Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 256 — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

a —EE This, without doubt, would be the conclusion | of pain, bounded from the undergrowth, thun- | the neck of our bero. Pie of the meee upon reflection, and they would | dering down upon the red fiends like an ava- ‘* Roy! Roy! Ob, my God, I thank Thee!” ¥ search directly for the remainder of the whites, { lanche of vengeance; spurts of flame, rattling Down fell the head of the young man, as she ’ | That Antonio and Le Grand would be tortured | reports, and a hurtling rain of lead, bewildering | uttered these words, his lips meeting hers; and | Big Foot had no doubt, and that both deserved | and tearing through the dumfounded, unpre- | when at length be spoke, it was to echo her 1 such a fate, horrible as it was, he was also posi- | pared Apaches. thanksgiving. tive. , > Before the braves could comprehend what bad | But at this moment of supreme bliss to both, The present state of affairs relieved Captain | occurred and the character of their foes, half of | the sound of fire-arms, and fierce yells, in their Ray and Roy Randolph from further thoughts | their number lay pierced through the vitals by | rear, brought both toa realization of their true an | of revenge upon the miscreanot for whom they | the fusilade of the irresistible Texans, who had situation, and that they were, as yet, ‘not oat had been in search; but the present dread con- | dashed directly through the Indians. They then | of the woods,” . dition of the puvor maiden nerved the scout to | whirled their steeds on a return charge, before Notwithstanding her condition of mind and : | immediate action. He therefore took advantage | weapons were in readiness for use in the hands | body, enfeebled by all that sho had undergone, 7 of the puzzled state of the Apaches, who were | of the red-men. As they did so, they gave a | and the feeling of safety that h ¢ been bers for r | examining the camp, to steal noiselessly, from | round of exultant yells, for they perceived that | a moment, the shots and yells Lrougbt back all N branch to branch, toward the river, and over the | Roy had accomplished his purpose and was | theold terror; and, clinging to Roy, she cried same in like manuer, soon reaching the most in- | dashing at headlong speed toward the San | out, with a shudder: ;. tensely excited party whom he had left in charge | Miguel, with Rosa Ray clasped to bis breast. “Ob, Roy, darling, I remember all! Those i of the borses. They saw too, near the robe where the maiden | terrible Indians captured me, and you have 4 | “Skute fer yer critters lively!” ordered Big | had lain, the corpses of four warriors, slain by _ Saved me from them. Yes, and there I see my | Foot, ina low, deep voice that proved him to | the young man in his wild rush to the rescue of po papa! Oh, tell me, tell me, is there any | be in a most desperate frame of mind. ‘Ther | the unconscious girl. ope of escape?” red hellyuns air, bout two-thirds on ’em, ’zam-| On after Roy the Texans sped, delivering a ur hero gave one look backward, bis face: . | inin’ ther camp an’ hev gut Le Grand an’ Cap’n | galling volley as they dashed in quartering | filled with a murderous expression, as he re- | Antone kerral d, course from their previous charge, into the de- | plied: Phe . “We-’uns must risk ha’r in a stompede, an’ | moralized half-score of Apaches, who appalled ‘*Those red devils shall not capture you 4 charge ’mong ther’ Paches t’other side ther tim- | by the avalanche of death that had been hurled | again, Rosa! I feel the strength of a dozen mem za ber fer ter git Rosa outen thar clutches. All | upon them in so sudden and unexpected a man- | now; and, should we come again to close quar- a /) nds on brash, devil-may-care rush et chain- | ner, dashed toward the timber, many falling by | ters with them, I'll cut the hearts from a score’ 5 lightnin’ speed, with a heap of ole he yell an’ | the way. of their paint-daubed breasts! | os shootin’ chucked in. Hit’s gutter be did right | But before the few survivors reached the ‘* We have the advantage—a great advantage =» erway, an’ we-uns hev gut ter make a rip- | friendly shades, out from the same rushed, in a | —and shall escape; thanks to Big Foot Wallace. ‘ snortin’ break toward ther San Miguel er leave | frenzy of rage and fury, the warriors from the We owe all to bim, to that noble and daring = our carkisses ter be hacked an’ skinned by ther | camp—all except four, who had been left to scout; and when I forget him, may you, my = condemned torterers, an’ fer ther kiotes ter | guard Antonio and Le Grand. _ Rosa, forget that such a man as oy Ran- cyt gnaw arterwards, ’sides leavin’ Rosa ter worse | ~ Upon Biecover the the slain all halted, gazing dolpb ever lived!” <i fl than thet. over the plain at their fast flying foes and their Fay y “Skute! jump stock, an’ foller me! recent captive; then the taunting yell and war- CHAPTER XXXIL id | Our friends knew that this was atime for acts, | ery of Big Foot Wallace brought them to their RE-ENFORCED. 4 not words, and perceiving that they were about senses. But it was impossible for them to pur- “ But, Roy, do you not think our friends in = | to make a most desperate and daring attempt to | sue at once, for the horses of the wee rane, ad | danger? Is not poor papa liable to be hit with ‘ rescue Rosa, and that there was but one chance | nearly all been stampeded into the timber by the | those terrible arrows at any moment? I can . in a hundred for success, each strove bis best to | mad charge of the Texans. _ see the steel points glint in the moonlight.” : a } oe —_ —— - oo, - —- eae along, evidenti, bent upon finishing the last of his victims; all his, in its ghastly details in the wierd moonlight was well calculated to breed superstitious wonder and fear in the minds of the savage observers. But Big Foot knew that these feelings would not long rule the Apaches to the extent of pre- venting their taking action in the premises: that they would not allow two men to be lost to them by permitting one to slay the other, and then bound away into the river, upon their springing toward him, Still in the same slow, panther-like way, An- tonio approached Le Grand, not seeming to notice the Apaches. Still on, until he was within ten feet of his intended victim—the man who had beeu the prime cause of his mutilation and the death of the better portion of his most trusted followers, Then the bandit chief half-raised, crouching upon his knees, his eyes fixed upon the horror- filled orbs of Le Grand, whcse form quivered from head to foot at this new terror that men- aced him. Thus for an instant, then, as he gathered himself for a bound, a piercing yell of exulta- tion shooting from his brutal lips, there came a rush of pain.ed, bronzed Apaches, and Capitan Antonio, the bandit chief, and his intended vic- tim were surrounded—in the very center of the hellish horde, Then Louis Le Grand was quickly cut free ery the limb and Antonio bound fast by his side, CHAPTER XXXI. RESCUE OF ROSA. Bia Foor WALLACE waitcd no longer, for no socner did he witness the rush of the Apaches the binding of Antonio and the cutting down of Le Grand from tha limb, than he knew that longer delay was dangerous—that the Indians would at once commence an investigation of the mystery of the bandit camp, for they would reason that other parties had been connected with the slaying and hanging up of the Mexi- cans, for it was absurd to think that the earless man had accomplished this alone and unaided, Not only this, but, as he was a Mexican, they would argue that he had been in the fight in which the others had been slain, that the dead were his friends, and that the white man (Le Grand) bad been one of the successful side in the conflict, but had fallen ard been captured S Acreage who had intended to torture and ill him, carry out to the letter every instruction of the calstaton scout, whom they knew to be their only hope, as well as that of poor Rosa. In a brief space of time the six whites had passed up the river toa safe distance, forded the same, and in single file made their way ina stealthy manner, led by Big Foot, to the north- crn border of the bottom timber, at a point just west of the bandit camp, which now swarmed in regard to the proceedings in the camp, which they were debarred from witnessing, as they were guarding against surprise from the plain, and were the appointed custodians of their fair captive, Roy and the captain could not suppress the low groans of bitter anguish that racked their brains and hearts, for, in plain view was poor Rosa, lying upon a robe that had been spread upon the sward. No observer, at that distance, would have Lad the least doubt that she wasa corpse, so ghastly and deathlike was her face as seen in the silvery moonlight. Seemingly lifeless she lay, an arm thrown out from her body on either side, limp and still, and as if carved from alabaster. But few warriors were near her, and these were dismounted and lounging upon the sward, the remainder of the party sitting their horses nearer the line of timber, their faces turned in that direction, and their senses strained to de- tect what was transpiring beyond the thick screen of trees and underzrowth, The protract- ed silence in the bandit camp, whither so many of their comrades had gone, puzzled them; es- cially from the fact that all were made aware y the report of the spy, that ruled in the camp he bad discovered. All this was taken in by Big Foot, and the favorableness of an attemp'‘ed rescue at once was indicated, He, therefore, waited not an in- stant, knowing that the fate of Rosa, and the lives of themselves depended upon immediate action, His orders were soon given. In a hoarse whisper, all bending toward him to catch bis every word, the scout said: **Pard Roy, you air the pilgrim I hev picked fer ther speshul purpose o’ p’intin’ straight fer ther leetle gal, an’ scoopin’ her up in ther way of a bhummin’-bird’s wing. Ye're young an’ strong, an’ her dad must ae *longside 0’ me, fer I daren’t trust him arter ber. “We'll all go in a line, wi’ sixes gripped, an’ lead a-flyin’ inter red meat at every jump. Grab ther kaliker, an’ jab spurs toward the open per- rarer. We-uns’!! kiver yer, keepin’ tween yer an’ ther howlin’ sons of Satan. “Steady now, an’ ’member that ther leetle gal air woss’n tortered, an’ we-’uns air gone coons ef we make a miss onc’t. Ready all! Kiver yer spurs wi’ bleed ther fust jab, an’ don’t waste a bullet. Steady on yer reins! Grip sho.ters! Now, git!” The six daring and desperate Texans drove spurs home as one, and the animals with snorts Thoroughly demoralized by the strange sights ouble Dan, the Dastard. ee Oe eee - and occurrences and the wholesale slaughter, | the Apaches rushed here and there after their mustangs; and our friends were at least a mile away when the long line of Apache braves lashed their avimals in mad pursuit, all in- sanely eager for revenge, and determined upon the recapture of the white squaw and the death 4. those who had slain such a number of their raves, 27 whether there was any pulsation in the keart of the long-tortured maiden. When our hero reviewed the dread and most horrible experience of Rosa, since she bad saved his life on the Brazos only a few days past, he was forced to the conclusion that but few of womankind were so constituted that they could survive what she had undergone. Then he became desperate; and recalling the fact that he had a canteen of water sccured to, the ecantle of bis saddle, he turned and tore the same loose with a desperate twitch, tere out the cork with his teeth, and poured the con- tents over the head and between the lips of Rosa Ray. Totally unconscious was Roy in his deep and frantic grief, in the state of n.ind produced by this fearful uncertainty in regard to Rosa, of the position of his friends and the fiendish Apa- ches behind them. His whole mind and soal were bound up in the fair, deathlike maiden in his arms, who, as she seemed to have been called from eartb, was dearer to him than ever —dearer than bis own soul! Great beads of perspiration, drawn there bv his mental agony, stood out upon bis forehead, now unshaded ad sombrero—that baving been lost in the fierce struggle to gain his darling— and bis eyes were fixed upon her face, watching to catch some symptoms of returning con- sciousness, some indication that life had not flown forever. If this were so, then he was desolate and hope- less, a human waif upon a trackless desert; thus to roam until God saw fit to call bim to join her w hither she had gone. Ab! what a paradise a trackless desert would be were she but with bim! He bent his face yet closer. Again he dashed a spray of water over ber features. Then from his lips sprung a wild cry of soul-felt joy—such as might be given by a condemned men on the scaffold, who should receive a pardon while the terrible, ignominious rope was about his neck, Thet cry was given as Roy detected the uiver of the eyelids, and felt a convulsive shud- er run through the form he clasped; and the cry of Roy seemed to pierce her brein., calling her soul back to its clay tenement. Her eyes opened, and cne band was quickly pressed upon ber brow, her very soul seeming to be in ber eyes as she looked up in Roy’s face. Then the b nd that pressed her brow went tremblingly through the air, followed by the other; and soon, both the fair arms were about ‘‘Our friends are so far safe, Rosa, thank Heaven! them and us, causes them to appear nearer than they really are. We shall cross the San Miguel before the red fiends get near enough to do any: execution with their arrows; and I do not believe they will dare venture beyond that stream.” _ ‘*{ do hope it may prove as you say, Ro Oh, the horrors, the anguish, the uns ihable The t!ndians being directly behind — —s ce. ee ’ F . 7 o “? . . ie -. Aer *> y Py “= - with Indians. Drawing up in line, side by side, at the low order of the giant scout, all leaned forward and 4? agony that I bave passed through of late! I¢ almost drives me insane to think of it, andIeaq hardly realize that I am free once more, F > TS — oe And on galloped Roy Randolph, clasping his darling to his breast. y Was she dead? Tad he , "2 > <a a ~ * ‘ peered out upon the silent moonlit plain. Right below their position, to the east, at the entrance to the bandit camp, and some fifty been too late? Had her pure spirit flown from the scenes of her earthly suffering? So, indeed, it seemed. And Roy groaned in anguish almost Roy! What will papa think? Has he lea ee or does he suspect anything, , ou ‘“* I know not, Rosa; nor dol care, C “ Ray, however, is a sensible man—as is eed Ag JOOKS con | yards from the timber, were nearly a score of | unendurable; the speed which he was obli | 4 _ painted braves, seeming to be very impatient to keep up preventing him from deciding SA ~~ €omicboo