Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 425 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

o~ —————- — Rogers, the propeseior had planted himself on that particular spot, but he seemed contented there, with the lovely woman whom he called his ward, and as it was his business alone, no one ventured to question him about his choice of home. ‘ poger was an old frontiersman, and a man who had roughed it the golden years of his life: he had been miner, proprietor and vigilante, but the one being whom he seemed to worship knew less about him than many others. On the veranda of the rancher’s house one evening there sat two young people, one of whom, a young man of twenty-three, was en- Joying a fragrant cigar. is companion was the major’s ward, beauti- ful in the simple dress that clothed her willowy figure, and the possessor of a voice rich in sil- very tones. **T wish he would come to-night,” said the irl, ‘* Your stay will end when he comes, | ow, but you will have a companion across the liano.”’ ‘* T shall not insist,” was the answer, “ He is under no oblizations to accompany me. Be- sides, [ know ,the road, and am not afraid to travel alone.” ** But the peril,” cried the girl starting, ‘‘ The trail is the work-ground of desperadoes, red and white. It isa long ride to Camp Coyote, where our uncle is. ait till the major comes back, ou need not hurry. You have told me that it is not an urgent case.” ‘*T have been here a week,” ‘* That is nothing!” laughed the girl. ‘‘ Her- mosilla Ranch is your home as long as you wish to make it so.” There was no reply, for at that moment the young man caught sight of an object in the southeast, and all at oncé he left his chair with an exclamation. ** He comes at last!” . ‘Not the major, it cannot be! He would hard- some from that direction,” said his compan- 1,who had by this time caught sight of the same object. ‘That is a single horseman, and he rill not be alone when he comes back.” _ 4 We are going to have a visitor, then.” was now y < sada that the man fairly in t was rapidly Sparoecung the ,ranch-home, _ He was eagerly watched by the two young peo- ' pie on the porch, and in the shadows of evenin @ swung on over the undulating ground, anda last dashed up to the house, ‘‘ Heavens! he is a stranger,” exclaimed the girl starting back with gaze fixed upon the new- comer who was as handsome a man as ever filled a saddle. Robust, dark-faced and black-eyed, with broad shoulders and a splendid physique, admirably set off by rather gaudy clothes, a la ranchero, the solitary rider was a person to attract atten- tion anywhere. - His hair was black and long, and the breeze blew back the front of a broad-brimmed som- brero whose band was a piece of wide silver ing. He reined in his horse at the edge of the porch, and saluted the young girl in a chivalrous man- Yr Ad “Ts this Hermosilla?”’ he inquired, **This is Major Ralph’s ranch,” was the re- sponse. 4 Is he at home?” “Ah! said’ the ranchero with disappointed air. ‘‘A long ride for nothing, but I can come again. When will he be at home?” sen perbaps; may be not for two days et. More than once from under his abundant lash- es the man in the saddle glanced at the girl’s companion, and in his looks was a noticeable scowl which boded the young man no good. ‘‘Then we must go on, Mercury,” he said raeend his steed’s neck.- ‘* No Major Ralph to- night. ‘** You need not go, sir,” the girl said steppin ¥ forward. ‘ Make Hermosilla your home till he comes if you have business with him.” ‘*No; we must go. Tell him, though, when he does come that Laced Leon called. Good-night!” and before the girl could reply, the horse and his rider were almost out of sight. ‘Jehu! what parse ejaculated the man in the saddle, catching breath some distance from the house. ‘‘She grows prettier month by month. That young galoot has stayed long enough. I know what will happen if he tarries longer. Laced Leon,eh? ba! ha! I had to have some kind of a name for her, an’ that one did very well,” . ® man passed on untila clump of cotton- woods hid him from the house, ‘* Halt, Mercury!” he exclaimed. ‘‘ We must play the balance of our little game here.” A moment later he was joined by a boy on horseback—a youth not past sixteen, but well built and having the swarthy skin and glittering eyes of a half-breed. ‘IT found them together, King,” laughed Laced Leon, ‘‘She’s got him fairly in the net, an’ by heavens! it suits me not. know just what to do. He must continue his journey forthwith, Tl start him!” Laced Leon drew a little book from an inner ocket and laid it across the horn of the saddle. Then, covering it with a piece of paper, he wrote as follows with a short pencil: ‘““@amp CoYorTe. ‘‘My Dear Roy:—I want to see you at once. Lam very sick, an’ think [Tam dangerous, Let no grass grow under your horse’s hoofs after you get this letter. This hoy is a mute, but you can trust him. For heaven’s sake come to me at once. Time is precious! ‘* Your uncle, ‘‘ Huau.”’ ‘‘Ffere,” said Laced Leon, folding this letter which he thrust into the boy’s hand. ‘ You take this to the young man with the girl on the porch back thar. Remember that you are a mute, King. I have saidso in thelctter. Ride around the rise out yonder and then shoot straight toward the ranch as if you’ve just crossed the llano. If thet Jetter doesn’t break the spell and give me a winnin’ hand, you can choke me for a coyote.” Laced Leon laughed while the half-breed boy grinned and clutched the paper with an eager- ness to deliver. The next minute the border sport was alone, and the boy was riding away at a smart gal- lop. ‘ie vanished soon around the designated rise, and 2 ag Se rode toward the hacienda, ‘Look, Roy!” cried the girl. “‘We are to have another visitor. This time ‘he comes out of the terra incognita that lies between you and Camp Coyote.” Nothing was said as the boy came on, and drawing rein before the expectant couple on the porch, he leaned toward the youth and held out the paper. Roy sprung forward and snatched it eagerly from his hand. ‘‘Terrible!” he suddenly exclaimed sae at the breathless girl, who had alread gues that the message was one of vast importance. ‘‘T have tarried here too long. My uncle is dangerously sick. He sends for me. must go at once.” ‘Tt cannot be so bad,” said the girl. ‘‘Is it true that Hugh is deathly ill?” she appealed to the messenger. ‘Tell me that he can stay here till the major comes and then go. : The half-breed boy shook his head and pointed to his mouth. ‘‘A mute!” cried the girl, disappointed, What a coe messenger to send on an er- ind, rand of this You will not go to-night, Roy?” “T must, Inez, The paper says ‘at once,’ You forget that it is uncle Hugh who is the sick man. ‘But the perils of the Ulano?’”” she went on. ‘See! it is almost night now. You will have to ae the dangerous distance with a boy for a ide. ‘¢ But I will make it!” ‘*Then you will not stay?” “T dare not. I have been here too long al- ready, I fear.” The young beauty of the ranch turned away with a sigh, and the hoy was left alone before the porch, Night was settling down over the landscape, and the distance was growing dark and forbid- ding. There was a strange twinkle in the eyes of the so-called mute, as he glanced toward the clump of cottonwoods behind which he had left theman with the laced sombrero. Ten minutes had barely passed when Roy dashed up to the porch mounted on an elegant cream colored steed and equipped for the ride. At the same moment Major Ralph’s ward came out of the house and halted beside one of the col- umns that supported the veranda, ‘‘Hor Heaven’s sake be on the watch,” she pleaded of the youth. ‘‘ There are a thousand and one dangers between Hermosilla and Camp Coyote. I wish you would remain till Major Ralph comes. Be on your guard. They some- + oops decoy men to a terrible doom on the no ’ ‘But this is no decoy,” laughed Roy. ‘ Uncle Hugh is no double-dealer. Give my compli- Texas Trump, the Border Rattler. — ments to Major Ralph when he comes. Good- by, Inez.” He dropped the girl’s hand and lifted his hat as he wheeled and motioned the half-breed boy to follow. “Watch! watch!” called the Peri of Hermo- silla Ranch after him in tones of the deepest solicitude. ‘‘ The perils of the llano are more numerous then the stars. If Major Ralph comes soon, I will send him after you.” The young man and his strange guide were already beyond hearing distance, and the girl could see the horses and their riders mingling with the shadows of night. ‘What if it should be a decoy of some kind?” she exclaimed. ‘‘Men have been decoyed to the death-dangers of the Staked Plains. He may be a victim.” She looked southward again, but the twain had disappeared. ‘Oh, when will Major Ralph come?” she cried. At that moment a horse dashed up to the porch, and had no sooner halted there than she was at his side, ** Major Ralph! No!—heavens! it is the Mute Comanche!” she cried. ‘‘I believe Heaven has sent you here at this hour. Quick! wheel about and follow yon trail. Catch up with Roy—my friend—go with him to Camp Coyote! His onl companion is a dumb half-breed boy! My God! The letter that took him away might have been an infamous decoy!” The girl’s hand clutched the naked arm of a — cent looking Indian while she spoke. e sat on his horse like a statue, naked to the waist, with a sea of straight black hair, gleam- ing eyes, and fancifully fringed leggins. ‘* Ah!” said Inez, AY pee the arm suddenly, and starting back. ‘‘ I forget that you, too, are amute. But can’t I point you to the trail? I will! You must understand me!” , She went forward again, and pointed ex- ey citedly toward the south. ‘“*Go! Go!” she cried. ‘For my sake, Silent Sam, follow and guard the boy — across the llano! It 1ooks like a decoy to me, Itmeans death to him! It is some ivfamous plot! [I would give my life—” She said no more, for the Mute Comanche had wheeled, and was off like an arrow! CHAPTER II. A MAD RANCHER, For some moments the rancher’s ward occu- pied the porch and watched the flying Comanche out of sight. A strange man wes this red-skin, a mystery in red, as it were. He seemed born to the saddle, and nobody knew his past history. Silent Sam, as the whites called him, had not that look so peculiar to mutes, yet be never opened his lips, and his silence afforded some an opportunity to say that his silence was the re- sult of a vow of some kind. He soon disappeared from the girl’s sight; the '} horse and his rider vanished in the gathering night together, and Inez went back into the | house with ber mind full of the strange events that had i happened. ; She had been compelled to part with the guest of the hacienda just when a solid friendship had been formed; but, worst of ail, she had seen him | begin a dangerous journey with only a half- breed mute for a comrade, ‘“ What makes me think that he has fallen into J the meshes of some plot?” exclaimed Inez. ' ‘‘Heavens! I cannot tell, and yet this thought haunts me all the time. He was omeneyang leisurely to the-relative in Camp Coyote, just beyond the dreaded llano; but here comes a message for him to hasten on at once. Who wrote it—his uncle? How did the messenger— the dumb boy—know he was at Hermosilla Ranch? Ah! this shows a plot!” Inez waited a few moments longer, and then went to the stables attached to the ranch. ‘‘ Silent Sam may not have understood me,” she said to herself. ‘‘He is liable to miss the trail under the circumstances, though it is said that he never misses one. Major Ralph may not be home for several days. I will take the risk.” In less than five minutes the Rose of Hermo- silla had a lithe-limbed horse saddled for a ride, _ Already myriads of stars flecked the sky, and a fragrant wind came from the flowers that dot- ted the ew a short distance away. Inez led the horse to the porch and disap- peared in the house. Y ‘*T must leave a note for him when he comes. I cannot afford to play him false—no, not for {he world!” she said. In a little room fitted up with much magnifi- cence for that quarter of the Southwest, she comichbooks.c«c