The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1881-11-05
GIANTS CASTLE.
BY MAJOR HAMILTON.

The western sun was resting for sin
| gle moment upon the shoulders of the
gray and hoary mountains, casting last
bright glance behind him, ere he sank to
rest beyond the far away Pacific; the
purple shadows of the ridge creeping
slowly downward over bluff and preci
pice, waved a silent greeting to their
grayer sisters, as slowly uprising from
the canyons and the gorges, the distant cry
of lonely bird hoated softly downward
through the listening air, and as it passed
a mighty stiffness fell over all, while
| along the eastern horizon black night
| began to form.
Two solitary travelers-nor yet trav-
elers, for both were frontiersmen and
miners-who were slowly climbing the
rugg ed face of the ridge, paused as they
reached its verge, and without speaking
looked sharply about them for several
moments, examining all the ground care
| fully; then one uttered low growl of
salts faction, and pointing through the
cleaning toward the south, he turned to
his waiting companion and said:
"Here's the trail, Tom, and the reds'll
pass the Giants Castle over thar afore
moon-up tonight, if they're after us.
This yere war the way Black Jim went,
and he war a-p'intin' fur the Apache
kentry fast enough. Eff the bloody cut
throat can git the Injuns to help him,
| he'll go fur our rancho sure; but eff they
don't come were safe, fur to-morrer we'll
light over the range fur good. The
minin's good, but the kentry's gittin' too
| hot fur us. It's cussed shame we
missed that dog to-day, fur otherwise
we'd have been safe under cover now,
an the world rid of black rascal, in
stead of dodgin' about hyar in the shad-
ders to save our scalps. Howsomever,
we missed him; an now my plans to
climb the Giants Castle an wait fur
mornin' Eff the reds come, they won t
find US at home, and eff they don't come
no great harms done; an eff they smell
us out on the Castle we could Kill the
entire lot afore they could git near u.s. "
The speaker paused and drew long
breath, fairly astonished and wearied at
his own unusual loquacity, and his COM
panion, changing his Winchester from
one shoulder to the other, replied:
"Ye're right, Dick It war a pity
that / missed the outlaw, but it war
only a snap shot. / won't do it ag'in'
Yer plan fur the nights a good one.
Lead on p
With rapid and almost silent steps the
two passed over the ridge into the black
ness of the gulch beyond.
And as they disappeared, there arose,
close to the very ground wherein they
had been standing, from behind a
gnarled and stunted cedar thicket, the
| figure of a man. Carefully he peered
about him, gazing sharply into the
darkness that had swallowed up the
others, listening with waiting ear for
any sound that might indicate their re-
turn; and at last rising to his full
height he stepped quietly forth, and
dropping his rifle stock to the earth, he
chuckled softly, and with a wicked
meaning to himself:
$50 yen hide from Black Jim an the
PEACHES in Giant Castle? Good! Ye
thought Black Jim would be simple
enough when he failed yer swag once to
run away. Fools 1 had a chance al
yer gold to-day an lost it; We had a
crack at me an missed. We're even,
but it's my turn next; an the shinin
dust that you fellers have in yer waist
belts shall be mine afore sun-up, or I'm
|
help, nor no cabins to burn, neither
What I'm after is the gold, my pards
an eff We stay on Castle Rock it's mine.
AS he ceased his sohloquy, the outlaw
stopping almost to the earth, crep
rapidly away in the darkness, following
the course taken by the others.
Tom Nutting and Dick Moore hat
been for a month prospecting and min
| II "A Ualla 10
ton. Fortune had smiled upon them
and their buckskin bags were almost full
when, returning Unexpectedly to thei
rude cabin that very afternoon, Tom ha'
surprised Black Jim, the most noted des
perado of the mountains, and man VIII
had been often been driven from minin
camps as a thief, proving near; ha
shot at and missed him, and had seel
him speed away to the westward, towar
the section where were rowing the blood
thirsty Apaches.
Thoroughly acquainted with the i'm
minent danger of their position, for thei
! visitor was in league with all the Indial
bands for a hundred miles about-th
two miners at once packed their gol
dust in belts, seized their arms. and pun
sued the scoundrel; only to lose him
L however, in the windings of the noun
tains and the shadows of the COMM
. night. Then dreading the fate tina
=, might overtake them in their cabin
: should Black Jim return, they had de
; cided to remain in the mountains unit
!: morning, when, protected by the day
!, light, they might gather their few effect
! and escape over the range.
They had chosen Giants Castle
r massive pile of ragged rock some tw
n hundred feet IN height, with but tw
points were it could possibly be scaled
IS for their refuge on account of its mac
t feasibility, and as well for the guard the
:. might maintain therefrom upon all tn
Indian country and the trail into Hidde
Valley.
A brisk walk of twenty minute
brought the miners to the foot of th
castle; struggle of ten minutes place
= them at its summit.
It It Night had now fairly fallen, and th
: stars were beginning to shine. Th
howl of a distant coyote calling To h