Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 766 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

ae Sam, for I am not, either. | When he became a chief? in the tribe of bis ; posed it was the Texas ranchero, and that the adoption he prumised to return and claim her as his wife, But Indian maidens are also fickle, and Sing- ing Dove was no exception to the rule, for she made up her mind to marry the handsome white prisoner, though had it not been to save him from the power of Red Hair, whom she hated, she might still have remained steadfast in ber pledge to the fugitive chief, Red Spirit. Oue day, something over half a year after the marriage of the Singing Dove to the woite chief, Caarlie and the Red Scalper started on a hunt to- ether, Their first camp at night was some twenty miles from the Indian village and they made a wicky-up to shelter them from a rainstorm that was gathering. As they sat under its secure shelter, before a fire of blazing logs, the Red Scalper said: ‘** Boy pard, I have a mind to ask you a ques- tion!” ** Out with it, Red Scalper,” answered Charlie, ‘*Does your uncle really know of a gold mine?” 6é Yes.” ** And you?” sé Yes.” ** And yet you are content to live here in an Indian village when you bave riches at your command and could go far away?” ‘* How could we get them, Red Scalper?” **T can help you,” sé ow 2?” ** Well, boy pard, Pll tell you a secret, if you can keep one,” ** Don’t you think I can?” ‘“*)’ve got an idea that you can, for you are no common kid, Charlie,” ‘““Thank you for your good opinion, Pard Scalper.” ‘* Well, if I tell you my secret, you will see that my worst foe is right in the Sioux village.” ‘* Not my uncle?” ‘* Oh, no,” “ Who, then?” ‘It is—but, remember, you are to keep my secret.” “T will,” ‘* Tt is Red Hair.” sé No ha ss Yes,” ‘* 1 thought you were the best of friends.” ‘* Well, we are to his thinking; but I'll tell ‘you that he is a trifle too black-hearted for me,” a) No "? ‘* He is, for a fact.” “‘T am glad you are not cage: with him, hate him,” ** Ditto, pard.” ‘“* Well, 'd never have suspected it; but be has injured you, maybe?” ‘*He made me his tool, he made me a wicked man, and now I have the chance to get even, to get revenge upon him,” ** T'd do it.” “TH tell you how I'll doit, and you can help me. ** All right.” ‘*He made me a renegade, for I committed crimes for him that brought me here, ** He trusted me and sent me to Texas upona mission of crime for him, ““[ went there to find out about a woman whom he loved, a woman whom your uncle loved, too, when he was a younger man,” ** Indeed ?” ** Yes, for though your uncle does not recog- nize Red Hair under his paint, and in Indian garb, they were once rivals for the hand of a young lady, ‘*It seems your uncle prevented her from marrying Red Hair, at the wish of her parents, and that made the chief desperate, and he vowed revenge. ‘*But be committed crimes that made him fly from the country, and you know what he is now. ‘*Tbe maiden did not marry your uncle, but a friend of his, and the chief found out that her home was in Texas, and he determined to seek revenge upon her, ‘* He first kidnapped her little girl, only a few ears old, and sent her to live among some exicans ‘*Then he sought to get her busband out of the way and sent me to kill him.” es, and I was to make it so a r that Comanches bad killed him,” BAT ‘You did not kill him?” ‘* No, [ captured bim, and the Comanches took him to their village, while we dressed a body up dan his clothes and that was found and all sup- | | | indians bad killed him,” ‘* And where is he now?” ‘* A captive among the Comanchesif he is not dead.” ‘*May he not have escaped?” ‘* He bad not when I was in Texas last,” “When was that?” ‘**] had just come from there when I became scout for your uncle,” ‘‘ And his wife thought he was dead?” ** Yes, and her child too,” ‘* Poor woman,” ‘*She is a beautiful woman to-day of thirty- five, though I told Red Hair she was dead.” ‘You told him so?” ‘* Yes, for she is very rich and he intended to go there and force ber to become bis wife. ** Instead of allowing him todo this, I told him sbe was dead, so be would never seek ber again, for | intend to marry her myself.” * You?” ** Yes, I fell in love with her, you know, for I visited her ranch, and told her I would devote my life to finding ber child. ‘1 intend to go back with you, making believe I thought her child was a boy, and that 1 rescued you from an Indian camp. ‘*Sbe will welcome you as a gon, in place of her daughter, and that will feather your nest,” ** And you, Red Scalper?”’ ‘Oh, VIl win the lady, see if I don’t, for I can make believe I am ricb, and can tell of my mine up here. ‘* When we can we will get away and come to the mine, which you know how to find,” ‘* You bet I do,” ‘** And we'll work it for all we are worth, and if you wish to help your uncle out some way, we can find a way to do it. ‘* Now, what do you say, pard?” ** When do you wish to go?” | ‘* We'll start now, and the rain that will fall to-night will wash out our trail so that we can- not be followed, don’t you see?” ‘* A good idea; but I hate to leave uncle,” ** Well, we'll work for him soon as we can, —_ then I'll settle my revenge score on Red air. ‘* Now let us be off for Texas.” * 1’m with you, for lam tired of living with Indians, Pard Sam.” ** Ditto, and we’ll now live like the gentlemen we are,” **So we will,” assured Charlie, and the two broke camp, mouuted their horses and rode away in the twilight just as the rain began to descend in torrents, wasbing out every trace of the trail they left behind them, even to. that leading to their last camping-place, CHAPTER XXXT, PLAYING TO WIN, A BEAUTIFUL woman sat upon the piazza of a handsome ranch-house iv the State of Texas, somes weeks after the night on which Red Scalper told his secret to Dashing Crarlie, Her face was beautiful even in its sadness, and yet the grief she had known bad not added to her age it seemed, for she would scarcely be con- sidered over thirty years of age, But she was not alone, for with her were two others. One of these two the reader will recognize as the Red Scalper. The otber was Dashing Charlie, They had arrived only that morning, and & warm welccme had been given them by the woman, who bad not forgotten the kind promise of the man who bad said he would find her child for her, After a year be had returned, and with him came, not her daughter, but a boy, She was told his story by Samuel Colston, as the Red Scalper now called himself, and had been known to the fair lady ranchero, and she had at once taken the youth to her heart. Charlie tad played bis part well, told how he knew nothing of bis parents, and had been a dweller among the Indians as far back as he could remember, Thus several days passed away at the ranch, ere Charlie and the lady found themseives alone together. The Red Scalper bad gone to the nearest town on business, and would be gone all day, and Charlie had asked his adopted mother to let him talk to her. Then the two sat upon the piazza, and the lady heard the long story of the boy’s life, as it really was. She was told his name and told that he was the nepbew of the companion of her girlhood, Dashing Charlie, the Rescuer. eects ee Captain Emmett, who had never been TFeally her lover, but a trusted friend. He had prevented her marriage with Bur- ton Fenwick, alias Red Hair, the renegade chief, iu after years, because be knew bim to be a villain, and Clara Carr bad marriei Em- mett’s boovu companion, Henry Hurlburt, against the wishex of her parents, who were infatuated with the one they believed rich and wished her to wed, Mrs. Hurlburt listened to the whole story to the end, more and more shocked at all she beard of man’s inhumaogity and villainy, and at last Charlie continued: ‘* Now, on the way here we stopped at the Village of the Comanches, among whom the Red Scalper lived for some years and who gave bim his name, “They are still friendly to bim though at war with the whites, and while there we found that your busband was not dead, as you have believed, but bad been for nearly two years a captive,” After the emotion felt by Mrs, Hurlburt at this news was over, Coarlie went on to tell her that he bad secretly left a letter he bad writien with her busband, telling him tbat he was ccm- ing back to rescue bim, Then he continued with still more startling news for the poor woman, ‘* You must not be surprised at anything I tell you, my dear Mrs, Hurlburt, for I have more to say that will rejoice your heart, ‘You told me that you bad never believed your daughter to be dead. ‘* You ara right, for she toois alive, though not a captive. ‘*The villain Red Scalper told me another secret just before we reached your rancb, ‘* He said that your child had been sent toa Mexican family by Red Hair the renegade, ‘*They had sold her to an American settler and his wife who were childless, and who were seeking a home on the border, ‘‘They went far to the northward and set- tled, and the Sioux raided their home. | “The man and his wife were killed, but the little girl was spared by the chief, who took ber to his village and adopted her as his own, for be had a poor white woman captive who was bis wife. ‘*The woman gladly welcomed tbe little girl, and the chief, who was tbe head ruler of bis tribe, grew very fond of the little Dove.” ‘Dove! that was the name of my little girl,” gasped the mother. “It is the name of the Sioux Queen now, Singing Dove,” ** How old is she?” quickly asked the lady, ** Sixteen I think, perhaps seventeen,” ‘‘ Just what my child would have been, ** Describe her, please?” ‘‘Sbe has a tall, slender form, like your own, with a very dark complexion, large glorious eyes, black hair and dimples in each cheek and her chin, while there is @ scar upon her left hand, the palm being torn.” ‘‘ My God, 1 thank Thee! It is my child, for a vicious dug once tore ber band terribly,” ‘* Well, [ was struck with the resemblance the moment I saw you, my dear Mrs, Hurlburt, and tbe Red Scalper says that she is your child.” ‘* But you told me, while relating your story, that the Singing Dove, as,the Sioux Queen is called, married your uncle?” ‘‘It is true, they were married according to the Sioux customs; bat now let us arrange for the capture to-night of this man Red Scalper, and when he is jailed we can start northward, and my word for it that when we reach Omaba, Doctor Chalmers, my uncle’s pard, will raise a band that will rescue those we love Who are in Red Hair’s village, for I can lead them by a secret trail I know of into the stronghold of the Sioux.” ‘‘ Gladly, oh! so gladly will 1 go with you, my noble boy, my son, as you will ever be in my love for you, for you are to rescue mny husband and child, and restore them to my long-sorrow- ing pen ; nm ‘7 will do all in m wer to rescue them ang my uncle as well, etie Red Hair ard the Red Scalper shall be brought to punishment for their crimes,”, was Charlie’s modest response. CHAPTER XXXII THE RESCUER, THAT night the Red Scalper was aroused from a sound sleep, fur be was very tired after his re- turn home, by finding Dashing Charlie covering him with a revolver. In the room also were several negro men be- longing to the ranch, also covering him with weapons, and under the circumstances he offered _— ~ ee ee. ~~" ———— << - eee..| < Ee . ; is § ‘ ‘ | * so ‘ Y ‘