Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1003 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

: | | : Ge —. — SC ——— ‘And don’t they know how the girl es- | said yesterday thet we'd orter break caped?”’ ** Nick says he don’t, an’ Phil ‘lowa he hasn’t any idee who could ’a’ helped ber. I kinder be- lieve ther gurl got out herself,” Danning looked at Dick curiously. ** Then it was you who dropped the knife with the Dutchman’s name on it?” ‘Yes; you give me the kgife, an’ I didn’t know but it wuz allright, How’n thunder did it happon to hev his nan e on it?” ‘** It isn’s his name,” replied Dunning, ‘‘ It’s the name of a man out East, and why he’s trav- élin’ under it 1 don’t know,” ‘*Why’d you want me to shoot him fur?” asked Dick, hobbling out of his cabin for a fresh supply of kindling wood. you?” ‘* Well, yes, slightly, And that’s what I came to see you about now,” : ** You want me t’ plug ’im?” “Exactly,” © When?” ‘* At once,” ** All right. e,”” ‘* Fe give me this cut in the head yesterday, over to Dacy’s. And! had the drop on him at the time, too. He wears chain-armor under his coat.” . ‘*Tli try his head,” said Dick, grimly, ‘I reckon he don’t wear chain-armor around his brain,” Dunning talked with Limpy Dick for some time longer, promising bim a large reward for getting rid of German Joe, and when ke left at nine o’ciock he had received the assurance that the detective would be a corpse within twenty- four hours, He rode slowly back toward Silverside, hoping that by the time he reached there, Dacy would have returned from Junita with his bank-book. But when he arrived at the ‘‘ Badgers’ Nest,” the man who presided over the bar in the pro- prietor’s absence told him that Dacy had left the place before daybreak, without letting any one know where he was going, . Dunning spent the day in flitting back and forth between the ‘‘ Whitehouse” and the ‘Badgers’ Nest,” impatiently awaiting the arrival of Dacy. As night drew near and that gentleman did not put in an appearance, Dun- ning’s impatience turned to anxiety, and he was about to goin search of the man whom he had trusted with his money, when Limpy Dick came —- up to the ‘‘ Whitehouse” and cailed to im: I reckon I cam accommodate ‘‘Git a horse, quick,” he yelled, ‘‘ an’ cum with me. Dacy got ina row with Nick a little while ago over to Little Pete’s, an’ Nick put a bullet in him. The boys say it’s all up with Phil, and he sent me for you.’ Ina few minutes the two were galloping back toward Placer Ranch, Dick trying to give a co- herent account of the tragedy on the way. “‘It seems thet Dacy cum inter Little Pate’s this afternoon, an’ got ’er talkin’ with Nick. They were at it for nearly an hour, an’ then, all of a suddint, Dacy got out his shooter. Nick saw him jest in time, and inall my bo’n daysl hain’t never seen sech shootin’ ez them tw had. Both stood straight up an’ let each other hey it. Phil went down on ther second shot, but he wuz a-goin’ to die game, an’ he riz up on bis elbow and planted a bullet right w' ar Nick’s beart oughter be, But it didn’t do 10 harm, and he got one back thet settled him. Nick hain’t scratched, Dunning listened to this narrative with a feel- ing of dismay, If Dacy should die before he could reach him, bow would he be able to ubtain the money he had intrusted to the murdered man? He frequently urged Dick into a faster pace as they dashed onward in the growing darkness, aad by the time they reached the *‘ Golden Garter ’”’ he was in a state of mind bor- dering on frenzy. But his first question elicited the fact that Dacy was not yet dead, nor very likely to die. ** His jaw-bone’s broke in two places,” said the man who had volunteered to nurse the wounded man, ‘An’ hes got a putty bad hole in his arm, but it ain't quarter enough to kill sech a man ez Phil Dacy,’ Dunning was immediately conducted to the improvised couch, but its occupant was unable to give him any information. [he entire lower em of his face was swathed in bandages, and is eyes were closed, ‘** 1t won’t improve his looks,” said the nurse, **But then Phil never wuz a beauty. Jest ez soon ez he is able to be moved we'll cart him to his own ranch. He’s the first man shot in the plece now fur over two weeks, Ole Bill Coon (ear. i rey to A by spillin’ some bad blood, an’I reckon we’ve done it.”’ Dunning turned away sick at heart and dis- appointed. It would scareely do to search the body of the wounded man, and yet he felt sure that the receipt for his money was concealed somewhere about Dacy. He rode back to the ‘*Whitehouse” in anything but an amiable frame of mind, cursing himself for ever trusting his money out of his sight. Limpy Dick, after leaving Dunning at the bedside of his injured friend, hastened to his cabin, where Nick Goodloe had gone after the shooting. He looked a trifie excited when his partner entered, but otherwise showed no signs ‘*Ishe anything to | of the encounter. ‘* Yo’ did well,” said Dick, laying his hand on Goodloe’s shoulder, ‘‘ Ther’ ain't many men in this country kin say they’ve downed Pail Dacy.” The simple compliment pleased Nick more than anytuing eise would have done, and he put his arm around his crippled partner and said, with something of affection in is tune: ‘*T didn’t want to down him, Limpy, but he kept at me’until 1 got desperate. He went for his shooter first, an’ ef he got ther worst uv it, he’s to blame,” ‘What did yo’ quarrel about!” asked Dick, “Ther gurl. He tried to lie to me, sunthin’ about a man named Warren, who giv’ him sixty thousand dollars which was stolen, Then he see this Warren hev the gurl. He thought I'd be- lieve all ther stuff, an’ when I called him a liar, he got on his ear,” Limpy Dick began to clear the table for their evening meal, his confidence in Goodloe’s prow- ess increased a hundred-fold by the events of the afternoon, CHAPTER VII. GERMAN JOE IN TROUBLE, WHEN Joe was | ft alonein the closet with the sachel containing $60 000 at bis feet, you may be sure that he did nut waste unnecessary time in marveling over his lucky escape, Tue key had scarcely turned in the lock as Dacy went out with Dunning, before Joe had }-tt his hiding- place. Two windows opened from one sive of the rooin, and throwing oper one of these, the detective crawled out on the ledge with the sachel in hig band, ‘*it can’t be more than fifteen feet to the ground,” he thought, peering out in the dark- ness. ‘* This house is built on a side-hill, and I guess the upper windows can’t be very far from the ground, Vllrisk it, anyway.” Carefully lowering the window, and grasping the sachel in one hand, he swung hinaself from the ledge with-tbe other and dropped to the ground. He had fallen in some deep black mud, evidently, for he sunk to his knees, and in attempting to extricate himself, floundered about in the darkness and buried himself still deeper in its clinging embrace, And then for the first time he thought of the creek that had been turned from its course, as Kid Keen had told him some time before, for the purpose of washing sluice-boxes, This creek had been turmed into an excavation run- ning behind Dacy’s house and out through a tunnel in the hill to a mining-camp in Horse- shoe Valley. But why the creek had dried up, leaving be- hind it this sticky black mud, Joe eould not con- jecture, Bat he realized very clearly that his life was in danger, for seg? time he struggled to escape he sunk deeper in the quicksand. ’ Finally. he decided that even if he could keep his arms above water—or rather above mud— it would be impossible for him to retain posses- sion of the sachel. So, carefully estimating the distance it would O; Joe threw the sachel with all bis strength. o his surprise and dismay, it fell in a body of water, as the splash accompanying its fall plainly denoted. _ “Well, of all scrapes that any one was ever in, this seems to be the worst, I might rather have stayed in the room, and had it out with Dacy, than slowly suffocate heré, I’ve heard of such things before, but this is my first and probably wiil be my last, experience,” Joe reached about him with his bands, and struck the building from which he had just es- caped. This might at least furnish temporary support, and grasping his knife with his right hand, he drove it with all his strength between the chinks of the logs, with which-the rear side of the ** Badgers’ Nest” was constructed. This kept him from sinking any deeper in the mire, —— ther record | but his utmost strength was not sufficient to re- ~ é eee CL lease the lower part of his body from the soft but firm grip of the quicksand. . And we must leave him fora short time, and return to Kid Keen, who, after leading the res- cuing party to aud from Silverside, returned to his cabin and spent the remainder of the hight insleep, Lite the next morning he arose, won- dering where his partner had spent the night, and went over to Little Pete’s for his breakfast, He remained in the ‘‘ Golden Garter” until the shooting affray between Nick Goodloe and Dacy, and then becoming alarmed over the con- tinaed absence of German Joe, set out in search of him, The men who had accompanied him to Silverside had not seen Joe return after the raid, and Keen concluded that the detective must either be confined in the ‘‘ Badgers’ Nest,” or was following some clew affecting Grace Denmore, ‘He's a mighty plucky little feller,” saic Keen, as he prepared to go in search of his friend, ‘‘ But he’s more’n likely to get hurt ef he fouls around Dacy’s, The men out there are kinder dangerous when they git excited, and jest like’s mot Phil has told them to down ther utchman. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dacy himself wuz all broke up on ther gurl, She’s a mighty pooty piece, but I don’t see why she should cause us all this trouble, Eft ther boys find thet Nick’s got his band in ther steal, ’'m afeard it will go kinder hard with him, Nick’s a mighty quick shot, howsumever. Ther’ ain’t many men who’ve ever got away frum Phil Dacy’s pistol alive.” =f And thus ruminating on the events of the past few days, Keen rode on toward Silverside, In front of Colone! Denmore’s residence he met that gentleman on horseback. ‘* Hello, kurnel,” said Keen, reining up along- side of him, ‘‘Is’pose you’ve heerd uv our raid last night?” ‘* Yes,” said the colonel, sadly. ‘‘ You were so positive that Grace was confined at Dacy’s that your failure was a great disanpointmeat, Have you thougbt cf anything else now that will help us?’ , ** Nothin’ at all.” ** And I have found no trace of-a clue. knife—” ‘Don’t amount to anything,” interrupted Keen, ‘*Ther Dutchman wouldn’t burt a fly unless it burt him, He’s been tryin’ hard to find yo'r daugbter,” ‘‘ Where are you going now?” asked Colonel Denmore, turning his horse around and riding by Keen’s side. ‘* T’ve Jost track of Jo>, an’ am goin’ over ter Dacy’s ter see whar heis, He wuz with us on the raid last night, but I hain’t seen him since an’ I reckoned mebbe he’d got inter trouble of sum kind,” The two rode together for some time in silence, and then Keen gaid: “Kernal, who’s ther nice-looking chap over ter Darkin’s place? Hev you seen him?’ ‘* Not that I know of,” ‘‘ Well, I don’t like his looks very well. I’ve seen him around here several times, an’ it may be that he knows sunthin’ about Grace, He’s a dandified kind of a feller, but I reckon he ain’t too good fur this climate, an’I think it would be a good plan to foller him for a spell.” ‘Tt might,” assented Colonel Denmore, ‘¢ When Grace returns, if she ever does, I shall leave Placer Ranch at once, My wife has so much improved in health that I think a journey South would do her good,” ‘But this other chap I wuz speakin’ uv,” continued Keen, not liking to drop a clue which to his mind presented wonderful possibilities, ‘* Can’t we do sunthin’ in his direction?” ‘*T think so,” ‘*We might search his room?” ** But we couldn't!” ‘* Why not?” ‘*Darkin wouldn’t let us, if the man himself wasn’t there, and if he was, it ism’t likely he would submit without a fight.” ‘* Well, | reckon we kin fight, too.” The colonel shrugged bis shoulders, ‘* We might make a friendly call on the man, tell him we want some 5 on mining matters, or something of that kind,” he suggested. ‘¢ Just the idee,’ replied Keen. ‘* You dr in on him now while I go to the Nest to see ef kin find Joe.” Colonel Denmore promised to do so, and on reaching Silverside the two separated. Keen did not go direct to the ** Badgers Nest,” for the bad blood between the two villages might get him into tronble. Hetied his horse where there That was little probability of its discovery, and f <S Icboo