Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 420 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

was closely viewed and carefully studied, and afterward a council of war was held, at which it was agreed that it would be like storming a battery to attempt to carry the fortification that blocked up the pass. Jerry Mabry profes:ed to be weil acquainted with tbe locality, and Gray Gordon and Gerald Talcott had been up as far as the still, and the three were of the opinion that the pass could be easily made impregnable, and the others were ws Sue satisfied that it had been made impreg- nable. From the best data obtainable it was supposed that the combined force of the moonshiners and their allies amounted to twelve or fifteen men, probably reaching the latter figure. Though they might be slightly cutnumbered by the party from below, they occupied a posi- tion in which a few men were easily equal to many. As that position was not assailable by a direct attack, the next point to be considered was i whether it might be carried by a flank or rear yf movement, Cy Jerry Mabry was obliged to confess that he _ knew nothing about the rear aspect of the moon- shiners’ den, and Gordon and Gerald had not been beyond the two cabins. . Itwas presumed that there must be an open- ing in that direction, but, as it would probably ae be tedious to reach and difficult to find, other toa means would be preferable, if there were any. Kits None could be thought of except,a flank at- tee tack, the outlook for which was not at all prom- ‘ ising. ie By climbing the precipitous hills through a8 which the narrow path ran it might be possible a? to gain a position overlooking the pass, from _ which its defenders could be seriously worried, oe end a few daring and active men prepared to | is _ make the attempt. fie o The moonshiners had kept quiet as long as gas _ * they were not molested, and it seemed to be their i" policy not todo any fighting unless thoy were _ driven toit; but when this acgressivo movement began they woke up and proved themselves to ~~ - a. ™ aee a 7 > ‘! * pe 2 to be alive and on the alert. Esay:3 The climbers found it difficult to reach the po- La .* sitions they desired to attain, and when they eg got up there found it yet more difficult to secure -—-— -¢over that would enable them to stay there _. with a reasonable degree of safety. ae They also discovered that their opponents had ee anticipated such a contingency by the extension . of the fortification with which they had block- ____ aded the pass. hae As one of the men who had been in Lee’s / army observed, it was as tough a job ona ie small scaleas Fredericksburg or Cold Harbor. | * Whenever one of the men up there attempted /- to get a shot at the defenders of the pass he be- ae came the mark for bullets that compelled hina | to ** hunt his hole,” and yet the moonshiners did not waste a shot, never firing unless the aggres- ! a, give attitude of their assailants compelled them be PA the same time it was evident that the at- tempt from above did not create any diversion ey in favor of tho attacking party below, or give | themany chance to make a rush at the barrier and so the men up there were finally ordered down. ne It was agreed, after a consultation, that if Bek they could have men enough to maintain sev- ‘a etak sharpshooters on the heights, and at the ‘gt game time keep a sufficient force below for a | front attack, they might be able to drive their antagonists out of the pass, but they were obliged to admit that they did not have men enough to effect both of these objects. ay These futile attempts, tedious and laborious as they were, had occupied the greater portion of ‘the day, and Gray Gordon and Gerald Talcott, Pree \ wht had the closest and deepest interest in the ___ affair, had become disheartened at the failure of the vperations thus far, when there was a new Se Pit Fe and entirely unexpected and surprising change | in the programme. "One of the party who happened to be in the | —s rear came hastening to his comrades with the astounding information that a number of men é so-were advancing up the bluff with the apparent Me intention of attacking them. ae ‘The scoundrels are carrying the war into Nias Africa!” exclaimed Gordon; \,‘‘ and they must |. havea much bigger force than we had supposed aes they had. They have sent part of their men | ground to take us in the rear, hoping to shut ia rs us up between two fires and pound the life out ] 4 v tg of us.” | This was the opinion of the others, though the . new phase of the conflict was so surprising to ee, all, and it was instantly resolved that they _ -would fight the fight for all it was worth, some ata consolation being found in the fact that they would have a fair chance at the new-comers, who would be sheltered by no barricades, No time was lost, and under the directions of Abe Lassiter and Gray Gordon the men faced | about and took the best available positions for | defense against the new wens oa They were sure that the advantage of loca- | “5 tion was on their side, and that they might hope to beat off their foes unless they should be Sos | SS SS <SSscsas - largely outnumbered, or unless, as was bighly _.. probable, those behind the barricade should Al Tee eh, “ya t > aay » % Ps | i ma 4 oa 7 . oe 2 . ‘ he ~ — . spin Ay gf" take advantage of their predicament to pounce upon them. The new arrivals were duly challenged, and the result showed that they meant fight, and nothing but fight. So the fight began, and it may bo safely as- serted that when darkness put a stop to ib, neither of the parties to the conflict was better pleased than the party which had expected to find itself between two fires. They had received a fresh surprise, end a most gratifying one, from the fact that not ashot had been fired from the barriztade behind them, and no sort of a demonstration had been made from that direction. When the firing had ceased they huddled to- gether in the darkness, not daring to light a fire to cook their supper, and discussed the situation in a style which showed that they were utterly bewildered by the turn their affairs had taken. ‘*T can’t seem to make this thing out,” said Gordon, whose opinion was generally deferred to, as he was considered very clear-headed. *‘ If those scoundrels, as I said awhile ago, had sent a party around to take us in the rear and shut us up between two fires, the gang above would have been sure to pitch in when their friends attacked us from below; but they kept as still as mice and let us entircly alone. It don’t seem to me that the two gangs are working to- gether.” ‘* Yet those folks down thar said that they'd come for our scalps, and meant to have ’em,” suggested Lassiter. * That’s so; but it is just possible that they are barking up the wrong tree, and it is some other folks’ scalps they want. Perhaps it is some other party that has come here to look for | horse-thieves, or even for moonshiners,” ‘““Tf thar should have been such a mistake as that, Mr. Gordon, we ought to find it out, though it’s bad for poor Billy Hickman, who has got a bullet-hole in his leg.’ ‘* Well, it is not likely that there will be any | more fighting before morning, and then we will try to get a talk with them and find out what this thing means.” Gerald Talcott, however, took it into his head that he wouid do a little scouting on his own ac- count under cover of the darkness, with the view of finding ont the facts of the situation anda springing them on his friends as a surprise. So, leaving his rifle in the camp, and armed only with his revolver, he stole away without in- forming anybody of his intention, and started down the broken and rugged slope toward the position occupied by their recent foes. It was a daring attempt—not to say fool- hardy—for a young fellow who was quite unac- customed to that sort of thing; but be had his own ideas of what he could and would do, and proceeded to carry them out. Of course he put his foot in it. That is tosay, ashe was caretully working his way down the difficult ground in the darkness, he caught his foot in a vine at the edge of a steep descent, and tumbled headlong, The next moment he was seized by one of the opposing | pty who happened to be stationed there, and a struggle began which raised a great commotion in both camps. CHAPTER XXIX. MARK HANNAFIN’S TRIBULATIONS, | THE 7 my of Eva Talcott and Linda Shropshire came on top of another excitement which was deemed of more importance by most of those in the moonshiners’ camps than that was. Indeed, the only person who was deeply inter- ested in it was Mark Hannafin, and circum- stances controlled him to an extent that was far beyond his desires. The excitement referred to was caused by the arrival of the party headed by Lassiter, and that naturally took precedence of everything else in the minds of the moonshiners and the Shropshire family, as it concerned the preserva- tion of their lives and property, stolen and otherwise. Information of the approach of the pursuers was promptly conveyed to the cabins, and Col- onel Rapp and the Shropshires, accompanied by Mark Hannafin and most of the moonshiners, hastened down into the pass to direct and assist the defense of the den. The position was naturally so strong, and had already been so well fortified that it was only neces ary to guard it carefully and watch all the points closely, and the moonshiners had no fear that it would be carried by assault or other- wise, Yet they were considerably annoyed and per- plexed when they learned what sort of men composed the assailing party and what their in- tentions were. Their object was made plain when they de- clared that they had come there to look for horse-thieves, and further evidence was furnish- d by Ben Shropshire. m 1 amend the cuss who yelled at us,” said he, ‘‘and this ain’t the fu’st time that I’vo heerd his voice, dog-gone him!” “Who is he?” inquired Enock Shropshire. ‘Why, pap, don’t you know him? It’s Abe Lassiter, who lives up on the Sandy Hill read.” vs? < 7 ‘ wa we , #e Ps WA BI * ta» 48 » 7 5 Me = % . ie oe *S J A O ’ 4 ¥ —~ Pe, | ¥ ? ;- < i he vie ae iJ — * a ’ ‘¢ ‘Yaas, he lost a couple o’ hosses a while ago, | and allowed that somebody mought ha’ stole em.’ | ‘So it is you that they are after,” broke in Colonel Rapp, ‘‘ This is too durned bad, but I | suppose it can’t be helped.” ‘* They can’t git in here, anyhow,” observed the elder Shropshire. | ‘‘T don’t believe they can; but I wish that | they had never come, This is the worst scrape | I have been in yet, and I can’t tell you how 1 | hate it, If it was a lot of Uncle Sam’s men | wanting to pull me up for making whisky, 1 | could stand it well enough; but 1 was never mixecl up in a horse-stealing scrape before, and I don’t like it.” ‘* You ain’t mixed wp init,’ shire, ‘‘Tam, end you know I eam. Ycu have mixcd me up in it. Well, I may as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb, and now that I am in I shall go in all cover. Now that you are kere I will take care of you, and those folks sha‘n’t get hold of you, no matter who they are or what they are after.” As Colene! Rapp was known to be a man of his word, with plenty of grit, and backed by a determined set of followers, the Shropshires felt quite safe after this assurance. They and their allies remained at the forti- | ication during the night, awaiting an attack which did not come, and the conclusion was | that none would be made before morning, | though it was evident that the attacking | party was on hand and ready for business, | Under the directions cf Colonel Rapp his | followers strengthened the defenses and added to them during the night, and took turns in | keeping guard and sleeping on the ground. It was the absence of most of tbe men on this business that enabled Eva Talcott and Liada Shropshire to slip out of the log-house and escane without being observed. Mark Hannafin remaincd in the pass during | the night, and in the morning, when skirmish- | ing began and a real fght appeared to be im- minent, he was retained there by the express order of Colonel Rapp. 9 protested Shrop- eS ee ‘You are mixed up in this, young man, the same as the rest of us,” said the moonsbiner, ‘and you have got to bear your part of what- ever the difficulty calls for.” Hannafin protested that he was neither mixed up in horse-stealing nor in moonshining. ‘You are caught in bad company, then, and ' must take the consequences, You have an atf- | fair of your own on band, too, and you can’t ex- | pect us to help you unless you turn in and help us. | This necessity went decidedly against the | grain with the young man, who was strongly averse to doing anything that might mark him as a law-breaker: but he had too much sense to | attempt anything like open rebellion. | He did not lose much sleep during the night, / and in the daytime was careful not to fire a | shot or to expose himself where he would be fired at. . It was not, however, until noon that he was allowed to leave the pass and return to the bead- quarters of the moonshiners, and when he got there he speedily learned of the disappearance of Eva Talcott and Linda Shropsbire. It was naturally first discovered by Mrs. Shropshire, who missed the two girls from their sleeping place when she rose at an early hour in the morning, but missed them more acutely when she wanted Linda to help her get break- fast for the entire family, and could not find her. After yelling for the girl in shrill and strident tones, she was cbliged to callin one of the men r to help her, and she loudly declared that she would give Linda ‘‘a good frailing” when she got back, Linda did not come back to get the “‘ frailing,” and at breakfast-time neither of the missing ones put in an appearance. After a period of waiting which largely in- creased the wrath of ‘‘ Aunt Eliza,” search was made for them, and the search resulted in the report that they were not to be found anywhere about the premises. . The supposition tha: they had merely been _ strolling about for their pleasure was abandoned, 'and the presumption was that they had run | away; but how could they have got away, and where could they have gone to? | It was manifestly impossible that they should have climbed the hights that inclosed the hol- low, and equally impossible that they should have gone down through the pass, and there was no other way of exit but the opening at the up- per end, and that was guarded. ° | $§uch was the condition of affairs when Mark |Hannafin came up from the pass, and be was flanged excited by the intelligence that greeted im. What had become of the missing ones was | stil] the puzzle until the moonshiner who kaa re- | Hoved the sentry who saw the ghost was struck | by an idea. It was apparently a funny idea, as he held | down his head and ‘‘snickered” in a style that | aroused the anger of }tark Fiennefin. ' 6 Whet is tho matter with rouf’ demanded —