The Fall of âBaby Faceâ
âYouâll never take me alive, Injun whore!â proclaimed the 19 year old outlaw, Pete âBaby Faceâ Atkins as Moonbeam slowly advanced on the young horse thief. âYou stole from the Kiowa,â the woman intoned darkly in a voice both calm and forbidding, âand for that you must pay!â The teenage desperado swallowed and, panicked, went for the sixgun at his side, but the warrior maiden was like lightning. She leapt forward, seized Peteâs right wrist with both hands, and swung him over her lithe body to send him crashing into the dust. He lay on his back, groaning, as Moonbeamâs pet mountain lion cub sniffed around him. He raised his head to see the formidable long legged form of the female brave standing over him, arms akimbo.
âPlease, maâam,â begged the youth, tears beginning to course down his filthy face, âdonât hand me over to your people! Donât let them burn me alive, or cut off my balls, or stake me out in the sun covered in honey for the soldier ants to find!â Moonbeam looked down on the baby-faced rustler, a puzzled expression on her face. âAnd please, maâam,â the defeated outlaw continued, âplease donât scalp me!â And the young man suddenly burst into tears. Moonbeam reached out an arm and hauled the babbling and sobbing boy to his feet. She took his gun and pushed it into the belt of her flowing buckskin dress, and then removed the bandana from the neck of the cringing bad man. She spun him around and used the cloth to tie the terrified Peteâs hands behind his back. âYou have been reading too many dime novels, young man,â the female warrior told her prisoner impatiently as she bound him. âNow take me to where you have hidden the Kiowa horses. Then I will decide what to do with you.â
My interpretation of the story behind Manestrale Slar Til, Solvpilen #22 (November 1976). Solvpilen was the Norwegian language version of Zilverpijl, or Silver Arrow, the adventures of a Kiowa chief, and his formidable female sidekick, Moonbeam. Both characters were the creation of Belgian artist Frank Sels, whose originals were written in Flemish.