Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 289 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

‘tribe,” said Hexamer. Dinah!” es « eee ee ——— — —_— ooo ee ee eee . — ~~ — amer locked behind them, and struck out into | the forest. Though the night was not dark, it was dark enough under those great trees, with their spreading boughs and abundant lealfage and plentiful streamers of moss; yet Jonas Hex- amer made his way through it all as easily as if he had been born with the eyes of a wild beast. After about an hour’s tramp they reached a swamp, and there the darkness was so dense that it was impossible to see more than a few steps ahead. et Hexamer went steadily on, steppirg Fl ee ee | ' ' EE os — ' ; from bummock to bummock, or from one | clump of cypress trees to a other, when that | method of locomotion was necessary, and at the same time guiding the steps of his companicn and he!ping bim over the bad places. They halted at the edge of a lagoon, which was probably the eenter or lowest portion of the swamp. ‘ Its placid surface, black as ink in the night, was so suggestive of snakes and other reptiles, that Paul Delarosse shuddered as be looked at it, and said that he had got enough of the swamp and the darkness, ‘* We will soon be there now,” answered Hex- amer, He raised a small whistle that bung from his neck, and blew three short aud shrill blasts, Paul, who grew impatient as they waited there, was startled at seeing a dark form sud- denly appear before them, as if he had risen cut of the swamp. The form was that of a negro man, as black as ebony and bideous as an alligator. ‘Dat you, boss?” asked the negro, t’udder one?’ “The other is my friend, Marius. J want to show him to the tribe of the Moccasins,” ; —_— —— Who's | | - ee a eee eee alee CHAPTER X. | FLUSH FRED'S STREAK OF LUCK. Timk passed slowly with Fred Henning at Memphis, and not at all pleasantly. He considered that city his residence, and it was his favorite ‘‘ stamping ground ” when he returned from a crnise laden with the spoils of victory. But on this occasion he was an infrequent visitor at his usual places of resort; he did not dally with the faro-banks, and entered into no | games but such as were sure to be profitable to him, Games of that class were not plentiful in Memphis, where the skill of Flush Fred was so well known that people were afraid to ‘‘ tackle ” | him, Fortunately be was not in need of money. He had lately become careful of bis gains, and almost economical, investing his sparetunds in banks that were not dignified wit1 Scriptural names, and just then he bad a pretty good sum to his credit. Just then, too, it may have seemed to him worth while to keep his money and add to it, There was more than one class of business, out- _side of card playing, in which he might suc- ceed with the aid of a fair amount of capital, and thus eventually become as respectable as the gamblers in grain and stocks and cotton, Mrs. Brenner had told him that reverses had befallen the Helmsley family, and was it not possible that they might briog Kate a little nearer to him? At least it was possible that he might be able to befriend her. But he was worried because he got no an- swer to the letter he had written to her brother, Arthur Helmsley. , He had told that young gentleman what he Marius glided away as silently as be had} had heard in Louisiana, and bad requested come, and the white men followed him. Paul Delarosse could not for his life bave re- | again and follow it alone. _. Indeed, be did nos know where they were go- ing, or scarcely how they were going. Raey seeméd to be walking on the water, but uot through the water, as they felt firm ground at every step they took, though they could not sea if, ' At last they reached what was really firm *pegpeain and saw before them, partly hidden by he trees and bushes, two tuts that were more like Hottentot Kraals than even the poorest kind of negro cabins. E,xtering the largest of the buts, they found themselves in a low room with an earth floor, partly lighted by a wick that floated ina gourd of grease, od Six men were there, including their guide, and two women, all sitting on blocks of wood, or squatted on the clay floor, One of the women was old and withered. The other was neither young nor old, and not ill- looking for a negress. Two of the men were white msn, and they were lean, saliow and dirty, the repulsive pro- duct of ague-cake andignorance, But they bad a fair amount of clothing, such as it was, while the others, who were negroes, were at least half-naked. These were original and natural abolitionists —at least, the black ones wer». They bad abolished slavery, as far as it con- cerned themselves, by escaping from its yoke. At the same time they bad gone back sev- eral degrees 'oward the barbarism of the Dark Continent, and did not lack much of being wild men, - Condemned to a life of biding and prowling in . vemote and inaccessible localities, they bad no chance to be anything else. « But they had not got over their old respect for the white man, generally considered as a master, and they all rose when Hexamer and Paul came ip. “T have brought Paul Delarosse to see the ‘7 want you to know him, because he may need your help, and he is ‘able to pay for it. Take a good look at him, all of you, s® that you will know bim when you see him. He will have rum for you and other good things. I am going away, and when he wants you he will call for you. I give him this whistle now; you know its voice, and will obey it: He is the nephew of Leon Delarosse, and will be very rich some day, and thea he will help and protect you all.” Jonas Hexamer made this speech much in the style of a traveler addressing a friendly tribe in Afriea, At its close there was an indistinct mur- mur, apparentl: of approbation, which was in- ‘terrupted by a sbrill and squeaking voice from tbe corner: ** He won’t nebber touch none ob de Delarosse prop'ty—he won't.” : “© What do yon mean by that, you cursed hag?’ demanded Hexamer, turning fiercely upon er, But the black men clustered around him and got in his way. | ‘Don’t teteh ole Dinah.” said one of them. *“Whatebber you do, boss, don’t tetch ole a _ information as to the truth of the statements, especially as to whether Kate was going down - membered that route so that he could pick it up | into that country, and ifso, when sue was go- ing, But day after day passed, and he heard noth- ing from Arthur Helmsley. Had his friend got above keeping up his acquaintance with a river gambler, or had his poverty mace him too proud to speak of his misfortun: s? At last the answer arrived, and was quite satisfactory on those points. Arthur Helmsley had been away from home, he said, and had but just returned to find Fred’s welcome letter awaiting bim. . It was true that he had met with reverses lately; but they were not serious, and he was still able to give his sister a good home as long as she wanted one, But his mother had died since be last saw Fred Henniog, and Kate, who had been mop- ing for some time, afflicted with depression of spirits, rather than with failing health, seemed to need a change of air and of scene. Therefore she bad favorably considered Mrs, Brenner’s request that she should visit Louisiana with the view of remaining there, and had left her home a few days before Arthur Helmsley’s letter was written. That was all the young gentleman had to say upon that point; but it was sufficient for Fred Henning. Kate Helmsley bad already gone down to Louisiana, and he had lost bis faint chance of meeting her on the river. Perhaps he might have passed ber as be came up. MP his intelligence made him more discontented with himself and with Mempbis, He was anxious to get away from there, and, as he bad nobody to please but himself, and no ties of any description, it was only ne- cessary to prck his valise and go. Of course be did not care what direction he should take, As the Sabine was then his favorite boat, and as she happened to be at the landing, and also happened to be bound down the river, it was natural that he should step aboard and take passage on her, If he should happen to leave the boat at some landing on the Louisiana side, possibly conve- nient to Mrs. Brenner’s plantation, that would be a twist of the wheel of fortune for which he could not be held accountable, Yet, if he bad been closely cross-examined he might have confessed that a vague hope of meeting Kate Helmsley had prompted his trip and its direction, He was gladly received by his old friends, the officers of the Sabine, and by several of his acquaintances among the passengers, Not one of them was so enthusiastic and exu- berant in welcoming him as a jaunty young Irishman, Dennis Malone by name, well known on the river and elsewhere 9s Denny the Drum- mer, who had come down on the Sabine, and was bound for the lower country. He was a traveling salesman fora Louisville liquor house, and a very successful one, good- looking, jolly, bright as a new dollar, and as honest as his oceupation would allow him to be, a general favorite with business men and the traveling-public. * An’ is it yersilf, Freddy, me boy?” joyfully es uh Fred’s Full Hand. ee ee exclaimed the Irishman, ‘‘I haven't set eyes on yez since the naygur wus hung, as the Hoosiers say, an’ [ couldn’t be gladder to see the ghost av me grandmother,” It may be stated here that Denny, though a full-fledged American citizen by virtue of bis papers of naturaliz tion, bad not attempted to get rid of his brogue, but was proud of it and inclined to cultivate it. ‘“You might bave seen me easy enough, if you bad been around anywhere,” answered Fred, ‘* But 1 heard that you were sick, flat on your back, and expecting to take a trip to that country where even Ciocinnati whisky never freezs,” ‘* it’s jokin’ yez are, me daisy. Thrue it is that | was down for a wake or so; but they didn’t get a chance to wake me. To be honest wid yez, Fred, I had been tastiu’ me own sam- ples too frayquintly, and that’s bad for busi ness, But Oi’ve quit it now intoirely, an’ am contint to lei other folks do the tastin’, good luck to thim!”’ ‘‘Glad to bear that you bave reformed, Den- ny. Will you take a drink?’ ‘‘Wid playsure, me daisy, bein’ as it don’t come out av a sample case.” As the two men walked up to the bar the Sabine’s big wheels began to revolve, and she backed out into the stream. ‘‘ Here’s Juck to yez Fred,” said Denny, “and may it match the luck I dhramed ay tor yeza bit ago,” ‘‘ What was that, Denny?’ ‘““T dhramed that yez was married, me boy, an’ had a big plantation an’ slathers o’ money.” ‘But dreams go by contraries, you know.” ‘* Bad ’cess to thim for that, thin!” Flush Fred felt an inclination to visit the pilot-house, the scene of a somewhat famous ex- ploit of his not long ago; but Denny the Drutn- mer would not let bim loose. ‘ An’ phwere are yez gvin’ to this time, Fred?” inquired the Irishman. s I don’t know, indeed, and I can’t say that I care. ‘‘That’s jist phwat’s the matther wid mesilf, me daisy. It’s loose on the worruld | am, and all’s fish that comes to me net, and ivery part av the say is full av fish, I mane to shtick to yez, Freddy, me boy, an’ land wid yez, an’ fol- ley yez Be jabers, there’s iuck in that.” ‘* Come up to the pilot-house with me, then.” Fred bad made another start toward the pilot-house, when his attention was attracted to a mau who had boarded the boat at Mempbis, but had not until then come within the range of his vision. It was the same man whom be had noticed at the Martigny landing—the same man who had taken Peul Delarosse to the biding-place of the refugees in the swamp—in fact, it was Jonas Hexamer.” 4 ae Fiush Fred might not bave noticed him, if the man’s eyes bad not been fixed upon him with the same peculiar expres-ion that he bad observed at Martigny. But be n ver forgot a face, and, when he caught that look again, he turned acd stared at the man almost fiercely, as if he thought that he was being spied upon. Jonas Hexamer’s geze wavered, then his eyes dropped, and he waiked away, ‘Who is that man, Fred?” asked the Irish- man, “{ don’t know; but I will be likely to find out, if I eatech bim staring at me in that style again. Come up tothe pilot: house, Denny. We are going to have a lovely night,” Again Fred started in that direction, and again he was interrupted, This time it was by a boy connected with the steward’s department, ‘* A lady in the cabin would like to see you, sir,” said the boy, as be handed Fred a card. 4 actually blushed as he glanced at the card, Then he hastily excused bimself to Dennis Malone, and walked down the long saloon cabin with a brisk and eager step, “Sure an’ me dbrame is comin’ thrue,” mut- tered Denny. ‘* Now be is goin’ to pit married, an’ I wondher phwere be will find the planta- tion an’ the slathers av money,” Flush Fred blushed again when he reached the ladies’ cabin in the stern of the boat, and there, seated on a sofa, bright and smiling, was Kate Helmsley! —————— CHAPTER XL. THE WRECK OF THE SABINE, KATE HELMSLEY was not a beauty, although she was beautiful. That is to say, though her features were not perfect, she had fine eyes and lovely lips, an elegant and graceful figure, and a countenance that was wonderfully expressive of intelligence and av iability. Her hair, too, was unusually fine and abund- ant, and her natural taste in dressing always set off her fine form to advantage, | It wag no wonder that Fred Henning blushed when he approached her and took the hand which she offered bim as she rose, . COMIE 00k ~~