Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 766 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

_ the oy But if Charlie felt their angry glances he did not show it, but saluted them with a smile, while he called different ones he recognized by name, A movement was also made to rush upon the captives, and vent their hatred of the whites by beating them. But the chief in charge of the red guard at once called out that his orders were to allow no abuse of the prisoners, and he emphasized this by giving a young Indian of sixteen a whack with a stick over the head that sent bim howling away, just as he bad raised his bow to shoot Captain Emmett for bis own gratification, Other braves closed around the prisoners then, to protect them, and thus Coarlie found himself again by his uncle’s side, ‘*These red devils mean mischief, Charlie,” said the captain, calinly, ‘* The guard will protect us, sir.” ** If they can, for tbey are but a score against a thousand.” ** Tt does look black,” and as Charlie spoke he skillfully dodged a rock, thrown at him bya squaw, and which, missing its target, took the warrior beyond him full in the breast, knocking him out of his saddle, As it happened the squaw was the wife of the very brave whom she had so cleverly dis- mounted, and when he arose from his back there was blood in the eye of her lord and master, With a yell he rushed upon her, and a blow sent her flying to earth, knocking over in her going another squaw ana a child, Charlie laughed, for he enjoyed the situation, and coming back to his pony the brave cast a savage glance at him for having dodged the blow aimed at him. This somewhat quieted the excitement for a few minutes, but Captain Emmett saw that trouble was brewing, Word had spread among the Indians that he was the chief of the fur-traders’ train, and they knew him as a man who had dealt many a bitter blow at their race, and escaped their plans to sg, cet him many a time, ‘hen, too, Dashing Charlie was recalled as one who in their midst bad *t played Ingin” so well that they had begun to feel that he was going to bs like the renegades or white Sioux, when lo! off be goes, heads off the fur-traders’ train, and so causes the braves under Red Hair a crushing defeat, Now he is back among them, and ai their mercy. Protected by the guard it means that the two captives are kept by the chief Red Hair for some purpose of his own, so their chance to get revenge is to seize upon them now and torture them to death, w Evil advisers among the Indians start this idea upon its rounds, and it gains followers at once, As the guards with their two captives move into the stronghold there are waves of fury run- ning through the excitec crowd gathered there, and the two thousand savage voices, envenomed with hatred and cruelty, begin to call for the prisoners to be delivered into their hands, The guard ‘closes more closely around them, obeying the orders of their great chief, and yet the sea of maddened faces turned up to them causes one and all of the braves to feel how utterly unable they are to stem that wild current, CHAPTER XI, THE SINGING DOVE, DASHING CHARLIE recognized the desperate danger of their situation, as soon as Captain Emmett did. The old braves, decrepit now, many of them warriors of a hundred battles, where scars could be shown by the dozen, felt their old blood becoming hot under the feeling of revenge upon the two captives. Youths who were not yet known as warriors, who thirsted to taste blood and “ win their spurs,” longed to havea hand in the torture and then the death of the man and the boy captives, Squaws, more cruel and merciless even than the braves, were shrieking for revenge by the killing of the pale-faces, Then came the children, girls and boys, all anxious to see the pale-faces put to torture. It was a fearful moment for the captives, and they felt that their guards would weaker under ressure brought against them, here a party of deputies, in civilization, would fire upon a mob composed of their own friends and kindred, when duty demanded the 4 a eet. a $$ o-~ LL SSS Ss EEE ee protection of a prisoner, the red-skin braves, in obedience to the command of the white Sioux chief to guard the captives in safety, would not do so, No, they could only say that the people de- manded the prisoners at their bands and they had to yield them up, They had halted in the midst of the strong- hold, and in their center were the two captives, surrounded yet by the dozen braves who at last tried to protect them. | Around them was a maddened, howling mob of suvage humanity, pressing closer and closer to secure their prey. Captain Emmett was perfectly calm, though his face was pale, bis features set with stern re- solve to die like the brave man he was, There, too, was Dashing Charlie, a youth only across the threshould of boyhood, into whose young life had been forced so much of danger and suffering; now showing no dread of the fate tbat faced him. He even regarded the howling red fiends with an interest hardly in keeping with the fact that he was the object of their fury. ‘* 1'd like to be unbound, uncle, and have my pair of sixes in my hands,” he said in his cool way of talking when in danger. ** Yes, Charlie: then we could carry company with us on our long trail to the bappy bunting- grounds,” was Captain Emmett’s response, Closer and closer pressed the maddened throng, until at last the warrior guard faltered and he- gan to fall back from around their prisoners, Another moment and the red-faced and crim- son-hearted savages would bave been upon the two captives like tigers, to tear them limd from limb, when suddenly a form glided between the two horses ridden by Captain Emmett and Dash- ing Charlie, and confronted the mob of Indians, How she got there, for it was » woman, noone seemed to know, for not one bad marked her pushing ber way through the crowd, She bad come up in the rear of the Indian guard, slipped between the animals ridden by the prisoners, and suddenly stood before the howhng Sioux with uplifted hands, ‘““The pale-face chief and the boy warrior shall not die, for the Singing Dove proctects them!” cried the Indian girl, in a voice that all beard, She held an arrow fitted to a bow in her hard, and covering the hate-frenzied Sioux, whose rush upon the two captives was suddenly checked by her appearance and commanding words, She who uttered those determined words, put- ting at detiance an Indian mob of hundreds, was a maiden who had searcely passed ber eighteenth year. Her form was slender, slightly above the medium height, and fall of willowy grace, while her carriage was ‘‘ every inch a queen.” Her complexion was not as dark as the faces about her, and her unloosed hair was not so black, Jt was very long and of silken texture, not coarse as the locks that covered the heads of her people, Tne daughter of a great chief who had fallen in battle against the whites, it was said that the mother of the Singing Dove hed been a white maiden who had fled from her cabin home on the border to become the wife of the young In- dian brave who had saved ber life on one occa- sion, when some P»wnees beld ber captive. Certainly the lighter complexion and silken hair, with the greater beauty of face and form she possessed, would indicate that the mother of the Singing Dove had indeed been a pale-face; but whether a willing bride or unwilling cap- tive of the young Sioux chief, was not known, The Singing Dove was dressed in the richest of barbarous costumes, and seemed as fond of display as her pale-face sisters of the far East. er head-dress was Of gorgeously-colored feathers, and her costume was bended and fringed in a most picturesque fashion, which was the envy of many of ber young girl com- panions, It was the Singing Dove who so daringly came to the rescue of the two prisoners, and bad commanded, in imperative tones, that tbey should not die at the hands of the Indian horde, now thirsting fora death-feast, The Sioux all seemed fairly startled at first, and came to a sudden halt, They glared upon the young girl who barred their way, and now stood defiant and unawed before them, That the beautiful Sioux Queen should protect Dashing Charley and his uncle, made the sav- ages furious, At last an old warrior broke the silence, which was becoming keenly painful, as the crowd faced the young Pocahontas of the West, ‘*Is the beart of the Singing Dove bad that Dashing Charlie, the Rescuer. she says what she does, that the captives shall not be given up to her people?” All breathlessly awaited the answer to the old brave’s demand, It camein a distinct, undaunted voice, which all heard: ‘Tne Singing Dove’s heart it not bad; but sbe will protect the pale-faces from her people who have murder in their bearts, ‘* She bas spoken, so let her people beware!” CHAPTER XII, THE RED ARROW. So maddened were the warrior horde, old and young, with the two captives who had fallen in- to their power, that they were not calmed even by the words of the young girl whom they re- cognized as their queen. ‘hey for once were too wrought up to obey her, and a warrior with a more desperate nature than the others sounded the key-note when he said: ‘‘ There is nothing to fear, nothing to beware of, ‘‘We have nothing to fear, for the Singing Dove is a woman, . ‘The two pale-faces must die.” The Indian brave sprung forward as he spoke, to immediately start back with a look of terror upon bis face and a cry of horror, Tbe look and the cry checked the rush of the others, and all gazed at the Singing Dove in wonder and awe. In her hand she held a blood-red arrow, shaft, feathers and point. It was a long arrow and she had slipped it quickly from the folds of her buckskin skirt. Sbe held it pointed directly at the warrior, and the point touched bim on the head, It did not hurt him, and yet he shrunk from it, while the Indian girl came closer, still hold- ing the arrow-point against his head. ‘*The Wolf Eye bas dared disobey the com- mand of the great chief, Red Hair, and he has defied the Singing Dove’s warning. “The Singing Dove touches the Wolf Eye with the point of the red arrow, and it means death! ‘‘The Wolf Eye knows what it means, as all my people do, ‘“*The Wolf Eye heeded not the warning, and he must die,” There was a deathlike silence now upon all, A spell seemed to have fallen upon the hate- maddened savages, for they were as quiet as the grave, Captain Emmett and Dashing Charlie looked on in wonder, amazed at the sudden calming of the furious passions of the fierce rea warriors, and at her wonderful power over that savage horde, There stood, or ratber crouched the Sioux brave who had defied her, and over him she bent with the Red Arrow resting upon his bushy head. He was a young buck of twenty, who had made some reputation for bimself, He bad sougbt to win the heart of the Singing Dove, but had failed to influence her, Now he was: to feel what it was to face a wo- man scorned, even though that woman was an Indian maiden, He felt the terror of his situation in all it im- plied, for be knew that, toucbed by that Red Arrow in the hands of the irate Singing Dove, there would be no mercy shown him. Life to him bad been al) that bis proud spirit could hope to make it, and now be stepped across the threshold of death so suddenly that it almost unnerved even bis brave nature. ‘‘What does it mean, Charlie, for you are posted in_their secret signs | guess?” whispered Captain Emmett to Dashing Charlie. The boy answered in the same low tone, “The Red Arrow I have never before seen, uncle, but it is said to be death if pointed at ap Indian, by a chief.” i and the girl has the power of a chief, I sup- Se ¢ ‘‘She bas even more, sir, for Red Hair, I believe, is the only one whom she is forced to obey.” ‘ ‘Well, she is our friend, Charlie.” “T told you that she would be, sir.” “Yes but those people are growing uneasy » and may break outanew,” “They dare not incur the touch, uncle; I feel sure of that.” ‘But, she cannot pe it at all of them— bucks, squaws and children; and see! they are all getting upeasy as cats in a strange garret.” ‘‘She will protect us, sir, now that sbe has mede up her mind to do so,” ‘A mere girl against hundreds of infuriated Red Arrow’s m co