5.0
Comment(s)
5
View
36
Chapters

The Camp in the Snow by William Murray Graydon

The Camp in the Snow Chapter 1 A MERCILESS ENEMY.

"All tickets, please!"

The blue-uniformed conductor, with a lantern under his arm, and his punch in hand, entered the smoking-car of the Boston express.

It was between seven and eight o'clock on the night of the tenth of December. The train was speeding eastward through the wintry landscape of the State of Maine.

Among the passengers in the smoking-car was a well-dressed lad of eighteen, with a ruddy face, and gray eyes in which was a lurking gleam of humor.

Just across the aisle sat a middle-aged man with a clean-shaven, cadaverous face and rusty black clothes. He was reading a small book, and seemed to be absorbed in its pages.

As the conductor drew near, the lad fumbled hurriedly in his pockets. He turned them inside out, one after another. He looked on the floor, on the seat, in the folds of his clothing.

"Your ticket, sir."

The conductor had been standing by the seat for a full minute.

"I-I must have lost it," replied the lad. "Just my beastly luck! You know that I had one, for you clipped it twice."

The conductor stared coldly.

"Find it, or pay your fare," he answered.

The lad put his hand into the breast pocket of his cape coat. He whipped out a handkerchief, and a bulky pocketbook. The latter flew across the aisle and under the next seat, where it burst open.

The clerical-looking man stooped and picked it up.

"Permit me," he said, handing it back with a low bow.

"Much obliged," answered the owner. "Hello! there's a wad of bills missing. It must have fallen out."

The clerical-looking man pretended not to hear. He turned toward the window and went on reading. The conductor and the lad peered under the neighboring seats. They saw no trace of the money. The other passengers looked on with interest.

"Lift your feet, sir," said the conductor, sharply, as he tapped the clerical passenger's arm.

The man obeyed with an air of injured innocence, and the roll of bank notes was instantly seen.

"Quite an accident," he protested. "I was not aware that my foot was on the money."

"Of course not," sneered the conductor.

"No insults, sir," replied the other, in a dignified tone. "Here is my card. I am a missionary from the South Seas. My name is Pendergast."

The conductor waved aside the proffered card.

"I see you are reading Hoyle's Games," he remarked, sarcastically. "Is that the text-book you use among your heathen?"

The missionary looked discomfited for an instant.

"I have been perusing this evil work with horror," he replied. "Some worldly sinner left it on the seat. Perhaps it is yours, sir?"

The conductor reddened with anger, and some of the passengers laughed aloud. The missionary folded his hands with a smile of triumph, and looked out of the window.

Meanwhile the lad had restored the roll of bills to his pocketbook, and in one of the compartments of the latter he found the missing ticket. As the conductor took it he leaned over and said:

"Keep an eye on that rascal yonder. He's no more a missionary than you or I."

Then he hurried on to the next car.

A few moments later scattered lights appeared through the frosty windows, and finally the vague outlines of houses and streets.

"Bangor!" shrieked the brakeman.

The announcement created a stir and bustle among the passengers. The train soon rolled into a lofty station. The lad gathered up his traps, hurriedly left the car, pressed through the crowd, and gained the lighted street.

Here he paused for a moment, remembering the conductor's warning. But he could see nothing of the clerical-looking individual, though he carefully scanned the passers.

"I've seen the last of that chap," he muttered. "Perhaps he was a missionary, after all. Well, I can't lose any more time here. Thanks to Tom Fordham, I've got my bearings pretty straight. I'll bet Tom wishes he was with me now. I fancy I can see him grinding away at old Herodotus by lamplight."

With a smile that showed his white teeth, he strode down the street of Maine's most thriving port and lumber town. He entered the Penobscot House, a block and a half from the depot.

He gave his luggage to a bellboy, and wrote his name on the register:

"Brick Larkins, New York City."

The clerk looked at the inscription and smiled.

"Done it again, have I?" exclaimed the lad. "Brick is only a nickname. Shall I write it James?"

"Let it stand," replied the amused clerk. "Will you have supper, Mr. Larkins?"

"Thanks, but I have dined on the train. Send the traps up to my room, please."

Brick fastened a button or two of his cape-coat, and strolled out of the hotel.

He did not see the missionary standing across the street. If he had he would probably have failed to recognize him, for Mr. Pendergast now wore a tweed steamer-cap, gold glasses, and a short gray overcoat with the collar turned up.

Brick little dreamed that he was being followed as he pushed steadily across town to the banks of the Penobscot River.

Turning parallel with the river, Brick went on until the lights of the town were some distance behind. By the dim glow of the starlit sky he could see that the beach sloped upward to a pretty steep bluff, and that tall stacks of lumber lay in all directions. The sullen slapping of the waves drowned his crunching footsteps.

"It's all as Tom described it," he said, half-aloud, as he paused to look about him. "The dug-out ought to be near by, but I can't see a glimmer of light. Hullo! what's that?"

A sharp sound had fallen on his ear, and he wheeled around in time to see a dusky figure within ten feet of him.

"Hold on there," cried a stern voice. "Stop!"

Brick, having started forward, only ran the faster, and in the darkness he collided with a tall stack of lumber. He grabbed the projecting slabs and climbed to the top.

He was now eight or ten feet from the ground, and looking down he saw his pursuer standing directly beneath.

"No use, my lad," whispered the man. "I've got you safe. Pass down that pocketbook."

With a thrill of surprise, Brick recognized the voice.

"This is nice missionary work, Mr. Pendergast," he replied. "I'm willing to donate five dollars to the heathen if you'll be satisfied with that."

"No chaffing, young feller," growled the ruffian. "I'm not in the missionary line now. If I don't get your pocketbook and watch and chain in about ten seconds, I'll fix you."

Brick hesitated, and glanced toward the distant lights of the town. There seemed no chance of saving his money. An idea struck him, and he said, boldly:

"I've got friends at hand. You're making a big mistake to stay here."

"That bluff won't work," was the cool reply. "There's not a soul within half a mile. Fork it over, quick."

Just then the pile of lumber began to tremble and sway, and down it came with a crash.

Brick escaped injury by an agile leap that landed him on his enemy's back. They went to the ground together, and rolled clear of the avalanche of planks and snow.

The lad was almost a match for his wiry antagonist, and by a desperate effort he tore loose and ran. Pendergast overtook him, and snatched the collar of the cape-coat. Brick twisted out of the heavy garment and sped on. He had the pocketbook buttoned safely under his jacket.

Threats rang behind him. A pistol cracked shrilly, and the ball whistled by his head. He dashed on through the gloom, panting hard for breath, and shouting hoarsely for aid. Nearer and nearer came the crunching footsteps of his enemy.

Unluckily a boat lay right in the path. Brick spied it at such close quarters that he had no time to swerve aside. He pitched roughly over the gunwale and fell inside. The next instant Pendergast was kneeling on him, and shaking him with savage anger.

"I'll fix you," he snarled, as he lifted his shining weapon. "I'll pay you for this."

"Don't!" pleaded Brick.

He threw up his hands, and struggled to ward off the threatened blow.

"Take that," cried the ruffian.

Brick felt a stunning pain, and immediately lost consciousness.

* * *

Continue Reading

Other books by William Murray Graydon

More

You'll also like

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

Nathaniel Stone
4.5

I woke up on silk sheets that smelled of expensive cedar and cold sandalwood, a world away from my cramped apartment in Brooklyn. Beside me lay Ezra Gardner—my boss, the billionaire CEO of Gardner Holdings, and the man who could end my career with a snap of his fingers. He didn’t offer an apology for the night before; instead, he looked at me with terrifying clarity and proposed a cold, calculated business arrangement. "Marriage. It stabilizes the board and solves the PR crisis before it begins." He dressed me in archival Chanel and sent me home in his Maybach, but my life was already falling apart. My boyfriend, Irving, claimed he had passed out early, yet his location data placed him at my best friend’s apartment until three in the morning. When I tried to run, I realized Ezra was already ten steps ahead, tracking my movements and uncovering the secret I’d spent twenty years hiding: my connection to the powerful Senator Grimes. I was trapped between a CEO who treated me like a line item on a quarterly report and a boyfriend who had been using me while sleeping with my closest friend. I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand, wondering why a man like Ezra would walk up forty flights of stairs on a broken leg just to make sure I was safe. "Showtime, Mrs. Gardner." Standing on the red carpet in a gown that cost more than my life, I watched my cheating ex-boyfriend’s face turn pale as Ezra claimed me in front of the world. I wasn't just an assistant anymore; I was a weapon, and it was time to burn their world down.

The Billionaire's Secret Twins: Her Revenge

The Billionaire's Secret Twins: Her Revenge

Shearwater
4.5

I was four months pregnant, weighing over two hundred pounds, and my heart was failing from experimental treatments forced on me as a child. My doctor looked at me with clinical detachment and told me I was in a death sentence: if I kept the baby, I would die, and if I tried to remove it, I would die. Desperate for a lifeline, I called my father, Francis Acosta, to tell him I was sick and pregnant. I expected a father's love, but all I got was a cold, sharp blade of a voice. "Then do it quietly," he said. "Don't embarrass Candi. Her debutante ball is coming up." He didn't just reject me; he erased me. My trust fund was frozen, and I was told I was no longer an Acosta. My fiancé, Auston, had already discarded me, calling me a "bloated whale" while he looked for a thinner, wealthier replacement. I left New York on a Greyhound bus, weeping into a bag of chips, a broken woman the world considered a mistake. I couldn't understand how my own father could tell me to die "quietly" just to save face for a party. I didn't know why I had been a lab rat for my family’s pharmaceutical ambitions, or how they could sleep at night while I was left to rot in the gray drizzle of the city. Five years later, the doors of JFK International Airport slid open. I stepped onto the marble floor in red-soled stilettos, my body lean, lethal, and carved from years of blood and sweat. I wasn't the "whale" anymore; I was a ghost coming back to haunt them. With my daughter by my side and a medical reputation that terrified the global elite, I was ready to dismantle the Acosta empire piece by piece. "Tell Francis to wash his neck," I whispered to the skyline. "I'm home."

Betrayed Bride: Claimed By The Brother

Betrayed Bride: Claimed By The Brother

Reilly Mcardle
5.0

I arrived at the hotel with Julian's favorite takeout, ready to surprise my fiancé before our big merger. But the moment I swiped the keycard, the silence of the hallway felt heavy and wrong. Inside, a red-soled stiletto lay on the marble floor-the same one I'd watched my best friend Lila try on at Saks last week. Through the cracked bedroom door, I watched Julian's back arch as Lila looked me straight in the eye and smiled, wrapping her legs tighter around him to mock my heartbreak. I fled to the penthouse to hide, only to find Grafton, Julian's "crippled" brother, waiting in the dark. To my horror, the man who was supposed to be paralyzed stood up from his wheelchair, gripped my chin with cold fingers, and forced me to sign a contract that gave him control of my family's shares. He knew about my mother's secret medical bills and used them to buy my silence, effectively turning my life into a calculated game of corporate chess. The betrayal tasted like acid, and the injustice of it all burned in my throat. My fiancé was a liar, my best friend was a thief, and the man now controlling my fate was a predator who had been faking his disability for years. I couldn't understand how everyone I trusted had turned out to be a monster. I was trapped between a man who cheated on me and a man who wanted to own me, with no way out and no one to turn to. But when Julian came looking for me, Grafton didn't hide; he stood tall, looming over me with a possessive glint in his eyes. "Help me destroy Julian," I rasped, realizing that to survive the Faulkner men, I had to become the most dangerous player of them all.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book
The Camp in the Snow The Camp in the Snow William Murray Graydon Literature
“The Camp in the Snow by William Murray Graydon”
1

Chapter 1 A MERCILESS ENEMY.

06/12/2017

2

Chapter 2 INTO THE WILDERNESS.

06/12/2017

3

Chapter 3 A DOUBLE PERIL.

06/12/2017

4

Chapter 4 THE FIRST DEER.

06/12/2017

5

Chapter 5 THE FACE IN THE TREES.

06/12/2017

6

Chapter 6 BESIEGED BY WOLVES.

06/12/2017

7

Chapter 7 THROUGH THE ICE.

06/12/2017

8

Chapter 8 MR. RAIKES OF PORTLAND.

06/12/2017

9

Chapter 9 THE GREAT STORM.

06/12/2017

10

Chapter 10 A GREAT DISASTER.

06/12/2017

11

Chapter 11 UNDER THE SNOWDRIFT.

06/12/2017

12

Chapter 12 DECOYED TO DANGER.

06/12/2017

13

Chapter 13 THE LAST OF THE CATAMOUNT.

06/12/2017

14

Chapter 14 A HERD OF DEER.

06/12/2017

15

Chapter 15 A SUCCESSFUL BATTLE.

06/12/2017

16

Chapter 16 ON THE TRAIL.

06/12/2017

17

Chapter 17 FOUND AND LOST.

06/12/2017

18

Chapter 18 HAMP'S PERIL.

06/12/2017

19

Chapter 19 BOGLE SHOWS HIS HAND.

06/12/2017

20

Chapter 20 BRICK'S DEFENCE.

06/12/2017

21

Chapter 21 PLUNGED UNDER GROUND.

06/12/2017

22

Chapter 22 AN UNEXPECTED ALLY.

06/12/2017

23

Chapter 23 BACK TO FREEDOM.

06/12/2017

24

Chapter 24 A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.

06/12/2017

25

Chapter 25 TORTURED INTO SUBMISSION.

06/12/2017

26

Chapter 26 AVAILABLE PRISONER.

06/12/2017

27

Chapter 27 THROUGH THE WOODS.

06/12/2017

28

Chapter 28 SPARWICK LAYS DOWN THE LAW.

06/12/2017

29

Chapter 29 A MIDNIGHT DISCOVERY.

06/12/2017

30

Chapter 30 DRIVEN TO DEATH.

06/12/2017

31

Chapter 31 A FRIEND IN NEED.

06/12/2017

32

Chapter 32 JERRY'S JOURNEY.

06/12/2017

33

Chapter 33 A TREACHEROUS PLOT.

06/12/2017

34

Chapter 34 A VIAL OF CHLOROFORM.

06/12/2017

35

Chapter 35 A PERILOUS RIDE.

06/12/2017

36

Chapter 36 CONCLUSION.

06/12/2017