Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 256 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

Double Dan, the D —_---—— ‘shooting upward, and lighting up the dead face ‘of poor old Dan. : dne of the party rode alongside of Roy, ex- ‘plaining that they had been up the river, and jee encamped; but, becoming worried in re- gard to his safety, they had broken camp for a tour of investigation, intending, after gaining what intelligence they could from old Dan—if Le Grand should be asleep, which they inferred —to gallop down the Brazos to his rescue, for uhey were by this time sobered off, and began to fear that mischief had been done. Our hero did not for a moment suppose it to be possible for Le Grand to gain the upper bank without assistance; hence they did not urge their horses, but stopped at the point where the miscreant bad fired the shot at Roy, the latter pointing out the thicket, and all resolving to examine the same by daylight. Proceeding on they soon reached the high ‘bank, over which Roy had left Le Grand sus- pended; the lariat being plainly seen as they rode up. But our hero, as had been arranged, urged his borse into a thicket, not wishing to be seen by the would-be assassin; be having formed a plan to pretend that they were riding that way and discovered the lariat, thus being the means of rescuing bim from a perilous predicament. They then proposed to question bim within the hearing of Roy, in regard to the where- abouts of the latter, and the death of old Dan. But these arrangements were of no avail; for upon one of their number grasping the rawhide rope, be found it slack, and drawing it up quickly, threw it at his feet in disappointment and rage. Louis Le Grand, the Dastard, had escaped death again. He had left plain “sign” where he had «climbed up the bank. Truly it can be said, in some cases, that *‘ the evil favors his own!” al CHAPTER XIV. SATAN LET LOOSE. Wuen Louis Le Grand gained the root of the tree, kicked out the earth, and inserted his toes in the holes, he found that he could sustain bim- self without much difficulty or expenditure of streng hb. Had this not been so, he would have fallen back into the jaws of the alligator; for not another minute could he have continued the desperate exertion, the strain of muscle which he had been forced to maintain since he first observed the heads of the monster saurians approaching him, ven as be gained the position we have men- tioned, his horror was little lessened, for he was panting like a hound after a long race, and trembling from head to foot. He felt deathly weak, and was conscious that he could not long maintain bis present position, Not for an instant, when in the river, had he thought of or examined the bank above him; his only hope had been to clutch that root and draw himself above tbe reach of the hideous monsters that were approaching him to rend him limb from limb. But as soon as he saw that he was above the reach of the alligators, he gazed upward, not until then realizing that it was a matter of im- possibility for him to reach the upper bank and a place of safety. A groan of the most intense agony and popelegs despair burst from him as he realized this. The experiences of the night had been suffi- ciently horrible and torturing to have plunged si ge ae ae tee rom the time that he had launched Ro Randolph adrift, Louis Le Grand had soken plun into a very whirlpool of terrors, most awful even to contemplate, to say nothing of experiencing. Well might he admit the truth * eae a ‘The way of the transgressor is ard, However, the heart and soul of Le Grand were completely hardened, and all that had transpired, which ought to have caused him to repent of his deeds and resolve to reform should his life be spared, influenced him in just the opposite direction, The fact that he had had his reveone upon Roy—that be had slain the latter, and thus not only wiped out past wrongs —which existed only in his imagination—that he had removed from his path the man who he now knew would have defeated his plans in connection with Rosa Ray—cheered the wretch through all that had followed, The Belle of the Brazos should be his—he swore it by all the fiends repeatedly; she should be his now by foul means, since all chance seemed to be cut off to gain her in a regular AS on the previous occasion, he now reasoned that the specter he had seen was occasioned b —— a - - — —§_ | ‘faintness, lose Sar r ee —— ——— --— —_— connection with Roy’s assassination, should the corpse of the latter be discovered. The rifle was still in the water. Not only that, but he now saw that if be could maintain his present astard. position, he might be ciscovered by the very | men who would go out in search of him, or in search of trace uf Roy Randolph. And, if they found his gun and his pole, himself and his trail to a point opposite Bend Plantation, then all would be most damning proofs against him. These thoughts, deductions and conclusions flashed through the mind of Le Grand in a moment, But his present peril soon banished all else, as he gazed dowuward, with increased hor- ror, to see that the monster alligators were, in their frantic struggles to reach his feet, under- mining the bank. This totally undreamed-of danger appalled — him, plunging him againinto the depths of de- spair. The most horrible and dangerous deni- zens of the Brazos andits bottom timber, seem. ed to have taken this night of all others to pursue him to his death, as if they knew what his crimes had been, or were influenced by a higber power to rid the earth of his presence. But be had no time for thought, for the bank suddenly gave way, and again he hung down- ward, sustained only by bis grip on the root above bis head. This very nearly relaxed, caus- ing a cry of horror to esc2pe the wretch, and the sweat of agony to stand out on his forehead, his eyes starting out in terror. Again his life hung by a hair, but with a des- perate and frantic effort, Le Grand swung out- ward, wound his limbs about the root, and was again safe for the time being. But his muscles had been overstrained, as well as his nerves, and he knew that the struggle for existence could net last much longer; he knew that atany moment he might be overcome by weakness or his hold and plunge downward 13 tected that pointed to the identity of himself as the assassin. Not only did the lariat indicate this, but the fact that the man who had rescued him bad not revealed himself, but bad left bim suspended as he was, gave the most convincing proof ‘hat his reasonings were correct. In an instant Le Grand concluded that he was a captive, and secured thus in order that those in pursuit of him should be able to gain still stronger proofs of bis crimes. Scarce five minutes had elapsed since his re- lease from his former fearful position when, rendered desperate by his own irresistible con- clusions and strengthened by his brief rest, be determined that he would foil those who sought his life—those who, withcut doubt, intended to hang him like a dog—for he felt more terror of the rope than of any of the deaths to which he had been exposed. His whisky -flask still remained in his pocket; and pouring a quantity of the fiery liquor down his throat, Le Grand, with desperate resolution, raised bimself to a standing posture in the loop, caught the lariat firmly, and as bigh up as was ssible, and then, poling outwara, be dug his ots into the bank, working his way up rapid- concentrating his full strength in the one —— = a | eee ly, | devoorave effort to surmount the bank. ——— EO to the most fearful death that could be im- | agined. There was not the least ray of hope. If it were possible for him to keep his position until sunrise, be believed that the alligators would retire to their haunts in the mud of the cove above, and thus open a way of escape; but this he felt that he could not do, Every moment he knew that bis strength was going fast, and that the end must be near; yet | he gave not one thought to a prayer for deliver- ance or for mercy. His greatstruggle, mentally, was to drown all thoughts of the areia future, probably believing it to be worse than useless to plead for one who was as little fit to live as to die, Growiog weaker and weaker, slipping once full four inches down the root, but tightening Brezos was now explaine | | | | A moment after. and with an ejaculation of relief he stood upright on terra firma and gazed anxiously around him. Not a human or brute was within sight. Hesi- tating not a moment he rushed like a madman up the river, keeping close to the bank and pointing directly for the cove He reached the camp just as Roy Randolph spurred his borse into the firelight, the latter having been obliged to travel in a balf-cirele. Stealing around the head of the cove through the undergrowth, Le Grand gained a position at the same point whence be had glided down the bank to push Roy’s boat out into the current of the Brazos; and it was just as he bad gained a favorable lurking-place that his supposed victim galloped into the camp with his revolyers pre- sented, as bas been described. Le Grand bad been amezed at the flash of the fire and the discovery of his associates mounted upon their horses; he reasoning that, from ap- eerie they bad just arrived in the camp. ut at the sudden galloping of his own black steed into view, with Roy Randolph, whom he bad believed dead and floating toward the Mex- ican Gulf, in the saddle, the wretch was nearly paralyzed with amazement and terror. 3 That Roy was alive and able to wreak his vengeance On his would-be assassin was plain, and the mystery of the hd pga beyond the . Not only so, but his clutch with the strength of desperation: thus | he now saw the meaning of his half-way rescue was the trembling wretch, when, to his utmost astonishment and insane joy, the lariat lowered by ey?! Randolph brushed his face. Le Grand nearly fell from the root, such was bis extreme relief, and had our hero at that mo- ment bent over the bank, thus revealing his resence, there is no doubt the wretch would ave fallen into the ready jaws of the monsters below. For a moment or so Le Grand was un- able to control himself, such was the sudden re- action from despair. Then he succeeded in thrusting one leg through the loop. Relinquishing one hand from its grip on the root, he clutched the rope, and then raising his other leg, he managed to get it also through the loop, thus being seated in a natural position, and easily balancing himself with a slight hold by one band, Le Grand now felt that he was saved; but not one thought of thanks to God or man was in his mind—nothing except self- gratulation. But, as he was being drawn upward, be felt some curiosity in regard to whom it might be who had arrived upon the scene so oppor- tunely. Suddenly, however, he came to a stop when but half-way up the bank, and he knew by the firmness of the rope that it was no longer held by man, but secured to a tree above. _He fixed his gaze upward in curious expecta- tion, but naught except the clay bank and the dark green foliage met his view. His mysterious preserver was nowhere visible, | se Thus Le Grand bung for some time, whirling | and swaying, filled with amazement, for all was still above him, and nothing could be seen or pened that indicated the presence of a human ing. He now endeavored, by way of relieving the Strain upon the muscles of bis neck, to assume Something like a natural poise. This drew his attention to the knot on the lariat just in front of bim, and it caused him to start with surprise and to knit his brows in deep thought. Whoever his preserver might be, Le Grand now knew that he procured the rope from his saddle; for he recognized the plait of the lariat, his having drank eg a and from having his | and the peculiar manner in which the end knot is victim so constantly in thoughts. Had he glanced up the river at that moment he would have bebeld the supposed ghost swim- miig across the samé, in the most natural | manner, He had failed in the attempt to remove the | bad not been deceived only proof that could be brought against him in! Roy’s corpse had been was tied. Then it was that it occurred to the guilty mind of the miscreant that the rope was an in- dication that men were on his trail: that old Dan’s body had been discovered. by men who by his plot, or else that ound, and “sign ” de- from the alligators; for as Roy was mounted upon the black horse, Le Grand knew that it tol he who had cast the larict down the D . _The ccnversation, investigations, and resolu- tion of Roy and the late associates of Le Grand, which have been explained, were all heard, observed, and understood by the latter, and he congratulated himself u having again escaped death—this time by the rope—for he well knew, that had he remained in the looped lariat, his doom would have been sealed. Rendered perfectly furious at his failure to kill Rey, and realizing that he could now no longer remain in the neighborhood in safety— that Roy Randolpb would force him into a duel and kill him, even had the latter nothing more against him than the murder of old Dan— realizing that be could not return to his own plantation, except in the most stealthy manner. and by night, when even his slaves, who had been so shamefully misused by him, would betray bim; all this caused Le Grand to clinch bis teeth, and swear by everthing unholy, that he would yet consummate his revenge. y Randolph should die by his band, and Rosa Ray, willing or unwilling, should be his victim. e vowed that, if a dozen lives must be sacri- ficed, Roy and Rosa should not be man and wife, that he would abduct her, and fly to the chaperrals, toward or over the Rio Grande, but first making a sure shot at Roy Randolpb. Taking a deep draught from his flask, Le Grand, with the look of a fiend, a bloodthirsty and desperate devil, glided into the thickels beyond the cave, and stole along the dark shades down the Rio Brazos; murder in his heart, and the ruin of a beautiful maiden in his mind, And thus we leave him, liking not his company, and. seeking it not, except as far ws it concerns those for whom we huve kindly feelings, whose lives are put in jeopardy by the chief of all das- tardly assassins, CHAPTER XV. THE FIRST MOVE. Burt little sleep visited the eyes of Rosa Ray, after leaving Roy and regaining her chamber; and no wonder was it, for she was of an exceeds ingly nervous temperament, and the experience- of the previous evening, and of the greater part of the eventful night, were such as to keep her — in thought and motion for some time, regard- less of fatigue. com Ebooks.com