Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 272 — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

: «* ee » ee... - ‘“Tiethe grass.” . Slocum understood him and obeyed the order, bendiug ever the long grass on either side the path and tying it together in haste, | of the herd, where the two men were standing ei i ei — — L_ __ T_T TT | } and backing away from it instinctively. Bat Richards still stood by his captive, glanc- ing keenly round but not offering to mount, He had hardly completed his task when Bat | though Slocum expected to hear him yell every | moment, whispered: ‘FR tire toi, donc—retire .toi,” then, come back.) Oveying without hesitation, he slipped back to the side of the path and Bat lay beside him, ‘‘ Now,” whispered the Frenchman, “take | uttered a shrill war-whoo tre lash of your whip and wind it around your wrist. When he falis, hit him on the head bard with the butt, Hard, mind, bard!” ‘But we may kill him,” objected Slocum, Bat Richards clutched his arm savagely, Do you want bim to kill you?’ he asked, “*Tt is kill ‘or be killed here, brother. Are you going back on the Black Cloud? Here he comes now, Be ready.” Thus urged,. Slocum had no choice but to obey, for he realized that Bat’s advice was sound, and he bad promised to obey the French- mau’s orders implicitly. “T’'m ready,” he said softly. Tbe horse-guard came sleepily on every now and then stumbling, till he came opposite to them, Then Bat drew up his legs for a spring and Slocum followed suit. The next. moment the doomed man caught bis foot.in the tied. grass and fell prone on the ground witb a muttered grunt and curse, ‘‘ Holy smoke!” he ejaculated. ‘Is it tight I am that I can’t walk straight?” ) With that he began to get up again on all- fours, looking instinctively toward the horses which had started at the fall and calling svoth- ingly: ‘Whoa there! Whoal What are ye ’fraid of? Whoal Seady!” To Slocum, hearing the accents of his own tongue thus innocently spoken, the task of striking down the defensele.s man was very re- pugnant, but be had no choice, Before the borse-guard could look round, Bat Richards had leaped to his feet and made one spring to the poor man’s side, ‘*Orack! thud!” Slocum saw the half-breed strike him on the head with the loaded butt of the whip, and the min fell like a log and lay still, when Bat raised the whip to repeat the blow with all his force and malignity, about which there was no mistake. In that moment the young engineer sprung to bis comrade’s side and caught his wrist, whis- pering: ‘‘ Enough! enough! You promised not to kill bim aud you shall not.” He saw the fierce glare of the half-breed’s eyes as he looked up, but Bat only said; ‘* Comme tu veux.” (As you please.) CHAPTER XIV, STAMPEDING THE STOCK. FURTHER contention was cut short by the voice of a man calling out: ‘* Corporal of the guard, number four!” Bat beard it and iustantly dropped to the ear'h, whispering: “* En avant! en arant! (Forward! forward! They hear us.) ; Slocum followed him, and they crept for- ward like snakes to where the borses were feed- ing. As they came close, Slocum began to faar he would be trampled on, but his comrade glided boldly into the herd, and in a few moments more they were both hidden from view. Then Bat rose to bis feet, the horses snorting and starting away from him and fhbreatening to make a stampede before the time came. They beard excited voices calling to each other outside the herd; ‘‘Tnjuns! Injuns! Look out!” Then. came a hubbub in camp, and Major freland roared: | “Stand to your arms! Don’t leave the sad- dies! Horse-guards, drive in the herd.” Siocum hardly koew what to do in the emergency, but followed Bat’s example by moving quietly toward the nearest horse, and keeping his hands down. Presently he stood beside a big roan horse that put its ears back and threatened to bite, Hardly knowing why be aid it, he dealt the avimal a cut with his whip which caused it to retreat, while it startled several others in the vicinity, and set them huddling together for fection. Pr Allons !” said Bat, ) With that he walked straight to the huddled group, caught a horse by the fore lock, and in a moment more had the noose of his rope round its lower jaw. in a rude but effectual bridle, Slocum’ followed bis example with equal skill, for he had often practiced the act with colts at | he Salsa cutaide had. iucreased and the cracks of the stable-guards’ whips were audible as they tried to drive the horses together, not yet dreaming that their foes were in the midst of the herd, . 434 The horses came closer iD, plunging, leaving an open space On nous entend.” | —_—=SESEEE A a | tumbling and} in the council,” he pursu in the center stay among the whites and work hard for small —_— i mm OO OO LL A TT LL (Come back : Suddenly he raised his whip-hand to his orse's Mane, crying: ‘* Floup-la Ina moment both men had leaped up, Bat p and away went the whole herd in a wild rush, right over the sol- diers by the saddles, the horses huddled close together and leapiog with wild bounds as if'try- ing to jump. out of their skins with terror, Fo Slocum the next ten minutes were a whirl of confusion. He was sensible of being carried off at a tre- mendous burst of speed, while the pressure on his legs, as the animals rushed on, huddled close together, became so agonizing that he yelled unconsciously with the pain aud struck round him like a madman with bis long whip. The huddling ceased as soon as they struck the sand outside, the grass, and then away A J went, as hard aggthe horses could gallop, squeal- ing and snorting’all the way, Every now and then came a fearful howl in the midst of the herd, and Bat was seen there, flourishing his whip and laying it on for all he was worth, to keep from having bis legs broken. They kept up this tremendous burst of speed, hour after hour, till the moon rose behind them, and then the excitement abated somewhat, while Slocum managed to make his way to the front, beside Bat Richards, and found the re- doubtable half-breed mounted on the very roan horse S ocum had failed to catch at the first stampede, Bat looked round and grinned in high good bumor, observing: : ‘‘ Ve got dem goot, dat time, ha?” Slocum was outof breath with his rapid ride, and asked, panting: ‘* What are we going to do now?” Bat laughed scornfully. ‘‘Do!t Ve do vat ve please now, All de Devil Major no catch us now,” ‘‘ But where are our friends?” Bat pointed ahead. ‘‘ An avant—forward. You did not see why I wait, till de herd was bead in de right way. Aha! Morbleu! I was not born yesterday. See de trail, Wecome up before day,” He pointed over his horse’s bead to the sand, where the broad plain trail of the party, with the scratching imprint of the lodge-poles, was as easily to be seen as a common wagon road, ‘** You change borse; ha?” he asked presently, as they galloped on. *““N.. Have you?’ ‘' Certainement, Dis is de Devil Major’s horse, You know him. Bonne bete. oot beast, Goot! You take—ha—let me see—oui—you take dat black. He is strong.” The black he referred to wasa very handsome creature, looking like a thorougbred, leading the herd with ease, and frequently looking back and neighing to the rest to come on, Slocum tried to get alongside of it, but his own horse was not equal to the effort, and Bat had tospeak to the big roan and slacken the pace of the whole herd, when the‘black stopped of its own accord and came running into the band, Evidently it was a docile, gentle beast, for it made no resistance when the young engineer got beside it and patted its neck soothingly, in a very few moments the rope-halter had been transferred from one horse to the other, and the whole mob set off again at an easy am- ble of some six or seven miles an bour. ‘‘ Well, brother,” said Bat, in French, ‘ and how do you like the life of the Brethren of the Black Cloud? Have we not taken all the horses as I said?” | Slocum nodded thoughtfully. ‘We have doneit,” he answered, ‘‘and every one has the Government stamp on it, too. W hat shall we do if we meet another scouting- party?” Bat laughed at the idea, ‘We meet no more scouting-parties now, and in another day we shall be in the bunting- grounds of our friends—of the Sioux and Chey- ennes,” ‘‘But what shall we do with these horses when we get there? They are not ours, and we can’t sell them.” Bat laughed louder than before. ‘*Brotber, you are green as the grass we left, but we will teach youintime. Each of, these horses is worth a squaw, and we can be sure of a welcome in any tribe where we go.” ‘** But we shall be unable to return to civiliza- tion. They will call us horse thieves.” ‘‘ What is to hinder us from staying where we are, brother? I have tried the white man’s life and the Indian’s, and am nowhere so bappy as on the plains, You will say thesame when you have tried it,” Tbe half-breed’s tone was serious, and he was evidently in earnest. ‘* You are a Brother of the Black Cloud, bigh ‘Why sbould you Seth Slocum, Railroad Surveyor. | ———— eee “bly scarred face and one eye. He had | 1 3) c? pay, to be looked on with contempt by the rich thieves? You may bea prince among our peo- ple if you wish.” ‘* How?” asked Slocum, He began to recognize in the half-breed, now they were alone in the desert, a much superior type of man to the dirty, degraded savage who had crouched in his squalid poverty by the teepee fire in Squaw-man’s Hole, at Richards, out in the wilderness, was a mano in the full. sense of the word, his figure erect and supple, his voice clear and ringing devoid of the gruff, guarded intonation be used when among the people of civilization, and al- together, the young engineer was surprised at the change in his comrade, | ‘* But how is it possible,” he said, “‘ for a man who has been used to aving among people who know about railroads and. steamboats to be happy among men who cannot even read and write? You are not an Indian, Baptiste; you bave seen better things, have you not?” Baptiste threw up his head. proudly, ‘‘ It is just,” be answered. ‘I am notall you think me; no mure are some of those vou call savages, Did fon even hear that the great Sit- ting Bull, and Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces, were educated among white people?” Slocum smiled, ‘* Yes, l’ve heard the story, but surely itis not true. That is absurd,” Bat laughed rather scornfully. ‘* We shall see, some day, you talk the Latin, by chance?” | ‘‘ Latin?” echoed Slocum, ‘‘ No. I can trans- late it, of course, but it is a dead language now- adays, except among Catholic priests.” ‘Exactly. And did you never hear of the pious Father de Smedt?” ‘Yes. I’ve heard he has been among the OLAS many years, and is much respected by em. The half-breed bowed his head with a gesture of great respect, ‘Tt is just. Father de Smedt can goon foot and unarmed to any tribe on the plains, He can go to the agencies among the white men, and travel through the midst of war-parties, and no one will hurt him. Father de Smedt is a man that knows no fear, and we love bim,” ‘‘But what has he to do with Sitting Bull? Shall we see him, by chance, where we are now going?” “You will.” Slocum was rised. “T did not think that,” ‘Father de Smedt is in Sitting Bull’s camp, and we shall doubtless see him, You will see te @ there many things that will cause you sur- prise.” | ‘* As for instance?” Bat shook his head and mugher as Harem ted ‘* Study up your Latin. You will n tand our French too with the good father and itting Bull,” ' ‘‘ With Sitting Bull! Where in the world did he learn Latin?” asked Slocum, more in- crédulous than before. But Bat only laughed and replied; ‘‘ We shall see. You have thought, doubtless, that you were the only Brotber of the Black Cloud that had the knowledge of the whites; but you will find that there are otbers that know as much as yourself, and yet prefer the life of the plains.” As be spoke he gave a swing of his great whip and lapsed into the wild Indian agai with a yell and a crack of the i gy fease that se the horses off at a galiop which sted till the moon was bigh in the sky, and they saw, ahead of them, the dark outlines of their own little party of pack-ponies. , Then Bat called Slocum alongside, and said to bim. pointing abead: tty “You are a Brother of the Cloud, and will know much that no Gentile knows, Remember that, on qour secrecy depends your life. Not a word to George.” CHAPTER XV, LONE CALF, Outin the valley of the Xeloweang the air was warm and filled with the dreamy softness of | the October .baze, when a hosting wany of Indians, that had been lying in wait for buffalo, stopped on the summit of one of the | ridges overlooking the valley, and scanned the ane with eager eyes, looking toward the Bad nds. They were at the edge of a district of this remarkable formation, and had news from their | scouts that the biffalo from the North were coming up that way. One of the Indians had no sooner reached the top than he pointed out to the est. ‘Traders coming in witb horses,” he said. “ They will scare off the buffalo if they are net ’ ‘* Let Lone Calf go and peop sete ” seid the leader of the party, an old Indian with 2 horrk n dis- figured by an explosion of gunpowder one ona hye anid ad aeuired the nickname of Powder Face, by which he was renowned for deeds of desperate daring. (Ele, nNIicCboo cS co