Frederick H. Dewey

“ The faint, melodious bay of a hound came wafted to their ears. Eben knew the sound.
“I do,” he said. “It is a bloodhound.”
“Ay!” and the hunchback brought his face close to that of Eben. “It is—and he is on the trail of the young man, who has found the young woman!”
Eben saw by the earnest expression of the cripple’s face he was terribly in earnest, and that he spoke the truth.
“Then come on!” he said. “Come on, to the rescue!”
The hunchback, with surprising agility, darted away through the thicket, followed by Eben. ”

“ He did not stop to conjecture—he did not hesitate or draw a timid breath; but angry at himself for being alarmed, boldly threw open the trap, and with ready rifle, peered out.
His eyes fell upon a fair young girl coming directly toward him on a sorrel mustang, the latter apparently wandering aimlessly at an easy amble. Her eyes were fixed on the distant plain beyond the hillock, and were wandering, as if she saw nothing to attract her attention.
“It is strange she does not see it!” observed Pedro—“very strange. But stay! the hillock is higher than its head, and so she does not perceive it. ”

“ But, he was not one to stand and wonder at marvelous things; he was a young man of great energy, and almost distracted with grief, was impatient at delay and in a hot fever to go on. He raised his voice and called to Cato; he would surely find a trail.
“Cato! oh, Cato!”
No answer. He could hear at a little distance the rustle of bushes and the breaking of twigs; like himself, his comrades were ferreting about in pursuit of the strange intruder. Now and then, one would exclaim suddenly, then relax into silence; then a low whisper would reach his ears from an ardent pair close by. ”

“ Pedro turned sick, his brain reeled, and a deadly nausea seized him.
Suddenly recovering, he threw the bag into the entrance, and drew his jeweled dagger—his rifle was inside.
“Who’s there?” he hoarsely said, peering off into the plain. “Speak! man or ghost! who is near—who is there?”
Nothing—no one; the plain is bare. All is quiet in the Land of Silence.
“Murder! help! who’s there? Oh, heaven, my gold!”
He saw the plain was bare, and that he was alone. He drew a breath of relief—might he not have been deceived?
Perhaps. He prayed so. But stay—the hillock hid a part of the plain from view. ”

“ As his fore-paws touched the barricade, Walter, exerting all his nerve and muscle, drove the keen-edged bowie into his breast—exactly in the bullet-hole. There was a maniacal, gasping snarl, a convulsive movement of the feet, a rapid quivering throughout his body, and the bloodhound fell to the ground, stone dead.
Katie was frightened as Walter drew back his knife and slowly wiped it on the vine-leaves. She had never before seen a brave man at bay—she had never seen such a fierce, passionate, and at the same time cool and resolute look upon his face. ”

“ There was a sudden streak before her, a small white speck bobbing up and down; and when Kissie reined in the pony she was alone. The rabbit was far away.
“Duped! miserably deceived!” were her exclamations as the truth forced itself upon her. “To think that insignificant creature had so much reason in him. Why, he was only deceiving me, after all—a mean trick to gratify his wicked little heart. I might have known it by the way he acted. Well, I never; and what a laugh there will be when I get back. Deceived by a paltry rabbit. I can imagine how they will laugh. ”

“ Hallo! who is talking? who is crying aloud when all should be still? who speaks? Hallo!
A voice, borne by the wind, floated up and into the air, speaking only a few, very few words; but they were full of strange meaning. The pursuers did not hear it, neither did any one else—only the trees in Dead-Man’s Forest. But it spoke, notwithstanding.
Cato was on his way to meet the party, and was running quite rapidly, when he entered a small glade, one of the many that embellished the gloomy old wood. He drew back out of sight, directly, and ensconced himself under a bush. ”

“ Swarming round among the stationary train were over a score of running, twisting, gliding Indians, overrunning the wagon, busily engaged in unhitching the draft-horses, while more were galloping over the plain striving to lariat the saddle horses, which had taken fright and galloped away. They were busy as bees, and were swarming round like them. Thirty running, robbing Indians make a larger show than fifty whites, they are so much more agile and quick. ”

“ On the edge of the swamp lake were a dozen or more men, peering over at the silent island; angry looks they gave; in the island were the same (almost) number of men, equally reckless and bold, but far more wary and wicked. The dug-out in which Katie had escaped still lay where she had left it; and much Cato (who had rejoined the pursuers) marveled. He knew that something was wrong, else it would have been moored to the island, out of sight; and his eyes, familiar with the island, noted something was wrong there, too. ”

“ Could he be mistaken? He knew he was not mistaken. It was Cato the Creeper, and beside him walked Captain Downing.
To see was to act with Walter. It was a life and death struggle now.
A stream of fire blazed from the barricade, a puff of smoke arose, and Cato the Creeper, with a wild cry, tossed his arms aloft and fell to the ground, a bullet driven into his brain. Cato the Creeper had followed his last trail. ”

“ Cimarron Jack strove to organize his men, in order to make a sudden onslaught, which would be more efficacious than a volley from the hill, as the savages would be frightened out of their wits at seeing them rise from the ground. But surprised, the “green” ones clustered together like sheep, paying no attention to his oaths and orders, and before he could begin to reassure them, the savages had mounted their mustangs, and with the stolen draft-horses, went away like the wind, a large and scared band of thirty, headed by the malevolent chief, Red-Knife. ”

“ The guide, lifting the torch, looked round on a small band of vaguely-frightened, nervous men. Why should they be frightened—why nervous? Nearly all were accustomed to hob-nob with Nature in her strangest and most incomprehensible moods—were accustomed to sudden surprises and alarms, and all were endowed with at least ordinary courage and “nerve.”
The secret of this alarm was this—they all had heard that a once feared and malignant robber, who had been dead a year, was roaming nocturnally about the Land of Silence. Knowing him to be dead, they were satisfied it was his ghost. ”

“ Men laden with wealth—the hard-earned savings of many hard and dangerous weeks’ work—men growing lighter-hearted and merrier at every step, had left sunny Mexico with enough to enjoy forever, and were nearing sweet home. Perhaps they had been harassed on the plains by hostile savages; perchance they had suffered the direful pangs of hunger and thirst in the wilderness, and had stared death in the face and had warded him off many times; but of every ten who entered Dead-Man’s Forest, within the confines of civilization, at least seven never came out on the other side. ”

“ Hallo! away down there in the dark, grim wood. Who is talking at this time of night? Hallo!
She went to sleep, so did Robert Jeffries, and the window was open.
The moon rose into the zenith and looked down from her pale face upon three different objects: a forest, a river, and a cabin.
In the forest a silent form lay cold, still and bloody, near a thick tree; a man stood over him, looking quietly down upon him.
The watcher spoke in a strange, far-away voice. ”

“ In his hand he held his horse-blanket, tied into a rude bag; it was loaded with something that chinked musically.
“Found! found!” he cried. “What fortune—what extraordinary luck! Only three hours’ searching, too. Oh, holy mother! what shall I do with all this wealth? Pedro, Pedro Felipe, you are as rich as the richest. Blessed be all the saints! what fortune, what fortune!”
This grave, demure man of forty, fairly danced in excitement, and shook the bag violently.
Chink, chink! a musical rattle that. More than one man has gone crazy over less. Huzzah! huzzah! the treasure is found. ”

“ Stop and consider what this backwoods girl was doing, and see what a heroine she was. Cognizant of Downing’s ardent love for Katie, conscious he did not love her, knowing Katie was her successful rival, she was deliberately doing all she could to protect and save her—she who had unwillingly outstripped her in the love of the beautiful bandit—to organize a party for the apprehension and punishment of her idolized hero, though it would almost be her death-blow to see him disgraced and punished. ”

“ Inside they found Kissie quite recovered, with her father and young Carpenter sitting jealously by her. Though pale and thin, she, in her joy, looked, to the eyes of the men, more charming than ever before.
What had come to pass? Was a revolution about to arise? for when she signified she was very hungry, Duncan stirred hastily about, actually glad of a chance to cook. Mind that—actually glad. As all were hungry, he was forced to call upon the men for assistance, services which they gladly rendered, and soon the savory odor of cooking filled the cave. ”

“ He started back suddenly, as a rustle was heard in the thicket, and drew a revolver. The negro, from some hidden place, drew a keen razor with remarkable agility, and stood on his guard, lowering at the copse.
A man burst out of the bushes boldly, as if fearing no danger, and knowing with whom he was meeting. He was dressed in green throughout, with a peaked hat, and high, shining boots. He wore a belt, stuck full of weapons. He was a handsome, genial-looking fellow, in the prime of life, very agile and strong, as could be seen by his sinewy limbs. ”

“ They were thoroughly alarmed, inasmuch as, not belonging to Red-Knife’s band, they had accidentally fallen upon the train. They had been surprised at not finding a human being near the wagons; they were thunder-struck at the mysterious shot and its fatal effect.
Their alarm and surprise was somewhat dissipated very soon by Pedro’s firing from a chink in the trap-door. He had aimed at the prostrate form of a savage, lying on the ground behind a wagon; the bullet struck him fairly in the side, and, with a groan of mortal agony, he stretched himself prone, to speedily die. ”

“ Robert Jeffries returned to his cabin, very much out of humor. His revenge was yet to come; he was forced to wait; and he ground his teeth.
A light was burning in the little cabin when he entered, and Katie was sitting by it, sewing. She looked very sweet and lovely as she sat there, and his heart first softened, then became adamant; let any man insult her—the tenderest, purest girl in the world. ”

“ Without further preface she lightly struck the sorrel pony with her riding whip, and on a swift gallop went after the rabbit, which slowly limped away.
The guide, being the only idle one, alone noticed her. He shook with suppressed laughter, awaiting the result.
The guide well knew, though Kissie did not, that this strange rabbit plays some unaccountable pranks, and is the direct cause of many hearty laughs at a “greenhorn’s” expense. Seeing a human being, he at once retreats, limping as if badly hurt. This attracts some one not “well up” in prairie life, and he pursues it. ”

“ He was some minutes in returning to it, and when he got there he was satisfied that hot pursuit would be in vain; he must fasten on the trail. Being familiar with this art, he stood perfectly still and peered at the ground. It was soft, and his own foot-marks were distinctly visible, but they were the only ones. But he went down on his knees and crept about, earnestly watching for any indentation which might lead to the discovery of the trail. But his search was in vain—no other beside his footsteps marred the earth. ”

“ I’m the man that killed cock-robin! I’m the jumping wild-cat from Bitter Creek! I’m the man that can run faster ’n a jack-rabbit, swear more than a camp-cook, neigh more than an elephant, and kill thieving Indians like the small-pox. I’m the Grand Mogul of Tartary, and I’m the cock of the walk.”
The chief turned, stalked back to his steed, mounted, and rode away with his band toward the south; clustered together, riding swiftly.
The men came out from the wagons, and, standing on the plain, watched the Indians as they swiftly receded, wondering. ”

“ Cato, the Creeper, stood ready to fix upon any trail, trace or mark; and the hearts of the whole band beat as one.
Every man was armed to the teeth, and what was better, was buoyed by the sense of being in the right—a weapon far more potent than the steadiest rifle, the deadliest pistol, or keenest knife ever made. ”