Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 766 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

2 was urging his horse at each bound he made by a dig in the flanks with the crue! spurs. He was a thorough type of the borderman in face and dress, fully armed, and appeared like a man who was in adesperate situation. As he rode along be would glance behind bim from time to time, as though expecting to see some one on his track. His face was a strong one, though the lower features were hidden by a long beard, and he wore his dark hair long, falling upon his broad shoulders, But it was not a good face, not one to trust, rather one to dread, as there was much of latent evil dwelling far back in his eyes, [It was at its worst too then, for he had been thwarted, as his words had made known, in his plot of evil, and by a boy, He was also in dread of his life, and fear, hhtred and disappointinent were stamped to- gether upon his countenance, His horse was urged on mercilessly along the trail, up hill and down, on rough trail and good, until at last he was forced to dismount and spare the animal by walking. The tired norse followed patiently, and gained what rest he could in the next few miles. Then a stream was crossed, where he was watered, and given half an hour to crop at the juicy grass upon its banks, Again mounting, the horse was urged on once more, through a high hill, that gave the ridera glance back over the trail for many miles, showed him there was no danger of pursuit, or rather of being overtaken. Still, for some purpose he pressed on, as though eager to reach his destination. At last the country grew more mountainous, and. the man was compelled to climb the steep trail on foot, leaving his broken-down horse to follow, As darkness drew near he turned from the trail, toward a rock that arose like a tower to one side, This he climbed to the summit, and it was no easy task to scale the steep, rocky sides, Reaching the top he found there a pole, around one end of which was wrapped a white cloth, Raising the pole he waved it from right to left three times, slowly. Then he awaited for some minutes and re- peated the act, his eyes meanwhile fixed upon a distant cliff across the valley. Suddenly a white object appeared upon the cliff, and a man was seen with a staff and white flag in his hand. This he waved from left to right three times, and the man on the cliff did likewise, after which he furled the emblem of peace, placed the pole again upon the rock, where also was piled up a quantity of wood, while there were evi- dences that fires had been built there quite often, These fires were to signal by night, as the flag was used by day. escending the side of the tower-like rock the man went to where his horse was feeding, and again continued on his way. The trail led down into the valley, and cross- ing it to the ridge beyond, the fugitive found himself approaching the cliff from whence bis signal had been answered, t was dark as he neared the cliff, but he rode on without hesitation, or seeming fear, though be could not but have recognized the one who answered the signal he had made, as an Indian. The trail wound around the cliff, and close to it, was very narrow just there, and it wasa point which a dozen determined men, stationed among the sheltering rocks, could bold against a couple of hundred foes, Nearer and nearer he drew to the cliff, wound around it, then climbed to the ridge above, As he did s0, and came upon a level witb the cliff, — be found himself confronted by half a dozen Sioux warriors, all armed and cov- ering him with their arrows, and all in their war-paint, as though ready for battle, for in spite of the signal given them as one of peaceful intentiun, they suspected him of being a foe, CHAPTER II, A TIMELY WARNING. r'HE white man who found half a dozen Sioux confronting him with seemingly hostile inten- tion, did not ‘appear to be in the least flurried, for he regarded them calmly, and addressing them in their own language, said: “My Sionx brothers have blind eyes not to remember their pale-face brother, the Red Scalper.” Instantly the effect of the words of the man was evident, for one of the warriors stepped for- ward with extended hand, while he responded: ‘*The face of the Red Scalper is hidden under his beard, since he left our people, and then it is night now, ‘* No, the Sioux are not blind, for they know their pale-face brother now, ‘** They saw the signal and answered it; but when he drew near they supposed he was a foe | who had learned the secret of the signals. ‘* The Red Scalper is welcome, for he has been long away.” The other braves now came forward and grasping the hand of the white man gave utter- ance to a fervent: ‘* How!” “The Red Scalper has not time to remain here, for he must hasten on to see the chief, Red Hair. ‘* Let me have one of your fleetest ponies, and keep my horse here with you. ‘There is news to tell, for the pale-face foes of my red brothers are marching to attack the Sioux village, ‘* Send two braves to the signal rock to watch for their coming and give warning by lighting a fire, so that those here can hasten on to the village and tell the Red Hair, ‘*T will go at once, and my brothers here must not sleep, for death is creeping upon them in the darkness, and the Red Scalper has risked his life to save them,” The words of the white man created a pro- found impression upon the Indians, who be- came greatly excited over the dread of a foe be- ing so near their village, They at once brought him one of their fleet- est ponies, and dispatched three warriors to the signal rock, Mounting the Indian pony the Red Scalper, as he had called himself, rode on like the wind along the ridge, The ridge widened as he went, and was seen to be heavily tiinbered, with steep, rocky sides, A few miles away it was overtowered bya high range,aod upon eitber side were valleys through which ran crystal streams, Upon the edge of the ridge was the village of the Sioux, consisting of over a thousand tepees, while in the valleys were feeding large herds of ponies and cattle, all of which could be driven in a short while to the mountain range beyond, where a foe dare not follow them, The site of the village was well chosen as a healthful spot, with plenty of wood at hand, spring streams trickling down the mountain- sides, and with the valleys as grazing-grounds for their enormous herds. Through a pass in the mountains a retreat could be made, and a few hundred warriors could there keep back a small army from pur- suit, The signal tower and the cliff guard post were spots where the approach of au enemy could be seen far away and a warning given, and the nature of the country was such that an attack- ing force would have to follow the direct trail leading to the Inuian village from that direc- tion. To get there from another point, one would bave to flank the mountain and come through the pass in the range, Upon an eminence in the village was a large tepee, where the head chief dwelt. he Indians, secure in their retreat, and a warning from their advance posts, were not dreading evil, and were gathered in groups about the many camp-fires, visible to the fugi- tive as he rode toward the large tepee which was the headquarters of Red Hair, the renegade chief of the Sioux. Braves, squaws and children eyed him curi- ously as he passed their camp-fires, but he waved bis hand and gave them a word of welcome in their own tonguo as he rode along, At last he halted at the large tepee, threw himself from his pony, and stood before a man who was just sitting down ata rustic table to eat bis supper, which a negress was placing be- fore him, ‘* How is my brother, the chief Red Hair?’ said the stranger, ‘*Hal that voice I know! By Heaven, Sam Jenness, it is you!” cried the chief, springing to his feet. “Yes, Brad; it is your old pard, Red Scalp- er, ‘* And glad am I to see you again; only, why have you come, Sam?” asked the chief, as he wrung the hand of h's visitor, ‘*'To give vou a timely warning of danger; to tell you that I am pursued now by a force of men now on their way to this village,” was the startling response of the stranger, Dashing Charlie, the Rescuer. eee eee ee eee ES —™ CHAPTER III. THE WHITE SIOUX CHIEF. THE man who sat in the large tepee, in the Sioux village, and whom the visitor had ad- dressed as Chief Red Hair, was a very strik- ing-looking personage, He was six feet in height, and straight as an arrow, having the carriage of a soldier. His shoulders were broad und massive, bis form slender yet athletic, and bis hands and feet very small and shapely. Excepting that he wore cavalry boots and spurs, bis dress was that of an Indian chief, and he wore it well. His buckskin leggings and hunting-shirt were fringed, beaded and ornamented with porcupine- quills, while around bis neck were necklaces of grizzly bear claws, eagie-bones and cther orna- ments. He wore a belt of arms, consisting of - bowie- knife and revolvers, and a string of scalps hung also there, and scalps too that were not all from the beads of red-skins, But strangest of all about this man, a rene- gade white who was chief of tha Sioux, was that be was strangely handsome, his features being stamped in a noble mold, His hair was a bright red, curling and hung down his back nearly to his waist, and he also had a long mustache of the same hue, while his eyes were of midnight blackness, large, dreamy and shaded by the longest of lashes, The Indians called him ‘‘ Red Hair,” and be was known to the whites as the ‘‘ Red Rene- gade,” Both names suited him well, and the latter expressed just what he was, a renegade white man who had allied his fortunes to the Indians for some reason known only to bimself, From whence he bad come no one knew, fur he had not been seen or known in the camps along the border. It became noticed that the Sioux were show- ing a great deal of generalsbip in their war- trails, and at last a scout reported that their leader was a white man. Once a fort had been struck at night by a dar- ing band of red-skins, while five sixths of the soldiers had gone to attack the Indian village from whence they had come, The village was found deserted by the soldiers, who returned to discover that the red-skins had captured the armory of the fort and secured a large quantity of arms and ammunition, besides running off a herd of fine beef cattle and several bundred borses, The blow fell heavily, for a number of soldiers had fallen, and if a single brave had been killed his body was carried off by his victorious com- rades, ° = This daring and successful raid it was soon known was under the command of Chief Red Hair, A settlement was attacked, and women and children were carried off at another time, and again and again Red Hair made his daring and successful dashes along the border, until his name became a perfect terror to all. The settlers offered a reward for his scalp, and the general commanding set a price on his head, but all without avail, It was said that the man had once been an army officer, whose crimes had driven bim to outlawry, and others reported that he was one who had been reared in the Indian villages. Again it was asserted that he was a noted California desperado, who had escaped the gal- lows and sought a refuge among the Sicux, — There was a scout from the far Southwest who said that he bad known a ‘Texas outlaw answer- ing the description of Chief Red Hair, but that the man he bad in mind was dead, or supposed to be, having been hanged by the Rangers and Regulators of the Lone Star State. — If be had escaped in any way he did not know of it, but this man who commanded the Sioux answered bis description perfectly. fe And so speculation went along in mining- camp, settlement and fort regarding the white Sioux chief. not a soul being able to tell aught regarding bim, more than that he seemed to hate the whites with a hatred a8 intense as the red- skins felt for them, and was even more cruel toward them, showing no Mercy to man, woman or child, until he also became known &s the **Red Monster.” The rewards offered for his capture or 8calp had tempted many bold men to seek to gain it: but they failed in their efforts, and Red Hair the white Sioux still continued the head chief of the red tribe with whom he had cast his lot, And this man, bated, despised, feared as he was, had the face of an Adonis, was as gentle- voiced as & Woman in bisordinary conversation,