Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 786 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

2 Old Joe Connettv—‘*t Lone Hand Joe,” as he was known—lifted his head, glanced toward the »baffalo-grass upland which stretched away for jaterminable leagues across the wide plains of Volorado, then bent his gaze again toward the dark patch outlined against the southern sky. He had looked toward the upland because he tied he heard there the faint hoof-strokes of a horse, Prairie Gibraltar, lying on the banks of the crooked stream known as the Cimarron River, was beginning to bave an uncanny reputation. it was in the days of the great cattle herds, and buta short time after the buffalo had van- ished forever from those rich grazing grounds. The face uplifted to the cloudy sky was that of a small and somewhat wizened man, long past middle life, Yet, it was a strong, aggres- sive face, with keen, determined eyes, and a resulute chin, covered with a scanty beard. Connetty, who had for many years been known 2s Lone Hand Joe, was a confirmed nomad. His life had been spent largely in the open air, on the plains or in the mountains, He had once been a lone trapper; then a lone hide-hunter, but of late had roamed around among the ranches, and always was a welcome guest, His horse was tethered in a willow clump, nearly a half-mile away, and he had crawled up under shadow of the night to get a closer peep p at the stronghold which had long been a ome for thieves, but which a late report stated had been abandoned because of certain ous manifestations that kad frightened the free- booting gentry who dwelt therein. Concerning this abandonment, the suspicious Joe had his doubts; and they were not lessen by certain things "he had witneased from the willow covert that afternoon. The sounds heard on the upland were nearer, now, and he knew he was not mistaken in thinking them the hoof-beats of a borse, a could see the brow of the u Bes. prtess very well from his recumbent position, and kept bis eyes fixed om it as the horse seemed to near that point. But when he wassure the animal was descending the slope in his direction, he could not even then make out its form Rpoause of the obscuration of the moon, my te ips a low ina inarticulate cry broke from bis lips, and he burrowed still deeper in the waving grass, All at once the horse bad become visible, It bad not been revealed b the light of the moon, but was outlined by a glow which seemed to emauate from its own ys It was certainly a startlin pearance, The light which the horse e mitted from its hairy hide—if that were really the source of the glow—-was of a sickly cast, resembling in a large degree the light which comes from a glow- worm, The horse bore a rider, thougb he was almost invisible, Only his legs and a part of the saddle could be seen, The upper portion of his body faded away into the gloom. ‘That beats me!” Old Lone Hand muttered, as he flattened himself in the grass. ‘“ I’ve traveled frum Californy to Kalamazoo, frum Jobnny Bull’s nerthern lakes to the mountains of Mexico, an’ this is the fu’st time I ever run ag’in’ a creeter like that! A reg’lar walkin’ jack-o’-my-lantern, with four legs an’ a flowin’ tail, an’ hoof-beats that sounds till you kin bear am. If it wuzn’t fer that last, ’d know it wuz a ghost. But a ghost wouldn't shorely tromp down the grass that-a-way!” Notwithstanding the seeming levity of these comments, Old Joe was deeply stirred by the singular sight. Like most men living a life such as his, his mind had become strongly tinged with superstition. It is apt to be the way with ignorant folk who live close to the heart of nature. There are so many unexplain- able wonders in earth and sky, in air and water, which they can only account for by reference to j supernatural agencies, Of this class of men, the untutored savage is the truest type. The horse was _— near, now; so uear that it could be plainly seen; and, it passed within a few yards of Old Joe’s hidin -place, But, was ita horse? And was that a man seat- ed on his back, whose legs only were visible? If the strange thing was really an animal, whence came oe singular glow? Old Joe looked 5. it, wire and drew a deep breath of relief as it passed on. His breatbing was o : ‘ant creepy, inde- scribable sensations were making a highway of his spine, It was far pleasanter to view the thing, whatever it was, from a distance, “Tn the jogerfy o’ my haJcyon youth I use to read that the sun wus the only creeter that shines by its own lighs. But I’m ready to swear that mysteri- Lone Hand J Oe. - that “teat dh Ge Vikek hogurtst iabar wha: wus a liar an’ a _ hoss- thief!” He puckered his thin lips as he said this, and craned his neck and bent bis head to watch the retreating vision. A fear of it was strong on him, but this was overcome in a great measure by a feeling of intense curiosity. He wriggled to an upright position, took another breathless look, and then stole softly after the shining horse, What he had witnessed that afternoon from the willow clump was the inspiring cause of this courageous action. He believed he had seen men on the white wallsof Prairie Gibraltar; and if the thieves were still there, it. was possible they knew something of tbis horse, and were making use of it for a purpose. At any rate, it was going etraight toward the stronghold, and tho old freelance greatly de- sired to see what effect its coming would bave on the outlaws whom he believed to be lying in concealment behind those rocky walls. “Hyer goes!” he breathlessly panted, as he hurried on at the best speed his caution would allow, ‘‘ Neck er nothin’, is my motto! | can’t say that I specially hankers after chasin’ spooks, an’ wraiths, an’ fiery borses, but a chance like this don’t come more’n onc’tin alifetime. If it’s a plum shore enough ghost, I reckon it'll slide iuto the earth, er fly up into the sky, er make it- self scarce mighty suddenf an’ mysterious, If it’s a reel hoss, with some shinin’ stuff rubbed onto it, it won't. be able to do anything of the kind. Anyway, hyer goes!” The horse was now near the outer baryier of the stronghold, It was not hastening its speed, but was moving onward at the same gait as when he had first seen it. Old Lone Hand was walking rapidly, though silently, anxious to get near enough to see where it should, go when it passed around that wall, But it never passed around the wall; or, if it did, he did not behold the movement. W hen witbin less than a rod of the barrier, it vanished as suddenly asit had come into view, leaving the trailer to stare bewilderedly into he gloom. He recoiled with a gasping cry, as if he bad been struck a blow, and it was many minutes before he could recover from the mental shock this disappearance gave him. “That do beat all!” sinking tremulously to the earth.. ‘‘Didn’t go neither into the ground ner into the sky. Jist went out like a lamp, puff!—that way, when a feller blows on the flame!” The old nomad was shaking with nervousness, and his teeth chattered, even as he spoke. Prairie Gibraltar lay before him grim and silent, as stern and forbidding in ap ance as its Mediterranean prototype. The wind soughed through the grass and sung mournfully as it chafed against the jagged rocks. Below him Connetty could hear the gurgle of the stream. A pean ack ow! swooped down overhead with its barsh scolding, and he crouched iv terror, thinking for a moment it was a being from the spirit world. He drew himself up with an effort and passed a horny band across bis forehead,as if by that act to clear the cobwebs from his brain. He glared in the direction of the owl’s flight and shook his fist angrily at the inoffensive creature that had so frightened him. “I’m gittin’ myself ready fer a lunatic asy- lum!” he growled. ‘* Tromped the prairie fer more years than I kin reecolect, an’ now git skeered out o’ my seven’ senses by a Spacer? dog-owl! Next thing 1 know, [ll be runnin’ away frum the wind!” He looked again toward Prairie Gibraltar, only to see it as before, harsh in outline and silent as the grave, ‘*T ‘low I'd do the most sensible thing 0’ my life, if I'd take the back-track,” be argued. “This thing 0’ ’vestigatin’ hosts might do fer some men, but it don’t please me more’n com- mon!” Notwithstanding this declaratiou, he found it impossible to tear himself from the spot. What he had seen beld for him a@ strong fascination. There might be danger in going ahead—up- known perils too horrible for thought—but he could not persuade himself to beat a retreat. “Likely they’s a hole there which the thing went into,” he said, trying to screw his courage to the sticking-place. It was not plain to him how even if there was a hole the horse could disap as he seen it da: but he deceived himself with the thought, and eaein ' wriggled forward, When he gained the point where the horse had vanished, he found no o ‘in the earth, But he did discover something to havea marked bearing on the case, It was a ee and when he felt further, bis trained ers alighted on others, It did not seem pos- ait e thata phantom horse would make so ma- terial a thing as a well-defined mark i 10 the soil. ‘*T’m a-goin’ togitat the meanin’ o’ this thing!” he asserted, as he erawled on, feeling in front of bim for the tell-tale and guiding boof-prints. ‘The thing ’at made these ain’t no spirit, what- ever itis. If it wus covered with shinin’ stuff, though, I can’t see how the rider rubbed the dratted truck off! Ner how he put it on so quick!” recalling the manner in which the horse had first come into view, The prints led him around an angle of the wall, down a flinty slope by the river-side, end beyond that for a considerable distance. The character of the ground made the trailing difficult, and in paying close attention to the work 1n hand, he looked about him but little. W hen the spy lifted bis head again, it was to give another start. A short distance away was a crater-like inclosure, and within it was stand- ing the phantom horse. It was riderless, now, and there seemed to be no saddleon it. Its head was drooped as if from weariness, Yet, over all, from flowing mane to streaming tail, was that dull glow which had already so mystified Old Joe. ‘+ Tt must be a hoss!” was his positive assertion, regatbering his courage for a further advance. ‘‘ it can’t be nothin’ else! There’s been some- thin’ rubbed on its hair to make it shine that way. Likely a trick of the thieves to skeer bon- est people an’ keep ’em frum comin’ round jbyer. Pve heerd o’ these hyer luminous paints an’ phos- poms an’ sich, an’ if must be somethin’ o’ that nd He drew a match from a metallic case, touched the match-head to, his tongue to moisten it, and rubbed it on the palm of his hand, The marks made bythe match-head shone in the darkness very like the coat of the horse. ‘““That’s jist it!” witb a sagacions wag of his head. ‘* They’ve fixed bim up in that way, somehow, an’ he’s only a common boss, after all, An’ I never wus afeard o’ hosses!” He hitched forwerd once more, and was soon near the crater-like co He discovered that there were other horses within the corral, though he bad not been able to see them, He could bare- ly see them now, and judged of the number more by the —— made by their breathing than in any other wa He comand quiet for a time to assure himself that no human presence was near;.then made his way Over the ragged wall of rock into this natural corral, The horses appeared nas to fear bim, and per- mitted Old Lone Hand to approach without manifesting terror. He shivered a little as he crept toward the one whose coat shone so strange- ly. At the last moment he felt like beating a retreat. But be went on, and laid his band on the horse’s mane.’ He examined the bairy coat, rubbing his hands up and down it to ascertain if possible the cause of that strange light. There was NO smeary, waxy substance, #s he had ex- pected, The heir seemed natural and un- tampered with; and he remained as much puzzled as ever, From the corral] he turned toward the stnens- hold itself, seeking a solution there, When he had over a dozen yards he turned to look again at the horse. Lo! it was not to be seen! Apparently the animal had gone from the place! With anything but a comfortable sensation, Connetty continued to creep over the rocks, bending bis steps, however, in the direction of the open prairie, 80 that he could make a break for liberty, should it seem necessary At one point, opposite the stronghold itself, a perpendicular surface of white rock arose sheer from the earth, evidently unscalable to man or beast, As he arrived in front of this, the horse be had so short a time before examined, appear- ed on the side’of this almost upright wall o rock ; and it again bore on its back a rider. There was about both borseman and animal a light that was even stranger than that which Old Joe had first beheld. It was not a glare; neither was it the glow which before had geemed so much like phosphorescence. It was a whitish, penetrating light, in the midst of which the borse and rider seemed suspended, and it threw surrounding’ objects into the dee gloom, In spite of the fear that almost paralyzed his energies, the resolute old man plucked out one of his revolvers and fired straight at the spectral horse, It was 80 large an object be knew he could not miss it. And he did not miss it! He saw the bullet splinter the rocky surface, and knew the leaden missile had pa through the anima 1, if animal it was, But the shot had no appreciable effect, Horse and rider continued comicboo — ah ot - Soe poke» ee ee - -~ ~ we Bea) i + 4» 3 ee en Pe ort SE pt bh. — es a — Pale Oe Se ~~ pe << com