Prentiss Ingraham

“ He is an outlaw, it is true. He has committed many crimes as Silk Lasso Sam, the road-agent chief, and yet now he is down, ironed hands and feet, a prisoner at the mercy of his foes. He is under sentence of death, and will soon be led upon the gallows, to die at the end of a rope.
“He will have not one near to cheer his last moments, to breathe one kind word, to utter one word of forgiveness, and he will be thrown into a nameless grave. ”

“ She rode directly toward Hangman’s Gulch, and that was a sure sign that she would meet no one on that trail, which the bravest of the miners would not travel by night.
And yet there in that weird spot, among the graves of a score of victims of border justice or injustice, as the case might be, with the gallows rising above him, stood a man then under sentence of death to die by hanging; a man who could count his victims by the score, a man revengeful, merciless, and wicked far beyond his kind. ”

“ A perfect yell of joy burst from many in the crowd, who thus gave vent to their pent-up feelings as they saw the splendid form of Frank Powell, the Surgeon Scout, in uniform, stride into the midst of the scene.
“Ah! doc, just in time to keep me from killing this gent, and being made a target of myself for half a hundred bullets,” said Buffalo Bill, still unmoved.
“It seems that I am just in time, Bill, and if I mistake not there are men in this crowd who will dangle at a rope’s end for this work, if they harm a hair of your head. ”

“ The splendid pluck of Buffalo Bill, at bay against [169] a crowd, delighted many present. But those who surrounded him were his foes, and the better element hung back, feeling that a terrible scene must follow the first shot fired.
Pistols felt his situation keenly. The danger had sobered him. His desire was to see Buffalo Bill hanged by the crowd, and it began to look as though he would not be there to witness it. He felt how certain death was for him if his comrades pushed the scout to extremes. ”

“ When the maiden was rescued, and the outlaws brought prisoners into camp, the excitement was intense, and disciplined soldiers though they were, there were mutterings of such intense hatred heard against Silk Lasso Sam that a double guard was placed about him.
That they had all been most cleverly taken in, every officer had to admit, though they could not but admire the magnificent nerve and daring of the outlaw chief, who they realized was no ordinary man, and hoped that an end would soon come to his many red deeds when he died on the gallows. ”

“ You have conquered again, Arden, and by the most accursed act that ever a man was guilty of. I am a Mexican, and women of my race have hot blood that is bitterly revengeful. It seems idle to threaten a man who stands in your position, with the noose of the hangman about his neck, but yet, I now long for you to live that I may make you feel how Nina de Sutro can avenge an insult. ”

“ Pioneer Post was a gem as a frontier post, for it was charmingly located upon a bluff overhanging a river, with sloping hills stretching down from the plateau on the summit to the plains below, and a vast expanse of scenery upon every side.
Strongly built, it was well armed and an ideal fort. Many officers had their families there, and Colonel Dunwoody, the bachelor commandant, had a most hospitable staff, while he was ever ready to add to the enjoyment and comfort of those under his command. ”

“ Of course, it will be known that you escaped, and Colonel Dunwoody will have half his force on your track, for Surgeon Powell will be supposed to have been killed, and that will make those who search for him most revengeful.”
“That is so, sister.”
“I am sorry that this was not an escape without violence, and, as I fear, the death of the driver.”
“How could it be without violence or death with the Surgeon Scout along, Ruth, for you know it would have been easier to have mastered a guard of half a dozen men than Powell, unless by a blow when he did not expect it. He is an extraordinary man.” ”

“ Just as she reached the end of the parade she came suddenly upon an officer, who started slightly, and, as he saw her face pale, said quickly:
“Do not be alarmed, Miss Arden, for I could never betray a woman, and your secret is safe with me.”
“You recognize me then, Surgeon Powell?”
“Yes, as Bonnie Belle, and Buffalo Bill also recognized you, but to no one else than myself has he made it known. We both know, Miss Arden, that you are here to rescue Silk Lasso Sam, and you are playing a bold game daringly; but it is our duty to thwart you if we can. ”

“ With dexterous hand, she unmasked the man and herself at the same instant, revealing the faces of the Cavalier of the Rio Grande and Nina de Sutro.
“My God! Nina, you here?” gasped the man, his face turning livid in the moonlight.
“Yes, Austin Marvin, I am here on your track. I loved you, my hero among men, with all my heart and soul. Believing you an honorable man, I fled from the convent with you, to become your wife, though a mere girl. ”

“ But into the arena rode the unknown, and, dismounting, he threw his glove down at the feet of the champion. It was promptly picked up by the victor, who was the commander of a crack command of lancers, and the two soon advanced to face each other.
Like fiery serpents the steel blades writhed around each other and flashed in the sunlight, and men, and women, too, had begun to feel that at last the unknown had more than met his match.
“The unknown was a fool to offer combat to Major Delano, after being tired out with his other combats,” said a rich banker, a kinsman of Nina de Sutro. ”

“ Buffalo Bill smiled serenely. It was a smile that some who saw it felt boded mischief. Then he said complacently:
“I never seek trouble, gentlemen, unless I am after a man I know needs running down, and duty compels me. I sought no trouble with your comrade, and merely accepted his challenge, so he can turn it into any game that suits his humor best.”
“Here he comes now,” cried a voice, and just then Pistols was seen approaching the table where Buffalo Bill sat, a cigar between his teeth. ”

“ I took Buffalo Bill’s trail and followed him here, for somehow I feared he might need aid. You have saved us both by your timely coming, unless these gentlemen wish to push their quarrel to a conclusion.”
But the gentlemen did not seem to be so inclined, or, if they did, the words of Bonnie Belle checked them, for she said sternly:
“No, there will be no trouble here, for the man who raises a weapon against you I will kill. As for you, Pistols, if you ever enter my hotel or this saloon again, I will see that you do not do so a second time. Shuffles, do you hear what I say about this man?” ”

“ Thus the men parted on the trail, the Surgeon Scout mounted on the best horse, which was led by Silk Lasso Sam.
The outlaw chief appeared to have a direct purpose in view, and to know the country thoroughly, for he kept steadily on, the Surgeon Scout seemingly indifferent to what was going on.
Toward sunset he came to a good spot for a camp, and was just coming to a halt when a horse and rider appeared in sight. The chief started and dropped his hand upon his revolver, as though to stand at bay, when the Surgeon Scout said sternly:
“Hold! do not fire upon a woman.” ”

“ I thank you for your kindness in coming to me, for it shows a forgiving spirit and sacrifice of self, and my sister will appreciate it I know.”
Clarice could say no more to such a man. She, too, was not one to believe that a man can sin at will, commit the most heinous of crimes, and then, when the law gets its clutch upon him and he can sin no more, when the shadow of death is upon him, that he can turn from his wickedness to prayer, to repentance, as a drowning man catches at a straw. ”

“ I have tried hard to redeem my misguided brother, Miss De Sutro, to bring him back from the path he has chosen, but all in vain, and now he sees an ignominious death staring him in the face, and I thank Heaven that our father and mother are both dead, and that I alone remain to suffer the ignominy and despair of his deeds which bring him in shame to the grave. ”

“ At last, after a silence that began to be painful to Nina de Sutro, in spite of her nerve, and her daring defiance of the man, the outlaw said:
“I am remarkably situated, I think.”
“How so?”
“Well, I have a beautiful wife, who has learned to love another man, who in his turn loves another. That other is my lovely sister, about whom all that is known is that she is the sister of Silk Lasso Sam.” ”

“ She was wont to dress neatly about the hotel and in attending to her other duties there, and when out for a ride on one of her spirited horses wore a buckskin habit and gold-embroidered sombrero.
Kind to all, with charity for men’s failings and sins, and generosity toward all in suffering and distress, Bonnie Belle had won the hearts of all the miners, as well as their admiration and respect.
Not the most hardened villain in the camp would have dared say aught to cast a slur upon Bonnie Belle if he valued his life, for he would have been seized and made an example of very quickly. ”

“ I followed, for I believed that you intended to rescue your brother,” said Buffalo Bill. “I believed that you went to the fort to accomplish it by strategy, and, finding yourself thwarted, gave it up. Then, I frankly confess, my idea was that you intended to accomplish by force what you had failed to do by strategy, that is, secure a number of [184] men here who would follow your lead and thus rescue your brother.”
“No, I would not accomplish his rescue, save his life even, by the taking of another life. What I could not accomplish by strategy I would not do by force.” ”

“ But you give up, do you; the man is lost to you?”
“I must.”
“And you really believe that he loves my sister?”
“I know that he does.”
“Then aid me to escape so that there can be no barrier to their union, for of all men I believe I would rather have her wed Colonel Dunwoody than any one I know, for he would make her a noble husband.”
“I am sure of that.”
“And you had better fish in other waters for a lover.”
“I?”
“Yes, for there is Surgeon Frank Powell, Captain Dick Caruth, Buffalo Bill—and I’ll name no others, for those three strike me as men worth striving for. ”

“ In answer to the remark of the man that he played for big stakes, Buffalo Bill asked in his quiet way:
“What do you call big stakes, pard?”
“What does I call big stakes?”
“Yes, that is the question I asked.”
“Waal, I call a game without a limit big money.”
“Are you able to stand a game without a limit?”
“Is I? Ask my pards if I can’t call yer at a thousand and pay if I loses.” ”

“ No, Captain Kindon, I will not say the word, for I wish no man’s life upon my conscience, where it can be avoided. The mines will be the better for the taking off of those men, Tom and Jerry, and it would make it more respectable to rid us of this man Pistols. He has no mine or claim here, carries his fortune with him, I believe, so give him until sunrise to get out of the camps, while, that he may not be lonesome, let this man who was leading the attack upon Surgeon Powell and Buffalo Bill go with him. ”

“ She was dressed in black, slouch-hat, sable plume and all, as a mark of respect, and carried in her hand a small basket.
“Comrades,” she said with one of her sweetest smiles, and placing her hand gently upon the head of the dead man lying in the coffin, “I thank you all for coming here, for we are burying to-day a friend, one whom we can all call by that sacred name, a name so often abused. You knew poor Shuffles as he was yesterday, the day before, and always, true as steel, generous to a fault, and a good man as far as he understood right and wrong. ”

“ I would have done as much for him had I had him in my place.”
“You are a very remarkable man, Arden, and if you had devoted to good deeds the talent and energy you have to evil ones, you would have made a very great name.”
“I have as it is, for Silk Lasso Sam, the outlaw chief, is the talk of barracks, camp-fire, stage-station, mines, and, in fact, all along the frontier, while I am certainly greatly feared.”
“And you are glad to be feared?”
“Why not, for if I cannot be loved I can be feared. But you had some other motive in deciding not to aid me to escape.” ”

“ But Nina de Sutro had seized the reins, and, to her great delight, the vehicle was swept upon a bar, where its downward course was arrested, and the horses regained their footing once more.
Poor Pedro!
“Alas! we, too, must go to join him soon,” said Sister Felicite, with calm resignation.
“Yes, sister, the waters are flowing more rapidly, and we will soon be swept away,” was the response of the young girl, who was still cool and full of nerve, though her face had blanched at thus being confronted by what appeared to be sure death. ”

“ The fate of the other two detectives was uncertain. What it all meant could only be surmised.
The colonel could not find it in his heart to connect Ruth Arden, as he knew her, with this tragic escape [280] of her brother. It did not seem like the woman he had met to plan an escape where death must ensue; the innocent fall to save the wicked outlaw chief.
In the fort there was a diversity of opinion, and all were very freely expressed. Clarice Carr did not know what to believe, while Nina de Sutro, after thinking the matter over, said to herself:
“That is the work of that girl and no one else. ”

“ With Colonel Dunwoody, I am not one to cast the slightest censure upon her for wishing to save her wicked brother from the gallows, and I admire her pluck, but only hope Powell has not been a sufferer by it.”
“I most sincerely echo your hope, Lester, that Powell has come to no harm by this escape,” said Colonel Dunwoody, and Colonel De Sutro expressed the same wish. ”

“ The man leaped to his feet, and, tottering, fell into the road below, while his companion on the other cliff fired a shot into the coach. At the same moment the horseman shouted:
“Ha! that is your game, is it, Ribbons?”
With his words, he pulled trigger, and the driver sank back dead on his seat.
“Ho, men, head off this coach, and I’ll see who this gamecock is who dares fire upon Silk Lasso Sam and his band,” and the horseman spurred toward the coach, when several shots rang out of the window, one of which dropped his horse and another wounded him in the shoulder. ”