The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 219: what you’re looking at

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

With a loud shout, Tom’s men followed their young and gallant leader. _ They clambered up the sides of the Austrian ship like monkeys, and in an instant rushed on board, sword and pistol in hand. Tom was first on the enemy’s decks, and at one blow struck down two or three of the enemy. The combat, for at least five minutes, was . desperate in the extreme, But the fiercenes of Tom’s followers was so great, and the weight of their blows struck such terror into all who opposed ;them, that ere long a joyful shout from his men told too well that the ficht was over and that the ship was captured. — The last to surrender was the first lieutenant of the Austrians, He was a big, burly, ferocious-looking man, and he rushed at Tom with a frightful oath of ven- geance, Tom parried his blow, and the next instant the Austrian lieutenant was cleaved to the deck, At that moment, and while the old commander, on one knee, begged for his life at Tom’s hands, great cries were heard from below. A number of fair ladies rushed on deck in a frantic manner, and, falling on their knees, hailed their deliverance with joy, kissing Tom’s hand, and blessing him as their deliverer, (See Cut in No, 25.) CHAPTER LXXXIV., THE CAUSE OF ALARM—FATTY IN TROUBLE—HE IS RATHER FOND OF HIS MEDICINE—BUTTONS WISHES THAT HE HAD PLENTY OF SUCH STUFF TO CHEER HIM—FRANK CONTINUES HIS JOURNAL, AND RELATES ALL HE SAW OF FIELD, FOREST, RIVERS, BIRDS, ‘‘ VARMINT,” AND THE LIKE, WHICH HE OCCASIONALLY READS TO HIS COMPANIONS. TuE cause of Frank’s surprise and horror can be easily explained. He had been so absorbed in the wild beauties around him, that he took no heed of the fact that nearly all of his boy followers were fast asleep. He had heard all sorts of noises from wild animals in the forest, but he took no notice of them, ' _He had also heard a peculiar noise very near him like that of a baby’s rattle. He did not know what it meant. Twice he heard it, at short intervals. The third time it sounded, he was startled Ly a sudden cry of pain from one of the lads. A rattle-snake had given its usual warning, but master Fatty and Buttons were so intent upon finishing a pigeon pie, which Pedro the guide had made, that they took no notice of anything, until, with a scream of agony, master Fatty found him- self in the folds of a large-sized rattle-snake, In an instant, his cries aroused the whole camp. The Mexican teamsters ran off on the instant, but Frank at once saw what ought to be done. The rattle-snake’s tail was coiled round a small tree, and the remainder of its powerful body would have crushed Fatty to death. Frank seized his sword, and bounded down the rock with fearlessness, With two strokes, he cut the rattle-snake into aa a and then, with another blow, severed off its ead. Fatty’s speedy deliverance from the folds of the snake saved his life, THE BOY SOLDIER; OR, GARIBALDI’S YOUNG CAPTAIN. 213 But all was not yet over. The venom of the reptile had entered Fatty’s veins, How was it to be eradicated ? No one knew, At that moment, Pedro the guide, came forward with a cup of whisky. “ Drink, drink,” said he, in haste, “it is the only cure we know of here in these parts.” Fatty did not refuse, but drank down the whisky until it almost choked him, ‘My eye,” said Buttons; “talk about medicine being nasty stuff, I wish I had Fatty’s complaint, that’s all,” “ Drink, drink, I say,” repeated Pedro, ‘it’s’ your only chance for life, you must get blind drunk, or it’s all of no use.” Tony’s fat body was somewhat bruised, and he felt so sore all over, that he could not refuse any- thing, and not only drank one cup of whisky before he was blind drunk, but, as Buttons observed, ‘‘ made a very large hole and signed his name pretty legibly in a second cup.” Fatty continued taking his medicine regularly for more than an hour, about which time he began to reel about and to hiccup, to sing, to dance, and make himself generally ridiculous to all assembled in camp. As Pedro said, it was the only medicine for deadly, poisonous, snake-bites known in that wild region, and, true enough,.it saved the life of Fatty, although he rolled about and tumbled over everything that came in his way, and ‘at last fell down beside a roaring camp-fire and was soon fast asleep, snoring loudly. : This incident, which at first caused so much fear and alarm among the travellers, was duly recorded in captain Frank’s journal, But, unlike the rest, it did not cause him any uneasiness, He again went forth into the moon-lit forest, and amused himself. Everything he saw was so unlike anything he had heard or read of in England, that he did not fail to make remarks thereon in his note-book, some of which he thought might be‘amusing or interesting to those who might ever chance to read his journal, j We will not in this place attempt to describe his thoughts or note his observations, but the best thing we can do for those who have followed in these pages the fortunes and adventures of the Boy Soldiers, is to give the young captain’s Teas in his own exact words, Therefore, we continue the journal where it left off in a previous chapter, which reads as follows :-— “Unconscious of the flight of time, I sat gazing on the view around me, beneath the shade of a towering chesnut, puffing volumes of smoke, and full of pleasant imaginings. “No description could paint the scene, and I sighed for power to reproduce, in any form, the mass of wild beauty abounding on every side. _ “The moon was high in the heaven, and its light was so brilliant and entrancing that one could read the smallest print with ease. “J distinctly saw animals moving about the undergrowth, and many cautiously approached the river edge to drink, “Terrapins on logs occasionally flapped and splashed in the water, “Groups of geese and ducks would cackle and quack in sudden alarm and rush to the river, and, where they had been but a moment before undis- MUICLOOOKS CO C@©