The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1859-12-31

aThey'vs done ii for u n the ssiIsr an
swsrcd, In weakened voice. g They've
killed Tom. Amt he dead?''
| II was the body 81 stout Tom Bricket that
lay close BY, and wh4n the captain had made
himself sure that there was no particle OF
life in It, be reported the same TO Dick.
aBut,n he added, sfwhat do You mean ?
| Who has done you harm? ' ~
Haven't you seen 'em 2'' the man asked,
struggling for breath.
| Seen whom? What do you mean 20 de-
manded Lester, eagerly.
| Dick started up to his elbow, and gaxed
around; but he seemed to find nothing for
which he was looking, and he sank back
1 again. Had he not made this effort he
might have spoken further, but the act OF
rising had exhausted him, and the last grain
OF strength was leaving him.
"What do you mean" cried Lester, as be
saw that the poor fellow was sinking. elias
any body harmed you?"
Dick managed to raise his hand to his
head-to point above the left ear--and, az
he did so, be whispered
| aLook ont--they asked for the captn.--
That % where they struck He tried TO
speak further, but his voice failed him.
What could this mean? Maurice Lester
started to his feet and gaxed around. Who
had killed bis men2
| The captain was disturbed in his medita-
tion by the sound OF voices not far Of, ind
| upon turning he beheld four men coming mp
from the water. He who came in advance
was tall, muscular man; with gaunt,
heavy frame; somewhere about fifty or fifty
five years of age; and habited in garb Of
blue cloth, cut into frock, or shirt, which
1 was ad lat ka St nxso II
belt.
Maurice Lester was startled when he be-
held the stalwart leader and his three ruff
fanny companions and, considering aii the
circumstances, il is no wonder that he was
| startled. However, he had not much oppor-
tunity for reflection, for, by the time he
had fairly made out the party, they were up
on him.
i Halle, y the leader cried, N ha sAw nur
hero, "here we have another" And, az he
came up, he added And guess we we
found live one, o,--one that knows some
thing are you 7''
/ This last sentence was addressed to Maui
rice, who quickly answered
My name is Lester. And now, to be
fair, what ia your name?"
"Well-I guess you we heard it before.
Men call me Ryan Wolfgang."
/ WoLraANG!o repeated Lester, with a
start.
eyes. That is my name.o
Then WoLFCASG was not myth after all
That mysterious wrecker, whose name was
1 . source Of terror to honest sailors, was a
being OF flesh and blood, like other men,
Maurice gazed upon him with wonder and,
as he gazed, he felt that he looked upon /
fend incarnate. He had often heard OF the
pirate-wrecker, and so dark and mystic had
been the tales which the North-Sea sailors
had told, that he had been inclined to be-
lieve that the whole theme was fabrica-
tion. Now, however, he had no more doubt,
for the man before him looked a. dark and
bloody "a were amy Of the pictures he had
heard drawn of him upon the forecastle.
But our hero was not allowed much time
for reflection. Wolfgang piled him with
questions, TO all OF which Lester gave
straightforward answers; well knowing that
evasion would serve no practical purpose,
and hoping by his frankness to propltiate
the merciless fend in whose unrestrained
power he knew himself to be.
| When the wrecker- chief had elicited all
the information he could, and learned with
what rich cargo the vessel was freighted.
and that she had $40, 900 in specie on board /.
be smiled grimly, and remarked to one of
his confederates that she would perhaps be
. richer prize even than the Hhife Facm
had been q Few years before. The mention
of the name of the ill-fated ship in which
Carrie Thornton and her father had been
lost, gave Maurice Lester such : shock that
ne nearly fell TO tho earth. He grew dead
~ pale, and his frame quivered oonvulsively.
what's the matter P" said Wolfeanr
"You don't Seem to have much strcng.h
left bring him along, boys, where we can
doctor him.b
The sinister glance which accompanied
this last remark, and the peculiar emphasis
laid upon the word " doctor,'' struck q chill
To our hero's heart. But he could not give
his own safety much thought, while he was
partly forced and partly carried along after
Wolfgang, who strobe rapidly on for nearly
half an hour. He could think only OF the
White Fdtcn that had been wrecked ON that
coast, and Of his beloved Carrie who had,
| perhaps, in company with those same men,
trod the same path he was now treading. -
What had been her fate2 Had she been
murdered by these wretches, or reserved for
some more deplorable doom? Those
thoughts filled him with nnutterable agony.
Wolfgang had now drawn near the waters
edge; and soon coming to the mouth OF q
cave he entered it, followed BY the three ruff
fans who had charge Of our hero. The bot
tom of the cave sloped upward from its an
| trance for some distance, and then became
almost level. The captive (for snck Maui
rice Lester now felt himself to beg frequent
| ~ hit his feet against what he thought, with
chill Of horror, we're human bones strewn
around tho cavern, but he could not clearly
make them out in the dim light. He also
noticed that the bottom Of the cave was very
wet, - though 1t had recently been covered
with water. The wrecker chieftain stopped,
at last, near what seemed the end Of the
cave, and making = sign TO his followers,
they clapped manacles on the wrists and an
kles Of Maurice before he had time to note
their intention.
Now, Captain Lester" said Wolfgnap,
You must remain in this place for Short