Beadle's Dime Library No. 327 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

- Terrapin Dick. man from the tree, and directly he turned him | would not be missed. If they are that sort of oose, , ;: people, we ought to enforce the law against Risden gave him some food from his sack, and | them, and fight our way in.” ES 6: the vagabond went his way, not rejoicing, but | ‘As the Kanucks did? There are objections rhaps not as uncomfortable as he might have _ to that course, too.” : i som he would be. | Perhaps you are afraid,” sneered Julius. The Americans were then in the humor for | ‘I don’t think I am, and I am sure that eating, and they made a meal without starting | Hank is not. But we ought not to punish the a innocent with the guilty, and I have not yet reason to suppose that we have come up here on a man-killing expedition. I should particularly object to killing that lad who twice saved me ‘‘T wonder,” mused Terrapin Dick, “‘if that | from serious trouble. Besides, Mr. Muldrow, young man would have whipped the Kanuck to | it is quite possible that they might prove to death.” ‘be too many for us, as they were for the ‘Dick Risden,” solemnly remarked Hank | Kanucks.” Ward, “it ain’t a bit surprisin’to me nowto;| ‘‘You seem to have reasons as plenty as e. When the guide and the detective sat down to | smoke their pipes, Julius Muldrow went off and | sulked by himself. | know that he’d shoot a fawn, blackberries to-day, Mr. Risden. Have it your own way then. You always do. But I have not the faintest hope that it will amount to any- CHAPTER XXI. Before nightfall the three searchers, under the A DASTARDLY DEED, guidance of Hemlock Hank, had climbed the Dick RispEN and Hank Ward, asthey smoked mountain ata point a little distant from the meditative pipes after their cold meal, carefully gap that led to the Sanders’ habitation, until considered the question of the move they should | they reached a wooded plateau, where they next make. | rested, and camped for the night near a spring. They soon settled between themselves upon | In the morning, supposing that they had ‘what they had better do, but judged it proper probably gone as high as they needed to go, to call ther employer into their counsels and | they proceeded to explore the plateau, and tra- get his op:nion. versed it in a northerly direction until it came As they considered it hardly the correct thing to an end at the edge of a cliff. _ to cali h.m to them, they went to where he was | This proved to be the very point which they seated apart, placed the case before him, and | had been anxious to strike. asked his opinion. | From the edge of the cliff they could. look ‘* Well, I suppose you have got it all cut and | down into the basin that was the home of the dried,” was his surly reply. ‘* You have settled | Sanders family, and could plainly see their is between yourselves, and you only come to me | house, their cultivated ground, and the dam as a matter of form. So there is nothing for | that had held back the water of the pond until me to do but follow your lead.” it was let loose for the benefit of the thieving ‘“ We have our opinion,” said the detective, | Kanucks, ‘Sand we want yours. We are agreed that it is ‘‘' They seem to be pretty well fixed there, highly probable that the Sanders family, with the man we want, are inside of that hole in the hills where the water came out.” ‘‘There is somebody in there—no doubt of that.” ‘* Exactly so. We don’t know who the people are, but guess them to be the Sanders f y: The question now is, under the circumstances, how we are going to get at them.” ‘‘There is one way plain enough,” remarked Muldrow. ‘The front door? Yes; but it is a narrow door, and the experience of the Kanucks has taught us caution. We don’t want to be mis- taken for them, or to get into the scrape that they got into. If the Sanders family—supposing them to be in there—should find out who we are and what we are after, it is likely that they would be keen to keep us at a distance.” ‘* What have you decided on, then?” ‘“We have not decided on anything; but it seems to me and Hank Ward that there may be a back way by which we can get into that hole in the mountain, and that we better try to find it.” ‘‘T knew it!” exclaimed Julius, with a tone | and an air of disgust. ‘‘ I was sure that you had thing.” whoever they are,” observed Terrapin Dick. ** Tt must be a terrible place to pass the win- ter in ” pine! ae ie Weems ot so as you might suppose,” repli Hank Ward. “ Aslongas they get enough to eat and to wear they can be as comfo’table as anybody, and there'll allers be plenty to eat as long as deer and moose are about. They may be drifted in by a heavy storm of snow an’ wind; but they can dig out, and snow-shoes will ae ’em ap Nye they want to go.” ‘*That is all very nice,” remarked the detec- tive; ‘‘ indeed, thatis a right nice place down there, and I would like to be there. may say that I don’t know an hing that would suit me better just now. But how are we to get there? That’s the question that harrows up my soul.” It was a ke rewrt of exceeding toughness, and a closer and more careful survey of the locality did not tend to promote its solution. The basin was deep, and the cliff from which they viewed it was so precipitous that its descent seemed to be out of the question. The gap side was equally inaccessible, except by the gap, and on the northern and western sides, which formed nearly a semicircle, the mountain sloped upward, abrupt and bare. It was not exactly precipitous in that quar- ter, and a man might slide down to the bottom; but he would not be a man when he reached it. The conclusion they arrived at was that they should camp there on the plateau, until they could make a closer and more eae survey of the locality, so as to determine whether they would be able to reach their prey from that di- or thi it to bri or this purpose it was necessary ring u some supplies from their caches on the lake, an Dick Risden volunteered to go after them, con- sidering himself by that time sufficiently well acquainted with the region to be able to find his way there and back without difficulty. e set out accordingly, leaving his companions settled on something that would take all winter and then amount to nothing. I can’t for the life of mesee why you two want to goall around Robin Hood’s barn to do what ought to be done in a plain and straightforward manner. Of course you are paid for your time.” Pamdock Hank, disgusted with the turn the conversation was taking, walked away. ‘But that don’t quite account for it,” mildly remarked Risden. ‘‘What do you think we ought to do, Mr. Muldrow?” I think we ought to bse doing things by halves, and go to work as if we meant business. Take the case of that thief we caught. He de- served a sound shing as a lesson to himself and a warning to his gang; but you men took pity on him, and turned him loose when the job | to continue the exploration, or to amuse them- was only half-done. Now you want to dilly- | selves as re ewan 9 ush, instead of going | Hemlock Hank chose to look about, and he dally and beat about the b straight to the point.” ‘ Ma How shall we get to the point, then?” ‘¢ One of us ought to go in there, and see those ple, and find out whether they are the San- ps family or not. If they are, they should be informed that we have a warrant for the arrest of Nick Sanders. If they refuse to allow it to be served, and defy the law, we will know how to act toward them.” : ‘Exactly so. That is an excellent idea, Mr. Muldrow, and all it needs is a man to carry it I suppose you will volunteer for the continued the search through the greater part of the remainder of the day, but without making pa fh to boast of. ; erever he went Julius Muldrow was either close at his heels or kept him in sight. It must have been his adventure with the bear that caused the young man to be so strongly op- posed to being left alone, The guide, however, made one important dis- covery. He got into a position from which he could see something that was highly interesting as ing upon the problem to be solved. t he saw was the Sanders family as they left the house and went to work upon the dam which had been opened for the purpose of del- uging the Kanucks. e into effect. ? pm i volunteer?” indi tly replied the young ‘Not a bit of it. Why should I? I am not paid to do that sort of thing. There are two of you, and it is your business. I am only an outsider. ee ; ‘* And I suppose you intend to remain an out- sider, as far as that hole in the mountain is con- cerned,” suggested the detective. ‘* The upshot of the scheme would probably be that the man who went in there would not come out for awhile. If I were the man, my usefulness as a detective would beat anend. If Hank Ward were the man, we could no longer count on him man, y did not all go out at once; but in the course of the day each member of the family was visible about the pond. Thus k was able to count them, and he easily made them out to be four in number —three who counted as men, a woman, and a boy. yoy see,” remarked the guide, as he pointed them out to Julius Muldrow, ‘‘ that they'd ha’ been too much for us if we'd tried to git in through the hole.” . asaguide, Hither of us woul be “T suppose you mean to insinuate that I 15 ‘* Do you count the woman and the boy?” con- Ms oe inquired Julius. ‘*T do, indeed, and you would find that they would count if you should tackle ’em. I’m keen to bet that the woman can do a man’s part at wotkin’ or fightin’, and as for the boy, I guess he must be the chap that taught Dick Risten how to kill wildeats. You'd find him as bad to fool with as a bear.” This fling drew a malignant glance from Mul- drow, and Hemlock sought another point of observation. He found it on the small trunk of a dead pine which had fallen over the edge of the cliff, an extended out into space a considerable distance. Hemlock Hank examined this trunk, and came to the conclusion that by going out upon it he could get a better view of the region below than he had yet been able to obtain. The fact that the butt was on the ylateau seemed to make the venture safe. ‘“*T guess it’s all right,” said he; ‘‘ but I wish, Mr. Muldrow, that you would sit on the butt there, so that there mayn’t be any danger 0’ i oer} up.” ulius seated himself on the log, and the guide carefully made his way out frcm the edge of the cliff toward the small end of the tree. When he had got pretty well out he paused and surveyed the situation for a while. But he was not yet satisfied with his outlook, and began to crawl further on. ‘Keep a-settin’ there, young gentleman,” said he, ‘‘’cause, if you should git up, it might be kinder resky.” , What was it, then, that put it into Julius Muldrow’s head to do a dastardly and murder- ous deed? Was it the mean and vicious nature that was born in him, and that through years of indul- gence had become incapable of control? Or was it his envious and jealous hatred of Hemlock Hank, which had cropped out on sev- eral previous occasions, and which he had cher- ished and fostered until it had become a pas- sion? Or was it simply an insane impulse? Whatever the cause, the ied was done, and OOH reek jumped up from the log, but took e not only jumped up from the log, bu hold of it with both hands, and lifted with all his yon pe It tilted easily, and the result was frightfully sudden. Hemlock Hank had only time to cast one startled and reproachful glance backward, and then he dropped helplessly down with the dead pine tree. CHAPTER XXII. AN UNWELCOME GUEST. BEN LAWSON was so disgusted with his brief experience of Julius Muldrow’s ingratitude and insolence, that when he quitted the camp which contained that obnoxious young man, he re- traced his course down the river. ‘“*The fact is, Neptune,” he said to his —s ‘that I could not stay where that young ellow is, or anywhere near hi I should be tempted to spoil his looks, and would not be able to resist the temptation.” ‘* Bad sort o’ man,” assented the Indian. ‘*As mean a cur, I think, as I ever met. I can’t look at him without itching to kick him, The two men with him are different, and I would be glad to camp and tramp with them.” **TTemlock Hank ee man, boss.” ‘“No doubt of that. square and true a man as walks the earth, in the woods or out of them. I have reason to believe that the other is "a good man, too—nothing the matter with him that I know of—and you know that he behaved well when we met them with the boat and stuff. Yes, they are both decent white men—what I call gentlemen—and good company anywhere, But I was glad to get away from that sneak.” ‘* ‘Where you go now?” inquired Neptune. “‘T am going back to Staley’s. up the man I spoke to you about—the man who had such a and knowing look on his face when I spoke of murder at That man has been preying on my mind ever since, and I have been sorry that I did not stop there and watch him and a him. But I wasina hurry to get on and ose other people, and” when I found them I could do nothing but get away from them. It is a pity for Hemlock Hank and his partner that they are tied to such acrank. But I will back to Staley’s now, and there is a chance that I may get hold of the = of the string.” Lawson had a way of speaking to his companion as if he were talking to himself, and perhaps he was musing and meditating, q as much as seeking to convey information. Neptune understood this, and did not always pretend to follow the drift of his leader’s re- marks, though he respected him highly asa man and a woodsman. Indeed, he would not be able to comprehend’ all that Lawson said, if he had used his en- deavors, and it was not worth while to exert imself, as the ‘‘ Boss” always spoke plainly enough when he wished to impress any fact 7 the mind of his guide. enough to know that the ine, 200KS (e 4 com I want to look © (Elo)