Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 272 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

| Seth Sloc | na a en RNa ok STARRY WER ee ane “Yes—yes, two. Do you know anything of them? Who are you?” Slocum felt in his breast, and drew out the field-book with Graves’s order in it, and handed it to the engineer, saying: ‘‘l’m Seth Slocum, sir.” Then be got so faint that General Chester no- ticed it and brought out a camp-chair, saying to him kindly: ‘Sit down; you’re burt.” Slocum sunk into the chair, while the engineer eagerly looked over field-book and order, one after the other. When he had finished this, Russell said: ‘“‘T don’t understand this, sir, This is Mr. Travers’s book, He told me thatit was t:ken by the Indians, in the hands of one of the ax- men who was killed.” Slocum’s bead was clearing as he sat resting, and he answered: ‘‘T had charge of it, sir, You'll see where he signed bis work, It wasin my pocket when I ot hurt. Mr. Graves sent me to supersede ravers,” : Russell compressed his thin fips. ““T see, I see,, Hem! hem! You’ve done well, sir, as far as you go; but this is only one book. It gives only the distances. Where’s the eleva- tion book? Do you know?” ‘It was in Mr. Graves’s pocket,” said Slo- ‘‘T saw him putit there before the fight began,” ; ussell pursed up his lips fretfully. “Then it’s gone for good, Heavens, what a misfortune! General, we shall have to do all the work over again, backward.” ‘Tt can’t be done,” answered Chester pag ly. ‘* My orders don’t extend to sacrificing this ‘whole command for the sake of your company. The Indians are up, and we’ll have to retreat at once, and keep well together. ‘‘I can’t let any more escorts go out, That’s flat.” Russell looked as if be had lost all hope, for he said in a mournful way: ‘* And all our work’s thrown away. Well, if we are ruined, it can’t be helped. This book’s only half the work without the other,” Slocum here ventured to speak: “Ifaman went among the Indians to get that book, sir, what would the company say and do if be found it?’ Russell stared at him doubtfully. “Say and do? Why, young man, do you know that asubsidy of ten millions hangs on that book? The man that gets itcould make his own terms with us.” CHAPTER V. MONTANA ‘GEORGE. A WEEK later, the Northern Pacific Railroad Survey Expedition was wending its slow and sorrowful way homeward to Fort Black on the Missouri. Mr. Russell had gone ahead as soon as they got out of the Indian country; and Seth Slocum, pale and weak, but able to ride again, had left the ambulance in which he bad been lying for three or four days, and was ambling ahead of the column over a green undulating lain of rich grass, feeling his health coursing ck with every breeze. : They wers out of danger from the Indians, for they were fast nearing the settlements, and the guides had little or nothiug to do, the trail beir g as plain as a high-road. Slocum, whose position as assistant advance engineer, though confirmed by Mr. Russell, had\ become one involving no duty since, the recall of the expedition, was riding ahead of the long column In company with one of the guides, the same “ Montana George” who had been trusted _ by Graves as giving the most reliable informa- tion. ; Montana George's full name was George F. Rockwell, but he bad lost that long before for his nickname, except on the pay-rolls of the company, where he was set down by his legal appellation. ' eorge was not a Government scout, and had a good deal of contempt for many of the men who were employed by the officers in the capac- ity of guides, | , | @ was a quiet, modest fellow, who dressed in a neat business suit when he went to Chicago, which he had to do every few months io make reports or receive orders. 0 one would have taken him at such times for a frontiersman, for his hair was cut short, and bis manner was as quiet and unobtrusive as if be had been a poor bookkeeper on a low sal. ary. On the plains be was a different man, dressed in Jeather, and armed with a long-range rifle and pair of revolvers. Slocum had grown to like him from the fact of Graves having trusted bim, and the boy had a half-superstitious veneration for any whim or ~ of his dong chicks bak in Montane weorze ® no mistake, for George W man,” in the quietly emphatic language of the West. could be depended upon. Now, as they were riding along engineer broke out after a musing had lasted for several miles. " George, I wish I understood Sioux.” , the youn silence that = Se Montana George smoothed out a lock of his horse’s mane, answerivg: * Ay, ay, there’s a many wish that.” ‘* But verv few who can do it, I suppose.” George shrugged his shoulders, ‘*Enough, I reckon.” “Why enough?’ Mr. Slocum,” ‘é W orth 9” ‘Yes, worth. They’rea bad lot, and it won’t be many years before they’re all gone.” ‘But there aré white men who can speak their tongue; are there not?’ ‘‘ Ay, ay, aS Many as are wanted,” ‘Can you speak it, Rockwell?” Montana George nodded, ‘‘ A little. Not enough to interpret, though, if that’s what you want,” Slocum looked at him curiously, “What I want? What makes want anything?” Rocky ell smiled. ‘* That’s easy enou gh to see. You want to do something, and you're afraid to let anybody know what it is.” ‘‘ You're right, George, I do.” **] knowed it.” ‘But Pil tell you, George, if you'll keep it still between us two, Rockweli nodded, ‘Go ahead, sir, I won’t tell any one. We don’t belong to the army, so we can afford to keep secrets to ourselves.” George,” said the young man, Gyawing closer to the scout and speaking low, thoug they were at least a quarter of a mile ahead of the column, “TI have got something to say to you. I’ve something on my mind, ever since the fight when Mr. Graves was killed by the Indians,” “T thought as much.” ‘Yes, You were in the fight, were you not, George?” ‘1 think I was,” George dryly replied. ‘* At least that was my impression, ‘*‘ Where were you?” ‘* With the scouts,” “ And they didn’t join the line?” Montana George smiled, ‘*T reckon not.” | ‘ Why not?” ‘‘Knowed better,” said the scout in the dryest of tones, ‘* Don’t suppose we’d fight Injuns in the open, while there was plenty of cover round you thiok I 3. ‘*T don’t quite understand you. I’m not an Indiao-fighter, you know.” Rockwell nodded kindly, for he was one of thosa men who never make fun of the green- horns. He answered quietly: . ‘Of course not, but you’re a darned good man for all that, Mr. Slocum. I seen ye in the fight, when ye didn’t think it. Ill tell ye bow it is, These Injuns are men, jest the same as the rest of us, aud they don’t want to get killed any more than we do, They’re not like sol- diers, who do as they’re ordered, and get killed like fools, because on cfiicer tells them to go Into a bad place. They’re like us scouts and lainsmen, ev°ry man for himself, and they on’b see no glory in getting killed. Neither do 4s ae Pt: Ga AP: ell, naturally, when they’re ten to one, they'll fight like blazes; and. being as they're all born a horseback, as one might say, they'll charge over a green plain like a pack of hounds ater a apr: ut that’s all,” ss e I ‘* Well, yvou’ve seen a hound after rabbits that. comeona bear of a sudden, haven’t you, Mr, Slocum?” ‘‘ Can’t say I have, but I can imagine it.” ‘Exactly, He'd turn and ning, wouldn’t he?” ‘* | suppose so,” “Well, and that's just what an Injun charge comes to, if itmeets a few geod men iv the edge of a wood, and we all knowit. I’ve seen three men in a wood keey a hundred Injuns at bay. They’d howl like hounds and go ramping about, but they wouldn’t come up to the scratch, where some one was bound to be killed. Every one of ’°em thought be was goeio that was to be fetched out of bis boots.” ‘‘ And that’s why you took to the woods in the fight?” “Sart’inly, As soon as we saw tbat the sol- diers. were into it hot, we scouts lit out to the flank, where there was a nice lot of timber, covered in on all sides, and we just held that place till the whole scrimmage was over. a glass with me, that I borrowed of one of the other scouts, and we watched the whole affair,” “Then yon must have seen Mr, Graves,” Montana George nodded mournfully. ‘“Ay, ay, he wes a good man, tbat--a very 800d man indeed.” ** Did you see him killed?” * Describe it as near a8 you can for me, I ® my reason for usking. tana George thought for a little, and be- gan slowly: um, Railroad Surveyor. — _—- “For all the darned Jingo’s worth, I mean, | time the infantry put like blue light- | ly, J should say.” to be the one. I bad © 5 LO EE op — eS ES eee ‘‘ As nigh as I can recollect, in the first fi ht, Mr. Graves never lifted a band. We could see bim through the glass, sitting on the ground, writing grin’ in a book—” ‘That book!” interrupted Slocum. “It is a very valuable one, George. Think well; do you think he had it with him when he was illed ?” George shook bis head. “Couldn’t say. The last I seen of it was when you came to speak to bim, and I saw him put it io bis pocket. Jest after that the Injuns came down the valley kiting, with the walk-a- heaps after them,” ‘The what?” | “The foot soldiers, I mean. That’s what the Injuns call ’em, and we get into the same way ourselves, Then I seen you was all going to get ridden over; for the Injuns was trying to get out, and you jest remember: if yon corner an Ipjun, be’ll fight like a streak, though he'll see: like a hare if you give bim a bole to get out of, ‘And you in the woods? What did you?” “Ob, we was in no danger. There was room to git by us, and we knew they'd take it. But the cavalrymen was right in. the way. We seen the Injuns make their charge, and seen them divide and sweep round the soldiers. I seen you git up from bebind a borse and run for tbe command, and then I seen the Injuns all round ye. It wasn’t five minutes afore the bull thing was over, as far as I could see, “But Graves? What of bim?’ , ‘I’m coming to tbat,” said the scout, slowly. ‘It must bave Leen nigh five minutes, when the devils broke and scooted off; and, as they pants us I seen they bad Mr, Graves a prisoner tween twoof’em. They’d 1un him thrcugh the shoulder with a lance, and wes carryip bim along like a stuck pig, and the screams o him was awful to listen to—” Slocum turned on bim a face of borror, “ My God! you don’t mean he was alive?” The plainsman nodded gloomily. ‘Ay, ay, you don’t know Injuns yet, That was the best part of the bull thing to them, to bear him screech, As they passed, two of us picked the —- was carrying bim, and downed ’em. e fell too, but lay there, and we saw ’em trying to pick him up, We made things hot, I tell you, and they couldn't. it the body, no further. | * Yes, and then?’ | “And then, when they found they couldn’t carry bim off, they began to circle past us, and fire into bim as be lay. ring, S!ocum shuddered. ‘*Poor fellow!” . oe George nodded, ae “You may well say, pore feller! I tell yo Mr. Slocum, when a man’s. wounded ba be gets all broke up anybow, and if he gets bit pgain and again, there ain’t a worse death to die. The cruel devils kept on firing at bim, and he lying not fifty rods from us, and every shot fetched a screech, He must bave been a good ten minutes dying.” — ‘Poor fellow! And, then? Did they get his noes away after all?” . ontana George nodded. ; '“ Ay, ay, we couldn’t hinder ‘em, for they was set on it, and we had all we could do to take care cf ourselves, J can’t tell ye bow they eid it, for the dust hid part of it, tut by the come up and they put up the valley, it was all over. We found b Rae stripped, and all cut to pieces as be e.” ‘ His clotbes gone?” interrupted Slocum, — “Ob, yes; might ha’ knowed that. eo 4 tekes every rag they kin get, of our clothes,’ “Then they must have the field-book that was in his. pocket. Tell me, SE OrE Oy, lo you iss J tbirk they vould be likely to destroy Montana George shock bis heud, | “Think not, Make medicine of it, more like- ‘Make what?” a Pepe ; ‘*Medicine—witeberaft. Injuns make medi- cine cut of everything they don’t understand. Some cbiet’s sure to take the book and put it in pany tse ie gg 3 ht ; ‘* And con’t you think a man might get it back?’ asked Slocum, quietly. wane Rockwell looked at bim earnestly. “A man might; but be’d bave to be a very > er | good man, Mr. Slocum,” “lam going to doit myself, George.” Montana George looked at the young man herdly more than a boy in years, and answer him slowly: : : ‘Tam afraid you can’t do it, Mr. Slocum.” “Why not? Tell me all the difficulties in the way, George, every one of them. I've made up my mind to go and try, but I don’t want to make mistakes.” : Montana George nodded. . “That’s right, that’s right; but you don’t know what you're a-talkin’ of, Mr. Slocum. ‘You ain’t been out only this trip and you don’t at much eroes at és Hee ‘Suppose I were to you, George, tha bi: renee up among Indians, what a y . George stared and laughed. COMTE IO'O cS co