Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1041 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

best look ter our weepins, fer we may find_hot * work w’en we git cbar.” “ More likely ther critters will be gone an’ we'll only fine ther dead bodies of Ben an’ Jack.” ‘“Er ther p’ison varmints bev killed our pards, we'll sw’ar vengeance over their bodies!” Aud the fierce cry that came from the lips of every man told how ready the-rough fellows | were to agree tu that, That night's work was to ay, ut relentless trailers on the track of the courge, The glare of the fire shone redly against the sky, telling almost as plainly as words of the de- » oy vastation the demon was working. ae * Tooker Colfax!” muttered one, as the # rancher arose in the stirrups as if eager to view otha the work the flames were performing— looker ther boss! 1 sw’ar, I dunno but thar’s some good stuff in ther leetle man arter all!” ‘* Ef he holds ther lead clean through, I'll say thar may be,” acknowledged another. ‘‘ But | he’ll never keep ther lead.” EE. “Why?” aR ‘*Thet hoss’ll drop under him afore we rise ther swell this side of ther buildin’s whar we kin see’em. He is killin’ ther critter!” But the buckskin which the Tenderfoot Ranch- er rode was made of better material then the cowboy thought. The red giare of the flames lighted up the faces of the determined men as they dashed on- De ward and revealed quite a stretch of the rolling plain. Bi. Suddenly one of the cowhoys uttered an ex- ES ee clamation, SERS “Look erway yen ter ther right!” he shouted, | ‘Se ** Who are them?” Dimly visible away to the right of the party 3 was a body of horsemen who seemed to be mak- | mr ing for the same pvint as they were. arter ther BJack Phenix!” was the ery of one, The other party seemed to see them at this moment, and they promptly set up the far-reach- ing ‘‘ yip, yip, yip!’ of the cowboys, instantly settling the question as to their identity. " ‘“‘Them’s they!” joyfnlly shouted one of the eae | Diamond Ranchers, ‘Guy ’em ther yoop, eae lads!” iets ig’ ‘Yip, yip, yip!” ; oa Like an echo, the shout wert echoing across = the plain. - The two parties joined as they swept up the swell that would give them a view of the con- flagration, and so absorbed had they been in each other that they failed to notice the fact that the glow of the fire was rapidly decreasing in- stead of becoming greater, The crest of the swell was reached, and a shout came from the lips of tie men as they made the surprising discovery that the ranch- building proper was still standing. The fire had been confined to the out-buildings, and as the wind was blowing from tbe rancb, it had not caught at all. at | By the “low of the fire-light tyo mounted i figures could be seen dashing here and there, Pi i driving the eattle from the vicinity of the ae. >| flames, Lesh 5 “Tt’s only ther corral an’ stables!” shouted Gere ote Round-up Rube. ‘ An’ I’m durned ef it don’t + look like ther boys héd got pritty nigh all ther ae \ Ceritters out!” i a Still Orson Colfax spoxe no word. He sti’l GRE held the lead, and be kept it till he threw his a) steaming »foam- fiecked steed on its haunches ita before Ben Ford, who cried: hag ** Bless ther luck! it’s ther boss!” | Then the. Tenderfoot Ranchman raised his clinched fist and literally snarled: ** What in the name of thin doeth thith mean, thir? What doeth thith mean~¢” ny “If means thet some sneakin’ whelp fired the stables an’ corral,” was the prompt and un- Bice shaken reply, as the cowhoy’s eyes unflinchingly 4. met those of bis master. ‘‘ The fire was cun- .-—s ningly set and got a big start on us, but we done ea Pik our level best, an’ hev bin able ter save most of hy Sr ther critters.” iG 1) ** And bath the Black Phenix been here?” ._ ™Not thet I knows on, boss; but I can’t say who sot ther fire.” . - Orson Colfax swung himself out of the saddle and began hopping up and duwn like an enraged schoolboy the moment his feet touched. Never . before had his men heard him utter an oath, but now he swore vigorously, for al) of which his ) anger was so ludicrous that many of the party ss -were compelled to turn their heads aside to hide 4% their smiles. He really seemed on the point of Ran bursting into tears. ‘ pe _.._. Some one tried to comfort the excited man by Be, rs. © it was not so bad as it might be, but that Yalan only seemed to make him the more enraged, and fhe a A VmALy. | nd <A .* . éi}, ty ~¥ e:% F ‘* eet ee ey ee Re : : ; ‘ ey TAR eb theL eat WO ene, ae tn Ve an 4 . i & . so f bd : i. e Sie ** “/ fy ;, a é og > ae 3 p . 4 - ve * ee Bes Foe Ege ON AIA aE Sith rh ees ae ; 7-2 . te lt AuFes dean _—s ‘Odds thet them are ther onesas went off | Cowboy Chris to the Fore, he turned on his would-be comforter with a fury that was simply indescribable. He blamed everybody for what had happened, not pausing to consider that his loss was light compared with what they had supposed it would be when the redsglow was first seen lighting up tbe sky. ‘Suddenly he asked: ‘“ Where ith Pablo—where ith that dog? Hath he been here?” “T have seen nothing of him,” replied Ben Ford, ‘He ith at the bottem of thith!” fumed Col- fax, striking his clinched hands together. ‘“* He thall answer for thith! I wish the wascai wath here now !” ‘Then your wish is gratified,” said Chris Comstock, ‘' Here he comes.” The Mexican was seen riding swiftly toward the little knot of men, who partea to allow the Tenderfoot Rancher chance to see the one for “whom he had been asking. For one moment Orson Colfax seeemed to hes- itate and turn pale. Then, as the Mexicandrew rein with apparent wonder, asking the meaning of the fire, the little man sirode straight toward bis foreman, ‘You want to know what it meanthb, do you?” cried Colfax, his voice shaking with emotion. ‘Well, thir, I have a few quethionth to athk you, Where have you been, thir, thinthe you left tho Wobinthon Wanch? thir!” . Pablo’s dark face flushed, ‘* What does the senor mean by asking the ‘question in that manner?” he demanded, ‘*Don’t try to get out of it!” shrilly shouted the Tenderfoot Stockman, shaking his clinched ‘‘ Explain, what I have mn! Where have you Anthwer that, fist at his foreman. athked you to—if you ¢a been?’ ‘¢ And if I decline to answer—what then?” “T thall know you are the guilty party, tbir— I thall know yon thet thiti fire!” A hard look came over Pzblo’s face, ‘*] see, senor; it would be useless for me to deny it.” ‘‘Then you confeth—you acknowledge you thet it?” | * Nothing of the kind, I simply refuse to say anything about it, for no matter what I said, you would not believe me,” ‘*You are the wetch!” screamed Colfax, sud- denly producing a revolver, “If have learned how they uthe thuch cweatures in thith part of the countwy. You thall fiad lam not a man to fool with, if I am a tenderfoot. Now—” With that word, he threw up bis hand, pull- ing the trigger just as Pablo was in the act of producing a weapon, The Mexican started as if hard hit, but the next instant bis hand came up and his revolver echved the report of the rancher’s, Without even a groan, Orson Colfax sunk to the ground, Pablo’s bullct bavifg found a living target! , CHAPTER VIIL. THE BLACK WORK OF A TRAITCR, It all had happened so swiftly that not a hand could be raised to prevent the tragedy, And the apparent slayer of Orson Colfax cut not a moment’s time to waste, It ulmost seemed as if his splendid black horse wheeled even as he fired the shot that stretched the rancher on the ground, and with a yell, the Mexican dashed away. ** Pepper ther cuss!” howled Round-up Rube, But as half a.dozen weapons spoke, Pablo dis- ap 11 behind his horse, clinging to the ani- mal’s side in true Indian fashion, guiding it so pr body was protected by that of the black steed. ** After him!” burst from Chris Comstock’s lips. ‘* He is striking to round the corner of the ranch, Come on!” Putting spurs to their already over-driven horses, the cowboys started in pursuit, their weapons in their hands, For a moment Pablo disappeared with his horse behind the ranch, but that only afforded him a brief protection, for the cowboys were hot after him. When they sighted him beyond the ranch he bad swung himself up from the side of his horse and was crouching low in the saddle in order to present a smaller target for the bullets which it was plain he expected would come whistling about his ears, He was not disappointed, for the pursuers pres tly opened fire and the lead sung vicious- ya around the fleeing man and his noble horse. | It often seems as if the old saying ‘‘the devil protects his own” is true, and thus it seemed to \ » ‘ yi La , * - « . i . : on) yee - Se er - -7 - id . 4 ae Sa | > / Ta) ’ 1% 4 5 a) F. .4 ip’ 5 7 = f . ys . z Area yee ‘* bh i “ioe &- “yf + = r : * +s - * + ; No ‘ 4 “(ip 4 s Are iy s . = > \ 7 the cowboys that night. Had they been armed with rifles, they might have brought the fleeing man tumbling from bis saddle, even though their horses were going at full gallop, for there were some fine shots in the party. The cowboys could not tell bow near their bullets came to the man they were pursuing, ; but it seemed as if he remained quite untouched. eS, In truth, scarcely a drop of blood was drawn and his most severe wounds were nothing more than scratches, yet many of the pu suery’ bullets cut through Pablo’s clothing, makirg his escape from: fatal injury seom still more wonderful. By the rarest fortune his horse was not touched, ‘“Ther critter is ther devil hisseJf!’ snarled the foreman of the Robiuson Rancb. ‘‘ Lead don’t seem ter hev enny effec’ on bim.” ‘‘That was the way with the Black Phenix,” soberly spoke a cowboy at the old man’s side, “ Sure as Gospel! Ef thet Greaser hain’t ther Black Phenix I’m er derned ole fool!’ ‘‘ Did you notice his borse?” asked Chris, ‘‘ You bet! Same critter clean ter ther white star!” Ther was no doubt in the mind of the bow- | legged cowboy but the Scourge of the San Juan atl and Pablo Pajario were one and the same; and he ~se8 was not alone in thé belief. o ‘oTain’t any use try ter shoot ther skunk, 1) ied pards,” declared Rube. _*‘ He’s protected in some $ way. Spotther hoss! I don’t reckon ther anvi- mill is kivered with chain-arnior, ur annythin’ o’ thet sort.” . But most ef the pursuers had emptied their P48 revolvers and were slipping fresb cartridges ee into the cylinders as they rode, the light of the fire behind them making this an easy feat to er form. At the same time Pablo was rapidly drawing away, his noble black horse swiftly increasing io the distance between its master and bis pur- rey suers, oe “thet hess is wu'th er forchune!” cried Rute. ‘Ther critter don’t seem blowed in ther le sf fer all thet this is ther second time we hev ; ot arter it.” On the other hand, the cowboys’ borses were badly winded from that wild ride across the plain toward the burning buildings, By the time some of the cow boys had reloaded their weapons, Pablo was so far away tbat there was little chence of bringing bim down with a revolver-shot, However, the light’ of the fire still made kim conspicuous, and the pursuers once more began to blaze away at bi. ‘‘ This is folly,” asserted Fred Antbrop, speak- ing for the benefit of bis pledged pard, Cowboy Chris. ‘ The feilow is already too far away for us to bope to bring him down, and, cur horses are so badly broken up that we cannot hope to overtake him. We may as well give it up for aie the present and begin ina systematic mannerin © ~~ 9% the morning.” \ oon Chris looked at his friend in surprise, ‘Sound sense!” he nodded, ‘* But I swear I did not expect to hear it from your lips! Not yy that I think you are a fool, pard; but a tender- eas foot is apt to be a little hot-headed, and in your. ee case; it would be simply vatural for one to lose. 7+) all his reason.” Fred turned his grave face toward his old schoolmate, a ee ‘‘} feel that itis time for me to bave all my eis wits about me, if ever; but I am actually sur- ; priced at my own calmness. At the same f nie, I feel as if there is a volcano in my heat that might burst forth at any moment,” ‘That will be all right w ben the proper time —“" © comes,” assured Chris, ‘“‘IXeep yourself im © 9 > check till then,” 4 Then he turned to Old Rube, with: (ae: ‘*Hadn’t we better drop it, Rube? That Mex- ican is bound to get away forthe present, aud ae we are simply wasting our time and ruining our aes animals,” ms ** Kirec’, lad,” Then the foreman of the Robinson Rerch gave acry which quickly brovght the pursuers toa halt. To their surprise, Pablo also halted pte and sat watching them, still plainly revealed by = the ligbt of the dying fire. Deh, ee wish x se: * i ae ev .) * 3 wy" $<. =_ ‘‘ Looker ther cuss!” snorted Rube, | I hed er Winchester!” - hk ‘TF you did—” Pa 7 | “Be I did, ’d send a bullet through his heod ur bring down thet critter o’ his’n! Dd guv > re roun’ pile fer thet thar hoss! It’sther best fonr- legged beast I’ve seen in one long time!” ey After a few moments of consultation, the = =) | cowboys turned back toward the Diamend = = = = Ranch. Pablo still sat silently in hissaddlesyd watched them. How long be remained thus they could not tell, for the light of the dying | Ae > oa | a : f » : . : ' ion ry - pt “Age »". far, 4 Sere ’ ” 4 4 ys y wa ee pier sited = Leas = 5 Ay ~ comicbook ee 3 | } 1, e423, ‘ ot Ve Oh ee. Fs aw dele” ~eieet ce ti a