Beadle's Dime Library No. 807 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

_ me, in that she felt grateful to me ” affair all around, for I .could not believe that Miss Mareelite really loved him was certainly under his influence. ‘It was not for him she showed the same for you ‘ _ gaged to him, and that thereswas no love in : the matter Was shown when she learned of his death, Fn. loved that young lady devotedly, but find ing she could not return my love, we be: came the warmest friends until now I find I made a mistake in my first love, for the tnamerata, and I wish you to bestow only hs brotherly love in that quarter,” and the iw major laughed, « Bat: ‘Twill remember your injunction, major, @ abrendy felt.” _ — ** Well, if you lean toward the colonel’s a = daughter you will have rivals by the score, |» ~ for now that Cap—your brother is dead, ‘ave they will all go in to win for all they are worth, as outside of her beauty and lovely scharacter, the fair Marcelite is an heiress toa very large fortune and the love of gold keeps pace with the love of woman every time,” “ There is no doubt of that.” “You will find Cole first in the field, Cap- Vi tain Lane, and a score of others, from bald os xeads to cubs just away from West Point, ‘ } ray wa but don’t be disheartened,” ‘4 + _. Adrian Valdos laughed, and then sudden- WN? bs) ly becoming serious said; | | “Phe colonel wishes me to start at dawn, ‘day after to-morrpw, for the scene of your battle, and open those graves, as it is my wish to do, 7 | ** That will give me two days for the work, and then I can head the party off their first -___- night’s éamp from the fort, and continue on in charge of the escort. _ +. When I return I will be ready to enter upon my duties here at the fort.” “Tam glad you are going, for it will be a _ respite for you, before duty here, and let ae _ those here talk themselves out regarding you, i before your return,” . : ve | ay Pet | Z , CHAPTER XIV. Nile THE OFFICER'S LONE TRAIL. it, 4} wt é “9 - % : : “4 ‘ae , - > é - ary + (ee ' “ 4 “tat od od - + lt = F hy » |. Wren Adrian Valdos departed upon his _ » mission, while darkness yet rested upon the land, though the East was brightening with coming day, he went alone, a led __ pack-horse trotting along behind him. - _, He had firmly refused all offers of aid, 7 | | saying that he preferred %o go alone, and so my” ~ * had departed when only the guard at. the .» gate saw him take his leave, : _. Obtaining from the post trader ali that he ‘needed for his journey, he bad gone well equipped, having his eamp outfit, a pick, _, spade, shovel and hatchet in his pack, with a - -Yepeating rifle, belt of arms end all that he Ret) would need. Beran 33 G rede a fine animal that had belonged to his rother, and his pack-horge was also a ~~. good one from the'same stable. -.-. When the sun rose he was just disappear- ing from sight of the fort over a distant hill, and a few miles further:on halted, staked bis) _ . horses out and cooked his breakfast like one . aceustomed to just sucha life as he had then entered upon. — | He showed himself no. indifferent cook y either, for the coffee was gooth, the steak cooked to a turn, and the hoecake light and | -well-tasting, | _- Resuming his journey, he put his horses at ~~ & pace which, if kept up,.would carry them “ij preys Jong mile before night. +, ny hig “You will have two days’ rest before the _ ,others come along, so don't mind the hurry + to-day,” he said to his horses in an apolo- oS cygetic Mor like one who wished not to be HONS Hew ithont reason ton dumb brute. “He ’ sf tees “ward 3 U a :* ab by ag > APS ie? Wild “It was so, and it was a very peculiar Yet, she | open-hearted friendship she had manifested | band of Indians at any moment. { ‘She was distant ever, yet, made no effort ; rocks, but still kept along as the trail went. ie to contradict the rumors that shé was en- | | cended the ridge, where the troopers, under | ' i i i i | At noon he again halted for an hour and a half, appeared to enjoy his dinner, and then pushed on at the same brisk pace as before. But he seemed more cautious now, as though he knew he was getting into a dan- gerous land, where he might run upona He avoided clumps of timber, ridges and It was-an hour before sunset when he as- his brother, had made the fatal charge down . |! into the valley. fo ‘Now, to be frank with you, Valdos, I | There lay the valley before him, but not a sign of 4Jife was visible in it, only the scat- tered, well-picked bones of the horses that ‘had fallen in the fight, both troopers and red skins. fair Mascot of Moonlight Mine is now my;: Afar off, under a range of hills where glided a brook, was a clump of trees, where Major Canfield had directed him as the spot where the soldiers had been buried. Right where he stood the trail divided, one but let me tell you that there can be but one | going, over the ridge down ifto the #alley, love for a woman in my life and that I have | the other turning to the left and following 6 down the range of hills, while on his ri¢ht was the clump of timber where Wild Bill would make his first night's camp with his fair charges, and there it-was that Adrian Valdos was to meet them. After glancing over the scene, as though he admired its beauty, Adrian Valdos rode down into the valley, marked the cut-up gvound where the red warriors and pale- faces had met in deadly combat, passed among the scattered, whitening bones, and bent his way to the right to the clump of’ timber under the hill and on the brookside, The sun was just sinking to the mountain tops as he dismounted in the timber, not ten paces from where there were two mounds, one like a large grave, the other as though it might cover half a dozen or more forms. There was good grass back on the brook meadows, and here the horse was staked out in a bend. " Then the pack-saddle was opened, and rubber blankets, bedding, provisions, cook- ing utensils and last the pick and shovel were taken out and placed for use when needed. The bed was first spread, thea wood gath- éred fora fire, water brought in canteens from the brook, and as darkness fell supper was on the fire; the odor of coffee filling the air and mingling with that of broiling bacon. Alone the officer ate his supper, and with apparent good ‘appetite, though his glance was sad as now and then it rested upon the graves Within the firelights glare, ie then arose, prepared as for a quick de- parture, if need came for it, watered his horses and staked them out near his camp, after which he scouted around the timber as though to see if there was. any foe lurking near. Returning to his camp he smothered the fire, and after standing a moment gazing down upon the smaller of the burial mounds, 2 st te his blankets and turned in for the night. x If there were foes near they dil not come to disturb his rest, and he did not appear to dread any grim specters, that might arise from the graves so near his resting. place. The night passed away, and the East was growing rosy when he arose, saw first to the comfort of his horses, made a scout around’ to see if any foe was near, and then return- ing to camp built his fire and cooked his breakfast.’ 2) : This duty done he “took up his pick and | shovel and walking over to the smaller grave sent the sharp point deep down into the still soft earth and began the search for what the mound might.reveal. | if spt ' aden ’ > CHAPTER XY, | WHAT THE GRAVE REVEALED. -ApRIAN VALDOs had gone to the graves of the soldiers who had fallen in the Indian fight,’ with a settled purpose in view, to see if his brothér was dead or alive. Something within him impelled the belief that he was still alive, in spite of all circum- was following the old, yet well-marked | stantial evidence that he was dead, had been ied by Major Canfield’s force to. | the Indian coyntry and back, and he lets and arrows, me as appeared to follow it without the-slightest Memory went back over seen to fall from his horse pierced by bul- ‘the past, and re. ne [es * * ’ * i =? * “s , - f * ow ¢ . g * ; = " ob . Te ee “ » - wr tat “3 e . | YY «i at? 8% 4m " we ; a. . eV eee" er . es a.) eatus Se *...6 0 eS le na eA OS Bill, the Wild West Duelist. —_—- oo a “Wild Bill told me as much, and added | hesitation, like one who knew just what he | called the scenes of his brother's life and that he was playing upon her kindness to | was about | his, and all that had come to them in their years of boyhood, youth and manhood. One had chosen the path of wrong, and yet the two had clung together in their affec- tion for each other through all that had hap- pened for good or ill for both. They loved each other for what they had been in the past, and now that one was said to be dead, the other hoped that it was so. He hoped so because he felt that he had, if dead, met a glorious death, when to live on would only be to die an ignominious one. He hoped that he wag dead, to spare any pain, sorrow and shame in the future, should he be alive, and more, become revengeful toward those at the fort who had been his friends, If there were nine bodies in the graves, und one of them had the birth-mark of one joint only on the little finger of his left hand, then the truth would. be known and the brother of Adrian Valdos be known to be dead, Should these proofs not be there, then it would show that he was yet alive, and living was to be feared, So, with strong strokes, Adrian Valdos sent the pick into the ground, loosening the earth, so that he could readily throw it out with the shovel. Major Canfield had told him that the graves were some five feet deep, to protect the bodies frém the coyotes, and across them many logs had been placed. At last the shovel ‘only was used, and the dirt was thrown out); more gently until the stee] touched the blanket that enveloped the dead, rani It was a loathsome, painful work, but th man did not shrink from it but went on steadily until the bodies were exposed, all disfigured and revolting to the sight. But Adrian Valdos was a man of iron nerve and nothing daunted he took up the left hand of each officer. A moment he felt of the left little fingers, then he placed them back, folded upon their breasts as he had found them, and spengi g out of the grave began to rapidly refill it. ; obey his discovery until the grave was re when he muttered: | ‘‘Now to the other, for, in the mutilated condition of the bodies, it may be that there was a mistake made, an officer being huried withthe men,” e waNg So he set to work throwing out the dirt of the other grave, the long one containing the bodies of the men, | After an hour’s work hé knocked off, changed the grazing place of his horses, after watering them, made a scout around his camp to see if any foe was near, and then, as though not caring for dinner, re-— | turned to his work once more. As pa Digging hard he at last dropped his pick’ for his shovel and in three hours had the dirt thrown out until the blanket-wrapped forms) were exposed, Then, logking calmly down upon them, he slowly began to count: ‘‘One! two! three! four! five! six!—” He halted then, counted them over, got dowf” into the grave and placed his hand up- on each form separately. » y But he Gould make only six, and the two bodies in the adjoining grave would make but eight. ce were killed, 7 ‘*T saw the eight bodies are buried here, six in this grave, two in that one. ) 85 ames yard ‘‘ There is one body missing.” So said Adrian Valdos and to be sure he counted them over again. He was sure but,two were in the smaller grave, and he could also; take oath but @ix were in the larger one. One body was surely not there, for nine men had been reported kiiled. Had one been only wounded and taken off by the Indians as a prisoner? . Certain that he was correct in the number that were there, he then began to seek for the test of the little finger as to whether his brother lay among those dead or not, Each left hand was raised, the finger closely examined, and then the hands were gently folded upon the breast once more. “comicbook | 900KsS “3 41, He had uttered no word, made no sign eg | Two officers, a sergeant and six men “list of names, and yet but | / e« , heey JZ e * 4 - ; a | J} : 7 FF =e. #