Gentleman Joe's Double Eagle; or, A Dance at Frog Back Curve — page 31: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

«te €* rushing fo {and uttered a wild cry of terror. r o> , a ‘ « - « . nd > \ a! << ro a, “F ‘et wher S ¢ re , b < ' —" , _ * SET ae | * . pa pad ae s fe“? <> ‘ 7 Se. 5 bn Cars Cee Ts ee sa Ae <u Bi ga 7 ¥ 4 5 , - fs eg + oat ‘ of ee - Se an) Ag i 24 eat a ma kes) = a nce! fav tg? + + ota ‘ ts - ", e _ é > . at ee AS Pe es § a , eur . a5 ° PY ePia vA th, 7 $f * 4% * tae) fEVPee H) es, “ or ms ee » a fd | + ¢ y =< ‘ Pe the, ‘* ; a) i = ; *, te, _ 7 ’ * , » eee, een ry ey i va a * ws by J 7 > 4 oh “é 5 TH . é ‘™ peared into the darkness outside, and heard the Qgjfier of . his feet as he ran rapidly away. — pas ah ig ot Save 2 ‘He'll turn up again like a bad dollar,’? said Gentry, _ with a smile, and he made no effort to overtake the fleeing - young gambler. rep ara i ; eat Another man on the floor of the big dance hall had at- tracted the attention of the Gilt-Edged Sport. ie Gee ae broad-shouldered, heavily bearded man dressed in the ~ common garb of a miner was dancing with Nancy Waters, ~ who was the belle of the ball. | 7 The couple were on the other side of the room, but there was in the face and form of the man something that seemed familiar to Gentleman Joe. ; Another point that attracted his attention to the fellow was the fact that he was very heavily armed and carried - weapons of the most improved pattern. In his belt were two big revolvers with pearl handles, and a long, keen-bladed bowie-knife, while in the breast pocket of his miner’s jacket was a smaller pistol. The fellow was a clumsy and awkward dancer, but he - geemed devoted to his partner and she was evidently well pleased with him in spite of his rough appearance. ; Above the heavy thumping of the rough shod dancers and the din of the fiddle could be heard the voice of the master of ceremonies calling the figures of the dance. “fm. ‘Promenade all!” T'lré voice of the caller rang out like a fog-horn above the roar of the dance. The twenty couples on the floor joined hands and turned to execute the movement. Nancy Waters and her big partner were near the centre of the circle that was left open for the dancers. In attempting to turn quickly to get into line, the big fellow got tangled up with himself, one foot slipped, and he fell sprawling on the floor. As he went down a gold coin slipped from his pocket and rolled swiftly across the floor between the feet of the dancers to the other side of the room. | Striking a rough board the rolling coin spun slowly | around once or twice, and stopped almost at the feet of) Gentleman Joe. eh The latter picked up the piece of gold and looked at it | carefully. ‘Why, it’s my double eag aloud. — : It was indeed the coin he had lost in the deserted cabin in the hills the night he first met the Rocky Rangers, “The partner of Nancy Waters is Mike Molony!’’ said Gentry, with a quiet smile, as he turned to watch the big - fellow who was scrambling to his feet. The big outlaw, who was now without a gang to lead, was so upset by his fall he had not noticed the loss of the ‘»touble eagle. The dance went on after the brief interruption, and Gentry moved in a little closer to the dancers. He did not want to take any chances of losing sight of Mike Molony. , a | | | I le, my mascot!’’ he exclaimed | | ste A i a few steps, and fell face downward on th a Md reached his heart, and he was dead when — pickedup. | | ~ Nancy Waters, the belle of the ball, fled screaming from the scene; and in the confusion that followed, the woman in black slipped through the crowd as swiftly and silently as a shadow. x She reached the door before any one thought of stop- ping her, and a moment later she vanished in the dark- ness. | oF Gentleman Joe had caught a fleeting glimpse of the face of the woman in black, and when he saw Mike Molony pitch forward with the knife in his heart, he knew that the vengeance of Mournful Mary was complete. . The body of Mike Molony was removed from the hall, and in five minutes the great dance at Frog Back Curve was going on as if nothing unusual had happened. The Gilt-Edged Sport was well pleased at the recovery of his double eagle, which he had carried for years as @ lucky talisman. But he was disappointed because Mournful Mary had at the last moment cheated him out of a chance to settle ac- counts with the big outlaw chief who had tried so hard to. put him out of the way. . ; The officers of the company that had employed Gentle- man Joe to locate the Hamp Hull Mine arrived in Frog Back Curve on the following day. It was Billy Gramer, the gambler, who, playing traitor to the gang of which he had long been a member, had sold to the company a tip on the location of the property. He had secured his money in advance, with a promise of more if the mine was found to be as represented. Then he returned to Frog Back Curve and would have defeated the efforts of Gentleman Joe to locate the prop- erty if he had been able to do so. But in cunning and courage the lucky gambler was no match for Joseph Gentry. When he found that the game had gone against him, after his escape from the dance hall, he fled from that locality at once, and never came back. The company promptly took possession of the Hamp Hull Mine, which proyed to be the richest in al] the West. It yielded fortunes for all those interested, and Gentle- an Joe, for his fearless and successful work in breaking ™m | up two bands of outlaws and locating the rich mine, re- oe ceived from the company a substantial reward. The further exploits of Gentleman Joe will be graphi- cally portrayed in a future issue under the title of ‘‘Gen- pon Joe’s Jeopardy; or, The Cool Clan of Camp Care- u dee ~ (THE END.) Blt In a few minutes the reel was ended, and the men were| _ ~ awkwardly conducting their partners back to their seats, or to the nearest refreshment booth. Mike Molony and Nancy Waters, walking arm in arm, moved over to a window on,the other side of the room apart from the crowd. | 3 Gentleman Joe kept them in sight without getting near enough to attract their attention. The couple were in earnest conversation when Gentry heard a slight stir behind him, and felt some one push by J him as if in great haste. He caught a glimpse of a tall, slender woman in black rward toward the couple by the window. Nancy Waters turned as the figure in black approached, led by the scream of his companion, the same moment reached for his -, Mike Molony, start wheeled around and at pistols. | ~ But he was too late. der knife flashed in the lamp-light, the woman in - Dlack, with a low cry of rage, sprang forward and the - knife was buried to the hilt in the breast of Mike Molony. ‘the chief of the Rocky Rangers threw up his hands, yr a wt ve PN ee NN A ~ ¢ .7s e . 2 > iY, “4: 5 . <A slen sy ¥ is fa / me em a . aa ee > ‘ —* ~~ - -~ 7 OF 56 = . . * : . 3 Samet SR MALT ARIES -*. ‘. 4 * > "4 p ime, ao? s | a he ht « fa? sve ‘ 3% — >, 1)" 4 - 4 a > Seo. i A id as - ~~ * e? a. a ‘ > - ° y ‘ *. , “ . Ae" A RF ae ole 4. & - ~ . " : - we = - ¥ - . | Pin ‘ “~ ~,* i < aha e | Ts a te 4 ee yee ” , Mes * cue 7" } ‘ Low ‘ : ° ’ <a *° a . a ¢ we J« , Mis » Fs Seats oe at ty ~ ae (¥y ‘“T.OUISVILLE LUKE, THE JOCKEY WONDER,” by Jack Howard, will be published in the next number (382) |of the Loa Cabin LIBRARY. s i _* . ? é x * 5 - \ ~~" » * he TL ~ ; . : fi s ‘ * ri 7 ; ‘| ee ‘? _ ee oe 4 J oe eT r . wally ~ . hy : . (x= ” <a FN Ae * ve of tm etsy hy tT» ee “ a}. ‘at | ) ; i = é‘ ae See a Ca ie oe “’ LAS : f . * get & "* * ’ yore \" "ae : re 4 S » + a rae | ) oD ol P hee h baa Me ee Ae Fs et yy wt ~ Very