Beadle's New Dime Novels: The Specter Chief — page 64: what you’re looking at

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

68 THE PHANTOM CHIEF. time had not elapsed for surrounting the place; and it was barely possible that if Marie could be secreted, the assailanis, whose number was unknown, could be cut off, and the surviving woodsmen might immediately resume their flight. This was, indeed. a forlorn hope, but could not end worse than ina re-capture, against which it was resolved to hold out as long as possible. The trail had been Ciscovered early in the evening by one of the scouts of a traveling party, who, after sending to his band in- formation of the route of the whites pursued with the usual caution, and at last came up with the fugitives. He had employed more than an hour in creeping to the spot where Butler sat, and he actually saw this individual, and as the approach was on the side of Marie's cover of bushes, the slight disturbance made by the hands and feet of the scout were confounded with that of tle restless girl. It is only in fiction that we meet with men who were never outdone by the patient subtiety of the North Ameri- can Indian. The signal, which was too awkwarily ut- tered to deceive the ears of the Runger, had called the band in the proper direction, and the fight would have been at the very encampment, if Butler had not, by his measures diverted it, as has been mentioned. Vie effort of the surveyor to reach the designated re- treat was indeed doubtful. It would have been mani- festly impossible, if the engagement had not been opened to the anxious pair, when a shot fram the ledge above pro- claimed the increasing danger of the attempt. The tread of numbers from tree to tree, was close at hand, and Fen- ton despairingly whispered ; “Fly, Marie! TThere—by the crooked oak hanging over the rock. Creep in at tne further side. Il keep | them in check till the men get round.” And as the terror-stricken girl, seareely conscious of what she was undertaking, fli] on the soft soil along the fringe of bushes which skirted the run, Fenton, after wait- - fng until she was screened by a turn in the hedge, uttered - - suff of be ei ae toward the ledge—and thea “2 — romicbooks:com