Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 287 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

6 they came one pignt, years ago to my humble home, an’ they kilt my wife, an’ carried off my boy an’ girl, while they robbed me of alJ I bed in the world, the savings of a lifetime, an’ left me, as they believed, dead, ‘But I did not, die, Billy, tho’ I were hard it. “No, I got well an’ I tuk ther trail arter El Bravo aw’ his pirits, an’ tho’ I found thet I were too late ter save my children, fer the was dead, poor things, I hes been on ther trac 0’ ther slayers ever since, an’ many is ther one I hes kilt,” ‘Well, my friend, I, too, have been on a trail for years; but it isin search of one who was taken from me by a wicked man that I have at last been led to believe is El Bravo. ‘‘T also believe that he holds the one I seek a captive in his stronghold, and I shall find out, _ and if so, woe be unto him.” “I hes heerd o’ yer cirkilatin’ about ther lower Rio Grande, like ther Wanderin’ Jew, I hes heerd on but-never come acrost, an’ as we both hes ther same trail ter foller, heur are my fist thet we sticks tergether ter ther end.” ‘* Agreed!” and Billy Blue-Eyes grasped the rough, hard hand extended to him, and the compact between them being made, they soon after lay down to sleep with a feeling of perfect security in the old rnin which the Mexicans shunned as the abode of evil spirits. ‘ CHAPTER XII. AN OUTLAW’S DOOM. As both Billy Blue-Eyes and Terror Tom had felt assured, El Bravo had beaten back his old enemy, Oak Heart, and with considerable loss, His ambush proved a most deadly one, and though the red-skins, knowing their superiority of numbers, rallied after the first recall, they wae gradually beaten back, and at last put to £ . As soon as his men gathered the Indian scalps, a 3 the outlaws believed in the old maxim of ‘fighting the devil with fire,” the Pirates of the Chaparral moved with their wounded and dead toward the camp, which seemed quite cheerful with its welcoming fires, The dead were to be summarily disposed of by throwing them into the river, for it saved the trouble and work of burial, and the wounded ‘were to be to the retreat for nursing. Among the first to ride into the camp, gloat- ing Over is victory, was the masked chief. e had searched tha field most thoroughly, hoping to fiud the dead body of Terror Tom, whom the men under his lieutenant had led him to believe was leading the Indians, and his dis- appointment somewhat cooled his triumph, as he had found the Texan scout a most deadly foe for years and well knew the cause, as his own hand had struck the blow against his home and those he loved. Arriving in the edge of the timber he found the group of men there awaiting him, and most eager spectators had they been of the distant fig id Well, cap’n, I ’graterlates yer on whippin’ ther reds,” cried Long Saul, the man in charge of the squad, and who had an eye to the vacancy left by the death of the lieutenant. *‘Yos, we whipped them badly, Long Saul, and the boys took some twenty scalps; but the scout, Terror Tom was not killed, and none of the men saw bim in the fight.” . ‘Oh, he were thar tho’.” ‘‘That may be; but which is my fire?” and El Bravo rode on into the timber, for, as I have said, healways ate and slept apart from his men. ¢¢ Thet one yonder, cap’n, not far from whar ther pris— Holy Prophets! he ave gone !” The eyes of all now fell upon the tree to’ which Billy Blue-Eyes had been bound, and from every lip came the cry: : e ‘Who {fs gone, you hound?” yelled the chief in a fury. ‘* Ther prisoner.”’ * Where was he?” | ‘‘Tied to thet tree when ther fight begun,” almost whispered Lo aul, the chief had become ‘Which tree?’ an strangely calm. Long Saul led the way to the tree to which Billy Rida Hives had been bound, and the severed bonis were found, but the boy had gone. ‘Ha! while you fools have been gazing at the fight, that accursed foe of our band, Terror Tom, has quietly crept under your very noses and released the prisoner. : ‘By heaven! I have half a mind to swing every one of you up for this, as we now have two foes upon our trail whose rifles will ring in - @ur ears continually. a Billy Blue-Eyes, — ew “Long Saul, you were in charge, and by the Montezumas, but you shall hang for this! ‘‘ Where is my bugler, Bonita?” ‘‘There he comes, Senor El Bravo,” trem- blingly answered Long Saul, pointing to the young bugler who just then rode into the tim- z. ‘‘ Ho, Bonita!” called out the chief, and in ringing tones, as clear and musical as his bugle- notes, came back the answer: ** Si, Senor Chief El Bravo!” ‘‘Sound the rally and repeat it, for I wish my men here at once!” ‘Si, senor,” and at once the silence of the night was broken by the ringing tones of the silver bugle. Piercing the distance, it reached the coming bandits, who were moving slowly witb their dead and wounded, and they hastened on at a pace that brought groans of agony from the sufferers, A few moments passed in silence in the tim- ber, for upon joining his chief Bonita saw that something had gone wrong, and a second glance told him that Blue-eyed By had RoW 9 He made no comment, but waited in silence for he knew the character of El Bravo so well that he felt some wretch must bear the penalty of the escape of the young Rio Grande Rover. Soon the men began to file rapidly into the timber and formed a semicircle as they came up, presenting a strange sight, a picturesque yet terrible one, The fires burned brightly, and the chief, Long Saul and his immediate comrades, and the Ban- dit Bugler, were the center of the group. Then there were the bandits on foot, their horses weighted down with the dead and wound- ed, and groans of anguish at their sufferings, wrung from strong men, were the only sounds to be heard other than the crackling of the blazing logs. ‘* Men, my prisoner has escaped. “T left him in the charge of this man, Long Saul, who thereby was able to avoid our fight, and he has been recreant to bis duty. ‘To fail in duty in the band of the Pirates of the Chaparral you know well merits death, and hence Long Saul shall die,” and the chief spoke in his clear, distinct tones that all knew were in deadly earnest, ‘‘ Mercy, cap’n; fer tho’ I is willin’ ter risk death in a fight, I doesn’t like ter face it at ther end o’ a lariat!” cried Long Saul. ‘* No, you allowed one to escape whom I have long wished in my power, and you must suffer the penalty. ; ‘‘ Here, you men who were also guilty, get a lariat about his neck and string Kim to yonder limb and there leave him, for I shall move on to-night.” i Deine y ‘Say, cap’n, hain’t yer goin’ ter give a goo mano a chance, fer I A ved yer well?’ said Long Saul, as they were parties se rope about bis neck and pinioning his arms bebind bis back. ‘‘ ‘You serve me as the rest of the men do, to protect yourself and to enrich yourself,” was the cool reply. ‘‘ But I ought to have time to think up a few prayers I ust ter know, but which I hes forgot” ‘Prayers willdo you no good after the life be, have led, and forced from you by fear, and sides I have no time to lose, for 1 wish to get across the river by dawn.” ‘‘ But cap’n I~ ‘“‘ Hoist him up there and choke off his tongue!” was the savage order, and it was so literally obeyed that the tightening lariat cut short the words of the poor wreteh as he was dragged up intotheair. _ : ‘“Now, men, get ready for the march, and follow me,” coolly said the chief, and he rode out of the timber on his way to the nearest cross- ing of the Rio Grande, and slowly his band _fol- lowed him, silent and gloomy, for Long Saul had been a favorite with all, and besides they knew that Terror Tom now had a boid ally to aid him in dogging their trail. CHAPTER XIII. EL BRAVO STRIKES A TRAIL. WHEN El Bravo and his young bugler reach- ed the other side of the Rio Grande it was nearly dawn, and they halted to await the coming of the band. ‘ As the dead were to be let go in the middle of the river, it took some little time up ere all got across, weighted down as were the able-bodied with the wounded, and dawn had come ere they all reached the Mexican shore. While waiting, E] Bravo had been diligently searching for trails, and perfect borderman that he was it did not take him long to find the tracks left by Terror Tom and Billy Blue-Byes. —_— na ® sounnttimadnnamams wnegl But the third horse he could not. account for, nor was Bonita able to enlighten him, | ‘‘And now, Bonita, they have turned sharp off up the river as soon as they landed, keeping close in under the banks, and this course they could not keep for any great distance, as you know the quicksands are a mile above,” said the chief, ‘¢ Yes, senor.” , ‘‘They have, then, turned into some water- gulch, and are hiding there, and we can easily catch them, for I know of no way that they can get out without coming back here.” ‘¢ Si, senor chief.” ‘‘T shall, therefore, halt the men right here, and all shall go on the hunt for them—ah! there is Mexican Miguel, and he can tell me what I wish to know, ‘* Ho! Miguel!” ; ‘(Si Senor El Bravo,” answered a dark, evil- faced, wiry built Mexican, clad like a dandy in the costume of his country. ‘You know this shore well?” ‘‘ Every foot, senor.” ‘And any one going up the shore under the bank here, could not continue very far?” ‘No, senor.” “Why, Miguel?” “ The quicksands are a mile above, senor.” “But the water-washes!” ‘‘ They are plenty.” ‘ But are too precipitous for a person to get up?” ‘* ‘Yes, senor.” “Then if our foes went up this way they could not get out?” ‘‘ Not now, senor; but—” ‘* Well, Miguel?” “There was one water-wasl that ran back into the chaparral to the old padre’s chapel, now known as the Devil’s Ranch, senor. “The padre had a way made through it to the river, and then one could go from the Mier trail down the water-wash to the Rio Grande. ‘‘ But that was long ago, and now the chapar- ral has grown so dense at the head of the water- wash and around the chapel, that a wolf could hardly get through.” ‘‘ And certainly not a horse?” ‘‘No, senor.” ‘‘ And a man, Miguel?” ‘‘Would tear himself to pieces upon the thorns, senor.” ‘“‘Then, Miguel, our foes, Terror Tom and the Boy Rover are up that water-wash and can be captured.” . ‘But the chapel, senor?” Well?” ‘‘Why, it is haunted by the devil.” “T do not fear spirits, Miguel.” ‘‘ But diablos, senor? ‘Tcare not, Miguel, for the silly tales of the eople about the old ruin. . peop ; ‘‘T have heard that a priest was murdered there long years AGO, and that the place is a ruin and all dread it. , ‘‘But these two Americans dread nothing, and there we willfind them, if they can get out of the water-wash, and if not, they will be om this side of the river, hiding in some of the gulleys, for here leads their trail.” , ‘Ah, senor, don’t go there, for there is a curse on the Devil’s Ranch, and death will fol- low,” said Miguel, warningly, ‘‘ Bah! I will go, so come on, all but half a dozen of you men, who are to remain with the wounded !’ Miguel shook his head and not a man moved, ‘¢ Did you hear?” yelled El Bravo. No answer came, ‘¢7 order you to follow me!” . ‘‘ Senor chief, we will go anywhere but there, and not a man will follow you to the Devil’s Ranch,” firmly said the Mexican. El Bravo saw that every man was doter- mined, and then said sternly: ‘ Superstitious fools! I will go alone, “ Here, Bonita, [leave you in command, so move on to the hacienda with the band,” and witbout another word El Bravo rode away, fol- lowing the river close under the bank, while Bonita placed himself at the head of the band and gave the order to move on up the steep hill to the plateau, where they would strike the trail leading to their hacienda in the mountains, and which was their refuge in danger, and the place where they kept all of their booty and stolen stock, CHAPTER XIV. THE CHIEF'S DISCOVERY. : One reason of El Bravo’s great power over his men was, that they had often seen that he was wholly devoid of fear, and would face apy oe COMUNE cS | OOO) Go)