Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 41 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

Oe eee eee eee 8 ee — ge = = SS — —— - 10 It was Lieutenant Jourdan who asked the | Sir George was allowed the privileges of the question, camp, and with his cane in hand was moving ‘** Yes, they are gone, lieutenant, gone!” about with all the freedom of Texan Terror him- ‘‘ Ah! what is that?—a lifeless body, asI live.” | self. . They advanced and bent over the prostrate, This seemed a little strange to the ten ay lifeless form that lay a few Ss away. | he could not understand its meaning. He knew . The d face was upturned in the moon- | that Sir George was quite op Speeds. in his light, and the lassy eyes were wide open and | conversational faculties when he was a mind to staring up at the starry sky. | be, but he did not think he could work himself + By eaven, lieutenant!” exclaimed Jack; | into the confidence of an Indian, despite the ‘don’t you recognize that face?’ magic of his tongue, so deeply as to be permit- “IL do not.” | ted the entire freedom of the camp. And from “Tt is the face of Juarez Diaz, the Texan | what he had seen of Sir George, he could not Terror! think there was a traitorous element about him. And he was dead—stark and stiff. But who, But, he was soon destined to change bis opin- had slain him? | ion, In the course of the evening he saw Texan CHAPTER XIV. Terror button-hole the Englishman and lead him ENGLISHMAN VERSUS FREEBOOTER. _to one side out of ear-shot of the savages, and IT now becomes necessary that we should go | enter into a private conversation with him. back and follow up the adventuresome footsteps | Now was old Dan’s chance to learn the mean- of Sir Geor Tei eontiaadl, | ing of Sir George’s freedom and intimacy with After their escape from the wagon-corral on | the Mexican freebooter, and creeping along un- the prairie, the party, including Sir George, der shadow of the trees, he succeeded in gain- Old Dan and the two traders, tried to keep up | ing a point within easy ear-shot of the twain, with Lasso Jack, but failed. The young mus- | and the first sentence he heard caused him to tanger soon left them all far behind, and being start with surprise. It was put in the form of a mounted upon one of the heavy draught-horses, | question, thus: Sir George soon found himself far behindall the | ‘* Then the girls are alive, eh?’ rest. He could not make his animal go out of | It was Texan Terror who asked the question. a slow, tiresome gallop, and escape from the | hemes they hare halive,” he heard Sir George e ursuing savages he saw at once was an impossi- | reply. i ‘Did Lasso Jack and Old Dan Dorne carry ility. | He was armed with nothing but the indispen- | them off?’ the guide again heard Diaz ask. sable gold-headed cane, and he seemed to regard “No; we left them within the inclosure of his capture, now that it was so promising, with | wagons before we came away.” a cool indifference. In fact, when he saw that it ‘* Sacre!” exclaimed the freebooter in surprise. was useless to belabor his horse for a speed that | “T believe you are lying, man!” was not in him, that capture was certain, he | ‘That his cool, hold feller, but AI ham hable calmly drew rein, tied a handkerchief to the end | to prove hall hI say, Mr. Diaz.” of his cane and waved it above his head. “Able to prove that you left the nieces of There were those among the ——— who | Captain Gray on the prairie within the inclos- knew the import of the flag and conveyed its | ure of wagons?” meaning to their friends. ‘* Yes.” The next minute the Englishman was sur- rounded by the savage horde, among whom leave them?—surely not in any of the wagons.” were several white renegades. _ “No, not at hall, Texan Terror. But then AL ‘Hullo, here!” exclaimed one of the latter; | ham not willing to tell you where they hare un- ‘‘ what have we got here so ryote A white- | less you will hagree to one thing.” livered coward?” and he eyed Sir George with a | _ ‘‘ And suppose I won’t agree to it?” retorted comical grin upon his brutal dissipated face. | Texan Terror. “T believe yet youare lying. Where did you “hOwing to the superiority hof your ’orse- ‘*Then AI will not tell where the girls hare.” flesh, Al su you ’ave a prisoner hof war,” ‘*Then you will lose your scalp. ’ replied Sir George. ‘*hI ham ready to die, hand die game too.” ‘Humph!” ejaculated the renegade mouth- Texan Terror’s brow knitted with anger, then piece, ‘‘ we never take prisoners of war.” | he became thoughtful. He was studying some Very well, AI am willing to go free hon | way to circumvent the Englishman. At last he ole. said: $ When you leave us it. will be without your % Woh, hindeed!—the devil you say, you sav- age barbarian. Well, sir, Al am a child. hof | fate, but Aif you git my scalp you will ‘ave to Lord Terror fight for hit.” into han iance of friendship, now that we ‘Well, well, Britisher, you've got a leetle | hare friends wr grit, ain’t you? But, seein’as what you’ve got ‘So we are, but then you are to be recognized no weapons but a harmless cane, I guess you | only as a common warrior.” can jist ride on with us, and when we git more | ‘‘hExactly; but in the girl case hT propose to time we'll see what yer made of.” ‘ave my own wayor b’ust. If you want to ‘“‘hExactly, friend barbarian; lead on and AI | know where they hare, you must come to my ‘“You should remember, sir, that you, as a common subject, are not to dictate to me, Tex- an Terror.” ‘“hOh, hindeed! AI beg your pardon, my but AI thought we ’ad better henter will follow you with hall the’onorhof aprisoner | terms. If not, you may lift myscalp and be of war.” darmed.” Two of the party took Sir George in charge, Texan Terror frowned ferociously, then re- while the rest of them galloped on in pursuit of the other flying fugitives. | ‘‘Name your desires, then.” As they rode on, Sir George kept aclose watch ‘‘Thank you. Well, there is a girl hapiece upon the movements of his conductors, in hopes | for us. hI am to ’ave my choice hand you take of catching them off their guard. In case he | the other. Both hare very pretty, hextremely did, it. was his intention to deal them a blow up- | ’#ndsome. Now if you will go with me halone, on the head with his cane, knock them off their | AI will take you to where the maidens hare. horses, which he would then stampede and We will’ave to be ina ’urry too, unless Lasso make his escape. But no such an opportunity | Jack will be back and get them before we reach was offered. ite his indifference to cap- | there.” tivity, the eyes of the savage captors were con- ‘“Why not take a few warriors along as an es- stantly upon him. cort?” asked Diaz, a little suspiciously. They rode on, and as no opportunity for es- ‘‘ Not ha warrior, Mister Terror, else hI don’t cape was offered, Sir George found himself at | go. AI will die first. We two must go halone dark in camp in a cottonwoodgrove with the | —take hextra ’orses for the maidens to ride. AI whole band of Comanches and freebooters. tell you, Terror, they hare pretty, lovely and The that had captured him had been | hangelic. You will be a ’appy man to get one oined during the evening by Texan Terror and | hof them.” is band, and to this chieftain’s mercy the cap- The Englishman had succeeded in rendering tive was now turned over. the will of the brutal, sensual freebooter per- The band numbered about four-score, and ex- | fectly pliable, and had no trouble now in bend- perienced no fears of being pursued, but lay | ing it to suit his own purposes, whatever they and sat about their camp-fires in perfect —— | were. ; of mind. No guards were posted, for they knew | The desire to possess one of the lovely maid- there was no enemy Within miles of them that | ens of whom he had heard so much from the was of sufficient strength to give them the least | lips of his spies, completely overbalanced all trouble. Yet at the very moment they consi- | other desires and dulled the precautionary In- dered themselves free from all prying eyes and | stinctof the Mexican chief, and he was ready miles from an enemy, Old Dan Dorne was skulk- | to do anything Sir George proposed. But at ing within ear-shot of their camp. the same time he held the Englishman 1m igno- And to the old hunter’s surprise he saw that | minious contempt, as a cowardly, weak-minded | plied: Beadle’s Half-Dime . Library. creature, whose life he was only mering for the secrets that he hoped to compel him to divulge. And there was an undercurrent in Sir George’s conversation that Dan Dorne failed to fathom, for he was too enraged to think of aught else but of slaying the cowardly traitor, and more than once he grasped his rifle to do the deed but his better judgment at once prevailed, and he desisted from an act that was sure to bring danger down upon his own head. Returning to camp, Texan Terror at once ordered four of the best horses in the corral bridled and saddled, and when they were brought out, the ie chiéf and Sir George mounted, and with a led horse each, took their departure from a ‘ By cracky!” exclaimed old Dan, “Tl stop their game, and their circulation too, Ill carry the sine A o’ Sir George alongside o’ that o’ Texan Terror to the fort.” . And thus musing to himself, the old guide did his utmost to get in ahead, but, they took a dif- ferent course from what he expected, and es- caped the death he had prepare or them. n over the prairie the grim Texan Terror lloped, side by side with his new friend, Sir seorge. The emotions of the two, as they rode onward side by side, will never be known, but judging from the nervousness with which the would regard each other occasionally, it was evi- dent that something antagonistic lurked within their breasts. _ Sir George still carried his cane, which came in good play now as a riding-whip. But the secret connected with that cane was unknown to all save its owner; but Diaz might have sus- eh something had he noticed the glances ir George gave him occasidénally, accompanied by a quick, nervous movement with the cane. Hour after hour the oped on, the clatter of their horses’ hoofs being the only sound that broke the solemn silence of the midnight hour. As the point of their destination drew near, the emotions of the two became stirred up to a high pitch of excitement, but while Texan epi s ig ree were brig of racuigy 2 Acris im- ience “heey one of the s, Sir George’s rend far different. = i At length they drew near the mound of fresh dirt throw out to conceal that taken from the excavation in which the maidens hac been concealed. As they drew near the mound, Sir George gazed around him as though laboring under a Sie Asi one then drew rein and dismount- ed. ‘Texan Terror did likewise. Then side by side they advanced toward the place where he —Sir George—had helped to conceal the girls. . regan the Englishman came to a dead t. ‘By St. George!” he exclaimed, pointing to a second hole. in the ground before him, “ the girls hare ne, Terror; there is where they were concealed.’ Had his hat-rim not shaded his eyes as he spoke, Texan Terror might have seen the light of joy that beamed in hiseyes. As it was, how- ever, the freebooter turned like a maddened beast and glared upon him, There was. latent meaning enough in the Englishman’s words to arouse a demon within his wicked heart. “Villain!” he finally burst forth, ‘‘ you have been deceiving me all the time!” Me speis Sa lord, I ’ave not. Al ’elped to ut the girls there Ain that very hexcavation. ut, they hare gone, hand we hare disappointed —both hof us, my lord,” replied Sir George, as a strange smile swept over his face; ‘‘some ‘as found the maidens, hand taken them ‘“Rascal, you are lying!” roared the pirate chief; ‘‘ you have deceived me—got me here through hopes of getting away, yourself!” ‘*hOb no, my lord, kl could not deceive you.” *‘Wretch, do not add fuel to my wrath! I see through your whole cunning scheme! I see why you were so anxious for us to come alone, You expected to meet some white friends here and ia you out. But in this you have been deceived, and now your miserable life—which is a perfect lie itself, shall pay for your cunning; you shall die!” He d the haft of his tomahawk and sta toward his victim, bis eyes glowing with a deadly malignant fire. But, Sir George was on the alert, and before the villain could disen- gage his tomahawk from his girdle, a long, glittering blade leaped from the staff of Sir George’s cane and was driven to the heart of the freebooter. . With a shriek, a convulsive clutching at the open air, Texan gered forward, and fell dead. ‘Ha! ah! ah!” laughed Sir George, in a low, asp, a wild error stag- (EOE KOO KS (E(@)