Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 131 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

_—— ——— 2 ‘The Golden Hand ; DANDY ROCK TO THE RESCUE. BY GEORGE WALDO BROWNE, AUTHOR OF ‘‘ DANDY ROCK,” ‘‘DREAD RIDER,” ‘““TIGER OF TAOS,” “‘ MAD MINER,” ETO. CHAPTER L THE LOST MINE. Hap a dial been placed on the mountain crest it would have indicated the hour of four P. M., August 20th, 1852. It was a wild, picturesque scenery, such as only Arizona can show, Amid one of her most diversified regions of mingled hills and valleys, plains and gorges, two. persons paused in rapt wonder, One was in the prime of life, his strong frame and hardy constitution giving promise of many years of active work. exposure to the sun had bronzed his skin, and continual hardship had somewhaf shrunken his form, but the luster of his eye was undimmed, and the jetty hue of his raven hair was unfaded. Worn at full length the latter fell far down his back, while the pointed ends of an enormous mus- tache touched upon either shoulder. ’Twas Rock del—Dandy Rock, The-Man- from-Texas. His companion was five-and-twenty years of age, a young man of fine physique, clear skin, regular features, genial disposition, and a gen- eral favorite of the mining settlement further down the valley. He was an Eastern boy, who had sought the perils and privations of a miner’s life that he might gain a share of the golden treasure. Dustin Dare was what his parents had chris- tened him, but the honest miners had ignored the fact and given him a cognomen to suit their whim; so he was generally called Silver Dust. ‘‘And so that is the Lost Mine I have heard so much of, Rock?’ said Dare, as from = slight eminence they gazed up the val- ey. ‘* Yes, Silver Dust; what you see is a part 0’ the Lost Mine. But you can’t see the worst- looking portion o’ it from hyar, Up on the mountain you can see the hull place, and a a spot was never sot afore yer eyes ‘* Tt does look dréary from here. But, is there no way to reach the mine?” ‘“‘Nary a chance where any sane man would eare to risk his life. You see it is surrounded by a nearly perpendicular ledge, except at the lower end, and there the smooth rocks pile so no one could get a foothold to climb ’em. There was a pass to the valley until old Scar-Face and his horde stopped it in their fight to get the ‘* Were all killed in that fight?’ Pe Every soul, good and bad. It war an awful e. ‘‘Has any one ever tried to reach the place since?” ‘** Lord bless you, no!” ‘*Why not? You say the lead is a rich one.” “Tis. There is gold enough in that place to make every man in the Gila valley rich as all the Jews in kingdom come!” ‘¢ And because report has given it the name of being haunted, no one has dared to go near it?’ ‘“‘“You have chipped it the first time, Dust. The claim is worked by p83 miners, and I reckon thar ain’t one in Mad River valley es would care to enter the Black Pocket, as thet place war called, even ef they could.” ‘Oh, nonsense, Rock; we have but one life to live in this world, and if the miners of the Pocket were all killed they certainly will not trouble others.” ** Don’t know ’bout that,” replied the Texan, with a dubious shake of the head. ‘‘ We know all war rubbed out who warin the Pocket; we know it is impossible for any one to get thar now the pass is stopped, antl yet [I have s with others upon the mountain-side and looked down there see men rushing round, while others seemed to be at work with their picks and shovels. they were ! “ Let’s go up a little further where we can get of hee Lost . Lam interested in it.” A few minutes later the twain paused where a full scene of the peiey was obtained. A strange-looking place was Black Pocket, the site of the Lost re but drear and gloomy. 1e; and rot only strange, ’ The Golden Hand. Surrounded on three sides by precipitous mountains which rose to considerable hight, the only entrance to the place was through a ravine that, commencing with the width of half a mile, ually narrowed to a of twenty feet. his last was then filled with a buge bowlder of many tons weight, which had evidently been top- pled from the cliff above by some giant power. As Dustin Dare gazed upon the inaccessible spot he saw that it seemed wholly devoid of life of any form. True, a stunted forest surrounded it, but every tree and shrub was desolate ‘of foliage, though it was in midsummer. Even the earth was black and its barren sur- face seemed as dead as the vegetation that once covered it. ‘Tt doesn’t look very inviting, that is a fact,” admitted Dustin. ‘‘T reckon so,” assented Rock. ‘‘ But one ear ago it looked as green and lifish as the val- ey below.” ‘* Come, I am impatient to know its story.” “A year ago last June, six brothers by the name of Redmond came up hyar, and I think were the first to diskiver the Pocket. Enny- way they were detarmined to pan its gold, and leaving a couple to watch their claim, the others went back arter their wimmen folks and imple- ments to work with, for they were going in business in ’arnest. ‘They were sharp ’coons, every one o’ ’em. There was Leon, the oldest and leader, and Roy, Dimon, Hart, Lewis and Hark. Ali six-footers, and dead-shots with the rifle, or sling-ups with the bowie. ‘*Scarcely had Dimon and Hart been left to guard the Pocket when they found two other men in the ravine. ‘These other two claimed that they had the best right to the lead. Howsumever, the four a to wait till their leaders came, for these strangers said they had.five friends com- ing back to the valley, the same as the Red- mond brothers. “Wal, the same day Leon Redmond guided his teams up the west side o’ the Mad river, Russel Greenwood led his party up the east. ‘* They met at the Boe and you may believe they all looked surp : ‘* At first Greenwood said they must fight for it, and as his followers were all big fellows with true grit, and he had one the most in number, it looked like lively times for the Redmonds. ‘* Leon warn’t no sneak, but he told them it was for their interest to be friends, and thet there was gold enough for all. ‘* Finally they all agreed, except one of Green- wood’s men, to cast up a dollar-piece and see if they should be friends or foes. ‘It seemed a queer way to settle it, but good luck won, and so the two parties united and went into the Pocket together. ‘‘ Howsumever, es I sed, thar was one called Cape Horn—lI think his name was Gasper Horn —who wouldn’t agree to it; and swearing like a pirate he tore off down the valley like mad, we A he war fer whole ter or none, ‘The twelve with their families and teams built themselves some cabins and went to work the very next day. ‘The ore panned out big, fer they had struck it rich, and everything went well. : “ The were on the war-path ravin’ es they ar’ now, but Leon Redmond had done the old chief, Long Wind, a good turn, and he told the whites to go ahead and he would see they were left in peace. More than that he sent some 0’ his warriors to guard the pass for the miners while they dug, for ’twas no knowin’ who might come along; and you see that was a regular trap to get one into. ** All went on slick for a time, till all to once that infernal Cape Horn came up with a lot of followers, and tried to drive out the Redmond boys and their companions. ‘Old Long Wind pitched in, and Gasper Horn found he had got more than he bargained for. ‘‘Finding he couldn’t get possession o’ the claim he swore no one else should hev it. “One dark night he s’prised the Indian watchers at the pass and rubbed ’emout. Then he drilled into the ledge above, and charging it — pore blew the whole top ieee the cliff into thway, making it impossible for any one to leave the Pocket. : ‘** At the same time a of his followers got upon the windward side and fired the forest. _ “The flames and stifling smoke sweptdown into Aw gorge ca hp miners could not — 8 and, unable to escape, every man an on . ‘I tell you it must have been awful, but bean, Horn and bis horde had to pay dearly for their work. Before they could get away Long Wind led the savages upon them, and the red-skins carried off every one 0’ their skulps! ‘‘ You see nothing has grown on that fertile land since the fire, and no mortal foot has seppes inside the Pocket; spirit miners are working the Lost Mine, and—” “‘ Hist, Rock! Look there!” CHAPTER I. THE GOLDEN HAND AND THE LEAGUE IN BLACK. As Silver Dust gave his sudden exclamation he pointed into the valley below. ock turned in the direction indicated, and started back as much surprised as his compan- ion. _ A party of horsemen had appeared in the ravine and drawn rein opposite them, lt was not their being there that startled the two miners so, but it was the riders’ garb and mount that caused the twain to look upon them with wonder. There were twelve of them, all men of power- ful build, dressed, every one, in a. suit of dead black, unrelieved by a single bright object from their slouch hats to heavy boots. Even their faces were covered with somber masks. The horses they rode, their trappings and weapons, were of the same raven hue, “ Jeems Stopple!” gasped Rock, “ef thet don’t beat me holler es a drum! Do spooks ever kem in black?’ ‘Hark, Rock! what do they see?” The little cavalcade were watching intently the growth above. Then, as the leader pointed to the shrubbery ahead, the listeners heard him say a in a deep, sepulchral voice, that seemed to thrill them through-and through: ‘‘ Back! Lhear some one coming!” The group drew nearer together and watched| and waited. As they sat so motionless in their saddles, our adventurers saw tbat for their lives they could- n’t tell one from another, they were so exactly alike. After a moment the hoof-strokes of a horse were heard ap roaching. ‘Be ready for work!” hissed the foremost of _the black riders, and in an instant a dozen dark rifles were half-raised. Then the bushes parted and a horseman dash- ed into the moog As he caught sight of the cavalcade he halt- ed abruptly, casting a swift glance about him. The somber band quickly brought their wea- pons on a level with his breast as the new- comer paused. ‘“Who are you who dares to invade our do- main?” cried the leader, in that awe-inspiring tone. Offering no answer the lone rider looked from one to another in silence. His appearance contrasted strangely with the others, and it was nearly as mysterious. He seemed a man of middle life, strongly- built, with a handsome face nearly covered with a long, flowing beard. His garb was spangled with gold, and his rifle, revolvers and knife were all mounted with the same precious ore, while one side of the rim.to his broad sombrero was fastened up by a golden hand. Ay, even the mustang he rode was of that peculiar color which made it look in the distance as if bur- nished with the yellow treasure. ‘“’Tis the Golden Hand!” ejaculated Rock, in amazement. “T ask again, why you are invading our do- mains?’ exclaimed the leader in black. ‘‘How long since such beings as you have claimed this land as yours?” was the other’s re- ‘Answer my question at once, or we w ill make you food for the vultures! “T opine they would hardly care to touch such a black throng!” was the contemptuous re- nse. “Why don’t you answer me?” and the man shook with anger at the other’s audacity. “Pardon me, but those rifles ill-become spooks. Put them down!” ‘¢‘Tell me who you are, or we will riddle you with bullets! The Golden Hand laughed money and raised his glistening weapon, when the other cried: ’ ‘* Hold! Make a move and you are @ deaa man!’ - | as he slowly lifted his rifle and brought shouldér; ba 4 mh G The men in black seemed spellbound. Th® Eomicbooks “Why don’t you fire?’ asked the or rege ee} 4 A ‘ . fe , . p *