Beadle's Dime Library No. 417: Tucson Tom — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

: y, / ’ 28 of fhe tanger leader sounded his death-. shut his teeth more firmly to knell. Knowing the folly of further secrecy after | this, the whites had gone forward with all — + oe ee ee | grasped his rifle by the barrel. At least that was left him, and while he _could wield it he would like to see one of the haste possible, and arrived upon the scene to dusky devils gain the ledge by means of the find their enemies awaiting them. To thus dash down upon five times their | defile. | He found some loose pieces of stone which , number of fierce warriors may haveappeared | he arranged in a row, ready to hurl down a reckless undertaking, but thuse men were just the ones capable of it. The conflict at once became furious. Arizona Abe, from his elevated post, heard the sounds of strife with a burning desire to be in the midst of the melee, dealing fierce blows against the savage foe. Strange how such a thought would come to him when there was eg | prospect that ‘before long he would have his hands full where he was, and without going far to find it. The Indians who had followed him had been near enough to see him enter the little defile, and he could expect to hear from them at any moment, Abe lay down beside the spot where the defile debouched upon the ledge. In his hands he held a knife and a revol- ver, which weapons he expected to use upon the dusky pursuers when they arrived. He did not have long to wait. The din of battle in the basin below pre- vented him from hearing any sound, yet something told him the enemy was near. Abe was not fool enough to poke bis head out in order to look down the defile. Such an act would stamp him a fool, as his head must be outlined against the gray arch above and present a fine mark for a lance or other weapon. Instead, he lay flat upon the rock and held his revolver aimed at the point he knew the first Apache must appear. No sooner did a head come into view, with its long straggly hair, than Abe pulled trigger. here was a flash. a report and a whoop from the ill-fated brave, who vanished im- mediately as Abe knew he would. Not wasting any time, the old ranger turned his revolver loose in the little defile, and cleared it in just six seconds, It took four shots to do it. From the yelps and groans that accom- panied the clearing process, it was evident that all had not gone to the satisfaction of the Apaches. When Abe’s little smoke had cleared away he grimly smiled to find himself still master of the situation. Then he noticed that the affair in the basin had also temporarily ceased. Which had come off victor? He looked earnestly, and was able to dis- tinguish the «dusky forms of Apache braves ‘moving in and out among the camp-fires. The sight gave him something of a shock. This was an unexpected result, Had the rangers been cleaned out, or, find- ing the Apaches too strong for them, had pe retired in good order for the present? te hoped this latter might be the case. His attention was now brought back to his own situation, and the perils accompanying it. The repulse of the rangers would leave Warlock and his whole band free to turn up- on him. How long could he hold out against such a horde of savage foes? The thought did not bring a trace of fear to his heart, for with such weapons as he ‘possessed he felt able to hold them at bay. Ah! he must not forget that his rifle was empty, and but a single charge remained in his revolver. | When he went to reload he made a most alarming discovery. Bullets he had in plenty, but his powder- horn was missing The string that sustained it over his shoul- der, must have parted during his recent labor in effecting the release of the young girl, and the horn with its valuable contents no doubt lay at that moment in the Apache camp. This knowledge sent a thrill through m. _ The situation would have been serious in all respects, even though he possessed the ‘means tc reload his empty weapons. As it was it looked almost hopeless, Old Abe was not the man to give up while +f breath remained in his body, and he only ed yA _* a See? i. On Z ~~? “se “| at ‘ 2 4 : > 2.3 ras upon the heads of his foes, should the chance | come, By listening he was able to learn that the _Apaches against whom he was individually pitted had received reinforcements from the _ main body, _._ No doubt they would soon be ready to try it again, perhaps on a different scale. _ Silence had again fallen upon the basin, and the old prairieman, crouching there awaiting his prey could now tell when the assault was coming, for the Indians, cunning though they were, could not move so silent- _ly that his keen ears did not hear them. | He nerved himself for the ordeal. | At the proper time he began toppling the ' rocks over into the defile, and hurling others downward with great force. | A scene of confusion ensued. Ifa brave by some chance succeeded in reaching the top of the defile, the old ranger would snatch up his rifle and with one sweep hurl the fellow back to where he could get his full share of the falling rocks. It began to look as though the Apaches had undertaken a most exceedingly difficult task when they set about assaulting the old | man’s position from this quarter. They knew what they were at, however. The attack in the front, though exceeding- ly desperate, was nothing more than a blind to cover operations in the rear. As yet Arizona Abe did not suspect this. He had not thoroughly examined his fort, but had apparently taken it for granted that it was impregnable from any side excepting that upon which the defile was located. In this he was mistaken. The agile Apaches had boldly set to work to scale the rocky wall. During the hour or so that had elapsed between the first attack and that which Abe was now engaged in repelling, the bold climbers had been busily at work, and by the assistance of the lightning, that still flashed at long intervals, they bad about suc- ceeded in their dashing undertaking. While Abe was kept busy at work at one end of the little plateau, he heard a cry from the young girl, She had offered more than once to aid him, and had even insisted upon carrying stones to where he cculd get them, but Abe had kindly yet firmly insisted upon her remain- ing back out of the way of any flying missiles such as bullets or arrows which the angry Apaches might send up the little defile in the hope of hitting the bold man who defied their power. When he heard this cry from her lips, the old scout knew something terrible had come to pass, and he gave a grunt as he turned his head to see what it was, Just at this very moment, as though to favor the beleaguered trapper, and show him what new peril he had to face, the lightning flashed athwart the sullen sky. What he saw was not calculated to reas- sure old Abe to any extent. The lightning only illuminated the scene for the space of three seconds, but this was time enough. He saw Dancing Feather struggling in the arms of a stalwart brave, while one or two faces, crowned by long black hair, and look- ing like the countenances of fiends incarnate, were above the edge of the ledge. Another ten seconds and all would be Jost. These fellows wou!d come down upon him in the rear like a storm-cloud, and he dared not leave his post for a second. Arizona Abe clinched his teeth and drew his revolver for his last shot. CHAPTER XL. THE DANGLING ROPE. By this time hope had_ well-nigh departed from the breast of the old ranger. Nobly had he struggled against the odds that had been hurled against him, but this was too muca even for such a hero, He had seen more than one such desperate ee ——$— sss esteem ss sls ’ a? de a gee ad fut 1 oe gether as he | — Tucson Tom, the Bowie Bravo. situation in that eventful life of his, and yet this did not take away any of the power that invested the situation. Thus far, the Apaches who were endeavor- ing to get at him by means of the defile had been ,allantly kept in check. Abe knew that his safety lay in seeing that they remained below. Once let them get up and there was no telling where they would end. Hence, in spite of the inclination he felt to rush to the assistance of Dancing Feather and relieve her from her peril, he knew that to desert his post even for so short a time would be fatal. There was another thing that Arizona Abe caught an inkling of. He had believed that the Apaches had reached the ledge wholly by climbing up the face of the cliff. This conclusion was a natural one, for he had seen them in the act of pulling them- selves over as that flash of lightning momen- tarily illuminated the scene. Another fitful flash followed close apon the heels of this one. As Abe’s attention was riveted upon the place where this exciting little drama was in progress, he saw something that took him abuck and swamped his previous opinions, A human form was dangling in mid-air. It hung suspended by a rope from above, and was only a few feet above the ledge when thus brought into view. This proved that not only were the Apaches climbing the face of the cliff, but they were also descending from above. No wonder the brave old ranger felt his heart sink. He could not see the slightest chance for success in the game. True, while he continued to push the loose rocks over into the defile, upon the yelling Indians below, he held in his right hand his revolver, with one charge still in the cylin- der, ready to shoot down the first man who appeared before him. After that he could battle for his life with his clubbed rifle, and yield only when some warrior’s weapon reached his heart. To his surprise he heard the sharp report of a firearm near by. It was of course one of the Apaches, send- ing a bullet in his direction to see if he could Jay the bold ranger low, and Abe even imagined he heard its peculiar whistle close by his ear. Ha! what meant that yell? He had heard too many Apache death- cries not to know one when it came? Had one of the bold climbers missed his hold when near the top of the cliff, and tum- bled to the bottom? Hardly that, for the cry had not come from the depths, but had proceeded from some one on the ledge. Had Dancing Feather possessed a weapon? He was positive that this was not so, else he might have believed it was she who had met the cunning Apaches with a flank fire. Strange how thoughts will go through the mind with the speed of the wind. Abe had time to think thus, even though close upon the heels of the wild death-cry came a second report and another yell. Then it flashed upon the ranger. He could hardly believe the truth. Help had come! The dangling figure he had momentarily seen hanging between earth and sky, had not been an Indian after all. Some friend had come down from above, and was even then engaged with the Apaches on the ledge! Who was it? Abe could readily guess. Who among the little band of rangers would be likely to thus risk life and limb for the young girl but Tucson Tom? If it was he, then victory was assured. Ile would sweep the enemy from the ledge in a short space of time. Already had his revolver sounded the death-knell of two. Eagerly Abe awaited the next flash, with his revolver ready to do its work. He could hear the panting of strugglin men, and knew that a battle for life an death was in progress close by. A slip of the foot and both combatants would be hurled over the edge to their doom. | It was awful to think micbooks s0 near la ane J >. f ae | (E(@) ‘ ¥ i? 5 ’ ++ | i af