Yellowstone Jack: Trappers of the Enchanted Ground — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

_ And the scouts lay there outlined against the grey rocks, scarce daring to breathe, - bya _The e eC lge ‘y of the swiftly-movin cloud we w lighter and lighter; still the i imadegy. riders ~ folciod by. hke some ne cs chain, With the first | moonbeam, iscovery would be inevitable, if less—thank Heaven! they are past! ot pee on it ae e4 , - \ -* : prostrate figures. But the night-riders do not glance back, they pass on, bent upon their mission of death and plunder. By gs close shave,” muttered Campbell, Fe a long breath. “But a miss is as a BO od as a mile, ope en to us, though I fear we shall have ~ Titt little reward § for our trouble. I counted * them as they rode by, and I don’t believe _/ any were left behind atthe camp. If so, ;and there were no captives with them | 7 st ene, I am puzzled to guess what | I appened to your friends.” aN aal, sence we've come this far, ae on we'd. better go on an’ make sure,” po in erposed Yellowstone Jack. Baa is, or was ar” is) s 5 alf-an-hour later the scouts stood OW thin the deserted camp, moodily eyeing the few dying embers. A thorough g scont through the valley left no room for doubt. The allied outlaws and pit - ckfeet had left, apparently for good, and had taken their captives with them, | i any they had. ; waste time in trying to read signs on such a a night as this. Besides, ‘tis grow- me late, and the fun will open up over yonder beforelong. We can do no good Mere; perhaps we can be of use to these nigrants. 3 q _* 1t’s poor manners to open a new trail t, see What else we kin do. Besides, _ they'll be kinder lookin’ fer us, an’ ‘ll Hi Ls all the help they kin git ef the lot we: seo’d all do thar best. If reckon you're right, boss.” he Without any more words the scouts "Tet aced their steps, and were soon gliding along through the deep pass, using all possible caution to avoid run- ib She ee the enemy, ab times forced to . W ’ ‘ ‘ 7 ® } : f - _ y ry iii ff q » —s i . i; a i . a ‘ aa b e 2 a : Ks Test ed sound ‘should betray their pres- t one moment too soon, the silvery ray 73. ae moon already outline the And now the trail is | “Keep close to me, then. The camp close by, in the grove, | knuckle under. ie ‘it’s useless looking for a trail or to afo e the old one’s wound up, but I) walt Aga ap rc ah ge SSE RRs 8a ee a Bo hanes eee eae Be | Sa Ne ah 5 ies foo ee scours AND PicHmtNa, Sf. eos noir ‘animals’ ee eS mufiled. pause until the moon again hid itself beneath a cloud, lest the keen-eyed ‘savages should. glance back and discover them. | Suddenly they found themselves almost: in the midst of a lot of mustangs, who snorted and pawed the ground sus- | piciously, These had been abandoned _ by the Indians and outlaws when the scout sent in advance brought in their report. Though the waggons were parked, everything was quiet in the camp, and the usual fires had been ~ lighted. Hoping 'to surprise the emi- grants, the savages had dismounted, — leaving their animals unguarded, though Be securely tied to the rocks around. TS The scouts quickly understood this, and ee Yellowstone was in favour of stampeding = the herd, but Campbell demurred. ees oa: “That would spoil our plans, don’t you see? The reds would know then that — the whites had friends at hand, hate kee would be on their guard, As it is, when ieee they are at it, hot and heavy, we will — come down on them with revolvers, and as we've all got pretty sound lungs, we can make ’em believe they're attacked by a regiment.” : | Ze “Your head’s level, old man! dF ae = I reckon I'll jest eall — you boss ail the time!” said Yellowstone Jack, in a tone of admiration, Campbell stillled the way, and a few, minutes more of cautious creeping car- ried them out of the pass and into the broad, level space before the corral. | - Crouching beside a boulder, they pati- : ently waited for the moon to show itself, In order to gain an accurate idea of the enemys position. They were not kept long in suspense. The light came, revealing to them the same sight thatso astonished Pethonista and Ada. e Then came the single shot fromthe — waggons, the clear, defiant shout, min- ~— gled with the death-shriek of the stricken savage, the wild, charging ery of the enemy as they darted forward, and then the withering volley—the strange sight upon the peak; and then the’ moon hid itself once more, as though loth to gaze upon such a terrible scene. ' “Keep close to me; nota word until I shout ; then go in for all you’re worth |” hurriedly muttered Campbell. The men glided rapidly forward. They had not noticed the weird being above, and were puzzled by the abrupt reonnicboolks.<comn ao MOUS er A <S