Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1041 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

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From lip to lip passed the good news, and the result was seen in the remarkable gather- ing beneath Cy Robinson’s roof on the night of the dance, More than one-half of the throng were cow- boys from the surrounding ranches, The others were citizens from the adjacent towns, miners, speculators, ranchmen, Mexicans and even two or three Indians. Among the ladies were a few ranchers’ wives and daughters, and several dark-eyed senori‘as were to be seen seductively smiling on the rough but almost over-polite fellows who gathered around them. Old Cy Robinson and his cliarming daughter Nina welcomed the guests as they arrived. In this the girl was assisted by a friend and honored visitor at the ranch, Nellie Welland, a girl of nearly her own age and quite as charming, being somewhat more vivacious. That either of the girls were more than ordi- narily pretty any one would be forced to confess, and they represented two distinct types, one being a blonde and the other a brunette, Al- though they kept well together, this seemed to rob neither of her attractiveness, for each served as a foil for the other without in the least de- tracting from her own charms, Nellie Welland’s father was also a guest at the ranch, being a large, powerfully-built man with deep black eyes which seemed even darker than they were because of his almost snow-white hair and beard. He was a man who had seen much sorrow in the past, having received a blow which caused an almost utter loss of memory for many years, during which he was known as **Old Rattlebrain,” the name being given bim on account of his eccentric and sometimes mani- acal behavior. Within the large room set apart for dancing, Rodney Welland stood watching the whirling throng and conversing wita the foreman of the Robinson Ranch, a short, weather-beaten, bow- legged cowboy, whose true name was Reuben Randall, but who was commonly known as Round-up Rube. The contrast between the two men was almost ludicrous as they stood close together, well out of the way of the dancers, being in one corner of the room, Welland was more than six feet tall, while the grizzled cowboy was barely over five. More than one secretly smiled as they glanced at the two. } ** A hill-roarin’ old time, pers ! grinned Rube, his face being the picture of intense enjoyment, although he was not participating in the danc- ‘Reckon they can’t beat this in ther Hast, ‘ eh? We don’t go much on low-necked dresses an’ swaller-tail coats, but we git thar jest ther me, ** The people seem to be enjoying themselves, surely,” replied Welland, in his deep, heavy voice, which was so expressive of power, and sonieway made one think ofa lion. And then, as his daughter and Nina Robinson entered the room with their arms around each other’s waists, a smile passed over his usually grave ce, © Thar!” nodded the foreman—* thar’s er sizht wu’th lookin’ at! They bain’t one bit erlike, but all ther same, I don’t "low two better mated gals ever stepped in ther Territory, Poorty! Waal, I sh'u’d snicker!” : _, The smile on Rodney Welland’s face disap- > ' : . - “a hey ee d > ee, ‘ix ‘ rite : ‘>. * - m : ws 4 PH ast eF 7 a es ” ta os a) in ' hag ate ba tee biel eee ds rahe enka . 4 - 1 ee eee . . = pile! — *. by ’ : . “ of — ~~, = Ps ~_ . . rs 2 ~~ Tk < " ts ' ay *) - he * a a. " ‘ ° ‘Greaser fer foreman, though Pablo ee ee ee” nnn ee ______ ad “3 : A od Aa BWR st i as ae ey ee <s1e"? « as ¥ « “re be 7 — a ‘ P PS ’ Cowboy Chris to the Fore. $$$ ee ooOneaeneseeaeaeaeSsSsS$S$Sa peared as he saw a gaudily-dressed Mexican staring admiringly at the two girls, ‘‘ Who is that person?” he asked. ‘ Who—whar?” ‘‘ Over there; the one who is watching Nellie and Miss Nina.” “Ther critter with ther red jacket as ‘is all kivered with gold buttons an’ silver braid—ther Greaser?” oY ep. ’ ‘‘ Waal, they do say thet’s ther new foreman o’ ther Di’mon’ Ranch, as has been bought by er tenderfut frum ther East—er deluded fool w’at’s come out byer ter learn us our business! He’s showed his lack o’ hoss-sense by puttin’ in er ajario does make er big boast ’bout havin’ ‘ristercratic Spanish. blood in his veins, Ob, ther derned skunks are all erlike, drat ’em!” W hich made it quite apparent the bow-legged .cowboy bore no love for ‘‘ Greasers.” ‘‘] don’t like the looks of hirh,” confessed Rod- ney Welland, ‘*The fellow is good-looking enough in his way, but there is something about his eyes I do not like,” ‘It’s thet sneakin’ look—you'll see it in ev’ry danged one 0’ ’em. They never Jook er man in ther face ef heis lookin’ at them. I don’t ‘low Pablo Pajario’s any wuss then any 0’ ’em; they’re all erlike, as I said afore. You can’t trust °em so fur as you kin sling er steer by ther tail! ‘‘Thet’s jest whar this yere tenderfut as hes putt Pablo in fer foreman.made er big mistake. { know ther Greaser is er right peert pimp on er hoss ur with er rope, an’ I will fess up thet he knows ther cattle business frum eend ter eend, but he hain’t ter be trusted. Fu’st thing he knows, Orson Colfax’ll wake up some fine mornin’ an fine ther yaller-skin’s played him fer er sucker an’ vanisbed io ther night... Then ther tenderfut ’!/ wish he’d paid er white man er leetle more money ter act as foreman an’ hed got somebody as he e’u’d trust.” ‘‘Is there never an exception among the Greasers?” ‘‘ Ef thar is, I never struck one. Ev’ry white man hates ther varlets, an’ it don’t do ter putt one ter bossin’? over citizens o’ ther United States. Thet’s whar tber tenderfut rancher hes made another bad break. I know he hes turned off ’most all ther old Di’mon’ gang, but er right sinart bit o’ his men are decent, I reckon, an’ ef so, they’re goin’ ter kick at havin’ er yaller-skin bossin’ them.” ‘* Ah! here comes our host,” “ An’ Tm derned ef thet bain’t Orson, Colfax ther new owner o’ ther Di’mon Ranch, with him!’ Cy Robinson entered the room, accompanied by a smalf, dapper-appearing man who wore glasses and whose siothes made him a con- spicuous figure as he had donned a full dress-suit in great contrast to the rough cow- boy and fantastic Mexican apparel seen on allsides, Indeed, under the circumstances, his appearance was little short of laughable, and he looked as much out of place as a booted and spurred cowboy would ata ball in the East, He was rather effeminate in appearance, having small hands and feet and speaking with a lisp and a drawl, It was said he was a college gradu- at ag had inherited a fortune at his father’s gatb, ** An’ ther derned fools kem out hyer ter spend it!” was the contemptuous expression often given utterance by the cowboys of the ranches adjoining Orson Colfax’s newly-ac- quired property. As soon as his eyes rested on Rube and his gray-bearded companion, Cy Robinson ap- proached them with his lately-arrived guest at his heels, ‘* (Jentlemen,” said the bluff old rancher, ‘‘ I’d like ter make you acquainted, This is Mr, Col- fax of the Diamond Ranch; Colfax, this is Mr, Welland, my guest, and this is Rube Randall, my foreman, as white a man as ever roped a r. ** Delighted ’pon honab,” drawled Orson Col- fax, bowing very low and giving each of the two a languid hand-shake, ‘“‘I athure you I am weally delighted!” With the utmost difficulty the bow-legged cowboy refrained from uttering an exclamation of disgust, and he did give the tenderfoot rancb- er a grip that made tbat individual wince and turn red in the face, **Ob—ah!” he mumbled. ‘It ith my wing—lI have a wing on that band and it burths when people squeeth tho confwounded hard, I have not become uthed to the way you thake handth out in thith part of the countwy.” _ ** We do uverythiu’ with a vim hyer,” asserted ‘ - . dé’ ‘eS _e - - d)u > vim oe 4 hy ra ¥ -* 5 iS A, L oa “ & rr ee ED 4 a peony \ Rube. ‘‘ Et takes er man ter git erlong in these aly, an’ he’s gotter hey some snap an’ back- yone,” ‘““T weally believe you thneak the truth, thir— I do,’pon honab, I am very much pleathed with the countwy, though I mutht confeth the people do theem very wude and—aw—uncultivated.” ‘“ Humpb!” grunted the bow-legged cowboy. “Don’t you kinder ‘low thet’s speakin’ mighty plain right ter our faces?” ‘‘Oh—ah—ek! Prethent company ith alwayth excepted, y’know. I did not mean anything per- thonal by my wemark.” “Waal, we don’t go fer ter sot ourselves up fer doods, Mister Colfax, but we ’most ginerally knows our business jest ther same, Ther cattle business is—” ‘‘It ith a gwand bithneth, thir—gwand/ And tho thimple! Why, any one can make a thue- cess of it!” * At this Cy Robinson laughed heartily. “That's the way it looks at the start, { will warrant, neighbor,” he said, laying his hand on the tenderfoot rancher’s shoulder, at which fa- miliarity Colfax looked mildly amazed; * but, wait till you have been at ita while and see if you do not sing a different tune, You have not yet learned anything of the privations, disap- pointments and disasters of ranchipg.” “7 have heafd a gweat deal about thothe thingth, but by gwathuth! I am half-inclined to belicve it ith all a theare just to keep people fwom going into the buithneth.” ‘¢ Wait till we have a bad winter or the cattle- lifters run off balf-your stock,”’ ‘The cattle-lifterth?” ‘“VYes: cattle-thieves. And that makes me think: they do say Black Phenix, the old scourge of the San Juan, is back into this section, though Lam more than half inclined to believe there is no truth in the report.” “Thet devil back hyer!” exclaimed Rube. ‘‘ Bf thet’s so, thar’s trouble erhead an’ er heap o” it, He’s ther wu’st cattle-pirate thet ever cursed ther Southwest! But I thort ther critter wuz dead?” ‘‘He has been reported dead many times,” came gravely from Cy Robinson’s lips, * but like the fabled bird whose name he bears, he al- ways seems to rise unharmed from from his ashes, He will not stay dead, that is- the trouble.” ss a CHAPTER II. A STARTLING CRY, THE music consisted of such as could be ob- tained from a violin and banjo, the player of the latter instrument being a coal-black negro of uncertain age. His name was Pete, and be was Nellie Welland’s faithful attendant, having been a servant of her family when she lived In the South. His dark face was almost continu- ally expressive of jolly good-humor, for he had a habit of showing his ‘ ivories ” by a broad grin, After one of the dances was over, it was an- nounced that the darky would favor the com- pany with a song. keep kine ob still an’? Pl ** Jes’ yo’ critters gib yo’ er classucal imposition from one ,ob ae striking the ole mars’ers,” he observed, softly strings of bis instrument. ‘ Dis bymn-chune had been sung befo’ all de crown-heads ob Yurrup, an’ it hab raised er Bs furrer whar- ebber it bat bin heerd. vu’ gemmans will pare put on yo’ eae fo’ yo ’*s suah ter git so ersited dat yo’ll listah yo’ han’s wid de clap- pin’ w’en I’s frough.” : He kept them waiting impatiently while he made sure his banjo was perfectly in tune. _ “ All reddy fo’ de inflicshun,” be fiaally cried. ‘¢ Eib’rybuddy hab primisc’us permission ter stop up deyre ears. De name ob dis song am ‘ Dey Like It.’ Let ’er went! “We find Vda, BG bes’ ob men Dey sometime take a smile, : Dey crooks deyre elbows now an den— yre j'ints ab need ob ‘ile; De temp’rance cranks bab holler canes Dat holds erbout a quart, It sometime fuddles up deyre brains, An' den dey’re of’en caught. “ But dey like it, dey like it, Dey like it now an’ den; : It’s drefful queer, for dough it’s dear, bes’ ob men eae, Dey like it. ‘¢ An? dere’s de men dat makes our laws, , In Congress cut de swell, Dey drink soft stuff, but wink because— Dae tere loan. but Rit 80 fat o dere lean, bu sO Dey skeerce erbout; Deyre head's too big to fit a hat | ’en fo’ de night dey’re o _ ; 4 4 ar - ' - “4 all © ma Lin - bi ‘ ‘ye j - : y . OB: ote ; : ae ‘95 : : ' — | Re 4 “ —_, “4 : ‘ ‘ c @) ! wer bs Ag $ ’ ’ Vi e * ‘ . - y ~— > ** > * , * Ce 7 * % . +. hy” « ; A 9« ~~ s a ee er <a > gh a hy oh f | 4 * Febey S < a is “—- > 4 - Be “ . —— - > 2 2 ey “os 7 es pe as