Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 153 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

>» ——— Eagle 15 escape from'the savages, but thechancesseemed | The three advanced and shook hands with | unfortunately for the settlers and emigrants, Kit, who was reclining upon a blanket taken | this notorious outlaw leader was permitted to agaiust him. The odds were six to one. Straight toward the Sentinel Butte the boy ran. e soon reached it—sped up the hill to the rocky shaft, then paused and looked back. The Indians were comiug close behind him. Like a young mountain goat the boy began to climb the rocky shaft. F ledge to ledge he sprung, sure-footed and true, .Up and up he went—up until he stood upon the top of the great stone giant. The Indian who had stopped to talk with Ruffcorn now hurried away to join his friends who were climbing up the Sentinel after the boy: He wanted to be in at the death of the Dwarf Demon. ~ “ Hal ha! ha!” laughed the outlaw. ‘I must see the end of that imp’s eareer, for he’s but a minute more to live, curse him!” | Scarcely had the last word fallen from -his lips when down from the clouds swept the great pet wae of the boy, in answer to a shrill, quavering whistle from his, little master’s,lips. — hovered ree moment itt the eee then, oe ts great wings it sailed slowly away, bearing with it the form of the bey!” A cry burst from Mabel Vane’s lips. , ‘‘Curses, ten thousand curses!” hissed the outlaw, drawing. his) revolver, ‘‘ That boy is d of the devil, true as God’s in Heaven! Ah! they come this way—would to heaven I could put a bullet through both eaglé and a gi ap toward the outlaw and mai ed the mig ty ee with its human burden, while back on summit of the Sentinel stood the defeated Indians in dumb astonishment and su- Pe the bagie hed the outlaw it grad ! e © approac e outlaw it - ual settled memrer? the earth. ao ‘* Bang! bang!” went tbe robber’s revolver; a number of feathers flew from the body of the bird, which uttered a fearful scream settled with its burden almost at the feet of the out- law’s horse; then leaving its burden.on the earth, it shot away upon whistling wings into the clouds. Frightened by. the rt of its rider’s revol- ver, by the scream of the eagle and the flapping of its wings, the outlaw’s horse became _ ened and reared and plunged so violently that Mabel was compelled to leap to the Before the outlaw could quiet his horse a pis- tol in the hand of Eagle Kit flastéd before him and he fell dead with a bullet Sprough his brain. - “Whoa, pony, whoa!” coax the boy, springing forward and grasping the reins of the now riderless horse, ‘After some efforts in which the grave, plucky little dwarf was roughly handled#he succeeded in uioting ‘be guia, ; ) | _“ Now, Miss Maple!” he exclaimed, excitedly, glancing toward the Sentinel, “‘bounée on this critter and let’s be off afore them blasted red- skins come.” | With the boy’s assistance Mabel mounted the horse and gathéred up the reins; then Eagle Kit climbed to a seat behind» her and they)rode away at a lively pace southward, leaying the howling sa behind in a few minutes. * Jollies!”., exclaimed Kit vas they dashed away,.‘‘I’ve not been follerin’ that robber ever since he left the cave with you for nothin’ haved, Miss Maple?” . | wo Gaz ‘* No, indeed, Kit; and I cannot express my feelings of thanks to Riis for your noble service in my behalf,” repli the fair — >: bat’s’ all right, Miss Maple, that’s all t ” ittle more was said ‘until they had traveled perhaps a mer t when per Boner rtica* 4 tf aple, | guess: we’re beyont dai now. { wish youd stop the horse, for T feel awful sick.” i mm Kit, is that so?” Mabel glanced back at the boy. was as white as a sheet. | ‘‘T cuess that outlaw’s bullet hit me when. he shot at me and old Whirlwind,” he said. Then he slid to the ground. Mabel saw that the breast of his tight-fitting jacket was satu- rated with blood. ; “Oh, Kit!” she. cried, ‘‘I am afraid you’re burt badly.” a At this juncture a shout’ greeted their ears and turning their heads they saw three men ap- proach Over a/swell in the prairie. An exclamatiou of joy burst from the maid- en’s livs, for. she recognized the party as Old Jack Drew, Nebraska Ned and her lover, Dick His face Rodman. : | In A moment the three came tip when Mabel greeted them all with a kiss of joy and delight, then called attention to ber little rescuer’s wounds, though her heart would break. She had ‘Wild Cassandra and those woun from the outlaw’s saddle by Mabel. In a minute’s time Old Jack Drew had re- | the year of 1879, when be was moved the youth’s coat and shirt, and pon the | little frail body found a frightful woun The old man shook his head as he locked at his friends, and that simple movement of the head was fraught with a terrible meaning. It spoke plainer than words. A dead silence followed. ‘* Mr. Drew,” the brave little dwarf said, ‘* 1 ess that was the boss shot for me, for 1 b’lieve ’m goin’ to die.” ‘** Ob, no, no, Kit!” sobbed Mabel, ‘‘ you will not die!” ‘Well, if I do, tell Macomah to see that Whirlwind—” ; ‘* Kit, Macomah is dead,” said Ned, though he regretted his words the moment he spoke, ‘Macomah dead?’ the little fellow cried starting up; then sinking back upon his blanket he sighed: ‘*‘ poor Macomah!” Jack Drew went to work to dress the boy’s wound the best he could, although he knew it would do no good, ble 3 , A deep silence reigned while the old ‘man was at work. Kit, after his wound was fait ce a sleep from which he finally started outing: : : ‘* They are comin’! they’re comin’ !” Then he snatched a whistle froin. his, pocket on placing it to his lips blew a shrill, quayering n Mabel’s little w hand. » rere b eir les beheld the great eagle, sos pray pheemge en 'tictract tanmiee Orieping e gray plumage on r ping with bond. . The boy saw the bird which seemed afraid to come nearer. ““'Whirlwind’s hurt too,” he said, ‘“‘ but then we saved Miss Maple.” He lifted his eyes to Mabel’s, and putting out his hand to her said: ** Maple, you’ve had lots of trouble lately but I hope you’ll have no more. If you do, I can’t help you, [m &'t to die, I know. But I’m not afraid to or when I leave this world I’m goin’ to Heaven, of which the missionary that used to visit us talked to me about so . Fil not be a little dwarf u Soate Let ie Sie Ned and Dick; and then I meet my father and mother for lam told the were good Christians. But oh, how lonely it will be at the Erie for poor old Whirlwind—me and Macomah both gone away, and—” The boy burst into tears, Mabel sat down and ous bitterly. The three men stood looking on the scene pet cao Fg tears, and a scene it was— the desolate PI , the d boy, the silent weeping friends and the e hovering in mid-air, as if to bear spirit of its little master away on High. Presently Kit rallied and calling Mabel to his Bee out his hand again, saying: ste ood-by, Mabel.” oy Then he turned to bid the others farewell, but his strength failed him, his hand fell at Kis: si the light of those big, bright eyes went out, an Eagle Kit was of the little dwarf had fled from its narrow tene- ment of a and sought its Eternal Home. ' Mabel ed her face imher bands and sobbed as learned to love the brave and maply little boy with. all the fond affection of a sister’s love; and when she reflected that he had given his life for hers, the blow fell with all the greater severity upon her, All that she could do for the poor boy now was to cross his little hands over his breast, and murmur a prayer commending his soul to the great Giver of life. ith their knives and their hands a grave was hollowed out and the , Ww ida blanket, was laid away to rest there upon the great.prairie, under the blue sky, the green ass and the waving wild flowers—the clay, as t fell upon the body, being moistened with the Papin tears of Mabel Vane and her three male riends. ‘ i. ‘When these last sad rites were performed, the for Hon- party took up its solemn line of ey Creek, and the great eagle hovering over the spot where it had heard its’ master’s last, call, rose in the air and wheeled off itito the clouds. hours, behind the party that had & d with the outlaws. - Doc. Middleton had withdrawn from the siege of the camp, having no doubt learned of the death of most of his men in the mountains; but x“ his deep-laid to all ow saw was dec cra } a | A shadow swept over the and a ,of Ni blood fell-u oe Saiite ons man as f dead—the brave and manly ~irit | Our four friends reached camp.-but a few | D¥B¢wsdealers; price sia 0 ne on -with | in the fight | run at large and continue his ee nape until nally captured in Northern Nebraska, somewhere. For the next two days and nights, the villainy of Major Baron, the abduction of Mabel, the adventures of the partyin the hills, the death of Eagle Kit, and the performances of Professor Jimrack and Judge Zelotes Prosper formed the general topics of conversation. The two old detectives had-no trouble in establishing the paternity of Wild Cassandra. Andre Markelle, her foster father, furnished sufficient evidence. to. prove that she was the daughter of John Henry Grayson; but the wild little maiden objec to leaving her foster father and mother and her western hdme to in- herit her father’s fortune. Nor were these alone her objections to leaving the West. She had anne her love to Nebraska Ned, the gallant oy pane and. he to, her .was.more. than, all the wealth of Golconda would “have been. It was arranged, lLdwéver;’ that,’ whenever she reached \her majority, and ed -her ~in- heritance it should be placed at her command, The death of Dan Baron and the ‘exposuré of had failed, .so dis- with his promises—w hich : tion~and assurances of wealth in the Black. that they -reselved to ther; and so they turned southward y settled -in the valley of the ‘Nebraska Ned and Dick Rodman remained with them until they had seen them safely and foul means, when fair m gusted the gold-hunters permanently located in their new bh then they returned to their labors amid the wild ex- citement of mountain and prairie. Ned, how- ever, makes a. visits to the and the home of re Markelle; while Dick Rod- uently has business at the settlement on the Niobrara where he always receives a warm welcome, especially from betrothed, » pretey Mabe] Vane. Old Jack Drew, being a member of the Rocky Mountain Detective Association, returned south- west to the fields of his labor, while Colonel Blower went east to finish up his business as ad- ministrator of the estate of Jobn Henry Gray- son. Before the old fellows d, however, they arr to meet in six months at Denver City, and m there make a trip north to the Black Hills and see what they could do toward ridding that section of outlaws and road-agents that bad for over a year defied the Vigilants and military. Old Jack’s concluding remarks on the subject. were as follows: “If we git to ‘bobbin’ around’ up in that a pair o i rs are loose among ’em, won’t we? We'll clean ’em out quicker nor, any hound pup-baa licked a skillet since the Ark swung over the mouutains o’ Asia Minor, won’t we?” . “We, will,” replied the colonel, ‘‘ we will, Se ead of Deters” f : sind And it may be possiblé, kind reader, that we will follow those eccentric old detectives when they go upon that expedition, and if so, rest sured you will hear from thern tt Nig ed The Saturday Journal. —_——— “The Model Family Paper —AND— Most Charming of the Weeklies.” A pure r; good in every thing; brigh brilliant and aitepative: Perry 5 Serials, Tales, Romances, Sketches, Adventures, Biographies, t Essays. Poetry, otes and Answers to Correspondents Wit and Fun— All are features in. evéry number, from such ocleueseh writers as no. paper in America can of. ‘The Satvkpay JourNAL is sold everywhere j c cents per number; or to subscribers, post-paid, at the following cheap rates, viz. : Four months, one dollar; one year, three dollars; or; two copies, five dollars, 0 | Address BEADLE & ADAMS, Publishers, 98 William Street, New York Ebooks com (E()