Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 682 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

ee eS eae — ‘ aed men, even though | Cau | me ofty match, rello!” exclaimed Jot Skywood, ‘‘ Whar’s moglar?” Then it was discovered that the colonel was not with them—he had disappeared. CHAPTER All. THE MAN IN THE MOON, UNDER the circumstances, Nida Errol’s fear of the strange slayer of her captors was quite natural, In the darkness the man was not seen till he shot the wretch who had just struck the irl, and when Nida’s horse sprung to one side, hrowing her to the ground, she more than half believed that the attack had been made upon her. She did not pause to reason that a foe of her captors would naturally be a friend to her; but, when she saw that dark bulk in the gloom, saw the flash and heard the second report, fol- lowing which the ruftian Jack fell dead on the sand, she did the very thing that any terrified girl would have done had not her strength de- serted her—she crept swiftly away into the darkness. A short distance away she paused and lay still upon the sand, looking back toward that terrible spot where the tragedy had been en- acted in the gloom of early night. She saw the two dark forms of the man and horse and heard Wild Vulean mutter words which caused her to believe that he wasa madman. The faint light of the match which the avenger struck showed her the faces of the dead men and their dreadful destroyer. ‘Then she crept away once more, She did not think that she might get lost in that dreary desert and perish of hunger and thirst; She only thought to get away, away. ‘* Heaven protect and guide me!” she whis- pered. She crept round the base of a sand-hill and drew a breath of relief when she could see those dark figures no longer. Then she arose to her feet and ran silently over the sand. She did not pause to consider ber course, but she felt that she was getting further away—furtter from the spot where the dead men lay and their wild- looking slayer bent above them, muttering and laughing. For ten minutes she hurried on, but ber breath began to come in short, quick gasps, and finally she was forced to sit down upon the sand and rest. In her excitement she bad not noticed it, but now she heard a strange voice far away calling her, It filled her with renewed fear, for she felt that the terrible unknown was searching for her. As soon as she could do so, she arose and moved swiftly away. | But she was tired and weak, and it was not Jong before she was forced to stop and rest again, She lay down upon the sand all alone in the darkness of the desert and fell asleep, However, she did not sleep long before the bark of acoyote aroused ber. The moon was just rising. She listened, and again she beard the scavenger of the deserv. A shudder ran over her, for the sound came from near where she believed the tragedy had taken place, and she fancied that the cowardly animal was rejoicing over the feast that he had discovered. The thought was horrible, and she struggled to her feet to move slowly on once more. _ The moon came up and touched the top of the sand cones With its white, spectral light. But the shadows Still lurked everywhere at the feet of the hills. How lonely it was! The very si- lence, so strange, so weird, filled the poor lost girl with terror. She clasped her hands and cried aloud. The sound of her own voice fright- ened her, yet she was far from a cowardly maiden. ‘ How long she burried forward she knw not, but at length she thought she heard a sound and halted at the foot of a hill in the deepest shad- ows, A few moments later the strange white horse and rider swept past. The moonlight fell full upon the face of the girl whose snowy robes fluttered behind her sbowing it to be pale and beautiful. The next moment horse and rider vanished in the shadows ee and Wild Vul- can swept pastin pursuit, Atthat moment Nida fancied that the tace of the strange man looked quite likea madman, She recognized it as the Same as the one sbe bad seen bending over the at that time she had but a glimpse of it by the flaring light of \ n swept pursued and pursuer and _the sound of the race died out ina moment. Once more the Prairie Fiower was alone in the desert, ‘hat strange things the pale moon saw enacted siren? the boundaries of tuat silent land that night! © ida turned her face toward the moon and went forward once more. The beautiful orb seemed to smile kindly upon her and beckon her | | | i EE... ee ee ee, oO OS COS OO "= eee ee eee eee ee eee ee ee “~~ wom _ = a ~”* | : Pe di si onward, Involuntarily she stretched out her | thought, for they bad traveled less than two hands in mute appeal to it, the only friend she | miles when her strength forsook her, and she | said that she would have to sit down and rest. seemed to have left. It was not long after this that, happening to glance toward the moon, she saw that it seemed to rest upon a sand hill only a short distance away. It had risen just high enough to appear to touch the very crest of the cone. The maiden uttered a little exclamation, for it almost seemed that the goddess of night had left the heavens to come to the lost one in the desert. Then her ex- Clamation changed to one of dismay as she saw the figure of a man’s head and shoulders appear within the disk ! For a moment Nida stood spellbound, gazing at the strange figure of the man in the moon, then she sunk down upon the sand in the shad- ows. She realized that a man had been climb- ing the opposite side of the hill and his head and shoulders had come between her and the moon. She felt that it must be a foe, and prayed that he had not seen her or heard her exclamation. For some time the unknown stood quite still between her and the moon, apparently listening. There seemed something strangely familiar in his appearance, but Nida had no thought of find- ing a friend there. She feared that he would come down the hill toward her, and her fear was well grounded, for that was just what he did, At first she was tempted to spring up and flee, but she reasoned that he would surely see her, and of course, being a man, he could run the faster and would overtake her. For that reason, she decided to remain quiet, trusting that he would not discover her. Nearer and nearer came the unknown, until, finally, he halted a short distance away and muttered: ‘*] am sure I heard a little cry, and I fancied that I saw a moving figure down bere.” Nida nearly sprung to her feet in amazement, The voice—could it be Paul’s? It had certain!y sounded like her lover’s voice, but could it be that he was not dead? She feared that she had been deceived by a fancied resemblance, and so she lay still and listened. ‘* My horse is dead,” she heard thatsame voice continue; ‘‘ I know not how I am going to con- tinue the search. Oh, Nida, my poor darling!” Then she sprung up, almost shrieking: ‘*Thank God—allve! Paul, Paul, I am here!” In a moment be had her in hisarms and was covering her face with kisses and calling her a hundred pet names. He seemed almost beside himself with joy; and Nida—she had not come so near fainting for years, Butshedid not. She wound her arms around his neck and whispered: ‘¢ Oh, Paul, Paul, Paul!” What aworld of untold joy and love there was in that exclamation, whispered though it was. It seemed almost as if the dead had re- turned to life for ber to again see her noble young lover whom she had seen disappear be- neath the waters of the Niobrara, She felt as if her troubles were all over, she was safe in her lover’s arms, Paul strained her to his heart till it almost seemed that he would crush her in his intense joy. He appeared to fear to release her in the east, lest she fade away and prove nothing but a delusive phantom. But there was nothing phan- tom-like in the warm lips which his own pressed again; there was nothing phantom-like in the clinging arms around bis neck, No, no, it was Nida in flesh and blood, ~ The first raptures of the meetin told her story and Paul explained how be had finished the Indian uuder water, but dared not rise to the surface for fear of being shot by the kidnappers, He wasclose to the shore and, car- rying the dead red skin, he swam to the water’s edge and arose amid some bushes that fully con- cealed him, Before he could again attempt to rescue Nida, the two ruffians were joined by many of their comrades and it was impossible for him to render her any assistance. He had secured a horse and trailed the kidnappers into a desert; but bad lost the animal in an alkali sink, He believed that Providence had led him to her.® “ But, Paul,” said Nida, when he had finished, ‘“we are indanger of being captured by the bandits of the Bad Lands, for their retreat is somewhere in this strange section of the country.” “*{ know a hidiny-place, darling,” replied the young plainsman, ‘‘a little cave beside Pearl ake, e shall be safe there till I can commnu- nicate with our father, who is somewhere within the limits of the Bad Lands searching for you. The lake is at least three miles from here,” Do you think you can walk so far?” ‘Oh, yes, yes! I am strong now, for I feel that I am safe with you, dear Paul.” But she was far from being as strong as she over, Nida : 5 : «. \ sf But the sturdy young plainsman lifted her in his arms and bore her along as if she were a child, | She placed her arm over his neck and laid her | ( 7 head against Lis, ‘** Paul,” she whispered, ‘‘I am so, so happy! I wish we might be together forever and for- ever,’ He pressed her closer and kissed her again, as he replied: “We will be, my darling—forever and for- ever.” After a time she was able to walk again, and finally the little lake was reached. It seemed well named, for it looked pure as a pearl as it lay bathed in the silvery moonlight. Paul found a canoe where it was concealed amid some bushes, and they embarked, With strong strokes he pulled toward the distant shadows, but ere they reached them, a booming detonation rolled over the placid surface of the tiny lake, and a bullet cut close to Paul’s head. CHAPTER XIII. A DESERTED CAVE AND A DYING TORCH. FORTUNATE it was for Prairie Paul that Wild Vulcan’s horse moved just as its master touched the trigger of the deadly rifle, But for that lucky accident the Young Prairie Whirlwind would have sunk in the canoe beside the maiden he loved, a bulletin his brain. But within the deep shadows near the lake-shore, the youth was sufe from another shot. ‘*Oh, Paul!” whispered Nida, ‘* we are discov- ered |” ‘** But quite safe, darling,” he said, in. a low, reassuring tone, ‘‘ The cave is near at band.” ‘* But look! That man is still watching us.” Paul glanced over his shoulder and saw the dark figure of the horse and rider on the lake- shore, seemingly as motionless in the moonlight as if they were carved from stone. The un- known man seemed to be gazing out on the lake, evidently trying to pierce the shadows into which the canoe had disappeared. ‘‘ Let bim watch,” laughed the young plains- man, softly. ‘‘ He cannot see us here, and if he waits there for the canoe to come out into the moonlight, he will have a tiresome task on his bands.” ‘* Fle may come round here and find us.” ** He may come round, but he will not find us, The cave will bile us safely, and that can only be reached by water.” Paul allowed the canoe to remain motionless in the shadows while they watched the man and horse on shore. For a little time Wild Vulcan remained gazing out over the moonlit bosom of the little lake, but finally, without a word, be reined Tornado round and rode back into the darkness of the old watercourse, ‘* He is gone!” breathed Nida, joyfully. ‘Yes, he is gone. Now for the cave.” The youth drove the canoe along swiftly for a short distance, and paused close to the over- hanging bank, out of which grew a few sickly- looking bushes, which dipped till they almost touched the water. These bushes Paul softly parted, and then clinging to them, he drew the canoe into the utter darkness beneath, For a few seconds the frail craft floated lightly on, and Nida felt that they were within the cave, Then there came a little shock, and Paul spoke: ‘‘Here we are, Nida, Keep quiet and I will soon have a light that will reveal our surround- ings. Then the canoe rocked gently, and Nida’s end settled lower in the water, telling that the young man had stepped out of it. His voice had sounded strange and hollow there in the darkness of the strange cave, and the maiden could not repress a slight shudder when she felt that she was in the canoe alone, But soon Paul struck a match near at hand, and lighted a torch of some kind of pitchy wood, The torch gave a dim, wavering light, which filled the place with a thousand moving shadows, but it was better than no light at all, for it showed Nida the face of the gallant youth whom she loved so truly. The cave was quite small, and Paul was not able to stand upright in any partofit. When the torch flamed up, the girl saw him crouching beside an old up- turned canoe a few feetaway. At his feet was a little pile of sticks, which had evidently been brought there to serve as torches. ‘““*Oh, fora cave in some vast wilderness!’” laughed the youth, as he waved the torch to and fro, to fan it into a more vigorous blaze. ‘‘ How like you the prospect, my little Nida?” ** Oh, it’s jolly!” was her reply, as she glanced round with a shudder, ‘I have read of such. : : - : af E a ‘og , 2 eg ~ 4 we ‘ * . ° . ow A —- - x books.com . ; : st er - 7 ~ : - ee > ie > ‘: " - a . A . J . +e gl 4 «) & . sf 7 F »y /. m% Lint a ? TQc«: ae ae fbi oe 2° | a oe aes mais ate . ys Sitaers we 3" e RE lB Ce tan ee apf Se i - eS, € 74 ; i. af aad CS got te rE * :; orb. oad Re cae” ~, Ppa? he : P 7 - * , 7 4 br * *, . 7 a* & 4° = sane 5 ae bs. 1 . } * 2 a : “ . ” 3 . “" = , « ™ é a ‘ ’ . - 5 P Yr. a av . ll ll aT, Pk ' * - - we » «> s oe te Ae eile a ery A s See ba pip eee bs: - “>, —— Oe Se