Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-07-20
KIDNAPP
BEING MEMOIRS OF THE ADVENTURES OF DAVID
BALFoUR IN THE YEAR 1751.
By ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.
CHAPTER vI.-(Continued.)


a brace of pistols stuck in his pockets,
two or three with knotty bludgeons, and
all with their case-knives. / passed
the time of day with one that looked less
desperate than his fellows, and asked
him Of the sailing of the brig. He said
they would get under way as soon as
the ebb Set and expressed his gladness
to be out of the port where there were
no taverns and fiddlers; but all with
ssSach hOrrifying oathS that l made haste
to get away from him.
This threw me back on RansOme, who
seemed the least wicked of that gang,
and who soon came out of the inn and
ran to me, crying for bowl of punch.
I told him l would give him no such
thing, for neither he or l was of age for
such induIgences. 'But a glass Of ale
you may have, and welcome" said L.
He moped and moved at me, and called
me names; but he was glad to get the
ale, for all that; and presently we were
set down at table in the front room of
the inn, and both eating and drinking
with a good appetite.
Here it occurred to me that, as the
landlord was a man of that country,
| might do well to make friend of him.
] offered him a share, as was much the
custom in these days; but he was far too
great man to sit with such poor Gus
toners as Ransome and myself, and he
was leaving the room when [ called him
back to ask if he knew Mr.. Rankeillor.
"Hoot, ay," says he, ''and a very hon
est man. And, O, by-the-bye," says he,
<'was it you that came in with Eben-
ezer" And when l had told him yes,
@'Ye'H be no friend of his?' he asked,
meaning, in the Scotch way, that I
would be no relative.
fold him NO mona
II thought not" said he; .'and yet We
have a kind of Cliff [look] Of Mr.. Alex
ander"
l said it seemed that Ebenezer was i'll
seen in the country.
mae doubt" said the landlord.
EHe's a wicked auld man, and there's
many would like to see him grinning in
tow [ropel Janet Clouston and mony
mair that he has harried out Of house
and hame And yet he was ance a fine
Young fellow, too. But that was before
the sough [report] gaed abroad about
MIR. Alexander that was like the death
of him"
1'And what was it?'' asked.
lou, just that he had killed him., said
the landlord. odd you never hear
that?'
And what would he kill him for?"
said L.
''And what for, but just to get the
place" said he.
'"The placer" said I. 'The shaws?"
mae other place that KEN" said he.
SAY, man" said I. ''Is that so? Was
my-was Alexander the eldest son?"
"'Deed was he," said the landlord.
@.What else would he have Killed him
for?''
And with that he went away, as he
had been impatient to 90 from the be-
ginning.
Of course, I had guessed it long
while ago; but it is one thing to guess,
another to know; and | sat stunned
with my good fortune, and would scarce
grow to believe that the same poor lad
who bad trudged in the dust from Eft
trick Forest not two days ago, was now
one of the rich of the earth, and had
house and broad lands, and if he but
knew how to ride, might mount his
horse tomorrow. All these pleasant
things, and a thousand others, crowded
me out of the inn window. and paying
no heed TO what / saw; only | remem-
Der that my eyes lighted on Capt. Ho-
season down on the pier among his sea-
men, and speaking with some authority.
And presently he came marching back
toward the house, with no mark of
Ssilor's clumsineSs, but carrying his tine,
tail figure with a manly bearing, and
still with the same sober, grave express
sion on his face. / wondered it it was
yaNsSibGe that Ransome's stories could be
tTue and half disbelieved them; they
fitted so ill with the mans looks But
indeed, he was neither so good as sup
posed him. nor quite so bad as Ransome
did: for in fact, he was two men, and
he left the better one behind as soon as
ne set foot on board his vessel.
The next thing, heard my uncle call
ing me, and found the pair in the road
together 1t was the captain who ad-
dressed me- and that with an air very
4iattering to a young lad of grave quail
"Sir," said he, ''Mr Balfour tells me
great things of you; and for my own
part, I like your looks. [ wish [ was
for longer here, that we might make the
better friends; but we'll make the most
of what we have. Ye shall come on
aboard my brig for half-an-hour, till the
ebb sets. and drink a bowl with me-
Now, 1 longed to see the inside Of a
ship more than words can tell; but was
not going to put myself in jeopardy, and
told him my uncle and had an appoint
ment with a lawyer:
Say, ay," said he, che passed me
word of that. But, ye see, the boat'n
set We ashore at the town pier, and that's
but a penny stonecast from Rankeillors
house." And here he suddenly leaned
E"Take care of the old tod [fox] he means
mischief. Come aboard till | can get a
word with ye" And then, passing his
arm through mine, he continued aloud,
aS fae set off toward his boat: but
come, what can l bring We from the
Carolinas? Any friend of Mr.. Balfour's
can command. A roll of tobacco? In
dian featherwork? a skin of a wild
beast? stone pipe? the mocking- bird
that news for all the world like cat?
the cardinal bird that is red as blood!--
take your pick and say your pleasure"
BY this time we were at the boat--side,
and he was handing me in. l did not
dreaan of hanging back; thought (the
poor fool9 that / had found good ID
see the ship. AS soon as we were all
set. in our places, the boat was thrust
or from the pier and began to move over
the waters; and what with my pleasure
in this new movement and my
surprise at our low position, and the APP
pearance of the shores, and the growing
higness of the brig as we drew near to
ii, L could hardly understand what the
caotain said, and must have answered
Ac soon as we were alongside (where