Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1122 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

12 themselves with an occasional change of shots, slowly following at a foot-pace, on the way to Magoffin’s Claim. eanwhile, Louis Lebar had been waiting be- hind the screen of timber, in keen anxiety, the result of the colonel’s, visit, He commanded a view of the Seminole chief’s hut, and ground his teeth with vexation, when he saw the success of Wash Carrol’s bold plan. He sat on his horse, muttering maledictions on the hunter’s head, but not daring to stir, till the confusion of the rush came, when he galloped headiong into the camp. He was just in time to stop Tiger Tail; who, wild for revenge, and bleeding from a slight flesh-wound in the leg, was for rushing off on Magoflin’s track at once. Lebar stopped him with a word. ‘**Fool!” he cried; “have you forgotten the white squaw I promised you? Now is your time, We can reach the white man’s camp in half the time they could at full gallop; and car- ry off the squaws before they get there. See, now! Send out fifty men under Ravenswing, to follow that party; harness them, and ‘ex- change shots, soas todelay them. The rest of us will go back by the secret’ path, and reach. the camp before any one can intercept us, carry off the girls, and run off the stock of captured mustangs from the corral. There is no time to lose. Let us fly.” Tiger Tail’s eyes gleamed with devilish glee, as he took in the full import of the proposi- tion. *“Good!” he grunted; ‘‘the Black Mustanger’s words are like rain in the drought.”’ He mounte¢ a spare horse, and dashed about among the braves, giving the an ives orders. The lodges were hurriedly struck by the squaws who began to move camp at once to a remote stronghold of theirs, in the heart of the Cross Timbers. Tiger ‘ail himself and a hundred of his best warriors galloped off by the secret tig through the Timbers, as hard as they could go, following the lead of Louis Lebar, whose black es gleamed with wolfish glee as hesaw himself ready at last to swoop down on the sheep-fold, where dwelt the ewe-lamb he coveted. Away went the Black Mustanger and his wicked crew, wild for revenge, plunder and lust —the Black Mustanger, on his sable stallion, out- stripping all near him in speed. The sun was just setting, and Magoffin was still about four miles from his camp. The pur- sumg Indians had grown very troublesome, rid- ing up close and firing incessantly, but always fleeing from a direct attack. The progress of the party had been very slow in consequence, and the colonel began to look very grave as he thought of the distance yet to be traveled. Suddenly he heard, far away in the direc- tion of his own camp, the sounds of firing, wing quite brisk as it swelled up into a vol- cay. rd then dying away. Magoffin “turned e. Pm My God! Wash,” he cried, ‘‘ they must have attacked the girls! Whatshall we do? If we run these fellows will be on us in a minute, and we shall do no good.” Wash listened intently before he said: “See hyar, cunnel. I hev done one job u brown to-day. Let me do another. Me an my kumrad here is well mounted. These hyar mules is kussid slow, but you don’t want fast work now, Meand Ed, we'll git like all creation, and you keep them cusses from follerin’. Come, Ed, The two mustangers, bending over their horses’ necks, shot away over the prairie to- ward the unfinished block-house, whence the gound of shots now rose again. CHAPTER ‘XVII, TWO BRAVE GIRLS. ' We must return to Magoffin’s Claim to see what had been going on there in the mean time. Tennie Magoffin had seemed to alter her character completely, assoon as she found the t misfortune that had overtaken her lover. erhaps, for the first time, she realized that Ku- gene Dupre was more to her thana cousin. His poor sister, Louisiana, seemed to be utterly over- come, and sat ina sortof stupor, unable to do anything but brood,’ the oolonel departed, he gave strict injunctions to all present to: keep close to the . block-house, and obey Miss Tennie as himself, ‘Merry light-hearted ennie, in this emergency, proved herself as brave as her father. She superintended the removal of all the atanhiald goods within the wallsof the block- house; and ordered the wagons and ‘‘ Dearborn” drawn up to cover the entrance. The women and children were all brought inside the in- closure, the few animals being penned in between the steep banks of the river on one side, and the wagons and block-house on the other. The lit- tle space that remained open was closed with a fence of ropes and sticks, hastily constructed, that served to keep in the animals only while they did not press against it, but was powerless against a stampede. . : Tennie had just four men, armed with mus- kets to depend on, in case of an assault, but the walls of the block-house were a complete pro- tection against bullets. The absence of loop- holes to shoot from was a serious objection, but there was a platform near the top of the wall for the men to look over; but their heads and shoulders would be uncovered in firing. The colonel had had no anticipation of an as- sault while he was away, but his daughter was wiser, or more apprehensive. No sooner had he gore than she commenced her preparations for defense, not sorry, perhaps, for the occupa- tion which served to distract her thoughts from her own troubles. As the work progressed, and every thing -was made snug, Tennie’s spirits rose, almost involun- tarily, and she found herself thinking hopefully of EKugene’s return, and consoling his poor sister, While in the act of cheering her, Louisiana suddenly started up and listened intently. ** Hush!” she hide “Tl hear.something.” She hurried out into the open prairie, to a knoll that overlooked the river, toward which the afternoon breeze brought down the sound of distant shots. ‘ They are fighting,” whispered Louie, ‘‘Oh! Holy Mother of Heaven, protect poor Eugene! He is all | have left now.” . Tennie listened anxiously. There was no mis- taking the sound. The sharp crack! crack! of rifles, and the heavier reports of muskets, echo- ing backward and forward, announced that some sort of a fight was going on. Tennie and her cousin listened for several minutes, during which the sounds grew sensibly plainer and nearer. ‘* They are coming in,” said Tennie. ‘‘ Heaver grant that Eugene is with them! My father said he would not return without him,” ‘‘They are being driven in,” said Louie, sad. ly. ‘* Perhaps they may be overpowered before they get here. If not, how thankful we ought to be for that block-house, so nearly finished.” Tennie made no answer. She was listening ta the firing, which had just died away when she was interrupted by a violent pull of the arm from her cousin. She looked round in surprise, as Louie Dupre, pale as marble, and with ‘di- lated eyes, pointed out over the prairie in their rear, Not a quarter of a mile off, and coming down full. gallop, for, the block-house, was a erfect cloud of Trdiante, with gleaming lances, hoated by 'liger Tail, as they could planaly see from the jaguar-skin robe he wore. But in front even of iger Tail, and mounted on a black mustang, was a short, sturdy figure, witha face as dark as a mulatto, and a bushy black beard, dressed asa Mexican mustanger, and heavily armed. ““1Tis he, Miquelez, Oscar’s murderer] Eu- gene is dead. st me dis, too, now.” And Louie would have sunk powerless to the earth in her palsy of terror, but for the sup- porting arm of her cousin, who, now that real danger was afoot, acted with all the cvol courage of her race, ‘‘ Keep up, Louie,” she said, sternly; ‘‘ don't be a fool, e must get to the block-house be- fore they can catch us,” She started on a run for the block-house, half dragging Louisiana with her. Asthey ranalong for the shelter, the Indians, for the first time, raised a yell, but before the latter could get with- in a hundrec pone of the place, Tennie was in- side, and the four men left in charge were on the top of the platform. As the whole body of Jndians came rushing tumultuously on, the sudden reports of four muskets, from the top of the wall of the block- house, was followed. by that of a rifle in the hands of Tennie herself, and the whole mass of assailants wavered, halted, and fell back, with several wounded men among them. Tennie felt immensely relieved at the result, and encouraged her defenders to the utmost. Tiger Tail ordered his men to yg adkinss out in a line, and attack the block-house by ‘firing at. it. The whistling of the bullets soon became so close around the ears of the defenders that they were compelled to dodge down behind the para- pet, and could not fise steadily for fear of feine shot themselves. ~ Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. she known how little danger there was, = o—— ————— Tennie realized that the position was growing dangerous very time she put up her head to look, the Inuian line was getting closer to the and extending further round, so as to surroun the wagons and command what could be seen of the narrow doorway, under the wheels of the vehicles. The quick-witted girl jumped down from her place, and ran to Louie. ‘**Can you shoot, coz?” she asked, anxiously. ‘A little,” said Louisiana Dupre, rising from where she knelt, trying to comfort a shrieking child. ‘*I will do all I can, Tennie,.” ‘‘ We have plenty of muskets and pistols, but no one to use them,” said Tennie, ‘** We mustdo something, or we'll never hold vut till father comes back. Here, Aunt Hannah, Nancy Vinny, you must help us shoot, or we shall all be murdered,” ‘*Oh! De Laws, Miss Tennie!” cried Aunt Han- nah, aghast. “I do’’no’ nuffin bout pissols and gunses. Neber touch one in my life.” **'You must now,” said Tennie, decidedly; *‘ or we shall all be killed and scalped in five min- utes.” Her decisive tone prevented remonstrance, and the three women, great strapping washer- women as they were, followed the young girl in perfect submission to her will. Tennie ran to the stores in the center, and hurriedly selected three muskets, with the belts with which she armed the three women. A lull in the firing outside enabled her to give some hurried instruction to the ignorant women, about the way to load and fire, with caution not to fire carelessly, Then she led the way to the empty wagons, Outside the entrance, and -posted the three women in the first of them, where they were sheltered from the firecf the Indians, wit orders to shoot any one who came near the place, and then to reload. It was just in time that she took the precau- tion. Peeping through a rent in the wagon-tilt, she perceived the cause of the lull in the firing, The Indians had been creeping round on that side, and were quite close to them. Tennie leveled her light rifle, and shot one man, just as he was rising to his feet. Snatch- ing Aunt Hannah’s musket, she poked it through the rent, and fired at five or six men in a hud- dled group, who were hesitating as to advance or retreat. The second shot settled the matter, All that were left bolted for their horses. Tennie fired a third shot after them, and went back in triumph to attend to her other duties, She found the menon the wall, cowed and des- pondent, from the almost impossibility of keep- ing eovered while returning fire. Tennie crept along under the shadow of te parapet, doing her best to encourage them, b telling them thatthe colonel would soon be with help. In fact they could now hear the sound of the firing from his party, drawing newer every moment, ‘ennie herself set them a good example. She suddenly stood up in an unexpected part of the rampurt, and took a deliberate aim at one of the advancing, creeping Indians. | Before the enemy caught sight of her clearly, she had fired, and dicpped down behind the rampart to re- load. She might not have been so quick, had iger Tail had forbidden any one to fire at that golden head of hers. But the next moment came a heavy misfor- tune. One of the negroes, wishing to imitate her, stood sa'denly up and took aim in like manner. His shot was successful, but before he could drop to reload, came a dozen answering cracks. 3e next moment the man threw u his arms with a lond shout of pain, and drop back into the inclosure below, stone dead, shot through the beart. The Indians gave a yell of triumph, and rose ina body, with a tremendous yell, firing a vol ley and running forward. The next moment, Tennie rose up with her three remaining com- nions, and fired intu the advancing crowd, ith a second yell, every Wwdian dropped flatom his face, and the advance was staged: Tennie Magoffin uttered a sigh of relief when they fell, and began to rexad her rifle. The sun was setting, and the firing of the colonel’s party aa growing nease, Suddenly Ten- nie felt her skirt pulled, and tir ving round, saw her cousin Louisiana standing just below the platform. Louie Dupre was very pale, hvt there was an aerecen on of fixed resolve on he. face for all in a belt round her waist, and held a widing- whip in her hand. ‘*’Tennie,” she said in a low voice; “ I'v going to cross the river and seek for help.” | “What!” echoed Tennie, incredulously) ,* You She had a small silver-moa \a\ revolver vs on — ee me i a a — > 7 ° > ee ee ee ee ee —, 4 ; of Tee 4 abe | \ A } | ' -