Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 962 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

er ——— a — Flip-Flap Fred at Hard Pan. 13 which was about as near to a dungeon as be de- at first supposed, and felt that he could stand | sired to get, Fred began to feel more then ever any scrutiny to which he might now be subject- | uncertain about his future fate. No one trou- ed with comparative coolness, He even began | bled his head about him, and the loneliness and to wish that the man would talk a little, He | silence were oppressive. wanted to learn something about the fate of Supposing this was an unused, out-of-the-way Fanny, and would have had no objections to picking up a few points as to what had hap- pened to Amariah. But the man kept grimly silent, and Limber- leg had wit enough to remain silent, also, Time would instruct bim on these points; and he knew that he had a trick of irritating when he could do nothing more, and just now that was something that had better be omitted from the programme, For half an hour the silent ride was kept up, until they began to emerge from the pass and was not in as much immediate danger as he had might starve to death! He tried the door, and found that it was locked from the other side, He listened, but he could hear no sound. His thoughts made him hungry, and he began to wish for the haversack, which had in some way dropped from his shoulder at the time of bis capture. The day wore on, and at last darkness began to wry into the room, No meals for him that day—if he was only sure that there would be any for him the next. He seated himself dis- mally on the floor, with his head in his hands, and awaited whatever was to come, When it was quite dark something did come— and in a way that was as alarming as unex- pected. He hearda slight, grating*noise; then one of the stone slabs that composed the floor dropped downward, almost from under him, and he was conscious that some one was trying to peer at him through the darkness, catch glimpses of the desert plain that lay be- yond. Remembering what Amariab had told him, Fred wondered how much longer this ride was tobe keptup. It might be that their jour- ney bad only begun, though he hardly thought 2 after what had passed between his two cap- rs. But just as he was beginning *to agitate his mind ,over this question the horseman turned sh Ny to one side, riding straight for what seemed to be an impenetrable wallof rocks, At the same time something came down over his eyes—it was the hat of the man behind bim— and ‘he heard a grow! at his ear: ** Keep quiet, young monkey, or I will wring | your neck,” In the first excitement of bis capture, Fred was willing to take desperate chances to retain his freedom; but since he had had time to reflect a little, he was not certain<that this was not | CHAPTER XV. MORE LIGAT. His captors had treatec Fred with buch utter contempt that they had not even searched his clothing for weapons. As a consequence he still bad his revolver; and now he felt for it, found it, and silently drew it, his thumb on the ham- mer, ready to draw back for a shot the moment that he thought he could make it effective. _. lt was just as well that he waited, Even if he had missed hitting the intruder, the sound might have brought some one to the spot from the outside, and if he bad planted a bullet in the person at the aperture he would have never for- given himself when he found out who it was that was there, After a little he beard a voice, whis- peringly murmuring his name, The sound electrified him, Tbat was the last voice in the world that he expected to hear. It belonged to Fanny! Though there could be but little doubt in bis mind, he was not willing to trust himself at once tospeak. lt might be a hallucination. Some one might be counterfeiting her tones in order to make him give away his position, He waited another instant, the best thing that could bave happened to him, He was also reasonably sure that if he did not obey the injunction the threat would be carried into effect. Hedid not movea muscle for the next five minutes. Then the hat was removed from his eyes, and he was allowed a chance to view his surround- ings, Por a little beggar, yov. have nerveenough,” said the man, as he restored his sombrero to bis head, ‘* Most youngstefs would have trembled but you never gavea-quiver. I'll see you again. Of course you cantiot be allowed to leave here, ott if vov ere the lad of sense that I suspect, there isno reason why you.should not have a very comfortable time with the Old Man of the Mountains, Don’t tell any lies, and it will ** Are you there, little Limberleg? I was sure be all the better for you.” Isaw you brought in here, and though I have As he finished speaking the man dropped him | watched ever since I have not seen you go ” ut. ‘‘ Hallelujah!” exclaimed Fred, moderating his shout to suit the circumstances, ‘‘I bave found you at last, have I? I was mighty much afeard that they had switched me off ther trail fur good. Where be yer? An’ how did yer git here? ‘*T guess it is I that found you, IfI had not kept my eyes open and my wits very much about me you would have been ina rerybad way. In | a day or so I am afraid that you could not have | found yourself, But how did you come to get | here, and where is Amariah?” ‘‘| eome ’cause they brung me,” answered Fred, ignoring the first part of her conversation ; ‘Can’ Amariah cau’t now be fur off ef there’sary *pendin’ ter be put on that part ov ther conver- sation I happened ter overhear. Amariah were with me when I lay me down, an’ when I woke could not guess at what point he had made his | he hed disappeared. Ther chaps thet took me entrance, Of course he could not see clearly to | later on sed they hed got a man w’ich war with the further end, since the leve] sward before him | me shortly previous, an’ they wanted ter hev a seemed to stretch away for nearly a mile; but | talk at him afore they decided w’ot ter do with there was vO sign of any break in the natural | me. Then they brung me herea hossback, Ez wall that surrounded it. Here and there were | that war w’ot I war aimin’ ter do—ter git here scattered buildings of various sizes and dimen- | somehow, anyhow—I didn’t squirm arter I seen sions, that looked as though the population of | how ther landlay. Bin a rooralizin’ in this hole the place was a good deal larger than he would | most ever sence, an’ waitin’ fur night ter throw have believed if he bad not seen them with his | her shadder o’er ther scene afore I begun a-lookin’ own eyes’ and they seemed comfortable build- | fur you. No hurry at all, ’cause we couldn’t do 8, too, and built for more than pasging ac- | much tell it war dark. Now then, be we goin’ commodation, ter skip ter onc’t, or are we goin’ ter see what we __.Ward the nearest of these the guard led | kindofnr Mmariah? He pears ter be in @ heap him, and withouta word turned bim intoa bare, | more danger than we be, an’ sence I knowed uncomfortable room, of perhaps a dozen feet | what way ther land lay { kin consider him ez square, which had the appearance of a guard-| my pard. But afore that I jest war a-breathin’ gp The walls and floor were of stone, and | firean’slaughter. I thort he hed went back on g that served as a window was high | me, an’ gone on ter paddle his own canoe.” bs 4 — Protected by a lattice-work ofiron, When **'You talk so much, Little Limberleg, that it po pee was banged shut behind him he realized | always tires my head, while I am trying to think tha 2 Was a prisoner more forcibly than he | if it is all true. Are yousurethat they have yet dene, or ever expected to ar fo. Coming | Amariah asa prisoner? That was not exactly as we intended. He was to take care of himself asong he had been flattering hin’ talk dhopes of escape for himself, ee og. The snggesm. | so as to beable to help me out if I needed its aid, .And I thought he was too shrewd to be caught “paper he was ¢ y.9is mind, and agreed “Atter _ Possibly g?@0 had in his thougbts—with pny man’strap. He must have followed hour or F | thu Parbe wh he was nervous, for fear I would off into the:arms of a fellow who approached at asignal, — ‘* Keep an eye on him—better put him under cover, and see that he talks tonoone. Other- wise, treat him well unless he tries to get away. If he does that he isof noconsequence, Prevent itin the easiest way. I have no particular use for him,” Very coldly did the man speak, and then he rode away, leaving Limberleg to the ‘tender mercies of his guide and jailer. Of course the boy was listening to this, but at the same time he was looking around with curious glances, to see into what sort of a place he had penetrated. To his surprise he found that he was in a little Park, the reverse of everything that had lately met hiseyes, It was a bright, healthy-looking | place, though hill-locked so completely that he j building, and he was left there forgotten, he | bein danger, but ne did not need tobe. Fam can take care of herself, every time,” ‘‘ And perhaps, then, it war my fault, some- what, after all, I druv him on a leetle faster than he seemed ter want ter go. Sorry ef I war too impashunt, but itll be all rigbt now. In course we don’t give up ther ship tell we know w’ot’s become ov ther captain. What a neat, warm leetle paw yer got. lt does me good ter shake it. Lead me out, now, an’ Ill spend all ter-morrer moonin’ over it; but ter-night be- ae es ter ther bizziness that’s spelled with a big In the darkness Fanny had slipped her hand into his, but it was not at all for the sake of any mooning, as Fred called it, ‘* Keep quiet, now,” she answered, speaking 4 little lower. ‘‘ Let my hand guide you. There is a steep stairway to descend; and the slab through which I found my way to you had bet- ter be returned to its place, Then, if they should come looking for you they will not know how you heve managed to disappear. 4 will take you to the room where I have been confined, and we can lay our plans as we go along.” ‘‘Guess this ain’t a case that needs much planoin’,” retorted Fred, as he yielded to the im- pulse of her hand. ‘‘ Ef we kin find Amariar we want ter do it, anu'thea make tracks with ther beels all this way. I jedge these be des- p’rit cases, an’ don’t mean no good ter none ov us, Wouldn't be surprised ef Amariar war dead afore this, even.” ‘“T think not. They will not harm him until they are certain about me, And I am afraid that they did not g-t much satisfaction when they interviewed me, I knew as little as even a girl of my opportunities could kKnow—just enough to make them want to hear more. But all the same I have not seen yet the man that I wanted to see; and if there is any mistake about him, Amsriah may be in a worse fix than he counted on, even when he figured up that he might be captured.” ‘*Strikes me ye’r’ lettin’, er tyryin’ ter let me, inter ther inside ov Amariar’s game. I| might remind yer, though, thet all thet stuff’s Latin an’ Greek ter me—an’ ther roodiments ov w’ich same Lain’t yit acquainted with.” ‘So he told you nothing. All the better for you, then; and i won’t overwhelm you with my confidences. Now, be quiet. We are getting neat to the room from which I escaped. ‘ I want to see if I have been missed, Then, we will go on, and look for some traces of Amariah, e did not provide for such a wholesale capture, and pernaan even if I could get away, our plans would have to be reorganized. I am not asanx- ious to escape as I was before I met you.” ‘‘ Well, I be—ef you are along with me, Wouldn’t stay here another day ter meet ther Emp’rer ov Chiny. It’s only dooty ter Azariabr ez could keep me now. Dye hear anything?” His whisper scarcely reached the girl, who had left him standing in the darkness, while she ran up a stone stairway which corresponded with the one under the cell lately occupied by Fred, She was back again in a moment, ‘There is no one there now, and I doubt if there has been any one during my absence, I had a light when [ found the way to your prison- room, but blew it out because bed to be sav ing, and knew the way well enough this fai There is another passage that I intended to ex plore after I bad seen whether the one I took lea to you. We will try it now, It may lead to father Holdfast.” She struck a match asshe spoke, and lit a lit- tle taper, one of half a dozen she had on her when taken, It made but a glimmer of light but it was by all odds better than none at all. They could see the walls of the passage through which they had been making their way and found the opening that Fan hoped might leao them to Amariab. They found no difference between this passage and the other one, and followed it for about the same distance, until they came to the stone stair- way they expected to find. Very cautiously they ascended this, and discovered that at the top was the same kind of a stone door as that Fan had found to the othercell. She pointed out to him the lever by which it was opened and shut, and then extinguished the light, ‘*‘ We must be very careful now, Freddy. I am going to try to open that door, and if we are in the wrong box a box it will be indeed, I hope to find Amariah; but it may be that we will only find the men that have taken him, If they once sus that we were here they could soon have us in worse plight than w we They listened, and could hear no sounds from the room vhey were sure was above them, but GOnnGoooks com