Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 64 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

* 3 wot ee eee — Ey ee ee ey tee ae ER @ ht go eee rest his steed, for he believed that he was not fol- lowed. In this the thief of the plains was mistaken. ‘‘ Whither are we going?” Estil asked, looking up into his face. — ‘‘Pll be hanged if I know! We're gettin’ away from the Injuns just now,” he said. “Then you are not going back to the Oregon trail?” the girl said, disappointedly. ‘“P’raps not!” was the provoking rejoinder. ‘¢- You see, gal, the atmosphere back thar might not be the healthiest kind for Luke Whittles. To come squar’ out, I guess you needn’t fret much about yer situation. im goin’ whar I please, an’ do the same, now that I’ve got u ragga cheeks, pale before, seemed to grow white. ‘*You’re uncommon purty!” he continued, fastening his eyes upon the little maid, ‘‘ Thar’s a pile o’ og a you in the minin’ camps, an’ thar, Bad safer than hyar. What d’ye say, my beauty?’ The girl did not reply, but turned her head away. % Worth a thousand at the camps!” she heard the villain mutter. ‘‘ An’ [Pll take her to ’em er die—that’s all!” The break of day found the traitor and his captive still on the plains. The horse was pro- ceeding at a light gallop in a south-easterly di- rection, or toward the head-waters of the Big Wood branch of the Oregon. ‘““ Thar’s a queer sound behind us!” said Luke all at once. ‘l’ve heerd it fur some time an’ now it’s gettin’ louder. Whoa! Lightnin’; we'll investigate afore we proceed further.” The horse was quite willing to stop, and Luke rising erect looked back in the direction of the Snake village now miles and miles away. For several moments he saw nothing, but heard the ominous sound which had annoyed him for some time, ‘Tt sounds like a herd of wild hosses!” he said. ‘‘ By Jove! if it’s a stampede, I want ’em to keep cl’ar of us.” At length the teamster discerned a dark line along the rim of the horizon. ‘* It’s a stampede, sartin!’’ he ejaculated after some minutes’ observation, and the next moment he fell astride of the horse again. Estil saw by his countenance that he consid- ered the moment one of t peril, and the manner in which he dug the heavy spurs into the rowels of the horse, confirmed her observa- tion. ‘‘ Mebbe they’ll miss us!” he said in response to Estil’s look. ‘‘ But I was born under an unlucky star, an’ they’re likely to run me down. Cuss the fiend what stampeded them!” He did not have to stand up to see the on- coming herd now. The thunder of their hoofs seemed to shake the earth; their many heads were erect, and their flying manes distinctly seen. ‘‘ Jest as I expected!” Luke Whittles said at last gritting his teeth like a villain driven to the wall by his trackers. ‘“‘What’s the use of a horse in’ double an’ nearly fagged out be- sides try’n’ to outrun a herd of fresh horses what hevn’t a bit atween their teeth? Thar’s no use in that, an’ thar’s only one thing what kin be done. I see’d Long Lige do it once up the Yel- low Medicine. It’s the ferlorn hup, gal!” Estil did not inquire into the meaning of his words, for he turned his steed straight toward the wild herd and drew his pistols. “‘A carbine would be better for the ball is bigger,” he said; ‘‘ but we’ve got to put up with the pistols. Stan’ still, Lightnin’! You're an Injun hoss'an’ know jest what I’m goin’ to do. Lie close before me, gal, an’ don’t bother my arm. If I kin pick the leaders, why, the herd ]1 divide an’ go around us.” Estil cast a look at the herd before she ducked her head behind the horse’s neck. The sight which she saw was magnificent; the horses were rushing straight upon them, led by a noble imen of the race. - Luke Whittles’s eyes beamed with an unnatu- ral fire as he waited the onset. His white lips seemed glued together, and the great revolvers a a of his hands. He never took his eyes from the leaders of the gang, twostrong limbed piebalds, majestic and beautiful. He waited till they came within pistol-shot, and all at once his pistols were thrust forward. ae an’ thar!” he exclaimed as he touched the different triggers. One of the piebald steeds red back, and a the other jerked — h to one side, and on. a A cloud of dust rolled up from the roots of the grass, and with an oath Luke flung the pis- Dandy Jack. bole down, Then he seized the lines; but two te! The herd was upon him! Lightning, the horse, realized his own danger, and tried to turn and run with the herd, but in vain! The thunderbolts struck him, and bore him ent upon his haunches, The collision was ter- rible. : The cry of a young girl was heard, only for a moment; the wild Delonte and the thunder of the hoofs stifled it. ee moment later the herd had passed beyond the spot. Where the brief battle had been fought, lay a horse and a man. ‘Jest as I expected!” grated Whittles, rais- ing himself with difficulty and taking a survey of his surroundings. ‘‘ Lightnin’ dead, killed by his own kind, an’ I’m in a bad fix myself. But the gal—what I war takin’ to the mines! Whai’s become o’ her? Thet’s the question!” Luke looked at the cloud of dust that marked the course of the wild horses, and gritted his teeth for very rage. CHAPTER XIII, THE FRYING-PAN AND THE FIRE. THE chief who bore Dandy Jack from the arena at the command of War-Bow put him down in front of the very lodge from which Estil had lately been borne by Luke the traitor. The Indian was not gentle in his handling of the boy, and Jack drew'a breath of relief when he saw that he was about to quit the scarlet talons. Dragging the doomed youth to the wig- wam, the Snake hurriedly bound him and thrust him into the structure with e guttural ejacula- tion of mingled hatred and contempt. ‘*No bear guard white boy for pale thief to kill,” said the Indian after Jack had fallen head- ror pon the couch. “That's a jolly thing!” answered the boy. **'‘When a fellow’s bound, a bear guard is not the most desirable. I’m going to take things just as they come, and just now they’re coming fast and furious. Wonder where they all are now—Lige, Sun-Dance, Luke Whittles, Estil— all of them?” The darkness that enveloped him, for the cur- tain had fallen back into its place, seemed palpa- ble; but he felt that the Indian was listening, for he did not hear him depart. ‘“Mighty uncomfortable position this,” he marratred to himself, ‘‘ But didn’t I give it to Little Fox-tail and Kingfisher? I fancy that one scalp-lock is loose at the roots, and that two eyes are nearly shut. Red Jack Rabbit—I hope { didn’t hurt him, for he had such pretty eyes— they were mild and harmless. If he hurt him- self when he fell, I hope it is nothing serious. We could be friends without much trouble; he’s t a big heart, Red Jack Rabbit has, and an dian name that suits him to a ‘t.’” Dandy Jack did not attempt to escape, but as- sumed the most comfortable position attainable, resolving to wait till dawn if undisturbed that long. As the moments waned the sounds of tumult in the Indian town began to decrease, and-presently it was comparatively quiet. Now and then the wolfish howl of a coir fell mourn- fully upon the heart of the boy captive, and he would try to shut his ears to the dismal echoes that came back from the cottonwoods along the river. “The longer I wait the stiller the night gets,” Dandy Jack said king for the first time in several hours. ‘ there’s a guard at the door he hasn’t moved for a long time. I believe he’s sneaked off and left me alone.” Intent ee discovering whether the guard had actually decamped, Jack began to roll to- ward the door, the position of which he knew by the pleasant wind that came between the curtains His movements were cautious and successful, and he at last reached the goal. Parting the curtains with his foot he looked out. The stars were shining with unwonted brilliancy; but Jack could not discover the statue figure of the guard. ’* Wonder if a fellow couldn’t roll through the village to theriver, It’s a long ways; but what won’t a person do for liberty? I can find the stream; the wind will tell me where it is, and— by gosh! Pm going to try the roll, if it kills me!” Dandy Jack had an active brain. He formed lans and executed them rapidly, not stopping “ sane all the dangers attendant upon many em. To roll through a hostile Indian village swarm- ing with keen-scented dogs and keener humans —— ———— il was no child’s play. There are few old front- iersmen who would undertake the journey; they vane regard olly. Safety seemed to beckon to Dandy Jack from the river bank; he saw her figure, and not the death-environed thoroughfare through the vil- lage. His guard from some, to him, unaccount- able reason, had left his post. Why hesitate me wk hen the boy uttered the determination to reach the river, a good mile away, or die in the attempt, he meant just what he said. Thrusting his head beyond the curtains of the wigwam hé listened with almost throbless heart. If he had known at that moment that Long Lige Butler was not far away, he might have altered his intention and awaited events. ‘Here goes, win or lose!” ejaculated the little hero, pushing his body into the night. ‘Iho Heaven will watch over Dandy Jack, and gui him to the river.” The roll—-for a crawl the movement certainly was not—commenced under propitious circum- stances. It was the darkest hour of the night, and not far remote from dawn. The restless Indians even seemed to sleep; the turmoil of the hours just passed forgotten, and fortune, or heaven, ap ed to keep the curious dogs more —— ed by Dandy Jack than the Indians, aloof. The boy rolled cautiously toward the stream bruising his hands bound upon his back and selecting his route as well as hissight would per- mit in the night. “Thunder! a Con geneee the boy as the bay- ing of a hound suddenly filled his ears like the trump of doom. ‘‘I’m half-way to the river, I know, and getting along finely. Oh, Father above, keep the dogs away from Dandy Jack!” The response to the boy’s fervent prayer was the deep baying, louder and nearer than before, Jack —— to ascertain the location of the brute, and soon found that it was approaching from the river. Between him and the goal of safety! No pleasant thought. ‘* Out of the frying-pan into the fire!” the boy murmured with grim humor revealed in his eyes alone. ‘‘ Gods! what unearthly howls! he animal must be mad or dying.” On, on came the dog as yet unseen; but a real terror, as well he might be, to Dandy Jack. All at once the boy stopped rolling, and the attitude which he assumed near a lodge told that he in- tended to wait for the animal and trust to luck. Moments now seemed hours to the boy. They were precious, for each flitting by brought day- light and consequently discovery nearer. Jack kept his face to the wind, his eyes on the look- out for the dismal dog. At last something took shape before him in the dim starlight. That it was the canine, a mournful howl attested. Jack held his breath. Perhaps the animal would pass him by, and allow him to pursue his precious journey unmolested. The boy was actually taking heart when the fire-balls—the dog’s eyes—became statio - not twenty feet away. They appeared to fixed intently upon him, and Jack, as he looked gritted his teeth in impotent rage. ‘‘ Mebbe the brute will take a notion to move on @’rectly,” murmured Jack; but the beginning of another hour found the fiery orbs still there. ‘I can have the dog upon me in a minute by pushing forward. If [ had a knife forward, I'd £0; Me tied hand and foot I’m helpless! help- ess _ Some unpropitious fate had sent the canine to interrupt Dandy Jack’s flight to freedom; but he did not d ir. The howls of the animal had ceased: his whole area seemed to be centered upon the bound ugitive. nother hour and Jack saw the sky getting light; the stars seemed to fade away, and a fresher, cooler breeze fanned his face, It was getting daylight. One by one the golden orbs of the sky melted away, as it were, and the forms of the nearest lodges began to appear. The dog still retained its tion, as if determined to doom the boy. ‘I'd be better off if I was back in the prison lodge!” Dandy Jack murmured. “ Fishes and eels! what was that?” The boy’s exclamation was caused by a singu- lar noise apparently overhead. He looked up and saw a red face regarding him from the door of the wigwam against which he lay. Dandy Jack could not fly; all that he could do he did, and that was to gaze, to stare inte the scarlet countenance, “ White fighter!” ejaculated the red lips ef the “ em = 8 —_— ee ee ee ere cs ee ee ‘EOMIEboo such a proposition as the hight of : cor