Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 464 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

i =~ stg fie Oe os : ‘2 — He. o —— é 4 - : } 4 26 The aim was deadly, and he fell, never to halt anybody any more. ‘We must scatter and run for it, boys!” cried Sandycraw, knowing that the two shots would put their enemies on the alert and start an im- mediate pursuit. They did run, and did scatter. If they had wanted to keep together, they would probably not have been able to do so, in their haste and in the darkness; but they did not want to, as each had his own object in the | | been abandoned, or must have led the pursuers he two shots had exactly the effect that | Crawley supposed they would have, being heard | all around the lake, and most of the Mountain- | eer’s men, with Abner Barkley and half of his_ _ to be the victim. flight. posse, started in the direction of the reports. It was at once understood that the men they were hunting had escaped or were attempting Sandycraw, the Man of Gr pursuit or search should be over, when he would boldly sally forth, find the spot where the plun- der was buried, dig up the gripsack and carry it away. With a fortune in his possession, he might live at his ease all the rest of his life, seeking some foreign clime, or burying himself in the wilderness of a big city. | He waited until there was not the faintest sound of human life anywhere in the forest, and until he believed that the pursuit must have far from his vicinity. If one of his companions had been caught, it need not matter to him, as he would be all the safer for that, especially if Sandycraw happened As for himself, it would be supposed that he had got so far away that it would be useless to to escape, and all were eager to get on the trail, | hunt him, Sandycraw had taken his bearings carefully when he was on the Gazelle, and he kept them | log The moon had risen when he got up from the and sallied forth, and he found his way in his head after he got ashore, in spite of the | without difficulty through the forest and back little difficulty that intervened there. So he set off in the direction that he had mark- ed out for himself, believing that if he could keep his course he would have no trouble. e did not deem it necessary to make any special hurry after he got fairly into the forest, as nobody could be expected to trail him; but there were in pursuit of him men who had been trained from their boyhood to night-hunting, and whose senses were sharper than he supposed them to be. More than that—they had with them a dog that was put on the scent of the three fugitives, and be happened to strike and follow the trail of Mr. Alexander Crawley, The moon had risen and the clouds had partly cleared away, when Sandycraw heard the bark- ing of the dog behind him, and began to realize the peril of his position. Then he started to run at his best speed, but was incumbered by his rifle, which he was un- willing to throw away. Nea:er came the barking of the dog, and sooner than he could have expected it he heard the sharp hail of a man. : f Sandycraw turned immediately, and fired two shots in quick succession. One of them killed the dog, and the other hit and disabled the man, Before the man fell he fired at the fugitive ane Sandycraw felt a sharp pany in his right side, Knowing that the shots would bring more of his pursuers in that direction, he hurried away and fell into a dry slough. Struggling out, with the loss of his rifle, which he was really no longer able to carry, he discov- ered that he had sprained his ankle, Then he dragged bimseif pe slowly and painfully, until he came in sight of a log-cabin, where he saw a light. While he was debating whether he had better take refuge there, the door opened and a woman came out. CHAPTER XXXIV, TWO OF A KIND. Tue fact has been noted that each of the pith a fugitives had an object of his own in their dycraw’s object was to secure his own safety, regardless of the fate of his comrades; but he was the unluckiest of the three, as the dog that came with the Arkansans struck his instead of theirs. While Sandycraw struck off directly west they started in a more northerly course, and kept together for a little while, but soon sepa- rated, as their divided interests impelled them — to individual action. Ben Somes heard the barking of the dog, and was at first badly frightened, as he knew that a vas up with himif he could be successfully The barking, however, 2 ag ary to take another direction, and gradually died away. He believed, therefore, that he was safe from pursuit, and moderated the swift pace with which he had started. He did not go much further, but sat on a log to rest and to wait. Both he and Berry Sanders shared Sandy- craw’s belief that they would have nothing to fear after they got away into the forest, as the odds were largely against an effective pursuit in that - wilderness, In fact, they had imbibed this idea from him before they left the boat, where he had confi- dently insisted upon it. The dog had ken their belief; but his dis- appearance from their vicinity had naturally set it up again. Ben Hotnes had a little game to play, which had come into his head on the Gazelle, and the | details of which he bad subsequently arranged in his mind. 4 a It was a mean and treacherous game that he meant to play; but, in view of what he t- ed to get out of it, he may have argued that the end ed ‘the means, scheme ‘was to wait in hiding until ‘the , Wist a P Ro over the route that he had taken in his flight. The landing-place selected by Sandycraw that night had been, whether by accident or design, the same point at which he had landed with the others when they went to hide the “ stuff.” Therefore Ben Somes, who was well aware of that fact, and who rejoiced in it with exceeding great joy, easily found the spot that he was seeking. Taking the backward course toward the shore and remembering that he had passed through the ghade in his flight, he reached the big blazed tree near the foot of which the plunder was buried. There could be no doubt about the place, and he found himself alone there, and already he felt himself to be the sole possessor of the wealth that had been so easy to get, but had proved so hard to keep. After looking about and listening, to make sure that there was nobody within sight or hear- ing, he knelt down, removed the leaves from the hiding place of the treasure, and began to dig up the earth with his knife and throw it out with his hands, Then it was that fortune, which had thus far favored him so signally, suddenly turned against him, but in a way that he might have looked for if he had considered any other interests than his own. The trouble was that Berry Sanders had been seized by the same idea that had taken hold of his comrade, and it was this intention of indi- vidual action that had caused them to separate so soon after their flight was begun. Berry Sanders had adopted precisely the same course of reasoning and the same method of action that had been followed by his comrade, but must have gone a little further or waited a little longer than the other did. Consequently he reached the spect at which both were aiming a little later than the other, arriving shortly after Ben Somes had begun to dig. Ti was as natural that Berry Sanders should do this thing as that Ben Somes should do it, and at the same time nothing could be more natural than that Somes, intent on his own treacherous purpose, should not suspect his companion of aiming at the same mark. The sight of the man digging there at the spot where the treasure was buried filled Sanders with righteous indignation. ‘“Oh, you traitor!” he cried. scoundrel!” ‘“*What’s the matter with you?’ demanded Somes as he jumped up. **'You have come here to steal our stuff.” “You’re a liar.” - “ Haven’t I caught you in the act?” * What did you come here for, yourself?’ **'What did I come for? Why, I came to look around and see if the stuff was safe.” “That is just what I came for.” “Did you have to digit up to see if it was safe?” ‘* Look here, Berry,” remarked Somes. ‘‘ We are both liars, and each of us knows that t’other isaliar, Reckon we'd better own up and speak the truth. Each of us came here to get ahead of the rest and steal the stuff, As neither of us can have it now, we had better both take it and divide it between us.” ‘ All right, Ben—that’s settled.” Ks vi 4 me dig it up, then,” Hardly had they begun to dig, when there was another unpleasant interruption. ** Hold up your hands and surrender, or we'll shoot you down!” Ben and Berrv glanced around and looked into the barrels of four rifles, held by four men, who had them completely covered. There was nothing to do but to obey orders, and they held up their hands, and were’speedily secured as captives. The four men were Colonel Tazewell, Dan Thedford, and two of the Arkansas party. They had been at the other end of the lake, and by the time they reached the spot where the two shots had been fired, the pursuers were far away. ‘So they decided upon remaining there until their friends returned, and the sound of voices **'You infernal | - an Fi a e it. near by caused them to creep up and capture the two fugitives. They bad heard enough to tell them what was the matter, and Colonel Tazewell hastened to question the prisoners. ‘*So this is the place where you buried the plunder you got at New Madrid?’ They could not help confessing that it was. ‘¢ And you came here to dig it up. Did you get it?” They admitted that they had not got it. ‘Then we will dig it up for you.” The excov*tion was speedily completed, but no treasure ..as found in the hole. The india-rubber garment that had been wra ped around the gripsack was there; but the gripsack had disappeared. Ben Somes and Berry Sanders stared at each other, full of amazement and indignation. “Twas Sandy Crawley who did that,” cried the former. ‘‘ He has got ahead of us, and has dug up the stuff and carried it away. That’s the game he has been playin’ on us all along. Oh, the villain!” CHAPTER XXXV. SANDYCRAW’S EXIT. Mrs. CreBBS had breakfast with Madame Lavalette in the cabin, and it was a better breakfast than she could have expected. Before that she had become quite confidential with the old woman, and had told her how she had discovered the plot to rob the New Madrid bank and get Jack Jones into trouble, and the steps that had been taken to defeat the plot and capture the plotters. After breakfast Madame Lavalette announced se intention of going away, to be absent several ours. ‘‘T hope you will not be afraid to stay here without me,” she said. ** Not I,” gr d answered her guest. ‘Tam glad that you areso brave. There is one thing that I must tell you before I go, so that you may give the secret to those it belongs to, in casa anything should bappen to me.” pl | hope no harm will happen to you, madarre.” ‘‘' There will, though. I am sureof that. I don’t know just when, but it is bound to come soon. The secret is about that young man who is known as Jack Jones; but I suppose it has been as much as guessed at before now.” ‘* Colonel Tazewell thinks that Jack is his son,” suggested Mrs. Crebbs, ‘He is right. Jack is his son who was stolen from his home when he was en infant by Dave Wenham. I have known that for a long time. On this bit of paper—take it and keep it safely— I have written the name of the woman who took care of him in Cincinnati when Dave Wenham brought him up from Kentucky, She knows all about him, as Wenham told her who he was, and she has kept track of him since then. She is still livin, and can be found at the address [ have put on the paper.” Mrs. Crebbs was glad to be able to render Colonel Tazewell such a great service, and she wg to have a high opinion of Madame Lava- ette. The old woman went away, and her guest found it very lonesome in the cabin after that, espe- cially as she was quite restless and goes é She was worried because of the trouble her absence from the camp might have given her friends, and was anxious to know how the busi- ness in which she was engaged with them was going to turn out. She had by that time implicit confidence in Madame Lavalette’s ability to foretell what was about to happen, and therefore she fully be- lieved that Sandy Crawley would come to that cabin before long. How would he come, and what would happen to his mother and herself when he came? She walked about in the woods, and tired her- self out with her endeavors to pass the time while awaiting the return of the old woman, which was delayed until the middle of the after- noon. Madame Lavalette also seemed to be tired out when she got back to the cabin, and she had brought with her a gripsack, or sachel, which she surely had not carried away. “T am glad that you have come back, and that no harm has happened to you yet,” said Mrs. Crebbs; ‘‘ but my time will come soon enough. He will not be here before night, and it may be late in the night when he comes.” ‘* How do you know that?” ‘‘ He will not be able to get away sooner than that, and he must come then, if he is going to get away atall. So there will be plenty of time for us to get a good sleep before night, and that is what we must do,” Mrs. Crebbs protested that she was not a bit sleepy; but the old woman made her lie down on the couch, and passed her hands over her face a few times, and she soon sunk into a sound slumber. It was night when she awoke, and the old woman was up and had prepared pai vik of which they partook in silence, the one solemnly and sorro y, and the other eagerly but anx- -comicbooks ye eae bs, Mi 2 ch A ¥ -