Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 597 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XXITTI. THE MIDNIGHT RAID. Ir was several days before all the strangers left Gold Dust City for their respective haunts, for the double hanging, ‘* by process of law,” was used as a foundation for a general orgie, and the result was that the cemetery in the glen near by was the ricker by half a dozen more graves of men who had “died with their boots on,” Even Edgar Dumont had not known the detective chief)in tis old man’s disguise, until he caine up ani spoke to him, and said: ‘*T see no others present to arrest, Edgar, so we will return to camp, and arrange for our raid upon the Black Bravos, as 1 fear they may change their retreat,” ‘‘ Why, chief, [ never would have known you; but lam ready, though I will go off with my two men and wait for you on the trail.” This was done, and Edgar was surprised to fin,’ when the chief came up with him that he had a dozen of his men with him, all disguised us miners, so that Secret Service Men were well represented at the double banging. Arriving in their camp, the detectives at once hezan preparations for the march against the Biack Bravos’ stronghold, The best horses were picked out, provisions were gotten ready, the ammunition pouches were filled and the weapons all put in the very best condition, Thesecond night after the return Chief Cook an bis detectives rode out of camp. Kdgar Dumont was acting as guide, and *the wiole force of the Secret Service Band was along, consisting of some thirty men, all splendidly mounted and armed. Tne camp bad been broken up, so that four men followed with the pack-animals carrying the outfit, and they were to go to another re- treat of the detectives and there wait for the return of their comrades from the expedition against the Black Bravos, When dawn approached the detectives went into camp in a canyon, where they could re- main in hiding. Two men had been left back on the trail to see if they were pursued, and a watch was placed at the head of the canyon in advance, to give warning if any enemy approached that way. The Texan Detective reported that they were but a couple of hours’ ride of the ridge retreat of the Black Bravos, so that the men felt that they would have a long day’s rest, for them- selves and horses. ) Jest after dark the guards reported, and the party mounted and rode on to where there was a trail which the men with the pack-horses took to go to the other rendezvous, he chief and his fighting men held on at a slow pace, Edgar Dumont riding by the side of the leader, At last the canyon was reached where he and his guide had been taken prisoners by the Bravos, and from there on the detectives rode in single file. The night was dark, for clouds obscured the stars, and when they began the ascent of the hill there was a halt called and the hoofs of the horses muffled for this had been already pre- pared for, as Edgar Dumont well knew that the ring of boofs on the rocks would give warning of their coming half a mile away. The noses of the horses were also muffled, and not anything that would ring out and give warning, was allowed to be worn. As they neared the spot where the young Dare-Devil Detective knew the outlaw guard was on post, he rode on ahead and alone. He dismounted and took off the mufflers from the hoofs of his borse, for one animal would not give alarm, he well knew, The men were told to dismount and advance as near as possible, and then remove the muf- flers from their horses’ hoofs, to be ready to charge when Edgar gave the command, He had fold General Cook that the sentinel stood hardly a hundred yards from the camp, so that they could soon dash into the midst of it, and each man had been given a description of just how it was located by the young detec- tive. ‘‘T will see that the chief does not escape,” he had said to the general. So on he rode, until suddenly rung out clear and threatening: ** Halt:” __* Texas,” replied the youth, still running for- ward, for he did not know the passwords that would show bim to be a friend. ‘Halt! 1 say.” The reply of the youth was not from his lips. The Young Texan Detective. (—————— CU or eee eee ——— His revolver spoke for him, and at its ring the outlaw sentinel fell dead. Dave Cook needed no call, for he dashed for- ward, followed by bis men, The shot had alarmed the camp, but they found the sentinel dead, and Edgar Dumont led the way directly into the outlaw encamp- ment, Aroused from slumber, and enraged that their camp had been invaded, the Black Bravos did not fully comprehend the situation until they began to fall under the fire of the detectives, Then they fought back; but their whole force was not in camp, they were outnumbered, and in terror they sought to escape, some mounting the horses of several dismounted detectives, and others going over the steep mountain-side in the rear of the encampment. Half a dozen fell under the hot fire of the ¢@e- tectives, and their days of outlawry were over, while others were wounded and taken prisoners, and a few escaped, But the chief was not to be found, to the great disappoiutment of Edgar Dumont, and the pris- oners said that he had rot been in camp for sev- eral days. The horses, weapons, and booty taken was found to be, when dawn broke, considerable, and Chief Cook and his detectives were loud in their praise of the Dare-Devil Detective who had so ably led them to victory. The news spread like wild-fire through the mines that the Black Bravos had been annhilat- ed by Cook’s Secret Service Men, and the out- laws generally ‘‘lay low ” for fear that the good pots thus begun would be pushed against them also. But Edgar Dumont was sadly disappointed at the result, as he had hoped to have captured Captain Brandt, By promising one of the prisoners his freedom he learned considerable about Captain Brandt, and that be had been an old-time enemy of his father, and thus bad sought bim out through a desire for revenge for some act in the past. Looking over the papers be had found at his home among the few things left, he had discov- ered a letter to his father from a man signing himself Gale Brandt Davenport. This gave him a clew to go by, and his chief talked it all over with him, while the letter showed the name of the town where it was written, the date—many years before—and men- tioned the name of others in it. ‘*T will go on that man’s track, chief, and run him down, no matter where I may have to fol- low him,” said Edgar Dumont, and a few days affer be started upon the trail of the Black Bravo chief, whose description he had written down, as furnished by the outlaw prisoner, as also certain peculiarities about him, He also found out from the prisoner, whom he kept his word to and set free, that Captain Brandt had been the one to kill his father, and so he started forth upon his trail determined to never leave it until he had brought the mur- derer to justice. CHAPTER XXIV, ON ANOTHER TRACK, THE way that Edgar Dumont set about track- ing Brandt the chief of the Black Bravos, was thoroughly systematic. He would have given much to remain with Chief Cook, as he liked the man, and the life of danger and a peal led by the detectives; but he could not allow the murderer of his father to escape. So he made himself a special detective to pth out the hiding-place of his father’s mur- erer, He found out from the outlaw whom he set free, just where the chief had been at the time of the attack of the detectives upon the camp of tbe Black Bravos, and the kind of horse he rode and the equipments, With this information he did not find it so very hard to follow him from place to place. Frightened at the destruction of his band, Captain Brandt had been only anxious to es- cape from the country, and be had quickly started upon the back track for New Mexico. He wished to make his way back into Texas, £0 to the towns as an ! onest citizen and getting his crime-stained riches, make his way to the North, where he hoped to be wholly beyond all detection and pursuit from those who thirsted for his life. He got about ten days’ start of his young pur- suer, and of course it was by no means as easy a task for Edgar Dumont to follow the man as rapidly as he went along. me ee ee 13 then discovered that, for some reason, he had gone across the Rio Grande into Mexico, and later developments showed that it was the fear of remaining in Texas that had caused the Black Bravo chief to do this. Across the Rio Grande went the untiring Dare- Devil Detective, and upon the trail of his enemy he hung like a bloodhound. As he went along he bad to pay his way here and there, and also to pay for information given him, until he saw with regret that bis purse was growing each day more diminisbed in value. He had picked up considerable Spanish as a boy, so spoke it fairly well, and from this cir- cumstance found no difficulty In making his: way. At length he arrived in Vera Cruz, still on the: track of his enemy, and, to his deep chagrin, discovered that he had taken a vessel for New York only a few days before. There was no doubt but that he was on the right track, for he had in his possession the specimen of the outlaw chief’s writing, which he had written to his pretended uncle, anc he had seen it on the books of a dozen tav- erns. In Vera Croz he found where the Black Bravo had registered in Mexico as Brandt Black, he had put bimself down on the ship’s books as. ‘*Gale B. Davenport, of Mexico.” This connected him surely with his father’s old enemy, and Edgar Dumont felt that he had a mystery to solve that went back beyond his birth. Selling bis horses, but keeping his saddle, bridle and weapons, the Dare-Devil Detective took passage on the next vessel bound to New York, and at last arrived in the great metropo- lis, But he was about at the end of his pocket- book, and knew not what to do in the big city. Still, he was not one to give up. and his lucky star led him to take up his quarters in a fash- ionable hotel, and a strange destiny brought to hima piece of detective work that made him acquainted with Captain Jack Boland, the de- tective chief, an accidental discovery he had made of a crime committed in the botel, and which be had traced to a successful termina- tion. He had almost despaired of finding the mam he tracked, for he had lost bis trail after arriv- ing in New York, and was thinking of return- ing to Dave Cook to get money for a fresh start,, when he had happened upon the Secret Service work which proved to be the foundation stone of future fortune andjsuccess, Taking a great fancy to the young detective, when be bad seen the remarkably clever man- ner in which he had tracked the mystery of a hotel robbery, Captain Jack Boland had asked him to join bis league, and this the young Texan had done. He had shown that he was not only an adept in tracing out border mysteries and following” frontier trails, but was as true toa clew in the city, and had a brain and pluck peculiarly adapted for Secret Service work, It was therefore, that when Captain Boland, the detective chief, was sent for to go to Wild- lands, and consult with Mr. Thomas St. Jobn, the merchant prince, and the beautiful gover- ness, Cora Maynell, regarding the mystery of the two letters coming from the West, telling her of the gold mine left her by ber father, that. Edgar Dumont was the one selected to go to Colorado and ferret out the whole affair, and discover why the heiress had not heard agaim from the man who had signed himself B. Borden. Captain Boland had spoken of his boy detec- tive as the very one to go, understanding the West as he did, and so had telegraphed for him to come at once to Wildlands, where Mr, St. John, the governess aud all were surprised to find in the young man so courtly a gentleman, and, as pretty Allene St. John said, ‘tone so exceedingly handsome and fascinating,” Armed with full instructions, and authority to act, Edgar Dumont started for Colorado, upon the trail of the Maynell-Delorme May- nell mystery, and to’ferret out the full merits and demerits of the case, CHAPTER XXV. ON THE OVERLAND. OVER an Overland Trail, running through Colorado, and the end of which was Gold Dust: City, the mining-camp already well known to: the reader, a stage-coach was rolling along. Driving rapidly when the trail permitted, and But he traced him well, went from camp to } slow at the hills and bad places, the driver, Josh camp, and town to town in New Mexico, and Sloan, pus 3) a 7 y 5 : . ion) 4 O was entertaining a passenger with - , © _* = fi... ie