Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1003 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

we'll tackle Dacy. at a ee ree eee ** And he don’t know who?” **I didn’t ask him, He had a man there who wouldn’t let me talk to him,” Limpy Dick walked on in silence until the cabin was reached, and then said: ‘*] dunno what we kin do jest now, but I reckon we'd better carry out the plan I wuz goin’ ter propose about the Dutchman, It mought give us some clue to the sachel,”” Dick unfolded his scheme to Dunning, and was pleased to find that it met with his hearty ap- proval, ‘*There’s a good deal of danger about it,” he said, however. ‘* Both Keen and the Dutchman are fighters from away back,” ‘*I Enow thet, but Nick will help us, an’ by takin’ one at a time I reckon wekin pull through, We'll go to Kid’s cabin to-vight, an’ ef be’s thar alone we'll do him up, and then wait fur his pard, Ef Dacy hez lost the sachel ez he sez, it’s mor’n likely thet either Keen or ther Dutchman know sunthin’ about it.” ‘* That’s so,” assented Dunning. ‘* An’ after we’ve got away with these two t won't: take long to find whar he’s put the money ef be’s got it et all.” Dick’s hopefulness did not arouse much en- thusiasm in Dunning, however, and when the time came for the assault on Kid Keen’s cabin, he was the only one of the trio that was in favor of abandoning the scheme, But Limpy Dick and Goodloe—who had volun- teered his service—screwed up his courage, and quite late that night the three set out, well armed, for Keen’s stronghold. German Joe, as the reader knows, had left some time before for Denver, on his way to the Hast, and the trio of desperadoes found his part- ner alone and asleep. But to pind and gag the suddenly aroused scout was by no meansan easy matter, and when it was finally accomplished, the interior of the cabin gave evidence of the free fight that had taken place. Dunning had gone under at the first blow from Kid Keen’s big fists, but he assisted bis comrades materially by occasional encouraging shouts from under the bed, Limpy Dick, at the conclusion of the affair, noted in a small mirror on the wall that his pe- culiar style of beauty had been considerably im- proved by tbe loss of nearly all his hair, and that his nose had been flattened out to nearly double its dimensions by one blow from his an- tagonist’s fist, Nick Goodloe showed up two black eyes and a deep cut under one ear as his memento of the conflict, But taken all in all, the two partners were inclined to look with satisfaction upon their victory, and were even charitable enough to arrange Kid Keen, bound and ged beyond all resemblance to his former self, comfortably upon the bed, And it was while Dick and Goodloe were en- gaged in this kindly service that German Joe applied for admission, The two partners at once prepared themselves for the second battle as Dunning opened the door. CHAPTER XI. DUNNING REGAINS HIS GRIP, For a moment after the door was opened, German Joe stared at the tntruders in amaze- ment. He realized that he had walked into a oer and when Dunning made a grab for the sachel, he threw it behind him as far as pos- sible, at the same time seizing his revolvers. ** V’ot ish dis?” he asked, stepping backward a couple of paces. ‘ V’ot for you haf Keen tied dot vay, don’dt id?” “* Here, Limpy,” cried Dunning, ‘‘ shoot the s0n-of-a-gun while I grab the sachel.” For obvious reasons neither order was obeyed, and in an instant a revolver stared each cf the men in the face, and the form of German Joe blocked the doorway, effectually preventing egress, ‘‘ Luok oudt, yo’ miser’ble rascals!” he cried. **] vill plow taylight troo der fu’st man dodt Jays his haods on me, Vodt are yo’ vellers doin’ here, anyvay?” The question was directed to all three of the rascals, but not one of them bad the good grace to reply. UVunning was trying to get out of range of one of the Dutchman’s pistols, and Limpy Dick and his partner were dividing the drop of the other between them, Goodloe, of the three, retained the most pres- ence of mind, and realizing that the Dutchman would be unable to cover all of them at the same time, he seized the form of Kid Keen from the bed and held it in front of him, much to that gentleman's disgust. “ Put bim down,” ordered German Joe, chang- ing his aim from Limpy Dick and trying to fix German —— rm nn mm ma eee eee ee e— it on some visible portion of the anatomy of Dick’s partner. ‘* V’ot for you do dodt?” As the aim of the weapon was removed from Limpy Dick, the cripple made a spring for Joe, Joe, the Hayseed Sport. ee Oe EE ee eee ee 8 eee il “ Allright, you'll have to come East with me afterward and join Byrnes’s staff.” ‘* Mebbe,” said Keen, slowly, and so the com- pact was settled, and the two partners lay down knocking the revolver from his left hand, and | to put in a few hours of sleep. thus liberating Dunning, who was quick to take advantage of the opvortunity thus offered and rush for the door, Crack! Crack! The revolver in German Joe’s right hand spoke twice, and Limpy Dick fell to the floor, never to rise again, while another bullet buried itself in Nick Goodloe’s shoulder. But Dunning had escaped through the door- way,and as the Dutchman wheeled about, be could just see him darting down tbe street, with the sachel in bis hand, Joe gave ehase, sending a dozen bullets after the fleeing man, but in vain, *‘ The sachel’s gone egain,” he uttered, with a groan, returning to the cabin, the inside of which now resembled a battle-field swept by a | his things, and tornado. Kid Keen, bound and gagged, with blood over his face and clothes, lay near the door in the | | About ten o’clock Keen awoke, and after breakfasting the two began their search for Dunning and thesachel. They separated soon after, each to follow the elue he might strike first, and if it proved successful, to notify the other at once. Keen we must leave for the present, and accompany the detective as he starts out again upon the trail he had almost run down the day before. He was not disheartened by his failure—if such it might be calied—and renewed his quest with as much zeal as be had taken it up a month before, He first went to the ‘*‘ Whitehouse,” and in an interview with Casey found that Dunning had called there early in the merning, and taken al! lett on a horse which be pur- chased from the proprietor, The man did not know where he had gone, but suggested Junita as the only probable out- position Nick Goodloe had dropped bim when | let from that part of the country. He told Joe hit by the bullet, Nick himself sat on the bed, of the possibility of Darkin’s having stolen the moaning with pain; one arm hung useless at his ; thousand dollars from Dunning. A couple of side, and blood oozed in tiny streams from his | questions finger-tips. Limpy Dick, with a bullet in his brain, lay | | partially doubled up, one hand resting on a , pistol-butt protruding from his belt. The floor and walls were spattered with blood, and every- thing about the cabin gave evidence of the ter- rible battle that had just occurred, German Joe first released his partner, paying no heed to Goodive’s pitiful cries for assiatance, until Keen had stretched his arms and legs and pronounced himself uninjured, ‘‘T wish to thunder .we hadn’t’a’ done it,” groaned Nick, as the Dutchman approached him. ‘‘If you'll let me goto my cabin and fix up this arm a little, Vll leave ther place to- morrer. 1 reckon poor Limpy ez done fur. IL never see sech shootin’ in my life—an’] reckon I ain’t no chicken,” | The partners readily consented to Goodloe’s request, and were glad to bandage up bis arm and get rid of’him, If they bore him any ill- will, the sight of the dead, crippled body on the floor dispelled it, and both breathed a sigh of relief when he quitted the cabin, carrying un- der his left arm the inanimate form of his old partner. Keen sunk back on the bed and rested his head on bis arms, ‘| hope I’ never again see a night like this,” he said, fervently. ‘‘ Il wuz woke up out of a sound sleep, hit over the head with a club, jumped on an’ shot at, an’ finally bound an’ gagged by ther rascals, I thought it wuz you they wuz after, an’I wuz jest grinnin’ all over to myself to think you wuz prob’bly out to Den- ver—whep in yo’ walks, natural as life.” German Joe sat dowa by his partner’s side and told him the story of bis journey, how he had found the sachel in Darkin’s possession, and following him, was able to steal it and re- turn. ‘* And now,” he concluded, mournfully. ‘* I'll have to do all my work over again.” | ** Thar’s one thing, howsomever, thet’s in our favor,” said Keen, grimly, ‘ We've kinder thinned out our enemies. 1 neversee sech quick shootin’ as you did jist now. Ef yo’d only one Duoning instid of Limpy, we might hev ept the sachel, I wonder where he'll go with itnow?” “TI don’t know, but I suppose we must follow bim as soon as possible. I must get a little ae now, for I haven’t had a bit of rest for two ays. a Then, yo’ ain’t a-goin’ to New York State?” ‘Not until I get that money, and can take Duuning back with me,” replied Joe, firmly. ‘**Good boy,” said Keen, ‘* We'll chase Dun- ning to his hole if it takes us a month. I don’t s’pose he’ll stay in this place very long, though.” ‘*He will probably leave to-night,” returned Joe, “‘ And we'll have to try to catch him to- morrow, or at least find out where he’s gone.” “It’s to-morrow now, I reckon,” said Keen, referring to the time of day, ‘* We'll turn in an’ git sum sleep now, an’ when we git up, we'll see what we kin do to’ards gittin’ back ther sachel,” ‘* But, old man,” said the detective, laying his hand on his partner’s shoulder, ‘‘ I don’t want to put you to all this trouble, i have no—” ** Don’t yer say a word, Dutchy,” returned the scout, heartily, ‘‘l’d ruther help yo’ run thet man to the ground than not. Ef I kin do ennythin’ fur yo’ jist speak, an’ I’m thar!” elicited more information from Casey. ‘‘Darkin took ther gurl with him, an’ thet r’iled ther man terrible, He ‘lowed he wuz ther only one ez had er right to her, but Jack he up and carts her off, slicker’n grease. I ‘low they must be a good many miles from hyer by this time, eh?’ ; Joe was in much doubt on this point, but he nodded bis head, wondering why he had not seen the girl in Darkin’s possession, if he had taken her with him. ‘*Then you think der man Dunning vhas gone ter Junita?’ bheasked. ‘' Ish dere no other place he could go to from here?” ‘‘ Not thet I know uv!” replied Casey. ‘‘ He seemed in a tremend’us hurry, an’ lighted out in thet direction.” ‘* About six o’clock t’is mornin’ ?” sc Yes.” ‘¢ Vhell, I vhas mooch opliged for de informa- tion; goot-tay!” ) Joe remounted his horse and set out on his journey to Junita. His saddle-bags wero fille with clothing and material to be used in disguises, but he coneluded to put on bis drummer's outfit once more. It was the easiest to assume, and in the West a commercial traveler is getting to be quite a familiar character. He changed his clothing on the way, and when he reached Junita, late in the afternoon, the habiliments of German Joe were in the saddile- bags, and the detective appeared in the unmis- takable guise of a traveling salesman, At none of the hotels had a person of his appearance registered, and at the only railway station in town the ticket-agent was quite positive that he had not bought passage on the outgoing train. But Joe was not easily discourared, and he relied on Casey’s belief that Dunni: g had come to Junita, He thought it very probable that the man would try to deposit his bonds in some local bank, for fear of exciting suspicion if he attempted to dispose of them ina larger city where it was probable they had been advertised as stolen goods, ) During the evening the detective sought a number of places in which he thought it possible Dunning might be found, and his efforts were at length rewarded witha sight of the fleeing man. He walked into a gambling-house on a quiet street near the outskirts of the town, and on entering heard, in a familiar and excited voice: **T tell * be I had those chips coppered !” “* And I tell you that you were playing them open,” returned the dealer, ‘‘ I’m not blind, if you are,” “‘T say they were coppered, and I want the hundred dollars. Do you suppose I’m a-goin’ to — you my money like thet? I bad fifty dol- arson the ace to lose, and I won't be cheated out of it, ether.” The angry, menacing tone the detective recog- nized at once as Duvning’s, and his beart beat high with hope as he peered at the excited crowd surrounding a faro-table in one corner of the room. Dunning, almost white with anger, was stand- ing over the table shaking his fist in the dealer’s. face. ‘‘Give me my money,” be howled. ‘‘I came here to play a fair game, and I won’t be cheated. Give me my money!” The dealer turned a trifle pale and attempted