Beadle's Dime Library No. 199 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

14 * basin, all filled with surprise that their old leader was to be left bebind, for they knew that their Queen, who lingered at the scene of the fight, could not, by herself, get Captain Half- hand upon his horse. This act on her part occasioned, however, no thoughts of rebellion; or if it did, they were not acted upon, for all were soon in the canyon. The Queen of the Wild Cats tarried for a minute, and then spoke in a voice of exulta- tion: ‘‘George Holbrook! I leave you to your fate, be it what it may! Since that day when you struck me, I have been planning your downfall, and it has come. I swore to be avenged, and | would have kept my oath, even though it had been by betraying you to the officers of the law. You are a coward, and I have always distrusted ou since I have known it. I felt sure that for little cause you would take my life in the same way that you have removed others. Die where you are, you dastard, among those whom you led to their death, and behind whom you bid to avoid the builets of George McClellan! Dio, you worthless cur! The Aoven of the Wild Cats leaves you to the buzzards and the wolves, Revenge is sweet. Ha! ha!” Her taunting laugh sounded fiendish, as she drove spurs into her horse, and sped toward the black opening, after her band. The wretched man whom she had thus de- serted, seemed cig I to recover his senses, for he sprung upon his handsand knees, crawled over, and seated himself upon the corpse of one of his men. Then, with a cry that echoed back from crag and — in the adjacent mountain he sprung to his feet, yelling out, as the perfidy of ihe female fiend began to find an entrance into ais discrdered brain: “Tucile! Lucile Luzerne! Great God! Lu- cile! Can it be that she has left me thus? George Holbrook, this desertion is like—no, it is not to be compared, hellish as it is, with deeds of your own! know—lI feel it! Katharine was insane, they said, before she died; and now I feel my own brain scorching, Oh! Katharine, my murdered wife, is this your vengeance? George, Frank, Stella—my children! Are you punishing me now for what J did?’ Then, beating the air, asif fighting off dread shapes, and stopping at times to clucch at his throat and gasp for breath, he arose and stag- gered along, his eyes fixed upon the bright moon that seemed to burn into his very brain. At last he rushed forward to the spot where Lucile Luzerne’s horse:had stood, but he stum- bled over the body of one of his followers, and fell prone upon the ground, lying as silent and devoid of consciousness as the blood-stained corpse at which he clutched, as his senses were at last mercifully calmed in oblivion. Bowlder Bill and Big Medicine, standing side by side, had watched the movements of the cutlaws from the fringe of bushes on the high bank of the basin; but when the band had rid- den toward the canyon, followed by their Queen, and Captain Halfhand began to act in such an insane manner, Bill bad crept nearer to the edge of the bank, returning to his former position as the outlaw chief had fallen senseless to the earth. Much to the surprise and annoyance of Bill, when he looked around him again, wishing to confer with Big Medicine, he found that the Kioway had disappeared. *“Dog-gone my cats, kittens, an’ ther Wild Sse ter t!” he muttered, in extreme vexa- tion. He then bethought himself of the necessity of gaining some reliable information in regard to the retreat of the outlaws, and as he medi- tated, he decided that he had now an excel- lent chance to gain all the secrets of the ban-. dits. He had noted the actions and heard many of the words of the Woman in Black, as she bade farewell to the wounded captain; and he came to the conclusion that there was a rotten plank in the platform of the Wild Cats which could be used to overthrow the band. His surprise that the outlaw chief should have been left behind in his present condition was eat‘ but Bill did not waste time in thought. e decided upon immediate action in the prem- ises. When the bandit leader had rushed wildly about with piercing shrieks, the horse which one of the band bad considerately left behind for his old chief, had galloped to the shades of the mesquites in great fright, and this had been noticed by Bowlder Bill. ‘He now lost no time in securing the animal, and, loosening a lasso from the horn of the sad- die, the miner led the horse at once to the place > pl he had seen the chief of the Wild Cats a Reaching the side of Captain Halfhand, Bill secured the hands of the former, and then, b ng his whole strength, he lifted the bandit into the saddle, fastened him to the same, and led the animal up the nearest ‘‘ wash-out,” in the dark depths of which he lariated the horse to a shrub, and then seated himself to rest and meditate upon his future course. Meanwhile he kept hoping that the Indian svould soon return and confer with bim as to an ee ee oe without guidance, to a mm ee eee secure the services of Square Sim and the citi- zens, CHAPTER XVII. ‘(WELL SHAKEN BEFORE TAKEN.” WE left Diamond Dick in the dark depths of the ‘‘ wash-out,” lost in the bowels of the earth, as well as in thought, and totally ignorant in regard to the direction in which his horse was traveling. The many tragic and exciting occurrences through which he had passed, combined with the effects of his wound, the meeting with those he had traveled so far to trace, all these made it difficult for him to believe that these experiences had been crowded into one eventful night, and he strove in vain to connect his thoughts in a reasonable manner. From the moment of his entering Placer Palace, each hour had been pregnant with the most bewildering developments, each in its turn me 8 out a clear trail toward the fulfillment of his vow of vengeance. Thus matters seemed to our hero, as his horse walked cautiously along the narrow, winding and dark passage, afar down below the surface of the earth. Every one he had met, friend or enemy, had proved in some way a helper to him in his search for Holbrook and his paramour; and the very fact that the latter had interposed to save him from death, confirmed Dick in his belief that his guardian angel was watching over him, and leading him on. The desertion of Dashing Dolores was a mys- tery, but he began to believe that his being thus left alone was one of the links in the — of events, which would benefit him in the end. For some time his noble steed walked on, Dick allowing him to proceeed at will, without once touching the bridle; when at last, upon turning a bend in the “ wash-out,” a silvery brightness ahead, and a wide level of sand spreading out in front of him, caused him to regain his reins, and proceed with caution, though he had no idea that it was the same basin from which he had galloped under the guidance of Dolores. The high land to his left projected out some distance further than that to his right, and this gave Dick a clear prospect of the western side of the basin, and shut out from view the scene of the fight on the east. Casting a glance now to the west, the young man perceived a fast- galloping horse approaching him. In another second he recognized in its rider, the Woman in Black, who had come between bim and the rifles of the bandits, He saw then that his horse had wandered point where he could again take up the trail; and he jerked his steed backward just at the moment that Lucile Luzerne glanced to tha east, previous to her dashing into the canyon. His Tinie had prevented Dick from taking note of the lines in the landscape in his front, consequently he saw nothing that gave him a hint as to his real location; and he was too cau- tious to advance at once into the moonlight space, lest the Wild Cats might be following after their female leader. With this resolve, he waited a moment, his eyes directed toward the south, expecting each instant that horsemen would appear. This de- lay prevented him from discovering Bowlder Bill, as the latter secured his captive upon the horse, and hurried with the senseless chief of the outlaws from the basin, thereby saving the latter for the time being. Had Dick known what wastranspiring around the bank to the east, and in the gloomy depths of the canyon to the west, he would have been forced to acknowledge that, altbough the Fates had thus far -been working in his favor, they had suddenly deserted him, or lost their gripe. .Hearing nothing that would indicate that hu- man beings were ahead, Dick loosened the rein, spoke to his horse, and the animal walked slowly out into the moonlight, gradually open- ing the hitherto hidden portion of the basin into full view. With an ejaculation of surprise, the young man jerked rein, and sat his steed, his eyes fixed on the scene of the late encounter, not a hundred yards away. One glance however, showed bim that no living man or brute was within the scope of vision, and supposing that Bowlder Bill and the Kiowa bad gone down the canyon to procure the assistance of the citizens, he urged his horse to the west, dashing reckless- ly into the canyon, in hopes that it might be wide enough in places to give him an oceasional sight of Lucile Luzerne, and by following her ascertain the retreat of the Wild Cats. But the hopes of Diamond Dick were fated to be transformed to regrets most bitter; for, upon turning an abrupt curve, his horse darted from beneath narrow opernees ee banks into a wide space, which was brightly illuminated by the moon. Fearing that he had been imprudent, he halted suddenly, but before he had time to think, or to draw a weapon, the hiss of lassoes cutting the advance, or a return to Big Medicine City to Diamond Dick, the Dandy from Denver. air from either side caught his ears, and, the same instant, he felt the tightly drawn ropes around his form, and binding his arms to his sides, as in a vise. While writhing in the coils, his horse mean- while prancing and snorting with fright, half-a- dozen brutal visaged men rushed from the broken sides of the canyon toward him. Jerked from his saddle and disarmed, Dick now found himself held fast in a standing position in the bed of the canyon, the moon shining brightly down upon him. His captors uttered not a word, but the ears of the young man were soon tortured by the taunting laugh of Lucile Luzerne, who urged her horse in front of bim, her beautiful face filled with triumph. ‘George McClellan!” she exclaimed, ‘* we meet again, and under circumstances not as agreeable to yourself, as even I would wish; but I have been forced to it in self-defense. Captain Halfband showed an ignorance of your character, and it has cost him dear. My men would have shot you like a dog for the disaster and death which you brought upon our band, but I have prevailed upon them to give you a chance for your life. George McCleljan, or Diamond Dick, as Pete says you are now dubbed, you were a fool to spend time and money in search of revenge. You are too quixotic, but you are brave and manly, and I a the necessity of having to treat youas I O Straight as an Indian lance stood our hero his eyes flashing contempt and batred into those of the Woman in Black, as he replied: “Lucile Luzerne! I was a stupid dolt, to walk, or gallop rather, into your parlor. But, for all that, since I struck this section of country last evening, I flatter myself I have accomplished not a little toward carrying out my purpose of revenge.” ‘ Ah!” said the woman coolly; ‘‘ but it is my turn now.” ‘“‘Té is not!” he exclaimed, ‘‘I do not be- lieve that [ was born to be killed by the out- laws of New Mexico, at the orders of the most infamous female fiend that ever cursed civiliza- tion. The murderous Apaches are more fitting associates for you than white men. You are fair in face and form, Lucile Luzerne, but the fires of hell are reflected in your eyes, A wo- man who can boast of having ruined a score of happy families, by luring their protectors from truth and honor, and leaving them to the mercy of strangers, and perchance to starve; and who, to accomplish her hellish aims, has not hesitated to take the lives of innocent babes, deserves only eternal torture,” ‘‘ Bravo, bravissimo!” burst from the bandit Queen, in genuine admiration, and without the slightest show of anger. ‘‘ You compliment me highly, George McClellan! You ride a high horse now, my young friend, but in time you will be satisfied with a mangy burro. I never saw a man yet that I could not, if I wished to, bend to my will. When I shall have subdued you, revolutionized your thoughts, aims and feel- ings, then I shall be supremely proud, for it will be the crowning effort of my life. Hol- brook, at his best, was a puling ‘infant compared with you, my lion-hearted youth. You shall yet be captain of the Wild Cats, and I proud to be your loyal slave.” With a silvery laugh as she ended, the Wo- man in Black sprung forward on her horse to the side of Diamond Dick, and patted his cheek with her hand. Had a rattlesnake struck its deadly fangs into his face he would not have recoiled with more horror and aversion. As he sprung quick! backward he burled one of the bandits wit reat force to the earth, the outlaw, the next instant, with a fierce, vengeful oath, regaining his feet. Drawing back his arm to strike the captive the bandit was surprised by the sharp crack o a rifle, and, before his clinched fist struck its mark, he threw up his arms ‘and fell back, his features contorted with hate and the death- agony. All turned their gaze yep upward in great alarm, and a score of rifles were at once brought to shoulder, but naught except a slight curl of smoke above the high bank of the canyon could be seen; however. the wild, ringing war-cry of the Kioway sounded loud and clear, causing the Wild Cats to stare at each other in the deepest wonder and alarm. ‘‘To horse! To horse! Bind the captive to his own saddle! Spur deep, men, for Big Medi- cine is on our trail, and we must mislead bim!” Thus ordered the bandit Queen, in tones that were clear and ringing, and the next minute the outlaw horde were dashing up the canyon to the west, Diamond Dick in their midst, his face, since he had heard the rifle-shot and the war -cry of the Indian, filled with the greatest relief, for he had heard the same yell when sur- rounded by deadly danger in the basin, and he felt positive that the Kioway, whom he had be- friended in Placer Palace, was on the trail. in- stead of being, as he bad hitherto supposed, down the canyon following Square Sim and the citizens of Big Medicine City. ~ comicbooks, co 4 - '