Beadle's Dime Library No. 247 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

mere curiosity, attracted by that smoke and ex- pecting to find a nest of pirates, but Iam going away having found an angel, and determine to bring her back to the world. I will not go back by the way you propose. To do so would be to force you to do an unworthy action and I cannot do that. Iam going torun the gantlet of your guards to the north. I bave found all I want to know now.” ‘Don’t go that way,” said Clara pleadingly. ‘* You don’t know the danger. The men have orders to shoot avy stranger on sight if he comes that way.” Her face was full of anxiety, and she laid her hand on bis arm unecnseidotts as she repeated: ‘* Don’t go that way! You'll be kil’ed!” Julian took the little hand and kissed it with great respect, then answered: ‘‘Tam very sorry, but I must go. When I come back you will see that 1 have told the truth. There is no war and has been none for nearly twenty years.” Then he threw the moss covering off his canoe and revealed it in all its swift grace of propor- tion, adding: “T can out-run any boat you have in this set- tlement, so far as I’ve seen. Good-by, Miss Peyton, and God bless you. Don’t forget, when you hear the Yankees abused, that Julian Grey would not take advantage of you, when he might have doneso.” ‘** Farewell,” said Clara, in a low tone, and then he kissed her band a second time and set off with a few powerful strokes of his paddle in the way he had come. He knew from the pace at which he went that he could defy pursuit in a straightway ee lt TEE, LL —— | — eee stern chase, but he also knew that the lake must | be infested with enemies, how many be did not yet know. There were nine at least, as be had heard, under a certain Major Buckbee, but there must be more somewbere. He had seen two houses on the island, and there were five men in one boat, while there was a sentry at the flagstaff and another at the open- ag nto the Everglade. That made seven, and Julian knew enough of military matters to be sure that there were at least reliefs for all the sentries. To keep up such a guard, besides the _ wreckers at the beach, whom he judged to be- long to the same party, required at least fifty men, all told. And one against fifty is heavy odds. Julian Grey felt his heart beating more rapid- ly than its wont as he turned his course to the north and swept along with slow strokes. In the distance he could still see the four-oared boat crawling along against the front of one of the islands and he determined to keep in the wake of this craft and see where it went. He knew that he had not been suspected as a stranger or Ned Peyton would have come after Evidently the dandified young officer had thought Julian to be some member of the garri- son with whom Clara was carrying on a repre- hensible flirtation, but whose identity he did not wish to penetrate. So he swept on his path, passing several islands and noticing that on every one was a house, low and white-washed, while lights were burning in almost all. agg the ‘‘ grand rounds” boat well ahead of him, he passed close to one of these and heard the shrill voice of a woman scolding some children who were scampering about in a state of decided undress. ‘““You Jeff Davis Gardner,” she cried, ‘** you git — in thar and goto bed! You hyar me? ou Stonewall Jackson Gardner, how dar’ you be runnin’ ’baout byar? Git right in thar!” And he heard the sound of slaps with the sole of a maternal slipper, and the cries of mingled | could, pain, expostulation and derision of a pair of unruly boys. But there seemed to be no men on the island. | if I wound him?” ‘‘The men must all be married, and their families are in these houses,” he thought, as he swept on to be arrested presently by the cry: “Oh, mammy, mammy, look at that white canoe outside! Tl bet it’s Monroe Bivins’s new one that he’s be’n makin’ sich a secret of.” ‘“You git into the haouse and leave Monroe Bivins alone,” was the unsympathetic reply; and then Julian passed the island and saw tne four-oared boat coming back from a visit to the DN ' | | line of the cedar swamp, and in a course that | must cause them to meet if he took no measures | to avert the danger. The boat seemed to be a slow, clumsy puller, and he immediately altered his own course to put another island between him and her. He glided along with considerable speed, and took a diagonal course across the bows of the four-oar, but was alarmed to see that the boat instantly changed her course and made straight for him, while the sound of oars in the row- locks moving with a great deal of rapidity showed that the officer of the ‘‘ grand rounds” was suspicious and determined to bail the stran- er. And Julian knew that in that boat was Clara Peyton’s brother, while he already realized we he was in love with Clara Peyton her- ——— | Alligator Ike. cr ERE sae —————————— — — — _ oe SE = or - wee we eee Ce won When he looked back a few minutes !aior it was lying still op the water, and he saw the robable capture and death was to fire into it if | young officer bending over one of the men, who e could not outpace it. seemed to have fallen back in the boat, dead or ‘ll try the first when I can’t do the second,” | dying. he said to himself, and then he dug in his pad- Julian looked all round him warily. dle and darted away to the island for which | He was alone as far as he could see, the near- he was aiming. est island about a quarter of a mile off; but He saw a house on its shore and as he passed | before him lay the belt of cedar swamp, and he by, a man ran out calling: did not know what it contained. ‘‘ Halt! thar in that canoe. Who air ye?’ He took up his rifle and put in four shells to ‘* A friend,” cried back Julian as he plied his | replace those he had fired away, then swept addle harder than ever, for he saw the man | cautiously on toward the cedar belt, which lay adagunin his hand. ‘I’m on duty and the | about half a mile off. word’s Richmond. Don’t stop me.” When he approached it all was silent and The man seemed surprised but answered: dark, while the water still stood up to the lower ‘* All right, whoever ye air, but we ain’t used | limbs of some of the smaller trees, to hollerin’ out the counter-sign like a gineral Slowly and cautiously he neared it, his eyes order. Git along!” glancing from side to side, when he beard, out Julian rushed on and cast a glance back over | of the depths of the swamp, the hail: his shoulder. | “ Halt! who comes there?’ The four-oared boat was just vanishing onthe | ‘A friend!” he answered. other side of the island. ‘Halt, friend!” cried the voice, He knew that it must have done so in the | wait thar till 1 calls the corporal.” hope of intercepting him by a shorter cut so he | ‘‘All right,” returned Julian, straining his plied his paddle harder than ever. eyes to find who was there and where he was, He was not mistaken, for when he next saw | for no one was visible. the boat it was less than two hundred yards Then the concealed man began to yell loudly; off pulling lustily and he heard the voice of Ned ‘* Corporal of the guard Number Five!” Peyton crying: Julian waited till he was in the midst of his ‘* Halt there in that boat! Halt or I’ll fire at | call, when he gave a dexterous silent sweep of you! Halt, 1 say!” his paddle, and glided nearer, calling: Then as Jalian continued to paddle on, faster **What’s the use of calling the corporal or than before, crack went a rifle and the bullet | captain. Peyton sent me here and l’ve got the sung past Julian’s head just grazing one ear in | word.” its passage, and making Julian think for an in- ‘‘Then why in blazes don’t you say so?” cried stant that he was struck, so severe was the | the invisible man. ‘I bain't got no need to shock, break my voice a hollerin’ fur the corp’! when The next minute he dropped his paddle, picked | he ain’t likely nowhere nigh. Advance and up bis rifle and turned to fire into the boat with | give the countersign you onary galoot,” his Winchester rifle, ‘Where are you then?” retorted Julian. The distance was so short, the boat such a big ‘‘ Hyar,” was the response, and he saw a dark target, the broad backs of the men so conspicu- | canoe shoot out from the swamp. ous that he had no difficulty in putting in four He advanced with a couple of sweeps till he shots in as many seconds tumbling the rowers | was close to the man, who proved to be an ex- over in confusion. act duplicate of Jackson Gardner and the men Then he called out angrily: who had attacked the light-house, tall, bony “One Yankee can beat five of your men, Mr. | yellow-haired and frowsy-bearded, with dull Peyton. Good-night.” face under a broad hat. Then he resumed his paddle and darted off, He was dressed in brown, with belts on him, leaving the boat behind at a standstill, not | and a long rifle, which he held covering Julian, another shot being returned. as he said: Ned Peyton seemed to be completely para- ‘‘Come, trot her out, stranger! The word!” lyzed for a moment, for Julian was an excel- ** Richmond,” replied Julian, and the man lent shot and every bullet had prostrated one of | threw up his gun, answering: the rowers, as if by a thunderbolt, while Grey ‘“*Correct! Pass on!” was himself out of danger. But Julian was not disposed to pass so soon, Then he picked up another rifle which lay in | for now that the man had thrown up his gun be the bottom of the boat, a long single-barrel, | suddenly leveled his own, saying: muzzle-loader, and leveled it carefully at the ‘*Drop that gun in the water. canoe, now fast escaping. prisoner.” A flash and report was followed by the sharp The. man was so much astounded that he crack of the bullet, and Ned cried out: could only ejaculate: “*Get up, you that can, Pull on. I’ve crip- “* Holy smoke! who be you?” pled him, I’m sure.” ‘*A Yankee,” replied Grey, sternly. Two of his men were only slightly hurt, | with your gun, or I shoot.” though they had dropped their oars and fallen To his surprise, the man not only did as he or- back from the shock, but now they rowed on | dered, but burst out laughing, saying: again as well as they could, ‘* Glory, hallelujah! U’m glad it’s over. Gimme The canoe had stopped. my parole, stranger, and ll go anywhar you Peyton’s bullet, aimed closely, had struck the | say, on the word of Zek’] Dummit.” paddle in Julian’s band and knocked it flying | Julian kept the rifle pointed at him, demand- into the water ahead, while Grey seemed to be | i trying to propel himseJf toward it by the palms of his hands alone. In fact the bullet had not only split the paddle but it had grazed and drawn blood from Ju- lian’s left hand, which was uppermost on the paddle at the time, and he began to feel ner- | it ain’t. Anyway, I’m tired of it, and I’m sorry vous as to the result. I didn’t surrender with the rest. D’yer want He looked back and saw Peyton ramming | me to go with yer, Yank?” down a charge for another shot, while the two ‘‘ Yes,” said Julian, sternly, ‘‘ and remember, crippled men were rowing on as well as they | at the first sign of treachery I shoot you dead. | How many men have you got here?” ‘‘T must fight even him,” said Julian tohim- | The man hesitated. self. ‘‘I wonder if she will ever forgive me | ‘**Reckon ’baout three-score, Yank, But you ain’t gwine to hurt ’em, are you? We/’uns ain’t done you-'uns no harm, all alone in these hyar swamps. Ye mout leave us alone a bit.” “Ts it no harm to rob wrecks and murder people?’ asked Julian, sternly. ‘‘I come from the light-house at Jupiter Inlet.” The man looked confused. ‘‘T never “lowed to go in with the wreckin’ biz, Yank,” he said, earnestly. ‘‘ We-’uns out hyar hain’t nothen todo with that. The gineral manages all that with the men of the coast gyard. He don’t let us know nothin’ what's gwine on since we sot up this ae ‘Do you know a man ae Alligator Ike, who belongs here?” asked Julian suddenly. The man looked puzzled. “ Alligator Ike? No. Never heard sich a name, Yank, thof any of us mout hev it, fair And he further realized that his only way to escape the pursuit of that boat and prevent his ‘You jest You’re my ** Down ng: ** What do you mean by trying to shoot me in the first place? Don’t you know the war’s over long ago?” The man scratched his head. ‘“Over? Reckon I didn’t. The general says ——_———_—_—_—_—$—$_$_$$ SS ——_————$ $$$ — CHAPTER XXIII. JULIAN’S FLIGHT. JULIAN swept on with his hands till ne came to the place where the broken paddle still floated, and found to his joy that the injury was only to the middle, between the blades, Instead of one long double paddle he bad now two short, single ones, after he had broken the staff completely. This did not take long when he bent it over his knee, and away he went, with nearly as much speed as before, sweeping from side to side to distract the aim of his pursuer, who, he perceived in the bright moonlight, was getting ready for another shot. Presently he saw the flash and swerved just in time to receive a bullet in the large muscle of his left shoulder instead of his back, the missile plowing its way just under ‘he skin, and mak- ing a painful but not dangerous wound. For one moment he was tempted to retaliate, but controlled himself and swept on as rapidly smart style.” ‘‘Well, never mind him, then. You go on straight through this swamp and show me the way into the open Everglade,” said Grey. ““Stop, what’s your name?” ‘* Zek’| Dummi', stranger.” —— OO > OO OOS SE as before, leaving the boat far behind. “ Well, Mr. Dummit, git up and git. I think When next the flash came the bullet whizzed | that’s the way you call it here.” by him, so that he saw he had confused his Zeke laughed. _ enemy’s aim, and that was the last shot fired at ** Reckon you’ve lived hyar, Yank. All right. him from the boat. Ill git,” enough; fur we does thin the ‘gators in right. JOO fc eee: omic