Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 948 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

” tl rT — the stranger through the old ruin, he seeming much interested in it. After looking it over the stranger de- cided that but six persons dwelt in a structure that at one time must have ac- commodated half a thousand, and these half dozen were: the Don, Juan, his son; and his wife, a woman of forty, with a face that held the traces of former beauty and refinement, and with eyes in which lurked a world of meaning. She seemed impressed with the hand- some stranger,’ and at once set the peon servants, a man and a woman, to work preparing supper, the sixth dweller there, also a peon, guarding at the time a small herd of cattle and ponies down in the meadow lands. With a glance at the garden, the domes- tic fowls, and having heard the orders given Juan, the stranger thought his chances for a tempting supper were excel- lent, and went to his little room to look over his traps, as Don Carlos received a signal that other visitors were coming. They were two horsemen, and the stranger, observing them at a distance, saw them engage in excited conversation with the Don, who led them away out of sight. Soon after another arrival came, and he alse was seen to hold an earnest Cconyver- sation with the Don, and was led away toward the living rooms of the family. But when night fell and the stranger was called by Juan to supper, he was sur- prised to see none of the other arrivals there. He saw the senora, who appeared to have dressed up for his especial benefit, and Juan was there, with two of the peon servants ready to wait upon them. But the Don and the three men whom he had seen arrive were not there. The absence of the former was éx- plained by the senora’s saying that the Don was away with the cattle, but noth- ing was said of the others. “This is a mysterious household, and I must keep my eyes open,” muttered the stranger. But the food set before him was of the best, from. the coffee and hot biscuit to the broiled venison, bacon and eggs, and he ate heartily, enjoying everything, and asking many questions about the sur- rounding .country and its people, little dreaming that in an old isolated wing of the ruin four men were then plotting to kill him, for the strange horseman, giv- ing his name as Fred Williams, was none other than W. F. Cody, Buffalo Bill, sent on a secret mission of desperate danger down into the danger land bordering the Rio Grande in the Lone Star State. _— CHAPTER VIII. THE USE OF A LASSO. Wild Kid had heard enough. He cautiously lowered himself from his standing position in the saddle, dismount- ed, and led his horse silently away through the old burying-ground to the shelter of some mesquite trees a few hun- dred yards distant, growlmg near the bank of the river. There was good grazing there, and in a sheltered spot the pony was staked out. Then, with his lariat in hand, for Wild Kid was an expert in its use, and would have as soon left his belt of arms behind as it, he made his way back under the walls of the old mission. ‘J must save that splendid man I have hear sO much about. “Tf I can’t, why, then I know who will be the ones to hang.’” With this brave determination in his mind, he skirted around the walls, look- ing for some place where he could enter. ffalo Bill’s Snap-Shot. He well knew the danger he ran, for Don Trego had a pack of the largest and most ferocious dogs in the country, five of them, and they were turned loose in the grounds about the mission at night when the family retired. With several strangers there that night, Wild Kid hoped they would be kept in their pen until late, but at any rate he would take ail chances. The outer walls here and there had crumbled half down, but the inner inclos- ure about the mission proper, the plaza, garden and canal, had been well kept up. Getting within the outer wall, Wild Kid searched in vain for a break. The wall had been built for safety, and was all of fifteen feet in height, while no tree had been allowed to grow along- side of it. But Wild Kid suddenly paused and glanced upward. He was not looking at the stars, how- ever. Standing under the shadow of the rear of the chapel, his eyes had fallen upon the stone cross upon the apex of the roof. It was nearly forty feet above him, but his ingenious mind had hit upon @ way to get into the mission yard. He would depend upon his lariat. In a word, he would lasso the cross. Stepping backward, he measured the distance critically, then swung his lariat around and around his head and launched it upward, It did not go up to the cross. Throwing a lasso upward was harder than in a straight line on a level, he found. Again he made the throw. The coil fell with a heavy thud, which he feared would be heard within the liv- ing wing of the mission, a hendred yards away. Again he threw and failed. But he was not discouraged, a thuught came to him, and he darted away. At the river bank he halted, and he dropped the long lariat into the water to make it heavier. Then he returned and made another throw. He nearly reached the cross this time. A second time he threw, but it did: not quite reach. With all his might he threw it a third time, but it hit the base of the cross. He needed about five feet more to en- circle the top with the noose. Again he darted away. But within ten minutes he was back again, leading his pony. Placing him in position, he went slowly to work to see if the extra height of some six feet would not help him reach the goal. But could he throw upward from his saddle as from the ground? That was the question that bothered him. But soon he was ready, and with a strong effort the coil went sailing upward. It struck the cross fairly, but two feet below the top. Again he tried, and this time it went over one arm of the cross and hung there. But, drawing upon it, Wild Kid found that the noose had not caught: Nerving himself for another effort, he onee more launched the lariat toward the cross. The stars shone brightly, and he could see fairly well. Eagerly he watched the dark coi] in its flight, saw it soar above the cross, hover there an instant, and settle down. He gave the lariat a slight pull, It held, Then le pulled hard, and it remained fast. He had been successful at last. CHAPTER IX. IN LIGHT AND SHADOW. Wild Kid could hardly restrain a shout of triumph as he felt that he had been suc- cessful in his effort to lasso the cross. But he wisely forbore from doing 50, and rode his pony back to his grazing- ground. He was soon back again under the Shadow of the chapel, and, grasping the lariat firmly, swung his weight upon it. It held tirm. Then he took off his boots and tied then: about his waist. His next move was to seize the lasso firmly and begin to walk up the chapel wall. The idea struck him that he might pull the stone cross over on top of him, but he grimly muttered: “| guess it would bury me and give me a tombstone all in one. But I'll take the chances,” Soon he reached the cross, and caught his feet upon the apex of the roof. There he stood a while to rest, one arm clinging around the cross. With his hard efforts in throwing the lariat and his ciimb, he was tired, tough as a pine knot though he was. But he soon was rested, and drawing up the lasso, began to let himself down the steep roof. Reaching Yhe edge, he saw a light Streaming out of an open door beneath him. It must be from the chapel room which had been given to Buffalo Bill, he thought. But he must make no mistake. It would not do to find that it was a room occupied by Panama or the two men he had tracked there. The dogs might have been turned loose, but he must risk that. ; So he climbed up the roof again and went down the other side. All was dark there, | But the lasso was long enough to reach the ground, and so he lowered himself, Arranging the end, in case he came back to it in a run, he slipped cautiously along the wall of the chapel, came around in front, halted under the shadow of the tower for a moment, and looked about to get his bearings, He soon discovered that he was in one end of the large plaza, the chapel standing aloof from the mission house proper, To his right, a hundred yards, was the main entrance, in front of him, across the plaza, was the night corral for the horses and cattle, and to the left he saw a light shining from an open door, These he knew were the living quarters of Don Trego and his people, for Wild Kid had been to the mission half a dozen times before, several times passing a night there, “The wing where those precious toughs are is right yonder, and they have put out their light; but they command a view of the room oyer here by the chapel, so [ must go slow, as they may be on the Watch.” So saying, he kept along under the shadow of the chapel until he drew near the stream of light that came out of the open door at one end, There was a window also, a narrow one, out of which the light shone, and a form passed between the light and the door. Was it the scout? Again the form darkened the light in the doorway and remained there. Then the youth glanced down upon the pavement, and he beheld the shadow out- line of the one who obscured the light. It was plainly photographed in black upon the pavement—a_ slender, upright form, with long hair falling below his Pk . ‘A -| ° ey SI at —_