Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 308 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

_ ss — CCLLLLLL__________ eee Hemlock Hank. id Hank gave him the coup de grace with his hunting knife, ‘“What a sweet creature!” exclaimed Mattie. ‘What a pity to kill him!” ‘‘¥Yes, it is a pity to kill Lim,” answered Charley; ‘‘but it is a fine thing to have him when he is killed and dressed. Let us go up the pass while Hank attends to him, and perhaps we may meet another. You know that we are nearly out of méat at The Outlook.” The girl was ready enough to comply with this request, 4s she declared that they were not at all likely to see another deer that morning, and the two went up the pass, out of sight of the guide, They did not see another deer; but they saw something else. Near a fallen log at the side of the valley were two funny little black objects, rolling and toss- ing and tumbling about, quite unconscious of the approach of anything that might harm them. ’ hey were recognized at once as cub bears at play. 0 grown-up bear was at hand to watch or re- strain them, and they were having a grand time all to themselves. ‘‘Oh, the precious darlings!” exclaimed Mat- tie, ‘*I would so like to get one of them and take it home.” “You shall have them both if you want them,” said Charley, who had fallen into the habit of considering her slightest wish a com- mand, He hastened to get them, and found it easy to catch the fat and clumsy cubs, But, when he had caught them, it was quite another thing to keep them, and he soon dis- covered that one of them was quite as mth as he cared to manage. The cub resented his intrusion upon its sport and freedom, scratching and clawing and biting like a vicious cat and in avery vigorous man- ner. At the same time both of them uttered piteous cries, which could be heard at a considerable distance, They were heard, and not at a great distance, by the mother of the little brutes, which quit feeding on frosted berries, and hastened to their rescue, ‘Please drop them!” cried the girl. ‘“‘I am sure that I don’t want the cross little wretches.” But Charley had “ got his dander up,” and was determined to capture the cubs and sub- » due them, ‘*Don't bother with them any more,” pleaded Mattie, ‘‘For my sake, please let them go. I am afraid.” Hardly had she spoken when she had some- thing tobeafraidof. . With a rush and a fierce growl the she bear came crashing through the bushes, and charge upon Charley Creed, her mouth open, and her eyes full of fire. The girl screamed at the top of her voice, and hesitated, as if afraid to stay where she was, but loth to leave her friend. Charley dropped the cub as if it burned his fingers, and pirkad up his rifle. t was well loaded for deer, and he was cool and collected enough to take good aim. He fired, and sent the charge into the breast of the brute at short Fangs. She partly halted, as if astonished, and then rusbed forward again, Charley had not another load, and there was nothing for him but flight, ‘Run, Mattie!” he shouted. you can!” Away they went, with the bear after them, But Hank Ward, who heard the girl’s cry, ‘*Run as fast as | had seized his rifle and hastened to meet them. “Go on!” he ordered, and dropped on one knee as they passed him. : Taking careful aim, he sent into the advanc- ing bear a bullet that broke one of her fore-legs and penetrated to a vital portion of her anato- m . ay right,” shouted Hank, as he perceived the effect of his shot, ‘We won't be troubled any more by that bear,” he said, as he proceeded eo cut the throat of the dying beast. But there was another bear that was sure to make trouble for them. It was a he-bear, presumably the father of the cubs, and he came rushing down the hill- side to the rescue of his mate, but.too late to be of service to her. si Pi was a too ae mischief, and he charged upon the group with vengeful intent. “Ran, Mattie!” shouted Hemlock Hank. “Run, both of you! I will take care of this _ one,” Surely there was nothing for it but to run, as both rifles were Bnloaded, The girl ran, but the Bpide did not, No more did Charley Creed, who was not the sort of fellow that would desert a friend, He retreated a few steps, and hastily began to pour powder and ball into his rifle, s the bear rushed on, Hemlock Hank backed up against a tree in the path of the brute, drew the long and sharp hunting-knife with which he had skinning the deer, and awaited his onset, - ~~ ‘ain, and to find the The bear flew upon him, wild with rage, growling fiercely, and with his savage mouth wide open. Suddenly he rose on his hind-feet, and en- circled both the tree and the man with his big and cruel paws, while his hot breath was poured into the face of his intended victim, and his formidable teeth proclaimed his deadly purpose. Quite as suddenly the scene changed, While the tree prevented the bear from giv- ing his fatal hug, and before he had a chance to use his jaws, Hemlock Hank with his sbarp knife ripped open the belly of the beast, and his entrails poured out upon the ground. Charley Creed ran up with his reloaded gun. As the bear tottered backward, the young man placed bis rifle against his head, and sent a bullet through his brain. That ended the encounter, and Hank Ward stepped forth unharmed. he result of the expedition was two bears and a deer, All were skinned and dressed, and Hank and Charley carried home the pelts and part of the meat, after banging up the rest out of the reach of wolves to await their return. CHAPTER XV, THE BIRTHPLACE OF STORMS, A VAST basin, miles in circumference, at a considerable elevation above the forest land, shut in by hights that were nearly precipitous on all sides but one, and in places perhaps two thousand feet high. A grand exhibition of the forces and wonders of nature. Where its near'y level surface was not taken up by lovely lakes, it was covered by great blocks of granite, doubtless such as had fallen from its rocky sides, many of them as square as if they had been blocked out by careful quarrymen, Trees in abundance were rooted among the rocks, and the edges of the lakes were beauti- fully fringed with birckes and alders and other growth peculiar to the region. It was the. big basin of Katahdin, Into this abode of mystery two pigmies bad penetrated. At least, they had the appearance of pigmies, as they wandered among the great masses of rock or stood in the shadow of the gigantic cliffs, showing themselves in contrast with the mighty works of nature, hey were Dick Risden and Auguste. The detective had succeeded in persuading his follower to go up into the mountains, the In- dian’s desire for money having for the time overcome bis superstitious fears. When they reacbed the basin, however, Au- guste was in a sadly demoralized condition, ‘““Dis where ole Pamolah lib, Missa Risden,” he said in affrighted tones. ‘ He play de debbil wid Injun here.” ‘*Go and soak your head, you great e! I wish I had nothing to worry me but that bo of a Pamolah. This is a splendid place for camping, Auguste, and I mean to stay right here uotil my work is done, Here we find plenty of wood and water and everything we want, and it is so handy for exploring the mountain, It is the very spot that suits me, and if 7 don’t like it you can light out as soon as you want to.” Auguste would have been glad to leave the basin, the sooner the better; but he could not bear the thought of losing the money he bad earned and the further amount that he expected toearn. — Risden selected his camping-ground at the base of a clifPand near a lovely stream that ran into one of the lakes. The first day of his residence there he devoted to an exploration of the basin, especially with regard to ways of exit and of ascent to the higher ranges of the mountain. arly the next morning he set out with Au- guste to examine another portion of the mount- lace where, as his fol- lower had told him, he had tracked the In- dian who went up with supplies for the hunted man, Thus far, during the day and night, Pamolah had behaved very well, and had given no cause of alarm even to Auguste. It is true that they had noticed clouds arising on the lakes and whirling away swiftly in vari- ous directions, but these evidences of the demon’s energy had been of small dimensions and not to do any damage. they went out of the basin that morning, through the pass by which they had entered f they were treated toa small sample of Pamo- lah s power, : A cloud had arisen on the largest of the lakes, from which point, when it had formed itself sufficiently, and bad got its machinery in mo- tion, it started at something more than railroad speed toward the pass The first intimation they had of its approach, was a roaring noise behind them. Looking back, they saw a funnel-shaped cloud, as black as ink, whirling toward them, and peeded £05 the pass. . edged in there between two high hills, it ‘its seamy side, as “Look up yonder, where 1 point. was impossible to escape, and there was nothiny for them to do but endure the blow, the force of which they both appreciated. Auguste threw himself down behind a rock, squeezing bis body up against that shelter, and Dick Risden followed bis example. Hardly had they got in position when the whirlwind swept through the pass witb a terri- ble roaring and a great commotion of trees and stones and brush and dust, For a moment or so it was difficult to breathe, and only the shelter of the rock saved the men from being swept away or seriously injured. The storm seemed to be a water-spout, as well as a whirlwind. The cloud was heavily charged with water from the lake, which was partly or wholly emp- tied out asit flew through the pass, wetting Risden and his follower as thoroughly as if they had passed under a cataract. But it disappeared as suddenly as it came, and they got up and undertook the unpleasant task of wringing the water out of their clothes, lest they should freeze in the frosty air. ‘*Pamolah ole debbil,” muttered Auguste, using no stronger expression for fear of arous- ing the anger of his companion. “‘T have heard,” answered the detective, ‘that the basin in there is known as the birth- place of storms, and I judge that it is rightly named. If your Pamolah is the fatber of the storms that are raised there, be bas a rough lot of children, But I suppose that we are liable to come across his brats in one place as well as in another.” ‘*Guess we find plenty ob ’em fore we froo,” remarked the Indian. They climbed up and down the mountain-side, and skirted around its base, crossing streams and ravines and ridges, and completely exbaust- ing themselves in their efforts to get abead and ae as much ground as possible before night- all, Dick Risden became disgusted at times, and almost discouraged. ““T wonder, Auguste,” he said at last, “if you really know anything about that place to which you are pretending to take me.” ‘Find ’um ’fore long,” answered the Indian. “Tf I thought you had been lying to me, you ‘degenerate son of an unregenerated race, would dig a grave right here, and would soon furnish the corpse for the funeral.” ‘*Injun no lie. Find ‘um ’fore long. Katah- din mighty big place. Take heap time to lock for one man here.” As they went on, and Auguste expressed him- self as satisfied that he was nearing the location he was seeking, they could not help noticing that the sky had become overcast, " : No clouds’ were visible as they looked u through the forest trees, and anvthing like t haze of Indian Summer could not be expected at that time of the year. Yet the air was so thick and heavy that ‘it must surely be loaded with oppressive matter of some kind. 5 Soon they were made aware of the smell of smoke, + 40 LP ‘‘ Wonder w’ot ole Pamolah doin’now,” mut- tered the Indian. ‘*There must be a big forest fire somewhere,” said Risden. “If so, it is likely to make a b is so dry.’ t sweep, as yh Ne ie 3 They went on without regard to the supposed forest fire. aa As they saw nothing of it, it was reasonable to conclude that it was not nearthem. ~~ At last they reached a spur of the moun which Auguste recognized, or claimed tha he He walked about in ‘the forest below, and examined the locality from several jiitts of view, before he expressed himself as being solid- ly satisfied. “Tnjun got ’um now,” he said. ‘* Louis went up dis place.” , Risden also examined the foot of the spur, and went up a little way. ‘* There is no path or trail here,” said he. ‘Guess not, Louis heap sharp. Make ’um no trail fur white man to foller, But he went up dis place. Mebbe so he not dere now.” “Did be go up there with the bundles you spoke of?” se Yes.” ‘‘Then he must be up there somewhere now, or the man for whom he brought the bundles is there. The detective walked back to an open space in the forest, from which he could get a good view of the mountain, and carefully examined if from bis position he would be able to see anything in particular up there. Soon his eyes fastened on the side of a peak whose top seemed to reach the sky. “Look, Auguste!” he eagerly ot “i n 3 something moving there on the mounta ° side? : The Indian looked, and shook his head. “/ If any living thing was visible from that dis- tance, it was at in motion just then. =~ —— The air bad become thicker and heavier, and every moment the smell of smoke grew more MUICELOOOKS (E() Cc (o) | | | | . | — —w = ee —————————————E———ee a ee eee