Long and hard rode Tom Hardynge after his escape from the beleaguring Apaches, for he was determined to save Ned and Dick if the thing were within the range of human possibility. His mustang seemed to understand what was expected of him, and he required no urging from his master to maintain his arrowy flight. It was a literal race between life and death. If he could reach Fort Havens in time to procure succor, the man and the boy were saved. If not, then they were doomed.
At daylight he was among the mountains, and the steed paused a few seconds to swallow a little water from a tiny stream. An hour later he ascended an elevation, and from his back the rider took a survey of the plain stretched out before him.
Far away in the distance a dark, stationary object was discerned. A keen eye could detect something fluttering above it in the wind. That was the star-spangled banner, waving above Fort Havens. Yonder was the destination toward which the little party had been laboring for days and which there was no assurance of still reaching. The scout had not yet passed half the distance intervening between the fort and Hurricane Hill. Mercy to his beast compelled him to give him a brief rest and an opportunity to eat a little food. Then, away again.
It was the middle of the afternoon, and Tom was nearing the fort, which was in distinct view a few miles ahead, when his attention was arrested by the sight of a number of men moving along to the north, and in a contrary direction to that which he himself was following. They suddenly emerged from some hills, and rode at a sweeping gallop. What surprised the hunter was the discovery that they were United States cavalry, that had evidently come from Fort Havens itself! How their appearance could be explained was more than he could understand; but he saw at once that if their co-operation could be secured, several hours' valuable time might be saved. He turned the head of his mustang in that direction and rode at the same tearing speed as before.
The cavalry detected his coming, reined up and awaited his approach. The afternoon was well advanced when the hunter drew rein in front of the company, and saluted the chief officer, who was Colonel Chadmund himself, the commandant of Fort Havens, at the head of seventy-five veteran cavalry. He recognized the scout, and rode forward to meet him.
"Any news of my little boy, Tom?" he asked, before their palms crossed.
"Alive and well."
"Thank God! thank God!" exclaimed the white-faced officer, trembling with joy. "Have the Indians caught him?"
"No; but he is in danger. What are you doing with these men here?"
"An Indian came into the fort several hours ago, with the word that Lone Wolf and a party of Apaches had driven two or three persons to the top of Hurricane Hill, where they would soon be caught unless assistance was sent them. The Indian is one of our regular scouts, in whom we have much confidence, and thinking it might be you, with possibly my little Ned, I put myself at the head of the company and started out to see. I had very little hope, however, of seeing him alive, for news had reached us of the massacre of the escort party in Devil's Pass."
Hardynge, in a few minutes, explained the situation, and the colonel was all excitement to be off again. Every hour—every minute, indeed—was precious to him, and, as the two rode back, the advance was resumed without a moment's delay. Instead of proceeding back in a direct line, however, over the path traveled by the scout, they made a detour to the northward, the configuration of the country being such that a much nearer approach, undiscovered, could be made from this direction than from any other.
There were several extra horses in the company, one of which was appropriated by Tom, while he left his own to roam over the plain and reach the fort whenever his disposition should take him in that direction. Colonel Chadmund had taken the precaution to mount all his men upon the best steeds at command, and they were driven into a rapid, telling pace. They made good progress, but when the sun set they had not yet reached a point from which the most distant view of Hurricane Hill could be obtained. A more moderate speed was kept up until midnight, when they went into camp, picketed their animals, and resumed the march at daybreak. The horses were forced to the greatest possible endurance, but never did miles seem so long. It was high noon before a point among the hills on the north was reached from which a fair view of the pile of rocks could be obtained. Colonel Chadmund produced his glass, and scrutinized the towering-like mass, in quest of some sign of the defenders. Not the least could be obtained; but he saw at the base the band of Apaches, spread out like a miniature besieging army, and this, to the minds of all, was proof that the garrison of Hurricane Hill were still at the post of duty.
It was necessary to approach as close to the spot as possible without discovery, and then to charge down upon the Indians with such fiery impetuosity that they would have no time to inflict any damage upon the brave defenders. The appearance of the cavalry would apprise them that the siege was at an end, and in the gnawing rage thereat, they might charge up the incline and open a fire, which would riddle Dick and Ned and from which there would be no escape.
Colonel Chadmund understood Indian warfare so well as to know that Lone Wolf had his scouts out, and it would be a difficult matter to avoid them. Still the attempt was made, and by the middle of the afternoon, the cavalry had reached a point barely two miles away without his presence being suspected.
"I've been watching the place for half an hour," said the colonel, as he lowered his glass, and handed it to Tom Hardynge, standing at his elbow, "and it seems to me that the top of Hurricane Hill is deserted, although the Apaches at the base seem to point the other way."
"Of course, of course," replied the hunter, impatiently. "You don't 'spose they'd stand up in sight all the time, like a couple of spoonies gettin' their pictures took? They're watchin' the path that leads up to where they be."
It required but a few minutes to conclude their preparations, when the seventy odd cavalrymen, armed to the teeth, burst forth from the hills like a mountain torrent, and charged straight for Lone Wolf and his band. The latter, of course, were quick to detect it, and drew up with the purpose of making a fight; but when they took in the strength of the company approaching, they changed their minds, and broke and scattered like chaff before the whirlwind.
This was a severe disappointment, for the colonel and a dozen of his best Indian fighters had arranged to make a determined effort to rid the country of this pest. These were the best mounted in the company, and in their eagerness they sped straight ahead after the redskins, still hoping that some turn of fortune's wheel would give them the coveted chance. But the mustangs of the Apaches were fresh and fleet, and they had no purpose of meeting the United States cavalry where there was anything like an equal advantage; so they continued their flight with such persistent celerity that they soon vanished from view.
The heart of Colonel Chadmund misgave him as he galloped toward Hurricane Hill and saw no sign of life there. But while he was alternating between hope and despair, the figure of a man appeared around the corner of the rock, and then the form of a little boy was discerned, as he came running across the prairie with out-stretched arms.
"Oh, father! father!"
Colonel Chadmund leaped from the back of his horse and ran to meet him.
"My darling boy! God be thanked!"
The stern old soldier wept like a child as he caught him in his arms and hugged him to his breast, while more than one rough soldier, looking on, dashed the tears from his eyes and tried to look as if he were thinking of something else.
The danger was passed. Little Ned, carried in triumph to the fort, remained the appointed time with his father at this advanced frontier post, and when he returned to Santa Fe to his beloved mother it was with an escort which guaranteed his safety.
Thus ended his adventures with what were then the scourges of the great Southwest, but the memory of them is indelible and not to be subdued by the lapse of years. In his manhood days he looks back upon those troublous times when the wild riders left the bones of venturesome white men to whiten upon the banks of the Gila; and, although remembrance brings its thrill of excitement, it is coupled with a shudder whenever Ned Chadmund thinks of his passage "Through Apache Land."
Volume III of The War Whoop Series is entitled "In the Pecos Country."
Is extensively used by schools and colleges for supplementary reading. It is issued in attractive 16mo shape, paper covers, printed from clear, readable type, on good paper. Many of the volumes are illustrated.
1. Abbé Constantin. Ludovic Halévy.2. Æsop's Fables.3. Black Beauty. Anna Sewell.4. Bracebridge Hall. Irving.5. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Byron.6. Coming Race. Bulwer.7. Cranford. Mrs. Gaskell.8. Crown of Wild Olive. Ruskin.9. Discourses of Epictetus.10. Dreams. Olive Schreiner.11. Dream Life. Ik Marvel.12. Drummond's Addresses.13. Emerson's Earlier Essays.14. Ethics of the Dust. Ruskin.15. Frankenstein. Mrs. Shelley.16. Uncle Tom's Cabin. Mrs. Stowe.17. Lady of the Lake. Scott.18. Lalla Rookh. Thomas Moore.19. Lamb's Essays of Elia.20. Lamb's Last Essays of Elia.21. Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, I.22. Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, II.23. Lays of Ancient Rome. Macaulay.24. Lays of Scottish Cavaliers.25. Light of Asia. Sir E. Arnold.26. Longfellow's Poems.27. Lowell's Poems.28. Mornings in Florence. Ruskin.29. One of the Profession. M. White, Jr.30. Paul and Virginia. B. St. Pierre.31. Pleasures of Life. Sir J. Lubbock.32. Poe's Poems.33. Princess. Tennyson.34. Queen of the Air. Ruskin.35. Rab and His Friends. Dr. J. Brown.36. Rasselas. Johnson.37. Reveries of a Bachelor. Ik Marvel.38. Representative Men. Emerson.39. Sartor Resartus. Carlyle.40. Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne.41. Sesame and Lilies. Ruskin.42. Ships that Pass in the Night. Beatrice Harraden.43. St. Mark's Rest. Ruskin.44. Thoughts from Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.45. Tillyloss Scandal. J. M. Barrie.46. Twice-Told Tales, I. Hawthorne.47. Twice-Told Tales, II. Hawthorne.48. In Memoriam. Tennyson.49. Vicar of Wakefield. Goldsmith.50. Whittier's Poems.51. Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. Holmes.52. Heroes and Hero Worship. Carlyle.53. Mosses from an Old Manse, I. Hawthorne.54. Mosses from an Old Manse, II Hawthorne.55. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.56. Song of Hiawatha. Longfellow.57. Evangeline, and Poems. Longfellow.58. Sketch Book. Irving.59. Stickit Minister. S. R. Crockett.60. House of the Seven Gables. Hawthorne.61. Poetical Works of Robert Browning.62. Paradise Lost. Milton.63. Hamlet. Shakespeare.64. Julius Caesar. Shakespeare.65. Book of Golden Deeds. Yonge.66. Child's History of England. Dickens.67. Confessions of an Opium Eater. De Quincey.68. Ten Nights in a Barroom. Arthur.69. Treasure Island. Stevenson.70. Tanglewood Tales. Hawthorne.71. In His Steps. Chas. M. Sheldon.72. Natural Law in the Spiritual World. Henry Drummond.73. Imitation of Christ. T. à Kempis.74. Paradise Regained. John Milton.75. Water Babies. Kingsley.76. Flower Fables. L. M. Alcott.77. Blithedale Romance. Hawthorne.78. Prue and I. G. W. Curtis.79. Grandfather's Chair. Hawthorne.80. Bacon's Essays.81. Idylls of the King. Tennyson.82. Wonder Book. Hawthorne.83. Cricket on the Hearth. C. Dickens.84. Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. Jerome K. Jerome.85. Inez. Augusta J. Evans.86. Kidnapped. R. L. Stevenson.87. Lucile. Owen Meredith.88. Phillips Brooks' Addresses.89. Prince of the House of David. Professor Ingraham.90. Three Men in a Boat. J. K. Jerome.
1. Abbé Constantin. Ludovic Halévy.
2. Æsop's Fables.
3. Black Beauty. Anna Sewell.
4. Bracebridge Hall. Irving.
5. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Byron.
6. Coming Race. Bulwer.
7. Cranford. Mrs. Gaskell.
8. Crown of Wild Olive. Ruskin.
9. Discourses of Epictetus.
10. Dreams. Olive Schreiner.
11. Dream Life. Ik Marvel.
12. Drummond's Addresses.
13. Emerson's Earlier Essays.
14. Ethics of the Dust. Ruskin.
15. Frankenstein. Mrs. Shelley.
16. Uncle Tom's Cabin. Mrs. Stowe.
17. Lady of the Lake. Scott.
18. Lalla Rookh. Thomas Moore.
19. Lamb's Essays of Elia.
20. Lamb's Last Essays of Elia.
21. Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, I.
22. Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, II.
23. Lays of Ancient Rome. Macaulay.
24. Lays of Scottish Cavaliers.
25. Light of Asia. Sir E. Arnold.
26. Longfellow's Poems.
27. Lowell's Poems.
28. Mornings in Florence. Ruskin.
29. One of the Profession. M. White, Jr.
30. Paul and Virginia. B. St. Pierre.
31. Pleasures of Life. Sir J. Lubbock.
32. Poe's Poems.
33. Princess. Tennyson.
34. Queen of the Air. Ruskin.
35. Rab and His Friends. Dr. J. Brown.
36. Rasselas. Johnson.
37. Reveries of a Bachelor. Ik Marvel.
38. Representative Men. Emerson.
39. Sartor Resartus. Carlyle.
40. Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne.
41. Sesame and Lilies. Ruskin.
42. Ships that Pass in the Night. Beatrice Harraden.
43. St. Mark's Rest. Ruskin.
44. Thoughts from Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.
45. Tillyloss Scandal. J. M. Barrie.
46. Twice-Told Tales, I. Hawthorne.
47. Twice-Told Tales, II. Hawthorne.
48. In Memoriam. Tennyson.
49. Vicar of Wakefield. Goldsmith.
50. Whittier's Poems.
51. Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. Holmes.
52. Heroes and Hero Worship. Carlyle.
53. Mosses from an Old Manse, I. Hawthorne.
54. Mosses from an Old Manse, II Hawthorne.
55. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.
56. Song of Hiawatha. Longfellow.
57. Evangeline, and Poems. Longfellow.
58. Sketch Book. Irving.
59. Stickit Minister. S. R. Crockett.
60. House of the Seven Gables. Hawthorne.
61. Poetical Works of Robert Browning.
62. Paradise Lost. Milton.
63. Hamlet. Shakespeare.
64. Julius Caesar. Shakespeare.
65. Book of Golden Deeds. Yonge.
66. Child's History of England. Dickens.
67. Confessions of an Opium Eater. De Quincey.
68. Ten Nights in a Barroom. Arthur.
69. Treasure Island. Stevenson.
70. Tanglewood Tales. Hawthorne.
71. In His Steps. Chas. M. Sheldon.
72. Natural Law in the Spiritual World. Henry Drummond.
73. Imitation of Christ. T. à Kempis.
74. Paradise Regained. John Milton.
75. Water Babies. Kingsley.
76. Flower Fables. L. M. Alcott.
77. Blithedale Romance. Hawthorne.
78. Prue and I. G. W. Curtis.
79. Grandfather's Chair. Hawthorne.
80. Bacon's Essays.
81. Idylls of the King. Tennyson.
82. Wonder Book. Hawthorne.
83. Cricket on the Hearth. C. Dickens.
84. Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. Jerome K. Jerome.
85. Inez. Augusta J. Evans.
86. Kidnapped. R. L. Stevenson.
87. Lucile. Owen Meredith.
88. Phillips Brooks' Addresses.
89. Prince of the House of David. Professor Ingraham.
90. Three Men in a Boat. J. K. Jerome.
G. A. Henty has long held the field as the most popular boys' author. Age after age of heroic deeds has been the subject of his pen, and the knights of old seem very real in his pages. Always wholesome and manly, always heroic and of high ideals, his books are more than popular wherever the English language is spoken.
Each volume is printed on excellent paper from new large-type plates, bound in cloth, assorted colors, with an attractive ink and gold stamp.
A Final ReckoningA Tale of Bush Life in AustraliaAmong the Malay PiratesBy England's AidThe Freeing of the NetherlandsBy Right of ConquestA Tale of Cortez in MexicoBravest of the BraveA Tale of Peterborough in SpainBy Pike and DykeThe Rise of the Dutch RepublicBy Sheer PluckA Tale of the Ashantee WarBonnie Prince CharlieA Tale of Fontenoy and CullodenCaptain Bayley's HeirA Tale of the Gold Fields of CaliforniaCat of BubastesA Story of Ancient EgyptColonel Thorndyke's SecretCornet of HorseA Tale of Marlborough's WarsFacing DeathA Tale of the Coal MinesFriends, though DividedA Tale of the Civil War in EnglandFor Name and FameA Tale of Afghan WarfareFor the TempleA Tale of the Fall of JerusalemIn Freedom's CauseA Story of Wallace and BruceIn the Reign of TerrorThe Adventures of a Westminster BoyIn Times of Peril A Tale of IndiaJack Archer A Tale of the CrimeaLion of St. MarkA Tale of Venice in the XIV. CenturyLion of the NorthA Tale of Gustavus AdolphusMaori and SettlerA Tale of the New Zealand WarOrange and GreenA Tale of the Boyne and LimerickOne of the 28th A Tale of WaterlooOut on the PampasA Tale of South AmericaRujub the JugglerSt. George for EnglandA Tale of Crécy and PoictiersSturdy and StrongTrue to the Old FlagA Tale of the RevolutionThe Golden CañonThe Lost HeirThe Young ColonistsA Tale of the Zulu and Boer WarsThe Young MidshipmanThe Dragon and the RavenA Tale of King AlfredThe Boy KnightA Tale of the CrusadesThrough the FrayA Story of the Luddite RiotsUnder Drake's FlagA Tale of the Spanish MainWith Wolfe in CanadaThe Tale of Winning a ContinentWith Clive in IndiaThe Beginning of an EmpireWith Lee in VirginiaA Story of the American Civil WarYoung CarthaginianA Story of the Times of HannibalYoung BuglersA Tale of the Peninsular WarYoung Franc-TireursA Tale of the Franco-Prussian War
A Final ReckoningA Tale of Bush Life in Australia
Among the Malay Pirates
By England's AidThe Freeing of the Netherlands
By Right of ConquestA Tale of Cortez in Mexico
Bravest of the BraveA Tale of Peterborough in Spain
By Pike and DykeThe Rise of the Dutch Republic
By Sheer PluckA Tale of the Ashantee War
Bonnie Prince CharlieA Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden
Captain Bayley's HeirA Tale of the Gold Fields of California
Cat of BubastesA Story of Ancient Egypt
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
Cornet of HorseA Tale of Marlborough's Wars
Facing DeathA Tale of the Coal Mines
Friends, though DividedA Tale of the Civil War in England
For Name and FameA Tale of Afghan Warfare
For the TempleA Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem
In Freedom's CauseA Story of Wallace and Bruce
In the Reign of TerrorThe Adventures of a Westminster Boy
In Times of Peril A Tale of India
Jack Archer A Tale of the Crimea
Lion of St. MarkA Tale of Venice in the XIV. Century
Lion of the NorthA Tale of Gustavus Adolphus
Maori and SettlerA Tale of the New Zealand War
Orange and GreenA Tale of the Boyne and Limerick
One of the 28th A Tale of Waterloo
Out on the PampasA Tale of South America
Rujub the Juggler
St. George for EnglandA Tale of Crécy and Poictiers
Sturdy and Strong
True to the Old FlagA Tale of the Revolution
The Golden Cañon
The Lost Heir
The Young ColonistsA Tale of the Zulu and Boer Wars
The Young Midshipman
The Dragon and the RavenA Tale of King Alfred
The Boy KnightA Tale of the Crusades
Through the FrayA Story of the Luddite Riots
Under Drake's FlagA Tale of the Spanish Main
With Wolfe in CanadaThe Tale of Winning a Continent
With Clive in IndiaThe Beginning of an Empire
With Lee in VirginiaA Story of the American Civil War
Young CarthaginianA Story of the Times of Hannibal
Young BuglersA Tale of the Peninsular War
Young Franc-TireursA Tale of the Franco-Prussian War
Captain Bonehill is at his best when relating a tale of military adventure, and this story of stirring doings at one of our well-known forts in the Wild West is of more than ordinary interest. The young captain had a difficult task to accomplish, but he had been drilled to do his duty, and he did it thoroughly. Gives a good insight into army life of to-day.
In this tale Captain Bonehill touches upon a new field. The hero is a youth with a passion for music, who, compelled to make his own way in the world, becomes a cornetist in an orchestra, and works his way up, first, to the position of a soloist, and then to that of leader of a brass band. He is carried off to sea and falls in with a secret-service cutter bound for Cuba, and while in that island joins a military band which accompanies our soldiers in the never-to-be-forgotten attack on Santiago. A mystery connected with the hero's inheritance adds to the interest of the tale.
Here we have fact and romance cleverly interwoven. Several boys start on a tour of the Hawaiian Islands. They have heard that there is a treasure located in the vicinity of Kilauea, the largest active volcano in the world, and go in search of it. Their numerous adventures will be followed with much interest.
The story of Dewey's victory in Manila Bay will never grow old, but here we have it told in a new form—not as those in command witnessed the contest, but as it appeared to a real, live American youth who was in the navy at the time. Many adventures in Manila and in the interior follow, giving true-to-life scenes from this remote portion of the globe. A book that should be in every boy's library.
Captain Bonehill has never penned a better tale than this stirring story of adventures in Cuba. Two boys, an American and his Cuban chum, leave New York to join their parents in the interior of Cuba. The war between Spain and the Cubans is on, and the boys are detained at Santiago de Cuba, but escape by crossing the bay at night. Many adventures between the lines follow, and a good pen-picture of General Garcia is given. The American lad, with others, is captured and cast into a dungeon in Santiago; and then follows the never-to-be-forgotten campaign in Cuba under General Shafter. How the hero finally escapes makes reading no wide-awake boy will want to miss.
"Captain Bonehill's stories will always be popular with our boys, for the reason that they are thoroughly up-to-date and true to life. As a writer of outdoor tales he has no rival."—Bright Days.
"The story is by Captain Ralph Bonehill, and that is all that need be said about it, for all of our readers know that the captain is one of America's best story-tellers, so far as stories for young people go."—Young People of America.
"We understand that Captain Bonehill will soon be turning from sporting stories to tales of the war. This field is one in which he should feel thoroughly at home. We are certain that the boys will look eagerly for the Bonehill war tales."—Weekly Messenger.
There are few more favorite authors with American girls than Mrs. L. T.Meade, whose copyright works can only be had from us. Essentially a writer for the home, with the loftiest aims and purest sentiments, Mrs. Meade's books possess the merit of utility as well as the means of amusement. They are girls' books—written for girls, and fitted for every home.
Here will be found no maudlin nonsense as to the affections. There are no counts in disguise nor castles in Spain. It is pure and wholesome literature of a high order with a lofty ideal.
The volumes are all copyright, excellently printed with clear, open type, uniformly bound in best cloth, with ink and gold stamp.
The Children of Wilton ChaseBashful FifteenBetty: A SchoolgirlFour on an IslandGirls New and OldOut of the FashionThe Palace BeautifulPolly, a New-Fashioned GirlRed Rose and Tiger LilyTemptation of Olive LatimerA Ring of RubiesA Sweet Girl GraduateA World of GirlsGood LuckA Girl in Ten ThousandA Young MutineerWild KittyThe Children's PilgrimageThe Girls of St. Wode'sLight o' the MorningBad Little HannahRebellion of Lill CarringtonA Little Mother to the OthersMerry Girls of England
The Children of Wilton ChaseBashful FifteenBetty: A SchoolgirlFour on an IslandGirls New and OldOut of the FashionThe Palace BeautifulPolly, a New-Fashioned GirlRed Rose and Tiger LilyTemptation of Olive LatimerA Ring of RubiesA Sweet Girl GraduateA World of GirlsGood LuckA Girl in Ten ThousandA Young MutineerWild KittyThe Children's PilgrimageThe Girls of St. Wode'sLight o' the MorningBad Little HannahRebellion of Lill CarringtonA Little Mother to the OthersMerry Girls of England