Beadle's Dime Library No. 518 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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Royal Richard, the Thoroughbred. 15 CHAPTER XVIII. WITHIN THE ENEMY’S LAIR. ‘Yr aire the lad, an’ no mistake!” the Giant Ranger cried, as he sprung forward and greeted Yuba with a bear-like hug. ‘* An’ how’d ye leave Black Feathers an’ his bucks?” Before the dwarfed Hercules could reply, a strange sound greeted the ears of the party, coming from the prairie to the westward. ‘** Hark!” ejaculated Yuba, gliding out from the long arms of the gangling giant. ‘* What’s thet?” All listened intently. A moment, and then came the report of firearms, mingled with fierce, warlike yells. ‘** Ef it ain’t dog eat dog—blame me!” uttered Long Pete, in a tone betraying no slight degree of satisfaction, ‘‘ Yuba, ye’ve gone an’ did it!” ** Jes’ so, pard! Ther renegade reds hev run smack-dab inter Black Feathers’s band!” com- placently declared the scout. ‘* But thet ain’t ther hull ov it, pardner! ‘* Ther renegades hevn’t a hoof left! odd—an’ I got ’em all !” “Ha!” “Right at the aidge ov ther timber,” Yuba continued, with his thumb pointing over his shoulder. ‘‘ I kalkilated another party w’u’d be able ter use ’em arter the’r Kilkenny cats’ tus- sel, an’ I jist brought ’em inter camp. ‘** But w’ot on airth’s wrong with ye, folkses? Cain’t see much, but ye seem as glum asa corpus at a picnic! Anybody killed, or— Great Rockies! bet a hoss the reds got a gal!” ‘*Ye’re right, Dan!” returned Long Pete, with renewed gravity. ‘‘They’ve kerried off Pauline, Jackson’s darter. I war jest startin’ on the’r trail when ye kem up.” ‘* Edzactly!” and Yuba nodded _ violently. “T might ’a’ knowed it sooner—ef Id on’y ’a’ stopped ter argie the matter a leetle. Folkses, I see’d yer gal not ten minutes ago!” ‘‘Wot’s thet?’ demanded Jenkins, his voice rising above the ejaculations of the other mem- bers of the party. ** Jes’ as Ll say, Pete! While I war busy with the critters, a party ov five or six passed me *bout three hundred yards ter ther north’ard, ridin’ like ther wind straight fer ther foot-hills; an’ ’m putty sart’in I caught ther flutter ov a female’s garmint! ‘* An’ ef sech war ther case, it’s derned lucky she war speerited off so, fer ef she’d bin caught in thet whirly-gust goin’ on out thar— Wal, I'd pity her friends a heap more than I do! ‘“Stradile hoss, Pard Pete. It’s a leetle resky, but we'll jump right on ter ther trail while it’s hot.” Even before he had ceased speaking, Dan Yuba turned toward the captured animals to select mounts, knowing that they were in prime condition. Snowflake hurriedly brought forth Pauline’s saddle and bridle, which he placed upon a horse selected by Jenkins, Five minutes later, followed by a unanimous godspeed, the two bordermen rode forth from the motte, Jenkins leading the horse for Pauline, Yuba an extra animal for an emergency. ** Due north, pard,” uttered the dwarfed Her- cules, as wee swept around the border of the timber. ‘‘We’ve got ter circle wide ter keep our skirts cl’ar ov thet fracas out thar.” ‘* Ye bet,” was the grim response, ‘‘ Reckon we wouldn’t amount ter a hossfly in a hornets’ nest in that muss.” ‘* At any rate, it’d hurt our chainces, fer some ov each party air bound ter pull through an’ git back to theyr camp,” observed Yuba. ‘*But I say, Pete, didn’t Isee young Royale back thar?” ** Ya-as, ye did.” ‘** But I didn’t see Dale, pard,” pursued Yuba, interrogatively. ‘*No, pard, ye didn’t, looked yer last on pore Keith,” and Jenkins re- ted Royale’s story of the death of their fel- ow-borderman. Great was the grief excited by the narration. The three had been as brothers, so closely inter- linked had their lives become, For a space of severel minutes neither uttered aword. Their course had changed from north to west. Then, as it swerved to the southward, Yuba ventured to ask: *‘ An’ Royale, Pete—how does he size up?” Jenkins gave vent to a significant grunt. ‘Taint fer me ter say much, Dan,” be re- turned, with evident restraint; ‘‘ but betwixt us, he ain’t ther feller I hed expected an’ hoped ter see. Mind ye, I ain’t sayin’ a word! *Twouldn’t be ther chean white thing jist yet. Ye kin ’most always jedge ther depth ov a car stream ; but ther same water, arter a storm, ’u’d be a durned onsart’in thing.” 2 ie res. assented cha. ‘ Now, keep yer eyes open, pard, for it’s time we hit ther trail.” aw ** An’ mebbe a few scatterin’ ’Paches, too, ef ther trail leads inter ther renegade camp,” sup- plemented Long Pete. ‘‘ Ther tussle back thar aire over with, an’ w’ot reds aire left will likely hunt theyr hole, lookin’ fer blue-coats at ev’ry Twenty W’ot’s more, ye’vé “T heerd ther bugle,” said Yuba, smiling grimly. “But hyar’s ther trail, an’ now we'll cork up. A brief examination served to confirm the be- lief that it was the trailof the party seen by Dan Yuba, and without loss of time the tireless pards were again in the saddle, For upward of two hours, they pushed stead- ily along, the moon affording ample light by which to follow the plainly-marked trail. Fraught with weird excitement, with deadly peril, was that midnight chase across the plain; but the pards were insensible to the one, cared naught for the other. Not until they were within the foot-hills did they again dismount, this time in the midst of a thick cluster of trees at the mouth of a gloomy- looking gorge. ‘*Thar’s ther outlet ov ther renegades’ den,” uttered Long Pete, in a cautious tone, inclining his head toward the dismal opening. ‘“Ye’re right, Petesy!” responded Yuba, as guardedly. ‘*Ther question now arises, W’ot aire we goin’ ter do, an’ how?” ** Fu’st ov all, we’d cetter get the horses under kiver, ter ther north’ard, round ther foot-hills,” Jenkins suggested, after a moment’s cogitation, ‘**°T won’t do ter leave ’em hyar.” ‘* No; fer ten ter one, Death-Eagle’s scouts an’ spies ’u’d hit on ’em in less than an hour.” “We'll jist call that p’int settled,” declared Jenkins, ‘‘Then, arter we've cached the crit- ters in ther chaparral north, we'll seek an un- guarded p’int at which ter enter ther camp. We cain’t use this gorge, fer we might as well tackle a masked battery.” . ‘* Jes’ so, pard; fer ef any ov ther reds hev got back ter camp, ye kin bet high thar’s a purty ambush planted up thar in the gorge, sum’ers,” Remounting, the trailers cautiously skirted the foot-hills, keeping well within the shadows of the timber, until they had reached a point close upon a mile from the mouth of the gorge, and at which the desired shelter was to be had, Having secreted the horses, they carefully ex- amined their weapons, then commenced the as- cent of the hill, intent on approaching the Apache camp from the rear, each carrying his lariat. Contrary to their expectations, if was but a few minutes until they had reached a point whence the lodges were visible. At the foot of a long and at times precipitous slope, directly before them, in a great patch of the hills, lay the temporary village, The descent of the pards was by no means rapid. The better part of an hour elapsed be- fore they gained a position from which they could secure a satisfactory view of the pocket. As for the encampment, there was not yet enough of it visible to indicate its strength or arrangement. ** Slow an’ easy, pard!” uttered Long Pete, as a grow] of impatience escaped Dan Yuba, ‘“ Meb- be we'll git thar ter-night—mebbe not, fer a week. It’s a big stake, we’re playin’ for, ‘‘ Thet’s jest it!” Yuba gritted. “It’s a big stake. Ef it war on’y a passel ov furs, or a bunch ov hoofs, I'd lay by a month with never a whimper! ‘* We aire goin’ down thar this night, Pete, ef it takes a laig!” ** Good enough!” assented the gangling giant, *“‘['m thinkin’ ther same way—ef it brings no resk ter Pauline. ** Now, le’s work down a leetle wa ter thet bit ov timber jest this side ov ther pocket. Seems as if ther’ might be good kiver thar.” ‘* Thet’s our pint,” Yuba acquiesced, and they glided forward. The cluster of trees proved a point even more advantageous than the pards bad suspected, the spreading branches shutting out the moonlight and affording, at the same time, an excellent view of Death-Eagle’s lair. In fact, Long Pete at once jumped to the con- clusion that they had stumbled upon about the weakest point of what now appeared to be an almost impenetrable stronghold. | All around the pocket aross cliffs, varying in hight from twenty to two hundred feet, with here a patch of bushes, there a mass of clinging vines, to break their gray, rocky bleakness, So far as could beseen, the gorge was the only direct avenue leading to or from the pocket. The trees among which Long Pete and Dan Yuba found themselves extended to the verge of the precipice—at that point a sheer descent of only twelve or fifteen feet and thence below, but of a greatly diminished size, a considerable dis- tance across the Jevel. Quickly noting these features of their sur- roundings, the trailers proceeded to bestow up- on the camp proper a more lengthy and earnest scrutiny. 7 Nosign of life was visible; the lodges, in light and shadow alike, seemed wholly deserted, ‘Ther bucks aire all down in ther gorge, in ambush,” muttered a ego chuckling, as he produced his lariat. ‘Dan, squat right hyar an’ wait. I’m goin’ down.” . Yuba simply nodded. He knew exactly what part he was totake in the contemplated res- cue, Securing the end of the lariat to a tree, Jen- | t eee... i i Sad kins adjusted the noose beneath his arms and slipped silently over the verge, to be lowered slowly and steadily by the powerful arms of the dwarfed Hercules. A moment passed, and the lariat grew slack. Then came a slight jerk, indicating that it was to be drawn up. Long Pete Jenkins was within the lair of the enemy. CHAPTER XIX. WHAT DESPERATE DAVE DANTON HEARD, THE expression that came upon Dave Dan- ton’s face when confronted by Richard Royalo on the border of the motte, was simply, utterly indescribable. His eyes met those of his foe with a glare in which was murder—his hands went down to his weapons with the swiftness of thought. Nor were the feelings or the actions of self- styled Royale discounted, even in the slightest. That there bad been bad blood between the two men was apparent. The rupture was not a new one, Their differences were not to be settled then and there, however. The sudden and entirely unexpected uprising of the Apaches on all sides put an adjustment, amicable or otherwise, out of the question for the time being, if not forever. Royale sprung back just in time to escape be- ing hemmed in, turning his revolvers upon the red outlaws with such effect as to enable him to beat a retreat to the Mordaunt train. On the other hand, Danton was not so fortun- ate. Caught in the midst of the onward rush of the Apaches, he was laid senseless by a hard blow from the flat of a tomahawk. No sooner had Royale retreated into the tim- ber than Pauline’s captor appeared from the shelter of the tree behind which he had dodged, and started rapidly across the plain, bearin the unconscious girl in his long and powerfu arms, At a sharp, business-like command from him, four of the warriors secured Danton, and bear- ing him in their midst, followed in their chiet’s wake, The strange procession made its way due northwest across the plain for perhaps a fourth of a mile, then halted ina depression in which were six horses under the charge of a solitary brave. ; Upon one of the animals Danton was bound, Mazeppa-like, and then the chief mounted an- other, again taking Pauline in his arms, ~ ‘If Long Lance succeeds as well as has Three Bears, he will have good reason to be proud of his night’s work!” he exclaimed in the Apache ange ‘*Tbree Bears isa great chief. He has cap- tured a prize that will brighten his lodge,” averred a lean, scrawny-looking savage, gazing hungrily at the face of the beautiful captive. ‘*Thin Beaver talks well,” returned Three Bears. ‘Let him bear my greeting to Long Lance, saying to him that I wish him success. The four remaining savages having mounted, the cavalcade then rode away to the foot-hills, while Thin Beaver, relieved of the horses, swift- ly approached the train, : Not until within the bounds of Death-Eagle’s encampment did either Pauline or Danton give any indication of returning consciousness, Arrived there, Pauline was at once carried by Three Bears to a lodge standing close in against the face of an overhanging cliffat the western side of the pocket, where she was placedjupon a couch or pallet of skins and securely pinioned, Danton, feigning semi-insensibility, covertly watched all that was visible of the proceeding } from his uncorofortable position. On the return of Three Bears, the de was taken from the back of the horse and half- carried, half-dragged through the camp and into a lodge in the shadows of a clump of trees near the eastern extremity of the pecket, Then the braves retired, leaving their with the epparenrly unconscious captive. Danton felt that his fate was sealed. ve The expression upon the face of Three Bears was not mistakable. He was simply awaiting a full return of consciousness. His captive was unarmed, and, all. things considered, the chief could well afford, just then, to bide his time. Te oho | . ereado | | chief | Dave Danton was quite willing that the evil — moment be deferred. His mind was not inac- tive. vise ways and means to extricate himself fro his decidedly perilous predicament, | He hoped, almost against hope, yet to de- — Several minutes slipped by in silence, without ‘i any indication of impatience on the part of the — imperturbable Three Bears, Then the flap cov-— ering the entrance was lifted, and Death-Eagle, — aw the Merciless, glided into the lodge, An evil smile was upon bis face, and his dark ‘ eyes gg alg aa as he glanced at Danton, | ‘How is he, English, indicating, with a jerk of his head, the captive. + ‘His wits are wool-gathering, pap,” was the ardedly-uttered reply, in the same tongue. ‘Fact is, we ee leave the camp at all.” “So we did—so we did,” acquiesced the elder, ‘But it did not occur to me t Eomichoo _ at the fellow sico zo! wk Py te Ben?” he queried, in perfect || 1 E | 7 —_—_.-" it. in permitting himto - ] ; : ' } |