Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 197 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

2 -—— —- —_—— _—————_—— | ———_—_-—-—- --— Little Grit, THE WILD RIDER; OR, Bessie, the Stock-Tender’s Daughter. A Romance of Pony Express Days. BY COL. PRENTISS INGRAHAM, AUTHOR OF “THE HUSSAR CAPTAIN,” ‘“‘ THE SEA DEVIL,” ‘DICK DEAD-EYE,” “‘ THE BOY DUELIST,” ETC., ETC. CHAPTER L THE WILD RIDER. THE bright moonlight streamed down upon an exciting scene, and a strange one, for over the prairie three horses were going at break- neck speed, two running side by side, and one a few rods in advance. Upon the former were two men, and their cruel spurs were lacerating the sides of their straining animals. Upon the latter horse, the one a short dis- tance ahead of the others, was mounted a woman, and ber keen whip fell with stinging blow upon the splendid animal she rode, and which was striving so hard to leave his pur- suers behind, yet. seemingly with little hope, for slowly but surely they gained. “Gal, ef yer don’t halt, Vll shoot. yer,” yelled one of the men, as for an instant the flying animal ahead, seemed gaining. But the maiden made no reply, and simply glanced over her shoulder, the act showing that she was young and very lovely, though b-r face was white with dread, and ber lips were quivering with nervous excitement. But the man did not carry out his threat of | shooting the girl, though he fired in the air as though to frighten her. But though she started at the ringing report, she did not check her speed, and urged her struggling mare on more rapidly, while from her lips came the words: ‘“T would rather die than fall into their hands.” And again and again the pistol flashed, but the girl would not halt, yet she believed her pursuers were really firing upon her. Before ber was a slope, that after a short distance rose into the foothills of the moun- tains beyond: yet where was succor for her in all that vast solitude around, for nowhere was visible the habitation of man? ““Come, Princess, they are gaining upon you; come, my beauty,” said the girl encour- agingly, and cheered by her voice the noble beast made another effort to drop ber pur- suers; but in vain, for they were mounted up- on hardy prairie horses, which, though Prin- cess might easily run away from in a short race, when if came to mile after mile of hot chase over plain, hill and dale, they held the power of endurance that the blooded animal had to succumb to. ‘Poor, poor Princess!’ cried the maiden, as up the hill her mare staggered with fatigue. ‘‘Ha! ha! my gal, we has yer now,” cried one of the men in great glee, as their horses now gained rapidly, and they knew that a few moments more would bring them alongside of their victim. But, just as their steeds were within a length of Princess, and they were stretching forth their hands to capture the prize for which they were struggling, there was heard the rapid clatter of hoofs ahead, and instantly there dashed into sight a horseman. He was going by like the wind, as if unmind- ful of whom he met, when from the lips of the maiden broke a cry for help, and a glance showed him the situation of affairs. Instantly, with a word to his horse, he wheeled, and charged ,directly upon the two pursuers of the maiden, who quickly turned to meet him, for from one had come the warning ery: “The Wild Rider !” Little Grit, the Wild Rider. Then came several pistol-shots in rapid suc- cession, the shriek of a wounded horse, a fall, and, as the dust and smoke drifted away, the maiden, whose tired mare had halted, beheld a horse and a rider prostrate upon the ground, and two horsemen close together, one holding a revolver to the head of the other. ‘‘Thank God! he bas saved me!” came in fervent tones from the maiden’s lips, for, in the victor in the short but fierce combat, she recogniz-d by the bright light of the moon, the one who bad been called The Wild Rider. CHAPTER IL. THE THREAT. >» ‘‘TitTLeE Grit, yer bas got me squar’, ‘“T am sorry I did not kill you, as I did that fellow lying there.” ‘‘T are glad, for I don’t want ter hand in my checks yet; but what are you going to do with me?’ ‘‘That depends entirely upon what this lady wishes me to do with you; if she says kill you, I'll do so with pleasure. Will you please come here, miss, for this dog won’t bite now?” and the horseman turned to the maiden, who sat on her panting horse a short distance away, gazing with intense interest upon the scene. At his words she rode nearer, and the moon- light showed her a mere boy, splendidly mount- ed, as her rescuer. His form wasslender but wiry, and his sma!l waist, broad shoulders and square chest, de- noted strength and endurance in a marked de- gree. His face, as the moon shone upon it, was that of a youth of seventeen, and the features were clear-cut, handsome and full of deter- mination, while bis dark eyes had a flash in them that showed he would dare anything that a man would attempt. He was attired in a black velvet jacket, white corduroy pants, stuck in handsome boots, the heels of which were armed with spurs of sil- ver, and wore a gray sumbrero with broad brim, and in a belt around his waist a pair of revolvers, His horse was a long-bodied, small-legged black, and had no bridle on, while the saddle was exceedingly small, for the limbs of the rider hid it, and seemed more to be used to strap a pair of leather pockets to, than for the comfort of the horseman, The man who had been in pursuit of the maiden was @ rough, uncouth specimen of hu- manity, heavily armed, and dressed as a plainsman, and evidently a dangerous charac- ter. As the maiden drew near the two, the youth noticed that she was a mere girl, scarcely more than sixteen, and that her face was very beauti- ful, and form exquisitely graceful, in the dark riding habit she wore, Shaken down by her hard ride, her hair hung down upon the back of her horse, and looked like strands of gold in the moonligh®. “ Now, miss, if you say the word, I'll send a bullet through this fellow’s brain,’ said the youth, who held the ruffian under cover of his revolver. ‘*No, no, sir, I would not wish that, though he is a very bad man, and with his companion there, decoyed me away from the train, under an excuse vhat my father bad sent for me,” said the maiden, in a sweet voice. ‘*You then belong to a train; I wondered how it was I found you here.” ‘‘My father commands a train of supplies going to Fort Aspen, sir, and these men be- longed to the party, and of course, I did not expect harm from them, and when they said my father wished me to go on ahead a mile or two and join him, I accompanied them, until I saw that they were deceiving me, and they told me that they would hold me until well paid for taking me back.” ‘“ Aha! that is your game, is it, Hank Haw- kins, for you see I know you? Well, I'll report your condrct along the line, and the boys will make it boi for you—go!” -_-_- — ee -_—_——_—— ‘Does yer mean it, Little Grit?’ asked the man, eagerly. ‘“‘ Yes—no, remain here and look after your dead pard; and I will see you back to the train, miss, but you must ride fast, as 1 am riding Pony Express, and wouldn’t have stop- ped, if I hadn’t seen that it was a lady in trouble; come, miss, please, and you, Hank Hawkins, remember that I’ll keep my eye on you.” ‘‘ And I know somebody es hez the’r eyes on you, Little Grit,” said the man, threateningly. ‘* Bah! what do I care for you?” ***Tisn’t me, altho’ I doesn’t intend to fer- git you.” y ‘Who is it, then?’ ‘Ther Boy Bandit,” ’ “So be it; I fear that fellow and his gang of horse-thieves as little as I do you; come, miss, we must be off, and you’ll have to drive your horse hard to keep up with Firefly.” As he spoke he wheeled his splendid horse alongside of Princess, and the two animals started off at a rapid gallop back toward the plains from whence the maiden had come. CHAPTER III. THE RED RAVINE. “Your horse seems used up, miss,” said the youth, after they had been riding along to- gether for a few minutes, and Princess showed increased signs of failing. “ Yes, she seems to feel her long and rapid run, and I am sorry that I detain you, sir,” replied the maiden. ‘Oh, don’t mind me— Hold!” The sudden ejaculation of the young horse- man had been occasioned by the appearance, over a ridge ahead of them, of half a dozen horsemen. Suiting his action with his words, he had quickly seized the rein of his fair conypanicn’s horse, and the two animals had come to a. sudden halt. “Who are they?’ asked the maiden anx- iously, seeing the youth gazing earnestly at the approaching horsemen. ‘* They are fellows that, under the circum- stances, [do not care to meet; the same ones whom Hank Hawkins threatened me with; but fortunately they do not yet see us, and we'll see if we can get away unseen.” Still holding the bridle-rein of the maiden’s horse, and guiding bis own by a movement of his knees, the youth wheeled short off of the trail, and endeavored to reach a thicket of scrub pines not far away. At first he believed he would escape the observation of the borsemen, as they were laughing and talking together, and not very watchful; but a sudden shout warned him that he was discovered, and he said quickly: ‘* Come, you must ride behind me, for your horse is useless.” As he spoke he threw his arm around the maiden’s waist, and with an exhibition of strength that surprised her, quickly raised her AS ber saddle, and set her down bebind im. ‘“ Firefly will lead those fellows a long race, even if he does carry a double load; come, old fellow!” “ But my poor Princess,” cried the maiden, as the splendid black bounded away at the word of his master. ‘‘ Must fall to tle enemy, unless she can keep up without your weight.” And it was evident that Princess, at the call of her mistress, determined to make a des- perate effort to keep along with the black that was carrying her load for her; but a few bun- dred feet were sufficient to show her that Fire- fly would soon drop her behind. As the black bounded away the horsemen, whom the youth bad said were dangerous foes to meet, started in rapid pursuit, and in a minute the chase began across the moonlit plain, for a short run brought the pursued free of the foot -hills, and the rolling prairie stretched before them for miles. NOOLKS ecoilm (G —_ Eom: