Beadle's Dime Library No. 309 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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ee ee 24 hated foes, and that before our friends hed reached the circle of lances‘and other weapons, With terrific whoops of war, the Indians darted for their arrows; but, like an avalanche, those four horses dashed upon them, while continuous spurts of fire shot from the deadly tubes, and bullets tore through the painted breasts. Death-yells filled the air,mingled with whoops of war and rallying cries. It was a terrible charge! Directly over living, dying, and dead, dashed the invincible scouts; the war-ery of the Tonk- away rising above the din, Ail the Comanches rushed at once between the captives and their enemies; but, at a yell from their cbief, two darted back, and buried their knives in the breasts of the teamsters, Bud and Jim. The heads of the poor men fell forward, the blood gushing from their gap- ing wounds! Their terrible torture was at an end. Amid that mob of demons, our friends found that all they could do was to shoot down those who clutched at their bridle-reins, or who at- tempted to pull them from their steeds. Knives flashed on every side. Fire spurted through the powder smoke, A perfect vocal and optical pandemonium reigned in the cove. Rattler gave a signal-yell, forall tospur from the mass, and jake their escape. To linger was c-rtain death, Their revolvers were now empty. Then it was, that, for the first time, the young ranger was enabled to jump his horse to the scene of torture—the wheels and axle-tree. The scalp-pole stood bare before him, Pear] Pemberton, bis darling, was gone! It almost seemed that she had vanished, in a moment, into the air. So thought the old scout. The young ranger was fairly dazed with an anguish which would bave proved his death, haa not the yell of Old Rocky quickly aroused im, Rattler struck down a savage with his empty revolver, but the knife of the Indian entered the flesh of bis horse. It was that, doubtless, which saved him. The steed bounded madly from out the circle of lances, One glance, guided by another yell from the old scout, and the whoops of the Tonkaway, showed the ranger his three pards dashing away. It showed him something more. Big Foot, with Pearl in his arms, was just darting into the undergrowth upon a fleet horse, on the opposite side of the cove of tim- ber, Amid a cloud of arrows, Rattler dashed wild- lv from the’ Comanche camp; and on after his friends to the rescue of the Pearl of the Prairie, who seemed now to be really doomed, CHAPTER XXVIII. A FRESH MYSTERY, AFTER the headlong departure, or retreat, of our friends—not one of whom had escaped being wounded by the knives of the Indians— after the mad dash was over, nearly half of the savages were eitber dead or wounded; and, had ‘it not been for the fear of shooting Pearl, many more would have been made t» bite the dust, All bad occurred in a few moments, and never were red-men more dumfounded;) not only at the charge of the little band upon them, but at the death which followed, and the flight of their chief with the captive maiden. They began to think that the latter must bo “ bad medicine,” as little besides death had followed since her capture. One asserted that be had heard Big Foot utter a signal-yell for them to follow, and all pre- pared, without a thought of dead or wounded, to dash away from the spot, which had, indeed, proved ‘‘bad medicine” to them. Springing upon their mustangs, but half a score of the but recently strong war-party of Big Foot dashed from the timber-cove, and out upon the moonlit plain. There they saw a sight that did not lessen . their conviction, that ‘* bad medicine ” for them permeated the very air around the San Saba. This was nothing else than the mad colonel, alloping wildly over the plain, yelling like a | aro while, in front of him, sped the af- frighted corpse-laden mustangs of the Co- manches. Every brave jerked jaw-strap, and gazed, with superstitious awe and dread, first at the scene upon the plain, and then at each other, ejaculations, in consonance with their emotions, bursting from their lips. But, soon they caught a view of a moving ob- ject, down the river, just darting from the timber, as they looked in that direction. This was Big Foot, with r Pearl in his arms, and mounted upon the horse of a United States Army officer, which bad been captured in a previous raid. Tne chief perceived his warriors, and sig- naled with his hand for them to join him, All lashed their mustangs onward to join their leader, but a long distance intervened. Straight out on the plain, for about two Ee ss —_——-- - — — a miles, Big Foot sped, and then turned to the west, and parallel with the Rio San Saba. But, on dashed the thundering stampede, with the crazed ranchero io their rear; and, be- fore the Comanches had covered half the dis- tance between themselves and their chief, the animals were turned directly toward them, With horror and dread at this rush upon them of their dead brother braves—which they began to believe must have been taken pos es- sion of by bad spirits—all turned westward, chief and braves riding paralle] with the river; the latter a mile distant from the same, the for- mer two miles, Then, out from the timber, and down the river, on the trail of Big Foot broke our valiant quartette; the strange sight we have but attempted to describe, meeting their gaze, and causing great astonishment, Poor Pearl Pemberton seemed further from their power to rescue each moment, but on they sped headlong, in pursuit. Paul left his pards, and started to en his father, in the hope that he might be able to influence the colonel to ac- company; trusting that, tortured though his brain was, his father would recognize him, Thus, out upon that stage, that broad, open, moonlit plain, the strange actors strove to overtake each other. And, to torture our friends yet the more; the pursuers saw that the unhappy maiden had recovered—that she now realized her awful p>sition—for, her arms beat the air wildly, around the plumed head of Big Foot, while, even at that distance, her shrieks could be faintly heard. Suddenly the mad ranvchero appeared, for the first time, to catch sight of the fast-galloping Comanche chief; perhaps drawn to this discov- ery by the cries of his daughter, he being near- er to Big Foot than were any of the others, It may have been that there was a faint ray of intelligence, which darted into his distorted mind, born of that struggling female figure in the arms of the savage chief; or, perhaps, the cries that proceeded from Pearl caused glim- merings of the near past to crowd in, among the wild whirlpool of insane thoughts that had so long had possession of him. Be this as it may, Colonel Pemberton headed his horse in hot pursuit of the Comanche chief, which fact caused the warriors who had turned in a quartering course toward Big Foot, to re- turn to their former course, through dread of the fearful-looking madman, upon whose head the Good Spirit or the Bad Spirit—one or the other—had placed his hand, thus putting him beyond all harm from his enemies, Until almost directly in line of bis old camp, Big Foot kept on with his fair captive. Then he suddenly turned, and, as if he expected that some of his young braves yet held the camp, he dashed toward the timber, soon disappearing from view. This change, of course, gave an advantage to the warriors, whose quirts were kept constantly hissing through the air, and about the hams of their mustangs. They also quickly quartered toward the old camp, soon darting at headlong speed into the dark shades, and leaving the plain to our friends, who spurred madly on; hope nearly vanished from their breasts, Far ahead of Rattler, Old Rocky and Turtle galloped the colonel, bis yells no ee to be heard, and he no longer gesticulating in his former wild manner. Then Paul once more re- joined his friends, but not one of them had a word of encouragement for him, Indeed, there was now little ground for hope, even if Pearl was safe,as far as being harmed bod- ily by the Comanche cbief; forshe was being car- ried to a fate worse than death, as it was evident that Big Foot bad wiren up all hope of gaining revenge for his lost braves, or even of retaining the mules, horses and plunder that he had cap- tured, Plainly, his intention was to strike toward his village, at the head-waters of the Rio Bra- 20S Did he thus desert his warriors—those who remained alive—as seemed to be his intention, then it would be almost impossible to overtake him by trailing, as, without doubt, he intended to keep in the timber. It was no wonder, after these reasonings, that the pursuers almost despaired of snccess. Their hearts were doubly wrung with anguish when they perceived that the poor maiden had fully recovered, and now realized her awful position. Rattler ground his teeth ina fury that bor- dered upon frenzy as the chief disappeared in tem shades with bis darling—all he prized in A, Witbout her the world would be ae blank; in- deed, he felt that life would be one ceaseless tor- ture, did he lose Pearl. Proud and defiant and filled with contempt and hatred, were the mien and glanceof Turtle, the Tonkaway, as he gazed at the Comanche chief when the latter shot into the shades. Then the friendly Indian looked into the faces of his white pards, there detecting their hopelessness and anguish. Raising his right band, in a graceful and sweeping gesture toward the point at which the chief bad disappeared, the Tonkaway spoke: ‘“‘The hearts of my white brothers are sad, when the war-path is thick with dead Snakes. old, the Rattline Ranger. a The Comanches are dogs. Tonkaway squaws can teach them war. White Face is in the arms of Big Foot, but Turtle will take ber from him.. I have spoken.” “Dang an’ double-dang my hull systematics, Tonk, ef I doesn’t think yer’ll hev a o:migbhty long trail arter poor Pearl this time! Hit *pears es thougan ther cantankerous cuss war ’bout ter p’int up country, an’ keep in ther timmer et thet, which’ll gi’n bim ther ’vantage all ’roun’, ** W bat d’yer think, Rattler?” *“Don’t ask me, cold pard—don’t ask me! I cannot even think, I bave got beyond that, and see but little hope. That demon will mur- der poor Pearl if we crowd bim. He is frantic with rage ut the disaster and defeat he has met with; and, since Pearl bas recovered her senses, the superstitious awe which she caused in the murderous breasts of those fiends will be dis- pelled. I see little hope, and I very much fear that the colonel will but hasten the fate of his. daughter.” Colonel Pemberton was, at this time, some distance in the rear of the warriors, and the scouts were fully a quarter of a mile in the rear of the colonel. As has been mentioned, not one of the friends had escaped the knives of the infuriated Co- manches at the timber-cove; and, although each had lost considerable blood, they thought not of their wounds, baving bandaged each other while on the verge of the timber, after following Big Foot through the same, and realizing, after discovering him upon the plain, that it would be impossible to overtake him, By various windings in his course, the chief had gained greatly the advantage of his pursu- ers. they being obliged to follow his trail, On they all galloped, their horses foam-flecked and panting. The ranchero soon disappeared from their view, and Paul groaved aloud. The poor youth had now little hope of ever again seeing his father and sister. All expected to hear the war-whoop soon after the colonel entered the sbades, havin little doubt that the Comanches would ambus him. But no sounds reached their ears, Pecr- haps the warriors were crouched among the bushes, with the intention of ambushing tho scouts, and therefore they had permitted the ranchero to pass them unmolested, Thus thought and reasoned Rattler. ‘‘Jerk sixes, bovees!” cried the oid scout, ‘fan’ bore ther carkisses of every red heathun what yer kin friz yer peepers onter! I ’lows they bees’bout es mad es a screamin’ eagle arter’ bein’ struck by a norther an’ hevin’ his tail- feathers blowed out, ‘‘Cuss my cats, ef I ain’t sick—bilious clean through, from ha’r to heel! I wish’t I war decently defuncted, es Joe Booth used ter spit out when a blizzard struck our outfit. ‘‘ Rattler, keep yer grip! J’m’pendin’ on ther Tonk now. I’m plumb out’n this hycr game; fer, though we’ve swep’ ther board purty clean, Jeetle Pearl air yet in ther hands o’ ther hell- yuns. ‘Hit seems es though this hyer y’arth ain’t run ‘zactly on ther squar’, er else ther hull on us hes gone lunified, dang ef 1 knows which !”” ** Hu-s-s-sh!” came from the lips of the Tonk- away, as he shof into the timber in the track of the Comanches, bis revolver cocked and ready. All followed, but soon checked thespeed of their horses, for, at a little distance ahead, they caught the flicker of fire-light. The huge fire, fed by the med colonel with the corpses of tke Comanches, still burned brightly, throwing out the scent of scorched meat toa sickening degree; huge logs having formed a foundation fer the all-night fire of the young braves, who little dreamed when they started it that their own bodies were destined to feed its flames. There was no ambush, nor any signs of the foe; and our friends pushed on, all four of them breaking into the ‘‘open” at the same time, with their revolvers presented, A strange and unexpected scene met their view—a scene that dumfounded and puzzled all except the Tonkaway. There, before their eyes, scattered around the “open,” and plainly re- vealed in the blaze of fire, were the horses of the Comanches, including the animal of Big Foot— all dead, or dying, a long lance being tbrust through the vitals of each horse and the weapon. left in the wound. Not a saddle, nora jaw-strap had been re- moved. It was apparent that the Indians had sprung from their mustangs, and then, at the order cf their cbief, had lanced them. What did tbis mean? Neither Old Recky nor Rattler, experienced as they were in border-life, could give an ex- planation of this mystery. ‘ Colonel Pemberton then rode into view from the opposite side of the fire. A great change bad come over him, He had resumed his own garments and thrown aside his Indian habiliments, The scalps were also gone from his horse. With the exception of the remaining daubs of paint, he appeared like himself, having evident-- Eomicbooks ‘com