THE STRANGE BATTLE IN THE WITCH'S CAVE.
"Quick! Into the woods, boys!" snapped the world-famous desperado.
Instantly the bandits sprang to obey.
Fully ten feet away were the evergreens.
Desperately the men sought to gain their cover.
But less than half the distance had they traversed when from above
there rang out in stentorian command:
"Fire!"
R-r-rip! crashed the sharp, staccato volley of carbines.
The aim of the cavalrymen was deadly.
With shrieks of pain, three of the outlaws threw up their hands and
pitched forward.
Convulsively their bodies twitched for a few moments and then lay
still, while their life blood oozed from wounds in their backs,
saturating their clothes and making soggy the ground on which they lay.
With a terrible oath, the world-famous desperado hissed:
"Don't try to return the fire. Our pistols won't carry up the cliff.
Into the woods! Leave the bodies!"
As they saw the desperadoes continue their flight without stopping to
take their dead pals with them, a mighty cheer broke from the soldiers.
And, while it echoed, again the deep-lunged voice bellowed:
"Fire!"
Once more the rattle of the musketry rang out.
But this time no men fell.
The outlaws had gained the protection of the evergreens.
"Who's here?" demanded Jesse, a strange tremor in his voice. "Answer to
your names as I call them."
So sudden had been their dash from the unprotected trail of the cliff
to the woods that none of the outlaws knew who of their number had
fallen victims to the terrible rain of lead that had been literally
poured down on them from the edge of the precipice above.
And it was with bated breath that they heard their leader say:
"Comanche Tony!"
"O.K."
"Wild Bill?"
"Here."
"Texas Jack?"
"Here."
"Sam Dirks?"
Heavily the others drew in their breath as no one answered.
"Sam Dirks?" repeated Jesse, in hushed tone. "Poor Sam."
"Frank?"
"Here."
"Homely Harry?"
"O.K."
"Bud Noble?"
Again there was no answer.
"Bob Moore?"
Silence greeted this name also.
A moment later the bandits stood.
The calling of the roll in the sombre setting of the overhanging
branches of the evergreen trees, through which, here and there, the
moonlight filtered, amid the crash of the carbines and the whistle of
the bullets, as they searched out the possible hiding place of the
little band of fugitives, was dramatic in the extreme.
And the outlaws, rough and desperate men as they were, were cowed
as they realized that the same death they had visited upon so many
helpless mortals, had thinned their own ranks.
And the shock was all the greater for the reason that they had
practised their nefarious pastime with such seeming immunity that they
had come to look upon themselves as bearing charmed lives.
Not long, however, were they left to their thoughts.
Of a sudden, above the cheering of the troopers, above the rattle
of the musketry, above the shrilling of the bullets rang the wild,
blood-curdling war whoops of infuriated redskins.
"Quick, on your bellies under the trees!" whispered Jesse. "We'll let
the devils charge the soldiers and may they battle till every one,
Injun and trooper, falls dead!"
But just as the bandits were obeying their leader, there sounded from
close beside them a plaintive:
"Jess Jame! Jess Jame! Don' lie down. Injun see um dead paleface, hunt
um wood. Injun no care sojer, want Jess Jame.
"Come Dew Drop. Dew Drop show um place hide."
As she uttered the last words, the amazed desperadoes saw a slender
creature, clad in what seemed an old wrapper, part the branches of the
tree near which they stood.
An instant the world-famous desperado hesitated.
"If the bucks see the corpses and don't find us in the woods won't they
search the place you're going to take us?" he asked, anxiously.
"No. Dew Drop take um cave Kaw-Kaw, Injun witch. Injun fraid go in
Kaw-Kaw cave."
"Well, we won't be any worse off than we will here, that's sure. But
why you want to help us I don't see. However, we'll take the chance.
Come on, boys."
And, following the Indian maiden, the outlaws wound in and out among
the evergreens till they reached a black hole, like a cavernous maw, in
the cliff from which was exhaled a curiously intoxicating aroma.
"Paleface no make noise. Kaw-Kaw deaf, no hear. Lie down, no see. Dew
Drop lie nex' Jess Jame so can talk."
Wondering what adventure was in store for them, the bandits quickly did
as the Indian maiden told them, their chief choosing a place near the
mouth of the cave with his chum at his side.
Scarcely had the world-famous desperado squatted down, with Dew Drop
on his left and Comanche Tony on his right, than howls and yells of
exultation reached them, telling them that the savages had discovered
the three dead bodies at the foot of the cliff.
"By my scalp! we didn't git hyar any too soon, I reckon, jedgin' by
them whoops," whispered the old Indian fighter.
But his master paid him no heed.
The action of the red-hued maiden in coming to him when he was in such
sore need puzzled him, and he was racking his brain to remember whether
or not he had ever seen her before.
Unable to place her, his mind once more reverted to the thought that
her opportune appearance might have been but a part of a plot conceived
by Great Bear to lure him and his men to the cave of the witch that
they might be slaughtered without chance of escape.
If such were, in truth, the case, he and his companions were wasting
precious moments.
Determined to end his suspense, Jesse clutched the maiden in a
vice-like grip with his left hand, raising his bowie knife in his
right, ready to plunge it into her heart, as he whispered in a tense,
hoarse voice:
"Tell me why you brought me here! Was it at Great Bear's order? Tell
the truth, as you hope to carry your scalp to the Happy Hunting Ground!"
Startled by the suddenness of the move and frightened by the stern face
peering into hers, her eyes rivetted on the keen edged blade, Dew Drop
blinked.
But a rough shake recalled her to the necessity of replying.
"No, no!" she gasped. "Great Bear no know Dew Drop left tepee. He kill
um if knew."
"Then what made you?"
"Dew Drop want save um Jess Jame."
"Why?"
"Jess Jame save um Dew Drop."
"_I_ save _you_?" repeated the bandit-chieftain, surprised in his turn.
"When? What do you mean?"
"Kaw-Kaw say Great Spirit want Dew Drop be squaw um son Dog Face. Dew
Drop no want. No like Dog Face. Dog Face bad Injun. Kaw-Kaw say must.
Have heap pow-wow.
"Little Wolf come tepee say um hunting um see paleface burned
Silverstock cabin, Jess Jame.
"Great Bear ask where.
"Little Wolf say canyon.
"Dog Face say get um Jess Jame scalp give squaw.
"Great Bear take Dog Face, Little Wolf twenty Injun leave um pow-wow go
git Jess Jame.
"Dew Drop no know what happen."
"Great Bear five Injun come run tepee say Jess Jame on cliff, kill um
Injun, kill um Dog Face.
"Kaw-Kaw say must scalp um Jess Jame or cuss um Great Bear.
"Great Bear make heap talk. Call um brave go back get Jess Jame.
"Dew Drop no wait hear more.
"Jess Jame save Dew Drop from Dog Face. Dew Drop save Jess Jame from
Great Bear.
"Dew Drop git cliff see um paleface come down. Dew Drop call. Sojer
shoot.
"Dew Drop 'fraid Jess Jame get um lead. When see no dead, hear um Great
Bear.
"Dew Drop think where hide.
"Dew Drop think um cave Kaw-Kaw.
"Jess Jame in Kaw-Kaw cave."
Like a torrent the Indian maiden poured forth her story and as the
world-famous desperado learned the strange reason for her friendship,
he exclaimed:
"Well, I'll be jiggered! So my men killed Dog Face, eh? I guess we can
trust you, if that's the way things are.
"I'm sure mighty glad we put an end to your prospective husband."
"But she said Kaw-Kaw was in the cave when we got here, and just now
she tells us she's at the pow-wow," breathed Comanche Tony, who had
heard the remarkable tale.
"How about that?" demanded Jess sharply, his suspicions rekindled by
the seeming discrepancy in Dew Drop's statement.
"Kaw-Kaw in um cave," returned the maiden with positiveness. "When um
hear Great Bear say go back git um Jess Jame, Kaw-Kaw say go um cave
get um cuss ready case Great Bear no get um Jess Jame."
"So that smell's the old hag's curses, a brewin', eh?" chuckled Tony.
"I'm glad they're for Great Bear and his bucks and not me, if they're
that strong."
But further speech was stopped by the sudden appearance of three tall
forms, looming in the entrance of the cave.
Crouching low, the bandit-chieftain watched them, stealthily drawing
his shooting-irons.
Yet before he could extract them from his holsters, he felt Dew Drop's
hand on his arm, restrainingly.
Turning toward her, wondering what she meant, he saw her shake her
head vigorously, at the same time pressing upon his arm.
"Evidently doesn't want me to shoot," reasoned Jesse. "I reckon she
knows more about what's best in this witch-den than I do."
And he silently dropped his guns back into their holsters.
The old Indian fighter had been a spectator of the pantomime and as he
saw his chief relinquish his weapons, he did likewise.
All this had taken but a few seconds, and even while it was
transpiring, one of the bucks was jabbering excitedly.
What he was saying, the bandits did not know, for the redmen spoke in
their own language.
Yet from the jumble of guttural sounds, they occasionally distinguished
the words "Jess Jame" and "Kaw-Kaw."
But if they could not understand what was said they could see what was
happening.
The jabberings of the excited bucks had been carried on in loud tones.
Scarcely had they begun than the outlaws beheld a bent and bowed figure
hobble into the light at the mouth of the cave, leaning on a crooked
staff.
At her approach, the warriors drew back.
In shrill tones the figure, whom they realized must be the witch,
Kaw-Kaw, harangued them, waving her staff as her excitement got the
better of her.
Soon she paused and the bucks replied.
Again the piping voice answered.
And, as she heard the words, Jesse could feel Dew Drop tremble, so
close was she to him.
Deciding because of this that whatever the gibberish meant it spelled
danger for himself and his men, the world-famous desperado again
whipped his hands to his pistol holsters.
And this time there was no objection from the Indian maiden by his side.
Yet before he could draw them, Kaw-Kaw hobbled from the cave, joining
the three braves and vanished from sight with them.
As they disappeared, Dew Drop breathed a sigh of intense relief.
Ere Jesse could utter the question that was on his lips, the
red-skinned maiden whispered:
"Quick! Quick! Get um paleface. Dew Drop take um back Kaw-Kaw cave
while um 'way."
Springing to her feet, the maid seized the hand of the bandit-chieftain
and dragged him back into the pall of blackness that enveloped the
witch's den.
Seeing their leader rise, his pals had followed suit, even before he
commanded in a low voice:
"Get up, boys. Take hold of one another. Follow me quickly!"
Had Kaw-Kaw returned to her den just then, she would have been filled
with amazement at the file of men, who threaded their way through
the maze of pots, tripods and implements dear to the heart of the
sorceress, led by the lithe, slim maiden.
But her amazement would have turned to alarm had she seen them enter
a second cave, which led from the first, the existence of which she
thought she herself alone knew.
So low was the opening into the inner den that the bandits were forced
to drop to their hands and knees.
"This is a fool's stunt, getting in farther instead of--" began Frank.
But his words were frozen in his mouth by a terrible, hair-raising
growl that sounded from the recesses of the cave.
"No 'fraid, no 'fraid!" gasped Dew Drop hurriedly. "Um Wa-Wa, Kaw-Kaw
bear. Um no hurt."
"Sure not, his growl doesn't sound fierce, I don't think!" ejaculated
Wild Bill.
But the Indian maiden, laughing softly, quickly allayed their fears by
adding:
"Wa-Wa no got claw, no got teeth.'"
"Well, the growl's the real thing, all right, all right," exclaimed
Jesse. "The old hag hasn't removed his hug, too, has she?"
"No-o," replied the maiden, doubtfully. "But Dew Drop know Wa-Wa. Um
play, Dew Drop an' Wa-Wa.
"Dew Drop come cave any day. Kaw-Kaw deaf no hear.
"Wa-Wa know Dew Drop. No hurt."
"That may be all right for you," snarled Frank, "but Wa-Wa may not take
so kindly to our coming."
The series of growls, growing in intensity and volume with each
successive outburst, that came from the monster, lent a force to the
outlaw's words that even the Indian maiden could not disregard.
"Wa-Wa!" she called, soothingly, adding something in her native tongue.
But the pet of the witch, Kaw-Kaw, as though he recognized among the
strangers, whose presence he scented, the man who had grievously
wronged his mistress by killing her son, refused to be pacified.
Each moment, his growls announced that he was getting nearer and nearer
to the bandits.
Of a sudden, two little balls of seeming phosphorous glowered at them,
as the brute came from behind a boulder.
"You can stand there like dummies, if you want to," snapped the elder
of the James boys. "_I'm going to shoot him!_"
"No! No! No shoot!" protested Dew Drop, in alarm.
"Why not?"
"Kaw-Kaw smell powder when um came back. Know some one in um cave. Make
heap cuss. Fin' um paleface. Call um Injun. Devil to pay!"
"I reckon the girl's right, Frank," declared his brother, smiling at
the words of his saviour. "It wouldn't take long for the old hag to
notice the odour of the saltpetre and when she called the bucks it
would be all over but the shouting.
"And I've no intention of adorning an Indian triumph."
"All right," grudgingly acquiesced the elder of the James boys. "I
won't shoot, but something's got to be done.
"I don't propose to stay in here with a bear walking round loose, if it
hasn't any teeth or claws."
This announcement expressed the feelings of the rest of the bandits,
yet what to do, they did not know.
And as they stood, in helpless perplexity, the brute itself solved
their dilemma.
As its wicked little eyes beheld the figures of the intruders in
its retreat, the monster reared on its hind legs, and with a roar,
deafening because of the narrow confines of the cave, charged at them,
laying about it viciously with its herculean paws.
In panic, the outlaws fled before it.
But the rock side of the den checked them.
Came a mighty swish and Comanche Tony fell, dropped by the clawless
paws of the monster.
And, in a trice, the bear stood over its unconscious victim, snarling
ominously.
The peril of their pal broke the spell of terror in which the outlaws
stood.
"Stab the brute! Tackle him, boys!" snapped Jesse, leaping toward the
monster as he spoke.
Instantly his comrades obeyed.
Drawing their keen-edged bowie-knives, they buried them to the hilts in
any part of the bear's body they could reach.
Stung by the sharp pains, the monster reared on its hind legs again,
lashing about viciously with its paws, emitting savage growls, awful in
their fury.
But its raising up was the beast's doom.
Crouching low, dodging the terrible lunges as a prize-fighter dodges
the blows of his adversary in the ring, the world-famous desperado
watched his chance.
Suddenly he saw the monster's breast unprotected.
With a lightning movement, the bandit-chieftain leaped forward.
In his right hand he clasped his bowie-knife.
His arm, bent close to his body, shot out.
And the force of his spring drove the keen-egded blade to the hilt,
straight through the bear's heart.
But so great was the power of resistance of the monster that, despite
the steel in its most vital organ, it seized Jesse in a mighty
embrace, holding him helpless as it staggered.
"T-trip it!" gasped the leader of the outlaws frantically, "I--I've
st-tabbed it."
Again his men sprang forward.
Yet before they could carry out their master's instructions, the bear
fell, its embrace unbroken.
Not long did it take the bandits to extricate their chief from his
uncomfortable position.
But as they raised him to his feet, they heard the sound of hoarse,
excited voices in the outer cave.
"The bucks have come back!" hissed Texas Jack.
"No, no Injun! Um paleface sojers!" gasped Dew Drop in consternation.
"No Injun come Kaw-Kaw cave."