Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 484 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

“ —— ee indian undoubtedly meant to make a sudden leap over the back of his horse, and come down upon the shoulders of the hunter. Had such a maneuver been made, without our friend knowing it, it would have put him in such a bad case of *‘ chancery ” that it is certain he never could have extricated himself. One moment—ten seconds—were enough for a brawny savage to be upon his back, with his left arm griped around his neck, his right hand clutching the knife and driving it ‘‘ home ” with lightning- like rapidity. So Eph turned partly on his side, but in a secure position, with his own weapon firmly grasped, waiting for the ‘‘ charge.” Suddenly there was the rush of a dark body overhead, and the deadly encounter took place. The Comanche, instead of taking his foe by sur- prise, was completely surprised himself. He came down as a wild animai does, when it makes a leap of fear, and instead of alighting upon the gecesliers of his prey, he encountered a tremen- dous cut of a bowie-knife, and rolled over upon his side with the wiry form of the terrible hun- ter upon him. The contest was short, sharp and decisive. In a minute the Comanche was ‘‘done for,” and wiping his weapon in the grass, Long Eph cool- ly shoved it back in bis girdle, muttering to himself: ‘¢That ain’t the fu’st, nor the second, nor the tenth red-skin you've finished, old Slasher!” At this juncture the mustang showed his ap- preciation of the circumstances by snorting wildly, springing to his feet and dashing away at full speed. Simultaneously, the guns of Jake and Black George flashed, followed by the shrieks of their victims, Then there was a hurried gathering, and a moment Jater the Comanches, with their fallen companions upon their own horses, were dashing away over the prairie. When the three rangers re-united, it was found that neither of them was injured. ‘‘ But,” said Black George, in a suppressed voice, “‘I heard a strange sound when they left.” ‘So did I,” added Long Eph; ‘‘if I ain’t mighty mistook, it war the voice of Senorita Josepha.” CHAPTER II. A WAIF UPON THE PRAIRIE. AN eye flitting and restless, but as keen as an eagle’s, with a frame thin to emaciation, but made up of bone and muscle as rigid, flexible and tenacious as iron ore from his native State, with a face cadaverous, hard and colorless, cheeks sunken, and with hair as long, stiff and wiry as the mane of his mustang; a man of powerful hates and loves, as daring as a maniacal Apache, but as chivalrous as a ‘knight of the Crusades, with a natural vein of palnkments a fervent veneration of the Most High, and a romantic adoration of the weaker sex permea- ting every fiber of his being—such a man was Richard Hampton, or Comanche Dick, of New Mexico. When young, this singular being had been given many advantages in the way of education and social privileges, having been intended for one of the professions; but a restless, wandering disposition drew him southward at an early age, ana he espoused the cause of Texas, when the contest began between her and Mexico, throw- ing his whole soul into the struggle, and fighting side by side with Colonel Bowie and Crockett, until they perished at the Alamo, and until the great victory at San Jacinto, in 1556, secured the independence of the Lone Star Republic, After this, Comanche Dick, as he was called, from the prowess he displayed in his encounters with the savages, selected a spot in southeastern New Mexico (which was then a Mexican pro- vince, and remained so until 1850), a short dis- tance west of Llano Estacado or Staked Plain, where he built a house of large dimensions, and with a stock of nearly ten thousand sheep, turned drover. Once every year a large flock was driven to Santa Fe, where their sale brought Dick a handsome sum, which, besides keeping him liberally supplied with funds, left him a goodl co to lay by. Dick called his place the ‘*‘ Hacienda,” and it was built with considerable pretension, although it hardly deserved the name, and he gathered about him three kindred spirits, who had fol- lowed him through the Texan struggle, end were as devoted to him as were the old guard of Napoleon. They assisted him in the care of his sheep and in driving them to Santa Fe, against the Comanches and Apaches, who were ready at = times to pounce down upon and stampede them. , ' eo on ee ee Dick paid these men jiberally for their ser- vices; for he was naturally free-hearted, and their presence was not po necessary for the protection of his property, but was required for the safety of his family. In many portiovs of New Mexico at that day, as at the present, it is might aione which makes right, ata there is no redress for grievances, ex- cept in the power of retaliation which the ag- grieved party may possess. The danger which ever surrounded Comanche Dick would have driven many a brave man from his post, but it never stirred him. There was something in the wild excitement of the apalling danger which was thrilling enjoyment to him, and the occasional visits he made to the frontier towns were all-sufficient for him, Tnus several years passed, until Dick and his companions became involved in an affair in which a party of Santa Fe traders were partly massacred and partly captured by a band of red-skins, Dick and his men followed the mis- creants to the Zuni Mountains, where they at- tacked the Indians in turn, slew over a dozen and rescued a white woman from them, the wife of one of the murdered traders. He carried her back to Santa Fe to her friends, and as a matter of course, made several calls upon her when visiting thetown. In this manner a feeling of interest gradually ripened into love, and ended in his taking her back to the hacienda as his wife. Here they lived in perfect happiness, his wife frequently joining him in the Shana, as she was as S$ iliful in the management of her horse as the use of her rifle. Whenever she chose, her hus- band accompanied her to Santa Fe, and nothing that she desired was ever refused her. Several years passed thus, but no children were ever given them, and their house was gradually strengthened until it assumed almost the character of a fortress. About a year pre- vious to the opening of our story, the entire party were returning from a visit to Santa Fe, and were within twenty miles of home, when they were startled by the sound of firearms, and hurrying forward, found that a small party of white men had just been conquered by a party of Comanches, who were making off with the plunder. It was too late to do much for the white men, as most of them were already past help, but the Rangers burst upon the red-skins like a thunder- bolt, and made tearn pay dear for the outrage, From the savages they recaptured only a single prisoner, and she was a wiz, who had just been seized by a chief, who was slain by Dick’s own hand, ere he would relinquish his prize. The girl was Josepha Nevarro, a Spanish lady of remarkable beauty, who was on her way to Santa Fe in charge of an escort, to visib an uncle, whom she had not seen since infancy. Dick and his wife could not have rented, their own child with greater kindness, They took her to their home until she had recovered from the terrible shock she had suffered, and then, leaving Only one man in charge of the hacienda, they escorted her to Santa Fe, ere a surprise awaited all parties. In re- sponse to their most diligent inquiry, no such yerson could be found, and after a long search, ick informed Senorita Josepha that no such person had ever existed in that town. ‘* He doesn’t exist at all!” she exclaimed, with yassionate earnestness. ‘‘They told me I saw him when I wasa child. Perhaps I did; but he is dead now.” ‘‘ How comes the mistake to be made?” re- spectfully. inquired Dick, ‘¢Tt was no mistake,” she answered, more ve- hemently than before. ‘‘It was a plot—it was intended—” But here she ceased, and never referred to the matter again. Both Dick and his wife were too well-bred to make any inquiries, although they could not avoid a feeling of considerable curi- osity at the turn affairs had taken, After the senorita had somewhat recovered from her grief, she stated to Comanche Dick that she had no home, and asked whether she might live with them until she had paid them all her money, of which she had with her a con- siderable sum. Ah! that was a happy moment for Dick and his wife. It was what they had been hopin ever since they placed eyes upon the Spanis beauty. Without any children of their own, their hearts naturally yearned toward her, for ei was very young, just budding into woman- The request she made so timidly was accepted with eager gladness, except that Dick told her that she would go to tbe hacienda as their daughter; that nothing in the way of payment, Comanche Dick, and Elis Three Invincibles, ~ ¥ *, 4 . however trifling, would be received from her, and he peremptorily forbade all reference to it. On the contrary, as the daughter of this sin- gular couple, she was their heir, and every wish of her, that was possible to gratify, should be gratified. And so the Spanish lady took her residence at the hacienda, where her beauty, her acconaplish- ments, and her genial disposition added a gold- en sunlight to the place. It was more attrac- tive than ever to Dick, who loved the girl with a fervent, Pee affection, which was equally shared by his wife. Often, while the other Rangers were miles away, looking after the sheep, or buntig over the plains and mountains, Dick was at home, listening to the songs of his wife and his daugh- ter, as he always caHed her, or engaging in some social game with them, It was the duty of the Rangers to keep them- selves thoroughly ‘* posted” on the Indian signs, and every day, one or all of them made a circuit of the surrounding hills to satisfy themselves as to whether there “were any Comanches or Apaches in the neighborhood. f their experienced eyes detected any thing suspicious, word was immediately carried to their leader, the sheep were driven in a rough sort of inclosure that had been prepared for them, and the hunters were on the alert. Dick owned several Indian dogs, that showed remarkable sagacity, and had acquired such skill that they greatly assisted whenever such emergency arose. More than once their cun- ning saved the property, and on two separate occasions was the means ef preserving the life of the leader himself. Now and then the red-skins got the better of the drovers. Just previous to Dick’s marriage they stampeded and drove away almost his en- tire flock, and shortly after Josepha came among them, a troop of Comanches came yelling down upon them with such suddenness that the whites were taken partly by surprise, and lost several thousand from their flocks, But these were the inevitable risks of such a life, and the equanimity of Comanche Dick was not disturbed in the least. The funds which were safely deposited in Santa Fe were con- stantly growing, and were able to stand a much larger draft upon them than as yet they had ever been called to sustain. Senorita Josepha revealed only a few facts regarding herself. Dick learned, without any inquiry, that she was from Galveston; that some relative had sent her, in charge of an es- cort, to visit an uncle who was said to-be living in Santa Fe; and that on their way thither they were attacked by Comanches and all except her- self slain. This attack of the red-skins really saved the life of the girl, for the man who had charge of her had just revealed his intention of robbing and killing her, and undoubtedly would have done it before another night passed over their heads, had he not been prevented in the terrible manner mentioned, The lady showed that there was some hidden rrief at her heart, to which as yet no reference iad been made. At times she was abstracted and sighed, and there was the expression of woe in her face which her friends could not but see. Occasionally in her sleep she was heard to utter a name which never passed her lips when awake, which gave the sagacious wife of Co- manche Dick a suspicion of what was partly the trouble, although her adopted mother carefully refrained from allowing her to see that she held any such thought, Thus matters stood until about a month pre- vious to the opening of our story, when a singu- lar incident occurred that gave a more curious aepent to the history of the senorita, She had become quite fond of hunting, and one day was riding with no companion except her adopted mother. When they were about a mile from home they pase encountered a white man upon horseback. e was a wild, haggard-looking man, and at sight of his face Josepha uttered a shriek of terror and came nigh falling from her horse. he strange horseman stared at her a mo- ment in silence, and then rode away ata furi- ous gallop. When Josepha had recovered she was ques- tioned by her mother, but for a time she gave evasive answers, but she finally stated that the man whom they had met was the leader of the escort which had started to take ber to Santa Fe, and who she suppesed had perished with the others by the hands of the Comanches. When they returned to the hacienda and ac- quainted Dick with what had occurred, he in- stantly mounted his horse and started in pursuit Cc ‘| 3 ae: nap’ feed 4 gy i 4 ’ ey , ai < bs \ yy ay 4 : ’ 900KsS 4 le ad