Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 272 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

| = i 7 ¢ . ; F > iz . : a — = al 2. ——— . —* apes «= «. oe ae ee me Oe Oe eee . ~_ . —— = A: first instance, we should have all been together. You gentlemen of the railroad don’t consider men’s lives as amounting to much, | see, and if this escort is destroyed, it will be your fault. Your men haven’t fired a shot to help us,” Graves looked as sour as bimself, “We're not paid to do that sort of work, sir. You bave charge of that. You could have stopped, as wellas |. But it’s no use to stand here disputing. What do you propose to do?’ “Hold my eer till the infantry come up,” said the cavalry officer, stiffly. “Is there anything I can do to help you?” asked Graves. Major Ireland laughed rather bitterly. ‘Is there anything? Whata question! Yes of course there is. I’ve lost nearly a fourth of my men. Put in yours to belp, if you don’t want to lose your hair. Look over there, and see what's going on.” There was no need to.look, for the fast-inereas- ing noise told that the battle was waxing furious. Graves called out to his men: } “Get carbines and all the ammunition that ou can, boys; and join in with these soldiers. ell be attacked in ten minutes,” The frontiersmen needed no second nieang to do as they were told. One or two of them bed their own Winchester rifles belted to them, but the majority bad but a single revolver anda knife, and it needed no experience to tell them that a desperate strugele was approaching. They ran to the dead bodies of the soldiers on the line and took all the weapons and ammuni- tion they could find, not acontemptible quantity by any means. Slocum managed to secure a Springfield sporting rifle, that had belonged to one of the a Aa ogg shot dead at an early period of fight. He took the pistol-belt from a dead soldier and hunted up in the saddle-bags of the horses nearly a bundred rounds of ammunition. When he had loaded bimself up and was still at a little distance from the main party, he heard Ireland shout out: **Get together, boys, and give it to ’em! Here they come!” The re engineer looked up and never afterwards forgot the sight he saw. A cloud of dust was between him and the train, and it seemed as if the whole valley was full of Indians, riding straight for the cavalry escort, crouched over their ponies’ necks, flog- ging away with their short whips, and yelling as came with a shrill intonation that was peculiarly appalling, mingled, as it was, with the incessant cracking of rifles. “Hi yah! Hi-yah! yup! ” ! vop! YUP! woo! woo! woo! Hoo! HOO 00000!” “Orack! crack! crack!” went the rifles, and the bullets came sin over the soldiers, buz- zing like a swarm of bees, ee into the dirt round on while the yelling increased into atametnat Yeon . Blocum, entirely unused to battle, and left alone about fifty yards from the command, felt bewildered for a moment, and then, seeing that he could not reach his comrades in time, dropped instinctively on the ground behind the dead horse, whose saddle he had been searching for cartridges; and opened fire on the Indians. The next few minutes were te him a mere whirling dream of confusion and blood. He fired as fast as he could with his rifle: saw tne cavalrymen envelo in a perfect sheet of flame; found himself surrounded with Indians, who came down on him like hawks on the wing, clutching at bim as they passed, and nearly succeeding in carrying him off, Twice he was lifted from the ground, and twice be freed himself by firing with his two re- volvers into the faces of his foes, who dropped - him among the horses’ feet. He felt several wounds in the confused melee, but was conscious all the time that the Indians were in a desperate hurry, trying to escape from some one behind them, while the firing on the other side had become a continuous rattle. He was on his feet again, firing on all sides, with no lack of targets, and all the time run- ning toward the cavalrymen under Ireland. How many steps he,had run he could not tell, when two stalwart Indians came swoopin down on him , One on either side, | each seized an arm and bim from the ng while he kicked as bard as he could at to make them let go their hold. A third borseman came rushing at him from bebind, and he felt bis hair seized by a strong hand, when he twisted in the air with A super- human effort, tore himself loosé from the first two, and grappled with the man that had his hair, both rolling off the pony on the ground, where they struggled fiercely. Slocum had a member of the college ymnasium and was a stout, active young fel- ow enough, while the Indian, as it happened, was a slender young warrior, who bad hoped to steal a scalp unawares. In a very few seconds Slocum had hold of his adversary’s knife-wrist, and was bucking bis head into the Indian’s face with all his force. Then something struck him on the back of the bead and be fell senseless bimself, Seth Slocum, Railroad Surveyor. —_ — oo —_— + an ——_—— a oe ~~ oo -- ——_ CHAPTER IV. THE LOST FIELD-BOOK. roost. “That bullet was fired at the back of your bead, and it bas raked up and passed out under the skin, You've got a terrible headache, WHEN Seth Slocum came to his senses, it was , hey?” night, the stars were shining down on him; and Slocum smiled ruefully. he lay on the grass, with his head on something * Splitting.” ** Well, you'll have to go to sleep and get the shock worn off. What’s your name, sir?” Trying to turn his head, he felt a pain and ‘** Slocum, assistant advance engineer.” stiffuess in the back of his neck that reminded The ductor looked surprised and held out his bim he bad been hurt; but managed to look | hand, from side to side, and found bimself surrounded ‘Mr. Slocum, indeed? I’ve heard of you.” by camp-fires, tents and wagon-tilts, borses at ‘Where?’ asked Slocum, listlessly, for he picket-ropes, teamsters and soldiers stirring | felt very wretched just then. : about in the usual routine of camp life, cooking ‘*From my old friend, Professor Nathans. and getting ready for bed. He sent me word thata gentleman of yourname No one seemed to notice him, till be managed | had come out here to wield an ax with the com- to struggle uP to a. sitting posture, when a voice | mon Jaborers to learn to be an engineer, but I'd called out to him: no idea you were in this party. 1 tell you what it is, Slocum, you must sleep in an ambulance Slocum tried to smile and rubbed bis bead: to-night, and ‘an take care of you for the old “I’m not dead yet, 1 hope,” he answered, | man’s sake. You've got several bullet grazes, ‘* Did we whip the {ndians?” | but we'll have you all right in aday ortwo. VU His interlocutor came op to him, one of the ; fix you up.” cavalry corporals, and said; Slocum felt grateful for the offer, but snid: ** Whip ’em? Well, yes, we drove ’em off, but “ Thank you, doctor. I must get beck ‘o my they laid out a heap of us.” own people. Was Mr. Graves burt?’ Slocum felt his head, then his limbs, to find The doctor’s face fell. if he was badly hurt, and finally made shift to | “Graves! Why, don’t you know! No, of ask: course, how could you?” * Who laid me out on that body?” _ Slocum felt a thrill of fear. “ Reckon I did,” was thereply. ‘‘We found | ‘ He’s not—not dead?” you, after it was all over, lying on the ground, The doctor nodded. with the Indian on top of you. He was sbot ‘Yes. He was killed in the rush, just out- through the heart, and had his hand in your | side the line, and the Indians, in their passage, hair, where be’d been trying to scalp you. His | managed to carry bim off and mutilate him face was all mashed in too, Reckon one of the | shockingly in front of us all. His body, or horses kicked bim. And you hada bole in the | what was left of it, was brought in an hour back of your bead. Thought you was dead, — sure; but I didn’t like to see a red atop of a oor Slocum broke down in his weak state white man; so l yanked him off, and laid you | and_ sobbed: out decent. lLet’s see if you’re hurt much.” | ‘Poor Graves! My only friend! The red Slocum managed to scramble up dizzily, and | villains! Ob,if I only could bave saved him’ stood leaning on the corporal for a moment, He was the only man who was kind to me of ‘*] think not,” he said. ‘' It must have been | all of them!” a bullet stunned me. My head aches consumed- “ Mr. Russell has come up and put that man ly. Where’s your doctor?’ Travers in charge,” said the doctor, in rather ‘‘Out yonder by the wagon.” a disgusted tone, ‘‘Travers came gallopin And the corporal helped him over to where a | back before the battle was fairly on and hi couple of eee: gentlemen, with bare | himself ina wagon. He’s a sneak, but I sup- arms, stood by a table made of trestles and e it’s allright. We shall go back at once. boards, that had been set out by the tail-board | This fight has put a stop to the expedition and I of one of the wagons, ' hear that some valuable notes have been lost.” On the table lay stretched a man with bis | Slocum’s head was too dizzy to take much eyes closed. One of his trowser-legs had been | note of what was said, bu he managed to ask slit up to the middle of the thigh, showing a leg | the doctor: that had been just amputated below the knee, **Ts Mr. Russell here?’ the stump neatly bandaged. The man wore a The doctor nodded. soldier’s uniform and was under the influence ‘*Certainly. He’s very much cut up about it. of chloroform, and one of the surgeons said, | It seems there’s some appropriation o Congress looking round: that was conditioned on this survey and—’ ‘‘ Here, steward, steward. get to work at this man. He’s pretty weak. Who’snext”?” Four men came and took away the insensible soldier, and the corporal saluted the doctor, say- ing: f Here’s one of the citizens, doctor, got hurt. Thought be was dead.” The senior surgeon turned to Slocum, saying rouge. ‘* Well, my man, what’s the matter with you? You railroad men brought on all this muss, and now we've got to foot the bill, I suppose. Come, what is it?’ : Slocum, a moment before, had been weak and trembling, but the callous way of the doc- tor stung him into drawing himself up and re- torting: ‘‘T don’t know that it’s worth while to trou- ble you, sir. If we brought on the muss, as you say, at least we took our sbare in it, and I had an idea that the first duty of a physician was to heal the sick, not to insult them.” It was not the retort, but the language in which it was coucaed that seemed to impress the surgeon. | He bad looked on Slocum in his frontier dress and unkempt bair as only one of the railroad laborers, but he found that be spoke like a per- son of refinement. So he looked alittle ashamed, answering: : ‘‘ Well, well, what’s the matter, sir? Are you sick or wounded?” “Tm not sure,” replied Blocum. ‘I was bit on the back of the head, and it aches very bad] f es 5 kind enough to examine me? That’s all I ask. | The doctor said nothing more of a harsh nature, but did as he was asked, and made a careful examination of the young man, taking every limb from bead to foot. en he had finished he said: ‘You had a narrow escape, sir. How were you: cneaged when you were struck on the ea ‘Pm gure 1 don’t know,” said Slocum, in a weary way. ‘I think I was having a rough- and-tumble fight with an Indian, but I don’t remember very much about it.” Here the corporal saluted, ‘ Please, sir, | saw the gentleman. He was | young man inspir : Pes, cut off from our people, and he did fight ure a Praga Ped a violent effort, cleared his head team of wild-cats. I seen him bave the injun = 80 far as to say: peda! bucking him in the face, when he| “* Mr. Russell, I hear—you’ve lost—a field- pped, and I thought he was shot. O “That accounts for it,” said the doctor, cu- Russell looked at him eagerly. comicbooks soft, which he soon found to be a dead body— | that of an Indian. ‘* Hello! I thought you were gone up.” ‘*And what’s lost?” ask ‘‘ Not the field book, surely?” “*T believe that’s what they said.” ‘*Then I must see Mr. Russell at once,” said Slocum, with a great effort. ‘‘ Where is he now, doctor?” The doctor shook his bead. ‘*You’re not fit to see him, You can’t talk busines. for a day or two,” ‘*T must, doctor,” said the young man, trying to look straight before him, but ready to fal) with dizziness. ‘‘I shall worry more, if you don’t Jet me go, than if you go with me. I've only a few words to say.” ‘The doctor Jooked at him keenly and closely for near a minute. ‘‘-You do Jook as if you were worrying over it. Well, come with me, [ll take care of you. Russell’s out bere.” He led Slocum away to a fire in front of a large wall-tent, by which stood two gentlemen —one an officer, Slocum recognized General Chester, com- mander of the column, a tall man, with gray hair, and a stern, careworn face, in the cflicer: while in the stout person with mutton-chop whiskers, be found the much-dreaded chief en- gineer, noted for his sharp, exacting ways over ihe wenaral ing thoughtful e general was pacing thoughtfully up and down, talking ‘o Russell, when the Souk ap- proached, and he wheeled round in his stern, im- posing way to say: ‘“Well, doctor, well—what is it? We're busy.” But the surgeon, like all of his class, was not “ote. abashed, and answered: ‘*Can’t help that, general. Here’s a gentle- man who was badly burt todays one of the en- emi wants to report to Mr. Russell, and ell have trouble with his head if he don’t doit. He was with Mr. Graves,” Here Russell broke in. ‘Excuse me, woes) if be really has any- thing to say, I’d like to hear it.” The general waved his hand politely. ‘‘ By all means. Speak on, sir.” He turned his eyes on Slocum very kindly, for the pale face and bandaged head of t ired pity Slocum. SEO ee ——————— rr mmm mmm rr rrr cr er mee ae a eee lt”