Beadle's Dime Library No. 411: The White Crook — page 20: what you’re looking at

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‘20 who were going away, thusleaving Bella Vista 5 pes gerbes? defenseless. Of course this opportunity overjoyed him, > and he was eager to take advantage of it. | There was no need of hurry. Night was the time for an attack and a sur- ‘prise, and in the mean time he had only to wait and make sure that the white men did not re- _ turn. Before night he had satisfied himself on this point, and had informed the Apaches of the con- dition of affairs, congratulating them upon the ~~ great chance that was offered them. | As the white men had not returned when night set in, it was reasonably certain that they were then so far away that no interfer- ence on their part need be apprehended. The Indians left their horses where they had been concealed before, and again essayed the secret entrance at the northern end of the 7 gla which had been left unguarded, as no- body supposed that the same band would make another attempt so soon. It was expected that this attempt would be a “surprise, as the previous one had been intended —. tobe; but it failed just es the other had failed, | this time through the vigilance of Barney Dris- C0 Though there was then no hope of surprise the chances for the capture of tne stronghold aa seemed to be largely in favor of the Apaches, ' as it was so weakl7 defended. Bat They could not be sure how many were in the house; but Zeke Stebbins had no doubt that there were but few, and it was reasonable to ae suppose that an attack on the four sides of the - house would soon wear them out, even if it . should fail to find some point undefended. . But the Apaches and their white ally left out | of the calculation two such important elements | as Mrs. Dunning and Shawnee Kate, both of whom had roughed it until they were nearly as good fighters as their male companions. ey While Mark Stepney was making a noise on the veranda without accomplishing much, the - -two women were vigorously attending to the |. most important part of the defense of the house, putting up the storm doors and shutters. At the first alarm Mrs. Dunning had run down-stairs in scanty clothing, and had found _ _Keate already at work on the shutters. es. Hester Sarpy joined them, forgetting other - ~-matters for the moment, and did such service as deserve 1 and received their compliments. ie As the thick plank defenses were very heavy, it was fortunate that they had but a few of | them to put up, and those on the lower floor. ii Those which Hark Sarpy and his friends put up had not yet been extensively removed, and ‘jn this respect it was well that the second at- tack had not been longer delayed. | Mae st _ The women had weapons, too, Shawnee Kate oe pa a o. rifle of her own, and finding one for CHAPTER XXVIII. . vena’ the DEATH AND DESPAIR. ‘Fea Mark STEPNEY and Barney Driscoll, with | their repeating rifles, were kept busy in sto hee ‘Bing the rush of the foremost Apaches while the || defenses were being made secure. aa a Barney fired with the steadiness and delibera- | tion of an old campaigner, and Mark with the | __ardor and rapidity of a new recruit, re Between them they certainly made a vigorous show of warfare, astonishing the savages if they did not frighten them, and succeeded in check- hee the advance if they did no real execution. ' Assoon as the storm shutters were secure in their places, Mr. Dunning and Shawnee Kate | _ took positions with the judgment of old Indian- _ fighters, and joined effectively in the defense. BY unniug, indeed, speedily promoted her- =... . Self to peed rank of tr amtbortae - edd nog giving orders as one in authority, an ing im- ‘peg Siicitly obeyed, at least by the men. ~~ The Apaches, finding themselves foiled in their attempt to capture the house with a rusb, did the next best thing, and laid siege to it in a style that was calculated in the course of time Ley “to accomplish their object. | / -~--' They scattered about the grounds on all sides | of the house, sheltering themselves behind the trees, and watched for chances to pick off the “white people. \ -—s‘«* The night was not as dark as the two pre- ___ -yious nights had been, as there were no clouds gn the sky; but there was no moon, and it was still dark enough to prevent the garrison © from getting a good aim at their outlying enc- mies, while the latter always had something to ed : . a | rc Wh >. we £ é iy * __ :fire at. __. _In the house the lights had been turned down - ‘Jow; but there was still light enough to show the loop-holes, and they were made marks for ‘many bullets, some of which entered them. +The consequence of this was that the garrison | - fought shy of loop-holes, and the enemy were * allowed to arrange their affairs pretty much as a ie Oe ~~ “ a Ae . ’ te ; ‘i ‘ed ¥ on for some time, Mrs, -_- onelusion that the Apaches were about to —s .g@oncentrate their efforts upon an attack on the oe ‘apd pleased. rer fter this desultory warfare had been carried Dunning came to the. The White Crook. The evidence of this was found in the fact | that after the Fo cay of the Apaches Bella that most of them seemed to have gathered at the rear of the house, where they kept up a close and rapid fire with a reckless use of ammuni- tion, and some of them could be dimly per- ceived preparing something that might be in- tended to serve as a battering-ram. The sturdy female commander prepared to meet this emergency with a desperate measure of defense. She allowed no light to come near the window over the back door, and made ready some boil- ing hot water. Then she waited and watched. It was just as she suspected; tho intention was to burst in the door. She saw several Apaches advancing toward the door with a beam, while the firing of their outlying comrades became closer ani morerapid than ever. Then she and Shawnee Kate hurried up-stairs with a big vessel filled with boiling water, and prepared for the attack by removing the shutter and quietly raising the window-sash. As it was utter darkness where they were, they ran no risk of being observed from with- out, but kept themselves carefully aside from the window and out of the reach of stray bullets. On came the eager Apaches, and as they neared the house they broke into a run. Mark and Barney, fully appreciating the peril, worked their rifles as best they could, regardless of danger, and a lucky bullet struck one of the Apaches just as they were about to deliver a blow with the beam. Elis fall caused another on his side to stumble, and the beam was dropped. Before it could be picked up, Mrs. Dunning and Kate raised their vessel of boiling water, and with a combined effort threw its contents down upon the struggling group. Instantly a number of shots were fired at the window from the outside, and bullets came rattling in before the women conld withdraw. One of them struck Mrs, Dunning in the cheek, inflicting an ugly wound; but it did not hinder her from helping Shawnee Kate to put up the shutter in a hurry. Among the Apaches the effect of the sousing was instantaneous. Some of them were badly scalded, and not one of them failed to receive a portion of the shower, The average Apache is not partial to water in any form, and to these the sudden bath was a great surprise. When the hot deluge fell upon their naked skins, they shneked and howled with pain, and those who were the worst hurt showed the greatest alacrity in getting out of the way. The style in which ei leaped and danced to the tune of their own yells as they ran back to cover, would have been highly amusing in a less perilous situation. Mrs. Dunning tied up her face with the help of Shawnee Kate and Hettie; but she was clear- ly out of the fight, though still able to give advice and instructions. Another and yet more serious disaster soon befell the garrison. Barney Driscoll was aiming at a sneaking Apache who was Lose. the house, when a bullet came in at the loophole and crashed through his brains. He never knew what hurt him, and after a few convulsive gasps he was quiet in death, This filled the house with grief and consterna~ tion. Hester Sarpy had never before seen a man who had been killed by a bullet, and the fate of Barney gave her for the first time a full realiza- tion of the peril of herself and her companions, They also sadly realized it, and were obliged v2 admit, that there was then little hope for them. Barney Driscoll had been not only a friend but a defender, and his loss at that time was a great calamity. With their full force the chances of the garri- son had been bad enough; with Barney dead and Mrs. Dunning disabled, they were desperate indeed. The Apaches had received such a lesson in their recent scalding, that they would not be likely to try that game again; but there were plenty of other games to try. It would be simply impossible for two persons to defend the house, strong and well-secured as it was, against the force outside. One or the other of them was as liable to be picked off as Barney had been. Part of the Apaches might engage their atten- tion at one side of the house while the others should make a successful attack on the other side. At the best they must soon be worn out and compelled to abandon the defense by sheer ex- haustion. There was not the faintest hope of the return of their friends who had gone away in the morn- ing, or of the arrival of any other succor, k Sarpy was on the trail of his lost child, and would be sure not to relinguish it while there was a chance of recovering her. Besides, when he went away he was confident ista was out of dan As for any other he diers had passed them by the da to discover them, and they coul anybody would find them. hus it was that sorrow and gloom settled down upon the house at Bella Vista and its re- maining inmates. CHAPTER XXIX. MANUEL’S MISSION. WHEN Manuel had made good his escrpe with the horse he had reclaimed from the Apaches, he neither feared nor expected pursuit. He had got away so swiftly that if the savages had attempted to pursue him they would have been unable to decide in the darkness whether he had headed up or down the valley. Though he considered himself pina safe on that score, he did not, sensibly, relax his speed, even after he had got well out of the way. His object was to overtake the soldiers as soon as possible and bring them back to Bella Vista, and in the pursuit of this object he was capable of any exertion, That he had left one Apache dead and another probably so, raised his spirits and inspired him with strong hope for the future. He had an excellent horse under him, too, and the steed seemed to feel the responsibility that was resting on him as well as his rider. In going up the valley he did not need to find or follow a trail, as there was no practicable egress on either side for the mounted soldiers, and they must of necessity have gone straight ahead. It was not until the valley terminated in a tangled maze of hills and ravines, that he was obliged to dismount and search for the trail. He found it without difficulty, as it was broad enough, and easily discovered where it struck into the hills. Then his task became harder; but he soon reached the place where the cavalry had made a camp, and knew that he was on the right track, They were evidently pressing forward rapid- ly, as they had halted there but a little while, and Manuel had no time to lose. His progress was slow until Fgh Sate when he ntelead' up the trail at once, and followed it with- out any more trouble, overtaking the soldiers a little before noon. They proved to be a detachment of forty men under Hark Sarpy’s friend, Captain Lang, and they were looking for a band of hostiles which was probably the same that made the attack on Bella Vista. Manuel told his story as briefly and plainly as his command of the language would allow, and he was not half through it when Captain Lang had halted his command and was leading them back toward the valley and Bella Vista. The Mexican finished his recital as they roda on, and the officer was eager not only to go ta the rescue of the white people, but to capture or exterminate the Apaches. ‘‘We were sure that there was some sort of trouble up on that hill,” said he, ‘* but could not for our lives make out what it was. It was im- possible to see anybody, white or red, and equal- ly impossible to find any way of getting up there. So we were obliged to give it up and gd 99 ‘We fired guns and made smoke,” suggested Manuel. ‘“Yes, but that told us nothing that we could take hold of. Now we know whatit meant, and with you to guide us, we may do a good stroke of work.” When he had been put on the right track, Captain Lang was not slow to follow it. e made his troopers ral. their horses to the best speed that was left in them, and pressed for- ward as rapidly as possible. In spite of their efforts it was nearly dark when they passed Captain Dunning’s ranch, and quite dark when they came in sight of the cliffs of Bella Vista. Manuel, who remembered how the bugle had warned the Indians as well as the white people er, .° , they knew how the sol» before, unable not hope that | the previous day, begged that the obnoxious in- e strument might be left unblown, and Captain Lang wisely ordered that it should be silent. Tho question whether the white people and their enemies were still on the plateau was soon settled by the reports of rifle-shots from that direction, occasionally quite rapid and plenti- It was certain then that the house was still defended, but that the assailants were making a more vigorous attack upon it than ever. Manuel was aes a oe to get for- ward, and, as Captain Lang was scarcely less eager, they soon reached the point where they were to begin operations, wr The Mexican first paid a hasty visit to the camp where he had got his horse. To his great surprise he found it deserted. It was possible that the Indians he had left there might have been brought up on the plateau as a reinforcement to their comrades, or for their own safety; but what could have been done to the horses? Manuel was obliged to treat this as a mystery, Eomicboo : 2 i » © : e ‘ oy > ze