Beadle's Dime Library No. 204 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

26 Big Foot Wallace. soon saw Maggie, and then greatly relieved, but seeing it was impossible to aid her, stole on up the San Miguel to try and intercept the scouts, and give them the valuable information she had gained. Big Foot Wallace and Post Oak Bill had been so deeply concerned in regard to the dan- ger of Maggie Moore and the ranch, that they, galloping as they did, from the Medina, found no time to explain to Sharp Eye who the my butes in Curmanch bleed I’m a dodgasted | real from the unreal. But we-’uns hes gut ter play pervaricator. shy, an’ keep our peepers peeled. If leetle Maggie, er leetle Belle gits a scratch, or loses a ha’r, Pll skin every cussed Curmanch in ther hull dod-blasted country!” Post Oak and Sharp Eye, although almost insane with impatience, knew that careful planning and a thorough knowledge of the situation ahead, was necessary for the success young man was whom he had found with them | of their attempt at rescue, and both were at the ford; consequently Sharp Eye knew no- | greatly amazed at the information brought thing of the Bowen outfit, and it was well he | did not, for he had enough to weigh him down as it was, and especially after he found that his promised wife had been taken captive by the Comanches. The three scouts were dashing, as we have previously described, down along the edge of the timber on the south side of the San Miguel, and had reached a point not more than a mile above the Comanche war-party, when they were brought to a sudden halt, by observing an Indian, standing boldly in the moonlight, with both bands uplifted, and the palms extended toward them, thus proving that he was a friend. However, they slackened the pace of their steeds, but upon coming nearer, recognized Warnona, .“ Wa-al, dod-gast my puserlanimous panther- eat!” exclaimed Big Foot; ‘ef thar ain’t Wild Wolf's squaw what we-uns left et ther Medina. I never know’d ther Waco ter spit out a squar’ lie, but I'll sw’ar his tongue must ’a’ bin kinder crooked when he said thet Warnona war et ther lodge down crick,” ‘The hearts of the scoufs were filled with joy, as they. discovered the young squaw, and heard the words of Wallace, who was confi- ent that no foes were lurking within hearing of his voice. . _ The two first-mentioned scouts knew that Warnona must have some important intelli- gence, and even Big Foot, although he spoke as he did, well knew that Wild Wolf had not lied, ) “For God’s sake, Warnona,” cried Sharp Eye,. ‘tell us if you have seen Maggie?’ ‘Jerk hit out quick!” exclaimed Post Oak Bill, “My white sister has not sung her death song,” said the squaw. ‘She is in Comanche camp, but the braves of the /lanos build no fires.” Post Oak Bill dashed the tears of gratitude from his eyes, and gripped his rifle with a firmer hold, while Sharp Eye removed his som- brero, and looked upward. ‘How many oO’ ther cusses air thar on the San Miguel?’ asked Big Foot Wallace. ‘““Mebbe so you koow how many warriors at ranch? My white brothers have seen trail.” “Thar war ’bout sixty lit in on Antone an’ Juan, but ther boys wiped out eight or ten, afore they lost tharha’r. ‘Bout fifty, I reckon, skuted down this-a-ways,” said the Giant Scout. “More down river before they come,” said Warnona. ‘So many;” and she opened and closed her hands, with fingers extended, designating twenty, then raising one hand to indicate five, she added: ‘‘So many git shot.” _* Who in ther name o’ Crockett shot ’em?”’ “Bad white men,” answered the Waco squaw. ) ‘** Capitan Caramba and his gang?’ at ae “*Wa-al,” exclaimed Big Foot, “ef we-’uns e’'u’d git up a fandang’ ’tween ther fellers an’ reds, an’ then skip in arter Maggie, hit would be a scrumptious game ter play. Anyways I’m dang glad Capitan Caramba hev gut biz on his han’s.”’ “ Bad whites took wagons before Comanches come,” continued Warnona. . “Burn one wagon, Killblack peopleon prairie. Tie gray hair man. Tie white squaw. Put in wagon. Comanches take white captives from bad Mexi- cans and bad white men.” “Great Je-hoss-i-fat!” burst out Big Foot, in deep concern as well as fury; “ whar’s Adler?’ *‘He heap bad in head. So many white men ride fast to camp of Capitan Caramba—” Warnona held up four. fingers—‘‘ then ride on piain. Water Warrior catch one. Comanches all rest. All kill, Hear yell much heap at torture.” “ Jumpin’ Jerusalem!” yelled. . Wallace, “hold me, somebody! Both ther leetle gals tuck by ther cussed reds. Ef I doesn’t wade over A a + | aly ’ i dong them by Warnona., Sharp Eye had started at.the mention of Adler, but when Wallace spoke the name of Belle, he spurred quickly to his side, and asked with much anxiety and excitement of manner: ‘Who are this Adler and Belle, that you speak of?” ‘Adler air the man what war with me an’ Bill at ther ford, when yer rid up on t’other side. He was wantin’ us ter go an’ pertect a outfit o’ two wagons, same as Warnona says was tuck by Capitan Caramba. Adler hed followed ’em from Brazos-ways, an’ I reckon he war soft on ther girl, leetle Belle, es purty a lady asl ever see’d. ThH&r war four cusses from down country arfter’ ther outfit. One on ‘em—F rank Ames he said his handle war, bein’ on a crooked game ter git Miss Belle, hes gut balked, bit ‘pears. What’s ther matter, Sharp Eye?’ The young scout was reeling in his saddle, his face ghastly, but he braced up, and demanded: “Who is this Belle? What is her other name?’ * Her dad’s name an’ hern, thet is, the last handle, air Bowen. He air curnil, an’ she air Belle.” . “ Great.Goi! This is more than I can bear. Friends, pards, Belle Bowen is my sister—my only blood relation on ewrth! Think of it! She too I love more than all the world—both in the power of those fiendish savages. Come, Bill! Come, Wallace! We must save them, even without the aid of Wild Wolf. TI must goat once. I cannot control myself, with this new anguish added.” Never were two men more surprised than were Post Oak Bill and Big Foot Wallace. They both stared at Sharp Eye, thinking that he had gone mad. They had never heard bim speak the name of Bowen, and supposed his name to be—as it was—Edward Duval. But there was no time for explanations now. All gathered their reins to dash ahead, but Warnona held up her hand ina gesture that commanded attention, saying: ‘*My white brothers must go into the woods. Comanches watch plains. See scouts there. Kill white squaws. War-party only few shoots down the river. Leave Mustangs in bush, Try save captives. Warnona ride fast for Wacos. Where Wild Wolf go?” ‘‘He rid off et stompede speed arter his fighters,” answered Big Foot, ‘‘an’ ther’ ain’t no need o’ your levantin’ ’thout hit air ter guide him plum inter ther bestest p’int fer a squar’ lunge et ther cusses. Skip, an’ run in Wild Wolf on ther sly ef yer feels like hit, Warnona, fer we-’uns is boun’ ter hev ther seven year itch, er somethin’ wusser, ef we doesn’t git up an’ dust mighty lively outen hyer on ther trail o’ ther dod-gasted scarifiers. Come, boyees, all this gab hed ter be slung, ter git a cl’ar trail toward reg’lar biz, *thout takin’ chances fer a bad break.” , All dashed into the timber eastward, except the Waco squaw, who ran directly north, to cross the river, and gaze over the plain toward the Bandero Hills, from which point she looked for her warlike lord at the head of his braves, The scouts proceeded some three-fourths of a mile down-stream, riding rapidly, but using great judgment and careful not to make the slightest noise. They then secreted their horses, as Warnona had counseled them, in a dense thicket, from which they stole, keeping in coves along the river-bank, toward the halting place of the red fiends, who held their loved captive, and who were liable, at any moment, to torture, death, or a fate Infinitely worse. CHAPTER XXIII IN THE COMANCHE CAMP. For some time after Warnona’s. departure, George Adlef sat as she had left him, with his hands clasped about his fevered brow, and striving to grope through the distorted visions that swarmed in his brain, and to divide the | | | | There were instants when the dread facts were before his mind’s eye in all the horrible vividness of reality; but no sooner did these facts flash upon, ¢ausing him to form plans instantaneously toward the assistance of the poor captives, than the thought of Belle’s terrible position plunged his weakened brain once more into a sea of madness. His struggle with Frank Ames—he having in a lucid moment recognized his rival, who he knew was the cause of all the disaster brought upon the Bowens—had caused the wound upon his head to break out afresh, and the blood now flowing down over his face, added to his in- flamed eyes and wild look, gave him a truly _ horrid appearance. —V——_—_—_—_—_—_———— esses It was while thus seated in the thicket, in the perplexing state of mind just mentioned, being totally unconscious of the existence of Frank Ames, his recent struggle being forgot- ten, that Adler was startled by a cry of sur- prise and relief, that sounded from behind him, Springing half upright, he peered through the bushes, and discovered the form of Ames, still bound to the tree, as he bad himself se. cured him, although he did not at first recall what had passed. The face of Frank, being within a patch of moonlight, was fully and plainly revealed, and was filled, as his outcry had intimated, with extreme joy and relief, his eyes being fixed upon a cow path which wound through the bottom toward the bandit camp. Frank Ames supposed that his enemy bad gone, and although he bad been expecting death at the hands of the maddened man, he now felt a still more terrible dread of the In- dians, who, he was confident, had butchered his friends, and who bad been seen by him as they rode up the river, with the colonel, Belle and the quadroon girl in their midst. The firing down-stream he supposed to have been between the Comanches and the bandits, and he hoped that Capitan Caramba had met death in payment for his treachery to him in connec- tion with the Bowens. He now saw how foolish he had been to sup- pose that the outlaw chief would allow such a prize as Belle to slip through his hands, for such a paltry sum as he had paid for their cap- ture. Had he and his friends secured the gold of Colonel Bowen, then he could have hired the very men who owed allegiance to the ban- dit chief to forward his schemes. Now, how- ever, all was lost, and the Bowens were con- demned to death, without doubt. He, too, was in danger of discovery at any moment; when the Comanches would torture him, as they had his unfortunate companions. It was while these depressing thoughts ruled the mind of Ames that he discovered a flitting human form approaching up the cow-path; and as the moon’s rays for an instant lit up the face of the man, Ames was in a transport of joy, for the swollen, contorted visage of the Mestizo which he recognized seemed angelic to him, forgetting that his friendship and claims had been repudiated by the chief to whom this half-breed was no more thanaslave. — The same light revealed the face of the Mes- tizo to George Adler, who, himself unseen, braced at once for conflict, his eyes glaring with insane joy at again meeting the ruffian who had escaped him both in San Antonio and on the Medina. Notwithstanding that the half-breed knew his chief had suddenly changed from a friend of Ames to an enemy, he advanced with as cordial an air as it was possible for him to assume, holding up his bandaged hand in cau- tion, he having evidently been sent by Capitan Caramba to spy Out the position and strength of the Indians, Advancing, as if he feared danger on every side, the half-breed drew his knife with his left hand, and it was not until this moment that Frank Ames recalled the fact that the bandits could not, under the pres- sure of their leader, be friends of his, especially after having lost their captives and gold. As these thoughts flashed through bis mind, the expression upon his face changed to one of ab- ject terror; the Mestizo no longer having an angelic appearance, by being the harbinger of freedom from torture and death. It was pos- sible that the half-breed had intended to liber- ate Ames, but as he saw the sudden change in the face of the latter, he became excited to frenzy, knowing that it implied a distrust and fear of him. Be it as it might, the Mestizo suddenly paused within five feet of the terri- fied captive, with knife tight gripped, his lips curling, his teeth grating and his black, treach- comicbooks Oro - - — a RRR 4 i