Yellowstone Jack: Trappers of the Enchanted Ground — page 58: what you’re looking at

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

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Was it possible that the chief was befriending the girls and was aiding them to reach their friends, Reasoning thus, Mat Mole scouted through the mls and around the emigrants’ camp, in hopes of solving his doubts one way or another. A _ little after daybreak he struck the trail left by the werd woman, some distance beyond the point where she had saluted the rival parties fighting for possession of the train, and his keen, well-trained eye soon discovered the prints of a small slender foot, that he knew could only belong to one of the two maidens. Hoping it would prove to be Minnie’s trail, he exerted his ntmost sini! for over an hour, losing the trail fully as many times in a hundred rods, finally being thrown en- tirely off the scent. For more than an hour he searched for the continuation of the trail, but in vain. And then, as one is apt to do when sorely puzzled, he wandered on aimlessly, deeply buried in thought. All at once he gavea start and stooped over some object that caught his gaze. “t's the same track—only I don’t see the girl's!” he muttered, eagerly. “ Still, she is such a light weight, this ground wouldn’t take much of a trail from her. Vil follow it now, or bu’st something.” Cailing all his skill into play, Mat Mole did follow the trail until it Jed him to the foot of ajile of rocks that he knew formed one end of Bad Wolf canyon. | hind him, nor the stealthy step as a wild- They evidently passed over this, and after | some hesitation he resolved to follow it | and nearer, en expression of to the ond. Once in the canyon he soon picked up the broken trail, and found less difficulty in following it, though he could stil] see no sims of Minnie’s having passed along thera. and glowing in the large, sunken eyes. his ears, and he was forced to the ground, — ne | . . ’ *. ' white iron fingers seemed fairly tearia , y rifle-shot, mingled with a shrill yeli: hi could only proceed from the lps of a death-stricken Indian ; and knowing that ~ the enemies of the Indians were equally — his foes, the outlaw lost no time in ~ caching. “ee . “+e aa * y : ~ : “ od , oe : % ._*. “i *) \die A L ’ 7) : ‘ ‘4 : is . ww - } A few minutes later he heard a yell © from below, and then a wild strans a . figure glided swiftly past his covert. The brief glimpse he had did not carry recog- nition with it, and lhe believed the fugitive was an Indian. He had about ~ decided to follow after, to learn what had _ occurred, when he heard rapid footsteps. and cowered back. Yellowstone Jack and Brindle Joe dashed past him. “Mole had never met them before, nordidhe ~ care particularly about making their — acquaintance. AY ae He heard a rifle-shct from above, and then started on down the canyon, thinking — i he had better made good his retreat before the mountain men should return, He could see now, from the fresh trail as — he passed over a moist, sandy spot, that — the fugitive was the person he had been trailing, consequently there was nothing _ for him to hope from that quarter. He _ would make the best of his way out of © the canyon, and return to his camp, — trusting that matters would come al] — right in due course of time. | a) And so he blindly rushed upon his — doom ! | < m, Suddenly Mat Mole crouched down — beside a roek, half raising his rifle. But — after a keen glance at the suspicious ob- — ject he arose and advanced. e “A body! That then accounts for | the shot and yell 1 heard,’ he muttered, — as he stooped over the mangled heap. “ As I live, ’tis the Eagle!" he added, in surprise, catching up the left hand, and — looking at it closely. ‘The middle fini. ger missing, and here is my name, as I~ pricked 16 the day we took that oath to a be brothers forever.” eh 3) i Mat Mole was so deeply interested in — this discovery that he did not hear the _ rustling sound as the bushes parted be- — Wha - looking figure stealthily pitts nearer | orvible exul- tation resting upon the haggard features . wes ; Then a hoarse, snarling ery soundedin — : i Eomicbooks.col a, Da