Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1089 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

- nk” > om aaa on = —- ——* 5 iS. Sia, ee ee a ¥ * sed —. Le thes 12 Mustang Merle’s Fight for Life. eee Ss OawWDmmmmn"9@oanamnc[u'' wv vm'c from Don Ignace, the bandit, You haven’t sent him your answer, Olive.” Olive Oram blushed again. ‘‘ Ought I to do so?” she asked. ‘“ Indeed, it would be courtesy, wouldn’t it?” and she ran laughing from the room. Merle waited for her to return, and when she eame back holding a letter in her band, he took it with a smile, ‘That will do, but I fear it will not please the yellow bandit. We will have one of the men take it to the spot designated in his letter and he will call for it in time.” Mustang Merle took the letter which he carried to one of the herders with instructions to take it to a certain spot and the man rode off, Meantime Captain Silver Belt had proceeded over the rising ground at breakneck speed and was nearing one of his camps securely hidden from the keen eyes of the foe, His handsome face had the glow of a demon’s and when he dashed among his own and told in a few brief sentences the adventures through whi he had lately passed, there was a univer- sal’cry for revenge, The whole band demanded to be led against Mesquite, swearing in their rage that they would not leave one timber attached to another nor a spear of grass unburned, re To these threats Captain Silver Belt sat and looked at their makers. ‘‘T want to find the person who fired at the Indian at Tagus,” he said, ‘‘He was on the watch for me and would have taken my life if the red had not interfered. 1 kaow the skulker, He said he wouid get even with me for the banishment,” ‘Tt was Jack Jordan!” cried a dozen voices, ‘‘Tt was the young rascal of the plains—the villain whom I banished on account of his cow- ardice. Jack Jordan is outlawed from this mo- ment, I offer two hundred dollars fér him, dead or alive,” At this juncture a form moved in the tall grass at the edge of the camp, The person lying there with his eyes fastened on the leader of the Black Feathers was Jack Jordan himself, and he had heard the decree of }.. outlawry that had just been pepen ‘* You will catch the rabbit before you eat him,” said the youth with a smile, ‘1 under- stand your tactics, Captain Silver Belt. I was on the watch when the young Apache came be- tween, and with his companion, Old Joe Bundy, succedded in capturing you. forget how you outlawed me, nor why you did so. I will get even yet, and the war you are waging against Mesquite may take a sudden turn against your cause,” Jack did not quit his place of concealment tatil he could do so without being discovered. He glided through the grass like a snake, and when some distance off arose and ran forward. In a little while he had vanished entirely, and the bandits were none the wiser for his trick. An hour later be stood in a ravine in the tim- ber, looking at something moving up it at a snail’s pace. : ‘What on earth can the yellow dog bo doing here?” be asked himself, % SY, He was looking down upon Don Ignace, who was creeping up the ravine with his little Mexi- cap eyes on the alert. All at once he dodged into a recess and found a letter there, : Jack could see how the ‘find flushed Don Ig- nace’s face, but the following minute it clouded, The contents of tho letter displeased him. ‘‘T will show her that I am not to be despised,” growled the Mexican. “I wrote her a neat missive, and the boy whose life I saved took it to her. And this is her answer. It is too bad, and almost sets me wild.” Don Ignace danced about like a man distract- ed, but suddenly ceasing bis demonstrations, he grew coo] and shook his fist toward Mesquite. When he moved on again he approached the youth’s place of concealment, and Jack, with a grin on bis face, shoved his revolver forward. ‘Halt, Don Ignace!” he cried. In an instant the Mexican bandit stood still with his hand on the butt of his own weapon, and trying to make out the half-hidden face of the person who had spoken, “* Ho, it is Jack—Jack, the Cowboy!” he ex- _ claimed, and then he came forward fearlessly. When Jack rose up Don Ignace produced the "letter, and after the cowboy had read it, said: “You see bow a mere girl treatsme, lam disgusted, but I want to show her that my affec- tions are not to be trifled with. Won’t you go _ —s in with me, Jack? We will play a hand pecu- Bie ide the profits. I \ — ° liarly our own, and will div ‘bon Iguace and you are Jack, ‘There's | the profi \ . ‘ - as ' bol) } vm -* 7. +. , rs * ’ ’ e-a “* : tA ‘ae She + Ay VF vo a ae Ce Ce bes - ° ‘es m a , te ‘ —— =. - , “> ra5 »' tml S 7 De ee) Ve : 4 2 - ‘ » = , 4 » Z ee “4 he eb Pon - —— ‘pe i A 4 “es a I don’t intend to much for us to win—gold for you and a wife for me, | The young outlaw laughed. ‘“You forget that I have known Miss Olive for years,” he said‘in all seriousness, ‘* You must remember, Don ‘Ignace, that I may think a good deal of Mustang Merle’s pretty cousin—” ‘¢- You?” stammered the Mexican, falling back and almost losing his equilibrium, ‘‘In the name of Saint Louis, wbat will I hear next?” There was no reply on Jack’s part, but he could not keep from smiling at Don Ignace’s as- tonishment, ‘‘T sha’n’t ask you to form a’partnership with me,” cried the Mexican, ‘I will work out.my love-making to my own satisfaction and if any one steps between Don Ignace and the American girl, be will pay for the intrusion.” ‘There is a barrier between you and Olive now.” ‘What do you mean?” — ‘¢ The ‘combined strength of Mesquite is the bulwak that protects the girl.” In an instant Don Ignace’s face grew dark, and swearing that even\ Mesquite should not prevail against him, he turned and left Jack alone by the ravine, ‘You'll never bite the golden apple, old fel- low,” cried Jack after him, ‘I am liable to win the girl myself.” CHAPTER XV. THE SPY’S DOOM, THE capture of Captain Silver Belt and his subsequent escape were two incidents certain to exasperate him against the boy owner of Mes- quite Ranch. In anticipation of an attack Mustang Merle made preparations to resist him when he should come and nove but the trustiest men were placed on guard, Tagus City soon learned of the true state of affairs, but as it was one of the ie seal strong- bolds and was expected to stand by him, for there he sometimes spent the ill-gotten gains of raid and foray, the young rancher did not look for any help or sympathy in that direction. After his escape Captain Silver Belt went quietly to work to recruit his ranks and a dozen new men were taken into the band of the Black Feathers and all swore to stand by its leader to the last extremity. Late one night, the third one after the last events, a number of well-mounted men were seen riding through the moonlight toward the ranch, They rode as silently as ghosts and no one not seeing them would have known that they were abroad. — At their head rode the leader of the band, his dark hair blowing back over bis shoulders on the night wind and himself the very picture of Adonis in the saddle. . _Everybody knew where Mesquite stood. It had acquired a name second to no other ranch in the region and the battles which its gallant young owner had fought for its preserva- tion had rendered it famous every where. The Black Feathers far outnumbered those who were at the ranch and it was with faces flushed with expectation that the horsemen galloped over the ground and rapidly placed miles between them and their goal, 7 Captain Silver Belt turned to a rider on his right and said with a smile: ‘* The last tussle, Gideon, We will come back over this:same ground with rich spoil banging from our saddles and the ranch that bas defied us so long will be such only in name.” ‘‘T hope so, The men. are almost tired of riding’ back and forth without getting any neurer the prize.” a ‘“This time they will reach it. The spy we have placed on the ranch is playing bis part to perfection and we shall see his signal at the proper point.” The bandits rode on until the hills that over- looked uite were reached, when they halted and taking Gilded Gid with him, Captain Silver Belt rode on to reconnoiter. _Stddenly the leader stopped and pointed toa light'which had just leaped into being. ‘‘Sam is at work,” said he, ‘‘ There goes his match and we are on time.” The light burned a little while and then went out, but it had lasted long enough to convey cer- tain intelligence to the captain of the bandits, © But something not on the bills was occurring at the ranch itself, and leaving the bandits on the hill let us cross the space that separates them from the houses and see what is re place. It is true that within the last forty-eight hours Mustang tab had sworn into his service a young man who professed to be willing to fight Sed, against Captain Silver Belt without suspecting that the new ally was that very scoundrel’s Silver Sam was a cool, calculating rascal who knew how to carry out the commands of his superior and no sooner had he become a member of Merle’s band than he began to discover the weak points of the ranch. This took a good deal of caution, for from the first he had to work against a number of watch- ful eyes, among them thoseof Red Hawk and Joe Bundy and he realized that all the time he was working in the shadow of death. Silver Sam knew almost to the minute when Captain Silver Belt and his outlaws would ap- pear on the hill and was ready with his signal. He quietly took out a match and stationing himself at a certain place proceeded to light his pipe as though there was nothing out of the wa 7 But the manner in which he threw the match to the ground told the story of the signal and no sooner was it extinguished than he looked toward the bill and smiled. ‘It’s all right,” said Sam to himself. “I have played my game to a demonstration and the plan is a success, The old captain isn’t look- ed for to-night and when he comes he will find the ranch ap easy prize.” But crouching near Sam at that very moment was a figure which he did not see, He might have seen it if his eyes had been a little keener, but as it was, he saw nothing but the hill looming up between him and the stars and there he knew the bandits were. ‘‘The white hoss is lame,” said a voice behind Sam when he bad moved a short distance from the spot where he had shown the signal. The bandit spy started as if a serpent had hissed at his heels, and he found bimself con- fronted by Old Joe. . There was nothing suspicious about the old Yankee’s looks and in a moment he had placed the spy at his ease, ’ “*T wish you'd come ‘down and look at the white boss,” continued the scout. ‘* He’s in ths stable and I heard you bragging that" you knew more about hosses than anybody else.” ‘¢ Of course I'll go,’ and the next moment Sam was following Joe toward the stables. When near them the old Yankee turned and caught the spy by the wrist, ‘‘1’m the hoss what’s lame,” said he, witha malicious grin, ‘* Yes, ’m the animile that needs attention.” Silver Sam lost color and seeing that he could do nothing else but stammer, did so for a second, ‘‘ We won't go to the stable just now, but to the house,” resumed Bundy. Fearful that all was up with him, the spy turned white and made a slight effort to disen- gage himself from Joe, but the grip of the long yellow hand was too ;much for him and he did not repeat the trial. Old Joe took his man to the house and when he had opened the door, pushing Sam abead, he laughed aloud. Tea ‘The slickest bit of~work I ever did. Caught him as nice as you please.” Mustang Merle, writing at his desk, looked up and lowered the pen. ) | Silver Sam cast a look toward the door and ground his teeth. ...** He struck a match,at one end of,the houseland tbrew it to the ground in the funniest manner ou ever see’d. I never'saw anything just like it, It meant something.” Not a word from Sam. The fellow found himself covered by the keen eyes of the Boy Rancher and stood as erect as a pine, He had regained his old composure and not 4 muscle quivered. ‘‘Are you going to confess?” suddenly asked he young ranch king. | ‘* Confess what?” . ‘‘ That lighting of the match was a signal,” * ‘‘T confess nothing. One ought to have the ~ privilege of lighting his pipe whenever he pleases, and I don’t see how an act of that sort could be a signal,” | ‘*T’]] jast search him if you say 30,” Said Joe, moving forward. ‘I have Had my peepers on him ever since he came to the ranch, It struck me at first that I bad seen himself before, and = ’ * ” en _ a ” >» — * . ~~ a pe peeeece 5 : . e Tey Lo a ‘+. " J “an al = pes 4 4 .s> hr * oMw; a all at once the whole truth came to me,andI > knew just where it was, You hain’t forgotten — the little Mexican who was killed at Monteverde two years ago by a man who went by thename of Sorocco Syl, bave you?” Sam started just a little. ““T know yon now; I know that ye Sorocco Syl, the man for whom the au ' o~< , . ‘’ - : ear a “ | me + 4 . Late . . ° . és 4 . joey ¥ ‘ ‘el : 7 - ‘ + Ps ry) ae * Wa te, +. + * ert s« - i 4 — a f ae f eT ar . 6) 4 () ’ | P ; O ) 6) ) J ~ (| ~Si * 1 ag). we ‘ ns *, tae ~ aa “A> ol I - ~ } \ aw Ne | Se, i 4 | sia ‘ ‘ : a ihe ee , Cae ta) 4) ye a) ah ~ . - == 1, - a ro P a — “ . ws ce i se fu . 7 - A \ ; pens vy -™ — “ wy “ty " ) a 7 ~~ ia * « i pet ‘ ae . v= ere i as . Roe ss *e i os S* isl ct ‘ a. Y P. ‘ » iTS a . *