Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 483 — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

L ‘ Before she could fairly collect her thoughts she was taken to the road, where four horses were hitched, and was lifted upon one which carried a side-saddle, her two captors standing guard over her until the third man came up and joined them. Then the three mounted and rode away, one on each side of the young lady, and the third in the Tear. They surely could not have feared pursuit, as they were in no sort of a hurry. The usual gait of horses in that region, how- ever, except that of the rather unusual pacers, was either a canter or a walk, and the walk to which riding animals were trained was a pretty fast one, It was not at all surprising, therefore, that the three men, being in no special hurry, allowed thsir horses to walk, They had not ridden far when they pulled off their masks and thrust them into their pockets. Eva then perceived that there was nothing ruffianly about them, that they did not look like villains, but like plain farmers or planters, such as she had occasionally met at her uncle’s house during her brief sojourn there, Their apparent respectability made the fact of rgd violent abduction utterly inexplicable to er. As she was not a cowardly young woman, though naturally prone to be overcome by sud- den danger or excitement, she easily plucked up courage to inquire into the matter. ‘*What does this mean?’ she demanded. “Who are you, and why have you seized me and carried me away from my home?” ‘*Tt’s all right, miss,” answered the man who rode at her left hand. ‘* We are friends of yours, and we wouldn’t hurt a hair of your head for the world. This is a little matter of business, and it’s all for your good.” ‘*1 do not understand. What has become of my uncle?” ‘He’s all right, miss. We jest tied him and left him thar. Somebody’ll find him afore long and turn him loose,” ‘* How can it be for my good to capture me at night and carry me away from my uncle’s house?” ' ‘Cause that house warn’t no good place for you, miss, and that’s a fact.” This statement set the young lady to think- ing. Was it possible that her lover and his friend, whom she knew to be at Staceyville, or to have been there lately, had adopted this plan to free her from the influence of Bramwell Sindey: and to get her into their possession? If so, it seemed to her that they might have used less violent means, or at least given her notice of their intention; but perbaps they had done the best they could, and she only wanted to know if the plan was theirs. ‘* Were you sent by somebody?” she inquired —‘*by somebody in Staceyville, by Mr. Stanni- ford, or by Mr. Henning?’ The man who had previously answered her hesitated, as if he was not sure whether it would not be better for him to admit that she had made a good guess; but, as it happened, his in- structions did not cover that point, and he left it doubtful, “We don’t ought to tell you, miss, who put us up to this,” hoe replied, “ supposin’ that anybody did, I can only say that we wont hurt a hair of your head, and that what we’re doin’ is for your good,” This was all the information [Eva could ex- tract from them, and with this she was com- xelled to be content, the more easily as it left her the hope that her friends at Staceyville might be at the bottom of the business, though it was strange, if this were so, that her friends had not met her and assured her of her safety. So the party of four ambled along, mostly in silence, and surely without any speech that was interesting to the person most nearly concerned, for the space of three hours or more, until mid- night had been passed, and the small hours of the morning had begun. Then they reached a hilly country—a country that was both wild and unsettled, where their horses made slower time up-hill and over a road that was gullied and uncared for. Eva again tried to learn something concern- ing her destination, but received only the same statement that it was all right and for her ood, . At the wildest part of that rough and broken region the party turned aside into what might be considered a neighborhood road, though it showed scarcely travel enough to entitle it to be called a road, After a little more rough travel, they halted in front of a rudely built and somewhat dilapi- dated frame house, situatea in a clearing of con- siderable size, and with the appearance of good land about it. As they rode up, they were greeted by the hoarse barking of a gaunt yellow dog that came out to meet them; but nobody paid any atten- tion to his demonstrations, and the horsemen dismounted at the front door, As Eva was assisted to alight, the door opened and a frowsy-headed, balf-dressed woman ap- peared there, with a tallow candle in her hand, re \ Flush Fred, the River Sharp. 1D “Ts this the gal?” she asked. ‘¢ Yes ’m,” answered the leader of the party. ‘“‘Reckon you’d better go right up-sta’rs to your room, miss, as you’re bound to be tired and sleepy.” As there seemed to be nothing else for her to do, Eva stepped forward to comply with this suggestion; but the woman stopped to speak to the leader of the party in a low tone which the young lady overheard. ‘Say, Jim, the major’s been durned obstrep- erous, but I quieted him down, and I reckon he’s gone to sleep now.” ** All right, Mrs. Allstrup. The doctor Il be here in the mornin’, We'll put the hosses away, and look arter things around the house.” As Mrs, Allstrup led the way up-stairs, there seemed to be nothing in the house to raise any apprehension in the mind of Eva, though she could not help fearing that it was to be in some sort a prison for her. If Ben Stanniford or Fred Henning were re- sponsible for ber abduction, and if that house was the destination they intended for her, she was sure that they would have been there to meet her, that they would not have left her in the dark so long. As it was not they, who could it be, and for what purpose had she been brought there? There was nothing the matter with the house, as far as she could see, nor was there any dispo- sition on the part of anybody to ill-treat her or show her any disrespect. Thus there was nothing for her to do but to take things as she found them, to keep her mind and body sound and strong, and to wait and watch for opportunities to learn something or do something. Of course it was necessary that she should have rest, and she was glad when the frowsy- headed woman introduced her into the room which she was to occupy. It was a small and plain room with one win- dow, not neat, and not particularly untidy, with no furniture but a corded bedstead with its bedding, one chair, anda cheap little looking- lass. . Eva remarked that she would like to bave a wash-bowl and pitcher, and the woman, risks. her candlestick on the window-sill, steppe into an adjoining room ig brought what was needed. “You had better lay right down and go to alee, miss,” said she, ‘Sand I hope you'll sleep well, ‘““Wait a moment, Mrs, Allstrup,” said Eva as the woman turned to leave the room, wt want to ask you a question,” “How'd you know my name?” ‘Perhaps I guessed it, Will you tell me where I am and why I have been brought here?” “T don’t know nothin’ about it, miss, but L reckon it’s all right. Thar ain’t nobody goin’ to hurt you, as far as I know.” Mrs. Allstrup left the room hastily, as if to avoid further questioning, and turned the key in the door on the outside. This looked something like prison practice; but Eva speedily discovered, by examining the lock, that the part into which tne bolt shot was so loose that she could easily remove the screws. Consequently that room, at least, need not be a prison for her, temoving her hat and shawl, she knelt down and prayed briefly, commending herself to the care of her Father in Heaven. Then she extinguished the candle, as it would not burn much longer, and laid herself on the bed without undressing. CHAPTER XXVIII. THE OBSTREPEROUS MAJOR. Eva BRAMWELL did not succeed in getting any restful slumber during the remainder of the night, though she needed it and wished for it. The exciting event of her capture, and the perplexity of her position, kept her wakeful, and all her efforts to calm herself and dismiss the subject from her mind were unavailing. There was something else that troubled her, too, something that was calculated to add to her uneasiness a feeling of fear. Every now and then, in her fitful sleep and in her waking moments, she heard doleful groans, as of a person in extreme agony—groans which she located at a little distance from Ler apartment, and which filled her with both pity and alarm, These noises continued through the night, and of course tended to increase her wakefulness. After a series of cat-naps that were of little value to her, she was rejoiced to see the gray light of morning come in at the window, and thought it advisable to get up and rest. Thankful for a chance to freshen herself up after a restless night, she washed her hands and face in the water that Mrs. Allstrup had brought, though she had no comb, and a towel had been omitted from the articles that were furnished to her. Then she seated herself on the one chair, and looked out of the window for a little while. She found nothing there to interest her— nothing but an unpleasing prospect of uncul- / tivated fields, with a gloomy background of woods and hills, which the rising sun had not yet lighted up. Again she heard the groans, which had ceased for an hour or more, and she was curious to know who the sufferer was and what was the cause of his suffering. She also wished to go and examine the house, if not the grounds, with the possibility of hap- pening on a way of escape. if she should find a way open, she had decided on Jeaving the house, as'she could not help be- lieving that if her captors meant well by her, they would have made their intentions clear, She would go, if she got away, not to Stacey- ville, as tbat would hardly be ladylike or m« dest, but to the house of Betty Marks, where she would be sure to find friends. So she proceeded to get out of the room in which she was supposed to be confined. It was an easy matter to remove the part of the lock which she had discovered to be loose, and then she turned back the bolt, took out the key, concealed it on her person, and replaced the piece which she had removed. As she stepped out into the little hall at the head of the stairs, closing the door behind her, she perceived that the door of a room nearly opposite to her own was partly open, and that the groans which she had heard proceeded from that room. They began again when she walked out, and it was evident that the occupant of the room had heard her light footfalls or her manipula- tions of the door, as he called her ina plaintive and i cage | tone. ‘*Who is there? Is that you, Mrs, Allstrup? Whoever it is, please come and help me, I need help right now.” It was a man’s voice, weak and pitiful as it was, and Eva fancied that she recognized it, Probably it was the person whom Mrs. All- strup had mentioned as the major, and whom she had alluded to as having lately been * ob- streperous.” Curiosity mingled with pity in Eva’s mind, and she stepped lightly into the room from which the groans had proceeded. Yes, she did know the man who lay there helpless, his hands clutching the bed-clothes and his face turned toward ber as she came in, with a look of painful and woeful entreaty. Thin and wan and haggard as he was, she recognized him as Major Stacey, whom she had seen more than once at her uncle’s house, and of whose unfortunate complication with Fred Henning she had heard from Tom and _ his father. He spoke to her as soon as she came in, still in that weak and pitiful voice, and with a longing in his tone and look which she could not under- 2 stand ' She could uot understand it, simply because she did not know what it was to have a stomach that was afflicted with a morbid and intense craving for liquor, ‘Please give me my medicine,” he entreated. “You will find it in the closet over there, Jt is all right—nothing but a bottle of whisky. The doctor said that I mnst take a little every hour; but Mrs. Allstrup has not been near me in a long time, and I can’t get up to help myself.” As a matter of fact, the physician who was attending him had interdicted the use of liquor, and had concealed the bottle; but tha major had been sharp enough to note where it kad been hid. The physician, who was also a Stacey, bein well acquainted with his patient, knew tha though the whisky might give him temporary relief, it would eventually do him more harm than good, besides interfering with the action of \ the medicine that had been administered to him. house, who was unaware of those regulations, deliberately set himself at work to induce her to give him what he had been ordered not to have, Eva went to the closet and brought out the bottle, which she gave to the patient after re- moving the cork, The major put it to his mouth, and prdéteeded — 4, ! to suck it with a frenzy of thirst, until she was compelled to use a little force in taking it from him. ‘“‘You are drinking a great deal of it,” she said, ‘and I am sure that cannot be right. You must give me the bottle.” : The liquor seemed not only to quiet him, but to tone up his an and brain. | ‘That's right,” he answered quietly. ‘* Put it away. I can go to sleep now.” But he did not go to sleep. Instead of that, he turned his head, and stared intently at his visitor. ‘‘T know you,” he said, Stacey’s niece. How did you come here?” Eva told him in a few words the story of her abduction, ‘“‘That is Bramwell Stacey’s doing,” he ex- claimed. ‘“‘I am sure of that. No doubt of that in the world. Itis part of the game he is playing. He is a villain, a black-hearted scoun- drel. It was he who put me up to pick a quar- rel with that river man, and he urged me So the major, perceiving a stranger in the ‘““Youare Bramwell __ * + tom fa ~ 7 4a A’? a go a is cat (ECO) VOOKS:GOlMm