Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 20 — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

4 } - oF. e —— — OP ge = Ree © ee ee 7, ee n> aul ~ Se ee See 2 ae. - a . — hawt op > - e > t Sp eee Wseks Se Be - - a + . —s . ‘ -— : orey y a ee we ohn eee _— ; ~ — — The Bandit at Bay. 25 furnace, uttering their war-yell and bran- dishing their arms, and the melée became frightful. e Apaches, thus attacked 6h two sides simultaneously, underwent a momentary stu- por, which soon changed intoa panic and utter rout, at the sight of these new oppo- nents, who seemed to rise from the ground to crush them, and change their triumph in- to a defeat. But flight was not easy. The entire population of the village was ander arms: women and children, electrifi- ed by their example,and joining the warriors, rushed madly on the Apaches, who, seeing their surprise foiled, only tried to reach the open country again. For a quarter of an hour the massacre was fearful. At length the Apaches, led by Stanapat aud Black Cat, who vainly performed prodi- gies of valor in order to restore the chances of the fight, succeeded in clearing a gap through their enemies, and rushed im every direction, closely followed by the Coman- ches, who felled them with their war-clubs and pitilessly scalped them. Only one band still resisted. Leaning against the palisades, which they had not yet found time to cross, the Pirates, bearing in their midst the body of their be- loved Gazelle, had recoiled inch by inch be- fore the enemies who enveloped them on all sides, dashing forward every now and then, and compelling their foes to give ground in their turn. But the struggle was too unequal, and a long resistance soon became impossible. he Pirates, skillfully geared by a mo- ment ot disorder, started to fly each ina dif- ferent direction,hoping to escape more easily in this way. Sandoval had taken on his robust shoulders the body of the girl, and with an extraordi- nary effort, which despair alone made suc- cessful, had deaped out on the plain, where he hoped to conceal himself in the grass. He would have probably succeeded in this, but he had to do with four men, who seem- ed to have made up their minds to hunt him down. At the moment he drew himself up after his leap, Valentine and his comrades threw themselves upon him, without giving him time to defend himself, and, in spite of his desperate resistance and furious yells, tied him rege The old Pirate, on finding himself a pris- oner, let his head sink on his chest, and giving a sad glance at the girl he had been unable to save, he gave vent to a deep sigh, and a burning tear silently coursed down his furrowed cheeks. At the same moment Ellen entered the vil- , in the middle of her escort: on seeing her, Valentine started. ‘Oh! he muttered; ‘“‘where is Dona Clara ?”’ ‘‘ My daughter, my daughter!” the hacien- dero exclaimed, suddenly appearing before the hunter, with his clothes disordered and his brow pale with anxiety. The unhappy father, since he had entered the village, had only attended to one thing— seeking his daughter. Alas! his search had been in vain. Dona Clara had disappeared: although Valentine had intrusted her to Shaw, no one knew what had become of her. The haciendero fell into his friend’s arms, and burst into heartrending sobs. ‘‘ My daughter,”’ he groaned. “ Valentine, restore my daughter to me !” ‘Courage, poor father,’”’ the hunter said tohim. ‘Courage !”’ But the haciendero nolonger heard him ; rief had at length overpowered him, an e fainted away. ‘Oh!’ Valentine said, ‘‘ Red Cedar, you viper, shallI never succeed in putting my heel on your chest?’ Aided by the General and Don Pablo, he carried Don Miguel to the medicine-lodge, which the flames had not reached, and lai him on a bed of dry leaves. CHAPTER XXIV... THE SCALP-DANCE. Wuen the combat was at an end, the Comanches busied themselves in repairing the ye caused by the Apache attack. Though their losses were great, they were not so serious as might be supposed; be- cause, as the season was already far advanced, they had sent the larger portion of their roperty to the winter village. This acci- ental circumstance saved the greater part of their wealth. On the other hand, the Apaches had been in such haste, and the defense had been 80 Perinat organized and obstinate, that they ‘had found no time to plunder. Although all tue huts were reduced to ashes, that damage was trifling, and could be repaired in a few days. The most serious part of the affair was the loss of some twenty warriors, who had cour- ageously fallen in the defense of their homes. Several women and children had also fallen; but the Apaches had suffered a far more con- siderable loss. Without counting more than eighty warriors killed during the rout, Black Cat und six other Apache warriors had fallen alive into the power of their ad- versaries, and a terrible fate awaited them. ‘¢ What does my brother intend to do with his prisoners ?”? Unicorn asked Valentine. ‘* My brother need not feel anxious about them,” the latter answered; ‘“‘they are whites, and Lintend disposing of them as I think proper.”’ ‘¢Tt shall be done as my brother desires.’’ ‘Thanks, chief; I should feel obliged, however, by your lending me two or three warriors to guard them.’ ‘*Tt is ununecessary,’’ Sandoval interrupt- ed. ‘‘I pledge my word of honor and that of my comrade not to try to escape for the next twenty-four hours.” Valentine fixed on him a glance that seem- ed trying to read his most secret thoughts. ‘Tt is well,’’ he said presently. ‘I accept your parole.”’ ** Are you going to leave this poor crea- ture without help ?”’ ** You love him ?”’ : “As my son; had it not been so, you would not have captured me.” “Very good. e will try to save him; but, perhaps it would be better for him to die at once.” ‘Perhaps so,”’ the old Pirate said, speak- ing, as if seemed, to himself. ‘In a few moments the scalp-dance will begin; will my brothers be present at it?” Unicorn asked. “7 will,’ Valentine replied, who, although caring very little for this ceremony, unde: stood that it would be impolitic not to ap- pear at it. We have already said that Ellen had reach- ed the village by this time. On seeing her, Don Pablo felt his heart quiver with emotion. Ellen, whose glance was idly wandering around, let her eyes settle accidentally on him ; she suddenly blushed, and let her eye- lashes droop to hide her look of pleasure. Instinetively she felt reassured on finding she had near her this young man, whom, how- ever, she hardly knew, and who had only ad- dressed her once or twice. A cry of joy died away on her lips. Don Pablo walked upto her. He had al- ready learned by what a concourse of singu- lar events she had fallen into the hands of the partisans. “ You are free, my lady,’”’ he said to her; ‘henceforth you have nothing more to fear here, for you are under my protection.”’ ‘*And mine,’’ Harry said, roughly, as he hastily surveyed Don Pablo. “I alone am sufficient to defend Miss Ellen from any in- sult.’’ The two young men exchanged a very sig- nificant look: at the first word, each recog- nized in the other a rival. ‘‘T have no desire to withdraw Miss Ellen from your protection,” the Mexican said, coldly. ‘‘ Still, as youarea orange this village, where {am among devoted friends, I fancy that my support will not be useless to her, and offer it—that is all.” vn gegen accept,” she replied, with a charming suile. ‘* Be kind enough to em- ploy your influence in procuring me some shelter, wherel can take a few minutes’ re- pose, which I so greatly need.” “Be good enough to follow me,” the young man answered with a bow; “your wishes shall be immediately satisfied.’’ Ellen then turned to Harry: ‘“Thanks, brother,”’ she said to him, cor- dially offering her hand. ‘‘ Now, think of yourself ; we shall meet again soon,”’ Then she added, addressing Don Pablo: **]T follow you, sir.” The Canadian hunter stood for a moment abashed by this hnrried leave-taking, but soon raised his head again. ‘““Hum!” he muttered, “that’s the wa she leaves me, is it? But why be angry wit her? all women are alike—and then I have sworn to defend her! Can I compel her to love me ?” And after these philosophical reflection which restored him all his tranquillity mind, he threw his rifle over his shoulder, and quietly mixed among Bloodson’s parti- Bans. Don Pablo, in the meanwhile, had con- ducted the maiden to a cabin miraculously preserved from the flames. At the moment they entered, they were ae by bhnermg a oid wath Set — a woman,’’ he ayly ; the better.” ; news | _And laying White Gazelle on the buffalo- hides, he added with a smile; ——_—— ** Permit me, madam, to mtrust to your care this young person, whom my friend Cu- rumilla has half killed. We must do our best to restore life.”’ Pedro Sandoval, so soon as he had pledged his word, had been freed from his ligatures, though his weapons were taken from him. ‘“‘Companero,”’ he said, ‘‘let the sefiorita do what is necessary; she will manage bet- ter than we can.”’ “Is she your daughter?” Ellen asked, with interest. The Pirate shook. his head sadly. ‘“‘We have no children or family, we the aecursed ones of civilization,’’ be said in a hollow voice; ‘‘ but, as 1 have watched over this poor girl almost since her birth, I love ber as we are capable of loving. I have al- ways acted as her father, and my greatest grief to day is to see her suffering and be unable to relieve her.”’ The maiden, affected by such devoted love in a nature so rough as that of the Pirate, renewed her assurance of giving the prisoner all the care her position demanded, and the two women remained alone in the tent. In the meanwhile a new village had risen, as if by enchantment, on the ruins of the old one. Within a few hours, buffalo-skin tents were erected in every direction, and only a few traces remained of the inary contest of which the spot had been the scene on that same day. A fire was kindledin the public square, and the Apache prisoners, fastened to stakes put up expressly for them, were stoically awaiting the decision of their fate. All were getting ready for the scalp-dance, and a great number of men, tall, handsome, and well-dressed, soon invaded every corner of the square. In the sca!p-dance the women carry arms, and put on the war costume, to the exclu- sion of the men. The women formed a semicircle; the musicians, placed on the right, began their deafening noise, beating the drums with all their strength, singing their exploits, and shaking the chickikouis. The squaws then began dancing. They took little steps, balancing to the right and left; the two ends of the semi- circle advanced and fell back in turn; the dancers shrieked at the top of their lungs, and produced a fearful concert, which can only be compared to the furious miauwling of a multitude of cats. The Apache prisoners were fastened to stakes in the center of the circle. Each time the woman approached them in their evolutions, they overwheimed them with insults, spat in their faces, called them cowards, hares, rabbits, ana dogs without hearts. The Apaches smiled at these insults, to which they replied by enumerating the Josses they had entailed on the Comanches, and the warriors they had killed. When the dance had lasted more than an hour, the women, exhausted with fatigue, were compelled to rest, and the men ad- vanced in their turn, and stood before the prisoners. Among them was one Valentine would have liked tosave—it was Black Cat. The hunter therefore resolved to interfere, and employ all his influence with Unicorn to obtain the life of the Apache chief. Valentine did not conceal from himself the difficulty of such an undertaking with men to whom vengeance is the first duty and whose good will he was, above all, afraid of alienating. Bnt powerful reasons com- pelled him to act thus, and he resolved to at- tempt it. He therefore advanced without hesitation to Unicorn, who was preparing the punish- ment of the prisoners, and touched him lightly on the arm. ‘‘ My brother is the first sachem of the Comanches,”’ he said to him. The chief bowed silently. : “His wigwam,’’ Valentine continued, in an insinuating voice, ‘disappears’ under the scalps of his enemies, s0 numerous are they, for my brother is more terrible than Hig htning in the combat.” e Indian regarded the hunter with a proud smile. ‘* My brother, the great pale hunter, must explain himself clearly, in order that sens? understand him,”’ the sachem answered, wi a shade of impatience. lane “ brother will listen to me for a mo- ment,”’ Valentine continued, quite unmov- ed. ‘Several Apache warriors have fallen alive into his hands.” 4 | ‘They will die!’ the chief said, hoarse- ly. ye Very ood,”’ the hunter replied, who unders that if he attempted to save all the ‘prisoners he shoulé not succeed, and was therefore compelled to compromise; “the warriors must die, that is the law of ~ a “ —