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Full Title
The Girl Cowboy Captain; or, The Skinners of the Carolina Swamps / by Jos. E. Badger, Jr.
Author
Badger, Jos. E. (Joseph Edward), 1848-1909.
Date Added
9 January 2014
Format
Journal
Language
English
Publish Date
1889-05-18
Publisher
New York : Beadle and Adams
Series
Beadle's Boys Library of Sport, Story, and Adventure > v. XXI, no. 266
Source
Dime Novel and Popular Literature
Alternate Title
Beadle's Boys Library of Sport, Story, and Adventure, v. XXI, no. 266, May 18, 1889. Skinners of the Carolina Swamps.
Topic
Dime novels > Specimens.
About
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Disclaimers
Disclaimer of Liability Disclaimer of Endorsement
OCR
_ thrown off the scent. t
~awere guided aright by the sound of the fugitive’s
The Girl Cowboy Captain. , xc
going mad—whenever I think of the past. But
must not think— Ha! what is that?”
Her mutterings ceased, and Maria bent her
head in keen attention, It came again—this
time faint and distant. Then one—a clear
whistle, evidenly a signal—came from only a
few yards beyond the little glade. And slowly
following it she could hear the light footsteps of
a human being.
‘hey come this way—they have heard our
struggle or the pistol-shot. It enemies—”
And the steps were evidently drawing nearer.
Maria turned and glided into the bushes, Stil)
hoping the comers might be friends, she paused
and crouched down beside the bushes, hidden
amid the dense shadows.
A broad, burly form entered the glade, and
paused with a low cry of wonder, as tbe two
dead bodies met his eyes.. Maria’s heart sunk
as she recognized an enemy,
was the uniform of the ranger.
With a keen glance around him, the burly
ranger gave vent to a deep whistle, that was
quickly answered from three or four different
points, Then hecrouched down in the shadows,
evidently waiting tor his comrades to come up.
Maria knew that there was danger in remain-
ing where she was, An investigation must
show that the ranger had not met bis death by
the band of the man now lying beneath him.
The rapier-blade would show that, and in the
search that would follow, she could scarce es-
cape discovery. Aud discovery, she knew, even
were her real sex made known, would be almost
equivalent to death.
Small, lithe and agile, gifted with unusually
keen sight, the woman sped on ata marvelous
pace, considering the difficulties she had to en-
counter, And upon her track came the two
rangers, bending to their work with vigor and
eagerness of bloodhounds loosed upon the hot
scent of a runaway negro.
For nearly an hour the chase led on through
tho swamp, Maria in vain doubling time and
again. Only for a moment were the hunters
Then, by pausing, they
from his garb; it
feet splashing through the morass.
Worn and weary, almost despairing, Maria
bethought herself of a ruse. Plunging deep into
the mire, she hid her head in a scrubby bush,
and lay motionless, save for the convulsive
pantings caused by the long and arduous chase.
Soon losing the trace, the rangers paused to
listen, as before. But now nothing came to
their ears to tell them the direction taken by
the fugitive. All was still—even the insects
that, day or night, scarcely ever -cease their
songs, were now silent. .
More than once it seemed as though the fugi-
tive must be discovered, for by outstretching a
hand, she could have touched either of them as
they stood beside her covert, intentiy listening
for some sound to guide them. Bunt as often
thoy passed on, unsuspecting the truth.
*’Lis’en!” suddenly muttered one, bending his
head, “I hear—it’s the varmiot rusbin’ off!”
And then the ranger darted away in the direc-
tion from whence the sounds had proceeded.
‘Now or never!” muttered Maria, rising from
the mud, and then she glided rapidly away in
the direction opposite to that taken by her
enemies,
She struggled on until completely worn out,
and then, careless of the consequences, she sunk
down upon a little hillock that rose from the
swamp land. She had lost her bearings in the
night, owing to ber frequent doublings.
he sun was bigh up in the heavens when she
awoke, with a sturt. Instinctively she felt for
her sword, as a tall furm met her gaze. An ex-
pression of despair settled over her face as she
found tbat even her poniard was gone—had
been lost during her flight in the swamp.
Though she knew it not then, this man had
been watching over her slumbers for full balf an
hour, The expression now upon his face did
not seem that of an enemy, though he wore the
uniform of the rangers.
As, with a cry of despair, the Girl Captain
sprung to her feet, he spoke, in a reassuring
tone:
“You need not be alarmed, kdy. You have
nothing to fear from me.”
Maria started at the sound of bis voice, and
her face flushed, even through the partial mask
of dirt. She recognized this man; it was Cap-
tain Kirke Arnold.
“JT do not fear you now, sir, I did at first,
for I was unarmed, and last night your men
chased me hardly. “Iwas you, then, tbat at-
tacked my men?”
“Your men?” Arnold echoed, astonished,
“Yes, Cowboys, some cali them. They are
avengers of blood! Wo only hunt Dixon’s
hand of murderers. That is our only crime.
‘And you know why I bunt them.”
“Yes, but—”
“J know what you would say, but tis in
vain, You heard my oath, Untilit is fulfilled,
I will not change. But now, amI your pris-
oner?
“ Certainly not; yet I would like—”
“Then farewell. I must not be idle long. I
thank you now for your kindness-cu that night.
I will never forget it,” and then she turned and
plunged into the swamp.
Arnold gazed after her like one petrified.
CHAPTER V.
HAM WINKLE.
Wuy Drxon cast more than one bitter curse
after the Girl Captain, as he arose from his
slimy covert, but he was too cowardly to do
aught to bring on a collision in his unarmed
state. Then as Maria Shelby disappeared amidst
the shadows, he bent his head and seemed buried
in thought.
“Yes, that will be best,” be muttered after a
time. ‘If I can only find him—'tis not always
the rat is in his hole; but that I must chance.”
With a glance around and upward, to deter-
mine his whereabouts, the Skinner glided rap-
idly on through the swamp, evincing no mean
degree of skill as he proceeded.
The Skinner soon paused, peering out through
the screen of bushes that encircled a small open
patch of ground, probably containing several
acres, To one side of this stood a rude cabin,
ey oe tect me ee
wit ore to