Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 153 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

"4 ' r= zr covered a trail which he had eve 12 Eagle Kit, the Boy Demon. ————— ——_—_——_— — ——— — —--——_ —_— Oe —--- ---——_—- - The erowd gathered around them in speech- | less amazement, | ed hills and meehting cree ‘Colonel Blower,” said the judge, ‘‘what a} Macomah, Eagle Kit and Nebraska Ned acted dam—aged mess of fools you’ve been makin’ of | as scouts, keeping along the ridges and high yourself, man.” | ground where they could see that no ambush ** Joe Miller. the d—dashed wag’s to blame. | was laid for them. for itall. Hesaid Jack Drew the noted scout It was nearly sunset when the party debouch- and mountain-detective was the , handsomest | ed into a little circular valley with bigh, pees man in America, when the fact is Jack Drew is ndicular bluffs. Here to their surprise. they the most ungodly, ungainly and homeliest-look- | found their advance cut off. The narrow out- ing man that ever caught a FOROS nS or shot. a let or rift at the head of the valley had been buffalo; if Joe’d told me the truth I'd known | filled to the very top—forty feet high—with ye on sight. Gentlemen,” and the colonel turn- | huge stones and bowlders that no human power id to the astonished crowd, “let me introduce | could move. . The only way out of the valley to you Jack Drew, the noted scout and moun- | was by the way they had entered. It was time tain detective.” | to.go into camp. A consultation was held. All ‘Ha, Jack, you old rascal,” exclaimed Ned, | were present except Macomah, and he was mo- grasping the man’s hand, ‘'I always told you | mentarily. expected: Some were in favor of you were not what you pretended to be.” twisting its tortuous way among the dark-brow- | | encamping in the valley, but the more. experi- The next ten minutes were spent in shaking | enced objected. They felt no little uneasiness hands with Jack Drew, for he Judge Prosper | over their situation for they saw that the outlet really was. All had heard of this noted man, | at the head of the valley had been quite recently and their previous acquaintance with Judge | blocked—no doubt by the robbers to enable them Prosper had nothing whatever todo with meet- | to entrap their pursuers or else to cover their rson. oP retreat, by stopping pursuit for the time ing. It was finally decided to retrace their steps a as well as their last one; but now that fhey un- | mile or two and go into camp; but as they turn- ing another man in the same } derstood each other they were as warm in ed to depart, the figure of a man in high-t | e faces of the two detectives still bore. evi- dence of their first encounter on. Beaver Creek their friendship as they had been bitter in their | boots, slouched hat, blue shirt with open collar hostilities. 'They frankly admitted that, skill- | and with a revolver in hand, boldly appeared fulas they were as detectives in ferreting out | on a ledge near the entrance to the valley and crime, in reading human nature and almost the | shouted out: very thoughts of man, they had been the vic- ‘Halt there, gentlemen! you bave, bearded ception of a waggish the lion.in his den and the movement of a finger friend who, knowing, the peculiarities and ec- | by any of you will be the signal for your de- centricities of both, described one to the other struction |’ tims of an innocent | the very opposite of what he was, So that one As he concluded, he pointed downward where expected to meet a handsome, dashing fellow f when they met at, Scully, The fact of their | having assumed fictitious names completed the joke of their friend; which joke came very near resultin# in the death of the two detec- tives, Fes CHAPTER XIII. ‘‘ Well, my dear Jack,” said the colonel, after A TERRIBLE VENGEANCE. : they had fu ly discussed the ludicrous attitude | A DEATHLY silence reigned within the littl they had maintained against each other to such | valley, or what might more properly be termed a ridiculous extent, ‘‘you have played the role | the crateror mouth of an, extinct, volcano, for of Judge Zelotes. Prosper handsomely, and,told | the surrounding country had every ap nce some monstrous lies, and amused the bo s;,but ofhaving once beem disturbed by volcanicaction. while thus engaged I’ve been busy looking up | The outlaw on the ledge still stood. stock-still our girl, and, sir, 1 have found her.” in bis defiant attitud is.eyes fixed upon our “The speckled alligators! ye don’t say!” friends, his revolver clutched in bis, right. hand “It’s a fact; I run across a young, black-e while. with, bis left he pointed down at his con- witch the other day, and, sir, she pulled a der- | cealed friends whose,rifle-barrels gleamed mur- 1inger on me—made me hoist my hands, outlaw | derously through the shrubbery. style, took me prisoner and marched me off | Our ;friends saw that Shey wore taken ata down the road. Of course, | war dashed will- great disadvantage, in fact, that they: were at ing to go with her, for I wanted to find out) the mercy of the outlaws, standing where they who she was; but when she saw I was. willing , could be shot down like sheep. z to go, she broke into a of bewitching | ‘‘ Drop your guns and pistols!” was the next laughter and galloped off and left me standing demand from the villain on the ledge, seeing there like a stone statue representing surprise that his advantage had impressed itself upon the and astonishment. The girl was Wild. Cassan- _ minds of the ontesymed party. dra, and Wild Cassandra is the daughter of the ‘‘ Say, mister, what d’ye take us for?” retort- dead John Henry Grey eae” - ed old Jack Drew, in hopes of .creating. a diver- “Well, ve been thi ’ she might be all | sion in the situation, that would.at, least give along,” replied Jack Drew as we will hereafter | them a chance to fight for their lives: ‘if you'll know Judge Prosper, “and have been waitin’ a | come out ane give us a fair whirl we'll lick. the chance to speak to kelle. But now thefust | hull o’ you q cker nor a hound pup could licka thing’s to the gal; then the next. thing is | skillet, cd somethin’ e You remember, colonel, some ‘‘ Hal ha!” langhed the outlaw, defiantly, ‘‘a critter attempted to shoot me the night we'd | mountaineer never begs quarter—he expects our fust acquaintance on Beaver Creek!—Well, | none—he gives noie—and now—” I’ve learnt since that that critter was one Major | He did not finish thesentence for at this junc- Baron—the leader of the trainnow encam at | ture some great, dark object roiled over the Honey Creek. Since that time it has also been | edge of the cliff above, and came thundering developed that Baron was once an outlaw chief | down the face of the cliff, starting,an avalanche and sailed under the name ef Captain Hand- | of stone and dirt directly over the heads of the some. He isnow atJargein these hills in con- | outlaws. spiracy against Miss Vane, and I want to inter-| ‘Look out, men!’ cried the villain on the view him, He’s an old rooster.-sailin’, under | ledge glancing up and seeing his danger; but | along the base of the. cliff grew a fringe o bushes and vines, and through this green foliage our friends saw half a score of gleaming rifle- barrels leveled full upon them! lll LL LL LL LL OA false colors; and it seems that Iam in his way. | they were the last words he ever uttered. He must know me—knows my business and | huge rock crashed down upon him and fairly dynamite proclivities and thinks ’m after him. | ground him into a ne Perhaps I am.” | Those concealed at the base of the cliff leaped By this time the night was well advanced, ; through their covering of foliage; to. escape the though not an eye had been closed in shimber. | rain of death, into plain view of our friends. In fact, no one was, sleepy, but all patiently | The latter instan y saw their advantage and awaited the coming of day. . | hastened to improve it. With the first red streaks of morning dawn Drawing their revolvers they opened.a fire on every man and bey. was astir. Breakfasting on | the startled outlaws, But the latter were not cold'r-eat and bread, they crossed the river and _ cowards by any means. They knew it wasa their tramp through the hills. | case of life or death and they met their foe in a bout noon the eagle eye of little Kit. dis- deadly struggle. reason; to | For the next minute the “ ping” and ‘‘ bark” believé was the one made by the maiden’s | of pistols and revolvers, the shouts of the com- captors, Nel Ned and Dick,Rodman were | batants, and the groans of the dying, started a of the'same opinion, and the finding of a faded | hundred echoes -rolling and reboundivg and ribbon which Mr, Vane recognized as one worn | crashing through the bilis, And in the midst of on his daughter’s hair, confirined the opinion of | the conflict a little figure appeared on the ledge the three young rangers, and so the party at | where the outlaw had been crushed by the fall- ence set out to follow up the trail which ran | ing stove, and waving a bright :carf above its through a narrow gloomy pass, winding and | head cheered the wen on to victor y. a If was the figure of a girl—it was Wild Cas- sandra. Her voice and presence gave new strength to the arms, and new , courage.to, the hearts of her friends, and they fought as men never fought before. ) In two minutes’ time the conflict had ended. Taken as they were—notwithstanding they had eyery advantage at first, the outlaw bond was totally annihilated. Every man was. either killed or wounded; but our friends had not gained a bloodless victory. Two of their party had been. killed, and every man and boy, wit the single exception of Eagle Kit, had received wounds of a more or less-serious nature. As soon as the. conflict had ended, Andre Markelle ran to where. his daughter stood upou the ledge, breathing a prayer of thauks for her deliverance. . ‘‘Oh, tather!”. cried the fearless, excited gir! clapping her handsineestasy of joy. ‘‘ Il amso thankful youlickedthem robbers! oh, but it was the jolliest fight lever saw! You just knocked them robbers a tumbling like as I heard ’em say they were going to fix you. Oh, but I wasina stew | when I couldn't get away to warn ou! ar Cassandra,” cried Dick Rodman who had followed Markelle with Mr. Vane, ‘‘ where is Mabel Vane?” | “T left ber in the cave,” replied the fearless girl, ‘‘come up quick and belp her for there’s wo old robbers in there yet—one’s the fellow I wounded t’other night—come up, quick.” Eagle Kit clambered up the cliff to the ledge like a cat and was followed by Jack Drew Nebraska Ned and Dick Rodman, and guided by the brave little girl they entered a dark cavernous retreat—the home of the robber band. They soon came to where a light was burning but no sign of human life was visible. “TI left Mabel right here,” said Cassandra, a tremor in her voice. | Then the thoughtless maiden called aloud. the name of the absent girl, but oply her own voice, wild and. weird, was echoed back to her.ears. ‘They have fled. with her! Oh, poor Mabel! they have fled with her when the battle went against their friends!” s} 4 his was undoubtedly the case, and while the outlaws with the girl could not be far away, night had set in and little could be. accomplish- ed in attempting to follow them for they had the advantage of knowing every secret pathway and hiding-place thereabouts, Hastening back to the crater the party report- ed.the desertion of the cavern.and disappear- ance of Mabel. The news fell like a thunderbolt on Mr, Vane’s ears, While discussing the situation, Jack Diew suddenly exclaimed: “ Look up yonder, boys!” Alblifted t crater saw a human form: outlined against the sky, It was the form of an Incian. : ‘Ho!”.cried Eegle Kit, ‘that’s Mecomah! that’s Macomah! Jsn’t he the boss Ingin «f robber-land? Folkses, be’s. the high-muchaw uck that. started. that avalanche that smashed that roarin’ ole robber and. that routed them others and gave us a royal ole victory!” ‘Thi ee cheers for Macemah!” yelled Colonel Blower, and right heartily did his companions and the old mountein pg Be . Half. an bour later the Indian joined them in the crater. ‘‘Git, gals?” he asked. “Only one of them: the other was carried away by two wounded villains that Cassandra says remained behind to guard the girls wlen the others went forth to do battle.” ‘« Where little Kit:” Macomah asked. No one answered for no one knew. Withcut saying a word, the little dwarf had slipyed away in the darkness. Half an hour later Macomah had disappeared s silently and as mysteriously as the Dwarf emon. ‘‘'They’re a strange pair, a dam-aged strange pair,” said the old detective, Jack Drew, It. was found impossible for_our friends to leave the crater that. night. Their dead must beburied and their wounded cared for, The letter were. removed to the cutlaws’ eave. Colonel. Blower actedsas surgeon, rds. were. staticned .to watch the eap- proaches to the.cave. Our friends were not out of all danger... Without extra precaution those of Middleton’s gang thet-lad been In ying siege to the train at, the mouth of Honey Creek might return. and taking advantage of some sceret en- trance, pounce upon the party and wreak a ter- rible revenge for the death of ther friends in the crater. GOMIIGEROCKS eir eyes and upon the edge of the. (E(0)