Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 958 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

- ea & Z * > » a oy . Tig a “ ¢ 4% sf _- ’ . 4 a a ates es . “ + 5 - . » Vea ~ | y Par. 7) 7. 9s ea ret a Ge ‘an *F sf ia ‘ oP . ¥ ~ ‘ * =a & ‘Then continuing on his way down to fhe river’s rim, he looked about for the littke canoe which was kept on the other side of the stream, where the lone ferry- man had a cabin; but, not seeing it, he did not call, and, speaking to his horse, he said: “ You have not only got to swim across, old pard, but carry my weight also, for the canoe is not in sight, and over we have got to go.” Drawin; off his boots and tying them over his shoulder, he then at once rode jnto the swift current, striking out boldly for the other shore, then a quarter of a mile distant. The brave and spirited steed had nearly reached the further shore when a side canyon opened up to view, and in it Buf- falo Bill saw a dozen horses staked out, On its flat or meadow. Running his eyes along the cliff, in a thicket of pines, close up to the cliff sides, he beheld a camp, the men theré busy ‘preparing supper over a small, smokeless tire. “Some of My men; so I am in luck,” muttered the venturesome rider. But, as he nearly reached the shore, a better view of the camp revealed that the men were unknown to him, and that gould but mean that they were foes, be- longing to the lawless element of the coun- try. Or, possibly, were they a band of Mormons, whom the wary scout was none too anxious to meet at that time. To turn back would betray that he feared them, for he saw that he had been dliscovered, so he kept right on for a Janding, determined to make a dash for the steep trail up the mountain side, sev- eral hundred yards from their camp. As his horse gained a footing, a man came a short distance toward him and shouted: * Ho, Nick! Put ye’r horse up ther can- yon and then come on ter camp. -Ther cap’ is anxious ter know what yer has found: out.” Which was good proof to Buffalo Bill that he had been mistaken for one of their number, and he determined to help out the deception, so he shouted back: “All right, pard! soon be there.” | The man turned back to camp, and Buffalo Bill rode on toward the canyon flat where he saw the horses of the men feeding. _ If they were friends he would know by their actions when they saw that he was not obeying the instructions given him; Tell the captain Vl if they were foes they would very quickly prove it by firing on him when they were convinced that he was going to give them the slip. | | On he rode quietly, his horse in qg walk, - until he reached a point where he had either to turn into the side Canyon or vide for the ferry trail up the mountain 7 ™ the Colorado ran, . gathering, though the sun was yet an - hour high, and the camp and surroundings Were Seen. as though at twilight, to the left. ; e had kept his eyes upon the men in camp, and the more he saw of them the more he was convinced that they were a » Jawless bard. Down in the deep defile through which the shadows were -At last the moment came for a break, and, suddenly whirling his horse to the - left, the daring scout put him at full speed - ing from so _ for the steep trail leading up the mount- ain, several hundred yards away. had gotten well started before the men in the camp realized his purpose— knew that he was not one of them return- é mission upon which he had Deen sent. io ee eee There was wild excitement at once, men Buffalo | ill’s Mazeppa-Chas e. 4 _ —_- —* = ——— springifg to their feet, seizing their rifles, and shouts of command succeeded. : The flying rider could but feel rejoiced at his cleverly giving them the slip- as he had, and he answered their shouts . with his ringing war-cry. Instantly a silence followed, and the scout heard the words distinctly: “That is Buffalo Bill’s war-ery. <A big reward to the man who kills or captures him!’ The voice was one of command, and he who uttered the words evidently was captain of the band. His words were responded to by a shout, and the men, who were already rushing for their horses to mount and give chase, strove yet harder to reach them, several of the gang firing at the scout, who cool- ly dismounted at the mountain and led his horse up the steep, rough trail. In five minutes a dozen horsemen, filing out of the side canyon, were in pursuit, but Buffalo Bill, a good quarter of a mile ahead, was still leading his horse, heading for the summit of the plateau, to which the Lee’s Ferry trail ran. CHAPTER IV. THE FLIGHT. Buffalo Bill now was up in the full light of the sun, as it neared the western horizon, his pursuers being in the shadow below. He saw that they had not dismounted, but were in the saddle and: pushing their horses hard, His horse, though a fleet one, and of great endurance, was just nearing the end of his long journey, and was, naturally, much worn. His swim across the swift Colorado had cooled and refreshed him, however, and not having to bear the scout’s weight half a mile up the steep mountain climb, had not been Winded, though it was tire- some enough as it was. Buffalo Bill had crossed at that point several times before, and, glancing back, he saw that he would gain the summit with his pursuers still several hundred yards behind him. | He wanted time for his horse to get a breathing spell, and, as his enemies were firing upon him, though without harm, he mounted, and, nearing as they Were, he decided to whirl at the summit, take ref- uge behind the rocks seattered there, and take a hand himself in pulling trigger. At last he reached the summit, and just there was a huge rock—a section of the cliff escarpment. Leading his horse behind this, he scrambled to the top, ran his rifle over, and, taking aim at the horse nearest to him, dropped him as he was struggling up the trail. His rider nimbly caught upon his feet, and in a second had sought shelter be- hind some rocks, firing a well-aimed an- swering shot that just grazed the scout’s head. “T made a mistake that time, for the man is more dangerous on foot than mounted. Next time the innocent horse shall not be the sufferer,” decided the scout, as he threw another shot into his breechloading rifle qnd brought it to his Shoulder, for his first shot had not checked ‘the other pursuers, who he saw were eight in number. Again he fired, aiming at a tall, heavily- bearded man well in advance of the others. The man toppled from his sad- dle, and those who followed him were quickly brought to a halt, and began to dismount and scatter for shelter behind the ledges and rocks. _ “T think we'll go on now, old fellow, while they are holding a council of war, ‘ “They know me, but I have not the honor of their acquaintance. I have not ; »f ss 1S RG Soe tins ——— TT it — had a good look at them, though a little too close to them for comfort,’ an’ he spoke to his horse, as was his wont. Mounting, he rode away at a gallop over the plateau, following along the base of a range of red cliffs that rose like a terrace a thousand feet above the comparatively level plain he was then on. Looking back as he rode, he had. passed out of range of an ordinary gun, when he beheld the men dash into view at the big rock he had left. They were on foot, and surely had ex- pected to flank and cover him there. Their execrations of disappointment the scout clearly heard, and laughed at, es- pecially as he saw that they had caught sight of him, and were firing at random. But a moment they halted; then ran for their horses to keep up the pursuit. When they came in sight again, Buffalo Bill was continuing along nearly a mile ahead of them, and, as his horse had not been winded by being rushed up the steep trail, while their animals had so been pressed, he felt no anxiety about himself. Then, too, night was not far away, and Buffalo Bill knew that he could elude all pursuit in the darkness; so he rode on, as unconcerned as though he had not just had a race for life, and been under a deadly fire, but which he had returned With apparently fatal effect. As darkness began to gather about him, he saw that his pursuers were not gaining, so dismissed them from his mind, as far as their overtaking him was con- cerned. But one thing troubled him,. and that was as to just who those men were, and ~ what they were doing at Lee’s Ferry. He remembered that the ferryman— who he did not then imagine could be Major John D. Lee, the man on whose head a price was set—had not been seen; nor the canoe in which the ferryman pad- dled .men across while their horses swam. A mystery had always hung about this lone ferryman, who dwelt half a mile up a side canyon, or feeder, in his cabin, as’ strongly built as a fort, and with no one — but his faithful wife, who had followed him there to that far and most inhospit-_ able wilderness. Having no fear of redskins, or wander- ing bands of outlaws, he lived there, a per- fect enigma to Buffalo Bill, who had a half-formed idea that he might be in league with both the redskins and lawless white men of Utah and Arizona. Then, too, th» scout recalled: how he had been mistaken for Nick—one of the men of the camp on the river, returning from. some mission, and the more he thought it all over, the more he became convinced that he had made a discovery which must be more fully disclosed. “Yes, I must now know more—who are the gang and what they are doing here,” he muttered as he rode on in search of some retired and safe camping-place. CHAPTER V. THE BLACK MUSTANG. Buffalo Bill recalled as he rode along, watching the sun near the horizon beyond. the rim of plain, that there was a splendid spring about ten miles from where he then was that would be a most desirable camping-place. _ This spring had a most generous flow of water coming out of the head of a canyon, while plenty of dry willow wood was at. hand; the grass grew luxuriantly around it, and the approach was open. There was no other water within forty miles, save that of the Colorado River, whose banks were in sight down a couple of thousand feet, unless he returned by | the trail he had come from Lee’s Ferry. if a : . > ° ~ “ nee Pan Le t “ je Oe ‘aa Ven a * ce, ~y ~s « ‘ ¢ aT ~~ ay ite tes iar) ae ¥ aot je ] “a he th Ss oe I at Ae ’ eas S| ae : > ~ Cam rae ‘ a ted } . | pe Fs Me! eek = SC ay VF “a | Be ~ il v b Z . =F => - 4 | y \ RS ies = Oa, t's NS er oS UE, Be Sight