Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 414 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

; os f Ooi? Py no - Ax, a 14 . el Renard, the Indian Detective. x 4 ‘‘ Waal, you made good time yerself, seein’ as how yer didn’t see nothin’, Bill; but 1 are fer one done with this kentry, and ther Lost Gold Mine kin stay lost fer me, as | returns to ther camp whar thar hain’t no ghost-sentinels watchin’ over gold mines,” said Digger Dan. ‘* And I goes with yer Dan, arter what I hev seen,” firm y responded Black Jack. ” Waal, goes back to ther bridge as soon as it are light, for 1 wants my horse, my rifle and =, outfit, and [ll het we finds ther cap’n and Dick taar, laughin’ at us fer a pack o’ cow- ard fools,” was Bonanza Bill’s determination. ‘‘ Ef yer waits ontil daylight, I goes with yer, Bill; won’t we, Jack? for I doesn’t wish to lose my outfit,” said Digger Dan. Black Jack decicied in the affirmative, and the three men sat discussing the situation until it was daylight, when they struck their bur- ried trail through the timber and began to fol- low it back to the haunted bridge, as they now called the rude structure across the mountain torrent, CHAPTER XI. KING KENDALL'S DISCOVERY. Ir was broad daylight when King Kendall awoke to the situation about him. Again he had been lost in a dreamland of splendor, and Renee Iy had been roaming amid yellow fields of gold, all his own. But the waking was accompanied by intense pain in his head, confused ideas, and a feeling of numbness pervaded his whole being. He opened his eyes, but they seemed at first only to see the light. Then objects became visible, and he beheld Denver Dick gazing up at him in a bewildered sort of way, as he half-reclined upon his blan- ket. ‘What are the matter with me, cap'n?” he asked. ‘‘T feel seemingly as you do, Dick; or I did yesterday morning,” and Kendall rubbed his eyes vigorously. ‘Is we goin’ to hand in our chips, cap’n?” ‘‘T guess not; but come, let us see what our pards are about.” King Kendall seemed still to speak an1 act as though in a dream, and it seemed not to have occurred to him to look about the bridge. Now he turned, and a cry broke from his lips —the bridge was gone. The cry brought Denver Dick to his feet, and almost appalled the two men stood, for their third bridge had mysteriously disappeared, though guarded at both ends, and more, their comrades were nowhere to be seen. In the background was their camp on the other shore, their horses lariated out as they had left them the night before, and the blankets and rifles of Digger Dan lying upon the ground at the end of the bridge. No fire had been built in the camp, no one was visible upon the other bank. ‘*My God! what can this mean?” said Ken- dall, in a low tone. “Tt means, Cap, that this here are no place for live men, and I intends ter dig out, and go back to the gold mines whar ghosts hain’t seen,” said Denver Dick, impressively. ‘‘T am almost tempted to say the same, Dick; but no, I came into these strange wilds for a purpose, and neither the living nor the dead shall keep me from carrying it out— Ha! there come the boys now.” “It are, for a fact, cap’n; but they comes kinder slow, and don’t look joyous.” The three runaways were now palaly visible, as they came from the timber, and walked slow- ly toward the bank of the stream, ‘‘ Hello! whar are ther bridge, cap’n?” yelled Bonanza Bill, as the three saw that it. was gone. ‘That is just what I was going to ask yon, Bill,” answered Kendall. TAs “Tt are gone, that is a fact,” said Digger an, ‘* And you were gone, too.” ‘Yas, cap’n.” “Why?” ‘‘ We had reasons,” ‘‘ They seen a ghost and lighted out, and I went along fer comp'ny sake,” laughed Bonanza ‘ Bill. ‘‘Come, Dan, what was the matter?” asked Kendall, impatiently. In a few words Digger Dan told his story, and Denver Dick said emphatically: “That settles it with me! I goes back to Gold Valley, if I has to give up diggin’ and take to keerds fer a honest living.” ‘Them are my sentiments, pards,” put in ‘* Count me in, too,” responded Digger Dan. ‘‘And I goes for comp’ny,” added Bonanza | Black Jack, ill, ‘ Well, gentlemen, you seem to have settled upon your course,” said King Kendall, with something like a sneer in his tone, ‘‘ We has, cap’n, for if we didn’t see no ghost, as t’others did, we were under ther spell o’ one, and I believes all I has heerd o’ this country being haunted, so I gits out o’ it,” remarked Denver Dick. ‘* Men, don’t act like cowards, but let us re- main and solve this mystery,” urged Kendall, a OTS eee eee”: C—_—_—_—a—e——————— SSS ym i me eee eee **T knows more’n I want to, now, cap’n, you | «AN ready,” cried Kendall, and he pushed bet, and I goes, and quick, too,” said Digger | ps ae off ry the areant, and away it went an. wi e speed of a race-hor e, ‘‘But we must await thecoming of Slouchy | But King Kendall was a superb swimmer, and Sam, for you would not desert him here, and, | steadily urged it for the other shore until he got wie OHAnE, we eaeeeln build the bridge.” - oe a ghee Sai = directly beneath the chorus came quickly: ranches of the fallen tree, ‘* No more bridge-building for me!” Fortunately the current was not as swift there ‘*But how are Dick and myself to get over?” | as elsewhere, and springing upon the raft Ken- asked Kendall. | dall stood ready to grasp the branches as they ‘You kin hoof it down t’other bank, while | swept under. — , we goes down this side with ther animals,and _If he failed, if the limbs broke, a narrow pass it won’t be long afore we comes to some place ' and a wild torrent lay below them, and certain bag you kin pareg edierg we oi also look up | ay: seemed cg jis ie tn scents aca y crnrcia | Gateial ane tx ne Seana cearrokeeo ane Kendall urged again the rebuilding of the | calmly said the young miner, as he took his po- bridge; but the others would not liscen to it, sition, bis legs wrapped around the logs of the ani, with his horse and traps in the hands of | raft. the stronger party he had no other course than | Nearer and nearer they drew to the tree, to yield, which he did, and breaking camp they | whose branches swept the water, while the began their march, Digger Dan and his two trunk, torn from its roots by a storm, was over coEp nee with their horses BER. one seneaene ne! edge of “4 steep bank, a ig ‘ the young miner captain and Denver Dick op | earer and nearer, and at a high rate of foot on the other, | speed they went, until the first branch came in ‘*Ho, Dan! strike Slouchy Sam’s trail and | reach, was seized by Kendall, and then, with a follow it,” cried Kendall, as they moved off, and | loud snap, parted and fell upon the raft. Seana at Ay: wee a splendid trailer, took " og a ye had gotten s rip Spon ane upon himse is duty. | limb, and mom: ntarily checking the raft’s im- Now and then visible to each other, and then |; petus, Kendall was enabled to geta good hold lost to sight for an hour or more, the two par- | too, and quickly took a turn with the lariat ties went on their way, Bonanza Bill cpp | which held them. across his discovery of the mangled pony of Re ‘* Scramble up, Dick, and I'll hand you up the Renard, arms and clothing,” he cried. It was not long after that King Kendall dis- | Denver Dick quickly obeyed, and had just covered a trail which he at once took up. | grasped the last of their traps in his hands ‘** The horse that made those tracks did not be- | when, with a loud snap, the lariat parted, and long to our party, Dick,” he said. the raft went whirling away, carryiug King ** That are so, cap’n; but whose are it, then?” | Kendall upon it, * “*T do not know; see, it goes down this | ‘‘ Lord have mercy! Pard, you is gone, dead ridge.” | sure,” cried Denver Dick, in sympathetic tones, ‘*And here is Sam’s trail joining it, cap’n,” cried Denver Dick, as a second trail came in | d view. ‘Yes, they both lead along this spur, and were made yesterday. ‘Waal, cap’n, you has the pluck o’ a moun- ‘* Where can Sam be, I wonder?” tin lion, that are sartain; but ther Lord help ‘*'Tarned. inter a ghost, mebbe, and ef so, we | yer, fer Denver Dick kin do nuthin’,” called out don’t want ter find him,” was Denver Dick’s | the miner, as he scrambled up the trunk of the serious rejoinder. | tree to the bank, carrying with him their wea- Kendall smiled and went on at a rapid pace, | pons and Kendall’s clothing. to suddenly come to the end of the spur, which | terminated in the cliff, over which the two . of Digger Dan and the rest of the party coming horses and Slouchy Sam had gone. _ down the bank of the stream. The hoof-marks upon the ground gave evi--| ‘* Ho, pards, ther cap’n hev gone!” he cried, excitedly, urging them forward by gesture, dence of a struggle, and glancing over, far down upon the rocks, King Kenda beheld the ‘‘Hev the ghosts got him?’ asked Digger Then back came the answer, calm and confi- ent: “Get upon the bank, Dick, before the old tree goes, and I'll s;e what. my chances are.” aon of the two horses and that of Slouchy , Dan, whose thoughts were now constantly run- : ning upon the supernatural. ** Dick,” he said, solemnly. ‘* No, ther gbosts hev got Slouchy Sam though: ‘* Yas, cap’n,” answered Denver Dick, whose | but ther river hev got ther cap’n; see thar!” and head grew dizzy in looking down from the great | he pointed to the raft, which was now fairl hight, and consequently i him from ap- ying along on the bosom of the torrent, while proaching the edge of the cli ng Kendall, seated upon it, was ages Dior ‘*T have found Sam.” ing the shores to see if he could find a landing- “ Yer has?” lace. ‘** Yes; and he has turned into a ghost.” ‘* Then I is off, Cap.” ‘* Hold on! he lies mangled to death on the rocks, over a hundred fest below, and there are two horses near him.” ‘* Two horses, cap’n?” ‘*'Yes: one is, or was his, and the other animal I do not know,’ ‘*Cap’n, this are no place fer us, so let’s be off,” anxiously said Denver Dick. ‘* Waal, waal, that are too bad, fer them high banks and wild waters further down, means sudden death to ther cap’n,” said Bonanza Bill, | and the others all joined in his deep regret at what appeared would be the inevitable fate of the plucky young miner. In a few words Denver Dick told his com- them on the rocks, and lying near him the two King Kendall saw that argument would be | dead horses. useless, so, after looking down by Sg the sad ‘* Waal, pards, this are a country to git out sight for a few moments longer, he followed | of, that’s sart’in; but our duty now are to lock Denver Dick on the way down the bank of the | stream, cleme eek CHAPTER XII. AN ILL-OMENED VOYAGE. From the cliff where he had met his death, to the spot where he had crossed the river, the trail of Slouchy Sam was easily followed. Examining the other shore carefully, King Kendall discovered far down the stream a large tree that had fallen and overhung the’ waters, ‘There is our landing-place, Dick, for we can climb the branches to the bark above,” he arter ther cap’n, so let’s git along and see if he kin save himself, and i king bee among men, that are a fact,” said Black Jack, and, Denver Dick having mounted, the party moved on at a rapid pace, Digger Dan and Bonanza Bill riding cn ahead. leaving the other two to follow with Kenduall’s borse and the half-dozen pack-animals which they had brought with them, loaded with stores, picks, shovels, bedding, and all else to make journ among the Death Mountains. wf Riding rapidly, Digger Dan and Bonanza Bill soon came to a lofty could look down inte the chasm through whi the waters rushed with frightful velocity, cast- ' jug spray i into the air, and tumbling about in a wild and chaotic caldron. | ‘*Thar’s ther raft,” suddenly cried Bonanza Bill, as the logs caught his eyes, shooting along through the turbulent waters. ‘** Yas, I sees it; but whar is ther cap’n?’ an- swered Digger Dan. ‘How is I to get thar, Pard Cap’n?” asked Denver Dick. ** Swim, of course.” **T hain’t a duck.” ‘* But you swim, certainly?” ** Not a; I knows of.” ** Do you mean it, Denver Dick?” ‘Tt are a fact, Pard Cap’n, I can't swim.” Kendall looked amazed, but after a moment's | thoucht said: ure tarned over and over in ther waters. . ‘* Well, I must make a raft, Dick.” ' ‘* Dan, it are too bad, too bad, hain’t it?” He then selected some pieces of timber which, “It are fer a fact, fer he were ther gamest lay about, and with Dick’s lariat, which he bap- |! man I ever seen, and ter choke ter death with pened to have with him, managed to tie them | water are a fearful way ter die. together in such a way as to render them capa- ‘* Waal, here come ther boys, and my idea is ble of readily bearing the weight cf both of | to get out o’ this as fast as we can. them. | ‘Say, pards, ther cap’n are gone,” he called But Kendall knew that the raft would have | out, as Black Jack and Denver Dick rode up. to be urged toward the other shore, so took his’ The tidings cast a gloom over all, and the weapons and clothing off and gave them to, quartette became nervous over their losses, Denver Dick, who then ensconced himself upon | and the mysteries that encircled them on their the frail craft for the dangerous voyage. fatal search for the Lost Gold Ming, and they Just as he reached terra firma he caught sight | rades of their trip down the other bank, the finding of the body of Slouchy Sam far below | he do, then he are a. them comfortable, in their intended long so-— int, from whence they Es ch ‘* He are gone, poor fellow; fer see, ther raft af (E (0) Im (E IOO