Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 52 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

He paused, aghast; for at that juncture, he discerned on the hill to the north of them the light of a large camp-fire, burning brightly. ‘“We have made a sad blunder,” said the lieutenant; ‘‘ there is a party of Indians, and they surely have seen us.” ‘*Look yonder!’ exclaimed Jabez, catching his arm, and pointing to the southward, where the light of a second fire was seen. ‘‘ Ginger! we are surrounded by Indians, as sure as we are living!” ‘* Let’s put out our camp-fire,” added Lieuten- ant Putnam, in some consternation; ‘‘ they will be down on us before we know it.” ‘Hold on,” inte Spikes; ‘‘ there ain’t any good in that. hey know we’re here, and if our fire goes out, they'll know too, we have taken the m, and the jig will then be up, sure,” ‘* What shall we do?” ‘* Not that.” sii But we must do something; what shall it ‘Ginger! if I know.” ‘*We must wake Adrienne, and try to steal out of here.” : ‘*T don’t believe it can be done.” ‘* But it will be madness to remain idle,” add- ed Lieutenant Putnam, almost angrily. The Yankee said nothing, and the alarmed officer noticed that his eyes were fixed upon the white buffalo, that was browsing upon the grass in his usual contented manner. ‘“‘T am trying to think whether the Phenom- enon can’t help us out of this scrape,” he finally added, as noe he were addressing himself. Lieutenant Putnam began to grow ‘furious. ‘This is all tomfoolery; there is only one thing we can do, and that is to make our way om of this infernal valley as quickly as possi- e, And, without waiting to hear the reply of his comrade, he called to Adrienne, who awoke on the instant and joined them. She was speedily mace uainted with the alarming state of af- fairs, and she immediately united with her lover in urging that they should try to steal out of the cangatene trap in which they had been unwit- ting eye cer : t point seems unprotected,” she added, inting to the westward, where all was dark; ‘let us n in that direction.” ‘‘The worst thing we could do,” said Spikes, who deemed it high time for him to say some- thing. ‘‘ They’ll expect us to try that, and there is where they will watch for us. No; we'll go in this direction,” he remarked, as he pointed a little to the left of one of the camp-fires. ‘‘ They won’t expect us there, and we'll have the best chance.” This was wise, and they acted upon the sug- gestion without delay; but they had scarcely started, when a third camp-fire flashed up to view before them! They halted in consternation. Matters were getting desperate. They were surrounded, be- yond a doubt, and they saw that escape was out of the question, ‘‘ We may as well give up,” said Adrienne, in despair; ‘“‘the savages are trifling with us for their own amusement.” ‘¢ Never,” added Lieutenant Putnam, in a low tone, as he pressed his beloved to him; ‘“‘ we will stand and fall together—” ‘‘ You don’t see any chance?” said Spikes, looking inquiringly at the two. ‘“‘T am afraid not,” candor compelled the young officer to say. ‘‘None at all,” added Adrienne, clinging to her lover. “Then, by ginger! Pll try the Phenomenon!” bag (ayes. om Sat PE ae oany thing you choose,” replie e lieu- tenant, a Pome, oS ‘**T offer no objection.” The stratagem that had entered the head of Jabez Spikes we may as well explain at this oint: 3 Knowing the superstitious character of the American Indians, he determined to act upon it, by mounting astride his “‘ Phenomenon,” with a flaming torch in each hand, starting the buffalo off on a full run, and with him upon his back screeching like a panther, dash straight through the Indian camp! ** You'll see eae scatter as though I were an exploding bomb-shell—yes, as though I were Vesuvius, Stromboli and Etna boiled down and ing over among them! You must follow close behind me, and we'll all get through in safety.” , But the scheme was so desperate that his friends refused to follow him. ad Lieutenant Putnam been alone, he might have attempted to do so, but he would not subject Adrienne to such The White Buffalo. —— ———— good to her. . Jabez begged, entreated, implored and finally said he would swear, but he was met with the same kind but firm denial. ‘* No,” said the lieutenant, ‘‘ we. thank you for your interest in our behalf. You have proven more than once that you are brave and self- sacrificing, but we can not take part in this business.’ ‘If you see the Indians scatter and leave an = age for you, will you follow?’ “Yes, certainly,” replied our hero, smiling at his earnestness. ‘Then, by ginger! it’s a go!” ; Admirable as was the training of the buffalo, it required considerable maneuvering before,he would permit his owner to take his seat upon his back; but finally he stood still and Jabez took his seat, with a torch in each hand. ‘‘Now be ready to follow!” he called to his friends, who were. watching his. movements with no little interest. Away went the Phenomenon, as though Old Nick was indeed after him. He headed straight toward the camp-fire, which glowed on the hi to the north of them, and galloped up the de- clivity like a charger, About this time Jabez Spikes began yelling, and such yelling! It was fearful, appalling, awful, indescribable! At the same time » swung the torches in the most Bee ammo as he yelled, and screeched, and yelled. The buffalo was wild with terror, and scarce- ly conscious of what he was doing. He headed straight toward the camp, thundering up the slope at full ne His rider was powerless to direct him and did not make the attempt. Now he neared the camp, and shadowy forms could be seen leaping aside*out of the way of the fearful monster, and still Jabez yelled and swung his torches. When the center of the camp was reached, the Phenomenon, concluding that danger was pass- ed, made an extra flirt of his tail, and kicked his hind-legs so high in air, that Jabez Spikes rolled off, and turned several back-summersets before he could check himself. Then lea ‘to his feet, he attempted to follow the buffalo, but, at this moment, he was seized and held with a gripe of iron. Escape was impossible! : CHAPTER XIV. CONCLUSION. JABEZ SPIKES struggled in the grasp of his captor but he was ‘powerless. ‘What in thunder is the matter?’ demanded the well-known voice of Waufy, the trapper. ‘*Can’t you stop and speak to a feller?” ‘“‘Ginger! is that you?” exclaimed the de- lighted Yankee. “I thought you were an In dian; and are all these white men?” Take a look at ’em and see for yourself.” The glance showed a dozen or so men. grin- ning and laughing most heartily ; and all were of the same race as himself. — | ‘*This must be Colonel McHavens’s party,” exclaimed the delighted Yankee. — “ That is just what it is and nothing else.” \. ‘Well, see here,” added Jabez in his hurried manner, ‘‘ Lieutenant Putnam and Adrienne are down there, afraid to come up, thinking ou are Indi You go down after them, aufy, while I go after my Phenomenon; he’s too valuable for me to lose.’ ¢ And without waiting to ask or answer an more questions, Jabez dashed away in pursuit of the white buffalo, while Waufy, wondering who “ Adrienne ” could be, went in quest of his young friend the lieutenant. on > The surprise of Colonel MecHavens can scarce- ly be imagined, when he saw Lieutenant Put- nam escort his own cherished darling Adrienné to the camp and present her to. him. For one moment they lookedat each other, ‘as if tomake sure of their identity, and then the brave girl was incl in the arms of her father—the grim, fighting colonel. , , es And then, as his comrades gathered around Lieutenant Putnam, he related what the ee has long since learned—thé embarkin ‘the steamboat, the massacre of the crew, the provi- dential escape of our friends, their perilous journey, until they were now safe, = And our hero had something else to learn: The guide whom Captain Bennett had sent to notify Colonel McHavens of the coming the steamer, had reached the camp, and they at once set out to intercept it on the upper waters of the Yellowstone. . A few days later, Waufy came in camp with the announcement of the massacre of the escort that had been sent to meet Lieutenant Pu and the continued progress of the steamer up ee 15 the Yellowstone. -He made no mention of the lady he had seen on the boat, and almost forgot it. Colonel McHavens struck the Yellowstone at a lower point than was originally intended, as he felt. confident of reaching it ahead of the steamer, which, had Providence permitted, would have ascended to a point fully a hundred miles above, and here he was now awaiting its coming, little dreaming of the terrible fate that had befallen his brother-in-law and his compan- ions, ‘* What is the meaning of those other camp- fires?’ asked our hero, pointing off to where the other lights could be seen shining. . a They’re all ours; there ain’t a red-skin near ‘em. | ‘** For what purpose are they kindled?” “* Tt’s the work of old Bill Zigler an’ me; thar have been a lot of varmints dogging us all day, and Bill kindled them fires, and is watchin’ ’em both himself, while he’s scouting around through there: He thinks by doin’ that he kin bring alot of the varmints so close that he’! git a chance to take some of us and pepper @ m. : Lieutenant Putnam did not exactl compre- hend how this was to accomplish the Siirea purpose, but he asked no more. “Gee! whoa! haw! there! Ginger! why ! don’t you mind, Phenomenon ?” Every eye was turned to where Jabez Spikes could be seen astride of his buffalo, and forcing him to come up to the camp-fire, by which he had dashed in such a fury a few minutes before. The animal was not a little alarmed, but he obeyed, and finally halted a few steps away. He was as docile as a lamb under the control of A few weeks later Colonel McHavens and his command safely returned to the States, robe 3 successfully accomplished the purpose for whic they were organized. With them returned Jabez Spikes and his white buffalo, with which he at once began a tour of the country, having magnanimously re- linguished all claim upon the love of Adrienne McHavens. His natural shrewdness and un- questionable ability made his speculation a suc- cess in every respect. He taught the buffalo numerous tricks, which, although very little in themselves, still sounded astounding as they ap- peared upon his flaming posters. e began on a ert moderate scale, but as his receipts grew, so did his personnel; and by and by he had his large, red, painted, box-like wagon, with the icture of a rampant white buffalo on the sides, p and bottom, and with a gig-top, in which he sat and held the reins of a span of fine horses. Thus he sat and cracked his whip, one fine spring morning, and with a triumph that scarcely allowed him to keep his seat, he rattled into his native village, where his “‘ agent” had plentifully put up his posters a few days before. His success astoni even himself. The whole vi seemed to be crowded under his tent, and almost the first person he saw was MaryAnn Stiggens; but the stunning bar-tender was not with her Hundreds crowded around Jabez to shake hands with and co tulate him, and he was decidedly the hero of the hour. By and by he made cautious inquiries about the bar-tender, and was gratified to learn that he was in state- prison, whither he had been sentenced for for- “Mary Ann looked so e and so longingly at Jabez, that his heart BF and he ventured to call upon her, after first housing up his Phe- nomenon for a week that he might visit the ‘told folks,” and his numerous friends. Mary Ann received him warmly, their old love reviv- ed, and in due time, was consummated by a hap- py marriage. 5 abez continued in the ‘‘ show business,” for a comer of years, when the celebrated white buffalo died, and having made a moderate com- petence, he returned to his farm, with the pur- pose of remaining there forever after. Lieutenant Putnam remained in the military several years longer, being stationed most of the time on the frontier. All this time, he maintained a correspondence with Adrienne McHavens, with the full appro- val of the father, who had seen enough of the young officer to appreciate his manly erarter and nobleness of heart. _And the sweet time came, when the beautiful girl uttered the marriage vows, and the happy couple began the journey of life together, with an unclouded and a roseate future, and to the enjoyment of these we now leave them. THE END. com Ebooks (E()