Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 66 — page 1: what you’re looking at

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

f - “ +s a . _ _ ef To “nl nt ll a a! nt a -—t_Lia Vol. III. Single Number. Single Hand; A LIFE FOR A LIFE. BY W. J. HAMILTON, AUTHOR OF ‘‘THE RED BROTHERHOOD,” ETC. CHAPTER IL. CAUGHT IN THE ‘‘ NORTHER.” THE tempest was at its hight, the furious rush of the ‘' Norther,” t.at scourge of the Texan lains. No one, uniess he has faced its chilling reath, has any idea of the fearful danger which hangs over the unfortunate who is caught upon the plains when the cold wind is at its hight. Great trees are upturned by its gigantic power, buildings are thrown down, and even the tough chapar- ral is leveled as the tremen- dous blast crushes over it. The air takes on a bluish tinge; the clouds hang low and the hitherto sultry air becomes all at once terribly frigid, the chill piercing to the very marrow. Such was the scene upon which the tale opens, and two figures might have been seen lying under a wall of rocks upon the Texan border. Their horses, overcome b fear, crouched upon the eart beside them, emitting almost human moans of fear, while the men, wrapping their blankets about them, pressed as closely as possible to the rocks, striving toshield them- selves from the chilling blast. king out upon the plain they could see frightened herds of animals of all de- scriptions joined in strange fellowship and flying before the pitiless blast. Buffaloes various kinds of deer, wild cattle and mustangs, with almost countless groups of smaller animals, scurried bere and there, the wind forcing them forward with pitiless power. “This beats my time, Jack.” said oneof the crouch- ing men—a handsome young- ster of perhaps nineteen years of age. ‘‘ It is a won- derful exhibition of the pow- er of the Creator, who gave these countless herds this boundless plain to feed on.” ‘Don’t be babyish, Ned Clayton,” said the man called Jack, a rather rough-looking fellow in ranger dress, bear- ing the never-failing rifie pistols and bowie. ‘It don’t sound well to hear one of our fellows turning mission- ary. Ex pallens * = = - : n3 AN SR OE MR Copyrighted in 1878, by BEADLE AND ADAMS. BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS No, 98 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK, ‘*Look here, Jack,” said the boy, drawing himself up to his full hight, ‘‘ you know my fighting weight and I would give you a word of caution,” ‘*Oh, you needn’t spur up at me because I happen to say a word you don’t like, Ned,” re- pued the other, drawing back a little. ‘‘ Per- aps you could lick me and perhaps not; at any rate it won’t do for us to quarrel; we have too much to lose.” ‘You need not remind me that I am bound hand and foot, and in the power of a merciless man, who takes advantage of an oath forced from me at the gallows-foot to make me do his dirty work.” “Do you want to draw back, Ned?’ demanded the man, with sparkling eyes. ‘*‘ You know the penalty if you do.” ‘* That for the penalty!” replied Clayton, snap- ping his fingers. ‘‘ But for breaking a solemn oath you could not hold me for a single day ”’ a ~~. ‘ Uy —— = = uy ij a — ™ _ SINGLE HAND, THE TERRIBLE. ‘Mm yy ~*~ > ~ . = “ ~ — — Sains ‘ ~ is ~ . : . ~—— ~ — + —_ PX —— — . . ——- ——- = = — = } | —_———3 : /, t/ j J A ‘Gy ~ ‘. SA2R=-Co ‘ OY aa. Ol ITN SANA WSs ‘ Price, 5 Cents. No. 66. ‘ That’s enough,” growled Jack Evans, sav- agely. ‘‘Look at that tiger. He is worse skeered than the antelopes, the spotted cuss. I’ve a good mind to give him a ball.” The tiger, as the jaguar is called upon the Texan plains, flew by in the midst of a herd of antelopes, and so great was his fear of the storm that, for a time, his naturally bloody disposition was forgotten in his desire to escape. Ned came forward a little, holding on by a stunted shrub to keep himself erect, when a black mus- tang bounded wildly past, and, clinging to his mane and keeping her seat only by a desperate effort, was a beautiful girl not more than six- teen years of age. Ned had only a glimpse of a white beautiful face, golden hair floating out in the breath of the norther, and the look of ter ror in the heavenly blue eyes, when the mus- tang was out of sight rounding the point of the timber just in front. ‘Did you see that, Jack Evans?’ screamed Ned. “She will die in the storm if we do not give her help!” How are you going to give her help while the nor- ther lasts?’ replied Jack, coolly. ‘* You’d better run after her; like enough you can keep up with the wind.” “Do you know that I should take pleasure in knocking you down, friend Jack?” said the boy, setting his teeth hard. ‘ you, don’t drive me too far.” Jack Evans glanced at the broad shoulders and swelling muscles of his young companion, and wisely re- frained from speaking a word to arouse his rage further. ‘I didn’t mean any thing : Ned,” he said, humbly. “tf know you'd like to ~— the pil and so would I. ook at those horses a mo- ment. Do you think it pro- bable that you could get them to move out in that norther? They are shiver- ing with fear now.” ved glanced at the tremb- ling brutes and acknowledg- ed, with a groan of despair, that they were useless now, but he might be able te fc?- low on foot. He dart 2 away with this intention Lu was thrown down breathless and forced to crawl back again to the shelter of the rocks, ‘‘ Now listen to me, Ned,” said Jack Evans, as the boy ay sobbing upon the earth. ‘| know it’s hard to see a — creature go that way, ut, what can wedo? "Taint as if we had not done our best to save her, and — soon as the storm we'll foller her and perhaps we can be of some use yet.” “I beg your pardon, Jack,” said the boy, rising micbooks eo