Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 137 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

— Long Beard, the Giant Spy. 9 home among the strangers and enemies. na short time the men with tho exception of Mucklewee became greatly attached to the young waif and his huge canine friend. His flushed, joyous face and sperking eves, and his rollicking spirit, broke like a flood of sun- light into their dark retreat and its dismal, monotonous life, Captain Kale questioned Harry closely about the rumored war with England, Lone Beard, and many other things, all of which the youth evaded in such a careful manner that he left the captain no wiser, and without having his suspicions aroused. arry and his dog were given the liberty of the cavern. The youth could have escaped, but he was not yet. He was anxious to know what the band was doing there. He could not believe they were the lake pirates of whom Long Beard had spoken, and yet he was fully convinced that it was a party whose movements were made under cover of night, as it were. And of this he satisfied himself fully. During the day he sauntered about the cavern, looking boldly into the niches and cor- ners of the place with a listless, boyish curi- osity not calculated to provoke mistrust. To his surprise he caught the glimpse of several suits of clothing lai sts in one place and an- other which he recognized as the uniforms of British infantry. This discovery left no doubt in his mind as to who and what the band was— a company of His Majesty’s troops that had stolen across the line from ada and ambush- ed themselves in the cavern. But, what their object could have been in so doing, and in con- cealing their military insignia beneath the garb of civilians, was beyond our hero’s comprehen- sion, But he mentally resolved to know, now that he was in their midst. The following night found the young SPY still in the camp of the enemy, and as they all gathered in the great subterranean chamber after supper, Kale turned to him and said: ‘“‘ Harry, can’t you sing us a song to pass the hours?” *T never could sing, govenir, for shucks; for all I love music. But, boys, Pl tell you: Belshazzar can sing better thanI can. He can sing like a lark, he can, for a joyous fact. He’s got a good voice for music, boys, strange as it may seem, and I'll bet any man here that he can sing a thundering good lick for a big dog. “Tll take that bet,” said one of the men, ‘‘and Dll put up my rifle against the old dog.” ‘‘Tt’s a whack, by the holy pokers!” ex- claimed Harry. ‘“lt’s not often I bet, but when a man comes up that way and names the terms, I can’t crawfish. Yes, stranger, it’s rifle against dog.” A dim twilight pervaded the cavern, and the faces of the men could be but indistinctly seen. Some of them were sitting, others lying about in attitudes of ease and repose. Harry. himself sat leaning against a huge stalagmite on the shadowy side. His dog lay curled up, a rod or two away. ‘‘You have all heard the bet, have you, boys?’ asked the lad’s opponent, who felt cer- tain of some fun at Harry’s expense. ‘Yes, yes,” responded his companions, “Tve been wantin’a good gun some time,” said Harry. “ And Pee been wanting a good dog-skin,” answered the man, and his companions laughed at his remark. “« To-whit-to-who I’ suddenly rung through the cavern. It was the startling cry of an owl. It was so distinct and harsh in its intonations that the men held their breath and listened— many looking completely frightened. A moment’s silence ensued. The men lis- tened intently for the repetition of the sound. Belshazzar rose upon his haunches and barked, his deep bass voice sounding through the cham- bers of the cavern like the boom of a musket, Then @ sound floated through the place; it was the sound of far-off music—of some one a plaintive song. The men looked from one to the other in blank astonishment. The music > i louder, came nearer. Oc- casionally the listeners could distinguish a word or two ‘By heavens, it’s the dog] You have lost, Talbot,” said Kirby Kale. The sound seemed to issue from the very li of the dog, true enough. Every one would bave sworn that it did. The singing lasted for full two minutes, then it ceased and the dog i2i’ ‘own. ‘““T]l take the rifle,” s id se boy. Talbot could make noicply. He was speech- less, and so were his friends, But soon all re- covered. They saw through the mystery— was a ventriloquist! ‘‘Ha!l ha!” laughed Captain Kale; “ well done, my lad; well done!” ’ ‘Bravo! Bravo!” responded his men. CHAPTER IX, HARRY’S BLACK SWAMP YARN. Happy Harry was a wonderful mimic, as well as Snthe fend. and he spent several hours with the illustrating his powers, He did so more to gain their confidence than for any other purpose. The more he amused and entertained them the less reserved they became toward bim. Fully satisfied that Long Beard was safe, he resolved to be in no particwar hurry about Pare away, at least, not until he had found the object of Kirby Kale in lying in concealment there. The youth could imitate the cry of any bird or animal. He started his auditors more than once with the buzzing of bees and the hissing of serpents. He seemed to have been endowed with an especial gift from nature, which his wildwood associations and daily practice had fully developed. | “You are sessed of a wonderful gift, Harry,” said Kale. ‘‘I have seen persons be- fore now who could imitate birds and beasts and throw their voices away in different direc- tions, but have seen none to be compared with u. ‘‘That’s good praise, captain,” replied Har- ry: “I know I’ve a fine thing out of it, but I never boast of what I can do. [I find it real handy to be able to mock things and to plant my voice around here and there. It’s helped me out of more’n one difficulty, it has, for a fact. And then, I made a big thing of it onct, and I'll tell you how it was. You’v heard of Red Satan, the Swamp Thief, reckon? Well, at any rate, he war the most owdacious cut-throat that walked the _foot- stool, them days. He infested the big Black Swamp ’bout a hundred and fifty miles below here, and made a business of stealin’ little cbil- dren and big girls, and hidin’ ’em in the swamp and holdin’ ’em for ransom. Great, hoppin’ hornits, but he was a sly one—wusser than an Italian brigand. All the powers on earth couldn’t capture him. The settlers finally got some bland honsile and tried to hunt him down, but one day they found them dead on the outlaw’s trail. They tried to trap him in every way possible. They searched the swamps through and through, from Maumee to Sandusky. They hunted the woods over and over, but they couldn’t find Red Satan. I allers believed, boys, that he had lots of friends among his many enemies, elso he couldn’t have got away soslick every time. ‘Finally, people got tired of payin’ him ransoms, although he war always honest enough to give up the child or gal, all right, soon as the cash war deposited in a certain lace. But he kept.on with his. deviltry till irst thing we knowed, two children and a young girl war missin’ from the settlement, and notice found demandin’ ever so much ran- som for their safe return. Of course, all knowed that Red Satan’war at tho bottom of it, though there was no name to the notice. veonle, owever, concluded to pay the reward, for him instead of the children, and so a big thing war offered to the man or men that would take the swamp-devil alive. In course they wanted him taken alive and then they could make him tell where the children wero concealed; but if he war killed outright they might never find them. Wal, I wasn’t a man, but I concluded to take a hand in the hunt, and so struck out for the big swamp, For two weeks I waded and plunged and crashed through the awful wilderness, like a mad alligator, and what should I do but find the den of the old tiger, Red Satan. It war in a part of the swamp where the settlers declared no human bein’ could penetrate, let alone live. But I found that the old Satan, was not alone —that he had a partner, and that partner war none other than Arlow Vardocq, an Indian TEaee?, who was well respected at the settle- ment. ‘* Red Satan war big enough to eat me teto- tally up, and when I bolted right into his den onto him, I thought I'd follered my last trail. He jist got upand catterpillared, Holy poker how he champed his bits and cavorted! He an his pard jist almost snatched me baid-headed, they did, fora painful fact. atey bound me and chucked me off into the loft, clucklin’ over the idea of another child for ransom. But, great hoppin’ hornits! they didn’t know thar wasn’t a soul in the north that’d pay a dollar for the Wild Boy, as old fellers said would come to some bad ‘eend.’ But up in the loft, whar they confined me, war the two missin’ children and the young woman belongin’ to the settle- ment. tn course, Belshazzar was with me, but they didn’t chuck him off for a ransom. They jist went sweet on him and concluded to adopt im, and keep him at the cabin. I war glad of this, for 1 war mortal afraid they’d kill him, ‘Well, they kept me in that place nearly a week and almost starved the Gay lights out of my body. Them litte children and the big gal fared lots better because they wasn’t boys; but they took on awfully. I told ’em to take it easy as possible and mebby all’d turn out right et. But it run along about eight days before Satan and his conspirator, Vardocy, left the cabin. When I war sure they war gone, I called to B , whom they’d left locked in the room below. The old hero answered with a bark, and, after several attempts, he suc- ceeded in springin’ up into the loft, which wasn’t over five feet high, I made him chaw my bonds off in a jiffy, then I set the other three captives free. So far things’d worked charmingly but now come the tug; the three captives were so weak they couldn’t hard] stand up, and I didn’t know what to do wit them; but do somethin’ I must. I couldn’t get them out of the swamp before danger was likely to come upon us, so what wasI todo? At last I concluded to hide ’em and play shenanigan on ole Satan and bis imp. So I hid ’em in his bed— a big pile of reeds and swamp-grass covered with blankets in a dark corner. ou see, I removed some of the ‘feathers* and substituted the cap- tives’ bodies, so’s the bed wasn’t no bigger. This done, I deliberately set down and waited till ole Satan and ‘his left-bower come home,. Great, hoppin’ hornits! then you’d ort to see that brimstone-pitian howl and swear. He frothed and foamed and blubbered. He asked me what I was doin’ there, and where the others war. [told him that the big gal had got loose: and had freed tho rest of us, and had fled with the two little children. He actually got mad and cussed me for not goin’ too. I told him m scruples of honesty forbid my desertin’ him. told him I kind o’ wanted to stay with him and adopt him as my father, for I was a poor lone orphan. Isobbed and snuffled and slobbered a little to give my words an airof truth. The tears just boiled out of my eyes to show how I was aifected, but I come dog-gone near over- doin’ the thing and gittin’ dustin my eyes. Lut, blessed if ole Satan and his tulip didn’t melt to’rds me. My tears broucht them; it did, for a tender fact. “ Then father Satan wanted to know, ‘you little idiot, how long’s them other brats been gone? I told the gentle ole tiger that they’d just left, and tho way they’d gone, and that Vd help him hunt them, and away we went’ lickety-to-brindle out into the swamp. We hunted and hunted for their trail, but some- how or other we couldn’t find it. Ole Satan just swore a blue streak; he did, fora hard fact, But, all at once, we heard a cry off before us; it was the cry of a child—a sed, pitiful ery. “*Thar they are,’ roared the gentle-lunged Satan, and great hornits! how he went a- smashin’ through them reeds! I tell yo, it sounded as though a hurricane was sweepin’ through the swamp, Ole Satan fell down once, and nighly bu’sted hisself; but he jumped up, give hisself a spiteful jerk, end launched awa avain. I follered close behind—me and Bell. ardocq puffed on half a mile behind. But, somehow or other we couldn’t overtake them fugitives tosave us. Finally ole Satan stopped to listen, and blest if we didn’t hear that child’s cry again off some distanco to the left. With a snort the swamp angel plunged away in that direction; me and Belshazzar followed, ready to burst with laughter. Great hornits! how ole Sate did smack his big feet on the earth, and sweat and swear!—whew! it was awful to hear the old galvanized monster. Livery time he stopped to listen he could hear that child’s cry, and so he kept on and on for more’n five miles, At length we came te the much tobacco: edge of asloo, and had to cross an opening of — several rods before reaching the timber beyond. A creek separated the swamps and woods also. On the edge of the marsh old Purgatory stop- ped and listened, and dogged if we didnt hear it ery over in the timber. Away waltzed the father of sin. He come to the creek and made a leap, but his foot slipped and he fell plum into the water. Great Jehovah, boys! I could- n’t help it—I laffed right out! But ole Brim- stone didn’t know it war me that laffed—I guess he thought it war the big fal that bad seen him tumble in the water. The old Nick scrambled out the crick, cussin’ till the urees around him trembled. He rushed into the woods like mad, and what do you s’pose greeted his satanic ears?” ** Another child-cry,” replied Captain Kale, — “Nary cry. lt war, ‘stand, villain! and a dozen men with leveled rifles emerged from the thick undergrowth and surrounded him, Not until that moment did the deluded Satan suspect me of having led him into atrap, He turned and looked toward me, and I tell you that look was ole salter. Ill never forgit it— never. He drew his knife and made one sweep to’rds me, but he was so furious that he over- reached bisself and fell—fell onto his own knife, which let the daylight out of him. By this Vardocq put in an appearance and was nabbed. Then I led‘the men back to the cabin and got the captives. Poor things! they war nighiy gone when we rescued them. But you see, boys, my gift done the world some gocd that time, for I was the child that done the cryin’ through ne at : , that was te an adventure for a boy ” said Kirby ale | ‘It was, for a ginuine fact, captain: but Pve en bei a worse re, than that.” the band, with thriiing stories of bis Senki ventures, but finally, wing tired, he rolled bimself in a blanket 4nd went to sleep, most of the men following his example) f Before retiring, Capta Kale turned to three “i ue met who were prepiring to leave the cave, com (C “S G JOO e