Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 393 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

‘ ing him in the face, Caspar, the a2 The: a .* <2 7 « more fiercely, and soon sent the blade of the pirate flying from his hand. ‘*T give you your life, sir,” he said quickly, lowering his weapon, ‘* By Heaven, sir, but it is the first time I have ever had to accept my life at the hands of a foe, or met my superior with a sword, and J give you your life,” was the response of the pirate chief. Captain Duluth merely bowed, and the bucca- neer continued: ‘*T feared, when you fired upon me, I had run into a trap and caught an armed vessel; but re afterward you were but a merchant- man, I kept up the chase; but you have cost me dear, sir, and I had not half my force, having lost many men of late. ‘* Are these four men all that are left of your crew?” sé Yes. bP) ‘Well, they can go aboard the schooner and join my crew, while I will give you the berth of second officer.” ‘* Which [ decline to accept, sir.” ** Ah! either that or your life.” “Tf forced to save my life by serving you, I will do so,” was the reply. . now what cargo have you?” ‘*The barque is in ballast only, and what you gain by your capture is worth nothing.” ‘‘That is bad; but I will look over the craft for myself.” This he did, and he found little to transfer to the schooner, so in a rage at his losses of men for no purpose, he ordered the Queen set on fire, and his men to return to the schooner, The pirates were adepts at this kind of work, and soon the fine barque was one mass of flames, while the schooner moved away over the waters, lighted by the brilliant fire. ut the career of Caspar, the Coast Corsair was short-lived, as a few days after his vessel was roughly handled in a storm, and, before re- pairs could be made, an American schooner-of- war, commanded by a dashing young lieutenant, bore down upon her, and after a sharp, short action boarded the pirate and captured her. In vain was it, when C r, the Corsair, and his crew were taken to the nearest port and turned over to thé authorities as prisoners, that Captain Duluth pleaded his innocence, saying that he was himself a captive of the pirate chief, for he was not believed, jally when his captors laughed at his assertions, and said that he was equally guilty with them. Himself a prisoner, and with the gallows star- rsair, was not the man to allow Captain Duluth to escape, when he looked upon his chase of the barque as the cause of his being where the schooner-of- war captured him, and he boldly pronounced the unfortunate captive one of his officers, and alike guilty with himself, In those days men dwelt not long in tryin hme and though the story of Bianca Dulut ad some weight with the jury, they cared not to make an error, and quickly sentenced the outlaws, the chief to die upon the gallows, along with his officers, excepting Captain Duluth, who, with the buccaneer crew, were sent to prison for life. ‘*Oh, God! thus am I doomed, and every hope dies within my heart!” groaned the ppy Duluth, as he was led away to prison. Touched by the deep anguish of the men, his captor, Henry Harvey, the lieutenant of the schooner-of-war, hearing the remark, said: ‘Make out on paper just who you are, what vessel you sailed in, from what port, who were her owners, and all else that will go to prove our innocence, and I will make it my business see if your statement is true, and if so, will see that you are set at liberty.” _ Bianca Duluth gazed earnestly into the face of Lieutenant Harvey for an instant, and then, turning deathly pale, he said hoarsely: No, no; I cannot do as you ask—I dare not ! Let me suffer as I am, and go into this living ota ee eS, niess Ww asked He Harvey, as Duluth paused, and he was aaa with hig re- fusal of his offer and his strange manner, which seemed certainly to indicate guilt. ‘‘ Unless 1 can make my escape!” was the fierce response of the young captain, and turn- ing away from the naval officer, he followed his keeper into the prison-walls, and half an hour after was pacing his cell in the garb of a@ con- vict, CHAPTER X. THE HEIRESS OF CLOUDLAND CASTLE, THREE years have passed away since Count Leon Delorme settled upon the coast of Maine. In that time he had improved his handsome mansion until it had become known as the Sea- side Palace, and far and wide the owner was looked upon as a lord among men. He was a stern man, one who seldom bent from his reserve, though he was considered a one, and many acts of charity he had done or those poor dwellers who needed aid, His vast estates were well cultivated by scores of laborers, and his people all had comfortable homes and received good wages. ' SS io LL eee He lived in real grandeur, surrounded by liv- eried servants, with every luxury about him that gold could buy, and with his beautiful daughter, Queen, the idol, not only of her fath- ash rt, but of all who knew her. Not a poor hovel within leagues inland, that she had not visited, mounted upon her spirited horse, and attended by two servants, and left i ee comfort behind her. ot a fisherman’s hut was there along the coast for miles, that her little yacht had not landed near, and given aid to those who needed it it. Thus it was that the beautiful young girl had come to be known far and wide as The Angel of the Palace, while to her face she was called ey Queen. ith a professor to teach her music, another to instruct her in drawing and ae a fov- erness to improve her in her studies, all dwelling in the mansion until her eighteenth secenty Queen Delorme had become a most accomplish- ed young lady indeed. ut she was glad to throw off the restraint of study days and art instructions, and saw her preceptors depart without great regret, feeling that they had been well paid for their services, and that she was free to follow the bent of her own wishes, for her father allowed her to do pretty much as.she pleased. Though Count Delorme seldom went upon the sea, except to take a semi-yearly trip to Portland or Boston, he had a large and fine yacht lying at anchor in the snug haven near the mansion, with a keeper on board. She was always in condition to sail within an hour’s notice, as soon as her crew of fishermen could be signaled to come on board. With his dogs and gun, his horses, and his library the count shared bis time, while Queen was ever ready for a sail upon the sea, and knew well the island-dotted waters near the mansion. She could sail her little yacht as well as any Seaman along the coast, rowed a strong and quick stroke, swam like a fish, could bring in her string of game inany morning’s jaunt rifle in hand, and rode with wondrous skill and nerve. In spite of her studies and devotion to music and art she had learned her outdoor lessons well, and her father seemed to be pleased that she was not wholly like a hot-house flower. Beautiful in face, perfection in form, and the sole heiress of the rich Count Delorme, it was not to be wondered at that Queen Delorme was — by suitors far and wide. The fame of her beauty and riches was known in the cities, when she accompanied her father upon his voyages thither, and ‘‘ Cloudland Cas- tle,” as the count had named his home, on ac- count of its lofty situation, overlooking the sea, coast and inland, for leagues, was the resort of visitors who sought to win the hand of the fair young mistress. Not one, however, seemed to win more than her friendship, and some not even that, though her father seemed to favor a handsome young naval officer of Boston, noted for his good looks, dissipated life and vast fortune. A man who had broken many hearts, this young aristocrat, Preble Bainbridge, yet failed to make an impression upon Queen, though, in command of a trim brig-of-war, he found it con- venient to often cruise along the coast and make a call at Cloudland Castle. One pleasant afternoon, three years after com- ing to America, and a couple of months since the governess and tutors had been dismissed, and Queen had escaped, as she expressed it, ‘out of bondage,” Count Leon Delorme was seated in a handsome summer-house that stood on the edge of the cliff, and commanded a fine view of the rugged shores far below, the island, dotted waters, and the rolling sea for leagues. Suddenly Queen came toward him, in her boating suit, wearing a tarpaulin upon her head, and carrying a leather in her hand, ‘Father, here is your mail which Sandy just brought from the village, and you can read it while I give you a sail in the bay,” she said in a voice strangely winning and musical. She was very beautiful indeed, as she stood be- fore him, and the count could not but gaze upon her with admiration. He had not changed in the three years that had gone by, unless his face had grown more stern and hard. _* No, child, I will remain here and look over my mail; but don’t go far, for I saw a strange lugger run in under the shelter of the Haunted Island awhile ago,” ‘‘I have nothing to fear from her, father; but I am sorry you cannot go.” ‘‘Ah! here is a letter from Captain Preble Bainbridge, my child.” ‘*T do not care to hear it read, father.” **Do you not like him?” ‘*T neither like or dislike him, father.” ‘“* He loves: you.” ‘*So he told me, sir, when he was last here.” ** And your answer?” ‘*That I did not love him, and never would; but, good-by, father, for awhile,” and Queen darted away to the edge of the cliff, and de- scended a winding stairway which had been The Convict Captain. — @ Sse sess esses built against the wall of rock to the shore, two hundred feet below. Reaching the shore she walked out upon a pier, at the end of which was moored a pretty yacht, yet a stanch sea-boat, and which Queen could handle readily without aid. Quickly she rai the sail, and seated in the stern, her hand upon the carved tiller, she went skimming away over the waters before a light breeze. She knew the water well, and just where lay danger, and held on her way fora league, rounding a rugged line of reefs, and heading out into the open sea. Forgetting what her father had said about the strange lugeer, she passed beyond the Haunted Island, which, with another isle guarded the entrance to the bay, and was j st about to put back when a sound attracted her attention. Involuntarily she turned in the direction of Haunted Island, of which strange stories had been told by the people of the coast, and a cry of surprise, mingled with alarm, escaped her lips, as she saw, darting swiftly toward her, a long skiff, urged on by four oarsmen, and with a fifth man at the tiller. That the skiff had come from the lugger, which she now saw, Queen knew, and that the men in it were a rough, reckless set of men she saw at a glance. Coming as they did, under the full pressure of the oars, and heading directly toward her, Queen knew that she was the object they sought, and in dismay she put her little boat about and started homeward, though she saw, with increased alarm, that the i faster than she could sail with the light breeze then blowing. CHAPTER XI. AN ALARMING APPARITION. I rRusT that my reader has not forgotten the little yacht which, with its crew of six men, © sailed away from its anchorage in the darkness and storm, under the command of a Convict Captain. | ast_the city with its twinkling lamps, on through the night, pelted by the pouring rain wafted by a stiff breeze out of the harbor, dotted with scores of vessels at anchor, their lights as they rode the waves looking like a swarm of fireflies—out into the ocean went the brave craft, that stern, silent man at the helm, still clothed in his convict garb, and the crew stand- ing near, ready to obey his slightest command. e had tempted them from their duty, and falling, they had aided a felon to escape, and run off with their em io yacht. The glamour of gold before their eyes, as he had pledged them they should have, had } them astray, and they had cast their liv their destinies into his hands, and grimly ready to abide the result. ith the pledges of the Convict verified, they could live where they willed, for with riches, they could snap their fingers at the world; put with the pledges unfulfilled th must then become as hunted men, even updh whom dishonor had fallen heavily. ; Hoping, they trusted the Convict, and so upon the waters they sailed that night of storm, Weeks passed away and at last there came one afternoon the cry from the lookout: ‘* Land ho!” The cunning Convict had headed far out sea, where no vessel’s track would be in his southward run, and, leaving the Bermuda Isle upon his starboard he had still held on in his southward course. ale Never before had the little yacht been oné- to shook their heads ominously, as they though a storm catching them in mid-ocean, for t pone Bea? third that distance from the land, and the ie eis far they had been favored with and a stiff breeze to bear them on. . * They grumbled aloud, and cast omino glances toward the tall form in convict is a bc almost constantly kept his place at the elm. But, silent, stern and watchful he seemed to heed not their mutterings. , They had found him a good fair-weathéer — sailor, and this had inspired them with certain confidence in him; but one night, when the course of the “bee lay toward the Bahamas, he was put to the test as a hard-weather seaman as a tornado swept down upon the devoted craft with frightful fury. ~ ; home in ai as in safety, and his ski courage alone saved the small schooner from de- struction, all on board from death. Yetit was with joy that the crew heard the cry of ‘“‘ Land ho!” All eyes were turned A ses the distant ee that denoted land, and taking his glass the Con- vict turned his in that rection. ‘It is one of the outer islands of the Bahamas, be rich and to-morrow by this hour, we men,” he said calmly. - : But his words were heard by all and received with a wild shout of joy. As the schooner spel on the island loomed up rapidly, and when night came on they were among that remarkable group of six hundred EOMmichboo cS were rowing But the Convict seemed to be as moreneany Ss ae €o =~ 5 eS eS oe a oa i * q « d 4 « } ‘ ~ , a a , C itt » ee " - %@ * ee “ ae gv =e ; - , * _ a - rm > © co . oun 4 - + ae . Pr oa 6 : i 4é Fa) , Z . | 48 | - . fy 5% a ag 5 & ' ° A r 4 4 hb x of 7 oe ay + ‘? Le P. as, . i * ~ Te 1 4 ae S me | ull | , iw oF] t J “y. ok Ps Tf ™ ae ’ 7 a * . * o, 4 ae <P . | 4 N J - c ‘s * - G —_