Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 104 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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12 *‘ Always!” Deadwood Dick replied, fiercely. ‘*T am an outcast, and as such I have only remain. Society or the public at large refuse to receive me. They are everlasting enemies. Go where I will, they hunt me and turn me abroad, because once I was a _ road-agent. They curse me, and rdive me about, and I have no choice except between this life, and death. ‘‘T, at least, pity you, and trust you,” Stella said, putting her hands into his, warmly, ‘I don’t believe you are bad at heart.” “Thank you, little lady. I hopeI am not. But, 1 came here to speak of another thing—of our father’s will. You have read it all hrough?” “IT have—and know of what you would speak: concerning my marriage. My answer is yes! It was evidently my father’s wish, and did I loathe and despise you, which I do not, I should respect his wishes.”’ ‘I thank you, my little one,” Dick said, bend- ing and kissing her upon the forehead. ‘‘ Your trust shall not be at fault. I shall send for a minister at once, having one who has been regu- larly ordained, in my band. He will marry us, and some other time, we will be wedded again to make all sure. This ceremony will make you Spans my wife, and should I perish, the ruler of my band, who will stand by you, through thick and through thin.” After a few more words, the young chief took his departure, just as the sound of a rifle-shot rolled along out of the forest. ‘‘They’ve begun operations,” he muttered, darkly, as he hastened down the stairs. He found Old Avalanche and Beautiful Bill in the mess-room, while the rest of the men were itioned at loop-holes in different portions of he cabin. The storm had burst forth in all its fury, the rain pouring down in torrents, and the thunder rumbling heavily an accompaniment to the lightning’s vivid flashes. ‘Great ham-bone! did ye heer thet ar’ shot?’ the Annihilator demanded. ‘‘ Yes, I heard it,” Dick replied. ‘‘ Where did it come from?” ‘** Ken’t say, tho’ I'll allow they’re gittin’ reddy fer a scrimmage.” ‘Let them come. If they don’t git the worst of it, I’m mistaken.” A reconnoissance failed to see anything un- usual out of doors, for it was inky black. Leaving the cabin Deadw Dick visited each of the out-posted sentinels, but they had no information. They had heard the report, but had seen no flash, nor any effects of the shot. Returning to the cabin, he found that Ava- lanche had madea capture in the shape of a d, bt g Soe aE individual, who looked he n in ahot conflict, but recently. He was a tall brawny fellow, with iron-gray hair and ragged uneven beard to match; eyes black and complexion swarthy. His face was severely scratched and bled profusely, and one arm was worn in a sling. His clothing and hat were of the most tat- tered description, and were ee wet and covered with mire, as if the owner of tlem had been mere, be the mud. ‘‘Great ham-bone thet bucked ag’in’ ther larnyx of old Joner!” the Annihilator ejacu- la pointing, as the chief entered, to the waif of the storm, who lay half-reclining upon the floor. ‘Old Moses who war born in ther bull- rushes! Lookee hayr,Dickey,my jewel. Hayr’s pile who begged ter kum in, an’ [I let him, fer I recky he’s about canceled his yearth- ly dates.” ‘Who is he!” ‘Great ham-bone! he sez ’as how his name is Mons’er Muckaloo, or sum sich like, an’ thet he war travelin’ toward Leadville, an’ then cum in collision wi’ ther gang out yonder, an’ only escaped wi’ his life.” Deadwood Dick turned and eyed the stranger suspiciously. He wasso rough and illy-clad that a suspicion dawn upon his mind that he might not be all he claimed. “What is your name?” he asked. ea FF Mulchfree,” the man replied, with a slight accent of French. What is your business?” ‘‘T am professionally a Parisian chemist, but of late I have been prospecting in the neighbor- ing mountains for gold. ‘You met with ped success, I should say, judging by your clothes?’ Ves. I came near starving, and was mak- ing my may toward Leadville, whea I encoun- tered several ruffians in the woods back here, and in a battle with them got a sprained arm, a bullet hole through my side, and my face scratched up considerable.” Deadwood Dick’s Device. ‘‘ This probably accounts for the rifle report we heard then. Alva, you may dress the fel- low’s wounds, and give him some fodder.” Avalanche obeyed, and the Frenchman re- ceived the attentions gratefully. On raged the storm without, the thunder rumbling and jarring and the lightning hissing spitefully into every crack and crevice. During one of these awful glares, the door cpensa and Calamity Jane stepped into the cabin. CHAPTER IX. A WOLF, DISGUISED. Yrs, it was Calamity Jane, sure enough, who entered the rendezvous, from out the terrible storm. She had, in a measure, protected her- self, however, from its fury, by wearing a long oilcloth coat, which reached. nearly to her feet. She threw this aside, now, and shook the rain from her slouch hat. ‘‘Phew! how it comes down,” she said, with a quiet grin. ‘‘ You ought to go out and wash the stains out of your character, as I’ve been doing, Dick.” iS nk you. I just came in,” Dick replied. ‘‘The rain, Il am afraid, would have little effect on the stains of my character.” ‘*P’r’aps not. hat are ye goin’ to do?” **In regard to a fight?” sé Yes.’ ‘*T scarcely know. Don’t even know how matters stand in the camp of the enemy.” ‘* You'll fight, of course?” ‘Very likely. I never laid down my arms but once, and submitted myself to be hanged, and I shall not again, very soon.” ‘‘ My words have come true. You remember I told you you’d be an outlaw, soon again, at the head of a band of men. Here you are, in the very position I predicted, with the people warring against you.” ore fille you came pretty near the target, in that shot,” the young chief replied, a dark scowl coming upon his brow. ‘‘I might have been a free man, to-day, had the people been at all merciful. Instead, I am an outcast and an outlaw, and the pean’ are pushing me on, as fast and far as they dare.” ‘‘ And always will be. And the quicker you can clear out of the country to some foreign clime, the sooner you will be rid of the curse that now clings to you.” ‘No! never run for them!” Deadwood Dick replied, sternly. ‘‘I will never run for them, a million to one though they may be. They shall keep me here in America as long as I have life, and shall feel the blighting influence of my hand, because of their treachery.” ‘‘Hurra! thet’s ther way ter tork it!” the Annihilator burst forth in enthusiasm, while his eccentric goat gave an enco ‘* ba-a-a!” ‘‘ Great chicken-livered ham-bone thet war ther last ailment uv old Joner! Dicky’s a magi on ther track, thar, an’ I'll bet my old socks on’t. He’s bin treated like as ef he war sum dishonor- able coyote, an’ ef he ain’t got cause fer revenge, I don’t know myself. Eh? C’lamity, what d’ye say?’ ty agree with you, of course. You and I never disagree on any thing, you know,” the dare-devil replied, with a smile, as she went up and shook hands with the veteran scout. ‘“No, C’lamity, gal, we never differed in our opines, ’cept on one matter—ther breed 0’ my orence Night-in-a-gale, you claimin’ thet ther ile war a ‘sooner,’ while I claim hear’ a ‘setter ’!” ‘‘ Well, we sha’n’t even quarrel about that, Alva. orence is a sagacious animal, and ten to one, there’s nary another to match him. Hello! what have we here? Do my eyes deceive me, or is it an apparition I see?’ for the dare- devil had suddenly caught sight of the formid- able 2? gaia of Beautiful Bill standing near t han a , ‘‘No, you behold the Pet Elephant in the presence of bis tamer,” Deadw ick answer- ed, laughingly. ‘‘ With his spirit subdued, he makes a pack-horse, on account of his size.” Later Calamity drew the chief to one side, and nodded toward the giant. ‘“* Keep a look-out for that big brute, for, clev- er actor though he may be, you'll find to your cost that you are being deceived in him, and he will attempt to strike you a death-blow!” ‘Then you don’t believe in his sincerity, eh?’ ‘*Not by a long shot! I’ve seen too many toughs of his calibre to believe them thorough- bred white-winged flutterers, you bet! It’s easy enough for the galoot ter pretend friendliness ter you, but I tell you thar’s nary a galoot as | eee / i | | Oe eee ee... Se ‘Well, maybe you're pretty near right; still I am loth to believe that the giant has any evi intentions toward me.” ‘‘ Well, maybe he hasn’t, but time will prove. There is another thing that I have to speak about, and it is concerning the actress at the Coliseum.” ‘* Miss Fanny Farron?” ‘“Yes. She has some devilment on foot, and you want to look out for her. She is as reveng- ful as a tigress, and is plotting to murder the girl tia have up-stairs.’ ‘‘By Heaven! no! She shall never touch a hair of Stella’s head.” “‘T hope for your sake, that she won't; but you must look out for her, or some one who comes in her place. Has any suspicious char- acter been seen around here, to-night, in dis- guise ?” ‘‘No. You, Alva, and the French chemist, have been the only new arrivals.” ‘The French chemist?’ ‘** Yes—a poor wretch, who, after prospecting in the mountains, with no success, was pullin for Leadville, when he had an encounter wit the enemy, out here, and got considerably bruised up.” ‘‘'You are a fool!” Calamity said, half con- temptuously—‘‘ a consummate fool.” ‘Why so? What do you mean?” “Why, that pilgrim is a clean out and out fraud, and is no doubt a tool of Fanny Farron, sent here to do youinjury. I now believe it to be the same galoot 1 was watching mutilate himself, back here in the woods. He scratched his face until it bled, whacked his arm with a club, and put a bullet through his side with a istol. I reckoned another war was afoot, and e@ was preparing to escape the draft.” ‘Tt is no doubt the same fellow,” Deadwood Dick replied. ‘‘ Alva, where did he go?” “Great ham-bone! last I see’d o’ ther pilgrim, he had hobbled off to the pantry to get a drink,” the Annihilator replied. ‘‘He asked me a it was, an’ I told him.” A hasty search was instituted for the disguis- ed villain, and he was at last found in one of the adjoi rooms, apparently sound aslee upon a pile of blankets. , He sprung quickly to his feet, however, as Deadwood Dick, accompanied by Calamity and Avalanche, approach ‘* Halt! don’t move a muscle under pain of instant death!” the chief cried, sternly, leveling a revolver at the Frenchman’s heart. ‘I have just learned a few ee concerning you, and bien may as well surrender, for your game is locked.” ‘“What do you mean?” the man growled, his eyes glittering. ‘*] mean to say, that if you don’t drop the false hair you sport, instanter, and let us havea square look at you, I'll salivate you in less time than it takes to say Jack Robinson, twice!” Dick replied. ‘‘Calamity, you_ assist him to remove the superfluous hair, and if he resists, Pll plug bim.” The dare-devil step forward to obey, but the Frenchman waved her back, while he tore off a false beard and wig, and cast them on the floor, with a curse. And there stood the actor, Wildcat Jack, alias Jacques Frouch. ‘‘ There! didn’t I tell ye!” Calamity ejaculat- ed, triumphantly ‘He’s the chap what we see’d on the stage at the Coliseum, a few nights ago, and his name is Jacques Frouch.” ; sy e!” the man said, an evil glare in his eyes. ‘‘What do you mean?” ‘‘T mean to hang you up to the limb of the nearest tree, if I find. that gon have done any mischief,” Deadwood Dick replied, sternly. “Tell me what brought you here, you rascal.’ ‘“‘T shall tell you nothing,” Frouch answered, sullenly. ‘‘Youcan go ahead and do as you choose, but you'll not get a peep out of me.” “Til know about that directly. Alva, you may bind the villain, and station a guard over him. {want to learn if he has done any harm, before I hang him.” Accordingly the tool of Fanny Farron was bound hand and foot, and dragg room, where he was left. Shortly after Deadwood Dick, accompanied by Calamity, Avalanche, and one John Rivers, a member of Dick’s band, ascended to the rooms of Stella Howell, and a marriage ceremony was solemnized—the man Rivers officiating in the capacity of minister, he having been a minister of the gospel until a foul suspicion of murder was lain upon his shoulders, and he was forced into a strong will stand up an’ take a bastin’ like he got, an’ | to flee, and forsake his calling. then turn around and luv ye fer playin’ the gad.” Ti. The marriage rites performed, there was a com o- i , _ 5 m—~~ — RI eg: me