Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 104 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

. ' / ; : 6 Deadwood Dick’s Device. hadn’t better leave them a visiting card, so that they may know I’ve been here!” Drawing from an inside pocket a silver hand- stamp he pressed against their foreheads, and as a result came to relief the sign of the double cross in letters of crimson. ‘Hal! ha! It will be many a day ere they And he was abroad, too. can wash that stain from their skin, I'll wager!” Down from the North he galloped at the fore | the Prince of the Road muttered, as he turned of a motley gang of masked men, who were | from the room. thoroughly equipped as to weapons and horses, The next room he visited proved to be occu- and were finished equestrians. pied by the speculator’s son, and the next by a Down to the edge of the town they rode, and | servant. Still not despairing, Deadwood Dick then drew rein at the wave of the hand of the | kept on, leaving his strange device upon the young chief. _ forehead of each chlorformed sleeper. ‘“‘Remain here,” he said, dismounting, ‘‘ and | At last he came toa room that was locked keep my horse. I will goon foot. If you hear | and on listening he found that it contained three pistol-shots in succession, let loose my | sleepers. horse and follow him. He will bring you to To unlock the door was but a short job, and me!”’ with the stealth of a cat he crept into the apart- “ All right, chief. It shall be at your wish!” | ment. responded one who was evidently a lieutenant A fig was ite les | upon a dressing bureau, of Deadwood Dick’s newly organized band. and its light was sufficient for him to see by, ‘“Tn case we are attacked, shall we stand our | without the use of his lantern. ground and fight, chief?” The room was large, and richly furnished, “ Ay! fight as you never fought before—fight , and contained two beds, each of which was oc- to the bitter death!” Deadwood Dick replied, cupied—one by two young ladies, and the other fiercely, and then he turned and strode away | by one. toward the town. | The former Deadwood Dick concluded were Entering through a sparsely settled street, the daughters of Major Howell, while the latter he hurried along, a heavy cloak thrown around | was the daughter of the dead miner of Dead his shoulders, and the mask removed tempo- Pine Tract. rarily from his face so as not to attract suspi- Gliding to the bedside of the two sleepers, the cion, should he encounter any one abroad. | ex-Prince of the Road applied the chloroformed Hurrying along, he soon entered another street, | sponge, but not the stamp containing his strange which was the one on which stood the Howell | device, mansion. When they were properly drugged, he turned And this evidently was his destination, for toward the lone sleeper, but gave a start of sur- he paused before it, and looked up and down i the street. No one was in sight upon the highway, and the lights were all out in the dwellings inthe | blue accusing eyes. At first Deadwood Dic immediate vicinity. | was confused, but he quickly regained his self- The Howell mansion looked as somber as | possession. though death instead of nocturnal repose,reigned ,__ ‘‘ Fear_not, my NY he said, respectfully, inside. _butinalow tone. “It is not my intention to ‘This is the place, and the business lies before _ harm you, but rather, to rescue from your im- me, although it isa ticklish piece to handle!” prisonment here!” Deadwood ‘Dick muttered. ‘The first impor- | ‘‘Who are you, sir?’ the maiden demanded, tant step is to gain access to the house, and the sternly. ‘‘Why do you come here like a thief second is to find my new ward, without raising in the night, and to my bedchamber?” a racket.” “My name is Ned Harris, lady, and I come at Evidently resolved upon making the attempt, the instigation of your father!” he ascended the steps and gently tried the door, ‘‘Ah! my father! they told me he was dead— but fonnd it locked. This was no surprise, for dead! Oh! God help me!” maining indoors, rather than running the risk of the aunty vengeance of the famous Prince of the Road. That Deadwood Dick was abroad at night none could doubt, for the night was known to be the time of his numerous depredations—a time best suited to his wild, dark nature. the Far- geek ge S pr am ee re locked | ae vat sprung to He Eye of the maiden, doors, which is the safest plan to adopt, . and drop upon her cheeks. Selecting from among a femneh of keys, several, | ‘Be m, lady, Your father is indeed dead, he tried them, one after AS oener and the last _ but he appointed. me your protector, until you 08 eer na audit he nyationed, with a putiee:| AtieoAlle plibeiave Oak: sangeeseds. -Lawaibteaw 12 fied expression. ‘I should feel like a thief of | tire to the hall, while you dress yourself for the night to enter any man’s house, thus, but I | your departure, h am now only in quest of that which was in- ‘* Must I go with you, then?” ag os to ny aare Tees 6 Megs Mote Ti et sf si is necessary pe ou MTR ton any moving his e _ your life even, is not safe here. ave yo hand, or opening the door, he softly entered, | objeceions to accompany ing ner ae d cl it behind him. ‘**No! oh! no! am so gla et awa "all was dark as Stygia, but remembering from here. Please retire, Anal I will soon i from his prévious visit, the location of the ready.” stairs, he ng penne them, ed paused upon the | Deadwood Dick accordingly left the room, s to make his arrangements. osed t oor behind him. Hotere. an wy ne meiner neue se | 5 hall he waited Se the door opened, that of findin a without alarming her, | and Stella elided out to him. and getting ber away from the mansion. It re- “Tam ede now, sir. I read the will, and. quired all the stealth and caution of his nature am willing to go with you!” to perform the act, without arousing the | “Very well, my lady. You shall not mis- nore seo Nessitn ai tle ee e eeainl ae whatever er you may put in me!” yin ) 18 » He arew eadw ick replied, bonsati his cloak a dark-lantern and a revol- | They softl demanded to wi sere and but ver. - ried awa oug e ni which was “With these in hand, ready for use, he stole | and fog 4 - softly up the stairs, finally arriving upon the = Nor dia they pause until they eame to where a line of grim, masked horsemen were wait- landing without -having created so much noise ing. Then it was that Stella Howell gave a start asa cat. of alarm. Here there was a diversion of hallways, in several directions, and he knew not which to, ‘Be not afraid, lady,” Deadwood Dick said, to quiet her apprehensions. ‘These are my take to bring him vo the sleeping apartment of _men, and they will offer you no harm,” Stella. our men, sir? I donot understand, quite?’ ee Atter some deliberation he finally concluded = & ta pay each room a visit, and chloroform the in- | Stella replied. ..aates if necessary, for he had fetched along ‘“T will explain more, as soon as we reach plenty of the liquid drug for that purpose. camp. Please mount my horse behind me. Fal- Stealing along, he soon came to the door of a coner, will you be kind enough to assist her?” room which he rightly conjectured was the bed- The lieutenant bowed, and tendered the re- chamber of the major and his wife, for loud qnisite assistance, after which the cavalcade snores came from the interior. ' galloped away. Gently trying the door, he found that it was _~ Away to the Dead Pine Tract, and_to the unlocked. He glided into the room, and to the cabin which once was that of David Howell, bedside. A sponge saturated with chloroform, put now belonged to the outlawed Deadwoo at held over the noses of the sleepers, had the | Dick, ctect to put them into a state of quietude from | 4 great change had already been made upon | the Tract, since the reign of its new owner, » Lb. oh there could be no immediate wakening. 0 The cabin had been enlarged to a building of * Sb pe disposed of, and now I wonder if prise. | She had partly risen in bed, upon her elbow, | and was gazing straight at him with her big | a EES ee ee ee EEE eee r—oree several rooms, thereby supplying quarters for the band, and several cabins were going up near by. An engine house was being constructed near the mouth of the mine to furnish shelter for new machinery that was to take the place of the horse-power for hoisting, which had previ- ously been employed. To the cabin the cavalcade rode, and then dismounted, Deadwood Dick conducting Stella to a suit of rooms which he had had furnished eeely for her accommodation. Here he left her, with a few instructions, and then de- scending to the ground he gave some additional instructions to his men, after which he mounted his thoroughbred steed again, and dashed away into the black starless night, as wild and weird as the night itself in those lonely mountain regions, ‘*“ A bald-headed spider, PS naa ol be a aha . wine ter get a-home, eby; Old Kaiser's bull roman, be 6 He war Dutch, G’wine ter get a-home bymeby. A three-legged *possum, Settin’ on a bench, G’wine ter get a-home, bymeby. He fell in lub Wid a nigger wench, G’wine ter get a-home bymeby. ** An’ it’s g’wine ter get a-home, G’wine ter get a-home— *“Whoopy! Kerwhoop! three cheers fer Royal American Star Jangled Spaner! Three howls fer ther Pet Elephant o’ ther Leadville trail— ther man thet never told a lie! Beautiful Bill ferever.” And straight down through Chestnut street ranced the famous Leadville giant, Beautiful ill on a tear, such as he seldom ever had ex- perienced before. Full up to the neck was the giant, with bad whisky, whose assimilation within his capacious stomach was beginning to tell on him, in more than one way. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was red and of the most brutal expression, while his legs were growing more unsteady each mo- ment. In either hand he grasped a cocked navy re- volver, which he flourished around in a manner that was unpleasant to behold. And there was Ce it alee a general dodging among the c1owd that swarmed in the streets, for none were there who cared to become ‘ti target for the rufflan’s bullets, half-crazed with drink though he was. Still, they followed and watched him with a sort of curiosity, for well they knew that the iant was searching game, and that a rowanda ht would be the result. And perhaps no town of its size in the whole West can ‘‘ pan out” so big a crowd on so short a notice to witness a street brawl as the famed city of Leadville. ‘Wahoo! wahoo!” the giant bellowed, cut- ting a pigeon-wing, and then turning a clumsy hand-spring in the middle of the street. “‘Hayr I am, ye durned galoots, ther Original Pet Ele- hant, right fresh frum ther flock—ther hatless, tless Apolier uv ther Colorados! Here Iam, ther great model o’ beauty—a conqueror—a king among fools. Hist!” and the ruffian crouched low and peered around him—* hist! I say. Wharfrom came thet zephyr that sed sum mag Na i was spilin’ fer a fight—war ac- tooly dyin’ because he couldn’t get a feller uv my social status ter measure muscle wi’ him? Fer luv or money! thet’s fair, now. Sum pil- im who wants ter fight me fer luv or money, jest step forth—waltz right out heer, and try ter flumigate ther at Apoller o’ the Colorados —ther Pet Elephantum o’ ther Leadville trail. Beautiful Bill am I—a solid man, whose bank account ar’ good fer half a millyun, any day. A king o’ this benighted region, am I, and yet despite my gold, my honors an’ my gray hairs, I can’t ge uP a decent respectable dog-fight wi’ no pilgrim. It’s ashame—a cavortin’ outrageous shame. Fer Lord’s sake, sum 0’ you chicken- livered honey-combs cum out heer an’ gouge one oy my eyes out—ram yer fist down my throat— spit ter vaccy-juice in my off ear, or do sumthin’ . ter relieve ther monotony ©’ ther situation, or I shall spile fer want o’ amusement or exercise. Bet five—ten—fifty—a hundred thousand dollars I can polish ther proboscis uv ary galoot like a meersham, in two wiggles uv a mule’s tail in fly time!” Strong was the temptive argument offered by the bullwhacker, but none were there among the crowd to bite at his bait. A terror was he to the town, this ruffianly character, and all were afraid of him, for he was a reckless cut- throat of the most brutal species, and had been Gcomicbooks.com — Secreta eatin a mg re ae A ==