Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 74 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

from her young heart ] been in the reeds, and had secured Nora before | rode along he left: This they knew beyond the shadow of | within the last two days?” a doubt, for Dubois recognized the rifle found | ‘It certainly has, Dick,” returned Mr. Gar- with the maiden as the same Hawkeye Harry | dette; “at least our guide and scout say so, and had in his possession the night he came to their | they are versed in such matters.” encampment on the prairie. “If so, we may come up with the enemy, be ‘Let my warriors search for Hawkeye,” said they Indians or white men, before night.” the chief; “he is not far away; his hands laid ** Yes,” replied Mr.Gardette; ‘‘but we may find the green moss over the maiden before he left. | then that we are following the trail of a party He is cunning as the fox, and is hard to kill. If | of honest traders. However, Lubin, the scout, he was cunning enough to save the maiden’s life, | is satisfied that the party we are following have he would not fail tosave his own.” | got Nora. You know he figured the whole mat- By this time the fire had reached the northern | ter out very closely, and believes the abduction extremity of the bayou, and was dying out. | was arranged between a party of outlaws and But, in obedience to their chief’s command, the | the young scout, Ulric Dubois, who is now miss- warriors searched the bayou over for the young | ing from the Post. The fact of finding Nora’s trapper, but their search was in vain. nd at | hat in the river, and the edge of the bank crum- last, when the light of the burning reeds died | bled off, and not her body, satisfied Lubin that out, they turned their canoes and ‘struck for she had been abducted, and these marks—the their encampment on the river-bank. hat and crumbled bank—left to keep down sus- Slowly Nora Gardette came back to life, and | picion of the facts. And from the course taken when she had fully regained consciousness, she | yy the party after leaving the motte, where we found herself upon a couch of blankets and skins | just broke camp, the scout expressed fears that before a glowing fire. they were heading for old Rat Rougle’s robber- In trying to collect her bewildered thoughts | den. If so, | fear I will never see my poor child and recall her situation, her mind reverted to | again.” Hawkeye Harry, and, uttering a low cry, she ‘* Well, uncle, we will soon know, if their trail sprung to her feet. is as plain all the way along as here.” A heavy hand was laid upon her arm, and a ‘* But, Dick, we may soon expect to have other voice said, in a deep, guttural tone: dangers to encounter. The scout says we are Let the pale-face maiden rest easy. She | getting into the Indian country now.” cannot escape. She is in the power and the Here the conversation ended for the time, and camp of Gray Hawk.” the party moved on in silence, reaching the With flashing eyes Nora turned upon the say- | Boyer river a few minutes before sunset. Here age. She saw her situation in a moment, but she did not give way under it. Scorn, defiance and indignation seemed to have gained complete ascendancy over her womanly fears and gentler emotions, the instant the savage spoke. She was surprised, herself, that she possessed so much courage and intrepidity. For a moment she stood and faced the chief— | faced him until he was compelled to shrink | away; then her eyes turned and scanned each | form around her with a look that spoke plainer | than words. But Hawkeye H was not there. Had he | scattered the ashes. escaped the flames? She felt that he had, andaj| ‘By Jehokey! I see into it now!” he exclaim- silent prayer of joy and thankfulness came up | ed; ‘“the white rascals. hev burnt thar wagon ; up onto this very spot. Here’s some o’ the nails _ that says so.” ‘* But where are the other irons? Surely they the party went into camp. In gazing around him for a suitable spot for a camp-fire, a cry of surprise suddenly burst from the lips of Lubin, the scout. ‘* What now, Lubin?’ asked the lieutenant of the dragoons, ‘Ther wagon-trail eends on this blessed spot, and thar’s whar the rascals hed their camp-fire,” replied Lubin, pointing to a heap of ashes. All saw that Lubin was correct in his state- ment; but the scout, not satisfied with this dis- covery, advanced, and with his moccasined feet Tn her inquiring glances and the faint smile that came to her lips, Gray Hawk seemed to have read the maiden’s thought and emotions. didn’t burn them up,” said a dragoon. ‘You need not look for the young Hawkeye ‘** No, but Pll bet ye’ll find ’em in the river if around our camp-fire. His body lies yonder in | ye’ll jist take the trubble to look— See here!” the bayou, and his scalp hangs at the girdle of The scout picked out of the ashes several nails Gray Hawk,” and with a glow of hellish tri- and screws, which satisfied every one that the umph upon his broad, painted, sensual face, he | wagon had been burned there, and the party tapped, with his finger, a reeking scalp-lock that | had taken to the river or horseback. hung at his girdle. _.. While the pursuers were busy in picketing But it was the last falsehood that Gray Hawk | their animals to grass, and otherwise preparing was destined to utter, for the next moment be | for the night, Lubin was noticed to be very busy uttered a low cry, and fell dead at the feet of | about the remnant of the camp-fire, and pres- the maiden. | ently he announced another discovery. He found that the ground under the ashes was broken and loose, and he was satisfied that the outlaws, if such they were, had buried some- thing there, and, to conceal the spot, had burned the wagon over it. In a few moments, half a dozen men were upon their knees removing the dirt from the spot with their hands. Down two feet from the surface of the ground they came to a wooden chest, bound with straps of iron. Great excitement prevailed, and some of the party could scarcely wait until the chest was CHAPTER XV. ON THE TRAIL. AT an early hour on the morning following the night of the events at the bayou, a party of horsemen broke camp on the great prairie many miles south of Boyer lake. _ They were white men, and with a few excep- tions were dressed alike—in the uniform of the United States Dragoons. They were well arm- ed and mounted upon animals that showed they had been hard pressed. At the head of the company, with long, regu- lar and rapid strides, a man dressed in a suit of | unearthed before they began forcing it open: buck-skin guided the soldiers, His eyes sought | this was accomplished, however, and then an- the ground before him in a steady gaze, for he | other excitement prevailed over the contents, was following the wagon trail of Henri Roche. | which were quite numerous. In the rear of the company rode two persons The first article taken from the chest was a whose garbs told they were civilians, and, judg- ing from appearance, they were men unused to the gg ee and hardships of the frontier. In fact this was the case. e eldest of the two was Calvin Gardette, the father of Nora. The other was a nephew of Mr. Gardette’s, and a devoted aspirant to his cousin Nora’s hand. Richard Parker—this was the young man’s name—had accompanied Nora and her father from Ohio to the fort, wheré they had been stopping with Major Gardette, Nora’s brother. map of the territory—nothing more. Then came a number of letters, all of which had been addressed to Henri Roche, and were writ- ten in cipher. Two or three of recent date were signed ‘‘U. D.,” which all believed stood eh Ulric Dubois, the ci devant scout of the ort. In the bottom of the box were found plates engravers’ tools, various colored inks, and in fact, every thing required by a band of success- ful counterfeiters and thieves, This satisfied our friends that the party they were following was some of Rougle’s robbers. Calvin Gardette groaned in spirit when he thought how probable it was that Nora was in the villains’ power. He was anxious to move on that night, but his desire was overruled by Lubin, who informed him that it would not only be impossible to follow a trail, but decided- ly dangerous. _ “Thar’s Injins about, I’m satisfied,” the scout said, “and then I ain’t well enuff ’quainted tt when it was known that Nora was gone, ichard was the first to volunteer his services to penetrate the Indian country in search of her. he father had no objections to his attentions to | his daughter, for he saw that the latter did not reciprocate his devotions beyond the bounds of an intimate friendship. Richard was young—scarcely two-and-twenty —of an impulsive and enthusiastic nature, a free and dashing spirit. | * What think you, uncle?” he asked, as they | 13 ‘‘has that wagon-track been made | with these parts to foller a trail arter dark. Ye see, trailin’, as a success, don’t depend entireiy _on the plainness o’ the trail, but one’s knowledge a — — a i 0’ the kentry, courses, creeks, and the dangers surroundin’’em. Now, if we could run across a chap up in these diggin’s called Hawkeye Har- ry, then we could travel day and night, fur they say it’s a pos’tive fact that that boy ,can see jist as well in the dark as a cat.” ‘“ Where does he live?” asked one. “Bout ten miles from here. He’s a free ran- ger or trapper, and a bold leetle dare-~devil he is, too. He can skin a beaver or skulp a red- skin quicker than you can wink. He comes to the fort every onc’t in a while to buy powder and shot, and sich like— Ah! what’s that mean?’ The old scout’s query was occasioned by the faint report of a rifle echoing through the woods and along the river. ‘*T reckon it’s young Parker’s rifle,” said one; ‘“he left camp soon after we halted to take a little hunt for deer or turkey.” True enough, Dick, as his uncle called him, was gone. In the excitement occasioned by the finding of the chest and its contents, all but the one man had failed to notice his absence. “By Jehokey!” exclaimed Lubin, “I'd a’ never let the younker left if I'd see’d him start- in’. Ten to one he'll git his ha’r lifted afore he gits back—thar goes anuther rifle. The boy’s in trouble! Come, half a dozen o’ ye!” The old scout seized his rifle and glided away down the river, followed by several of the dra- goons. He found Dick’s tracks along the beach, and followed them as rapidly as possible. _ Half a mile below the camp he came to a sud- den halt, while a cry of surprise burst m his lips. Pe is it, Lubin?’ asked one of the sol- ers. ‘“* Moccasin-tracks!” exclaimed the scout; “I fear the lad’s a goner— God of mercy! that — tells the tale!” He pointed to a fresh pool of blood upon the beach, and a broad, deep trail where somethi is dragged over the sand to the river’s ank. ‘‘Tt’s no use, boys, lookin’ furder. The red devils have killed him and thrown the body into the river. We've got to git back to the camp in a hurry and hev that fire put out. Come!” They turned and hurried back to the camp with the sad news of Dick’s disappearance. The fire was extinguished and guards posted all around thecamp. But, despite their vigilance and excitement, the night passed away without — the least alarm. The following morning the party was in the saddle and moving forward upon the trail of Henri Roche and party, quite early, though not before some search had been madein vain for Dick Parker’s body. ly The sun was almost upon the meridian when the party debouched from the timber into the wrairie, ; The first object upon its undulating surface that attracted our friends’ attention, was a soli- ~ tary horseman, galloping in a north-westerly course. They saw, by aid of a field-glass in possession of the lieutenant, that it was a white man, and . he rode onward without appearing to see them. He was too far away to hailed by the voice, so the lieutenant took the bugle and gave afew sharp peals with it. The horseman turned, drew rein and to- ward the party as though to make out who were—whether friends or foes. — To enlighten him the officer gave another blast upon the bugle, at the same time waving his cap above his head. Thereupon the horse-_ man wheeled and gevoned toward them. When he was within a few rods of the party, old Lubin gave a shout of joy; then turning to his friends, said: ‘“‘ Boys, we’re in luck. That feller is Hawkeye Harry, the Boy Ranger.” CHAPTER XVL WHO WERE THEY? BEFORE Old Optic could have time to fire | upon Clouded Heart, Red Wing, who was stand- ing by, struck up the muzzle of his gun, and the toe whistled high above the masked stranger’s head. and demanded an explanation of his act. ‘** Would you slay a friend?’ asked the chief. _* Nol” retorted the trapper; ‘but I would slay an enemy. Didn’t you see him makin’ signs to them Injuns comin’ out there?” ‘ ‘“a5aw him waveared scarf, but look through SS JOO com (e eo ar ey The old trapper quickly confronted the chief —