Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 348 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

- ome eee ee ee sure that she was not observed; then she made a motion for Belton to lower his ladder. He did so, and the girl soon was in the cave. ‘‘Glad see all safe,” she said. ‘* The Fire- heels did wrong to leave the Omaha camp when he did.. He should have known that Tamina was laying a trap for him.” ** Had | known it, my good friend, you kin be shore I wouldn’t hev gone. But how did you find it all out, for 1 reckon you now know everything about it?’ ‘‘The hunter is right. and he told her.” ‘Did he send you byar?” “Tt is true; with this,” And she presented a scrap of paper to Bel- Lona met Skinflint, n. It was as follows: “DeaR FRrrenD:—Things is goen on well. I’m shadowin’ a sart’in person, and hope ’fore long to el’ar bed from the accoosation of murder. Don’t ou fret ef yer dun’t sea, fur sum time, yer best riend, SKINFLINT.”’ ** Whar is Skinflint now?” inquired Belton, ‘* Lona cannot tell. She met him in the woods, yesterday, and be told her all about you, and | gave ber this note.” ‘*He is keen enough to see that you kin be trusted.” ‘*Itistrue, There is nothing Lona would not do for the white hunter,” answered the girl, ina low voice, Belton now described to her the mysterious stranger he had seen the night before, and re- lated all that had happened on that occasion, She listened eagerly. Her eyes shone like stars, ‘* Lona very glad,” she said. ‘‘ Fireheelssoon allright. The white stranger will go to the justice and tell all.” ‘* 'Phar’s the trouble! I don't know whether he will or not. Perhaps, ef you could find him, you might persuade him to.’ ‘‘Lona will find him,” the girl answered. ** And she will get him to go with her before the justice.” Without another word she quickly descended the ladder, and as Belton drew it up, he saw her disappear among the rocks on the other side of the valley beyond. CHAPTER IX, A SURPRISE, On the night following the visit of Lona to Belton’s cave, two persons wearing masks stood in a clump of shrubbery near the road then usually taken by the mail-coach from Virginia City to Salt Lake. ““ A wagon, you say?” remarked the taller of the two. ‘Yes, a wagon—a plain wagon, and yet with fifty thousand dollars in gold- ust hidden in a bag under the front seat. ** And no guard?” ‘** Yes, half a dozen miners, but there’s more than a bullet for each of them as soon as they get to the turn of the road yonder, near which our ten men are posted,” ‘*Good; tell yer what, Lorne, the better I know yer, the greater’s my admiration of yer.” ‘‘Never mind your admiration, Henderson. Now that you have become one of my band, your business is simply to obey me, and to help me in cases where pluck is required.” “Well then, after the miners bev all been gaot what’s to be done with the bodies?” ‘‘A few sharp spades will soon dispose of them. The ground is soft and holes are soon dug.” ‘But the wagon and horses?” “We'll set fire to the prairie grass, and burn them up—bhorses and all. ‘‘Why, thunder! yer’sa perfect genius!” said Skinflint, ‘‘ But we’ve been heer an hour, and I don’t yet heer the wagon comin’.” ‘‘Tt’ll be along soon.’ ‘*T think I heer it now. if I kin ‘twig’ it?’ ‘* All right, but be careful the miners don’t see you watching them, or they may suspect something.” Skinflint glided away asstealthily asashadow, making no noise with his soft moccasins, He was soon out of Lorne’s sight, in the shrubbery which skirted the road. Lorne listened, and, in a short time, he heard the wagon coming. It sooned reached the turn of the road, but the outlaw beard no shot fired, Puzzled to account for this, he crept toward the spot where he had posted his ten men. He saw them peering through the bushes at the wagon, which had stopped, but which ap- parently, contained no riders! S’posin’ I go and see Fireheels; or, Old Skinflint, the Death-Shadow. ‘Come, you fools, why don’t you rush out and see what’s the matter?” said the outlaw chief to his men. ““We think ther’s some trick fur us!” an- swered one, ‘‘Them miners might be hid in the bottom of the wagin, in wait to surprise us.’ ‘To surprise you? and what of it? Are there notten of you! the matter is,” continued Lorno as he moved, pistols in band, toward the wagon. His gang followed him, He got upon a wheel spoke and looked in. As he did so, a man thrust bis head from un- der some canvas where he bad been lying. [t was Skinflint. ** Halloa!” cried Lorne in astonishment. ** Halloa!” echoed Skinflint. ** What does this mean!” said the other. ‘What does what mean?” inquired Skinflint, ‘*'You being here and no miners.” ** No miners?” * Yes, the miners we were going to rob, and tbe bag of gold-dust!” cried Lorne impatiently. ‘* Miners and bag of gold-dust?” said Skinflint, scratching his head in a puzziedfashion, Then, as his eyes lighted up, he said: ‘*Tt seems to me 1 do remember somethin’ of the kind!” ‘Come, explain yourself,” said Lorne. Skinflint appeared to be reflecting. ‘‘T hey it now,” be suddenly cried. ‘I went to see ef the wagin was comii’ didn’t I?” sé Yes,” ‘Well, the miners must hey see’d me peerin’ at ’em, fur I remember somethin’ strikin’ me on the bead, and then I knowed no more till I found myself in this yere wagin, jist before you louked in it.” “You don’t know what became of tke miners?” ‘‘No, but I reckin they’ve gone to git help from a buntin’-party pot fur off, which I no- ticed in the moonlight ’fore I was hit, on one of the hills yonder. They must hev see’d your men lurkin’ in the brush, and hev guessed what they were arter.”’ ‘And so made off with the gold, first put- ting you in the wagon?” - * Yes, fur safe keepin’, I reckon,” said Skin- i int. “What made the horses stop, as they have just done?” ‘Yer must ask the hosses "bout that,” re- plied Skinflint. ‘*It seems very strange,” cried Lorne. “Stranger things hey happened ‘fore now. Ker-whoop! hyar they come, and we’ll all be hanged ef we don’t take leg-bail!” added Skin- flint, as a distant shout was beard, anda band of hunters, followed by the miners, were seen ppprosching from the direction of the hill he ha inted out. ‘*Come, men, we'll bave to streak it now!” said Lorne, Followed by his companions, be burried through a narrow gully, leading into the heart of a dense thicket. Finally the gang entered a rocky cave, which they often used for a temporary shelter. The opening they closed with a bowlder, which would prevent any person near the place from guessing that a cave was there. Skinflint accompanied the others to their place, whence the gang finally set out for this regular rendezvous among the mountains. CHAPTER X. THE MYSTERIOUS WITNESS. AFTER leaving Belton, Lona repaired to her camp. A few minutes later Tamina also made his ap- pearance, The girl looked at him closely. : ‘‘Why does Lona watch me?” he said, coming close to her side. ‘* Lona would like to know where Tamina has been,” she answered. The truth was she suspected that the youth hed been tracking her, and she thought she could make sure of it by his manner when she ques- tioned him. It is nothing to Lona where he has been,” was the sullen answer. She at once inferred that, missing her from baa + mee Tamina had tried to find her, but had ailed. She went to her tent, and soon was fast asleep. Tamina also repaired to his tent, but not to sleep. His eyes were flashing like coals of fire, and his mouth was set as if with some fierce urpose, ‘*The time has at last come!” be muttered. ‘*Tamina is no longer an Omaha, No, his beart | Tamina, ‘*Come, now, let us see what | ' Z is turned from the tribe who have given shelter to his worst enemy. His mother was of the Snake tribe. The Si are now the foes of the Omahas, but they shall be the friends of He will go to the Snakes, and there be will seek another squaw. But Lona shall never be the wife of the white hunter. I have said it. I will prove my words.” An hour later, when all the Indians in the | camp except himself were asleep, he stole to Lona’s tent. Looking round him to make sure he was not observed, he glided into the shelter. The girl was fast asleep. Through a small crevice in the tent, the light of the moon fell upon her long, black hair, which streamed over her shoulders, For a moment the young Indian gazed upon her; then he drew a long knife from bis belt, and stealthily approached her, Kneeling down by her side, he raised his deadly weapon, holding it directly above her scaly so that the blow should be sure and etal. The blade was about to be driven to the baft in Lona’s beautiful bosom, when the Indian felt a grasp like that of steel upon his wrist, and his hand was pulled aside, causing the knife to de- scend into the ground. ‘ Turning, the savage beheld the visage of Skin- int. ‘You war out of yer reckinin’, that time, In- jun!” cried the hunter. ‘*Ugb! Knife goin you, first!” grunted Ta- mina, ceraged. But, ere he could lift the weapon, he felt the cold muzzle of a revolver at bis head. ‘*’m not onprepared,” said Skinflint, quietly. The noise awoke Lona, who at once rose, staring, in surprise, at the two intruders. **'W bat means this?” she said. “It means that this chap war a-goin’ to kill yer by stickin’ yer, as ef yer war nothin’ more’n a pig. I hev been follerin’ him to see which way he went, thinkin’ he might be tryin’ to cut up some shine I didn’t want him to.” He gave Lona a significant glance as he spoke, and sbe understood him, knowing that be had tracked Tamina, in order to see if he should detect the cave in which Belton was hidden. ‘** Arter follerin’ bim some time, I saw him fetch up in this camp. I hung about a little while, when, the fust thing I knowed, he comes out of his own tent and makes fur yourn. I suspected he meant mischief, and it seems I was right. Glad I came in time to purvent his work,’ ‘**So Tamina would kill Lona?” said the girl, addressing the youth. ‘“‘ Why did he—” But, ere she could finish the sentence, the In- dian, by a quick movement, broke from Skin- flint’s grasp, which had been a littie relaxed, and rusbed out of the tent. ‘*Let bim go,” said the bunter, carelessly, to the girl. ‘‘I reckin you'll find him good rid- dance. But yer better be keerful, as he may hang about byar, tryin’ to git another blow at yer witb his knife.” ‘Lona is not afraid,” she answered. ‘ But she thanks the wbite man for saving her life,” Skinflint having spoken a few more words, took his departure, wben the brave Indian girl, again lying down, went to sleep, as if nothing had happened to disturb her. At dawn she rose, and after breakfast, start- ed on a bunt for the mysterious youth, who had met Belton, on the night before, and had said that he knew who had killed the young lady found murdered in the woods, Lona after a long and diligent search, found certain tracks of small feet on the ground. She looked at them narrowly as she followed the trail, until at length she lost all trace of them where they terminated among rocks. She, however, kept on, but she bad not pro- ceeded far when the ring of a rifle saluted her ears, not far off, and ske heard a bullet pass over her head. Turning, she beheld Tamina, making off at full speed, holding a smoking rifle in his band. ‘“*So he is determined to kill Lona,” mut- tered the girl. ‘‘We shall see. The Omaha braves shall soon be on bis track!” As she spoke sbe saw a youthful stranger whom she had not previously noticed, running in a direction opposite to that pursued by the Indian. That this was the person whom Belton had spoken of, and wished her to see, she did not doubt, so, with the speed of a deer, she ran after, and soon overtook bim. The lad, as she confronted him, pulled his slouched hat further down over his eyes. ee would speak with the white boy,” she sal — . ae ee iat) tmp, mma tell 900ks.com