Rocky Mountain Sam — page 92: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 83 He at once brained one of the-redskins with the crowbar, and then attacked the other, forcing him to relinquish his hold. Butat this momenta huge fragment of rock, hurled by another savage who came riding up, struck the plucky old aeronaut in the forehead, knocking him senseless in the bottom of the car.. Miss Chapman was torn fainting from her hold, and the next moment the balloon shot aloft, and the desperate effort had proved a failure. Sam, iron though he was, sank into a seat almost ex- hausted and deadly pale, with the blood trickling down his face from two or three slight wounds he had received; while ey Fayaway buried her face in her hands, and sobbed aloud, | “‘Tt’s no use,” said Sam, hoarsely, and arousing himself with an effort. ‘‘We made a bitter fight for it, but luck was ag’in us. Here, Fayaway,” he added, throwing himself upon his knees and lifting up the head .of poor old Max; ‘‘fetch some water, and let’s see what can be done.” Fayaway did as she was ordered, though making no effort to restrain her tears; and the professor speedily revived as the cooling element was dashed upon his face. He was evi- dently not seriously hurt, though bleeding profusely from a gash in his forehead, which the girl hastily bound up. ‘Well, my son,” said he, arising with more alacrity than might have been expected, ‘‘at any rate, we have the satis- faction of knowing that we did our best, and no man or men can do more than that. How far are we from the eround?” “Only a few hundred feet,” replied Sam, looking over. ‘‘By the holy smoke! there goes the renegade, with the Prairie Blossom in tow; an’ he’s mounted on the same Paw- nee horse he rode in the battle at Chapman’s Ranch. I wonder where ke came from. Fayaway, just hand me that lariat. We seem to be sinking down whether we will or not; and I’m going to make one more effort to win the young lady, if it breaks my neck.” The professor, alarmed at these words, sprang to the side of the car in great haste, and saw that the’ balloon was in- deed losing gas and settling down rapidly. The renegade, who was accompanied by perhaps a dozen warriors, as well as his captive, looked up aud shook his fist derisively at the disabled balloon. He began to laugh on the other side of his mouth, how- | | cei , comicboo cS (eo)