Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 138 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

= Roberts had now recovered his coolness and presence of mind, which, at the first moment of surprise, had forsaken him, The lock of his rifle had fortunately remained dry. He quickly cocked the piece, and, supporting himself with his left arm upon the piece of timber, while he struck out slowly with his feet, he turned, and in this somewhat inconvenient posture fired at the panther just as it reached the opposite bank. The beast, struck by the ball, leaped aloft, and then sunk back into the river. Roberts had already opened his lips to utter a shout of triumph, but at the same instant the wounded animal emerged again from the stream; and at the very moment that it was bounding nimbly up the steep acclivity, tho swimming hunter, having slightly disturbed the equilibrium of his raft, slipped backward, and disappeared beneath it, with rifle and powder-horn! As he camo splashing and spluttering to the surface again, the hounds, who bad been thrown off the track, hud reached the very spot from which the panther had taken his plunge, and at once followed their agile precursor, as they remarked the dark form from tke river, which they took for their flying enemy. Roberts’s situation at this moment was far {rein being an enviable one; for had tho eager dogs reached him while still in deep water, the entire pack would have pressed upon him, and perhaps have throttled him before he could be able to convince them of their error, Fortunately, however, having observed his danger in time, he swam toward the shore, still holding his heavy rifle firmly beneath his arm, and he had scarcely reached a place where he could touch bottom, when the hounds surrounded him; and even Foppy himself, not recognizing his master, assailed him, barking violently. Roberts, how- ever, raised himself on tiptoe, thrust away those nearest him with the butt of his piece, and cried furiously to the startled dogs; ‘* Back, you beasts! you rascals, back! What, Poppy, you thief, would you bite your own master? Back, there, you scoundrels! take the right track! Ha, Poppy!” This last exclamation was addressed to his own dog, who now recognized his master, and swam joyfully toward him, Roberts, how- ever, not quite trusting to the truce, recoiled a step with a forbidding gesture, stepped into a deeper hole, and vanished under the water again; and this at the very moment that Barker appeared on the opposite bank, and at once raised his rifle to his shoulder to senda shot at the panther, with whom he supposed the dogs to be engaged. Now, however, it was the latter that protected the hunter from the bullet of his comrade; for Barker still de- layed to fire, for fear of injuring one of the animals, and soon, to his no slight astonish- ment, recognized his friend. The latter, far from suspecting this new danger, had once more gained firm footing; and now, spouting forth the water which he had swallowed, stood cursing the hounds, until he had brought them upon the track of the wounded panther, when, after swimming the stream, they darted turiously after the enemy, and soon treed him _on the bottom-land,” ‘‘ Hallo, Roberts!” cried Barker, from the bank, ‘‘ what the deuce are you doing there in the La Fave?” ‘“Piaying crab,” replied the other, still vexed at bis somewhat uncomfortable con- dition, as he came from the water, and clam- bered up the slippery bank. This jest was destined to prove truth, however; for twice, before he could reach the hight of the bank, be slipped backward with much greater rapidity than he had ascended, and each time, to the delight of his friend, who held. his sides with laughter, he sunk above his belt in the water. But his perseverance conquered at last; when near the edge of the bank, he grasped a young tree, raised himself up by it, and disappeared in the thicket, without bestowing a glance upon the shouting Barker. The latter hastened at once to his horse, which he had left a short distance behind, on hearing the dogs in the water, that he might make his way through the thicket to their as- sistance; then leaped into the saddle, and galloped toward the ford, which lay further up the river. He at once crossed it, but he reached the scene of action too late, however; for he was still in the canebrake, when he heard the sharp sound of a rifle, followed by the yelling of the dogs, which were crowding - eagerly around the foot of the tree, Tbe pan- ther had not yet loosed his hold of the The Border Bandits. mm ee branches, when Barker emerged upon the small clearing where the chase had at last con- centrated itself. With his claws deeply clutched in the branch cf an oak, the beast clung with the last strain of his sinews to the protecting tree; but soon a convulsive tremor shook his frame, that hung suspended in the air, proclaiming the death-struggle of the fatally-wounded animal; his clutches relaxed, and he fell amid the wild and noisy pack, striking directly upon a young hound, crushing its spine, while the poor creature, moaning and howling, tried in vain to extricate itself from beneath the heavy burden, At first it was scarcely possible to draw the crippled beast from among the hounds, which were furiously assailing the dying panther. When this was at last effected, by the combined efforts of the hunters, Cook, to whom the hound belonged, seeing that it was impossible to save the poor animal, placed the muzzle of his rifle to its head, and at once dispatched ip. ‘‘That’s the seventh dog that I have seen perish in this manner!” said Barker, in a tone of vexation, as he struck the butt of bis rifle upon the ground. ‘‘But you can’t get the stupid cattle out of the way when a beast like that isin a tree; thea, before they know it, down he comes, and knocks two or three of ’em to pieces with his heavy, lumbering carcass.” ‘‘ A bear that I shot last year,” said Roberts, while his teeth chattered with the cold, ‘ killed two for me in this way, and broke the hind leg of a third, so that | was obliged to shoot him,” ‘Hallo, Roberts!” cried Barker, laughing, “you look nicely! Suppose we make a fire? But, Cook, where do you come from? I have- n’t seen you for these two weeks—not since you took that foolish hunt after the wrong horses, Was it you who shot the beast?” “Yes,” replied Cook, who, having blown the smoke from his rifle, was now busied reload- ing it; ‘‘l was at Harper’s, and on hearing the hounds so near, I couldn't keep quiet in the house,” ‘We are very near Harper’s, then?” ex- claimed Roberts; ‘‘the country about here seems very familiar to me. Ah, yes, it lies up yonder—behind those cypresses,”’ “Searcely five hundred paces off,” replied Cook. ‘We had better go at once to the house; then Mr. Roberts can dry himself, while we take off the beast’s bide.” ‘“T wish I knew where my horse was,” said Roberts, anxiously. ‘I hope it isn’t dangling by the bridlo to some bush; it’s true I tied a knot in it, and it can’t bang down very far— yet it’s possible.” ‘‘Don’t be uneasy,” said Barker; ‘‘ yonder comes Mullins, with the horse. Wheredid you find him, Mullins?” ““T found him standing yonder,” answered Mullins, who came up at this moment, leading the missing animal, ‘‘at the place where the panther probably first took to the river; he was grazing, and most likely found the bank too steep for him. But, hallo! that’s a big fellow! It was indeed a panther of uncommon size. They had hunted it since daybreak, without being able to tree the animal, and they woula not yet have succeeded in doing so, but for Roberts’s shot, which had weakened and dis- abled it. They now attempted to place it upon Cook’s horse; but, although the latter assured the hunters that the animal had car- ried more than ten bears, without manifesting the slightest sign of fear, yet it was impossi- ble to get the horse to approach the dead panther, even within a distance of ten paces, It was in vain that they smeared the blood of the animal about its mouth; it was not tbe blood that terrified it—it was the strange and fearful odor of the beast; and the men were obliged to remove the skin from the panther upon the spot, and to take the hide merely with them. This they with difficulty suc- ceeded in placing upon the borse’s back, which, incessantly tossing its head, endeavored, by all imaginable caracoles, to shake off the unplea- sant burden. They soon reached Harper’s dwelling, how- ever, fastened their beasts to the adjacent bushes, and entered. CHAPER VII. Tax appearance of things in Harper’s dwell- ing was far less comfortable than in times past, when its owner, stillin health, and always cheerful, kept bachelor’s hall, aided occasion- ally by Alapaha. It is true he had nearly re- $$$ 11 covered from his illness, but the debility which always results from fever was manifest in all his movements; his round, healthy, and ruddy face, had assumed a dull, ashy bue, and his prominent cheek-bones projected as if, aston- ished at their transformation, they wished to look about at the remaining features of tho countenance to which they belonged. His neighbors did not forsake him in time of need. All treated him with kindness, and watched alternately with Brown at bis bed- side during the whole course of his illness, and oftentimes spent entire days in diverting and cheering him, Barker, in particular, had taken a singular liking to him, and was a frequent and welcome guest inthe hut of the two men, When the hunters entered, Harper was re- clining upon a rudely -constructed bedstead, on a mattress filled with Spavish moss; bis once- florid cheeks were pale and sunken, and his formerly so active movements had given place to a strange lassitude; his eyes alone, although they had lost somewhat of their fire, shone brightly at the sight of bis welcome visitors, and, uttering a hearty greeting, he extended his white and meager hand to each in his turn, ‘You are welcome all! I am glad to see you, Roberts; you are a fine fellow—it takes wild beasts to bring you to me, then! But, God bless me, you look as if you had been dragged through a pond! Here, Bill, give Roberts a change of clothes, he'll get his death.” “Thank you! thank you!” replied the latter, The young man now brougbt him warm,dry garments, and assisted bim to change his dress. ‘“]T am very much obliged. But, Brown, I ‘havea bove to pick with you. My wife is in a fine humor with you for keeping yourself so out of the way. Since the panther business you know—when Marion was with you, and you must have fairly hit the beast, for Cook’s eldest boy tound it, as | heard two days after —or at least the skeleton and a part of the hide, for the buzzards—” , Barker had quietly suffered him to continue but he now seized him by the arm, exclaim- ing:— “ Hallo, there!—there he travels again, straight eastward, like the mail-coach. Come, sit down by the fire; and you, Harper, draw nearer the chimney-corner, for though we have stupped the chinks, yet there is air enough stil, and you might take cold, the wind whistles keenly,” “Have you a _ wash-basin, here?” asked Roberts. ‘‘I got my bands all covered with mud, in climbing up the bank!” “ Cook, be so good as to give bim the tin pan yonder—the one with no handle—you know it,” ‘‘Know it?’ replied the young farmer laughing, while with a long-handled gourd he poured water from a pail that stood before the door into the aforesaid vessel; ‘‘of course I know your traps bere, and perhaps better than yourself just now, It doesn’t take so long a time fo get acquainted with them,” ‘*No towel?” asked Roberts. “Well, I suppose you have a handkerchief about you,” replied Cook. ‘Yes, but it is all wet.” ‘Well, then, take mine.” “You must tell me about the bunt,” cried Harper. ‘That’s a monstrous big panther’s skin, Won’t you spread it out, Cook, or bang it on the little maple-tree to the right? The confounded dogs tore the last deerskin I got to pieces—the varmints!” Roberts was now obliged to recount his ad venture, while Cook spread out tbe skin in a safe place, though he bad enough to do in the mean while in keeping the narrator within due bounds. ‘Tell me, Roberts,” he exclaimed, at last, when the Jatter bad ended, “did you talk in that fashion when you courted your present wite?, By the Lord, if I bad been in her place, I should have lost all patience!” ‘‘Drop that, just now, Cook,” answered Roberts. ‘To-day is the first time that I bave seen you since you followed the tracks of the wrong horses. How was the business?” “True, and he bas never told me about it,” cried Harper, ‘‘ though he has been here every day.” ‘“You were sick,” replied Cook; “why should I have troubled you with the tedious story? Weal, the business is very simple, We found the tracks; they led across the river, | and we followed them, because we naturally CEOMAMIE O@C) tS EO ah is nn