Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 939 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

Kit Bandy’s “Star” Engagement. 9 or death, He had been there but a few minutes when he heard a sound like the rustling of wings. He opened his eyes, and to his horror saw a vul- ture standing on the carth within a few paces of him with its wrinkled, coral neck outstretched, looking toward him asif insomedoubt. Full well the boy knew the winged scavenger was there to feed upon his dead companion. Others were wheeling about in the air overhead and slowly desending in contracting circles to join their mat ina morning banquet. Dan did not move noi ittera sound.. Slowly his mind was erowing indifferent to his surroundings. A haze was settling overhim. From the distance floated the sound of strange voices; weird and fantastic forms came trooping around him in mid-air, and gnomish figures bowed and tured about him, blowing their feverish breath in his face, and uttering strange gutturals. Suddenly, in the midst of all, there was a crash like a clan of thunder, a cry and the win- nowing flight of v ngs. Desert Dan, half de- lirious, attempted to rise, but the bloating corpse held him down, He opened wide his eyesand gazed wildly around him. He could see nothing, Lut became conscious of moving— floating away through space, and when at last he shook off the horrible nightmare that had played such pranks with his overwrought brain, the first thing of which he became conscious was of lying upon a couch, and of the presence of an angelic face bending over him. It was the face pf Zulita, the gir]-waif of the desert! CHAPTER XIV. TROUBLE IN CAMPS THE éscape of Black Robber with Desert Dan and the wounded Mexican caused “onsiderable excitement among the outlaws. <A few of them pete chase, The stallion quickly left them be- ind, and they returned furious with and disappointment. Theescape of Dan with the fatally-wounded Mexican was of little concern to them; it was the horse- they wanted, though it was not the horse they had fondly hoped to Kit Bandy bore his burden uncomplainingly, and in the course of an hour or two pe gies Basin was reached, Kit’s burden removed an the old man securely lashed to a cedar that stood near the camp-fire. Bandy’s true character had been discovered through a scout Captain Sangre had sent to fol- low him to the sink where Rattler and the three boys had kalted. Unobserved, the cunning Long-Ears had crept to within earshot of the pit, and, lying concealed behind a sage-bush, eard nearly every word that between Jaguar Head and the “stranded” four— i om in fact, to fully confirm Sangre’s sus- picions, But there was one thing in O'd Kit’s chief- tainship that the outlaws overlooked: he had never been false to his followers who were not of the outlaw gang proper. On the contrary, be had proven himself a subordinate leader of signal ability and cunning during the short time he bad been among the Mescaleros. It is ‘true he was availing himself of the license of a detective in ingratiating himself into the red- skins’ favor, and really expected to serve his own interests more than theirs. The nearest he ever came to deceiving his followers was when he had Ben and Frank ‘* planted” and left alive on the desert. He did that in hopes of saving the boys’ lives, He was afraid to take them to camp through fear of their being assassinated by the outlaws. At that time his foree was superior to Captain Sangre’s, and so his word was law. The meeting of the outlaws under Sangre and the Apaches under Jaguar Head, at Sprig Ba- sin, was purely accidental. Ja ead’s fol lowers were Reservation Indians, while the Apaches with the Desert Pirates were outlaw Savages, and while they were the best of friends, they had never been allies until that amen. ager they attacked Ben Mead and Frank Warfield. The coming of Swift-Wing and his gang to Spring’ Basin put a different phase upon the situation, for the new party was a part of Sangre's force, and that worthy now assumed an aggressive character, and was disposed to eoere Jaguar Head and his dozen-and-two war- ors, , Captain Sangre’s force had now augmented to some forty men, composed of Apaches, Mexicans and Americans, and a more d te and mur- derous-looking gang never banded together. When Sangre and Swift-Wing went to attack Rattler and his friends in the sink, and secure Jaguar Head, not one of the latter’s warriors was taken along. In fact, half of the outlaws were left to watch Jaguar Head’s braves, though the latter never mistrusted what was up until their chief was marched into camp in bonds, Promptly the Apaches made objections to the imprisonment of their chief, and demanded his release, The fact that the outlaws had found him to really be Kit Bandy proved nothing against him as Jaguar Head, Hehad beena leader after the young Apache warrior’s heart, and his arrest was looked upon as an insult to his followers. But Captain Sangre cared nothing for their murmurings. His force was now more than three to one and he proposed to have things his own sweet way. Kit Bandy was in his power, and the death of Captain Vulcan at the detec- tive’s hands, was fresh in his mind, In reply to one of Jaguar Head’s warriors, called Growling Bear, for the release of his chief, Sangre replied: ‘‘ kit Bandy is my prisoner. He is the wolf that hunted down the great Black Vulcan. He will destroy the Apaches. He hunts men to de- stroy them, Jaguar Head, the white wolf, shall die before we leave this camp!” This declaration was received with an out- burst of applause from the lips of Captain Sangre’s followers, but Jaguar Head’s braves showed their teeth, as it were. Trouble was brewing in the camp. The night was now well advauced, but sleep was unthougit of by outlaw or savage. Jaguar Head’s followers, while remaining in the same camp were disposed to keep aloof from the outlaws. There was not a movement of the latter made but what it was observed by the former. An hour passed, Captain Sangre finally arose and left the camp, going in the direction of the entrance to the valley, as he told Swift-Wing, to give the men*there on guard some special in- structions. The camp was located at the lower end of the valley, which ‘was about a mile long, near a spene OF water, and in the midst of a growth of scrubby cedars. Just back of camp arose a per- pendicular bluff to the height of thirty feet, and ek this bluif, clearly outlined against the sky, about half an hour after Sangre’s departure, Growling Bear, the Apache, suddenly appeared, and shouted to those below: ** Apacbes and pale-faces—followers of Cap- tain Blood! listen to what I have to say to you! You have our chief a prisoner. You are many and we are few, You wait in vain for your chief to return. He is in our power. hile you talked and laughed at J Head, we stole away and your chief is now our prisoner. Release Jaguar Head and your ee shall go free. Kill him and we will kill. We are strong in our defense. We defy you to take bim from us. I have spoken,” A painful silence followed this startling declaration, A ‘grim smile flitted over the face of Kit Bandy, Captain Sangre was absent it is true, but the outlaws waited several minutes before stirring, as if to have Growling Bear’s words verified by the continued absence of their captain, And when half an hour more had passed and he came not, there arose a murmur in the camp that foretold the coming of a storm—that Spring Basin was yet to be the scene of bloodshed, CHAPTER XV. AN EXCHANGE, GREAT excitement prevailed in the outlaw camp over the capture and concealment of the rson of Captain Sangre by the revengeful fol- owers of Jaguar Head, Old Kit had seen Growling Bear leave camp shortly after Sangre’s departure, and he had also seen his own followers leave camp one by one until all were gone. was going on and was prepared for some sur- prise, and then when it came, the outlaws were so enraged that it was all Swift-Wing, next in command, cculd do to save him from death then and there, When the frantic gang bad become somewhat cooled down, scouts were immediately sent out to locate the position of the Jaguar Head party. One of these scouts was met by Growling Bear, himself, and ey conducted to the very place Mla Captain Sangre lay bound hand and oot. That place was in a spacious excavation in the bluff facing the valley, and not over seventy rods from the outlaw camp. It had evidently been made by the hand of man, but at a period that might have dated back to the time when the Mexican banditti terrorized all the country He knew something’ south of Santa Fé and west of the Pecos, It could be entered only by one narrow passage, and could have been held by a dozen men against a thousand, Growling Bear had discovered the place that day soon after their arrival in the basin while searching for game, little dreaming that it was to serve him and his friends so im. portant a purpose, ‘* Wolf-Yelp,” the outlaw scout, made as thor. ough inspection of the place as the darkness would permit—even conversing witb Captain Sangre—and then returned and reported to his friends the impregnable position occupied by the Jaguar Heads. ‘*Wecan starve them!” declared Swift-Wing, and we will!” ‘‘Starve an Apache will ye?” replied an out- law; ‘' why, they’ll eat the captain, himself, be- fore they’ll surrender or starve. boys, ft be- gins to Jook as though Reservation red-skins are too many for us, after all, and that we'll have to surrender our prisoner or leave here minus a captain.” ‘*I’m not so sure of that,” responded Swift- Wing; ‘‘ there’s but one Kit Bandyin all this big, old universe, and there are acres of Jacaril- la Jims out of which to make Captain Sangres— Bloods. If Bandy gets stb Ms here safe, mind what I tell you, every Desert Pirate will have to hunt his hole inside of a month, or take his medicine around his neck instead of down it.” The majority of the outlaws did not agree with the villain, who would like to have step into Captain Sangre’é shoes, and the idea of lay- ing siege to the Jaguar Head stronghold was not favorably entertained foreven a moment. So the only alternative was to proceed with Kit Bandy to the cave and accept the terms dictated by Growling Bear. Jaguar Head was untied and the party started away with him, leaving but two sound men to guard the camp, On arriving in the vicinity of the intrenched Apaches, a long-range parley was held as to which party should advance to the other. Fearing treachery the outlaws were afraid to enter the cave, and those in the cave were afraid to venture out, Finally the outlaws, emboldened by their superior force, and the assurance that Jaguar Head and his band would never be able to es- cape from the cave alive, sent Bandy in charge of Wolf- Yelp into the cave, In a few minutes the escort returned bring- ing Captain Sangre unharmed. His appearance was greeted bya great shout of triumph, and those in the cave notified, by a volley of shots fired into the entrance, that the armistice was at an end, and war in dead earnest, Jaguar Héad saw at once that they were in no enviable position—that while they could defend themselves against invasion, it would be certain death to attempt escape from the cave while the outiaws lay in wait for them. Hunger and thirst, however, they could not keep, out, and so the fertile brain of Old Kit must furnish an expedient. The Apaches were acting in good faith with him, and while he was availing himself, as before stated, of the license of a frontier detective, he was too honorable to do —— that would cost one Apache follower his life, The plan of escape most feasible to Kit’s mind was by tunneling out, The sides of the cave and the roof were principally clay with a little gravel, and by digging obliquely upward he believed they would come out upon the plain where rsp! could not be seen from below. Just how far t ro would have to dig and what ob- structions they might meet, of course they could not determine, Old Kit started the work digging with toma- hawk and knife. He commenced in the roof of the cave and as the dirt was loosened it fell at his feet and served to raise him as he tunneled upward, By turns the digging continued without inter- mission, two Apaches keeping watch at the entrance. As there was no delay in removing the loosened dirt, the work pr rapidly. They finally passed throu the clay and reached a sandy soil where figging was easy. Kit thought the surface must be near, but in this he was mistaken. They were compelled to dig at least ten feet further before they emerged on the plain—altogether some twenty feet. hen the tunnel had thus been completed Old Kit poked his head and took a survey of his sur- roundings. Behind him lay the desert and in front of him hecould just see the dark-green tops of the cedars under whose cover the outlaws were lying in wait in the basin below. Descending to the cave Bandy went down to cpoo com cS co