Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 218 — page 17: what you’re looking at

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

easily identified. They are those of Red-Hand the truculent chieftain of the Arapahoes. Now for the first time do reeive that I am naked. From the waist upward, there is not a rag upon me—arms, breast, and von & , This does not surprise me. Itis natural that the robbers should have stripped me—that they should at least have taken my coat, whose yellow buttons are bright gold in the eyes of the Ind But I am now to learn that for another, and very different, u have they thus bereft me of my “ments, Now also do I perceive the fashion in which I am confined. I am erect upon my feet, with arms stretched out to. their full fathom. My limbs are lashed to an upright a ee and, with the same thong, are my arms tied to a transverse beam. J am Lound upon a cross / , In an exulting tone, the savage chief broke si- ence. “* Bueno /"’ cried he, as soon as he saw my eyes were upon him—" bueno, bueno! The pale-face still lives! the heart of the Red-Hand is glad of it—ha, ha, ha! Give him to drink of the fire-water of Taos! Let him be strong! Fill him with life, that death may be all the more bitter to him!”’ These orders were delivered to his follower, who, in obedience to them, removed the ; and, hold- ing to my lips a calabash filled with Taos whisky, poured a quantity of the liquor down my throat. The beverage produced the effect which the sav- chief Sppcenes to desire. “Scarcely ad I swallowed the fiery spirit when my strength and senses were restored to their full vigor —but only to make me feel more keenly the situa- tion in which I stood—to comprehend more acutely the a palling prospect that was before me. This was the design in resuscitating me. No other purpose had the cruel savage. Had I entertained any doubt as to the motive, his preliminary speech would have enlightened me; but it was made still clearer by that which followed. Di 4 of a pale-face!”’ cried he, brandishing along Spanish knife before my eyes; “‘you shall see how the Red-Hand can revenge himself upon the ene- mies ofhis race. The slayer of Panthers, and the White Eagle shall die a hundred deaths. They have mocked the forest maiden, who has followed them from afar. Her vengeance shall be satisfied; and the Red-Hand will have his joy—ha, ha, ha!” Uttering a peal of demoniac laughter, the J>dian held the point of the knife close to my forehe. |—as if about to drive the blade into my eyes! It was but a feint to produce terror—a spectacle which the monster was said to enjoy. Wingrove was still alive: the wretch Su-wa-nee must be near? * Curajo!” again yelled the savage. ‘‘ What pro- mised you the Red-Hand? To cut the living ilesh from your bones? But no—that would be merciful. The Arapahoes have contrived a sweeter vengeance—one that will appease the spirits of our Slain warriors. We shall combine sport with the sacrifice of the pale-faced dogs—ha, ha, ha!’’ After another fiendish cuehinemtion, ar more hor- rible to hear than his words of menace, the monster continued: ** Dog! you refused to instruct the Arapaho in the skill of the fire-weapon; but you shall furnish them with at least one lesson before you die—ha, ha! You shall soon experience the pleasant death we have prepared for you! Ugh!’’ “Haste!” he continued addressing himself to his Tollower; ‘* prepare him for the sacrifice! Our war- viors are impatient for the sport. The blood of our brothers is calling for vengeance. This in white, with a red spot in the center—the rest of his body in black.”’ These mysterious directions were accompanied by a ees gesture. With the point of his knife, the savage traced a circle upon my breast— ust as if he had been drawing it on the bark of a . Thescratch was light, though here and there it drew blood. At the words * spot in the cen- ter,” as if to make the direction more emphatic, he unctured the spot with his knife till the blood owed freely. Had he driven the blade to its hilt, I could not have flinched: I was fixed firmly as the post to which they had bound me. I could not 8 a word—either to question his intent, or re- ply to his menace. The gag was still between my teeth, and I was nece y silent. It mattered little about my remaining silent. Had my tongue been free, it would have been idle to use it. In the wolf's visage there was no trace of clemency: every feature bespoke the obduracy of unrelenting cruelty. I knew that he would only have mocked any aoa I might have made. It was just as well that ad no opportunity of making it. After giving some further directions to his fol- lower—and once more repeating his savage menace, in the same exult tone—he sed behind me; and I lost sight of him. But ! could tell by the noise that reached me at intervals, that he had gone down from the rock, and was returning to his war- riors under the A It was the first time since my face-fastenings had been cut loose, that I had a thought of looking in that direction. During all the while that the - Hand s by me, I had been in constant dread of instant death—or of some equally fearful issue. The gleaming blade had never been out of my eyes for two seconds at a time; for in the gesticulations that accompanied his speeches, the steel had played an important part, and I knew not the moment, it might please the ferocious savage to put an end to my life. Now that he was gone, and I found a respite from his torturing menace, my eyes turned mec cally to the plain. I there beheld a spectacle, that under other cir- eumstances might have filled me with horror. Not go then, The agony of my thoughts was already too keen to be further quickened. CHAPTER XLI.- A SAVAGE ARTIST. first ones that AN ensanguined skull was the ) eaught my eye. The dead man was easily identi- fied. The body—short, plump, and rotund—could be no other than that of the unfortunate Irishman. | with his under-chiefs off; but some tattered | and the other Indians were for remnants of sky-blue, still clinging to his legs, aided ae up i They Mis jacket had been strip me in identifyin Poor fellow! } a ne ec tk The Wild Huntress. ee ee -— proved an ill star for him. His golden dream was at an end. He was lying along the sward, von his side, half doubled 5” I could not see hus face. His hands were over t, with palms spread out—as if shading his eyes from the sun! It was a position of ordinary repose; and one might have fancied him asleep. But the gory crown, and red mottling upon the shirt—seemingly still wet—forbade the ee He slept; but it was the sleep of eath! My eyes wandered in search of the others. There were fires burning. They were out upon the plain, oes three hundred yards from the base of the utte. Not far from the fires, a group fixed my attention. It consisted of three figures—all in attitudes as dif- ferent as it was possible to place them in, : He who lay along the ground, — his back, was the young hunter Wingrove. He still wore his fringed buckskin shirt and leggings; and by these I recognized him. He was at too great distance for his features to be distinguished. He appeared to be bound hand and foot—with his ankles lashed to- = and his wrists tied behind his back. He was us lying upon his arms, in an irksome position; but the attitude showed that he was alive. Some half-dozen paces from him was a second form, difficult te be recognized as that of a human being, though it was one. It was the body.of J oo: thah Bigelow. Its very oddness of shape enabled me to identify it—odder from the attitude in which I now beheld it. It was lying flat along the grass, face downward, the lo stretched out to their full extent—both as to “yh and width—and po een from the thin trunk, like spokes from the nave of a wheel! Viewing it from my elevated position, this attitude appeared all the more ludicrous, though it was easy to perceive that it was net voluntary. The numerous pegs standing up from the sward, and the cords attached to them, and leading to the arms and limbs, showed that the epread-eigle position was a constrained one. That it was Sure-shot, I had no doubt. The spare locks of gray-colored hair were playing about in the breeze; and some remnants of bottle-green still clung around } i ee ee TT LE SE ae ; | | | | his limbs. But without these, the spider-like frame | was too characteristic to be mistaken. I was glad to see those yellowish tufts. They told that the wearer still lived, as was also made manifest by the fact of his being bound, A dead body would not have merited such particular treatment. It was the third figure of this proup that most strongly claimed my attention. saw that it was not that of a warrior, though quite as tall as many upon the plain. But the contour of the form was different, as also the fashion of the garments that draped it. It was the figure of a woman! Had I not been guided in my conjectures by a certain foreknowledge, by the allusions that had occurred in the speeches of Red-Hand,I should never have dreamt of identifying that form, Forewarned by these, the apparition was not unexpected. The wo- man was Su-wa-nee! She was standing erect by the yrostrate form of the yo hunter, her head slight- ly bent, and her face turned toward him. An occa- sional motion of her arm showed that she was speaking to him. The gesture seemed to indicate a threat! Was it possible that in that dread hour she was reviling him? I was at too great a distance, either to hear her words, or note the expression upon her face. Only by the dumb show of her gesticula- tions, could I tell that a scene was passing between them. A glance around the plain enabled me to note some other changes that bad recently taken place. The horses of the Indians were now picketed upon the grass, and browsing peacefully, as if the clan- gor of strife had never sounded in their ears. I could see my own Arab a little apart, with Win- grove’s horse and the mules, all in charge of a horse guard, who stood sentry near them, The wagon was still by the base of the mound. The cedars along its sides were yet unburnt! I thought that the tiames had consumed them, but no. The object of their fires had been to blind us with their smoke —thus to drive us from our position, and facilitate our capture, , ‘ I was not permitted to make these observations without interruption. The savage who had stood by me had a duty to perform; and during all this time he was busy in its performance. A singular and inexplicable operation it at first appeared to me. His ont act was to blacken my body from the waist upward, including my face, throat, and arms. The substance used a ed to be a paste of charcoal, which he rub rudely over m ve A circle upon my breast—that traced out by the blade of the chief—was left clear; but as soon as the blaek ground had been laid on, a new substance was exhibited, of snow-white color, resembling chalk or gypsum. With this, after the blood had been carefully dried off, the circular space was thickly coated over until a white disk, about as large as a dining-plate, showed conspicuously on my breast! A red spot in the center of this was n to complete the escu/cheon, but the painter appaater at a loss for the color, and paused to re- ect. Only a an ingenious artist; and his ingenuity soon fur- nished him with an idea. Drawing his knife, and sticking the point of it some half-inch deep into the fleshy part of my thigh, he obtained the required “carmine;”’ and, after dipping his finger in the blood, and giving it a | | | | | | | | ' ' dab in the center of the white circle, he stood for a | short time contemplating his work. A grim smile announced that he was satisfied with his effort in making a human target; and, ut- tering a final grunt, the swarthy Apelles leaped “owe from the platform, and disappeared from my ight A horrid suspicion had already taken possession of my soul; but I was not left long to speculate upon the parpone for which lhad been thus be- daubed; the suspicion gave place to certainty. Upon the plain directly in front of me, and at less than a hundred yards’ distance from the butte, the warriors were collecting in groups. The Red-Hand ad already arrived there; ng the fires, and to the spot. | | E hin. left their lances apart, standing up- | The lure of Californian metal had | right on the plain, with their shields, bows, and | fi ape-like legs and arms | 17 against them, or suspended from eir shafts. e only weapons taken along with them to the common rendezvous were the muskets: With these they were now occupying themselves— apparently preparing them for use, saw them mark out a line upon the grass, by stretching.a lazo between two upright pees. I saw them wiping, loading, and priming their pieces—in short, going through all the preliminary maneuvers, observed by marksmen preparing for a trial of skill. Then burst on me in all its broad reality the dread horror for which I was reserved—then did I comprehend the design of that white circle with its center of red; the savages were about to bold a shooting-match—my coun Losom was to be their tar get ! goreets leanin CHAPTER XLIJ. A PITILESS PASTIME, Yes; to hold a shooting-match was undoubtedl the design of my captors, and equally clear was it that my breast was to be their mark. This ex- plained my position upon the summit of the mound as well as my ettitude upon the cross. I was boun to the latter, in order that my person might be held erect, sp and conspicuous. I could not comfort myself with any doubt as to their intention. Every movement I saw confirmed it, and the question was finally set at rest by Red-Hand possessing himself of one of the loaded muskets, and making ready to Stepping a pace or two in front of the Ine of his warriors, he raised the piece to bis shoulder, and pointed it toward me. It is vain to attempt describing the horror I en- dured at that moment. Utterly unable to move, I gazed upon the, glisten- ing barrel, with its dark tube, that threatened to send forth the leaden messenger of death. I have stood before the pistol of the duelist. It is not a pleasant position to be in, under any conditions of quarrel. Still it is perfect happiness compared with that I then held. the former case there are cer- tain circumstances that favor the chances of safety. You know that ae are «m profile to your antago- nist, thus lessening the danger of being hit. Judging by yourself, you feel assured that the aim taken will be quick and unsteady, and the shot a random one. You are conscious of possessing the ae ay of motion; that, whether you may feel inclined to give way to itor not, you still have a ce discre- tion of avoiding the deadly missile; that, by su- perior skill or quickness, you may anticipate your antagonist and hinder his bullet from being sent. There are other circumstances of a moral nature to sustain you in a trial of this kind—pride, angry passion, the fear of social contempt; and, stronger than all—perhaps most frequent of all—the jealousy of rival love. om none of all these could I derive support, as I stood before the raised musket of the Arapaho. There was no advantage—either moral or physical—in my favor. I was broad front to the danger, without the slightest capacity of dodging it, while there was nothing to excite the nerves of the marksman, or render his aim unsteady. On the contrary, he was sighting me as coolly as if about to fire at a piece of painted plank. It may have been but a minute that the savage oc- cupied himself in adjusting his aim; but to me it ap- eared ten. In such a situation I may have be- ieved the seconds to be minutes; they seemed so. In reality, the time must have been considerable. The drops of sweat that had started from my brow were chasing each other over my cheeks, and trick- ling down upon my breast. So prolonged was the suspense, I be to fan that the Arapaho was designedly daliying with bh aim, for the purpose of sporting with my fears. .He may have such motive for procrastination. I could have believed it. Distant though he sino I could mark his fiendish smile, as he y dropped the piece from his shoulder, and re- turned it to the level That he meant more than mere menace, however, was proved in the end. Having satisfied himself with several idle feints, I saw him make demonstration as if set himself more determinedly to the work. This time he was certainly in earnest. His cheek lay s alo the stock; his arms appeared more d; finger was pressing on the trigger; the moment had come! — The flash from the pan—the red stream mere forth from the muzzle—the hiss of the bullet, were all simultaneous. The report came afterward; but, before it had reached my ears, I knew that I was untouched. The lead had already whizzed past, at — a distance—as I could judge by the sound—of several feet from my body. I heard ascratching behind me, and the instant after a swarthy face was thrust before my eyes. It was that of the artist who had painted me for the \art I was playing. I had been under the impression hat he had gone down to the plain, but I now per- ceived my error. He had remained near me, con- cealing his body behind the rock. I saw that he was | - now enacting a different role—that of marker for the moment did he remain at fault. He was | Running bi body, and perceiving that und is eye over m y, an I was nowhere hit, he telegraphed the int nce to his comrades upon the plain; and then back to his covert. I was relieved from the terrible anxiety: but only for a short moment—a mere interval of about a dozen a eerie ae . : The Red-Hand, after g, had resigned his place, but this was instantly occupied by one of his sub- chiefs, who, armed with another musket, in turn stepped up to the line. ; Again Isaw the gleaming barrel brought to the level, withits dark tube pointed upon m . This marksman was more expeditious; but for all se was to me a time of racking torture. Again did drops bead out upon my brow, and chase one another down my cheeks. Again had I tw under- go all the agony of death itself and, as before, with- out d , or even losing a drop of my blood. As before, I beheld the puff of smoke, the flash, the blaze of fire projected from the muzzle; but ere the crack reached me, IT heard the thud of the bullet as it flattened against the granite on which I stood. This time the marker did not mount up to the platform. He had seen the splinters shivered from JOO com (E S) (E(0)