 

~ ‘ CATO, THE CREEPER;

THE DEMON OF DEAD-MAN’S FOREST.

BY FREDERICK DEWEY.

NEW YORK :

' BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS, ‘
08 WILLIAM STREET.

 
Inﬂated according to Act of Congress, in the you In by
FRANK STARR & 00..
III the oil!” 0! the Libmhn of Congress, at Wuhlncml.

 
,' CATO, THE CREEPER; '
on, '
 'DEKON 0F DEAD-MAN‘S FOREST. ,

C II AP TE‘R I.-
emm Dowimm 

'Tmc’ hot Arkansas sun shone hotly down upon Deed-M -’I
Forest, that Nest, sleepy army of trees which silently er-
looked acres of treacherous swamp, silent glade, and tinyrhil.
zlu'ck, 'Why lt'had been no weirdly (namedgno one'knew, as
the name had descended from the Indians, md theyhad re—

rgxrdedrit with towels, being haunted with evil spirits.

In extent ‘it was some thousands of acresmome', hilly, oth‘érl
level, and a great portion swampy and gloomy. The trees
Were thickly planted, and wereginntsmmoag otherv‘trees.

In the swampy regions the mnmonroelymr penetrated the
matted branchea,-nnd the bowl [of the Volt; 'theincrenm of the
entngnount. and the his a: the'venommis woke, and‘the screen

“of same liir‘d'of prey were the only sounds'm be’h‘eurdln it:
depths. “ I _ ' ’

0n the afternoon of which we are speaking, however, the

“gloomy old forest resounded with the quaint tones of a negro
melody, trolled from the lips of one of the moat sable negroes
t who ever hunted a raccoon. '
He was slmmbling along a dim trail through the silent for-
l-e‘st, idly gazing right and left, and appeared tobe wholly at , \
vhia leisure. p  > ' , "
I. Heme abort .md stumpy, and was scantilyvdmésedginugn U
Old'cotton shirt open at the neektandean old; pair pot blue‘jogn
pummel» Wore much too lhort tomnimbdns 
PWPW‘)’ 05!.th boy. ' p  ' J , 

 
10 duo, _-rrm enema; on,

His lips Were thick and huge, and his large white eyes
rolled always, never at rest. His head was here, showing u
cranium covered with closesetting kinks of black hair, or
WOOL He was very dirty, and Wes one of those heedless,
huppy vaguhonds who have plenty to cut, plenty of time to
sleep, and who cure not what the morrnw may bring.

Ills name was 0320,11“: Creeper—from his splness and
Elettllllittess in pursuing a trail. He once had been a Missiso ,
sippi slave, but had been freed many years since—in fact
when he wus Quite young, and he was now thirty-ﬁve. He
lived alone, and what, he did for a living no one knew; but
he always was to be found strolling about. Dead-Man’s Forest,
or else asleep in his cabin, which stood on the edge of the -.
wood. He was suspected of being in league with at hand of 
outlaws which haunted the woods, but, as nothing had was
our proven against him, herwas allowed to go unmolested.

Cato emerged into a ﬂowery glsde, with a skip and a eu-
per.
“ Hi l" he laughed, cheerily. “ Ho! wha' for ﬂat Dutch~
man say song war—hi l” ’

He stopped, and bending his head, mused for a moment.
Then he capered on, with a grin.

" Hi! yuh l yah l Golly, I hab it!

“ ‘ Sugar Bob, Sugar Bob. Sugar Bolus:
I out sglnu ot‘ Inger and I run away to sea»-
Sugar Boh, Sugar Bub, Sugar Bob-eree,
chi glass 0‘ lager am what suits me.‘ "
He grinned with delight, at his song, and then burst out

ugain :

 
my), ,

 
"Way down on de ole Gum's island,
' Knife and a fork a-stlckin‘ in do bacon—
Bucon. bacon, bacon plenty."

He had hardly ﬁnished when a huge man burst from n
thicket sud collared him, with a series of horrible oaths, 31-,
most knocking him dawn in his violence.

“ Blast ye l” the new-comer yelled, with another shake,
“ hsiut ye b’en told ter keep yer big mouth sbet while ye‘re
in these woods? Do yer want ter'bring the Regulators down
.on us 2 Bo quiet, I say, yer dog l" ~ -

“ Golly, Mars'r Fink, in: ﬂat yo‘ {0' shore I Golly, t
Fink, I’- right glad ter see yere—I be, to’ wind.” , . r': . '

    
m Dixon or nun-mm team. '11

“ Shet up! It’s nuthln’ but ‘golly, Mars'r Fink’ all the
hull time. Now it’s got ter be stopped—d’ye understand l”

“ Sho’, Mars’r Fink ; enty you know 1’s allus willin’ to ’bey
orders? I tell you, Katy, 1’s be’n allus a fast-class creeper,
ain't I l”

“ Yes, tolerable,” surlily assented the person called Fink.
Then he mused for a moment, still wearing a surly air.

He was a rough backWoodsman, dressed in the rough back-
vmods style, in coarse jeans, coon-skin cap and heavy boots.
He wore a belt, in which were a pair of wicked-looking re-
volvers, a small coil of stout cord, and an ugly knife. His
‘countenance was sinister in the extreme, and denoted he was
a slave to his passions, which were very violent. The cord
was for the purpose of binding 1171310110118.

Prisoners? Yes; the man Fink was a desperado. At the
time of this story (during the early settling of Arkansas), in
addition to the hostile Indians, were a race more feared, more
subtle and dangerous—robbers and cut-throats, united in bands
for purposes of plunder. He was the second oﬁicor of one

' of these bands.

“ Cato, I’ve got a job fur yer,” he said, looking up.

“ Hi, Mars’r Fink; show ’em up; 1’s sllus ready,” replied
the negro. '

“ It is to— Hello! what how We hyarf"

He started back suddenly, as a rustle was heard in the
thicket, and drew a revolver. The negro, from some hidden
place, drew a keen razor with remarkable agility, and stood
onhis guard, lowering at the oopse. ‘ '

A man burst out of the bushes boldly, as if fearing no dan-
ger, and knewing with whom he was meeting. He was

' dressed in green throughout, with a peaked hat, and high,
.v shining boots. He wore a belt, stuck full of weapons. He
was a. handsome, genial-looking fellow, in the prime of life,
Very agile and strong, as could be seen by his sinewy
11mm x
‘ His eyes were a deep brown, shining pleasantly, and from
under his hat peeped a few short, chestnut curls. His hands
were small and shapely, and were very white. His, face was
intelligent, and his head that of a man born to command
Yet this man, whom, in point of looks, any woman would .

 
' «18 team, an exams; on.
welcome as a lover, was a. ﬁend within—a demon of extraor-
dinary cruelty and daring. His name was Charles Downing
--Capmin Downing—and he was the chief of a notorious and
feared robber hand—the same of which Fink was lieuten~

ant.
“ How are you, Cato ?” he said, with a. smile, which dis-

closed a set of handsome, even teeth. “So you are on the I

defensive.”

The negrole arm dropped, and he slipped the razor into his
bosom. Fink belted his revolver. ,

“ Golly, Mars'r Cap’n, Cato t’ink ole fool Injun war prowl-
in' ’hout. Berry glad it ain’t, for ye see thar mout be blood-
shed,” and he grinned from ear to ear.

“ Nonsense, Cato, there are no Indians within twenty
miles. They are nearly all oﬁ' on the prairie, buffalo-hunting.
We will meet them, however, soon, and it will he no harm to
be wary and cautious. I was just trying to ﬁnd you—I've
work for you to do this afternoon."

“ Dat‘s wha‘ Mars’r Fink done sc’d ; golly, I’se fearful dry
lO—Lluy—ef thar‘s'whisky in the camp l‘se work my ﬁngers of
—hi, hi, hi I"

I“ You shall have all you wish, Cato. after the job‘ is
ﬁnished. I want to warn you about singing and ,laughing so
shrilly ; it may bring the Vigilantesr down upon us. You know
you are suspected." .

“ Hi, yil ole Creeper Cato done stove 'em off sebenteen
timesa’ready,” grinned Cato. “ Tek's Cato Creeper to: fool
’em, yi, yi I”

The lieutenant struck in harshly:

“ Wal, thnr’s an eend ter all things; so thar is ter ropes.

Ye'll timl llint out soon ef yer aiut keerful; yer be too reck- 

less by half."
“ Recollect, Cato, that olrl man Jeﬂ‘ries is casting a suspi-
lle is very shrewd, and, if my suspicions

cinus eye on you.
You can not be

are correct, he belongs to the Regulators.

too careful; the oldest. and slyest foxes aresomelimes traps
ped." ,
“And the treeshave tongues," added Fink. , , ,r a .
“What’s derjob, Man’r Cap’n!" inquired Cato, 
neatly. , _ I ,1 ,2,

 
w:

  
m enter: or mn—rmw‘s: sonar. :1

 “ Near the brown cabin," answered Downing. “ We will
get there now ;. I amtin: a hurry. It is nearly sunset, and I
have a. pleasant mission to-night." - ~ '

Turning, he led the way through the quiet, ghostly thickets,
closely followed by his comrades. For nearly a mile they
silently stole on, warily baiting at the slightest rustle in the
thicket. At length they entered the conﬁnes of a solemn,
a reacherous swamp, guarded by drooping trees, matted vines,
and quiet as the grave. Here no song-bird cur-oled its merry
lay; its dark and gloomy depths the squirrel shunned ; while
the “ hunk” of the wild-goose overhead, the hiss of the yel-
low rattlesnake, the growl of the bear, and the wail of the
osmmount were its only sounds. It was called “ the Shadow

' Swamp.”

The narrow trail they had been pursuing now ran along
the huge trunk of a fallen. tree toward its-matted butt. Here

they stopped.

A gloomy, black expanse of thick, slimy water lay before
them, coveringabont ten feet. across in extent. How were
they to cross its stagnant and deceitful surface 1’ They could
not wade—it would be death by suffocation; they could
not swim through its weedy, sluggish current, and they had
no boat. They wished to go scrossﬁor they intently regarded
a small thickly-timberedtisland which layrimthe middle of the
'pond. It was the robber stronghold. '

Only a second they stood there, then the captain'drew a

I whistle from his pocket and blew three long blasts, quite

shrilly; then he paused a moment, and then blew twice,
softly. ,

Asii by magic 3 boat or “dug-out" lhot out from the
island propelled by a dirty, sinister-appearing man, hewhis-
kered and large in proportions. With a'single puddle he
forced the craft. through the weeds and water-lilies rapidly,
mddling Carelessly. This man‘ was not armed at all, and he
acted usif he had recently been asleep. He had been—tor
hi5 business was triﬂiugmntl lighL- He Win the fen-yuan; I

tMCharon‘ or: this River Sty» /

The distance was triﬂing, and the dIgoout-«so‘on grated
Willie-treat. Without sword? they-lid downttheﬁsido
“ﬁlm: into uncut, end the  9&3,

  
14 r euro, run cams; on,

mowed or paddled away in silence. The short voyage was
soon ended, and the men stepped ashore, and left the ferry~
man alone, all in silence. ' '

This was the captain‘s order—that from the time the signal
was ﬁrst given until the boat had been hidden away on the
island, the utmost silence should be observed. No one dared
break this rule, for once a robber disobeyed and he suddenly
disappeared, the subordinates of the gang knowing not
whither. The captain on being questioned, only smiled
quietly and cautioned obedience. Then they knew he was of
the world no more.

The island was level and had once been heavily wooded,
but now the center was cleared, leaving a thick underbrush to
the sides near the water. Thus the interior was level and bare,
while the outer rim of tangled willows and reeds, made it
impossible to discover the retreat from the mainland, even if
any one should chance to climb a tree, which no one ever did
except on urgent occasions.

Two cabins stood in this clearing, both equal in size, but of

diﬂ‘erent colors. They were composed of roughly-hows logs ,

set ﬁrmly together, the interstices being ﬁlled in with moss
and dried mud. Neither had but one opening—one door
which served for light and ingress. They were the common
log~cabins to be seen anywhere in the Western or Southern
States.

One was occupied by the ofﬁcers and the scout—Captain
Downing, Fink, and Bob Grifﬁth. It was called the white
cabin, because it was composed of light-colored wood, with
the bark taken off. The other was about ﬁfty yards distant,
and was called the brown cabin, to distinguish it from the other.
This was occupied by the subordinates, where the captain's
cooking was done, as he was very fastidious and detested the
smell of cookery.

The three men emerged from the clearing, when they were
challenged by a sentry, who started up from behind a log.
The countersign was given, the sentry slunk back, and they

vent on toward the brown cabin. Captain Downing was ‘

vigilant and cunning.
Several ill-looking men, armed to the teeth; were lying ill
, the cabin door, some dosing and smoking short pipes, with

  
_; t ,
, l
t
.l
l


a

L ' ing every thing with the eye of a lynx.

‘spirits and his companions t'elt easy and secure.

‘

 
In men "or bun-m‘IJrORM.

,wthers‘ played jeardst and quarreled. A ﬁerce’black dog was
v .chttined to a stump close by He was abloodhound~the

ﬁercest of his race.
They walked up to the cabin and the men stopped gam-

bling for a moment to watch Downing‘s lips; If he smiled, '

beware! evil was brewing. If he was demure he was watch-

In this state he was as harmless as a tame hear when ﬁll-
ed with meat and honey. But when he softly whistled a
dime, even his most trusted companions feared him. He
was then a tiger. If he laughed pleasantly he was in high
But that

was seldom. /

He regarded his men quietly, then looked toward an ob-y
ject, prostrate, a few yards away, and smiled quietly. Then

' he became demure, then said with a pleasant laugh :

“ Well, boys, who is winner? ‘ Is anybody bankrupt P’ I
“ Spades trumps l” vociferated a wiry fellow who had been

‘ regarding his captain anxiously. He had slightly offended
‘ him the day before.
r his winnings between his knees, he cried:

His face grew joyful, and as he swept

" Hurrah fur Cap’n Downing, boys! three and a tiger 1"

The cheers were given lustlly. Downing bowed with e w
look of gratiﬁcation. .

“ Thank‘ you, boys,” he said.

. Then he turned to Cato.

> “ There is your job. Bury that villain l”

He turned, and followed by Fink, walked to his cabin,
entered it, and closed the door. The men were hilarious.

' He had pointed toward the prostrate object. Cam walked
up to it curiously. What was his horror at seeing the
body of Bill Jameson, better known as Fighting Jim, dead
at his feet. '

’ ’ ﬂA bullet-hole was in his forehead, and in his stiffened
’handwas a long knife.

The sinister countenance was ghast-

, ly and cold, and the stream or blood from the hole had cm» ~

- settled on his face. He was quite dead.

V By Whose hand did he die, and when 2

    
Cfto felt nervous. Only that morning he had seen Jim
um and Welt and had spoken to him. He was now dead. ‘ r

is

giro, m mammal, .

, As he stood gazing nervously down upon 1thwa
robber, his courage failed.
her that he had buried inert month. They had all died by
the hand of beautiful, girlish Captain Downing. ,

The scout, Bob Grifﬁth, came up to him and touched his
elbow.

“ You had better hurry up and bury him; the cap’n is
,watching you. He is grinning." .

The sweat started out on Cato’s forehead. Without fur-
ther delay he seized a spade‘and fell to work lustily; the
captain was smiling. .

“Golly, Mars’r GriﬂiL'l wha’ for he go um dead ?“ he
asked, working hastily at a rude grave.

“ Cap‘n told him ter do snthin’ he didn‘t like and he lied-
n’t see it. He called the cnp’n a doll-hubby. Then cap‘n
draws and shoots, and thar Jim lays.” 

He was moving away when Cato caught him by the,
arm.

“Who’s do next 2” he whispered, with eyes rolling and
teeth chattering. “Fo’ God, I ain’t afeard, o’ no man—yer
know dat am do truf.’ But he done skeered at um cap‘n,
he so still an’ ﬁerce. He had man—bad man—Cato t’inks
de debbil cotches him, sure. Say, Mars'r Griﬂit’! who's do
next 'r"

“Darn it, how do I know? Ef a man keeps a civil
tongue and obeys orders, the cap’n is his good friend. But
let a man jist buck ag‘in‘ him—whcw l” and Bob the scout
walked away. '

Cato dug ‘the grave, then without ceremony rolled the
body into it. Then he ﬁlled it in and stamped thecsoil
ﬂown, thinking all the time he might be the next. Wilh
the laziness and heedlessness of a. negro he had buried all
the Victims where they fell, one, not. ten paces from the cap-
tain’s own door. ,

After his work was ﬁnished the captain called him into I
t his cabin, and ordered him to meet him at a certain place
When the moon rose. Then he gave him a bottle of liquor,

' and some money. and sent him away. .

After he had gone the captain mused deeply foremo-

ment', then laughed ' / I A 

This would make the third rob- - -

 
uni more: Imu'simsr. I 1':

(“Before long I will be a Benedick use said ; “a Bensw
dick l" ' t ‘ v

“ Speak to me, cap‘n 1" granted Fink, from his. pile of
blankets and robes in his sleeping corner.
1 “No; I was just soliloquizing."

“ Oh i" and Fink dropped asleep.

The captain smiled.

CHAPTER II.
A WARNING.

ON the skirts of Dead-Man’s Forest, on the side opposite to
that on which Cato the Creeper lived, was a small settlement
on a. hillside.

it. was very small, numbering but about a dozen houses
or cabins, and in the center on the hilltop was a small block-
house.

The soil about the houses was somewhat cultivated and

fenced, but the latter was hardly needed, for the settlers
owned but few cattle and these were “ kept- up," to protect
them from the Indians which infested the country.
. The settlement, being on a hill,‘overlooked a ﬁne landscape.
On one side, and in close proximity, lay Dead-Man‘s Forest,
with its acres of gnarled and towering trees, nestling knolls,
and vast swamps—gloomy and specterrlike, forbidding and
haunted.

On the other side, the gazerklooked upon a glistening river,
winding its way through fertile and beautiful vales, dashing
by bluffs and bickering down ravines. The hazy hills in the
distance were tinted in the sunlight gloriously; and would be
the envy of many amaster artist.

On the same afternoon in which last chapter‘s events new
ourred, a young girl sat before a cabin, larger and more tasty
than the rest. dreamily gazing into the purple-tinted distance

[She was very beautiful, and her beauty was of the pure

"ind holy kind—virgin. ~ ' ' ’
in her deep. earnest brown eyes a Wonderful mellow. light ,

 
.13 ~_ one. an catamaran, 

played and gleamed,snd at intervals she ‘sweetly smiled to 
herself. Her hair was a rich red-brown and fell in glistening
waves nearly to her waist, and was conﬁned at'the crown by

a bit of bright blue ribbon. Her snow-white dress was short ‘I 
and displayed a charming ankle and the comeliest of little ' ,_
feet. Her hands were shapely, and though somewhat browned '

by the sun, lmd not lost their original beauty.

But, though the form was of the fairest to look upon, her i 

face cast it into the shade. ,

Blessed with clear-cut and regular features, with sweet
mouth and decided chin, it. would have been beautiful with-
out her eyes, which were deep brown and surpassingly
lovely.

Lovely they were at all times, but now in the light of the l 

setting sun, they glowed with a new, glorious light—the light 
of a pure love. ‘ , ‘ ‘ ,7

She was the daughter of old Robert Jeﬂ’rics, the prominent 
man of the settlement, and every man, young or old, in the '
vill:tge,Would have cheerfully risked his life for little Katie V» I

Jeti'ries. Since his wife had died, years ago, she was all that ‘ . '

was left to him, and he idolized her.

The sun went down, and still she sat there, smiling and. “I

blushing. Her father was away on some neighborly errand, T 

and she was left alone. _
But not long. ,A hurried, light step came up the hill, 9

form appeared in the dusky light, and she r’ose to greet I

handsome, athletic young man who sprung to greet her, arm ‘  I.

bracing and kissing her tenderly. ,
“My love 1” he whispered, pressing her fondly to his W S '
som. f
“You are late to-night, Walter," she said, in aﬁ‘ectionato'; I
reproach. ' _
“Yes, dearest; somewhat. But you know I have a farm. 

all my own, and I am werklng hard now that you may grew". ,
it, next spring. It won‘t be long, my darling, and then think V -

. how happy we will be. You will by your love make me bett

‘ ,ter and a more earnest worker; and will save fer me to‘Oi'g' '

‘ while 1—" . I : 7
He drew her nearer, fondly. She felt a delicious thrillﬂ _, '
and nestled close.» him. ‘

 
mmxwmmsimm. it

“ You will what t" she whispered, blushing st her.bold-
less.
“ Try to make life a sweet, happy dream, for my darling.”
A few precious moments of silence ensued; then young
Ridgely spoke.
“ I've the nicest farm in the settlement for you, my darling.
I have worked hard, it is true; but even when toil “as the
hardest and most trging to my patience, I have dissipated all
discontent by thinking whom I was working for. You don’t
know how your love hns soothed me, my darling."
“ Oh, you are too ﬂattering, Waller; too kind and nohle.
It is sweet to be loved as I am sure you love me, and I have
him very hard to please you; but you he too extravagant.
‘ Praise to the hoe,‘ you know, dear."
' “ I cannot praise you, my own. It is impossible. That is,
I cannot overrate you. Why, you innocent dear, you don’t
know how lovable and good you are."
“Now, Walter, really you must not talk so. I am very

i» . huppy in the thought you care so for me, but it is wrong—

an wrong to tulk so to me. The truth is not to be spoken

at all times, you know."

. “ \Veil, then, if you wish it I will not. What do you think
of the new young man that has come among us—Charles Dan-

fortltl’

“ He is Very pleasant and ngreenbie, but i do not like him.
He looks cunning and cruel. Besides, I like to see men
grand, powerful, and hardy—he looks too much like a girl.
What is his occupation t”

“ I don’t know. He does nothing but wander away into
- the forest, where he spends nearly two-thirds of his time.
Dutch Joe said he saw him in company with another man in

 n I! dug-out on Shadow Pond, yesterday,_but I believe it was

only his imagination. He is not very smart and clever you
know—he is simple."
“ Walter l“ and Katie lowered her voice. and nestling elm
' ‘15 her lover, glanced nervously around in the twilight. “I
am afraid of him. Father distrusts him. He (ears the el-
!.1F§euce of a band of robbers in that. dreadful forest. You
how men have gone in there and have never come out. '
Inside. um rich mun, um trapper um round the 'm‘

 
somewhere-in Mexico; You. know the .day heiiett us to go
to St. Louis, screams were heard coming from the woods, and
the people onrthe other side did not see him come out. Then
father found blobd and marks of violence in a smallglade.
01), Walter, I am afraid something is wrong.”

“ Nonsense, Katie dear! every thing is (white There are
no Indians here now, at least in the neighborhood, and even
if danger did come, am I not here, my own 2'"

‘9 Hash. Walter] someone is coming; see i” and she point-
ed to an approaching shadow. Walter Ridgely withdrew his

, embrace and sat in a more decorous attitude. Katie’s face
expressed discontent at the interruption. The form upproaeha
ed; it was a man.

“ Why Walter! it is/Charles Danforth i" she whisperedu

‘Walter arose to go. She caught him and begged~him to
stay—shewas afraid to be alone with him, she said. So he
again sat down. ~

It was Danforth (or Downing, for he it was) approaching
qeite near, humming a jaunty tune.

“ Good-evening, MimJefi'ries," he' said, bowing. “And
you, Ridgely; how is your health 1’" '

He extended his hand to Katie, who took .it reluctantly.
Ditto W alter.

Then he seated himself on the doorstep and at once began
a lively, rattling cenversation. He was a versatile, vivaciou
conversationalist1 and had been educated well. To the back-
woodsgirl, though she had lived at one time in a civilized
community, he seemed a paragon of learning, wit and beauty.

But then she mentally compared him to Walter. He had
not the frank, honest gaze of the latter; and what women
care more for, he did not. have the powerful frame and strength
of young Ridgely.

. Her eyes were partial, it is true, but she found by compari-
son that Walter was his superior in morals, earnestness,
strength’and hardwood. But, she could not deny Danforth
fins gifted with rare beauty. Still she did not like him—~she
{med him» . V
. .A’fter some time spent in conversation, which Katie snsv
teined by monoeyllables; and inwhich Walter did not Join. V "
Worth am ‘ - ' »

 
m pm: or Muster-loam. ﬂ

.  I ’ my 1' man aside a moment, as: Jeﬂ'des r; be um.
' . “' I have something to say to you." - . ’
— ' . She acquiesced, looking disappointedly"'at Walter, who
, 5. 5 Watched them retire to alittle distance. He did not like
‘ :. it. ,
j 3,, When they had gone a short distance, Dantorth proposed
‘  a stroll down the hill. She refused, abruptly. He stared; he
- » had expected is glad aﬂlrmative answer. He looked at Wal-

' (er, and Captain Downing smiled. '

“ Miss Jeﬁ‘ries, how long has that young man been in the
settlement 1’" '

V. “ You inean‘Walt—Mr. Ridgely'! He- can! with us from

' 3. New York.” . I ‘
‘ “ Do you know his character?"
' "‘ Perfectly; it is above reproach."

The captain smiled and talked.

: “ Miss Jelfriés‘, I am the owner of one of the ﬁnest fum-
' in the State of Ohio. I am alone in the world-friendleu.
,Will you grace that home T—will you make me happy by he-

-' _ ing my wife? I love you fondly.” ‘

 ' He spoke this in his sweetest tone, and with his most ten-
der glance, encircling her waist with his arm. Shedrew away
abruptly, and stammered : ‘

“ Oh, sir, you can not, you must not talk ID to me! You

‘ . lnust not—'it is wrong for me to listen to you. Please let me

5‘ I '80." i I

I  V She was ﬂushed and "irresistibly lovely. He looked at hu-
, L ' quietly for a moment, then caught her in his arms passionately
‘  , and kissed her hotly.

“ My darling l" he passionately cried. »

She struggled, ashamed, insulted, shocked at his tunes and
gestures. He held her tightly, and pressed another kiss upon
her.

. , Walter, watching them jealously from the doorstep, saw the

_- disturbance, and, mad with jealousy and rage, rushed toward

‘ them. Sheescaped from Downing’s arms just as he reached
them, and glided to her lover‘s side. -
7 ,3,“ What do you mean, you rascal ll" husklly growled Walla.
Wgh his clenched teeth. ‘ ’ ' v . . i . x
 niece” ‘ Take care, youhs Whippet-supper I": t .2... e.

 
' “ Yes. rascal—poltroonevillainl What do you mean! '
What was he doing, pet f’ ' . .
- “He kissed—'4' \ _
“ Yes, I kissed her. whipper-enapper. I asked for her hand,
like a man. She did not choose to smile on me. I have no
ill-will about it. I take it you are the favored one. Well, if

you had behaved yourself, I would not have borne you any 

dislike; but you took oﬂ'ense, called me namesI never before
1001:, and now you stand sneering at me. Whippet-snapper,
you u re a scoundrel 1”

Walter boiled over and sprung toward him with danger in . "

his eyes. Katie as quickly interposed, holding him tightly,

between him and Downing, so i! he clenched with him he I 5

must run over her body.

“ Let me go, Kate l I command you to let me go imme- ', 

diately.” -

He was thoroughly aroused, the more so at seeing Down-
ing’s face wear a provoking smile. He endeavored to elude
her, but she still kept him closely clasped. '

“ I will not, Walter; I can not. Be quiet—calm yourself!
Do, Walter."

“ Yes ; ,calm yourself, whipper~snapper. Keep your ten:
per, bantam.”

The exasperating smile with which Downing accompanied
these provoking Words maddened Ridgely. He took‘Katie
by sheer force from around his waist, and eluding her, darted

toward the robber. He was close upon him, with his sturdy - 
arm upraised, ready to fell the other to the ground, when she ‘ '

caught him.

He was 03' his guard ; the wily captain saw it, and dealt
him a lightning blow from the arm-pit. The blow struck
Walter squarely between the eyes, and he dropped like a bul-
lock, with the blood spirting from his nose. ‘

For a few seconds he was stunned, and sat vacantly on the
ground. Then he aroused himself and crawled to his feet. V

His adversary had vanished, and was nowhere to be seen.
Burning with chagrin, pain and rage, be commenced wander -
lug about recently in pursuit. But he was too dizzy and t,
tuned to see plainly, and before he had been on his test two I: :-
nlnuus be 1011!“; the girlish ﬁst o! eﬁ‘eminate  _ ,

 
in mo: or nun-rush muse;

 _' Downing was hard as a rock, and was backed by the arm of
 a blacksmith.
‘ ‘ Katie sunk down beside her lover, astounded at the sudden
I change in affairs. Shocked at the captain's ungentlemanly
 conduct to her, burning with sorrow at her lover’s harsh ac-
. - tiun in putting her aside—these were but triﬂes Compared with
 the intense shame at seeing him whipped and vanquished;
 ‘She was as much ashamed as her champion, though dimly
conscious that she had caused the disaster by unguarding
. ' Walter.
L, She raised him to a sitting posture, and pillowing his head
. on her breast, wiped the blood from his face with her hand.
. V kerchief. The moon had just risen, and by its strong light
' she saw he had received a herculean blow, as his eyes were
‘ red and swollen, his nese was bruised and bleeding, and he
Was weak and stunned—scarcely more than conscious.

She began to cry piteously and stroke his forehead, when a
harsh voice behind her growled: .

“ What in thunder air ye doin' thar, gal f"

She turned quickly; her father, a sturdy man in the prime
of life, was regarding her curiously. He was an odd mixture
of mu, moodiness and good-nature, and united the most repel-
ling face and voice to the kindest heart imaginable. He had
been bred in a large city, and was perfectly “ well up ” in all
matters which interest first youth. He recognized the form
of Waiter, noticed his bruised face, and saw his daughter’s
mxiety. At this last he chuckled: _

“Wal, what hev we hyar f" he said, going down on his

_- knees beside them. “ We hev a couple of moss-agate eyes,
I , ﬁnd we hev a Roman nose. Wal, what air we goiu’ ter do
, ‘ ‘ With ’em? Why, we air goin’ to cure ’em. Why didn’tvye
' , I do suthin fer ’em, gal ?”

“ I did not know what to do, father. Oh, dear father,
Please relieve him—~I know he is hurt terribly. Do, please,
lather.”

Robert Jeﬂ'ries stopped not, but whipped out a huge clasp-

‘ . knife, and told her to hold it across the bridge of his nose.
" when he went oﬂ, muttering:

 "~ '> “El we lived in a decent place, now, we'd hev oysters
 1‘ .Mmiu and each m the em; but we an in him

 
p

"the, m7 “may; on,

Arkansaw, and we 'hain’t any thing but vinegar, salt and“ ,
Cuss sech a kentry t" V . :5; V‘
“He hustled about the cabin, struck a light, and rapidly pro-  .

cured some vinegar and'salt. Then he took a cup of water”: ' '

and making some mud, formed the three ingredients'into a ‘“
paste, which he clapped on Walter’s eyes. I f.
It amused him instantly, and smarting from the salve, he .
staggered to his feet, and looked vacantly about; he had rev 5 . ':
cei‘ved a terrible‘hlow. Katie alfectionately supported him. - 

“ Lie down—lie down I” commanded Jeﬂries. “ D’ye want " ‘

tcr start the blood a-runnin', an’ make yer eyes likea hearse f. "
Lie down and keep still i” -

“ Where is he i" inquired Walter, making a faint show‘ot ': ’- :

determination. “ Where is he 1'" -
"‘ Who 1’" inquired Jeﬁ‘ries. .,
“ Charles Danit‘orth, ‘father. 0h, he struck poor Walter as 1 .
hard as he could,right on his poor forehead.”  I
“ Whatl yer don’t mean to say'that girl Danforth knocked '_
nim down like a beef! whipped a teller that cleaned out six ’
Pawnees, one'after t’otherl Wei, I will—that’s good." 3.
“ Oh, father; he wouldn't have done it if I had not caught :

him when he was going to strike. 1 held him, then Danfortll ; i. I

struck him." 1, ,9, 
“Yer did, eh! ye’r did; and yer promised to be his wife. ':
Gal, I'm ashamed of yer. It’s foul—it ain’t ’cordin’ to the  
rules 0! the Ting—ewe], wal; and yer claim to he a Jeﬁ‘ries.’." - ‘

Walter, who had recovered his senses, here interfered. ,

“ You see, sir,sho meant good—she tried to prevent a ﬁght.   '

Bo she‘tried'to stop me—-—if she hadn‘t I would have given ' ,
him a thrashing." ;
'“Thank you; thank you, Walter,” said Katie, with a ‘1 w
grateful glance at him. ~
" What was the mill about?" asked Jeﬂ'ries.
“ He treated Katie like a—a—” '; .
“ What i" vociferated the. father. “ Treated my daughter »_ f ;
like what 7" ,f'
'“ He threw his arms around her and kissed her.”
Jeti‘ries' eyebrovvs sunk down over his eyes, and he breathed
hard... He was aroused.

“And yet got an ugmar foamy daughter, did-ya: 

 
,4}. .'

l

m paranormal was“. It

; mtg teller, yer did right, and I’ll remember yer. L And Mm
,” he resumed. “ I’ll make his hide smart.” '
Without further parley he walked away down the hill
Ward the grocery or rather cabin, for there was no good
,_store” in the settlement. Katie knew what was his errand,
' ‘3 she also knew he was not to be turned aside from his
ertise. But she tried to alleviate his wrath, and called out:
’ 3 “Now, father, please think before you speak."
; 1 He muttered some reply and strode down. the hill. Three
‘ hundred yards away was the provisitm cabin where Dantorth
‘ ' ﬂayed when he was in the settlement Itwas kepttby a Ger-
I‘ i": named Hans Winkler. It was not a “store,” for the
,w familiu which lived in the neighborhood were too poor
10 require such a thing. But the old German, thinking to
'l'm an honest penny now and then, had brought on a few
Rattle articles from the Eastern States, which he retailed out.
 furs, produce, etc., making a large proﬁt-on every thing.
The cabin stood on the bank of the river already men-
linned. To this J eﬁ'ries strode, and after listening for a mo-
lltaut, knocked at the door loudly.
% No answer. Hans must be asleep. He knocked again.
ll all was quiet. ‘Then he halloed. Yet the cabin was
.ill. ‘
,‘ He turned away, provoked; his bird had eluded his wrath
hr the present. Resolving to punish him severely at the ﬁrst
,DDpOrtunity, he was striding away, when a faint voice, seem-
1'1eg far away, came to his ears : '
V ,“ You are treading on dangerous ground; take care 1"
He stopped and listened intently; all was still. The placid
“ream, ﬂowed 6n quietly, leaving no sound; the night was
 lill. ‘He started on. I
e - Before he had gone a yard, the same voice rung out in
01Who tones, near, loud, and shrill:
“ You are treading on dangerous ground ;- take care I"
z The sound proceededtfrom a group of willows a few yards
up the river bank.. He darted to them. He entered their
’ m u recesses, ready against. surprise, and searched them
1:hl'ough’; but, though he beat them for an hour he found
,Wgand heard the mysterious voice no more. Thanks
W home, wondering‘tnteneoly. - 

 
CHAPTER III.
“BEWARE!”

WAL‘mn, after being nursed a while by the tender hand! 1'
of Katie. bid her an aﬂ‘rctionate good-evening, and started: I
toward his lonely bachelor-hall, which was situate beyond the ' :
cabin of Hans Winkler a mile, and down the stream. Half"
of the diﬂsnce home lay through the settlement,. while th6'
other was rendered dismal and gloomy by the road’s running
through a projecting cape of Dead-Man’s Forest. - '

It was a lonely, gloomy walk to take in an unsettled counv
try, and through a skirt of such an ill-omened wood. 'But ‘
Walter was sturdy and bold, and thought nothing of it. What: f
danger? had he not a revolver? could he not shoot with the
best ? Ctrtaiuly ; what had he to fear? V , I

He strode along with his hands in his pockets, musing- : '
His thoughts were partially pleasant and gloomy.’ He hadg' .
been unable to avenge an insult offered to the girl he idol"
izcd; he had been " knocked out of time" by an eﬂ‘eminato
youth ; and umuger the salve, his eyes were purple and swui— '
len, and his face was bruised; never mind-he would search ‘ ‘
out Danforth in the morning. " '.

0n the other hand, she had tenderly cried over and tended , -'
him; she had shown, without doubt, she devotedly loved T ..
him; and in the spring she would be his own loved wife.

What more could a young man, very handsome and inteliiv I "
gent. in the full vigor of early manhood, in possession of at
good farm which in a few years would yield him a good “W V V
lag, desire? . ' ". '

“ No more," he said. after a mental calculation. .

What! was it possible here was a contented man? No; I» '
lingering drop of gall remained; he was smatting at defeat, _
sud bruised eyes; He would show him tomorrow—.411“ M“ j‘
would. ' ? 

He passed Hans‘ cabin, and noticed it was dark and an.“ I 1,
tlsln hecontinued. whistling. ' I w" » '

 
m mos «.m’e roam. m: V

-, ‘ Before him lay a short reach of open, moonlit glade
then came Dead-Man’s Forest.
Every thing was in perfect repose. In front the dark.
‘ Iomber wood stretched away; behind was the settlement,
' ﬂeeping on the hill; and around him was the ghostly, quiet
I g‘lade.
‘ “ You are treading on dangerous ground; take care i"
Hallo! who said that in such a quiet, far-away voice?
Who spoke? Hanoi
a, The voice did not reach his ears—he did not hear it; but
'it spoke for all that. He went on.
' He was plunging into the haunted forest; in another mo.
3 meat he would be lost to sight in the ghastly mazes.
 “ You are treading on dangerous ground; take care!"
r He did not. hear the warning, and went on. He passed a
.  ,thick tree in the middle of the wood; a man glided out
V  from behind its trunk; there Was a dull, heavy blow, a deep,

.,  V

3': t". rattling groan, a fall; and a man was bleeding on the ground

~11 Dead Man’s Forest.
* ,~ , Robert James returned to his cabin, very much out of hu-
 mor. His revenge was yet to come; he was forced to wait;‘
and he ground his teeth.

A light was burning in the little cabin when he entered,
and Katie was sitting by it, sewing. She looked very sweet
and lovely as she sat there, and his heart ﬁrst softened, then

, became adamant; let any man iult her—the teuderest,
.J' ‘purest girl in the world.
' , She greeted him with an anxious look.

“ Well, father ‘t”

“ I couldn’t ﬁnd the villain—curse him 2"

> “ Oh, father, I‘m so glad I”

V . “ Glad of what, gal? When a man insults ye and giu
’ out'n yer father’s reach, air ye glad P"
t “ 0h, father,he wanted me to marry him." (This with I
 Mush—very red.)
' " The skunk l"

,1“ And .I am glad because you did not have a quar-
re ."

VLF/"I ain’t; I‘ll ﬁx him! Marry you! Why, gal, ya don't
.Inauwaayyelikehtmt" 

 
:8;   one

"No, father; far from it. I am afraid. of him; but per-‘7 _
haps-perhaps—" I r”, “

“'Wa‘l ?” . 

“Perhaps lienloved—me—so he eould not control himt. .4 
self. I am sure he is not to blame for loving me.” _ c '

A woman all over. They never think the less of a mam-,- 1
for loving them, however low he may be. If they did they  :-
wouid be disparaging themselves. ' ‘

“ I guess yer’d better go ter bed——I’m going."

She arose and lighted another Candle and then kissed him
tenderly.

“ Good-night, dear father,” she said. “ A pleasant night and
happy dreams. I know you will feel softer in the morning.
Good-night.”

The cabin Contained two rooms; one sacred as her sleep- ,
ing room, the other the kitchen, parlor, dining and her father's '_ i '
sleeping room. ' a

She had a bedstead with a 39ft bed, pure and white as was V 
she; he had a double blanket, with a valise for a pillow ; she
had a window in her room large enough for a bear to clamber
through ; he had none. :

The window was of glass and opened like a door—on ('
hinges. It was about five feet from the ﬂoor and was usually I 1 '
kept closed at night with a button, but as the summer nights
were hot and uncomfortable, she left it open to admit: the
cool breeze—in her innocence never dreading harm. _ .

She went into her room and closed the door, her father. I. 
directly going to bed, sleeping on his gun ; Robert Jeffries was
wary. In
After she had gone to bed and had put out the candle, she ’
lay thinking of Walter, smiling, and feeling very happy. In .
the'spriug he would be her husband.

After she had thought and happily dreamed a delicious “ .'
wide-awake dream, she felt cool. Should she close the win--  '
dow ? She had better; she had grown timid of late. But she' I
called herself a timid, weak thing and resolved to leave it
open. She did; and went to sleep.

“ Trouble is coming; take care i" r.

, Ballot away down there in the dark, grim wood. Who ll- _
talking at this time of night? Hallo! -' '

 
m Wv~o§i’ms' mm 

i ‘i‘ﬁhe went to sleep, so 'dld Robert “Jellies, and the meow
- was open. '
_r."‘*The moon rose into the zenith and looked down from her
“ léule face upon three different objects: a forest, a river, and n
v ,. cabin. »
(I I“ In the forest a silent form lay cold, still and bloody, near
“a thick tree; a man stood over him, looking quietly down
' gpon him.

7. "' 1 The watcher spoke in a strange, far-away voice.

“ Trouble is coming ; take care, take care." 1
He turned and was gone with a very white - face, a hilent,
_’ twin, trend, and a cold, staring eye.
’ g?" On the bank of the river a negro crept hack and forth by
The cabin of the German. He was evidenly waiting for some

' "one, as he stopped now and then and peered intently toward

the cnhin on the hill, then kept his creeping pace.

V: ‘A man kept along a dark shadow, stealing toWurd the
cabin. He drew near, then listened; crept on a little, then
listened again. All was quiet; he stole up to its walls, then
I t‘toliped and listened a third tline.

7 Jetﬁ-ies wns snoring inside. He crept round to the other

A  side nnd stood under the window. Inside was beauty, inno-
1 . t hence and virtue; outside was beauty, cunning and wicked-
" .‘fiess. He placed his hand on the sill.

Creek 1 ,.

' , He peered in. By the pale moonlight he could see therfulr
 3(girl in deep sleep—deep and placid. The pure white covering
I ,‘fell dnintily o'ver her as she lay there, with a smile on her lips,
"and s svt'ect expression on her face. She was dreaming of v

. ‘ He could not hear her breath—it was too soft and gentle;
 but he could tell by the gentle rise and foll,and by the placid
,» ﬁpression of her face, that she was in a deep sleep.
' .Crenkl
He stood for a moment, gazing at her, with a smile on
his comely face. Then he turned and went from the show
f'dow of the cabin out into the bright moonlight. Drawing
, ’15 white handkerchief from his green cost he waved it brisk-
' “J above. his head. ' '
mi on the river blank, near the German’s cabinﬁ bright

 
“10.1mm; 03,

light glowed for a moment, and a white object waved. 'ﬂlﬂ '
both disappeared. . » .

He stole back with another smile and again stood under C
the window.

Creakl

She moved. then turned gently. smiling sweetly in he! .
sleep as she did so, and one word escaped her lips:

“ Walter i" .

The man outside smiled sweeter than ever at this and ' “
again placed his hand on the sill.

“ Take carel beware 1"

He started as it he had been shot, and cowered under the
wall in aﬂ'right. He had heard a loud, shrill voice away ‘
in the forest utter those words, and a deadly fear overcame
him.

For many times of late he had heard that voice, warm I .'

ing him of evil; too many times he had laughed at it; but
now ?

Creakl

He was thoroughly frightened and fairly shook with fear, ‘
though a holder man never trod the earth. He might well- ’
shake. .

He listened for a repetition but it did not come. Then: ,
after a few moments he recovered and laughed at. himself,
and again for the third time placed his hand on the sill.

Creek 1

Three times he had placed his hand on the sill ready to

enter; it was loose and it creaked ; but the fair sleeper, uu“ ‘ ‘V

conscious of danger, slept sweetly on.

He listened and peered a last time, and then cautiously
mounted the sill. ﬂail in the window he stopped, fearful '
lest the shadow migh't awaken her; but she still slept on. i

He dropped lightly to the ﬂoor and crept to the bed- ‘
Gazing at her as she lay there, a wicked smile crept over his
lips.

A low chirp came faintly to his ears; the sleepy chirp
of a half-awakened bird. ..

He went to the window and» waved his white handkerchief. I. .
then glided back to the bedside.   v-

A shadow fell over the room; he turned and saw-VI.

 
m bacterium-mire tom. It

" Wound, woolly head in the window. He smiled again and
‘ gave a gesture ot satisfaction. ‘
 Then he stole to the head of the bed, and took a small
instrument from his pocket.
It was a piece of wood about an inch and a halt square,
:, "padded with cotton, with a string knotted in both ends—it
 ‘Was a gag.
_ , He reached over and with a quick, cunning movement,
f“ placed it in her mouth.
Then like a ﬂash of lightning he passed the string around
her neck ; she was gagged!
. ‘ She aw0ke with a. start, and looked wildly at the man
 ﬁtanding over her. She tried to scream—she could not.
' I Then she rose upright with terror depicted on her face, and
" her eyes were a horriﬁed expression.
, 7 She attempted to rise and ﬂy but he held her fast. He
_ Ii. had his hands full in a double sense, for she struggled vio—
, ‘ 7 lently, beating him with her hands, her whole nature amused.
X _ He made a signal to the man outside.
, He slid through the window with the agility and silence
 ‘ of a cat and stood beside him.
. l “ Throw her clothing out of the window i" he whispered.
"-' The negro obeyed.
‘ ’ " Now get outside and take her i” He clambered out.
“ Here she is. Hal she's fainted l” _
‘ She had. Unnerved by the snddenness and alarm of the
 icene, by the terror of maidenly modesty, she had fainted
- dead away and lay motionless in his arms.
7, He passed her out to the negro, who gave a chuckle of de-
‘  , light at his lovely burden.
' " ‘ Then he swiftly followed.
. Once outside he listened intently. The heavy breathing
of Jeﬂ‘ries inside was the only sound; he was soundly sleep-
. g. The Worst for the present was over.
. “ We must lose no time i" he whispered. “ Now for She.
65‘" Swamp i"
Silently in the moonlight they stole away, down the hill,
r '3 'Mt the few cabins, sleeping quietly. Katie’s fate wu ap-
' . Phallus. '
1; She lay limp and quiet, with I white, seared taco, hunt!

 
I

. 0" our

311mm alarmed exprgqatom He clasped her. tightly I  ,
hurried 0n. '  ,. ’
When they had got to the cabin by the river, a' mitt)?» i“
shadow stole out. from it, and ran like a streak of light t‘, ' '
ward Dead-Man's Forest. They stopped, alarmed, and Dowa ‘
ing, placing the form of Katle upon the ground, drew  j,
revolver and cocked it. Cato, the Creeper, whipped out It};
razor. 5
Across the g.ade darted the shadow, and vanished in that 3
recesses of the .somher wood. Cato’s teeth chattered, , I
“Golly, Mars’r Cap'u. I'se afeard.” 'Aud his eyesi'v 1
rolled. ’ . . ,
“ Coward l afraid of what? Why, couldn‘t you see it way- '
a raccoon l’” y  V,
“ Oh, no, Mnrs’r Cap‘n; dst warn‘t no ’coon. Dis chilefq ' j.
hunted ’em ’nuﬂ' ter know 'em. Golly, Mars’r Cap’u l d " ,
war a. ghost sure ’uuﬂ‘l" _ 2:3: .
Pshawl ghostl See here, don't you suppose I can see  .
well as you can ? I tell you it was a raccoon. By George;
I believe the hloke’s scared, sure enough.” V. 
“ Dut I am, Murs’r Csp’n—dat dis chile am l Ole.Cato git}; j
berry much to he out’n dis 'ere muss. I done tol' yer, cap’ﬁ: .
Mars’r Cap'n, dat war Obeah sure ’nuﬂ'. I done see’d ’eDl-f '
onc't store. Golly! dis cllile’s done gene dead I"  _,
“ Hold your tongue ! what if it was a ghost? Spirits' 0911:, ,
not harm a man. If they did there wouldn‘t he a live ma? ’ .
in all the world. I want you to stop this nonsense risks ;,
away. Don’t let me hear another word of it! d’ye under; ’9
stand? Time is scarce; come on, and keep still.” 5' y ‘
Taking up his unfortunate prisoner, he motioned Cato W, J-
follow suit with the clothing he had dropped in his trig“! 4.»,
and went. rapidly across the glade, closely followed by the tor" :
rlliednegro. Five minutes later the glude was deserted, a ,1,» 
Kulie, sweet Katie, was in the hands of a villain, being 110% .V
ried away to Shadow Swamp. _  l
Hushl whoislying cold, still and bloody by a thick tree} ' f
Dead-Man’s Forest 2 Who is there to save him from. s tel-rib. 
death! " .:
Hallo! who is talking in the depths of the haunted foir ,
whenthe. moon, is lookingeglmlydownl Who is  ~

 
 tng'ifroni shadowy‘tree 'to moonlight glede with ghatly

ﬂee, robed in white, with I staring, steely eye! Hallo! _
‘Who is speaking in a far-away voice to the quiet night!

. V ’What is he saying 7 Who speaks? hallo!

_  “ Take care i” whisper the forest echoes.
- : lz~"“'1‘ahoeure 1"

CHAPTER IV.
A menu.

: Hr‘TEE sun Me as usual the next morning, and Jeﬂ’riee was

V’j‘i‘wakened by its rays peeping through his door; he rubbed
5'1 his eyes, then sat upright. i

_ “ Wu), old yeller—iuce;” ‘he addressed Old Sol. “Yer’ve
Notched a weasel asleep this yer time, fur a fact. We), I’ll be
timed! n-slecping nt sunrup! Bob Jeﬂries, this yer won't

 won’t go down; it's a lazy trick."

* .- ' ‘He arose, stretched himself, and called out:

"‘Hullo, in thari you napping, too, gal? Heighoi arise!

 Rake up i go ter the ant, thou sluggard, etc., etc. Katie, Kitty,

" x  >,7Tabby, wake up i"

' 1'He received no repiy; he called again:

: W“ Came, Kate, comel it's time to get up.” ‘
h Still he received no reply; he marveled, for she was

 Iggﬁéneraily np'and about before he was, and once calling was
* ’  ~r'nlﬁcient. He opened the door and looked in, dreading some

" 8V“.

’ ,1 ﬁber with her own 88”;

J, What was his surprise at not’ seeing her there. He was
[unarmed ,
The bed had been occupied, but her clothing was gone, to-
the window was open, and she had
{by that means of egress. ‘
,'Tliis‘ he knew, for to hm g‘one‘out by the door she innit .
g1h!“e”:!l'st’ui'bed him, as the-door opened ontws‘rd, and he ii!
‘i ectly before it. She had gone out by the window.

‘ He rushed “to it; end tooled out. She our not'tn'e'eight;

 
use, monsoon; on,

he became alarmed in good earnest, and went hurriedly out
of doors into the open air. ,

He went directly to the house or cabin of the nearest set-
tler, Josh Dunbar, hoping to ﬁnd her there. Hettie Dunbar
was a sweet young girl, Katie's bosom friend, and their cabin
Was a favorite resort of Katie's.

Hattie came to the door at his approach, and smiled gay],
‘t him, not noticing his disturbed appearance.

“Have you seen Katie this morning? is she heref’ he
asked, hurriedly.

“ Katie? Why no. I haven’t seen her since yesterday
afternoon. What is-the matter i" W

“ i dunno, I dunno. I’m afraid suthin’s wrong; she ain't _
at the house."

“ Oh, she’s gone out awhile, perhaps, before breakfast," sug-
gested Hettie. ‘

“No, she ain't—she don’t hev no time ter go a-wslkin'
afore breakfast; she allus gets it herself."

“ Are you sure she is not at the house i”

“ Sartain, snrtain. She cllm’ out the winder, ter boot."

“ Climbed out the window 1"

“ Yes; thar’s suthiu’ wrong. But p’r’aps she‘s at some
of the other houses," he added, with a faint glimmer of
hope. - ' .

“ She can not be, for I have been up ever since daylight
working at the window. If she had stirred from the house
I surely should have noticed her. She has not left it since
daylight.”- r v V _ :

“ It’s mighty strange—mighty strange! she never went of
so before,” said the anxious father. gloomily.

“ Hello! what’s the matter with you, Jeﬂ‘ries l” echoed in
atentorian voice, close at hand. Jeﬂ'ries turned.

It was Josh Dunbar, coming around the house. He was a
sturdy, stalwart man of forty or thereahouts, good-bummed
and jolly, with the eye of a hawk, the arm of a blacksmith,

and the leg of a savage, and like Jeﬂ‘rles, a widower. ‘ He - 3'

had just been milking and evidently drinking the tempting’
ﬂuid on the sly, too, for his bristling mustache Was suspicions- '
1! creamy. , , V
/ .. "What‘s the matter with you 2'1 he reiterated V_

 
/

m mos .0!   8g,

, fresher, Katie has suddenly disappeared, very strangely
tnd Mr. Jeﬂ'ries is much alarmed.” ‘

“ Disappeared f"

, “ Yes; nothing has been seen of her since last night. She
is not at home.”
‘ “ Hohl she’s at some of the neighbors’.”
. “ No, she is not. I have been here ever since daybreak,
i and no one has left the house.”

" Ba 1” and Dunbar started. ,

“What’s the matter it” asked Jeﬂ'ries. The other came
forward with a grave, solemn face, and laid his hand on his
shoulder, quietly.

_ \ “ See here, Rob, I’ll not heat about the bush, but will out
“ 1 "With it. Last night, about midnight, I was awake, and an I
' r lay quiet, I heard What I thought was an Indian yell, away
down the creek. I got up and looked out the window. The.
_ moon was shining very bright, and all was. still as the grave.
 As I stood looking. I saw something small and white glance
for an instant close to your house, then a bright red light
, shine down by Hans' cabin. Thinks I, something’s brewing,
*'. and I watched, but I saw nothing more. But I heard some-
body away down, it seemed like, in Dead-Man‘s Forest, say
.these words in a far-away voice:
"“ ‘ Take care i beware 1' "
Jefl‘ries started. “ That voice i" he exclaimed, uneasily.
“ What, did you hear it, too i" V
“ Go on i" and Jetfries gestured impatiently.
Dunbar stared, but went on. “It was the strangest voice I
' ever heard, and I can’t give any reason for it, but. a cold chill
y ‘rnn over me‘, and I felt for my gun. It was a voice from the
1 I gave."
V lie stopped short, and Bettie turned pale. Jeifries'gave a
gesture of irritation.

" G0 on i" he said.

“In a few moments, say ten minutes, I saw, or imagined I
law, a dark object. moving rapidly down the hill. Part of it
was black, pnrt white. I only saw it for about ﬁve seconds,
View it vanished, and all was quiet again. _ ‘

' e " I waited for some time. then, seeing no more, went back
'  40 had. wondering. Just as l was falling asleep, I felt a draft

1

 
=1
a

of “iir‘passover'me; and looked up. Thoughva  
I was sure that a presence was near me—a thing felt, Minot. 4
seen."

He'stopped, and drew Bettie protectineg to him, and ,,
grasped Jeii‘rics’ hand. “ 7;

“ Now .my daughter, I don't want to alarm you, but though " '
I could not hear it, something seemed, ay, mid:

“ Trouble in Shadow Swamp—take care i" : (

Jeifries looked uneasy and seriously alarmedywhile, Heme V ,
grew very white. Dunbar watched‘them both steadily, then” -, _
said: ‘ \ -' 7

“Now, what I think is this" I ' ”

“Jeti'iies stoph’ed hhn. ' 5

* “ Hold! I’ve suthin' ter any,‘ too. It‘s all about that task '
ca], Danforth—thet gnllsh feller." h .

Then he related the events of the evening before; the l 5
meeting of the lovers; the quarrel between Danforth and 7 I
Waller; the luller’s defeat, and the former’s disappearance; 
and concluded in a low, earnest tone : 1 "

“ I was u-huntin’ for the villain. and was down by Hans’ '1 .,
'cnhin, iwhzu' he stops; When sulhlu’ said, ’pears like away? of ‘v '
in“lhe night: ' . ~ 

“‘Yer air a-treadin’ on dangerous~groundl tek keer, tek- - xi
keer i' .

“‘Wal, thet’viiice seemed so far away like, I hadn’t tell-1 
whar it was; but as I war thinkin’, it kim ag'in, clost ter my ‘ '
ears, loud an’ vpeurt,‘right ‘from the bunch of willows jist’. -,
above the cabin. Thinkin’ it must‘be Danforth hisself, I ' V
beat ‘em all ilrrougli,-'spendin"an hour at in; but“ was no _lf
go. Then, hate scared, I kiln home. Dunbar,‘thar~'s suthin’  '_
wrong." o, [I ;

“I am afraid there is, my friend, very apprehensive. I f '.
have always given Dead-Man's Forest a wide berth since the  '11
redrskins have been about, but I think the best thing we can ~
do is in search in it at. oncefor Katie—for it's my opinion ,- >
you'll ﬁnd her there." » a - v z ’ '

““Thut's so,"saﬂainf She ain‘t‘ier hum, an‘wharshe is so" ‘ ,: :
onq knows. Great God, Wllm"! my pooty little 3.]; myme .. 

port” Ana Jam-ice buried his faioe’in-his hands.

‘ "“Gouﬁge,lnfﬂimdl" an immodmnaiy. Wm '

 
will maven-twp m. V:

Manure mistaken—permit: sometth strange though
not of evil might haveturned up. Hettie, route 801 Jacobs
Ind givethe alarm. Tell them to spread the men around
While I go down to Hana Winkler's‘cabiu to see him. Ga-
_ llier the whole settlement and send a. swift lad for Cato the
goreepera—we’ll ﬁnd her soon.” I _
" Hettie sped away toward the distant cabins, making her
I 3 white, bewitcbing ankles ﬂy on: the ground; she loved Katie
2 3‘ dearly, and, with a woman’s lightning wit, suspected the true
' ,jstate of the case.
3 ’ Once she had been strolling about on the border of the
 Wood, and had overseen Danforth in close cpnfab with a trio
of villainous, desperate-looking men, all armed to the teeth.
;-"I’hen_, again, she had seen him exchange signiﬁcant glances
 with Cato, whom she cordially suspected of evil.
' _ i To use an uncouth but forcible phrase, Hettie was “no-
1 " body’s fool." She linked several suspicious. events, and byte
‘ «little shrewd guessing picked Danforth to pieces. 7
~ Though naturally penetrating and keen. she was under the
: inﬂuence of the great sense-sharpener—Cupid, and was‘thor-
 roughly in love with gay, handsome Captain Downing. She loved
, ; him with an ardent, whole-souled love, and could have gain-
-  eayed him in nothing. Fortunate for her it was that the un
' ‘, unscrupulous robber did not know of her passion for him-—
Very fortunate; for he’would have caused her bitter misery
,7 She We]! knew his impulsive temperament, and, avoided” him,
3 knowing that to see him were, only to give her love another
' impetus.
Stop and consider what this backwoods girl was doing, and
‘ »_ tee what a heroine she was Cognizant of Downing's ardent
” glove for Katie, c0nscious he did not love her, knowing, Katie
gWasher successful rival, she was deliberately doing all she
F'could to protect and save her—she who had unwillingly out-
, stripped her in the love of the beautiful abandit-40 organize
' - a party for the apprehension and punishment of her idolized
, hero, though it would almost be her death-blow to seeihim
"M‘fllagracedand punished. v, . , ,
‘ You; see~ she was a very‘extraordinlrxgirl—this young
 maid. ‘ ,
arrived; at .; the cameo: Sol heaps, andth

 
entering told them of the story. Old 501 heard her throngs: '
heard her suspicions, conjectures and fears, then turned? .
sharply to his son, a stalwart young fellow of twenty who'
would have died for Hattie, being devotedly attached to
her. '

“ Arouse the settlement, Eben i" he said, “ and make your 5 f
pins ﬂy too. Tell every man that little Katie has disap-
peared suddenlyl that‘ll bring 'em together short meter." " ,

Eben sprung away while Hettie lingered with the women. ’ "
whu,cat-kling all at once, plied her with questions. Old" "
Soir'took down his gun and rubbed the dust off the barrel.

The news ﬂew like wildﬁre about the little settlement: ’
Men frowned and quietly took their riﬂes from their pegs. .
Young men swore an oath or so, then clenched their teetk, ,
and baring their arms, watched their braWuy muscles as they, ' ~
swelled with the arm’s rise and fall. Then they clutched.
their guns, and uniting together, clamored to start in put? ' 
suit. ' ' L
The elders, though quite as resolved and more worthy' J 
and reliable than their juniors, were men of experience, aud’g
never moved rashly, always looking before leaping. They 
assembled the yottngers, and all uniting started for Jeﬁ'ries'
cabin. _
They had gone but a short distance when they discovered, '
three forms approaching by Winkler's cabin. They halted
and waited for them on receiving a signal to that effect. - v '
' They were 031%, Eben Jacobs, and Walter Ridgely, the 3, :
latter walking unstendily. His head was bound up in Eben" ’
scarlet handkerchief and his face was livid and while. H'I‘
eyes were bruised and purple and his nose was defaced. H9.
was too angry and chagrined to control his anger, but 6...:
lowed it free scope. The result was that he wash: a dart  ‘
gerous state of mind. I 

'lhey gathered round him, plying him with questionh L
which he answered moodily. ‘ \"K 

He had been walking, he said, through the spur of fore“ 
when he felt a rustic behind him, and turning had seen .0 _
man with uplifted? blndgeon directly behind him. He tried, 
to avoid the impending blow but too late; the cudgsludﬂ‘, «
sounded squarely upon his head, and he knew no more until ‘

 
'  giunt.

m ﬁﬁoﬁ '6': {Bunii'r‘n’i‘ Him. I it

' ‘lilzniiig’, kn hour or so since. when he Was stnmbled {upon
(y Eben, on his way to Cato’s cabin. ‘
i "' When asked if he recognized his would-be assassinshe re-
, lied in’the negative. But he was sure that it was not
' ﬁa‘nforth. He was a much larger man, being almost:

I Murmurs of indignation and menaces rose from the settlers,
5 old and young. They had long suspected the depths of the
_; grim forest were the haunts of evil men, and they were now
.sure of the fact. They were rapidly believing that quiet
7 Dnnforth too was not what he should be, but was connected
3 in some way with Katie’s disappearance. all being aware of

 last night‘s events.

1, ' ‘Wnlter was frantic when told of her sudden and strange
{ libsence, and sick with fear and doubt, raved _to be gone in
slant search. In this he was seconded by Jeﬂries, who was

"  ﬁercely less alarmed and distracted. Accordingly, hasty ar-

. rangements were made; ofﬁcers and scouts were chosen;

'3 (Jam, the Creeper, stood ready to ﬁx upon any trail, trace

” 61' mark; and the hearts of the whole band beat as one.

I  Every man was armed to the teeth, and what was better,
ﬁns buoyed by the sense of being in the right—-a weapon
{5a}- more potent than the steadiest ride, the deadliest pistol,
p "51' keenest knife ever made.

.- " Place two men of equal strength and agility upon an
linen ﬁeld to combat, one being in the right and the other
its the wrong. It willsurprise you to see how soon the

A J’Urmer will defeat his antagonist. This is solid truth.

L ‘ Sol Jacobs was chosen chief, as being an old Kentucky
n'dian-ﬁghter. The next in command was Jeﬁ‘ries. The
“Fronts and ﬂankerswere the keenest, sharpest young men in
“he settlement, under the supervision of Cato. the Creeper.
Before long they were wending their way down the hill
vzhvmrd the forest, Cato grinning with delight, the only agree- I
“1‘10 person in the psrty. The women stood ‘by the little
'Mﬂck-honse watching 'them depart; and though many {epil-
_, in! hearts 'were sad, none were so heavy and torn as the
{‘W‘g‘in One of [sweet Bettie Dunbar, watching,with trod,
.  eyes, the deportnre of (running, earnest men, to 
I.  berm her lover. ”

 
In a few moments they were, out of sight, and the women”.
went back to their cabins sorrowfully. .But Hettie mounted
the narrow ladder in the block-house and sat drearily alone,

sadly w'aiting, trembling, lest at any moment she should seer: »
her heart's idol brought back- wounded or dying, and in dis- ., L

grace and shame.

CHAPTER V.
amorer om.

Dowrmm and Cato hurried away through the forest, to' r A
ward Shadow Swamp, Katie meanwhile lying unconscious it! ;.
her abductor’s arms. But, when they arrived at the pool, V ,
and stopped and signaled for the canoe, the cessation of the i '
jolting motion aroused her and she opened her eyes. _ ' I

At ﬁrst her senses were scattered, and she did not remem-l

her the startling occurrence which had just taken place.
But by degrees her wandering thoughts collected, and look- j
ing at the dark, grim trees, the still, pale light of the moon, "
the sable form beside her, and at her own villainous captor, 1
‘she realized all and her heart sunk. The incidents, one by 
One, with startling distinctness rushed over her; the sudden;
awakening and fright; the villain’s rude and immodest grasp ’ ,
of her; the gradual fading away into oblivion; all, with the '
terrible, sickening dread of her fate to come was too much,
for her, and she swooned, again. . >
When she again opened her eyes she looked upon four 105 "
Walls and a roof of “ brush.” She was in a cabin.
The walls were hung with skins, weapons, utensils and V ;
clothing, and last, in one corner, was a looking-glasw—the pet: : x
of the dandy captain. The cabin was small, very small; but“ ‘
it was clean. Raising herself on her elb0w, she looked
around. In two corners were two piles of buﬁ'alo-skins un' ; I
dressed. and blankets—evidently used as beds. A rounds: ,.
short piece of a log stood on end in the center of the noon?»
evidently a stool. This, with her own couch, completed ‘1'?
scanty furniture of the cabin. I ' A _

 
demMeiox-e ‘ ill

' '  She was lying on a bed which had been prepared for her,
f ind she was delicately covered by skins. Her own clothing
‘/ 'lay near. .

. , x In a few moments the door opened, and Captain Downing

. » entered. He found her dressed and sitting vacantly on the

, " stool without power to ﬂy and escape. He had evidently

_ - taken some pains with his toilet, as his green coat was care-

“ 7 fully brushed, his hair was arranged, and his boots were

" :7 cleansed of all soil which generally adhered to them.

 He bowed gracefully, in a manner which would have re-

“ I; ﬂected credit upon many a “ carpet knight."

“ Ah 1" he said, softly, “ I am very glad to bee you are able

 ; to be up and about. Please accept my sincerest wishes for

' ' > your health."
a ‘, She did not raise her head, but sat as if in a trance. Ho
1 went on: r
“ May I call you Miss Katie 1 Please do not be, offended
-  «If I do. It seems so much more plemnt than cold, formal
_ Miss Jeﬂ'ries. Besides, my ardent regard for you causes me
‘ to use a more familiar title.”

. But she did not noticehim. After watching for any effect
his remarks might produce, he lounged gracefully upon his

; pile of robes, and took a meerschaum from his pocket.

V -‘ C. “ A relic of former days," he said, in a musing tone. “May

,  I so far trespass upon your good-humor as to smoke? A vice

i - 320 which gentlemen are much addicted. The dear ladies,

. ,5 however, in their sweet graciousness,‘ not only grant their

' j jjtertnission generally, but protest they ‘ like the perfume of a
I good cigar.’ Here's to the ladies—one in particular, the

v I ‘ ‘bonniest of them all. Having no claret to quatf their health

“ 3 ,ln, I am forced to be satisﬁed with a meerschaurn and very
Yillninous tobacco. Miss Katie, your own health.” '
He puffed out a wreath of smoke with exquisite eﬁ'rontery,

" - ;. ,lnd smiled‘ as a low moan escaped her lips.

“ You are looking lovely to—day, Miss Katie—very en-
, granting. If you only knew how my heart bleeds for you in
‘j Tynan-present embarrassing situation, you would at least reward
fine with one of your sweet smiles. Let us hope, however,
  the present place may soon become pleasant, even see:
 m- i lelldoall inmypowerwmaksit emu-serum?

 
His lest remark [had the effect of partially greasing he!
1mm her apathy. She looked at him mouminlly, with)
glance in which were mingled grief, outraged modesty, tetror
and cowempt. He laughed.

“ You am: Very ln—‘nuliflli—Vlfry lowly. When you, gazed
at me so eurnesily just now, my heart heal faster ilmn its ,
usual wont, and I imagined I could detect a sly twinkle o! , ._
love, too Was my surmise currect, Katie?"

She rowed to and fro, groaning in sheer despair and tar.
ror. His eyes snapped. ‘

“ I’m like the boy who drew the nightingale in the lottery‘"
he muttered. “ I’ve got her, and now she won’t sing. ,Well,
we will try the emcacy of force.” ' ,

He arose deliberately and stood before her, and their eyes
met. Here were terror—siricken,like e wounde fawu's; his
glittercd like a snake’s. Nevertheless, he. spoke musically and
low. ‘

“ if the fair Kaiie is swureof the value of obedience, she
will lemper her stubbornness slightly.”

Her eyes wandering vacantly about, fell upon a polished
pistol hanging to a peg close by ; she noted it. :He waited a
moment, then laid his hand quietly on her‘ahoulder.

With a wild, piercing cry sh'e shook it oif, and darting
athy, clutched the pistol. - A '

Never opening .her lips, but piercing him withher eye, she
stood drawn to her full hight, her cheeks pale, her hand;-
quivering, and hervwhole beingsmuscd, i .

“ Stand back, you monsterl” she commenced, in a ringing, ~, 
grating voice. f‘Don’t dare to lay your vile hands on mel I" I”;
Keep 03‘, I say i” ~ '

She wus thoroughly aroused, and her eyes darted entry
ﬁre. Irresistibly lovely she looked, and Downing, in spite of
his c‘nigrin at her opposition. loved her ten times more than . 7
ever. He gazed at her with his heart beating violently, he if ‘
was so aﬂ'ected by her resolute bearing. Then his lip curled ‘ '
and he advanced on her. I ‘ 

She quickly cocked the pistol and presented it. He bane? ' '

hut. moved slowly around her, trying to ﬁnd an opportunlt 7g ' .
Mil-Mixing in and disarming her. But, impelled by her to? ,5 "x -

 we. new win 994 its“ like him. gt!

 
)V .

m men or ,.mxutellonm in

mind tints spent in gliding sheathequ it was no second
changed his manner. r
Dropping his arms and extending 11in hands, he ,put on,
with splendid cunning, a mask of virtue. Throwing a wist-
ful, pleading look into his comely, brown eyes, he murmured,
inn low voice: .
“Lady, do your will and take my life! See, I am unarmed '
and nngttarded ; shootl 0h,desr lady,,to die by your his)st
were far sweeter than to live snd see you scorn me;so,.my
 l" .
V His sudden change surprised her, but she was'too aﬂ‘rlghto
, ed to lose her advantage. He saw she Was in earnest, and
he went on: ' i
“ I do not: I could not wish to bring myself to such a de‘
graded level as to Wish to do you harm. It you knew how
,passionstely I love you, with what high regard .I esteem your
purity and courage, you would at least refuse to.lltrentt:n me
so. Younhatsh manner cuts me to the heart. Believe me,
' dear lady, I do not mean you ill—if you think so, you have
, only to, shoot and rid yourself of such ardetested olnect as I
am to you."
' He grosned asthe said this, and sinking on his couch, bu-
ried his face in his hands. She watched him warily, though
hlf melted by his protestations. ' ,
“I brought you here,” he said, with his face mufﬂed, “to
love and cherish you—to tenderlyth for you. If, after a
time you did not. like it. here, I was going to take you book.
But out it wounét me to have you scorn me so."
“ I know too well your foul hypocrisy to bedelnded by4it.
, You have broughtme here forevil, and you cannottdeny it.
S3ut this I tell you—that if you lay your :hand on me but
once, it will be your last moment upon earth. Take it in ear-
nest, you demon, for I am terribly so.” '
He gt’oaned, then spoke, pleadiugly:
“ Oh, my love! plosse—"
“‘Keep your distance in language as well as in memento;-
‘  inﬁll brook no rude familiarity tram you I”
'1 A,  ‘ “MisstJeﬂ'ries, won’t you try and case for me! Even 8
~} g Jon-cannot regard me as I would ohome, you can at“ ‘
' Mom to respect me.” _

 
euro, mm;on,

This last was a false move. With this last eﬂ’rontery h! I
ire and grief found a full vent. - r _
“ Dare you sit there and ask me to respect you 1‘” she rung

out, in noble wrath. “Dare you, in the name of all that. is ~ ‘
pure and holy, to ask me to look even pilyingly upon you f '

Oh, sir, if in your mother was a spark of womanly virtue, if
your father was a man of worth and honesty, if you ever‘ had .
a pure sister, think of them and then of yourself at this s 3'
moment l—think of them and release me from this wicked
place. Take me back to my dear home; do not, oh, sir, do
not bring down the wrath of Heaven upon youl Think ol‘
my poor father—of his anguish at my absence; think of the

one who is to be my husband; please, sir, please pity and~ I: v
commiserate me. Oh, if you could imagine my grlet and ' '

horror at being here, away from my friends, if you could re-
spect or pity my sorrow, you would at once release me. Oh. .

air, for the love and in the memory of your mother and sis-M ,

tor, please do‘so, and let me go, and I will never tell u! whsi
I have been through here."
He looked up in his natural expression and said, quietly:

“I will at once release you and take you safely home if- :' "

you will grant me a single favor. It will not lncommodo '
you.”

“ Name it 1” she said, hastily, with her face lighted by an] r
of hope.

“ I will. It is to marry me."

“ Marry you 1" {

She looked at him steadily for a moment, then sunk on till «
stoal with a shudder, wildly weeping.

“ What is your answer?" he asked, with a quiet smile. ; .

She did not answer, but.sohbed and wept as it her hesﬁ I

Was breaking. ‘ 3, , -

"What is your answer ?" and he smiled.
“Never l" she subbed; “never 1"
x. “ Very well-very well."
He arose and walked toward the door and looked ou'L
“By the sun I should judge the time to be ten o’cloc _ ,
Now, Miss Jeﬂ‘ries, you will stay here twelve times mm; ‘

hours without food or water unlem you accede to my  ‘ 

I do not wish to humiliate you in any manner, and will a; :' :

 
m was or nun-m1 rem.

.r 1 ﬂiers is a preacher about forty miles east. If you desire to
‘ unite your fortunes with mine, say the word and before night
7 y’ We will be at his house. Otherwise think of the terrors and
_ ."Inguish of slow starvation. I will give you an hour to de-
1 -' cide. Reﬂect carefully, Miss Jt-tfries l"

7.» He walked quietly out, leaving her a prey to the most liar»
' 1 rowing thoughts. She had been tenderly reared and had
‘ ' .riever known the slightest grief, and this blow, dire as it was,
- ‘ "humbled her and caused great anguish. She well knew his
' quiet ferocity and unrelenting disposition; she had just now
V 1 Been his character in different phases; and knowing he would
> , accomplish his purpose if it was possible, she trembled at the
' .‘ thought of the future.

In addition to these keen pangs was one nearly as piercing
 -she had no idea in what place she was. In the settlement
' ‘ “ilhe robber had lived in Hans Winkler’s cabin ; she had often

been there and knew this was not it. She was probably in
' isome remote and obscure place, far from any path, alone with
« K this dangerous and passionate man. She did not dream that
‘ Eu dozen yards from the cabin, seven or eight men, abandoned
find proﬂigate, ready to sanction and further any act of
_' Downing’s, isolated from any thing pure or honest, were
‘7 laughing and coarsely joking—even about her.
_  It was fortunate she did not, else she might have been un-
; “lble to bear the thought, and would have swooned with fear.
v  She was in a critical and harrowing position, without
L means of escape, as she had heard him place a heavy log

lgainst the door as he went out. The door opened outward
: L Purposer in order to Conﬁue any prisoner within. Escape
' , ﬁlly the door was impossible.

I ' h As she thought upon her situation, fear lent her strength,
‘ . énnd she began to examine the walls of the cabin. For a
'  half-hour she beat them and pushed at the heavy logs feebly;
‘ Hie ran about sobbing, beating them with her delicate hands
,gllnlil they bled; she mounted the stool and searched the
' Jiltrong roof; she vainly endeavored to force the door; she
 ‘ lulled on her father and lover frantically ; then, when escape
r, 1", N83 only too vain, she began to pray, half-crazed.
“"54 :At the expiration of the hour Downing entered and closed
sh door. behind him. ' -

 
Then he folded in. arms and quietly gazed at her as as ; 
sat on the low, rude stool, in a semi-stupor. '~ '
“ Well Y" be said. i '
She made no reply, neither did she raise her eyes; but set  ‘
motionless. V l '.
“ Well," he continued, smiling slightly, “have you made up 5
your mind i" '

He expected here that she would .show some spirit, 6 -.’ '

least a little resistance; but she neither did one nor the
other.
" Have you resolved which alternative you will take 1"
She answered in a faint voice, “I have." ' . ~
“ Well, will you be my wife and gain a protecting hu- 2
band 1’" ‘
H  I"
“ Are you in earnest, Miss Jelfries? Think well heron?
you speak. You know the alternative; do you choose it?” y
“ I do; anything were better than being the wife of A «
man I loathe and detest.” ’ I,
“ You will ﬁnd yourself mistaken before many days, marl“ .‘ _
Well what I say. I am not to be deterred from my or i f'
solve." ’
“ I am resolved.” .
“ Once again I enjoin, nay entreat you to reﬂect. You:
are, metaphorically speaking, at the forks of a road. On! 2
leads, it not to perfect happiness, to at least, an easy, inda‘ ‘ '

lent life, well garnished with luxuries; the other to—a hord‘ ' 

hle, unknown death."
“Fiend l" » '
“lam, Miss Jeﬂ'rics,I acknowledge it. Yet I can b“ -

most tender and agreeable when I choose. Fiend! that v '

a harsh word, yet I take a'strange sort of pride in it. Y0“ :
donut know my early life. Well, I will relate it. Meal”?
while you can, in listening, form some opinion of deal]: U ,
starvation. I love you fondly, tenderly, Miss Kate. as on”:

one of my disposition can; and it is for this reason wait. 3 ‘
treat you so cruelly. It is one of the contradictions of ‘ l - '

nature. But I will go on with my history.” 2 r I -
He lighted hissqneinABoatly plpe, and begging he! _ ,
:10!) u politely as any native of handbags: inkht’lv  l

 
‘  ‘ body.

was one: '0: mom’s seam. Q‘-

:1,th voice, occasionqu making at gestuns with the  on
 an experienced, orator. ' I

“ I am a native, of nowhere, and my parents were no-
Thut is, my parents either died ordeserted me when
very young, as I was found, a frail infant in the middle of

L one of New York's busiest thoroughtares, in early'ntorn-

ing, by a young roystering blade, rolling home in the morn-

ing. He took me, to a foundling asylum, and left me to

~ live or die—as my nurses by their care or neglect, might
will.

“ I lived—after suffering all the ills and evils ol babydom,

and grew strong and healthy. When I' arrived at the un-

 ripe and. vicious age of ten, an old gentleman, a retirtdr

merchant, attracted by the couteliness of my‘fhce and form,
adopted me, giving me his own name—Robert Davis.

“ I was a quick-witted, jovial little chap, and ii' I do say
it' myself, was very fair and handsome. Being pe‘tted and'

l; caressed by all the women both old and young, of the neigh-
, borhood, I easly grew into the' belief that I was something
1: superhuman—in fact a genius, one day to be the President-
' -‘ =’ of the country.

It is true, that notwithstanding my gaud-
nature and nﬂ‘ability, I was at times seized with ﬁts of quiet,

" inordinate cruelty, which made me a demon, and at these mo-

T‘l_"-

, .

-I

 
I

Veiﬁh‘?“ i?“

merits everybody avoided me. .
“ As years went on these attacks became more frequent
undivioient. Before, when under the inﬂuence of them. I"

" restrained myself, and was content with murdering all the

small animals within my reach. But now, I became more-

 hltmdthirsty and ferocious—attempting, though vainly, that

"-‘lives of all my companions.

.3‘ “ Then they avoided me, and -feared the very ground I
trod. This incensed me and I grew more violent. At lust,
on my twentieth birthday, a ﬁt, stronger and more uncon?

: .h‘ollable than any before, seized me. Without provocation

got any kind I fell upon a comrade and attempted his life.

3 11 failed, though he was made a cripple for life, and I was
' ‘Iburied in an insane asylum, a monomaniac.
' , ungtbut only a monomaniac, yet that was sumcient to cause

I was not in-

"Ily incarceration.
' “In ﬁve years I was pronounced cased, and: war-mad

 
arm, an em; on,-

I went back to my old haunts, penitent and resolving to do:
all in my power to alleviate any suﬁ‘ering I had caused. But I

was too late; the friends I sought were gone. My adopted ‘ A

father was dead, the one whom I had made Useless for life
had gone, no one knew whither; and weary of lingering
near the scene of so much unhappiness I went South.

“ It you recollect, or if you ever knew, a most horrible
robbery and murder occurred in Charleston, a few years
since. The perpetrator was never discovered, though long
and vigilant search was made for him, and large rewards
were oﬁ‘ered for his apprehension. I see by your face you
recollect thevcvent—it was the talk and alarm of the whole
country. I will not tell you what reason the murderer had
for his outrage; I 'need not dwell upon the subject, but will
only say that he escaped soot-free, plunged into the western
wilds and organized a band of robbers, Miss Jeﬂ‘ries, the
man who stole into a banker’s house for purposes of robbery
(and to gratify a grudge) and, who, being discovered. took
the lives of him and his servant, then made off with a rich
plunder, stands before you." ,

She started up wildly, then after gazing at him in terror,
clasped herhands and sunk to the ground, unnerved. He
smiled.

“I did not relate the narrative for effect—i! I had I
would have told it minutely and in much greater length ; but.
I told it brieﬂy to make you aware with whom you are deal-
ing. And, to conclude, I will tell you my name is not
Dauforth, but Captain Downing, chief of a bandit band,
and that I was never yet thwarted. Have you your answer
ready 1’"

She slowly arose, pale, but ﬁrm and calm. Smiling him
with her eyes she regarded him steadily until his own quailed.
Then she spoke in a strange. grating voice:

“ Were I in the power of one ten times the villain that
you are; were I looking forward to a fate worse than death;
were I doomed to eternal future pain and misery, instead of
knowing that you can but take my.life; I would still have
the same answer—I shall never wed but one man, and heir
four opposite."

“ This is your ﬁnal resolve t"

 
'1'“ more 0’ 'DIAIFKAN’B WRIST. I 0

“ It is my ﬁnal resolve l"

“ Very well. May you enjoy yourself then, in the short
» life you have marked out for yourself.” '

He went softly around the cabin, and took every weapon
from its walls, even the pistol at her feet. Then, he opened,
the door, and looked at her ﬁxedly.

“It is well 1” he said, with a quiet smile. “ Through this
' open door take your last glimpse of nature. You will never
see human being or outside world ugain. Farewell forever
Miss Jeffries."

“ Ay 1" she said, “ we will never meet in the future world.
I have but one single prayer, and that is. may you forever be
haunted by the ones whom you have so ﬁendishly injured on
earth. God forgive me for uttering such I wish ; but, mark
my words, if ever there was justice above or below you will
be punished.”

He smiled on her, then turned and went out. The door
closed and was barred; she sunk down, overwhelmed ; but a
voice rung out through the forest, unheard at the island In
Shadow Swamp, but speaking still, and the words were
ominous:

“ You are treading on dangerous ground; take care 1"

She was left, without hope, to her fate.

CHAPTER VI.
spousmnnmn.

., Tm: pursuing and searching party wound swiftly into
Dead-Man's Forest, with Cato the Creeper in advance. He
strode boldly along. whistling Ind singing joviully, though
keeping a sharp eye upon every thicket and mailed cnpse.
In addition to his razor, he carried a huge knotted hludgeon
which he trailed along the gronud. When fairly In the
Ahsdes of the forest, he commenced a fsvorits melody, with

ﬂatpnto: ' '

 
' lswbone wslkin'. jawbone talkin',
Jawbone est with a knife sn’ mi:
Jawbone broke an‘ de marrow-4'

u Dry rp t" mme ordered So], the leader. “ Don’t yer
know thar‘s lnjuns skulkin' round? let alone the gang of
ruse-ale I know hide in theseth thickets. Ei' yer don’t yer'd
ougnter.” ’

" Golly, Mnrs’r Jscobs, I’se done prowled ’round these yer
woods '{ur dis long time an' I done never see’d any gang. E!
titer was one, ole Csto'tl know it, shore.”

“ Curse me ei' I don’t believe you do,” mentally declared
Jacobs. “ I guess I'll keep an eye on the nigger."

They were in a small glade. Stopping short, Jacobs turned
and faced the men, who belted and gathered about him. After
thinking a moment, he said :

“ Now, buys, ydr've pretty much made up yer minds how
little Katie got lost, ain’t yer it”

An expressive grunt was his answer.

“ Wul, ’cordin‘ ter Dutch Joe. this yer Danforth ain‘t
what he should be. sn’ it’s my opinion he's in some way or
t’other, rot suthin' ter do with it. Them yer sentiments,
boys ‘9” ‘ 4

“ Ay, ay 1" and " you bet l“ were his emphatic answers.

“ Now, Dutch Joe is myther cracked, but he's right smart
on common things. He’s told me, time an’ ag‘in, that be
seen Danforth paddlin' on Shadow Swamp pond, with a lot
of hang-dog men, armed ter the teeth. Now, yer know
thur’s been sev'ral chaps gone in this timber that ’vc never
h‘en seen ter come out. Blood, too, has been diskivered.
Most every one has heerd yells come from this yer timber
when these yer chnps war in it—yells of terror. Boys, yer
know old Sol Jacobs has 500’: Injuns and knows a. thing or
two; and yer know he's no person‘s fool eyther. We], put-
tin’ this, that, and t‘nther together, it’s my opinion this yer

r Dnniorth is in cahoots with a gang of robbers,“ and that what
he is at, the pretty little Katie is.”

Several exclamations came from the men—groans from '

Walter and J etfries, threats from the young men, and murmurs V '

of- assent from the elders. .
“ Wsl, now, tar get little Katie back sg’in, we must Sid

 
/ v

m 1131101! or new-mm roam. in

Dahlorth. Ter do that We must hev a trailer wholrnow:
the woods and who kin foller a blind trail. , The best fel-
lnr fur that biz in the outfit is Cato. here; and though I
know he‘ll work fur nuthin', still he'll work a durned right
faster and surer with suthin’ in ﬂow—my, p‘r’nps." I ‘

“Gully, Murs‘r Jamhs, yer dune speektle truf do! time,
shore," and the negro grinned in anticipation.

“ Now, boys, wlmt’ll yer give of he does his duty, whether

i s We ﬁnd her or not l’ Fur one. I‘ll throw in a dozen beaver-

sklns. Come, boys, shell out i” , V _

They did so, giving liberally of their scanty store of. boob
woods paraphernalia. One gave a gun, another a efonndered
pony, a vicious Bronco; another promised a small keg of
liquor; another gave a set of beaver-traps; while Walter
and her father, in their grief and anxiety, promised all
their-earthly possessions if she were returned to them tut-
‘hurmed. t ‘

After this no time was lost. Esger‘for the search to begin
in earnest, anxious to recover the pet of the settlement, burn-
ing to meet and vanquish the supposed gang of robbers, the
men, one and all, clamoretl to be led on. .

Cato, who had been grinning from ear [to ear during the
discussion, now desired to be left to himself, assuring them he
would soon ﬁnd a trail on which to fasten: Then all would
be easy. - ‘ ~

“ We], go on i" said Sol, impatiently. it‘No one‘s hinder-
ing yer." » , .

Cato answered by gliding oﬂ‘ into the “bush " at a rapid,
sneaking shamble. Eben followed him closely. The negro
turned, halfvangrily: . , . _ .

“ Mars’r Eben. of dis yer niggnh‘t gwine ter pick out do
trail, he must he left ter hisself, shore. Knin’t work when
no)? pusson's ’mund." v .

“ I've got orders ter foller yer,” answered the young man.

Cato dropped his hands to his aides.

, f‘ Wal. den, dis yer niggah'a dune give up do job, [0‘ shore.

Kitin’t do nuthin' while pussonls round tnmpiug up d.

ground. It must be cl’ar." N ‘ , .

; “The ydung'msn laid hiehand signiﬁcantly on hie m,
*Gobn l” he saintly commanded; '

 
ca'ro, 'rrm 03mm; on,

“ Golly; Mars’r Ebenl yer don't shoot dis yer niggah f" r

“ You bet I will e1 yer don’t dust around lively. Time’s
scarce; move on I” ’

“ Dat I will ; dat I will i" surlily answered Cato. “Mars’r
Eben, dis niggah done go on. Call ’em all ’long I_ hrung >
de hull pack} skreech an’ yell all yer want! it don‘t make
no diﬁ‘erence ter Cato l”

“ You threaten, do yer, yer black rascal? Well, this I’ll
say: ef yer play us false, watch out fur a bullet.”

“ Golly, Mars’r Eben 1 dis chile nebber cheats. Fo’ shore
I ﬁnd urn trail berry soon.”

“ Well, what d’ye stand there for! Curse yer, why don't
yer go on 1’" .

“Move onl Move on l” came in a high, warning 'volcc
close by, in the opposite direction from where the party were
grouped, watching their movements. It proceeded ' from a
dense thicket near at hand.

_ “Hello! who said that ?" asked Eben, in surprise. The
negro turned yellow, and his teeth chattered with fear. He
was thoroughly alarmed.

“ Golly, Mars’r Eben l” he stammered, staring toward the
thicket. “ Did yer hear dat ?"

“ Of course I heard itl what was it i"

“ 0h, golly, mars'rl dis Chile's dead an’ done buried”,

“ It was a man’s voice. I will go and see who it is.”

The negro stopped him as he was moving away, grasping
him ﬁrmly by the arm. "

" Don’t go, mars‘r; stay heah l Dat am de Obeah man.”

“ Pshaw l”

“ Yas, mars’r, I’se done oﬂ'en hcerd um. Obeah man ad
like ter be pestered. Mars’r .Eben, yer’se done gone dead 6!
yer goes thar.”

“ Let me go l take your hand OE ! ef ye air afeard I'm not.
I’m goin‘ ter see who ’tis."

He shook the negro 03‘, and, followed by the party, who
hearing the voice had drawn near. plunged into the thicket,
have Ueffries, who, with his superstitions revived, stayed be-
hind. Walter in his frantic zeal was ﬁrst. Darting into
the thick ' “ bush” he lorced his way through the matted
hazel bushes, eylng vigilantlv every ‘ twig. The rest, di-

 
m' person or nun-ms ram. 8‘

' 2 :‘pefsed themselves through the adjoining thickets and he'

was left to himself. Hearing a rustle close by he sprung to«

v  ;'_ Jvard it and imagined he caught a sudden glimpse of a mis-
‘ , ‘shapen form swiftly retreating.

. The form was white as snow and was that, apparently,
. of a hunchbnck. For a moment only was it visible, then it
~ Vanished, and a horrible, low, hollow chuckle rung mock-
' ingly out. He darted after in close pursuit, but was brought
to a stand by a matted grape-vine, which stood an impene-
trable barrier directly in his path. Knowing from experi-
ence he could not penetrate it he was forced to retreat and
take a circuitous path around it. He was very much sur-
. prised, for the ﬁgure had glided through as easily as if he had
I. been a snake.
1' He was some minutes in returning to it, and when he
' got there he was satisﬁed that hot pursuit would be in
‘1 _vain; he must fasten on the trail. Being familiar with this
art, he stood perfectly still and peered at the ground. It
was soft, and his own toot-marks were distinctly visible,
but they Were the only ones. But he went down on his
knees and crept about, arnestly watching for any indentation
which might lead to he. discovery of the trail. But his
abarch was in vain—n0 other beside his footsteps murred the
earth.

, _ Then he examined the adjacent twigs and bushes tosee

, it they were disturbed in any manner by his passage. Then

-  he examined the grape-vine. Neither were barked or bruised

in any way and had not been touched. According to their
evidence (at any time or place reliable) no one had passed
by.
'.‘ Now ,he was indeed surprised. He had,with_his own
eyes, seen the huncbback disappear through the vines. He
had heard him chuckle mockingly, and he remarked the
“ sound wu most hideous and unearthly. Whoever he was,
he was most sly and foxy, and had left no trail. He was, ere
this, entirely beyond his reach.
For a moment, a feeling of evil came over him. Here
'  he was in Dead-Man’s Forest, in its gloomy depths. He
I  had seen, he knew not what; he had heard it mock him
‘ v_ dart-lively}. he was opposed by a strange, invisible foe; and

 
-- use, an. cams; on.’

he Was somewhat alarmed, and greatly astonished, at its. ‘

mysterious disappearance. But, he was not one to staudan‘d.“ ' 4 ,

wonder at marvelous things; he was a young ninety-eat,
energy, and almost distracted with grief, was impatient, at.
del'nytand in a hot fever to go on. He raised his voice and
called to Cato; he would surely ﬁnd a trail.

“ Cato! oh, Cato l" .

No answer. He could hear at a little distance the rustle.
of bushes and the breaking of twigs; like himself, his cont.
rades were ferreting about in pursuit of the strange intruder.
Now and then, one would exciaim suddenly, then relax in—
to silence; then a low whisper would reach-his cars from
an ardent pair close by. ‘

“ Cato! where are you T”

An owl close by, awakened from his midday nap by the
unusual clamor, screamed and laughed :

“v Hoot, hool who, who—who are you i"

“ Confound the bird 1 I can’t hear for his cursed noise,
Catol oh, Cato i”

“Ha! hool huml Polly cook for we all, who. cooks for
you all 1’” screamed the owl.

< To one bred in a city the noise ﬁmld have sounded like
a person speaking the above words with a mouth full 01"
pebbles; but he was acquainted with the sound and Was in~
caused at the uproar. ‘ v -
- “ Cato, come here, you are wanted; here is ‘ sign.’ "

“ Who‘s that callin’ i’" asked some one close by.

" Walt Ridgely. I want Cato."

The man took up the cry, and hailooed :

“ Come hyar, ye blasted nigger; ye’r' (ice-sired." '

But no ansWer' came. Walter, incensed, made ’his way
back to the glade where they were standing when the cry
was heard. When he got there he found it deserted. Think-
ing the negro was away on a scout, he hallooed to the search-
ing men to bring him back. They did so, calling loudly.
But no answering halloo was heard.

The frontiersmen, thinking an important discovery had
been made, came back, and soon ail-were reassembled, plying
Walter with questions. He related the occurrence, and their

 aroused, part or them went away into the, woods to. t: 5

 
t

\

m Dalton or menu's-roam.

: ‘mer the missing negro, leaving the father and lover Well-
" nig'hdisﬁ‘acted at» the delay. - ‘ , _
In half an hour (which seemed an age to the latter) they
 all came back. vowing vengeance; the negro had, deserted.
. I Brought to a stand-still, they cursed and growled some, then
 ’7 entered into a council of» war. ‘

V  Cato, on being left to himself, had taken advantage of? the
: 9.,Jnoméot. and sped away at full speed toward Shadow Swamp,
g V, distant about three miles. Arriving there, he gave his‘own
‘  peculiar whistle for the captain, who soon appeared on the

_ edge of the island.

; The negro signaled him to cross. The captain disappeared,
. " then appeared paddling toward him. He drew up by the

‘ g projecting log On which the negro was standing, and de‘
" ' mended: ' - ' '

’ “ What is wanted ‘9" r
g, “ Dey'a trailin’ yer, Mare‘r Cap’n ; dey’a all. in a m ’bont‘

: yer; dey’s gwine tor cotch yer an’ atring yer up." '

“ Who? What do you mean ?" ”

“ De squatters—def: a-huntin' yet.”

“ What! do they suépect '1’" .

“Yas, mars’r—un’ dey ain’t; for wrong, hi, yil" and he
laughed uproariously.

“ Hold your tongue, you blockhead! do you want to be dia-
covered'? How far are‘thcy away 1’” , ’

‘“‘Bout t‘ree mile.”

“ Are they on the trail ?”

“ No, air, inars’r, no, ear. Dem fellaha kain’t foller trail—-
psho l" and he turned up his ﬂat nose in contempt.

“'Don’t be too sure. Cato; there are sharp men, old Indian-
ﬂghters, among them. We must bevigilaut—svery wary. How.
came they to suspect me Y" ' -

‘1 , “ Dunno, sar. Foun' ’em red-hot dis mornin’, all bunched
‘ t ,1 7, up reddy ter foller on do trail. Trail! dem fellahs!
tho I" '

“ Did you speak to them i”

“ Speak to ’em? Golly, Mara’r Cap‘n, I’ae de tellah dat ll
leadin' ’em; I’se de fellah dat am gwine tor latch ’em right
hill" to: der Bhadder Swamp l” ‘ “

The captain whipped out a revolver:

 
“ So you are, are you? Then you live "—cocklng the <-
wespon and aiming it at the negro’s heed—~“ then you liv
just one half of a second longer." :

The negro threw up his hands in alarm, and yellow wit
fear, gasped out:

“ G-g-golly, Mnrs‘r Cnp'n, I’se done—Pse wrong.” .

“ Wrong? Mind your speech! Hal don’t you dare to
move or I’ll pepper you I Now, you villain, tell me what
you men."

He was in a dangerous state of mind, as could be told by
the ferocious smile he wore. Cato, knowing him well, was
alarmed. .

“ Golly, sar—Mars’r Csp‘n ; I’se done mistaken, I’ —"

“ Out with it 1”

“ I‘se yer—yer—de fr‘end ob de cappen’s."

“ None of your gasconnde, I won't hear a word of it!
Come, out with your lie 1"

“ I done mean ter say Yes rt-foolln'."

“ Fooling l'"

“ Yns, snr; I’se de fr'end ob de cap’n.”

“ Triﬂer l" I

- “ Hold on, mars‘r; don't shoot. Pas de enemy ob de fel-
lnhs l"
. “ What fellows 1’"

“ De squatters—dc Regumlstors! I’se blindin’ ’em."

“ You mean to say you are pulling wool over their
eyes ?"

“ Dnt’s it, mnrs'r—I'se pullin‘ hull bales ob wool ober
'em.” ,

. "And that you mean to mislead them? to pretend to trail
me, and take them out of the neighborhood i"
“ Dnt am a fac’ 1 Hi! '
“ ‘anhone walkln'. anboue—J "

“ Be quiet. Did they give you any thing for it 1’”

As he said this he belted the revolver, and Cato grew
enier. His eyes gleamed at the prospect of double pay, as
he knew the captain would give largely to avoid appre- \

'lrenelon. . . V .

“Yes, mers'r," answered the black; “ dey dorl'e gib Ina

heaps ob t'ings." -

 
m won or mum’s mun. 1|!

“ What 1"

._ “ Dehblish pcart pony, 'big gun, beaver-traps, farms, honles,

~ ? lots ob cows—"
' “ You triﬂe with me, do you 2” demanded the captain, with
a wicked smile.

Cato became nervous again.

“ No, mars'r, I'se speaks do truf 1 De young fellah,
Waltab, an‘ de ole man, done sed dey’d gib me do hull t’ing

_ --farms, cows, de houses, de hosses—”

, t. “ Oh, they are anxious, then; well, I suppose you will en—
. i deavor to earn your reward t" i

‘ . “No, earl I gits hare ob it anyhow, an’ do other am on

de job."
. “Soho! Well, you are a ﬁne sort of fellow, Cato, to be
‘1 I, sure. Won’t you take something 7" and he drew a ﬂask
' a_‘ from his pocket. ' ‘
3 The negro took it eagerly, and put it to his lips, rolling
. . his eyes in ecstasy as the ﬁery liquid gurgled down his
 , .throut. Now the captain could do any thing with him.
i “ Now, cam," he continued, “ you have always been a faith-
" , Iul fellow, and have never been sufﬁciently rewarded. Now
* 1', if you will mislead them thoroughly—mind, thoroughly—I
' ' will give you, not foolish weapons, or land which you will
never use, but money—yellow money."

Cato's eyes rolled. The captain Went on :

, “ How would you like a hundred dollars, Cato—a hundred
yellow dollars? You will be rich, Cato."

“Golly, Murs’r Cap’nl whewi one hun’ud dollars! gully,
Ganl'se do it right good fur dat much. Hi! den Cato am
gwine back inter ole Missip’, ‘ a berry rich niggah.’ ”

 “ I am glad you are satisﬁed. It is indeed an immense
sum—very large. But, Fink is calling me—I must go. Now,
just do your duty by me and you will get your money and
be a rich man. Now oﬁ‘ with you 1”

He waved his hand, and Cato, grinning with delight, send—

’ ded away at full speed. very unlike his usual lazy pace.

j~ Downing saw him vanish in a thick “ brush,” then embarked
‘  in the ‘4 durum” and paddled back to the island. '

 
CHAPTER VII.
A TERRIBLE TREE.

Vantonsznnd many were the threats of the settlers when”
Cato was not to be found, but. they were eclipsed by the set‘ ~
tled determination of Walter and Jeﬁ‘ties, who resolved to ,
make him pay dearly'for his ﬁekleness and desertion when i
they'met him. And’ no wonder they were incensed at his r
conduct, Aside from the delay, which might prove serionl‘, ’
and which was provoking, the‘thought that this very moment .
Katie might be’ euﬁ'ering terrible evils, Was one of anguish to
the two who loved her so fondly. w

Of the two‘griefs, Walter's was the greatest and hardest to  7
bear. While the father was strit‘ken and stupeﬁed by thd‘ ‘r 
blow, and was in a semi-stupor. Walter was kept nervously"; .
strung to the highest tension by a thousand surmises, suspi-
cions at)d“fears. He well knew, from personal knowledge,
Downin‘g's impulsive and evil character; be well knew, by
his actions the night before, that he was very hot-blooded} . ,
and plethoric with sinful passions; and were Katie, as every‘ I ,
body strongly suspected, in his power, the worst might hapj ‘ L
pen. ’
It was also strongiy suspected that this gay, handsome Dan,- ‘L _
forth was inﬂleague with a band of bandits. Although the v ‘
cou‘ptry was new and sparsely settled, although the squattersyi; V ,
were generaliy poor and without money of any 'kind,‘und sﬂ 
far from genuine civilization, one would think a band of robs 
hers" was an absurdly superﬂuous thing. But it was not so. a
Across Arkansas, and right on the brink of Shadow Swamp. '

and hisecting Dead-Man’s Forest, ran what was then knowﬂz J  ~

as the “ Arkansas trail,” the great wilderness thoroughfare (ﬂ’. ’ ‘r
from the Mid-Western States to Mexico. It has long sinél' _f’
been abandoned, and is now almost unknown ; but along m 
serpt'ntine course many murders have been Committed,
robberies and dastardly deeds, of which the world will newt
know. "

 
m ninei’iei’nm " "historian; I.

N Men laden with Wealth—the'hara-earned' savings of many
.  hard and dangerous weeks" w'ork‘-— men growing lighter-
1 i hearted and merrier at. every step, had left 'sunn‘y Mexico with
‘ . enough to enjoy forever, and were nearing sweet home. Per-
: 5 hsps they had béen haraSSed on the plains by hostile savages;
'  perchance they had suﬂ'ered the dircful pangs of hunger and
‘ thirst in the wilderness, and had stared death in the face and
had warded him off many times; but of every ten who en-
. _tercd Dead-Man’s Forest, within the conﬁnes of civilization,
" at least seven never came out on the other 
v No wonder the existence of a‘robber band was suspected;
, no wonder handsome Charles Danforth,'doing nothing else
'é‘lhan roaming in the gloomy forest, was suspected of conspir-
‘ ing with it; and what wonder that sweet Katie, who had re-

f, ! Jected him the night before, should be in his toils?

And as Walter thought of these dark things, his blood
‘ ' 3mng and he felt the terrible pangs of the sickness of strength
. arising within him. Fear rolled on fear, and festered and
I " crew sore; and his pangs were not a whit alleviated by the
Z deln .

Bit it Was of short duration. A'hasty council was formed,
i . questions were made and answered, the elders gave their sage
‘ f advice, p‘d they soon started oﬁ‘, with deadly rage hob-nob-
:’ hing with fear.
; e Now Sol Jacobs was to be the bloodhound, a“. e.,the"trailen
' r Once he had been famous for his skill in the high and subtle
" . ltt, but he had not followed a trail for years. He was old,
: T but still strong and spirited, and in the shooting-matches
it .lﬂWays carried off the prize. His old energy still remained
' ,uaunch-and his eyes were as keen as ever.
' They started toward—where? They did not know. Then
.' they went to the border of the forest, and began to look for
" ‘. ,llte trail, the party dispersing for the purpose. They had not
V along to search, for they were singularly fortunate. They had

' ‘L : lot been scattered above five minutes when an exclamation

I was heard from Sol, who was heading and looking intently
'v .' at something, being only a few rod's from the cabin of Hans
fmkler. . . i
. « They hurried to the spot. Sol pointed to a 'Iet of tracks in
1 > 2' “me  “round. one W85 that 0! 

 
are, m m; on,

shaped; the other that of a coarse shoe, large and ﬂat. :3

Both were pointing in the same direction—toward the forest, ‘ 
and by them he Judged the parties must have been moving i '

rapidly.

“ Wai, boys}? said Sol, “ e! I ain't mistaken, hyar’s the g ;

trail." “

“How do yer know that?” inquired a suspicious settler. ‘1, I

“ It mout not be the one we‘re after." 7
f‘ Wal, hut yer see it air!" returned Sol, a triﬂe nettled.

. a 301".“ why? Why that’s only one man in the settlement that A i;
wears such a boot, and he is that Denforth. See, it’s trim and ‘ 

neat—a store boot. All ye fellers wears coarse ones, or i

rather moccasins. Every feller hyar knows that hoot-mark, " 7
don‘t yer ? And then t'other; that thar is bigger and ﬂutter , ‘

—more like some of yer all's. I‘m cussed ef I know who it

h‘longs ter—darn me ef I hain’t. I don't believe that’s a a 
man in the whole settlement that's got a‘ shoe like that. Wal. ; 3

it makes nary diﬂ‘erence—Danforth‘s the man we're after, and
Dnnfurth's the man we‘ll ﬁnd, whether he's guilty or not
guilty. Them yer sentiments, boys ‘3"

“ You betl Ay, ay ! go on i" and many others were the - ‘ i

exclamations by which he was answered.
“ Yer all hynr t" he asked, looking over his foll ers.
“ All hyar l" 
“ How many air ye i”
“Fifteen.” w v V
“Fifteen brave, stout men. Wei, yer all ready? Come _ v

onl foller clost, boys; keep yer eyes open, yer mouths 
shet, and don‘t tramp on the trail! Hyar we go after little - 1

Katie l”
He started 03' at a round paco with the most gigantla'

strides, bending down to see the trail, and keeping his gun at p 

a trail. .
The others followed, observing his instructions, and fuming

to recover Katie. Hettle, from her position in the bloclre I, :«
house, saw them emerge from the forestI gather round 80!, . "
and then start away rapidly and disappear in the wood., SIN ; ~

ﬂghed.
“ Ah 1” she sorrowfully murmured, “ my darling, Ihopo yet

will come to no berm.”

 
nu man or we must. ‘ a

t’m‘iInto the forest they plunged, just after midday,swiftiy but.

. ing an 'open trail. On they went, stealing 'under drooping
‘ trees, striking out across a glade, siinking into a dense cop-
j pice, out again with a pause and a listen, then on, following
.' the plain trail. Never deviating, never halting, always wary
v and watchful, they went on; and the ghostly trees nodded,

' i the sun shone redly down, and all was quiet in Dead-Man‘s

" f Forest.

,\ ‘ Hallo! who is talking? who is crying aloud when all

j should be still? who speaks? Hallo!

‘ 3,, A voice, borne by the wind, ﬂoated up and into the sir,

: Ipea'king only a few, very few words; but they were full of

- strange meaning. The ptirsuers did not hear it, neither did

i; any one else—only the trees in Dead-Man‘s Forest. But it

_; Hpnke, notwithstanding.

, I Cato was on his way to meet the party, and was running

' ; Quite rapidly, when he entered a small giade, one of the
4 many that embellished the gloomy old wood. He drew

- J hack out of sight, directly, and ensconced himself under a.

‘ 1‘ bush.

M What had he een ?——-nothing. Had he heard any noise to

_ alarm him i’——no. Had he received any warning about this

I . .partioniar spot ?—no. Then why did he fear to emerge into
1 the gladel‘ Why did he hide under the bush 1’

He could not tell. The moment he had set his foot into

; the glade a large tree in the center of it attracted his atten-
tion ; a feeling of fear came over him. Nay, more—~11 feel-
ing of positive terror. He was absolutely afraid to enter it.
‘ Now, there was nothing remarkable about that tree—it
was a common oak, rather devoid of foliage. No man

. éould hide in its top~a coon would have been discovered by
It greenhorn if he had trusted to its shelter. Its trunk was of

’ the size of a man’s body, not large enough to shelter 3 large
man; no one could hide behind it without rolling himself
into a ball. Neither had the tree that awkward appendage
0'! a rope hanging pendent from a dead limb—nor the more
iiwkward habit of staring a man in the face as some trees do,
Ni it they were saying: '

_, ‘ “Avoid me'l this is a weird, ghostly spot l"

* f « It was a common tree—nothing more.

 
“1'0.   93v

, He, watched it awhile uneasily, than softly, arose, and; _ 
tending to sitqu around, the glade, started stealthily on.  
before he had half completed the circuit, a faint voice, seem; ‘
ingly from a great distance, said: , =‘

u Swp In} 

He did so, in a cold sweat, and shaking from head g
foot. His eyes were ﬁxed on the tree as if fascinated. WM 
was the matter with the tree? ' ‘ ‘

His limbs refused to move as he assayed to ﬂee. His eydf‘ ; 
rolled in their sockets and icy sweat poured from him. Walt ‘ ‘
be under a strange inﬂuence? 4 a

With a superhuman eﬂort he gathered strength, and; ,.
wrenching his eyes from the tree, started 06 on a dead run. - *

“ Stop l" ,

He did so, nearly ready to faint with terror. Half faint, = V
ing, his ignorant, superstitious mind conjured up myriads of 
ghastly, grotesque and fantastic objects, which ﬂoated beforﬁ
his eyes. Imps rode fantastic steeds snorting ﬁre, blue w 
—asalcohol ; blue serpents entwined, their horrible folds bo'c 7 '
fore him; pale specters with awful pale-blue countenance!“ ..
grimly grinned at him; a conﬁagration of lurid blue raged. _,
and roared around; him ; new, strange, and‘ terrible animalﬁ' 5‘
charged. and recharged upon him, never striking, but coming; 9‘
feurfully near; and above all, there stood the tree, now bluq-
as all the rest; blue, blue, blue. .‘ ‘

A clamor, as if of ten thousand giants harshly wrangling. - ‘v
surged in his ears, rivaling the throb of his heart. A feveﬂzj A
took possession of him and made his torment, if posaiblﬁ. * '
worse. He strove to ﬂee—he could not. He strained W, "
shriek, but strove in vain—he was a lost man. u . '

And now a dog, invisible, drew near. He could belie
him come slowly on, panting. He remembered the day watﬂ ‘
hot—so undoubtedly was the dog. Dogs always. pantandt , ‘
loll when heated; hear him pant, pant, pant. . f

He sunk to the ground in despair and he could see thin: ..
tree burning, now, with a blue ﬁre which waved female,
tically. By degrees the, ﬂames communicated with 0th“?
trees; more demons appeared ; terriﬁc giiints drew near allay
scowled down upon him; and still nearer drew. the dos ;
put! put! mm“ 1 - I .

 
m  017.61% ham"  "a ionizer. &

 ’ Help! help I” he ahﬂeked in agony. “Help 1” But
1! wind still moaned, the ﬁre waved and augmented, the
co loomed up, and the dog drew nearer—pant, pant.

.3 Was it resurreCIion day? was Dead-Man’s Forest giving
» lip, its dead? were the ghostly victims, long since immortal,
gﬁnwding around about him, demanding his blood?
‘ y “ Help! help I"

The dog drew nearer, and he could feel his hot breath

1 him his face and hear the dreadful pant. Oh, God! would
-  one come? -
Y He started half—way up, all en tire. Was not that an an— .
 wering halloo ? or was it the voice which spoke so strange-
:.,f>‘in the forest? _
' He had not much time to spare—the horrible dog came

ﬁéarer with his hot and craving pant-pant, pant. Once
: have he screamed for help until his tongue cloveto the roof
49f his mouth.

_ 'f‘yHelpvl help i" I

/ Hal that was surely an answer—a halloo. And VoiCes

loo—voices he knew. Footsteps hurriedly approached, the

'é’s suddenly ceased, and he Could hear the dog panting
far away. Some one’s hand Was laid on his head, a rough
y-ﬁbice sounded, confused sounds rung in his cars, and Gate, the
. ,‘ reeper, Was unconscious.
7 r When he awoke he was surrounded by a large'pa’rty of
ﬁlm, who were regarding him angrily and curiously. He
all} not recognize them, but, remembering his recent peril,

\Eartially arose and looked in search of the tree.

M It was nowhere in sight. There was the glade and the

v‘ﬂering' sycamores standing guard over it; there was the

Wry bush he had concealed himself under; but where was

like tree? '

“ How d'ye feel 2" asked one of the rough men, kneeling
. ide him.

' f “\I dunno, mars’r,” he said, sinking dOWn drowaily and

Mixing his eyes.

.- free] better 2"

i 3‘ What‘s de‘dog, marslr 2”

 “What dog? um ain’t no‘ dog” with 11'
,‘an‘yo‘ done ther mari’r’l”

 
at , ,,_cam, m cameras; on,

“ Sartin. Thar ain’t, no dog hyar, is thar men 2”  .
Several answered in the negative. Cato feebly raised him;  ‘
self on his elbow and lookedtu‘p. ' ' 
He thought he recognized his questioner; he snrely had ' j
seen him somewhere. And the others too, their faces were ‘-
fumiliar. Was he asleep and dreaming? who were they? I .
“ What am de ﬁsh—am it all over ‘8" ' 7 ,
He heard a low voice remark: “ What in thunder-is he  ' Iv
talkin’,'bout? darn me of I don’t think he’s done gone mad.”
Then it was raised interrogatively. '
“ Thar ain’t b’en no dog nor no ﬁre—leastways my peepers : l
don’t see ary sign of any.” ‘
It was a new voice that spoke, and Cato knew it for the...
_voice of Old Sol. Rising on his knees he gazed around on  :
his companions; they were the settlers, gazing at him moodiv f 

1y. He started up and grasped the veteran trailer by his » "

horny hand. , ,,
“ Golly, Mars’r Jacohsl Cato’s right grad ter see yer r 
heah,” he said, fervently. “ Ye kim in der berry time. 'L
Cato war a’most gone, mars'r.”
“ What was up i” asked the men, pressing about him;
" Tell us ! (lid you see the gal ‘P” j
“ No, mars'r, Cato done see'd nothin‘ ob her," he answered, '4 ,
mournfully. “But de niggah see‘d suthin' berry much‘ worse 4 ‘
——he done see’d Obeah. 0h, Mars‘r Jacobs, it. was ter’ble—i - '
ter’ble.” '-
" What was it? what was it ?" were the impatient de- '_ 3
mands. Cato peered round fearfully. He was really fright?» '
ened, they could see, and as he was by no means a coward, ,
they knew that. something had happened. Then as if was ’
sured by the presence of so many brave and strong men ho
told his story. They listened with great attention, and
when he was through, many declared their opinion, in a few »
Words. ‘ I
“ Snakes in his shoes—the treemens.”
(They all knew he drank immoderately.) , t
“No, sar, it wasn’t no tree-mans," he protested, not   '
recovered from his fright. “ It. was too ter’ble—too hor’blea
Mars’r Jacobs, Cato won’t be Creeper berry much longah. I .
done heerd do voice—to’ shore I heerd um. ‘ Stopl' it said t  x‘

 
m vision or mums tom. 0*

 for do life oh me dis niggah hadn't (16' strength ter move.
_), "Dat voice, mars‘r, dat voice I heerd; and dis niggah ain’t
3 ' \ gwine ter tech whisky ng’in.” ‘
,. . , “ How did the voice sound? Was it like the one we heard
' I. 4' little while ago '2" asked Josh Dunbar.
“ Jess the same, mars'r—jess percisely the same,” answered
_ Cato.
"  "‘Hnl” cried Sol. “Hyar’s businessl now, Martin, stay
.with Cato—he's too weak too follow. Stay hyar omil we
him back. Come, boys, come; hyar’s ter kelch that voice.
_’ It’s suthin’ ter do with leetle Katie, sartin.’ Come on and
I ‘ Cock the black feather l"
‘ f He struck on the trail, which had been abandoned at dis
1 covering Cato insensible on the ground, and rapidly “ loped ”
, T- oﬂ', followed closely by his little army, who were of various
» opinions regarding (lato's fright. Some declared with solemn
f faces and low tones that DcndMnn’s Forest, nlwnys con-
 sidered haunted, was surely so, and by a terrible unknown,
' and that Cato had been under his inﬂuonce; while others as
, stoutly insisted it was the punishment which ungrateful liquor
 always brings upon his subjects~the delirium tremens. Uld
’ ,' So], on being interrogated, only shook his head solemnly,
. and evaded the answer—he had his opinion, but it was for
' himself alone.
: ‘ If Waller had not been so grief-stricken and anxious, he
V 2 Would have longed to ﬁnd the owner of the voice (it there
‘ Was one) and Would have done so if he had spent weeks in
the task, for he had had a glimpse of him once, but a very
brief one; but he was now so troubled and frantic he de-
sired only to recover his lost treasure.
. Away they went on the broad trail, fully satisﬁed that in
" leaching its end not only Downing, but the voice would be
found; and they wound in and out among the trees in the
a) grim old forest. They were within a mile of the swamp
" When Eben. always keen as n ferret, suddenly halted, drew
' his riﬂe to his shoulder and ﬁred at some distant object.
_' '“ Missed, by thunder l" he angrily cried with a good old-
!nltloned oath. “ Bungler l"
“ What was it, Eb t" inquired the men, peering cautiously
hound ready for an stuck. - A .

 
we.  reap-ran; on.

.“The dumedeat looking chap I ever saw—ya hatchback. _, ,3
He was peeking, from behind a. tree.” ‘

“ Which one 1’”

“ 'l‘hat big cottonwood. Whew; how he did scamper."

“Come on, boysl” shouted Sol, starting oil‘ in the direc-
tion indicated. “ Hyar’s suthin’ wrong. We ken easy ﬁnd
the trail ag'in.” _

They followed pelI-mell toward the cottonwood, but be-
ore they had gone half the distancelthe same former nice,
culled out:

“. Halloo-o-o i"

They halted short.

“Do-n't fol-low me. Take the trail to Shadow Swamp.
She is there." '
They looked in each other’s faces, uncertain what to do.
Suddenly the voice added: _

“ You can not catch me if you try. Go on to Shadow ,
Swamp." 1
When he heard this Sol slowly turned, and without look— ' ,
insr back, returned to the trail, followed by the bewildered ‘
men. ‘
“ It's no use ter fuller liirnfboys," he said; “he speaks the - '
truth. Le’s ﬁnd the trail and go on." '
They did, some grumbling, others alarmed, but all aston‘ ‘ ‘
ﬁshed and bewildered, at. Bol's strange conduct. But the f-
sage old veteran knew what he was about. ' ‘ '

CHAPTER VIII.

SOMEBODY IS GOING OUT.

THE day slowly dragged by as Katie, half-crazed, sat on: y
the low stool in the cabin, and pondered on her cruel {11191;
Hope seemed a mockery—she knew she was in the power of
a most unprincipled villain, one who would halt at no dang ‘:
however violent, to gain an end. "

Karo death she did not rah—7a pm the thought _.

 
m mmmxujsgram * '- Q.

wouldneariy  and ruin her lover, undyun be]! her
lather to a premature graVe, that gave her nuguiph. '

The most harrowing and painful thoughts harnseed her,
and she was almost. unconscious when the door noi'tly opened,
anal Downing came softly in.

He barred the door behind him, sndi‘nlding his arms, re-
garded her stew?in for a moment. He saw she was distressed
and bowed by grief, and that she was very faint from the
lack of nourishment, which she had not taken “for” nearly
twauty-four hours. Though disliking to see her. in this eon-
dition (as a man would dislike to see his pet dog l’ean‘and
gaunt) he still ielt a thrill of savage joy. Cruelty was his
predominating trait.

“.Miee Jeﬂ‘riee," he said, softly.

.She looked up in surprise, as she had not heard him enter.
.» Then seeing who it was she grew pale and looked deﬁant

“.Yon will not answer ‘1" he asked, in well assumed mourn-
. fui reproach. “Miss Jeffriett, I have cometo give you another
' opportunity of ridding yourself of this hard life. Idid'eay
.' I‘ would never return; but. my ardent love for you has out-
‘ weighed ell feelings of anger or pique. Say. my dear Miss

u 7: 'Jetfries, will you make yourself and me happy i"

. " ‘She ﬂashed on him 8. glance of exquisite scorn, then burst
i, into wild weeping. He approached, and ainking down on his
; couch began to pluck a straw to pieces, idly. I .
“ It‘s all the same to me,” he said, indiﬂ'erently, “ whether

:' f you cry or laugh—at least in. your present [liondlnd state.
 ' .Were you. however, my wife, it would grieve inn to see you
‘ '- distressed. I love you ardently, devotedly; but conscious oi:
‘ } my small chance of winning your aﬂection in a lair way, I

quell my good and better feelings and resort to foul once. I
am frank, you see."
She turned her back upon him, and her pale face wore an

‘ I expression of deep loathiu'g.

, Whatever hopes he had cherished were dissipated, his air-
  baslles were demolished and ielled to the ground, and cha-
."gﬁned, digappoinled, all the malice of his treacherous nature
‘ "earned to leap into life. ‘
‘ " Stepping to the door and openingvit he said with his wicked
y : »'

 
 TE.  .‘ on. r 13%.

‘ “‘ As you will, my bird; if you won’t sing by coaxing'or
threatening, you will have a dark cover oVer your cage ; you
stay here only to starve. Should you, when frantic with V '

hunger and despair, offer to accept my conditions, I will not ‘ 7' 1'

relcnt; here you are, and here you stzty. Good-by!"

The door closed and was barred, his footsteps grew fainter j
and died away, and she was alone—this time to certain fate. “
Though her heart sunk and her brain reeled, yet she did not
shrink—she would have died twice over rather than consort
with such a ﬁend. '

It was nearly sunset. Creeping to the door, where a wee
bright light showed, she put her face close to it and peered
out. It was a small chink, and by straining her eyes she

could perceive objects at a little distance. In front, at V 

theend of n. path out between a thick growth of willows
lay a small craft lying on the bank. Just beyond she
could see a small bit of blan water. The craft was a “ dug. .
out," and in the stern was a paddle. Then she guessed where
she was. Recollecling the assertion of the captain, that he

was in commnnd of a robber hand, remembering Dutch Joe’s "" '

statements, and by putting several other things together, she
made up her mind she wns on the island in Shadow Swamp.

Hesvensl if she could escape! There lay the craft, within
a few yards. By reaching it she could paddle to the main 
hind and hide in the forestl—in the gloomy, grim Dead— '
Man’s Foresti r ,

She pushed the door gently; It moved. She felt it give 
to her touch, and heard the heavy log grate along the ground.
Downing had been careless in fastening it. She drew back
with beating heart, and sat on the stool sick with fear lest
some one should come, and entering, discover the 103’s slight
resistance. ,'

Footsteps approached, but they were not Downmg's. His ' 
were light and jnunty; these were henvy and slow. She
shivered with apprehension lest the person should discover
the change of position in the log. _ .

The person was Fink. The captain had ordered him to ' i
stand guard over the cnhin until relieved, his post to be a! ‘. ‘

3the rear of‘ the building as’the wall was weak on that side.- ‘ 1

So he stalked sway toward it,‘just as the sun wu'settlng» r '

 
up: apron or am m’l spam. .1

v She need not have been alarmed, for the second emcer

yr merely tramped around several times, then sat down at the rear.
_ Slowly the sun sunk below the tree-tops of the haunted
forest; slowly the shades of the damp night stole on; and
the watcher in the cabin waited for night, trembling.

Darkness came at length, black and damp. There had
been a Little loud laughter and coarse merrimeut at the other
cabin just at sunset; now all was still. She hrard some one
come toward the rear of the cabin and speak to Fink. It
was Bob Grifﬁth, the scout.

“Come ter relieve yer, leftenant. How’s all inside i"

“ Hunky. But 8/18 won‘t last long."

“ Ay ? How‘s that i”

“ She don't git any thing ter nibble on.”

“ So? Capt’in‘s playin’ the game ﬁne.”

“ You bet! No use buckin’ ag’in’ him. Who's after you"
on the watch ?"

“ Downing. From midnight till mornin’." _

Fink stalked away, and Griﬂllh sat leaning against the

, cabin. Katie could hear him breathe, and draw at his ever-
‘ hating pipe.
' It was dark now, very dark. He arose, knocked the ashes
from his pipe, whistled a bar of an old familiar hymn, and
~ slowly sauntered round the cabin.
. “ God pity the gal I” he muttered. “Ay, fur that’s no
pity hyar for her. She'll hev a and life or death—it don’t
y make much odds which it is. I’ll keep my hand off lur—
 poor gal l" '

Sauntering around the house as he said this, he heard a
faint sigh inside; a sigh long-drawn and sad. ‘

“ She heerd me," he muttered. “ Poor gal l”

, He went back to his station, and, lighting his pipe, leaned
 ” Lis back up against the log walls; new and strange feelings
arose within him, and he was—

Hiet! was not that a light step inside? Was not that the
sound of the door moving? Was some one coming in or
going out? Yes; there was some one going out.

“ Durn me ef I don’t feel cheap ter-night, helpin’ keep a

1 a nice gal close shet up ter be treated God knows how by the
j ‘paptdt It's too bad—too bad I" ‘ '

 
i0 é'n'o,  chum} 

     
He softly rose and teak a step or two toward the door;  ‘
heard a noise there. He was aware that Downing was in the
brown‘cabin asleep; be well knew no other ddrst venture to
the white one at this time; what was up? He stooped and
listened. There was a faint rustling as if of the dress of a ‘
female, and a steady grating was kept up on the hard ground
near the door. He peeped at the log. It was slowly movingx
propelled by an invisible force.

As he looked at the log,a ﬁre came in his gray, cool
eye, and he softly went back to his seat and sat. down
quietly.

“Poor, pooty gall God bless her I"

And now a quite perceivable creak came to his cars, but
he did not appear to notice it. He smoked on with, senses
on the alert. Then came a moment of silence.

Then a quick “ swish.” He knew the sound. Then
rapid footsteps, very light and airy; and, after a moment,
dead silence. The guard peered round the corner. Away
in the darkness he could see a dusky form at: the boat-land:
log; some one was down there. Somebody was tamperln
with the craft, too; he heard a puddle drop across the gun-
Wale.

“ It’s none 0’ my business i" he shortly declared. “ I ain't
here to watch the canoe. I’m here to watch the shanty." _

Bob listened for some time like a chased coon, with his ear '
in the air and his eyes shining cunningly. Then he heard, _
very faintly, some one climb up the huge log on the opr- _
site side of the water. Then he went down to the shore, on '
the side of the island furthest from the landing. Drawing a a
revolver. he placed his hat on the ground, and ﬁred. The
ball took out a wee piece of the crown. Then he ﬁred again;
and hallooed for help.

“Turn out! turn out i" he yelled. “ Thafs inimies on the V
island.” '

He sprung into the water and splashed around noisily, dr- A
lug twice in rapid succession. He could hear the night-1 ,
watch at the brown cabin cry, “Turn out i turn out!" and he - .
could, hear him coming down at a rapid run. ‘_ .

“This way, Bill!" he cried, running out of the water; , -~
“ this way i” ‘

        
' m mot cit-mama’s mam. a

In few moments the whole robber force stood grouped
‘mhd Grimm .

He told them he had been shot at, ‘and showed the hole in
his hat; he told them a foe was on the island. A search
immediately began, and Downing darted toward the cabin.

, The door was open. Wild with apprehension he struck a
«, light and peered into the cabin.
' It was deserted!

‘He went down to the boat landing, running as he never
ran before. When he got there he found the boat was gone.
His bird had ﬂown! '

“ Bulked! fooled !” he hissed, in rage. “Gone, gone,
gone I”

“ Ha! ha l he l” rung out a voice from the mainland. “ Gone.
gone, gone! he! ha! ha 1"

He shuddered; then sat down on the ground, seated,

. ~l frightened. For once, Captain Downing was afraid of the
r  darkness.

.It was very dark, and the ghostly echoes of that cursed

E  home seemed as if they would never die sway. Sick with

rage and disappointment, with an icy sweat on his forehead,

” g are staggered back to the cabin. En m RECOGNIZED m

MOE!

CHAPTER IX.
m conrsn on AN noms'r MAN.

Tim next morning dawned bright and fair, and the sun
Was ushered to the world by the merry carol of thousands of
“feathered songsters. Brightly it dawned upon the settlement

7 s on the hill; henignly on the merry, sparkling river; plea-
\ 1 ’eahtly over the vslley‘; but never did it fell upon a busier

' / little world than on DeadMsn's Forest. I

-* Bdsier Y—"—-scareely. 0n ,the edge of the swamp lake were
i action or there m'eh, peering over at the silent-island; angry I,
has; thsjv gm ; is the mm ‘were the and (max) number
 my tackle. snd'beld, sin [Er mammal

 
-» rune, mom; on, w

wicked. The dug-out in which Katie had escaped :33. iaygé .-:
where she had left it; and much Cato (who had rejoined the i '
pursuers) marveled. He knew that something was wrong, :
else it would have been moored to the island, out of sight; V t
and his eyes, familiar with the island, noted something was» \
wrong there, too. 7 ' '

Usually a faint, blue wreath of smoke curled up from it. '
but now there was none. It was the hour for the matin  3
meal, too. ' 

Could they have left the island entirely—have disorganized
and deserted the old rendezvous? That would account for . _,
the presence of the canoe on this side. It" so, then his re- f ,
ward was gone, and his easy, Vagabond life also, for he  ‘5
should have to hunt, ﬁsh and work for the settlers. ‘ '

This idea was so distasteful to him that he grinned in ven-
tion, and he resolved to “ blow the hull t’ing ” should it cost
him his neck, for he knew the men would be enraged at his ', .
part in the abduction. And he had nearly done so when the, 7
words of a former speech of Downing’s came to his obtuse, j
memory,“ Think twice before you shootr once, and then don’t ,
.go of at half-cock." I , _'

Cato the Creeper was a prodigy at pursuing a trail, but he :

was no thinker, and quite too apt to follow every impulse. 80, V 

you see, this little bit of memory was something wondert‘ul.
He proﬁled by it. I '

Noticing a ﬁsh-hawk warily wheeling above the slimy I) .
black pond, he stepped out prominently upon the log where .; i
the trail ended, and gave a shrill cry, an exact imitation of 3'. ,
that of the hawk. The bird did not notice it; such birds ‘ V
never do, and Cato, far wiser than cage men of mture,
knew it. ..

But in a few moments another cry, an answer, came from
the enchanted, dark-bordered island, low, long, and mournful.
Then Cato knew they were still there, that,his party was under > I _
sharp inspection at that moment, and that something was  .
Wrong. ’ ,r

It was well he kept his sable face immovable, for Sol, ,‘
watching him, heard the answer and saw no corresponding ~_
Wish-hawk, except that above the lake. However, he might be 9 1
perchednpon  on the island. But the   .

.

 
m mo: or Wessom. "‘3

old (veteran kept his peace, his counsel. and his eye—on the ,
negro.
" “ Ef I ain't fooled, that thar island air what is called
Shudder Swamp Island, aint it, Cato Y” asked a young man.
“ Dat‘s do island," terser answered Cato.
“What's this ’ere boat, Cato i’” inquired the chief, eying

L . him keenly.

“ Dat, Mars’r Jacobs? dat am what am called de dug-out.”

“ Wal, yer 'fool, don’t ycr s’pose I know what a. dug~out
air? I’ve made more of ’em than yer black skin is years
old. But I want ter know what it’s doin’ hyar, and who it
belongs ter i’”

,v “ Mars’r Jacobs, dis niggah’s de igneramus on de subjec’,"
" _ he replied, idly tossing bits of sticks into the black water.

.“ How in thunder, then, did ye know the sign, the signal
for them fellers over there 1'" indicating the island with his
thumb.

“ Wha— wha— gnlly, Mars’r Jacobs! am dey ober dare i"
atultered the negro, in perfect astonishment.

_ “ You bet they air! and you giv 'em a signal,” declared
801, sternly. The negro never lost his self-possession. I
v “ Bigna‘ll golly, Mars’r Jacobs, he do fr'end ob de gang."

“ What gang? d’ye call them a gang? dum me ef it ain’t
notable."

Walter here interposed. “ For God's sake, lotus be going!
where is the trail? have you lost it? Oh, heaven! this do-
lay i" '

“Yes, yes; we’ll all go on,” repeated the amicted and
Itupeﬁed parent, lighting up a moment. “ We’ll all keep on."

old Sol glanced at them pityingly, then looked at the trail;

they had reached its termination.
 “ Come, my boy, cheer up. We'll hev her soon, you betl
we will go on. Hyar‘s the eend of the trail, right hyar on
this log. That‘s a canoe—it must go somewhnr. We'lJ
jump in, as many as kin. Air ye all ready, boys i"

“ All ready! lead on i" I
r “ All right; jump in, Cato, you're the pilot.”

But Cato drew back, and leaped from the log, and stood
there with an alarmed and perplext‘d face, looking new to the
bland-then back to Sol. , -

 
f‘ Dome; none of yer foolin’t jump in t" . .‘

Sol saw his perplexity and smelt a. rat. The negro w“ In " '
a quandary. If he went across with the men, the rob-
bers, as a matter of course, would think he had turned traitor.
and he Would he shot. dead before they had made half the
passage. The prospect of being slaughteer by a sudden and
unseen bullet. was too glaring for him to facebhe would rebel.
0n the other hand, he knew Sol suspected him of treachery,
und would enforce his command. If he refussd to enter the
('uline and ﬂu], he Wuuld he brought to a sudden drop by the
lightning hand and murderous aim of the ex-Indinn‘ﬁgbter. -
What could he do? he was in a bad dilemma.

The men looked at him, some in surprise, others in won-
der, and the rest, the majority, surlily. He feit that theeyes
of both bands were upon him, and that both would kill him
in a second if treacherous. ' He was betwixt two very slip-
pery and bad stools, one of which would he sure to slip; He

~ knew his danger and perceived his only chance—to parley.

“ Now, Mars’r Jacobs, an’ de rest ob de berry kind and good
mars’rs—don‘t fo’ce de pore niggah whn’ nehber done ye
harm, ter sich a ter’hle t’ing. Murs’rs, I'se a brack man—Pee
one oh (la berry best an', de berry true ob yer fr’ends. l’se
dc fr'end ob de mars‘rs.”

“ What is all this tomfoolery ?" hastily asked Walter, turn-
ing to go on. “ Come; do as he tells you, immediately I’.’

-“ Oh, Murs’r Wallah, don’t force de pore niggah. Mars’r
Waltuh, dar‘s death ober dar—to’ God, dar am. Ohenh, Mars’l‘
Waltah—dur's hisn’s place. l‘se done h'en ober dar onc’t,
mars’r, only onc’t. But dis chile nebber go sg’in. Fur do
place am ha'nted, mars’r, by (le mos’ ter’hle gasses, an’ ef dis
chile done fn'cPd ter go, he nebber come back a niggab, sure.
Now, don’t, mars’rs—kind nn’ berry good _mars’rs!”

“Ghosts?” exclaimed several of the most superstitious.
Cato saw his chance and doubled the dose; Sinking his
voice to a shrill whisper he drew near the log, and glancing
feartully over at the island, muttered:

“ Dis am de Forest oh (19 Dead Man—do man (lat runs
‘In de woods ob nights. Mars’rs, I'so done we‘d him—
l’sa done heel-d his’n voice. An’ he libs ober yender, nn’ he ‘
don‘ like fur no one ter pester him. He berry mad. arm’s. . ..

 
momentum-misconan an

even be all pestered, an’ be don’ want no one tcr set dare
foot on de island. He hates de bruck man an’ he done swear
he’d kill um. Oh, for de lub ob ebery t’ing, mars'xs, don'
lend tie pore niggah ober dare.” -

Several looked at Sol, half-believing the negro‘s asser-
timis. That nettled the old veteran, and he thundered out:

“ Air ye sech durned fools ter b’lieve his trash? I tell
ye thar'a game OVer thar—thar'o whar we'll ﬁnd suthin'.
V , Didn't ye hear the Voice, yesterday evening? Ef yer b’licvc in
spcrrits, what more Can ye want 1’ It told us ter come hynr,
and we air goin’ ever to that island with the nigger, of it
teks a leg from each man. Now, you mule, get in the canoe
store I make you l”

The negro trembled like an aspen and rolled out some un-
intelligible phrases. but Sol seized him and thrust him into
the dug-out, then sprung in after him. There was room for
four more, and these places he gave to Eben, Waller, Dun-_
bar. and a tough, bold, squarely-built young fellow, llettie’s
brother—ka Dunbar. ' ‘

Ordering them to place their weapons in readiness he
shoved oil‘ with the paddle.

“ Now, yer fellowa,” addressing the men on shore, “of
we're ﬁred on, just blaze away at the inimy's smoke, and
watch out for a chance at knockin’ some one over. I b’lieve
thar’s rubbers over thar. Now keep well peeled 1"

He submerged the paddle and began to force his way
through the weeds, the water-lilies, and the debris of disman-
tled, water-soaked limbs and boughs, old and ueg snags, and
rotten slime. It was a difﬁcult job. There was a channel,
or rather path, but it was known and noticeable only to the
robbers and Cato. The latter was glad Sol did not enter it,
{or he desired to be as long as was possible in making the
passage. "But chattering with fear, and expecting every
second to feel «he pang of a robber bullet in his Vitals, he sat
in the stern, alternately groaning and blaspheming, while 501

sddled on, the others kept in readiness for an attack, and
the men on shots were covering the island with their shining
gunrharrels. I

At last. after tedious and tamper-sting labor, they left the

thick impedtsmm behind, and bowled away in comparativdy

 
,0 . unmmonmnmom an

open water, half-way across. Still no shot tron-inn and r, a
willows, still no deﬁance shouted, still all was quiet. ‘ ' 

They skirted around the fringe of willows until they found
the regular landing-place of the robbers. Seeing it, ‘ Bol
Whistled. . .

“ By Judas l" he declared, using his strongest oath, “ hyar's
a reg’lar, beaten trail leading up from the water. Now I
know thur‘s been —— ter pay in these ’ere woods. Ef this air
don’t say that's a band of rascals hyar, I’m a skunk. Look
out, boys, look out, and mind yer eye 1”

The dug-out, propelled by a few vigorous strokes, shot up
to the landing, while 801 abandoned his paddle and took up his
gun. The negro, he saw, was wild with nervous fear. His
lips were of a dull, gray, leaden hue, and worked convulsively;
his cheeks were sucked in ; his ears went back and forth like
those of a mule—st any other time a most ludicrous spec-l
tacle; while his eyes rolled and dilated, eagerly peering at

'the willows; Cato the Creeper was Very alarmed and excited.

The boat touched the bank, and the occupants, with splen-

did nerve snd coolness, kept their seats, with presented wea-
pons, while the negro-beat the air with his hands like a help
less idiot. But still the willows nodded and waved in the
gentle breeze, still the men on shore covered them, and still
there was no noise, no motion.

Sol rose and stepped ashore, then sinking on his knees
beckoned the others to follow. They did so, and soon were
all ashore, in a group, with the frightened negro in their
midst, behind their bodies for protection.

Several minutes passed in silence, then as all was still. Sol
ordered Cato to go back for more men. The negro, some-
what cooler, and thinking to escape when he reached the
other shore, gladly availed himself of the opportunity, am”
getting .into the canoe, paddled lustin away. He took the
channel this time and was near the shore, .congrululallng - -
himself upon his lucky escape, when the voice of Sol came
to his cars like a. knell : ‘ v H .

“ Bring Cato back with you, boys—don’t let him run off I"? :

_ So the negro was forced to sit in the boat while its human " 
cargo was being loaded, though seized again with terror. \"~ I
The boat was ﬁlled, and Cato was about tomaddle slew” ‘1 "

’.

 
l
m onto! ‘or Mum's: tom.

1 viwsy when a voice rang out, where they. knew not, only it
 fives quito near. ‘

“ You had better go back l”

Away in the woods went the echoes, resounding from tree
to tree “ Go back i"

. - Cato dropped his paddle with a yell ; the others sprung to
‘ I their feet, nearly upsrtting the dug-out, and looked nroun].
I 1  ‘he other two parties heard the voice and were gnzing round
' ‘ in surprise. But Cnto‘s fear was strong and violent, and hé
trembled; for the voice was the same magnetic, terrible voice

he had heard at the Tree.

“ Did ye hear that i" asked Jeﬂ'ries, in a whisper. “ Say,
(lid ye i” '

It was the same he heard the evening by Hans Winkler’q
cabin. It had followed him wherever he had gone, at inter-
vals ringing out its wild cry. What was it? ‘

Cato landed the party, then went back for the few romaine
ing. Then all assembled on the shore, on the border of the
robber stronghold.

“ Now, boys," said Sol, “jest hyar’s the place whar them
robbers air, I'll bet money. P’rhnps they're watchin? us right

V how. Wal, boys, I reckon leetle Katie's hyar, an' we'd bet-
‘ iter skulk along toward the middle of the island." ‘
They crept stealthin on from willow to willow, Sol keep-
ing the reluctant black before him. Suddenly one of the
party drew back, with an exclamation, and pointed toward a
-- distant object. Peeping through the saplings, they saw an
I open space cleared and stumpy. Almost in the center were
' « ‘two large cabins, one of a light color, the other durk. A

man with n‘ pale face was leaning in the doorway of the ﬁrst
. ‘building, apparently in a brown study, with a pipe in his
' mouth, evidently unlighted. ‘

They watched the quiet scene before them for some little
“time ; then Sol whispered:

' “ Thar’s the robber den ; thar in a band of robbers, sartain.”
‘ I “ Ay, but where are they I" asked Walter. “ Only one
1A man is visible." ‘
_ ' '“ Off on adevilish trip, no doubt; it’s durn quiet ther—
" justlike the gnve‘, sn’ that chap stands uni-like u tutu.
I Him in thunder make- All m‘qutat 3" - - 

 
in , osmium; 03,1

“ Pop,” whispered Eben. “ p‘r'sps ther's a scheme s-work- _ I _r
in’. Mebbe thar’s a dozen men tucked away in this here  f
fringe of willows, swaitin’ furus ter rush out; then they’ll  '
jest mor’n pepper us.” 3 »

“ Mebbe. Take two or three along with yer, and beat the " ‘
bushes. Mind yer eye, now." 7

Eben selected three sturdy friends, and they crept and v
ukulked the entire circuit of the island, one party going to' 
the right, the other to the left. They met on the opposite ‘ V_
aide, having seen nothing. Then they hurried back to the  
leader. He heard their story, cocked his gun, and said: 7 ,

“.Now that’s got ter be a. charge, and we’ll take ’em by sur- . v,
prise. When I shout and run, follow like wild-cats, but hold \‘
your loads. Now 1"

He took a quick, true sim at the man, ﬁred, and sprung ,
out into the clearing, followed by the rest. Up the narrow V.
path they dashed, ready to meet and vanquish their foe. 1 ,
To their surprise the sentinel did not full nor move, neither  
did he raise his head, but still leaned in the door with histh I 7
down. v
They. rushed toward the cabln and were nearly there when ,l. »'
their eyes beheld s. sight whicheaused them to stop in. their t 1,
tracks, astonished. . - f, ‘

They saw the cahins were empty; they knew no living rob- ,
her was on the island ; but what startled them more was that
the mysterious man was already dead.

Dead! Stiff and cold, with a gushed throat, numberless V
knife-wounds in his body, with' his clothing cut and torn—y .7 .
with a bullet-hole in his forehead, there stood Grimth the '
scout, propped against the door. He had not died without a l,
struggle, they could see, as there were indications of extreme 
violence. Griﬁith was dead! ', V.

They searched the cabins through and through, but be-. ' :
yond some very scanty, poor furniture they were entirell ’ ’
empty. They were as far from Katie as ever, and Walter
was frantic. ‘ , L“ 

Suddenly, as they stood there in the bright morning 60"  '
light, they heard a voice, seemingly far away in the fore“: A
'ntter four words. .The tone was singularly ﬁerce and 00'.  .'
mending, sud they sll recognized it as the Voice.  " _' _

 
m DIIOI- o! mm" men.

' Gabaekl go back l" '
Immediately it was followed by a piercing scream from:

 the pond near the ferry. This was tollowed by another,

wilder and shriller, and in the unmistakable tones of the
negro. With one accord they rushed down to the land-
m .

8There they saw Cato paddling for dear life toward them
from the center of the lake. Bis manner was that of one in
extreme terror, and with rolling eyes and open month he
worked with might and main. He was ﬂying from some pur‘
euer, no doubt, as he frequently glanced back nervously. It
did not take him long to reach the bank, and as the bow of
the craft touched the land, he sprung out and stood regarding
the other shore, all on ﬁre.

“ What is it, Cato? What‘s the matter 1'” and many others
‘were the questions put to him. He did not at once ansWer",
but, clasping his hands, stood trembling. At length he
Spoke :

“ Ob, mars’rs, sech a ter’ble sight! Oh, oh all de sights

1 '1 dis niggnh eber see’d, dat was de wnst. Oh, mars'rs, der’s

tr’uble comin’, tr‘uble comin’l Dead-Man‘s Forest am alihe
with sperrits."

“ Come 1 out with it i” commanded Sol. “ Eft that’s any
 thing wrong we ought ter know it. It mout be of use ter

us.”

“ Oh, sar, dare was de higgeshnsn—de daddy ob de world,
Ihore. He had a big bunch on his back—"

“ The hunchbnck l" interrupted Walter

“ Did yer see him, Walt 2" >

“ Yes. But let him go on."

“And de hunch on his back, an’ de ﬁre n—comin’ out‘n his

“ - head, and de smoke a-comin’ from his hands, an’ do big white

' eyes, un’. de white clo’se—oh, mags’r, dis niggah’s in de ground
Ill cohered up." '

“ Did he speak?’ asked Jeﬁ'ries, eagerly. _

“0h, ear, (int he did. He stretch an arm out with do
> ,Imoke n-comin' from it, an’ he 'eed, ‘ Go back! go back 1’ an’
5* a at. niggah done went.” ,
“ The same ['9 said Jeﬁ‘ries. They turned to him. A
“ What! did you see it too? He related tn ensue:

 
um,monnmn;on,

the night before the abduction, when he heard the voice in
the willows. '

Then Walter told of his vuin attempt to capture him.
They all had heard him, and two had seen him. Curiosity
and wonder grew to a great hight, and the fact that Cato
had been trying to escape when the apparition appeared to
him, was forgotten. Sol brought his gun down with a ring.

“Now, boys,” he said, “thur’s suthiu up. Ever seuce
we‘ve b’en arter the gal that voice has b’en after us all.
Hyar‘s the robber den with a dead man in it. Katie‘s no-
whur ter be found, nyther the feller we think tuk her 03‘.
This ynr den has b’en abandoned right lately, and I think
thnr's robbers and Katie nigh. Now, what have we got
toward ﬁndin' her? Nothin'. But, we’ve got ter ﬁnd her,
and she huin't hyar on this island. So she must. be off it.
We], le's go back an' ﬁnd her. Come on.” '

“We’ll tear up Dead-Man’s Forest, but we ﬁnd her,"
shouted the men as they crowded into the boat.

Ten minutes later the island was here. Bare? no. For
in s few moments a man stood in the door of the cabin.
Another one appeared; another yet; and in live minutes
Captain Downing‘s villainous band laughed and talked in
front of the cabin. Where had they been concealed r

C H A P T E R X.
A cut) m-rrna SUDDENLY HTERRUH'ID.

WHEN Kstie stepped out of the dug-out on the mnindsnd,
he climbed upon the huge log, and looked around. All
about her was darkness and grim silence. Close by, a tall
rycamore, erect and lofty, raised its head above the forest and
waved in the damp night air. Underhrush grew thick and
matted everywhere about her; the ground was beset with

miry, treacherous bogs, which threatened deuth to her took ' '

steps; she knew not where the wee, nor the way to lave
the island; she was in a quandary.

 
m BRICK or nun-sun's noun. ct

_, .. ' ; She knew not what. to tic-where to- go, but, inspired with

'  terror at the thought of again enduring the horrors of cap-

’ ‘ tivity, she followed the log down to its end and stepped off.
Then wondering vaguely, she started away into the silent,
black forest, terriﬁed at its silence and grimness, at the dan-
ger behind, and at danger before—for there was danger.

Here, in this forest, lurked the dangerous entamount, and
the venomous snake; here trod the bear, nocturnally rum-
bling; the gray, ferocious and gaunt wolf stole through the
shadowy aisles; and last, but not least, the red-mun was not
yet extei'minnted. Trencherous bogs and deadly pools, too,
dotted the spongy ground—terrible dangers in themselves.

She had not gone far when on stepping, she felt her foot
sink into a soft bog. Hastily withdrawing it ere it became
too late, she turned away only to encounter the same danger.
Frightened and faint almost to exhaustion with hunger, and
alarmed at the rising cries of beasts which she heard, she sat
vacantly down, leaning against a tree. OVertasked nature re-
fused to yield to Artiﬁcial laws. and she fell asleep. ,.

. When she awoke it was broad daylight, and the sun was
" I high in the zenith—it was high noon. =Fuint with hunger,
I'he yet felt considerably refreshed, and rising, she looked
about her. ‘ She had not tasted food for thirty-six hours—she
must have some; she could not live, scarcely move without
'it; and she needed strength to ﬂy.

While she was cogitating and looking about, she heard it
rustle in an adjoining thicket—the fall of a foot. ' She
slipped behind the tree quickly. What could it be? Was it
an enemy, searching for her, or was it v. lurking Indiaui‘v
Whichever it was, she felt alarmed, and her heart throbbed.

Again the sound came—a light footfall. It was nearer-—
some one was coming—she must escape. Leaving the tree,
she sony glided sway, keeping the tree between her and tie
sound. She might have escaped had she been versed. in
«mod-craft, but, being unskilled and timot‘ous she trod upon

1 it dry twig. It snapped, loudly. She heard a sudden, low
T exclamation. Believing she was discovered, she made no
'ifurther attempt at eonmzahnenl, but ﬂed. .

She heard the footsteps behind quicken, then settle into a

 steady run. She strained her pace. A dense ooppice lay

 
a one,  m; on,

near. If she could only reach it! She would lay, anybow,nnd ‘

she ﬂew toward it. Hitherto a dense thicket had intervened 

between her and her purSuer, but now she heard him burst

out in full sight. She was almost to the coppice—she would , ll I.

soon be there. Accelerating her speed, she was rapidly uoar- '
ing it when she heard a voice behind her say:

“ Katie 1”

She stopped in an instant and turned—she knew the voice.
Then, seeing who was her pursuer, she held out her arms, and
will: a loud cry, rushed tomeet him, It was her lover, com-
ing with radiant face and outstretched arms to meet her.

It were Worse than useless to attempt to describe the
meeting. Sufﬁce it to say they clasped each other in their
arms, and Katie wept for joy, and he murmured glad, com-
forting words to her; she nestled close, and implored his
protection; while he swelled and strutted in vast. pride, and
longed for an enemy to appear, that he might have an oppor-
tunity to ﬁght for her.

When she was somewhat composed, she told the story,
truthfully, and minutely. Then he becmne euruged and grew \
red in the face and scowledv; now he had a double account
to settle with Downing. Then, suddenly recollecling her
long fast, he bade her stay where she was while he went 08
with his gun to procure food. ‘ .

He was not. long, and-soon came back with a bracetof red
squirrels, the ﬁrst animals he had seen. Striking a light, he
soon had a ﬁre burning, while Katie dressed the squirrels in
. a trice. Then, bidding her cook them, he started 011' for ’
more—he would have destroyed all the animals in the forest
for her sake. He came back soon with another brace—these
being the only entable animals at that timetof- the year. He
found her busily engaged in disposing of the ﬁrst brace, eat-
ing joyfully. They were young and very tender, and after
her long fast she ate voraciously. V 1

While she ate, he Watched her, smiling to himself, and ex-
hltine over her, and told of his absence fromvtbe party. He

had been oﬂ‘ on a peculiar trail, which he supposed was that _ . l

of the mysterious hunohhack. His attention had been drawn

to her by the snapping ofithe twig, and he hotly pursued her.  
believing it was the one, he sought. They were near th-  '

 
m mom

 hadlng.‘nd the perty were on the other tide of the lake,
distant about four miles. ’

She ﬁnished eating, and he arose.

“ Come, darling," he said; “let us hasten back to on
friends; There may be danger in remaining here.”

He took her blind. and walking rapidly, (for she was now
quite refreshed and strong,) they hurried loWnrd the other
side of the. lake. He did not go toward the settlement, for
he reasoned that, when Katie‘s escape was discovered, an it.
undoubtedly was, the robbers would instantly get between the
swamp and the settlement in order to intercept her. Think-
ing they were oil” the island; he thought they wore in the for-
est toward the settlement—hence his hurrying to join the
petty.

His reasoning, though evidently correct, was erroneous.
When the settlers foundthe cabins empty, and theisland here,
they thought the robbers had evacuated it, but. in fact they
had been wounded in an underground pit or passage, dug
randy for an emergency. So Walter's escape would have been
certain it he hnd at once moved toward the settlement; but
Instead, he was running boiut-hlztnk into danger. ..

They Were hall-way round the lathe when Walter halted,
and climbed a. tree in order to discover, if possible, the whertr
abouts of the party. But, on seeing nothing from his elevat-
ed perch, he was about. descending, when an object on the
lake drew his attention; _

In a. direct route, that is u “ beeeline," across the wetter, he
who about a. mile from the landing by the log, near where he
found Kittie. But by land and through the tpreat it. was. about
two miles. Looking across the water. he could tree a dark
object. slowly moving from the island toward the land, on the
water. ,

At ﬁrst he could not distinguish the outline of the object
--it was a dark, close mass; but, by degrees, it untamed shape,
and he uw what. it was. I

“ Ha, Katie! them is e raft on the [uncovered with man;
Who can it be 1'" _ ‘ r

“ Which way are they going P” she asked, paling est/tho n-
' membrauce of her captivity“ ,

“ From, the island toward me landing.”

 
’30 “to, m centres; on,

“ 0h, Walter. it is they; they are after me. Oh, cons
down and let us ﬂy.”

“ Nay, stay a bit," he replied. “It may perhaps be our
friends, though I don’t see how they could have gotten to the
island and back as soon as this. I can see the dug-out now,
empty and lying by the big log; they are steering toward it.
It ntust be the robbers.”

Conﬁdent in his ability to throw them from the scent, he
watched the raft until it touched the shore. The men slowly ‘
disembarked, and ﬁled out upon the log, where they stood
like a row of vultures, leaving one man upon the raft.

A dark object was at his feet. This soon arose, and
Walter discovered it to be a large dog. He wondered what
use they had for a dog, and why did they bring the beast
with them on this expedition?

He was soon answered. The men, followed by the dog,
ﬁled along the log and vanished in the thicket.

A few moments passed. and they did not reappear. Walter
began to descend, when he suddenly stopped and listened
keenly. Katie, below, saw him change color and look
anxious. ' ‘

She wondered as she watched him, looking and listening
alternately, his bold, dashing air being changed to one of
anxiety. His hand was placed to his ear to facilitate his
hearing, and, with head slightly bent, he remained entirely
motionless.

“ I thought so—‘J'turse this delay l" she heard him mutter.
Then he came scrambling down, hand under hand. Alight-
Ing by her side, he caught her arm, and hoarser asked:

“ Are you quite strong ? can you run .'”

, “Oh, yes, Walter. Oh, you frighten mel Let us go at
once—I know something is wrong.” 0'

“ Ay l" he saidI starting off at a round pace toward the
place where he had left the “settlers; “something is wrong.” '

“ Please tell me, Walter. If I know the danger I am sure
I can ﬂy faster: What alarms you i"

“ Alarms me i” he said. “ Ay l I am not ashamed to own
it. Listen] ~'I‘wo milesaway are our friends. It will take
us a good half—hour to reach them through this cursed, nasty
swamp. Meanwhile, behind in is a terrible enemy—the

 
m urine: or bwm’l me. It

ﬁtment, bloodthirstiest trailer in the world.» In ten minute!
ﬁvﬂlbeonthaumapot—forheisanmr trail!"
r. , 4 He laid his hand on ‘her arm. Just then arose, behind, o 1
‘ , , round, rich, melodious sound, swelling gracefully, than dying
:’ A away. He raised his hand. ' .

}_’ “Do you not know the sound? did you never hear it 1’” -

‘ “ What is it i"
,2 '_. " “ A bloodhound! In ten minutes he will gallop across this
" :  W 01005 1”

r ‘ Shevtumed deadly pale. He caught her by her arm.
I ._ “ Come 1" he cried, homely. “ For God’s sake ﬂy, else we
‘ 1' are lost!" I
, They plunged into the dense forest, impeded by fallen logs
, Obstructing their course; by matted grape-vines, an impene-

5 , treble barrier; by bogs, about which they were forced to cir»

'  cuit ; by dense thickets and brambles which threatened their
 «every step; and still behind swelled out the bay of the
y j bloodhound—“ Hong—hongl"

CHAPTER XI.
asvnnnx mrme.

r ; THREE hours after they had left the island, the settlers
v found themselves on the main-land, with Shadow Lake be-
;xlzween them and their homes. Walter had been absent for

' _ some time and they began to feel anxious about him. He

had started 03' on a wild and perhaps dangerous errand—

. that of ferreting out the strange intruder, the owner of th \

‘ .' mysterious voice.

r ’ He had now been gone several hours, and they were

‘ 1‘ alarmed, for they thought the robbers were prowling about the

x , K forest, and he might fall in with them. Sol, having a high
1, regard for him, and not wishing to have evil befall him,
I celled Eben aside: ‘ ‘

.v ‘ " See here, Eb,” he said, “ d’ye want a Job ?” a
“ What is it 1’"

 
a

‘ “A‘s: falter ‘W alt. I’m afeard. he’s got; integsorne  , -
Yer can so back tor the place villa: Welt left 11?. a}!!! 
his trnil. ' Don‘t leave itlontil ye ﬁnd him." Ell yer wattle: ’.
ﬁnd us ag’in, all yer kin do in ter pick up our trail and‘orer-g' ,_
take us. Yer understand ‘1’” ' " v" \

“ Yes.” ' f I
“All right. Now that’s no one lookin’—slip inter that :
hazel-patch yonder.” I; c
He sunntered slowly away until he reached the hunch ” ’
thicket, when he “loped " away toward the place where .
Walter hadleft them. Sol returned to the bend, and bidding, ‘ -
them follow, started off in search 01 the robber trail. For " ’
once the veteran was wrong. . . ' ,‘ _
Eben, walking rapidly, soon came to the spot where he, i 
was to take Walter‘s trail. It was by a, large cottonwood, . 5
tree which towered above its adjacent companions. Here on, '
every side, except that of the hike, stretched away theochl I
gloomy swamp, ghastly and grim, even in‘the) noontirne. As, 3
the ground was springy, he had no difﬁculty in ﬁnding the
trail, and picking it one from the others. It. struck oﬂ’ along ":
the “ coast ” of the lake, and theyoung man had in all pro- ‘ 1
bability made his way to the log-landing, where the unknown ' ‘
was last seen.
He slung his gun in the hollow of, binarrn, and bending to
the trail, went on apace.‘ It was quite distinct, and he felt '_ '}
sure he could follow it on a run. ‘
He had not gone more than ﬁfty‘yards when he heard a ‘ '
rustle in a thicket just| ahead. With the instinct of n back-d _
Woodsman he went behind a tree like a squirrel, and cocked . 
his gun.  ‘ .
The rustle was not such as would be made by a bird " ’
or small animal, but was a rustle and a dull thud. This,
Eben, being quick~witted, readily construed into a footfall on ' '
a prostrate log. _
He remained close hid for some little time, then peeped ‘
cautiously out. An intervening-thicket obscured his view.
Gently stepping, he crept to the thicket and peered through. 4 ,
Before him was one of those numerous small gladea with ' ' l
which the form ahounded. This glsde was bare, but he‘was’ , ;
certain he heard a footstep, and in the present unsettled con-51v ,

 
‘m union or nun-ms ream.

ditto. of things he was wary about venturing out. in full sight,
However, as he forced his way through the thieket he, saw,
on all sides of the gladeIthe surrounding trey were some,
_. what diminutive in size—being for the most part a young
' .. growth of cottonwoods. They were too small to adord pro-
’ .tection' to any man, and beginning to lose his slight alarm, he
stepped loldly out, still on the trail.
’ No one was in eight. The surrounding forest, was devoid
‘ e, ,of hum-m beings. He went up to a large, log lying in the.
i open space. It Was decayed, and Walter’s trail. passed di-
' rectly over it. In fact he had stepped upon it,” his hoot-
, ‘ mark was plainly visible in the soft, yielding punk. But as,
' ' he noticed this, another object caught his attention.
' It was another and different footmark, and he could see it
, - had no heel, and the edges were not sharply deﬁned; he.
‘ “ knew at once it was the track of a moccasin. ‘
I I«‘Hullo! lnjnns ?" he inquired, off his guards “It can’t
; lie—there are none within sixty miles. .But, by thunder! er
' I, 1' don't h’lieve it is the track of one.”

Interested, he looked searchingly around for some further
evidence, but to his extreme surprise he found none—it was
a solitary footprint. It pointed at right angles to the trail he
was pursuing, and he judged that as the surrounding ground,
was dry and rather hard, the owner must have passed: by
without leaving any other trail.

, A P “ Well—no matter!” he said to himself. “I'm on Wale
' Z ter’s trail—I mustn’t leave it. But, by thunder! I’d like to
y , know where this one leads to." K '

He gave a ﬁnal look around, then bending again, went on,
wondering. Now the ground was rather hard, but as he was
on a “ hoot-trail," he found no dilﬁculty in keeping it. '

Right ahead the dense thickets and soft ground came
again. The moment he “ struck” the letter, he started back
at seeing he was now pursuing a double trail, the second be-

' ing that of a moccasin; some one was trailing Walter ahead
of him!

He noticed it was the same mark as the one on the log—-
it least it corresponded to it in size and shape. He pushed

‘ on a few paces, to see how far it continued,and iflthe second
person was really on the track of Walter. H. was, he mind

 
oa'ro, THE 03mm; on, V, , 
um‘ going a small distance.

ing the trail for further use, and for every ﬁve steps of Wal-

Somctimes the moccasin om ._ .
topped the boot, as if the unknown was not desirous of keeps, ~

ter, there were only two moccasin-marks; the fellow was "1. ’. s ‘

dently going at a smart pace.
Whoever he was, Eben was certain he was not far in nd-

Vance, for just now he had heard him step on the decayed. I '

log. He pushed on, determined, as it lay in his way, to fer-
ret out this rapid tracker, and perhaps by doing so he would
rid Walter of an enemy.

He had been looking down at the trail. He now raised

his head and looked around, to prevent being surprised by his 

fore-runner. Had he looked up a second quicker, he would
have seen a form dart behind a huge tree, ﬁfty yards or more
in advance, with a smile on his face. But he did not see it,
and went on, rapidly. .

He approached the tree, keeping his eye bent on the trail;
he drew nearer, and the man behind the tree smiled again.
He came directly opposite the tree, and the man slipped
around to the other side.

Eben passed the tree, then stopped short. .

“Hullo! where’s the moccasin trail? I’ve left it, or it’s
left. me—-—one or t’other." V

He went back a step or two and discovered it again.

“ Hullol here it goes, branching off by this big sycamore.
Shall I follow' it 1‘"

He hesitated a moment, then resolving to pursue it a little
distance, went off, following it. -

Went off 1’ not far. Before he had taken two steps the

man behind the tree came up behind him and gently touched, - 

him on the shoulder.

“ How goes the day, young man 7" he said.

Eben turned with a cry of surprise, and confronted him.

He saw before him the strangest man he had ever before
seen.
crazy legs, with long, swinging arms, and an enormous nose.
He was dressed in a corduroy jacket, and leggings of the
same material, which terminated in a pair of plain moccasins.
On his head was an old ﬂat. cap covered with ashes—a cap.
made from green wood, Eben could see. An old cloak of,

A man with a deformed, hunched back. with crooked, '

h.

 
run one: or *mmwr's loner.

r ‘  * dressed sheep-skin was ﬂung over his shoulders, and this, in
" : §nison with his ghastly, white face, staring, ﬁshy eye, and

j Struggling drab hair, gave him, to saylthe least, a strange at»
: fpeurnece.
_ ’ , Eben was, for the moment, alarmed at his ugly companion,

3 ﬁnd did not know What to do or say. At. last he stammered
' '- rout:

' .: “ Who are yer?" '

‘ , . “ No matter—for the present. I will tell you after I have
~ done talking with you. I have come to see you on business.

‘ “ Business ? What d’ye mean ?” asked Eben,-‘hegluning to

' (“thewme more and more surprised.

: “ Time is scarce. The young man and woman are in danger.

.:  need your help. There is work enough for both of us.”

'   What man and woman '3”

‘  "“ The'young woman that was lost.”

, , “ Hal do you know any thing of ’em? Speak quick I”
V “ Hal" yelled the man at the top of his voice. “ Do you
hear that t” p .

f _ .' The faint, melodious bay of a hound cume waited to their

'ears. Eben knew the sound.

, I. “ I do,” he said. “ It is a bloodhound.”

f , “Ay, l" and the hunchback brought his face close to that
of Eben. “ It is—and he is on the trail of the young man,
ﬁlm has found the young woman 1” , ’

1 t, Eben.saw by the earnest expression of the cripple‘s face he
was terribly in earnest, and that he spoke the truth. _
., .“ Then come on i” he said. “ Come on, to the rescuel"

' ., The ' hunchback, with surprising. agility. darted awe,

‘ .lHrOUgh the thicket, followed by Eben. I ‘

 
CHAPTER XII.
THE DEATH PATH.

Wanna and Katie ﬂed as fast as the thick' brush, the con-f "6
{Entry-impeding grape-vines, and the soft. and boggy ground , .
would allow", but still the bay came louder and rounder to ; V
their ears, and they could but see the terrible tracker wal » -
swiftly gaining upon them. " ‘ ‘ 

They had gone about half the two miles Which would
have placed them in comparative safety, when it became o‘niy .
too evident they must halt and make a stand against1 the (103.1 7
He was now quite near, being only four hundred "yards. he"
hind. The rapid pace at which he was coming proved it wal’ '
their only resort—do stand and ﬁght. _

A good opportunity presented itself, and Walter, Setting “,1
availed himself of it. , . 'V ‘

Near by, a knoll rose abruptly. in fact. horiZontally.  IV
fore it, and encircling one side of it, myriads of tough, '_ 
matted grape-vines were hung, forming an impenetrable‘bar-t
tier—at. leastl sumcient to repel the entrance of’ ‘a' man. ' V

Walter drew his bowie, and after working energetically. >
soon had the satisfaction of making an entrance stiﬂicient to 
enable him to pass through, which he did, followed by'K‘alié.‘ v ' '
who bore herself admirably. Then hauling and bending the ,
leafy vines; he soon closed the entrance so lt‘Would not  :
detected. ' "

II. was a rare place for a stand. and had Walter a dozen? .
men with him. he might have withstood a hundred. Behind » ‘ '
him rose the knoll abruptly; before him was a leafy, greeno

impenetrable wall of tough, obstinate, ﬁbrous grape-vine, 90 . 4

‘hick and leafy that persons before it could not see through? r
h. , T

But Walter had only his arm and weapons to depend 
and they might full. Still he spoke hopefully and encourﬂl” ’
ingly to Katie, and hoped for the best. I l ’i '
011 came the dog—quite near. They could hear W I ; ~

xv

 
ﬂ

lids‘heti rustle as he darted through'them, sea" at intervals out
_. swelled the sonorous bay—“ Hang, bong l”
' Walter gently put Katie aWay from him.
“ I want room to work in," he said, drawing his knife.
,~ His good riﬂe was at his shoulder at a full cock, aimed
.v through the wall; in his trigger-hand he clutched the bowie-
? Knife. Should the former fail (as in all probability it would,
" ;' owing to the thick underwood) he could mtike ti determined
' battle with the blade.
, Ou Came the dog, full of ﬁery and“ bloody desire.
Glimpses of him were caught at intervals, his" dark-brown,
g'b‘ody gleaming through the co'pses. '
Now" the patter of his feet came to their ears, and mixed
’ '_ with them, shouts behind: the robbers were holly following
‘ their fore-running ally. '
I "Suddenly he appeared, coming on at a true bloodhound
 pace—half-galloping, half-pacing—a sort of a‘mhle. He Was
. "only a‘few yards away.
.f‘ Walter, taking- a» cool, steady aim at the hound's breast,
‘ I ﬁred.
. 4' A confused snarling and growling was heard, the smoke
' , hanging obstinater down, obstructing their sight. Gradually
'v it‘lit‘ted—jnst in the nick of time.
, _ For, us Walter was peering through the’covered entrance,
. f ' knife in hand, the dog came on with a. spring. He had been
| : ﬂlhot, as 'could be told by the’ blood on .his breast, but not
, :‘tatally. It only maddened'him to stronger exertions.
i , Seeing Walter’s face at the entrance, the brute, with a
f " ﬁerce growl, sprung at him,,with red jaws, white, Wicked
I * _'teeth’, and a gleuming, illoodsliot eye. 'L j
‘ ‘ He Was met half-way. As his fore-paws touched the ban . ‘
, "iricade, Walter, exerting all his nerve and muscle, drove the
' keen-edged bowie into his breast-—exuctly in the bullet-hole.
,, There Was a mt‘uiiacul, gasping snarl, a convulsive movement
 _‘ 01' the feet, a rapid quivering throughout his body, and the
; . bloodhound fell to the ground, stone dead.
\ Katie was frightened as Walter drew back his knife and
:’ slowly wiped it on the vine-leaves. She hm! never before seen
 it hmvc man at buy—she haul never seen such a! ﬁerce, pot
’ Fimiute, and at the some time cool and resolute look upon hil

, D

 
mm,   on,

‘ face. Hie wrath was majestic—he was a brave man at. '
battling for the one he loved. ‘ ,y , -

His attention was quickly ' drawn to the approaching ;
enemy by the sight of a thickest man at the head of the, "
column. which was coming at Indian-ﬁle. He was short and}: ‘-
squat, and his sable face proclaimed his Ethiopian origin.

Could he be mistaken P He knew he was not mistakes,

It was Cato the Creeper, and beside him walked Captaiy
Downing. _ .- 7, .

To see was to act with Walter. It ween life and death
struggle now. 

A stream of ﬁre blazed from the barricade, a pnﬂ‘ ofémok
arose, and Cato the Creeper, with a wild cry, tossed his arm
aloft and fell to the ground, a bullet driven into his brain.
Cato the Creeper had followed his last trail. I _ 3

Completely surprised and astounded at the sudden dischargﬂ
and its fatal eﬂ‘cct, the bandits new to cover, where they re;
mained quiet and talked in whispers. How many men were
behind that screen 2 Downing, Fink, andhanotker man
were cloe together in a dense thicket. ‘ I H

After canvasing matters, it was decided to make a rush—- _
Downing feeling certain that only the young settler we? ~
there with the girl. The, signal for a rush was tsbe til? ,

, discharge of the captain’s revolver, when every pan was to g; V
press forward on a run. 7. .H, 3

Soon a sharp report rung out, and simultaneously, eve j
sturdy ruﬂian sprung from his cover, and rushed, gun an}!
knife in hand, toward the vines, yelling and swearing as they
did so, ,, . / ,, ,

Foremost came Captain Downing, ahead of his men;
next came Parks and Fink, all three being somewhat in ad‘
Vance. > M

Walter saw his arch-enemy, and fullof rage and desire fat
revenge, raised his gun and took a steady aim at. him. Bah
|just as, his hand was hard-pressing the trigger, Downing slip“
ped, andstumbling,.fell headlong. , L ,

. It was too late to hold his ﬁre; Downing had scarcely

dropped when the bullet, speeding through the air whet?

Downing’s head had been, Went on its way and lodged in til!
‘ brain of Parks; killing him instantly. “The robber droﬁ

I

 
as man or mum roam. 98

ho‘ut i 'gro‘an, and Fink, pressing on close behind, stumg

d over him. ,
:The remaining robbers, seeing three men prostrate, ima-
‘ed there had been a simultaneous volley from the vines,
hich had felled their leaders. They stopped and hesi-

But only for a moment. The leaders soon righted them-
‘ ves, Downing regaining his feet ﬁrst. With a wild, pro-
‘e oath he darted on, beside himself with rage. '
gThe men followed. Walter, knowing a critical and almost
‘ ; peless crisis had come, threw down his gun, and brandish-
iﬁg the keen bowie, awaited their attack.
I It came, The robbers, anticipating an easy victory, rushed
iigninst the barrier, supposing it would give to their com-
bined weight and momentum. But the vines were tough and
irong, and though the robbers dashed in a body upon them
Bey resisted the shock. They swayed, bent, and creaked,
lit, with their natural elasticity, immediately returned to their
htturui position.
A 7“ Cut through the accursed vines i” howled Downing, white
“ Cut through them 1 No quarter to the villain
Cut his threat the minute you get at him I”
g'-: Drawing his knife, he set the example by cutting wildly
End violently. Fortunate it was for Walter the vines were
Ugh and thick—fortunate it was for him that-he had an
on space behind him to ﬁght in.
“ Get behind that log, yonder, Kate i" ordered Walter.
Eise you may get hit by a bullet."
'~'8he obeyed. Now danger had come, now that an immi-
hem crisis had arrived, she, though pale, was calm and col-
’ ted. Disregarding his command to lie still, she seized his
abandoned gun, and lying behind the log, attempted to reload
it But she had no ammunition—it was hanging to Walter’s
‘houlder.
" Slipping up behind him, she quickly took 011' his powder-
horu and bullet-pouch, then retreated to the log and loaded
“36 gun, ﬁnding caps in the pouch. Then she watched her
Yer/with the eye of a lynx.
, He stood behind the only tree in his ‘f fort," watching,
Milt snapping eyes, the robbers as they energetitu worked

 
um,  amen; on,

at the vines.‘ Cutting and twisting, they worked hard Iv V 
swiftly, and soon Waiter could see their hands protrudi 7 .'
through the leaves. . j 7

One hand in particular he noticed—a brown, horny  
huge in dimensions. A thought struck him. Creeping so! i“
within easy striking distance, he raised his knife, and tnki
a sure, deliberate_ aim, struck it with all his force. At t r
same time Fink, outside, cried aloud, and drawing his ' '
hastily back from his task, exposed it to view. . ,

His arm was without its natural appendage—the hand r I " 
gone at the wrist. I

The blood ﬂowed so freely that directly he became fain a
and staggering to an adjacent log, set down uponit, with '
very white face. The others desisted, and looking at him, no
became chnry of their own hands, knowing the danger th
ran in inserting them through the leaves. - ;;

Downing, hearing the clamor, stoppedin his frenzied wot’  ' i
and walked up to Fink. ' l

“ What's the matter 1*” he asked. Fink held his hand ~
his View. 7

With a ﬁerce. oath he ,cried: a,

“ We must get him. One hundred dollars to the “ 7
that, kills him—ﬁve hundred V to the man that takes
alive."

The men needed no other stimulus. With one accord th
returned to their task; and then they worked like tigers
cutting and twisting. However, they were char} of th
hands—the example before them was too potent to be dist: ..
gnrded; and though working hard, they observed great 
tion. , I 3 ‘

They had not much longer to work before they could rea
him. To prevent his escaping, men were sent to the rear
the knoll, with orders not to harm him, but to take him all 
if possible. Walter’s chances were few indeed. ' i

1

And now‘a'cry came from one of the most industrious  I, 7
he had opened quite a breach. ‘ '
The outlaws were quite near the close of their respecti

tasks, and, fearing to lose the reward, worked like men 5
their lives. 
The nun who tad opened his breech, becomingrcckl '

 
,e terryman.
 His recle and eagerneé proved his death. Met half-

‘ The glistening steel ﬂashed in the air; the sturdy arm de-
Vnded, and with the blood spitting from his heart, Dark

ibout, to wield another blow, when a faint shriek came to his
lam—the voice of Katie.
"Like lightning he turned toward her. She was crouching
bind the log, partially upright, pointing with white face to
other part the barrier.
‘ Walter followed her gaze, and saw a robber half through
the vines.
 Be darted toward him.
' The other saw him coming, and endeavored to opting
~ ’ou'gﬁ, but his foot was fast in the vine. Then he endeao
ﬂared to draw back'- but too late.
‘ Once More the stel ﬂashed in mid-air, and the terror-
. icken bandit, looking up, saw it descend like a ﬂash. The
‘ext moment, he was a corpse.
' “ Four men down i” shrieked Downing, now completely
enzied. “ Kill him-kill him i"
Simultaneously, the men drew back a few paces, and then
Ych one rushed for the breach he had made.
,Walter saw one man burst through with a yell; the next
men’t he was upon him in close conﬂict.
Katie saw No more burst through, and, alive with fear
sed the gun and ﬁred at the foremost.
, The aim was true; with a horrible oath, he fell, mortally
Vounded.
' The other, disregarding her, rushed by her, toward Walter,
, ‘ . was ﬁghting deaperateiy With his adversary, a small,
Mry fellow, with the activity of a not and the muscle? of a

ﬁheﬂw thelast man hurry on with gun ready for instant
 '5 an now other: bunt through the vines, with Modeller

 
v

ﬂ «mm-cams“.

eyes and inﬂamed passions ; she saw, as she thought, W

(all, wounded unto death, and'knew no more. ’ I ,,
As. the whole gang effected an entrance and came rushin“ V

on Walter, he succeeded in dealing his antagonist. a fatal blo =

He fell, with the blood surging from  7'

in the side.
wound. .
At this critical moment, a loud cry came from the knoll

above-«n loud hurrah~then a succession of rapid shots and: ‘

cries of pain ; then another hurrah! ;
“ Hold up, Walt I Keep cool l" came in ringing tones 91099
by. Then came another voice, louder and shriller: "
“ Charge, boys—charge! Give ’em ﬁts l" 
There was a rapid rush of feet from the hill above. The;
outlaws halted and. looked up. 3'
Down the steep hill came a dozen men with the velocity 
the wind, to the rescue—the settlers, headed by Eben and th'GE
hunchback, had arrivedl '
Rolling, jumping, tumbling, on all tours, in their mad hast.

(for the hill was perpendicular), some with their hair ﬂying. :
and hats 011', others with gigantic, reckless strides, down cant? I ‘

the settlers to the rescue. _
The outlaws looked up, halted in tﬂéir murderous design»:

1 ,

turned, then tied through the barrier—now a barrier no long}; 

er; and the brave young man was savedl . ,.

0f the outlaws, Captain Downing alone remained. Draw?
ing a revolver from his ‘belt, and with an oath, he presenwil
it to the young man’s breast. I ‘
.“ Dog of a coward—die l" he yelled, and pulled the trig"
ger. 2‘

Reckless not! In his excitement and frenzy, he pulled ll)! v;
trigger on an empty barrel. Before he could draw the ham‘;
mer to insure his murderous deed, the hunchba‘ck tripped M“:
feet from under him, and dealing him a blow with his list ,I‘
the same time, felled him to the ground.

Then, as the settlers went hurrying by in‘ hot pure

3 2‘

hit at; .' :

[the outlaws, and as Walter rushed to Katie, the deformed M12 . r

graSped Downing by the throat. v
" Dog—villain l” he hissed. “ Do you know me 1” j I
Downing‘o face, though pale, grew paler still. The V0”? 1,

’ ,wu speaking to him—the .uameVoiee he had memes; *

 
m Men or Wanna. ﬂ

' ‘ “night that Katie escaped from his toils. He now recor
‘ d the man. ‘

‘V “ Yes, Robert Davis—James Dunning, the man whom you
abused, maltreated and crippled,.is now your captor; the son
70f the rich banker in Charleston whom you murdered, is now

' ,«your master; the man who has followed you, abetted your

:pursuers, foiled your attempts, and, haunting the forest, has

-caused his voice to be heard at noonday and midnight, has ‘

{Won now in his power; and he will use that power.”

' ’ “Let me rise—let me go i" demanded Downing, vainly en-
' Ideavoring to rise. “ Unhand me, you villain i"

 Villain i Ha i you will bitterly regret that epithet,
tRohert Davis, mark my words, you will.”

Tl “ Let me up! What right have you to detain me in this
_ manner 1’"

 “Right? Look at that young girl yonder—she is insen-
Aiible from fright, and all because of your misdeeds! Look at
L‘Irerrtather and lover beside her—many have been the torments
[they have undergone because of you! Look at the lifeless
r then lying here. They have ended their career upon earth
,in’ the midst of vile wickedness, because of you! Look at
,V'lne, an orphaned and poverty-stricken son, and a cripple—-
v yes, a cripple, deformed and ugly, because of you, and then
1: hair me what right I have to detain you! You are mine——
5 thine to do with as I will, and, as I told you before, I will use
, my power."

 ' He looked around on the scene, still keeping a secure hold
., on Downing. The settlers and outlaws were all gone, but
jithey still kept up a scattering ﬁre far away in the forest.

' ink had bled to death; Cato lay lifeless on the ground; ﬁve
{lead robbers were stretched, grim and ghastly, upon the
" neighboring scene; and Katie, now just recovered, was weep-
'. lug for joy in her father’s and lover’s anns. ' c
, His brow darkened, and he took a cord from his clothing
“ . and proceeded to bind Downing. The latter, struggling and
9 . fuming, proving a hard customer, he dealt him a blow be-
” Ween the eyes which rendered him incapable of any further
‘ Then be bound him securely, and casting a last look around

 
ﬂ ‘ ' ms».  

him, he took the unconsciousrobber chief in his amnesia;
as if he had been a child. x'l‘hen he walked away into ' ‘
sw’amp just as the sun was setting—into Shadow Stumpy“: ‘_ _
Dead-Man's Forest. 1. «

CHAPTER XIII.
wnn m gnu wonr saw m DEAD-Man’s eons“.

LITTLE more remains to be told. When the gallant seh;
tiers, with the happy lovers under their escort, arrived at til-V
settlement, they were joyfully greeted by their wives ‘3'

daughters, Hettie among the rest. «I , I

The outlaws were nearly all killed, and were entirely ex! ‘
terminated from their haunts. To Hettie’s dismay, nothing:

was ever heard of Downing, be having not been seen steel; ‘ ‘

the hunchback had felled him to the ground. V,
Much more the surprise at the hunchback's odd appeal '_

ance and disappearance, and for a long time it was the eub‘r; v .

ject of ﬁreside gossip and conjecture, until a wedding on:

curred which forever banished it. It is needless to say Who, ;_'
the parties were, nor how very gay the company was, not; ’

110w blushing and happy the bride, and exultant the groom-4.
the intelligent reader has, ere this, suspected it. But, it i5; ,
perhaps, necessary to state that, in time, Hettie lost, her(‘4 uni: p ,
fortunate attachment for the robber chief, and, suddenly dist?
covering that Eben was a ﬁne young man, yielded to his WW"
and became Mrs. Jacobs. , "I
And so, after so much hard trial and pain, these heatiU
Were at last happy. We can do nothing more for them, I!
their cup of joy is complete, so we bid them all good-by.

The mood looked palely down from the zenith upon: M;
Ian’s Forest; it looked down in its steely light upon  ‘
"any in the forest—Shadow Quail» ' , i 1"

 
 it named Shadow Swampy-tor in its met.

m men, a shadow was ﬂitting to and #0 across a

 glade, in the center 0: which stood a. trek—the ter-

f'l‘ible tree. ‘

, ‘ The shadow was that of a man—a cripple; and he was
: Lﬂitting in the midnight hour on some preconceived and ar-
‘S “ranged labor. Dry sticks he gathered from the glade and
1 {carried to the tree, depositing them at the base. After he
* “had‘colleeted a large quantity he changed his task—bringing
" and pieces of dry logs to his pile. Then, again, he

" ~;ehaiiged—this last time bringing larger limbs and. branches
' ‘Hlnd  logs, which he arranged on the summit of the

 When he had completed his task to his satisfaction he
.hhnckled in horrible delight; then he disappeared.
 , :_ Shortly he returned—not alone; a man was with him—
'  acaptige. This could be seen by the thongs which bound
" i by his pale face, and frightened, nervous sir. _
, who .hurichback led his captive to the tree, and placed him,
«back against it. Again that hideous chuckle rung out. The

' captive was standing in the center 0! the fagots, which the

s ‘ Whipple piled closely around him, the pile reaching quite to

~ "his shoulders, leaving only his head visible. Then taking a
_ cord from his clothing, be bound the prisoner closer to the
1' tree. Then, stepping back, he contemplated his prisoner, and
gave vent to s shrill, maniacal laugh. l
f_ .“ Hit 1" he said, pacing softly to and fro before his prisoner,
" " The work is nearly done. Revenge is sweet—sewed!
I; «may» be continued, “ you are doomed. When the
1about: casts a shadow over your face, this dagger will» be
,trrivent to your black heart, and the ingots will burn your
3, {out body from the earth which detesil it.
I “ In three minutes the shadow will cover your face. Robert
i Davis, have you any last words—any thing to say 1’"
 rho prisoner vuttered no word—made no sign: but, ticd
'. securely to the tree, prepared to meet his doom. ,
‘ “Once more, Robert Davis, have you any last mm! V
' That much will I do for you. I shall not speak again.”
  answer. The shadow crept slowly  the tree
»thumed'm‘lim ' 

 
m  mi sol. 

‘ All is quiet in Dead-Man’s'Forest, to-nlght. The wild" .
mals are still, and the night is calm. Still creeps the swag,
down; To and fro paces the executioner, still watcha M
I prisoner his captor. Still creeps the shadow. . t

A thousand fantastic shadows play about the moonlit gladO,
and the prisoner notes them mechanically. One in particular? ,
he watches-21. shadow stealing on from the glade towardr 
him. “ >
What is it—an animal? Yes. Dear, perhaps? Nng' '-
Perhaps an Indian? No; it is a gaunt, gray wolf. The: I
prisoner asks and answers these questions, then looks at the V

cripple. Still creeps the shadow; still plods the moon; still j »:

all is silence in Dead-Man’s Forest. I I ’
The gray wolf creeps nearer and licks his chops cravingly .7

as he peers at the prisoner. Perhaps he anticipates 3 reps“ . -;

——perhaps he does. . 
The shudow is obscuring the captive’s head now—part of“. 2 .;
it; in a few moments it will be down over his face. Still" ,-
he watches the gray wolf, still the gray wolf watches rhimﬁ: t
and still creeps the shadow—down downrdown l  
Still the moon wanes; m  about the glade‘sro ,»
slightly changed, now. The captzr silently draws his knife. t- 5
whetting it on his palm. The prisoner watches him quietly. - ‘;
The gray wolf might be mistaken for a dog, sitting so neat " 
on his haunches; but he is still a hungry wolf.  
Part of the face is in the shadow now—only a portion; .
but the captor still whets the knife, while the prisoner quietly: '
watches him. ‘ i
The gray wolf howls mournfully as the shadow entirely ?; f.
clouds the white, bleak face. , .
The caplor strikes a light among the lighter fagotst" .
they blaze up, brightly. The ﬂames quickly communicate» 1_
with the other and larger fagots. They are dry and will:
bun: until exhausted. The prisoner scowls. f ‘
There -is a sudden movement of the captor’s arm; 8 ‘7‘ ~-
bright, steely glimmer is in mid air; there is a dull blow and
the sound of gurgling -'blood; and the gray wolfthowll
mourntullyn . , . '3':
A‘ﬂgum,-nrisshspen and deformed, glides over-the We .
into the forest, and vanishes in silence; many would”, . z.
. i,

' .

 
I

in new: or nun-mire mm m

" to a menln the midst of a burning pile; he reel e do;-
f_ r in the mén'e heart, end the men’s head is on his shoul-
._ or ;i he is alone with the deed.
’ V Howling at the ﬁre, he turns and trots reluctantly “ﬂay

' :‘from its crackle and blaze and its glaring light; and all {I
:qulet in Dead-Man's Forest.

 
DIME PC)CI{E'1‘

NOVJZ‘EIJSO

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181

182
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181
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186
187
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Brave Heart.

ma June.

191 The Prairie Riﬂes.

 
Red Lightning.
By James L. Bowen.
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ill Mud Antlluny’n Seoutn
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__—._—...-n-I.‘__._l——_l__

121 1Han Nick.
122 Kit Bird.

* Tl (‘l’fle' x

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152 Billy Buwlegu.

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