Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 59 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

- ——— —Se ee ee —-> = —_——— ———_ 12 Beadle’s Half-Dime~ Library. the time, however, his eyes were on the look-out, and his ears open to catch any sound. Next to him stood the Chief, Powder Flash, and Bolly could hear the steady crunching of his teeth as the determined Indian gnawed away at the tough venison which he had sworn to finish or die in the attempt. All at once Bolly’s eye was attracted toward something dark that had appeared upon the white rock. By watching carefully he could make out that it was moving, and in the direc- tion of the fort. This told him as plain as words, that it was an Indian. His rifle sought his shoulder, but he waited until the pertains *bject had moved forward a dozen feet or so. Then glancing along the rifle-barrél, he took aim as well as was possible under the circumstances. The sharp, whip-like crack sounded, and echoed along the deep gulch, dying dually among the mountains. Bolly saw the dark form leap wildly erect, disclosing the shape of an In- dian warrior. Thena loud shrill yell of mingled pain and despair rung out, and the ill-fated war- rior fell lifeless upon the rocks. Hardly had this occurred before a second rifle- shot broke the silence. Roaring Ralph, at the further end of the line, had caught si ht of a warrior crawling along the very edge of the de- file, and had let drive, with only a hasty aim. No cry followed this shot, but he saw the man stagger to his knees, reel for an instant, and then vanish into the black depths of the great abyss. This taught the hot-blooded warriors a lesson, and they realized that it was to be no child’s- play or sham-battle. When these men used their rifles, death almost invariably followed, and they were now willing to listen to the words of wisdom from the lips of the older braves. _ Nothing of note occurred during the remain- ing two hours of darkness. The Sioux seemed to realize that force alone could never dislodge or exterminate the white men who had found shelter in the rock-fort, and determined to use other means. The friends could hear the distant sound of chopping, for a grove of trees grew upon the mountain-side, not half a mile away from the 7 a § From this the Colorado ranger judged that they intended trying the same tactics that had been so signally successful in the former fight, and he smiled grimly as he tapped loving- ly a small kna k which he had strapped be- tween his shoulders. Pandy Ellis did not have any great fear of his friends being overpowered, but he was afraid of their being starved into submission. He knew well enone that, although the reds might not be able to take the fort, those within it could not make their escape. This thought worried him not a little, and at length he drew Harry Belmont aside and held a long conversation with him. The soldier gave him some news that at length decided the old ranger. If they all remained here until dooms- day, no assistance could come to them; it must be sought for. Pandy knew just where the place where the two fugitives had been captured by the Sioux, was situated. He had spent a day upon the bluff, looking down upon the view far below, for deceiving Buffalo and settling on his p Horn and his braves. This would most probably be the likeliest lace where he could find the soldiers who were pursuit of the eng runaways, and the ran- ger had made up his mind for the trial. If he failed, it would make their situation no worse, for one arm could not ward off the pangs of starvation, His situation was soon communi- cated to the rest, who expressed their faith in the veteran, but wondered how he intended leaving the fort. Pandy Ellis was equal to such an emergency, however. CHAPTER XVL INTO THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH. THE first movement of Pandy Ellis was a sig- nificant one, and explained his intended opera- tions. He called for every man’s lasso. In this way he became the possessor of four besides his own. : Be it known that men who range the plains of the South-west, invariably carry a bair-rope at their saddle-bow to coil around them in a circle at night in order to keep the snakes away, as these reptiles will never cross a hair-rope. n the other side of the saddle is carried the lariat, which is used to tether the horse or to serve the man asa lasso. Bolly Wherrit, Roar- ing Ralph, Rocky Joe and Blue Beans each car- ried their lassoes with them, wrapped around their waists, either because they considered the ropes too precious to be left behind, or else thought they should find some use for them. Five of the besieged now had their lariats on hand, and old Pandy smiled when they were placed in his possession. Their len averaged thirty feet each, and when fastened securely to- chew ol they would probably measure about one undred and forty feet. It took Pandy some little time to so tie them that he would have no hesitation in trusting his weight to the long rope, but at length it was concluded. He and Bolly then went over to the edge of the deep gulch. Below them was inky darkness. They could hear the sullen roar of the yellow Missouri, as the water plunged against the rocks, and Bolly looked a trifle dismayed, but his desire to take his chum’s place would not be listened to by that worthy. ‘Tt air rather hard on ther new buck-skins, ole hoss, I admit,” the old fellow said, laughing, ** but they hev ter git a christenin’ sum time, ye know. I'll leave my rifle wid ye, Bolly, an’ make good use o’ it ef ther time cums, fur in close quarters it’s jest b’u’tiful ter pour in ther bullets, an’ ye’ll find yer own nowhar. My re- volver I’ve wra in ’iled silk so ther water kain’t hurt it. ow, ef ye’re ready, we’ll solve ther problem about ther length o’ ther rope, by mathematical persuasion, as ther feller sez.” Fastening a heavy stone to the end of the line, they lowered it into the black gulf until all of the rope but a yard or so was out, and then it seemed to have reached some firm foundation, for all of their efforts could not make it go down any further. The moon was peeping above the eastern hori- zon when this trial began, and by the time the stone was hauled up again, she had wheeled into full view, and was flooding the earth with her silvery light, although the chasm seemed to a pear darker than ever now in contrast to the surrounding sera It was discovered that not only the stone, but a dozen feet of the rope had been wet by plung- ing into the river, and this was proof conclusive that the combined lassoes possessed sufficient length for Pandy to gain his end. ere was now no time to lose, as the moon was rising higher, and might possibl aye! his actions to the Sioux. e bold fellow felt no fear in regard to his desperate undertaking. All his life had been a continual facing of dan- er, and he had grown so accustomed to meet- ing the grisly monster death in every conceiva- ble = 3, that the dread demon had lost all ter- ror for Having bidden his friend farewell, Pandy low- ered himself over the edge of the bluff, and van- ished from their sight. The end of the lon rope had been secured to a projecting rock an a coat had been placed under it where it went over the edge, to prevent chafing from the con- stant motion. Bolly had thrown himself down upon the rocks and held his fingers to the rope, just as a man might feel the pulse of a sick person. In this way he could tell just how his chum was getting on. For perhaps five minutes the restless move- ment at stated intervals told him that the tra per chief was descending in safety. Then the strain became easier, and a minute later, an ab- rupt jerk told him that old Pandy was in the water, for this had been agreed upon before he started, as the signal to proclaim the success of his venture. Leaving our friends for a short time upon the bluff, with the Indians ee for desperate work, we will follow the valiant old ranger and see how his mission succeeded. Pandy was wise enough to slide down the ro slowly and cautiously so that his hands would not be cut. After once leaving the verge, he plunged into darkness that grew deeper with every yard of his descent. nknown perils surrounded him on all sides, but as they were unseen, they did not trouble him much, and the —_— fortune that generally accompanied the old ranger, did not desert him on this occasion. ! It was a wonder that Resxits Mare and his two friends had not thought of this means of es- cape when brought to bay in the rocky fort at the time of which mention has been made be- fore. Perhaps they did but were unable to muster sufficient length of rope, for it could not have been fear that prevented their attempting it, for all of them were perfect dare-devils. The descent of the old ranger was just as sys- tematic as the generality of hisacts. By short passages he descended into the depths of the abyss. At times the rope seemed inclined to twirl a little, but he prevented this from assum- ing any alarming proportions by putting out one hand and touching the wall whenever it was possible, in this manner steadying himself. That he was drawing near the bottom of the wild ch, was soon made manifest; not through his sight, for all was dark as Egypt around him, but the roaring of the river among the rocks of the defile had gradually become louder, until it was almost deafening in the ears of the old ranger. His feet touched the water, and then he was wholly immersed in the chilling stream. He still retained hold of the rope, and intended doing so until he found a place to rest his feet. This was quickly discovered, and the old ranger stood up to his breast in the yellow water of the upper uri. ; His feet rested on sand, and feeling confident that he could walk along near the shore until he came to some point where an escape might be made from this black defile, he gave the signal with the rope that had been upon, and then let it go. Then commenced the tedious passage down the stream. He kept close to the rocky wall, expecting that the water would be most shallow there, but he knew nothing of the current of the river. At times he would onl be knee deep and confidently expectin cg tres dry land when another minute would find him up to his neck in the foaming water, and only retaining his footing with difficulty. ive Once, indeed, ed this perilous passage, he lost his footing comp otal and was actually obliged to swim, although this was a pretty hard thing to do under the circumstances. The mad water bore him along with frightful velocity, and Pandy did his best to stem the current. Fortunately he struck against a rock that la in the channel, and this enabled him to get feet once more on the sandy bed of the stream. It seemed as though this was the culminating point of his desperate adventure, for, after re- gaining his breath, and once more starting o every foot of the way took him further out o the water until he was splashing along with only a few inches of the flood under him. The aspect of the banks had also changed materially since his immersion, and they no longer rose up on either hand boldand abrupt, but from where he stood he could see the trees upon the mountain, and the moonlight upon the. rocks further up its side. A few minutes later and Pandy determined to get out of the river and continue his journe on dry land. Leaving him hastening on we wi return once more to the rocky fort, CHAPTER XVII. AN EARTHQUAKE ON A SMALL SCALE. WuHeEN the slacking of the rope told Bolly Wherrit that his old chum had risked reir me he lay down, with his head over the chasm. Below him all was as black as E and he could not have seen Pandy, had the atter been only a couple of yards below him. The roar of the angry water reached the ears of the listen- ing sty mah but as the minutes passed on he was agreeably disappointed about hearing some cry from below that would proclaim the fact of Pandy’s having gotten into trouble. At length he arose to his feet, and returned to his post, feeling pretty confident that Pandy mrt 4 t off, even though he failed to find the e assistance. e sound of tomahawks could still be heard as dozens of the determined Sioux worked stead- ily in the little grove of trees, and the beleaguer- “ knew very well what they were up to, for Roaring Ralph had informed them as to the means we arg by the Indians to get close to the rocks before making their dash, on the al vious occasion. Indeed, some of the We t had formed their breastworks could be seen among the rocks, the rest having proba- bly been used for firewood, at v times by ao who camped in this strange natural ort. In an hour or so then, they might expect the assault to begin. They would all fight desper- ately, and make a good use of their weapons, but how would it end? Knowing the stren and determined nature of their enemies, Bolly could not feel positive about their coming out of the fight unharmed, or even coming out at all, when it came to a fine point. A dozen times he looked over to where Ma sat, and wished very heartily that she was in the fort. For the danger itself the hunter cared very little, as he been bred in an at- mosphere of battle and had probably been on the war-path as soon as he was able to lift a rifle, Gloag sbooks-ecom