Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 293 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

co +. —_———_——— ee Oo — +e SOD AT 4 ey = — ——_ = wa _— eR rm gg ee ee ge ee ge Po] * » es o -” - _ “+ ‘ ’ jak whe “_ ee - e 22 CHAPTER XXVI THE PURSUIT. BROQUIER quickened his pace, but his burden impeded him, and he called loudly for Lasso Lije, who at once reliev-d him, taking the senseless form of Doru; but, cursing like mad at having been forced tu icave the box of gold in the river. ‘*Hang the monev! We.can get that at any time, for they will not know what became of it,” shouted Broquier, panting for breath; ‘‘ but our lives, once gone, are gone for good. They are afier us now, like a pack of bloodhounds, | We are in a desperate position, and you know ** Oh, Bill! Bill, Isay! Bill Bowers!’ Thus yelled Lije, without noticing the count. “Hyer I air, pard, on a reg’lar stampede; with Stampede Steve arter me, I reckon!” Thus responded Bill, bursting from the bushes. *“Gi’n a few yelps, an’ git ther Greasers ter- gether! Look out fer ther wagon, an’ turn ther cussed thing aroun’ lively! We must skute back fer our animiles.” .** All hunk, Lije! Ill do it; but ther yaller- bellies air ormighty skeered.” Bill then gave out several uliar whoops, which were answered from different points; and, in five minutes, all of the party of outlaws were together, who had succeeded in escaping across the bridge. - Four bad been left behind dead, or badly _ wounded; and three of those who had escaped had received slight wounds. Bill Bowers had been cut somewhat by the knife of Major Dale, Lasso Lije, who understood the Mexicans, and knew that they would, if one of their num- ber started it, kill Broquier, Bill, and himself, on account of the disaster they had met with, _ «ried out: “Keep close tergether, boyees! We'll esca mow, and come back for the doubloons, Me oe ae and Garcia left them in the river, and we’ll fish _. them out!” _-———s Instantly the faces of the Greasers brightened, | and all bent their muscles to escape. . By gestures, Bill indicated to the two Mexi- «ans in charge of the wagon, as they neared the -—s« Same, to turn the vehicle about, and he was ae * Pile in lively, boyees!” yelled Lije. ‘‘Take | Mh al _ ther gal, Bill!” ey __ And into the wagon, all sprung; poor Dora Rig hth, ay. passed, not too gently, into the vehicle, es “Slash ther cusse ules fer all they’re _ wo'th! Strike straight back ther way yer ome, an’ we'll jump ther critters soon es we __-- *roves t’other side ther drink!” - on ' VoL ar kee - ‘boyees?’ he again cried out. - <cumvent ’em. _ «crowd, We must glide ’cross ther drink, skute h ther timber ter ther no’th plain, an’. onl 63, j Th i ae ~" * a, » * » ’ , A 1, * | i S, f * ~ Os a . © us directed Lasso Lije, and away they ** Doesn’t yer tumble ter my leetle game, ‘*T’lows ter sar- We can’t buck ag’in’ sich a 3 dist everlastin’ly hum over ther perrarer, west; i, > chances o’ bein’ see’d when we skute past _ ther mouth o’ ther bend, whar ther train air Hit’s our only show fer ter git away. ree ee Ph evil be huntin’ we-uns on this side, an’ _ what’s left in camp ll be interested with ther - ‘wounded, an’ thar ’tention ’II be all t’other way; 80 they won’t be lierble ter git a peep et us. “Hits what I call a ’riginal p’ogramme. What d’yer think o’ hit, Dick and Bill “It’s an excellent plan, Lije,” said Broquier. “*Hang it, Bill! We all played our cards to count, except you. Why ciin’t you scoop in the old man?” , “Didn't yer tell me not ter shoot nor stab, yer wavted him alive?” growled Bill, a, 4 or ay He's a roarin’ rager, an’ ef I bedn’t ha’ knock- 44, J 4, of a? de ed bim jist es I did, he’d ha’ done fer me dead ws “Did yer kill ther ole cuss?” asked Lasso He hain’t gut much life inter his carkidge, nie Tm bettin’; fer I gi’n him a sockdoliger!” ~oy Hit war lively times fer a few brief pe ” remarked Lije, after swallowing a - of brandy—an example which was fol- wed by the others—‘‘ but I reckon we'd better Yint d’rectly up ther Frio, cross bout whar er Leona runs in, an’ then skute lively fer ther + ya * __ **Wekin lay low thar, an’ see our hull back trail to ther Frio, spottin’ anybody what might _ skute arter we-uns. We've got grub an’ _ brandy, hain’t we, Dick?” _ “ Yes, plenty,” was the reply. ‘‘ You've laid - out a route that just suits me. evecy Dine _ hasturned out pretty well. My luck change ‘with the shooting off of my thumb. I only re- : od wt . 7*}* ‘ * ' -— *: ae | gret that we didn’t have a chance to lay that - scout out cold, or capture him.” “Hit ’u’d ha’ bin a mighty cluss shave, I . reckon,” said Lije, ‘‘ter hev skun out with bull skins, ef he’d bin in camp; an’ I’m dead sartain _ yer wouldn't ba’ gut off wi’ ther gal. _ “Ther fae’ air, Diek, he’d ha’ bored yer, sure _-@s preachin’, He’s a terror on wheels, an’a __-eyclone wouldn’t ha’ bin nowhar ’side o’ him, ef _ he see’d yer hevin’ ther gal. _ |“ But byer we air, in ther drink! Jump outer i ther wagon, boyees, soon es we gits across. We I, v7 . 7 7 ee we ee ee Sm ae eer ee ee — Stampede Steve. must skute lively fer ther hosses. Every min- ute counts a heap.” By this time the mules had clattered up the north bank of the Frio, and into the under- growth. All sprung out, and in five minutes more, the wagon was humming over the north lain toward the west; Lije, Bill, and seven Mexidans all upon their horses; speeding along- side. . Broquier remained in the wagon, poor Dora lying upon some bales of blankets, unconscious. Exultant though he was the face of the mis- creant turned ghastly, and hé trembled, as he gazed toward the narrow opening in the line of timber to the south which led into the camp of the wagon-train. This, the outlaw horde must pass, and risk the chances of being observed by the infuriated Texans. However, the very boldness, the daring of Lasso Lije’s plan, almost insured success; as the north olain would be the most unreasonable place at which any could expect to discover the outlaws. Besides, as Lije bad reasoned, nearly all the men of the train were on the south side of the river, searching the thickets and gullies; while those, who remained in camp, were com- forting the women and children, removing the dead from their sight, and attending to the wounded, The attention of the negroes, whose duty it was to prevent the mules from straying out from the bend, or stampeding, was naturally directed to the interior of the bend and od dreaming not of any reason why they should gaze out over the plain, toward the north, on the back trail, Hence, the wagon sped fully a mile beyond the entrance to the bend, and past the same west; unnoticed by any of the demoralized party. And, in more than this had Lije’s plan of es- cape proved successful; for none of the searchers imagined, for a moment, that the outlaws would re-cross the river. Steve Speed had, with the trainmen, when on the trail of the wagon, reached a point where a number of men had plunged into the undergrowth; and this was the first knowledge that the scout had, of Broquier’s having secured a band to aid him, As the wagon had been removed, and soon after the sounds of the conflict reached the ears of the scout and his men; he, naturally, and with good grounds, reasoned that the outlaws, who had left the wagon at the margin of the timber, and struck toward the river, had gone for their horses, c the stream, hastened up it, crossed again, and attacked the camp. They must, then, have left their animals on the margin of the timber and the south plain. The young scout did not reach all these con- clusions, until he had dashed into the camp, and there seen the death and disaster that had oc- curred; and that his darling had again been abducted, and this time by Broquier himself, atsisted by the previous abductors, and others. When Steve and his party dashed into camp, all was the wildest confusion, The air was filled with shrieks of terror, and the vengeful yells of such of the Texans as were tearing through the thickets in pursuit of the outlaws. On the instant Steve saw that the camp had been entered from the opposite side of the river, and, as a matter of course. the horses and the wagon must have been taken over the stream —the wagon for the purpose of conveying Dora Dale to Mexico! That these ruffians had in a very short time, planned and executed this attack in such a suc- cessful manner, and that they had prepared for every emergency, was evident; which fact proved that some of them must be well ac- quainted with the lay of the land. No sooner did Steve Speed hear the sounds of attack than he knew Dora had been captured. He felt as well assured of this as he did when he rode into camp and heard the fearful news, Great was his self-condemnation when he re- flected that he had twice spared that miscre- ant’s life, when he would have been perfectly justified in sho him. A terrible shock it was to the young man to see two Texans lying stark and stiff, while their wives and children cried and moaned over their bodies. Two more he perceived were des- perately wounded; but when he saw the out- stretched form of Major Dale, apparently life- less, Steve’s anguish was painful to witness. Terrible indeed had been the consequences of his having allowed that merciless monster, Bro- uier, to live, in order that he might wring rom him a confession of his dastardly crime— a crime which the scout believed had been com- mitted for the purpose of fastening it, by a chatn of circumstances, upon the old planter. For a moment all the horrors of the scene were fully realized; even to the proofs brought to his mind by the dead Greasers, These told him that Dora Dale was a captive to a horde of Rio Grande outlaws, who were associates in crime with her former abductors. ae ing from his horse Steve rushed to the side o showed that the old planter was not dead—that he had been merely stunned by a blow on the . ; write. | ap eS ajor Dale; but a slight examination } head, probably received while defending his daughter. Satisfied in this respect, the young scout dash- ed madly toward the timber, yelling for the men who had been with him to follow on to the rescue of the major’s daughter. Frantically he darted through the timber, urging men tosearch here and there, and send- ing others to inspect the south plain; yet not a sign or trace of Dora, or the wagon, could be discovered. The wagon had been driven up the river and also, on the return, on the soft-yielding grass on the border of the timber; hence it was im- possible in the moonlight to find any trail. Reason pointed to the probability that the outlaws had proceeded up the river, but who could tell, until daylight, which way the mis- creants had gone? But what, in the mean time? All this was very terrible to Steve Speed, and he was almost beside himself with rage, anguish aud self-condemnation. That the count could not escape with the wagon without leaving a plain trail which could be followed by daylight, the young man was positive; otherwise, his reason might have given way in his agony of mind and beart. There was no sign of either wagon or horses. This was strange, mysteriously so; but Steve resolved that he would not rest until Dora was free, This time Broquier should not escape death, and that by the rope! ‘*May Heaven protect my poor Dora!” was the one expression of his heart and soul. Most depressing and discouraging were the silence and the fark shades; but the scout’s mind was far darker—indeed not far removed ftom hopeless despair. The men of the train worked nobly to find the outlaws and rescue the maiden so loved by all; but all search proved unavailing. Dora Dale bad been spirited away, leaving neither trace nor trail visible in the moonlight. Perhaps the morrow would enable some of the many who were interested to find it. CHAPTER VIL. ON TOWARD THE RIO GRANDE, Wer may picture to ourselves the return to consciousness of poor Dora Dale. As v a previous occasion, when in the arms of Steve d, after her rescue from the maddened steer, the last dread scene was the first to become outlined in her mind’s eve. Over the shoulder of the villainous Broquier, as the latter caught her up and ran toward the wagons,she bad seen, to her horror and an- uish, her father felled to the ground by Bill owers; and this agonizing scene was repro- duced in the mind of the poor girl as she re- gained consciousness, Clutching at the side of the wagon, she opened her eyes. Just opposite the appalled maiden sat the count, his serpent-like eyes fixed gloatingly u pon her. With a shudder, sHe swept a glance around and ahead of the wagon. Instantly she com- Se gee all the dread realities of her condi- tion. The mules were galloping at terrific speed, lashed by mounted Mexicans, who rode beside the team, the foam flying from the mouths of all the animals. Amid the galloping horde Dora recognized her two former captors, an she knew that Steve had been right in his con- clusions as to their destination and object, after departing from the Rio wa he wagon she knew to be the same which her father had loaned to Broquier. The snorting steeds, the cracking and lashin of whips, together with the yells and curses of the outlaws were fairly deafening; and the poor maiden had some comfort in knowing that the dastard in front of her could not further annoy her by anything he might choose to say. The expression upon Broquier’s face, however, was such as to cause Dora to shudder convul- sively. No attempt did he now make, to mask his real character. | / The outrageous act, that he bad committed, had gan him beyond the pale of society; which be had, witbout doubt, entered under an assumed name. But faint ho caping a drea fully avoid by welcoming death. Shuddering with the intensity of her fear and horror, she gazed back toward the ribton of towering timber, and she then felt assuved that ber captors were proceeding up the Rio Frio, but sbe believed that the wagon could not be seen from the mouth of the bend, in which was the camp. She knew that the young scout had gone down the river from the camp, in search of the count and his two confederates. It was plain, therefore, that he must have returned soon af- ter the outlaws had departed into the timber; otherwise the latter would have been seen by Steve and bis men, It was some relief to Dora, to be able to rea- son in this way. “Steve Speed had not known, that Broquier 900 had the terrified girl, of es- fate, which she would thank- ni - *. ‘ i $ cS.