Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 137 — page 1: what you’re looking at

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

— ae ; ~ a uli me Published Every Week, Long Beard, the Giant Spy: HAPPY HARRY, THE WILD BOY OF THE WOODS. BY OLL COOMES, AUTHOR OF ‘‘ LITTLE HURRICANE,” ‘‘ OLD SOLI- TARY,” ‘‘ LITTLE TEXAS,” ‘‘ EAGLE KIT,” ETC., ETC. CHAPTER I. HAPPY HARRY. In the depths of the trackless forest border- ing upon ke St. Clair, over half a century ago, a score of birds held a concert or merry- making, one July afternoon. At least so it would have seemed to a casual observer, for never sung birds merrier than those assembled in that great, green oak. Birds of brilliant N mS ¥ : Y if wr , wi fi " Jt) fh 7s Yi; ; ». 2. fly 17 > Ns Uf (aster LZ Hats fi ZF: SNA We | SE ~ Z- fa Zs fa Fs \ \F- eZ os “4 as \ 2 cenit OR eli iA NC cSorrvrRiGH Teno im iastit, ici a e) , : * eee’ ——-- plumage, birds of somber wings, birds of sweetest song, and birds that could only twit- ter, were assembled there—hopping, fluttering, and frolicking among the branches as though the happiest creatures on earth. And at the same time, each one kept its eyes turned downward as if watching some thing or some person. And so it was. They were watching a human being—a boy who was seated toe a fallen tree-trunk regarding them with a glow of admiration in his blue eyes. A gun lay across his lap, and a large dog crouched at his feet. He was amusing him- self with the feathered assembly above. When one sung, he whistled in exact imitation. He mimicked them all. He sung, twittered, and chirped as they did. He had called each one there by its own peculiar song, and it had come as if to greet a long-lost mate. Birds have almost a human sociability, and love the society of man more than any of the animal kind. There seems to be a mutual and sympathetic attraction existing between mankind and the birds of the air. And of this, the boy on the log was fully aware. He 4 » ‘ AANY ¢ » Pa \ie Year Ae —¥ Hi VY /: Med nN A yet \ ENTERED AT THE Post OFFICE AT New YorK, N. Y., AT Skcoxp Crass MAIL RATES. ovr Leadle ¢ Adams, Publishers, iN 2 in Ae i e o ~~ ————— igre thi Ai TV ee Th BY BEADLE & ADAMS. BAS 2D 4 . ee -— see ee — Ten Cents a Copy. $5.00 a Year. courted the society of his winged associates. He had been reared with them, as it were. Ofttimes, when alone, he called them around him, through medium of his wonderful powers of imitation, and sung and whistled with them as though they were a band of rollicking boys. This youthful personage could not have been over sixteen years of age. His form was lithe and slender, yet it was easily seen that he was as strong, wiry, and supple as a young panther. There was a fresh, healthful glow on his smooth brown face, anda twinkle of boyish mischief, combined with a spirit of adventure, in his soft blue eyes. And although he would searcely draw a hundred pounds of avoirdupois, there was nothing effeminate about his physique or features; and stripped of that halo which radiated from the boy, he would not have been considered handsome. It was the expression of the face and the light of the eye that one would have admired. There was nothing deep or hid- den in his looks. His was one of those good, honest, spirited souls that lay revealed upon the surface. Love of adventure was one of the most predominant traits of his character, com- ‘““HULLO, MY LITTLE WAIF, YOU ARE SAFE, THANK GOD!” SAID THE GIANT, ADVANCING TOWARD HIM, eGoim € cs) (E(@)