Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 239 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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26 daylight, or all that he might yet accom- plish would be lost, and his own life in addi- tion. He lingered but a moment at the entrance of the gorge. At the slightest alarm, he well knew, it would swarm with Apaches, now in the embrace of sleep. Having viewed the camp from above and discovered the captives—a sight which nerved him for the desperate undertaking—Turtle now stole on among the cedars until he reached the point where Winnie and Lieutenant Warring- ton were bound. Stepping to the head of the officer, as the latter lay apparently dead, the Tonkaway was relieved to see that Winnie’s eyes were open and fixed upon himself, although their gaze was one of horror, Turtle slowly raised the cloth that covered his breast, thus disclosing the totem, which he knew she had often noticed far away on Sala- do Creek. Slowly a look of relief began to spread over the poor girl’s face, though doubt and concern were still visible. Soon, however, the Tonkaway was at her side, whispering, and giving a quick gesture of caution. ‘Winnie no know Turtle, Turtle heap good friend. See Winnie on Salado many moons ago, Turtle come save Winnie. Come save chief of white soldiers. Put on Apache war-paint. Kill so many Lone Wolf’s braves ”—holding up four ‘fingers—“‘ Single-Eye be come soon, One- eye scout he save Lionel. Both come on trail. It is good. Moonshine for Winnie. Ride fast to Concho. Turtle no make noise. Come!” At once, the tortured maiden seemed to com- prehend it all, She and her uncle were to be saved. She now saw that the disguised war- vior was indeed Turtle, the Tonkaway, and she believed bis words. Lionel had been rescued, uod he and Single-Eye were on the trail. Quickly Turtle severed the cruel ropes that bound Lieutenant Warrington. He then left the officer where he lay, and grasping Winnie in his sinewy arms, stole through the cedars, towards the entrance of the gorge. ‘‘Turtle carry Winnie out gorge. Come back, get soldier chief. He no walk. No talk. Much heap torture. Make Apache sound death-yell when get well.” Winnie would have urged the Tonkaway to bear her half dead re'ative away first, had she dared to trust herself even to whisper; for she eould not tell what sound her parched tongue would make. _ The cedars were soon passed, and the maiden was placed near some af the bowlders at a dis- tance from the gorge; thus remaining alone in her mental agony, until Turtle returned, bearing Lieutenant Warrington in his aris. Without a word, the Tonkaway laid his burden on the grass, and again clasping Winnie in his arms, sprung into a motte of cedars near by, where three fully equipped horses were secured. These animals, he had selected from the Apache herd, choosing those that had been lassoed at the Concho ford by -the Indians, and which had belonged to the slain soldiers of the escort. These he had secured before the moon had sbone out, and previous to his killing the uard. Placing the young girl on one of the saddlgs, he asked: “Winnie no ride—Turtle, arms?!” ‘1 think I can keep the saddle,” she replied. ‘“‘T feel better each moment. You will be forced to carry my uncle, or to tie him on the horse; for he is more dead than alive. Oh, do let us hasten from this dreadful place, before they discover us! I shall fuint it their war- ery sounds.” The Tonkaway did not wait to hea: all the words of Winnie, but hastily clutching the lieutenant, laid bim across a saddle. He then fastened the jaw strap of the horse ridden by Winne to one side of his saddle, and that of the extra animal to the opposite; then, gather- ing the lieutenant in his arms, and gaining an easy position, he bade Winnie hold fast. He thes urged the animals free from the cedars, heading directly toward the Pecos river nortb, in place of northwest; as three times the distance of open travel would be necessitated by the latter course. Again the moon, as if reviewing these pro- ecedings with favor, bid her bright face in a he carry in SNe eee - ss a a The Terrible Trio. Filled with a relief avd thankfulness that were far beyond the power of expression, Winnie Warrington clung to the hook-like horn great fatigue and privation from food and sleep bad brought the brave soldier to a condi- tion, which his anxiety on account of bis niece of the Apache saddle, blessing the moon for had completed, amounting to physical and her opportune withdrawal, And good cause was there that she should do so; for, before a quarter of a mile was covered, there rucg out through the darkness, a terrible yell, followed close after by a deafening cborus of whoops and howls, proving tbat their flight had been discovered. The howls informed Turtle that the corpses of tbe slain sentinels bad been found, and his breast swelled with exultation, as he said: “ Apaches, they squaws, no warriors, Win- nie no be afraid. Moon gone. Apache no owls. No see when dark comes. Soon hide on Pecos. Make fool of Apache. Lone Wolf ride fast in dark to Horse-Head Crossing. Mebbe so long-knives take scalps, Mebbe so Lionel and Single-Eye there. “Turtle heap glad got Winnie, got soldier chief, got Apache scalps, got horses, Turtle heap glad.” The confident tone of her red friend reassured the maiden, and she began to see that there was a probability of their reaching a place of safety before the moon again appeared, It was more than likely that Lone Wolf would dash in pursuit toward the Crossing, naturally supposing they would take that direction. She had not the remotest idea to what point of the compass they themselves were hastening; but she had implicit trust and confidence in the brave who had risked his life in such a daring and reckless manner to suve herself and her uncle, And the fertile brain of Turtle, as he, by a strange and unaccountable instinct peculiar to his people, kept on his course direct toward the Rio Pecos, was not idle, He knew that it was not probable that Lionel and the old scout wou'd reach Horse- Head Crossing before the following afternoon or evening, though they might urge their horses 10 as great speed as the animals could bear; consequently be, with the captives, must gain some hiding-place where they could remain secure from discovery during the following day, He was not aware what kind of a horse Single-Eye would secure for Lionel, so the time of their arrival at the Crossing could not be depended on, Skip-lively, he knew, was a beast that, like its master, could stand almost anything, although ungainly and awkward. Turtle felt sure that the Apaches would first go to Horse-Head Crossing in search of the rescued captives, and then, when their trail was not discovered on the north bank going out from the ford, Lone Wolf would imme- diately dash back, examine the ground, and witbout difficulty find the right trail. This being probable, he must, in some man- ner, evade leaving any ‘‘sign” upon reaching the Pecos. For himself he bad no fears, for, if bard pressed, he could abandon the animals and escape easily on foot, leaving no trace to guide his persuers, But he had Winnie and the lieutenant to think of. As the trio proceeded but slowly on account of the low state of Lieutenant Warrington, they heard the yells of the infuriated Apaches; and Turtle knew that Lone Wolf, at the head of bis braves, was speeding north, in the direc- tion of Horse-Head Crossing. And now, @ new idea occurred to the Tonk- away. The Rio Pecos was not fordable, except at the stage-crossing, on account of the high, pre- cipifous banks; but he was confident that he could find a place where, by the recky nature of the banks, he could carry Winnie and ber uncle across the river with the assistance of a dry dead-wood raft, and then convey them up the opposite bank and secrete them. Tbe Apaches would not think of such a thing as the fugitives crossing the river, a feat they never aitempted themselves; so the Tonk- away felt certain of success. Winnie, too, began to feel renewed hope, and the knowledge that Lionel Lacrosse had escaped from the horrible death to which his captors had condemned him, enabled her to bear her present sufferings with resignation. But both she and Turtle were greatly con- cerned in regard to Lieutenant Warrington; the brutal manner in which the red fiends had dense cloud, thus aiding the fugitives in their | drawn the rough ropes, almost pulling his escape. = bones from their sockets. Besides this, the | | | mental collapse. Although tbe young girl was anxious to question Turtle in regard to his opinion of her uncle's death-like state, she refrained from so doing; supposing, by the silence of the Tonk- away that he was now planning their future movements. So, indeed, he war; although the condition of the officer was not absent from his mind. Eventually they reached the Rio Pecos, and soon after their friend, the moon, again threw down her flood of light; the clouds having swept to the westward, having done their part in saving the lives of the captives, who, but for them, would have had no chance of escape, Much to the relief of Turtle, after passing through a narrow belt of timber, he found that he had struck the river at a point which seemed favorable to his plan of crossing. Hastily he secured the horses to the branches overhead, and then assisted Winnie to alight. Bearing ber down the dangerous descent to the water’s edge, the poor maiden clasping her arms trustingly about the bronze neck of her preserver, Turtle hastened up the rocks. Soon he returned, bearing in his strong arms the still apparently senseless form of Lieutenant War- rington, The eyes of the latter were now open, but there was no intelligence in their fixed gaze. His features were, however, contorted with the agony which he suffered from the stagnated circulation, caused by the cords and the un- naturally strained muscles, “Oh, uncle Warren!” exclaimed Winnie, ‘(We are saved—really saved! Turtle, the Tonkaway, is supporting you. He slew the guards at Lone Wolf's casap, and saved us, We are free from tae Apaches. ‘‘ We are now on the Rio Pecos. Lionel La- crosse is saved also, and he and Single-Eye the scout are coming on the trail. You under- stand me, uncle, do you not? Turtle bas saved us. We have been most miraculously saved from a terrible fate!” The young girl sat on the rocky Pecos bank, with her lacerated feet in the cool waters, her small white hands clasped, and her pale face turned heavenward, while she breathed her thanks to Him whom she had almost come to believe had deserted her, but who, al last, had sent the faithful Tonkaway on the trail to save her, And as the explanatory words fell from the lips of his niece, Lieutenant Warrington com- prehended all. He cast a glance full of deepest meaning into the eyes of the Tonkaway and then clasped his hands in prayer. Turtle stood apart, gazing with superstitious awe upon those who were ‘‘ having a talk with the Great Spirit.” Half an hour afterward both Winnie and the lieutenant were on the opposite side of the Rio Pecos, securely hidden in a dense thicket, each being provided with blankets that had been thoughtfully appropriated by their rescuer from the Apaches, Bidding Winnie and her uncle rest without any further apprehensions, assuring them that there was no longer any danger and that they must sleep until he returned, he ieft them, re- moving all “sign” with the greatest care, and sending the raft of logs upon which be had been enabled to cross with his helpless passengers, down the river. Having accomplished this, Turtle mounted the same horse that he bad previously ridden, and leading the other two as before, made as broad a trail as was possible along through the timber of the Pecos, proceeding toward Horse- Head Crossing. CHAPTER XXVIIL THE PURSUIT. THE Tonkaway had felt that there was no safety on the south side of the river, and that the lives of all depended upon passing Horse- Head Crossing. As Lone Wolf had dashed directly to that point, with the strongest reasons for so doing, Turtle was forced to do as he had done, He knew that not a quarter of the distance from the Apache camp to the crossing could bave been gone over with the rescued captives before they would have been surrounded, and probably put to instant torture; hence he had (E Eomichoo 0 S-COm|