Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1064 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 Dandy Dick Decoyed. mse, ‘‘ and if I need your services I shall not hesitate to callon you, I believe I will now re- tire. : With a bow, then, she turned to the hall door and disappeared from sight, Turgee looked after her, and shook his head. ** That'll do for a blind,” he muttered, ‘* bat it don’t fit my eye, That woman is looking for somebody, that’s plain.” With bands bebiud him he walked on to the end where the coffin rested, and there stopped, looking at the thing with much curiosity. ‘**'Yes; and here’s more mystery,” be mused, ** This is one of the strangest bits of doings that ever came up in my way. Wonder what Dane- wood will think about it when he returns? When he had stood for some minutes, he ee the coffin off with his foot and returned he way be had come, entering the bar-room. Mr, Dunbarge and the young man McDonald were there in earnest conversation. The young woman of the coffin had been taken to a room, and was being cared for by the women of the house, Nothing further bad been learned from her. It was plain that she knew nothing whatever that could throw light upon the mystery of ber coming there in so wonderfully strange a man- ner, After a little while a young stranger entered the bar-room, He was a dark fellow, with a slender mus- tache, rather small in stature, and with easy, graceful movements, Speaking to no one, be made the circuit of the room idly, seeming to pay but little attention to any one, and after a few minutes went out again. ‘* Who was that?’ asked Dunbarge, *‘Never saw him before,” answered Mc- Donald. The local czar put the same question to Turgee, but the reply was similar. No one knew the young man, and after a few minutes he was forgotten, having been set down as a new arrival, On leaving the hotel, that individual had gone direct to the Come Over Here, the popular saloon of which mention has been made. En- tering there, be had made the saine circuit as at the hotel, He spoke to no one, minded his own business strictly, and gave no one opportunity to address him, Finally bis search there was over, if it was a search, and he went out. And from there he passed to other places of similar kind, proving now that he was certainly in quest of some one, In that manner he made the entire circuit of the camp, both sides of the creek, entering every public place, but to no purpose. At last he gave up, and with an air of annoyance and not a little of anxiety, turned his steps in the di- rection of the hotel again. There he entered the hall quietly, and in a moment more bad passed into the room of the Mexican lady, Inez Monica. CHAPTER XIV. PECULIAR DISAPPEARANCE, NEXT morning found Satan’s Delight about as usual, The excitement of the night before ‘had subsided, and men set about their work as if nothing out of common bad happened, To be sure the mystery of the coffin was talked about, and every man asked his neighbor how the young woman fared, and whether she could tell any more than she had told the night before. This question answered, there was nothing more to enlist their interest, The report as given out wasithat the young woman was better, but too weak to leave her bed, and that she had been unable to téll any- thing more. What she had asserted already, she still maintained, but could add nothing to it, She was positive as to the fact of ber marriage, much to the unhappiness of the young map McDonald, At an early hour Dunbarge started a mes- senger to the camp th@ young woman was from, to inquire into the case, This was with McDonald’s knowledge, and he had been eager to accompany the man, in dis- guise; but as his lifo, perhaps, would be in dan- ger there, Dunbarge would not allow him to go, Dunbarge had the utmost confidence in him. McDonald’s own character and conduct, since his coming to the camp, spoke highly for him, and now the proof of his assertion that Steel- forth was a chief of knaves added still more in his favor, He was believed to be both inrocent and honest. _ The Mexican woman arose early, and was out on the street-immediately after breakfast. She mppeared to be idly saunteripg around, viewing ; ~" y Ps ied 7 ‘aa ht a 225 nr i all <* re | ae . ° - = . ¢ am . oY * r —s ‘Fe . - 5 Ts ae r%, oo 2 2 7 bie oe : “*, *: . A od | | the camp, but a close observer might bave been sure that she was scanning every face. And a close observer there was, in the person of Turgee. He badan eye upon her, watching her whenever he could, and now and again he would shake his head ina knowing way. What he knew, however, amounted to noth- ing, and what he discovered amounted to little more, Along in the forenoon Danewood rode into the camp, returning from a trip to Cheyenne, He had stopped over night at a camp twenty miles or so from the Delight, , He showed interest in the story of the coffin, and in the other reports that were given bim as soon as be arrived, He seemed particularly in- terested in the assertion that there were outlaws around, It was about at the time of bis return, too, when another individual entered the valley, This personage was one of the usual mining- camp sort, with nothing whatever to draw at- tention to him, He looked likean Irishman, and perhaps was, Wearing a rough red beard, and clad in work- a-day attire, he Joitered around like a miner out of work, paying little attention to any one, and nobody paying much to him, Nevertheless he had his eyes about him, and presently, when the Mexican lady was far down the valley in one of ber strolls, he sauntered in that direction, finally meeting her face to face as she turned to come back, Just as they met, and were passing, the man deftly dropped a letter at her feet, going right on without a look at her. She saw it, could not help seeing it, and stoop- ing, picked it up, s she did this, she glanced back at the man who had let it drop, but he was going right on his way. And he continued going, too. No stop did he make, but passed out of the valley by way of one of the three canyons that opened intc it. The woman smiled, as she glanced after bim once more before opening the letter. ‘*A clever fellow,” she said to herself, ‘I bad no idea it was be, 80 well disguised he was. But, my letter! I must see what it bas to say.” The letter was addressed to her, and tearing it open, she made haste to get at what it contained, and as sbe read her face grew pale, ‘* Heavens!” she cried, when she ended, ‘it was a narrow e-cape! And now the work has to he done all over again, Well, I will prove that [am equal to the emergency, any- how, Straight fo the hotel she went, and to her room, That was the last seen of tnez Monica. She was not on band for dinner, and a woman going to ber room, found that she was gone, with all her belongings! It was considered a strange disappearance, and the more so, since ber horse was yet in the stable, and no one had seen her since Gome time in the morning. Where she had gone was a puzzle, In the morning she had met Flora Dunbarge, and had promised to call on her in the after- noon, Not doing so, that young lady wondered at it, and at tea spoke to her father. He had heard of the disappearance, and was trying to explain it in some way satisfactorily to bimself. As svon as Flora heard of it, she cried: ‘* Ttjhas been the outlaws! She was the one they{vere after, and they have been successful in carrying Levot i a Dunbarge had been asking himselfif this could be the case, ‘It may be as you say, my child,” he decided, ‘but I do not see how it was possible for them to get her away, in broad daylight, with- out ber having a chance to give some alarm,” ‘*But you will look into it, won’t you? If she is in the hands of such fellows, she must be rescued,” ‘And she shall be, too, if anything can be discovered of their whereabouts. I will takea force of men and hunt them out, I will have no band of outlaws within a hundred miles of this camp, if | can belpit, And, as for barbor- ing them here-— Well, let one come here and try it, that’s all,” his was good enough, as far as it went, but itdid not explain the mystery of the woman’s disappearance, and Miss Dunbarge was still troubled. Nothing else new or exciting took place after this disappearance. There were strangers in camp, true, but strangers frequently were there, so, little was to be mace of that, This was stage-day, as the great day at all such camps is called—the day when the regular stage brings news from the wide world without; and immediately after gape the citizens col- lected in front of the hote The stage was on time, fora wonder—as some expressed it, for it was oftener quite a little late; and came rolling down the street, on the hotel side of the creek, at its usuallively gait. Finally the driver let out his ‘* Whoa!” and drew rein, © clapped on the break, and the ‘‘ hearse” was there. ‘* Hyar we is again!” cried the driver, throw- ing down his lines and pitching out the mail. ‘An’ yer seems ter have a load, too,” was the shout in response, from some one in the assembled throng. ‘* Bet yer life I has! An’ hyar’s a speciment of John Bull. What d’yer think of him fera cpg dude# Ain’t he adaisy, wi’ no flaws in. him As he indicated an English tourist who was just alighting from the inside, the remarks he made were greeted with laughter, The man was certainly a specimen of his kind—a perfect specimen, He had the red face, the flaming mutton-chop- whiskers, and the inseparable eyeglass. He was covered in a long, plaid duster, with a cap to match. At his side hung his field-glass in its case, Oa his left arm was a lightsbaw). He was a British dude superfine, Immediately after came his valet, clad in but- tons-—principally buttons, and brass buttons, too, He was loaded down with bags and coats, canes and umbrellas, and what not. His face. smooth and red, was that of an Eng- lish flunky, ready at his master’s beck and call These twe madestraight for the hotel, master ahead and servant bebind, The other passengers were of about the usual assortment, ‘Yas; them’s a fine pair,” a manin the crowd made answer to thedriver’s remarks, ‘* Whar did ye pick ’em up?” ‘“‘Over at Cheyenne Junction, don’ cher know,” the driver drawled, ‘‘ Don’t sce how ther queen kin spare ’em, do yout Should think she’d be afeerd ter let ’em go ’way from bome.” So the jokin Englishman and bis man paid no attention to it, Straight into the bar-room of the Mountain Mansicy they marched, and straight to the desk, where the master stopped and turned, The flunky had stopped immediately behind him, standing like a statue, and when the mas- ter had furtber burdened him with bis shaw] he turned to the desk, ‘* Aw, can you give us a room, me good fel- lah?’ be asked, with a drawl, ‘Yes; I guess we can fit you out, sir,” an- swered Turgee, ** What kind do you want?” The Britisher explained at length, and his wauts being assured as satisfactorily supplied, set about writing his nameand that of his man in the iegister, When he put down the pen Turgee read—"* Lord Brandt Comingway, Lon- dou; with man Jones,” CHAPTER XV. ¥ INTRODUCES BAD-MAN BEN, LORD BRANDT COMINGWAY, with his mar, was the center of all interest, It was the first time Satan’s Delight bad ever been favored so highly. As one man remarked,—the camp was ‘‘ devil- ish delighted to see’em.” And while the * lk rd” and Lis man were at supper, and after the sort- ing of the mail, a crowd began to collect in the bar-room of the Mansion to see more of them. While they waited, keeping pretty fair or er considering the place they were in—for no dis- order was allowed in the Mansion if it could be avoided—while they waited, a terribly roug!i- looking customer swaggered ip. He was dirty, ragged, and a picture of dismal distress gen~ “rr ‘* Waal, Ireckonster opine thet ther school are in, by ther size of ther class, I behold,” he cried, stopping and staring about him, with arms akimbo, ‘‘How de do, my hearty hy- enss. Glad ter see ye lookin’so mighty well. How’s yer sisters and yer cousins aud yer aunts, and all ther rest of ther folks? I’m a stranger byar, as maybe yer kin see.” ‘Yes, we see you are,” Walton Turgee made prompt response, ‘‘and seeing, that you are a stranger, let me puta flea in yourear, Weal- low no unruly conduct bere, and no loud talking, so please govern yourself accordingly. If you don’t, we shall be under the unpleasant necessity of firing you out, I merely mention this to let ad ran, for the minute; but the — raggec durn ¢ tion te old st peace! waite then yor d off te!