Beadle's Dime Library No. 327 — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

> i a a A ble much at bein’ carried back to Cranston, anyhow.” ‘* Well, Nick, I don’t believe you have lost | I was on me | anything by helping me. wey ly vole place when the flood struc me.’ ‘*What for? To ketch me?” ‘‘No; I have given that up. 1 was going Hank Ward. ‘* Not now,” ‘Not now? What has become of him?” ‘*He has gone away,”’ ‘‘Gone away, and has not come near me? I don’t understand that.” ‘‘You see,’ replied Nick, ‘‘that he is a kind of a prisoner, and has to do what we say, and go where we let him. Abner start- ed off to Staley’s this mornin’, and dad let Mr. Ward go with him.” ‘‘ Was he much hurt when he fell?” £* Sea'cely a bit.” ‘‘ How did he happen to fall?” ‘‘Didn’t happen. Julius Muldrow tumbled him over.” ls he with your peop i there to tell you so, and to find 7 friend, | e | Terrapin Dick. oe When the rain had ceased, and the flood | mained to ascertain what was done there, or: had subsided, he crawled out, a wretched and uncomfortable being. what became of his enemy. lt was sufficient for him to know that he With no little difficulty he managed to get | would no more be bothered by Jcffard, and together the drenched provisions and camp | utensils and cook some dinner for himself. He had little appetite, and after dinner he | was lonesome and miserable. But Risden had left him on two previous | that the band of vagabonds would thereafter submit to his leadership. Moreover, he had his doubts whether the Maine men, failing to find the rascals who had plundered them, might not pounce upon occasions, returning by nightfall, and why | him and punish him for the sins of the could not this day be worried through as the | others. , others had been? So he worried through it until dusk, when | So he made himself scarce in that vicinity, and hastened to the rendezvous at which he he prepared supper for himself and his com- | was to meet his comrades. : panion, and anxiously awaited the return of | He found them all there, with one cxcep- ti the detective. Night closed in on the plateau, and Risden | did not arrive. Julius could not eat anything, he was so troubled by the fear that he had been de- serted. After a while another thought occurred to on. One of them, who had been the special friend and advocate of Joc Jeffard, had lin- gered behind for the purpose of watching the movements of the ex-chief, and possibly with the view of rendering him assistance in case of need. They avaited for him at the rendezvous, but im. Risden ‘had related his discovery of the | he did not show up. | bed of the stream, and of course he had de- ‘The infernal scoundrel!” exclaimed Ris- | seended the mountain by that route. den. ‘‘l was sure that something of the kind was the matter. | felt a bit sorry about Jeaving that wretch alone; but now I don't care what becomes of him. When do you | caught think Hank will be back?” ‘‘Some time to-morrow.” the deluge must have taken the same route, and might not the detective have been y it and swept downward to his death? Whether it was death or desertion that ‘| will go home with you, Nick, if you prevented his return, Muldrow was a a? left They waited until night, and still he did not appear. Then they waited until morning. As he had not then put in an appearance, they consulted as to their future movements, They were well supplied with piovisions, ammunition. and other valuables which they had captured at the river. Having recently had before their eyes an | | | | The torrent which had been produced by | will let me, and wait for him there.” in a most unpleasant predicament, bein awful cexampie of the evil effects of rum ‘‘Glad to have you.” alone, with no guide, and with no knowledge | when immoderately used, they wisely re- The water had by that time so nearly run | of woodcraft to enable him to find his way | solved that they would touch the liquor out of the ravine that there would be no through the forest. ; lightly, and Antoine Jaunot, who was known difficulty in following the bed of the He built a big fire, and passed a wakeful | to be a passably sober man, was put in charge stream. | night. of the supply. Risden found his rifle where he had | Tn fact, he got but scanty snatches of | On the advice of Jaunot their first move dropped it, and went down the mountain | sleep, lying down with a rifle on cach side of | was made in the direction of the Sanders — w:th his new friend. —_———_-—__— CHAPTER XXXVIII, A KANUCK CAPTURE. Juxuius Mu.pRow was terribly depressed by the departure of Terrapin Dick. It was not alone the absence of his only remaining companion and protector that | troubled him, but the fear that the absence | meant some calamity to himself which as yet he could only guess at. Risden’s sudden change of manner and temper, as well as change of intention, had sect his suspicions at work, and they hourly | ecame more active. | It looked as if the detective had discovered | something, and what was it?” His discovery, if he had. made one, must surely be connected with the fate of Hem- lock Hank. But what could he have found out? What was it possible for him to learn con- cerning that sudden and utter disappear- cc? “aT hits could be no doubt that Hank had ’ him, and getting up cvery now and then to | stronghold. feed the fire. Morning came at last, and Dick Risden had not arrived. Noon came, and still there were no signs | im. By that time Julius Muldrow was in 4] state of mind that threatened to overthrow his reason. He tramped over and over the plateau, after looking down into the basin, and | wearying himself in body and mind by his restless wandering and wondering. He ate scarcely anything during the day, and when the night came again and brought no Risden, he was so tired that he fell asleep. | But his sleep was broken by terrible dreams, from which he awoke trembling and shivering, and his one resource was to feed | the fire and cower over it, as if it were his | only friend, During his waking moments he resolved | that he would quit the camp and follow the | route down the mountain which Risden had | taken. If he should not find the detective, or | should find him dead, his only chance would | been killed by that fearful fall, and how was | be to try to reach the people in the basin and | the man who was responsible for it? Julius ferced himself to look over the edge of the cliff, to see if anything was there that might possibly lead to his detection. ut there was nothing of the kind to be seen, and, if there had been anything, his | shortness of sight would not have allowed him to sce it He settled down to the conclusion that Risden could have nothing but guess-work | to go un, and that he had nearly been seized by a sudden freak—perhaps by a desire to make an effort to find tne body of his friend. The young man’s thoughts were necessari- ly diverted from this unpleasant and perplex- ing subject by the deluge of rain that poured | down before noon. Even that was a relicf to him, though it was the most terrible display of elemental force that he had yet witnessed. It came onso suddenly that he had only | time to get a few articles inside of the tent, the story of his death to be told, except by | and to seck that shelter for himself, when the cloud-burst dropped its deluge upon the | plateau. | Torrents of water poured down the side of the mountain, and it seemed as if all the | earth that covered the rock, with the trees | that were rooted in it, must be swept away. | The flood tore through the tent, and over the entire plateau was spread a sheet of | muddy water. seek succor from them. Even if they should treat him as an) enemy, that would be better than to lose his | way and starve in the mountain or the | forest, In the morning, as he had abandoned all hope of the return of Risden, he proceeded to put this plan in execution. He loaded himself with provisions and ammunition, took his own rifle, and set out. : The day was clear and bright and warm, and he began to be inspired by the hope that he would at least secure his own safety, if he should fail to find his comrade. At first he found the descent easy enough, the stream which had heen a torrent when Terrapin Dick went down, having shrunk to a mere rill. After awhile it became more difficult, and when he reached the ravine where the detec. tive had nearly lost his life, he was obliged to stop and rest. While he was resting he ate a lunch, and while he was thus employed something oc- curred that was quite unexpected, and very ber eres o explain this occurrence it will be neces- sary to go back to Antoine Jaunot. hat spying and scheming Kanuck, after he had guided Ben Lawson and his friends | to the spot where Joe Jeffard was contending against imaginary adversaries, had not re- a am As he assured them, the water-gap game could not be played on them again, and they might pick up some valuable prizes in that vicinity. For his part, though he did not explain this motive to his comrades, his back was yet sore from the strokes of a certain hickory switch, and he hoped for a chance to avenge himself upon the man who had scored him. So the band, reduced to four men, camped in a secluded spot near the Sanders habita- tion, and scouted over that 1egion in search of prey. But they found the pass newly and strong- ly fortified, so that there was no chance for them to play the sneak-thief game. As they were too weak to attack the stronghold, they returned to their camp, somew hat disconsolate. The next morning Jaunot took them u into the mountain, as he had found a trail that led in that direction, and hoped that something valuable might be found at the end of it. They followed the trail to the nearly dry bed of a mountain stream, which they ascended, occasionally finding tracks in the mud that had becn left by a recent storm. When they had résobeid the foot of a declivity down-which the thin stream fell in a shower of spray, Jaunot climbed it, as the trail evidently led upward Suddenly he signaled to his comrades to follow him, and to come in silence. He had discovercd a man whem he at once iy oy as the person who had whipped im. His companiors crawled up, and raw the man seated on a1o0ck, eatirg, with his face turned toward tie head of the ravine which they had entered. tealthily and silently they crept behird him, and, at a signal from Jaunot, pounced upon him and overpowered him. Julius Muldrow was so completely taken by surprise that he was incapable of resist- ance, and was ticd hand and foot before he couid begin to struggle. In one of his captors he recognized the man who had been caught in the woods, and to whom he had administered a severe casti- gation. Seeing in the Kanuck’s face the hunger for revenge, he begged for his life, and offered to pay largely for his liberty. aunot, who had found the chance he was aching for, laughed at bis entreaties. The four Kanucks raised the young man. and bore him, screaming, begging and threatening, up the rocks. com Gpoo S com