CHAPTER XIV.
SUSANA TO THE RESCUE.
Deadwood Dick believed that the end of his eventful career had come atlast.
There was not a ray of hope for him, and he was faint and sick from theintense pain of the hot iron that had been laid upon his breast.
With his hands tied, and his head swimming, he was powerless to resisthis foes, and the rope was quickly placed around his neck and he wasdragged in the direction of a tree near at hand.
He was not even asked if he had a last word to say. The end of the ropewas thrown over the limb, the cutthroats caught hold of it and pulled,and Deadwood Dick, the fearless, the generous, was swung clear of theground and the end of the rope was secured to the body of the tree.
"Is he to be shot as well?" demanded one of the villains.
"No, he ain't worth wastin' good powder and lead on," was the responsefrom another.
"That's so," said a third. "Let him swing and think about et while hisspeerit is workin' itself loose in ther shell."
"Come on; ther captain said come to ther cabin at oncet."
"Hooray! Good-by, Deadwood Dick!"
With whoop and yell they hastened from the scene of their dastardlyoutrage, and followed in the direction Captain Joaquin had taken.
Barely had they gone when a panting form sprang out of a crevice in therocks.
It was Susana.
With a suppressed cry she ran to the tree with all speed, and with asingle sweep of a keen knife severed the rope.
Deadwood Dick dropped to the ground heavily, all limp and apparentlylifeless, and the young woman was at his side instantly, her eagerfingers at work at the noose.
It was quickly loosened and removed.
"He must not die, he shall not die!" she cried to herself. "I will savehim for his revenge. You accused me of loving him, Captain Joaquin,wrongly accused me, but I will love him now, love him with my wholeheart, for you have made me hate you--hate you!"
She lifted Dick's head and pressed warm and passionate kisses upon hisface, believing he was wholly unconscious.
To her surprise her last kiss was returned.
She sprang up with a startled little cry, and released her holdinstantly.
"I owe my life to you," said Dick, in low tone. "I shall not soonforget the obligation, I promise you."
"I regret that I could not save you the torture you had to undergo,"was the response. "You heard his threats; I was afraid to say anotherword in your favor."
"I am glad that you did not do so. But release me quickly and let meget hold of my weapons--which they left yonder on the ground. They mayreturn, and not only my life, but yours, is now at stake. There will beanother reckoning before the account is closed."
She freed his hands even while he was speaking.
"Yes, there will be another reckoning," she said, in low, intensetones, "and in it I will be on your side. I hate him--hate him now asmuch as I ardently loved him before--or thought I loved him. How blindI was to his true character!"
"Do you know what is good for a burn?" Dick asked.
"Yes, yes; why did I not think of it? How you must suffer! Wait, I willdress that wound in a moment."
Snatching a brand from the fire in which the horseshoe had been heated,she sought eagerly around and plucked here and there a kind of weedthat grew in the rock crevices.
While she was thus engaged, Dick secured his revolvers and also thehorseshoe with which he had been branded.
The latter was still hot, of course.
Having gathered some of the weeds, the girl laid them on a stone andpounded them to a pulp, and, tearing a strip from an article of herlinen, she spread the poultice upon it.
"Now, let me fix it," she said to Dick.
Dick sat down and bared his breast, and she applied the cooling pulp tothe wound, the contact causing Dick to give a sigh of relief.
"That feels good," he said.
"It will soon draw out the fire," said the girl, "and it will aid thewound to heal quickly, too."
Securing the poultice in place as well as possible, she fastened Dick'sshirt over it, and when she had done Dick took her in his arms andembraced her, returning the kisses she had given him.
"You have given me your life," he said; "what can I do for you inreturn?"
"Give me your protection," was the response.
"You shall have that, to the death."
"And let me aid you in your revenge against that monster. Ugh! how Ihate him now!"
"But, he is your husband--"
"No, no, he was not my husband; I am free, as free as a bird. I lovedhim, and would have wed him, but I am thankful my eyes were openedbefore I was linked to him for life."
"Then you desire to escape him now?"
"Heavens! he would murder me now, after what I have done. Yes, yes, Idesire to escape; I want you to protect me."
"Enough said," agreed Dick, giving her another embrace and releasingher. "I'll try and do something in return for the risk you have takenfor me, and together we will hunt him down."
"At once?"
"No, we will let him feel secure for a time, and the blow will be allthe greater when it falls. But--"
"What?"
"Are you to be depended on?"
"To be depended on? I do not understand you, sir."
"Call me Dick. I mean, will you hold out to the end, when it comes tothe test?"
"Will I hold out--"
"Perhaps your love will rekindle, and you will balk my revenge when itcomes to the hour--"
"No, no, a thousand times no! My hate is even more intense than was mylove. No, no, I will not falter; I am now yours, if you will let me beyours, and our purpose is one."
"It is a bargain," said Dick. "Here is my hand, little pard."
The girl placed her hand in his.
"Hands up! both of ye!"
The voice was so near that both were startled, and Dick felt a gunbehind his ear.
It was so sudden that Dick obeyed before the thought came to him toresist, but perhaps it was as well, for that might have meant hisinstant death.
"It is Booth!" cried the girl in dismay. "We are lost--lost!"
"Bet yer life ye are," said the man. "Ye forgot to reckon me, I guess.Et took me a good while to worm up into that peak by the crevice insideand take this galoot by surprise, and et has took me a good while togit down again, but hyer I am and hyer you be, too."
"And what do you expect to do with us?" asked Dick, grimly.
"Take ye straight to Captain Joaquin, of course."
"Never!" said the young woman.
"I'll show ye. You turn-- Ugghh!"
Deadwood Dick's foot had suddenly caught the fellow in the middle, andover he went with a grunt terrific.
No sooner had he fallen than the girl was upon him, and her knife wasburied in his breast, straight and true, and the cutthroat stiffenedout to rise no more.
"There is one less," she said, rising. "I never killed a human before,but I would kill a score rather than be taken back to that man. Thankheaven, we are free yet, Dick. Do you want further proof of my devotionto you? Can you ask it?"
"I did not ask anything more than your word, Susana. You are a pardworth having. We will hang this fellow to the tree where they hangedme, and should they come this way again they will believe that DeadwoodDick is still there where they left him, and the surprise will be allthe greater when the blow falls, as fall it must."