Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1063 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

oy hehe ; Wild Bull's Weird Foe: ’ The Mystery of Moaning Gulch. A Tale of the Black Hills. BY WILLIAM G. PATTEN. (““ WYOMING WILL,”) AUTHOR OF THE “‘ COWBOY CHRIS ” NOVELS, ETO. CHAPTER LI. THE MINERS OF MOANING GULCH. Some years before the discovery of the rich gold fields of the Black Hills was “ officially ” male known to the world, Wild Bill, with four white men as companions, made bis way into the then unknown country. Although an old fellow known as *“‘ Crab” Zeb Davis had aroused the others to the possibility of waking a golden fortune in the heart of the red- skin guarded land, Wild Bill was thejreal leader of the daring fortune-seekers. * Asa plainsman, Wili Bill was a handsome man in those days, Six feet tall, broad shoul- dered, with well-formed chest and limbs, straight as the straightest of warriors, whose relentless foe he was, he wasa man toattract and com- mand attention wherever be went. He had a slightly aquiline nose, and his well- formed mouth and lips were not entirely con- cealed by his handsome mustache, Although his blue eyes were clear, sharp and unwavering, the close observer often fancied he saw a faint light of sadness in their depths, © The strange man was not always free from haunting memories, and in times of thought and meditation, he often regretted that a seemingly implacable fate had forced him to shed so much buman blood, For be it known, all statements to the contrary, James B. Hikok was not naturally a bloodthirsty wretch who delighted to kill, By nature be was a man toavoid trouble whenever he could do so without lowering what he cousidered his dignity, but he would not be browbeaten or bullied in the least, Many of those who never saw Wild Bill and know nothing of him save what they have read and imagined, have pictured him as a dark-faced and cruel-looking man, not to say brutal, Never a greater error was made in regard to apy one’s personal appearance, Bill's face was actually mild and pleasing to look upon, and bis complexion was that of the perfect blonde, His long hair fell in uncut ringlets upon bis massive shoulders, ‘ As proof of bis gentle nature, let it be remem- bered there was nothing in the wide world he loved so much as a baby! He seemed to possess the magical power to charm children with a glance of his blue eyes and a smile, and they never seemed happier than when in his arms or on his knee, Wild Bili was naturally a dandy, and he al- ways dressed as well as his surroundings would permit, although his attire was almost alwaysan extravagant combination of citizen and fron- tiersman’s garb, He was immaculately neat in regurd to dress, when he could be so, hether mounted or afoot, he was the most per- fect specimen of physical manhood imaginable. His mavner was quite opposite to what might be naturally expec of a man with his record; bluster and bravado seemed repugnant to him, an his conversation was always singularly clean and free from profanity. No man ever wielded greater influence among frontiersmen, for his word seemed to be law with them. His remarkable skill with fire-arms won for him the title of ‘* The Pistol King.” He never drew a weapon unless it was absolutely neces- - sary, and it was seldom he was obliged to shoot a second time at the same target. It is not strange such a man should have bad enemies. Since his death, many of his foes, who, when he was living, professed the greatest friend- Jiness and admiration for him, have denounced him as ‘ta bloodthirsty ruffian,” By so cates {hey have simply exhibited the contemptible «owardice and treachery of their natures, for they are creatures to fawn and cringe before ifiose whom they consider their superiors, Three of Wild Bill’s comrades in the gold- seeking venture had been well-chosen. They were brave men—men of nerve, who could be depended on in time of deadly danger. The fourth had secured a place with the party more 7! re a A ae e afte. 1 , * is ee, ‘ ~ § j 2 > #4 rn Ba atte 15 by accident than anything else. Pi - ‘ SS. rrr cr ttt LT TL LLL LLL LDL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLABALALAL LA A — . Ae phi = oo Wild Bill’s Weird Foe. As has beén said, ‘‘ Crab” Zeb Davis it was who aroused the others to the possibility of mak- ing rich gold finds in the Black Hills. Zeb was an old prospector, and for some time he had been longing to visit that portion of the Sioux Reservation which was so zealously guarded by the Indians, “‘Thar’s gold thar somewhar,” be bad more than once asserted. ‘* W’at makes me think so? I hev reasons, you bet! Whar do tber red sar- nips git ther big niggits they oftun hev arter a hunt through ther Wyomin’ kentry? Thar hain’t but one place ter find ’em, I reckon, an’ thet place is in them yar Hills.” But the dangers of an expedition into the red- skin hannted section kept the most daring ad- venturers away for a long time, But the truth could not always remain undis- covered, ‘*Crab” Zeb had been given his odd nickname from his peculiar appearance and the redness of his hooked nose, which reminded one of a boiled crab, His face was thin and sharp, his eyes black and keen, his beard thin and straggling, Davis was a small, round-shouldered old fel- low, who looked rather insignificant as a foe, but he was stronger than he seemed, and * wiry asa withe.” More than one red-skin had been fatally disappointed in the little old man, meet- ing death instead of securing Zeb’s scalp, as ai- ticipated. He was a veteran plainsman and mountaineer, fully versed in all the ways and tricks of the red-men, The third man was fully as large as Wild Bill, and be was known as Big Bruno, He claimed his true name was Bruno Bradstone, and he ha the reputation of being an ugly man tu crowd. His complexion was dark, hid’ full beard con- cealed the outlines of the lower part of his face, But little was known of his past life, and it was something be seldom mentioned. Although there was something about Big Bruno he did not exactly like, Wild Bill ad- mired him for the manner in which he bad whipped two ruffians who had attempted to down him, The youngest of the party was know as Nervy Ned, and, at times, bis companions spoke of him as ‘* The Silent.” He was not more than tweuty- two or three years of age, and he had a hand- some face, with big brown eyes, which were continually filled with a sad light. He was very taciturn, being even more so than Wild Bill him- self, if possible, and, like Big Bruno, he did not seem to care about speaking concerning his past ife, The Pistol King took a great interest in Nervy Ned, a name which the youth had won from bis coolness in facing the must deadly danger, but for along time the young man was not aware Bill paid any particular attention to him, It was seldom the famous frontiersman’s way to let any one know whether he was interested in them or not. After watching Ned for a time, Bill came to the conclusion that he had met with some great misfortune that had changed him from a buoy- ant youth to the moody man he was, Ned's manner was refined and his speech usunlly free from the idioms of the border, making it plain he had been reared amid dif- ferent surroundings, James Jiblot was the man who bad secured a place as one of the gi more by accident than anything else, and he was often called ‘* Ginger Jim, the Terror.” Jim was a “ natteral-born coward,” but that did not prevent him from being a great boaster. Crab Zeb spoke of him as the ‘‘infarnalest liar on top o’ creation,” and the old prospector was not so very far out of the way, It was Ginger Jim’s delight to relate the most improbable and ridiculcus tales of his own won- derful exploits and prowess. As he was some- what overburdened with flesh, altbough not ex-, actly ‘hog fat,” bis stories sometimes seemed actually silly. Led by Wild Bill, the party succeeded in avoiding the red-skins andepenetrating deep into the then unknown wilds of the hills, On entering the strange Jand, they immediately found yellow ** sign,” but it was Bill’s advice that they locate in a place remote and secluded, where they would be the least liable to be discovered by their red foes, Such a place was finally found, Gold in paying quantities, so deposited by na- ture that it could be readily obtained by rocker or sluice, was discovered in a dark and dismal orge, which they decided to call “ ray uleb.” Their reason for giving the place suc a name was that the wind, which seemed con- stantly sucking through the gloomy gorge, made wl wa > e > nee : - +3 ‘Sper strange sobbing and moaning sounds—sounds which often seemed to come from the lips of heart-broken human beings. At mid-day the gulch was dismal and forbid- ding, and at night it was a place to terrify any one who did not possess nerves of steel. In the darkness the moaning and muttering of the wind suggested a whole legion of lost spirits doomed to forever wander through the Stygian blackness of eternal night, Occasionally, little by little, the sounds would die away, sobbing soft and brokenly like a child weeping itself to sleep. For a brief space utter silence would reign in the strange gulch, and then— A fiend from Hades could not utter a more blood-freezing shriek that would sweep along the dark gorge, It was enough to make the flesh quiver with bkorror. ‘Pll wager something the red imps steer clear of this place,” observed Wild Bill; ‘“tand I do not blame them in the least. But there is gold here, and right here we will try our fortunes,” ‘** Do you mean to build a cabin here?” asked Big Bruno, Bill shook his head, ‘*T reckon not,” he answered, ‘‘ Why, I couldn’t sleep o’ nights with that infernal howl- ing going on!” ‘* No more c’u’d 1,” nodded Crab Zeb. Ginger Jim’s fat face was white with fear, but he fancied he saw a chance to make an im- pression, and so he blustered: ‘** You fellers must be out of grit. stop right hyer as any whar.” Nobody paid any attention to him, and Nervy Ned offered no observation, A place not far from the placer inthe gulch was chosen, and there arude cabin and stable for the horses were erected, The fortune-seek- ers slept at the cabin uights, and one of their number remained on guard by day, while bis comrades labored in the weird gulch, The result of the first labor in the gorge was even better than they anticipated, and they were elated over the prospect of speedily secur- ing a fortune for each, | T’d ez lives CHAPTER II, WAS IT A SPIRIT? MOANING GULCH both fascinated and repelled Wild Bill, Even at mid-day there was some- thing about the place that made it seem un- canny to the Pistol King. It must be confessed that he was more than a little superstitious, and more than once he declared that the wailing wind distinctly uttered words which he could almost understand, His companions did not laugh at him, for it was not considered a ‘‘ healthy ” thing tomake sport of bis fancies, More than that, there was not one of the five but occasionally fancied the wind’s cries were singularly like the sounds which might issue from the lips of a human being in mortal agony. As for Ginge Jim, be would not work in the Guleh when he could invent any reasonable ex- cuse for remaining at the cabio as guard. Although in the pea pink of health, he was troubled with what he called ‘‘ bad spells” whenever he thought of entering the weird orgé. Even the little stream that ran-for a cer- tain distance through Moaning Gulch seemed strange and mysterious, There was something soft and creepy about its movement and the water seemed strangely dark, Not far from the placer which the miners bad begun to work the stream suddenly swerved to the rigbt and shot into a black hole in the wall, entirely disappear- ing from the gorge. V here did it go? That was a question repeated among the for- tune-seekers more than once. It vanished into the earth, and where cid it come out to the sur- face again? ’ At first Big Bruno was for washing out the heat grains by the most primitive method— atof the shov-l and pan. But Wild Bill op- the plan from the start. * Tt’s too slow,” he declared, “Jn that way we have settled that there’s plenty of yaller bere, and now I’m for building rockers or sluices,” ; | “We shall lose time in that way,” retorted runo, _“*We may lose time at first, but we Shall gain in the end,” ; “But there is no timber handy Of which to ere yt Eb tering tt. 4 . ‘* We'll have ng it, pard. ? ‘‘ The reds—” y Nedoy “Are just what I’m thinkin’ of. There don’t seem to be apy round aMiIC be but I< he