José — page 294: what you’re looking at

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

JOSE, 287 Green, a St. Louis merchant,” he continued, intro- ducing the young man, “of whom Pepita will doubt- less be able to relate more; and this is our Uncle Bob, the best soul of all the hunters on the prairie.” “T will briefly explain how I am situated,” began Mary, drawing a deep breath, after the three men had disposed themselves upon as many chairs, and Green had vainly looked about for Jose; “I was brought by my father to this place, of whose nature I had not a thought. Through machinations and cir- cumstances which I had neither the power nor the courage to control, I was forced to wed a man against whom my soul rebelled, and was then aban- doned to my fate by father who, immediately after the ceremony, departed upon an extended business trip. McGregor was killed without again seeing the fort, and I am left heiress of a wilderness, divorcing me from the inhabited world more hopelessly than walls and locks—a wilderness serving my father as the object of some kind of speculation, to which he sacrificed me once before and may again if timely aid is not extended to me; divided from a crowd of half civilized men by nothing but two old servants of McGregor, who have no grounds in the world to feel attached to me—deserted as effectually as if I were standing on a barren rock in the midst of the ocean. Now you probably understand why I ban- ished all hesitancy, when in an hour of despair, as dark as possibly can befall any creature, I read the name of a friend who can take me away before I fall into a trap——” “We'll up and beat everv thing down that crosses our paths!” suddenly cried Bob, striking with his iron fist against the side of the chair until it groaned in every joint; “pack up, and if we don’t fetch you Gomichboo S (E(@)