Beadle's Dime Library No. 147 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

ws ¥ P om ~———a 2 To * 7 - a os “! a re er EN Sr reel er the re t-.. «4 ; 7 “~~. " f a, > ; . Ss ~ A ' " s . y ky ew e A “Neither of these two was the White Jackal?” “Nary, kernwl.” “You have seen the Jackal I know.” ~“*Thas drawed sight on him a dozen times, but somehow I don’t fetch him, an’ yer knows I are a dead shot.” ** He seems to bear a charmed life, Mose.” *. © uess ther devil hes charmed him, kernul.” “* You know his band well?” . T knows ‘em same as a parson does Scrip- **And the sergeant was at the head of the ‘band of the White Jackal?” i" . ‘*'You hes it, he were.” et “Now, Mose, who do you think this Gold bas! Spur is?’ ‘*T has fears he are the Jackal.” 80 ae believed for awhile; but why do you sO “‘T has followed ther Jackal’s trail often, am’ ther horse Ther Gent from Texas rides, makes ther same identical track.” : The colonel started visibly, and again took a / —~—s«surn across the room. yee Then he summoned the orderly. Fe. “ Go and ask Lieutenant Hale to come to my rs at once, and, upon your way back say Lieutenant Emmerson that I wish to seé m. ** Now I shall know who and what this stran man is,” muttered the colonel as the orderly dis- appeared. em CHAPTER XIV. aoe, A WEB OF MYSTERY. In obedience to the order of his colonel, Lieutenant Emmerson first put in an ap- RINGS ee at head-quarters, the orderly not A$ aving been able to promptly find The Hercules. | . ** Be seated, Emmerson, and let me ask you a question or two, that may throw light upon a most unpleasant matter.” Edgar Emmerson was a man of thirty _ haps, sad-faced, ever quiet in manner, and bore the look of . man who was ever haunted with unpleasant memory. - Not at all like his widowed sister in opieer. ance, he was also Jacking in her vivacity of ey manner, and a od not unpopular, was not a per y ular man with bis brother officers. | He had been appointed to the army from civil life, after having been educated in the navy and rergeea from it, from some reason to himself. ee - ~ of — = i - ae ————e ee - — as =? a ares *s . r i 4 te ol J — 4 <= ~ . ae ~¥ er ~ *, 4 w q* =~. . e. ‘ » 7 @ - : * —— 1 - The remark of his commander, and the sum- mons Sa nee ep seemed to make him a trifle nervous; but he said quietly: “How can I serve you, Colonel Eldred?’ “You know that this man, styling himself Gold + pee rescued Sergeant Sylvester from SS nad ae << . \ Te} ~~ . — + Bi ate - . - e « ite ~ : ? ; « 2 re _. a a } -T do, sir.” : “YO also know that upon a charge made 7a —<—-s i, aa against him by Hale, I had him arrested?” Yes, The Hercules—I beg pardon, sir—Lieu- | tenant Hale a d him 0% being this famous =a" White Jackal.” eae ‘* My sister, sir!” said the officer with a start. ili ties eacogalied in thin prisoner o them e in risoner a man pai had known in Texas, when living on her husband’s ranch, and I wished to ask you ‘ou also have seen this Gold Spur?’ sir ee tay ‘a - toe ly “aS A : \ - al Fe en J : 4 “- i; 4 ’ 2 ‘ ei = es iA 7 4 ‘ sv ; a) - MW wy 5 Ti. A. 7%. * / * é Die x eee . _ in Texas?” . . “] never lived in Texas, colonel, with my none but I saw the man the other day for the The colonel seemed relieved, and after a mo- ment of thought: ** You had an encounter with the Jackal and Tht one day?” _ * Yes, sir, down on the Little Blue, where I was scouting with my company.” “You saw him distinctly that day? TE did, sir.” ~ “And * ye The Gentleman from Texas look _ “In size they are about the same, sir; but the Jackal wore a full beard, and this Gold’ Spur is ‘| en “ That is true; but I thank you, Emmerson,” | and the colonel’s bow showed that the inter- view was ended, and with a sigh of relief, a rh the lieutenant depa , just as T rcules entered, his face flushed. “You sent for me, sir?’ ** 1 did, for I wished to have proofs say you possess tha ’ e ih} i ' ge: give me the * Do you recogn placed in the hands of the colonel a well-worn ie _ “do; it is my order which I sent out offer- At, ing a reward for the eee or alive, of ba - Base the White Jackal.’ Ne "rue, Colone I and read this, please,” and over a second , w , with marked surprise and e col- onel shii-thels wile en ows: 7 “Seventy, fer I counted ’em, and two white | aside hisself.” this Texan is | Gold Spur, the Gentleman from Texas. ** $5,000 REWARD. ‘“Whereas, Horace Eldred, Colonel U. 8: A., and commandant of the wey og ison, has issued der, offering a reward of $1,000 for my body, dead or alive, I now return the compliment five-fold, and will pay to whoever brings me his scalp the sum of Five Thousand Dollars, and inno way harm the one who places it in my hands. “THe WHITE JACKAL. ‘** Head-Quarters Republican River.” “Where did you get this?’ asked Colonel Eldred, with all the calmness he could com- mand, when he had twice read it aloud. ‘* Buckskin Mose gave it to me, sir.” ‘* And where did you get it?’ and the colonel turned to the scout. **] found it pinned up with a small red arrer on ther garrison gate, when I went off on ther sargint’s trail,” answered Mose. ‘*T approached, sir, as Mose was reading it, and he gave it to me,” explained the lieutenant. “Why did you not speak of this to me, scout?” ye Ther loot’nent asked me to keep dark, an’ I id. ‘Why, may I ask, Hale?” “That I might follow up a trail I had in view, and I have now tracked that paper to the writer.” ** And who is the writer?” “The White Jackal.” ** That much the paper tells itself,” impatient- ly said the colonel. “And it tells more, sir, for examine this, please,” and another paper was handed to the commandant, who glanced at it and said: ‘* Well, it is simply a poem on the Texas Bar eh ‘‘True, sir, and is signed by Gold Spur, The Man from Texas, and the writing is identi- cal with that in the reward offered for your scalp.” “By Heaven! you are right, Hale; the hand that wrote one wrote the other, as any one can see, and I believe now that Mrs, Conrad has been deceived, and that your man is not only the one you say he is, but also The Prairie Ser- pent of Texas, who has lately disappeared from that State— Orderly!” The soldier appeared promptly in obedience to the call. ‘* Present my compliments to the officer of the day, and tell him my orders are that be at once take a file of soldiers with him and arrest The Gentleman from Texas, and then put him in double irons.” A gleam of triumph shot into the eyes of The Hercules, at the command of Colonel Eldred, who he now saw was thoroughly aroused, against the man, of whom he had n so un- willing to believe aught that was evil. Hardly had the orderly disappeared to obey his orders, when Captain Rile kwell came hastily into the colonel’s quarters, and said ex- citedly : » Colonel Eldred, I regret to make a sad re- sir; but your niece, Miss Eldred, and Miss ther Gerard, who was visiting her, have oe captured by the band of the White ackal. Horace Eldred staggered back and leaned on the table for support for an instant; but re- covering from the shock, he said in suppressed es: ai Order My 3 in the saddle that er spared, an at once go in pursuit 0 this devil incarnate.” ; edretite a2 ory, sir, has rte ys gone - , Ww came to you for orders, an will overtake him.” . “Do so, and I trust to Gregory and yourself to bring back those girls, and to punish that white fiend; well, orderly?” and the colo- nel turned to the soldier, who just then entered. ‘*The Gentleman from ‘Texas, sir, is not in the son, but rode off toward the cotton- woods, where the ladies were ca a ‘* Hale, by Heaven, you were right! that man isthe White Jackal: but I will follow him to the bitter end; to your saddles all, for I lead on this trail,” and the voice of the old colonel rung like a clarion as he gave his orders to his offi- cers, and sent them to their quarters in such haste, that ten minutes after, at the head of a hundred gallant troopers, he dashed out of the sop on prairie, as the de’s band was called. But hardly had they disappeared over a roll of the prairie when a horseman came gallop- ing toward the fort from an opposite direc- tion, and saluting the sentinel entered the stockade. That horseman was none other than Gold Spur, The Gentleman from Texas, and his face was as cool and unruffled as a May morn. CHAPTER XV. _ THE WARNING. WHEN Sibyl Sylvester, the daughter of the sergeant, who had so suddenly fallen from grace, arrived on the Platte with the Gerard emigrant train, she had refused the kindly of- ha gone te inade her by Rather Gerard apd » W near her father, to comfort bim he be condemned to die, to save him if in her power. ; ys the trail of the Jackal of the The room given her was in the cabin quar- ters of Colonel Eldred, and near the cosey suite of apartments ig by the commander’s niece, the lovely Edna, who was anxious to have the lonely girl near to her. These head-quarter cabins consisted of a group of comfortable log houses, so arranged as to be under one roof, and here too widow Conrad was given a room, as her brother lived in the row among the bachelors of the garrison. Without eavesdropping Sibyl soon found that she could hear all that passed in the colonel’s private office from her room, and consequently she heard the conversation between the com- mandant and Buckskin Mose, and what fol- lowed when Lieutenant Emmerson and The Hercules were summoned and made their re- port. Her heart sunk with dread when she heard the web of guilt that was being woven about The Gentleman from Texas, and she muttered to herself: ‘He is not guilty, I know, but if he is, and they arrest him, I will rescue him, for he saved my. father from death,” agerly she listened to all that was said, and with a sad heart heard the order to arrest Gold Spur, and then what followed. Dismayed by the news that both Edna Eldred and Esther Gerard had been taken by the Jack- al’s band, and The Gentleman from Texas seemed certainly connected with their disap- arance, she knew not what to think, and her ain in a whirl and her heart full of dread, she sat in silence Aina ary Bm next scene in the tragic drama that was being played in the gar- rison. Suddenly the sound of hoofs caused her to start, and she looked from her window to dis- cover with amazement none other than The Gentleman from Texas, who had just ridden into the garrison, not half an hour after Colonel Eldred and his troopers had started in pursuit of the maidens and their kidnappers, at whose head the pursuers hoped and ex to find Gold Spur, in bis true character of the White Jackal. As the sentinel on duty had permitted the Texan to ride into the garrison without arrest- ing him, it was evident to Sibyl that he did not know the suspicion cast upon him; but she knew there were those in the fort that were aware of it, and should he not be warned of his danger, he would be arrested and held to await the colonel’s return. Instantly she determined to save him, and stepping out upon her little porch, called to him to eppava’ her. Raising his broad sombrero, for he was again dressed in bis handsome Mexican costume, be wheeled his horse and rode up to the cabin, and said | cgnsegy & ‘“‘Ah, my sweet Child of the Regiment, I feared harm had befallen you.” ‘* Befallen me?” she asked, in surprise. ‘‘ Yes, for I was scouting round to get a little fresh air after my release from prison, and ‘is- covered suspicious signs of the Jackal’s band, and shortly after beheld two ladies on horse- back in their custody, one of whom I mistook for you.” ‘** No, one was Miss Gerard, the other Miss Eldred, and the colonel and four companies have started in pursuit.” ** The wre will be useless, bad he the entire regiment, for strategy, not force, must save om from that devil’s power,” he said, earn- y: One moment she gazed into his face, as if to read his inmost heart, and then she said: ‘*Mr, Gold Spur, for I know no other name to call you by—” ‘* The Gentleman from Texas,” he interrupted with asmile. “T prefer the other; but oh sir! do you know that a scout has come in and reports of ag] horse track the same as that of the White Jackal, ” and— ‘IT don’t wonder at that, for he is shod with the shoes I took from the borse of the Jackal, which I shot,” was the calm reply. ‘¢ And sir, the large officer they call The Her- cules, and who hates you, has found a placard of the Jackal’s offering a reward for Colonel Eldred’s scaip, and it is the same writing as a m you wrote, and left in the guard-house.” ‘‘Ha!l there is some devil’s work going on here,” he said quickly. ‘Indeed there is, sir, and Buckskin Mose the scout, says he saw my poor father at the head of the Jackal’s band, and oh! it is enough to drive me mad, for they say you are that mon- ster in disguise, and as you were seen going to- ward the cottonwoods where Miss Eldred and Esther were captured, tbey think you did it, _ aby to d you at the h of the red- skins The Child of the Regiment had spoken hastily and earnestly, and her eyes had. been intently watching the face of Gold Spur, and she saw a inal he re ig pale as certain in- ward emotions move ‘ When he had heard all, be said: ‘“My child, I repeat, there is some devil’s yO played in this n, and The ercules is Gomic « * : 4 ?* P ; | ea Ses: a, 5 * p - : ”) - ‘ " . p.™h ¢ com . 3 ’ Raed J ; : Sh enel is i oa