd faint, sure, ef she were here,”’ he would occasionally mutter, with a fresh start at the roots of his hair. ‘Wonder if I shall ever git out of this scrape alive? Phew, but this be a-look- in’ fer them boys, in a horn. Wonder— Oh! thun- deration! Lordy! Jerusalem!”’ A new phase of mystery had emanated from the seemingly infatuated stump, in the shape of a vast swarm of squirming, flery snakes. They sprung in myriads into the air, in a hundred directions. A score of the writhing, hissin things made st ht for the spot where smanen Heroael — concealed, as if to devour him in their fiery aws. This was too much for the poor Yankee from Kalamazoo. With a gasp he wilted right down into a dead faint. For some time he remained in this condition, when he once more recovered consciousness, to see the ae Head still engaged in his orgies about the stump. Suddenly there soared a graceful column of fire into the air, resembling gold, and when at an alti- tude of a hundred feet, a single star detached it- self from the expiring column, and burst into an avalanche of large stars of every bright color of the rainbow. These gradually dissolved in the atmos- phere until the last star drifted slowly to the grounc. The Dwarf Demon now came suddenly ro a Lo- ward the very spot where Amasa was crouching, and with a howl of terror the Michigander sprung to his feet, and darted away into the forest at the top of his speed. CHAPTER VIL. A HISTORY OF THE ‘‘ PEN ’’—THE SCHEMER, Hat and Dave Laam were set to work at the stamping-machines about an hour after their ar- rival. And the brutal guard, Le Garo, was on hand, with his terrible whip, which he seemed to take de- light in playing over the backs of the offenders, ave Farne the crank attached to the stamping- machine, while one youth of nineteen or twenty had in the alloy-box, coming forth from under the dies, the denominations twenty-five and fifty cents and the standard dollar. The work for our youn voyageur was very hard and tiresome, but he stuc to it, determined to suffer fatigue rather than re- ceive a blow from Le Garo’s whip. al’s machine for the printing of bills was less hard to manage, and therefore the work allotted to him was comparatively easy, as the press was fed by an old, gray-haired man of sixty years, whose form was bent, and hands long and bony. One of the rules of the establishment was that none of the slaves were allowed to speak to each other during working hours, under penalty of a lash for each and every word Ft sorter This was even more torture to our young adventurers than though they were not allowed to breathe, for the two privi- leges were to Hal equally dear. As soon as daylight shone in through the tran- soms in the roof, another gang of workmen were Eomichbooks. con . . ¢ : :