BANCROFT LIBRARY <> THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, MRS. CAROLINE Q^KLEY AND WILLIE FERN, CHARLIE. QAKLAND, QAL. WILLIAM H. BRIGGS, PUBLISHER. 1881. 13 Ollc Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Office of the Librarian at Washington, D. 0., by WM. H. BRIGGS, Nov. 8, 1880. SKEES & BTUART, PRINTERS, CHICAGO. DEDICATION. TO MINNIE, THE WIFE OF OUR HERO, THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BY ITS AUTHORS, MRS. CAROLINE OAKLEY AND WILLIE FERN. PREFACE. THE within adventures are drawn from real life, and the scenes and incidents described are pictured from the memories of its hero. We do not expect the reader will find our story perfect, but we hope it will prove interesting. If this result be obtained, our full desire will be gratified. With its facts and adventures, the CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY is respectfully offered to the reading world by its authors, MRS. CAROLINE OAKLEY AND WILLIE FERN. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE. CHARLIE Ross is GONE," ... 9 CHAPTER II. THE BURTON FAMILY, - - - 15 CHAPTER III. THE LOST BOY, - 22 CHAPTER IV. CHARLIE AND WESTON WITH THE INDIANS, CHAPTER V. THE TRAPPER'S CAMP, - CHAPTER VI. THE EMIGRANT TRAIN DEATH OF WESTON, CHAPTER VII. CHARLIE DEPARTS FOR THE LAND OP GOLD, CHAPTER VIII. IN THE GOLD MINES, 101 VU1 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. PAGE. MEETING OP MOTHER AND SON, - - -121 CHAPTER X. THE ALTAR AND THE TOMB, - - - -144 CHAPTER XL THE DEATH OF OLD LEECHVEIN, ... 160 CHAPTER XII. CHARLIE'S PROMISE TO HIS MOTHER, - - 175 CHAPTER XIII. THE PROMISE FULFILLED, - - - , - 189 THE CHAPTEE I. "I've seen the colors fading From all that I could prize, Like day's departing glories From out the sunset skies. And full roughly I have ridden The stormy tide of life, And long years have passed in struggling In bitterness and strife." T. B. THAYEB, HAELIE EOSS IS GOKE! Some- ~body has stolen Charlie Ross /" This was the exclamation of Willie Crawford as, with hoop and ball in hand, he rushed into his moth- er's sitting-room fro in his play on the street, closely followed by Mrs. Eoss. U 0h, Mrs. Crawford! What shall I do? Some- 10 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. body has carried off my Charlie ! What shall 1 do! What shall I do?" This Mrs. Eoss said while wringing her hands and pacing the room in an excited manner. Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Eoss were near neigh- bors, and warm friends ; although neither knew anything about the other, except what they had seen, since that day, six months ago, when Mrs. Eoss, a widow with a blue-eyed boy of five years, had rented the cottage in the rear, and settled down as straw sewer for the firm of " Braid and Shepard." She was very ladylike in her manners and very reticent in regard to ner past life; and although her neighbors interviewed the boy, all they could learn from him was, that "his father was dead," and that "he had a big brother John who lived in Troy with Grandmama." So they accepted Mrs. Eoss as " one who had seen better days;" and the widow and her little boy soon became great favorites. When Mrs. Eoss first sent her little boy to school, she had requested Willie Crawford to take THE CAREER OF THE STOJ.EN BOY, CHARLIE. 11_ him under his care ; and had sewed for both the- boys, hats of much finer quality than those worn by the other boys in the neighborhood. She also possessed a large collection of books, well filled with engravings, over which the boys had spent many happy hours. Charlie and Willie were very firm friends, and could almost always be found together. When Mrs. Crawford had succeeded in calming the distracted mother, she learned from her and Willie, that a well-dressed man, with a buggy, had offered to bring Charlie home from school, and after Charlie had got into the carriage, the man had said, " It was such a pleasant day, he would drive around the square first." Willie said, ' ' Charlie seemed to know the man, and I thought it was all right, . until Mrs. Ross asked me if I knew where he was." Mrs. Ross had been busy trying to finish her last dozen of hats, so that she might take them to the store after supper . and obtain the money, to buy Charlie a pair of shoes, which she thought he- needed, for she liked to have her little boy look as. well as any of his mates. 12 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. Her tempting supper was waiting, and the last "hat finished, when she noticed for the first time, the lateness of the hour. Charlie had often stop- ped to play with Willie Crawford on the street before the house, and there she now sought him, t)nly to learn of his abduction ; and then followed the scene with which our story opens. Mr. Crawford came home from his work in the rolling-mill, before any one had thought what was the best thing to be done. He at once notified the Chief of Police, who promised that all should be done that was possible, to restore the "Lost Boy ;" and sent one of the "force " that evening to ques- tion Willie, and obtain a description of the man .and his buggy. Mrs. Ross was also questioned, but she could not think of any one who could have any object in stealing her boy. The Crawfords took the afflicted mother into their own family, and did all they could to comfort Ler. When a week had passed without bringing any tidings of the "Lost Charlie," the whole city .seemed to awake with sympathy, and the humble THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. home of the Crawfords was daily besieged with visitors, who came to offer comfort and aid to the bereaved mother. A skillful detective was employed, and posters offering a large reward for information concerning the "Stolen Boy," were to be seen on all the street corners of the city. The detective had several interviews with the widow, and on one of these occasions, he drew from her the admission, that her true name was not Ross, but Burton; and that her married life had not been pleasant, and wishing her child to forget all about his father, she had called herself by an assumed name, and hid herself in a city, where no one knew anything about her. He also- learned from her the fact, that her relatives were wealthy, and pride had induced her to conceal her whereabouts and circumstances from them. By his advice, coupled with the hope that they might aid her in discovering her boy, she was induced to write to her friends and acquaint them with her situation. Her letters brought an immediate response, in the person of a wealthy aunt, who- 14 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. placed every means at work, that wealth could pro- cure, to find the "missing Charlie." Six months passed away, during which, several traces were discovered that seemed to promise well, but which only ended in disappointment. Once an answer came to the offer of reward, say- ing, that "if the money should be sent to a certain place the boy would be found there." But al- though the money was sent by a suitable agent, no trace of the child appeared. The bereaved mother grew thin and pale ; the trouble and suspense was fast wearing out her life; and the doctors declared that unless she had a change of air, and something to take up her mind, she must soon 'die. It was at last decided to take her to San Francisco, where her brother, the wealthy Dr. Rossimere, had offered her a home. The voyage by sea, the changing scenery, and the new life which opened before her, restored her health, and as the years flew by, she became widely known, as the friend of the poor, and com- forter of the distressed. CHAPTER II. "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour n the cup, when it moveth itself aright. "At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Prov. 23: 31,32. EAR Reader, turn back with us about four years, and visit a city on the eastern coast of Massachusetts, where we will look upon a bright picture of thirty years ago. The time is a winter evening in the year 1849. The glowing fire in the open grate throws a cheer- ful light around the cosy sitting room, and brings out in bold relief the " marine view " on the wall ; the work of an artist now famous for his Fruit Pieces. On the mantle-piece above the grate, a vase of red and white chrysanthemums adds to the cheer- fulness of the room, and gratifies the taste of its lovely mistress, who sits in a low rocker beside the 16 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. fire, tenderly caressing her fair-haired, blue-eyed baby, Charlie Rossimere Burton, the hero of our story, and the pet and idol of both Father and Mother. A centre-table is drawn up near the fire, and cov- ered with a red and black cloth, which, together with the bright-hued English carpet on the floor, gives to the room an air of comfort and even elegance, not often found in the home of a "Me- chanic," thirty years ago. An astral lamp on the centre-table is burning brightly, and by its light Maurice Burton, in his easy chair, looks over the evening paper, pausing now and then to read aloud some interesting paragraph to his blue-eyed wife. A brown-eyed, sun-browned lad of thirteen sum- mers completes the family circle, and occupies the centre of the group, that he may the more readily attend the popping, bursting grains of corn, which he has been shaking over the fire, and now rises to pour into a white bowl, waiting to receive it, and then presents it to his aunt and uncle ; for he is a foster-son of the Burton home ; the orphan child of Mr. Burton's eldest brother. THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. IT The rosy-cheeked baby has been snugly tucked in his little crib, the papers read and the pop-corn discussed ; John Burton, the foster-son, had rubbed his sleepy eyes, and candle in hand, mounted the stairs to the chamber above ; Mary Burton, the fair-haired wife, has mended the last garment in her work basket and carefully put away her thread, thimble and needles ; when Maurice rises with a yawn, and going to the corner cupboard, he pro- duces a decanter and glass, with the remark, "I believe that pop-corn has made me thirsty." He places the half filled glass to his lips and drains it, saying, " That is splendid 'Cherry,' Wife! I be- lieve you improve every year on your wines and fancy rums. ' ' Ah ! you see the serpent coiled amid the flowers of this Eden home. Maurice Burton was one of Nature's noblemen. He possessed manly beauty, bright intellect, vig- orous health, and a kind heart. He was known among his neighbors as a model husband, and would have indignantly denied the idea that he could ever become a drunkard. And his wife (it was the custom thirty years ago) put up the cur- 18 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. rant, elderberry, and blackberry wines, and pre- pared boxberry rum and cherry rum, without a thought that she was spreading a snare for her husband and furnishing the means to wreck her whole life. Three years have passed away, bringing many sad changes ; and the happy home life of the Bur- tons has become a thing of the past. In a small tenement containing two rooms, neatly, but plainly furnished, we find Mary Burton and her Charlie, now a bright-eyed boy of four summers. The serpent which she nursed in her home has grown to a " hydra-headed " monster, destroying her happiness, and nearly crushing out her own life. Yes, Maurice Burton, the man she had once so proudly called i ' my husband, "is now a lost, degraded drunkard, working only to gratify his in- sane thirst for the maddening drink, finding a shel- ter where he may. Slowly and imperceptibly, the dreadful appetite had been formed, and neither husband or wife was aware of the danger until too late to crush it. THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN EOT, CHARLIE. 19 When the dreadful fact became apparent to Mary Burton that her husband was really a drunkard, she was at first angry at the disgrace, and by her coldness and angry words, drove him more and more from his home, until at last he was discharged from work, and the whole burden of the family fell upon the delicate woman all unused to such a posi- tion. Naturally proud-spirited, she felt the dis- grace of her situation keenly ; her disposition that had been sunny, grew sour ; and the home which had been so happy, soon became one of entire misery, to all but the child too young to know its bitterness. At last the disappointed and despairing wife sued for, and obtained a divorce, the Judge giving her the custody of the boy. The divided home no longer furnished a pleasant abiding-place for the "foster-son," John Burton, and he found a home with his father's sister ; which was also the home of Maurice Burton's mother; and they, the mother and sister,*sympathized with the ruined husband, and were inclined to blame 20 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY. CHARLIE. the divorced wife for not clinging to her husband in his degraded condition. This home furnished shelter to Maurice Burtop, when at rare intervals he was sober ; and sometimes he would stagger to this refuge, when the shops which furnished him poison, and sometimes food in return for labor per- formed, could use him no longer. At such times, when the madness had passed away, the mother and sister would plead with him to mend his ways, and he would promise to re- form ; and sometimes kept the promise nearly three months ; but the appetite that had been so long in- dulged would always gain the victory. It was on one of these occasions, that Maurice Burton left his sister's home, to search for em- ployment. He had kept sober for two months, and that morning in response to the earnest counsel of his mother and sister, had promised that he would never touch another drop. He had an- nounced his intention of seeking work among the neighboring farmers, promising his sister that when he obtained work, he would send her word. His mother was very sure that he would keep THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 21 his promise to reform this time. It could never be that her boy would die a drunkard. " His father, ' the Doctor,' was such a nice man ; and then Maurice was always such a nice, smart boy. If he had only had a different wife, he would have made a better man." When a week had passed, without hearing from him, his mother and sister began to grow uneasy. Inquiries only traced him to the village, where he had purchased some bread and cheese, and left, say- ing he was going into the country to obtain work. A week later a body was washed ashore near the village tavern, and claimed and buried by his mother and sister, as the last remains of Maurice Burton. Mary Burton did not attend the funeral, nor let her boy do so. " I do not wish him to remember the father who has disgraced him," she said to John Burton, when he asked her to let him take Charlie. Soon after the funeral, Mary Burton removed to the city in which we find her at the opening of our story, and assumed the name of Ross, which was part of her maiden name. CHAPTEE III. "I fain would tell, but mothers know What joy, and love, and bliss, Lies in a darling's dimpled arms, And in a baby's kiss, And what a world of grief and woe Lies in an empty crib, With little garments hung away, And trinkets locked and hid. For Oh! my boy is lost, is lost." MBS. C. A. PHILLIPS. what of the lost Charlie f When Maurice Burton left his sister's home to look for employment, he firmly resolved to be a better man ; and as he walked along the highway, to- wards the farming districts, he kept turning this resolution over in his mind, and began to dream of a future in which he saw himself once more a re- spected member of society. And as this pleasant vision passed before his mind's eye, everything in nature seemed to harmonize with it. The birds sang their sweetest songs ; and the summer air THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 23 seemed laden with the perfume of sweet-brier and clover, bringing memories of his boyhood days, when his mother used to be so proud of him. He rested at the village tavern, and found strength to refuse " the treat of a glass of gin," which the bartender urged upon him. When again on the road, the thought occurred to him, " If I obtain work with any of the farmers of W , I am so well known that I shall be con- stantly asked to drink, and then" . He had reached a point where two roads met, and as he paused, there came to him this resolve, " I will strike out for a place where I am not known ; and if I cannot make a man of myself, I will not let the folks at home know what has become of me ; for I'm nothing but a burthen and disgrace to them anyway." With this decision in his mind, he turned his back on the familiar road, and hurried away in an opposite direction, as though fleeing from some phantom which pursued him. He never knew how many miles he traveled that day ; his mind was conscious of only one idea, that 24 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. was, to place as great a distance as possible be- tween himself and his former associates. When the golden sun was sinking behind the western hills, and the long summer day was draw- ing to its close, he found himself before the gate at a large farmhouse : this he entered, and passing to the rear of the house, asked for shelter and food from the man who answered his knock at the kitchen door. "Who are you anyway? And where are you from?" "My name is Worth; I belong in Dartmouth." Which was a part of the truth, for Maurice Worth Burton had been born in Dartmouth, and so had his father before him. " I am looking for work; do you want to hire a man ? " "What could you do? If you know anything about hay, I would like to hire you, for I am terri- bly short-handed in that line." "I can mow, rake, or pitch; have spent all of my early life on a farm ; and I could shoe your horse, or new tire your wheels, if you could fur- nish the proper tools." THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 25 " Well, you're just the man I want. Come in, Stranger, and if you can work half as well as you can talk, I will find you plenty to do in the morn- ing." Maurice was furnished with a good supper, and comfortable bed ; he awoke quite refreshed, and before nightfall, he had convinced his employer that he was just the inan he wanted, and was en- gaged at liberal wages for the rest of the season. The first two weeks, he found himself too tired each night to write to his mother and sister ; and then an event occurred which prevented their ever meeting again in this world. The popular paper of the county came every week to the farmhouse ; and Mr. Forrest (that was the farmer's name) usually read the news aloud, while his wife darned the stockings, the boys ate apples, and the farm hands dozed in their chairs, or stretched at full length on the kitchen floor. The paper had been brought from the mail on Thursday evening of the second week since Mau- rice's appearance at the farmhouse, and the read- ing was progressing as usual ; Maurice was seated 26 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. with his legs astride a flag-bottom chair, his arms resting on the back, and his head resting on his hands ; not listening to the reading, but trying to determine how to shape his future life. Suddenly a name arrested his attention, and caused him to listen intently to the end of the paragraph. "FOUND DROWNED. " Monday morning a body was washed ashore near Union Tavern, on the Troy turnpike, and was identified by the clothes as the last remains of Maurice Burton, who disappeared from his home about a week ago. Burton was a drinking man, and was last seen near the tavern. It is supposed that he must have fallen into the river while drunk. The body was claimed and buried by his sister, Mrs. Vincent, of Troy." The paragraph was finished, and commented upon by different members of the family, and the reader passed on to other subjects. The current of Maurice's thoughts was changed. If he was already dead to his friends, then he would never undeceive them, until he could go back a man they would be proud to know. The "California gold fever" was at its height. Why not go to the "gold diggings?" He had good abilities, and could easily work his way there. Then came the thought of his boy ; down deep THE CAREER OF THE STOTEN BOY, CHARLIE. 2T in this man's heart was a tender love for the child who had once been his idol ; and the bitterest hour of his life had been when the divorce obtained by his wife, had taken from him his little Charlie. When under the influence of liquor, he had never been abusive to the child ; and after the di- vorce, he had often sought the little boy at his play in the backyard, and given him cakes or candy. In his mind now, there was a vivid picture of the . little boy as he had seen him about two months before ; the little curly head leaning far over the well curb, looking vainly for the hat he had lost in the depths below. His father had fished out the lost hat, and sent him to his mother with it ; and this was the last time they had met. 14 If I only had the boy to take with me." " Are you asleep, Maurice ? " It was Tim Jones, his room-mate. Mr. Forrest had finished reading, and was locking up for the night ; this was a well understood signal for all hands to go to bed. Mau- rice went to his room and to bed, but not to sleep ; and when the morning dawned, his plans for the future were all formed. 28 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. When the farming season closed, Maurice had quite a sum of money in his pocket. Mr. Forrest would have kept him through the winter, for he was an excellent blacksmith, and there was a forge on the farm ; but he declined to remain, saying he was anxious to return to his friends. He had changed very much in appearance since lie left his sister's home. The sun had browned his usually pale cheek, and he had allowed his beard and mustache to grow, so his mother believing him -dead, would not have recognized him on the street. The thriving city of B was only four miles distant from Mr. Forrest's farm ; and thither Mau- rice bent his footsteps on leaving the farmhouse. So many men had left their homes for the i ' Land of Gold," that he found no difficulty in obtaining a chance to work his passage on the steamboat ply- ing between B and Troy ; and one of the deck hands falling sick, he was asked to take his place. Finding that the boat would remain over night in Troy, he immediately accepted the situation ; and found that he had plenty of time to reconnoitre the scenes of his former life. THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHAELIE. 29 He soon learned that his wife and son had left the city, and that their whereabouts was unknown ; but his knowledge of her character pointed out to him the place in which she would be the most likely to take refuge. When his job on the boat was finished, he sought and obtained work as a blacksmith in the city of P . When the maples were putting forth their leaves, Maurice Burton's plans had reached maturity. He had nursed the idea that he had as good a right to his boy as the child's mother had, until any means of obtaining him seemed right to his mind. He gave no thought to the anguish his loss would cause him, but dwelt only on the pleasure of hav- ing him constantly by his side, and teaching him to love him alone. He had kept the last promise he ever made his mother faithfully ; and had hoarded every cent of his wages, not necessary for food or clothes, with a miser's care ; some of the time he had worked over hours enough to pay his board bill. He gave his notice at the shop, saying that he was intending to start for California ; and some of 30 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. his shop-mates even saw him aboard of the cars that connected with the u Sound Steamers," and bade him good-bye, wishing him good luck. But none of them knew that he left the train at the first station, and took a room at a third-class hotel, where, with the aid of a pair of scissors and razor, he altered his appearance very much. Over-work Lad paled his sun-browned face ; and when the barber had cut and combed his hair to suit him, he looked very much like the Maurice Burton of other days. He paid his bill at the hotel, and hired a horse and buggy at a stable to take him back to the city. We have seen that he found no difficulty in induc- ing Charlie to ride home from school with him. The little boy had never seen a dead person, and never been to a funeral ; and when he had been told that his father was dead, it conveyed no other impression to his mind than that he had gone away somewhere ; so it did not seem at all strange to have the man who had given him candy and cakes the year before offer to bring him home from school. THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 31 The proposed ride around the square furnished a plea for driving out on the country road ; and apples, candy, and talk about John and Grandma made the ride seem short ; and the glasses of soda which Maurice purchased at a druggist's for him- self and Charlie furnished the means of drugging the child, so that slumber closed his eyes before he had time to think of the mother, who was wait- ing for his coming. Maurice reached the town where he had hired the carriage, left it at the stable, and wrapping the sleeping child in the blanket shawl which he had bought for that purpose, hurried on board the last train, just as it was leaving the depot. He had no baggage to bother him, for he had never kept any supply on hand, except an extra shirt; this he now had folded under his close buttoned coat. When the stolen child awoke from his enforced slumber, he was lying in the berth of one of the staterooms of the Empire State, which made nightly trips through Long Island Sound. As soon as he realized his surroundings, he began to cry for "mama," and it was a long time before 32 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. his father could pacify him. The terrible fit of sea-sickness which soon came over the boy, helped the abductor's plans very much, for it confined him to the stateroom, and kept him so weak that he did not know when the boat reached the wharf. Maurice found himself obliged to remain three days at the third class hotel at which he stopped, before Charlie was able to travel again. The next week, when everybody was talking about " the missing Charlie," no one who remem- bered the poor, Westward bound emigrant and his sick boy, thought of connecting him with the ab- duction of the missing child. "With his mind dulled by recent illness, Maurice found no difficulty in convincing Charlie that his mother was dead ; and as he bestowed upon him the most tender care, he soon won him to love him as fondly as he could wish. We have seen that the story of the " kidnapped boy " had been sent everywhere, with a descrip- tion of his person, the color of his eyes and hair, and every particular that seemed necessary to lead to his recovery. The news-boys cried their papers THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 33 with all about the " Stolen Boy" in the very cars where Maurice traveled ; but no one hearing the sound, suspected that the light-haired boy, sleep- ing so sweetly in his father's arms, was the " Kid- napped Charlie " of whom a whole city was at that moment thinking conjecturing various theories for the cause of his abduction, but never guessing the truth. And his mother wetting her pillow with tears, and in her sleepless agony picturing her "lost boy" in all manner of painful situa- tions ; but never for a moment thinking of him as sleeping in the arms of love. Two weeks after the abduction found Maurice and his child at the terminus of railway travel in the Northwest ; and after three days by stage, he left the main road, to seek the abode of a man of whom he had heard in one of the stages by which he had traveled. It was told that this man, who was known as the " Squatter," lived all alone in a little cabin in the wilderness ; and Maurice, finding his money nearly all gone, and himself and Char- lie very much in need of rest, had resolved to ask this ' ' lone hermit ' ' for shelter for a few days. 34 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. He found the cabin, after nearly a day's journey on foot, during which he carried Charlie a great part of the way in his arms or on his shoulders. The hermit, whose name was Arthur Weston, gave the tired man permission to remain with him for a few days ; and Maurice and his little boy re- tired early to the bed of dried grass, which was the best his host had to offer. After his night's rest he found himself too sick to leave his bed. He had told Weston the night before that his wife was dead, and that he intended to travel on, with his little boy, until he reached the "Land of Gold." With rest after the tire- some journey, came reaction and lassitude ; from the loss of his whiskers a severe cold had been taken ; this had been neglected, until a hacking cough had set in; congestion of the lungs fol- lowed ; and for two weeks Maurice was unable to help himself in the least. But Weston, although a very rough and lawless man, cared for him as tenderly as a woman might ; and quite won the heart of the blue-eyed Charlie, by the flowers and berries that he brought for his amusement ; for the THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 35 child very rarely left the bedside of his father, ex- cept to eat his meals. When the bright days of June appeared, Mau- rice was able to walk out a little, but his strength never came back. The hacking cough continued, and when September winds began to whistle around the cabin, a grave was dug under the big " cotton- wood," and there Arthur Weston buried the bro- ken-hearted man whose early promise of a noble life had been quenched by "the harmless glass of home-made wine." " As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death." PROV. 11: 19. CHAPTEK IV. " And oft though wisdom wake, suspicion sleeps At wisdom's gate, and to simplicity Resigns her charge, while goodness thinks no ill "Where no ill seems." MILTON. TJKING the last illness of Maurice Burton, Arthur Weston had given him all the care and comfort that was in his power to bestow, and the dying man had confided to him the whole sad story of his wrecked life, and en- treated him to restore the "Stolen Boy" to his mother, if it should ever be possible. This Weston readily promised to do, but mentally resolved that it should never be possible-; for although Maurice had confided in him without reserve, he knew nothing about him except that he had been kind to him in his great extremity yet these two men had met before. THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 37 Ten years before the opening of our story, the pretty Mary Rossimere had many suitors ; for a long time her preference seemed to be equally di- vided between two ; for her family preferred the son of the wholesale liquor dealer; and her heart chose Maurice Burton, the machinist. She at last decided the question by accepting Maurice Burton ; and from that time very little notice was taken of her, by her family, until the abduction of her boy led her to appeal to them for help, which brought out their ready sympathy in her behalf. Meanwhile her discarded suitor, who had always been known as a fast young man, grew more wild and reckless in his habits. The failure of his father in business, forced him to rely on his own labor for support. He had never been taught to work, and he now thought himself too old to learn a trade; and his past habits made him unable. to obtain a clerkship ; so the only place that seemed open to him was behind a bar. Here he sunk rap- idly, and one year before our story opens, he fled from justice, carrying with him the proceeds of a successful burglary. 38 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. He had found no place safe from the "eye of the law," except the wilds of frontier life; here lie found a "squatter" anxious to sell his cabin and stock at a low figure, that he might emigrate far- ther west. He liad made the purchase, and since then dwelt in security, as far as the law was con- cerned, but leading a very lonely life. The coming of Maurice and little Charlie to his Lome, had been a pleasant break in its monotony ; and when the poor man grew confidential, the story that he told filled the heart of his listener with pleasure. The woman who had discarded him for another, had not found happiness with the husband of her choice; and now it was in his power to withhold her dearest earthly treasure. The joy he felt at this thought, may have added to the tender- ness with which he nursed the dying man, for he had been the means of placing this revenge in his way. Charlie felt the loss of his father bitterly, and every day he would beg to be taken to " Mama ; " but his new guardian put him off with the plea, that he could not go until after the harvest. And THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 39 as he really tried to make the little cabin as pleas- ant as possible to the fatherless boy, the little fel- low soon ceased to plead u to go to Mama," wait- ing with heroic patience for the harvest to end. And while Charlie was patiently waiting for the end of the harvest, his heart-broken mother and her friends were asking each other what should be done next ; every means had been tried, but not a single clue had led to anything but disappoint- ment. We might drop a fish into the ocean, and the most diligent search might fail to find it again ; so although it was well known that Charlie went away with a man in a buggy, all further trace of him seemed as effectually lost, as though the earth opened and swallowed him up. Those readers of these pages, who have traveled over thinly settled districts, and through new and wild country, can easily judge how little prospect there was of Charlie ever being restored to his mother, except his guardian should so will it. When the produce was all gathered, and Weston began to get ready for "market," Charlie was 40 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. nearly wild with delight, and could scarcely wait for the morning of the day on which they were to start. The load was to be carried in a lumber wagon, drawn by two yoke of oxen; and a "nest" was made for the little boy in one corner, and fur- nished with a buffalo robe and a blanket. The first day passed very pleasantly to the eager child. The late autumn flowers, the singing birds, and squirrels which he sometimes left the team to chase, all ministered to the pleasure of his ride. His heart was light for he thought he was going home. He had traveled so fast away from his home, that he did not realize that it would take weeks to get back again. The second day was more monotonous ; he seemed to have lost his interest in the squirrels, and remained all day curled up in his buffalo robe. The third morning he awoke flushed and unre- freshed ; "and it soon became evident to Weston, that the child was sick, and that he would have to leave him at an Indian village, which was about four miles from the u trading post;" and with whose inhabitants he was somewhat acquainted. THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 41 He had been able to render some assistance to the tribe, and they seemed very friendly towards him. And they readily consented to take care of the boy, while he finished his journey. Charlie was very unwilling to be left behind, but when Weston told him that "he would surely die, and never see his mother, if he did not remain," he yielded at once. One of the Indian women took the boy under especial care, and by her skill- ful nursing succeeded in breaking up the fever with which he seemed to be threatened. It took Weston two days to transact his busi- ness at the "trading post," and it was not until the evening of the third, that he reached the Indian village, where they urged him to remain all night. He had brought them liberal gifts of am- munition and tobacco, and could tell them consid- erable news from the outside world. To Charlie he brought the intelligence that he had written to his mother; and he promised to ride over on the " pony" in a week to get his answer. When the Indians found that their visitor intended to return in a week, they offered to keep 42 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. the child, who was really unfit to travel; and Charlie, feeling that he was so much nearer home, begged to remain. On finding that the child had not told anything about himself, and obtaining from him a promise that he would say nothing about his past life, he concluded to leave him. In four days he was back again, with his ox team and supplies; stating, that "he had found his cabin a smoking ruin ; and that his pony and all his farming tools had disappeared." The place had probably been plundered and burned by some roving band of Indians. The friendly Indians made room for him in one of their wigwams ; and he gave them the load of supplies he had brought for his own use. Charlie soon regained his strength ; and his Indian nurse made for him a suit of buckskin, as a token of her love, which pleased the child very much ; for his clothes were becoming very thin and worn. After four days Weston again departed for the "trading post," telling Charlie he would bring him news from his mother, before the sun set. THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 4& Just at nightfall, he returned to the village in great haste, and informed his friends, the Indians, that he had received news that would compel him to go "West" at once. He had purchased a light ,wagon at his first visit to the " trading post," and obtaining a horse from the Indians in exchange for his oxen, he and Charlie left the same evening after his hasty return. The setting sun had left only the gray twilight to mark its last ray, and the moon like a ball of fire appeared in the eastern sky, when they started on their all night journey. The air was mild, for although December had come, Winter seemed loth to put in an appearance ; and the moon glistening through the groves of timber, reflected a landscape impossible to represent with pen or pencil. Leaves- tinted with shades that art cannot produce, and varnished with dew, glistened on every side, and seemed to the child's imagination to be a scene in fairy land. The boy had been very much disappointed at not hearing from "Mama," but he made no oppo- sition to going with Weston, and as the horse flew 44: THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. over the lonely road, lie evinced considerable inter- est in the constellations, which the man took pains to point out to him. In a short time the child fell asleep; and cradled in his guardian's arms, passed the night on the road. While Arthur "Weston was at the u trading post," disposing of his farm produce, he chanced upon an old paper in which he read the offer of the large reward for the " missing Charlie." He knew, he had only to deliver up the boy and claim the reward ; but then the officers of the law might want him also ; and he did not like to ,part with the boy ; he had grown fond of him, and he did not wish to restore him to the mother, whom he fancied had wronged him. He had grown tired of farming ; with the promised reward, he might go to some western city and begin life anew. The result of his reasoning was, the letter which awoke hope in the heart of Mary Burton, only to end in the bitterest disappointment. When he had found his cabin burned, the loss of it did not distress him much, for he had deter- mined to claim the reward; and "if he could not THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 4:5 sell his ' tract, ' lie would give it to his Indian friends." When he arrived at the "trading post" to look for an answer to his letter, he gave his horse to the stable-boy, at the only tavern the place afforded, and was proceeding towards the post office, when the sound of a name uttered by a familiar voice attracted his attention. Two men were seated under a shed that he was passing, con- versing in low tones, and their subject was the " missing Charlie." It was this name which had arrested his attention, and the familiar voice was that of an old schoolmate, that had once been his warm friend ; but now a wide chasm yawned be- tween them Weston was a fugitive from justice his schoolmate, a well-known detective from the " States." Weston forgot that frontier life had changed his looks so much that his own mother would not have known him; or that the half Indian suit he wore might have formed a sufficient dis- guise. Here was danger for him, he thought, and hurrying back to the stable, he paid the boy for his horse's dinner, and rode away at a rapid gait, 46 THE CAKEEK OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHAELIE. never pausing to look behind, nor checking the speed of his horse until he reached the Indian vil- lage, where we have seen he only tarried long enough to procure a fresh horse, and equip Char- lie and himself for their night ride, before he started again in his flight. Their travels led them over mountains covered with tall trees, through forests filled with all kinds of game, and along the banks of streams of pure, clear water, from which, with hook and line, they often obtained their supper or breakfast. We are apt to find our minds well occupied when visiting new scenes, and traveling over new and wild country; so Charlie soon became inter- ested in the journey, and ceased to wonder when they would start for the " East." They continued this mode of life for two weeks, sometimes finding shelter in a deserted hunter's cabin, tarrying one night with a wandering band of Gypsies, and resting at last at an Indian village, where he procured a "guide" to show him the most direct route to some frontier settlement. The only object of this wild flight was to baffle THE CAREER 'OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. < | all search that might be made for him a search that never was made so truly, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth." Their guide led them over a more public road, sometimes passing the cabin of some hardy set- tler, occasionally meeting bands of roving Indians, who suffered them to pass unmolested, for their guide was well-known, and his presence protected them. The further they traveled, the more savage they found the tribes, whose villages they passed ; but Weston made the Chief of each a present of some trinket, which won his friendship. At one time, a curiously wrought powder flask, answered this purpose ; at another, a money belt, which once contained a "thousand in gold;" and the third and last, was a small magnifying glass, which he had given to Charlie to amuse himself with, and which the child gave up, in return for their night's lodging at one Indian village. The child seemed to win the love of all he met ; and their guide grew fond of him, and taught him to use the bow and arrow, with which he soon became quite expert. 48 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. They now approached the banks of a river which they would have to descend to continue their jour- ney, and here they parted from their Indian guide, who left them to return to his people, carrying with him one of Charlie's golden curls. CHAPTEK Y. " Nearer and ever nearer, among the numberless islands, Darted a light, swift boat, that sped away o'er the water, Urged on its course by the sinewy arms of hunters and trappers." LONGFELLOW'S " EVANGEMKK." HAELIE and Weston did not have long to wait at the "Indian agen- cy," where they had parted with their guide, before the welcome sound of oars, told them that a boat was approaching. They had found no diffi- culty in disposing of the horse and carriage ; and this gave them something to pay their traveling- expenses with. Weston had taught the child to call him " uncle," and by this name we shall henceforth know him. It was necessary that Charlie and his uncle should seek a home for the winter without delay : 50 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. and among the u trappers" gathered at the agency, they found one who was quite willing to pilot them to a selected spot long known to him. A store of provisions, ammunition, guns, traps, etc., was packed in the canoe for a hunter and trapper always prepares for a six months' stay and our three travelers embarked on their journey. It was nearly noon when they started from the agency ; and the river glistened in the sunlight like abroad stream of silver; and as the canoe glides smoothly over the water, there seems nothing to mar the pleasure of their voyage. Charlie amused himself for awhile with fishing, and watching the changing scenery as they glided by it; but when there was nothing but the river and the dull drab prairie to look upon, he became weary, and curling up on the pile of blankets, fell asleep. The u trapper," being familiar with the stream, related anecdotes and adventures of his experience in former years, until Weston became deeply inter- ested, and quite a friendship seemed to be estab- lished between the two men. Weston grew confi- THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 51 dential, and told the trapper of the burning of his cabin, adding that his sister, the boy's mother, had perished in the flames ; and he had rescued the child from the murderous Indians, and escaped with him. This story the trapper was easily made to believe; and seeing Charlie dressed in a fine made buckskin suit, with beaded moccasins and feathered cap, and the bow and arrows which he used so expertly, all helped to make the story seem real. u They came from Tall Bull's Band," thought he ; and his sympathy was gained, which was all that "Weston wished. The trapper had planned for a winter's hunt, and he had invited Charlie's uncle to share it with him, an offer which he readily accepted. Our travelers did not find smooth sailing all of the time, and when the roughness of the journey awoke Charlie, he turned to fishing again for amusement, and before night, hod taken some very fine trout. That night they camped on the banks of the river, and feasted on jerked venison, corn-meal mush, and coffee, with hot slapjacks, as the trap- per called his bread, baked in a frying pan "Wild 52 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. honey abounds in these forests, and our trapper friend knew how to find it, so Charlie was supplied with plenty of honey for his supper. When their evening meal was finished, our little party retired early to rest ; and sunrise found them much refreshed, while the morning air, bracing and chilly, gave them good appetites for their breakfast. Breakfast over, the camp utensils stowed away in the canoe, and they are sailing down river again. Three days' journey brings their canoe ride to an end, for they have reached the hunting ground the trapper's kingdom. "Kough country this, but full of game," said the trapper. " Yes, and quite secluded," replied Weston. A log hut with a large fireplace, and mud chinked walls and chimney, was to be their shel- ter for the winter their home and it was very acceptable to the wandering refugee, who was to share its hospitality. The new life had now fairly begun ; and for a few days the romance of the situation was very pleasing to Charlie and his uncle ; but soon grew THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN EOT, CHARLIE. 53 monotonous and wearisome to the child, who often had to share its solitude alone. Weston found both employment and pleasure in the excitement of hunting ; and this business had for years taken the place of home and friends with the trapper. Charlie soon learned to make traps for himself, which he set not far from the cabin, and caught squirrels, birds, rabbits, and other small game. This amusement, and his bow and arrows, gave him much pleasure, and served to while away the many hours in which he was left all alone. The rapidly changing scenes in his forced jour- ney had dulled the memory of his early home ; and of his father's death, and the story he had heard then, lingered in his mind only as a dream. We shudder at the very thought of being left alone in a hut, hundreds of miles away from any settlement, but Charlie seems to feel no fear, and spends part of his time under "the grand old live maple," where the trapper has built a rustic seat, making traps with a jack-knife which his uncle bought for him at the agency. As he whittles away at his " figure-four " traps, for pigeons, par- 54 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. tridges, quails, or other unlucky intruder that trusts his bait, he forgets the loneliness of his sur- roundings, and breaks forth in a happy song ; and the little birds which still tarry in their northern home, alight on the leafless branches, and join his concert. What a change has been wrought in the pale- faced boy, whom we have seen traveling with his father, now far away from the haunts of civiliza- tion ; his golden curls have been shorn, and his fringed pants, beaded moccasins, and sun-browned face make him appear like a true Indian. From his journey and mode of living, he has gained robust health ; and he has grown into this wild, lonely life so gradually, that it has now no terrors for him. The old log hut or cabin contains one room, which serves all purposes ; it has a clay floor and board windows, which slide back and forth to ad- mit the light A table made of split slabs, and solid in every respect, stands on a frame, set with posts in the ground. The stools and benches of rustic design and rough workmanship, are made THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 55 from the 'timber which is abundant in the neigh- borhood. Their beds are heaps of branches of the fir tree, and dried leaves covered with buffalo robes; and would not be readily exchanged by either of the occupants of the cabin, for those com- posed of feathers or springs. The large fireplace occupies one side of the cabin, the stone chimney being built on the outside. The stone " back-log " and the big "fore-stick," which takes all the strength of the sturdy trapper to lift, form the base of the big fire, which warms the cabin, and is kept burning day and night. Sometimes roving bands of Indians pass near the trapper's "camp," this is what he calls his cabin " and if hungry, he gives them meat and corn-bread, and smokes with them the "pipe of peace," and they never molest him; he has learned to speak their language, and won their friendship ; and he dwells as securely in his wilder- ness home as though guarded by armed soldiers. When Charlie is tired of his play under " the old live maple," he draws his little stool beside the fire, and regales himself with a bunch of 56 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. "johnny cake" and honey, which his trapper friend always has on hand ; and as this feast usually leaves him sleepy, he generally curls up in the buifalo robes and sleeps for an hour or two, which causes him to have bright eyes and open ears, when the trapper repeats his tales of wild ad- venture to his companion, Charlie's uncle, beside the fire, in the evening. The boy stands in the doorway or at the open window to watch his traps, and at one time he caught a pigeon, which he thought so very pretty, that he greatly desired to keep it alive ; so he placed it in a basket, and tied one of his uncle's red handkerchiefs over it, until the return of the two men from their hunt, and that night the trap- per built for him a little cage, in which he kept his bird until it became so tame that it would eat from his hand, and follow him around the cabin ; and in his hours of loneliness, when his little heart seemed full of homesick longings, he would place the bird upon his shoulder, and tell it about " Mama, John, and Grandma;" and the pigeon would gently peck at his cheek with its bill, and "coo," as THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 57 if in loving sympathy with its little master's sorrows. About half a mile from the cabin, the Bed Kiver- of-the-North gleams like patches of silver through the trees ; and sometimes the child wanders down to its banks, and as he watches the flowing stream, he launches little rafts upon the waters, and tells himself that "when he grows big, he will build a canoe, and sail down the stream to find Mama." The two hunters usually returned at night, well ladened with game, and highly pleased with their success ; and in the course of an hour a smoking supper of fried birds or rabbits and corn-meal bread attested the trapper's skill as a cook; and was eaten by the two hungry men with a great relish. The winter thus far had been unusually mild, but the second week of their sojourn in the wilder- ness, there came a light fall of snow, covering the ground with a pure white carpet, about three inches deep ; and furnishing our hero with amusement for several days ; for out of this material he built a tiny fort, and stormed it with white cannon balls. He also built a snow man, and finally rolled up a 58 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. very large ball of snow under the ' ' live maple, ' ' where it remained all winter, and served as a target for his arrows, when other amusement failed. To the trapper, also, the snow was welcome, for on it he could the more easily track deers. Heavy frosts followed the fall of snow, and all things were soon in the grasp of u King Winter," while fierce storms and high winds often rocked the log cabin as though they would lift it from its foundations. And there came days so intensely cold, that the inmates of the cabin hovered over the blazing fire, and sought no other employment than that of keeping themselves warm. On the days when the storms were too fierce for them to go out, the hunters passed their time in curing the skins and furs they had already ob- tained ; and which the trapper expected to dispose of in the spring at the Indian agency, where we first met him. The evenings were often spent in teaching Charlie geography and arithmetic, the instruction being conveyed orally for want of books, and the stone hearth and a piece of charcoal being THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 59 used instead of a blackboard and chalk, for pur- pose of illustration. When we live and mingle with a family or house- hold, the steady contact begets a familiarity, that often causes us to reveal a history of ourselves, and our past lives ; and sometimes we even confide to each other important secrets: thus the trapper, who was at peace with all the world, soon con- fided to his companion the whole history of his past life. Telling him without reserve of the "farm" near Des Moines, Iowa, where he had passed his boyhood ; and where he had wooed the black-eyed Lilian, only to be jilted by her when the " city clerk " offered her " his hand and heart." He also told of the widowed mother who still lived at the farm, and to whom he seldom wrote not because he did not love her Oh no! but then writing never came easy to him. He sometimes met people at the agency who could tell him about her, and he always sent his'compliments by them. His mother, he had been told, obtained a comfort- able living by renting the farm, and laid by a snug little sum each year. In fact, it was hers to all in- 60 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOT, CHARLIE. tents and purposes; for he should never go back to claim it, until he got too old to work. The farm, which comprised a quarter section, and had a snug little frame house on it, which had been built expressly for the fair Lilian, was his property. He had left it in his mother's care ; and had not seen it, nor his mother, in thirteen long years. This was the trapper's story ; and it never oc- curred to him to remember that his listening com- panion never spoke of his early life, nor had told him anything except the story of the burnt cabin, which he had accepted as the truth. Seven years had passed since the trapper had heard from home, and Weston knew that within those years great changes had occurred in that section. A railroad had already been built which reached Des Moines, and another was talked of, which would pass near it. "Weston had never thought of restoring Charlie to his mother, except when the promise of the large reward had seemed to present means of mak- ing a start in life once more. We have seen that THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 61 the fear of detection had prevented him from ob- taining the reward, and led him to the retired spot where he now was. The trapper's story had pointed out a plan by which he might enrich him- self and Charlie, and still retain the boy in his possession. He had noticed the growing fondness of the trapper for the child ; and when he thought the proper time had arrived to work out the plot he had formed, he said to the trapper one day, " I mean to make a farmer of Charlie, and as I would like to locate in Iowa, I will buy your farm, if you will sell it, and give it to Charlie when he becomes of age." " But ! I want my mother to enjoy it as long as she lives," said the trapper. " Oh well, we will not claim it in her lifetime. Charlie is only seven now ; and when he is old enough to work on a farm I will hire it of your mother. You can give me a deed of it, to take effect at her death, and that is all I will ask, and the old lady can live with us if she pleases." " Well, if you want it for the boy, I'd as soon he had it as anybody, after mother. I shall never 62 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. live there again my home is here. I love that boy as though he was my own, and when I go where they do such things, I will have the writ- ings drawn up to place it in his possession after mother's death." At the time when Weston was plotting to obtain possession of the trapper's farm, the city author- ities were trying to buy the land of his mother for building lots. The owner could not be found ; he had been advertised for, but he came not, and his mother was urged to believe him dead, and to sell the farm for a sum that would make her very wealthy, but she steadily refused. "Her son would return some day, and the property was not hers." So the farm remained undisturbed in the suburbs of a large and nourishing city. Many hunting expeditions had been carried out since the trio came to the cabin, and a large num- ber of mink, otter, sable, and martin skins had been obtained and cured, besides the hides of larger animals. Charlie had caught foxes enough to obtain a suit of clothes from their skins ; these the trapper had THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 63 helped him cure, and with the ready skill which comes from having to depend entirely on our- selves, had cut and made them into a warm and comfortable suit. When the extreme cold confined the boy nearly all of the time to the house, the days were very long and wearisome. But his friend, the trapper, kept him supplied with some new curiosity in the shape of home-made toys. Wooden chairs, puz- zles, and a miniature menagerie, following each other as fast as the child became tired of them ; these were the work of the jack-knife, and were made while Weston was pacing the floor with his hands in his pockets, and wishing that spring would come. The man was becoming tired of his secluded life, and was laying plans to get away from it. One morning the two men, accompanied by the dog, and armed with their trusty rifles, started out for a day's hunt. The air was cool and bracing, and they wended their way into the depths of the forest, breaking a path through the snow, the trap- per leading the way with his usual sturdy stride. 64: THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. They had wandered nearly four miles from the cabin witholit seeing any tracks, or starting any game, when suddenly the dog gave a snuff at the air, and a short quick bark, and the next moment they came in sight of a panther, who was crunch- ing the bones of a deer beside a fallen tree. The trapper immediately took aim at the beast with his rifle, and Weston' s gun was leveled ready to fire also. Bang went the trapper's gun, and with a cry like that of a wounded child, the pan- ther sprang several feet in the air ; but the shot had not taken effect in any vital part, and as the enraged animal reached the ground he made a sav- age spring at his assailants. At this moment Weston fired, but his shot went wide of its mark, and lodged in the fallen tree. The dog had sprung upon the panther, but the animal had shaken him off, and as the trapper was in the act of firing the second time, he sprang upon his left shoulder and hip, knocking the gun from his hands, and drag- ging him down to the snow. Weston had re- loaded, but he dared not fire, lest he should shoot his companion. The trapper had drawn his knife, THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 65 and was cutting his enemy vigorously, but he seemed unable to reach his heart. " Shoot, he will kill me," he cried, and this time Weston's rifle did good service, for the bul- let passed through the panther's " heart, and the animal fell dead at their feet. The trapper was badly wounded, and the blood flowed freely from the deep wounds made by the panther's sharp claws and teeth. Four miles was a long distance for a wounded man to travel ; but there was no shelter any nearer, and after his companion had bound up his wounds with handkerchiefs, the trap- per, leaning upon Weston's arm, made all haste to reach the cabin; but after two miles had been passed over, he grew too weak to walk, and Weston * was obliged to throw aside the guns, and carry him part of the time upon his back. The weary miles were passed at last, and the trapper reached the cabin in a fainting condition. Here Weston gave him a drink of liquor, ans he had seen in the bay at San THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 193 Francisco ; and they ate with their copper-colored friends, bread made from the Mezquite bean, which grows wild, in a screw-shaped, dry, twisted pod, and is pounded up by the natives, and made into bread. There is also another wild species, the pods of which resemble our garden bush-bean ; and the natives cook them very much as we do, and they are very palatable ; but these grow on trees, sometimes thirty feet in height. Sometimes Alice took long walks alone, or in company with her lady friends ; for, like her hus- band, she was an earnest student of Nature, and she liked to watch the kangaroo rats sporting among the thorny cactus. These curious animals were about the size of a barn rat, and had large eyes, a broad forehead, and short body and ears, with a tuft of hair on the end of the tail, similar to the lion. Some of fhem became so tame, that they would stand on their hind legs and eat from her hand ; and Charlie told her they were the next link to man and the monkey in the Darwinian pedigree. She often saw large lizards basking in the sunshine, but these would always run with 194 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHAKLIE. lightning-like swiftness at her approach. Wher- ever she wandered, the limitless extent of flower- ing cactus met her view, for Arizona is a pointed country, if nothing else ; but rough and rugged as this country seems, those who dwell in its salu- brious climate, find health, and often wealth. The architecture seems to conform to the sur- rounding scenery, and nearly all the dwellings are of mud-brick, with thick walls, which are quite comfortable ; but once in a while a frame house is seen, with green blinds and vine-wreathed piazza ; and one of these we will invite the reader to enter. It is both large and handsome, and stands upon its rocky foundation, near the spring which fur- nishes the water by which is run the twenty stamp mill for the Mohave Gold and Silver Mining Com- pany. The large bay-window, from which is seen the first glimpse of the sun as it rises from behind the mountains, opens into the cosy sitting-room, with its comfortable lounges and bright carpet, where Charlie's mother, in her soft black dress, relieved only by the collar and cuffs of white linen and the white apron trimmed with dainty lace, sits THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 195 in her cushioned rocker, knitting a tiny sock of soft wool, intended for the fat dimpled foot of the black-eyed, brown-haired baby, who is crowing in the black-walnut crib in the corner. ^ This rosy-cheeked cherub is Willie Burton ; his mother calls him " Birdie," and we find her at this moment watering and pruning her roses and gera- niums, which are in full bloom, and which entirely fill one window of the south-room, where we will find her sewing-machine, and the cabinet organ upon which Charlie still gratifies his taste for music. The soil for her flower-pots, as well as that of the tubs which sustained the ivy which is trained over the piazza, has been brought from the forest beyond the mountains ; and the flowers and vines form a bright contrast to the rugged surroundings of their mountain home. Charlie's study and library adjoins this room, and here he has gathered a choice collection of instructive and entertaining books, and a few of the paintings which had adorned his former home. Down deep shafts, through long, dark tunnels the ores are daily being brought to light and 196 THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. yielded up to the crushing blows of the mill. The clatter and jingle of the stamps pounding out the quartz can be heard from the house, and it is not unpleasant to its inmates. Life seems full of ani- mation as the machinery turns the pulverized bullion through its many revolutions, until the bars of silver and gold become tangible objects to gTeet the eye, and promise plenty for the future of old age. Here in the sweet rest of a quiet home Charlie's mother will tell you that her son has redeemed his promise, for her last days bid fair to be her happiest. If my foster-brother had been permitted to grow up in his early home, he might have had a happier life ; but he would not have been so well fitted for a life of usefulness. Human nature is elastic, and usually moulds itself to the circumstances by which it is sur- rounded. From the lonely hours of waiting, in which his boyhood was passed, came his patient spirit, prepared to struggle with adversity from the hardships of his early life, the strong arm and vigorous frame. THE CAREER OF THE STOLEN BOY, CHARLIE. 197 The proverb says, "A rolling stone gathers no moss ; " but far better a life of useful activity than one spent in simply accumulating and never distri- buting. If we were all old mossy stones, the great West would never have been settled. -/