Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 181 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

ets SS as The | Scarlet Mohdonse: a and though both arose in terror, they sunk back in their unable to fly from what they be- lieved in reality to be Satan himself! CHAPTER XLIV. A CHANGE OF FLAGS. For a moment neither Major Navaro nor Captain Castellar could utter a word, other than the exclamation of borror that arose to their lips, upon making the startling discovery of who was their unwelcome visitor. Then the cool effrontery of the Mexican army officer, and his courage, for he was certainly no coward, whatever his crimes might be, asserted themselves, and he said in a firm voice; ‘* Who are you?” ** Satan |” The deep response was not a reply that either gentleman coveted, but Major Navaro replied: ‘‘Nonsense! What means this silly mas- Tt ie : sil rading, Major Fernand . no silly ue ng, or ° Navaro, as you will And out.” ‘*Ha!l I should know that voice,” cried the major. ‘I toll you that I was Satan; now I tell you, sefiors, that Jam Don Diablo, and you are my prisoners.” Both men now uttered angry exclamations, and they would have thrown themselves bodily upon the intruder, but he waved them back, and said sternly: “Behold! if you value your lives utter no loud word, or you die,” They glanced in the direction in which he oy and across the whole back of the cabin held, in the dim light, a line of seamen, ali with firearms leveled upon them. ‘*There is some shameful work in all this,” cried Major Navaro, excitedly. ‘* Don’t agitate yourself needlessly, my dear major, for it will do.no + engr and your life, and that of Captain Castellar, are not in danger; but your vessel is in my power.” ‘* Madre de Dios! can this be true?” groaned the gallant captain. ‘* As true as that you stand there, Captain stellar.” Ca , ‘* This is fearful.” ‘For you,and the major here, it is a sad blow, sefor captain; but for me it is a stroke of fortune. ‘*You see I have had a run of bad luck of late, and I needed a vessel I could run from m foes in, catch any craft afloat, and also fight o a cruiser with. ‘‘To secure such a vessel I sent an officer to the United States, where — build the fleetest crafts that fly the seas, and he discovered this one, learned who it was for, and when the schooner dropped anchor here, you shipped for seamen my crew.” ‘* Nombre de Dios !” burst from the lips of the almost broken-hearted naval officer, while Ma- r Navaro muttered a curse through his shut th. “Tt is true, sefiors; and more, to get you, Major Navaro, on board, I had one of my men play el ¢ rv 04 a polacca, and tell a story of on Diablo being in the offing, and of course Captain Castellar sent for you. “And, while you have been gambling, and you major, cheating asis your tustom, | have n quietly taking on of this splendid vessel, and now ho'd you ners.” Another groan from the two men brought a smile upon the scarlet-painted face of Don Diablo, and he continued: ‘* Have no fear, for as soon as I run out of the reach of the guns of that old stone pile of mis- ery, the San Juan d’Uloa, I will ro you two, s, back to your fair city, to how clev- or Don Diablo got possession of the Black Wizard.” With a word to his men to keep the two offi- cers in the cabin, Don Diablo went on deck, and gave orders to get the anchor up. Campas Caliente, a thorough seaman, already had éverything in readiness, and the fleet schooner, so0.cleverly and daringly captured, was flying from the harbor under a cloud of canvas. Ss eee her the castle fired no shot across her bows, and soon after she had gained a safe offing and lay to upon the dark waters. ** Now, sefiors, there is a shore boat along- side, and yonder lies D’Uloa, so you cannot miss gees tach, for you, Captain Castellar, know the lights. ‘*A pleasant trip, sefiors, and thank your Government from me for its beautiful present of this schooner.” With angry faces, yet glad of their escape from the clutches of the chief, and in silence, the two officers went over the gangway into the waiting boat, and seizing the oars Captain Castellar pulled toward the castle, a league away, while the schooner was suddenly il- lumined <i blue light, and up to her pea went the black flag of the buccaneer. } CHAPTER XLV. THE CABIN-BOY. WHEN the going out of the blue light left the schooner once more in gloom, Don Diablo turn ed a Campas Caliente, his first lieutenant, and said: **Sefior, douse every light on the Wizard, and run for the mountain retreat, while I go into the cabin and get off this masquerading cos- tume, “Yes, you are devil enough without the need of horns and claws.” This startling truism was spoken by a slen- derly-formed person who wempyd glided down into the cabin, and disappeared from the sight of the astonished Don Diablo and his no less amazed lieutenant. ‘*By the cross, but that cabin-boy of yours, Sefior Caliente, will be food for fishes if he gives vent to his thoughts in that style. **He may think what he pleases, and I can- not but agree with him in his views regarding me, but he must keep those ideas to himself, said Don Diablo, too thoroughly delighted with his new vessel, secured for him nes aes Caliente, to punish the lad as he felt inclined. “He is not m protégé, sefior captain, for I would not have brought a boy on board.” | “Not of your shipping, Campas? Then who, py Sota 5 ew did, chief, as h ce ou did, , as he came on board with <t ‘‘True, but he was the same youth whom you sent to me at the ball.” **T do not understand you, sefior.” ** Did you not send that lad to me at the mas- querade to-night?” ‘**I did not, sefior.” ‘* To bid me hasten on board?” ** No, sefior.” ** Campas Caliente!” ** Sefior Don Diablo!” * Are you trifling with me?” 7 a my life, no.” ‘*Then what does it mean!” “— am in utter ignorance to what you refer, chief. _“ At the ball, shortly after Major Navaro de- parted to come on this schooner, a youth that one who came with me in the boat, walked up to me and said you bade him come after me. ‘*T sent no such message, sir.” ‘*Of course I obeyed, and he came on board with me.” ‘* That I saw, sefior, and believed he was your a iat ** No, sir, but I will find out whose he is, and who and Spe he may be,” and Don Diablo an- grily st down into the cabin. At the table sat the cabin-boy who had so in- solently addressed the dreaded chief upon his own deck. He was dressed in his sailor suit of reefer, and his head was bent down over a book, so that Don Diablo did not see his face when he entered. But going up to him he seized him by the shoulder and rudely raised him upon his feet, at the same time saying angrily: ‘* Well, boy, who and what are you?” The face was now raised to meet the burning eyes of the chief, and with an exclamation Don iablo started back, a name upon bis lips: ** Alma!” “Yes, Reno ee I am Alma Aubrey, whom you sought to desert for another, one more beautiful than am I, but whom one day you would cast aside as you did me, were you to live to do so.” ‘* Alma, this is nonsense,” and Don Diablo, for the first time in his life was cowed, and by a woman. ** Ts it?” : “ Indeed it is, for you know I did not desert ou, * What?” “IT sent you to the Wreckérs’ Isle, and there I expected to join you as soon as I captured this schooner.” ‘‘In your face, Reno Quesala, I fling the lie, for you hoped I would be sunk in the goleta. ‘* But I have lived to disappoint you, and I tell you, red-handed man that you are, the crushed worm has turned upon the one who sO long trod it under heel, and 1 strike for re- venge.” She sprung upon him as she spoke, a long, slender blade in her hand, and with the rapi- aby of the lightning’s flash struck at hi But the blade shivered to atoms against some hard object, and, with unmoved face, although she had been too quick for him to avoid or pre- vent the blow, he placed his hand beneath his scarlet garb, and drew out a small miniature, while he said in cool, cutting tones: ‘* Alma Aubrey, see what has saved my life from your hand. ‘*She gave it me but three nights ago.” Pallid, trembling, unnerved at her failure, Alma Aubrey stood before the sneering, fear- less man, the picture of woe and fury; but her eyes fell upon the miniature, a likeness in a gem-studded medallion setting, and she hissed orth: ** Reno Quesala, who is that woman?” ‘‘ Her name was Nita Sabinas; she is now my wife.” Phe woman tried hard to speak, her eyes etter and she stretched forth her hands asif mortal anguish or in pathetic pleading. A picture of misery she stood an pate ar be- fore the splendid-looking demon, and then, with her lips moving, yet uttering no word, she sunk in a heap upon the floor of the cabin. And not one look of pity crossed the man’s face, and his tones were heartless as he said: ‘‘Don Diablo, again you owe your life te Nita Sabinas.” CHAPTER XLVI. THE COMBAT. Wuewn Alma Aubrey returned to conscious- ness, after her deathlike swoon, she shuddered, for her slender wrists and ankles were in irons, and she was confined in the prison pit of the schooner, For awhile she could hardly realize the true situation she was in, or that Don Diablo had proven himself so inhuman as to treat her like a mad animal, But at last it came upon her in all its vivid misery, and she burst into an agony of weep- ing. But in that desolate place none heard her cries of anguish, and if hearing them were too well used to sights of suffering, both mental and Piyaice’. to heed them. t last a visitor entered her dreary prison, for it was nothing more. A visitor with a heart of adamant, and a face as cruel as a tiger’s. He brought her a.cot to sleep on, a jug of wa- ter, some food, and left her without a word. And thus the hours passed, and they made days and nights, and still only her cruel-faced jailer came near her. She knew that the schooner had been flying: over the waves for hours, and again it was rol ing lazily in a calm; then came a storm, and then the anchor was dropped and she felt that they were in some port. Again the fleet vessel was at sea, riding the waves, and then a form entered her prison. In the dim light she saw it was not her jailer. By the light of a dark lantern he opened, she: beheld the face of Don Diablo, and it was cruel, hard and triumphant. By the lantern’s light he too saw her face, and it was like that of a corpse, lines of suffer- ing were drawn upon it, and the bright eyes were sunken. ‘* Well, my intended murderess, how like you your quarters?’ he asked, with a sneer. ‘‘'The grave is preferable,” was her quiet re- nse. PThe ve, a grave at the bottom of the sea, will ithe next change you make from here, Alma.” ‘«? care not hcw soon the come.” ‘‘- You seem indifferent to your fate,” ‘“*T am wholly so.” ** Do you not fear to die?” “‘T fear to live.” “Ab! you dread misery of soul and anguish of eee pte ; 9 & i heart-pain, that is all, Reno Que- ‘Well, now I know what will make you feel, let me tell you that I sailed from Vera Cruz to my retreat on the Mexican coast, to find that an American cruiser had been there and de- stroyed my lugger, having been piloted into the bay by a traitor. [ ‘I was nearly frantic from dread that one I loved had been lost to me forever; but [ found her hiding in a cavern with her maid, and one who had taken her there; my faithful, de- formed Coocha. ‘With joy in my heart I brought her on my vessel, and now I am happy, for, as I told you, Alma, she is my wife.” ‘* Poor, unhappy woman,” was all that came from the lips of the cruelly-tortured being who had become Don Diablo’s victim of bitter hate. “T tried to keep ae two from meeting, Alma,” resumed the chief. : “But Se would be jealous, and see how it. hasended. - ‘‘You know that my beautiful bride is on board my vessel, and that her presence makes me nape but she little knows my secret, and. that I hold you here in irons. ‘* And she shall never know.” ‘¢ Poor woman.” ‘“You are the one to be pitied, Alma.” ‘‘No, I am nearer death than she is, and I would welcome the grim destroyer with all my heart, while, knowing that ere long life must — makes me too divinely happy, Reno Que- He seemed disappointed and angry that he could not wring from her pleadings and tears, and with a bitter oath he closed the dark lan- tern and turned away, leaving her again alone. When he was gone her brave, proud heart seemed to sink within her, and she became al- most unconscious. But suddenly she was aroused by an excite- ment on deck, and she heard ringing orders in Don Diablo’s voice to set sail. Then the schooner seemed fairly to bound from wave to wave, so rapidly did it fly away, GOMIIGDOOKS (E©)