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The Boys of the Sierras, Or, The Young Gold Hunters
The Boys of the Sierras Or The Young Gold Hunters Author:Hendrik Conscience Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: At this moment Donatus Kwik, pale and haggard, ran up to Jan and Victor, threw himself on his knees before them, lifting up his hands in a supplicatory manner. ... more » " I pray you," he cried, " have pity on a poor Fleming! I am going to die — I am poisoned! " The kind-hearted Victor, thinking this might be possible, took his hand and raised him up, inquiring what had happened. "Ah! good Mr. Roozeman! ah! Mr. Creps! I was not well, you know, as I told you," groaned the peasant. " They did not understand me down below. They laughed at my sufferings. Some one went to look for a doctor, and a man came with a large red nose. He poured about a quart of salt-water down my throat, and a red powder — Cayenne pepper, I'm sure. Alas! alas! I'm poisoned : it is all over with me! Help! help!" "Don't you see, gentlemen, that that fool is sea-sick?" said a German, who passed by at that moment. The two friends smiled at this remark, and tried to persuade Donatus that his illness would soon pass away; but the poor fellow was in great pain, and putting both hands to his chest hurried down below to hide himself. As the captain had predicted, the sky was soon covered with clouds, and the wind, though still favorable, increased in force, and the "Jonas " began to dance on the waves which hastened to meet her from the open sea. The captain went up to the mate, and said, "The end of all this folly has come now, Nelis. There are twenty of them yonder with their heads over the side." The songs and merriment, indeed, were soon silenced. Half the passengers were terribly sick, and many of them were ignorant of the cause of this mysterious malady which had so suddenly prostrated them. Victor was one of the first to be attacked by sea-sickness; Jan, On th their me', wet, an 'HAVE ...« less