Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 427 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

4 e--- - oe pied with pleasant thoughts in connection with the expected return of her loved husband, she might have been gloomily oppressed by the som- ber shades, the weird, swaying moss, and the ghost-like sigh of the waters as they flowed amid the shore-reeds near at hand. As the sun sunk lower and lower, more dis- mal became the view; and one who might have chanced into that ‘‘open” would not have dreamed that a habitation of man was within the same until he stumbled upon it. Still Marion Munroe lingered in her chair, at times listening intently, and gazing wistfully and anxiously toward the undergrowth up the stream, through which she had hoped, ere this time, to have seen her brave and handsome young husband break hastily, upon his favorite steed. Yet he came not. The babe, with dimpled arms around its mother’s neck, and head upon her shoulder, sunk into infantile slumbers. Clasp close your babe, Marion; for long, ay, even an eternity in seeming, will it be ere again that child reposes thus in your loving arms! Except the ghostly whispering of the slowly surging and swaying moss above her head, and the equally somber sounds from the rippling waters adjacent to the cabin, the river-bottom was as silent—and had been throughout the en- tire afternoon—as a tomb; and, to a nervous imagination, it would have seemed oppressive, if not ominous of danger at the least. But the young wife and mother was accus- tomed to the solitudes of nature, and it was only the non-appearance of her husband that gave her the least annoyance. Yet that somber scene was fated to be sud- denly transformed from a natural paradise to a pandemonium, and an ill-omened vulture seem- cd to have been, by the cruel Fates, chosen to give the signal for the terrible change that was coming. This bird, which had evidently gorged itself from the carcass of some wounded ‘animal, strove to fly from the branch upon which it had been perched, but fell, with a great whisking of foliage and flapping of wings, down, until clear of the same, Then it dropped upon the flower- bespangled sward of the * Opa, » opposite the cabin, and not ten feet from the watching wife on the veranda, Marion was startled greatly from the sudden- ness of the unexpected appearance of the foul bird, and the commotion it had occasioned. The huge buzzard stood gazing with its repul- sive eyes directly at the young woman. It pre- sented a revolting sight, and one that occasioned loathing and aversion; for its béak and feathers were smeared with gore and Carrion stains. Little dreamed Marion Munroe that the foul bird before her had been thé direct’ means, by its flight and fall, of drawing the attention of a hideous paint-daubed Apacho: Jextie 6 '* open,” to the cabin home, and to herself—that the buz- vard was destined to be the’ primé cause of bringing upon her and hers such agony and de- spair as but few mortals are ovpnTonnad upon to endure, So it was, however. Barely had the bird gained a firm footing upon the sward when, with a crashing of the undergrowth that. bordered the“ open,” there carted out an Apache brave, in all his hideous paraphernalia of war. As the savage caught sight cf the woman and child, a single ejaculation burst from his brutal lips, his astonishment and exultation plainly ex- pressed in it: b6 Ugh 199 As this guttural sound reached her, Marion gave a shriek of mortal terror, _—_—- eo CHAPTER V. MAD MUNROE AND THE MARAUDERS. THE little cabin home of Madison Munroe ap- peared to be, at the particular time of which we speak, the central point toward which more yarties than one were attracted, and that hrough some strange and unaccountable in- fluences. Surely the good and evil Fates were exerting their powers to control the lives of that little household, and to attract toward the bank of the Rio Concho men with both good and evil purpose and intent; which would cause a chain of events the most dreadful and horrible, and bringing misery and anguish upon those in whom we are most interested. What, then, must it have been to endure what we can but faintly describe?” It so happened that an Apache war-party en- camped just across the Rio Concho from the cabin of Mad Munroe, and a most trivial inci- The Three Trailers. dent led to the discovery of the home of our friends. One of the braves had, when on the south bank of the river, discovered on the opposite shore a fine fat deer drinking; but it was impos- sible for the Indian to get a fair shot at the animal with his bow, ‘The savage therefore waited until the buck had satisfied its thirst, and turned about, re-entering the dense under- growth. This was not more than a bow-shot below the cabin of our friends. The Indian at once swam the river, keeping his bow and arrows above the waters, and gain- ed the bank on the other side. He then struck the trail of his game, the animal following a winding path, which forced it to pass near the border of the ‘‘ open” in which was the home of our friends. It was when the war-painted brave was speed- ing along this path in pursuit of the deer, that the commotion caused by the carrion bird at- tracted his attention; and he sprung through the fringe of bushes, discovering, to his astonish- ment, and no little exultation, the log-lodge of = white foes, those he so dreaded and detest- The shriek of poor Marion upon first seeing, to her horror, the hideous Apache, was sufficient to alarm the camp beyond the river; but the savage added his signal whoop which caused fully a score of his Rrothat braves to dash to- ward and into the stream. This they swam, and then rushed to the assistance of the lone dis- coverer. Madison Munroe had been detained at the military station up the creek, for some time af- ter his usual hour; but it so happened that the youn scout was sufficiently near his home to ear both the cry of his loved wife, and the sig- nal whoop of the Apache brave. The heart of the young man sprung to his throat, and he fairly reeled in his saddle, as these sounds, so ominous of worse than death tore through his startled brain. His bronzed face became ghastly, his teeth nerd ae together, and his features became stamped with an appre- hension and anguish the most terrible. He soon recovered, however, and dashing deep his spurs, his horse sprung wildly in the air, and then went eee. through the thickets, and down the creek bottom, toward the Rio Concho and that secluded home. Who could imagine the emotions of the young scout, who knew, from the instant he heard the whoop of the savage, that his home, his wife and innocent baby were doomed! What was he to do? Should he dash to the rescue, and in so doing be captured, and given over to a lingering death by torture? Yet, not for'a moment did he consider aught except the danger of those so dear to him. ell he knew that no single Indian would be far away from his war-party in that section of the country; and that, notwithstanding he had heard the whoop of but one brave, there must be nr more within hearing of that awful sig- nal. Then it was that the young man bitterly cursed the selfishness which had prompted him to bring his darling to that ex border. Then it was, that he deeply, most deeply re- etted not having taken the advice of Old ocky and Creeping Cat, the friendly Caddo. But it was now too late. On, like a projectile from a catapult, shot Mad Munroe on his noble steed—on, to the res- cue of those so dear to him, or to die with them! But a few moments too late was the wretched husband and father. We must now, however, return to poor Mari- on, So appalled was the young wife by the ap- Rdaearice of the hideous savage, that, after springing upward from her chair, and shrieking in terror, she stood as if paralyzed, clasping her babe to her breast. The poor, terrified woman was unable to moye a muscle. Although reared on the frontiers, Marion now for the first time looked upon a hostile savage; and the horrible Apache’s snake-like eyes glit- tered, as they seemed to pierce her very brain, causing her blood to chill in her veins, She felt that she was lost. Yet she thought not of herself. She felt that her babe would be torn from her arms, and brained before her.eyes! She also reasoned that more of the red demons must be near at hand. If so, her husband would be slain, or, what was worse, captured. TR An A 5S Sc re RE 8 ener ate Of her own probable fate, she dared not even a moment think, lest she should go stark ma If Madison was within hearing of her cry, he would gallop to the assistance of herself and child—gallop to his death! All this came into Marion’s mind in an in- stant, as the repulsive Apache stood glaring at her, like a wild beast previous to pouncing upon its prey. Then she, as instantly, recovered command of herself, and resolved to act in the defense of her life, and that of her child. She resolved to bound back into the cabin, clutch a rifle, and shoot the savage! Could she accomplish this, she believed she might then dash into the dark undergrowth be- fore other Indians arrived, and thus save her- self and child. Breathing a prayer for guid- ance and preservation, Marion acted at once. But, the very moment she sprung from the veranda through the door, the Apache, with a grunt of surprise and baffled rage, sprung for- ward, his og; scalping-knife clutched firm, and his hideous face contorted with a thirst for blood! Marion’s presence of mind was wonderful, considering her utter mental demoralization but a moment before. Her infant was now awake, and was making outcries of affright, clinging to its mother’s neck, as she rushed into the cabin. The brave woman realized that more than life depended upon a moment’s time. he knew where the rifle hung upon the wal! but it was now growing dark in the cabin, an she could not see the weapon. She knew, also, that she could do nothing with the babe in her arms; she therefore tore the lit- tle hands from her neck, although it wrung her heart todo so. — Quickly she placed the child upon the floor by the wall, and, reaching upward, providentially clutched at once the gun, her one hope. The next moment, she whirled about, with the wea- n in her hands, cocked the same, and aimed it at the red foe; but she panted so laboriously, that it threatened to defeat her aim. Indeed, she perceived at once that to catch the sights would be impossible. ut Marion Munroe had no time to deliberate; for the Apache, with a how] of rage, sprung to the doorway. His eyes were, for the instant, blinded by the darkness, and this forced a halt. That halt was the salvation of Marion, for it doomed the Indian to death! Plainly the savage was outlined against the outer light of the ‘‘ open.” Framed in the doorway was the form of the hideous would-be destroyer, of herself and child, and, without a second’s hesitation, Marion leveled the gun, and fired. A loud report followed, and then a horrible death-yell; as the Apache swayed for a mo- ment, catching at both the door-posts. He then fell, with a sickening sound, upon the floor of rough-hewn logs, the blood spurting from his breast. Instantly, Marion Munroe cast the friendly weapon with a clang to the floor, caught up her baby, which was crying piteously, and ran to the door. Over the outstretched, repulsive corpse she bounded, with a shudder, and thence across the veranda. At that moment full half a score of whooping Indians dashed out from the dark shades of the undergrowth on the east side of the ‘‘ open,” and came rushing, with yells of triumph blended with fury, toward the cabin. Marion had expected them, for, as the death- how] of her victim sbot through the cabin and the bottom-timber, she had heard the whoops of the approaching savages, and knew that if she made her escape it would be little less than marvelous. Her ears, practiced in regard to sounds of every kind, had at once determined that the red demons were quite near her home. No sooner, therefore, did she discover the on-coming whoop- ing braves, than she realized that she and her in- fa were doomed—that escape was now impos- sible. But, filled, with horror in pr nae she ran as she had never run before, shrieking wildly as she went, toward the western Margin of the Open.” ust then, a clear, wild, and peculiar yell shot through the dark shades, causing the horde of Apaches to halt suddenly, in amazement not de- void of dread. And well they might, for few of the war-party were there who had not heard that yell when their brother braves fell fast, in the fierce car- nage that always followed it,