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Entered at the Post Ofﬁce at New York. N. Y., at Second Class Mall Rates. Copyright 1889. by BEADLI um Anus. November 5, 1889.

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$2.50 PUBLISHED \VEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS, Price.
NO'  ‘ a Year- No. 98 WILLIAM STREET. NEW YORK. 5 Cents- VOL 

 
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h.—

The Clew to énﬁptain Claw.

A Story of the Black Hills.

BY WILLIAM G. PATTEN, I , . I . - ' ’v 
AUTHOR OF “VIOLET VANE, THE VELVET ,  \ ' “ ‘F:  '7‘ . x  A  \‘lijni'mW 444v. ,1
SPORT,” “ THE DIAMOND SPORT,” “ CAP- ‘ ‘ ' -.. : \I,‘
TAIN MYSTERY,” ETC., ETC.

CHAPTER I.
A MIDNIGHT DISAPPEARANOE.

“YES, that must be the South Fork of the
Cheyenne. Away to the right there lays a. per-
tlon of the Bad Lands, and straight ahead is the
Black Hills Eldorado—the golden land Of prom- A
aim: £391 lylke glvéPg “int ‘3 B reglﬂar 01d" “SWORD 0‘ OLE GOLIATH!" BREATHED OLD DAVE. “THAT‘S HIM, MY DANDY PARD, SURE

1‘ ca‘np'mee ng s out. AS SHOOTIN I“; OAN’T UNDERSTAND 1T, NOHOW. WHAT‘S HE THAR FER!"

 
‘ .

 
The speaker—a prepossessing young man of
about twenty-ﬂve—snatched ofl‘ his wide—
brimmed hat and struck his horse a out With it
that came near causing the tired animal to
plunge into the stream at its feet. A burst of
merry feminine laughter greeted this act and a
pleasant, musical voice cried:

“ Careful, Mr. Fenway, or you will be taking
a bath. I’ll wager the water is cold, and you
know that you dislike anything cold.”

“Especiall' the cold shoulder of a pretty
girl,” was he quick retort. “ That always
gives me the shivers."

“ Or, in other words, a cold shake. Was that
what you got away back East somewhere, Mr.
ll‘enway, that sent you out into this wild land to
seek fur a i'irtune? Ah! I have itl, She left
you for the .e‘dow with more money: you didn’t
break your heart but swore that some day you
would be as rich as be! That is why you are
goin to the newly discovered gold ﬁelds of the
Blac Hills. HaveI the truth? Confess.”

“ You are a charming little witch, Miss Har-
land: but if you cannot read the future better
than you can tell what has happened in the past,
[shall put little confidence in your ability as a
fortune-teller. You do me credit in thinking
that I would not break mly heart over a pretty
face; but, even there fear that you are
wrong. I know a little girl with blue eyes and
golden hair who ought to be able to break
a heart of marble if she tried—and she isn’t
ver far away either.”

is last words were spoken in a tone intended
for her ears alone, and his eyes were fastened on
her face with a look that she well understood.

She drew a breath of relief as she heard the
voice of Edwin Hollis saying:

“ ’ think you are right, Fenway: this must be
the South Fork of the Cheyenne. It is too large
a stream for one of its tributaries. The Black
Hills lay right ahead of us. Providence l‘as led
us in the right direction, and we have been for-
tunatc in avoiding the bloodthirsty redsz'but we
ire not out of danger yet by any means. The
Hills are said to be full of Indians and white
(autism. Custer is the nearest point'of safety,
and I have heard that Custer is being deserted
for new diggings in Deadwood Gulch.”

“ The Band that has led us in safety thus far
is able to take us to our destination,” came from
the lips of the fourth one of the party, a pleas-
ant-faced woman of forty.

The sun was setting when the four drew rein
in the timber beside the river. Both Mrs. Har-
land and her daughter were nearly exhausted
after their long ride over the open plains, but
Nina, Harland was one who never complained
as long as she was able to hold u her head.
Nina was a girl of courage and spirit as well
as of beauty. She was one of those charming
little creatures who unconsciously made an im-
pression on the heart of every man she met.

Mrs. Harland was a courageous woman. In-
deed, only a woman of courage would have
dared penetrate to the very heart of a country
then swarming with hostile red-skins, even
though she was Searching for and hoped to ﬁnd
her husband there. Years before, Richard/Har-
land bad one to California to make his fortune

.in the “ olden State.” a left hiswife and
daughter behind. It was the old story. For a
time they heard from him but, suddenly he
ceased to write. But for all of the yearso si-
lence, the faithful wife believed her husband
living and true to her. When her neighbors
told er that he must be dead, she replied:

“ He is living. If he were dead he would come
to me and let me know the truth. I often dream
of him but never as one dead.”

Fina a letter came to her in which the
writer eclared that he had seen Richard Har-
land, or his spirit, in the Black Hills. That was
enough. _Two days later mother and daughter
were flying westward as fast as steam would
carry them. When the. could no longer travel
in that manner, they oined a wagon-train of
emi rants bound for the Black Hills by way of
the iobrara Valley route, Bﬂoted by the noted
old ranger Dave Dunstan, ut known through
all the Black Hills re on as “Dismal Dave,”
for reasons which wil appear in the course of
this narrative.

After joming the train they met and be-
came acquainted—as fellow-travelers win—with
Frank Fenwa , a young Easterner who was in
hopes of mak ng a fortunate strike in the Hills.
Fenway was a college-bred young man, and
being a perfect gentleman, naturally im ressed
v the two ladies favorably. He was dolig ted to
.tall into such pleasant company, and the three

Were much together.

Edwin Hollis—a man of forty-ﬂve— oined the
- train after it had been out several eye. He

 
' 4 .

was a quiet, agreeable-appearing man, and soon
succeeded in becoming acquainted with the trio
from the East. His presance seemed to make
the little part more complete, so he was made
welcome. He ad very little to say about him—
self, and of course was not questioned 'when the
others saw that he was reticent on that topic.

Ever thing was lovely, and the emigrants
had a elightful 'ourney till theywere far up
the Niobrara. hen they left the river and
shaped their course in a northwesterly direction
the old guide said:

“Now look or leetle out for snags.
don’t see smoky-skins or sum sign 0’ ’em afore
shortly, w’ sum 0’ ye cum roun’ an’ let me
know thet ’m an idjiot from Crazy Crick. I
kin smell tmbble in ther air. We‘re ap’ ter run
er ’in’ er reg’ler double-an’-twisted ole disaster,
so 'eep yer han’s out o’ yer pockets an’ yer guns
reddy fer shootin’.”

Old Dave spoke the truth. It was not long
before he discovered “sign” and informed the
party that reds were near. But there were
some in the party who seemed to pay little heed
tothe old man’s words. They would have to
see Indians and know that they were in danger
before the would believe it.

“The od fellow _is trying to frighten us,”
laughed Edwin HOUIS_. “ We have seen nothing
of red-skins, and I Will bet that they have seen
nothing of us.”

“ Who is afraid of an Indian l” laughed Nina.
“ I do not believe there are any around. See,
it is almost sunset, the time that we have taken
a gallop together every night. Are. we to lose
it to-night?”

“Better 1 . the ride than lose our scalps,”
smiled Frank enway who was riding near
with Mrs. Harland at is side.

“ Yes, Nina,” said her mother, quickly,. “it is
best to be careful. There may be danger.”

- The daring girl ﬂashed a half-scornful look in-
to Frank’s face as she cried:

“You are too brave for anything, Mr. Fen-
wayl Never mind: you may stay and look af-
ter mother while Mr. Hollis and I see who can
get to the sun before it creeps down into the
 1and hides for the night. Come on, Mr.

o 15 ‘

With a burst of musical laughter, she was
awa with Edwin Hollis 'ust behind her.

“ 6 may as well fo low them,” said Mrs.
Harland, an anxious shadow on her face.
“ Nina will not turn back now.”

A moment later she and Frank Fenway were
dashing over the rolling plain, following the
two,ahead. They heard Old Dismal call to
them, but could not understand his words.
Away went the four directly toward the spot
where the big round ball of ﬁre seemed to touch
the horizon. Nina turned and saw them.
With a shout and alaugh she deﬁed them to
catch her. , ‘

How long the wild dash continued none of
them could tell, but the sun had disappeared
when they drew rein and permitted the panting
horses a respite. For several minutes they were
talking together before Frank turned to_ look
back toward the train. A cry burst from his lips
as he did so.

“ Look there i” he exclaimed, catching Hollis
by the arm. “. at are those ﬂgu'res?’

Far aWay thrpugh the hazy shadows which
were setthng over the plain could be Seen
several dark forms which were moving between
them and the train. Hollis gazed a minute in
silence and then said slowly:

“I believe those are Indians—in fact, I am

uite sure of it. And they are between us and
t strain.”

“dHeavensl” gasped Mr. Hollis. “What can
we 0

“ Wh , ride round them and get back to the
train 0 course,” said Nina promptly.

“ Easier said than done,” came grimly from
Hollis’s lips. “ If I am not mistaken, those red
devils have got between us and the train for the
pu of cuttin us off from our friends. We
cou d not get by t em if we tried.” _

“ By heavens! you are right!” came excitedly
from Frank Fenway’s lips. “Look! they are
coming this way 1” .

A look of determination settled on Edwm
Hollis’s face. ‘

“ We must run for our lives,” he said, calmly.
“ Our only hope of escape rests in the fact that
it is so near dark. We must have caution and
not use up our horses, for if they hold out till
night shrouds the plain, we may be able to
dodge the rods in the darkness.”

AM: they went with the red Bedouins in pur-
suit. I; was fortunate. indeed, that ni ht was
so near at hand, for although the ndians
pressed their horses hard, they were unable to

l

‘ ’i 5-.

If we

 
.1

s

 
overtake the ﬂeeing pale-faces before darkness
settled over the prairie. Led by Hollis, the
fugitives succeeded in avoiding their pursuers.
A part of the night was spent in a little piece of
timber near a cool spring. When morning
came nothing could be seen of either the reds or
the wagon-train.

“ But if you will trust yourSelves to me, 'I
think that I can lead you back to the train,”
was Hollis’s assertion.

But that day and several others passed with-
out their seeing anything of the train. The two
men succeeded in killing enough game with their
revolvers to keep the little party from hunger,
and they pushed on to the northwest, hoping to
reach the Hills if they did not ﬁnd the train.
Thev .forded the White River, came in sight of
the Hills, and ﬁnal] , just at sunset, reached the
South Fork of the heyenne.

“ I believe this will be an excellent place to
s end the night, eh, Fenway?” and Hollis
g ced aroun .

“As good as any we are liable to ﬁnd,”re—
plied the one addressed. “ We are all tired and
the horses are nearly fagged. Here is plent of
water and we have enough to eat to-night. es,
I favor stopping.”

The ladies were consulted andthey were only
too glad to rest. The horses were watered and
fed, and then the little party satisﬁed their own
hunger and thirst, eatinﬁthe last remnants of a
small antelope which ollis had been lucky
enough to bring down at a wonderful long dis-
tance.

“ We must have more food tomorrow or 0
hungry,” smiled Frank. “ As for me I won (1

give all that I am worth for a good old-fashion- .

ed plate of baked beans.”

‘ Oh:o!” gasped Nina. “ Don’t speak of it!
You Will set me Wild! I am sick of the sight of '
meat, meat, meat I”

“As for me,” added Hollis, as he pulled at
the pipe which he ‘ had just ligh , ‘ I would
not swap a slice of army hard-tack for all the
baked beans in the country.”

“ Which shows that you are not a Down-
Easter,” observed the young man. “Every
true Yankee likes baked beans.” '

Until I]: was uite dark they talked in low
tones. Finally, rs. ‘Harland fell asleep and
Nina was not long in following her example-
The two men consulted a few moments and de-
cided that Hollis should stand guard the ﬁrst
part of the night, waking Frank near midnight
to take his lace. I
. Five minutes later the young man was sleep-
ing‘ soundly.

The night was far spent when Frank up“.
the moon, which had been quite tardy in 13811383

was hanging in the eastern sky. Its White lisht I

cre t._ down through the branches of the “995’
one lin the youn Easterner to see around 131m
close a hand. rs. Harland was 1‘6 511187
pl cidly just where she had been when fell
as eep, but, to his amazement, he could see noth-
ing‘glLNimst be I - ‘ ht

‘ emu cosoat hand”he thong -
“ Where is Hollis?” . ’

Another astonisherl the guard was nottq be
seen. .Wlth a sudden feeling of dread creeplpz
oyer him, Frank silently arose. Involuntarlly'
his hand crept. to his revolver, and with a noise-
less stop he walked a nod the campinsspot»
peering keenly into the hadows.

He saw nothing. A wolf howled far. far
awa .

ith a‘ quick, silent tread he hastened to the

ot where the horses had been tethered- 0118
g nnce revealed a startling fact.

Two of the animals were gonel

“Great God!” gasped Frank, as he reeled ‘ \

back. “Treachery, foul treachery 1”

CHAPTER II.
A vorcn mom ran DARKNESS.

‘f Hun we are, clean inter ther Hills, an’ not i
a Sign o’ ther lost ’uns. Howlin’ tomcatsl this
is w’at mocks ther ole mun feel like he don’t
know northin’ skeersely. W’Y; _
that I c’u’d strike ther trail an ﬁne ’em if they
hadn’t bin gobbkd by reds. _I d/m’t beleeve the?
reds have raked ’em in, but fer.all o’thet, I
have not found ther trail. i’m Jest naterall

ashamed o’ merself—I am, by ther ghost 0’ o 

Goliath!” ,
The disgusted speaker was the veteran Dismal

I was jest sart’in. ,

5

Dave. He was a little round-shouldered, spare .

man,_whose well worn suit of buckskin clung no
tightl around his emaciated form, that he
looked, thinner than he actual] was. He was

nearly sixty ears of age,

old Dave Dun

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person with one foot in the grave, but the red-
skiu or white ruﬂian who jum on the old fel-
low with the idea that he would be easily dis-
posed of, usually met with a genuine surprise,
and came out of the battle ina demoralized con-
dition. Old Dismal was a perfect terror in a
ﬁgllit of any kind.

is weapons were not of the latest and most
improved pattern; indeed, they were rather
ancient in appearance; but, fOi‘all of that, those
who were best acquainted With the veteran,
knew that he could handle them With wonderful
effectiveness. He wasa dead shot with either
riﬂe or revolver.

Old Dave’s face would havo been an interest-
ing study for a. physiognomist. The merry
twinkle of his blue eyes was given the lie by the
lugubrious expression of his mouth, making it
diﬂicult for one to tell whether he was on the
point of bursting into a ﬂood of tears or a roar
of laughter. The old ranger was greatly given
to “ yarning,” and many were the wonderful
adventures—dismal disasters he called them—
which he‘related, and in each and every one he
had played a prominent part. But, it was a
singu ar fact that he seldom repeated a story,
and if he did repeat one, it bore little resem-
blance to the original yarn. His friends some-
times hinted that his imagination was responsi-
ble for many of the startling adventures which
he related.

The old guide had left the train in charge of a
man who was fully able to take it through to its
destination, and started to Search for the little
party of four who had been separated from the
emigrants by the red-skins who had cut them off
from the train. He did not believe that the un-
fortunate party had fallen into the hands of the
red scavenaeljsl forehis keen eyes had shown him
that the ﬁidians could not overtake their in-
tended rey before darkness would shroud the
plain. e hoped that the whites had escaped in
the night.

When Old Dave made known his intention of

going in search for the lost ones he was sur—,

prised to see a foppishl dressed youth of twenty
ride 11p to his side and, request the privilege of
accompanying him. His had noticed the young
fellow with the train, but had paid little atten-
tion to him, for if there was anythingthat the
old ran er detested it was a fop. A “b’iled”
shirt ﬁl ed Old Dismal with disgust, and the
youth not only wore such a shirt but he, sporteda
pair of goldorimmed nosa-glasses. He was dressed
in a ﬁne y-ﬁtting suit and was scrupulously clean
from head to'foot. The ot in his necktie was
arranged as carefully as it ould have-been had

I he thought of making his appearance in,the

ﬁnest parlor in the land. Not a weapon was
visible anywhere on his person. The young
man’s ﬁgure was small for one of his age and
his faceiwas strangely handsome—almost eﬂ‘em-

mate. .
Dunston slowly surveyed the dandified youth
from head to foot, a look of amusement and

, contempt settling on his queer face.

“ Want ter go with me, do ye? Waal, was],
was]! W’at are we cumin’ to! Say, yonker,
have ye ot an insurance on them air kurls o
yourn? hem’d look awful poorty hangin’ in
ther Wigwam 0’ sum red buck. They’d mock an
ellygant ornymint. No, in dear boy, I don’t
think you’d better go wit ther ole man, fer
I’m ap’ ter stub outer er re ’ler ragin’ disaster
away out yan, an’ you’d be 5 ore ter git chawed
Jest you go tell yer mammy thet
she’d better look er leetle out fer you or ye may
git hurt.”

The young dandy’s face ﬂushed through the

'coat of tan which it had acquired since he joined

the train, but, he said not a Word as he turned
away with the laughter of several of the emi-

' grants ringing in his ears.

That night as Old Dismal went into camp in a
grove of cottonwoods miles away from the train
a was amazed to see the young man ride up
When he. ,saw‘ who. his visitor
we, the guide lowered the long-barrelsd riﬂe,
giving vent to a snort of disgust.
“ Power 0’ ole Goliath l'l he grunted. “ Whar
did mu. cum frum?” . ' ,
“ mm the train,” was the quiet re 1y, as the
out faced the gu‘iige, dropping both nds into

’ '. is si e coat-pocke

“ An’ whar are ye goin’?”
“,1 am going with you to help you ﬁnd our

friends, who were separated from the train.”

For several moments the old ranger of the

 momtains and plains could only gasp in an in-

I attempt to utter a word. Finally he

, I m inbled‘

‘Goin’fto help me ﬁnd them folkses are ye!

4  Wanl, I’ll be dam-aged!” .
 “That’s a fact,” came coolly from the young

1“)

dandy’s lips; “you are sure to be damaged if
you kick against my goin with you.”

That was more than 0 (1 Dave could stand.
With a burst of rage, he essaycd to lift his long
riﬂe again, but a cool, firm voice checked him.

“ Go just a triﬂe slow, old man,” came calmly
from the young dandy’s lips. “ You will ob-
serve that hold the drop.” .

To the borderman‘s amazement he saw the
youth’s hands ﬂash out of his pockets, each one
holding a gleaming revolver. Then click-click
—01d Dave was covered.

For several moments the two gazed at each
other in grim silence; then Dunston asked:

“Say, whar in ther name 0‘ Soloman Short-
an er did you git them pops, yonker?”

he dandy laughed softly, as he replied:

“ Those toys were given me by my mother
when I was a baby. She let me have these in-
stead of giving me a top and rattle.”

“ Be they loaded?” , .

“ Yes, with 32-10ng."

“ Kin you shoot ’em?”

“She taught me to lay in the cradle and shoot
ﬂies on the walls to save her the expense of pur-
chasin ﬂy—traps."

Old ismal gasped and a peared about to
faint. There was a moment 0 silence, then both
he and the youth burst into laughter.

“ You’re a dandy I” the old man declared.

“ Don’t you'thiuk you need my aid in ﬁnding
them lost ones?” asked the young fellow.

“ Dunno but I do,” admitted the guide.
“ W’at’s yer name?”

“ Dandy is good enough for" me.” .

“ All right, Dandy, I cave; you can Come
along. But mind, ef we run erg’in’ er reg’ler
dismal disaster an’ you lose them air kurls, I
don‘t waht ye ter lay it up erg’in’ ther old man
w’en ye git ter heaven.”

‘ And so it was settled.

Clean through to the Hills went Old Dave
and Dandy, but Without ﬁnding a trace of those
for whom they were searching. It was in the
early dusk of evening when they halted and the
ranger gave vent to the words with which this
chapter opens.

“ t is singular that we have found nothing of
them,” Dandy confessed. “ Of course it is
possible that they have fallen into the hands of
the reds.”

“ To be course, but, sumhow, I don’t jest be~
leave it. Both Hollis an’ thet Fenway war
pritty sharp tellers, an’ I reckon as how either
0’ ’em’d ﬁght till ther las’ gasp fer ther fee-
males.”

“Perhaps so, but I must confess that I did
not like the appearance of Hollis, as he calls
‘himself.”

“ W’at’s ther matter with him 3’” _

“ I cannot quite tell, but for some reasbn he
did not impress me favorably. I suspect him of
not being what he represents himself to be.” '

“ Reckon that must be only a timely.”

“ Perhaps so, but I would ive al that I am
worth to know that Miss Bar and is safe.”

Old Dave turned and looked Dandy full in the

ace: ‘

“ Look hyer.” he said, slowly, “ I smell ther
rat. Reckon I saw ye with thet leetle piece 0’
feminine lovelinessﬁoncet or twicet. Boy, ye’re
head an’ heels in love with her. Thet explains
w’y you war so set on comin’ with me.”

And the blush which crimsoned ‘Dandy’s
cheeks told that the old borderman had hit the

truth.

“ Don’t blame ye er leetle bit, lad, but I reck-
on you hev er poorty dangerous rival in thet air
Fenway. I tell ye, boy, it takes er man with
sand and vim to win ther love 0’ er poorty leetle
creeter like Miss Nina.”

,“ And do you think,” ﬂashed Dandy, “that
because I am, small 'I am any less a man? Do
you think me lacking in sand? By heavens!
you‘shall ﬁnd out your mistake some day 1”

“There, there, there!” said the old ranger,
trying to quiet the excited youth. “ Don’t get
so ﬂurrytated! I; didn’t mean nothin’. Cum,
let’s be moviu’, for we must ﬂue er place ter
stop for ther night, fer sto we’ve got ter.”

It was nearly an hour ater when they re-
pared to pass the night in a narrow valley
through which ran a small creek. Each night
had they taken turns at watching and sleeping
and to-night it was decided that Dandy should
act as guard the ﬁrst part of the night. When
their horses had been attended to and their own
hunger paciﬁed, Old Dave smoked a few min-
utes and then rolled himself in his blanket.

It was near the hour of midnight when the
old guide was arouSed'by feeling a light touch
on his shoulder. In an instant he was wide
awake. withevery sense on the alert. Then he

 
heard Dandy whisper:

 
“ Dunston, are on awake?” . '

“Bet yer socksl’ was the reply. “ W’at’s ther
deeﬂkilty l”

“ I think there is some one around the camp.
Twice have I seen a shadowy form.”

Old Days sat up, grasping his long riﬂe.

“ Show it ter me an’ see suthin’ drap.”

For several minutes neither of them saw any-
thing unusual. Suddenly Dandy grasped Dave’s
arni. exclaimining in a sharp whisper:

“Look! there it is again!”

Plainly the old borderman saw a shadowy
form not far away. Instantly the guide cried:

“ Hultl Who is thet!”

The answer was a burst of wild laughter that
was startling, to say the least. Then the shadowy
form vanished.

" Horn 0’ Gabriel 1” gasped Dunston. “. Whar’s
it one?”

at of the darkness came a strange voice say-

in r:

h I know you both—I know your mission.
Those whom you seek are in danger, for there is
a traitor in their midst. But I know that traitor
--—ha! ha! I know himl' Hisdays are numbered!
Death is lurki close at his heels!”

Neither Old ismal or Dandy could tell from
whence the voice came. The Hills ranger de- ‘
manded:

“Who in ther name 0’ ther prophets be you,
anyhow?”

“I am a shadow of the darkness.” was the re-
g} “ Ha! ha! I am Shadow—Shadow, the

an fromSundowul You cannot see me, for I
am like a breath of air. 1 can‘inake myself in-
visible when I choose; and, when I wish, I can
assume the form of a human bein . I am a _
man who has died—I am a disemb ied spiritl
They hung a man by the neck until he was dead!
The sun was setting. They rode away, leaving
a dead man behind. And at sundown'the spirit
of the dead man left this lifeless body and start-
ed on the trail of vengeance.‘ I am that it hit—-
ha! ha! I am ‘the spirit of the man w owas
hanged at sundown !”

“ The man is dl” said Dandy, softly.

“Or tryin’ te .' work sum kind 0’ er measly

.racket outer us,” came from the old ranger.

Again the voice came out of the gloom: -

“ If you wish to ﬁnd those for whom you are
seeking,” go exactly south ﬁfteen miles. At sun-
set they camped there; at sunrise they will move
on again. I have seen them—two women with
faces white and trusting hearts; two men-one
true as steel, the other with a heart as black as
Stygian darkness. I know them both—I know
them both! Ha! ha!” ‘

“ H0ppin’ tomcats!” muttered Old Dave.
“ I’m gittin’ interested.” '

“ Move—move at once if on would ﬁnd
them,” continued the voice. “ ut beware! the
Hills are full of red~men, and white vultures
are abroad in the darkness. You may find foes
on every hand. But more tobe dreaded than
the red-men are the white ﬁends who call them-
selves Vultures. Look out for them.
inz now. I am going—ha! ha l—I am goin 2”

The strange creature laughed wildly, an the
sound grew fainter and fainter, and seemed to
recede further and furthertill it appeared to
die out away down the little valley.

CHAPTER III.
FIGHTING FOR Lima—A CRY or DISTRESS.
FOR several moments Old DaVe Dunston and
Dandy were silent. The veteran was the first to

s :
WSorrer o’ Sodom! I’ll. be stern lly dam-
swizzled if this don’t git me! I c’u’dn’ jest lo—
cate ther blamed critter, fer ther voice seemed
ter cum frum hafe er dozen laces. This breaks
me 3p bad. ez mssihn’ W1 er spook—it giant
1
“ I believe the man is an escaped lunatic,” d?
clared Dandy. “ That laugh was the laugh of a
madman.” _ ,
“ Dunno but ye’re right, lad: but I must con-
fess thet it‘seemed ter me like su’thin’ cooper-
natteral. Did ye mine ther way that thnrliugh
went'slidin’ away down ther valley till it got so
fur away thet we c’u’dn’t hear it?’ ,
“Yes, but that seemed to me like a trick of
ventril uism.”
“ Who s be?”
“ Who’s who?” .
“Vent Trillerquism. If he’s, as funny as his
name, he must be or comical cuss.” . ‘
Dandy laughed and explained his meaning. ,
“ Young man,” said the old ranger, solemnly,
“.I’m ritty ole—fact is, I’m ’bout ole ornqu tar
die. ’ve bin kickin’ roun’ this hyer yarth inter'
ther neighborhood 0' sixty y’ars. I’ve bin‘
through dismal disasters thet w’ud ‘a’ utt ’most

euny other man under ther daisies, an I’ve seen g. .- .,

Iam go-W

  
. isma

ave s any ar.

 
a:‘.’ heerd ’niost everythin’ thar is ter be seen an’
heerd, but I never heard 0’ er natteral born hu-
man critter throwin’ his voice roun’ ennywhar
he wanted ter, like he c’u’d throw a dead eat if
he had her by ther tail.”

And the youth found it a difﬁcult thing to
convince the old guide that ventriloquism was a
poss1bllity. Finally Old Dave arose, saying:

“ Boyce, I’m goin’ ter travel south ﬁfteen
mileS.”

Dandy was surprised.

“ Do you put any conﬁdence in the wild talk
of that unseen person?" he asked. '

“ Waal,” drawled the mountain ranger,
“ mebby I do, then erg’in mebby I don’t. He
may hev tole ther truth, all ther same.”

“ And you hope to ﬁnd those for whom we
are searching?"

“ P’r’aps. Ef we go south ﬁfteen miles, we
won’t be fur frum ther South Fork 0’ ther Chey-
enne. Ther ones we’re lookin’ fer may hev
cam thar fer ther night.”

“ ou are right,” Dandy confessed, eager to
move as soon as he thought there was a possibil-
ity of ﬁnding the little party of lost ones. “That
Shadow. as he calls himself, may have told the
truth. Let’s make haste.”

“ Now don’t ﬂy off ther handle,” drawled the
clear-headed old man. “ We hain’t a tall sar-
t’in thet ther critter spoke ther truth. It may
hev bin or trick ter lead us inter sum kind 0’ er
trap, so it’s best ter go er leetle slow. Reckon
he didn’t lie w’en he sed thet thar is plenty o’
ther red varmints in ther Hills, an’ be may have
tolc ther truth w’en be sad that ther White Vul-
tures are rantin’ roun’.”

“ The White Vultures?”

“ Yes. Hain’t you ever heerd 0’ them?”

The young man confessed that he had not.

“ Waal, they’re a ban’ 0’ measly, pestiferous,
piratical outlaws—er gang 0’ robbers as has
ately cum inter ther Hills. They call them-
selves ther Callyforny Vultures, an’ say they
cum frum Callyforny. They are ez bad, if not
wuss, as ther dirty smoky—skins, an’ they’re wuss
ter ketch nor ﬂeas. Their chief seems ter be or
young feller skeersly more than er boy, an’ his
sister—er bootiful black—eyed gal-is queen o’
'ther band.”

“ Rather romantic.”

“ Waal, yes, p’r’aps so; but I don’t keer fer
enny in mine.”

” Have you ever seen this brigand queen?”

“ Horn 0’ Gabriel, no l”

“ Do you know of any one who has?”

“Waal, I’ve heard hafe-er-dozen say as how
they had, but I knew thet sum 0’ them lied. I’ve
heard lots say thet the ’d seen Captain Claw,
ther chief o’ ther ban’; ut sum sed he was er
man full gr0wed and sum sed he was er boy.
Everybuddy seems all mixed up erbout him.
Ter tell ther truth, everybuddy is mixed ’bout
ther Vultures, ennyhow. It almost seems like
there was two ban’s 0’ them an’ two chiefs.”

Old Dave had been busy while he talked, and
he was now prepared to move. Five minutes
later the two were riding down the little
vallev.

“ We’re goin’ ter hev er moon purty soon,” the
old guide observed. “ Thet’ll be or good thing
‘93“; l t 1 i k

an y was si en , apparent th in ing dee 1y.
Dunston watched him closel , although pthe
darkness prevented him from studying the ex-
pression on the oung man’s face. Dandy was
an enigma which the old ranger could not
understand. While he felt that the youth’s soft
voice and dandiﬁed ways were deserving of the
greatest contempt, there was something about
the young fellow which commanded the veteran’s
respect despite himself.

As they progressed the valley grew a little
wider. The darkness was made less dense by a
faint white light which came from the rising
moon that would soon appear above the eastern
hills. But there were black shadows lurking
amid the rocks and bushes.

“ Er jolly place fer er red-skin ambush,”
thought Old Dismal, as he gazed keenly into
the gloom. Gods 0’ war!”

From far away came the sound of several
shots ﬁred in rapid succession.

“ Trouble ahead !” exclaimed Dandy.

“ Was], I sh’u’d serclaim! Thar’s sum kind
0’ a difﬁkilty bruck loose thar an’ no mistook.
Hark.”

They both drew rein and listened, but onlv
the soft whisper of the night wind as it swept
through the valley could be heard.

“ Reckon it’s over ’bout ez soon’s it begun,”
grunted the Veteran. “ We’ll forge ahead
kinder cautious like, fer if we hain’t keerful we
may run plum’ erg’in’ er full-grown disaster.
Cum on.”

 
Slowly they rode forward with their hands
on their weapons. It was well for them that
they were cautious, for suddenly nearly a score
of dark ﬁgures sprung out from both sides of
the valley. Then a chorus of wild, triumph-
ant yells—the war-cry of the Sioux—rent the
darkness. An answering yell came from the
throat of Old Dismal.

“ Whoop!” he bellowed.
o’ perdition are upon us! Ther smoky-skinned
varmints are reachin’ fer our top-knots! Look
out fer them kurls, Dandy! Now’s ther time
ter ’lustrate w’at ye’re made of! Pile inter ’eni!
let yerself loose! Wake, cyclones, blizzards an’
yarthquakes! Yi. yi, yihooyah! This is w’at I
caller picnic. Walk up, red-skins, an’ let me
interjuce ye ter er reg’ler ole-fashioned. double-

“Ther red whelps

anhtwisted, iron-riveted, all-wool-an’~a-yard-
widendismal disaster! Come an’ git yer medi-
cine!

With a revolver in each hand, the old Indian-
ﬁghter rained lead to the right and left. Round
and round on its hind feet wheeled the well-
trained horse which the border tra p bestrode,
and the spouts of ﬂame from his revolvers liter-
ally made a circle of ﬁre. Forward leaped the
Indians, determined to capture alive the man
whom they at once recognized as their old and
hated enemy; but each one that essayed to
grasp the rein which lay loose upon the horse’s
neck reeled back from the muzzles of those
dreaded revolvers. Man and horse seemed like
a perfect cyclone of destruction. Old DaVe
Dunston was on the rampage!

But, what was Dandy doing?

When they were attacked two reds had
sprung to the head of the magniﬁcent black
horse which the young man bestrode. But,
barely had one of them grasped the animal by
the bit when there was a ﬂash of steel and the
shar blade of a knife cut across the back of the
red and. With a yell, the warrior released
his hold, but the other instantly ﬁlled his lace.
Only for a moment, for this time the kni e was
aimed for a more vital spot; the Indian stagger-
ed back to fall to the ground, his days of war-
fare ended. Not a shot had the young man
ﬁred; he was reserving his revolvers for a more
desperate emergency.

Suddenly he heard Old Dismal crying:

“Break loose, lad; git out 0’ this, Dandy, if
ye kin. Don’t mind me; I’ll foller. Jeewhiz!
what a time this is! Stan’ oﬂ', ye whelps o’
darkness! Don’t crowd ther ole man if ye want
ter keep erway frum ther happy huntin’-groun’s.
Howlin’ tomcats! What a time! This air fun!
—raal Ole Dismal fun!”

Dandy did not hesitateto makea break for
liberty, and, much to his surprise, be easily get
clear of the mass of yelling reds. Then he reined
round his horse and leoked back to see if Old
Dismal was following. An exclamation of dis-
ma came from his lips as he did so.

1&6 old ranger’s revolvers had failed him and
the Indians were crowding around him on every
hand, trying to drag him from the horse. Had
not the animal been a sagacious creature they
would have succeeded. As it was, the horse was

wheeling round and round, kicking, pawing and

screaming as if possessed by devils. But the
red-skins would not be held at bay a great while
in that manner.

Old Dave was in a desperate situation.

Dandy’s keen eyes saw how the case stood.
The darkness could not conceal the guirle’s peril
from him. Out came his silver-mounted revol-
vers, and, with a shrill, ear-splitting yell, he
char ed back to the rescue. The rapidity with
whic Dandy worked his revolvers was simply
amazing. With the bridle-rein in his teeth and
both hands spouting ﬁre, he plunged into the
very midst of the yelling pack of Sioux. Right
and left scattered the red-skins. and, in a few
seconds, the little dandy was at Old Dave’s side.

“ This way, old man!” yelled the daring yOuth_
“ It’s get clear now or never.”

“ Kirect. I’m with ye. Cl’ar ther way,
smoky-skins, fer hyer we cum! Ole Dismal an’
his Dandy Pard l” '

The Indians, who had expected to take them
by surprise, were demoralized. The two whites
seemed more like ﬁends than human beings.
The reds made one last desperate but unsuccess-
ful attempt to ca ture their hoped-for victims,
and had the satis action of seeing both Old Dis-
mal and Dandy break away and plunge into the
darkness, sending back taunting yells of tri-
umph.

Half an hour later the old man and the youth
drew rein, far from the scene of battle.

“ Dandy, boy,” came from the old border-
man’s lips, “ let me grip yer han’. You’re ther

best little man on ther git up an’ ﬁght thet I
W’y, lad, you’re wuss nor con-

ever did see.

 
densed chain-lightnin’! An’ talk erbout sand!
You’ve got it! I reckon if ’tadn’t bin fer you
ther ole man’s skul ’u’d ornyminted or See wig-
wam. I’m proud 0 you, boy, an’ frum this time
we’re pards. I’m reddy ter stan’ by you through
thick an’ thin.”

The moon, just peeping over the eastern hills,
saw the man and youth clasp hands.

f‘ You give me too much credit, Dunston,”
said Dandy, modestly. “I only did what any
man would have done under similar circum-
stances.”

“ Thar, thar, don’t talk like thet! Not one
man in ﬁve hundred c’u’d ’a’ ﬁt like that if
they’d wanted ter, an’less nor thet w’u’d cum
back arter they’d bruck clear like you bad.
You risked your life an’ them kurls fer ther ole
man an’ w’en he fergits it he’ll be toes up ter
ther daisies. Amen!”

“Hark!” cried Dandy, suddenly. “ What
was that? Listen!”

Both listened, but for a time heard nothing.

“ It must have been the bowl of some wild
animal,” the youth decided: “but, it sounded
remarkably like the cry of a woman in distress.
There! There it is again I”

N ow both heard it plainly—a cry of distress
and a feminine voice!

“ By heavens, man! that was Nina Harland’s
voice!”

“ Sure’s yer sayin’, boy. That were the gal !”

CHAPTER IV.
WORK on THE WHITE VULTURES.

IN a quiet way, Frank Fenway and Dandy
were rivals for Nina Harland’s attentions.
Despite his fo pish ways, Dandy was a modest,
almost bashfu -appcaring person in the presence
of ladies. For that reason, he had not become
so well acquainted with Nina as Frank had; in-
deed, he would not have become acquainted at
all had not Nina made it plainly evident that
she wished to know him. Fellow-travelers sel—
dom stand for ceremony, therefore the two soon
found a good excuse for speaking with each
other, regardless of the fact that there had been
no introduction.

After that the two were together quite often,
and it was really difﬁcult to tell which Nina
preferred, Dandy or Frank. As Nina was the
only young lady with the train and both of the
young men enjoyed her company, it was but
natural that they should become a bit jealous of
each other. When it was a requisite of polite-
ness, they spoke to each other, but it was in a
very cold and formal manner. Nina soon saw
how things stood, and, ﬁlled with a rogulsh de-
sire for “ fun,” she played hot and cold With
each of them by turns. It was impossible for
either of the young men to understand the
stran e coquettish little creature. _

“ hat is that young man’s name, Miss Har-
land?” questioned Frank, one day after Nina
had been talking with Dandy. .

“What young man are you speaking of?”
asked the girl, a twinkle in the depths of her
me blue eyes.

“ hat foppish youngster Who Sports the old-
rimmed nose-glasses. have never been ab e to
learn his preper name: but you seem quite
familiar with him, and therefore you must
know it quite well.” . ,

“Pardon me, Mr. Fenway,”1011y, “I am not
at all familiar with the gentleman to whom you
refer. As fellow-travelers, we are acquainted
while the 'ourney lasts. I have other acquaint-
ances on similar terms-

Frank ﬂushed and then turned pale.

“Which means. that you will not know us
when the journey 13 ended ?”

In an instant her manner Changed.

“Doesit?” she laughed. “Who would have
thought you so remarkably acute!”

He looked PUZZled, for he could not under-
stand those, sudden changes. He had been on
friendly terms With scores of girls, but this one
was the greatest enigma that he had ever
knewn. _ ,
“ Yes,” he said, slowly, “1 presume that Is
what you meant.”

“ But, you 'mustn’t presume, you anW.
There is nothlng so annoying as apresummg

rson. .

“ Then I am to consider myself annoylng to

on?

y “ Did I Say 80? No, indeed! I simply 331d
that you must not presume.” ,

“ Would you consider it presumptuou! if I
ask tlfigmame of the young man we were speak-
ing 0

“0h, not at all! I do not know how the
your)! man will look at it, though”

“ What do you mean?”

 
“ That if you learn his name you will have to
ask him.”

" You do not know it!”

5‘ No.”

“And yet you are on such friendly terms
with him! Has he never oﬂered to tell you his
name?”

“Never oﬂ'ered! Why, he declined! Siid
that for the time he is nameless, and so I call
him Mr. Nameless.”

Frank looked surprised.

“ That is strange. What object can the fel-
low have in conccaling his name? It looksa
little suspicious. Miss Harland, I should not
think you Would desire the acquaintance of a
person who seeks to hide his identity."

“Now, there is where you make a mistake,
Mr. Fenway,” laughed the girl. _“You know
that I delight in anything romantic, and a man
without a name seems so romantic. Ha! ha!
ha!”

And when her opportunity came, she teased
Dandy in a similar manner. Thus she kept the
two in hot water and enjoyed herself greatly.
And both of them were right when they de-
clared to themselves that she was the most
charming, annoying, delightful and aggravating
little witch they had ever met.

During the time that the little arty of four
had been separated from the train - ina had tor-
tured and charmed Frank in a manner that
many young ladies would have pronounced
“perfectly scandalous." More than ever was
he inclined to believe her a most puzzling
enigma.

But, what had become of the girl, Edwin
Hollis and the two horses? We have seen how
Frank discovered that they were gone, but the
reader is yet unaware of the cause of the mid-
night disappearance. A

Nina was very tired when she fell asleep and
her slumber was sound and dreamless. She
knew nothing of the terrible trouble and dan-
ger in store for her. Slowly the hours slipped

awvary.

hat was it that aroused the sleeping girl?
At ﬁrst she was conscious of a terrible feeling
of suffocation. She could not breathe and a
sickening odor ﬁlled her nostrils. She strug-
gled and tried to cry out. An iron hand held
her fast and something was pressed over her
mouth and nose. She could not m-ive—she
could not breathe! Was it the horrors of a ter-
rible nightmare or was it real? Slowly she .felt
her senses leaving her. She seemed to be falling,
falling; then she became unconscious.

When she recovered consciousness she seemed
to be in a painful position. Her head was ﬁlled
with shooting pains, and for a time she strug-
gled ineﬂectually to open her eyes. She was
conscious of a motion that convinccd her that
she was on the back of a horse, but she knew
that she was not riding in a. natural position.

Finally she opened her eyes. Darkness all
around. She could see the head of the horse
which was carrying her along, and she felt
arms around her. What did it mean? She
asked herself the question in vain. Suddenly
she became aware that both her hands and feet
were bound!

She was a captive!

“ Hello !” growled an unfamiliar voice—the
voice of him who held her in his arms—“ther
leddv has kem roun’.”

“ Well, it is high time she did. I had begun
to get a little nervous.”

That voice! Where had she heard it? There
was something strangel familiar about it,
although it was harsh an subdued.

“Oh! I knew she’d come to all right,” came
from a third person. “She didn’t get enough
of the stuff to hurt her. Iknow my business
when I attempt to put a person under the inﬂu-
ence of ether. I was not a surgeon fourteen
years~for nothing.”

“ Let’s see,” lau bed the familiar voice,’ “ you
were a surgeon efore you got into that little
difﬁculty with your wife’s brother, and cut his
threat by accident, wasn’t you?”

“ Now, why will you refer to that little acci-
dent!" exclaimed the one addressed. “ You
must know that it is a very painful remembrance
to me.”

“ Yes, I should presume it would be painful,
being that it happened in the family so. Now,
here is J 0e; he never likes to have me speak of
the time when he knifed his second-”

“Say, Cap,” interrupted the man who was
carrying Nina, “ fer Heaving’s sake hev er leetle
respec’ fer er pore cuss’s feelin’s! _ I was drunk
as er b’iled owel w’en I dun thet 30b. Thet was
my fu’st piece of work in thet line, but it wasn’t
my las’, blame ther luck!”

“ Well, well,” said the one addressed as “ Cap,”

 
“ I don’t know as I ought to say anything. We
have all stained our lingers.”

Nina shuddered. She was in the power of a
party of desperadoes and cut-throats! She was
in the arms of a murderer! Filled with horror,
she tried to cry out, but something chained her
tongue.

Who Were these men? The strange unknown
who had called himself “ The Man from Sun-
down” spokc the truth when he said that the
White Vultures were abroad in the darkness.

Nina could not tell how many of her captors
there were, but she fancied that there were not
more than four. She had only heard three
Speak. Where were these three men taking
her? Where was her mother? Perhaps they
had slain her! The thought was maddening.

She could not 5 eak aloud, but she sent up a
silent petition to {eaven for deliverance.

“ It is about time for the moon to rise,” ob-
served the leader of the party of kidnappers.

“ You’re right, Cap,” agreed the one who was
carrying the girl; “ you’re jest right, an’ ther
nearer we are to our hole ther better it will be
fer us. Ther Hills are full of reds,”

“ I care less for them than for our namesakes.
That infernal gang is giving us a heap of trou-

‘7

e.

“ I should say so.” chimed in the ex-surgeon.
“ If they keep on as they have begun, they will
drive us out of the Hills.”

“They can’t do that,” the captain growled.
“We will get at them by and by and extermin-
ate the gang. Captain Claw is not the man to
allow others to appropriate his name and palm
themselves off as him. There will be trouble
right away.”

There was trouble sooner than he anticipated.
A sudden clatter of iron-shod hoofs came to the
ears of the kidnappers, and before the startled
men could find a place of concealment, a party
of shadow-like horsemen appeared before them.
The next instant there were several bright
ﬂashes of light, revealing a band of masked
men. The rattle of pistol—shots was followed by
a cry from the leader of the kidnappers:

“They are three to our one! Fly for your
lives!”

But there was one of his men who could not
obey, for he lay dead on the ground, with N ina
Harland clasped in his arms! His wicked life
had come to a tragic termination.

The others wheeled their horses and ﬂed into
the darkness, pursued by the band of masked
riders that had so suddenly come upon them.
Away went pursued and pursuers, the sound of
their horses’ feet growing fainter and fainter,
till it was ﬁnally lost in the distance.

Darkness and silence in the little valley. The
night-wind moaned faintly and a wolf howled
far away.

Slowly the moon crept up from behind the
eastern hills and looked down into the silent val-
ley. And she saw a white-faced. unconscious
girl clasped in the arms of a dead man!

 
CHAPTER V.
MISS FLORA ANGELICA MAYBLossox.

WHAT was that? A low moan which seemed
scarcely more than the sighing of the wind.
But it came from the lips of the white-faced
girl as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Heavenly Father! where am I? What has
happened?"

Nina’s voice; she was conscious again. For
some time the poor girl could not remember
what had happened, but gradually everything
came back to her. But she could not under—
stand what had llﬂpancd so suddenly after the
unexpected appearance of the shadow - like
horsemen. She had seen the bright ﬂashes,
heard the pistol-shots and felt herself falling.
Then came a shock and unconsciousness.

Hark! Again the wolf howled in the distance.
but this time he did not seem so far away.

The unfortunate girl’s hands and feet were
bound. She could not move them. She felt
something about her body, and looking down,
she saw two clasped hands. Until that instant
she had not realized the horror of her position.
Clasped in the arms of a dead man! A shriek of
terror burst from her lips and was answered by
thaﬁolf, nealil'ef than bﬁfore.

eaven ep me— eaven be] me!” as
the horror-stricken girl. p g ped
_ With a desperate effort, she succeeded in break-
ing those clasped hands apart and rolled away.
The moonlight showed her the silent form of her
former captor. He had worn a mask, but that
had been torn from his face as he fell from the
horse. His dark. bearded face was turned to-
ward the girl and in the Very center of his fore-
head she could seeasniall, rouan spot WhiCh

 
looked likea bullet-hole. The lead of the shadow-
like horsemen Was in the kidnapper’s brain. His
death had been instantaneous.

Again the wolf howled.
nearer! Did he scent a feast?

Once more the helpless girl struggled to break
the cords which held her hands, but, the effort
was wasted. She only succeeded in making the
thongs cut deeper into the ﬂesh. Then she prayed.
Kind Heaven, was there no one near to release
her? She did not know that while she lay un—
conscious two friends, who were searching for
her, had been battling with a score of blood-
thirsty red—men. She had heard nothing of the
revolver-shots which had echoed through the
Hills. She did not know that at that moment
the two—an old man and a youth—Were within
the sOund of her voice if she cried for help.

How white the moonlight looked! How ghast-
ly was the immobile face of the dead man who
lay so near! She could not take her eyes away
from it. It fascinated her even while it filled
her with horror.

A rustling sound near at. hand, a long slim
body that glides nearer and nearer, a hot breath
on her cheek and two ﬁery eyes which glare into
her own. The wolf has come to the feast!

Again the tortured girl uttered a wild shriek.
The beast of prey, amazed at the sudden sound,
slunk away and vanished in the nearest shadows.
But, she knew that he did not go far, for she
could see his gleaming eyes just beyond the line
where the shadows and the moonlight met. He
was waiting there. Perhaps he thought that she
was wounded and dying. He would wait till
she was dead then return to the feast. Ah! but
she was not dying! If he waited for that, he
would lose his feast that night.

“ Some one will come—some one must come !”

But, what if they did not? The Wolf would
become tired of waiting, he would grow bolder
when he saw that she id not stir, perhaps he
would call a score of companions to the banquet,
and then, bound hand and foot, she would meet
a horrible death. The thought was maddening.

Look! The wolf is returning! Slowly. silent-
ly, like a part of the shadow from which he
comes, he creeps out into the pale moonlight.
His eyes gleam like two red coals and his tongue
hangs from his froth-dripping jaws. He is mov-
in toward the dead man!

The eyes of the helpless girl are fixed upon
that terrible, slow-moving form. She tries to
cry out again, but for an instant her tongue
seems chained. Nearer, nearer comes the creep-
ing brute. Suddenly, nerved by frenzy, the
girl utters another wild shriek for help. The
wolf stops, but, this time, he does not retreat.
A moment he remains perfectly motionless;
then he lifts his head and gives vent to a lon ,
mournful howl, after which he squats on b
haunches and seems to be listening.

What was that? Far, far away an answering
howl! The girl hears it, and knows its terrible
import! The lone wolf’s companions are com-
ing to the feast!

uddenly out of the shadows springs a human
form—a woman! With a peculiar 'erky motion
she runs forward and shakes a w ite apron at
the startled wolf, crying shrilly:

“ Shew, ye pesky critter! Shew, I say! If
ye don’t git out of this I’ll scald ye—that is, I
would scald ye if I had any hot water.”

The wolf waited for no second invitation, but,
like a ﬂash, he vanished in the shadows.

Nina was saved! ,

“That’s right,” nodded the strange little old
woman, as she carefully smoothed out her apron,
“ You want to git when I say get. I reckon

ou’ve heerd tell of Miss Flora Angelica May-
{lossom before now by the way ye scatted.

“ But,'I thought I heerd somebody squeal over
this way like they was hurt. Wonder who it
was?”

“ It was I,” cried Nina. “ Heaven bless you!
you have saved me from that terrible creature!”

“ Land sakes!” gasped the little woman. as
she hurried to the girl’s side. “ I thought it
was one of my own sex as was in trouble. I’d
never, never run so for a man. Why. I’m all
out of breathe] But, what‘s the trouble?”

Nina was too hysterical and overjoyed to ex—
plain then. The strange female seemed to un-
derstand this, and at once hastened to release
the poor girl from the binding cords a task
which her nimble ﬁngers soon completed.

He was coming

“There, ye are all right, honey! I don’t be-
lieve you are hurt a bit ”
“ HeaVen bless you! Heaven bles: you i"

cried Nina, bursting into a ﬂood of tears.
Suddenly the little woman sprung to her feet
and seemed to be listening. For an instant she
remained thus, then she exclaimed:
“ Land of mercy! somebody’s comin’! We

‘ JM 1*

 
NB

~ ~‘ I»;

.have done for me?" asked

 ..‘....._».:.<.. '- v  ,

 
must it away from here, lively]! Can, you

I walk, ear?"

“ I don’t know; I guess so,” replied the girl.
“ Oh, I am sure that those terrible men are re-
turning! Let us run!”

But she was not as strong as she thought, for
when she got upon her feet she would have fallen
had not the woman caught her.

“ Oh, I cannot stand I” moaned Nina.

Without a word. the strange woman did a
most surprising thing, for she caught the girl in
her arms and ran swiftly away, disappearing in
the shadows from whence she had come. ‘he
was none too soon to esca being seen, for
within a few moments Old ave Dunston and
Dandy reached the spot where the battle had
taken place between the kidnappers and their
masked foes. The sight of the dead man’ at-
tracted their attention and they halted.

Meanwhile Nina’s peculiar rescuer was hurry-
ing away with the girl. After a few moments,
Nina was able to walk, and, hand in hand, the
two hurried on until both were nearly out of
breath. They finally halted, the woman saying:

“ There, I reckon we’re all right now. If
they foller us, they’ll have to do it with do 8.
Mercy on me! I never saw sich times! I reaIly
don’t know what I am going to do. I have lost
my means of locomotion, unless I fall back on
the boss owned by Mr. Shank, and I am in a
real pickle. Why! these Hills are full of men.
and if there is anything on this Lord’s earth I
do detest it’s a man!” »

“ Oh, how can I ever thank you for what you
ina, as she sunk
down. “ I know I should have gone mad in a
few moments more.”

“ Well, I don’t wonder, with that pesky crit-
ter smellin’ round and a corpus so 01056. t was
enough to give any one the histderricks. But,
you are all right now, dear, for I’ll take care of
ye. don’t ye fear.”

“ You are 80 good!” and Nina clasped the
queer woman’s hand. “Will you tell me your
name?”

" Sart’in, sart‘in. My name is Flora Angelica
Muyblossom. Now. what’s yourn, and how came
ye in such a scrape?”

Brieﬂy and clearly the girl told her new-found
friend of her adventures since she started with
her mother to ﬁnd her long—lost father. The
woman listened with apparent interest, giving
utterance to, frequent exclamations. When the
girl had completed her story, her companion
vented her feelings with several vigorous ex—
pressions.

“ It’s jest a shame that such things can he did
in a free and ’lightened country 1", she snapped.
“ I never went to no ladies’ sometary to git my
eddycation, but I know enough to know that
there ought to be a law to revent such thin as.
Perhaps there is a law. I there is, why don’t
they reinforpe it?”

“- It is impossible. to enforce the law in this
wild country, I suppose.”

“ Well, that may be 80, but if Uncle ‘Sam’s

at more land than he can properly anage,
ﬁe’d oughter giveit to somebody who got
less. That’s my idea in a cokernut shell.”

“ You have not told me how you happened to
come to my rescue at such an opportune mo-
meat: Mrs. Mayhlossom.”

“ Mrs. Nothing! Excuse me. but my name is
Miss Flora Angelica Maﬁblossom.”

“ I beg your pardon, iss Mayblossom, and I
ho you will forgive me. The'truth is, I am
no in a condition to get anything right. I am
so, shaken up that I am apt to get everything

wrong.

Miss Mayblossom’s heart was touched when
she saw how pained and confused Nina was and
so hastened to say: '

“ That’s all right, dear. Perhaps I spoke out

alittle sh r thanI ought to, but, it allus
starts the to connected with a man, for. I’ve
sheared "clear of the Iplaguev critters till I am
forty-Bevan ears 01 and I don’t think I’ll be
pickin’ up th one now‘at this late da ." '
“ But how came you to appear so ortunate—

1y?”

“ Well, ye see I’m on the way to Custer City
to meet my sister—she‘s married l—and. last
night, I camped not for from here. I s’poge
that he wandered 3 av sometime in the night,
for I missed him wt) 'I woke up, and so I start-
ed out to ﬁnd him. I heard you' holler and

thought it was one of my sex in distress, soI
just scrambled toward the spot wher’ the sound ’

come from and I found you, That’s how it

“h \
And who is this him-that you speak of—a‘ '

traveling companion or guide?"
d Mics Mayblouoin uttered an exclamation of!

l

 
. isma

,aves, II V ""

“ Well, I guess not!" she replied, vigorously.

.“Him hain’t no man, I’ll tell you that! Him

is my mule!”

 
CHAPTER VI.
D'ANDY HOLDS THE DROP.

IT was a startling discovery which Frank
Fenway had made. Edwin Hollis and Nina
were missing and two of the horses were gone.
What did it mean?

Treachery! ‘

The young Easterner believed that that one
word solved the problem. Hollis was a traitor
and had abducted Nina. ,

“ My God !” groaned Frank, in dismay. “ This
will craze Mrs. Harland.”

For some time he was undecided what to do.
He stood with one hand pressed to his forehead,
trying to think of the beet plan of action; but
the shock of the sudden discovery had so un—
nerved him that he found it next to impossible
to collect his wits. Finally he muttered:

“ I Will make the round of the camping—spot
and examine everything. It is not impossible
that the horses are near, for erhaps Hollis
moved them f"r some reason. ina may have
arisen in her sleep and wandered away. If so,
we shall probably be able to find her with little
difﬁculty.”

He felt that there was little hope, but he
would not impart the terrible news to Nina’s
mother till he was sure that there was no mis-
take. Carefully and slowly he walked' around
the camping-spot, but he found nothin . With
a groan of anguish he approached ll rs. Har-

n .

“ I will not tell her the Whole truth at once,”
he muttered. “I dare not tell her what I fear.
It is plain that Hollis has abducted the poor
girl, unless—”

He reeled back'a step as a sudden thought
struck him. -

Perhaps Nina had ﬂed with the missing man!

Only an instant did this thought stagger the
young Easterner. He recovered himsclf. _

“I am a fool to think of such a thing,” he
said, hoarsely. “She would never do such a
thing.’ She is as good and pure as the stars
above me! There is only one solution to this
midnight disappearance. She has been kid-
napped! Who did the dastardly act? Ah!
where is Edwin Hollis? I have not liked that
man from the ﬁrist. He joined the train in a
singular manner, and his actions have not al-
ways been above sus icion. ' I am half-inclined
to belieilre that:l he lh us I{twaybfrocin this ti'ain

urpose y, an per aps e is an an g ove
gvith the bloody reds; perhaps he is a. white
renegade, an outlaw, a vulture of the plains and
mountains!” .

These were not very consoling thoughts.

Frank approached the spot where Mrs. Har-
land was sleeping, and knelt down beside her.
But then he hesitated about amusing her. dread-
ing to tell her of his terrible discovery. The pale
moonlight which fell upon her face showed
that she was sleeping soundly. I

Finally she summoned enough to arouse her.

‘1She started up, asking what was the matter.

With as few words as ible he told her what
he had learned. At rst the woman seemed
dazsd, for she sat 1perfectly still. not uttering a.
word. Fearing w at would follow, the young
man hastened to say:

“Nina maybe near by. It is possible that
she has only wandered away a short distance.
Perhaps she did so in her sleep, and Hollis fol-
lowed to bring her back.”

Mrs. Harland shook her head and lifted both
her clasped hands with a gesture of inexpressi—
ble anguish. Not a word came from her white
lips, and Frank noted that the moonlight made
her face look like that of a corpse.

\“ My dear Mrs. Harland,” he hastened to say,

“we will ﬁnd her all right never fear. ”
She appeared to arouse herself with a strug-

e. .
8 “Gone!” she gasped. “Gone—my darling
child! ,Oh. Heavenly Father! why must you
visit this afﬂiction upon me!” , V

Then she wrungher hands while her features
worked convulsively. Frank was an amazed
and startled witness of this unlocked for man-
ner of expressing her anguish. He had expected
that she would be wil with grief, but had
thought that she would show it in a diﬂerent
manner.

Suddenly the stricken mother arose to her
feet, at thq ’same time grasping Frank by the
arm. V
“ Come !” she cried; “ we must follow them!
Quick! ~ You say that only two horses are gone;
we will follow on‘the others. He must not carry
her away!” ‘ , ' ,

 
“ But how are we to know which way they
went? I fear we cannot follow them !”

“They went into the Hills. That man is a
villain! He has been heading for the Hills all
the time. I am sure that he carried her off into
the Hills. Oh! Nina, my poor, poor child.”

“I believe you are right,” Frank admitted.
“ If you are, one tLing is certain: Hollis knows
this country, and our ﬁnding our wn, success-
fully thus far was not an accident. cs. they
have probably gone on into the Hills. We Will
follow.”

It was not long before Frank had the two
horses saddled and bridled ready for the jour—
ney. Mrs. Harland was eager to start. Frank
was ﬁlled with wonder as he looked at her, for
she had not shed a tear, although shc was wring~
ing her hands and moaning in a pitiful manner.

“ You mustibear up, Mrs. Harland,” he said,
encouragingly. “ A kind Providence will bring
everything round all right in the end. Nina
shall be restored to you.”

“ Heaven grant that you are right!" came
from her lips. “But I fear the worst. Oh! I
shall never forgive myself for letting her ac—
company me into this terrible country! I did
not want her to come, but she was determined
and I could not persuade her to remain behind.”

Frank assisted her to mount,then sprung upon
the hack of his own horse.

“Hollis said that he thought we could ford
this stream almost anywhere in this vicinity,”
he observed, “so I do not think there will be
an trouble in getting across.”

There was not. Ten minutes later they were
on the other bunk. Heading their horses to-
ward the northwest, they plungcd into the foot-
hills.

Morning broke over the Black Hills country,
and found them ’many miles from the place
where they camped at sunset the night before;
but they had found nothing. of thosc for whom
the were searching. Frank had begun to real-
ize ow foolish was their unsystematic method
of searching for the traitor and the victim of
his treachery, and was growmg disheartened,
although he did not permit his companion to be-
come aware of it. Mrs. Harland was calmer
than he had hoped she would be, but her face
was set with a stony look of despair.

Just as the sun rose above the eastern peaks,
8. horseman came galloping down the, valley
along which they were traveling. As be ap-
proached, the saw that he was a young man,
well mounte and fully armed, a Winchester
repeater being slung across his back. .As soon
as the stranger saw them, he drew his horse
down to a slower pace, and surveyed them close-
ly as he approached.

The others hailed the appearance of the un.
known with eager joy, for his face was. white,
und‘they ho that he might aid them in some
way. Fran gazed closely at the young man as
he approached, but could form unsatisfactory
estimate of his true character. .

A short distance away. the stranger halted
and threw up his left hand, while his right rested
conveniently near the butt of a reyolver. '

U Hold there a moment!” he cried in a com-
manding way, “Let’s, introduce ourselves be-
fore we get any 0103"-

Frank and Mrs. Harland stopped promptly,

“That’s right!” ‘laughed the Solitary horse.
man, “ We are within short range for talking,
and can soon come to an understanding. I hope
go ﬁnd you friendly, find _I presume that I shall
not bgdisappomted, Judging from your appear-
ance. _

“ We are friends to all honest people,” de-
clared Frank.

“ Good enou'zh,” came from the cautious

horseman. “If you are friends to honest peo- '

pie, we are not enemies. But, it was something
of asurprise for me to run upon a. lady and a
gentleman here. What are your names and
where 'are you from i”

As brieﬂy and. plainly as posSible. Frank an-
swered toe question, and seeming satisﬁed, the
young stranger rode forward.

“My. name is Robert Rexford,” he-informed
them, as he drew rein a few feet away. “ I am
from Deadwood, where I have an interest in
mining enterprises. Business drew me to this
part 0
very sorry to ﬁnd you in such an unpleasant
predicament.” '

“And we are glad to meet you, M“ Bexford,”
Frank assured. “ The sight of .a white man’s
face is refreshing. Perhaps you may be able to
aid us in some way.

Rexford shook his head.

“ I fear not.” he said. “ Business and my own
interests demand that I return to Deadwood at

once. .If I can advisb you in any way, how.

the Hills. I am glad to meet you, but v

. a.“ .‘. - -eM-“v-hn .u... h..- .

' - ‘r&,ﬂ...-s»~.. . ., 

-4. -.-.~s-.A~—.._'._L:.‘ Nuwmw‘w ._c

 
ur'

mom “A

 
y.»
'1

'of the youth with the revo ver.

' L . “As if

‘ Ha! you now me well! and I reckon you know
what I wantl” -

‘ , Juan-from Dead

- from Dandy.

‘ - should

' now ﬂashed with rage.

 danger, but he ﬁnally . a
_ ,9me ban pay dearly for those words, you

.‘L ..-

ever, I shall be glad to do so. Please explain
the entire unfortunate affair to me as well as
you can in a few words. I did not quite under—
stand it before.” I ‘

Again Frank repeated the story of their mis-
fortune, and the man from Deadwood listened
closely. When the young Easterner had ﬁnished,
Rexford said: , _

“ I fear that you made a mistake in at once
attempting to ﬁnd the unfortunate .young lady.
You should haVe waited till morning and then
tried to track the kidnapper. .It IS a dirty piece
of business, and there is very little hope of your
ﬁnding the young lady unless you have .aid.
The only thing that I can see _to be done lS to
go to Custer and obtain the aid of a competent
trailer and a party that Will ﬁght for you if
well paid. Then you may be able to hunt down
the abductors of your child, dear madam, for I
believe that traitor has comrades who aided him
in his dastardly work.”

Before either Mrs. Harland or Frank could
s eak, two more horsemen swept into view.

be young Easterner uttered a cry of delight,
for he recognized them both.

They were Old Dave Dunston and Dandy.

Straight toward the three persons rode the
old guide and his Dandy Pard, the border ranger
giving vent to a whoop of recognition as he saw

' them

“Who are those men?” asked Robert Rex-
ford, ﬁngering the butt of a revolver a. little
nervously,

“They are friends,” replied Frank. “Ah!
Mrs. Harland, Old Dismal will aid us to ﬁnd
Nina; and if he cannot ﬁnd her, no man living
can.

“ Head 0’ John ther Prophet!” the border
tramp exclaimed, as he and Dandy dashed up.’
“Ef’tain’t Mrs. Harlan’ an’ Fenway I don’t
know bullets frum beans! But, whar in ther
name o’ther seven wondei's’is Miss Nina an’
that thar Hollis?”

Before this question could be answered, some-
thing of a startling nature took place. Dismal’s
foppish pard and the young man from Dead-
wood stared straight into each other‘s eyes for
an instant, and then both grasped their revol-
vers. But. Dandy was a little the swiftest, and
the click-click of his weapon was followed by
the ringing command: ' I

“Stop where you are, Robert Rexfordl I
hold the drop! If you value your life, don’t at-
tempt to lift that revolver, for if you do, a bul-
let-hole in your skull will admit the morning
sunlight!”

___-—

CHAPTER VII.

.DANDY'S ACCUSATION—HOLLIS’S LITTLE TRICK.

IT was a thrilling tableau.

Straight into each other’s eyes glared the two
young men, their faces marked by emotions that
it would be diﬂicult to describe. Dandy had
been amazingly swift in drawing and getting

.the drop, but Old Dismal noticed that the ban

which held the revolver leveled at Robert Rex-
ford’s head trembled a little showing him that
his little pard was fairly boiling with excite-
ment. .r .
Frank Fenway and Mrs. Harland looked on in

I amazement.

After a few moments of silence, Rexford

s ke: , .
“ Who are you?” he demanded. “And what
do gen want of me?” _, '
. harsh, unpleasant lau h‘broke from the lips
“Who am I?” he sneered, in a voice which
made Old Dave stare at him in amazement.
ou did not ,know me, Robert Rexfordl

,“ You are a stranger to me,” declared the
'wood “ I do not know you.”
“Your face ves you the lie,” came sharpl
‘ You ave betrayed yoursel ,
and your crooked tong e will not help you. Do
you deny that. you are Robert Rexl’ord?”

For an instant the threatened man hesitated;
then endently realizing that it would avail him
nothing to deny his name. he replied:

“ Wh , certainly I am Robert Rexford. Why
deny it? There is nothing about the
name that I am ashamed of.”

“ That is because you have no shame in you.
If; you had a spark of manhood left you would
be ashamed of the name.”

Rex'ford’g fare, which had been very white,
For several moments he
was unable to utterhaggérd, so great was his

I :

,insolent young pnppy! No man can insult me

 
in that manner and not be called to an ac-
count.”

“ I shall be happy to accommodate you,”
smiled the little dandy, «rowing cool as the
other became excited. “ It will give me great
pleasure to put a bulletl through your black
heart 1”

“ You shall have a chance to try it, I promise
you, and the sooner arrangements are made the
better it will suit me.”

“ “’0 will come to that directly. But, before
I prepare you for a funeral 1 wish to ask you
some questions.”

“ Well, ask away, and do not keep us waitin
here all day. I have business in Deadwom
which I must get back to, for it needs my at-
tention.”

“ Which I promise you it shall never receive.
I presume that you have already made your
will.”

An impatient exclamation came from Rex-
ford’s lips.

“ 'We are wasting time in foolish talk. Come,
sir, if you have anything to say before we get
down to business, Say it."

Dandy leaned forward in the saddle and
glared straight into the eyes of the man from
Deadwood, as he hurled this question at him:

“ Where is my sister, Robert Ii’cxfo-rd ?”

It was evident that the one addressed had
been expecting such a question, for he gave no
indications of surprise.

“Your sister?” he echoed. “ Young man,
you are either foolish or crazy. “'hat do I
know about your sister?”

A cry of fury escaped Dandy’s lips.

“ You treacherous devil!" cried the youth,
while he trembled from head to foot with ex-
citement. “You know full well where she is!
She is (lead I ”

“I know nothing at all about your sister,”
protfsted Rexford. “Her death is nothing to
me.

“ You lie!" screamed the now infuriated young
man; “ you lie, Robert Rexford, for you killed
her! ”

Rexford turned to the wondering witnesses of
this exciting scene, a look of pretended amaze-
ment on his face.

“He is mad—mad as a March hare! lbe,
I never saw his sister in my life!”

“Thet won’t go down,” came from Old Dis-
mel. “Thet boyee is my pard. If he sez that
you killed his sister, you’re that cuss w’at did
ther job.”

1* Rkexford gave the old ranger a contemptuous
oo .

“You’re as much of a fool as be, old .man.
But, it isn’t pleasant to have even a mess of fools
for enemies. If I ﬁght with this young whip-
per-snapper and lay him out, you will probably
take it upon yourself to avenge him, and will
shoot me down without giving me a show.”

“ Nothing of the kind,” put in Dandy. “Dave
Dunston shall promise that, if you drop me in a
fair ﬁght, he will let you depart uiimolested.”

But the old man shook his head grimly.

“ I hain’t goin’ ter meek no romises thet I’ll
hev ter break,” he declared. “ f be sh’u’d drap
ye, lad, I don’t believe I c’u’d hole merself.”

At this moment another horseman came into
view, galloping wildly down the valley. As
soon as he saw the party ahead, he snatched
oﬂ.’ his hat and began to wave it wildly around
his head. A

“Ghost 0’ ole Goliath!” broke from Dunston’s
1i 5. “I’ll betaﬂop-eared mule thet’s Edwin
H‘bllis!”

The old plainsman was right. When the
horseman had a preached a little nearer it was
seen that he woreahandage about his head,
and he was terribly excited.

“ The cursed traitor!" gritted Frank Fenway,
as he drew a revolver. “ Now I will have the
truth from his li , or he shall eat lead!”

Assoon as He is was within hailing distance,
he cried: ‘

“Fly, ﬂy for your lives! More than thirty
red-5k us are pursuing me! I you remain
where you are, you Will beseen in a few mo
ments and escape will be the next thing to an
impossibility.”

His words produced something like consterna-
tion in the little group, and, taking advantage
of the excitement, Rexford made'a break for
libertv. Before he could be inter ted, he
wheeled his horse, and, givingjthe an mal the
spurs, went dashing away. andy uttered a
cry of rage and ﬁred two hasty shots, but the
fugitive was untouched. Then the little specta-
cled fop startedain pursuit.

“ Buzzards an’ eagles!” granted Old Dismal.
“ I reckon ther Ole Bov has bruck loose now!
I’d foller ther lad, but I reckon i‘d best stay an’

l v

thar Hollis, he’ll think or reg

 
help stan’ off ther smoky-skins if they diskiver
this ang.”. -

“ hich the will surely do unless we ﬁnd a
place of concca ment swiftl ,” declared Hollis.
‘ We can never hope to hol them at bay here.”

“Right you are” assented the old guide.
“Follcr me, an’ I’ll try ter take ye all to or
place 0’ safety.”

Without hemtation, they followed the old
plainsmiin, feeling certain that he would take
them out of danger if any one could. Dave-
urged his horse in a way that told he believed
that there might be good reasons for Hollis’s
fright. In a short time he turned intoa narrow
ravine through which ran a tiny stream. They

were obliged to iroceed along the ravine at
single ﬁle. Old ismal was ahead. then came
the rear.

In thirty minutes’ time they made their way

“ Hyer we are,” the guide announced.
kin defend this place erg’in’ a hundred reds, fer
pick ’em of!‘ as fast as the cum— Hullol Great
ginger! W'har’s Hollis?’
had disappeared! He had quietly fallen behind
while they were coming through the narrow
Fen way instantly understood the trick.

“ He has fooled us—the two-faced scoundrel!”
we were coming through the ravine.”

“ But w’ut fer w’u’d he want ter do thet?”
Nina’s abduction.

“ He is a traitor!” Frank declared. “ He is a
miscreant of the deepest dye.

Then he told Old Dave of their adventures
ranger listened with interest and amazement.

“ Thar’s no d oubt erbout it,” he declared, when
Was right! That Hollis is er sallymander, an’
w’en I ketch him I’ll wring his neck—I will, by

“And you will help us to ﬁnd Nina?” cried
Mrs. Harland, who had remained silent for a

“ To be sart’in I will t” was the prom t reply.
“ We’ll ﬁnd her all righ , never fear. on jest
back al -

“ Your words give me new hope,” said the
to despair, for we seemed so helpless, and we did
not know how to begin the search.”
s’arch is ter ﬁn’ that thar traitor. If I git bolt
0’ him, I’ll wring suthin’ out 0’ him or bu’st.”,i
Frank. I

“ You’re right, an’ I’m oin’ ter git after him.
not get on track of Hollis to oncet, I will cum
back an’ take ye to ernuther place I know of
this basin erg’in’ ennyone as’ll try ter cum in
then way we did. Keep yer eyes peeled an’ look

“ do not believe that Hollis was pursued by
Indians.”
show him er trick wu’th two 0’ thet. Tra-lar-
loo. I’m off.”

Mrs. Harland and Frank. Hollis brought up
into a round, basin-like valley. “ We
they kin only enter one at a time an’ wo kin
The man who had warned them of danger
ravine and now he was not with them. Frank
cried the young man. “ He fell behind while
asked the old borderman, who‘knew nothing of
in
since becoming separated from the train. The
the young Easterner had ﬁnished. “My pard
thei' rock 0’ ages!”
very long time.
cheer up an‘ rest ashoored thet she’ll be brought
poor woman, her face lighting up. “ I had begun
“ I reckon ther proper way ter «begin ther
“He can not be very far away now,” observed
You stay right here with rs. Harland. If I do
whar you’ll be shore ter be safe. You kin hold
shur fer reds.”
“No more do I. Thet was e‘r trick; but I’ll
Then the eccentric old fellow rode into the

ravine and disappeared.

Near) two hours later,l01d Dismal returned.
The wa ting man 'and woman noted ‘mth disap—
pointment that he was alone. As he sprung
down from his horse’s back, he shook his head,

sa in : .

I: le'ier blamed critter guv me ther slip. He's
ez cunnin’ ez er fox an’ knows these Hills 97. v.91]
ez I do—blame his skin!”

“ And
Mrs. Her and ask .

“ Nary tidings; but, don’t you git down-heart.
ed. I’ll ﬁne her as shore as my name’s Dave

Dunstan. . I never make a promise but I keep it. ‘

I hev cum back ter take you two fer er better
place than this, whar you will be safe while I am‘
untin’ fer ther gal. If 1 git my paws on’ter thet

_ ler doublaaotin’

dismal disaster has run bunt erg’in’ him—he jest

vwill l” ,

 
_ CHAPTER VIII.
THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK»

right.” ‘ ,

on can egive me no tidings of Nina?”-

I /

NINA HARLaNn was forced to laughwhen '

Miss Mayblossom so emphatically declared that »

‘ a

 
r

“ him ” was not a man but was her mule. The
girl found the little old woman amusing in the
extreme.

“ Of course you will pardon me again,” Nina
hastened to say: “ but, from the way you spoke
I thought that you must be referring to a travel-
ing companion or guide. It cannot be that you
are traveling through this wild country without
a guide.”

“ Can’t it! Well now, I’d like ter know why
it can’t. I reckon I’m old enough to take keer
of myself, hain’t I?”

“ 0h, certainly! But this is a very wild coun-
try, and 1 should think you would be afraid of
losing your way.”

“ Losin’ nothin’l Why, a poor lone Woman
like me has got to suspend upon herself. As for
suspendin’ on a man, why that’s something I’d
never never do 1”

“But these Hills are full of Indians. Are you
not afraid of them?”

“ I never yet was ska’t of anything that wore
britches,” asserted the little woman; “ and as
for Injuns, some of them hain’t got decency
enough to retire themselves in that much mas-
culine weariu’ apparel. But they can’t frighten
77:19 tLwith their bare legs, they want to understand
I: a .

“But the Indians are bloodthirsty wretches,
and there is danger that they will come upon
you and murder you.”

“ Well now, if they do that, they will have to
get round right smart. for —I hain’t fool enough
to travel without fortifying myself with a pis-
tol. And I can shoot. I tell you, Injuns had
best navigate clear of me if they have a desire
to retain their usual health.”

“ And you are not in the least afraid of
them?”

“ Not a bit,” assured Miss Mayblossom. “ I’ve
heerd a good deal tole of the pesky critters, but
I never thought more than half of it was true.
Land-a-masssy! it couldn’t all be true! Don’t

ou be skeered of the Injuns, honey, for I won’t
at the horrid critters touch you.”

And Nina really felt quite safe with the self,
reliant little old maid. Miss Mayblossom had a
crabbed, crusty was; of speaking. but the girl
had already decid that she was a kind-heart-
ed creature.

“ As soon as you can walk a little, we will
presume the hunt for that contrary mule,” the
little woman said. “ I’ll ﬁnd the disgraceful
critter if I have to hunt these Hills alIl over.
He’s just as mean as he can be, for I used him
just like he was a valuable pony. But that’s
always the way with anything of the masculine
gender.” .

It was some time before Nina was able to
walk, for she had been so frightened that her
strength had almost entirely deserted her and it
returned very slowly. Finally she arose and,
with the assistance of her companion, was able
to walk slowly. Miss Mayblossom seemed to
have forgotten that they were in any danger,
for her tongue rattled almost incessantly. She
talked of almost everything imaginable and ﬂu-
ished each separate topic with a crabbed disser-
tation on men. From her talk one would have
iina “mod that she hated all mankind most heart
ily, ut Nina was inclined to belieVe that within
her heart the crusty old maid secretly admired
the very ones that she pretended to so heartily
dislike. At last the girl was unable to resist the
temptation to give her a sly thrust. _

“ Oh! you will get married some day. Miss
Mayblossom,” she declared.

The little woman stopped in her tracks.

“Married!” she squealed. “ The good Lord
reserve me! Me git married! Never so long as
I have the control of my seven senses! There
never no man dared to ask me to have him so
fur, and it ain’t best for them that they ever do!
Why, if a man dared to insult me in that out-

-dacious manner, I’d—I’d —”

“ Marry him."

“Goodness gracious, no! I believe I’d scald
him—I, do really. I’d do that, or faint dead
awav.

'f Those are the last things I would think of
domg if a man asked me to marry him,” laughed

Nina.

“0111 I 8" you are like all other girls,”
nodded the li tie woman. “ You’d jump at the
ﬁrst chance.”

“ Not if I did not love him.” .

“Love! Stuff! nonsense! bosh! I’ve heard
a lot about that ere commotion called love. but
I never took no stock in such silliness. Love!

- Fiddlesticks!” , .
“ Then you do not believe in love?”
“ Not the kind of smacks smack love that is
and squeezes an lovey-dov s and
“kind of silliness. If there is anyt ing in

I

 
this Lord’s world that disgusts me it’s that kind
of business!”

Nina was compelled to sit down and rest
several times, but she slowly grew stronger,
much to her queer companion’s satisfaction.

“ You’ll be all right by and by,” aSsured Miss
Flora. “ If we are ever lucky enough to un-
covor that mule, you shall ride. I am old and
tough and can walk well enough.”

“ Why, Miss Mayblossom, I did not know
that you were a t!”

“ Well 1 am you will see; I love‘ poetree. Al-
though an old maid quite sober and staid, I’ve
writ for the papers, but neVer got paid. There,
beat that if you can and I’ll try it again.”

“Good! excellent!” laughed Nina, clap ing
her hands. “Why, you are a born poet, iss
Mayblossom l”

“ You’re not the fu’st one as has told me so,”
declared the little woman. “ Why, I once had
a forty-eight line poem in the Scrubv'illc Bugle
with my name signed to it in full, Miss Flora
Angelica Mayblossom. It created quite a sensa-
tion in them parts, and ’mgst everybody was
commertatin’ on it. But the editor of the paper
Was a horrid mean thing, for he never thanked
me for it, and when I sent him another, he lost
it somehow b accident in something they call
the wastesbas et, When it failed to disappear
in the next issue, I called to discover it, but he
said that the devil had taken the stuff in the
waste-basket to kindle the ﬁre and it was gone.
And don’t you think, he really tried to make me
believe that the devil built his ﬁres every morn-
in’. I just give him a piece of my mind for
talkin’ so and darin’ to lose in poem even by
accident, and then I left, and I never sent him
no more poetry.” _

“ Which served him right."

“Yes, I think so, though some folks said I
was a little hard on him.”

“And did you never try any of your poems
anywhere else?”

“ Yes, I sent one to the Century Magazine
once.”

“ What was its fate?”

“ Oh! the editor sent it back to me along with
a printed piece that said something about their
being overcrowded with matter and that ’cause
they couldn’t use my poem was no sign that it
wasn’t good for nothing. Oh, they was perlite,
I tell you .’” .

At this moment the brﬁying of a mule came to
their ears, causing Miss .ayblOSsom to utter an
exclamation of delight.~

“ There, that’s him! I know his voice! That’s
that pesky runaway mule!”

Sue was right. They soon came upon the mule
which was standing saddled and bridled and
appeared to be hitched in some bushes.

“His bridlerein caught Some way,” said Miss
Maybiossom, as she examined it. “If it hadn’t
bin for that, I guess I’d lost him for good.”

She assisted Nina to mount the scrawny little
beast, and once more they pushed on. Miss
Mayblossom did not say where shewas going
and the girl asked no questions, having deCided
to trust everything to her peculiar companion.
For nearly two hours they pushed on, then the
little omen called a halt.

“ 9 will stop here for the rest of the night,”
she said. “ I reckon this 'is as good a place as
we can ﬁnd, and we are so fur away that your
foes Will not be liable to ﬁnd (you to-night.”

She removed the saddle an small pack from
the mule’s back, and then unbridled and tether-
ed the animal. After this was done, she opened
the small pack and removed a blanket, which
she passed to Nina, saying:

“There my dear. wrop yourself in that and
git a goo nap before sunrise. I will look out
that nothing hurts you, don’t 9 be ska’t.”

She would listen to no wor s from the girl,
but compelled her to lay down at once and try
to get some sleep. Ten minutes later the ex—
hausted girl was sleeping soundly, while the
faithful little woman s uatted near at hand,
wide awake and watchfu , keeping guard while
the last hours of the night stole by.

The morning sun was shining brightly, when
Nina awoke. The ﬁrst thing that she heard
was Miss Mayblossom’s low, cracked voice
singing a familiar Gospel hymn.

‘ Ah! so you are awake, my dear,” cried' the
strange woman, as Nina threw aside the blan-
ket and arose. “ That is , for breakfast is
all ready. Goodness grac our!”

The exclamation was caused by the sudden
a pearance of a masked ﬁgure that stepped out
0 some bushes near by. u,
m“Land of goodness! a mom!” snuﬂed Miss

Ora. .

The stranger remoVPd his wide‘hﬂmnied hat
and bowed politely, at the same time saying:

, I

 
“ A man, at your serVice, ladies.”

His voice was low and musical, sounding
strangely familiar to Nina. He was somewhat
below medium height, and was dressed in black
from head to foot, his pants being tucked into
the tops of a pair of high-heeled riding-boots
which were armed with spurs. His small hands
were incased in black gloves. Not a weapon
was visible about him.

“ Now, who in the name of goodness are
you 3’” demanded Miss Mayblossom, as soon as
she could recover her composure.

“I am Captain Claw, chief of the California
Vultures,” was the cool reply, as the masked
man bowed again.

Nina uttered a little cry of surprise and fear,
but her fearless companion snapped:

“ Well, Captain Claw, will you have the
goodness to make yourself skeerse in these
parts? We hain't got a bit of use for such
critters as you.”

The mask laughed softly.

“A rather curt dismissal,” was his opinion.
“ But, really, are you not a little hasty? I saw
that you ladies were alone, and thought that
you might be in distress, so I came to offer my
services, if I could aid you in any way.”

“Well, we don’t need ye, thank gracious!”
nodded Miss Mayblossom. “We don’t care for
the aid of ary man that hides his face beneath a
mask—so there!”

“ That settles it, then,” said the self-confessed
outlaw. “I shall not try to force my services
upon you. Good-morning."

Bowing low once more, be replaced the but

upon his head. As he did so the fastenings of .

the mask became detached in some way, and it
fell from his face. A fresh, boyish countenance
—the face of a youth not more than twenty-one
~—Was revealed! Nina Harland uttered a low
cry of amazement as she saw the face thus re-
vealed.

As for Captain Claw, as the intruder had

called himself, he seemed confused and dismayed ,

by this unexpected accident. Quickly snatch-
ing up the treacherous mask, he sprung into the
bushes and disappeared.

For several moments after he had vanished
Nina sat staring at the place where she had last
seen him. Finally she turned to Miss Mayblos-
som, saying:

“ I know that young man who has confessed
that he is chief of the terrible band called the
White Vultures. He was with the wagon-train
and refused to give any name. I called him
Mr. Nameless—some called him Dandy!”

 
CHAPTER IX.
A SURPRISE FOR OLD DISMAL.

“ YAS,” continued Old Dave, grimly, “ I’ll in-
terjuce thet thar Hollis ter a s prise party if I
git my grippers outer him. He’s a p’izen snake
-—that’s my ’ iniou 0’ him.”

“ I do not lieve he was alone in this kidnap
pin business,” Frank anway declared.

“ ost problikely not,” agreed the old ranger.
“ It w’u’dn’t s’prise me a bit ter l’arn thet he
was connected with ther gang as calls their-
selves the Californy Vultures.”

“ I have heard of them. They are a go? of
desperadoes that have lately invaded the ills,
are they not?”

“Yes, they kem hyer frnm Californ , whar
it was too warm fer their health. hey are
problikely ther tuffest gang 0’ lan’ pirates ever
seen in these parts.”

“ What are they, regular road-agents?”-

“ Waal, I reckon they are reddy to! turn their
han’s ter most ennythin’ crooked. I don’t know
fer sure thet they have held. up astage since
they kem inter ther Hills, but it is pritty sart’in
thet they have had their ﬁngers in ther wreckin’
0’ one or two wagon trains. They dun ther
work disguised as red-skins, an’ w’ile people war
cussin’ ther red rinos, they war deevidin’ ther
spoils, Oh, they are a Wicked gang!”

“ And you fear that my child has fallen into
the hands of such inhuman monsters?” gasped
Mrs. Harland. “ Merciful Heaven! It were
better that she had died!”

“ Now don’t you go ter thinkin’ thet way,”
the borderman cried. “I have romised ter git

her out o’ ther han’s o’thet Ho lis, an’ I’ll do it ' I; ' '

if he has all ther crooked law-sharks in ther
country at his back. Thor ole man never mocks
a romise an’ breaks it.” .

' Heaven grant you may be successful!” was 

the £131??? of the grief-stricken mother.

allus succeed, even if I have ter wade

through dismal disasters clean up tor my ears.
I’ve b’in drownded, shot, clawed up by catty-
mounts chawed up by grizzl
steam-thrasher, froze ter death an’ roasted,

l

..,_

ies, run through a '

 
-..-..- I: .

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' ‘ , - an...
' trio MV": 

~ f ‘ .-
CL..- .fur-<”'

 
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Ma r:.~,
. -ﬁpp—y.‘ _ A—

,r
’V

 
’sides bein’ blown inter more’n nine thousan’
pieces by dyminite—yet, hyer I be W‘y, w’en
Ole Dave sets out to do a thing, death an’ dee-
struction can’t stop him!”

Then noticing that Frank was gazing at him
with a strange look on his face, the eccentric
old guide continued:

“P’r’ups you doubt thet I’ve b’in through all
thet I say I hev, but it’s ther Gospil truth. Sum
critters will believe ’most everythin’ else. but
w’en I tell them that I was blowed up by
dyminite, they kick. It’s er solemcolly fack
jest ther same, an’ I was blowed so high thet
l was able ter studdy ’stronermy without ther
aid 0’ er microskope. Thet was ther time thet I
diskivered a new planet w’at none 0’ ther
’stronermers didn’t mow northin’ ’bout. But.
great ginger, I w’u’dn’t 0 through thet orjeal
erg’in ter diskiver er hul bushel basket full 0’
planets!”

The old man paused and looked very grave as
he observed that Frank Fenway could not re-
strain his mirth.

“ Young man,” said the imaginative old Hills
tramp, “ you are young an’ full 0’ doubts. You
hev leetle ijee how much er critter o’ ther hu—
man ender kin pass through an’ live ter tell 0’
it. I I sh’u’d tell ye er hundredth part 0’ my
adventchers, you’d begin ter suspec’ thet I was
stretchin’ things or leetle. I’m a man as has
traveled all over ther worl’ an’ a part 0’ Cana-
da. 1 hev froze ter death at ther ’Quator. an’
been baked at ther North Pole. Baked ! W’ y,
that word don’t ha’fe ’spress it! I once laid in
ther shade 0’ er crabapple tree on ther cr-asn o’
Labi'ydore w’en ther sun was so hot thet I c’u’d
hear ther grease sizz as it fried out 0’ me, an’
w’en one side was baked brown, I rolled over
an"cooked ther other side. I was ther only man
as survived outer er ship’s orew o’ thirty-seven
men thet landed thar thet day. I’m tellin’ you
ther eollem facks w’en I say thet ther sun was so
hot that ther ocean boiled like ther water in er
tea-kittle, an’ ther sound 0’ ther b’ilin’ water
was as loud as thunder!”

“ That was pretty hot for a cold country like
Labrador,” Frank agreed, laughing heartily.
“ But, while we are remaining here, are we not
forgetting that Nina is in danger?”

“ Ghost 0’ ole Goliath! I dunno but we are. I
sed I’d take yer ter er safer place than this, an’
I will. Jest git reddy ter foller me.”

In a few moments Mrs. Harland and Frank
were ready; then the guide led them out of the
valley by the way of the ravine through which
they entered. - .

“I know whar thar is a deserted cabin in
ther most onhandy part 0’ er gulch whar thar
hain’t no one likely ter cum. ' I’m goin’ ter take

. you thar.”

Old Dave led the way down the valley.
Nearly two hours later they reached the cabin.

It was, indeed, situated in a most remote and in--

accessible place. There was little liability that

- our friends would be discovered by enemies

while the remained there.

,“Now, ’ said the guide, “ you folks must be
hungry. Young man, jest you build a tire
whi e I go out arter grub. I’ll ﬁne suthin’ ter
shoot”,

He did, for he was not away from the cabin
long before those left behind heard the ringing
report of his riﬂe. A short time later, he ap-

red with the rear quarters of a youn bear

.which he had killed. Fenway already ha a ﬁre

oing in the stone ﬁre place, and it was not long

fore the meat was roasting over the. coals.

Dunston had stopped at the deserted cabin more
than once before and knew yust where to ﬁnd
some tin dishes, two steel knives and plenty of
salt. With these things, the old man was able
to set quite a table.

Both Dunston and Frank partook ravenousiy
ofthe delicious meat, but it was With difﬁculty
that they induced Mrs. Harland to eat a bit.
The poor woman seemed dazed and lifeless, for
she would sit quite still and stare in a vacant
manner straight at the cabin wall. The old
hnrderman shook his head gravely apd looked
troubled as he noted her unnatural actions.

When he had satisﬁed his hunger, the Border
Nomad arose and took up his long-barmled

, riﬂe. Then he turned to Mrs. Harland and

said: .

“ I’m goin’now ter look arter yer gal, I’ll
ﬁne her, don’t fergit that. You shell see her all
"safe an soun’ afore long. You jest want ter
keep u yer spirrits an’ take it easy. Get as
much eep as ye kin fer w’en I kem back I may
want tar shove fer ther nearest camp erbout as

‘; posserble. Remember, I’ll be back store

101,115.“ I’ll brin ther gal.”-
, motion ng for Frank to follow. be

'  named out of the cabin. Frank went out imme-

\.

 
diately and found Dave taking a drink from a
smalls ring close to the corner of the cabin.
The c d borderman arose as the Easterner
stopged by his side.

‘ oyee,” said he, impressively, “I want ye
ter keep a cluss watch onter thet leddy. She
acts wrong, au’ I sh’u’dn’t be er bit s’prised if
this loss 0’ her darter kinder tarned her head.
Don’t lose sight 0’ her fer enny length 0’ time.
Of course I can’t tell thet I’ll be able ter, bring
back her a1 ter oncet, but 1 made thet him 0’
talk ter er ter kinder brace her up. I’ll fine
ther pore leetle gal if I kin, an’ if I git mer
han’s onter thet traitor, Hollis— Waai, you
kin kinder ’magine w’at will took place.”

The horses were concealed in the midst of
some scrub bushes near the cabin. Old Dismal
now went for his animal, and was ready to de-
part a few seconds later. With a few more
words of caution, he rode away.

Midday was past, and the veteran of the
mountains and plains was riding slowly along.
keeping a vigilant watch on all sides, when sud-
denly a wild-appearing ﬁgure seemed to leap
out of the very grOund just ahead of him, at the
same time uttering a wild laugh that came near
causing the i'anger’s hair to stand on end. In
an instant one of Dismal’s ancient-looking
revolvers covered the stranger.

The borderman uttered an exclamation of
surprise as be scanned the ﬁgure which had
startled both himself and his horse. He saw a
tall man whose garments were literally in rags,
and whose face and head were covered with a
matter! mass of long hair and heard, a pair of
restless, gleaming eyes shining from the midst
of the latter. Not a weapon did the apparition
bold. but he ﬂung his hands above his head,
crying out:

“ Hold! stand! Listen while I speak!"

“ Waal, who in ther name 0’ ther seven sleep-
ers are you I?” demanded the astonished horse-
man.

“I am Shadow, the Man from Sundown,”
was the reply. ‘

“Waal, Shadder. ther Man from Sundown,
whar did ye cum frum? I sw’ar ye popped up
out o’ ther ’arth like a spirrit! It made my
ha’r rize.”

“ Ha, ha, ha! I came out of the earth like a
spirit! I am a spirit! You did not see me as
Wu rode along, for I did not want you to.

hen I was ready to appear, Idid so at the
command of my will. I can disappear as quick-
ly. Lam the spirit of a man who was hanged
till he was dead, dead, dead!”

“ Y on are as crazy as a bed-bug,” was Dave’s
plainly-spoken opinion.

The wild man of the Hills seemed offended at
the old ranger’s words.

“You say I am crazy, but, that is because
you are nothing but a livmg human. Your eye-
sight is bli'ndedto the mysteries of the future.
I have rent the vail asunder and passed into the
unknown.”

“ Youare the, critter w’at kem howlin’ round
our'camp las’ nite disturbin' our sweet slum-
bers,” asserted the ranger. “ I know ye, fer ye
made ther same kinder talk las’ nite that you
are makin’ now.”

“But I told iyou the truth, you know I did.
Yet you do not elieve me when I say that I am
a man who was hanged. It is true. hey found
me far, far away in the ‘Golden State.’ They
were a band of men whose faces were covered
gynmasks—they were vultures of the gold land!

ey hanged me at sundown till I was dead.-

Then they rode away, but , an avenging spirit
followed! One by One they have died, and my
hand struck them down! They ﬂed from the gold
land, bul: the avenger has followed them here!
Almost all of the bani that hanged the man at
sundown have perished, but the chief still liveS.
His days are numbered 1” I

“ But w’at’ this stuff ter me?”

“ Ha! I had forgotten. *I came to tell you
something. You have lost a friend—ha! ha! a
pretty friend! It is a pity that you cannot read

is heart! His face is smooth and he looks like
a gentle youth. but ah! his heart! You have
seen a night of Stygiau blackness. but you have
not seen is heart!’

“Hoppin’ tomcatsl W’at yer drivin’ at? This
is all riddles ter me.”

The wild man raised his hand.

“ Listen, old man of the mountain and plains!
Would you ﬁnd the youth who was with you
last night! If you would. then leave your horse
here and climb to yonder height. There you will
find a path which, it followed, will take you to
a spot where you can see your friend in the
midst of his companions. Ha! ha 1”

Then, like a ﬂash. the wild man of the Hills
darted away and disappeared. ’

'deeplyl. d Finally he exclaimed:

 
For a long time Old Dismal sat still, thinking
“ l o it by hocus!”
He soon found a lace to conceal his horse,
and within thirty minutes he had reached the
height which the craz man had indicated.
And there, sure enoug , he found a narrow
path. This he followed for nearly a mile. Sud-
den! y it approached the brink of a small ravine
in the depths of which Old Dave hoard voices.
Cautiously he peered over the verge and what
he sawhearly caused him to utter a cry of as-
tonishment.

Below him, lying on the ground in various
positions of abandon, were seven masked men
whom the ranger at oncc decided were a part of
the band known as the White Vultures. But, it
was not the sight of those men that caused the
veteran to so nearly betray himself with an ex-
clamation. The form upon which his eyes rest-
ed was that of one who was nervously pacing
back and forth in the midst of the others. Old
Dismal knew that form, knew the very clothes,
and when the one upon whom he was gazing
lifted his head so that the amazed borderman
saw his face and the gold-rimmed noseglasses,
the ranger gasped:

“ Dandy, by thunder!”

CHAPTER X.
'rwo FEMALES IN TROUBLE.

THE old guide’s astonishment was unlimited.
He could scarcely believe that he was not dream-
ing. Grasping a bush close at hand, the old
man leaned out and stared down into the ravine.
He was so amazed that he scarcely thought of
his own exposed condition, and had one of the
men below glanced up, he could not have failed
to See the incautious ranger.

“Sword 0’ ole Goliath!” breathed Old Dn ve.
“That’s him, my Dandy Pard, sure as shootin’!
I can’t understand it, nohow. What’s he thar
fer? His han’s are free an’ he’s at liberty. yet
he’s with thet gang 0’ lan’-sharks. Thet’s him.
nobby clothes, 3 ctacles an’ all. B ther hook-
nosed Jews! ’at’s it mean? 9 hain’t no
pris’ner, thet’s sart’in,” decided Dave. “He’s
as free as air ter do jest as he pleases. Howlin’
tomcats! this gets me!”

Suddenly the ground beneath the old man’s
feet gave way. and he felt himself falling. The
cry of consternation which came from his lips
was echoed by one of surprise from the men be-
low. But,’ he held fast to the bush which he
was grasping at the time of the unlooked-for oc-
currence and so saved himself from going down '
with the landslide.

As he hung dangling in mid—air, he heard .
Dandy shout:

“ Hold! don’t shoot!"

Then. with a desperate surge, the old guide
swung himself back to a place of safety. He
paused Just .long enough to cast one look into
the little ravme, than he ran swiftly back along
the path by which he had reached the spot. He
had wondered how that path came there, but
understood it now. It was a road used by the
Hill’s Desperadoes for some pWOEE. In all
probability the retreat of the nltures was
somewhere near the ravine from which he was
running. _ _ ‘

The old borderman made pretty good time in
getting back to the descent at the foot of which
he had left his horse. Occasionally he glanced
back over his shoulde , more than half-expect-
ing that he would e pursued; but, he was
agreeably disappointed by seeing no Signs of
an one followmg him. .

He found his horse just where he had left him,
and was about to ride away when the strange
wild man again appeared. ‘

“ Ha! ha i” laug ed the crazy creature. “ You
saw him in the midst of his friends! 1 was there
and saw it all, though you could not see me. Of
course you could not see me, for how can a hu-
man being see air? I was like the air that was
around you. I was above you when you came
near fa ins: and I saved you, but you did not
know it. And you saw him—saw him with his
friends! Ha! be! What color think ye his
heart is now f”

Involuntarin the border tramp shrunk from
this strange being. A cold chill ran over Old
Dismal’s bod , as he demanded:

‘ “Who an what in the name 0’ Moses an’
ther prophets are you i”

“ I have told you. I am a shadow of the
night—I am Shadow. the Man from Sundown.
That is what some call me, but I am not truly a
man. I am a disembodied spirit, at at my -

leasure I can assume the form 0 a human

ins—my present form." I

“Waal. what do you know about my little
pard, thet’s w’at I want ter know.” ‘

 
“ Ali-a!
thing —— everything !
enough i”

“ If you know anythin’ erbout him, jest spit
it rite out. Talk lively an’ straight.”

“ Do you command me :9 I could tell you
much, but you shall know no more. Oh-o! a.
mortal seeks to command a thing of air! Oh-o!
Ha, ha!”

Then once more the wild man sprung away.
Old Dismal whipped out a revolver, crying:

“ Halt, thar, or b ther gods 0’ war, I’ll putt
a bullet through yeg’

The mocking laugh that came ﬂoating back
was his only answer. The strange creature did
not slacken his pace in the least, and soon dis-
appeared amid the rocks and bushes.

“ I didn’t hev ther heart ter send a lead pill
singing past his ear, though I wanted'to,” Old
Dave muttered. “ I’m in an ugly mood jest
now an’ feel like hurtin’ sumthin’.”

Slowly he rode own from the 8 )0t, thinking
deeply of the strange t ings which ad occurred
within the past few hours. He was sorely puz-
zled over his latest discovery, and was not at all
willing to acknowledge that it was possible the
smooth-voiced, eyeglassdandy was a desperado
and a traitor. At the same time he was forced
to confess to himself that it looked decidedly bad
for the youth whom he had at ﬁrst taken for a
tenderfoot in the fullest sense of the word

“ He fooled us all with his soft ways,” mut—
tered the old guide as he rode along. “ He
seems more like er girl than ennythin’ else, but,
I have seen ernuif 0’ him ter know thet he kin
ﬁght like chain-lightning let loose. He is or
mighty deceptive critter, an’ it may be thet he’s
foolin us, though I hate ter think so. I kinder

ot tooken in with him, an’ w’en I foun’ out w’at

inc 0’ stuff he was made of, I was reddy ter
stan’ by him through thick an’ thin. An’ I
hain’t goin’ back onter him now till I know he’s
crooked.”

The old ranger took little heed of the direc-
tion that he was moving, for his thoughts were
too busy, but, all the time he was keenly on the
alert for danger. .

“ I’ve got ter turn my 'tention torruds ther
gal now,” he said aloud. “ $he must be found
sumhow.”

Although he had this object in view, he could
not keep his thoughts from Dandy and the puz-
zling discovery that he had made. The inco-
herent words of the singular wild man also kept
running in his head. Was Dandy’s heart
black, as the strange man’s words had seemed to

imply?

‘ How long he had been thinking thus, he did
,not know, but, he was ﬁnally aroused by the
distant beat of a horse’s hoofs.

“ Sum one cumin’ sure’s shootin’!” ﬂashed
through the old tramp‘s head, as he rained his
horse into a convenient place of concealment
and Waited for the unseen rider to approach.

“I’ll be prepared ter receive him,” be ob-
served, as he drew and cocked one of his
revolvers.

But, he did not need the wea
horseman proved to be Frank enway.

What do I know? I know every-
But, do you not know

u, for the
Old

Dismal uttered an exclamation of amazement as

he recognized the young E isterner.

“Sword 0’ Goliath! W’at duz that mean?” he
838 -

on he rode out and confronted Frank.

“ Hold on tbarl"-he challenged. “ W’at’s yer
rush an’ w’at yer hyer fer, anyhow i”

"Dunston!" cried Frank, “you are the very
one I am looking for.”

W’at’s ther row i”

“Waal, ou hev foun’ me.

“Mrs. rland has disappeared. When I re-
turned to the cabin. after you left, I found that
she was gone, and I have not been able to ﬁnd

., herigl'though I have hunted everywhere that 1
con .

“Great ginger! thet’s tamal bad! I sh’u’d
say that you pushed that boss, frum ther way
he meets.” '

“I did, for I remained and searched for the
missing lady for a long time after y/you left.
When I decided to follow on, I shoved the
horse about as fast as he would travel.”

“ Waal, it’s at piece 0’ luck that on foun’ me
a-t%ll. I’reckon proverdence mustiave guided
ye er.

“ think so too. But we must waste no time
if we would ﬁnd the poor woman.”

“Ya’r’ right, but it dont never pay for go oil!

at bate cock. Jest give me. rrbout one blessed
minute‘ terthink, an’ then I’ll be with ye.”

For a short time the old ranger remained
silent, apparently thinking: then he lifted his

. say an: .

“ Yes, I reckon we’d better look for ther pore

lost woman fu’st, for she may fall inter ther

 
han’s o’ ther red riuos or fall over er cliff if she
is left ter wander where she will. I kin hunt up
ther gal arter her mother is safe. Cum on.”

And, having decided what to do, Old Dismal
lost no time in moving. Together the two at
once started to return to the cabin within the
secluded gulch. For once the veteran’s tongue
was silent. He had too much to think of just
then to do a great amount of talking.

The day’s adventures were not over by any
means. As they swept round a bend in the
valley, they came in full view of a thrilling
spectacle.

Two females struggling in the hands of ﬁve
painted Sioux warriors!

Both Old Dave and the young Easterner ut-
tered cries of surprise, for they recognized one
of the unfortunate females.

It was Nina Harland!

 
CHAPTER XI
IN THE vumuass’ HANDS—FATHER AND SON.

In the excitement caused by Edwin Hollis’s de-
claration that he was pursued by red-skins. Rexl’ord
found an opportunity to whee his horse and get
quite a. start before his act was noticed.

“ Good-by," he muttered. “ You will have to
hustle if on overtake me now.”

Goalie by its master’s spurs, the ﬁne horse which
he bestrode gave one great bound and then settled
down to business. The fugi ive horseman heard
Dandy cry out to him to halt, but he made no at-
tempt to check his ﬂying horse. Then Daudy’s bul-
lets came singing about his ears.

“ Fire away.” muttered the man from Deadwood.
“ So long as you fail to come closer than that I will
not kick back. You might drop me with a riﬂe. or

ossibly with a revolver if you were less excited,

ut, as it is, I reckon my chance is good.”

He was right for not one of Dandy’s bullets
touched either him or his horse. although every one
whistler! uncomfor‘ably close to his ears.

“ If What that stranger said about reds is true._”
thought the fortunate fugitive, “ those shots Will
bring the whole band dowu on that party, and they
will be looking for white folks’ scalps I reckon.
They had best be moving if they wish to retain
their hair back there.”

He glanced over his shoulder and uttered a curse
as he saw Dandy coming in hot pursuit.

“ If death is what you are looking for," he gritted.
“ you shall be accommodated. If you press me too
31059,} shall turn, and when I turn, something will

rop.’

But he soon discovered that he was slowly draw-
ing away from his pursuer. His horse was fresh
and full of life, while the one which the spectacled
fop rode was in pbor condition, having been over-
taxe-i within the past few davs. When he dis-
covered'that he was going ‘to escape his ursuer,
Rexford turned and waved his hand in a unting
manner a d uttered a ell of derision. *’

“Come on!" he ye led. “If you are going to
travel with me. you will have to stir.”

But, Dandv‘s horse was doin its level best The
youth saw that Rexford was etter mounted, yet
stubbornly refused to give up the chase. _

“ Something may happen that will give me a.
chance to overtake him,” muttered the pursuer.
"I-Iis horse may fall, or may become lame in some

H

wa. .
Byiit, nothing of the kind occurred. and ﬁnally the
man from Deadwood was lost to view.
As Rexford galloped along, his thoughts were
busy. When he had passed be end the view of his

'pursuer. he began to utter his is ou hts aloud.

"And so that is her brother! knew it was the
moment I saw him. No, not the moment I saw
him. for at first I thought it was her spirit. He is
the erfect image of her, and did I not know her
d I should think that it was she masqueradin
in male attire, She often spoke of her brother bu
I never saw him till we came face to face
there. He is not much taller than she was, if an ;
and he has, ,her ways, her voice. her eyes, her 1:. .
Gods! It cannot bepossible but she is not dead
and that it was in truth the r! whom I married
and afterwards deserted! The thought sends a cold
chill all over me.“ ' _

He shudder-ed as he cast a glance over his
shoulder. A breath of relief came from his lips as
he noted that the pursuer was not in sight.

“Such thoughts are foolish, for know well
enough that she is dead. A person who is dead and
buried cannot come to life. I am free of her for-
ever; but her brother is on my trail and I shall have
unlimited trouble with him. for he means to kill me.
If he follows me to Deadwood, I Will di pose of his
case. for it is-not a difficult thing to find ruﬁlans

' who will throw him cold if well paid for the work.

Let him beware, for Robert Rexford is a terrible
bad man to arouse! He shall die within ten hours
after he enters Deadwood!

“ I was afcol tobecome fascinated with the pretty
face of that girl, and she was a. mater fool to fall in
love with such a man as I. She was too good for
mo, that-I will admit. I used her dreadfully mean.
but. instead of drowning herself, most. any other
girl would have applied for adivorce on the grounds
of desertion. .She was a fool to commit suicide!
Any girl is a fool to kill herself for a man. I cannot
say that I have not felt some mugs of remorse. but.

' at the same time, I do not feel that her blood is on

my hands I have slained my hands ch blood,
but, thank heaven! not the blood of a wgnan.

. r \
l

‘x
.

 
“ The other—the one who came between us
what of her? Well, Isickened of her after atime. as
I (lid of Led 1. She grew tired of me too and We
parted. I know not where she, is now. nor do I
care. It is not best that she ever cresses-niy 2th
again, I r if she rises before me when I am a' the,
height of my prosperity and claims that she is my
wife, I shall not hesitate to crush her as I VLUId a
snake. The day has past when Robert Rexford
would hesitate at an thing.”

For an hour he go. loped onward. Occasionally he
would cast a glance over his shoulder. but he saw
nothing more of his pursuer. Finally. he drew rein
and allowed his horse to walk, a respite which the
animal gr ~atly needed. I-Iis thoughts were still
busy, and In- rode with his head bowed. Finally he
again muttered:

“Perhaps I did wrong in telling Leda that our mor-
riage was a sham. That may have bad souieihing
to do with her committing suicide. The marriage
was really legal, but I reckon she believvd me when
I told her that it was not. I was angry With her at
that time, and made that kind of ta! ' in a mahcmus
mood. The next day I left her, and the next that I
heard, she was dead— Ha! what is this?”

He suddenly found himself surrounded by a party
of masked men, one of whom had his horse by the
bit. Half-a-dozen revolvers We! e leveled at his head.
and a stern voice said:

“ Slow and easy. my friend! Don’t try any funny
business unless you desire to be tapped 1”

“Who in Satan’s name are you?’ demanded the
astonished man.

“ We are a part of the California Vultures. at your
service." was the calm reply.

“ Robbers l“

“ \Vcll, I suppose some people would call us such,
but the name is a little liars . There is a toll road
between Custer and Deadwood and lots of toll»
takers. We are not on that road, but we are taking
toll 'ust the same.”

“ Well. you will ﬁnd me mighty‘poor picking; I
am not fool enough to carry all my wealth around
with me in this country.” ,

“Ah! now, is that so? Very well; then I reckon
the proper thin will be to hold you for ransom."

In a momen Rex ord saw that he had made. a
mistake and did his best to Convince his captors
that they would be wasting time if they held him for
ransom. But, the Vultures were hard to con»
Vince.

“We will hold you till Captain Claw returns, at
least,” smid one who appeared to be leading the
part . “ He can decide what to do.”

“ his is a beastly outrage!" stormed the man
from Deadwood. " You shall suffer for this, I
promise you i”

“You had better spare your threats," came stern—
ly from be icath the mask of the leader. “ It will be
best for you if you keep a ciVil tongue in your head.
Above all things, do not dare to utter a threat in the
presence of Ca tain Claw.”

“ Bah!" crie Rexford, scornfully: “I shall tell
Captain Claw how much I love him, if he orders me
shot the next instant." . . p _ '

" Well, young man. I admire your ' rit. but I can 1;
say that I think much of your Jungment. Cfrptain
Claw is a mighty bad man. as you are liable to dis-
cover before you are done dealing With .hlm.”

“ Where do you propose to take me i‘ .

“For the present we Will take you to a snug s t
not far from here. When the captain returns, _ he
decides to hold you for ransom, you Will be blind—
folded and taken to our secret retreat.” I

There was nothingﬂelsc. to do, so the captive was
forced to submit. is weapons were taken in
him and his hands tied behind his back. When t is
was done. he was escorted to a small pocket within
a mile of the place where he was made a prisoner.

“ There,” said the leader, as he assisted Re_xfo
to dismount, “ we shall remain here till the chief ap-

ears. _ -

“ Which will be about how long? I have business
in Deadwood that needs my immediate attention.’

“Your business, ma have to take a rest then, for
there is no such a hing as telling when Captain
Claw will return. It may be an hour. or it may be.
twenty-four." .

It was less than the shortest period named, for
within thirty minutes a masked horseman gallo
into the pocket, and he proved to be the Vulture
chief. He uttered an exclamation of surprise-and
satisfaction as srwon as his eyes fell upon the riser!-
er, and pringing from his horse, advanced s raight
toward the unlucky young man.

“ Hullo! hullol‘ came from beneath the sable
mask. “So you ran against my boys after leavinz
so suddenly with that little dandy at your h
Well, well! This is better fortune than I anticipat-
ed. for I expected to have a hunt for you before I
saw you again. How in the world did anything so
fortunate. happen to occur? ' I ,

The leader of Rexf‘rd’s captors explained With a;
few words. Captain Claw listened attentively till he .
had finished. and then said :' “

“Release his hands and give him his weapons.

Without a word, the man addressed quietly obey-
ed. ‘Rexl’ordta surpriie “gas Ilinbounded bu:i he d d
not hesitate to grasp in am some new ve . .

“ There!” he exclaimed ;_ “I feel like myself again.
Captain. permit me. tcli‘say that you are a gentleman
if on do wears mas .

‘V‘There there! that will do i” laughed Captain
Claw. “  tally in mine! This does not happen
every day, assure you.”

“ But I am at a loss to understand the meaning of
it. ash. is.’

Quietly the Vulturephief passed his arm through

that or the young man from Deadwood. saying-in a

low tone:,

.1 .

g, In 

r.»- .'

gar-v

 
‘ (3....“

. ,wﬁv .
,.

 
_..,'..--_ “an”:

.,‘—4. .‘

“a.

rug-

 
, ed, shrilly.
to grab two goor unprotected females in this way?

,Iwill!

. aterror on tracks!

‘ for fear I'll go to slee

 
“ Come out here a piece where we will not be
overheard. ”

For one instant only did Rexford hesitate, fearin':
some kind ofa trick. But he quickly decided that
the desperado leader was not contemplating a crook-
ed move, else why had he been released and given
his wea ons? Without a Word, he suffered himself
to be It‘ awe '.

“ l‘herc," said C iptain Claw, when they were he.
yoiid earshot of his foU0wers, “ now we can talk
Without fear of being overheard."

“That is so, but I cannot imagine what you can
wish to say to me."

“I have a revelation to make which will surprise
you. Mr. chford.”
" )l r. Rexfordl

name?"

The Vulture chief laughed again.

" Oh! I know on Well,” he declared.
seen you once be are to-day.”

" Where?"

"Under the muzzle of a. revolver held in the
hands of a little fellow who wore glasses.”

"Ha! I begin to see! You are the one who gave
the alarm that reds were coming.”

“ Exactly.”

“And the rcds——~"

"Were all in my mind.

For several moments Robert Rexfcrd stared at
the Vulture captain in a puzzled manner. At last
he said: .

“ There is something strangely familiar about
you. I know I have. seen you b :fore to-day.”

“You have.“

“ Yet I cannot understand why you gave that false
alarm.”

"My dear young man I saw that you were in dan-
ger. I thought that, i I created a diversion, you
might seize the. Opportunity to escape. I did so, and
you did not disappoint me.”

" lint you must have had an object in befriending
me.

56  1.6.97

“ What object?"

, “If on had looked closely at my face when I up-
pearegtoqlay you would not have to ask that ques-
tion now.” '

" Then you think that your face, should I see. is,
woulld serve as an explanation?”

Pray how do you know my

“ I have

“ Then pray remove the mask." .

With a short lau:h, the desperado chief complied,
and the face of Edwin Hollis was revealed!

“ My father .”‘ exclaimed Rexford.

 
CHAPTER XII.
MISS mmmssox SEIZES THE LAST OPPORTUNITY.

IT is needless to inform the reader that Nina Har-
land’s companion in trouble was the strange little
old maid, Miss Flora Angelica Mayblossom. A
short distance away stood the little mule, viewing
the struggle with eyes which seemed ﬁlled with mild
surprise. ,Miss Mayblossom was fighting for all she
was worth and the way she kicked. and scratched
was wonderful to ‘wit aces. She seemed to have for-
gotten her pistol

“ Git out of this. you pesky critters!" she scream-

“ Hsin t you got no more decency than

I‘ll scratch t 6 eyes out of your ugly, painted‘faces,
Oh-o—o! Good gracious! You horiid thing!
Don’t you dare to ho me again in that way! There
never no mandone t at before.”

And, to the amazement of the two new arrivals
on the scene the lively little woman knocked the
painted warriors righ and left, seeming pretty
near, if not quite, a ma for all of them. Smack,

‘ smack went her hard little ﬁsts, and down went the

reds. When one would grasp Nina. Miss Mayblos-
som would manage to give hima telling kick cr
crack With her hand, and he was pretty sure to go
to grass Two or tnree of the five Indians were
down all the time.

“I’ll l’arn ye your laces!”.snap ed the little
fury. “ It hain't real c ten that Miss 4 cm A. May-
blossom gits warmed up, but, when she does, the is
_ I only wish there was enough
of you critters to keep me real busy. I’m skeered
while on are crawlin' round
me. Take that, and at,a that!”

But aid was at hand whether Miss Mayblossom
needed it or not. With Wild yells.’ the two whites

.. charged on the reds. Old Dismal held a revolver in

each hand, and when they be an to talk the amazed
warriors to fall. Fran drew a revolver, but

' he did not ﬁve to use it, for, in an amazing short

time, the old Indian-ﬁghter had dropped‘iall ﬁve of

the reds.

“ Ho n' tomcats!” yelled the old ranger. flushed
with. . . “Thet’s ‘ est w’at I call a ileelightful
leetle scrimmage. We apged round est in time
but I must sav that I never id ea or eemale that
c’u‘d handle rself uite so lively as that leetle

iece o’ calico right t . W’ ,she’s jest er holy

owier. she is!"  ' .

Miss Mayblossom looked oﬂended.

‘ “Please gracious, we didn‘t use 1 none of your re-
sistance!" she snap cd. “I never want to feel in
debt to a firm, but don't know how I am goin’ to

I - git out of it when he mll force his help onter’ me."

“ On! thet’s all rite.” assured Dave, good-natured-

' 1y. “ I'm roud ter help er feemale, fer I allus did
~: love anyth n' in petticoats.” _ '

u Oh.

ou dreadful man 2”
Nina Ea

rland had been nearly dead with fright,

‘ thug she now ran forwa-d, crvin :

g
Dismal and Mr. Fenway!

V Mayhlossom gave a contemptuous sniﬂ.

Heaven! Old

we manned l" I

 
“ I reckon we could took care of ourselves,” she
nodded.

Frank sprung from the horse and caught Nina in
his arms.

“ Yes. you are saved," he said.
in time."

“Yus,” Old Dave observed, “jest in time. for if
we‘d bin 0nuy1ater.1 reckon thet thar loetle wo-
man ‘d licked ther hull crowd 0’ smoky-skins.”

"I can take care of myself," asserted the little
woiniin. " An’ it’s got to be or mighty smart Injun
that gits ahead of me. When I git my mad up i‘m
awful ugly, un’ when I’m awful ugly I‘m a pritty
goo l )(3I‘S‘)n to keep clear of." _

“I mum,“ ye,” nodded the old guide. “I’m er
reg‘ler ole fool over all wnninin in general, butI
never saw one as took my eye like you do. If you
was a, single woman I’d feel like proposln’ on ther

‘9

“ Well, thank goodness, I am a single woman. I
never did care for a man, but I don't know but that
was because I never met the right kind of a man.
That is. I never have met him subsequent to—-—to—to
today." ‘ _ ,

The manner in which Miss Mayhlossom said this
was coy and bewitclnng in the extreme. but if the
old ranger took the hint, he did not ilan'OVU the. op
portunity just th en.

Of course Nina’s ﬁrst question was about her
mother. and Frank was forced to avoid telling: her
the truth. a thing which he did in a most inrenioiis
manner. After a time it was decided to move on to
the deserted cabin toward which Frank and the. old
guide had been trawling. The girl was given a

lace on the horse behind Frank and Miss May-
)lossom mounted the little "inu e. Then they
started.

Despite all that Old Dismal could say, Miss May-
blossom would talk, and she enlivened the journey
by her quaint sayings. W hen the old ranger tried
to frighten her by telling her that she was apt to
bring more reds down on them, she re lied:

“If you’re skeered of them (lii‘tyvskinned critters,
old man, just say so. I don't care a hooter for ’em
andt if they come, I’ll look out that you don't git

ii ." .

That silenced the plainsman.

When the cabin was reached Old Dave drewa
breath of relief. He knew from the number of In-
dians that he had recently seen that the Hills must
be full of them. and he had feared an attack. On
their way back to the cabin he had done as much as
he could under the circumstances toward covering
their trail, but he realized that an expert trailer
could follow it with little difﬁculty. As he thought
of this, the ranger regretted that he had not con-
cealed the bodies of the ﬁve Indians which he had
slain, something which he would have done at
almost any other time.’ But. entertained by the
ueer talk of the eccentric Miss Mayblossom, he
orgot other things for the time

“If on hadn’t lisp .iied along just when you
did, I'dy given them Indians the worst trounsin' they
ever had," asserted the little woman as she pro-
ceeded to hitch the mule where it could browse.

“I hain't er doubt o’ thet," admitted the guide,
who was looking after the other horses.

“ And it made me so provoked!“ Miss Ms blossom
went on. “I never like to feel beholden o aman,
for if there is an hingin the world thatI alwus
shun, it’s aman. can’t see what him was made

r

“ We came just

was made for wlmmen ter meck
can understan‘ w‘at wimmin was

“ I reckon the
fools of. Now
made for.”

“Can on, really?” with a touch of sarcasm.
“ Well, w at was they made for?"

“ They was made ter'luv.”

For an instant the little woman was speechless,
then she broke into a g1 ling ﬂt.

“Te, he, he!" she laug ed, ‘fYou’re the queerest
man lever saw. Why, you hain’t a bit like other
men. You are so—so—nice! There! I’ve said what
I never thought I should to no livin’ critter of the
masculine generation 1”

She hung around Dave till he had cared for the
horses, and followed close at his heels when he en-
tered the cabin._ Frank and Nina were inside, and
they both noticed the little woman’s singular
actions. Old Dismal gave Frank a broad wink, as
he asked: _

“ Do you really think me nice, Miss—Miss—”

“Flora Angelica Mayblossom is my full name, but
you may call me Flo or Angie." said the little no
man, With a sim r. “ I alwus allow my particular
friends ,tp call me either of those names that they
choose.

“ Then you are ready ter consider me one 0’ your
part ‘c’ler frien’s, are ye?"

“Wcl| " faltcred Migs Mavblossom,~ “ I don’t
know, hilt]: guess so. on will be the fu’st man
that eyer perspired to that extinction, just the

me.

Dunston grinned sl l .

‘ “My dear," he said’,V Lwerlng his voice, “ are you
n— n— ‘

But here he hesitated.

“ My gracious!" gasped the little woman. “ He
said ‘my dear.’ and I do believe he is oingto ask
me if I am in love! What shall I do? mustn‘t let
this chance slip, for I shall n ver git another."

And then, bestowing 3 am e on the old man that

would have broken the heart of a stone, she asked

in a. most co iiettish manner:

“ What isi that you wish to know, sir? Am I in
what?“ .

“ I was jest going ter ask if you was in your right
mind.” grinned the old fraud.

This was a damper for Miss Mayblossom, but she
quickly recovered.

l

 
“ He! he!“ she laughed. “Quite 'a joke, sir! I
alwus depreciate anything humorous." - '
“ But it was not a joke." declared the veteran.
“I have never joked since. I lost my fii'st wife. She ',

was an awful good woman, and I really need—~“

" Another wife!" slirieked Miss Mayblossom.
“ Then take me! I‘m yourn till death.“

And she ﬂung herself straight into Old Dismal‘s
arms.

 
CHAPTER XIII.
BESS, THE vunrunr. UEEN.
Om) Dismanuttered a gasp o amazement, Miss
Flora really was in his arms! He was taken com»

letely by surprise. A look of dismay that was
udicrous settled on his face, and, as he supported
the limp form of the woman who so detested a man,
he managed to splutter: ‘

“ Howlin’ Goliath! Great hoppin’ Moses!" And,
having got his favorite exclamations thus mixed, he
stopped helplessly.

‘ b, you dear, darlin’ critter!" panted Miss May-
blossom. "I’ve bin waitin‘ for you all m long,
weary resistance. I kn0wed you (1 come a last~1
{L'vowed it! We‘ll be so ha py to ether, dearest boy!
We’ll live just for each ot or an nobody else, won’t
we. you delightful splendid man)"

"Gods 0‘ war! hear that!“ gasped the tortured ‘
inan, while great drops of perspiration came out on
iis face.

“ And you'll alwus be so good to your little wifey.
won't ou, dear?" came from the little woman’s
lips. ‘ You will buy a little cottage, andyou'll git
me some new dresses and a bunnit. and you’ll keep
a team, and we'll have such delightful rides, and
you‘ll give me money just when I want it, and we‘ll
be together alwus, and you‘ll be so goud and join
tho church " '

She paused an instant. and Old Dismal uttered a
groan. Then the happy little creature rattled on:

“We’ll be the envy of the w-iole nei hborhood
where we preside. vabody‘ll he say n’ what a.
nice husband I‘ve got. hen we wall.- out together
arm in arm, they’ll all look at us. and all due women
’11 wish they was in my place. I know you’ll be
good to me, dear boy—I kn!» it! You‘ll never let
me do any liftin’, and you’ll b-ing all the water, and
split the kindlin’s, and build the tires, and do the
washin’s. and mind the baby, and—" _

But Old Dave waited to hear no more. Utterin a
yell of horror, he allowed Miss Mavblossom to all
to the ﬂoor. while he bolted throu the open door-‘
we. and dis-ippeared. The old, Hi ls tramp seemed
ha ly frightened, for he at once took refuse in the V
nearest place of concealment, and there remained
till he saw Frank Fenway leave the cabin, laughing
heariil . Making sure that Miss Mayblossom was
not fol owing the young man. the now really dismal
Dave appeared and beckoned for him to approach.
Frank came forward, still laughing.

“ Well, old man. you seem to have gotten yourself
into a scrape,” he observed. .

The ranger made a wry face. .

“Great gin r!” he exclaimed. “ Who'd ’a’ thort
that old—old—thtng would have done it that thar

'9

a f .

‘y She saw her chance and jumped for it."

“Waal. she‘ll hev ter jump further. I hain‘t in
ther matrvmonial market."

‘gut she declares that she’ll hold you to your
wo . ’

“ But I never gi’n her no word,” protested the un—
happy man. “I was Jest foolin’. I tale her that I
ha 0st in fu’st wife an’ was oin‘ ter say that I
was in nee o’ conserlashun. S e thort I was goin’
ter say thet I needed ernuther wife, an’ so she
jest ﬂo ped rite inter my arms. squealin‘: ‘Take
me.’ et was all there was to it, an’ consarn her!
I hain’t goin’ ter marry her if I know merself!" ‘

“ But she is fem-fully enraged and declare that
she will sue you for breach of promise.” ‘ ,

“ Ghost 0’ ole Goliath!” gasped the ranger. ‘ W at

er ’tarnal scrape I’m in!” ,

“ It looks as if ‘you had at your foot in it, that s
a facubiListen! on can ear her storming within
the en u now. ‘

They Were silent and plainly heard Miss Moyblos—
som’s shrill voice declare: ‘ »

“I’ll scald the horrid, mean crater! The idea of a
11101—3 mean. good for nothin’ man—usin‘a. poor
lone woman in such contemptible manner! It‘s
scandalous! Just wait till I git my fingers In his
hair!”

“Thei- ole vixenl’;1 gil'l'tted Dunstan. “W’u‘dn’t

ive ha er at or
v"(‘a‘lShe is 3‘3;th tiger-cat,” confessed Frank, al-
though he was still laughing. “I should not like to
be in your boots. Dave. ’

The veteran uttered a groan and sat down on a
convenient bowlder. And there Frank left him
telling him that ho was 90mg for a short walk, as
tge disappointed Miss Flora had driven him out of
t can n.

Frank’s ob set in going awa ust then was to see
if he could nd anv traces o be missing woman,
Nina’s mother. For some reason, he seemed to
feel that she was concealed somewhere not far
from the cabin. But, having started, he went my.
tber thin he intended, knowing that the females
were safe with Old Dave till he rnnirned- He
ﬁnally dismwred a place where the icit wall of the I |
narrow gulch could be easily scaled. and scarcely
knowing why he did so, be resolved to leave the
gorge at that place

“ It is not impossible that I may ﬁnd Mrs. Har-
land “D there." he thought.

But, when he had left the gulch be found nothing
of the one for whom he was looking.

The sun was creeping down behind the wrtern

' peaks when he found himself looking down into a

l !

    
\

 
shallow ravine. He was surprised to hear voices
and see two men crouching among the rocks. List-
ening, he heard one of them say:

“ She is sure to come back this way. We can cap-
ture her easil , and then we will have that gang
which is tron lin us so where they will have to
come to our terms. '

“ Yes, curse ’ein l" growled the other. “ They
have bin wuss‘n a plague. But we’ll have that gal
if we have ter shoot her!" .

Friank sh uddered as he heard those vindictive
wor s.

" We don’t want to do that,” rotested the other.
“ You can rope her horse am I will have her out
of the saddle before she on use those deadly re-
volvers on us. She is quick on the shoot, but we will
get hen foul before she can get in her work. ”
th‘"  we succeed, ther cap‘n won’t let us lose nor-

in .‘ '
“ You bet you‘re right. "

“ An ambush-ado,” thought the man who was

eringinto the ravine. “ The are lying in wait

ora woman. I calculate I him better take a hand
in the game."

" Hark!“ cautioned one of the men below. " I
believe I can hear a horse."

He was right, for the faint beat of iron-shod hoofs
came to Frank‘s ears. ‘

" She is coming!" the young Easterner heard the
other man say. “Git redd fer business."

Frank was able to see th the horse and rider
long before the crouching men amid the rocks
could catch a glimpse of either. He saw that the
rider was indeed agirl. She was urging her horse
along as swiftly as possible evidently wishing to
reach some particular spot be ore dirk.

“ I believe I will get ready for the fray," thought
Frank, as he drew a revolver. “ I will open on those
fellows just a bit before the moment when they con-
template getti r in their work. If I was a good
shot, I could ma '6 it unpleasantly warm for them,
but, it is a sad fact that I cannot hit a barn at
twenty paces. I must havca care and not shoot the
gir . ‘

On came the unsuspectin young rider, and as she
approached, Frank was ab e to make out that she
was quite pretty. Her ion dark hair, being uncon-
fined. was ﬂoating out be ind her as she dashed
along. She sat the horse like a Centaur.

Just as the unsuspecting girl reached a oint
where Frank felt that it would not do to clay
longer, he lifted his revolver and ﬂ ed at one of the
crouchln figures in the ravine below. Strange to
sav. he h t the very man that he fired at, and with a
yell of pain and amazement, the fellow leaped up.
The young Easterner had frustrated the villains’
little scheme with a single shot, but, he was deter-
mined to make sure of his work, so he lea ed to his
feet and charged down into the ravine, fl ng as he
came. Without an instant’s hesitation both of the
bafﬂed schem rs ﬂed as if pursued by demons.

A moment ater. Frank found himself standing
before the dark-eyed, black-haired girl. his smoking
revolver still grasped in his right hand. For a short
time she seemed mo surprised to speak, but she
finally seemed to comprehend the situation, for her
lips arted in a smile. and she said:

“ am in your debt, sir. Evidently those gentle-
men. were waiting for me."

That voice—that face! When i efore had he heard
the voice? When had be seen the face? Bowing
gracefully hat in hand, he replied:

“ I was ortunate to be of service to you. I heard
gheig plot to make you a captive, and so I took a

an .

“ I fancy their plot would have succeeded hadn't
you been around. Allow me to thank you."

She held out her hand frankly, and he made haste
to grasp it. Their eyes met for an instant, and a.
thrill ran over the oungEasterner. Ablush colored
the girl’s cheeks or an instant, then she became
very white, as she uickly withdrew her hand.

“ Imust go on,” 3 ie said. “ Night is at hand.”

“ chru are not going without telling me your
name

Her lips parted in a hard, mirthless laugh.

“ It. is better that you do not know my name. I
do not want you to think too had of me.’

“i ask it as a favor,“ persisted Frank. as she
seemed about to ride away. “Surely you can not
refuse under the circumstances.”

hShe licode at him a moment in silence, and then
s e an : .

“ What matters it whether on think well of me
or not. We may never mee a sin. You wish to
know me. I am Bess, Queen of t e Vultures i”

Then she struck her horse a sharp cut with the
whip, waved the astounded young man an adieu, and
galloped away along the ravine.

CHAPTER XIV.
om DEMAL IMEBFEREs—DANDY on mo.

Dummies had alread settled over the Hills when
Frank retumd to the ittle cabin in the secluded
gulch. Old Dave was watching for him, and quite
naturally. was somewhat alarmed over his protract-
ed absence. v ‘ «
‘ “ What in ther name 0’ sin bov ye bin?" asked the
old nomad. “ If ‘t’adn't bin fer loavin’ them fee-
males without cowl-Protector, I’d ‘a' bin lookin'
mar ye afore this. .ver I’ve bin ever since on
went away, an’ I hain’t dared ter look inter er
cabin or so s‘arch fer y "

When Fra

 
ou
nk had told of his adventure the lains-
man observed: 8’ p
‘.‘ I’ve heard tell 0’ that gal, but I never saw her.
You saithet she made you think 0’ sum one that
was wit ther train. "

!‘ Thelittle spectacled dandy who was with you this '

 
morning. Why, the irl looked enou h like him to
be his own sister! or voice sounds like his."

“Is thet so?" gasped Dismal, and he looked de-
cidely dazed, but Frank could not see his face in the
darkness.

It seemed for the old borderman that his last hope
for his Dandy Ford was beln shattered. Report
said that the sister of Capta n Claw was Queen of
the Vultures. Frank said that the self-confessed

ueen of the lawless inarauders looked enough like

andy to be his sister. Old Dave, himself, had seen
his little pll‘d in the midst of a band of masked
men. There seemed nothing for it but to believe
that Dandy was a traitor and therefore chief of the
Vultures.

But Dunston was not ready to confess that he had
been deceived, so he said nothing of his sus icions.
He simply shook his head and protested but he
could not uu lerstand it. Frank saw that the ranger
was sorely puzzled, and he decided to give the old
man time to think it over. The young Easterner
had also heard that the sister of the Vulture chief
was Queen of the band. and while returning to the
cabin after the adventure in the shallow ravine, he
had reasoned out the connection between the girl
whom he had so recently served and the ycuth who
had been with the train.

F3» some time Old Dismal was silent. Finally be

5m :
“Waai, now thet you are back ter look out fer
ther foemales, I reckon I’ll take acruise. Imay
ﬁnd the missing lady, or perhaps I‘ll run onter
Dandy. Mebbe he can meck everything clear. I
hain‘t dared ter peek inter ther cabin but once. fer
fear thet that pesky ole woman w'u’d git bolt 0’ me
erg'in. 'W’en I looked in Miss Nina. was slee in’.
an’ that other was watchin her. Perhaps she’l let
you inter‘tlier cabin.” ,

“ Oh! I don’t imagine there will be any trouble
about t"-at.”

“ Wanl. ye want ter keep er sharp watch that ye
hain’t s’prised by ther tarnal red varmints ter-nite.
13! be back by mornin‘, an’ most problikely afore
t et. ‘ 

A few moments later Frank entered the cabin,
and Old Dave rode away. '

Darkness bad shrouded the Hills for the spaceof
two hours or more when the borderman came in
full view of a startling spectacle. The light of a
large ﬁre revealed a band of masked men gathered
under a tree, and in their midst with a rope around
his neck stood one whom Old Dave recognized.

It was the strange wild man who called himself
Shadow!

The end of the rope, which had been ﬂung; over a
limb, was in the hands of three or four of the
masked desperadoes, who seemed to be waiting the
signal to pull. In front of.the apparently doomed
man stood the form of one who was evidently the
leader of the'sable masks. He was speaking:

“Old man, your minutes are numbered. You
call inurself Shadow, the Man from Sundown, and
you ave followed me like a veritable shadow, but
at last I have you withinm power. You cannot
escape, and now_I will finish t e work which I failed
to do in California some years ago.”

A meaningless laugh broke from the lips of the
imperiled man.

‘ You will ﬁnish tho work. will you? Ha, ha!
Go on! You .have already killed my body. but you
cannot kill m spirit! You will hang what appears
to be a man, ut to—morrow his spirit shall be with
you. You hungaman in California. He him by
the neck till he was dead but his spirit too the
trail of vengeance, and has ollowed you ever since.
You think that on will dis rise of the avenger now,
but you will fa‘ —you will ail l”

“Bah! That is nonsense! I know not how you
escaped in California, but I do know that you have
proven a thorn in my ﬂesh long enough. '1 his time
you cannot escape."

“You think so. but you will change your mind.
Oh, yes! you will change your mind. Your minutes
are numbered, you vile monster! Never again shall
you see the sun rise over the eastern hills if you 0
on with your ungodly work! Death shall overta e
you like a; thief. and to-morrow your corpse shall
make food for the vultures!”

The one addressed shrank back before the wild man
with the noose. about his neck. Then a harsh lau h
broke from the lips concealed by the mask, and t 6
man cried:

“You cannot frighten me in that way! I will
silence you forever! Up with him, lads!"

The masked desperadoes did not hesitate to obe
this command, and Shadow was hoisted off his fee .
But just then Old Dismal took a. hand. With a
shout, he galloped into the midst of the men beneath
the gallows tree, a knife ﬂashed in the light from
the bonﬁre and the re was severed, allowing the
Man from Sundown to all u n his feet.

“Howlm'tomca‘sl” yell the old ranser as he
faced the gang of masks. a revolver in each hand.
“Hyer we are on handlikeathumbl We are al-
wus roun’, at sech leetle matinees as this, “11’ we
usually s rite inter ther ring ubig as life an’
twice as no. reral. If there’s goin’ tor be any fun
hyer, I'd kinder like a shoe 0' it."

The masked villains shrunk back beneath the
muzzles of those deadly long-barreled revolvers.
The light from the dancing are revealed a thrilling
spectacle. One man cowlng more than half a

oze

n!
“ Furies l” snarled the leader of the bafﬂed lynch-
ers. “Who is this?"

"- aal, ueom" drawled the daringh old tramp,
“jest you butt erg'in’ him an" ou’ll t ink as how
you’ve struck a doulile-an‘vtwis dismal disaster.

dra in ter ’muse ther congregashun, an’ .

w on I'm musin', I'm awful funny."

 
“ You old fool!" hissed the masked chief.
life shall pay for this!"

“ Oh, now, git out! My life hain’t settlin’ my bills
now. ’Sides thet, I’ve got my life insured, so tain't
best you go ter monkeyin’ with thet."

The desperado leader swore roundly.

“ Now don't do thet.” entn ated the veteran. “It
alwus gives me ther earache ter hear er man tork
like thet." .

" You will get somethin worse than the earache
before you grt away from ierc.” asserted the mask.
“We will give. you the neckache With a piece of
rope. That will cure you of 5'} ur desire to stick
your nose into other folks‘s busmess. Close in on

im. boys!”

“ N ow, if you wish to keep the cold nicht-airfrom
blowing through bullet-holes in your systems, 'est
you keep rite whar you be. I shell perforate t er
fu’st ( ne thet moves!”

His words had a cold, deadly ring that plain] in-
dicated that he meant business. The lyncbers esi-
tated. Not one of them had a desire to meet sud-
den death.

" Do you hear?” howled the enraged leader.
“Jump for him all at a time! Don’t give him a
show, or if—"

“ For if you don't shet up, your frien’s will hear
suthin' drap bar ‘,” int rrupted Dismal. “ We have
heard uito ernuff frum you. Jest give sumbudd
eisea c ance ter tork. I’m quite a han’ ter wor
my mouth myself. Now, have a care, an’ preserve
yer good health."

The old man did not seem in the least alarmed at
the peril of his position. In fact he did not seem
aware that he was in any eril.

It is difficult to tell just ow the affair would have
terminated had there not comeasudden interrup
tion. Several ells, a rattle of revolver-shots and a
clatter of hoo s that seemed to indicate that a band
of horsemen were at hand. Two of the masked
men were hit, when, seized by a sudden terror, the
entire band ﬂed into the darkness. ~
h Then Dandy appeared, a smoking revolver in each

and

“ Your

 
CHAPTER XV.
FRANK MAKES A DISCOVERY.

LIKE a ﬂash, out of the darkness into the circle of
light made by the ﬁre came the. little spectacled top.
The bridle-rein hung loose on the neck of the horse
which he bestrode, and the revolvers in his hands
told who had ﬁred the shots which had sent disaster
and death into the ruﬂ‘lanl band. Evidentl the
masked men had thought t emselves attacke by a
large party.

Like a flash, Dandy came out of the darkness,
swept past the gallows-tree and disappeared into
the blackness beyond. Old Dave shouted for him
to sto , but the retreating hoof-beats of his horse
told t lat he either did not hear or did not wish to
heed the cr . -

“Ghost 0 ole Goliath l" gasped the astonished old
borderman; “ thet feller’s er perfect leetle cyclone.
W’y, it sounded like hafe er hundred hosses an’
riders was cumin’ jest afore he got here. He kin
yell an‘ shoot ter beat ther Dutch.”

But the man of the Hills. was not inthe habit of
losing much time in wondering over anything, so he
turned to the man who had been suspended from
the tre limb, saying: .

“H are ye. ole aloot? Tied u ? Northm’ but
yer han’é, eh? Waa , t‘har ye are, 96! Now skip
up behind me on Ole Lightﬂmt hyer, an’ we’ll pro.
ceed ter meek ourselves skeerce store them cusses
with smutty faces ‘t back to their mutton."

Although he st‘ 1 seemed somewhat dazed, the
man did not hesitate to ob”. As he sprung up be-
hind the ranger, a revolver cracked somewhere in
the darkness and a bullet came Singing past their

ears. v

“Great gingerl". sped Dismal. “ The are
cumin’ fer us! It mﬁe mighty warm in thisyvicln.
itv afore shortly. I reckon we’d better be peggin’.
Skoot, Lightn , akootl”

And as a wild yell peeled from the borderman’s
lips, the horse and its double burden vanished into-
the darkness. Up before the ﬂying animal roses
black form, then came a ﬂash. and the re 115 0f 8-
pistolechoed through the hi ht. Old D a! felt
the wind from the ulletas t sped past

head
An instant later one of the daring old fellow’s 10118'

revolv rs spoke and down went the dark form. n
throng the blackness galloped the horse. 11881408
its double burden.

“ If they don’t want ter run ers’in‘ WM“ .they
want ter keep out 0’ Old Dismal’s track! I am man
ugly state 0’ mind jest erbout now. I’m wusser ter
tac 1e than an eppydemic."

But, not another form ap before them. and
they left the lynchers’ tree and the bonfire far be.
hind. Finally Old Dave drew rein- At the same

moment Shadow slid from the horse and stood bee.

side the animal.

“Well, Ole Shadder,” remarked the border-mfg;é
“you are out of that ﬁx, an 2’0“ may call ye
lucky, for on was in mi 13 Y 8011:: quarters. I
reckon I goty round jest in ﬁne ter save 9,13, and
Dandy got round just in time to save us bot .

“ Yes," answered the stran r slowly, .‘you came
Just in time. He meant to silence the avenger for-
ever that time. but his plans were shattered
I have much to thank you ion.

The ranger was amazed. for the man who had
seemed so crazy before, now spoke like a summon.

There was none of the wild ring to his vole. and he -

did not laugh in that blood-Chilling manner.
“I‘m glad ter hev bin 0’ service ter ye.” “10
veteran again-ed. “ I allus hate like p’lzen enny
aloot as hides his face beneath a mask, an’ nothing
goes me more good than to buck erg'in’ ’em. W’GII

1
. t

 
was not just what he professed to be.

 
I git er chance, I allus shove my oar rite inter enny
leetle ’falr like this b er one ter-nite. It allus re-
freshes me ter hev er ﬁan‘ in seeh jamborees.”

“The time ma come when I shall be able to
square the debt which I owe ou, sir.”

“ Oh, don’t think 0' thet: het's all rite!
fun fer me.”

"But you put your life in peril just the same.”

“ Ohl I reckon' there was er leetle danger, but
thet don‘t count. I saw er teller-critter in danger oi
losein' his breathe, an‘ so I jest hopped rite inter
ther circle. If Dandy hadn’t cum ter help us out, I
reckon I’d had ter lic ed ther hull measly gang."

“Dandy, Dandy! . Who is he?” .

“ My leetle rd as you was telhn‘ had sech or
black heart. 0 matter how black his heart may
be, ther blood 0’ or white man ﬂows in his veins, an’
he v us er mighty good llft ter-nite."

T e strange man dput his hand to his head in a
troubled manner an was silent for a few moments.
Then he said slowly:

" Was that the one? I do not understand. I have
seen him with the men whom I thought were Vul-
tures. Sometimes he IS a young man, sometimes be

It was

is a girl. I do not understand.”
1;; 'if‘hen you are sure that he is not the Vulture
c e ’

“ No, no! He is not the chiefl I knew the chief—
oh, yesl “I know hlml He knows me, au’ before
long he shall feel my power. I know him! Hal ha!
I know him i"

This sudden change increased Old Dismal‘s amaze-
ment. Once more the strange man was as wild as
ever. His v01ce was filled with a terrible ring and
his laugh was hollow and blood-chilling. He was
the crazy man again.

“ If you know him, who is he?” asked the guide,
hoping to learn from Shadow the name of the Vul-
ture captain. .

“ Who is he? Ah! I cannot remember who he is,
but I know him just the same. Icannot tell his
name—it has gone from me. But I know him—I
know himl”

Suddenly the wild man whirled and seemed to be
listenin . .

“ Husﬁil” he whispered, hoarsely. “ I can hear
him coming this way. He is all alone! He is com-
ing— coming—coming to death! I must go and meet
hinﬁ.’ The hour of vengeance has comel Ha! ha!

Swift as thought he sprung away and vanished in
the night.

For a long time Old Dave Dunston sat looking to-
ward the 8 0t where the strange being had disap-
pear:d. hatever the old man’s thoughts were, he
margot express them aloud, but ﬁnally he rode on-
we

“ Dand went this way," he said. “ I will follow,
for it is t e way to the cabin in ther gulch."

But he saw nothing of his lttle pard until the
cabin was reached. There was a light within the
old but. and Dismal made haste to care for his hose
and enter, forgezting for the time that his dread
Miss Mayblossom was within. Great was his sur-

‘ Bliss to see, by the light from the open fire that

ndy had reached the cabin ahead of him an was
talkin with Nina. The youth uttered an exclama-
tion 0 delight as he saw the old guide enter.

“Hello. Dismal Ola Pardl" he exclaimed, as he
came forward with his hand outstretched.

Tne ranger did not hesitate to grasp the small,
soft hand.

"I’m jest ’tarnal glad ter see ye. leetle pard.”
came frOm the veteran’s lips, as he wrung the
youth’s hand. “I didn’t know as I’d ever git er
chance ter shake with dye er 'in l”

“ I have not deserts my riends by any means,"
laughed Dandy. . _

“ ’m erware o‘ thet since or short time ergo.
Leone rd, you did scatt r them p’izen critters
with udden faces in a most saluhrious manner.
You 881 ed in jest in time ter holp us out 0’ er ’tar-
nu] ma scrape: but w’y in ther name 0’ sin didn’t
you stop w’en I hollered?”

“To tell the truth, I didn’t know you till then,
and I calculated it would not be safe around there
to Palaver, so I he t right on.” '

‘ Waal, I don t alkerlate it was enny too safe er
lokality. Ifollered pretty clout at yer heels with
the: galoot they was go n' ter hang.‘

it Did you happtn t'0 be in such a scrape, old man?
I saw the gang surrounding two men who were un-
der the tree. one of whom was mounted. F m the
aspect of things. I .calclllélted that the t 0 men
were in danger. and so I pitched in H
. "An’ made or reg lar scatterin’ ’mong ther dry
bones. You are er perfec’,,whlrlwind. Dand .”

“ No taﬂy. if you please! laughed the uni; fop.

In his quaint way. 01d Dave explained how he
came to be in such an un leasant situation. He
and Dandy talked togethol' 01‘ some time, but the
old man made no mention of his suspicions. In-
deed, in the youth’s reSence. he Quite for ot that
he had ever harbore any wspwions that is pard

Frank Fenway watchUd the two closely, but his

6 as were fastened on D dy 8 face the most or the
9_ There seemed to e something about the
youth’s countenance that fascinated the men
' Finally Dand turned away from Old Dismal and
went back to Nina. As soon as Frank could catch

' _ the old guide’s eye, he made a covert motion and

left the cabin. The guide followed shortly after
aid the two met out in the darkness.

“ all, Frank, w'at is it?
:1 have made a discovery, Dave

I .
File?“ and a startllng one. to say the least.”
wm is m"

I"

 
It
V'_ “Imyouwm be amazed when Itellyou. It

nearly took away my breath when I first thought of
it. You know that we were 5 eaking about the pos-
sibility of Dandy being Capta n Claw ?”

b  . I

“ I am satisfied that we were right.”

“ An’ I'm satisﬁed thet we was clean ‘way off."

“ Why do you think so?” _

Dunslon related his adventures Since leaving the
cabin, concluding with: . .

“If Dandy is er villain, w‘at fer did he sad in an‘
shoot two 0’ lher masked aloots? I reckon that
they must ’a’ bin a art 0' t ler gang 0’ Vultures."

“They could not ave been, for I am certain that
Danﬁy is Captain Claw.”

' ev ye enny new proof l?"

“ My discovery.”

“ An’ thet isf’

“ Simply this: Dandy isa girl I ”

“ W‘atr" almost shouted the _astounde:l old
ran er. . .

“ andy is a gir " re ated Frank; “and that
girl is Bess, Queen of the ulturesl“

CHAPTER XVI.
DANDY msarraans.
‘OIﬁJODAVE was amazed. bed b I” h d
‘ yee. you re crazy as er - e as .
Frank lau hed. us 3 W
“ Not a bit, old man.

 
I knew that you would

think me daft; but, I am certain that I have hit up-'

on the trurh."

“ W‘y, how do ye know? Hev ye enny proof?"

“ I don‘t need any. It is proof enough to see the
two. for they look exactly alike.
doubt about. it. Dandy is playing a double part."

But Old Dlsmal shook his head.

“ You'll never meck me believe it in thet way.
They might look jest erlike an’ be brother an‘ sis-
ter.

“ But the voice of Dandy is the voice of the girl
who called herself Queen of the Vultures.”

“ Thet might be.”

“ Now look here. Dunstou. it is lain that you are
not going to be easily convinced: but I think that
you Wlll acknowledge one thing.”

“ W‘at’s thet?”

(“that is. that Dandy seems very much like a
glr .

“ Waal.” drawled the stubborn old fellow, “ thet
hain’t no roof,"

“ I shou (1 say that it is very 00d proof. Think
of his small hands and feet, ‘s soft voice and
quiet wa s. It seems stran e to me that we never
mils ” to him before. I tel you, Dave. Dandy isa
g r .

But the ranger was still obstinate.

“ There hain’t no gal livin' as kin ﬁght ther way
I’ve seen thet leetle cuss.” he asserted. “ W’y,
tenderfoot, he‘s er perfec’ tornaderl”

“Girls can ﬁght sometimes.”

“ Yes. I know thet. Fer instance, thar’s Calam
ity Jane. Thet feemale w'ars breaches an‘ kin fight
her way ennywhar; but. you can’t meck me
have thet Dandy is no second edishun o’ Calamity
Jane. I tell you, my leetle is or man ”

“ If so. it is all the worse or him. for. in that case
helfmust beCaptain Claw, the Vulture chief him-
se . . r
“P’r’aps so, but I’m jest er leetle puzzled ’bout
them thar Vultures."

“ How is that l?”

“ Waal, thar seems ter be two ban’s o’ ’em, an’
oneararlll’gseems terbe buckin’ erg’in ther other."

e .’ >

“Ter which ban’ does ther genuine Cap’n Claw
belon ?‘ Thet’s the question.”

“ at diﬂerence does that make?”

“ Considerable. One 0’ them ban’s is not so very
had an’ may really be a sor. of vigerlance or erniza-
ti'mtw’at is tryin ter wipe out ther ginu ne lan’
plra es.

‘You maybe right, but it seems ve sin lar
that a party of law-servers should take til}: nag: of
a ganglof outlaws in the manner that it would ap-
pear t at one of these parties have done.”

“It is Jest er bit queer, I’ll hev ter admit, but I
reckon thet’s est erbout ther way it is.”

“ And you t ink that Dandy may be the leader of
the Vigilantes?”

“Wnnl. I ﬂgger it thet way. I hev seen sum
things w’at I paint tole easy one erbout. I believe
ther lad’s white.”

“If Band is a man, he may be uare, but I
doubt it. I he isa man. he has been eceiving us
in a way that looks anything but white. He joined
the train as being from the East.”

“An’ I dunno but he is. It’s an almighty per-
plexin’ ‘fair ennyhow. ’ Ghost 0’ old Goliath ‘ I
wish I c’u'd see boxtoml’ .

“I wish the same thing I feel as if we were in
constant peril while We remain here and that peril
was increasin .”

“You hain‘tfz fur from right. I’ll allow: but, w’at’s
ter be dun? If ther pore woman. Nina's mother,
was here, we’d start fer Custer or Deadwood. But,
sheéllain’t hygr? d! ,

‘ i w e oun ‘

“Ye‘ir'é‘ngm, boyee. she must be foun'. If thar
was only sum one ter take ther rest 9’,y01} "lth
tor ther neares‘ camp. 1'6 silly b01111! an hunt 19;?
her; but as it is, we’ve all got tor stay till shes
foun .

“Yes; and every minute that her mother s fate
is obscured by uncertainty Nina grows more and
more restless and excited. It is difﬁcult for the
poor girl to remain (ﬁllet for a moment. She slept
a part of the time w ile you were away. but several
times she awoke c lling to her mother.”

Old Dave bowed is head and remained silent for

through im.
Ohl there is no 

 
several moments. Finally he ﬂung out One hand
with a muttered imprecatlon: '

“Howlin‘ tonlcatsl" he snapped. "That is w’at
I call or gittln‘ in or tarnal scrapel"

“ One which we shall be fortunate. to get out of."

“ Waal, I dunno l‘ve bin in wuss ones, an’ I al-
lus kem out right side up with care I‘ve bin
through trials, tribbylashuns au' disasters 0‘ all
kinds, yet hyer I am. Ter be shore, I‘m not w'at
I uster was. but then, I‘m er pritty good man now "

To which Frank assented.

“I fancied that our trials were retty well over
when we entered the Hills," said t we young East- -
erner; “ but it seems that they had only begun." l

“Ifther reds don‘t stumble ontel' us. we'll most
problikely git through all right. But if they git
arter us, ther Ole. Boy‘ll be ter pay. I reckon ther
Hills are pritty full 0 ’em."

“ But I fear the outlaws more than the reds."

"Thet's beca‘se you don‘t know ther measly red
rinos. I'd rayther git hafe er dozen o’ ther lan"

lrares arter me than one. o‘ ther red imps, althou h

haln‘t ever had much trouble in lickin' sev al
times In weight in Injuns."

“ We] , we must depend on Providence."

“Great ginger! If the! was all we had ter depen‘
on, I reckon we might git inter er wuss fix than we
are now. “ We’d better depen' on ourselves."

“ But. what are we to do about Dandy?”

“ Do? W'y, we haln‘t goin’ ter do northin'l"

“You have more faith in him than I have," con-
fessed Frank.

8, lad. we’ll never git inter enny trouble
Don’t you worry."

“I wish I was as sure.”

The old uide and the young man returned to the
cabin. en they opened the door both were sur-
prised to see Dandy and Miss Mayblossom talking
together in one corner. The youtl and the queer
little old maid appeared to be decidedly startled at
their sudden entrance. and Frank fancied that Miss
Flora looked confused. Dandy arose quickly and
moved toward the place where Nina was sitting.

“Did you see that, Dave?" asked the young East-
erner, in a low tone. _

“My two eyes are wide open tight," was the

re 1 . »

Phat do you think?" ,

“ I dunno.” ‘

“Well, I‘ll tell you what I think. I believe that
that singular woman is an accomplice of this person
whom we call Band 1" . ,

“ It did. look like there was an understandin’
atween them." confe ssed the old ranger. “ By ther
holy okerl I reckon that thar feemale's er hom-
bly o d fraud! ‘ Consarn all this mix, says I!” .

And Frank sh red his belief.

, Dandy halted side Nina, saying: '

"‘ Cheer up Miss Harland. I am sure that every-
thing will end well." .

But. Nina’s face lost little of its sadness.

“ You are kind to try to encourage me " she said;
“ but I cannot be cheerful while morher s fate is‘so
wrapped in uncertainty. If I only knew where she

“I am conﬁdent that you will be reunited soon.
She is probably searchinz for you ”

“And in danger, while 1am safe."

“ We are all in more or less danger. The Hills are
swannin with hostiles."

“Yes. know. Miss Mayblossom andeere at.
tacked by a arty of them. She fought like a real
hgoinenbut 18f; tIhaey wouédlliavgl overpowered us
I no rave ve an r. enwa a ared
and dispatched them.” y pm

“ Yes. I learned of that from Miss Mayblossom,”
smiled Dandy. “She said that Mr. Fenway too

ulte a prominent part in the rescue. He did the
shorting, while Old Dismal dispatched the red-

‘1 s.

“ Now it is not ht for on to speak of him in
that way," proteste the gir ,4 s if slightly onended.
“ You have never been of as much service as that to
me. ‘
“ It is hecausd I have never been fortunate eno h
to have had the chance,” declared Dand .as e
bent”over her. “I am ready to do anyt ing for

u.

“ Anything?”

“Yes, anything ,’ "

“ Then ﬁnd my mother and bring us togetherl”

“ How will you reward me?"

“There that is like a man! You said you were
ready to do anything for me. but when I ask you to
do something, you want a reward for the service.”

“You should be willing to reward me for dcing so
great a service."

“ I am,” she murmured. “ If you will ﬁnd mother
and ﬁring,“ together, I will reward you."

it 

“ You shall have a penny." and the gill laughed
for the first time. “ There sir, isn’t that sufﬁcient?”

Dandy could not help joining in the laugh.

“ The inducement is rory tem ting," he admitted.
" I promise on I will do everyt line ‘11 my power to
ﬁnd her. an , having friends near. I ( pe to be we
cessful.”

“ Having friends near?" ec‘. oed the girl. “Who
are they-Old Dave and Mr. Fenway?" '

“ No. there are cthers of whom an know nothing.
With their assistance, there will little chance of
failure if your mother is living.”

“ But I do not understand how you can have other
{glands than Mr. Fenway and the guide. Who are

ey ’

Before he could answer, the door swung open and
Mrs.’ Harland, herself, stepped into the room!

Then there was a scene ndescribable.

After which it was discovered that Dandy had dis-
appearedl

  
’ sis.

w

 
U S a1“u“'i=' 5" "7".

 
CHAPTER XVII.
Humans or THE GLoon.

A BLACK shadow in the darkness—a phantom-like
figure that steals like a grim ghost through the
g oom.

Silence over the Hills—a silence broken only by
the harsh cry of some night bird or the inournful
bowl of a wolf.

The shadow pauses and looks back through the
blackness. It assumes a listening attitude. Only
the spirit-like whisper of the wind amid the rocks
and pines is to be heard.

After a time the shadow m0ves onward again. In
a moment it seems to be swallowed up, or to melt
.awa , in the darkness.

‘V at is that?

Another shadow that steals silently throu h the

loom. It seems to be following the ﬁrst gure.

ts footl'alls are like the dropping of forest leaVes.
Onward it glides and vanishes as the first had done.

The wind amid the pines seems to he whis ering
of some terrible thing. Now it moans faint ylike
the sobbingr of a tired child. There is something
blood-chilling about the sound.

What are these phantoms of the night?

Listen!

“I cannot understand this strange terror that is
upon me. My heart thrills with an unknown fear
and my blood seems like ice water in my veins. I
am no cravcn, yet tonight I tremble with terror and
shrink from t e darkness which surrounds me.
What ails me?“

It is the ﬁrst shadow that seems to be speaking.
It has halted and is trying to peer back through the
darkness again.

. “ It seems that I am followed, but Ican see or
hear nothng I fancy that there is some one close
behind me, ut when I turn. there is nothin but
this cursed darkness. Why did I start to vi 1: the
hidden treasureﬁthe spoils of my lawless deeds-to-
night? Another time would have done as well.

‘Ah! What was that?”

For several moments the silence is only broken by
what souan like the short, panting breathing of a
terriﬁed human being. Then once more the wind
moans amid the pines and the wolf howls far away.

“ It was nothing. I am a fool to be frightened at
m own shadow. More than a score of times have
I aced death and not quailed, and now I am terriﬁed
by the gloom of a summer night. Iam ashamed
of myself. Miles Rexford, you are losmg your
nerve.

" And at I know that there is an avenger on m
trail. T e man whom the Vultures hanged in Cal -
fornia because he would not tell where his old was
secreted stid lives and has proved a perfec Neme-
He is crazy, but none the less dangerous for
that reason. It seems an im ssibility to kill him.
He knows me as Captain law, but when I have
given up this wild life and begun the world anew in
anotherland, Miles Rexford cannot be connected
with thdlawless chief of the California Vultures.
There are better days ahead.

"Fate seems to have taken a sudden turn against
me just now. but the tide cannot always run in one
direction. If it was not for that cursed ang which
has stolen our name, and which seems etermined
to destrov us all. we might reap a rich harvr st here
in the Hills. and scatter to the four quarters of the
earth before the Government could lay its hands
upon us. As it is, I fear that We shall have to dis-
band or be destroyed. -

“ But I have wealth enough even if we have to
disband lo-morrow. It is safely concealed, and
none of the band know that I have it. I am going
to see that it has not been disturbed. Ha ha!
With the savings of my lawless career, I can live
likea prince and havo everything that the heart
can ask for. I

“Stop! Didlsay eve hing? I was wrong, for
all my wealth will not uy me the true love ofa
true woman. I have seen one whom I could wor-
ship. I stole her from her mother‘s side, but fate.
aided g the band that has stolen our name.
gnatch her away from me. I have lost her, I

ear.

“ But why am I standing here? I will go on

am

Once. more the shadow steals onward. It little
dreams how close it is followed by a second
shadow!

Again the night wind whis
and it prophesies of a terrib 9 gm dy that soon
to occur. The night bird awing m e gloom shrieks
out as if in sudden terror and plunges onward into
the blacknessu _ I

Finally the shadow pauses again, and this time it
is on the very brink of a precipice. Hidden by the
darkness far, far down are the terrible rocks.

“ Ugh! That would not be a. ood place to take a
tumble, I fancy. The darkness ides the rocks, but
they are there."

" Yes, they are there, Ca tain Claw!"

A shriek of terror. and e ﬁrst shadow ﬁnds it-
self in the grasp of the phantom-like pursuer. But,
there is nothing ghostly about the iron grip which
1681,21: thtitdaﬂi figure suspended on the verge of the

“Grgegt God!" groans the helplem victim that is
to be. “The avenger!"

“Ha! ha! ha!” ,

A wild laugh—the blood-cunning laugh of a mad-

man!

“Yes, the avenglfr. Captain Claw! I have been
long on your trac , and mv hour hascome at last.
You hanged a man years ago, in California! From
that moment you were doomed! The spirit of the
deadman has pursued vcvui Tonight on tried to

rs in a. ghostly way,
3

” J I  mg the ghost of the man whom you led m

.here by our foes, red or white.”

 
ago! He told you then that on would not live to
see the sun rise again. He spo e the truth i"

“ M God i" gasps the voxce of him who is held
overt e chasm. "It is uselesa to plead with a mad-
man!"

“ Yes, it is useless. You are doomed! But, when

on go down, you will be locked fast in my arms.

shall bear you down swiftly and dash you on the
rocks. Then I will sit beside your body and laugh.
Ha! ha! I shall lau h! Ca tain Claw, your time
has come! Bid goo -by to ifel"

With a wild cry, the im eriled one struggles fran-
tically. Again that ma laugh is heard, and then,
with the poor wretch clasped in his arms, the mad-
man leaps out into the darkness!

One last wild shriek comes up out of the gulf; then
all is still!

 
The bod-beats of a galloping horse who through
the darkness. The anima is traveling at amad
pace toward the northwest, and there is a rider on
its back, who is constantly urging it on with voice
and spur.

“ I would give a hundred dollars if I was in Dead-
wood at this minute,” declares the rider. “The
Hills are full of reds, but I feel little fear of them.
At the same time. Iknow that 1 am not safe. I
have been thinking how much that young man who
Eretended to be Leda’s brother looked like Leda

erself, and I have more than half decided that it
was not a young man, but was Leda, whom I have
supposed dead. I am almost sure that 1am right.
How she escaped death I cannot tell, but I believe
that was she. f I am right, then she is on my trail,
and she means to finish my career. I must look
8 arp.’

On through the night goes the galloping horse.
\Xith an anxious eye, the rider glances up toward
t e sk .

“A dark night, thank fOrtune l” he says. “ There
will be a. moon later, but I fanc that the sky will
be overcast with clouds. So muc the better for me.
I scarcely believe that thereican be much danger
from this strange band of whom father told me.
The will not know of my movements.

“ ow singular it was that after so many ears
father and I should meet as we did. He said t at I
am achip from the old block, and I believe him.
He is now an outlaw—the leader of the dreaded
California Vultures. I cannot say that I have a
father to be proud of. I

" But, it is very strange that anolheroband of men
should take the same name and six] be ﬁghting
against those whom father leads. I cannot under—
stand it at all. He said that the other band has a
beautiful queen—a girl not far from Leda’s agez ac-
cording to his tell. Something tells me that it is
her own self. If so. she is surely looking for me.

" Ha! what’s that?”

A dark form 9 rin up before the horse and
seizes the animal dy t e bit. The rider jerks out a
revolver, but he 095 not use it. Several other
dark forms appear and a voice cries:

“ Robert Rexford, you are wanted!”

Then he is seized and dragged from the horse. In
the struggle which follows the revolver is dis-
charged. The horse breaks away from the man
who is holding him and, riderless, goes galloping
madly on to the northwest.

Then the dark shadows and their prisoner seem to
melt away and vanish in the loom. ,

Darkness and silence over t e Hills. ‘

Dandy was gone! _ .

This discovery created no little surprise and con-
sternation among the inmates of the cabin in the
secluded gulch. Old Dismal and Frank Fenway
gazed into each other‘s eyes and read the thoughts
which had not then been exfpressed in words
Locked in each other‘s arms, lied with the great
joy cf their reunion, mother and daughter were not
so conscious of the consternation that the sudden
disappearance had created as they would have
been at another time. Miss Mayblossom ﬂew round
like a. person deranged, shaking her white apron ex-
citedly, and laughing and crying in a breath.

Old Dave called‘Frank aside.
th“ meg do ye think about it, tenderfoot?" asked

e e.

“I think that we had better get out of this as fast
as the Lord will let us," was the reply. '

“ I dunno but you're right,” admitted the ranger.

“ It is the best thing that we can do. This sudden
disappearance looks mightv suspicious. ‘ ~

“ t du'z look er leetle quare. I can’t jest under-
s ‘ ' . '

“If he is all straight, what did he leave us s'o sud-
denly for?” '

Dismal shook his head.

“ That‘s er conundrum.” V

“ We are all together, and now is the time to make
a move. By to-morrow or sooner we may be found

“ Thet’s or foe . I believe you‘re right. You git
ther feemales reddy an’ I’ll hev th’er ho: sea on ther
iBigot. ’ By sunup we kin be or good long piece frum

er I

In a remarkably brief space of time, the party
was ready to move. With a feeling of. satisfaction,
they bade good-by to the old cabin. As there were
not enough horses by one Nina rode behind Frank.
Away throu h the night e followed the veteran

hide, who, or once n his: to, was grim and taci-

urn.
Suddenly Old Dismal drawsrein. They are many
miles from the little cabin in the gulch. I
“ Seems ter me jest like I smel smoke," whispers

the old Hills pilot.
“ I believe can too.” 3 Frank.
v The guide slips from his orse. - ,

i “Jest you.stay here w’ile I go ter inw-stlgate.”
'Then he glides forward and disappears in the
gloom.

I It is nearly time for the moon to rise, but the sky

1 is overcast. There will be litlle moonlight wasted

i on the Black Hills country to night.

Five, ten, ﬁfteen minutes pass, but Old Dismal

' does not return.

“- I hear voices i”

It is Miss Mayblossom who makes this declaration.
The others listen and fancy that they can hear
. voices, too.

“ I’m goin’ ter see what it is," declared the little
woman; and before any one‘can prevent, she has
dismounted from the mule and disappeared in the
darkness.

in a few moments she returns.

“Come with me!” she cries. in an excited whis-
per. “ I have soc elln‘n to show you.”

They follow her, an a few minutes later find
themselves looking down into a little valley where
thelhght of two large hr! 3 reveals a thrilling spec-
ac e.

A band of masked men are standing with revol-
vers in their hands. They form two dark lines, at
either end of which twenty paces apart. stnnd two
persons who are acing each fiber with dueling
pistols in their ha nds. One of the duelists is Robert
Rexford. The other is Bess, the Vulture Queen!

The girl is speaking, and her voice is clear and
distinct.

“Robert Rexford. our hour has come! I have
hunted you down at ast. I thought on were the
chief o the CaliforniaVultures, an I organized
this band for the purpose of destro log you and
your followers. At last I have learne my mistake.
t is your father, not you, who is the true Captain
Claw! But I have you. villain that you are, in my
power. and you shall die.”

“ Go on With our fan.” comes harshly from Rex-
ford’s lips. “I warn ou thatIam a dead shot.
and I shall shoot to kil . This will put you out of
the we fcrever.”

“ If die, you die also. ' Are you ready?”

“-Yes ’1

7
“ Manton, give the signal.”
One of the masks steps forward and lays:
“ All ready! One, two—"
.But before the fatal “three ” can be uttered, a
riﬂe-shot ring out, and Robert Rexford drops dead;
a bullet in his brain!

CHAPTER XVIII.
REVELATIONs—CONCLUSION.

Wrrn a shriek, the Vulture Queen rushed to the
side of the fallen man, and dropped on her knees.

“He is dead.” she screamed, and in an instant
the dueling pistol was at her own head, but like a
ﬂash a lithe figure bounded forward and snatched
the weapon from her hand, crying:

"Leda, you are mad!"

It was Dandy! . I

“ Walter!” gasped the girl, and then fainted In
his arms. ‘

but suddenly another figure broke through the
(clirclletand paused, gazing into the face of the dead
' ue IS .

“ He is dead,” said the new-comer, slowly—“ dead!
Father and son are both dead."

It was the crazy man of the Hills who called him-
self “ Shadow, the Man from Sundown.” But, no
longer do his eyes gleam with the terrible light of
madness.

" I cannot remember everythin .” he mutters,
slowly. “ I know that I was hang in CalifOrnia—
I know that some one cut me down and bi ought me
back to life in some‘ remarkable wa . I swore ven-
geance on the wretches who had anged me, and
started -on the trail. A part—the greater part-l—of
the time since then has been a blank to me. Some
time ago Ifound myself lying beside a dead man-
A match shawed me that the corpse was that of the
leader of the gang that hanged me. He seemed to
have been dashe to death upon the rocks, and I
felt like I had had a terrible fall.
it all came about, but I do know that Richard Har-
land is‘himself once more i"

The last words were spoken very distinctl . They

rushed forward to ﬂing hefself into the étmngb
man’s arms, gas ing: I '

“ Richard, my usband !” “ .

The long reparated husband and wife were re-
united. ‘ ,

Nina had followed her mother close! . and Frank
and Miss Mayblossom were not far hind. The
scene which ensued is indescribable.

When the dkcitement had somewhat subsided and
the Vulture Queen had been restored to conscious-
ness, Dandy said:

" This has been a night of adventures and s ris-
es, but' thank Heaven! things have not end as
badl, as they might. I have found my sister whom
I be eved dead, and, although she is queen ofaband
of men who are sometimes known as the California
Vultures, I am glad to say that her subgects, not one
of them, are in anyway connected wit the original
band by that name In fact. they have wo
against the original Vultures and have succeed
making the Hills pretty hot for them.”

, “ Bu who is Ca tam Claw?" asked Frank.

Hollis. me of his nefarious business tookhim
down the Niobrara. and when he was returning,

joined our train. He an in oommun ting
with his lawless followers long before the train
reached the Hills, and I more than half-believed
that the band of reds which came between our lit-
.tlo party andthetrain were some of the ultures

 
The band of masked men gathered around them. i

I know not how '

were followed by a wild cry, and afema eﬂgure. '

“ The enulne aptain Claw we knew as Edwin "

 
.’.*..._.........w ~_d...‘._n...,..n-._.


i.
. it,
’ 5.
,7 2‘.

M

   
dis _ ised as Indians. It was a trick to separate us.
Ho is. or Miles Rexl'ord. as is hi true name, had
planned to kidnap Miss Nina, which he afterward
did. He is a crafty villain.”

“Miles Rexford is dead," declared Richard Har-
land. “I believe that the hand of God struck him
down.”

“But. there was another Captain Claw," said
51mg}; Fenway. “The leader of this band—who was

a .

"That was my sister.” answered Dandy. “She
played a double. part. I am well aware that you
suspected me, but I had nothing .to do with the
band. Old Dave saw me in their midst, but I was a
prisoner at the time, although 1 had given my word
to make no attempt to escape. That was why I
was unbound. It was then my sister learned that I
was searching for her, but she refused to see me.
One of her men told me what I have told to you,
and when I was released, it was with instructions to
call upon the hand if I ever needed friends.”

“And at one time Iﬂrmly believed you agirl,"
Frank confessed. "I thought that you were play-
ingatri 1e ai ." _

“No, di not not deceive you, although, for cer-
tain reasons, I witheld in true name, Walter
Alger. I thought In Sister ead, and was searching
for the man whom believed to have led her into a
false marﬁage and deserted her. I feared that if I
gave in , name, he would discover I was after him.
I have ound him, at last. He lies dead at my feet,
but I am at a loss to know who fired the shot that
laid him low.”

“ Ghost 0’ ole Goliath! Who tired ther shot?
Waal don't ye never tell ennybod as how I toie ye
who dun it, fer I never tole ya a 1:. ng."

Old Dismal was on hand and everybody looked
signiﬁcantly at the long ride which he carried; but
if they expected the 01 man to say more, they were
disappointed. If the old guide ﬁred the shot which
dropped the youthful villain, no man ever learned
the truth from his lips.

“ In my search for Robert Rexford,” said Dandy,
or, properly, Walter Alger, “ I was aided b a
shrewd detective, who is among us. Miss ll ay-
blossom l” =

“Ob, dear!” panted the little woman, as she came
forward, nodding and smiling in a Silly way. “ Iam
here. sir; but I am all shakin’ with realtement and
covered with resperation. These are turri ble tryin’
times for a poor lone woman. when all the men are
as dece shus as this miserable old dried—u wretcli
who ha the outdacity to ask me to marry um and
then run away! Just as in would have anything to
do with a mark—just as if!" .

ﬁnd she looked the picture of injured dignity and
VI ue. .

“I never-asked ye_ ter marry me. on old cata-
maran!" cried Old Dismal, now brislling up and
seemingly full of ﬁght.

“ You did, you old bunch of bones!" sna ped Miss
Flora, shaking her ﬁsts under the old gui e's nose.
“ You knoll: you did! If you dare call me that nasty
name again. I’ll scald youl”

- The again discomﬂted ran er took several ,sud-
den steps backward and sat own on the ground,
guite florcibly. At this ‘the little woman laughed

earti y.

“Gentlemen and—ladies,” continued Walter Al~
ger—“ I came near forgetting that there are ladies
presmt—this is the detectiva who has helped me to
ﬁnd Robert Rexl’ord. Allow me to introduce to you
Cyrus Craftly, of the Chicago Pinkerton force.”

In a moment, to the amazement of the spectators,
Miss Mira Angelica Mayblossom became trans-
formed into a maul .
vealed the masculine attire beneath.

The shrewd detective had in truth played his part
marvelously well.

The California Vultures disa cared fro t
Black Hills, but very few knew {lilo cause olnthilelig
sudden Vanishing, and the fate of Captain Claw re-
miiiinlia glyfitelﬁ' d d t ha

0 ar ar n seeme 0 ve recov

right mind when he found himself l ingerggslllig
-the dead body of the man who had condemn-
ed him to death so many years before in Cali-
fornia. It was a miracle t at he was not killed by
the lea over the reel ice, but, it is also not un-
likely t at that fa an concussion reelly restored
his reason, Re-united with his wife and beautiful
daughter, he began life anew, feeling that his life
had been spared and his reason restored.

Nina mamed Dandyr-Walter Alger, for the rivalr

‘ between Walter and rank terminated when Fran
was instrumental in saving “Bess, the Vulture
Queen.” from the two desperadoes who were lying
in ambush for her. From that hour the youn
Easterner thought by do. and dreamed by night 05
her dark eyr s and beaut Mace. It was more than
.a year after Walter and Nina were married before
Leda could be induced to accept the youn man
who was so enamored of her. -At last, it in
been established that her ﬁrst marriage waz per-
fectly legal, she consented. Let us hope that she
found happiness and sunshine at_iast, and we are
sure that we do not hope in vain.

Craftly, the little detective, is still in the harness.
His favorite disguise is that of a little old woman. '

And Old Dismal Dave? ‘

If any one wishes to start the old Hills tramp’s
temper they have only to mention “Miss Flora
A elica Ma blossom. ’ .

‘ EGhost o’yOle Goliath!" he will say. “I didn’t
know w’at er blamed ole tool Dave Dunstan could
_ ~ lac-till! ot tooken in in thet way. by or man in petty-
 t makes me want ter bag my head every
. time I think 0’ it-it jest does!”
I . . ‘ ml nun.

239 The 001

The skirts fell away and re-‘

ving .

i
I
G
H
is
'I
..
2
..
H
:-

 
Beadle's Halfjlime library.

BY “’11. G. I’ATTEN.

489 The Dlamond Sport: 013le Double Face ofBed Rock

519 Cu. tuln Mystery 1 or, Flvla In ()no.
53] Du my Dare tlu- Sport i'rluu Denver.
537 Old llolnlmholl, the Runger Deter-tire.
60} Iron For", the Mun of Fire.

619 The Boy Trump Detective; or. The Double GilpWitnen.

BY CAPT. MARK WILTON.

956 Young Kcntuek; or, Tim ill-d Lasso.

$70 llllzzaril “on r or, The Riot lit Kano Camp.

366 Josh, the Boy Tonderi’oot.

BY COLCN EL DELLE SARA.

103 The Lion oftho Hon; or, The Vullod Lady.
1356 Cool Desmond; or, The Gambler’s Big Unino.

BY JAMES L. BolVEN

107 (IneJE oil ﬁlm; or, The Abandoned For-at Homo.
110 The I! act. Steed oftho l'rulrlcu. A Story of Tom.

BY 10. DUNNING CLARK.

185 Captain Puul ° or, The Boy Spy? oftl'ifixlt‘lhlloéilntoxins-l.l “{
n a o is m: or .

280 The Yankee llajuh; or. The
BY C0].. A. F. ll0LT.

899 Black Bucknkln: or, The Masked Men of Death Canyon.

419 Kenneth, tllu Knife-King.
435 Little Llahtl’oot, the Pilot 0! the Woods.

BY LIEUT. II. D. PERRY. U. S. N.
176 The Boy Runaway; or. The Buccaneer oftha Bay.

180 The Sea Trailer; or, A va Well Ke it

19% Captain Kit: or, The Mystery of Montallu-k Point.

BY HARRY HAZARD.

828 Arknnuaw Jack: or. The Scourge of the Mines.

329 Red-Skin Tom or, The Demmi’c Trail.

840 The Mountain evil; or. Yellow Jack, the Outlaw.

BY FREDERICK DEWEY.

813 Clmnrron Jack. the King—Pin of Riﬂe-Shots.
478 Tungolnund, the Dmrt Detective.

542 The Cunyon Purdu.

BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID.

78 Blue chkt or, The Yellow Chief’s Vengeance.
8? The Land Plrnteu or, The League ol‘ Devll’l island.
18? The llelgleso Hon 3 or. Backwoods Rutﬂbutiou.
~seokel‘ Guide: or. The Loni. Mount-in.

BY W. J. HAMILTON.

63 The Red Brotlwr‘nood: or, The Twelve Avengers.

66 Slu le llmrd: in, -‘\ Lil's lur'u l.l“-'.
72 Mm Tom “‘cstorn, it... 'l‘.-x u. l‘ W's-er.

88? Ben Bird. the Cave King; or, ilig 1". .n'u Scoop.

BY BRACEBRIDGE IIEMYNG.

89 Island Jim: or, The Pet of the ani

ly.
1 The Captain of the Club; or. The Rival Athletes‘

9
101 Jack llnrkowuy in New York.

BY \l’ILLlAM 1!. BY STE“.

190 Dandy Dnrke; or, The Tigers oflilgh Plus.
210 Flu-o Frank: or, Dandy Darke’u (Jo-Down Yards

BY ARTHUR C. GRISSCM.

440 Little Foxfoot, the Gold Bowie Kid.
558 The Sure-Shot Fords.
621 Truthi’ul James, the “Pepooliar” Mun.

BY J. o. cownmox.
860 Silver-Mack, the Man of Mystery.

369 Shanta. the Gold King; or, For Seven Years Dead.
420 The Detective’n A prentioe: or, A Boy Without a N one.
424 Cllmtn John: M, ell-Hot Timer at Ante Bar.

489 Sandy Sam, the Street Scout.

46'? Disco Dan. the Dial: ‘ Dude.

490 Brondwnﬁ Blll . t e Boothlaclr Bravo.
506 ltodll lit in] , the Prince ol‘tlie Road.
51 Bron \vuy Bil ’u Boodle.

no The Engineer )etertlve.

586 Broadway Billy’s ‘Dlmkllty.”
548 lﬂnrt, the Night Express Detective.

557 liromlwa Billy‘s Death Racket.
Air-Linc mice the Young Engineer.

 
592 The Boy Pinkerton.

605 “'llllum 0’ BrondW'ayéhriir?’l‘l}e g? Pietfclclveil Big Inning.
u o a no yc one.

615 Fighting Hurry, the

DY PHILIP S. \VARN E.

 
on 11 Boy: or, The Dwarf’l Revenge.
Attlo Jlllﬂo' or, the Queer Paid.

I

l

l

%

Little slam y I; or, A Race for l Ranch.

lblttlo Leather-

thtlo All Sin. or, The Curse of Blood.

Colorado Rate. A Tale of the million.

'l‘lu-oo Jolly Poi-do.

gllm Gladden’u Deput .

Flue Jolly .l’urds to t o Rescue.

54'? Randy Andy; or, A Good Mun Down.

or, The Cut for a Life.
Weasel-top. the Man with the Dow.

598 Keen Clem. the Ranch imp.

599 lm Dandy the No-Nnme Sport.

618 lily Blazes; or, The Skoleloli’o Legacy.

BY- ALBERT W. AIKEN.

 
l The Two Detectlven or, The Fortunoo of: Bomry Girl.

1

76 Abe Colt. tho Crow-Killer.

79 Sol Gln er. the Giant Tm per.
as: Joe Duo of Angels ring In.

404 Nimble . lek. the Circus Prince.
493 Too; Tod. tne Arlzonu Sport.
510 Cool Colorado, tlla Half-Brood Detectin-

. 518 Clool Colorado in New York.

 
A

5
5 9 The Chimney Spy: or, Broadway Billy’s Surprllo~Purty.

Potent-Leather Joe: or, Old Rattle-min, tho-‘Chmi.
" r ‘ Arllono: or, Potent-Leather Joe's Big G

)aptaln Monk; or Patent-143th" Joe’s Defeat.

Des ard, the Duellotz u, The Mountain vapiroo.

l

Attic ormulo: or, The Outcnau of the Glen.
Attle Oh-myF’lor, Caught in His Own Tnp. .

' maker 3 or. Old Jumbo’l Guru.

0 P El.
447 New York Not. A Tale of Tri I {lid Traps in Got-hull.
458 New En laud Nick: or. The Fortunes ofal'oundllug.

 
BY CAPTAIN FRED. WIIITTAKER.

15 The Hon-Cut: or, The Witch of Dnrien.
29 The Dumb [’11 e' or, The Dligu’u Daughter.
48 Dick Darling. t iu l’uily Expmu Rider.
150 Lance and Lam-o: or. ’l‘lm Childrvn ul'thu Charo.
154 The h'wm-d Ilunteru; ur, Tim Lund ol'tho Ele ihant Riders.
159 The Lost Captain; or, Sklppar Jubez Coﬂlii'u mine to tho
0 Mi I’ulnr Sell.
.00 'I‘ no Boy Hodouluu; or, The Brother- oi the l‘lurnmi Lance.
214 “'oll'gunz. the Rubber of the Rhino.
B49 Mllo Homer, the Animal King; or, Thu Round the World
Wanderer.
965 The Tiger Tamer: or, The League of the Jungle.
831 “luck lok. the Demon Rider.
895 California Joe's War Troll.

BY “UCKBKIN SAM (Molor Earn. 5. llall.)
284 lgldkllocky‘u "Boyce" or, Bonito, till Young Horu-
ll l'

T". t1 -
246 (Hunt Com-cc; or, The And at the Range.
276 A rlzouu Jack 3 or. Giant Goorgo’o Ford.
397 The anuutulu of Tnoui or, Glam. George’s Revenge.
80’? The Litrunge Paul or, mle Bon'o Daub Hunt.
818 Ker-whorls. leer-w on; or.’l‘ho Tumutuln of'l‘aol.
82? Croolilnr ‘ut. the Cuddo; or, The Rod nnd White Paulo.
882 Frlo ‘rml: or, The Tonknway’u Trust.
8-1-4 T! c Fighting Trlo; or. Rnttlomake, the Tonkawly.
849 \‘l’ M Vl oll’: or, Biz-Foot Wallace to the Front.
65'? The ll ant-h Raider-n or, The Siege of Fort Pugntory,
861 Snap-Shot. the Hay longer. . '
875 Chlotu, the Greek or The Three Thund.rmlul
881 llnndera “III: or. rlo liranlr to the Front.
899 Romeo and the Red“ or, The Bahamich Ranch.
404 thtle Lin-Int; or, Pecan Pete’s Big Rampage.
414 The Dali-y from Denver.
42’? The Three Trailers: or, Old Rocky on tho Ramps".
449 Bluff mu; or, The Lynx of tho Loom.
455 thtle Lone Star: or, The Belle of the Cibolo.

BY MAJOR E. L. ST. VBAIN.

999 Sancho Pedro the Boy Bandit.

801 Li-ndvlllc Nlc , tlm Hoy Sport.

81$ lledtop Rube. the Vigilante Prince.

833 lirlmntone Bob, and His Lightning Horse Quorum.
852 Tombstone Tom. the Arizona Boy ot“Snnd.”‘
859 Dllruil ro Dave, the Young Champion Wrestler.
871 Kin ha I. Chris, the Yiung Hard-Shell Detective.
880 «vs uncho Alf. the Foothilll Guide.

890 Jaguar Joe. of the Mountuln Mall-Lino.

BY EDWARD “'ILLETT.

16? Ann 5 cott. the Steamboat Boy.
199 F-n' u eight the Boy Champion ortho Mockingum.
328 on" K Alf or, Featherwolgbt Among the Outlaws.
989 The 'l‘ypo etectlvol or, Won-e]. the Boy Tramp.
995 Four In Phil; or, The King ni‘Quurtzvlllo.
811 The Rovln Sport; or, The Pride of Chuchluck Comp.
399 Name, the eteetlveg or, Kit Ken on'I Vendetta.

0 Cllp the Contortlonlot; onThn outnnn Vl‘llluhl.

 
BY MAJCI; HENRY B. STODDARD. Ell-500!“-

806 Neck-Tie Ned ; or, The Dug-Ont Pnrdu.

846 Ill) ler Ra hnel: or, The Swordsman olchatocu.

391 Kl -Glove It. the Dandy of the Rockies.

89S Kid-Glove Kit and Pardz or, The Gold King.

406 The Mod Man-Hunter; or, The Mystery of Golda

nlc .
505 Powell‘s Ford: or, The One-Armed Giant.

BY CAPT. ALFRED B. TAYLOR U. B. A.
191 I'll‘gﬂ’alo Billy, the Boy Bullwhnckor; or, The Doomed
rtoon.
194 Bullan Inn’- Beta or. The Gambler Guido.

MISCELLAN EOUS AUTIICRH.

4 The “ind-Ilene lunters. 3 Ca t. Ma no Rold an
Frederick Whittaker. l y p y d .
9 Adventures of Baron Munohnusen.

12 Gulliver's Travels. By Donn swift.

l4 Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp.

16 Robinson Crusoe. (‘21 Illustrations.)

18 Sindme the Sailor. His Seven Vo ages.

2’3 '{eliei Sen. Serpent; or, The Boy Roblnoon Crusoe. By Jon

wl. \

88 The Ocean Bloodhound; or, The Rad Pinto. of tho
Carribecs. By S. W. Pierce. '

86 ’g‘hﬁ Boy Clowu; or, Tho Qucon onu- Anna. By hank
. un.

88 Ned _\Vylde. the Boy Scout. B Toxu Jack. '
51 The Boy Riﬂes; or, The Un «ground Comp. 3y Archie

C. Irons. .
95 The Rival Rover" or, Tho Freebootorl of tho Mississippi.
By Limb-Col. Hue t he. - .
98 Robin Ilood. the Outlnwod Earl; or,’I‘lio Merry Mon of Grow.
wood. Bv Prof. Glldonluvo. '
105 {Md Rube. the Hunter; or, Tho. Crow Cuban. By Cw.
. Llamilton Holman.
1’13 The Mod Hunter: or. The Cure of Death. By Burton 3.3..
1nd. mow. the Text!!! or. The Young Chimplon. Dy Goorg.

-3 .
138 .rﬁgm‘eonngipﬂvguen or, The Pluto’s Stronghold. By
143 $23903... : (Ir, The Adventures of I Friandlul Boy. By 1.
Al under PM u.
08’? Dull-Ry Darrell. Tn p": or. The Omen Ranger of tho Yol.
llowutone. By Edward maroon.
261 ‘B'erﬂll Fear-nu M ﬂu New Y wk Boy. B e. 1. Allan.
N as;  m... t...
y .rlu . - - .
I98 gag c‘awé {giggly-d lupw: or. Tho Maid om» our.
. n l .
31'! Flanagan Pete. the Lively Lad from mun. n, u..—
“"“it""iil“°'il" . .. . ..
c e:- we; or
8.8 gnaw)!qu r“. I VI Ihl tor Lilo and Honor.
850 Bled Ralph. the River Rover; or,'ni. mam u.
“ﬁllimllryrgllfulm mzhmaluk Dot u n
865 Bit A no . out.
824 Gold-Dust Tom: on Ben’- Double Milan. 5:32:30 ll.

Mono.
8 6 C ll! 1 ' F 'V
2 :"ohr;:n3“:oco Int Troll. By (.oloul “on.
all Bl lylgomlrlllell. the Cllﬂ Clim‘or. By I'. S. Wh‘hﬂp.

15 The no I‘ll! . 3y Johns Warner.
Comonchelec and Ill. Three Inlele 3’

us “ll” ﬂail" "' ll
nn-rrntlhds. .il
lie Cowbo ’Dueke.” lly Elli... 

559 Ariel the At lute. By David Druid.

585 W 1 Waters, 619 so. Ferret. By Elam.
A New lune Every Tue-clay.

The Half-Dime Library in for lol- 51 I" ll""““‘":" 3 -

out pol copy, or an: by mail on receipt at six «nu cull. ‘ ‘-
BEADLE AND ADASIS. Public!“ , . :'

98 Willie. Stroot. New Yuk! »

 
.. .,‘_

Published Every Tuesday. Each Issue. Complete and Sold at the Uniform Price of Five Cents. No Double Number-8.

 
BY EDWARD L. WHEELER.
Deadwood Dick N ovela.

1 Deadwood Dick, the Prince or the Road.
20 Double Dagger-r or, Deadwood Dick’s mum...
28 Buﬂalo lien; or. emlwood Dick in Diaguiee.
85 i the Boy Claude Duval.
42 Phantom . iner; or. Deadwood Dick’s Bonanza.
49 Omaha on; or Deadwood Dick in Danger.
52 Deadwood Diek’a Eagles; or, The Pards of Flood Bar.
78 Deadwood Dick on Deck; or. Calamity Jane, the Heroine.
7‘? Corduroy Charlie; or, Deadwood Dick’a Last Act.
100 Deadwood Dick in Leadville.
104 Deadwood Dick’s Device: or, The Double Cross Sign.
109 Deadwood Dick as Detective.
129 Deadwood Dick’a Double ; or, Ths Ghost oi Gorgon’l

Gulch.
188 Illollde Bill& or Deadwood Dick'a Home Base.
1 9 A Game of old; or DeadWood Dick’s Big Sun...
166 Deadwood Dick of Deadwood or. The Picked Part .
195 Deadwood Dick’a Dream; or, he Rimls oi'tho Bo .
201 The Black Hills Jezebel; or, Deadwood Dick’s Ward.
205 Deadwood Dick's Doom; or. Calamity Juno’s Last Adv

venture.
21? Captain Crack-Shot, the Girl Brl ml.
221 S ar-Cooted Sam; or, The Bloc Gown.
0 -Duat Dick. A Romance of Rough; and Tongha,
888 Deadwood Dick’l Divide or. The Spirit of Swamp Laks.
268 Deadwood Diek’a Death rail. '
809 Deadwood Dick‘s Big Deal; or, The Gold Brick of

Oregon. .
821 Deadwood Dick’s Dozen ; or, The Faklr oi Phantom Flatl.
84? Deadwood Dick’s Dueata; or, Rainy Days in the Dig-

Inﬁl-
851 Deadwood Dick Sentenced; or, The Terrible Vsndotta.
862 Deadwood Dick’a Claim.
405 Deadwood Dick in Dead City.
410 Deadwood Dick’n Diamonds.
421 Deadwood Dick in New York; or, A “Cute Cam.”
480 Deadwood Diek’a Dust; or, The Chained Hand.
448 De wood Dick, Jr.
448 NickelJ’late N ed; or, Deadwood Dick Jr'a Deﬁance.
458 Sunﬂower Sam, oi Shanta; or, Deadwood Dick Jr’l Full

1 and.
459 Final, Fan, the Ferret; or, Deadwood Dick Jr's Big Round-
465 l’llilo Fly, of Phenlx; or, Deadwood Dick Jr’s Racket at
Claim i0 '

471 Bozeman Bill; or. Deadwood Dick Jr'- Corral.
476 llunbholdt Harry the Hurricane; or, Deadwood Dick Jr’-
og etoc ive.
481 Moll Mystery; or, Deadwood Dick Jr. in Dendwood.
491 Prince i’latoi, the King of the West; or, Deadwood Dick
Jr's Compact.
“on be CriltO, Jr.t or, Deadwood Dick Jr’l Inheritance.
woo Dlek'a Dig lugs; or, Dr. Death-Grlp's Swoop.
wom Dc veranee.
woor
woo;
woo! lancer Dneka. .
woo: Di k’u Death Hunt. 
wood Dick Jr. in Texas.
w Dick, Jr. the Wild West Vldocq.
wood Dick on Illa Mettle.
[wool Dick, Jr. in Gotham.
woo! Dick in Bouton.
ad W001

 
Dick, Jr. oat.

Dick, Jr. in Denver.

Dick, Jr’n. Decree.

wuu Dick Jr. in Beelubub’a Bahia.
woo: Dick Jr. at Coney inland.

wuu Dick Jr’s Leadville Lay.
wool Dick Jr. in Detroit.

wu Dick, Jr. in Cincinnati.

lwood Dick, Jr. in Nevada.

Other Novels by E. L. Wheeler.

Clover; ll'oof, the Buffalo Demon.
ob \Voolf; or, The Girl Dead-Shot.
Death-Face, Detective; or, Life in New York.
lid Avalanche or. Wild Edna. the Girl Brigand.
rn Bludnoe. in. the Boy Phenix.
iuekhorn Bill or, The Red Riﬂe Team,
old Rid the Shar mhoater; or. The 80 Dctacilva.
d ob Mon ugget Ned, thu'Ku ht.
. inert or, Rosebud Rob on Hand.
ll Phil; or, Krubud Rob’s Reap no.
a C et ; or, Old'Anaconda in Sitting llull’a Camp.
. j e; or, Arabs und Angels etc. Great City.
' e the Young Soocuiator.
Dick, the Sport Detective
nnam-wnui’illiip the Girl Sport.

. iner.

on ilob the King of Bootblackl.
oiid 5 am the Boy Road-Agent.
antInIn Ferret, the New York Detective; or, Boss Bob’-
OII 0D.
ew York Nell the Boy-Girl Deuctivs.’
obb Nick of ii evada; or, The Sienna Scampa.
iid Trunk, the Buckskin Bravo.
ritI, the Bound-Boy Detective.
rite to the Front; or, The Ventrll
nooaer the Buy Sharp: or, The Arab
polio Dill, the Trail Tornado.
clone Kit, the Young Gladiator.
erra lialn, the Frontier Ferret. ' '
oerra Sam’s Secret; or The Bloody Footprints
‘erra Sara’s Ford; or, The Angel at El Viata.
erra Satn’a Seven; or.The Stolen Bri e.
umbo Joe, the iloy Patrol: or. The Rival Hairs.
Denver Doll. the Detective Queen.
Denver Doll‘a Victory.
Denver Doll’s Deco ' ; or. Little Bill’l Bonanza.
‘urk, the Boy Ferret.
Denver Doll's Drii’t ; or. The Road Queen.
i. No. 1, the Dalhin Toll-Taker.
Liza Jane. the Sir Mlnei“ or. the ivon-Nerved Snort.
Kelley, lliekev .c (20.. the Damn... ofPhiladelphia.
eittie Quick-Shot; or, The Dead Face of Daggersvilla.
Kangaroo Kit; or. The lily-tannin Minor.
Kan aroo Klt’a It cket.
‘ Man atton Mike, tie Bowery Blood.
858 First-Clan Fred, tho Gent from Gopher.

88 Vreka Jim, the Gold-Gatherer; or, The Loitsry oi

O.
2 Yreka Jim’s Prize.
Nabob N ed ; or, ’l'hs Secret of Slab City.
2 Cool Kit. the Kin of [Mr or. A Villaln’s Vengeance.
rcka Jim'a Jo or; or. Tbs Rivall «Red Nose.
9 Bicycle Ben; M. The Lion of Lightning Lode.
Yreka Jim of Yuba Darn.
rinklea, the Night-Watch Detective.
Nick "at Harry. the Bu. Ball Detective. -
ta Slab-Mu. the Be r-Bo Dstactirs.
Be It and Pal, rivatn Detectives.

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BY CHARLES MORRIS.

118 Will Some", the Boy Detective.
:3: lliglli llnrd L, the Bull  h
cayune etc: or, codemul.t eDo Detective.
180 Detective Dick; or, The Hero in Raga. g
142 llamlnome Harry, the Bootblnck Detective.
142' “'ili Wildﬁre, the Thoroughbred.
152 Black Bean. Will VVihlilre s Racer.
16? Mike Merry, the Harbor Police Boy.
162 Will Wildﬁre in the Woods.
165 Billy Bug-gage. the Railroad Boy.
170 A Train 1,‘ rd; or, Will Wildfire Winn and Locos.
174 Bob Roc will; or, lit/Aerie: of New York.
179 Bob Rockett tile Bank Runner.
 ghalllli‘dden {Land henBW'illBWildfire'FbRgvonge.
r ~ g yar he 9 out oy- or. a mu ion.

180 nor. iloekett; or, Driven to h... min. “
198 shadowed ; or, Bob Rm-kett’a Fight for Life.
208 Dark Paul. the Tiger King.
212 Dashing Dave, the Dandy Detective.
220 Tom Tanner or The B uck Sheep oi the Flock.

25'} Sam Chareoa the Premium Darky.

80 Shadow Sam. the hieuenger Boy.
242 ' “he Two “ Bloods ”; or, Shenandoah Bill and His Gang.
Dick Dashaway; or, A Dakota Boy in Chic 0.
' ‘he Young Sharpn; or, Roiilcking Mike’s-lie; Trail.
olly Jim, the Detective Ap rnntlce.
oily Jim a Job; or, The onng Detective.
[‘he “later-Hound; or. The Young Thoroughbred.
gashaway, of Dakota; or, A \Veaiern Lad in the Quaker

City.
82 Ralph Ready, the Hotel Boy Detective.
841 Tony Thorne, the Vagabond Detective.
868 The Reporter-Detective; or, Fred Flycr‘s Blimrd.
867 W ide-Awake Joe; or, A Boy of the Tlmel.
879 Lorri, the Leveler; or, The Bloods of the Boulevard.
408 1" y Jack, the River-Rat Detectivu.
428 The Loot Fin er; or, The Entrapde Cuhler.

Fred Fl er tie Reporter Detective.
482 Inviner e in an, the Pinkerton Ferret.
456 Bill ' Brick, t o .lolly Vagabond.
46 W1 e-Awake Jerry, Detective. or, Entombed Alivs.
479 Detective Dod e; or, The Mystery of Frank Hearty.
488 Wild Dick Rae ct.
501 Boots, the Boy Fireman ; or, Too Sharp for the Sharper.
566 The Secret Service Bov Detective.
598 Jimmy the Kid; or, A Lamb Among Wolves.

BY OLL COOMES.

5 Vagabond Joe, the Young Wandering Jew.
18 The Dumb Spy.
Abe, the Boy Guido.
nife, the Prince of the Prairies.
41 Laaao Jack, the Young Mir-tang".
58 The Border Kiwi; or, The Secret Foo.
't’l Delaware Dick, t a Young Ran er Spy.
74 “stake c llarr the Young rapper Ranch.
88 Rollo, t 0 Do I anger.
184 Sure Shot Set , the Bo Riﬂemnn.
148 Sear-Face Saul. the Si ent Hunter
146 Silver Star, the Boy Knight.
1158 Eagle Kit. the Boy Demon.
163 Little Texan, the Young Mnetangcr.
118 Did Solitary, the Hermit Tra per.
182 Little Hurricane, th- Bo aptnin.
202 Proaﬁeet Pete ; or, The oung Outlaw Hunters.
£08 The 0 Herculea; or,'i‘ho Prairie Trampl.
218 Tiger om, the Texas Terror. .
224 Daahln Dick; or Trapper Tom'a Castle.
228 Little iidilre, t e Young Prairie Nomad.
288 The Parson Detective; or The Little Ranger.
agniaed Guide; or, “did Rlu‘cn, the Ranger.
Devil Dan, the Young Prairie Ranger.
,rln Mike, the Boy sharpshooter.
2 Foxﬁre, the Boy Spfy.
800 The 8k Demon ; or. R» nbolt, the Ranger.
884 “’ilip- inc Joe, the Boy Ranchero.
409 lierculeo or, Dick. the Boy Ranger.
417 “’ebi’oot one. the Tramp Detective.
422 Sam, the Boy Giant ot‘the Yellowrtono.
e Buckakin, the Young Prairie Centaur.
45'? Wingedfoot Fred; on Old Polar Soul-
468 Tamarnc Tom, the Big Tra per Boy.
478 Did Tom Rattler the Red ~iver Epidemic.
482 Stonewall Bob, 1 18 Boy Tron").
862 Blundering Baail, the Hermit Boy Trapper.

BY T. C. llARBAUGﬂ.

ick o’ the Night; or. Th» Bo Spy'oi’tt.
he Hidden Lodge; or The L ttlu Hunter.
< ightin ale hat or, Tue Forest Ca taint.
] and fuck; or, e Outlan of the rogou Trail.
kit I nrei’oot the Wood-Hawk.
. idnight .I act. 2; or, The Boy Trapper.
old Frosty, the uldn- or, The White Queen.
Kiowa‘Charley the White Mustnngcr.
Jud e . 'nch, Jr.i or. The Boy Vigilante.
Tr g er, the Sport: or, '1” 2 Girl Avenger.
om; or, njnn Jack From Red Cora.
pie, the Border Boy.

; or, The Queen of Fate’s Ravenga.
Naval ' ck, the Boy Gold Hunter. -
215 Captain Bullet; nr, Little Tonknot’a Crundo.
281 Plueky Phil; or. .Rosa. tho Rel Jeubo .
241 Bill Bravo; or, The Roughs of the Rockloa.
255 Captain Aq‘ollv the King-Pin of Bowie.
28'? The Books ’in Detective.
279 Old Winch or, The Buckskin Desperado».
294 D namiie Dan ; or, The Bowls Blade of Cochatopa.
80 'l‘ e Mountain Detective; or.Tha Trigger Bar Bully.
816 Did Eclipae, Trumu Card of Arizw ,_
826 The Ten Pardat or. The Tori-or e; .‘uke-Notiu.
886 ill: Benson; or, The Queen ol’thc m0.
845 Pitiieaa Matt; or, Red Thunderbolt’l Secret.
856 Cool r‘am and Par”; or The Terrible Six.
866 Velvet Foot, the indian Detective. ~
8"“ Captain Cutlass; or. 'i he Bnccnneer‘: Girl Foo.
396 Ron h Rob; or. The i'win Champions of Blue Bias“.
411 The _ liken Latino or, The Rose of Reach Robin.
418 Felix Fox, the Boy potter. ‘
425 Texan Trum . the Border Rattler.
4 6 Phil Finch. tie New York Fox.

5 The City Vampirea; or. Red Rolfe’a Pigeon.
461 One Azalnnt Fifty; or. The Last Man of Keno Bar.
470 The Roy Shadow; or. Felix Fox’s Hunt.
4;? The Exceiaior Sport; or, The Washington Spotter.
4 9 [Single Si lit, the One-Eyed Sport.
502 Branded en, the Night Ferret.
Dodger Dick, the Whnrf-Sp Detective.
Dodger l lek’a Beat Dod . ,
i'ox andmal‘eorg, t3zclll‘oigery tshadows.
to er e , t a one .
will... DIok’a Double for. The Rt"! Boy Detectives».
{W'hlenl’hnﬁiﬁifm cm"
or r . e - ocq.

‘he Two Shadow?»
rod or Dick’s Drop - '
04 leittf Lon, the Strut-Singer Detective. . .
810 Did S or, the Goidshsrk; or, Tony Sharp on Guard.

 
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BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAIIAM.

? The Flying Yankee; or, The Ocenn Outcnlt.
17 Ralph Roy, the Boy Buccaneer; or. The Fugitive Yacht.
24 Dinlnond Der or, The Mystrry of the Yellowltone.
62 The Sluuiuw la‘ ip; or. The Rival Lieutenanta.
75 The Boy Duelist; or, The Cruise of the Sea-Wolf.
102 Dick Dead-E e, the Boy Smug near.
111 The Sea-Dev l; or, The Midsh pman’s Legacy.
116 The Iluaaar Captain ; or, The Hermit of Hall Gate.
197 Little Grit; or, «sale, the Stock-Tender’a Daughter.
204 Gold Plume; or, The Kid-Glove Sport.
216 lllnon liill the Prince of the Reins.
222 Grit. the l ravo Sport; or, The Woman Trailer.
229 Crimaon Katee or, The Cowboy’a Triumph.
887 Lone Star, the owbny Ca taln.
245 Dorie the Middy or, he Freelance Heir.
250 The )lidahipuiall lntlneer; or. Brandt the Buccaneer.
284 'l he Floating Feather; or, Merle h onte’s Treaauro

Island.
289 Tile Gold Ship; nr. Merle, the Condemned.
276 gnarl}: Monte’a (Jul-re; or, The Chase at “ The Gold
. I p.
280 Merle Monte’s Fate; or Pearl, the Pirate’l Bride.
.8 The Sea Marauder; or, lVlorle Monte’a Pledge.
28’? Billy Blue-Eyea, the Boy Rover of the Rio Grandc.
804 The Dead Shot Dandy or Benito. the Boy Buglor.
808 keno Kit; or. Dead Shot am y’a Double.
814 The Myaterioua Marauder; or, The Boy Bugler’s Long

Till I
8?? Bonodel, the Boy Rover; or. The F1 lou Schooner.
888 The Indian Pilot; or, The Search for P rate bland.
88’? Warpath Will, the Boy Phantom.
898 Seawaii‘, the Boy Lieutenant.
402 Iandor, the Young Conaqirator; or, The Fatal League.
The Bow Invent-gent; or. ‘he Cuban Vendetta. .
W (i aehtaman; or, The War-Clouu'l Cruise.
re, the Boy fugue.
488 A Cabin Do ’a Luck; or, The Corsair.
48'? The Sea lla der.
44] The Ocean Fireﬂy; or. A Middy’a Vengeance.
446 Haphazard Harry; or. The Scopograoe o! the Sea.
450 Wizard Will: or. he Boy Farrel oi'New York.
454 “’lzard Will’s Street Scouts.
462 The Born Guide; or. The Sailor Boy Wanderer.
468 Neptune Ned, the Boy Coaster. ‘
474 Flora; or, Wizard Will’e Vagabond Ford.
488 Ferrets Aﬂoat; or. Wizard Will’u Last Can.
48? Nevada Ned, the Revolver Ranger.
495 Arizona Joe the Buy Yard of'l'exnn Jack.
49’? Back T King at the Cow oys. ‘
; or, The Shark and the Sea M
i man. 
The Outlawcd Mid y.
0 Buckskin Bill. the Comanche Shadow.
Brothers in Buckskin.
l‘he Buckskin Bowel-n. -
'l‘he Buc- akin Rover-a.
Daptain Ku-Klux, the Marauder ot thana.
nieutenant Leo, the Son of Laﬁtte.
.aﬂtte’a Legacy; or. The Avenging Son.
555 The Creole Coraair.
re Bill, the Prairie Shadowsr.
Kingdom the Card King.
_ t a Card Queen.
lurgeon-Scout Detective.
The utcaot Cadet; or, The False Dstoctivo.
586 The Buckskin Avenger.
591 Delmante. the Young Sea-Rover.
597 The Young Texan Detective.
802 The Vagabond of the Mines.
607 The Rover Detective: or. Keno Kit’n Champim .
81? Ba] h, the Dead-Shot Scout; or, The Raiders and iM‘
Red idcra oi the Rio. ’

BY BUFFALO BILL (Hon. Win. F. Cody).

. 8 Kansas King; or, The Red Right Hand.
19 The Phantom 86y : or. The Pilot oi the Prairie.
55 Deadly-Eye; the nknown Scout.
88 Border Robin ﬂood; or, The Prairie Rover.
188 Fancy Frank of Colorado; or, The Trapper’a Trust.

'LATEST AND NEW ISSUES.

626 The Champion Parda; or, The Lucifer ofSilver Bar. B,
T. C. Harbnugh. -

627 Tom Bruce of Arkansas; or, The Wolfin die Fold. By
Cherie: Mo I.

Bill ’s Dead Act or The League of th

“8 Emilia 1:. ac. Cowdrick. 3 ’ '

829 Violet. Vane, the Velvet Sport; or, The Jubilee ofJacktown.
By Wm. G. Patten.

d d Dick Jr. in No Mau’a Land or Gal 0 d

630 3.315%... By  1.. Wheeler. ‘ 5 ’ c n M

681 Tom Cat’a Terrible Tank; or, The Cowboy Detective'n
Own Can. By Lieut. A. K. Sims. ,

682 The Dc-. .7 Detective’a Donia: By Gerald Carlton.

688 P1 ck Paul the Bo Pro: tutor or The Deadwood Du-
pom o’syLaat Innings. B; J. “EGOsbo’n ’

684 Cache Cari, the Chico Giant, or,Tha True Heart: of Red
Eye Rooat. By Buckskin Sam.

685 Oklahoma Hi, the Blue-Coat Scout; or, The Boomer’l Lani
Battle. By P. S. Warm

886 Deadwood Dick, Jr. After the (Pacer: 0?: Slwduli
Sam’- l.,.... Green Game. By E. L. “hoe er.

687 Dick Donn, the Dock I... Detective. By '1'. C. ilarhnugh.

688 Torment“) Triumph; or, Black Iran’s G:eat Combine. By
Liout. A. l.. Lllml.

689 Sum-lac Saul, the Exprcu-Traln Forfei- By Jc. l‘lcrce.

840 Bareback Beth, the Centaur Oi the Circle. By J. C.
Cow rc .

641 Dismal Dave’a Dandy Pard; or. The Claw to Captain
Claw. By

 
Win. G. Patten.

642 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Buﬂ'alo; or, The Home
Man. 1. Edward 1‘- Wheeler.

7' II I“? ’! Bil Find: 01' The Beautiful 'Jeubel’a
648 L335... ‘By .Warno. Reedy ovembar i9.

344 The Hercule-I Highwaymen. By Col P. Ingraham.
Ready November 96.
045 Kit, the Pavement Sharp. By ‘1'. c. Harhaagh.
' Ready December 8.
A New lune Every Tuesday. 4' .

‘ The Half- Dime Library in for "‘0 MI" "W.‘"

‘ mu per copy, or south, mail on receipt out: cent- each.

BEADLE AND ADAMS, Pannier-a,
98 William Street, New York