Jack Wright and His Electric Stage
Page 10
“Perhaps he is pursued. See–he clutches two revolvers, and the wild villain is holding the bridle rein with his teeth.
“He’s heading for the bank!”
“Come on!”
They rushed from their covert.
Jesse’s quick eyes detected them instantly.
Raising a whistle to his lips, he blew a shrill blast.
It was his usual signal to the gang and they understood it, and mounted upon their horses, came galloping out of the by streets and other places where they had been concealed.
The whole armed crowd headed for the bank.
They thus cut off Jack and the sheriff.
To everybody’s surprise, the moment Siroc arrived opposite the door of the bank, Jesse turned him and sent him galloping right into the building.
Pausing before the paying teller’s window, Jesse thrust his two pistols through, causing the man to yell and recoil.
“Hand me every bundle of bills in that draw before you!” roared the bandit. “Quick, or I’ll fire!”
“No–no–no!” gasped the startled man.
“I’ll make you!”
And–bang! went his pistol.
The bullet grazed the clerk’s head.
“I’m killed!” he screamed.
“No, you ain’t, but you will be if you don’t obey.”
“For God’s sake, don’t fire again!”
“Will you give me that money?”
The cruel, wicked eyes were now turned upon the man in a manner that made him writhe.
He saw that his doom was sealed unless he complied without wasting any more time about it.
So out came the money.
There were stacks of it–hundreds of dollars.
The bandit kept the paying teller covered with one hand, and with the other transferred the money to his saddle bag.
“Now, go!” he shouted.
Then he began to blaze away.
All the clerks dodged under the desk to escape the flying bullets.
Having emptied one of his pistols, and intimidated them, the bandit king spoke to his steed.
Siroc turned and went thundering out to the street.
There an exciting scene was going on.
The gang, to cover Jesse’s movements, had begun to fire their pistols right and left, and the people in the streets and houses and stores hastily made themselves scarce.
As soon as Jesse emerged, they closed in around him, dug spurs in their animals, and went clattering away.
Jack and Timberlake had been baffled.
They witnessed the daring robbery.
Seeing that it was impossible to get through the lines of the bandits to stop it, Jack signaled his friends.
No response came back.
Fearing trouble for the Terror they rushed away.
She was where they had left her, but Tim and Fritz had alighted, gone away and were only just then returning.
“What’s up?” panted Jack.
“Wood Hite escaped! We’ve been chasin’ him!” Tim replied.
“Too bad! But never mind—”
“Vot’s all dot shootin’?”
“The James Boys–they’ve beaten us!”
“Whar is they?”
“Running away! Get aboard–arm yourselves!”
“Goin’ arter ‘em, lad?”
“Yes; don’t lose a minute!”
All hands hastily got aboard the stage.
Jack mounted the seat and sent her rushing out.
As soon as she reached the street Jack sent her flying in pursuit of the fugitives.
The bandits soon saw her chasing them.
*
CHAPTER XVIII.
IN DEAD MAN’S GULCH.
The sun was gleaming down brightly as the cavalcade of bandits went thundering out of Husking Valley chased by the electric stage.
A cloud of dust was kicked up by the horses’ hoofs which almost obscured the riders from view.
Jack steered the machine with the greatest precision, and Fritz came through the forward door and joined him.
“How did Wood Hite get free to escape?” asked the inventor.
“Ach, he didn’d got free, His hants vos died behint his beck yet,” replied Fritz. “Me and Dim vos sittin’ oud here, vaitin’ tet hear yer sicknal. Puddy soon ve hear somepody behint dot stages, und see Vood Hite had got oud der beck door. He vas runnin’ avay. Ve runt afder him. But vhen ve got down der streed, ve don’d see nodding ohf him. He ditsappeared.”
“Couldn’t you find him?”
“Nein. Ve ditn’d couldt seen vhere he vented.”
“I’m sorry, for I wished to put him behind the bars!”
“Nefer mindt,” said Fritz. “Ve mebbe caughted more ohf dem.”
“I hope so. Anyway, we are pretty close to them now.”
“So dey gotted der money from der pank?”
“Jesse rode into the building on horseback and looted it single-handed.”
“Dot son-ohf-a-sea-ghooks vos got blenty spunks alretty!”
“Too much for the safety of the public. I’d sooner arrest him individually than his whole gang put together.”
“Dot vould preak dem up!”
“That’s just my impression.”
In a few moments the town was left behind and the horsemen galloped out into the open country over a rocky tract.
There the horses had an advantage over the Terror, as they could pick their way over the rough ground.
A fearful jolting and rattling of the stage ensued, and Jack was forced to slacken speed.
That gave the fugitives an advantage.
They quickly gained a long lead, for Jack had to zigzag the Terror in and out among the stones.
She kept falling farther and still further behind.
Some distance beyond the rocky place Jack caught view of a prairie covered with brush and long dry grass.
It renewed his hope, and he remarked confidentially:
“Once we reach that place we’ll soon catch up to them.”
“I don’t tink so,” answered Fritz, who was watching the bandits.
“Why don’t you?”
“See vot dey vos doin’!”
A chill of dismay passed over the inventor, for he now saw the bandits setting fire to the long grass.
The wind was blowing toward the Terror.
That kept the fire burning in her direction, while the bandits galloped away from it, setting fire to it as they proceeded.
In a short space of time there was a roaring wall of flame and smoke opposed to the Terror.
In order to prevent Jack from coming in on a flank, the outlaws, spread out like a fan, and kept dropping lighted matches into the combustible grass.
It did not take long to thus create such a wide barrier that the Terror could not hope to get around it in time to overtake the miscreants.
Jack stopped her short.
Clouds of spark-laden smoke were being swept into their faces by the wind, and an intense heat was generated.
“Fritz, we are thwarted.”
“Donner vetter! Dey cover deir redreat vell!”
“We can’t remain here; those flames will roast us.”
“Make a large circle vunct.”
“That’s the only way,” said Jack, starting the Terror.
She now ran off at an angle, and the flames swept to the rocky section and burned out.
There was not enough grass there to keep tha fire going, but behind the first avalanche of flame came another.
It was, therefore, impossible to chase the bandits further.
The fire rendered the air stifling.
Timberlake and Tim were disgusted at this turn of affairs, for both had been confidant of capturing the outlaws.
“If it hadn’t ben for ther escape of Wood Hite,” growled the old sailor, “we’d aheerd yer signal in ther town, an’ reached yer wi’ ther Terror afore them lubbers got away.”
“Regrets are useless now, Tim.”
“O’ course. But it allers makes a feller mad ter think he didn’t do sich an’ sich a thing at ther time he wuz doin’ anything wot don’t pan out jist as he’d like it ter.”
“Perhaps we can head them off yet.”
“If thar’s a livin’ show, Jack’ll get it, When I wuz in ther navy we was once asallin’ up ther Red Sea, when an Arabian dhow collided with us, an’ busted a hole in ther side o’ ther Wabash below ther water line; then ther willain coolly sailed away without ever excusin’ himself.
“We could astood ther damage, but his indifference about ther injury he done ter us riled us all up. Seein’ as he didn’t care a blame, our skipper sent ther friggte aflyin’ arter him. Waal, sir, ther cuss cracked on sail an’ fled. Arter him we tacked, detarmined ter punish ther swab fer his imperdence. It wuz a long stern chase wot lasted ten hours. But we finally overhauled him—”
“Why didn’t your frigate sink if she had a hole stove into her below the water liner.”
Tim gave a slight start.
He had entirely overlooked this point.
Pondering a moment, he took a chew of tobacco, and replied:
“I guess ther hole wuzn’t smashed all ther way through.”
“Don’t you know whether it was or not?”
“No; how could I go below ter look at sich a time?”
“You ought to know best.”
“Waal, let it pass an’ I’ll go on.”
“No, you won’t go on.”
“Why not, sir?”
“Because I won’t stay here and listen to you.”
“Say, sheriff d’yer mean ter insinuate as I’m a liar?”
“Oh, no. I’m too frank to insinuate what I know to be a fact, I say it right out, openly and plainly,” laughed Timberlake.
Tim eyed him with a mystified look.
He did not know whether to accept this reply as a direct insult or to take it as a belief in his veracity.
“Wot d’yer mean?” he asked.
“Simply this–you are the most outrageous old liar I ever came in contact with!” replied Timberlake.
“Oh!” cried Tim, in horror. “Listen ter him! You wait till I finish this ere yarn, an’ see if I’m tellin’ ther truth.”
“I’m afraid I won’t live long enough to wait until you finish that story,” dryly answered the sheriff. “It would be too long a wait on my part, and—”
But Fritz interrupted him just there by shouting:
“Dere dey go–dere dey go!”
Timberlake opened the front door.
“Who–the bandits?” he asked eagerly.
“Yah.”
“Where are they?”
“Dey go among dem rocks.”
The stage had by this time run around the fire.
The James Boys must have curved their course toward the very direction to which the Terror was running, for Fritz had suddenly caught view of them.
They were heading for the rocks at the base of a rugged range of hills directly ahead of the electric stage.
Jack noticed a number of gorges, gulches and canyons splitting the towering hills and cliffs ahead, and observed that the bandits were heading for one of them.
He pointed this out to his companions.
“They don’t see us yet!” he exclaimed, “but they will the moment they glance back this way!”
“I think I know where they are going,” said Timberlake.
“Where?’ asked Jack.
“Into Dead Man’s Gulch.”
“What would bring them there?”
“A huge cave, where the James Boys sometimes retreat.”
“Can we reach it with this stage?”
“Yes. But once they get in they could hold us at bay.”
“We will see about that when we run them to cover!”
In single file the bandits rode into the dark gulch, and when it had swallowed up the last one Jack pulled over the lever and sent the Terror ahead at full speed.
She made rapid headway to the gulch and soon reached it.
“Where is the cave situated?” asked Jack.
“Opposite that big bowlder, on the left hand side,” the sheriff replied. “You’d better put on your armor.”
“I shall,” Jack replied, as he stopped the Terror, “and you all had better arm yourselves, and prepare for trouble.”
Their preparation, were hastily made.
As soon as everything was in readiness Jack alone went outside and assumed control of the wheel.
His friends ranged themselves at the windows.
All were well armed and ready for any danger.
In the course of a few minutes the Terror ran up to the big boulder and paused there.
Jack saw a mass of creeping vines that grew up the side of the wall, covering a dark aperture.
This was probably the cavern entrance.
He had scarcely noticed it when there sounded the sharp spiteful crack of a rifle behind the vines.
Ping! came a bullet.
It struck Jack squarely over the heart.
His breast plate flattened it and it fell harmless.
“A sentrys shot!” he muttered. “The villains know we are here now and the siege will soon begin.”
*
CHAPTER XIX.
THE BANDIT’S LAST SHOT.
“Timberlake, I think I can run the Terror into that cave.”
“Look out you don’t get her jammed in the entrance.”
“Oh, I can clear the rocks on each side easily enough.”
“Go ahead then.”
Jack let the stage advance slowly.
A volley of rifle shots poured out of the cavern entrance.
The bullets did no harm, however, and the Terror continued on.
Reaching the opening she glided in, the hubs of her wheels grazing the rocks on each side, so close did she run.
Another volley met her.
It was lucky Jack had on his armor.
Had he not been so protected be might have perished.
Shot after shot struck him, and bullet after bullet hit the stage.
On she advanced unhesitatingly, though into a short gloomy passage, and then Jack turned on the search-light.
The dazzling glare gushed into an enormous cavern in which, the James Boys had ridden upon their horses.
At the sides there were ledges and galleries, above the roof was domed, and from the main cave numerous passages branched off in various directions.
Near one of these passages stood Siroc with Jesse James astride of his back, the bandit clutching a rifle.
The rest of the men were grouped behind him.
“Hulloa!” he shouted at Jack.
“Jesse James, I demand your surrender!” cried the inventor.
“Why should I?” demanded the bandit.
“Because you can’t get away from here alive.”
“That’s all you know about it. There are plenty exits.”
“Will you give in?”
“I want to compromise.”
“That I’ll never do!”
“I’ve got a great inducement—”
“You can make none to me.”
“Come here, and you’ll see.”
A suspicion of treachery flashed over Jack’s mind.
He turned to his companions, and said in low tones:
“We want him dead or alive. Fire at him!”
Before Jack’s friends could obey, a grating sound was heard above the Terror, and the inventor glanced upward.
A cry of alarm escaped his lips.
Several of the bandits had gone up on the gallery above the Terror, and were pushing over a huge rock that rested there.
Just as Jack looked up it fell.
The rock must have weighed a ton.
It came down directly toward the roof of the Terror.
Jack gave the starting lever a sudden jerk, and the stage
suddenly darted ahead.
She was too late to escape injury, though.
With a sickening crush the rock struck the rear end of the roof, crushing it like an egg shell, and going down on the platform, it carried it and the steps away.
A howl of joy escaped the James Boys.
They thought the terror was destroyed.
It was lucky Jack’s friends were in the front room.
Although the machine was badly damaged, she was not crippled so she could not work.
The machinery had escaped injury, as Jack had caused her to run ahead just in the nick of time.
“Give it to them, boys!” panted Jack.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The three shots struck the men in the gallery.
Not one of the villains knew what hit them.
“Again!” roared Jack.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
This time the shots were directed at the riders, and that set up a wild chorus of yells and plunged away.
It was clear enough to Jack that the bandit king had schemed to lure him over closer beneath the gallery so that the men up there would be sure to land the rock on the stage.
A rattling volley came back from the bandits’ rifles.
Crack! Crack!
Crack! Crack!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The firing continued without cessation for several minutes, but when the Terror made a rush for the outlaws, it ceased.
Every one of them drove their horses into the passages, and were instantly swallowed up by the gloom.
Jack cut out the current and put on the brakes.
“They’re gone. That settles it. We can’t follow them into those narrow passages!” he exclaimed. “Let’s destroy this place and go out!”
He procured several of the hand grenades, to which binding screws were attached, planted them in niches in the walls, joined them in series by copper wires, and from the two end ones ran two lead wires to the dynamo.
Jack ran the stage out into the gulch.
There he turned a current of electricity into the wires, the bombs were burst, and the cave was blown up.
It was completely wrecked.
The roof fell in, the walls caved in, the passages were choked up with debris, and it was rendered utterly useless as a place of resort again for the outlaws.
Jack sent the stage dashing through the gulch.
It emerged into a valley through which ran a stream which wound in and out among the hills.
Instead of finding the bandits there though, Jack was chagrined to see that the passages they followed had led them up into the hills.