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 THE PSfflCE OF THE GOLD HMTERS. 
 
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 Vi!iiL^ ^fea^Si . 
 
 THEJNIISER, 
 
 JOHN V^ER t NON, 
 
 DISCOVERING THE SUICIDE OF HIS 
 WIFE, 
 
 WHO HAD, FORYEABS, 
 
 ^l/ Eluded his Pursuit 
 
 BY CHARLES E, AVERILL, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY GEORGE H. WILLIAMS, 52, WASHINGTON ST. 
 
 AND FOR SALE BY 
 
 Hotchkiss & Co., Redding & Co,, W, R, Davis, F, S. Saxton, Boston Stringer 
 & Townsend, H. Long & Brother, Bcrford & Co,, Dewitt & Davenport, W. 
 H, Graham, N, York A, Winch, T, B. Peterson, Philadelphia Wm. 
 Taylor, Baltimore Stratton & Barnard, Cincinnati, 0. C. A. Mantz, 
 C. K. Woodward, Mo. J. Carter, Louisville, Ky. W. Clark, N. Orleans. 
 J. A. Roys, Eetroit, 
 
 And to be had of all Periodical Depots in the United States. 
 A- 
 
 /. \ IOE, 25 CENTS. 
 
 
Entered according to Act of Con grew, in the year 1840, by Gtorge H. Williams, in the Clerk s 
 Office, in the DUtriot Court of the District of Mmtaohuieiu.] 
 
PS 1054 ^5 
 AWsa 
 
 KIT CARSON, 
 
 X. 
 
 The Merchant s Clerk The Temptation 
 The Mrufffflr. Tlic Dream of Wealth 
 Tlic Student s Strange Secret A Night 
 Adventure in the City. 
 
 Trmptrr ixvny ! wouhlst ilion hrgnile T 
 \Vlint ! did I list to thee awhile ! 
 
 1 Hnrk ! hark ! the lreiul alarm ! 
 
 ROM tho Old South 
 clock and the State 
 House bell, chimed the 
 hour of nine. The 
 > liring world of Bos- 
 * ^ j? ton s mighty metropolis 
 was sinning to its night 
 ly rest ; tho busy marts were closing ; the 
 *plendid stores of fashionable resort, behind 
 oaken shutters and iron bars were veiling 
 their wealth of costly merchandize ; from the 
 brokers windows of State and Exchange 
 streets, had been withdrawn to the security 
 
 J of Salamanders,* tho tempting hoard ot 
 golden treasure, whose lavish display had, 
 that day, realized to many a poor, starving 
 wretch, t lc torment* of Tantalus; Change, 
 itself, had, fur m;niy hours, been void of its 
 restless tide of speculation, and from all 
 parts of the city, the steady current of home- 
 returning pedestrians proclaimed the advance* 
 ment of the night. 
 
 A half hour later, and the streets of the 
 great city would be nearly deserted. But, in 
 the meantime, wiihin tho gorgeous interior 
 of one of the most stately stores of which our 
 time-honored promenade of Washington*!. 
 run boast, it tho further extremity of the 
 massive granite structure itself, a gas-light 
 Htill was burning in unquenched brilliancy ;. 
 Jet wns it like a siar veiled by a cloud, for, 
 through the ponderous closed shutters of the 
 loftv-storied structure, no ray of that hidden 
 radiance was suffered to penetrate without. 
 Fitfully over the bent form of a young man, 
 fitfully over the stained and blotted pages of 
 the ledger before him, (lured tl.e gu-light*i 
 
 202 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 sickly glare, in bold relief reflecting, despite 
 the shadows and tho darkness of the outer 
 night, the appearance of the merchant s 
 clerk. 
 
 Singularly at variance with the luxurious 
 aspect of the store and belongings, seemed in 
 truth tho somewhat shabby exr-rior of the 
 young man ; whose thread-bare coat, vilh its 
 well-worn elbows exhibiting more than one 
 prudent darn, gnve uch suspicious evidence 
 of having been but too often brushed, as did 
 the neglected hat that cumbered the writing 
 cabinet of tho counting room in which he sat ; 
 his back rounded, his hend resting between 
 his clasped hands upon the unclosed account- 
 oook, so thut tho face could not Le seen his 
 whole" crouching attitude expressive of tho 
 most "Her physical exhuution. Ky his hard 
 and sonorous breathing it was not difficult to 
 tell that the over-tasked laborer hud fallen 
 asleep at his tusk 1 
 
 It was with a violent start that ho suddenly 
 woke. 
 
 4 Ha I where am I ? was his first uncon- 
 scious exclamation of confused recollection 
 and surprise. 
 
 Hov/ 1 and have I, indeed been sleeping 7* 
 ho repeated, sleeping at my post? strange 
 that I should so lose myself I and yot not so 
 trongo after all. I have boen sadly tasked 
 of late, and Nature, though long-enduring, 
 must yield at last. Ah me ! he murmured, 
 I am well-nigh worn out, 1 foar ; sixteen 
 hours of the twenty-four spent daily in labor ; 
 constant confinement, no recreation, the same 
 eternal round, alas! what marvel that they 
 hould reduce me to this state of bodily pro*. 
 tration ? And all this I suffer for a pitiful 
 alary of a meagre five hundred n-yoar, that 
 will scarce clothe mo decently, 1 and tho 
 speaker bitterly surveyed himself ns he spoko, 
 in one of tho splendid mirrors which beauti 
 fied, while seeming to double, tho extent of 
 the luxurious sales-room beyond. 
 
 He had risen erect in tho act, and as he 
 took a step or two forward, he bchelJ, re] 
 
 fleeted back a care-worn, though noble coun- 
 tenance, and a brow on which anxious thought 
 and trouble had marred much of youthful 
 clearness, while from sadness 1 own shadows, 
 his dark hazel eyes had borrowed oven a 
 deeper shade. 
 
 An expression almost cynical had marked 
 his hint-uttered words, and yet with other 
 thoughts, ctirno also a softened tono, as in a 
 moment ho reiterated, 
 
 All this for fivo hundred a-ycar! all this 
 for thut and yet not for. that alone for her 
 sake, too, I should have said, do 1 endure 
 all thut I do. My sister I my sweet sister! 
 tho solo being left to cure for the poor and 
 friendless, clerk ! Ah, poor girl ! hide she 
 knows of all her brother s sud privations for 
 her dear suke God grant she never may ! 
 My poverty ! my poverty ! she knows not half 
 its full extent, and still she sees how very poor 
 1 am. Alas, this shabby dress, this thread* 
 bare garb speak plainer than words. And 
 yet ha, ho ! * 
 
 Hero ho pausedjibruptly, and with a hol 
 low laugh, as in speaking, his hollow eye 
 glanced first at tho costly army of richest 
 good, then from thcso to his own half* worn 
 out apparel, 
 
 1 And yet, why need I so remain ? Hero 
 ore fabrics in thouHandn, from tho richest 
 looms of , Persia and India true, my limited 
 income is insufficient to support an orphan 
 sister and indulge h the expensive luxuries 
 of dress ttill, I might thus indulge. Ha ! 
 ha ! how is it that half your spruce young 
 city clerks, out of their meagre salaries, con 
 trive to dress so fashionably ? how, how, I 
 say ? Plain people wonder, but tho secret they 
 know not ? 
 
 And tho speaker sarcastically pursued his 
 soliloquy, 
 
 Ye*, the secret uf it ! A fo w yards, more 
 or less, in a costly piece of broadcloth, 
 what are they T they probably never would be 
 missed, where a business so enormous is can 
 ricd on, or, if discovered, to whoso charg 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 among so muny salesmen, co-jld tho pccula- 
 tion bo luid ? Yet, thaUk God! I never 
 stooped to ihnt I never pleaded that excuse 
 for sinning thus, though who, in truth, is most 
 toblnme? what but the grinding ppirit of 
 penurious employers is it, after all, that makes 
 dishonesty in those who serve them? When 
 hut a dog s compensation is given us, what 
 wonder is it that the clerics of the city cheat 
 and betray their trust? Still, tis theft no 
 less, and no, no, I would sooner fur con 
 tinue in this poor garb, and know that, at 
 least, the moans by which it was first gained 
 I need not blush to own, though I may blush 
 for its |)ovcrty. 
 
 4 That temptation, nt any rate, for years I 
 have resisted, and still I will withstand ; and 
 yet, I am very, very poor ! O, my sister ! 
 would I could make thoc, at least, rich and 
 happy alas ! hoic ? J 
 
 There was silence, perfect silence, for a 
 few moments. The noble-minded fellow 
 srcmed busied in deepest thought a sudden 
 and bright light came into his thoughtful eye 
 a warm flush reddened his pale check his 
 who!e countenance became, all at once, in 
 stinct with life ; and from his eager, parted 
 lips, came, breathlessly, a single word one 
 ningle word that, within iho space of three 
 brief months, has gained a power to sway, 
 alike the soul of Ambition and Avarice to 
 summon its votaries fiom homo and loved 
 ones, near and far, across the untrodden main 
 thousands and thousands of miles away to 
 re-arouse the drooping hope, and afresh in 
 spire tho dying energy to bewilder even 
 the constitutionally cool and staid with its 
 magic sound, while exciting almost to mad 
 ness, the lessen! in and calculating enthusiast. 
 That one word, reader, you have heard it 
 before ; it was, for who is he has heard 
 it not? 
 
 CALIFORNIA!! I 
 
 It was uttered, the talismanic word 1 and 
 then the spirit s sudden light went out, as 
 evanescent in its life as in its birth nod 
 
 death as instantaneous seemed to follow the 
 new-born hope. 
 
 Folly ! sheer folly ! Where should I gain 
 the necessary means ? who is there to bestow 
 upon the friendless clerk the amount requi 
 site to transport him to that golden land where 
 so many hope to enrich themselves, ere the 
 year be out. I have tried every means, every 
 honorable means exerted myself in vain. 
 All, all to no purpose ; the friends, the influ 
 ence, the generous helping hand I have them 
 not. 
 
 Dcspondingly, at the unwelcome assurance, 
 the despairing young man s head sank upon 
 his breast, and he stood the very picture of 
 silent despair. 
 
 Then, for the last time., in his sir mge self- 
 communion, he muttered, and this time with 
 looks full of excitemenf, 
 
 Ha! and yet, what a maddening thought! 
 that when fortune is within my very grasp, 
 when the me e possession of a few hundred 
 dollars \a but needed to waft me to that bright 
 land of promise which so suddenly Ins open 
 ed on the view, to boundless riches in certain 
 prospective , a man s hands should he hope- 
 less y tied for lack of this pitiful sum, and he 
 still forced to delve on here for the paltry pit 
 tance of a livelihood, while in another clime, 
 he might be winning wealth exhaus>tless for 
 himself and his dear ones! O ! torture worst 
 of all! 
 
 And fearfully agitated by the thrilling pic 
 ture he hail drawn, that dark picture which 
 has risen, doublloss, before thousands situated 
 thus, a groan escaped from his heaving chest 
 and his every feature seemed to participate, 
 acutely, in tne anguish that convulsed limbs, 
 form and face. 
 
 But at this point it was that his excitement, 
 his grief his despondency, now at once ap 
 peared, and in a startling shape, to have 
 reached thtir climax. His dark hazel eye 
 lighted up swiftly, us a clouded aky by the 
 tempest lightnings, gleamed with a new and 
 strange meaning. 
 
10 
 
 KIT CARSON, 
 
 With a quick, short, determined step, ho 
 passed on into the munificent salesroom ; U 
 was but a moment that ho wus gone ; ere it 
 had quite elapsed, with a key taken fr.om a 
 secret depository in the counter, ho re-enter* 
 ed the counting-room he had but for an in 
 stant left. 
 
 It was a heavy iron key, odd in its forma 
 tion, and with it in I. is grasp he paused not, 
 halted not, nor hesitated, till, on bent knees, 
 he kr.elt before a massive Salamander Safe, 
 that Mood concealed within a hidden re 
 cess. 
 
 What, ah, what could bo his secret pur* 
 pose? 
 
 Lot his bloodless face and lips compressed, 
 and teeth tightly clenched over that, and <hat 
 stern look of desperation on OIK; and all, tell, 
 alas, but too intelligibly ! Thus seeming, 
 thus appearing, but with unshuking hand, he 
 seeks for the particular knob which, alone of 
 all its hundred companions, conceals so cun 
 ningly the key-hole of the safe. 
 
 It is found ! and the key in the lock insert 
 ed; still, none but a practised hand, would 
 even then huvn successfully assayed to turn 
 the ponderous warda,or roll buck the shrewd 
 ly contrived bolt ; but his clerk s duty has 
 mude him familiar with the tusk, though 
 never before coupled with hid present p ir- 
 pose. 
 
 The very next moment tho criticul mo 
 ment of hi destiny the during hand of the 
 merchant s clerk was huried amid piles of il- 
 . ver and gold, and passing over packages of 
 bunk iioies, or rattling a.nid bugs of glittering 
 coin. 
 
 Tho solid wealth of one of Tri- mount s 
 most opulent merchant-princes, the riches of 
 a life-time s accumulation, lay exposed and 
 within his grasp. The halfof till he saw was 
 
 more than robber s hand could boar away, 
 
 the fourth of it would have insured to any one 
 a splendid competence ; to him who now do* 
 voured it with his eyes, it would have realized 
 VH brightest dreams of monied bliss yet 
 
 alas! with crime, with dishonor, only to be 
 bought. 
 
 And now, as in silence, in secrecy, unseen 
 by any save God s omniscient eye, over that 
 princely treasure he bent, a fearful thought 
 had roused u fearful struggle in his sou!. 
 Should ho, tho neglected, the down-trodden, 
 the uncared-for instrument, whose incessant 
 labors hud helped for years to swell these 
 hoarded gains, he who had slaved away, in a 
 hard master s service, the best part of his life 
 for a bare subsistence should he. take from 
 that vast accumulation the small amount that 
 necessity required, to open for him Fortune s 
 inviting portals, and fly fly tu that newly- 
 discovered haven of the poor man s hopes, 
 whose signal lights were so brightly shining, 
 a beacon to both the New World and the 
 Old? 
 
 lie hesitated, he faltered, ho paused. The 
 sum itself was trifling in comparison its en- 
 tire value, thrice-told, would not, us it was, 
 have half made up to him tho unjust deficits 
 in his miserly remuneration, and, eventful 
 query I wus he not authorized in its appro 
 priation ? 
 
 The act committed, tho abstraction of the 
 little needed wus secure from discovery a full 
 week at least for only so often came the 
 periodical reckoning, and by that tune would 
 ho be far away upon tho ocoan long before 
 that dcy tho fortune-bonring ship would sail, 
 With wealth illimitable ho could return, make 
 restitution a thousand-fold to heal the scar of 
 conscience, bring joy and happiness to u poor 
 orphan sister, and to himself, emancipation 
 from a life of servitude. 
 
 In lightning-liko quickness of transition 
 passed these lightning-ilka thoughts through 
 his mind ; his agitation bccumo feverish, it 
 was no longer passive ; and in a perfect de 
 lirium of excitement, and when it was with 
 drawn, a bag, heavy with its glittering weight 
 of gol J, was in his grasp. 
 
 A hectic flush usurped, with itd ruddiness 
 tho Inbitual pallor of his check his hand, for 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 11 
 
 the first time, trembled with eagerness a 
 thrilling tremor shook his whole frame then 
 with a rattling clash, the bag, with its contents 
 fell to the floor 1 
 
 Like the thunder-bolt that on Calvary s sa 
 cred summit, split the temple-veil in twain 
 like the shock of tho judgment-trump itself 
 to tho excited fancy of tho half frenzied young 
 man seemed the sharp clang of the falling 
 gold. 
 
 The spell was broken, the cling of the 
 chinking coin had lost its long-held magic 
 charm ! 
 
 4 I was mad ! mad! he shrieked, and 
 started to his feet. Great God ! and have my 
 senses quite deserted me 1 I foel my very 
 reason shaking, my brain reeling within me. 
 Escaped ! thank Heaven s own mercy es 
 caped ! What was I, in my wi .d delirium, 
 about to do ? rob, plunder my employers, 
 betray thcii confiding trust, cover myself 
 with eternal infamy, aye, and madman that 
 I wnp, make my idolized sister blush to own 
 me for a brother. But I was insane ; for tho 
 moment, insane. O, never, never, O my 
 God, while reason is spared, while mind, with 
 mind and sense, remains, will I be criminal 
 Sooner, a thousand times sooner, would 1 drag 
 on my present sad und hopeless existence 
 sooner far remain the miserable slave to the 
 desk and counter that I have been, from my 
 youth up, than degrade, debase myself in my 
 own eyes thus. No, no ! not all the gold 
 of California could tempt me thus again ! 
 
 With tho very utterance of those noble 
 words, that sublime and proud resolve, the 
 tempted onu felt with joy inexpressible, that 
 he was saved saved from himself. Slill he 
 was fearfully agitated ; the abrupt revulsion of 
 feeling had been as powerful as the danger 
 ous emotions which it had dispelled from him 
 forever. 
 
 4 Air, air 1* faintly he faltered, for the damp 
 sweat stood in beads of moisture on his fore 
 head, at every pore perspiring, while an icy 
 chill and burning heat swiftly alternated on 
 
 his flushed and fevered face, the fire of pas 
 sion over and physical weakness coming 
 back upon him ; air, air 1 I must have air 
 and exercise. This is too much for my poor 
 frame and weakened body. The streets by 
 this time are descried a quiet walk will 
 compose my disordered mind; but, first, back 
 with thee, demon, to thy cell, with a fierce 
 mplmsis he said, as with a nervous limb he 
 ifted the f.tal bag and hurled the jingling 
 coin within the iron safe, with a shudder of 
 abhorrence called forth by tho very act. 
 
 Then, as if eager to shut out even the 
 mere sight of the wealth that had so tempted 
 lim, he hurriedly closed the safe door and 
 re-locked it, in his impatience to begone, ne 
 glecting, however, to withdraw and conceal 
 the key. 
 
 And now, at last, to cool my beating 
 pulse, and find some means to distract me 
 from reflection. Heaven knows, after such 
 a scene, I need it 1* 
 
 And, first carefully securing the store in 
 liis absence, not leaving the spot, from sheer 
 force of habit, until, by examination that all 
 was safe for the night, he turned from the 
 building, and strode rapidly down the street ; 
 but, dcspiln this circumspection, th^re was 
 one thing he had forgotten, the key of the 
 safe. 
 
 Fatal omission ! but he knew it not ; nor 
 once suspected how strangely it was destined 
 to color future events to what unforseen re 
 sults it was to lead. 
 
 But leaving these shortly to developc them 
 selves, we must follow the hero of our first 
 chapter in his course, ns with a pace by no 
 means measured he now takes his way along 
 through tho deserted streets of tho night- 
 hushed city. 
 
 Thus it was that he hurried on, objectless 
 and purposeless, as concerned his destination, 
 anxious only to drown thejgbt in action, till 
 at length it was with fomelhing bordering on 
 a start of surprise, that he found himself on 
 Churlestown Bridge. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 Beyond, separated from old Boston by the 
 (lowing waters of Charles River, Charlostown 
 with its glorious monument, Cambridge with 
 its proud universities, were seen. 
 
 Almost gasping for breath, panting with 
 haste, ho bont his uneven steps aoroas tho 
 bridge, trusting to Iho change of sceno to 
 work tlint composure of mind \\o found It im 
 possible, by the force of will to acquire. Dut 
 in vain t 
 
 Tho cool river air brought with it no vo- 
 fri Hhiii} halm to hi* burning brow j tho eoft 
 sighing of thn runhln/j wntoru horn no (tooth 
 ing munia to hi n,r; n full, unnbMructnd 
 prospect of tho clonr blue heavens overhead 
 had no powor to lingo, with nn emollient 
 cast, his piriis; for there, beyond thnt 
 rolling river, boldly deftnod against ihonpnrk- 
 ling sky, uproHO tho dnrk and gloomy towoin 
 of Charlestown prion, like tho grim, forbid- 
 ding wulla of Homo fublod giunt ncaNtle of old 
 and sudden nnd startling over his HOU! camo 
 tho thought, that but foe tho fortunate triumph 
 of rectitude, ho inijfht hnvo boun UN branded 
 ocoupnnt I 
 
 That thought was torture ; it wns tho burn 
 ing lava poured from the volcuno of bin mind, 
 thrown into fresh eruption j and now, los 
 ing, completely, all control of himself, more 
 heedlessly than ever ho datshud onward, at a 
 furious pace, that caused more than one be- 
 ^lutcd passer by to turn in wonder and alarm 
 to p:\zQ after him. 
 
 Holuro he WHS conscious of tho fuel, ho had 
 left Chnrlcmown itself behind and entered tho 
 suburbs of Old Cambridge. Only when, re- 
 called to himself by a strange incident, did 
 ho dwcovcr that ho stood within tho precincts 
 of tho University grounds, tho fne old pnrk of 
 Harvard College, with its branching elms and 
 shaded walks. 
 
 It was the sound of voices near that had 
 aroused him voices in loud and impetuous 
 altercation. 
 
 Startled at once, his mind, for tho first time 
 experiencing the "aii.ly sought distraction, 1 e 
 
 hurried down an adjoining avenue, guided by 
 his ear, which told him ho was rapidly npj 
 proaching tho immediate scene of tho eon* 
 test. 
 
 As he drew nearer and nearer, oaths and 
 angry defiances were distinguishable, nnd n 
 another instant lie had emerged upon a scene 
 that flrod him at tho night. 
 
 Contending, hand-to-hand, with some twenty 
 or more young men in tho dress of the Uni 
 versity, wore hnlf-a-doxon-fltout follows whom 
 it was by no moans difllcult to identify nsap. 
 premier*, N}, op-liny* and ofllco-ludu, tho two 
 ronpuctivo parlies ongngod in a mont deter 
 mined set-to, waging dcnpcrato warfare with 
 Horculoitn fist*, clubs, stones, nnd bludgeons, 
 or wlmtover oihor rudo weapons chance sup. 
 pliedi 
 
 1 lla I a fi;{ht between tho students of Har 
 vard and tho *prcnt!co boyal* ejaculated the 
 inurchunt s clerk, who, in an instant, saw and 
 comprehended all. 
 
 1 A rofugo, ho continued, * a refuge I must 
 have from rny bittnr thought*, if it |>o but to 
 mingle in this mnd hrirwl. Ye*, by Heaven I 
 I, too, will i-iiicr tho lists iuul,. ha*! tho odds 
 aro Madly ngniiiitt tho prontieo Inds it shall 
 bo upon tho side of tho weaker party. Any 
 thing to save me from myself and drown the 
 reflections that nearly drive me mad. Have 
 at them, then ! 
 
 And with tho word* ho dashed into the 
 thickest of tho conflict. 
 
 Right and left ho fought, mixing with his 
 allies. Spite of tho odds ngamst thera, the 
 apprentices gallantly hold tliuir own, with tho 
 spirit and resolution which havo over been so 
 oddly characteristic of such contest between 
 tho parties. 
 
 These famous combats, outvicing the feud 
 of the Capulets and Montagues, between tho 
 wild collegians and tho rival city boys, grow 
 ing out of not altogether unnatural feelings of 
 jealousy and envy on ono part, and perhaps 
 of overbearing arrogance, on tho other hand, 
 in the students them.selves though less fre- 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 13 
 
 quent than formerly, are still proverbial, and 
 of occasional occurrence even now. 
 
 Often in these singular collisions, in which 
 gentlemen s sons were found pitting them 
 selves against the grocers boys and stou* ap 
 prentices, it happened that the former got the 
 worstv of tho encounter, for generally t icy 
 were the smaller party; but here in the pre 
 sent instance tho case was direct tho re 
 verse. 
 
 It was with a loud shout that the weaker 
 party welcomed the advent of an unexpected 
 friend ; while, angry at tho interference, tho 
 opposing student)", \vifh loud reiterated cries 
 of defiance, made a rush upon tho new ally 
 of the enemy and the young clerk found him 
 self beset on all sides. 
 
 Twice had ho been nearly thrown to the 
 ground, by repeated blows from a club in the 
 hand of one of tho foremost antagonists ; but 
 grappling with their author, ho quickly hurled 
 him beneath his feet, and in another moment 
 had felled a second of the students who barred 
 his progress. 
 
 The apprentices began to gather courage 
 afresh, and made a yctntoutor stand, repeat 
 edly incited to new exertions by tho honrso 
 voice of one of* their party who seemed by 
 common consent to bo their leader in tho 
 frny. 
 
 Though an ally and lender among them, ho 
 was evidently not one of them ; forwhilo all 
 tho rest were mere boys, comparatively, this 
 porsonngo was a mnn, at Ica^t forty years of 
 age who, witti his Herculean make and coarse 
 garb, seemed to be some stout laborer who 
 had n ado.common cause with tho apprentices 
 against their rivals, probably from mutual 
 dislike, and who, from his superior strength 
 and years had tacitly been assigned tho lead 
 ership. 
 
 -This man was engaged, at the moment in 
 which he first exited the notice of our lost- 
 comer, in a fierce struggle with one of tho 
 most active and determined of the students, 
 who seemed, also, to occupy ihe position of 
 
 temporary chief among his own party ; and 
 from what tho merchant s clerk could per 
 ceive that the contest between these two 
 threatened to be even more obstinate than was 
 tho case with the other belligerents ; but be- 
 foro he had time for further observation, he 
 was forced, in self defence to tjrn his atten 
 tion to himself, and almost at the same in 
 stant, from some one amid his own little band, 
 contending against such unequal numbers, 
 tho sudden cry was raised, 
 
 Tho police ! the police 1* 
 
 "Tin a false alarm! shouted tho stu 
 dents, derisively. Tho cowards they ore 
 giving in I 1 
 
 1 Cowards in your teeth ! we re not afraid, 
 and you know it. Give it to tho college up 
 starts trounce them wefl, yelled back the 
 opposite party, indignant ot tho stinging 
 taunt. 
 
 But in the same breith tho voice of tho 
 leader of tho students was heard, shout to 
 friends and foes, 
 
 4 No, nc ! It 15 the police ! do you not hear 
 tho rattles down the street yonder ? 
 
 1 Iliuk t yes, wo do hear. What s to bo 
 done, what s to bo done, Harry ? Come, 
 you re our captain to-night, cried a dozen of 
 the speaker s party. 
 
 Hist, then 1 tho watchmen arc coming 
 you must fly, all of you I Hark yo, my fine 
 lads*, friends and enemies both 1 wo must dis 
 perse, every soul of us, if we do not wish to 
 sco the msido of tho station-house to-morrow, 
 for this night s lark ! We ll fight out this 
 quarrel seme other time it was not of our 
 seeking, at ail events, but come, brave sol 
 diers of Harvard 1 let s away ! called out tho 
 student, in n clear, manly voice. 
 
 1 Done P repeated both parties, almost with 
 one voice. 
 
 All turned to make good their escape, all 
 save the stout fellow in the laborer s dress 
 who, with a ferocious oath, had thrown him 
 self suddenly forward upon his late antagon 
 ist, at the very instant the young leader of the 
 
14 
 
 KIT CARBON. 
 
 student band likewise turned to follow there- 
 treat of his companions, and roughly seizing 
 the youth by the throat, the man by a strong 
 effort, bore him back across his own powerful 
 knee, and dashed his clenched hnnd with its 
 full force in the other s exposed face. 
 
 Tho student, hulf-stunned by the shock, 
 sunk from his assailant s knee, breathless to 
 the earth, and scarcely hud hi? body touched 
 the sod, when the boll-sumo muscular knee 
 was bent upon hie breast as if to hold him 
 down. 
 
 What was the startling surprise of the mer 
 chant s clork, when he saw tho Herculean la 
 borer kneeling on the panting chest of tho 
 prostrate youth, with two powerful hands 
 clutching the student s throat, in the act of 
 strangulation ! 
 
 Tho astounded spectator could ncarce credit 
 his senses, KO startled was ho by the sight. 
 But tho voice of humanity claimed precedence 
 before all other emotions, and with one swift, 
 determined bound, he gained tho side of 
 tho prostrate youth. 
 
 Nut an instant too soon was he I Stretched 
 on tho green sward of tho park, his eyes glar 
 ing und bloodshot, his countenance a purple 
 J ue, rapidly verging on the deathly black of 
 tiuflbcation, his tongue protruding from his 
 discolored lips, on which inarticulate Bounds 
 vainly struggled for stilled utterance a help 
 less object, a ghastly sight, the strangling stu 
 dent lay ! 
 
 One low cry of horror, one wild burst of 
 indignation, and with upliited arm, and strain 
 ing norvo, und heart on fire, tho generous sue- 
 toror had sprung upon tho w.otch, and, full 
 ing, with his concentrated force upon tho 
 head of tho kneeling man, tho whole crush 
 ing weight of his body descended felling the 
 other senseless at the side of his hulf-sufi o- 
 cated victim. 
 
 When at length tho young student, whose 
 narrow escape from death, in one of its most 
 dreadful forms, we have chronicled, began to 
 recover from the fearful effect of his partial 
 
 strangulation, he first opened bis eyes on the 
 form of the merchant s clerk, supported in his 
 arms. 
 
 4 Ha ! Eugene Lincoln ? You here P 
 1 Harry Harry Vernon 1 my dear, only 
 friend 1 
 
 Were tho alternate exclamations first of 
 tho young collegian, then of his rescuer, who 
 bent over him. 
 
 1 This is a strange meeting, Hurry, added 
 tho last speaker. 
 
 Strange, strange, indeed ! Bv Heaven, 
 I believe the blood-thirsty rascal would have 
 strangled mo ! 
 
 4 Ho would ho would ; and you, in a mo 
 ment more, have been past all help, was the 
 impressive response. 1 
 
 Confusion to tho rascal 1 what could have 
 so possessed the man ? ejaculated the young 
 stu-Jent ; * but, I see, ho must huve been in- 
 toxicated. 
 
 4 Probably and this unhuppy brawl nearly 
 lost you your life to the blind fury of a drunken 
 rioter P 
 
 1 1 know it, and may thank only your timely 
 assistance, my dear friend, grutefully replied 
 tho student. 
 
 1 O Hurry Vernon, will you never learn to 
 tame that wild spirit of yours, and cease to ex 
 pose yourself to tho dangers and follies in 
 which your bold, adventurous na.ure over 
 makes you assume tho lead, and the boldest 
 yield you the precedence? With your wealth, 
 your talents, your noble spirit, why will you 
 thus heedlessly endanger so much. Be warn 
 ed, Vernon, my friend, by mo I am older 
 than you, more experienced I know your 
 warm, impetuous disposition, your native en 
 thusiasm und your high, proud heart, urged 
 the fervent counsellor, earnestly. O, then, 
 beware P 
 
 The young collegian caught his faithful 
 friend s hand and wrung it warmly, as ho feel 
 ingly said, 
 
 4 1 feel, I appreciate you? generous consider 
 ation, my dear Vernon. But banish such up- 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 prehensions, friend of mine, added gaily the 
 young speaker, with a cheering warmth and 
 frankness in his tones, which had n bold and 
 muly richness in their every mellow accent. 
 Il- rry Vernon is no spoiled child of for 
 tune, lie may be a little wild, a little reek- 
 ess, too, perchance but he is no profligate. 
 There is full time enough to settle down the 
 heir to thousands and the boy of eighteen need 
 be in no very pressing haste, my good Lin 
 coln, methinks. 
 
 The heir to thousands! yes, yes, repeat 
 ed Lincoln, * Providence be praised that it is 
 so, and the best and only friend spared to me, 
 save a dear sister, thus raised above the har 
 rowing curse of want and care, he murmur 
 ed, as to himself. * Fortunate, indeed, for you 
 though you may luck the consciousness of 
 its full value that you were born tho heir to 
 a rich family. 
 
 The student started slightly as ho replied 
 to the remark, 
 
 * I an not tho heir to a rich family I mean 
 I am not the born heir 
 
 1 How ! you are an only childan only 
 son, are you not ? interrupted the other, with 
 surprise. 
 
 Yes and yet, not yes, cither. There 
 was another child a brother, but 
 
 lla! what cf him? A brother, do you 
 
 y r 
 
 Yes, but strange circumstance 1 know 
 
 not that I ought to mention it 
 
 He paused, hesitated. 
 
 * Hist, Lincoln ! hist t I am about to con 
 fide to you, my nearest friend and confidant, 
 a secret that 1 have been bidden never to 
 speak, or at least, all \ know concerning that 
 secret. 
 
 And the voice of the earnest student sank 
 to a meaning whisper. 
 
 What mean you, Vernon? demanded 
 Lincoln, with breathless interest in his words 
 and in his tones. 
 
 Those of tho evidently excited student 
 
 were yet more deeply impressive, as ho re 
 plied, 
 
 * This, Lincoln, this yet, ere I breathe the 
 frail word, remember that with you the se 
 cret is to rest. No, Lincoln, no; I am not 
 tho only, nor the^rsf-born of the family ; ono 
 other there was, one whom I can distinctly 
 call to mind, at times, in childhood, as older 
 than mysdf ; but, suddenly and unaccount 
 ably, I missed him ; strangely my brother had 
 disappeared from his home ; of that disappear 
 ance I never could gain any explanation for 
 strangest of all 1 whenever I sought from my 
 father to learn some cause or reason for this 
 extraordinary event, 1 was met, not by tears 
 of grief and sad remembrance, but with a 
 seeming start of fearful surprise and a stern 
 order never to dare mention the subject 
 again ; never once allude to it, so long as 
 I lived! 
 
 Conceive, Lincoln, conceive of my extre 
 mity of bewilderment and wonder, my in 
 extricable perplexity ; for ncvr, to this day, 
 have I been able to obtain the merest light 
 concerning that brother s mysterious disap 
 pearance. 
 
 4 Mysterious, inexplicable, indeed 1 No key 
 to a mystery so strange as this ? was tho in 
 quiry. 
 
 4 Not the slightest. The unaccountable 
 disappearance, thesecresy maintained toward 
 me, the studied silence upon a subject so full 
 of exciting interest to a whole family, and 
 the peremptory interdiction ol recurring to 
 that which naturally must call forth such 
 curious and eager inquiry, have nt all times 
 excited me almost beyond endurance. And 
 can you wonder, considering everything, that 
 it is so ? 
 
 * I only wonder, on the contrary, at your 
 own control over curiosity, tho burning curi 
 osity that must tormen* you. You must be 
 strong in self-command. And yet, it is very 
 strange; why huve I never heard one word 
 of all this before? 
 
 Because of the imperative command. I 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 long questioned with myself whether I should 
 break it to you at oil, though we have been 
 bosom friends for years.* 
 
 1 And I am I the only being to whom 
 you * 
 
 * No I know what you would ask. There 
 is yet another * 
 
 4 And that other is * 
 
 Your sister.* 
 
 1 Hn ! exclaimed Eugene. 
 
 Why do you start ? resumed the student. 
 4 To her, also 
 
 The sentence was not completed. The 
 merchant s clerk had nervously grasped his 
 friend s arm, nnd with his lips sternly com 
 pressed, was gazing intently into the student s 
 tartled face. His voice was husky as ho 
 sad, while, tremulous with excitement, wero 
 his words, 
 
 1 My sister you have seen her, then, onco 
 more ? Tell mo, Henry Vernon, tell me why 
 is it that you thus seek her out ? Answer me, 
 truly, Harry. 1 
 
 It was with a look of half wonder that the 
 youth replied, 
 
 4 Because because I Jove her, Lincoln. 
 How can you oak ? what else should draw mo 
 to her side ? 
 
 4 Hark, Henry Vornon, hearken to mo ! 
 You nre young and heedless you have the 
 reputation of being wild perhaps you are 
 dissipated how do I know but that you now 
 seek 
 
 4 Lincoln my friend ! remonstrated the 
 boy. 
 
 1 Nay, hear mo ! For all that I may know 
 of your habits, you may be mark me, you 
 may be, like so many of the young men who 
 fill our universities, fortune courted sons, a 
 roue and a libertine.* 
 4 Eugene ! 
 
 1 One moment holdj you may bo such, I 
 say tis possible possible, only. Still, tis 
 a brother s duty U> guard even against that 
 possibility. .In seeking my sister s society, 
 in wealth and station so greatly your inferior, 
 
 tiie rich student s object, might well seem to 
 be her ruin and * 
 
 4 Stop, sir, you have gone far enough 
 too far already, sir ! interposed Vernon, 
 abruptly, with a firm and decided air. In 
 your generous concern for a dear sister, you 
 may presume even too greatly on the forbear 
 ance of a friend. I tell you, Eugene Lin 
 coln, you have mistaken me, though it be but 
 by a passing thought. Sooner than wrong in 
 word or act your gi itle sister, I would freely, 
 gladly, have surif .dcrcd the life one moment 
 since preserved by you. Is this tho way that 
 Henry Vernon has learned to show his grati 
 tude to prove tho pure love he feels for one 
 so dear to you ? would this be the Henry 
 Vernon you have knov/n so long ? And here 
 I tell you, to your face, Eugene, that if any 
 other than you had dared to breathe that dark 
 suspicion, I would have struck him dead nt my 
 feet ! No, no, Eugene Lincoln you wronged . 
 me there. 
 
 4 I did ! indeed I did. I do believe you, 
 from my very he".rt I do, 1 fervently iterated 
 his companion^ convinced by his proud sin 
 cerity of manner ; forgive me for the doubts 
 I ahuuld huvo thought of your noble nature 
 and scouted tho fear at once. Hut, as plainly 
 as you yourself have spoken, do I now de 
 clare to you, that had you one thought of evil 
 toward my cherished Ellen, friendship itself 
 should not havo saved you from a brother s 
 vengeance, though that vengeance had for 
 ever lost mo the only faithful friend I ever 
 know. Hut enough 1 say wo aro friends 
 onco more again ? 
 
 4 There i.s my hand on it, replied the frank 
 and open-hearfed Veroon, who was not one 
 to decline the honestly proffered reconcilia 
 tion. 4 It is forgotten, and but hist : thero 
 
 is the sound of feet down the avenue hush ! 
 do you not hear men running? Ila! the 
 watch, the watch! we had quite forgotten ! 
 By Heaven, Uiey are upon us ! they are 
 upon us! 
 
 4 No, no! there is yet time we may yet x 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 17 
 
 cnpo pursuit P cried his companion hue* 
 edly. 
 
 4 True, if we are speedy ! but we must be 
 eet of foot and fly different ways. As for 
 is drunken friend of mine, we must leave 
 
 im but what has become of the fellow 7 
 
 one, by my faith ! 
 
 Turning in surprise, both saw lhat, taking 
 dvnntage of their engrossing converse, the 
 ullen man had so far recovered, in the brief 
 nterim thai had elapsed, as lo rise and steal 
 juietly away, unperceived until now, when, 
 lisappenring down a distant walk, they caught 
 i glimpse of his receding figure, staggering 
 ind reeling as he went but whether from the 
 jflects of his stunning fall or the remains ol 
 ntoxication, ihe Iwo friends neither knew nor 
 lalted lo inquire. 
 
 The young men now realized at once thai 
 10 time was lobe losl, for, ihrough the win- 
 ler- bared branches of the leafless trees, the 
 dark forms of the hurrying police began one 
 by one to appear 
 
 Waving his hand to his friend, Vcrnon darted 
 away in the direction of the neighboring col 
 leges, whither his fugitive fellow studentalmd 
 in iho intervening lime preceded him ; and 
 Lincoln, ones more left alono, diverging at 
 right angles from the fast-approaching watch, 
 crossed, with a fleet foot, the grounds of Old 
 Hurvard, and leaping the college wall with in 
 agility that conquered the difficulty of the 
 feat, ihc repeating invader of the university s 
 precincts, had soon distanced the close pur 
 suing police, and complelely thrown them off 
 the scent, 
 
 Across to Charlestown, over Charleslown 
 Bridge, inlo Washington at., once more, suc 
 cessively ho passed, and in an hour regained 
 at length the store whence he had that night 
 departed, little > nlicipjiing the adventure that 
 had befallen him. 
 
 The well-known chimes of the Old South 
 were just striking the first hour of the morn 
 ing, as he entered, and, with a alight sigh, re- 
 locked the door. 
 
 Wearied c"d overcome with the varied oc 
 currences of the last few hours, he re-entered 
 the little counting-room, in which we beheld 
 him for the first lime, and prepared to com- 
 mil himself to repose, for by night il was his 
 resting-place and chamber, as well as the 
 scene of his daily toils. 
 
 Drawing out the ample sofa-bedstead, that 
 habitually served him for a couch, he prcpar- 
 ed tordtiro to its welcome oblivion of all life s 
 cnres and sorrows. 
 
 More ihan once, in his various movements, 
 hnd he pnssed, unsuspiciously, the ponderous 
 iron safe, with the key so thoughllessly left 
 in ihe guarded lock. 
 
 Cculd he but once have dreampt how soon 
 the consequences of that unwitting, uncon 
 scious negligence, were to manifest them 
 selves, his rest would have been even more 
 uneasy, his slumbers yet more broken than 
 they really were. 
 
 He lay, tossing uneasily upon his bed, for 
 nearly half an hour in disquietude. Hiscyer 
 would close, then reopen, then close ogain 
 
 fickle and changing as a coquetle s smile. 
 
 And yel the finger of fatigue was heavy upon 
 him. 
 
 Ho would have given world for one hours 
 unbroken, refreshing resl, but he disturbed 
 slate of his chaolic mind farbadcit. GradufS 
 ly, however, a drowsiness stole slowly over 
 him, and sweet slumber begun to be less ob 
 durate. 
 
 At lenglh he slept, but it was only by fits 
 ahd starts. Two or three times he opened 
 his heavy eyelids, at close intervals, fancying 
 he heard a noise. 
 
 This he naturally attributed to an over-ex 
 cited imagination, unstrung by the events ot 
 ihe pasi night, and once, only once, his alien- 
 lion was ptvrtialiy caught by a peculiar sound 
 that seemed to strike dully on his ear. But 
 strengthening drowsiness had deadened his 
 senses by this time, and turning over, me 
 chanically, he faced the wall opposite, and 
 
18 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 gain lost himself, though various disturbing 
 noisoi appeared ever to haunt hit restless 
 dreamt. 
 
 Thin wan of brief continuance, however, 
 lie wai nrounod nt lat suddenly aroused- 
 by a strange sensation of chilling cold, as if 
 a flood ol outer air hud poured in upon his 
 portion. 
 
 Tlio stupor of sleep full upon him, he slug- 
 giihly started up in the bed, and with a va 
 cant look gized wonderingly around. Tho 
 fresh air completely scattered sleep from his 
 sealed eyilida, however, and left him shiver 
 ing and shuddering with the same dreamy 
 conaciousncaa of freezing chill, tho same icy 
 feeling. 
 
 Thoroughly awakened, the succeeding mo* 
 moot heard, clearly and distinctly, a Hound 
 that startled him. 
 
 Thut startling sound, that icy chill, both 
 seemed to proceed from tho wall, the oppo. 
 ito wall toward which the rentiers sleeper had 
 turned liin facu. 
 
 Between the bed, his anxious vision and tho 
 wall, tho high desk at which he hnd boon 
 writing, intervened, completely shutting tho 
 latter of tho three out from his view ; fur hi* 
 couch occupied tho farther corner of tho 
 counting-room, commanding, nevertheless a 
 full prospect of tho extensive salesroom bo* 
 yond, though so placed a* to preclude moro 
 than a partial survey ol tho smaller apart* 
 
 ment itself, in consequence of tho obstruction 
 th the vision, interposed by the massive CB- 
 critoir. 
 
 Tho nemo of seeing wan at fault, for the 
 gnu-light had been, of course extinguished, 
 nnd tho store was in darkness. Abruptly, 
 however, a bright flood of moonlight follow 
 ed a sharp crash, whence coming he could 
 not divine, and ho looked in eager expectancy 
 about him. 
 
 Still, Htrnnge as it appeared, he saw nothing 
 to surprise him ; yet thence, from the wall 
 opposite, tho current of cold air, tho sudden 
 moonlight, the strange, startling sound that he 
 hud lieuril, nil scorned to spring, i hat Bound 
 itself, ho fancied, was the jingling of precious 
 coin I 
 
 And then, at that solf-anm* instant, from 
 tho g!uwy surface of tho tell-tale mirror, fur 
 udown the long sulc8-room, ho saw, reflected 
 back through the store s whole distance, tho 
 bent figure of n man kneeling before tho safe, 
 with the iron door half open, nnd one rough 
 hand still on tho key which it had turned, 
 while on tho golden treasure it no longer 
 guarded, two rull nn eyes looked covetously 
 int 
 
 Tho whole truth burst upon his mind the 
 key of tho Salamander had been forgotten in 
 tho lock tho store had been forced by bur 
 glars, and the safe, with its golden thousands, 
 was at their mercy ! 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 
 The Fugitive Student A Thrilling Tra 
 gedy Secret Sorrows of the KickA 
 Family Mystery An Adventurous Re 
 solveA Plot. 
 
 T once we must now 
 return to the young 
 /Cambridge student, 
 whose abrupt parting 
 with his fel ow-fugiiive 
 and the forced flight of 
 both, have been already narrate. 
 
 Ha ! ha ! a pretty chase I have led them, 
 was the exulting exclamation of the dashing 
 Harry Vernon, a short time later, as he emerg 
 ed from the temporary concealment he had 
 sought among the intricacies of the College 
 buildings, to whose friendly shelter he had 
 been pursued. 
 
 As he came forth from the shadows of the 
 overhanging walls, he halted, pausing to 
 listen. 
 
 The distant receding tread of the foiled po 
 lice in retreat was faintly to be heard ; the 
 party of students who preceded him had some 
 time since disappeared, earlier effecting their 
 escape ; and the last tardy lagger knew that 
 he was safe at last Skirting one of the wings 
 of the venerable pile, and by a circuitous 
 route approaching an arched doorway, heap- 
 plied his hand quickly and confidently to the 
 handle of the door. 
 
 To his evident chagrin it refused, repeat 
 edly, to yield. 
 
 1 Confusion ! he muttered ; the door is 
 locked, the porter long since asleep ; those 
 thoughtless fellows have forgotten to leave the 
 bolt-jnshot; or, not missing me in their pre- 
 cipimte haste, have secured it, supposing all 
 safely housed. At this hour of the night there 
 is no gaining admittance, hero or elsewhere- 
 and I must pass the remainder in tho open 
 
 air perforce. A pleasant prospect, truly, 
 
 especially as I happen to be rather fatigued 
 with this precious adventure of ours, and feel 
 decidedly sleepy in consequence ! But stop, 
 surely that was my own horse, he abruptly 
 exclaimed, as a shrill neig 1 ), at no great dis. 
 tance, reached his ear. 
 
 1 The poor beast 1 he must be cared for 
 
 he does not relish his strange stall under yon 
 der trees, any more than his master is like to 
 be enchanted with this night s hard fare ; I 
 had quite forgotten him, pursued the student 
 in the same merry mood; or, rather, this 
 night s mnd riot has made me lose sight not 
 only of him, but of the pretty Ellen, even, to 
 whose sweet presence he bore me but this 
 evening. Heigho ! the poor steed generally 
 meets with but sorry fare when its rider goes 
 a wooing. Ah, I have it. 
 
 Bonding his steps briskly forward in the 
 direction of a neighboring grove, he soon re 
 turned, leading a spirited bay by the bridle, his 
 hand patting tho darker mane which floated 
 in the night-wind from the superbly-arched 
 neck of the splendid animal, which whinnied 
 
20 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 with delight at hit master 1 ! well-known tone 
 and kindly caress. 
 
 1 Now, my brave nag and faithful servant, 
 we must both bo astir again ; we cannot re- 
 main lioro to catch our deaths of cold, thut is 
 certain. There is, then, no alternative but 
 to pass the night is iho saddle. Ha 1 ha ! the 
 heir to a hundred thousand compelled to wan 
 der houseless in the streets of his native town, 
 hoigho ! 
 
 And laughing merrily at the odd conceit, 
 he bounded into the saddle and gaily shook 
 the rein. 
 
 The horse bounded on. There was nearly 
 the whole extent of the grounds to cross, ere 
 he reached the highway. However, the hour 
 was very late long past midnight and he 
 met no one in his way ; only once he thought 
 he saw a dark figure moving along in the road, 
 ahead. 
 
 At a quiet trot he leisurely proceeded on, 
 revolving in his mind the ouridus adventure 
 that had forced him to pass in the saddle the 
 time allotted to the couch ; his horse s foot 
 steps dully echoed back the hard turf, but 
 loud enough to give warning of the horseman 1 ! 
 advance. 
 
 Clear and cold was the night ; only a few 
 days previous the snows of -winter had 
 whitened the earth beneath tho animal s feet ; 
 but to a general thaw had that night succeed 
 ed a thick frost, that had loft the ground, 
 under its impress, as hurd as adamant. In. 
 deed, so chilly was the atmosphere, that Vcr- 
 non, as ho went on, drew, with a slight shiver 
 closor still, around his slight but tall and grace 
 ful figure, tho long, student s cloak which ho 
 wore over his usual dross ; together with tho 
 peculiar conical hat once BO much affected 
 by the collegians of Cambridge, nnd by which 
 they are still wont to distinguish themselves, 
 on certain occasions. To this day it is well 
 known as the Student s Hat ; and from bo* 
 neath its rounded rim, and down the nock of 
 Henry Vernon, in long and graceful curls fell 
 his rich black hair, finely sotting off the strik 
 
 ingly handsome countenance, with its dark, 
 sparkling eyes, its frank and opn brow : its 
 firmly marked chin, bespeaking- decision, and 
 finely-curved mouth, just darkened with tho 
 down of dawning manhood ; tho jetty hue of 
 tho budding mountacho, heightening in con* 
 trust tho pearly whiteness of teeth that were 
 parted in a natural smile of easy good-humor 
 and manly nonchalance, called upon his arch 
 lip at the thought of his peculiar and novel 
 situation. 
 
 There are clouds coming *up I should 
 not bo surprised if it word to tmow ere long. 
 My good steed, you and I are assuredly dcs* 
 lined to have a pleasant snow-storm to add to 
 other comforts ; truly, wo havo fullen upon a 
 pretty run of luck this precious night 1 jo 
 cosely added the student; * and but aha! 
 hero we are at last on the open highway. On 
 brave nag, on, but reverently, for we are 
 bidding farewell to classic ground.* 
 
 They had reached the boundaries of the 
 university. Tho public road lay before 
 them. 
 
 Vernon touched his horse lightly with his 
 heel, the animal prepared to leap at once into 
 tho broad highway. Hut at the very moment 
 that Vernon took a tighter hold on his rein 
 arid tho horse rose (or tho spring, a dark form 
 started up right in his path and seized tho bit 
 with an iron hand ! 
 
 Tho astonished boast recoiled, affrighted, 
 on his haunches. 
 
 Instantly, however, ere young Vernon s cry 
 of startled surprise had died on his lips, a 
 pistol-flash blindod him, and a ball whistled 
 past his ear. The aim had been tru* but the 
 sudden shying of the startled steed h d saved 
 its living mark 1 
 
 An oath, a curse, rang on the air, no 
 second pistol was drawn, no second weapon 
 presented with tho same murderouspurpose ; 
 but yet tho imperilled student saw the dark 
 figure s finger press again the same trigger, 
 and thrilling with his danger, quick as .. 
 ho marked the assassin s aim, and swervin 
 
^n" 7 , >m\ 
 
 p ,. fM\\liljfo 
 
 t*;>--: 
 
 v-j<i%itf%H 
 
 HARRY VERNON, 
 
 SinOTING HIS INTENDED MURDERER 
 
 f^i?\l4 
 
 iW CoUcge-Gnranis of Old Harvard. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 aside his head from the gaping muzzle s 
 mouth, he caught with a lightning movement, 
 the murderous hand, but not until it had been 
 discharged, 
 
 With a crashing sound it] shirered a dry 
 limb from the parent tree, as it sped on its 
 way, and glancing ofl nt a sharp angle, buried 
 itself deep In thegnnrlod trunk of a withered 
 oak, leaving its tracer along tho ploughod-up 
 bark. 
 
 Tho color led the Hushed face of the stu 
 dent, hut not his courage. With tho same 
 cool intrepidity with which he had seized the 
 uvs;iNsin n nrm, untiinidtitod by that fearful 
 warning of what hi* fate mi^ht hnvo boon, ho 
 Hhiflud bin hold to the wri.il, and from tlml to 
 the butt of the smoking piatol, which bo ktill 
 grasped, and despite the strugglea of his foe, 
 succeeded in so far wringing round both limb 
 and weapon, as to bring tho butt itself within 
 his own grasp, in tho resolute eflbrt to wrest 
 from tho villain tho means of executing his 
 hollL-ih intent. 
 
 In tho momentary but furious struggle for 
 its possession, the muzzle having thus become 
 turned for tho instant to tho breast of the ruf 
 fian, tho finger of Vcrnon came in contact 
 , with tho twice-pulled trigger, when to his un 
 utterable amazement, tho already twice-dis 
 charged pistol accidentally went off, and its 
 chat g 3 passed into tho neck of the intended 
 murderer, who, relinquishing his hold, sank 
 with a yell of terrific agony upon his knee, 
 almost beneath tho horsed hoofs, then, with 
 one hand pressed with spasmodic energy 
 ngniriBt his blood-dyed forehead, fell with one 
 I low moan backward 1 
 
 Like a marble statue, petrified with horror, 
 utterly motionless, his eyes closed to shut out 
 the ghastly spectacle, his arm, with its firmly- 
 clutched weapon, stiffened by the same feel- 
 ing, in its outstretched attitude, eat the stu 
 dent on his horse ! 
 
 [See Jtngravinff.] 
 And while euch was the frightful scene, a 
 
 strango and thrilling circumstance, deepened 
 the dark tableau, 
 
 The pistol, still outstretched In that para* 
 lysod grasp, continued to discharge bull after 
 ball, with winning sound and thickening 
 smoke, until full four death-winped bullets 
 had pierced the grovelling body of the wound 
 ed wretch ! 
 
 At length from that soul.frcey.ing stupor 
 tho involuntary homicide awoke, HO fur us to 
 turn upon tho fu .al weapon in hts hand a look 
 of horrified inquiry. 
 
 Tho rruth flashed upon him ; it was not a 
 doublo-bnrrelled pistol, as ho had first coVi- 
 ccivcd. when it was twico in succcsHion dis 
 charged at him, No, it wni a far more fear 
 ful weapon, ono of Colt s nix-bnrrcllcd re 
 volver*, t io deadliest of invented inHtrumonti 
 of death I His petrified finger had been glued, 
 as it were, to tho trig;jor, and involuntarily fired 
 tho four ronviining bulls, each of which alone 
 carried destruction to tho doomed victim of 
 his own villainy. 
 
 But the final surprise was yet to como, ac, 
 bending down from his saddle, ho sought to 
 examine tho state of the stricken man. 
 
 Tho faint light of the moonbeams disclosed 
 to his blood-shot eyes, the form and face of 
 the rival leader of tho rioters, the burly la 
 borer, who, in his supposed intoxication, had 
 attempted to strangle him in the mad fury of 
 the fight. 
 
 Springing from his horse, Veinon bent over 
 tho dying man. 
 
 Miserable man ! who are you ? ho in a 
 thrilling tone exclaimed, and what prompted 
 you to this dark act? 
 
 The other gasped, for breath, and seemed 
 vainly struggling for speech. 
 
 1 Speak 1 was it robbery cupidity-^that 
 tempted you, or was it drunken vengeance T 
 Speuk ! I freely forgive you the fell attempt ; 
 think that you may bo asking of Heaven the 
 same, ere to-morrow s sun rises, arid propi 
 tiate its mercy by confession, at least. That 
 Heaven has willed that, by my hand, you 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 should full though not, indeed, by my own 
 intent. 
 
 The fainting wretch with difficulty raised 
 himself partly upon his arm, slowly falter 
 ing, 
 
 Your name yourcwn name is is Ver- 
 non Henry Vernon T 
 
 Again the unfortunate man fell back, with 
 a groan. 
 
 Ha I you know me, then ? but no, he must 
 have learned it from the r.oters, added the 
 student, aside. Hut why this strange ma 
 lignity toward me ? What could lead you to 
 the fatal attempt that trade me, not your vic 
 tim, but your murderer ? in wild agitation he 
 demanded. 
 
 "With the strangely revived strength which 
 precedes dissolution, the assassin, half-starting 
 up, gripped out, 
 
 Your undo ! your uncle ! Henry Vernon 
 hold down your head come nearer yet 
 nearer. It was a plot a plot nil a plot! 
 the riot, the riot itself was a part of that plot, 
 urged on by me, tho tool. Iin object, to stab 
 you in a street fight, and thus prevent dis 
 covery. Failing in this in this cunning 
 snare, I I waylaid you ho re. You know 
 
 tho rest; all save save O God ! that 
 
 pain ! screamed the writhing suflbrcr. Your 
 uncle, your uncle, boy ! beware I 1 warn 
 
 you to : * 
 
 And the broath loft, with tho words, his 
 body the death r;iule rang in his throat. 
 
 He to whom the deceased had breathed out 
 his dying confession, wailed for tnc words as 
 yet unspoken but to mortals the dead never 
 speak. 
 
 1 Dead . and his talc half finished ! mur 
 mured the student, who, to himself, seemed 
 in a dream ; but enough is left for surmise ; 
 enough spoken to place me* on the scent. My 
 uncle, my miser uncle 1 ond has your avarice 
 even stooped to this ? Home ! thither am I 
 now summoned ! 
 
 One last look at tho dead man s body 
 one last glance at tho dead man s face ; a 
 
 world of wild emotion in each repetition of 
 that brief survey and the no longer gay and 
 reckless student, re-mounting his horse, gave 
 the rein to the good steed and dashed rabidly 
 away. 
 
 The approaching snow-storm, of which the 
 overcast Heavens had previously given him 
 the unerring auguries, was now close at hand, 
 and even as the nnimal leaped forward, the 
 first few flakes began to fall, and leave behind 
 the impress of his hoof*. 
 
 Ere half the way to tho adjoining city had 
 been measured, both horse and rider were 
 white with the driving sleet, that fell thick 
 and fast around, as the student galloped mad 
 ly on, nor once halted in his swift career un 
 til he reached, at length, Charlestown 
 Bridge. 
 
 The heaviest snow-storm of the season 
 clogged up the streets and pavements of tho 
 great city, and the whitened house-tops wcro 
 like BO many sheets of ivory in tho glancing 
 rays of the morning sun, when a young man 
 hastily ascended tno stately steps of a splen 
 did mansion, and was instantly admitted by 
 tho obsequious footman of one of tho most 
 noted fashionables of Deacon-street 
 
 Tho shrewd reader need not be told, that 
 it was none other than Henry Vernon in tho 
 aristocratic homo of his nabob father. Learn 
 ing, from a hurried question from the servant, 
 that tho family were pnrtaking of tho morn 
 ing meal, he prepared to descend at once to 
 the breakfast-room. 
 
 Made aware, by a single glanco at the mag 
 nificent pier-glass, as ho passed irom the 
 drawing-room, that his face was still pale and 
 his eye still glaring, he stopped for a moment 
 to collect and compose himself for meeting 
 tho family circle. 
 
 How f.ir ho succeeded in banishing tho 
 traces of a disordered mind, however, was at 
 once announced by a hurried exclamation 
 of,- 
 
 Henry! Henry P 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 The words were in the alarmed tones a 
 mother s voice only Knows, and the whole 
 party sat gazing in mute wonder at the un- 
 usual aspect of tho intruder. 
 
 To the latter, the commotion caused by his 
 appearance was no marvel ; he had himself 
 been startled by its wildnesa, which, however, 
 tho mirros had flattered than otherwise, so 
 that ho was not fully aware of how much it 
 startled, 
 
 It was in a tone loss indicative of ulurm, 
 but still marked by earnest inquiry, that the 
 father asked, 
 
 Henry, what is tho meaning of thin what 
 has occurred ? Your cheek hus lout its color, 
 and your lip is ashy palo ; you have all tho 
 vigils of violent mid recent uxciioinunt about 
 you ! 
 
 1 1 doubt it not, sir, answered the young 
 man, calmly. 
 
 Hal that quiet tone contrasts strangely 
 with your blanched brow and haggard luce. 
 Henry, I must know what has happened, to 
 work, in NO short a time, a revolution so com* 
 l>lcto in you ? 
 
 1 Yea, Henry, yen, urged the anxious mo 
 ther, cotifidu in us let your parents know 
 all | concoul nothing, my boy i J it/ who 
 faltered, the result, merely, of a night * dis- 
 dlpation perhaps some youthful indiscretion 
 or or no, 1 can not believe it of you, my 
 poblo boy I u a rriiiif 7 
 
 1 Critno I echoed tho son, almost iiiilig. 
 nantly. Mother, mother ! when Henry Ver- 
 non stoops to crime, he will have ceased to 
 bo your son 1 was the firm and proud re- 
 ply. ^ 
 
 For a moment ho paused in doop thought, 
 then turning to them again hid countenance, 
 he said, 
 
 * Enough, my parents ; let me at once dis 
 pel this cruel suspicion. 1 should have been 
 more weary in appearing before you ; 1 should 
 not have suffered you to see mo thus. But 
 the act is now beyond re-cull, and though I 
 may not retrieve that error, I at least can now 
 
 tell you that which at one* will quiet that 
 hasty feor, though it may luave you to con 
 flicting doubts and anxious speculations,/ 
 mutt leave Boston / 
 
 Mad ho spoken to his bewildered listeners 
 of suicide instead, they could not have been 
 more utterly confounded than at that decla 
 ration. 
 
 1 Leave Boston 1 at length echoed the ns> 
 tounded father. Leave college, Henry ? 
 are you mad ? 
 
 No, sir, I am not though this haggard 
 face, and that strange announcement mny 
 well m: em to indicate it. I repeat, MI, I mut 
 leuvo Harvard and quit this city as soon us 
 possible, aye, sir, before tho snow that full 
 tho punt night shall mult from yonder 
 ground 
 
 Henry my son ! 
 
 * Do not, do not interrupt me, sir. I must 
 not explain my reasons enough that for tho 
 present 1 muHt abandon home, friends, plea* 
 sure, all 
 
 1 Stop, mad boy ! stop * 
 
 1 Enough, sir, that tis necessity, iron ncccs* 
 sfty, that summons me away. Enough, my 
 mother last of all, but flrnt in consequence 
 thut tin a strung* , stern fato which notimtes 
 your non, not ai.y fault or misdeed of hiit own 
 ah 1 my dearest parents, did you but know 
 the events of the last night, the startling oc- 
 ourrnnct N thnt have left their truer* here upon 
 my face, you would uequit mo of ull blumo, 
 and only pity me. 
 
 His drooping form, his downcast cyo, his 
 mournful tone as he muttered those words, 
 were powerful in their impression on those 
 who heard. To a mothor * heart they spoke, 
 at least, conviction ; as that mother mur 
 mured, i 
 
 1 My poor, poor boy, I do believe you I* 
 and rising, wound her arms, in fondness, 
 around his neck. 
 
 But a father s sterner nature xvai not so 
 easily satisfied, 
 
 Your motives! your motives, boy, for this 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 23 
 
 unheard-of step. At onco disclose your se 
 cret reasons. I insist upon it nay, I order 
 you ! 
 
 * Father, do you wish to force me to dis- 
 obeditncc? was the excited son s meaning 
 demand. 
 
 * Obstinate, obdurate boy ! uttered the dis 
 pleased parent. 
 
 4 Nny, sir, one day. you will concede that 
 your son was righi, right even in concealing 
 this, from those who have the best cluim to 
 know. I speak not idly, sir us Heaven is 
 my witness, the time will yet come when 
 all 
 
 lie stopt abruptly in his emphatic speech 
 as he suddenly saw by his father s abstracted 
 fce and averted eye that he was unheard, 
 unheeded by him; while as he gazed the lat 
 ter, wholly unconscious of what he said, mut 
 tered absently, 
 
 4 Strange, strange fatality! 
 
 The singular expression of the features, the 
 sudden contortion of the muscles of the face 
 which accompanied the exclamation, seemed 
 to strike the son. 
 
 1 1 have seen that strange look before, 1 he 
 murmured quickly, but never save when 
 excited on a peculiar subject. Can it be, he 
 added, thoughtfully, 4 tnat this unexpected 
 communication in reference to myself, hus 
 connected that topic with" mo in his mind? 
 If eo, then here is a favorable opportunity I 
 have long sought in vain ; and ha 1 I will not 
 lose it. 
 
 Then with the eagerness of a suddenly sug 
 gested thought, he said aloud, addressing his 
 father, 
 
 Strange fatality, my father ? what mean 
 you by these words ? Is it, that the thought 
 of thus losing for a while one son, recalls the 
 merr.ory of another? 
 
 The elder Vernon sprang lo his feet, as if 
 stung by a serpent. 
 
 * Another 1 he ejaculated, another J ha 1 
 boy 1 Utter that word again at your peril 
 who taught you to ?peak that forbidden word? 
 
 Henry, Henry, have I not commanded you 
 never to allude to this, never onco o breathe 
 the subject to mo or any living being? And 
 do you dare disobey me, dare defy my ex 
 press commands? 
 
 His features livid with anger, each convuls 
 ed with struggling passion, his hands clench 
 ed until the nails pierced the bleeding skin, 
 the speaker, the very picture of ungovernable 
 agitation, stood erect and glaring upon his 
 son ! 
 
 But for an instant only the next moment 
 he turned that withering glance on his wife, 
 exclaiming, 
 
 1 Woman 1 is this your handiwork 1 is it 
 you that have whispered this in your fpoiled 
 son s cars from you that ho has gained the 
 vague hint that must lead U, the inquiries ? 
 Is it you, then, that have suffered even the 
 faintest breath to escape you, of that which 
 was to re min a secret with us both till death t 
 Answer me, woman 1 
 
 4 Husband, husband ? murmured, depreca 
 tingly, the gentle wife, appalled by his vehe- 
 menre. 
 
 Ere she could add all she would have said, 
 her son interposed, 
 
 4 Hold, my- father, hold 1 You wrong her 
 there. She never betrayed your confidence, 
 your secret, if such it is she never once led 
 to that subject, nor when I myself, at times, 
 mooted it, did she ever give me the least sat 
 isfaction. 1 
 
 4 Ila ! then you have spoken to your mother 
 on this point, frequently ? said the father, with 
 a strong effort to control his increasing agita 
 tion. 
 
 4 1 have, sir, I have. How could it be other 
 wise with a mother whom I dearly loved and 
 honored ? I tell you, father, from my verj 
 boyhood there has been a mystery within 
 this family, that to me has been a constant 
 source of doubt and wonder, and anxious per 
 plexity. Can you will you dare you deny 
 that once 1 had a brother! Speak 1 I entreat 
 you! 1 , 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 There was no answer, though he paused in 
 silent expectation, 
 
 . * Ah ! you are speechless, you give me no 
 reply. Dut think you that a child is without 
 memory to retain, or mind to comprehend, 
 the events which happen in its little world ? 
 No, no ; the recollections of my early child 
 hood arc vividly impressed upon my mind, 
 and most distinct among them is the remem 
 brance I huvo of a little child at play with 
 me, who called mo his little brother, 1 and 
 used to lisp, in concert with my own infant 
 lips, mamma. This, and more I can very 
 clearly recall, to prove that I am not an only 
 child nor your first-born. In vain I perplex 
 myself to understand why the loss of a child 
 should bo kept so profound a secret in a fa 
 mily, and even the very fact of its existence, 
 sought to bo disguised. 
 
 4 Why, why, I have asked myself a thou- 
 and times is a son to bo kept in ignorance of 
 a circumstance that concerns him so vitally ? 
 Great God, only think of it! ho ejaculated, 
 impulbively ; but for childhood s vivid recol 
 lections, 1 bhould never huvo known that I 
 had ever such a relative as u brother in being 
 r-perhnps it would have been better had a 
 treacherous memory denied mo even that 
 limited knowledge, for then I should never 
 have been thus continually tormented by con 
 flicting suspicions or devouring curiosity, re 
 garding that ever unexplained disappear 
 ance. 
 
 Suspicions ! repeated the other, with a 
 nervous start ; no, no ; the disguise, the de 
 ceit, the delusion of years, that crafty crime! 
 no, no, he knowi nothing, nothing of that, 
 escaped unconsciously from the abstracted 
 speakei s lips. To her, her only, are they 
 known and should it ever be discovered ! 
 but, no, the secret is safe with her. Ha ! ha, 
 boy listening to my wanderigg words? he 
 sternly demanded. 
 
 4 Aye, sir, in ihe faint hope that you will 
 give me the cluu io them. do not refuse 
 me this last appeal ! I ieel, indeed, that 1 
 
 cannot leave you, till this strange uncertainty 
 is at least in some measure dispelled. Had 
 an ordinary fate been my brother s ; had he 
 died or perished by some accident, or did 
 some d r eadful uncertainly cloud his fate; or, 
 if living, had he been lost or stolen, I could 
 easily account, in some such way, fur the dis 
 appearance. Say, father, Buy, ere 1 leave 
 you, will you not take back that stern denial, 
 and at last confide ? 
 
 A sudden cry from his mother, at this 
 juncture interrupted the son s earnest appeal. 
 He turned, just in time to catch within his 
 arms his father s fulling form. 
 
 The elder Vcrnon, overpowered by his 
 emotions, had swooned. 
 
 Shocked by this unlooked-for occurrence, 
 yet less startled than they might have been, 
 from their knowledge of the usual effects ot 
 over excitement upon his peculiarly nervous 
 temperament, Henry and his mother, in alarm, 
 rang for the servants to come to the assistance 
 of their fainting master ; and by their eager 
 aid the unconscious nabob was bore tenderly 
 to his room, where instant and powerful res- 
 torutives wore applied, and at length, with 
 some signs of success, to the great joy of wifo 
 and son. 
 
 Go into the drawing-room, Henry, 1 said 
 the anxious mother, and there wait for me. 
 The sight of you, at present, may only renew 
 his agitation. I will shortly rejoin you. 
 Your father is in no danger go, my dear 
 boy, go. 
 
 Tho young man aware that his father 
 was subject, in moments of violent excite* 
 mont, to those nervous fainting file, and his 
 mind comparatively easy on this score, de 
 scendcd to the parlor and flung himself upon 
 a sofa, in momentary expectation of his mo 
 ther s return. He had not long to wait ; 
 Mrs. Vernon speedily reappeared, and, alone 
 now with her son, drew a chair close beside 
 him. 
 
 Dear boy, she murmured, in a choked 
 voice, * I can scarce believe this is not all a 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 27 
 
 dream your strange appearance here, this 
 morning ; your proposed departure or flight, 
 from thi! city that gave you birth and all 
 this for reasons which you persist in lading 
 beneath u .ler secresy. 
 
 * Ay, secrecy, dear mother ; secrecy as close 
 as that with which my father has seen fit to, 
 hedge round that which well I may term the 
 mystery of our family. 
 
 llecur to that no more, Iienry; your fa 
 ther s displeasure 
 
 4 Enough 1 I will not, if only for your sake, 
 mother. Curiosity may devour me, but I will 
 never thus ofTcnd you ; if I may not be your 
 confidant, perish forever the forbidden topic ! 
 And now, to change the subject, where is my 
 uncle ? asked the student, in an easy, care 
 less manner. 
 
 * Your uncle, Iienry 1 He is in liis own 
 room, I believe, if the confusion has not sum 
 moned him from it ; was the reply of the lady 
 who saw not the latent meaning that lay 
 beneath the inquiry. 
 
 * He seldom stirs abroad now ? inquired 
 the youth. 
 
 1 Not if we can help it, she replied. His 
 infirmities increase with his gray hairs, and 
 his passion of avarice has become a species 
 of insanity. 
 4 Insanity ! 
 
 4 Yes, such it is, such it must be celled. 
 Every day beholds him more penurious and 
 griping, mote miserly than before. Every 
 thing that he can convert into cash, he ap- 
 prcpriates, and that with a shrewdness and 
 cunning that surprise even your father, who 
 ao well knows him. It is impossible to cure 
 him of this haVit; his deeply-pained biother 
 has already been compelled to reimburse 
 plundered merchants to double the amount o 
 his repeated lacenies, and hush the matte 
 up as well as he might. 1 
 
 4 It is most provoking, remarked the stu 
 dent. 
 
 It is, my son ; it is a constant source o 
 anxiety to your poor father. It is uselessa I 
 
 furnish him with decent clothes or the means 
 
 to purchase them ; the first are exchanged for 
 
 gold, the other is added to his secret hoard- 
 
 ngs ; and he goes so pootly dressed as to 
 
 II to overflowing, the measure of our mor- 
 
 fication. tfy 
 
 { Why, then, demanded the nephew, coolly, 
 longer suffer him to remain a burden upon 
 ou ? 
 
 4 He is your uncle, Henry, your father u 
 inly brother, said the lady, with calm dig- 
 iity ; 4 he is known as such known even to 
 >ur fashionable acquaintance, who affect to 
 ity his eccentricities because he is brother to 
 a millionaire 
 
 4 One thing I have, of late observed, never- 
 heless, pursued she, dropping her voice to 
 a meaning tone, a thing perhaps, that I 
 may have warned you of before. Your uncle 
 s as revengeful as he is miserly I can see 
 t in his every action ; so great is the ascend 
 ancy his unfortunate infirmity of mind has 
 
 ained over him, that I am convinced that 
 ie would not scruple at any means to grafify 
 tither of those passions. 
 
 4 Ha ! cried Henry, involuntarily but he 
 mmediately checked himself, and waved his 
 mother to go on. 
 
 Even so ; I should tremble for that per 
 son who should chance to incur his dislike or 
 enmity, or prove a barrier to his grasping 
 avarice. 
 
 4 And has he the requisite skill to cloak his 
 views and purposes, think you ? asked Harry, 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 4 You mean the wily craft which is said lo 
 be so often the gift of insanity ? I am satis 
 fied of it, my son ; the (ox is not more artful 
 than is your miser uncle. Bulthid, Henry, is 
 not all, within a very few daysI know not 
 that I ought to mention it we have tried to 
 
 conceal it 
 
 What, my mother, what? interrupted 
 
 Vernon, whose impnience ill brooked the 
 
 half- hesitating tone of the last words, for 
 
 his curiosity had been additionally increased 
 
 by her manner. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 It is to a marked change in his deport 
 ment lately, .that I refer u change for the 
 worst, decidedly, He has become unusually 
 nervoas, fretful and peevish ; ho is continual 
 muttering to himself of his darling gold, 
 d his mind seems to be full of some new 
 jhcme which engrosses all his time {pd 
 thoughts. I fcnr me much that the precau 
 tions your father has taken arc in vain, and 
 that like so many thousand others ho is labor 
 ing under 
 
 Mia! I know what you would say the 
 C lifornia Gold fever 1 
 
 The same/ answered the lady, with a 
 s nilc the name epidemic which has sei/.cd 
 Huoh numbers, and which has proved suffi 
 ciently fatal to the young and adventurous. 
 Think what must be the effect upon one of 
 your uncle s grasping character the demon 
 of avarice roused to fury by the mngic talcs 
 of the gold discoveries, the soul of the miser 
 could rent in no paradise like this clysium of 
 wonderous wealth. 
 
 4 True, mother, true, abstractedly mutter 
 ed Henry, 
 
 1 And, pursued the mother, if those re 
 ports have reached hit car, os I nave every 
 reason to bulicvo is tho case, I do not think 
 any earthly power, short of chains or a prison, 
 can long keep him hero, With his accus 
 tomed cunning and secrecy, ho may bo now 
 preparing. 
 
 Without changing a muscle, ihe youth had 
 listened to tho speaker, nnd now in in a mean* 
 ing tone ho said, 
 
 1 Now listen to me, mother, I have heard 
 you out, not wilhou{ some surprise, I confess, 
 at your suspicions regarding Juhn Veruon, 
 my uncle. 7, <oo, am going to California / 
 . To California ! Henry ! iterated Mrs. Ver- 
 non, taken completely by surprise, To Cal 
 ifornia ? 
 
 Yes, mother/ in the same calm tone, re 
 plied the son. 
 
 Good Heaven ! are you serious ? You 
 the son of a millionaire, tho child of luxury 
 
 and fortune from your birth, the heir to a 
 nabob s wealth Iyou go to California ! this 
 looks almost like insanity. 
 
 I go not to enrich myself I go not with an 
 avaricious spirit to swell an already princoly 
 inheritance, he vehemently exclaimed. And 
 have I not told you mother, that events, into 
 an explanation of which I may not enter, had 
 rendered absolutely necessary my absence 
 from this city at the present time. Abroad, 
 for some months, for a yet for more, perhaps 
 1 muat go, when tho gold frenzy is raging, 
 when ships aro Bailing and new companies 
 daily forming for tho fresh found El Dorado, 
 when every town and hamlet throughout tho 
 union s length and breadth, feeling the electric 
 shock what time no auspicious, what rea- 
 non RO plaubiblo, for suddenly quitting college 
 and leasing home, as the voyage to Sun Fran 
 cisco and the Sacramento. 1 have decided ! 
 The gold regions of California shall bo my 
 forcod exile. 
 
 The bewildered mother would have re 
 monstrated, but bhu could only faintly bog 
 of him to surrender tho hazardous design, 
 and repeat, 
 
 No, no, Henry, my son, how can I ever 
 think of your mingling with the needy and 
 desperate adventurers who aro thronging to 
 those shores / 
 
 4 Not so, not so, dear mother,* said tho 
 youth, wilh energy. Tho worthless and the 
 poor cannot command tho means indispensa 
 ble to the undertaking, It is not of this class 
 that the tide of emigration draws any part of 
 its current ; it is from the moro r spcctublo 
 and elevated portion alone, that the bands of 
 tho Gold Hunters aro made up. Mother, I 
 have rouolved in six days a vcsssel leaves 
 tlii.i port I go in her, 
 
 In vain were all a mother s attempts to dis 
 suade him from his purpose, and nothing re 
 mained but to break tho intelligence- to her 
 husband. 
 
 Leaving him, with a recommendation to 
 seek an hour or two s much-needed repose 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 29 
 
 after all the fatigue he had gone through, she 
 then s. ught the chamber of the elder Vernon 
 to acquaint him of the contemplated pro 
 cedure. 
 
 Tle parting advice was heeded by Henry 
 Vernon, whose head hnd not pressed n pillow 
 in forty-ei^ht hours. Passing into the private 
 sitting-room, he cast 1 H wearied form upon a 
 velvet ottoman, and tried to compose himself 
 to sleep. 
 
 On his way, however, ho had stepped fora 
 moment into tho balcony, whence ho had a 
 full view of the snow strewn Common and 
 whitened streets, and as he passed on he had 
 muttered, 
 
 4 So long as that snow remains I shall be in 
 safety. 1 
 
 He might have been slumbering for pome 
 three hours, when he awoke. His mother 
 stood beside him, and as his unrlosinj eyes 
 met hers, tl.ey fell on a packet she held in her 
 hand. 
 
 1 Your father knows all, Henry ; I have told 
 him of your resolution : and if you must leave 
 ui for a lime, he cannot but approve of your 
 plan. 
 
 But this is not all, Henry, a change has 
 come upon him ; he appears to have altered 
 his mind regarding yourself and the secret he 
 has heretofore been so solicitous to conceal, 
 and in this packet, my dear boy, you will 
 find a clue to to the whole mystery. But one 
 thing mark, my child, the seals of this par 
 cel are not to be broken till you have been 
 
 ten days at sea on no account are its secrets 
 to be intruded upon till then. I must return 
 to your sick fa her, but to-night we will con 
 verse farther on this mailer. Till ihen, 
 adieu ! 
 
 Scarcely had she left the room, when the 
 stooping form of a white-haired old man, with 
 the sharp chin of nge, and deep-sunk eyes 
 that twinkled with a strange, shrewd expres 
 sion, beneath his bent brows, entered the 
 room. 
 
 It was the uncle to Henry Vernon, the 
 gay, generous student. 
 
 Avarice was stamped on every pinched 
 feature, as he muttered, as was his usual cus 
 tom ; while, with hobbling step, he conlinued 
 to advance. 
 
 Vernon feigned sleep ; but through his half- 
 opened eyes he saw and murked the sudden 
 start of surprise with which the old man 
 noticed him. It was but an instant, however, 
 and then the deceived miser, evidently under 
 the impression that his nephew lay in a deep 
 sleep, was heard muttering gleefully, 
 
 1 Not dead ! not dead ! but bound for Cali 
 fornia ! Aha! I have a scheme, a cunning 
 scheme 1 tis better than the last ; yes, yes, 
 and less dangerous. He ! he 1 he goes to 
 Calijornia, but he will never c me back 
 alive / 
 
 And mumbling, with a dry chuckle, the 
 words, the miser hobbled ngain from the room 
 deeming himself unheard. 
 
30 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 ra. 
 
 The Burglary The Unerpccted Surprises 
 Ho ! for California / Preparations 
 for Departure A Sister s Scheme. 
 
 \ ACK, with the generous 
 reader, we must go, 
 ! without farther delay, 
 [to a scene and a char 
 acter already too long 
 neglected, in a moment 
 of thrilling emergency. 
 
 A housebreaker! a housebreaker! was 
 the astounded exclamation that fell from the 
 lips of Lincoln, as tha friendly mirror gave 
 back, in tell-tulo reduction, the dark form of 
 the audacious midnight intruder. But caution 
 suppressed to a whisper, the words, as ho 
 heard the burglar s first exulting exclama 
 tion, 
 
 4 The fools ! they have left the so-fo-kcy 
 in the lock ! 
 
 The merchant s clerk sprang from the bod ; 
 he gained his fecf, silently, noiselessly. How 
 was ho to act ? 
 
 It was a startling question a thrilling 
 thought. 
 
 The interposing escritor was still between 
 them ; still impeded a view of the kneeling 
 man it was only in the massive mirror, the 
 farthest from the scene, that ho could catch 
 a glimpse of the object, observe its move 
 ments. 
 
 Another and yet more fixed look he ben t 
 
 upon that strange, mute betrayer of an in 
 truder s presence! 
 
 Oh his knees, before the open safe, the bur- 
 glrD was still seen ; but his hnnd had now re* * 
 linquishcd its hold of the key it had grasped, 
 and was transferred, like its companion to the 
 more tempting interior. And again was 
 heard the jingle of the precious metal with 
 in ! 
 
 Stealthily, with hushed breath, barefooted 
 as he was, he stole with cautious steps along, 
 and soon, before his eyes, the whole scene 
 stared him in the face. 
 
 On the floor, beside the felonious invader 
 of the premises. !ay a pistol and a bowie- 
 knife, unheeded by their owner, whoso glist 
 ening glance were bent upon the contents of 
 the strong box, exposed in its dazzling rich 
 ness to his enraptured eyes/ 
 
 The overjoyed robber was already trans 
 ferring from its resting place, that portion of 
 the treasure which came nearest to his daring 
 hand. 
 
 No time was to be lost if the startled Lin* 
 coin would preserve from the plunderer, his 
 employer* 1 wealth. Himself unarmed, what 
 couiso was left him to pursue? The thought 
 of springing boldly upon the burglar, seizing 
 his weapons and taking him by surprise, and 
 at a vantage occurred to him ; but one glance 
 at the powerful make of his expected antago 
 nist, convinced him, that those iron sinews, 
 those hardened muscles could crush him as 
 tas ly as if ho were a child ; #nd for his em 
 ployers sake, more than his own safety, he . 
 took timely counsel of prudence, and held 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 31 
 
 back held bock, but only till his active mid 
 could suggest some other means, some more 
 certain way. 
 
 A ready wit was not long at fault. He 
 had bethought himself of a plan ; though (here 
 was hazard in it, he did not falter, but resolv 
 ed to peril all upon the chance. 
 
 Silently retracing his way to the bedside, 
 ho stripped a blanket from the couch, nnd as 
 quietly returned, undetected, to his previous 
 station. 
 
 Just as his foot once more moved forward, 
 in the act of taking a single step in advance, 
 ho perceived that his shadow lell across the 
 floor, reaching almost to the burglar s side, 
 and that another pace would fling its shade 
 dircctlj before the fane of the knee-ling man. 
 It was necessary to approach without start 
 ling the other ; he saw but one apparent way 
 of accomplishing this, and that was by rx 
 changing, for a creeping posture, his erect 
 advance. 
 
 As quickly as conceived the attempt was 
 made. 
 
 Gold ! solid gold P he heard the robber 
 ejaculate in transports of covetous delight, as 
 with a hand that shook with trembling eager 
 ness, he seized a bag of heavy coin, the same 
 that had tempted the merchant s clerk ; a 
 thousand dollars by the mark, 1 he cxultingly 
 added, as he examined it, at the same time 
 pushing contemptuously jisidc a liyer 61 sil 
 ver coin and a pile of bank notes which he 
 had first grasped in his indiscriminate avidity. 
 * Pish ! what is paltry silver, v. hen gold also 
 is ready to your hand ? And these bills ! no, 
 no, I ll have nothing to do with the cursed 
 paper it often tells tales. The gold 1 I II 
 take only the gold ! 
 
 Fire bags more of the same precious metal 
 were quickly added by the depredator to his 
 previous prize, andtie was preparing to select 
 till a sixth and a, larger one, which had ex 
 cited also his cupidity. 
 
 But noiselessly, silently, stealthily, at that 
 same moment, the unsuspected watcher was 
 
 stealing upon his prey. And see ! he has al 
 most reached the other s side is at his very 
 back, undiscovered, unsuspected. 
 
 Emboldened by impunily he rises, cautious 
 ly rises for the final eflbrt, but almost at the 
 same moment, the housebreaker himself sud 
 denly arose to his feet, causing his unseen 
 companion to nearly betray himself by his 
 start of surprise : idle, however, was the fear 
 the unconscious burglar had but arisen for 
 the purpose of gathering up his golHen plun 
 der, and as he stooped again to secure about 
 his person a portion of his prize, just as a 
 chuckling laugh followed the triumphant gra- 
 tulation, 
 
 Good ! I am a rich man for life 1 Gold, 
 all gold, pure us that of California! 
 
 There was the sudden sound of a spring, a 
 bound, the rustling of something as ;l whizzed 
 through tl o air, and the unsuspicious robber 
 found himself in an instant entangled, half- 
 suffocated and dragged to the floor. The 
 captured burglar s head and limbs were en 
 veloped in the folds of the blanket, which 
 Lincoln s rapid hand >ad thrown over him, 
 he lost his footing instantaneously and fell, 
 incapable of resistance or escape 1 
 
 Savagely, still, hu strove to struggle in his 
 entanglement, but the efforts were as stifled 
 as his smothered curses he was fairly en 
 trapped, like a lion in the toils, a wild beast 
 in the net 1 
 
 His rejoicing captor forcibly dragged him 
 to the door of ths cellar-way, and from thenco 
 precipitated him headlong down the dark 
 abyss, which portal was immediately closed 
 and locked upon th>3 now completely ensnared 
 prisoner. 
 
 Satisfied of the security of his captive, and 
 aware that he could now, in perfect safety, 
 proceed to leave the late invaded premises to 
 summon aid, the clerk boldly sallied forth to 
 procure the needed assistance. He returned 
 in a very brief time, with the night-police in 
 sufficientforco to apprehend the housebreaker, 
 who was found partially insensible irom his 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 fall, nt the foot of the collar stairs, and not 
 withstanding the most desperate Attempts on 
 the part of the itruggling scoundrel to escape 
 from their clutcho*, he was finally arrcited 
 and borne off, 
 
 The examination of the burglar, Lincoln * 
 detention nun witness before the magistrate, 
 incl the criminal s full commitment for trinl, 
 wore the events of (ho subsequent fuw hours 
 of tho morrow. 
 
 Lincoln, on leaving the court-room, at tho 
 conclunion, had just parted with his employer, 
 who was loud in his protestations of praise 
 and gratitude to his faithful clerk, but being 
 a nmn of penurious disposition, Lincoln too 
 well know his character to indulge tho idle 
 hopo that it WOH destined to prove of any last- 
 ing advantage to himself. 
 
 Ho saw At onco through tho hollow hypo 
 crisy of the man, whom in his heart he had 
 nlwnys despised, nor was he sanguine enough 
 to nttach much importance to his wordy gra 
 titude, 
 
 The sequel proved him to bo quite right, 
 for tho only shapo that it manifested itself in, 
 was the gcntrous offer of which his magnani 
 mous employer was graciously pleased to 
 make, of a day or two s furlough from tho 
 cores and confinement of active business, 
 
 This !H no fancy sketch, reader I The re- 
 fpcctablo head of the wealthy firm in ques 
 tion will recognise his own portrait, These 
 arc true plot. ires, 
 
 This astounding liberality |was of course 
 duly appreciated by its fortunate recipient 
 Tho ufternoon and evening were spent in a 
 visit to his younger sis!or, to whoso presence 
 wo will not nt present follow him | but tho 
 next moment found him, from tho mero iui- 
 pnlue of long habit, retracing hid way to tho 
 store, which for so many weary months hud 
 bcon his daily resort, 
 
 As ho repiitfiod tho old South in his return, 
 his eye was accidentally caught by a glaring 
 handbill, on which, in mammoth letters, was 
 printed, 
 
 BEST CHANCE FOR THE GOLD 
 REGIONS? 
 
 Tho Splendid Ship S , 
 
 To Sail in Three Days. 
 
 Ho groaned in bitterness of spirit and passed 
 on, With n heart full of despair, he once moro 
 darkened tho door of tho proud commercial 
 houne, which two nights before ho had saved 
 from ruin, 
 
 Hardly had he appeared, when he was sur 
 rounded with earnest and sincere congratula 
 tions from his friendly fellow-clerks, one of 
 whom hastened to slip into his hand a letter 
 directed to him, 
 
 In no littlo purprino lie received the epis 
 tle. The superscription wan in no unknown 
 hand ; ho recognised instantly tho well known 
 characters of the silent partner of tho firm. 
 
 Scarce knowing what to think or to expect, 
 ho broke tho noiil and read, 
 
 1 Mn, LINCOLN, 
 
 1 Dear Sir I have learned, 
 with pleasure, your daring and gallant de 
 fence of our establishment from the crimiual 
 designs of u burglar, on the night of the 
 inst.,and with equal surprise that my partner 
 has omitted to, testify to you, in some sub 
 stantial manner, our sense of indebtedness 
 for tho iucctimnble ucrvico you have rendered 
 us, . 
 
 * Allow, me, therefore, at onco to remedy 
 tho inadvertence, and manifest to yourself my 
 appreciation of your manly conduct, as well 
 of tho signal obligation under which you 
 have placed UM, I rejoice to mty,an it now af- 
 fordn rno an opportunity of amuiring you of 
 my esteem und grutitutio. 
 
 4 Having understood that you were ambi 
 tious to seek tho advancement of your for 
 tunes in tho goldon Kl Dorado that so many 
 are now viewing with beotjng hearts, but un 
 fortunately tl, burred the brilliant chance by 
 lack of tho necessary means, I beg to enclose 
 this trifle, in tho fmndly hopo that it may 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 forward your views, though I shall never 
 ceuse to regret that it ir.ny lose us the valua 
 ble services of so faithful a clerk, and hon 
 orable a man, as you have recently proved 
 yourself. 
 
 Your true friend, 
 
 1 E. L. J. 
 
 A check for a thousand dollars fell from 
 the letter! 
 
 From the abyss of despondency to the 
 pinnacle of hope, from despair s dark depths 
 to utter happiness, how swift the leap, how 
 sudden the transition ! 
 
 The emotions of Eugene Lincoln ore not 
 difficult to conceive, though to him the truth 
 was hard to realize. Joy, douot, astonish- 
 merit, by turns, predominated. 
 
 Here, then, were the means of satisfying 
 the wish born of a generous ambition, but 
 long since deserted even by hope, yet how 
 
 unexpected, how unlocked for a blessing 
 
 How he thanked God that he had nobly re 
 sisted the fearful temptalion that had once as 
 sailed him ; how he blessed a bounteous Hea 
 ven lor the reward that now crowned his 
 defiance of the tempter. 
 
 At length the joyous Lincoln controlled his 
 transports sufficiently to call a carriage, and 
 assuming his seat within, the hackney coach 
 drove to the destination to which the driver 
 had been directed. 
 
 The vehicle, in the course of a half-hour, 
 stopped before a neat little cottage, and the 
 passenger eagerly alighted on the spot, where 
 a near prospect of the stately edifices of the 
 neighboring universities proclaimed its vici 
 nity to classic Cambridge, also to the 
 eventful scene of the midnight riot and homi 
 cide. 
 
 Bold, but quietly, entering the cottage, he 
 passed from room to room, apparently in 
 quest, of some one. The sound of voices, in 
 low converse, reached his ear as he paused 
 before another apartment. 
 
 The door was ajar, and pushing it open ho 
 entered. 
 
 The noise of his footsteps being insufficient 
 to attract attention from thos? within he hem- 
 med once or twice as he crossed the threshold 
 to arouse them from their abstraction and 
 give warning of his presence, but before he 
 was discovered by either of the two persons 
 whom the room contained, ho unavoidably 
 overheard a soft voice murmur, 
 
 Henry, dear Henry, is this true ? and do 
 you indeed intend to leave us for a long voy 
 age and a far foreign shore? no, this 
 cannot be. 
 
 While the rich, manlytones of a frank, full 
 voice, replied, 
 
 1 True, Ellen, true, I take my departure in 
 a few days more for the coast of California; 
 I have come to prepare you, dearest, to bid 
 you a long farewell. 
 
 4 California ! echoed his companion s girl 
 ish tones; then with a sweet, a melodious 
 earnestness they eagerly asked, yet uhy, O 
 why ! Surely tis not wealth that you would 
 seek in that distant land ? then why leave 
 your home and and 
 
 1 And you! you would say, dearest. True, 
 still true, yet have I not already explained to 
 you that imperative reasons there are for my 
 strange exile, as you justly term it. N ay 1 
 my interest, my safety demand it demand 
 that I now take this singular, this unaccount- 
 
 able stop for the heir to an opulent family. 
 
 Cut .lie actuating motive, though secret, is all 
 powerful ; to remain, is fraught with hazards 
 you would never suspect.; in night lies alono 
 my snfc-ty from that which threatens me. 1 
 
 Then, in Heaven s name, fly, Henry, fly I 
 I would not detain you for worlds! iterated a 
 voice .tremulous with alarm. Dear dear 
 Hurry ! do not one hour more delay thus to 
 secure your safety. 
 
 1 Nay, nay, dear girl, the danger though 
 imminent, is not immediate, and, perchance, 
 may bo only imaginary. Suffice it, that it ia 
 Ihe consequence of no misconduct of my 
 own. 1 
 
 I Thank Heaven for that, at least l~nay, I 
 
34 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 knew it before I 1 returned the tome soft, con 
 fiding accent*. 
 
 Lincoln, as he now advanced to their very 
 side, could sro that R sweet face wan pillow 
 ed trustingly upon the manly shoulder of a 
 noble youth. 
 
 Yet as undiscovered, as when, withfttorno r 
 intent, ho stooped, in manly during over the 
 youthful pair, The handsome face and gal- 
 lant bearing of his friend Vcrnon.ho hud not 
 needed tho first glance nor the first word to 
 recognise; the place, the posture, tho pre 
 sence in which he sat, had been enough for 
 his utipcrccived observer, us was the gentle, 
 trusting attitude in which that bewitching 
 countenance rcposed upon his breast, with his 
 *urm encircling, tenderly, a delicate and grace- 
 ful form, just faintly trembling from girlhood 
 into blushing womanhood, like a rose-bud ex- 
 paneling into the Mi-blown queen of flowers; 
 while those soft eyea of liquid blue, beaming 
 with love and confidence, were fixed upon his 
 own jetty orbs, whoso every gluncc was teem 
 ing with admiration, as it in turn wandered 
 over the beautiful Grecian contour, the small 
 mile-Hi lip, the duzzlingly fair complexion, 
 shadowed by auburn tresses, that, in their 
 very hue, were alike expressive of girlish 
 sweetness and surpassing gentleness. 
 
 And even us the keenly-observant brother 
 and friend drew near, he saiv tho lips of tho 
 \ovcrs meet in a wjxrm and glowing kiss, that 
 spoke worlds to their hearts, and volumes to 
 hin ear I , 
 
 Lovo I yea, love beyond redemption ! 
 half-uloud soliloquised the amunod Lincoln- 
 bending down, all unperceivcd, until his very 
 breath was warm upon her check, ho planted 
 another on the lips yet fresh with a lover s 
 kiss. 
 
 The girl started from her confiding atti 
 tude, crimson with modesty s favorite hue ; 
 and, quick ns tho offending act itself, Vernon 
 sprung to his feet, to punish the author of the 
 supposed audacity. 
 
 A merry laugh met him in turn. 
 
 Ila I ha I my gallant Harry, you re some- 
 what sel hh, I see, What ! so chary of a 
 sweetheart s kisses t Nay, nay, my jea ous 
 friend, tin but A fraternal salute another 1ms 
 ventured upon I Hoy, sweet Noll 1 how is it, 
 girl ? 
 
 The young lovers stood abashed before 
 him, looking the very pictures of confusion. 
 Hurry, who felt like a thitif caught in tho act, 
 for tho moment wished hid friend in paradise, 
 rather than there. 
 
 The considerate Lincoln, after briefly en- 
 joying their cmbarrassmoi.t, generously threw 
 a cover over it, by saying, with surprised em 
 phasis, 
 
 * Harry ! have I heard aright ? In it in 
 deed your intention to sail for the Gold Re 
 gions ? 
 
 It is ! was the brief response. 
 
 4 I In I this IH strangu ! whence comes this 
 sudden 
 
 The hand of the student was placed upon 
 his arm. The grasp tightened on the limb, 
 as Vernon, in a low, firm tone, said, 
 
 Even to you, my best friend, I must re 
 fuse an answer. Even to tho girl whom \ 
 so tenderly love, even to tho mother who bore 
 me, 1 have resolutely declined tho explana 
 tion that you now seek. One vogue, faint 
 hint I may give you of the truth ho hidden 
 cause is none other than the offspring of that 
 eventful night, when you saved me from a 
 rioter s blind fury on tho grounds of tho Uni 
 versity. 
 
 Despite tho rebellious cravings of curiosity 
 and astonishment, there was a meaning firm 
 ness, a deliberate collectedncss in tho unlook- 
 for words of his friend, that rnado Lincoln 
 instinctively forbear from the importunity 
 which sprang from surprise. 
 
 He remained himself in deep and abstract- 
 cd thought for, a few moments only, atten 
 tively regarded, meanwhile, by the lovers ; at 
 their termination ho looked up, in a deliber 
 ate tone Buying though his words were 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 very fur from being received in the same 
 calm spirit, 
 
 4 Vcrnon Ellen I, also, am on the eve of 
 embarking for the golden haven of San Fran 
 cisco. 
 
 Lincoln ! 
 4 Brother ! 
 
 And a wild start nrnl a faint cry accompa- 
 nied the Inst exclamation. 
 
 * Yes, it is already determined upon I 
 shall seek, on the shores of he far Pacific, 
 sister, to better our ruined fortunes. I shall 
 seek 
 
 1 No, no; you do not mean it, brother ! 
 you will not desert your poor Ellen, Eugene, 1 
 cried the young girl, with a frightened look, 
 as she daried to his side. 
 
 4 Yes, Ellen, yes, answered tho brother, 
 much moved. 
 
 4 Ah! brother, brother! but no, she ner 
 vously added, with a glad air, the means 
 you have not the means ! It costs much to 
 go, all say so. 
 
 4 The means I have, Ellen, he answered, 
 4 thanks to a Providence as fortunate as it is 
 strange. Pecuniary disability is no longer a 
 barrier. 
 
 4 E (gene ! Eugene ! mournfully uttered 
 the sorrowing girl. 
 
 He took her hand and pressed her lip in 
 deep emotion. 
 
 Nay, sister, fear not, fear not that you will 
 suffer in my absence. Five hundred of tho 
 
 thousand 
 
 * The thousand, brother? 
 Ay, sister, half of the thousand of which 
 I am tho fortunate possessor, I s*hall place at 
 tho disposal of the good lady to whoso carol 
 havo BO long and so safely confided you, for 
 your exclusive benefit during my proposed 
 absence. The provision will bo ample ; the 
 residue I shall appropriate to tho payment of 
 my passage and purchase of an outfit. 
 
 4 O, Eugene, Eugene, you have often 
 spoken to me of this California. Yet, alas ! 
 alas ! "I never once dreamed that you were 
 serious. 
 
 I knew not that it would ever bo within 
 my power. It is, however ! and shall I now 
 neglect the prize, once in view of the goal T 
 But why look with such grief upon tho "mere 
 idea? Have I not told you th-t you would 
 be amply cared for by a brother s fond fore 
 thought? have I not told you that you should 
 bo no sufferer by my absence ? 
 
 No sufferer ! In body, perhaps not < but 
 in mind, Eugene ! O God ! the torture that 
 I should endure ihe torture of suspense 
 and ever anxious for you, my faithful brother 
 and and for 
 
 The word, the name, xvas unspoken, but 
 the look, the look of devoted love, supplied to 
 \ernon s beating heart more of meanin" than 
 the utterance. 
 
 4 Nay, dearest sister, the hazard, tho dan- 
 por, is only imaginary. The chief obstacle 
 is tlio distance. 
 
 1 Thu distance ! tho distance I I foe! it will 
 forever part us. But stay ! and joy s sud- 
 den thought sparkled in her blue eye 4 bless- 
 ed be the thought ! you both are going, and 
 can I not accompany you ? 
 
 You accompany us 1 was the hasty ejacu- 
 lation of the shocked brother ; 4 you share the 
 hardships, tho dangers of this adventurous un- 
 dertakiug ? Preposterous! 
 
 I thought, remonstrated the weeping girl, 
 I thought you said but now there were no 
 perils, no privations ! Ah, my brother, my 
 noblo brother, you would have deceived me 
 there you have betrayed your own generous 
 self. There are trials, there are hazards to 
 be endured let mo then share them with you 
 with Henry? 
 
 Never! exclaimed Lincoln, with sudden 
 sternness; never, HO help mo IJcuvcn, shall 
 tho sister whom I have guarded so long, bo 
 thus, with my consent, exposed. Perish, for 
 ever, tho very idea in your mind. I go, but 1 
 go nlonc ! , 
 
 4 Not alone, Lincoln, not alone, interposed 
 tho hardly less agitated Vernon. 4 If you have 
 the same destination, we at least will bo com- 
 panions. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 committed, instead immediately asked in tho 
 cracked and muttering voice of age for he 
 was an old man 
 
 ( You have just signed the name of Henry 
 Vernon ; is it your own? 
 
 It is not; tis tlms of an absent friend, 1 
 replied Lincoln, frank y, thrown off his guard 
 by the coolness of the query. 
 
 * Humph ! what right have you to sign it, 
 then? 1 wua tho bluff rejoinder. 
 
 1 Tho best o.f rights, sir, answered Lincoln, 
 nettled by the blunt tone of tho other; the 
 right of a sworn companion to act in some 
 cases for a friend 
 
 4 Humph 1* once more ejaculated the gruff 
 old man , sworn friend and companion 
 humph ! 
 
 4 Tho insolent old grayboard ! muttered 
 Lincoln, us his unceremonious acquaintance 
 hobbled off again, and he lost sight of him, 
 thinking no more of the matter. 
 
 Perhtips, could he have looked forward not 
 many hours into futurity, ho would not have 
 passed tho matter HO lightly. 
 
 That old man was John. Vernon, the miser ! 
 Eugene Lincoln knew him not yutnot with 
 out a purpose was tho miser there. 
 
 That day had passed, another succeeded 
 it, and the third, the eventful third day, fol 
 lowing rapidly upon the heels of its prede 
 cessors, duwned bright and beautiful. 
 
 Their luggage had been conveyed on board 
 tho evening previous ; and at an early hour 
 the two companions in fortune repaired to the 
 wharf, already thronged by the crowd of peo 
 ple whom the departure of a vessel on such 
 an expedition, has invariably called forth. 
 
 Tho ship was to clear* and sail upon one 
 and the name day ; and as they procccodcd at 
 length on board, both impatiently awaited tho 
 appointed hour, which was to embark them 
 upon their novel and adventurous enter* 
 prise. 
 
 Hundreds were assembled upon the wharl 
 to witness the approaching etent, and count 
 less were tho spectators on shore, as count 
 
 less seemed the decks of the outward-bound 
 vessel. 
 
 And from among the thousand lookers on, 
 low many longing eyes were fixed with so* 
 crct envy upon that crowdee deck ! Let 
 more tluiu one reader of these pages answer 
 for himself. * 
 
 Side by side, in a conspicuous position by 
 the vessel s taflrail, the twain iti whom we are 
 most interested stood. Their eyes turned to- 
 ward the thronging shores, and their lips oc 
 casionally moving, and then only when im 
 portant considerations appeared to demand, 
 so engrossing and novel WHS tho scene before 
 them, 
 
 * Ten minutes, only, to tho moment, in a 
 breathless whisper announced Vernon to his 
 comrade, as he consulted an elegant gold re 
 peater. * The captain assures us, you nay, 
 that he shall sail precisely at tho hour adver 
 tised. 
 
 4 Yes, there is to bo no delay beyond it, in 
 any case whatever. Hut are you quito sure, 
 Vernon, added Lincoln, 4 that nothing has 
 been forgotten ? 
 
 1 Quito certain ; I havo taken caro not to 
 omit anything ; all in in perfect train. 1 shall 
 not want for money ; I go, provided with an 
 abundant supply for all contingencies, and a 
 carte blanche us regards my good father s 
 banker, replied Henry, adding laughingly, 
 4 not that I mean to avail myself of the per 
 mission, by any means, as I go out, resolved 
 not to bo idle, and unwilling that my exile 
 should bo altogether unprofitable. And you, 
 my friend 
 
 He hesitating^ stopped and looked inquir 
 ingly. 
 
 4 1 understand you, answered his compa 
 nion, quickly. 4 Have no concern on thut 
 score ; I havo not, I trust, misappropriated 
 tho blessed boon Providence so unexpectedly 
 bestowed on mo. To my sister s acco unt, In 
 her behalf, remain behind five hundred of the 
 precious thousand, my possession ot which 
 has already been explained to you; with 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 Ellen herself I have left three hundred of that 
 amount ; the remaining two have been placed 
 at the disposal of the good dame who hus been 
 ns a second mother to the friendless orphan. 
 Pojr girl ! how apprehensive she was that her 
 brother was robbing himself for her comfort, 
 though again and again assured that the pro 
 vision for myself was ample ; and how she 
 pleaded and prayed to the lust to be allowed 
 to accompany us. 
 
 * Dear girl, she is indeed a v iob!e creature, 
 though a gentle one with, as I sometimes 
 think, more of spirit and character about her 
 than even a brother s intimacy has yet been 
 enabled to elicit, as only circumstances are 
 like to do. Would we could have had her 
 de?r companionship, yet to have granted her 
 prayer would have been madness in us. At 
 least, however, you leave her in safe hands, 
 Eugsnel* 
 
 She could not be in safer, Harry ; she is 
 as well protected as if I still were with her. 
 Bani>h every doubt of this ; 1 should not have 
 left her otherwise. Yet twas a painful task 
 to tear myself 
 
 Frcm trat sweet girl ! I doubt it not, in 
 terposed his friend ; and ah, if possible, how 
 doubly painful to me the parting. With you, 
 she was the only tie ; but think how sad must 
 have been the separation with my own aged 
 parents. Tis well that neither could summon 
 nerve to accompany me hither; it would but 
 
 have prolonged useless regrets. And yet 
 
 but ha ! there goes the signal ! 
 
 The signal ! the signal ! Bravo ! shouted 
 fifty eager voices around, as at that moment 
 three small flag* weni quivering up to the 
 gaff. 
 
 1 See ! cried the enthusiastic Lincoln, see 
 there goes a fourth one at half-mast. When 
 that last ensign soars to the peak, then we re 
 at sea at sea, with a gallant ehip, a stout 
 crew, and ns fine a captain as ever sailed salt- 
 water : and I may safely say, as desirable a 
 set of passengers. 
 
 And ho pointed from the portly, fine-look 
 
 ing figure of the skipper on the quarter deck 
 one of the noblest-hearted veterans of his 
 profession, the most generous of sailors, to 
 the motley assemblage of fellow-passengers; 
 motley indeed, for it comprised almost every 
 stage of life, from the careworn man of mid- 
 die age to the fresh and vigorous young man 
 of twenty ; from the gray-haired veteran even 
 downward to the boy ot sixteen for among 
 that mixed company, even such tender years 
 were found. 
 
 It was a single instance, only, however, in 
 the person ol a young stripling, and this fact 
 united with the boy s handsome face and 
 graceful carriage, so natural to youth, made 
 him an object of interest to our two friends ; 
 the more as they noticed he seemed verj 
 delicate in appearance, and more than once 
 did they wonder what wild freak could hare 
 brought thither one so little calculated to bat 
 tle with the hardships which BO many stout 
 men and rugged constitutions were going to 
 endure. 
 
 The lad himself, by the ready instinct of 
 sympathy, seemed to perceive that they, at 
 least, felt interested for his apparently solitary 
 and friendless situation, for he. kept near to 
 ihem from the first. 
 
 And the frank-hearted Vernon was just 
 thinking of opening a conversation with the 
 stripling, when in the very act of accosting 
 him, there was a general cry of * the signal, 
 the signal for sailing !* and at the same mo 
 ment the flag at half-mast was seen trem 
 bling upward toward the gaff, mingling with 
 the trio that preceded it, until from the peak, 
 four floating streamers were waving out a 
 last farewell to Old Boston, its harbor and 
 its town. 
 
 The moment of breathless, thrilling excite 
 ment had come all was now the confusion 
 and precipitation of getting under weigh. 
 The bustle of hurried preparation, the seamen 
 hastening to and fro, the quick, stern orders 
 of the officers, the cheerful heave-o-heave I* 
 the loud, impatient all aboard I all aboard ! 
 
KIT CARSON, 
 
 and sonorous coil away, ease off cable ! 
 the cheera of the upectaton, and their excite 
 ment now at it* height 5 ill made up a stir 
 ring scene, as slowly the laborious work cf 
 getting a first-clnM.i ship under weigh, went 
 on, surely and steadily. 
 
 1 We are off off at last ! hurrah ! echoed 
 almost every voice on board the monster- 
 craft, a little prematurely however, in the 
 universal ecstacy of anticipation. * Ho 1 for 
 California 1 
 
 The crowd on the shore took up the shout, 
 the very waves echoed it back. 
 
 Hut, just us tho cubic WUB about to bo slip- 
 pod finally, the plunk about to be hauled in, 
 the warning order, nil aboard ! for the last 
 time repeated, a loud, deep voice, in the very 
 midst of tlu hu/y.aing mob was audible, when 
 the shout ceased, exclaiming, 
 
 1 Hold, captain, hold ! In the name of the 
 law. 
 
 And struggling through thai thick-packed 
 throng, to the front itself forcing his way, 
 agitating tlmt sca of human beirign, us if it hud 
 been indeed the troubled deep laboring with 
 some restless bviuth.in, purling right and left 
 tho jostled cr.owd, appeared a captain of po 
 lice, with a posso of three ">en at his buck ! 
 In the name of tho law! loudly repeated 
 the officer, as he leaped, jnst in time, along 
 the plank, his three followers at his heels, 
 and bounded to the deck elbowing his un 
 ceremonious path through the fresh crowd he 
 encountered in the ship. 
 
 An arrest ! an arrest by the police ! a hun 
 dred breathless voices iterated ; while at this 
 instant the poitly skipper advanced hastily to 
 meet him, demanding quickly of tho foremost 
 ii.trudcr, 
 
 4 (la ! policeman, what is all this ? what ia 
 all this ? An arrest on board my blip ? The 
 offence, sir u hut is the offence 7 Is it a 
 criminal. am % st ? which one of my passen. 
 
 Tho impatient officer interrupted him with 
 still more hurried, 
 
 1 No, captain, no ; it is a civil action 
 but 
 
 4 A civil actionthen it is no crime ? Well 
 of what class, sir, of what class V demanded 
 the captain, in a (one the policeman did not 
 half like, 
 
 Debt, sir an action for debt ha ! I see 
 our man ! 
 
 * Debt, debt F reiterated the bluff skipper, 
 debt, hey ? Hnrk yo, Mr. Policeman, nnd 
 tho corpulent captain planted his stout body 
 directly in he other s way; back, sir, out 
 of this ship instantly I 1 
 
 1 Captain, let me pass ! hurriedly entreated 
 the officer. 
 
 VVhut ! arrest a poor devil of a debtor at 
 the very moment of his setting sail for the 
 only crui/ing ground where ho ever has the 
 hopo of being ono day able to pny off his 
 honest drills ? (Jive up a poor fellow to n set 
 of rascally creditors, who won t even give him 
 a chance for his lifr ? Nol not while thoroY 
 a shot in tho looker, d n me! 
 
 At your peril prevent mo/ hoarsely the 
 police officer cried, calling to his followers; 
 on, men, on! (,uick, do your duty there 
 stands tho prisoner! 
 
 At your peril you touch a passenger of 
 mine ! roared the honest old seaman, while 
 to the s lilois at the gangway, he shouted 
 1 Cast off, my lads, custofl ! The lund sharks 
 shall go to sou with us! I ll teach them to 
 put a poor fellow in limbo for debt, on a deck 
 of mine. 
 
 4 Seize your prisonrr, seize him ! shouted 
 fhe determined policeman, in a voice husky 
 with passion. * Captain, do you dare oppose 
 nn officer of justice in tho execution of tho 
 laws? Bo warn, sir) bewaro ! it is a penal 
 oflbncc.* 
 
 1 To tho devil with you and your penal 
 offences, you fchurk ! cried the noble sea-dog, 
 with more energy than refinement. Mark 
 me! I am master of my own ship, sir, but I 
 need no land-lubber to tell mo that by em- 
 ploying force to protect a passenger ag ins 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 .41 
 
 gentlemen of your kidney, I should be jeopar 
 dizing the interests of my owners and all who 
 sail with me, as well as rendering this vessel 
 liable to be detained; therefore, I cannot in- 
 terfere personally, any further, in this matter 
 but to you, gentlemen, turning a signifi- 
 cant look on the listening crowd of passen 
 gers, if you choose to defend one of your 
 number what one I know not from the 
 clutches of a griping creditor, it may not be 
 out of your power so to do. 
 
 The sympathising passengers at once took 
 the meaning hint, but as ignorant as the skip 
 per, which among their companions the dan 
 ger n.enaced, they hurriedly closed up their 
 ranks, so as to present an almost impenetra 
 ble phalnnx to the three policemen, who, led 
 on by their chief, were endeavoring to per- 
 for.n their duty. 
 
 Your weapons, men your weapons, com 
 manded the now exasperated officer. They 
 resist, aha ! they resist the law ! Let us see 
 if they will venture to protect a fugitive from 
 justice? 
 
 * Say, rather, a poor debtor, contemptuous 
 ly relortcd the good caplains s honest tones 
 the indignant veteran scarce able to restrain 
 himself. 1 A poor debtor hunted down like 
 a dog ? 
 
 The shout of applause that greeted the gen 
 erous speech from the sympathizing hundreds 
 around, was coupled with a single order by 
 a furious voice, 
 
 Slung-shots, my men! Ready! slung 
 shots! 
 
 And that formidable instrument of aggres 
 sion and defence, so notoriously associated 
 with the Boston police of the present day, 
 was seen aloft, whirled by the brandished 
 arms of each of the trio while the fierce 
 tones of the enfuriatcd leader rang on every 
 ear, 
 
 Fight your way to the prisoner ! down 
 with them down with them ! 
 
 Then it was that the dismayed passengers, 
 appalled by the ught of that tremendous wea 
 
 pon, and awed by the mysterious majesty of 
 the law, which so few men like openly to re 
 sist, divided right and left before the whiz- 
 zing lanyards terrible weight, and fell back, 
 each upon IMS fellow so impotent is ever an 
 incongruous mob against the efforts of a dis 
 ciplined police. 
 
 1 Now seize your man ! this is heT cried 
 the chief policeman, energetically, while his 
 pointed finger served as an index to his men. 
 4 Eugene Lincoln, you arc arrested for debt, 
 at the suit of John Vtrnon ! 
 
 And, in the self same moment, amazed, con 
 founded, helpless, from the stupefaction of 
 surprise, the utterly overwhelmed merchant s 
 clerk was dragged from the deck dragged 
 from the side of his no less astounded friend, 
 dragged on along the gangway, and over 
 the vessel s side just as the wondering sailor* 
 themselves had slipped the cable, while the 
 next instant the hapless Lincoln found him 
 self forced on the crowded wharf once more, 
 as off from the countless throng on the shore, 
 slowly, majestically the good ship swung that 
 was to have borne to fortune and io happi 
 ness, the ill-fated young man, yet left him 
 now to utter misery, and to the stern police, 
 a prisoner. 
 
 And still, ns the gallant craft fell "proudly 
 ofT, crowded with human life and human 
 energy, upon a mission cf such daring enter 
 prise and bold adventure bound, even sympa 
 thy forgot, in wrapt enthusiasm, the startling 
 occurrence which had momentarily aroused 
 it ; and deep, long, and loud were the deaf- 
 ening repetitions of 
 
 California ! California forever 1 hurrah 1 
 hurrah ! 
 
 But when those thunder-plaudits knew their 
 first instant s intermission, suddenly, on that 
 crowded deck a form was seen to rush for 
 ward, as if bursting from a spell, and in ac 
 cents of thrilling anguish, a female voice wa 
 heard, clearly, distinctly, by each one of 
 the assembled multitude, to shriek forth, 
 piercingly, 
 
KIT CARSON. . 
 
 * My brother! wy brother! Eugene! O 
 God ! Kugtnr. \ the ihip is at sen ut urn ! 
 it is bearing me away from you. O Heaven ! 
 ^ve are separated separated forever. What 
 will thoflo fearful men do with you, my poor, 
 poor brother ? My God ! my God ! 
 
 The voice, in a shriek yet more forcing, 
 lost itself, OH the figure WHH Heen to full prim* 
 trutc upon tho vessel s deck, while, on the in 
 stant, an answering cry wns heard faintly from 
 the shore ! 
 
 CUmS A . 
 
 The DitroveryThf. Vui/nffc nf the Gold 
 ScrkcrA Startling Rtcognltion, 
 
 1 Men are tho spnrt of circumstances, when 
 The circumstances seem the sport of men, 
 
 BYROK, 
 
 t\ i ^_ //// N actual reality was 
 
 r\ J/wM^ eM"s ct - o f 
 
 Y the last chapter, nnd 
 who imagines it to 
 ;> bo other, grossly do- 
 ^ceive.s himself; for by 
 j writer, and a hun 
 dred readers beside, was it witnessed. The 
 pursuit of the police, the attempted apprehen 
 sion, the arrest, are iucts, each and all ; the 
 incidents wo have thus far described are ac 
 tual occurrences, as, also, are those that are 
 to follow. 
 
 Dilh cult, indeed, would it be to describe, 
 however easy to conceive, the mingled feel 
 ings of Henry Vernon, at the suddun and un- 
 forsoon catastrophe that now so strangely, so 
 unexpectedly separated him from that bottom 
 friend and intended companion of bin adven 
 tures, his dangers and his fortunes. 
 
 The first momentary elFoct hud been stupo- 
 fied bewilderment ; the first active impulse 
 had been to spring recklessly forward to his 
 aid and ho hud uono so, but it was too late, 
 it was in vain tho myrmidons of tho law hud 
 
 already succeeded in hurrying their petrified 
 pi Honor from the protection of tho passengers 
 and from the ship, and the vessel itself had 
 glided silently away from the wharf, and was 
 now at seo. . 
 
 I I m grief, his bitter woe, hi* vain n-gTCln, 
 would perhaps have overpowered, have un- 
 irunnud him <}iiilo. Hut aurprino \VH pnru- 
 iit.>ui.it to all ; suiprise ui the Mrimgo denoue 
 ment which had followed his friend s arrest. 
 Tlit) wailing tones cf the unknown female 
 yet echoed on fancy s car, and the agonized 
 adjuration, rny brother! my brother! still 
 haunted him. 
 
 lie recognised that voice, tl,oo accent*, 
 attuned to agony * own intonation* though 
 they were ! 
 
 Merciful Heaven ! this suspicion ! he 
 ejiculuteil, can thnre bo truth in it? Any* 
 where my heart would recognise thece loved 
 tones yes, anywhere, save here ! It must 
 have been 1 could not so deceive mynelf 
 ami yet, I veo no female drcm, no female 
 form among them all. Surely that WUH a wo- 
 man * voice ! 
 
 It was but u thought and a bound, nnd ho 
 elbowed his way through the throng of pas 
 sengers to that part of the crowded ship from 
 whence iho strange voice had emanated, and 
 where now a group were seen bending over 
 some object of common observation or curi 
 osity. 
 
 There, prostrate on tho hard, cold planks, 
 his face pressed against an oaken pillow, life* 
 less and unconscious lay the youth of sixteen 
 the young boy who had BO interested his 
 sympathy. 
 
 Stand aside ! stand aside ! leave jiim to 
 my care, cried Vornon, in a voice of thun 
 der, UH ho rainud the inanimuto form and ten- 
 derly pressed iho clay-cold lips; for in that 
 slight frame, and beneath that boyiah attire,, 
 ho recognised, also, the gentle Ellen, the bis- 
 tor of his poor friend ! 
 
 4 Tis she tis she ! he murmured. * But 
 how this happen*, I kpow not ! Hut ha ! he 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 muttered, as he saw wondering eyes fixed en 
 him, as once more his lips sought those of the 
 seeming lad . I must use caution ; her sex 
 must not be discovered of that I must be 
 ware. 
 
 As active in mind as in body, Henry Ver- 
 non was not long in deciding on the best 
 courso to be pursued. To his own and Lin 
 coln s exclusive use, as was the case with the 
 other passengers, a state-room had been ap- 
 preprinted ; and to this he quickly bore his 
 charge. 
 
 Long, long he sat, half recumbent upon a 
 sofa, which formed part cf its furniture ; her 
 dear head pillowed on his shoulder, her un 
 conscious form sustaine 1 by his arm. Long 
 and anxiously watched he her lifeless coun 
 tenance, for the first sign of reviving sensi 
 bility. 
 
 So wrapt up in his vigil, so absorbed was 
 he, that of the rapid flight of time took he no 
 heed, nor heard the shrill whistle of the wind 
 amid the vessel s cordage, overhead, nor 
 marked the heavy tossing of the ship on the 
 rocking swell of the billows underneath, as 
 each and ah betrayed at once the fact that for 
 the broad and boundless ocean had been ex 
 changed the quiet harbor of Old Tri-Mount. 
 But, at length, the glow of youth and health 
 came softly stealing back, like some fair 
 while rose-bud faintly blushing in the morn s 
 first ruddy hues, and then the sweet blue eyes 
 looked out on him, dimly, coldly, vacantly, at 
 first, but gradually gathering light and lustre, 
 like the brightening stars, until, from the lifted 
 lashes, until from the parched lips, came in 
 both mute and spoken language, the heart s 
 tell-tale echo, 
 
 4 Eugene Harry. 
 
 The last shadow of doubt vanishes ! 
 Ellen, dearest Ellen, the youth replied with 
 a fond caress, it is, indeed, your precious 
 Be If. 
 
 But wildly the disguised girl arose, erect, 
 as wildly passed her hand across her sunny 
 brow, and as wildl) aaked, 
 
 In Heaven s name, where am I ? Why 
 do I find myself in this strange place, and from 
 whence comes this strange rocking beneath 
 my feet ? What terrible blank is this will. in 
 my mind ? 
 
 In confused and indistinct remembrance, 
 with a painful effort to collect the broken 
 train of recollection, fora moment she kept 
 silent. 
 
 Ah! I remember! I remember! tho 
 crowd, the ship, the wharf, my brother! 
 Ah, yes ! I do rtrr.omber now , but Eugene 
 where is Eugene r* 
 
 In the hands of tl e police, Ellen, the last 
 time I saw him perhaps in prison, now, 1 
 sorrowfully uttered Vernon, trying to soothe 
 her. 
 
 In prison ! the police ! O, great Heaven, 
 then it was no dream ! Eugene, my lost 
 Eugene ! you who, from infancy, have watch 
 ed over me, with more than a brother s ten 
 derness, with more than a father s care, am I 
 now deserting you, abandoning you to a pri 
 son, a felon s fiite, and, O worse than all ! 
 to the torUring knowledge that a lost sister 
 is the tenant of a strange ship, a helpless, un 
 protected girl, at the mercy of every one. 
 Fatal, fatal b!o\r ! and thrice fatal the hour 
 that tempted me to this! My brother, Oh ! 
 my brother! we shall never meet again. But 
 no 
 
 And, with a thrilling thought the frantic 
 girl grasped her lover s arm, 
 
 Henry, as you love me, she fairly shriek 
 ed, I charge you, by your hopes of Heaven, 
 by your friendship for Eugene, I charge you 
 leave me, this instant, fly, fly to the good 
 captain, who would have stayed those vile 
 wretches hands, and in the name of human 
 ity, beseech him to put back to port, to re 
 turn me to my brother, rny Buffering, captive 
 brother, parted from me thus fearfully. Go, 
 Henry, go. 
 
 1 1 will, I will. If words can move him, he 
 shall consent, and you yet be restored to 
 Eugene s arms.* 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 And Vernon, thus speaking, hurried from 
 the otate room. 
 
 It was long ere he returned from his love* 
 delegated errand. To poor Ellon, it ecemua 
 like eternity the time he was gone ; and then, 
 he scarcely needed to tell her that which, 
 from his gloomy countenance, she fearfully 
 urgucd, an luirriedly she demanded upon hid 
 reappearance, 
 
 1 You have failed, Henry ; I see it in your 
 face.* 
 
 4 Too true, too true/ murmured the lover ; 
 the ship is no longer in Boston Harbor v*e 
 are upon the broad Atlantic, ten miles f om 
 port, with a favoring gale, fust sweeping out 
 to sea. The captain, believe me, feels for 
 you, for 1 have partly told your story, but he 
 declares that to return i impossible. Futc is 
 against 
 
 4 Lost, lost, Lrit ! the last hopo 1ms per* 
 ished ! gasped the moaning girl, as her trem 
 bling limbs refused their ollieo and ulie sunk 
 helplessly back. 
 
 Once more she had swooned ! And this 
 time it seemed as if a trance was upon her ; 
 so protracted and almost deathlike was tbe 
 state in which for full twenty-four hours she 
 remained, while over her a manly form kept 
 ceaseles watch, 
 
 At tho end of that time came a salutary 
 change, not only from both mental and bodily 
 insensibility to perfect consciousness, but aUo 
 from the former frantic agitation to u milder 
 mood. 
 
 She wus now more composed and rational 
 and could speak with comparative calmness 
 on the important subject which so engrossed, 
 of course, her thoughts. Her first question 
 was, 
 
 4 Tho captain, the good captuin, Henry 
 did you did you reveal my my sex to 
 him ? she stammered, with crimson face aud 
 neck. 
 
 4 1 did not tell him all 1 did, however, give 
 him to understand that tho person arrested 
 was your brother, but this involved no betray. 
 
 al of jour secret, leaving still the impression 
 that you were a boy. 1 
 
 And he ho would not listen to my re 
 quest ? 
 
 4 l}o did, he would have done so, but for 
 the voice of others Mis generous heart was 
 moved, was touched by your distress ; I saw 
 it; and in npito of every obstacle, I fully bo- 
 lieve he would have put tho ship about, and 
 carried the poor boy as ho cal ed you, back. 
 But others were less considerate ; tho passen 
 gers were loud in their murmurs and clamor 
 ous nguinst the delay and detention it would 
 cause, and the loss, beside, of the fair wind, 
 before which the voyage had been prosper 
 ously commenced. Ho saw that to return 
 would oblige him to beat against a strung 
 wind into the harbor ; nor wus he ignorant ho 
 had no right to put about for port, ufter the 
 vessel had onco cleared. You can perceive 
 how embarrassing to tho generous sailor must 
 have been his situation ; you know how long 
 I was absent from you, trying to prevail on 
 him, but in vain ; he felt compelled to heed 
 his passengers remonstrances. 
 
 4 Heartless, unfeeling men! but no, I ll 
 not censure them. What right hud I, or my 
 private sorrows to interfl-ro with their plans of 
 enterprise and fortune ? It were presumption 
 in such as I to detain thorn ouu hour from U>o 
 prize for which they bravo so n u :h ! 1 must 
 not forget that my poor brother, too, sought 
 the same golden goal, 1 said the no less gene 
 rous girl. 
 
 As she spoke tho last words, her cyo, until 
 now vacant, save when confined to the coun 
 tenance of her lover, wondered around the 
 state room. 
 
 That glance changed to a look of startled 
 surprise, as a second gaze convinced her of 
 the nature of the placo, which contained her* 
 self and him who best loved her. The warm 
 Hush of alarmed modesty colored, even yet 
 more rosily her check, as she recoiled, ox- 
 claiming, 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 45 
 
 * Where have you brought me, Henry? 
 Why did yot, bring me herer 
 
 The youth started and colored as deeply as 
 herself. 
 
 4 Ellen ! he said. 
 
 1 Henry ! I litlle thought this of you ! 
 she murmured, in painful confusion; my 
 poor brother, ever kind, ever considerate, 
 once bade me bcwaro lest you, perchance, 
 mijht prove 
 
 Ellen! Ellen! 
 
 4 Leave me, sir ! Leave me, forever ! 
 was tho stern command of offended inno 
 cence. 
 
 God of Heaven ! Ellen 
 
 1 Libertine, begone ! 
 
 Vernal), confounded, was silent, though he 
 did not obey her. lie could not misunder 
 stand her meaning; but Im astonishment at 
 such a misconstruction ol his motives, com 
 pletely thunderstruck him. Hcfore ho could 
 find words for answer, H!IO hud anticipated 
 him, by saying, in tho snmo firm tone, 
 
 1 Reply is needless, sir. Try not by words 
 to clonk tho purpose- of a libertine ! At 
 least, throw not over the open villainy of yonr 
 design, the transparent veil of attempted de 
 ception. Go, sir, I renounce you and your 
 libertine love for ever ! 
 
 And with a hidden face and a choking 
 voice, she motioned him from the state* 
 room. 
 
 \ Now, if ever, was tho timo for the lover to 
 speak, now, if ever, was the lime for him to 
 act ! He took one step forward, he knelt at 
 her feet, he gently clasped her trembling 
 hand, he gazed u-> into the averted face, with 
 burning blushes dyed. 
 
 That hand was withdrawn, but so slowly, 
 so quivcringly, with so visible an effort, that 
 he took courage to venture farther. 
 
 1 Ellen, Ellen, you whom an hour ago I 
 should not have trembled to call 4 dear, in 
 a low and pleading voice he softly said do 
 you, can you, in your heart impute to me the 
 unworthy motive you accuse m of? Is it 
 
 possible that, in your estimation, I have sunk 
 so low, as 
 
 4 Would to Heaven, Henry, I had no 
 grounds to judge you thus; but this scene, 
 this place, your bringing me here, sobbed 
 the wavering girl, one moment crimson with 
 maiden shame, the next, pale with alternat 
 ing fears and hopes; 4 alas! what else am 
 I to think ? what else ought I to suppose and 
 to guard myself in timo ngainst t And yet, 
 dear Henry, you whom I thought, of ail your 
 sex tho noblest save alone, my brother 
 
 to deem that you now ah ! I cunnot speak 
 
 the word ! 
 
 Uticr it not ! ut.er it not ! 
 And me emboldened lover, in joy at her re 
 lenting, leaped up from his knee, and casting 
 one arm round her fragile waist, with tho 
 other ho drew her to his heaving breast and 
 pressed, with passionate fondness, his warm 
 lips to her own. 
 
 Hut tho action had been too sudden, the re 
 vulsion too abrupt ; wavering conviction had 
 been mistaken for yielding confidence, and 
 the reconciliation-seeking lover, by over pre 
 cipitation, had lost his vantage ground and 
 ruined his cause. 
 
 Like some charmed bird, breaking from the 
 serpent s fascination. Ellen freed herself of 
 his embrace, with the haste of a frightened 
 fawn ; awakening Vcrnon, instantly, to a 
 sense of his error, as she exclaimed, in indig 
 nation, 
 
 1 Enough, sir, full enough 1 I can no 
 lor.ger deceive myself. Now, indeed, you 
 stand unmasked, unmasked of your hypocri- 
 cy ; I know you now for a heartless liber- 
 tiue. Ha ! and you presume so far upon 
 your power did you deem me so completely 
 in your toils, that you could make the weak 
 and unprotected girl your unresisting preyl 
 Henry Vernon, I know you and .defy you ! 
 Dare but to touch, to approach mo dare but 
 to offer a second insult, or a repetition of the 
 last, and, by the blessed memory of my de- 
 
46 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 parted mother, I will cry out, 1 will alarm the 
 ship ! 
 
 Do to, said the tortured lover, calmly, 
 coldly, now; for pride, love s foe, had been 
 harshly awakened. Do so ; I will not oppose 
 you; I will not stay your hund, I will not still 
 your voice ; nor will I fly thin spot, Cull out 
 I will not stir one step. Cull out to those 
 on deck, to the hundreds above our heads, 
 give the alarm, bid them come drag me from 
 your side, us the coward insulter of a wo 
 man. 
 
 Hear me! he continued, one whisper 
 of your durk suspicion to the noble captain, 
 and an hour, perhaps, would see me dangling 
 a dishonored corpse from yonder yard-arm, 
 by the justly indignant seaman s orders 
 Hear, girl, hear ! I arn pointing out the way 
 in which you can avenge your insulted inno 
 cence ! Come ! I will even help you to your 
 vengeance what cure 1 for life, when one 
 base suspicion can lose me thus your love ? 
 for what should Henry Vcrnoa wish to live, 
 when he has so changed, in one day s time, 
 that nil of his former self has disappeared 
 and in his place s .ands a fiend ? O, Ellen ! 
 cruel, unfeeling girl, may Heaven pardon you 
 the wrong you do me ? 
 
 A convulsive sob burst from the lips that 
 could not articulate a syllable. 
 
 * Ah, now you hear me now you mark my 
 words ! It is well ; will you not be guided 
 by their counsel ? Follow it, pursued the 
 lover, in his bitter irony, hesitate not an in 
 stant more to give the alarm your revenge is 
 sure. If your dark thoughts have done mo 
 no injustice, my punishment cannot bo too 
 great death at the yard-arm of the vessel 
 would bo but a meet penalty for villainy like 
 mine. 
 
 The ttudnnthad paused, with folded arms, 
 and his dark eye fixed full upon her. One 
 glance at that open brow, one look at that 
 truthful face, one long, deep gaze into those 
 proud orbs, and the orphan girl sprang to 
 ward Vernon. 
 
 1 Forgive, Henry, forgive me, if ever you 
 loved me if you still can love the wretched 
 girl who has dared, in her thoughts, to do you 
 such foul wrong. By my mother s sainted 
 soul I do believe you/ 
 
 Love s pardon i granted from the lips it 
 was granted now. The head sank confiding 
 ly once more upon the shoulder that BO often 
 had pillowed it, while a soft voice slowly mur 
 mured, 
 
 4 What a wretch was I to doubt you ! 
 * No, no, dear Ellen ; it was but proof o . 
 stainless innocence ; I love you, honor you, 
 yet the morf for it. Believe me, dear gir , 
 believe me, it was concern for you alone, ap 
 prehension lest the secret of your true char 
 acter shonld be discovered, that actuated me, 
 when, in the excitement of my own recogni 
 tion of you, in my wild terror at your swoon, 
 I bore you :o the only retreat known to me, 
 my own state room where you could be 
 secure from vulgar curiosity or idle observa 
 tion. 
 
 Ah, how could I doubt your generous na 
 ture ? 
 
 1 One word more it was imprudent in 
 me ; I should have thought of your maiden 
 modesty, I should have been less precipitate. 
 I should, at least, then, have saved myself 
 from such bitter retlections on my mistaken 
 motives; bitter, O how bitter! delicately, in 
 genuously as they were framed. But say no 
 more of this ; it ia forgotten, dearest. / 
 
 1 Forgotten, lot it be. It was tho wild 
 excitement, the delirium of tho moment, of 
 oil 1 had gone through, that conjured up that 
 senseless fancy in thin heated brain. Hut, dear 
 Henry, eho added, and hesitated, while tho 
 deep blushes again suffused her lovely face, 
 I cannot remain here. 
 
 1 You must not ! I will procure another for 
 your use ; or stay ! I will nurrcrder this -to 
 your sole privacy, while I find other quarters 
 for myself. 
 
 No, Henry ; I am myself entitled to a 
 berth on board this ship ; I, too, have paid 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 47 
 
 my passage to fatal California. But I had 
 forgotten that you know nothing of this. 
 
 Henry Vernon was indeed ignorant of all 
 at least, he knew nothing save by surmise: 
 and it was with gladness- that he now saw her 
 at length sufficiently calm and composed to 
 explain that which still perplexed and puz 
 zled him. 
 
 She did so briefly and clearly. 
 
 On the night when Vernon and Lincoln 
 had announced their intention of seeking, to 
 gether, the shores of California, the shocked 
 and startled sister formed the determination 
 of accompanying them. 
 
 This was her resolution, actually, though 
 suddenly conceived ; but how to bring it to 
 execution was the difficulty. It was evident 
 to the resolute girl, that if she sought success 
 in her scheme, she must contrive to prevent 
 any discovery of her presence on board by 
 Eugene and his companion ; at least until the 
 ship hud sailed ; for she was well assured, 
 that once at sea, it would be impossible to re 
 turn ; and her grand object was, therefore, to 
 conceal her identity until all danger of dis 
 covery should be past. 
 
 At length she hit upon a plan. She would 
 assume the dress and manners of a boy, and 
 ascertaining the ship in which they were to 
 sail, in this disguise take passage in her. Her 
 brother s liberality had provided her with the 
 pecuniary means necessary to the plan s ex 
 ecution. 
 
 The three hundred dollars of the provision 
 made for her, she contracted for her passage 
 with, in the character of a boy. But that the 
 worthy dame, her kind guardian, mit;ht not 
 be distressed and terrified by her sudden dis 
 appearance, before going on board, she put 
 in the post office a letter, fully explaining all 
 the reasons for the strange proceedings and 
 stating that, once at sea, she should he under 
 her kind brother s protection, and free from 
 danger. 
 
 The rest, Ellen s auditor already knew ; 
 the embarkation, the interruption, the arrest 
 
 of the devoted young man, the separation of 
 brother and sister ; these he had been, like 
 the reader, a witness to. 
 
 Both the young girl and her sole remaining 
 protector, were deeply affected in recurring 
 to that thrilling reminiscence, though Henry 
 did his best to comfort the sweet girl, assur 
 ing her that it would all turn out for the best : 
 for a beneficent Providence never deserted 
 afilictcd innocence. 
 
 Ellen seemed to derive consolation from the 
 same heavenly source, bearing up against her 
 
 Several days had elapsed. The good ship 
 was already far upon her voyage. Hundreds 
 of leagues had been passed ; the vessel was a 
 rapid sailer. Ellen Lincoln, still retaining 
 her boy s disguise, was little seen at first, but 
 then it was always in Henry s company, and 
 always productive of interest among the pas 
 sengers, whose attention had been so pecu 
 liarly drawn toward ihe supposed youth and 
 his misfortune. 
 
 This reserve by drgrees wore off, and ero 
 maiy days, she was almost constant in her 
 daily appearance upon deck, the watchful 
 Henry ever by her side, to guard her from 
 all danger that a lover s ready concern oould 
 apprehend. 
 
 It was a clear and beautiful evening, save 
 that the winter air was keen and cold, and the 
 sun was selling in the de^p, dark ocean to 
 the westward, where no sign of land was visi 
 ble to bound the watery horizon. The pas 
 sengers, ail save Henry and Ellen, had, ap 
 parently, just descended to the supper-tuble 
 in the grand cabin, and BC the two latter, at 
 tracted by ihe beauty and grandeur of the 
 scene, lingered by the compuny-way, re 
 luctant to tear themselves from the enjoy 
 ment of so fine a prospect, a sudden and un 
 expected incident took place. 
 
 That which first caught their attention was 
 the sound of a shambling and unsteady step 
 
48 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 slowly ascending. It seemed to come from 
 the steerage, and it was but a moment ere 
 they beheld, on turning thoir looks thilher, a 
 person emerge from the hatchway of the 
 second class cabin, nnd stagger along with 
 that peculiar wavering gait and scorning 
 looseness of the limbs, which characterise the 
 human system when under the influence of 
 that notorious, but not favorably- known, dis 
 ease, sea-sickness, 
 
 The comparatively deserted state of tho 
 decks caused their observation to revert to 
 that which otherwise would have passed un 
 noticed ; and when the steerage passenger 
 appeared, confining himself, however to that 
 portion of the vessel assigned to his class, his 
 peculiar aspect was well calculated to fix tho 
 curious eye. 
 
 Nevertheless, it was but on old man un 
 old man, simply ; Ina white hairs flouting in 
 long, spare locks from a partially bald fore 
 head ; his body so distorted by tho weight of 
 years, apparently, that tho curved back as 
 sumed almost tho shapeless hunch of defor 
 mity, and gave him the appearance of walk- 
 ing doublo ; imparting thus an air of dccrepi 
 tude, greater, probably than was tho case, but 
 in nowise diminished by the peculiar carriage 
 of the head, which, thrust unnaturally for 
 
 ward, and resting on his stooping chest, into 
 prominent relief threw his protuberant chin, 
 well nigh meeting the sharp, thin nose, be 
 tween which the skinny and shrivelled lips 
 lost themselves, and their toothless gums. 
 But the chief and most expressive feature was 
 tho eye ; it was small, sunken, but piercing 
 as that of a serpent and full of shrewdness 
 and cunning ; though there was also a certain 
 wildness in it, which was difficult to define 
 at first. 
 
 Slowly hobbling along, evidently overcome 
 by tho] nausea of sea-sickness, this grotesque 
 portrait shufllud to the bulwark of the steerage 
 and leaning over tho side for air, his withered 
 fr.co turrned more fully toward ,hu two young 
 passengers above. 
 
 Shuddering, she scarce knew why, Ellen 
 whispered : 
 
 4 Lot us go let us go ! I like not that old 
 man s looks. 
 
 Hut almost at the same instant ho felt the 
 young man beside her violently start, in a 
 tofio bordering on horror, ejaculating : 
 
 4 It is it is ! Jn/iii Vcrnun a passenger 
 in this ship! , 
 
 The old man raised his head and tho eyes 
 of both met. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 40 
 
 The Voyage of the Gold Hunters The 
 Monomt iiitlt s History The old Miser s 
 Scheme. 
 
 OR the moment all 
 was still, all was silence 
 unbroken. The two 
 stood, epcll-bound.ga/.- 
 ing at each other, 
 Henry, thunderstruck 
 by the discovery. 
 
 4 Tis he tis he John Vernon ! and my 
 mother s presentiments, my own suspicions, 
 were correct ! Henry found voice, nt length, 
 to exclaim. 
 
 Hut thn old man had disappeared ! 
 The lips of Ellen repeated the name, 
 John Vernon, John Vernon! Ha! wns 
 not Out the name of the creditor who caused 
 Eugene s arrest? was not that tho name pro 
 nounced by the officer? 
 
 Slightly started the stuocnt as he answer- 
 ed,- 
 
 It was ! it was ! and my uncle was that 
 man. 
 
 Your u-.cle ? 
 
 4 My uncle, Ellen. Yonder old man stands 
 in that light to me but, I had forgotten, ho 
 is gone. 
 
 4 He a relative of yours, Henry ? lie, tho 
 unfeeling person through whose agency my 
 brother was ruthlessly torn from me ! Vernon 
 Vernou ! aha ! I ace now ; it must be so ; 
 
 this is your family name ! breathlessly ex- 
 cla.med the young girl, all astonishment at 
 what she had seen and heard. 
 
 And accursed bo the relationship, m ut . 
 thered the youth, in a suppressed tone. 
 
 4 You love him not, then ; you love not your 
 kinsman ? was tin gi.I s eager demand ; O 
 say ! why did he thus persecute my unfortu- 
 natc brother ? 
 
 As Heaven is above me, I know not ! 
 was the impressive reply ; I know not, I 
 say, and yet it is not difficult to guess. As a 
 m.sorly man, John Vernon has ever been well 
 known it is not wonderful that he should 
 pursue a luckless debtor to the last. 
 
 4 His debtor! Eugene a debtor of his? My 
 brother was no man s debtor, replied Ellen, 
 quickly. 
 
 4 Are you sure of this? 
 
 Perfectly, Henry ! Solemnly he assured 
 me, when he BO amply provided for my wel- 
 fare, that I need not scruple to accept all, for 
 he had still retained sufficient to equip him 
 for his destined voyage, and owed not a dol 
 lar in tho world that ihis was all that he 
 cared for. 
 
 4 Still, said Vernon, doubtfully, 4 it was for 
 debt ho was arrested. 
 
 4 It was and this it is that, now I reflect 
 on it, most surprises me ! But I am confident 
 Eugeneicould not have been mistaken. 
 
 Some trivial obligation he might have for 
 gotten, suggested Henry. 
 
 4 No, no; ho was ever itrict in such mat- 
 ters. Nay, more ; he never contracted even 
 
r,o 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 the smallest liabilities ; his meagre salary was 
 made to suffice fur all. This I have often 
 heard him declare. 
 
 1 Indeed I 1 uttered Vernon, thoughtfully, for 
 ho wan daggered, 
 
 Then there must have been some othor 
 motive at work ! What else could it bo, 
 pursued the student, reflectingly, If, as you 
 nsHcrt, no debt really exists, then it could not 
 be to a creditor s avarice, merely that the 
 arrest was owing. A-d besides, now I think 
 of it, what possible indebtedness could the 
 poor merchant s clerk have incurred to such 
 a mun us my uncle ? One thing, therefore, 
 is plain 
 
 And that is ventured the anxious 
 Ellen 
 
 That the alleged debt was nothing but a 
 fiction. 
 
 A fiction but the purpose what conld 
 bo the purpose ? 
 
 * Of that I am ignorant, Ellen, save that it 
 might bo a device to detain your brother. 
 Indeed that is the only light in which I can 
 look at the matter now ; as a sheer fabrica 
 tion originating from malicious motives. 
 
 In fresh surprise, Ellen asked, 
 But, IIenry,what connexion could exist 
 between your uncle and Eugene ? I never 
 knew that ho was acquainted with any mem- 
 ber of your family beside yourself. 
 
 * To my certain knowledge ho was not, re 
 plied Vernon with deep deliberation, while 
 his brow contracted slightly, as conflicting 
 conclusions seemed to agitato his thoughts, 
 1 I/iHtun to mo, Ellen I The more 1 reflect, 
 thu more am 1 satisfied, that but one possible 
 way is there to account for the course so sin 
 gularly taken by my kinsman I have reasons 
 of my own Ellen/ continued the young men, 
 in a moaning tone, * for believing thia.rclative 
 of mine to bo no friend to mo or my^velfuro ; 
 and cause to four, also, that If, by subtle con* 
 trivanoe, I cnn be at uny time removed from 
 his way, the cunning attempt will not fail of 
 being made. Nuy, di not yet interrupt me I 
 
 the suspicion that has occurred to me is 
 thin, 
 
 And the speaker s voice became a whisper 
 as hn nddeit, 
 
 * IJy some unknown means my uncle might 
 hnvu ascertained that n bosom friend, nnd 
 that friend your brother, was to accompany 
 me. And, knowing this, if, as I strongly sus 
 pect, his designs against my t>afcty are to bo 
 put in execution dnring this voyage -would 
 not his crafty mind first Ruggost to him the 
 expediency of removing from his nephew * 
 presence and his nephew s side, one whose 
 friendly bund and friendly aid* would ever be 
 near to pro;cct nnd defend the destined vic 
 tim. Thus, thus only, can I explain it ; this 
 was the first precaution to bo taken, nnd thus 
 to the fu:t of being my friend, Eugene owes 
 his arrest. 
 
 EHen, lost in wonder, was a moment silent, 
 then .-aid, with a shudder, 
 
 Dread Man! And this, then, was but a 
 malicious prosecution a stratagem to xeparato 
 you from a friend, who might interfere with 
 his dark purposes. And this, Henry, fruin 
 an uncle. 
 
 Yes, Ellen, this from an uncle this and 
 more ! Think not that I have judged him 
 harshly for to you, alone, have I ever, us 
 yet, breathed it the first attempt has been 
 made. 
 
 * What ! hero on board ? in quick alarm 
 inquired Ellcti. 
 
 No, not in this ship, thank God, but on 
 the distant shores we have left behind. It was 
 in lioston, Ellen. Enough that by a hired 
 villein of this same uncle I was beset, not 
 one week ere this ship and I quitted the city. 
 They sought to implicate me in a street fight 
 that, in the brawl, I might seem to have per 
 ished by the reckless hand of some maddened 
 rioter, instead of receiving my death-blow by 
 deliberate deVign. Dim re at Ellen, yournoblo 
 brother, by chance prevented the complete 
 success of this I ellish plan for my secret as- 
 BU">ination ; and, defeated in this, by] my 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 uncle s bribed mercenary, I was subsequent 
 ly wa) laid, and my life attempted by an open 
 murderer s hand. It was alone in tho grounds 
 of Harvard University, at night after twelve 
 o clock in defending myself, I turned his 
 own weapon upon him, in wresting it from his 
 iron gra?p ; by accident it was discharged, 
 and I unwittingly became his executioner. 
 
 1 His executioner, iterated the appalled 
 girl. . 
 
 Hush ! speak lower even so. But heed 
 me well. Now murk what followed. 
 
 And still closer to her side he drew, und 
 more warily still sunk the deep, low voice, as 
 he spoke to her then of that to which the 
 reader is as yet a stranger. 
 
 4 Hist! no cur must hear me, save your 
 own. The murderous attempt was defeated, 
 the assassin slr.in, yet all danger was not gone 
 one greater, more forbidding than all the 
 rest, remained : I had killed a fellow being. 
 There were no witnesses of the man s pre 
 vious attack upon my life, no proof that he 
 was tn assassin ; the law might regard me as 
 his murderer; nay, it would, were his death 
 by my hand known I 
 
 4 One thing admitted of no doubt ; I must 
 conceal the body, and with it the deed for 
 ever. But what course could I take, even 
 in this? To drag the corpse to some place 
 of concealment, would involve me in immi 
 nent danger of discovery. To leave it thus 
 exposed was greater peril still. The chances 
 of reaching some secure hiding-place, were 
 as one to ten against it. I was filled with de 
 spair, with utter despondency, when Heaven 
 itself seemed to come to my aid. 
 How, Henry, how ? 
 A snow-storm had commenced 1 ! hailed 
 it as a harbinger. Gladly, exultingly.I watch 
 ed the very snow flakes as they fell ! Down, 
 down they came, thick and fast in one cease 
 less shower of sparkling atoms, as if the skies 
 were raining pearls ; and priceless, as a gem 
 in truth seemed then each falling snow drop 
 for how could I well be blind to the possible 
 
 consequences ? I was not deceived ; in one 
 hour the snow was a foot deep : nd long ere 
 tho earliest riser in the city had stirred abroad, 
 it lay, to twice that depth, above the breast of 
 the dead man ! 
 
 Wonderful Providence ! ejaculated his 
 sole auditor. 
 
 * Wonderful, indeed for quickly I saw, 
 that beneath that covering the dead budy could 
 lay undiscovered, so long as that covering re 
 mained. The corpse was completely hidden 
 from view, the storm vvus the heaviest of the 
 winter, tho weather each hour acquiring a 
 colder temperature, and tho snow was on the 
 increase. 1 fell that, for the timo hc ing, I wus 
 sale, and thus assured, I hastened away. Tlio 
 
 next night I returned to the spot 
 
 1 Returned ! echoed the eager listener. 
 * Yes, dearest, I returned, at midnight, to 
 examine for myself. The rf suit was all that 
 could wish. The snow luy in heavy drifts 
 over the hidden corpse, arid, since the pre 
 ceding night, had slightly hardened. Deter 
 mined to inspect the appearance of the body, 
 with my hands I dug aside the snow, and 
 when the object I sought lay exposed to view 
 once more, I at once perceived that its strange 
 immersion had not only had the eflVct of pre 
 serving the lifeless remains, but had caused 
 the blood to congeal, and the wounds to close 
 and cicatrize, so as nearly to destroy all ap 
 pearance of a sanguinary death. It was the 
 result of excessive cold and seclusion from 
 the air ; I could easily account fur tho phe 
 nomenon on philosophic principles. 
 
 At this juncture the narrator paused an in 
 stant, but only to resume again, 
 
 1 Cautiously I covered up once more tho 
 body, replacing the snow I had removed, but 
 before I did so, I was destined to make one 
 more discovery. In the waistcoat-pocket of 
 the dead man, I accidentally found a slip of 
 paper, on which, drawn up in the form of a 
 contract, was an agreement with John Vernon 
 in substance amounting to this, that for a 
 certain service at date performed, the bearer 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 houlJ bo entitled to five hundred dollars, or 
 to uoh a HIIIP oi should be found sufficient 
 to defray tho expense* of an ouilU oud voyugn 
 to California. 
 
 Ha ! was this the bribe ? 
 
 This was the bribe ! replied Vcrnon, to 
 her abrupt question. Struck by this singular 
 condition, at) the price of such an act, I ex 
 amined more closely the person of iho dead 
 man 
 
 Well, Henry, the result? 1 ragerly inter 
 rupted Ellen, 
 
 lie did not ncom, by that s irvey, to bo a 
 common ruffian ; on the contrary, his appear 
 ance WUH nut that of a hnrdoncd desperado : 
 I called to in iid tho UUvkillfulnOM of the at 
 tempted UHsussiniuioM, which I hud NO easily 
 biilllinl ; uin.1 now 1 remember, also, tlutt thu 
 dying Hlon i COttfowloitj broken though it wiw, 
 \viis couched in better language thun was nu- 
 turul to a mere ruffian, and with till those 
 things before my eyes, 1 could not but con 
 ceive tho case of some weak mnn who, bereft 
 of judgment mid reason by iho daixiing prot* 
 poet of tho gulden tre.nwnrrs which huvo PC* 
 half tho world delirioun, in nn evil hour was 
 tempted to Inward tho Arnt grnnt crimo of 
 vacillating honesty, and madly neck, through 
 human blood, to win tho goal. 
 
 4 Fearful, how fearful, then,* uttered Ellen, 
 1 ID tho double responsibility that resin upon 
 your undo ! 
 
 1 True, true ; such, tco, bus been my own 
 thought. In iho meantime, (ill my arrange* 
 incut* for immediate departure hud been per 
 fected : for, notwithstanding fortune thus fa 
 vored me, 1 was wc.l aware thut the first 
 disappearance of tho snow would revoal its 
 secret, and 1 knew,that no timo wus to bo 
 lost ; flight was my only surety for safety, und 
 all wan prepared to- 
 
 4 Embark for California wan it not no ? 
 
 It watt, Kllcn, you now know tho truo rea 
 son of the step 1 have tukcn, and you alone; 
 to you, as tho sister of him who, in the first 
 instance saved me from my uncle d malignity, 
 
 this explanation was due, more than to all 
 other*, snvo Eugene himself. Will you be* 
 lieve it, dear girl? when on tho wharf I 
 heard those ominous words of the officer,- 
 In the name of the law 1 at once, across my 
 mind flashed tho terrible suspicion that it wns 
 mynelf tho. police had come to arrest, and for 
 the murder of the rioter, by some means dis- 
 covered. 
 
 I saw you start ; I noticed your agitation, 
 as I stood near you, the supposed boy who 
 lingered at your side. 
 
 1 Indeed 1 1 know not that it was so marked 
 Heaven pardon John Vernon for the misery 
 ho has caused. 
 
 * Heaven pardon h ur, indeed ! So cruel ! 
 no rduntloMNl HO wicked I and yet, so ogcd 
 and venerable I* 
 
 And for u Nocond timo oho shuddered nt iho 
 thought of him. 
 
 Vernon groaned bitterly, as he echoed her 
 fervent adjuration, and tho dark flush of 
 anger rose fiercely to his cheek, but he immo. 
 ditttoly oltocked tho Irritating thought, ero ut- 
 torod, Haying, 
 
 1 No, no ; I will not curnohirni ho 5* my 
 father b brother, and more than th s, I mut 
 not forget that he is 
 
 4 What, Harry, what? why do you pause ? 
 demanded Kllen, quickly, 
 
 4 Deranged ; thai ho in dcrangml, nt k OHf, 
 in 11 mouHuro MO, 
 
 Deranged ! that will account for thnt 
 Rtrungo wildncHH in bin eye. 1 half sunpectpd 
 it; and, indeed, indeed, it muut boxol ex- 
 cluimod tho ingcnuoun creature, for never, 
 in his riyht senses, could one so old, BO near 
 tho grave, be guilty of such wickedness. 
 
 4 In one scnso you nro right. Deranged in 
 mind ho is, but only HO in ono particular way, 
 where avarice, cupidity, covetonNWN, IN 
 concerned. In every oilier light IIO H rational. * 
 In thin, ho is little short of a mudmnn. Still 
 ho in not innuno, otrictly ppeaking. 
 
 4 1 understand n miser s monomania, naid 
 Ellen. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 53 
 
 4 Right, dearest, right ! To prove it, I will 
 give you, in a few words, that old man s his 
 tory. ASQ boy he was penurious and grasp 
 ing ; as a man he is the veiy incarnation of 
 avarice. A greater miser than John Vcrnon 
 never lived, though everywhere you may find 
 his like. His whole existence, his youth, his 
 manhood, his married life, all are so many 
 evidences of it 
 
 His married life ? 
 
 You look surprised, yes, he once was 
 married, miser as he is. But not from love, 
 Ono; gold, gold, gold, has ever been his 
 only love. Avarice it was in this, as in every 
 jhing else that prompted him. lie married a 
 fortune no other consideration would ever 
 have induced a man like him to burden him 
 self with the expenses of a family. His young 
 and handsome wife 
 
 * Young and handsome, rich and Beautiful, 
 interposed Kllen, und yet throw herselfaway 
 upon a sordid husband V 
 
 * It was, alas, one of thoso mercenary 
 matches so frequent among the richer class 
 of society, mercenary, not in her, but in the 
 heartless parents who drove their daughter to 
 the step that ruined her happiness ; for John 
 Vernon, though notoriously a penurious and 
 covetous man, was known, as well, to be the 
 possessor of great wealth, greater even, it is 
 supposed, than that of his brother, my own 
 father. Yet, as if a judgment upon them for 
 their cruelty, all their selfish expectations ol 
 benefit from the alliance, were doomed to 
 disappointment. 
 
 * John Vernon, by constant importunity 
 and menaces, gradually induced his too yield 
 ing wife to sign away, piecemeal, her rights, 
 to property after property, till all was at his 
 own control ; and then, when she no longer 
 had legal command of any part of her dowry, 
 he suddenly threw off the mask, and the 
 miser stood forth revealed in his most repul 
 sive colors. From a splendid home he re 
 moved her to a comparative hovel, curtailed 
 almost every expense, and denied her the 
 
 very necessities of life! Nay, more; he 
 doomed her to the veriest drudgery yes, 
 compelled her, the child of luxury and afflu 
 ence, to perform the most degrading offices ; 
 he made her his slave. 
 
 Ilorr.ble! exclaimed Ellen. 
 Horrible, indeed ; her s from tliatdny wag 
 the life of a miser s wife. Food and clothes 
 save in the scantiest, most beggarly pittances 
 were refused to the wretched wife and to her 
 suffering children, for two poor innocents had 
 the misfortune to call John Vernon father. 
 For years she struggled on, patiently, resign 
 edly, uucomplainingly, but when she saw her 
 children growing up, without society, without 
 the commonest advantages of education, 
 doomed to poverty in the midst of their fa 
 ther s hoarded gains, she could endure no 
 longer: and, after vain and long remon 
 strances, a mother s harrowed feeling forced 
 her to that final ste;) which a wife s duty had 
 so long restrained her from. 
 
 1 With her two children, that wife and mo 
 ther fled from the unfeeling father! Whither 
 she had gone he know not, he only knew that 
 in flight she sought rofuge. Long he sought 
 hut found no trace of her or of her children. 
 For months she evaded all search, supporting 
 herself and them, in the meantime, by her 
 own industry. But the heartless miser had 
 found her necessary to his comfort ; he miss- 
 ed his hapless drudge ; he determined to re 
 cover her, if possible. 
 
 At the end of a twelvemonth, however, 
 he succeeded, at length, in discovering hi* 
 
 wife 
 
 Discovered her ! with a thrill of alarm 
 iterated Ellen. 
 
 * Found and took her, with her poor, help* 
 less, children, back from their humble but 
 peaceful life, to his hovel he removed them. 
 The same menial duties, the same brggar s 
 fare, the same bitter cup of misery and deg 
 radation, once more were her s; and now, as 
 if to heap up the measure of her woe, he 
 would have bound her young children to th 
 
KIT CARSON, , 
 
 lowest occupations, to swell an unnatural 
 parent 1 ! hoarded wealth, A despairing re 
 signation to her lot, had come gradually over 
 Itor i but iliin once, a rm thor s npprehcnNionH 
 and a mother s energies, Slio watched her 
 opportunity and escaped * 
 
 Again escaped ! thank God ! uttered tho 
 girl, fervently. 
 
 You have not heard all. This time tho 
 fugitives eluded their pursuer, completely, 
 Their former plnco of refugo hntl evidently 
 boon exchanged fur name now nnd more M> 
 cure retreat and in vuin did ho visit the first, 
 in vain did ho seek for tho faintest sign of the 
 last. 
 
 1 Heaven bo praised for that !* exclaimed 
 Ellen, 
 
 Years paused on, and still their second 
 hiding plnco was as fur from discovery an 
 over, Six of those ^oars hnd elapsed, and 
 nearly all hope of detecting h*>r concealment 
 had been surrendered, even by tho miser ; 
 when, one day, by mere accident, his fugitive 
 wifo ho unexpectedly mot, fuco to face, in the 
 great city ! 
 
 1 How horrible how unfortunate I 1 ejacu 
 lated tho listener. 
 
 4 She would have fled in horror from tho 
 wretch s presence, but the stern husband 
 summoned to his aid the strong arm of the 
 law, to compel her to return to his hateful 
 home. But though once more in his dread 
 ed power, tho noble mother resolutely refused 
 to reveal the retreat of her children, who still 
 remained concealed. He had treated her with 
 brutality and heartlessness before, but now 
 she had to endure tho most galling tyranny 
 and cruelty that vengeful malignity could in 
 flict; yet nothing could force her to betray 
 the secret so vital to her chi dren s welfare. 
 He daily increased tho rigor of his treatment 
 He confined her to her chamber, denied her 
 food, save barely sufficient to sustain life, and 
 with every imaginable hardship brought to 
 ocar upon his infernal scheme, sought literally 
 to starve her to his purpose. But little knew 
 
 the stony-hearted miser the strength and 
 power of a mother s devotion to her off- 
 spring; maternal resolution hasted even when 
 reason full for fall it did, at length, beneath 
 her maddening lujsi-rios, and tho persecuted 
 wife of John Vcrnon became a maniac; 1 
 
 A maniac 10 God 1 
 
 4 A rnging maniac sho*bocamo ; but with in 
 sanity s wild delirium came also the strange 
 strength and cunning ^o! madness, so pecu 
 liarly its own, Yet her violence seemed di 
 rected rather against herself than ngninst 
 others ; a settled resolution to work her self- 
 destruction. One fatal night, when her miser 
 husband, now horror struck at tho fearful re 
 sult of his fiendish persecution, hud visited 
 her in her confinement, aho sei/cd tho oppor 
 tunity to procipitato honalfupon him, nnd by 
 menus of insanity * mysterious power, hurling 
 him, like an infant, from hor way, tho mud 
 woman rushed from tho house, leaving him 
 proHlrato behind her flying foot, and then, 
 then 
 
 1 What then, Henry ? What new horror ? 
 speak ! 
 
 The escaped maniac fled, whilo tho now 
 appalled miser followed fast upon her heels, 
 straining each nerve and sinew to overtake tho 
 fugitive. 
 
 1 On, on ! tho flying form had gained 
 Charleston Bridge ; the husband pressed for 
 ward, through the silent city, for it was dark 
 nigtt, to overtake those swiftly-speeding steps 
 but there upon tho bridge they paused, and 
 tho maniac was seen to spring high upon a 
 towering buttress of tho grand old pile that 
 spanned the river beneath. She turned, a 
 cry of terrible anticipation, a phrensied shout 
 to desist, broke from the miser s lips. She 
 turned and waved her hand in maniac mock 
 ery ; there was one glimpse of floating dra 
 pery, one glimpse of a leaping form, then the 
 vanishing of both, and then, ah then, the sul 
 len plash of waters far below 1 
 
 4 At that very moment, at the very instant 
 of the fatal leap, the panting pursuer gained 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 65 
 
 the parapet, to fine it vacant. One pause of 
 thrilling horror, one convulsive gasp for hi? 
 breath, and he dashed from the buttress and 
 the bridge, and descending the latter, by one 
 rapid succession of lion-like leaps he gained 
 the river side below a dread, a horrid scene 
 before him. 
 
 There, beneath the spreading arch of old 
 Charlestown Bridge, within Us dark shadows, 
 terror-stricken he saw the body of his maniac 
 wife, a corpse already 
 
 4 He was not the sole spectator, for on the 
 hushed deck of an adjoining river craft, close 
 in shore, not five yards from the wave-drifting 
 corpse, the light from his lantern in its wild 
 glare illuminating the ghastly profile of the 
 up-turned face, stood, in his heavy seaman s 
 night cloak, the dark figure of the solitary 
 watch of the apchored bark, transfixed by so 
 frightful a spectacle in the very attitude of 
 discovery ; while over the startling scene, 
 
 [Sec Engraving.] 
 
 over the floating corpse of the drowned wo- 
 man, over the horrified and convulsed limbs 
 of the suicide s husband upon tho shore, the 
 light from the vessel shone dazzlingly ; it was 
 too late in self-destruction the maniac wife 
 had found refuge from her horrible suffer 
 ings 
 
 * No more, Henry! 1 exclaimed Ellen ; I 
 can bear no more. 
 
 4 Little more is known 1 Such was the fute 
 of John Vernon s wife ; such the consequen 
 ces of a mercenary marriage. ^For a while, 
 even his callous heart was startled from its 
 sordid infatuation ; but the ruling passion wad 
 not even thus to be conquered, nnd he is the 
 same covetous slave of avarice, the same re 
 lentless miser that he ever was yet, fiend as 
 \\Q appears, I religiously believe he s as much 
 to.be pitied as execrated ; it is a species of 
 fearful madness that rcsistlessly impels him 
 onward to the continual gratification of the 
 demon of cupidity h is incurable. 
 Dreadful vice, dreadful passion. But the 
 
 children, Henry what became of the poor 
 children ? 
 
 4 Nothing is known of them. 
 Nothing, Henry? 
 
 Nothing ! But it is probable that the ill. 
 fated mother left them in a place of security. 
 This is inferred from her long and determin 
 ed silence with regard to them. The positive 
 fate of my poor cousins, however, is left in as 
 much mystery as that which shrouds a bro 
 ther s in rny own family. 
 
 4 How ! have you a brother ? 
 Could my father have withheld the know 
 ledge from me, T should never Imvo been 
 aware of a fact which, for some mysterious 
 reasons, he has ever shown the most inexpli 
 cable desire to keep a secret from me and 
 every one else, PS if there were some dreadful 
 necessity for it. 
 
 The young girl looked with anxious inte 
 rest up into his face, as she said, My dear 
 Henry, this is news to your Ellen. 
 
 It is it was so to your brother before 
 you ; nor should I now have spoken of it, 
 but that circun^tances I need not mention, 
 have induced my father to place in me at last, 
 that confidence he has so long and so myste 
 riously withhold ; though with the singular 
 condition that the written revelation ho has 
 given me shall not be opened or its content 
 examined, till I shall have been ten days i\t 
 sea. Nine of the ten 
 
 Have already elapsed, suggested his com 
 panion. 
 
 You are right, Ellen ; to-morrow I shall 
 be at liberty to break the seal of the packet 
 entrusted to my care. But comt?, in the tx- 
 citernent of this night s discovery, we have 
 forgotten the lapse of time. To supper now ; 
 on the morrow 1 will seek a meeting with this 
 uncle, whom I unexpectedly find the com 
 panion of oui voyage : Heavens ! that his nig 
 gard parsimony should have voluntarily de 
 graded my father s brother to the rank of a 
 steerage passenger. But wo must hasten, 
 dear Ellen, or the tea table will be deserted. 
 
THE MISER, 
 
 JOHN VERNON, 
 
 ".i t 
 
 f; - DISCOVERING THE SUICIDE OF HIS 
 
 WIFE, 
 
 WHO I! A t , F, O II Y K A R 8 
 
 Eluded his Pursuit. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 r>7 
 
 See! the passei.gers are already returning 
 to the deck. 
 
 Arm in arm the handsome young student 
 and the coming boy descended to the cabin 
 to partnko of the meal from which their unex 
 pected encounter with the miser had BO long 
 detained them. 
 
 Scarcely had they disappeared below the 
 compariionway, when, slowly, rising up from 
 beneath the shadows of the steerage bulwarks, 
 under whose dark concealment he had slunk 
 at the outsot, unnoticed, the ungainly and 
 time warped form of John Vernon hobbled 
 again into the light! , 
 
 1 Ha ! ha ! laughed the eaves-dropper. 
 4 The fools ! to think the old man heard them 
 not! hoard all! So ho! to-morrow the 
 packet is to be opened, the secret revealed T 
 Of that packet John Vernon must gain pos 
 session ! it must not, it shall not be read ! 
 To-night it must be done, if at all. The 
 miser will yet outwit them ! outwit them all, 
 he! lie! 1 
 
 ra. 
 
 The Portrait of Kit Carson The Eve of 
 the Truth Day out The Theft of the 
 Secret Packet. 
 
 4 What deed of darkness wild is this? 
 Ah 1 more, 1 fear, of woe than bliss. 
 
 SHELLEY. 
 
 OMMENCED, already, 
 was the night of the 
 4 good ship s ninth dny at 
 . sea. The short, heavy 
 swells of the Gulf stream 
 t- were rocking to sleep, 
 in their berths below, 
 the host of passengers. 
 
 Among the last to retire to their respective 
 state-rooms, were the young collegian and 
 his supposed stripling friend, our heroine; 
 but at length even the latest lingerer had de 
 scended to his rest, and the dusky forms of 
 
 the helmsman and the night-watch, remained 
 the deck s exclusive tenants. 
 
 But to a late hour in his solitary state-room 
 sat he who claims the rank of hero in this 
 true narrative. Upon the table before him, a 
 scaled and wafered parcel lay. It was the 
 packet regarded with such natural interest by 
 Henry Vernon. 
 
 Attentively ho had been viewing it for some 
 time, and more than once had he taken it in 
 his hand and half resolved to break open the 
 seal. 
 
 What difference could it possibly make 
 whether he was made acquainted, one day 
 soorrer or later*, with its contents ? repeatedly 
 he asked himself, as he recalled with impa 
 tience the stipulation that ten days must elapse 
 subsequent to departure ere its secrecy was to 
 be invaded. 
 
 While thus he gazed upon it with tantaliz 
 ing sensations, the packet became acciden 
 tally crushed between his nervous fingers, and 
 as he held the crumpled paper up to the light, 
 his eye was involuntarily caught by a small 
 portion of the hidden writing under the parch 
 ment envelope ; but before his glance could 
 take in its meaning, some hard, square object 
 within seemed to dislodge itself from its pre 
 vious confinement and slipped down over the 
 hulf legible words, covering and rendering 
 them unintelligible. 
 
 In trying to displace tlrs obstacle to their 
 perusal, Henry slightly shook the packet, in 
 doing which the enclosure in quc&tion, by the 
 force of its own gravity, rent the envelope, 
 and fully separating itself, fell upon the 
 table. 
 
 It was a smnll painting, executed evidently 
 by an amateur s hand, but skillfully represent 
 ing, in the foreground, a man on horseback, 
 in the dress of a western hunter, equipped 
 like a trapper of the prairies ; his tall and 
 strongly knit frame drawn up, erect and lithe 
 as the pine tree of his own forests; his broad, 
 sun-burnt face developing a countenance, on 
 which a life of danger and hardship had set 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 its weather-bcatan seal, and placed in boldest 
 relief the unerring signs of a nature which 
 for reckless daring and most indomitable 
 hardihood, could know scarce a human su 
 perior. 
 
 Far in tho background of the painting, roll 
 ed the waving grass of a boundless pruirio ; 
 amid iho silent wilderness of which, towered 
 the noble figure of the hunter-horseman, half 
 Indian, half whiteman in appearance, with 
 rifle, horse and dog for his sole companions, 
 in all thnt dreary waste ; though to tho right 
 a yelling pack of wolves were seen upon his 
 track, and on his left the thick, bluck smoke, 
 in curling wreaths, proclaimed the pruirio 
 fire, whilu in the clear, gray eye that looked 
 from the thrilling picture forth, there seemed 
 to glance a look ot proud indifference to nil, 
 and the conscious confidence of ennobling 
 self reliance ! 
 
 And while, in enraptured admiration over 
 that spirit stirring picture of manly daring, 
 young Vernon gazed, ho saw, with a thrill or 
 enthusiasm, tho title tho painting bore, 
 
 KIT CARSON, 
 The Pride of the Prairie. 
 
 And still, beneath tho inscription that gavo 
 to it a name, he saw added, <hese words ; in 
 his father s well known hand, 
 
 4 The only living man to whom Henry Ver 
 non ranrvcr look for thc.jinalkty to the $e- 
 ent of which thin packet i a e/ue. 
 The painting full from tho astonished youth s 
 hands. Spellbound and speechless he stood 
 and glared on it, 
 
 1 Kit Carson 1 Kit Carson ! he echoed, be 
 wildered ; that i* the numo of the famous 
 hunter and adventurer of the Great Went, 
 tho hardy explorer of tho trackless wilder- 
 noHH, tho ilttriny guide mid lotulcr of Frm- 
 inont s celebrated expedition Kit Carson ! 
 (he hero of prairie and forest, tho prince of 
 backwoodsmen ; ho wlu>*o name is at fami 
 liar a word, almost, as that of old Rough and 
 eudy himscU 1 , und an fumuun for gullunt ex It 
 
 ploita in the far west, as the dauntless Rogers 
 who led the Secret Service in Sao Juan D - 
 UlloaT 
 
 Yes, it is tho same ; and yet, what con* 
 nexion can there be between my father s Be* 
 cret and this wild rover of the frontier ? By 
 what strange vagaries cm Fate have mixed 
 up with a man whose h< > and world i tho 
 pathless wilderness 1 the destinies of a Boston 
 aristocrat. Ha! this plot teems to thicken 
 fust ! 
 
 * This man does my strange father wish 
 me ever to meet him t Once at my voyage s 
 t-nd, 1 am likely to do so, lid was on tho 
 Pacific coast, if I mistake not, at the last ac 
 counts, in the heart of tho gold region, I be* 
 lievo; nay, it is even said that this sumo Kit 
 Carson was the original discoverer of thu 
 principal gold-placer; if so, I shall, in all pro 
 bability, fall in with him. But did my father 
 anticipate this ? was this his motive in admit 
 ting n.e a party to this secret, that in the 
 wilds of California I might meet tho being 
 whom inexplicable destiny has involved incur 
 family affairs? The packet will explain 
 shall I now open it?* 
 
 A keen cdgo had been given to his curi 
 osity, now ut its highest, and he felt as if it 
 must be gratified. 
 
 It seemed to him a foolish scruple, a useless 
 delay of twenty-four hours, but ho remem 
 bered the imperative injunction; and his honor 
 pledged to its faithful observance. Such had 
 been the condition of the secret s revolution ; 
 tho leant he could do was to requite tho con* 
 fulcnco reposed in him, by proving himself 
 worthy of it. 
 
 Thus ho argued and thus he acted, despite 
 his increased curiosity, 
 
 Undressing himself, he extinguished the 
 light und cl inhud into hi* narrow berth ; after 
 placing in his bosom the important packet; 
 for HO constantly had il been tho burden of his 
 thought*, and so watchful was he of its so* 
 curity, that ho had, from the first, worn it 
 next hi* hunrt, 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 Previous to this, however, the huntef s por 
 trait was replaced in the envelope, and the 
 whole secured ns before, 
 
 Still, in his sea-rocked couch ho passed 
 several wakeful hours. He felt uneasy, and 
 the wherefore he knew not, a singular inquie 
 tude had corr.e over him, and sleeplessnes 
 was, of course, long its companion. While 
 as the restless moments wore on, they did 
 not appear to bring any amelioration of his 
 disturbed state of mind. 
 
 4 Something seems to whisper me, 1 more 
 thin once he found himself half-unconscious- 
 ly muttering, something seems to whisper j 
 me, to read that mysterious packet this very j 
 night ! 
 
 And he hesitated, apppearing once more to j 
 debate the question within himself. 
 . Shall I rise and penetrate its contents ? A 
 presentiment of, 1 know not what, draws mo 
 to this course or, shall I wait patiently 
 until the morrow T Shall I delay it till then ? 
 what could possibly occur in that time ? 
 Tush 1 he muttered, pjcsontiments are but 
 idle things ! I will silence this folly, and 
 go to Bleep. 1 
 
 Nevcrtcclcss <t was some timo before he 
 could so fur control his own mind. 
 
 He had slept perhaps an hour or more, 
 when a shambling sort of step was just audible 
 without, and an unsteady hand seemed to try 
 the door of the state room. It had been left 
 unlocked by Henry, with the unsuspecting 
 heedlcssncjs of youth, and there was no ob 
 stacle to its opening. 
 
 Slowly and carefully the latch was lifted ; 
 pitchy darkness had taken the place of the 
 extinguished light, and \ r ernon slumbered 
 soundly, and no heed took his sleep-deafened 
 ear of the footstep outside the door, the care 
 ful finger laid upon the latch, its slow and 
 cautious lifting, and t^en the yet more stealthy 
 tread, advancing slowly and unsteadily, as il 
 retarded by the surrounding gloom, or im 
 peded by some other cause. 
 
 Hardly, howeTcr, had thut hushed foot left 
 
 the threshold a half yard behind, when a sud 
 den and heavy gust of wind swept down tho , 
 companionway,and retiring agiin, closed w th 
 a skarp clatter the door of the state-room, in 
 its retreating swoop. 
 
 But the noise did not break the slumbers 
 of the unsuspicious sleeper. 
 
 There was the pause of another moment, as 
 if to ensure certainty ; then the unknown foot 
 was moved again, this time more hurriedly. 
 It took three steps forward then the sound of 
 a heavy fall followed. 
 
 In tHc darkness the intruder had stumbled 
 and fallen over a chair! With a loud crash 
 it fell beneath the weight, and was broken on 
 the floor of the state room. 
 
 The slumberer, suddenly aroused, started 
 up ; the concussion had been too near, too 
 distinct, not to awaken him. A mumbled 
 curse had beeij, the moment before, half 
 audible ; but now, all was silence and dark 
 ness. 
 
 Ila! that crash ! it must have been one 
 of the ship s spars snapping in a passing gust. 
 And ha 1 I thought I heard an oath, a moan 
 ing, as if somo one wcro in pain twas but 
 the watch on deck or some one struck by 
 the fulling spar. 1 
 
 And drowsily the rudely-awakened Ver- 
 non sank back upon his pillow, a sleeper once 
 more. 
 
 It was not until tho strong and regular 
 breathing from the slumbcrcr s berth pro 
 claimed his calm relapse info eomnolence, 
 that there was a distinct sound in the dark 
 ness of the state room. 
 
 The next noise that invaded trfc sudden si 
 lence, was like the rubbing produced by a 
 crawling body. It ceased, and was sccceeded 
 by a seeming scratching against the wall as 
 instantly itself followed by a sudden flarh of 
 light through the cabin, that lived but for a 
 moment, and then, liko the bright ephemera, 
 died. 
 
 It was the lighting of a match, but that 
 phosphorescent gleam, as it shot through the 
 
60 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 gloom, had sufficed, in its evanescent flight, 
 to chow to tho intruder tho position of the re* 
 cumbent sleeper. 
 
 And now, with an eager haste, those foot 
 steps shuflled to tho berth s side, and the In- 
 cifcr fl last lingering flash oflighi shone on an 
 upraised arm above the slumbering student s 
 brcnst ! 
 
 There wns a rustling, quivering sound from 
 the berth, differing from any preceding one; 
 a shock a cry a dull full and then a 
 chuckling laugh ! 
 
 Ellen s Secret Discovered The Perilous 
 Passage of Cape Horn. 
 
 Now comes the tug of war. 
 
 The hell of waters. 1 
 
 BYRON. 
 
 REAKFAST hour ii 
 at hand tho long night 
 >.> l n passed and Henry 
 rViVcrnon mukcs not his 
 //nppearancc, Conclud- 
 jjpwf ing that ho had over, 
 slept himself, and un 
 willing that his rest should he disturbed, the 
 thoughtful Ellen descended from her own 
 cabin, with tho curlier risers, to the morning 
 meal. 
 
 When with tho rest of the parly she return 
 ed to tho deck, to enjoy the invigorating fresh- 
 nets nf a morning promenade, ohe was sur 
 prised to find that her lover hud not, as yet, 
 joined hiu fellow passengers. 
 
 The forenoon pnssed away, an impatient 
 eye looking ruch moment for tho deferred np> 
 pearanco of tho absentee, Two o clock came 
 nt length; with it, tho dinner hour but not 
 Henry. 
 
 Ellen began now to grow anxious and 
 alarmed. What could detain him thus. She 
 
 could not fly to his state room, to assure her- 
 self of his safety, her woman s delicacy shiurik 
 from such a step ; yet her Henry, might be 
 ill, might be suffering in neglect, while icy 
 propriety forbade her to haste to his aid ; 
 for love is ever apprehensive of it scarce 
 knows what. 
 
 In this dilemma her eye suddenly fell upcn 
 the worthy captain, close to whom she stood. 
 Her glance rested upon his frank and gene* 
 rous countenance, and its look of hearty 
 benevolence warmed her heart afresh toward 
 him ; and at once encouraged her to boldly 
 address him, with her earnest request that 
 some person might be sent to Vernon s cabin 
 to ascertain the cause of his unusual absence, 
 expressing the most lively fears lest he should 
 be unwell, or some accident had happened to 
 him. 
 
 Instead of at once complying with her de 
 mand, and, as she expected, instantly acquU 
 escing in tho expediency of tho suggestion, 
 sho observed, with uneasiness, that the manly 
 seiunun stood silently and gravely surveying 
 her. 
 
 Her quick apprehension caused the dis 
 guised girl, with an instinctive start, to turn 
 upon her own person a severe self scrutiny. 
 Nothing was disarranged, nothing out of or 
 der in her boy s dress, and yet sno saw tho 
 old suitor olsu start, and a smilo camo on tho 
 veteran s lip, 
 
 Como hither, boy/ he at length siid ; ( I 
 would speak with you. 
 
 1 Nay, sir, not now ; some other time, re 
 joined she, quickly ; my iriend may be in 
 distress, while 1 * 
 
 1 Then fly to his cabin, my boy, and satisfy 
 yourself. 1 
 
 1 1 I dnre not that is, I cannot no, 
 
 no; not now 1* 
 
 And tho color rose brightly to her chcik 
 and deepened on her fullering lip. 
 
 \Ylut! exclaimed the captain: not ^0 
 to his assistance ? you who should be the first 
 to fly to your friend s aid. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 01 
 
 4 1 I J Oh, do not ask mo, sir 1 Indeed, 
 
 indeed, I cannol. 
 
 1 How, boy ! and do you call yourself a 
 friend ? asked the seaman, with apparent 
 ternnras. 
 
 Ere Ellen could frame an apology, a blast 
 of wind came suddenly shrieking through the 
 cordage above their heads, and whistling 
 down upon the deck: swept more than one 
 unwary passenger s hat from his head to bear 
 it away upon a distant wave, and among them 
 was the light, boyish cap worn by our heroine 
 -and as it floated ofi to seaward, fur in the 
 vessel s wake, downward fell, in glossy masses 
 a shower of wavy curls, upon the shoulders of 
 the supposed stripling. 
 
 Well, boy, follow me, directed the cap- 
 tain ; and when both were below, the captain 
 turned and fixed upon her a peculiar smile, as 
 full of shrewd significance as were his good- 
 humored tones, as he said, to the girl s great 
 confusion, 
 
 Litt e stammerer ! and do you think that 
 that blushing cheek and faltering tongue, do 
 not betray your secret! Listen and mark 
 me well, boy though you seem, no hoy arc 
 you ! 
 
 Disconcerted past all bourn s, poor Ellen 
 was speechless, while- the- good old sailor 
 went on to say, 
 
 Poor girl ! I read you story. That young 
 man, whoso constant companion you have 
 been, is your lover, whom you have followed 
 in this disguise. Nuy ! tremble not, nor turn 
 pale; oM Hiram Alien is the last man to be 
 tray your secret and a pretty little secret it 
 is, with a spice of genuine romance in it. 
 But fear mo not ; I have discovered you, it 
 is true ; I suspected, from the first, to sweet 
 a little craft must be sailing under falao -colors 
 but I said nothing ; I waited for proof of 
 my suspicions have I not gained it ? 
 
 4 Proof 1 echoed the bewildered girl, me 
 chanically ; how did you detect roe dis 
 cover all this? 
 
 1 Easily, young lady; your confusion, youi 
 
 hesitation, your reluctance to enter his cabin, 
 these girlish* ringlets how very plain the 
 signs ! l 
 
 You will not, O sir 1 you surely will not 
 disclose what you have learned ! besought 
 iho imploring pleader. Think you, noble 
 sir, she added, in alarm, anj other, save 
 you, suspects? 
 
 No, nor shall they ; you arc safe as if I, 
 too, knew nothing of this. 
 
 And then, as she heard him murmur, in a 
 thoughtful way, l poor dear girl, she has em 
 barked upon a hazardous adventure ! she felt 
 as she looked up into his open, benevolent 
 countenance, and read there thn native no 
 bility of the veteran s character, she felt that 
 she had found a friend in the manly seaman, 
 in whom see could as safely confide as in a 
 father. 
 
 The next moment ho quickly added, 
 
 But for the present, enough of this ! To 
 the safety of this young man 1 must row see. 
 He must be a noble fellow to have won such 
 love as yours, lady or boy, rather, aa I 
 must stillcall you. 
 
 1 O hasten ! hasten to him ! noble, generous 
 man ! 
 
 This, then, be my excuse for leaving you, 
 dear l;\dy. 
 
 With these parting words the gallant sea 
 man hurried from her side. 
 
 Nor was ho long gone upon his err&nd. 
 Scarce five minutes had passed, though to the 
 suspense-filled Ellon, they itemed as many 
 hours, ere the voice of the skipper was heard 
 calling, from decks, to his mate above, 
 
 4 Pass the word for Mr. Davis. 
 
 Ay, ay, sir 1 Forward there! pass the 
 word for the surgeon. In your cabin, Capt. 
 Allen? 
 
 * No, sir ; in state room No. 7. Bid him 
 make all the haste possible. 
 
 * Ay, ay, captain,* 
 
 And this brief professional colloquy be 
 tween skipper and first officer was scarce 
 finished when the v. rgion h : mself answer* 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 the summons, passing the terrified girl on his 
 woy. 
 
 Ellen s heart was in her month ; that de 
 mand for the physician, what did it not fore 
 bode ? 
 
 Tier worst fears, all too soon, were realized. 
 Ere muny moments more had dragged their 
 heavy weight, the surgeon and the captnin, 
 together, reappeared, bearing between them 
 the motionless form of IJenry Vernon, dress 
 ed, but with the blood streaming over his 
 clothes and dropping to the floor 1 
 
 With a shriek nnd a gawp like the broken 
 cry of n wounded bird, Ellen Lincoln sprang 
 to her ill-fated lover s Hide ; there, for one in 
 stant she blood appalled and motionless as his 
 own lifeless frame, at the ghastly sight she 
 behold. 
 
 Hid eyes were closed, his forehead knit, 
 his hands in an outstretched attitude, as if 
 grasping at something beyond his reach. The 
 rich, dark locks above his clear and youthful 
 brow, were literally saturated with gore, as if 
 from some spring beneath ; while down that 
 sunny forohoad, slowly there trickled, from a 
 deep cut above the jotty lashes, a crimson 
 stream of blood, filling the eyes and matting 
 together the closed lids, which seemed with 
 leaden weight held down; and from sharp 
 scratches upon the cheeks, scarlet drops were 
 faintly oozing all indicative of some recent 
 violanco. 
 
 1 Captain 1 uttered the surgeon, in a hush* 
 od whisper. 
 
 In dilunce no less mooning the old seaman 
 turned to him. Mute inquiry was in every 
 look. 
 
 Captain Allen, 1 said the doctor, this is, I 
 foar 
 
 1 What, what! In Heaven s name, 
 wildly ejaculated Ellen, breathlessly inter- 
 rupting him, in Heaven s name spoak 1 how 
 came ho thus what terrible accident has bo* 
 fallen him ? 
 
 The physician, in some surprise, looked 
 from Ellen to the captain, and from the cop- 
 
 tain to Ellen, who heeded not the veteran*! 
 warning glance. 
 
 The latter personage, seeing her neglect of 
 caution, hastened to speak for her, 
 
 This young boy is the wounded man s 
 only brother you observe his alarm ex 
 plain to him 
 
 4 The accident P again she interrupted, 
 how happened it ? 
 
 I know not, 1 replied the surgeon, gravely. 
 I only know, from Captain Allen, that he 
 discovered thin young man lying, blooding 
 and senseless, upon the floor of his state room, 
 beneath his berth.* 
 
 1 Yes, twas there I found him, on entering, 
 with theso murks of violence upon his person, 
 but to what inexplicable accident, Davis, 
 could this 
 
 4 Tis tliut which puzzles me, rejoined the 
 surgeon, who had taken the head of the bleec* 
 ing ycuth upon his knee, and was attentively 
 examining its injuries. 
 
 4 This is a bharp cut upon ho forehead, 
 and seems to bleed profusely, In presently 
 observed : it is merely a flesh-wound, how 
 ever, and not at all serious. It must have been 
 made, I think, in fulling from the berth above 
 to the the floor, by some sharp angle ; but 
 that fall itself, he added, deliberatingly, 
 4 how is that to be accounted for ? and he 
 paused again. 
 
 4 Stop ! ho continued, abruptly ; how this 
 hair is matted together and clotted with gore, 
 just above the brow. The blood from that cut 
 over the oycH could not have trickled upward, 
 thus there must|be somu other and larger 
 wound Ah 1 look at this dreadful contusion 
 on the skull ! 
 
 And wilh difficulty parting the tangled curls 
 aside from the crown of the head, ho laid 
 open to view a ghastly gash, that called 
 from the gazing Ellen a shudder of wild af* 
 fr.ght. 
 
 And this, slowly asked Capt. Allen. is 
 this a grave injury 7* 
 
 It is the skull, if I mistake not, is frac 
 tured. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 63 
 
 Fractured ! reiterated Ellen, in terror at 
 the word. 
 
 Fractured,! fear me, went on the doctor, 
 with great gravity ; and evidently by some 
 violent blow ; the appearance of the wound 
 shows clearly that it must have been of a 
 blunt nature, also. But how was it occasion 
 ed? that is the question. Ila ! I can imagme 
 one method in which it could hare originated. 
 I may be a liltle mistaken, but, at all events, 
 come once more fo the state room, and we may 
 throw some light upon the matter. Captain, 
 it will, perhaps, be better to return with the 
 unfortunate young gentleman, also, to his 
 state room. 
 
 As you think proper, Mr. Davis, replied 
 tha captain. 
 
 Once more taking up the insensible student, 
 followed by Ellen, who forgot all scruples in 
 this aggravation of her alarm, they retraced 
 their st*ps. 
 
 The floor of the state room, directly below 
 the berth, was one pool of blood. Henry s 
 berth was one of a tier of three, placed one 
 above another, and in one of the others the 
 bleeding Vernon was laid; while the doctor 
 advanced to that which had been occupied by 
 the young man, and proceeded narrowly to 
 inspect its interior. 
 
 Almost immediately a slight ejaculation 
 broke from the surgeon, who at once directed 
 the attention of his two companions to the 
 superincumbent ceiling of the small, confined 
 bertl 1 , at the top of which was seen a large 
 spot that, on a closer examination proved to 
 be clotted gore intermixed with human hair. 
 A comparison with the gash in Vernon s 
 head, made it to tally with the dimensions of 
 the former. 
 
 * It is clear, said the surgeon, with a sort 
 of professional satisfaction that nearly drove 
 Ellen deranged outright, I see now the 
 patient must have attempted to leap suddenly 
 from the berth, forgetful of the nature of the 
 place, and in the incautious act, his head 
 struck with the greatest violence against the 
 
 heavy wood-work, scarce two feet above him 
 inflicting this terrible wound upon the unpro- 
 teclcd skull ; the shock of which, no doubt it 
 was, that caused him to be precipitated from 
 the berth. 
 
 Ellen groaned. 
 
 1 Are you certain it is a (racture, doctor ? 
 demanded the captain. 
 
 I am confident of it ; yet the sku l is only 
 slightly penetrated. 
 
 What will be the consequence ? 
 Congestion of the brain. 
 
 And the finale to that is 
 
 * Death ! almost invariably. 
 
 O God ! O God ! shrieked Ellen. 
 The captain interposed, 
 
 Hold, doctor ! there is surely some hope r 
 The fracture, you say, is slight ; it is not a/ 
 ways fatal ; he may recover ? urged he, with 
 emphasis. 
 
 4 There is hope but it is very slender, 
 rejoined the cautious physician, with medical 
 precision. Congestion of the brain is a dan 
 gerous disease ; for weeks his life will hang 
 upon a thread. 
 
 1 Hope, hope, blessed hope 1 at least there 
 i? one cheering ray of consolation I murmur 
 ed Ellen, with heart-breathed thankfulness on 
 her lips ; ana over the bod) of her wounded, 
 lover she knelt in silent prayer to the Hea 
 ven that had cast down and could raise up 
 again. 
 
 It was as the experienced surgeon had pre- 
 Jicted. The prophccied symptoms, in their 
 natural order, succeeded to each other. From 
 .he long swoon into which the catastrophe 
 had plunged him, the dreaded brain fever at 
 oftce ensued, and for full a month, Henry 
 Vernon kay in his berth, the victim of de 
 lirium. 
 
 Of course the generous-hearted captain 
 had provided him with suitable attendants ; 
 and now that he was an invalid, Ellen could, 
 with propriety, daily visit him, not feel maid- 
 enly delicacy wounded, even in the presence 
 
64 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 of the good old sailor, who alone, boside, 
 was in the secret of her true character. 
 
 Though the mind of Vernon wandered day 
 and night, with scarce a lucid interval, yet 
 Ellen * hand and Ellen s tones had a magic 
 influence in )hem, to soothe and calm him 
 oven in his moments of wildest delirium. 
 Ilopo, angelic hope, cheorod In* through nil, 
 even white life nnd doalh hung wnvcring in 
 tho balance of fate s fickle scales. 
 
 This, fur full a month, wo hnve said, con* 
 tinucd. The violence of the fever had, by 
 this time, well nigh exhausted both itself and 
 its prey, arid now the crisis approached. 
 Hope and four, in one loving watcher s breast 
 by turns preponderated, asthc thrilling ordeal 
 drew close at hand ; and not the less so that 
 it was dostinod to bo coupled with another and 
 a far different ordeal, through which the gal- 
 huu hhip and all on board were about to 
 pass, 
 
 Comparatively fair winds and calm seas 
 had thus far favored tho voyngo of our ad. 
 venturers, They had encountered no heavy 
 gales to endanger their safety, no baffling 
 winds to delay their progress. But now they 
 had been above a month at sea, and wero O p. 
 preaching the southern extremilv of South 
 . America. 
 
 The shores of Patagonia were to be passed, 
 the Stuits of Magellan left behind, the coast 
 of the Capo yet to bo safely rounded. The 
 first two of these important preliminaries 
 were the work of but a few days more, tho 
 lost eventful undertaking came, fully as soon 
 as they found themselves prepared for that 
 most arduous effort ot the mariner. 
 
 And at lerigrh Cape Horn lootnod up be 
 fore them the most perilous of passages, the 
 stormiest of capes and as they ncared tho 
 mighty barrier which separates two oceans, 
 that seem ever struggling for tho mastery, 
 tho tempests that are over born of the Allan- 
 tic s and Pacific s union, now burst on them 
 in all their terrific majesty, in all their awful 
 grandeur. 
 
 It was night night wild and stormy, when 
 
 the good ship S sought to pass the ocean- 
 
 rubicon> . The splendid arch of Heaven was 
 dark with monster clouds, but bright with the 
 lurid lightning that led the thunderbolts, One 
 wild, tumultuous cauldron of boiling, hissing 
 waters, win the billowy wilderness. It was 
 no every. day hackneyed sight of a sea storm 
 no mere convulsion of tho elements on tho 
 broad deup was thin ; it wan tho muiden moot 
 ing, the impetuous encounter, the dread con* 
 fliut of two mighty oceans upon tho common 
 battle-ground of old Capo Horn. 
 
 Captain Allen well know tho exigency for 
 which ho must prepare himself; he was an 
 old seaman and a gallant one ; and five times, 
 successively, in his adventurous sailor s lift-, 
 had he macJo that daring passage. Ho up- 
 preached it now with peculiar emotions, for 
 tho very lat>t occasion on which he had 
 rounded tho capo, his vessel, with all on 
 board, hud narrowly escaped shipwreck and 
 destruction ! 
 
 But he was now in command of a larger 
 and b -tter ship, purchased expressly for the 
 California adventure, and ho trusted to her 
 good qualities, to a sailor s skill and a watch* 
 ful Providence, to guard him through the 
 perils which ho know it was in vain to hope 
 to escape ultog her; and when, finally, he 
 came now to encounter the gale s fuM violence 
 it was necessary to crowd on the ship every 
 inch of canvass she could bear ; for there on 
 her Ire-bow lay tho Horn, the most for 
 midable of Ico shores, and nea-rooin must be 
 gained, if she sought not certain shipwreck. 
 With all the sail set that in prudence could 
 b spread, now strove thq noble craft and 
 gallant crew to claw off shore. 
 
 Broad was the oiling that must bo won t 
 and though, as they came each moment more 
 and more completely under tho influence of 
 tho storm-roused winds, the straining of the 
 gale threatened to shiver the groaning sails ; 
 yet still that press of canvass was she com 
 pelled to carry, not a rag dared ihey take in, 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 or run the fearful hazard of driving on 
 shore ! 
 
 With quivering yards, with creaking cnn- 
 *ass, and cordage shrieking, but boldly, 
 proudly, bravely, amid the deluges of flash- 
 ing fo;un and the chaos of breaking seas, shot 
 
 the S out to sea. 
 
 Now buried in the abyss-like trough of the 
 tumultuous sea, now lifted on the towering 
 summit of some mountain of -he main ; one 
 moment all was one black wilderness of toss- 
 ing waters, one boundless succession of yawn 
 ing pits the next, as if unto the very hea 
 vens lifted, from the monster wave-tops were 
 to be seen ihe frowning cliffs, the inhospitable 
 promontory, with its adamantine ivall nnd 
 bleak, wild head upraised, in defiance to old 
 ocean s mi<{ht. 
 
 The violent heavings and pitchings of the 
 ship, tho howling winds and the stunning 
 thunder roverberutious^ull told, even to those 
 Mow, tho arrival of tho critical hour of tho 
 toyngo. 
 
 Anxious to ascertain how great the peril, 
 Ellen Lincoln had for a moment left tho side 
 of her delirious Henry, and relaxing fora 
 moment love s sleepless vigil, she came upon 
 deck to end her suspense, for it had now be 
 come intolerable. 
 
 Scarcely hid she joined the group on deck, 
 to become, like them, on awe-struck beholder 
 of the terrific spectacle, ere sin heard the 
 captain s order 
 
 Batten down the hatches batten them 
 down for your lives ! Stand fist ! look out 
 for that sea! 
 
 And before the startling command could 
 be more than half executed, a monster wave 
 came rolling in from seaward, and made a 
 clean breach fore and aft, deluging the decks, 
 from the forecastle to the binnacle ; while, at 
 the same instant, the sails suddenly shivered 
 and Hupped, like the mangroves of the south, 
 in the tropic gales; and sternly from the 
 captain s lips rang out the shout, 
 
 Up with the helm ! by Heavens the wind 
 has headed us 1 
 
 We are directly off the Horn, sir/ said the 
 vo.ce of the mate, in a tone of forced calm- 
 ness. 
 
 4 We are ! now comes the crisis I Quarter 
 master, how stand- the compass 7 
 
 She has fallen off a point and a half, sir, 
 replied the quarter-master, from tho bin- 
 naclc. 
 
 The ship has broken off, Mr. Johnson ! 
 echoed the captain to his mate, his voice at a 
 thrilling pitch. 
 
 1 She must be brought up to the wind again 
 Capt. Allen. 1 
 
 1 She must not an instant is to be lost 
 
 all hands! wear ship! 
 
 She wears ! shouted the mate ; sec how 
 gallantly she comes up to it ! 
 
 The ship came round on the other tack, 
 nnd her tails filling, she stood on, with the 
 land right on her Ice bows, 
 
 1 Now for it, Mr. Johnson ! cried tho cap- 
 tain. Wo must hug the land ! God help us 
 to weather the Cape, and God grant we have 
 offing enough ! 
 
 There was a pause not in the wild war- 
 fare of the elements, not in the onward rush 
 of the driving ship, but in the voices of men. 
 Suddenly the lieutenant said, 
 
 Captain Allen, we must be farther to wind 
 ward or we shall never weather it. 
 
 I sec it, Mr. Johnson f we must have more 
 sail on the ship. 
 
 4 But cbn she bear it, sir ? 
 
 Bear it she must. I shall put the main- 
 sail on her. 
 
 4 The mainsail 1 Captain Allen ? Impos, 
 siblel 
 
 It must bo done, sir, replied the captain 
 to his subordinate s tones of remonstrance j 
 4 aye, even if it takes tho very sails out of th 
 bolt-ropes. 
 
 4 The mast will never stand it, I /car, sir! 
 Would that we had gone, instead, by wy of 
 the Straits! 
 
 1 This is not the first, time, Mr. Johnson, 
 that I hare rounded the Horn ; I take all the 
 
66 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 responsibility. It is our only chance how s 
 her head now, helmsman? 
 
 4 Nor -west by west,* sung out the man at 
 the wheel. 
 
 Captain Allen, cool and composed, but 
 firm and resolved, turned to his officer, calm 
 ly saying, 
 
 4 Come with me to the helm, Johnson we 
 must both lend a hand aft 1* 
 
 Thus speaking, the captain and first lieu 
 tenant took the helmsman s place, and the 
 order was instantly passed to set the main 
 sail. 
 
 It was dono not without many fears and 
 misgivings on all sides. Terrible was the 
 struggle that then ensued terrific the crisis, 
 It was now that the ship was called upon to 
 stem the full fury of the elements ; the men 
 and the few passengers on deck wore forced 
 in cling to the rigging, the gun-carriages and 
 bulwarks, as sea after sen dashed over them, 
 causing the ship to groan and quiver in every 
 plank ; while on, onward she dashed, now 
 rapidly nearing the grand point which she 
 must pass. 
 
 Time lagged not toward the black and 
 towering cliff, with its giant summit bathed in 
 misty spray, with the howling urf and the 
 roaring breakers at its foot, on the imperilled 
 vessel spsd, straining to pass that jutting pro- 
 montory, until thovery foam from tho wave- 
 lashed rocks, in sprinkles fell upon the decks 
 and the ship careened over, under the fearful 
 pressure, no that her lee channels wero under 
 water, Tho struggling ship was within three 
 cables-length of tho rock I 
 
 It was a dreadful moment! on, as if to her 
 very doom she drove; tho cliff ncemed to 
 tower above the very forecastle, her main- 
 yard-arm dipped till it appeared to touch tho 
 rock. 
 
 A yell of despair broke from passengers 
 and crew a flying blast struck the vessel 
 foul, floating in an instant the lee gangway 
 and lee side of the quarter-deck a report 
 liko a cannon s thunder-roar wns heard, nnd 
 
 all shut their eyei to the doom each felt 
 
 was inevitable ! 
 
 as. 
 
 The Ocean Escape The Packet^ Loss 
 The Dangerous Rclapte The Plotter" 
 Retribution The Arrival at San /Van- 
 cisco. 
 
 Ho, ho, ho ! our goal is gained ! 
 Successfully each nerve we ve strained. 
 
 SUDDEN aurge was 
 felt to many a d- 
 gjf tpirin| heart it seem- 
 ed like the final plunge 
 ^ to perdition! a vio 
 lent forging of tho ship 
 ahead a moment pass- 
 ed; and then, even the most fearful ventured 
 one look more, where -they had thought to 
 have taken their last, already. 
 
 What n sight wns there! the ship was on 
 hnr bonm-md*, her mainmast had gone by the 
 board ; from bowsprit to taffruit, tho shattered 
 craft trembled and shook but the dreaded 
 headland lay no. longer on tho lee-bow, but 
 loomed up behind on tho weather quarter ! 
 
 Tho outermost point of the Cape had been 
 passed, 
 
 The gallant captain sprang from the helm 
 into tho mizen-rigging, and waved his cap: 
 1 Three cheers, three cheers, boys, with a 
 will ! we ve weathered Cape Horn ! 
 
 Hurrah ! hurrah ! we have doubled the 
 Horn! echoed back passengora and ctew, as 
 gallantly, though with a mighty effort, tho 
 ship, righting, answered her helm, nnd threw 
 off th heavy volume of water that pressed 
 her down. 
 
 And now the stout vessel, once more with 
 a clear course, before tho wind, dragged se 
 curely but sluggishly along; her active men 
 busy in clearing awuy the wreck of the main- 
 mast, which, with all its hamper, had gone 
 over the side, and wns cut away, as a dozen 
 ready nxes attacked the quivering stump. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 67 
 
 Her sails were torn into ribbons in the bolt- 
 ropes the principal mast lost ; the damage 
 
 to the S was very greut. But little cnred 
 
 the brave captain now for this he knew that 
 he could put into the first port for repairs ; the 
 danger had been escaped, the grand peril 
 eluded and there, on his weather-beam, far 
 away to windward, lay the giant cliffs, no 
 longer to be dreaded; for now he was in an 
 other ocean the broad Atlantic behind him, 
 and beneath, around, before, the still mightier 
 Pacific lay outspread ! while back upon the 
 siortny precipices, b:\ck upon the raging hell 
 of waters, back upon that stupendous pano 
 rama of rocky grandeur, the trysting place of 
 the giant sister-seas, gazed, enthralled, the 
 awe-struck girl upon that deck the solitary 
 female, who, like so many ruder spirits, had 
 that night lived to pass, with them that haz 
 ardous ordeal 
 
 1 And this is Cape Horn the far-famed 
 king of Capes ? 
 
 The captain, near whom the speaker, Ellen, 
 stood, turned at her involuntary outbreak of 
 awe-inspiring admiration: while, with that 
 solemn tone so habitual with the sailor, when 
 speaking of \fre wonders of the deep, ho 
 said, 
 
 Ay, boy, ay ! Henceforth from this nigl 
 boast, that you have safely passed Old Horn 
 the stormiest cape in God s created world. 
 1 Captain Allen, said a voice, at the las 
 speaker s elbow. 
 
 Ha, Johnson ! you look troubled wha 
 now? 
 
 * Shall I send below for the surgeon, sir 
 
 The wreck of the mainmast 
 
 The captain started. What were any o 
 the men wounded ? 
 
 4 Yea, sir! two in the ship s waist, an 
 several of the steerage passengers hare been 
 dangerously hurt. 
 
 4 Ha ! how did this occur ?* 
 * The main-boom was carried away wit 
 the mast, and dragged over to leeward wit 
 the wreck. 
 
 Place them immediately under the doctor s 
 are, Mr. Johnson, replied the captain, and 
 sthe order was passed by his second in com 
 mand, several men appeared, bearing the 
 oundcd in their arms. 
 
 There is one old man, Capt. Allen, said 
 ohnson,as he pointed to one of the bleeding 
 ufierers, 4 who is severely injured, I fear, 
 is right leg is broken. 1 observed him re- 
 >eatedly, during the weathering of the Cape. 
 
 seemed to be very much terrified, and 
 was on his knees nearly all the time, raving 
 r his gold, and death, and drowning, in a 
 manner so ludicrous as well nigh to move my 
 merriment, in spite of all that was at stake 
 round us. The danger seemed to have com- 
 >lelely frightened the old man out of his wits, 
 o judge by his ravings see that shattered 
 imbof his! it will lay him up for many a 
 day ! 
 
 4 The miser the miser ! it is my Henry s 
 mcle ! was the breathless exclamation of 
 Ellen as she recognised, at a glance, the re 
 pulsive person of the old man, who was car 
 ried, moaning and groaning, to the surgeon s 
 charge below. 
 
 The hatches had, of course, already been 
 re-opened ; and heedless of n" pise, in the 
 sudden excitement of a discovery so nearly 
 concerning her invalid lover, she hastened to 
 his cabin. 
 
 The crisis of his disease had taken place 
 two days before, and Vcrnon had been pro 
 nounced, by the medical attendant, out of all 
 danger, unless a relapse should unfortunately 
 chance to occur. 
 
 Still, Ellen had left him delirious, though 
 that delirium had greatly abated in malignity, 
 and great was her surprise, on returning to the 
 invalid s state-room, to find her poor patient 
 dressed and seated at the table. 
 
 She went up to him, her entrance unpcr- 
 ccived ; his head and pallid face were resting 
 on his hand, and an expression of deep, but 
 vague thought, had usurped the wildness of 
 delirium in his eye. 
 
68 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 Henry ! 
 
 lie sturtcd, lookrd earnestly at her, ottered 
 a feeble cry, r.,id would have staggered up to 
 clasp her in his arms but sht prevented him, 
 and throwing her own tightly around him, 
 prcsscJ her warm, red mouth to his bloodless 
 lips. 
 
 Ellen, where am 1 ? whut has occurred ? 
 he stammered, in if in a dream. 
 
 4 You have been ill delirious for weeks, 1 
 he softly murmured. 
 
 111 Idelirious? Ah ! 1 remember now, 
 
 I think that night in my st.ite room 
 
 that sirango nrm in my berth I I have a 
 
 dim recollection of of O God ! where is 
 
 my mind ? . 
 
 The dear girl by his side Buffered him to 
 pause in earnest meditation ; nor did she in 
 terrupt the current of his memory, for she 
 knew that it was best to leave it to dcvclopc 
 itself naturally. And while she thus had lei 
 sure for a moment s self-reflection, it readily 
 occurrrd to hrr that it was tho shock of the 
 last night s hardy venture, the wild conQict 
 of the elements around, which had operated 
 to break the delirium of the invalid, and re 
 store htm suddenly to reason, will tho arti 
 ficial enerjzy it supplied. She well knew the 
 common efltct of a sudden and violent shock 
 on a fever ; she saw that he had been wakened 
 by it to rationality, and rising from the berth, 
 of which he had so long been the tenant, had 
 dressed himselfand-dreamily sat down to col 
 lect his own wandering thoughts. 
 
 My uncle he paid, at length, and 
 
 topped, showing that which was uppermost 
 in his mind. 
 
 I have intelligence to impart, relative to 
 him, dearest, that may shock yi-u. We have 
 doubled Cape Horn, Henry, this very nipht; 
 but your uncle, your aped uncle, nas been 
 dreadfully injured in the storm ; he is in fear- 
 ful misery he has broken a limb! Enemy 
 as he has ever been to you, I feel that your 
 generous heart, dear Henry ,will not rejoice at 
 his misfortune. 
 
 1 Enemy as he is to me, indeed, indeed, 
 
 Ellen hark ! hark ! ho repented, with 
 
 wild flash of recollection ; to him it was I 
 owe all this! O God! I remember it all 
 now, he it was who entered my cabin that 
 fearful night, he it was who stood over me In 
 my brrtli, AM the hand that I awoke to firv* 
 groping at my henrt, his arm it was that hung 
 in the darkness over me, when I sought to 
 spring from my pillow, and tlic next moment 
 knew no more.* 
 
 Merciful Providence, Henry ! did your 
 uncle seek to assassinate you ? could lie have 
 been, in design, a murderer! 
 
 1 What else, Ellen, what else could his ob 
 ject have been ? Was he not pocking for he 
 lieait, in which to plant the knife, to make the 
 blow more sure ? What other purpose could 
 
 he have had and yet He struck his 
 
 hand against his forehead, remaning me mo 
 ment silent. *IIa! accursed suspicion 
 O worse than death, even. The picket ! 
 whore is the packr-t ? God of Heaven ! my 
 nnclr has stulcn thr stcrct parkct / 
 
 With the frantically gasped word on his 
 lips, he fell senseless into Ellen s arm*, to 
 awaken to delirium once more. A rdaptt 
 had taken place I 
 
 A rcl.ipsc which the poor girl knrw !o be 
 in almost every case fatal ; and Ellen, who 
 had bravely borne up so lonjr, now became 
 nigh distracted of Vcruon s life there was 
 now scarca a chance. 
 
 But swiftly, gallantly, meanwhile the good 
 ship which bore them both, went on towards 
 its destination. 
 
 Capt. Allen had put into one of the Pacific 
 ports for repairs, and then proceeded on his 
 voyage. Once only ho paused, subsequent- 
 ly, and this was at Panama, and from the* 
 
 Isthmus the S stood on for the harbor of 
 
 San Francisco. 
 
 O how eagerly did those assembled-hun- 
 drcdspant for the hour of their voyage s end, 
 but there were suffering bodies as well as 
 anxious minds in the swift-bounding ship, yet 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 neither the relapsed invalid in his delirium, 
 nor the wounded miser, in his physical pain, 
 endured, in reality, greater torture than was 
 inflicted by suspense and impatient avarice on 
 those who were, both corporeally and mental 
 ly, in sound health. 
 
 Six weeks had dragged on, marked only, 
 seemingly, by the lapse of time and conquest 
 of distance. Near, very near, were the Cali 
 fornia Adventurers to the goal of their golden 
 aspirations. Each hour looked they now for 
 the first glimpse of the glorious El Dorado 
 the captain s observations told him that he 
 was in the immediate vicinity, nor did they 
 deceive him. 
 
 1 Land ho 1 land ho P 
 
 Ho, the mast-head 1 whereaway ? 
 
 1 Ahead, sir two points free. 
 
 4 What does it look like ? 
 
 Like an arm of the mainland reaching 
 out around the sea,* hailed back the look out 
 from aloft. You ll have it on deck, soon, 
 sir 1 
 
 4 The Bay of San Francisco! the Bay of 
 San Francisco 1 proclaimed, amid one deaf- 
 eninc cheer, the captain s sonorous voice. 
 
 Nine times nine, my hearties ! nine times 
 nine, for old California 1 it is ours ours at- 
 last. After all our perils, all our dangers, now 
 to reap the rich reward I Yonder, within the 
 wide sweep of that arm of the sea, lies San 
 Francisco, and there to the northward, winds 
 the golden waters of the Sacramento I In five 
 hours more we touch the precious soil of Cali 
 fornia 1 Hurrah 1 boys, hurrah 1 Fortune is 
 before us ! 
 
 
70 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 Tne Merchant* t Clerk in J rifonThe Un 
 expected Cioinf l<\>rttnn Lincoln once more 
 bound fur California, 
 
 Ha, ha, ha! 1 liuvc severed the chains 
 
 around mo 
 Ha, ha, Im ! 1 have burst the fetters that 
 
 bound mo ! 
 
 1 To bear, is to conquer our fate. 
 
 ftOM the goal of our 
 adventurers 1 fortune* 
 favored wishes we now 
 return, from the newly 
 pained shores of Call 
 .Vfornia-goldon paradise, 
 ^to ono whoso cruol fato 
 
 had BO strangely prevented him from partici 
 pation in the ccstncicfl with which the delight, 
 od voyagciirn hohold themselves at length on 
 the very threshold of their bright hope s be 
 wildering consummation ; where wo now for 
 a brief time leave them, to foljow an curlier 
 scent, which hns been, in the meanwhile, 
 lost. 
 
 In prison lay Eugene Lincoln 1 It was the 
 
 day after the sailing of the ship S , nnd 
 
 the same morning s light found the merchant s 
 clerk the tenant of Leverett street Jail the 
 solitary occupant of a nanow cell, with only 
 a wretched pallet for his resting place, during 
 the night of misery that had already passed. 
 
 1 Heaven help mo ! have I come to this, 
 Great God? was his waking query and his 
 constant thought. . * mother, my sainted, 
 angel mother 1 didst thou think to see thy 
 poor Eugene thus? a cantivo in a public 
 prison! No, Ono! Alas! thy own sorrow- 
 
 ng life, mother, him been thy poor eon s solo 
 
 inheritance ! For long, long years, one only 
 cup of happiness has been raiund to ihy lipa ; 
 and even ihat retention* destiny dauber*, ere 
 tasted, from my grasp! 
 
 And ho groaned in his misery. 
 
 The sound of approaching footsteps were 
 heard, nt this juncture, without the cell ; a 
 key turned heavily in the lock the turnkey 
 entered. 
 
 The prisoner started up, 4 Ha, sir ! you 
 are my jailor ? 
 
 The turnkey nodded. 
 
 Anxious for explanation, Eugene sprang 
 eagerly forward to meet meet him so very 
 eagerly, that the man mistook his purpose, 
 and roughly pushed him back, grullly say 
 ing, 
 
 4 None o 1 that, if you ploaso. Yon nccd nt 
 think to escape, my covey ! 
 
 You misunderstand rno, fellow I did but 
 seek to leurn why, and by what right I am 
 thtiM confined. 
 
 Oho ! you did, did you ? was the sneer 
 ing reply, in an incredulous tone. * For debt, 
 man, of course. 
 
 For debt ! repeated the prisoner ; oh ! I 
 do remember it, for debt, at the suit of 
 John Vornon, tlitwu wuro tho very words ! 
 Tis false ! cried he, energetically, Tin 
 fuls-j, I tell you, I owe him not I owe no 
 man. 
 
 4 .A good way to get clear of a man s hon 
 est debts, isn t it now? sneered tho gaoler ; 
 1 better nor tho bankrupt law, by considerable, 
 this making tracks for California ! 
 
 4 Scoundrel ! rose to the lips of Eugene, 
 but ho prudently repressed it from policy, for 
 he had an end to gain. lie therefore swallow 
 ed his indignation, and said calmly but im 
 pressively, 
 
 1 Listen to mo, sir. I neither stand indobt- 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 71 
 
 *d a penny s value to John Vernon, nor do I 
 I know any person by such a name. 
 1 Gammon ! prowled the keeprr.J 
 * As I hope for heaven ! persisted Lincoln, 
 in a solemn munncr, what I say is strictly 
 iruc. 
 
 Oh 1 it is all true, is it, mister? Well, 
 and wh.it then ? was tho official * insolent 
 rejoinder. 
 
 4 What then, sir? this, exclaimed the 
 young nmn, no longer ahlc to control his riw- 
 ing indignation, It is all a foul conspiracy, 
 u falsehood from beginning to end. That man 
 docs not live who can say th.it Kngcno Lin- 
 coin is his lawful debtor for a dollar. I see 
 the drift of this whole matter it was some 
 villainous scheme to prevent my departure for 
 California; though God only knows to whoso 
 malignity I owe it I knew not that I had an 
 enemy in the world. 
 
 Hut the jailer seemed to grow impatient, 
 for setting down the food he had brought^ he 
 said, hastily, 
 
 Well, well ; I can t stop, dallying here all 
 day, that s martin. It s all humbug, I suppose, 
 this stuff that you ve been a tellin me ; at all 
 events, if it in true, Mister, you ve your re 
 dress, that s nil. If so be it s just as you say, 
 and you don t owe the man as complained of 
 you, why then you can take out a warrant 
 agin him for false imprisonment and malicious 
 prosecution, and lay your damages accord 
 ingly. But if this story of yours is all gam 
 mon, why, in that case, if you re a poor devil 
 and htive nl any money, you can stay in jug 
 thirty days, and then swear out on the poor 
 debtor s oath. There s some comfort for you 
 either way. 
 
 And the rough, but not altogether unfeeling 
 jailer, thus speaking, turned the lock once 
 more upon his prisoner, leaving him to 
 partake of his coarse and scanty meal, am 
 went his way. 
 
 Thanks for the hint, at nil events, solilo 
 ijuized the captive *, and ho formed tho -de 
 termination of acting upon this very good ad 
 vice, resolving to go immediately before th< 
 examining magistrate, to contest the debt, am 
 institute proceedings ngainst his unknown 
 prosecutor for conspiracy and illegal deten 
 tion. 
 
 But he was, in part, spared that trouble. 
 His jailor, in the course of flin day, rcturne 
 with the unexpected information that tho plain 
 tiff had failed to appear to prove his charge 
 and that, consequently, the latter was dis 
 
 missed, and the defendant discharged from 
 custody. 
 
 Burning with indignation ngainst his cow- 
 rdly persecutor, but unable to surmise what 
 ncmy he could hnvo made, to do him this 
 >ul injury, tho released Lincoln left ao pos- 
 iblc means untried to obtain access to his 
 resence ; but his efforts wcro in vain, his in- 
 uirica as useless ; even from tho policeman 
 
 r-ho had apprehended him upon the S H 
 
 ecks, no satisfaction could ho obtain, and 
 carcely any explanation whatever : save that 
 o had been employed by un old man, call- 
 ig himself by the name of John Vernon, to 
 rrest an absconding debtor, on his way to 
 ! ilifurnia. 
 
 This scanty informition he had obtained 
 >nly by threats of implicating the officer as 
 m accessory to tho conspiracy : and Lincoln 
 vent away, convinced in his own mind, that 
 he sheriff had been bribed to silence, and 
 hat the whole had been the work of some 
 secret foe, to whose identity he could detect 
 no clue. 
 
 Of tho name, alone, was he in possession : 
 hough it, too, wns a stranger to him ; and, 
 fohn Vernon ! John Vernon ! a hundred 
 imes he repeated to himself, bent on fixing 
 hat name so firmly in his thought that nothing 
 should eradicate the memory of the sole key 
 no had to the future discovery of a mystery 
 that much perplexed, nay, nearly maddened 
 im. 
 
 Hut this wa* not the only blow ho was des 
 tined to feel. Ilis next step, of course, after 
 surrendering the futil_> search for his myste 
 rious persecutor, was to seek his sister in her 
 home, and surprise her with the personal an 
 nouncement that her brother wad still in the 
 city, a lingerer yet upon the soil he was sup 
 posed to have leit behind. 
 
 Ilownhall wo describe the feelings of Lin 
 coln, when met at tho door of hi cottngo- 
 homo by its weeping mistress, with the tale of 
 her young charge s strange disappearance; 
 and its startling explanation, contained in tho 
 brief note left by his sister, to allay, in some 
 measure, the apprehensions which her other 
 wise inexplicable departure must occasion. 
 Better, far better, can the penetrating reader 
 conceive, than wo depict, tho effect on the 
 hapless brother. 
 
 1 Misfortunes novor come singly how true 
 these words, ho said at last, O how bitterly. 
 
 1 Heavens 1 and 00 twas not enough that 
 all my plans should be thwarted, all my bright 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 hopes dashed to earth ! not enough, when 
 even fortune seemed for a while providential- 
 ly to favor me, that the paradise of my aspira 
 tions should bo torn from beneath my very 
 feet, and this beating heart hurled headlong 
 from the pinnacle of hope no, no ! miseries 
 had not enough accumulated, even when 
 tern fate made me a companion with felons, 
 a fellow prisoner with the thieves and pick* 
 pockets of my native city ! No; to all this 
 id added this last, most tciriblo blow of all ; 
 and from tho gloom and misery of a jail, I 
 emerge to find her, for whose sake I would 
 havo sought the .shores of California, torn 
 from her home, exposed to the dangers of a 
 sea voyage, and the thousand hazards which 
 beset an unprotected girl the companion of 
 a band of adventurers ! Well, well ! tis fate 
 I must, I must submit. 
 
 But the stoicism of settled despair breathed 
 in tin last word?, soon qualified him fur culm 
 and cool deliberation. When ho reflected, 
 dispassionately, fathoming as he did the whole 
 of his young sister s devoted scheme, he 
 could not but admit that tho thoughtless girl 
 was not altogether unprotected ; that matters 
 were not quite so bud as they might have 
 b;en. 
 
 Ellen, though deprived of a brother s care, 
 had still one friend left to look to; one who 
 loved her with manly devotion ; and Lincoln 
 felt assured that Henry Vernon would peril 
 his very existence to shield the woman whom 
 ho idolized from harm. 
 
 Despite, therefore, every fear and draw, 
 buck, Eugene could not well shut his heart 
 t> thexe comforting convictions, and comfort 
 ed ho was. 
 
 Yet mingled with these grains of consola 
 tion, camo buck the maddening thought of 
 his own situation; his intended voyago pre 
 vented his blighted visions of wealth, his pas* 
 Mijju-money lost, his heart s dearest object 
 bullied. Yet lie would not suf .r himself to 
 be excited by these aggravating reminiscences 
 he sixt himself down to meditate coolly on 
 the best course to bo pursued. 
 
 He could not bear tho idea of relinquishing 
 for -over the goiden dream of fortune that still 
 haunted him; he felt, indeed, that ho hud a 
 fresh incentive to persevere in his original 
 intention, for not only would he be on the 
 high-road to tho wealth he so panted for, but 
 tliis would of course place him in tho immo- 
 diato way of regaining his lost sister. Yet 
 .Mga nat all this, he hud forfeited both his op 
 
 portunity and its purchase money for the 
 passage-payment had of course been made, 
 and was lust to him and thus was swallowed 
 up the whole amount he had reserved for 
 his own use how then wai the means for a 
 fresh venture to be obtained? True, two 
 hundred of his thousand yet remained in the 
 widow s baud, but thin was sacredto the good 
 woman s use, and no earthly consideration 
 would have induced him to withdraw the 
 generous gift from one to whom befell under 
 grateful obligation. 
 
 Long and deliberately ho pondered, but the 
 end of all this was, that he resolved on laying 
 his whole situation frankly before the noble 
 and liberal minded man who hnd fo magnani 
 mously rewarded the signal service rendered 
 to tho firm in which he was so deeply in 
 terested. 
 
 The result exceeded even the most sanguine 
 anticipations he had dared to form. The 
 gentleman heard him, attentively and kindly, 
 listened patiently to the frank narrative of the 
 young man s disappointment and subsequent 
 trials, the loss of sister, friend, passago and 
 passage-money; and, after satisfying himself 
 by inquiry, of tho truth of Lincoln s singular 
 statement, he announced to his overjoyed 
 protege, his fullest confidence in his honor 
 and good faith, and own determination to aid 
 his praineworthy young friend to tho best of 
 hit* ability. 
 
 In little more than one week s time after 
 Eugene Lincoln cmergnd from Lovorett t. 
 jail, an arrangement hud boon perfected, by 
 virtue of which ho was to proceed, overland, 
 to San Francisco, as tho agent and partner of 
 his benefactor, in a private adventure to the 
 Gold Regions ! 
 
 Every preparation was made, everything 
 duly arranged for tho comfort and conveni 
 ence of the young adventurer, mid by tho 
 tenth duy following tho sailing of his sister 
 and Vernon, ho found himself fully cquip pcd 
 for a mining and trading expedition, and on 
 his way over the continent of America, to 
 distant California. 
 
 The overland route had been selected by 
 his benefactor as tho safest and most expe 
 ditious, though the most expensive. And with 
 the eagerness of new-born hope did Eugene 
 Lincoln, no longer the merchant s clerk, but 
 the independent adventurer, proceed on his 
 enterprise. 
 
 From Boston to New York, and thence to 
 Pennsylvania s &istor city, by railroad he pro- 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 73 
 
 ceedcd ; ascending Lake E K , the same 
 steamer bore him through the long chain of 
 inland sens, even to the western limits of Su 
 perior. To the great Father of Waters the 
 transition was easy : down the Mississippi to 
 its junction with the Missouri, and from thence 
 westward along the latter river, hastened the 
 traveller ; and here, at last leaving the course 
 of thm kingly stream, a stout prairie horse and 
 nn Indian guide conducted him onward, by 
 daily stages, along the beaten track of Fre 
 mont s celebrated route across the moun 
 tains. 
 
 Onward, resolutely, he pressed ; days pass 
 ed, but each one saw him many leagues nearer 
 to his final destination. He calculated upon 
 reaching San Francisco a \veek at least in 
 advance of the ocear-voyageurs, and there 
 rejoining them ; and with a thrill of delighted 
 feeling at length learned he from his guide, 
 that they were within seven days journey ot 
 their destination, and no .hing had, as yet, 
 laken place to delay his successful pro 
 gress. 
 
 But man is ever confident and little did 
 Eugene Lincoln anticipate the strange and 
 startling interruption he was destined now 
 to meet ! 
 
 The Wateltfire of the Gnld Iluntrrs Dan 
 gers of {he Overland Route. Tke Puma s 
 Ferocious Attack Tke Death of the In 
 dian Guide Lincoln Lout in the Wilder 
 ness. 
 
 Hark ! hark ! through the jungle 
 
 The wild beast creeps ; 
 BewrtVe, O beware ! when 
 
 The monster leaps ! 
 
 AR and wide, around 
 the traveller, stretched 
 the green, level wilder 
 ness of a mighty prai 
 rie. The day was de 
 clining it had been a 
 clear and brilliant one 
 
 for that season of the year, even in those la 
 titudesand night-fall was fast approach 
 ing. 
 
 Fortune, so far, we hare already said, had 
 favored our overland adventurer. Not that 
 
 difficulties and obstacles had been, by any 
 means, entirely avoided ; but no serious im 
 pediments had arisen. Hardships end priva 
 tions there were, however, and these present 
 ed themselves in the forms so naturally to be 
 expected, in a far journey through a wild, 
 western wilderness, and unsettled tract of 
 forest and prairie land, the hunting-ground 
 of the savage and the home of t^e tameless 
 beast. 
 
 Lincoln and his solitary companion, the 
 guide, had halted for the niglit, and pitched 
 their tent ; wh ! ch, with their other necessary 
 equipments, were carried by two led horses, 
 the travellers themselves mounting a couple 
 of strong Indian ponies, thut served their pur 
 pose well. 
 
 Two months had nearly elapsed since, 
 leaving the course of the Mississippi, they 
 had commenced the ascent of the Missouri- 
 hundreds of miles to the westward of its 
 extreme source they row found themselves; 
 and in the midst of the most desolatq region 
 they had yet eutered. The very farthest 
 boundaries of civilization seemed to have been 
 passed ; it was many days since the last log 
 house of the squatter had greeted their eyes ; 
 the territory of the friendly Indian tribes had 
 sometime since been left behind, and even 
 the roving red men were only rarely now to 
 be met with, and then few in number and far 
 between, 
 
 But little cared Lincoln for this ; for from 
 his fellow-traveller and guide he had already 
 learned with satisfaction, th-\t they were now 
 only seven day s journey from San Francisco 
 nnd the sea shore, and he felt, with equal joy, 
 that the deserted aspect of the country was 
 hut a gratifying proof of his near approach 
 to the Pacific coast. 
 
 The sun was setting as they built the watch- 
 fire and prepared to cook their evening meal. 
 The latter consisted of a fat haunch of veni 
 son, a welcome prize from a noblo buck, the 
 Indian had an hour before shot ; and screen 
 ed from the cold night air by the thick folds 
 of their tent, they made as grateful a repast 
 in that wild prairie as ever blessed the pam 
 pered palate of the most fastidious epicure. 
 But ere, tired and weary though they were, 
 either retired after this refreshment to repose, 
 there were certain precautions to be taken, 
 which the safety of both rendered absolutely 
 necessary . 
 
 In their whole course through the prairie, 
 and ever since they had left the last outpoata 
 
74 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 of civilization, they had boon annoyed during 
 night, and their safety oonatnnlly jeopardi/cd 
 by the wild bcunt with which that region wax 
 infested, 
 
 To secure themselves ogairiHt these noctur 
 nal visitors, they had been compelled to gu- 
 ther around llwir nightly Ivalting places u per 
 fect wull of wood and rttkbUh) which was 
 fired and loft to burn, watched by one- of the 
 two companions whilo the other slept ; cncli 
 taking his turn in tending the fire, lighted to 
 frighten nil beasts of prey from too ulosu 
 proxitniiVi 
 
 A sulVicieiicy, however, of sticks and other 
 combustible matter hud already boon collect* 
 I d; and surrounding luemnolven by this Max* 
 ing rainpuit of defence, they spread their skin 
 couches in security. AH it wus necessary to 
 UHU tho utmost precaution in keeping alivo 
 the fire, only Lincoln, at lii>i, retired to u>t, 
 it being, as usual, arranged, that ut a certain 
 hour, tho Indian should awaken him, when 
 they weru to exchange sitiiat o is. 
 
 ( iK fttly refreshed by his simple, prairie re* 
 past, after a day s hard travel, and feeling tho 
 want of rcposr, tho traveller did not suffer 
 hit reflection* to det.iin him lung from iinl^n. 
 ruling slumber; though hi* very lust waking 
 thought was ono of sulikfuctiuu that ho was 
 BO near his journey end. 
 
 His last glance, UH liu lay ga/.ing, with u 
 iOnintion of ex<|uiMto comfort ut tho Lla/ing 
 fire, wm fixed upon the figure of tho dusky 
 guide ; who silt crouching on his hum* heforo 
 the burning embers, his copper-colored cum* 
 ple.xion and strongly liinrkuil features reflect* 
 ing, liko the face oi Home hroir/y statue, the 
 red glow oflho cruck .ing flumes; us with his 
 right hand the Indian Ni.rri d tho fuu, while, 
 with tho left, he took long and frequent 
 ditughts of brandy from u rude, deer-nkin 
 flunk, inlaid with uome gummy preparation 
 that rendered it impervious to liquids, And, 
 indeed, never was stimulant more needed ; lor 
 the day hud been one of unusual fatigue, in* 
 curred in fording n river but n few miles 
 back, anu with u hftlf-nltfht n tedious watch 
 before him, ho required its support, 
 
 Tho wouriiul traveller, iiKJiinwhile, k pt, - 
 Tho taciturn Indian, occasionally puusing to 
 look at his slumbering companion, druw forth 
 Ilia pipe, and chauntir.g now and then n 
 broken fragment of a cavugo war-Bong, aban 
 doned himself to the double delight of Binok* 
 ing und drinkjng. { till, with the red man s 
 cuutiyn, he relaxed not hie vigilance ; but ut 
 
 frequent intervals stopped to enliven the fire, 
 nnd udd a log or two to tho Mill burning 
 BMMi 
 
 It wait to bo remarked, however, that these 
 interval* became gradually longer, hia limbs 
 came less readily to the repeated task, and 
 his head began almost initcnxitily to nwny to 
 and fro, with a dull, munotonou* movement, 
 
 The night woro on The tdeeping travel* 
 ler continued to repose tho wntch-firo to 
 burn brightly as before. The only Hounds to 
 bu heard, through the stillness of tho night, 
 wero tho occasional neighing*) of the. horne.", 
 which were at rest within the enclnMire, pro* 
 tee.ted, like their masters, by tho bin/ing eir* 
 cl<! that suiri imded them ; or, from the dark* 
 mied prairie without, the howl oi Homo wild 
 heust, uiiraeted near by tho illumination, but 
 likewi.su deterred by it from venturing within 
 the ring. 
 
 Once or twice, indeed, the cries of these 
 dangerous neighbors wero heard clono ut 
 bund, and their uliifiing outlines dimly to bo 
 disccrncv!, not ten feet distant from the watch 
 lire ; but .bus guarded, the travellers wero in 
 no danger. And in this manner blowly waned 
 the long night, 
 
 Suddenly u rude shock broke tho rewt of 
 the tdoeping traveller. He uwuke, Started 
 up, bounded to hia feet, with the dreamy, in- 
 distinct perception of u rushing sound, u hu 
 man cry, a deafening nmr, 
 
 Appalled, dreading he Nearco knew what, 
 Iiinei ln dashed aside the hanging* of tho rude 
 lent, and leaped forth into tho centre of tho 
 enclosure, 
 
 All was nilcnee and tturkneu there I tho 
 watehlire had gone out I 
 
 Merciful (iodl* ho thought, what can 
 have happened I 4 
 
 Ho could feel the wild throbbing* of his 
 beating heart ai* ho bout down over the smok 
 ing embers, and tried tq fan into a flame the 
 faint bla/o of u few livo coals that still re* 
 nmmed, liko tho last lingering utarah the fir* 
 mament, the ronnant of the glowing wn .ch- 
 fire that had burned m brilliantly bcnrath his 
 last waking look. 
 
 With a husky volco ho culled on the nnmo 
 of tho guide, 
 
 Wampul Wampn! In Cod s nnmo an 
 swer 1 
 
 No Wampa s well-known tongue replied. 
 
 Tho dying embers, heaped together, at that 
 moment burst into u blu/e he caught up a 
 half-burnt faggot, and caul it among the hot 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 75 
 
 coals it in turn, kindled, and threw up a 
 bright light over the camping-ground. The 
 Indian was not there. 
 
 What could this mean ? Lincoln dared 
 not ask himself. 
 
 The increasing light flashed yet more 
 brightly around ; and then, as Lincoln stoop 
 ed one moment down, his steadfast scrutiny, 
 bent on the ground, he saw, along the wide 
 bed of smouldering ashes, along the whitened 
 surface of the earth, clear and distinct, and 
 but too palpable the streaming traces of hu 
 man blood, tho deep indentations of four 
 enortnous feet, and, beside the latter, the 
 marks as of some heavy body dragged swift- 
 Ij across! 
 
 The dripping gore, the tracks of a quad 
 ruped in the blood-stained ashes, the signs of 
 a burden borne away ; all told with dreadful 
 plainness, to the traveller, tho fate of his hap 
 less guide ! 
 
 On the ground where the Indian had last 
 been seen sitting, beside a pool of blood, lay 
 the brandy flask, which had cheered his mid 
 night vigil. It was empty it told its own 
 tale. 
 
 The poo Indian, from his excessive and 
 unusual fatigue, had doubtless found himscli 
 forced to stimulate his exhausted energies by 
 increasing the quantity of his accus-tomcd 
 draughts, until ihcy ended in pradu.il exhaus 
 tion and intoxication ; and in this state of par 
 tial oblivion and helplessness, it was plain he 
 must have suffered the firo unconsciously t 
 be extinguished thus removing the barrie 
 that had in crposcd its friendly protection 
 from the savage animals that prowled covet 
 ously around. 
 
 The fearful finale was no less evident 
 some one of these terrors of the prairie, scent 
 ing its prey, and no longer held back by the 
 fire, had leaped the enclosure, and seizing or 
 the first living object in its course, had born 
 off the defenceless Indian, of course incapabl 
 of resistance, now a mangled feast for th 
 beast of prey. 
 
 Everything indicated that fearful intruder 
 to have been an animal of enormous size and 
 power ; but to what description of quadrupeds 
 it belonged, Lincoln had not the experience 
 adequate to decide. 
 
 But might it not have committed yet greater 
 ravages, unknown to him? He thought of 
 the horses, and with a thrill of wild apprehen 
 sion he turned toward that quarter of the en 
 closure occupied by them. 
 
 There, huddled in one frightened group to- 
 ;ether, trembling and shivering ; with care 
 aid flat against their heads ; their limbs in- 
 apable of motion, save the quivering of fear, 
 tood the objects of his inquiring glance. 
 L he sight told volumes of the dread charac- 
 er of the encampment s late invader. But 
 here was no time for reflection; even as he 
 hus gazed, suddenly he beheld, first one and 
 hen another of the horses break suddenly 
 away, leap forward, then as abruptly recoil, 
 [uaking in every limb their nostrils dilated 
 and snuffing convulsively at the night air. 
 There wusatcund like rushing feet, and then 
 i terrific roar. 
 
 A shrill neigh of terror broke from the af- 
 righted horses, who had scented the coming 
 of their enemy it was the wild animal, re 
 turning from its den to bear thither a second 
 prey ! 
 
 Before I jincoln could rush to the tent ; be 
 fore he coujd gras^ a weapon of defence, the 
 returning animal had reached the spot, clear 
 ed the enclosure, and taken its le.np. He 
 had just time to pluck up a firebrand from the 
 midst of the few rekindled embers, as the ani 
 mal appeared. 
 
 Instantaneous death fully expected, he yet 
 retained presence of mind suflicient to wave 
 the burning brand before the eyes of the leap 
 ing beast, which made its last grand spring 
 rigl.tat the spot on which he stood. 
 
 It was an instant of intense horror ; there 
 was a rushing in the atmosphere, like tho 
 hurricane passage of a cannon ball; he felt 
 himself hurled, with a wild shock, backward 
 to the earth ; he turned, as he thought, his 
 last despairing glance upward at the heaven 
 
 above, at the world urouud,^md the beast 
 
 had passed over his head, overturning him in 
 its way. as it leaped among tho cowering 
 horses behind ! 
 
 A shriek of agony, an almost human sob, 
 from the doomed steed on whose back the 
 destroying beast had sprung *and then the 
 noise of a desperate struggle, followed by tho 
 gushing sound of spurting blood, and the 
 horse, with its jugular artery .severed, itslife- 
 current draining last, was dragged, with 
 fierce growls, over the enclosure, and rapidly 
 disappeared from before its master s eyes, in 
 the surrounding obscurity ; proving how mon 
 strous must be the strength of the animal that 
 inflicted its dying agonies. 
 
 What were, what must have been the feel 
 ings of the survivor! The terrible visitor had 
 

 70 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 disappeared again with hit prey ; but was it 
 not that he might convey this new victim to 
 hit lair ? and would he not a third time 
 return ? 
 
 The thought was dreadful ; still it was but 
 too reasonable. And like a brave man did 
 he prepare for the emergency. Many mo- 
 mcnts would probably pass oro the dreaded 
 return was to bo expected ; his only safety 
 lay, evidently in so improving that time, ac to 
 rekindle tho fire which had boon his safe 
 guard. It was no light tntik to collect tho 
 necessary fuel; but quickly ho hud encircled 
 the camp with u wall of blazing faggots, and 
 soon tho gold-seeker s watch-fire, in its pris 
 tine brilliancy, once more its burning /one 
 displayed. 
 
 Safe once again within its charmed circle, 
 Eugene Lincoln had leisure now to seek, 
 within tho tent, for* tho arms with which he 
 was of course provided. Just within tho 
 flaming wall ho then took his station, with a 
 heavy horse pistol in ono hund, another in hi* 
 bolt, and along bowie-knife tight between his 
 teeth. And thus nnned, thus prepared, 
 awaited ho for the first Hignal of. tho animal s 
 third reappearance, which ho was resolved 
 should he tho lust I 
 
 Hark ! how tho prairie-grass crackles how 
 the tall spears wave, and tho dry sticks snap 
 in pieces beneath that swift tread. Tho ra 
 venous beast returns to finish his bloody feast. 
 With ono rapid succession of long bounds, 
 onward ho comes then the curs of Lincoln 
 were almost deafened by the howl of furious 
 disappointment with which the rapacious ani 
 mal moots tho flory barrier in his path. 
 
 Scenting hi* piny and enraged at the ob 
 stacle, round and round the flatnc-wtilled -en* 
 closure circled the powerful brute ; socking in 
 vnm for some inlet in that glowing rampart. 
 Repeatedly he ventured close o tho flames, 
 then backed as ofien ; intimidated by that 
 element which is the devouring scourge of the 
 prairie. Once, indeed, furious at being so 
 long bafllcd, tho enraged beast actually made 
 an attempt to leap tho fire, but fell back, 
 severely scorchdd, and burnt, and retired, 
 gnashing his teeth with impotent vengeance. 
 
 He soon catnn back, however ; not as Lin 
 coln hud expected, to renew bis efforts; but 
 to lay himself quietly down, within a safe dis 
 tance from the fire, where ho stretched him 
 self out at full length, and remained with his 
 head resting upon his paw and his red eyes 
 
 steadily fixed on the traveller within the 
 magic ring. 
 
 This action alarmed the latter far more 
 than the most desperate attempts of the ani 
 mal to reach him. Ho saw at once that hid 
 enemy, perceiving the uselessncssof such en 
 deavors, had, with brute sagacity, laid him- 
 self down, patiently to await the lime when 
 the traveller s fuel should become exhausted, 
 and the fire to die away, for want of susten 
 ance. 
 
 To Lincoln it was plain, that, in such an 
 event, ho would bo completely at tho mercy 
 of his pitiless foo. 
 
 It was yet, he calculated, three hours until 
 sunriso, the guardian fire conld not be more 
 than an hour longer sustained, with his pro- 
 sent fuel ; nor, in the presence of his watch 
 ful enemy could ho increase his stock. The 
 only course left to ensure his safety was by 
 ridding himself of hi* formidable neighbor. 
 How to contrive this, however, was his grand 
 diiliuuliy. 
 
 Ho determined to trust to chance and Pro 
 vidence, which uo often befriend tho brave 
 soul ; mid to a lucky shot. Tho reuson that 
 he had not before made use of his weapons 
 wan, tho gloom in which tho animal s position 
 outside the firo hud enveloped it, and tlio un 
 certainty which this must give to his aim ; and 
 Lincoln had not been ignorant that the effect 
 of a slight wound upon most wild beasts is to 
 incite them to tho most suvogo pilch of fury 
 and desperation* 
 
 Ho thought a rauraont and determined to 
 rihk all upon one grand ha/urd. Steadily 
 raining bis pistol ho lired, ho fired not at ilio 
 animal, but over his head, The result fully 
 anHwered his hopes; his four-footed friend 
 ro^otoliis fout, startled by tho flash and re 
 port, but his wrath unexcited by a wound, 
 and slowly and cautiously advanced as close 
 to tho tire as comfort would allow ; seemingly 
 ben tM satisfying himself as to the nature of 
 the interruption. 
 
 Now was tho critical moment ! 
 
 Lincoln waited until the animal wad so near 
 that, from the dark shaggy outline of his 
 monstrous body, ho could see tho fierce glit 
 ter of two burning eves, that oulwhono, in 
 piercing brilliancy, liio living coals of the 
 watch-fire. 
 
 {Summoning his natural nerve and self-pos 
 session, full in the eye ho looked the infuri- 
 ated beast, never onco removing .lis steadfast 
 gaze ; while slowly he lifted his second pis- 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 77 
 
 iol, lifted it till both it and those glowing orbs 
 met in tho focus of that unswerving glance ; 
 a light finger pressed the trigger, and again 
 the report of a pistol rang, stunningly, on the 
 air. 
 
 An unearthly yell followed tho flash, a 
 gurgling Hound succeeded to a heavy full, and 
 silence wrapped tho camp. 
 
 Only for u moment did Lincoln pause, and 
 then tearing away a portion of the blazing 
 wall, sprang outside the fiery circle. Ilia fe 
 rocious enemy had fallen, with a bullet thro 
 tho eye-bull, sent homo to the brain. 
 
 Drugging tho dead body of the bcnst still 
 closer to tho fire-light, its slayer bent down 
 to examine iho enormous carcase. The ani 
 mal that ho hud slain was none other than an 
 immense puma, sometimes termed by natu 
 ralists 4 tho American Lion ! and as he made 
 tho discovery, ho was no longer surprised at 
 the astonishing strength and courage it had 
 displayed. 
 
 But though now fairly rid of the puma, 
 Lincoln s foublcs were not yet ended. 
 When morning came, with it came also tho 
 distressing knowledge of a situation as novel 
 as it was embarrassing. 
 
 He was nlonc in the heart of a wild prairie 
 with no particular road to follow deprived, 
 by death, of his gtrde, and totally ignorant of 
 tbe route he was now left to pursue. How 
 ever, he was but a few days journey from 
 his destination, this, undeniably was in his fa 
 vor ; he could pursue a direct course for 
 ward, and trust to Providence and his own 
 sagacity to guide him. 
 
 At duybreak, therefore, after a hasty meal, 
 saddling tho horse of the ill-fated Indian it 
 was his own that had perished so miserably 
 he furled his tent and placed iton the back of 
 one of the pack-horses, re-loading the other 
 beasts of burden with the provisions, of which 
 he had yet a moderate store ; then, though 
 wholly unacquainted i-ith tho route, known 
 only to his guide, tho hunters and savages, 
 sot forward with a stout heart in the direction 
 of tho setting sun. 
 
 Halting each night for several successive 
 days, singly and alone, he pitched his tent, 
 secured his horses, and built his fire ; adopt 
 ing the precaution to collect an ample suffi 
 ciency of fuel to last till the morning dawned 
 
 by which means ho took care to guard ef 
 fectually against the terrible fate to which his 
 unfortunate guide s carelessness had subject 
 ed him. 
 
 Thus he proceeded and always journey 
 ing with tho sun, westward, which he argued 
 must bring him, sooner or later, to the I acific 
 shore. 
 
 Hut at length, in some intricate mountain 
 passes he became bewildered ; tho seven days 
 journey predicted by tho guide, on tho night 
 of his death, had already lengthened ilscU to 
 twelve ; and he observed, with uneasiness, 
 that none of tho natural indications of the 
 near proximity to tho ocean were to bo per 
 ceived. 
 
 1 artof this time ha l been taken tip in tho 
 threading the mazes of a dense pine forest, 
 from which ho had emerged again into the 
 serpentine mountain gorges, and after three 
 days more of persevering progress, he issued 
 thence upon the banks of a river, that wound 
 like a sivcr thread through tho highland 
 scenery. 
 
 TliK Sacramento! the Sacramento!* 
 
 Burst with a thrill of joy ecstatic from his 
 breathless lips, for he deemed it the precious 
 waters of the goldpn El Dorado. 
 
 Joy ! joy ! I am on tho boundaries of tho 
 Gold Region 1* 
 
 But suddenly ho halted gazed wildly, fear- 
 fully around recoiled from tho ppnrkling 
 water, as if it had been a poisoned chalice. 
 lie had made a maddening discovery. 
 
 In the supposed Sacramento he recognised 
 the same river he had forded the very day of 
 tho memorable catastrophe, moro than fifteen 
 days before I 
 
 The stunning truth flashed full upon him 
 ho had lost his way among the mountains, 
 followed his own path backward through the 
 forest, and arrived at the self-same spot 1 
 from whence he ead started, full a fortnight 
 previous 1 
 
 4 Doomed doomed of Heaven ! my pro 
 visions exhausted, my way hopelessly lost 
 I shall die in the wilderness 1 moaned the de 
 spairing adventurer, as he sunk in hopeless 
 despondency upon the mistaken river s side, 
 in sight of tho deserted watch-fire, where the 
 hapless Wampa had met his death, and the 
 puma had perished I 
 
78 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 Another Thrilling J rairie AdventurtThe 
 Indians The Pursuit Kit Carson, the 
 Prince of the Gold JfuntcraThe Stra 
 tagem of the Savages, 
 
 But who that chief? his name on every 
 
 shore 
 Is fumed line] feared they ak and know no 
 
 more. 1 BYRON, 
 
 NTIRELYuncon- 
 
 scious our unfortunate 
 friend Lincoln remain- 
 cd, for how long a time 
 , In! know not, neither 
 do we know ; and but 
 for a single, unlooked 
 
 for incident, it is more than probable he would 
 have awaited, in tlio hopeless inanition of de 
 spair, for death to come to his relief, and thus 
 spare him the horrors of an existence drugged 
 out in all the tortures of slow starvation. 
 
 Providence, whose ways are ever inscru 
 table, is said to interpose oftcnest when hope 
 has given place to utter despondency ; and 
 yet, in the present instance, that interposition 
 if interposition of Providence it was, came 
 iu a strange shape certainly. 
 
 What first aroused the despairing and hope 
 less man to outward objects once more, was 
 the confused sound of discordant voices, in 
 termingled in a strange chorus of cries and 
 yells, and thehurriod trampling of many foet 
 around. 
 
 Suddenly opening his eyes to the light and 
 blinded by it as he staggered to his feet, it 
 was fully a moment before he could see any 
 surrounding objects clearly. But, ere he did 
 so, a yell, so wild, so shrill, so deafening that 
 it almost stunned him, broke suddenly on his 
 astonished ears. 
 
 Dashing his hands instinctirely across his 
 eyes to dinpol the mist that hung before them, 
 he sight that his vision the next Instant took 
 in, caused him to recoil, with a bound, from 
 the epot. 
 
 Around, on every side, he beheld himself 
 encircled by a troop of wild figures, in fan- f 
 tiiHtic and avngo costumes, who woro dancing 
 about him and goMticuluting with every algn 
 of furocioud delight. It wu by a war tribo 
 of Indians that he was surrounded; and the 
 dreadful veil that ho had just heard, was 
 the thrilling war-whoop of the American 
 Aborigines. 
 
 It was uttered just as ho tottered to his feet 
 for the Indian*, it loomed* from IU M former 
 motionless and prostrate position, had Huppos* 
 ed him dead. Convinced by his sudden rise, 
 of their mistake, they closed up with fresh 
 shouts around him, completely hemming him 
 in! 
 
 Ho had seen but few of the red race, and 
 these only the friendly tribes through whose 
 territory ho had passed on the Missouri fron 
 tier ; but he had reiul much of the aboriginal 
 character and habits, and he knew at once, 
 from their fantastic dress and painted faces, 
 that he had, unfortunately, fallen in with a 
 war-party 
 
 He saw that it was with a savage tribe, un 
 friendly to the whites, he had now to deal ; 
 and wan aware that he must expect the worst. 
 His capture, ho believed, would be but the 
 precursor of his death ; and with this peril 
 came back the love of existence, the desire of 
 life. 
 
 One quick, flashing glance he sent around 
 him ; his heart sunk within him as that look 
 took in the score of savage forms, with their 
 deakly weapons and war-paint, encompassing 
 him as in a net. Escape, it was evident to 
 him was impossible ; but he felt convinced his 
 life might bo for the present safe, that ho 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 79 
 
 would only be reserved for his final doom, 
 and that by tortures the most fearful. 
 
 Ho dctonuiucd, therefore, since to elude 
 them was hopeless, to force them to take his 
 life at once, and thus by a sudden und speedy 
 death, avoid the tortures which otherwise 
 would be iu store for him. 
 
 Thus desperately resolving, just us nn ngcd 
 chief advanced, with signs of amity, from the 
 throng, ho waited only until the Indian was 
 within a few feet of him, then, springing sud 
 denly upon him, he snatched the tomahawk 
 from his belt, and dashing swiftly past the 
 surprised old man, cut hix way, in a single in 
 stant, through the startled savages, who im 
 mediately gave way before the whirling 
 hatchet, winch took them completely un 
 awares. 
 
 The living wall was broken as if by magic 
 and Lincoln darted beyond the group that 
 surrounded him, und lied with a fleet foot 
 down the course of the river which he had 
 mistaken for the Sacramento. 
 
 The Hying man looked behind him ; and a 
 score of sinewy forms were in pursuit, and n 
 Hcoro of barbed arrows were drawn to tho 
 head. Internally he blessed Ileuvcn for it 
 it was the death he sought. 
 
 Uut the same Heaven willed it otherwise. 
 The voice of the old chief, who had been so 
 daringly despoiled of his tomahawk, was now 
 heard calling, in a peremptory tone to his 
 party. 
 
 He spoke in the Indian tongue, words in 
 comprehensible to Lincoln ; but the latter 
 conjectured their meaning, when a second 
 backward glance shewed him that each up 
 raised tomahawk and pointed arrow were 
 lowered, though still every one of the pursu 
 ers kept on upon his truck their object was 
 to take him alive. 
 
 He knew it, he saw it and in the same 
 breath determined that it should noi be. On, 
 on, along the river s margin he fied on, still 
 on, until he should come to u convenient spot 
 for the execution of his purpose ; while on 
 ward, likewise onward, yet faster, and each 
 moment gaining on him, came the yelling In 
 dians. 
 
 He saw that he was losing ground and soon 
 must be overtaken. Suddenly ho paused 
 halted turned on the riverside; hit pursu 
 ers uttered a simultaneous shout of triumph ; 
 they believed he was about to surrender 
 they were deceived. 
 
 Oac bold, headlong plunge, one reckless 
 
 leap from tho brink of the stream, and tho 
 pursued dived benrath tho water, and ten 
 feet from tho spot, reappeared upon the sur 
 face, 
 
 Tho reader will havo anticipated, already, 
 his purpcsc. It was to swim the river as long 
 as exhausted nature would allow, nnd then 
 perish by drowning rather than fall into their 
 hauls ! 
 
 One after another, full n dozen of tho In 
 dians plunged into the stream after the fugi 
 tive. They were accustomed to the eh ment 
 nnd swam like ducks, in comparison with the 
 latter, who was impeded by his heavy clothes 
 and though a skillful swimmer, made but in- 
 dill ercnt progress. 
 
 Still, he had greatly the start of then,, and 
 having succeeded, by a dexterous manoeuvre 
 in freeing himself of his cumbrous boots, he 
 held his way steadily for no inconsiderable 
 distance. Nevertheless, he swam under fear 
 ful disadvantages, and tho most active of his 
 pursuers was coining, at every stroke, closer 
 upon him. 
 
 He redoubled his exertions, ho strained 
 every nervo ; the foremost savjigo was within 
 his length of him could almost touch him. 
 Complj .ely exhausted, incapable ot further 
 exertion, the hunted swimmer threw up his 
 arms, gave one last look to Heaven, and 
 then sunk beneath the surface, just as the 
 foremost savage reached his hand to seize 
 him. 
 
 The waves oi the river, the forest around, 
 echoed to the sharp crack of a rifle, and the 
 foremost pursurer rolled a corpse upon his 
 back. 
 
 Ere the death-yell of the slain Indian had 
 been borne on the breath of the wind past the 
 savages in his rear, there was a deep-voiced 
 hurrah from the opposite bank, and then a 
 sudden splash, as the form of a man plunged 
 headforemost into the river, and swam under 
 water to the scene of the blood crimsoned wa 
 ters, escaping by this means the shower of 
 arrows that darkened the air, discharged at 
 him from the shore on which the larger por 
 tion of the savajres had remained ; but who, 
 on the death of the foremost of the pursuing 
 swimmers, with yells of vengeance, also took 
 the water, to the aid of their comrades, tho 
 old chief following last. 
 
 The next moment the man whose shot had 
 been the Indian s death warrant, was visible 
 for an instant at tho surface, aa he rose for 
 air, with the exhausted form of the half- 
 
60 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 drowned Lincoln in his rmn,nnd then boldly 
 and utoutly, with hi* burden skillfully nuiutn- 
 cd, struck out for the neighboring shore, 
 reached it, and laid the fellow-being he had 
 saved on the sod. 
 
 Gasping, in partial itrnngulation, for a mo 
 ment or two, the poor youth wn scarce con 
 scious until ho felt its rostomtivo properties, 
 ihut u draught of brandy titul boon poured, by 
 the sarno friendly hand, down his throat; the 
 invigorating effect, however, was immediate, 
 and by n strong effort ho rose staggering to 
 his fcot, still struggling for air and breath to 
 ejaculate, brokenly, 
 
 Who who uro you, kind sir? God 
 Cod blwNH you 1 You you hnvu saved my 
 life. 1 
 
 Ilo had but time to see that his gallant 
 preserver was a rnun of powerful proportions 
 and Herculean stature, dressed in the rudu 
 deer skin suit of a western hunter, when a 
 grasp of the nriii from his Heaven sent friend 
 called his intension to tho river and the foe, 
 from death by both of which he had been so 
 marvellously reprieved. 
 
 He hoard,. too, tho voice of tho hunter, in 
 a clear, full tone, with its frontiormnn a ac 
 cent, 
 
 See, stranger ; there tho red devils come. 
 Take another pull at tho liquor, and keep a 
 keen cyo ahead you ll need both soon The 
 critters are after us, there s no mistuko. Ilolu 
 my powder horn for mo, stranger, while I 
 jest pick off a couple of these infarnal var 
 mints, with Old Sacramento ! 
 
 And as, in this easy, unconcerned way, ho 
 spoke, true to his word, he levelled his riflo 
 nt one of the advancing Ravages, now nearly 
 abreast in tho midlo of the river, and rapid* 
 ly making for the shore where stood the hun 
 ter ; who, marking his victim, with unerring 
 aim, fired. 
 
 Tho next instant was tho savage s last, and 
 tho waters of tha peaceful river were crim 
 soned with tho life-blood of a second red man 
 Tho rifle of the stout hunter was double bur- 
 barrelled, and immediately turning tho muz 
 zle on n third foo, ho discharged tho remain 
 ing bullet with the sumo dendly effect of their 
 predecessors. 
 
 The Indians, yelling like no many demons, 
 infuriated at tho death of their three ill-fated 
 comrades, eager to avenge their doom, strain 
 ed every sinew to reach tho bank, but the 
 river was wide, tho hunter s eye was quick, 
 and his bullet ever true. 
 
 Loading and reloading, flgnln and ngnin, 
 with the wonderful oolority of long experience 
 one after another, he picked off seven more 
 of the howling savages, coolly reserving hii 
 fire,inench instance, until the breast of tho 
 intended victim wai, nt every other moment 
 rained, in tho act of respiration, above tho 
 mirfiu p, when, ntrait to tho expound mark, ore 
 ngnin it wan Hiibiriorgod, in making tho for 
 ward stroke, tho eagle eye and sure hand 
 sent the lead quivering home. 
 
 Tho skill, tho cool courage, tho inflexible 
 resolution of the strange hunter, filled the ex- 
 cited Lincoln with admiration and surprise, 
 lie could heiiroe, believe bin HCHNCR as ho be* 
 held, one by one, the numbers of the unvngcM 
 thinned so rapidly, and heard the mournful 
 lamentations of the survivors over their fallen 
 braves, and tlu n tho well-nigh superhuman 
 howls of hate and vengeance that followed 
 as they struggled yet more desperately to gain 
 the shore, winch the nearest had now neatly 
 reach nd. 
 
 4 Ilark ye, stranger, cried tho deep voice 
 of the hunter, hurried, in a minute more 
 wo nhull Imvo tho pesky red-skins on us. 
 Tho born devils swim like sea otters their 
 turn in coining now an 1 what s more, they 
 know it. 
 
 4 Ha ! cried Lincoln, in there noway of 
 escape ? 
 
 Hut ere there was time for an answer the 
 most brief, a tomahawk was eeen whizzing 
 through tho air, as the first Indian gained the 
 dry land, passing, with fearful rapidity close 
 to the head of tho hunter, who had coolly 
 bent his neck nshe marked the enemy s pur 
 pose and saw the murderous missile flashing 
 in the sunlight, suffering it pass by, where, 
 but lor the sudden movement it would have 
 brained him. 
 
 4 Quick ! quick I look to your pistols, sir, 
 shouted the intended \ictim of the iron mes 
 senger, as ho dropped his purposed murderer 
 dead on the bank, up which tho Indians were 
 scrambling. 
 
 1 Quick, he added, and I hope your pis 
 tols will stand you in as good stead as Old Sa 
 cramento here. 
 
 And clubbing his good rifle as he epoke, ho 
 swung it with gigantic force twice round his 
 head, and then, with a wide sweep of tho pon 
 derous butt to and fro right in their midst, he 
 scattered the savages, stunned and bleeding, 
 likechalff before his iron arm. 
 
 The Indians gave back a moment in con- 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 fusion, evidently astonished at the extraordi 
 nary bravery and strength their powerful an 
 tagonist had displayed. This momentary 
 wavering was an advantage which the hunter 
 did not fail to improve. 
 
 * Back, back, for your life ! Get behind the 
 trees, rang in Lincoln s ear, while he felt him- 
 self drawn backward. 
 
 yielding to the impulse, he at the same in 
 stant lifted his heavy horse pistol, levelled it 
 in the direction of the savages, and, as he 
 found himself dragged behind the shelter of a 
 great oak, saw an Indian bound into the air, 
 then bite the dust. 
 
 The latter paused, as if in deliberation ; 
 the voice of the ugcd chief, who had been the 
 last to gain the spot, was heard among them ; 
 and hunter and traveller, from their tempo 
 rary shelter, could observe the savages in loud 
 vociferation. 
 
 The hunter s grasp tightened on Lincoln s 
 arm, 
 
 1 They re taking counsel, stranger, what s 
 best to be done. Hark ! I know their onna- 
 t ral tongue. They want to tomahawk us on 
 the spot but the old chief says no we must 
 bo taken alive. I suspicions why, stranger 
 but keep close we may see our way out o 
 this yet. 
 
 1 My noble fellow, why, in the first place 
 peril your life to save mine ? 
 
 The other looked at him almost indignantly 
 as he said, 
 
 What ! d ye think I d see a man murder 
 ed by n legion o red skins, and not move a- 
 hand or foot to help him? No, no, stranger, 
 not while my name s humph ! and he in 
 stantly checked himself. I mustn t let them 
 red devils hear that they d skin me alive, if 
 they only guessed it, 1 reckon. I ve seen a 
 much worse strait than this, mnny a time in 
 my life ; all I care for is Ed ard if he s safe 
 
 it s |i tt | e I 
 
 Carson Carson ! for God s sake beware ! 
 Treachery ! shouted a voice that caused 
 both to turn, as if at a serpent s sting, their 
 startled looks behind. 
 
 Directly in the hunter s rear, not six feet 
 from his back, creeping stealthily along thro 
 the thin brushwood upon his hands and knees, 
 a gaunt Indian met the eye that was turned 
 too suddenly upon him to allow a change of 
 posture ere he was perceived. 
 
 But the keen glance of jthe hunter, only on 
 instant resting on him, seemed to be anxious- 
 
 y seeking out some second object in the back 
 ground, behind the crouching savage ; and the 
 moment was seized upon by the latter, with 
 the alertness of hi * race, to spring from his 
 crawling attitude, at one long bound, on tho 
 apparently unguarded man, with hunting, 
 knife upraised. 
 
 The very instant that it flashed in the 
 broad light above that massive chest tho re 
 port of a gun-shot echoed along the reverbe 
 rating atmosphere, and as the treacherous as 
 sailant fell a dead man at tho hunter s feet, 
 with the assassin s knife still grasped in hia 
 hand, the light form of a youth, with a Spanish 
 carbine in his hand, leaped across the lifeless 
 body and threw himself upon tho neck of the 
 frontiersman, exclaiming, 
 
 1 Thank God 1 my friend, my noble bene 
 factor, I was in time to save your precious 
 life. 
 
 1 Ila ! it was you, then, Edward ? the 
 voice was your o\vn ? ejaculated the hunter, 
 as he returned, with more than manly fervor, 
 the embrace of the youth. I am sorry, very 
 sorry, boy, that you have exposed yourself to 
 hazard, by coming hither at this time. 1 was 
 thanking my stars a moment ago, boy, that 
 you were not by my side when I fell in with 
 those yelling red-skins yonder that you, at 
 all event?, were out of harm s way and the 
 first thing I know, here you at?.. 
 
 4 But you were in danger, dear Carson ! 
 how could I stay V urged the boy, earnestly. 
 True, you left me at our camp a quarter of 
 a mile distant, to find a t eer for our supper ; 
 but 1 heard the repeated tiring, and 1 thought 
 something must have happened you. 1 knew 
 the Pawnees were prowling around, and if 
 the hunters had not been all gone *>om the 
 camp in search of the Indians, I should have 
 brought them along; I co ild not, would not 
 stay luckily the rire guided me hither m 
 season to slay your enemy. O my God ! 
 O my God ! it is the first human blood on my 
 hands! 
 
 And the young boy, with a tremulous voice 
 and a shuddering of the frame, turned away 
 his head, and leaned it on the shoulder of the 
 hunter, who was seen by Eugene tao dash- 
 manly tear from his eye, as though ashamed 
 of the emotion, while he ejaculated in a moved 
 tone, 
 
 1 Bless you, my boy, bless you 1 
 But the boy seemed not easily calmed, for 
 twice he was heard repealing, in trembling 
 tones, 
 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 1 my God ! tho Tint human blood I ever 
 shod, 
 
 4 You nre m mtukon, brave boy, you nre 
 mistaken, MJd Lincoln, with an nir of some 
 
 surprise. It win my own bull thiit Hlew tho 
 savugo. I, too, saw tho wretch und fired, - 
 and In; held up liis second pistol, cvidontty 
 just discharged, It wui my weapon which 
 look his lifo. 1 
 
 Impo.siblo ? said tho boy, tremulously, ns 
 ho pointed to hi* still smoking carbine ; and 
 yot, would to I feu vcit it were HO, I would not 
 have thn blood of ii follow- Ix-ifij, , upon thcna 
 IwwN, cvon when tiuon in n just cause. O. 
 would it wcro tnii! ! hut no; HOC hero is tho 
 path of my bullet through the buck of his neck 
 it M too wido to bo iniulo by a pistol-bull 
 tilns I it is my work 1 
 
 1 And yot, said Lincoln, bonding down 5 
 4 my own shot ! it Huroly ditl not miss ? and 
 ha! hero is the very bull, buried in tho floh 
 of tho -sho ildur 1 know it struck the murk, 
 though my foot dipped, 
 
 Mistaken ! mistaken both of you ! cried 
 tho hunter, with n smile, as ho turned upward 
 tho fuco and chest of the corpse, and display 
 ed a knifu buried up to tho hilt in tho breust 
 of tho deiid wigugu, while he Rpurned tho gory 
 body with his foot Flesh-wounds both, are 
 those bullet holes ol yours, my good friends ; 
 but what do you think of thin stout blade 
 rijrht to tho red-skin s heart ? 
 
 * And BO, tho sneaking critter thought to 
 take mo unawares, did ho? he added, as ho 
 marked tho wondering nstonishment of both, 
 on perceiving that tho seemingly unprepared 
 hunter hud been fully on the watch, nnd in 
 readiness for the leap of tho treacherous foo ; 
 when a trapper loirns to catch a weaslo 
 asleep, then a pesky rek-skin may stand a 
 sort of uhuncu of taking Kit Civrson off his 
 guard not till then ! 
 
 1 Kit Canon ! Kit Carson ." ejaculated 
 Eugene, starting violently, * Is it possible 
 that you are that famous hunter and explorer 
 of tho fur west? Do I indeed see Kit Car- 
 *cw, tho pruirie-rangor, tho scout, tho gold- 
 discoverer? with whnso namo tho Union 
 rings? 
 
 Fc* nnd/io, stranger I You do BCO Kit 
 Carson plain Kit Carson, mind you ! re- 
 joined tho honest hunter, with a good-humor 
 ed smile, and a countenance as calm and 
 (pilot, an if that namo were not famous from 
 one end of tho land to tho other, from the Pa 
 cific to tho Atlantic coast, Plain Kit Ctr- 
 
 ion, and but thin IN no time forward*, with 
 a whole troop of Injuns around, thirsting for 
 our lives wo must actt\\\ on IH, stranger, 
 now, 1 
 
 Ilurtlly had the luat words left tho lips of 
 the gullunt hunter, when a terrific wnr*wlu>op 
 echoing from a hundred throats, npparently 
 burst from the Indians in front of tho shelter 
 ed little puny, 
 
 It was aguin nnd again repeated, almost in 
 cessantly, and the suvnges were seen dancing 
 and leaping, und making every variety of 
 IIO INO with their feet, humi*, nnd voices, but 
 making HO movement towards an nssuult from 
 tho stand they, hud taken when drivdn buck 
 to tho shore. 
 
 Tho boy I M ward nnd Lincoln looked be- 
 wililorcd, and confounded by the unearthly 
 din which italfonod their earn, Cnrs^n ad* 
 vaiicud a ^tcp, hulled, his lynx-like rye went 
 flashing round, with u quick, uneasy glance, 
 and oneo he raised his stalwart arm aloft and 
 shook it nngril). 
 
 * Heavens and earth, 1 nervously ejaculated 
 tho hunter, for tho first time seeming to lose 
 a portion of his habitual imperturbable cool 
 ness ; what new devi try s afoot, now ? 
 Those red rascals arc not making all this tar- 
 mil racket for nothing, That whispering and 
 chattering of theirs, just now, wait not for 
 nothing ! 
 
 Just sco lulu, stranger, and ho clutched 
 both luVcomrudes nervously by tho arm, onco 
 more. They sent this dead carrion, under 
 foot here, in the first pluce, jiut for nothing 
 else in the world, but to draw ofl 1 our tentiou 
 from soul ruscully trick they re going to play 
 on us 
 
 4 Will they again attack us ? inquired Lin 
 coln, 
 
 4 They don t attack us jest now, d ye see, 
 stranger, cause they want to take us alive, 
 and don t want to loso any more o their men ; 
 but they ve not given us up yet, I kin tako 
 my bible oath o that, I knows the Injuns, 
 o"ory inch of them ! and a m nstrous trickoy 
 sot thoy ur , that s Martin. Depend upon it, 
 there s somo mischief brewing wo don t ex 
 pect, nnd that s what makes mo uneasy about 
 it Only iost hoar how tho critter take on, 
 and how tnoy keep it up it s like Hcdlam 
 broke loose. 1 
 
 The unacoountablo uproar continued- tho 
 stamping and shouting was, in tact, absolutely 
 itunningi 
 
 Tho hunter had been forced to spenk in a 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 loud pitch of voice to make himself heard at 
 all by his companions ; but it was evident, by 
 the increased confusion, that the hideous con 
 cert of discordant voices had now reached 
 its climnx, as if that moment was the secret 
 crisis of the unknown stratagem in play. The 
 keen-witted Carson immediately took his clue 
 from it. 
 
 1 It s a puzzle it s past my comprehension 
 quite, he commenced to say, when u sudden 
 idea seemed to strike him, causing him most 
 abruptly to change his tone, ejaculating, 
 Aha ! I thought at first it was only to take 
 oflfour attention ; it may be so in. part, but 
 depend on it, it s to drown some other noise 
 that they ve set up this din. By Heaven ! 
 what if 
 
 If it was a suspicion of the truth that sud 
 denly flashed across the hunter s mind, it came 
 too late ! 
 
 There was a creaking among the boughs 
 of the overhanging trees a sharp crashing 
 of the branches overhead, and then, from the 
 umbrageous ambush, the wiry form of a fall* 
 ing savage, descended upon the head of the 
 
 hunter below, bearing the gallant foe beneath 
 him, to the earth ! 
 
 Another and another followed, self-pre 
 cipitated from thestiperincumbent trees, until 
 the forms of Carson s two companions lay in 
 sensible beside the fallen huntsman, with the 
 triumphant Indians hooting in exultation over 
 them. 
 
 The stratagem was manifest a hall dozen 
 of the most active savages, skirting a corner 
 of the wood, until quite out of sight, had then 
 climbed up by the branches from the ground, 
 and swinging by the boughs, crept along 
 from tree to tree till they reached the tower- 
 j ing pines beneath the spreading foliage of 
 which and behind its huge trunk Carson and 
 his companions had found refuge thence to 
 leap upon the unsuspecting prey below. The 
 Babel-like tumult from the more distant In 
 dians, designed, of course, to drown the rust 
 ling of the leaves and the snapping sound of 
 the brittle twigs, which would otherwise have 
 betrayed the purpose of their confederates 
 and their serpent-like progress through the 
 crackling tr^e tops. 
 
 I 
 
81 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 sir. 
 
 Kit Carton and his Littlt. Band at tht 
 Mrrcy of the SavagesThe Wigwam 
 The Deadly Revenge The Escape from 
 one Danger to meet with Another. 
 
 ptlvlty I bitter, bitter fate I 
 it thou nu er thy hatred nut*/ 
 
 OUND and shocked, In 
 rudo wigwam, at a 
 to hour of UIM night 
 r which that eventful 
 [day was noon succeed- 
 , lay tho throe cap- 
 lives of thti Indians, HO 
 *truni{ ly mudo their pr monern- 
 
 Soveral hourri hud elapsed him!" tho event* 
 ful moment which hud terminuled, BO abrupt 
 ly, so long and resolute a struggle, This in* 
 torval of time had been employed by tho cup- 
 tors in Hccuring thoir prisoner*, binding them 
 to the swift-fouled Indian nonios of thu tribe, 
 and then Hotting oil 1 ui it Mlntrp muter in tho 
 direction of thoir inlundud uncumpmont, anvii- 
 rul nulos distant from tho nccne of the ad- 
 vcnturo which hud resulted MO disantrously 
 for thovj in whoHo Hufety wo uro must con* 
 oi-rnnd. 
 
 Hampered and fettered u they were, Ctr- 
 aon, with his two comrades in captivity, found 
 themselves crowded together in the little wig- 
 w am, upon a promiwuoui pilo of skins, und 
 guarded, outtiido thu lodgo by two gaunt wav- 
 1, but Icttfur tho prenetit wholly to them- 
 
 rurtunutuly fur the brief und hurried con* 
 Bultuliun which fulluwi il between them, uit 
 oonuK their uuutturcd 
 
 ly recovered, 
 
 They had not been gagged ; And Lincoln 
 was tho first to any, 
 
 We arc, then in the power of the In 
 dians? 
 
 The hunter, who seemed to have been 
 buried in a deep reverie, and now tor the 
 flrMt timo unoku, rulMud hli hond thoughtfully 
 and rttpll(Ml,< 
 
 1 Wo r , itrnnger, mid ut the tho mtircy of 
 lift bloody u net of rod *kln* UN IN to bo mnt 
 witli uuy wluir on tho groat prnlrSe*, iho 
 Pawnco IMcta ; born devil* from thoir mo- 
 thcrM 1 brcuHts. They re tho crudest, tho MIV- 
 agent, must unfeeling tribe between the Rocky 
 Mountain* and tho 1 ncilie thu Wandering 
 PiclB, wo hunters call em. Wo uro ut onp 
 of their viltugcit now ; und but little good it 
 limlcs UH. 
 
 Ha I exclaimed Kiiynii , huvo you any 
 idea of tho f ato to which wo uro dohtinod by 
 our (.upturn ? 
 
 Thu huutcr turned his oycn, an well aa ho 
 could, in his vhackled state, with an cxprcs- 
 hion of Murjiri.io ut tho oihur h ignornnco, UN ho 
 rcplitid, 
 
 Y< , utraniu cr, and rnnro n thn pity, If we 
 live until to-morrow, und contino in their 
 power, we nhi.ll, most probably, bo burned 
 nlivo. 
 
 1 Almlfflity.Pttlwr I uttered Lincoln, in life 
 horror, Then ho ([uickly added, You muMt 
 be mistaken they cotdd not be guilty of Nuch 
 barlmrity, 
 
 Again Curannflmilod, one of his moaning 
 
 1 Stranger, for your nnl<o, and tho Hake of 
 (hut poor buy, there, I wih I wan m mtukon/ 
 lie auid, pointing to tho 1ml, Kdward, &\\ whom 
 thn hard UNiigo of thn Indianx loomed U) hnvo 
 
 hml moro lasting cllect, than on hi* older nnd 
 hnrdier cotnpiitiiuny, JJut I know the Paw* 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 nees well, nnd Kit Carson knows what to ex 
 pect. This is a regular war-party of the red 
 skins, and I "ee by their lack of scalp?, they 
 have but lately set out, and so we happen to 
 be about the first game they ve fallen in with, 
 which is not in our favor, that s sartin. My 
 haulers were all out on a scout after these 
 same critters, for we got wind they war" in 
 the neighborhood, or we should have had 
 help. 
 
 And no doubt, said Lincoln, our deter 
 mined resistance still farther exasperated 
 them. 
 
 No damage done tbar, stranger, said the 
 hunter in reply. * If we d turned tail and 
 run, and not fought em like m">n, they d 
 have cut us down and scalped us on the spot, 
 RS if we had been so many dogs. Hut wo stood 
 our ground, d ye see, and shewed em our 
 trelh with a will, and that made the rascals 
 more anxious to take us alive, that they might 
 make us the heroes of a war-dance, as they 
 mean to do it s an honor they never allows 
 to a coward. 
 
 * A war-dance ? echoed Lincoln, inquir 
 ingly. 
 
 A war-dnnce yes. What! didn t you 
 ever hear of an Injun war-dnnce, stranger T 
 Well, it s my opinion you ll know more of it 
 to your sorrow, if we re in this wigwam to 
 morrow morning! 
 
 And the experienced hunter proceeded to 
 explain to Lincoln that strange and terrible 
 rite, common to most savage tribes of iho 
 wilderness in which captives noted for their 
 courageous resistance or habitual bravery, 
 are sacrificed to the Indian deity by the most 
 horriblu of deaths, the stake by burning at 
 \hc sfike. 
 
 Great God ! dear Carson, can we do no 
 thing? breathlessly interposed the young boy 
 Kdward, nothing to avert so barbarous an 
 end ? 
 
 * Yes, yes? replied the other, with a mo 
 ment s emotion, as he looked affectionately 
 at the trembling lad ; yes, my boy, if Ki 
 Carson s wits are not clean gone in ore day s 
 time; we re not roast-meat for the rfd-skin 
 yet, nor do I mean that we shall be, so long 
 
 How! interrupted Lincoln, are we to 
 understand you that there is the slightest pos 
 sibility ef escape from the d.euiful peril the 
 threatens us ? Are we not fairly in the toils 
 captives in their very camp, fettered, and de 
 prived of the use of our limbs surrounded on 
 
 very side by an enemy, powerful as they are 
 merciless ? 
 
 1 True, stranger, true; the prospect isn t 
 >Icasant, and th* chances ar pretty slim, 
 here s no disputing that fact, I m afeered. 
 Still, while there s life and time, the r s hope ; 
 nd I don t despair yet, by any manner o 
 means. To be sure, here we ar, bound 
 neck and heels like three young bear-cubs ; 
 but, stranger, pursued the honest hunter, in 
 a determined tone, though these copper- 
 colored snakes yonder did make out, for 
 once, to get a leetle ahead o Kit Carson s 
 time, with one o thnr outlandish contrivan 
 ces, the same thing don t happen very often, 
 you may be quite sure; and whit s more, 
 they haven t seen the last of Kit Carson yet, 
 ns I hope the cursed crittcrs ll diskiver to 
 their cost. 
 
 1 Now mind you, both on ye, continued 
 the speaker, more markedly, awhile he made 
 a sort of sliding movement with his body, the 
 only motion of which he was capable, the 
 more emphatically to attract their attention. 
 1 Out o this precious scrape I re mde up 
 my mind to get you, if there s any such thing 
 left as wit in a Alerikin hunter. But don t 
 forgit to remember, Ed ard, and you, too, 
 s ranger, whatever happens to-night, not to 
 show ny stonishment or surprise, though 
 maybe you mought nt understand it all. So,, 
 mind and be keerful, and don t speak, only* 
 when I speak first, you understand me ? - 
 The fust thing to be had, howsomever, is a 
 light ; and then 
 
 4 A light? 1 repeated Lincoln, in inquiring 
 surprise. 
 
 Hut a muttered Hush ! from the hunter, 
 sealed his lips, and he lay speechless and mo 
 tionless. 
 
 Suddenly, to his infinite astonishment, a 
 faint moan, proceeding evidently from Car 
 son s lips, saluted his ear, followed by three 
 or four deep and hollow groans, so full of 
 seeming anguish and natural dist p ess, thivt 
 Lincoln, completely deceived, would unques 
 tionably have started up in apprehension, if 
 his bonds had not prevented. 
 
 Their attention excited by these sounds of 
 suffering from the two Pawnees, who had been 
 standing, or rather, sitting guard before the 
 door of the wigwam, smoking their pipes in 
 true Indian taciturnity, ceased their occupa 
 tion, somewhat abruptly, and paused to 
 listen. 
 
 Jhe moaning from the interior of the little 
 
KIT CARSONJ 
 
 prison continued at momentary intervals, one 
 instant dying faintly away, the next, swelling 
 to the most painful intensity, like a strong 
 man struggling with his agony. 
 
 The two Indians arose and softly entcrod 
 the lodge. The powerful form of the noble 
 hunttT was scon, a.* they advanced, wrestling 
 with the kc" ii [win which seemed tocmiviftsc 
 him, and his features appeared contorted with 
 , MlflttHflf. 
 
 Lincoln naw the Pawnees oppronch the 
 groaning hitntorand scrutini/.o him closely, as 
 ilicy hunt over him ; thru ho observed the 
 futturud Canton, endeavoring tomako himself 
 understood by signs, with tho fingers of hid 
 manacled hond, mid then heard him also ad 
 dress tho Indians iu their own tongue, as h 
 conceived; for they stood consulting together 
 for a moment, at the end of which one of 
 them left he cabin, leaving his comrade alone 
 with the prisoners. 
 
 Presently he returned, bearing a little water 
 in a sort of hollow gourd, with which ho stoop 
 ed down and bathed tho face and brow of the 
 still moaning nullerer. 
 
 It seemed to revive the latter greatly ; his 
 groans gradually lessened, and he became 
 more easy. 
 
 Lincoln heard him again accost the two in 
 the Indian dialect; whereupon the one who 
 had procured tho water took up the gourd, 
 .and prepared to quit the lodge, while the 
 other Pawnee, removing tho pipe from his 
 ow"n mouth, placed it between iho lipH of the 
 distressed man, who seemed to derive imme 
 diate benefit from its composing influence, for 
 his groans ceased, by degrees, altogether; 
 seeing which, they silently retired, leaving 
 the threo captives once more to themselves. 
 
 4 Hist! Lincoln heard the deep voice of 
 Carson articulate, scarce above his breaih, 
 speak only in whispers. 1 
 
 What have you done ? what have you done? 
 
 ventured Lincoln 
 
 4 Nothing, you might think ; a great deal, 1 
 
 think, was tho meaning reply. You said, I 
 
 believe, stranger, that all your weapons were 
 
 taken from you ? 
 
 1 Yes; they stripped me of everything/ 
 
 was tho reply. 
 
 And you, Edward ; didn t they leave you 
 
 a single piece of cold sleel ? 
 
 Not so much as a pocket-knife, Cayon, 
 replied the boy, in a low and silvery tone that 
 struck pleasantly on Lincoln s ear. 
 
 No ? I suspected as much. Well, then, 
 
 here s no help for it, and I must trust to the 
 pipe. 
 
 The pipe, Carson ! iterated the lad, 
 what could you possibly want with the pipe, 
 and why did you counterfeit illness ! 
 
 * Why, to get hold of the pipe, to bo sure, 
 boy ; what else could it be for ? Didn t you 
 see me ask the Injun for water, just as a 
 blind, and then how wistful 1 looked at the 
 pipe in tho Pawnee s hand. They re cuto 
 creators, those red-skints in medicine mat- 
 tern, ami know well enough what a soothing 
 I llVct Htnoking has on bodily allingn ; n pipo n 
 mi Injun n pain-killer. Now thin pipe o* their* 
 is JUKI the thing that s going to got ux out of 
 our trouble, and neither more nor less ! h s 
 not tho first time I ve cheated a Pawnee by 
 playing possum. 
 
 * But how artfully it was done! said Lin 
 coln; and how natural was the deception! 
 Still, F don t see 
 
 What s to be the upshot, stranger ? Very 
 likely j but depend on it, I ll soon have a wo 
 for this pipe ; mid what concerns you more, 
 I shall want your help, st-anger, Hut that 
 won t he for half an hour yut ; and in tho 
 meanwhile, added tho speaker, 4 1 want lo 
 have both of ye keep perfectly still nnd quiet, 
 and when I need either of you I ll yet you 
 know. Ed urd, he continued addressing tho 
 boy-companion in whom ho seemed to take 
 much interest, nnd speaking in almost a fa* 
 tlu-rly lone: Ed urd, do you luy your head 
 down on theso b ftf*sttini and take a half* 
 hour s nap ; you re; young and dehkito, and 
 you ll need it ; for we ve got a long tramp of 
 it, when we get out o this place. And you, 
 stranger, you better try nnd get a li .tle sleep, 
 too, I ll waken you when I want you. 
 
 * And you, dear Carson, interposed the 
 tho boy Edward, 4 you have undergone and 
 endured enough to bow down the strongest 
 man; you, too, require sleep ; you must not 
 exhaust yourself further for my for our sake, 
 bravest and noblest of men. 1 
 
 There, there, stop, boy, stop don t speak 
 in that way, don t, said the hardy hunter, 
 with emotion h6 bould not conceal. * Not 
 another word, my boy., not another word ! I 
 won t hear you ; go to sleep, lad ; go to 
 sleep. What s a little rough usage to a man 
 born on the wild pruirio ? Kit Carson s no 
 city dandy to faint nt tho sight of a little dun- 
 gcr, or to need as much sleep as a boarding- 
 school miss. There, 1 say, don t make on- 
 other objection, if you don t want mo dow n- 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 right marl. And don t make me talk any more 
 it s hard work speaking, with a pipe in a 
 man s mouth. 
 
 The gentle boy murmured a * good night, 
 and with nn affectionate look at his hardy 
 protector, as he seemed to l>e, closed his 
 eyes, and it was soon evident that he slept 
 the calm deep sleep of youth, overcome by 
 excitement and fatigue. 
 
 Lincoln also endeavored to resign his senses 
 to slu nber, but it was in vain that he sought 
 it. lie lay perfectly quiet, hut sleepless, and 
 watching, by the moonlight, the countenances 
 of the two persons whom fate hid so strange 
 ly made h s compnnions. 
 
 Despite the restraint of the crippling con 
 finement to which the helpless hunter was 
 subjected, despite *.he cruel wisps of dried 
 bark which secured his limbs as firmly as the 
 strongest manacles of iron ; the silent obser 
 ver was struck with the magnificent propor 
 tions and immense muscular power of the 
 Herculean man before him, wnose every 
 nerve, sinew and member seemed a model 
 of perfect strength , n combination ol elas 
 ticity, acility and inherent might, that would 
 have done-honor to the athteta: of the Roman 
 arena. Yet, notwithstanding the gigantic sia- 
 t ire, the enormous depth of chest, the muss- 
 ivn breadth of limb, nil were cast in a mould 
 of the most complete symmetry, with each 
 other. 
 
 As Lincoln s gnze scanned the face, as 
 well ns form, and marked the almost kindly 
 expression of that broad brow, the expanding 
 nostril, the determined mouth, the keen and 
 piercing eagle s eye, he felt that he was in 
 the presence of on extraordinary man ; onr 
 destined, from his birth to cope with difficul 
 ties and obstacles which would dishearten and 
 ovenvhel-n a common spirit, and to overthrow 
 every danger and every impediment by the 
 force of a will and * physique such as were 
 given to Washington and Napoleon. 
 
 And this this is Kit Carson, wns the 
 mental ejaculation of Lincoln ; the wonder- 
 derful man whose hardihood and enterprise 
 have made him so celebrated. And yet, how 
 honest, how frank, how manly. And ha ! I 
 h.ive heard that of his character, which leads 
 me to believe, that the rough manner, the un 
 cultivated speech, apparently peculiar to him, 
 are in a degree assumed ; thai he in his youth 
 received the benefits of a good education and 
 pood society, but that he ever loved tho wild 
 delights of a hunter s life, and with its free- 
 
 dom and iis pleasures, determined to adopt 
 its nlaiii habits and plainer mode of speech. 
 Yes ! and even while he hs at his command 
 the choicest and most correct language of 
 polished life, he feels a sort of pride in dis 
 guising it beneath the ruder diction, known 
 to the rough frontiersman ! And this, then, 
 is Kit Carson T How strange that I should 
 meet with him in the heart of the wilderness ; 
 and at a rnomnet, too, when Heaven seemed 
 to have sent him to preserve my life from the 
 most fearful peril by which it was ever jeo 
 pardized, and with the display of heroism 
 such as I never witnessed in mortal man 
 before 1 
 
 Such were some of the exciting thoughts 
 which passed through Eugene s mind ; and 
 with difficulty was it thut ho could at last 
 overcome the fascination which enchained 
 ^iis glance to that splendid post, and when 
 finally the spell was broken for moment, it 
 was only accomplished as his wandering 
 eye nxed itself n turn upon the ideepii g 
 boy, the young friend of Carson, and his own 
 remaining fellow captive. 
 
 There was a few moments more of silence 
 before the perfect stillness that reigr>ed was 
 broken once more by the hunter s voice, and 
 in their brief Ki erirn Lincoln had leisure for 
 the. fir*.t time to examine, more pnrticulary, 
 the person of the lad, nnd to study the expres 
 sion of a countenance winch had, from the 
 outset interested him 
 
 The youth was light and graceful in figure, 
 j of the apparent age of eighteen, with decided- 
 I ly ham sonie features, and R complexion that 
 | struck Lincoln as being beautifully clear and 
 fresh, though the warm sun of the prairio 
 had given it a light olive tinge, which a more 
 manly look to a contour that would otherwise 
 have sremed effeminate. The fuce wns spirit 
 ed and glowing with health and the exciu- 
 mentof an active life ; but there Appeared to 
 be a native timidity in its expression, which 
 puzzled while it impressed the observer, and 
 left n vague feeling of doubt that there was 
 something peculiar and incomprehensible in 
 the boy s character. 
 
 The dress of the youth was a conrse but 
 very tasteful hunting suit, much after the 
 Spanish or Mexican fashion, from which it 
 had evidently been adapted; and it fitted 
 to perfection the slight and supple figure of 
 the wearer, which was symmetry itself. 
 
 Altogether, Lincoln could not help feeling 
 a singular interest, mingled with a kindly 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 onthrnont, In the handiome youth who lay 
 sleeping ut tho hunter s foot ; and mure than 
 onco hu nuked himvdf who could be this un- 
 known protege of Kit Cursont and twice or 
 thrice hu caught himself unconsciously look 
 from oiio to tho other, to tee if ho could 
 truce any kindred resemblance in tho fun* 
 tunn uf lutti. D jt not tlie slightest sign of 
 siinilurity wui discernible to the keenest scru- 
 tiny. 
 
 Edward! 
 
 Tho word wan in a whisper breathed. 
 1 Kdwurd I 1 repeated tho deep tone of the 
 huriUtr. 
 
 The sleeper stirred not there wan no an- 
 won. 
 
 Tho boy s asleep lot him rout on, You, 
 stranger, ure you uwako ? was then softly 
 uttered. 
 
 Lincoln tnovitd hi* body a little in proof of 
 tlic fact, und softly replied ; 
 
 1 Yu; can 1 bu of hulp to you ? 
 4 Youcan, siranger ; tin; time s come for 
 action 
 
 Speak ! I will risk my life to servo yon, if 
 necessary it will bu returning u debt I owo 
 III" pilluiit CUMNII, 
 
 Good I 1 like your spirit -the rcul pluck 
 stranger, said Carson approvingly ; what s 
 your name, friend ? 
 
 Tin 1 question was HOmewluit abrupt, but the 
 other knew that it WUH UH honest us it wits 
 unceremonious, und lie replied, without hei 
 tution, 
 
 Lincoln Eugene Lincoln, Mr Carson. 
 Lincoln, hey t Tliut sounds manly und 
 honest ; 1 like it, none o your hinti-strung, 
 windy-Hounding Fortcsque* und Mortimers, 
 und Hich dundiliod nonst>ns>. U it I say, M run- 
 ({or, don t m! nh:r mo any more ; I m not used 
 to having u hundle to my name, tiller Unit 
 fashion ; I m plain Kit Carson nil the same 
 nixmn to friend or foe ! it don t hound well 
 with tho rn Htor on, Hut now, what 1 wunt 
 you to do INJUN! thin, can t you contrive to 
 crawl nl >nu, Homo way, close up to mo, nud 
 linn) I ll lut you know what it \ Pin going 
 to do. 
 
 With grnrxt difliculty, and by dint of infi 
 nite exertion, Lincoln contrived to comply 
 wit i thiH ri ipumt, xlowly working hiniNi lf 
 iH iin-r, iudi by inch, HO ullouluully woro IIIH 
 motions eripplod, 
 
 Tlicrr, JIN by your hand, stranger, oiiid 
 Curson, ixu t that p. stick o sumo sort on th 
 ground? 1 
 
 1 It in a piece of dried pine, I believe/ an- 
 worod iliu other, and ultor much dilliculiy, 
 ho luoeuocled in dru^ing liii body lufl ioienU 
 ly near to grunp the Irnnuiuut of wood, which 
 the hunier a lone told him he WUH dcniroua ot 
 
 1 That * the thing ; it Rave* tearing a piece 
 or two of hark from the wigwam wall, which 
 might make an oiipleutianl noitio. Now, all 
 you ve got to do ut present, is to take ono 
 end o this pine stick utween your teeth 
 und hold tho other right into the bowl of my 
 pipe. 
 
 How! do you intend, then, to fire the 
 wigwam . 
 
 Livo und larn, Ntrnngpr ; you fl know, 
 pretiuntly, and UH hi companion, in no little 
 wonder, Applied the stick to the hunter u pipe, 
 the latter poritonuge proceeded to draw a rapid 
 HiiciMtHhiou of di tip, long wliiil ii, ivhiuh, in u 
 momunt mado the tobacco aHMume tho apncnr* 
 uiuin and lu iit uf living lumU Thu pitchy 
 coating of the combustible wood caused it to 
 catch the lire with the grealoitt reudineuti, and 
 thii pine WUM MOOD in u bluxu. 
 
 1 Now, nitid Kit CurNoii, coolly, that pino* 
 knoi H uonvurtud into u regular lorr.lt. And 
 now, hold that to my wrist and burn thul cun 
 HI: d cord. 
 
 Lincoln startod buck, and came near drop- 
 ping the (laming Htick from his mouth in hi 
 consterna ion. 
 
 1 Aro you mad, Kit Cumon ! are you mud? 
 I cannot burn the cord without burning your 
 arm, uUo. 
 
 1 Nevor you mind that, stranger Better 
 to have OIIQ H hand rouMcd in the night, than 
 one s whole body in the morning. Do as I 
 bid you, Htrnngcr, if you ve any regard for 
 your own life und that poor boy s, there, und 
 Kit Curnon s itro the burguin, if you will it 
 is the only thing that will save us now Itulil 
 the torch to my irrint / 
 
 Full live minutes of determined expostula 
 tion followed bi forothe importunliienund even 
 meimct N of Kit Carson could prevail over 
 the goiicroiH obstinacy of the no lens magna 
 nimous Lincoln. 
 
 At length, only when the heroic hunter 
 avowed his determination, if Lincoln persist- 
 cd in bin refusal to cast tho bla/.ing woodon 
 tin) ground und hold his hand ovor it till tho 
 work WUH doiid, thus Miibjceiing him to the 
 danger of fur greater injury, could ho produce 
 tho least elU d upon hi* equally resolute com* 
 panion. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 Quick ! exclaimed Carson, let it be fin 
 ished and over with be/ore Edward awakes! 
 The boy would be sure to cry out at the 
 sight he s so tender-hearted. Quick with 
 tne torch P 
 
 With the most painful reluctance, only 
 consenting from the knowledge that his re 
 fusal would be productive of mere evil than 
 good, Lincoln, with a shudder that caused the 
 teeth, which held the flaming torch, to chatter 
 with horror, nerved himself for his revolting 
 task. 
 
 Not a single shudder, however, on the hun 
 ter s part, not a quiver of the frame betiayed 
 the agony which the man of iron will was suf 
 fering, while the flume of the torch was eat 
 ing into the flesh of that massive wrist, the 
 crippling bands of which it was consuming, 
 as if they had been wythes of straw. 
 
 Not one groan, not one spasm, shook that 
 mighty frame. Only his lip, that proud, that 
 determined lip, was compressed, with the 
 firmness of a rock, between his clenched 
 teeth, as, like Mutius, of old, he held I, is 
 devoted hand within the flame which was 
 scorching, blackening, burning it to the very 
 bone. 
 
 A model for the proudest sculptor, a sub 
 ject for the greatest masters, was the heroic. 
 Carson then a living picture of the well nigh 
 incredible lengths of self-command to which 
 human fortitude and human endurance -un 
 attain. 
 
 The bark hissed and crackled : half con 
 sumed by the flames. A few ashes, and a 
 burnt fragment fell. Then, with a mighty 
 effort of hi* prodigious strength, he snapped 
 his burning bonds apart from his scorched 
 and bleeding wrist. 
 
 With his hands once more free, he trans 
 ferred them to the fetters which still bound his 
 feet and knees, and burst them, one by one, 
 as Sampson did the withes of the Philistines, 
 and Kit Carson irnx free ! 
 
 To spring to each of his fellow captive s 
 side, to rend also the bonds wrtch still con 
 fined them, were all the first exertions of his 
 newly- regained liberty. 
 
 The young boy, Edward, of course found 
 himself suddenly and bewilderingly aroused 
 from sleep ; but the hunter s hand was on his 
 mouth in an instant, and Kit Carson s well- 
 known voice wispered, 
 
 Hist ! for your life ! Ten minutes more 
 and we are free i Speak not a word more, 
 
 move not an inch, on your soul Kit Carson 
 bids you. 
 
 The next intant saw the hunter s colossal 
 proportions flitting, on tip-toe, from the wig 
 wam. 
 
 A momentary silence ensued, a moment of 
 breathless suspense. Then, fuint and gurg 
 ling, like a distant streamlet s gush, a smother 
 ed moan seemed to reach the ears of both. 
 Next, a stifled cry was heard ! A moment 
 passed another anc* another, still ; until 
 full five were numbered, like apes passing 
 one by one. And still their companion did 
 not return. 
 
 Could it have been his dying gnsp they 
 had overheard ? had Kit Carson, the noble, 
 the chivalrous, fallen in their cause? To 
 Edward, to Lincoln, there was distraction in 
 the thought. 
 
 Hark ! a step, a cautious, wary step ap 
 proaches ! Is it the stealthy step of the In 
 dian, stealing from their niu.-derea corr.rado 
 upon them, unawares ? 
 
 Hark, again ! it is Kit Curson s tones 
 they hear ! 
 
 Hist! hist! come forth! 1 he whispers, and 
 they breathlessly obey. 
 
 Th" two Indians, their sentinels, lay, side 
 by side, corpses with their own tomahawk* 
 buried in their skulls ! 
 
 4 Follow me, follow me ! Silence, both ! 
 And their conductor quickly, softly, leads 
 the way. 
 
 To the astonished gratification of both, Kit 
 nrson, when he halted, a few paces from the 
 wij. yam, had paused beside three *addled 
 Iri lm. oonies. 
 
 1 Mount, mount ! he cried ; for ihis I was 
 gone so long Mount and awny ! 1 
 
 All three bounded to their sadd.es life 
 depended on theu haste. 
 
 Away, nway ! ac -^s the prairie ! cried 
 the never failing voice. 
 
 And away, away they darvH, horses and 
 men Kit Carson foremost rode. O? without 
 interruption one mile from the commence 
 ment of their flight they stopper, to breathe 
 their horses and look gladly back. 
 
 Escaped, escaped ! cried the boy Edward 
 and escaped, thank God ! echoed Lin* 
 coin. 
 
 At the same moment a sound like the faint 
 echo of a distant war whoop smote upon their 
 ears from afar 
 
 A faint glow, in the same direction, on the 
 dark horizon caugl.t the eye of Lincoln, as be 
 
00 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 added, 1 Our flight is discovered, but we care 
 not for them now. 
 
 4 Not so sure of that ! not HO mire of that ! 
 exclaimed Kit Carson, who had risen erect in 
 his saddle, to survey the faintly illumined 
 horizon, and ns he did so, his massive brow 
 contracted and grew black as the nipht. 
 * Well, of all the onnat rul varmints God ever 
 made, these red-skins are the beat ! Hide, 
 stranger; ride, Edward for your lives! 
 Ride! ride!! The wind sets right toward 
 
 us, and the Injuns have fired the prairie 
 
 behind ! 
 
 SOT. 
 
 San Franri$roThe Rrrovrry uf the Packet 
 Its Revelations The Etjicditiontothc 
 Gold Mines. 
 
 From poverty, to all tlio pride of wealth, 
 Advance by one bold bound, and not by 
 stealth. 
 
 ITAN(>R wo the scene, 
 and return to the voya- 
 geurs of the good ship 
 
 S , which we left 
 
 putting into ihe port of 
 San Francisco, their 
 voyage at an end, and 
 
 their haven gained at last. 
 
 Readily will the reader believe, that never 
 the adventurous bund of Columbus hulled 
 with grontor joy a no wiy discovered world, 
 thuii thnllod through every films of the (Jold- 
 Set-ken, nHthisir eager foul first touched thu 
 soil of (ItilijHrnin, 
 
 In les* than an hour after the S cnst 
 anchor in the noble harbor of the future me* 
 tropolis of the Pacific, the ship was nearly do- 
 serted, and the streets of Sun Francisco 
 teemed with her delighted passengers. The 
 inhabitants and previous arrivals Hocked to 
 the short-ait) grcot them ; all was excitement, 
 exultation und breathless enthusiasm 1 and so 
 inspirited by the golden account by tho now- 
 comers, and HO dated by tho dazzling rcpru* 
 entfttioDi made on every hund, that iheir im 
 patience could scarce brook the short delay 
 necessary to prepare for an immediate expe 
 dition to the Gold Mines, and many longed 
 to set out for the Sucrumcnto, that very night. 
 But it was decided that the day after the mor 
 
 row, the party were to organize for an instant 
 start. 
 
 And Flt-nrj Vernon what of him ? and 
 John Vernon, the miser T and Ellen Lin* 
 coin ? how fared it, all this while, with 
 them ? 
 
 The two former we left in a helpless state ; 
 the one from the effects of delirium, the other 
 from a fearful wound. Hut the good reader 
 will also bear in mind, that though the arrival 
 of the S in port had been minutely de 
 tailed, no purticulnr account was given of the 
 condition of the sullerers, during tho conclu 
 sion of the voy uge, 
 
 In this interim, however, time und the bene 
 ficial t-lleeisof the sen-air hud done much for 
 poor Ileniy Vernon, operating f.ivorably MI 
 thu delirious student ; yet it was more limit 
 probable, tliut to Ellen s soothing tenderness 
 und watchful care, he chiefly owed the life 
 that hud long Iv.ing upon a thread so slender ; 
 for what so faithful, firm und true us Love s 
 sleepless vigil 1 
 
 A guardian ungel sho had boon, indeed, to 
 him; und us their voyujo cad drawn nearer 
 und nearer to its clc.su, with joy unutterable 
 sho watched his gradual convalescence ; until 
 
 on tho glad day which witnessed tl S s 
 
 entrance into Culiforniun woters, she had 
 persuaded him to venture once more, as of old, 
 on deck ; thinking that the joyous intelligence 
 might bo of more benefit than the physician s 
 art. 
 
 Nor in this was she mistaken ; Henry, too, 
 participated in the universal ccstucy, though 
 Ml Icn imposed sih-nce at first upon him, ( far 
 ing that I I M transports, too suddenly indulged, 
 might injuriously all i-cthim. 
 
 Hat when, UN wo havo already narrated 
 thu ship wits at length fairly at rest from her 
 long voyage, and her little world of adven 
 turers were emptying themselves at once on 
 the town ; the young convalescent was no 
 longer to be restrained ; he longed to join the 
 eager throng. 
 
 1 am well now, dear Ellen, fear* not, he 
 said, that eventful night of the arrival in port, 
 whilu forth, from the ship s deck, they guzcd 
 out upon Sun Francisco s low-roofed houses 
 nnd crowded streets. This bus completely 
 restored me, I feel it, -in every hounding 
 pulse and nerve. Thank (lod and yourself, 
 dour girl, tho warm blood goes leaping thro 
 my veins once more, and I can feel this heart 
 thrill with the glow of health us in the days 
 gone by ! 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 91 
 
 Be careful, be careful of your precious 
 self, denr Henry. You have had one relapse 
 already, remember ! 
 
 4 That danger is punt I am an invalid no 
 lonucr, Ellen! This day s event has worked 
 miracles. Nay, feur not that I shall over, 
 exert myself in conversing with you ; the seal 
 of silence has been upon my lips too long al 
 ready first of all, let mo know how fares my 
 t/nr/c, I suppose I moat call him ? he said, 
 bitterly. 
 
 1 I In has not toft the surgeon s cabin since 
 the clay he was conveyed to it, replied Ellen, 
 and then seemed to pnuse reluctantly. 
 
 * Ila, but you have more to i\dd, Ellen 
 why do you keep it buck ? His wound, his 
 broken limb ? 
 
 4 It was broken in three places n com 
 pound fracture, I think the surgeon called it. 
 Your uncle is lamed for life, Henry ! 
 
 Lamed for life! echoed the nephew, slight- 
 ly starting. Ila! this, then, may prove some 
 harrier to his avarice ; if so, it will be a bless 
 ing, not a curse. Ellen, where in he? I must 
 see him! bo said, suddenly. 
 
 Wherefore, dear Henry? timidly asked 
 the gentle girl. 
 
 Wherefore, say you ? for what, Ellen, 
 but to regain possession of the stolen packet? 
 It must be recovered ! 
 
 Before Ellen could detain him, he had bro 
 ken awny and flown to the surgeon s room. 
 The faithful girl, in alarm for the possible 
 consequences, hastened after him ; just in 
 time to see his form vanish through the door 
 of the hospital. On the threshold of the lat 
 ter she stopped to observe what passed with 
 in, ready, if necessary, to interpose. 
 
 The wounded man was sitting up in bed, 
 and by the jingling, chinking sound from his 
 hammock, Lincoln knew that the miser was 
 counting his gold. 
 
 At the noiso of his entrance into the care 
 fully darkened hospital, the busy reckoner of 
 hoarded wealth started, and hastily concealing 
 something beneath his pillow, in a peevish 
 tone demanded to know who was there ? 
 
 The surgeon 1 replied the student, who, 
 restored to tho full exercise of hi* faculties, 
 had resolved on a certain species of tactics. 
 
 4 The surgeon, hey ? Oh, is it you? Why 
 did you leave mo so long ? demanded the old 
 man ; ho 1 ho 1 1 suppose you think it s no 
 consequence to attend to a poor old man wh< 
 hasn t two-pence in the world not a penny I 
 Oho! that s the world 1 that s the world ! and 
 
 he miser chuckled gleefully at the idea of 
 lis self-alleged poverty. 
 
 A sudden twitch of pain converted the in 
 cipient grin, abruptly, into a groan, as he has 
 tily mumbled, 
 
 Oh ! there s that twinge again ! Doctor, 
 doctor, loosen the bandage round my leg, and 
 and ugh ! and his whole frame quivered 
 with anguish. 
 
 Tho protended surgeon obeyed ; but while 
 affecting to relax the tightened ligatures from 
 the swollen limb, which he found had some 
 time, since been set, and appearing to smooth 
 the pillows that supported the invalid s head, 
 he was, in reality, busily fcarching for the 
 stolen packet which he was convinced he had 
 seen the miser hastily conceal upon Ins en 
 trance. 
 
 Beneath the straw bolster his hand suddenly 
 encountered a package ; by a secret and 
 skillful movement he drew it rapidly forth, 
 and concealed it unpcrceived. 
 
 The object of his visit to the miser s bed 
 was gained ! 
 
 A fretful Stop ! from the peevish old man, 
 caused him to half halt as Ite was hastening 
 from the cabin. 
 
 1 Stop, doctor ; stop, I say. Where is 
 the the ship now? 1 was asked, in the trem 
 bling accents of old age, 
 
 At our voyage s end in the port of Yerba 
 Buena, in tho harbor and town of San Fran 
 cisco, was the instant reply of the nephew, 
 who sought thus to divert the wounded man s 
 attention completely from himself, little an- 
 ticipative of the electric effect upon his au 
 ditor. 
 
 A dagger planted that very instant in his 
 side, could not have caused the miser to stag 
 ger up more suddenly from his pillow, reck 
 less of his wounded limb, hcedlessof all else, 
 as he gasped forth, 
 
 1 Sn Francisco ! California ! there, there, 
 at last ! Let me go let me go ! he shouted. 
 Gold gold gold ! O God ! let me go 
 this moment, this instant. Accursed wound ! 
 you shall not keep me from it. I will not, 
 will not stay; Heaven nor heli shall hold me 
 back ! O, curses, ten thousand curios ! on 
 this leg. 
 
 And with impotent maledictions on his 
 foaming lip, the monomaniac fell back, grind 
 ing hid teeth in helpless frenzy. 
 
 4 Henry . cried the voice of Ellen, at his 
 back ; you have been too precipitate. 
 
92 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 But Henry Vernou heeded not her words, 
 but crying,- 
 
 4 The picket, Ellen ! I hare regained the 
 stolen packet ! he darted past her, and hur 
 ried with eager footsteps to his cabin ; his 
 Ellen 1 )) eyes following him the while, though 
 her footsteps ventured not to follow, 
 
 It was all of a quarter of an hour ere lltnry 
 Vcrnon rcnppeured, and returning, placed in 
 her hands the packet ho hud been perusing, 
 Htinply saying, 
 
 4 Read this, Ellen. 
 
 She looked closely at her lover, to see how 
 its previous perusal hud affected him ; hut he 
 was quite composed and calm, though Ins 
 handsome countenance wore the deepest ex 
 pression of thought H!IO hud over seen upon 
 it. Btieminigea l>y his manner, she, in obo* 
 dience to a hulf-imputient gesture, removed, 
 onco more iho envelope, uud read what fol 
 lows, 
 
 4 Spito of your ^unpictons, sp 1 -) of child 
 hood s vivid recollections, Npite of your firm 
 belief to the contrary, you, Henry Vernou, 
 are an only fou! Think not that 1 am de 
 ceiving you, now, Henry 1 never have de 
 ceived you, You maintain that you have a 
 distinct remembrance of a brother yet a bro 
 ther you never hud, 
 
 1 Impossible ! you will say. Listen while 
 I solve to you the mystnry ; while I clearly 
 prove to you that you were both right and 
 10 -ong. 
 
 4 You know that your father is rich, but he 
 hu not always boen so. No, my son ; the 
 ttmo has been when the meMiant-princo of 
 .Beacon street was an utmost penniless fur 
 trader, on tho western frontier. For many 
 years, such was tho humble, hardy avocation 
 that I followed. 
 
 4 I was of a good but decayed family ; with 
 only a single wealthy member in it. This 
 was a distant relative, a great traveller, and n 
 very eccentric man, who had passed most of 
 his life amid tho aristocratic society and insti 
 tutions of Europe, and bocumo infected with 
 their peculiar spirit. His greatest pride lay 
 in his family name, republican though ho was 
 his constant hobby was the genealogical 
 tree of the Vernons, which it wus his chief 
 delight to trace buck to its furthest English 
 origin. 
 
 4 He was himself unmarried and childless : 
 my brother and myself were his nearest con 
 nections ; and often he declared that he should 
 leave the bulk of his property to that branch 
 
 of the family best calculated to keep up the 
 name. 
 
 John, my elder brother, was married, with 
 two children, the one a boy ; the other, a 
 girl. But my rich relation knew him to be 
 an incorrigible miser, and a man of sordid 
 soul, whom Nature had little fitted to uphold 
 the dignity of tee family honors. 1 was there 
 fore preferred before him, by our common re 
 lative, who desired that I and my future chil 
 dren should enjoy, instead, the dignity, and, 
 as 1 was yet a bachelor, urg"ed me to marry. 
 And yet, at the same time, ho pointedly as 
 sured me, that in caso the fruit of sjch union 
 should be female offspring only, with whom 
 tho family nnmo must perish, ho should then, 
 despite his preference for me, feel in duty 
 bound to bestow his wealth upon tho son of 
 my brother John, who would perpetuate tho 
 name of the Vernons. 
 
 4 Ho hud little need to urge me to marry ; 
 I was even then under an engagement to your 
 dear mother, Henry, whom I first met, a 
 sunny-hearted girl, in the far west, where 
 she MIW and loved the poor fur-trailer and 
 Mth the old man s request 1 wus but too will 
 ing to comply. 
 
 4 We were united, your mother and myself. 
 Longingly I looked for tho day when our first 
 born should greet the light ; and alas ! I must 
 confess, that, with a parent s natural affection, 
 was mingled too often the mercenary hope 
 that its sex might be that which was to bring 
 wealth and fortune to u s 
 
 The child was born it was a girl! 
 
 4 Tho child s existence wns well-nigh pur 
 chased ut the cost of a parent s; for, duiing 
 hrco long months, the mother hung between 
 life and death. It was a girl, and unless n 
 </i culled me father, the inheritance would 
 full to my miser-brother s boy. 
 
 4 It was u iluiiir liter that hud been b.>rn to 
 me ; of my wife s lifo little hope waa at the 
 time entertained ; of a second child there 
 was still less prospects. I saw nil my antici 
 pations blasted ut once, for 1 felt that my ec 
 centric relative would bo inexorable, urid I 
 know that the property must go lo the son of 
 John Vernon, since 1 was not bles.-ed with 
 mule offspring, 
 
 4 I wus poor, struggling for a bare subnst- 
 ence ; a tolling (ruder 1 wus fur away in the 
 wild west, which was then my homo, remov 
 ed from observation and scrutiny. 1 thought 
 of this, and determined on a desperate ex 
 pedient. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 93 
 
 1 From my distant western home, I wrote 
 to my ricli relation in I oston thai a sun had 
 been born to me. It is true, Harry ! 1 was 
 far removed from him he did not dream he 
 was deceived. 
 
 The child, as it grew up, was, from the 
 first, dressed in boy s clothes ; no one suspect 
 ed that it was not in reality a boy. The wnn- 
 dering trader s hfu I led, shifting from placo 
 to pkice, nlso favored concealment ; and my 
 wife s remonstrances and scruples, 1 gradually 
 silenced by confessing the truo reason of the 
 strange deceit, and arguing that it was an in 
 nocent deception, by means of which nn old 
 in. ui s foolish whim would not be sullered to 
 lose our child a rich inheiitunce. True, 1 
 could not convince her of its justice or pro 
 priety, but the step had been taken and there 
 there w;is no receding. 
 
 4 The delusion was complete. The proud 
 aristocrat made his last will in favor of my 
 supposed son ; warned by declining health, 
 ami when, after notmany months, we receiv 
 ed from his own hnnd the intelligence that he 
 was on his deathbed, the announcement was 
 coupled with an earnest injunction to rear up 
 our young boy a becoming heir to the name 
 as well as to the wealth of the Vernons, 
 whose last representative he now was. 
 
 1 Meanwhile, my wife had so far rallied as 
 to have regained, in a great measure, her 
 former health, though she was never so strung 
 as she had been, and her constitution was, 
 ever after, delicate. Contrary to my most 
 hopeful anticipations, she became the mother 
 ol a son ! 
 
 *You, Henry, were thnt boy. 
 
 1 Your mother would have instantly induced 
 me to allow your sifter to assume, for the 
 tifst timo, the dress of her true sex, but I wus 
 aware that the estate was not yet settled, that 
 there rniiiht be danjjer in so early a transfor 
 mation, and I would not give my immediate 
 consent to the change. Still, 1 did not de 
 sign that our daughter should much longer 
 be nnsexed. 
 
 The time never came! delayed by me, 
 fdl three years after your birth ; year? which 
 blended with your childish recollections the 
 existence of a supposed brother destiny or 
 Heaven determined that it should never take 
 place, but in its stead should come a signal 
 retribution. 
 
 Henry, it happened thus. We yet stayed 
 in our western home ; but from n simple 
 agent, our newly acquired wealth had enabled 
 
 me to become one of the heads of the com 
 pany, embarking my whole capital, with the 
 most profitable results, in the nor h-western 
 fur trade. 
 
 In this prominent capaqity, I was frequent 
 ly brought in contact with a welt known hunt- 
 er and trnpper, one of the most daring and 
 resolute men 1 ever encountered even among 
 the hnrdy pioneers of the west. He was a 
 noble and singular being, loving the wilder 
 ness revelling in the freedom of forest and 
 prnirie detesting the very name of city or 
 town ; never venturing into the habitations 
 of men, save when at long intervals he came 
 to the dillerent stations to dispose of Itis 
 sl(ins and lurs, the spoils of his hardihood. 
 His very name is reverenced by the bold fron 
 tiersmen, whose idol he is; and down to this 
 very day, though few, very few, have ever 
 seen this hero of the wilderness, every wo 
 man and child throughout our broad land has 
 heard of Kit Carson ! 
 
 If but lor one thing alone, he would be 
 immortalized in American Instory us the ex 
 plorer of the Gold Region, the discoverer of 
 the treasures of California ! 
 
 1 Busi .ess, 1 have said, brought me in fre 
 quent contact with this extraordinary man 
 who is as little seen as he is widely known. 
 It was on one of these occasions that 1 had 
 taken a journey to the camp ot Kit Carson, 
 to engage him us the leader of a trading expe 
 dition to the Rocky Mountains. My disguis 
 ed daughter 1 had taken with me, your kind 
 mother thinking the journey would be of a 
 little benefit to her. 
 
 While I was occupied in transacting my 
 business with the hardy backwoodsman, she 
 was left to amuse hers-Jf by rumblirg about 
 the encampment of the hunter?, everything 
 in which excited her childish curiosity and 
 admiration. 
 
 She wus at the time little moie than five 
 years old, of course too younp to comprehend 
 the distinction of sex, nnd in her boyish dress, 
 she would never huvo been suspected for a 
 female child. 
 
 4 Imagine, Henry, a father s agony when, 
 at the conclusion of my interview with the 
 hunter, the little child was nowhere to be 
 found ! 
 
 * It was the conjecture of Carson and his 
 men, that, from the encampment, the child 
 must have wandered forth into the forest and 
 become l> t in its mazes. .The noble man 
 needed not father s entreaties to dispatch his 
 
94 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 hunters in every direction in eurck of the lost 
 one. 
 
 4 The woods were scoured in every direc 
 tion for miles around, but no child was to be 
 found. 
 
 1 NVbnt could have become ot the lost one ? 
 She could scarcely have strayed to a great 
 distance, to HO great a distunce us lo be be 
 yond the swoop of the scouting party ; p >s- 
 siWy they might unwittingly have punned her, 
 unparceived, in tho fure.st intricacies For 
 days the attempt was continued ; scarce a 
 fulong of the surrounding woods was left un- 
 visitod, 
 
 I Kit Carson himself led the determined 
 search, but cvon his matchless skill and ex* 
 perieneo could discover no sign of \ho litilu 
 wanderer. It was possible, lie tuld me, (hut 
 tin! poor child mi^ht Imvo fallen 11 prey to tl 
 wivugo animal tho forest loomed with wild 
 boasts, ho Niiid, 
 
 I 1 bosought him, in pity to n father * fool- 
 ingi, not to cruxh ovary hopn ; abuvo all, not 
 to loavu in u hcliof MI turriblu, llopo, in* 
 deed, tho gonorouu Curson guvo mo, but O, 
 huw faint.! 
 
 4 It might bo, ho said, that somo wandering 
 hunter or strolling trappor hud found my poor 
 child uiul borne him to hid cabin or lo the 
 settlements, 
 
 4 Tho idon wan plausible; the little lost one 
 coultl not have siruyod HO Car us not io huvo 
 been embraced within tho circle oi tho scout. 
 There were no signs discoverable of a vio 
 lent end, by means of a wild beast; and tho 
 surrounding country WUH u region much fre 
 quented by hunters and the like, who might 
 probably have fallen in with tho object of our 
 unavailing scorch. 
 
 4 With u breaking heart, at length, I wnn 
 forced to lea vu Carnon, but not until I hud 
 won from him n promise that ho would leave 
 no eflbrt unmnde to discover some truce of 
 my poor hoy us (/arson, in common with 
 the world, boliovud your poor ulster to bo 
 Ho kept his word, that noblo man. Ho visited 
 tho Keltlomonts, ono by one ; ho nought out 
 every hunter and frontiersman whom it was 
 possible lo moot ; his inquiries were inccs 
 Bant and unsleeping, and every advantage 
 and facility his roving, adventurous life gave 
 him, ho diligently improved ulus ! still in 
 vain 1 
 
 4 When for the last time we parted, it was 
 with a vow from tho gallant hunter, ilia 
 the search should not end here, that he would 
 
 never altogether lose sight of his past exer- 
 ions or their object, and patiently remain on 
 he look-out for any trace of the lost one s 
 ate. 
 
 Henry, the blow nearly killed your mother 
 it nearly killed myself. From that day I 
 lave nover ceased to consider it a judgment 
 if 1 rovidence a judgment upon me for my 
 jypoc.risy and deceit. 
 
 4 Tho Inst hope having perished, wo re 
 moved from n part ot the country fraught 
 with so distressing an association ; we left 
 tho west iorevur ; we came to Hoston, to be 
 come one of its richest and most honored 
 families. 
 
 1 We still had your-olf, Ilnnry, or your nigh 
 hourt broken mother would have sunk beneath 
 tho shoe.k. O (tod 1 how 1 sought, in the 
 midst of splendor to forgot it I how 1 strove 
 to banish tho memory of my sinful deception, 
 and thn judgment of IJeavon upon it, And 
 now, my son, you can at lungth comprehend 
 why 1 sought io avoid all allusion to tho lute, 
 nay, tothovoiy oxisimino of ono, whoso mere 
 mention, forced, crushing!} , buck upon mo 
 agonising rooolli-ctions of my crime ! for 
 such I huvo always considered it. Now, too, 
 you can fathom the mystery of the strAtigo, 
 inexplicable silence and secrecy in which 
 you huvo over found this strange subject en 
 shrouded. 
 
 1 Ami now, Henry, my dear, dear boy, let 
 mo add, finally, ono more, confession. Hut 
 that you weio hound on u fur voyuge to a land 
 where il is possible that you ma) meet the 
 only man to whom deceitful hopo can look 
 for any clue to tho secret which time hu so 
 longjealously kept, you might never huvo 
 known that which it was this packet s purpose 
 to rnvnul to you. 
 
 SV/ A: out Kit Canon remind him of his 
 
 Hero tho confession abruptly ended, closing 
 with this lust injunction, Tho won ri poatod it 
 as tho mxdur finished, 
 
 1 Seek out Kit Curson ! remind him of his 
 vow! This is my father s bidding! Mny 
 fortune forever frown on mcifl iulftll it not 1 
 said Henry Vernon, solemly. 
 
 4 Hold, dear Henry, hold I 1 exclaimed the 
 anxious girl, as sho snw his compressed lip, 
 clenched hnnd, and resolute expression, 4 you 
 surely do not mean, BO scon after your sick* 
 ness, to to 
 
 4 1 do, Ellen ; tho expedition for tho mines 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 sets out in two days I join that expedition ! 
 Seek not to dissuade me ; even with you, dear 
 girl, I must bo inexorable, here. I have re 
 solved I start with the Gold Hunters the day 
 after to-morrow, up the Sacramento i shull 
 find Kit Carson there.* 
 
 There was a firmness, a determination, in 
 the speaker s tones, as these words were said, 
 that convinced our heroine opposition was in 
 deed vuin. 
 
 Site realized that, to resist tho bent of his 
 mind would be perhaps of more injury in his 
 present excitement on the subject, than its in 
 dulgence. 
 
 Between the lovers a long and earnest con 
 versation then took place. Itssubslance may 
 be inferred from the subsequent proceedings 
 of both. 
 
 The ensuing morning they repaired on 
 shore together ; whither they had been pre 
 ceded by nearly all of tho S s passen 
 gers and people, many of whom they met in 
 the streets of the town. 
 
 The town itself, was a compact collection 
 of rude dwellings of wood ; with its roughly- 
 constructed log hutj and hastily. built shanties 
 presenting much the appearance of a west 
 ern settlement. 
 
 Before, stretched in unruffled beauty, lay 
 the placid Hay of San Francisco ; the finest 
 harbor to be found on the American coast of 
 the Pacific, affording its brilliant promise of 
 the destined commercial pre-eminence of that 
 little sea-shore town, to the eastward of which, 
 in the back-ground far behind, towered up 
 tho blue outlines of tho distant range of moun 
 tain*, in whose dark gorges, volcanic clefts 
 nnd descending stream-* lay hidden the golJen 
 ore, which, at that very moment, caused to 
 turn upon it the eyes of the whole world ; 
 each sparkling atom, prophetic of California s 
 future destiny, as one of the most populous 
 regions upon the known earth, with San Fran 
 cisco for its centre, and, in the latter, tho 
 mightiest metropolis in the west. 
 
 By Henry and his sweet companion, seve 
 ral hours were spent in viewing its picturesque 
 beauties, and many more in making the ar 
 rangements which were their special object. 
 Young Vernon and his fair friend soon ascer 
 tained, satisfactorily, that there were, at the 
 present time, in San Francisco, the wives of 
 several of the enterprisinggentlemen who had 
 preceded our adventurers, and who were ab 
 sent at the mines, leaving their families in the 
 town. 
 
 Vernon, knowing this, had prevailed upon 
 Ellen to place her, in her true character, un 
 der the protection of these ladies; while he 
 himself proceeded to join the husbands of the 
 latter at the mines, hide more than a hun 
 dred miles distant from the town of San Fran 
 cisco. 
 
 True, it was not until after much opposi 
 tion oil the part of Ellen, that she could be 
 persuaded to the separation from him she so 
 devoutly loved. But prudence and a lover * 
 eloquence succeeded. 
 
 It wus arranged that, while on the morrow 
 Henry was to start with the expedition, Ellen, 
 resuming once more the legitimate dress of 
 her sex, so long abandoned fora brother s, os 
 well as a lover s sake, should place herself 
 under the matronly charge and protection of 
 these kind ladies. 
 
 With tho earliest drtwn, the expedition of 
 which Vernon was to be a member, was to 
 start : and at sunset of the second day after 
 the arrival of the adventurers, took place the 
 twilight parting of the lovers, now for the 
 first time about to be separated, since their 
 first departure from the Tri Mount City of 
 the Kast. 
 
 4 Farewell, then, and Heaven s care be 
 over you, fondly a Jded Vernon, as they rnado 
 their last adieux. 
 
 Bending down from the saddle of the horse 
 he had already mounted, preparatory to join 
 ing the party, with whom he was to proceed, 
 at their quarters, he pressed a lover s devot 
 ed kiss to the rich warm lips and glowing 
 check of tho noble girl who had FO well proved 
 the strength and purity of her affection ; and 
 beautiful, indeed she looked, and O, how su 
 premely BO, in his partial eyes, in tlu simple 
 but tasteful cottage-maiden s dress she now 
 wore 
 
 4 God bles^ and preserve you, Henry ! she 
 murmured, tremulously. 
 
 And you, dear, denr Ellen ! I leave you 
 well situated, do I not, dearest ? he asked, 
 tenderly. 
 
 Yes, dear Henry, yes; as well and hap- 
 pily as I can be in your absence. Those la 
 dies are very kind to me ; have no fears on 
 my account. 
 
 Soon, soon will I return again ; nnd now, 
 for awhile, farewell, my own dear Ellen, no 
 blest of your sex 1 
 
 One last kiss, one fond caress, one more 
 murmured blessing, and then reseating him 
 self firmly in the saddle, he grasped the rein, 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 paused to turn on Ellen the lint lingering 
 look- then, with n full heurt, touched, ligluly, 
 hi homo with tho whip, and roJo rapidly 
 awny. 
 
 Such wnn the lovers purling on Sacramen 
 to s golden water*. 
 
 Henry Vernon rodo rapidly nnd norvotmly, 
 with tho view of freeing himnelf, in somo mea 
 sure from the .depression of thin ngitni mtf part- 
 in if ; but the <|u irters were in clone vicinity to 
 that section of the town, and the youthful 
 horseman noon Hufuly ruauliud tho end of thai 
 night s ride. 
 
 Horn, on arriving, ho found, IH ho export 
 od, everything in thu most per fee, t rniidiuess 
 for tho morrow H expedition; and like, tho rest, 
 he retired early to repose, to recruit his en. 
 ergii-s fur tho arduous undertaking of tho coin* 
 in*, day. 
 
 Soundly nnd awootly did ho Hlurnher, nnd 
 Kllon s imugo wtslhn vision-queen nf nil IIIM 
 drc iiuiH; hut liltlo did ho uspect thu events 
 which the course ofunolhcr twenty-four hours 
 was to bring forth ; and slumbered on, uncon* 
 sciuiiH that the footstep* of his horse, that very 
 night, had boon tracked to Kllen sidu ; Ins 
 converse overheard ; his proposed plun* as. 
 certaiiied, by u liired tool of John Vernon, 
 thu miser, and the hitter meanwhile prepared 
 to defeat, on tho morrow, h ; a nephew s most 
 cherished scheme s ! 
 
 Yet it \VIIH m>! Tho ruin of Henry hud, 
 Uutnighti boon plotted I 
 
 xra. 
 
 The Ruin of Henry Plotted, nnd tie Cara 
 van jiron idn wit hunt him The Wontlm 
 of the. (told Hi Kiun Tkf. fif<l /funtrra 
 itcainng their /farucst at last The Mo 
 nomaniac in his Ciot/ii n Jlli/sium \ 
 
 Gold ! gold ! yellow gold ! magic is its 
 
 power I 
 Monarch of the whole world, it rules each 
 
 hour. 
 Gold, tho great victor which nor bolt, nor 
 
 chain, 
 
 Nor bra/on wall, can fcttornr restrain. 
 Gold m-olls nt key*, to bonds it will not how; 
 Gold bends proud beauty to its sordid vow. 
 Tho virgin zone of Daiun, did Xeuso, 
 In goldenshower descending, erst unloose; 
 Kev ling in mnidcn charms, a legend old, 
 
 Wherein I learned the mighty power of 
 
 gold I 
 
 Ye lovers, from Venus, sweet prayers with 
 hold- 
 No neud of these, if ye have only gold ! 
 
 GRRRK TRANSLATION. 
 
 T sunrise the whole 
 party were up Uetiines, 
 all full of eagerness for 
 nn immediate Htnrt. 
 l- ach moment s necen- 
 snry detention wus fi It 
 as aggravation ; nnd 
 Ihn universal impatience could scarce brook 
 tho mom unavoidable delay. Where, how- 
 over, all worn equally eager, little hindrance 
 wan likely to interpose ( and in somewhat 
 less than nn hour from tho assembling of the 
 members, the signal was given, und ihe ex 
 pedition got under way. 
 
 The company consisted of tho three him- 
 dred passengers of tho S , and mounted 
 and equipped fur tho last grand stage in their 
 journey, of course composed quite a caravan, 
 Up tho Sacramento their route lay ; for a little 
 short of a hundred miles they were to follow 
 its course, and then they would find them 
 selves, at tho end of this distance 1 , in the heart 
 of the (iuld liegion, 
 
 lusennibl) Henry Vernon noon caught Iho 
 exhilarating infection of the invigorating ride 
 and as tho buoyant spirits of light-hearted 
 youth came with cheering revulsion buck on 
 him, he amused himself for tho first hour or 
 HO in galloping in advance of the more leisure 
 ly moving caravan, und passing thu whole of 
 tho troop in review on Ins return, thus allow 
 ing himself to observe its entire oxtct ut his 
 ease. 
 
 Mule*, in place of horses, were quito gene 
 rally employed, ax more ruggod and service- 
 ul ! iu tho rough mountainous country thro* 
 which the caravan was to pnss. 
 
 It was, consequently, with some passing 
 surprise, that our young hero noticed among 
 the troop, after passing nnd rcpassing it seve 
 ral times, unobserved, what sremed to bo a 
 speoies of covered hono litter, with wheels 
 attached, and drawn by two mnall but stout 
 California!) ponies, ono of which, in tho capa 
 city of postillion, n tall native bust rode, 
 
 Curious to know its purpose nnd contents, 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 07 
 
 Henry reined up his horse by the side of the 
 man, and put his query. 
 
 Oh, tis one of the company who pot badly 
 hurt, wns the reply, in mongrel Spanish, in 
 *hich tongue, Henry, rightly judging of his 
 Mexican extraction had accosted the olher ; 
 for his collegiate education had placed more 
 than one language at his command ; one of 
 the company who got badly hurt, and whom 
 we have to carry thus. 
 
 Ah ! whut was the nature of his wound, 
 my pood fellow ? 
 
 1 A broken arm or leg, I believe, replied 
 the postillion. 
 
 Henry started slightly, but immediately 
 said, 
 
 What sort of a man is h^, my friend ? 
 old or young ? 
 
 An old man unc Americano! was the 
 careless reponse. 
 
 Ha ! an American ? His name, friend T 
 what is his name? asked the young man, 
 riding alongside, and speaking in a familiar 
 tone. 
 
 Quirn sabr. ! who knows ? rejoined the 
 California!!, witli a Californian s everlasting 
 answer. 
 
 lie must bo, at all events, a strange sort of 
 character, who, with a broken limb, would be 
 so anxions to hurry to the gold regions? ad- 
 ded Henry, carelessly. 
 
 Quien sabe ? L oro eot Toro ! Gold is 
 gold ! was the imperturbable reply, and the 
 postillion jogged on. 
 
 I suspoct, muttered Henry, emphatically 
 to himself. 
 
 Without farther ado he cheeked his horse 
 abruptly beside the litter, and with a bold 
 hand lifting the curtain, unceremoniously 
 looked in. 
 
 He dropped it again, instantly, and his horse 
 bounded on. 
 
 It is as I suspected ; my miser uncle, in 
 spile of his illness, his crippled state. Holy 
 Heaven, to what lengths will the fiend of ava 
 rice drive a min, when once it has obtained 
 firin possession of him 1 The insensate crav 
 ing < of insane cupidity in him, uro superior to 
 cvun physical prostration ; completely hurried 
 nway by his avarice, it seems he has procur 
 ed himself 10 bo carried, a hclplew cripple, 
 to the very feet of his golden idol ! Poor, 
 poor monomaniac ! 
 
 4 He knew me, he recognised me ! I saw 
 it in his bleary eye, though but fora moment 
 I caught it. Well, well : we shall see what 
 
 will come of it. At all events, he s my uncle 
 I will remember that. I must keep my 
 eye on him, however ; 1 must keep my eye 
 on him. 
 
 Thrice during the day tle expedition halt 
 ed ; the last time for the evening meal and 
 for the night ; the caravan having accomplish 
 ed, without incident ten Spanish leagues, or 
 about thirty English miles, the first twelve 
 hours journey. 
 
 A deep mountain gorge was their halting 
 place, and here they pitchf d their tents and 
 refreshed themselves with a plain but sub- 
 stantia supper. 
 
 Each mnn Imd his respective rations ; and 
 Henry, who hud taken cure to provide him- 
 self with that necessity, as a portion of his 
 outfit, sat with a bottle of wine by his side,, 
 breaking his fast with a hearty appetite. He 
 hud refreshed himself , with half-a-dozen 
 glasses of the welcome Madeira, which he 
 greatly needed, when a man who had ap 
 parently just received his own allowance, 
 consisting of the simple rations only, came 
 and sat down close to him; chancing to etum- 
 l.-le over the young man s foot as he did so, 
 for which, in broken Spanish, he heartily 
 apologised. 
 
 It was the Californian. 
 
 Henry s attention attracted to him by lift 
 tiding incident, he, bethinking himself of the 
 litter and its occupant, resolved to improve 
 the opportunity to elicit whatever he might 
 from the postillion ; and as tne man seemed 
 tired and fatigued, and looked more (ban once 
 wistfully, as he thought Ai the wine, our hsro 
 courteously asked him if he would not re 
 fresh himself with a glass, and passed the 
 bottle to him, on receiving a grateful accept 
 ance. 
 
 The Californian took several deep daughts, 
 with evident relish ; but he was either very 
 clumsy, or not very familiar with the hand 
 ling of such luxuries, for it was some mo 
 ments ere, with many thanks and protesta 
 tions of prutitin] he returned the bottle. 
 
 Why, we have not half-emptied it yet, 
 mnn, said Vornon, who intended it should 
 preface an immediate conversation on an im 
 portant point; wo must finish it between 
 us. 
 
 To Henry s smprise, the postillion, who 
 had drank with such visible relish before, now 
 declined the protu-re I civility. 
 
 4 Drink, my good man, drink ! persisted his 
 host, who suspected that the Span ; ards, like 
 
93 
 
 KIT CAKSON. 
 
 moat other mon, grow confidential in their 
 cups. 
 
 The dark-skinned native of California hesi 
 tated for tho nv.> nont then look the goblet 
 and drained it to the dregs, 
 
 Henry, with liiiowii hands, poured another 
 
 it for him, which was also drained, without 
 any farther difficulty on the pnrt of thu pos- 
 tillion; and then tilling one more companion* 
 jjluss for himself, was revolving in his mind 
 the best mode of opening the attack, when he 
 fit thu tund which HOI down tho emptied 
 glass tremble slightly, experiencing also a 
 giddiness of the head. 
 
 1 have drank too much wine, I fear, he 
 said to himxeir. * I cannot hear MO much as 
 
 1 have been accustomed to, on my still weak 
 stomach. 
 
 Tae moment afier, ho full an unusual di/.- 
 /incus nbont his eyes, attended with a scntm* 
 tionofttrftngo drowsiness ; and confirmed in 
 the belief that ho had unintentionally imbibed 
 too largely, with an irresistible inclination to 
 sleep, ho arose, and bidding his companion of 
 thu cups an abrupt good night, staggered to 
 hi* tent. 
 
 Ere he could undress himself, the stupor 
 that hud so suddenly seized his faculties to* 
 tilly overpowered him, and he sank upon the 
 bed in a state of torpor. 
 
 The Oilifornian, meanwhile, hud arisen, 
 and, wi:h a slight smile, disappeared. 
 
 Hnght and early, on the morrow, was the 
 caravan in motion, and, with thu rising HUH, 
 commenced the second day s journey up the 
 Sacramento. 
 
 A rough hand put aside the curtains of the 
 litter; and ad irk face looked in; while from 
 within the cracked voice ol old age demand- 
 cd, though in tones hushed to trembling cau 
 tion : 
 
 MB it done, Curl? 
 
 * It is 1 gave him tho drugged potion with 
 his wine. 1 
 
 How g how ? asked tho name tremulous, 
 eager voice. 
 
 4 1 slipped the powder into tho bottle, while 
 pretending to fumble with the cork ! he in* 
 vited me tot.ake wine with him. After I had 
 drugged it, ho prt*HNtid mu to drink moro. I 
 was embarrassed nl irst, und ut fault how to 
 act; but he insisted on my taking it, and then 
 1 bethought me of pouring the liquor down 
 my breast, while* seeming to drain the last drop, 
 lint he helped himself again to thv drugged 
 wine, und that just settled him. lie wvrit 
 
 staggering off to bed and, Caramba ! there 
 
 he will be likely to stay, for twenty -four hours 
 to come I 1 
 
 Hut is the narcotic sure? 
 Sure! Americano? St. Francis! the 
 young cahallcro wilt not waken till tho sun 
 bus twice gone down ; the sleeping potion has 
 done its work, trust me,Seiior. 
 
 1 And the rest ? said the miser, speaking 
 with a meaning emphasis. 
 
 All i* done. In tho night I went to him, 
 and currying him a little distance from tho 
 tent, concealed him among the tall bushes. 
 He was in a death-like supor, senor. The 
 firstthiiig this morning, 1 unslaked his tent 
 and reloaded tho hprses; they are now safely 
 on tho way with tbe caravan while t/irir 
 muster remains behind, in the mountain-pass. 
 Jfc has nut tte.cn missed, 
 1 And when will that he? 
 4 To-night, herhaps not before. By that 
 time the wolves will have found und devoured 
 him ( 
 
 From within the litter came the sound of rt 
 gleeful chuck 1 * 1 , and then its inmate seemed 
 to bo haggling with the other relative to the 
 price of his services, 
 
 4 Nay, nay, remonstrated the miser, in an 
 expostulating tone; 4 I did not agree to give 
 then so much, by half. 
 
 4 Demonio ! but thou didst, senor, retorted 
 the postillion, sharply ; what ! dost thou reek 
 to chnat me of my pay, now that tho work is 
 dune ? 
 
 4 No, no, good Carl ; but you ore cxhorhi- 
 taut, very exhorbitant 1 would not one-half 
 repay your trouble? 
 
 4 By San Jago ! have a care, old man ! 
 and the Cuiifornian muttered a hoarse threat 
 to undo all that he had done, by nt once ap 
 prizing the party of the disappearance of one 
 of their number, 
 
 Tho stern menace seemed to terrify tho 
 miser into keeping good failh with his tool, 
 for with a heavy sigh ho ceased to expostu 
 late, and with a still deepiy gronn surrender* 
 ed the money that caused him such un tll url 
 to pnrt with, saying, 
 
 4 Thorn I Hike it ; it wan only a joke only 
 a joke ! Hut it leaves me poor, very poor ; 
 it s hard to take the last ha penny from a poor 
 old man ! 
 
 The Californinn received tho money with n 
 well-plrnsrd smile, and was withdrawing to 
 resume his character of postillion, when tho 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 misrr called him back, and addrei-sed him 
 with the word?, 
 
 You nrc sure it was him 1 there was no 
 mistake in the person : 
 
 4 Carnmhii, no ! it was the snmo Americano 
 \vho questioner] me uo closely yesterday, an<l 
 ended hy looking in at yon through the cur 
 tains the same that you hired mo to follow, 
 and dog his footsteps, the night before the 
 expedition started. A Culiforman never mis 
 takes. 
 
 The man, once more dropping the palan 
 quin curtain, mounted his pony, and the litter 
 moved briskly forward. 
 
 4 Good ! good ! muttered the elated miser, 
 gleefully; very good indeed ! The sou will 
 be torn to pieces by wild beasts in the gorge, 
 and the fathei will no lenger have an heir to 
 his fortune the fortune he swindled my 
 children out of. 
 
 4 flfy children / he repeated, with a start ; 
 4 I wonder what can have become of them ? 
 how cunningly they have concealed ihem- 
 selves from me these many years where are 
 they ? Well, well, a family s expensive 
 very expensive! 1 added the old man, as if to 
 console himself by the reflection ; 4 yes, yes; 
 
 1 8 iould have been ruined, anil and but 
 
 it matters not ; this nephew of mine is out of 
 my way at last I thought I should find some 
 me.ms to rid me of him, when we came to 
 California together ! I ve not poisoned him, 
 though not murdered him no.no! only 
 given him a little laudanum in his drink 
 ami and the wolves, the wolves will do the 
 rest. 1 
 
 Steadily the caravan of the Gold Seekers 
 pursued its course. 
 
 To the mining region, from the walls o 
 San Francisco it was some five days travel 
 Along the Sacramento continued the expedi 
 lion ils course ; fording in its way, success 
 ively, the Hi" de los Americanos aod the Ilia 
 Turn os. 
 
 Frequently the expedition encounteied nu 
 merous parties of Indians, who seemed going 
 likewise, in the direction of the mines, one 
 who, whether awed by its numbers or equally 
 anxious to reach the golden regions, did no 
 attempt to molest the party; which found it 
 security, also, in its numerical strength, from 
 the wild beasts with which the country was in 
 Tested, particularly in the wild mountain gorge 
 through which wound the serpentine Sacra 
 mento. 
 
 It was twelrc o clock on the fifth day when 
 
 10 three hundred adventurers of the Sacra- 
 mento descended the gradual slope leading to 
 le centre of the Talley. From the surround- 
 ng highland, on every side, poured down a 
 undred little stream* and rivulets; and in the 
 evel pliiin below, where met the sparkling 
 waters, far as the eye could reuch, were seen 
 countless host of human forms, with bodies 
 out, ntid spade anrl picknxe shining in the 
 leridian sun. It was Gold Diggers tliatthey 
 aw at their work ! 
 
 The Gold Diggers! the Gold Diggers! 
 echoed each voice amid the three hundred 
 new comers, who, from the heights above 
 ooked enviously down upon the tireless la 
 nders below. 
 
 Each bit was pressed, each bridle tighter 
 Irawn, each mule was made to feeltho spur, 
 as, without one cheer, without one shout, in 
 breathless, speechless eagerness all, the whole 
 troop broke into a gallop, as by one simulta- 
 reous impulse at the inspiring sight the 
 pectncle for which each thirsting soul had so 
 long panted, and dashed like madmen down 
 the acclivity I 
 
 Down, down! and on, on! with rein un- 
 lackening pace all unrelaxed, the troop 
 rode on. Onward ! as if a loosed legion of 
 pursuing fiends were at their back, and 1 ar- 
 adise itself before. 
 
 Paradise, indeed ! an earthly paradise it 
 seemed. 
 
 Nearer and nearer, as in their reckless 
 speed they sped along, drew they to the 
 sparkling streamlet. , with their glittering 
 sands and their flashing waters, darkened for 
 miles along by the thousands searching for 
 their secret store. As on, still on, like the 
 wind they came, perspiring at every pore, 
 their starting eyes h xed on -the scene before 
 them; who shall describe the feelings of each 
 manly breast? 
 
 Thrilling, exciting, poul-conviilsing, indeed, 
 was that scene ! Too va?t in numbers to be 
 counted, outspread as on a chart, was the 
 nrmy of the Oold Diggers of tkt Sncramnito. 
 In the streams, ankle-deep, bringing up, at 
 each dip, the sand-mingled dust ot the pre 
 cious ore on the shores, in parties of three 
 and four, washing and sifting the golden 
 atoms ! some with the simplest tools, some 
 with labor-saving machines, in the dried-up 
 beds o r the mountain streams, gathering the 
 precious metal in glittering scales ! on the 
 rocks above, in the clefts and crevices of the 
 clifls, wiih pick-axe and spade, lay ing open to 
 
100 
 
 KIT CARBON, 
 
 view thenhining globules of pure gold, in mi- 
 nuto but preciou* particles what a ucene t 
 what a spectacle t 
 
 ltd daa/ling, bewildering influence, wni 
 munifcMt on every man of tho new-comers. 
 Ad they reached the valley, gained its midst, 
 rode at the tmtne desperate pace in among 
 the myriad of operatives, more than one poor 
 horse id! dead by the way. But their un 
 horsed riders paused not, hulled not for that, 
 and last as their hapless steeds gave out, 
 their owners left them to die, and sped after 
 the troop on foot 
 
 On, on still on, they hurried; for all of 
 three miles after the first outpost of the busy 
 miners was gained ; onward in eager quest 
 of an unoccupied area of gold strewn land, 
 Hullkieutly large to nccommodute their entire 
 party. 
 
 At lust they found it, though .not until milo 
 after mile, and hundreds after hundreds of 
 toiling laborers, hud been hurried precipitate- 
 ly by ; euch glimpse of tho successful opera 
 tives tiring their blood to tho fcver-heut which 
 hunmn excitement, in its greatest intensity, 
 reaches. 
 
 Hut here, at length, ia a bend of tho glid 
 ing Sacramento, with u hundred tiny springs 
 running down Irom the mountains to swell its 
 gold-freighted waters, they discovered th-> 
 sought for plucc. 
 
 With the necessary tools and implements, 
 they were, of course, fully provided, and 
 having the advantage of being an organized 
 company, they entered under the most lavor- 
 ahlu circumstances upon tho fascinating labor 
 before them. 
 
 Stragglers there wore, though unwilling 
 lingerers comprising those whoso horses had 
 in Die headlong rido, fallen victims to their 
 master s eagerness. Among them appeared 
 also a palanquin, drawn by two ponies and 
 driven by a single postillion 
 
 It halted among tho gold-diggers ; n peevish 
 hut excited voice cried out from within ; and 
 ere Carl, the Californun, could throw himself 
 from Ins postillion s seat to answer tho sum 
 mons, tlio curtains of John Vernon s litter 
 wore drawn quickly aside, and tho crippled 
 miser threw himself bodily from his couch 
 foil to the ground, staggered up ug^in, his 
 wounded limb bending under him like a wil 
 low wand. 
 
 AH his glistening, :>iml<e-like eye marked 
 tho millliuns of gkturing atoms with which 
 sparkled and (honed the gold-mingling sands 
 
 he uttered t cry of exulting avarice, of tri 
 umphant cupidity, and with limb* and body to 
 thoir utmoHt temiion nnmtmtched, ai if to 
 group tho wholo wealth of California at one 
 insatiate clatch, threw hiiimclful full length 
 on that tnhsuianic Boil, while in mnninc inco 
 herence, thai soul perverted old man shouted 
 forth, 
 
 1 Mine, mi.ie ! Gold ! gold ! millions on 
 millions of gold ! Away, uway! ye shall 
 not touch it ye shnll not have one grain of 
 it! It is mine, mine, alone! Awuy, 1 toll 
 ye, away I will have it all yes, all! What 
 right have yo to it? touch it touch one sin 
 gle atom of it, if ye dare ! Gold gold in 
 exhaustible r more than all the riches of the 
 Indies it is mine mine all ! gold, blessed, 
 blessed gold ! 
 
 And over the Bpnrkling sand*, over the 
 glittering gruiim.ovpr tho prccionnHum of the 
 Sacramento, cowered and grovelled, in his 
 insane ecstacy, tho miser the C! aid-mono* 
 
 Thf Prairie on Fire The Flight from- the 
 ConjtoffrationA Race with the Burning 
 ElementKit Carson s Protege The boy 
 Edward, and a Discovert/. 
 
 From the fire-fiend fly ! 
 Speed ! Oil, speed ! 
 
 The flames nre nigh- 
 Great is our nuud ! 
 
 Y Caron and his com 
 panions is our attention 
 claimed, onco more. 
 
 The prairie is on 
 fire! tho prairie is on 
 firo ! ride ! ride ! were 
 tho last words of Kit 
 Carson ; and words more thrilling, words 
 more full of stattling terror, never rang upon 
 the ears of the fear-stricken auditors. 
 
 The gallant hunter waiving hid hand, had 
 darted on before, the clattering of his horse s 
 hoofs mingling with that ringing cry. And 
 as that shout, that warning shout rang out, 
 Eugene and tho boy Edward took, also, the 
 alarm, and plying whip and rein, their stout 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 101 
 
 ponies dashed alonjr, almost blindly at first, 
 until a friendly voice arrested their uncertain 
 course. 
 
 Slop ! hoth of you stop ! Where are you 
 going ? This way, this way ! 
 
 Recalle I to himself by the startling in 
 junction and the demand that preceded it, 
 Lincoln, bending forward in his saddle, 
 grasped the bridle of the young boy, and has 
 tily directing aright the course of his own 
 and his IBS* collected companion s horse, fol 
 lowed on the hunter s track. 
 
 Kit Carson had halted, suddenly, and wait 
 ed for ihem to come up, when he perceived 
 their mistaken course ; and, once more side 
 by side, the three horsemen dashed on, 
 abreast. 
 
 The first faint glow that had been perceiv 
 ed from the direction of the cnnip had now 
 reddened and deepened into a lurid glare, 
 that, with each instant increasing, was fast 
 wrapping the whole horizon behind them in 
 o ie fiery illumination, growing as rapidly 
 higher and more bright, clearer and more dis 
 tinct. 
 
 On, on 1 cried Kit Carson, the prairie, 
 for miles aronnd, is fijed on, on ! The fire 
 will overtake us. 
 
 Like madmen they rode, but his words were 
 tvie. Fast fled their horte s feet, but fus er 
 followed the pursuing flames ! But still was 
 heard the hunter s encouraging voice, 
 On, on ! we ve a mile the start ! 
 At the same mad rate sped they along, for 
 hilf that distance further; and by that time 
 the sky in their rear seemed to be one sea of 
 waving fire, while, far in advance of the 
 barning prairie-scourge, they could hear the 
 d slant roar of the flames, and feel the heated 
 \\r borne on by the rushing wind* 
 
 Ever directing, ever-cheering, every other 
 moment, was set more loudly audible the 
 hunter s inspiring voice ; as onward, with 
 might and mam, they urged their frightened 
 ponies, which snuffed from atar * the tainted 
 gale. 
 
 Suddenly, and with so abrupt a shock as to 
 aha even the fiimly-seated hunter in his 
 saddle, the full-blooded pony which he rode 
 baulked, stood still, inhaled the air ahead 
 three or four times, then uttering a low neigh 
 of delight, broke into a gallop, and set off in 
 a direction nearly at right angles from its for 
 mer one. 
 
 It was in va m that Carson tugged and puM* 
 ed tt the bit : the hone had taken it be- 
 
 tween its teeth, and the rider lost all control 
 of him. 
 
 The brow of Kit Carson darkened not ; not 
 even was his determined lip compressed ; but 
 a smile, a cool smile, even showed itself 
 about the corners of bis mouth; yet he was on 
 the eve of executing a desperate purpose. He 
 saw that he Hhd ceased to have longer any 
 command over the animal, but he was result 
 ed not to leave his companion! to be thus 
 separated from him in their keen extremity 
 and yet, how was it possible for him to pre 
 vent it. 
 
 He rose in his stirrups, he drew forth a 
 knife a knife, tnrn from the belt of one of the 
 sljjiin savages he raised it high above that 
 part of the horse s arching neck, where flowed 
 the life-current of the jugular vein he had 
 determined on killing the beast that bore him, 
 as the only means of stopping it in its uncon 
 trollable career. 
 
 Ere he struck the blow he turned his head 
 and saw, to his great surprise, that the other 
 horses had followed the example of his own, 
 and, with their riders, were following scarce a 
 length behind. 
 
 This discovery, of course, caused him to 
 abandon the design, and he culled to Eugene 
 and Edward to give their ponies fre.e rein, 
 and see what would come of it ; while the 
 two summoned breath to demand 
 
 rtut what is the matter with the horses? 
 what possesses them ? 
 
 The hunter s head sunk thoughtfully on his 
 breast. 
 
 I have it ! 1 have it ! he c* ed ; * it wu " 
 water they scented just now. 
 
 Water! echoed Lincoln and th* lad, to 
 gether. 
 
 Water ! yes, water 1 We must be in the 
 vicinity of the river again ; it s courc is wind- * 
 inp, like a sarpint s ! cried Curson, excitedly. 
 1 Now look ye both 1 if we can only get to 
 the river afore the fire overtakes us, we are * 
 safe! 
 
 Once more back upon the fiery foe he sent 
 his keen eyed glance. The others turned,, 
 too ; but their eyes were almost blinded by the 
 bright and dazzling light. The fire was 
 now within a quarter of a mile of them 
 the deepening roar of the flames was like 
 the thunder-sound of a waterfall the atmos- 
 phere was almost stifling, from the fearfully 
 increased heat, and the suffocating smoke that 
 preceded the advancing column, which came 
 with frightful celeritj on, sweeping the tall 
 
KIT CARSON. > 
 
 before it, as chaff before the reaper * 
 scythe. 
 
 Onward, onward rolled the mighty volume, 
 an i^ith of mile in ihioknes* ami a *cor 
 of iinies in ItMii th ; forward, forward, in a 
 semi-circle "tretchingout ; while onward and 
 forward, before its accumulating terrors, (led 
 
 the fugitives, * 
 
 But whit WHS animal speed or hum. in nerve 
 to cope with the burning element ? R ipidly, 
 O how rapidly, diminished the distance that 
 yot separated them from the, fell destroyer 
 that roired, and Inssyd, ami crackled ut their 
 back? 
 
 Lincoln, himself, felt Taint and giddy, and 
 half sutFoc ited, with hit* blinded vision bcarce 
 clear enough to see, for an instant, the boy, 
 reel more than once in his saddle, HS if with 
 the 8ame deadly f amtoess, ihat, in a lus de 
 gree, also ulll Cted himself. 
 
 Overcome by the dreadful oppression, he 
 wan about, helplessly to reUx his hold of the 
 rein and abandon himself to bis fate, wh Mi, 
 like mi iiiiir- I s voicu of mercy, wus heard the 
 cry from Carson, 
 
 The river ! the river ! I see it ! I see it ! 
 Yonder ! inure ! For God s Hake don t give 
 up now ! 
 
 The words of hope seemed to put renewed 
 strength ami po^or of endurance into both- 
 a fiint cheur answered the, threo rode on 
 the water, in another insunt, came into full 
 view 1 
 
 But .he fire was near O God I how nenr! 
 It !)!isiere< 1 , " burned, it scorched them, as it 
 roared along, not three hundred yards back. 
 Behind, lik j an ocean of molten gold, WHS the 
 ruling (ire, hotter, fiercer, greater than ten 
 thousand furnaces thrown into one ; before, 
 like a sheet of melted silver, lay the rippling 
 river of the burning prairie. Ten rods, only, 
 ahead it lay could they reach it? it was but 
 halftho distance the pitiless H imes hud to 
 ft tin, but three-fold grei .u r WHS their spued 1 
 Oh, fur onu moment of limit ! 
 
 Mark! that terrible uoigh l--lhe norm 
 have, soen the water, mid every nervo they 
 Tain -fearful their speeit I Hut ha I them 
 in a sudden splash Unother and yet a third. 
 The stout steeds have gained the river, and 
 leiped in, wuh their riders I 
 
 Saved I saved ! but into the middle into 
 the middle of the river all I or the heat from 
 the shore will consume ye, like the sun* 
 scorched prairie-flower! Out! out into the 
 stream I 1 
 
 And scarce spoken was the warning when 
 the fire reached the water s brink. 
 
 There, recoiling, gathering into ono mon 
 strous volume of concentrated strength and 
 violence, it seemed to rnge in redoubled fury 
 MI being HO suddenly stayed in its devastating 
 course. 
 
 The heat from the baffled flames was tre 
 mendous, and fortunate proved ihe timely 
 caution of Kit (/arson, for only by pushing 
 their panting humes into the centre of the 
 stream, as far as possib e from the burning 
 shore, did they escape being scorched to 
 death ! 
 
 But, as through the. water horses and liders 
 struggled, there wn* a sudden shriek from tho 
 river a loud splash, and a terrible cry Irorn 
 Lincoln, 
 
 The boy, Carson ! the boy ! he has faint 
 ed and fallen ! 
 
 And the young man leaped from his own 
 horse HUD the stream ! 
 
 O (Jo I ! my poor Edward ! my boy ! my 
 boy ! groaned H voice of agony ; and the bun* 
 ier himself followed the generoiH Lincoln. 
 Once, twice, thrice, did Carson div, HIII!, as 
 many times rising, saw no trace of either.- 
 Once, indeed, he imagined he lumrd a faint 
 shout, and hi* mime hoarsely pronounced.- 
 Hut i hi- terrific blaze, from the opposite bank 
 lighted up the whole expanse of the river, and 
 threw every fathom of water into bright re 
 lief, save where, close in shore, its dii/ /.ling 
 brilliance blinded the gaze, still nothing of 
 them wns visible. 
 
 The form of the heroic hunter quivered 
 with a wild and fearful tremor, and H hollow 
 moan of unutterable misery broke from the 
 penMip fortress of hi- breast ; but at the same 
 moment a cry this time plainer, louder than 
 before -reached him, and from thai portion 
 of the stream dii ec ly under the, rgmg fire, 
 and in the midst of the daz/ling brightness 
 which made the objects beneath it totally h - 
 visible. 
 
 This time the hearing of the htmler could 
 not deceive him, and ho fancied that, evnn 
 through the blinding glow, he mice or twice 
 discerned the outlines of a human form. And 
 then, forth from the prairie fire s iia//.lmy re* 
 (lection, forth from the Itemed ntmusphero, 
 now list to sight, now quickly reappearng 
 upon the bright surface, issuud a struggling 
 figure. 
 
 Carson swam to meet it, and not it, alone ; 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 103 
 
 for a second and a slighter form was it sup 
 porting, with a desperate energy. 
 
 The intrepid hunter hastened to relieve the 
 during Lincoln of his burden, and together 
 they swnm t the o her bank ; bo h of them 
 sl-nvly, for Lincoln s strength was well mgh 
 spent, And Carson, though strong and vigoi- 
 ous, was encumbered with a living weight. 
 
 When both emerged, at last, from the river, 
 they (oiiml their horses had already clnmber- 
 ed up the bench, where they stood nhakina 
 nnd resting themselves after their dreadful 
 race, atid gazing bnck in mute wonder Ht the 
 fiery danger they h td esc iped. But little 
 lice i gave either to the poor beusts that had 
 served them so well. 
 
 Lincoln, completely exhausted, had sunk 
 down helplessly upon the ground, beside the 
 motionless figure of lira youth, whom the sor 
 row ng hunter had laid tenderly on the grass; 
 with a countenance, whose expression of 
 keenest anguish touched the other lo the 
 heart. 
 
 lie is gone! h is gone! he heard the 
 gi*l>in^ Carson falter, in a hollow tone and 
 a tnuclnnjr accent, wholly free from a taint 
 of the frontier dialect; realizing at once hia 
 suspicions, that it was ever, in a measure, as- 
 KiiMied with him. My God ! he is gone, and 
 Kit dtr*on is desolate ! Poor boy ! hard 
 liar I has been your lute, and hitler your end ! 
 Aim! belter would it have been, perhaps, 
 li ul I never taken you from the wild savages 
 with whom I found you, a cart-less child 
 you might have been spared this untimely 
 end ! 
 
 Fro>n the savages? iterated the astonish 
 ed Lincoln. 
 
 * Yes, stranger, yes; I found him, when a 
 beautiful boy of soven, in an incursion with 
 my hunters upon one of thd wandering tribes 
 ol the wilderness, wait the mournful reply. 
 I took a f mcy to the hoy he was the only 
 one lit them we left alive we had attacked 
 Ihem MI self defence. 
 
 * Surely, 1 exclaimed Eugene, who hnd for- 
 gotten his exhaustion in his surprise, surely, 
 in thi-t handsome face, this fair complexion , 
 and these graceful limbs, there can be nul a 
 trace of Indian blood. 
 
 4 Nur is there ! The boy, doubtless, is a 
 tolen child. The Indians otten conceive a 
 fancy for the beautiful children of the pale- 
 fce, as they call, us; as such thefts are 
 nearly as common with those Ravage* as 
 with -* 
 
 T.ie Gipsies, you would say those of the 
 Old World. 
 
 V cs, stranger, nnd the Indians are the 
 Gipsies of the prairie. Hut this was more 
 
 thai en years ago and and Oh, my 
 
 God ! how that poor boy has grown around 
 my heart ! 
 
 And he Edward? has he been much 
 with you ? 
 
 * Always, stranger, always: ever since that 
 time. He has been my companion in the 1 
 forest ano in the prairie, in scouting parties 
 and exploring expeditions in every adven 
 ture he has shared. I have been ever careful 
 of him, sighed the hunter, and yet 1 havo 
 sought to harden him to danger and to toil, 
 to make him orave and skillful in everything, 
 but still, still 
 
 4 Surely you do not mean thnt your paini 
 have been lost upon him ? lie is no cow* 
 ard, I will slake my life upon it, interrupted 
 Lincoln, eagerly. 
 
 Cincnrd ! echoed the hun er, fiercely 
 but controlling himself : a friend of Kit Car* 
 son a toward. Take cnre, sir f take car*>l - 
 I have struck a man dead at my feet for as 
 small a word as that. There 1 there ! forgive 
 me, stranger ; 1 was hasty and passionate- 
 hut Kit Carson never could bear that word 
 coward. No, no; the boy s no coward, not 
 he I have seen him fearless att a panther, 
 and know him to be brave. But, but what I 
 meant is this, he never quails at danger, he 
 is ever ready to meet it us my boldest hun 
 ter, but he is tender-hearted as a woman, 
 he cannot bear to harm a human being. I ve 
 M- MI him turn aside from a writhing worm, 
 and plead for a wounded deer I You saw, 
 youisclf, how relieved he seemed when I 
 proved that it WHS by my hand, not his, that 
 the savage hud died who sought my life in the 
 forest it took a heavy load Irom his heart, 
 that was plain. Slrai.ger, tis iln-j very in* 
 consist* -ncy which has always so nuch puz 
 zled me ! 
 
 Then, as he is brave, tis a beautiful char 
 acter I was Lincoln s ready exclamation; 
 tjtid yet, tis the attridu e less of a man than 
 a woman 1 like the youth still the better 
 for it.* 
 
 And, to tell the real truth, stranger, to do 
 I I love him, because in something he is 
 different from myself. I should lose all pa 
 tience with him at times, when that lender 
 heart of his is begging for mercy for every 
 red skin and wild beast tbat crosses our pik 
 
101 
 
 KIT CARSON, 
 
 but hark t tell me, stranger, is that boy 
 dead or not ? faintly moaned the humor, with 
 team in his eyes. 
 
 * He in not ! life ho* not yet left him,* oried 
 Eugene, n ho placed hid hnnd upon the brow 
 of the Houseless youth, and then removed it to 
 the wrist 
 
 1 1 thought no, too, stranger, but didn t <!nro 
 to believe it, for fadings deceived me. Hut, 
 (mrk yo, Mr. Lincoln, if llmt be your name, 
 you were brought up, I see plainly, Among 
 the town folks who are used to ihesn fainting 
 fits and the liko, and know exactly how 
 to trout thembut Much things are not nnt rul 
 to Injuns and hunters, added the frontiers. 
 man, gradually resuming the brond border 
 tccoiu ho loved so well, now that ho found the 
 danger at an end. They re ounatrnl to us, 
 and we don t know how to doctor em ; but 
 you, stranger, you re a better hand at the 
 business than Kit Curson. 1 dur uent trust 
 myself with sich thing*. 
 
 Lincoln smiled slightly at the honest hunt 
 er s speech, and acting upon the implied re 
 quest, proceeded to exort his bust means for 
 the hoy s iccovery. 
 
 The gigantic frontiersman stood with foldod 
 arms watching him as he chufod the hamls 
 and war mad the cheek and lips of the life* 
 lens ld. 
 
 More than once the hardy hunter murmur* 
 ed ejaculations of approving delight at* he 
 aw (he color faintly sUiuling buck to the 
 beautiful fuco of the poor boy, and paw his 
 ohost faintly heave with the first Hofl drawn 
 aspirations of returning animation. 
 
 As the hunter gu/cd on, a sound that ho 
 did not as fully approve, caused him to start 
 suddenly forward, and glancing out on the 
 green expanse of pruirie-grnss that stretched 
 in its pride Irom the bank on which they 
 they stood, so striking in its contrast to the 
 blackened and still flaming waste on the op* 
 posite shore. 
 
 Intently, breathlessly, ho listened it was 
 evident that something was occurring to put 
 every faculty once more on the alert. 
 
 But hiit companion, Lincoln, pro-engaged,, 
 noticed not thin midden movement, continu 
 ing unremittingly to chafe the young boy s 
 cheeks and hands, and nut restoring anima 
 tion 5 his thoughts completely engrossed in 
 the situation of one lor whom ho hud con* 
 f. ooived an interest, the depth and intercut of 
 which he found it somewhat difllcult to do- 
 fmo. 
 
 Just at the moment he perceived the limbs 
 of the reviving youth quivering with the first 
 tremulous motion, while his breniit now hegun 
 to hoove with a labored and difficult brnnth* 
 ing, and necking to relieve him in some dr. 
 greo by thu invigorating contact of the fresh 
 air, Lincoln gently proceeded to open the 
 graceful hunting jacket worn by tho lad, and 
 wan loosening tho upper loops of the garment 
 when, us hi* ryn full upen tho partiully*ox 
 posed bosom of tho young boy, he started, ut* 
 tered an exclamation of astonishment and 
 doubt, and then drawing the covering a little 
 moru anido, ho remained, as if spell-bound, 
 his fuHcinated gaze rivetted where it had 
 fallen, his breath coming short and hot thro* 
 his parted lips, his glance still fixed and gloat 
 ing, mid his own breast heaving as if with in 
 ward fire ! 
 
 Tho whole was but momentary an inward 
 struggle Hcrmod to take plncu ; and then, 
 with a somewhat abrupt movement, ho ro 
 placed the (olds of the boy s jacket over his 
 exposed breast again, slowly ejaculating as 
 ho did NO, 
 
 lleuveim! irinit a ditrovtry ! Can Kit 
 Carton be ignorant of this V 
 
 Out a second exclamation, full as startling 
 though k sH mysterious, wns, utmost the snine 
 instant, givon to the air; but this time it was 
 Carson that spoke, 
 
 1 To horse ! to horse ! Those incarnate 
 devils have crossed the river and fired the 
 prairie on both sides 1 we have not even yet 
 escaped I* 
 
 The Fruits of the Fire Thf New Dart Ren 
 in its train The motutcr If ml of Jluf. 
 faloes The Superhuman Skill and I)ar 
 ing oj Kit Carton A Fortunate Jlen< 
 contre t and a Happy Issue. 
 
 4 Ay, now I am in Arden; the more fool 
 I ; when I was at homo I wa* in a better 
 
 place ; but 
 Travellers must be content. 
 
 ROM security and 
 hope to danger and 
 ir, how awful is 
 the revulsion I Such 
 was the s)unning trnns* 
 ition which (he feelings 
 of both Lincoln and 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 105 
 
 
 Carson were doomed to undergo, at that terri 
 ble moment which had given birth to acouble 
 discovery. 
 
 Demons that they are impossible ! fal 
 tered the former, in his consternation. 
 
 The hunter, without a word, pointed to a 
 faint line of light that caught the eye, for dis 
 tant on thepnurie, but directly ahead of their 
 new course. 
 
 Like the fire they had but just esccpe, it 
 was swifily coming down on them in the form 
 of u burning crescent. Even Lincoln s in- 
 expemnced eye told him that they were now 
 bcttcfrn ttco fres ! he saw the murderous 
 precau .ion taken by the savages to cut off all 
 escape, and assure their death and he shud 
 dered. 
 
 But horrors, like misfortunes, love to accu- 
 late : they did so now. 
 
 4 Stranger, this is nr* all ! Sec ! see, away 
 yoriiler, in advance of the new fire, do you 
 see a broad, black ppot ? 
 
 Lincoln s only answer was a convulsive 
 
 ye f; 
 
 * Then mark me, stranger, we are between 
 two fires, but thtit is not the worst of the dan 
 ger. Say, have you the least idea what that 
 dark spot is ? 
 
 In Gc d s name, not I ! It appears to be 
 moving. 
 
 It is moving moving like the wind ! It 
 is a herd of buffaloes, driven before the fire ! 
 They are making (or the river for the river, 
 do yon hear ? 
 
 */ v nd Carson! and 
 
 In fift-en mmutes from now, we shall be 
 trairpleil to death ! 
 
 In fifteen minutes from now ! surely in 
 that limcour horses can bear us out of their 
 way? 
 
 . There you re wrong again, stranger. The 
 poor brutes never ll carry us five miles in 
 one quarter of an hour, replied the hunter, 
 quietly 
 
 *Fe miles! what mean you? You 
 peuk in riddles. 
 
 * Do I ? then I ll spe<*k plainer. That 
 drove of bisons yonder, is from four to five 
 
 miles broad, and coming on at the very top 
 of their speed. Don t look so astonished, for 
 on the honor of Kit Carson it is true ! The 
 prairie fire h.s gathered herd after herd to 
 gether ; and here the scared bensu come, as 
 fast their legs will carry them, making right 
 for the water they know it s their only rt- 
 curitjr. They ll bear us down before them 
 
 likea land slide in the mountains the centre 
 of the herd will cross the river at this very 
 spot, 
 
 4 Good God ! is there no means of escape f" 
 cried Eugene. 
 
 4 Just stop a moment, stranger, and I ll tell 
 you. 
 
 And Lincoln did keep silence while he saw 
 the other turn toward Hie opposite side of the 
 river and mutely surve y the shore from which 
 they had so fortunately escaped. 
 
 The brief time that had elnpsed since they 
 
 last last looked thitherward, had sufficed for 
 
 the consuming element to sweep that portion 
 
 of tho prairie clear of every blade of the tall 
 
 grass that had proudly moved there a few 
 
 j hours before, and the fire, having exhausted 
 
 I its fuel in iliat Quarter, had retired rapidly 
 
 | from the river bank and rolled away in the 
 
 ! distance, leaving behind a blackened waste of 
 
 smoking stubble, where so lately all had been 
 
 a sea of flame. 
 
 Lincoln caught the hunter s eye, and the 
 look of Eugene said, plainly as words, 4 Is 
 there hope in that quarter? can we not re- 
 cross thfi river, now that the flames have re- 
 treated T 
 
 Kit Carson shook his head, negatively, 
 answering, 
 
 1 No! we should escape the fire from this 
 side, but not the her:) they will cross all the 
 quicker for this. Nevertheless you shall yet 
 be saved, stranger, or KilCarson will die with 
 you. I have not saved your iife so often, but 
 that I can save it again I Stay ! have you a 
 flint about you ? 1 want to strike a light. 
 
 4 Alas, no ! the savages left me- nothing, 
 But, perhaps, in the knapsacks of the hsrse* 
 you might find 
 
 4 A good thought ! The Injuns always 
 carry them 1 might have thought of that ; 
 and going to the baskets which answered th- 
 purpose of twiddle-bags, he found in each of 
 the rude panniers of the stolen ponies, the 
 article he needed. 
 
 One, however, was sufficient, and, pos 
 sessing himself of it, he turned quickly to 
 Lincoln, saying in his natural tone: 
 
 4 Leave the lad for a moment he is fast 
 reviving, I see and conr.e hither. Gather 
 half a dozen strong withes of grass and bin* 
 it) j horde s feet, so they cannot move at liber 
 ty they must be fettered; quick! b*fo 
 they take the alarm. No* help me to pu 
 up tho dry grass for a space of about ten le 
 square. God grant you nimble fingers I 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 Quick, quick, make IIUKIH! and when w vo 
 done, lead ihu liurvm into the cleared *pnci k , 
 and gather thuin close together Bring the 
 boy with you and place him nearest to the 
 river." 
 
 Theun order* had been given and execut> 
 ed with the greatest rapidity. They were 
 not accomplished, however, without Home loss 
 of time, uud tho lii rtirini clearing was tll iicled 
 and tho wh ;le purty,"mcn und horses, were 
 collected within. 
 
 The excitement incident on these active 
 prepunilionti hud not tilluwed other sights and 
 sounds to distract their attention ; and when, 
 after all, thoy stopped to bn-utlie and look 
 around once more, though Curson retained 
 his composure, the lean experienced Lincoln 
 could not refrain from u cry of uwe struck 
 wonder at what he beheld. 
 
 That which, so few moments previous, hnd 
 appeared a long black spot, hud now luMMNwd 
 tlie luok of u thundercloud, ten fold increased 
 in its upparent length and maguitutir ; though 
 visibly .advancing with whirlwind speed, it 
 still deemed like one solid mass, driven lor* 
 ward. by some mysterious impulse. 
 
 1 Five minutes only five minutes more ! 
 in a suppressed tone the hunter whispered in 
 Lincoln s ear. 
 
 The beating of their hearts kept time with 
 the lapse of seconds ! 
 
 At u spoe.d thuUeemed to distance time it* 
 elf, tho moving mass came on a IIIUMH no 
 longer; for now they could clearly make out 
 the bulky outlines of the monstrous nnimi.ls, 
 in countless myriads, nnd distinguish (be 
 shaggy head and enormous limbs of the N. 
 American bison. 
 
 With inconceivable velocity the immense 
 herd net toward the river ; the Around shaking 
 with their tremendous tramp, the air reverhe- 
 rating thejr deep-mouthed bellows; pressing 
 close upon each other to thu depth of hun 
 dreds upon hundreds of yards, and stretching 
 out to the right and to the left for u league on 
 either hand, onward ruling like a mighty 
 army in retreat; headed by a single louder, 
 an enormous and grix/ly-bourded bull, with 
 inflamed eye-bulls, erected mane, und hurri* 
 cane of hair. 
 
 O Qod of Heaven ! another moment and 
 
 we Khali be trodden under foot ground to 
 
 powder beneath i| )U countless monsters hoofs 
 
 Curson, we are lost I There are tens of 
 
 * thousands of them 1* 
 
 1 Hist! 1 cried the hunter, calm and cool as 
 
 nil u-ii. bound truitm, Ho Ntrpt to \\w front 
 of the little clearing, he ftruek th flint n one, 
 the tinder ignited instantly he cunt it down 
 on the edui of the grits*, 
 
 Immediately the eraeklingvof flume* innrio 
 Itiwilf heard, and siinultunHou^ly n bright hlu/e 
 leaped up and spreed along (he unplucked 
 gruHit beyond, und nprarg as if to meet the 
 hurryiitg herd in tin-ir headlong approach, 
 with the slock of whirh the i- nrth neemed to 
 tremble to its rentio, the rushing in air nearly 
 Inking away their breath when, just tin Lin 
 coln, surrendering all hope, saw the whirl 
 wind of Itrmching horns levelled t the do- 
 voted spot, the whole mighty mass about to 
 crush them under foot, the leader of tl e drove 
 was suddenly seen to halt abruptly, swerve 
 from the kindling wrath of flume that met him 
 in bis course, and dart, with a strange bellow, 
 on one H de. 
 
 Tina bellow seemed to be a signal that nil 
 recognised, with the wonderful sagacity for 
 whii h the American bison is distinguished ; 
 for dividing right nnd left on either bund, the 
 herd of buffaloes swayed aside from the fire 
 that crossed their path, one wing following 
 their leader, the other taking the correspond 
 ing course on tneirown side, leaving an open 
 centra of nore than a hundred )ards square, 
 in which i ho perilled little group stood now 
 unharmed. 
 
 The vacuum left in the clovon ntm< sphere, 
 nnd the returning concussion of the cloNing 
 air, overthrew both the hunter and his friend} 
 hut when they quickly regained their leet, 
 they were for a moment completely stunned 
 by the cat tract-like roar of the boiling \\uters 
 behind, mud which the whole herd were la 
 boring and lloiinfWmg, snorting with terror, 
 those from behind pressing on those before, 
 und trampling and bullocaiing each other in 
 their furious haste ; so that not more than two 
 thirds of the numberless host of the kingly 
 buffaloes reached the 1 opposite bank ulivel 
 
 Meanwhile, the third fire that bad thus beeu 
 the fortunate means of frightening the herd 
 from their curse, had rolled on, grudmilly 
 gathering strength, until met by the mightier 
 volume before which tho terrified bisons hud 
 fled, 
 
 Tho forethought of the hunter hnd combined 
 a double purpose, and the two fi rex meeting, 
 fought each other ; but though the larger body 
 conquered, it found no food for its wrath 
 where the lesser scourge had passed before 
 it, and it, too, liku*the original conflagration 
 
KIT CARSON 
 
 107 
 
 on the opposite shore of the river, died 
 away, nt last, lor the wunt of further fuel 
 to its fury. 
 
 11 is own peculiar smile upon his resolute 
 lip, Kit Carson turned and looked his com 
 panion full in the face. 4 
 
 V\ hai do you think of that, stranger ? 
 That s what we call killing two birds with 
 one stone fire 10 fight fire, and drive back 
 the buffaloes, both. 
 
 Mm of exlwustless expedients and indom 
 itable courage, agitatedly uttered Lincoln, 
 grasping the hunter s bund and pressing it to 
 his lips ; no hero in bailie ever <ui passed 
 such feats of matchless daring! Again 1 owe 
 you my life. 
 
 Stranger, K>t Carson likes actions bettor 
 than words ! You saved that poor hoy s life 
 there, where many a stunt hunter would not 
 have dared to go ; and I ve not forgotten that 
 you put H bullet into the shoulder of that ras 
 cally ret). skin who thought to catch me imp- 
 ping. [ want no better thanks than hose! 
 Hut all danger s over now, and so lei s be 
 moving once more again, stranger. These 
 two fires have swept the prairie clean of every 
 bla^e of grans an inch high, for twenty mile* 
 around on each side ol the river. I ll untie 
 the horses, and if hdward, poor fellow, is 
 ablt* to be moved, the quicker we re off the 
 better. 
 
 * Edward ! repeated Eugene ; is he then j 
 unaware * 
 
 He checked himself and said aloud, I 
 though he had nearly revived at one time, 
 but probably the shock of finding us about to 
 be trampled to death by those dreadful beasts 
 may have unstrung, afresh, his weakened 
 nerves perhaps have caused him to swoon 
 again. 
 
 Such proved to he the case. The hoy, who 
 had fainted, was lifted in the strong arms r>f 
 Carson and tenderly placed npon one of the 
 horses, and arose the question, how, in his 
 present helpless condition, they were to dis 
 pose of him. 
 
 M will carry him ; my horse is strong, and I 
 will carry him before me ! exclaimed Lin 
 coln, eagerly. 
 
 Very well, stranger ; but be careful of the 
 poor boy. Twill be better so, perhaps, for 
 some o those red devils might be prowling 
 around, now (hut the fire they kindled for us 
 is over, in search of our bones, an like as not, 
 *nd I bid Ujstbe on the look-out for a time, 
 *t least. 
 
 And mounting their repoctive horse*, wilh 
 the young hoy on the saddle before him, and 
 tied \ty th/ hunter s sash to his waist, Lincoln, 
 with hi- gallant companion and preserver once 
 more set forward. 
 
 The delight of Eugene was scarcely to be 
 moderated, as now he found life and liberty 
 thus unexpectedly, and after so many hazards, 
 restored to him. 
 
 Occupied in their own reveries, they rode 
 on at a rapid rale, in silence, for some time; 
 but at h>t the hunter, glancing nt Lincoln 
 and his charge who was beginning to dis 
 cover signs of recovery once more, he 
 abruptly asked, 
 
 1 Stranger, how did you manage to secuTe 
 the poor boy as you did, and when the water 
 hud carried him undfrthe burning grass? it 
 was a bold thing 1 
 
 * A mere nothing. 1 found the current had 
 swwpt (he poor child thither, mid 1 swum ns 
 tiear HH possible and dived for him. 1 grnp- 
 pled the body and rose with it, hut the heal 
 WHS so intolerable I could scarcely breathe, 
 and again I dived, and swam under water out 
 of reach. Me must bnve fainted and lallen 
 from his horr, from shee; exhaustion when 
 we gained the river. 
 
 1 Still it was a daring thing in you, stranger, 
 to snatch him from death, right in the jaws of 
 that cursed fire a during thing, and it s Kit 
 Carson who says so, and he ought to know ; 
 enough ! it s made me your friend forever 
 
 4 Carson! dearest Carson ! a faint voice 
 faid. 
 
 Edward my boy ! and the hardy hunter 
 drew his own horse closer up, t^at he might 
 press a kiss upon the lips of his protege. 
 
 A faint flush flitter 1 across the cheek of the 
 youth, as he murmured, 
 
 Oh, Carson, what a wild dream I have 
 had ! I dreamed of perishing by the prairie- 
 fire, of being drowned, and of being trodden 
 to death by buffaloes ! 
 
 - And narrowly, said Eugene, fervently, 
 1 have you escaped them all. 
 
 The hoy started and looked up at him, 
 seemingly bewildered it the petition in which 
 he found himself, while his benefactor inter* 
 posed, 
 
 Thank the stranger, Edward ; thank him, 
 He saved vou from drowning, as you dream* 
 ed, in the river he nearly lost his own life 
 in looking after yours I God bles him ! he s 
 a man, every inch of him. 
 
 Did be T O did he ! exclaiaied the youth, 
 
108 
 
 KIT CARSON 
 
 peaking in the rich, melodious tones Lincoln 
 hud o often remarked; then I will love him 
 denrlj ! 
 
 And the boauliful boy gazed up in Lin* 
 
 coin s face with such a ^til-speaking expres 
 sion of fervent grulilude, that, while it exert- 
 , td ft stranger influence upon him than the 
 bold Carson knew, cuused the hunter himself 
 to repeat, 
 
 That look tells me, stranger, that ho will 
 love you ; and with his whole heart ami soul. 
 I irr\ glad the boy Ims taken such a liking to 
 you, though it s rather strange in him, Mr. 
 Lincoln ; he s a shy Ind and n bftanful one, 
 and he never seems to like to be away from 
 m, or to associate with my good huntors in 
 the. camp/ suit! Carson, once more forgetting 
 bin hul>itui\l modti of speech in the interest of 
 his thought)*; while, us he t>poke, the hand- 
 a urn- eheok of ihe boy crimsoned, und ho 
 held clown his head. 
 
 As he heard the onennd marked the other, 
 Lincoln muttered to himself, 4 / can gurss 
 , the reason now / 
 
 But the boy ha I txvjce fainted, and watt yet 
 . very weak, too wciik U. spouk much, urid Lin* 
 coin, joining with Curson, earnestly besought 
 him not to nttempt it ; and with such evident 
 .interest, that he seemed ut once drawn to him, 
 and sinking back on his supporting arm, gaz- 
 ed, trustingly, up in his countenance arid con 
 tinued in Nit thiiH, confidingly looking from 
 Kugnio to tho hunter, a* it tho youth felt that 
 he hud found u now and faithful friend in 
 his supporter, 
 
 Bleep and fatigue, however, soon overpow 
 ered him, and ho slumbered sunnily on the 
 hoi.-e s middle, with Lincoln s sustaining arm 
 mussed round his wiiist, his breast pillowing 
 his voutliful head, while the merchant s clerk 
 looked thoughtfully down on tho ingenuous 
 anJ beautiful countenance of the prairie- 
 boy ! 
 
 They had ridden, in silence, several miles. 
 Carson and his companion, when suddenly 
 the hunter roHO in his stirrups und uttered a 
 shrill whistle. 
 
 The Mignnl, if signal it WHS, was answered 
 almost instantly, seemingly from many voices, 
 the air boro back the echo of horse s feet,nnd 
 the next moment a troop of twenty or thirty 
 men on horsebuck galloped up with loud 
 shouts, 
 
 4 Ha ! my brave hunters I do we meet 
 again ? 
 1 Is it you, Captain Carson ? then we re not 
 
 too late. We were out in search of those 
 cussed red-skins, but we saw the prairie afire, 
 and thought the Pawnees might have been 
 burning the camp, We had to ford the river 
 ouruelves, to get out o 1 the way of the fire \ 
 but we didnU care for that. We were de 
 termined to find out what hud, become of our 
 Kit Curson 
 
 Hurrah for Kit Carron owr Kit Carson!* 
 echoed on every side from the gallant hun- 
 ivrM, us they clustered hround their idolized 
 lender. 
 
 Thank you, my fine follows/ replied the 
 chief; and now get ready for an immediate 
 start. 1 
 
 1 In pursuit of the Pawnees? in pursuit of 
 the red-skins ? asked twenty-enger voices ; 
 but ere he could muko i.iv rejoinder, Eugene 
 Lincoln guided his pony to the hunter-chiei a 
 side, and with uomn ngilHtion mild, 
 
 Carson, my friendif so I may cull you, 
 1 have one request ;o makeis it asking too 
 much to ask you to grant it ? 
 
 I Out with It, stranger/ said the other ; I 
 will not deny it. 
 
 Tin thm, then : when you found me fly* 
 ing from the Pawnees, I hud lost my wsy in 
 the wilderness wandered lor days and dis- 
 covered that 1 had gone back, instead of ad- 
 vaticing. 1 know not these trackless wilds; 
 and if we separate, I may prrish like a dog 
 in ilui wilderness, Buy 1 is it mjueMing t<n> 
 much of your goodness when I rtsk if you, 
 who know every prairie path und forest trail, 
 will not be my guide to that destination 1 
 should a week since 1 rtve reached, and where, 
 on^e gained, I fondly hoj>ed that wealth and 
 fortune but you smile you will not then 
 guide me to to * , 
 
 To th gold mountains to tho minus? Is 
 it not so ? 
 
 * It is if is 1 I am 
 
 A California Adventurer! 
 
 Yes. 
 
 I 1 suspected so, stranger, all the while. 
 Whui elttH should bring such us you to the 
 wilderness ! 
 
 You will not refuse me, then ? eagerly 
 implored Lincoln, 
 
 4 Refuse you ! Set your mind easy on that 
 score, stranger. You thull bo in thn mines 
 in four days time, My brave hunters and I 
 are bound for the fold mines, ourselves ; we 
 know a shorter path, and we know a richer 
 harvest ground. We will lead you where you 
 shall find the precious metal you seek, in 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 109 
 
 glittering lumps, not delve and dig in tie 
 valleys lor paltry gold dust ! Come with u:, 
 come, stranger, you shall never regret llu 
 day that you lost yriur way in the prairie, and 
 made the Prince of the Gold Hunters your 
 friend ! 
 
 Forward ! my men, forward 1 for the 
 mountains above the mines! Forward, for 
 the Sierra Nueva P 
 
 And the chief of the treasure-seekers waved 
 his hand proudly to his men. as he pointed to 
 the breaking d;iy-light in the east, and then 
 turned hia finger in the direction of the 
 western sky. 
 
 Each man of the gallant troop understood 
 the signal ; each man knew that that night s 
 mighty conflagration had swept every trace 
 of their late encampment from the prairie, 
 and that westward, to the broad Pacific, their 
 course now lay ; and as that -picturesque cav 
 alcade of the wilderness dashed on, the bold 
 borderers, ever anil anon, as they thought f 
 their golden destination, would break forth 
 into the enthusiastic cry, so familiar amid the 
 treasure teeming hills of California, 
 
 Hurrah ! hurrah for Kit Carson, the 
 Prince of the Gold Hunters \ Hurrah ! 
 
 22. 
 
 A Golden Paradise The Prince of the 
 Gold Hunters in the Treasure-Care 
 The Confession of poor Harry s Fate 
 A Sudden Reappearance. 
 
 NOTHER, still an- 
 other arrival ! was the 
 simultaneous cry of the 
 thousands of busy, toil 
 ing, unshaved Gold- 
 i Washers, on the banks 
 of the Sacramento, 
 tome five days later than the events narrated 
 in the preceding chapter. 
 
 But, as a troop of some twenty stalwart 
 horsemen rode in mo.ig them, then were 
 many of the same voices that exclaimed, 
 
 4 No 1 no! it i Kit Carson and his hunters, 
 returned again to the mines! Hurrah, boys! 
 hurrah ! but for him and old Captain Sutler, 
 [of Suiter s Fort, the co-discoverer, with 
 Carton, of the golden secrets of California] 
 
 we should not now be digging gold here. 
 Long life to Kit Carson ! thank him, lads, 
 we own our good luck to him P 
 
 Sush were the welcome cries that saluted 
 the llrro oj the Gold Regions as one after 
 another, scores of the treasure searchers left 
 their alluring occupations, to crowd around 
 the man to whose daring enterprise and in- 
 Tepid explorations the world, at this moment, 
 owes, in part, the unveiling of the most pro 
 lific source of mineral wraith that ever at- 
 bnished mankind since the Creation ! 
 
 But Carson himself did not pause long to 
 riceivo their eager greetings, not did the 
 trop come to a halt, but soon pressed for- 
 wird as before ; for each man had his orders, 
 and the chief himself whispered warningly in 
 the ears of Lincoln and the now wholly re 
 stored Edward, as he rode by their horses 
 side, 
 
 4 Beware ! do not let these good people yon- 
 dor once suspect that in the mountains, not in 
 the valley we mean to reap our golden har 
 vest. They must not think but that we are 
 riding on in search of an unoccupied spot to 
 commence operations in the snm manner as 
 themselves. If they have so much as the 
 merest hint that our route lays farther }">t, 
 and to a region, richerthan is known to them, 
 they will leave their gold-washing nnd follow 
 us, like fo many hungry wolvt s, for they 
 know thn if any man livipg is likely to pos 
 sess such knowledge, it is I. Breathe not a 
 word, then, but forward, quietly, to the Sierra 
 Nueva tis but a short mile distant, and one* 
 reached, gold, in incredible quantities, we art 
 cer.ain to find there ! For months I have kept 
 it a secret as secret ns the grave ! Forward, 
 forward P 
 
 And forward, mindful of the warning, press 
 ed the troop, bent on escaping the shadow of 
 suspicion of their true purpose ! But the pre 
 caution, though not in vain, was not wholly 
 successful. 
 
 As the cavalcade clattered on, one of the 
 few gold washers who hud not leA his work 
 at the signal oLKit Carson s return, now hob 
 bled slowly fonfi from the stream in which 
 he had stood up to hia ankle ; and hastily, 
 loading himself with the glittering dust and 
 golden scales which he had accumulated, in 
 a small but invaluable pile, from the washings 
 of the sand, he took his way wiih a halting 
 gait and a painful step, a short dmtance far* 
 ther down the Sacramento. 
 
 Stopping, at length, by the side of a tall, 
 
110 
 
 KIT CAR* 
 
 dark man, in a Spanish somhrnro, who wns 
 bending in a eroucUmg poture, aifnntf a 
 quantity of shining particles in a tinuill sieve, 
 which l>e h untied with the greatest dexterity, 
 The latter looked up, at the approach of the 
 other. 
 
 Ere he could speak, the mumbliii;; voice/ 
 .characteristic of old ge was hvurd eager!/ 
 ej n:nl tiinir the words,- V 
 
 Is It you, Curl? 1 came expressly ftr 
 you 1 
 
 1 Si, Sttnor Americano; und what may yu 
 want now, imbed I he deep voice of our quon 
 dam aciju limance, the postillion. , 
 
 Pell me, was not that troop of men who 
 junt |).i>Md hy, iht> fimouH Kit Carson andhis 
 men r* 1 Irecnulouxly rlflmnmlnd tue old m*er, 
 in lirnkMii tones for it was John Vuron, the 
 nv.Miomnniac. 
 
 YDS, y H, Sonor; nr.swered the Gd ifor 
 fiiun, impatiently ; * but why do you come to 
 hinder MID, old uiiin / I have near a hundred 
 dollars wiii ih of duHi, gathered in this spot. 
 Uy .Sun I ub o, St iiu", lot me linihh my day s 
 work ! 
 
 4 Hush ! hinh sh ! whispered th< miser, 
 
 carc.e ahouu his breath. Don t you pee- 
 don t you Himpect 7 Kit Kit GurHon - twus 
 hi (hut firt discovered the ^old, wa\ not ? 
 lit ini.it know where tin plentiust plenties!, 
 do you hear, and most abundant ? See I his 
 men do not stop in the valley look ! look ! 
 thoy are getting out of si^ht as fast* as ilu-y 
 can they mean to ^ ivfl IH in thu valley the 
 lip! / /in/ don t Klop to WIIH!) ^old diMt in 
 Mtrcum* nut lny. Curl, Carl ! cried the 
 iiisi!r, with headlong avidity, get me a a 
 horse a horse, good lello-.v.and we ll follow 
 think, Car I r 
 
 The Culifornian started, and his black eyes 
 Rparklcd almosi ax eagerly us the luiM-rV 
 With a i approving look he sirucl; his hand 
 upon his powerful thigh, exclaiming, with a 
 Spaniard s : re. 
 
 Uueno I buerto 1 good, Senor, good ! 
 while ho mutt irt- d in his own lungunge, 
 1 Situtn Man.i! the old nun b the devil him* 
 elf for cunning I DemoniW! Cart Lopez 
 thought himself something of a fox: but, hy 
 my patron anint ! I m fairly outwitted this 
 time. Yes, I II 
 
 Hut the miser s voice cut him short, calling 
 nervously, 
 
 1 Quick ! quick ! get the horses ; you shall 
 share with mtv-tlitt was the agreement. But 
 muko more haste, you sluggard ! or the men 
 
 vill he out of night, and we shall lose them in 
 ih mountains. 
 
 The California used all possible diligence, 
 and in ten minutes, two horH wor in reitdi* 
 ness stolen, as Cart well know, for the pur* 
 
 HI>. 
 
 Having hec-n nssisted to mount, with the 
 precious fruits of several days* ^old-washing 
 n his saddle-hugs, the old man and his guide 
 set lor ward at a brink pace, from tin* mining 
 ground, - not a little to the surprise of Vermm s 
 follow. ptiHsengors in the ship S , hut en 
 tirely unnoticHd by the great body of the ub- 
 Morhed (Jold Diggers 
 
 But here we rniiNt ienve them, to return 
 once more to Kit Carson and his men. 
 
 The latter, all unconscious thut their mo* 
 live had been N\iH;(H t(td,nii(l their movement)* 
 dogged, had moanwhilo pursued thnir way, 
 breaking into a sharp cnnter an soon ns the 
 mountain p MSCS hid thum from th observa* 
 jion of the unHU*picioutt gold wushors in the 
 vtvlley. 
 
 k Halt 1 cried a voice of command, as they 
 drew up in a dark defile of the pas** at the 
 huso of a mighty mountain which towered 
 moru than a thousand feet above their heads, 
 grand and magnificent, covered with smiling 
 green verdure at its foot, hut its summit cun> 
 ped with eternal snows : Leave the horses 
 here tether them ; and be ready all to climb 
 thu mountain ! Uuick ! let there bo no de 
 lay now. 
 
 All understood him, and all, with alacrity, 
 complied. In a remarkably short tun" the 
 whole party were on foot, and slowly un-end- 
 ing the (Mountain ; a work of even more labor 
 than any, save Carson himself, had at first 
 anticipated. 
 
 As they proceeded, the atmosphere began 
 to grow cooler and cooler ; but when about 
 half of the immentiu ascent had been gained, 
 and the character of the ground commenced 
 to change, from a soft grassy loam to a stony 
 soil, and from that gradually breaking into 
 yawning clefts airl chasms, and jagged frag* 
 monts of rocks, which soumed by some con 
 vulsion of nature to have been hewn from 
 their places and piled promiscuously toother, 
 then it was that Carson, the foremost cl inber, 
 paused, finally ; and while he pointed to the 
 mountain peak more than five hundred fret 
 above their heads, he said, in the hearing of 
 every man, and in the remarkably welUchoson 
 language ho could, when it pleased him, as 
 sume, 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 Ill 
 
 VVe stand upon the Sirrra Ntuva, the 
 highest mountain, save one, in California, and 
 the richest in mineral wealth on the fuce of 
 the globe. It is a slumbering volcano, and 
 these pits arid chasms you see on every h;md 
 are the signs of long-past convulsions, that 
 ^.ive opened the seams of the mountain and 
 sent u hundred subterraneans to the lowlands. 
 It is these same mountain-torrents which bear 
 along with them to the valley of the Sacra 
 mento, the loose ore and golden dust, that 
 serve to show the .boundless richness of the 
 scource from whence they come. We lit 
 erally stand upon & mountain of gold ! there 
 is an inexhaustible mine in its heart; and if 
 you would satisfy yourselves, see with your 
 own eyes it wonders, scatter yourselves over 
 the mountain, rny men, and, Kit Carson s 
 word for it, you will scarcely find u hollow or 
 cranny in the rocks in which gold does not 
 lie gld, nut it) small scales and paltry wash 
 ings, but in solid masses! T have csplond 
 this mount ein from top to bottom, tviry rod 
 of it, and 1 know what I say to be true. 
 
 The men needed no second uvging; they 
 knew they could rely upon hi* words, and 
 bounding w.th Meet footsteps farther and far 
 ther tip the Btiipenduoua ascent, they scatter 
 ed in every direction among the cleft and 
 sheltered rocks, in eager exploration of their 
 .hidden recesses. 
 
 Come P whispered Carson ; * hither, come, 
 stranger ! I will show you tha 1 the, boundless 
 wealth of California has not been lie loast ex 
 aggerated I 
 
 And as tho speaker led the way, followed 
 closely by RngeiiQ nnd Kdward, bounding up 
 the acclivity he sprang at once among the ex 
 plorers of the rocks. 
 
 1 Seo ! re ! he cried, what might bo had 
 in the mountains; while fools dig in the 
 valleys and wash in tho streams !>olow ! 
 
 Scarcely could Lincoln credit bin eyes at 
 what there mot their guze ; as ho passed 
 along before the operators. With only the 
 help of their sharp hunting-knives, the men 
 were at work, excavating from every cleft 
 and cavity the most precious of ull metals in 
 layers of from two or three to a dozen ounces, 
 on an avenge literally scraping cukes of 
 gold from tho crevices of the rocks, frequent* 
 ly a pound or moro in weight ; where, in each 
 ho.low plrtco, the world-worshipped ore seem 
 ed, in a Huid state, to have been deposited ; 
 as if left there by Nature s hand to harden, 
 
 and in Nature s own mould become once more 
 u solid. 
 
 It was no longer the glittering dust of the 
 gold-washers, no longer the minute pnrticlea 
 separated from pebbles nnd sand ; it WHS now 
 the pure gold, in solid lumps! and carried 
 away by the excitement of the bewildering 
 spectacle, Lincoln could restrain himwll no 
 longer; but echoing ihe cries of wild delight 
 which the mountain clitfs nnd caverns pro 
 longed, in thunder like reverberations, khtfe 
 in hand, he leaped into the very midst ol the 
 gold -gatherers, and bent him to his tusk ! In 
 a delight he plied his keen blade, rapidly dis* 
 lodging lump alter lump of the dearly prized 
 mineral, and stripping caviiy after c tvny <f 
 their precious depoaile, until, ere he was wtll 
 aware, he had already accumulated several 
 pounds of the dazzling metal tor which, with 
 such trembling eagerness, he sought, 
 
 In such soul absorbing occupation, it term 
 ed to him that he could never lire or grow 
 wenry ; so engrossed, indeed, was he, that, 
 forgetful of ull else, he did not lake Police 
 that another digger was working close to htm, 
 and it was sometime ere he looked up and 
 found the hoy Edward employed almost at 
 arm s length from him. 
 
 Lincoln started and colored slightly ; per 
 haps from confusion at having so completely 
 lost himself in his tempting occupation; per* 
 hups from some other fouling mingled with 
 it. 
 
 Tho youth, now Bering that he was observ 
 ed, instantly naid, 
 
 Ltn mo work with you, sir let me work 
 for you % Here ! let me add my store to yours 
 nay, do not deny me 1 what need have 1 of 
 gold: 1 car. gather it Rt any lime; t:<it you 
 have corne all the way from the far Aih.ntic 
 in search of* it. O then, let me give i< to you! 
 urged the boy, earnestly ; * indeed, I need it 
 not P 
 
 Uoforo Kiigcno Lincoln conld remoiutrnie 
 againit such generosity, Kit Carson wus by 
 their sice, saying, ( 
 
 Leave this s,>ot, stranger, nnd you, too, 
 Edward, ond come with me both. Never 
 fear, mm, nor look so wistfully around you, 
 you shall lose nothing ; you shall gnin by the 
 exchange. Hut bring your gold unh >uu 
 you haven t been idle, I see. Aud DOW, to 
 the cave to the cave I 1 
 
 Hard as it wan to tear himself away from 
 (he bewildering allurements of that scene, 
 Lincoln s reliance upon bis hu..t-frieud 
 
119 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 Wat too implicit to admit of a question ; and 
 securing the golden evidences of his success 
 about his person, he hesitated not to follow 
 the bol<i frontiersman, who recommenced 
 ascending the mountain to a still greater 
 height; though it might have been remarked, 
 Unit during nearly the whole of the time it 
 occupied, the eyes of Eugene seemed to fix 
 themsHvi-N, tis if by some irresistible fascina 
 tion, upon llie bountiful features of the boy 
 who hurried on, Mith n graceful step, by his 
 side, whiln the latter moro than orica lifted 
 hisoyes, ns if conscious of the scrutiny of 
 which ho win (ho object. 
 
 A hundred foet higher tip the acclivity, 
 they cumu to the mouth of nchutmi that si-em- 
 ed to liuve been hollowed, by some natural 
 convulsion, from the mountain 1 * side. 
 
 Carson bade Lincoln to enter, adding as he 
 did so, 
 
 Now, indeed, I will show you more than 
 yonr wildest dreams have durod to conceive 
 of the wonders of California! Now I will 
 ihow you thai, too, in comparison with which 
 all you have yet seen sinks into insignificance. 
 Get in ! get in! this is the gold cuve, Jtnm 
 
 Once within the cavern, a vision of daz- 
 cling Hplendor burnt on the astonished young 
 man that nearly took away his breath, in the 
 first violence of bewildnring surprise,, At his 
 feot, honped up ngii mut thu rocky walls, in 
 piles upon the Mtony floor, lay the magic 
 metal, in quantities immonse, in value ines 
 timable 
 
 Lincoln saw, half-incredulously, nnd then 
 turned upon his conductor a look of wonder 
 ing itiMiiry. 
 
 Carson marked it, and at once rejoined, 
 
 1 You hardly scern to know, stranger, if 
 you are in a dronm or not ! If you dare not 
 believe your own even, touch tl.e metal and 
 be convinced. Doubt it who will, here at 
 your fuel is 013 to the value of more tlwn o 
 million of dollars in sold coin told I But 
 think not this is thn deposit of Nature ; no, it 
 is thn fruit of my first discovery of the moun- 
 tain s Kecri t wraith, lens than three months 
 since ; bore, with only Edward there to keep 
 me company, t collected the whole of this 
 tttst treasure together, and stored it in this 
 cave, till I could return for it. Only we two 
 know the secret no other living being, save 
 yourself, stranger, knows of this cuve, or the 
 hidden riches it contains. See, stranger, seei 
 lucky ws the day in which you made a friend 
 
 of Kit Carson, the Prince of the Gold Hunters 
 for you need dig no more in this treasure 
 [ swear you shall share ! 
 
 With his Herculean hand, as he spoke, he 
 iplifted a solid lump of pure gold Cull ten 
 pounds in weight, and while he pointed to 
 others nearly ns latge, upon the cave s rocky 
 door, be poised it for a moment in that gigan 
 tic palm, then placed it in the convulsive 
 Urasp of Kugeue Lincoln, who, with spark 
 ling eyes, nnd heaving breast, and delirious 
 joy on every manly feature, stood rooted to 
 the ground, spasmodically clutching thn pro* 
 cious pri/i , while almost the, language of de 
 lirium s wild incoherence full from his lips: 
 
 At labt at last 1 urn rich.O God, rich I 
 My sister, O my sister! no more shall you 
 want; no moro shall you feel thn bitter sting 
 of poverty ! no more shall you sigh in your 
 bitter grief over a brother made a drudging 
 slave to the counter and the desk I no more 
 shall you pine at the dark lot of your Kugene 
 and ah ! my un; ,t l mother, O would that 
 you were once more on earth, to enjoy tho 
 wealth exhftUMtlesM God bus given to your run, 
 you, who MilU-reil nnd endured HO much for 
 us! Oh! I could make you happy now, 
 supremely blest! mother! sister! gold, O 
 God, gold ! 
 
 And overwhelmed by emotion s w Id tor 
 rent, tho hi avy metal full from his hand, and 
 ho Htnggurud, reded, and sunk BCIINU .CMS at 
 Carson * feet ! 
 
 Oh, how (JitlVront from the miser s sordid 
 joy was this all unselfishness, all filial and 
 fraternal love, all high and holy feeling. 
 
 Quick as human limbs can move at midden 
 emergency s call, thu boy Edward uprang to 
 ihu Hidu ofthu fallen man, kitolt by his pros 
 trate form and bent over him, and as wildly 
 sobbed, v 
 
 * O liuuven ! he is dying ! speak, O speak 
 to mo! toil mo that you livo! You mu not, 
 you shall not die ! My God ! them is no light 
 in his e\ n, no hreulh on his lip, fin is dying 
 dying! O God, nnd 1 lowd him sot* 
 
 And pressing thai 1 1 MI-MS lip with u frantic 
 kis, the strange boy sank, in u lifeless swoon 
 by his sido. 
 
 The amazement of the startled hunter could 
 only be ei)uullnd,by his consternation at this 
 double catastrophe. But accident ptfMJMtttd 
 him thq indulgence of either of these feelings, 
 n sudden occurrence distracted his attention, 
 at on<*e. 
 
 Sound ajcends ; and then tho voices of un- 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 113 
 
 known interlocutors became more distinct, 
 took form and shaped thcin.scl/ca into words, 
 clearly nudible to Carson,. 
 
 This} is the pluce or somewhere very 
 near it. 
 
 The speaker s tones, ns these words were 
 aid, were firm and strong, with the depth und 
 volume of manhood in its piime; but the 
 voice that immediately responded, won trem 
 ulous nnd <|tiavering, with the mumbling ac- 
 cents of old uge, 
 
 Hut are you sore? are you very sure, 
 Curl ? 
 
 Sure! retorted the first speaker, in evi 
 dent impatience. Sun Stcfuno! don t I tell 
 thee it was here 1 saw them lust from tho vnl- 
 Icy. It was him, I ll Make- my soul upon it ; 
 tis not many men could be mistaken tor Kit 
 Carson ! 
 
 But his men, where are all hia men ? de 
 manded tho other. 
 
 4 Depend upon it, he left them lower down 
 tho mountain, to find richer pickings for him- 
 elf here. If any man in California knows 
 where gold is to he found in greatest plenty, 
 that man is Kit Carson. 
 
 4 We ve dogged them to some purpose 
 then, he, he I" chuckled exultingly the other. 
 4 We are to share alike, Curl that was the 
 bargain. 
 
 * So, thought Carson, as he overheard the 
 last words, suspicion has been raised among 
 two, at least, of the gold-diggers on the river, 
 and 1 am tracked hither, i will keep close 
 and watch them ! 
 
 The cavern was deep and dark, and stoop 
 ing down, he raised the motionless bodies o 
 his still unconscious companion", and bore 
 them, one by one, after him to the buck oftho 
 cave ; which was wrapped in such complete 
 -bscurity as effectually to conceal the figures 
 of all three, while it loft the entrnnco of tho 
 grotto, and any intermediate or external ob 
 ject, in the light, and in full view of tho so 
 cretcd Carson, who could see when himscl 
 invisible. 
 
 Scarcely, However, was this manoeuvre cf 
 fected, when the mouth ot the cave wusdark 
 cncd by two human figures, the one, as the 
 hunter aw, a decrcpid old man. the other tal 
 and powerful, both known to the reader n 
 Carl, the Califomian, and John Vernon, th 
 miser. 
 
 Each took a step within the cavern, then i 
 the act recoiled as far, actually dazzled by th 
 sight of tho incalculable treasure that strewed 
 
 s gold-piled floor, whence was reflected back 
 lie sunlight, in g ittoring, flashing brightness, 
 o tho bewildered eyes of those who gazed oo 
 tie tempting muss. 
 
 In an instant, the sordid-souled miser win 
 rovell mg amid the golden heaps, and shout* 
 ig, 
 
 1 Da, ha! I was right I was right! 
 icre hero, is Kit Carson s hoard it if 
 mine, now, lie, ho! , 
 
 While his companion, Carl, stooping to 
 raise the very muss of gold which tugene 
 Lincoln had a few moments previous held, 
 nood with it tightly clutched, and ga/.ing on, 
 t in astonishment, repeating, unconscious that 
 
 10 was overheard by any, suve hia compa. 
 nion, the miser, 
 
 The largest lump I have yet seen; it is 
 woith thousands of dollars! Ho, ho! the 
 rightful owner shall return to find his treasure 
 ms taken wings. 1 
 
 Not so fust, Sir Spaniard! not so fust I 
 cried a clear, loud voice from the depths 
 and darkness of the cave ; Kit Carson is here 
 o protect his own. 
 
 At the sudden appearance of the hunter, at 
 the sound of his startling voice, Carl dropped 
 the enormous piece of metul that he had held, 
 and recoiled, as if stupefied. 
 
 Not so the miser. John Vernon was in an 
 instant on his feet, alarmed avarice overcom 
 ing, as usual, every emotion of surprise, awe, 
 or personal apprehension ; and as he stagger 
 ed up, he caught at the heavy mass of ore as 
 it fell from his comrade s grasp, and poising 
 
 11 a moment above his own head, then, with 
 the whole force of his decrepid body thrown 
 into the effort, the miser hurled the ponderous 
 weight ot solid gold full at the forehead of the 
 hunter, crying, 
 
 Yo j shall nie you shall die! I will not 
 give up tho^ uW/ 1 
 
 Tho metallic missile sped through tho air, 
 like n cannon-ball in ils flight, and had it 
 struck its living target it would have brained 
 him on the spot. 
 
 But Kit Cnruon s cyo was like the eagle s, 
 and as it left tho miser s hand, the hunter 
 dodged. 
 
 It hurtled past his head, struck against the 
 cave s rocky back, then, rebounding, fell on 
 the chest of Eugene Lincoln, who still lay in 
 his previous state of stupor the blood spurt* 
 ing from his breast! 
 
 The sight, tho effect, were instantaneous 
 upon Carson. In an initant more he had 
 
KIT 
 
 tuVen the murderou* minor by Ahe throat, arid 
 shook him, us if ho would have driven the 
 very breath front hi* body. 
 
 4 C irl ! C irl ! gasped the terrified miser, 
 shrieking for aid; and theCulifornian, druw 
 ing R pijignard from his belt, sprung on the 
 hunter! 
 
 Hiii C.\r* -,.i was a match for both, One 
 blow Irom hm heavy hind knocked the stil* 
 etio from its owner gra*p; then, with ono 
 gigantic unit thrown round thu waist of Curl, 
 HID oiinT cluu .hin , , likewise, the miner * 
 withered form, lie cunulit them up, ns euily 
 no hn would have donu HM many inl mis, held 
 them for ii inonuMit tit arm* length, to nhow 
 th< m their niter impotence; und then, ugain 
 tnd agiin, h dashed tin-in one against thu 
 dfoft bringing tMr tauli und bodies each 
 tim*, with fearful violence, in contact mid 
 in thruu rupid trMtmenU cast them, NIMINO* 
 lom and Ntnnih d, together, to the ground, 
 and nil with one firm exertion of his uiuu/.ing 
 strength! 
 
 Tins done, ho Itirned him to tho bleeding 
 Lincoln, to learn the extent ofhiM injury, do 
 relieved hi* breast fr>m tho heavy pressure of 
 the golden weight, but \\* force hud been 
 tpent upon tin; stony rocks, and though it had 
 cut deep in o thea gofo-tftttilied Hesh, ho hoped 
 it had broken no boin-s. N tverthclea he 
 knew that tlie wound demanded cure, und 
 thu hunter miilterud, thoughtfully : 
 
 lie must have attention ; ho must have 
 attention! L ickily I have n nurycon among 
 n ,y ;. | will go for him, instantly, 1 . 
 
 Hut before h acted upon this happy Niig. 
 gpHtion, he mopped to bind tho insensible 
 C trt and hin inner coufoilerato, u a prudent 
 preciution against their escape, should they 
 revive ere his return ; then leaving his as 
 sailants securely tied, with a last anxious look 
 at the Uleedinit Lincoln and tho still inani 
 mate form of Kdwc.id ut <ho latter t* side, he 
 q hltud the c.ivo und hastily deacunded the 
 monntiiin-side. 
 
 C.tMon found the night Mttlng in nrnnnd 
 hitn ; und H.IVV ih it, in compliance with Ins 
 own diiections, his men mil closed their first 
 diiy s labors, and pitched their camp, where 
 they had left their horses, at tho mountain^ 
 bus -. 
 
 llu was soon amonff them, calling loudly 
 for the surgeon , luit HC.ircely had he made 
 h n aipe trance, when from one of tho tents R 
 couple of his men hurrtud forth to meet him, 
 Baying, 
 
 4 Oh, we have been hunting for you, cnp 
 loin, thin half hour ! A Indy and gentleman 
 are here in tho camp, and winh to sen you - 
 the men are out now, in ne.irch of you.* 
 
 *A ludy u v nd gentleman! repeated the 
 chief, in evident surprise ; come to ace Kit 
 Carson ? impossible ! 
 
 But before the e.xclamntion was well out of 
 his mouth, tho hungingn of the tent were 
 again hoisted, to give cgresn to tho tull .Igure 
 of it young mini, with a graceful female form 
 Icimiiig on )I!N arm ; and UN their cycx fimten* , 
 I d upon him, ho heard tlu- guiilleimm 0uy,a . 
 both adviun i d, 
 
 1 Oli, that is ho, I nm sure t Kit Carnon i* 
 not u man to be mistaken, though never een 
 before, Hut the porlruil ! 1 know him by 
 that it Is the same! 
 
 And the sneaker held out n *mall fumed 
 painting to tne hunter, \\ilhnhuiid that trem 
 bled with oagcrnCNM, 
 
 In the hoight of surprise, ho to whom it win 
 tendered mechiinioally received it j and (me 
 glance at the p elure oiiused him to nlurl with 
 UHtonishincnt and exclaim, 
 
 1 du! Heaven and earth, thin is my por 
 trait! Spcnkl wli iro did you gel this? and 
 who are you ?* 
 
 Rend ihih packet ! rend this packet ; it will 
 explain all, 1 was the excited reply ; then with 
 a strange nhow of joy, tho gentleman turned 
 to the lady on bin arm, in u glad tone ejacu 
 lating, 
 
 Found ! found ivt last ! After all my trials, 
 nil my dangers, I have met Kit ( arson I 
 have met him ; and my father s hiht injunc 
 tion i* fulfilled ! 
 
 The bewildered hunter mechnnicnlly had 
 torn open the packet, hut the first look that he 
 gave at thu signature he found within caused 
 a fresh start and n cry 
 
 4 Vernon ! Vernon ! Surely, surely I should 
 know that name I Hal by Heaven, these in 
 itials ! tho name, the vr) same it is, must 
 bo the verv man to whom I once solemnly 
 vowed 
 
 The sentence was nut completed ; for the 
 contents hud suddenly enchained his whole 
 inh-rrst. Twice tho timo necessary for its 
 pern-mi passed em he looked 11,1, ut length 
 he liad evidently hi "ii reflecting deeply, ns 
 well us reading, 
 
 And H, tin as I mifjproted ; this from 
 my oil frie <i, the naholi Vprnou, relating to 
 the [cist. Alas I Kate never dt-stined rtiat I 
 ahould fulfill the conditional vow 1 made him. 
 
K/T CARSON. 
 
 wns H fe-,ale, not 
 
 His poor hoy s fate is still as great mystery 
 to Kit Carson as to himself. And tet, .none 
 point, it s -ems he did deceive me ! Heavens ! 
 what is this he says? thechild a firl,rirr<*. 
 eff r boy s chthc* js sex disguised, and for 
 how strange a reason! It 
 a in ile child, then 
 for! 
 
 Thoughtfully, agitatedly he spoke, then 
 turned to his stranger visitor 
 
 And you, the bearer of this packet, the 
 messenger who are yo,i? 
 
 Mam Henry Vernon, the writer s son, was 
 the (|...ck reply. Fate itself ,-eemed to con- 
 spire against mo in my search for you, or I 
 should hay,, found out days before. Hut for 
 my m.cle s hellish plot 
 
 1 Your uncle ? iterated Carson, inquirmg y. 
 
 1 ll.i I I foryot ; you know no hing of him ; 
 nor him- I time for explanation. Suffice it 
 that I have an uncle, here in California; one 
 
 wll l )r " y lii" ruling passion, uvuricu, 
 
 has oiien plotted my ruin. 
 
 1 Hut you escaped. 
 
 | did twas that detuned me, Henry re- 
 plifn, while the lady earnestly interposed, 
 aying,._ 
 
 O sir, it was a deadly peril he escaped ! 
 His feiirlul uncle plotted with a Spanish ruf 
 fi.n a native, I believe to drug his wine: 
 not will, poison, but with some>u ile narcotic, 
 tint lie might he left behind by the caravan, 
 in which all three wen- j.um,HJ ing to the gold 
 mines, to he devoured by wild beasts, ere he 
 recovered n<jain his faculties. 
 
 A fiend s contrivance truly, lady ! 
 1 It was ; but kind Ueuve/i >av. d him ; it 
 moted the ruffim Spaniard s hi art lo com- 
 pas*i..n ; and though he t.iok his i list ig.i tor s 
 miiii.-v. and assured him the fearful business 
 was dune, in every particular, \et H seems he 
 was n<> l totally d praved, and dH r mined lo 
 save ihe victim s life; and no, instead ofleav- 
 ing him on the open plain, when- t iu wolves 
 wou ; d li;iv been fensMng on lusc.ircase, lonu 
 ere lhe f.u-il potion could have been slept off, 
 the man conveyed him xecr-tly to lhe security 
 of a liii! cave, which he birricaded at the 
 entrance, w M to prevent wild beasts from 
 euteiinir. out whic-h ihe viclim, on r covering 
 from the s upor oflhe nare.ti,-, eould himself 
 east yds >Uce. TliH.-k God ! he did escape ; 
 and though the caravan WHS not lo be over 
 taken, he readily f,,ind his wny back to San 
 Franc 1 10, where 
 
 The voice ot tlie lady fallen d, and she 
 
 colored slightly. 
 
 Wh,re. dear Ellen, I returned onre morn 
 to meet the dearest thing on nmh ,,, ,,,^ I- 
 ...lerposed Henry, with a look ol matrhless 
 affection. Hi, i to that dreadful ,,., | ,, we 
 it, that you in.-isted on accmnn.rriv.nif me 
 
 now^dear girl. Curses upon )H , { 
 
 ur>e Unit unhappy mnu he is my 
 father 8 brother, and he is an old man Hi.d a 
 
 . 
 
 At lhe I.,t words, Carson started again, 
 tlijhily nrui and said, 
 
 lla? it maybe so; T^, uncle, ,his nn- 
 natural rela.um, was he an old man a u e - 
 crepid cripple ? 
 
 And this tool of his? proceeded Canon 
 
 
 ,u 9 
 sku-ned, powerltil li-llow 7 
 Yes; but but 
 
 Cumewnhmejhenllthinklknowthern 
 both; (olio* me, ifyou would ne- xuur in- 
 t^ndrd murderers. They have f.dV,, ,, 
 Kit Carson s toils ! Mr. V.-rnon, come ! nnd 
 you^, lady, though K.t Carson knows you 
 
 1 Her name is Ellen Lincoln, sir, or / 
 replu-fi Henry, ami Mopped. 
 
 Lincoln! H, ! can i, be a coincidence ? 
 Slraiixe.-irtriiDgttl and yet, Euj-em, |,,,H .old 
 me all his history his separation from _ 
 yes! by the Heaven at,ove me, 1 do believe 
 it is and - 
 
 .Great Heaven! what mean you? ex 
 claimed Ellen, darting to his .-ide. 
 
 Follow me ! elimb the monnmin with Kit 
 C.rson, and >ou shall know. And the burn, r 
 IHI..HC.IO ly.o snatch a Itghted torch Iron, o, e 
 ol fienrn; the.i h.irried on. 
 
 AuiMtud b> a Hirauue cor.Hirt of emolionH 
 they ,. hurriedly ol,e>ed, not knowing |,, | 
 cot.siruciion to put upi.n the sirai.e C.MI.IUCI 
 o their m)sienous e.ouducior. Breatlilewlv 
 at length, they arrived at the niuuih ol U.e 
 cve. 
 
 The hunter WHB the first |o enler, fol|,vrd 
 close by Henry M ,,,J Kllen. Th.- former I, ,lu 
 ed abruptly, while Henrj and Klleo e, II.N d 
 he cry of horror that broke from the burner s 
 lips. 
 
 What a sight was disclosed* by tl, | rch- 
 light 
 
 I hern, at the hack of (he cavern, loosed 
 from bis bonds unlettered and free, bending 
 
116 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 down over the inanimate form of Eugene 
 Lincoln, John Vrnon stood, with the milotto 
 of Carl buroil above the brenst of tho helplom 
 young mn ! while tho miner s chuckling 
 voice WUH hoard in ominous exuttalion, ming- 
 led with a demon Inugh, 
 1 Ha I ha ! f/u i inun once removed, the 
 
 treasure is left unguarded ! this man slain, 
 and more \liun the richus of Crwaun belong 
 to Joint Vernon ! Ho, ho ! I ll strike horn* 
 and miro I 1 
 
 The stiletto gleamed in the torch-light 
 fluHhed- defended and rose, crimsoned 
 with blood! 
 
KIT CARSON 
 
 117 
 
 Thf Attn,:ptrd Murder in the Cave The 
 /it-union nf Sister nnd IJrothrr The 
 Misrr Dincorrrs his Children Astound 
 ing DisrlowreSt 
 
 Fate ever a mystery 
 
 Weaveth its coik ; 
 Amid all life s history, 
 
 Who scapes its toils ? 
 Vice its own penalty 
 
 Destiny foils ; 
 And sin melancholy; 
 
 (-rime sclf-rrroils ! 
 
 AN UNPUBLISHED POEM. 
 
 Y ne bold bound, Kit 
 k Carson, tho avenger, 
 y gained the spot. Yen- 
 U iceHhono in his eye, 
 erved hi arm; u full 
 , three yards back from 
 his bleeding victim, on 
 tho rock floor, tho now 
 crouching miser was dragged by that resist* 
 less arm. 
 
 Miscreant! hoary headed miscreant, lie 
 thero 1 This is tho second time, in ono short 
 day, you have sought to b<! u murderer, blood* 
 thirsty gray-beard 1 
 
 A powerful foot was ph.ced upon tho chest 
 of the nvsor, that hold tiie assassin down, 
 while the bullied old nan would fain have 
 cowered tremblingly away from the terrible 
 eye that glared down at him ; and as his own 
 averted glance quivered, fc.ll of fear, around, 
 it lighted on the two, well-known-figures, that 
 had paused, spell-bound :>y horror, tt the 
 cavera f mouth. 
 
 * Ha! my nephew ! Curses, curses! has 
 tl e dead given up its own ? 
 
 1 My uncle I O God ! was Henry s faint 
 response. for the third time he is an as 
 sassin ! 
 
 Hut the terrified old man seemed to think it 
 was a supernatural visitation, and with a gro^n 
 covered his eyes, as though to shut out the 
 fearful sight. 
 
 A cry, a shriek from Ellen, at that same 
 moment, re-awoke the echoes of the cave, at, 
 swiftly past Kit Carson Harry s companion 
 bounded, 
 
 Mercy ! mercy ! my God I It is Eugene 
 it is Kugrnc! O, my brother ! Murdered ! 
 Heavenly Father! murdered! and I meet 
 thee again, but to see thee die ! The blood ! 
 tho blood I See the fearful gore upon his 
 brenst ! 
 
 The wretch has slain him,* sighed Carson, 
 sadly. 
 
 Henry, who had fo lowcd Ellen s own im 
 pulsive movement, and was bending in as 
 great an agonj of feeling over Eugono, sud 
 denly exclaimed, 
 
 4 No, no ; ho is not dead ! The dapper 
 seems to have inflicted only a slight scratch ; 
 it cannot have caused this cfFi sion of blood, 
 nor can it be a serious injury, much less a 
 futal one. 
 
 Carson at once remembered the contusion 
 made by the falling mass of gold that had been 
 aimed at his own Ufa ; but ho could not con 
 ceive how Lincoln could have escaped sorious 
 injury from the assassin s knife. 
 
 Hut Henry had already torn aside the vest 
 of Eugene, and Carson perceived the knife 
 had lel t, indeed, but a scratch, a mere trifle ; 
 the cause of which was also immediately ob 
 vious. 
 
 The weapon had been aimed, with murder- 
 us accuracy, at the seat of life but just above 
 
118 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 the lu-urt, hanging by ngold chain, was found 
 a jewelled miniatures on tho metallic case of 
 which was found a deep indentation, caused 
 by tin 1 dttjiiger j point, which hud glanced 
 harmlessly aside. 
 
 ll is our Manned meihor s niiniutnro that 
 has saved his life, sobbed the sister ; he lias 
 i 1 1 ways worn it next bin heart 1 sou ! see ! 
 hu is reviving ! 
 
 It was HO. Tho gradual loss of blood hud 
 hin I tho eli . ct lo restore him to consciousness 
 though by slow degree* nt first. 
 
 Kllen throw herself beside him, and kissed 
 his pale li|H a ii, tin ami again. Henry, deiply 
 moved, stood hv ; whili 4 thu hunter, sharing 
 more than he himself suspected, in his feel 
 ings, strove t > hide them by reverting toother 
 object*. 
 
 Thu miser, will) his eyos still closed, lay a 
 (dmddermg prisoner beneath his fetit ; u lew 
 feiit from li.ni i iv the form of ( irl, Heourelv 
 pinioned, as (/arson had left him, and tbw 
 lulter at (..lire surmised, iiml eorree.llv, that 
 tho uld man must hnvti mnnugcd to extract 
 the dagger of his fellow prisoner from his 
 belt, and with it severing Ins own bunds pluce 
 himself ut liberty. 
 
 A dnt p sigh from Lincoln, recalled Carson 
 to tho group ut thu cavern s reur, us tin- for* 
 mer tried to struggle lo his leet ; and as he 
 inuiie tho ani injK, thu bewildered hrotlier 
 found himself face lo luce with thu linage 
 of his Kllen ! 
 
 4 Sistr.r! he wildly shrieked. Groat God ! 
 am 1 mud? 
 
 No, no! it is 1 Kllcn your own sister ! 
 sobbed the girl. 
 
 It was obvious that the young man con* 
 sidered himself in a dream, or demented, lie 
 raised himsolf upon ins knee* ; he took the 
 maiden s hand within hiu own ; ho pressed it 
 nguin and again, an if to assure himself that 
 it was warm Ik sh find blood he grasped, anil 
 ^a/.eil lon<^ and wistfully upon each familiar 
 lineament, then, as with a cry of joy he cast 
 himself into bur open anna, hu faintly falter* 
 eil forth, 
 
 You uri: my Bister.! angel or mortal, yon 
 are uluj !* 
 
 1 am, Ku^MMie, I am ; and you are my 
 own (l<-:ir liroiher ! 1 know not how this 
 huppunN I caru not, no it is yourat ll l meet 
 >co more, 
 
 Wild, wild was tho joy of tho brother, an ho 
 tuiuily cried, 
 
 iis. thee f l\$ tl;e.e, dourest, sweetest sis 
 
 ! truest of sistors and thy sex, wo meet 
 
 Wo do, we do. Yet how strange i now 
 that meeting ! firan^cr even than our parting, 
 noblest of brothers ! 
 
 4 Ellen, God bk-Nsyou my prido my pet ! 
 thu brother sobbed, in his joy, aloud. 
 
 4 liless you, Kugone ! and have you not one 
 word for Ilinry ? asked the glad girl. 
 
 Yes, for an old (i lend, l/mcolu you have* 
 not forgotten him ? And Vcrnon inigeriy 
 ad va need. 
 
 Lincoln started; tnen, without a word, 
 held out his arms, and the friends met in 
 friendship s embrace. 
 
 4 And Kllen, I lenry ? you have been kind 
 n brotlur to her ? 
 
 4 More ihun that, u kutliaml, lingerie. 
 ttho \A my wife ! 
 
 4 V>ur wife ! 
 
 4 My wedded wili , Kugene ; we werr 
 ftnhimnl^ui .ited three iluys ago, in Sun I Vcn- 
 
 oidcu. 1 
 
 The brother turned a startled glance upon 
 his sister. In her swec* confusion, in her in* 
 gcnnoiiM truthful (ace, he road the conlinna* 
 tion ; and with a full heart, iMiclosed tlu* linde 
 and bridegroom in oho common embrace. 
 
 * ( > IIiMiven, Mu^ciu 1 ., exclaimed Henry, 
 with unsuppres^cd agitation ; lo think that 
 you should have KO nearly perishil by my 
 uncle s hand ! Tbunk that notile Immer, 
 yonder, that you arc not John Vermin s mur 
 dered victim. 
 
 4 Jtt/nt \ u> inni / 
 
 ^ ildly repeated Kugono that name. Hi* 
 eyes lost the love-light of a (lection, and shone 
 with a vengeful glare. lie stance*, turned, 
 ami his eye Hashed round, us il in scarc.h of 
 the one to whom the namu could possibly he- 
 i jnu. 
 
 His doubts, his suspicion centred upon tin 
 gray-haired old man held down by Carson H 
 iron heel, and who, aroused by the fresh re* 
 iteration of his own name, tremblingly unclos 
 ed his eyes, and their sernciil-gbincc Ililtcil 
 round the group, and then fixed, like the 
 basilisk s on him ! 
 
 Tho miser recognised him by tlu torch s 
 glur<\ and his cheek grew paler yiM, as thw 
 other bounded forward, the words of vim- 
 genre oil his li,is, 
 
 4 Ha ! accursed name! i u//, then nrn 
 John Vcrnon that sum* man who once had 
 me arrested, thrust into prison, like u dog, 
 separated from my sister devil ihut you me. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 You an; my secret foe the mortal enemy of 
 me and mine ? Wretch! the hour of retri 
 bution has come ! 
 
 Itut, ore the uplifted arm do&ccndrd, ere 
 tlio l)l(iw was struck, ere th revenge of a 
 loaded spirit c)uld be taken ; a wild, strange 
 cry, not of terror, not of deppnir, not of des 
 peration but indescribably thrilling and pe 
 culiar, arrested, involuntarily, tbc purpose 
 and tin; deed. 
 
 ll;i ! shrieked the miser, and started up 
 so suddenly as to displace the. loot of Carson 
 iiiai had so long pinned him to tho earib. 
 lla! \\hui is this T where got you this? 
 speak ! 
 
 And reaching frantically forward en; tlio 
 confounded Lincoln cunld conceive his pur- 
 pn-e, lie snatched lit the jewelled miniature- 
 i hut had >a\ed its weaier s lilt;, and tore it 
 I nun the young man s Hide, with a violence 
 that hroke the gulden chain by \\hich it was 
 suspended Iroin his neck. 
 
 Speak ! cpcak ! hu cried again ; answer 
 me! an-urr me I liow camu }ou by thin 
 miniature . 
 
 Never did tlie eyes of John Vernon ^loat on 
 irennure witli more burning eagerness, than 
 now they Boated upon the object in bis hand, 
 while fearful convulsions seemed to shako his 
 frame. 
 
 In the. fiend s name, lo shouted, 4 will 
 
 you 
 
 answer mo or not ? 
 
 Tis the likeness of my mother my an- 
 ucl mother in Heaven, involuntarily replied 
 
 1 Thou lies.!! yelled the miser, in a voice 
 
 of thunder ; it is tho picture of my wife. I 
 tell thoe, boy, thouliest! 1 say it was my 
 wife s ! 
 
 1 Not so not RO! twas my dead mother s 
 I swear it 1 cried Eugane, solemnly. 
 
 Linr! liar and thief I 1 screamed the old 
 mnn ; you stole it ! 
 
 I stole it ! 
 
 Yes, villain, yes ! Here nre the feature*, 
 abc month, tlie ;ye, the forehead of of 
 my fugitive wife ! 
 
 1 our fit^ifire trifrl shrieked back a 
 voice of superhuman ngony. 4 For Clod y 
 siike! unsay those horrid words! Almi^ lity 
 (leaven! you, then, iiru my father my mil- 
 tin r iriin i/tnir irtf r / 
 
 The hapless young mnn Htag^ered, threw 
 up his arms to Heaven, then N\nk, with u 
 siii|ile yroun lit bis unnatural parent s feet ! 
 
 4 Sainted spirit of my mother! murmured 
 u heart-broken voice. Ku;enc,() Kn^ene! 
 vi . ! tnr. t/u: children of Jn/in \ irin>n, tlir. 
 Mhu ! 
 
 And tim gasping Kllcn fell, like- n light 
 ning stricken (lower, upon her brother s ccnse- 
 de*crtcd body, happily, liko him, insensible 
 to this bitterest blow of .the relentless perse 
 cutor, Fate ! . 
 
 4 Holy Heaven ! faltered Henry Vernon ; 
 1 they bavo found in me a cousin, in my uncle 
 a father and that wretched mun would have 
 Murdered his oicn son! 
 
 The self-wimH moment the startling report 
 of n pistol rang through tho cave, and then a 
 two-fold cry. 
 
 
120 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 CRASHES! 
 
 AND LAST. 
 
 The Revealing of Strange Secrett Kit 
 Carson break* the G organ Knot of Mys 
 tery he could nut untie. The Vow / / 
 filed at Last. 
 
 , 4 New England, New England, my home o er 
 
 the sea ! 
 The wanderer s heart turn, in fondness, to 
 
 theo ! 
 
 CONFUSION of mind 
 and vision, for a mo* 
 ment, came over Harry 
 Vernon it was no won- 
 der that it did. Then 
 it was that he collected 
 himself sufficiently to 
 the cause of the Btrnnge and 
 startling climax that hud been placed to a 
 thrilling scene. 
 
 Kit Carsosi stood three feet from him, with 
 the nmoke rolling uway from the muzzle a 
 discharged pistol in his hand. The cloud 
 cleared ofT in an instant, and disclosed the 
 tall figure of Carl, the Californian,just in the 
 mouth of the cave, his face contorted into an 
 expression of anguish tho moat acute ; while 
 a torrent of blood was flosving down his right 
 arm, which hung helpless by his side. It was 
 broken at the elbow. 
 
 A laugh of stern irony fell from Carson u 
 lips, 
 
 * Ha, ha! my good friend, and did you 
 think to give Kit Carson the slip so easily ? 
 So, ho! 1 have cut short your retreat some 
 what abruptly, I lour. Buck with you, or the 
 next shot goes to your heart. 
 
 4 Ha ! uttered Henry, the traitor who 
 
 but no ! he wan my uncle s accomplice in my 
 meditated ruin, but he spared my Jife. He 
 was more merciful than his master, and was 
 but a tool, after all. Stay! uparo him; he 
 is already punished enough ; 1, at least, am 
 content. 
 
 1 So be it, then ; the villain hns some to- 
 deeming qualities. Begone, sir Spaniard ! 
 you aro free to go, but never cross my path 
 again. Let that broken nrrn bo a memorial 
 of Kit Carson, and thank this gentlemun that 
 you fate no worse. Away ! 
 
 The Cnliforniun, only too glad to comply, 
 slunk hurriedly away ; and in a few moments 
 they saw the retreating figure of the wound 
 ed ruffian far down the mountain, and saw 
 him not again. 
 
 His escape from the bonds that confined 
 him had been effected in much the same man 
 ner as the miser s, for Carson, when he 
 wrenched the stiletto from the old man s 
 hand, hurled it several feet from him, causing 
 it to full within reach of Carl s fettered hniul, 
 with which he contrived to free himself, us 
 his aged confederate had dono before him, 
 unpcrceivcd and unthought of, in the excite 
 ment of the surrounding scene. He liad 
 stumbled, however, in rising; ami the hunt 
 er s ever rendy ear had discovered the half- 
 accomplished flight. 
 
 It was his cry of pain which had so startled 
 Henry, but it was not the only one ho had 
 heard, and he turned to the hunter, saying, 
 
 1 Was there not another voice ? There 
 seemed to bo a double cry. 
 
 There was; and it was Edward s voice! 
 exclaimed the hunter, as if speaking to him 
 self. Such strange events have crowded on 
 us, I have not once thought of him. The 
 stunning report of the pistol-shot, deepened 
 by the cavern s echoes, must have dispelled, 
 with its sudden shock her protracted swoon. 
 Edward ! he shouted. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 121 
 
 A faint voice articulated, Curson, Car 
 son ! Eugene, Eugene ! 
 
 1 llu! ejaculated the hunter, what means 
 this strange coupling of names 1 How very 
 singularly you net in all things concerning the 
 stranger Lincoln ! 
 
 4 lie sprang as he spoke, torch in hand, to 
 that part of the cave to which he had borne 
 Ins protege, and gently ho drew forth the 
 graceful form of the hundsome boy. 
 
 4 Ah, dear Carson, murmured the revived 
 youth, what fearful shock was that that recall 
 ed my wondering senses ? it seemed like the 
 thunder s ro;ir ! 
 
 The subterranean reverberations had indeed 
 giv ;n the pistol s detonation a stunning sound 
 and its eH oct upon the swooning condition 
 of the miser s children was a too premature 
 reawakening. 
 
 Poor Ellen heaved the first sigh, drew the 
 first returning breath, but her brother, with 
 blood shot eyes and haggard cheek, was the 
 first to stagger to his feet. The blood had 
 ceased to stream from his wounded chest, but 
 it had left his garments dyed with its ensan 
 guined stains. 
 
 1 Futhi r! he gasped, convulsively; and 
 there before him, as he spoke the word, cow 
 ering, grovelling in the very dust, looking as 
 if he sought to shrink within himself as if 
 he would have rejoiced to see the earth open 
 and swallow him from his injured son s sight. 
 But, alas! it was the attituce into which the 
 first soul-blasting disclosure had petrified him, 
 as it were; it was the attituJr, only, with the 
 awful feeling no longer, for as the son re 
 peated that one word Father 1 an idiotic 
 iuugli replied ! 
 
 Ellen, Ellen! moaned the once more 
 stricken son. Holy Heaven! the shock o! 
 this dreadful discovery has quite overturned 
 hn> wits. 
 
 1 Heaven pity us, brother! hear tha 
 horrid merriment ! gasped Ellen, as peal on 
 peal of the lunatic s hideous mirth made the 
 cavern ring again, to the ghastly music tha 
 demons love to howl amid infernal torments 
 Our hapless father is a maniac now a mo 
 nomaniac no longer :" 
 
 As the wretched son turned with a shudder 
 of unutterable aversion from his yet more 
 miserable father, the eye of the boy Edward 
 detected the blood-stained garments of the 
 young man, on which the t^rch-light broadly 
 fell, and with a thrilling cry that syllabled its 
 own echoes into words, 
 
 1 Oh Heaven ! he is wounded fearfully ! 
 
 Eugene, my own, idolized Eugene! 1 will die 
 vuh you! the lad threw himself wildly into 
 lie extended arms uf the miser s bun, who, 
 leedless alike of the astonishment of every 
 :prct:ilor, of the inexplicable movement, 
 caught the youth in his warm caress, and re- 
 >catedly kissing l!;e lips of that beautiful boy, 
 fervently uttered the word*, 
 
 ) cm and, Ellen your love is left to me 
 why should 1 grieve? 1 mil not ; no, 1 will 
 lot; enough is left for happiness. But your 
 ears deceive you, dearest. 1 know not how 
 comes this blood upon my breast, but 1 feel 
 " am not seriously hurt Apprehend nothing, 
 dearest one. 
 
 Unutterable was the amazement of Ellen, 
 Henry ; but far more than all, the hunter. In 
 his strange surprise, Nature denied him, for 
 tin. moment, speech. 
 
 The boy Edward appeared to mark this. 
 Hastily he withdrew from Lincoln s embrace, 
 bounded back, and in an instant was kneel 
 ing at the hunter s feet. 
 
 4 Geneious, noble Carson, forgive me ! 
 murmured "the lad. 
 
 The tongue of the frontiersman was un 
 chained once more, 
 4 Forgive you, boy !* 
 
 * Yes, my noble-hearted benefactor, forgive 
 me for years of deception and duplicity, days 
 and hours of constant deceit, ot which you 
 were the unsuspecting object! Yet Oh! it 
 was with the purest and best of motives, as I 
 believed P 
 
 Edward ! are yon mad ? said the hunter, 
 sternly. 
 
 4 No, no ; only mad to carry on the delusion 
 so long, exclaimed the strange lud, embrac 
 ing Carson s knees ; my friend, my patron, 
 rny benefactor, I have strangely, cruelly de 
 ceived you / am not of the same sex of 
 
 ytntrtttf- 
 
 4 Mad, mad as a March hare ! broke in the 
 honest hunter. 
 
 4 No, no ; Christopher Carson, the Edward 
 whom you have loved, protected and cherish 
 ed the supposed boy, Edward, it a wo 
 man / 
 
 There was a thrilling silence of full three 
 breathless moments in the cave. The effect 
 upon the hunter had been most powerful, yet 
 he was the first to break the silence that fol 
 lowed the astounding confession. 
 
 * I believe you, Edward ! you never yet 
 told Kit Carson a lie ; but, for once, he i non- 
 
o 
 
 132 
 
 KIT CARSON. 
 
 plussed. Blind mule that 1 was, not tu luive 
 perceived this boiorc ; 1 who have been your 
 const, mi guardian and companion for moro 
 than ten years, while u stranger, whom juu 
 liuve nut known a month, dwoovered it! 
 but lover s eyes, they nay, nro uhurpcr than 
 a lynx s. 
 
 1 It was accident exposed the truth, replied 
 Lincoln, while thu cheek, neck und bosom of 
 tho * soi-disunt hoy crimsoned again unit 
 a<_ ain ; 4 accident likewise enabled me to save 
 lief life we loved each other from that hour. 
 1 avowed my knowledge of her sex s secret 
 to her, obtained her own confession of that 
 secret mid of her love in return, and, Carson, 
 \ve huve heen lietrolhed IOMTIS fur ne ir u 
 fortnight DOW, ever binco the niyht ol the 
 prairie lire. 
 
 The good hunter s astonished feelings now 
 seemed to take u new direction, ua hu mid, 
 thoughtfully, 
 
 And not the remotest suspicion of this 
 ever occurred to me ! strange, indeed ! yet, 
 in the Indian cam]), frum whence I rescued 
 you, you were dfowwd as u hoy ; und UN u 
 hoy 1 reared you. Now 1 understand your 
 inconsistency, your timidity ; ut times, your 
 Buttled reserve, und unaccountable desire to 
 avoid all familiarity witii my honest men. 1 
 nee it now, it wus hut womanly delicacy. 
 JJut why did you keep your sex u secret from 
 me, your only friend V 
 
 Hecausc, my beloved benefactor,! wished 
 to be ever near you, to share in your dangers 
 and your tods, and 1 knew tint if my sex was 
 known, you would never .sutler it, that it could 
 not he. This was when 1 ;MWV to think and 
 reason myself; before thai, as u child, I wan 
 too young to make proper distinction ; and 
 when I became older, and my mind and per* 
 :<on began to mature, after my return from 
 the .Mexican boarding-school where you 
 placed me, in your generous desiru that your 
 ji - otege should receive the benefits of educa 
 tion and society, much as you yourselfscorn- 
 cd the latter 1 felt a strong disinclination to 
 exchange my lonji fumilinr drain for u cos 
 tumo and a character that, though of right be 
 longing to me, 1 knew must separate me 
 from my only friend. There was also, dear 
 Carson, another reason, I had a constant 
 
 5ireentiment that by retaining tho only dress 
 ever remembered to have worn, some eluo 
 might some day |Mwilily h gained cuncerii* 
 ing tho fttoiim foundling of tiiQ Induu? cump, 
 her biuh, perluip^, und 
 
 Her birth ! reiterated Curson, quickly. 
 ll.i. ! by Heaven ! 1 bethink me of u strange 
 coincidence ! why did it not strike me before 1 
 Here ! Henry Vernon, here is the packet you 
 brought me from your father ; read it! read 
 it aloud, so every one cun hear. 
 
 The young student started, I\H if moved, 
 too, by u sudden suspicion, but ho did not 
 dare to think, at the moment. Tho tone in 
 which the hunter spoke wus excited, peremp 
 tory ; it* oiled upon Henry wus sympathetic, 
 lie hurriedly complied; received und read 
 the p icket 1 1 the end. 
 
 As he concluded, as tho last word closed 
 the confession of a lather s strange secret, one 
 simultaneous glance of (startled intelligence 
 passed round the group; each member of 
 which read, in his or her meaning look, the 
 oilier s thoughts. 
 
 4 Enough ! cried Kit Carson ; it is plain 
 as day. I lenry Vernon, I/tit ffirl in iHf^uitc 
 in tin 1 titter you tri lc / 
 
 i lurry wailed for no more, tho so called 
 Kdu;ird found u brother s arm* "Mil u bro 
 ther s embrace; but home time wits ilcrcuho 
 could bo made to credit that there wins truth 
 and reality in the strango und juyons sur 
 prises that surrounded her. 
 
 But good tidings are not difTicult to believe ; 
 she was soon convinced, The joy of one 
 and all needs not to be told, nor the wild 
 ecsli.cy of Lincoln, when the guardian of iho 
 loved ou<! placed her band within that of the 
 young man, and said, in hi* own, noble 
 way, 
 
 4 Take her, in (Jod s name ! and lovy her 
 as I have done, though in u different way. 
 You wooed her as the nameless prairie girl, 
 the unknown foundling of the Indian eatnp ; 
 you win her, now, as the daughter and iieirc S 
 (if u nabob, und thu sHcr of your dcurct 
 friend, that nabob s son. 
 
 The foundling of the Indian camp! re 
 peated Henry, tho last alluded to. What! 
 and did you never once nupect that the stolen 
 child you found among the savages, wan tho 
 same that wus lost on t),e bunks of tho Mis- 
 
 s lSHIppi. 
 
 Yes! once or twice tho idea sought to find 
 place in my mind, hut reason told me it was 
 absurd nay more, impossible. The one was 
 lost, as you say, on the banks of tho Missis 
 sippi; iho other was found two thousand 
 miles distant, in the heart of California. Tim 
 one was Mippo.-cd to have | elided in iho 
 4bret, or beu thfotta by Providence uit. 
 
KIT CARSON. 
 
 iho hands of some; honest border trapper; tho 
 oilier, I encountered in a far distant land, 
 Among n horde of savages, who nro as fre 
 quent ki lnappur* of children as tho Gipsies 
 themselves. 1 remember now, however, what 
 failed tostriko me before, those Indians wcro 
 a wandering, roving trihp, constantly migral- 
 inr; frrn region to region, nnd therefore the 
 distance rightly yoes for nought in the calcu 
 lation. "Vet I should never have been con 
 vinced of tlin child s identity, but for the 
 strange, coincidence, in each case, of the dis- 
 guisrd fcr ! 
 
 1 see it, I see it all! rejoined Henry. 
 
 At that instant tho miser s tnnriinc laugh 
 OUCH more thrilled through the cave, and 
 abruptly turning, their very (Icsh creeping at 
 .hr moeking sound, nil beheld tho old man 
 on l>is knees on ihe cavern floor, piling to- 
 pother tho cnvo fl golden store with the look 
 of the limatio/s and the glaring eye of uncon- 
 quered nvnricc. The lend of his nature was 
 unsubdued, stdl. 
 
 4 Away from yur idM, old man away ! 
 cried ihe stern, deep voice of Cursor), and he 
 dragged the miser bac c from his degrading 
 woYship ; 4 you shall be removed, for over, 
 from it soon. 
 
 1 Removed ! screamed the exasperated old 
 man, * removed from my gold T Never ! I 
 will die firs:, and so .^h ill you ! I ll tear out 
 your very heart and eat it your heart! do 
 you hear? 
 
 With a tiger- bound, and a yell liko that of 
 n wild beast leaping on its prey, the maniac 
 fluii^ himself upon the hunter s hack, and 
 cliini;, with terrible desperation, there. It 
 required the utmost exertion of Carson s enor 
 mous strength to dMo^go . his enemy; and 
 fearful were his.strugg os ere he succeeded, 
 and shaking him oil , dashed him forcibly to 
 the ground, and once more held tho miser 
 down. 
 
 The old man is a raving maniac! doubt 
 it who cm! ho Raid, punting with exhaus 
 tion. lie must be carried back to Boston 
 in chains and a straight-jacket ; and, onco 
 tl.rre, placed instnnMy in a mud-house. 
 
 Ellen looked pitcously at her brother, as if 
 to plead forbearance ; but Eugene gravely 
 shook his head, and sr. id : 
 
 4 It is dangerous for him one moment longer 
 to be at large/ 
 
 1 Dangerous to his own life and to others, 
 pursued Carson, in turn; In.- is clearly a 
 
 ra. ing madman, and must live henceforth tho 
 
 itiinntti (if mi ins. IMC asylum. 
 
 4 Be it so, s:vid Ellen, sadly ; yet, Eugene, 
 ho is our father. 1 
 
 4 llo dissolved tho tio of Nature long ago, 
 Eilon. Yet it is a duty we owe to the safety 
 of humanity ; he must be rendered harmless, 
 replied Eugene, firmly, coinciding, as his 
 sister saw. with Carson. 
 
 4 Alns! alas! my brother, and must we 
 make the voyage home with this monster on 
 board the same ship ? Heaven forgive mo 
 for such a term applied to a parent ! Ah ! 
 me, I like not to brave again the wild dangers 
 of the sua, and that terrible passage of Capo 
 Horn. 
 
 4 Nor need you, lady ! said the hunter, 
 courteously. Listen to me, fair lady, and 
 you, Henry Vernon,nnd you, Lincoln, too. 
 Within a week, a grand caravan of my men 
 will leave the gold regions for tin: overland 
 route to the United States. I shall head the 
 troops, and with T \it Carson you will ho as 
 safe as in your native city Fear not, any of 
 you, that so short a stay will defeat the object 
 of your coining to California This cavern 
 is stored wiih a treasure collected for many 
 months ; mouths before the existence of gold 
 in California was known ; and it is to carry 
 this away from the secret depository that Kit 
 Carson s men are here. This treasure is 
 boundless, iin! you shall each be sharers with 
 myself and band. Will you join the can- 
 van ? 
 
 Never was proposal more joyously acceded 
 to. Never were preparations more quickly 
 made. Within the prescribed week, tho 
 horses of the troop were laden with the ines 
 timable riches removed from the treasure- 
 cave, and the whole party set forward, via 
 San Francisco, for the United Slates. 
 
 At San Francisco they ma<ie but n short 
 stop. Here it was that Carson procured from 
 one of the ships in port, iron fetters, nnd that 
 species of body-manacle wtll-known as tho 
 lunatic s straight-waist : and, much as it pain 
 ed the gentle-hearicd Ellen, this rigorous con 
 finement was found necessary to the maniac- 
 fathor, whose insane ferocity rendered it im 
 perative that ho should be forever secluded 
 from the world. Nevertheless, the happiness 
 of the young people, if not without alloy, was 
 as great a it could well be ; and, aside from 
 all thought of John Vcrnon, how could it be 
 
 otherv 
 
 Brother and sister had been re 
 
 united, Henry Vernon was returning with 
 
121 
 
 KIT CAR30N 
 
 Ellen his bride, he was on his wny to his 
 father s princely home, with the daughter 
 whoe loss had left it for awhile deflate; 
 mid ho HIIW thnt recovered (Saughior nnd sister 
 betrothed to liiit dearest friend, tho brother of 
 liis own Hvvcot wife. Ami, oh ! how strangely 
 WIIM tho NapplnoM of nil intermingled 1 It 
 wan with overflowing hearts thut, their bright- 
 eit desires connimmuted, they turned their 
 horses heads from Sun Francisco, und found 
 tin 1 grand caruvun on its wuy with them homo* 
 wurd ut lat ! 
 
 You uro quite certain, Captain Carson, 
 olmerved Ellen, gaily, with her brightest 
 mm!e, there there can bo no danger or im 
 pediment to delay us ? 
 
 None, replied tho gallant huntor, that 
 prudence and experience cannot gutird against, 
 llunish every (car, l;uly ; you will, in a few 
 weeks time, NPQ once more the dear old 
 Boston of which you spoak HO much, and 
 whithur you go to bo received UN the loved 
 and lovely bride of tho nabob Vernon s heir ; 
 and you, Kdwurd, us 1 still must cull you, a 
 fond fithor, wealth, splendor, nnd station 
 awuit you thoro. You, too, Eugene, ore re 
 turning far richer than a millionaire to a city 
 in which you once toiled, n despised and pen 
 niless clrk, nnd with a betrothed bride by 
 your side. And you, Henry Vornon, go to 
 introduce to your distant parents a lovely 
 niece, in tho person of your wedded wife, 
 and with vour own lips to annum the brother 
 of John Vernon, that, with Heaven s help, 
 KIT CAKSON UAH KULFII.LKI) IIIH vow I* 
 
 And how, having brought our plot to UN ca 
 tastrophe, nn J our chief characters to the goal 
 of their wishes, wo nru at liberty to leave both 
 thoso nnd the grncioiiH reader, unless the (ut 
 ter, over kind und jjeneroun, hbull ehoono to 
 accompany no yet further, into the pages of 
 the Sr.qirKL TO THIS STOUY, which will NOOII 
 bu publiahod in pamphlet form ; and from 
 
 it learn, how strangely Fate orders hu 
 man events, and thwarts the beat-laid plots of 
 Men ; how our Adventurers singularly enough 
 failed to reach their intended delimit ion ; 
 how tho running of a mailman bullied tho 
 wholo wondrous skill nnd nddrcNx of the ex 
 perienced CAUNON, placed him and his com- 
 paiiion* in littlltlafli of the groatcMt huxiird, 
 and brought about ruin to their designx; how 
 tho grand caravan WUH denpoiled of )t cnor- 
 inoim treasure, by tho avurice of the mixer und 
 monomaniac, and compelled to ictrace its 
 way to the Gold UegioiiH, through danger* 
 and perils and startling Achcmett for its des 
 truction : all produced by a Heritn of plots, 
 stratagems, and H.mrcs that could alone huvo 
 found birth in the mysterious cunning of 
 INSANITY I 
 
 For this, let the reader turn, if it plense 
 him, to LIKK IN CAMKOIINIA ; or, The 
 Treasure S r/arji fitpetfttio* : a work that 
 possesses the double ndvuiitnge of being a 
 K0(|uel to KitCnrHon, and a complete story in 
 itself; (which will shortly bo published in 
 pamphlet form), detailing, as it does, the 
 habits, customs and peculiarities of tho 
 operatives of the (told Mines, among which 
 its scenes ore wholly laid -their manners, 
 mode of life, and the novel and adventurous 
 scenes daily transpiring in their midst ; a work 
 laid in a more extended !i--ld of plot and in 
 cident, involving events and occurrences of 
 tho freshest and most exciting interest, nnd 
 throwing open to view the most bewildering 
 HonrotH and richest treasures of that wondrous 
 land ! 
 
 Meanwhile we bid tho patient reader ndiou, 
 trusting to meet again as often and us plea* 
 santly : and ended is our Story of KIT I/AR 
 SON, Till . 1 lUNCK OK Till . lioLD-llUNTKKS. 
 
 TUB: END, 
 
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