Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 478 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

-_— ——_. “ meds a> — « ie ~~, See ~ - sd ad > le 7 guised as Paul Postle. picions proved correct.” And, brothers, my sus- Old Tom Rattler. and his couch was ready. He laid down, usin his saddle for a pillow. ’ At hisright side be lai ‘Who is Paul Postle?’ asked an impatient | a revolver, at his left his carbine. member, | “Pm coming’ to that,” continued Hatton. ** After the panic in the hotel to-night 1 ran against Postle in the dark outside, and I took the bull by the horns and called him by what I | believed his true name to be. **Hullo? was his reply. name’s Hatton, are it not? ‘Il b’lieve your With no disturbing thoughts nor sounds— with a free heart and clear conscience—witb an abiding faith in the protection of Divine Providence, he lay gazing up into the starry sky. As he had done often before in his night- ly solitude on the plains, he traced out the stars with whose names he was familiar and medi- tated upon the infinite power of the Hand that ‘‘] answered that it was, and he then asked | had sent whirling througk space a thousand me to step aside with him—he wanted to speak | worlds, with me. While we were talking in the shadows While thus engaged he saw a star suddenly we overheard the news of Sybil and Zulima’s ; shoot across the brow of heaven and gO trailing abduction. The old man was startled by the re- port, and said he must leave at once and en- deavor to head off the girls’ abductors, who he felt sure would go northward, He said he had a friend concealed in the mountains near; and that he would be back here as soon as possible, He begged me to permit no violence to Jules Laclede, for the man was as innocent of wrong asa child unborn. He knew of the feeling azainst himself for the shooting of Bell, but said he'd explain that when he returned.” ‘‘ Well, who the thunder is Paul Postle, any- how?” asked a member, impatiently. ‘‘Paul Postle is the noted old mountain de- tective, Kit Bandy.” CHAPTER V. LARAMIE JOE, THE BOY KNIGHT. ‘THE scene of our story changes. It is night on the Laramie Plains, A horseman headed northward across the at expanse moved along at a slow, swinging gallop under the mellow moonlight. He was a oung man—in fact a boy yet in his teens, but e possessed a fine, robust physique, and a pleas- ant, handsome face that was flushed with health and the exuberance of a wild, free spirit, He -was dressed in the garb of a ranchero, and was armed with a pair of revolvers und a Winches- ter carbine. He was mounted upon an easy- going, clean-limbed horse, that was well-capari- soned with bridle and silver-bespangled Mexican saddle. . A roll of blankets was strapped to the saddle ’ behind, and on one side of the pommel in front hung a leather pouch and on the other a coiled dJariat. That this youth was familiar with this great plain and all its bewildering intricacies was evi- dent from the fact of his moving along with nothing to guide him save his instinctive Codes eee of his course, ramie Joe, the Boy Knight of the Plains, for he this youth really was, was at home, in- deed, on the Laramie Plains day or night; and more than all others—rangers, scouts and rancheros—was he known and feared. To the outlaws and Indians whose fastnesses. were in surrounding hills, and who were confirmed horse and cattle-thieves, had he become a ter- vor. For his perfect knowledge of the topogra- ph of the country, bis skill as a trailer, his ndomitable pluck and courage, his manliness of bearing and wocompromising honor had he been chosen over scores of others, and older men at that, as chief scout for the association of cattle-men throughout that country. This made him a kind of an independent ranger, but so great and constant were his duties that he was kept in the saddle almost day and night. If ever he did leave the plain for a week or a single day it was in the interest of his employ- ers. And it was this interest that took him, a few days before we introduce him to the reader, far southward to the mining-camp of Last Lick. He had gone there in search of a couple of horse-thieves. He had gone in disguise, and there were few who had seen Albert Joslin, the ‘boy tenderfoot, at the Pick-and-Shovel, that “would have believed that he and the dashing Laramie Joe were one and the same peryon. For many long miles the young knight gal- ‘oped on over the plain taking no note of things around him. To him the flap of a night-bird’s wing, or the snarl of a scampering wolf were no more than the sound of his own horse’s hoofs on*the plain. It must have been near the hour of midnight when he came to a little clump of bushes that seemed to stand all alone on that great ex- panse. Here he drew rein and dismounted. ‘Quickly he stripped the saddle and bridle from his horse and lariated it out to grass close along- side the little motte, The young knight of the plains had put. up for the night. From the pommel of his saddle he took a horse-hair rope and laid it in a circle on the ground, Within this circle he spread agblanket, its fiery course downward toward the south. His eyes followed it, and just where it seemed to plunge into the darkness of the earth, a black object seemed to spring up from the shadows against the sky. He watclied it closely and saw that it marae’ 2 and presently he discovered an- other like ita little lower down, They looked like the heads of horsemen whose bodies and horses were below the line of light. Turning over on his side, the young plains- man laid this ear to the rion and listened. Then he started, and, springing to his feet took up his weapon and blanket and carri them into the thicket. ‘‘ Horsemen are comin’ as sure as my name is Joe Harris! and I wonder who in the name 0’ George Washington it can be coming in from that direction? Surely it can’t be any of the boys from the Sweetwater ranches.” Leading his horse into the bushes he took a position where he could command a view of the Jlain and waited and watched. He knew the orsemen would pass near, for they were evi- dently following an old trail that ran hard by across the plain. He had not long to wait. Two persons riding side by side came up and passed the motte ata canter, and to the utter surprise and astonish- ment of the boy he saw that one of them was a woman ! ‘‘Great guns!’ the youth exclaimed to him- self, ‘‘there’s something wrong there or else Pima wild Ojibway! No woman’d be gallop- adin’ around over this plain at this time unless there was, and [ rather think I'll inquire into the matter. There’s nothin’ in my contract with Colonel Bowen that prohibits me from lookin’ after women-folks as well as Mavericks and horse-thieves, so here goes,” He hastily bridled and saddled his horse, rolled up his blanket and replaced them be- hind the saddle; then from the leather pouch before mentioned he took four ingeniously-con- structed ‘‘ mufflers,” which he proceeded to slip on over his horse’s feet, confining the same with a strap and buckle around the pastern, thereby rendering noiseless the animal’s iron- shod hoofs. This had been a favorite expedient with Lar- amie Joe. It had enabled him many times to approach a foe and deal deadly blows and then escape. More than once he had ridden into the very heart of an Indian camp unheard, and then escape before injury could be inflicted upon him, and for this reason the Indians had named him Pantherfoot. As soon as all was ready the youth slung his carbine at his back by means of a strap, then leaped into his saddle, and with his reins in his left hand and revolver in the right, he rode from the thicket. And just as he did so, his ears were greeted by the sound of more passing hoofs, and the next moment two more horse- men came into view from behind the motte and galloped on up the old trail, To his profound astonishment he saw that one of this second pair was also awoman, He knew it was not the same two that had passed some minutes before, for he could still see them in the distance, Moreover, he was satisfied from. the very at- titude—the drooping form and bowed head—of the second woman that she was not there of her own free will. Still, he thought he might be mistaken, and that it was fatigue that was tell- ing upon her strength. Of this he must make sure before offering violence, and so settling himself in his saddle, he spoke to bis trained animal, which bounded away, its muffled hoofs creating but the faintest sound. Straight toward the unknown pair he gal- a approaching them, of course, from be- ind, The first intimation the unknown had of any one’s presence was by the sudden start of their horses, but before the man had caught sight of the boy, the young dare-devil dashed in be- tween him and the woman, and presenting a revolyer at the astounded man’s head, ex- claiméd: * [ w* ae 7 ? 4 - * - a4 . 4 ‘yf eyul ae ht ° ‘¢ Halt and throw up your hands! or Pll blow your brains all over Laramie Plateau!” ‘‘ Laramie Joe!” exclaimed the startled man, with an oath, “Yes, sir, that’s who I am,” responded Joe; ‘are you goin’ to throw up your hands?” A little cry—half joy and half fear—burst from the lips of the woman. ‘‘ Madam,” said the young knight, though keeping his eyes fixed on the man, ‘I rather think you’re in trouble.” ‘“ Yes, sir, that man—” the woman began, but Joe heard no more, for the man's horse sudden- ly shied off to one side, and the fellow endeav- ored to take advantage of the movement by drawing his revolver; but the quick eye of the boy detected the movement, his revolver rung out on the still night, a groan escaped the out- law’s lips, he swayed forward, clutched at the horn of his saddle and then tumbled to the earth, while his horse sped away in affright over the plain. A cry of terror burst from the woman’s lips. Laramie Joe now turned in his saddle and gazed down into the woman’s face that was plainly visible in the moonlight; and it was his turn now to meet with surprise, He saw that the face was that of a young girl—a face of re- markable beauty, notwithstanding the dis- tressed and troubled expression it bore. Reach- ing out, the boy took the reins of her horse and stop d both it and his own. ; Young lady,” he said, ‘‘ may I ask who you are? ‘* Zulima Randall,” she replied. ‘“Of Last Lick mining-camp?” ‘“‘ Yes, sir.” ‘Great guns! what does this mean, your presence here?” ‘‘T was abducted and carried away by sheer force; but [ heard that outlaw calling you Lara- mie Joe; are you that gentleman?” : ‘*f am, Miss Randall.” ‘‘Then I have found a friend,” she added, ina tone more hopeful. ‘“['m your friend as long as i’ve life, miss,” he assured her; ‘‘ but while this is the first time you ever saw me, I had the pleasure of seeing you in Last Lick about a week ago.” ‘‘ ndeed! I never heard that Laramie Joe was in the camp,” Zulina replied, her courage and spirits ibd. a, | ‘*T was there in disguise, logktog for a pair of horse-thieves; but, Miss Randall, when were u abducted?” ‘* About five daysago to-night,” — ‘‘ Then it was one day after I left there,” ‘‘ And my beloved friend, Sybil Bell, was car ried away at the same time.” ‘‘TIndeed! What, in Heaven's name, was the miners doing heh such a thing should happen?” ““They were all at the Pick-and-Shovel at- tending an entertainment vee by a French artist, whom I now believe to be a confederate of the outlaws. But, Laramie Joe, the outlaw with Sybil is but a short distance on ahead of us,” ‘Yes, and yonder the’ outlaw comes riding back this way. The report of my revolver must have reached his ears, and he’s coming back to inquire into the matter. Now, if I can have as good luck with him as I had with your escort, Miss Bell will soon be a free girl also.” ‘Oh, sir, you are very brave and kind!” the little maiden exclaimed, her face growing bright with hope and Joy ‘“Thank you, miss,” Joe responded, his heart heaving with manly pride over the compliment the fair girl bestowed upon him, Unslinging his carbine, he awaited the ap- roach of the supposed outlaw. The latter, owever, seemed to bave mistrusted somethin of the true situation, for, when about a hund yards away, he drew rein. He remained quiet for several minutes, then called out: ‘‘ Hullo, Barkdale, what’s wrong?” Receiving no answer, the fellow finally whirled his horse and rode away. Laramie Joe seeing his movement, sent a shot after him, but with no other known effect than to quicken the speed of his horse in flight, ‘The gal-thief takes the hint and cuts out,” Joe said, ‘Oh, poor Sybil!” cried Zulima. The young knight was now in a quandary. He could not think of leaving Zulima there m the open plain alone in her weak and almost ex- hausted condition, nor could he bear the thought of allowing the other outlaw to escape with Sybil without making some effort to rescue her, . So he finally concluded that he would conduct Zulima back to the little motte and ‘assist her to dismount and arrange a temporary bower where she could rest in comfort uniil he returned fru pursuit’of the outlaw. (Ge) RIEL ‘y fe See "] - es goon | Le tet a ty yer aoe -—