Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1155 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

7 ag and now had turned upon him, But, why should }o go disguised? This was a rplexing ques- tion. But once, when he saw the flashing orbs of the stranger fixed upon him, a dark suspicion crossed his mind, and he could scarcely restrain himself from tearing the mask frorn his face. Wis better judgment prevailed, andif the mask- ed stranger was Henri Roche, he resolved to keep an eye upon his movements, and endeavor tg fathom the mysteries of his strange actions, No more was said about the painful matter, hat the old trapper showed much uneasiness pid great impatience, The cavalcade moved on, and about noon it debouched into a great prairie, stretching away in | bare undulation for leagues and leagues, cross this prairie the party took its course and just at sunset they struck a small wooded stream, that found its source in Lake Okibogie. Upon this stream the party went into cainp, for here they could obtain water and grazing for their animals, © The night passed without any excitement and by daybreak the band was mounted an moving onward, following the course of the stream northward. Old Optic and Clouded Heart rode together, as usual, and as they were now approaching the Sioux» village, they began discussing the eee eee to effect the object of the expedi- n. 9 As it was not known what force they would have to contend with, they could settle upon no definite course of action, until after they had ascertained the strength of the enemy. The second ray Wes nearly half-gone, and the party had just s ped at noon, when one of the guards suddenly descried a party of horsemen ing over plain directly toward them. Were they Sioux? The question passed from lip to lip, and great excitement prevailed. ' The ep was over two miles away, and, without a doubt, were Sioux or Arapahoes. Red Wing shook his plumed head ominously, then, Meghan to his warriors, bade them pre- pare for battle, They had halted in a little clump of cotton- wood treeson the banks of the stream. This would afford them a temporary screen, and with rifle in hand, the savages crouched among the trees, waiting the sprorcy of the enemy. Old Optic noticed that Clouded Heart seemed un , and believing that all was not right, he resolved to keep a watch upon his movemen cion that the masked str r ied him into a trap now entered his mind, sae oe trap ~ aottbed that Cee Riva a close watch upon the approac by’, when it suddenly awenke into lav view from rea it on swell, not ate «| 3 a ar away, m ous stranger stepped from the od into plain view of the horsemen, and tak- a red scarf from his bosom, waved it above his head. “Traitor!” burst in fierce accents from Old Optic’s lips, and the next moment his rifle was leveled, full at the breast of Clouded Heart. CHAPTER XIII, As Nora's cry rung sharply ont over ba s Nora’s cry rang rply out over bayou and river, the savage anced the rim of the eanoe and essayed to raise himself from the water into the craft; but scarcely had the maid- en’s scream died away, when there came a flounder through the water and reeds, followed by Ay dull crash of a blow; then from the li 0 | savage ed a yell of death that fairly froze the nod in Nora's veins. / She felt the cunning red-skin release his hold arpon the canoe and fall backward like a leaden weight, while to the eyes of the distressed maid- en another form appeared. It approached the panos ot seizing hold of it, threw itself into craft, “Nora!” / The maiden could scarcely repress a cry of joy. It was the voice of gray) Harry! : ‘Oh, Harry! I was so ’fraid you had been slain! My payee for your deliverance have been answered! But, are you hurt?” ** Not a bit of it, little one! Ididn’t get even a scratch, but I an awful tussle with the red varmint,” _* But your clothes are wet, Harry, and you ‘will get chilly and cold,” she replied. ~ _ ** No, little girl; our danger will require such active work as will keep ny Sage warm. This is nothing tome, Many’s the time I’ve lain in | ond of water all night to escape the red- 4 I’m used to such exposure—hardened to But, our danger is increasing every mo- a: ment. © must try and escape from here at | 5 ie - . * a - > oo anh. - : ‘ _—- =~. ia 7 ‘ | at. Cus a ' cI { J Midas RON CAS ites AB ee tees —_ nm . om gol é Sokin ~ a = a . na a tg eae a aa pe a FB — _—— t . ~ ‘ Fey pe _*> 9 Beadle’s Half-Dime . Library. ee once—ah! I hear the red-skins now, approach- ing through the reeds!” This conversation had been carried on in a low tone, and was interrupted by a crashing through the dry reeds. Taking a position in the prow of the canoe, the young ranger began parting the reeds be- fore him and « Hehe the canoe through the opening thus made. e had proceeded a couple of rods under cover of this minute forest, when he stopped to listen. He could hear the Indians talking in excited tones over the dead bodies of their comrades. He also learned that they were in doubt as to the force of the enemy, and that they had heard Nora’s scream. The youth listened intently in hopes of find- ing out the course the savages intended to pur- sue to dislodge their enemy; but in this he was Sa» Re He heard them, however, lift- ing the lifeless forms of their friends into their canoes, and then move away toward the shore. Hawkeye now felt satisfied that the savages would resort to some other means of dislodging them from their covert, though he could form no idea. what that recourse would be; for their stock of expedients was inexhautibles, No time, however, was to be lost in getting from that wilderness of reeds and shade. fSo he applied himself vigorously to work. He had now reached a point where it was more difficult to proceed; the reeds, out from the dense sha- dows of the over-hanging trees, were sere and brown with autumn’s touch, and the water not being so deep, was obstructed with flakes of moss and tufts of rank, tall wire-grass. Still he wdrked on, ever and anon stopping to listen; but the wind was rising again an roaring through the reeds and forest, and drowning all othersounds. Hecould hear noth- ing of the enemy, Their silence made him all the more uneasy. He knew they were not idle, and suddenly, when he had taken into considera- tion the tinder-like dryness of the reeds and grass, and the strong head-wind blowing across e bayou, a terrible fear took possession of Like one whose life depended upon his ac- tions, the big pulled away at the canoe, and now, in his impatience, anxiety and fear, onery, foot of the way seemed to grow more ob- c Suddenly a cry of terror burst from Nora’s lips. . The young ranger turned quickly. It re- quired A. 9 Ys to tell him the pies of the maiden’s affright. His worst fears had been realized. The savages had fired the reeds to the wind- ward of them! One dense ball of red flame, reaching almost to the tree-tops, came rolling over the miniature wilderness toward them with @ roar. A sig ap before that sheet of flame was impossi- e. Two minutes more, and the bayou will be yyRee of its fringe of reeds to the water’s edge by that devouring billow of roaring, hiss- ing, crackling flame! CHAPTER XIV, A FEARFUL MOMENT, DEATH stared the two fugitives in the face— death by the flames. They could not flee; the water was beneath them, and the reeds around them. Oh, it was awful thus to perish. All the terrors of a lifetime were compressed into a moment’s duration, And the fire! ‘It was a sight as grand as ter- rible; and, with blanched face and glaring eyes gy Harry satand gazed upon the re wave that would soon envelop him and the fair being at his side. ‘*Oh, Harry! we will perish!” 5 ‘The maiden’s words started the youth from his stupor, and, as he gazed down inta er face now appearing ghostly in the lurid light, and ] im, as if for protec- tion, his manhood was aro and his usually quick inventive mind put to a terrible test. _He gazed quickly around. There was no pos- sible chance of si but something must be done. His eyes eli upon Nora’s shawl. saw her nestling closer to Seizing it, he pe ed it into the water, at the same time bidding Nora to throw herself in the bottom of the canoe. The half-terrified maiden quickly obeyed, and the next moment she felt the wet shawl thrown over her form, She saw the youth’s object—it was to save her. . “This is your only salvation, Nora,” he said, and then reaching out, he grasped several handtuls of moss that lay upon the surface of the water, and, dragging it into the canoe in at ei rT te od . ~ - . => * & =) 5 er. . ) 4 a ‘e ml 7 ees si » igo Zot) he ie is COLT great flakes, he spread it over the maiden, also permitting it to trail over each rim of the canoe to protect its sides from the flames. he r girl found herself unable to move under her wét, dripping cover of|shawl and moss. | Setting his rifle in one end of the canoe, the youth bade Nora not to attempt to remove her protection until the fire had passed, then he sprung out into the bayou and hastened to se- cure himself. On rolled the billow of flame, that gathered stretigth and volume as it advanced. Close to the water’s surface the dry reeds were shaven by the flame, which swept before it like a scythe. No smoke hovered over the fire’s trail. The wind drove it on, in advance of the flame. Behind the fire, the water was black with ashes and studded with a million tiny 5 ivgptr that lingered upon the burnt stubs near the surface of the water only for a moment, then died out, leaving the darkness unbroken. Close upon the fiery heel of the flame crept three canoes. Their occupants were savages— ten in number. A light of fiendish triumiph glowed in the small, basilisk aes of that ten; and their half- nude forms and painted faces made them ap- grotesaue and demon-like in. the glare of he adoro r : Eagerly they glanced over the surface of the water, where it had been Cleared of reeds, for the canoe, or writhing forms of their hidden ex- emy. Suddenly acry of joy burst from their lips. The flames swept by a canoe that lay rocking like a cradle upon the surface of the water. Like arrows the canoes of the savage fiends shot toward the little stranger-craft. They ran alongside of it ere the fire was ten feet away. Eagerly they gazed within it. No sign of life was there. But in the front of the canoe reclined a rifle, whose barrel was glim- mering with heat, and in the canoe and over its sides was a heap of moss, smoking with heat and steam. Gray Hawk, second'in rank to Black Buffalo, and his warriors sat motionless for several min- utes, and , in astonishment and baffled tri- — around them. b here was the enemy that they had expected. to find? They had not escaped from the reeds, ° for warriors been posted all around the ba- you. . Again the chief fixed his eyes upon the canoe and steaming moss, as thongh loth to believe that an enemy was not in it. Then, reaching out, he took hold. of the moss‘and began drag- ging it out, , ttle by little the warm and @#@t moss was removed from the craft and thrown overboard. As the last of the moss was taken away a cry of surprise burst from the chief’s lips. In the bottom of the canoe appeared the outlines of @ human form wrapped in a red blanket or shawl. Among the savages was the outlaw guide, Ul- ric Dubois, who had joined the Indians shortly after dark, having come directly from the camp of Henri Roche with the captain’s message to Black Buffalo, who, with most of his warriors, had set off for his village, leaving Gray Hawk to continue the search for the maiden and Hawkeye. Dubois had remained to assist in the search, and no sooner did his eyes fall upon the red object in the canoe than he recognized ip as the crimson shaw] of Nora Gardette. He at once reached out and pulled it away, and there, jn the bottom of the canoe, they sa\/ a prostrate and motionless form. ‘It’s her!” cried Dubois. ‘It’s the Hawk, that the durned boy stole bay wht ) “Waugh!” exclaimed the chief; ‘‘ she’s dead!” ‘“‘T b’lieve not, chief,” returned Dubois; ‘“‘she war well protected. The flames couldn’t get to her through that moss and shawl, and both soakin’ wet. Lift her up, chief; lift her up.” Gray Hawk sp into the Canoe and raised the motionless form in his arms, A ery burst from his lips. She was not dead— the flames had not tonched ber, so swiftly did it pass by. She had swooned, no doubt fram par- tial suffocation and fear. The chief dipped up some water in the hollow of his hand and dashed it into her face, while Dubois produced a small flask of brandy, and ured a few drops of the liquid hetweer ber Ps. Bi gs of returning consciousness were at e bod 1, Gray manifest, by a slight convulsion of But where now was youn Hawkeye! Did not Henri Roche charge Black Buffalo to cap- hagas? The daring lad had | ture him at all ‘ i om our ' - a. m4 : a.