Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1005 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

= —_" - = - a ——— * an -_— *regy - ~ oo my Ee me, - Jon FY" -/. > << De » o- 2 te “ oe, ¥ _. ie » {eZ ’ - : “54k pws te —- . oa = iene ~ = “er > vw > —_ a hd ~ . 4 - : apy . — ° . ~—, . 7 a 4 _ * ba” Cie J! ‘ ; t43) 4 , * * ’ » “ ‘ . Py *. . ‘> a —_— a tcan =<. { 4, =e : lieve chivalry has stolen your affection from me—” “No! no! no! Great theavens! how you wrong me!” “Ha! ha! Then what is the matter with killing him, since he is my mortal foe, and it must be his life or mine soon- er or later?” “ But, your honor, Joaquin, your hon- sor,” she reminded him. ‘“ He gave you your life, or a chance for it, and you pledged your word that you would do the same—”’ “ Bah! Choose between us, Susana.” “IT choose you, of course,” attempting to throw ‘her arms around his neck, an action which he repelled. ‘‘ He is noth- ing to me; I only want to see your honor preserved.”’ “Bah! You-think to blind me. What can we brand him with, boys? He shall go to the devil with a mark of Captain wJoaquin’s compliments! ” “Hurrah! That is what the deserves!” “‘ Here is a horseshoe; will that do?” “The very thing!” “Tt will give him a mark for good luck!” “Joaquin! In heaven’s name show ‘mercy! If you do this thing, you kill my love for you at a single stroke.” “Ha! ha! ha!” He pushed her roughly away from him. “At least do not torture him,” she ried. “At least spare him that, I beg, \I implore.”’ “And all because he has stolen your affection from me,” she cried, with jeal- ous intensity. ‘‘ Yes, I will spare him; another word from you, and I will burn - ut his eyes!” With a scream, the young woman coVv- ered her face with ‘her hands and stag- gered away from the scene. “Where is that horseshoe?” the en- raged captain demanded. “Put these ' torches together, and lay it on them till it is heated. I will make an example of Deadwood Dick that will be a warn- ing to all other detectives to steer clear of . Captain Joaquin! ” The horseshoe was handed forward, and the torches were placed together as ordered, and the iron laid upon them. Then, while two of the cutthroats fanned the blaze with their hats, two more threw Dick to the ground and tore open _ his shirt in front, baring his breast. Wonderful to say, Dick had received no broken bones by his fall down the ragged side of the cliff. He had spoken no word, seeing the Ds uselessness of it. The young woman stood at some dis- tance away, wringing her hands, but _ afraid to say any further word for fear that Captain Joaquin would carry out his more terrible threat. All were silent, and the fire was fanned until at last the shoe began to take on | _ the color of the flame. *“ How hot do you want et, captain? A one of the scoundrels asked. “That will do,” was the answer. “ How ---s-will you handle it, though? A stick will SN 2 do, however.” “Yes, or a rifle barrel. Say when you _ are ready, and we'll give him sech a brand as will identify him hereafter when we meet him down below. Ha! ha! “Get ready.” “All ready, cap’n.” Teen ie . * 5 & 5 a y . “One fhoment, then. Susana?” He called out to the young woman. . “T hear you; Joaquin.” | a“ Come here and see jhow I treat a aeRO. no! Spare me that, Joaquin, spate | ¢ Re — when I catch him.” § me that! He is no rival; it was only of } you I thought!” “ Bah! you lie to me. I’ll fetch you— ha! ha!”’ He made a dash at her, but with an- other scream she turned and fled from sight. Captain Joaquin returned laughing, and ordered the hot iron to be laid upon Deadwood Dick’s bare breast, and a man brought it from the fire on the end of a rifle barrel. “ Anything to say, Deadwood Dick?” the Red Rover inquired. “ Only this,” said Dick: “ If you do this thing, you will be the object of my ven- geance even gn another world—I swear | le “Bosh! Put on the brand, my man.” The barrel of the rifle was lowered, and the hhot horseshoe slipped off and fell upon Deadwood Dick’s bare skin. The victim gave a convulsive move- ment as the hot iron touched his skin, and struggled furiously, an involuntary cry of anguish escaping his lips, but he was firmly held. A second—perhaps two, and tthe re- port of a rifle rang out, and Captain Joa- quin uttered a sharp cry and staggered. But only for a moment; he recovered himself, and, with hand pressed to his side, ran in the direction whence the shot had come, shouting back: “That wildcat did it! But I will have her; you hang that fellow and come at once to the cabin.” And he disappeared, while those who had been holding Dead- wood Dick to the ground jerked him upon his feet, and the iron dropped off and fell to the ground, leaving its imprint upon the fair flesh of the intrepid prince of detectives! CHAPTER XIV. SUSANA TO THxw RESCUE. |. Deadwood Dick believed that the end of his eventful career had come at last. There was not a ray of hope for him, and he was faint and sick from the in- tense pain of the hot iron that had been laid upon his breast. ; With his’ hands tied, and ‘this head swimming, he was powerless to resist his foes, and the rope was quickly placed around his neck and he was dragged in the direction of a tree near at hand. He was not even asked if he had a last word to say, The end of the rope was thrown over the limb, the cutthroats caught hold of it and pulled, and Dead- wood Dick, the fearless, the generous, was swung clear of the ground and the end of the rope was secured to the body of the tree. “Is he to be shot as well?’”’ demanded one of the villains. “No, he ain’t worth wastin’ good pow- der and lead on,’ was the response from another, “That’s so,” said a third. “ Let. him swing and think about et while his speer- it is workin’ itself loose in ther shell.” “Come on; ther captain said come to ther cabin at oncet.”’ “ Hooray! Good-by, Deadwood Dick!” With whoop and yell they hastened from the scene of their dastardly out- rage, and followed in the direction Cap- tain Joaquin had taken. Barely had they gone when a panting form sprang out of a crevice in the rocks. It was Susana. - With a suppressed cry she ran to the | tree with all speed, and with a single ‘| sweep of a keen knife severed the rope. Deadwood Dick. dropped to the ground heavily, all limp and apparently lifeless, and the young woman was at his side in- : eae age s ae ais ode ie eR Ps S- | "Ded week Dick, J r., gtr ying stantly, her eager fingers at work at the noose. It was quickly loosened and removed. “He must not die, he shall not die!” she cried to herself. ‘ I will save him for his revenge. You accused me of loving him, Captain Joaquin, wrongly accused ° me, but I will love him now, love him with my whole heart, for you have made me hate you—hate you!” She lifted Dick’s head and pressed warm and passionate kisses upon his face, believing he was wholly uncon- scious, To her surprise her last kiss was re- turned. She sprang up with a startled little cry, and released her hold instantly. _ “TI owe my life to you,” said Dick, in low tone. ‘“‘I shall not soon forget the obligation, I promise you.” “T régret that I could not save you the torture you had to undergo,” was the re- sponse. *“‘ You heard his threats; I was afraid to say another word in your fa- vor.” “Tam glad that you did not do so. But release Me quickly and let me get hold of my weapons—which they left yonder — on the ground. They may return, and not only my life, but yours, is now at stake. There will be another reckoning before the account is closed.’’ She freed his hands even while he was speaking. “Yes, there will be another reckon- ing,” she said, in low, intense tones, ‘and in it I will be on your side. I thhate him—hate him now as much as I ardent- ly loved him before—or thought I loved him. How blind I was to his true char- . acter!” “Do you know what is good for a burn?” Dick asked. “ Yes, yes; why did I not think of it? How you must suffer! Wait, I will dress that wound in a.moment.”’ Snatching a brand from the fire in hich the horseshoe had been heated, she sought eagerly around and plucked. rei and there a kind of weed that grew in the rock crevices. | While she was thus engaged, Dick se- cured his revolvers and also the horse- shoe with which he had been branded. The latter was still hot, of course. Having gathered some of the weeds, the girl laid them on a stone and pound- ed them to a pulp, and, tearing a strip from an article of her linen, she spread the poultice upon it. ‘‘ Now, let me fix it,’’ she said to Dick. Dick sat down and bared his breast, and she applied the cooling pulp to the wound, the contact causing Dick to give a sigh of relief. “That feels good,” he said. ‘Tt will soon draw out the fire,” said the girl, “‘and it will aid the wound to heal quickly, too.”’ Securing the poultice in place as well as possible, she fastened Dick’s shirt over it, and when she had done Dick took her in his arms and embraced her, re- turning the kisses she had given him. — ai You have given me your life,” he said; “what can I do for you in re- turn?” “ Give me your protection,” was the re-_ sponse, “ You shall have that, to the death.” “ And let me aid you in your revenge against that monster. Ugh! how I hate him now!” | “ But, he is your husband—” » “No, no, he was not my husband: I am free, as free as a bird. I loved him, and would have wed him, but I am thankful my eyes were opened before I was neato | mer to him for life. ~ eet ae ae “6 a ; = ; Ah yo, oy aS ; | ‘cor mic Pour conredige to ; Cox a a de ( on ot. , Sy ST er tei a s 2 oo > =<? < : po e “7; i a : - - *~as 4» ~ 4 7 e -* > 7 or Me + , ==“ WES. —_ . . = i . 4 ‘ T \ » Kien ~ ~~. . ‘4 “ yw “a » s vs —— tse, ~* - - ec . *