Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 137 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

f 18 ‘Take you to the village of the Ottawas.” ‘“Why will you not let me go to my people?” “Where are your people? where is your home?” ‘*] know not,” Tempy responded, bursting into tears. ‘Oh, Heleelah!” she finally cried, ‘I know why vou keep me aclose prisoner. You love the Wild Boy of the Woods, and think I do also —that I stand between you and him. Be at once undeceived, Eeleelah; I love another—not Happy Harry—and if you would win and hold his love, take me to my people. He will search for me, and if he finds me the captive of EKelee- lah’s people, he will hate her. I know the pale- face heart.” : moe the pale-face speak the truth?’ she asked, ‘‘I call the Great Spirit to bear witness to what { have said being true,” replied Tempy. ** My pale face sister should have told me this before—when we stood alone upon the island beneath the shadows of last night; then Eelee- Inh’s heart would not have grown so hard, and she would not have called the warriors that were near,” ‘‘Eeleelah’s ears were deaf last night with her feelings of revenge, and she would not hear me. But then, it is not too late to free me yet and then the princess can seek her lover, and i rine.” “The ome chief, Gray Fox, is your lover now,” leelah said, affecting regret. “It is too late to free my white sister, for she has be- come entwined in the heart of the young chief. He will make her his wife when he returns from the war-path.” At this juncture a warrior appeared and re- quested the immediate return of the maidens to et with which request they at once com- plied. A fire had been lighted, and a number of wild pigeons, procured in the woods, had been dressed and roasted for their meal. Tempy did not re- fuse to eat, for the roasted birds were too tempt- ing to her bunger. She ate with relish, and - tender food gave her new strength and new ope. ince their interview by the water, she no- ticed that Eeleelah had becomes somewhat downcast and thoughtful. Tempy’s words had vesned her. paiofully imp Breakfast dispatched, all but five or six warriors en their boat and pushed off among the islands, evidently on some expedi- tion. Tempy was consigned to her lodge, and a warrior detailed as d, for the princess seemed to have lost desire to perform that ane further. e day wore slowly on; it was past noon wvhen the faint report of a on an adjacen island enlisted the attention of the red-skins, As it was not repeated, however, no serious appre- hensions arose, and all rela into their wont- ed silence and patient waiting for the return of the expedition. The afternoon had worn nearly away when the patter of feet suddenly s the encamp- ment. To the surprise of all, a dog bounded into their midst. It was Bels i the dumb companion of Happ Harry. He stopped, and looking imploring: y up into the savages’ faces, uttered a low bark, wagged his tail, then, turning, bounded away again into the woods. The red-skins were awe-stricken by this un- oe movement of the great mastilff. Eeleelah uttered a little ery of surprise, and rose to her feet. Fora moment she gazed af- the fleeing dog, then started to follow him. ut she had scarcely taken a dozen steps ere the dog a Bb rages. in sight. He was walking backw and ap to be drag- ging something that taxed his power to its utmost extent. In an instant every savage was on foot. Eeleelah, who was nearest the dog, suddenly uttered a cry, that was repea time and again uptil it was prolonged into a piercing shriek. She recognized the object that the dog was d . It was a lifeless human body. It was the body of Happy Harry, the Wild Boy of the Woods! He was covered with blood. His hair was all soaked and draggled. His face was covered almost beyond recognition with dirt and gore. His clothing was tattered and torn and thoroughly saturated with blood. His dumb friend had seized him by one leg, and in this manner dragged him along the rough ground, through the brush, into the very heart of the Indian camp! CHAPTER XXII. A “BLOODY” TRICK. THE savages stood gazing in astonishment on the bloody, lifeless form before them. Eeleelah, the princess, set up a chanting wail that rung in mournful, solemn and weird ca- dences through the woods. __ Belshazzar crouched by his side and howled piteously. The red-skins pale-face had met his death unless it at the hands of their friends. They recalled the fact of having heard a rifle report some- gracious | young master’s d no idea how the youthful | the buttons off my sleeves when I ES a time previous. But his scalp being untouched was evidence that no Indian had slain him. They speculated some time over the manner of his death, and were about to institute an investigation, but Belshazzar refused to allow them to touch the body. A young warrior seized his rifle and was about to shoot the dog when Eeleelah interfered. The princess’s every wish was their law. To do her bidding the young warriors seemed to vie with each other. She was the flower of the tribe, whose love every warrior strove to win. By her orders a blanket was thrown over the body, and then she sat down by it and began chanting a sad and mournful requiem to which Belshazzar lent the deep bass of his voice. Tempy looked out upon the scene, and her own heart grew almost hopeless at sight of the bloody tace of the boy scout lying before her. She turned away, sat down and wept bitterly. The warriors became very anxious about the manner of Harry’s death and set off to follow the track where he had been dragged along. They followed it some ten rods from camp, or to the point where it appeared the dog had undertaken his laberious work. Even here there was no sign of a struggle, but in the weeds at one side was found the body of a large squir- rel. It had been so recently killed that it still retained some animal heat. It had been shot through the head with a small bullet, and its throat had been cut with a knife. Havin made this discovery, the warriors exchang significant glances and started back toward camp as fast as they could run. In the mean time matters had assumed a lively condition at camp: the warriors were scarcely out of sight ere the blanket that covered the body of Happy Harry was thrown aside and the supposed dead boy rose to a sit- ting posture and gazed around him, one of the most doleful and distressed looking creatures imaginable. His dirty, bloody face wreathed in a smile, his blue eyes sparkling and his hair hanging down in wet, draggled locks over his face conspired to give him a look that would have provoked any one into laughter. ‘* Great hornits!” he exclaimed. ‘‘ Munificent Moses! what’s all this yowlin’ about? A dead man can’t rest in ig aeftaig it isn’t ole Ga- briel’s trumpet that Parson Peas used to spout about. Mortal ages! whar be I?’ Eeleelah started back aghast and Tempy rushed from her prison-lodge. ‘*Harkee! not a word above a whisper,” commanded the youth, springing to his feet; ‘“‘’m here to save you, little Temple. I am, for a fact. Now come on; foller me as fast as you can.” “Will you not go oe Eeleelah?”’ asked Tempy, as she walked by the princess. The terrified look on Eeleelah’s face softened. ‘*Tam not wanted!” she replied. “Tf you are friendly to us, come along,” said Harry, “‘and we'll talk on the run.” a three at once set off—going directly north, ‘How came you in this predicament Tempy?” y ask Tempy explained all, even to Eeleelah’s jealousy. Harry smiled and said to the princess: **Tam glad to know you are a friend to me, Eeleelah, for I diddo you a a turn once, and now if you would do the fair thing by me you will promise to see that your white sister ets safe k to her friends. I am not quite one with this island yet, so now let Eeleelah prove that she is my dear friend by taking her white sister in yonder canoe to the big t Bebe Miata the rising sun.” “* Keleelah will prove that she is true.” They approached the shore where a light canoe was beached. at once launched the craft. The twomaidens entered. Eeleelah took the paddle and drove the canoe out into the wa- ter, across the channel, and sought shelter be- hind an adjacent island—a movement made by Harry’s direction in order that the savages might not see which course they took. — in the vicinity of the camp told Harry that his trick had been discovered, and warned him of danger. With Belshazzar at his heel he crept away through the undergrowth an finally secreted himself—to await the move- ments of the red-skins—in a thicket where he had left his rifle and accouterments an hour previous. ‘*Great hornits, Belshazzar,” he said aloud to his dumb companion, “I feel awful squalmish with these ’ere dirty duds on me. That poor squirrel wasn’t born for nothin’; besides, I’)! bet ’em red vagrants will find it and gobble it right down, hide and hair, tooth and nails—not the blood, though—we got that. You did your part well, Belshazzar—you done it proper right, you did, for a noble fact. Glad Jam that you did- n’t let the ’tarnal corruscated sinners feel my pulse, for P’ll swan it beat hard enough to bu’st d there. And my heart! why, great hornits! it jist got PS poe a jubilee, it did, for a fact. And me! when they throwed a blanket Long Beard, the Giant Spy. over me, I'll swear [ thought I’d bu’st wide open, I wanted to laffso. But, Bel, if it hadn’t been for the princess you’d ’a’ been shot deader ‘na nit. She done the square thing by you. Our luck has been goed lately—we always come out top canines in a fight. But, gracious Peter! what yowlin’ and yelpin’ as that princess done! she’s sweet on us, old dog, she is for a lovin’ fact. If she wasn’t an Injin she’d not be such an all-killing ugly gal. But that blood—that’ll show itself on all occasions, You can’t tame a full-blooded Ingin more’n you can fly to Guinea. Why, jist see about the Scroggins family, They took a young pup Ingin boy to raise, and fed him up well till he got to ten years old, when he turned in one day and skulped the whole family, burnt up the house, stole the best hoss in the neighborhood, and sought the land of his forefathers and soon become a mighty chief. Now that’s Injin, Belshazzar, it is, for a p’izen fact. But then an Injin bas some honor, after all, and if that little Eeleelah’ll jist do as she agreed to and take Temple to the brig-of-war, V’ll think a mortal sight of her and embrace every opportunity to speak a good word for you —whist! there goes one of the red posies—a sweet-scented touch-me-not! and he’s on mine and the girl’s trail, he is for a fact.” The youth straightened himself up and uttered a sound that seemed to come from be- ond the red-skin.. The wary foe listened in- ntly for a moment, then bent his course and glided away in the direction from whence the sound emanated. ‘* Now,” said Harry, in a low tone, as if his dumb companion could comprehend what he said, ‘‘ bear me witness, ole friend, that I am not the most bloodthirsty Yankee boy livin’. I could ‘a’ shot that red-skin dead if I'd ’a’ wanted to. But then one gets tired of blood, they do, for an eternal fact. I’ve see’d enough of it the past two weeks to float the biggest war- vessel on the sea. If it is necessary, why, I'll shoot; but then it don’t do much good to killa red skin. It’s like killin’ a muskeeter—two will come to see the spot where he fell, and si from the hole already bored by his dead friend. And so the thing wags salt one and two ’Il come to avenge him. But there is one thing we Bel, and that’s to see whether Cap- ting Kirby Kale is on this island. We don’t want to foolish with him, for he’s a regular ole devil-catcher. I know it, and am s’prised to see dear ole Long Beard afeard of him. But never mind; we'll spring a leak in his hide if we ever get half a chance, we will, for a gos- 1 fact.” With all the caution that the boy could mas- ter, he crept softly away through the bushes toward the camp. He soon came to where he could command a full view of it, and saw three or four savages deliberating over somethin that was occasionally emphasized by violen aby The youth was satisfied that he was e subject of their conversation, and convinced of it beyond a doubt when he saw one of them hold up the dead squirrel] from which he had procured the blood to cover his face and hands, A smile passed over his rd countenance, for he saw they had detected his trick. In the course of two or three minutes several scouts made their ap nce in camp with a look that implied dissatisfaction. a few minutes more the chief of the party, Gray Fox and those who had accom ed him, returned from his expedition among the adjacent islands to learn of the trickery of the pale face boy and the loss of the fair captive, as well as absence of Eeleelah. Pyeng Kirby Kale came to the island with the chief. The impression prevailed that Happy Harry had taken Eeleelah a captive, and when the whole matter concerning the coming of the supposed dead youth and subsequent release of Tempy was narrated, it suddenly occurred to Kale’s mind that he bad seen a canoe, with two or three occupants, pass around the of cent northern island, a few minutes before he had met the chief’s party. They were so far away that he could not make out who the persons were, but naturally supposing they were some of Gray Fcx’s braves, he iia not give the matter a second thought after the canoe had ed from view. Now he was satis- fied that the canoe contained the fugitives and the missing princess, and so a boat was immedi- ately dispatched in pursuit. Harry knew what it all meant, but felt satis- fied that the maidens were beyond danger of being overtaken, and so he lingered. in the woods, his eyes upon Kirby Kale, and his fin- gers upon the trigger of bis rifle. He sought the villain’s life in behalf of Long Beard, and yet there was that natural fear and dread at- tending the taking of human life that caused him to hesitate. He could not deliberately shoot a white man down without justification, and in entertaining these eonncieriitoan scruples he lost the opportunity of ridding Lon of his foe, for Kale turned and mov followed by the savages. The red-skins left all their plunder in camp, evidently with the intention of returning soon. But no sooner were they out of sight than the fearless young scout crept out of his conceal- must do Beard away, rd ae aniicel exeye) S ic co hae ll : a