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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Charlie to the Rescue, by R.M. Ballantyne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Charlie to the Rescue
+
+Author: R.M. Ballantyne
+
+Release Date: June 7, 2007 [EBook #21720]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLIE TO THE RESCUE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+CHARLIE TO THE RESCUE, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+INTRODUCES THE HERO.
+
+To be generally helpful was one of the chief points in the character of
+Charlie Brooke.
+
+He was evidently born to aid mankind.  He began by helping himself to
+everything in life that seemed at all desirable.  This was natural, not
+selfish.
+
+At first there were few things, apparently, that did seem to his infant
+mind desirable, for his earliest days were marked by a sort of chronic
+crossness that seemed quite unaccountable in one so healthy; but this
+was eventually traced to the influence of pins injudiciously disposed
+about the person by nurse.  Possibly this experience may have tended to
+develop a spirit of brave endurance, and might perhaps account for the
+beautiful modifications of character that were subsequently observed in
+him.  At all events, sweet, patient amiability was a prevailing feature
+in the boy long before the years of infancy were over, and this heavenly
+aspect of him was pleasantly diversified, in course of time, by
+occasional displays of resolute--we might almost say heroic--self-will,
+which proved a constant source of mingled pride and alarm to his widowed
+mother.
+
+From a very early period of life little Charlie manifested an intense
+desire, purpose, and capacity for what may be called his life-work of
+rescuing human beings from trouble and danger.  It became a passion with
+him as years rolled on, and was among the chief means that brought about
+the changes in his chequered career.
+
+Appropriately enough he began--almost in babyhood--by rescuing himself!
+
+It happened thus.  One day, when he had reached the immature age of
+five, he was left in the nursery for a few moments in company with a
+wash-tub, in which his mother had been cleansing the household linen.
+
+Mrs Brooke, it may be remarked, although in the middle ranks of life,
+was very much below the middle ranks in financial prosperity, and had
+therefore to perform much household drudgery.
+
+Charlie's earnest desire to please and obey his mother constantly came
+into collision with that self-will to which we have referred.
+Separately, these qualities may perhaps work quietly, at least as
+regards their possessor, but unitedly they form a mixture which is apt
+to become explosive in early youth.
+
+"Don't touch the tub, Charlie; I'll be back directly," said Mrs Brooke,
+as she was leaving the nursery.  "Don't even go near it."
+
+"No, muvver, I won't."
+
+He spoke with much decision, for he adored water--not to drink but to
+play with--and seemed to realise the danger of his position, and the
+necessity for self-control.
+
+The temptation to avail himself of the chance, however, was almost too
+much for him.  Feeling that an internal conflict was pending, he toddled
+to the fire, turned his back to it _a la_ paterfamilias, and glared at
+the tub, resolved, come what might, to be "dood."  But fate was against
+him!
+
+Suddenly he became aware that something more than radiated heat was
+operating in rear.  He glanced behind.  His cotton tunic was in flames!
+In the twinkling of an eye he was seated in the wash-tub, his hands
+clasped in horror as he thought of his guilt, and the flames thoroughly
+extinguished!
+
+The solemn glare and pursed mouth with which he met his mother's look of
+blank amazement may be imagined but cannot be described--he looked so
+quiet, too, and so evidently contented, for the warm water was
+congenial!
+
+"O Charlie! did I not say that--"
+
+"Yes, muvver, but I'm bu'nt."
+
+The fearsome and dripping black patch which presented itself to the
+agonised mother when she lifted him out of the tub sufficiently
+enlightened her and exonerated the child, but her anxiety was not
+relieved till she had stripped him naked and ascertained for certain
+that no scrap of his fair skin had been injured.
+
+This may be said to have been the real commencement of Charlie Brooke's
+career.  We mention it chiefly to show that our hero was gifted with
+some power of ready resource even in childhood.  He was also gifted with
+a fearless and daring disposition, a quietly enthusiastic spirit, a
+modest mien, and a strong muscular body.
+
+Of course these admirable qualities were not fully developed in
+childhood, but the seeds were there.  In due time the plants came up and
+the flowers bloomed.
+
+We would here caution the reader--especially the youthful reader--
+against supposing that from this point our hero was engaged in
+rescue-work, and continued at it ever after without intermission.  Like
+Samson, with his great strength, he exercised his powers only now and
+then--more than half unconscious of what was in him--and on many
+occasions without any definite purpose in view.
+
+His first act of heroism was exercised, when he had reached the age of
+nine, in behalf of a kitten.
+
+It was on a magnificent summer day, soon after he had been sent to the
+village school, that the incident occurred.  Charlie was walking at the
+time with one of his school-fellows named Shank Leather.
+
+Shank was a little older than himself, and a good enough fellow in his
+way, but much given to boasting, and possessed of very few of the fine
+qualities that characterised our hero.  The two were out for a
+holiday-ramble, a long way from home, and had reached a river on the
+banks of which they sat down to enjoy their mid-day meal.  The meal was
+simple, and carried in their pockets.  It consisted of two
+inch-and-a-half-thick slices of bread, with two lumps of cheese to
+match.
+
+"I wish this river was nearer home," said Shank Leather, as they sat
+down under a spreading oak to dine.
+
+"Why?" asked his companion, with a felicitous brevity and
+straightforwardness which occasionally marked his conversation.
+
+"Because then I would have a swim in it everyday."
+
+"Can you swim?" asked Charlie, a slight elevation of the eyebrows
+indicating surprise not unmingled with admiration--for our hero was a
+hero-worshipper.  He could not well have been a hero otherwise!
+
+"Of course I can swim," returned Shank; "that is to say, a little; but I
+feel sure that I'll be a splendid swimmer some day."
+
+His companion's look of admiration increased.
+
+"What'll you take to drink?" asked Shank, drawing a large flask from the
+pocket in which he had concealed it up to that moment with the express
+purpose of giving his companion a pleasant surprise.
+
+It may be well to add that the variety of dunks implied in his question
+was imaginary.  Shank had only one flask, but in the exuberance of
+convivial generosity he quoted his own father--who was addicted to "the
+bottle."
+
+"What is it?" asked Brooke, in curious expectancy.
+
+"Taste and see," said his friend, uncorking the flask.
+
+Charlie tasted, but did not "see," apparently, for he looked solemn, and
+tasted again.
+
+"It's liquorice-water," said Shank, with the look of one who expects
+approval.  "I made it myself!"
+
+Nauseous in the extreme, it might have served the purpose of an emetic
+had not the digestion of the boys been ostrich-like, but, on hearing how
+it came into existence, Charlie put it a third time to his lips, took a
+good gulp, and then, nodding his head as he wiped his mouth with his
+cuff, declared that it was "wonderful."
+
+"Yes, isn't it?  There's not many fellows could make stuff like that."
+
+"No, indeed," assented the other heartily, as he attacked the bread and
+cheese.  "Does your father know you made it?"
+
+"Oh yes, and he tasted it too--he'd taste anything in the shape of
+drink--but he spat it out, and then washed his mouth with brandy an'
+water.  Mother took some too, and she said she had tasted worse drinks;
+and she only wished that father would take to it.  That made father
+laugh heartily.  Then I gave some to little May, and she said it was `So
+nice.'"
+
+"Ay.  That was like little May," remarked Charlie, with a quiet laugh;
+"she'd say that a mess o' tar an' shoe-blacking was nice if _you_ made
+it.  But I say, Shank, let's see you swim.  I'd give anything if I could
+swim.  Do, like a brick as you are.  There's a fine deep hole here under
+the bank."
+
+He pointed to a pool in the river where the gurgling eddies certainly
+indicated considerable depth of water, but his friend shook his head.
+
+"No, Charlie," he said, "you don't understand the danger as I do.  Don't
+you see that the water runs into the hole at such a rate that there's a
+tree-mendous eddy that would sweep any man off his legs--"
+
+"But you're goin' to swim, you know," interrupted his friend, "an' have
+got to be off your legs anyhow!"
+
+"That's all _you_ know," returned the other.  "If a man's swept round by
+an eddy, don't you know, he'll be banged against things, and then the
+water rushes out of the hole with _such_ a gush, an' goes thunderin'
+down below, over boulders and stones, and--an'--don't you see?"
+
+"That's true, Shank; it does look dangerous, even for a man that can
+swim."
+
+He put such emphasis on the "man" that his comrade glanced sharply at
+him, but the genuine innocence of our hero's face was too obvious to
+suggest irony.  He simply saw that the use of the word _man_ pleased his
+friend, therefore he used it.
+
+Conversation was cut short at this point by the sudden appearance on the
+scene of two strangers--a kitten and a dog.
+
+The assertion that "dogs delight to bark and bite" is, perhaps, too
+sweeping, but then it was made by a poet and poets have an acknowledged
+licence--though not necessarily a dog-licence.  Certain it is, however,
+that this dog--a mongrel cur--did bark with savage delight, and display
+all its teeth, with an evident desire to bite, as it chased a delirious
+tortoise-shell kitten towards the river.
+
+It was a round, soft, lively kitten, with the hair on its little body
+sticking straight out, its heart in its mouth, and horror in its lovely
+eyes.  It made straight for the tree under which the dinner was going
+on.  Both boys started up.  Enemies in front and rear!  Even a human
+general might have stood appalled.  Two courses were still open--right
+and left.  The kitten turned right and went wrong, for that was the
+river-side.  No time for thought!  Barking cur and yelling boys!  It
+reached the edge of the pool, spread out all its legs with a caterwaul
+of despair, and went headlong into the water.
+
+Shank Leather gazed--something like glee mingled with his look of
+consternation.  Not so our hero.  Pity was bursting his bosom.  With one
+magnificent bound he went into the pool, caught the kitten in his right
+hand, and carried it straight to the bottom.  Next moment he re-appeared
+on the surface, wildly beating the water with one hand and holding the
+kitten aloft in the other.  Shank, to do him justice, plunged into the
+river up to his waist, but his courage carried him no further.  There he
+stuck, vainly holding out a hand and shouting for help.
+
+But no help was near, and it seemed as if the pair of strugglers were
+doomed to perish when a pitiful eddy swept them both out of the deep
+pool into the foaming rapid below.  Shank followed them in howling
+despair, for here things looked ten times worse: his comrade being
+tossed from billow to breaker, was turned heels over head, bumped
+against boulders, stranded on shallows, overturned and swept away
+again--but ever with the left arm beating wildly, and the right hand
+with the kitten, held high in air.
+
+But the danger, except from being dashed against the boulders, was not
+really as great as it seemed, for every time that Brooke got a foothold
+for an instant, or was driven on a rock, or was surged, right-end-up, on
+a shoot of water, he managed to gasp a little air--including a deal of
+water.  The kitten, of course, had the same chances, and, being passive,
+perhaps suffered less.
+
+At the foot of the rapid they were whirled, as if contemptuously, into
+an eddy.  Shank was there, as deep as he dared venture.  He even pushed
+in up to the arm-pits, and, catching his comrade by the hair, dragged
+him to bank.
+
+"O Charlie, I've saved ye!" he exclaimed, as his friend crawled out and
+sat down.
+
+"Ay, an' you've saved the kitten too!" replied his friend, examining the
+poor animal.
+
+"It's dead," said Shank; "dead as mutton."
+
+"No, only stunned.  No wonder, poor beast!"
+
+With tender care the rescuer squeezed the water from the fur of the
+rescued.  Then, pulling open his vest and shirt, he was about to place
+the kitten in his bosom to warm it.
+
+"No use doin' that," said Leather.  "You're as wet an' nigh as cold as
+itself."
+
+"That's true.  Sit down here," returned Brooke, in a tone of command
+which surprised his comrade.  "Open your shirt."
+
+Again Shank obeyed wonderingly.  Next moment he gave a gasp as the cold,
+wet creature was thrust into his warm bosom.
+
+"It makes me shiver all over," he said.
+
+"Never mind," replied his friend coolly, as he got up and wrung the
+water out of his own garments.
+
+"It's beginning to move, Charlie," said Shank, after a few minutes.
+
+"Give it here, then."
+
+The creature was indeed showing feeble symptoms of revival, so Brooke--
+whose bosom was not only recovering its own heat, but was beginning to
+warm the wet garments--thrust it into his own breast, and the two
+friends set off homeward at a run.
+
+At the nearest house they made inquiry as to the owner of the kitten,
+but failed to find one.  Our hero therefore resolved to carry it home.
+Long before that haven was reached, however, his clothes were nearly
+dry, and the rescued one was purring sweetly, in childlike innocence--
+all the horrors, sufferings, and agonies of the past forgotten,
+apparently, in the enjoyment of the present.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+THE SHIPWRECK.
+
+We have no intention of carrying our reader on step by step through all
+the adventures and deeds of Charlie Brooke.  It is necessary to hasten
+over his boyhood, leaving untold the many battles fought, risks run, and
+dangers encountered.
+
+He did not cut much of a figure at the village school--though he did his
+best, and was fairly successful--but in the playground he reigned
+supreme.  At football, cricket, gymnastics, and, ultimately, at
+swimming, no one could come near him.  This was partly owing to his
+great physical strength, for, as time passed by he shot upwards and
+outwards in a way that surprised his companions and amazed his mother,
+who was a distinctly little woman--a neat graceful little woman--with,
+like her stalwart son, a modest opinion of herself.
+
+As a matter of course, Charlie's school-fellows almost worshipped him,
+and he was always so willing to help and lead them in all cases of
+danger or emergency, that "Charlie to the rescue!" became quite a
+familiar cry on the playground.  Indeed it would have been equally
+appropriate in the school, for the lad never seemed to be so thoroughly
+happy as when he was assisting some boy less capable than himself to
+master his lessons.
+
+About the time that Charlie left school, while yet a stripling, he had
+the shoulders of Samson, the chest of Hercules, and the limbs of Apollo.
+He was tall also--over six feet--but his unusual breadth deceived
+people as to this till they stood close to him.  Fair hair, close and
+curly, with bright blue eyes and a permanent look of grave benignity,
+completes our description of him.
+
+Rowing, shooting, fishing, boxing, and swimming seemed to come naturally
+to him, and all of them in a superlative degree.  Swimming was, perhaps,
+his most loved amusement and in this art he soon far outstripped his
+friend Leather.  Some men are endowed with exceptional capacities in
+regard to water.  We have seen men go into the sea warm and come out
+warmer, even in cold weather.  Experience teaches that the reverse is
+usually true of mankind in northern regions, yet we once saw a man enter
+the sea to all appearance a white human being, after remaining in it
+upwards of an hour, and swimming away from shore; like a vessel outward
+bound, he came back at last the colour of a boiled lobster!
+
+Such exceptional qualities did Charlie Brooke possess.  A South Sea
+Islander might have envied but could not have excelled him.
+
+It was these qualities that decided the course of his career just after
+he left school.
+
+"Charlie," said his mother, as they sat eating their mid-day meal alone
+one day--the mother being, as we have said, a widow, and Charlie an only
+child--"what do you think of doing, now that you have left school? for
+you know my income renders it impossible that I should send you to
+college."
+
+"I don't know what to think, mother.  Of course I intend to do
+something.  If you had only influence with some one in power who could
+enable a fellow to get his foot on the first round of any sort of
+ladder, something might be done, for you know I'm not exactly useless,
+though I can't boast of brilliant talents, but--"
+
+"Your talents are brilliant enough, Charlie," said his mother,
+interrupting; "besides, you have been sent into this world for a
+purpose, and you may be sure that you will discover what that purpose
+is, and receive help to carry it out if you only ask God to guide you.
+Not otherwise," she added, after a pause.
+
+"Do you _really_ believe, mother, that _every_ one who is born into the
+world is sent for a purpose, and with a specific work to do?"
+
+"I do indeed, Charlie."
+
+"What! all the cripples, invalids, imbeciles, even the very infants who
+are born to wail out their sad lives in a few weeks, or even days?"
+
+"Yes--all of them, without exception.  To suppose the opposite, and
+imagine that a wise, loving, and almighty Being would create anything
+for _no_ purpose seems to me the very essence of absurdity.  Our only
+difficulty is that we do not always see the purpose.  All things are
+ours, but we must ask if we would have them."
+
+"But I _have_ asked, mother," said the youth, with an earnest flush on
+his brow.  "You know I have done so often, yet a way has not been opened
+up.  I believe in _your_ faith, mother, but I don't quite believe in my
+own.  There surely must be something wrong--a screw loose somewhere."
+
+He laid down his knife and fork, and looked out at the window with a
+wistful, perplexed expression.
+
+"How I wish," he continued, "that the lines had been laid down for the
+human race more distinctly, so that we could not err!"
+
+"And yet," responded his mother, with a peculiar look, "such lines as
+_are_ obviously laid down we don't always follow.  For instance, it is
+written, `Ask, and it shall be given you,' and we stop there, but the
+sentence does not stop: `Seek, and ye shall find' implies care and
+trouble; `Knock, and it shall be opened unto you' hints at perseverance,
+does it not?"
+
+"There's something in that, mother," said Charlie, casting another
+wistful glance out of the window.  "Come, I will go out and `seek'!  I
+see Shank Leather waiting for me.  We agreed to go to the shore
+together, for we both like to watch the waves roaring in on a breezy day
+like this."
+
+The youth rose and began to encase his bulky frame in a great
+pilot-cloth coat, each button of which might have done duty as an
+afternoon tea-saucer.
+
+"I wish you would choose any companion to walk with but young Leather,"
+said the widow, with a sigh.  "He's far too like his father to do you
+any good."
+
+"Mother, would you have me give up an old playmate and school-fellow
+because he is not perfect?" asked the youth in grave tones as he tied on
+a sou'-wester.
+
+"Well, no--not exactly, but--"
+
+Not having a good reason ready, the worthy woman only smiled a
+remonstrance.  The stalwart son stooped, kissed her and was soon
+outside, battling with the storm--for what he styled a breezy day was in
+reality a wild and stormy one.
+
+Long before the period we have now reached Mrs Brooke had changed her
+residence to the sea-coast in the small town of Sealford.  Her cottage
+stood in the centre of the village, about half-a-mile from the shore,
+and close to that of her bosom friend, Mrs Leather, who had migrated
+along with her, partly to be near her and partly for the sake of her son
+Shank, who was anxious to retain the companionship of his friend Brooke.
+Partly, also, to get her tippling husband away from old comrades and
+scenes, in the faint hope that she might rescue him from the great curse
+of his life.
+
+When Charlie went out, as we have said, he found that Shank had brought
+his sister May with him.  This troubled our hero a good deal, for he had
+purposed having a confidential talk with his old comrade upon future
+plans and prospects, to the accompaniment of the roaring sea, and a
+third party was destructive of such intention.  Besides, poor May,
+although exceedingly unselfish and sweet and good, was at that
+transition period of life when girlhood is least attractive--at least to
+young men: when bones are obtrusive, and angles too conspicuous, and the
+form generally is too suggestive of flatness and longitude; while
+shyness marks the manners, and inexperience dwarfs the mind.  We would
+not, however, suggest for a moment that May was ugly.  By no means, but
+she had indeed reached what may be styled a plain period of life--a
+period in which some girls become silently sheepish, and others
+tomboyish; May was among the former, and therefore a drag upon
+conversation.  But, after all, it mattered little, for the rapidly
+increasing gale rendered speech nearly impossible.
+
+"It's too wild a day for you, May," said Brooke, as he shook hands with
+her; "I wonder you care to be out."
+
+"She _doesn't_ care to be out, but I wanted her to come, and she's a
+good obliging girl, so she came," said Shank, drawing her arm through
+his as they pressed forward against the blast in the direction of the
+shore.
+
+Shank Leather had become a sturdy young fellow by that time, but was
+much shorter than his friend.  There was about him, however, an
+unmistakable look of dissipation--or, rather, the beginning of it--which
+accounted for Mrs Brooke's objection to him as a companion for her son.
+
+We have said that the cottage lay about half-a-mile from the shore,
+which could be reached by a winding lane between high banks.  These
+effectually shut out the view of the sea until one was close to it,
+though, at certain times, the roar of the waves could be heard even in
+Sealford itself.
+
+Such a time was the present, for the gale had lashed the sea into
+wildest fury, and not only did the three friends hear it, as, with bent
+heads, they forced their way against the wind, but they felt the foam of
+ocean on their faces as it was carried inland sometimes in lumps and
+flakes.  At last they came to the end of the lane, and the sea, lashed
+to its wildest condition, lay before them like a sheet of tortured foam.
+
+"Grand! isn't it?" said Brooke, stopping and drawing himself up for a
+moment, as if with a desire to combat the opposing elements.
+
+If May Leather could not speak, she could at all events gaze, for she
+had superb brown eyes, and they glittered, just then, like glowing
+coals, while a wealth of rippling brown hair was blown from its
+fastenings, and flew straight out behind her.
+
+"Look! look there!" shouted her brother with a wild expression, as he
+pointed to a part of the rocky shore where a vessel was dimly seen
+through the drift.
+
+"She's trying to weather the point," exclaimed Brooke, clearing the
+moisture from his eyes, and endeavouring to look steadily.
+
+"She'll never weather it.  See! the fishermen are following her
+along-shore," cried young Leather, dropping his sister's arm, and
+bounding away.
+
+"Oh! don't leave me behind, Shank," pleaded May.
+
+Shank was beyond recall, but our hero, who had also sprung forward,
+heard the pleading voice and turned back.
+
+"Here, hook on to me," he cried quickly, for he was in no humour to
+delay.
+
+The girl grasped his arm at once, and, to say truth, she was not much of
+a hindrance, for, although somewhat inelegant, as we have said, she was
+lithe as a lizard and fleet as a young colt.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the level shore where Brooke left May to
+shelter herself with some fisher-women behind a low wall, while he ran
+along to a spot where a crowd of fishermen and old salts, enveloped in
+oil-skins, were discussing the situation as they leaned against the
+shrieking wind.
+
+"Will she weather it, Grinder, think you?" he asked of an elderly man,
+whose rugged features resembled mahogany, the result of having bid
+defiance to wind and weather for nigh half a century.
+
+"She may, Mr Brooke, an' she mayn't," answered the matter-of-fact man
+of the sea, in the gruff monotone with which he would have summoned all
+hands to close reef in a hurricane.  "If her tackle holds she'll do it.
+If it don't she won't."
+
+"We've sent round for the rocket anyhow," said a smart young fisherman,
+who seemed to rejoice in opposing his broad chest to the blast, and in
+listening to the thunder of the waves as they rolled into the exposed
+bay in great battalions, chasing each other in wild tumultuous fury, as
+if each were bent on being first in the mad assault upon the shore.
+
+"Has the lifeboat coxswain been called?" asked Charlie, after a few
+minutes' silence, for the voice of contending elements was too great to
+render converse easy or agreeable.
+
+"Yes, sir," answered the man nearest to him, "but she's bin called to a
+wreck in Mussel Bay, an' that brig will be all right or in Davy Jones's
+locker long afore th' lifeboat 'ud fetch round here."
+
+Silence again fell on the group as they gazed out to sea, pushing
+eagerly down the beach until they were ankle-deep in the foam of each
+expended wave; for the brig was by that time close on the point of
+rocks, staggering under more sail than she could carry with safety.
+
+"She'll do it!" exclaimed the smart young fisherman, ready to cheer with
+enthusiastic hope.
+
+"Done for!  Lost!" cried one, while something like a groan burst from
+the others as they saw the brig's topmasts go over the side, and one of
+her sails blown to ribbons.  She fell away towards the rocks at once.
+
+Like great black teeth these rocks seemed to leap in the midst of the
+foam, as if longing to grasp the ill-fated vessel, which had, indeed,
+all but weathered the dangerous point, and all might have been well if
+her gear had only held; but now, as if paralysed, she drifted into the
+bay where certain destruction awaited her.
+
+Just at that moment a great cheer arose, for the rocket-cart, drawn by
+the men of the Coast-Guard, was seen rattling over the downs towards
+them.
+
+Anxiety for the fate of the doomed brig was now changed into eager hope
+for the rescue of her crew.  The fishermen crowded round the Coast-Guard
+men as they ran the cart close down to the water's edge, and some of
+them--specially the smart young fellow already mentioned--made eager
+offer of their services.  Charlie Brooke stood aloof, looking on with
+profound interest, for it was the first time he had ever seen the Manby
+rocket apparatus brought into action.  He made no hasty offer to assist,
+for he was a cool youth--even while burning with impatient enthusiasm--
+and saw at a glance that the men of the Coast-Guard were well able to
+manage their own affairs and required no aid from him.
+
+As the brig was coming straight in they could easily calculate where she
+would strike, so that the rocket men could set up their triangle and
+arrange their tackle without delay.  This was fortunate, for the wreck
+was carried shoreward with great rapidity.  She struck at last when
+within a short distance of the beach, and the faces of those on board
+could be distinctly seen, and their cries heard, as both masts snapped
+off and were swept over the side, where they tore at the shrouds like
+wild creatures, or charged the hulk like battering-rams.  Instantly the
+billows that had borne the vessel on their crests burst upon her sides,
+and spurted high in air over her, falling back on her deck, and sweeping
+off everything that was moveable.  It could be seen that only three or
+four men were on deck, and these kept well under the lee of the bulwarks
+near the stern where they were strongest.
+
+"No passengers, I think," said one of the fishermen; "no women, anyhow."
+
+"Not likely they'd be 'lowed on deck even if there was," growled
+Grinder, in his monotone.
+
+"Now, then, out o' the way," cried the leader of the Coast-Guard men, as
+he laid a rocket in its place.  "Line all clear, Fred?"
+
+"All clear."
+
+Next moment there was a burst of flame, a crash, and a vicious whizz as
+the powerful projectile leaped from its stand and sped out to sea, in
+grand defiance of the opposing gale, with its light line behind it.
+
+A cheer marked its flight, but a groan told of its descent into the
+boiling sea, considerably to the left of the wreck.
+
+"_What_ a pity!" cried Shank Leather, who had come close to his friend
+when the rocket-cart arrived.
+
+"No matter," said Brooke, whose compressed lips and flashing eyes told
+of deep but suppressed feelings.  "There are more rockets."
+
+He was right.  While he was speaking, another rocket was placed and
+fired.  It was well directed, but fell short.  Another, and yet another,
+rose and fell, but failed to reach its mark, and the remainder of the
+rockets refused to go off from some unknown cause--either because they
+had been too long in stock or had become damp.
+
+Meantime the brig was tossed farther and farther in, until she stuck
+quite fast.  Then it became evident that she must soon break up, and her
+crew perish.  Hasty plans and eager advice were proposed and given.
+Then the smart young fisherman suddenly sprang forward, and threw off
+his oil-coat and sou'-wester.
+
+"Here! hold on!" he cried, catching up the end of the rocket line, and
+fastening it round his waist, while he kicked off his heavy boots.
+
+"You can't do it, Bill," cried some.
+
+"Too far to swim," cried others.
+
+"The seas 'll knock the life out o' ye," said Grinder, "afore you're
+clear o' the sand."
+
+Despite these warnings the brave young fellow dashed into the foam, and
+plunged straight into the first mighty breaker that towered over his
+head.  But he was too much excited to act effectively.  He failed to
+time his plunge well.  The wave fell upon him with a roar and crushed
+him down.  In a few seconds he was dragged ashore almost insensible.
+
+Example, whether good or bad, is infectious.  Another strapping young
+fellow, stirred to emulation, ran forward, and, seizing the rope, tied
+it round his own waist, while they helped poor Bill up the beach and
+seated him on a sand-bank.
+
+The second youth was more powerful than the first--and cooler.  He made
+a better attempt, but only got past the first wave, when his comrades,
+seeing that he was exhausted, drew him back.  Then a third--a broad
+burly youth--came forward.
+
+At this point the soul of Shank Leather took fire, for he was by no
+means destitute of generous impulses, and he tried to get hold of the
+rope.
+
+"Out o' the way," cried the burly youth, giving Leather a rough push
+that almost sent him on his back; "we don't want no land-lubbers for
+this kind o' work."
+
+Up to this point Charlie Brooke, although burning with eager desire to
+take some active part in the rescue, had restrained himself and held
+back, believing, with characteristic modesty, that the fishermen knew
+far better than he did how to face the sea and use their appliances; but
+when he saw his friend stagger backward, he sprang to the front, caught
+hold of the line, and, seizing the burly fisherman by the arm,
+exclaimed, "You'll let _this_ land-lubber try it, anyhow," and sent him
+spinning away like a capsized nine-pin.
+
+There was a short laugh, as well as a cheer at this; but next moment all
+were gazing at the sea in breathless anxiety, for Brooke had rushed deep
+into the surf.  He paused one moment, as the great wave curled over him,
+then went through it head-first with such force that he shot waist-high
+out of the sea on the other side.  His exceptional swimming-powers now
+served him well, for his otter-like rapidity of action enabled him to
+avoid the crushing billows either by diving through them at the right
+moment, or holding back until they fell, and left him only the mad
+swirling foam to contend with.  This last was bad enough, but here his
+great muscular strength and his inexhaustible caloric, with his
+cork-like power of flotation, enabled him to hold his own without
+exhaustion until another opportunity of piercing an unbroken wave
+offered.  Thus he gradually forced his way through and beyond the worst
+breakers, which are always those nearest shore.  Had any one been close
+to him, and able calmly to watch his movements, it would have been seen
+that, great as were the youth's powers, he did not waste them in useless
+battling with a force against which no man could effectively contend;
+that, with a cool head, he gave way to every irresistible force,
+swimming for a moment, as it were, with the current--or, rather,
+floating easily in the whirlpools--so as to conserve his strength; that,
+ever and anon, he struck out with all his might, rushing through foam
+and wave like a fish, and that, in the midst of it all, he saw and
+seized the brief moments in which he could take a gasping inhalation.
+
+Those who watched him with breathless anxiety on shore saw little of all
+this as they paid out the line or perched themselves on tiptoe on the
+few boulders that here and there strewed the sand.
+
+"Haul him back!" shouted the man who was farthest out on the line.
+"He's used up!"
+
+"No, he's not, I know him well!" roared Shank Leather.  "Pay out, men--
+pay out line!"
+
+"Ay, ease away," said Grinder, in a thunderous growl.  "He's a rigler
+walrus, he is.  Niver see'd sich a feller since I left the southern
+seas.  Ease away, boys."
+
+A cheer followed his remark, for at that moment it was seen that our
+hero had reached the tail of the eddy which was caused by the hull of
+the wreck, and that one of her crew had darted from the cover of the
+vessel's bulwarks and taken shelter under the stump of the mainmast.
+His object was seen in a moment, for he unhooked a coil of rope from the
+belaying-pins, and stood ready to heave it to the approaching swimmer.
+In making even this preparation the man ran very great risk, for the
+stump was but a partial shelter--each wave that burst over the side
+sweeping wildly round it and leaping on the man higher than his waist,
+so that it was very difficult for him to avoid being torn from his
+position.
+
+Charlie's progress was now comparatively easy.  A few vigorous strokes
+brought him under the lea of the wreck, which, however, was by no means
+a quiet spot, for each divided wave, rushing round bow and stern, met
+there in a tumult of foam that almost choked the swimmer, while each
+billow that burst over the wreck poured a small Niagara on his head.
+
+How to get on board in such circumstances was a subject that had
+troubled Charlie's mind as he drew near, but the action of the sailor
+unhooking the coil of rope at once relieved him.  The moment he came
+within reach, the sailor, watching his opportunity between waves, threw
+out the coil.  It was aimed by an accustomed hand and fell on the
+rescuer's head.  Another minute and young Brooke stood on the deck.
+Without waiting an instant he leaped under the shelter of the stump of
+the mainmast beside the seaman.  He was only just in time, for a wave
+burst in thunder on the weather side of the quivering brig, and, pouring
+over the bulwarks, almost dragged him from the belaying-pins to which he
+clung.
+
+The instant the strain was off, he passed a rope round his waist and
+gave the end of it to the sailor.
+
+"Here, make it fast," he said, beginning to haul with all his might on
+the line which he had brought from shore.  "You're the skipper--eh?"
+
+"Yes.  Don't waste your breath in speech.  I know what to do.  All's
+ready."
+
+These few words were an unspeakable relief to our hero, who was well
+aware that the working of the rocket apparatus required a slight amount
+of knowledge, and who felt from his manner and tone that the skipper was
+a thorough man.  He glanced upwards as he hauled in the line, assisted
+by his companion, and saw that a stout rope with two loops on it had
+been fixed to the stump of the mast.  Just as he noted this with
+satisfaction a large block with a thin line rove through it emerged from
+the boiling sea.  It had been attached by the men on shore to the rocket
+line which Charlie had been hauling out with so much energy.  Its name
+was indicated by the skipper.
+
+"Here comes the _whip_," he cried, catching hold of the block when it
+reached him.  "Hold me up, lad, while I make it fast to them loops."
+
+While Charlie obeyed he saw that by fixing the tail-lines of the block
+quickly to the loops prepared for them, instead of winding them round
+the mast,--a difficult process in such a sea--much time was saved.
+
+"There, _our_ part o' the job is done now," said the skipper, pulling
+off his sou'-wester as he spoke and holding it up as a signal to the men
+on shore.
+
+Meanwhile those to whom he signalled had been watching every movement
+with intense eagerness, and with the expressions of men whose gaze has
+to penetrate with difficulty through a haze of blinding spray.
+
+"They've got the block now," cried one man.
+
+"Does that young feller know about fixin' of it?" asked another.
+
+"Clap a stopper on your mugs; they're a-fixin' of it now," said old
+Grinder.  "There's the signal!  Haul away, lads!"
+
+We must explain here that the "whip" above mentioned was a double or
+endless line, passing through the block which had been hauled out to the
+wreck by our hero.
+
+By means of this whip one end of a stout cable was sent off to the
+wreck, and on this cable a sling-lifebuoy was hung to a pulley and also
+run out to the wreck.  The working of the apparatus, though simple
+enough to seamen, would entail a complicated, perhaps incomprehensible,
+description to landsmen: we therefore pass it by with the remark that,
+connection with the shore having been established, and the
+sling-lifebuoy--or life-saving machine--run out, the crew received it
+with what was meant for a hearty cheer, but which exhaustion modified to
+a feeble shout.
+
+"Now, lads," cried the skipper to his men, "look sharp!  Let out the
+passengers."
+
+"Passengers?" exclaimed Charlie Brooke in surprise.
+
+"Ay--my wife an' little gurl, two women and an old gentleman.  You don't
+suppose I'd keep 'em on deck to be washed overboard?"
+
+As he spoke two of the men opened the doors of the companion-hatch, and
+caught hold of a little girl of about five years of age, who was handed
+up by a woman.
+
+"Stay! keep her under cover till I get hold of her," cried the skipper.
+
+As he was passing from the mast to the companion a heavy sea burst over
+the bulwarks, and swept him into the scuppers.  The same wave wrenched
+the child from the grasp of the man who held it and carried it right
+overboard.  Like an eel, rather than a man, Charlie cleft the foam close
+behind her, caught her by the skirt and bore her to the surface, when a
+few strokes of his free arm brought him close under the lee of the wreck
+just in time to prevent the agonised father from leaping after his
+child.  There was terrible suspense for a few minutes.  At one moment
+our hero, with his burden held high aloft, was far down in the hollow of
+the watery turmoil, with the black hull like a great wall rising above
+him, while the skipper in the main-chains, pale as death but sternly
+silent held on with his left hand and reached down with his right--every
+finger rigid and ready!  Next moment a water-spout, so to speak, bore
+the rescuer upward on its crest, but not near enough--they went downward
+again.  Once more the leaping water surged upwards; the skipper's strong
+hand closed like the grip of death on the dress, and the child was safe
+while its rescuer sank away from it.
+
+"Help him!" shouted the skipper, as he staggered to the shelter of the
+companion.
+
+But Charlie required no help.  A loose rope hanging over the side caught
+his eye: he seized it and was on deck again in a few seconds.  A minute
+later and he was down in the cabin.
+
+There, terror-stricken, sat the skipper's wife, never venturing to move,
+because she had been told to remain there till called.  Happily she knew
+nothing of the incident just described.
+
+Beside her sat the other women, and, near to them, a stern old
+gentleman, who, with compressed lips, quietly awaited orders.
+
+"Come, quick!" said Charlie, grasping by the arm one of the women.
+
+It was the skipper's wife.  She jumped up right willingly and went on
+deck.  There she found her child already in the life-buoy, and was
+instantly lifted in beside it by her husband, who looked hastily round.
+
+"Come here, Dick," he said to a little cabin-boy who clung to a
+stanchion near by.  "Get in."
+
+The boy looked surprised, and drew back.
+
+"Get in, I say," repeated the skipper sternly.
+
+"There's more women, sir," said the boy, still holding back.
+
+"True--brave lad! but you're wanted to keep these from getting washed
+out.  I am too heavy, you know."
+
+The boy hesitated no longer.  He squeezed himself into the machine
+beside the woman and child.
+
+Then up at arm's-length went the skipper's sou'-wester as a signal that
+all was ready, and the fishermen began to haul the life-buoy to the
+shore.
+
+It was an awful trip!  Part of the distance, indeed, the trio were borne
+along well out of the sea, though the waves leaped hungrily up and sent
+spray over them, but as they drew near the shore they were dipped again
+and again into the foam, so that the little cabin boy needed all his
+energy and knowledge, as well as his bravery and strength, to prevent
+his charge being washed out.  Amid ringing cheers from the fishermen--
+and a treble echo from the women behind the wall--they were at last
+safely landed.
+
+"My lass, that friend o' your'n be a braave cheeld," said an old woman
+to May Leather, who crouched beside her.
+
+"Ay, _that_ he is!" exclaimed May, with a gush of enthusiasm in tone and
+eyes that made them all turn to look at her.
+
+"Your brother?" asked a handsome, strapping young woman.
+
+"No--I wish he was!"
+
+"Hm! ha!" exclaimed the strapping young woman--whereat there was
+exchanged a significant laugh; but May took no notice of it, being too
+deeply engrossed with the proceedings on shore and sea.
+
+Again the fishermen ran out the life-buoy and soon hauled it back with
+another woman; then a third.  After that came the old gentleman, quite
+self-possessed and calm, though very pale and dishevelled; and,
+following him, the crew, one by one, were rescued.  Then came the hero
+of the hour, and last of all, as in duty bound, the skipper--not much
+too soon, for he had barely reached the land when the brig was
+overwhelmed and engulfed in the raging sea.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+"IT'S AN ILL WIND THAT BLAWS NAEBODY GUID."
+
+That many if not most names have originated in the character or
+condition of individuals seems obvious, else why is it that so many
+people take after their names?  We have no desire to argue the question,
+but hasten on to remark that old Jacob Crossley was said to be--observe,
+we do not say that he was--a notable illustration of what we refer to.
+
+Jacob was "as cross as two sticks," if we are to believe Mrs Bland, his
+housekeeper--and Mrs Bland was worthy of belief, for she was an honest
+widow who held prevarication to be equivalent to lying, and who, besides
+having been in the old bachelor's service for many years, had on one
+occasion been plucked by him from under the feet of a pair of horses
+when attempting the more dangerous than nor'-west passage of a London
+crossing.  Gratitude, therefore, rendered it probable that Mrs Bland
+spake truly when she said that her master was as cross as two sticks.
+Of course we admit that her judgment may have been faulty.
+
+Strange to say Mr Crossley had no reason--at least no very apparent
+reason--for being cross, unless, indeed, the mere fact of his being an
+old bachelor was a sufficient reason.  Perhaps it was!  But in regard to
+everything else he had, as the saying goes, nothing to complain of.  He
+was a prosperous East India merchant--not a miser, though a cross old
+bachelor, and not a millionaire, though comfortably rich.  His business
+was prosperous, his friends were numerous, his digestion was good, his
+nervous system was apparently all that could be desired, and he slept
+well!
+
+Standing one morning in the familiar British position before his
+dining-room fire in London, he frowningly contemplated his housekeeper
+as that indefatigable woman removed the breakfast equipage.
+
+"Has the young man called this morning?"
+
+"Not yet, sir."
+
+"Well, when he comes tell him I had business in the city and could wait
+no--"
+
+A ring and a sharp knock interrupted him.  A few moments later Charlie
+Brooke was ushered into the room.  It was a smallish room, for Mr
+Crossley, although well off, did not see the propriety of wasting money
+on unnecessary space or rent, and the doorway was so low that Charlie's
+hair brushed against the top as he entered.
+
+"I called, Mr Crossley, in accordance with the wish expressed in your
+letter.  Although, being a stranger, I do not--"
+
+The young man stopped at this point and looked steadily at the old
+gentleman with a peculiarly questioning expression.
+
+"You recognise me, I see," said the old man, with a very slight smile.
+
+"Well--I may be mistaken, but you do bear some resemblance to--"
+
+"Just so, I'm the man that you hauled so violently out of the cabin of
+the wreck last week, and shoved so unceremoniously into the life-buoy,
+and I have sent for you, first, to thank you for saving my life, because
+they tell me that, but for your swimming off with a rope, we should
+certainly have all been lost; and, secondly, to offer you aid in any
+course of life you may wish to adopt, for I have been informed that you
+are not at present engaged in any special employment."
+
+"You are very kind, sir, very kind," returned Charlie, somewhat
+embarrassed.  "I can scarcely claim, however, to have saved your life,
+though I thankfully admit having had the opportunity to lend a hand.
+The rocket-men, in reality, did the work, for without their splendid
+working of the apparatus my swimming off would have been useless."
+
+Mr Crossley frowned while the youth was speaking, and regarded him with
+some suspicion.
+
+"You admit, I suppose," he rejoined sternly, "that if you had _not_ swum
+off, the rocket apparatus would have been equally useless."
+
+"By no means," returned Charlie, with that benignant smile that always
+accompanied his opposition in argument.  "I do not admit that, because,
+if I had not done it, assuredly some one else would.  In fact a friend
+of mine was on the point of making the attempt when I pulled him back
+and prevented him."
+
+"And why did you prevent him?"
+
+"Because he was not so well able to do it as I."
+
+"Oh!  I see.  In other words, you have a pretty high opinion of your own
+powers."
+
+"Possibly I have," returned the youth, somewhat sharply.  "I lay claim
+to no exemption from the universal law of vanity which seems to affect
+the entire human race--especially the cynical part of it.  At the same
+time, knowing from long experience that I am physically stronger, can
+swim better, and have greater power of endurance, though not greater
+courage, than my friend, it would be mere pretence were I to assume that
+in such matters I was his inferior.  You asked me why I prevented him: I
+gave you the reason exactly and straightforwardly.  I now repeat it."
+
+"Don't be so ready to fire up, young man," said Crossley, with a
+deprecating smile.  "I had no intention of hurting your feelings."
+
+"You have not hurt them, sir," returned Charlie, with almost provoking
+urbanity of manner and sweetness of voice, "you have only misunderstood
+me."
+
+"Well, well, let it pass.  Tell me, now, can I do anything for you?"
+
+"Nothing, thank you."
+
+"Eh?" exclaimed the old gentleman in surprise.
+
+"Nothing, thank you," repeated his visitor.  "I did not save you for the
+purpose of being rewarded, and I refuse to accept reward for saving
+you."
+
+For a second or two Mr Crossley regarded his visitor in silence, with a
+conflicting mixture of frown and smile--a sort of acidulated-drop
+expression on his rugged face.  Then he asked--
+
+"What is the name of this friend whom you prevented from swimming off to
+us?"
+
+"Shank Leather."
+
+"Is he a very great friend of yours?"
+
+"Very.  We have been playmates from childhood, and school-fellows till
+now."
+
+"What is he?--his profession, I mean?"
+
+"Nothing at present.  That is to say, he has, like myself, been trained
+to no special profession, and the failure of the firm in the
+counting-house of which we have both served for some months has cast us
+adrift at the same time."
+
+"Would it give you much satisfaction if I were to find good employment
+for your friend?"
+
+"Indeed it would--the highest possible satisfaction," exclaimed Charlie,
+with the first symptom of enthusiasm in his tone and look.
+
+"What can your friend Shank Leather do?" asked the old man brusquely.
+
+"Oh! many things.  He's capital at figures, thoroughly understands
+book-keeping, and--and is a hard-working fellow, whatever he puts his
+hand to."
+
+"Is he steady?"
+
+Charlie was silent for a few moments.
+
+"Well, one cannot be sure," he answered, with some hesitation, "what
+meaning you attach to the word `steady.'  I--"
+
+"Yes, yes, I see," interrupted Crossley, consulting his watch.  "No time
+to discuss meanings of words just now.  Will you tell your friend to
+call on me here the day after to-morrow at six o'clock?  You live in
+Sealford, I have been told; does he live near you?"
+
+"Yes, within a few minutes' walk."
+
+"Well, tell him to be punctual.  Punctuality is the soul of business.
+Hope I won't find your friend as independent as you seem to be!  You are
+quite sure, are you, that I can do nothing for you?  I have both money
+and influence."
+
+The more determined that our hero became to decline all offers of
+assistance from the man who had misconstrued his motives, the more of
+urbanity marked his manner, and it was with a smile of ineffable
+good-nature on his masculine features that he repeated, "Nothing, thank
+you--quite sure.  You will have done me the greatest possible service
+when you help my friend.  Yet--stay.  You mentioned money.  There is an
+institution in which I am much interested, and which you might
+appropriately remember just now."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"The Lifeboat Institution."
+
+"But it was not the Lifeboat Institution that saved _me_.  It was the
+Rocket apparatus."
+
+"True, but it _might_ have been a lifeboat that saved you.  The rockets
+are in charge of the Coast-Guard and need no assistance, whereas the
+Lifeboat Service depends on voluntary contributions, and the fact that
+it did not happen to save Mr Crossley from a grave in the sea does not
+affect its claim to the nation's gratitude for the hundreds of lives
+saved by its boats every year."
+
+"Admitted, my young friend, your reasoning is just," said the old
+gentleman, sitting down at a writing table and taking a cheque-book from
+a drawer; "what shall I put down?"
+
+"You know your circumstances best," said Charlie, somewhat amused by the
+question.
+
+"Most people in ordinary circumstances," returned the old man slowly as
+he wrote, "contribute a guinea to such charities."
+
+"Many people," remarked Charlie, with a feeling of pity rather than
+contempt, "contribute five, or even fifteen."
+
+"Ah, indeed--yes, well, Mr Brooke, will you condescend to be the bearer
+of my contribution?  Fourteen Saint John Street, Adelphi, is not far
+from this, and it will save a penny of postage, you know!"
+
+Mr Crossley rose and handed the cheque to his visitor, who felt half
+disposed--on the strength of the postage remark--to refuse it and speak
+his mind somewhat freely on the subject, but, his eye happening to fall
+on the cheque at the moment, he paused.
+
+"You have made a mistake, I think," he said.  "This is for five
+_hundred_ pounds."
+
+"I make no mistakes, Mr Brooke," returned the old man sternly.  "You
+said something about five or fifteen.  I could not well manage fifteen
+_hundred_ just now, for it is bad times in the city at present.  Indeed,
+according to some people, it is always bad times there, and, to say
+truth, some people are not far wrong--at least as regards their own
+experiences.  Now, I must be off to business.  Good-bye.  Don't forget
+to impress on your friend the importance of punctuality."
+
+Jacob Crossley held out his hand with an expression of affability which
+was for him quite marvellous.
+
+"You're a much better man than I thought!" exclaimed Charlie, grasping
+the proffered hand with a fervour that caused the other to wince.
+
+"Young sir," returned Crossley, regarding the fingers of his right hand
+somewhat pitifully, "people whose physique is moulded on the pattern of
+Samson ought to bear in mind that rheumatism is not altogether unknown
+to elderly men.  Your opinion of me was probably erroneous to begin
+with, and it is certainly false to end with.  Let me advise you to
+remember that the gift of money does not necessarily prove anything
+except that a man has money to give--nay, it does not always prove even
+that, for many people are notoriously prone to give away money that
+belongs to somebody else.  Five hundred pounds is to some men not of
+much more importance than five pence is to others.  Everything is
+relative.  Good-bye."
+
+While he was speaking Mr Crossley rang the bell and politely opened the
+dining-room door, so that our hero found himself in the street before he
+had quite recovered from his astonishment.
+
+"Please, sir," said Mrs Bland to her master after Charlie was gone,
+"Cap'en Stride is awaitin' in the library."
+
+"Send him here," said Crossley, once more consulting his watch.
+
+"Well, Captain Stride, I've had a talk with him," he said, as an
+exceedingly broad, heavy, short-legged man entered, with a bald head and
+a general air of salt water, tar, and whiskers about him.  "Sit down.
+Have you made up your mind to take command of the _Walrus_?"
+
+"Well, Mr Crossley, since you're so _very_ good," said the sea-captain
+with a modest look, "I had feared that the loss o'--"
+
+"Never mind the loss of the brig, Captain.  It was no fault of yours
+that she came to grief.  Other ship-owners may do as they please.  I
+shall take the liberty of doing as _I_ please.  So, if you are ready,
+the ship is ready.  I have seen Captain Stuart, and I find that he is
+down with typhoid fever, poor fellow, and won't be fit for duty again
+for many weeks.  The _Walrus_ must sail not later than a week or ten
+days hence.  She can't sail without a captain, and I know of no better
+man than yourself; so, if you agree to take command, there she is, if
+not I'll find another man."
+
+"I'm agreeable, sir," said Captain Stride, with a gratified, meek look
+on his large bronzed face--a look so very different from the leonine
+glare with which he was wont to regard tempestuous weather or turbulent
+men.  "Of course it'll come rather sudden on the missus, but w'en it
+blows hard what's a man got to do but make all snug and stand by?"
+
+"Quite true, Stride, I have no doubt that you are nautically as well as
+morally correct, so I leave it to you to bring round the mistress, and
+consider that matter as settled.  By the way, I hope that she and your
+little girl have not suffered from the wetting and rough handling
+experienced when being rescued."
+
+"Not in the least, sir, thankee.  In fact I incline to the belief that
+they are rather more frisky than usual in consekince.  Leastwise
+_little_ Maggie is."
+
+"Glad to hear it.  Now, about that young fellow."
+
+"By which I s'pose you mean Mr Brooke, sir?"
+
+"The same.  He has just left me, and upon my word, he's about the
+coolest young fellow I ever met with."
+
+"That's just what I said to the missus, sir, the very night arter we was
+rescued.  `The way that young feller come off, Maggie,' says I, `is most
+extraor'nar'.  No fish that--'"
+
+"Yes, yes, Stride, I know, but that's not exactly what I mean: it's his
+being so amazingly independent that--"
+
+"'Zactly what I said, sir.  `Maggie,' says I, `that young feller seemed
+to be quite independent of fin or tail, for he came right off in the
+teeth o' wind and tide--'"
+
+"That's not what I mean either, Captain," interrupted the old gentleman,
+with slight impatience.  "It's his independent spirit I refer to."
+
+"Oh!  I ax your pardon, sir."
+
+"Well, now, listen, and don't interrupt me.  But first let me ask, does
+he know that I am the owner of the brig that was lost?"
+
+"Yes; he knows that."
+
+"Does he know that I also own the _Walrus_."
+
+"No, I'm pretty sure he don't.  Leastwise I didn't tell him, an' there's
+nobody else down there as knows anything about you."
+
+"So far, good.  Now, Stride, I want you to help me.  The young goose is
+so proud, or I know not what, that he won't accept any favours or
+rewards from me, and I find that he is out of work just now, so I'm
+determined to give him something to do in spite of himself.  The present
+supercargo of the _Walrus_ is a young man who will be pleased to fall in
+with anything I propose to him.  I mean, therefore, to put him in
+another ship and appoint young Brooke to the _Walrus_.  Fortunately the
+firm of Withers and Company does not reveal my name--I having been
+Company originally, though I'm the firm now, so that he won't suspect
+anything, and what I want is, that you should do the engaging of him--
+being authorised by Withers and Company--you understand?"
+
+"I follow you, sir.  But what if he objects?"
+
+"He won't object.  I have privately inquired about him.  He is anxious
+to get employment, and has strong leanings to an adventurous life on the
+sea.  There's no accounting for taste, Captain!"
+
+"Right you are, sir," replied the Captain, with an approving nod.
+"That's what I said only this mornin' to my missus.  `Maggie,' says I,
+`salt water hasn't a good taste, as even the stoopidest of mortals
+knows, but w'en a man has had to lick it off his lips at sea for the
+better part of half a century, it's astonishin' how he not only gits
+used to it, but even comes to like the taste of it.'  `Pooh!' says she,
+`don't tell me you likes it, for you don't!  It's all a d'lusion an' a
+snare.  I hates both the taste an' the smell of it.'  `Maggie,' says I,
+quite solemn-like, `that may be so, but you're not me.'  `No, thank
+goodness!' says she--which you mustn't suppose, sir, meant as she didn't
+like _me_, for she's a true-hearted affectionate creetur--though I say
+it as shouldn't--but she meant that she'd have had to go to sea reg'lar
+if she had been me, an' that would have done for her in about six weeks,
+more or less, for the first time she ever went she was all but turned
+inside--"
+
+"If you're going citywards," interrupted Mr Crossley, again pulling out
+his watch, "we may as well finish our talk in the street."
+
+As Captain Stride was "quite agreeable" to this proposal, the two left
+the house together, and, hailing a hansom, drove off in the direction of
+the City.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+DRIFTING ON THE ROCKS.
+
+On the sea-shore, not far from the spot where the brig had been wrecked,
+Charlie Brooke and Shank Leather walked up and down engaged in earnest
+conversation soon after the interviews just described.
+
+Very different was the day from that on which the wreck had taken place.
+It seemed almost beyond possibility that the serene sky above, and the
+calm, glinting ocean which rippled so softly at their feet, could be
+connected with the same world in which inky clouds and snowy foam and
+roaring billows had but a short time before held high revelry.
+
+"Well, Charlie," said his friend, after a pause, "it was very good of
+you, old boy, and I hope that I'll do credit to your recommendation.
+The old man seems a decent sort of chap, though somewhat cross-grained."
+
+"He is kind-hearted, Shank; I feel quite sure of that, and hope
+sincerely that you will get on well with him."
+
+"`With him!'" repeated Leather; "you don't seem to understand that the
+situation he is to get for me is _not_ in connection with his own
+business, whatever that may be.  It is in some other City firm, the name
+of which he has not yet mentioned.  I can't myself understand why he is
+so close!"
+
+"Perhaps because he has been born with a secretive nature," suggested
+Charlie.
+
+"May be so.  However, that's no business of mine, and it doesn't do to
+be too inquisitive when a man is offering you a situation of two hundred
+a year.  It would be like looking a gift-horse in the mouth.  All I care
+about is that I'm to go to London next week and begin work--Why, you
+don't seem pleased to hear of my good fortune," continued Leather,
+turning a sharp look on his friend, who was gazing gravely at the sand,
+in which he was poking holes with his stick.
+
+"I congratulate you, Shank, with all my heart, and you know it; but--I'm
+sorry to find that you are not to be in connection with Mr Crossley
+himself, for there is more good in him than appears on the surface.  Did
+he then make no mention of the nature of his own business?"
+
+"None whatever.  To say truth, that mysteriousness or secrecy is the
+only point about the old fellow's character that I don't like," said
+Leather, with a frown of virtuous disapproval.  "`All fair and
+above-board,' that's my motto.  Speak out your mind and fear nothing!"
+
+At these noble sentiments a faint smile, if we may say so, hovered
+somewhere in the recesses of Charlie Brooke's interior, but not the
+quiver of a muscle disturbed the solemnity of his face.
+
+"The secrecy of his nature seems even to have infected that skipper
+with--or rather by--whom he was wrecked," continued Leather, "for when I
+asked him yesterday about the old gentleman, he became suddenly silent,
+and when I pressed him, he made me a rigmarole speech something like
+this: `Young man, I make it a rule to know nothin' whatever about my
+passengers.  As I said only two days past to my missus: "Maggie," says
+I, "it's of no use your axin' me.  My passengers' business is _their_
+business, and my business is mine.  All I've got to do is to sail my
+ship, an' see to it that I land my passengers in safety."'
+
+"`You made a pretty mess of your business, then, the last trip,' said I,
+for I was bothered with his obvious determination not to give me any
+information.
+
+"`Right you are, young man,' said he, `and it would have been a still
+prettier mess if your friend Mr Brooke hadn't come off wi' that there
+line!'
+
+"I laughed at this and recovered my temper, but I could pump nothing
+more out of him.  Perhaps there was nothing to pump.--But now tell me,
+how is it--for I cannot understand--that you refused all offers to
+yourself?  You are as much `out of work' just now as I am."
+
+"That's true, Shank, and really I feel almost as incapable of giving you
+an answer as Captain Stride himself.  You see, during our conversation
+Mr Crossley attributed mean--at all events wrong--motives to me, and
+somehow I felt that I _could_ not accept any favour at his hands just
+then.  I suspect I was too hasty.  I fear it was false pride--"
+
+"Ha! ha!" laughed Leather; "`pride!'  I wonder in what secret chamber of
+your big corpus your pride lies."
+
+"Well, I don't know.  It must be pretty deep.  Perhaps it is engrained,
+and cannot be easily recognised."
+
+"That last is true, Charlie.  Assuredly it can't be recognised, for it's
+not there at all.  Why, if you had been born with a scrap of false pride
+you and I could never have been friends--for I hate it!"
+
+Shank Leather, in saying this, had hit the nail fairly on the head,
+although he had not intelligently probed the truth to the bottom.  In
+fact a great deal of the friendship which drew these young men together
+was the result of their great dissimilarity of character.  They acted on
+each other somewhat after the fashion of a well-adjusted piece of
+mechanism, the ratchets of selfishness and cog-wheels of vanity in Shank
+fitting easily into the pinions of good-will and modesty which
+characterised his friend, so that there was no jarring in their
+intercourse.  This alone would not, perhaps, have induced the strong
+friendship that existed if it had not been coupled with their intimacy
+from childhood, and if Brooke had not been particularly fond of Shank's
+invalid mother, and recognised a few of her good characteristics faintly
+reproduced in her son, while Shank fully appreciated in Charlie that
+amiable temperament which inclines its happy possessor to sympathise
+much with others, to talk little of self, to believe all things and to
+hope all things, to the verge almost of infantine credulity.
+
+"Well, well," resumed Charlie, with a laugh, "however that may be, I
+_did_ decline Mr Crossley's offers, but it does not matter much now,
+for that same worthy captain who bothered you so much has told me of a
+situation of which he has the gift, and has offered it to me."
+
+"You don't say so!  Is it a good one?"
+
+"Yes, and well paid, I'm told, though I don't know the exact amount of
+the salary yet."
+
+"And have you accepted?"
+
+"I have.  Mother agreed, after some demur, that it is better than
+nothing, so, like you, I begin work in a few days."
+
+"Well now, how strangely things do happen sometimes!" said Leather,
+stopping and looking out seaward, where the remains of the brig could
+still be distinguished on the rocks that had fixed her doom.  "But for
+that fortunate wreck and our saving the people in her, you and I might
+still have been whistling in the ranks of the Great Unemployed--And what
+sort of a situation is it, Charlie?"
+
+"You will smile, perhaps, when I tell you.  It is to act as supercargo
+of the _Walrus_, which is commanded by Captain Stride himself."
+
+Young Leather's countenance fell.  "Why, Charlie," he said, "that means
+that you're going away to sea!"
+
+"I fear it does."
+
+"Soon?"
+
+"In a week or two."
+
+For some little time Leather did not speak.  The news fell upon him with
+a shock of disagreeable surprise, for, apart from the fact that he
+really loved his friend, he was somehow aware that there were not many
+other young men who cared much for himself--in regard to which he was
+not a little surprised, for it never occurred to him that egotism and
+selfishness had anything to do with the coolness of his friends, or that
+none but men like our hero, with sweet tempers and self-forgetting
+dispositions, could by any possibility put up with him.
+
+"Who are the owners of the _Walrus_, Charlie?" he asked, as they turned
+into the lane that led from the beach to the village.
+
+"Withers and Company of London."
+
+"H'm--don't know them.  They must be trustful fellows, however, to take
+a captain into their employ who has just lost his vessel."
+
+"They have not _taken_ him into their employ," said Charlie.  "Captain
+Stride tells me he has been in their service for more than a quarter of
+a century, and they exonerate him from all blame in the loss of the
+brig.  It does seem odd to me, however, that he should be appointed so
+immediately to a new ship, but, as you remarked, that's none of my
+business.  Come, I'll go in with you and congratulate your mother and
+May on your appointment."
+
+They had reached the door of Shank Leather's house by that time.  It was
+a poor-looking house, in a poor side street or blind alley of the
+village, the haunt of riotous children during the day-time, and of
+maddening cats at night.  Stray dogs now and then invaded the alley,
+but, for the most part, it was to children and cats that the region was
+given over.  Here, for the purpose of enabling the proverbial "two ends"
+to "meet," dwelt a considerable population in houses of diminutive size
+and small accommodation.  A few of these were persons who, having "seen
+better days," were anxious to hide their poverty and existence from the
+"friends" of those better days.  There was likewise a sprinkling of
+individuals and families who, having grown callous to the sorrows of
+earth, had reached that condition wherein the meeting of the two ends is
+a matter of comparative indifference, because they never met, and were
+never more expected to meet--the blank, annually left gaping, being
+filled up, somehow, by a sort of compromise between bankruptcy, charity,
+and starvation.
+
+To the second of these the Leather family belonged.  They had been
+brought to their sad condition by that prolific source of human misery--
+the bottle.
+
+To do the family justice, it was only the father who had succumbed.  He
+had been a gentleman; he was now a sot.  His wife--delicate owing to bad
+treatment, sorrow, and insufficient nourishment--was, ever had been, and
+ever would be, a lady and a Christian.  Owing to the last priceless
+condition she was still alive.  It is despair that kills, and despair
+had been banished from her vocabulary ever since she had laid down the
+arms of her rebellion and accepted the Saviour of mankind as her guide
+and consolation.
+
+But sorrow, suffering, toil had not departed when the demon despair fled
+away.  They had, however, been wonderfully lightened, and one of the
+brightest gleams of hope in her sad life was that she might possibly be
+used as the means of saving her husband.  There were other gleams of
+light, however, one of the brightest of them being that May, her only
+daughter, was loving and sympathetic--or, as she sometimes expressed it,
+"as good as gold."  But there was also a very dark spot in her life:
+Shank, her only son, was beginning to show a tendency to tread in his
+father's steps.
+
+Many golden texts were enshrined in the heart of poor Mrs Leather, and
+not a few of these--painted by the hand of May--hung on the walls of
+their little sitting-room, but the word to which she turned her eyes in
+seasons of profoundest obscurity, and which served her as a sheet-anchor
+in the midst of the wildest storms, was, "Hope thou in God, for thou
+shalt _yet_ praise Him."  And alongside of that text, whenever she
+thought of it or chanced to look at it, there invariably flashed
+another: "Immanuel, God with us."
+
+May and her mother were alone when the young men entered; the former was
+at her lessons, the latter busy with knitting-needles.
+
+Knitting was the means by which Mrs Leather, with constant labour and
+inexhaustible perseverance, managed to fill up the gap between the
+before-mentioned "two ends," which her dissolute husband failed to draw
+together.  She could read or assist May with her lessons, while her
+delicate fingers, working below the table, performed miraculous
+gyrations with steel and worsted.  To most male minds, we presume, this
+is utterly incomprehensible.  It is well not to attempt the description
+of that which one does not understand.  The good lady knitted socks and
+stockings, and mittens and cuffs, and comforters, and other things, in
+absolutely overwhelming quantities, so that the accumulation in the
+press in which she stored them was at times quite marvellous.  Yet that
+press never quite filled up, owing to the fact that there was an
+incurable leak in it--a sort of secret channel--through which the
+products of her toil flowed out nearly as fast as she poured them in.
+
+This leak in the worsted press, strange to say, increased wonderfully
+just after the wreck described in a previous chapter, and the rivulet to
+which it gave rise flowed in the direction of the back-door of the
+house, emptying itself into a reservoir which always took the form of a
+little elderly lady, with a plain but intensely lovable countenance, who
+had been, perhaps still was, governess in a family in a neighbouring
+town where Mrs Leather had spent some of her "better days."  Her name
+was Molloy.
+
+Like a burglar Miss Molloy came in a stealthy manner at irregular
+intervals to the back-door of the house, and swept the press of its
+contents, made them up into a bundle of enormous size, and carried them
+off on the shoulders of an appropriately disreputable blackguard boy--as
+Shank called him--whom she retained for the purpose.  Unlike a burglar,
+however, Miss Molloy did not "bolt with the swag," but honestly paid for
+everything, from the hugest pair of gentlemen's fishing socks to the
+smallest pair of children's cuffs.
+
+What Miss Molloy did with this perennial flow of woollen work, whom she
+came from, where she went to, who discovered her, and why she did it,
+were subjects of inquiry which baffled investigation, and always
+simmered in the minds of Shank and May, though the mind of Mrs Leather
+herself seemed to be little if at all exercised by it.  At all events
+she was uncommunicative on the point, and her children's curiosity was
+never gratified, for the mother was obdurate, and, torture being illegal
+at that time in England, they had no means of compelling disclosure.  It
+was sometimes hinted by Shank that their little dog Scraggy--
+appropriately named!--knew more than he chose to tell about the subject,
+for he was generally present at the half-secret interviews, and always
+closed the scene with a sham but furious assault on the ever
+contemptuous blackguard boy.  But Scraggy was faithful to his trust, and
+revealed nothing.
+
+"I can't tell you how glad I am, Mrs Leather, about Shank's good
+fortune," said Charlie, with a gentle shake of the hand, which Mr
+Crossley would have appreciated.  Like the Nasmyth steam-hammer, which
+flattens a ton of iron or gently cracks a hazel-nut, our Herculean hero
+could accommodate himself to circumstances; "as your son says, it has
+been a lucky wreck for _us_."
+
+"Lucky indeed for _him_," responded the lady, instantly resuming her
+knitting, which she generally kept down near her lap, well hidden by the
+table, while she looked at her visitor and talked, "but not very
+pleasant for those who have lost by it."
+
+"Pooh! mother, nobody has lost by it," said Shank in his free-and-easy
+style.  "The owners don't lose, because of course it was insured; and
+the Insurance Companies can't be said to lose, for the value of a small
+brig will be no more felt by them than the losing of a pin would be felt
+by yourself; and the captain won't lose--except a few sea-garments and
+things o' that kind--for he has been appointed to another ship already.
+By the way, mother, that reminds me that Charlie has also got a
+situation through this lucky wreck, for Captain Stride feels so grateful
+that he has offered him the situation of supercargo in his new ship."
+
+For once Mrs Leather's knitting-needles came to a sudden stop, and she
+looked inquiringly at her young friend.  So did May.
+
+"Have you accepted it?"
+
+"Well, yes.  I have."
+
+"I'm _so_ sorry," said May; "I don't know what Shank will do without
+you."
+
+At that moment a loud knocking was heard at the door.  May rose to open
+it, and Mrs Leather looked anxiously at her son.
+
+A savage undertoned growl and an unsteady step told all too plainly that
+the head of the house had returned home.
+
+With sudden interest in worsted fabrics, which he was far from feeling,
+Charlie Brooke turned his back to the door, and, leaning forward, took
+up an end of the work with which the knitter was busy.
+
+"That's an extremely pretty pattern, Mrs Leather.  Does it take you
+long to make things of the kind?"
+
+"Not long; I--I make a good many of them."
+
+She said this with hesitation, and with her eyes fixed on the doorway,
+through the opening of which her husband thrust a shaggy dishevelled
+head, with dissipation stamped on a countenance which had evidently been
+handsome once.
+
+But Charlie saw neither the husband's head nor the poor wife's gaze, for
+he was still bending over the worsted-work in mild admiration.
+
+Under the impression that he had not been observed, Mr Leather suddenly
+withdrew his head, and was heard to stumble up-stairs under the guidance
+of May.  Then the bang of a door, followed by a shaking of the
+slimly-built house, suggested the idea that the poor man had flung
+himself on his bed.
+
+"Shank Leather," said Charlie Brooke, that same night as they strolled
+on the sea-shore, "you gave expression to some sentiments to-day which I
+highly approved of.  One of them was `Speak out your mind, and fear
+nothing!'  I mean to do so now, and expect that you will not be hurt by
+my following your advice."
+
+"Well!" exclaimed Shank, with a dubious glance, for he disliked the
+seriousness of his friend's tone.
+
+"Your father--" began Charlie.
+
+"Please don't speak about _him_," interrupted the other.  "I know all
+that you can say.  His case is hopeless, and I can't bear to speak about
+it."
+
+"Well, I won't speak about him, though I cannot agree with you that his
+case is hopeless.  But it is yourself that I wish to speak about.  You
+and I are soon to separate; it must be for a good long while--it may be
+for ever.  Now I must speak out my mind before I go.  My old playmate,
+school-fellow, and chum, you have begun to walk in your poor father's
+footsteps, and you may be sure that if you don't turn round all your
+hopes will be blasted--at least for this life--perhaps also for that
+which is to come.  Now don't be angry or hurt, Shank.  Remember that you
+not only encouraged me, but advised me to speak out my mind."
+
+"Yes, but I did not advise you to form a false, uncharitable judgment of
+your chum," returned Leather, with a dash of bitterness in his tone.  "I
+admit that I'm fond of a social glass, and that I sometimes, though
+rarely, take a little--a very little--more than, perhaps, is necessary.
+But that is very different from being a drunkard, which you appear to
+assume that I am."
+
+"Nay, Shank, I don't assume that.  What I said was that you are
+_beginning_ to walk in your dear father's footsteps.  No man ever yet
+became a drunkard without _beginning_.  And I feel certain that no man
+ever, when beginning, had the most distant intention or expectation of
+becoming a drunkard.  Your danger, dear old fellow, lies in your _not
+seeing_ the danger.  You admit that you like a social glass.  Shank, I
+candidly make the same admission--I like it,--but after seeing your
+father, and hearing your defence, the danger has been so deeply
+impressed on _me_, that from this hour I resolve, God helping me, never
+more to taste a social glass."
+
+"Well, Charlie, you know yourself best," returned his friend airily,
+"and if you think yourself in so great danger, of course your resolve is
+a very prudent one; but for myself, I admit that I see no danger, and I
+don't feel any particular weakness of will in regard to temptation."
+
+"Ah, Shank, you remind me of an eccentric old lady I have heard of who
+was talking with a friend about the difficulties of life.  `My dear,'
+said the friend, `I do find it such a _difficult_ thing to resist
+temptation--don't you?'  `No,' replied the eccentric old lady, `I don't,
+for I _never_ resist temptation, I always give way to it!'"
+
+"I can't quite make out how your anecdote applies to me, Charlie."
+
+"Don't you see?  You feel no weakness of will in regard to temptation
+because you never give your will an opportunity of resisting it.  You
+always give way to it.  You see, I am speaking out my mind freely--as
+you have advised!"
+
+"Yes, and you take the whole of my advice, and fear nothing, else you
+would not risk a quarrel by doing so.  But really, my boy, it's of no
+use your troubling your head on that subject, for I feel quite safe, and
+I don't mean to give in, so there's an end on't."
+
+Our hero persevered notwithstanding, and for some time longer sought to
+convince or move his friend both by earnest appeal and light pleasantry,
+but to all appearance without success, although he reduced him to
+silence.  He left him at last, and went home meditating on the truth of
+the proverb that "a man convinced against his will is of the same
+opinion still."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN.
+
+Under the influence of favouring breezes and bright skies the _Walrus_
+swept gaily over the ocean at the beginning of her voyage, with
+"stuns'ls slow and aloft, royals and sky-scrapers," according to Captain
+Stride.  At least, if these were not the exact words he used, they
+express pretty well what he meant, namely, a "cloud of canvas."
+
+But this felicitous state of things did not last.  The tropics were
+reached, where calms prevailed with roasting heat.  The Southern
+Atlantic was gained, and gales were met with.  The celebrated Cape was
+doubled, and the gales, if we may say so, were trebled.  The Indian
+Ocean was crossed, and the China Seas were entered, where typhoons blew
+some of the sails to ribbons, and snapped off the topmasts like
+pipe-stems.  Then she sailed into the great Pacific, and for a time the
+_Walrus_ sported pleasantly among the coral islands.
+
+During all this time, and amid all these changes, Charlie Brooke, true
+to his character, was the busiest and most active man on board.  Not
+that his own special duties gave him much to do, for, until the vessel
+should reach port, these were rather light; but our hero--as Stride
+expressed it--"must always be doing."  If he had not work to do he made
+it--chiefly in the way of assisting other people.  Indeed there was
+scarcely a man or boy on board who did not have the burden of his toil,
+whatever it was, lightened in consequence of young Brooke's tendency to
+put his powerful shoulder voluntarily to the wheel.  He took the daily
+observations with the captain, and worked out the ship's course during
+the previous twenty-four hours.  He handled the adze and saw with the
+carpenter, learned to knot and splice, and to sew canvas with the
+bo's'n's mate, commented learnedly and interestingly on the preparation
+of food with the cook, and spun yarns with the men on the forecastle, or
+listened to the long-winded stories of the captain and officers in the
+cabin.  He was a splendid listener, being much more anxious to ascertain
+exactly the opinions of his friends and mates than to advance his own.
+Of course it followed that Charlie was a favourite.
+
+With his insatiable desire to acquire information of every kind, he had
+naturally, when at home, learned a little rough-and-tumble surgery, with
+a slight smattering of medicine.  It was not much, but it proved to be
+useful as far as it went, and his "little knowledge" was not
+"dangerous," because he modestly refused to go a single step beyond it
+in the way of practice, unless, indeed, he was urgently pressed to do so
+by his patients.  In virtue of his attainments, real and supposed, he
+came to be recognised as the doctor of the ship, for the _Walrus_
+carried no medical man.
+
+"Look here, Brooke," said the only passenger on board--a youth of
+somewhat delicate constitution, who was making the voyage for the sake
+of his health,--"I've got horrible toothache.  D'you think you can do
+anything for me?"
+
+"Let's have a look at it," said Charlie, with kindly interest, though he
+felt half inclined to smile at the intensely lugubrious expression of
+the youth's face.
+
+"Why, Raywood, that is indeed a bad tooth; nothing that I know of will
+improve it.  There's a cavern in it big and black enough to call to
+remembrance the Black Hole of Calcutta!  A red-hot wire might destroy
+the nerve, but I never saw one used, and should not like to try it."
+
+"Horrible!" exclaimed Raywood.  "I've been mad with pain all the
+morning, and can't afford to be driven madder.  Perhaps, somewhere or
+other in the ship there may be a--a--thingumy."
+
+"A whatumy?" inquired the other.
+
+"A key, or--or--pincers," groaned Raywood, "for extracting--oh! man,
+couldn't you pull it out?"
+
+"Easily," said Charlie, with a smile.  "I've got a pair of forceps--
+always carry them in case of need, but never use them unless the patient
+is very bad, and _must_ have it out."
+
+Poor Raywood protested, with another groan, that his was a case in
+point, and it _must_ come out; so Charlie sought for and found his
+forceps.
+
+"It won't take long, I suppose?" said the patient rather nervously, as
+he opened his mouth.
+
+"Oh no.  Only a moment or--"
+
+A fearful yell, followed by a gasp, announced to the whole ship's
+company that a crisis of some sort had been passed by some one, and the
+expert though amateur dentist congratulated his patient on his
+deliverance from the enemy.
+
+Only three of the ship's company, however, had witnessed the operation.
+One was Dick Darvall, the seaman who chanced to be steering at the time,
+and who could see through the open skylight what was being enacted in
+the cabin.  Another was the captain, who stood beside him.  The third
+was the cabin-boy, Will Ward, who chanced to be cleaning some brasses
+about the skylight at the time, and was transfixed by what we may style
+delightfully horrible sensations.  These three watched the proceedings
+with profound interest, some sympathy, and not a little amusement.
+
+"Mind your helm, Darvall," said the Captain, stifling a laugh as the
+yell referred to burst on his ears.
+
+"Ay, ay, sir," responded the seaman, bringing his mind back to his duty,
+as he bestowed a wink on the brass-polishing cabin-boy.
+
+"He's up to everything," said Darvall in a low voice, referring to our
+hero.
+
+"From pitch-and-toss to manslaughter," responded the boy, with a broad
+grin.
+
+"I do believe, Mr Brooke, that you can turn your hand to anything,"
+said Captain Stride, as Charlie came on deck a few minutes later.  "Did
+you ever study doctoring or surgery?"
+
+"Not regularly," answered Charlie; "but occasionally I've had the chance
+of visiting hospitals and dissecting-rooms, besides hearing lectures on
+anatomy, and I have taken advantage of my opportunities.  Besides, I'm
+fond of mechanics; and tooth-drawing is somewhat mechanical.  Of course
+I make no pretension to a knowledge of regular dentistry, which
+involves, I believe, a scientific and prolonged education."
+
+"May be so, Mr Brooke," returned the captain, "but your knowledge seems
+deep and extensive enough to me, for, except in the matter o'
+navigation, I haven't myself had much schoolin', but I do like to see a
+fellow that can use his hands.  As I said to my missus, not two days
+before I left 'er: `Maggie,' says I, `a man that can't turn his hands to
+anything ain't worth his salt.  For why?  He's useless at sea, an', by
+consequence, can't be of much value on land.'"
+
+"Your reasoning is unanswerable," returned Charlie, with a laugh.
+
+"Not so sure o' that," rejoined the captain, with a modestly dubious
+shake of his head; "leastwise, however unanswerable it may be, my missus
+always manages to answer it--somehow."
+
+At that moment one of the sailors came aft to relieve the
+man-at-the-wheel.
+
+Dick Darvall was a grave, tall, dark, and handsome man of about
+five-and-twenty, with a huge black beard, as fine a seaman as one could
+wish to see standing at a ship's helm, but he limped when he left his
+post and went forward.
+
+"How's the leg to-day, Darvall!" asked young Brooke, as the man passed.
+
+"Better, sir, thankee."
+
+"That's well.  I'll change the dressing in half-an-hour.  Don't disturb
+it till I come."
+
+"Thankee, sir, I won't."
+
+"Now then, Raywood," said Charlie, descending to the cabin, where his
+patient was already busy reading Maury's _Physical Geography of the
+Sea_, "let's have a look at the gum."
+
+"Oh, it's all right," said Raywood.  "D'you know, I think one of the
+uses of severe pain is to make one inexpressibly thankful for the mere
+absence of it.  Of course there is a little sensation of pain left,
+which might make me growl at other times, but that positively feels
+comfortable now by contrast!"
+
+"There is profound sagacity in your observations," returned Charlie, as
+he gave the gum a squeeze that for a moment or two removed the comfort;
+"there, now, don't suck it, else you'll renew the bleeding.  Keep your
+mouth shut."
+
+With this caution the amateur dentist left the cabin, and proceeded to
+the fore-part of the vessel.  In passing the steward's pantry a youthful
+voice arrested him.
+
+"Oh, please, sir," said Will Ward, the cabin-boy, advancing with a slate
+in his hand, "I _can't_ make out the sum you set me yesterday, an' I'm
+quite sure I've tried and tried as hard as ever I could to understand
+it."
+
+"Let me see," said his friend, taking the slate and sitting down on a
+locker.  "Have you read over the rule carefully?"
+
+"Yes, sir, I have, a dozen times at least, but it won't come right,"
+answered the boy, with wrinkles enough on his young brow to indicate the
+very depths of puzzlement.
+
+"Fetch the book, Will, and let's examine it."
+
+The book was brought, and at his teacher's request the boy read:--
+
+"Add the interest to the principal, and then multiply by--"
+
+"Multiply?" said Charlie, interrupting.  "Look!"
+
+He pointed to the sum on the slate, and repeated "multiply."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the cabin-boy, with a gasp of relief and wide-open eyes,
+"I've _divided_!"
+
+"That's so, Will, and there's a considerable difference between division
+and multiplication, as you'll find all through life," remarked the
+teacher, with a peculiar lift of his eyebrows, as he handed back the
+slate and went on his way.
+
+More than once in his progress "for'ard" he was arrested by men who
+wished hint to give advice, or clear up difficulties in reference to
+subjects which his encouragement or example had induced them to take up,
+and to these claims on his attention or assistance he accorded such a
+ready and cheerful response that his pupils felt it to be a positive
+pleasure to appeal to him, though they each professed to regret giving
+him "trouble."  The boatswain, who was an amiable though gruff man in
+his way, expressed pretty well the feelings of the ship's company
+towards our hero when he said: "I tell you, mates, I'd sooner be rubbed
+up the wrong way, an' kicked down the fore hatch by Mr Brooke, than I'd
+be smoothed or buttered by anybody else."
+
+At last the fo'c'sl was reached, and there our surgeon found his
+patient, Dick Darvall, awaiting him.  The stout seaman's leg had been
+severely bruised by a block which had fallen from aloft and struck it
+during one of the recent gales.
+
+"A good deal better to-day," said Charlie.  "Does it pain you much?"
+
+"Not nearly as much as it did yesterday, sir.  It's my opinion that I'll
+be all right in a day or two.  Seems to me outrageous to make so much
+ado about it."
+
+"If we didn't take care of it, my man, it might cost you your limb, and
+we can't afford to bury such a well-made member before its time!  You
+must give it perfect rest for a day or two.  I'll speak to the captain
+about it."
+
+"I'd rather you didn't, sir," objected the seaman.  "I feel able enough
+to go about, and my mates'll think I'm shirkin' dooty."
+
+"There's not a man a-board as'll think that o' Dick Darvall," growled
+the boatswain, who had just entered and heard the last remark.
+
+"Right, bo's'n," said Brooke, "you have well expressed the thought that
+came into my own head."
+
+"Have ye seen Samson yet, sir?" asked the boatswain, with an unusually
+grave look.
+
+"No; I was just going to inquire about him.  No worse, I hope?"
+
+"I think he is, sir.  Seems to me that he ain't long for this world.
+The life's bin too much for him: he never was cut out for a sailor, an'
+he takes things so much to heart that I do believe worry is doin' more
+than work to drive him on the rocks."
+
+"I'll go and see him at once," said our hero.
+
+Fred Samson, the sick man referred to, had been put into a swing-cot in
+a berth amidships to give him as much rest as possible.  To all
+appearance he was slowly dying of consumption.  When Brooke entered he
+was leaning on one elbow, gazing wistfully through the port-hole close
+to his head.  His countenance, on which the stamp of death was evidently
+imprinted, was unusually refined for one in his station in life.
+
+"I'm glad you have come, Mr Brooke," he said slowly, as his visitor
+advanced and took his thin hand.
+
+"My poor fellow," said Charlie, in a tone of low but tender sympathy, "I
+wish with all my heart I could do you any good."
+
+"The sight of your kind face does me good," returned the sailor, with a
+pause for breath between almost every other word.  "I don't want you to
+doctor me any more.  I feel that I'm past that, but I want to give you a
+message and a packet for my mother.  Of course you will be in London
+when you return to England.  Will you find her out and deliver the
+packet?  It contains only the Testament she gave me at parting and a
+letter."
+
+"My dear fellow--you may depend on me," replied Brooke earnestly.
+"Where does she live?"
+
+"In Whitechapel.  The full address is on the packet.  The letter
+enclosed tells all that I have to say."
+
+"But you spoke of a message," said Brooke, seeing that he paused and
+shut his eyes.
+
+"Yes, yes," returned the dying man eagerly, "I forgot.  Give her my dear
+love, and say that my last thoughts were of herself and God.  She always
+feared that I was trusting too much in myself--in my own good
+resolutions and reformation; so I have been--but that's past.  Tell her
+that God in His mercy has snapped that broken reed altogether, and
+enabled me to rest my soul on Jesus."
+
+As the dying man was much exhausted by his efforts to speak, his visitor
+refrained from asking more questions.  He merely whispered a comforting
+text of Scripture and left him apparently sinking into a state of
+repose.
+
+Then, having bandaged the finger of a man who had carelessly cut himself
+while using his knife aloft, Charlie returned to the cabin to continue
+an interrupted discussion with the first mate on the subject of
+astronomy.
+
+From all which it will be seen that our hero's tendencies inclined him
+to be as much as possible "all things to all men."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+DISASTER, STARVATION, AND DEATH.
+
+The least observant of mortals must have frequently been impressed with
+the fact that events and incidents of an apparently trifling description
+often lead to momentous--sometimes tremendous--results.
+
+Soon after the occurrence of the incidents referred to in the last
+chapter, a colony of busy workers in the Pacific Ocean were drawing
+towards the completion of a building on which they had been engaged for
+a long time.  Like some lighthouses this building had its foundations on
+a rock at the bottom of the sea.  Steadily, perseveringly, and with
+little cessation, the workers had toiled for years.  They were small
+insignificant creatures, each being bent on simply performing the little
+bit of work which he, she, or it had been created to do probably without
+knowing or caring what the result might be, and then ending his, her, or
+its modest labours with life.  It was when this marine building had
+risen to within eight or ten feet of the surface of the sea that the
+_Walrus_ chanced to draw near to it, but no one on board was aware of
+the existence of that coral-reef, for up to the period we write of it
+had failed to attract the attention of chart-makers.
+
+The vessel was bowling along at a moderate rate over a calm sea, for the
+light breeze overhead that failed to ruffle the water filled her
+topsails.  Had the wind been stormy a line of breakers would have
+indicated the dangerous reef.  As it was there was nothing to tell that
+the good ship was rushing on her doom till she struck with a violent
+shock and remained fast.
+
+Of course Captain Stride was equal to the emergency.  By the quiet
+decision with which he went about and gave his orders he calmed the
+fears of such of his crew as were apt to "lose their heads" in the midst
+of sudden catastrophe.
+
+"Lower away the boats, lads.  We'll get her off right a way," he said,
+in a quick but quiet tone.
+
+Charlie Brooke, being a strong believer in strict discipline, at once
+ran to obey the order, accompanied by the most active among the men,
+while others ran to slack off the sheets and lower the topsails.
+
+In a few minutes nearly all the men were in the boats, with hawsers
+fixed to the stern of the vessel, doing their uttermost to pull her off.
+
+Charlie had been ordered to remain on deck when the crew took to the
+boats.
+
+"Come here, Mr Brooke, I want you," said the Captain, leading his young
+friend to the taffrail.  "It's pretty clear to me that the poor old
+_Walrus_ is done for--"
+
+"I sincerely hope not sir," said Charlie, with anxious looks.
+
+"A short time will settle the question," returned the Captain, with
+unwonted gravity.  "If she don't move in a few minutes, I'll try what
+heaving out some o' the cargo will do.  As supercargo, you know where
+it's all stowed, so, if you'll pint out to me which is the least
+valooable, an' at the same time heaviest part of it, I'll send the mate
+and four men to git it on deck.  But to tell you the truth even if we do
+git her off I don't think she'll float.  She's an oldish craft, not fit
+to have her bottom rasped on coral rocks.  But we'll soon see."
+
+Charlie could not help observing that there was something peculiarly sad
+in the tone of the old man's voice.  Whether it was that the poor
+captain knew the case to be utterly hopeless, or that he was overwhelmed
+by this calamity coming upon him so soon after the wreck of his last
+ship, Charlie could not tell, but he had no time to think, for after he
+had pointed out to the mate the bales that could be most easily spared
+he was again summoned aft.
+
+"She don't move," said the captain, gloomily.  "We must git the boats
+ready, for if it comes on to blow only a little harder we'll have to
+take to 'em.  So do you and the stooard putt your heads together an' git
+up as much provisions as you think the boats will safely carry.  Only
+necessaries, of course, an' take plenty o' water.  I'll see to it that
+charts, compasses, canvas, and other odds and ends are ready."
+
+Again young Brooke went off, without saying a word, to carry out his
+instructions.  Meanwhile one of the boats was recalled, and her crew set
+to lighten the ship by heaving part of the cargo overboard.  Still the
+_Walrus_ remained immovable on the reef, for the force with which she
+struck had sent her high upon it.
+
+"If we have to take to the boats, sir," said Charlie, when he was
+disengaged, "it may be well to put some medicines on board, for poor
+Samson will--"
+
+"Ay, ay, do so, lad," said the captain, interrupting; "I've been
+thinkin' o' that, an' you may as well rig up some sort o' couch for the
+poor fellow in the long-boat, for I mean to take him along wi' myself."
+
+"Are you so sure, then, that there is no chance of our getting her off?"
+
+"Quite sure.  Look there."  He pointed, as he spoke, to the horizon to
+windward, where a line of cloud rested on the sea.  "That'll not be long
+o' comin' here.  It won't blow very hard, but it'll be hard enough to
+smash the old _Walrus_ to bits.  If you've got any valooables aboard
+that you'd rather not lose, you'd better stuff 'em in your pockets now.
+When things come to the wust mind your helm, an' look out as I used to
+say to my missus--"
+
+He stopped abruptly and turned away.  Evidently the thought of the
+"missus" was too much for him just then.
+
+Charlie Brooke hurried off to visit the sick man, and prepare him for
+the sad change in his position that had now become unavoidable.  But
+another visitor had been to see the invalid before him.  Entering the
+berth softly, and with a quiet look, so as not to agitate the patient
+needlessly, he found to his regret, though not surprise, that poor Fred
+Samson was dead.  There was a smile on the pale face, which was turned
+towards the port window, as if the dying man had been taking a last look
+of the sea and sky when Death laid a hand gently on his brow and
+smoothed away the wrinkles of suffering and care.  A letter from his
+mother, held tightly in one hand and pressed upon his breast told
+eloquently what was the subject of his last thoughts.
+
+Charlie cut a lock of hair from the sailor's brow with his clasp-knife,
+and, taking the letter gently from the dead hand, wrapped it therein.
+
+"There's no time to bury him now.  His berth must be the poor fellow's
+coffin," said Captain Stride, when the death was reported to him.  "The
+swell o' the coming squall has reached us already.  Look alive wi' the
+boats, men!"
+
+By that time the rising swell was in truth lifting the vessel every few
+seconds and letting her down with a soft thud on the coral reef.  It
+soon became evident to every one on board that the _Walrus_ had not many
+hours to live--perhaps not many minutes--for the squall to which the
+Captain had referred was rapidly bearing down, and each successive thud
+became more violent than the previous one.  Knowing their danger full
+well, the men worked with a will and in a few minutes three boats, well
+provisioned, were floating on the sea.
+
+The need for haste soon became apparent, for the depth of water
+alongside was so insufficient that the long-boat--drawing as she did
+considerably more water than the others--touched twice when the swells
+let her drop into their hollows.
+
+It was arranged that Charlie should go in the long-boat with the
+captain, Raywood the passenger, and ten men of the crew.  The remainder
+were to be divided between the other two boats which were to be in
+charge of the first and second officers respectively.
+
+"Jump in, Brooke," cried the Captain, as he sat in the stern-sheets
+looking up at our hero, who was busily engaged assisting the first mate
+to complete the arrangements of his boat, "we've struck twice already.
+I must shove off.  Is Raywood ready?"
+
+"He's in the cabin looking for something, sir; I'll run and fetch him."
+
+"Stay!  We've touched again!" shouted the Captain.  "You an' Raywood can
+come off with one o' the other boats.  I'll take you on board when in
+deep water--shove off, lads."
+
+"Jump in with me, sir," said the first mate, as he hastily descended the
+side.
+
+"Come along, Raywood," shouted Charlie, as he followed.  "No time to
+lose!"
+
+The passenger rushed on deck, scrambled down the side, and took his seat
+beside Charlie, just as the long threatened squall burst upon them.
+
+The painter was cut, and they drifted into deep water with the second
+mate's boat, which had already cast off.
+
+Fortunate was it for the whole crew that Captain Stride had provided for
+every emergency, and that, among other safeguards, he had put several
+tarpaulins into each boat, for with these they were enabled to form a
+covering which turned off the waves and prevented their being swamped.
+The squall turned out to be a very severe one, and in the midst of it
+the three boats were so far separated that the prospect of their being
+able to draw together again until evening was very remote.  Indeed the
+waves soon ran so high that it required the utmost attention of each
+steersman to keep his craft afloat, and when at last the light began to
+fade the boats were almost out of sight of each other.
+
+"No chance, I fear, of our ever meeting again," remarked the mate, as he
+cast a wistful look at the southern horizon where the sail of the
+long-boat could be barely seen like the wing of a sea-gull.  "Your lot
+has been cast with us, Mr Brooke, so you'll have to make the best of
+it."
+
+"I always try to make the best of things," replied Charlie.  "My chief
+regret at present is that Raywood and I, being two extra hands, will
+help to consume your provisions too fast."
+
+"Luckily my appetite is a poor one," said Raywood, with a faint smile;
+"and it's not likely to improve in the circumstances."
+
+"I'm not so sure o' that sir," returned the mate, with an air that was
+meant to be reassuring; "fresh air and exposure have effected wonders
+before now in the matter of health--so they say.  Another pull on the
+halyards, Dick; that looks like a fresh squall.  Mind your sheets, Will
+Ward."
+
+A prompt "Ay, ay, sir" from Dick Darvall and the cabin-boy showed that
+each was alive to the importance of the duty required of him, while the
+other men--of whom there were six--busied themselves in making the
+tarpaulin coverings more secure, or in baling out the water which, in
+spite of them, had found its way into the boat.
+
+Charlie rose and seated himself on the thwart beside the fine-looking
+seaman Dick Darvall, so as to have a clearer view ahead under the sail.
+
+"Long-boat nowhere to be seen now," he murmured half to himself after a
+long look.
+
+"No, sir--nor the other boat either," said Darvall in a quiet voice.
+"We shall never see 'em no more."
+
+"I hope you are wrong," returned Charlie; "indeed I feel sure that the
+weather will clear during the night, and that we shall find both boats
+becalmed not far off."
+
+"Maybe so, sir," rejoined the sailor, in the tone of one willing to be,
+but not yet, convinced.
+
+Our hero was right as to the first, but not as to the second, point.
+The weather did clear during the night, but when the sun arose next
+morning on a comparatively calm sea neither of the other boats was to be
+seen.  In fact every object that could arrest the eye had vanished from
+the scene, leaving only a great circular shield of blue, of which their
+tiny craft formed the centre.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+ADRIFT ON THE SEA.
+
+"You are ill, Will Ward," was Dick Darvall's first remark when there was
+sufficient daylight to distinguish faces.
+
+"You're another!" was the cabin-boy's quick, facetious retort, which
+caused Darvall to smile and had the effect of rousing the half-sleeping
+crew.
+
+"But you _are_ ill, my boy," repeated the seaman earnestly.
+
+"No, Dick, not exactly ill," returned Will, with a faint smile, "but I'm
+queer."
+
+Each man had spent that stormy night on the particular thwart on which
+he had chanced to sit down when he first entered the boat, so that all
+were looking more or less weary, but seamen are used to uncomfortable
+and interrupted slumbers.  They soon roused themselves and began to look
+about and make a few comments on the weather.  Some, recurring naturally
+to their beloved indulgence, pulled out their pipes and filled them.
+
+"Have 'ee a light, Jim?" asked a rugged man, in a sleepy tone, of a
+comrade behind him.
+
+"No, Jack, I haven't" answered Jim, in a less sleepy tone, slapping all
+his pockets and thrusting his hands into them.
+
+"Have _you_, Dick?" asked the rugged man in some anxiety.
+
+"No, I haven't," replied Darvall, in a very serious voice, as he also
+took to slapping his pockets; "no--nor baccy!"
+
+It was curious to note at this point how every seaman in that boat
+became suddenly sympathetic and wide awake, and took to hasty, anxious
+examination of all his pockets--vest jacket, and trousers.  The result
+was the discovery of a good many clay pipes, more or less blackened and
+shortened, with a few plugs of tobacco, but not a single match, either
+fusee or congreve.  The men looked at each other with something akin to
+despair.
+
+"Was no matches putt on board wi' the grub an' other things?" asked Jim
+in a solemn tone.
+
+"And no tobacco?" inquired the mate.
+
+No one could answer in the affirmative.  A general sigh--like a
+miniature squall--burst from the sailors, and relieved them a little.
+Jim put his pipe between his lips, and meekly began, if we may say so,
+to smoke his tobacco dry.  At an order from the mate the men got out the
+oars and began to pull, for there was barely enough wind to fill the
+sail.
+
+"No rest for us, lads, 'cept when it blows," said the mate.  "The
+nearest land that I know of is five hundred miles off as the crow flies.
+We've got a compass by good luck, so we can make for it, but the grub
+on board won't hold out for quarter o' that distance, so, unless we fall
+in with a ship, or fish jump aboard of us, ye know what's before us."
+
+"Have we any spirits aboard?" asked the rugged man, in a growling,
+somewhat sulky, voice.
+
+"Hear--hear!" exclaimed Jim.
+
+"No, Jack," returned the mate; "at least not for the purpose o' lettin'
+you have a short life an' a merry one.  Now, look here, men: it has
+pleased Providence to putt you an' me in something of a fix, and I
+shouldn't wonder if we was to have some stiffish experiences before we
+see the end of it.  It has also pleased Providence to putt me here in
+command.  You know I'm not given to boastin', but there are times when
+it is advisable to have plain speakin'.  There _is_ a small supply of
+spirits aboard, and I just want to tell 'ee--merely as a piece of useful
+information, and to prevent any chance o' future trouble--that as I've
+got charge o' them spirits I mean to _keep_ charge of 'em."
+
+The mate spoke in a low, soft voice, without the slightest appearance of
+threat or determination in his manner, but as he concluded he unbuttoned
+his pilot-cloth coat and pointed to the butt of a revolver which
+protruded from one of his vest pockets.
+
+The men made no reply, but instinctively glanced at the two biggest and
+strongest men in the boat.  These were Charlie Brooke and Dick Darvall.
+Obviously, before committing themselves further, they wished, if
+possible, to read in the faces of these two what they thought of the
+mate's speech.  They failed to read much, if anything at all, for
+Charlie's eyes were fixed in dreamy expressionless abstraction on the
+horizon, and Dick was gazing up into the clouds, with a look of intense
+benignity--suggesting that he was holding pleasant intercourse with any
+celestial creatures who might be resident there.
+
+Without a word the whole crew bent to their oars, and resigned
+themselves to the inevitable.  Perhaps if each man had expressed his
+true feelings at that moment he would have said that he was glad to know
+there was a firm hand at the helm.  For there are few things more
+uncomfortable in any community, large or small, than the absence of
+discipline, or the presence of a weak will in a position of power.
+
+"But I say, Will," remarked Darvall, who pulled the stroke-oar, "you
+really do look ill.  Is anything the matter with 'ee?"
+
+"Nothin', Dick; 'cept that I'm tired," answered the cabin-boy.
+
+"Breakfast will put that right" said our hero in an encouraging tone.
+"Let's feel your pulse.  Hm.  Well, might be slower.  Come, Captain," he
+added, giving the mate his new title as he turned to him, "will you
+allow me to prescribe breakfast for this patient?"
+
+"Certainly, Doctor," returned the mate cheerily.  "Come, lads, we'll all
+have breakfast together."
+
+In a few minutes the biscuit and salt junk barrels were opened, and the
+mate measured out an exactly equal proportion of food to each man.
+Then, following the example of a celebrated commander, and in order to
+prevent dissatisfaction on the part of any with his portion, he caused
+one of the men to turn his back on the food, and, pointing to one of the
+portions said, "Who shall have this?"
+
+"The Doctor, sir," returned the man promptly.
+
+The portion was immediately handed to Charlie Brooke amid a general
+laugh.
+
+Thus every portion was disposed of, and the men sat down to eat in good
+humour, in spite of the too evident fact that they had been at once
+placed on short allowance, for, when each had finished, he assuredly
+wished for more, though no one ventured to give expression to the wish.
+
+The only exception was the little cabin-boy, who made a brave attempt to
+eat, but utterly failed at the second mouthful.
+
+"Come, Will," said Charlie in a kindly tone, pretending to misunderstand
+the state of matters, "don't try to deceive yourself by prolonging your
+breakfast.  That won't make more of it.  See, here, I'm not up to eating
+much to-day, somehow, so I'll be greatly obliged if you will dispose of
+half of mine as well as your own.  Next time I am hungry, and you are
+not, I'll expect you to do the same."
+
+But Will Ward could not be thus induced to eat.  He was really ill, and
+before night was in a high fever.  You may be sure that Dr Brooke, as
+every one now called him, did his best to help the little sufferer, but,
+of course, he could do very little, for all the medicines which he had
+prepared had been put into the long-boat, and, in a small open boat with
+no comforts, no medicines, and on short allowance of food, little could
+be done, except to give the boy a space of the floor on which to lie, to
+shield him from spray, and to cover him with blankets.
+
+For a week the boat was carried over the sea by a fresh, steady breeze,
+during which time the sun shone out frequently, so that things seemed
+not so wretched as one might suppose to the shipwrecked mariners.  Of
+course the poor cabin-boy was an exception.  Although his feverish
+attack was a slight one he felt very weak and miserable after it.  His
+appetite began to return, however, and it was evident that the short
+daily allowance would be insufficient for him.  When this point was
+reached Dick Darvall one day, when rations were being served out,
+ventured to deliver an opinion.
+
+"Captain and mates all," he said, while a sort of bashful smile played
+upon his sunburnt features, "it do seem to me that we should agree, each
+man, to give up a share of our rations to little Will Ward, so that he
+may be able to feed up a bit an' git the better o' this here sickness.
+We won't feel the want of such a little crumb each, an' he'll be ever so
+much the better for it."
+
+"Agreed," chorused the men, apparently without exception.
+
+"All right, lads," said the mate, while a rare smile lighted up for a
+moment his usually stern countenance; "when the need for such
+self-denial comes I'll call on ye to exercise it, but it ain't called
+for yet, because I've been lookin' after the interests o' Will Ward
+while he's been ill.  Justice, you see, stands first o' the virtues in
+my mind, an' it's my opinion that it wouldn't be justice, but something
+very much the reverse, if we were to rob the poor boy of his victuals
+just because he couldn't eat them."
+
+"Right you are, sir," interposed Dick Darvall.
+
+"Well, then, holdin' these views," continued the mate, "I have put aside
+Will Ward's share every time the rations were served, so here's what
+belongs to him--in this keg for the meat, and this bag for the biscuit--
+ready for him to fall-to whenever his twist is strong enough."
+
+There were marks of hearty approval, mingled with laughter, among the
+men on hearing this, but they stopped abruptly and listened for more on
+observing a perplexed look on their leader's face.
+
+"But there's something that puzzles me about it, lads," resumed the
+mate, "and it is this, that the grub has somehow accumulated faster than
+I can account for, considering the smallness o' the addition to the lot
+each time."
+
+On hearing this the men were a little surprised, but Charlie Brooke
+burst into a short laugh.
+
+"What!" he exclaimed, "you don't mean to say that the victuals have
+taken root and begun to grow, do you?"
+
+"I don't mean to _say_ anything," returned the mate quietly; "but I'm
+inclined to _think_ a good deal if you've no objection, Doctor."
+
+"How d'ee feel now, Will?" said Charlie, stooping forward at the moment,
+for he observed that the boy--whose bed was on the floor at his feet--
+had moved, and was gazing up at him with eyes that seemed to have grown
+enormously since their owner fell sick.
+
+"I feel queer--and--and--I'm inclined to _think_, too," returned Will in
+a faint voice.
+
+Nothing more was said at that time, for a sudden shift in the wind
+necessitated a shift of the sail, but Dick Darvall nodded his head
+significantly, and it came to be understood that "Doctor" Brooke had
+regularly robbed himself of part of his meagre allowance in order to
+increase the store of the cabin-boy.  Whether they were right in this
+conjecture has never been distinctly ascertained.  But all attempts to
+benefit the boy were soon after frustrated, for, while life was little
+more than trembling in the balance with Will Ward, a gale burst upon
+them which sealed his fate.
+
+It was not the rougher motion of the boat that did it, for the boy was
+used to that; nor the flashing of the salt spray inboard, for his
+comrades guarded him to some extent from that.  During the alarm caused
+by a wave which nearly swamped the boat two of the crew in their panic
+seized the first things that came to hand and flung them overboard to
+prevent their sinking, while the rest baled with cans and sou'-westers
+for their lives.  The portion of lading thus sacrificed turned out to be
+the staff of life--the casks of biscuit and pork!
+
+It was a terrible shock to these unfortunates when the full extent of
+the calamity was understood, and the firmness of the mate, with a sight
+of the revolvers alone prevented summary vengeance being executed on the
+wretched men who had acted so hastily in their blind terror.
+
+Only a small keg of biscuit remained to them.  This was soon expended,
+and then the process of absolute starvation began.  Every nook and
+cranny of the boat was searched again and again in the hope of something
+eatable being found, but only a small pot of lard--intended probably to
+grease the tackling--was discovered.  With a dreadful expression in
+their eyes some of the men glared at it, and there would, no doubt, have
+been a deadly struggle for it if the mate had not said, "Fetch it here,"
+in a voice which none dared to disobey.
+
+It formed but a mouthful to each, yet the poor fellows devoured it with
+the greed of ravening wolves, and carefully licked their fingers when it
+was done.  The little cabin-boy had three portions allotted to him,
+because Charlie Brooke and Dick Darvall added their allowance to his
+without allowing him to be aware of the fact.
+
+But the extra allowance and kindness, although they added greatly to his
+comfort, could not stay the hand of Death.  Slowly but surely the
+Destroyer came and claimed the young life.  It was a sweet, calm evening
+when the summons came.  The sea was like glass, with only that long,
+gentle swell which tells even in the profoundest calm of Ocean's
+instability.  The sky was intensely blue, save on the western horizon,
+where the sun turned it into gold.  It seemed as if all Nature were
+quietly indifferent to the sufferings of the shipwrecked men, some of
+whom had reached that terrible condition of starvation when all the
+softer feelings of humanity seem dead, for, although no whisper of their
+intention passed their lips, their looks told all too plainly that they
+awaited the death of the cabin-boy with impatience, that they might
+appease the intolerable pangs of hunger by resorting to cannibalism.
+
+Charlie Brooke, who had been comforting the dying lad all day, and
+whispering to him words of consolation from God's book from time to
+time, knew well what those looks meant.  So did the mate, who sat grim,
+gaunt and silent at his post, taking no notice apparently of what went
+on around him.  Fortunately the poor boy was too far gone to observe the
+looks of his mates.
+
+There was a can of paraffin oil, which had been thrown into the boat
+under the impression that it was something else.  This had been avoided
+hitherto by the starving men, who deemed it to be poisonous.  That
+evening the man called Jim lost control of himself, seized the can, and
+took a long draught of the oil.  Whether it was the effect of that we
+cannot tell, but it seemed to drive him mad, for no sooner had he
+swallowed it than he uttered a wild shout, drew his knife, sprang up and
+leaped towards the place where the cabin-boy lay.
+
+The mate, who had foreseen something of the kind, drew and levelled his
+revolver, but before he could fire Charlie had caught the uplifted arm,
+wrested the knife from the man, and thrust him violently back.  Thus
+foiled Jim sprang up again and with a maniac's yell leaped into the sea,
+and swam resolutely away.
+
+Even in their dire extremity the sailors could not see a comrade perish
+with indifference.  They jumped up, hastily got out the oars, and pulled
+after him, but their arms were very weak; before they could overtake him
+the man had sunk to rise no more.
+
+It was while this scene was being enacted that the spirit of the
+cabin-boy passed away.  On ascertaining that he was dead Charlie covered
+him with a tarpaulin where he lay, but no word was uttered by any one,
+and the mate, with revolver still in hand, sat there--grim and silent--
+holding the tiller as if steering, and gazing sternly on the horizon.
+Yet it was not difficult to divine the thoughts of those unhappy and
+sorely tried men.  Some by their savage glare at the cover that
+concealed the dead body showed plainly their dreadful desires.  Brooke,
+Darvall, and the mate showed as clearly by their compressed lips and
+stern brows that they would resist any attempt to gratify these.
+
+Suddenly the mate's brow cleared, and his eyes opened wide as he
+muttered, under his breath, "A sail!"
+
+"A sail! a sail!" shrieked the man in the bow at the same moment, as he
+leaped up and tried to cheer, but he only gasped and fell back in a
+swoon into a comrade's arms.
+
+It was indeed a sail, which soon grew larger, and ere long a ship was
+descried bearing straight towards them before a very light breeze.  In
+less than an hour the castaways stood upon her deck--saved.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+INGRATITUDE.
+
+A year or more passed away, and then there came a cablegram from New
+York to Jacob Crossley, Esquire, from Captain Stride.  The old gentleman
+was at breakfast when he received it, and his housekeeper, Mrs Bland,
+was in the act of setting before him a dish of buttered toast when he
+opened the envelope.  At the first glance he started up, overturned his
+cup of coffee, without paying the least attention to the fact, and
+exclaimed with emphasis--"As I expected.  It is lost!"
+
+"'Ow could you expect it, sir, to be anythink else, w'en you've sent it
+all over the table-cloth?" said Mrs Bland, in some surprise.
+
+"It is not that, Mrs Bland," said Mr Crossley, in a hurried manner;
+"it is my ship the _Walrus_.  Of course I knew long ago that it must
+have been lost," continued the old gentleman, speaking his thoughts more
+to himself than to the housekeeper, who was carefully spooning up the
+spilt coffee, "but the best of it is that the Captain has escaped."
+
+"Well, I'm sure, sir," said Mrs Bland, condescending to be interested,
+and to ignore, if not to forget, the coffee, "I'm very glad to 'ear it,
+sir, for Captain Stride is a pleasant cheery sort of man, and would be
+agreeable company if 'e didn't use so much sea-langwidge, and speak so
+much of 'is missis.  An' I'm glad to 'ear it too, sir, on account o'
+that fine young man that sailed with 'im--Mr Book, I think, was--"
+
+"No, Mrs Bland, it was Brooke; but that's the worst of the business,"
+said the old gentleman; "I'm not quite sure whether young Brooke _is_
+among the saved.  Here is what the telegram says:--
+
+"`From Captain Stride to Jacob Crossley.  Just arrived, (that's in New
+York, Mrs Bland); _Walrus_ lost.  All hands left her in three boats.
+
+"`Our boat made uninhabited island, and knocked to pieces.  Eight months
+on the island.  Rescued by American barque.  Fate of other boats
+unknown.  Will be home within a couple of weeks.'"
+
+"Why, it sounds like _Robinson Crusoe_, sir, don't it? which I read when
+I was quite a gurl, but I don't believe it myself though they do say
+it's all true.  Young Mr Leather will be glad to 'ear the good noos of
+'is friend--"
+
+"But this is _not_ good news of his friend; it is only uncertain news,"
+interrupted the old gentleman quickly.  "Now I think of it, Mrs Bland,
+Mr Leather is to call here by appointment this very morning, so you
+must be particularly careful not to say a word to him about this
+telegram, or Captain Stride, or anything I have told you about the lost
+ship--you understand, Mrs Bland?"
+
+"Certainly, sir," said the housekeeper, somewhat hurt by the doubt thus
+implied as to the capacity of her understanding.  "Shall I bring you
+some more toast, sir?" she added, with the virtuous feeling that by this
+question she was returning good for evil.
+
+"No, thank you.  Now, Mrs Bland, don't forget.  Not a word about this
+to any one."
+
+"'Ooks an' red-'ot pincers wouldn't draw a syllable out of _me_, sir,"
+returned the good woman, departing with an offended air, and leaving her
+master to understand that, in her opinion, such instruments might have a
+very different effect upon _him_.
+
+"Ass that I was to speak of it to her at all," muttered Mr Crossley,
+walking up and down the room with spectacles on forehead, and with both
+hands in his trousers-pockets creating disturbance among the keys and
+coppers.  "I might have known that she could not hold her tongue.  It
+would never do to let Mrs Brooke remain on the tenter-hooks till Stride
+comes home to clear the matter up.  Poor Mrs Brooke!  No wonder she is
+almost broken down.  This hoping against hope is so wearing.  And she's
+so lonely.  To be sure, sweet May Leather runs out and in like a beam of
+sunshine; but it must be hard, very hard, to lose an only son in this
+way.  It would be almost better to know that he was dead.  H'm! and
+there's that good-for-nothing Shank.  The rascal! and yet he's not
+absolutely good for nothing--if he would only give up drink.  Well,
+while there's life there's hope, thank God!  I'll give him another
+trial."
+
+The old man's brow was severely wrinkled while he indulged in these
+mutterings, but it cleared, and a kindly look beamed on his countenance
+as he gave vent to the last expression.
+
+Just then the door bell rang.  Mr Crossley resumed the grave look that
+was habitual to hint and next minute Shank Leather was ushered into the
+room.
+
+The youth was considerably changed since we last met him.  The year
+which had passed had developed him into a man, and clothed his upper lip
+with something visible to the naked eye.  It had also lengthened his
+limbs, deepened his chest, and broadened his shoulders.  But here the
+change for the better ended.  In that space of time there had come over
+him a decided air of dissipation, and the freshness suitable to youth
+had disappeared.
+
+With a look that was somewhat defiant he entered the room and looked
+boldly at his employer.
+
+"Be seated, Mr Leather," said the old gentleman in a voice so soft that
+the young man evidently felt abashed, but he as evidently steeled
+himself against better feelings, for he replied--
+
+"Thank you, Mr Crossley, I'd rather stand."
+
+"As you please," returned the other, restraining himself.  "I sent for
+you, Mr Leather, to tell you that I have heard with sincere regret of
+your last outbreak, and--"
+
+"Yes, sir," said Shank, rudely interrupting, "and I came here not so
+much to hear what you have to say about my outbreak--as you are pleased
+to style a little jollification--as to tell you that you had better
+provide yourself with another clerk, for I don't intend to return to
+your office.  I've got a better situation."
+
+"Oh, indeed!" exclaimed Crossley in surprise.
+
+"Yes, indeed," replied Shank insolently.
+
+It was evident that the youth was, even at that moment, under the
+influence of his great enemy, else his better feelings would have
+prevented him from speaking so rudely to a man who had never shown him
+anything but kindness.  But he was nettled by some of his bad companions
+having taunted him with his slavery to his besetting sin, and had
+responded to Mr Crossley's summons under the impression that he was
+going to get what he styled a "wigging."  He was therefore taken
+somewhat aback when the old gentleman replied to his last remark gently.
+
+"I congratulate you, Mr Leather, on getting a _better_ situation (if it
+really should turn out to be better), and I sincerely hope it may--for
+your mother's sake as well as your own.  This therefore disposes of part
+of my object in asking you to call--which was to say that I meant to
+pass over this offence and retain you in my employment.  But it does not
+supersede the necessity of my urging you earnestly to give up drink,
+_not_ so much on the ground that it will surely lead you to destruction
+as on the consideration that it grieves the loving Father who has
+bestowed on you the very powers of enjoyment which you are now
+prostituting, and who is at this moment holding out His hands to you and
+_waiting_ to be gracious."
+
+The old man stopped abruptly, and Shank stood with eyes fixed on the
+floor and frowning brow.
+
+"Have you anything more to say to me?" asked Mr Crossley.
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"Then good-morning.  As I can do nothing else to serve you, I will pray
+for you."
+
+Shank found himself in the street with feelings of surprise strong upon
+him.
+
+"Pray for me!" he muttered, as he walked slowly along.  "It never
+occurred to me before that he prayed at all!  The old humbug has more
+need to pray for himself!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+SHANK REVEALS SOMETHING MORE OF HIS CHARACTER.
+
+Taking his way to the railway station Shank Leather found himself ere
+long at his mother's door.
+
+He entered without knocking.
+
+"Shank!" exclaimed Mrs Leather and May in the same breath.
+
+"Ay, mother, it's me.  A bad shilling, they say, always turns up.  _I_
+always turn up, therefore _I_ am a bad shilling!  Sound logic that, eh,
+May?"
+
+"I'm glad to see you, dear Shank," said careworn Mrs Leather, laying
+her knitting-needles on the table; "you _know_ I'm always glad to see
+you, but I'm naturally surprised, for this visit is out of your regular
+time."
+
+"Has anything happened?" asked May anxiously.  And May looked very
+sweet, almost pretty, when she was anxious.  A year had refined her
+features, developed her mind and body, and almost converted her into a
+little woman.  Indeed, mentally, she had become more of a woman than
+many girls in her neighbourhood who were much older.  This was in all
+likelihood one of the good consequences of adversity.
+
+"Ay, May, something has happened," answered the youth, flinging himself
+gaily into an arm-chair and stretching out his legs towards the fire; "I
+have thrown up my situation.  Struck work.  That's all."
+
+"Shank!"
+
+"Just so.  Don't look so horrified, mother; you've no occasion to, for I
+have the offer of a better situation.  Besides--ha! ha! old Crossley--
+close-fisted, crabbed, money-making, skin-flint old Crossley--is going
+to pray for me.  Think o' that, mother--going to pray for me!"
+
+"Shank, dear boy," returned his mother, "don't jest about religious
+things."
+
+"You don't call old Crossley a religious thing, do you?  Why, mother, I
+thought you had more respect for him than that comes to; you ought at
+least to consider his years!"
+
+"Come, Shank," returned Mrs Leather, with a deprecating smile, "be a
+good boy and tell me what you mean--and about this new situation."
+
+"I just mean that my friend and chum and old schoolfellow Ralph Ritson--
+jovial, dashing, musical, handsome Ralph--you remember him--has got me a
+situation in California."
+
+"Ralph Ritson?" repeated Mrs Leather, with a little sigh and an uneasy
+glance at her daughter, whose face had flushed at the mention of the
+youth's name.
+
+"Yes," continued Shank, in a graver tone, for he had observed the flush
+on May's face.  "Ralph's father, who is manager of a gold mine in
+California, has asked his son to go out and assist him at a good salary,
+and to take a clerk out with him--a stout vigorous fellow, well up in
+figures, book-keeping, carpenting, etcetera, and ready to turn his hand
+to anything, and Ralph has chosen me!  What d'ee think o' that?"
+
+From her silence and expression it was evident that the poor lady's
+thoughts were not quite what her son had hoped.
+
+"Why don't you congratulate me, mother?" he asked, somewhat petulantly.
+
+"Would it not be almost premature," she replied, with a forced smile,
+"to congratulate you before I know anything about the salary or the
+prospects held out to you?  Besides, I cannot feel as enthusiastic about
+your friend Ralph as you do.  I don't doubt that he is a well-meaning
+youth, but he is reckless.  If he had only been a man like your former
+friend, poor Charlie Brooke, it would have been different, but--"
+
+"Well, mother, it's of no use wishing somebody to be like somebody else.
+We must just take folk as we find them, and I find Ralph Ritson a
+remarkably fine, sensible fellow, who has a proper appreciation of his
+friends.  And he's not a bad fellow.  He and Charlie Brooke were fond of
+each other when we were all schoolboys together--at least he was fond of
+Charlie, like everybody else.  But whether we like him or not does not
+matter now, for the thing is fixed.  I have accepted his offer, and
+thrown old Jacob overboard."
+
+"Dear Shank, don't be angry if I am slow to appreciate this offer," said
+the poor lady, laying aside her knitting and clasping her hands before
+her on the table, as she looked earnestly into her son's face, "but you
+must see that it has come on me very suddenly, and I'm so sorry to hear
+that you have parted with good old Mr Crossley in anger--"
+
+"We didn't part in anger," interrupted Shank.  "We were only a little
+less sweet on each other than usual.  There was no absolute quarrel.
+D'you think he'd have promised to pray for me if there was?"
+
+"Have you spoken yet to your father?" asked the lady.
+
+"How could I?  I've not seen him since the thing was settled.  Besides,
+what's the use?  _He_ can do nothing for me, an' don't care a button
+what I do or where I go."
+
+"You are wrong, Shank, in thinking so.  I _know_ that he cares for you
+very much indeed.  If he can do nothing for you _now_, he has at least
+given you your education, without which you could not do much for
+yourself."
+
+"Well, of course I shall tell him whenever I see him," returned the
+youth, somewhat softened; "and I'm aware he has a sort of sneaking
+fondness for me; but I'm not going to ask his advice, because he knows
+nothing about the business.  Besides, mother, I am old enough to judge
+for myself, and mean to take the advice of nobody."
+
+"You are indeed old enough to judge for yourself," said Mrs Leather,
+resuming her knitting, "and I don't wish to turn you from your plans.
+On the contrary, I will pray that God's blessing and protection may
+accompany you wherever you go, but you should not expect me to be
+instantaneously jubilant over an arrangement which will take you away
+from me, for years perhaps."
+
+This last consideration seemed to have some weight with the selfish
+youth.
+
+"Well, well, mother," he said, rising, "don't take on about that.
+Travelling is not like what it used to be.  A trip over the Atlantic and
+the Rocky Mountains is nothing to speak of now--a mere matter of a few
+weeks--so that a fellow can take a run home at any time to say `How do'
+to his people.  I'm going down now to see Smithers and tell him the
+news."
+
+"Stay, I'll go with you--a bit of the way," cried May, jumping up and
+shaking back the curly brown hair which still hung in native freedom--
+and girlish fashion--on her shoulders.
+
+May had a charming and rare capacity for getting ready to go out at a
+moment's notice.  She merely threw on a coquettish straw hat, which had
+a knack of being always at hand, and which clung to her pretty head with
+a tenacity that rendered strings or elastic superfluous.  One of her
+brother's companions--we don't know which--was once heard to say with
+fervour that no hat would be worth its ribbons that didn't cling
+powerfully to such a head without assistance!  A shawl too, or cloak,
+was always at hand, somehow, and had this not been so May would have
+thrown over her shoulders an antimacassar or table-cloth rather than
+cause delay,--at least we think so, though we have no absolute authority
+for making the statement.
+
+"Dear Shank," she said, clasping both hands over his arm as they walked
+slowly down the path that led to the shore, "is it really all true that
+you have been telling us?  Have you fixed to go off with--with Mr
+Ritson to California?"
+
+"Quite true; I never was more in earnest in my life.  By the way, sister
+mine, what made you colour up so when Ralph's name was mentioned?
+There, you're flushing again!  Are you in love with him?"
+
+"No, certainly not," answered the girl, with an air and tone of decision
+that made her brother laugh.
+
+"Well, you needn't flare up so fiercely.  You might be in love with a
+worse man.  But why, then, do you blush?"
+
+May was silent, and hung down her head.
+
+"Come, May, you've never had any secrets from me.  Surely you're not
+going to begin now--on the eve of my departure to a foreign land?"
+
+"I would rather not talk about him at all," said the girl, looking up
+entreatingly.
+
+But Shank looked down upon her sternly.  He had assumed the parental
+_role_.  "May, there is something in this that you ought not to conceal.
+I have a right to know it, as your brother--your protector."
+
+Innocent though May was, she could not repress a faint smile at the idea
+of a protector who had been little else than a cause of anxiety in the
+past, and was now about to leave her to look after herself, probably for
+years to come.  But she answered frankly, while another and a deeper
+blush overspread her face--
+
+"I did not mean to speak of it, Shank, as you knew nothing, and I had
+hoped would never know anything about it, but since you insist, I must
+tell you that--that Mr Ritson, I'm afraid, loves _me_ at least he--"
+
+"Afraid! loves you!  How do you know?" interrupted Shank quickly.
+
+"Well, he said so--the last time we met."
+
+"The rascal!  Had he the audacity to ask you to marry him?--him--a
+beggar, without a sixpence except what his father gives him?"
+
+"No, Shank, I would not let him get the length of that.  I told him I
+was too young to--to think about such matters at all, and said that he
+must not speak to me again in such a way.  But I was so surprised,
+flurried, and distressed, that I don't clearly remember what I said."
+
+"And what did _he_ say?" asked Shank, forgetting the parental _role_ for
+a moment, and looking at May with a humorous smile.
+
+"Indeed I can hardly tell.  He made a great many absurd protestations,
+begged me to give him no decided answer just then, and said something
+about letting him write to me, but all I am quite sure of is that at
+last I had the courage to utter a very decided _No_, and then ran away
+and left him."
+
+"That was too sharp, May.  Ralph is a first-rate fellow, with capital
+prospects.  His father is rich and can give him a good start in life.
+He may come back in a few years with a fortune--not a bad kind of
+husband for a penniless lass."
+
+"Shank!" exclaimed May, letting go her brother's arm and facing him with
+flashing eyes and heightened colour, "do you really think that a fortune
+would make me marry a man whom I did not love?"
+
+"Certainly not, my dear sis," said the youth, taking May's hand and
+drawing it again through his arm with an approving smile.  "I never for
+a moment thought you capable of such meanness, but that is a very
+different thing from slamming the door in a poor fellow's face.  You're
+not in love with anybody else.  Ralph is a fine handsome young fellow.
+You might grow to like him in time--and if you did, a fortune, of
+course, would be no disadvantage.  Besides, he is to be my travelling
+companion, and might write to you about me if I were ill, or chanced to
+meet with an accident and were unable to write myself--don't you know?"
+
+"He could in that case write to mother," said May, simply.
+
+"So he could!" returned Shank, laughing.  "I never thought o' that, my
+sharp sister."
+
+They had reached the shore by that time.  The tide was out; the sea was
+calm and the sun glinted brightly on the wavelets that sighed rather
+than broke upon the sands.
+
+For some distance they sauntered in silence by the margin of the sea.
+The mind of each was busy with the same thought.  Each was aware of
+that, and for some time neither seemed able to break the silence.  The
+timid girl recovered her courage before the self-reliant man!
+
+"Dear Shank," she said, pressing his arm, "you will probably be away for
+years."
+
+"Yes, May--at least for a good long time."
+
+"Oh forgive me, brother," continued the girl, with sudden earnestness,
+"but--but--you know your--your weakness--"
+
+"Ay, May, I know it.  Call it sin if you will--and my knowledge of it
+has something to do with my present determination, for, weak though I
+am, and bad though you think me--"
+
+"But I _don't_ think you _bad_, dear Shank," cried May, with tearful
+eyes; "I never said so, and never thought so, and--"
+
+"Come, come, May," interrupted the youth, with something of banter in
+his manner, "you don't think me _good_, do you?"
+
+"Well, no--not exactly," returned May, faintly smiling through her
+tears.
+
+"Well, then, if I'm not good I must be bad, you know.  There's no
+half-way house in this matter."
+
+"Is there not, Shank?  Is there not _very_ good and _very_ bad?"
+
+"Oh, well, if you come to that there's pretty-good, and rather-bad, and
+a host of other houses between these, such as goodish and baddish, but
+not one of them can be a _half-way_ house."
+
+"Oh yes, one of them _can_--_must_ be."
+
+"Which one, you little argumentative creature?" asked Shank.
+
+"Why, middling-good of course."
+
+"Wrong!" cried her brother, "doesn't middling-bad stand beside it, with
+quite as good a claim to be considered half-way?  However, I won't press
+my victory too far.  For the sake of peace we will agree that these are
+semi-detached houses in one block--and that will block the subject.
+But, to be serious again," he added, stopping and looking earnestly into
+his sister's face, "I wanted to speak to you on this weakness--this
+sin--and I thank you for breaking the ice.  The truth is that I have
+felt for a good while past that conviviality--"
+
+"Strong drink, brother, call it by its right name," said May, gently
+pressing the arm on which she leaned.
+
+"Well--have it so.  Strong drink has been getting the better of me--mind
+I don't admit it _has_ got the better of me yet--only _is getting_--and
+convivial comrades have had a great deal to do with it.  Now, as you
+know, I'm a man of some decision of character, and I had long ago made
+up my mind to break with my companions.  Of course I could not very well
+do this while--while I was--well, no matter why, but this offer just
+seemed to be a sort of godsend, for it will enable me to cut myself free
+at once, and the sea breezes and Rocky Mountain air and gold-hunting
+will, I expect, take away the desire for strong drink altogether."
+
+"I hope it will--indeed I am _sure_ it will if it is God's way of
+leading you," said May, with an air of confidence.
+
+"Well, I don't know whether it is God who is leading me or--"
+
+"Did you not call it a god-send just now--"
+
+"Oh, but that's a mere form of speech, you know.  However, I do know
+that it was on this very beach where we now stand that a friend led me
+for the first time to think seriously of this matter--more than a year
+ago."
+
+"Indeed--who was it?" asked May eagerly.
+
+"My chum and old school-fellow, poor Charlie Brooke," returned Shank, in
+a strangely altered voice.
+
+Then he went on to tell of the conversation he and his friend had had on
+that beach, and it was not till he had finished that he became aware
+that his sister was weeping.
+
+"Why, May, you're crying.  What's the matter?"
+
+"God bless him!" said May in fervent yet tremulous tones as she looked
+up in her brother's face.  "Can you wonder at my feeling so strongly
+when you remember how kind Charlie always was to you--to all of us
+indeed--ever since he was a little boy at school with you; what a
+true-hearted and steady friend he has always been.  And you called him
+poor Charlie just now, as if he were dead."
+
+"True indeed, it is very, very sad, for we have great reason to fear the
+worst, and I have strong doubt that I shall never see my old chum again.
+But I won't give up hope, for it is no uncommon thing for men to be
+lost at sea, for years even, and to turn up at last, having been cast
+away on a desert island, like Robinson Crusoe, or something of that
+sort."
+
+The thoughts which seemed to minister consolation to Shank Leather did
+not appear to afford much comfort to his sister, who hung her head and
+made no answer, while her companion went on--
+
+"Yes, May, and poor Charlie was the first to make me feel as if I were a
+little selfish, though that as you know, is not one of my conspicuous
+failings!  His straightforwardness angered me a little at first, but his
+kindness made me think much of what he said, and--well, the upshot of it
+all is that I am going to California."
+
+"I am glad--so glad and thankful he has had so much influence over you,
+dear Shank, and now, don't you think--that--that if Charlie were with
+you at this moment he would advise you not to go to Mr Smithers to
+consult about your plans?"
+
+For a few moments the brother's face betrayed a feeling of annoyance,
+but it quickly cleared away.
+
+"You are right, May.  Smithers is too much of a convivial harum-scarum
+fellow to be of much use in the way of giving sound advice.  I'll go to
+see Jamieson instead.  You can have no objection to him--surely.  He's a
+quiet, sober sort of man, and never tries to tempt people or lead them
+into mischief--which is more than can be said of the other fellow."
+
+"That is a very negative sort of goodness," returned May, smiling.
+"However, if you must go to see some one, Jamieson is better than
+Smithers; but why not come home and consult with mother and me?"
+
+"Pooh! what can women know about such matters?  No, no, May, when a
+fellow has to go into the pros and cons of Californian life it must be
+with _men_."
+
+"H'm! the men you associate with, having been at school and the desk all
+their lives up till now, must be eminently fitted to advise on
+Californian life!  That did not occur to me at the first blush!" said
+May demurely.
+
+"Go home, you cynical baggage, and help mother to knit," retorted Shank,
+with a laugh.  "I intend to go and see Jamieson."
+
+And he went.  And the negatively good Jamieson, who never led people
+into temptation, had no objection to be led into that region himself, so
+they went together to make a passing call--a mere look in--on Smithers,
+who easily induced them to remain.  The result was that the unselfish
+man with decision of character returned home in the early hours of
+morning--"screwed."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+HOME-COMING AND UNEXPECTED SURPRISES.
+
+Upwards of another year passed away, and at the end of that time a ship
+might have been seen approaching one of the harbours on the eastern
+seaboard of America.  Her sails were worn and patched.  Her spars were
+broken and spliced.  Her rigging was ragged and slack, and the state of
+her hull can be best described by the word `battered.'  Everything in
+and about her bore evidence of a prolonged and hard struggle with the
+elements, and though she had at last come off victorious, her
+dilapidated appearance bore strong testimony to the deadly nature of the
+fight.
+
+Her crew presented similar evidence.  Not only were their garments
+ragged, threadbare, and patched, but the very persons of the men seemed
+to have been riven and battered by the tear and wear of the conflict.
+And no wonder; for the vessel was a South Sea whaler, returning home
+after a three years' cruise.
+
+At first she had been blown far out of her course; then she was very
+successful in the fishing, and then she was stranded on the reef of a
+coral island in such a position that, though protected from absolute
+destruction by the fury of the waves, she could not be got off for many
+months.  At last the ingenuity and perseverance of one of her crew were
+rewarded by success.  She was hauled once more into deep water and
+finally returned home.
+
+The man who had been thus successful in saving the ship, and probably
+the lives of his mates--for it was a desolate isle, far out of the
+tracks of commerce--was standing in the bow of the vessel, watching the
+shore with his companions as they drew near.  He was a splendid specimen
+of manhood, clad in a red shirt and canvas trousers, while a wide-awake
+took the place of the usual seafaring cap.  He stood head and shoulders
+above his fellows.
+
+Just as the ship rounded the end of the pier, which formed one side of
+the harbour, a small boat shot out from it.  A little boy sculled the
+boat, and, apparently, had been ignorant of the ship's approach, for he
+gave a shout of alarm on seeing it, and made frantic efforts to get out
+of its way.  In his wild attempts to turn the boat he missed a stroke
+and went backwards into the sea.
+
+At the same moment the lookout on the ship gave the order to put the
+helm hard a-starboard in a hurried shout.
+
+Prompt obedience caused the ship to sheer off a little, and her side
+just grazed the boat.  All hands on the forecastle gazed down anxiously
+for the boy's reappearance.
+
+Up he came next moment with a bubbling cry and clutching fingers.
+
+"He can't swim!" cried one.
+
+"Out with a lifebelt!" shouted another.
+
+Our tall seaman bent forward as they spoke, and, just as the boy sank a
+second time, he shot like an arrow into the water.
+
+"He's all safe now," remarked a seaman quietly, and with a nod of
+satisfaction, even before the rescuer had reappeared.
+
+And he was right.  The red-shirted sailor rose a moment later with the
+boy in his arms.  Chucking the urchin into the boat he swam to the
+pier-head with the smooth facility and speed of an otter, climbed the
+wooden piles with the ease of an athlete, walked rapidly along the pier,
+and arrived at the head of the harbour almost as soon as his own ship.
+
+"That's the tenth life he's saved since he came aboard--to say nothin'
+o' savin' the ship herself," remarked the Captain to an inquirer, after
+the vessel had reached her moorings.  "An' none o' the lives was as easy
+to manage as that one.  Some o' them much harder."
+
+We will follow this magnificent seaman for a time, good reader.
+
+Having obtained permission to quit the South Sea whaler he walked
+straight to the office of a steam shipping company, and secured a
+fore-cabin passage to England.  He went on board dressed as he had
+arrived, in the red shirt, ducks, and wide-awake--minus the salt water.
+The only piece of costume which he had added to his wardrobe was a huge
+double-breasted pilot-cloth coat, with buttons the size of an egg-cup.
+He was so unused, however, to such heavy clothing that he flung it off
+the moment he got on board the steamer, and went about thereafter in his
+red flannel shirt and ducks.  Hence he came to be known by every one as
+Red Shirt.
+
+This man, with his dark-blue eyes, deeply bronzed cheeks, fair hair,
+moustache, and beard, and tall herculean form, was nevertheless so soft
+and gentle in his manners, so ready with his smile and help and
+sympathy, that every man, woman, and child in the vessel adored him
+before the third day was over.  Previous to that day, many of the
+passengers, owing to internal derangements, were incapable of any
+affection, except self-love, and to do them justice they had not much
+even of that!
+
+Arrived at Liverpool, Red Shirt, after seeing a poor invalid passenger
+safely to his abode in that city, and assisting one or two families with
+young children to find the stations, boats, or coaches that were more or
+less connected with their homes, got into a third-class carriage for
+London.  On reaching the metropolis he at once took a ticket for
+_Sealford_.
+
+Just as the train was on the point of starting, two elderly gentlemen
+came on the platform, in that eager haste and confusion of mind
+characteristic of late passengers.
+
+"This way, Captain," cried one, hailing the other, and pointing
+energetically with his brown silk umbrella to the Sealford carriages.
+
+"No, no.  It's at the next platform," returned the Captain frantically.
+
+"I say it is _here_," shouted the first speaker sternly.  "Come, sir,
+obey orders!"
+
+They both made for an open carriage-door.  It chanced to be a third
+class.  A strong hand was held out to assist them in.
+
+"Thank you," said the eldest elderly gentleman--he with the brown silk
+umbrella--turning to Red Shirt as he sat down and panted slightly.
+
+"I feared that we'd be late, sir," remarked the other elderly gentleman
+on recovering breath.
+
+"We are _not_ late, Captain, but we should have been late for certain,
+if your obstinacy had held another half minute."
+
+"Well, Mr Crossley, I admit that I made a mistake about the place, but
+you must allow that I made no mistake about the hour.  I was sure that
+my chronometer was right.  If there's one thing on earth that I can
+trust to as reg'lar as the sun, it is this chronometer (pulling it out
+as he spoke), and it never fails.  As I always said to my missus,
+`Maggie,' I used to say, `when you find this chronometer fail--' `Oh!
+bother you an' your chronometer,' she would reply, takin' the wind out
+o' my sails--for my missus has a free-an'-easy way o' doin' that--"
+
+"You've just come off a voyage, young sir, if I mistake not," said
+Crossley, turning to Red Shirt, for he had quite as free-and-easy a way
+of taking the wind out of Captain Stride's sails as the "missus."
+
+"Yes; I have just returned," answered Red Shirt, in a low soft voice,
+which scarcely seemed appropriate to his colossal frame.  His red
+garment, by the way, was at the time all concealed by the pilot-coat,
+excepting the collar.
+
+"Going home for a spell, I suppose?" said Crossley.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"May I ask where you last hailed from?" said Captain Stride, with some
+curiosity, for there was something in the appearance of this nautical
+stranger which interested him.
+
+"From the southern seas.  I have been away a long while in a South Sea
+whaler."
+
+"Ah, indeed?--a rough service that."
+
+"Rather rough; but I didn't enter it intentionally.  I was picked up at
+sea, with some of my mates, in an open boat, by the whaler.  She was on
+the outward voyage, and couldn't land us anywhere, so we were obliged to
+make up our minds to join as hands."
+
+"Strange!" murmured Captain Stride.  "Then you were wrecked somewhere--
+or your ship foundered, mayhap--eh?"
+
+"Yes, we were wrecked--on a coral reef."
+
+"Well now, young man, that is a strange coincidence.  I was wrecked
+myself on a coral reef in the very same seas, nigh three years ago.
+Isn't that odd?"
+
+"Dear me, this is very interesting," put in Mr Crossley; "and, as
+Captain Stride says, a somewhat strange coincidence."
+
+"_Is_ it so very strange, after all," returned Red Shirt, "seeing that
+the Pacific is full of sunken coral reefs, and vessels are wrecked there
+more or less every year?"
+
+"Well, there's some truth in that," observed the Captain.  "Did you say
+it was a sunk reef your ship struck on?"
+
+"Yes; quite sunk.  No part visible.  It was calm weather at the time,
+and a clear night."
+
+"Another coincidence!" exclaimed Stride, becoming still more interested.
+"Calm and clear, too, when I was wrecked!"
+
+"Curious," remarked Red Shirt in a cool indifferent tone, that began to
+exasperate the Captain.
+
+"Yet, after all, there are a good many calm and clear nights in the
+Pacific, as well as coral reefs."
+
+"Why, young man," cried Stride in a tone that made old Crossley smile,
+"you seem to think nothing at all of coincidences.  It's very seldom--
+almost never--that one hears of so many coincidences happening on _this_
+side o' the line all at once--don't you see."
+
+"I see," returned Red Shirt; "and the same, exactly, may be said of the
+_other_ side o' the line.  I very seldom--almost never--heard of so many
+out there; which itself may be called a coincidence, d'ee see? a sort of
+negative similarity."
+
+"Young man, I would suspect you were jesting with me," returned the
+Captain, "but for the fact that you told me of your experiences first,
+before you could know that mine would coincide with them so exactly."
+
+"Your conclusions are very just, sir," rejoined Red Shirt, with a grave
+and respectful air; "but of course coincidences never go on in an
+unbroken chain.  They _must_ cease sooner or later.  We left our wreck
+in _three_ boats.  No doubt you--"
+
+"There again!" cried the Captain in blazing astonishment, as he removed
+his hat and wiped his heated brow, while Mr Crossley's eyes opened to
+their widest extent.  "_We_ left our wreck in _three_ boats!  My ship's
+name was--"
+
+"The _Walrus_," said Red Shirt quietly, "and her Captain's name was
+Stride!"
+
+Old Crossley had reached the stage that is known as petrified with
+astonishment.  The Captain, being unable to open his eyes wider, dropped
+his lower jaw instead.
+
+"Surely," continued Red Shirt, removing his wide-awake, and looking
+steadily at his companions, "I must have changed very much indeed when
+two of my--"
+
+"Brooke!" exclaimed Crossley, grasping one of the sailor's hands.
+
+"Charlie!" gasped the Captain, seizing the other hand.
+
+What they all said after reaching this point it is neither easy nor
+necessary to record.  Perhaps it may be as well to leave it to the
+reader's vivid imagination.  Suffice it to say, that our hero irritated
+the Captain no longer by his callous indifference to coincidences.  In
+the midst of the confusion of hurried question and short reply, he
+pulled them up with the sudden query anxiously put--
+
+"But now, what of my mother?"
+
+"Well--excellently well in health, my boy," said Crossley, "but woefully
+low in spirits about yourself--Charlie.  Yet nothing will induce her to
+entertain the idea that you have been drowned.  Of course we have been
+rather glad of this--though most of our friends, Charlie, have given you
+up for lost long ago.  May Leather, too, has been much the same way of
+thinking, so she has naturally been a great comfort to your mother."
+
+"God bless her for that.  She's a good little girl," said Charlie.
+
+"Little girl," repeated both elderly gentlemen in a breath, and bursting
+into a laugh.  "You forget, lad," said the Captain, "that three years or
+so makes a considerable change in girls of her age.  She's a tall,
+handsome young woman now; ay, and a good-looking one too.  Almost as
+good-lookin' as what my missus was about her age--an' not unlike my
+little Mag in the face--the one you rescued, you remember--who is also a
+strappin' lass now."
+
+"I'm very glad to hear they are well, Captain," said Charlie; "and,
+Shank, what of--"
+
+He stopped, for the grave looks of his friends told him that something
+was wrong.
+
+"Gone to the dogs," said the Captain.
+
+"Nay, not quite gone--but going--fast."
+
+"And the father?"
+
+"Much as he was, Charlie, only somewhat more deeply sunk.  The fact is,"
+continued Crossley, "it is this very matter that takes us down to
+Sealford to-day.  We have just had fresh news of Shank--who is in
+America--and I want to consult with Mrs Leather about him.  You see I
+have agents out there who may be able to help us to save him."
+
+"From drink, I suppose," interposed our hero.
+
+"From himself, Charlie, and that includes drink and a great deal more.
+I dare say you are aware--at least, if you are not, I now tell you--that
+I have long taken great interest in Mrs Leather and her family, and
+would go a long way, and give a great deal, to save Shank.  You know--
+no, of course you don't, I forgot--that he threw up his situation in my
+office--Withers and Company.  (Ay, you may smile, my lad, but we
+humbugged you and got the better of you that time.  Didn't we, Captain?)
+Well, Shank was induced by that fellow Ralph Ritson to go away to some
+gold-mine or other worked by his father in California, but when they
+reached America they got news of the failure of the Company and the
+death of old Ritson.  Of course the poor fellows were at once thrown on
+their own resources, but, instead of facing life like men, they took to
+gambling.  The usual results followed.  They lost all they had and went
+off to Texas or some such wild place, and for a long time were no more
+heard of.  At last, just the other day, a letter came from Ritson to
+Mrs Leather, telling her that her son is very ill--perhaps dying--in
+some out o' the way place.  Ritson was nursing him, but, being ill
+himself, unable to work, and without means, it would help them greatly
+if some money could be sent--even though only a small sum."
+
+Charlie Brooke listened to this narrative with compressed brows, and
+remained silent a few seconds.  "My poor chum!" he exclaimed at length.
+Then a flash of fire seemed to gleam in his blue eyes as he added, "If I
+had that fellow Ritson by the--"
+
+He stopped abruptly, and the fire in the eyes died out, for it was no
+part of our hero's character to boast--much less to speak harshly of men
+behind their backs.
+
+"Has money been sent?" he asked.
+
+"Not yet.  It is about that business that I'm going to call on poor Mrs
+Leather now.  We must be careful, you see.  I have no reason, it is
+true, to believe that Ritson is deceiving us, but when a youth of no
+principle writes to make a sudden demand for money, it behoves people to
+think twice before they send it."
+
+"Ay, to think three times--perhaps even four or five," broke in the
+Captain, with stern emphasis.  "I know Ralph Ritson well, the scoundrel,
+an' if I had aught to do wi' it I'd not send him a penny.  As I said to
+my--"
+
+"Does your mother know of your arrival?" asked Mr Crossley abruptly.
+
+"No; I meant to take her by surprise."
+
+"Humph!  Just like you young fellows.  In some things you have no more
+brains than geese.  Being made of cast-iron and shoe-leather you assume
+that everybody else is, or ought to be, made of the same raw material.
+Don't you know that surprises of this sort are apt to kill delicate
+people?"
+
+Charlie smiled by way of reply.
+
+"No, sir," continued the old gentleman firmly, "I won't let you take her
+by surprise.  While I go round to the Leathers my good friend Captain
+Stride will go in advance of you to Mrs Brooke's and break the news to
+her.  He is accustomed to deal with ladies."
+
+"Right you are, sir," said the gratified Captain, removing his hat and
+wiping his brow.  "As I said, no later than yesterday to--"
+
+A terrific shriek from the steam-whistle, and a plunge into the darkness
+of a tunnel stopped--and thus lost to the world for ever--what the
+Captain said upon that occasion.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+TELLS OF HAPPY MEETINGS AND SERIOUS CONSULTATIONS.
+
+Whether Captain Stride executed his commission well or not we cannot
+tell, and whether the meeting of Mrs Brooke with her long-lost son came
+to near killing or not we will not tell.  Enough to know that they met,
+and that the Captain--with that delicacy of feeling so noticeable in
+seafaring men--went outside the cottage door and smoked his pipe while
+the meeting was in progress.  After having given sufficient time, as he
+said, "for the first o' the squall to blow over," he summarily snubbed
+his pipe, put it into his vest pocket, and re-entered.
+
+"Now, missus, you'll excuse me, ma'am, for cuttin' in atween you, but
+this business o' the Leathers is pressin', an' if we are to hold a
+confabulation wi' the family about it, why--"
+
+"Ah, to be sure, Captain Stride is right," said Mrs Brooke, turning to
+her stalwart son, who was seated on the sofa beside her.  "This is a
+very, _very_ sad business about poor Shank.  You had better go to them,
+Charlie.  I will follow you in a short time."
+
+"Mr Crossley is with them at this moment.  I forgot to say so, mother."
+
+"Is he?  I'm _very_ glad of that," returned the widow.  "He has been a
+true friend to us all.  Go, Charlie.  But stay.  I see May coming.  The
+dear child always comes to me when there is anything good or sorrowful
+to tell.  But she comes from the wrong direction.  Perhaps she does not
+yet know of Mr Crossley's arrival."
+
+"May!  Can it be?" exclaimed Charlie in an undertone of surprise as he
+observed, through the window, the girl who approached.
+
+And well might he be surprised, for this, although the same May, was
+very different from the girl he left behind him.  The angles of girlhood
+had given place to the rounded lines of young womanhood.  The rich curly
+brown hair, which used to whirl wildly in the sea-breezes, was gathered
+up in a luxuriant mass behind her graceful head, and from the forehead
+it was drawn back in two wavy bands, in defiance of fashion, which at
+that time was beginning to introduce the detestable modern fringe.
+Perhaps we are not quite un-biassed in our judgment of the said fringe,
+far it is intimately associated in our mind with the savages of North
+America, whose dirty red faces, in years past, were wont to glower at us
+from beneath just such a fringe, long before it was adopted by the fair
+dames of England!
+
+In other respects, however, May was little changed, except that the
+slightest curl of sadness about her eyebrows made her face more
+attractive than ever, as she nodded pleasantly to the Captain, who had
+hastened to the door to meet her.
+
+"So glad to see you, Captain Stride," she said, shaking hands with
+unfeminine heartiness.  "Have you been to see mother?  I have just been
+having a walk before--"
+
+She stopped as if transfixed, for at that moment she caught sight of
+Charlie and his mother through the open door.
+
+Poor May flushed to the roots of her hair; then she turned deadly pale,
+and would have fallen had not the gallant Captain caught her in his
+arms.  But by a powerful effort of will she recovered herself in time to
+avoid a scene.
+
+"The sight of you reminded me so strongly of our dear Shank!" she
+stammered, when Charlie, hastening forward, grasped both her hands and
+shook them warmly.  "Besides--some of us thought you were dead."
+
+"No wonder you thought of Shank," returned Charlie, "for he and I used
+to be so constantly together.  But don't be cast down, May.  We'll get
+Shank out of his troubles yet."
+
+"Yes, and you know he has Ritson with him," said Mrs Brooke; "and he,
+although not quite as steady as we could wish, will be sure to care for
+such an old friend in his sickness.  But you'd better go, Charlie, and
+see Mrs Leather.  They will be sure to want you and Captain Stride.
+May will remain here with me.  Sit down beside me, dear, I want to have
+a chat with you."
+
+"Perhaps, ma'am, if I make so bold," interposed the Captain, "Mr
+Crossley may want to have Miss May also at the council of war."
+
+"Mr Crossley! is _he_ with my mother?" asked the girl eagerly.
+
+"Yes, Miss May, he is."
+
+"Then I _must_ be there.  Excuse me, dear Mrs Brooke."
+
+And without more ado May ran out of the house.  She was followed soon
+after by Charlie and the Captain, and Mrs Brooke was left alone,
+expressing her thankfulness and joy of heart in a few silent tears over
+her knitting.
+
+There was a wonderful similarity in many respects between Mrs Brooke
+and her friend Mrs Leather.  They both knitted--continuously and
+persistently.  This was a convenient if not a powerful bond, for it
+enabled them to sit for hours together--busy, yet free to talk.  They
+were both invalids--a sympathetic bond of considerable strength.  They
+held the same religious views--an indispensable bond where two people
+have to be much together, and are in earnest.  They were both poor--a
+natural bond which draws people of a certain kind very close together,
+physically as well as spiritually--and both, up to this time at least,
+had long-absent and semi-lost sons.  Even in the matter of daughters
+they might be said, in a sense, to be almost equal, for May, loving
+each, was a daughter to both.  Lastly, in this matter of similarity, the
+two ladies were good--good as gold, according to Captain Stride, and he
+ought to have been an authority, for he frequently visited them and knew
+all their affairs.  Fortunately for both ladies, Mrs Brooke was by far
+the stronger-minded--hence they never quarrelled!
+
+In Mrs Leather's parlour a solemn conclave was seated round the parlour
+table.  They were very earnest, for the case under consideration was
+urgent, as well as very pitiful.  Poor Mrs Leather's face was wet with
+tears, and the pretty brown eyes of May were not dry.  They had had a
+long talk over the letter from Ritson, which was brief and to the point
+but meagre as to details.
+
+"I rather like the letter, considering who wrote it," observed Mr
+Crossley, laying it down after a fourth perusal.  "You see he makes no
+whining or discontented reference to the hardness of their luck, which
+young scapegraces are so fond of doing; nor does he make effusive
+professions of regret or repentance, which hypocrites are so prone to
+do.  I think it bears the stamp of being genuine on the face of it.  At
+least it appears to be straightforward."
+
+"I'm so glad you think so, Mr Crossley," said Mrs Leather; "for Mr
+Ritson is such a pleasant young man--and so good-looking, too!"
+
+The old gentleman and the Captain both burst into a laugh at this.
+
+"I'm afraid," said the former, "that good looks are no guarantee for
+good behaviour.  However, I have made up my mind to send him a small sum
+of money--not to Shank, Mrs Leather, so you need not begin to thank me.
+I shall send it to Ritson."
+
+"Well, thank you all the same," interposed the lady, taking up her
+knitting and resuming operations below the table, gazing placidly all
+the while at her friends like some consummate conjuror, "for Ralph will
+be sure to look after Shank."
+
+"The only thing that puzzles me is, how are we to get it sent to such an
+out-o'-the-way place--Traitor's Trap!  It's a bad name, and the stupid
+fellow makes no mention of any known town near to it, though he gives
+the post-office.  If I only knew its exact whereabouts I might get some
+one to take the money to him, for I have agents in many parts of
+America."
+
+After prolonged discussion of the subject, Mr Crossley returned to town
+to make inquiries, and the Captain went to take his favourite walk by
+the sea-shore, where he was wont, when paying a visit to Sealford, to
+drive the Leathers' little dog half-mad with delight by throwing stones
+into the sea for Scraggy to go in for--which he always did, though he
+never fetched them out.
+
+In the course of that day Charlie Brooke left his mother to take a
+stroll, and naturally turned in the direction of the sea.  When half-way
+through the lane with the high banks on either side he encountered May.
+
+"What a pleasant pretty girl she has become!" was his thought as she
+drew near.
+
+"Nobler and handsomer than ever!" was hers as he approached.
+
+The thoughts of both sent a flush to the face of each, but the colour
+scarcely showed through the bronzed skin of the man.
+
+"Why, what a woman you have grown, May!" said Charlie, grasping her
+hand, and attempting to resume the old familiar terms--with, however,
+imperfect success.
+
+"Isn't that natural?" asked May, with a glance and a little laugh.
+
+That glance and that little laugh, insignificant in themselves, tore a
+veil from the eyes of Charlie Brooke.  He had always been fond of May
+Leather, after a fashion.  _Now_ it suddenly rushed upon him that he was
+fond of her after another fashion!  He was a quick thinker and just
+reasoner.  A poor man without a profession and no prospects has no right
+to try to gain the affections of a girl.  He became grave instantly.
+
+"May," he said, "will you turn back to the shore with me for a little?
+I want to have a talk about Shank.  I want you to tell me all you know
+about him.  Don't conceal anything.  I feel as if I had a right to claim
+your confidence, for, as you know well, he and I have been like brothers
+since we were little boys."
+
+May had turned at once, and the tears filled her eyes as she told the
+sad story.  It was long, and the poor girl was graphic in detail.  We
+can give but the outline here.
+
+Shank had gone off with Ritson not long after the sailing of the
+_Walrus_.  On reaching America, and hearing of the failure of the
+company that worked the gold mine, and of old Ritson's death, they knew
+not which way to turn.  It was a tremendous blow, and seemed to have
+rendered them reckless, for they soon took to gambling.  At first they
+remained in New York, and letters came home pretty regularly, in which
+Shank always expressed hopes of getting more respectable work.  He did
+not conceal their mode of gaining a livelihood, but defended it on the
+ground that "a man must live!"
+
+For a time the letters were cheerful.  The young men were "lucky."  Then
+came a change of luck, and a consequent change in the letters, which
+came less frequently.  At last there arrived one from Shank, both the
+style and penmanship of which told that he had not forsaken the great
+curse of his life--strong drink.  It told of disaster, and of going off
+to the "Rockies" with a party of "discoverers," though what they were to
+discover was not mentioned.
+
+"From that date till now," said May in conclusion, "we have heard
+nothing about them till this letter came from Mr Ritson, telling of
+dear Shank being so ill, and asking for money."
+
+"I wish any one were with Shank rather than that man," said Charlie
+sternly; "I have no confidence in him whatever, and I knew him well as a
+boy."
+
+"Nevertheless, I think we may trust him.  Indeed I feel sure he won't
+desert his wounded comrade," returned May, with a blush.
+
+The youth did not observe the blush.  His thoughts were otherwise
+engaged, and his eyes were at the moment fixed on a far-off part of the
+shore, where Captain Stride could be seen urging on the joyful Scraggy
+to his fruitless labours.
+
+"I wish I could feel as confident of him as you do, May.  However,
+misfortune as well as experience may have made him a wiser, perhaps a
+better, man.  But what troubles me most is the uncertainty of the money
+that Mr Crossley is going to send ever reaching its destination."
+
+"Oh! if we only knew some one in New York who would take it to them,"
+said May, looking piteously at the horizon, as if she were
+apostrophising some one on the other side of the Atlantic.
+
+"Why, you talk as if New York and Traitor's Trap were within a few miles
+of each other," said Charlie, smiling gently.  "They are hundreds of
+miles apart."
+
+"Well, I suppose they are.  But I feel so anxious about Shank when I
+think of the dear boy lying ill, perhaps dying, in a lonely place far
+far away from us all, and no one but Mr Ritson to care for him!  If I
+were only a man I would go to him myself."
+
+She broke down at this point, and put her handkerchief to her face.
+
+"Don't cry, May," began the youth in sore perplexity, for he knew not
+how to comfort the poor girl in the circumstances, but fortunately
+Captain Stride caught sight of them at the moment, and gave them a
+stentorian hail.
+
+"Hi! halloo! back your to-o-o-ps'ls.  I'll overhaul ye in a jiffy."
+
+How long a nautical jiffy may be we know not, but, in a remarkably brief
+space of time, considering the shortness and thickness of his sea-legs,
+the Captain was alongside, blowing, as he said, "like a grampus."
+
+That night Charlie Brooke sat with his mother in her parlour.  They were
+alone--their friends having considerately left them to themselves on
+this their first night.
+
+They had been talking earnestly about past and present, for the son had
+much to learn about old friends and comrades, and the mother had much to
+tell.
+
+"And now, mother," said Charlie, at the end of a brief pause, "what
+about the future?"
+
+"Surely, my boy, it is time enough to talk about that to-morrow, or next
+day.  You are not obliged to think of the future before you have spent
+even one night in your old room."
+
+"Not absolutely obliged, mother.  Nevertheless, I should like to speak
+about it.  Poor Shank is heavy on my mind, and when I heard all about
+him to-day from May, I--.  She's wonderfully improved, that girl,
+mother.  Grown quite pretty?"
+
+"Indeed she is--and as good as she's pretty," returned Mrs Brooke, with
+a furtive glance at her son.
+
+"She broke down when talking about Shank to-day, and I declare she
+looked quite beautiful!  Evidently Shank's condition weighs heavily on
+her mind."
+
+"Can you wonder, Charlie?"
+
+"Of course not.  It's natural, and I quite sympathised with her when she
+exclaimed, `If I were only a man I would go to him myself.'"
+
+"That's natural too, my son.  I have no doubt she would, poor dear girl,
+if she were only a man."
+
+"Do you know, mother, I've not been able to get that speech out of my
+head all this afternoon.  `If I were a man--if I were a man,' keeps
+ringing in my ears like the chorus of an old song, and then--"
+
+"Well, Charlie, what then?" asked Mrs Brooke, with a puzzled glance.
+
+"Why, then, somehow the chorus has changed in my brain and it runs--`I
+_am_ a man!  I _am_ a man!'"
+
+"Well?" asked the mother, with an anxious look.
+
+"Well--that being so, I have made up my mind that _I_ will go out to
+Traitor's Trap and carry the money to Shank, and look after him myself.
+That is, if you will let me."
+
+"O Charlie! how can you talk of it?" said Mrs Brooke, with a distressed
+look.  "I have scarcely had time to realise the fact that you have come
+home, and to thank God for it, when you begin to talk of leaving me
+again--perhaps for years, as before."
+
+"Nay, mother mine, you jump to conclusions too hastily.  What I propose
+is not to go off again on a long voyage, but to take a run of a few days
+in a first-class steamer across what the Americans call the big
+fish-pond; then go across country comfortably by rail; after that hire a
+horse and have a gallop somewhere or other; find out Shank and bring him
+home.  The whole thing might be done in a few weeks; and no chance,
+almost, of being wrecked."
+
+"I don't know, Charlie," returned Mrs Brooke, in a sad tone, as she
+laid her hand on her son's arm and stroked it.  "As you put it, the
+thing sounds all very easy, and no doubt it would be a grand, a noble
+thing to rescue Shank--but--but, why talk of it to-night, my dear boy?
+It is late.  Go to bed, Charlie, and we will talk it over in the
+morning."
+
+"How pleasantly familiar that `Go to bed, Charlie,' sounds," said the
+son, laughing, as he rose up.
+
+"You did not always think it pleasant," returned the good lady, with a
+sad smile.
+
+"That's true, but I think it uncommonly pleasant _now_.  Good-night,
+mother."
+
+"Good-night, my son, and God bless you."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+CHANGES THE SCENE CONSIDERABLY!
+
+We must transport our reader now to a locality somewhere in the region
+lying between New Mexico and Colorado.  Here, in a mean-looking
+out-of-the-way tavern, a number of rough-looking men were congregated,
+drinking, gambling, and spinning yarns.  Some of them belonged to the
+class known as cow-boys--men of rugged exterior, iron constitutions,
+powerful frames, and apparently reckless dispositions, though underneath
+the surface there was considerable variety of character to be found.
+
+The landlord of the inn--if we may so call it, for it was little better
+than a big shanty--was known by the name of David.  He was a man of cool
+courage.  His customers knew this latter fact well, and were also aware
+that, although he carried no weapon on his person, he had several
+revolvers in handy places under his counter, with the use of which he
+was extremely familiar and expert.
+
+In the midst of a group of rather noisy characters who smoked and drank
+in one corner of this inn or shanty, there was seated on the end of a
+packing-case, a man in the prime of life, who, even in such rough
+company, was conspicuously rugged.  His leathern costume betokened him a
+hunter, or trapper, and the sheepskin leggings, with the wool outside,
+showed that he was at least at that time a horseman.  Unlike most of his
+comrades, he wore Indian moccasins, with spurs strapped to them.  Also a
+cap of the broad-brimmed order.  The point about him that was most
+striking at first sight was his immense breadth of shoulder and depth of
+chest, though in height he did not equal many of the men around him.  As
+one became acquainted with the man, however, his massive proportions had
+not so powerful an effect on the mind of an observer as the quiet
+simplicity of his expression and manner.  Good-nature seemed to lurk in
+the lines about his eyes and the corners of his mouth, which latter had
+the peculiarity of turning down instead of up when he smiled; yet withal
+there was a stern gravity about him that forbade familiarity.
+
+The name of the man was Hunky Ben, and the strangest thing about him--
+that which puzzled these wild men most--was that he neither drank nor
+smoked nor gambled!  He made no pretence of abstaining on principle.
+One of the younger men, who was blowing a stiff cloud, ventured to ask
+him whether he really thought these things wrong.
+
+"Well, now," he replied quietly, with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm no
+parson, boys, that I should set up to diskiver what's right an' what's
+wrong.  I've got my own notions on them points, you bet, but I'm not
+goin' to preach 'em.  As to smokin', I won't make a smoked herrin' o' my
+tongue to please anybody.  Besides, I don't want to smoke, an' why
+should I do a thing I don't want to just because other people does it?
+Why should I make a new want when I've got no end o' wants a'ready
+that's hard enough to purvide for?  Drinkin's all very well if a man
+wants Dutch courage, but I don't want it--no, nor French courage, nor
+German, nor Chinee, havin' got enough o' the article home-growed to
+sarve my purpus.  When that's used up I may take to drinkin'--who knows?
+Same wi' gamblin'.  I've no desire to bust up any man, an' I don't want
+to be busted up myself, you bet.  No doubt drinkin', smokin', an'
+gamblin' makes men jolly--them at least that's tough an' that wins!--but
+I'm jolly without 'em, boys,--jolly as a cottontail rabbit just come of
+age."
+
+"An' ye look it, old man," returned the young fellow, puffing cloudlets
+with the utmost vigour; "but come, Ben, won't ye spin us a yarn about
+your frontier life?"
+
+"Yes, do, Hunky," cried another in an entreating voice, for it was well
+known all over that region that the bold hunter was a good story-teller,
+and as he had served a good deal on the frontier as guide to the United
+States troops, it was understood that he had much to tell of a thrilling
+and adventurous kind; but although the men about him ceased to talk and
+looked at him with expectancy, he shook his head, and would not consent
+to be drawn out.
+
+"No, boys, it can't be done to-day," he said; "I've no time, for I'm
+bound for Quester Creek in hot haste, an' am only waitin' here for my
+pony to freshen up a bit.  The Redskins are goin' to give us trouble
+there by all accounts."
+
+"The red devils!" exclaimed one of the men, with a savage oath; "they're
+always givin' us trouble."
+
+"That," returned Hunky Ben, in a soft voice, as he glanced mildly at the
+speaker,--"that is a sentiment I heer'd expressed almost exactly in the
+same words, though in Capatchee lingo, some time ago by a Redskin
+chief--only he said it was pale-faced devils who troubled _him_.  I
+wonder which is worst.  They can't both be worst, you know!"
+
+This remark was greeted with a laugh, and a noisy discussion thereupon
+began as to the comparative demerits of the two races, which was ere
+long checked by the sound of a galloping horse outside.  Next moment the
+door opened, and a very tall man of commanding presence and bearing
+entered the room, took off his hat, and looked round with a slight bow
+to the company.
+
+There was nothing commanding, however, in the quiet voice with which he
+asked the landlord if he and his horse could be put up there for the
+night.
+
+The company knew at once, from the cut of the stranger's tweed suit, as
+well as his tongue, that he was an Englishman, not much used to the ways
+of the country--though, from the revolver and knife in his belt, and the
+repeating rifle in his hand, he seemed to be ready to meet the country
+on its own terms by doing in Rome as Rome does.
+
+On being told that he could have a space on the floor to lie on, which
+he might convert into a bed if he had a blanket with him, he seemed to
+make up his mind to remain, asked for food, and while it was preparing
+went out to attend to his horse.  Then, returning, he went to a retired
+corner of the room, and flung himself down at full length on a vacant
+bench, as if he were pretty well exhausted with fatigue.
+
+The simple fare of the hostelry was soon ready; and when the stranger
+was engaged in eating it, he asked a cow-boy beside him how far it was
+to Traitor's Trap.
+
+At the question there was a perceptible lull in the conversation, and
+the cow-boy, who was a very coarse forbidding specimen of his class,
+said that he guessed Traitor's Trap was distant about twenty mile or so.
+
+"Are you goin' thar, stranger?" he asked, eyeing his questioner
+curiously.
+
+"Yes, I'm going there," answered the Englishman; "but from what I've
+heard of the road, at the place where I stayed last night, I don't like
+to go on without a guide and daylight--though I would much prefer to
+push on to-night if it were possible."
+
+"Wall, stranger, whether possible or not," returned the cow-boy, "it's
+an ugly place to go past, for there's a gang o' cut-throats there that's
+kep' the country fizzin' like ginger-beer for some time past.  A man
+that's got to go past Traitor's Trap should go by like a greased
+thunderbolt, an' he should never go alone."
+
+"Is it, then, such a dangerous place?" asked the Englishman, with a
+smile that seemed to say he thought his informant was exaggerating.
+
+"Dangerous!" exclaimed the cow-boy.  "Ay, an will be as long as Buck Tom
+an' his boys are unhung.  Why, stranger, I'd get my life insured, you
+bet, before I'd go thar again--except with a big crowd o' men.  It was
+along in June last year I went up that way; there was nobody to go with
+me, an' I was forced to do it by myself--for I _had_ to go--so I spunked
+up, saddled Bluefire, an' sloped.  I got on lovely till I came to a pass
+just on t'other side o' Traitor's Trap, when I began to cheer up,
+thinkin' I'd got off square; but I hadn't gone another hundred yards
+when up starts Buck Tom an' his men with `hands up.'  I went head down
+flat on my saddle instead, I was so riled.  Bang went a six-shooter, an'
+the ball just combed my back hair.  I suppose Buck was so took by
+surprise at a single man darin' to disobey his orders that he missed.
+Anyhow I socked spurs into Bluefire, an' made a break for the open
+country ahead.  They made after me like locomotives wi' the
+safety-valves blocked, but Bluefire was more'n a match for 'em.  They
+kep' blazin' away all the time too, but never touched me, though I heard
+the balls whistlin' past for a good while.  Bluefire an' me went, you
+bet, like a nor'-easter in a passion, an' at last they gave it up.  No,
+stranger, take my advice an' don't go past Traitor's Trap alone.  I
+wouldn't go there at all if I could help it."
+
+"I don't intend to go past it.  I mean to go _into_ it," said the
+Englishman, with a short laugh, as he laid down his knife and fork,
+having finished his slight meal; "and, as I cannot get a guide, I shall
+be forced to go alone."
+
+"Stranger," said the cow-boy in surprise, "d'ye want to meet wi' Buck
+Tom?"
+
+"Not particularly."
+
+"An' are ye aware that Buck Tom is one o' the most hardened,
+sanguinacious blackguards in all Colorado?"
+
+"I did not know it before, but I suppose I may believe it now."
+
+As he spoke the Englishman rose and went out to fetch the blanket which
+was strapped to his saddle.  In going out he brushed close past a man
+who chanced to enter at the same moment.
+
+The newcomer was also a tall and strikingly handsome man, clothed in the
+picturesque garments of the cow-boy, and fully armed.  He strode up to
+the counter, with an air of proud defiance, and demanded drink.  It was
+supplied him.  He tossed it off quickly, without deigning a glance at
+the assembled company.  Then in a deep-toned voice he asked--
+
+"Has the Rankin Creek Company sent that account and the money?"
+
+Profound silence had fallen on the whole party in the room the moment
+this man entered.  They evidently looked at him with profound interest
+if not respect.
+
+"Yes, Buck Tom," answered the landlord, in his grave off-hand manner;
+"They have sent it, and authorised me to pay you the balance."
+
+He turned over some papers for a few minutes, during which Buck Tom did
+not condescend to glance to one side or the other, but kept his eye
+fixed sternly on the landlord.
+
+At that moment the Englishman re-entered, went to his corner, spread his
+blanket on the floor, lay down, put his wide-awake over his eyes, and
+resigned himself to repose, apparently unaware that anything special was
+going on, and obtusely blind to the quiet but eager signals wherewith
+the cow-boy was seeking to direct his attention to Buck Tom.
+
+In a few minutes the landlord found the paper he wanted, and began to
+look over it.
+
+"The company owes you," he said, "three hundred dollars ten cents for
+the work done," said the landlord slowly.
+
+Buck nodded his head as if satisfied with this.
+
+"Your account has run on a long while," continued the landlord, "and
+they bid me explain that there is a debit of two hundred and ninety-nine
+dollars against you.  Balance in your favour one dollar ten cents."
+
+A dark frown settled on Buck Tom's countenance, as the landlord laid the
+balance due on the counter, and for a few moments he seemed in
+uncertainty as to what he should do, while the landlord stood
+conveniently near to a spot where one of his revolvers lay.  Then Buck
+turned on his heel, and was striding towards the door, when the landlord
+called him back.
+
+"Excuse my stopping you, Buck Tom," he said, "but there's a gentleman
+here who wants a guide to Traitor's Trap.  Mayhap you wouldn't object
+to--"
+
+"Where is he?" demanded Buck, wheeling round, with a look of slight
+surprise.
+
+"There," said the landlord, pointing to the dark corner where the big
+Englishman lay, apparently fast asleep, with his hat pulled well down
+over his eyes.
+
+Buck Tom looked at the sleeping figure for a few moments.
+
+"H'm! well, I might guide him," he said, with something of a grim smile,
+"but I'm travelling too fast for comfort.  He might hamper me.  By the
+way," he added, looking back as he laid his hand on the door, "you may
+tell the Rankin Creek Company, with my compliments, to buy a new lock to
+their office door, for I intend to call on them some day soon and
+balance up that little account on a new system of 'rithmetic!  Tell them
+I give 'em leave to clap the one dollar ten cents to the credit of their
+charity account."
+
+Another moment and Buck Tom was gone.  Before the company in the tavern
+had quite recovered the use of their tongues, the hoofs of his horse
+were heard rattling along the road which led in the direction of
+Traitor's Trap.
+
+"Was that really Buck Tom?" asked Hunky Ben, in some surprise.
+
+"Ay--or his ghost," answered the landlord.
+
+"I can swear to him, for I saw him as clear as I see you the night he
+split after me," said the cowboy, who had warned the Englishman.
+
+"Why didn't you put a bullet into him to-night, Crux?" asked a comrade.
+
+"Just so--you had a rare chance," remarked another of the cow-boys, with
+something of a sneer in his tone.
+
+"Because I'm not yet tired o' my life," replied Crux, indignantly.
+"Back Tom has got eyes in the back o' his head, I do believe, and shoots
+dead like a flash--"
+
+"Not that time he missed you at Traitor's Trap, I think," said the
+other.
+
+"Of course not--'cause we was both mounted that time, and scurryin' over
+rough ground like wild-cats.  The best o' shots would miss thar an'
+thus.  Besides, Buck Tom took nothin' from me, an' ye wouldn't have me
+shoot a man for missin' me--surely.  If you're so fond o' killin', why
+didn't you shoot him yourself?--_you_ had a rare chance!"
+
+Crux grinned--for his ugly mouth could not compass a smile--as he
+thought thus to turn the tables on his comrade.
+
+"Well, he's got clear off, anyhow, returned the comrade, an' it's a
+pity, for--"
+
+He was interrupted by the Englishman raising himself and asking in a
+sleepy tone if there was likely to be moonlight soon.
+
+The company seemed to think him moon-struck to ask such a question, but
+one of them replied that the moon was due in half an hour.
+
+"You've lost a good chance, sir," said Crux, who had a knack of making
+all his communications as disagreeably as possible, unless they chanced
+to be unavoidably agreeable, in which case he made the worst of them.
+"Buck Tom hisself has just bin here, an' might have agreed to guide you
+to Traitor's Trap if you'd made him a good offer."
+
+"Why did you not awake me?" asked the Englishman in a reproachful tone,
+as he sprang up, grasped his blanket hastily, threw down a piece of
+money on the counter, and asked if the road wasn't straight and easy for
+a considerable distance.
+
+"Straight as an arrow for ten mile," said the landlord, as he laid down
+the change which the Englishman put into an apparently well-filled
+purse.
+
+"I'll guide you, stranger, for five dollars," said Crux.
+
+"I want no guide," returned the other, somewhat brusquely, as he left
+the room.
+
+A minute or two later he was heard to pass the door on horseback at a
+sharp trot.
+
+"Poor lad, he'll run straight into the wolf's den; but why he wants to
+do it puzzles me," remarked the landlord, as he carefully cleaned a
+tankard.  "But he would take no warning."
+
+"The wolf doesn't seem half as bad as he's bin painted," said Hunky Ben,
+rising and offering to pay his score.
+
+"Hallo, Hunky--not goin' to skip, are ye?" asked Crux.
+
+"I told ye I was in a hurry.  Only waitin' to rest my pony.  My road is
+the same as the stranger's, at least part o' the way.  I'll overhaul an'
+warn him."
+
+A few minutes more and the broad-shouldered scout was also galloping
+along the road or track which led towards the Rocky mountains in the
+direction of Traitor's Trap.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+HUNKY BEN IS SORELY PERPLEXED.
+
+It was one of Hunky Ben's few weaknesses to take pride in being well
+mounted.  When he left the tavern he bestrode one of his best steeds--a
+black charger of unusual size, which he had purchased while on a trading
+trip in Texas--and many a time had he ridden it while guiding the United
+States troops in their frequent expeditions against ill-disposed
+Indians.  Taken both together it would have been hard to equal, and
+impossible to match, Hunky Ben and his coal-black mare.
+
+From the way that Ben rode, on quitting the tavern, it might have been
+supposed that legions of wild Indians were at his heels.  But after
+going about a few miles at racing speed he reined in, and finally pulled
+up at a spot where a very slight pathway diverged.  Here he sat quite
+still for a few minutes in meditation.  Then he muttered softly to
+himself--for Ben was often and for long periods alone in the woods and
+on the plains, and found it somewhat "sociable-like" to mutter his
+thoughts audibly:
+
+"You've not cotched him up after all, Ben," he said.  "Black Polly
+a'most equals a streak o' lightnin', but the Britisher got too long a
+start o' ye, an' he's clearly in a hurry.  Now, if I follow on he'll
+hear your foot-falls, Polly, an' p'raps be scared into goin' faster to
+his doom.  Whereas, if I go off the track here an' drive ahead so as to
+git to the Blue Fork before him, I'll be able to stop the Buck's little
+game, an' save the poor fellow's life.  Buck is sure to stop him at the
+Blue Fork, for it's a handy spot for a road-agent, [a highwayman] and
+there's no other near."
+
+Hunky Ben was pre-eminently a man of action.  As he uttered or thought
+the last word he gave a little chirp which sent Black Polly along the
+diverging track at a speed which almost justified the comparison of her
+to lightning.
+
+The Blue Fork was a narrow pass or gorge in the hills, the footpath
+through which was rendered rugged and dangerous for cattle because of
+the rocks that had fallen during the course of ages from the cliffs on
+either side.  Seen from a short distance off on the main track the
+mountains beyond had a brilliantly blue appearance, and a few hundred
+yards on the other side of the pass the track forked--hence the name.
+One fork led up to Traitor's Trap, the other to the fort of Quester
+Creek, an out-post of United States troops for which Hunky Ben was bound
+with the warning that the Redskins were contemplating mischief.  As Ben
+had conjectured, this was the spot selected by Buck Tom as the most
+suitable place for waylaying his intended victim.  Doubtless he supposed
+that no Englishman would travel in such a country without a good deal of
+money about him, and he resolved to relieve him of it.
+
+It was through a thick belt of wood that the scout had to gallop at
+first, and he soon outstripped the traveller who kept to the main and,
+at that part, more circuitous road, and who was besides obliged to
+advance cautiously in several places.  On nearing his destination,
+however, Ben pulled up, dismounted, fastened his mare to a tree, and
+proceeded the rest of the way on foot at a run, carrying his repeating
+rifle with him.  He had not gone far when he came upon a horse.  It was
+fastened, like his own, to a tree in a hollow.
+
+"Ho! ho!" thought Ben, "you prefer to do yer dirty work on foot, Mr
+Buck!  Well, you're not far wrong in such a place."
+
+Advancing now with great caution, the scout left the track and moved
+through the woods more like a visible ghost than a man, for he was well
+versed in all the arts and wiles of the Indian, and his moccasined feet
+made no sound whatever.  Climbing up the pass at some height above the
+level of the road, so that he might be able to see all that took place
+below, he at last lay down at full length, and drew himself in snake
+fashion to the edge of the thicket that concealed him.  Pushing aside
+the bushes gently he looked down, and there, to his satisfaction, beheld
+the man he was in search of, not thirty yards off.
+
+Buck Tom was crouching behind a large mass of rock close to the track,
+and so lost in the dark shadow of it that no ordinary man could have
+seen him; but nothing could escape the keen and practised eye of Hunky
+Ben.  He could not indeed make out the highwayman's form, but he knew
+that he was there and that was enough.  Laying his rifle on a rock
+before him in a handy position he silently watched the watcher.
+
+During all this time the Englishman--whom the reader has doubtless
+recognised as Charlie Brooke--was pushing on as fast as he could in the
+hope of overtaking the man who could guide him to Traitor's Trap.
+
+At last he came to the Blue Forks, and rode into the pass with the
+confidence of one who suspects no evil.  He drew rein, however, as he
+advanced, and picked his way carefully along the encumbered path.
+
+He had barely reached the middle of it, where a clear space permitted
+the moonbeams to fall brightly on the ground, when a stern voice
+suddenly broke the stillness of the night with the words--
+
+"Hands up!"
+
+Charlie Brooke seemed either to be ignorant of the ways of the country
+and of the fact that disobedience to the command involved sudden death,
+or he had grown unaccountably reckless, for instead of raising his arms
+and submitting to be searched by the robber who covered him with a
+revolver, he merely reined up and took off his hat, allowing the moon to
+shine full on his countenance.
+
+The effect on Buck Tom was singular.  Standing with his back to the
+moon, his expression could not be seen, but his arm dropped to his side
+as if it had been paralysed, and the revolver fell to the ground.
+
+Never had Buck Tom been nearer to his end than at that moment, for Hunky
+Ben, seeing clearly what would be the consequence of the Englishman's
+non-compliance with the command, was already pressing the trigger that
+would have sent a bullet into Buck Tom's brain, but the Englishman's
+strange conduct induced him to pause, and the effect on the robber
+caused him to raise his head and open wide his eyes--also his ears!
+
+"Ah!  Ralph Ritson, has it come to this?" said Charlie, in a voice that
+told only of pity and surprise.
+
+For some moments Ralph did not speak.  He was evidently stunned.
+Presently he recovered, and, passing his hand over his brow, but never
+taking his eyes off the handsome face of his former friend, he said in a
+low tone--
+
+"I--I--don't feel very sure whether you're flesh and blood, Brooke, or a
+spirit--but--but--"
+
+"I'm real enough to be able to shake hands, Ritson," returned our hero,
+dismounting, and going up to his former friend, who suffered him to
+grasp the hand that had been on the point of taking his life.  "But can
+it be true, that I really find you a--"
+
+"It is true, Charlie Brooke; quite true--but while you see the result,
+you do not see, and cannot easily understand, the hard grinding
+injustice that has brought me to this.  The last and worst blow I
+received this very night.  I have urgent need of money--not for myself,
+believe me--and I came down to David's store, at some personal risk, I
+may add, to receive payment of a sum due me for acting as a cow-boy for
+many months.  The company, instead of paying me--"
+
+"Yes, I know; I heard it all," said Charlie.
+
+"You were only shamming sleep, then?"
+
+"Yes; I knew you at once."
+
+"Well, then," continued Buck Tom (as we shall still continue to style
+him), "the disappointment made me so desperate that I determined to rob
+you--little thinking who you were--in order to help poor Shank
+Leather--"
+
+"Does Shank stand in urgent need of help?" asked Charlie, interrupting.
+
+"He does indeed.  He has been very ill.  We have run out of funds, and
+he needs food and physic of a kind that the mountains don't furnish."
+
+"Does he belong to your band, Ritson?"
+
+"Well--nearly; not quite!"
+
+"That is a strange answer.  How far is it to where he lies just now?"
+
+"Six miles, about."
+
+"Come, then, I will go to him if you will show me the way," returned
+Charlie, preparing to remount.  "I have plenty of that which poor Shank
+stands so much in need of.  In fact I have come here for the express
+purpose of hunting him and you up.  Would it not be well, by the way, to
+ride back to the store for some supplies?"
+
+"No need," answered Buck Tom, stooping to pick up his revolver.
+"There's another store not far from this, to which we can send
+to-morrow.  We can get what we want there."
+
+"But what have you done with your horse?" asked Charlie; "I heard you
+start on one."
+
+"It is not far off.  I'll go fetch it."
+
+So saying the robber entered the bushes and disappeared.  A few minutes
+later the clattering of hoofs was heard, and in another moment he rode
+up to the spot where our hero awaited him.
+
+"Follow me," he said; "the road becomes better half a mile further on."
+
+During all this time Hunky Ben had stood with his rifle ready, listening
+with the feelings of a man in a dream.  He watched the robber and his
+victim ride quietly away until they were out of sight.  Then he stood
+up, tilted his cap on one side, and scratched his head in great
+perplexity.
+
+"Well, now," he said at length, "this is about the queerest affair I've
+comed across since I was raised.  It's a marcy I was born with a quiet
+spirit, for another chip off the small end of a moment an' Buck Tom
+would have bin with his fathers in their happy, or otherwise, huntin'
+grounds!  It's quite clear that them two have bin friends, mayhap pards,
+in the old country.  An' Buck Tom (that's Ritson, I think he called him)
+has bin driven to it by injustice, has he?  Ah!  Buck, if all the world
+that suffers injustice was to take to robbery it's not many respectable
+folk would be left to rob.  Well, well, my comin' off in such a
+splittin' hurry to take care o' this Britisher is a wild-goose chase
+arter all!  It's not the first one you've bin led into anyhow, an' it's
+time you was lookin' arter yer own business, Hunky Ben."
+
+While giving vent to these remarks in low muttering tones, the scout was
+quickly retracing his steps to the place where he had tied up Black
+Polly.  Mounting her he returned to the main track, proceeded along it
+until he reached the place beyond the pass where the roads forked; then,
+selecting that which diverged to the left, he set off at a hard gallop
+in the direction of Quester Creek.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+THE HAUNT OF THE OUTLAWS.
+
+After riding through the Blue Fork Charlie and Buck Tom came to a
+stretch of open ground of considerable extent, where they could ride
+abreast, and here the latter gave the former some account of the
+condition of Shank Leather.
+
+"Tell me, Ritson," said Charlie, "what you mean by Shank `nearly' and
+`not quite' belonging to your band."
+
+The outlaw was silent for some time.  Then he seemed to make up his mind
+to speak out.
+
+"Brooke," he said, "it did, till this night, seem to me that all the
+better feelings of my nature--whatever they were--had been blotted out
+of existence, for since I came to this part of the world the cruelty and
+injustice that I have witnessed and suffered have driven me to
+desperation, and I candidly confess to you that I have come to hate
+pretty nigh the whole human race.  The grip of your hand and tone of
+your voice, however, have told me that I have not yet sunk to the lowest
+possible depths.  But that is not what I mean to enlarge on.  What I
+wish you to understand is, that after Shank and I had gone to the dogs,
+and were reduced to beggary, I made up my mind to join a band of men who
+lived chiefly by their wits, and sometimes by their personal courage.
+Of course I won't say who they are, because we still hang together, and
+there is no need to say what we are.  The profession is variously named,
+and not highly respected.
+
+"Shank refused to join me, so we parted.  He remained for some time in
+New York doing odd jobs for a living.  Then he joined a small party of
+emigrants, and journeyed west.  Strange to say, although the country is
+wide, he and I again met accidentally.  My fellows wanted to overhaul
+the goods of the emigrants with whom he travelled.  They objected.  A
+fight followed in which there was no bloodshed, for the emigrants fled
+at the first war-whoop.  A shot from one of them, however, wounded one
+of our men, and one of theirs was so drunk at the time of the flight
+that he fell off his horse and was captured.  That man was Shank.  I
+recognised him when I rode up to see what some of my boys were
+quarrelling over, and found that it was the wounded man wanting to shove
+his knife into Shank.
+
+"The moment I saw his face I claimed him as an old chum, and had him
+carried up to our headquarters in Traitor's Trap.  There he has remained
+ever since, in a very shaky condition, for the fall seems to have
+injured him internally, besides almost breaking his neck.  Indeed I
+think his spine is damaged,--he recovers so slowly.  We have tried to
+persuade him to say that he will become one of us when he gets well, but
+up to this time he has steadily refused.  I am not sorry; for, to say
+truth, I don't want to force any one into such a line of life--and he
+does not look as if he'd be fit for it, or anything else, for many a day
+to come."
+
+"But how does it happen that you are in such straits just now?" asked
+Charlie, seeing that Buck paused, and seemed unwilling to make further
+explanations.
+
+"Well, the fact is, we have not been successful of late; no chances have
+come in our way, and two of our best men have taken their departure--one
+to gold-digging in California, the other to the happy hunting grounds of
+the Redskin, or elsewhere.  Luck, in short, seems to have forsaken us.
+Pious folk," he added, with something of a sneer, "would say, no doubt,
+that God had forsaken us."
+
+"I think pious people would not say so, and they would be wrong if they
+did," returned Charlie.  "In my opinion God never forsakes any one; but
+when His creatures forsake him He thwarts them.  It cannot be otherwise
+if His laws are to be vindicated."
+
+"It may be so.  But what have I done," said Buck Tom fiercely, "to merit
+the bad treatment and insufferable injustice which I have received since
+I came to this accursed land?  I cannot stand injustice.  It makes my
+blood boil, and so, since it is rampant here, and everybody has been
+unjust to me, I have made up my mind to pay them back in their own coin.
+There seems to me even a spice of justice in that."
+
+"I wonder that you cannot see the fallacy of your reasoning, Ritson,"
+replied Charlie.  "You ask, `What have I done?'  The more appropriate
+question would be, `What have I _not_ done?'  Have you not, according to
+your own confession, rebelled against your Maker and cast Him off; yet
+you expect Him to continue His supplies of food to you; to keep up your
+physical strength and powers of enjoying life, and, under the name of
+Luck, to furnish you with the opportunity of breaking His own commands
+by throwing people in your way to be robbed!  Besides which, have you
+not yourself been guilty of gross injustice in leading poor weak Shank
+Leather into vicious courses--to his great, if not irreparable, damage?
+I don't profess to teach theology, Ralph Ritson, my old friend, but I do
+think that even an average cow-boy could understand that a rebel has no
+claim to forgiveness--much less to favour--until he lays down his arms
+and gives in."
+
+"Had any other man but you, Charlie Brooke, said half as much as you
+have just said to me, I would have blown his brains out," returned the
+outlaw sternly.
+
+"I'm very glad no other man did say it, then," returned Charlie, "for
+your hands must be sufficiently stained already.  But don't let anger
+blind you to the fact, Ralph, that you and I were once old friends; that
+I am your friend still, and that, what is of far greater importance, the
+Almighty is still your friend, and is proving His friendship by
+thwarting you."
+
+"You preach a strange doctrine," said Buck Tom, laughing softly, "but
+you must end your sermon here in the meantime, for we have reached the
+entrance to Traitor's Trap, and have not room to ride further abreast.
+I will lead, and do you follow with care, for the path is none o' the
+safest.  My asking you to follow me is a stronger proof than you may
+think that I believe in your friendship.  Most strangers whom I escort
+up this gorge are usually requested to lead the way, and I keep my
+revolver handy lest they should stray from the track!"
+
+The defile or gorge which they had reached was not inappropriately
+named, for, although the origin of the name was unknown, the appearance
+of the place was eminently suggestive of blackness and treachery.  Two
+spurs of the mountain range formed a precipitous and rugged valley
+which, even in daylight, wore a forbidding aspect, and at night seemed
+the very portal to Erebus.
+
+"Keep close to my horse's tail," said Buck Tom, as they commenced the
+ascent.  "If you stray here, ever so little, your horse will break his
+neck or legs."
+
+Thus admonished, our hero kept a firm hand on the bridle, and closed up
+as much as possible on his guide.  The moon was by this time clouded
+over, so that, with the precipitous cliffs on either side, and the great
+mass of the mountains further up, there was only that faint sombre
+appearance of things which is sometimes described as darkness visible.
+The travellers proceeded slowly, for, besides the danger of straying off
+the path, the steepness of the ascent rendered rapid motion impossible.
+After riding for about three miles thus in absolute silence, they came
+to a spot where the track became somewhat serpentine, and Charlie could
+perceive dimly that they were winding amongst great fragments of rock
+which were here and there over-canopied by foliage, but whether of trees
+or bushes he could not distinguish.  At last they came to a halt in
+front of what appeared to be a cliff.
+
+"Dismount here," said Buck in a low voice, setting the example.
+
+"Is this the end of our ride?"
+
+"It is.  Give me the bridle.  I will put up your horse.  Stand where you
+are till I return."
+
+The outlaw led the horses away, leaving his former friend and
+schoolfellow in a curious position, and a not very comfortable frame of
+mind.  When a man is engaged in action--especially if it be exciting and
+slightly dangerous--he has not time to think much about his
+surroundings, at least about their details, but now, while standing
+there in the intense darkness, in the very heart--as he had reason to
+believe--of a robber's stronghold, young Brooke could not help
+questioning his wisdom in having thus thrown himself into the power of
+one who had obviously deteriorated and fallen very low since the time
+when in England they had studied and romped together.  It was too late,
+however, to question the wisdom of his conduct.  There he _was_, and so
+he must make the best of it.  He did not indeed fear treachery in his
+former friend, but he could not help reflecting that the reckless and
+perhaps desperate men with whom that friend was now associated might not
+be easy to restrain, especially if they should become acquainted with
+the fact that he carried a considerable sum of money about him.
+
+He was yet pondering his position when Buck Tom returned.
+
+"Ralph Ritson," he said, laying his hand on the arm of the outlaw,
+"you'll forgive my speaking plainly to you, I know.  With regard to
+yourself I have not a shadow of doubt that you will act the part of an
+honourable host, though you follow a dishonourable calling.  But I have
+no guarantee that those who associate with you will respect my property.
+Now, I have a considerable sum of money about me in gold and silver,
+which I brought here expressly for the benefit of our poor friend Shank
+Leather.  What would you advise me to do in regard to it?"
+
+"Intrust it to my care," said Buck promptly.
+
+Charlie could not see the outlaw's face very clearly, but he could
+easily detect the half-amused half-mocking tone in which the suggestion
+was made.
+
+"My good fellow," said Charlie, in a hearty voice, "you evidently think
+I am afraid to trust you.  That is a mistake.  I do not indeed trust to
+any remnant of good that is in your poor human nature, but I have
+confidence in the good feeling which God is arousing in you just now.  I
+will freely hand over the money if you can assure me that you can guard
+it from your comrades."
+
+"_This_ will make it secure from _them_," returned Buck, with a short
+defiant laugh.
+
+"Humph" exclaimed Charlie with a shrug.  "I've not much confidence in
+_that_ safeguard.  No doubt, in certain circumstances, and on certain
+occasions, the revolver is a most important and useful instrument, but,
+taking it all round, I would not put much store by it.  When you met me
+at the Blue Fork to-night, for instance, of what use was my revolver to
+me?  And, for the matter of that, after you had dropped it on the road
+of what use was yours to you?  It only wants one of your fellows to have
+more pluck and a quicker eye and hand than yourself to dethrone you at
+once."
+
+"Well, none of my fellows," returned Buck Tom good-humouredly, "happen
+to have the advantage of me at present, so you may trust me and count
+this as one o' the `certain occasions' on which a revolver is a most
+important instrument."
+
+"I dare say you are right," responded Charlie, smiling, as he drew from
+the breast of his coat a small bag and handed it to his companion.
+
+"You know exactly, of course, how much is here?" asked Buck Tom.
+
+"Yes, exactly."
+
+"That's all right," continued Buck, thrusting the bag into the bosom of
+his hunting coat; "now I'll see if any o' the boys are at home.
+Doubtless they are out--else they'd have heard us by this time.  Just
+wait a minute."
+
+He seemed to melt into the darkness as he spoke.  Another minute and he
+re-appeared.
+
+"Here, give me your hand," he said; "the passage is darkish at first."
+
+Charlie Brooke felt rather than saw that they had passed under a portal
+of some sort, and were advancing along a narrow passage.  Soon they
+turned to the left, and a faint red light--as of fire--became visible in
+the distance.  Buck Tom stopped.
+
+"There's no one in the cave but _him_, and he's asleep.  Follow me."
+
+The passage in which they stood led to a third and shorter one, where
+the light at its extremity was intense, lighting up the whole of the
+place so as to reveal its character.  It was a corridor about seven feet
+high and four feet wide cut out of the solid earth; arched in the roof
+and supported here and there by rough posts to make it still more
+secure.  Charlie at once concluded that it led to one of those concealed
+caverns, of which he had heard more than once while crossing the
+country, the entrances of which are made in zig-zag form in order to
+prevent the possibility of a ray of light issuing from the outside
+opening.
+
+On reaching the end of the third passage he found that his conjecture
+was right, for the doorway or opening on his left hand conducted into a
+spacious cave, also hollowed out of the earth, but apparently against a
+perpendicular cliff, for the inner end of it was of unhewn rock.  The
+roof of the cave was supported by pillars which were merely sections of
+pine-trees with the bark left on.  These pillars and the earthen walls
+were adorned with antlers, skulls, and horns of the Rocky mountain
+sheep, necklaces of grizzly-bear's claws, Indian bows and arrows,
+rifles, short swords, and various other weapons and trophies of the
+chase, besides sundry articles of clothing.  At the inner end of the
+cave a large fireplace and chimney had been rudely built, and in this
+was roaring the pine-wood fire which had lighted them in, and which
+caused the whole interior to glow with a vivid glare that seemed to
+surpass that of noon-day.
+
+A number of couches of pine-brush were spread round the walls, and on
+one of these lay a sleeping figure.  The face was turned towards the
+visitor, who saw at a glance that it was that of his former friend and
+playmate--but it was terribly changed.  Hard toil, suffering, sickness,
+dissipation, had set indelible marks on it, and there was a slight curve
+about the eyebrows which gave the idea of habitual pain.  Yet strange to
+say, worn and lined though it was, the face seemed far more attractive
+and refined than it had ever been in the days of robust health.
+
+Buck Tom went to the fire and began to stir the contents of a big pot
+that hung over it, while Charlie advanced and stood for some minutes
+gazing at the countenance of his friend, unwilling to disturb his
+slumbers, yet longing to cheer him with the glad news that he had come
+to succour him.  He chanced, however, to touch a twig of the pine
+branches on which the sleeper lay, and Shank awoke instantly, raised
+himself on one elbow, and returned his friend's gaze earnestly, but
+without the slightest symptom of surprise.
+
+"O Charlie," he said at last in a quiet voice, "I wish you hadn't come
+to me to-night."
+
+He stopped, and Charlie felt quite unable to speak, owing to intense
+pity, mingled with astonishment, at such a reception.
+
+"It's too bad of you," Shank went on, "worrying me so in my dreams.  I'm
+weary of it; and if you only knew what a _terrible_ disappointment it is
+to me when I awake and don't find you there, you wouldn't tantalise me
+so.  You always look so terribly real too!  Man, I could almost pledge
+my life that you are no deception this time, but--but I'm so used to it
+now that--"
+
+"Shank, my dear boy," said Charlie, finding words at last, "it _is_ no
+deception--"
+
+He stopped abruptly; for the intense look of eager anxiety, doubt, and
+hope in the thin expressive face alarmed him.
+
+"Charlie!" gasped, rather than said, the invalid, "you--you never
+_spoke_ to me before in my dreams, and--you never _touched_--the grip of
+your strong h--O God! _can_ it be true?"
+
+At this point Buck Tom suddenly left off his occupation at the fire and
+went out of the cave.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+LOST AND FOUND.
+
+"Try to be calm, Shank," said Charlie, in a soothing tone, as he kneeled
+beside the shadow that had once been his sturdy chum, and put an arm on
+his shoulder.  "It is indeed myself _this_ time.  I have come all the
+way from England to seek you, for we heard, through Ritson, that you
+were ill and lost in these wilds, and now, through God's mercy, I have
+found you."
+
+While Charlie Brooke was speaking, the poor invalid was breathing hard
+and gazing at him, as if to make quite sure it was all true.
+
+"Yes," he said at last, unable to raise his voice above a hoarse
+whisper, "lost--and--and--found!  Charlie, my friend--my chum--my--"
+
+He could say no more, but, laying his head like a little child on the
+broad bosom of his rescuer, he burst into a passionate flood of tears.
+
+Albeit strong of will, and not by any means given to the melting mood,
+our hero was unable for a minute or two to make free use of his voice.
+
+"Come, now, Shank, old man, you mustn't give way like that.  You
+wouldn't, you know, if you had not been terribly reduced by illness--"
+
+"Yes, I would! yes, I would!" interrupted the sick man, almost
+passionately; "I'd howl, I'd roar, I'd blubber like a very idiot, I'd do
+any mortal thing, if the doing of it would only make you understand how
+I appreciate your great kindness in coming out here to save me."
+
+"Oh no, you wouldn't," said Charlie, affecting an easy off-hand tone,
+which he was far from feeling; "you wouldn't do anything to please me."
+
+"What d'ye mean?" asked Shank, with a look of surprise.
+
+"Well, I mean," returned the other, gently, "that you won't even do such
+a trifle as to lie down and keep quiet to please me."
+
+A smile lighted up the emaciated features of the sick man, as he
+promptly lay back at full length and shut his eyes.
+
+"There, Charlie," he said, "I'll behave, and let you do all the talking;
+but don't let go my hand, old man.  Keep a tight grip of it.  I'm
+terrified lest you drift off again, and--and melt away."
+
+"No fear, Shank.  I'll not let go my hold of you, please God, till I
+carry you back to old England."
+
+"Ah! old England!  I'll never see it again.  I feel that.  But tell
+me,"--he started up again, with a return of the excited look--"is father
+any better?"
+
+"N-no, not exactly--but he is no worse.  I'll tell you all about
+everything if you will only lie down again and keep silent."
+
+The invalid once more lay back, closed his eyes and listened, while his
+friend related to him all that he knew about his family affairs, and the
+kindness of old Jacob Crossley, who had not only befriended them when in
+great distress, but had furnished the money to enable him, Charlie, to
+visit these outlandish regions for the express purpose of rescuing Shank
+from all his troubles and dangers.
+
+At this point the invalid interrupted him with an anxious look.
+
+"Have you the money with you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"All of it?"
+
+"Yes.  Why do you ask?"
+
+"Because," returned Shank, with something of a groan, "you are in a den
+of thieves!"
+
+"I know it, my boy," returned Charlie, with a smile, "and so, for better
+security, I have given it in charge to our old chum, Ralph Ritson."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Shank, starting up again with wide open eyes; "you
+have met Ralph, then?"
+
+"I have.  He conducted me here."
+
+"And you have intrusted your money to _him_?"
+
+"Yes--all of it; every cent!"
+
+"Are you aware," continued Shank, in a solemn tone, "that Ralph Ritson
+is Buck Tom--the noted chief of the outlaws?"
+
+"I know it."
+
+"And you trust him?"
+
+"I do.  I have perfect confidence that he is quite incapable of
+betraying an old friend."
+
+For some time Shank looked at his companion in surprise; then an absent
+look came into his eyes, and a variety of expressions passed over his
+wan visage.  At last he spoke.
+
+"I don't know how it is, Charlie, but somehow I think you are right.
+It's an old complaint of mine, you know, to come round to your way of
+thinking, whether I admit it or not.  In days of old I usually refused
+to admit it, but believed in you all the same!  If any man had told me
+this morning--ay, even half an hour since--that he had placed money in
+the hands of Buck Tom for safe keeping, knowing who and what he is, I
+would have counted him an incurable fool; but now, somehow, I do believe
+that you were quite right to do it, and that your money is as safe as if
+it were in the Bank of England."
+
+"But I did not intrust it to Buck Tom, knowing who and what he _is_,"
+returned Charlie, with a significant smile, "I put it into the hands of
+Ralph Ritson, knowing who and what he _was_."
+
+"You're a good fellow, Charlie," said Shank, squeezing the hand that
+held his, "and I believe it is that very trustfulness of yours which
+gives you so great power and influence with people.  I know it has
+influenced me for good many a time in the past, and would continue to do
+so still if I were not past redemption."
+
+"No man is past redemption," said the other quietly; "but I'm glad you
+agree with me about Ralph, for--"
+
+He stopped abruptly, and both men turned their eyes towards the entrance
+to the cave.
+
+"Did you hear anything?" asked Shank, in a low voice.
+
+"I thought so--but it must have been the shifting of a log on the fire,"
+said the other, in a similarly low tone.
+
+"Come, now, Charlie," said Shank, in his ordinary tones, "let me hear
+something about yourself.  You have not said a word yet about what you
+have been doing these three years past."
+
+As he spoke a slight noise was again heard in the passage, and, next
+moment Buck Tom re-entered carrying a lump of meat.  Whether he had been
+listening or not they had no means of knowing, for his countenance was
+quite grave and natural in appearance.
+
+"I suppose you have had long enough, you two, to renew your old
+acquaintance," he said.  "It behoves me now to get ready some supper for
+the boys against their return, for they would be ill-pleased to come
+home to an empty kettle, and their appetites are surprisingly strong.
+But you needn't interrupt your conversation.  I can do my work without
+disturbing you."
+
+"We have no secrets to communicate, Buck," returned Shank, "and I have
+no doubt that the account of himself, which our old chum was just going
+to give, will be as interesting to you as to me."
+
+"Quite as interesting," rejoined Buck; "so pray go on, Brooke.  I can
+listen while I look after the cookery."
+
+Thus urged, our hero proceeded to relate his own adventures at sea--the
+wreck of the _Walrus_, the rescue by the whaler, and his various
+experiences both afloat and ashore.
+
+"The man, Dick Darvall, whom I have mentioned several times," said
+Charlie, in conclusion, "I met with again in New York, when I was about
+to start to come here, and as I wanted a companion, and he was a most
+suitable man, besides being willing to come, I engaged him.  He is a
+rough and ready, but a handy and faithful, man, who had some experience
+in woodcraft before he went to sea, but I have been forced to leave him
+behind me at a ranch a good many miles to the south of David's store,
+owing to the foolish fellow having tried to jump a creek in the dark and
+broken his horse's leg.  We could not get another horse at the time, and
+as I was very anxious to push on--being so near my journey's end--and
+the ranch was a comfortable enough berth, I left him behind, as I have
+said, with directions to stay till I should return, or to push on if he
+could find a safe guide."
+
+While Charlie Brooke was relating the last part of his experience, it
+might have been observed that the countenance of Buck Tom underwent a
+variety of curious changes, like the sky of an April day.  A somewhat
+stern frown settled on it at last but neither of his companions observed
+the fact being too much interested in each other.
+
+"What was the name o' the ranch where your mate was left?" asked Buck
+Tom, when his guest ceased speaking.
+
+"The ranch of Roaring Bull," answered Charlie.  "I should not wonder,"
+he added, "if its name were derived from its owner's voice, for it
+sounded like the blast of a trombone when he shouted to his people."
+
+"Not only his ranch but himself is named after his voice," returned
+Buck.  "His real name is Jackson, but it is seldom used now.  Every one
+knows him as Roaring Bull.  He's not a bad fellow at bottom, but
+something overbearing, and has made a good many enemies since he came to
+this part of the country six years ago."
+
+"That may be so," remarked Brooke, "but he was very kind to us the day
+we put up at his place, and Dick Darvall, at all events, is not one of
+his enemies.  Indeed he and Roaring Bull took quite a fancy to each
+other.  It seemed like love at first sight.  Whether Jackson's pretty
+daughter had anything to do with the fancy on Dick's part of course I
+can't say.  Now, I think of it, his readiness to remain behind inclines
+me to believe it had!"
+
+"Well, come outside with me, and have a chat about old, times.  It is
+too hot for comfort here.  I dare say our friend Shank will spare you
+for quarter of an hour, and the pot can look after itself.  By the way,
+it would be as well to call me Buck Tom--or Buck.  My fellows would not
+understand Ralph Ritson.  They never heard it before.  Have a cigar?"
+
+"No, thank you, I have ceased to see the advantage of poisoning
+one's-self merely because it is the fashion to do so."
+
+"The poison is wonderfully slow," said Buck.
+
+"But not less wonderfully sure," returned Charlie, with a smile.
+
+"As you will," rejoined Buck, rising and going outside with his visitor.
+
+The night was very still and beautiful, and, the clouds having cleared
+away, the moonbeams struggled through the foliage and revealed the
+extreme wildness and seclusion of the spot which had been chosen by the
+outlaws as their fortress.
+
+Charlie now saw that the approach to the entrance of the cave was a
+narrow neck of rock resembling a natural bridge, with a deep gully on
+either side, and that the cliff which formed the inner end of the cavern
+overhung its base, so that if an enemy were to attempt to hurl rocks
+down from above these would drop beyond the cave altogether.  This much
+he saw at a glance.  The minute details and intricacies of the place of
+course could not be properly seen or understood in the flickering and
+uncertain light which penetrated the leafy canopy, and, as it were,
+played with the shadows of the fallen rocks that strewed the ground
+everywhere, and hung in apparently perilous positions on the mountain
+slopes.
+
+The manner of the outlaw changed to that of intense earnestness the
+moment he got out to the open air.
+
+"Charlie Brooke," he said, with more of the tone and air of old familiar
+friendship than he had yet allowed himself to assume, "it's of no use
+exciting poor Shank unnecessarily, so I brought you out here to tell you
+that your man Dick Darvall is in deadly peril, and nothing but immediate
+action on my part can save him; I must ride without delay to his rescue.
+You cannot help me in this.  I know what you are going to propose, but
+you must trust and obey me if you would save your friend's life.  To
+accompany me would only delay and finally mar my plans.  Now, will
+you--"
+
+A peculiar whistle far down the gorge caused the outlaw to cease
+abruptly and listen.
+
+The whistle was repeated, and Buck answered it at once with a look of
+great surprise.
+
+"These are my fellows back already!" he said.
+
+"You seem surprised.  Did you, then, not expect them so soon?"
+
+"I certainly did not; something must have gone wrong," replied Buck,
+with a perplexed look.  Then, as if some new idea had flashed upon him,
+"Now, look here, Brooke, I must ask you to trust me implicitly and to
+act a part.  Your life may depend on your doing this."
+
+"The first I can do with ease, but as to the latter, my agreeing to do
+so depends on whether the action you require of me is honourable.  You
+must forgive me, Rits--"
+
+"Hush!  Don't forget that there is no such man as Ralph Ritson in these
+mountains.  _My_ life may depend on your remembering that.  Of course I
+don't expect you to act a dishonourable part,--all I want you to do just
+now is to lie down and pretend to go to sleep."
+
+"Truly, if that is all, I am ready," said Charlie; "at all events I will
+shut my eyes and hold my tongue."
+
+"A useful virtue at times, and somewhat rare," said Buck, leading his
+guest back into the cavern.  "Now, then, Brooke, lie down there,"
+pointing to a couch of pine-brush in a corner, "and try to sleep if you
+can."
+
+Our hero at once complied, stretched himself at full length with his
+face to the light, and apparently went to sleep, but with his left arm
+thrown over his forehead as if to protect his eyes from the glare of the
+fire.  Thus he was in a position to see as well as hear all that went
+on.  Buck Tom went to the sick man and whispered something to him.
+Then, returning to the fire, he continued to stir the big pot, and sniff
+its savoury contents with much interest.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+FRIENDS AND FOES--PLOTS AND COUNTERPLOTS--THE RANCH IN DANGER.
+
+In a few minutes the sound of heavy feet and gruff voices was heard in
+the outside passage, and next moment ten men filed into the room and
+saluted their chief heartily.
+
+Charlie felt an almost irresistible tendency to open his eyes, but knew
+that the risk was too great, and contented himself with his ears.  These
+told him pretty eloquently what was going on, for suddenly, the noise of
+voices and clattering of footsteps ceased, a dead silence ensued, and
+Charlie knew that the whole band were gazing at him with wide open eyes
+and, probably, open mouths.  Their attention had been directed to the
+stranger by the chief.  The silence was only momentary, however.
+
+"Now, don't begin to whisper, pards," said Buck Tom, in a slightly
+sarcastic tone.  "When will ye learn that there is nothing so likely to
+waken a sleeper as whisperin'?  Be natural--be natural, and tell me, as
+softly as ye can in your natural tones, what has brought you back so
+soon.  Come, Jake, you have got the quietest voice.  The poor man is
+pretty well knocked up and needs rest.  I brought him here."
+
+"Has he got much?" the sentence was completed by Jake significantly
+slapping his pocket.
+
+"A goodish lot.  But come, sit down and out wi' the news.  Something
+must be wrong."
+
+"Wall, I guess that somethin' _is_ wrong.  Everything's wrong, as far as
+I can see.  The Redskins are up, an' the troops are out, an' so it
+seemed o' no use our goin' to bust up the ranch of Roarin' Bull, seein'
+that the red devils are likely to be there before us.  So we came back
+here, an' I'm glad you've got suthin' in the pot, for we're about as
+empty as kettledrums."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Buck, "didn't I tell you not to trouble Roarin'
+Bull--that he and his boys could lick you if you had been twenty instead
+of ten.  But how came ye to hear o' this cock-and-bull story about the
+Redskins?"
+
+"We got it from Hunky Ben, an' he's not the boy to go spreadin' false
+reports."
+
+Charlie Brooke ventured at this point to open his eye-lids the smallest
+possible bit, so that any one looking at him would have failed to
+observe any motion in them.  The little slit however, admitted the whole
+scene to the retina, and he perceived that ten of the most
+cut-throat-looking men conceivable were seated in a semicircle in the
+act of receiving portions from the big pot into tin plates.  Most of
+them were clothed in hunters' leathern costume, wore long boots with
+spurs, and were more or less bronzed and bearded.
+
+Buck Tom, _alias_ Ralph Ritson, although as tall and strong as any of
+them, seemed a being of quite angelic gentleness beside them.  Yet Buck
+was their acknowledged chief.  No doubt it was due to the superiority of
+mind over matter, for those out-laws were grossly material and
+matter-of-fact!
+
+"There must be some truth in the report if Hunky Ben carried it," said
+Buck, looking up quickly, "but I left Ben sitting quietly in David's
+store not many hours ago."
+
+"No doubt that's true, Captain," said Jake, as he ladled the soup into
+his capacious mouth; "nevertheless we met Hunky Ben on the pine-river
+prairie scourin' over the turf like all possessed on Black Polly.  We
+stopped him of course an' asked the news."
+
+"`News!' cried he, `why, the Redskins have dug up the hatchet an' riz
+like one man.  They've clar'd out Yellow Bluff, an' are pourin' like
+Niagara down upon Rasper's Creek.  It's said that they'll visit Roarin'
+Bull's ranch to-morrow.  No time for more talk, boys.  Oratin' ain't in
+my line.  I'm off to Quester Creek to rouse up the troops.'  Wi' that
+Hunky wheeled round an' went off like a runaway streak o' lightnin'.  I
+sent a couple o' shots after him, for I'd took a fancy to Black Polly--
+but them bullets didn't seem to hit somehow."
+
+"Boys," cried Buck Tom, jumping up when he heard this, "if Hunky Ben
+said all that, you may depend on't it's true, an' we won't have to waste
+time this night if we're to save the ranch of Roarin' Bull."
+
+"But we don't want to save the ranch of Roarin' Bull, as far as I'm
+consarned," said Jake rather sulkily.
+
+Buck wheeled round on the man with a fierce glare, but, as if suddenly
+changing his mind, he said in a tone of well-feigned surprise--
+
+"What! _you_, Jake, of all men--such a noted lady-killer--indifferent
+about the fate of the ranch of Roaring Bull, and pretty Miss Mary
+Jackson in it at the mercy of the Redskins!"
+
+"Well, if it comes to that, Captain, I'll ride as far and as fast as any
+man to rescue a girl, pretty or plain, from the Redskins," said Jake,
+recovering his good-humour.
+
+"Well, then, cram as much grub as you can into you in five minutes, for
+we must be off by that time.  Rise, sir," said Buck, shaking Charlie
+with some violence.  "We ride on a matter of life an' death--to save
+women.  Will you join us?"
+
+"Of course I will!" cried Charlie, starting up with a degree of alacrity
+and vigour that favourably impressed the outlaws, and shaking off his
+simulated sleep with wonderful facility.
+
+"Follow me, then," cried Buck, hastening out of the cave.
+
+"But what of Shank?" asked Charlie, in some anxiety, when they got
+outside.  "He cannot accompany us; may we safely leave him behind?"
+
+"Quite safely.  This place is not known to the savages who are on the
+warpath, and there is nothing to tempt them this way even if it were.
+Besides, Shank is well enough to get up and gather firewood, kindle his
+fire, and boil the kettle for himself.  He is used to being left alone.
+See, here is our stable under the cliff, and yonder stands your horse.
+Saddle him.  The boys will be at our heels in a moment.  Some of them
+are only too glad to have a brush wi' the Redskins, for they killed two
+of our band lately."
+
+This last remark raised an uncomfortable feeling in the mind of Charlie,
+for was he not virtually allying himself with a band of outlaws, with
+intent to attack a band of Indians of whom he knew little or nothing,
+and with whom he had no quarrel?  There was no time, however, to weigh
+the case critically.  The fact that savages were about to attack the
+ranch in which his comrade Dick Darvall was staying, and that there were
+females in the place, was enough to settle the question.  In a minute or
+two he had saddled his horse, which he led out and fastened to a tree,
+and, while the outlaws were busy making preparations for a start, he ran
+back to the cave.
+
+"Shank," said he, sitting down beside his friend and taking his hand,
+"you have heard the news.  My comrade Darvall is in great danger.  I
+must away to his rescue.  But be sure, old fellow, that I will return to
+you soon."
+
+"Yes, yes--I know," returned Shank, with a look of great anxiety; "but,
+Charlie, you don't know half the danger you run.  Don't fight with Buck
+Tom--do you hear?"
+
+"Of course I won't," said Charlie, in some surprise.
+
+"No, no, that's not what I mean," said Shank, with increasing anxiety.
+"Don't fight _in company with him_."
+
+At that moment the voice of the outlaw was heard at the entrance
+shouting, "Come along, Brooke, we're all ready."
+
+"Don't be anxious about me, Shank; I'll take good care," said Charlie,
+as he hastily pressed the hand of the invalid and hurried away.
+
+The ten men with Buck at their head were already mounted when he ran
+out.
+
+"Pardon me," he said, vaulting into the saddle, "I was having a word
+with the sick man."
+
+"Keep next to me, and close up," said Buck, as he wheeled to the right
+and trotted away.
+
+Down the Traitor's Trap they went at what was to Charlie a break-neck
+but satisfactory pace, for now that he was fairly on the road a
+desperate anxiety lest they should be too late took possession of him.
+Across an open space they went at the bottom of which ran a brawling
+rivulet.  There was no bridge, but over or through it went the whole
+band without the slightest check, and onward at full gallop, for the
+country became more level and open just beyond.
+
+The moon was still shining although sinking towards the horizon, and now
+for the first time Charlie began to note with what a stern and reckless
+band of men he was riding, and a feeling of something like exultation
+arose within him as he thought on the one hand of the irresistible sweep
+of an onslaught from such men, and, on the other, of the cruelties that
+savages were known to practise.  In short, rushing to the rescue was
+naturally congenial to our hero.
+
+About the same time that the outlaws were thus hastening for once on an
+honourable mission--though some of them went from anything but
+honourable motives--two other bands of men were converging to the same
+point as fast as they could go.  These were a company of United States
+troops, guided by Hunky Ben, and a large band of Indians under their
+warlike chief Bigfoot.
+
+Jackson, _alias_ Roaring Bull, had once inadvertently given offence to
+Bigfoot, and as that chief was both by nature and profession an
+unforgiving man he had vowed to have his revenge.  Jackson treated the
+threat lightly, but his pretty daughter Mary was not quite as
+indifferent about it as her father.
+
+The stories of Indian raids and frontier wars and barbarous cruelties
+had made a deep impression on her sensitive mind, and when her mother
+died, leaving her the only woman at her father's ranch--with the
+exception of one or two half-breed women, who could not be much to her
+as companions--her life had been very lonely, and her spirit had been
+subjected to frequent, though hitherto groundless, alarms.
+
+But pretty Moll, as she was generally called, was well protected, for
+her father, besides having been a noted pugilist in his youth, was a
+big, powerful man, and an expert with rifle and revolver.  Moreover,
+there was not a cow-boy within a hundred miles of her who would not (at
+least thought he would not) have attacked single-handed the whole race
+of Redskins if Moll had ordered him to do so as a proof of affection.
+
+Now, when strapping, good-looking Dick Darvall came to the ranch in the
+course of his travels and beheld Mary Jackson, and received the first
+broadside from her bright blue eyes, he hauled down his colours and
+surrendered with a celerity which would have mightily amused the many
+comrades to whom he had said in days of yore that his heart was as hard
+as rock, and he had never yet seen the woman as could soften it!
+
+But Dick, more than most of his calling, was a modest, almost a bashful,
+man.  He behaved to Mary with the politeness that was natural to him,
+and with which he would have approached any woman.  He did not make the
+slightest attempt to show his admiration of her, though it is quite
+within the bounds of possibility that his "speaking" brown eyes may have
+said something without his permission!  Mary Jackson, being also modest
+in a degree, of course did not reveal the state of her feelings, and
+made no visible attempt to ascertain his, but her bluff sagacious old
+father was not obtuse--neither was he reticent.  He was a man of the
+world--at least of the back-woods world--and his knowledge of life, as
+there exhibited, was founded on somewhat acute experience.  He knew that
+his daughter was young and remarkably pretty.  He saw that Dick Darvall
+was also young--a dashing and unusually handsome sailor--something like
+what Tom Bowling may have been.  Putting these things together, he came
+to the very natural conclusion that a wedding would be desirable;
+believing, as he did, that human nature in the Rockies is very much the
+same as to its foundation elements as it is elsewhere.  Moreover,
+Roaring Bull was very much in want of a stout son-in-law at that time,
+so he fanned the flame which he fondly hoped was beginning to arise.
+This he did in a somewhat blundering and obvious manner, but Dick was
+too much engrossed with Mary to notice it and Mary was too ignorant of
+the civilised world's ways to care much for the proprieties of life.
+
+Of course this state of things created an awful commotion in the breasts
+of the cow-boys who were in the employment of Mary's father and herded
+his cattle.  Their mutual jealousies were sunk in the supreme danger
+that threatened them all, and they were only restrained from picking a
+quarrel with Dick and shooting him by the calmly resolute look in his
+brown eyes, coupled with his great physical power and his irresistible
+good-nature.  Urbanity seemed to have been the mould in which the spirit
+of this man-of-the-sea had been cast and gentleness was one of his chief
+characteristics.  Moreover, he could tell a good story, and sing a good
+song in a fine bass voice.  Still further, although these gallant
+cow-boys felt intensely jealous of this newcomer, they could not but
+admit that they had nothing tangible to go upon, for the sailor did not
+apparently pay any pointed attention to Mary, and she certainly gave no
+special encouragement to him.
+
+There was one cow-boy, however, of Irish descent, who could not or would
+not make up his mind to take things quietly, but resolved, as far as he
+was concerned, to bring matters to a head.  His name was Pat Reilly.
+
+He entered the kitchen on the day after Dick's arrival and found Mary
+alone and busily engaged with the dinner.
+
+"Miss Jackson," said Pat, "there's a question I've bin wantin' to ax ye
+for a long time past, an' with your lave I'll putt it now."
+
+"What is it Mr Reilly?" asked the girl somewhat stiffly, for she had a
+suspicion of what was coming.  A little negro girl in the back kitchen
+named Buttercup also had a suspicion of what was coming, and stationed
+herself with intense delight behind the door, through a crack in which
+she could both hear and see.
+
+"Mary, my dear," said Pat insinuatingly, "how would you like to jump
+into double harness with me an' jog along the path o' life together?"
+
+Poor Mary, being agitated by the proposal, and much amused by the manner
+of it, bent over a pot of something and tried to hide her blushes and
+amusement in the steam.  Buttercup glared, grinned, hugged herself, and
+waited for more.
+
+Pat, erroneously supposing that silence meant consent, slipped an arm
+round Mary's waist.  No man had ever yet dared to do such a thing to
+her.  The indignant girl suddenly wheeled round and brought her pretty
+little palm down on the cow-boy's cheek with all her might--and that was
+considerable!
+
+"Who's a-firin' off pistles in de kitchen?" demanded Buttercup in a
+serious tone, as she popped her woolly head through the doorway.
+
+"Nobody, me black darlin'," said Pat; "it's only Miss Mary expressin'
+her failin's in a cheeky manner.  That's all!"
+
+So saying the rejected cow-boy left the scene of his discomfiture,
+mounted his mustang, took his departure from the ranch of Roarin' Bull
+without saying farewell, and when next heard of had crossed the lonely
+Guadaloupe mountains into Lincoln County, New Mexico.
+
+But to return.  While the troops and the outlaws were hastening thus to
+the rescue of the dwellers in Bull's ranch, and the blood-thirsty
+Redskins were making for the same point, bent on the destruction of all
+its inhabitants, Roaring Bull himself, his pretty daughter, and Dick
+Darvall, were seated in the ranch enjoying their supper, all ignorant
+alike of the movements of friend and foe, with Buttercup waiting on
+them.
+
+One messenger, however, was speeding on his way to warn them of danger.
+This was the cowboy Crux, who had been despatched on Bluefire by Hunky
+Ben just before that sturdy scout had started to call out the cavalry at
+Quester Creek.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
+
+THE ALARM AND PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE.
+
+"From what you say I should think that my friend Brooke won't have much
+trouble in findin' Traitor's Trap," remarked Dick Darvall, pausing in
+the disposal of a venison steak which had been cooked by the fair bands
+of Mary Jackson herself, "but I'm sorely afraid o' the reception he'll
+meet with when he gets there, if the men are such awful blackguards as
+you describe."
+
+"They're the biggest hounds unhung," growled Roaring Bull, bringing one
+hand down on the board by way of emphasis, while with the other he held
+out his plate for another steak.
+
+"You're too hard on some of them, father," said Mary, in a voice the
+softness of which seemed appropriate to the beauty of her face.
+
+"Always the way wi' you wenches," observed the father.  "Some o' the
+villains are good-lookin', others are ugly; so, the first are not so bad
+as the second--eh, lass?"
+
+Mary laughed.  She was accustomed to her fathers somewhat rough but not
+ill-natured rebuffs.
+
+"Perhaps I may be prejudiced, father," she returned; "but apart from
+that, surely you would never compare Buck Tom with Jake the Flint,
+though they do belong to the same band."
+
+"You are right, my lass," rejoined her father.  "They do say that Buck
+Tom is a gentleman, and often keeps back his boys from devilry--though
+he can't always manage that, an' no wonder, for Jake the Flint is the
+cruellest monster 'tween this an' Texas if all that's said of him be
+true."
+
+"I wish my comrade was well out o' their clutches," said Dick, with a
+look of anxiety; "an' it makes me feel very small to be sittin' here
+enjoyin' myself when I might be ridin' on to help him if he should need
+help."
+
+"Don't worry yourself on that score," said the host.  "You couldn't find
+your way without a guide though I was to give ye the best horse in my
+stable--which I'd do slick off if it was of any use.  There's not one o'
+my boys on the ranch just now, but there'll be four or five of 'em in
+to-morrow by daylight an' I promise you the first that comes in.  They
+all know the country for three hundred miles around--every inch--an' you
+may ride my best horse till you drop him if ye can.  There, now, wash
+down your victuals an' give us a yarn, or a song."
+
+"I'm quite sure," added Mary, by way of encouragement, "that with one of
+the outlaws for an old friend, Mr Brooke will be quite safe among
+them."
+
+"But he's _not_ an outlaw, Miss Mary," broke in Darvall.  "Leastwise we
+have the best reason for believin' that he's detained among them against
+his will.  Hows'ever, it's of no use cryin' over spilt milk.  I'm bound
+to lay at anchor in this port till mornin', so, as I can't get up steam
+for a song in the circumstances, here goes for a yarn."
+
+The yarn to which our handsome seaman treated his audience was nothing
+more than an account of one of his numerous experiences on the ocean,
+but he had such a pleasant, earnest, truth-like, and confidential way of
+relating it and, withal, interlarded his speech with so many little
+touches of humour, that the audience became fascinated, and sat in
+open-eyed forgetfulness of all else.  Buttercup, in particular, became
+so engrossed as to forget herself as well as her duties, and stood
+behind her master in an expectant attitude, glaring at the story-teller,
+with bated breath, profound sympathy, and extreme readiness to
+appreciate every joke whether good or bad.
+
+In the midst of one of the most telling of his anecdotes the speaker was
+suddenly arrested by the quick tramp of a galloping horse, the rider of
+which, judging from the sound, seemed to be in hot haste.
+
+All eyes were turned inquiringly on the master of the ranch.  That cool
+individual, rising with quiet yet rapid action, reached down a magazine
+repeating rifle that hung ready loaded above the door of the room.
+
+Observing this, Dick Darvall drew a revolver from his coat-pocket and
+followed his host to the outer door of the house.  Mary accompanied
+them, and Buttercup retired to the back kitchen as being her appropriate
+stronghold.
+
+They had hardly reached and flung open the door when Bluefire came
+foaming and smoking into the yard with Crux the cow-boy on his back.
+
+"Wall, Roaring Bull," cried Crux, leaping off his horse and coming
+forward as quietly as if there were nothing the matter.  "I'm glad to
+see you OK, for the Cheyenne Reds are on the war-path, an' makin' tracks
+for your ranch.  But as they've not got here yet, they won't likely
+attack till the moon goes down.  Is there any chuck goin'?  I'm half
+starved."
+
+"Ay, Crux, lots o' chuck here.  Come in an' let's hear all about it.
+Where got ye the news?"
+
+"Hunky Ben sent me.  He wasn't thinkin' o' you at first but when a boy
+came in wi' the news that a crowd o' the reds had gone round by Pine
+Hollow--just as he was fixin' to pull out for Quester Creek to rouse up
+the cavalry--he asked me to come on here an' warn you."
+
+While he was speaking the cow-boy sat down to supper with the air of a
+man who meant business, while the host and his sailor guest went to look
+after the defences of the place.
+
+"I'm glad you are here, Dick Darvall," said the former, "for it's a bad
+job to be obliged to fight without help agin a crowd o' yellin' Reds.
+My boys won't be back till sun-up, an' by that time the game may be
+played out."
+
+"D'ee think the Redskins 'll attack us to-night then?" asked the sailor
+as he assisted to close the gates of the yard.
+
+"Ay, that they will, lad.  They know the value o' time better than most
+men, and, when they see their chance, are not slow to take advantage of
+it.  As Crux said, they won't attack while the moon shines, so we have
+plenty of time to git ready for them.  I wish I hadn't sent off my boys,
+but as bad luck would have it a bunch o' my steers have drifted down
+south, an' I can't afford to lose them--so, you see, there's not a man
+left in the place but you an' me an' Crux to defend poor Mary."
+
+For the first time in his life Dick Darvall felt a distinct tendency to
+rejoice over the fact that he was a young and powerful man!  To live
+and, if need be, die for Mary was worth living for!
+
+"Are you well supplied with arms an' ammunition?" he asked.
+
+"That am I, and we'll need it all," answered the host as he led Dick
+round to the back of the yard where another gate required fastening.
+
+"I don't see that it matters much," said Dick in a questioning tone,
+"whether you shut the gates or not.  With so few to defend the place the
+house will be our only chance."
+
+"When you've fought as much wi' Reds as I have, Dick, you'll larn that
+delay, even for five minutes, counts for a good deal."
+
+"Well, there's somethin' in that.  It minds me o' what one o' my
+shipmates, who had bin in the London fire brigade, once said.  `Dick,'
+said he, `never putt off what you've got to do.  Sometimes I've bin at a
+fire where the loss of only two minutes caused the destruction of a
+store worth ten thousand pound, more or less.  We all but saved it as it
+was--so near were we, that if we had bin _one_ minute sooner I do
+believe we'd have saved it.
+
+"`But when we was makin' for that fire full sail, a deaf old apple-woman
+came athwart our bows an got such a fright that she went flop down right
+in front of us.  To steer clear of her we'd got to sheer off so that we
+all but ran into a big van, and, what wi' our lights an' the yellin',
+the horses o' the van took fright and backed into us as we flew past, so
+that we a'most went down by the starn.  One way or another we lost two
+minutes, as I've said, an' the owners o' that store lost about ten
+thousand pounds--more or less.'"
+
+"That was a big pile, Dick," observed the ranchman, as they turned from
+the gate towards the house, "not easy to replace."
+
+"True--my shipmate never seemed to be quite sure whether it was more or
+less that was lost, but he thought the Insurance offices must have found
+it out by that time.  It's a pity there's only three of us, for that
+will leave one side o' the house undefended."
+
+"All right Dick; you don't trouble your head about that for Buttercup
+fights like a black tiger.  She's a'most as good as a man--only she
+can't manage to aim, so it's no use givin' her a rifle.  She's game
+enough to fire it, but the more she tries to hit, the more she's sure to
+miss.  However she's got a way of her own that sarves well enough to
+defend her side o' the house.  She always takes charge o' the front.  My
+Mary can't fight, but she's a heroine at loadin'--an' that's somethin'
+when you're hard pressed!  Come, now, I'll show ye the shootin' irons
+an' our plan of campaign."
+
+Roaring Bull led the way back to the room, or central hall, where they
+had supped, and here they found that the debris of their feast had
+already been cleared away, and that arms of various kinds, with
+ammunition, covered the board.
+
+"Hospitable alike to friend and foe," said Jackson gaily.  "Here, you
+see, Mary has spread supper for the Reds!"
+
+Darvall made no response to this pleasantry, for he observed that poor
+Mary's pretty face was very pale, and that it wore an expression of
+mingled sadness and anxiety.
+
+"You won't be exposed to danger, I hope," said Dick, in a low earnest
+tone, while Jackson was loudly discussing with Crux the merits of one of
+the repeating rifles--of which there were half-a-dozen on the table.
+
+"Oh no!  It is not that," returned the girl sadly.  "I am troubled to
+think that, however the fight goes, some souls, perhaps many, will be
+sent to their account unprepared.  For myself, I shall be safe enough as
+long as we are able to hold the house, and it may be that God will send
+us help before long."
+
+"You may be quite sure," returned Dick, with suppressed emotion, "that
+no Redskin shall cross this threshold as long as we three men have a
+spark o' life left."
+
+A sweet though pitiful smile lighted up Mary's pale face for a moment,
+as she replied that she was quite sure of that, in a tone which caused
+Darvall's heart to expand, so that his ribs seemed unable to contain it,
+while he experienced a sensation of being stronger than Samson and
+bigger than Goliath!
+
+"And I suppose," continued Dick, "that the troops won't be long of
+coming.  Is the man--what's his name, Humpy Ben--trustworthy?"
+
+"Trustworthy!" exclaimed the maiden, with a flush of enthusiasm; "there
+is not a more trustworthy man on this side of the Rocky mountains, or
+the other side either, I am quite sure."
+
+Poor Darvall's heart seemed suddenly to find plenty of room within the
+ribs at that moment, and his truthful visage must have become something
+of an index to his state of mind; for, to his surprise, Mary laughed.
+
+"It seems to me so funny," she continued, "to hear any one ask if
+Hunky--not Humpy--Ben is to be trusted."
+
+"Is he, then, such a splendid young fellow!" asked the seaman, with just
+the slightest touch of bitterness in his tone, for he felt as if a rock
+something like Gibraltar had been laid on his heart.
+
+"Well, he's not exactly young," answered Mary, with a peculiar
+expression that made her questioner feel still more uncomfortable, "yet
+he is scarcely middle-aged, but he certainly _is_ the most splendid
+fellow on the frontier; and he saved my life once."
+
+"Indeed! how was that?"
+
+"Well, it was this way.  I had been paying a short visit to his wife,
+who lives on the other side of the--"
+
+"Come along, Darvall," cried Roaring Bull at that moment.  "The moon's
+about down, an' we'll have to take our stations.  We shall defend the
+outworks first to check them a bit and put off some time, then scurry
+into the house and be ready for them when they try to clear the fence.
+Follow me.  Out wi' the lights, girls, and away to your posts."
+
+"I'll hear the end of your story another time, Miss Mary," said Dick,
+looking over his shoulder and following his host and Crux to the outer
+door.
+
+The seaman was conscious of a faint suspicion that Mary was wrestling
+with another laugh as he went off to defend the outworks, but he also,
+happily, felt that the Rock of Gibraltar had been removed from his
+heart!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
+
+DEFENCE OF THE RANCH OF ROARING BULL.
+
+Every light and every spark of fire had been extinguished in the ranch
+of Roaring Bull when its defenders issued from its doorway.  They were
+armed to the teeth, and glided across the yard to the fence or stockade
+that enclosed the buildings, leaving the door slightly open so as to be
+ready for speedy retreat.
+
+It had been arranged that, as there was a large open field without bush
+or tree in the rear of the ranch, they should leave that side undefended
+at first.
+
+"They'll never come into the open as long as they can crawl up through
+the bush," Jackson had said, while making his final dispositions.
+"They're a'most sure to come up in front thinkin' we're all a-bed.  Now,
+mind--don't stand still, boys, but walk along as ye fire, to give 'em
+the notion there's more of us.  An' don't fire at nothin'.  They'd think
+we was in a funk.  An' when you hear me whistle get into the house as
+quick as a cotton-tail rabbit an' as sly as a snake."
+
+After the moon went down, everything in and around the ranch was as
+silent as the grave, save now and then the stamp of a hoof on the floor
+of a shed, where a number of horses stood saddled and bridled ready to
+mount at a moment's notice; for Jackson had made up his mind, if it came
+to the worst, to mount and make a bold dash with all his household
+through the midst of his foes, trusting to taking them by surprise and
+to his knowledge of the country for success.
+
+For a long time, probably two hours, the three men stood at their posts
+motionless and silent; still there was no sign, either by sight or
+sound, of an enemy.  The outline of the dark woods was barely visible
+against the black sky in front of each solitary watcher, and no moving
+thing could be distinguished in the open field behind either by Crux or
+Darvall, to each of whom the field was visible.  Jackson guarded the
+front.
+
+To Dick, unaccustomed as he was to such warfare, the situation was very
+trying, and might have told on his nerves severely if he had not been a
+man of iron mould; as it was, he had no nerves to speak of!  But he was
+a man of lively imagination.  More than fifty times within those two
+hours did he see a black form moving in the darkness that lay between
+him and the wood, and more than fifty times was his Winchester rifle
+raised to his shoulder; but as often did the caution "don't fire at
+nothin'" rise to his memory.
+
+The stockade was of peculiar construction, because its owner and maker
+was eccentric, and a mechanical genius.  Not only were the pickets of
+which it was composed very strong and planted with just space between to
+permit of firing, but there was a planking of strong boards, waist high,
+all round the bottom inside, which afforded some protection to defenders
+by concealing them when they stooped and changed position.
+
+While matters were in this state outside, Mary Jackson and Buttercup
+were standing at an upper window just opposite the front gate, the
+latter with a huge bell-mouthed blunderbuss of the last century, loaded
+with buckshot in her hands.  Mary stood beside her sable domestic ready
+to direct her not as to how, but where and when, to use the ancient
+weapon.
+
+"You must be _very_ careful, Buttercup," said Mary in a low voice,
+"_not_ to fire till I tell you, and to point only _where_ I tell you,
+else you'll shoot father.  And _do_ keep your finger off the trigger!
+By the way, have you cocked it?"
+
+"O missy, I forgit dat," answered the damsel with a self-condemned look,
+as she corrected the error.  "But don' you fear, Missy Mary.  I's use'
+to dis yar blunn'erbus.  Last time I fire 'im was at a raven.  Down hoed
+de raven, blow'd to atims, an' down hoed me too--cause de drefful t'ing
+kicks like a Texas mule.  But bress you, I don' mind dat.  I's used to
+it!"
+
+Buttercup gave a little sniff of grave scorn with her flat nose, as
+though to intimate that the ordinary ills of life were beneath _her_
+notice.
+
+We have said that all fires had been extinguished, but this is not
+strictly correct, for in the room where the two maidens watched there
+was an iron stove so enclosed that the fire inside did not show, and as
+it was fed with charcoal there were neither flames nor sparks to betray
+its presence.  On this there stood a large cast-iron pot full of water,
+the bubbling of which was the only sound that broke the profound
+stillness of the night, while the watchers scarcely breathed, so
+intently did they listen.
+
+At last the patient and self-restraining Dick saw a dark object moving
+towards his side of the stockade, which he felt was much too real to be
+classed with the creatures of his imagination which had previously given
+him so much trouble.  Without a moment's hesitation the rifle flew to
+his shoulder, and the prolonged silence was broken by the sharp report,
+while an involuntary half-suppressed cry proved that he had not missed
+his mark.  The dark object hastily retreated.  A neighbouring cliff
+echoed the sounds, and two shots from his comrades told the sailor that
+they also were on the alert.
+
+Instantly the night was rendered hideous by a series of wild yells and
+whoops, while, for a moment, the darkness gave place to a glare of light
+as a hundred rifles vomited their deadly contents, and the sound of many
+rushing feet was heard upon the open sward in front of the ranch.
+
+The three male defenders had ducked their heads below the protecting
+breast-work when the volley was fired, and then, discarding all idea of
+further care, they skipped along their respective lines, yelling and
+firing the repeaters so rapidly, that, to any one ignorant of the true
+state of things, it must have seemed as if the place were defended by a
+legion of demons.  To add to the hullabaloo Buttercup's blunderbuss
+poured forth its contents upon a group of red warriors who were rushing
+towards the front gate, with such a cannon-like sound and such wonderful
+effect, that the rush was turned into a sudden and limping retreat.  The
+effect indeed, was more severe even than Buttercup had intended, for a
+stray buckshot had actually taken a direction which had been feared, and
+grazed her master's left arm!  Happily the wound was very slight, and,
+to do the poor damsel justice, she could not see that her master was
+jumping from one place to another like a caged lion.  Like the same
+animal, however, he gave her to understand what she had done, by
+shouting in a thunderous bass roar that fully justified his sobriquet--
+
+"Mind your eye, Buttercup!  Not so low next time!"
+
+The immediate result of this vigorous defence was to make the Indians
+draw off and retire to the woods--presumably for consultation.  By
+previous arrangement the negro girl issued from the house with three
+fresh repeaters in her arms, ran round to the combatants with them and
+returned with their almost empty rifles.  These she and Mary proceeded
+to reload in the hall, and then returned to their post at the upper
+front window.
+
+The morning was by this time pretty well advanced, and Jackson felt a
+little uncertain as to what he should now do.  It was still rather dark;
+but in a very short time, he knew, dawn would spread over the east, when
+it would, of course, be quite impossible to defend the walls of the
+little fort without revealing the small number of its defenders.  On the
+other hand, if they should retire at once the enemy might find a
+lodgement within, among the outbuildings, before there was light enough
+to prevent them by picking off the leaders; in which case the assailants
+would be able to apply fire to the wooden wails of the house without
+much risk.
+
+"If they manage to pile up enough o' brush to clap a light to," he
+grumbled to himself in an undertone, "it's all up wi' us."
+
+The thought had barely passed through his brain, when a leaden
+messenger, intended to pass through it, carried his cap off his head,
+and the fire that had discharged it almost blinded him.  Bigfoot, the
+chief of the savages, had wriggled himself, snake-fashion, up to the
+stockade unseen, and while Roaring Bull was meditating what was best to
+be done, he had nearly succeeded in rendering him unable to do anything
+at all.
+
+The shot was the signal for another onslaught.  Once more the woods rang
+with fiendish yells and rattling volleys.  Bigfoot, with the agility and
+strength of a gorilla, leaped up and over the stockade and sprung down
+into Jackson's arms, while Darvall and Crux resumed their almost
+ubiquitous process of defence, and Buttercup's weapon again thundered
+forth its defiance.
+
+This time the fight was more protracted.  Bigfoot's career was indeed
+stopped for the time being, for Jackson not only crushed the life almost
+out of him by an unloving embrace, but dealt him a prize-fighter's blow
+which effectually stretched him on the ground.  Not a moment too soon,
+however, for the white man had barely got rid of the red one, when
+another savage managed to scale the wall.  A blow from the butt of
+Jackson's rifle dropped him, and then the victor fired so rapidly, and
+with such effect, that a second time the Reds were repulsed.
+
+Jackson did not again indulge in meditation, but blew a shrill blast on
+a dog-whistle--a preconcerted signal--on hearing which his two comrades
+made for the house door at full speed.
+
+Only one other of the Indians, besides the two already mentioned, had
+succeeded in getting over the stockade.  This man was creeping up to the
+open door of the house, and, tomahawk in hand, had almost reached it
+when Dick Darvall came tearing round the corner.
+
+"Hallo!  Crux," cried Dick, "that you?"
+
+The fact that he received no reply was sufficient for Dick, who was too
+close to do more than drive the point of his rifle against the chest of
+the Indian, who went down as if he had been shot, while Dick sprang in
+and held open the door.  A word from Jackson and Crux as they ran
+forward sufficed.  They passed in and the massive door was shut and
+barred, while an instant later at least half-a-dozen savages ran up
+against it and began to thunder on it with their rifle-butts and
+tomahawks.
+
+"To your windows!" shouted Jackson, as he sprang up the wooden
+stair-case, three steps at a time.  "Fresh rifles here, Mary!"
+
+"Yes, father," came in a silvery and most unwarlike voice from the hall
+below.
+
+Another moment and three shots rang from the three sides of the house,
+and of the three Indians who were at the moment in the act of clambering
+over the stockade, one fell inside and two out.  Happily, daylight soon
+began to make objects distinctly visible, and the Indians were well
+aware that it would now be almost certain death to any one who should
+attempt to climb over.
+
+It is well known that, as a rule, savages do not throw away their lives
+recklessly.  The moment it became evident that darkness would no longer
+serve them, those who were in the open retired to the woods, and potted
+at the windows of the ranch, but, as the openings from which the
+besieged fired were mere loop-holes made for the purpose of defence,
+they had little hope of hitting them at long range except by chance.
+Those of the besiegers who happened to be near the stockade took shelter
+behind the breast-work, and awaited further orders from their chief--
+ignorant of the fact that he had already fallen.
+
+From the loop-holes of the room which Jackson had selected to defend,
+the shed with the saddled horses was visible, so that no one could reach
+it without coming under the fire of his deadly weapon.  There was also a
+window in this room opening upon the back of the house and commanding
+the field which we have before mentioned as being undefended while the
+battle was waged outside.  By casting a glance now and then through this
+window he could see any foe who might show himself in that direction.
+The only part of the fort that seemed exposed to great danger now was
+the front door, where the half-dozen savages, with a few others who had
+joined them, were still battering away at the impregnable door.
+
+Dick, who held the garret above, could not see the door, of course, nor
+could he by any manoeuvre manage to bring his rifle to bear on it from
+his loop-hole, and he dared not leave his post lest more Indians should
+manage to scale the front stockade.
+
+Buttercup, in the room below, had indeed a better chance at her window,
+but she was too inexpert in warfare to point the blunderbuss straight
+down and fire with effect, especially knowing, as she did, that the
+sight of her arm in the act would be the signal for a prompt fusillade.
+But the girl was not apparently much concerned about that, or anything
+else.  The truth is that she possessed in an eminent and enviable degree
+the spirit of entire trust in a leader.  She was under orders, and
+awaited the word of command with perfect equanimity!  She even smiled
+slightly--if such a mouth could be said to do anything slightly--when
+Mary left her to take fresh rifles to the defenders overhead.
+
+At last the command came from the upper regions, in tones that caused
+the very savages to pause a moment and look at each other in surprise.
+They did not pause long, however!
+
+"Now, Buttercup," thundered Roaring Bull, "give it 'em--hot!"
+
+At the word the girl calmly laid aside her weapon, lifted the big iron
+pot with familiar and businesslike facility, and emptied it over the
+window.
+
+The result is more easily imagined than described.  A yell that must
+have been heard miles off was the prelude to a stampede of the most
+lively nature.  It was intensified, if possible, by the further action
+of the negress, who, seizing the blunderbuss, pointed it at the flying
+crowd, and, shutting both eyes, fired!  Not a buckshot took effect on
+the savages, for Buttercup, if we may say so, aimed too low, but the
+effect was more stupendous than if the aim had been good, for the heavy
+charge drove up an indescribable amount of peppery dust and small stones
+into the rear of the flying foe, causing another yell which was not an
+echo but a magnified reverberation of the first.  Thus Buttercup had the
+satisfaction of utterly routing her foes without killing a single man!
+
+Daylight had fairly set in by that time, and the few savages who had not
+succeeded in vaulting the stockade had concealed themselves behind the
+various outhouses.
+
+The proprietor of the ranch began now to have some hope of keeping the
+Indians at bay until the troops should succour him.  He even left his
+post and called his friends to a council of war, when a wild cheer was
+heard in the woods.  It was followed by the sound of firing.  No sooner
+was this heard than the savages concealed outside of the breastwork rose
+as one man and ran for the woods.
+
+"It's the troops!" exclaimed Dick hopefully.
+
+"Troopers never cheer like that," returned Jackson with an anxious look.
+"It's more like my poor cow-boys, and, if so, they will have no chance
+wi' such a crowd o' Reds.  We must ride to help them, an' you'll have to
+ride with us, Mary.  We daren't leave you behind, lass, wi' them
+varmints skulkin' around."
+
+"I'm ready, father," said Mary with a decided look, though it was
+evident, from the pallor of her cheek, that she was ill at ease.
+
+"Now, look here, Dick," said Jackson, quickly, "you will go down and
+open the front gate.  I'll go with 'ee wi' my repeater to keep an eye on
+the hidden reptiles, so that if one of them shows so much as the tip of
+his ugly nose he'll have cause to remember it.  You will go to my
+loophole, Crux, an keep your eyes open all round--specially on the
+horses.  When the gate is open I'll shout, and you'll run down to the
+shed wi' the women.--You understand?"  Crux nodded.
+
+Acting on this plan Dick ran to the gate; Jackson followed, rifle in
+hand, and, having reached the middle of the fort, he faced round; only
+just in time to see a gun barrel raised from behind a shed.  Before he
+could raise his own weapon a shot was heard and the gun-barrel
+disappeared, while the Indian who raised it fell wounded on the ground.
+
+"Well done, Crux!" he exclaimed, at the same moment firing his own rifle
+at a head which was peeping round a corner.  The head vanished instantly
+and Darvall rejoined him, having thrown the gate wide open.
+
+"Come round wi' me an' drive the reptiles out," cried Jackson.  At the
+same time he uttered a roar that a bull might have envied, and they both
+rushed round to the back of the outhouses where three Indians were found
+skulking.
+
+At the sudden and unexpected onslaught, they fired an ineffectual volley
+and fled wildly through the now open gate, followed by several shots
+from both pursuers, whose aim, however, was no better than their own had
+been.
+
+Meanwhile Crux and the girls, having reached the shed according to
+orders, mounted their respective steeds and awaited their comrades.
+They had not long to wait.  Jackson and Dick came round the corner of
+the shed at full speed, and, without a word, leaped simultaneously into
+their saddles.
+
+"Keep close to me, girls,--close up!" was all that Jackson said as he
+dashed spurs into his horse, and, sweeping across the yard and through
+the gate, made straight for that part of the woods where yells, shouts,
+and firing told that a battle was raging furiously.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN.
+
+THE RESCUE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
+
+The ground in the neighbourhood of the ranch favoured the operations of
+an attacking party, for it was so irregular and so cumbered with knolls
+and clumps of trees that the defenders of the post scarce dared to make
+a sally, lest their retreat should be cut off by a detached party of
+assailants.
+
+Hence Jackson would never have dreamed of quitting his house, or ceasing
+to act on the defensive, had he not been under the natural impression
+that it was his own returning cow-boys who had been attacked and
+out-numbered by the Indians.  Great, therefore, was his surprise when,
+on rounding a bluff and coming into view of the battle-field, the party
+engaged with the Indians, though evidently white men, were neither his
+own men nor those of the US troops.
+
+He had just made the discovery, when a band of about fifty warriors
+burst from the woods and rushed upon him.
+
+"Back to back, boys! girls, keep close!" shouted Jackson, as he fired
+two shots and dropped two Indians.  He pulled at a third, but there was
+no answering report, for the magazine of his repeater was empty.
+
+Crux and Darvall turned their backs towards him and thus formed a sort
+of triangle, in the midst of which were the two girls.  But this
+arrangement, which might have enabled them to hold out for some time,
+was rendered almost abortive by the ammunition having been exhausted.
+
+"So much for bein' in too great a hurry!" growled Jackson between his
+clenched teeth, as he clubbed his rifle and made a savage blow at the
+Indian who first came close to him.  It was evident that the Indians
+were afraid to fire lest they should wound or kill the women; or,
+perhaps, understanding how matters stood, they wished to capture the
+white men alive, for, instead of firing at them, they circled swiftly
+round, endeavouring to distract their attention so as to rash in on
+them.
+
+Bigfoot, who had recovered from his blow and escaped from the ranch,
+made a sudden dash at Dick when he thought him off his guard, but Dick
+was not easily caught off his guard in a fight.  While in the act of
+making a furious demonstration at an Indian in front, which kept that
+savage off, he gave Bigfoot a "back-handed wipe," as he called it, which
+tumbled the chief completely off his horse.
+
+Just then a turn of affairs in favour of the whites was taking place on
+the battle-field beyond.  The party there had attacked the savages with
+such fury as to scatter them right and left and they were now riding
+down at racing speed on the combatants, whose fortunes we have followed
+thus far.
+
+Two men rode well in advance of the party with a revolver in each hand.
+
+"Why, it's Charlie Brooke!  Hurrah!" yelled Darvall with delight.
+
+"An' Buck Tom!" roared Jackson in amazement.
+
+So sudden was the onset that the Indians were for a moment paralysed,
+and the two horsemen, firing right and left as they rode up, dashed
+straight into the very midst of the savages.  In a moment they were
+alongside of their friends, while the rest of the outlaw band were
+already engaged on the outskirts of the crowd.
+
+The very danger of the white men constituted to some extent their
+safety; for they were so outnumbered and surrounded that the Indians
+seemed afraid to fire lest they should shoot each other.  To add to the
+confusion, another party of whites suddenly appeared on the scene and
+attacked the "Reds" with a wild cheer.  This was Jackson's little band
+of cow-boys.  They numbered only eight; but the suddenness of their
+appearance tended further to distract the savages.
+
+While the noise was at its height a sound, or rather sensation, of many
+feet beating the earth was felt.  Next moment a compact line was seen to
+wheel round the bluff where the fight was going on, and a stentorian
+"Charge!" was uttered, as the United States cavalry, preceded by Hunky
+Ben, bore down with irresistible impetuosity on the foe.
+
+But the Indians did not await this onset.  They turned and fled,
+scattering as they went, and the fight was quickly turned into a total
+rout and hot pursuit, in which troopers, outlaws, travellers, ranch-men,
+scouts, and cow-boys joined.  The cavalry, however, had ridden far and
+fast, so that the wiry little mustangs of the plains soon left them
+behind, and the bugle ere long recalled them all.
+
+It was found on the assembling of the forces that not one of the outlaws
+had returned.  Whether they were bent on wreaking their vengeance still
+more fully on their foes, or had good reason for wishing to avoid a
+meeting with troops, was uncertain; but it was shrewdly suspected that
+the latter was the true reason.
+
+"But you led the charge with Buck Tom, sir," said Jackson to Charlie, in
+considerable surprise, "though how you came to be in _his_ company is
+more than I can understand."
+
+"Here's somebody that can explain, maybe," said one of the cow-boys,
+leading forward a wounded man whose face was covered with blood, while
+he limped as if hurt in the legs.  "I found him tryin' to crawl into the
+brush.  D'ye know him, boys?"
+
+"Why, it's Jake the Flint!" exclaimed several voices simultaneously;
+while more than one hand was laid on a revolver, as if to inflict
+summary punishment.
+
+"I claim this man as my prisoner," said the commander of the troops,
+with a stern look that prevented any attempt at violence.
+
+"Ay, you've got me at last," said the outlaw, with a look of scorn.
+"You've bin a precious long time about it too."
+
+"Secure him," said the officer, deigning no reply to these remarks.
+
+Two troopers dismounted, and with a piece of rope began to tie the
+outlaw's hands behind him.
+
+"I arrest you also," said the commander to Charlie, who suddenly found a
+trooper on each side of him.  These took him lightly by each arm, while
+a third seized his bridle.
+
+"Sir!" exclaimed our hero, while the blood rushed to his forehead, "I am
+_not_ an outlaw!"
+
+"Excuse me," returned the officer politely, "but my duty is plain.
+There are a good many gentlemanly outlaws about at present.  You are
+found joining in fight with a notorious band.  Until you can clear
+yourself you must consider yourself my prisoner.--Disarm and bind him."
+
+For one moment Charlie felt an almost irresistible impulse to fell the
+men who held him, but fortunately the absurdity of his position forced
+itself on him, and he submitted, well knowing that his innocence would
+be established immediately.
+
+"Is not this man one of your band, Jake?" asked the officer quietly.
+
+"Yes, he is," replied the man with a malevolent grin.  "He's not long
+joined.  This is his first scrimmage with us."
+
+Charlie was so thunderstruck at this speech that he was led back to the
+ranch in a sort of dazed condition.  As for Dick Darvall, he was
+rendered speechless, and felt disposed to regard the whole thing as a
+sort of dream, for his attempted explanations were totally disregarded.
+
+Arrived at the house, Charlie and Jake were locked up in separate rooms,
+and sentries placed beneath their windows--this in addition to the
+security of hand-cuffs and roped arms.  Then breakfast was prepared for
+the entire company, and those who had been wounded in the fight were
+attended to by Hunky Ben--a self-taught surgeon--with Mary and Buttercup
+to act as dressers.
+
+"I say, Jackson," observed Darvall, when the worthy ranch-man found
+leisure to attend to him, "of course _you_ know that this is all
+nonsense--an abominable lie about my friend Brooke being an outlaw?"
+
+"Of course I do, Dick," said Jackson, in a tone of sympathy; "an' you
+may be cock-sure I'll do what I can to help 'im.  But he'll have to
+prove himself a true man, an' there _are_ some mysteries about him that
+it puzzles me to think how he'll clear 'em up."
+
+"Mysteries?" echoed Dick.
+
+"Ay, mysteries.  I've had some talk wi' Hunky Ben, an' he's as much
+puzzled as myself, if not more."
+
+"Well, then, I'm puzzled more than either of ye," returned Dick, "for my
+friend and mate is as true a man--all straight an' aboveboard--as ever I
+met with on sea or land."
+
+"That may be, boy, but there's some mystery about him, somehow."
+
+"Can ye explain what the mystery is, Jackson?"
+
+"Well, this is what Hunky Ben says.  He saw your friend go off the other
+night alone to Traitor's Trap, following in the footsteps o' that
+notorious outlaw Buck Tom.  Feelin' sure that Buck meant to waylay your
+friend, Hunky followed him up and overshot him to a place where he
+thought it likely the outlaw would lay in wait.  Sure enough, when he
+got there he found Buck squattin' behind a big rock.  So he waited to
+see what would turn up and be ready to rescue your friend.  An' what
+d'ye think did turn up?"
+
+"Don' know," said Dick, with a look of solemn wonder.
+
+"Why, when Buck stepped out an' bid him throw up his hands, your friend
+merely looked at Buck and said somethin' that Hunky couldn't hear, an
+then Buck dropped his pistol, and your friend got off his horse, and
+they shook hands and went off as thick as thieves together.  An' now, as
+you've seen an' heard, your friend turns up headin' a charge of the
+outlaws--an' a most notable charge it was--alongside o' Buck Tom.  Jake
+the Flint too claims him for a comrade.  Pretty mysterious all that,
+ain't it?"
+
+"May I ask," said Dick, with some scorn in his tone, "who is this Hunky
+Ben, that his word should be considered as good as a bank-note?"
+
+"He's the greatest scout an' the best an' truest man on the frontier,"
+replied Jackson.
+
+"H'm! so Miss Mary seems to think too."
+
+"An' Mary thinks right."
+
+"An' who may this Jake the Flint be?" asked the sailor.
+
+"The greatest scoundrel, cattle and horse stealer, and cut-throat on the
+frontier."
+
+"So then," rejoined Dick, with some bitterness, "it would seem that my
+friend and mate is taken up for an outlaw on the word o' the two
+greatest men on the frontier!"
+
+"It looks like it, Dick, coupled, of course, wi' your friend's own
+actions.  But never you fear, man.  There must be a mistake o' some
+sort, somewhere, an' it's sure to come out, for I'd as soon believe my
+Mary to be an outlaw as your friend--though I never set eyes on him
+before the other day.  The fact is, Dick, that I've learned physiognomy
+since--"
+
+"Fizzi-what-umy?" interrupted Dick.
+
+"Physiognomy--the study o' faces--since I came to live on the frontier,
+an' I'm pretty sure to know an honest man from a rogue as soon as I see
+him an' hear him speak--though I can't always prove myself right."
+
+Dick and his host were thus conversing, and the soldiers were regaling
+themselves in the hall, the commander of the troops and Hunky Ben were
+engaged in earnest conversation with Charlie Brooke, who gave an account
+of himself that quite cleared up the mystery of his meeting, and
+afterwards being found associated with, the outlaws.
+
+"It's a queer story," said Hunky Ben, who, besides being what his
+friends called a philosopher, was prone at times to moralise.  "It's a
+queer story, an' shows that a man shouldn't bounce at a conclusion till
+he's larned all the ins an' outs of a matter."
+
+"Of course, Mr Brooke," said the officer, when Dick had finished his
+narration, "your companion knows all this and can corroborate what you
+have said?"
+
+"Not all," replied Charlie.  "He is an old shipmate whom I picked up on
+arriving at New York, and only knows that I am in search of an old
+school-fellow who has given way to dissipation and got into trouble
+here.  Of my private and family affairs he knows nothing."
+
+"Well, you have cleared yourself, Mr Brooke," continued the Captain,
+whose name was Wilmot, "but I'm sorry to have to add that you have not
+cleared the character of your friend Leather, whose name has for a
+considerable time been associated with the notorious band led by your
+old school-fellow Ritson, who is known in this part of the country as
+Buck Tom.  One of the worst of this gang of highwaymen, Jake the Flint,
+has, as you know, fallen into my hands, and will soon receive his
+deserts as a black-hearted murderer.  I have recently obtained
+trustworthy information as to the whereabouts of the gang, and I am
+sorry to say that I shall have to ask you to guide me to their den in
+Traitor's Trap."
+
+"Is it my duty to do this?" asked Charlie, with a troubled look at the
+officer.
+
+"It is the duty of every honest man to facilitate the bringing of
+criminals to justice."
+
+"But I have strong reason for believing that my friend Leather, although
+reckless and dissipated, joined these men unwillingly--was forced to do
+it in fact--and has been suffering from the result of a severe injury
+ever since joining, so that he has not assisted them at all in their
+nefarious work.  Then, as to Ritson, I am convinced that he repents of
+his course of conduct.  Indeed, I know that his men have been rebellious
+of late, and this very Jake has been aspiring to the leadership of the
+gang."
+
+"Your feelings regarding these men may be natural," returned the
+captain, "but my duty is to use you in this matter.  Believing what you
+say of yourself I will treat you as a gentleman, but if you decline to
+guide me to the nest of this gang I must treat you still as a prisoner."
+
+"May I have a little time to think over the matter before answering?"
+
+"So that you may have a chance of escaping me?" replied the Captain.
+
+"Nothing was further from my thoughts," said Charlie, with a flush of
+indignation.
+
+"I believe you, Mr Brooke," rejoined the Captain with gravity.  "Let me
+know any time before twelve to-day what course you deem it right to
+take.  By noon I shall sound boot and saddle, when you will be ready to
+start.  Your nautical friend here may join us if he chooses."
+
+Now, while this investigation into the affairs of one prisoner was going
+on, the other prisoner, Jake, was busily employed investigating his own
+affairs with a view to escape.
+
+How he fared in this investigation we reserve for another chapter.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY.
+
+JAKE THE FLINT IN DIFFICULTIES.
+
+The man who, at the time we write of, was known by the name of Jake the
+Flint had acquired the character of the most daring and cruel scoundrel
+in a region where villains were by no means rare.  His exploits
+indicated a spirit that was utterly reckless of life, whether his own or
+that of his fellow-men, and many were the trappers, hunters, and
+Redskins who would have given a good deal and gone far to have the
+chance of putting a bullet in his carcass.
+
+But, as is not unfrequently the case with such men, Jake seemed to bear
+a charmed life, and when knife, bullet, and rope, cut short the career
+of many less guilty men, Jake had hitherto managed to elude his
+captors--at one time by strategy, at another by a bold dash for life,
+and sometimes by "luck."  No one had a kind word for Jake, no one loved,
+though many feared, admired, and hated him.  This may seem strange, for
+it is usually found that even in the case of the most noted outlaws
+there is a woman or a man, or both--who cling to them with affection.
+
+Perhaps the fact that Jake was exceptionally harsh and cruel at all
+times, may account for this, as it accounted for his sobriquet of Flint.
+He was called by some of those who knew him a "God-forsaken man."  We
+merely state the fact, but are very far from adopting the expression,
+for it ill becomes any man of mortal mould to pronounce his fellow-man
+God-forsaken.
+
+In the meantime we feel it to be no breach of charity to say that Jake
+had forsaken God, for his foul language and bloody deeds proved the fact
+beyond all question.  He was deceitful as well as cruel, and those who
+knew him best felt sure that his acting under Buck Tom was a mere ruse.
+There is little doubt that he had done so for the purpose of obtaining
+an influence over a gang of desperadoes, ready to hand, as it were, and
+that the moment he saw his opportunity he would kill Buck Tom and take
+command.  The only thing that had kept him from doing so sooner, it was
+thought, was the fact that Buck had the power to gain the affection of
+his men, as well as to cause them to fear him, so that Jake had not yet
+found the time ripe for action.
+
+After the outlaw had been put into the room by himself, as already
+stated, the door locked, and a sentry posted below the window, he
+immediately turned with all his energy to examine into his circumstances
+and prospects.  First of all his wrists were manacled.  That, however,
+gave him little concern, for his hands were unusually small and
+delicate, and he knew from experience that he could slip them out of any
+handcuffs that would close easily on his wrists--a fact that he had
+carefully concealed, and of which men were not yet aware, as he had not
+yet been under the necessity of availing himself of the circumstance.
+
+The rope with which he had been bound on the way to the ranch had been
+removed, the handcuffs being deemed sufficient.  As the window of his
+prison was over thirty feet from the ground, and a sentinel with a
+carbine and revolver stood below, it was thought that the bird who had
+so frequently escaped his cage before was safe at last, and fairly on
+his way to the gallows.
+
+Not so thought Jake the Flint.  Despair did not seem to be a possibility
+to him.  Accordingly, he examined his prison carefully, and with a
+hopeful smile.  The examination was soon completed, for the room
+presented no facilities whatever for escape.  There was no bed from
+which to take the sheets and blankets to extemporise a rope.  No
+mattress to throw over the window so as to break a heavy man's fall.  No
+chimney by which to ascend to the roof, no furniture, indeed, of any
+kind beyond a deal chair and table.  The door was of solid oak and
+bolted outside.
+
+Obviously the window was his only chance.  He went to it and looked out.
+The depth was too much, he knew, for even his strong bones to stand the
+shock; and the sentinel paced to and fro underneath with loaded carbine.
+
+"If any one would only lay a feather-bed down there," thought Jake, "I'd
+jump an' take my chance."
+
+While he was gazing meditatively on the fair prospect of land and water
+that lay before him, one of the bolts of the door was withdrawn, then
+another, and the door slowly opened.
+
+For an instant the outlaw gathered himself up for a rush, with a view to
+sell his life dearly, and he had even begun to draw one of his hands out
+of the manacles, when the folly and hopelessness of the attempt struck
+him.  He quickly checked himself, and met his jailor (one of the
+troopers) with a smiling countenance as he entered and laid a loaf and a
+jug of water on the table.
+
+The rattle of a musket outside told Jake that his jailor had not come
+alone.
+
+Without a word the man turned, and was leaving the room, when Jake, in a
+voice of great humility, asked him to stop.
+
+"You couldn't remove these things, could you?" he said, holding out his
+fettered hands.
+
+"No," answered the trooper, sharply.
+
+"Ah!" sighed Jake, "I feared it was agin the rules.  You couldn't let me
+have the use of a file, could you, for a few minutes?  What! agin' rules
+too?  It's a pity, for I'm used to brush my teeth with a file of a
+mornin', an' I like to do it before breakfast."
+
+Jake interlarded his speech with a variety of oaths, with which we will
+not defile the paper, but he could extract no further reply from the
+trooper than a glance of scorn.
+
+Left to himself, Jake again went to the window, which was a small
+cottage one, opening inwards like a door.  He opened it and looked out.
+The sentinel instantly raised his carbine and ordered him to shut it.
+
+"Hullo!  Silas, is that you?" cried Jake in surprise, but paying no
+attention to the threat, "I thought you had quit for Heaven durin' the
+last skrimidge wi' the Reds down in Kansas?  Glad to see you lookin' so
+well.  How's your wife an' the child'n, Silas?"
+
+"Come now, Jake," said the trooper sternly, "you know it's all up with
+you, so you needn't go talkin' bosh like that--more need to say your
+prayers.  Stand back and shut the window, I say, else I'll put a bullet
+through your gizzard."
+
+"Well now, Silas," said Jake, remonstratively, and opening the breast of
+his red shirt as he spoke, "I didn't expect that of an old friend like
+you--indeed I didn't.  But, see here, if you raaly are goin' to fire
+take good aim an' keep clear o' the heart and liver.  The gizzard lies
+hereabout (pointing to his breast) and easy to hit if you've a steady
+hand.  I know the exact spot, for I've had the cuttin' up of a good
+bunch o' men in my day, an' I can't bear to see a thing muddled.  But
+hold on, Silas, I won't put ye to the pain o' shootin' me.  I'll shut
+the window if you'll make me a promise."
+
+"What's that?" demanded the trooper, still covering the outlaw, however,
+with his carbine.
+
+"You know I'm goin' to my doom--that's what poetical folk call it,
+Silas--an' I want you to help me wind up my affairs, as the lawyers say.
+Well, this here (holding up a coin) is my last dollar, the remains o'
+my fortin', Silas, an' this here bit o' paper that I'm rappin' round it,
+is my last will an' testimonial.  You'll not refuse to give it to my
+only friend on arth, Hunky Ben, for I've no wife or chick to weep o'er
+my grave, even though they knew where it was.  You'll do this for me,
+Silas, won't you?"
+
+"All right--pitch it down."
+
+Jake threw the coin, which fell on the ground a few feet in front of the
+trooper, who stooped to pick it up.
+
+With one agile bound the outlaw leaped from the window and descended on
+the trooper's back, which was broken by the crashing blow, and Jake
+rolled over him with considerable violence, but the poor man's body had
+proved a sufficient buffer, and Jake rose unhurt.  Deliberately taking
+the carbine from the dead man's hand, and plucking the revolver from his
+belt, he sauntered off in the direction of the stables.  These being too
+small to contain all the troop-horses, some of the animals were picketed
+in an open shed, and several troopers were rubbing them down.  The men
+took Jake for one of the cow-boys of the ranch, for he passed them
+whistling.
+
+Entering the stable he glanced quickly round, selected the finest horse,
+and, loosing its halter from the stall, turned the animal's head to the
+door.
+
+"What are ye doin' wi' the captain's horse?" demanded a trooper, who
+chanced to be in the neighbouring stall.
+
+"The captain wants it.  Hold his head till I get on him.  He's frisky,"
+said Jake, in a voice of authority.
+
+The man was taken aback and obeyed; but as Jake mounted he turned
+suddenly pale.
+
+The outlaw, observing the change, drew the revolver, and, pointing it at
+the trooper's head, said, in a low savage voice, "A word, a sound, and
+your brains are on the floor!"
+
+The man stood open-mouthed, as if petrified.  Jake shook the reins of
+the fiery horse and bounded through the door-way, stooping to the
+saddle-bow as he went.  He could see, even at that moment, that the
+trooper, recovering himself, was on the point of uttering a shout.
+Wheeling round in the saddle he fired, and the man fell with a bullet in
+his brain.
+
+The shot of course aroused the whole ranch.  Men rushed into the yard
+with and without arms in wild confusion, but only in time to see a
+flying horseman cross the square and make for the gate.  A rattling
+irregular volley was sent after him, but the only effect it had was to
+cause the outlaw to turn round in the saddle and wave his hat, while he
+gave vent to a yell of triumph.  Another moment and he was beyond the
+bluff and had disappeared.
+
+"Boot and saddle!" instantly rang out at the ranch, and every
+preparation was made for pursuit, though, mounted as Jake was on the
+best horse of the troop, they could not hope to overtake him.
+
+Hunky Ben, at his own particular request was permitted to go on in
+advance.
+
+"You see, sir," he said to the captain, "my Black Polly an't quite as
+good as your charger, but she's more used to this sort o' country, an' I
+can take the short cuts where your horse could hardly follow."
+
+"Go, Ben, and good luck go with you!  Besides, we can do without you,
+now that we have Mr Brooke to guide us."
+
+"Come wi' me, sir," said Hunky Ben, as he passed Charlie on his way to
+the stables.  "Don't you hesitate, Mr Brooke, to guide the captain to
+the cave of Buck Tom.  I'm goin' on before you to hunt up the reptiles--
+to try an' catch Jake the Flint."
+
+The scout chuckled inwardly as he said this.
+
+"But why go in advance?  You can never overtake the scoundrel with such
+a start and on such a horse."
+
+"Never you mind what I can or can't do," said Ben, entering the stable
+where the dead trooper still lay, and unfastening Black Polly.  "I've no
+time to explain.  All I know is that your friend Leather is sure to be
+hanged if he's cotched, an' I'm sure he's an innocent man--therefore,
+I'm goin' to save him.  It's best for you to know nothin' more than
+that, for I see you're not used to tellin' lies.  Can you trust _me_?"
+
+"Certainly I can.  The look of your face, Ben, even more than the
+character you bear, would induce me to trust you."
+
+"Well then, Mr Brooke, the first sign o' trust is to obey orders
+without askin' questions."
+
+"True, when the orders are given by one who has a right to command,"
+returned Charlie.
+
+"Just so, an' my right to command lies in the fact that the life o' your
+friend Leather depends on your obedience."
+
+"I'm your humble servant, then.  But what am I to do?"
+
+"Do whatever Captain Wilmot orders without objectin', an' speak nothing
+but the truth.  You don't need to speak the _whole_ truth, hows'ever,"
+added the scout thoughtfully, as he led out his coal-black steed.  "Your
+friend Leather has got a Christian name of course.  Don't mention it.  I
+don't want to hear it.  Say nothin' about it to anybody.  The time may
+come when it may be useful to drop the name of Leather and call your
+friend Mister whatever the tother name may be.  Now mind what I've said
+to ye."
+
+As he spoke the last words the scout touched the neck of his beautiful
+mare, and in another minute was seen racing at full speed over the
+rolling plain.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
+
+TELLS OF A CRUEL DEED, AND SHOWS HOW MYSTERIOUSLY HUNKY BEN BEHAVED.
+
+When Jake escaped from the ranch of Roaring Bull he tried the mettle of
+Captain Wilmot's charger to the uttermost, for well he knew that the
+pursuit would be instant and vigorous; that his late comrade Charlie
+Brooke could guide the troops to the cavern in Traitor's Trap, and that
+if his companions, who would doubtless ride straight back, were to
+escape, they must be warned in time.  He also knew that the captain's
+charger was a splendid one.  In order to accomplish his purpose,
+therefore, he would ride it to death.
+
+The distance between the ranch and the outlaws' cave was not so great
+but that any mustang in the plains could have traversed it in a day, but
+the cruel man had made up his mind that the captain's charger should do
+it in a few hours.  It is not so much distance as pace that kills.  Had
+any consideration whatever been extended to the noble creature by the
+ignoble brute who rode it, the good horse would have galloped to the
+head of the Trap almost without turning a hair.  At first he strode out
+over the rolling prairie with the untiring vigour of a well-made frame
+and a splendid constitution, leaping the little cracks and inequalities
+of the ground in the exuberance of his strength; though there was no
+need to bound, and coursing over the knolls as easily as he cantered
+down the hollows, while his flashing eye betokened at once a courageous
+and a gentle spirit.  But when the lower slopes of the hills were
+reached, and steepish gradients were met with here and there, the horse
+began to put back first one ear and then the other, and sometimes both,
+as if in expectation of the familiar "well done," or pat on the neck, or
+check of the rein with which the captain had been wont to sanction a
+slackening of the pace, but no such grace was allowed him.  On the
+contrary, when the first symptom appeared of a desire to reduce speed
+Jake drove his cruel spurs into the charger's glossy side.  With a wild
+snort and bound the horse stretched out again and spurned the ground as
+if in indignant surprise.
+
+Then the breath began to labour slightly; the sweat to darken his rich
+brown coat, and the white foam to fleck his broad chest.  Still Jake
+pressed him on with relentless fury.  It could not be expected that a
+man who cared not for his fellows would have much consideration for his
+beast.  Murder of a deeper dye than that of a horse was seething in the
+outlaw's brain.  This to him useless expedition, which had so nearly
+cost him his life, would be the last that Buck Tom should command.
+After blowing out _his_ brains he would warn the others of the impending
+danger and lead them away to other and more favourable fields of
+enterprise.
+
+At this point the good horse stumbled and almost threw his rider, who,
+with horrible curses, plied the spurs and tugged at the bit until blood
+was mingled with the flying foam.  Never, save once--when Captain Wilmot
+was caught alone in the plains by Cheyenne Indians and had to fly for
+his life--had the good charger been urged to anything like such an
+effort as he was now called on to make, and _then_ there was no cruelty
+mingled with the urging.  The very tone of his master's voice, as he
+patted the neck and shook the rein and gently touched him with the spur,
+must have convinced the intelligent creature that it was a matter of
+life or death--that there was a stern need-be for such haste.
+
+Turning at last into the gorge of the Trap, the charger gasped and
+sobbed with distress as he faced the steep ascent and tried, with the
+unabated courage of a willing heart, to pull himself together while the
+unmerciful monster still drove in the spurs and galled his tender mouth.
+But the brave effort was unavailing.  Stumbling over a root that
+crossed the path, the horse plunged forward, and fell with a crash,
+sending his rider over his head.  Jake, alighting on his face and right
+shoulder, lay stunned for a few seconds.  Then he jumped up, displaying
+torn garments and a face covered with blood.
+
+Running to the horse's head he seized the rein and shook it savagely,
+kicking the animal's face with his heavy boots in his anxiety to make it
+rise, but the poor charger was beyond his cruelty by that time, for its
+neck had been broken by the fall.
+
+Oh! it was one of those sights which are fitted to make even thoughtless
+men recognise the need of a Saviour for the human race, and to reject
+with something like scorn the doctrine--founded on wholly insufficient
+evidence--that there is no future of compensation for the lower animals!
+
+The outlaw did not waste time in vain regrets.  Bestowing a meaningless
+curse on the dead charger, he turned and went up the narrow glen at a
+smart pace, but did not overstrain himself, for he knew well that none
+of the troop-horses could have kept up with him.  He counted on having
+plenty of time to warn his comrades and get away without hurry.  But he
+reckoned without his host--being quite ignorant of the powers of Black
+Polly, and but slightly acquainted with those of her master Hunky Ben.
+
+Indeed so agile were the movements of Polly, and so thoroughly was the
+scout acquainted with the by-paths and short cuts of that region, that
+he actually passed the fugitive and reached the head of Traitor's Trap
+before him.  This he managed by forsaking the roads, keeping a
+straighter line for the outlaws' cave, and passing on foot over the
+shoulder of a hill where a horseman could not go.  Thus he came down on
+the cavern, about half-an-hour before Jake's arrival.  Clambering to the
+crevice in the cliff against which the cave abutted, and sliding down
+into a hollow on its earthen roof, he cautiously removed a small stone
+from its position, and disclosed a hole through which he could both hear
+and see most of what took place inside.
+
+Lest any one should wonder at the facility with which the ground lent
+itself to this manoeuvre, we may as well explain that the bold scout
+possessed one of those far-reaching minds which are not satisfied
+without looking into _everything_,--seeing to the bottom of, and peering
+round to the rear of, all things, as far as possible.  He always acted
+on the principle of making himself acquainted with every road and track
+and by-path, every stream, pond, river, and spring in the land.  Hence
+he was well aware of this haunt of outlaws, and, happening to be near it
+one day when its owners were absent, he had turned aside to make the
+little arrangement of a peep-hole, in the belief that it might possibly
+turn out to be of advantage in course of time!
+
+The clump of shrubs and grass on the rugged bank, which formed the top
+of the cave, effectually concealed the natural hollow which he had
+deepened, and the overhanging mass of the rugged cliff protected it from
+rain and dew.
+
+What Hunky Ben saw on looking through his peep-hole filled him with
+surprise and pity, and compelled him to modify his plans.
+
+Almost below him on a brush couch, lay the tall form of Buck Tom, with
+the unmistakable hue of approaching death upon his countenance.  Beside
+him, holding his head, kneeled the much-wasted figure of Leather--the
+reputed outlaw.  Seated or standing around in solemn silence were six of
+the outlaws, most of whom bore tokens of the recent fight, in the form
+of bandage on head or limb.
+
+"I brought you to this, Leather; God forgive me," said the dying man
+faintly.
+
+"No, you didn't, Ralph," replied the other, calling him by his old
+familiar name, "I brought myself to it.  Don't blame yourself, Ralph;
+you weren't half so bad as me.  You'd never have been here but for me.
+Come, Ralph, try to cheer up a bit; you're not dying.  It's only faint
+you are, from loss of blood and the long gallop.  When you've had a
+sleep and some food, you'll feel stronger.  We'll fetch a doctor soon,
+an' he'll get hold o' the bullet.  Dear Ralph, don't shake your head
+like that an' look so solemn.  Cheer up, old boy!"
+
+Leather spoke with a sort of desperate fervour, but Ralph could not
+cheer up.
+
+"No," he said sadly, "there is no cheer for me.  I've thrown my life
+away.  There's no hope--no mercy for me.  I've been trying to recall the
+past, an' what mother used to teach me, but it won't come.  There's only
+one text in all the Bible that comes to me now.  It's this--`Be sure
+your sin will find you out!'  That's true, boys," he said, turning a
+look on his comrades.  "Whatever else may be false, _that's_ true, for I
+_know_ it."
+
+"That's so, dear Ralph," said Leather earnestly, "but it's no less true
+that--"
+
+Just then a noise was heard in the outer passage; then hurrying
+footsteps.  Instinctively every man drew his revolver and faced the
+door.  Next moment Jake entered.
+
+"Here, one of you; a drink--I'm fit to--ha!"
+
+His eyes fell on the figure of Buck and he shrank back for a moment in
+silent surprise.
+
+"Yes, Jake," said the dying man, with a glance of pity not unmingled
+with scorn, "it has come sooner than you or I expected, and it will save
+you some trouble--maybe some regret.  I've seen through your little
+game, Jake, and am glad I've been spared the necessity of thwarting
+you."
+
+He stopped owing to weakness, and Jake, recovering himself, hastily
+explained the reason of his sudden appearance.
+
+"Fetch me a rag an' some water, boys," he continued.  "It looks worse
+than it is--only skin deep.  And we've not a moment to lose.  Those who
+have a mind may follow _me_.  Them that wants to swing may stop."
+
+"But how about Buck Tom?" asked one who was not quite so depraved as the
+others.
+
+"What's the use o' askin'?" said Jake.  "It's all up with him, don't you
+see?  Besides, he's safe enough.  They'd never have the heart to hang a
+dying man."
+
+"An' Leather!" cried another.  "We mustn't quit Leather.  He's game for
+many a fight yet.  Come, Leather; we'll help you along, for they're sure
+to string you up on the nearest tree."
+
+"Don't trouble yourself about me," said Leather, looking round, for he
+still kneeled beside his old friend, "I don't intend to escape.  Look to
+yourselves, boys, an' leave us alone."
+
+"Unless you're all tired o' life you'll quit here an' skip for the
+woods," said Jake, as, turning round, he hurriedly left the place.
+
+The others did not hesitate, but followed him at once, leaving Buck Tom,
+and his friend to shift for themselves.
+
+During all this scene Hunky Ben had been intently gazing and listening--
+chiefly the latter.  When the outlaws filed past him he found it
+extremely difficult to avoid putting a bullet into the Flint, but he
+restrained himself because of what yet remained to be done.
+
+As soon as the outlaws were well out of sight Ben arose and prepared for
+action.  First of all he tightened his belt.  Then he pulled the hood of
+his coat well over his head, so that it effectually concealed his face,
+and, still further to accomplish the end in view, he fastened the hood
+in front with a wooden pin.  Proceeding to the stable he found, as he
+had hoped and expected, that the outlaws had left one or two
+horse-cloths behind in their flight.  In one of these he enveloped his
+person in such a way as to render it unrecognisable.  Then he walked
+straight into the cave, and, without a word of warning, threw his strong
+arms a round Shank Leather and lifted him off the ground.
+
+Of course Leather shouted and struggled at first, but as well might a
+kitten have struggled in the grip of a grizzly bear.  In his worn
+condition he felt himself to be utterly powerless.  Buck Tom made a
+feeble effort to rise and help him, but the mere effort caused him to
+fall back with a groan of helpless despair.
+
+Swiftly his captor bore Leather up the side of the hill till he got
+behind a clump of trees, into the heart of which he plunged, and then
+set his burden down on his feet.  At the same time, throwing back his
+hood and flinging away the horse-cloth, he stood up and smiled.
+
+"Hunky Ben, or his ghost!" exclaimed Shank, forgetting his indignation
+in his amazement.
+
+"You're right, young man, though you've only see'd me once that I know
+of.  But most men that see me once are apt to remember me."
+
+"Well, Hunky," said Leather, while the indignation began to return, "you
+may think this very amusing, but it's mean of a big strong man like you
+to take advantage of a fellow that's as weak as a child from wounds an'
+fever.  Lend me one o' your six-shooters, now, so as we may stand on
+somewhat more equal terms and--but a truce to boasting!  I'm sure that
+you wouldn't keep smiling at me like a Cheshire cat if there wasn't
+something behind this."
+
+"You're right, Mr Leather," said Ben, becoming at once grave and
+earnest.  "There _is_ somethin' behind it--ay, an' somethin' before it
+too.  So much, that I have barely time to tell 'ee.  So, listen wi' both
+ears.  There's a bunch o' men an' troops close to the Trap even now, on
+their way to visit your cave.  If they find you--you know what that
+means?"
+
+"Death," said Leather quietly.
+
+"Ay, death; though ye don't desarve it," said Ben.
+
+"But I _do_ deserve it," returned Shank in the same quiet voice.
+
+"Well, may-hap you do," rejoined the scout coolly, "but not, so far as I
+know, in connection wi' your present company.  Now, there's Buck Tom--"
+
+"Ay, what of him?" asked Shank, anxiously.
+
+"Well, in the nat'ral course o' timings, death is comin' to him too, an'
+that'll save him from bein' strung up--for they're apt to do that sort
+o' thing hereaway in a loose free-an-easy style that's awkward sometime.
+I was within an inch of it myself once, all through a mistake--I'll
+tell 'ee about that when I've got more time, maybe.  Well, now, I'm keen
+to save you an' Buck Tom if I can, and what I want you to understand is,
+that if you expect me to help you at a time when you stand considerable
+in need o' help, you'll have to do what I tell 'ee."
+
+"And what would you have me do?" asked Shank, with a troubled look.
+
+"Remain here till I come for 'ee, and when you meet me in company say
+nothin' about havin' met me before."
+
+"Can I trust you, Hunky Ben?" said Shank, looking at him earnestly.
+
+"If you _can't_ trust me, what d'ye propose to do?" asked the scout with
+a grin.
+
+"You're right, Ben.  I _must_ trust you, and, to say truth, from the
+little I know of you, I believe I've nothing to fear.  But my anxiety is
+for Ralph--Buck Tom, I mean.  You're sure, I suppose, that Mr Brooke
+will do his best to shield him?"
+
+"Ay, sartin sure, an', by the way, don't mention your Christian name
+just now--whatever it is--nor for some time yet.  Good-day, an' keep
+quiet till I come.  We've wasted overmuch time a'ready."
+
+So saying, the scout left the coppice, and, flinging open his coat,
+re-entered the cave a very different-looking man from what he was when
+he left it.
+
+"Hunky Ben!" exclaimed Buck, who had recovered by that time.  "I wish
+you had turned up half-an-hour since, boy.  You might have saved my poor
+friend Leather from a monster who came here and carried him away
+bodily."
+
+"Ay?  That's strange, now.  Hows'ever, worse luck might have befel him,
+for the troops are at my heels, an' ye know what would be in store for
+him if he was here."
+
+"Yes, indeed, I know it, Ben, and what is in store for me too; but Death
+will have his laugh at them if they don't look sharp."
+
+"No, surely," said the scout, in a tone of real commiseration, "you're
+not so bad as that, are you?"
+
+"Truly am I," answered Buck, with a pitiful look, "shot in the chest.
+But I saw you in the fight, Ben; did you guide them here?"
+
+"That's what I did--at least I told 'em which way to go, an' came on in
+advance to warn you in time, so's you might escape.  To tell you the
+plain truth, Ralph Ritson, I've bin told all about you by your old
+friend Mr Brooke, an' about Leather too, who, you say, has bin carried
+off by a monster?"
+
+"Yes--at least by a monstrous big man."
+
+"You're quite sure o' that?"
+
+"Quite sure."
+
+"An' You would know the monster if you saw him again?"
+
+"I think I would know his figure, but not his face, for I did not see
+it."
+
+"Strange!" remarked the scout, with a simple look; "an' you're sartin
+sure you don't know where Leather is now?"
+
+"Not got the most distant idea."
+
+"That's well now; stick to that an' there's no fear o' Leather.  As to
+yourself--they'll never think o' hangin' you till ye can walk to the
+gallows--so cheer up, Buck Tom.  It may be that ye desarve hangin', for
+all I know; but not just at present.  I'm a bit of a surgeon, too--bein'
+a sort o' Jack-of-all-trades, and know how to extract bullets.  What
+between Mr Brooke an' me an' time, wonders may be worked, if you're
+wise enough to keep a tight rein on your tongue."
+
+While the scout was speaking, the tramp of cavalry was heard outside,
+and a few minutes later Captain Wilmot entered the cave, closely
+followed by Charlie Brooke.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
+
+The Cave of the Outlaws Invaded by Ghosts and US Troops.
+
+We need scarcely say that Buck Tom was wise enough to put a bridle on
+his tongue after the warning hint he had received from the scout.  He
+found this all the easier that he had nothing to conceal save the
+Christian name of his friend Leather, and, as it turned out, this was
+never asked for by the commander of the troops.  All that the dying
+outlaw could reveal was that Jake the Flint had suddenly made his
+appearance in the cave only a short time previously, had warned his
+comrades, and, knowing that he (Buck) was mortally wounded, and that
+Leather was helplessly weak from a wound which had nearly killed him,
+had left them both to their fate.  That, just after they had gone, an
+unusually broad powerful man, with his face concealed, had suddenly
+entered the cave and carried Leather off, in spite of his struggles, and
+that, about half-an-hour later, Hunky Ben had arrived to find the cave
+deserted by all but himself.  Where the other outlaws had gone to he
+could not tell--of course they would not reveal that to a comrade who
+was sure to fall into the hands of their enemies.
+
+"And you have no idea," continued the captain, "who the man is that
+carried your friend Leather so hurriedly away?"
+
+"Not the slightest," returned Buck.  "Had my revolver been handy and an
+ounce of strength left in me, you wouldn't have had to ask the
+question."
+
+"Passing strange!" murmured Captain Wilmot, glancing at the scout, who
+was at the moment seated on a keg before the fire lighting his pipe, and
+with a look of simple benignant stolidity on his grave countenance.
+"Have _you_ no idea, Ben, where these outlaws have taken themselves off
+to?"
+
+"No more'n a lop-eared rabbit, Captain Wilmot," answered the scout.
+"You see there's a good many paths by which men who knows the place
+could git out o' the Trap, an' once out o' it there's the whole o' the
+Rockie range where to pick an' choose."
+
+"But how comes it, Ben, that you missed Jake?  Surely the road is not so
+broad that you could pass him unseen!  Yet you arrived here before him?"
+
+"That's true, sir, but sly coons like the Flint can retire into the
+brush when they don't want to be overhauled.  That wasn't the way of it,
+however.  With such a splendid animal as your poor horse, Captain, an'
+ridden to death as it was--an' as I 'spected it would be--I knowed I had
+no chance o' comin' up wi' the Flint, so I took advantage o' my
+knowledge o' the lay o' the land, an' pushed ahead by a straighter
+line--finishin' the last bit on futt over the ridge of a hill.  That
+sent me well ahead o' the Flint, an' so I got here before him.  Havin'
+ways of eavesdroppin' that other people don't know on, I peeped into the
+cave here, and saw and heard how matters stood.  Then I thought o'
+harkin' back on my tracks an' stoppin' the Flint wi' a bullet but I
+reflected `what good'll that do?  The shot would wake up the outlaws an'
+putt them on the scent all the same.'  Then I tried to listen what their
+talk was about, so as I might be up to their dodges; but I hadn't bin
+listenin' long when in tramps the Flint an' sounds the alarm.  Of course
+I might have sent him an p'r'aps one o' the others to their long home
+from where I stood; but I've always had an objection to shoot a man
+behind his back.  It has such a sneakin' sort o' feel about it!  An'
+then, the others--I couldn't see how many there was--would have swarmed
+out on me, an' I'd have had to make tracks for the scrub, an' larn
+nothin' more.  So I fixed to keep quiet an' hear and see all that I
+could--p'r'aps find out where they fixed to pull out to.  But I heard
+nothin' more worth tellin'.  They only made some hurried, an' by no
+means kindly, observations about poor Buck an' Leather an' went off over
+the hills.  I went into the woods a bit myself after that, just to be
+well out o' the way, so to speak, an' when I got back here Leather was
+gone!"
+
+"And you didn't see the man that carried him off?"
+
+"No, I didn't see him."
+
+"You'd have shot him, of course, if you had seen him?"
+
+"No, indeed, captain, I wouldn't."
+
+"No! why not?" asked the captain with a peculiar smile.
+
+"Well, because," answered the scout, with a look of great solemnity, "I
+wouldn't shoot such a man on any account--no matter what he was doin'!"
+
+"Indeed!" returned the other with a broadening smile.  "I had no idea
+you were superstitious, Ben.  I thought you feared neither man nor
+devil."
+
+"What I fear an' what I don't fear," returned the scout with quiet
+dignity, "is a matter which has never given me much consarn."
+
+"Well, don't be hurt, Hunky Ben, I don't for one moment question your
+courage, only I fancied that if you saw any one rescuing an outlaw you
+would have tried to put a bullet into him whether he happened to be a
+man or a ghost."
+
+"But I have told you," broke in Buck Tom with something of his old fire,
+"that Leather is _not_ an outlaw."
+
+"I have only _your_ word for that, and you know what that is worth,"
+returned the captain.  "I don't want to be hard on one apparently so
+near his end, and to say truth, I'm inclined to believe you, but we know
+that this man Leather has been for a long time in your company--whether
+a member of your band or not must be settled before another tribunal.
+If caught, he stands a good chance of being hanged.  And now," added the
+captain, turning to a sergeant who had entered the cave with him, "tell
+the men to put up their horses as best they may.  We camp here for the
+night.  We can do nothing while it is dark, but with the first gleam of
+day we will make a thorough search of the neighbourhood."
+
+While the troopers and their commander were busy making themselves as
+comfortable as possible in and around the cave, the scout went quietly
+up to the clump of wood where Leather was in hiding, and related to that
+unfortunate all that had taken place since he left him.
+
+"It is very good of you, Hunky, to take so much interest in me, and
+incur so much risk and trouble; but do you know," said Leather, with a
+look of surprise, not unmingled with amusement, "you are a puzzle to me,
+for I can't understand how you could tell Captain Wilmot such a heap o'
+lies--you that has got the name of bein' the truest-hearted scout on the
+frontier!"
+
+"You puzzle me more than I puzzle you, Leather," returned the scout with
+a simple look.  "What lies have I told?"
+
+"Why, all you said about what you saw and heard when you said you were
+eavesdroppin' must have been nonsense, you know, for how could you hear
+and see what took place in the cave through tons of rock and earth?"
+
+"How I saw and heard, my son Leather, is a private affair of my own, but
+it was no lie."
+
+Leather looked incredulous.
+
+"Then you said," he continued, "that you didn't see the man that carried
+me away."
+
+"No more I did, boy.  I _never_ saw him!"
+
+"What! not even in a looking-glass?"
+
+"Not even in a lookin'-glass," returned Hunky.  "I've seed his
+_reflection_ there many a time,--an' a pretty good-lookin' reflection it
+was--but I've never see'd himself--that I knows on!  No, Leather, if
+Captain Wilmot had axed me if I saw _you_ carried off, I might ha' been
+putt in a fix, but he didn't ax me that.  He axed if I'd seen the man
+that carried you off an' I told the truth when I said I had _not_.
+Moreover I wasn't bound to show him that he wasn't fit to be a lawyer--
+specially when he was arter an innocent man, an' might p'r'aps hang him
+without a trial.  It was my duty to guide the captain in pursuit of
+outlaws, an' it is my duty to shield an innocent man.  Between the two
+perplexin' duties I tried to steer as straight a course as I could, but
+I confess I had to steer pretty close to the wind."
+
+"Well, Hunky, it is my duty to thank you instead of criticising you as I
+have done, but how do you come to be so sure that I'm innocent?"
+
+"P'r'aps because ye putt such an innocent question," replied Ben, with a
+little smile.  "D'ye raily think, Leather, that an old scout like me is
+goin' to let you see through all the outs and ins by which I comes at my
+larnin'!  It's enough for you to know, boy, that I know a good deal more
+about you than ye think--more p'r'aps than ye know about yerself.  I
+don't go for to say that you're a born angel, wantin' nothin' but a pair
+o' wings to carry ye off to the better land--by no means, but I do know
+that as regards jinin' Buck Tom's boys, or takin' a willin' part in
+their devilish work, ye are innocent an' that's enough for me."
+
+"I'm glad you know it and believe it, Ben," said Leather, earnestly,
+"for it is true.  I followed Buck, because he's an old, old chum, and I
+did it at the risk of my life, an' then, as perhaps you are aware, we
+were chased and I got injured.  So far I am innocent of acting with
+these men, but, O Ben, I don't admit my innocence in anything else!  My
+whole life--well, well--it's of no use talkin'.  Tell me, d'ye think
+there's any chance o' Buck getting over this?"
+
+"He may.  Nobody can tell.  I'll do my best for him.  I never lose hope
+of a man, after what I've see'd in my experience, till the breath is
+fairly out of him."
+
+"Thank God for these words, Ben."
+
+"Yes," continued the scout, "and your friend Brooke is at this moment
+sunk in the blue dumps because you have been carried off by a great
+mysterious monster!"
+
+"Then he doesn't know it was you?" exclaimed Leather.
+
+"In course not.  An' he doesn't know you are within five hundred yards
+of him.  An' what's more, you mustn't let him know it was me, for that
+must be kept a dead secret, else it'll ruin my character on the
+frontiers.  We must surround it wi' mystery, my boy, till all is safe.
+But I didn't come up here to enjoy an evenin's conversation.  You're not
+safe where you are, Leather.  They'll be scourin' all round for you long
+before sun-up, so I must putt you where you'll be able to look on an'
+grin at them."
+
+"Where will that be?" asked Leather, with some curiosity.
+
+"You know the cliff about five hundred feet high that rises just over on
+the other side o' the valley--where the water-shoot comes down?"
+
+"Ay, it's likely I do, for I've seen it every mornin' for months past."
+
+"An' you remember the hole near the top o' the cliff?"
+
+"Yes--that looks about the size of a crow?"
+
+"Whatever it looks like it's three times the size of a man, an' it's the
+mouth of a cave," returned the scout.  "Now, I'll lead you to the track
+that'll let you up to that cave.  It's a splendid place, full of all
+sorts o' holes an' places where a man couldn't find you even if he
+know'd you was there.  Once up, you may sit down, smoke your pipe in the
+mouth o' the cave, an' enjoy yourself lookin' on at the hunt arter
+yourself.  Here's a bit o' chuck I've brought to keep you from wearyin',
+for they may keep it up all day.  When all danger is past I'll come up
+for ye.  You needn't show more o' yourself, however, than the top o'
+your head.  A man can never be over-cautious when he's bein' hunted
+down.  An' mind, don't leave the place till I come for you."
+
+Handing a cold roast fowl and a loaf to his companion, the scout got up
+and led him away to the spot which he had just described.  It was by
+that time quite dark, but as Hunky Ben knew every inch of the ground he
+glided along almost as quickly as if it had been broad day, followed,
+with some difficulty, by poor Leather, who was still in a state of great
+prostration, partly because of his injury and partly in consequence of
+his previous dissipation.  As the place, however, was not much more than
+half-a-mile distant his powers of endurance were not much tried.  The
+scout led him across the narrow valley just above the outlaws' cave, and
+then, entering a steep rocky defile, he began to ascend a place that was
+more suitable for goats than men.  After half-an-hour of upward toil
+they reached a plateau where the track--if it may be so styled--seemed
+to run in a zig-zag manner until it reached a small hole in the solid
+rock.  Through this they entered and found themselves within a cavern
+and in total darkness.
+
+"We may rest a bit now," said the scout.  "There's a ledge hereabouts.
+There you are.  Sit down.  I'll have to take your hand here lest you
+fall off the bridge into the holes on each side o' the track."
+
+"Are the holes dangerous?" asked Leather.
+
+"They're dangerous enough to be worth takin' care of, anyhow, for if ye
+was to tumble into one you'd never come out again.  There, now, let's go
+on, for if I don't git back soon, they'll be wonderin' if the monster
+hasn't run away wi' me too, as well as you!"
+
+After advancing a short distance in total darkness--Ben feeling his way
+carefully step by step--they came suddenly to the hole in the front of
+the cave to which reference has been already made.  The place had
+evidently been used before as a place of refuge and temporary abode,
+for, near this front-mouth of the cave was found a litter of pine
+branches which had plainly been used as a bed.
+
+"Sit ye down there, Leather," said the scout, "see, or, rather, hear--
+for the eyes aren't of much use just now--I've set down the grub an' a
+flask o' water beside ye.  Don't strike a light unless you want to have
+your neck stretched.  Daylight won't be long o' lettin' ye see what's
+goin' on.  You won't weary, for it'll be as good as a play, yourself
+bein' chief actor an' audience all at the same time!"
+
+Saying this the scout melted, as it were, into the darkness of the
+cavern, and, with noiseless moccasined feet, retraced his steps to the
+rear entrance.
+
+Left to himself the poor wanderer found both time and food for
+reflection, for he did not dare in the darkness to move from the spot
+where he had seated himself.  At first an eerie feeling of indefinable
+fear oppressed him, but this passed away as the busy thoughts went
+rambling back to home and the days of comparative innocence gone by.
+Forgetting the dark surroundings and the threatening dangers, he was
+playing again on the river banks, drinking liquorice-water, swimming,
+and rescuing kittens with Charlie Brooke.  Anon, he was wandering on the
+sea-beach with his sister, brown-eyed Mary, or watching the manly form
+of his old friend and chum buffeting the waves towards the wreck on the
+Sealford Rocks.  Memory may not be always faithful, but she is often
+surprisingly prompt.  In the twinkling of an eye Shank Leather had
+crossed the Atlantic again and was once more in the drinking and
+gambling saloons--the "Hells" of New York--with his profoundly admired
+"friend" and tempter Ralph Ritson.  It was a wild whirl and plunge from
+bad to worse through which Memory led him now--scenes at which he
+shuddered and on which he would fain have closed his eyes if possible,
+but Memory knows not the meaning of mercy.  She tore open his eyes and,
+becoming unusually strict at this point, bade him look particularly at
+all the minute details of his reckless life--especially at the wrecks of
+other lives that had been caused by the wreck of his own.  Then the
+deepest deep of all seemed to be reached when he rose--or rather fell--
+from the condition of tempted to that of tempter, and, somehow, managed
+for a time to lead even the far stronger-minded Ralph Ritson on the road
+to ruin.  But he did not lead him long.  The stronger nature soon
+re-asserted itself; seized the reins; led the yielding Leather to the
+cities of the far west; from gambling took to robbing, till at last the
+gay and handsome Ritson became transformed into the notorious Buck Tom,
+and left his weaker chum to care for himself.
+
+It was at this point--so Memory recalled to him--that he, Leather, was
+stopped, in mid and mad, career, by a man of God with the love of Jesus
+in his heart and on his lips.  And at this point Memory seemed to change
+her action and proved herself, although unmerciful, pre-eminently
+faithful.  She reminded him of the deep contrition that God wrought in
+his heart; of the horror that overwhelmed him when he thought of what he
+was, and what he had done; of the sudden resolve he had formed to follow
+Ritson, and try to stop him in the fearful career on which he had
+entered.  Then came the memory of failure; of desperate anxieties; of
+futile entreaties; of unaccountably resolute perseverance; of joining
+the outlaw band to be near his friend; of being laughed to scorn by them
+all of being chased by US troops at the very commencement of his
+enterprise; of being severely wounded, rescued, and carried off during
+the flight by Buck Tom, and then--a long blank, mingled with awful
+dreams and scenes, and ribald songs, and curses--some of all which was
+real, and some the working of a fevered brain.
+
+So terribly vivid were these pictures of memory, that one of the shouts
+of dreamland absolutely awoke him to the fact that he had extended his
+wearied limbs on his couch of pine brush and fallen asleep.  He also
+awake to the perception that it was broad daylight, and that a real
+shout had mingled with that of dreamland, for after he had sat up and
+listened intently for a few moments, the shout was repeated as if at no
+great distance.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
+
+THE TROOPS OUTWITTED BY THE SCOUT AND HIS FRIENDS.
+
+Creeping quickly to the mouth of the cave Leather peeped cautiously out,
+and the scene that met his startled gaze was not calculated to restore
+that equanimity which his recent dreams had disturbed.
+
+The narrow and rugged valley which lay spread out below him was alive
+with horsemen, trotting hither and thither as if searching for some one,
+and several parties on foot were scaling gorges and slopes, up which a
+horseman could not scramble.
+
+The shout which had awakened the fugitive was uttered by a dismounted
+trooper who had climbed higher on the face of the cliff than his
+fellows, and wished to attract the attention of those below.
+
+"Hi! hallo!" he cried, "send Hunky Ben up here.  I've found a track that
+seems to lead to somewhere, but it'll need the scout's nose to ferret it
+out."
+
+Leather's heart beat wildly, for, from the position of the man, he could
+not doubt that he had discovered the track leading up to the cave.
+Before he could think how he should act, a response came to the call
+from Hunky Ben.
+
+"Ay, ay," he shouted, in a voice so bold and resonant, that Leather felt
+it was meant to warn him of his danger, "Ay, ay.  Hold on!  Don't be in
+a hurry.  The tracks branch out further on, an' some o' them are
+dangerous.  Wait till I come up.  There's a cave up there, I'll lead ye
+to it."
+
+This was more than enough for Leather.  He turned hastily to survey his
+place of refuge.  It was a huge dismal cavern with branching tunnels
+around that disappeared in thick obscurity, and heights above that lost
+themselves in gloom; holes in the sides and floor that were of invisible
+depth, and curious irregular ledges, that formed a sort of arabesque
+fringe to the general confusion.
+
+One of these ornamental ledges, stretching along the roof with many
+others, lost itself in the gloom and seemed to be a hopeful
+living-place--all the more hopeful that it was in the full blaze of
+light that gushed in through the front opening of the cave.  This
+opening, it will be remembered, was on the face of the cliff and
+inaccessible.  But Leather found that he could not reach the ledge.
+Hastening to the dark side of the cave, however, he saw that by means of
+some projections and crevices in the rocky wall he could reach the end
+of the ledge.  Creeping along it he soon found himself close to the
+opening, surrounded by strong light, but effectually concealed from view
+by the ledge.  It was as if he were on a natural rafter, peeping down on
+the floor below!  As there was a multitude of such ledges around, which
+it would take several men many hours to examine, he began to breathe
+more freely, for, would the searchers not naturally think that a
+fugitive would fly to the darkest recesses of his place of refuge,
+rather than to the brightest and most accessible spot?
+
+He gave vent to a sigh of relief, and was congratulating himself upon
+his wisdom, when his eyes chanced to fall on the flask of water and cold
+roast fowl and loaf lying conspicuous in the full glare of light that
+flooded the front part of the cave!
+
+If the fowl had been thrust whole into his throat it could scarcely have
+added to the gush of alarm that choked him.  He slipped incontinently
+from his arabesque ledge and dropped upon the floor.  Securing the
+tell-tale viands with eager haste he dashed back into the obscurity and
+clambered with them back to his perch.  And not much too soon, for he
+had barely settled down when the voice of the scout was heard talking
+pretty loudly.
+
+"Come along, Captain Wilmot," he said, "give me your hand, sir.  It's
+not safe to walk alone here, even wi' a light."
+
+"Here, where are you?  Oh!  All right.  Haven't you got a match?" asked
+the captain.
+
+"Nothin' that would burn more'n a few seconds.  We're better without a
+light, for a gust o' wind might blow it out an' leave us worse than we
+was.  Mind this step.  There."
+
+"Well, I'm glad I didn't bring any of my men in here," said the Captain,
+as he kicked one of his heavy boots violently against a projection of
+rock.
+
+"Ay--'tis as well you didn't," returned the scout, in a tone suggestive
+of the idea that he was smiling.  "For there's holes on both sides, an'
+if one o' your men went down, ye might read the funeral sarvice over him
+at once, an' be done with it.  There's a glimmer o' daylight at last.
+We'll soon be at the other end now."
+
+"A horrible place, truly," said the Captain, "and one that it would be
+hard to find a fellow in even if we knew he was here."
+
+"Didn't I say so, Captain? but ye wouldn't be convinced," said Hunky
+Ben, leading his companion into the full light of the opening and coming
+to a halt close to the ledge above which the fugitive lay.  "Besides,
+Leather could never have found his way here alone."
+
+"You forget," returned Wilmot, with a peculiar smile, "the monster might
+have shown him the way or even have carried him hither."
+
+"Ah, true," answered the scout, with solemn gravity.  "There's somethin'
+in that."
+
+Wilmot laughed.
+
+"What a splendid view," he said, going forward to the opening--"and see,
+here is a bed of pine brush.  No doubt the cave must have been used as a
+place of refuge by the Redskins in days gone by."
+
+"Ay, an' by the pale-faces too," said the scout.  "Why, I've had
+occasion to use it myself more than once.  And, as you truly obsarve,
+sir, there's small chance of findin' a man once he's in here.  As well
+run after a rabbit in his hole."
+
+"Or search for a needle in a haystack," observed the Captain, as he
+gazed with curious interest around and above him.  "Well, Ben, I give
+in.  You were right when you said there was no probability of my finding
+any of the outlaws here."
+
+"I'm ginerally right when I speak about what I understand," returned the
+scout calmly.  "So now, Captain, if you're satisfied, we may as well go
+an' have a look at the other places I spoke of."
+
+Assenting to this the two men left the place, but Leather continued to
+lie perfectly still for a considerable time after their footsteps had
+died away.  Then, gliding from his perch, he dropped on the floor and
+ran to the opening where he saw the troopers still riding about, but
+gradually going farther and farther away from him.  The scene was not
+perhaps, as the scout had prophesied, quite "as good as a play," but it
+certainly did become more and more entertaining as the searchers receded
+and distance lent enchantment to the view.
+
+When at last the troops had disappeared, Shank bethought him of the food
+which Hunky Ben had so thoughtfully provided, and, sitting down on the
+brush couch, devoted himself to breakfast with a hearty appetite and a
+thankful spirit.
+
+Meanwhile Captain Wilmot, having satisfied himself that the outlaws had
+fairly escaped him, and that Buck Tom was too ill to be moved, retired
+to a cool glade in the forest and held a council of war with the scout
+and Charlie Brooke.
+
+"Now, Ben," he said, dismounting and seating himself on a mossy bank,
+while a trooper took charge of the horses and retired with them to a
+neighbouring knoll, "it is quite certain that in the present unsettled
+state of the district I must not remain here idle.  It is equally
+certain that it would be sudden death to Buck Tom to move him in his
+present condition, therefore some men must be left behind to take care
+of him.  Now, though I can ill afford to spare any of mine, I feel that
+out of mere humanity some sacrifice must be made, for we cannot leave
+the poor fellow to starve."
+
+"I can relieve you on that point," said the scout, "for if you choose I
+am quite ready to remain."
+
+"And of course," interposed Charlie, "I feel it my duty to remain with
+my old friend to the end."
+
+"Well, I expected you to say something of this sort.  Now," said the
+captain, "how many men will you require?"
+
+"None at all, Captain," answered Ben decisively.
+
+"But what if these scoundrels should return to their old haunt?" said
+Wilmot.
+
+"Let them come," returned the scout.  "Wi' Mr Brooke, an' Dick Darvall,
+an' three Winchesters, an' half-a-dozen six-shooters, I'd engage to hold
+the cave against a score o' such varmin.  If Mr Brooke an' Dick are
+willin' to--"
+
+"I am quite willing, Ben, and I can answer for my friend Dick, so don't
+let that trouble you."
+
+"Well, then, that is settled.  I'll go off at once," said the captain,
+rising and signing to the trooper to bring up the horses.  "But bear in
+remembrance, Hunky Ben, that I hold you responsible for Buck Tom.  If he
+recovers you must produce him."
+
+The scout accepted the responsibility; the arrangements were soon made;
+"boots and saddles" was sounded, and the troopers rode away, leaving
+Charlie Brooke, Dick Darvall, Buck Tom, and the scout in possession of
+the outlaws' cave.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
+
+THE MEETING OF OLD FRIENDS IN CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES.
+
+When the soldiers were safely away Hunky Ben returned to the cave and
+brought Leather down.
+
+Charlie Brooke's love for his old school-fellow and playmate seemed to
+become a new passion, now that the wreck of life and limb presented by
+Shank had awakened within him the sensation of profound pity.  And
+Shank's admiration for and devotion to Charlie increased tenfold now
+that the terrible barrier of self had been so greatly eliminated from
+his own nature, and a new spirit put within him.
+
+By slow degrees, and bit by bit, each came to know and understand the
+other under the influence of new lights and feelings.  But their
+thoughts about themselves, and their joy at meeting in such peculiar
+circumstances, had to be repressed to some extent in the presence of
+their common friend Ralph Ritson--_alias_ Buck Tom--for Charlie knew him
+only as an old school-fellow, though to Leather he had been a friend and
+chum ever since they had landed in the New World.
+
+The scout, during the first interval of leisure on the previous day, had
+extracted the ball without much difficulty from Buck's chest, through
+which it had passed, and was found lying close under the skin at his
+back.  The relief thus afforded, and rest obtained under the influence
+of some medicine administered by Captain Wilmot, had brightened the poor
+fellow up to some extent; and Leather, seeing him look so much better on
+his return, began to entertain some hopes of his recovery.
+
+Buck himself had no such hope; but, being a man of strong will, he
+refused to let it be seen in his demeanour that he thought his case to
+be hopeless.  Yet he did not act from bravado, or the slightest tincture
+of that spirit which resolves to "die game."  The approach of death had
+indeed torn away the veil and permitted him to see himself in his true
+colours, but he did not at that time see Jesus to be the Saviour of even
+"the chief of sinners."  Therefore his hopelessness took the form of
+silent submission to the inevitable.
+
+Of course Charlie Brooke spoke to him more than once of the love of God
+in Christ, and of the dying thief who had looked to Jesus on the cross
+and was saved, but Buck only shook his head.  One afternoon in
+particular Charlie tried hard to remove the poor man's perplexities.
+
+"It's all very well, Brooke," said Buck Tom, "and very kind of you to
+interest yourself in me, but the love of God and the salvation of Christ
+are not for me.  You don't know what a sinner I have been, a rebel all
+my life--all my life, mark you.  I would count it mean to come whining
+for pardon now that the game is up.  I _deserve_ hell--or whatever sort
+o' punishment is due--an' I'm willing to take it."
+
+"Ralph Ritson," said Brooke impressively, "you are a far greater sinner
+than you think or admit."
+
+"Perhaps I am," returned the outlaw sadly, and with a slight expression
+of surprise.  "Perhaps I am," he repeated.  "Indeed I admit that you are
+right, but--but your saying so is a somewhat strange way to comfort a
+dying man.  Is it not?"
+
+"I am _not_ trying to comfort you.  I am trying, by God's grace, to
+convince you.  You tell me that you have been a rebel all your days?"
+
+"Yes; I admit it."
+
+"There are still, it may be, a few days yet to run, and you are
+determined, it seems, to spend these in rebellion too--up to the very
+end!"
+
+"Nay, I do not say that.  Have I not said that I _submit_ to whatever
+punishment is due?  Surely that is not rebellion.  I can do nothing
+_now_ to make up for a mis-spent life, so I am willing to accept the
+consequences.  Is not that submission to God--at least as far as lies in
+my power?"
+
+"No; it is _not_ submission.  Bear with me when I say it is rebellion,
+still deeper rebellion than ever.  God says to you, `You have destroyed
+yourself but in _me_ is your help.'  He says, `Though your sins be as
+scarlet they shall be white as snow.'  He says, `Believe on the Lord
+Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,' and assures you that `whoever
+will' may come to Him, and that no one who comes shall be cast out--yet
+in the face of all that you tell me that the love of God and the
+salvation of Christ are not for you!  Ralph, my friend, you think that
+if you had a chance of living your life over again you would do better
+and so deserve salvation.  That is exactly what God tells us we cannot
+do, and then He tells us that He Himself, in Jesus Christ, has provided
+salvation from sin _for_ us, offers it as a free unmerited gift; and
+immediately we dive to the deepest depth of sin by deliberately refusing
+this deliverance from sin unless we can somehow manage to deserve it."
+
+"I cannot see it," said the wounded man thoughtfully.
+
+"Only God Himself, by His Holy Spirit, can enable you to see it," said
+his companion; and then, in a low earnest voice, with eyes closed and
+his hand on his friend's arm, he prayed that the outlaw might be "born
+again."
+
+Charlie Brooke was not one of those who make long prayers, either "for a
+pretence" or otherwise.  Buck Tom smiled slightly when his friend
+stopped at the end of this one sentence.
+
+"Your prayer is not long-winded, anyhow!" he said.
+
+"True, Ralph, but it is comprehensive.  It requires a good deal of
+expounding and explaining to make man understand what we say or think.
+The Almighty needs none of that.  Indeed He does not need even the
+asking but He _bids_ us ask, and that is enough for me.  I have seen
+enough of life to understand the value of unquestioning obedience
+whether one comprehends the reason of an order or not."
+
+"Ay," returned Buck quickly, "when he who gives the order has a right to
+command."
+
+"That is so much a matter of course," rejoined Charlie, "that I would
+not think of referring to it while conversing with an intelligent man.
+By the way--which name would you like to be called, by Ralph or Buck?"
+
+"It matters little to me," returned the outlaw languidly, "and it won't
+matter to anybody long.  I should prefer `Ralph,' for it is not
+associated with so much evil as the other, but you know our
+circumstances are peculiar just now, so, all things considered, I had
+better remain Buck Tom to the end of the chapter.  I'll answer to
+whichever name comes first when the roll is called in the next world."
+
+The conversation was interrupted at this point by the entrance of Hunky
+Ben bearing a deer on his lusty shoulders.  He was followed by Dick
+Darvall.
+
+"There," said the former, throwing the carcass on the floor, "I told ye
+I wouldn't be long o' bringin' in somethin' for the pot."
+
+"Ay, an' the way he shot it too," said the seaman, laying aside his
+rifle, "would have made even a monkey stare with astonishment.  Has
+Leather come back, by the way?  I see'd him goin' full sail through the
+woods when I went out this mornin'."
+
+"He has not yet returned," said Charlie.  "When I relieved him and sat
+down to watch by our friend here, he said he felt so much better and
+stronger that he would take his gun and see if he couldn't find
+something for the pot.  I advised him not to trust his feelings too
+much, and not to go far, but--ah, here he comes to answer for himself."
+
+As he spoke a step was heard outside, and next moment Shank entered,
+carrying a brace of rabbits which he flung down, and then threw himself
+on a couch in a state of considerable exhaustion.
+
+"There," said he, wiping the perspiration from his forehead.  "They've
+cost me more trouble than they're worth, for I'm quite done up.  I had
+no idea I had become so weak in the legs.  Ralph, my dear fellow," he
+added, forgetting himself for the moment as he rose and went to his
+friend's side, "I have more sympathy with you, now that I have found out
+the extent of my own weakness.  Do you feel better!"
+
+"Yes, old boy--much--much better."
+
+"That's all right.  I'm convinced that--hallo! why, who shot the deer!"
+
+"Hunky Ben has beat you," said Charlie.
+
+"Beat Leather!" exclaimed Darvall, "why, he beats all creation.  I never
+see'd anything like it since I went to sea."
+
+"Since you came ashore, you should say.  But come, Dick," said Charlie,
+"let's hear about this wonderful shooting.  I'm sure it will amuse
+Buck--unless he's too wearied to listen."
+
+"Let him talk," said the invalid.  "I like to hear him."
+
+Thus exhorted and encouraged the seaman recounted his day's experience.
+
+"Well, you must know, messmates," said he, "that I set sail alone this
+mornin', havin' in my pocket the small compass I always carry about me--
+also my bearin's before startin', so as I shouldn't go lost in the
+woods--though that wouldn't be likely in such an narrow inlet as this
+Traitor's Trap, to say nothin' o' the landmarks alow and aloft of all
+sorts.  I carried a Winchester with me, because, not bein' what you may
+call a crack shot, I thought it would give me a better chance to have a
+lot o' resarve shots in the locker, d'ye see?  I carried also a
+six-shooter, as it might come handy, you know, if I fell in wi' a
+Redskin or a bear, an' got to close quarters.  Also my cutlass, for I've
+bin used to that aboard ship when I was in the navy.
+
+"Well, away I went--makin' sail down the valley to begin with, an' then
+a long tack into the mountains right in the wind's eye, that bein' the
+way to get on the blind side o' game.  I hadn't gone far when up starts
+a bird o' some sort--"
+
+"What like was it?" asked the scout.
+
+"No more notion than the man in the moon," returned the sailor.  "What
+wi' the flutter an' scurry an' leaves, branches an' feathers--an' the
+start--I see'd nothin' clear, an' I was so anxious to git somethin' for
+the pot, that six shots went arter it out o' the Winchester, before I
+was quite sure I'd begun to fire--for you must know I've larned to fire
+uncommon fast since I come to these parts.  Hows'ever, I hit nothin'--"
+
+"Not quite so bad as that, Dick," interrupted the scout gravely.
+
+"Well, that's true, but you better tell that part of it yourself, Hunky,
+as you know more about it than me."
+
+"It wasn't of much consequence," said the scout betraying the slightest
+possible twinkle in his grey eyes, "but Dick has a knack o' lettin'
+drive without much regard to what's in front of him.  I happened to be
+more in front of him than that bird when he began to fire, an' the first
+shot hit my right leggin', but by good luck only grazed the bark.  Of
+course I dropped behind a rock when the storm began and lay quiet there,
+and when a lull came I halloo'd."
+
+"Yes, he did halloo," said Dick, resuming the narrative, "an' that
+halloo was more like the yell of a bull of Bashan than the cry of a
+mortal man.  It made my heart jump into my throat an' stick there, for I
+thought I must have killed a whole Redskin tribe at one shot--"
+
+"Six shots, Dick.  Tell the exact truth an' don't contradic' yourself,"
+said Hunky.
+
+"No, it wasn't," retorted the seaman stoutly.  "It was arter the _first_
+shot that you gave the yell.  Hows'ever, I allow that the echoes kep' it
+goin' till the six shots was off--an' I can tell you, messmates, that
+the hallooin' an' flutterin' an' scurryin' an echoin' an' thought of
+Redskins in my brain all mixed up wi' the blatterin' shots, caused such
+a rumpus that I experienced considerable relief when the smoke cleared
+away an' I see'd Hunky Ben in front o' me laughin' fit to bu'st his
+sides."
+
+"Well, to make a long yarn short, I joined Hunky and allowed him to
+lead, seein' that he understands the navigation hereaway better than me.
+
+"`Come along,' says he, `an' I'll let you have a chance at a deer.'
+
+"`All right,' says I, an' away we went up one hill an' down another--for
+all the world as if we was walkin' over a heavy Atlantic swell--till we
+come to a sort o' pass among the rocks.
+
+"`I'm goin' to leave you here to watch,' says he, `an' I'll go round by
+the futt o' the gully an' drive the deer up.  They'll pass quite close,
+so you've only to--'
+
+"Hunky stopped short as he was speakin' and flopped down as if he'd bin
+shot-haulin' me along wi' him.
+
+"`Keep quiet,' says he, in a low voice.  `We're in luck, an' don't need
+to drive.  There's a deer comin' up at this very minute--a young one.
+You'll take it.  I won't fire unless you miss.'
+
+"You may be sure I kep' quiet, messmates, arter that.  I took just one
+peep, an' there, sure enough, I saw a brown beast comin' up the pass.
+So we kep' close as mice.  There was a lot o' small bushes not ten yards
+in front of us, which ended in a cut--a sort o' crack--in the hill-side,
+a hundred yards or more from the place where we was crouchin'.
+
+"`Now,' whispers Hunky to--"
+
+"I never whisper!" remarked the scout.
+
+"Well, well; he said, in a low v'ice to me, says he, `d'ye see that
+openin' in the bushes?'  `I do,' says I.  `Well then,' says he, `it's
+about ten yards off; be ready to commence firin' when it comes to that
+openin'.'  `I will,' says I.  An', sure enough, when the brown critter
+came for'id at a walk an' stopped sudden wi' a look o' surprise as if it
+hadn't expected to see me, bang went my Winchester four times, like
+winkin', an' up went the deer four times in the air, but niver a bit the
+worse was he.  Snap I went a fifth time; but there was no shot, an' I
+gave a yell, for I knew the cartridges was done.  By that time the
+critter had reached the crack in the hill I told ye of, an' up in the
+air he went to clear it, like an Indy-rubber ball.  I felt a'most like
+to fling my rifle at it in my rage, when bang! went a shot at my ear
+that all but deaf'ned me, an' I wish I may niver fire another shot or
+furl another t'gallant-s'l if that deer didn't crumple up in the air an'
+drop down stone dead--as dead as it now lays there on the floor."
+
+By the time Dick Darvall had ended his narrative--which was much more
+extensive than our report of it--steaks of the deer were sputtering in a
+frying-pan, and other preparations were being made for a hearty meal, to
+which all the healthy men did ample justice.  Shank Leather did what he
+could, and even Buck Tom made a feeble attempt to join.
+
+That night a strict watch was kept outside the cave--each taking it by
+turns, for it was just possible, though not probable, that the outlaws
+might return to their old haunt.  No one appeared, however, and for the
+succeeding eight weeks the party remained there undisturbed, Shank
+Leather slowly but surely regaining strength; his friend, Buck Tom, as
+slowly and surely losing it; while Charlie, Dick, and Hunky Ben ranged
+the neighbouring forest in order to procure food.  Leather usually
+remained in the cave to cook for and nurse his friend.  It was pleasant
+work to Shank, for love and pity were at the foundation of the service.
+Buck Tom perceived this and fully appreciated it.  Perchance he obtained
+some valuable light on spiritual subjects from Shank's changed tone and
+manner, which the logic of his friend Brooke had failed to convey.  Who
+can tell?
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
+
+SHOWS HOW THE SEAMAN WAS SENT ON A DELICATE MISSION AND HOW HE FARED.
+
+"Shank," said Charlie one day as they were sitting in the sunshine near
+the outlaws' cave, waiting for Dick and the scout to return to their
+mid-day meal, "it seems to me that we may be detained a good while here,
+for we cannot leave Ralph, and it is evident that the poor fellow won't
+be able to travel for many a day--"
+
+"If ever," interposed Shank sorrowfully.
+
+"Well, then, I think we must send down to Bull's Ranch, to see if there
+are any letters for us.  I feel sure that there must be some, and the
+question arises--who are we to send?"
+
+"_You_ must not go, Charlie, whoever goes.  You are the only link in
+this mighty wilderness, that connects Ralph and me with home--and hope.
+Weak and helpless as we are, we cannot afford to let you out of our
+sight."
+
+"Well, but if I don't go I can't see my way to asking the scout to go,
+for he alone thoroughly understands the ways of the country and of the
+Indians--if any should chance to come this way.  Besides, considering
+the pledge he is under to be accountable for Buck Tom, I doubt if he
+would consent to go."
+
+"The question is answered, then," said Shank, "for the only other man is
+Dick Darvall."
+
+"True; and it strikes me that Dick will be very glad to go," returned
+Charlie with a smile of peculiar meaning.
+
+"D'ye think he's getting tired of us, Charlie?"
+
+"By no means.  But you know he has a roving disposition, and I think he
+has a sort of fondness for Jackson--the boss of the ranch."
+
+It was found when the question was put to him, that Dick was quite ready
+to set out on the mission required of him.  He also admitted his
+fondness for Roaring Bull!
+
+"But what if you should lose your way?" asked the scout.
+
+"Find it again," was Dick's prompt reply.
+
+"And what if you should be attacked by Indians?"
+
+"Fight 'em, of course."
+
+"But if they should be too many to fight?"
+
+"Why, clap on all sail an' give 'em a starn chase, which is always a
+long one.  For this purpose, however, I would have to command a good
+craft so I'd expect you to lend me yours, Hunky Ben."
+
+"What! my Polly?"
+
+"Even so.  Black Polly."
+
+The scout received this proposal gravely, and shook his head at first,
+for he was naturally fond of his beautiful mare, and, besides, doubted
+the sailor's horsemanship, though he had perfect faith in his courage
+and discretion.  Finally, however, he gave in; and accordingly, one fine
+morning at daybreak, Dick Darvall, mounted on Black Polly, and armed
+with his favourite Winchester, revolvers, and cutlass, "set sail" down
+Traitor's Trap to visit his lady-love!
+
+Of course he knew that his business was to obtain letters and gather
+news.  But honest Dick Darvall could not conceal from himself that his
+main object was--Mary Jackson!
+
+Somehow it has come to be supposed or assumed that a jack-tar cannot
+ride.  Possibly this may be true of the class as a whole to which Jack
+belongs, but it is not necessarily true of all, and it certainly is not
+true of some.  Dick Darvall was an expert horseman--though a sailor.  He
+had learned to ride when a boy, before going to sea, and his after-habit
+of riding the "white horses" of the Norseman, did not cause him to
+forget the art of managing the "buckers" of the American plains.  To use
+his own words, he felt as much at home on the hurricane deck of a
+Spanish pony, as on the fo'c'sl of a man-of-war, so that the scout's
+doubt of his capacity as a rider was not well founded.
+
+Tremendous was the bound of exultation which our seaman felt, then, when
+he found himself on the magnificent black mare, with the fresh morning
+air fanning his temples, and the bright morning sun glinting through a
+cut in the eastern range.
+
+Soon he reached the lower end of the valley, which, being steep, he had
+descended with tightened rein.  On reaching the open prairie he gave the
+mare her head and went off with a wild whoop like an arrow from a bow.
+
+Black Polly required neither spur nor whip.  She possessed that
+charmingly sensitive spirit which seems to receive an electric shock
+from its rider's lightest chirp.  She was what you may call an anxiously
+willing steed, yet possessed such a tender mouth that she could be
+pulled up as easily as she could be made to go.  A mere child could have
+ridden her, and Dick found in a few minutes that a slight check was
+necessary to prevent her scouring over the plains at racing speed.  He
+restrained her, therefore, to a grand canter, with many a stride and
+bound interspersed, when such a thing as a rut or a little bush came in
+her way.
+
+With arched neck, glistening eyes, voluminous mane, and flowing tail she
+flew onward, hour after hour, with many a playful shake of the head, and
+an occasional snort, as though to say, "This is mere child's play; _do_
+let me put on a spurt!"
+
+It may not be fair to credit such a noble creature with talking, or even
+thinking, slang, but Dick Darvall clearly understood her to say
+something of the sort, for after a while he reduced speed to a kind of
+india-rubber walk and patted her neck, saying--
+
+"No, no, lass, you mustn't use up your strength at the beginning.  We've
+got a longish trip before us, Polly, an' it won't do to clap on all sail
+at the beginnin' of the voyage."
+
+At David's store Dick stopped for a short time to obtain a little
+refreshment for himself and Polly.  There he found a group of cow-boys
+discussing the affairs of their neighbours, and enlarging noisily on
+things in general under the brain-clearing and reason-inspiring
+influence of strong drink!  To these he recounted briefly the incidents
+of the recent raid of the troops into Traitor's Trap, and learned that
+Jake the Flint had "drifted south into Mexico where he was plying the
+trade of cattle and horse stealer, with the usual accompaniments of that
+profession--fighting, murdering, drinking, etcetera."  Some of the deeds
+of this notorious outlaw, as narrated by the cow-boy Crux, who happened
+to be there, made the blood of Dick run cold--and Dick's blood was not
+easily made to run otherwise than naturally by any one--except, of
+course, by Mary Jackson, who could at all events make it run hot, also
+fast or slow, very much according to her own sweet will!
+
+But the seaman had no time to lose.  He had still a long way to go, and
+the day was advancing.  Remounting Black Polly he was soon out again on
+the prairie, sweeping over the grassy waves and down into the hollows
+with a feeling of hilarious jollity, that was born of high health,
+good-nature, pleasant circumstances, and a free-and-easy mind.
+
+Nothing worthy of particular notice occurred after this to mar the
+pleasure of our sailor's "voyage" over the prairie until he reached a
+belt of woodland, through which for half a mile he had to travel.  Here
+he drew rein and began to traverse the bit of forest at a quiet amble,
+partly to rest Polly, and partly that he might more thoroughly enjoy the
+woodland scenery through the umbrageous canopy of which the sun was
+sending his slanting rays and covering the sward with a confused
+chequer-work of green and gold.
+
+And here Dick Darvall became communicative; entered into conversation,
+so to speak, with himself.  After a few minutes, however, this did not
+prove a sufficient outlet to his exuberant spirits.
+
+"Come, Dick," he exclaimed, "give us a song.  Your voice ain't, perhaps,
+much to speak of as to quality, but there's no end of quantity.  Strike
+up, now; what shall it be?"
+
+Without replying to the question he struck up "Rule Britannia" in tones
+that did not justify his disparaging remark as to quality.  He reached
+the other end of the wood and the end of the song at the same time.
+"Britons," shouted he with unalterable determination--"Never, never,
+ne-ever, shall be--Redskins!"
+
+This unnatural termination was not an intentional variation.  It was the
+result of a scene that suddenly burst upon his view.
+
+Far away on the prairie two riders were seen racing at what he would
+have styled a slant away from him.  They were going at a pace that
+suggested fleeing for life.
+
+"Redskins--arter somethin'," murmured Dick, pulling up, and shading his
+eyes from the sun with his right hand, as he gazed earnestly at the two
+riders.
+
+"No-n-no.  They're whites," he continued, "one o' them a man; t'other a
+woman.  I can make that out, anyhow."
+
+As he spoke, the racing riders topped a far-off knoll; halted, and
+turned round as if to gaze back towards the north--the direction from
+which they had come.  Then, wheeling round as if in greater haste than
+ever, they continued their headlong gallop and disappeared on the other
+side of the knoll.
+
+Dick naturally turned towards the north to see, if possible, what the
+two riders were flying from.  He was not kept long in doubt, for just
+then a band of horsemen was seen topping the farthest ridge in that
+direction, and bearing down on the belt of woodland, along the edge of
+which they galloped towards him.
+
+There was no mistaking who they were.  The war-whoop, sounding faint and
+shrill in the distance, and the wild gesticulations of the riders, told
+the story at once to our seaman--two pale-faces, pursued by a band of
+bloodthirsty savages!
+
+Unskilled though he was in backwoods warfare, Dick was not unfamiliar
+with war's alarms, nor was he wanting in common sense.  To side with the
+weaker party was a natural tendency in our seaman.  That the pursuers
+were red, and the pursued white, strengthened the tendency, and the fact
+that one of the latter was a woman settled the question.  Instantly Dick
+shook the reins, drove his unarmed heels against the sides of Polly, and
+away they went after the fugitives like a black thunderbolt, if there be
+such artillery in nature!
+
+A wild yell told him that he was seen.
+
+"Howl away, ye land lubbers!" growled Dick.  "You'll have to fill your
+sails wi' a stiffer breeze than howlin' before ye overhaul this here
+craft."
+
+Just then he reached the crest of a prairie billow, whence he could see
+the fugitives still far ahead of him.  Suddenly a suspicion entered the
+seaman's mind, which made his heart almost choke him.  What if this
+should be Mary Jackson and her father?  Their relative size countenanced
+the idea, for the woman seemed small and the man unusually large.
+
+In desperate haste Dick now urged on his gallant steed to her best pace,
+and well did she justify the praises that had been often bestowed on her
+by Hunky Ben.  In a very brief space of time she was close behind the
+fugitives, and Dick was now convinced that his suspicions as to who they
+were was right.  He rode after them with divided feelings--tremblingly
+anxious lest Mary should fall into the hands of their ruthless foes--
+exultantly glad that he had come there in time to fight, or die if need
+be, in her defence.
+
+Suddenly the male fugitive, who had only glanced over his shoulder from
+time to time, pulled up, wheeled round, and quickly raised his rifle.
+
+"Hallo! get on, man; don't stop!"  Dick yelled, in a voice worthy of
+Bull himself.  Taking off his hat he waved it violently above his head.
+As he spoke he saw the woman's arm flash upwards; a puff of smoke
+followed, and a bullet whistled close over his head.
+
+Next moment the fugitives had turned and resumed their headlong flight.
+A few more minutes sufficed to bring Dick and the black mare alongside,
+for the latter was still vigorous in wind and limb, while the poor jaded
+animals which Mary and her father rode were almost worn out by a
+prolonged flight.
+
+"Dick Darvall," exclaimed Jackson, as the former rode up, "I never was
+gladder to see any man than I am to see you this hour, though but for my
+Mary I'd surely have sent you to kingdom come.  Her ears are better than
+mine, you see.  She recognised the voice an' knocked up my rifle just as
+I pulled the trigger.  But I'm afeared it's too late, lad."
+
+The way in which the man said this, and the look of his pale haggard
+face, sent a thrill to the heart of Dick.
+
+"What d'ye mean?" he said, looking anxiously at Mary, who with a set
+rigid expression on her pale face was looking straight before her, and
+urging her tired pony with switch and rein.
+
+"I mean, lad, that we've but a poor chance to reach the ranch wi' such
+knocked-up brutes as these.  Of course we can turn at bay an' kill as
+many o' the red-devils as possible before it's all over wi' us, but what
+good would that do to Mary?  If we could only check the varmins, there
+might be some hope, but--"
+
+"Jackson!" exclaimed the seaman, in a firm tone, "I'll do my best to
+check them.  God bless you, Mary--good-bye.  Heave ahead, now, full
+swing!"
+
+As he spoke, Dick pulled up, while the others continued their headlong
+flight straight for the ranch, which was by the only a few miles
+distant.
+
+Wheeling round, Dick cantered back to the knoll over which they had just
+passed and halted on the top of it.  From this position he could see the
+band, of about fifty Indians, careering towards him and yelling with
+satisfaction, for they could also see him--a solitary horseman--clear
+cut against the bright sky.
+
+Dick got ready his repeating rifle.  We have already mentioned the fact
+that he had learned to load and fire this formidable weapon with great
+rapidity, though he had signally failed in his attempts to aim with it.
+Being well aware of his weakness, he made up his mind in his present
+desperate extremity not to aim at all!  He had always felt that the
+difficulty of getting the back and front sights of the rifle to
+correspond with the object aimed at was a slow, and, in his case, an
+impossible process.  He therefore resolved to simply point his weapon
+and fire!
+
+"Surely," he muttered to himself even in that trying moment, "surely I
+can't altogether miss a whole bunch o' fifty men an' horses!"
+
+He waited until he thought the savages were within long range, and then,
+elevating his piece a little, fired.
+
+The result justified his hopes.  A horse fell dead upon the plain, and
+its owner, although evidently unwounded, was for the time _hors de
+combat_.
+
+True to his plan, Dick kept up such a quick continuous fire, and made so
+much noise and smoke, that it seemed as if a whole company of riflemen
+were at work instead of one man, and several horses on the plain
+testified to the success of the pointing as compared with the aiming
+principle!
+
+Of course the fire was partly returned, and for a time the stout seaman
+was under a pretty heavy rain of bullets, but as the savages fired while
+galloping their aim was necessarily bad.
+
+This fusillade had naturally the effect of checking the advance of the
+Indians--especially when they drew near to the reckless man, who, when
+the snap of his rifle told that his last cartridge was off, wheeled
+about and fled as fast as Black Polly could lay hoofs to the plain.
+
+And now he found the value of the trustworthy qualities of his steed,
+for, instead of guiding her out of the way of obstacles, he gave her her
+head, held tight with his legs, and merely kept an eye on the ground in
+front to be ready for any swerve, bound, or leap, that might be
+impending.  Thus his hands were set free to re-charge the magazine of
+his rifle, which he did with deliberate rapidity.
+
+The truth is, that recklessness has a distinct tendency to produce
+coolness.  And there is no one who can afford to be so deliberate, and
+of whom other men are so much afraid, as the man who has obviously made
+up his mind to die fighting.
+
+While Dick was loading-up, Black Polly was encouraged by voice and heel
+to do her best, and her best was something to see and remember!  When
+the charging was finished, Dick drew rein and trotted to the next knoll
+he encountered, from which point he observed with some satisfaction that
+the fugitives were still pressing on, and that the distance between them
+and their foe had slightly increased.
+
+But the seaman had not much time to look or think, for the band of
+Redskins was drawing near.  When they came within range he again opened
+fire.  But this time the savages divided, evidently with the intention
+of getting on both sides of him, and so distracting his attention.  He
+perceived their object at once, and reserved his fire until they turned
+and with frantic yells made a simultaneous dash on him right and left.
+Again he waited till his enemies were close enough, and then opened fire
+right and left alternately, while the Indians found that they had
+outwitted themselves and scarcely dared to fire lest the opposite bands
+should hit each other.
+
+Having expended the second supply of ammunition, Dick wheeled round and
+took to flight as before.  Of course the mare soon carried him out of
+range, and again he had the satisfaction of observing that the fugitives
+had increased their distance from the foe.
+
+"One more check o' this kind," thought Dick, "and they'll be safe--I
+think."
+
+While thus thinking he was diligently re-charging, and soon cantered to
+the top of a third knoll, where he resolved to make his final stand.
+The ranch was by that time dimly visible on the horizon, and the weary
+fugitives were seen struggling towards it.  But Dick found, on halting
+and looking back, that the Indians had changed their tactics.  Instead
+of directing their attention to himself, as on the previous occasions,
+they had spread out to the right and left and had scattered, besides
+keeping well out of range.
+
+"What are the sinners up to now?" muttered the seaman in some
+perplexity.
+
+He soon perceived that they meant to go past him altogether, if
+possible, and head towards the fugitives in separate groups.
+
+"Ay, but it's _not_ possible!" exclaimed Dick, answering his own
+thoughts as he turned swiftly, and stretched out after his friends.
+Seeing this, the savages tried to close in on him from both sides, but
+their already winded ponies had no chance against the grand Mexican
+mare, which having been considerately handled during the day's journey
+was comparatively fresh and in full vigour.
+
+Shooting ahead he now resolved to join his friends and a feeling of
+triumph began to rise within his breast as he saw them pushing steadily
+onward.  The ranch, however, was still at a considerable distance, while
+the Indians were rapidly gaining ground.
+
+At that moment to Dick's horror, the pony which Mary Jackson rode
+stumbled and fell, sending its rider over its head.  But the fair Mary,
+besides being a splendid horsewoman, was singularly agile and quick in
+perception.  For some time she had anticipated the catastrophe, and, at
+the first indication of a stumble, leaped from the saddle and actually
+alighted on her feet some yards ahead.  Of course she fell with some
+violence, but the leap broke her fall and probably saved her neck.  She
+sprang up instantly, and grasping the reins, tried to raise her pony.
+It was too late.  The faithful creature was dead.
+
+Jackson, pulling up, wheeled round and was back at her side instantly.
+Almost at the same moment Dick Darvall came up, threw the mare almost on
+her haunches, leaped from the saddle, and ran to Mary.  As he did so,
+the crash of a pistol shot at his ear almost deafened him, and a glance
+showed him that Jackson had shot his horse, which fell dead close to his
+daughter's pony.
+
+"Kill your horse, Dick," he growled sharply, as he exerted his great
+strength to the utmost, and dragged the haunches of his own steed close
+to the head of the other.  "It's our only chance."
+
+Dick drew his revolver, and aimed at the heart of Black Polly, but for
+the soul of him he could not pull the trigger.
+
+"No--I won't!" he cried, grasping the lasso which always hung at the
+saddle-bow.  "Hobble the fore-legs!"
+
+There was such determination in the sailor's command, that Jackson felt
+bound to obey.  At the same moment Dick bound the horse's hind-legs.  He
+fully understood what Jackson intended, and the latter was as quick to
+perceive the seaman's drift.  Seizing the reins, while his friend caught
+hold of the lasso, Dick cried, "Out o' the way, Mary!" and with a mighty
+effort the two men threw the mare on her side.
+
+"First-rate!" cried Jackson, while his companion held down the animal's
+head.  "It couldn't have dropped better.  Jump inside, Mary, an' lie
+down flat behind your pony.  Let Mary have the reins, Dick.  She knows
+how to hold its head down without showin' herself."
+
+Even while he was speaking, Jackson and Dick leaped into the triangle of
+horses thus formed, and, crouching low, disappeared from the sight of
+the savages, who now came on yelling with triumph, for they evidently
+thought themselves sure of their victims by that time.
+
+"Are ye a good shot, Dick?" asked Jackson, as he gazed sternly at the
+approaching foe.
+
+"No--abominably bad."
+
+"Fire low then.  You may catch the horses if ye miss the Redskins.
+Anyhow you'll hit the ground if you aim low, an' it's wonderful what
+execution a bullet may do arter hittin' mother Earth."
+
+"I never aim," replied the sailor.  "Only a waste o' time.  I just point
+straight an' fire away."
+
+"Do it, then," growled roaring Bull, with something that sounded like a
+short laugh.
+
+At the same moment he himself took quick aim at the foe and fired; the
+leading horse and man immediately rolled upon the plain.
+
+As both men were armed with repeating rifles the fusillade was rapid,
+and most of the savages, who seldom fight well in the open, were
+repulsed.  But several of them, headed apparently by their chief, rode
+on fearlessly until within pistol-shot.
+
+Then the two defenders of this peculiar fortress sprang up with
+revolvers in each hand.
+
+"Lie close, Mary," cried Jackson as he fired, and the chief's horse
+rolled over, almost reaching their position with the impetus of the
+charge.  The chief himself lay beside his horse, for another shot had
+ended his career.  As two other horses had fallen, the rest of the band
+wheeled aside and galloped away, followed by a brisk fire from the white
+men, who had again crouched behind their breast-work and resumed their
+rifles.
+
+Bullets were by that time flying over them in considerable numbers, for
+those Indians who had not charged with their chief had, after retiring
+to a safe distance, taken to firing at long range.  At this work Dick's
+rifle and straight pointing were of little use, so he reserved his fire
+for close quarters, while Jackson, who was almost a certain shot at
+average ranges, kept the savages from drawing nearer.
+
+"Lie closer to the pony, Miss Mary," said Dick, as a shot passed close
+over the girl and whistled between him and his comrade.  "Were you hurt
+in the fall?"
+
+"No, not in the least.  Don't you think they'll hear the firing at the
+ranch, father?"
+
+"Ay, lass, if there's anybody to hear it, but I sent the boys out this
+mornin' to hunt up a bunch o' steers that have drifted south among
+Wilson's cattle, an' I fear they've not come back yet.  See, the
+reptiles are goin' to try it again!"
+
+As he spoke, the remnant of the Redskins who pressed home the first
+charge, having held a palaver, induced the whole band to make another
+attempt, but they were met with the same vigour as before--a continuous
+volley at long range, which emptied several saddles, and then, when the
+plucky men of the tribe charged close, the white men stood up, as
+before, and plied them with revolvers so rapidly that they were fain to
+wheel aside and retire.
+
+"Ammunition's gettin' low," said Dick, in an anxious tone.
+
+"Then I'll waste no more," growled Jackson, "but only fire when I'm safe
+to hit."
+
+As he spoke a distant cheer was heard, and, looking back, they saw, with
+a rebound of hope, that a band of five or six cow-boys were coming from
+the ranch and galloping full swing to the rescue.  Behind them, a few
+seconds later, appeared a line of men who came on at a swinging trot.
+
+"Troopers, I do believe!" exclaimed Jackson.
+
+"Thank God!" said Mary, with a deep sigh of relief as she sat up to look
+at them.  The troopers gave a cheer of encouragement as they thundered
+past to the attack, but the Indians did not await the onset.  At the
+first sight of the troops they fled, and in a few minutes pursued and
+pursuers alike were out of sight--hidden behind the prairie waves.
+
+"I can't tell you how thankful I am that I didn't shoot the mare," said
+Dick, as they unfastened the feet of Black Polly and let her rise.  "I'd
+never have been able to look Hunky Ben in the face again arter it."
+
+"Well, I'm not sorry you spared her," said Jackson; "as for the two that
+are dead, they're no great loss--yet I've a kind o' regret too, for the
+poor things served us well."
+
+"Faithfully--even to death," added Mary, in a sorrowful tone as she
+stooped to pat the neck of her dead pony.
+
+"Will you mount, Miss Mary, and ride home?" asked the sailor.
+
+"Thank you--no, I'd rather walk with father.  We have not far to go
+now."
+
+"Then we'll all walk together," said Jackson.
+
+Dick threw Black Polly's bridle over his arm, and they all set off at a
+smart walk for the ranch of Roaring Bull, while the troops and cow-boys
+chased the Redskins back into the mountains whence they had come.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
+
+TREATS OF VARIOUS INTERESTING MATTERS, AND TELLS OF NEWS FROM HOME.
+
+Dick Darvall now learned that, owing to the disturbed state of the
+country, Captain Wilmot had left a small body of men to occupy Bull's
+ranch for a time; hence their presence at the critical moment when
+Jackson and his daughter stood so much in need of their assistance.  He
+also found that there were two letters awaiting the party at Traitor's
+Trap--one for Charles Brooke, Esquire, and one for Mr S. Leather.  They
+bore the postmarks of the old country.
+
+"You'd better not start back wi' them for three or four days, Dick,"
+said Jackson, when they were seated that evening in the hall of the
+ranch, enjoying a cup of coffee made by the fair hands of Mary.
+
+Dick shook his head.  "I'm acting post-boy just now" said he, "an' it
+would ill become me to hang off an' on here waitin' for a fair wind when
+I can beat into port with a foul one."
+
+"But if the Redskins is up all round, as some o' the boys have reported,
+it's not merely a foul wind but a regular gale that's blowin', an' it
+would puzzle you to beat into port in the teeth o' that."
+
+"I think," remarked Mary, with an arch smile, "that Mr Darvall had
+better `lay to' until the troops return to-night and report on the state
+of the weather."
+
+To this the gallant seaman declared that he would be only too happy to
+cast anchor altogether where he was for the rest of his life, but that
+duty was duty, and that, blow high or blow low, fair weather or foul,
+duty had to be attended to.
+
+"That's true, O high-principled seaman!" returned Jackson; "and what
+d'ye consider your duty at the present time?"
+
+"To deliver my letters, O Roarin' Bull!" replied Dick.
+
+"Just so, but if you go slick off when Redskins are rampagin' around,
+you'll be sure to get nabbed an' roasted alive, an' so you'll _never_
+deliver your letters."
+
+"It's my duty to try," said Dick.  "Hows'ever," he added, turning to
+Mary with a benignant smile, "I'll take your advice, Miss Mary, an' wait
+for the report o' the soldiers."
+
+When the troopers returned, their report was, that the Redskins, after
+being pretty severely handled, had managed to reach the woods, where it
+would have been useless to follow them so close upon night; but it was
+their opinion that the band, which had so nearly captured the boss of
+the ranch and his daughter, was merely a marauding band, from the south,
+of the same Indians who had previously attacked the ranch, and that, as
+for the Indians of the district, they believed them to be quite
+peaceably disposed.
+
+"Which says a good deal for them," remarked the officer in command of
+the troops, "when we consider the provocation they receive from Buck
+Tom, Jake the Flint, and such-like ruffians."
+
+"The moon rises at ten to-night, Dick," said Jackson, as they went
+together to the stables to see that the horses were all right.
+
+"That's so," said the sailor, who noticed something peculiar in the
+man's tone; "what may be the reason o' your reference to that bit of
+astronomy?"
+
+"Why, you see," returned the other, "post-boys in these diggin's are
+used to travellin' night an' day.  An' the troopers' report o' the
+weather might be worse.  You was sayin' somethin' about duty, wasn't
+you?"
+
+"Right, Jackson," returned Dick, "but Black Polly is not used to
+travellin' night an' day.  If she was, I'd take her back to-night, for
+moonlight is good enough for a man that has twice taken soundin's along
+the road, an' who's well up in all the buoys, beacons, an' landmarks,
+but it would be cruelty to the good mare."
+
+"Duty first, Dick, the mare second.  You don't need to trouble about
+her.  I'll lend ye one o' my best horses an' take good care o' Black
+Polly till Hunky Ben claims her."
+
+"Thank 'ee, Jackson, but I'll not part wi' Black Polly till I've
+delivered her to her owner.  I won't accept your invite to stop here
+three or four days, but neither will I start off to-night.  I've too
+much regard for the good mare to do that."
+
+"Ho! ho!" thought his host, with an inward chuckle, "it's not so much
+the mare as Mary that you've a regard for, my young sailor!"
+
+But in spite of his name the man was much too polite to express this
+opinion aloud.  He merely said, "Well, Dick, you know that you're
+welcome to squat here as long or as short a time as you like, an' use
+the best o' my horses, if so disposed, or do the postboy business on
+Black Polly.  Do as ye like wi' me an' mine, boy, for it's only fair to
+say that but for your help this day my Mary an' me would have bin done
+for."
+
+They reached the stable as he was speaking, and Jackson at once turned
+the conversation on the horses, thus preventing a reply from Dick--in
+regard to which the latter was not sorry.
+
+In the stall the form of Black Polly looked grander than ever, for her
+head nearly touched the roof as she raised it and turned a gleaming eye
+on the visitors, at the same time uttering a slight whinny of
+expectation.
+
+"Why, I do believe she has transferred her affections to you, Dick,"
+said Jackson.  "I never heard her do that before except to Hunky Ben,
+and she's bin many a time in that stall."
+
+"More likely that she expected Ben had come to bid her good-night,"
+returned the sailor.
+
+But the way in which the beautiful creature received Dick's caresses
+induced Jackson to hold to his opinion.  It is more probable, however,
+that some similarity of disposition between Dick Darvall and Hunky Ben
+had commended itself to the mare, which was, as much as many a human
+being, of an amiable, loving disposition.  She thoroughly appreciated
+the tenderness and forbearance of her master, and, more recently, of
+Dick.  No doubt the somewhat rough way in which she had been thrown to
+the ground that day may have astonished her, but it evidently had not
+soured her temper.
+
+That night Dick did not see much of Mary.  She was far too busy
+attending to, and providing for, the numerous guests at the ranch to be
+able to give individual attention to any one in particular--even had she
+been so disposed.
+
+Buttercup of course lent able assistance to her mistress in these
+domestic duties, and, despite her own juvenility--we might perhaps say,
+in consequence of it--gave Mary much valuable advice.
+
+"Dat man's in a bad way," said she, as, with her huge lips pouting
+earnestly, she examined the contents of a big pot on the fire.  The
+black maiden's lips were so pronounced and expressive that they might
+almost be said to constitute her face!
+
+"What man?" asked Mary, who, with her sleeves tucked up to the elbows,
+was manipulating certain proportions of flour, water, and butter.
+
+"Why, Dick, oh course.  He's de only man wuth speakin' about."
+
+Mary blushed a little in spite of herself, and laughed hilariously as
+she replied--
+
+"Dear me, Butter, I didn't think he had made such a deep impression on
+you."
+
+"'S not on'y on me he's made a 'mpress'n," returned the maid,
+carelessly.  "He makes de same 'mpress'n on eberybody."
+
+"How d'you know?" asked Mary.
+
+"'Cause I see," answered the maid.
+
+She turned her eyes on her mistress as she spoke, and immediately a
+transformation scene was presented.  The eyes dwindled into slits as the
+cheeks rose, and the serious pout became a smile so magnificent that
+ivory teeth and scarlet gums set in ebony alone met the gaze of the
+beholder.
+
+"Buttercup," exclaimed Mary, stamping her little foot firmly, "it's
+boiling over!"
+
+She was right.  Teeth and gums vanished.  The eyes returned, so did the
+pout, and the pot was whipped off the fire in a twinkling, but not
+before a mighty hiss was heard and the head of the black maiden was
+involved in a cloud of steam and ashes!
+
+"I told you so!" cried Mary, quoting from an ancient Manuscript.
+
+"No, you di'n't," retorted her servitor, speaking from the depths of her
+own consciousness.
+
+We refrain from following the conversation beyond this point, as it
+became culinary and flat.
+
+Next day Dick Darvall, refreshed--and, owing to some quite inexplicable
+influences, enlivened--mounted Black Polly and started off alone for
+Traitor's Trap, leaving his heart and a reputation for cool pluck behind
+him.
+
+Of course he was particularly watchful and circumspect on the way up,
+but saw nothing to call for a further display of either pluck or
+coolness.  On arriving at the cave he found his friends there much as he
+had left them.  Buck Tom, owing to the skilled attentions which he had
+received from that amateur surgeon, Hunky Ben, and a long refreshing
+sleep--the result of partial relief from pain--was a good deal better;
+and poor Leather, cheered by the hope thus raised of his friend's
+recovery, was himself considerably improved in health and spirits.
+
+Fortunately for his own peace of mind, it never seemed to occur to Shank
+that a return to health meant for Buck Tom, death on the gallows.
+Perhaps his own illness had weakened Shank's powers of thought.  It may
+be, his naturally thoughtless disposition helped to render him oblivious
+of the solemn fact, and no one was cruel enough to remind him of it.
+But Buck himself never forgot it; yet he betrayed no symptom of
+despondency, neither did he indicate any degree of hope.  He was a man
+of resolute purpose, and had the power of subduing--at least of
+absolutely concealing--his feelings.  To those who nursed him he seemed
+to be in a state of gentle, colourless resignation.
+
+Charlie Brooke and Hunky Ben, having been out together, had returned
+well laden with game; and Leather was busy at the fire preparing a
+savoury mess of the same for his sick friend when Dick arrived.
+
+"News from the old country!" he exclaimed, holding up the letters on
+entering the cave.  "Two for Charles Brooke, Esquire, and one for Mister
+Leather!"
+
+"They might have been more polite to me.  Hand it here," said the
+latter, endeavouring to conceal under a jest his excitement at the sight
+of a letter from home; for his wild life had cut him off from
+communication for a very long time.
+
+"One of mine is from old Jacob Crossley," said Charlie, tearing the
+letter open with eager interest.
+
+"An' mine is from sister May," exclaimed Shank.
+
+If any one had observed Buck Tom at that moment, he would have seen that
+the outlaw started and rose almost up on one elbow, while a deep flush
+suffused his bronzed countenance.  The action and the flush were only
+momentary, however he sank down again and turned his face to the wall.
+
+Charlie also started and looked at Shank when the name of May was
+mentioned, and the eye of Hunky Ben was on him at the moment.  But Hunky
+of course could not interpret the start.  He knew little of our hero's
+past history--nothing whatever about May.  Being a western scout, no
+line of his mahogany-looking face indicated that the start aroused a
+thought of any kind.
+
+While the recipients of the letters were busily perusing their missives,
+Dick Darvall gave the scout a brief outline of his expedition to the
+ranch, reserving the graphic narration of incidents to a more fitting
+occasion, when all the party could listen.
+
+"Dick, you're a trump," said the scout.
+
+"I'm a lucky fellow, anyhow," returned Dick.
+
+"In very truth ye are, lad, to escape from such a big bunch o' Redskins
+without a scratch; why--"
+
+"Pooh!" interrupted the sailor, "that's not the luck I'm thinkin' of.
+Havin' overhauled Roarin' Bull an' his little girl in time to help
+rescue them, that's what I call luck--d'ee see?"
+
+"Yes, I see," was Hunky Ben's laconic reply.
+
+Perhaps the scout saw more than was intended, for he probably observed
+the glad enthusiasm with which the bold seaman mentioned Roaring Bull's
+little girl.  We cannot tell.  His wooden countenance betrayed no sign,
+and he may have seen nothing; but he was a western scout, and accustomed
+to take particular note of the smallest signs of the wilderness.
+
+"Capital--first-rate!" exclaimed Charlie, looking up from his letter
+when he had finished it.
+
+"Just what I was going to say, or something of the same sort," said
+Leather, as he folded his epistle.
+
+"Then there's nothing but good news?" said Charlie.
+
+"Nothing.  I suppose it's the same with you, to judge from your looks,"
+returned Shank.
+
+"Exactly.  Perhaps," said Charlie, "it may interest you all to hear my
+letter.  There are no secrets in it, and the gentleman who writes it is
+a jolly old fellow, Jacob Crossley by name.  You know him, Dick, as the
+owner of the _Walrus_, though you've never seen him."
+
+"All right.  I remember; fire away," said Dick.
+
+"It is dated from his office in London," continued our hero, "and runs
+thus:--
+
+  "MY DEAR BROOKE,--We were all very glad to hear of your safe arrival
+  in New York, and hope that long before this reaches your hand you will
+  have found poor Leather and got him to some place of comfort, where he
+  may recover the health that we have been given to understand he has
+  lost.
+
+  "I chanced to be down at Sealford visiting your mother when your
+  letter arrived; hence my knowledge of its contents.  Mrs Leather and
+  her daughter May were then as _usual_.  By the way, what a pretty girl
+  May has become!  I remember her such a rumpled up, dress-anyhow,
+  harum-scarum sort of a girl, that I find it hard to believe the tall,
+  graceful, modest creature I meet with now is the same person!  Captain
+  Stride says she is the finest craft he ever saw, except that wonderful
+  `Maggie,' about whose opinions and sayings he tells us so much.
+
+  "But this is a double digression.  To return: your letter of course
+  gave us all great pleasure.  It also gave your mother and May some
+  anxiety, where it tells of the necessity of your going up to that
+  wild-west place, Traitor's Trap, where poor Leather is laid up.  Take
+  care of yourself, my dear boy, for I'm told that the red savages are
+  still given to those roasting, scalping, and other torturing that one
+  has read of in the pages of Fenimore Cooper.
+
+  "By the way, before I forget it, let me say, in reference to the
+  enclosed bill, it is a loan which I have obtained for Leather, at very
+  moderate interest, and when more is required more can be obtained on
+  the same terms.  Let him understand this, for I don't wish that he
+  should think, on the one hand, that he is drawing on his mother's
+  slender resources, or, on the other hand, that he is under obligation
+  to any one.  I send the bill because I feel quite sure that you
+  started on this expedition with too little.  It is drawn in your name,
+  and I think you will be able to cash it at any civilised town--even in
+  the far west!
+
+  "Talking of Captain Stride--was I talking of him?  Well, no matter.
+  As he is past work now, but thinks himself very far indeed from that
+  condition, I have prevailed on him to accept a new and peculiar post
+  arising out of the curious evolutions of the firm of Withers and
+  Company which satisfies the firm completely and suits the captain to a
+  T.  As the work can be done anywhere, a residence has been taken for
+  him in Sealford, mid-way between that of your mother and Mrs Leather,
+  so that he and his wife and little girl can run into either port when
+  so disposed.  As Mrs L, however (to use his own phraseology), is
+  almost always to be found at anchor in the Brooke harbour, he usually
+  kills both with the same visit.  I have not been to see him yet in the
+  new abode, and do not know what the celebrated Maggie thinks of it.
+
+  "When you find Leather, poor fellow, tell him that his mother and
+  sister are very well.  The former is indefatigable in knitting those
+  hundreds of socks and stockings for poor people, about which there has
+  been, and still is, and I think ever will be, so much mystery.  The
+  person who buys them from her must be very deep as well as honest, for
+  no inquiries ever throw any fresh light on the subject, and he--or
+  she, whichever it is--pays regularly as the worsted work is
+  delivered--so I'm told!  It is a little old lady who pays--but I've
+  reason to believe that she's only a go-between--some agent of a
+  society for providing cheap clothing for the poor, I fancy, which the
+  poor stand very much in need of, poor things!  Your good mother helps
+  in this work--at least so I am told, but I'm not much up in in the
+  details of it yet.  I mean to run down to see them in a few days and
+  hear all about it.
+
+  "Stride, I forgot to say, is allowed to smoke a pipe in your mother's
+  parlour when he pays her a visit.  This is so like her amiability, for
+  she hates tobacco as much as I do.  I ventured on a similarly amiable
+  experiment one day when the worthy Captain dined with me, but the
+  result was so serious that I have not ventured to repeat it.  You
+  remember my worthy housekeeper, Mrs Bland?  Well, she kicked over the
+  traces and became quite unmanageable.  I had given Stride leave to
+  smoke after dessert, because I had a sort of idea that he could nor
+  digest his food without a pipe.  You know my feelings with regard to
+  _young_ fellows who try to emulate chimneys, so you can understand
+  that my allowing the Captain to indulge was no relaxation of my
+  principles, but was the result of a strong objection I had to spoil
+  the dinner of a man who was somewhat older than myself by cramming my
+  principles down his throat.
+
+  "But the moment that Mrs Bland entered I knew by the glance of her
+  eye, as well as by the sniff of her nose, that a storm was brewing
+  up--as Stride puts it--and I was not wrong.  The storm burst upon me
+  that evening.  It's impossible, and might be tedious, to give you all
+  the conversation that we had after Stride had gone, but the upshot was
+  that she gave me warning.
+
+  "`But, my good woman,' I began--
+
+  "`It's of no use good-womaning me, Mr Crossley,' said she, `I
+  couldn't exist in a 'ouse w'ere smokin' is allowed.  My dear father
+  died of smokin'--at least, if he didn't, smokin' must 'ave 'ad
+  somethink to do with it, for after the dear man was gone a pipe an' a
+  plug of the nasty stuff was found under 'is piller, so I can't stand
+  it; an' what's more, Mr Crossley, I _won't_ stand it!  Just think,
+  sir, 'ow silly it is to put a bit of clay in your mouth an' draw smoke
+  through it, an' then to spit it out again as if you didn't like it; as
+  no more no one _does_ on beginnin' it, for boys only smoke to look
+  like men, an' men only smoke because they've got up the 'abit an'
+  can't 'elp it.  W'y, sir, you may git up _any_ 'abit.  You may git the
+  'abit of walkin' on your 'ands an' shakin' your legs in the hair if
+  you was to persevere long enough, but that would only prove you a fool
+  fit for a circus or a lunatic asylum.  You never see the hanimals
+  smokin'.  They knows better.  Just fancy! what would you think if you
+  saw the cab 'osses all a-settin' on their tails in the rank smokin'
+  pipes an' cigars!  What would you think of a 'oss w'en 'is cabby
+  cried, "Gee-up, there's a fare a 'owlin' for us," an' that 'oss would
+  say, "Hall right, cabby, just 'old on, hold man, till I finish my
+  pipe"?  No, Mr Crossley, no, I--'
+
+  "`But, my good soul!'  I burst in here, `do listen--'
+
+  "`No use good-soulin' me, Mr Crossley.  I tell you I won't stand it.
+  My dear father died of it, an' I _can't_ stand it--'
+
+  "`I _hate_ it, Mrs Bland, myself!'
+
+  "I shouted this interruption in such a loud fierce tone that the good
+  woman stopped and looked at me in surprise.
+
+  "`Yes, Mrs Bland,' I continued, in the same tone, `I detest smoking.
+  You know I always did, but now more than ever, for your reasoning has
+  convinced me that there are _some_ evil consequences of smoking which
+  are almost worse than smoking itself!  Rest assured that never again
+  shall the smell of the noxious weed defile the walls of this house.'
+
+  "`Lauk, sir!' said Mrs Bland.
+
+  "I had subdued her, Charlie, by giving in with dignity.  I shall try
+  the same role next breeze that threatens.
+
+  "I almost feel that I owe you an apology for the length of this
+  epistle.  Let me conclude by urging you to bring poor Leather home,
+  strong and well.  Tell him from me that there is a vacant situation in
+  the firm of Withers and Company which will just suit him.  He shall
+  have it when he returns--if God spares me to see him again.  But I'm
+  getting old, Charlie, and we know not what a day may bring forth."
+
+"A kind--a very kind letter," said Leather earnestly, when his friend
+had finished reading.
+
+"Why, he writes as if he were your own father, Brooke," remarked Buck
+Tom, who had been listening intently.  "Have you known him long?"
+
+"Not long.  Only since the time that he gave me the appointment of
+supercargo to the _Walrus_, but the little I have seen of him has
+aroused in me a feeling of strong regard."
+
+"My sister May refers to him here," said Leather, with a peculiar smile,
+as he re-opened his letter.  "The greater part of this tells chiefly of
+private affairs which would not interest any of you, but here is a
+passage which forms a sort of commentary on what you have just heard:--
+
+  "`You will be amused to hear,' she writes, `that good Captain Stride
+  has come to live in Sealford.  Kind old Mr Crossley has given him
+  some sort of work connected with Withers and Company's house which I
+  can neither understand nor describe.  Indeed, I am convinced it is
+  merely work got up on purpose by Mr Crossley as an excuse for giving
+  his old friend a salary, for he knows that Captain Stride would be
+  terribly cast down if offered a _pension_, as that would be equivalent
+  to pronouncing him unfit for further duty, and the Captain will never
+  admit himself to be in that condition till he is dying.  Old Jacob
+  Crossley--as you used to call him--thinks himself a very sagacious and
+  "deep" man, but in truth there never was a simpler or more transparent
+  one.  He thinks that we know nothing about who it is that sends the
+  old lady to buy up all the worsted-work that mother makes, but we know
+  perfectly well that it is himself, and dear mother could never have
+  gone on working with satisfaction and receiving the money for it all
+  if we had not found out that he buys it for our fishermen, who are
+  said really to be very much in need of the things she makes.
+
+  "`The dear old man is always doing something kind and considerate in a
+  sly way, under the impression that nobody notices.  He little knows
+  the power of woman's observation!  By the way, that reminds me that he
+  is not ignorant of woman's powers in other ways.  We heard yesterday
+  that his old and faithful--though rather trying--housekeeper had
+  quarrelled with him about smoking!  We were greatly surprised, for we
+  knew that the old gentleman is not and never was, a smoker.  She
+  threatened to leave, but we have since heard, I am glad to say, that
+  they have made it up!
+
+"H'm! there's food for meditation in all that," said Dick Darvall, as he
+knocked the ashes out of his pipe and put it in his vest pocket.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
+
+HUNKY BEN AND CHARLIE GET BEYOND THEIR DEPTH, AND BUCK TOM GETS BEYOND
+RECALL.
+
+While hunting together in the woods near Traitor's Trap one day Charlie
+Brooke and Hunky Ben came to a halt on the summit of an eminence that
+commanded a wide view over the surrounding country.
+
+"'Tis a glorious place, Ben," said Brooke, leaning his rifle against a
+tree and mounting on a piece of rock, the better to take in the
+beautiful prospect of woodland, river, and lake.  "When I think of the
+swarms of poor folk in the old country who don't own a foot of land,
+have little to eat and only rags to cover them, I long to bring them out
+here and plant them down where God has spread His blessings so
+bountifully, where there is never lack of work, and where Nature pays
+high wages to those who obey her laws."
+
+"No doubt there's room enough here," returned the scout sitting down and
+laying his rifle across his knees.  "I've often thowt on them subjects,
+but my thowts only lead to puzzlement; for, out here in the wilderness,
+a man can't git all the information needful to larn him about things in
+the old world.  Dear, dear, it do seem strange to me that any man should
+choose to starve in the cities when there's the free wilderness to roam
+about in.  I mind havin' a palaver once wi' a stove-up man when I was
+ranchin' down in Kansas on the Indian Territory Line.  Screw was his
+name, an' a real kind-hearted fellow he was too--only he couldn't keep
+his hand off that curse o' mankind, the bottle.  I mentioned to him my
+puzzlements about this matter, an' he up fist an' come down on the table
+wi' a crack that made the glasses bounce as if they'd all come alive,
+an' caused a plate o' mush in front of him to spread itself all over the
+place--but he cared nothin' for that, he was so riled up by the thowts
+my obsarvation had shook up.
+
+"`Hunky Ben,' says he, glowerin' at me like a bull wi' the measles, `the
+reason we stay there an' don't come out here or go to the other parts o'
+God's green 'arth is 'cause we can't help ourselves an' don't know how--
+or what--don't know nothin' in fact!'
+
+"`That's a busted-up state o' ignorance, no doubt' said I, in a soothin'
+sort o' way, for I see'd the man was riled pretty bad by ancient
+memories, an' looked gittin' waxier.  He wore a black eye, too, caught
+in a free fight the night before, which didn't improve his looks.  `You
+said _we_ just now,' says I.  `Was you one o' them?'
+
+"`Of course I was,' says he, tamin' down a little, `an' I'd bin one o'
+them yet--if not food for worms by this time--if it hadn't bin for a
+dook as took pity on me.'
+
+"`What's a dook?' says I.
+
+"`A dook?' says he.  `Why, he's a _dook_, you know; a sort o' markis--
+somewheres between a lord an' a king.  I don't know zackly where, an
+hang me if I care; but they're a bad lot are some o' them dooks--rich as
+Pharaoh, king o' J'rus'lem, an' hard as nails--though I'm bound for to
+say they ain't all alike.  Some on 'em's no better nor costermongers,
+others are _men_; men what keeps in mind that the same God made us all
+an' will call us all to the same account, an' that the same kind o'
+worms 'll finish us all off at last.  But this dook as took pity on me
+was a true blue.  He wasn't one o' the hard sort as didn't care a rush
+for us so long as his own stummick was full.  Neether was he one o' the
+butter-mouths as dursen't say boo to a goose.  He spoke out to me like a
+man, an' he knew well enough that I'd bin born in the London slums, an'
+that my daddy had bin born there before me, an that my mother had caught
+her death o' cold through havin' to pawn her only pair o' boots to pay
+my school fees an' then walk barefutt to the court in a winter day to
+answer for not sendin' her boy to the board school--_her_ send me to
+school!--she might as well have tried to send daddy himself; an' him out
+o' work, too, an' all on us starvin'.  My dook, when he hear about it
+a'most bust wi' passion.  I hear 'im arterwards talkin' to a overseer,
+or somebody, "confound it," says he--no, not quite that, for my dook he
+_never_ swore, only he said somethin' pretty stiff--"these people are
+starvin'," says he, "an' pawnin' their things for food to keep 'em
+alive, an' they can't git work nohow," says he, "an' yet you worry them
+out o' body an' soul for school fees!"  I didn't hear no more, for the
+overseer smoothed 'im down somehows.  But that dook--that good _man_,
+Hunky Ben, paid my passage to Ameriky, an' sent me off wi' his blessin'
+an' a Bible.  Unfortnitly I took a bottle wi' me, an when I got to the
+other side I got hold of another bottle, an' another--an' there stands
+the last of 'em.'
+
+"An' wi' that, Mr Brooke, he fetched the bottle in front of him such a
+crack wi' his fist as sent it all to smash against the opposite wall.
+
+"`Well done, Screw!' cried the boy at the bar, laughin'; `have another
+bottle?'
+
+"Poor Screw smiled in a sheepish way, for the rile was out of him by
+that time, an', says he, `Well, I don't mind if I do.  A shot like that
+deserves another!'
+
+"Ah me!" continued the scout, "it do take the manhood out of a fellow,
+that drink.  Even when his indignation's roused and he tries to shake it
+off, he can't do it."
+
+"Well do I know that, Ben.  It is only God who can help a man in such a
+case."
+
+The scout gravely shook his head.  "Seems to me, Mr Brooke, that
+there's a screw loose some wheres in our theology, for I've heard
+parsons as well as you say that--as if the Almighty condescended to help
+us only when we're in bad straits.  Now, though I'm but a scout and
+pretend to no book larnin', it comes in strong upon me that if God made
+us an' measures our movements, an' gives us every beat o' the pulse, an'
+counts the very hairs of our heads, we stand in need of His help in
+_every_ case and at _all_ times; that we can't save ourselves from
+mischief under any circumstances, great or small, without Him."
+
+"I have thought of that too, sometimes," said Charlie, sitting down on
+the rock beside his companion, and looking at him in some perplexity,
+"but does not the view you take savour somewhat of fatalism, and seek to
+free us from responsibility in regard to what we do?"
+
+"It don't seem so to me," replied the scout, "I'm not speakin', you see,
+so much of doin' as of escapin'.  No doubt we are _perfectly_ free to
+_will_, but it don't follow that we are free to _act_.  I'm quite free
+to _will_ to cut my leg off or to let it stay on; an' if I carry out my
+will an' _do_ it, why, I'm quite free there too--an' also responsible.
+But I ain't free to sew it on again however much I may will to do so--
+leastwise if I do it won't stick.  The consekinces o' my deed I must
+bear, but who will deny that the Almighty could grow on another leg if
+He chose?  Why, some creeters He _does_ allow to get rid of a limb or
+two, an' grow new ones!  So, you see, I'm responsible for my deeds, but,
+at the same time, I must look to God for escape from the consekinces, if
+He sees fit to let me escape.  A man, bein' free, may drink himself into
+a drunkard, but he's _not_ free to cure _himself_.  He can't do it.  The
+demon Crave has got him by the throat, forces him to open his mouth, and
+pours the fiery poison down.  The thing that he is free to do is to
+will.  He may, if he chooses, call upon God the Saviour to help him; an'
+my own belief is that no man ever made such a call in vain."
+
+"How, if that be so, are we to account for the failure of those who try,
+honestly strive, struggle, and agonise, yet obviously fail?"
+
+"It's not for the like o' me, Mr Brooke, to expound the outs an' ins o'
+all mysteries.  Yet I will p'int out that you, what they call, beg the
+question, when you say that such people `honestly' strive.  If a man
+tries to unlock a door with all his might and main, heart and soul,
+honestly tries, by turnin' the key the wrong way, he'll strive till
+doomsday without openin' the door!  It's my opinion that a man may get
+into difficulties of his own free-will.  He can get out of them only by
+applyin' to his Maker."
+
+During the latter part of this conversation the hunters had risen and
+were making their way through the trackless woods, when the scout
+stopped suddenly and gazed for a few seconds intently at the ground.
+Then he kneeled and began to examine the spot with great care.  "A
+footprint here," he said, "that tells of recent visitors."
+
+"Friends, Ben, or foes?" asked our hero, also going on his knees to
+examine the marks.  "Well, now, I see only a pressed blade or two of
+grass, but nothing the least like a footprint.  It puzzles me more than
+I can tell how you scouts seem so sure about invisible marks."
+
+"Truly, if they was invisible you would have reason for surprise, but my
+wonder is that you don't see them.  Any child in wood-craft might read
+them.  See, here is the edge o' the right futt making a faint impression
+where the ground is soft--an' the heel; surely ye see the heel!"
+
+"A small hollow I do see, but as to its being a heel-print I could not
+pronounce on that.  Has it been made lately, think you?"
+
+"Ay, last night or this morning at latest; and it was made by the futt
+of Jake the Flint.  I know it well, for I've had to track him more than
+once an' would spot it among a thousand."
+
+"If Jake is in the neighbourhood, wouldn't it be well to return to the
+cave?  He and some of his gang might attack it in our absence."
+
+"No fear o' that," replied the scout, rising from his inspection, "the
+futt p'ints away from the cave.  I should say that the Flint has bin
+there durin' the night, an' found that we kep' too sharp a look-out to
+be caught sleepin'.  Where he went to arter that no one can tell, but we
+can hoof it an' see.  Like enough he went to spy us out alone, an' then
+returned to his comrades."
+
+So saying, the scout "hoofed it" through the woods at a pace that tested
+Charlie Brooke's powers of endurance, exceptionally good though they
+were.  After a march of about four miles in comparative silence they
+were conducted by the footprints to an open space in the midst of dense
+thicket where the fresh ashes of a camp fire indicated that a party had
+spent some time.
+
+"Just so.  They came to see what was up and what could be done, found
+that nothin' partiklar was up an' nothin' at all could be done, so off
+they go, mounted, to fish in other waters.  Just as well for us."
+
+"But not so well for the fish in the other waters," remarked Charlie.
+
+"True, but we can't help that.  Come, we may as well return now."
+
+While Charlie and the scout were thus following the trail, Buck Tom,
+lying in the cave, became suddenly much worse.  It seemed as if some
+string in his system had suddenly snapped and let the poor human wreck
+run down.
+
+"Come here, Leather," he gasped faintly.
+
+Poor Shank, who never left him, and who was preparing food for him at
+the time, was at his side in a moment, and bent anxiously over him.
+
+"D'you want anything?" he asked.
+
+"Nothing, Shank.  Where's Dick?"
+
+"Outside; cutting some firewood."
+
+"Don't call him.  I'm glad we are alone," said the outlaw, seizing his
+friend's hand with a feeble, tremulous grasp.  "I'm dying, Shank, dear
+boy.  You forgive me?"
+
+"Forgive you, Ralph!  Ay--long, long ago I--" He could not finish the
+sentence.
+
+"I know you did, Shank," returned the dying man, with a faint smile.
+"How it will fare with me hereafter I know not.  I've but one word to
+say when I get there, and that is--_guilty_!  I--I loved your sister,
+Shank.  Ay--you never guessed it.  I only tell you now that I may send
+her a message.  Tell her that the words she once said to me about a
+Saviour have never left me.  They are like a light in the darkness now.
+God bless you--Shank--and--May."
+
+With a throbbing heart and listening ear Shank waited for more; but no
+more came.  The hand he still held was lifeless, and the spirit of the
+outlaw had entered within the veil of that mysterious Hereafter.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
+
+CHASE, CAPTURE, AND END OF JAKE THE FLINT.
+
+It was growing dark when Brooke and the scout reached the cave that
+evening and found that Buck Tom was dead; but they had barely time to
+realise the fact when their attention was diverted by the sudden arrival
+of a large band of horsemen--cowboys and others--the leader of whom
+seemed to be the cow-boy Crux.
+
+Hunky Ben and his friends had, of course, made rapid preparations to
+receive them as foes, if need were; but on recognising who composed the
+cavalcade, they went out to meet them.
+
+"Hallo!  Hunky," shouted Crux, as he rode up and leaped off his steed,
+"have they been here?"
+
+"Who d'ye mean?" demanded the scout.
+
+"Why, Jake the Flint, to be sure, an' his murderin' gang.  Haven't ye
+heard the news?"
+
+"Not I.  Who d'ye think would take the trouble to come up here with
+noos?"
+
+"They've got clear off, boys," said Crux, in a voice of great
+disappointment.  "So we must off saddle, an' camp where we are for the
+night."
+
+While the rest of the party dismounted and dispersed to look for a
+suitable camping-ground, Crux explained the reason of their unexpected
+appearance.
+
+After the Flint and his companions had left their mountain fastness, as
+before described, they had appeared in different parts of the country
+and committed various depredations; some of their robberies having been
+accompanied with bloodshed and violence of a nature which so exasperated
+the people that an organised band had at length been gathered to go in
+pursuit of the daring outlaw.  But Jake was somewhat Napoleonic in his
+character, swift in his movements, and sudden in his attacks; so that,
+while his exasperated foes were searching for him in one direction, news
+would be brought of his having committed some daring and bloody deed far
+off in some other quarter.  His latest acts had been to kill and rob a
+post-runner, who happened to be a great favourite in his locality, and
+to attack and murder, in mere wanton cruelty, a family of friendly
+Indians, belonging to a tribe which had never given the whites any
+trouble.  The fury of the people, therefore, was somewhat commensurate
+with the wickedness of the man.  They resolved to capture him, and, as
+there was a number of resolute cow-boys on the frontier, to whom life
+seemed to be a bauble to be played with, kept, or cast lightly away,
+according to circumstances, it seemed as if the effort made at this time
+would be successful.
+
+The latest reports that seemed reliable were to the effect that, after
+slaying the Indians, Jake and his men had made off in the direction of
+his old stronghold at the head of Traitor's Trap.  Hence the invasion by
+Crux and his band.
+
+"You'll be glad to hear--or sorry, I'm not sure which--" said the scout,
+"that Buck Tom has paid his last debt."
+
+"What! defunct?" exclaimed Crux.
+
+"Ay.  Whatever may have bin his true character an' deeds, he's gone to
+his account at last."
+
+"Are ye sure, Hunky?"
+
+"If ye don't believe me, go in there an' you'll see what's left of him.
+The corp ain't cold yet."
+
+The rugged cow-boy entered at once, to convince himself by ocular
+demonstration.
+
+"Well," said he, on coming out of the cave, "I wish it had been the
+Flint instead.  He'll give us some trouble, you bet, afore we bring him
+to lie as flat as Buck Tom.  Poor Buck!  They say he wasn't a bad chap
+in his way, an' I never heard of his bein' cruel, like his comrades.
+His main fault was castin' in his lot wi' the Flint.  They say that Jake
+has bin carousin' around, throwin' the town-folk everywhere into fits."
+
+That night the avengers in search of Jake the Flint slept in and around
+the outlaws' cave, while the chief of the outlaws lay in the sleep of
+death in a shed outside.  During the night the scout went out to see
+that the body was undisturbed, and was startled to observe a creature of
+some sort moving near it.  Ben was troubled by no superstitious fears,
+so he approached with the stealthy, cat-like tread which he had learned
+to perfection in his frontier life.  Soon he was near enough to
+perceive, through the bushes, that the form was that of Shank Leather,
+silent and motionless, seated by the side of Buck Tom, with his face
+buried in his hands upon his knees.  A deep sob broke from him as he
+sat, and again he was silent and motionless.  The scout withdrew as
+silently as he had approached, leaving the poor youth to watch and mourn
+over the friend who had shared his hopes and fears, sins and sorrows, so
+long--long at least in experience, if not in numbered years.
+
+Next morning at daybreak they laid the outlaw in his last resting-place,
+and then the avengers prepared to set off in pursuit of his comrades.
+
+"You'll join us, I fancy," said Crux to Charlie Brooke.
+
+"No; I remain with my sick friend Leather.  But perhaps some of my
+comrades may wish to go with you."
+
+It was soon arranged that Hunky Ben and Dick Darvall should join the
+party.
+
+"We won't be long o' catchin' him up," said Crux, "for the Flint has
+become desperate of late, an' we're pretty sure of a man when he gets
+into that fix."
+
+The desperado to whom Crux referred was one of those terrible human
+monsters who may be termed a growth of American frontier life, men who,
+having apparently lost all fear of God, or man, or death, carry their
+lives about with hilarious indifference, ready to risk them at a
+moment's notice on the slightest provocation, and to take the lives of
+others without a shadow of compunction.  As a natural consequence, such
+maniacs, for they are little else, are feared by all, and even brave men
+feel the necessity of being unusually careful while in their company.
+
+Among the various wild deeds committed by Jake and his men was one which
+led them into serious trouble and proved fatal to their chief.  Coming
+to a village, or small town, one night they resolved to have a regular
+spree, and for this purpose encamped a short way outside the town till
+it should be quite dark.  About midnight the outlaws, to the number of
+eight, entered the town, each armed with a Winchester and a brace of
+revolvers.  Scattering themselves, they began a tremendous fusillade, as
+fast as they could fire, so that nearly the whole population, supposing
+the place was attacked by Indians, turned out and fled to the mountains
+behind the town.  The Flint and his men made straight for the chief
+billiard room, which they found deserted, and there, after helping
+themselves to all the loose cash available, they began to drink.  Of
+course they soon became wild under the influence of the liquor, but
+retained sense enough to mount their horses and gallop away before the
+people of the place mustered courage to return and attack the foe.
+
+It was while galloping madly away after this raid that the murderous
+event took place which ended in the dispersal of the gang.
+
+Daylight was creeping over the land when the outlaws left the town.
+Jake was wild with excitement at what had occurred, as well as with
+drink, and began to boast and swear in a horrible manner.  When they had
+ridden a good many miles, one of the party said he saw some Redskins in
+a clump of wood they were approaching.
+
+"Did ye?" cried Jake, flourishing his rifle over his head and uttering a
+terrible oath, "then I'll shoot the first Redskin I come across."
+
+"Better not, Jake," said one of his men.  "They're all friendly Injins
+about here."
+
+"What's the odds to me!" yelled the drunken wretch.  "I'll shoot the
+first I see as I would a rabbit."
+
+At that moment they were passing a bluff covered with timber, and,
+unfortunately, a poor old Indian woman came out of the wood to look at
+the horsemen as they flew past.
+
+Without an instant's hesitation Jake swerved aside, rode straight up to
+the old creature, and blew out her brains.
+
+Accustomed as they were to deeds of violence and bloodshed, his comrades
+were overwhelmed with horror at this, and, fearing the consequences of
+the dastardly murder, rode for life away over the plains.
+
+But the deed had been witnessed by the relatives of the poor woman.
+Without sound or cry, fifty Red men leaped on their horses and swept
+with the speed of light along the other side of the bluff, which
+concealed them from the white men's sight.  Thus they managed to head
+them, and when Jake and his gang came to the end of the strip of wood,
+the Red men, armed with rifle and revolver, were in front of them.
+
+There was something deadly and unusual in the silence of the Indians on
+this occasion.  Concentrated rage seemed to have stopped their power to
+yell.  Swift as eagles they swooped down and surrounded the little band
+of white men, who, seeing that opposition would be useless, and,
+perhaps, cowed by the sight of such a cold-blooded act offered no
+resistance at all, while their arms were taken from them.
+
+With lips white from passion, the Indian chief in command demanded who
+did the deed.  The outlaws pointed to Jake, who sat on his horse with
+glaring eyes and half-open mouth like one stupefied.  At a word from the
+chief, he was seized, dragged off his horse, and held fast by two
+powerful men while a third bound his arms.  A spear was driven deep into
+the ground to serve as a stake, and to this Jake was tied.  He made no
+resistance.  He seemed to have been paralysed, and remained quite
+passive while they stripped him naked to the waist.  His comrades, still
+seated on their horses, seemed incapable of action.  They had, no doubt,
+a presentiment of what was coming.
+
+The chief then drew his scalping knife, and passed it swiftly round the
+neck of the doomed man so as to make a slight incision.  Grasping the
+flap raised at the back of the neck, he tore a broad band of skin from
+Jake's body, right down his back to his waist.  A fearful yell burst
+from the lips of the wretched man, but no touch of pity moved the hearts
+of the Red men, whose chief prepared to tear off another strip of skin
+from the quivering flesh.
+
+At the same moment the companions of the Flint wheeled their horses
+round, and, filled with horror, fled at full speed from the scene.
+
+The Red men did not attempt to hinder them.  There was no feud at that
+time between the white men and that particular tribe.  It was only the
+murderer of their old kinswoman on whom they were bent on wreaking their
+vengeance, and with terrible cruelty was their diabolical deed
+accomplished.  The comrades of the murderer, left free to do as they
+pleased, scattered as they fled, as if each man were unable to endure
+the sight of the other, and they never again drew together.
+
+On the very next day Crux and his band of avengers were galloping over
+the same region, making straight for the town which the outlaws had
+thrown into such consternation, and where Crux had been given to
+understand that trustworthy news of the Flint's movements would probably
+be obtained.
+
+The sun was setting, and a flood of golden light was streaming over the
+plains, when one of the band suggested that it would be better to encamp
+where they were than to proceed any further that night.
+
+"So we will, boy," said Crux, looking about for a suitable spot, until
+his eye fell on a distant object that riveted his attention.
+
+"A strange-looking thing, that," remarked the scout who had observed the
+object at the same moment.  "Somethin' like a man, but standin'
+crooked-like in a fashion I never saw a man stand before, though I've
+seen many a queer sight in my day."
+
+"We'll soon clear up the mystery," said Crux, putting spurs to his horse
+and riding straight for the object in question, followed by the whole
+cavalcade.
+
+"Ay, ay, bloody work bin goin' on here, I see," muttered the scout as
+they drew near.
+
+"The accursed Redskins!" growled Crux.
+
+We need scarcely say that it was the dead body of Jake they had thus
+discovered, tied to the spear which was nearly broken by the weight of
+the mutilated carcass.  Besides tearing most of the skin off the
+wretched man's body, the savages had scalped Jake; but a deep wound over
+the region of the heart showed that they had, at all events, ended his
+sufferings before they left him.
+
+While the avengers--whose vengeance was thus forestalled--were busy
+scraping a shallow grave for the remains of the outlaw, a shout was
+raised by several of the party who dashed after something into a
+neighbouring copse.  An Indian had been discovered there, and the
+cruelties which had been practised on the white man had, to a great
+extent, transferred their wrath from the outlaw to his murderers.  But
+they found that the rush was needless, for the Indian who had been
+observed was seated on the ground beside what appeared to be a newly
+formed grave, and he made no attempt to escape.
+
+He was a very old and feeble man, yet something of the fire of the
+warrior gleamed from his sunken eyes as he stood up and tried to raise
+his bent form into an attitude of proud defiance.
+
+"Do you belong to the tribe that killed this white man?" said Hunky Ben,
+whose knowledge of most of the Indian dialects rendered him the fitting
+spokesman of the party.
+
+"I do," answered the Indian in a stern yet quavering voice that seemed
+very pitiful, for it was evident that the old man thought his last hour
+had come, and that he had made up his mind to die as became a dauntless
+Indian brave.
+
+At that moment a little Indian girl, who had hitherto lain quite
+concealed in the tangled grass, started up like a rabbit from its lair
+and dashed into the thicket.  Swiftly though the child ran, however, one
+of the young men of the party was swifter.  He sprang off in pursuit,
+and in a few moments brought her back.
+
+"Your tribe is not at war with the pale-faces," continued the scout,
+taking no notice of this episode.  "They have been needlessly cruel."
+
+For some moments the old man gazed sternly at his questioner as if he
+heard him not.  Then the frown darkened, and, pointing to the grave at
+his feet, he said--
+
+"The white man was _more_ cruel."
+
+"What had he done?" asked the scout.
+
+But the old man would not reply.  There came over his withered features
+that stony stare of resolute contempt which he evidently intended to
+maintain to the last in spite of torture and death.
+
+"Better question the child," suggested Dick Darvall, who up to that
+moment had been too much horrified by what he had witnessed to be able
+to speak.
+
+The scout looked at the child.  She stood trembling beside her captor,
+with evidences of intense terror on her dusky countenance, for she was
+only too well accustomed to the cruelties practised by white men and red
+on each other to have any hope either for the old man or herself.
+
+"Poor thing!" said Hunky Ben, laying his strong hand tenderly on the
+girl's head.  Then, taking her hand, he led her gently aside, and spoke
+to her in her own tongue.
+
+There was something so unexpectedly soft in the scout's voice, and so
+tender in his touch, that the little brown maid was irresistibly
+comforted.  When one falls into the grasp of Goodness and Strength,
+relief of mind, more or less, is an inevitable result.  David thought so
+when he said, "Let me fall now into the hand of the Lord."  The Indian
+child evidently thought so when she felt that Hunky Ben was strong and
+perceived that he was good.
+
+"We will not hurt you, my little one," said the scout, when he had
+reached a retired part of the copse, and, sitting down, placed the child
+on his knee.  "The white man who was killed by your people was a very
+bad man.  We were looking for him to kill him.  Was it the old man that
+killed him?"
+
+"No," replied the child, "it was the chief."
+
+"Why was he so cruel in his killing?" asked the scout.
+
+"Because the white man was a coward.  He feared to face our warriors,
+but he shot an old woman!" answered the little maid; and then, inspired
+with confidence by the scout's kind and pitiful expression, she related
+the whole story of the savage and wanton murder perpetrated by the
+Flint, the subsequent vengeance of her people, and the unchecked flight
+and dispersion of Jake's comrades.  The old woman who had been slain,
+she said, was her grandmother, and the old man who had been captured was
+her grandfather.
+
+"Friends, our business has been done for us," said the scout on
+rejoining his comrades, "so we've nothing to do but return home."
+
+He then told them in detail what the Indian girl had related.
+
+"Of course," he added, "we've no right to find fault wi' the Redskins
+for punishin' the murderer arter their own fashion, though we might wish
+they had bin somewhat more merciful--"
+
+"No, we mightn't," interrupted Crux stoutly.  "The Flint got off easy in
+_my_ opinion.  If I had had the doin' o't, I'd have roasted him alive."
+
+"No, you wouldn't, Crux," returned Ben, with a benignant smile.  "Young
+chaps like you are always, accordin' to your own showin', worse than the
+devil himself when your blood's roused by indignation at cruelty or
+injustice, but you sing a good deal softer when you come to the scratch
+with your enemy in your power."
+
+"You're wrong, Hunky Ben," retorted Crux firmly.  "Any man as would blow
+the brains out of a poor old woman in cold blood, as the Flint did,
+desarves the worst that can be done to him."
+
+"I didn't say nowt about what _he_ desarves," returned the scout; "I was
+speakin' about what _you_ would do if you'd got the killin' of him."
+
+"Well, well, mates," said Dick Darvall, a little impatiently, "seems to
+me that we're wastin' our wind, for the miserable wretch, bein' defunct,
+is beyond the malice o' red man or white.  I therefore vote that we stop
+palaverin', 'bout ship, clap on all sail an' lay our course for home."
+
+This suggestion met with general approval, and the curious mixture of
+men and races, which had thus for a brief period been banded together
+under the influence of a united purpose, prepared to break up.
+
+"I suppose you an' Darvall will make tracks for Traitor's Trap," said
+Crux to Hunky Ben.
+
+"That's my trail to be," answered the scout.  "What say you, Black
+Polly?  Are ye game for such a spin to-night?"
+
+The mare arched her glossy neck, put back both ears, and gave other
+indications that she would have fully appreciated the remarks of her
+master if she had only understood them.
+
+"Ah!  Bluefire and I don't talk in that style," said Crux, with a laugh.
+"I give him his orders an' he knows that he's got to obey.  He and I
+will make a bee-line for David's Store an' have a drink.  Who'll keep me
+company?"
+
+Several of the more reckless among the men intimated their willingness
+to join the toper.  The rest said they had other business on hand than
+to go carousin' around.
+
+"Why, Crux," said one who had been a very lively member of the party
+during the ride out, "d'ye know, boy, that it's writ in the book o' Fate
+that you an' I an' all of us, have just got so many beats o' the pulse
+allowed us--no more an' no less--an' we're free to run the beats out
+fast or slow, just as we like?  There's nothin' like drink for makin'
+'em go fast!"
+
+"I don't believe that, Robin Stout," returned Crux; "an' even if I did
+believe it I'd go on just the same, for I prefer a short life and a
+merry one to a long life an' a wishy-washy miserable one."
+
+"Hear! hear!" exclaimed several of the topers.
+
+"Don't ye think, Crux," interposed Darvall, "that a long life an' a
+happy one might be better than either?"
+
+"Hear! _hear_!" remarked Hunky Ben, with a quiet laugh.
+
+"Well, boys," said one fine bright-looking young fellow, patting the
+neck of his pony, "whether my life is to be long or short, merry,
+wishy-washy or happy, I shall be off cow-punching for the next six
+months or so, somewhere about the African bend, on the Colorado River,
+in South Texas, an' I mean to try an' keep my pulse a-goin' _without_
+drink.  I've seen more than enough o' the curse that comes to us all on
+account of it, and I won't be caught in _that_ trap again."
+
+"Then you've bin caught in it once already, Jo Pinto?" said a comrade.
+
+"Ay, I just have, but, you bet, it's the last time.  I don't see the fun
+of makin' my veins a channel for firewater, and then finishin' off with
+D.T., if bullet or knife should leave me to go that length."
+
+"I suppose, Pinto," said Crux, with a smile of contempt, "that you've
+bin to hear that mad fellow Gough, who's bin howlin' around in these
+parts of late?"
+
+"That's so," retorted Pinto, flushing with sudden anger.  "I've been to
+hear J.B. Gough, an' what's more I mean to take his advice in spite of
+all the flap-jack soakers 'tween the Atlantic and the Rockies.  He's a
+true man, is Gough, every inch of him, and men and women that's bin used
+chiefly to cursin' in time past have heaped more blessin's on that man's
+head than would sink you, Crux,--if put by mistake on _your_ head--right
+through the lowest end o' the bottomless pit."
+
+"Pretty deep that, anyhow!" exclaimed Crux, with a careless laugh, for
+he had no mind to quarrel with the stout young cow-boy whose black eyes
+he had made to flash so keenly.
+
+"It seems to me," said another of the band, as he hung the coils of his
+lasso round the horn of his Mexican saddle, "that we must quit talkin'
+unless we make up our minds to stop here till sun-up.  Who's goin'
+north?  My old boss is financially busted, so I've hired to P.T.
+Granger, who has started a new ranch at the head o' Pugit's Creek.  He
+wants one or two good hands I know, an' I've reason to believe he's an
+honest man.  I go up trail at thirty dollars per month.  The outfit's to
+consist of thirty hundred head of Texas steers, a chuck wagon and cook,
+with thirty riders includin' the boss himself an' six horses to the
+man."
+
+A couple of stout-looking cow-boys offered to join the last speaker on
+the strength of his representations, and then, as the night bid fair to
+be bright and calm, the whole band scattered and galloped away in
+separate groups over the moonlit plains.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
+
+THEY RETURN TO THE RANCH OF ROARING BULL, WHERE SOMETHING SERIOUS
+HAPPENS TO DICK DARVALL.
+
+When Dick Darvall and Hunky Ben returned from the expedition which we
+have just described, they found all right at the cave, except that a
+letter to Leather had been sent up from Bull's ranch which had caused
+him much grief and anxiety.
+
+"I have been eagerly awaiting your return, Ben," said Charlie Brooke,
+when he and the scout went outside the cave to talk the matter over,
+"for the news in this letter has thrown poor Leather back considerably,
+and, as he will continue to fret about it and get worse, something must
+be done."
+
+He paused for a few moments, and the scout gravely waited for him to
+resume.
+
+"The fact is," continued Charlie, "that poor Leather's father has been
+given far too much to the bottle during a great part of his life, and
+the letter just received tells us that he has suddenly left home and
+gone no one knows where.  Now, my friend Leather and his father were
+always very fond of each other, and the son cannot forgive himself for
+having at various times rather encouraged his father in drinking, so
+that his conscience is reproaching him terribly, as you may well
+believe, and he insists on it that he is now quite able to undertake the
+voyage home.  You and I know, Ben, that in his present state it would be
+madness for him to attempt it; yet to lie and fret here would be almost
+as bad.  Now, what is your advice?"
+
+For some moments the scout stood silent with his eyes on the ground and
+his right hand grasping his chin--his usual attitude when engaged in
+meditation.
+
+"Is there enough o' dollars," he asked, "to let you do as ye like?"
+
+"No lack of dollars, I dare say, when needed," replied Charlie.
+
+"Then my advice," returned the scout promptly, "is to take Leather
+straight off to-morrow mornin' to Bull's ranch; make him comfortable
+there, call him Mister Shank,--so as nobody'll think he's been the man
+called Leather, who's bin so long ill along wi' poor Buck Tom's gang,--
+and then you go off to old England to follow his father's trail till you
+find him.  Leather has great belief in you, sir, and the feelin' that
+you are away doin' your best for him will do more to relieve his mind
+and strengthen his body than tons o' doctor's stuff.  Dick Darvall could
+remain to take care of him if he has no objection."
+
+"I rather think he would be well pleased to do so," replied Charlie,
+with a laugh of significance, which the scout quietly subjected to
+analysis in what he styled his brain-pan, and made a note of the result
+in his mental memorandum book!
+
+"But I doubt if Leather--"
+
+"Shank," interrupted the scout.  "Call him Shank from now, so's we may
+all git used to it; tho' p'r'aps it ain't o' much importance, for most
+o' the men that saw him here saw him in uncommon bad condition an' would
+hardly know him again, besides, they won't likely be at Bull's ranch,
+an' the captain an' troops that were here have been ordered down south.
+Still one can never be too careful when life and death may be i' the
+balance.  Your friend niver was one o' the outlaws, but it mightn't be
+easy to prove that."
+
+"Well, then," resumed our hero, "I was going to say that I fear Shank
+won't be able to stand the journey even to the ranch."
+
+"No fear of that, sir.  We'll carry him down to the foot o' the Trap,
+an' when we git out on the plain mount him on one o' the horses left by
+poor Buck--the one that goes along so quiet that they've given it the
+name o' the Wheelbarrow."
+
+"Should I speak to him to-night about our plan, Ben?"
+
+"No.  If I was you I'd only say we're goin' to take him down to Bull's
+ranch i' the mornin'.  That'll take his mind a bit off the letter, an'
+then it'll give him an extra lift when you tell him the rest o' the
+plan."
+
+In accordance with this arrangement, on the following morning a litter
+was made with two stout poles and a blanket between.  On this the
+invalid was laid after an early breakfast; another blanket was spread
+over him, and the scout and Dick, taking it up between them, carried him
+out of Traitor's Trap, while Charlie Brooke, riding Jackson's horse, led
+the Wheelbarrow by the bridle.  As for Black Polly, she was left to
+follow at her own convenience, a whistle from Hunky Ben being at any
+moment sufficient to bring her promptly to her master's side.
+
+On reaching the plain the litter was laid aside, the blankets were
+fastened to the horses, and Shank prepared, as Dick said, to board
+Wheelbarrow.
+
+"Now then, Shank," said the seaman, while helping his friend, "don't be
+in a hurry.  Nothin' was ever done well in a hurry either afloat or
+ashore.  Git your futt well into the stirrup an' don't take too much of
+a spring, else you'll be apt to go right over on the starboard side.
+Hup you go!"
+
+The worthy sailor lent such willing aid that there is little doubt he
+would have precipitated the catastrophe against which he warned, had not
+Hunky Ben placed himself on the "starboard side" of the steed and
+counteracted the heave.  After that all went well; the amble of the
+Wheelbarrow fully justified the title, and in due course the party
+arrived at the ranch of Roaring Bull, where the poor invalid was
+confined to his room for a considerable time thereafter, and became
+known at the ranch as Mr Shank.
+
+One evening Charlie Brooke entered the kitchen of the ranch in search of
+his friend Dick Darvall, who had a strange fondness for Buttercup, and
+frequently held converse with her in the regions of the back-kitchen.
+
+"I dun know whar he is, massa Book," answered the sable beauty when
+appealed to, "he's mostly somewhar around when he's not nowhar else."
+
+"I shouldn't wonder if he was," returned Charlie with a hopeful smile.
+"I suppose Miss Mary's not around anywhere, is she?"
+
+"I shouldn't wonder if she wasn't; but she ain't here, massa," said the
+black maid earnestly.
+
+"You are a truthful girl, Butter--stick to that, and you'll get on in
+life."
+
+With this piece of advice Charlie left the kitchen abruptly, and thereby
+missed the eruption of teeth and gums that immediately followed his
+remark.
+
+Making his way to the chamber of his sick friend, Charlie sat down at
+the open window beside him.
+
+"How d'you feel this evening, my boy?" he asked.
+
+"A little better, but--oh dear me!--I begin to despair of getting well
+enough to go home, and it's impossible to avoid being worried, for,
+unless father is sought for and found soon he, will probably sink
+altogether.  You have no idea, Charlie, what a fearful temptation drink
+becomes to those who have once given way to it and passed a certain
+point."
+
+"I don't know it personally--though I take no credit for that--but I
+have some idea of it, I think, from what I have seen and heard.  But I
+came to relieve your mind on the subject, Shank.  I wanted to speak with
+Dick Darvall first to see if he would fall in with my plan, but as I
+can't find him just now I thought it best to come straight to you about
+it.  Hallo!  There is Dick."
+
+"Where?" said Shank, bending forward so as to see the place on which his
+friend's eyes were fixed.
+
+"There, don't you see?  Look across that bit of green sward, about fifty
+yards into the bush, close to that lopped pine where a thick shrub
+overhangs a fallen tree--"
+
+"I see--I see!" exclaimed Shank, a gleeful expression banishing for a
+time the look of suffering and anxiety that had become habitual to him.
+"Why, the fellow is seated beside Mary Jackson!"
+
+"Ay, and holding a very earnest conversation with her, to judge from his
+attitude," said Charlie.  "Probably inquiring into the market-price of
+steers--or some absorbing topic of that sort."
+
+"He's grasping her hand now!" exclaimed Shank, with an expanding mouth.
+
+"And she lets him hold it.  Really this becomes interesting," observed
+Charlie, with gravity.  "But, my friend, is not this a species of
+eavesdropping?  Are we not taking mean advantage of a pair who fondly
+think themselves alone?  Come, Shank, let us turn our backs on the view
+and try to fix our minds on matters of personal interest."
+
+But the young men had not to subject themselves to such a delicate test
+of friendship, for before they could make any attempt to carry out the
+suggestion, Dick and Mary were seen to rise abruptly and hasten from the
+spot in different directions.  A few minutes later Buttercup was
+observed to glide upon the scene and sit down upon the self-same fallen
+tree.  The distance from the bedroom window was too great to permit of
+sounds reaching the observers' ears, or of facial contortions meeting
+their eyes very distinctly, but there could be no doubt as to the
+feelings of the damsel, or the meaning of those swayings to and fro of
+her body, the throwing back of her head, and the pressing of her hands
+on her sides.  Suddenly she held out a black hand as if inviting some
+one in the bush to draw near.  The invitation was promptly accepted by a
+large brown dog--a well-known favourite in the ranch household.
+
+Rover--for such was his name--leaped on the fallen tree and sat down on
+the spot which had previously been occupied by the fair Mary.  The
+position was evidently suggestive, for Buttercup immediately began to
+gesticulate and clasp her hands as if talking very earnestly to the dog.
+
+"I verily believe," said Shank, "that the blacking-ball is re-enacting
+the scene with Rover!  See! she grasps his paw, and--"
+
+"My friend," said Charlie, "we are taking mean advantage again!  And,
+behold! like the other pair, they are flitting from the scene, though
+not quite in the same fashion."
+
+This was true, for Buttercup, reflecting, probably, that she might be
+missed in the kitchen, had suddenly tumbled Rover off the tree and
+darted swiftly from the spot.
+
+"Come now, Shank," said Charlie, resuming the thread of discourse which
+had been interrupted, "it is quite plain to Dick and to myself that you
+are unfit to travel home in your present state of health, so I have made
+up my mind to leave you here in the care of honest Jackson and Darvall,
+and to go home myself to make inquiries and search for your father.
+Will this make your mind easy?  For that is essential to your recovery
+at the present time."
+
+"You were always kind and self-sacrificing, Charlie.  Assuredly, your
+going will take an enormous weight off my mind, for you are much better
+fitted by nature for such a search than I am--to say nothing of health.
+Thank you, my dear old boy, a thousand times.  As for Dick Darvall,"
+added Shank, with a laugh, "before this evening I would have doubted
+whether he would be willing to remain with me after your departure, but
+I have no doubt now--considering what we have just witnessed!"
+
+"Yes, he has found `metal more attractive,'" said Charlie, rising.  "I
+will now go and consult with him, after which I will depart without
+delay."
+
+"You've been having a gallop, to judge from your heightened colour and
+flashing eyes," said Charlie to Dick when they met in the yard,
+half-an-hour later.
+
+"N-no--not exactly," returned the seaman, with a slightly embarrassed
+air.  "The fact is I've bin cruisin' about in the bush."
+
+"What! lookin' for Redskins?"
+
+"N-no; not exactly, but--"
+
+"Oh!  I see.  Out huntin', I suppose.  After deer--eh?"
+
+"Well, now, that was a pretty fair guess, Charlie," said Dick, laughing.
+"To tell ye the plain truth, I have been out arter a dear--full sail--
+an'--"
+
+"And you bagged it, of course.  Fairly run it down, I suppose," said his
+friend, again interrupting.
+
+"Well, there ain't no `of course' about it, but as it happened, I did
+manage to overhaul her, and coming to close quarters, I--"
+
+"Yes, yes, _I_ know," interrupted Charlie a third time, with provoking
+coolness.  "You ran her on to the rocks, Dick--which was unseamanlike in
+the extreme--at least you ran the dear aground on a fallen tree and,
+sitting down beside it, asked it to become Mrs Darvall, and the amiable
+creature agreed, eh?"
+
+"Why, how on earth did 'ee come for to know _that_?" asked Dick, in
+blazing astonishment.
+
+"Well, you know, there's no great mystery about it.  If a bold sailor
+_will_ go huntin' close to the house, and run down his game right in
+front of Mr Shank's windows, he must expect to have witnesses.
+However, give me your flipper, mess-mate, and let me congratulate you,
+for in my opinion there's not such another dear on all the slopes of the
+Rocky Mountains.  But now that I've found you, I want to lay some of my
+future plans before you."
+
+They had not been discussing these plans many minutes, when Mary was
+seen crossing the yard in company with Hunky Ben.
+
+"If Hunky would only stop, we'd keep quite jolly till you return,"
+observed Dick, in an undertone as the two approached.
+
+"We were just talking of you, Ben," observed Charlie, as they came up.
+
+"Are you goin' for a cruise, Miss Mary?" asked the seaman in a manner
+that drew the scout's attention.
+
+"No," replied Mary with a little laugh, and anything but a little blush,
+that intensified the attention of the scout.  He gave one of his quiet
+but quick glances at Dick and chuckled softly.
+
+"So soon!" he murmured to himself; "sartinly your sea-dog is pretty
+slick at such matters."
+
+Dick thought he heard the chuckle and turned a lightning glance on the
+scout, but that sturdy son of the forest had his leathern countenance
+turned towards the sky with profoundest gravity.  It was characteristic
+of him, you see, to note the signs of the weather.
+
+"Mr Brooke," he said, with the slow deliberate air of the man who forms
+his opinions on solid grounds, "there's goin' to be a bu'st up o' the
+elements afore long, as sure as my name's Hunky."
+
+"That's the very thing I want to talk about with you, Ben, for I
+meditate a long journey immediately.  Come, walk with me."
+
+Taking the scout's arm he paced with him slowly up and down the yard,
+while Dick and Mary went off on a cruise elsewhere.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY.
+
+CHANGES THE SCENE SOMEWHAT VIOLENTLY, AND SHOWS OUR HERO IN A NEW LIGHT.
+
+The result of our hero's consultation with the scout was not quite as
+satisfactory as it might have been.  Charlie had hoped that Hunky Ben
+would have been able to stay with Shank till he should return from the
+old country, but found, to his regret, that that worthy was engaged to
+conduct still further into the great western wilderness a party of
+emigrants who wished to escape the evils of civilisation, and to set up
+a community of their own which should be founded on righteousness,
+justice, and temperance.
+
+"You see, sir," said the scout, "I've gi'n them my promise to guide them
+whenever they're ready to start, so, as they may git ready and call for
+my services at any moment, I must hold myself free o' other engagements.
+To say truth, even if they hadn't my promise I'd keep myself free to
+help 'em, for I've a likin' for the good man--half doctor, half parson
+as well as Jack-of-all-trades--as has set the thing agoin'--moreover,
+I've a strong belief that all this fightin', an' scalpin', an' flayin'
+alive, an roastin', an' revenge, ain't the way to bring about good ends
+either among Red men or white."
+
+"I agree with you heartily, Ben, though I don't very well see how we are
+to alter it.  However, we must leave the discussion of that difficulty
+to another time.  The question at present is, what hope is there of your
+staying here even for a short time after I leave? for in Dick Darvall's
+present condition of mind he is not much to be depended on, and Jackson
+is too busy.  You see, I want Shank to go out on horseback as much as
+possible, but in this unsettled region and time he would not be safe
+except in the care of some one who knew the country and its habits, and
+who had some sort of sympathy with a broken-down man."
+
+"All I can say, Mr Brooke, is that I'll stay wi' your friend as long as
+I can," returned the scout, "an' when I'm obleeged to make tracks for
+the west, I'll try to git another man to take my place.  Anyhow, I think
+that Mr Reeves--that's the name o' the good man as wants me an' is boss
+o' the emigrants--won't be able to git them all ready to start for some
+weeks yet."
+
+Charlie was obliged to content himself with this arrangement.  Next day
+he was galloping eastward--convoyed part of the way by the scout on
+Black Polly and Dick Darvall on Wheelbarrow.  Soon he got into the
+region of railways and steam-boats, and, in a few weeks more was once
+again in Old England.
+
+A post-card announced his arrival, for Charlie had learned wisdom from
+experience, and feared to take any one "by surprise"--especially his
+mother.
+
+We need not describe this second meeting of our hero with his kindred
+and friends.  In many respects it resembled the former, when the bad
+news about Shank came, and there was the same conclave in Mrs Leather's
+parlour, for old Jacob Crossley happened to be spending a holiday in
+Sealford at the time.
+
+Indeed he had latterly taken to spending much of his leisure time at
+that celebrated watering-place, owing, it was supposed, to the
+beneficial effect which the sea-air had on his rheumatism.
+
+But May Leather knew better.  With that discriminating penetration which
+would seem to be the natural accompaniment of youth and beauty, she
+discerned that the old gentleman's motive for going so frequently to
+Sealford was a compound motive.
+
+First, Mr Crossley was getting tired of old bachelorhood, and had at
+last begun to enjoy ladies' society, especially that of such ladies as
+Mrs Leather and Mrs Brooke, to say nothing of May herself and Miss
+Molloy--the worsted reservoir--who had come to reside permanently in the
+town and who had got the "Blackguard Boy" into blue tights and buttons,
+to the amazement and confusion of the little dog Scraggy, whose mind was
+weakened in consequence--so they said.  Second, Mr Crossley was
+remarkably fond of Captain Stride, whom he abused like a pick-pocket and
+stuck to like a brother, besides playing backgammon with him nightly, to
+the great satisfaction of the Captain's "missus" and their "little Mag."
+Third, Mr Crossley had no occasion to attend to business, because
+business, somehow, attended to itself, and poured its profits
+perennially into the old gentleman's pocket--a pocket which was never
+full, because it had a charitable hole in it somewhere which let the
+cash run out as fast as it ran in.  Fourth and last, but not least, Mr
+Crossley found considerable relief in getting away occasionally from his
+worthy housekeeper Mrs Bland.  This relief, which he styled "letting
+off the steam" at one time, "brushing away the cobwebs" at another, was
+invariably followed by a fit of amiability, which resulted in a penitent
+spirit, and ultimately took him back to town where he remained till Mrs
+Bland had again piled enough of eccentricity on the safety valve to
+render another letting off of steam on the sea-shore imperative.
+
+What Charlie learned at the meeting held in reference to the
+disappearance of old Mr Isaac Leather was not satisfactory.  The
+wretched man had so muddled his brain by constant tippling that it had
+become a question at last whether he was quite responsible for his
+actions.  In a fit of remorse, after an attack of delirium tremens, he
+had suddenly condemned himself as being a mean contemptible burden on
+his poor wife and daughter.  Of course both wife and daughter asserted
+that his mere maintenance was no burden on them at all--as in truth it
+was not when compared with the intolerable weight of his intemperance--
+and they did their best to soothe him.  But the idea seemed to have
+taken firm hold of him, and preyed upon his mind, until at last he left
+home one morning in a fit of despair, and had not since been heard of.
+
+"Have you no idea, then, where he has gone?" asked Charlie.
+
+"No, none," said Mrs Leather, with a tear trembling in her eye.
+
+"We know, mother," said May, "that he has gone to London.  The booking
+clerk at the station, you know, told us that."
+
+"Did the clerk say to what part of London he booked?"
+
+"No, he could not remember."
+
+"Besides, if he had remembered, that would be but a slight clue," said
+Mr Crossley.  "As well look for a needle in a bundle of hay as for a
+man in London."
+
+"As well go to sea without rudder or compass," observed Captain Stride.
+
+"Nevertheless," said Charlie, rising, "I will make the attempt."
+
+"Hopeless," said Crossley.  "Sheer madness," added Stride.  Mrs Leather
+shook her head and wept gently.  Mrs Brooke sighed and cast down her
+eyes.  Miss Molloy--who was of the council, being by that time cognisant
+of all the family secrets--clasped her hands and looked miserable.  Of
+all that conclave the only one who did not throw cold water on our hero
+was pretty little brown-eyed May.  She cast on him a look of trusting
+gratitude which blew a long smouldering spark into such a flame that the
+waters of Niagara in winter would have failed to quench it.
+
+"I can't tell you yet, friends, what I intend to do," said Charlie.
+"All I can say is that I'm off to London.  I shall probably be away some
+time, but will write to mother occasionally.  So good-bye."
+
+He said a good deal more, of course, but that was the gist of it.
+
+May accompanied him to the door.
+
+"Oh! thank you--_thank you_!" she said, with trembling lip and tearful
+eyes as she held out her hand, "I feel _sure_ that you will find
+father."
+
+"I think I shall, May.  Indeed I also feel sure that I shall--God
+helping me."
+
+At the ticket office he found that the clerk remembered very little.  He
+knew the old gentleman well by sight, indeed, but was in the habit of
+selling tickets to so many people that it was impossible for him to
+remember where they booked to.  In fact the only thing that had fixed
+Mr Leather at all in his memory was the fact that the old man had
+dropped his ticket, had no money to take another, and had pleaded
+earnestly to let him have one on trust, a request with which he dared
+not comply--but fortunately, a porter found and restored the ticket.
+
+"Is the porter you refer to still here?" asked Charlie.
+
+Yes, he was there; and Charlie soon found him.  The porter recollected
+the incident perfectly, for the old gentleman, he said, had made a
+considerable fuss about the lost ticket.
+
+"And you can't remember the station he went to?"
+
+"No, sir, but I do remember something about his saying he wanted to go
+to Whitechapel--I think it was--or Whitehall, I forget which, but I'm
+sure it was white something."
+
+With this very slender clue Charlie Brooke presented himself in due time
+at Scotland Yard, at which fountain-head of London policedom he gave a
+graphic account of the missing man and the circumstances attending his
+disappearance.  Thence he went to the headquarters of the London City
+Mission; introduced himself to a sympathetic secretary there, and was
+soon put in communication with one of the most intelligent of those
+valuable self-sacrificing and devoted men who may be styled the salt of
+the London slums.  This good man's district embraced part of
+Whitechapel.
+
+"I will help you to the extent of my power, Mr Brooke," he said, "but
+your quest will be a difficult one, perhaps dangerous.  How do you
+propose to go about it?"
+
+"By visiting all the low lodging-houses in Whitechapel first," said
+Charlie.
+
+"That will take a long time," said the City Missionary, smiling.  "Low
+lodging-houses are somewhat numerous in these parts."
+
+"I am aware of that, Mr Stansfield, and mean to take time," returned
+our hero promptly.  "And what I want of you is to take me into one or
+two of them, so that I may see something of them while under your
+guidance.  After that I will get their streets and numbers from you, or
+through you, and will then visit them by myself."
+
+"But, excuse me, my friend," returned the missionary, "your appearance
+in such places will attract more attention than you might wish, and
+would interfere with your investigations, besides exposing you to
+danger, for the very worst characters in London are sometimes to be
+found in such places.  Only men of the police force and we city
+missionaries can go among them with impunity."
+
+"I have counted the cost, Mr Stansfield, and intend to run the risk;
+but thank you, all the same, for your well-meant warning.  Can you go
+round one or two this afternoon?"
+
+"I can, with pleasure, and will provide you with as many lodging-house
+addresses as I can procure.  Do you live far from this?"
+
+"No, quite close.  A gentleman, who was in your Secretary's office when
+I called, recommended a small lodging-house kept by a Mrs Butt in the
+neighbourhood of Flower and Dean Street.  You know that region well, I
+suppose?"
+
+"Ay--intimately; and I know Mrs Butt too--a very respectable woman.
+Come, then, let us start on our mission."
+
+Accordingly Mr Stansfield introduced his inexperienced friend into two
+of the principal lodging-houses in that neighbourhood.  They merely
+passed through them, and the missionary, besides commenting on all that
+they saw, told his new friend where and what to pay for a night's
+lodging.  He also explained the few rules that were connected with those
+sinks into which the dregs of the metropolitan human family ultimately
+settle.  Then he accompanied Charlie to the door of his new lodging and
+bade him good-night.
+
+It was a dingy little room in which our hero found himself, having an
+empty and rusty fire-grate on one side and a window on the other, from
+which there was visible a landscape of paved court.  The foreground of
+the landscape was a pump, the middle distance a wash-tub, and the
+background a brick wall, about ten feet distant and fifteen feet high.
+There was no sky to the landscape, by reason of the next house.  The
+furniture was in keeping with the view.
+
+Observing a small sofa of the last century on its last legs in a corner,
+Charlie sat down on it and rose again instantly, owing apparently to
+rheumatic complaints from its legs.
+
+"La! sir," said the landlady, who had followed him into the room, "you
+don't need to fear anythink.  That sofar, sir, 'as bin in my family for
+three generations.  The frame was renoo'd before I was born, an' the
+legs I 'ad taken off an' noo ones putt on about fifteen year ago last
+Easter as ever was.  My last lodger 'ee went through the bottom of it,
+w'ich obliged me to 'ave that renoo'd, so it's stronger than ever it
+were.  If you only keep it well shoved up agin the wall, sir, it'll
+stand a'most any weight--only it won't stand jumpin' on.  You mustn't
+jump on it, sir, with your feet!"
+
+Charlie promised solemnly that he would not jump on it either with his
+feet or head, and then asked if he could have tea and a fire.  On being
+informed that he could have both, he drew out his purse and said--
+
+"Now, Mrs Butt, I expect to stay here for two or three weeks--perhaps
+longer.  My name is Brooke.  I was advised to come here by a gentleman
+in the offices of the City Mission.  I shall have no visitors--being
+utterly unknown in this neighbourhood--except, perhaps, the missionary
+who parted from me at the door--"
+
+"Mr Stansfield, sir?" said the landlady.
+
+"Yes.  You know him?"
+
+"I've knowed 'im for years, sir.  I shall only be too pleased to 'ave
+any friend of 'is in my 'ouse, I assure you."
+
+"That's well.  Now, Mrs Butt, my motive in coming here is to discover a
+runaway relation--"
+
+"La! sir--a little boy?"
+
+"No, Mrs Butt, a--"
+
+"_Surely_ not a little _gurl_, sir," said the landlady, with a
+sympathetic expression.
+
+"It is of no consequence what or who the runaway relation is, Mrs Butt;
+I merely mention the fact in order that you may understand the reason of
+any little eccentricity you may notice in my conduct, and not perplex
+your mind about it.  For instance, I shall have no regular hours--may be
+out late or early--it may be even all night.  You will give me a
+pass-key, and I will let myself in.  The only thing I will probably ask
+for will be a cup of tea or coffee.  Pray let me have one about an hour
+hence.  I'm going out at present.  Here is a week's rent in advance."
+
+"Shall I put on a fire, sir?" asked Mrs Butt.
+
+"Well, yes--you may."
+
+"Toast, sir?"
+
+"Yes, yes," said Charlie, opening the outer door.
+
+"'Ot or cold, sir?"
+
+"'Ot, and _buttered_," cried Charlie, with a laugh, as he shut the door
+after him and rendered further communication impossible.
+
+Wending his way through the poor streets in the midst of which his
+lodging was situated, our hero at last found an old-clothes store, which
+he entered.
+
+"I want a suit of old clothes," he said to the owner, a Jew, who came
+forward.
+
+The Jew smiled, spread out his hands after the manner of a Frenchman,
+and said, "My shop, sir, is at your disposal."
+
+After careful inspection Charlie selected a fustian coat of extremely
+ragged appearance, with trousers to match, also a sealskin vest of a
+mangy complexion, likewise a soiled and battered billycock hat so
+shockingly bad that it was difficult to imagine it to have ever had
+better days at all.
+
+"Are they clean?" he asked.
+
+"Bin baked and fumigated, sir," answered the Jew solemnly.
+
+As the look and smell of the garments gave some countenance to the truth
+of this statement, Charlie paid the price demanded, had them wrapped up
+in a green cotton handkerchief, and carried them off.
+
+Arrived at his lodging he let himself in, entered his room, and threw
+the bundle in a corner.  Then he rang for tea.
+
+It was growing dark by that time, but a yellow-cotton blind shut out the
+prospect, and a cheery fire in the grate lighted up the little room
+brightly, casting a rich glow on the yellow-white table-cloth, which had
+been already spread, and creating a feeling of coziness in powerful
+contrast to the sensation of dreariness which had assailed him on his
+first entrance.  When Mrs Butt had placed a paraffin lamp on the table,
+with a dark-brown teapot, a thick glass sugar-bowl, a cream-jug to
+match, and a plate of thick-buttered toast that scented the atmosphere
+deliciously, our hero thought--not for the first time in his life--that
+wealth was a delusion, besides being a snare.
+
+"`One wants but little here below,'" he mused, as he glanced round the
+apartment; "but he wants it longer than _that_," thought he, as his eyes
+wandered to the ancient sofa, which was obviously eighteen inches too
+short for him.
+
+"I 'ope you've found 'im, sir," said Mrs Butt anxiously, as she was
+about to retire.
+
+"Found who?"
+
+"Your relation, sir; the little boy--I mean gurl."
+
+"No, I have found neither the boy nor the girl," returned the lodger
+sharply.  "Haven't even begun to look for them yet."
+
+"Oh! beg parding, sir, I didn't know there was _two_ of 'em."
+
+"Neither are there.  There's only one.  Fetch me some hot water, Mrs
+Butt, your tea is _too_ good.  I never take it strong."
+
+The landlady retired, and, on returning with the water, found her lodger
+so deep in a newspaper that she did not venture to interrupt him.
+
+Tea over, Charlie locked his door and clothed himself in his late
+purchase, which fitted him fairly well, considering that he had measured
+it only by eye.  Putting on the billycock, and tying the green cotton
+kerchief loosely round his neck to hide his shirt, he stepped in front
+of the looking-glass above the mantelpiece.
+
+At sight of himself he was prepared to be amused, but he had not
+expected to be shocked!  Yet shocked he certainly was, for the
+transformation was so complete that it suddenly revealed to him
+something of the depth of degradation to which he _might_ fall--to which
+many a man as good as himself, if not better, _had_ fallen.  Then
+amusement rose within him, for he was the very beau-ideal of a typical
+burglar, or a prize-fighter: big, square-shouldered, deep-chested,
+large-chinned.  The only parts that did not quite correspond to the type
+were his straight, well-formed nose and his clear blue eyes, but these
+defects were put right by slightly drooping his eyelids, pushing his
+billycock a little back on his head, and drawing a lock of hair in a
+drunken fashion over his forehead.
+
+Suddenly an idea occurred to him.  Slipping his latchkey into his pocket
+he went out of the house and closed the door softly.  Then he rang the
+bell.
+
+"Is the gen'leman at 'ome?" he asked of Mrs Butt, in a gruff, hoarse
+voice, as if still engaged in a struggle with a bad cold.
+
+"What gentleman?" asked Mrs Butt eyeing him suspiciously.
+
+"W'y, the gen'leman as sent for me to give 'im boxin' lessons--Buck or
+Book, or some sitch name."
+
+"Brooke, you mean," said Mrs Butt still suspicious, and interposing her
+solid person in the doorway.
+
+"Ay, that's the cove--the gen'leman I mean came here this arternoon to
+lodge wi' a Missis Butt or Brute, or suthin' o' that sort--air you Mrs
+Brute?"
+
+"_Certainly_ not," answered the landlady, with indignation; "but I'm
+Mrs Butt."
+
+"Well, it's all the same.  I ax yer parding for the mistake, but there's
+sitch a mixin' up o' Brutes an' Brookes, an' Butts an' Bucks, that it
+comes hard o' a man o' no edication to speak of to take it all in.  This
+gen'leman, Mr Brute, 'e said if 'e was hout w'en I called I was to
+wait, an' say you was to make tea for two, an' 'ave it laid in the
+bedroom as 'e'd require the parlour for the mill."
+
+The man's evident knowledge of her lodger's affairs, and his gross
+stupidity, disarmed Mrs Butt.  She would have laughed at his last
+speech if it had not been for the astounding conclusion.  Tea in the
+bedroom and a mill in the parlour the first night was a degree of
+eccentricity she had not even conceived of.
+
+"Come in, then, young man," she said, making way.  "You'll find Mr
+Brooke in the parlour at his tea."
+
+The prize-fighter stepped quickly along the dark passage into the
+parlour, and while the somewhat sluggish Mrs Butt was closing the door
+she overheard her lodger exclaim--
+
+"Ha!  Jem Mace, this is good of you--very good of you--to come so
+promptly.  Mrs Butt," shouting at the parlour door, "another cup and
+plate for Mr Mace, and--and bring the _ham_!"
+
+"The 'am!" repeated Mrs Butt softly to herself, as she gazed in
+perplexity round her little kitchen, "_did_ 'e order a 'am?"
+
+Unable to solve the riddle she gave it up and carried in the cup and
+saucer and plate.
+
+"I beg your parding, sir, you mentioned a 'am," she began, but stopped
+abruptly on seeing no one there but the prize-fighter standing before
+the fire in a free-and-easy manner with his hands in his breeches
+pockets.
+
+The light of the street-lamps had very imperfectly revealed the person
+of Jem Mace.  Now that Mrs Butt saw him slouching in all his native
+hideousness against her mantelpiece in the full blaze of a paraffin
+lamp, she inwardly congratulated herself that Mr Brooke was such a big
+strong man--almost a match, she thought, for Mace!
+
+"I thought you said the gen'leman was in the parlour, Mrs Brute?" said
+Mace inquiringly.
+
+"So 'e--_was_," answered the perplexed lady, looking round the room;
+"didn't I 'ear 'im a-shakin' 'ands wi' you, an' a-shoutin' for 'am?"
+
+"Well, Mrs Brute, I dun know what you 'eard; all I know is that I've
+not seed 'im yet."
+
+"'E must be in the bedroom," said Mrs Butt, with a dazed look.
+
+"No 'e ain't there," returned the prize-fighter; "I've bin all over it--
+looked under the bed, into the cupboard, through the key'ole;--p'r'aps,"
+he added, turning quickly, "'e may be up the chimbly!"
+
+The expression on poor Mrs Butt's face now alarmed Charlie, who
+instantly doffed his billycock and resumed his natural voice and manner.
+
+"Forgive me, Mrs Butt, if I have been somewhat reckless," he said, "in
+testing my disguise on you.  I really had no intention till a few
+minutes ago of playing such a practical--"
+
+"Well, well, Mr Brooke," broke in the amazed yet amiable creature at
+this point, "I do assure you as I'd never 'ave know'd you from the worst
+character in W'itechapel.  I wouldn't have trusted you--not with a
+sixpence.  You was born to be a play-actor, sir!  I declare that Jem
+Mace have given me a turn that--But why disguise yourself in this way,
+Mr Brooke?"
+
+"Because I am going to haunt the low lodging-houses, Mrs Butt and I
+could not well do that, you know, in the character of a gentleman; and
+as you have taken it so amiably I'm glad I tried my hand here first, for
+it will make me feel much more at ease."
+
+"And well it may, sir.  I only 'ope it won't get you into trouble, for
+if the p'leece go lookin' for a burglar, or murderer, or desprit
+ruffian, where you 'appen to be, they're sure to run you in.  The only
+think I would point out, sir, if I may be so free, is that your 'ands
+an' face is too clean."
+
+"That is easily remedied," said Charlie, with a laugh, as he stooped and
+rubbed his hands among the ashes; then, taking a piece of cinder, he
+made sundry marks on his countenance therewith, which, when judiciously
+touched in with a little water and some ashes, converted our hero into
+as thorough a scoundrel as ever walked the streets of London at
+unseasonable hours of night.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
+
+FAILURE AND A NEW SCENT.
+
+Although our hero's plan of search may seem to some rather Quixotic,
+there was nothing further from his thoughts than merely playing at the
+game of amateur detective.  Being enthusiastic and sanguine, besides
+being spurred on by an intense desire to rescue the father of May
+Leather, Charlie Brooke was thoroughly in earnest in his plan.  He knew
+that it would be useless to attempt such a search and rescue in any
+other capacity than that of a genuine pauper, at least in appearance and
+action.  He therefore resolved to conduct the search in character, and
+to plunge at once into the deepest pools of the slums.
+
+It is not our intention to carry the reader through the
+Arabian-night-like adventures which he experienced in his quest.
+Suffice it to say that he did not find the lost man in the pools in
+which he fished for him, but he ultimately, after many weeks, found one
+who led him to the goal he aimed at.
+
+Meanwhile there were revealed to him numerous phases of life--or,
+rather, of living death--in the slums of the great city which caused him
+many a heartache at the time, and led him ever afterwards to consider
+with anxious pity the condition of the poor, the so-called lost and
+lapsed, the depraved, degraded, and unfortunate.  Of course he found--as
+so many had found before him--that the demon Drink was at the bottom of
+most of the misery he witnessed, but he also learned that whereas many
+weak and vicious natures dated the commencement of their final descent
+and fall from the time when they began to drink, many of the strong and
+ferocious spirits had begun a life of wickedness in early youth, and
+only added drink in after years as a little additional fuel to the
+already roaring flame of sin.
+
+It is well known that men of all stamps and creeds and classes are to be
+found in the low lodging-houses of all great cities.  At first Charlie
+did not take note of this, being too earnestly engaged in the search for
+his friend, and anxious to avoid drawing attention on himself; but as he
+grew familiar with these scenes of misery and destitution he gradually
+began to be interested in the affairs of other people, and, as he was
+eminently sympathetic, he became the confidant of several paupers, young
+and old.  A few tried to draw him out, but he quietly checked their
+curiosity without giving offence.
+
+It may be remarked here that he at once dropped the style of talk which
+he had adopted when representing Jem Mace, because he found so many in
+the lodging-houses who had fallen from a good position in society that
+grammatical language was by no means singular.  His size and strength
+also saved him from much annoyance, for the roughs, who might otherwise
+have bullied him, felt that it would be wise to leave him alone.
+
+On one occasion, however, his pacific principles were severely tested as
+well as his manhood, and as this led to important results we must
+recount the incident.
+
+There was a little lame, elderly man, who was a habitual visitor at one
+of the houses which our hero frequented.  He was a humorous character,
+who made light of his troubles, and was a general favourite.  Charlie
+had felt interested in the man, and in ordinary circumstances would have
+inquired into his history, but, as we have said, he laid some restraint
+on his natural tendency to inquire and sympathise.  As it was, however,
+he showed his goodwill by many little acts of kindness--such as making
+way for Zook--so he was called--when he wanted to get to the general
+fire to boil his tea or coffee; giving him a portion of his own food on
+the half pretence that he had eaten as much as he wanted, etcetera.
+
+There was another _habitue_ of the same lodging, named Stoker, whose
+temperament was the very opposite to that of little Zook.  He was a
+huge, burly dock labourer; an ex-prize-fighter and a disturber of the
+peace wherever he went.  Between Stoker and Zook there was nothing in
+common save their poverty, and the former had taken a strong dislike to
+the latter, presumably on the ground of Zook's superiority in everything
+except bulk of frame.  Charlie had come into slight collision with
+Stoker on Zook's account more than once, and had tried to make peace
+between them, but Stoker was essentially a bully; he would listen to no
+advice, and had more than once told the would-be peacemaker to mind his
+own business.
+
+One evening, towards the close of our hero's search among the
+lodging-houses, little Zook entered the kitchen of the establishment,
+tea-pot and penny loaf in hand.  He hastened towards the roaring fire
+that might have roasted a whole sheep, and which served to warm the
+entire basement storey, or kitchen, of the tenement.
+
+"Here, Zook," said Charlie, as the former passed the table at which he
+was seated taking his supper, "I've bought more than I can eat, as
+usual!  I've got two red-herrings and can eat only one.  Will you help
+me?"
+
+"It's all fish that comes to my net, Charlie," said the little man,
+skipping towards his friend, and accepting the herring with a grateful
+but exaggerated bow.
+
+We omitted to say that our hero passed among the paupers by his
+Christian name, which he had given as being, from its very universality,
+the best possible _alias_.
+
+A few minutes later Stoker entered and went to the fire, where loud,
+angry voices soon told that the bully was at his old game of
+peace-disturber.  Presently a cry of "shame" was heard, and poor Zook
+was seen lying on the floor with his nose bleeding.
+
+"Who cried shame?" demanded the bully, looking fiercely round.
+
+"_I_ did not," said Charlie Brooke, striding towards him, "for I did not
+know it was you who knocked him down, but I _do_ cry shame on you now,
+for striking a man so much smaller than yourself, and without
+provocation, I warrant."
+
+"An' pray who are _you_?" returned Stoker, in a tone that was meant to
+be witheringly sarcastic.
+
+"I am one who likes fair play," said Charlie, restraining his anger, for
+he was still anxious to throw oil on the troubled waters, "and if you
+call it fair play for a heavy-weight like you to attack such a
+light-weight as Zook, you must have forgotten somehow that you are an
+Englishman.  Come, now, Stoker, say to Zook you are sorry and won't
+worry him any more, and I'm sure he'll forgive you!"
+
+"Hear! hear!" cried several of the on-lookers.
+
+"Perhaps I _may_ forgive 'im," said Zook, with a humorous leer, as he
+wiped his bleeding nose--"I'd do a'most anything to please Charlie!"
+
+This was received with a general laugh, but Stoker did not laugh; he
+turned on our hero with a look of mingled pity and contempt.
+
+"No, Mister Charlie," he said, "I won't say I'm sorry, because I'd tell
+a big lie if I did, and I'll worry him just as much as I please.  But
+I'll tell 'e what I'll do.  If you show yourself as ready wi' your
+bunches o' fives as you are wi' yer tongue, and agree to fight me, I'll
+say to Zook that I'm sorry and won't worry 'im any more."
+
+There was dead silence for a minute after the delivery of this
+challenge, and much curiosity was exhibited as to how it would be taken.
+Charlie cast down his eyes in perplexity.  Like many big and strong men
+he was averse to use his superior physical powers in fighting.  Besides
+this, he had been trained by his mother to regard it as more noble to
+suffer than to avenge insults, and there is no doubt that if the bully's
+insult had affected only himself he would have avoided him, if possible,
+rather than come into conflict.  Having been trained, also, to let
+Scripture furnish him with rules for action, his mind irresistibly
+recalled the turning of the "other cheek" to the smiter, but the fact
+that he was at that moment acting in defence of another, not of himself,
+prevented that from relieving him.  Suddenly--like the lightning flash--
+there arose to him the words, "Smite a scorner and the simple will
+beware!"  Indeed, all that we have mentioned, and much more, passed
+through his troubled brain with the speed of light.  Lifting his eyes
+calmly to the face of his opponent he said--"I accept your challenge."
+
+"No, no, Charlie!" cried the alarmed Zook, in a remonstrative tone,
+"you'll do nothing of the sort.  The man's a old prize-fighter!  You
+haven't a chance.  Why, I'll fight him myself rather than let you do
+it."
+
+And with that the little man began to square up and twirl his fists and
+skip about in front of the bully in spite of his lameness--but took good
+care to keep well out of his reach.
+
+"It's a bargain, then," said Charlie, holding out his hand.
+
+"Done!" answered the bully, grasping it.
+
+"Well, then, the sooner we settle this business the better," continued
+Charlie.  "Where shall it come off?"
+
+"Prize-fightin's agin the law," suggested an old pauper, who seemed to
+fear they were about to set to in the kitchen.
+
+"So it is, old man," said Charlie, "and I would be the last to engage in
+such a thing, but this is not a prize-fight, for there's no prize.  It's
+simply a fight in defence of weakness against brute strength and
+tyranny."
+
+There were only a few of the usual inhabitants of the kitchen present at
+the time, for it was yet early in the evening.  This was lucky, as it
+permitted of the fight being gone about quietly.
+
+In the upper part of the building there was an empty room of
+considerable size which had been used as a furniture store, and happened
+at that time to have been cleared out, with the view of adding it to the
+lodging.  There, it was arranged, the event should come off, and to this
+apartment proceeded all the inhabitants of the kitchen who were
+interested in the matter.  A good many, however, remained behind--some
+because they did not like fights, some because they did not believe that
+the parties were in earnest, others because they were too much taken up
+with and oppressed by their own sorrows, and a few because, being what
+is called fuddled, they did not understand or care anything about the
+matter at all.  Thus it came to pass that all the proceedings were quiet
+and orderly, and there was no fear of interruption by the police.
+
+Arrived at the scene of action, a ring was formed by the spectators
+standing round the walls, which they did in a single row, for there was
+plenty of room.  Then Stoker strode into the middle of the room, pulled
+off his coat, vest, and shirt, which he flung into a corner, and stood
+up, stripped to the waist, like a genuine performer in the ring.
+Charlie also threw off coat and vest, but retained his shirt--an old
+striped cotton one in harmony with his other garments.
+
+"I'm not a professional," he said, as he stepped forward; "you've no
+objection, I suppose, to my keeping on my shirt?"
+
+"None whatever," replied Stoker, with a patronising air; "p'r'aps it may
+be as well for fear you should kitch cold."
+
+Charlie smiled, and held out his hand--"You see," he said, "that at
+least I understand the civilities of the ring."
+
+There was an approving laugh at this as the champions shook hands and
+stood on guard.
+
+"I am quite willing even yet," said Charlie, while in this attitude, "to
+settle this matter without fighting if you'll only agree to leave Zook
+alone in future."
+
+This was a clear showing of the white feather in the opinion of Stoker,
+who replied with a thundering, "No!" and at the same moment made a
+savage blow at Charlie's face.
+
+Our hero was prepared for it.  He put his head quickly to one side, let
+the blow pass, and with his left hand lightly tapped the bridge of his
+opponent's nose.
+
+"Hah! a hammytoor!" exclaimed the ex-pugilist in some surprise.
+
+Charlie said nothing, but replied with the grim smile with which in
+school-days he had been wont to indicate that he meant mischief.  The
+smile passed quickly, however, for even at that moment he would gladly
+have hailed a truce, so deeply did he feel what he conceived to be the
+degradation of his position--a feeling which neither his disreputable
+appearance nor his miserable associates had yet been able to produce.
+
+But nothing was further from the intention of Stoker than a truce.
+Savages usually attribute forbearance to cowardice.  War to the knife
+was in his heart, and he rushed at Charlie with a shower of slogging
+blows, which were meant to end the fight at once.  But they failed to do
+so.  Our hero nimbly evaded the blows, acting entirely on the defensive,
+and when Stoker at length paused, panting, the hammytoor was standing
+before him quite cool, and with the grim look intensified.
+
+"If you _will_ have it--_take_ it!" he exclaimed, and shot forth a blow
+which one of the juvenile bystanders described as a "stinger on the
+beak!"
+
+The owner of the beak felt it so keenly, that he lost temper and made
+another savage assault, which was met in much the same way, with this
+difference, that his opponent delivered several more stingers on the
+unfortunate beak, which after that would have been more correctly
+described as a bulb.
+
+Again the ex-pugilist paused for breath, and again the "hammytoor" stood
+up before him, smiling more grimly than ever--panting a little, it is
+true, but quite unscathed about the face, for he had guarded it with
+great care although he had received some rather severe body blows.
+
+Seeing this, Stoker descended to mean practices, and in his next assault
+attempted, and with partial success, to hit below the belt.  This roused
+a spirit of indignation in Charlie, which gave strength to his arm and
+vigour to his action.  The next time Stoker paused for breath, Charlie--
+as the juvenile bystander remarked--"went for him," planted a blow under
+each eye, a third on his forehead, and a fourth on his chest with such
+astounding rapidity and force that the man was driven up against the
+wall with a crash that shook the whole edifice.
+
+Stoker dropped and remained still.  There were no seconds, no sponges or
+calling of time at that encounter.  It was altogether an informal
+episode, and when Charlie saw his antagonist drop, he kneeled down
+beside him with a feeling of anxiety lest he had killed him.
+
+"My poor man," he said, "are you much hurt?"
+
+"Oh! you've no need to fear for me," said Stoker recovering himself a
+little, and sitting up--"but I throw up the sponge.  Stoker's day is
+over w'en 'e's knocked out o' time by a hammytoor, and Zook is free to
+bile 'is pot unmorlested in futur'."
+
+"Come, it was worth a fight to bring you to that state of mind, my man,"
+said Charlie, laughing.  "Here, two of you, help to take him down and
+wash the blood off him; and I say, youngster," he added, pulling out his
+purse and handing a sovereign to the juvenile bystander already
+mentioned, "go out and buy sausages for the whole company."
+
+The boy stared at the coin in his hand in mute surprise, while the rest
+of the ring looked at each other with various expressions, for Charlie,
+in the rebound of feeling caused by his opponent's sudden recovery and
+submission, had totally forgotten his _role_ and was ordering the people
+about like one accustomed to command.
+
+As part of the orders were of such a satisfactory nature, the people did
+not object, and, to the everlasting honour of the juvenile bystander who
+resisted the temptation to bolt with the gold, a splendid supper of pork
+sausages was smoking on the various tables of the kitchen of that
+establishment in less than an hour thereafter.
+
+When the late hours of night had arrived, and most of the paupers were
+asleep in their poor beds, dreaming, perchance, of "better days" when
+pork-sausages were not so tremendous a treat, little Zook went to the
+table at which Charlie sat.  He was staring at a newspaper, but in
+reality was thinking about his vain search, and beginning, if truth must
+be told, to feel discouraged.
+
+"Charlie," said Zook, sitting down beside his champion, "or p'r'aps I
+should say _Mister_ Charlie, the game's up wi' you, whatever it was."
+
+"What d'you mean, Zook?"
+
+"Well, I just mean that it's o' no manner o' use your tryin' to sail any
+longer under false colours in this here establishment."
+
+"I must still ask you to explain yourself," said Charlie, with a puzzled
+look.
+
+"Well, you know," continued the little man, with a deprecatory glance,
+"w'en a man in ragged clo'se orders people here about as if 'e was the
+commander-in-chief o' the British Army, an' flings yellow boys about as
+if 'e was chancellor o' the checkers, an orders sassengers offhand for
+all 'ands, 'e _may_ be a gentleman--wery likely 'e is,--but 'e ain't a
+redooced one, such as slopes into lodgin'-'ouse kitchens.  W'atever
+little game may 'ave brought you 'ere, sir, it ain't poverty--an' nobody
+will be fool enough in _this_ 'ouse to believe it is."
+
+"You are right, Zook.  I'm sorry I forgot myself," returned Charlie,
+with a sigh.  "After all, it does not matter much, for I fear my little
+game--as you call it--was nearly played out, and it does not seem as if
+I were going to win."
+
+Charlie clasped his hands on the table before him, and looked at the
+newspaper somewhat disconsolately.
+
+"It's bin all along o' takin' up my cause," said the little man, with
+something like a whimper in his voice.  "You've bin wery kind to me,
+sir, an' I'd give a lot, if I 'ad it, an' would go a long way if I
+wasn't lame, to 'elp you."
+
+Charlie looked steadily in the honest, pale, careworn face of his
+companion for a few seconds without speaking.  Poverty, it is said,
+brings together strange bed-fellows.  Not less, perhaps, does it lead to
+unlikely confidants.  Under a sudden impulse our hero revealed to poor
+Zook the cause of his being there--concealing nothing except names.
+
+"You'll 'scuse me, sir," said the little man, after the narrative was
+finished, "but I think you've gone on summat of a wild-goose chase, for
+your man may never have come so low as to seek shelter in sitch places."
+
+"Possibly, Zook; but he was penniless, and this, or the work-house,
+seemed to me the natural place to look for him in."
+
+"'Ave you bin to the work-'ouses, sir?"
+
+"Yes--at least to all in this neighbourhood."
+
+"What! in that toggery?" asked the little man, with a grin.
+
+"Not exactly, Zook, I can change my shell like the hermit crabs."
+
+"Well, sir, it's my opinion that you may go on till doomsday on this
+scent an' find nuthin'; but there's a old 'ooman as I knows on that
+might be able to 'elp you.  Mind I don't say she could, but she _might_.
+Moreover, if she can she will."
+
+"How?" asked Charlie, somewhat amused by the earnestness of his little
+friend.
+
+"Why, this way.  She's a good old soul who lost 'er 'usband an' 'er
+son--if I ain't mistaken--through drink, an' ever since, she 'as devoted
+'erself body an' soul to save men an' women from drink.  She attends
+temperance meetin's an' takes people there--a'most drags 'em in by the
+scruff o' the neck.  She keeps 'er eyes open, like a weasel, an'
+w'enever she sees a chance o' what she calls pluckin' a brand out o' the
+fire, she plucks it, without much regard to burnin' 'er fingers.
+Sometimes she gits one an' another to submit to her treatment, an' then
+she locks 'em up in 'er 'ouse--though it ain't a big un--an' treats 'em,
+as she calls it.  She's got one there now, it's my belief, though
+w'ether it's a he or a she I can't tell.  Now, she may 'ave seen your
+friend goin' about--if 'e stayed long in Whitechapel."
+
+"It may be so," returned our hero wearily, for he was beginning to lose
+heart, and the prospect opened up to him by Zook did not on the first
+blush of it seem very brilliant.  "When could I see this old woman?"
+
+"First thing to-morror arter breakfast, sir."
+
+"Very well; then you'll come and breakfast with me at eight?"
+
+"I will, sir, with all the pleasure in life.  In this 'ere 'ouse, sir,
+or in a resterang?"
+
+"Neither.  In my lodgings, Zook."
+
+Having given his address to the little man, Charlie bade him good-night
+and retired to his pauper-bed for the last time.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
+
+SUCCESS AND FUTURE PLANS.
+
+Punctual to the minute Zook presented himself to Mrs Butt next morning
+and demanded audience.
+
+Mrs Butt had been forewarned of the impending visit, and, although she
+confessed to some uncomfortable feelings in respect of infection and
+dirt, received him with a gracious air.
+
+"You've come to breakfast, I understand?"
+
+"Well, I believe I 'ave," answered the little man, with an involuntary
+glance at his dilapidated clothes; "'avin' been inwited--unless," he
+added, somewhat doubtfully, "the inwite came in a dream."
+
+"You may go in and clear up that point for yourself," said the landlady,
+as she ushered the poor man into the parlour, where he was almost
+startled to find an amiable gentleman waiting to receive him.
+
+"Come along, Zook, I like punctuality.  Are you hungry?"
+
+"'Ungry as a 'awk, sir," replied Zook, glancing at the table and rubbing
+his hands, for there entered his nostrils delicious odours, the causes
+of which very seldom entered his throat.  "W'y, sir, I _know'd_ you was
+a gent, from the wery first!"
+
+"I have at least entered my native shell," said Charlie, with a laugh.
+"Sit down.  We've no time to waste.  Now what'll you have?  Coffee, tea,
+pork-sausage, ham and egg, buttered toast, hot rolls.  Just help
+yourself, and fancy you're in the lodging-house at your own table."
+
+"Well, sir, that _would_ be a stretch o' fancy that would strain me
+a'most to the bustin' p'int.  Coffee, if you please.  Oh yes, sugar an'
+milk _in course_.  I never let slip a chance as I knows on.  W'ich
+bread? well, 'ot rolls is temptin', but I allers 'ad a weakness for
+sappy things, so 'ot buttered toast--if you can spare it."
+
+"Spare it, my good man!" said Charlie, laughing.  "There's a whole loaf
+in the kitchen and pounds of butter when you've finished this, not to
+mention the shops round the corner."
+
+It was a more gratifying treat to Charlie than he had expected, to see
+this poor man eat to his heart's content of viands which he so
+thoroughly appreciated and so rarely enjoyed.  What Zook himself felt,
+it is impossible for well-to-do folk to conceive, or an ordinary pen to
+describe; but, as he sat there, opposite to his big friend and champion,
+stowing away the good things with zest and devotion of purpose, it was
+easy to believe that his watery eyes were charged with the tears of
+gratitude, as well as with those of a chronic cold to which he was
+subject.
+
+Breakfast over, they started off in quest of the old woman with teetotal
+proclivities.
+
+"How did you come to know her?" asked Charlie, as they went along.
+
+"Through a 'ouse in the city as I was connected with afore I got run
+over an' lamed.  They used to send me with parcels to this old 'ooman.
+In course I didn't know for sartin' w'at was in the parcels, but 'avin'
+a nose, you see, an' bein' able to smell, I guessed that it was a
+compound o' wittles an' wursted work."
+
+"A strange compound, Zook."
+
+"Well, they wasn't 'zactly compounded--they was sometimes the one an'
+sometimes the other; never mixed to my knowledge."
+
+"What house was it that sent you?"
+
+"Withers and Company."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Charlie in surprise.  "I know the house well.  The
+head of it is a well-known philanthropist.  How came you to leave them?
+They never would have allowed an old servant to come to your pass--
+unless, indeed, he was--"
+
+"A fool, sir, or wuss," interrupted Zook; "an' that's just what I was.
+I runned away from 'em, sir, an' I've been ashamed to go back since.
+But that's 'ow I come to know old Missis Mag, an' it's down 'ere she
+lives."
+
+They turned into a narrow passage which led to a small court at the back
+of a mass of miserable buildings, and here they found the residence of
+the old woman.
+
+"By the way, Zook, what's her name?" asked Charlie.
+
+"Mrs Mag Samson."
+
+"Somehow the name sounds familiar to me," said Charlie, as he knocked at
+the door.
+
+A very small girl opened it and admitted that her missis was at 'ome;
+whereupon our hero turned to his companion.
+
+"I'll manage her best without company, Zook," he said; "so you be off;
+and see that you come to my lodging to-night at six to hear the result
+of my interview and have tea."
+
+"I will, sir."
+
+"And here, Zook, put that in your pocket, and take a good dinner."
+
+"I will, sir."
+
+"And--hallo!  Zook, come here.  Not a word about all this in the
+lodging-house;--stay, now I think of it, don't go to the lodging-house
+at all.  Go to a casual ward where they'll make you take a good bath.
+Be sure you give yourself a good scrub.  D'ye hear?"
+
+"Yes, sir."  He walked away murmuring, "More 'am and hegg an' buttered
+toast to-night!  Zook, you're in luck to-day--in clover, my boy! in
+clover!"
+
+Meanwhile, Charlie Brooke found himself in the presence of a bright-eyed
+little old woman, who bade him welcome with the native grace of one who
+is a born, though not a social, lady, and beautified by Christianity.
+Her visitor went at once straight to the point.
+
+"Forgive my intrusion, Mrs Samson," he said, taking the chair to which
+the old woman pointed, "but, indeed, I feel assured that you will, when
+I state that the object of my visit is to ask you to aid in the rescue
+of a friend from drink."
+
+"No man intrudes on me who comes on such an errand; but how does it
+happen, sir, that you think _I_ am able to aid you?"
+
+To this Charlie replied by giving her an account of his meeting and
+conversation with Zook, and followed that up with a full explanation of
+his recent efforts and a graphic description of Isaac Leather.
+
+The old woman listened attentively, and, as her visitor proceeded, with
+increasing interest not unmingled with surprise and amusement.
+
+When he had concluded, Mrs Samson rose, and, opening a door leading to
+another room, held up her finger to impose silence, and softly bade him
+look in.
+
+He did so.  The room was a very small one, scantily furnished, with a
+low truckle-bed in one corner, and there, on the bed, lay the object of
+his quest--Isaac Leather!  Charlie had just time to see that the thin
+pale face was not that of a dead, but of a sleeping, man when the old
+woman gently pulled him back and re-closed the door.
+
+"That's your man, I think."
+
+"Yes, that's the man--I thank God for this most astonishing and
+unlooked-for success."
+
+"Ah! sir," returned the woman, sitting down again, "most of our
+successes are unlooked for, and, when they do come, we are not too ready
+to recognise the hand of the Giver."
+
+"Nevertheless you must admit that some incidents do seem almost
+miraculous," said Charlie.  "To have found _you_ out in this great city,
+the very person who had Mr Leather in her keeping, does seem
+unaccountable, does it not?"
+
+"Not so unaccountable as it seems to you," replied the old woman, "and
+certainly not so much of a miracle as it would have been if you had
+found him by searching the lodging-houses.  Here is the way that God
+seems to have brought it about.  I have for many years been a pensioner
+of the house of Withers and Company, by whom I was employed until the
+senior partner made me a sort of female city-missionary amongst the
+poor.  I devoted myself particularly to the reclaiming of drunkards--
+having special sympathy with them.  A friend of mine, Miss Molloy, also
+employed by the senior partner in works of charity, happened to be
+acquainted with Mr Leather and his family.  She knew of his failing,
+and she found out--for she has a strange power, that I never could
+understand, of inducing people to make a confidant of her,--she found
+out (what no one else knew, it seems) that poor Mr Leather wished to
+put himself under some sort of restraint, for he could not resist
+temptation when it came in his way.  Knowing about me, she naturally
+advised him to put himself in my hands.  He objected at first, but
+agreed at last on condition that none of his people should be told
+anything about it.  I did not like to receive him on such conditions,
+but gave in because he would come on no other.  Well, sir, you came down
+here because you had information which led you to think Mr Leather had
+come to this part of the city.  You met with a runaway servant of
+Withers and Company--not very wonderful that.  He naturally knows about
+me and fetches you here.  Don't you see?"
+
+"Yes, I see," replied Charlie, with an amused expression; "still I
+cannot help looking on the whole affair as very wonderful, and I hope
+that that does not disqualify me from recognising God's leading in the
+matter."
+
+"Nay, young sir," returned the old woman, "that ought rather to qualify
+you for such recognition, for are not His ways said to be wonderful--ay,
+sometimes `past finding out'?  But what we know not now, we shall know
+hereafter.  I thought that when my poor boy went to sea--"
+
+"Mrs Samson!" exclaimed Charlie, with a sudden start, "I see it now!
+Was your boy's name Fred?"
+
+"It was."
+
+"And he went to sea in the _Walrus_, that was wrecked in the Southern
+Ocean!"
+
+"Yes," exclaimed the old woman eagerly.
+
+"Then," said Charlie, drawing a packet from the breast-pocket of his
+coat, "Fred gave me this for you.  I have carried it about me ever
+since, in the hope that I might find you.  I came to London, but found
+you had left the address written on the packet, and it never occurred to
+me that the owners of the _Walrus_ would know anything about the mother
+of one of the men who sailed in her.  I have a message also from your
+son."
+
+The message was delivered, and Charlie was still commenting on it, when
+the door of the inner room opened and Isaac Leather stood before them.
+
+"Charlie Brooke!" he exclaimed, in open-eyed amazement, not unmingled
+with confusion.
+
+"Ay, and a most unexpected meeting on both sides," said Charlie,
+advancing and holding out his hand.  "I bring you good news, Mr
+Leather, of your son Shank."
+
+"Do you indeed?" said the broken-down man, eagerly grasping his young
+friend's hand.  "What have you to tell me?  Oh Charlie, you have no idea
+what terrible thoughts I've had about that dear boy since he went off to
+America!  My sin has found me out, Charlie.  I've often heard that said
+before, but have never tally believed it till now."
+
+"God sends you a message of mercy, then," said our hero, who thereupon
+began to relieve the poor man's mind by telling him of his son's welfare
+and reformation.
+
+But we need not linger over this part of the story, for the reader can
+easily guess a good deal of what was said to Leather, while old Mrs
+Samson was perusing the letter of her dead son, and tears of mingled
+sorrow and joy coursed down her withered cheeks.
+
+That night however, Charlie Brooke conceived a vast idea, and partially
+revealed it at the tea-table to Zook--whose real name, by the way, was
+Jim Smith.
+
+"'Ave you found 'er, sir?" said Mrs Butt, putting the invariable, and
+by that time annoying, question as Charlie entered his lodging.
+
+"No, Mrs Butt, I haven't found _'er_, and I don't expect to find _'er_
+at all."
+
+"Lawk! sir, I'm _so_ sorry."
+
+"Has Mr Zook come?"
+
+"Yes, sir 'e's inside and looks impatient.  The smell o' the toast seems
+a'most too strong a temptation for 'im; I'm glad you've come."
+
+"Look here, Zook," said Charlie, entering his parlour, "go into that
+bedroom.  You'll find a bundle of new clothes there.  Put them on.  Wrap
+your old clothes in a handkerchief, and bring them to me.  Tea will be
+ready when you are."
+
+The surprised pauper did as he was bid, without remark, and re-entered
+the parlour a new man!
+
+"My own mother, if I 'ad one, wouldn't know me, sir," he said, glancing
+admiringly at his vest.
+
+"Jim Smith, Esquire," returned Charlie, laughing.  "I really don't think
+she would."
+
+"Zook, sir," said the little man, with a grave shake of the head;
+"couldn't think of changin' my name at my time of life; let it be Zook,
+if you please, sir, though in course I've no objection to esquire, w'en
+I 'ave the means to maintain my rank."
+
+"Well, Zook, you have at all events the means to make a good supper, so
+sit down and go to work, and I'll talk to you while you eat,--but, stay,
+hand me the bundle of old clothes."
+
+Charlie opened the window as he spoke, took hold of the bundle, and
+discharged it into the back yard.
+
+"There," he said, sitting down at the table, "that will prove an object
+of interest to the cats all night, and a subject of surprise to good
+Mrs Butt in the morning.  Now, Zook," he added, when his guest was
+fairly at work taking in cargo, "I want to ask you--have you any
+objection to emigrate to America?"
+
+"Not the smallest," he said, as well as was possible through a full
+mouth.  "Bein' a orphling, so to speak, owin' to my never 'avin' 'ad a
+father or mother--as I knows on--there's nothin' that chains me to old
+England 'cept poverty."
+
+"Could you do without drink?"
+
+"Sca'sely, sir, seein' the doctors say that man is about three parts--or
+four, is it?--made up o' water; I would be apt to grow mummified without
+drink, wouldn't I, sir?"
+
+"Come, Zook--you know that I mean _strong_ drink--alcohol in all its
+forms."
+
+"Oh, I see.  Well, sir, as to that, I've bin in the 'abit of doin'
+without it so much of late from needcessity, that I don't think I'd find
+much difficulty in knocking it off altogether, if I was to bring
+principle to bear."
+
+"Well, then," continued Charlie, "(have some more ham?)  I have just
+conceived a plan.  I have a friend in America who is a reformed
+drunkard.  His father in this country is also, I hope, a reformed
+drunkard.  There is a good man out there, I understand, who has had a
+great deal to do with reformed drunkards, and he has got up a large body
+of friends and sympathisers who have determined to go away into the far
+west and there organise a total abstinence community, and found a
+village or town where nothing in the shape of alcohol shall be admitted
+except as physic.
+
+"Now, I have a lot of friends in England who, I think, would go in for
+such an expedition if--"
+
+"Are _they_ all reformed drunkards, sir?" asked Zook in surprise,
+arresting a mass of sausage in its course as he asked the question.
+
+"By no means," returned Charlie with a laugh, "but they are earnest
+souls, and I'm sure will go if I try to persuade them."
+
+"You're sure to succeed, sir," said Zook, "if your persuasions is
+accompanied wi' sassengers, 'am, an' buttered toast," remarked the
+little man softly, as he came to a pause for a few seconds.
+
+"I'll bring to bear on them all the arguments that are available, you
+may be sure.  Meanwhile I shall count you my first recruit."
+
+"Number 1 it is, sir, w'ich is more than I can say of this here slice,"
+said Zook, helping himself to more toast.
+
+While the poor but happy man was thus pleasantly engaged, his
+entertainer opened his writing portfolio and began to scribble off note
+after note, with such rapidity that the amazed pauper at his elbow
+fairly lost his appetite, and, after a vain attempt to recover it,
+suggested that it might be as well for him to retire to one of the
+palatial fourpence-a-night residences in Dean and Flower Street.
+
+"Not to-night.  You've done me a good turn that I shall never forget"
+said Charlie, rising and ringing the bell with needless vigour.
+
+"Be kind enough, Mrs Butt, to show Mr Zook to his bedroom."
+
+"My heye!" murmured the pauper, marching off with two full inches added
+to his stature.  "Not in there, I suppose, missis," he said facetiously,
+as he passed the coal-hole.
+
+"Oh, lawks! no--this way," replied the good woman, who was becoming
+almost imbecile under the eccentricities of her lodger.  "This is your
+bedroom, and I only 'ope it won't turn into a band-box before morning,
+for of all the transformations an' pantimimes as 'as took place in this
+'ouse since Mr Brooke entered it, I--"
+
+She hesitated, and, not seeing her way quite clearly to the fitting end
+of the sentence, asked if Mr Zook would 'ave 'ot water in the morning.
+
+"No, thank you, Missis," replied the little man with dignity, while he
+felt the stubble on his chin; "'avin left my razors at 'ome, I prefers
+the water cold."
+
+Leaving Zook to his meditations, Mrs Butt retired to bed, remarking, as
+she extinguished the candle, that Mr Brooke was still "a-writin' like a
+'ouse a fire!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
+
+SWEETWATER BLUFF.
+
+We must now leap over a considerable space, not only of distance, but of
+time, in order to appreciate fully the result of Charlie Brooke's
+furious letter-writing and amazing powers of persuasion.
+
+Let the reader try to imagine a wide plateau, dotted with trees and
+bushes, on one of the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, where that
+mighty range begins to slide into union with the great prairies.  It
+commands a view of mingled woodland and rolling plain, diversified by
+river and lake, extending to a horizon so faint and far away as to
+suggest the idea of illimitable space.
+
+Early one morning in spring, five horsemen, emerging from a belt of
+woodland, galloped to the slope that led to the summit of this plateau.
+Drawing rein, they began slowly to ascend.  Two of the cavaliers were
+young, tall, and strong;--two were portly and old, though still hearty
+and vigorous; one, who led them, on a coal-black steed, was a
+magnificent specimen of the backwoodsman, and one, who brought up the
+rear, was a thin little man, who made up for what he wanted in size by
+the energy and vigour of his action, as, with hand and heel, he urged an
+unwilling horse to keep up with the rest of the party.
+
+Arrived at the summit of the plateau, the leading horseman trotted to
+its eastern edge, and halted as if for the purpose of surveying the
+position.
+
+"Here we are at last," he said, to the tallest of his comrades;
+"Sweetwater Bluff--and the end of our journey!"
+
+"And a most noble end it is!" exclaimed the tall comrade.  "Why, Hunky
+Ben, it far surpasses my expectations and all you have said about it."
+
+"Most o' the people I've had to guide over this trail have said pretty
+much the same thing in different words, Mr Brooke," returned the scout,
+dismounting.  "Your wife will find plenty o' subjects here for the
+paintin' she's so fond of."
+
+"Ay, May will find work here to keep her brushes busy for many a day to
+come," replied Charlie, "though I suspect that other matters will claim
+most of her time at first, for there is nothing but a wilderness here
+yet."
+
+"You've yet to larn, sir, that we don't take as long to _fix_ up a town
+hereaway as you do in the old country," remarked Hunky Ben, as old Jacob
+Crossley ambled up on the staid creature which we have already
+introduced as _Wheelbarrow_.
+
+Waving his hand with enthusiasm the old gentleman exclaimed, "Glorious!"
+Indeed, for a few minutes he sat with glistening eyes and heaving
+chest, quite unable to give vent to any other sentiment than "glorious!"
+This he did at intervals.  His interest in the scene, however, was
+distracted by the sudden advent of Captain Stride, whose horse--a
+long-legged roan--had an awkward tendency, among other eccentricities,
+to advance sideways with a waltzing gait, that greatly disconcerted the
+mariner.
+
+"Woa! you brute.  Back your tops'ls, won't you?  I _never_ did see sitch
+a craft for heavin' about like a Dutch lugger in a cross sea.  She sails
+side on, no matter where she's bound for.  Forges ahead a'most entirely
+by means of leeway, so to speak.  Hallo! woa!  Ketch a grip o' the
+painter, Dick, an' hold on till I git off the hurricane deck o' this
+walrus--else I'll be overboard in a--.  There--" The captain came to the
+ground suddenly as he spoke, without the use of stirrup, and, luckily,
+without injury.
+
+"Not hurt I hope?" asked Dick Darvall, assisting his brother-salt to
+rise.
+
+"Not a bit of it, Dick.  You see I'm a'most as active as yourself though
+double your age, if not more.  I say, Charlie, this _is_ a pretty
+look-out.  Don't 'ee think so, Mr Crossley?  I was sure that Hunky Ben
+would find us a pleasant anchorage and safe holding-ground at last,
+though it did seem as if we was pretty long o' comin' to it.  Just as we
+was leavin' the waggins to ride on in advance I said to my missus--says
+I--Maggie, you may depend--"
+
+"Hallo!  Zook," cried Charlie, as the little man of the slums came
+limping up, "what have you done with your horse?"
+
+"Cast 'im loose, sir, an' gi'n 'im leave of absence as long as 'e
+pleases.  It's my opinion that some the 'osses o' the western prairies
+ain't quite eekal to some o' the 'osses I've bin used to in Rotten Row.
+Is this the place, Hunky?  Well, now," continued the little man, with
+flashing eyes, as he looked round on the magnificent scene, "it'll do.
+Beats W'itechapel an' the Parks any 'ow.  An' there's lots o' poultry
+about, too!" he added, as a flock of wild ducks went by on whistling
+wings.  "I say, Hunky Ben, w'at's yon brown things over there by the
+shores o' the lake?"
+
+"Buffalo," answered the scout.
+
+"What! wild uns?"
+
+"There's no tame ones in them diggin's as I knows on.  If there was,
+they'd soon become wild, you bet."
+
+"An' w'at's yon monster crawlin' over the farthest plain, like the great
+sea-serpent?"
+
+"Why, man," returned the scout, "them's the waggins.  Come, now, let's
+to work an' git the fire lit.  The cart wi' the chuck an' tents'll be
+here in a few minutes, an' the waggins won't be long arter 'em."
+
+"Ay, wi' the women an' kids shoutin' for grub," added Zook, as he limped
+after the scout, while the rest of the little band dispersed--some to
+cut firewood, others to select the best positions for the tents.  The
+waggons, with a supply of food, arrived soon after under the care of
+Roaring Bull himself, with two of his cowboys.  They were followed by
+Buttercup, who bestrode, man-fashion, a mustang nearly as black as
+herself and even more frisky.
+
+In a wonderfully short time a number of white tents arose on the plateau
+and several fires blazed, and at all the fires Buttercup laboured with
+superhuman effect, assisted by the cowboys, to the unbounded admiration
+of Zook, who willingly superintended everything, but did little or
+nothing.  A flat rock on the highest point was chosen for the site of a
+future block-house or citadel, and upon this was ere long spread a
+breakfast on a magnificent scale.  It was barely ready when the first
+waggons arrived and commenced to lumber up the ascent, preceded by two
+girls on horseback, who waved their hands, and gave vent to vigorous
+little feminine cheers as they cantered up the slope.
+
+These two were our old friends whom we knew as May Leather and Mary
+Jackson, but who must now be re-introduced to the reader as Mrs Charlie
+Brooke and Mrs Dick Darvall.  On the same day they had changed their
+names at the Ranch of Roaring Bull, and had come to essay wedded life in
+the far west.
+
+We need hardly say that this was the great experimental emigrant party,
+led by the Reverend William Reeves, who had resolved to found a colony
+on total abstinence principles, and with as many as possible of the sins
+of civilisation left behind.  They found, alas! that sin is not so
+easily got rid of; nevertheless, the effort was not altogether
+fruitless, and Mr Reeves carried with him a sovereign antidote for sin
+in the shape of a godly spirit.
+
+The party was a large one, for there were many men and women of the
+frontier whose experiences had taught them that life was happier and
+better in every way without the prevalent vices of gambling and
+drinking.
+
+Of course the emigrants formed rather a motley band.  Among them,
+besides those of our friends already mentioned, there were our hero's
+mother and all the Leather family.  Captain Stride's daughter as well as
+his "Missus," and Mr Crossley's housekeeper, Mrs Bland.  That good
+woman, however, had been much subdued and rendered harmless by the
+terrors of the wilderness, to which she had been recently exposed.  Miss
+Molloy was also there, with an enormous supply of knitting needles and
+several bales of worsted.
+
+Poor Shank Leather was still so much of an invalid as to be obliged to
+travel in a spring cart with his father, but both men were rapidly
+regaining physical strength under the influence of temperance, and
+spiritual strength under a higher power.
+
+Soon the hammer, axe, and saw began to resound in that lovely western
+wilderness; the net to sweep its lakes; the hook to invade its rivers;
+the rifle to crack in the forests, and the plough to open up its virgin
+soil.  In less time, almost, than a European would take to wink, the
+town of Sweetwater Bluff sprang into being; stores and workshops, a
+school and a church, grew, up like mushrooms; seed was sown, and
+everything, in short, was done that is characteristic of the advent of a
+thriving community.  But not a gambling or drinking saloon, or a drop of
+firewater, was to be found in all the town.
+
+In spite of this, Indians brought their furs to it; trappers came to it
+for supplies; emigrants turned aside to see and rest in it; and the
+place soon became noted as a flourishing and pre-eminently peaceful
+spot.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.
+
+The Last.
+
+But a little cloud arose ere long on the horizon of Sweetwater Bluff.
+Insignificant at first, it suddenly spread over the sky and burst in a
+wild storm.
+
+The first intimation of its approach came from Charlie Brooke one quiet
+autumn evening, in that brief but delightful season known as the Indian
+Summer.
+
+Charlie entered his garden that evening with a fowling-piece on his
+shoulder, and two brace of prairie hens at his girdle.  May was seated
+at her cottage door, basking in sunshine, chatting with her mother--who
+was knitting of course--and Shank was conversing with Hunky Ben, who
+rested after a day of labour.
+
+"There, May, is to-morrow's dinner," said Charlie, throwing the birds at
+his wife's feet, and sitting down beside her.  "Who d'you think I passed
+when I was out on the plains to-day, Hunky?  Your old friend Crux the
+Cowboy."
+
+"He's no friend o' mine," said the scout, while something like a frown
+flitted across his usually placid brow.  "I'm not over-pleased to hear
+that he's comin', for it's said that some old uncle or aunt o' his--I
+forget which--has left him a lot o' dollars.  I hope he ain't comin' to
+spend 'em here, for he'd never git along without gamblin' an' drinkin'."
+
+"Then, I can tell you that he _is_ just coming to stay here," returned
+Charlie, "for he has several waggons with him, and a dozen men.  I asked
+him where he was going to, and he said, to locate himself as a
+store-keeper at Sweetwater Bluff; but he did not seem inclined to be
+communicative, so I left him and galloped on to report the news.  What
+d'you think about it?"
+
+"I think it'll be a bad day for Sweetwater Bluff when Crux comes to
+settle in it.  Howsoever, this is a free country, an' we've no right to
+interfere with him so long as he don't break the laws.  But I doubt him.
+I'm afeard he'll try to sell drink, an' there's some o' our people who
+are longin' to git back to that."
+
+The other members of the party, and indeed those heads of the town
+generally who knew Crux, were of much the same opinion, but some of them
+thought that, being in a free country, no one had a right to interfere.
+The consequence was that Crux and his men were permitted to go to work.
+They hired a shed in which to stow their goods, while they were engaged
+in building a store, and in course of time this was finished; but there
+was a degree of mystery about the ex-cowboy's proceedings which baffled
+investigation, and people did not like to press inquiry too far; for it
+was observed that all the men who had accompanied Crux were young and
+powerful fellows, well armed with rifle and revolver.
+
+At last however, the work was finished, and the mystery was cleared up,
+for, one fine morning, the new store was opened as a drinking and
+gambling saloon; and that same evening the place was in full swing--
+sending forth the shouts, songs, cursing and demoniac laughter for which
+such places are celebrated.
+
+Consternation filled the hearts of the community, for it was not only
+the men brought there by Crux who kept up their revels in the new
+saloon, but a sprinkling of the spirited young fellows of the town also,
+who had never been very enthusiastic in the temperance cause, and were
+therefore prepared to fall before the first temptation.
+
+At a conference of the chief men of the town it was resolved to try to
+induce Crux to quit quietly, and for this end to offer to buy up his
+stock-in-trade.  Hunky Ben, being an old acquaintance, was requested to
+go to the store as a deputation.
+
+But the ex-cowboy was inexorable.  Neither the offer of money nor
+argument had any effect on him.
+
+"Well, Crux," said the scout, at the conclusion of his visit, "you know
+your own affairs best but, rememberin' as I do, what you used to be, I
+thought there was more of fair-play about you."
+
+"Fair-play!  What d'ye mean?"
+
+"I mean that when folk let _you_ alone, you used to be willin' to let
+_them_ alone.  Here has a crowd o' people come back all this way into
+the Rockies to escape from the curse o' strong drink and gamblin', an'
+here has Crux--a lover o' fair-play--come all this way to shove that
+curse right under their noses.  I'd thowt better of ye, Crux, lad."
+
+"It don't matter much what you thowt o' me, old man," returned the
+cowboy, somewhat sharply; "an', as to fair-play, there's a lot of men
+here who don't agree wi' your humbuggin' notions about temperance an'
+tee-totalism--more of 'em, maybe, than you think.  These want to have
+the drink, an' I've come to give it 'em.  I see nothin' unfair in that."
+
+Hunky Ben carried his report back to the council, which for some time
+discussed the situation.  As in the case of most councils, there was
+some difference of opinion: a few of the members being inclined to carry
+things with a high hand--being urged thereto by Captain Stride--while
+others, influenced chiefly by Mr Reeves, were anxious to try peaceable
+means.
+
+At last a sub-committee was appointed, at Hunky Ben's suggestion, to
+consider the whole matter, and take what steps seemed advisable.  Hunky
+was an adroit and modest man--he could not have been a first-rate scout
+otherwise!  He managed not only to become convener of the committee, but
+succeeded in getting men chiefly of his own opinion placed on it.  At
+supper that night in Charlie's cottage, while enjoying May's cookery and
+presence, and waited on by the amused and interested Buttercup, the
+sub-committee discussed and settled the plan of operations.
+
+"It's all nonsense," said Hunky Ben, "to talk of tryin' to persuade
+Crux.  He's as obstinate as a Texas mule wi' the toothache."
+
+"Rubbish!" exclaimed Captain Stride, smiting the table with his fist.
+"We mustn't parley with him, but heave him overboard at once!  I said so
+to my missus this very day.  `Maggie,' says I--"
+
+"And what do _you_ think, Charlie?" asked Mr Crossley.
+
+"I think with Hunky Ben, of course.  He knows Crux, and what is best to
+be done in the circumstances.  The only thing that perplexes me, is what
+shall we do with the liquor when we've paid for it?  A lot of it is good
+wine and champagne, and, although useless as a beverage, it is useful as
+a medicine, and might be given to hospitals."
+
+"Pour it out!" exclaimed Shank, almost fiercely.
+
+"Ay, the hospitals can look out for themselves," added Shank's father
+warmly.
+
+"Some hospitals, I've bin told, git on well enough without it
+altogether," said Dick Darvall.  "However, it's a subject that desarves
+consideration.--Hallo!  Buttercup, what is it that tickles your fancy
+an' makes your mouth stretch out like that?"
+
+Buttercup became preternaturally grave on the instant, but declined to
+tell what it was that tickled her fancy.
+
+Shortly after the party rose and left the house, Hunky Ben remarking,
+with a quiet laugh, that deeds of darkness were best hatched at night.
+
+What the conspirators hatched became pretty evident next day, for,
+during the breakfast hour, a band of forty horsemen rode slowly down the
+sloping road which led to the plains, and on the side of which Crux had
+built his saloon.
+
+Crux and his men turned out in some surprise to watch the cavalcade as
+it passed.  The band was led by Charlie Brooke, and the scout rode in
+advance on Black Polly as guide.
+
+"Is it the Reds or the Buffalo you're after to-day, Hunky, with such a
+big crowd?" asked Crux.
+
+"Halt!" cried Charlie, at that moment.
+
+The forty men obeyed, and, turning suddenly to the left, faced the
+saloon.
+
+"Hands up!" said Charlie, whose men at the same moment pointed their
+rifles at Crux and his men.  These were all too familiar with the order
+to dare to disobey it.
+
+Our hero then ordered a small detachment of his men to enter the saloon
+and fetch out all rifles and pistols, and those of Crux's people who
+chanced to have their weapons about them, were disarmed.  Another
+detachment went off to the stables behind the saloon.
+
+While they were thus engaged, Charlie addressed Crux.
+
+"We have decided to expel you, Crux, from this town," he said, as he
+drew an envelope from his pocket.  "We have tried to convince you that,
+as the majority of the people here don't want you, it is your duty to
+go.  As you don't seem to see this, we now take the law into our own
+hands.  We love fair-play, however, so you will find in this envelope a
+cheque which we have reason to believe is fully equal to the value of
+your saloon and all its contents.  Your lost time and trouble is your
+own affair.  As you came without invitation, you must go without
+compensation.  Here are your rifles, and revolvers, emptied of
+cartridges, and there are your horses saddled."
+
+As he spoke, one detachment of his men handed rifles and revolvers to
+the party, who were stricken dumb with amazement.  At the same time,
+their horses, saddled and bridled, were led to the front and delivered
+to them.
+
+"We have no provisions," said Crux, at last recovering the use of his
+tongue; "and without ammunition we cannot procure any."
+
+"That has been provided for," said our hero, turning to Hunky Ben.
+
+"Ay, Crux," said the scout, "we don't want to starve you, though the
+'arth wouldn't lose much if we did.  At the other end o' the lake, about
+five mile from here, you'll find a red rag flyin' at the branch of a
+tree.  In the hole of a rock close beside it, you'll find three days'
+provisions for you and your men, an' a lot of ammunition."
+
+"Now, mount and go," said Charlie, "and if you ever show face here
+again, except as friends, your blood be on your own heads!"
+
+Crux did not hesitate.  He and his men saw that the game was up; without
+another word they mounted their horses and galloped away.
+
+While this scene was being enacted a dark creature, with darker designs,
+entered the drinking saloon and descended to the cellar.  Finding a
+spirit-cask with a tap in it, Buttercup turned it on, then, pulling a
+match-box out of her pocket she muttered, "I t'ink de hospitals won't
+git much ob it!" and applied a light.  The effect was more powerful than
+she had expected.  The spirit blazed up with sudden fury, singeing off
+the girl's eyebrows and lashes, and almost blinding her.  In her alarm
+Buttercup dashed up to the saloon, missed her way, and found herself on
+the stair leading to the upper floor.  A cloud of smoke and fire forced
+her to rush up.  She went to the window and yelled, on observing that it
+was far too high to leap.  She rushed to another window and howled in
+horror, for escape was apparently impossible.
+
+Charlie heard the howl.  He and his men had retired to a safe distance
+when the fire was first observed--thinking the place empty--but the howl
+touched a chord in our hero's sympathetic breast, which was ever ready
+to vibrate.  From whom the howl proceeded mattered little or nothing to
+Charlie Brooke.  Sufficient that it was the cry of a living being in
+distress.  He sprang at once through the open doorway of the saloon,
+through which was issuing a volume of thick smoke, mingled with flame.
+
+"God help him! the place'll blow up in a few minutes," cried Hunky Ben,
+losing, for once, his imperturbable coolness, and rushing wildly after
+his friend.  But at that moment the thick smoke burst into fierce flame
+and drove him back.
+
+Charlie sprang up the staircase three steps at a time, holding his
+breath to avoid suffocation.  He reached the landing, where Buttercup
+ran, or, rather, fell, almost fainting, into his arms.  At the moment an
+explosion in the cellar shook the building to its foundation, and,
+shattering one of the windows, caused a draught of air to drive aside
+the smoke.  Charlie gasped a mouthful of air and looked round.  Flames
+were by that time roaring up the only staircase.  A glance from the
+nearest window showed that a leap thence meant broken limbs, if not
+death, to both.  A ladder up to a trap-door suggested an exit by the
+roof.  It might only lead to a more terrible leap, but meanwhile it
+offered relief from imminent suffocation.  Charlie bore the half-dead
+girl to the top rung, and found the trap-door padlocked, but a thrust
+from his powerful shoulder wrenched hasp and padlock from their hold,
+and next moment a wild cheer greeted him as he stood on a corner of the
+gable.  But a depth of forty or fifty feet was below him with nothing to
+break his fall to the hard earth.
+
+"Jump!" yelled one of the onlookers.  "No, don't!" cried another,
+"you'll be killed."
+
+"Hold your noise," roared Hunky Ben, "and lend a hand here--sharp!--the
+house'll blow up in a minute."
+
+He ran as he spoke towards a cart which was partly filled with hay.
+Seizing the trams he raised them.  Willing hands helped, and the cart
+was run violently up against the gable--Hunky shouting to some of the
+men to fetch more hay.
+
+But there was no time for that.  Another explosion took place inside the
+building, which Charlie knew must have driven in the sides of more casks
+and let loose fresh fuel.  A terrible roar, followed by ominous cracking
+of the roof, warned him that there was no time to lose.  He looked
+steadily at the cart for a moment and leaped.  His friends held their
+breath as the pair descended.  The hay would not have sufficed to break
+the fall sufficiently, but happily the cart was an old one.  When they
+came down on it like a thunderbolt, the bottom gave way.  Crashing
+through it the pair came to the ground, heavily indeed, but uninjured!
+
+The fall, which almost stunned our hero, had the curious effect of
+reviving Buttercup, for she muttered something to the effect that, "dat
+was a mos' drefful smash," as they conveyed her and her rescuer from the
+vicinity of danger.
+
+This had scarcely been done when the house blew up--its walls were
+driven outwards, its roof was blown off, its bottles were shattered, all
+its baleful contents were scattered around, and, amid an appropriate
+hurricane of blue fire, that drinking and gambling saloon was blown to
+atoms.
+
+Would that a like fate might overtake every similar establishment in the
+world!
+
+This was the first and last attempt to disturb the peace of Sweetwater
+Bluff.  It is said, indeed, that Crux and some of his men did, long
+afterwards, make their appearance in that happy and flourishing town,
+but they came as reformed men, not as foes--men who had found out that
+in very truth sobriety tends to felicity, that honesty is the best
+policy, and that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Charlie to the Rescue, by R.M. Ballantyne
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