The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-12-31
CHAPTER Ill.
HOLFGANG.



his feet the flood of mad waters came surg.
ing over the bark, and he was thrown-he
knew not where. He only knew that the
flood came-that it caught him in its giant
grasp--that it hurled him as the gale hurls
teather-that his head was hurt-that
his body was tossed and bruised-and then
the lamp of his consciousness went out
When he came to himself it was daylight.
and the rays of the sun were beaming
above him. At first he did not attempt to
move any further than simply to assure
himself that he was really alive and sensi-
BILE; but sought to recall the events of the
past, which he did, very clearly, up to the
time when his ship struck upon the rocks,
he could go no farther After this he
raised himself upon his elbow, and tried
to gaze about him. He found himself up
on bed of sand, between two immense
rocks. He had been landed there in that
deep nook, and the tide had gone out and
left him. In little while he rose to his
feet, and managed to crawl up, by the aid
of a stranded spar, over a low part Of one
of the rocks.
After seeing all that was to be observed
from this point, he moved on towards
where he thought he should soonest find
an open beach, for he felt faint and sick,
and he wished to find help as soon as pos
sible After toiling over slippery, shiny
rocks, and cruel, tearing crags, until his
clothing was all torn, and his flesh bruised
and lacerated, he finally reached an open
space among the rocks, where many pieces
of the wreck had been lodged, and where
he found the bodies OF three Of his men.
lie hastened to the spot where they lay
two Of them being claeped in each Others
arms-but he found no signs of life.
With sad, heavy heart Lester passed
on, and presently he found two more dead
ones, and one OF them was David Griffin,
his chief mate He kneeled down by the
officers side, and raised the head; but it
was cold and lfeless and the skull was
broken! Gently he laid it back upon the
sand and then moved on again. And he
saw more dead men also! Could it be
possible that he had been the only one left
alive?
Ha,-wait-what is this? 1t moves-it
has life
Captain Lester hurried forward. as fast
as his feeble strength would permit, and
found two men lying by the side of a hea-
W spar. One Of them was dead but the
other gazed up into his commanders face,
and stretched forth his hands as though
he would ask for mercy. His name was
Dick Mangle, and he had been one Of the
best seamen on board the ship.
Poor Dick ?! said Lester, kneeling by
his side and lifting his head. Are you
badly hurt2'
They've done it for Us r the sailor an
swered, in weakening voice. They've
killed Tom. Amt lac dead =
1t was the body of stout Tom Bricllet
that lay close by, and when the captain
had made himself sure that there was 10
particle Of life in it, he J., 5Eted the same
to Dick.
But" he added, "what do you mean
Who has done you harm 2
Haven't you seen 'em?i the man ask
ed, struggling for breath.
Seen whom2 What do you mean z"
demanded Lester, eagerly.
Dick started up to his elbow, and gazed
around; but lie seemed to fad nothing for
which he was looking, and he sank back
again. Had he not made this effort he
might have spoken further, but the act OF
rising hal exhausted him, and the last
grain of strength was leaving him
What do you mean p cried Lester. as
he saw that the poor fellow was sinking
/" Has anybody harmed youY
Dick managed to raise his hand to his
head-to point above the left ear-and,
as he did so, he whispered
Look out-.hey asked for the capt'n.
That's where they struck" He tried to
speak further but his voice failed him.
What could this mean? Maurice Les
ter started to his feet and gazed around
Who had killed his men?
The captain was disturbed in his medi-
tation by the sound of voices not far of,
and upon turning he beheld four men
coming up from the water. lie who came
in advance was a tall, muscular man; with
q gaunt, heavy frame; somewhere about
fifty or tifty-tive years Of age; and habited
in garb of blue cloth, cut into a frocb, or
shirt, which was secured at the waist by
broad pistol-belt.
Maurice Lester was startled when he be-
held the stalwart leader and his three ruff
tianly companions; and, considering all
the circumstances, it is no wonder that he
was startled However, he had not much
opportunity for reflection, for, by the time
he had fairly made out the party, they
were upon him.
HALO the leader cried, as he saw our
hero, "here we have another" And, as
he came up, he added: And guess we've
found live one, too,-one that knows
something -Say-who are yeY
This last sentence was addressed to
Maurice, who quickly answered;
My name is Lester And now, to be
fair, what is your name?"
"Well-I guess you've heard it before.
Men call me Ryan Wolfgang"
"WoLFGANG!" repeated Lester, with
start
"Ies. That is my name"
Then WoIFGANG was not myth after
all That mysterious wrecker, whose
name was a source of terror to honest SAIL
ors, was a being of flesh and blood, Ike
other men, Maurice gazed upon him with
wonder; and, as he gazed, he felt that he
looked upon tiend 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 believe that the whole
theme was fabrication. Now, however,
he had no more doubt, for the man before
him looked as dark and bloody as We're
any 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
straig forward answers; well knowing
that evasion would serve no practical pur
pose, and hoping 10y his frankness to pro
pitate the merciiess tiend in whose unre-
strained power he knew himself to be:
When the wrecker chief had elected all
the information he could, and learned with
what rich cargo the vessel was freighted,
and that she had $4,000 in specie on
board, he smiled grimly, and remarked to
one of his confederates that she would
perhaps be richer prize even than the
White Farm had been a few years before.
The mention of the name of the Inflated
ship in which Carrie Thornton and her fa-
ther had been lost, gave Maurice Lester
such shock that he nearly fell to the
earth. He grew deadly pale, and his
frame quivered convulsiyely.
whats the matterY said Wolfgang.