Wildcat Bob, the Boss Bruiser — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

mie on * i — ——— ee evs. ¥ Wildcat Bob, the Boss Bruiser. 13 a Ranma aaaaama eam memmmessemmemerseeescececcoemmmreccecce There she stood, smiling her thanks; then after the audience once more became hushed’ _ the cast asingle glance at M. Leek, who stood with a small cage-trap in his hand on the eastern elif, The glance was the signal that freed the bind, and the next instant a white igeon flew vat upon the air, directly over Ma Rolle tome distance away, when she suddenly raised her bow and sent an arrow whirling westward, Wonder of wonders! After several strange, haif-circular movements, the arrow overtook ' the bird, buried itself in the feathery body, and hoth dropped into the gulch bottom. ‘And the crowd gave one awful yell. But it was not 8. yell of applause, but, on’ the contrary, of hor- Yor, Ma Belle had in the act lost her balance, and world have gone tumbling over into the gulf of spaie had not she made a wild grasp and cluteh- el the rope as she fell. S10 was hanging to it, desperately now, with one hend, and that her left, for in fz ling she had grasped the rope with her right hand, and wrneched the arm éut of jot. It was a criti- cal, a fearful moment. “" Aly child! my Ma Belle!” shrieked M. Leek. ruuning to and fro, and almost frantic. “She So be killed! MaBealle, my poor child—save 162 | No one answered. All were too horrified to speak or act. All but one. Wildcat Bob threw off his overshirt, and ran boldly on the rope; soon be got dizzy, and was forced to accomplish the remainder of the dis- tance hand over hand. On be went, ara and steadily. And Ma Belle clung to her hold, desperately determined nt to let go. At last the prize-fighter reached her, and as- sisted her back to her feet on the rope. But, great heavens! look. A figure, with a piercing scream, dashes up to the cliff on the eastern side, and with a mighty stroke of a gonming knife cuts the ropeintwain! And that gure is—Kilty Ayner! CHAPTER XIL THE BLOOD-HOUNDS—A’* HORROR OF HORRORS. ‘* He is dead!” said old Bill Wood as he raised the head of Thomas Lamonte upon his knee, and wiped away the blood. ‘Poor feller: it’s a gol-durned hard time uv it he’s had, knockin’ erbout ther world, tho’ I hadn't ther buzz of an idear who he was ’tel a minnit ago, blarst me if I had. Bué I begin ter see now, or I kinder think Ido. Hum, yes;’ and the old man nodded his head thoughtfully, as he gazed sorrow- gas into the white haggard face of the corpse. © had said all this in aslow, half-unconscious way, as if he knew not that Iris was listening eageriy. . Father!” She came forward, and laid one hand on the shaggy locks of hair that covered his head, and when he glanced up in a startled way, he met her of piteous ued and doubt. ‘“* Father, who am I?” Four words from her sweet lips; four words uttered in a pleading, pitiful tone; four words that had worlds of meaning in them. He did not answer for several moments, He could not answer as he should have done, and yet he must make some reply. ‘Who ar’ ye?’ he repeated, as if he were as- tonished at the Some ¢ Vaal, ay that ng @ queer axin’. o d’ye s’pose ye be ‘cept Iri Wood? r *““I don’t know,” was the girl’s quick an- swer, ‘but I want to and must know. I am some one else, for this stranger's words and ac- tions — as much. You know and you told now you must tell me the same.” My surprise me. W’at d’ye want me ota et sitadiats os ; besid r responded, sasha a a want, tell me, are you sealhy, ky my The old man bowed his head in his horny & moment, and remained silent. When he looked iba gar Stood in either e e. No, child,” he answered, huskily; ‘I'll tell the truth as far's I can ° I am not your os but, gal, ye won’t like me none ther ‘No! no!” cried Iris, impetuously, throwing her arms abont his neck, and kissing him, ** You have been - erate and generous to me, and “God be ” said the old miller, shed- ding tears titude; ‘those words are like balm to rm heart, child, and I thank ye!” Iris wai for him to speak again, but did not. His head was dro t his breas and he seemed entirely vious of other pres “You h nic — were not my father: do tell m At; ig were my pares? Oh! She | Waited calmly until the ‘beautiful creature was | / ited on the floor, he # cmd re the contents on the knelt to examine the treas- floor before him, an ure three nuggets of gold—all pure and shininz. Then, there was a roll of note-paper bound with red tape, and this Wood hastily transferred to his own pocket. Besides this there was nothing save a gold watch and a pistol.” The watch Iris picked up, and examined, critically. It was of American manufacture, and exquisitely wrought. On one of the inner cases was engraved the inscription: ** Thomas to Myra,” “Were Thomas and Myra my parents?’ de- manded the girl, turaing quickly to Bill Wocd —‘‘were they?’ ‘Yes; thar, now, don’t ask me no more.” ‘But, I. will, though,” she replied, firmly. ‘What isin the papers vou are so anxious to keep away from your daughter’s eyes, sir?’ **I don’t kno’, so dry up,” he growled, and leaving the gold on the floor, he rose to his feet and hurried from the shanty. After he had gone Iris gatherel it up in her apron, and handled it over carefully. She had never seen as muci: ali in one vollec- tion before, and it appeared to her like some wiid dream more than reality. Twenty-three thousand dollars! It seemed'so like a fabulous amount that it could not be true. . Poor little fair-faced Iris. She had never as- pired to such wealth—scarcely ever dreamed that as much money existed’ in the wide, wide world. Now, she was the owner of part of this won- derful lezacy; who would claim the remaining half? Did Bill Wood know where to find the other heir? Yes, he must know all, for he had the papers; and beside, he seemed to recognize the man as some one he had seen before. He, then, possessed the secret of the whole mysteri- ous affair. For a long time Iris sat and won- | dered over the matter, her pretty chin resting between a pair of soft white hands, and her eyes bent upon the floor, where lay the corpse of Thomas Lamonte, the man of mystery. Presently a figure darkened the doorway of the humbie home, Not the form of old Bill Wood, but the person of a creature of the opposite sex, so horribly gro- tesque, wild and hideous, that [ris involuntarily ogg & scream of terror and sprung to her eet. It was a woman—there was no denying that; a woman with a face hard to picture, with its seams and furrows and bright yellow skin; its horrible mouthful of fangs; its wild tangled gray hair, and eyes like a burning fire; a wo- man, yet so awfully terrible and repulsive as to be an object of affright. She was clad in rag- ged and soiled garments, wore nothing of cov- ering on her head, and carried in the wagow Ai her claw-like hands a stout oaken staff, on which she half leaned for support. As Iris uttered a terrified scream and sprung to hef feet, a low peculiar laugh broke from the old woman’s lips: ‘Ha! ha! ha! don’t be afraid, young lady— don’t be afraid of me, for I will not hurt you. Iam simply a harmless old fool; that’s all; my ducky, that’s all; so don’t be skeered at me. just come in for a moment to see a dead man— ah! there he is, now, ~ fellow. How lucky he is to get to heaven, first. Once, we told eac other that we'd never part, but foul enemies ay Nye us, = tore ~ egy chy gored t was long ago, deary, long, long ago fore they put me in the x, Boerne downy Ugh! that was a terrible place, where shrieks, groans, curses and demoniac howls constantly made the foul air musical. I learned to shriek, there,— learned to shriek as loud as ~~ of them, when they would try to put the straight-jacket on me. Ha! ha! and I'd curse, and fight, too, but that's all the itdone. The k rs were all devils, and could conquer demons. Hum, ho! yes, they were very devils, but I eluded them, and like a fox-hound smelt my way the accursed land, out here. I saw him, too; him who made me what I am, curses go with him! Poor Thomas: he died without knowing who fired the pistol-shot that ushered hirn into eternity, before his God and master. Poor, poor silent Thomas.” She knelt beside the outstretched form and long and searchingly into the face that was calm in death. Long and eagerly did she gaze there; then, with a t sigh she rose to her feet. Iris had been eying her half in terror, but she now ad- vanced and spoke: “Was the dead man ever anght to you, ma’am?” she asked, pointing to the co of Thomas Lamonte. “Did you know in former days?’ The old woman nodded slowly, and tears stood in her wild eyes as she replied: “Yes, deary; I knew once, but it was long, long ago. He came to me and wooed and won me, but we were separated, and I have never met him since. Poor Thomas; he died witbout kno my innocence, and even knew not whose hand it was that gave him his death- blow. Ha! ha! ha!” As the miner said, there were exactly twenty- With a startling scream of laughter the stran gor turned and fied ont through a rear-loor, and isappearea within the depths of a thicket. She was scarcely out of the rear-door wheir old Bill Wood came bounding in at the front. ** Who was heer?” be demanded, his excite ment getting the better of him. ‘ I see'd suns } One cum in heer—who war it, gal?’ | **An old woman, sir,” replied Iris, pointin toward the rear-<ioor, ‘*She went out through there.” ** What'd she want in heer?” “* I don’t know, unless it was to see this corpse, | She seemed to recognize Mr. Lamonte as some one she had previously known.” “*No doubt, no doubt,” muttered the miller with asigh. “It must hev bin her, then, true | enuff, though who'd ’a’ thought o' Aer comin’ | out heer? rdy! tharll be hot_times soon; I | reckon.” The day passed away droweily. The body of Lamonte was laid upon a couch in the next room, where it was to remain until sunset, when the miller intended to bury it, and | Iris went about her work, her thoughts varying | alternately frora her lover, as she secretly called | the man she liad met in Denver, to Wild Car los; and from the corpse in the adjoining room to the horrible old woman with the awf fangs. Why was it that her mind seemed to connect them ail together? In no way could she solve | the problem. : | . Wood was silent and gloomy all the day. | Something seemed weighing heavily on his mind, and he was as ill at ease “as a fish eut of water,” as Iris laughingly remarked. By noon be had finished his fifth pipe, and he arose from the doorstep, where he was sitting, Iris," he said, looking up and down the gulch, and then turning his troubled face to- ward her, ‘‘ where's the gold?” “The gold? Why, Lhid it in the bottom of my trunk.” “Humph. Thet won't do, gal, thet won't do, Better let metake it and bury it for you, | whar’t’!l be safe.” * Where it will be safe? Then, don’t you think | it will be safe in the bottom of the trunk?’ | with a long-drawn sigh. i | | “No, I don’t. Le’me tell ye, pal, I'm afeerd | thar’s devilment a-brewin’, or else I’ve lost m | guess, Thar was a feller sneakin’ about the mi a leet'e while ago, an’ I ’spect he’s found out sumthin’ about the gold.” “Oh! no, it cannot be!” * Yes, et can. Thar’s them as can smell out gold wi'out ther least disconveenyence, and ] jedge the cuss I see’d war one o’ them ‘ar kind. So, as no one kin tell w'at may happen, ’'d bess bury the pesky stuff whar ye kin git it at sum future time. Tl also ie ther papers wi? et, an’ w’en ye go fer ther gold ye can find out who ye be.” ** And when will that be?’ “Not afore I peg out, gal. Out o’ respeok fer your old man ye must promise not to go nigh the cache ‘til I’m jig out, an’ I opine *twon’t be long off, nuther, fer I've got a pre sentation thet this old bunch o’ humanity won't ‘ang together much longer. D’ye promise, galf* ‘Yes, I promise,” replied Iris, gravely. “Good. Now, then, git me the gold, an’ Pn see thet it is cached right off.” She went into the adjoining room pd soon re- turned with the sack of precious tietal, which she gave to him, and he in turn left the shanty, going off toward the mill. He was absent for av hour, and when he re- | turned there was a grim smile of triumph on his face. “IT guess they won't find thet wealth fer aw’ile,” he said, seating himself in his favorite chimney-corner, and lighting his pipe. “Itty take a man who kin see thru mountings ter dis- cover et, unless he hed ther key.” “Indeed. Then you must have buried it very deept” x on so; leastways no one ken’t find it ‘les I tell 'em w'an, ’tis.” “Then you fiad better tell me, so that I will ert" hee to sone oF » jeu? Se bm “Humph! guess I won't tell ye thet feller gits thru peekin’ in at thet windy, thar behind ye.” Iris glanced around with a startled cry, just in time t see a grim, below the window-ledge, Somebody had ing on them! Wi a wonderful of mind, she seized a kettle of boiling water from the fire- place, and hurled it with all her might throu the open casement. She heard it strike, and a fearful scream of pain followed by a volley of terrible oaths and curses; but ere she coukd spring to the door, the sneaking intruder had es- cn ‘Tt takes a gel to fix em!” laughed oM Bill, as Iris, rosy with excitement, re-entered the kitchen. “Thet war the purtiest pot-slingn’ I ever see’d did in tie hull course o’ my life. “* It seems as if danger and events are a presen * back to work, * see eee Jomicboo to be a chief characteristic of "es a Somehow I feel that something awful is about to