Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 59 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

oe 2 _—- = eee eee ee CS *bacca pipe, for them reds have got a dead bead on us, chief.” As he spoke these last words, Blue Beans arose to his feet. The pipe was emptied in a careless way, and stuck into his belt. Then the hunter raised his arms above his head, giving a tremen- dous yawn at the same time, as though he was exceedingly tired. sé Now Pp The word fell from his lips with the same ab- ruptness of a ball discharged from a gun. he spoke, Blue Beans pounced upon his rifle, that lay upon the ground, like a hawk descends upon a dove-cote, and then sprung behind an enormous tree that grew close at hand. Nor was the Comanche chief. less rapid in his movements, even though he was seated, upon the ground when the word was given. He was rightly named, for his gun was in his hands, and himself on the way to join Blue Beans, almost like a flash. Several guns were discharged, and the bullets plowed , the ground the two had so lately occupied, for the Indians, disconcerted by this sudden move, could not help banging away, even though it was evident that their balls would do no damage. When the chief gained the shelter of the huge tree, he found his companion there, crouching in the shadow, and peering around the trunk in search of their enemies. ‘“What do, Blue Beans?” asked the Indian. “Run for it, chief. Wait—give me a fair chance. One, two, three, the devil take the hindmost—go !” and with the last word they oe away, side’ by side, like two phantom gures A terrific howl] from the rear, and then the pattering of many feet, told the two friends that they were being hotly pursued. They ran like race-horses, and kept well to- gether, which in itself was rather remarkable, considering the many obstacles that came in their way. It was not pitch dark in the forest, else both pursuers and pursued would have met with many disasters, for it kept them pretty bus ‘leaping over fallen trees and stumps, and avoid- ing those that stood erect. hether the fugitives were the better wood- men, or were naturally gifted with stronger eyes, One cannot say, but, while they ran on undisturbed, their pursuers began to decrease in number slowly. One fellow took a sudden notion to use his nose for a plow, judging by the way in which he glided along on it after tripping over a stone. A second began hugging a tree as if it was his dearest friend, while a third vanished from view in‘a hole left by the roots of a gigantic tree a8 torn bodily out of the ground by a Norther Blue Beans could not note these several catas- trophes, but he readily understood that the number of their pursuers had decreased one- half. There could not be over two or three in pursuit, and the idea of running from them was absurd. A word to Powder Flash that was well under- stood. by that ever-ready individual, and the two came to a sudden halt, crouching behind some bushes that oes friendly shelter. Ten seconds had hardly passed before several shadowy figures came rushing up at a furious ace. en the hostile Indians had all shot by hem like so many phantom racers, the two friends arose. Powder Flash began to chaw away at his tough venison at the point where he had left off, much to the amusement of his friend, who de- clared that even a moderate earthquake would ea ee the equanimity of the chief, all of which Powder Flash listened to in sober silence, only remarking in the end: ‘Chief say um eat whole deer. Do it, if teeth no fall out. Blue Beans keep watch of um,” at which the hunter laughed again, as if the joke really was comical. CHAPTER IL A PREMIUM ON PANDY ELLIS’S TOP-KNOT. THE glorious sun was nearing the far-distant mountain-tops in the west, and his slanting but still-powe rays forced an entrance through the branches of the forest trees. Three hunters were striding through the woods upon this afternoon, the foremost of whom bent over occasionally as if to examine some 2 Sear that were deeply imbedded in the und. er All of them were garbed in the habiliments of western rangers, wearing suits of buck-skin and ian moccasins. Their head-gear was pos- Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. ——_ 7 ———— wo = sessed of a difference, that, to say the least, was venerable. The leader had on a cap made up in a unique fashion from squirrel skins, with several bushy tails dangling down his back. Just behind him came a strange-looking man, whose head-cover- ing consisted of an old white beaver hat that had seen rough usage, judging from its appearance. Probably the hunter had donned it in a spirit of fun, for he was one of the oldest and best-known rangers of the border. -The last of this tramping trio was one whose appearance was most striking. Hewore a large felt hat that had once been a delicate cream- color, but- which the combined forces of sun, wind, dirt and rain, had transformed toa russet brown. This effectually shaded his face, but when it was removed it gave a view of a weazen little face, with sparkling eyes and a gray mustache. That set of features was well-known on the bor- der. The leader of this trio, he with the squirrel cap, was Rocky Mountain Joe. Behind him was the no-less celebrated Roaring Ralph Rock- wood, the great ‘‘ Rooster from the Colorado Canyon,” and the hindmost no other than famous old Bolly Wherrit, the chum of Pandy Ellis the prairie prince. Rocky Joe was a noted trailer and it was b the united voices of the others that he took his place at the head. Bolly had not seen his eccentric old chum for over six months, as he had been East, seeing the sights among the large cities, and he found it hard to get on Pandy’s trail. Not that it was difficult to find tracks of the veteran prairie prince. The very first town in the South-west that he and his two traveling companions struck, they heard of a terrible fight Pandy Ellis had had with a lot of despera- does, who, hearing of his identity, thought they would perform a good deed for their class, by ** wiping him out.” The assault was wholly from their side, and Pandy was taken unawares, but he was always prepared for such work. When the three rangers asked the result, their informant quietly took them out of town, and pointed to four freshly- made graves. Nothing more was needed; the reply was the eloquence of silence. In other places they heard of the old ranger, but he was still alive at the last reckoning. Through the wood the three hunters tramped, with the sky turning toa beautiful crimson in the far West, where the sun was sinking behind the hills for his night’s rest. Rocky Joe bent over tosee the trail, while the others kept their eyes about them. ‘* Hold hard thar!” said Roaring Ralph, all of a sudden, and the three came to a pause. The trailer was discovered to have found something of more than ordinary interest in the marks upon the ground, for he got down on his knees and laid his hand upon the trail, as if afraid of losing the place, before he would raise eyes. oe Ralph was gazing intently at some- thing on the trunk of atree not ten feet beyond. He took several steps forward and then found his suspicions confirmed. It was a piece of a, nailed to the tree, the bark of which had n chopped away in this particular spot. Bolly and Roaring Ralph saw that the per bore the writing of a white man. Their forest teaching could tell them that it had been placed here after the great storm of a month before, but Rocky Joe had to be called up. to decipher the letters, which were so many hieroglyphics to the two rangers. No sooner had the mountaineer read it through than he burst into a hearty laugh. ‘‘ Bu’st my moccasins if that ain’t good now!” he exclaimed. “Hyar we air, like Patience on a monument, smilin’ at grief; at least you'll be grievin’ purty soon, Joey, ef ye don’t hurry us wid ther sto lation,” growled Bolly. ~e! our pardon, kimrades. Listen ter the rich joke that was ever panned out on the border,” and in a slow tone, so that they could catch the full force of the joke, Rocky nab, the ‘‘ a site e language and writing suggested a whi man or half-breed, but this was explained by the placard itself. This is the way the famous ran; ‘We the undersigned, chiefs of the t Sioux nation, do offer as a reward, one hundred buffalo robes, fifty black fox skins, and two hundred beaver pelts; in addition to this the rifle with a silver-plated stock, a keg of gun-powder, and a barrel of whisky, to the person or persons whe will bring in the scalp LL LLL EE FT of Heavy Knife, otherwise known as Pan This reward will be paid by any one of the f chiefs at their separate camps. * (Signed:) BurraLo Horn, ** RED CLoup, ** CRAZY HORSE, ‘* Grassy CHIEF, ‘* YELLOW Doe, ‘* Burnt SNAKE, and ‘** Youna-MAN-AFRAID-OF-HIS-HoRSES. ‘* Dusky Jon, Scribe.” Rocky Mountain Joe read this through from beginning to end, and then turned to survey his comrades. Their faces showed the blankest as- tonishment. ‘“Trowers and tomcats!” ejaculated Ralph. “Thet beats me,” murmured Bolly Wherrit, and then with a chuckle that e infinite satisfaction he added, ‘‘ Thar; the ole man hez reached the top o’ his ambition. He allers sed az how he w’u’d be soda bases w’en he c’u’d it a reward offered fur his sculp. Thet thar ickles me, boyees. How they must hate my Pandy! I’m jest dyin’ ter see the ole man; hain't set eyes*on hi ese seven months back, but we'll find him jest ther same azeyer. I’d know them dirty buck-skins (mine’s clean alongside o’ ’em) and his face among a thousand. Pandy Ellis never c’u’d disguise hisself from us.” Bolly and his companions had notthe slightest idea in the world that these words were over- heard, but such was really the fact. long lank form crouched in the shadows already gathering in places, and. chuckled and shook all over with silent laughter, but never a word escaped his lips, neither did he betray him- self to the three old hunters. ‘Tell ’ee w’at;” exclaimed Bolly at length, after ney, had stood and admired the workman- ship of ‘‘ Dusky Joe” for several minutes, ‘‘ thar’s sum fun here in store. Joey, do ’ee down thet leetle paper. Listen ter me, boyees: I sw’ar ter pin it ter the flap o’ Buffler Horn’s own lodge, an’ thet afore many suns hey by.” ‘* Fiddles an’ fryin’-pans! thet air an ijee, I Ellis. owing must say. I’m wid ye, Bolly !” and Roaring Ralph’s d sought the other’s. ‘* Count me in, every time, boys,” said Rocky Mtoe lke tho eels youngsters muttered ‘ Jes e ther reckless yo mutter the concealed man to himself. > bat _ Rocky Joe had at length succeeded in detach- ing the paper, which he hander to Bolly Wher- rit, who, after folding it up, y proceeded to place it.away in his et. : Little did these great hunters suspect that the man who had Pandy Ellis’s gray scalp in his possession, and was on his way to the In- dian town with it, lay not thirty feet away. What they would have done had this fact been made manifest it is difficult to say. ‘‘ What, about the trail?’ asked Rocky Moun- tain Joe; ‘ thar’s something I’d like to show you, boys, only it’s got too dark. That critter’s got friends among the reds, I reckon.” ‘Crawlers an’ catamounts! the thing’s quite probable. Chop me inter mince-meat, an’ chuck me inter a soap barrel ef I don’t think ye’re Sg right, Joey. ’en we go ter Buffalo orn’s willage ter hang up the fiddle an’ the bow, otherwise thet little paper Bolly kerries, I think we'll come acrost our game thar; shoot me through a waterfall ef I don’t. It’s me that sez it, Roaring Ralph Rockwood, you bet.” ‘Wal, then, w’ile Rally an’ me go ter hunt out a good campin’-ground, do ye mark the spot whar ye got the last squint at the trail, Joey. Thet willin hez ter be run_ter the airth ef it takes a ear, fur w’en Bolly Wherrit makes an oath e’s bound ter kerry it out. Poor feller! who’d ‘a? thort thet the wery fust news we heer’d on “hyd hed our oe sempin'-ground, w’u’d be e death o’ pore Tom Grampus. My cuss upon his murderer, thet’s w’at I se” - a The unseen listener started as if this was news 0 him, —— hear nothing meres for anes al rs separated, Joe going back to the where he left the trail. ry ne CAHPTER III. MYSTERIOUS OLD HICKORY. IN a glen where the undergrowth and trees obstructed the sides, and rendered a passage more than ordinarily difficult, a very small fire crackled and blazed. It had been built ape a spot that was chosen by wise old Bolly Wherrit, and it is doubtful whether a better could have been found, where the chances of the light’s remaining undiscover- ed were concerned. : Around this blaze the three friends gathered each with a large piece of juicy venison fastened to the end of a ramrod or stick, and cooking in the heat, while the owner occasionally varied the performance by turning the novel spit. JOO <€om “S (C (E() | ) | ~~ <- a a owe —s —