Beadle's Dime Library No. 362 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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‘ himself, killed some miners and took theirs, and then had to fly for his life. ‘* Wild Bill says he was a Kansas settler, and that all of his family were killed by red-skins, led by white renegades, and it ae iy him mad, and he took to the woods to ill. “And he has killed pale-face, red-skin, Chinee and nigger ever since. ‘But he kind of Jit out when we tackled him, old horse, didn’t he? ‘“We must be holy terrors to make him skip as he did; but next time, perhaps,he may make us travel. ‘‘Anyhow, we'll trail him down and find out.” The handsome bay, which Buffalo Bill had named not inappropriately, Red-skin, always pricked up his ears and tossed his head when his master talked to him, as though to ex- press his appreciation of what was said, and one of these tosses of his proud head saved his life, as an arrow suddenly passed under his throat, just grazing the hair, and buried itself in u {eco a few feet beyond him, The whir of the arrow and thud, as it sunk into the tree, warned Buffalo Bill of danger, and wheeling to the rightabout, as though his horse was on a pivot, he sought the shelter of a thicket near by. ‘‘Injuns, RKed-skin, Injuns!” cried the scout, as he dismounted and fastened his horse to a sapling, at the same time unsling- ing his rifle ready for use. After a short time spent in reconnoitering, he set off on foot to flank his unseen foe. Most cautiously he went, dodging from tree to tree, and crawling where the space was open. It took him along time to make the circuit, but at last he stood by the side ot the tree in which still stuck the arrow, and had been unable to find the slightest trace of a foe, or his trail even, The arrow was drawn from the tree, into which the shaft had buried itself a couple of inches, showing that it had been sent with great force. Closely examining it, Buffalo Bill saw that it was most skillfully made, yet did not look like Indian workmanship. Again he searched through the timber, looking up into the trees and then around them upon the ground, at about the spot from ‘whence the arrow must have been sent; yet not the slightest trace of a trail could he find. ‘‘l am not one to believe in the supernatu- ral; but the red-skins and trappers say these hills are haunted, and if this don’t look like the work of a spook Sitting Bull may have my scalp. **T’ll just emigrate from here,” and mount- ing his horse once more, he continued on his way, still following the madman’s trail, and wholly at a loss to account for the mysteri- ous shot, that had evidently been fired at him with deadly intent. CHAPTER XVI. THE UNSEEN FOR, Naturaty following a trailis slow work, and so Buffalo Bill found it, with all his skill in prairie and wood-craft. He had therefore not gone ascore of miles when night came on and compelled him to go into camp. Selecting a small canyon, on the sides of which the grass grew luxuriantly, and witha small rivulet in its center, he soon had as comfortable a rit for the night, as a man, accustomed to the hardships of a life on the plains could desire. He built a tiny fire and broiled some dried buffalo-meat, and boiled a tin cup of coffee, which he ate with crackers. Lighting his pipe he leaned back to think, and in spite of himself his thoughts would revert to the mysterious arrow-shot, which had been fired at him in the afternoon. Though born on the border, and raised among a class of men, frontiersmen, who are as superstitious as sailors, yet Buffalo Bill was not a believer in the supernatural; still he could not but think of the strange stories he had heard regarding the spirits said to haunt the Big Horn mountains, and how trap- pers and hunters had been driven from them, and Indians too, by happenings there to them wholly unaccountable. “It may have been the madman, who doubled upon me, and so hid his tracks I nh Buffalo Bill’s Grip. 9 could not find them; but then I do not think he could have been where I searched, and I not find his trail.”’ Hardly had the words left his lips when there came the whir-r-r of an arrow, and the feathered end just grazed his cheek, while passing on the shaft shivered itself against the rock beyond. Instantly Buffalo Bill threw himself back- ward, out of the glimmering firelight, and crawling to the side of the canyon, deter- mined to venture forth in the darkness in search of his unseen foe, At full length upon the ground, and as well mounted, besides having with them their squaws and children, they would fight | to the bitter end under their idolized chief, Buffalo Bill was anxious to end the days of that leader, if it lay in his power, and thus bring demoralization upon the Indians. Trailing through the day, night still found the scout upon the track of the Mad Hercules, and not daring to leave it for fear of losing it in the darkness, he ‘‘ camped on the trail” } once more. During the day he had not had a reminder that he was dogged by his unseen foe; but hardly had he tied his horse in a dense noiselessly as a snake could have crawled, | thicket, where he intended to pass the night, the scout entered the timber, bearing to the | when the ominous wAdr-r-r of an arrow was right, so as to get in the rear of the position | heard, and his broad sombrero was pierced where his unseen enemy must have stood through the rim by the shaft. when he fired the well nigh fatal shot. It was still good twilight, and hardly had After long and tedious work he reached , the arrow cut through his hat when, reckless the place, and with the greatest caution went from tree to tree, His little fire in the canyon hardly gave forth a glow, and yct he could have seen any- thing passing between its light and him, Step by step he advanced back to the can. yon, and at last reached his little camp, without having made the slightest discovery. That the scout was worried there can be no doubt, for his confidence in himself in solving mysteries had twice had a set-back, and he was almost tempted to at once mount his horse and continue on his way, giving up following the trail of the Mad Hercules. But he set his will against this desire, and rolling himself in his blanket, sought slum- ber, which, after a long time of restlessness, came to him. The rising sun was just gilding the tree- tops when he awoke, and quickly he began his search, under broad daylight, for any trace left by his unseen foe, But not a track or trail could he find, and more than ever convinced that the Big Horn mountains were inhabited by most mysteri- ous beings, if not spooks, he mounted his horse and rode on once more as before, fol- lowing the trail of the Mad Hercules, The nature of the country on that day’s travel was such that the scout had difficult work in Reaping the trail, although the mad- man seemed still not to make the slightest effort to cover up his tracks. Only several miles from where Buffalo Bill had camped he found the fire, still burn- ing, where the Mad Hercules had passed the night, and the remains of a deer proved that his night and morning repast had been of fresh venison, which he had shot where he encamped. As the fugitive had had nearly two hours’ good start of the scout, their night camps being but a few miles apart proved that the Jatter was gaining, and that the former had decreased the rate of speed at which he had started out, but more from inclination than from fatigue, Bill judged by the trail. Pressing on at a more rapid pace, and which could but be a fast walk, as the trail was obscure, Buffalo Bill determined to come up with the madman as soon as possible, and settle scores with him, that he might then go on after Sitting Bull to carry ont his work of revenge against the slayers of Custer and his men. Buffalo Bill knew Sitting Bull well, or, that is, as well as any white man knew him, for the wily chief had a l:.atred for the pale- faces that caused him to keep constantly aloof from them. The scout was aware that he was a man of vast influence with all Sioux, and having associated with him Crazy Horse and his people, he could put an army of thousands of warriors into the field to oppose the troops which would be sent to avenge the Custer massacre, And knowing well that this army of red- skins would be most thoroughly armed* and *Tt is a notorious fact that the Sioux Indians, for four years ‘mmediately preceding the Custer massa- cre, were regularly aveP ied with the mostimpr: ved fire-arms and ammunition by the agencies at Brule, Grand River, Standing Rock, Fort Berthold, Chey- enne and Fort Peck. Even during the campoign of 1876, in the months of May, June and July, just be- fore and after Custer and his band of heroes rode down into the valley cf death, these fighting Indians received el. ven hundred and twenty Winchester and Remington rifles. and 413,0.0 rounds of patent am- munition, besides large pe of Joose powder lead and primers, while during the summer of 1875 they received several thousand stand of arms and more than a million rounds of ammunition, With this generous provision there is no cause for wonder e Slt | of all consequences, Buffalo Bill had drawn a revolver and was bound’ng from the thicket in the direction from whence it came, His sudden and evidently unexpected act was rewarded by a sight of the one who had aimed at his life, and he sprung forward with immense leaps, crying through his shut teeth: % Apdok or Satan! I'll solve this mystery now [” CHAPTER XVII. CHASING A S8POOK, Wuerner Buffalo Bill had held himself in readiness every instant in the day, to be ready to take quick and urgent measures to discover who was his unseen foe, if he should have another arrow sent after him, it is cer- tain that hardly had his hand been pierced by the point, before he was bounding away in the direction whence he would be most certain to find the one who held the bow that had sent the shaft. He had not taken a second bound before, as I have said, his keen eyes detceted a form some sixty paces distant. It had just dodged back behind a large tree, and, bounding forward, Buffalo Bill made straight for the spot, regardless of the fact that he might get a second shot which would be fatal. Once out of the dense thicket, in which ho had pitched his camp for the night, the tim- ber was scattering, with here and there a large bowlder, and these were at once taken advantage of to protect him in his charge upon his unseen foe. But when Buffalo Bill ran boldly up to the tree, behind which he had seen the form, no one was visible. The tree stood apart from the others, with no rock near, so that it would have been im- possible for the person, whoever it was, to leave its shelter without his having discov- ered it, In the fading twilight he looked for a trail at the base of the tree, yet could find none, Then he glanced overhead, and saw that the foliage was thigk, and the branches far too high for any one to spring up to them from the ground. What had become of this mysterious foe he could not understand. ‘Well, this ¢s mysterious,” he gaid to him- self, ** But, if the spook, or human, or what- ever it is, keeps on practicing, he will nail me yet. **T guess the boys are right, and that the Big Tlorn mountains are haunted. ‘‘ At least they seem to me to be the head- quarters for spooks, and I'll be glad when lam out of them.” Leaving his horse at one place, the scout then went off to another, and, realizing that he dared not light a fire, ate x cold snack and lay down to rest. He awoke f1om some cause before dawn, that the Sioux were able to resist the Government and attract to their aid all the dissatisfied Cheyentes and other Indians in the Northwest, Besides a perfect fighting SA rs AS all the In- dians recognized in Sitting Bull the elements of a great warrior, one whose superior, perhaps, bas never been known among cny tribe; he combined all the strategic cunning of Tecumseh, with the _ cruel uncompromising hatred of Black Kettle, while his leadership was far superior to both. Having di - cided to precipitate a terrible war, he chore his po- sition with consummate judgment, selecting a cen- tral vantage point surrounded by whatis known as the “bad lands,” and then kept his supply source open by an assumed friendship with the Canadian ren ch, Gomiicdoo <S (E(0)