AMERICANINDIANWEEKLY
BY COLONEL SPENCER DAIR
VOL. I THE ARTHUR WESTBROOK COMPANY, CLEVELAND, OHIO, U.S.A. NO. 1
Copyright 1910 by the Arthur Westbrook Company, Cleveland, Ohio.
AN OUTLAW'S PLEDGE
OR
THE RAID ON THE OLD STOCKADE
By COL. SPENCER DAIR
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS.
Red Rogers—A daredevil outlaw, who has broken from jail,killing four men in his escape, and returns to the scenes of his earlycrimes, that he may carry out a pledge made to a dying member of hisgang, being pursued and eluding hundreds of troopers before he isfinally sent to his doom, at the Old Stockade.
Rose Landon—Daughter of the man to whom Red Rogers made hispledge, who helped the outlaw to break jail and then accompanied himon his dash into the Bad Lands to carry out his vow. Repenting of hervicious life, she finally marries a young trooper whom Rogers hascaptured.
Pedro—A former member of Red Rogers' gang, who also assistedin his escape from jail, and, after accompanying the outlaw to themountains, is captured by the troopers.
Jennings, Shaw, Scotty—Members of theMounted Scouts, who have their horses stolen by the outlaw, and areafterwards taken prisoners by him and held as hostages.
Alkali—A half-breed scout, who eventually tracks Red Rogersto his doom.
Colonel Edwards—Commandant of Fort Griswold, the officer whotakes charge of the pursuit of the outlaw.
Troopers, Deputy Marshals and Sheriffs and their posses.
CHAPTER I.
THE MYSTERIOUS SIGNAL.
"His-s-t!"
With startling suddenness, the cry shattered the stillness of the nightthat lay upon the foothills of the "Bad Lands."
As they heard it, three men who, rolled in their army blankets, weresleeping in the protecting shadow of a huge boulder, rose to theirelbows and peered into the darkness, at the same time whipping outtheir "Colts" with their free hands.
But only the silence of the night, seeming more intense as the echo ofthe strident cry died away, greeted them.
"That must have been a signal," breathed one of the trio, after severalminutes of listening.
"If it was a signal, it would have been answered," rejoined a companion.
"Sure it would," asserted the third member of the party.
"Then what was it?" demanded the first.
"May have been a snake, or a mountain lion," suggested the man who haddoubted the startling cry being a signal.
"Snake? Mountain lion?" repeated the other, in disgust. "Say, you'dbetter go back to the recruits till you learn the difference between ahuman voice and an animal's cry."
The three men were members of the Mounted Scouts, out on patrol dutyfrom their station at Fort Griswold.
Two of them had been in the service three years, while the other wason his first detail, having only just been promoted from the band ofrecruits at the Fort.
Consequently, the sneering allusion to his inexperience cut deep, andhe was about to retort fiercely, when the third scout prevented.
"Jennings is right, Scotty. It was a man's voice uttered that cry," hewhispered.
"Then what does it mean?" persisted the youngster.
"Just keep yer tongue in yer head and yer eyes and ears open, and wemay find out," grunted Jennings.
This reply had the intended result of effectually silencing t