Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 886 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

me cs - aie + —— a ie - a a a — ~ ho o a -. eh . wf x ee. —— — -_ “a niga F = _~. a tas Old Disaster, the Border Nomad. 8 ‘(He war an honest-actin’ young feller. He kem ter these ’ar hills ter s’arch fer his sweet- heart, who, sum thort, war murdered in the Red Canyon massacre wi’ her father an’ mother, 1 tell ye, Stokes, it c’w’dn’t ’a’ been him!” ‘*Tnen, who wasit? Isat down at the foot of that tree on guard, but, being very sleepy, final- ly lost my sensesinslumber. How long i slept id cannot tell; but, suddenly I awoke. By the dying firelight 1 saw the knife in Junardo’s breast. I sprung upand aroused you. Wefind Sherman gone and Junardo murdered. What are we to think!” Again Disaster shook his head. He was not ready to believe Sherman guilty, yet he knew not what to think. ‘* The knife may tell us something,” continued Stokes, as he picked upa blazing brand and held it so that the light fell upon the haft of the wea- pon. ‘* Look atit close, old man!” . The old ranger kneeled and gazed searchingly atthe tell-tale knife. <A despairing groan broke from his lips. ‘¢ Sword o’ Goliath!” ‘* What is it?” eagerly demanded Stokes. ‘‘Tt’s ther boyee’s knife!’ admitted the old man. ‘‘ Hyer’s his initials on ther handle,” ‘*That is proof enough. There is no doubt now but that Sherman is the muxderer,” , “I'm afeard not, I hav’ been deceived by therlad. But, what in ther name 0’ ther pow- ers did he kill Junardo fer?” ‘*That is a mystery; .1 cannot explain it,” Then the two men were silent as they gazed steadily at the motionless form at their feet. The fire flared unsteadily, and strange gro- tesque shadows seemed flitting here and there amid the pines. The wind moaned plaintively overhead. Soft footsteps were moving along the ground near at hand, ard many of the sha- dows assumed the forms of Indian warriors, half a score of whom seemed to float out of the darkness beyond the circle of light made by the camp-fire. Then the night-air was rent by the war-cry of ‘the Sioux! Stokes and Disaster were surrounded by dead- ly foes, Anechoing yell burst from the lips of the old man as he seized his rifle and fired a single shot. Then, round and round his head swept the heavy weapon, as he sprung into the midst of his savage foes. ‘¢ Howlin’, tearin’ tomcats!” he shouted. **Ther varmints are upon us! Wake, tornadoes an’ blizzards, an’ let yerselves loose! Ho,smoky skins! ye hav’run ag’in’ er reg’ler ragin’ disas~ ter. Pileinter’em, Stokesy;show’em ther kind o’ stuff ye’r’ made of! Power o’ ole Goliath! w’at er blessed picnic!” The heavy rifle swept down the Indians as if they were blades of grass. Howls of surprise and dismay came from their throats. With one accord they turned their attention toward Dis- aster, and, regardless of the old man’s peril, Stokes fled away through the pines, Disaster witnessed the coward’s flight, and yelled after him: ‘+o, you measly cur! Hoof it, you chicken- hearted coot! Don’t bother ’bout me; Ole Dis- aster kin took care o’ hisself,” And for a few minutes he did seem fully a match for his many foes, but they pressed him closer and closer, feeming determined not to hurt him, but to make him acaptive, But the reckless old borderman was wonderfully hard ‘to capture. : Hold hard, ye dirty varmints!” he shouted. “Don’t press a feller too close. I never c’u’d stan’ it to hav’ er smoky-skin very near. Stan’ off! stan’ off, I say, or sum’ o’ ye will wear cracked heads, Jeewhiz! what atime this is! Whangho! most assuredly so!” Suddenly a sbrill yell near at hand electrified the combatants. The next instant a wild-ap- pearing man dashed among the astounded red- skins, hurling them to the right and left like so many children, His head was bare and his lon white hair fell upon his shoulders. His bear was also long and white. Halting in the midst of the amazed serie bet the strange man threw his hands above his hea and instantly a sheet of red flame seemed to leap from his clinched fists and overhang the heads of the cowering Indians. Uttering yells of terror, the panic-stricken Sioux fled into the darkness; pursued by a burst ef almost maniacal laughter. , ‘Flee, unhallowed miscreants!” cried the mysterious man, in a full, thrilling voice. ‘¢Flee from the just vengeance of an avenging ‘God! The blood of your age victims cries to heaven for vengeance, and the wrath of the Most High cannot be long delayed!” ' Then, without appearing to notice Old Disas- a ene ee ee + ter, the strange man advanced to the side of the motionless Junardo, Stooping, he gazed sharp- ly into the man’s face, then he placed one hand upon Junardo’s breast beneath the blanket. A moment later he uttered a subdued exclama- tion, and stooping swiftly, lifted the body in his arms, Turning, he strode away into the dark- ness, bearing the strange burden with him, ‘Ghost o’ ole Goliath!” gasped Old Disaster. ‘*That’s jest w’at knocks me eendwise, Waal, I sh’u'd segashiate! Who in ther uname o’ sin war thet?” But the old man found him3elf unable to an- swer his own question. ‘*1’'m goin’ ter foller yer, mer jolly ole Injin terror!” he added. ‘I'll trail ye to yer hole, or until ye drap thet corpus,”’ And, like a shadow, Old Disaster glided away in the footsteps of the stranger. With the noiseless tread of a panther he glided among the trees, keeping so near the fleeing man that he was almost wholly guided by the sounds of his heavy tread. Ten minutes carried them beyond the timber, but still the pursued and pursuer pressed on, until two miles at least were traversed ; then the mysterious man plunged into the mouth of a narrow ravine that Jed downward. The trailer persisted in the pursuit, Onward they went like two shadows, but, as they continued, the shadows grew denger, until— How it happened Old Disastar could never tell, but, suddenly, the man he was following vanished as completely asif He had sunk into the earth! AS PEL CHAPTER III. ; THE MYSTERIES OF DISMAL GORGE, Far down within a narrow ravine within the very heart of the hilis, three venturesome miners had’ found a deserted cabin, the open door of whieh swung slowly back and forth be- fore the wind that sucked through the com- ressed gorge, The ravine was a dismal place, indeed, and the ghostly, repellent look about the old hut actually caused the three men to sbiver when they first perceivedit. But, they were all brave fellows, and, after examining the place, resolved to spend the night there. Within twenty rods of the deserted cabin they found. several partially rotten sluice- boxes, LE VOSGIER HOR revealed the fact that they had stumbled upon a paying placer, which, at some time, had been worked, Whether the original discoverers had been driven away or murdered by the Indians, was an unanswerable question; but, it was apparent that something of a very imperative nature had caused them to ceaso working their discovery. The three miners decided that they had struck the place to secure the fortune for which they were in quest. They took possession of the cabin, repaired the sluices, and began work, At the end of the first day’s labor, they found that they had secured more ‘‘dust” and tiny nuggets than they had expected to obtain. Their names were Eben Stone, Jabez Cobb and Justin Jackwood., Stone was a grizzled veteran of the California excitement, when fortunes were made and lost in a single day. He was a quaint, weather- tanned old man, who looked asif he bad been beaten and tossed by life’s severest storms, In truth, he had experienced many of the *‘ ups and downs” of life, for he spoke truthfully when he declared that no less tinan three times had he been the possessor of a fortune, But, Eben Stone was not the kind of a man who could endure Pigs Early in life he had become inured to hardships, and asserted that he actually could not endure a life of luxury and plenty. His three fortunes had vanished almost as swiftly as they had been ob. tained, and now the restless old prospector found himself eagerly searching for a fourth. Cobb was also a mainer, one Who had been on the very crest of the tidal-wave that swept to- ward Pike’s Peak during the first wild rush just after rich gold discoveries in that vicinity were made known. He was a rugged man, very stout, but decidedly slow of movement. When he spoke, his words were uttered in a lazy, drawling manner, not unpleasant to the ear, which seemed to tell of a good-natured, peace- loving soul. ; He had not been as lucky as Stone in the way of securing fortunes, but, having once secured enough to place him in comfortable circum- stances for life, Jabez was'a man who would settle down and enjoy his competence. He had none of the restless, unstable spirit which char- acterized Stone. Justin Jackwood was a young man; just what his age was was hard to determine. He was surely more than twenty, and less than thirty; but the full, brown beard which he wore either made him look older or younger than he was, He was a compactly-built fellow of medium hight, and with his great strength was also united the quickness of a panther, In feats cf strength Jabez Cobb would have been morethan a match for Jackwood; but,in a rough-and- tumble struggle, Jack wood would have been the better man, Jack wood’s companions knew little of his early life. That he was well-educated and refined was apparent, but he was strangely reticent concerning himself, In fact, there was a mys- terious something about tbe young man which impressed those who associated with him, At times he would be moody and silent, scarcely speaking fora day ortwo. He acted asif trou~ bled by some unpleasant memory. The three miners gave the lonely ravine an appropriate name—Dismal Gorge. But little cared they hgw dismal the place was as long as the placer continued to yield its valuable depos- its liberally. | The day after their discovery of the deserted cabin, while they were eating their dinner, they were startled by what seemed to be a heavy but muffled explosion, and, strange to tell, the sound seemed to come from beneath their very feet! They looked at each other in amaze- ment. ‘* What war thet?” demanded Stone. ‘* Ask me sumpthin’ easy,” drawled Cobb. Jackwood started up and went to the door. In vain he scanned the strip of blue sky to be seen above, Nvuta cloud was visible. ‘* it sounded like a heavy powder explosion; still it might have been thunder,” he said, ‘* There is not a cloud overhead, but of course I cannot scan the horizon, Thunder-storms arise with remarkable swiftness among the Hills,” ‘*Thet warn’t no thunder,” asserted Cobb, ‘‘Not much!” Stone agreed. ‘‘I felt ther groun’shake, Itstruck me more like an ’arth- quake.” ‘*The sound did seem to come from below,” Jackwood admitted; ‘‘ but, we may have been deceived,” ‘*It sounded ter me like er heavy’splosion undergroun’,” averred the old miner, ‘‘ I hev hev heerd sech soun’s fore now, often,” ** Tt did sound like er blast,” admitted Cobb, ‘** But thet don’t explain it, by any means.” ** Well, ’m not going to lose my dinner while I puzzle over it,” laughed Jackwood. That very day, just as they ceased working at dusk, they heard the sound again. There came a sullen, heavy rumble apparently from beneath their feet, accompanied by a slight but percep- tible jarring. The three men gazed into each other’s faces in amazement, ‘** There!” exclaimed Jackwood; ‘‘ what do you make out of that?” Cobb shook his head, while the old Californian looked decidedly uneasy, ‘*It knocks nt,” he declared. blamed ole hole ar’ ha’nted,” ‘Ob, cum now,’’drawled Jabez, ‘‘ you don’t go fer ter take any stock in ha’nts?” The miner looked offended. ‘*P’r’"aps I don’t,” he said, shortly. “**1’m er pritty ole man an’ I’ve see’d er few things door- in’my ’arthly career, sum o’ which no mortal man kin account fer. There are some ’tarnal queer things as sumtimes take place. Who knows but ther ’rig’nal diskiverers o’ this place was druv away by suthin’ connected by these very soun’s as we’ve heerd?” The others did not reply, They were quite mystified, but were not inclined to attribute the sounds they had héard to any supervatural cause, Stone was inclined to be ‘‘set”in bis convictions, and the more they opposed the idea of the sounds being of ghostly origin the firmer became his belief that they were, s But they were soon confronted by another mystery. , Once or twice in the silent hours of the night they thought they heard the sounds of stealthy footsteps moving near the cabin, More than once Jackwood arose and investigated, but found nothing. One night they were all simultaneously aroused by the sharp hoof-strokes of a gallop- ing horse, as it dashed past the caliin. With one accord thev sat up, then Cobb sprung tothe trap-window, flung it open and peered out into the darkness. He saw nothing. Cautioning biscompanions to remain silent, he listened and heard the hoof-strokes of a horse dying cutin the distance up the ravine, The miners now became a trifle excited and ‘*P’r’aps this alarmed. Cobb and Jackwood believed that they .” comicbook