Young Wild West at Forbidden Pass Read online

  Produced by Richard Halsey

  YOUNG WILD WEST AT "FORBIDDEN PASS"

  AND

  How Arietta Paid the Toll

  By AN OLD SCOUT.

  CHAPTER I.

  THE ARRIVAL AT BIG BONANZA.

  It was just about five o'clock in the afternoon of a cool day in autumnwhen Young Wild West and his friends rode into a little mining campcalled Big Bonanza, which was situated in the heart of the range, knownas the Silver Bend Mountains, Nevada.

  It was the first signs of anything like civilization that the party hadseen in two days, and though there were but half a dozen little shantiesin it, the sight of it was a welcome one.

  Young Wild West was beyond a doubt the greatest and best known of theheroes of the Wild West, and though but a boy in years, he had made aname for himself that many an elder person would have been proud to own.

  He had earned the title of the Champion Deadshot of the West by hisremarkable skill with the rifle and revolver, and he was ever ready todefend the title against all comers.

  Many of his warmest friends called him the Prince of the Saddle, becausehe was without a peer at breaking and riding the wildest and mostvicious horses of the West.

  When upon the back of the beautiful sorrel stallion he always rode hemade a picture that was dashing and handsome in the extreme. When on histrips through the wildest parts of the Great West he invariably wasattired in a fancy buckskin hunting suit, and with his sombrero tippedwell back upon his head, he surely showed up as a dashing young hero.

  The flash in his eye told of his courage and persistence, while hisathletic form betokened his strength and quickness.

  But of all his qualifications to make up a dashing young Westerner hisgreatest was his coolness and fixed purpose to do right, no matter whatthe cost might be.

  Few, indeed, are possessed of such sterling qualities, and it is onlythose who are that make real heroes.

  But, as we have already stated, and the majority of our readers know,Young Wild West was a genuine boy hero of the Wild West, and that isonly saying the truth.

  Being the owner of several gold and silver mines, the young deadshot hadan income that was more than sufficient to permit him to pursue hisfavorite hobby, which was riding about through the wildest parts of thestates and territories in search of adventure.

  At the time of which we write there was plenty of excitement andadventure to be found in that region, and Young Wild West was helpingalong the advance of civilization, which, by the way, has not reachedall parts of the West yet, speaking in a true sense, and reckoning inlaw and order.

  In company with our boy hero were his two partners, Cheyenne Charlie andJim Dart, and two very pretty young girls and a young woman.

  Cheyenne Charlie was a government scout and one of the best knownIndian-fighters of his time. He was yet a young pan, and though he hadbeen "through the mill," as the saying goes, he was better satisfied tobe led than to lead, and thus it was that he had cast his lot with Wild.

  The scout was a tall man, straight as an arrow, and his long black hairand mustache, together with his bronzed face, gave him the appearance ofbeing just what he was--an out-and-out Westerner.

  Jim Dart was a boy of about the same age as our hero, born and reared inthe West, and though he seldom had much to say, he was full of grit, andalways ready to do his share.

  The two were known as the partners of Young Wild West, and they alwaysdressed in the same style he did.

  The two girls of the party were Arietta Murdock, the charming sweetheartof our hero, and Eloise Gardner, Jim Dart's sweetheart; the young womanwas the wife of Cheyenne Charlie, and her name was Anna.

  The girls, as they always called them, loved to travel around with ourhero and his partners, and they had learned to look upon the dangersthey were constantly coming in contact with rather lightly.

  Arietta was the only one of the three who had been born and reared inthe West, but Anna and Eloise had been there long enough to becomeaccustomed to its ways, and they could ride horseback and shoot withgreat skill.

  Two Chinamen, who were riding bronchos and leading pack-horses, werewith our friends, and as they came to a halt in front of a saloon thathad a sign across the front declaring it to be a hotel, one of themhastily dismounted, and before Young Wild West and the rest knew what hewas up to he disappeared around the corner of the shanty.

  There were three men, besides the man who ran the saloon, in front ofthe roughly-constructed building, and they seemed to be cowboys, bytheir general appearance.

  All four of the men were regarding the new arrivals with no littleinterest, and when the Chinaman slid around the corner of the shanty oneof them called out:

  "One of your heathens is dry, I reckon, strangers. I'll bet he's headin'fur ther back door."

  "Yer kin bet your life on that!" Cheyenne Charlie answered. "Hop likeshis tanglefoot once in a while, an' he never loses a chance ter git it."

  "Well, if that's ther case I'd better go in an' wait on ther galoot,then," spoke up the proprietor of the place. "We ain't used ter seein'gals around here, an' I sorter hate ter leave, too. But business isbusiness."

  The man spoke in a way that was not meant to be disrespectful, for whathe had said was undoubtedly the truth. The few inhabitants of BigBonanza were not in the habit of seeing female visitors.

  "Well, gentlemen," said Young Wild West, "we have just dropped in hereby accident, and I reckon if there's no objection we'll camp around heresomewhere until morning. We are making a trip across the state, and weare going in a straight line as much as possible. What we happen tostrike makes little difference to us; whether it is a mining camp or adesert. We are used to all kinds of traveling, and generally go preparedfor anything."

  "Talks like he was someone what sorter knows all about things, eh,boys?" remarked the cowboy who had called out that the Chinaman washeading for the back door to get into the saloon.

  "Yes," answered one of his companions, while the other gave a nod.

  "Looks as neat as a pin, too, don't he?" went on the man, who evidentlytook it that our hero was a boy fond of showing off in an expensivecostume, and that he did not amount to a great deal.

  "They all look neat," one of the others observed. "Them gals is sartinlyworth lookin' at, ain't they? They've struck it rich somewhere, an' therfirst big town they come ter they've bought new clothes. I reckon I kinjudge things all right."

  "So you think you can judge pretty well, eh?" said Young Wild West, ashe dismounted. "Well, what do you take me to be?"

  "A putty smart boy, who thinks it looks nice ter have his hair long, an'who likes ter put on lugs 'cause he's got some putty gals with him,"answered the cowboy, after a slight pause.

  "So that is your opinion, is it?"

  "I reckon it is, young feller."

  "Well, don't you think a person has a right to wear good clothes if hecan well afford it?"

  "Oh, yes. I ain't sayin' nothin' about that. But clothes don't make therman--or boy, either. How long have you been West, Sonny?"

  "How long have you been West?"

  "About fifteen years, I reckon."

  "Well, I can beat you by three or four years, then. Anything more youwould like to know?"

  "Oh, tell him ter dry up, Luke!" said the first speaker. "What's theruse of talkin' ter ther young dandy? Him an' ther other boy has hiredther man they've got with 'em ter take 'em around an' show 'em thersights; an' they've, got ther man rigged out in buckskin an' fancytrimmin's, jest ter make 'em all attract attention. I'll bet I'm righton that!"

  He turned to our hero as he said this and acted as though he was sure hewas right.

  "How much will you bet, you windy g
aloot?"

  As Young Wild West said this he drew a roll of bills from his pocket andshowed it to the three cowboys.

  It was just then that the saloon-keeper appeared in the door, and behindhim was the Chinaman who had sneaked in at the rear door of the shanty.

  "What's all this talk about, gents?" he asked. "I hear some putty loudtalk, so there must be somethin' goin' on."

  "Oh, there isn't anything going on yet; but there might be, if thefellows don't get a little more civil," our hero answered, coolly. "Itseems that they are trying to pick a row just because we have on betterclothes than they have. If they are looking for anything like that Ireckon they can get it mighty quick."

  "Wow!" exclaimed the most