Beadle's Dime Library No. 411: The White Crook — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

a — ee ae Pg en r. r oe ee $ Ke ea WwW re - . inl ow ’ ‘ : ? : «# } a7 oa be Pa”: Ny I l~_v % rf > ot * ; ale fee + yy oa _ a : 16 ao 7 : a a et a a ar ae + ‘“< , The White Crook. Prin Oe Pe i rt —P Tt 4 ew 4S ar ; F ’ " - > . pe aC TG ’. » j id C : ? ¥ a Me .. af’ ‘aM, a a ae % al oe , 4 - 4 . ened the darkness about him, at least to the eyes of the solitary sentry. When he reached the horses, he discovered that there was also a sentry there; but the Apache who was performing that duty had probably gone to sleep on his post, as be was seated motionless against a tree. Manuel was obliged to make sure of tbe sentry’s condition, and was doubtless glad that a necessity had arisen which compelled him to disregard the instructions of his chief. If the Apache was awake, he must be put to sleep; if he was asleep, he must never be al- lowed to wake; or there would never be any doing anything ith the horses. Manuel drew his keen knife, and moved as silently as a serpent could crawl, among the rocks and bushes, without displacing a stone or stirring a stick, until he was just behind the tree which he wished to reach. The deep and regular breathing of the delin- quent sentry spoke of sound sleep, and the exican proceeded to use his opportunity and make sure of his prey. Stealing around the tree, and bringing him- self close to the half-naked body of the savage, he struck a swift and certain blow. There was not even a robe scarcely a gasp, as the sleeping Apache fell over, never to awake in this world. Then came the most difficult part of the game, and Manuel recognized the toughness of the re- mainder of his task. How should he get by the Apache camp with horse? The safest plan would be to stampede the whole ‘‘cavayard,” and dash through his foes in the midst of them. This scheme would probably be attended with loss of life and limb among the Apaches; but it might also be the death of his chief’s daugh- ter, to say nothirg of the white man. He was obliged to choose a quieter but more risky plan. Picking out what seemed to him to be the best horse of the lot—in fact, it was Hark Sarpy’s favorite that had been taken from his stable at Bella Vista—he bridled and saddled 5 finding plenty of accouterments near at and. He then guided tho animal down the glen, going as near as possible to the southern limit, end walking on the ‘‘ nigh” side so that he might mount at any moment, while he allowed the horse to slouch along as if it had got loose and Was wandering away. Of course such a maneuver was bound to be discevered as soon es he came within range of of the firelight. ‘The sentry at the camp. perceiving the horse, began to walk toward him, and would soon SRY his two-legged companion, hat was at once Manuel’s peril and his oppor- tunity. Vaulting into the saddle, with his. cocked revolver in his richt hand, he fired one point blank and effective shot at the approaching Apache. and dug his Mexican spurs into the horse’s flanks, As the affrighted steed dashed by the camp at a headlong gait, the sleeping Apacbes started up, seized Weir weapons, and began to fire with a hasty aim at the man and the horse. a a . 54 a * i i _ ee . *- a” , i vay * » 5 or ~ e iM . ‘ 4 * oa . a ——e . -. aa ’ ~ 4 '' A bP, the ane sort. | “T have a little dynamite stowed ag Pi ses i — ue 3, » - The man was bent down upon the neck of the horse, to present as small a mark as possible, and he had noted as he came up the most open and easy way of exit. Almost instinctively he guided the horse, without slacking speed for an instant. In a few seconds he was safe in the cover of the darkness, and in a few minutes he emerged from the glen into the valley. Giving no further thought to the foes behind him, and satisfied with the havoc he had made among them, he rede away in the direction which the cavalry had taken in the afternoon a; * hoping to pick up their trail in the morning, i he should not overtake them in their camp. CHAPTER XXII, AN INFERNAL MACHINE, As it was believed to be certain that Manuel had got away safely, there was nothing for the defenders of Bella Vista to do but divide them- ves into watches, as they had done the night - before, and wait patiently for the developments which the next day might bring. Hark Sarpy, however, was restless and not dis- sed to wait, patiently or otherwise. ~The Apaches had not succeeded iu doing him- self and his friends any special damage; Ying at the same time they had not suffered any harm in comparison with what he would be glad toin- flict upon them, He wanted to exterminate his enemies before they could get out of his reach, and the more he thought of it the more excited he became, It seemed that the remembrance of the avn - mite destruction in the pass was still weighin on his mind, and that he wanted some more o in the cellar,” he said to Jack Bunn. have a mine not far from here, and have been using \ ’ -—_—— —_——_ C—O the stuff for blasting. Perhaps we might bring | jumped up, and, with a vigorous effort and a it into lay now.” ep ' bs tsee howanything could be done in that line,” answered Jack. ‘* Even if we could get the stuff located out there among them, I have not enough wire to begin to reach it.” ‘*When wo were at your telegraph station | you spoke of leaving your apvaratus there and arranging your dynamite cartridge so that it | woula explode if the Apaches shonld come in,” ‘* Yes, here, how could we put it where we want it?” “Till be bound that Shawnee Jim will under- take that contract.” **T don’t see how the scheme could be made | to work. But, if anybody is anxious to risk his life in that way, perhaps something else might be done. lf we had, for instance, a tin case long enough to hold one of ycur mining cartridges, and not too large—” ““Pve got it!” The proprietor of Bella Vista brought out a tin cylinder, closed at one end and with a lid at the other, which had been used for the safe keep- ing of maps. As Jack declared it to be the very thing for the purpose, he descended to the cellar and brought up a dynamite cartridge and part of a coil of fuse. The dynamite cartridge was set in the ‘in case on surrounded and covered with fine rifle pow- er. Through a hole that had been punched in the lid a length of fuse was thrust down into the powder. Then the lid was closed and fastened, and the fuse was cut off pretty short. ‘*There’s the machine,” said Jack. ‘ All it needs now is for Shawnee Jim, or some other durned fool who don’t care whether he lives or dies, to get withineasy reach of the Apaches, light the fuse, and throw it among them.” ‘*That is just the idea,” observed Sarpy, “and it is such a good scheme that I won’t trust it to Shawnee Jim.” ‘* What do you mean?” ** That I will do the job, myself.” ‘You, Mr. Sarpy?” **T, of course. I would never ask any man to do for me what I was not willing to do for my- self, and I think I can manage the matter bet- ter than Jim could.” ‘**T wish,” said Jack, “ that I had had nothing to do with the infernal machine.” ‘* Have no fear for me, my youngfriend, No man living can sneak and crawl nearer to that red-skin camp than I can, and no man stands a better chance to get away safe. All I ask is that the machine shall work to suit me, and I do believe it will.” Sarpy requested Jack to say nothing about his purpose until he was out of the way, and the young man, perceiving that he was bound to at- tempt the daring scheme, promised to be silent. ** How Manuel would ache for this job if he knew of it!” said Hark, the Hater, Jack Bunn remarked that it might be doubted if the Mexican could crave a chance to exter- minate Apaches more eagerly than his chief id Hark Sarpy concealed the tin case under his coat, and let himself out at the front door, merely remarking to Captain Dunning as he passed him that he was going to scout around the house a, little, Not until he had di-appeared in tte darkness ‘did Jack Bunn explain to the others the nature of his errand, and then they promptly stationed themselves at the best poses for covering his retreat in case he should be pursued. Instead of going directly toward the camp of the Apaches, which was just out of rifle range at the north of the house, the scout turned off in a westerly course, doubtless supposing that he would thus more easily slip through the cordon of sentries about the } remises, He did encounter a solitary Apache, but had no difficulty in evading him under cover cf tho darkness, Having then, as he presumed, passed the line, he changed his course, and headed direct for the Apache camp, here was still a little fire burning there, and its faint light guided him through the darkness of the night and the abundant foliage, The camp was a little way from the edge of the cleared space, and as he approached it he concealed himself behind the treesanda vanced cautiously until there were no more trees to cover him. Then he dropped to the ground and wormed himself over it until he was ncar enough to throw his missile. , He half raised himself and looked at them. They were all lying reonkghen apparently asleep, with the exception of the two sentries. He took the tin ease from under his coat, and touched a lighted match to the fuse, which in- stautly fizzed and sparkled. Slight as the light and noise were, they at- tracted the attention of one of the sentries, who uttered a cry that aroused the others, _ Those Apaches were as quick as lightning and their rifles were in their hands when they arose. might have done that there, but not | Even if I could manage the machine, | ' | sure aim, threw the infernal machine into the midst of them. As he did so, one of the sentries fired, and a bullet whistled by his ear. He had not stopped for the hint, but had turned and run for the cover of the trees ag soon as he had turown the missile. He was perha)s a hundred yards away when the gunpowder and dynamite exploded together with a great noise and commotion, and the ground trembled under him as if an earthquake was passing. The scout had expected to be pursued, and in | this he was not disappointed, Astonishment and curiosity were naturally the first emotions that stirred the breasts of the Savages as the tin case tumbled among them, hissing and sputtering, but their curiosity was not strong enough to induce them to examine it, nor had they any time to spare for any such re- search. There could be no doubt that it was some dia bolical invention of the enemy. Consequently their first impulse was to get away from it, and the second was to pursue the enemy. The explosion might be expected to cripple them and disturb their faculties; but the pursuit was well begun before the explosion oc- curred, Hark Sarpy knew the way to the house, and made a bee-line in that direction. He knew that the trees and the darkness would shield him from the bullets of his pur- suers; he believed himself to be as fleet of foot as any of them, and he saw nothing to interfere with his escape except a chance meeting with one of their cordon of sentries. That was just what occurred! An Apache, startled by the explosion, was running toward the camp as Hark Sarpy was running from it, and both were going at such headlong speed in the darkness that they came violently into collision, and both fell to the ground, The scout’s impetus was the strongest, and he feil on top of the Apache. Even as he fell, and half-stunned as he was, he drew his knife, and the next second, almost by instinct, he plunged it into the breast of his enemy. The blow was death, but not quick enough to prevent the shrill cry that burst from the lips of the stricken sava Be. Recognizing his danger, Sarpy staggered to his feet, and strained every nerve in a final ef- fort to escape his pursuers, who were then close upon his heels. He was secn, and shot after shot was fired at him, but only with the effect of quickening his pace and giving notice to his friends of his flight and pursuit. When he reached the open space in front of the house, he put forth his utmost effort, dashed across to the veranda, and threw himself be- hind the bunch of hay which was still there, just as the bullets of his pursuers began to rattle around him, At the same time his friends in the house, de- scrying the dark forms of the Apaches as they burst through the trees, opened upon them a rapid fire, before which they retreated hastily. The door was opened, and Hark Sarpy entered the house, where he was warmly congratulated upon the success of his dangerous mission and his escape. During the remainder of the night the Apaches were silent, and the next morning no sign of their presence was visible from the roof. After waiting and watching for a while, the defenders of Bella Vista sallied forth and dis- covered, to their great joy, that their enemies had abandoned the siege and evacuated the plateau. ’ CHAPTER XXITI. EVA’S SUDDEN IMPULSE, Hark Sarpy was right in his conjecture that a sudden impulse caused Eva to desert her white friends and rush back to the Apaches. She was young yet, quite as much of a girl as a woman, and the greater part of her life had been among the savages, and her childish remembrances had fa’ed, and her association with the Dunning family had not been sufficient to overcome the effects of long habit and usage in an entirely different existence. As far as she knew she was an Apache. She had nothing but the assertions of the Dunnings to conyince her to the contrary, and fi had been taught that all white people were ars, Doubtless she believed, at least for the mo- ment, that when she went back to the Indians she was going to her own people—that she be- longed to them and ought to be with them. It is possible, too, that her recognition of the young chief, Carroh, and the sound of his fa- miliar call, may have had rauch to do with the sudden impulse that compelled her escapade, If he had ever been dear to her, it is certain that Bob Dunning had not succeeded in effacing As soon as the fuse was lighted, the scout hisimage. 1 ’ 4 , ? ° 4 ‘ . ;4 ‘ : ' ‘ i. = “ ba. se oe a * = . - SS ee Mile