Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 59 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

for I love Harry Belmont as if he were my own son,” and the officer strode away from the scout’s side, as if to hide the terrible emotion that shook his frame. ‘Now, that’s queer,” muttered the prairie scout, gazing r his commander in the loaming,” yes, almighty queer. He loves the Cor like a father. t on earth do he mean then, ie let him have the gal? Thar’s nothing in way that I kin see. Blame the luck, if he had only told me that, in the start, instead of looking so glum and stern, this here ursuit would have been a heap sight livelier it has. Why, I thort he was death on my boy, and concluded it was better the young folks went on till they were captured by the reds, than fall into his hands. Loves y after all! Well, well, if that don’t just knoc ts off’n all I’ve ever seen or heard. Then thar's one thing settled: we must get ’em away from the ky Sioux. Mebbe we'll have a wedding ehtie fort yet, who knows? I think Pll take a leetle scout, seeing that they camp here. I may run across another of them ’ere signs about old ar Ellis’ sculp. Wonder if they’ve bagged that old ’coon yet? Thar ain’t no doubt but what he’s a match for all the imps of the prairies put together, the wolf-sculper air,” and with @ knowing shake of his head t e guide left the cam i a yrinth of roc and Sean bhastbeden it on one side. When Colonel Hasly left the scout so sudden- ly, his frame was en with some emotion would not be ressed. The mention of the awful fact that t oung fugitives were now in the power of the Indians may have had some effect upon him, as I have no doubt it but there was something behind this tha brought great tears to eyes that were utterly unused to weeping. ‘It is coming home to me,” he groaned, when he found himself alone, ‘‘and I deserve it, too. For the simple reason that I was unwilling to bear shame, I have brought this down upon my own head. I wonder if Harry can ever forgive me. Poor children! I should have explained it all when I first saw symptoms of love between you, instead of using my utmost efforts for a separation. I am being punished bitterly for my deceit, yet God knows how willingly I would take it all upon my shoulders if thew were spared. How will itend? Heaven alone knows, but Iam utterly wretched. Love Harry? Ay, as the apple of my eye; y as dear to my heart as little May. Will he ever forgive me, I wonder?” and the officer groaned aloud in his soul an They reached this point just half an hour before sundown, being several days behind the fugitives, as the had been lost at a point where young Belmont had caused the two to walk quite a distance along a water-course. This and sun. other devices on the part of the yo man had deceived even the scout of the y rpedition; Fire-Flash Frank, and that worthy was ready to admit the young soldier an adept in the way of throwing pursuers off the trail, even though he thought H a to bring i med with hos- the girl to the wilderness, that tile Indians and savage beasts. The shades of night ——. settled over the bluff, and darkness rendered everything invisible Save where it was outlined in a vague way against the star-gemmed heavens. A fire had been started by the soldiers, but, as they were few in number to be caught in hostile country, they took the cautious words of the scout to heart, and were careful to build the blaze at a point where it would be difficult to see it from almost any direc- ee unless the stroller actually stumbled upon it. The cavalrymen then proceeded to enjoy their own frugal supper, having seen that their tee were well provided for. They had left the fort ing no idea of the long chase the fugitives would lead. thom, and their provisions had long since run out, . There was no such thing as starving in this land of plenty, however, and the rifle of the scout kept them supplied with fresh meat. The were surrounded by multiplied dangers, but if any Indians had seen them so far, they must have taken it for granted that the little body of soldiers intended having a conference with some of the leading chiefs, as they could not imagine snereeiening the Sioux country with hostile in- The very of their movement was thus likely to be their d, but, should the Indians Once assail them, there would be but a small chance of their ever reaching the fort again, for the red-skins could muster fifty men -——- Old Hickory. to every one of the soldiers, and well-armed, de- termined fighters at that. The general slept but little during this night, but it was not the perils that surrounded them that caused his wakefulness; his thoughts con- tinually roved to the young couple who had run away from the fort, and ever and anon a groan would break from the brave old soldier that must surely have been caused by something be- yond the fact that his daughter was a prisoner in the Sioux village. Far down in the gully the yellow Missouri rushed along its bed, and the murmur of the water failed to sing him to sleep. From the sides of the bluff, there ascended at intervals the long-drawn, mournful howl of the great gra wolf, soundin dismally through the stilly ess of the night. Then the fair moon peeped above the far-off eastern horizon, and cast a silvery sheen over every object upon which her enchanting rays chanced to fall. A lonely owl, perched upon a neighboring deadwood, gave vent to his feelings in solemn hoots, until frightened at last by the bright moon, he flew away to some dark gulch in search of legitimate prey. Slowly the moon wheeled upward in her roma cycle, and, wearied at length with his own direful thoughts, the soldier fell into a sound slumber. He was awakened by a touch on the arm, and, springing to his feet, he found dayli ht at hand. e scout and trailer stood beside him. “Breakfast, general, and then we'll settle down to work. If I know anything about this country, and I ey to, having been a captive among the Sioux for five years, we'll be knock- ing at the lodges of Buffalo Horn before it gets dark again.” The general’s face brightened a trifle, but as he sat down to eat he presented the ap ance of a man from whose soul hope had almost wholly fled. While they were eating, the sen- try came in to report a solitary man we his way up the steep side of the bluff tow the north. In another minute all those in the camp were looking down at the distant figure. The men saw him take off his broad-rimmed hat and wave it above his head, asif he were mightil pleased to set eyes on them. Through his field- glass the general saw more. “Take this and look,” said he to Fire-Flash Frank; ‘if I had not conclusive evidence of his death, I would swear that it was the prairie prince, old Pandy Ellis.” CHAPTER XV. A ROCKY FORTRESS. Let us return to those whom we left behind the natural fort of rocks, with the Indians be- sieging them. As darkness came on apace they gathered around the white-haired Pandy Ellis, to whom each one looked as upon a leader. The veteran knew the peril of their situatio none better, and he felt sure that their grea danger would be, not in the assaults of the In- dians, although these might be serious enough, but from starvation and thirst. Before Pandy would say a word as to what the nature of their position was, he had whis- red a few words to Belmont, who immediate- y took May Hasly to the edge of the bluff, to listen to the roar of the water below, as he said, but in reality to keep from her the true state of affairs. Those who listened to the old ranger were therefore men who had faced grim death too often to gee at his presence; most of them daring and reckless as only frontiersmen can be, delighted in adventures, and but for the presence of the young girl,in their midst would have asked nothing better than a savage and bloody bout with the warlike Sioux. There was one who had May Hasly always in his mind. This was Jack Holmes, the handsome oung fellow who pursued the roving life that ollows a trapper, for mere love of adventure, and not because of necessity. He watched her wherever she went, and winced in actual pain at gg lover-like movement of the young sol- dier. Oh! little did Jack st t the glorious a that was lining his dark cloud with the ilvery sheen! There were eight of them to defend the little rocky fort against more than a hundred of their seem = foes, who were armed with the best wea- pons Uncle Sam’s money could procure and well versed in the crafty designs of their race. It would seem like terrible odds, especially when the ground was covered with the shades of night. ot a man flinched nor tremble@. Roari Tee and his two companions, the celebra Wild Bill, and Kickapoo Dan, had held the fort 11 against a horde of these self-same braves for two whole days and nights, and had only given in when Dan had been killed and the others badly wounded by the storm of bullets that was sent among the rocks by the infuriated reds, who were growing desperate from their losses and the obstinate defense of the besieged. Surely, then, these eight men could hold their own against the enemy for a time, and having old Pandy with them was a godsend, for the veteran’s brain was fertile in schemes, and, where other men would be likely to fail, he in- variably succeeded. The moon would not make her appearance until about midnight, and in all probability their greatest danger would be during those hours of darkness, when the reds co creep close = to the barricade without being dis- covered. On the other occasion when Roaring Ralph and his friends had been besieged in the same place, there had been no period of darkness, for the moon made her appearance soon after the sun had set, and remained in sight until almost daybreak for the great hills that rose up were toward the north, and would not obstruct her light so long as she remained above the horizon. andy wondered how the red-skins had man- aged to get close enough to send their bullets into the fort, but the reckless ranger soon in- formed him. There were no natural means of concealment, such as outlying bowlders, except in the immediate vicinity, but the wily rele had made artificial ones, behind which they kept their precious bodies until close enough to rain in a fire of balls that did terrible execu- tion. At the time, the three friends had been so badly demoralized, and powerless to prevent the catas- trophe, that they had fallen victims to the fury of the Sioux. Such an impression had this terri- ble event made upon the mind of the Colorado ranger, that he then and there swore a solemn oath that if he ever managed to get out of that scrape he would invent something to defeat the Indians should they ever make a similar attempt when he was around. Perhaps he had received assistance some- where, for Ralph, although a shrewd man in all things pertaining to prairie lore, was not learned in science, but he had by some manner of means obtained what he desired, and gloried in the thought that perhaps he would now have a chance to make use of the discovery upon the very field of his former defeat. hen darkness had fully covered the face of the earth, Pandy Ellis stationed his friends as best suited his purpose. The young girl was laced in a secure spot where she would be safe rom any flying bullets, as were also the horses. Having accomplished this much, the old ranger looked to the line of defense, Fortunately, the only route by which the Indians could reach the roc ort was not more than twenty feet in width, so that the attention of the whole party could be concen- trated upon this one spot without a fear of receiving an unexpected attack in the rear. On one side stretched the high, white cliffs, utterly unscalable; on the other yawned the terrible gulch, deep down in which roared the turbid waters of the Missouri. It was a death-trap for the unwary, and through this the Sioux were creeping. Many of the older braves spoke against it. They knew with whom they had to deal; the fight in the canyon had informed them that these bold enemies were their most deadly foes, the fron- tiersmen, than whom they would much rather fight a whole regiment of soldiers. Perhaps they also remembered the battle that had oc- curred before at this very point, and the num- ber of their tribe who had fallen before the end was reached by strategy. At any rate, their counsel was in vain, for the young braves felt their hot blood surgi through their veins, and demanded to be led against the hated foe. The night was not more than ordinarily dark. Our friends, looking over their rocky stockade, could see the white rocks for quite a little dis- tance, and it must needs be a shrewd Indian who could craw! up unobserved. Bolly Wherrit had stationed himself at the extreme end of the line, where his observation would extend much further than from any other point. Here the old ranger stood as mo- tionless as a statue. Time slipped by. Almost two hours had gone since nightfall, and there seemed some ground for the hope that perhaps, after all, the reds did not intend making any assault. Bolly was thinking of his chum, and how wonderfully all of them had been deluded, All s CECA MIUCE OOO! KS5 (EC)