Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 148 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

ee 12 tail in the digestion. Yes, sir; I’m Jabez Mug- gins, Russian—a royal Russian nabob, gents; and claim protection under that flag, and de- mand that you show a clean face and the best foot to royalty. Besides, if you want a good hearty spasm out of old life-fountain here, show me your duplicates and I’]] gurgle ye out a turn around. “Thunder!” exclaimed old Jack, eee y; }, you blarsted ole skinflint you. Id hopes you’d burnt up last night, at One-Arm’s cabin. But then if you had, the gallows’d been cheated ; and now, if you’rea half a man, you'll step around here and cut our bonds and help butcher a few of these Ingins and rusties.” “Scat, ole jingle-tongue!” retorted the trader; ** It'd be impossible for me to give you aid, inso- much as I’m n’utral—in fact a Russian nabob, travelin’ in this heathen kountry for my health and kiverin’ my expenses by dispensin’ Volga- water ’mong you aboriginals.”’ ** You are an infernal sap bead and traitor,” replied old Jack; ‘‘and mind, ole coon, you'll sweat for all this.” " to such illiterate jargon,” replied the trader, in an insolent manner. ‘I don’t want to spend breath with you common herd, for I’m a Russian nabob; so, see here, British so- jers, whatsay you toasmiile from the Volga?” ** All right, if you’il trust us till we meet at Mackinaw,” said one of the English. “Trust nothin’! exclaimed Muggins; ‘“‘ you may all be gone tothe devil by that time. I know a got the spondulics to chalk a dozen knock-em-stifts, so shell your bark and drink to the health of a Russian nabob.” The officer addressed drew two pieces of silver from his pocket and handed it to the trader, who, glancing at its value, d ited it in his ket, and then proceeded to draw his liquor. t took some time to ‘‘administer” to each of the party, the prisoners excepted; and by the time the last had received his draught, the first was calling for a second. The prisoners had been sccurely bound to a tree hard by, so that they could sit down or stand at pleasure; and it was with a feeling of terror that they watched the English flicers and soldiers, and their red allies, cmpty one cup after another of the ficry liquid until the keg was drained. They knew that when their cap- _tors were fully under the influence of the whisky they would become objects upon which to vent their drunken, beastly cruelty. The trader himself had drank as often, if not oftener than any one man in the party, and the effect of these frequent potations could be y seen in the dull, languid eye, thick speech, and swaggering gait. Further evidence of his debauch were his incoherent muttering and singing, as he lay stretcbed full length upon ae e Indians appeared to have no control over themselves, but went running and staggering here and there with a drunken leer upon tbeir ainted faces, brandishing knives and toma- wks in the faces of the prisoners in a threaten- ing manner. The — men became loud and us, and turned with a string of oaths and epithets upon the luckless ‘‘ Russian na- bob” who had furnished them with Lquor, — to imprison him unless be would re- pudiate bis claim upon the czar’s protection, and swear al ce to the British crown. But this the ‘* nabob” refused to do. “Think I’m a cuss’d fool (hic) do you?” he asked—‘‘ think I, Jabez Mu s’d go back on ole Russ? No, sir’ee (hic) hoss-fly, nglisher, with a whoop tee doodle, whoop tee do.’ oe ——. drowsily vam b> <n up a upon the grou.d, and appeared to ‘sink into a Sotcend sen : One of the British cflicers advanced, and, ‘with a look of contempt upon his face, gave the trader’s body a rude push with bis toot, rolling him over and over several times, lodg- ing him finally against the same tree to whic Captain Philip St. John and Jack Eiler were bound. Here the drunken trader was _per- mitted to ley, apparentiy dead, though a close observer might bave seen him open his eyes occasionally, glance quickly arownu, then close them again, as if in deepslumber, Then as the minutes wore away, his hand found its way into the bosom of his hunting- shirt, and when it was withdrawn, something bright flashed within it. But there was no other movement of the boecy, that could have been noticed, -for the next ten minutes, nor was the trader once thought of for some length of time by the — allies, for their attention was diverted from all else than the harsh, vul- gar notes of a bacchanalian song, {rom the lips of one of the British officers. Dire confusion reigned, and in the wavering and uncertain — of the camp-fire, the dusky figures flitting to and fro made tne occasion ap- pear like fiends in a ghostly revel. And in the midst of the confusion and song, two figures in the background were not observed as they arose to their feet and crept stealthily away in- to the woods. But when the officer finish- ed his song, and the excited audience turned elsewhere tor amusement, they discovered that old Jack Eller and Captain St. Jobn were gone —had escaped! And then a cry arose from One-Armed Alf. every lip, and the Indians glided away into the mies in search of the missing men. Two of the English officers, however, re- mained in camp,and at once proceeded to inquire into the manner of the prisoners’ escape. And great was their surprise when they discovered the bonds of the prisoners lying at the foot of the tree, bearing strong evidence of having been cut by a keen-edged knife. The whisky-trader was still lying apparently asleep, yet from some intuitive motive, the two Englishmen were induced to suspect him of having liberated the prisoners while their at- tention was diverted from him. At any rate, they conversed awbile in low tones, then they seized the trader and dragged him away into the darkness toward a little waterfall, whose rippling rush they could distinctly hear. And thus was the ‘*‘ Russian nabob” abcut to under- ge some fearful ordeal at the hands of men whose brains had been fired to crime by power of the trader’s own whisky; and half an hour later, when they—the Englishmen—returned to the camp-fire alone, if was with a crime-stained conscience—yea, with blood upon their hands ! CHAPTER XVIL “BOAT, AHOY.” “THe Maid of Michitan—the Specter Skiff— is it possible, possible that I am—ay, it is even so, | am aboard that strange, mysterious craft.” Thus Darcy Mayfield mused to himself as he stood erect in the little schooner, mystified and dumbfounded with bis two sleeping, silent ca tors at his feet. He could scarcely believe the evidence of his own senses in the very face of staring facts. He could see that the craft was skimming over the water at a rapid speed, but whether he was being varried to safety or death he kpew not. He was not a coward by any means, yet he made no move to- ward changing the boat’s course, nor toward urousing his sleeping captors whose sleep seemed unusually deep and silent. But, as the moments wore away and the En- glishmen stirred not, something like a feeling of terror and desolation crept over him—a feei- ing of awe which one experiences when he enters alone the death-chamber, or some old ruins of haunted repute, This he tried to shake off as a sudden fear, but he could not. It grew upon him, and at length he approached bis captors, bent down and peered into their faces. He started back with a low exclamation of hor- ror. Hesaw that the eyes of one of the En- glishmen were staring wide open with a vacant glassy expression, while upou the forehead of the other one he could just see a small, round hole from which the blood was welling and making a scarlet path across the face. In fact, le saw that both were stone dead, yet es in attitudes calculated to mislead -one into tke belief that they were simply asleep. A chill of horror now crept over young May- fiela’s frame, and conjured ~ feartul thoughts in his mind. The pistol shot and groans that he bad heard in his dreams, were, after all, realities—stern facts; and ho knew not how soon his own fate might Le sealed. Im fact, thé terrible suspense under which he was now placed was gape Sag to which the repulsive resence of the dead added additional horrors, ‘rom the one he could seek no relief, but the latter he could. This was by consigning the bodies of the dead to the dark waters beneath him, and this he at once proceeded to do, and in a minute’s time the bodies were buried be- neath the waves of the great lake. Darcy Mayfield now seated himself, and al- we — little easier in mind, he could breat The boat was skimming along at a rapid speed, the little sail being pressed to its utmost. The night was still one of gloom and mist— damp, ghostly and dismal. Nota sound could be Leard save the dull swash of the water as it closed upon the wake of the craft. Darcy settled down upon his seat, resolved to consign himself calmly to fate, and Julled b the easy, gliding motion of tbe craft, he su into a kind of mental stupor. But from this Le was suddenly aroused by a scund resemblin the dip and swash of oars, and ing aroun him he discovered a “ery boat, filed with sha- dowy forms, creeping through the fog toward him, and before be could make out the occu- pants, clear and distinct on the disn.al air, a voice rung out: ** Boat ahoy “a “Ay, ay,” responded our hero, with a promptness that was evidence of bis quick per- ception and decision. | ‘Halt!’ returned the party in the strange boat; ** who goes there?” ‘A boat of our Royal Majesty of England,” replied Darcy Mayfield. ‘You lie, curse you,” replied the challenger; ‘vou are a lo ung Yankee—halt, or we'll riddle you with English builets.” Maytield heard the demand and threat, and even had he been disposed to obey the order, he could not have done so, for be held no control over the little barque that glided swiftly on. The next instant.a dozen tongues of were vomited out irom the sides of the English boat, and the report of musketry stirred the fog around them. Darcy saw the flash; be heard the report and the whistle of bullets around him: he felt a sharp, stinging sensation about the head, then he sunk down in the boat and all became a blank to bis mird. CHAPTER XVIIL. HANNAH, THE MAID OF MICHIGAN. WHEN Darcy Mayfield recovered from that state of unconsciousness into which he h d been thrown by a musket-ball grazing his head, the. first thing of which he became conscious was of a severe pain in the head, and his thoughts were so conitused that he could not de- fine his situation nor the cause of bis semi-con- sciousness. Little by little, however, he re- gained his mind, then one by one he recalled the events of the past down to the time he was hailed and fired upon by the English boatmen. But where was he now? This is the ques- tion that puzzled his feverish brain. He gazed around him. Jt was brvad daylight. He could see the clear blue sky overhead, and he could feel a gentle, swaying motion of bis couch. Then a sound caught his ear. He lifted his eyes and saw a white sail outspread above him. hen another truth flashed across his mind; he was still aboard the reputed haunted skiff. _ With this discovery he attempted to rise to a sitting , but found that he was too weak, and as he sunk back into his seat he clasped hi: aching brow. He started—a band was ur- on his head. Some unknown friend had placed it there—had his wound and cared for bim while unconscious. This discovery gave him hope and strength, and by a renewed effort he succeeded in rising once more to a sit- ting posture. He then gazed around him; a vast, illimitable sheet of water stretched its un- Lroken length away on every side. Not an ob- ject was visible upon it, and he was alone in the craft. Where then was the friend who had dressed and bandaged his wound? Weak with the loss of blood, and unnerved by the constant excitements of his surround- ings, he again sunk down into a state of semi- consciousness. But he was soon aroused again by the electric thrill of a soft, gentle hand pass- ing over bis aching, burning brow. He opened Lis eyes and was startled by sight of a temale figure bending over him. But to his surprise her face was covered with a vail, or mask, th h which gleamed a pair of bright eyes, now g down upon him. She was no irit, that was evident—but a being in the esh, with a form beautiful and sylph-like in its proportions. A wealth of blue-black hair streamed in rippling masses down over the rounded shoulders and swelling bosom. Hands with small tapering fingers and of oy whiteness, were fluttering about his feve brow, every touch sending a magnetic thrill through his whole frame. ‘* At last I have obta.ned a sight of my de- liverer’s form, at least,” Darcey, under the im- pulse of the moment found strength to remark. “fam not your deliverer, young on for you are not safe yet,” replied the mas ed maiden, for, from the soft, flute-like notes of her voice, the grace and ease of her movements, ands the s ee em beauty of ber form it was evident that she was a young . ‘* Not safe yet!” snaiaienes Teens ‘‘No; your health is in a feeble condition; besides, we are es from land, and the lake is swarming with English boats.” As she spoke young Mayfield bent a strong, searching her, like one awakening from a filed with haunting dreams. There was something strangely fami in the woman’s tone; it seemed like an echo from tbe But his mind was still too unsettled tp pomnece:Spe peat wat the present, or to tix the identity of friend ana protectress; end seeing that she was desirous of keeping that irdentity a secret from bim, he said: ‘fam satistied then, that you are a friend, lady; and yet you are a stranger to me, and it is evident from your being masked that you desire to remain unknown.” * * That’s true, sir,” she replied softly; ‘‘ never- theless, thereis cne thing I do not object to your knowing. I suppose you have heaid of the Specter Skiff, and the Maid of Michigan ?’ ‘*T have.” “You are now aboard of that craft, and I am the Maid of Michigan.” “5 cted as mucb,” replied Darcey; “yet, there are those who believe the Maid of Micri- gan is but a spirit.” Indeed?” replied the maiden, and a low, musical laugh rippled in weird-like softness from her lips. ‘‘ {fam glad, very glad that peo- ple think so, and it would bave been well for some to have kept clear of the Specter Shiif when they found it without occupants.” A faint shudder convulsed Darcy’s form at these words, for he knew that she had reference to the death of his two English captors, Kruic aud Belden, and he could assigh their ceath to a a a ‘It ma continu & Won.an, seeing he yd not vo ‘that we will jowney together some length of time, for your health VOOKS COMMU