Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 520 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

ee Pee an ee » . ° Seapidet > bat Pu> a : ‘ - Pa ee ge heme > OTe Bg a rr — Pe ss" v a Buckskin Bill, the Comanche Shadow. | 9 Then, like a lion at bay he sprung, unarmed | and away sped a hundred warriors to mount as he was, upon them, and met his fate tear- | in hot haste and pursue. lessly. But down the steep mountain-side at a run went There were a few knife-thrusts, a yelping of | the sure-footed mustang, the rider guiding him dogs, yelling. of Indians, and the life of poor Reuben Carter had ended, while one young brave shook aloft the gory scalp as a trophy of his bravery. CHAPTER XVI. A SURPRISE, THE catching up with unfortunate Reuben Carter, and his tragic death at the cruel hands of his red-skin pursuers, momentarily took the aze of the Indians, and of Buckskin Bill, from Han Ellis, The scout was, as has been stated, a fall, splendidly-formed man, ‘ Over six feet in hight, he was possessed of wonderful strength and endurance, while his speed as a runner had been the admiration of his comrades, who had bestowed upon him the name of Deerfoot Dan. Brave, and yet clinging to life with the tenacity of a young man with the world before him, Dan was determined to make a grand struggle. He knew that the Comanches had swift run- ners in their tribe, braves whgse incentive to kill was as great as his incentiveto escape them. Believed to be lame from his having been wounded, he yet was in perfect condition, and went off like a rocket on hisrun. There were two-thirds of the braves who started in chase of the two men, who kept on after him, only a dozen or so throwing them- Selves upon poor Carter. The fleetest runners had expected more of Dan Ellis, and so they had him in their eye, From his very first jump at the start, he be- n to drop them behind, and when Buckskin ill was able to turn his staring eyes from the scene of Reuben Carter’s death, a cry of joy almost broke from his lips as he saw Dan thirty paces ahead of his nearest pursuer. And with each bound the flying scout gained, while the Indians were fairly dazed with amaze- ment, ' On, on, flew the borderman, going two feet to the one of his pursuers, and seemingly without an effort. But Dan Ellis knew his danger, and he was straining every nerve. The mustang he knew micht be frightened at his rapid approach and) with a spring, drag up the rope peg and dash away. Then the pack of dogs were beginning to find out who it was the red-skins were chasing, and they separated themselves from their masters and ran on ahead after the fugitive. Of course Dan Ellis could not er to dis- tance the hungry pack, were the ahase a long one; but when he heard them open in full ery he knew that he must gain the mustang before they could catch him, or be pulled down by them. ; Maddened by this thought he used still greater exertion and for a short while fairly gained on the dogs. But the pace was too hard a one to last long, and the dogs began to creep upon him. ' This sport seemed to delight the red-skins iIm- mensely. ‘ They bad not expected their hungry canines to join in the chase, and it would be a novel sen- sation to see a pale-face pulled down and wor- ried to death by the savage pack. The pursuing braves however would prefer to kill with their knives, rather than have the fugi- tive die under the teeth of the dogs, and they quickened their pace. . € mustang was now but a short fifty yards away, the dogs about the same distance behind the fugitive, eta: As he fairly flew along Dan Ellis spied a lance lying in his path. A quick stoop and he bad grasped it, and a moment after he was within a few feet of the mustang. The frightened animal made a bound, and yet he was not quick enongh, for the stake was seized and dragged up, and, with a mighty bound the daring man was upon the back of the mustang. Just at that moment the leading dog was within reach, and by @ skillful movement Dan See caught him fairly upon the sharp-pointed ce, Then away darted the nmstang, the fleet run- ner u his back, and out of the village he weut like the wind. |. and disa scream The braves gave a yell of _ pointment, the women and c / with the lance, and when he reached the valley the nearest horseman was a quarter of a mile behind him. One long, loud, exultant yell broke from the lips of Dan Ellis, and he urged his pony on at full speed. Then he glanced back and saw a long string of horsemen in pursuit. In the valley the shadows were increasing, though the mountain-tops were yet rosy with the last rays of the sun which had gone down. ‘* I will escape them—they can never take me now, for within ten minutes it will be dark and I am a long way ahead.” So said the brave rider, and his words were soon proven to be warranted, as when the In- dians reached the valley, between the dark shadows from the hills, the timber and can- yons, with the prairie stretching away on one side, they knew not which way the fugitive had gone, The dogs, too, though they had pursued the white man, would not chase the mustang; or the fatal thrust one of their number had_ received had proven a wholesome lesson, for they no longer were in chase. It was too dark for the red-skins to follow the trail, and listening they heard no sound of hoofs, when at last the pursuing party had gathered together in the valley. The white man had been promised his life if he could run the gantlet in safety, and yet, having done so, the Comanches would have caught ‘him is they could, and tried some other game for their amusement in which the chances of success were more in their favor. At last, with saddened hearts they returned to the village, compelled to give up the chase, for, when the morning came it would be useless to follow the trail of the daring scout, with his half-score hours’ start of them. CHAPTER XVII. DEATH-KILLER’S PROTEGE, THE old medicine chief of the Comanches had won his name—as is customary with Indian nomenclature from some peculiarity of the one named—from the fact that he defied death in curing sick red-skins, The Indians are natural physicians and sur- geons, and one who sets himself up among a tribe as a medicine-man is compelled to be versed in the uses of plants, herbs, roots and flowers, for the cure of diseases and the healing of wounds. Either by accident, luck or real knowledge, old Death-Killer had won fame asa medicine- man, and his white hair added to the respect with which he was regarded by his people. His tepee wasa large one, and remarkably odd-looking in appearance, for it was a blend- ing of an Indian curiosity-shop, a witch’s re- treat and an apothecary shop. There were dried herbs and wild flowers, barks of various trees, roots and plants in abun- dance, with clay pots to boil them to extract the juices. Then there were the skulls and bones of hu- man beings and animals, the former being the remains of pale-faces, for not even an Apavhe would old Death-Killer allow in his tepee after he Was dead, Relics of the chase, bearskins, buffalo-robes, dressed deer-heads and the plumage of birds ornamented the place, while weapons of all kinds were also there. Without the tepee was covered with various cabalistic signs, painted in red, yellow and black colors. Old Death-Killer had his little tepee in the rear, opening into the large one, and therein he slept, using the other for laboratory, office, pow- wow hall and Ste re-room. As Buckskin Bill was to become once more the protege of Death-Killer after the sad death of Reuben Carter and the escape of Dan Ellis, he was turned over to the old medicine chief by Fire Eyes, who told him that any attempt to escape on his part would end in his being burned to death. With this horrible threat Buckskin Bill was freed of his hx mas and was given a bear-robe in the large tepee of the medicine chief, which was aulled With the sceut of a dozen different. con- eoctions, But Buckskin Bill had been there before, his quarters having then been in the same place. As if not caring for the fate of Carter aod escape Of Dan Bilis, but perfectly satisfied to remain ih the Comanche village, Buckskin Bill set to work with a cheerfulness that pleased old Death-Killer, and disarmed, in a measure, sus- picion of him, though there was a nightly and daily watch placed upon him which Fire Eyes and the medicine chief did not intend he should know about. The moment that Fuckskin Bill beheld Reu- ben Carter die as he did, he raised his eyes to- ward Heaven, and a vow passed his lips that he would avenge that appalling act upon the old . scout, He knew that there was but one way to get along in the Indian village, and that was to enter into their customs at once, and to seem to take his situation as though he liked it. Since his former captivity among the Co- manches he had learned hick. and he did all in his power to make himself useful. That they were suspicious of him he knew, as also that he was well watched, for he quickly discovered who his watchers were. To the old medicine chief he tried to make himself most useful, hoping to win his gratitude at least. But the red-skin has little gratitude. He takes all favors shown bim as a matter of course, and try as he might, Buckskin Bill could not win more than a mumbled word from Death- Killer. For his own sake the youth entered into the work of the medicine-man, for there were cer- tain things he was anxious to find out, He wisbed to know an herb that would pro- duce a deep sleep for some hours, and he was sure that Death-Killer understood the value of all of his medicines, He helped the old chief to boil the herbs, roots and flowers, dried the plants, found out what was good about them and that which was bad, and before long was fully as conversant with the medicinal properties of what nature pro- vided in the forests for its children as was Death- Killer himself, Thus several months passed away, and the red-skins had begun to feel that Buckskin Bill was contented with his lot. This was what he wished, and to keep himself up to the mark in athletic strength and endur- ance, he would wrestle with the Indian youths, run races with them, practice bow and arrow shooting, for he had no firearms, and also be- come expert in the use of the Comanche lance. He also entered into their sports on horseback, and, though always considered a good rider in the settlement, he soon found out that the In- dians could teach him a great deal about riding which he had never believed possible. Since the defeat of the Apaches the Co- manches had been keeping very close to their vil- lage, and in many ways had strengthened their stronghold, imitating the whites and making it almost a fort. Then, too, they had put out advance posts, from quarters where danger might be expected, and these were relieved from. duty every morn- ing. Fire Eyes also encouraged the boys of the tribe in the use of weapons, and hoped to make of them afair home guard in case of another attack. News cante to the village, now and then, from Indian spies, that the settlement was increasing in numbers, that trains were running oftener across the plains and mountains, and of several important raids which the Apaches had made against the whites. ‘Of course Buckskin Bill heard of these ru- mors, but showed no outward interest in them. Often he thought of making an attempt to escape; but he dreaded failure, and the fearful threat of Fire Eyes, to burn him at the stake if he did make the effort, deterred him until he felt sure of success. One night there was a grand pow-wow in the Council Tepee, and Buckskin Billy tried bard to find out what was going on. But this he could not do, and he lay awake until Old Death-Killer came in and went to bed. The next morning Bill discovered that Fire Eyes, with a hundred picked warriors, had left the village during the night. Day after day he longed for their return, that he might learn whither they had gone, and what deviltry they had been committing; and one afternoon he was delighted to see them returning, yet dreading what they might brin to prove that they had been upon a successf raid into the settlements. As they came into the village, yelling like de- mons, Buckskin Bill knew that they had met with suecess, and soon he saw unbounded proof in numerous mules which had belonged to a train, the animals being loaded down with booty taken from the wagons, ‘