Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 328 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

— 4 King Kent. paces of where the chief sat, his breast swelled | _ The chief knew that this brave was reporting out, his head defiantly poised, and his black eyes | the fact that the white captive was gone—that flashing. | their victim was no longer hanging from the Few men would have dared remain in such | cliff. close proximity to a horde of hostile enemies;| In an instant, all was confusion, and with but not a trace of fear, or even concern, was | the exception of about a dozen braves, all rushed betrayed on the stoical face of the Tonkaway, | into the shades, toward the cliff, the Comanche Strange to record, he deliberately opened his | chief included. " paint-bag, secured his little mirror, and renew- This was the opportunity for Turtle, and he ed the streaks, lines, and bars of war, on his | immediately took action. face, breast, and arms; adding long fresh stripes Leading the horse of Dick slowly into the un- of vermilion from shoulder to wrist—the stripes , dergrowth, the Tonkaway sprung into the sad- | e at the last-named point entering a wide ring of | dle, and proceeded at once to the river. This black pigment, and giving to the Tonkaway a he crossed, and then secreted the animal some truly horrible appearance. From this, and the expression of the chief's eyes, it was evident that he meditated some desperate undertaking; that, although he was alone, he meant that his, enemies should know to their cost, that he was. in their vicinity; and that he had not forgotten the tragic death of his squaw and pappoose at their hands. Having painted himself to his satisfaction, Turtle dismounted, secured his horse, and with eat caution crawled amid the undergrowth to fhe verge of the same. It was quite dark at that portion of the bottom-timber; but, beyond it, the moon lit up the ‘‘open” of the d brightly. Before him was the Comanchecamp. In fact, the first fire was not ten yards away. The mustangs of the Indians were feeding just beyond the line of fires, the same being near e curving line of timber. Much to the joy of Turtle, the horse of Daring Dick was feeding directly at the border of fhe bushes, not three yards from where he sat; and, as yet, neither saddle nor bridle had been re- moved. | But scarce five minutes had clnpeed after the discovery of Dick’s horse, when the Tonkaway perceived a sub-chief, upon whose head flaunted two eagle-feathers, approaching the horse; and to add to the joy of our red friend, he saw that this warrior had the arms of Dick, belted about his waist. He had, doubtless, been the leader ‘Mounting his black steed, and knowing that he had no time to lose, the chief urged the ani- | mal to the border of the timber and under- ick’s, and with a six-shooter in each hand, made ready for the desperate undertaking he | had determined upon, previous to the main por- tion of the Comanches having left the camp, and the discovery of Dick’s horse. The. dozen warriors, who were left in the camp, were now gathered in a group, jabbering in their guttural lingo, and showing as much ex- citement as Indians ever display outwardly This was occasioned by the mysterious and now inexplicable disappearance of the captive, whom they had suspended from the cliff. Turtle waited not a moment, but uttered a low and peculiar sound; at the same time, press- ing both his knees upon the shoulders of his horse. riors; and, before they recovered from their as- tonishment at the sight of the lone Tonkaway chief charging into their camp; the wild war- whoop of Turtle filled their ears, and awoke ‘the echoes of the Rio San Saba. 15 ** You are recklessly brave—indeed, too risky —and I fear you will never see the Rio Leon, if you keep on in this ban ‘Too much heap talk,” returned the Tonka- way. ‘Talk no good on war-path. Here pis- tols”—passing the revolveis, with bowie and belt, to Dick—‘‘ No like see Comanches wear my white brother’s pistols: ,Kill, scalp. Let my white brothers look,”—throwing nine scal 7 _at the feet of the scouts—‘ Francisco, he scalp over the San Saba, in the interlocked branches _ Good for quiver. of the trees, which there arched the waters. | rowth, drew his revolver, and one of Daring lose, for the yells of _ and nearer. | they would have searched there. Bad Greaser. Steal horses chief Land- ‘Come! My white brothers must ride up river. Woods full Comanches in few minutes, little distance from the stream, ina dense thicket Must ride quick. Know where horses. Make of wild plums. | stampede in Comanche camp. Then he returned to his own horse, passing ‘*Come! It is good. Give scalps to Turtle. Come. Waugh!” With muttered ejaculations of wonder, the two scouts returned to the Tonkaway chief the gory trophies, and sprung to equip their ani- mals in haste: knowing there was no time to e Indians drew nearer The sound of the same proved that the Com- anches were infuriated, to a murderous degree even beyond control or prudence—otherwise e bottom-timber in silence, In five minutes more, the uartette were gal- loping up the river, on the sou side of the bend, | and toward the neck of the same, at headlong CHAPTER XX. THE TRAITOROUS GREASERS TAKEN. THE fury of Rolling Thunder and his warriors upon discovering that their victim had been re- ike an arrow from a bow, the noble black leased, was intense. shot from the screen of bush and branch, out | into the camp, directly toward the knot of war- | They could not account for it. They had observed no one near, neither had they seen any ‘‘sign,” except that of two men, who had driven the herd of horses up the San Saba, on the south side of the bend; and it was unreasonable to sup that one of these had returned to rescue the suspended man from tor- ture and death. away, T rate a chi in the capture of the young Texan, and had claimed the horse and arms, as his by right of capture. Desperate and dangerous as was the under- taking, Turtle determined at once, that he would not only recapture the horse, but also the arms of his white brother. This would have seemed impossible, and the attempt foolishly reckless, by any other proba- bly, ss the Tonkaway. But the latter was fixed in his Lae gap He tightened his belt, jerked his ane knife from the scabbard, and then as the sub- chief advanced, and was about to take the horse of Dick by the bridle-rein to lead the animal is imitated to perfection the call of a hen turkey to her young, and also the cries of the young turkeys; at the same time, slightly disturbing the bushes. The Comanche sprung at once into the ) ene owth, stooping, ata clear space, to pick up a wise of deadwood, with which to. knock over the young turkeys. But at that instant, the terrible Tonkaway ther-like, upon the sub-chief; his his throat, and his knife, with sickening sound, being plunged to the hilt in the Indian’s side. it Then Turtle instantly relinquished his hold upon the knife-handle, clasping both his hands about the Comanche’s throat, to stifle the death- yell. Both rolled over and over, the wounded savage writhing like a snake, his arms wildly beating the air—the muscles rendered lax and limp by the hand of death, and unable to retain their hold upon his foe, ‘o. But a very short time did the victim of the This was followed by a rattling discharge from the chief’s revolvers. Death-yells, signal-whoops, and the monoto- nous death-chant of mortally wounded braves, filled the air. Right warriors fell in their tracks, dead or dying without having time or chance to spring for ir bows, arrows, or lances; the others | bounding into the dark shades, as though the bad spirit of their traditions was in hot pursuit! Turtle, the Tonkaway, was the sole occupant, except the dying braves, of the Comanche camp—the camp of his most deadly enemies, | whose hatred for him was only equaled by his for them, At once springing to the earth, Turtle ended However, as the captive had been on the trail of the herd when taken, it was possible that notwithstanding the great danger of such a step, one of the vaqueros, who was presumably en friend, might have returned, and released m. Yells of baffled rage rung from all sides, as the braves gazed up at the cliff side, all honey- combed with caverns, and illumined by the bright moon, and saw that their captive was really gone. Their fury and excitement at this was, how- ever, as naught compared to the insane /and utter amazement that ruled them, as rattling reports of Turtle’s revolvers reached the death-song of the wounded, by plunging his_ their ears, mingled with the ing ok gee and sig- knife into their breasts. Then scalping every nal-whoops of the warriors who been left in one of them, he bounded, with all his reeking | camp. trophies, upon his black steed. With a most demoniac how] of fury, Rolling en there shot out from the Tonkaway’s Thunder bounded from the open belt into the throat, his pl omy yell of victory, triumph, | timber, and toward his camp, followed by his taunt, and derision; after which, he sped to the braves, all crashing through the und wth north side of. the bend, and on through the tim- | and heedless of thorns and the whisking of ber, to the river. This he forded, while the , branch and bush. : mad and vengeful whoops of the war-party When they reached the camp, and saw their filled his ears, and rung up and down the natu- | fellow-braves, lying scalped, gore-stained, and ral arches of the San Saba. dead, near a camp-fire, their rage knew no Turtle rode, in a quartering course to the | bounds. eastward, soon reaching the border of the tim- | The Comanche chief yelled his orders at once ber, along which he passed south, and around and a score of warriors clutched bows and the swell of the bend and the cliff. Thence he , quivers, and > soy in all directions, except the dashed into the wood, on the south side of the | west toward the ‘‘ open” of the bend, in search bend, while the Comanches were howling for his | of the detested Tonkaway, whose taunting blood on the north side, where he had lefta plain ar victory they had recognized when near ec trail. : They now believed that they knew who had “‘Tonkaway thus strug then followed a few spasmodic contractions of ‘the muscles; and, with a horrible gurgling sound, and then lay limp and -cled. the ‘point of observation. ‘Turtle’s hand; having, evidently, gotten scent ‘direction of the cliff and the river, and halting le. Feebler and tiation teeta his writhi and the form of the sub-chief arene tenes out rigid, eless, Quickly the Tonkaway drew out his knife, cir- int of the biade about. his victim’s head, and tore off the reeking scalp. Securing the belt of arms ut his own waist, Turtle lost no time, but returned: to his proach being answered by the chief—and the next minute, the Tonkaway, mounted upon his faithful steed, and leading that of Daring Dick, rode up to the trio, whom he found standing in thickets, within which was their camp. _ * Wa-al, cuss my cats!” exclaimed Old Rocky, in the utmost amazement and relief; ‘‘ Turtle, ye’'re a brick—a gold brick et thet! Yer hes raised a rumpus, es usual.” ‘* Double up an’-dang me! Bake me with dogs, an’ feed me ter Pinte ag paral was the fer- vent expression of Single Eye; the same feelings being manifested in voice and manner. ‘* Chuck me inter ther Souse Lakes fer ‘ga To his relief, the Indians were engaged in de- vouring half-cooked horse-meat, like ravenous wolves; they having killed an extra animal. To his further satisfaction, the horse of Dar- ing Dick was browsing upon the very bushes in which he himself was concealed. Instantly the chief thrust out his arm, and placed his hand upon the animal’s muzzle; at the same time, speaking to the horse in a low tone. The beast snuffed, and rubbed its nose against tors kon yer ‘em,Turtle. Fac’ air, by ther yells, I shu’d per- ceed ter opine yer hed laid some consider’ble on ‘em out cold,” Daring Dick stepped to the side of Turtle’s | of the Tonkaway previously, and recognizing him as a friend. ‘Sweeping the camp with keen gaze, Turtle to him, from old Old Rocky, who heard his ap- | an intensely excited state outside the circle of | when ei ter hash me inter cat-fish bait, ef ther Tonk | hain’t bin an’ got yer nag an’ shooters away from-ther red hellyuns, pard Dick! : + ed ter salerwate some on! the minds of his braves; but eve Securing Daring Dick’s horse, having accom- plished wonders, e proceeded toward the the captive. int where the scouts had headed, when con- ucting Dick to their camp—a signal well known One of the braves stumbled over the corpse of the sub-chief, and uttered a howl, as he dragged it out from the bushes into the moonlight, which caused the rage of all to break out afresh. They had good cause to remember Turtle, and | equally so his fellow-avenger, Rattlesnake; no wore ever having been known tosucceed, ither of these Tonkaway chiefs got upon the trail. Indeed, the Comanches had so often believed that they had slain these two arch-enemies of theirs—many times really capturing them for torture, only to have them escape, or be released by some of their white pards—and somany war- riors had been slain and scalped by the red avengers mentioned, that they were now looked upon with much superstition, and believed to be rded by the Good Spirit, or the Bad, they ew not which. This feeling, however, was not entertained by Rolling Thunder, who strove to banish it from time they heard the dread Tonkaway war-whoop, it re- turned, and tended to demoralize them. Now, nine of their warriors had been slain by Turtle—one of these a sub-chief—and four b was about to lead the horse into the bushes; | horse and grasped the hand of the chief, shaking | the unknown white man, who hed just esca when a warrior came, on the rush, from the | it warmly, as he said: ‘Turtle, I am getting deeper in your debt before Rolling Thunder, spoke, interlarding his | than I can ever repay, I fear. Ten thousand words with gestures, and pointing toward the | thanks to you, my red brother, for recapturing torture scene. | my horse and arms! All these braves dead, and not an enemy slain, or captured for the torture! The fury of the survivors was terrible, and Rolling Thunder found. it difficult to force them to silence, he knowing that nothing could be ac- <€om Ghbooks:com