Beadle's Dime Library No. 411: The White Crook — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

‘¢ And what will become of them then?” ‘* With my mare to lead them, I know just where they will bring up, and we will find them to-morrow if we live. Let us try to eat a bite, now, and then we will think about getting a lit- tie sleep.” The ant and cold supper which the party pro- ceeded to discuss was cheerless and unsatisfac- factory without light or fire; but the three were hungry, and appetite lent its sauce to the meal, Hark Sarpy was the first to finish, and bis next business was to get rid of the horses. He made their bridles fast to the saddles, ranged them in single file, with their heads up the valley, and his mare in the lead, and then spoke to the mare. With a little snort, as if she understood him, she started off, followed by the other two, and they were soon vut of sight. Hark was not yet satisfied with the precau- tions he had taken. If he was disposed to err in any direction, it would surely be on the side of excessive caution. “+ Now, boys,” said he, ‘‘ if you want to snooze, just coil up and do the best you can at it. [I’m ~~ iF 96 ° ; ‘ee * jew z : , y ohh - ' bi o>, lf a ! : ry ; : 4 as ‘ ah 1 ’ 7 * & AN EaY Vi P i By “oe ing to scout about here and down the pass a he. os bit to make things as sure as I can.” Pe The young men, however, were not inclined to ha “at sleep, at least while he was away. i, a -. The novelty of the situation and the sense of / . _. insecurity were enough of themselves to keep _- . them awake. | ey ty a = objection to smoking, Mr. Sarpy?” in- quired Jack. 1 ele ** Well, I reckon not, if you don’t do too much _ of it. There ain’t any wind, and the smoke ss will go right up, and perbaps a few whills won’t do any harm; but you had better keep your - tools handy, as there’s no telling what may hap- ” ® Hark = away, after saying that he would be gone but a little while, and the young men ae “ and lighted their pipes. 7a hey did not get a vast amount of consolation out of smoking in the darkness; but it was bet- -_ ter than no smoke, and they puffed away pei ly, talking of their strange gree, and the un- ) © leasant position in whic eccentricities of So oo e Apaches had placed them. _... At the same time they kept their rifles ready q + v . 2 4 - at their sides, and their pistols doosened in their belts, irhteeige as carefully possible, or be- jieving that they did, for indications of any g hostile approach, ial be Yet this fancied watchfulness proved to be an utter delusion. ss Nothing could have astonished them more _ than the sudden appearance of a man before . them, as if he had risen out of the ground, They grabbed their weapons, but were quick- Jy reassured by the welcome sound of Hark Sarpy Re *s voice: “poe Sorry I scared you, boys. You ought to use _——s- your eyes and ears better. Listen, now, and be quiet. There are five Apaches coming up the pass, and they will soon be here. We must get out of this.” __ * Will we have to run for it?” asked Mark in a tone of disgust. _ *WNotfar. Only up the side of the hill here. os: ‘a I marked the spot some time ago. There is a __ @apital place to hide behind a rock, and we ‘mustn’t miss a chance to take pay for the lives _. Of the poor boys we buried.” _. The young men may have thought that their leader was inclined to be bloodthirsty, and that it was not in the contract that they should be drawn into a fight; but they gave no sort of an expression to such an idea. ‘ They arose and placed themselves under his orders without the least besitation. _._\** How soon will they be here?” asked Jack. Tf they keep on coming, and I reckon they stay about fifteen minutes.” ‘hey will be sure to find our sign and stop More than likely they will.” . “Then I can seta trap vorthem. Iam glad I brought that dynamite cartridge, Take my ) Mark, and goon with Mr. Sarpy. I will ty up the rear.” eyed Hope ou know what you are doing,” re- ¢ marke: the guide. ‘That thing is sorter eee will make it risky for the reds, bet your Lee Go right on, and don’t mind me.” As his companions started to climb the hill “rath peacpe tel — attached the wire from a Se hog ” to the dynamite cartridge, which he Nae at the side of a rock and partly under it. Then he followed his frionds, concealing the _ wire as well as he could until he started up the (3 oe when he let it trail behind him, uncoiling a é me! . yee ee” <> : a 4 % ; ‘J Tit _ 1 ‘. : as he climbed. ‘* By Jove!” he exclaimed when he reached _ the spot which Hark had selected for a hiding- ee , ‘this seems to be a special providence, _ Thave just wire enough to reach here, and not a foot more.” +e Shame better could have suited the as a hiding place than the point at which they had halte ough they might have preferred, in Rig view of the expected performance of the d ‘ant , that they should be a little further Proan _ tie possible explosion. - 4 es ——— i SSeS | latter an ‘ ae +, _ - ee, - 4 af a oh ee va) 2 te, a ty ° ¢ ’ Yr ee. 10 wee oe oa * rt » » aT “ ‘The White Crook. ss . roe a ma) a rug me a st Shin wey 2 ; - : 4 AS & ff bivecck > nS Ply St AS ES A ET EES Jack Bunn, however, who controlled that por- pene serene, and tion of the programme, was gan to partake the others, trusting in his skill, of his serenity. A large and jagged rock jut ed out from the side of the hill, between which and the main body of the mountain was a considerable space, as sufficient for all the purposes of the party. | At the same time it afforded them a direct and unobstructed view of their late camping-place, within easy rifle range, allowing them to see without being seen. ‘Glad that you happened to have wire enough, Jack,” observed Mark, when they had settled into their new position: ‘‘ but it seems to me that your current may get lost in the ground.” ‘No danger of that, I think. The wire is insulated after an idea of my own, and there is lots of force in my storage battery. I[ will guarantee the wire if nothing happens to upset the scheme, and all the chances are in its favor ? He. arranged his battery and wires so as to start the current when he pleased, and the party quieted down and waited for the Apaches, CHAPTER X. THE RESOURCES OF CIVILIZATION, THe hostiles came on and reached the little valley-like hole in the pass as Hark Sarpy had predicted—not quite so soon as he had said they might come, but soon enough. They came so silently and stealthily in tho darkness that his quick eyes and ears inform- ed him of their presence before the others were aware of their arrival. In single file they came, each with a rifle in his hand, and uttering no sound until they reached the late camping-place of the white men. Then a sudden halt and a few low guttural exclamations showed that they had discovered something, or that they had concluded to camp there, It was soon evident to Hark Sarpy that they had mado a discovery there. ‘‘'They have found our sign,” he whispered, ‘and are going to study it out.” This was by no means plain to the young men, who could see nothing below but some dark forms of whose movements or intentions they could form no clear idea, ‘*T only hope that they won't trip up on my wire and break it,” muttered Jack Bunz. “Tf that ae should go off,” whispered the guide, ‘* wouldn’t it be apt to play the wild with us as well as with the reds?” ** You will see pretty soon, if nothing happens to spoil the game.” ‘* See? Lam afraid we will feel moro than we will see.” “Just you trust to me, Mr. Sarpy. If it does its full work down yonder I won’t worry about anything else. What are they doing now?” ‘‘Examining our sign and looking after the horse-tracks, You can see them well enough now, as they have made a me me In fact, one of the savages had lighted a torch, and was going up the pass with one of his com- rades, crouching and carefully examining the ground as they went. They did not go far, but soon returned with the torch to their waiting companions, to whom they apparently made a report. “Tt is God’s blessing that we sent away the horses,” said Sarpy. ‘‘The reds have come to the conclusion that we stopped there but a little while and went on. Ofcourse they suppose that we are on our horses, and that it won’t be worth while ‘to follow us. So they are going to camp for the night, I reckon.” ; a hall I give them the send-off?’ whispered ack, ‘Not yet. Wait till they get in a huddle.” ‘*T am afraid the may reak my wire.” ‘Wait a bit, anyhow.’ It was soon made evident that tne Apaches were not only going to camp, but meant to camp more comfortably than their predecessors had dared to do. They were building a fire, and its cheerful blaze quickly made the scene brighter, but at the same time more fearful. It seemed that they could afford less precau- tions than the whites were obliged to use to- ward them, showing that they held the skill of their enemies in utter contempt. The blaze of the fire lighted up the glen, bring- ing out into bold relief the bronze forms of five half-naked savages, hideously painted in the highest style of aboriginal art, no two of them daubed alike. They were plumed as well as painted for the war-path, and it could be seen that they were armed with modern weapons, thanks to the friendship or avarice of such go-betweens as Zeke Stebbins. | An unpleasant feature of the a of sceno was the fact that it seemed to wre e Apaches nearer to their concealed foes, at the same time apparently diminishin the distance between tho the expected explosion, - ha » : a Gy ‘ is | > Sangh i, ais? Sot, a - PAs Sa ies!) ae oe om | ; a . ~ 4 é ,? ’ ** « p> ae, . = ae = " 2 - A nth > i. ah ie d “ ; * “ T ’ * P Pt oo A v3 F nm ‘¢ ‘Vas ~”. i ee A 7%. . ~~ 24.9 Shay AF ~~ *% y * ~ Hark Sarpy cast an apprehensive glance at Jack Bunn and his battery, ‘ ‘* We could give them a rough deal from here with our rifles,” said he: ‘but some of them might get away, and not one of the gang erty gw this pass alive. I’yo good reasons for at, ; ‘*T rather hate to do it since I’ve seen them,” ’ muttered Jack. ‘You ought to be glad of the chance. They deserve no more mercy than you would give a rattlesnake, Think of the way they slaughter- ed your two friends out at the road yonder. If they had a chance at you they would jump for it, and the death you would die wouldn’t be near as easy as what we hope to give them, This is no time to be squeamish.” Jack was not squeamish, but he was new to the business, and his momentary shrinking from his terrible task was excusable. The Apaches were making themselves com- fortable after their own fashion, as if any inter- ference with their plans by their white ‘oes was the last rea to be thought of. If they had known that Hark the Hater was looking down upon them from convenient shoot- ing distance, their opinions would have under- | gone a decided change. | P raves there was an interesting event among em. ‘They have found your cartridge,” whispered the guide to Jack Bunn. ** shall I let her go?” ‘* Not just pes Wait for the word.” A savage had discovered the dynamite cart- ridge at the side of the rock, and had called the attention of his comrades to it. They gathered about the strange invention of the white man, evidently wondering what it was, and chattering with unaccustomed vol- | One of them knelt Gown to examine it, and the others came closer to him, ‘““ Let her go’ hissed Hark in Jack Bunn’s ear. Jack joined his two wires, and the crash was instantaneous. Nothing had happened to “spoil the game,” | which could not possibly have been played more successfully. The white men had crouched down behind the big rock that sheltered them; but the shock was such that for a few moments they seemed to be incapable of action, j It was not the noise, as the explosion had made no great uproar, but mainly the tremor like that of an earthquake, mounting far up the } hillside, that shook and shocked them, leaving j a feeling of dizziness and exhaustior. They were aware of a strange odcr in the air, accompanied by a cloud of dust and many fly- ing missiles; but moshing harmed them, though bits of stone fell about them rather plentifully. There was one thing of which they were cer- tain—they heard no cry, nor any sound of a human voice, at the time of the explosion or | after it, i The force of the dynamite had been exerted, as might have been expected, more in a down- 4 ward than in an upward direction, and within | a limited area, but it had done to perfection the work that it was intended to do, | It had shattered the rock against which it | lay, and every bit of stone and gravel within | the reach of its energy bad been ground to pow- der or sent whirling through the air with tre- mendous velocity. At the same time it bad dug a deep hole in the earth, scattering the debris in all directions. When ihe white men raised themselves and looked down, there was nothing to be seen or | heard at their late encampment. ; | The fire had been utterly extinguished, and 1 all was quiet. | “Tt is all over,” remarked Mark Stepney, ‘“The resources of civilization, as the Fenians call that sort of thing, were too much for the Apaches.” Jack Bunn occupied himself in hauling in and winding up his wire, and, to his great consola- tion, succeeded in saving nearly all of it. ‘“T suppose it is all over,” observed Hark Sarpy; ‘‘ but I want to be sure of that. Stay here, boys, and keep quiet, while I go down yonder and see how the scheme worked.” Nobody objected to this intention, and he carefully climbed down the side of the hill and sed out of the view of the young men. They looked and listened as spear as they could, but failed to see or hear anything that was at all definite to them. After a little while the guide returned as silently as he had departed, but not so suddenly as to startle them. ‘Tt couldn’t have worked better, boys,” said he, ‘*The whole outfit was blown to kingdom os SO quick that they didn’t know what hurt em. ‘‘Were none of them léeft alive?’ inquired Stepney. ‘None of em are alive now,” was the ifi- cant answer. ‘' The murder of those two boys , has been settled for" | . ‘ 7 - oe tee oe ae have paid mu ee | or the lives of three w men » Temark- ed Jack Bunn. * If the hostiles should suffer rae Je ? ty 4 WA P a / aT } (| J): ; / N 7 a . » Pad eC 4 + :t2 9 ’ f i vo’ 3* a ‘ # 1 a 10 || ~~ ~ ‘ rr : a - ; _— see