Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 148 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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One-Armed Alf. | op ne and undertook to dictate to him who he should marry He selected Maria, my wife and his cousin, for by such a union, he ed that two large and noble English houses would be united. He must surely not have wn, at the time, that Maria was.already married, else he would not have urged such measures, ‘But Imbercourt wrote tliat Pellington was a bad, unprincipled wnan. who in case of his, Robert’s, death, would succeed to his property, and he believed that his great interest in the matter was from motives of selfishness and cu- idity. That is, he wanted Imbercourt to wed aria and unite the two estates, then, by a single blow, of the assassin’s hand, make him- self heir to all. **When the villain found out, however, that Maria was married, and there was no possible chance of uniting the two estates by marrying the cousins, he resolved upon a bolder stroke. He resolved to put Maria out of the way, then no obstacle would stand between him and her estates, to which he would also succeed in case of her death. ‘‘ With a party of English soldiers and rene- gades, under one Major Mackclogan, and a number of Ojibway Indians, Pellington crossed the line; and swept down upon our home like a vulture, and from that night until this I have never seen my darling Maria, nor her youngest brother. They were either killed or carried away into captivity, and I have been a lonely wanderer ever since, living daily in hopes that I will gain some clew to my missing Maria,” ‘Yours is a sad story,” replied Hannah, who appeared to have been greatly interested in the story, “‘but vou did not say what became of your wife’s eldest brcther.” ‘“* He is still living, poor fellow, a terror to the demons that destroyed our homes and hap- iness, The spirit of vengeance painted the eatures of every renegade Briton and savage tg his memory, never to be erased while his life lasted. Yes, yes, the war of vengeance, that noble and brave Charles Bradbury is wa- ging against the demons is terrible, terrible, annah!” ‘Charles Bradbury, Bradbury,” repeated Hannah; “I have heard that name before. But, how came bes here, a captive in the power of those two English soldiers, Kruler and Belden?” “For two es have I been searching the ninsula of Michigan for my lost Maria, for IT new not but that she might be a captive among some of the Indian tribes. Somehow or other that inhuman wretch, Sir Joshua Pel- lington, got wind of my movements, and for fear I would find Maria, sent men out to cap- ture me. This much I learned from a conver- sation which I overheard between Kruler and Belden.” , ‘Very likely,” mused Hannah: ‘‘ but I thank God the villain has been defeated; and now, when you are able to listen to a long story from me, I willreveal to youa secret, Walter Gar- field, that will forever lift that burden from your poor, bleeding heart.” meet Mayfield started as though suddenly aro from a gy slumber, as these. wo fell from Hannah’s lips. He rose partially up on his elbow, turned and was about to speak, but did for Hannah, the mysterious maid was gon ad vanished the second time, as if she had been a spirit whose home ‘was beneath tne blue waves of Michigan. CHAPTER XXTV. A WAIL AS IF OF AGONY, For a moment Captain Paul North stood ard regarded the lifeless form of Malacgua with rege. thoughts fein inhis mind. It was true the Indian had been slain by that myste- rious Spirit of the Woods; but after all, his had been the ignominious death of a traitor, Thus reflecting, his own case came up befor’ him. Would he not be looked upon by his cumrades in arms as a traitor, and by those to whom he had fled as a coward and deserter? Flurely not. He had not entered the service «f the king willingly. His father had fought for American independence; and, after all, he ~vas, by legal virtue, an American subject, having been forced into the service of the king whi’'e sojourning in England on business connecte’ with his father’s estate. In fact his case was one of the many outof which arose the trouble between England ig a oh ae which finaily resulted in the war 0 Captain North was suddenly reminded in his cogitations, however, that Margery Bliss and Hellice Arvine were i age 2 is return and rotection, and so he left the body of the cherous Malagua, and rejoined the maidens, to whom he made known the startling dis- covery. ‘“‘And now,” he continued, “the nearest point of safety that we can reach will be the most desirable. I am satisfied that if we should ever get inside of the old French fortress, we would never get out alive and free, While we are safe we better keep clear of danger and shape our journey toward Point Michigan. There I will be enabled to change my uniform of a British soldier for that of an an; and will then endeavor to obtain a party of * men and return to the assistance of those in the old fort, if they are not captured or released before.” ‘ “To yon we intrust our lives, Paul,” said Margery, ‘‘and will go wherever you think is best. Butoh! it is agony to have to leave my poor old father behind, at the mercy of the savages!” “| know it, Margery; but we can do_ nothin but hope and pray for their deliverance,” replied the noble Hellice. ‘“* God bless you, dear Hellice,” Margery cried in raptures of hope and joy; “it are a go girl, trusting to Heaven for all your happiness and future hopes. But let us not tarry here longer, fora minute lost may prove fatal. A long, long journey is before us, and to you, Paul, we intrust every thing.” The young soldier pressed his little love to his breast, and planted a silent kiss upon her fair brow; then he started forward, closely fol- lowed by his fair charges. They soon came to the creek where they bad left the canoe, and entering this, crossed to the opposite bank. Captain North sent the canoe adrift to conceal the point where they had landed, and pushed on into the tangled thickets and intricate mazes of the wilderness, They journeyed on three or four miles with not a complaint or mrrmur from the maidens’ lips. Nor did their footsteps grow weary, but with a nerve and perseverance worthy of ae brave men, they pressed their way, filled with bright hopes and promises of soon reaching a haven of rest and safety. At length, however, ag tee: North prevailed on them to stop and rest, for they h our displayed a power of endurance and yeape thet was bound, ere long, to exhaust their phy- sical powers unless recuperated with food and rest. The trio stopped on a little eminence, and were seated on a fallen log, conversing in a low tone, when sudden silence was enjoined upon them by a strange sound echoing through the still night woods. All listened for a repetition of the sound, but they heard nothing save the soft murmur of uw little watercourse that danced along through the woods not far away, mingled with the faint, sullen roar of a little cataract far down the creck, Not another sound could be heard but these two, and they, breaking forth upon the silence of the midnight air, seemed ghostly and unreal, and started in the fugitives’ min strange, weird visions. ‘It isstrange what that noise was,” Captain North finally remarked, his tone betraying some uncertainty and uneasiness, ‘*To me it appeared like the doleful cry of a wolf,” said Margery, in a subdued tone. “Tt is strange we did not all hear alike,” said the fearless Hellice, ‘‘ for to me it sounded like a human cry—ah! there it is again!” True enough the sound was again yawn wailing through the woods like a pro onged wail of human agony. “T tell you it is a human . Hellice; ‘‘some one is in distress! hurry, Captain North, and save him.” ‘Tt is human, I admit, Miss Arvine,” replied the captain, “*but it may be a decoy to lead us into trouble. Some wretches may be taking advantage of your kindness of heart to lead you into a snare.” “True, Captain North,” replied Hellice “women are more apt to listen to the cries o the suffering than men. They are more sensi- tive and sympathetic; and although that cry may bea decoy, I ill not leave ,” persisted h, let us am sure we Wi without investigating the matter.” **Certainly not, Miss Arvine, My ears have never been deaf to the cry of suffering buman- ity, but under the circumstances your safety should be my first consideration.” “Oh, dear! dear!” suddenly cried Margery, with a shudder, “ there is that awful cry again! Oh, Paul, [know no enemy could imitate the moans of one in dying agony like that. Oh, haste, Paul! haste!’ Captain North could not stand indifferent to the appeals of the soit, sweet-voiced Margery, so rising to his feet he drew his saber; then, followed by the brave, peerless maidens, he crept down the little creek in the direction from whence the cries emanated. The rear of the little cascade hitherto men- tioned, grew plainer and plainer as they ad- vanced, and from near this those wails of dis- tress appeared to rise. Stealing silently on, they suddenly found themselves upon the verge of a stony cliff, over which the little creek poured down in a hundred threads of foam. Here they paused and listened, and from the foot of the rock below, mingled with the con- tinuous song of the cascade, arose that awful wail of agony again and again. The maidens shuddered, and their nm over their ears to shut out the dreadful sound, “ At the foot of this cliff, girls,” said Captain antag ‘‘is the being whose cries we hear, and were I not afraid it is a decoy, I would leave you here till I went below to investigate the matter. But to do so, ht be to leave you completely at the mercy of hidden enemies, yy we will go with you, captain,” replied ellice. __ “This settles the question, then,” returned North, and with drawn saber he began picking his way down a narrow defile in the cliff, fol- lowed by the go ig: hei seemed to float from point to point with the sure, airy footsteps of gazelles. At length the plain below was reached, then the trio paused again and listened. Low and feeble rose that wail again from the foot of the cascade. Cautiously and silently the three stole along the base of the cliff. They bad gone but a few rods when the little waterfall and the source of the stream for some distance below burst sud- denly upon their view, as they lay revealed by the broad, bright glare of the moon. Then another of those cries of agony wailing out upon the still night, directed their attention to the foot of the falls, where, in among the mist and spray, they beheld a sight that chilled their bl and caused Hellice and Margery to recoil with a cry of horror. CHAPTER XXYV. A STORMY INTERVIEW. Tux fall of Mackinaw and the occupation of northern Michigan by the English forces was followed by the advance of the British arm under General Brock upon Detroit, where Hull, with the American forces, was posted. With the English army proper, however, our stor has nothing in parti r to do; but one inci- dent eonnected with our romance compels us to call the attention of the reader to the head- quarters of General Brock while he was en- camped with his ar on the peninsula near the old French fort, hitherto mentioned. In the tent of the British commander, on the morning of the cocepe of Captain Philip St. John and old Jack Eller from the power of the Indians, two persons were sea engaged in conversation, One of these persons was an En- glishman wearing the clothes of a civilian, the other was an American dressed in the uniform of a captain of the American army. The latter, it was easy to be seen, was a pri- soner, although he was not bound, but two sol- diers kept guard outside of the tent. The hman was a man of about forty years, and possessed features that were hard and cruel, and even repulsive in those outward signs that told of a life of wickedness and dissi- pation. With this man we have met before. It was Sir Joshua Pellington, and the young prisoner before him was none other than our young friend, Captain Philip St. John, who bad un- fortunately fallen into the power of the ad- vance guard of the English aimy soon after his qncepe from the Indians, y these two were closeted in Brock’s tent alone, we will let the run of their conversation ll, omitting the preliminaries and i lat which led to this reply from young St. Jobn: ‘* It is no use talking, Pellington; you cannot force me to submit to your d sin this mat- ter. I prefer death to such a villainous deed. Three years ago at Montreal you harassed my life almost out of me to marrv m cousin, Maria Bradbury, in order to unite the estates of the Imbercourts and Lessingfords, which I solemnly believe you intended to make yourself owner of at once. But I objected to such a course then, for two reasons: one was, Maria was married to a man she loved, Walter Garfield, and the other because I loved another.” “Yes,” sneered the haughty, relentless vil- lain, Sir Joshua, “‘ you loved and were engaged to a low-born, plebeian American girl—one Hellice Arvine, whom I have taken the precau- tion to put out of your way.” The young captain pong, be his feet as the villain spoke, and the at gleamed in his eyes comple cowered the English bully, who, endeavoring to affect a cool indifference with poor success, replied: ‘““Sit down, Robert Imbercourt, and let us have one talk without quarreling. You should remember that I am your mother’s brother, and by virtue of her will and the laws of England, 7° Sore not fo lationsh care not for our relationship, sir,” retort- ed St. John; ‘‘it will be no bareiae between my fist and your crime-marked face if you 27 tle Saas of Hellice Arvine again, now “We will have no further words on that score, Robert,” said Pellington, “but let me inform you that the influence I have with Gen- eral Brock is all that will save your life as a deserter.” ‘Iam not a deserter, sir, and I scorn your influence. I am no longer the subject of the British crown, but an American. I have dis- carded the name of Imbercourt because the blood of the Pellingtons is in the family; and as to my English fortune, I shall bave nothing todo with it, for it has already entailed a curse upon many. And as my guardian you may con- sider yourself di - I am able to look ter my own welfare; it is your own vile, wicked ard selfish interests you have been working after, not nage nor Bradburys, “7 am not speaking 0 the Bradburys at all, eom “S ehoo (E(0)