Harry Castlemon

“ On the table at Herbert’s elbow is a chessboard with men scattered over it. I am sitting at one end of it, and the tall, dark, dignified-looking youth, in blue jeans roundabout and heavy horseman’s boots, who is sitting opposite me, is Duke Hampton, than whom a better fellow never lived. He is an acknowledged leader. He settles all our disputes, when we have any—which, by the way, does not often happen—and is the projector and manager of most of our plans for amusement. ”

“ There was not a man, dog, or even a horse in sight; and having satisfied ourselves on this point, we sprang out of our concealment, and ran toward the cabin.
Tom led the way up the grape-vine, carrying the valise in his teeth. I followed close behind him, with both guns slung over my shoulder, and presently we found ourselves safe in our prison again.
“I call this a masterly piece of strategy,” panted Tom, drawing his coat-sleeve across his forehead. “It will take them a long time to find out where we are, and delay will serve us as well as any thing else. ”

“ Do you believe you can tell by the way a man walks whether or not he is angry? I have thought I could; and any one who had heard Luke Redman coming up those stairs would have known that he was almost boiling over with fury.
He came thundering along as though he were shod with iron. Arriving at our door, he pounded upon it with some heavy implement—the ax, probably—and called out:
“Hay, Tommy, and you, Mark, open this door to onct. Hear me, don’t you?” ”

“ He thinks you are Mark, and if he gets half a chance, he’ll thrash you within an inch of your life. Among us all we have kept the settlement in an uproar for the last few weeks, haven’t we? Barney and I have been at the bottom of almost every thing that has happened, and I am sorry enough for it now. If any one had told me two months ago that I should ever come to this, I would not have believed him. I have made an outlaw of myself. I can’t call any living person my friend—not even my uncle, for he will never forgive me for what I have done. ”

“ One can not handle coals without getting his hands black, and the longer the coals are handled the blacker the hands become.
When Tom first began to associate with the Swamp Dragoons, one year ago, he would have been greatly alarmed at the bare thought that he would ever become so depraved as to commit a robbery. This state of things had not been brought about in a moment—it was the work of months. One mean act led to a second a little worse, another and another followed, and now he was an outcast from home, and utterly friendless, for even Luke Redman and the Swamp Dragoons had deserted him. ”

“ On this occasion it did not seem that there was the smallest chance of escape. The Swamp Dragoons and the man in the tree thought so, and looked down at him with blanched cheeks.
75Mark thought so, and stood erect in his boat, gazing in a stupid, benumbed sort of way into the dark opening where more than one strong man had given up his life, and toward which he was being hurried with lightning speed. But all this time he knew what he was about, and, when the canoe was on the very point of taking the fatal plunge, he sprang into the air with the agility of a squirrel. ”

“ I have lately learned that when boys in a city want a companion, they will station themselves in front of his gate and whistle. We did not go to all that trouble. If Mark and I had any thing exciting on hand, and wanted our fellows to join in, one of us would go out on the porch and blow three long blasts on his horn.
We were always sure of an answer, and in a few minutes here would come Sandy Todd from one direction, and Duke and Herbert from the other. ”

“ Black Bess has never been beaten in a fair race, and Zip has yet to find his equal as a fighter and bear dog. I am not so modest but that I can tell you, also, that I am the champion hunter among our fellows. I killed a bear alone and unaided, and his skin now hangs on that nail at the foot of the bed; but my companions, one and all, are determined to equal me in this respect, and consequently I do not expect to hold the honors much longer. But here comes our little negro, Bob, to announce that the horses are waiting, and we must off for the camp if we intend to be back in time for supper. ”

“ Had any of our fellows been shot by the attacking party, or had they, in their desire to prevent the rescue of Luke Redman and to save the eight thousand dollars, so far forgot their prudence as to fire upon the Swamp Dragoons?
As this thought passed through my mind, I turned my eyes for one instant toward the camp, and to my amazement and alarm, discovered that the Swamp Dragoons were not alone. I saw a mass of struggling men and boys swaying to and fro in front of the camp, and conspicuous among them were Pete and his half-breed companions. ”

“ That is Sandy Todd, the strongest boy and the best shot in our party.
That curly-headed, blue-eyed fellow, who smiles so good-naturedly every time he speaks, and who sits at the table devouring the hickory-nuts as fast as Sandy cracks them, is Herbert Dickson. He is blessed with a good deal of flesh, is Herbert, and sometimes answers to the name of “Chub”; at others, “Ducklegs.”
I have known plenty of boys at school to be badly deceived in that same Herbert Dickson. As clumsy as he looks, he can run faster and 15jump higher and further than any other fellow of his age in the settlement. ”

“ He was learning by experience that the way of the transgressor is always hard, and I did not wonder that the future looked dark to him.
220“You can’t imagine how heartily I always despised Duke Hampton,” said Tom, suddenly. “I hated the very sight of him, and now I would give all I ever hope to possess if I could be in his place. Every one thinks so much of him. There is not a man, woman or child in the settlement who does not put the most implicit faith in his word, or one who would believe any thing mean of him.” ”

“ Mark was the happy possessor of Rock and Dash, two splendid deer-hounds, which, for size, speed, endurance and courage, were unequaled in all that country except by Sandy’s Sharp and Music. These four hounds were animals worth having. They could run all day, and when they once started on a trail, they never left it until the game, whatever it was, had been killed, or they were called away. ”

“ Now, Aunt Martha was an old and favorite servant, who had somehow got it into her head that she had a perfect right to grumble at any one, from her master down to the smallest pickaninny on the plantation. Having recovered from her fright, she was scolding at an alarming rate over the loss of her fine dinner, and for want of some better object upon which to vent her spite she opened upon Mark the moment he entered the kitchen. ”

“ About ten miles from our settlement, in an almost inaccessible part of the swamp, lived a colony of people who gained a livelihood in some mysterious manner, that had more than once excited the suspicions of the planters.
The head man among them was Luke Redman, and he it was who was now crouching in the branches of the tree, glaring down at Mark like some wild animal which had been brought to bay by the hounds. ”

“ After securing his game, Mark stood watching the birds, which flew slowly onward, gradually settling down as they neared the swamp, and finally disappearing behind the bushes that lined the banks of the bayou.
“They have taken to the water,” said Mark, gleefully, “and if I don’t bag a dozen of them before I am an hour older, it will be because I have forgotten how to shoot on the wing.”
Mark ran up to headquarters, and presently reappeared in his big boots and shooting-jacket, his powder-flask and shot-bag slung over his shoulder, and his trusty double-barrel under his arm. ”

“ All things being ready, Mark cast off the painter, and with one sweep of the paddle turned the canoe about and sent it flying down the bayou. He went at almost railroad speed, but kept his craft completely under control, and when at last he came suddenly around a sharp bend and found himself between two high bluffs, with Dead Man’s Elbow in plain sight, he had screwed his courage up to the sticking point, and was ready to face the danger. ”

“ It stirred up our sluggish blood, banished all the gloomy thoughts that had so long depressed us, and when at last the fire was well under way, and the flames were leaping high in the air, and lighting up the interior of our comfortable quarters, we began to feel more like ourselves. ”

“ We were not long in finding out what had caused their alarm, for just then the clear, ringing blast of a hunting-horn echoed through the woods, followed by a chorus of the same 296kind of music, which, coming from all directions, told us that the island was surrounded. Hounds yelped, men shouted, the tramping of horses’ hoofs came faintly to our ears, and then five dogs, my own faithful Zip among the number, dashed past the mouth of the passage-way, closely followed by Sandy, Duke and Herbert.
“Hurrah!” we all shouted at once. “We’re safe now. The settlers have come at last.” ”

“ Once fairly in the saddle, we can laugh at any thing in the shape of horseflesh they can bring against us.”
“And at the hounds, too,” said I.
Tom’s enthusiasm must have been contagious, for almost before I knew it, I found myself entering heartily into the spirit of his plans. They were desperate, I knew, and the chances for carrying them out were small indeed; but even that had a charm for me. If we failed, we could not be in a much worse situation than we were now; and if we succeeded, Black Bess and the eight thousand dollars were the prizes we would carry away with us. ”

“ He could not climb up the bluff without assistance, for it was as slippery as ice; and if he released his hold on the bushes, he would fall into the water, and be whirled into the cavern before he could have time to think twice. Dead Man’s Elbow seemed to be an unlucky place for Luke Redman.
“Now, fellows,” continued Duke, in a hurried whisper, “I’ll tell you what we will do. We’ll take our halters off our bridles, make them into a rope, and when Mr. Redman gets tired of hanging to those bushes, we’ll pass one end of it down to him, and pull him up the bluff.” ”

“ The leader of the Dragoons paused for a moment when he witnessed the discomfiture of his ally, and then came on more fiercely than ever.
“Oh, ain’t I goin’ to give it to you now?” he shouted, and I knew by the way the words came out that he was almost beside himself with fury. “A fellow who hits my dog, hits me.”
About this time I became aware that there was a great uproar in the camp. I heard a crashing in the bushes, which was followed, first by Indian yells, hoarse shouts of triumph and the baying of hounds ”

“ That’s the most stupid plan I ever heard of.”
“I can convince you in less than a minute that it will be the very best thing we can do,” said Tom, confidently. “We are not going to stay here in the cane, to be hunted down like a couple of wolves that have been robbing a sheep-pen; and if we attempt to leave the island, we shall give the dogs a fair chance at us. The woods on the other side of the bayou are open, and there’s no cane to hide in. Listen! Those fellows have just found out that their guns are gone.” ”

“ When they disappeared in the woods, Mark drew a long breath of relief, and turned to Jim, who stood looking at him with every expression of wonder and curiosity. The young wrestler was hardly prepared to believe that any one, especially a boy sixteen years old, could see the famous Choctaw braves in war-paint without being very badly frightened.
“You no afraid?” he inquired.
“Afraid!” repeated Mark. “Scarcely. What’s the use of being afraid until you see something to be afraid of? ”