Prentiss Ingraham

“ Captain Lawless gave another laugh—a laugh that held a ringing note of triumph.
“I am not the fool you think me,” he went on. “The Forty Thieves is a bonanza, but it will never belong to you. You and your pards are on my trail, and when you are out of the way, I can take possession of the mine and work it myself. There is a method in my plans. Your greed to get possession of the mine, which you knew to be valuable, and which you believed I thought worthless, has placed you in the jaws of death. Two of your pards are already in my hands. ”

“ He started up, and, just as he rose, the scout sprang erect, and came to hand-grips with him.
“Buffler Bill!” gasped the outlaw.
“Tex!” exclaimed the scout, with a short laugh. “You’re not much of a sniper, Tex. What are you doing with your ears?”
The outlaw swore heartily, and began to fight.
Buffalo Bill had seen this man, whom Lawless and his gang called ‘Tex,’ and it was easy to recognize the fellow’s huge bulk, in spite of the screening darkness.
A powerful man was Tex, and he marshaled all his strength for what he must have believed to be a fight for life. ”

“ A slight smile curled the gambler’s lips. “I was not intimidated. When you had stayed in the mine the length of time agreed on, I gave you the deed; you made out another deed to Wah-coo-tah Lawless, and the Forty Thieves now stands, in the recorder’s office at Montegordo, in the name of Wah-coo-tah. It is out of Lawless’ hands.”
“The mine should belong to Wah-coo-tah,” said the scout, “and you did exactly right, Gentleman Jim. Lawless is a contemptible scoundrel, with no more heart in him than a timber-wolf. In losing the mine, he got his come-up-with for that part of his trickery.” ”

“ By the time Buffalo Bill had returned to the break in the wall with the pick, Nomad was waiting for him with two more half-burned candles, and with a shovel.
“Ther shovel is all I could find, Buffler,” said the trapper.
“That’s enough, Nick. We have a pick and shovel, and there are only two of us to work. Light all the candles, and wedge them into the wall in places where they will give us the most light. We’ve got to hurry. There’s no telling how much air Wild Bill has in there, nor how long he can hold out. What’s more, Lawless and his gang may return at any moment and interrupt our work.” ”

“ The tunnel was full of angles, and Wild Bill went clear to the breast of it, and whirled around with his back to the rocks. He had not found a trace of the trapper in the entire length of the level!
“Well!” exclaimed Wild Bill, looking blankly into the scout’s face. “What sort of a hocus-pocus do you call this, Cody? Disagreeable surprises! By gorry, Dell was right. We no more than get into the mine before they’re sprung on us.”
Without speaking, Buffalo Bill turned and picked his way back to the shaft, sweeping the candlelight about him and examining every nook and cranny as he went. ”

“ At that moment Gentleman Jim called Nomad and the rest, and they went out, to find the gambler and his wife standing side by side, the gambler’s arm about his wife’s waist.
“Boys,” said Gentleman Jim, in a voice resonant with feeling, “they say it’s always darkest just before dawn. It has seemed to have been that way with me. This little woman, dearer to me than any one else in the world, has been hunting the West over for a year, trying to locate me. It was in Montegordo that she got the clue that brought her toward Sun Dance. ”

“ I want more men, and if any of you are game enough to ride to Medicine Bluff with me this morning, you’ve got a chance. It’s not often that Captain Lawless has to go drumming for men, and the chance won’t come your way again.”
It was plain that Lawless had been spending money freely for liquor. The men who listened to him were in an amiable and receptive mood. While he indulged in his particularly bold talk, roars of approval, such as the scout and Dell had heard at the edge of camp, went up again and again. ”

“ Getting together the remnants of my fortune, I sent the pitiable sum to Alice, then I came West and made gambling my profession. I have tried to be square, and have been fairly successful. But what is it all worth, Buffalo Bill, compared to the love and companionship of a woman? There is no happiness for me, and never has been since I cut away from every tie that made life worth living.”
The gambler, stirred by some slumbering impulse, got up and once more began pacing the room. ”

“ De Bray was still lying unconscious on the ground; Hotchkiss was lifting himself on his uninjured arm, and staring at his revolver, which lay at a distance from him; Pete and Billings were huddled against the dashboard, and four masked men had their rifles leveled to prevent any further act of resistance.
“Take the horses’ heads, one of you!” yelled Lawless. “No more shooting; we’ve got this little game right where we want it. The woman has fainted. Two of you take her and carry her to the horses—one of you is enough to keep track of this bunch.” ”

“ The Indian who was not hampered with a prisoner had whirled his pony about, thrown his rifle to his shoulder, and was drawing a bead on Tenny.
As Cayuse straightened up, after securing the revolvers from the slain Cheyenne, he saw the leveled rifle and realized Tenny’s peril. The only thing that would save Tenny was a quick shot.
Without taking aim, Cayuse let fly a bullet. As fortune would have it, the bullet struck the Cheyenne in the arm. The rifle was discharged, but, its aim being deflected at the moment the trigger was pulled, Tenny was saved by the fraction of an inch. ”

“ In a little while the provision-bags and the canteens were lowered, untied from the end of the rope and carried by Nomad and Wild Bill into the level.
“Now,” cried the scout, “haul up the rope, Dell, and go off to the gully with the horses.”
“You’re sure there’s no one down there besides yourselves?” called the girl anxiously.
The scout’s reassuring laugh bounded upward between the rocky walls.
“We’re absolutely sure, Dell. We’re safe enough down here. If there’s any trouble, the chances are that you and Cayuse will see the most of it. Don’t do any worrying about us.” ”

“ There is no more romantic character in American history than William F. Cody, or as he was internationally known, Buffalo Bill. He, with Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, Wild Bill Hickok, General Custer, and a few other adventurous spirits, laid the foundation of our great West.
There is no more brilliant page in American history than the winning of the West. Never did pioneers live more thrilling lives, so rife with adventure and brave deeds as the old scouts and plainsmen. Foremost among these stands the imposing figure of Buffalo Bill. ”

“ Still Cayuse kept a still tongue.
“I don’t like ther outlook, Buffler,” said Nomad, with a gruesome shake of his shaggy head. “Ther kid ’u’d tork, only he hates ter gloom us up.”
“There are times, old pard,” said the scout, “when you seem to be shy even an average amount of horse-sense. If you continue to talk and act as though you were locoed, I won’t take you to the mine at all, but will leave you in Sun Dance.” ”

“ The hitching-post, loosened by long use, had been torn from the ground the tremendous strain placed upon it by the steer. Tenny, hanging to the extreme end of the rope, had turned a somersault in the air and landed on his head. The steer, with its helpless burden, dashed on across the road and vanished behind the walls of the Spread Eagle honkatonk.
“The animile is chasin’ straight fer the precipice!” bawled Lonesome Pete, beginning to run. “It’ll go over the precipice an’ the man’ll be done fer!” ”

“ Water continued to pour through the break in the cañon wall and to push forward the flood that raced down the defile.
How Navi ever covered those two miles Little Cayuse never knew. He realized, after what seemed like a thousand years of torment but which in reality was less than a thousand seconds, that he was caught by the rushing waters half-way up the slope leading from the cañon’s bed to the mouth of the gully. ”

“ Lawless called out something in the Cheyenne tongue. Wah-coo-tah answered, and her words were like the screech of an enraged panther.
“Wah-coo-tah,” went on Lawless, “is ready to die to help her father, if need be. Your fate will come to you at sunrise, Buffalo Bill, and I will have my revenge, even [159] if it is necessary to sacrifice the girl. That ought to show you I mean business.”
“It shows me that you are a more contemptible scoundrel than I had supposed,” answered the scout calmly. “Are you going to get out of this level?” ”

“ The boy has never yet failed me.”
“Lawless is eager for you to follow him,” pursued the gambler; “that was the word he sent by Billings.”
“That was only bluster,” said the scout lightly. “Lawless’ weak point is bluster. He lays clever plans, but he usually overreaches himself. Offering to give me the Forty Thieves Mine if I would stay in it for three days and nights is only a sample of his harebrained schemes.”
“What a cur the scoundrel must be,” growled Gentleman Jim, “to take such trinkets from a woman!” ”

“ As the scout knelt on the platform, his back was toward the gleaming, malevolent eyes.
Big Thunder—for the man in the thicket was the Ponca—thought that the hour for his revenge had struck. Slowly his rifle arose to his shoulder, he drew a bead on [67] the form that topped the ore-dump, and one long finger caressed the rifle’s trigger.
The finger, however, did not press the trigger. At the critical moment, Big Thunder lowered the rifle, and laid it carefully down beside him.
There might be other white men in the vicinity, and the sound of the rifle-shot would be heard. ”

“ He has set this blast so as to wall up the crosscut and leave you in a rock cell. Clancy says that you won’t be hurt by the flying rock when the blast goes off, but that you’ll be walled in so you can’t get out. You’ll not have any water or food, and you’ll not have much air. That can’t be helped.”
“You’re a fiend!” gritted Wild Bill, glaring at the calm face of Lawless.
“This job of salt is going to win out. Bingham will find less gold in the Forty Thieves than he imagined; but, if he digs away the barrier we’re going to throw up, he’ll find something else here that will surprise him.” ”

“ An outlet from the mine seemed such a simple thing to find, and yet it had baffled him. The whole mystery, in a less matter-of-fact mind than the scout’s, or Wild Bill’s, would have taken on a supernatural aspect.
“I’m up the biggest kind of a stump, Cody,” admitted Wild Bill, “and the more we try to solve the riddle, the higher up I get. The stone in the wall seems to be as solid as Gibraltar, and if there was a hole—even a masked opening—leading to another passage, there would certainly be some kind of a ‘break’ in the side of the level. But there isn’t any break—the walls are continuous.” ”

“ Lawless, grabbing Billings by the collar and jerking him upright, stared venomously into his eyes.
“See what’s happened!” growled Lawless, “and you have only yourselves to blame. Here’s something else for you to tell Buffalo Bill—and it’s something more to make him take my trail and try for a clean-up. That’s what I want. I’m ready for the king of scouts, and we’ll see how he comes out. Meanwhile, here’s something for you to deliver to Gentleman Jim, in Sun Dance—a locket, a ring, and a note. He’ll understand. Tell him that Lawless never forgets his debts.” ”

“ The quietly effective way in which Buffalo Bill had back-capped the barkeeper had made a profound impression upon the rascals whom Lawless was trying to interest in his criminal operations. Now to have the scout call Lawless his prisoner hinted of more power than he visibly possessed. How could one man stand up against eight and appear so confident? ”

“ The scout and the trapper worked like galley-slaves. By degrees the voice on the other side of the wall became clearer as the barrier diminished; then, suddenly, the voice ceased altogether.
[81]
“What does thet mean?” panted Nomad, pausing a second to peer at his pard.
“Hickok!” shouted the scout, likewise pausing.
No answer came back.
“It means,” went on Buffalo Bill, “that we’ve got to work faster than ever. Wild Bill has succumbed to the foul air, and he’ll die if we don’t get him out before many minutes.” ”

“ This procedure was strictly in line with the scout’s generous nature. As for staying in Sun Dance Cañon [193] and developing the Forty Thieves, the very thought of it brought a smile to his lips.
He could not imagine himself turning from the free life of the plains and mountains to the narrow confines of a mine and the life of a miner.
First, however, he must trail down Captain Lawless and rescue old Nomad and Wild Bill. He would not allow himself to suppose that Lawless would deal cold-bloodedly with his pards, and thought only of pursuing the outlaw to Medicine Bluff and effecting a rescue. ”