I) \ ' THE. PRAIRIE, RIFLES;

on,

 I THE CAP'l‘IVES OF NEW MEXICO.

/

A ROMANCE OF THE SOUTHWEST.

BY HENRY J. THOMAS,
AUTHOR or room NOVEL No. 192, “01.1) nu.”

 - NEW YORK:
 BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS, I
2’ " F I, ‘ 98 WILLIAM STREET.

 

hind According to Act of Congress, in the year 1.. w \
BBADLI AND UOHPAI‘ r ‘ ‘
'il, “M’I Ofloo of the District Court of the UIIIM sum h 01
Southern District 01 New York.

 

THE

g,-:;:1’;>BAIRIE RIFLES.

CHAPTER I.
mrmmm men.

- Loome north-west on that lummer evening in 1843, the
three rangers saw a lurid light against the sky, as it made by
come burning building, or the beginning of a vast prairie eon-
migration.

The hunters reined up their horses side by side, and for a
few minute: neither of them spoke, while their eyes were
turned toward the illumination, in their earnest seeking to
mderstand its meaning.

“That’s one thing sax-tin,” exclaimed Black George, slap-

, fptng hie horny palm upon his knee, “ it ain’t the Maw."

“Be you sure of that i" inquired his companion, who an-
nwered to the name of Long Eph.

“If I ah’t, then may my ha’r 'u v1.5.1 by the next 00
manehe."

“Yea, yer right,” chimed in Jake Jaggerton. speaking for
the first time. “ It’e nigh onto a half-hour, when we i'ust
thought we eee'd the moon comin’ up, and sin’ that time, the

Wiig'ht hue growed brighter, but it hain’t spread a rod either
way.”

" That’a the flee," added Blacli George; “ don’t ye see e!
it war the ’perarie-grass, the thing would have spread out like
I. fen,»till by this time it would have been a mile wide 1'”

There was logic in this, certainly, and the three raugere
were satisfied that the light was not caused by that much—

’ dreaded thing, a prairie-fire.
“ But skulp me ei‘ I wouldn't be a little better pleased at it
w the grass,” remarked Eph, a moment later.
» , ~ -“ Why so?” inquired Jake. '
, “As near as I kin judge, that 'ere fire lays about ten mile
to the north'ard, and of you’ll take a trump for that distance. ‘I

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toward that p'int of the compas, it‘s'my opiue ye’ll strike the ,
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hacienda of Comanche Dick." ‘
Curious it was‘ that the other two had not thought of this
‘ until it was mentioned by their companion l ,‘

Comanche Dick, as theosingular character was known in
the far South-west, a quarter of a century ago, was their own
lender, and they were returning to him. at this time, when the
light in the northern sky caught their attention.

The three hunters, thus briefly referred to, were all Ameri-
cans, as was their leader. Having fought side by side, for a
number of years during the Texan struggle for independence,
with Comanche Dick, they had withdrawn With him, and re-
tired to a chosen spot in New Mexico, where they lived such
‘a wild, wandering life as was precisely suited to their tastes.

Black George was a short, iron-limbed fellow, greatly re-
sembling in physique the famous Kit Carson, except that his

complexion was so dark as to raise a strong suspicion of the '

purity of his blood. " _
Long Eph was a thin, attenuated, muscular fellow, fullysix

feet and a halt‘ in hightI with a yellow, cadaverous counte- ‘

nance, and hair as long aud‘black as an Indian’s, his eyes
glittering and scintillating with an almost unnatural brightp
ness. ‘

pearance went, between the two. He was of ordinary hightl
and, as there was nothing extraordinary or peculiar in his apo
penance, we pass him, at this point, without further notice, 

‘What was rather a coincidence, the ages of these three men

did not vary by so many years. Their long association had ,

seemed to run their dispositions into something like a similar
mold, and. whether it was in the hand-to-hand encounter with
the fierce Comanche or Apache, or the wild excitement of the
,chase, or the monotonous ride through the Naked Plain, of

over the burning prairie, there occurred no jarring word of , I

discord between them.
“ I b’l’eve the old place is goiu’,” said Black George. in to-

ply to .the remark of Eph, as the three started their «Why’-

on' a walk, “ and, as luck has it, we’re too fur away to saw I
hand in the matter." ‘ ‘ . -‘

Jake Jaggerton was a compromise, so far as general ap- V

“That's had,” added Jake, unconsciously urging his \: to _

  

 

 
  
 
 

  
   
 

 
 

 

 

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 on the ground, with rifles cocked and ready for tho

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hto a“ gallop. “Dick can take care of himself, but what’ll
become of the old woman ‘t”

“‘ Isn’t she as good as him .9" almost fiercely demanded Eph ;
“ but the gab—thar's whar the ditfikilty is. What’ll become

' of her I" ’

“ Poor critter l She‘s had her sorrers, but it looks as though
she ain't done with ’em yit."

“ Oh! if we war only thar,” fairly groanecl Black George.
'f It’s a good ten mile, eVery inch of it."

“ And afore we kin pass it, with these yar mustangs ready
to drop with the trampin’ they’ve had to-day, the whole pack
of yellin’ Comanches will do thar worst.”

But it was not in the nature of the men to remain idle
'when there was any scrimmage in which they could mingle,
or when there was any friend who needed their assistance;
and, although their mustangs were excessively tired from their
day’s hunt, yet the three now thundered over the prairie, with

, the apparent freshness of coursers just starting upon a race.

All this time the lurid light gleamed in the northern hori-
zon, like a beacon signal calling to them to hasten, for every
moment now was of incalculable value.

The prairie was mostly of the rolling kind, and their ani-
,mals regularly ascended and descended the swells until seve-
ral miles were passed, when the horse of Black George. which
was slightly in advance of the others, threw up his head with
a-snort of alarm, and came to a sudden halt.

The other well-trained mustangs did the same,.’and horses
“and riders stood as motionless as statues cast in bronze.

This meant danger, and the rangers comprehended the sit-
uation at once. Not a word was spoken, but all three listened.
Naught but the soft rustling of the night-wind came to their
ears, and in the darkness which surrounded them, they could

, V v ', detect no shadow or sign of peril.

But at this moment, between them and the fire, outlined
like ink against the lurid glare of the horizon, they detected
the forms of several horsemen, riding nearly in a direct line

' toward them; I »

 '3 Oamanchea !" whispered Long Eph.

 

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encounter; The tramp of the approaching feet could be heard,
when suddenly they ceased. The red-skins, too,'had scented
danger. ‘

For a few seconds there was absolute silence, and then a
single rifle, fired by one of the Comanches, broke the still-
ncss.

As quick as lightning, almost simultaneous with a peculiar
whistle of Black George, the three mustangs dropped flat up-
on the ground, their masters imitating their example. ’ v

The sagacious brutes had long since learned that when bul-

- lets were flying like hailstones about them, the safest position
was upon the earth, and the instant they comprehended that
they were in an “ Indian scrimmage,” they did not forget the
'iesson that had been taught them a long time before.

- At the very instant of the discharge of the red-skin's gun,
Jake Jaggleton fired at the. spot where he saw the flash of
flame.
was fairly opened. -

The Comanche of the South-west is one of the most for-
midable foes that the hunter and trapper have to encounter.
Possessing the most remarkable skill in horsemanship, hi.
bravery is unsurpassed by even the Texans, who for so many
years successfully resisted the overwhelming hordes of Mexi-
cans that swarmed down upon them.

A more independent set of people live not upon the earth; ‘
they are ready at all times to fight any and all comers, and
after drubbing a. party of Mexicans who were struggling with
a band of Texans, they have often turned about and pitched \
into the latter with equal gusto.

The Comanches on the present occasion numbered thlly
twenty,a fact of which the rangers were well aware, although“
from the disadvantageous position of the former, they did not
understand the weakness of their enemies. But each one had
encountered a foeman worthy of his steel, and a fierce fight
was the inevitable sequel. -

Some ten or fifteen minutes passed, without another shot
being fired, when the red-skins gave evidence of impatience—~1-
such an unnatural thing on their part, that the shrewdhtmteI-p

Inspected at once that there was an equally unusual in. ‘

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A frenzied shriek told the result, and the prairievflght , I

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i 9: “There was some reason for their wishing to hasten onward,
“though they were not the ones to show any cowardice on
that account. _

The red-skins having dismounted, one of their number
crept forward for the evident purpose of reconnoitering the

, position of the rangers. On his hands and knees he cautiously

' advanced, now and then pausing and raising his head, after
the stealthy manner of a wild animal.

’In this way he had crept along until he was within a dozen

feet of the crouching form of Black George. Even then nei-

<: ther combatant suspected the presence or proximity of the

other, until the almost inaudible gliding sound of the Indian’s

. knee betrayed his precise position to the hunter. ,

 t - The latter had his pistol already in hand, with the hammer

raised, and his arm moved like that of a phantom, so as -to

, , bring it round to the front, while he peered intently through

‘ the gloom, to catch the first glimpse of the treacherous red-

skin.

No doubt the Comanche held a suspicion that every inch
»- . he advanced increased his peril; for, during the space of the
“ ‘ next five minutes, he did not move a muscle, holdinghimself
Jn‘rigid, motionless silence, to catch some inadvertent betrayal
of their positions on the part of the whites. But these were

as careful as they, and he discovered nothing.
Another step was made by the Comanche, and he slowly
,rose to the sitting position by gradually straightening his
, arms. This precise movement was suspected by Bl ack George,
and when the skull of the red-skin came between him and
the dam sky, he distinctly caught the outline and instantly

tired. '

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 The two were so close together that there could be but one
I result, and the ear-splitting screech of the Comanche was
ii followed by his frenzied rolling over and death-throes.

I ‘ Without pausing to reload, Black George rolled over and
 over several times, so as to carry him several feet from the
.3, \'spot.- He had not been an instant too soon; for the jet of
" :j » flrefrom the muzzle of his pistol betrayed his position to a ’
.; a  malignant eyes, whose glances were» flitting hither and
I thither through the gloom, for some each signal as this. « ‘ I
" - I : ‘  was the simultaneous crack of four rifles. and III may

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bullets plowed their way through the dirt and grass, wheres
moment before, they would have plowed their way through the
body of the ranger. '

Black George heard the raspng of the bullets, and smiled
grimly as he rammed another charge down his pistol.

“ Ef I'd only laid thar—hut I didn’t!" ' 3

In the mean time, the other rangers were by no means idle:
Knowing their horses would remain quiescent. where they were
crouching until they were needed. they gave no further thought
to them ; but in the same stealthy manner as their comrades,
they crawled away in precisely opposite directions.

They had some apprehensions that the Comanches would
discover their weakness and attempt to surround them; and‘to
give them an exaggerated idea of their strength, they separated,
moving from the center, where their horses were crouching, like
the radiating spokes of a. wheel. .

Until the shot of Black George, and the returning fire of the

Comanches, neither Eph nor Jake could discover their location, ‘

although they had carefully maneuvered up to that time. There
was too much risk in their firing, before they could be certain of
accomplishing something ; and although they had strong suspi-
cions of where the red-skins were lurking in the grass, yet ’they
patiently waited the opportune moment. ,

Long Eph had a way of gliding over the ground that re-
sembled the movement of a serpent more than any thing else.
Precisely how it was done, it would be impossible to say. He
seemed to lie perfectly flat upon his face, and with a sort of
‘ swaying motion, glided forward with a noiselessness which was
marvelous.

In this manner he passed perhaps a. couple of rods, when
he became satisfied that he was approaching one of his enemies,

although it was impossible to distinguish any thing through,

[the long grass.

But the sound which caught his ear was like the high of a.

person—an indiscretion which the most broken-hearted ranger
would not commit at such a moment, and which he wondered
at an Indian making under the circumstances.

Thus warned, Eph advanced with all the skill of which he '
was capable, until through the obscurity he managed to 5
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raised as though not quite enough certain of the character of
the approaching object to give his master the alarm. '

.It was at this moment that Black George discharged his
pistol, and, for the instant, drew the attention of all the Coo
manches toward that point. Taking advantage of this mo-
mentary diversion, Eph slid along the ground, and in an in—
stant was beside the mustang of the red-skin.

The animal neither snorted nor gave any symptoms of
alarm, although, from his well-known sagacity, there can beno
doubt that he saw something was wrong. He continued as
[motionless as though it were his own master that was maneu-

‘ vering around him, and scarcely turned his head aside to glance

at the stranger by his side.

This indifference upon the part of the most suspicious of
animals in fact gave the man some uneasiness; but it was
quickly explained.

Long Eph had placed himself in the most delicate and
dangerous situation of his life; for, upon the other side of the
mustang, was crouching a stalwart Comanche, only awaiting

for the proper instant to crush his foe.

The ranger became aware of the proximity of the red-skin
horn the slightest of taps which he made upon his mustang’s
shoulder, for the evident purpose of soothing him, and which
.betrayed his own presence to his enemy.

The instant Eph discovered this, he become satisfied of the

acticg his enemy intended to pursue, and prepared himself
accordingly. The Indian undoubtedly meant to make a sudden
leap over the hack of his horse, and come down upon the ‘
shoulders of the hunter. .
Had such a_maneuver been made, without our friend know-

_ ing it, it would have put him in such a bad case of “ chan-

cery," that it is certain he never could have extricatcd him-
self. One moment—ten seconds—were enough for a brawuy
sa'i‘age to be upon his back, with his left arm griped around

'his neck,'and his right hand clutching the knife, and driving
it “home ” with lightning-like rapidity. .

‘ ‘So Eph turned partly on his side, but in a secure position,
with , his own weapon firmly grasped, waiting for the
“ charge." ' , ‘

'Buddenly there was the rush of a dark body overhead, and

I

1:5 ma" rennin ms.

the deadly encounter took place. The Comanche, instead (14

taking his foe by surprise, was completely surprised himself.
He came down as a wild animal does, when it makes a leap of

. tear, and instead, of alighting upon the shoulders of his prey,
he encountered a tremendous cut of his Bowie-knife, and rolled
over upon his side with the wiry form of the terrible hunter
upon him.

The contest was “ short, sharp, and decisive," as Eph be
lieved it was always best to settle such .n‘atterswith as little
delay as possible. Never for an instant did he give a tittle or
the fearful advantage he had gained over his foe.

Less than three minutes had passed since the first encounter,
when the Comanche was done for, and wiping his weapon——
that awful instrument known as the Bowie-knife—in the grass,
Long Eph coolly shoved it back in his girdle, muttering to
himself:

“ That ain't the fust, nor the second, nor the tenth red-skin
you’ve finished.”

But, at this juncture, the mustang showed his appreciation '

of the circumstances by snorting wildly, springing to his feet.
and dashing away at full speed. Simultaneously, the guns 0!

Jake and Black George flashed upon the night, followod bytho ‘

fearful shrieks of their victims. The rangers had discovered
the spot where a number of their enemies were crouching,
and had poured their bullets into them with startling ef-
fect. .

There .was a hurried gathering, and preparation, and a mo-
ment later the Comanches, with their fallen companions upon
their own horses, were dashing away over the prairie, with the
speed of the wind.

I When they had fairly gone, the three rangers re-uuited, and
it was found that neither of them was injured.

“ But,” said Black George, in a suppressed voice, “ I heard
a strange sound when they lett.”

“ So did I,” added long Eph; “ if I ain’t mighty mistook”!
w the voice of Senorita Josepha.”

    

  

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L BORDEB HERO. ’

CHAPTER II.

I

A WAN UPON THE PRAIRIE.

Ll "An eye flitting and restless, but as keen as an eagle's, with

a frame thin to emaciation, but made up of bone and muscle
as rigid, flexible and tenacious as iron 'ore from his native
State, with a face cadaverous, hard and colorless, cheeks sunken,
and with hair as long, stitf, and wiry as the mane of his mus-
tang; a man of powerful hates and loves, as daring as a
maniacal Apache, but as chivalrous as aknight of the Cru-
sades, with a natural vein of refinement, a fervent veneration
of the Most High, and a romantic adoration of the weaker
sex permeating every fiber of his being—nah a man was

, Richard Hampton, or Comanche Dick, of New Mexico.

When young, this singular being had been given many ad-
vantages in the way of education and social privileges, having
been intended for one of the professions; but a restless, wan-

. .dering disposition drew him southward, at an early age, and

he espoused the cause of Texas, when the contest began be-
tween her and Mexico, throwing his whole soul into the st'rug»
glue, and fighting side by side with Colonel Bowie and Crock-
ett, until they perished at the Alamo, and until the great vic-

' tery at San J acinto, in 1836, secured the independence of the

Lone Star Republic.

After this, Comanche Dick, as he was called, from the prow-
ess be displayed in his encounters with the savages, selected
a spot in south-eastern New Mexico (which was then a Mexican
province, and remained so until 1850), a short distance west of
LlaMEataeado or Staked Plain, where he built a house of large
dimensions, and with a stock (of nearly ten thousand sheep,
turned drover. Once every year, a large flock was driven to
Santa Fé. where their sale brought Dick a handsome sum,

. which, besides keeping him liberally supplied with funds, left
,him a goodly surplus to lay by.

albick called his place the ‘ Hacienda,” and it was built with
considerable pretension, although it hardlyfieserwd the name,

 
 
   

 
 

18 m PRAIRIE mama

and he gathered about him three kindred spirits, who had, fol-

lowed him through the Texan struggle, and were as devoted

' to him as were the old guard of Napoleon. 'l‘hey assisted

him in the care of his sheep and in driving them to Santa Fé,

against the Comanches and Apaches, who were ready at all.
times to pounce down upon and stampede them.

Dick paid these men liberally for their services; for he was
naturally free-hearted, and their presence was not only neces-
sary‘for the protection of his property, but was required for
the safety of his family. .

In many portions of New Mexico at that day. as at the pre-

sent, it is might alone which makes right, and there is no re-
dress for grievances, except in the power of retaliation which
the aggrieved party may possess.

The danger which ever surrounded Comanche Dick would
have“ driven many a brave man from his post, but it never
stirred him. There was something in the wild excitement of
the appalling danger which was thrilling enjoyment to'him,'
and the occasional visits he made to the frontier towns we
all-sufficient for him. ‘

Thus several years passed, until Dick and his companions
became involved in an afl‘air in which a party Of Santa Fl
traders were partly massacred and partly captured by a band
of red-skins. Dick and his men followed the miscreants to the
Zuni Mountains, where they attacked the Indians in turn, slew
over a dozen and rescued a white woman from them, the wife
of one of the murdered traders. He carried her back to Santa
Fé to her friends, and as a matter of course, made several calls

upon her, when visiting the town. ' In this manner a feeling of .

interest gradually ripened into love, and ended in his taking
her back to the hacienda us his wife. ‘

Here they lived in perfect happiness, his wife frequently
joining him in the chase, as she was as skillful in the manage-
ment of her horse as the use of her rifle. Whenever she‘
chose, her husband accompanied her to Santa F6, and nothing
that she desired was ever refused her. '

Several years passed thus, but no children were ever glven‘ -
» them, and their house was gradually strengtlicnedluutil it as- \

/ 'sumed almost the character of a fortress. About a year we /
finite the opening of our story, the entire party were

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I ,- returning from a visit to Santa F6, and were withln twenty miles

of home, when they were startled by the sound of fire-arms,

and hurrying forward, found that a small party of white men

had just beeh conquered by a party of Comanches who were ‘

making 011’ with the plunder. ‘ '
It was too late to do much for the white men, as most of

' them were already past help, but the rangers burst upon the

red~skins like a thunderbolt, and made them pay dear for the

outrage.
From the savages they recaptured only a single prisoner,

, and she wasa girl, who hadjust been seized by a. chief, who

. was slain by Dick's own hand, ere he would relinquish his
prize. ‘

The girl was Josepha Navarro, a Spanish lady of remaar
able beauty, who was on her way to Santa Fé in charge of an
escort, to visit an uncle, whom she had not seen since in-
fancy.

Dick and his wife could not have treated their own child
with greater kindness. They took her to their own home until 1
she had recovered from the terrible shock she had sutl'ered, and
then, leaving only one man in charge of the hacienda,rthey
escorted her to Santa Fé.

Here a surprise awaited all parties. In response to their most
diligent inquiry, no such person could be found, and after a
long search, Dick informed Senorita Josepha that no such per-
son had ever existed in that town. ‘

“ He doesn’t exist at all i” she exclaimed, with passionate
earnestness. “They told, me I saw him when I was a child.
Perhaps I did ; but he is dead now." .

' “ How comes the mistake to be made ?" 'upectfully inquired
Dick.

4‘ It was no mistake,” she answered, more vehemently their"
before. “ It was a plot-«it was intended—J”

But here she ceased, and never referred to the matter again.
,Both Dick and his wife were too well-bred to make 'any in-
. quiries, although tlieyxcould not avoid afeeling of considerable ‘

’ curiosity at the turn afiairs had taken.
. After the sefiorita had somewhat recovered from her grief,

,1 she stated to Comanche Dick that she had no home, and 'asked
whether she might live with them until she had paid. than

 

 
 

 

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.all her money, of which she had with her a considerable
sum.

Ah! that wasa happy moment for Dick and his wife It
was what they had been hoping ever since they placed Lyon
upon the Spanish beauty. Without any childreuot theirown.
their hearts naturally yearned toward her, for he was very
young, just budding into womanhood.

The request she made so timidly was accepted with eager
glndness, except that Dick told her that she would go to the
hacienda as their daughter; that nothing in the way of pay
ment, however trifling, would be received from her,and be per,
emptorily forbade all refinance to it.

On the contrary, as the daughter of this singular couple, she
was their heir, and every wish of hers, that was possible to
gratiiy, should he gratified. .

' And so the Spanish lady took her residence atthe hacienda,
where her beauty, her accomplishments, and her genial dispo-
sition added a golden sunlight to the place. It was more at-
tractive than ever to Dick, who loved the girl witl) a fervent,
parental affection, which was equally shared by his wife.

Otter), while the other rangers were miles away, looking
after the sheep, or hunting over the plains and mountains,-
Dick was at home, listening to the songs of his wife and his
daughter, as he always called her, or engaging in some social
game with them. .

' It'was the duty of the rangers to keep themselves thor-
oughly “ posted " on the Indian signs, and every day, one or
all of them made a circuit of the surrounding hills to satisfy
themselves as to whether there were any Comanches or Apaches
in the neighborhood. '

If their experienced eyes detected any thing suspicious,

land was immediately carried to their leader, the sheep were
driven in a rough sort of inclosure that had been prepared for
. them, and the hunters were on the alert.

Dick owned several Indian dogs, that showed ‘ remarkable,
sagacity, and had acquired such skill that they greatly as-
sisted whenever such emergency arose. More than once
their cunning saved the property, and on two separate occa-

salt

stone was the meansot' preserving .the life of the leader 

    

 

 

   

 
 



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, flow and then the red-skins got the better st“ madman.
Just previous to Dick’s marriage they stampeded and, (iron

away almost his entire flock, and shortly after Josepha came

among them, a troop of Comanches came yelling down
upon them with such suddenness, that the whites were taken

/ partly by surprise, and lost several thousand from their

flocks.

But these were the inevitable risks of such a life, and the
eqnanimity of Comanche Dick was not disturbed in the least.
The funds which were safely deposited in Santa Fé were con-
stantly growing, and were able to stand s much larger draft
upon them than as yet they had ever been called to sustain.

Senorita Josepha revealed only a few facts regarding her~
self. Dick learned, without any inquiry, that she was from
Galthon ; that some relative had sent her, in charge of an
escort, to visit an uncle, who was said to be living in Santa
N; and that on their way thither they were attacked by Co-
manches, and all except herself slain.

This attack of the red-skins really saved the life of the girl,
for the man who had charge of her bad just revealed his
intention of robbing and killing her, and undoubtedly would
have done it before another night passed over their, heads,
had .he not been prevented in the terrible manner men.
tioned. -

The lady showed that there was some hidden grief at her V
heart, to which as yet no reference had been made. At ‘ '
times she was abstracted, and sighed, and there was the ex-
pression of woe in her face, which her friends could not but-
sse. Occasionally, in her sleep, she was heard to utter a
name, which never passed her lips when awake, which gave
the‘sagacious wife of Comanche Dick a suspicion of what
Was partly the trouble, although her adopted. mother carefully
refrained from allowing her to see that she held any such

 thought.

,‘ Thus matters stood until about a month previous to'the
opening of our story, when a singular incident occurred that

s gave a more curious aspect to the history of the seiiorita.

She had become quite fond of hunting, and one day was
riding with no companion except her adopted mother. When

a  about a mile ironi home, they suddenly encountered

 
 

 
 

 

a .vvhiteman upon horseback. He was a wild, haggardaleeb _
ing man, and at sight of his face Josepha uttered a shriek of L.
terror, and came nigh falling from her horse. ‘ »
' The strange horseman stared at her a moment in
and then rode away at a furious gallop.

When Josepha had recovered, she was questioned by her
mother, but, for a time, she gave evasive answers, but she li--
oally stated that the man whom they had met was the leader
of the escort, which had started to take her to Santa F6, and
who, she supposed, had perished with the others by the hands

, of the Comanches. I

When they returned to the hacienda and acquainted Dick
with what had occurred, he instantly mounted his ,horse and
started in pursuit of the man, with the resolve to shoot him
on sight for the rudeness and. threats he had made toward. his
adopted daughter. He caught sight of him in the distance,
and gave chase, but, to his surprise, the ruman was better
mounted than he, and he soon vanished in the distance, and
he returned, nursing his wrath for his next meeting with the
man.

silenced;

For a week, Josepha-scarcely ventured out of doors. She _

seemed to have undergone a shock from which it was diflioult;
for her to recover; and in the night she frequentLy started
with an exclamation of terror. ,

She aflirmed that Alfredo Manzal, as she called him, would
return again, and that now that he knew where she was, he
would reappear when he was least expected, and that mischief v
would surely follow his visit.

Comanche Dick endeavored to soothe and reassure her,
but, at the same time, he felt a vague uneasiness himself, and
resolved to be more watchful and vigilant than ever. He so
cretly hinted to the rangers that there was danger in the air,
and warned them to be doubly cautions.

At the same time, he gave more attention to the signs in '

the distant horizon' than he did to his sheep. There were
several elevations, which ~ gave him an extended view of the
surrounding prairie, and he frequented these more frequently,
than was his custom heretofore.

' But day followed day, and nothing more was seen of tho

“and  I For a long time Josepha would  _ '

 

/....._.,.‘ 4.}:

 
   

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

A annex-mt.le
some light of the hacienda; but gradually her wonted spir-~
its returned to her, and under the affectionate care of her new-
ibund parents, her songs and merry laugh were again- heard
ringing out upon the air.

Inthe hope of diverting her mind from the all-absorbing
object which now and then would interpose itself, Dick pro-
posed a trip to Santa Fé, the fiemales being accompanied only
by Black George and himself:

Josepha held back at first, but she was persuaded to join

_ them, and the journey was undertaken and made to the New

Mexican capital without any unpleasant Went occurring to
mar their enjoyment. ’
, But on the return, all the pleasure of the trip was blasted
by a sight of the evil fate of Josepha’s life.

It was just at sunset, and the party had encamped in a
beautiful grove, when Black George remarked :

“ That 'ere feller over yender seems to be very anxious
about us,”

' “ Whom do you mean 1’" inquired Dick, in considerable
surprise. .

“ Why, yonder," he replied, pointing toward a small emi-
nence in the prairie. '/ *.

“ I'don’t see any one," was the reply.

“ Skin me! of he hain’t sunk out of sight in the ground,’_’

added Dick, after a few moments’ blank staring in the dime-
tien which he had indicated.

.' The ladies laughed, and the hunter was somewhat discon-
certed for several moments, but he stoutly maintained his
point, and a vague uneasiness came over Comanche Dick,
who could not believe that such a cool-headed fellow could
make‘such an inexplicable blunder.

“ We will soon see,” said he, remounting his animal. “ You
wait here, with the ladies, while I take a look for my-
self.”

The next moment, he was galloping toward the point in-
dicated, while his friends watched his motions with no little
interest. -

The hill or knoll was only a few hundred yards away, and

: Dick rode at a rapid gallop until he ascended the top. At
‘ht intent there was the sharp report ’of a rifle, and a

a.) l \

    

  
   

u uni-Imam "

Isuppreusd shriek went up from the spectators, sully 

their leader was shot.

Black George, with amnttered execration, dashed toward ‘

him, but Dick instantly recovered himself, and impatiently
waived him back. v

“ I’m all right! Keep by the women l" > '

At the very moment that Dick reached the top of the hill.
the desperado Manzal was seen sitting motionless on his horse
at a short distance. Without any warning, he raised his gun
and fired, the bullet ripping up the sleeve of Dick’s coat, and '
partly stunning him, so as to give the momentary impression
that he was mortally wounded.

Before he could recover, and return the fire, the assassin

was beyond his reach. The infuriated hunter urged his steed
to the utmost, but he was soon left behind, and he couldonly
return discomfited to his friends. .

Dick attempted to conceal the truth from Josepha, but i
was no use. She knew that it was Manzal, and shewas.
more frightened than ever.

That night not one of the party slept. The two men kept;
watch, while the wife of Dick attempted to soothe her fair
charge as best she could. .

The females neither heard nor saw any thing, nor did they
observe anything in the actions of their protectors which
looked as though they suspected danger.

But for all that they had seen something, which increased‘
the apprehension of both.

The night was only moderately dark, there being (moon ,

in the sky, and by the light of this, they detected a half-
dozen horsemen, cautiously circling about over the prairie.

They seemed to be reconnoitering the position of the whites,
as though meditating an attack: but, after lingering in the
vicinity for over. an hour, they moved away, and were not
seen again. ‘

Among thm lurking visitors, Dick flincied he recognized '

the villain who had fired at him, hut.he was not ‘certain ,ot'
his identity, although, had it not been through fear of alarm,
ing Josepha, he would have sent a bullet through the sus‘
peeked individual. , 
When, morning came, nothing was to be

 
 

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seen}, at  \

 

 
   

ngz'ug“

cow-0H

 

m memos. ill~

‘« enemies, and the party resumed their journey homewsrd, resch- °
‘ log it withou'. any further adventure. ,
It was a long time before Josepha recovered from this second
3 _ fright, and, in fact, she did not recover at all before the great
blow of all came. , ,
And it came in this wise.

I.

onsp'rna III.
THE NIGHT ATTACK.»

L 7 003mm; DICK' at one time hoped to build his hacienda

of stone, as a protection against fire, that'most dreaded wes-

pon at the red-men; but even with the assistance of his wile

- ling friends, it was found impossible, and he was compelled

‘» to construct it of rough logs, which were dragged no little

distance over the prairie.

As we have hinted in another place, it was made with some
pretensions to an elegant residence, he having gradually added
to it, year by year, until it was composed of several build-
, tags, which had quite an imposing appearance from a die-
/ tance.

' They were strongly and securely made, being vulnerable

' only to one enemy—fire, which. may be said to include all the

, ' others; but, with proper watchfulness, Dick had hopes that

this fiend might be kept at bay. - ‘

On the day on which our story opens, at the hour of noon,
;_-lhe shout of Long Eph was heard, and the leader and two
', rangers, who were in the house, looking out, saw him come
" to view, on the top of a swell in the prairie, and make several
 furious gestures with his long arms. At the same time the
f confusion and barking of several of the dogs, showed that'
’7 something unusual was going on '

_, I A moment later, tho three were mounted, and dashing at
 hi! speed toward him. Long Eph waited only long enough
}, to see that he was followed, when he thundered away in par
o   of ' the meanders. ' ‘ ' -‘

 

 

"36 'run eastern fiNLES. ‘

When the rangers reached the spot which their friend had ' - «

just left, they saw a party of three or four Apaches galloping
leisurely away, and driving in front of 'them perhaps a thou-
sand sheep. ' l ' '
It was not half so serious a matter as he imagin
knowing that his men could “ straighten ” it, Comancth Dick

turned about and galloped back to the house, so as not‘to _

leave the females defenseless.

The rangers did “ straighten ” matters most emphatically. . I

In less than three miles the sheep were recovered, and turned
back toward home, and, leaving them in charge of the dogs, ',
that were sure to drive them right, the hunters continued the
pursuit. ’

This proved a long one, and resulted in nothing. The
Apaches could not be induced to turn and give battle, and
they scarcely looked behind them, for hours, until they finally
got safely away, when they uttered a taunting whoop, and
soon after disappeared in the distance. I '

By this time the day was well advanced, and in no very pleas-
ant mood the three set out on their return, and what they saw
and what happened to them the reader has already learned.

After the departure of his men, Comanche Dick scarcely gave
the matter another thought, as, as has been stated, he saw that
it was only a trifling affair. He remained mostly in the house
during the afternoon, and at sunset he took a look to satisfy him- .
self that the sheep had returned, and were faithfully tended by
the dogs, when he rejoined his family. v ,,

His wife and Josepha were in unusually good spirits, laugh-
ing and chatting, and Dick was in a glow of health and genial
good-nature, as he placed his foot within the door. A

Just at this instant, a bark of one of the dogs attracted his  '

notice, and turning around, he saw more than t

wenty Coman-
ches riding down upon theml ‘ '

 

ed, and .

V'frw are,

    

« ideo-

_._._._'A

 

As quick as lightning, Dick sprung into the door, hastened it,
and with rifle in hand hurried aloft, calling to Josepha and his
wife to follow him with their guns. They lost no time in doing

so, and by the time they had obeyed him and were cautiously
peering through the loopholes, the whole twenty Comanchu'
[had dismounted, and were screeching and yelling
the house; . '

Mow.

    

‘i

* a

     
 

ou- ,
,' ‘5 in the semi-darkness did no more than wound their foes.

,nd 
ick
,m ‘

 

   

 

WED.

The instant Dick could bring his gun to bear, he sent a bullet

. through one of the howling miscreants, and called out to his

companions to do the same. Both fired the next moment, but

Thus warned, the Comanches immediately retired, a hundred
yards or so, to a point where they were barely visible upon their
horses, and began their favorite maneuvers, which in this case
at least seemed to be pointless and unreasonable.

' They circled clear around the building, riding at a. rapid rate,
and throwing themselves first on one side of their animals and
then upon the other, and firing their guns from under the neck,
belly, or over the back, or -in whatever manner their fancy die-

'uted.

Their bullets could be heard, as they rattled against the logs
of the hacienda, and one of them accidentally passing through
a loophole, narrowly missed slaying Comanche Dick himself.
He felt the slight rush of the wind against his throat, as the
messenger whizzed past, but no start or exclamation apprised
those around him of what had happened.

He admonished them to keep their guns loaded, and to fire at

‘ every opportunity, as every shot, if effective, bettcred their situ-
. ation, and made their danger correspondingly less.

This random firing of the Indians was nothing more than
mere bravado,and was understood by those within the hacienda.
They remained cool and collected, firing whenever the oppor-
tunity presented, which, it may be said, was quite lul're«
quent.

' If the three rangers should only return about this time, it
would have been about the best thing that could have hap-
pened, but, unfortunately, they were many miles away, and it
looked as though the Comanches were going to have it all

' their own way.

By extreme watchfulness, Dick finally gained a. shot, which

_:.not only killed a red-skin, but the horse upon which he was

mounted, and raised a how] of fury from the others. r
It will be remembered that the night was of inky black-

1' ,ness, and the circling Comanches soon became invisible, ex-

”,  ogpt when the flash of their guns gave a momentary glimpse
of their location. -

i Shortly after

lbbeeame‘lodark, the Indians ceased their 1

  

 '

circus-like. riding, and gathered together for consultation.
Dick suspected as much, although he had no means cf being
sure of what was really going on.

His great fear was that an effort would be made to. burn
the building, as every thing was so favorable for such‘ an at-
tempt. He passed around the upper part of the house, watch-
ful and vigilant, and instructed his wife and Josepha to repert
to him the slightest unusual sound or sight. that came to their
cars or eyes.

Reaching an opening in the roof, which had been made
for sush cases of emergency, Dick thrust his head out and
listened. All was as silent as the grave, and whatever the
Comanches were doing, they were doing with the stealth and
silence of phantoms. /

He waited several moments, but his trained ear detected '

absolutely nothing. Then he gave the “signal of distress,"
made with a tremendous whoop, tremulous and ringing far
out in the still night. This was intended as a call to his com;

panions, and Dick knew. if it reached their ears, they would '

not lose a second in responding.
But unfortunately it was not heard by them. _
Having done all that it was possible to do, in this way,
Dick was preparing to descend, when his sharp ear caught
a soft, rasping sound, as if made by a body drawing' itself over'
the shelving roof. , ~
One moment’s listening, and the hunter was satisfied that

by some means or other, one of the Comanches had made his“

way to the top of the roof, and was now crawling along, most

probably in search of this very opening. From the sound,

he judged that his enemy was about a dozen feet distant.
As stealthin as the creeping panther, Comanche Dick‘drew

himself through the opening, and began creeping toward the '

crouching Indian. .
At that instant a point of light suddenly glowed through
the darkness, and he saw at once that the Indian had a spark
of fire in his hand, with which he was endeavoring to kindle
I. tire upon the roof. * ' a

The spark was so small that the red-skin placed his face

down close to it, and carefully and softly blew the blaze,

I  lie own face was. My revealed, and Dick gut‘ ;

 

 

 
 

 

ion.
ain'g
urn
at.-
;ch¥ -
tort
lei:

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nd

nd
ed "

u t,
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id ’

 

m mm“.

“glowing eyeballs and dusky foatum, and
end nearly on 9. Mel with the roof. .
The work of kindling a fire in the solid: wood of the roof
was found more diflicult than the Indian imagined, and he
bent his face closer and blew the harder.

At this time Comanche Dick was creeping toward the un-
suspecting red-skin, who had halted almost on the very edge
of the roof, which was inclined at such an angle that it re-
quired no little care to prevent falling.

Dick’s first intention was to grapple with the savage, and
settle the matter with the knife; but the footing was so on-
certain as to make it more than probable that he would be

he‘de his

,, precipitated to the ground with his victim. So he changed

his mind and drew his pistol. ‘
As he raised the hammer, he endeavored to suppress the

' noise; but the click reached the ears of the Comanche, who

instantly looked up. Whether he saw his enemy or not can

‘ only be conjectured; but, at the same instant, the weapon
iwas discharged, and the savage rolled struggling to the ground

below.
- Dick hastily changed his position, for he feared the shot!

'_.ct‘ those below, who would be guided by the flash of the piso

tol’; but they were so unprepared for such aturn of affairs,
that no shot was fired at him.

Thinking that there might be others on the roof, he made
a.eomplete circuit, and carefully examined every portion; but
the Comanche who had been tumbled of was evidently the.
most daring of his fellows, for none of the others had as yet

attempted the feat.

Some confusion followed the fall of the savage, but it la, .1-
only a moment, when all was still again. Dick waited so
minutes to see whether any thing like it would he attempts
and then he descended through the opening, carefully cloeeo

. it after him, and rejoined his friends below. r

He found that nothing had been attempted during his ab-
sence, nor would they have known of what took place on
the roof, had it not been for the report of the pistol.

 

From their peculiar situation, it was impossible to have a
light in the room,’as the exact location of the loopholes would

I ' » hire been betnyod thereby—so in moving around they wear

 

 

 

in! ram mun. -;
. . , i
guided by their knowledge of the configuration of the room:
and by the sense of sound,

“ Where can the men he ?” inquired Mrs. Hampton, the 

wife of Dick.

i
“0!? on a hunt. I told them that they might take the day, 1

or what was left of it, and I suppose they will hardly be back
before morning." ’ '

“ If they would only return new." cried Josepha, “they
might rid us of this Manzal." \

“ What do you mean Y” asked Dick, who understood very
well what was meant by the remark. ~

“ He is outside; I know it.”

“ How do you know it 1‘”

“ I heard him whoop awhile ago.”

Dick laughed quite heartily.

“ You must have quite sharp ears, for I didn't near it.”

“ You heard it, but didn’t notice it. You are not so well
acquainted with his voice as I am.”

“ I hope you are mistaken, Josepha, but perhaps you are
not." ‘
- Dick only hoped it; he did not believe it. He had sus-
pected from the first that Manzal, the rutfianly persecutor of
Josepha, was at the bottom of the whole business, and when
the first spark of fire appeared on the roof, he prayed that it
might be the villain himself; but he‘was too great a coward
to venture upon any thing that involved so much personal
risk.

When the Comanches first appeared, he carefully scrutinized
them, so far as he was able, under the expectation of recog-
nizing his enemy.

But, if Manzal was present, he was so well disguised as an
Indian that Dick was unable to identify him. Although he
treated the assertion of Josepha with no little levity, yet he
placed more faith in it than she suspected:

A half-hour of quiet followed, and then Dick concluded to‘
make another tour of the réof, so as to prevent anyr insidious
approach from that direction. Cimtioning his friends to ’he ,
unremitting in their diligence, he left them for a short time.

Alasl he was too late! When he threw up the cover, or '4
tap-door, he saw that one corner of the roof was in flames!

    

    

  

 

w__,___. L__.___ -_.__

fi,..;,.....¢..\ -T‘._,_ c v.9... .M

, i

an ammo n was. 

 

 

For an instant, Comanche Dick stood appalled at the sight.

Then he dashed back again, shouting for water. By the time
he returned, bearing a vessel with the precious element in his
 hand, the flames had passed beyond his control, and it was
1 with despairing sullenness that he dashed it upon the tire.

}' Almost at the same moment, several rifles were heard to
‘ ' crack from the prairie below, and the zip-zipping of the bul..etl
l around his ears caused him to withdraw his head more sud-
., deuly than he had thrust it out. '

1 \ The “hacienda” was doomed, and the hunter hurried to
his friends below.

“ It’s all up i" he exclaimed; “ the building is on fire, and
‘we must leave.”

“ Hark! that is his voice 2” exclaimed Josepha, with a gasp
of terror.

Dick was not entirely unprepared for this turn of afi'airs.
Hurryiug through the lower portion of the house, he reached
i, an, opening-ea sort of door—so arranged as not to be notice-

» able from the outside, through which he hoped to reach the
’ rude sort of stables in which their horses were kept.
 c" There was no time to lose, and without pausing even to
1' "glance outside, he drew aside the door.
 ‘ “,Now, Josepha, close to me, and you next,” he said, hur-
1 riedly addressing his wife.
‘ ' The next moment, all three were on the outside.
I By this time the light of the burning building was so great
I’tbat it was like midday without; but it was no time for hesi-
tation, and the three hurried across the intervening space.
\ ' The distance to cross was perhaps a hundred yards. Fully
one-half had been passed, when a shout went up. The 01»
V . manches had discovered them.
W “ Go ahead and get out the horses 1” called out Dick,to his
friends, while he turned at bay. '

The two females lost not a second,and an instant later had
dashed into the, rude building.

,1 , But the Indians had been ahead of them. Not a horse
was there!

  

   
 

    

CHAPTER IV.
A non u BAY.

Common DICK was now a fury incarnate. Driven It, 1
bay, he was a man whom a dozen of his follow-creatjnesi I
would have hesitated to attack! j 1

The Indians could have shot him down, but they had'nox'; '
desire to do so. They knew him, and their intention was to 
take the whole party prisoners. \ :
Throwing down his rifle, Dick drew his terrible Bowie-L

l

knife, and circling it over his head, sprung aloft, sud uttered
a whoop of defiance. His blood was up, and he was ready
to attack the whole party, if they lingered in attacking
him.

The white heat of rage gleamed in his eyes, and woe‘
to the man who came within reach of that terrible right 2
arm! " v ' ’

The fellow had thrown himself across the path of those ' '
he loved, and while he lived none could pass him.

The Comanches numbered nearer thirty than twenty; they
had dismounted, and they came on foot towardhim; but, 
awed by the terrible menace in his manner, they hesitated a
moment.

“ Come on, you dogs 1” he called out, in their own tongue,
“the white man fears you not! You are cowards! you are
women! you stand like children! Why do you not prove '
yourselves warriors 2" ‘ ,

And again he flashed the fearful weapon over his head; J

There was no empty boast in this; Dick felt every word ‘
of it; it thrilled through his veins, and he prayed that they
would wait no longer, for he felt that he could not! _

There was something awful in his demeanor, as be banned
himself for the onset of his enemies. r ‘ , v 

The Comanche is no coward, and three of the foremost
advanced simultaneously to the attack. , " ' ‘
Ascool, and firm as the rock, stood the, daring hunter, 

 

  

some mow. , fl

 with his knife clutched, and his eyes darting lightning upon
them. ,

a‘ The mo of red-skins came cautiously forward, with knives

. also drawn. When they were within a half-dozen feet, Dick

, i could wait no longer, but, like the crouching panther, he

; leaped toward them.

/ His movements were made with marvelous celerity and
at; irresistible force. The lookers-on could not follow the light-
” : ning like circlings of that. long right arm. There was a wildl'

V _, whoop and he was between the three, raging like a demon.

 I It was but an instant—the twinkling of an eye, and 00-
l to ‘ munche Dick sprung backward fully a dozen feet, flourishing
\ the dripping Bowie over his head.
tie." - “’Dogs and cowards, why do you stand idle ? You are

Left-aid! you are women 1" , '

Awail of horror went up, as the red-skins saw that the

three who had advanced to the attack lay doubled over each
_ other, all (lead, while their slayer seemed unharmed l
roe ; Great as was the odds, Comanche Dick would have held
his own and come off conqueror, had he been able to control
himself ; but he now lost all reason, and became insane with
u ' his own consuming passion.

._‘ _ “ Dogs 1” he shrieked, “ if you are afraid to come to me, I
sy i will go to you t”

n,  4 And he sprung toward them. Instead of fleeing,” would
'a ' have been natural under the circumstances, the Comanche
V scattered, so as to close around him.

e, , The daring fellow made a leap at the nearest, but tripped
re over one of the dead bodies and fell. Ere he could rise, a
re ‘ haltldoaen were upon him.

7 ‘ ‘-. Butwhat of that? He came up, like the lion bursting
J through the brambles, but his knife had dropped from his
a 5 hand, and was held by another. Still he raged like Sampson,
y scattering his fees, by sheer strength, until he was clear again.
d

@332.

and with his long black hair streaming about his shoulders,

and his eyes glowing with an unearthly light, he swung his

a , arms like piston-rods, and stilledefled them.

a .' At this instant, a shriek was uttered by Josepha, who with
" ‘ her mother had emerged from the stable, in their vain mesh:

’ ,3 he: at their.  _

 

 

 

 
 

  
   
  
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
    
   

  

" v .3 ‘ ’ was: mm: ms. , 1’ =
/ I _ ,1 1
“What's the matter it” he fiercely demanded,  

/ toward them. m
“ The horses are gone,” replied his wife. 7 pa:

“ Then I will get you one l” I
With which he dashed straight through the crowd toward in],
the nearest animal. In vain they attempted to interpose. {am
He leaped over them, and vaulting upon the hack of the of
steed, which was without saddle, he wheeled it around toward 1
the point where his two friends were cowering, and almost 
broke its ribs with the fury with which he struck his heels
into its sides. V
Even here there was a prospect of success, had not an nn-,
looked-for obstacle occurred. The obstinate brute refused to L'
budge a step, but reared on its hind feet, and madly shook }
its head. 
Again Dick pounded its sides, but in vain, and still blindly \
furious, Le dealt the. brute a blow with his naked fist on the .
side of its head, which caused it to reel and totter to the I 3
(round. I |
l.
i

.4.» “e: (is;

“ Lie there i” he muttered, springing to his feet and glaring
at it. “ Had I a knife, I would slit you to fragments i”

All this had transpired in an incredibly short space of time,
but the Comanches had not remained passive spectators. At
the instant the hunter vaulted upon the back of the horse,
two of them had rushed forward and seized Josepha and her
mother.

When Dick saw them struggling in the grasp of their
captors, his whole soul was fired again, and he [plunged 
toward them. ' ' ‘

But quick as were his movements, he had not gone half ' k
the distance when a lasso settled over his neck and arms, and , l
before he could stir, a second and a third closed around hint '
like so many vices. Ere he could free himself, he was thrown
Violently upon the ground and overpowered. ‘ t

Now they gathered around him with taunts, but all the
time taking cere to bind him tighter and tighter. They spat i
upon him, and called him dog and coward; and among the 
most violent, Dick recOgnized, for the-first time, the villain. i 2
Ian-s1. '  ‘

i

The poltroon, painted and daubed like a Comanche,  ‘ '

  

l.

, , . takes: good care to keep in the back-ground until his foe was .
:‘powerlessl Had he done otherwise, he would have been the
first victim, for Dick would have singled him out, and ‘
'passed by all others, in order to reach him! ‘
g The two women were placed upon a mustang by them-

' Flelves; Dick was placed helplessly in front of a savage upon

a" (another, and the party moved away, just as the eonflagration

he of the hacienda was at its hight.

rd j When the Comanches had gone about a hundred rods,
'5‘. v, they halted, consulted together a moment, and then the party
ll!  separated.

I. Ten of them, having the hunter in charge, moved directly
I” 1, south; the remainder, with the females, went in a south-east
to {direction
1‘  It was the latter band which encountered Black George

and his companions in returning. The particulars of the en.

’ " counter we have given. ‘
' ' , As this time the others were not more than a mile distant,
° hd the firing of the guns was distinelly heard.
\ Punting, but motionless, Comanche Dick bided his time.

CHAPTER V.
UNCLE am.

i _ OK that same evening, the burning hacienda was witnessed
Ly another party upon the prairie. ' '
I' This party numbered two individuals, and they halted in a
dump of trees, secured their horses, and were Sitting upon
.‘l the ground smoking, after they had finished their supper
I upon cold meat.
t

J ,The night was so dark that nothing but the burning tip of

'I‘cigar and the glowing embers in the bowl of a pipe could

 seen, while the sound of each other’s voices betrayed their
precise position.

‘  He'who was smoking a pipe was Ephraim Hopkins, a tall,

, , gaunt,  rather awkward-looking personage, who had made

 

 
 

  

  

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a compromise betWeeu a Yankee dress and a hulk!le 

one, giving himself such an odd appearance, that" he could 

not fail to attract attention anywhere. .

A tall, bell-crowned hat was brushed quite smooth with“ h

the sleeve of his coat, and the long, flapping coat was gathered « -_, ‘

at the waist by a fiery-red sash, into which was thrust a
formidable Bowie-kuife—a weapon which at that day was,
quite popular all through Texas.

His yellow pants were thrust into his enormous boot-legs,
and to each foot was fastened an enormous spur.

queer-looking hat was set back on his head, in a' manner

which was calculated to add to the general ferocity of'his "

appearance. 4
Ephraim Hopkins was in middle life, possessed a rather _

pleasing expression, although there was a shade of conceit in‘ t j
his manner and words at times, which had the opposite efl‘ect. <1 '
He was the uncle of his companion, a young man who an- " E

swered to the name of Walter Middleton.

The latter was prepossessing in every sense of the words
Regular features, dark-blue eyes, rather light, curling hair;
and‘a face bronzed by exposure to a southern sun, with If
oomer form, graceful limbs and movements, a quiet self-pos-
session of manner—such were the noticeable characteristicl
of the nephew of Ephraim Hopkins. ~

' Both the men, as a matter of course, carried a rifle and - L.

pistol, and both were mounted on fine horses. They were 4

direct from Galveston, after ascending the river as far as poo-1 '4' r

sible, having come overland direct to this place.

/

“ And it‘s the infarnalist trip I ever undertuk," exclaimec. g” ”

Hopkins, alluding to the journey completed up to this point.

“ However, we have been quite fortunate, uncle,” said the 

latter, in a cheery voice, as he puffed at his cigar. “ Here w. '
are, as near as I can calculate, within a few miles of the end .
of our journey, and we haven’t received a scratch, or felt a
moment’s sickness." ' 7
“ Yas, yas,” the other hastened to rejoin, as he produced
his handkerchief, and gave a blast of his nose upon it. “I
Inset I am grateful for all such mercies, but far all mag-this
5'9 county ain’t the one I’d want to settle down in.” ~ 1

   

\

His face . 
Was long and thin, smooth-shaven and peaked, while his W"

 

  

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&

A norm AND 318 WOLF.
~; ,1 - Mfior Lelther; we are unanimous on that point.”
“ What did you say this gentleman’s name is 2” suddenly
,» g, inquired Hopkins, leaning forward, so as to make sure of
 catching the answer.
- '_ * ' “ Dick Hampton, or Comanche Dick. as he is more generally
L known in the West." :
“And he lives out in these prairies, away up in New

' r: ‘ Mexico t”

“ Yes: I understand he has spent several years here. Al-
.though he hates the Mexicans, perhaps even more than I do
‘ yet he likes their territory well enough to make his home in

it, and I doubt whether Santa Ana himself could drive him
W.”
" , “ He must be a strange feller indeed : they say he led
'~ Missouri. where he had a good home, to jine the fight atwcen

‘ ; 1 “Texasand Mexico. And you think the gal is with him I”

“ I am almost certain of it. I am certain i” added the
‘ swung man more emphatically, as he= roused .up. “ Every
thing that I heard points that way; even the name corre-
, spends." .
“ Who was it, naow, that told you i”
" ':‘ . “A hunter who had passed through the country, and spent
v 3! night at the hacienda of Comanche Dick.”
“I know all that—I’ve heard that before," Mr. Hopkins
.V hastened to reply, “ but what I mean to ask, is whether you
 ,knowed him—dhat is, had you ever seen him store, and have
570“ ever" see’d him since?”
u “ No; I can’t say that I have,” was the somewhat hesitating
response.
“ That’s the part of the matter that I don't exactly like,
Walter," replied his uncle, in a. rather patronizing manner.
1 “, You know that Poor Richard says, that in the affairs of this
world, men are not saved by faith, but by the want of it; ~
mind, I don't say we have come on a Wild-goose chase, but
’ Cit? :we have, it won’t be the greatest surprise of my life.”
“It will be of mine,” was the quiet reply of the young
, m. whoswould not allow his faith to be shaken.

wm_w _,<

and
'l

.- in: .

1'  a.“ If I hadn’t believed there were purty good grounds fur

I I, wouldn’t have catched me leaving Galva-
- outlandish , part of the world with you

 

  

 
   

 

mmmmnmn

 

You know. when you cum hum this last summer, on my fan ‘ p
in Connecticut, you thort there was it good opening fur me in;
’Galveston, in the way of selling my trinkets, andvthat’s what .
brought me to Texas." _ ' - 

“ So there is, uncle Eph, and when we get home again, you
shall start at it, and you shall make your fortune before a ‘
gray lmir comes in your head." - r V

“ So I hope—so I hope ; and then,” he pursued, taking up
the thread where he had dropped it, “ when you got back to
Galveston, and found that this ’ere young lady-low. had been . .
spirited away, you became like a crazy person, and couldn't I .
sleep 0’ nights, till you had found out where she had gone a-
wisiting. and then you starts after her, and then you hears she
has been in Santa F6, and back you comes, and then a hunter
comes along and tells you how that he has seen her attire
hacienda or a man called Comanche Dick, and—wal, here we
be.” \

“ Do you regret it i” asked the young men, in a reproach:
ml manner. ~ '

“ Not in the least," the elder hastened to reply, his« into
tion showing that he had a strong afl‘ectlon for his friend.
“ There are few things that you could ask me to do, that‘I ‘
would refuse to do. You know that, Walter, as well as ,I
do.”

it Yes.” I

“ I am only now seeking to prepare you for a. disappoint. '
ment. You are so near the destination you are seeking, and \ , ‘,
you are so confident, it will be hard for me to witness the die- .
covery of a mistake upon your part.”

“ I appreciate your kindness, uncle—" '

“ Hello i" suddenly exclaimed Mr. Hopkins, springing to“
his feet,“ yender is a row, I swow to gracious l” i. ,

Ofl' ih'the north-west, the light of the burning hacienda ,
was just rising in the horizon. The glare, at such a timp ee- »
peeinlly, was almost unearthly in its appearance, and‘the Atwo .
men for a few minutes were silent. ‘ A '2  -

“ By gracious l" muttered Mr. Hopkins, beginning to show I - .-
considerable nervousness, " et‘ the perarieis on fire, we’ve'got ' 
io'git out of this.” n , ‘1,

9' It isn't the prairie,” replied Welter, who, rather curiously, ‘ ‘.

 

 

       
  

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canon-swat!
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cum—rs me man? “80

'debided from the same stand-point as did Blackt George," it

doesn’t spread enough, and it isn’t approaching us.”

’A few minutes‘ obserVati'on confirmed the truth of Middle-
ton’s opinion, and the two men were more at ease than they
had been before. They silently watched the conflagration,

 until after an hour or so it began gradually to grow dim, and

then both were startled by the sound of fire-arms, sounding/

a? at comparatively a small listance.

“ I tell you,” said Hopkins, in an undertone, “ matters be-
gin to look a leetle pokerish. That ’ere fighting I’d rayther
was a leetle further ofi‘."

“ Keep still, and no harm can come to us.”

“ But daylight will be here one of these, days, and what
then ?"

t“ Then will be time enough to think about it."
/ “ You have a cooler way of taking things, Walter, than I
have, that is, you have jist note, although you'll own it was a
leetls difi‘erent when you got’ back from Santa Fé, and found
out that your Josepha, as you call her, was missing.”

“That ‘was enough to excite an ordinary man."

“ So it was, so it was; but, let me ask, as it don’t do any

l. hurt to talk, whether you put full faith in that ’ere hunter

that you call Blit‘ kins.”
“I don’t pin my faith to any man, but I see -no reason to
doubt what he told me. However, we shall know Very soon

V whether he deceived me or not.”

The two friends chatted and smoked until late in the night-

until the lurid light in the north-west died out, and all was

blank darkness—until the fierce sounds of fight between the
Comanches and hunters had ceased, and all was still.

' Then they lay down to slumber, their faithful horses acting
as sentinels, while no thought came to either that they had

 witnessed the burning of the hacienda of Comanche Dick,
mad that on the very threshold of happy success, they were

to be met by the bitterest disappointment.
The night wore away, and just as the sun was coming up,
both awoke. Remembering what they had seen and heard

3  {4915 the previous evening, {didmewn took occasion to pass out

I! the grove and take a hasty survey of the surrounding preia

  

   
    
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
   

  

' mm mm}: armies.

All was clear—not a glimpse of anything suspicious?“
to he V seen, and they were left unmolested to pursue their
jOurney as they saw fit.

Both had made themselves so thoroughly acquainted With
the country through which they were passing, and young
Middleton had received such minute directions as to the loca- 1’
tiun of Comanche Dick’s residence, that they had no hesita-
tion in‘ the course they were to take, and, as soon as they
:cnld complete their simple arrangements, both were mounted
aLt riding at a leisurely gallop over the prairie toward the
north-west.

“ I believe our route leads us toward the point where we
saw the fire last night," remarked Midtlletcn, in a'matter-of- ’
fact tone. r

,“ It would be curious if it Was the hacienda that we saw

' burning," replied his uncle, in the same indifferent manner.'

“By George 1" exclaimed the young‘man, his face blanch-
lng, “ I shouldn’t wonder if it were that very building 1 " Ac.
cording to the best calculations I can make, it was on the very
spot, Yes, now I feel sure of it.”

“,I guess you are right.” ‘

“ Heavens! if it is so i Then I am a day too late; the
Comanches have been here i” he added, in the very bitterness ‘
of despair.

“ Hold on, not aoi‘ast, Walter; it may be all that, and again
it may not.”

“ No; I am impressed that it was his place that was
burned, and that—”

“ I don’t contradict that point ; but, suppose it was. Frfom
all that I can 'l’arn about this Comanche Dick and his men,
they are all able to take care of themselves. Else why did

, they select this ’ere part of the world for their habitation,
where the reds can come down on him at any moment, when; '
there be so many where there ain’t a bit of danger, down '
nearer the settlements ?” fl \ ‘ I ‘

This hopeful and certainly sensible view of the case Served
to revive the spirits of Walter, although there was in'Ltruth
ebopgh on his mind to drive away all. the pleasantI‘hofiaful- « ‘
I m which he had experienced‘up to this time. A, ‘

t brisk ride of several miles, and they came in sight 

4

 

f I V r'

net‘s.

 

r

.“M

, ruins of the hacienda, guided by a thin column of smoke that

I , was faintlylrising from the débris.

As Middleton goaded his horse to his best speed, Ephraim
Hopkins came to a dead halt and adjusted his iron spectacles
upon his nose.

“ Why don’t you come on ? what’s the matter i” impa-
tiently demanded his companion, reining up and looking back

. at him.

, his glasses, “ but I think‘them ’ere persons are Injins.

, companion.

1 “_'Walter, you be hardly yourself now ; you are rash u
don’t you see that we are not the first ones at the ruins Y"
For the first time Middleton observed some horsemen stand-

ing motionless near the scene of the fire, and apparently

watching them with considerable interest. ‘

' “ I hain’t got as sharp eyes as you,” added Mr. Hopkins, '
leaning forward in his saddle and earnestly peering through
Et‘ so,
we hadn't better hurry so fast in that direction. How often
I thank Heaven that we were sensible enough to get the two
fastest horses in Galveston, fur et‘ we hadn’t, we’d ‘ve been
catched by the pisin sarpints a dozen times afore this."

The young man paid little heed to the talk of his garrulous
He was intently scanning the suspicious person-
ages, one of whom began gesticulating to him.

“ No," he suddenly exclaimed, again striking his horse into
a gallop, “they are white men. Come on 1”

As Hopkins had also reached that concltfiion at about the

— same time, he followed hard after Walter, although he was

"unable to'come up with him, until Middletou reined up in

, front of Long Eph, Black George and Jake J aggleton.

The three hunters politely returned the greeting of the
young man, and then Waited for him‘ to explain matters.
“I have never seen you before,” said Walter, speaking

‘, with great earnestness, “ but from what I have heard from
, othefl,‘I judge you to be the companions of a great hunter

/

and Indian fighter known as Comanche Dick.‘ Am I right 2"
' “ You know more about us, younker, than we do about
you,” replied Black George, who was quite interested in the
new-comer. '
, “’And is this his hacienda or house ?’
‘lt up,“ was the significant reply

 

 

mmmm m'

“ And where is he l"?
, “ That’s more nor we can tell, butnlt‘ldoks'powe‘rful'u
'though be war in the hands of the Comanche 'skunks jist"
now." . ’ ’
“ Was there a young lady living- with .his family, a young
Spanish lady, by the name ofthosepha Navarro ?"
“ That there war, yonnker.”
“And where is she ?” was the next question, asked with
a soul-thrilling earnestness, which it would he1 impossible to
de )ict.
1“ She and Dick’s wife are in the hands of‘the snme'thleves,‘
as near as I can judge.”
“ Oh, God! I feared asmu‘ch." ‘
And, overcome by his emotions,Walter‘Middleton would
have fallen from his horse, had he not been 'caught by his
uncle.
‘ “ Easy, Walter! easy, now! Perhaps they’ll bring her
back ag’in, if they find we're looking? fur her.”

'.\

CHAPTER VI.
NOW non m GAHEl

As a: matter of course, the rangers felt no little curiosity at
the actions of the young man, who was so affected by the
news of Josepha’s abduction.

Still they remained respectfully silent until he had fully re-

covered himself, when Black George said:
“ Younker, what mought be your name 1’”
Ephraim Hopkins, with a tact which did him credit, hast
ened to answer for his young friend. a
“This gentleman is named Walter Middleton. Have you/
ever heard of him More l" v
“ Cnn‘t say that I did.” , ,
“ Well, he and the young lady in whom we are all]:

deeply interested, are engagediu'marrisge, andwe have can. ’ '

all this way to get her, and you’ll own it’s rather hard "for I

_“

 

  
   

 

 

 
 

i

 ’ beast.
7%

I

m ornate. m meme. ,8
I

Lfellerin his boots to git here jist in time to find out what
you've told us. You see, ef we’d only been a day sooner—”

“ Never mind that,” interrupted Middleton, who was some-
times impatient at the gurrulity of his companion. “ I would
rather hear from these gentlemen now. I suppose you will
rescue your. leader 1’” '
7 “Rescue him i" replied Long Eph; “he’d shoot the first

man that tried to rescue him.”

’ “ Gracious l’f exclaimed Hopkins, who did not understand
the meaning of this declaration. “He must be a queer
' :hap.”

“(Comanche Dick is able to take care of himself,” said
Black George, with an air of pride. “He told us long ago
that if he ever got into the varuiints’ hands, jist to let him
alone, and at" he couldn’t get out ng‘in, without help, he didn‘t
' w nt to. Dick has been there afore.”

‘_‘ But you sartinly don’t expect his wife and Josepha to do
thesame ‘2" inquired Hopkins.
1 “No; we war jist gittin’ ready to start on a tramp arter
, her, when we see’d you comin‘ up, and we waited to see what
‘ it meant.”
“ You will certainly allow us to accompany you P” asked

V

v.6

 iddleton, with no little anxiety.

“ Wal, I dunno,” laughed Black George, as he turned his
eyes to' the ludicrous figure of Ephraim Hopkins. “ I don‘t
think you’ll be much help to us. Fact of it is, we’ll be a

. t, powerful sight better ofl‘ without you than with you."

“There ain’t two better hosses that ever left Texas," re-
marked the New Englander, slapping the neck of his own
“We’ve been chased by Injins a half-dozen times
since we started, an’ we kin run ag‘in, if we see any of ’em."

“ We don’t propose to do that ’ere kind of business,” laughed

' 7 Long Eph.

The hunters showed, in the words that followed, that they
“.Were unwilling to take these two men with them, when there

when every prospect that their presence would be an injury

I Instead of a benefit.

 

Young Middleton showed such an earnest desire to accom-

lfl‘nny them, that a compromise was finally ofi‘ered. The vast

 of sheep, which Comanche Dick owned,had not, rather
J

 

   
   
     
  
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
   
   
   
     

/

46"“, 

singularly, been disturbed by the Indians, and they could / I

be dimly discerned in the distance, busily cropping the ‘
dry pmirie- grass, and under the guardianship of the
dogs.

“ 'l‘hem ’ere animals need lookin’ after,” said Black George. I
“ We want to leave a man to take care of ’em while we ar‘ 0!!
on our tramp. It‘ll be better to leave one of you than one of
us, ’cause, you see, we’re a leetle more used to knife-cuttin’
and ha’r-lit‘tin' than you be.” ,

“What is your proposition ?” asked Middleton, observing a‘
smile on the face of the hunter. ~

“ Let this ’ere long-coat stay and mind the sheep for a do
or two while we are gone, and then we’ll take you with- us,
and that’s all we can do." '

It was expected that the New Englander would ofier A
strong opposition to this; but, to the surprise of all, the pro- 3
possl pleased him. The fact of the matter was, he was ’not ,'
particularly anxious to engage in any “ Indian business.” On
the principle that lightning isn’t apt to strike twice in the some
place, he concluded that the ruins of the burned hacienda
would be safer from the hated red-skins than any other spot
he could select. V

“ Of course,” said he, after a moment’s deliberation, in order
to conceal his anxiety, “it would be "a domed sight pleasanter /

to go'along with you, and jine in slayin’ the whole nccnrsed ‘ 1 '7

race of Comanches and such creeturs; but I opine there is a
vslly’ble interest represented in them ’ere sheep, and ef I stay ‘
and purtect them, no doubt the owner will make it——ahem—'-—
all right with me. So, friends, I accept the proposal. Yes, I’ll
stay and take keer of ’em.” ‘
. This unexpected acceptance settled matters to the satisfnc-'
tion of all parties concerned, and every thing was made ready _
for the start. ‘ \ x 1

Mr. Hopkins made some inquiries as to what his precise,

4

duties were in the way of acting as a drover, and found that " 
he had little to do, except tn keep them from scattering, as they  :
were sometimes inclined to do, and even this tendency,’as 7| "7 "

“116. Was guarded against by the sagacions dogs.

The hacienda, although in ruins, was not entirely destroyed. 1‘1 '

A Man IIth or stone house which Comanche Dick had put 

  

1.

 

m , sum. ‘5

/ :yfiome time before, had not been touched by the flames, ntr had

‘ the stable been disturbed. .

u‘ T » ~ 7 These were insignificant buildings, Which, however, the
New Englander could turn to account at night, or in case
a storm should come up. Occasionally this portion of New -

v Mexico is swept by the terrible “ northers ” of Texas, in which
case no human being could feel absolutely safe, without some
covering to shelter him from its fury. g

In case he should need something in the way of food,and

' 'l, was not inclined to go on a hunt for it, it was very easy to dis-

, patch a sheep and dress him, and there was little fear but what
he would do it. .

Mr. Hopkins wished them all good speed upon their journey,
and, turning the head of his animal toward the sheep, he can-
tered away at an easy gallop. ‘

“ That is what I call a powerful good ’rangement." ‘re-
marked Jake Jaggleton, as soon as the man was fairly beyond
ear-shot. . ’

“ Yes; I wouldn’t ’ve had him along for any thing. But,

4 come, we are losing time."

With which Black George wheeled about and started ofl' at

, I. rapid gallop, the others immediately following him.

‘ The prairie over which they journeyed, after they had

I _ .' passed some distance, was covered with a long dry grass upon

- which any animal except the sheep would have found it aliard
matter to subsist. It was so dry, indeed, that a fire once

v‘ fumed would have raged with great violence, and traveled un-

‘ v/a’l stopped by some stream of water, or by the “openings,” or
V relear places which were occasionally encountered.

It is quite diflicnlt to follow a trail over such a country, not

. only on account of the frequent passage of other animals, but
' / owing to the dry, hard, cracked nature of the ground, the foot-

 ‘, prints are often so indistinct that the most experienced eye ‘

,' V cauldetect them only with the greatest difficulty. There was

; r1 “ imminent probability of the trail being lost altogether, in case

' r the hunters allowed much time to elapse before beginning the

, '2? 3~ Konrsnit, or should they fail to press it vigorously. '

In. A 50 that they had every motive to hurry, and they did so

 Taking the trail where it appeared close to the house..they fol-
.54W4u'mpjdly until they reached the point when the ‘

 

i .

 

 

   
 

THE PRAIRIE RIFLES.

Comanches had separated.
minutes. ,

Only a short period was needed to decide what they were
to do. It was found that two of them, on the evening before,
had unmistakably heard the cry of Josepha, as she was borne
so swiftly away by her captors, so that no doubt could remain
as to the directon she had taken. They were not hunting for
Comanche Dick.

“ It’s likely they took both the women one way and him
t’other,” remarked Black George, as they were about to move
on again. 4

“ Then why didn’t she yelp?” inquired Jake Jaggle'
ton.

“ How do you know but what she did ?” replied Long Eph.
“ I ain‘t sartin by no means but what I heerd her last night in-
stead of the younker."

Here they halted for a low

“ They both have voices that sound a good ’eal alike,” re< ' ‘

turned Jake, “ ’specially when they’re singin‘, and when they
try a yell we mought toss up for which war which.”

“ Come, come, don’t let us wait,” said Middleton,fldgeting
uneasily in his saddle, and chafing at the delay.

“ See yer, younker; hev you taken this yer party under yer
wing ?“ inquired Black George, with some show of stern-
ness.

“ No, no ; I have no desire to obtrude my advice; but you,

must see how much valuable time we are losing."

“It's all right," returned the hunter with a grin. “I’m
ruther pleased at your anxiousness to git forrid. I hope it'll
continner arter we draw a head on the thievingest skunks
that ever run away with the best gal that ever lived."

' The last words were jolted out of the hunter, as his horse
was on the gallop again. No one but an experienced man
would have suspected that he was following a trail; fora
glance at his eyes would have shown that they were sweeping
the broad prairie, while only now and then did they flit to the
ground in front of him. ’

The mustangs of the hunters were fresh, and they traveled

It a high rate of speed, seemingly enjoying the fresh morning,

sir morethan did their riders, whose thoughts were too much

    

Y

t

 

muted'wm the serlous task before them to be‘mneeptthlew' 

a

A

 

rounwmo/Irms mun. . ‘4?
. my'such influence. Every one of the party were smoking,
and the regular pufi‘, as they rose and sunk upon their steeds,
suggested the thought that they were all propelled by
steam. .
The trail of the Comanches showed that they were proceed-
ing at a rapid speed, they evidently suspecting that they would
he pursued. For fully five miles from the point of their en-
counter with the rangers, the footprints of their horsos led al-
most exactly in a south-west direction. A surveyor could not
have marked out a line more matheniaticafiy exact.

But here there was a divergence, at a sharp angle, and it
proceeded due south, toward the regular hunting-grounds of
the Comanches and Apaches. ‘

“ What I expected," muttered Black George, as he wheeled
his horse’s head to the right. “Ei‘ we don’t overhaul them

3, skunks afore they git many miles in that direction, we’re goin’ ,
' to have the biggest job we ever undertook in the Comanche

line."
“ Why so 1'" inquired Middleton.
The hunter looked at him a moment before replying.
“ You ain’t traveled much in these parts ?”
. V “'Of course not,” was the somewhat impatient reply. “ If
I had, I might be egpected to know something. If it is any
' trouble to you to give information, you will oblige me by not
doing it.”
Black George laughed. He liked this show of spirit.
‘tYon’ll do, younker; you ain’t a ninny, that’s ssrtin. We're
now,goin' straight toward the reg’lar huntin‘ grounds of the
_ Apaches and Comanches, both of ’em the infurnalest set oifi
thieves that ever Wore red skins. Ef thar‘s any diti‘erence, the

rx.

 V'Apaches are the worst, fur the principle with them is to kill a.
 white man or woman that may fall into thar clutches, and to
‘do it in the wust way, and I kin tell you they know how to

torture a man. Long Eph thar could tell you something ’bout
that, ’cause he's been through the mill."
“ Do you suppose it is the Apaches that have carried our

 friends away i’"
F ‘ i .
f  well. The Comanches ain’t so bad, fur they’ll give a man

9‘ Rot a bit of it," was the decided response; “ we know ’9!!!

 chancefurhis life. They’re the all-tiredest tolksto travel

. ,I

I

 

    

m Pm RULES.

you ever see’d. I’ve seen a party of ’em as mr north anti"
Yellerstone.” ‘ ' -
' “Then their hunting-grounds seem to be everywhere."

“ Exactly; but that reg’lar place—that home, What they're
as thick as hornets, is the spot that we‘ve turned our noses to-
ward. Thar’s whar they keep thar squaws and pappooses, and. ,
thar‘s whar you may depend on finding ’em at all times ;’ and
thar, too," said Black George, raising hi finger in an emphatic "“
manner, “ is whar the Comanches won't run, but will stand and
fight.” ’

“ Hallo l what’s up '9" exclaimed Jake, who was riding beside
the two men.

The exclamation was caused by a sharp whistle from Long
Eph, who was galloping about a rod in advance of the others,
and whose horse instantly descended to a trot, then to a walk,
and then stopped as did the rest.

pr replied by pointing toward the south, and following i
the direction of his finger, a thin column of smoke was seen
rising perpendicularly in the air. and growing fainter and fainter
toward the top, until it finally mingled with and was absorbed
by the blue atmosphere.

“ What does it mean ?” inquired Middleton.

“ It means deviltry,” was the muttered reply of Black George.
“Thar are red-skins thar, and that’s something goin’ on that
hadn’t orter.” ‘

As yet nothing could be seen except the thin, stationary
column of Vapor, but the hunters thundered toward it at the
highest rate of speed to which their horses could be
urged. . .

As the prairie rose on their sight, the suspicious of the hunt-
ers were confirmed. What appeared to be a dozen Indians,
some mounted, and some on the ground, could be seen gathered
in a knot, while from the center ascended the feat-fully sug-
gestive column of smoke.

“ They seem to have encamped early,” was the remark of
Middleton, put for the purpose of receiving information.

“ They haven’t encamped ; they've got a prisOner thar, and
they’re burniu’ him or her, as it may he,” replied Black George, , 1
his face of a ghastly patieness. ' -‘ -‘ '

The young man almost fell from his horse in the "NYC: 

 
   

/

 

 

;  pieoelpf his pants around his waist are hi5-
 ,‘f   intox- the wrong hands this time.”

‘/,
x.

  

_ A serum or nonnon, 49
terror that thrilled through him at these words; but he pressed
his lips firmly. steeled his heart with superhuman strength,
'and put this animal on a full run. >
. As the hunters drew near, the Comanches scattered; but
they left behind them a poor, miserable wretch tied to a stake,
his fearnt shrieks rising on the air, as he was in his very death-
etruggles, tormented by these inhuman fiends. '
‘ “ My God i” gasped Black George, “ rr's Constran Dre: 1"

CHAPTER VII.
A LONG nun. ‘

A TERRIBLE scene was before the huntersl

There are few of our readers who have seen a man burned
to, death at the stake. Such as have can never forget the
light, and have no desire to witness it again.

No pen can depict the horror of the four men, as they gal-
loped up to the stake, where the poor wretch had just ceased
his struggles in death. To Walter Middleton there was n faint
thrill of relief when it was announced that it was a man and
not a woman who was thus impaled and tormented.

, But the scul-horrot of the young man was none the less,
asfhe urged his horse to his utmost speed, and was a yard or
“#0 only in the rear of the others in reaching the spot.

' I Black George was the first; and before his mustang had
, halted, he sprung to the ground, dashed the burning grass and

sticks aside, whipped out his knife, and cut the thongs which
held the poor fellow prisoner. He then drew him away from

. the smoking, smoldering embers, and laid him tenderly on the
, prairie.
, , 7 “ My God! it’s Dick 1" gasped Long Eph, approaching and

‘ bending over the body.
, , “ So it is l” returned Jake and George together, and the
latter added, " that is his cont—what is left of it—and that
Poor fellerl he

)

 

 
 

  

  

     
 

w TEE PRAIRIE RIFLES. '

 

The man could only be recognized by his dress. Hie legs,
to a short distance above the knees, had been scorched and
burned until nothing but the blackened bones remained!
Only here and there a shred of clothing was left, and the
wonder was that the man had lived so long under such tor-
ment. Great indeed was his physical endurance.

The face and head were as black as ink-the smoke and
fire having caused it—while the whole body presented such
a sight as would make the strongest shrink, and which gave a ‘
most graphic picture of the inhuman ferocity of the Indians,
of the South-west. '

The three hunters were accustomed to the most revolting
scenes imaginable, but they had never witnessed any thing that
had affected them like this. Thebésight of their own proud
lender, so daring and chivalrous, so utterly fearless—he Whom
they had left at the hacienda in such glowing spirits, only the
day before; he who scorned to receive the help of his friends 
when overtaken by calamity—the sight of him, or rather of
his remains in this plight, was enough indeed to aple the *
stoutest heart among them. \ - .

“If that is the way they served him, what has been 7m-
!ate i" asked Middleton, breaking the oppressive silence that ’
rested upon all. , ' '

“ The Lord only knows,” was the answer of Black George,
in the same suppressed voice. “ Wal,” he added. with a sigh, '
“it’s something we’ve all got to come to, and Dick has gone.
a little sooner than we expected—that's all." . V

The hunter stooped down to raise the head of his fallen
leader, when he started back, and a grim smile lit up his - , '1
countenance.

“ Wal, tharl they beat us that time I” .‘ ~
. “ Snrtinly they did,” replied Jake, who was rather disposed: '
to resent this levity at such a time, “ but what’s the use of ”
grinning at it Y” .~ .1

“ You don’t know what I am grinning at,” returned Black
George, looking sharply at him. “ I kin tell you something I
that‘ll make you grin too.” 7 ,

Seeing that his words and manner were misunderstood, , v
the hunter added pointing to the prostrate body before
them; _' , -

   
    
 
 
   
   
 

v

  
 
  

 

 
  
 

 

 

 

L-IHARP mica.  It , t

‘ “ That wwr a sharp trick of the skunks. That poor teller
ther ain’t OmnanohaDa'ck !" a _,
The threelooked at him more dubious than ever.
“It was .a sharp trick, I say, in them, when they took all
" tliegelothes ofi' of Dick, and put them on another chap, and
put his on Dick, and then burned t’other feller, so we'd think
it war our man.”

“ What reason could they have for doing such a thing Y" in-
quired. Middleton.

“ None stall—only deviltry. They knowed we’d be close
behind ’em, and so they tried this yer trick. Likely they
thought they’d skeer us out from going further, but likely as
not they didn‘t think that either."

“How can you tell that it is not your leader, when the
clothes are his 1’"

Black George turned the blackened face so as to show the
profile. This, as a matter of course, was no help to the
young man, who had never seen the famous hunter; but the
others observed such a. decided difi‘erence in the forehead and
nose, as to confirm, in their minds, at once, the declaration
of theircompanion. ‘

if the horrified grief of the hunters had been great, their
relief was none the less at this detection of the trick of the
Comanches. It proved that their leader was still alive and
well, and that for some reason his captors had no wish to put
him out of the way at present.

What they intended doing with him in the future could
only be conjectured ; but, clinging to the belief that he could
take care of himself, the hunters determined to turn all their
efi'orts toward the recovery of the remains.

As the Comanche party moved away, they had been net'-
rowly scanned by the hunters, who had satisfied themselves
that neither Josepha. Navarro nor the wife of their leader was
among them. This might have brought matters to a stand-
' still had the pursuers been less experienced men than they

were; but neither of the three was deceived. ‘

The smaller party which had the two captives in custody

had gone on ahead, while the rest had lingered, behind, to in-

] 'dulge in tormenting some poor prisoner that they had cap-
  This fact. proved further that there‘th been a junction

<

. ' / .

  

     

   

m ‘ rwnm nmns.

of the entire body, else it would have been impossible to /

exchange the clothing of Comanche Dick for those belonging '
toanother man. ‘ ‘ /

It, therefore, looked more than probable that the three
prisoners were now companions in captivity. It was rather
curious that the place of junction of the Comanches was not
noticed by the rangers, who were so quick to observe every
thing; but had it occurred at a point after the discovery of .
the tormented prisoner, it will be readily understood how their
,eyes saw nothing but the sight ahead of them, and tool; no
notice of the ground over which they were hastening.

There was nothing that could be done for the unfortunate v ,

victim of Comanche atrocity, so he was left to lie upon the
open plain, to be rotted by the element, a prey to ravenous \
animals and the foul birds of the air.

Once more the heads of the mustangs were turned toward
the south-west, and they were put to the highest speed that
was safe in animals of which so much was expected, and that, ‘

had already undergone such hardships. , ‘,

During the few minutes that had passed while the hunters
Were dismounted, the red-skins had improved their time 16 the
utmost. It can not be said that the red-skins were fleeing out
of fear of their pursuers, but they were doing so simply as a
matter of policy. The time would probably soon "come for
them to turn and strike. ‘

Not one of the whites, who were journeying in such bane,
had tasted a mouthful since the preceding day, and their ani-
mals had undergone considerable fatigue; but both man and
beast were capable of enduring a great deal more. and the
former had no thought of hunger.

A distance of several miles separated the pursuer and pun

’aned; and, as both were well mounted, the chase bidw fair to
he a. long one, in case a “ dead run ” was to be made.

The plain became so dry and parched as they advanced,
that the Comanche mustangs raised a great cloud of dust,‘
which at times efiectually shut them from sight of those he-
hind them. . ‘

Up to the hour of noon, the day continued clear and sun-4

shiny, but at that time the experienced trappers saw the 19mm

of a coming storm. They were taint at first, unaccompanied ‘

I

_ \
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'\

   

 

   

 
   

..--.~“-s~ ~:;--- w v ~

 

l

A amnesia, u _

5y thunder, or any sudden darknessof the ‘firniqment, but \

they were neyertheless decided and unmistakable ‘ .  ' j
“ It won’t come till fur inter the night,” said Jake Jaggle-

ton, whq was the weather prophet "or the party, as heturne'd

’V on his horse so as to sweep the entire horizon, “ but it’s com-
' k in’, fursll that, and it’ll'be what Ilenll a reg’lur ringtniled

shorter."- I
“ Where then will be the trail ?" asked Middleton, whose
whole interest centered upon the object of their pursuit.
“ It’ll be whnr it is now." replied Black George.
don’t s’pose we’re follerin’ of it now, do yer i"

“ Ivcertainly did." ' ,

5‘ Then you’re powerful mistook, that’s all. The trail nin’t
_good for nothin’ any longer, and I’ve been thinkin’ fur the
last half-hour that we war on a reg’lur wild-goose-chuse arter
all.”  ‘ '

“ You have no idea of giving it up ?" demanded the young
min, in alarm. “ In that case, I shall continue it alone. 'No,
I can not believe it.”

“ Should think it would hurt your stummick s‘little to
swaller that," was the contemptuous reply of the hunter.
“ You ’penr to have some good p'ints about you, younker, but
you've got one thunderin’ bad one, of thinkin’ you know whu

“ Yer

' I think, when you don’t know nothin'." '

‘tIIbeg pardon; but my feelings are, so worked up that I.
csn not help being hasty at times." ' '
" What I meant,” u «tinned Black George, “ is that thar

‘ ain’t much to begained by makin’ a dead chase of it in this

style. It’s ’bout time we guv it up and fell back on 
principles." ‘ '

Middleton was certainly far from being enlightened by this
declaration, and he waited for his friend to declare himself
more explicitly. ' '

_ “ You see the reds know we’re srter 'em, and all they’ve‘ '
got to do is 'to keep out of our way. What'I meant war,
that it's time we begun to meet thar tricks with tricks, an’

\ fight ’em on that line.”

“  I see—by means of stratagem ?"
“That's the ijee. I mougbt take the time to explain it, ‘

.  my ndviasis fur yer to wait and see.” 4 .

 

    

u m mm nuts. 1

A: it was impossible for Middleton to do much of any thing ,
else, he thought the advice was at least unnecessary. ‘ ~

Black George now fell back somewhat, and consulted his
friends, their horses almost sinking to a walk while they did
so, during which young Middleton remained beyond ear-shot,
and gained as good a view as was possihs'e of the Indian
party ahead. . I

Now and then, through the clouds of dust which marked
their progress, he could catch a glimpse of the gaudily-dressed 
horsemen, but could see nothing that bore any resemblance
to the one object he was seeking.

As near as he could judge, the progress of each party was, '
about the same, so that there was good cause for the belief
that the chase would be a long one indeed, if continuedin
this manner. '

Black George’s council with his friends lasted but a few
minutes, when he gave a sharp whistle, as a signal for the
young man to turn round. The latter did so, and saw that
they had made a decided change in the direction they were
pursuing—turning abruptly to the left.

He saw at once that a change of tactics was decided upon,
but he forbore questioning, waiting for events to explain them-
selves.

/But they had gone but a mile or so, when he observed
that they were aiming toward a high prominence in the prai-
rie—a sort of hill, which rose almost like a cone to the high: '
of a hundred feet.

In seemingly smooth, even surface, and its regular ascent «
and descent, gave it the' appearance of an artificial construc-
tion—one of those singular monuments, perhaps, which are
found here and there scattered over our entire continent, al-
though less seldom met with in the south-west than furthes_
north.

As they continued their advance at an easy gallop, the
Oomanches did not change their course'. Further and further
they receded into the distance, until only a faint cloud of dust
marked their appearance, and finally this vanished, and the"
hunters were with themselves, and with no one else in
sight.

The eminence, which seemed only a short distance sway, .

 
   

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l

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4

\/

 

 

 

  

 

warm AN oumvuroir. 551-"
proved i‘hrther than Middleton anticipated, and nearly an hour
wes spent before the party reincd up at the base.

“ Here we make a short halt,” said Black George. springing
oil’ his mustang. “ Git ofl' yer hoss and give him a little rest,
fur he needs it.” '

Rather curiously, this mound-like eminence appeared to
contain an unusual quantity of moisture, as the guns at
the base‘wss green and succulent, and the‘animais made

‘a rich feast upon it. Black George and Long Eph im-
mediately began clambering up the side of the mound,
which was, in fact, so precipitous that it was a work
of no small dimculty; but they persevered, and, after con-
siderable labor, placed themselves on the summit, whose
vbr'eadth was about sufficient for a half-dozen men to stand side
by side. »

Their principal, and, in fact, their only object in making
such haste to this spot, was that they might “ take an observa-

, -tion,” and they now proceeded to do this with a carefulness
which showed that momentous results depended upon the
knowledge they thus expected to obtain.

The result was what they had expected, and was another
confirmation of the sagacity of these men of the plains.
Looking to the south-west, they saw distinctly the party which
had vanished from their sight a short time Defers.

But beyond these, and just in the bar Vof the horizon, was
a “bond party, and it was these Comanches that were journeys .
ing in a somewhat difl‘euat course, who held the thmprbam,'

" and who had thrown out those in the rear for the purpose

of misleading their pursuers.

  

  

    

    

JVHAPTER VIII.
m “RANGER AT THE FM.

“Ath of: us have our failings and besetting weaknesses, and
Ephraim Hopkins, who was a bachelor from New England,
was not exempt from them.

,His particular failing was the uncomfortable one of always.
being hungry. He had frequently declared he never saw the...
time when he was really “ full,” and when he would not have

felt better by taking a little more. The reason why he gave,

over his gastronomic efforts when in civilized regions, was,

simply out of fear of attracting wonder and remark.

.When he get beyond the settlements in northern. Texas,
with his nephew,Wa1ler Middleton, he had more opportunity
to gratify this longing, and he performed some feats in the
way of eating, which startled even his relative. Hopkinswas
aware of it, and he, therefore, ceased his indulgencelatythe

very moment when his appetite wasleadiug him on to greater '

exploits. ‘

The truth of the} matter was, that, when the proposal was
made for him to remain and take care of the sheep, lie ac;
cepted it not only thrOugh his unwillingness to meet the red-
skins, but also because he had an almost irresistible longing
to. provide himself with a breakfast. ' .

Hopkins waited until the hunters were out of sight,.b
which time he was in the vicinity of the immense sheep-drove,
and then he exclaimed: . _

“ If I ever was sartin of one thing, it is that I’m hungry,
and I ain’t such a fool as to stay hungry, when there’s such
' a quantity of mutton and lamb about me, not if Ephraim
‘Iiopkins knows himself. The choicest lamb here is ordained
to grace my table."

Even while he was muttering this soliloquy, his keen eye
wsssearching for some dainty animal among the myriads
around him. '

“ Hello! there's jist the critter l"

 

 

 

 

>2 a A

'v V»; Z.

 

 

  

' sums, on rm: nan. r 57

And raising his gun to his shoulder, he sent the bullet
V crashing through the head of the little “innocent lamb,”

which, with a bleat of agony, turned over On the grass and

died. a -
In a twinkling Hopkins was ofl’ his horse, had whipped
out his hunting-knife, and had it at. the throat of the creature.
He was used to this kind of business, and he handled his
knife with a dexterity that showed he was a master of the
art. -
In a trice the fleecy skin was removed, and the drover's
mouth watered as he contemplated the juicy joints which
were coming into shape under his manipulations. The rest
of the drove appeared so accustomed to tit presence of man,
' that they continued grazing in an indifi'erent manner as
usual.

, “The drover’s horse also stood by, so tired and exhausted

from his hard drive, that he needed no attention, and in fisct
received none.

“ Jimini! ain’t that splendid chops! Heaom !--’?

Had the lightning-express train, going sixty miles an hour,
(n a down grade, collided ’with Ephraim Hopkins, he could
not have been more astounded than he was. As he was bent
over in a stooping position, something struck him in the rear
"with such terrific violence that his hat flew high in air, while
he himself was hurled fully a dozen feet forward, perform-
ing a complete summer-set in his progress l '

As soon as he'could recover himself, he looked about him,
and saw that if the majority of the animals around him were
‘anconcerned at his motions, there certainly was one enormous
lam that was not, for he stood over the slaughtered remains

‘ of the lamb, with his head partly lowered, his great twisted
horns pointed threateningly toward him, as though debating
whether to repeat-his charge or not.

' “‘ Thunder! it was you, was it?” muttered Ephraim, rub.
hing his injured parts. “ I didn’t think I was going to offend
you. Confound you ! I’ll soon settle your hash l"

And he arose to pick up his rifle to give the warlike Aries
his quietus ;‘but, unfortunately, the gun was not. only unloaded

" but/it lay at the very feet of the infuriated animal. I

The moment the Yankee roseto his feet, the ram took it . ,

 

  

THE PRAIRIE RIFLES

as a challenge to a renewal of the combat, and, lowering his
head, he made a rush at him the second time. v
“ Good heavens! what is going to become of me P” ex-
claimed the thoroughly terrified man, looking about him, for
, some avenue of escape. But, seeing none, he adopted the
rather original expedient of making a leap up in the air, so
as to allow the furious brute to pass under him. ' .
A very good idea, but Hopkins didn’t jump high enough
to clear the sheep entirely, and when he came down, he landed
astride of it, with his back toward the head of the ram; but
the momentum of the latter carried him so powerfully for-
ward that his rider remained on his back but a moment, and
then fell again to the ground.

This mishap, however, placed Hopkins between his enemy I

and his gun, and he improved his advantage to the utmost.
Springing instantly to his feet, he darted forward. and had

 

caught up the weapon before the ram could return to the,

charge. .
Had it only been loaded, all would have been well; Not

‘mtil the Yankee had brought it to his shoulder twice, and . '3 ‘
attempted to fire that many times, did hetrecollect the, truth, ._ ‘

and then it was too late to do any thing, as the ram wasAhear-Lt

ing down upon him again.

Fairly vanquished, Hopkins now turned “and rau,with ,.

' might and main. The build of the New Englanderwns well

suited to pedestrianism, and in the common parlance of the . \

West he did some “ tall walking," his long coat-tails stream-

ing for out in the wind, and his long hair, ,unconflned by l1js..,.

hat, did the same.

v

But after all, his pursuer gained steadily upon him, and, as a

a demier resort, Hopkins turned for his horsmthat, was quietly-
grnzing, a hundred yards or so away; but, every animal
seemed in league against him, and the ,horse, frightened by

the impetuous approach of his master, raised liis.head,,cocked:

up his ears, gave a faint neigh, and then trotted away“

“ Blast your old hide I” yelled the exasperated, fugitive,“ if- ;

’ I had my gun loaded,:l’d shoot you. Whoa,d_arn you i” 

The horse seemed in doubt what to do,.but he finally held,

up enough for the toiling and pantingHopkirxs to  him“ '

valuing“ the run was againin boner. ‘,

   
 
 

 

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‘ urn'vmm’s nevnnen. 50

But be avoided the brute by leaping behind his horte. The
ram, having no special ill-will against the horse, fetched up,

v and glared about him to decide upon the next move for the '

annihilation of his foe.

This was the golden moment for Hopkins, and, catching his
horse by the bridle, he swung himself upon his back in a
twinkling, leaving the ram master of the field for the time
being. '

Revenge is sweet, and the pleasure of reloading his piece,
and sending a bullet through the skull of the quadruped,
Was one of the greatest that the New Englander had ever ex-

' perieneed.

“ There! consarn you i" he exclaimed, as he cautiously de-
scended to the ground again. “ You’re done for, sartin.
You’ve l’arned to leave hungry folks alone, when they’re
peaceably gitting of their dinners. My gracious! ef he hasn’t
run over my but 1"

He hurried away to where his hat was still lying, it having
a rather suspiciously crumpled appearance from where he‘
stood. As he feared, when he came to pick it up, he found
that by some means or other, the ram had driven one of his
hoofs through it, thoroughly “ventilating” that useful piece
of head furniture.

“ Too darned bad,” muttered Hopkins, as be carefully ro-
~adjusted it to his head again. “ That cost four dollars to
bum. and I ca'lc’lateu on making that much on it, in a trade
here in Galveston, but that ’ere spec is now out of the ques-
tion. Wonder if there‘s any more rams about."

He looked carefully around, but seeing none of the flock,
that appeared to have an eye upon him, he again approached
his almost prepared dinner, his mouth watering at theluscious
feast before him.

“ Now, I think it’s about time I had something to eat. I
do believe if I wait much longer I shall perish.” /

As there was little or no opportunity to cook his meal there

i'he shouldered his meat and betook himself toward the ba-
‘ cienda, where there still remained enough smoldering embers

to, have cooked a hundred sheep.
Several of the dogs scanned the new drown-as though

» M ‘3“ was not exactly satisfied with bitumen“. “maid “0‘ \

  

  

    
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
   
     

l

1-, 00 Tim rammnmms.

understand who he was, but they showed no disposition to ,l

molest him, and he reached the still smoking ruins without "

being disturbed by them. '

. The coast was now clear, and Hopkins lost on time in go-‘

ing to work. By stirring and drawing aside, he found a l.

quantity of live coals, upon which be spread several pounds ;

of the choicest part of the lamb. The crisp,» juicy meat soon ' t,
. sent up' an appetizing odor that was enough to set a hungry ‘

man wild. . . I 1

“What a fool I’d been to’ve gone off with Walter and
them fellers, and like enough I’d been hungry all day.” 5,

By this time, a portion of the lamb was done “ rare,” and. I ~ 
Hopkins prepared to “ throw himself outside" of it. The ‘
piece was quite small, not more than a pound in weight, and
the gusto with which he devoured this tit-bit, and the luscious ‘
enjoyment with which he swallowed mouthful after mouthful,
was a sight to behold.

The mill fairly started, the gormandizer kept it going by /
throwing piece after piece upon the coals, and devouring ‘ r '
them as they became cooked. This was continued for per-
haps fifteen minutes, when all at once— ' ‘ ’

“I say, old hoss, no objections, I s’pose, to a feller takin’ a“
bite with yer?" 4 ' ‘ /

Ephraim Hopkins‘ shock was fully equal to that which he
received from the rum. He dropped the piece of meat Which
he was in the act of raising to his mouth, and springing fully
two feet from the ground, glared around to see the owner of .
the fearful voice, which had been like the shock of an elec- 4 ’2
tric battery to him. V ‘ , a ; t

' One glance at the individual satisfied the New Englander
that he was confronted by one of the most terrible despera-.
does of the South-wesb—that country which for thirty years
seems to have been the chosen home of outlaws and crimi-
nals.

He was dressed partly as an Indian, and his face was ,
smeared with paint, which. had been somewhat rubbed 01!,
making his countenance ten times more hideous than it other-
wise would have been, and heaven knows that nature had
camped it badly enough. He had black eyes, with long.
 hair strainingdows his bachsbrokdn nomads

\

 

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. New Englander.

t

mm‘ nutter! ‘m' 61-."
month which looked as if, when an infant, he had been hung
up one peg by‘it. He was tall and. muscular, and had every
appearance of being an ugly customer, when driven into a
Corner. . ,

He had walked up silently behind the drover,who suspected r

‘ nothing of his approach until apprised by his. rough. saluta-
tion. He stood with his rifle in hand, having left his horse
a short distance away, secured near the stables that had es-
caped the fire. At the girdle around his waist gleamed his
large Bowie-knife, and in short he was a desperado, armed to

- the teeth.

Hopkins stood staring at him a few moments so astounded
that he could neither move nor speak.

“ I say, old hoes, what’s the matter?” demnnded the
stranger, taking a step or two nearer. '

“ N othing—nothing—only I’m a little hungry,” stammered
out the New Englander, unconscious really of what he was
saying.

“ Hungry l" repeated the other, with a snorting laugh. “I
should think you’d eat ’nough to kill a half-dozen or’nary
critters. Isay, be you gwine to give this yer catamount a
bite of that stuff, or have I got to help myself?”

“ Snrt’iuly, snrtinly,” returned Hopkins, who was beginning
to regain his self-possession. “’Scuse me, but you come
down so rather suddint like, that I forgot my manners. You v
shall have the best I can give you."

The truth of it was, the gourmand was pretty well shaken
up and frightened, and he was desirous of conciliating the
stranger, who, he doubted not, would slaughter him, should
he give him any cause for ofl‘ense.

Whoever the visitor was, he certainly made himself
,home. Glancing around, as if to make sure that they We
alone, he threw himself upon the ground, and produced a
short black pipe, which he began smoking, while his host
bestowed every care upon the preparation of his dinner.

“ What’s yer name ?" inquired the stronger, as he lazily
puffed his pipe. ' -

“ It is Ephraim Hopkins,” was the ready response of th
“I’m from the State of Connecticut, clue
to the Massachusetts line—not thr ti'om the Connectlent‘

 

     

    
    
 
 
    
  
 
 
   
   
   
   
 
  
 
  
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
    

62‘ Mrmam ’

River—my daddy’s farm adjines Deacon Jones, and if you,
ever come that way, you must make a call on me. Arte:
you leave Hartfurd, you want to take the—” ' ' I

And he was proceeding to give minute directions as to the
manner in which his New England residence was most easily
reached, when the stranger interrupted Liz: somewhat im-
patiently.

“ Never mind that now. What’,’ yer come from last i"

“ Galveston, Texas.”

“ Did yer come alone i’” ' ‘ 1

“ Oh no; my nephew, a very nice young man, came with ‘
me." I _ . a

“ What's his name ?" 

“ Walter Middleton. A very good fellow he is, although I
must say, I think he’s ruther over ventur’some at times, and
I’m 'afeard he’s got into trouble now— Hope I haven't of~ , .
fended you.” . ‘ 

Hopkins suddenly paused, startled by the fearful expression , “ x
which he saw flit over the demon-like face ; but it lasted only
for a moment. 

l
i

 

“Never mind; it wa’n’t nothin’,” said he; “ sometimes I
feel like chokin’, but it don’t last long." '

“I only wish it lasted longer," was the thought of the
Yankee, which he would not have dared to utter for the ,~
world. ' 

“ Whar is this nice young nephew of yourn ?" ’

“That would be hard to tell; he’s gone; hain't you heard
the news i” abruptly asked Hopkins.

“ What do you mean?"

“ Why this here.”

And be emphasized his reply, by pointing to the ruins"
around him. “ Hain’t you heard how that took place 1*1

“ Struck by lightning, I s'pose." »,

“ Struck by Injius, you'd better say. There was a. party
of them red-skins that they call Comanches, that came down
' here last night, set fire to this here building, or hact‘endy, that
it was called, burned it down,aud run ofl‘ with the owner—"
“ Who's he i" ,

“ Comanche Dick they called him, but I never see’d'ldm,

‘ and they run of! with him." _ - ‘

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

\
v

m warnings enter. ‘ 1 503

, “ Did they take anybody else 2"

“ Yes; that ain’t the worst of it—they tuk his wife, and a
little purty Spanish sort of a girl, that was called Josepha
, Navarro—and right there I‘ve got something to tell you,”
added Hopkins, with a burst of confidence.‘

“ I’d like to hear it,” returned the stranger, who showed
his interest by not noticing the steak that was now ready for

‘ him. '

“ That is the gal that we’re otter—that is, me and my
nephew, and we’ve come all the way from Galveston after
her.”

“ What did yer come after her fur i"

“ She and my nephew was engaged to be married, and he
came back to Galveston to marry her, and when he got there
he found that she was gone to Santa Fé, so he l’arned, and
we Went all the way there after her, only to find when we
got there, that she was living out here, with a feller they
called Comanche Dick. Wasn’t that a purty pickle fur
as!"

“ Yes, rather,” grunted the stranger.

“ So we had nothing to do, but to turn back arter her, for,
you know when a feller gits into love, he’ll do any thing. I
tried to persuade him to give her up, but it wa’n’t no use, and -

V so as I’m a sort of a guardian over him, I had to go along
with him. Well, we got a little ofi‘ the track, and afore we
knowed it I s’pose we was purty near across the Texas line,
but we fetched around right arter a while, and got here at
last.”

“ When did you gi! here i’"

“ This morning, just when it was too late.”

“ Where is yer nephew now 1’”

“ He went ofi‘ with three hunters to try and git the gal
from the Injins. It’s my opin’on they’ll have a party hard
chase afore they catch ’em, for they do tell me them Go-
manches'have good horses and know how to ride ’em. Do
you know any thing about ’em yourself?”

“ I’ve heerdgas much. Why didn’t you go with 'em 1’”

g, “ You see there’s a good lot of sheep out here, and there
meet some, one stay to watch ’em, and they axed me to do
t” ’ ' _ ,

 

  

   
 

There was silence now for a few minutes, and then the
stranger, who still smoked his black pipe, said :.-,

“Yer sure thar wa’n’t no one but Injins inter this busi-
ness 1’” ’1 w

“ Of course not; but I forgot. Walter, that’s my nephew,
always had his ’spicion of a white man, that he said was ten

times worse than the Injins himself, and from what I can} ‘

hear, I agree with him.”

“ What was his name 1‘”

“ Manzal, I believe is what they call him.- Do you know
him ‘3”

“Can’t say that I do, but I’ve heerd his name I think.
What about him? What had he to do with it i’"

“ Walter allers said that this ’ere white man that they call
Manzal was at the bottom of the trouble—or was one of
them that was at the bottom, fur I b’l'eve there was another
man beside him, and Walter says he will never be satisfied ,
till, he shoots this villain, and you can’t blame him much
either; for, if a man should steal your sweetheart or mine,
I think we’d feel a dumed sight like him. What do you
think about it now 1‘" - , '

- “ Can’t say, ’eause I hain’t got no sweetheart.”

“ Wal, I June, and I don’t want no man to come shoveling
around her, for it‘ he does, he will shovel himself into trouble.”

“ So they’ve gone after the gal, have they 1’” '

“ That’s just what they’ve done exactly.”

“ When do they expect to get back ?”

“ They thought to-morrer; but, my gracious, I shall feel ‘ .

glad if I see ’01:: three days from now i”
“ And you are here to watch the sheep?” _ ’
“ Yes; they said they was afraid some of the Injins might
come back and stampede ’em, and they left me here to prevent "
it.” a
For the first time, a sort of smile crossed the horrible-
looking face of the stranger, and leering at the Yankee‘a‘
moment, he asked : v . .
“<S’posen a half-dozen Comanches come tearin’ down cn

: you,.shoutin’ and yellin’, what would you do ‘9" 4 7' '

 ‘tWai, you see I’ve. got a .goodrhorse..out there, and'l’d

   

fist bounce onto his back and you’d see some tall genitaka  '

 
 

 

  

  

/

 

 

\ l ' I ' \
' a name momentum. “7 if"?
0'! theeeparts. It would take a darned smart Comanche» to
hetch me, afiel- I got fairly started.” .

The stranger laughed harder than ever.

“You’re just the man; s‘pose that war only two Indins, ‘
or fur that matter only one-what would you do 1’"

Hopkins pondered a while before answering.

“ Well, I think I’d make a run fur it.”

“ S’pose thar was one white man—like me say? S’pose
that Manzal, that you’ve been talkin’ ’bout, should ’pear aforc.
yer?”

“ Ohi I’d shoot him,” was the unhesitating reply.

‘“ Wat, arranger, that same Hamel is here afore yer I”

 

CHAPTER IX.
um communes.

Warm the wife of Comanche Dick and Josepha Navarro
fell into the hands of the Comanches, despite their terrible

. position, each had enough presence of mind to see that

/

nothing could be gained by resistance, and they remained

quiescent for the time being.

They were witnesses of the terrific encounter between

' ' \Dick and his captors, and to them it was like the vision of

’ some horrible dream. No word‘escaped either during its

continuance, and they hardly realized ‘what was going on
until the entire party had left the scene of the conflagration.
As We have already stated, the Indians had gone scarcely
a hundred yards when they halted and separated. The object
of this was simply to bnflle the pursuit that they knew would
be begun. The smaller party carried the females with them,

I while the other had the desperate hunter in charge.

\

Both the females had a fine Indian blanket wrapped around
them, and they were taken on separate horses, each one ~

‘ being held on the back of the animal, in front of a brawny '

. red-skin, and both rendered perfectly powerless, so far as any ~ -

’   to help themselves. was concerned.
I,

 
 

  

 

    

 
 

«

I. r: mmmmnms.

Comanche Dick was bound and rebound again, from-«bit '

arms down to his knees, so that he was little more than a
log of wood in the hands of his captors. It was rather

curious that while they were securing him in this manner, he-

uttered never a word, but acted like a man who had given
over all hope.

The truth was that his frame had undergone such a pro-
digious; amount of exertion, that a reaction was upon him.
Like the famed Gymmtua, that expends its electric power in
one shock, he needed a little rest to recuperate, and to regain
the marvelous strength, that still slumbersd in his iron
muscles.

Although, for a time, he ‘was within a dozen feet of his

wife and child—as he called Navarro—yet he did not offer
to exchange a syllable with either. He was in one of his
“ spells,” and they both understood him well enough to make
no communication with him at such a time.

By-and-by he would come out of this strange state, and it
would be like the rousing of the sleeping lion. If his first
struggle was terrible, this would be ten-fold more so, and
neither of ‘the females wished to witness it. So the party

journeyedin silence, which was not broken when Dick was ‘

carried in one direction and the females in another.

Josepha Navarro came within a hair‘s breadth of being killed '

by her own friends. When her party encountered the rangers
in the grass, the meeting was so sudden that the red-skins were:
not given the opportunity of arranging their forces and ma-
neuvering as they would have preferred to do, and the shot
fired by Black George himself killed the Indian who had
charge of Josepha, the bullet grazing her neck in its pas-
rage.

The savage rolled to the ground, partly dragging her with.
aim, but she speedily recovered herself, and was about to
make a run for the lines of her friends, when she was
seized by another, and placed beyond reach of the whistling
bullets.

The Comanches, it will be remembered, preferred to move
on rather than-engage in the fight, and in a shorter time than
might havebecn expected, they were under way again.

sng

It may as well be stated, at this point, that the  "a, . “

41wmn macro

 

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o! the entire party or Comanches was one of their towns, some-
thing over a-hundred miles to the south. Could they once
succeed in reaching that point, they might consider their cap-
tives secure, but not until then was there any certainty of their
not being wrested from them.

If the females were once placed in the Comanche village,
,‘ nothing short of a cavalry charge could rescue them, and the
nature of the case forbade that any thing of the kind could he
looked for.

What the purposes of the Indians Were regarding these cap-
tivescan only be conjectured. There are at this time hundreds
of prisoners among the Apaches and Comanches of the south-
west, who have been there for years, and many of whom will
' probably spend their lives there.

It is likely that the Comanches held no well-defined inten-
tions regarding the females. They now wished to place them
beyondvall hope of escape, and for that reason they were seek-
ing toreach their town before Dick’s rangers could interfere
with them.

There can belittle doubt that death was intended for the
leader of these hunters. He was so well known, and the

knowledge of his prowess was so extended, that his captors
‘ had the natural anxiety to display their own bravery to their
5 companions, and so, if possible, they were still more anxious
to get him into their village as speedin as might be.

Afier getting him there, and after showing him, like a cap-
‘ . tured tiger, to their friends, there can be no doubt of what
- would have followed. Comanche Dick would die by the
" hands of his enemies, who would give him such a taking of
L as only these red-skins of the south-west can give, and a de-
3 . scription of which would appall the stoutcst heart.

‘ For an. hour or two after the separation of the Indian parties,
' not a word was exchanged between the captors of Dick; but
i at the end of that time, he heard a voice which caused him to
' rt prick his ears and listen.
' ' , It came from the man nearest him, and he raised his head
 so far as it was possible to do so, and stared intently toward
,‘ him; but the extreme darkness forbade his distinguishing any
 flaw—but he listened. .

‘ R-"m time before thehorsemau spoksagaln, and

 

 

    

  

 
 

. I

It mrmmunmu.

when 'he did so it was with an extremely. cautionayoioegphd»;  .

the sharp ears of Dick heard it, and, he recognized in it the - 1 ,
voice of a white man. v ' .
“Just what I thought,” he reflected ; “ it’s that Manzal. and

he is at the bottom of this business. If I were only free ibr 'a . ~ 

moment; but by-and-by my time will come.” .

Still the captive made no efi'ort to free himself; his “.spell " ‘ ,
had not passed entirely ofl'. «

In a few moments he heard the voice.

" I say, you,” called out Dick, turning his head toward the
one who had spoken. I

But. no reply was made until he had repeated the addrell
several times, and then a gruff voice demanded: . V

“ Keep yer clack shet. What do you want i’”

““I only wanted to make sure that it was you, AlfredoMan
zal, who was so near me. That’s all for the present.”

This shot told. Manzal, with good reason, feared this man
more than any man living, and he had little desire to remain
anywhere within possible reach of him. He had been
urging the Comanches to put him out of the way, and they
only refused because they wished to put him on exhibition before “
doing so. ,

The unmistakable threat conveyed in the reply of Dick was.“
fully understood by Manzal, and it sent a thrill of terror through
him. As he was powerless to inflict any injury on the cap-
tive, he determined to put himself out of a position when
it was possible to receive any hurt from his hands. After a .
few minutes, he acquainted the Comanches with the necessity
of leaving them fora time, but pledging himself to be “ in at
the death.” ‘ 

And in the course of a half-hour, he quietly withdrev .
[tom the party, and took a difl‘erent course over the prairie,
and when daylight dawned, he was beyond their sight. I

Several hours later he appeared at the ruins of the hacienda V
as Ephraim Hopkins was preparing his dinner, and there, fora .
short time, we must leave the two in rather a critical situation '
as concerns at least the latter individual. . ..

The Comanches reunited at daybreak, and for thehext few  ,
miles proceeded in company. By this time Dick had beam-.2 ,
to arouse himself, and he exchanged looks whhhisQW. '

   

ai-

 
   

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i“. 

 

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I,

 

 

a some  {O
was words passed between them. The extraordinary being was I
still his own master, and he preferred to wait the “ good time "

. which be believed would soon come.

An occurrence now took place, so terrible in its character
that we can not give the particularsrof it, and only refer to it
\in order that our readers may have an understanding of what
followed.

The sun was only a short distance above the horizon, when
they descried a solitary hunter ridingtoward them. From some
, unaccountable cause, he turned neither to the right nor leit, but
- came directly onWard until within a few rods, when a sense of

his own peril seemed to come over him for the first time, and
, he attempted to tiee.’ ,
V But it. was too late. Several shots were fired, himself
wounded and his horse killed. As a matter of course, he was
instantly captured. Finding resistance useless, he began plead
, ing in the most abject manner with his captors. Comanche
, Dick/listened until sickened at the sight, when he sternly called
out : .

. “ Shut up your mouth; if you‘re a baby, it won’t do any
, good to let folks see it.”

I The poor fellow seemed ashamed at his timidity, and said

no more. When the clothes upon Comanche Dick were ex-

changed for those upon the other prisoner, no objection was

A ‘made. The latter did not understand what it meant, but the

i former did. and he saw an opportunity for gaining s greater
' (reedom of his limbs.

When the barter of garments was made, the majority of the

i

. I , party moved on, taking the three captives with them, while a

few remained behind to indulge in the luxury of tormenting
their other captive.

Their preparations were so elaborate that they came neaf
being disappointed of their enjoyment by the appearance of
the rangers in the distance. Snspecting who they were,.the

. red-skins remounted and fled, taking quite a different direction

.f ., fromthe party in advance of them, so as to mislead the hunt-

ers. whose errand was well understood.
. 7;. For. a time this stratagem succeeded, but the-keenness o!

 ' ,Zlifilsckflsorge and. his companions began to suspect the artifice,

item in the power of melodious to have carried

 

    

    

' >70 . mm mm amass.

out the plan with perfect succees, as had they taken a M
more of their number, and' used smne of their own dead to'
personate the captives, they could have deceived their pnrsners
so completely that they would have been thrown entirely ofl’
the trail, and kept ofl‘ until the golden opportunity went by; .

The pursuers and pursued being equally well mounted,
protably nothing would have resulted from the chase so long
as it was carried out as it was begun. The Comanches‘en-
‘ Ideavored to draw them on so far as they could, as every mile
thus passed over was more gain for the party that held the
prisoners. ' > g

The act of exchanging the condemned man’s shoes for those 
of Comanche Dick was to deceive those in the rear into‘ the
belief that their favorite leader was done for, and any assist-
ance from him, therefore, was out of the question. x

New and then some of the fleeing Indians arose to the stand- l r
ing position on the backs of their animals, and looked back at 
their pursners. They saw, with the grim exultation of the
successful warrior, that they had drawn them ofl’ from the .
pursuit, and every thing oartahllyf looked as if their stratagcm
was about to succeed. ' ‘

But about noon, the Comanches missed the fbur horsemen . '
that had been hanging on their rear so long. They halted and .
looked back, but nothing was to be seen of them. Then they-
mounted their horses again, and scanned every part of the hort-
son ; but the hunters had dropped below their field or vision,
and they looked in min. 50 they concluded they had" given. ‘
up the pursuit as hopeless. ’

The red-skins, having no doubt upon this point, once more
converged toward their companions, who, from their stand- \
point, were plainly visible, and the whole body of Comanches ‘
began coming together again. - ' 

And all this time, Black George and Long Eph were crouch 
lng upon the top of the mound, with their eyes strained too
ward them, and watching every movement of the red-skins’
with the relentless vigilance of the panther creeping upon its 7 
1mm . . . .
Every movement that passed under their eye—every turn
and maneuver of the fast-vanishing horsemen—the longfihil ' .
rd dust which aseendedto theatr- u thoyskurriedevd'ltho it

 

 

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mmsmm '1

. prairie—the convergence of the red-skins—‘all these were prooil

of the correctness of their surmises. ’

And finally the direction taken by the Comanches, just as
they. were vanishing from view, satisfied Black George that his
suspicions were right in every particular.

CHAPTER 1:,
~TOWABD HURRICANE RIVER.

Want the two hunters descended from the mound, their
hoes shoWed that their spirits retained, figuratively. the same

, elevation.

“See ryer, younker,” said Black George, addreésing Mid-
dleton, “how much longer do you s’pose yer can stand it
without eatln' 2” ’

“ Eating l" repeated the young man, with an expression of
dejection in his face; “ I couldn’t eat a mouthful with all this
trouble at my heart." ‘

“ That ain’t what I axed yer.”

“ I never want to eat again till I find her.”

“ Wal, younker, if you’ll only stick to that, I won’t ax no
more. I‘ feel a sorter holler myself in my innards that I
think I could chuck an ox or buffler inter, but we ain't got no
time to do it. Ef you're ready, we’re goin’ to lead you on a
leetle the tallest tramp you ever see‘d.” ,

‘ “ I am glad to hear it, for that sounds like business."

“ Howsomever, these yer animiles have got to be ’tended to.

or they’ll gin out, jist when we can’t stand it, so we'll give ’em

, a half-hour 01' so at that ’ere grass, while we take a smoke,

and then we're off fur Hurricane River."

' The four stretched themselves upon the ground, and the
hunters produced their pipes. Walter ofl'ered them one \of
his cigars, but each preferred his favorite clay pipe, and the

‘1 _ ' wants four puffed in unison.

 The three men occasionally exchanged.Words in low tones.
but it was evident that they understood each other and each

 

 

 
 

mmmmmns.

.Othenfstplansso well that there was no necessity of explaining
anything. They merely indulged in ajfew speculations as tr)‘
thetwhereabouts and the movements of the Comanches, ,

Middleton’s mind was so active, and his heart so wrapped
up in the enterprise, that he was almost insensihle tovfatigua,
He had been blufl‘ed sodecidedly by Black George on several
occasions, that at first he resolved to give him no further op- '
portunity.

But finally his curiosity impelled him to take advantage of
the first occasion that presented itself, and he inquired :

“How far is Hurricane River from here ?" t

“ Nigh onto fifty miles, and in the Comanche country."

“ When do you expect to reach it W

‘9 It’s got to be done to-night, or not at all.”

“ I tell you, George, I don’t see how it can be done.’

“ You'll l’arn. then, before to-mor‘rer's sun-up. We’ve done
the thing once 5r twice afore,‘ and we kin do it ag’in." ’ r

“ Must we be there by sunset 1’" ’ v

" Bless yer, no. To explanify it to yer—thar’s. a spot whu
this Comanchevparty is likely to cross to git to thar village,
and what we’ve got to aimat is‘to git thar ahead of ’em,and
make a stroke fur the gals." '

“ Suppose they beat us ?”

“ Then the jig is up,” was the prompt reply. “ Once across
that fete stream, and the red-skins are so all-fired thick that a
crow couldn’t keep from gittin’ cotched. I’ve been on the
edge of the country, and I never want to try it ag'inu Jake
was carried thar a couple of years ago, and ef it hadn‘t been
that one of thar squaws tuk a shine to him, and piloted him
over the river one dark night in a storm, you wouldn’t see
that ugly mug of his thar, suckin’ that pipe.” ,

“ What reason is there for believing that we can reach
the place ahead of them; When they have several hours,"
start ?”

“ As it begins to look as, though you war goin’ to have a
hand in this muss, I’ll take the trouble to explanify' the whole
thing to yer." said Black George, whose buoyant spirits mat-la
him quite talkative. , ' : 

. ‘,‘ lathe that place, at them skunks war now. aiminf straight
for the crouin’ of Hurricane River, that ain’t no hoes  \

\

  

 

  

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av.“ l

 

‘wadin’ over.

13m to: wen. u

that could git thar ahead of 'em. They’re goin’ twenty miles
wt 0' that way." ‘

“For the purpose of misleading us, I suppose i'”

“ That’s the ijee. Now, when we start, as we‘ll do in 'bout
ten minutes, from the way them animals ar’ eatin’, we shall '
-have‘jist ’bout the same distance to travel to reach Hurricane
as they have.” -

“ Then there is no reason to prevent our getting there sev-
‘eral hours in advance,” exclaimed Middleton, jumping eagerly
to the conclusion.

" Ef they keep up the rate they started on, we couldn’t do
it ; but I think we managed one thing well."

“ What was that i" ' ‘i

“ We made them think that we war too green to s'pect the
'trick they war playin’ 03' on us—so when they git fairly out
of sight,"as they’ve done now, they’ll ease up, and take it

*more easy."

“ On account of the captives, I suppose.” '

Black George took his pipe fl'om his mouth, in order that
he might indulge in one of his quiet laughs.

“ Not so much as on account of the snimiles.”

“Tell me, George, since we are into the matter, and there
are a few minutes left us, why this crossing is the favorable
place. Can they not ford the river in some other spot just
'as well i”

“ You're on the ijee ag‘ln. Thar ain't a-ford, within fifty

‘miles north or south of this one, whar a party of a dozen

ain’t likely to lose half thar horses in gittin’ over. But jist

‘thar the stream stretches out so broad and mild, with such a

good, hard, sandy bottom, that a pony won’t wet his belly in
Thar’s whar they’ll cross, yer can make up yer
mind to that.”

There was an emphatic positiveness in the manner of Black
George, exceedingly encouraging to one who was in the anx-
ious, doubting state of mind of Walter Middleton, and he
took heart, as much from his confident manner as from his

' Words.

“What'speciul advantages will the spot afl‘ord no in the

way of attack, or'o'f rescuing our friends i" .

~ j“ We shit have them on the hip; We ea’c’late on throwfh’

 

 
 

fl ‘ n: W an“:
lentinto confiasion, and glttin’ of afore they know what’s the
matter.”

“ And how about your leader, Comanche Dick 1’"

The hunter’s eyes sparkled.

“ Thar’s whar the laugh will come in. Jist ’bout that time.
Dick he’ll wake up, and when he does that he’ll make the
fur fly.”

“ Do you imagine that he suspects your plan?”

“ Do you imagine thar's a storm comin’ thar l’” inquired the
hunter, pointing to the rapidly darkening sky, “ and don’t

you s‘pose he knows us well enough by this time to understand

what we're drivin’ at l’”

“ I can not help sharing your strong hope that all will still
» it’s well.”
. “But the thing ain’t settled yit,” replied Georgegwith a
more serious air; “the thing has got to be done, and it‘s got ' {
to be done like a flah of gunpowder. Ef they find thar’s '
any danger of losin’ the gals, they'll jist bury thar tomahawkl ,
:in that heads; that’s what they’ll do.”

"- God forbid l” gasped Middleton.

“ That’s the style of the Comanche and Apache, when they
git cornered. But it’s time we warlon the move.”

The time for talk was over, and that for work had come.
'The horses had improved their opportunities to the utmost,
rolling upon and cropping the grass until they were refreshed
enough to undertake the work before them.

Threev minutesafter the last words of Black George, the I
four men were in the saddle, with their faces turned some
what toward the south-east, and their animals swinging along
at a spanking pace. ,

Black George and Jake Jaggleton rode side by side, an
easy distance ahead of Middleton and Long Eph, who held
the same relative positions. Only at rare intervals did the
party exchange words, as the jolting gait at which they Were
riding made such an occupation any thing but pleaant.

The sun had scarcely passed the meridian, when it was 01)- ,
scured‘by the dark, thick-gathering clouds, and a cold wind 7 ,
fanned the faces of the rangers as they swept southward to-  :~
ward their destination. Clouds of _ blinding dust frequently L ‘
mace over their forms, and almost hid each other'front View. .

    
    
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
      

 

 

 

 

1..

J'fir‘ar'

nae am) measure. ‘13

Still they kept up their rattling rate, and by the middle
of the afternoon they had thrown many a mile behind
them.

Middleton now and then glanced at the sky, and wondered
that the bursting of the storm was delayed so long. v Finally
he put the question to his companion, who replied, without
turning his head: » ‘

“ We won’t catch that afore dark, and jist ’bout that time
we’ll be at Hurricane, and it’ll be a good thing fur us."

The cold wind blew from every point of the compass, and
with such violence at times that it interfered materially with
their progress.

Middleton found, in spite of his assertions to the contrary,
that his long deprivation of food was beginning to tell, and
he looked with some concern at the extended fast before him;
but, in the midst of this reverie, he was startled by a whoop
from Black George, which sounded faint and distant in the

Looking ahead through the blinding dust, he could see
nothing except the (limfigures of the two hunters.

“ What is it ‘3” he asked of Jake.

“ Semethin’ to eat, I sorter ca’c’late.”

The next moment it was seen that there were some persons
in advance of the two foremost hunters, the sight of which
had undoubtedly caused the peculiar whoop from Black
George.

A nearer approach showed that they had intercepted an

, Apache family on its travels. As a natural consequence, the'
red-skins were excessively frightened, and, as flight was out
of the question, they made a show of resistance; but a. sign
,from'George quieted them, and they halted and awaited their

' doom in silence. . ‘

The next moment the four hunters gathered around a sin-
gular-looking party. An old, withered-up man, with a very
young child in his arms, was seated upon a miserable-looking
horse; beside him was a woman, who, from her old and

".’wrinkled appearanCe, was probably his spouse, she also hold-

:ing an infant in her embrace; while on another animal was a
inns-looking warrior, painted and armed cap-d-pia. His wife
; .rode’another horse, and upon a small mustang were the two

 

 

 

.4

N" r m mulls-3mm.

largest children, while two more ponies carried the baggage,
of the party.

Their looks of terror showed that they expected little mercy
from the white men, and they remained abject and silent, the
warrior, however, clutching his rifle in a manner which showed
that he was not. me mood to make a quiet surrender.

Had the afternoon been a clear one, this curious meeting
Would not have taken place; but in the darkened air, and
gusts of dust and wind that continually swept the prairie, the
parties did not discern each other until within. a few rods, and
when it was altogether too late for the Apaches to think about
flight.

Black George had Quite a knowledge of both the Apache
and Comanche tongues, and addressing the warrior rather
sternly, demanded wliere he was going. The savage at first
rét'used to make a. reply, but, upon the question being repeated,
he answered that they were on their way to a village about a v
dozen miles distant, which they were striving to reach before
the breaking of the storm.

This was the first intimation that the hunters had of the
existence of such a village so near them, it having sprung up
within the past month, as such mushroom communities fi'e-
quently do among the red-skins. The information might be
useful when they were on their return to the hacienda.

The next question of Black George was the practical 'one
as to whether they had any thing to eat with them. This
received a negative reply; but the hunter was not deceived,
'and told the Apache that, unless he produced something right
speedily, they would make a search for it.

This was the “ open sesame,” and the Indian hastened to
lay before them a preparation of half-cooked bufi‘nloLmeat,
and a nameless vegetable mixture, somewhat resembling
ground corn, mixed with a dark fluid, of such peculiar ap-
pearance, that although half famished, Middleton hesitated
about touching it.

“Don’t be afeard; it ain’t pizon,” said Black George; i‘ If
jthey’d expected we war gwine to swallcr it, they’d been glad,
to’ve done it; but folks ain’t apt to do that when they ’xpecfi ‘ g ,
to eat it themselves—onless they're in love,” he added, with" 1 ~
'1 fly look at the inquiring young men. v A \ v 

  

 

 

 

 

 ~"\

A Mi. PAID Wit.

. “=What is it i” .

“ It’s something to eat, and powerful good, too.”

All this time the hunters were devouring the meat and the
picparation like hyenas. Walter hesitated no longer, but im-
itated their example, and in the course of half an hour, the
party had made one of the best and most substantial meals

' of their lives, fully preparing them for the prodigious task that

was before them. .
During this gastronomic performance, the Apaches sat sul

' len and indifl‘erent, waiting until it looked safe for them to

move on. They did not exchange a syllable among them-
selves -—the children bearing the same stolid look as the
.others.

When the hunters had fully satisfied their hunger, Black
George, returned thanks to the Apaches; and, as it was proper
“that some compensation should be made for the great benefit
they had received, a search was made among the effects of
the hunters, and several trinkets were produced—among them
a handsome pocket-knife belonging to Middleton. These were
handed over to the Apaches, who showed a childish pleasure
at receiving them, and again the party moved on.

Walter glanced back, just after starting, and saw the horses
of the Apaches moving eastward at a slow walk, and when
within a distance less than several hundred yards, they were
hid from View by the blinding dust, which was swept with
still greater force by the rising wind .

‘ “ We‘re losin’ ground,” called out George, as he struck hi!
mustang into a still higher rate of speed, which was instantly
imitated by the others.

Less than five minutes had elapsed, when Middletonwao
startled at seeing numerous large snow-flakes sknrrying through
the air. The atmosphere was full of them, whirling and
SWeeping so gyratingly in the eddies of the wind, that it
seemed none of them reached the ground.

_ But within themnext five minutes they had ceased, and 'not
one was to be seen. It indeed resembled a fairy scene, so
quickly had they come, so furiously raged, and so suddenly
garnished. i ‘ .
 While the thickened, obscured condition of the atmosphm

 : {wing advantages, it was in oneteepect a dangerous stated

 

  

   

is run PRAIRIE nirmcs.

sflhirs. It was is fortunate thing for the hunters that they
run upon the helpless Apaches; but it was very probable
that the next collision would not be with such a harmless
body. ‘ '

The proximity of the Apache village made it more than
probable that numbers of warriors were scouring the country,
in all directions, and a meeting was imminent at any time
with them.

Still, this was one of the inevitable risks of this business,
and it caused no faltering upon the part of the hunters. All
kept a sharp eye to the danger which thus threatened, and their
steeds were given no rest. ' a ‘

Slowly the storm continued gathering its forces, and as the ‘
afternoon advanced, there were occasional mutterings of thun-
der in the sky, while the darkness was almost like the effects
'of a full eclipse of the sun.

When Middleton’s watch indicated five o'clock, Black 
George announced that they were a half-hour behind time,
and that still greater speed was necessary. How this re-
markable man could judge so accurately of the distance they
had passed, when there was not the slightest landmark, so
far as our hero could see, was a mystery to the latter.

Ever since their start from the mound their progress had
been up and down the regular swells of the prairie, and they
had not crossed a single stream, or passed a clump of trees on
the way, and yet the positive declaration of their leader
showed that no doubt lingered in his mind.

The animals showed signs of sufi‘ering for water, and Black
George said there was a small creek ahead, a tributary to the!
Hurricane River, which would be reached by five o’clock pro!
vided the time they were now seeking to regain was made
up.
When Middleton’s horse plashed into ,the water, and
stretched out his long neck to quafi’ his fill, the rider drew out
his watch and informed the riders that there were still five
minutes to spare. ‘

“ We're all right, then," replied Black George; “ we’ve made
I up all the time. When I started, I told Eph we'd strike as".
yer creek about six o’clock, and ef we could do it, two no ‘ ’
Woftherest. Bohyerwsu‘." .  

 

 
 

 

 

 

    

 

    

men mm W

V The fellow’s face showed that he felt some pride in the test
he had ac00mplished, and he certainly was justified in some
slight degree of egotism.

“ I think our animals have earned a little rest,” said Mid-
dleton, after they had all exchanged views on the situa-
tion. , r

“ They don’t need it much ; but we’ll give ’em a few min-
utes.”

“How soon may we expect the storm which has been
' threatening us so long 1’” inquired Middleton, looking at the

sky with the dark clouds skurrying across it, and with the
rumbling thunder still increasing.

“ It’ll be several hours yet," replied Black George, speaking
in his usual emphatic manner, “ and yer’s as is powerful glad
of it. When we come down on them yer skunks, we’ve got
to smash things, and of we kin only git a right smart
chance of thunder and lightning to help us, we kin make the
fur fly.”

“That yer’s the talk,” chimed in Eph.

“ Time’s up," called out George.

At the same time, he turned his horse's head up the bank
and started him on; but ere he had taken a couple of steps, he
halted and waved his hand behind him as a warning for the
others to keep hack. \

"Nothing could be seen or heard, as all three- remained mo-
tionless, but, after a few minutes, Middleton detected a faint
rumbling tread, as if made by the galloping of animals in the
distance. ‘

They were evidently approaching; and rising in his sad-
dle, the hunter peered over the slight swell in the bank for a
few moments. with a keenness of vision that penetrated further

,than that of an ordinary man would have done. Then he
,turnod slightly in his seat, So as to make sure that his words
Would be-heard, and uttered the single word-—

it  I"

After this declaration, Middleton was prepared for a pre-
cipitate retreat; but neither of the hunters made any suth
movement. ‘ 0n the contrary, they remained motionless, as

’thongh they considered their location the best possible on.
under the circumstances. ’

 

l,

run/mum: RIFLES.

\

Black George continued cautiously peering over the bulk,
as though he were watching the movements of something
which he could only faintly see. . A

By this time the tread of the galloping horsemen could be
. heard with great distinctuess, and it seemed to Middleton that,
within the next few minutes, the whole troop would thunder
down, upon ’him. He became so nervously apprehensive that
he was about to propose a retreat, when Black George again
commanded absolute silence by a warning motion of his
hand. '

Within the next minute, the dim outline of a horseman
flashed to View, galloping in a direction parallel to the stream,
then followed another and another, until fully a dozen had
passed.

They went like the swift-moving figures in a panorama,
whis'king for a moment in sight, and then out of it again.
Then followed the rapidly-diminishing footsteps until they
were gone.

The Apaches were aiming for their village, and running a .

race with the storm, else they might have seen the four horse-
men peering over the bank at them. I .

“ They’re gone,” said Black George, as his horse sprung out
of the water and up the bank. “That gives us five minutes
more to make up."

, Again tlw hunters gave free rein to their horses, and nn'dér
the leadership of their chosen member, they made rapid pro-
gress toward the Hurricane River.

Several miles yet intervened, when the storm burst upon
them. The air flamed with lightning, there was a simulta-
neous crash of thunder, that seemedto lift the riders oti‘ their
horses, and then the gates of heaven were let loose. A few
large drops of water rattled like bullets around them, and then
came the deluge. Driven by the strong wind, the rain came
at times almost horizontally, the long, spear-like columns driv-
ing against horse, man and rider like a tornado of hailstones.

The men‘ were well protected by their blankets which wrap-
ped them from head to foot, but it came unreservedly upon
the poor brutes, that, how€ver, pressed resolutely forward, urged

    

\

by their riders, who felt that not a moment could be thrown, ‘

away.

  

 

 _ neither!"

    

 

 
   

m TEMPE“.

Darkness came with the storm, and had it not been for the
Vivid flashes of lightning, that lit up the scene every few mo-
ments, the hunters could not have distinguished each other’s
presence. The booming and crashing of thunder, the flaming
of lightning, followed by the instant inky darkness, the
whistling of the strong wind, the furious driving of the rain,
all these made up a scene at once fearful, terrific, and sub
tlime.

(Still onward pressed the hunters, until, above the soughing

‘ of the wind, Middleton detected a faint, continuous murmur.

At the same instant a vivid, zigzag flash revealed the sur-

face of a broad, smoothly-flowing river, fifty yards in front of
them. ‘

“ Thar’s the Hurricanel Thar’s the crossin’ l” Black George
shouted; but, in the driving wind, his voice sounded faint and
distant. The whole company had halted to arrange their
course of action. The momentary glimpse of the Hurricane
River showed that the ford was rapidly rising, and, unless it
was croesed very speedily by the Comanches, there would be
trouble on that account alone.

Black George opened his mOuth to speak, but, at that in-
stunt,,the whole air burst out into one sheet of flame, while
there was an appalling crash, as if heaven and earth had come
together] ‘

Theinterchange of electricity between the earth and sky
found its vent near them, and the ground trembled with the
shock. A silence fell on all, and a feeling came over them as
if they were standing in the audience-chamber of the King
of the Universe;

At that same instant, through the swirl of rain and- tem-
pest, a cry reached their ears—the clear, ringing sound of I ‘
woman in distress. Like the plaintive note of the cremona,
which floatsfar out beyond the crash of its boisterous com-
panions, so this tone came to them, on the wings of the tem-
pest, faint but distinct!

“ That’s Josepha l" gasped Black George “ She ain’t fur of,

   
   

    

C H A P T E R X I .
m LIGHTNING-arson.

11' had been diamond cut diamond, and stratagem against
stratagem, and the result of it was that the Comanches'had‘
been outwitted by their hunters.

The last searching look cast back by the rear party of the
Indians failed to show them any signs of the hunters who had
followed them so assiduously, and Who had broken in so un-
timely upon their enjoyment of the torture of their prisoner
and then they wheeled 03 at full speed, and made all haste to
overtake their comrades who had the prisoners in charge, and
report» to them the success of their stratagem. r

From the top of the mound, Black George witnessed and
comprehended the whole movement, and we have just shown

how he checkmated it. _ 1 '
' The last junction of the Comanches took place near the '
middle of the afternoon, and the whole company pursued
their way at a leisurely rate toward the crossing of Hurricane
River, beyond which there was nothing to fear from any de-
signs of their enemy.

It is not at all improbable that the ford would not have
been reached until morning, had the progress of the party
not been materially increased by the' omens of the coming V
storm; but, as the Comanches make it a cristom to carry their
dead with them, until they could be given a decent burial,
this fact seemed to retard the rate at which they generally pro-
ceeded, and was the real cause of the numerous ruses at-‘
tempted, the object of which was so to mislead the hunters as
V to give the Indians all the time they needed to make good
their fording of Hurricane River, and their safe entrance into
their own country. .

If there is any one thing which we have impressed upon our V
readers, it is no doubt the fact that Comanche Dick and his
men thoroughly understood each other. ' _ 
, With the last junction of the red~skins, and the few words 7 ‘

/

 

  

 

v

A cuss-rm SPEGEACLE. a.

they interchanged, Dick comprehended the trick they had at-
tempted to play of on his men.

“ They think they have succeeded,” he thought to himself;
“ but it“ they don’t hear from Black George and the rest of
’them, somewhere near Hurricane Crossing, then I don’t know
my men, that’s all.”

From this it will be seen that the leader more than sus-
pected the plan of rescue which his foilcflrers had determined
upon. This was a great point toward the success of the
scheme. and it was not-to be expected that when the shock
came Comanche Dick would remain a passive spectator.

One-third of the Indiansjourneying toward Hurricane River
were dead! As each man had his own horse, and there were
one or two spare ones in the party, when the bullets of the
rangers sent. them out of existence, there still remained their
faithful horses to them. '

With very little trouble. the dead Indians were secured upon
their animals in such a way that there was no likelihood of
their falling otf when proceeding at asweeping gallop.

It even seemed as if a portion of their matchless skill in
horsemnnship remained with their bodies even afler the depar-
\ ture of life.

It was a ghastly spectacle! A party of Comanche Indians
centering over the plains, with one-third of the riders stark
and stifl‘ in death 1 '

The wife of Comanche Dick was held on her horse in front
of an Indian, who'never uttered a word to her, even when
she ventured a question or two.

The jailer of Josepha was no less reticent. His rigid arm,
which encircled her slight waist, was never once moved; nor
did his dark face approach a hair’s breadth nearer than when
he first placed her on her perch. Whats. Ihe glanced fuitively
backward, during the flaming of the lightning, she saw his
dark, stolid face ever the same; and, had it not been for the
snake-like glittering of his eyes, she would have believed that
she was riding with one of the dead Comanches. She made
an attempt to draw a word from him either in the English or
Spanish, but whether her questions were understood or not can

 

only be conjectured, as her repented  brought not ‘

hfigbtest response. ' .-

/

 

 

 
 

3‘

THE PRAIRIE RIFLES.

What was perhaps rather singular, Comanche Dick was al-
lowed to ride a horse alone, but he was so securely guarded
that it looked like a human impossibility for him to slice: his
escape. His arms were pinioned at the elbows behind, and
his feet were fastened beneath the belly of his horse. On
each side rode an Indian, and others were in his front and rear.
He was not allowed any blanket, and when the rain descended,
it drenched him to lie skin.

But all the time, this extraordinary man was conjuring up

some method of freeing his limbs. By leaning forward when

the darkness was so great that he could not be seen, he man-
aged to get a sort of leverage upon his thongs, and to bring
his prodigious strength to bear upon them.

The tugs were sharp and painful, but for a long time were
of no avail. His repeated failures finally incensed him, and
he made a tremendous effort, that snapped them like yarn.
At the same instant there was a blinding flash,_and he came
near being discovered. But his presence of mind did not de-
sert him, and, by holding his arms in the same position. he
deceived his vigilant captors into the belief that he still was
fast. ~

The advantage which Dick possessed in gaining the use of '
No strain that» her

his upper limbs, was lost in his lower.
could bring upon his ankles was sufllcient to endanger the
fastenings in the least. /

Without human help he could not loose his feet, and where
that human help was to come from he co ld not imagine.

All this time the party were nearing Hurricane River.
Night had closed arouhd them, a night of “ storm and dark-
ness.” The deluge of water was descending, and thosewho
were not protected by their blankets, were drenched to the
skin.

But Dick cared nothing for this. No exposure or hardship
was too great for him, and he had no fear of the consequences
of such exposure as this. '

When he deliberated upon the matter, he saw that thereal
danger of his remaining helpless in his lower limbs was not
so great as he had thought at first. With his arms free. he
could control his horse, and, by a sudden- onslaught, secure

~’- weapons with which to mingle in the tray. The real 

 
 

\ A

 

 

\

 

 

 

‘ " . they could rush away upon their animals.

Mnuld have given worlds for the power of exchanging n",

 

  

m  6‘
was, that in the fiery, impetuous maneuvering that weak! in-
stantly follow the assault of his men, he would "be soifast-
ened to his animal that his horsemans’hip might become'fatally
defective. Should the beast be struck by a bullet, or prove
refractory, as had been the case upon the preceding night,
instead of being a-help to his friends, it would very probably
bathe other way, and end in the discomtiture of the whole
plan of rescue.

" The knowledge the Indians possessed of the country over
which they were journeying was as aomrate and unerring as
that of the white men, and through the storm and darkness
they never once halted.

Both of the females had blankets thrown ovar them, which
partly protected them from the driving rain. Until this act
of kindness upon the part of her captors, the wife of Goo
manche Dick had been meditating a desperate deed. She car-
ried in her bosom a beautiful Spanish dagger that had 'been
presented her by Josepha, and, more than once, she was on-
the point of drawing this, and silently pressing it “ home""in
the heart of the savage who held her prisoner.

t was not any question of humanity that restrained her.
It was only the uncertainty as to the prudence of the deed. ,
Would her husband be pleased with it? What good could
tihe accomplish thereby? Could she be the means oi‘serv-
ing either her husband or Josepha?

She thought she could help the latter, for her plan included
not only the assassination of her immediate captor, but that
of Josepha’s as well 1 She believed she could give the fatal
blow to one as well as the other, and then in the darkness

This was a desperate plan, it is true, but it was character- ‘
istic of the wife of Dick, and she was ready at any moment
to undertake it, provided she could gain the Bauefion of he
husband to the attempt. -. >

But there was no means of gaining this, as her words' .
would necessarily be heard by other ears than hers, and it was
more than probable that among the Comanches were several '
who understood the English tongue. s.

Boshe was compelled to keep her counsel, although sh.

 

  

    

 
 

at: V 

sentences with'him, without any risk of being heard by 
From his silence and reserve she knew that his brain was not.
idle, but;was ooncocting some scheme for the good of all. _

When the rain began descending, and the Indian threw his
blanket around her form, the thought occurred to her that it
would be a strange return for this kindness; but the next mo-
ment the feeling passed 01?, and when she came to reflect upon
what this same people had done, and what they probably in-
tended to do with her and with her tender young friend, all
such emotions disappeared, and it was again simply the ques-
tion of prudence that kept the dagger from the heart of the
savage.

As husband and wife and daughter were in such proximity“
and had been so for such a length of time, it seemed to Dick
that he ought at least to exchange a word or two with!
them. ‘ , ,

“ Do you feel well, Marceda i’” he inquired, directing his
address to his wife, who shouted back the reply.-

“ Very well, but in poor spirits. I am afraid all is lost”,

“ No, it is not I” '

That was sufficient for the wife. She understood that re-
ply in all its length and breadth, and was content to maintain-
silence.

“And how is my Josepha i" he added, taming his face
toward where he supposed her to be, from the last flash of
lightning that had lit up the blank darkness.

“ Much encouraged by your reply.”

“ You have reason to be,” was uttered in the same signifi-
cant manner as before, and then again they moved on in si-
lence. ‘

As nearly as Comanche Dick would judge, they were within
a mile or two of Hurricane River, when a halt was made.
There was considerable talking in a low voice among the red-
skins, but, although he strained his ears to the utmost, he

’ could not gain the slightest inkling of what it meant.

His fear was that the plan which he was certain his men
were going, to act upon, was suspected by the red-skins, but
as they speedily resumed their progress, traveling at a slower
rate than before, he had strong hopes that such was not the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\ m was sam-

yAs they neared Hurricane River, Dick found himself grow-
ing Mons and ill at case. He was confident that every
moment was drawing them nearer a collision, and, fettered as
he was, he was apprehensive of the consequences.

' Finally he determined on an effort to free himself, and he
attempted a feat, which, in his cooler moments, he would not
have contemplated.

“Mnrceds,” he called out; “have you your knife with

on i" -

I “Yes,” she replied, not a little startled at the question.

“ Let me have it—quick 1"

Without stopping to consider the strange nature of the re-
quest, she whipped it out and reached it. toward him in the
darkness. . .

“ Here it is."

The Indian who held his wife, furiously struck down the
outstretched arm, but, at that instant, the swiftly grasping hand
of ‘Dick had seized it.

Although the words which passed between the two were
scarcely understood in the least by the Comanches, yet more
than one was aware that some sort of communication had
passed between them, and they instantly closed around the
hunter to learn what it meant.

7 Appreciating his imminent peril, the movements of Co-
manche Dick‘s body kept pace with the lightning-current of
his thoughts. The stiletto-like knife was scarcely in his hand,
when it was thrust into his trowsers’-pocket, and his arms
bowed behind him; and in this rigid position he sat when the
next blinding flash lit up the earth and airy.

In the next second he had leaned under his horse’s belly,
and cut the thongs which it would have required hours to
unicose with his unaided hands.

Now he was free again.

“ And I don’t care how soon they come,” he added, to him- ‘
self. -

The next flaming sheet revealed to them that they were
within a few hundred yards of the river, and the eagle eyes
of Comanche Dick fancied he detected in that momentary il-
lumination of the driving rain, the figures of several horny
mat walking slowly toward them. . ,

  

 
   

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
   
 

'88‘. mwmmm ‘nmnav ‘
/ What he fancied he saw was certainly seen by the induce
themselves, and an unusual movement among them showed
that they were making hasty preparations for the meatpected

danger which had come so suddenly upon them.

Sensible that the crisis was upon them, Comanche Dick

men, but, ere a sound escaped his lips, there came an appal-
ling crash, accompanied by a vivid blaze that seemed to ab-
: sorb every thing, and almost every horse of the Comanche:
party was prostrated to the earth.
The thunderbolt had burst in their very center!

CHAPTER XII.
'rwo THUNDERBOLTS.

EVEN in that supreme moment of danger, Dick was the
first to recover self-possession. He was stunned for a ino~
ment, but the sharp pain of the horse falling upon his feet
aroused him, and he freed himself in a twinkling. '

Forgetting all about his friends so near at hand, his‘first
r thoughts were of. his wife and Josepha, and he darted over
the prostrate animals and men, where he supposed 'them'to
be, calling them by name. .

The shriek of terror that had escaped Josepha Navarro, at
the bursting of the thunder, had made itself heard even to
him, and, ere he anticipated, his hand was upon her. The
rain dashing in her face, had already begun to revive her, MRI
with a little assistance, she staggered to her feet, at the same
moment that her adopted mother did the same.

By this time, too, several of the Indians began to revive,
and the horses commenced floundering and struggling. Brave
as the Comanches always are, their first thoughts were of
their prisoners, and those who first regained their senses
made for them, shouting at the same time to arouse the other:

\ Who had been prostrated more severely than they. , r
But now came the hunters. The fortunate catastlmihb

shaped his mouth to utter the Rhoderic Dhu-like signal to his'

 

 

   

x

1

l‘; varro, and dashed away with her.
, him was Dick, whose mustang had just struggled to his feet.
‘ ' When the animal was on all fours again, he held him and his

' circling in his other, found himself hemmed in.

PANDEMONIUM.

wasrcompreheuded by them, and they turned it to advantage

.‘ without a moment’s delay.

Signals passed between Black George and Dick like the

“flashing lightning, and the latter had scarcely risen to his feet
: when his friend was at his side. '

, “ Save yer animile 1" called out George, “ for ye’ll need him.
Where are the gals?”

I" it Right by you.”

‘ At that instant, Walter Middleton caught up Josepha Na
Scarce an instant behind

wife upon his back. I

Shouts and whoops, added to the raging of the tempest,
made a. perfect pandemonium, and the Comanches were fight‘-
ing like demons. It would have been tempting fate for the
hunters to have made a fight, when their object was to get the

: women 06‘ unharmed, so their whole efforts were turned to-

ward extricating themselves.
V This was not done without severe fighting, and even '00-
manche Dick, with his wife held in one arm, and his knife
But his
faithful lieutenants came to his rescue, and soon hewed the
way clear for him. '
I I With the elements against them, the red-skins lost every
advantage they had possessed, and in less time than we have
‘ taken to describe it, the whites were disentangled, and to-
gether on the open plains beyond.
“ Where is Josepha?” suddenly demanded Dick, as the
lightning-flash failed to show her among his men.
“ She is safe,” replied Black George.
“ But where?" he demanded, in a voice of thunder.
~ '“ We brought another man with us, and he has‘ her.”
“ Who is he ?” he added, only partly satisfied with the re-

ply.

I: . “ He is the man who has come all the way from Galveston

and: her, aid, from what I‘ve l’amed, he’s the one arter .all
that has more right to her that you.” , .

‘ Dick was only partly satisfied, but as several dropping
’rtota War to come from the Comanche party, and it was

 

 

    

y!

’0

me manna amine.

evident that the danger was still upon them, he turned  '

attention to the peril itself {or the moment.

“ Give them a round or two if they ain’t satisfied,” he
called out, and in response the three men discharged their
rifles toward the spot where the red~skins stood. '

All the time, the horses were walking northward at a
moderate gait.
flashes of lightning were fewer and lighter, and the fall of
rain much less than it had been a short time before.

By-and-by, as the party moved along, Comanche Dick ‘

 

The torm had nearly spent its fury; the U

heard the voice of Josepha, and became aware that she was 1 '

in the party. He then repeated his inquiries, and learned
what had taken place since he had been carried a prisoner
from the hacienda, and be welcomed the young man as cor
dially as he deserved to be. '
When Josepha was picked up by Middleton, and carried

beyond reach of the fight, she supposed very naturally that ‘

it was one of the hunters who had done her that favor; but
when her deliver-er pressed her to him with a fervent embrace

and kissed her again and again, she began to wonder what it '

all meant.

“George,” she said, suspecting his identity, “ what’s
matter."
“ It is not George,” was the answer, in a .tisguissd
vnice. ‘ ’

“ Jake then." '

“ It is not Jake at all.”

“ Well, then, Eph—”

“ Nor Eph either."

A scream escaped the girl, and she struggled.

“ Who has me 1’”

the

Now our hero had a. nice, little plot arranged for the '

edification of his dear friend, but it all failed through his own
remissness. When the thought flashed through him, that he
.was holding Josepha Navarro in his arms, she for whomjhe
had sud‘ered so much, and for whom it were a pleasure to

peril his life at any time, and that she did not'suspéct his 

identity, then it was that his self-command foreook him, and
pressing her again convulsively, he said: ' "
“Iande MW.” ’ » ' "'

 

 

I'In-uyrv

inserts an um'rms. 9i

' ’ r 1 his was uttered in his natural voice, so that there was no

mistaking it. For a moment, Josepha was silent, and then a
iow cry of joy escaped her, and she returned the warm em-
brace and kiss again and again.

“ Can it be my own Walter? Yes, I know it is! How
‘ came you here? I thought you were dead l They told me
you were! How cruelly they deceived me! How I have
*suflbred l"

’ “ And what Were my sufi‘crings, when I came to Galveston,

and found that you were gone, no one knew whither, until
" after long inquiry I heard you had started for Santa Fé.”

' I “ Did you follow me 9"

/“ Why such a question 1’"

And again a Warm kiss sealed the utterances of their
lips. .
During this hasty interchange of words, the mustang of
- Middleton had been walking at a slow rate. He had wrapped

his large blanket around her so as to envelop her entire form.
and thus he held her like an infant close to him, and securely
protected against the rain, which, as we have shown, was
rapidly decreasing in violence.
‘ They had reached this point we say, far enough for each
to understand the other, when Middleton became sensible of
his‘ imprudence in thus leaving his friends for so long a. time.
In case of pursuit from the Comanches there was every
danger of being cut off and recaptured; and even if that
danger was not threatening, there was still the probability of
their becoming lost to each other (luring the darkness.

So he turned hi horse around, and guided by the sound
of the voices. or rather the voice of. Dick, which just then
was particularly loud, he speedily, placed himself among
them.

As soon as it was felt that the great danger from the
xlavages had passed, there was an introduction between the
I parties, and an explanation given of the peculiar situation in

which more than one of them was placed.
5‘ ‘ , The animals of all were thoroughly tired, and they were
/ honored as much as possible, not being required to advance
at a faster rate than swalk. The {all of rain entirely ceased,
that and dead darkness remained, so that it was impossible to

K

 

1

 

    

  
   

 
   

distinguisi each other’s forms. Had there bcen any sort or.
V shelter at hand, they would have lain by until morning; de-
spite their proximity to their enemies; but. as all was opesi
prairie around, and not a tree even, they had no choice but
to plod homeward through the night—homeward to the ruined
hacienda, where they were not certain of procuring a covering
for their heads from the driving storm. ’

The hunters were so inured to hardship, that the night-ride
scarcely afi‘ected them. It was a trying ordeal to all of them,
but there were two in the company who were supremely
happy. Need say who they were?

As the mustang walked slowly along, Middleton saw that
his blanket was gathered closely about the loved form of
Josepha, and holding her face close to his own, they had no
difficulty in making their words heard by each other.

And what passed between them then and there, our pen
would profane by attempting to narrate. A great wrong had
been done by which they had been separated, but Providence
had brought every thing right, and they were together again.

All night long the party trumped northward. After mid-

night the inky gloom was never once relieved by the slightest I I

sari-2'9;

~O‘EI-r'

 

quiver of lightning. Onward thg horses stepped, all traveling ' 

aait‘ they were stone blind. '

Not a star shone in the sky above, nor was there the twinkle
of any campfire to guide them. Under such circumstances
even' the skill of the hunters availed them nothing. Having
once turned the heads of the mustangs in the right direction
they could do nothing but trust to their blind instinct and
allow them to go whither they chose.

v When they crossed the stream where the pursners on the
previous day had been given a glimpse of the flying Apaches,

it. was so swollen that it was both diflcult and dangerous,

and not a little time was spent in its passage.

Hour after hour dragged by, and still the mustangs pressed

onward, until finally the day dawned, and it was found that
the sagacioue animals had continued in the right direction and
had made good progress toward the hacienda.

A clump of timber was reached during the forenoon, where
a, belt was/ made, a fire kindled, and their clothing thor-

 W W 0‘ “'0 W7, rwwlrw-  °  i

 

    
 

 

>t.

1
3H

«5.3

‘

  

5 second night was spent upon the prairie
* 3 brought them within sight of the ruins cf the hacienda.

/

 

  

   

 
  

   
 

4' / “No'; you don’t.

 
 

fl

’1: As'l'O' mm um" 

Comanche Dick Went‘ofl' upon a hunt, from which he returned,

- hearing the carcass of a young bufi‘alo, which, if not in the

heat condition, still made them the best dinner 'they ever _

'~ ate.

' Both men, women, and animals thoroughly rested, the
'journey was resumed; but the distance was so 'great that 5
But the third day

' '7 Here a new surprise awaited them, which reminds us that
we have neglected Ephraim Hopkins altogether too long.

CHAPTER XIII.
. mm mun.

’ .Wm Ephraim Hopkins was thrown headlong by the
lnthriated ram, he wasstartled ; still more was he startled by
V flac sudden appearance of Alfredo Manzal; but, when that
individual announced his identity, it may be said that he was
absolutely thnnderstruck and speechless.
\ He stood stupidly staring at the terrible desperedo for a
few moments, motionless and petrified.
“ Yes, sir; I am Mnnzal, that you speak of.”
_ With this second declaration the tongue of the Yankee was
unloosened. , I
" “ Dew tell me! My gracious! ain’t I glad to see you.
Give me your hand. You're the very man I think the
most wanted to ee.”
And with his face wreathed in smiles, he reached his hand
toward Msnzal, but the latter spurned him away.
You said you would shoot me—l’
. “ What is your full name?”

“ Alfredo Menu], and—” _ '
“Her han haw l" reared the Yankee, slapping his

5:" bend upon his knee “What a mistake! I meant George
7 KW Mann], the feiler that stole my hose last summer

 

 
 

    

 
 

M mrpammma

in Connecticut, and that we offered a reward of a hundred,

dollars for. He’s the man I’d like to meet, I bet you."

, Ephraim Hopkins thought this was a very ingenious way

of getting over the difficulty, but it did not deceive his corn-
panion for a moment; but, for reasons of his own, Man'zai
allowed him to think so.

“I’m glad to hear yer say so, fur I'd jist made up my

mind to chew yer up hull. Yas, sir,”he added, with his “

usual fierceness, “ I’m Manzal—I’m the man that run off with
that gal—I’m the one that tried to kill her, and I’m the one
that’s goin’ to do it, fur it’ll be the nicest job I ever done.”

“ How—how so 1’” Hopkins ventured.

“ That’s five hundred dollars waiting me in Galveston,
when I bring her scalp to a man there. The cussed Co-
manches come down on me store I got through, but since

then I’ve fixed things with them, and they won’t trouble ‘

me." .

“ You and them be friends, eh i"

“ We ain't any thing else, and afore we git through we'll
fix up things with the , feller they call Comanche, Dick, and
fur that matter, he’s already fixed.”

. “ I heard they had him.”

“ That’s jist what they have, and by this time his ha’r is I

lifted.”
. ‘F My gracious l” exclaimed Hopkins, who was anxious to
conciliate his terrible enemy, “ you must be hungry. Here’s
a tender leg of lamb that’s done to a turn. Won’t you oblige
me by making your dinner upon it 1’"

Manzal was silent a moment, and then he 'advanced, took
a seat upon a piece of timber, and began devouring it with
the voracity of a wild beast.

It is safe to say that the Yankee wasn’t hungry. Tat ~

presence of the stranger at the feast had entirely driven away
his appetite.

But Hopkins was still suspicious. While the deeper-ado  ‘

was so busily occupied with his meal, he, under pretense of

taking a look at the sheep, made himself sure that his own

ride was well loaded. and ready (or instant use. \ ‘
His first impulse was to steal out to where his horse was

Inning, mount him, and'flee; but, he was fearful that before ~ 

 

 

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5L.
e l.

u

  

 

   
 
 
  
 

r

  

\

 

 

  

,. .-5'-'

t'.

 
 

mu as a am.
1,. could. get beyond reach of the desperado’s rifle, he would

be shot; and then the animal of Manzal looked as if he

were capable of great speed, and he might overtake him,

although Hopkins’ steed was possessed of extraordinary fleet-

ness. -

’ While he was debating the situation, Manzal turned his

head, like a tiger. disturbed when craunchimz his prey, and

demanded:

“ What are you after i”

“ You understand I was leit to guard these here sheep, and
{thought I’d take a look at them while you was enjoying
yourself.”

“ Never mind about them ; I don’t like to have a man git
behind me, ’specially when he feels like shootin’.”

Hopkins obeyed with great alacrity, and no waiter could
have been more attentive than he was. '

“ Would you like something else it" he inquired, when tho
meat had almost disappeared.

“ No,” was the gruff reply. '

“ There are plenty of nice young lambs out there, and it

 'will ‘nfi‘ord me great pleasure to prepare you one of the

, ch ' est.” 1
idn’t I tell you I didn’t want it ?” demanded the
desperado, looking as if he were about to spring upon and
tear him to pieces.
I .“ Come to think, I believe you did," was the meek reply.
“ Beg your pardon, for my mistake.”
: But Manzal seemed to become more sullen and vindictive

‘ each moment.

The desperado scowled at the Yankee awhile, and then
lining to his feet, said :
4 " Good-by; I must be off."
', “Good-by; good luck to you,” called out Hopkins, over-
Joyed at seeing him‘move away.
Manzal walked sullenly off until he reached his horse, a
, wort distance from him, when he vaulted upon his back and
turned his head away. He had ridden less than a rod, when
he turned in his saddle, and pointing his gun at the astounded
- Hopkins, took deliberate aim and pulled the trigger. .
Assassination was this villain's favorite mode of fighting,

  

 

  

f

T1119 PRAIRIE RIFLES.

but it failed in this instance, and he never had another op-
portunity to make the trial. 
' From some cause or other his gun missed fire, and ere he
could repeat the attempt, Ephraim Hopkins brought its own
weapon to his shoulder and fired. True to the aim, the bul-
let crashed through the assassin’s brain, and he fell headlon
to the ground, without a particle of life in him. '
" I think it was Alfredo Manzal, after all, that I wanted to
see, instead of George Augustus," muttered the Yankee, as he
witnessed the success of his fire. '
Thankful indeed was Hopkins at the providential manner
in which his own life had been saved to him. He felt that
he had done right in slaying this monster, and he did not go
near him to see whether any life remained in his vile body or
not. His afi'righted animal dashed away, and continued run-
ning at headlong speed until he disappeared in the distance.
By this time the day was well advanced, and Hopkins de
tected the omens of the storm, which has been more particu-
larly referred to elsewhere. His next step was to secure his

horse and place him in the shed which had escaped the fire,’ '7
and then he made preparations for sheltering himself against '

the approaching tempest. .

 

\

Now that he had made his dinner, it can not, be said that ‘

he had any particular interest in the vast multitude of sheep,
whose incessant nibbling of the grass, he observed, was steadil

drawing them away from him. He concluded that the dogs V, ' -

ought to attend to them, for the rest of that day at least, and
IL- he gave them no further thought. ‘ '
When the storm did come, it harmed neither Ephraim Hop-
kins nor his horse. , He smoked his pipe for a long time, and
then quietly slept through the remainder of the night.
On the following day he lived on choice lamb, andwas in.
quite good spirits. He was considerably shaken in the ;after4

noon, by the sight of a party of Indians in the distance, but 

they soon disappeared, and he was left alone again.

The following day, just as he had begun to grow uneasy at

the continued absence of his friends, they came in sight, and
shortly after, gathered around him.

 
 

 

 

 

   
 

 
 
  
   

‘, ‘7»



 
 

 

   
 
 
 
  

 

 

I ma. .

’ settled in Galveston.

a hepha, who has already been introduced to the reader.
- this sad event, the father devoted himself entirely to the edu-

 

  

  

QHAPTER XIV.
“arm’s WELL mm ms warm.”

‘lihmn Nnennm‘ and Alfie Navarro were cousins, who

came from Spain to Texas something over forty years ago, and
Both were immensely wealthy, and
strongly attached to each other, but they were very unlike in
disposition, the former being dissipated and strongly addicted
to gambling, while the latter was a student, with refined and

, intellectual tastes, rather inclined to solitude, and never so

happy as in the bosom of his own family.

A few years after the arrival of the cousins in America, the
wife of Navarro died, leaving behind her a single child, Jo-
After

'cation of his daughter, and they were hardly absent hem

' each other’s sight until he was removed by death, when Jo-

sepha was about fifteen years of age. .
This blow nearly killed the afl'ectionate child; but she
aroused at last, to find that she was left alone in the world,

' , with an immense fortune, safely invested, and only awaiting
‘ her maturity to come into her hands, with a few friends, none

of whom could ever take the place of the cherished parent
she had lost. .

The natural consequences of his evil courses followed Em-
ilia Negrete. His fortune soon passed from his hands, and
he became entirely dependent upon chance, and whatever his
cousin chose to give him. His applications were never re-
fused, and so long {as Navarro lived, Negrete never suffered
for money.

But with his death Came a change. He was too proud to
ask of the daughter what he had, unabashed, claimed of the
lather; but'his evil heart at once concocted a scheme by which

" she hoped to gain all and more than he had lost. Could be

secure the hand of Josepha, as a consequence her form

 

  

fl ’ V m mum: anus ,

would go with her—and so he set himself to work, by every‘ .
art of which he was master, to gain her heart and secure her ‘ 5 .r ,
rich inheritance. ' ' ' I “

He probably would have succeeded, had not a troublesome
third party appeared upon the scene in the shape of Walter
Middleton. The meeting between the young couple was quite .
romantic, and of such a nature as to make a lasting impres-
siol upon both. - .

Love rapidly grew and strengthened between them, and, all.
seemed going well; but Negrete, although baffled in one di .
rection, did not despair. It was plain that if Josepha should , 5. l, '
die, her property would revert to him, as next of kin; so he ‘3 ’\‘
plotted against her life. _ '

He had not the hardihood to attempt it’himself; but in
such a country as Texas, where outlaws and criminals of
every degree have found a refuge from the pursuit of justice,
there were not wanting men who, for a price, were ready to
perform the deed. \

A year or so after the meeting of Middletbn and Josepha,
and after they were plighth to each other, he sailed north to
make his farewell visit home, for the purpose of returning,
marrying his betrothed, and settling down permanently in Gal-
veston. ' ’

The vessel upon which he sailed was wrecked; bathe and
most of the passengers were saved. Negrete carried the news
to Josepha, and stated that he and several others were’lost.
Josepha, who had no suspicion of his baseness, believed him,
and again it seemed as if she would lie down and die from
her overwhelming grief. ' ,

Now was Negrete’s time. Afier a while he persuaded her .
to make a visit to an uncle in Santa Fé, who had been dead « m _‘._
several years, but who, by means of forged letters, was made 
to appear extremely solicitous of a visit from his adored
niece. ' _ V

The journey was quite dangerous, but she was given a pow-_ ' __
crful escort, which was placed under the direction of Alfredo ' T
Manzal, a villain of the deepest dye, who agreed, for the sum, _
of five hundred dollars in gold, to bring back the girl's scalp  ~~ "
to'Negrete, which was to he the evidence that she had  '
put out of :the way. i " ' ’ ,s ‘

 

 

 

 

 g; . m We m. 

I .
'  , M‘Ifhe plan well-nigh succeeded. When they were so tar ne-
 lilbved from civilization as to place her entirely in his power,
‘ ' s Hamel revealed the whole conspiracy to her, and then at-
- c". tempted to put it into execution. But his own men were at-
, 'afitacked and massacred by a party of Comanches, who in turn
' 1 Were driven off by Comanche Dick and his followers.
The villain Manzal revived, and made his way back. to
‘ ~ Galveston, where he claimed his reward; but Negrete would
i s not give it until he produced indisputable evid'ence of the
i ' ' death of Josepha.
So the assassin returned lgain to New Mexico, and affiliated
/ » 3'" ’vrlth the Comanches for the purpose ofaccomplishing hit
' and; Our readers already understand enough‘of his action!
' f  here to make further reference to him unnecessary.

 

When it became known that Ephraim Hopkins had really
slain the evil spirit of the whole business, he became quite a
hero, even in the eyes of Comanche Dick and his hunters.
“ The former made him a handsome present in money—more
‘ ' ‘ portable and valuable than half his flock of sheep would have
been-and the four hunters escorted Middleton, Josepha and
" V the Yankee through Texas, and did not leave them until all
’ danger was passed.
" The parting between Josepha and her adopted father and
mother was very affecting, and brought tears to the eyes of
,, all. - The four hunters and the lady continued to wave their
u ‘ farewells as long as they continued in sight.
 _;' Comanche Dick rebuilt his hacienda, where he and in:
V friends remained till the breaking out of the Mexican war, .
.when they joined in that struggle with the same vim and
_ vigor that always characterized them. Black George fell on
“ the. nights of Chapultepec, and Long Eph sunk never to rise
_ ' again after the bloody day at Resaca de la Palms. .
7 .'~ Jake J aggleton and Dick settled in Santa Fe, where, at last
' 7‘ . advices, they were still living.
2-4 Upon Walter Middleton’s return with Josepha to Galveston,
Emilia Negrete hastily fled, and was never heard of by them
' w " afterward. Ephraim Hopkins established himself as a sno-
" i2“. osifnl merchant in the metropolis of. the Lone Star State, and

  
  

4.,

‘ :1,  ‘ v ‘
1N " 9 m PRAIRIE 3mm. r

our herb and heroine settled dox'vn ‘ into that happlen  
mortal states—that of marriage; and the money so Safely
husbanded by the careful hand of Alfla Navarro was none

squandered or mlmpplied by either his daughter or hot  x   

bad. I I
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The Secret 0! Snccun. i-‘ur tlueo awaken.
Ynun .Amerlcn. Three male: and l“ u h-mn'll-
Jowp lnn’n Del-filly. Four hunlu, (ma-u .
Tllu Fully of the l'nel. For Hun-c male hII'Mhtr'I
Dngnmllun. Fur Hum mle lpenkera.
’l‘ha ¥nnrnnz Conlhundad. Fnr two lwyl.
Tho as! Y All n. Farhm mull-n.
The Y ' nlnz. l! {91"an m l1 1 rm“.
The Villnyze mlll Om Gonunmuu. For elglas 1'»-
ulzllu Land on mule.

NO. 2.

How to {\‘rllo ‘ P-~pnlnr’ Storm. Two unlu-
Thu New and flu: UN. Fur two nmlcl.

A Semnliml at La". Fnr lwn lnnlu.

Thu Greenllnrn. Fnr lwn males.

The Thus Men of Sciatica. For {our mnloI.
The Old Lndy’1“'lll. For {our mull-n.

The Liuln Phil :1- nluerl. For two llulo glrll.
New lo Flnul an I rir. Fnr fin -. nlel.

The Vlrluu. For nix young lndlcl.

A Connnhl-l Ellnguo.

Tllc I’ubllc mulixlx- l‘lvomnleund onofemnh.
The Engl‘uh ’l‘rnvzlcr. For two lulu.

l

DIME DIALOGUES, N0. 3.

Tu) Mu Q'IM'H. Tor an entln uhnol.

1mm R}! m (om-ml .n. F -r hen femnlu.
lin- ‘lnx B'ld Cmupnuv A Fnre -. Fnrflvn mnlau.
Under I‘lllficulliu. ! mnlu, l hum! -.
Nation Reprnuuunlru. A Bllrluqun. 4 mnlul.
unplug: tho Dun. l‘br nnznur. u: unllrl.

Tho Frml King. FM (on or
Marlin: ll..fc. ' '
fulfil, H-v «5 "ml Cm
Purl: nu Jmu. l-‘I-r

mnro venom.
:m-l 1m. lv-nulu.
r lllreu liulu Villa.
'0 nmlns :m l o» -
’l VIA-ml Fnucv. For six I
Prime-I. ‘2 unulngnevvrnl fl
Hon Hi Duo. '1 nmlus, l l
n. l-T-nevuml “L'Ill'fl,0n0 I .
Diner-Alon. Fur lwullly ln.. 5.

~ ‘7'!» "hrro Gui-mm. For nrlmnl fir

J'IUIIInIIL A “ The P
1‘ l d Illa (.‘urluln. For mules nml {a
1rd! Elu Pl Saciuly. Flraboys and n by .
lxnvnimllo ' Dn l’ornavl‘rul loumle alumna".

l‘ldlnn: in “ ’I‘n " For uvevnl mall-l.

l‘rlbuuul. For ml bun.

/ luSchonl Buy!
A by“ Tnuzua. chnml "ml" and fvnnln.

nrlcr.
‘n

“A! NJ to Cut an Amwer. For lwo IL-ill .h-s.

DIME DIALOGUES, N0. 4.

Thu Game.) Cor-k. For two "MI".
Minion-lore. For two m-lu nnnl um female;
The Two Roman. For two mull-I.

'l‘ha Fume. Sect-ad Icono. For two malnl.
Showing the White Fenlhar. 41min, l fem—la.
Tlu lluulc Call. A Reelunlve. Fur on.) mule.

Thu Slul-b‘elou—n anunlr-rr. 2 mnlu, l (cm-la.
\l «n "um " l‘qul l’ry." For '1 ur Innlus.
. .u Cl‘nl‘nu. Fur lllruu mules and mm len nl‘
.l. e, C nud Brown. I": rthr—e lllllv L-lr' ‘.
l ' Wu". A Cnlloqny. Fnr two Luyn.
,I r S n1. For two In :ln.
A Colloqn)‘. For lwnhnyg,
r B vnleuco. hr l’vur mule-l.
Fur wo much

 

l .
u l’ V. M r.
a Luxlcr.

,.
ll].

1mm DIALOGUES, 1:0. 5.

Pulling on NW. A Cr‘llnqm: Frr lwo mnlol.
Tim Slrnlgln M rk. Furm-wrnl In.“ i.
{Two Hand nl Hfa. A ("nllnqlly. l‘uf hm glrls.
.l’xlrm-l. from Muran Fuller-1.
Mil-l - \Y My. An Ac l gt‘hnrmle.
For I l: vmun: hulirl.
' a In: mum m Hume. mr 1w numb-I.
ll unhh quulnmentn. Fur ll rrv'r‘yln..
\' of l'n (Eyn). For nlglu or last lull: gull

DIME DIATOGU‘S. NO. 8.

“9 Way “My K-M A Fol-rot. Main and (Amulet.
7"" Pact umlur Dlficuluu. For flu mnlu.
“winks. Tr". Fur a who]. lelmnl.
' w'finll'l nghb Bonn lam-1n Ind two mnlu.
“in no! Gold Ill» Gllum Hal. In-l female--
, 0mm- Jew. For le mnln.
. rflmlnu. For three Wnad cu tennis.

Tlm Two Conn F'r lhrrn mnlrl.

Thu V ‘lnrln n1 5' FM n numb r rfftmnlea
\um Holly's lluum an' loll-Aland lwonml: ;
Fha LIN-l Sun. 1 Il’ lwn fomnlu mud on lyrllb
4min Clam. Fm A number n! boys.

vtlvrmmnl Fnlrlv-s Fur usual lllxla flr'u‘ ’
Thu The» mu“ F»: We mules.

 

  

 

 

mm sonoor. snnms.~5peo;km and Dialog-nu.

 

DIME DIALEGI SPEAKER. No. 28..

latest Cliirmvud mgmgylgly neighbor“ d
a man: an n n 'oi d d M I k"
lino lriIinnnn, ) m: m” ’“a ”

l lo I nu,
MrCnn Tile Nurriiin,

Dni’n wnt’l do manor, [All nhom n bu,
Tim Min nippl mimcia, Sundni,

Vcn ie iidu mun" in, A (lurk nidu \‘iO‘V,
Dun» lam: vol .\lMy in! T19 was" my, ‘

 

 

 

 

go! On vurniilx Uurnmn, 1 )l irum Joli: Bil Luger-fit - ! Anita,
PM (l'l’inlwrty on wo- Mnry’l ninmil vim imnb‘ lingl, Tim at.» \ vi to irnu
nmn‘l rignu, A henilhy diauuuna, ‘Da ginnimlwcu all «in A uiukemr‘t - rnixbla,
The Iluiuc rniufl, how Tobin: m u- Wank, I lilnmllon. The cun. nu man, .
:im) "ipuiuu," Old Mn. Grim“, Dur’u nufin new undur Tins iiiigant Ali-h Q! ‘.
Huukinh Dawmn on A parody. “8 w". Muidoun'u,
ModIer..iIi-ln\v, Mn“. mui call, A Nauru reiiginul poem, Thu. little baby roumi'
He didn‘t lull [in fann. Bill Underwumi, pilot, i'l'imt' violin the corner,
Tim mu. glory 0! Frank M Gmuiuy. l’mmc Kiel-x M. A xmwwmo 'mfm'm.
iin's Him, i‘Hu pill poddiur’n om»;0ur c ndidnte’n vlawn, An. invitaiinn io Lilo
I would i were I be} tinn, Dnndrmry'l Ivnninm, birdof lib-fly,
nguin, v'ldder Green’s inn Finin language by truth» The unit,
A puthetic nary, word], I in! June, Out weal.

DIME DIALOGUES No. 26.

Pnor minim. Thmlmliu and two gentleman. {Thu ivuon of mercy. Two very Inn]! fill“.
Mnnninxmnndnmiq-liiiiu. Six Luiin and wurui i’rnclicu win". you prurii. Fnur inflict.

a . iii-tutors. Poiiticinn. Numermn thlfmfl.
A lost Nani. didnol fail. Six bnil. The mnvming Igeut. Two main Ind t"
Twu wnyl oi leuing linings. Two um.» giril. fumniu. ' '

Duh’l 1:0qu your chichnn before “my Ire Grub. Two main. / I
hucimi. i-‘onr indie: und in boy. A Light aura. Time fomnlul Ind one undo. ~
All ll iniri love and not. 2 lndiel, 9 miemon. Emimdi-d Inmhina. The. young
How uncle Josh got rid : { Iha legacy. wo mien, How Jim Paton died. Two main-
witk uvnml trnmfuruulyionl.

DIME DIALOGU'ES No. 27.

Pusey O’Dowd’l campaign. For timl maio- Tho Ilh-ei ziri'l good angel. For two lulla- and
uni ono frrnniu. W" “N” L'lfll. . '

Hnlly infeuxwu no; niwnyl Inn. Numerous "Timt uligramui iiuio niggor." Fort-o lull..-

ii i had the money. For three linlo girls.

31.
Diummnha Annia. For neural lilll Appearance: are dreeiifui. For uvoni lullu ‘
A dunbiu nurnriso Four main: and but lam-lo, and one uuniiemnn. \
Winn. mu iii Far flvo indies. Law's protein. For two imi- plriu.

Wimt will curs them! For n lady and two bnyl. An enivn-ed cu". For leverli churmwn. .
Inuiopcndent. For Immoronl chnrncieru. Tim». who protein nn-l than who perform. Fol

 

m: l uon tho but. FM (on: no". litres nulu.
Trml nnd fnund wanting. Fur Iavflnl nmlun. A mum conquul. For two young girll.
A boy'n plot. For "van! ukulele".

DIME DIALOGUEB No. 28.

A mi that laid. For le‘ young iildlul and iwa No room for Iiu (l mu. Fur lhm liillo M31.

 

wantinnieu. Arm-chair. For nunwmnl rimnu‘k-u. a
Oruunizing n nialmiing I'liI-I'V. Fur four in); I. Alunsura lur IIIUIIOIIM‘. For fun: girl».
The nwniwniI-u. For fun! lulu (iris. Savvd ivy a drumn. For two main uni two
The rrimk: [Vl'uplr- Fur 3 geniivnn-n, ') luniiai. frmnin.
Ex-Irciling nn evil Ipiril. For M: imlim. An inihiii‘de Iign. For four lwyl.
ilulii Iliilrl nl' tin: i'oncv. Fur {nur inniun. A Land me for moxuu‘. Fir rix iiitim glrin.‘ .

The will“ u! tin. wood. Far two troupe: of girls. An “crumble pvoiuuiun. l-or nurmi alumni-an.

{V The (Dawn book» are uoid by Now-Mull": urarywhun, or will in: uni, pout-plaid, In an, ,‘
“Linux, on ruueipt u grim, 10 cent; eul'h.

menu: .5. .umns, Pubmhm, 93 mm... s... N. Y. ‘Q

‘4

 

  

 

 

DIBIE POCIiET NOVEIJS.

PUIILISHED SE).I-.\!0NTHLY. AT TEN CEVI‘.‘ EACH.

llnwke 'c flurry. "I llzxd Aniliwn) ~4 smuutn 21
Ant)
.

‘ "Mu-k Nick.

Deml h' not. 6’3 '1 he Luci. Jur- T upper. Kll llirti.

The Buy Miners. "3 The iflurhlu knuui. ~ Tin- §pvl~tor Riders.

4 "Inc Din-k. 6 L The rulund Trapper. ‘ liiunt Polo.
Nut “'uli’e. 65 \\ all (up. I ‘3 The Girl (‘uptuhl'

6 The “'hllc Tracker. 66 llnitlin: l’h'k. Yuuiu-c Evil.
The "Inluu‘s “'ii'c. 6? thrp ‘ 0. thurupur.

. The Tull Trapper. 6“ lrnu-Ilnmi . SquntIt-r "it-1;.

. Lightning J». “9 The Yellow Hunter. . TI 0 Child Kpg.
The Inlnnzl l’lrntc. ?0 The Phantom Rider. .‘iinl. (Run.
The Buy Hunger. I Deiun‘nre Tum. li'vtl l'lumo.
“9..., (he 'l‘x-nppcr. Min-r Illilo. ('1) do. the Trailer.
The From-h Spy. 'l'ho \Lvlolun Scout. The Lat-Al (‘m‘lm
Lang shot, Llitlo Rifle. r The (‘unnilml Chief.
The (n mukcr. 'l'he \\ nod “'itoh. Kurnilm.
Red lln (i. ii’. lin- Trupncr. M-urlut Moocuniu.
"on, the Trflpper. urlol Hmuldt-ru. . Kidnapped.
“'illl ihu'cn, t xl'tll‘l‘ Rlilrmn ‘ Mull! ui .he .“multnln.
The Specter (‘hieil - : 2 ‘ Jurk. The Seiulu h'cuutl.
’l‘lu- B'nr-Killer. ' Ltr-Tull. Seminole. ‘ Border Renegade.
“'lltl Nni. F‘i Death-Denier. . The Mute Chief.

2 Indinn Jo. *2 Ks-ulun. the Ranger llmme, the Hunter.
01d Kent. the Ranger. 7‘3 The Specter "or-o . . Mountuin Knie-
Tlu-(Im-ijcd Trapper, H4 'llho 'l hrco Trumn-r . The Red Svnlper.
Godholnl. Hu- Suy. 8’ knlooluh. » The Lune (‘lliL-f'.

’i‘fs: “12161. Ship.  ' 'iuuh-r Ilcrt'lllt'l. . Tho Min-r Bugle.
iinslc Eye. '- 1 Hunter. . (‘hlnzxnih(-('hoycnne.
Indian Jiul. .' no lmliuu Sunni. » . The Tangled Truil.
The Scum.  ' L‘ i-‘irl Axongor. . The I‘m-con "and.
Enle Eye. ' ' Rod Horn-lion. The Lone Imiiun.
Tho “yr-lie Canoe. r-Fncc. ihe quor. The anln‘od Brave.
~ The Golden Iiurpoou. - '  ‘ \"N‘lnlm “05‘. . lllllp lh'“‘('k'fl.
'I'he- ‘uulp King. S i’huntmu Hunter. The Vulll 3' Scout.
“l1! Lute. . ' "I I nllv. (he l’ilui. - lh-d Juolm
’ . ' Red “'izurci. 'l‘ln- Jungi Scnut.
. lliuzi 'i'ruppcrn. l'llrroLbc ('lllci'.
it? The human" 51)). Th:- Bumli! Ilorlnlt.
- III-url [inn-r. SN Du»qu lllvk. The l’ulrln' Scouts.
\\ tilt-l. iln: Nu ‘J‘J ('nlum-l (‘ruvLctL ’l‘lu- \\ mu! Kn garb.
The Huge III: 300 01:! lit-:n- Fun. The Red Filo.
wua 331,11“- mmr, ml lelmr. lh-umli'ul l'nLnnwn.
Lynx-mm. l0: “'lltl HI
Th:- “'llite Ouilnw. ' l-‘l' 1"“ I "IMPE-
The lint: ' ‘ licr- ‘ . rrul langle.
The Elk Kin-J. ’ l. Doyle.

' Adrinn. iho i'lloi. ‘ l- m- ludlnn fipy.
The “un-huuicr. . Job “fun.

‘ The l’hunlmu 'i'rm'lier. ThL “ mni King.
\luuvu-lu Hill. . ’l‘lw Maximal Hunter.
The “'uli’ Hut-on. Vick iin- .
Tom liuu L. ' . 'l ’l'lu- Tex r.

' The .“utl ('lul' ' 'l lit-{'r‘m-cli Knives.
The Hluuk I 'l'lfivr-Ilruri.

\ kllnuuh- . ‘ The “unlmd Avenger.
ll'athvm-(l. . ’ 'n- Pom-l l'll'lxtt‘l.

h 'l .10 “her Rifle“ "L 3’11"”
Hunter Ilum. . ‘l, lhv Avenger.
l‘lumlwnmi.

The Town lluwk!
)Ic:-o!lr~-‘ H t-

l
l

N N.

.-

INHOI’JHfl-l
“:4.

 

llu . lho l-nidc.
Th» imrdcr Hc‘ Ii.
\\ “I. N M.

".uh'. ni' “'r‘mnluk.
in- Three ('uriivcn.

"14-11 Trull.
' l: r Spy.
'5 'u‘ rum! Mu-(vier.
’l'lu- lh-rnlz-r Fae-4.
lh'rdrr \ “llL-(‘Xliu‘tn
Ilordu- Howie.
'l‘lu- mum of l ilwrty.
'l‘lu- Ln-i Bride.
‘(vi‘iié‘lh
'l‘lm ’E‘ «un‘u Spy.
The l’rulrix- Scourg'

tat-le»)\)-lu)’)u’13: fizaazaz .

_‘a__......l.‘___-.4u.l.a...‘.nau
C';LH.“..'.h-:Nv-"."v‘l’laz'é-WN-~-lrl
.. A

n

131 “mi Lightning. By‘\\'. J, Hmniltoxl. Ready I‘v  ulst.

1532 Brave Heart. By sz‘cs 7.. L‘mwn. Ready June 11th.

1 S3 Night-Hank Kit. By Jnsnnh E. Burlgvr, Jr. livale June 29th.

'1 Si NEIL-1:11:15 Sum. By Jove ‘ 12131141}; July 12th.

185 l!ll!‘l‘§<'llll£‘ Zill. 13].". m» i'1!l:r)z',.lr. l‘wudj: .l;=ly 'J’h‘u.

186 The Hui Oulluu‘.  W. . . ll: rm. Rnaz'w‘ .‘mgus: (My.

187 The Swamp Stout. B)"\\'. J. llxzrlilhm. ll: .\'1'r1'.~'t 23d.

188 The .‘ unvnm-‘s Foo. 33' W. J. Hamilton, 19M; 85-111mm!)er 6th.

189 Flohau‘k Nut. By \V. J. Tl'unilhm. Rvmly Supt'r-Inhel‘i‘llth.

190 Old Jupt‘. By Mrs. O . Jam . lemly (Newlwrlth.

:91 The Prairie Rifles. By Henry J. Thomas. leavly Opium-r 18th.

A92 ()ld Kyle, the Trailer. By Henry J. Thomas. Ready Nov. lst.
BEADLE AND ADAMS, Puhluhern, 98 “'lliiulu Street. New Yll’k’ 3