Beadle's Dime Library No. 170 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

ag?" Sweet William, the Trapper Detective. ----eooorrrr———— ero ee ee ee LL am a rn guard, they wrapped themselves in their blank- | long blade flashes downward and buries itself to ets and lay down to sleep. the very haft in the unfortunate man’s bosom: Though a midsummer night the air in that | then Hark Foster leaps to his feet, the cocked deep ravine was damp and chilly. The guard | weapon in his hand. raked together the few live coals, piled a few A sharp, gasping cry from the lips of the twigs upon them, and fanning all with his | death-stricken man. Thesentinel starts up with breath, kindled a fire. Topping. the flame with | a bewildered cry of warning—the last conscious a couple of larger oy Oy he lit his pipe and | sound that ever passes his lips, squatted down before the genial blaze, oecasion- f The stolen pistol speaks venomously—Hark ally casting a careless glance toward the two | Foster leaps forward, spurning the quivering captives. corpse of his second victim, then is swallowed ustus McKee was sleeping soundly, and Hark | up by the darkness that shrouds the deep hollow Foster, to all seeming, was the same. This was | like a funeral pall. | far from being the casein reality. More than He hears the wild shouts from the spot he has | ever he was resolved to effect his escape before | just left, followed in a moment more by hasty, the day dawned. After that it would be too | heavy trampling, rushing footsteps; a flounder- weight him with a chunk 0’ lead. It’ll save me the trouble 0’ ’nibilatin’ him in a minnit.” Sweet William bent over the recumbent form with adull pain at his own heart, as he saw the red blood flowing down over Simple Simon’s forehead. Whatever the nature of the bond between the two men, it was founded upon a strong affection, almost love. Using his forefinger as a probe, Sweet Wil- liam uttered a low, gurgling exclamation of de- light as he followed the course of the bullet. Turning his head he addressed Hark Fos- ter: ‘*¥You was a fool in three ways, old man. Fust, fer burnin’ powder ’thout makin’ sure — t ; ; ' " _. break loose, jest plug him with a knife, or | : ; i thar was a way open fer you to git clean off. | late. ing through bushes and stumbling over hidden | Second, fer not shootin’ at his body, whichis a | This was not the first time that stout bonds | bowlders. The avengers of blood are upon his HT bigger mark an’ easier hit. Third, fer not mak- | had been applied to his limbs, and the experi- | track. His heels must save his head, for, if Wh: in’ lowance fer the moonlight, which is power- | ence gained in those bygone duys stood him in | overtaken now, he dies the death of a dog! ood stead now. Little by little he was work- His goal is six miles away, as the crow flies, shoot.” ‘** Lucky for me he was not as wise as you, old | ae man,” and Simple Simon sat up, his voice faint ee and unsteady, but otherwise not much the ing the bonds loose that confined his wrists, keenly watching the sleepy sentinel through bis nearly-closed eyelids, ceasing work whenever the man lifted his slowly-drcoping head with a start of wakefulness. Already his plans were mapped out. One of the men was lying directly in front of him, at right angles. In a restless movement the blanket had partially oe cab from his body. The red glare of the fire-light was re- flected from the brass-bound butt of a pistol in his belt. Upon the side nearest his feet, though lost in the deep shadow, Hark Foster could just distinguish the buck-horn haft of a stout, long- bladed butcher-knife peeping from the man’s girdle. His limbs once freed, anryple weapons awaited his grasp. If the sentinel fell asleep so much the better for bimself. Then it would only bea cautious creeping beyond the circle of fire- light. If not—if he awoke sufficiently to ra- alize what was going on—what was the life of one man, or even a dozen lives, compared with the safety of his idolized child? No more than a single ete of the dust one tramples beneath one’s feet. The moon creeps on and hides its round face | yt ful deceivin’ an’ sure to make a man over- | and he takes the ground asit comes, for he dares not attempt to double or choose the easiest course. If no more than his own life was at | stake, he could laugh his pursuers toscorn. A true-born fox, he would baffle the oncoming hounds and laugh at the feat. But something far dearer than life depends upon bis exertions. He knows that the enemy will send all or part | y worse for wear. . “You hain’t got no right to git up afore I’m ‘| done doctorin’ of ye—it’s an insult to my l’arn- | fe. 7 *‘Can’t stand on ceremony now, old friend; of their force by the shortest route to the cabin, | to surround it and cut him off from betraying . their cunningly-laid plans. So he breasts the steep hills, plunges down the deep hollows, running as he had never run be- fore, heeding not his bruised and bleeding feet, his blood-streaming limbs, arising from his many heavy falls, unconscious of pain, with room in his brain for but one thought—his heart of hearts, his idolized daughter, was in deadly danger, from which he alone could save her. A terrible, killing struggle. <A stern, deadly race for more than life. Borne on by a pure and holy love that might well have condoned for even blacker sins than were upon the soul of this rude, unlettered man, the race deserved a different ending. Another mile—one more dogged burst. His | there’s too much work on hand. Just tie this | rag around my head, and I'll be all right. So! it I’m worth a dozen dead men yet!” ; es 4 ‘‘7’m a wuss fool then he said!” grunted Hark Hit Foster, ina tone of utter disgust. ‘‘ If I ever ia git another chaince—” iE ‘*That you'll never have. By this time to- morrow, you and all your friends will be be- iy Saanky ma more trouble for honest men. H ! not much—” ' Wit. With an eel-like twist and a display of j i strength truly remarkable in an old man of his ; slight frame, Hark Foster twisted himself free, i at the same time hurling his guardian headlong rig a dozen feet away. But ere he could improve MiP his advantage, he was borne to the earth by ia Simao Simon, in whose grasp he was but as a \¢ re In little more time than it takes to re- brain is reeling, even now, yet he wil) not fail DP cord the act, his hands were bound behind his | behind the bushy tree-tops beyond the ravine. | while breath lasts. He cannot hear the sounds ’ i 3 back and a gag secured betwixt his gaping | The darkness increases. The flames of the little | of pursuit—could not though a squadron of cay- \). gone jaws. fire die out. The glowing coals are sheathing | alry were charging dowd : upon him—his heart | ~~. ~~ Simple Simon arose and thrusting two fingers | themselves in a thin coating of ashes. The head | throbs so fiercely! The hot breath hisses be- 1 into his mouth, gave vent to a shrill, prolonged | of the sentinel hangs forward, his chin upon his | tween his tight-clinched teeth as he flings every ALS whistle. Five minutes later, in obedience to | breast, his breath Srowing more and more | ounce of fast falling energy into the last des- a the signal, his followers were all gathered with- | audible as it is forced through his nostrils. perate effort. Hit | _ in the little glade. Each man reported the Ht} same; that,so far as: they could learn, Hark 4: Foster was alone in spying upon them. ‘*So much the better for us, then. Our plans will remain the same. Be sure that you are all within hearing of Foster’s cabin, before noon, to-morrow, or rather to-day. You,” address- A slight quiver agitates the frame of the old man, and his eyes glow through the gloom like aoeee of a wild beast, for his hands are now ree Slowly he inclines his body, and one wiry arm is extended until the skinny fingers hover over the handle of the knife in the bolt of the sleep- The sun is rising—he catches a glimpse of his ' little cabin on the hillside—there are human forms slowly moving about before the door— and one of them is his daughter. He strives to cry aloud—to bid her flee: but in vain. The warning sticks in his parched, cracked throat, | ing Sweet William,” will return to where you | ing man. Firmly but gently they close upon the How he breasts the slope. One hundred f left our young friend. If he is able, take him | haft—inch by inch the bright blade becomes | yards more, and he will reach the little clear- ' pe, to the den, from there to the rendezvous. The | visible as the weapon is cautiously slipped | ing. His heart bounds suffocatimgly, for he Lite) rest of you will take this fellow with you to the | from its sheath. feels that the rac® is run. | pe hollow. Watch him closely. If he attempts to The head of the sentinel is lifted erect with a So it is, but he is the loser, not the victor. ‘ha escape, kill him if you cannot hold him. Other- | jerk, and his eyes fly open. ‘The old man’s arm He bursts into the clearing—he utters a ier wise, treat him as kindly as you can, consistent | is swiftly withdrawn, and a flash of light seems | hoarse, inarticulate cry. The same instant a | ae with safety. As for me, I must return to the | to follow it as his body rests once more against | curl of blue smoke puffs out of a bush hard by ine cabin, or they’ll suspect I am playing them | the damp rock and his eyes close. —there is a spiteful crack—and Hark Foster Ah false.” The sleeping man stirs uneasily, but does not | falls headlong, a bullet through his bursting AY? ‘* Better take one o’ our hosses, then, to make | awake. The sentinel yawns, rubs his eyes, | heart! | . ie) up fer lost time,” suggested Sweet William. arises, his gaze still fixed upon the old man. 3 | i Pe Five minutes later, Sweet William was has- | Peering through his bushy eyebrows, Hark CHAPTER Xxx. Ss tening toward the spot where he had left Leo | Foster watches him. Is he coming to see if the SWEET WILLIAM AT WORK. vt Friend; Simple Simon was riding swiftly to | bondsare allsafe? If so, he comes to hisdeath! Sweet William paused, with a quick glance Pein the Foster cabin; Hark Foster was being con- | and the stout knife is grasped with the fierce | around him to make sure he had not mistaken Ae ts ducted to the deep hollow where Justus McKee | energy of desperation. One swift, steady stroke | the spot, then repeated his signal, louder and ith. was then a helpless captive. of the trusty steel—one instant for cutting the | longer than at first. He listened, but no an- \ | to Though his heart was on fire, the old man’s | thongs at his ankles—then a rapid flight to save | swer came to his expectant ear. 4 fi thoughts were black and gloomy enough. When | his loved one from the shameful death that ‘* Must be he’s still snoozin’, fer ’tain’t no- at i. the alarm was first ra at the stable, his af- | threatens her! ways likely he’d go away from yere a’ter what HE fright was genuine enough, butere he hadrun| _ But the time is not yet. The sentinel pushes | [ told him.” Pie a quarter of a mile, the suspicions instilled in | the coats together with his foot, adds more fuel The old man pushed through the narrow ate his mind by Gerald Evans, returned with re- | and then sinks down to keep his lonely vigil. | fringe of bushes, and red down upon the | ee doubled force. Where was the man who called | He renews the tobacco in his pipe and smokes | spot where he had left Friend, Lut it was Bie es) himself Thomas Hunter? Up to a few moments | long and deliberately. The me emapnarte! ren vacant. The moonlight shone down into the i mt since, they had been close together. Why had | with frightful rapidity, as Foster can tell by his tiny glade with sufficient brightness to show et the feller dropped off without a word of warn- | covert glances at the sky above. The steadily | that much. i i ing? moving stars are his time-piece. They tellhim| Once more Sweet William repeated his sig- ee tnough that fate led Hark Foster to the spot | that the day is drawing near, that each passing | nal, this time so loudly that the woods around HN where Simple Simon was divulging his cunning | minute renders his chances of ultimate escape | re-echoed back the sounds of his voice. But he 7 ia plans, re not in time tooverhear more than | more and more desperate. Will the sentinel | was calling one who could not answer, even had ue the concluding portion of his speech. That | never yield to the combined influence of the | he heard the summons. 4 ore was more than enough. The pretended friend |.night, the soporific fumes of tobacco, the| For the first time Sweet William began to | was a traitor, and ugh him great danger | warmth of the fire? suspect the truth; that his young friend had iH y Fpiencs Mattie Foster. Without a thought Another hour, and the day will dawn. The | been surprised and carried off by some of his ii of the danger he himself was incurring, Hark | sleepers will awaken, and all that he has done | enemies. oo fired at the Spy. The deceitful moonlight ob- | so far go for less than naught. Better death ‘Ef so, an’ I ain’t in time to save him—” i ee secured the sights of his pistol, and as a natural | than such an ending! The ellipsis was more significant than if the : es consequence he overshot his mark. And now | _ Thesmoke puffs are coming slower and slower. | sentence had been properly completed. It said 1\ he was a captive, whilegthe spy was free to | The sentinel is beginning to yield, but Hark | \hat Sweet William would exact a deep and a at out his cunning and treacherous plot. _ Foster dares wait no longer. deadly vengeance for bis friend, if his cunning | Sull the old man did not utterly despair. The keen blade steals down and severs the ——— d be unable to save him from harm. j He wie The one redeeming trait of his character was | stout mags, His lower limbs are slowly gath- | And that unspoken vow would be religiously ot Ae his passionate love for his child. For himself he | ered up. He does not arise, but slides forward a | | oe cared nothing, but he resolved to escape in time | just as he sits. Twice he pauses, as the sentinel e knelt down and with face close to the sur- ; Bed to save her from the cunning and fatal snare. raises his head, but a half-sleeping man is not , face, endeavored to reud whatever the earth i} oh An hour later they reached the deep and | too critical. And now he is close beside the | could tell him, but the faint moonlight failed j| <a loomy hollow, and Foster was dum sleeping man who is to furnish him with wea- | him. He could tell by the sense of touch that | ae own beneath an overhanging rock, his feet | pons. the soft soil was trampled and torn, but that iy bound tightly together. — The skinny hand moves forward and closes | was not all. Leo himself might have done all my, fe Wearied with their night ranging, the men A the butt of the pistol, One moment—but | this. He might even then be only a few rods ass lost little time in arranging matter to their lik- e iy sleeping. LL LLL LL LLL LLL LLL LBL LLL LL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL LL LLL LLL LLL LL LLL LL LL LL CC CC LL yt aL "09 pot og starts—he feels jue strange hand at w ; aways sound his and awakens. Swift and sure the ith swift, noiseless steps, the old trapper be- +2) “ewe ©4s: - — we * — ing, then, leaving one of their number to stand = id ‘ ms! Bee ke : ve >comicbooks.com -