The weekly North-Carolina standard., 1869-03-31

| those men2 King has been gone ten
minutes. Here, Sergeant Halsey, hurry
those men up9"
The sergeant, a brown, strong man of
middle age, hesitated, and ventured to
stammer:
II beg your pardon, Lieutenant, but
think there's. something wrong inside the
cave. There's three men in there-all
hungry and knowing that dinners ready.
Surely they'd come back if they could.
Perhaps there's wild beasts, or some strange
kind of gas that smothers EN-, or"
y" Nonsense, Sergeantl" interrupted the
lieutenant, frowning. 4 give you five
minutes to bring those men back. Cop
The sergeants face paled, but, without
another word, he took up torch and en-
tered the cave, disappearing from the gaze
of bis friends.
The minutes passed, the lieutenant and
the men ate their dinner mechanically,
awaiting anxiously the expected return;
| yet none of the four came back.
The words of the sergeant had made q
] deep impression on the minds of his hearers.
A general gloom tell upon the camp, and
the men cast frequent and fearful glances in
the direction of the cavern. .gI Even the lieu
tenant and Hubert felt strange depression
creeping over them, which neither could
resist. .Cis&
What can he the matter 2" at length de-
manded the officer. "The sergeant's in
trouble, I should judge, by this long absence.
There can't be gas in the cave, or if 30, he
would probably have had time to cry out.
There can't be wild beasts, for those four
men were all well armed, and would at least
have fred. Which of all you men will go
into the cave and learn what the matter is 2"
There was a general shrinking back.
| Every soldier was brave in an Indian fight,
but not one dared to face mysterious and
| unknown danger. Not one wished to risk
the complete and total disappearance from
earth and human knowledge that had befal-
| len his comrades. q B1 7saf7fia
| "Whoever will venture in search of the
missing man shall receive from me a hun
dred dollars in gold |" exclaimed Hubert ia
his clear, ringing tones. "Who speaks first
for the money Z" li-o~ ,.-E"
The offer was tempting. but it was not
accepted Not word ofreply was made to
| it. b a j sgJ .1 3E1-' Hur
Hubert hesitated, giving brief thought
to Miriam, his loved and waiting Miriam |
His face then glowed with q heroic light,
and he said, in tones that did not fater:
II will go in search of the men, Lieuten-
ant Bridges. Only, your party is now small,
and if | do not return in twenty minutes,
you may resume your journey" 1{a
"But, Earle" expostuated the lieutenant,
''this is positive madness. You must not
risk your life. We will wait while, and
if the men do not return we wilt move on"
They may need help.n replied Hubert,
| steadily. "They may have encountered
we'll, God knows what, can't imagine If
| fire my rifle, come to me. IfoI fail to
return within in time appointed, move on p
He went up to the nearest fire, picked up
a blazing stick, arranged his rifle for instant
use, approached the mouth of the cave,
peered INTO it cautiously, and listened in
tently for some sound ofliie within.
No sound came. All was as still as death
within the cavern. ga III
The next instant Hubert had vanquished
therein. ara 1 as. ga
All was now breathless suspense.
The lieutenant and his men gathered
around to listen for the report of the rife
The minutes passed. but it came not. Five
minutes dragged by-ten-fifteen, and still
so sound reached their ears. They could
see brief space into the cavern, by the
| light of their own torches, but nothing but
rocky walls and floor met their gaze.
Twenty minutes were thus passed. The
time was up, and Hubert had not returned.
The men looked at one another with
{. pallid faces. ifAs if turned to stone, they
stood an awestricken group about the
cavern's mouth, until the minutes had moro
than made up an hour-and still they
7 fingered. 5a s,5 ..o-s o. 1syab
During this time they had cleared away
the bushes from the mouth of the cave.
They had tried again and again to peer into
4 the dark depths of the opening, but could
not. The iieutenant lad called repeatedly
to Hubert, but received no answer. At
length heproposed to tie rope around his
waist and descend into the sinister abyss,
but his men objected unanimously.
"What's the use 2" asked one. @"There's
something here that no moral man can con-
quer"
1--WE can't risk your life, lieutenant, N
said another. "Just think how few there
are of u.s." 7a' l-i'i .si'5'
The time continued to drag on.
| At last, when two full hours had passed,
Lieut.. Bridges staggered to his feet, and
said: =: - -.
This is horrible terrible beyond ex.
preston We have lost four of our COM
rades and this noble young stranger, whom
loved as brother. This fearful cave must
hold the secret Of their fate, be it what it
may. Let US go.n' - 10
Without word, but with white faces
in sort of mute terror the men m ounted
their horses and resumed their journey. The
above is all of this story that will be pub
lished in our columns. Tie continuation
of it from where it leaves off here can be
found only in the New, York Ledger, which
| is for sale at all the bookstores and news
depots. Ask for the number dated April
10, 1859, and in it you will find the continue
tion of this beautiful tale. The Ledger il
mailed to subscribers at three dollars year
The publication of Rev. DR.. lTyng's great
story, which has been written expressly fo
4 the Ledger, is just commenced in th,
Ledger, so that oul readers, will get th'
whole of these two stories in 1t. Tht
Ledger has the best stories of an, paper il
the world; and Henry Ward Beecher, JAIME
Parton and Fanny Fern, have articles il
every number. B lisfino9
. n-z- vo.%o,