Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 506 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

20 Py Ler Ty > * ~~ » aa —— Uncl with dim footprints. How were those of the right parties to be found? Considerably to Mark’s surprise Nevermiss spent only a short time near the building, but struck off toward the mountains, gradually leaving the village behind. Utter silence pre- vailed, and the doctor devoted his time to watching for possible molestation rather than annoying Yank. Once clear of the village the mountaineer turned to his dog. ** Moses,” he briefly uttered. The dog had been restless and uneasy, end he had watched his master in a curious es e now gained Yank’s side at a bound, and his big eyes lighted up in a way which surprised Hart- ley. ‘“‘Hyar’s the trail,” added Yank, resting one finger on the ground, ‘‘ Foller it, dog; foller it, Moses!” > wa Down went the shaggy head; Moses took a long, deliberate sniff at the earth, and then he started off in a direct line, “Hell foller faster nor you orI could,” ex- | plained Yank, ‘‘ Mankind kin wobble their tongues brisker than any other animal, but when it comes ter noses, dogs leave ’em egre- giously behind. See Moses go it; he’s anxious if ter keep up the Yellowbird pedigreen, that dog oe ‘“ Why didn’t you put him on the trail at first, i. if yeu had found it?” Because we’ve only just got clear o’ other trails which overlapped.” ‘« Are you sure we have the right one?” Z **T don’t doubt it an artom.” Sa, _ Remember that Iam a novice, and tell me, Pe if you will, how you could pick out the right a one from among scores of wrong ones.” Be “Did you ever notice that women wear shoes haga with heels like a toothpick? A most atrocious ae habit, done jest ter make b’lieve they hev small feet, while it’s a melancholy fact that ef that same woman steps barefoot on soft s’ile, she'll Be. leave a track big as an old-fashioned pancake— she will, by hurley!” ok have noticed the ridiculous style of their as : art 9 * he oes, ‘*That’s what helped me. Vashti is a mortal ooty gal, but I consaited even that wouldn’t eep her from bein’ given ter the follies o’ fash- ion. I looked fer a ramrod-footprint, an’ I | -—s found ’em, I needn’t tell ye they was a good | _—s bit dim—ef they’d been plain, the other s’arch- ers would ’a’ done the job ahead onus. Yas, [ allow we're on the track, an’ you kin see Moses ___ is confident as a gal in courtin’-time.” -;" ** The dog heads for Sawtooth Ridge.” le: : ** Jes’ so, = Will he be able to follow so easily to the nd? ‘*T doubt it a good ’eal. You know the Ridge - wal enough, I consait, ter be aweer that it is | covered with ledges, an’ thar I expeck Moses | ter lose the scent. He’s a most uncommon dog, | sis “Moses; but thar is limits ter his nose. My | gran’father, the Revolutionary relict, tells in Nee is book on the tick-tacks o’ war about a man whose nose was so ’cute he could tell by the smell jest how much hard-tack, ras’berry jam an’ fresh-seed oysters the inemy bad in camp, 4 7 a sh a DThs 4 = but noses ain’t what they was a hund’ud year ago, My Cousin Heliogabulus’s wife’s aunt was > good at smellin’ out secrets, but her nose wa’n't reliable—’twas so long she frequently ob- served things that wa’n’t so.” ____ By this time the base of the hills was reached, and Yank paused where a spot of earth, bare of vegetation, enabled him to observe the foot- __- prints critically. ay e devoted considerable time to the task, | -while Hartley looked on with interest. = ‘* Three on ’em, besides the Ormes,” the moun- __ tajneer finally observed, as he stood erect, ‘‘T judge that you do not suspect their iden- | tity” *¥ou jedge right; I ain’t got the least idee,” _ . “$torm Rider may be alive—can he have been one?” _ Most sartainly not. ‘You describe him asa slender man, rigged out in sort o’ fash’onable _ clothes, an’ it follers that he wore boots ter match. Most likely, too, his foot was small—” ‘ ‘It was. 1 noticed that he worea small shoe, _ with very narrow toes,” _ ** By’ry one o’ them three men had boots as big as mine, an’ you’ll obsarve that my feet only _ stopped growin’ when they got afeerd they’d be _ mistook fur trunks. Whether Storm Rider is alive or not, we shall have ter leave him out o’ Yi oy this case.” Phen who, in the name of all that is mys- terious, were the rescuers?” i; ** Now you’ve got me, by hurley! but the way ter find it ain’t ter stan’ hyar. Moses is lookin’ back impatient at us, an’ I allow we'd better go on. ; The journey was resumed, and they entered _ the wild area of the bills, At first the advance ‘was not checked, for the trail wound through a gulch, but when one-fourth of-a mile had been a. Del over, the dog lost the trail at a wide _ Jedge. If Moses was noted for any one thing it iy was stubbornness, and be ran all about in the i _ became so apparent that his efforts would avail ————=————_——— party had lelt the ledge. He was ‘busy several minutes, and Doctor Mark saw with growing uneasiness that he was at fault. Look where he might no more foot- prints could be found. The veteran finally paused, leaned upon his rifle and pointed his in- dex finger full at his companion. ‘*T’ve made one diskevery.” ** What is that?” ‘“ Whoever took the Ormes out wa’n’t no strangers ‘round hyar.” ‘* How do you know?” ‘*T b’lieve their rowt was planned ahead, an’ that they made fur this ledge on purpose ter break the trail. You'll cbsarve that the ledge has spurs which branch off like a splder’s legs, hyar an’ thar. Wal, they’ve gone along one 0’ them spurs, which shows a good head back on’t. Ef I was puzzled afore ter know who the parties be, Pm a good ’eal more puzzled now. Now, what old resident has turned ag’in’ Eliakim?”’ ‘**T cannot imagine.” ‘** Tt’s egregious funny.” The mountaineer removed his old fur cap and stirred up his flaxen hair vigorously. ““{t’s ’most as funny,” he averred, ‘‘ as tbe case in the Yellowbird pedigreen hist’ry whar my uncle, Moses—I named my canine frien’ fur him—led the children o’ Israel through the Red Sea on a road he dug out o’ the water. He was a pooty good sailor, my uncle was; but I don’t s’pose he knowed an artom about follerm’ a trail in the mountains o’ Idaho.” The speaker shouldered his rifle with a reso- lute air and turned away. He had suffered a check, but that did not mean that he was ros eps: on the contrary, he expected to suc- ceed. He resumed work zealously, and the several spurs of the ledge were examined one after an- other, but the coveted discovery was not easily made. Along some of them the fugitives bad certainly gone, and Yank’s efforts soon devel- oped the fact that great care had been used to | leave no trail. Evidently they had made a zig- zag course, sacrificing speed and everything nothing, that Yank started out to find where the else to secrecy. Seeing nothing more promising, he sought blindly for a clew. An intervening line of earth between rocks caused Sim to direct Doctor Mark to pause. Then he bent over the friendly area, Not long did it take him to settle the point. He arose and gave Hartley a short nod. ‘‘They went this way,” he announced, ‘‘ The same set o’ tracks are here, an’ they was still makin’ fur the heart o’ the hills, You'll ob- sarve that the rocks begin ag’in right away, an’ our triberlations will continue. We've got ter fight our way inch by inch, but I consait we’ll succeed in the end—unless they keep right on goin’. Efthey do, they'll git ter the Saskatcha- wan River afore we get out o’ sight of this Out- erbridge town.” The work was resumed, and considerable more ground covered. It was a slow, laborious occu- pation. Depending on sucb an unsubstantial clew as an occasional footprint, Yank was obliged to make many a useless detour, and his skill asa trailer was only valuable to enable him to distinguish a track when one had been made at rare intervals, It would have been very different if be had nee an unbroken trail, however obscure it might After iong Jabor and slow advance Doctor Mark recognized the fact that they were near the point where he had first seen the balloon. He was about to mention this when a warning grow! from Moses directed all attention to him, His manner had grown belligerent, and he was directing his gaze toward a point at right angles with their course. They followed his example, and an unexpected sight was revealed to them. Sixty rods away the side of a narrow ridge descended ata gradual slope, and on the hill- side hung a balloon, fully inflated, but, it scem- ed poorly secured to the ground, for it swayed and bobbed around most erratically. ““By heavens!” exclaimed the doctor, ‘we have made a discovery, at any rate.” “What is it?” *T’ve seen that balloon before—it is Storm _Rider’s. Why should it be there, inflated, unless he is there, too?” CHAPTER XXVI. THE SKY NAVIGATOR’S PERIL, THE balloon swayed to.and fro like a giant trying to burst his bonds, and Doctor Mark half-expected to see it break away, in reality, -and go soaring upward. Then hesawsomething | else which verified the prediction he had so Jate- ly made, Out from behind the balloon, and a few intervening bushes, came a man, and the doctor uttered a shout. ‘Tt is Storm Rider!” he cried. “Stay hyar an’ watch!” quickly directed the | mountaineer, “ an’ I'll go to him. We mustn’t _ lose sight of the man,” | He hurried away, and Hartley was left alone. | He watched the aeronaut intently, excitedly, endeavor to recover the lost clew, but it soom' and was not long in making the discovery tbat ured in some way. He was “ the man was inj % “am Se 1 ee we ; . ———_ ee eS ee ttt LL working about the balloon, but seemed scarcely able to move his limbs, Every movement ap- peared painful, but he did not pause for a moment. : ‘Tt looks as though he was preparing to go away. muttered Mark, uneasily. He glanced toward the ridge to see if there were any signs of the mountaineer. There was not, but another view, and one of more tbrilling interest, was vouchsafed. Two men were slow- ly ascending the east side of the ridge, and Doc- tor Mark recognized Uncle Honest and Eph Hickman, The discovery gave the doctor a start. Their course was directly toward the balloon, and when they reached the top of the ridge, the air- ship and aeronaut would be visible to them. Mark did not know what events bad occurred between Storm Rider’s capture and the moment of the scene he was witnessing, but he felt sure vee the Sky Navigator had barely escaped with is life. Certainly, Uncle Honest was his deadly ene- my eet discovery meant misfortune—perhaps eath. The necessity of warning bim without delay was so evident that Hartley forgot all else and ran forward to execute the project. His jour- ney was butashort one—he had not gone a hundred feet when he found his course inter- rupted by a canyon. One glance was enough to show that it was impassable, It was wide and deep, and the sides were too precipitous to be descended. Worse than all, it stretched far to both sides. Only one thing was left for him to do; pos- sibly be could warn the aeronaut by shouting. The wind was blowing briskly from the east, and this, and the distance, was against him, but it was worth trying. He did try, and exerted every capacity of bis lungs, but Storm Rider continued his labor without interruption; the doctor’s voice could not reach him with the wind blowing so unfavorably. As this fact became apparent to Hartley he once more gave heed to what the geronaut was doing, and it became evident that he was about to cut the balloon loose and start skyward. He bad severed most of the fastenings, and was clambering into the basket. Hartley looked anxiously toward Uncle Honest and Hickman; they were still ascending the east side of the ridge. It now became a question of whether Storm Rider would get away in time to avoid a col- lision, and it was one of intense interest to the doctcr. The chances were against the solita man, and Hartley trembled for him. Uncle Honest was alarmingly near the crest of the ridge. But Storm Rider was not idle. Wholly ig- norant of his danger, he was taking his time, but sufficient ek pe bad been made to cut the balloon entirely loose. He leaned out of the basket arid drew a knife across the rope; it pafted and the air-sbip shot upward. A moment more and he began to throw out superfluous ballast, and the balloon rose rapidly. For awhile the ridge shielded it from the breeze, but only temporarily—it entered the prevailing current and began to move toward the west. There Jay the hope of escape, but not yet did Doctor Mark dare to exult. The two men had reached the top of the ridge, and Hickman carried a rifle. The word ‘‘surprise” but feebly expresses the emotions of Uncle Honest and his follower as they saw what was before them. They could not avoid seeing the balloon, It had not mount- ed into the air, but was drifting away over the valley to the west of the ridge. It was a vivid, living picture, and the aeronaut was so plainly revealed that Eliakim recognized him at once. For amoment the old man was dazed, but his usual presence of mind seon returned. He saw that the man whom he hated and feared was fast going to a place of safety, and bis act- ive mind readily found a means of checking his career. ; He turned quickly to Hickman. ‘** Shoot!” he gasped. | Hickman promptly dropped upon one knee, and his rifle was brought to his shoulder. He would have laughed at the idea of missing at that distance. ‘* Shoot!” repeated Uncle Honest, loudly. ‘Let the wicked perish from the face of the earth forever. Put a bullet through the balloon, and bring him to the ground!” A cruel smnile appeared on his face as_he spoke; his plan seemed strikingly clever, The escape of gas would cause the balloon to col- lapse, anda fall to the rocks below would end Storm Rider’s career forever. Hickman pressed the trigger. Only a dull click followed; the weapon had missed fire. ‘* Again!” shouted Uncle Honest. “Put a bullet through the balloon or the man; I don’t eare which,” The repeating rifle was again leveled, but the ckman had grown barrel was not steady, dg confused, and the weapon wobbled aig peg Again he pulled the trigger, and this time the rifle did not fail. A bullet went whistling to- ward the balloon, and Outerbridge watched le