TOGETHER AGAIN--CONCLUSION
The two boys were much surprised by the unexpected appearance of the
man from Baltimore and for the moment knew not what to say or do.
“Do you know one of those men?” asked Andy Hume.
“Yes, that one,” answered Mark, pointing out the wrong-doer. “His name
is Dan Markel, and he robbed Jacob Hockley of his watch and nearly all
of his money.”
“You don’t say! Then he won’t be the fellow we want here.”
By this time Markel was close at hand. Now for the first time he caught
sight of the boys and he halted in dismay.
“So we’ve met again,” said Mark, coldly.
“Why--er--how are you?” stammered the man from Baltimore. He knew not
what to say.
“I suppose you’ve got Jake Hockley’s watch with you,” put in Frank.
“If you have, you had better pass it over to us.”
“You--er--you talk in riddles,” returned Markel. “I know nothing of his
watch excepting that it was taken from him while in a crowd.”
“You took the watch yourself, Mr. Markel,” put in Mark, boldly. “And
what is more, you sent for his valise and robbed that. It is utterly
useless for you to deny it. If there is any officer in this settlement
I shall have you arrested.”
At this the man from Baltimore turned pale. He started as if to run
away, then saw how hopeless such a move would be and held his ground.
The talk had attracted a crowd, which included the general manager of
the mining settlement, Mr. John Brisbam. He now demanded to know what
it meant, and, with many interruptions from Markel, Mark and Frank told
of the Hockley affair and of what had occurred at Macuto.
“We can prove all we say, if you’ll only give us a little time,” added
Mark. “As soon as I can find my friends again I’ll bring them here. In
the meantime I would like this man placed under arrest.”
“Arrest! Not much!” howled Dan Markel. “It--it’s an outrage! I am an
honest American citizen and I demand protection. There is a great
mistake. I am not the person they are after.”
“Do you mind being searched?” asked Andy Hume, shrewdly.
“You have no right to touch me!” returned the man from Baltimore in
increased alarm.
A war of words, which nearly came to blows followed, but in the end Dan
Markel was marched into one of the offices of the mining company. Here
his pockets were examined and from one was taken Hockley’s watch.
“There are Hockley’s initials,” said Mark, pointing them out. “J. A. H.
don’t stand for Daniel Markel.”
“That’s right they don’t,” came from Andy Hume. “He’s a black sheep
sure as you’re born. All this money must belong to Hockley, too,” he
added, counting up a quantity of gold and silver amounting to nearly
three hundred dollars. The balance of the funds had already been
squandered by the man from Baltimore.
Dan Markel raved and even swore at the treatment he received, and in
the end he was handcuffed. The watch and money were placed in Mr.
Brisbam’s hands for safe keeping, and the prisoner was marched to one
of the houses and a guard set, in order that he might not escape.
A little later Mark and Frank set off with the native boatman for the
camp on the Orinoco. It was already growing dark, but the native knew
the course well, so there was no danger of going astray.
“I see the camp-fire!” cried Frank, when they were yet half a mile off.
“How good it looks! Almost like home!”
“I feel as if we had been away an age,” returned Mark. “I can tell you
I don’t want to get lost again.”
“You are right, Mark; the very word is enough to give one the shivers.”
As they drew closer they set up a loud shout, which was presently
answered by Sam and Darry, who came rushing down to the water’s edge to
receive them.
“We had almost given you up,” said Darry. “Where in the world have you
been?”
“We’ve been further than we intended to go,” answered Mark. “Where is
the professor and the others?”
“The professor and Cubara are out looking for you. Hockley is in the
tent. He fell in with a boa-constrictor and the snake nearly crushed
him to death.”
“We’ve got news for him--news he’ll be glad to hear,” said Frank.
All walked up the bluff to the camp-fire and there each told his story.
In the midst of the recitals Hockley roused up. He could scarcely
believe his ears when listening to what Mark and Frank had to tell
concerning Dan Markel.
“I’m glad you collared him,” he said, faintly. “I didn’t mind the money
so much, but I hated to part with the watch. What will you do next? I
can’t go over to that mining camp yet. I’m too sore.”
“We’ll see what the professor says,” said Mark.
The professor and the Indian came in a short while later. They had been
up and down the river for miles and were thoroughly disheartened. When
Professor Strong saw Frank and Mark he was overjoyed and could scarcely
keep from hugging them.
“I was so afraid you had met your death in the jungle I knew not what
to do,” he said. “I did not sleep a wink last night. We picked up your
trail twice and lost it. We found the canoe and that led me to think
that perhaps you were drowned.”
“We have had adventures enough to last us a year,” returned Mark. “I
can tell you a life in the jungle is all well enough to read about, but
in reality it isn’t half so pleasant as one imagines.”
It was arranged that all hands should move to the mining settlement the
next afternoon, starting after the sun had spent its force for the day.
Hockley was to be made comfortable in Cubara’s recovered canoe, with
the professor to wait on him, while the other boys made the passage in
the craft brought from Castroville.
The next morning was a busy one, for there were many things to pack up.
Sam, Darry, Mark and Frank went out for a last hunt, taking Cubara with
them. They brought in several peccaries and a score of birds, including
two beautiful Venezuelan trumpeters, which they had found wading in a
pool half a mile distant from the Orinoco.
“This ends our outing tour in Venezuela I suppose,” said Frank. “Well,
I am not sorry. We have still a good deal of ground to cover and we
can’t afford to spend too much time in one place.”
Four o’clock of the next day saw them embarking at the foot of the
bluff. They had carried Hockley to the canoe and now the disabled youth
was placed on a grassy cushion which would add to the comfort of the
boat ride.
“Good-bye to the camp!” cried Darry, as the boats left the shore. “More
than likely we’ll never see the place again. Good-bye!” And the others
echoed the words. Soon the turn in the river hid the locality from
their view.
* * * * *
A few words more and we will bring to a close this story of sight
seeing and adventures in Venezuela.
When our friends reached Castroville a surprise awaited them. Despite
the guard which had been set, Dan Markel had escaped through the night,
stolen one of the small boats on the river, and departed for parts
unknown. A search lasting two hours had been instituted but had proved
of no avail.
“We followed him down the stream to where there are several forks,”
said Andy Hume. “He took to one of them, but which one we don’t know.”
“But he didn’t take any of my stuff with him, did he?” was Hockley’s
anxious question.
“No, he escaped with nothing but his clothing and a pistol he stole
from his guard.”
“Then let him go,” returned the lank youth. “I never want to see him
again.”
“I think myself it is just as well,” said Professor Strong. “To
prosecute him would put us to a great deal of trouble. If he hasn’t a
cent he will have a hard enough time of it getting along down here.”
“Right you are,” said Andy Hume. “I’ll wager he’ll bitterly regret that
he ever left the States.”
When Hockley received his things back he wished to reward Frank and
Mark for what they had done, but the two boys would not listen to this.
Then he said that he was very grateful and hoped that they should be
friends in the future.
“I’ve made up with Darry and Beans,” he said to Frank and Mark. “And I
want to make up with you, too.”
“All right, it suits me!” answered Frank, readily, and Mark also
agreed, and they shook hands.
There was an empty house in the mining settlement and this was turned
over to our friends temporarily, and here Hockley rested until he
felt once more like himself. During this time the other boys made a
number of trips up into the mountains, viewing other mines of lesser
importance. Thus several weeks slipped by.
“All told we’ve had some pretty good times here,” declared Mark to the
other boys, one day. “I hope we have as good in our future travels.”
His wish was fulfilled, and how will be related in another volume of
this series.
In this tale we will not only meet all of our friends again, but also
Dan Markel and learn something of what became of the fellow after he
left Castroville, and of how he plotted fresh trouble for those who had
exposed him.
And now for the present let us bid Professor Strong and our young
friends adieu. We have followed them in an interesting trip from one
end of Venezuela to the other, have visited the capital and other
important cities, and have gone with them up the Orinoco and into the
jungle. Our friends have had numerous adventures and have been in
several positions of more or less peril. But all has turned out well,
and here we will say good-bye.
WAR AND ADVENTURE STORIES.
By EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
_Author of the Famous “Old Glory Series,” “Bound to Succeed Series,”
“Ship and Shore Series,” etc._
FIRST VOLUME.
=BETWEEN BOER AND BRITON Or Two Boys’ Adventures in South Africa.=
Illustrated by A. B. SHUTE.
Cloth. 354 pages. Price, $1.25.
“The story bristles with action.”--_The Outlook._
“A stirring story of the South African war.”--_The Journal_,
Indianapolis, Ind.
“The kind of story to please boys and give them a fair idea of a great
historical event.”--_St. Louis Post-Despatch._
“Throughout the book there is evidence of that sympathy for the Boer
which prevails on this side of the Atlantic.”--_Chronicle_, Chicago.
SECOND VOLUME.
=ON TO PEKIN Or Old Glory in China.=
Illustrated by A. B. SHUTE.
Cloth. 330 pages. Price, $1.25.
“Parents can feel, in putting this book into the hands of boys and
girls, that they are going to get and hold the interest by the
strenuous adventure, and at the same time enforce those splendid
old-fashioned traits of honesty, courage, and true all-round
manliness.”--_Universalist Leader._
“A thoroughly up-to-date book, full of incidents familiar to us, which
will suit the boys as well as be of interest to their parents.”--_San
Francisco Call._
AMERICAN BOYS’ BIOGRAPHICAL SERIES
By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
=AMERICAN BOYS’ LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY.= Illustrated by A. B.
SHUTE, and from photographs.
Cloth. 320 pages. Price $1.25.
No more timely or patriotic book can be found than Mr. Stratemeyer’s
biography of our late martyred President.
_Another volume in preparation._
COLONIAL SERIES
By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
=WITH WASHINGTON IN THE WEST=; Or, A Soldier Boy’s Battles in the
Wilderness.
Cloth. Illustrated. Price $1.25.
“A thoroughly entertaining book.”--_N.Y. World._
=MARCHING ON NIAGARA=; Or, The Soldier Boy of the Old Frontier. (_In
press._)
THE FAMOUS “OLD GLORY SERIES.”
By EDWARD STRATEMEYER,
_Author of “The Bound to Succeed Series,” “The Ship and Shore Series,”
etc._
Six volumes. Cloth. Illustrated.
Price per volume, $1.25.
=UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA Or the War Fortunes of a Castaway.=
=A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA Or Fighting for the Single Star.=
=FIGHTING IN CUBAN WATERS Or Under Schley on the Brooklyn.=
=UNDER OTIS IN THE PHILIPPINES Or a Young Officer in the Tropics.=
=THE CAMPAIGN OF THE JUNGLE Or Under Lawton through Luzon.=
=UNDER MacARTHUR IN LUZON Or the Last Battle in the Philippines.=
“A boy once addicted to Stratemeyer stays by him.”--_The Living Church._
“The boys’ delight--the ‘Old Glory Series.’”--_The Christian Advocate_,
New York.
“Stratemeyer’s style suits the boys.”--JOHN TERHUNE, _Supt. of Public
Instruction_, Bergen Co., New Jersey.
“Mr. Stratemeyer is in a class by himself when it comes to
writing about American heroes, their brilliant doings on land and
sea.”--_Times_, Boston.
“Mr. Stratemeyer has written a series of books which, while
historically correct and embodying the most important features of
the Spanish-American War and the rebellion of the Filipinos, are
sufficiently interwoven with fiction to render them most entertaining
to young readers.”--_The Call_, San Francisco.
THE BOUND TO SUCCEED SERIES
By EDWARD STRATEMEYER,
_Author of “Under Dewey at Manila,” etc._
Three Volumes. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.00.
=RICHARD DARE’S VENTURE Or Striking Out for Himself.=
=OLIVER BRIGHT’S SEARCH Or The Mystery of a Mine.=
=TO ALASKA FOR GOLD Or The Fortune Hunters of the Yukon.=
PRESS OPINIONS OF EDWARD STRATEMEYER’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
“In ‘Richard Dare’s Venture,’ Edward Stratemeyer has fully sustained
his reputation as an entertaining, helpful, and instructive writer for
boys.”--_Philadelphia Call._
“‘Richard Dare’s Venture,’ by Edward Stratemeyer, tells the story
of a country lad who goes to New York to earn enough to support his
widowed mother and orphaned sisters. Richard’s energy, uprightness of
character, and good sense carry him through some trying experiences,
and gain him friends.”--_The Churchman_, New York.
“A breezy boy’s book is ‘Oliver Bright’s Search.’ The author has a
direct, graphic style, and every healthy minded youth will enjoy the
volume.”--_N. Y. Commercial Advertiser._
“‘Richard Dare’s Venture’ is a fresh, wholesome book to put into a
boy’s hands.”--_St. Louis Post Dispatch._
“‘Richard Dare’s Venture’ is a wholesome story of a practical boy who
made a way for himself when thrown upon his own resources.”--_Christian
Advocate._
“It is such books as ‘Richard Dare’s Venture’ that are calculated
to inspire young readers with a determination to succeed in life,
and to choose some honorable walk in which to find that success. The
author, Edward Stratemeyer, has shown a judgment that is altogether
too rare in the makers of books for boys, in that he has avoided that
sort of heroics in the picturing of the life of his hero which deals
in adventures of the daredevil sort. In that respect alone the book
commends itself to the favor of parents who have a regard for the
education of their sons, but the story is sufficiently enlivening
and often thrilling to satisfy the healthful desires of the young
reader.”--_Kansas City Star._
“Of standard writers of boys’ stories there is quite a list, but those
who have not read any by Edward Stratemeyer have missed a very goodly
thing.”--_Boston Ideas._
_For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent, postpaid, on receipt of
price by_
LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers,
BOSTON.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
Incorrect page numbers in the Table of Contents and List of
Illustrations have been corrected.