for a season. Despairing, then, of recovering his sister by the means hitherto used, Derrick had made his way to the headquarters of the patriot army, where, offering his sword to his country, he lived in the hope of obtaining tidings of the lost Alida through the medium of the first flag of truce that should be sent to the royalist generals in Canada. Balt, too, the humble but zealous friend of the Hawksnest family, adopting less readily the belief that Brant had removed his captive across the frontier, had, after accompanying Derrick in his bootless wildwood quest at the north, renewed a diligent search among the haunts of the Tories nearer home. It was the restless and prying offices of this faithful fellow-which Valtmeyer, with characteristic hardihood, seemed to make light of when detailing them to his employer-that awakened the anxiety of Bradshawe for the better security of his prize; and his letter designated a remarkable cavern in Schoharie County, well known both to the outlaw and his ruffian principal as the best retreat for security; and it commanded that, as soon as the winter snows should allow of easy and rapid transportation, a covered sleigh should convey Alida, her two attendants, and such furniture as would be indispensable to this dungeon fastness. A valuable farm on the German Flats, with the promised manumission of the African servants, who were the slaves of Bradshawe, was the promised reward for these services, if they should be faithfully and effectually rendered. This letter was the last communication which Bradshawe had held with the lawless instrument of his crimes. He was now about to realize how far his behests had been obeyed. He burned with impatience to ascertain the result of Valtmeyer's machinations, and he ground his teeth in wrath at the thought that the momentary quailing of his spirit before that of Brant had betrayed his secret, endangered his final triumph over Alida, and perhaps compromised the safety alike of his confederate and himself. His horse had long since become way-worn and jaded; still it was scarcely possible that Brant, though he might have taken a more direct course for the cavern, could on foot accomplish the journey as soon as himself. His rage and vexation at the bare possibility were for a moment insupportable; and then, as he ferociously vented his feelings upon his tired steed, struggling now with difficulty, through the deep snowdrifts, he became calmer the next instant upon remembering that Brant was alone, and that Valtmeyer, in performing his duty of castellan, might possibly despatch the officious and insolent Mohawk. In the meantime, as the short winter's day approached to a close, Bradshawe himself began to suffer for the want of refreshment; and he was compelled to admit, at last, that it was impossible for his horse to proceed farther, and that he would prove useless on the morrow unless the wants of the animal were soon administered to. And, fortunately for both, an asylum soon presented itself in the deserted cabin of some fugitive settler, whom fear of the Indians had driven from his solitary clearing in the forest to some safer home. A storm of rain and sleet set in a few moments after the horseman gained this welcome shelter; but he heeded not its peltings without, as after tethering his horse in one corner of the shanty, he kindled a fire upon the hearth, and by its light discovered a pile of unshocked corn, which he soon laid under contribution, both for himself and his steed. He foddered the horse, while still heated, with the dried blades and husks only, busying himself in the meantime with shelling the ears. The grain thus procured was partly pounded up, and, by the aid of snowwater, converted into hoe-cakes, which were soon roasting by the fire. The rest of it, with a dozen more loose ears, he placed before his horse after this frugal supper was served; nor did Bradshawe resign himself to rest before, like an experienced trooper, he had well groomed his noble steed, by using the husks and cobs of the maize as a substitute for the straw whisp and brush, to which the animal's glossy coat showed he was accustomed. His fire, in the meantime, he fed with an armful of fuel from the same pile which had supplied him with provisions. It blazed up so as to fill the whole cabin with a ruddy light as the dry blades were first ignited, crackled and sputtered for a few moments as the grains of corn became parched and split by the heat, and then subsided into a bed of glowing brands as the dry cobs were seized upon by the element. CHARLES FENNO HOFFMAN. (To be continued.) JUNIUS SMITH, A FORGOTTEN NAVIGATOR 109 113 (Third Series, Second Paper) EUGENE F. MCPIKE 116 GREYSLAER: A ROMANCE OF THE MOHAWK (Chapter XVII Entered as Second-class matter, March 1, 1905, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y. according to Act of Congress March 3, 1879. upon his tired steed, struggling now with difficulty, through the deep snowdrifts, he became calmer the next instant upon remembering that Brant was alone, and that Valtmeyer, in performing his duty of castellan, might possibly despatch the officious and insolent Mohawk. In the meantime, as the short winter's day approached to a close, Bradshawe himself began to suffer for the want of refreshment; and he was compelled to admit, at last, that it was impossible for his horse to proceed farther, and that he would prove useless on the morrow unless the wants of the animal were soon administered to. And, fortunately for both, an asylum soon presented itself in the deserted cabin of some fugitive settler, whom fear of the Indians had driven from his solitary clearing in the forest to some safer home. A storm of rain and sleet set in a few moments after the horseman gained this welcome shelter; but he heeded not its peltings without, as after tethering his horse in one corner of the shanty, he kindled a fire upon the hearth, and by its light discovered a pile of unshocked corn, which he soon laid under contribution, both for himself and his steed. He foddered the horse, while still heated, with the dried blades and husks only, busying himself in the meantime with shelling the ears. The grain thus procured was partly pounded up, and, by the aid of snowwater, converted into hoe-cakes, which were soon roasting by the fire. The rest of it, with a dozen more loose ears, he placed before his horse after this frugal supper was served; nor did Bradshawe resign himself to rest before, like an experienced trooper, he had well groomed his noble steed, by using the husks and cobs of the maize as a substitute for the straw whisp and brush, to which the animal's glossy coat showed he was accustomed. His fire, in the meantime, he fed with an armful of fuel from the same pile which had supplied him with provisions. It blazed up so as to fill the whole cabin with a ruddy light as the dry blades were first ignited, crackled and sputtered for a few moments as the grains of corn became parched and split by the heat, and then subsided into a bed of glowing brands as the dry cobs were seized upon by the element. CHARLES FENNO HOFFMAN. (To be continued.) |