The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 235: what you’re looking at

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

THE BOY, SOLDIER; OR, GARIBALDI’S. YOUNG CAPTAIN. * 229 Next instant Eagle-wing gave a sharp cry of pain. Frank had wounded him in the right arm witha sabre cut. - a Again and again they met and exchanged deadly strokes, | took Caspar, Hugh Tracy, and others, would have assisted Frank in the combat. But this the braye young soldier would not listen to. 3 ; “‘ Leave this grisly chief to me, lads,’’ said Frank, gaily; “I will soon finish him, Attend to the others; disperse or kill them; the victory. is almost gained.” : With terrible curses on his lips, the;Indian chief rode down upon Frank, and seized him by the throat, romper Next instant both combatants were on, the ground, wrestling in a death struggle. It was now a case of life or death for one or both. Frank was becoming exhausted, and the Indian perceived it. With a cry of triumph, he was about to throw Frank to the ground and kill him, when Frank, with great cleverness, tripped up his grim antagonist, 7 With a heavy sound Eagle-wing fell to the earth. In an instant Frank placed one knee upon his breast. Eagle-wing writhed in agony and torture. It was impossible for him to, move, however, yet he managed to free one of his hands. a it 3 Frank perceived this. ; Eagle-wing raised his knife, and would have stabbed Frank to the heart. : It was the last time, however, that he raised that bloody scalping knife. In a second Frank put the reyolyer to his head. A sharp report followed. ai Eagle- Wing gave a last shrill cry. He was no more. 4 Frank knelt upon the prostrate body of his foe. TEagle-wing’s cry, however, had been heard by his followers, and filled them with consternation. With, loud shouts they fled from the scene of action on all sides, leaving their dead and wounded behind them. ‘Pursue ! pursue !’’ shouted Caspar, and followed by every one who was able, the, Boy Soldiers sallied forth with three hearty cheers after the galloping figures of their bloodthirsty Indian foes... ‘Hurray ! hurray.!" 4. 3 “ England for ever !”’ Such were the shouts heard on all sides, as the gallant boys, new joined by Fatty ant Buttons on horseback, dashed away through the forest after the villanous Blackfeet. CHAPTER LXXXIX. THE BLACKFEET INDIANS ARE ROUTED—THE VICTORY GAINED—THE TRAPPER’S TERRIBLE STORY, “« THANK heayen, we have proy-d victorious !’’ said Frank, as he stood looking at the grim, blood- stained body of the gigantic Indian chief, Eagle- wing, ‘Thank heaven we haye come off con- querors, or else i | | “ Or else,’ said the trapper, who stood by his side, laughing, “or else, my friend, the Blackfeet would have made soup of all of us before the week was out.”’ Frank smiled as he pointed to the dead chief near his feet,’’ and said, «Trapper, it.was a. fair fight between us,,wasn’t “Oh! yes,” was the careless ‘reply,," it;.was;.all fair and)square, and_you.served him out beautifully ; but if IT had been only a little stronger on.my. legs, J should have had, the honour of doing for Hagle- wing here, Oh, yes, you English boys fight,splen- didly, and no mistake; but you; must neyer stan on ‘honour and fairness’ when.you.are,in;a.scrims mage with the darned Redskins—the Blackfeet in particular, for they are such treacherous, cowardly fiends. Why, look at Hagle-wing here, with blood streaming all down, his face, why, he has killed— nay, murdered, that’s the way to call it--many,a white man in his time ; and look you here, Captain Frank, if the old settlars on the borders were only to know this minute that you and your gallant, lads had ‘done for’ over a dozen of these; rascally Red- skins, they’d dance for joy, for Hagle-wing hasbeen the terror of the plain for over twenty, years.;, yes, eyer since I could. remember: . A murdering villain he was, and no mistake,. You descrye.a,medal for doing this little job, and no gammon,.. Won’ whe newspapers give you a long puff for all this (et Mat me, if your hands ain’t. almost. wrung off with shaking pretty girls. I’d give a thousand dollars to have had Eagle-wing’s scalp-lock. And soI will!’ he added, with an oath. : ii In an instant, and before Frank could prevent, it, the. trapper knelt; down beside the , dead , chief, whipped out his long knife, and. cutoff Lagle- wing’s scalp-lock, nts Fh ana Frank was astonished and disgusted, as, the trapper, in triumph, held. up the gory trophy, and turned away towards a waggon to procure, some refreshment. fo is “You hate the Indians most intensely, trapper.?’? said he. i anes on “T do, Captain Frank, and so would you if, you had suffered so much from ’em as I haye done.”) “Have you suffered much, then?” “ Yes, all my life.” | “Indeed |” 3 “From the time IJ was a boy, 1 ean remember nothing else buf bad blood between us whites and the Indians.”’ eal | ‘‘ But I suppose the white settlers were the first to begin the quarrels and fights?” ; “T don’t know that. That’s what all you. English people say; but I remember when ja, boy, these same Blackfeet came down upon a small settle- ment, and. brtchered all the. white people. they could find—my father and mother among them— burnt all the houses to the ground, ran away with the cattle, and violated and scalped all the young girls they could find,” in “Those were terrible times, trapper.’? “Yes ‘they were, Captain Frank, and many a gallant man has lost, bis life since through the cunning and knavery of those same Indians you foucht so well to day.” ‘“Bagle-wing, yonder, dead and cold, could tell a terrible tale if he could speak.” The trapper for a. moment seemed in deep thought ; but said at last, very gravely, ‘It is not so bad now as it used to be, when a fellow was obliged to sleep with only one eye,open, and often woke up in the morning and felt in vain for his scalp.) “No! they are golden times now compared with formerly : no, I meant to say they were formerly golden compared with now. “At that time a good beaver-skin .was..worth from seven to ten dollars, and now.a fellow. is glad to get rid of it for two or three, oO Comicbooks.con