Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 497 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

ee ate — < \ | While the fire was burning good, he took the hhopples off of roan king and againsprung upon his back: At once the fight began over again for mas- tery. But again the human mastered the brute, and Buck then lariated the horse out to feed upon | the rich grass in the canyon. But the roan king was sullen, his proud spir- it was hurt, and be would not eat, ‘¢ You'll soon come to it, my fine fellow,” said Buck. and he soon had breakfast ready and lib- erally supplied the red-skin, whoge broken leg he arranged once more as best he could, Then he set to work to start on his way back to join the Rangers, whom he expected to find at a camp where they often made a halt of weeks at a time, and where Captain McNally told the young rec‘ uit he would find them. Having gotten all in readiness he asked Mad Wolf wnich was his horse, among the three ani- mals that had been left there by the Comanches, Mad Wolf, being an Indian, picked out the best | of the three animals, though all were good, ~ It was the>chief’s horse, and the brappings near each pony showed to which one it belonged. ‘‘That is the chief’s horse, Mad Wolf, for I know the outfit of a chief,” quietly said Buck. Then he added: ‘‘ My red brother is mistaken.” The Indian squinted_ his eyes, as though to get a better look, and then pointed out an- other of the ponies as his, while he said: ‘Ves, me no see right; that my pony.” ‘A dollar to a cent you are wrong again, red- skin: but you can have him,” said Buck, who knew the Indian character pretty well. He then led the horse up, saddled and ready* and taking the red-skin in his strong arms placed him on his back, arranging him as com- fortably as possible. Then the Ranger got the other two Indian ponies together and fastened,the gray mare be- tween them, while he made of Snakeroot a pack-horse for his own and the traps of the dead red-skins, Mounting the roan king upon which he placed his saddle and bridle, he had another short battle with him; but when the wild steed was made to feel the severe Mexican bit and spurs, he beeame as docile as a lamb and obeyed the will of his master without further struggle against the inevitable. After leaving the timber Buck turned to his risoner and said: “Now, Mad Wolf, you can go your way, and [suppose you will scalp some white woman or child as soon as your Jeg gets well, in return for my letting you go. “ But you can reach your people before night, and I have tied some food there to your sad- dle, so vou won’t starve if it takes you longer. ‘Here are your weapons; and I'll say good- by, but not luck to you, by any means.” — | The red-skin did not understand all that was gaid, but seemed glad to get free, and held out his hand, while he answered: “White brother bas good heart, and is great chief, Mad Wolf will not forget him.” The young Texan grasped his band and the two parted, the red-skin going off to the left alone, and Buck, leading his horses, riding on his way toward the camp of the Rangers of the Rio Grande, CHAPTER. VIII. A RIDE FOR LIFBS. WiTH seventy odd miles between him and the Rangers’ camp, and the way overrun with red- skins, or infested with Mexican raiders, Buck Taylor could well appreciate the danger of his position. Mounted upon the roan king, and alone, Buck ‘Tavlor need have dreaded no foe. ut he was anxious to carry back with him the two Indian horses he had captured, the gray mare and Snakeroot, the latter bearing the weapons of the Comanches and all the traps. “T sness we'll get there, Vermifuge; but we'll make a big fight if we don’t,” he said, and the dog seemed to be of the sameopinion as his mas- ‘ter. Tt was toward noon when the young Ranger ‘Dkted for a rest and dinner. Roan king, with the example of the other horses, seemed to have decided to behave him- self, and he not only drank when Buck rode him into a small stream, but ate grass with a great relisk when he was staked out to feed. Buck liked a good square meal. He had not yet stopped growing, though six feet two in hight, and he knew that it ka t deal to sustain hissystem, and consequent- vy he lived well when he could. 3 PatheyS : is . ‘ , Ne a ‘ - - é ane as . * — . 7 ¥ us f ! A, a) ett Tee 128 wide “ey 7a? ¢ oF x _ = or —— I 2 “eet ¥ Uta Se. © . AG * So he got a good dinner, out of his own haver- sack, and the provision-bags of the red-skins, and shared it with his dog. | | Then he rested for half an hour, and once | | ease, but the pace kept up for the past two hours more resumed his way. The roan king of course objected to the sad- Hardly had the Ranger started once more, when Vermifuge suddenly shot off like an arrow from a bow, to the top of a rise in the prairie. ‘* What is it, good dog?” said Buck, as Vermi- fuge came back, his tail between his legs. } | was useless and soon yielded, though in .a sullen pee | ‘Well, if if scares you, it will me, and [ll cet as far from that rise as I can.” So saying Buck urged bis horses forward ata you { of land on his right, denly over the rise appeared a human head. Then came another and another. They were bedecked with feathers, and were Comanches. They had not expected to see any foe there, it was very certain, and they halted quickly. Then they gesticulated wildly, others appear- ed, and with a wild shout in chorus they started toward the Ranger. ) Buck Taylor, meanwhile, had gone along ata brisk gallop, until he saw the Indians start in chase, ‘‘ Guess [ll give ’em a hint not to crowd me,” he said, and he brought his long rifle up for use. The roan king had never had a rifle fired from his back before, and he was very restive. So the Ranger had to fire without a steady aim. die and bridle again, but saw that resistance | Buck Taylor, King of the Cowboys. | 5 roan king showing fatigue under the weight he carried, and to which he had never been accus- tomed, Vermifuge held on well, running still with had begun to tell also upon him. ‘*1 will give themahnt not to,crowd me,” said Buck, and drawing rein, he sprung to the ground, as he reined bis horses up toa stand- still, and throwing bis rifle to his shoulder, took a quick aim. But the Indians saw his act, and quickly tried to dodge the bullet by throwing themselves flat | on their horses, “That means you seen something to scare | | sult, ev@n had not | } quicker pace, bearing off the while from the rise | But the rifle flashed, and a yell told the re- the red-skin fallen from his pony to the ground, Buck Taylor echoed the yell with a defiant war-cry, andeaping upon the roan king. started once more in flight, just as out of the timber | ahead dashed a band of horsemen directly to- He had gone but a short distance when sud- | i j i ' | | | ward bim., CHAPTER IX. THE TWO MEXICANS, THE party who dashed out of the timber at once Caused a change in the situation of affairs, There were fifteen of them, and the Indians quickly came to a halt, and then those in the lead began to fall back rapidly upon their com- rades, who were stretched for half a mile over the prairie, the pony with the) double mount coming on far in the rear. The dead body of the warrior dropped from his saddle by Buck Taylor the band carried off along with his horse, which one of the braves lassoed as he was running away after his rider | fell from his back. The aim was true enough, however, to bring | | his power to escape, to those who now dashed down an Indian pony, and the rider was thrown heayily to the ground, while a yell of rage broke from his comrades, Over the rise now came the Indians, and as thev spread out in chase, Buck muttered: ‘(Twenty-seven of ’em. ‘“That’s the band we saw last night, Vermi- fuge.” At the shot from his back the roan king seemed almost frightened out of his wits; but the heavy bit amd sharp spurs brought him to a realization that they were worse than the report of a rifle, and he bounded away at a swift and sbeady run, The gray mare also grew restive, but fast as she was, between the two Indian ponies, she was compelled to dbey. These three the Ranger was leading by a lar- iat, attached to the gray mare, while Snakeroot followed behind at will, for he was not led, and the dog ran ou ahead to lead the way. As they sped along the Ranger was glad tosee that his horses held their own well with the ani- mals of his pursuers, and the roan king and the captive mare showed by their going that they could readily increase their pace to a much fas- ter one. With no load upon them, Buck felt no uneasi- ness as to his ability to keep ahead of the red- skins, and he only hoped the roan king would prove as gooda horse ashe was said to be, by the hundreds who had attempted to catch him. So the chase continued for several miles. and, without pressing his animals harder, Buck Tay- lor managed to keep out of range of the In- dians. It was no easy task to load that long rifle on the back of a wild horse; but Buck managed it, and turning in his saddle again sent a bullet fly- ing back at his pursuers. e saw that he had hit a red-skin, by his ac- tions, and the movements of those about him; but the wounded man still kept his seat on his pony, so could not have been badly hurt, Afar in the rear camea pony bearing a double load, for he carried the red rider of the horse Buck had killed, riding behind his master. The Comanches did all in their power to over- take the fugitive, and lashed their ponies un- mercifully to urge them on. They also kept up a running fire, both of mus- ketry and arrows, for half of the band were armed with the former weapon, in addition to their bows and arrows, And so the fight continued, the Ranger hold- ing his own, and the Comanches pressing him hard, until at last, as he neared a clymp of tim- ber upon a ridge, Buck drew rein. He had again loaded his rifle, and seeing shel- ter near, determined to risk another shot. and at closer quarters, for the musket-balls of the red-skins barely reached him. His horses seemed getting fagged, even the ¥ r% " A aS : A a 7s 7%) - a * phe 5- V TRAY hs abe y . a +" 4 LF. e) ws “ - hie] y Cher | ' But Buck was by no means pleased at the turn affairs had taken. He preferred the red-skins, from whom he felt out of the timber. At aglance he recognized them, for many a time had he seen them before, during his cow- boy life upon the ranch. hey were Rafael’s Raiders of the Rio Grande, as lawless a set of Mexicans as ever crossed the river to prey upon American territory. They were fifteen in number, dressed in the picturesque caballero costume of their country, their horses were equipped with the heavy sil- ver-bespangled saddles and bridles that have won such fame, and they were one and all arm- ed to the teeth with repeating rifles and revoly- ers. They were at peace with the red-skins on the other side of the Rio Grande, but upon Ameri- can land they warred against all people. They saw in the red-skins a splendidly mount- ed band, knew that they must have been cn a raid, and therefore were well supplied with money and small articles of value, and would therefore be prizes well worth securing. Their horses were comparatively fresh, while those of the red-skins were jaded, from their long run after the Ranger. To surround and kill the red-skins then, was their intention, rob them, and then with their booty and horsgs to dash on to the river and Te- cross into Mexfcan territory, for their raid had not been one of success on that re Singling out two men the chief bade them to capture Buck Taylor, wishing to carry him back as a hostage, or to hang bim, end he, with his remaining twelve men made arush for the red-skins. The two men detailed for the work of. captur- ing the Ranger came riding rapidly toward him, their revolvers at a level. They were dark-faced, villainous-looking men, and they looked just what they were -cut throats and thieves. Buck, in his cowboy life, had picked wu) con- siderable Spanish, as well as Comanche, gd he saw but one chance to escape. He knew that if he fired upon the twe men, killing one, or hoth, the Mexicans ridifg upon the red-skins would at once charge dowr upon him and escape would be impossible. So he took to strategy, and pretending to be lad of their coming, called out: ‘**Good-day, senors! I am glad come to save me!” you have oi and the two Mexicans dashed up, at t time lowering their weapons. drew rein near Buck. “T am a poor settler, run awa from home by the red-skins,” said Buck, in a “oletel voice and in his best Spanish, Mexi can, . sar ‘“T speak English better than you do Spanish, JNA He made no demonstration that ve stile, i 6 same ‘Who are you?” asked one, as they both or rather i? | i “Eom a ’ as b. ¥ vane | ae ys Pes . we -%, 7 sAy ‘ Vn a4 ~ « * / , » ' = e