Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1041 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

mea LD POP A. oe - . a“ 4 4 et ‘Siae +, r P aes , es . - me ae * ‘ Fe i’ oe ate Bi ON ed! I jest love ter see er man feel good in his dyiv’ moments, I do!’ W’en er man thet’s all riled up kicks ther bucket, thar’s er chance thet he don’t go straight ter Glory—t’other place is ap’ ter ketch him; but w’en er man is in good sperrits an’ feelin’ 1’al guod, then he hes er rty good show of settin’ hoof on ther Shipin’ hore, “ Now, you w’u’dn’t think I’d bev so much consideration. fer them things, w’u’d ye, boy? Ye know thar’s suthin’ in ther Gospel Book thet tells ’bout lovin’ yer neighbor like he wuz yer own mammy. I beard er preacher sharp tellin’ bout it once. Wal, thet’s ther way | love you, boy; thet’s ther way I hev loved ye ever since ye swiped me! Ob, bain’t I longed ter fold ye in my arms! ** But, ’'m kinder runnin’ off my subjec’ like. This yere hain’t w’at I wuz goin’ ter tole ye. I wuz goin’ ter speak of ther leetle gal as ye are all dead broke up over. I ’lowed it’d beer great conserlation ter ye ter know she wuz safs in my han’s, I wuz ther feller w’at scopped her, boy, an’ she—” ‘‘'You dog!” hissed Fred, straining vainly at the bonds which held him. ‘* You dastardly wretch!” Whisky Jim chuckled with delight, but quick- ly changed the sound to a whimpering imitaticn of a sob. a can’t mean me!” he gurgled, ‘‘ you can’t! Them hain’t sech names as one w’u’d call er dear frien’, An’ I am so considerate! Oh, no, no, no! ye can’t mean me!” ‘Tf | had my hands on your tiroat—if I only did!” ‘“‘Want ter caress me, do ye?” grinned the rascal, showing his yellow teeth as he continued to work his jaws. ‘‘ You are beginnin’ ter love me fer my thoughtfulness. He, he, he! ** But, speakin’ of ther gol, she’s er daisy, boy! She jest ketches my eye! Ye see I made a sorter mistook w’en I took her, fer I wuz arter ole Cy, Robinson’s gal; but, it all kem out right in ther en’, fer one of ther lads brung in ther right gal. Thet satisfied ther chief, an’ he hes kinder turn- ed t’other ’un over ter me—says she’s mine ter do as I derned please with.” “Tf you harm her—my God!—if you harm her—” . ‘*Wat ef Ido? You will be planted by thet time, so it won’t be ary blamed thing ter-you! But, [ bain’t goin’ ter harm ther leetle dear, boy; I think too much of her fer thet, I’m jest oin’ ter keep her snug an’ safe, W’en ther boss s done with his business in these parts, [ ‘low he'll take er slide inter Ole Mexico, an’ Jim’ll go with him. Ishall take ther galerlong. Down thar we'll be clean beyend parsuit, ap’ I'll hev ther black-eyed beauty ter take keer of er leetle nest of my own—er leetle cottage ’way down in ther lan’ of sunshine and flowers. How do ye fike ther picter, boy?’ Fred Anthrop’s eyes gleamed like living coals and his face was bard-set, Tortured as he was by the taunting words of the brutal wretch, had he been free and possessed a weapon, he would have struck the tough dead without a thought of mercy. | Jim read all this in the young man’s face and eyes; he saw how acute the helpless youtb’s tortures were, and he laughed harshly with fiendish satisfaction. ‘*Now you can’t say I hain’é ole considera- tion,” he continued, ‘‘Knowin’ thet you hed ria er short time ter live, I thought I'd tell ye how ther gal ye love wuz goin’ ter be keered fer, thinkin’ thet w’w’d make yer death er happy one. You may hev thunk I was hinder heart- less, but arter this you c’u’dn’t thunk so ef you wuz goin’ ter live right erlong in this yere wicked worl’, which ye hain’t.” Several of the hooded outlaws were standing _around the fire, apparently waiting for Whisky Jim to complete his business with the captive, One or two of the band were feeding the fire with dead grass and dry brush, so the flames kept up a bright light all the while, Where was Chris Comstock? Fred asked bhim- self the question, vainly trying to peer into the dense darkness which now lurked iu the little valley. The young cowboy must have heard | the shots, and it seemed as if sufficient time had elapsed for him to appear. Fred had not 4 doubt but that the daring fellow would make a buld and desperate attempt at his rescue, for he well knew Cowboy Chris’s dashing nature. Rodney Welland was mumbling and mutter- ing to himself, his eyes rolling and his appear- ance being that of a person about to break into The Black Hoods stirred uneasily, and one of them addressed Whisky Jim: “Better cut it short, pard. If these fellows +. , © r if te ° ad _ + % Ay ey : c ¥. rs Mae eee ee” es ro S be. or Sy s —— es a ~ > * - oe 1? : q A . er - : al ~f a ad rr + . : wre. ye + . y = Ao me > C7 _ ‘> Prat) thi 2 : : ey Eee Pov too /he iy Sy) 4 ee awe Pe ie Rv) ate RY bee On oe a ey, es Rat . at 4 . “ Pa . ai nh VAL A z=: — Mad 4A ak ft ge th Oe OD me — -— — —— Cowboy Chris to the Fore. have friends in this vicinity they may come down On us,” ‘*Didn’t you say Cy Robinson an’ his men hed turned fer ther ranch?” ‘‘They surely did; still kere is one of the party.” ‘‘| reckon he tuck it inter his head ter fol- ler Ole Crazy thar,” ‘Others may have done the same.” ‘*Then why wusn’t they with him? Jest you keep cool, pard; I reckon thar hain’t no more of ther critters within miles of these bills.” Whisky Jim turned once more to the young Easterner, a fiendish light flickering in his b'ood- shot eyes, his hand producing a wicked-looking knife. Running his thumb along the keen edge of the bright blade, the wretch went on: ‘‘ Now jest mark how considerate of your feel- in’s I be, boy.’ I w’u’dn’t use er dull knife on yer, fer thet’d be sure ter hurt bad, This yere instrument is sharp as er razzer, au’ w’en I pulls it ’crost yer throat it will tickle ye so ye will laugh out loud with ginnywine delight, It'll make ye think of ther time ther gals uster chuckle ye under ther chin, Oh, won’t it be fun!” Fred fully realized the murderous-minded wretch would indeed cut bis throat without even a shudder. The young tenderfoot’s situation was desperate in the extreme, Even if he would have stooped to uppeal to Whisky Jim’s com- panions—and he would not—there was littlehope that the men would interfere. They were crim- inals of the worst type and fit associates for the ruffian with tre knife, The young man’s only hope was that Chris would arrive in time, He strained his ears to see if he could catch the sound of a distant hoof- beat, but the far-away hoot of an ow! was all he heard, ‘‘Oh, thar hain’t no use fer ye ter think of axin’ them fellers will they holp ye,” asserted the whisky tough, thinking the captive was about to make an appeal to the Black Hoods in the back- ground, They'll never put their fingers inter my pie, an’ ef Ldoa good job in polishin’ ye off, it’ll*only show ’em I am fit to be classed as one of ther best members of ther ban’. You hev got ter croak, younker.” The wretch took a savage delight in torturing the helpless young man, Suddenly Fred turned to Old Rattlebrein, cry- ing: ‘‘ Rodney Welland, Rodney Welland! arouse, arouse! Youare in the bands of your enemies!” “‘ Who calls me@?”’ demanded the deranged man, spesking in a deep tone, “TtisI,afriend! Your daughter is in dan- ger! She is a captive in the hands of these wretches!” ‘‘ My daughter, my daughter! She is a little child; they would not harm her, No, no; you are wrong, She is far, far from here; she is at home with Nancy. But where is my home—can you tell?” Whisl:y Jim laughed, sneeringly. * Ther cld cuzs is cleen daft. He don’t ’mem- ber nary blamed thing thet has bappened fer y'ars, Ef hedid, he is trussed up so thar hain’t nary bit of show fer bim ter bu’st loose.” But, Fred was not so sure of that, He had seen some exhibitions of Old Rattlebrain’s won- derful strength which convinced him thére could be no limit set upon the astonishing power of the deranged, ‘Time is humpin’ erlong after ther same ole sort,” observed. Jim, ‘‘ We can’t stay hyer all night, an’so I'l hev ter finish this yere leetle job, Thate teract zif I woz in a too mighty big rush, fer [lows thet bain’t perlite; but thar are times w’en we can’t stan’ on ceremony, an’ this am one of ther ’casions, Still [’]] bev ter guv ye time ter say over yer pra’rs an’ chant yer death-song, like ev'ry brave warrior duz, So it won’t bother ye; I will leave ye fer jest erbout a minute, They oughter guv ye plenty of time fer gittiu’ ready ter be holped off, W’en I kem back, 1’m goin’ ter slit yer woozle, an’ thet’s ther ragged-edged truth.” He arose and turned away to speak with one of the men who had been watching the singu- lar scene, having his arms folded across bis breast. Fred instantly turned to Rodney Welland, speaking earnestly: ‘You can break loose if you try, Mr. Wel- land,” he declared. ‘ Your life depends on it— Zour life, my life, the lifeof your daughter! reak loose and set me free! There is not a mo- ment to be lost! In asbort time we both shall be murdered!” Something like a light of comprebension filled the deranged man’s restless eyes, but he mut- i ba 4 1 ee ; : C. - a , : * ayy _< . is + 4. 3 ay py - =) a ! ‘ “ rf we “me en e ove ft s¥ * A vob, J a> _ * . 7 . Ts, a lan i d La Ae Y Bh ” Ton Y > h 4 4 { Rte a U1 ; 7 “> i fs" 7 oes * we ¥ : me * ) 4 i / Py ‘ $ 4 ~ AL’ i 7» ys a eo. hen +4 "hey pipes i oe re ne a “ALR. ike 4 ee lh uy,’ - Ps - "_ eo*! Bae “1 ‘‘Murdered, murdered! Yes, he tried to murder me! He shot me and then robbed me of 1 my money! But, I was not dead—I still live!” . e was thinking of the tragedy which turned oO his brain, ‘‘ Yes, I live,” he went on, while Fred An- throp strained despairingly at his bonds, “I Seem to remember that 1 bunted him down, I found bhim—bhbe died at my feet! It is like a . dream, yet 1 almost fancy itis true. And my child—was she there? It almost seems that way. ‘*She was there,” panted Fred, giving up the} hopeless attempt. ‘‘ She is a young lady now, It has been years since you left hera child at bome, She had been searching for you, and she found © you at last. Now she is again a captive in the hands of enemies. Her fate depends on you, Break loose! break loose!” As if these panting words had aroused bim to something like a realization of his position, Rod- ney Welland suddenly struggled to a sitting pus- ture and glared around. Then a wild laugh came from his bearded lips—a laugh that caused the outlaws to start and whirl in aiarm. ‘* Vip, yip, yip!” It was the ringing cowboy yell, and it came from the lips of Chris Comstock! Down through the darkness, heading straight toward the fire, charged the young cattleman, his bridle-rein swinging loose on the neck of his horse, a revol- ver in each hand. As soon as he appeared the cowboy’s weapons began to speak with a rapidity that was aston- ishing! i ~ = — CHAPTER XII, BURIED BENEATH THE SLIDE. THE outlaws were taken by surprise, and sud- den consternation seized upon them, for they knew not how large the attacking party was, Their alarm was increased by the cry that came ; from Chris Comstock’s lips: “Here they are, pards! Come on, come on!” Tbe ruse was successful, for the Blaek Hoods fancied a large party of cowboys were close behind the man whose either hand was spitting fire and whose bullets were whistling around their heads. , To increase the excitement, Old Rattlebrain, , seized by a sudden fury, rent bis bonds asunder and sprung to bis feet, his wild Jaugh ectiving through the night once more. With a yell of pain, one cf the outlaws threw up bis bands and feil beavily to the ground, one of Cbris Comstock’s bullets baving found a target. Seized by an unreasonivg terrer, the fallen man’s comrades fled precipitately i: to the dark- ness, quickly vanisbing from sig)! t. Plowing up the ground with its hoofs, the young cowboy’s borse came toa balt besice the fire, its master leaping from the saddle. ‘On hand, pard!” laughed the reckless fellow, springing forward with a knife in his grasp, ‘¢1l] have you free in a jiff, then we will scoot before those imps of Satan recover their balance and seek to discover the number of their assail- ants,’ ‘“You were just in time,” assured Fred, “Unless Whisky Jim lied, I bad less than a minute to live.” ‘‘Whisky Jim! Is that dastardly dog here?” ‘‘ He was bere, and he told me be was the one who kidnapped Nell.” “Well, if he falls into the hands of any of our men, he will be sure to decorate the limb of the | first tree they can reach,”, Fred was quickly set at liberty. ““One of those fellows escaped on my borse,” he said. ‘Iam out ap animal, for which I shall have to account to Mr, Robinson,” ‘¢+'¥You were in Cy Robinson’s service, and be will never think of considering such a loss,” Welland stooped and lifted the body of the fallen outlaw and strode away into the darkness not even uttering a word or casting a glance to- | ward his companions, 44 Fred made a significant motion, and both the | oung men followed the demented nan, Chris © <¥ eading bis horse, : | hen For a long distance Old Rattlebrain strode , along through the darkness at a tireless gait, ap paying no heed to those behind bim, At length,, 1e halted at the foot of a steep descent, crouch- ing beside the body of the now softly moaning outlaw, but still remaining silent. Chris and Fred paused also, and, leaving his horse standing close at hand, the young cowbo te Use his pledged pard to Welland’s side, Fred touzhed the strange man on the shoul- * we wv 7 : | gel | “ a ry 7 see wt hg “=> ‘Pl x pre a + baru - -" 2S ih tar) Mata Ne al Dae ay | xy! argh RD Satay ¥ es ball om es rj i aii a ‘ es i a VA 2 y Pani © rar ‘ 4 Aa et wi ie Rage eM - ba Eee" ’ Ae é ‘ 7 -