Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 939 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

* appeared above the rim of the basin, and, although the shot was by moonlight, it emptied a saddle, and the riderless pony came plunging beg bank into the sink almost on top of Ban ead, The next instant the battle was on in good earnest. Desert Dan’s skill as a revolver shot now stood him in good hand, and, although Ben and Frank had never before heard a shot fired in anger, they bore themselves with the coolness of veterans, and poured a steady fire into the foe from their Winchesters, The outlaw gang was undoubtedly as greatly surprised as the party attacked. They had evi- dently counted upon striking terror to the hearts of the four men by the boldness of their attack and the odds they would display, and thereby gain a bloodless victory. But when at least half a dozen of the foremost saddles were emptied in a moment almost, and the horses thus made riderless flew off on a tan- gent, the ranks became confused, and a panic would have ensued but for the courage and cool- ness of the outlaw leader, who rallied his men and ordered them to charge down upon the foe in their stronghold. At once three or four horsemen came plung- ing forward and leaped their horses down into the sink, forcing the four defenders to retreat to the opposite side. Ina moment more the whole band was crowd- ing into the basin. In hopes of saving his horse from falling into the enemy’s hands, Desert Dan stopped to cut the animal’s lariat, This delay roved a sad thing for the brave boy, for before e could rejoin his friends he was seized by ott dozen strong hands and borne to the earth. Forced from the sink, old Tom and his two young friends dashed into aclump of sage-brush, where they turned and blazed away at those who attempted to follow. Then they ran on, dodging from the cover of one clump to another, firing as they retreated, and with such fatal effect that the pursuit was finally relinquished and the three were permitted to escape for the time being. The possession of the coveted black stallion and the capture of Desert Dan had cost them dearly, and they had no desire to add-more to 0 dead-list, by pursuing the three fugitives then. The greatest excitement prevailed in and around that sink for the next ten minutes, and it was all that the outlaw leader could do to re- strain his savage followers from braining the defiant Saddle Prince. Finally the boy was placed in charge of two outlaws, while Captain Sangre and Swift- Wing took possession of Black Robber, who, as the result of the late excitement, began to mani- fest some of his old wild spirit. Swift-Wing was a renegade chief of the out- law Apaches, and a sort of lieutenant of the Desert Pirates. It was he who led the band which had pursued Desert Dan up the canyon that day. After the boy had escaped on the wild horse he had followed him on into the desert, an arrived at Spring Basin a few minutes after Kit Bandy—J ead—had stolen away from camp to aid Ben and Frank. The two villains seemed as eager to the black stallion as Old Kit Bandy or Don de Vaca, They examined him closely, and each of bis shoulders they rubbed and pinched until they had the animal half-frantic. ‘‘There’s not a blemish on him,” Captain e finally declared, in a tone that seemed full of disappointment, ‘*‘ No; there’s never been a knife in his shoul- der,” added the outlaw’s lieutenant, Swift- Wing, ‘‘and I’m nnin’ to sus that Hualpa Jose’s been workin’ us—that the Carlita Bond story is all gammon for some purpose of that shrewd scamp.” ‘‘That may not be the horse,” Sangre said; ‘Sin fact, itisp’t, We have no assurance that the black colt released by Horace Mead ever bé- came a wild horse, and, if it did, it would now be fourteen years old, and this animal is nota day over six or seven years old. We're on the wrong trail, Swifty, as well as some other peo- ean ut, the next thing to find out is, what has rought Desert Dan from away up North to this country to catch Black Robber. It may be there is a third or fourth party after the secret to the lost mines of Trinchera. The two villains walked over to where Desert Dan stood under guard and began to ply him with questions, but the young Saddle Prince stubbornly refused to answer a single question, nor could they coerce him with threats. Finally preparations for returning to Spring 1 Basin were made, Desert Dan’s hands were securely tied at his back, and then a hideous- looking little Mexican, who had been wounded severely, if not mortally, in the fight, was stood up bebind the boy and securely lashed to his back by means of a lariat wound around and around the bodies of each from hip to shoulder, The Mexican, being half a head shorter than Dan, brought his basilisk eyes just above the young ranch-rider’s shoulders. Thus firmly lashed together, Dan and the Mexican were lifted from the ground and placed astride of Black Robber with the injunction to ‘*huy on” or ‘tumble off ” at the risk of break- ing their necks, slack Robber objected to the double burden placed upon him and endeavored to dislodge it; but a half-dozen Desert Pirates had hold of the lariat, and the poor brute was again forced to succumb and be Jed away with its two riders. At every step of the horse the wounded Mexi- can uttered a groan, and, as his throat was half- filled with blood, the sound was anything but pleasant in Desert Dan’s ears. As they moved away, the young Prince’s mind reverted to Jaguar Head—Kit Bandy—and he wondered what had become of the great detect- ive and why he had not exerted his boasted influence to stay the Pirates attack upon them, Moving up to where the outlaws first balted, and where a few persons were still standing, the Boy Prince was ost struck dumb by the sight that met his gaze, Standing erect upon the ground, with his hands tied before him, his head-dress torn from his head, a dead eer strapped upon his shoul- ders, was Kit andy, the Mountain De- tective! ‘* Behold!” exclaimed on Sangre, with a tragic air, pointing to the old man, and address- ing Desert Dan, ‘‘how the mighty have fallen! But a few minutes ago he boasted to you in the hearing of Long-Ears, my scout and spy, that he was of royal blood and mighty power! But Jaguar Head, the Great, has fallen! In- stead of the great Mescalero, you see Old Kit mare f the Cunning, about to begin his death- march to Spring Basin!” CHAPTER XII. LASHED TO A CORPSE, A MOMENTARY halt was made where Kit Bandy stood, shorn of all his power as a chief and subjected to the humiliation and disgrace o bearing upon his shoulders the corpse of an apes warrior that had fallen in the conflict. o Desert Dan the situation was not prom- ising. With Old Rattler and his two young friends adrift on the desort, afoot, no assistance could be expected of them. pink Dales the youth’s mind reverted to the , Sulita, : ‘* Who was she? and where did she reside?” he asked himself over and overagain, There was still before him on Black Robber the lariat she had given him—positive proof of her material existence, But, what was the mystery surround- ing her? hen the order to march was finally given by Captain Sangre, the return to Spring Basin began; but Black Robber had taken but a few steps when an outlaw with a cactus-thorn pricked the animal in the flank, and with a snort he shot forward, ange Rags lariat through the hands of those leading , and aJmost un- seating Dan and the Mexican tied to him; but, clasping the body of his horse with his limbs, the dle Prince held his position, and Black Rubber, now fired with new life and strength, dashed away with a sudden burst of furious e. | Fie was the wild stallion again! The Desert Pirates started in pursuit, some yelling like mad and a few firing their revolvers “ys of which added tothe speed of the madden orse. Away like the wind—with all his old-time speed went the stallion, leaving the pursuing outlaws far behind, Not only had he had rest enough to get his second wind, but he seemed to have gone mad. Desert Dan sat helpless upon the horse’s back, the wounded Mexican uttering feeble groans and cries at every bound. Dan could speak and that was all, but his words of kindness now seemed to fall unheeded by the flying animal, — The Mexican’s arms and hands hung free at his side, but Dan could not prevail upon the fel- low to unfasten his fetters. In fact, the wound- ed wretch’s bead rolled about upon his shoulders in a manner that alarmed the boy. He was growing weak and helpless from the pain of his wound and loss of blood, Dan could see his Kit Bandy’s “Star” Engagement. "2 ’ arms dangling helpless at his side, and ashudde ‘ passed through bis frame. The stallion soon passed out of sight and sound of the pursuers. The lariat hung dang- ling from his neck and trailing behind, and up- on this the horse finally stepped with a hind foot and was jerked to his knees, throwing Dan and the Mexican forward over his head to the earth, But in an instant the horse was up and off, once more a free spirit of the desert. A low, agonized moan escaped the Mexican’s lips as he and Dan pitched forward to the earth, Dan essayed to rise, but the helpless wretch upon his back held him down, He noticed that the Mexican was breathing hard—that his hands were thrown out now and then, the fin- gers working feebly as if trying to clutch at something, A = and again Dan endeavored to tear his hands from his bonds, but in vain. He no longer made appeals to the Mexican, for he now realized that the fellow had become uncon- scious, By a desperate effort the youth succeeded in ering to his feet. The Mexican’s entire weight hung upon him, and he was compelled to bend forward in order to stand. The situa- tion was horrible to the Prinee, but he realized that the worst was to come, and his brain fairly grew dizzy. He took a few steps forward, the feet of the Mexican dragging behind, his head lying for- ward on the boy’s neck, then stopped. He gazed around him, wishing for the coming of his captors, but no one was to be seen, The moon was swinging rapidly down the eastern _ and presently day, with its burning heat, wou d be upon him. Suddenly the Mexican seemed to rally. A few incuberent words escaped his lips, and he tugged feebly yet frantically at the cords that lashed him to Desert Dan. ut his efforts last- ed for only a few seconds when he straightened up; his limbs seeming to became rigid; a quiver ran through his frame; there was a eee rattling in his throat, and the next Instant the whole body fell lintp upon Desert Dan, dragging the boy to the earth. As they went down a cry of horror escaped: — Desert Dan’s lips for he realized that the Mexican was dead, that he was lashed to a ghastly corpse ! \ CHAPTER XIII, MOMENTS OF HORROR. THE situation of Desert Dan can better oe imagined than described, Lashed to the repul- sive corpse of the Mexican, his very soul shud- dered with horror, and again he tore frantically at the bonds about his wrists, but his efforts only increased his agony of mind and body. He could not get rid of his ghastly burden. Again he aroseand attempted towalk. He went but a few paces and sunk down, his brain almost aflame, The dead body was growing heavy as lead and his eos oes so severely test- ed for hours, was failing. To add to the horror of his situation, coyotes, attracted by the smell of blood from the dead man’s wounds, were coming around him, In hopes that Tom Rattler and his young com- ons, or even his late captors, might come to is rescue, he shouted at the top of his lungs but no answer came back—not even an echo of bis own voice, The red streaks of morning dawn gave him hope. He laid down, for with his stiffenin burden he must either lay or.stand, to awa St coming of day in hopes it would bring re- ief, One, two hours passed—they seemed like days, The sun came up. The coyotes vanished, Once more Desert Dan struggled to his feet. He glanced about him. Nothing but sage-brush and cacti was visible, Life seemed to have vanished from that desert and left him alone with that horrible corpse. Hot and fiery the sun drifted up the eastern sky. Heat, hunger, thirst and horror were preying upon the youth’s body and mind. Not one in a thousand would have stood up under the awful strain half so ae as he had already. But Dan was growing sick, He knew by the tightening of the lariat that the body of the exican was fast bloating. In fact, he could begin to see a hand and arm extending out from Kop me on = ide, tae awling to a sage-bush, the young Prince of the Saddle thrust his head into the oie. Both its shade and odor were refreshing: but there lie expected to lie until rescued by the hands of men com Cl