Beadle's Dime Library No. 411: The White Crook — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

~e ~ - ._..— Pad . - => . : ° é 4. . } a> ‘ eage haste to - and Shawnee Kate also - Captain Dunning and his son, with Joe Buller to await the approach o emergence at >. Two other shois shortly followed the first, and then came a third. The taird shot was much nearer to the house than the first had been, and the two others were further away. Shawnee Jim ‘sized them up” without any difficulty. ‘Manuel fired the ‘first shot and the last,” said he—‘‘ not the others.” ‘*The Apaches have found us out!” Hark peoed ig ‘‘Come with me, Captain Dunning! You and Jim will be enough. Let the rest stay here.” The three scouts hastened down the graveled ath toward tne cut in the cliffs, and soon came n sight of Manuel, who was running toward them. It was evident that he had been driven from his post; but how, and by whom? The latter part of the question was speedily answered by the sight of the bronze figures of several Apaches, who were also hurrying to- ward the house in pursuit of the Mexican. As they chased him they fired at him occa- sionally, but Manuel was too fleet of foot and too well acquainted with the grounds to give them any advantage over him. He ran mostly ameng the trees and shrubbery, which partly concealed him from his pursuers and gave him cover. When his three friends came near enough to cover his retreat, the crack of their rifles com- pelled the Apaches to pause and advance more cautiously. Then the four white men retreated to the house in good order and not too hurriedly. ‘* What is it, Manuel?” inquired Sarpy. *Carrajo! 7 dam ’Pache.” Further inquiry elicited the information that Manuel, hearing some suspicious sounds to the northward of his position, had stepped out in that direction to listen and had discovered some Indians stealing along the cdge of the cliff. Perceiving that he had been outflanked and was in danger of being taken in the rear, he had fired upon them and hastened to get out of their way. The Indians had probably climbed the cliff where the plateau joined the mountain, and had nearly come upon him unawares, “That is our one weak point,” said Sarpy; - but [ would never have believed that it would be found out.” Soon they reached the house, where all were r to learn the nature and extent of the danger that threatened them. ‘* Inside, all of you!” ordered the proprietor of Bella Vista. **Come, boys, we must make put up the storm doors and shutters and prepare for hard times.” Shawnee Jim and Manuel and Barney, with their chief, sprung to this work, in which Mark Stepney and Jack Bunn joined them as soon as they understood it, and Mrs, Dunning ave efficient aid. and Ben Boggs, stood on prety with their rifles, the Apaches and give them a warm welcome if they should come in - The storm doors and shutters, as Hark Sarpy styled them, were stout frames of heavy plank- Ang, fitted to the doors and windows on the in- _ side, and with loopholes cut in them for obser- vation and firing. It would appear that the proprietor of Bella Vista, though he deemed his position so secure, ad made preparations to meet just such an as had occurred, _ He explained that he had provided these fix- tures several years previously, when the Apaches were more formidable than they had J ee . re 7” 4 Ss a = x a oy . ' {* % » Aceh 4 "> ~~ + 7 7 4 CS e - ww a b Vista than Manuel. Jy and individually with the fiercest and most become. - The defenses were soon completed, and Hark Sarpy called together the leading men of tho jerty for a consultation. CHAPTER XIX. | THE WHITE SPY. THeRE was not a madder person at Bella ; » - That the Apaches, whom he hated collective- implacable hatred, should have succeeded in -_- reaching the plateau and taking possession of it a“ ‘ - a < * : * i “€ ‘ - t a > i. be 7 7 2H ~ . wer eb ay" %, * oT; - | mm 2 pl a > : ae we # - -__-but some of them reflecting on himself, _ ** Never mind, Manuel,” said his chief. - If you had slept on your been dead before now, an in Sarpy. lateau o _ toclimb up, but I , while he was on guard, stirred his temper until he could not contain himself, He poured forth a profusion of the toughest Mexican oaths, mainly directed at the Apaches, e It owas no fault of yours, and nobody could be ex- pected todo better than you have done. are thankful that you are alive and with us. We st you would have we would have had little chance for our lives,” this opinion the others concurred, and the ed Mexican gradually grew calmer, ‘Tt was my fauit if anybody's,” continued ‘* 1 knew that at the northern end of the on that side it was Coegre for a man co Se that it was a secret, known only to myself and one other man—that man must hive betrayed it.” *. “~*~ - However that might be, it was certain that wT * ~ , vee ; - = * hed oir 4” . , Sea } 5 : : ; e White Crook. the Apaches were on the plateau, and that the eer unguarded cut in the cliff was open to them. Though the band that had pursued the set- tlers in the valley outnumbered the whites then at Bella Vista, it was believed that they would not have ventured to seek their enemies in ‘their stronghold unless they had been rein- forced. They might have hoped to gain an important advantage by a surprise; but it was reasonable to suppose that their numbers had been in- creased. This supposition became a certainty as the day advanced, and the outlying Apaches were “go 9a from the windows and roof of the 10use. dently waited for the rest of their force to come up. It was not possible to make more than a guess at their numbers, as part of them were conceal- ed from view, and the others were continually moving about; but it was certain that a consid- erable addition had been made to the band, and Sarpy was of the opinion that more Apaches had come through the pass from the other side of the range. If so, the new-comers had witnessed the scene of the slaughter caused by Jack Bunn’s dyna- mite, and might be supposed to be intent on avenging the death of their comrades. Having settled upon the fact that Bella Vista must stand a siege, Hark Sarpy declared that he had no apprehensions on that score. The stout walls of the store-house would sure- ly protect the inmates, and there were provi- sions enough to last for weeks, together with a good supply of ammunition. “They will gnaw a file when they tackle Bella Vista,” observed the leader; “but they will be able to pick up a little plunder outside, and I suppose the first thing they will go for will be our horses.” This supposition was soon proved to be cor- rect. The stable was in sight of the house and with- in fair rifle-shot, so that it would be a dangerous task to go in at the door; but the savages knew how to get what they wanted without exposing themselves. | They approached the stable from the far side, ———— sss _ keeping it between them and the house, then | mad e an opening in the rear, led the horses out of range under cover of the building, and took them around to the cut on the rn side of the plateau, whence they were doubtless convey- ed to a hiding-place below, The white men mourned audibly, and some of them swore terribly, as they witnessed the ab- duction of their four-footed friends; but they could do nothing to prevent it. A sally would have been ruinous to them, and a wily savages kept well out of their reach, -, >. er «,* re we PRS D of *S ei 1 } After they came in sight of the house they | moved forward slowly and carefully, and evi- | —— — ei SS - than a drunk the matter with those Apaches before I left them. I found evidence there which proved that Zeke Stebbins had been with the Indians and had probably brought them there.” ‘* And now he’s here with ’em, and—look!— durned if he ain’t bossin’ the red-skins and cut- tin’ out tha’r work fur ’em!” ‘* That is just what he is doing, and I have no doubt tbat there is not a gun or a cartridge among them that he has not furnished to them. There is another point about that man, Captain Dunning—a point that concerns me personally.” ‘What p’int is that?” ‘*‘You heard me say that the secret of the pass—if it can be called a pass—by which the Apaches sneaked up and surprised us, was known only to me and one other man. That man was Zeke Stebbins, who first told me of this place and put me on the track to get pos- session of it. He has made it known to the Apaches, who have long been thirsting for the blood of Hark, the Hater, and they have natur- ally made astrong push to strike me where I live. Now that they are here they will accom- plish their purpose if possible, and at least will do me all the damage they can, and Zeke Steb- bins will be glad to help them.” ‘“That’s what we may calkilate on, I reckon; but what kin they do?” ‘**T don’t see that they can do any great harm. They won’t be able to starve us out. Perhaps they may try to cut off the water, but the house supply runs under ground, and they can’t find it. It is not what they may be able todo to us that worries me, but what we may be unable to do to them. Since they are here in such a force, and since they have deprived us of our horses, the prospect of recovering my daughter has be- come dark indeed. But Ill make them suffer before this moon runs out, or they will dance over Hark Sarpy’s scalp.” “*They may make some kind of a push to- night; but they won’t be likely to try to doany- thin’ afore dark sets in.” ‘*That is true, and it is to-night that we must watch them and be ready for them,” CHAPTER XX. THE ATTACK BY FIRE. THE only event of interest that occurred dur- ing the afternoon was a movement that had been foreseen by Hark Sarpy. The Apaches, apparently directed by Zeke Stebbins, were discovered working at the foot picked up about the grounds, and the results of their labor were soon apparent. layin and water gradually ceased to run in the Tittle irrigating ditches about the house. as he noted these points. It was evident that the savages had turned of the mountein with tools which they had Hettie’s favorite fountain stopped The proprietor of Bella Vista sified bitterly the main ditch so that the water ran over the ‘We are all afoot now,” sadly observed Hark | cliff into the valley. Sarpy: ‘*but I shall be much mistaken if we don’t get some of our horses back before we are through with those Apaches,” Before noon the proprietor of the Bella Vista made an important discovery. | ‘** Much good may that ’o them!” said he. ‘* They will have their labor for their pains, if they fancy that they have cut off our water, Fortunately the upp y for the house comes. through a concealed hne of pipe of which that. He was on the roof with Shawnee Jim and | miserable renegade knows nothing.” Captain Dunning, observing the movements of | the scattered savages, when an exclamation from Shawnee Jim attracted the attention of his companions, ‘¢ White man thar,” said the Shawnee. The others looked as he pointed, and saw a man in civilized garb, supposably a white man, who had come forward among the savages. He was clearly not a prisoner, but was walk- ing about at his pleasure, surveying the house and its grounds from a safe distance. ‘*Tt can’t be Eph Cranky,” remarked Captain Dunning. ‘‘ No, ke ain’t tall and thin enough fur thet. What in the name of wonder is a white man doin’ thar, anyhow?” Hark Sarpy looked through his field-glass, and was at no loss to answer the question. ‘“‘T can tell you what that white man is doing there,” said he, ‘*‘ because I know who he is,” ‘“You know him? Let me squint through that machine o’ yourn. Mebbe | know him, 9 Captain Dunning looked through the glass, but was still puzzled. ‘*T ort to know that man,” said he. ‘ Sart?in I’ve seen him afore. But I can’t place him, somehow.” ‘‘T last saw him only a little while ago,” said Sarpy. ‘It was at the lone od shop on the other side of the range, where | met Mr. Cronk- hite. He has been for many years an Indian trader and a spy for the Apaches, and his name is Zeke Stebbins.” ‘“‘That’s the chap!” exclaimed Captain Dun- ning, slapping his leg by way of emphasis. + He is all you say, and wuss; but I thought he had gone out of that line of business.” ‘Tt don’t look like it. Shortly after I met him the other day, I stopped at that liquor shop with my two young friends down below, and found the proprietor dead and scalped on the floor, with three A ‘ » ea Bt) Paty ee ee P : » borer ae | Ae * Re . ~~ y s ~ t Py J a - ? < * “ i ° er ir Fre fees, | Lene > J > re yy if J ¢é vo aS 7 a ~—! ee eee rr tts se _—- - Investigation proved this statement to be per- fectly correct, as the water ran freely into the house, and there was enough of it for all possible. ay ae The Apaches were making themselves quite at home on the plateau, and were unquestiona-— bly monarchs of ajl they surveyed .except_the stone house, which was proof against their bul- lets, and which they feared to approach closely. Though they were regularly encamped on the open portion of the plain, and a pretty fair view could be had of them with the aid of the field-. glass, the closest scrutiny failed to discover any other white person than Zeke Stebbins, It was presumed that they had asmaller camp» somewhere below, in which were kept Ephraim Cronkhite and the girl who was known as Eva. Dunring. “Tf we could only slip away from here and leave them in the lurch,” said Hark Sarpy, ** so» that we could pounce on their camp and capture the horses and my child, they would be welcome to do as they pleased with Bella Vista.” | But there was no way to give their enemies the slip, and they could only await the unfold- ing of the chapters of time and chance. The Apaches were good waiters, too, and were not at all disposed to attempt an attack that must inevitably result in the slaughter of many of them. In the stone house, as they well knew, were meny White scalps which they longed to secure and especially that of Hark, the Hater, who bad sent so many of their sort out of the world, but. Apache lives were quite as valuable to them- selves as those of their enemies, and they were inclined to be careful of their own scalps. They were not idle, however, but kept up: curing the afternoon a kind of tentative fight in a skirmishing way. Several of them, scattered around the house, ches lying around, dead | and ares themselves of the cover of the- re was something more trees, wo rf KS ,00 “il > i Lv. co Pe (E mM er approach the building as near ag. \ JN aN y i ae fae «Ne ) ae ~ a t j | |