Beadle's Dime Library No. 851 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

= he - A ianagp aAtays i ee a cataeeenanenet ae F yeatoudey in it, two on either side of a wide hall afraid of men of their stripe and was fully | capable of protecting his own. As for Lena Ross, his daughter, she was a girl of wondrous beauty of face and form, and with all the gentleness of a refined wo- man, possessed pluck and determination to | hold her own under the most trying circum stances. She could ride like an Indian, throw a lariat with great skill, could hit dead cen- ter with rifle and revolver, and was not afraid of man or wild beast. She had the endurance of a Pony Rider, was a skilled cook and good housekeeper. She could sing divinely, and play the guitar and violin with great skill. The Pony Riders all along the Overland Trail had heard of her beauty, her deeds of daring, and accomplishments, and those who had not fallen in love with her had their affections centered elsewhere, But to one and all Lena Ross was the ‘same frank-hearted, gentle girl, showing no preference and was ever ready to doa kind act to any one, Like her father. she seemed to love their wild life of seclusion, of exile from the life they had known, and be happy in their frontier home, while the thought of fear seemed to be a stranger to them, Such was Gentleman George, the stock- tender, and such was his lovely daughter, whom the Pony Riders had named Little Sunbeam, ' CHAPTER VIII. A CRY FOR HELP, ‘‘ An, Mr. Cody, you have made the ride through in poor Jordon’s place? ‘It took a plucky man to ride the trail, as I hear the Cloven Hoofs are all along the ling, and I am surprised that you got through,” ‘‘I saw no Cloven Hoofs, Gentleman yeorge, save a herd of deer,” responded Buf- falo Bill, ‘* You were fortunate, for one of the men from the stations east and west of me were ‘livre during the day and told us of Jordan's denth, and that the Cloven Hoofs had pinned i note on his body that the riders were to be shot at sight if they refused to halt when ordered.” “Yes, they did do that, for I took the body in, Then [ went on my own run east, and have now come here and on time, so I am very tired.” ‘‘ Have you made such a ride as that, Buf. falo Bill, and within forty hours?” ‘Yes, and I may add that [’m awful hungry, so I suppose I can get a bite?” ‘*Oh, yes, for Lena always keeps a good supper for the midnight comers, who must cat here, as you know. ‘The rider from the west is an hour -overdue, and we were anxious about him, so Lena has not retired.” ‘‘Who is he, Mr. Ross?” ‘* Buck Renshaw.” ‘*A good man, and hard rider, It is strange that he is overdue,” said Buffalo ill. ‘Yes, strange, indeed. Ido hope no harm has befallen him.” ‘‘So do I.” ‘‘ Now come in and have some supper, and maybe he'll arrive, meanwhile—back, he savage brutes, for this is no Cloven oof or redskin,” and Gentleman George | addressed the last remark to half a dozen | huge and fierce dogs, half bloodhound, half. mastiff, and who were feared by even the Pony Riders who visited the little house, | They obeyed their master at once and slunk away to the stockade gate as though - to wait for some one whom they could in- ‘terview, SALES Pia ‘* You have a lot of splendid sentinels and | guards, there, George—yes, and your house ‘is as strong as a fort.” ‘* Yes, Mr. Cody, those dogs are as savage | as tigers toward all save, Lena and myself, | and it is well my house is a fort, as it may | be besieged at any time, though Lena and | ! Eee : eee eee ee could stand off a small army of Indians, and : ‘a score or two of outlaws; but walk in— Lena, here’ is Mr. Cody. He is riding for poor Jess Jordan,” phe a They had entered the cabin, which had ‘room combined, hy v7 tee 3 yay rt Phere, fallen against tae g: - Buffalo Bill’s Double Dilem ‘ ma. 5 The two rooms on one side of the hall , were the sleeping-rooms of the father and | daughter, and on the other side a parlor and spare bedchamber for belated Pony Riders. The cabin was built of stout hewn logs, and had a flat roof, encircled by a breast- work of timber, behind which the stock- tender could crouch and sweep the approach up and down the trail, and in front, for a long distance, and the rear was protected by the wall of cliff that surrounded the valley. Within the house there was an appearance of comfort not looked for in that wild land any more than would be the beautiful girl who came forward to greet Buffalo Bill with the air of a society belle. ‘*T am glad to see you, Buffalo Bill”— Lena Ross always called the Pony Riders by the name their comrades did, ‘*But Lam sorry your coming was made necessary by the death of Jess Jordan, for he was a noble fellow.” ‘* Yes, but like a soldier, Litthe Sunbeam, he died with his face’to the foe, and in the discharge of his duty,” and Buffale Bill azed with admiration upon the slender, per- ect form, darkly bronzed face, and won- dered what strange combination of circum. stances had caused that girl and her noble. looking father to exile themselves in that habitation, far from civilization. ‘* Yes, I expected that of him, and I sup- posed you would be put on this run in his place?” ‘** And why, Miss Lena?” ‘‘ Well, few other men would dare ride it now; but you look tired, and must be hun- gry, so sit down and have some supper, for I have fish, quail, and venison steak, with potatoes, hot biscuit and coffee,” Buffalo Bill knew well what a meal at Valley Farm Station was, as the stock- tender raised vegetables, and had his own chickens, ducks, turkeys, hogs, and cows which gave plenty of milk, Lena was always glad to set a good meal before an always-hungry Pony Rider, and, expert fisherwoman and huntress that she was, she kept the table well supplied. Gentleman George then told his daughter of the ride Buffalo Bill had made, and she complimented him upon his endurance and pluck, and said: |) ‘‘Tam glad that Buck Renshaw is late, at e gives you a longer rest before starting ack, ** Will you not take a short nap until he comes?” But ere Buffalo Bill could reply there was a Warning note irom one of the dogs with- out, and springing to the door the stock- tender cried: ‘* Here comes Renshaw now,” Even as he spoke there was heard a shot, ae avnother and another, and then a voice cried: ' ‘* Help! Gentleman George, Help!” CHAPTER 1X. A FIGHT AGAINST ODDS, GENTLEMAN GrorGE had a regular arsenal in his cabin. The hallway was the place where he kept his weapons, and then under each one was a shelf containing the ammunition for that. particular weapon. There were wu pair of crossed sabers, four muskets with bayonets fixed, an elephant gun, double barreled and capable of firing a score of slugs. Then there were shot-guns, rifles and re- volvers, in fact the ‘‘arsenal ” counted up a score of flrearms, all ready for use. As in riding Pony Express the rider was wont to “ fly light” as they expressed it, they never carried more than a pair of re- volvers, and’ frequently only one. So, when the call for help came from out- side, Gentleman George called out: “Take that repeating rifle, Cody, and come on!” | At the same time he seized a rifle himself while Little Sunbeam did the same. Out of the cabin they all dashed, and at | dozen savage dogs | the gate were the half baying ferociously. | hrowing down the bar of the gate the two men sprung outside and beheld a thril- Se ee ee —————e——_ — - Oo - OO 0 Oo. - cried’ Lena Ross_as_ she of vewhn the dead Pony Rider tenderly down and ~ _ | looked up, after folding his arms across bis " Renshaw the Pony Rider. He held his saddle-bags in one hand, his revolver in the other, while his horse lay dead a few paces distant. That the Pony Rider was badly wounded was cerluin, yet he had reached the stockade and falling there, when his horse dropped dead from the fire of his foes, he was brave- ly at bay though unable to rise. Coming rapidly upon him were a band of outlaws, all of a dozen in number, ‘‘We have the Express bags now, men! Rush in and tear them from him!” shouted a man who led the band, and the mounted outlaws hastily threw themselves from their saddles, just as Buffalo Bill and Gentleman George dashed out, With a faint yell of triumph Buck Ren- shaw shouted back: “ You lic! You'll never get the bags, for Buffalo Bill is here!” At the name the outlaws hesitated, and just then Buffalo Bill and Gentleman George opened fire, and with deadly effect. ‘‘There are but two of them! shoot them down!” yelled the outlaw chief, and the shots rattled forth rapidly, while a voice from the gate called out. ‘‘Fall back into the stockade, for I have dragged Buck in.” It was Lena Ross, who had done as she | said. The wounded Pony Rider she had lifted by main strength, and had taken him inside of the stockade gate. But the outlaws were maddened at the thought of losing the Express bags, which they seemed to know were valuable, and were crowding upon the two defenders who were facing such odds, when again the voice ~ of Little Sunbeam was heard—this time ad- dressing the dogs: ‘At them, Tigers! 1t is your time now! Go!” cried Sunbeam, as she opened the stockade gate and set the half-dozen savage dogs upon the band of Cloven Hoofs who were now Close upon Buffalo Bil] and Gentle- man. George. With yells of terror the Cloven Hoofs sprung for their horses, but one unfortunate fellow was not quick enough and in an in- stant he was dragged down and would have been torn to pieces had not Gentleman George rushed to his rescue, ’ As it was, he was already dead, having been wounded and thus fallen casy prey to the dogs. There were two other dead outlaws lying on the ground and a horse that had been shot, while another stood near, ,wilh a broken leg. This horse Buffalo Bill put out of his misery by a shot just as Lena Ross called out: *“Come to Buck! He is dying, I think.” The dogs were called off from the chase by a loud blast of the horn, but one failed — to come back, he having been shot, and ns Buffalo Bill and Gentleman George re- entered the stockade shey found Buck Renshaw lying upon the cabin porch, his head supported by Lena Ross, . ‘* He is dying,” said the girl sadly. “Yes, but tell the captain I saved the | freight. “They fired on me: from ambush, five miles back on the trail, wounding both me and my horse. “TI took to the timber and hid, but when ‘IT came out they saw me and chased me here—see, didn’t give up the freight, Se ‘“My horse fell as we got to the stockade. Wad “You'll tell the boys, wont you, Bill?’ His voice was very faint, hardly audible, and Buffalo Bill grasping his hand said: — ‘*) will tell them, Pard Buck, and let the captain know all; and I promise you _ this night’s work will not be forgotten— — that you will be remembered,” _“ Thankee, Bill—good-by, friends, for—” — < 45 ‘ rer. ue 1, is Ve I haye three wounds, but | | * df, F e ee) } oie ae } ‘ - 7 of wet mr ne 5 LO {" » sea What more he said was unheard, for the words died on his lips as the breath left bis = rs body. wn Abr eoares . i, A mts CHAPTER X. is 7 1 . THE RETURN, “i | ‘“Wuy, Buffalo Bill, you are wounded,” laid the head Pay ose was H Pete : bi { - “| As @ (@)] OO) @