Beadle's Dime Library No. 204 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

—_ — —<— — . re ee ee oe eee ee oo et ep lili a ee - Bis Foot Wallace. at a 23 “Boys, the driver has been murdered, and the captives have escaped!” **Come, boys, quick! It’s life or death now,” exclaimed Frank Ames; and while the bandits were all, with bitter curses of furious rage, inspecting the wagon, the new-comers, unseen by the sentinel, spurred their borses in desperate haste through the timber, beyoad the bend. Then, plunging into the river, they forded the same, and struck for the south plain, while their ears were tortured, and their blood chilled by the fiendish yells that were now turning the bandit camp into pandemonium. you communicate with meat all? You have three men with you, andI would not give a picayune for you, if, with such help, you could not overpower an old man and a few niggers. However, I believe Belle Bowen would have shot all four of you, for she sent two | of my men to grass.” As Capitan Caramba spoke, the assembled ruffians muttered oaths of rage, at recalling the death of their comrades, whom they had | forgotten in their brutal lust and thirst for | blood, | This caused Frank Ames to be still more | anxious. He began to tremble for his personal safety. From the cold reception which he and his friends had received, together with the words of the bandit chief, and the vengeful mutterings of his men, he was forced to con- clude that the outlaws were much exasperated by the death of two of their number, and that, as he had been the cause of their attacking the Bowen outfit, they might be prompted to mur- der him and bis party. He attributed the cold words and manner of Capitan Caramba, to the disaster met with on the plain, and he now began to fear that bodily barm would come to | in the wagon, throwing them out, until the the colonel and his daughter, which, in the | supplies were all upon the ground. Then, event of escaping himself, would ruin all his | springing from the wagon, his face contorted plans, reducing him to poverty, and with no | with baffled fury, be cried out: hope of gaining wealth in the future. Hehad| ‘By all the fiends! Boys, the gold is gone! staked his allon this issue. He had borrowed | To horse! A score of you followme. We'll quite a sum from his sporting friends to pur- _ have back that which blood has been spilled chase horses and equipments, and te defray | for. Vamonos!” the expenses of the trip; and, after having ab- | The next moment, with a score of brutes at sented himself from his old resorts at the very | his back, the bandit chief dashed from the time that the Bowens had left their home on | opening, on the back trail, and orderiug his the Trinity, should it become known that they men to be silent, as they bad, since learning had been foully dealt with, the crime would be | the loss of the gold, been yelling like demons laid at his door. And, besides, there were | who had been cheated of their victim. sufficient proofs along the trail to show plainly | Only a short time did it take for the outlaws that he had been implicated in a plot to way- | to reach a point near to that where, across the lay them. He knew too, that those whom he | river, the Comanches were concealed with the | CHAPTER XX. THE WACOS ON THE TRAIL, WB8HEN Capitan Caramba discovered that the driver of the wagon, although seated in his place, was dead, and that the colonel and Belle had made their escape, his rage was terri- ble. In hisfury, he hurled the dead teamster to the earth, as if the man murdered in his ser- vice bad been the cause of his loss. This done, he began tossing over the goods ——_ had employed were liable at any moment, “in | same captives who had so recently escaped their cups,” to betray him, and to concoct | from their own power; and so excited and plans to shield themselves from any complicity | enraged had the bandits been, that they never with him in the capture of the Bowens. once thought of the four visitors who bad Frank, therefore, began to be most fearfully | been so coolly treated by their chief. Capitan concerned, and to think more of escape than of | Caramba himself had also forgotten them, in the accomplishment of his plan, which he now | his new trouble and excitement. decided to be a very difficult programme to Still galloping at headlong speed, sweeping carry through as previously arranged; but, as | the plain with quick but keen glances, to de- the wagon came nearer, his whole attention | tect those who, he had no doubt, were crouch- was fastened upon it, and bis perplexed mind | ing in the grass, they were soon brought toa ran riot with a thousand and one new plans | halt by the yells and shrieks from beyond the and projects. river. Then, at a gesture from their chief, Suddenly Capitan Caramba sprung away | they walked their animals slowly and cau- from his horse, gazing with a strange look | tiously toward the bottom timber, and entered toward the point of entrance, as he exclaimed | the dark shades, their weapons grasped tightly, in a loud tone: ready, if need be, for a desperate conflict. “ What the deuce is the matter with that As has been mentioned, the river at this driver? The team is coming in wild, and with | point was very difficult to ford, although the loose reins!” Indians had not been delayed in crossing by At this moment the sentinel sprung from | this fact,as they were well acquainted with his post, and uttered an exclamation of horror. | every turn, and break, and shallow, in the He then made a bound into the bushes, and at | San Miguel. But, as it was quite dark beneath the same time, the avimals, frightened by this | the thick foliage, and it was impossible to dis- movement of the Mexican, swerved to one’ cover the one place where the Comanches had side, and broke into a headlong gallop, speed- | forded, the bandits were compelied to halt ing along the border of the timber toward the | within a pistol-shot of a party of men of whose river, the wagon jolting this way and that, | character they were in total ignorance. among the tall bunch grass. Capitan Caramba was not only greatly puz- Capitan Caramba vaulted into his saddle, | zled, but he was most extremely dumfounded; spurred his horse in chase, and yelled furi- | and the desperate fury which had ruled him ously: since discovering the loss of the gold, cooled “Head them off, boys! down under the mystery now in front of him, say! There’s something wrong there. which he strove in vain to account for, al- them off!” though he recalled the fact that Frank Ames Every bandit had sat his steed, speechless | and his comrades had left his camp in the with astonishment; for all of them had caught | excitement attendant upon the arrival of the a glimpse of the pale face, and the fixed, glassy, | wagon. glaring eyes of the driver, as well as the strange it did not seem possible that Frank and his and unnatural posture in which he was seated. | pards had reached this distance from the bend; However, when the order of their chief rung | and, supposing this to be the case, what occa- in their ears, all dashed deep their spurs, and | sion could they have for such a hubbub? Such flew to the right and left, surrounding the | sounds could not have been given except by affrighted team, and bringing them to a halt. | mortals in the extremity of fear or agony, and No sooner had the bandit leader yelled his | that the shrieks had proceeded from strong order, and asserted that something was wrong, | men, was beyond a doubt. than Frank Ames, with a quick gesture of No sounds of a conflict, other than those, had warning to his three comrades, slowly guided | met his ear. No fire-arms had been used, to his horse toward the narrow trail that led to | indicate that the men who had visited his the opening. : camp had quarreled among themseives, and The three young men followed, until near | fought. No signs of any other party being on the undergrowth; then, for an instant, they | the river had been reported by his guards and drew rein, spies. Capitan Caramba began to feel cold ‘‘We arein a tight fix, boys,” said Frank; | chills run through his blood, as he gazed ‘‘and when I give the order, follow me, or we | over the black rolling waters into the dark are lost. We must ford the river at once, and | shades beyond, through which had come s0 take chances.” recently, such cries of agony, but which now Ashe said this, a loud yell of surprise and were silent as the grave. rage came from the outlaw chief, as he cried The outlaw chief and his men sat their horses out, in a voice of fury: as if dazed, peering over the stream, and all —— —— Head them off, I Head hearing the rustle of leaves and twigs, although no breeze fanned their livid cheeks, Suddenly the spell was broken. The bandit leader scented danger in his front and threw off the depressing influence which ruled him for the moment only. He caught up his bridle-rein, intending to whirl about and return to the plain, but at the same instant that he was forming the word of command, the twang of a score of bow-strings sounded from the shadows beyond the river, followed by the whirr of deadly arrows, and then mingled with the screams of agony from the wounded bandits, and the human-like shrieks of mustangs, as the Comanche war-whoop rung out with blood- curdling power. Capitan Caramba is bimself again. Un- tonched by the volley of the Indians, he yelled to his followers, as he fired a fusilade from his revolvers into the Carkness. “Give them hot lead, boys! the plains!” But a few of his men remained to heed the order, for the Mexicans who had escaped being seriously wounded, bad fied in terror, none but the white desperadoes standing their ground long enough to discharge their revolvers. How- ever, the death-yells that sounded from over the San Miguel proved that, although the ene- my were protected by the darkness and the thick bushes, the lead had not all been wasted. Leaving their wounded and dead on the bank of the stream where they fell, the outlaws made good time to the moonlit plain, where Capitan Caramba, insane with rage, ordered his band t> reload and follow him, for he now felt sure that it was the Indians who had killed his teamster, and taken his gold and captives. He resolved to recover his losses and avenge the s‘ain; and although bis men were \demor- alized by the unexpected disasters, and were averse to engaging in any fight which promised no return, they dared not falter, but spurred after their leader down-stream to a fordable spot in the river, which was well known to all of them. Soon again their ears were filled with the most horrible screams of deathly agony, cut- ting the night air and chilling the very mar- row in their bones. Thinking that the Coman- ches were now torturing his wounded men, the bandit leader urged his horse and men to greater speed. After fording the river, they cautiously made their way to the undergrowth near which the Indians had been posted, send- ing on in advance a spy to reconnoiter, who shortly gave a signal to approach—that all was well, The outlaws now dashed into the clear space that had been the halting-place of the Indians, but no paint-daubed face or form met their view. A faint moan, however, sounded from the direction of the south plain, and the bandits, confident that the Comanches had gone, urged their steeds toward the spot whence the sound iproceeded, but could discover nothing until they rode into the edge of the moonlit prairie, when, upon turning their horses toward the timber, a terrible sight met their view, causing even the. Mexican murderers and Mestizo butch- ers to quake in their boots. Four small trees had been trimmed of their branches for ten feet, and all underbrush cut away, and between these trees was a sight that would have caused a peace commissioner to turn sca)p-taker. Barnes, Stephens and Walker all were here; but all three—thank God!—were dead. All were beyond the pale of the fearful suffering that had racked their frames more than if they had been burned at the stake. As seen by the outlaws, they bore no semblance to humanity, except in form, for all were one mass of gore. To the base of the trees, next the earth, the feet of all had been secured, and their hands bad been outstretched and elevated above their heads, and also bound fast. Their toe and finger-nails had been pulled out, and their scalps had been taken. Their eyelids had been cut away. Their tongues had been half- severed, and their ears had been hacked from their heads. Next, the red fiends had cut gashes with their knives and arrow points upon all parts of their bodies and limbs, causing a slow and horrible death to the three young men who had been lured from civilization by a thirst for gold, offered by one who had seduced them from the paths of virtue and honesty, and by keeping them in a semi-intoxicated condition, induced them to stoop to crime for Then spur for (EOE DOO KS (El) a ° —— * oe ee 0 a wr me = — < a Tit — Ss a en oe eS ? ~ SS NR em 2 te "; : =" =2" rs f ee Me a ee Ot Z : Pip ae De - = p 2 i: