Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 217 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

~— as @ ward the oe Ce CO —_——_—— — Americanos, the scum of the Bravo fought like fiends, for the time being, much to the surprise of the soldiers. They were joined by other villainous Mexicans, and for a time it seemed that fortune was on their side. Singling out the leader of the desperate band, who, with three of his wen, was shooting from behind the tortillas, Lieutenant Morse quickly reloaded his revolver, and sprung around the corner, coming unexpectedly upon the trio. With the quickness of thought, the young officer fired two shots at short range, and with wild yells, two of the Mexicans sprung into the air, and fell dead; but before the lieutenant could pull trigger on the third, who was none other than Lorenzo Castro, a bullet from the revolver of the vengeful leader of the mob struck him on the skull; a glance shot, but it ee the gallant Morse to fall senseless to the earth. With a fiendish yell, in which were blended both triumph and hate, Castro s Fm, a the prostrate form of the young officer, his li curling away from his white clinched. teeth, and his kpife held over the heart of the seem- ingly doomed man. stro gazed gloatingly for a moment into the pallid face of his helpless foe, and then, as he gathered strength into his arm for the cow- y blow, a piercing sbriek in front of him eaused him to glance upward. It was only for an instant; but that one look showed kim the gayly-attired Dolores flying toward him. is he saw, but not the glittering barrel of a silver-washed derringer, and up again went his knife to give more force to the blow. Bat the. deadly steel dropped from his nerveless hand, as a sounding report rung out on the air; and he sunk back, the blood oozing from a fur- row along the side of his head. With a wild cry, Dolores staggered forward, and fell upon the damp sward, her arms rest- ing on the pulseless breast of the young lieuten- ant. Outside, in the streets, the fighting had been scattering and desperate, each man for himself; but an increase of numbers in the ranks of the asers, and a loss of some of their own num- ber, forced the boys in blue to take refuge in the adobe building, where the women were. The dead and wounded were borne thither by the soldiers, who felt sure that reinforce- ments would soon arrive—a probability which the ruffian crew outside did not appear to have thought of, for they next proceeded to break in the door ofa grocery near at hand, from which rolling out a cask of whisky, they began drink- ing freely of the same, giving no heed to their dead and dying, and not noticing the mysteri- pee disappearance of their leader, Lorenzo Cas- ro, Poor old Senora Mariann:, in her grief and terror, peeping out from her retreat in search of Dolores, had made this discovery; but none, in their scattered way of fighting, had seen the leaders of either party, after Morse had yelled his order, each being engaged in defending his own life. The back door of the casa was now opene, and the women induced to run to the north side of the town, where they would be safe from attack; it being impossible for the mob to discover their hiding-place, as the casa hid them from view. Being thus relieved from the embarrassing presence of the females, the doors were barrej, and the soldiers mounted a rude ladder through a trap-door in the roof, where they would be more secure, if an attack was made by the mob upon the casa, when the des- rate Greasers would, no doubt, break in the coors, and massacre all hands. The situation of the officers was now most critical; for, not having supposed that they would need ammunition, they had brought but a small supply of cartridges, and these were now exhausted, except one load to each man, which they had reserved for the last and des- te moment. Anticipating such an ending, which all now thought would soon come, the besieged were about to bring up their wounded and close.the trap, when a glad cry burst from one of their number, whv threw up his cap, and gave a rousing cheer. Gazing up the street, far beyond the wrang- ling mob, who, were robbing the store and drinking madly, they saw the boys of their regi- ment, the Ye ype Second Cavalry, dashing to- ill blazing jacal, at a long sweeping gallop. Wishing to direct them to their enemies, all sprung in a line upon the ruined wall of the casa, and one at a time fired his revolver into the drunken and demoralized horde of Greasers. This caused the approaching detachment to drive spurs, and draw revolvers, galloping mad- ly, by fours, down upon the appalled Mexicans, who stood for a moment terror-stricken. Then, as the fusilade of revolver shots from the cav- ary tore through their buddled ranks, they fled wildly in sll directions, seeking only to save their worthless lives; suddenly sobered by their ed en predicament; and the yells of agon om their less fortunate companions, who fell im their tracks, as the leaden messengers of death ‘ made fearfnl havoc in their ranks. The Serpent of El Paso. .. ee ne ee ee ee ee - - ee ee ee —_——— te — —E —_—- ——___—- —+— — + eee. — Some fied into the store that they had pil- | depression could not rule long at a \ime, and the laged, only to be dragged out and slashed to | sabers, or hanged by the citizens— | death b nearly all of whom had been across the river in El Paso purchasing supplies from a large wagon: train, just in from C very hopelessness and helplessness of her zitua- tion caused her to set her teeth together in a desperate resolve, held in reserve, a raging vol- cano of murderous madness, born of the fiendish hibuahua, and which | acts of her captor, which quenched completely arrived upon the scene but a few moments after | her hopeless depression. the cavalry. With closed eyes, and a manner that was per- Some of the troops were now ordered to the | fectly calm, she awaited coming events, trust- river to intercept and arrest all suspicious par- ties who might attempt to cross, the soldiers being infuriated by the death of several of those whom they had come to aid, and the disappear- ance of Lieutenant Morse. While this exciting charge was in progress, side, Lorenzo Castro, having been only stunned by the glancing bullet that bad been fired by Dolores, arose to a sitting posture and gazed upon tbe senseless form of the maiden who lay as if dead before him. The sounds of battle, the yells of those whom, for his own selfish and vile purposes, he had led to their deaths, and the cheers of the soldiers, told Castro that his life was not worth a mara- vedi if he lingered long in his present position. Desperate as rt was, however, he was resolved not to be balked in his latest formed plan. Do- lores was in his power, and he now swore a fear- ful oath in silence to strengthen his resolve to carry her away. He knew that the steed of Lieutenant Morse was the fleetest in the cavalry, and he also knew where the animal was secured. Rising to his feet the wretch glided stealthily along behind the torillas to the horse of the teem officer, whom he supposed to be dead. ecuring the beast without being observed, Cas- tro was soon back in the yard, when, grasping the unconscious Dolores, he placed her form be- fore him on the saddle and prepared for the carrying out of bis desperate scheme. At this moment Lieutenant Morse, as if thé action had electrified him into life, arose sud- | denly, causing the beast to bound forward, through the gate and into the street; not, how- ever, before the anguished man had a fair view | of Dolores in the arms of Castro, and mounted upon his own noble charger. With a cry of despair Morse staggered in pur- suit, striving to give the alarm; but the yell he would have uttered was but a gurgling and | choking sound. Up the street darted Castro at breakneck speed, gery just to the right of the scene of | the fight, at least a hundred men, soldiers and citizens, being plain in view. All saw the Mex ican desperado, mounted on the licutenant’s horse, and holding the gayly-dressed belle of the fandango as a shield to his own worthless car- cass. No one dared toshoot for fear of killing Doiores. The cavalrymen knew not what to do, as the horse of the lieutenant, stolen by Cas- tro, could not be overtaken unless lamed, As they thus hesitated, Lieutenant Morse, blood-stained and corpse-like, reeled around the | corner of the street, his features Grawn in an- | guish, sad to look upon, and pointing with raised arm and trembling finger toward the | fast-flying steed, while he strove to yell his or- ders; but no intelligible sounds came from his throat, and he fell forward upon the earth, be- reft of all sense, | His actions, however, showed pleinly enough | his wishes. Hardly bad ke struck the ground, before half-a-dozen troopers drove spurs, at a hasty order from the second ‘ieutenant, and | dashed in pursuit of the perfic ious Greaser and | his beautiful captive, the Mexican meking | taunting gestures, as he turned and looked de- risively back over his trail, then cleared the town, and sped like a dry leaf before a norther down the Rio Grande! Lieutenant Morse, with the wounded and dead, were taken in an ambulance to camp, the hospital tent being full and the surgeon busy; and next day the pursuing party returned, their horses completely fagged, and without the sol- diers having gotten a glimpse of Lorenzo Castro, after a five-mile run; the latter having, with his victim, disappeared among the m.squites and cacti. { CHAPTER XVIIL CASTRO'S CRIME, CasTRO slackened not his speed until many | ee. lin. To describe the feelings of Dolores, as she re- covered her senses, shortly after the soldiers had | given up the chase, would be impossible. The poor girl was filled with terror and de- spair at finding herself in the power of the un- ayy aos ton Castro, and she endeavored to escape yt meantime, gave a loud, sneering laugh, as he gazed gloatingly into her face. So bewildered and horrified was the poor girl that if was some time before she could recall the events so re- | ' { be the first to bring intelligence of the disas- _ trous fight between the Second Cavalry and the cently passed; and when at last they were re- produced to her mind, she was nearly insane in her agony, for she had no doubt now that Lieu. | tenant Morse was dead. Again she relapsed into a state of hopeless de- spair; but her nature was of u mold that such | aud the Gressers were biting the dust on every long leagues stretched between bim and Frank- | rowing herself from the horse; but the | ruffian, who had securely bound her in the | ing that an opening would providentially occur, not only for an escape, but to aven-e the death of Edward Morse, as well as her own ab- duction. Castro’s whole desire now was to avoid meet- ing any one. He knew not where frontier Frank had gone, and he was aware that at an time he was liable to run foul of the scout. If such a thing should occur, he well knew that Frank would hunt him down, if days had to be spent in the chase, He was therefore ill! at ease and paid no attention to his captive, but kept shooting bis glances on all sides as he galloped on down the Rio Bravo. Not only did he fear meeting the scout, but he also dreaded an encounter with the madwoman Luny Lize, the mother of his captive. More than Frontier Frank, more than aught else, did Castro dread meeting this poor de- mented being, who he knew would literally tear bim to pieces sbould he not succeed in killing her. And, as to that, he believed that she bore a charmed life. He knew that he was outlawed, that his life was no longer safe in Texas, that he would be hanged like a dogif captured, and that detach- ments of troops would scour the mountains and plains for him to avenge their fellow-soldiers slain at Franklin. He resolved therefore to go to Mexico; but he could not there travel witb any chance of safety until he could reach es point further down the river Due east he had galloped for ten miles before he had come to any definite conclusion as to his future movements, being then at the northern rtion of the wide sweeping bend ef the Rio rande. At this point he thought of crossing into Mexico and proceeding to Laguna de log _ Patos, from which point his captive could not find her way back to Franklin, even did she es- cape. At the bend he made a short halt to rest, and Dolores, who had for some time assumed to be in a lethargic sleep, lay quietly on the sward. He decided that he would now, for safety, keep away from the river and strike across the open plain to Sierra Blanca, seventy miles from where he then was. He could reach that point before the following noon, and would then be but sixty miles from tbe place at which he had made up his mind that he would cross the Rio Grande some ten miles southeast from Fort (Juitman. Thus reasoning, and being nervous and im- patient, besides apprehensive that yepeanlg might be upon his trail, Castro lifted Dolores, who had striven in vain to free herself, into the saddle, and then mounting, urged the n ble beast out from the mesquites and over the open a toward Sierra blanca, flying like the wind. The bright moonlight would enable him to discover the presence of any One at a long dis- tance, and the extraordinary speed and endur- ance of his horse wceuld enable him to avoid coming in contact with any party or parties of whatever kind, Having been taught much of the stars b Frontier Frank, Dolores, while at the bend, had been reading the sky, and thus became aware of the direction traveled, and convinced of her exact location, and the objective point of her captor; and, as soon as they were through the mesquites and cactt, she stole a glance from her partially opened eyes over the far-spread- ing plain. é sun arose, and still on they went, and the r girl suffered greatly from heat, thirst, and unger; yet not one word of complaint escaped her. She would die before she would ask a favor from this miscreant. For him, inured to hardship, he thought xno | of this little privation; and now and then he would give utterance to a taunting laugh, that caused Dolores to shudder, as she thought of what | might await her if she should not effect her eseape. Sle bad one satisfaction, of which Castro was totally ignorant. Over this same plain she had twice passed with her mother, Luny Lize, ona visit to the secret guich, in which stood the little cabin of the latter, and in which, as she had been informed by the scout, she had passed her infant days. 2 Dolores felt, confident that, if she could free herself from the folds of the sash with which she had been bound, and then by some means kill Castro, she could find her way to Wild Rose Pass and the cabin at which Luny Lie fre- quently spent. days at a time. At all events, she could find Fort Davis, and perhaps would mob at Franklin, Such plans and thoughts, ruled both, until just as the blazing sun was at the meridian, the fave«t Lorse was guided into a shady gulch, JOO Eomie cS €or