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Wallace D. Wattles Ultimate Collection — Chapter-64: Hellfire Harrison Chapter Eight
- Source: /library/Wallace D. Wattles Ultimate Collection/source-file.pdf
- PDF pages: 250–261
- Pages without text: 252
- Note: Work: Hellfire Harrison, section 8 of 8. Includes the publisher's advertisements for other novels (PDF pages 255-261) that close the novel.
Chapter Eight Table of Contents FROM across the entrance hall came three pistol shots in quick succession, but the bullets whistled harmlessly above Harrison's head, for the nerves of Hogg and his two remaining scoundrels were not in condition for effective target practice. After carousing until nearly daylight, they had been aroused out of their first drunken sleep by Dicky's crashing blows upon the door, and tumbling out of bed half-dressed, as they had retired, they had run down the stairs carrying swords and pistols. When Harrison stepped inside the door they fired hastily, and now, their firearms which had been their chief reliance against the terrible Virginian, being empty and useless they dashed them to the floor and drew their swords. They were truly a loathsome sight as they stood huddled together by the farther wall; their uncombed hair hung in tangled masses about their bloated and desperate faces, and the fear in their burning eyes was like that of rats caught in a trap. Stepping at once between them and the stairway, Harrison came on, smiling and calm. At a little distance from them he halted and drew his sword, and then clapping it under his arm, took a pinch of snuff. Returning the box to his pocket, and carefully brushing off a speck which had fallen on the front of his ruffled shirt, he saluted courteously. “Good morning, gentlemen,” said he. “I am sorry to disturb you so early, but my business is urgent; I have come to rob the hangman of a job.” At that, Andrew Hogg knowing that he must fight for his life as he had never fought before, burst out in cursing and sprang forward, calling out to his men, and the three fell upon Harrison. And now Dicky Dirk, looking on, saw such an exhibition of skill in fence as few have witnessed in this world. Harrison's sword became a glittering wall of steel; it seemed to encase him from head to foot like a suit of armor. He did not leap and spring about to dodge their thrusts, but stood still, beating aside their blades with his own flying weapon. His quickness of eye and hand, his strength of arm and wrist, were marvellous; it was the skill of a
wizard, a prestidigitator, rather than that of a merely expert swordsman. They could not reach him with their thrusts or blows, they could not even make him give back an inch, or step aside; and they were compelled to keep in front of him by Dicky, who, whenever one of them stepped out to take the fencer on the side, came quickly in behind the fellow and made him jump toward the front again for fear of getting the huge dirk between his shoulders. And so the fight went on for several minutes. Then Harrison laughed out suddenly, a ringing laugh, which echoed through the house above the sound of clashing steel, and panting breaths, and muttered curses. “It is time,” he said. " Let us finish.” He made a quick forward stroke with his sword, so deadly swift that the blade sung with a shrill whistling note; and one of the two henchmen of Andrew Hogg went down with his throat cut, his head being nearly severed from his body. “Richard!” said Harrison softly, and though he smiled, his eyes were terrible to see. Another lightning stroke pierced the other ruffian through the heart, and Andrew, now mad with fear, faced Harrison alone. The Virginian dropped the point of his sword and stepped back. “Hogg,” said he, “I came to kill you; but I found Dicky on the same errand, and his rights to be your executioner seem to precede mine. You made him fatherless and motherless, and the crawling, staggering thing he is, while you have only made me childless. Dicky shall kill you, Hogg, but I will put out your eyes first. On guard!” And they crossed swords again. It was soon over. Two dextrous strokes of the razor-edged blade, and the point was slashed through each of Andrew's eyes; he dropped his sword and clapped his hands to his bloody face, howling with pain and fright; and Dicky, laughing as fiends may laugh in hell, lurched forward, and driving his great knife through the black villain's heart, left it sticking there.
They left the house without a word, and walked out to the highway. There Harrison paused, and said quietly: “Is my son's body at Lady Alicia's, Dicky?” “A’ bain't no boady,” said Dicky. “A's livin’.” “What?” cried Harrison sharply, startled for once out of his composure. “I zaw Hogg run un through, right yonder,” said Dicky, “while t'others held un fast; a’ stood straight, an’ spit in t’ hog's face when swourd went home. I picked un oop, an’ carried un vor dead to Farnham Court; but t’ leech says un'll live, if has good nursin’.” “Now, by all the gods!” cried Harrison. “But this is the greatest news man ever told to man! Good nursing, sayest thou? Why, that he shall have, Dicky.” “Zo Mistress Mary zaid,” said Dicky. “What?” “I went to t’ farm at midnight,” said the cripple, “an’ to her bedroom door, an’ told her. ( Why then/ says she, ' good nursin’ he shall have/ an’ packed her portmantle. Sladden would stop her, an’ says she, c Dicky, kill him.’ Zo I pulled dirk, an’ Sladden run.” “Go on, thou bravest-hearted knight that ever stood by lady in distress,” said Harrison. “What happened next?” “When we coom to t’ Court,” said Dicky, “t’ Lady was for not lettin’ maid stay; an’ Mistress Mary zaid to me, ' Dicky, go bring Parson Slade to marry me to Richard; we'll zee who keeps wife from her husband.’ Zo I browt parson, and a’ married un.” “Now, by all the gods!” said Harrison again, but very softly now, and somewhat as if he choked, “but here's a lady! A right noble lady, on my soul! And what more, prince of storytellers?”
“No more,” said Dicky. “I came here to wait for ‘ee. An’ now t’ hog is dead I've nowt to stay here for; will ‘ee tak me to Ferginny?” “Will I take you? Ay, that I will. Whither I go, thou shalt go, and my people shall be thy people; unfortunately for the rest of the quotation, I have no God, but if ever I find one, he shall be thy God also, Dicky.” “Doan't woant no Goad,” said Dicky Dirk. Lady Alicia, still watching with her loaded musket, greeted Harrison with joyful relief when, serene and smiling, he came a half hour later to Farnham Court. “All's well,” said she, “now that you are here to protect your own. I have been in dreadful fear lest Hogg should come with his bloody three to finish his work and carry your daughter away.” “Hogg and his bloody three will trouble no one more, Alicia,” said he, “for Dicky Dirk and I have been to Hackthorn Hall.” She was silent in awe for a moment, well knowing what his words implied. “What word did you send the King, when you turned back?” she asked. He laughed at this, truly a woman's question at such a time. “I sent him word,” said he, " that he might go to Hell!” Lady Alicia, trained to the greatest reverence for Royalty, cried out in horror. “Do not be alarmed, my dear Alicia,” said Harrison, taking snuff. “Now that things have turned out so much better than I thought, I shall not insist upon his going; I will write Wycherly this morning to tell him so. And now, how is Richard?” “Doing well, and happy in the love of his dear young wife; thank God!” “Why then,” said Hell-fire Harrison, “it will be the first time in forty years, but I think, Alicia, that I shall have to say Amen!” The End.
Commencement Days By Virginia Church Table of Contents I2mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 Mrs. Church's new college story is based on the well-known play of the same name which had such a successful run last season, and it is hard to imagine a more truthful picture of college life than is here depicted. It all happens at that most interesting time of the college girl's career, Commencement Season, which brings with it a round of receptions, parties, coaching expeditions, Junior Proms, fudge feasts, and the happiest and merriest of times. There are girls and girls, scores of them, all through the tale, and all interesting ones, too — there's Kate Wells, the most popular girl of the college, and Lorraine, her chum, quiet, dignified and sweet, who plays the role of an indulgent sister. And there's the twins, who really ought not to be twins at all, their tastes are so unlike, one preferring men, and the other sports; not to mention the slangy, masculine girl, who goes in for athletics, and the dainty little college flirt. Of course there couldn't be any plot if a man were not allowed to enter in, and as Penny, the roly-poly Freshman, observes — “It's nice to see trousers around sometimes, anyway” — some mighty nice chaps are allowed to enter on the scene. Then there are three distinct love affairs in the plot, all in admirable contrast. Girls who are in school and college will find in " Commencement Days " types that they have known among their own classmates, graduates will pick out old friends, and older women, whose school days are among their sweetest memories, will find that girl nature is much the same in this day as it was in
theirs.
The Court of Lucifer Table of Contents By Nathan Gallizier, author of “Castel del Monte,” “The Sorceress of Rome,” etc. With four illustrations in full color by the Kinneys . . . . . . . . $1.50 Mr. Gallizier's new book, completing his Italian trilogy, of which “Castel del Monte” and “The Sorceress of Rome” have already been published, is a brilliant historical romance woven around the famous and notorious Borgia family, the main theme touching upon the perfidy and cunning of Cesare Borgia, that brilliant and unprincipled son of Pope Alexander VI. Mr. Gallizier has chosen a most interesting field for his historical romances, and in his new book he tells with vividness and daring of the glamour and stir of the old days in Rome, the corruption of church and state, and the subsequent downfall of " The Imperial City.” Of “Castel del Monte” and “The Sorceress of Rome” the critics have written as follows : “The author displays many of the talents that made Scott famous.” — The Index. “There is color, there is sumptuous word-painting in these pages ; the action is terrific at times ; vividness and life are in every part; and brilliant descriptions entertain the reader and give a singular fascination to the tale.” — Grand Rapids Herald.
Ailmeny of the Orchard Table of Contents By L. M. Montgomery, author of the “delightful and irresistible Anne books,” “Anne of Green Gables” and “Anne of Avonlea.” Cloth decorative, with four full-page illustrations in color by George Gibbs . . . . $1.25 Miss Montgomery's new book — a charming love story — has again for its setting the author's favorite Prince Edward Island. Kilmeny Gordon, the heroine, is certain to prove as dear to the hearts of old and young readers alike as did her predecessor, Anne Shirley, “the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice,” according to Mark Twain. The following quotation from one of the early chapters will be sufficient to give a clue to the story. “Under the big branching white lilac tree was an old, sagging wooden bench; and on this bench a girl was sitting playing an old brown violin. Her eyes were on the faraway horizon and she did not see Eric. For a few moments he stood there and looked at her. . . . To his latest day Eric Marshall will be able to recall vividly that scene as he saw it then — the velvet darkness of the spruce woods, the over-arching sky of soft brilliance, the swaying lilac blossoms — and amid it all the girl on the old bench with the violin under her chin. . . . Her loveliness was so perfect that his breath almost went from him in his first delight of it. Her face was oval, marked in every cameo-like line and feature with that expression of absolute flawless purity found in the angels and Madonnas of old paintings — a purity that held in it no faintest stain of earthliness. . . . There was something very child-like about her and yet at least eighteen sweet years must have gone to the making of her.”
A Cavalier of Virginia Table of Contents By G. E. Theodore Roberts, author of “Hemming, the Adventurer,” “Captain Love,” etc. I2mo, cloth decorative, illustrated by Louis D. Gowing . . . . . . . $150 Theodore Roberts is one of the younger writers of to-day whom the critics have been watching with interest, as he is a born story-teller and the possessor of an unusually fine literary style. The scene of his present story is laid in the old chivalric days of colonial Virginia, although part of the action takes place upon the high seas, and the scene shifts for a short time to England, Spain and to the unsettled parts of North America. The story develops the boy and girl love affair of the Cavalier and a typical Southern beauty, Isobel Dariza. The characters are admirably drawn and the reader follows with breathless interest the adventures of Francis Drurie, the Cavalier, through his stirring adventures on land and sea. " A Cavalier of Virginia " is easily the finest story Mr. Roberts has yet given the reading public, and is assured great popular success. “The narrative is replete, from first to last, with thrilling situations, deadly dangers encountered and overcome, intrigue, treachery, the sound of battle, the song of the sea, and then peace and love."— Wilmington Every Evening. “It is a story of engrossing interest and cleverly told.” — San
The Lead of honour By Norval Richardson Table of Contents i2mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 If this book is a criterion of what is to come, Mr. Richardson will take high rank among American novelists. His writing has a beauty of phrase, a poetry of expression that is unusual, and joined to this is directness and power. His plot is well conceived and well executed and his characters are living, breathing men and women whose fortunes are followed with ever deepening interest. The scene of the story is Natchez, Miss., in about 1830, and the central character is Sargent Everett, a young lawyer, in whom many will recognize a portrait of the Hon. Sargent Prentiss. Indeed many of the incidents of the story are drawn from the early life of that prominent statesman and silver-tongued orator. Young Everett's struggle for recognition, his final success, his brilliant progress in his profession, are matters of absorbing interest. His love, his hope, his struggle with self, his temptation, and his renunciation, and always his steadfast following of the lead of honor, form the theme of this remarkable novel.
My heart and Stephanie Table of Contents By Reginald Wright Kauffman, author of " Miss Frances Baird, Detective,” etc. Cloth decorative, illustrated with two portraits in color by A. G. Learned . . . . $1.25 A goodly tale of love and mystery, with the scenes for the most part laid in New York and Paris, dealing with the intrigues and causes celebres of the Austrian Court. The story is woven around the Countess Stephanie, a Polish conspirator, and continues also the stirring career of the American girl, Frances ‘Baird, the heroine of Mr. Kauffman's detective story of that name. A novel to delight the heart of every lover of fiction. “The story goes with a fascinating rush which is most entertaining, and so thoroughly imbued is the reader with the spirit of the plot that he is almost sorry to end the mystery with the last chapter, even if the ending is a most happy and logical one.” — Boston Globe. " Parisian life in Bohemian circles is picturesquely described, and probably there has never been a better word painting of restaurant gaiety than Mr. Kauffman's account of the famous ' Abbaye ' with its brilliant gathering.” — Philadelphia Item. “This story is remarkable for its color and momentum.” — Chicago Daily News. “A lively story, crowded with incident and leaving the reader to a consideration of various dramatic happenings both in this country and in Europe, is told by Mr. Kauffman in his story. The tale will hold the attention closely. It is quite the best thing that Mr. Kauffman has yet done.” — Observer, Utica, N. Y.