Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 349 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

braves below, their ‘attention being drawn to the proceedings in camp. “lies As Big-Foot descended, he signaled his pards ate | over the opposite side of the entrance, to slay the three sentinels on their side, and then to near the river. “ae Then it was thet the horrible whoops sound- Poni, ed, asthe Apaches discovered that their dead nae had been scaiped and marked by the terrible he Wace chief, id No more favorable time could have been ot, choser for killing the sentinels than this, for ‘they were standing gazing dowr. into the camp, ‘where all was confusion, Black Wolf being then -eutting the captive Texans free from the stake, ae oN and ordering the wild mustangs to be brought ‘Oy forward, ie Big-Foot made a few gestures with his hand ae to his pards over the way, and soon after gave ey out the peculiar cry of anight-bird, The next instant each one of the sentinels was clutched .? oy the throat, thus preventing yells, and knives ee were plunged into their hearts, ? Every warrior was thus dispatched by the 5 ‘terrible bowies, then scalped and laid upon their blankets. Big-Foot jeft plain “‘sign” to enable the Apaches to see who it was that bad thus out- : witted them by severing the right ear of each— ¥ his well-known mark. Y his This was done while the Apaches were secur- ing the two Texans to the horses to be dragged to death, and not a warrior looked toward the entrance, The shrieks of the doomed men so tortured the scouts, who were powerless to rescue their friends, that they stole away into tlie depths of the timber in a circling course, aiming to reach “a point near to Captain Greene, whose position and evident agony had caused them much anguish of heart. All wished to rescue the old ranchero at any and all hazards. Another reason for the scouts thus proceeding was that they had observed the six braves dash ‘into the timber, at thecommand of Black Wolf, after the discovery that the dead braves had been scalped, their object being, evidently, to trace and capture the perpetrators of the deed, ie The vengeful yells as the discovery was made | by the Apache borde that the sentivels*had oi, been slain and scalped in broad daylight, coupled : with the scalping of the dead whom they had brought from Greene’s and Brown’s ranches, caused the warriors to be insanely eager to cap- 7, ture the detested Waco and the Giant Scout. is But well they knew that it was next to impossi- ? ble to ’capture either; but, nevertheless, Black Wolf: ordered a score of braves to search the ‘timber on both sides of the bend from the camp to the river—both parties meeting at the base of ’ the bend, At once the search began, The thickets were penetrated and beaten with clubs by the frantically furious braves. Black Wolf, the remainder of his warriors fol- lowing him, returned to the bend’s inner swell near the camp-fires. Then, and not until then, was another most ie startling discovery made by the Apaches. ae Their captive, Captain Greene, who had been securely lashed to a tree, and who had seemed i a more dead than alive, was nowhere to be seen. nea: The old ranchero bac in some manner escaped, Bae robably assisted by the Giant Scout, or the ° ti, Bee - ee ° > ‘eae aco chief, seta Thus reasoned Black Wolf, his snake-like eyes aa ‘flashing with murderous expressions. Ve His war-partv had met with grand success; “et but there seemed to be a turn in the tide, for everything had goné wrong since he had en- camped. The savage chief was almost beside me himseif with rage, grief and anxiety of mind, aR as well as fatigue of body. He had thought to ain much praise and prestige by this raid; but is prospects seemed very slim. ‘: A score of braves followed their chief, who ae dashed inte the timber, from the point where ‘ the dead had lain, toward the river; ordering his followers to spread out ip a long line, in order that they might not lose the chance of i - a capturing Wild Wolf, the Waco, is Eee, ut, 4 moment after, the chief was again as- ee es and enraged by a horrible whoop near at band, This spoke of death by its depth, strangeness, , and intonation. ce). Another, and still another whoop sounded; Be and it was soon ascertained that the braves who had been sent out to search for the despoilers and mutilators of their slain, had also met -death! They lay scalpless here and there, each with hasfen fron. the vicinity to the base of the bend, . Wild Wolf, the Waco. a gaping wound in his breast; their hearts cloven by bowie-knives, while that dread mark upon their forebeads told the whole story. Their slayer was the terrible Waco chief, Wild Wolf! CHAPTER XI. WOMEN ON THE WAR-PATH., Wr will now return to Warnona and Dove e, Both had galloped on, through the post-oaks, the Waco squaw seeming to keep her course by instinct; alubough, at times, she would jerk her horse to a halt, dismount, and place her ear to the ground, Then, seemingly satisfied, she “ould remount and dash on without addressing Gracie; aft whom, however, she would now and taen glance with deep svulicitude. The latter had arrived at a most peculiar state of mind. Her terrible bereavement, and the horrors through which she had passed, together with the long and weary gallop, had dazed her over- taxed brain, and her eyes were glassy and un- natural in expression. She had been over- whelmed wifi such grief and anguish as few maidens could have borne, and retain their rea- son; but the consciousness that all of her loved ones, except her father and her lover, were slain, and that she would be alone in the world, if they tco should be victims—this caused her to wi ra up, and keep but one object before her mind, This was, to rescue her only parent and Ger- ald, or die in the attempt. As has been stated, Gracie Greene would never have thought of such.an attempt, consid- ering it impossible, had not she been prompted and led by the indomitable Warnona, The Waco squaw seemed to be possessed with the assurances, daring, bravery, and skill of a warrior; and sbe instilled into the mind of Gracie something of these qualities, so needful to the occasion. Aft first, upon discovering the remains of her loved-one3, the poor girl had felt no desire to live; but, afterward, when she became con- vinced that ber father and Gerald were cap- tives, she was filled with an insane desire to do allin her power to rescue them from such a ter- rible fate. This seemed possible of accomplish- ment, after Warnona’s reasonings, and decided resolve to attempt the feat, The very costume she had donned, the war- paint, and the companionship of the Waco woman, impressed Gracie, and imbued her with resolute daring, and a firm reliance’ on the squaw and herself. Her mind wasin such astrange and unnatu- ral mot fi that she acted in a manner strange to herself, She. imagined that she was gifted with strength and skill for the occasion—that she was to take astrong part in a magic drama, which would end in the liberation of the two so dear to her—this strength and fortitude being given ber, as an avenger; and that she would be guided, scathless, through the dread ordeal, It was a strange and beautiful sight to see that pair of female avengers, and determined rescuers, as they sped ou their dangerous mis- sion, _ Knowing the peril, ahead of them, and that they were liable to fall into the hands of the Apaches, and be dcomed to a fate, which caused a convulsive shudder to think of—know- ing this, and all thet depended upon caution— Wearnona, before it_ was dawn, forded the river, and passing the belt of timber, to the south lain, proceeded on, up. the Medina, Gracie fol- owing her without comment, At times, both would halt, and as the Apaches were on the verge of the timber north of them, and near to the point where they intended camping, the sound of the galloping horses could be detected easily. From this fact, ‘the squaw was enabled to locate the camp, when the sun first appeared in the east, She searched, hastily, for a place in which they could Jeave the horses, This was soon found, and loosening girths, and removing bridles, the animals were left to graze in a small ** open,” Warnona and Gracie then proceeded to the bank of the river, where the sounds from the Apache camp betrayed its exact position. Then it was, that the free and rambling life of Gracie Greene favored her; for Warnona de- cided to climb a tree, and cross over the river upon the interlaced branches, and then on, in the same manner, to the border of the bottom- timber. From that locality, they could, with- out danger of discovery in the vine and moss- ee ee pr eee eee - TT TM draped limbs, view the Apache camp, and de- cide upon their future operations, Warnona did not, herself, believe there would be an opportunity to rescue the captives until the following night, under cover of tbe dark- ness; but she hoped that something favorable might occur. | Although quite weary, from the long night- ride, Gravie appeared to be gifted with skill and determination. Sheclimbed nearly as well as the Waco squaw, and in a little time, they both arrived at a point, from which they could view the camp of the war-party; themselves being concealed from view. . At the very moment that they gained a favorable position, whence they could behold the savage scenes in the ‘‘open” of the bend, Wild Wolf was scalping the Apache corpses; while the war-party were engaged in appeasing their voracious ar ig and consequently not watchful, especially in the direction of a point which they deemed perfectly secure, Warnona, however, could not see her war- rior husband; and he had vot the slightest sus- picion of her presence. Thus it was, that the Waco chief, bis squaw, Gerald Granger, and Gracie, were within twenty yards of each other; the males dream- ing not of the presence of the females, and no probxbility, under the circumstances, of either party’s being made aware that the others were in their neighborhood. Stealthily Warnona made her way into dif- ferent portions of the tree, bidding Gracie re- main still and silent; the squaw being deter- mined to ascertain the position of the captives. Warnona knew that the trail of Gerald, at Greene’s Ranch, had been made after the Apaches had departed, and she believed that the young scout had been on the trail of the war-party, and was now in the vicinity; he thinking that the Indians held Gracie captive, as well as ber father, Waruona bad deceived the young girl, in this respect, as we have seen, in order to Induce her to set out with herself on the trail. But a very brief time elapsed, when the squaw perceived that Captain Greene was se- cured toa tree-—-and the very one, within the branches of which she and Gracie were con- cealed! A close inspection of the surroundings decided Warnona that there were no other captives. While deliberating as to the manner she should inform the captive of her presence, the signal whoops of the rear party of Apaches, who came galloping toward the camp with the two Texans, rung out, followed by the exult- ant whoops of the entire horde, Warnona was, at first, greatly excited, fear- ing tbat Gerald had been captured; and the sight of her lover being biutally used by the red fiends would cause Gracie to shriek out, or descend to the earth, and rush to ber death, ina vain effort to save bim. Considering the state of the bereaved maiden’s mind, this did not seem in the least improbable. Greatly relieved, however, was the squew, upon finding thet Gerald was not one of the last brought in captives; yet she knew the men, and was therefore in a furious state of mind, when sbe saw them brutally jerked from their borses, by their captors. But a joyous surprise awaited her, and one of which she bad not dreamed, This was, when Blsck Wolf ordered the corpses to be placed around the captives at the stake. As the reader knows, the deed Apackes had been scalped and marked by Wild Wolf, This surprise was blended witb the relief of a most thankful heart, from the fact that when the braves, ordered to bring the dead, sprung from the camp, they ran directly toward the tree in which were Waernona and Grecie, The first thought of the squaw was that Gracie bad been imprudent, and revealed ber position among the branches, and that the Indians were about to secure her. In consequence, Warnona made ready to sell ber life dearly, in protecting berself and her friend. But. the hraves swerved to the left, and im- mediately after, Warnona not only knew that she and Gracie were safe for the time being, but that Wild Woif was near at band, and on the war path. The beart of the young squaw swelled with pride, at the thought that her spouse hed ac- complished such a daring feat as toscalp the enemy’s dead, under their very noses. He was then somewhere near, and Warnona believed that Gerald Granger was with him. feet. Sa Much relieved and elated was she; and the On ! : 4 * . 7 Pap i ¥. : of - ; } | ‘ a = > ay . rs r . e. “4 * - Md JX. - Ly ‘is ‘ 4 4 © . Paty h.* * '