Five Cent Wide Awake Library (vol. 2) (1895 12 06)
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_ my dear Mrs. _ true. HARKAWAY IN AUSTRALIA. CHAPTER I. RESTORED—HOW MR. MOLE WAS CRUELLY MALIGNED—THE DEATH KNELL AND THE REPRIEVE—GOOD-BY TO GREECE, “Mrs, HARKA WAY?” “Who's there?” “Me; your obsequious humble to com- mand,” And then upon the other side of the door Mrs. Harkaway was heard to whisper: “Tt’s Mr. Mole. He is quite tipsy.” ** You are reht there, my dear Mrs. Hark- away,” responded the gallant Isaac; ‘“‘ more than tipsy, obfuscated, BOBBY.” ‘*Whatever is he talking about?” mut- tered Mrs, Harkaway. * About introducing a young gentleman to you,” replied Mole, “Excuse me fice now, Mr, Mole,” replied the lady. ‘‘I—l am dressing.” Young Jack was bursting with impatience to push him aside and rush into his moth- er’s arms, But Mr. Mole restrained him. “The young gentleman I would introduce, arkaway, brings us news of our young Jack.” ¢ ery of joy, delight, anxiety, fear, hope all commingled, burst from the mother o our young hero, ‘The door was opened, and Mrs, Harkaway stood upon the threshold. She stared confusedly at the two boys. ** Mother !” Jack |” In a moment they were locked in each other’s arms. “Oh, Jack—Jack!” exclaimed the aston- ished mother. ‘‘ where have you been? Now that aoe ara come back, I may tell you I feared I should never see you again.” Jack’s eyes filled with tears. He kissed her tenderly and held out his hand to Harry. ‘* Here, mother dear,” he said; “there is a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft, to keep watch over the life of poor Jack—and Harry Is the cherub,” “Hush, Jack !” ‘*T shan’t hush ; Harry, you know that it’s You are the cherub, and you know it, Why, mother, now that it’s all over, and I am here, I must tell you that I never should have been here if it hadn’t been for Harry.” “Bless you, Harry,” said Mrs, Harkaway, squeezing his hand. ust then Mr. Mole came stumping back with some news. : “Here comes Jack—old Jack, I mean— here’s luck for us,” A well-known footstep was heard, and Jack Harkaway entered the room. ‘As his eye fell upon Harry Girdwood, he started back and the color forsook his cheek. Then he caught sight of his boy, and he gave a cry of delight as he held open his arms. " Young Jack flew to him. “Come here, Harry,” cried Harkaway ; *‘here—for you are a second son to me,” And the two boys were soon locked in his arms, For some minutes not a word was nea a His heart was too full for speech, but while they were thus engaged—engrossed by eae own happiness, a deep sound was eard, hag that sounded like a distant funeral nell, What was it? Harkaway started up at the sound* ;, Hark I” he cried, “Do you hear that?” es. “ What is it?” ‘ * An execution of the brigands,” ““ Where?” '“ At the prison.” ye iy villains have earned their fates right well.” “Yes—yes,” exclaimed Jack Harkaway, hurriedly; “but this execution must not ie ot place, though Tomaso was shot yester- erday.” “Tomaso, the brigand,” cried young Jack ; *“then why not the rest?” : “Why? Because it is unjust, for the men condemned to suffer death have been sen- tenced ye oe eg ou, my Own boys,” As the - room, / She gave a cry on seeing aed two boys, and _ Tushed up to Harry Girdwood, Br Rog th Sy eet ewe ‘ord was uttered there was a loud} commotion, and Theodora burst into the “Thank Heaven you are safe!” she said, hysterically, ‘‘but my own brave boy, do you hear? Do you know that that bell sounds the death knell of men who, bad and wicked as they are, have been wrongfully condemned ?” “Yes, my girl,” said Harkaway; ‘we know—but there is yet time to save them, Come on, to the prison.” They all left precipitately, and in a very brief space of time they were at the prison and the brigands respited. As young Jack said, they had earned the full penalty of the law. But they would not have it upon their con- sciences that even these lawless ruffians should suffer for a crime which they had not committed, “There is one strange fact about this,” said the governor of the prison to Harkaway, ‘and that is, that one of the prisoners has taken the liberty of respiting himself,” “Which one?” **The Englishman, Hunston.” “But how?—when? Why Hunston any more than the others?” ‘“‘We can only give a guess,” said the gov- ernor, “but it isa good one, His jailer has disappeared with him; the rest is not a dif- ficult matter to guess,” It was quite true. “Ym sorry for that,” said Harkaway, “for it would have been a good thing to take care of that double-dyed traitor; but no matter, we shall have nothing to fear from him now; we have had enough of this place.” ** Are we then to leave Greece, dad ?” f* Yes, all our preparations are made, and ina few days we will weigh anchor and get away from romantic Greece and its brigands, CHAPTER II, THE LAST OF THE BRIGAND BAND—HUNS- STON’S PERIL—STARVATION IN THE MIDST OF PLENTY—AN ADVENTURE, | AnD what of the band ? : The fear-stricken few remaining of this once formidable host, hid themselves in the recesses of the mountains, lurking like thieves and miscreants, as they were, in re- tired nooks and crannies. And so their lives grew wretched. Their famous recruit, Geoffrey, who was such a famous hand at bringing in plunder every lt disappeared. And with him disappeared all the booty he had brought them. And with the disappearance of Geoffrey, the sham brigand, we have to chronicle the sudden return of our old friend Dick Harvey, to his beloved Harkaways, § And what of Toro, the giant brigand? . He was completely lost sight of for awhile. Hunston's first care on getting free from the prison was to get into the mountain fastnesses in search of his old comrade, Toro, But he could not discover the least trace of his old comrade, He skulked me oe at night and fled to sleep in the mountains by day, shrinking at the echo of his own footfalls—staring at his own shadow. a " urses light upon the Harkaways one and all,” was the speech ever on his tongue ; it pay ave been my bane—my curse through ey He resolved to get away from this place, But how? Here was he well nigb starving in the midst of plenty, possessed of a sum of mone: which was a small fortune in that land, an yet he dare not change or part with it. { This life grew unbearable, and he résolyed at all hazards to change it. i Soon after dusk he ventured, well dis- guised, into the town and down by the water side, and lolling about, he soon chanced to hear something which greatly interested him. A group of French sailors were smoking and gossiping upon a subject which caught his attention as soon as he heard a name mentioned. j Harkaway. Ue. “Yes, Mr. Harkaway and friends are go- ing away to-morrow,” said one of the sailors who appeared to be a petty officer, “I shall come down and see the ladies go on board,” said one of the sailors. “No, you won't,” laughed the former “speaker, “Why not?’ ** You're too late,” “They're not on board already, surely ?” { > hee Fiteue © **TIndeed they are.” “They start early.” ** Ah, well,” said another sailor, joining in, “they'll miss Monsieur Harkaway here, for he’s as rich as Croesus,” , “Or Monte Christo,” said another, laugh- ingly. t “Ay, that he is,” said another sailor. ‘TI was here when the ladies went on board, and I was lucky enough to be able to render some little service to Madame Harkaway.” *“ What was it?” “It is not worth repeating,” replied this modest Gallic tar. “All I know is, that Monsieur Harkaway made such a fuss about it that he would insist upon my going on board with him to drink their health.” ‘* And you went?” : “Yes, and we swam in good wine. And when I came away it was with pockets full of cigars, and money to stand treat to you all around.” “What a Harkaway is. ‘* Ay, that he is.” And amid these words of praise Hunston slunk away, gnashing his teeth in rage. “Hang him!” he muttered; ‘‘ his old bra; and ostentation have caught these fools ! splendid fellow this Monsieur = «They weigh anchor at daybreak, I hear,” — wonder where his vessel is? IfI could firea . torpedo under it and send them all where young Jack and the other boy have gone to I plate a have a dull moment for the rest of my life.” i ‘ * Ah, but I was one with them,” he mut- tered, “‘when I had their precious boy and that Harry Girdwood shot like dogs that they were. Ah, that was grand. Those were crumbs of comfort.” And rubbing his hands and chuckling, he rambled.on, He paused presently upon coming toa long wooden landing stage, jutting out a long way to the sea. \ , Arrived at the head of the jetty, he looked out earnestly seaward, in the endeavor to trace out which of the many ships in the Cee cae be the Harkaways’ vessel. “*Well—well,” he muttered to himself, “I don’t care much, for I don’t see what I could do if I knew it, I could only send my bless- ing straight after it—ha—ha! But with Harkaway’s departure, I can breathe more freely, Ihave only to get over a few weeks quietly, and then all the dust which he has kicked up will blow over, and I can live Scie upon his money like a gentleman, until I decide upon the next step. While he sat thus looking out to sea, his attention was suddenly attracted shore- wards, “Confusion !” he ejaculated, starting up; ‘*there’s some one coming along the jetty.’ Two sailors and a woman came sauntering along the landing stage, chatting. ‘here was barely room for four abreast upon the narrow wooden pier, and conse- ee, they might recognize him, providing they had heard the description of him. “What an ass I was to come here,” mut- tered Hunston; ‘‘to drive myself into a cor- ner,’ He looked around. ; They did not appear to notice him. So he crouched down and lowered himself gently into a boat. Beneath the end of the jetty was a series of crossbars and beams resting upon the low range of piles, which indeed served as the main foundation for the whole structure, So Hunston clambered nimbly out of the — boat into this species of seaffoldin Here he lay a approach of these three people. 4 4 full length Hateriag for the “You had better come aboard now, miss,” _ said one of the sailors. “No—no,” replied Mrs, Harkaway's new _ mas t ‘i be “ But you'll, never up in time if 0 to bed res all.” \ By eee ich I like; I shall three o'clock,” said the willful girl. The moon just then burst through a thick of. silvery light just cloud and shot a ra’ upon the spot where the girl was kneeling, It fell across a living flooring of the jetty. She star Then wit a piercing shriek she fled. The sailors looked aghast. ‘ “Let's after her, Jack,” cried one; “she’llbe Cietie ee ; " ce just below the Pal d back'and sprang to her feet. be ames
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