Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 823 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

burning in his eyes. And sucha face! and such eyes! Mahomet, ‘‘ and the yaller-maned boy give him the miasma squar’ atwixt the peepers. But, Scarcely more than twenty years of age could | may’r, who'd ’a’ thought Injuns war ’bout these this new-comer have been. medium in hight, broad-shouldered, deep-chest- ed, with muscular limbs and small extremities, the ideal of physical manhkocd. But, still more remarkable was his face, which was devoid of beard; slightly oval in contour, with a high and noble forehead, a fairly prominent nose, and a mouth expressive of firmness and decision. His eyes were of a dark blue, keen and bright, but nervous and sweeping in their glances as the eyes of one accustomed to eternal vigilance—not | the vigilance of the hunted fugitive—but like that of the noble buck that instinctively suspects the presence of danger at ali times, whetber wandering in the grassy vale or traversing the gloomy wind-carving of the mountains, still another striking feature of this youth | was his hair, It wasof a light golden hue such | as is seldom seen except upon the heads of chil- dren, It was tossed back from brow and tem- ple, and fell liko yellow, silken floss to his shoulders, givin s a softening effect to the pecu- liarly rugged yet handsome face, every linea- ment of which seemed to have been the develop- ment of a single life-purpose combining manly courage, fearless determination and heroic pa- tience, bein He was dressed as a mountaineer, his trowsers, over-shirt and moccasins being of buckskin, A light, blue flannel undershirt lay open at the collar, revealing a smooth yet strong neck, across which ran, just above the Adam’s apple, a horrible red scar, He was armed with a handsome repeating- rifle, a knife and revolver. Around his waist was a belt filled with fixed ammunition, for both rifle and revolver, Thus appeared Silent Saul, the Young Moun- tain Patrol, as he wasknown to Pilgrims’ Bar, as the other camps of the ‘Silver Belt,” and the Mormon settlements furthernorth. Beyond his name, little was really known of him more than that he was speechless—dumb—a misfortune that must have been the result of accident, for 5 hearing was as acute as that of the mountain As no one could obtain from him a single word regarding the cause of his loss of speech, or of his bistory, many were the conjectures in regard to him. Some believed he was simply a hunter, whose striking appearance and voice- less lips had surrounded him with anair of mys- tery. Some regarded him as an avenging Nemesis, whose incentive lay in ‘the silence of his tongue and the red «csr across his throat; while others suspected Li:n of being a spy and scout of the Danites, or of the outlaws under the leadership of the daring, dashing bandit, Revenue Bill, But, as no proof of his having been, in any way, connected with evil-doers, was ever brought against him, and as he always conduct- ed himself with a manly dignity and honor in keeping with his frank, open countenance, he was kindly received and entertained in all the mining-camps that he occasionally visited. Knowing that Silent Saul had slain the maid- en’s would-be abductor, and observing the in- quiring look upon his face that his silent tongue could not put into words as he came up, Old Mahomet, who had discovered that the girl had not been hit by his bullet, exclaimed: ‘¢ Well done, Saul! The gal’s only seared and slightly stunned by her fall! Come forward and receive the eternal thanks o’ Pilgrims’ Bar, you yaller- haired glory — you magnificent whooper!” A faint smile lighted up the faco of the Young Mountain Patrol, and with a wavo of the hand and bow of the head he acknowledged Maho- met’s compliment, Assisted by Mayor Bloom the maiden arose to her feet, gazing in confusion and affright about her. Her eyes met those of Silent Saul for the first time, and as a light of admiration shone from their depths, and a tinge of red suffused her face, she said: ‘*'You are the gentleman who so kindly res- cued me?” Silent Saul touched his hat and answered with a nod of the head. ** Miss Idyl,” remarked Old Mahomet, *‘ Silent | Saul is dumb ;—he cannot speak.” An expression of pain flitted over the maiden’s lovely face. She saw Saul take a small tablet from his pocket and begin to write thereon. we he had finished he handed the tablet to er, Bloom and Mahomet examined the face of the fallen foe, who lay a few feet away. ** An’ Ingin, by jumpin’ Jacobins!” exclaimed He was above the | diggin’s? The lopin’ varlet has follered tho gal here, and, while we war toiletin’ ourselves up and takin’ lessonsin ettikette, the sly devil stole into camp and got the gal right under our pro- bosises; and if it hadn’t been for Yaller-lop she’d been lost, soul and body.” ** Well, there’s one thing certain,” Bloom an- | swered, ‘‘and thatis—we may look out for fur- lg EE der troubles from the red-skins, There’s more than this one’round in these hills, and they’ll not give— Ah! horsemen are coming now!” The clatter of hoofs fell upon their ears, The next moment two masked men galloped into view around a point of rocks that were thrust sharply out into the valley, and with re- volvers in their right hands opened fire on the miners at a distance ot twenty rods, ** Mormon avengers! or outlaws!” yelled Ma- | homet,:‘‘ and they’re after the gal or blood! Boys, let’s warm ’em up with lead—fill ’em full!’ But, he had scarcely finished speaking before Silent Saul had stepped from the crowd around him, threw his rifle to his shoulder, and fired, One of the masked horsemen was seen to throw up his arms the instant the rifle cracked; his revolver fell from his hand, he reeled in his saddle and would have fallen had his companion not caught him about the waist, dragged him from his saddle to @ position across his horse's withers, then turned and beat an inglorious re- treat to shelter behind the point of rocks, as ra- pidly as he had come, Silent Saul was greeted by a ringing shout from the miners, as he coolly turned and walked back to where they stood, But, when the ex- citement had abated, and it was discovered that two of the crowd had been wounded by the bul- lets of the masked horsemen, the miners’ joy turned to the wildest indignation. The maiden was immediately escorted back to Bloom’s cabin, and, to make sure that an- other surprise might not'occur, two men armed pi rifles were placed on guard outside the oor. Another meeting was held at the City Hall and the state of affairs discussed. Thatthe two masked horsemen were whites, and confederates of the von red-skin, there seemed little doubt; but, whether all three were outlaws, or merely the tools of Mormonism, they knew not. The facts, however, they concluded, could be ascertained from the maiden, for it was from those very men she had doubtless sought the protection of the camp. A visit to tbe girl was finally decided upon, and Mayor Bloom and the voluble Mahomet se- lected as the party to hold the interview. But, much tothe surprise of all, when Bloom was ready to start on his mission, Mahomet was found missing, nor could he be foundanywhere, high or low, in the camp! That did it mean? It was easy to ask the hacer ah but no one could answer it. Some thought it a little singular that he should leave them as he did at_that critical time, but the more outspoken declared that it looked decided- ly suspicious. CHAPTER ITI, THE LONE NIGHT SCOUT. Tne disappearance of Mahomet caused no little excitement in camp, and delayed the in- terview with the maiden. Some thought he would soon return and account for his absence. It was nothing unusual for him to wander off alone day or night; but it was leaving at that particular time, when all was excitement, that disturbed them. Silent Saul finally announced that he would go outin search of the absent man, and at the sam 3 time reconnoiter the surrounding hillsand woods. He seemed to suspect the presence of enemies in force somewhere about. Taking his departure, he proceeded down the gulch to the Virgin River,a mile from camp, up which stream he turned his foosteps, Briskly he walked along, his form erect, his keen eyes taking in everything around him, his golden hair, as he turned his head, seeming to emit flashes of mellow sunlight. Silent as his voice were his footsteps, and so sprightly that he soon found himself three or four miles from camp. By this time theysun had gone and the day was near its end, Darkness found the Young Patrol near a great whirlpool in the river known there- abouts as the ‘* Devil’s Stew-Kettle.” It was at a point where the river made as bend, The water, after sweeping with great velocity silent Saul, the Young: Mountain Patrol. ee ee ee eC eae rr $$ a down a rocky inclination, shot over a fall of six @rcight feet high into agreat stone-walled basin with a sullen roar. At that season of the year the volume of wa- ter in the Virgin River was reduced to a mini- mum, yet the pool was none the less noisy—bcil- ing, swirling, babbting and gurgling as though it held in its embrace a dozen writhing, strang- ling demons, Yor a moment Silent Saul stood and gazed in- to the angry flood, and listened to the medley of the strange sounds, Finally he turned to depart, As he did so, he started, stopped and glanced over his shoulder. He heard @ peculiar sound—a choking cough. It seemed to come from the depths of the whirlpool; but upon reflection the Young Patrol conceived how easy it was, with a slight stretch of the imagination, to hear any soundof distress and turmoil in the angry waters, and so dismissing the matter from his mind, he went on his way, The course the young mountaineer took lay through a body of heavy timbers, and as night had now set in, the darkness was intense, However, the youth moved on, slowly, cautious- ly, until his ears were assailed by a faint sound, when he stopped and listened. The sound was repeated, and it seemed to bea human groan, and looking in the direction whence it proceeded, he discerned the faint glow of a light. Concealing his rifle and cartridge-belt, he crept cautiously toward the light, revolver in hand. He soon came in full view of three or feur camp-fires, around which were seated, standing and reclining, no less than two-score men, Creeping still closer—so close that he could hear the men talk, he was enabled to make out the complexion of the party, or some of it, at any rate, | tt was an easy matter to distinguish ‘the pres- ence of half-a-dozen red-skins who were dressed in full Indian garbs, except that they wore hats, Besides these, and a few Mexicans, all the others wore white men, so to speak, Few of them were dressed alike. The garb of the miner, the ranchero, the mountaineer, the bandit and the Mormon ‘‘disciple” was represented in the crowd. Having ascertained this much, the nxt thing to determine was the character of the party. All were heavily armed. A wounded man lay upon the ground near one of the fires, everand anon breaking forth into groans of pain. One of the most conspicuous of the party Silent Saul finally recognized as one ‘* Bishop” Darral, a prominent Mormon reeling some forty or fifty miles to the northward, He was not, in reality, a “ ging go but was so-called, for he was a bright and shining light of the Church, hated by the Gentiles, and feared by his friends. He was past fifty years of age, with a tall muscular form, a bearded face, and cold, cruel gray eyes, around which were gathered the deep, hard lines so characteristic of a passionate and violent temper. Another person of note whom Silent Saul rec- ognized was none other than, the bandit chief Revenue Bill, That he and * Bishop” Darra should affiliate was not at all surprising to many Gentiles, for the opinion had long pre- vailcd that Revenue Bill was an agent of the Mormon Church, and that the *‘ collections” he took up among the Gentiles were for the benefit of that institution. But be that as it may, Revenue Bill’s mode of robbery was different, somewhat, from that of most outlaws. He would descend upon the out- lying camps when least expected—and it seemed he had agents at every camp to notify him of the most favorable time to call—take the miners off their guard, make a demand for a certain amount of wealth—never in excess of tho amount on hand--and on obtaining it quietly depart for new fields, Naturally enough, the miners became en- raged, and prepared to give the dashing bandit a warm reception the next time he came, But, Bill was shrewd enough never to call at the same place the second time, for as new mines were being almost daily opened up, his source of revenue was unlimited, even though he made but one ** assessment” on a place. The wounded man in camp Saul felt confident was one of the masked horsemen he had shot that evening near Pilgrims’ Bar, and if so, he realized that a great danger hung over the camp, It ht kt have been merely accident’ that threw ‘‘ Bishop” Darral and his friends into tha = ——