Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 81 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

‘ Lightning Jo. 9 “The devil will be to pay now,” wled Jo, just loud enough to be heard in the roaring wind; “ but it’s too late to put back, and we'll press ahead.” And resolutely compressing his lips, he drove his mustang to the h of the cavalcade and forced him into a nag along the cafion, the others, of course, following his example. Neither Egbert nor Lizzie had made the least refer- ence to this apparition, while in converse with the scout, for the reason that each knew he bore the reputation of being a practical man, and would only laugh and tell them that it was a ‘“‘spook,”’ that their fright and sufferings caused to appear to their own minds—an explanation both were inclined to accept up to this point. But Jo had scarcely started ahead, when several large drops of rain pattering here and there in the gorge, warned them that the threatening deluge was at hand. The winding of the cation, at the point over which they were now hurrying, was such that there was comparatively little wind about them, although it moaned and sobbed over their heads like the desolate wa of lost spirits. “Hurry up, Jo!” yelled Gibbons, from directly in the rear of the lovers, “ or we shall be drenched!” No need of shouting to the scout, who at that moment made a dash a little to one side, and then whee his steed squarely about, halted and motioned to the others to join him on the instant. The shelter was reached. The horse of the scout stood on the same level em wey ger be ~ a but the fie —ve of é latter, instead of slo perpendic y up- ward, inclined far out a their heads, so that the upper margin eqgeuved fully pwete feet further over than did the , thus giving them the very protection for which they were so hastily seeking. The party lost no time in arranging themselves be- neath this roof, andin a few minutes the two wagons came lumbering up, the horses forced toa much more rapid gait than they had yet attempted. They had barely time to reach the spot, when the bullet-like drops that had been pattering faster and faster, suddenly and prodigigusly increased, and the storm broke forth. The scene was fearfully sublime—and such as our pen scarcely dare attempt to depict. The rain came own in such blinding torrents that the top of the gorge was shut out from the view of the whites, and a dink watery twilight gloom enveloved them all. The thunder, that had been somewhat diminishing for the last few minutes, now burst forth in rattling, tremendous discharges, as if heaven and earth were coming together—while the vivid, intense lightning seemed to be everywhere—rending rocks and trees, and playing along the cafion in its arrowy flight, set- ting the whole air aflame. All stood awed and hushed—no one daring to break the stillness, and scarcely moving during this war of the elements. It seemed as if it were blasphemy for manto speak or interpose during the moments when Nature herself was speaking in such trumpet- like tones. But the storm was as short as it was violent; and as the booming thunder retreated and gradually died away, in sullen reverberations, the fall of rain slack- ened, and just as the afternoon was drawing to a close, the last drop fell. The appearance of the mustang and its strange rider seemed to have produced a remarkable effect upon Lightning Jo, who had lost all his vivacity and humor, and was thoughtful and silent. ‘Are we to remain here all night or go forward?” asked Hgbert, ee to where Jo stood, leaning Soe the rocks, with arms folded and moody row. ‘‘Go forward,” he replied, almost savagely, as he raised himself. ‘“‘ What do we want to stay here for?”’ ‘“‘T see it is nearly dark, and Fort Adams is still a number of miles away. We shall not be able to reach there until far into the night. Why not en- camp where we.are, and finish the journey leisurely in the morning? There seems to be no particular or’ tell you there is danger,’’ was the fierce reply of a scout; ‘did you see that Thing on the mus- n 9" ‘Yes; and I have seen it before.” ‘‘ And so have I, and I can tell yer it means some- hem When that comes ‘round, there’s the worst ne of deviltry close onto its heels; you can bet on “Then we are not yet through with the Indians, after believing we were gen eg clear of them, ‘IT didn’t say that—but what I mean is that some deviltry is brewing; we're right in the middle of these hills, and the best thing we can do is to get ahead while we can.”’ **Hush!"’ exclaimed Lizzie Manning, in an awed voice; ‘ what is the meaning of that ?’ CHAPTER XX. A FEARFUL RIDE. A DULL, increasing roar, like the moaning of the Indian Sea, when the cyclone is being born, struck the ears of the whites, all of whom paused in their conversation and listened, wondering what it meant. The horses showed signs of restlessness and fear, but they were held sternly in check, while the riders bent all their faculties into that of hearing; and by a common instinct, every eye was turned toward Lightning Jo, as if inquiring of him an explanation of the strange sound. What the scout mou can Only be conjectured; but there was a scared look upon his face that gave ‘all the most gloomy forebodings, and they awaited | tion whence they his words and actions with an intensity of anxiety that can scarcely be described. The roar, which now drowned every other sound, was like that made by the approaching train, and it had that awful element of terror which comes over one when he feels that a peril is bearing swiftly down upon him from which there is no Hy oe ““Onto your hosses, every one of you! t *em loose from the wagons, and don’t wait a minute!” The voice of Lightning Jo rung out like a trumpet and was obeyed on the instant, while by another im- perious command of his, the women and children were taken upon the backs of the animals in front of the hunters. Quickly as all this was done, it was not a moment too soon. In reply to the questioning looks of his friends, the scout pointed up the ravine in the direc- ad come. At first sight, there seemed to be a mass of dis- colored snow spinning down the cafion; but the next moment all knew that it was the foam and spray of water, rushing down upon them with the impetuos- ity of a Niagara. “Hold fast!’ called out Jo; “but there’s no use trying to ao it!’ ven while the words were in his mouth, the ap- palling torrent came upon them! There was a pene dash of spray and mist, and then every horse, with its rider, was carried as quick as a flash off his feet, and shot down the cafion like a meteor. Egbert Rodman, the moment he realized the na- ture of the danger, reached forward and caught the hand of Lizzie Manning, intending to place her upon the horse, in front of him, as many of the other scouts had done; but ere he could accomplish the transfer, the shock was upon them, and in the stun- ning, thc yee | crash, he was only sensible of go- ing forward with tremendous velocity, down the cafion, among his friends, who were all impelled on- yard by the same resistless force, that made them, for the time, like bits of driftwood heaped in the vortex of the great maelstrom. ‘** Lizzie! where are you?” he called out in his ag- ony, groping blindly about him in the tornado of mist, and driftwood, and water; ‘“‘reach out your hand that I may save you!” He heard something like an wesrighce ge ng but in the rush and whirl, he could not tell the direction nor the point whence it came; and had he known that — a half-dozen feet separated them, it was no more in his power to pass the chasm than it was for him to turn and make headway against the chute that was carrying everything before it with an in- conceivable velocity. It would be impossible to describe the yep scenein the cafion. Those who lived to tell it, in af- ter years, shuddered at its recollection and declared that its terror was greater than any through which they had ever passed. The little group who sat wait- ing and conversing upon their horses had scarcely been caught up and shot forward, when the gloom of the se obras 3 night deepened to that of the most intense, in lacknests so that no man, speak- ing literally, could have seen his hand before his ace. It would have made no difference had it been high noon, so far as the question of helping themselves was concerned, although it might have lessened in some degree that shuddering, shivering dread that possessed all, under the expectation every moment of being dashed to fragments against the projecting rocks, or crushed by the debris that was carried tu- multuously forward in the rush and whirl of waters. ** Stick to your hosses, and take thangs easy /”” The voice of Lightning Jo seemed to come from a —— a thousand yards away—whether above or be- ow could not be told by the sound; but all knew that he was somewhere in the torrent, and there was something reassuring in the sound of his ringir voice in this general pandemonium of disaster anc death. It encouraged more than one despairing and helpless, and they clung the more tightly and took some courage and hope. ** Jo, can rs hear my voice?’ called out Egbert Rodman, with the whole strength of his lungs. - i reckon vg A cope a oe eee vo nl ‘**Tell me, then, whether you have Lizzie. w th you, or whether you know where she is.” **No; can’t tell; thought you and her were - er. We'll fetch up somewhere purty soon—daylight come in the course of a week—and then we'll hunt for each other. No use till then—so you keep your mouth shet, and look out that you don’t get your head cracked.” These seemed heartless words to Egbert; but they were really dictated by prudence and common sense, and he acted upon the advice, so far as it con- cerned the questioning of the scout. The mustang of our young friend was swimm as well as he could down the chute, stri only to yt amnng afloat, His body was benieat tte wa- , ose and head only appearing above, p to this time Egbert had maieeaiaed his place upon his back, sinking of course to the armpits; but when he heard the w words of Lightning Jo, he under- stood how the projecting point of some jagged rock might pass over his animal's head, and crush his own. Accordingly he quietly slipped back over the ani- mal’s haunches, and submerging himself to his ears held on to the tail of the animal, in a position of egy Lager 3 — thing as —— aa be namec ; ce e party caught e tor- rent in the cafion. y 5 y Egbert had scarcely adopted this precautionary measure, When he had reason to thank Lightning Jo for the timely warning. Something grazed the top of his head, like the whiz of a cannon-ball, proving with what amazing velocity he was shooting down the cafion. “How can any one get out of this horrible place alive?’ was the question he asked, as he realized the narrowness of his escape. ‘‘ We must all be shatter- ed to pieces before going much further. Ah!—”’ Just then a wild cry rung out above the din and roar of the waters—the cry of a strong manin his last agony. Driven as if by a columbiad against some flinty projection, he had only time to make the shriek as the breath was driven from his body. As this spinning downward through the chasm continued for several moments, Egbert endeavored to collect his senses and to think more clearly upon his terrible position. He was morally certain that a number of the party had already lost their lives, and a twinge of anguish shot through his heart as he reflected upon the fe- males and the tender children exposed to this peril- ous warof elements. And then, too, the wagon con- taining the remains of those who had fought so gal- lantly in Dead Man’s Gulch—what a ghastly fate had overtaken them! It seemed, indeed, as if na- ture had joined with man in heaping unimagined horrors upon the heads of the weak and defenseless, and that nothing remained but to await shudder- ingly the fate that could not be postponed much onger, But amid the rack and turmoil and swirl of the cafion, the thought of his beloved Lizzie Manning would present itself, and he could not help wonder- ing, a ad fearing and hoping all in the same reath. Was she living, and had she survived the ordeal uninjured up to this time? Or had her gentle na- ture succum at the first shock? She had proven herself a heroine in Dead Man’s Gulch, and was she equal to this? If still living, hcw much longer could she bear the strain upon her system? But ere Egbert Rodman could conjecture any re- plies to these questions, he was called uponto make a still more desperate fight for his own life. His mustang, encountering some obstruction made such a sudden, furious plunge, that his tail ‘ was drawn from the loose grasp of Egbert, who, aiming tc renew it, clutched vaguely in the darkness and was unable to reach his faithfulanimal. He could hear him floundering and neighing close at hand, but there was no use of attempting to reach him, and he called to the horse, in the hope that he would succeed in making his way to him; but he was disappointed in this also, for the noise of the strug- ny speedily ceased, and he concluced that the faith- ul animal was dead. Rather curiously the young man had clung to his rifle ever since he was caught by the water tornado, and now that he was somewhat cooler and more collected, he resolved that nothing but ‘death should them part.’’ It was troublesome to swim with it grasped in one hand, but he was quite able to doit,where the current possessed such extraordi- nary velocity, and he moved forward with little ef- fort on his part. All this passed in a tenth part of the time taken by us in writing it, and Egbert Rodman had scarcely gee aconnected idea of what was going on,when e made the discovery that the channel through which he had been dashed was widening and consid- erably decreasing. The deafening crash that had been in his ears from the moment he was carried off his feet, now sunk to a dull noise, proving that he had emerged from the cafion, and was floating over what might be termed a lakc—caused, undoubtedly, by the widening of the pass through which Light- ning Jo had attempted to guide the little party, with its two wagons, With this pene ig” of the comparative calmness of the water, came, for the first time, something like returning hope to Egbert Rodman, who, feeling con- fident ~ ovgpy ae, a a comes on a ~ great distance, began swimming forw re ; so as to avoid being carried around in a nla Ay Of course such a basin as this must have an outlet as well as an inlet, and it was his purpose to prevent himself being carried away into another cafion, from which it was hardly possible to make such an escape over again. required severe effort, but happily it was ac- complished sooner than was expected. e€ swim- ming vigorously forward, his feet touched bottom, and although searcely able to maintain his foothold, = by using arms and legs and grasping some ranches that brushed his face, he succeeded in drawing himself out upon land, and found himself free from the flood. “Saved at last, and thank God for it!’’ was his fer- vent ejaculation. ‘“‘ But what of the rest?—what of ee and children? and Lizzie—where can she All was of inky darkness about him, and he hardly dared to move for fear of lunging himself into some inextricable pitfall. = y feeling every foot of the way as he advanced, did he manage to get away from the immediate neighborhood of the and rush of waters. Sinking down upon his knees, he crept along for some distance in this manner, until, as near as he could judge, he was in a sort of valley or ravine, much broader than the one in which he and his friends had been overwhelmed by the flood, and which seemed to have escaped the rush of water that had been driven through that. Finding that it remained comparatively level, he finally rose to his feet again and advanced with more speed, but at the same time, with the caution due such a critical situation, The wind was still blowing with a desolate, wail- ing sound, but the rain had ceased entirely; and the night, pitchy dark and cold, could not hive been more desolate and cheerless. - Halloa!” suddenly exclaimed the astonished Egbert, “yonder is a light as sure as the world! cS ComiGcneo (E(@)