Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1096 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

grim smile again came over his face. ‘* Well, if { am, I shall have to do justice to his character to the best pf my poor ability, | suppose. Per' haps I bad better get insured.” He resumed his seat, and became thoughtful. ‘* And what is the sum and substance of it all, anyhow? If I amin danger, I mu-t know some- thing about it,so as to be on the lookout. It seeins that this Darrel has crossed swords with a certain band of outlaws known asthe Invisible Seven, and it was thought that they had laid him out, but he has come to light again. ‘‘ Now, according to what is said, he claims to have detected the rascals, and is going to hunt them out, and bring them to account, On the other hand, they have made vows anew to put him out of their way for good and all. Perhaps it is Darrel who has warned me—yes, it must have been, Ha, ba! I should like to meet the men and make his acquaintance. Perhaps I shall.” Again that smile, and if thoss who suspected him of being Dick Darrel could have seen it, they would have believed their suspicion con- firmed, Meanwhile, the Misses Silverton had entered their room, and almost immediately Miss Grace found a note on their table. ‘‘ See here, Mable,” she cried; ‘* what can this be?” She held it up to view as she spoke, ** Ts it addressed to us?” ** Yes; to both,” “ Read it.” The finder opened it and glanced at the con- tents, when her face suddenly paled and her hand began to tremble. Immediately the elder sister sprung to her side, took the note from her trembling fingers, and read it, her own face paling as she did so, It was similar to that which had been found by Mr. Teaberry. It was worded as follows: “To THe Misses SILVERTON:— ‘The writer of these lines has reason to believe that you are in danger here. Certainly your ser- vant is, for he is suspected of being one Yang Kee, who is not in good repute at this place. Be watch- ful, and be ready to defend yourselves if need be. However, you bave friends here, of whom [ am one. For the present I must remain— INCOGNITO.”” ** What does it say?” the young sister asked, The elder read it aloud to her, in low tone, ““Oh, what can it mean?’ the younger ex- claimed, ‘* Who can mean harm to us, | won- der? We must tell—” ‘‘°Sh! Mention no name, Grace. We can at- tend to that. But, who can this Incognito be? And who can mean us harm? Do you know, I am really afraid.” ‘* But we are armed, and are not witheut pro- tection.” ‘* And not without friends, either, according to this message. But, our foes; who are they?” ‘¢ We cannot know, since the note does not tell us. Possibly we are near the end of our search, and have been recognized.” ‘“‘ Heaven forbid! That might mean death to us both, unless we find out just who our foe is, Wé are armed, however, and are uot afraid to use our weapons,” Just then came a tap at the door, in a peculiar way. ** It is Hop Wah,” spoke Mable. Grace stepped to the door and opened if. Tbe guess had been a correct one, and the Chinaman came in. He noted at once the agitation of the sisters, and looked from one to the other in an inquiring way. . ‘* Hop,” said Mable, ** we have just been warn- ed that we have enemies here, and that you are in danger. You must look out for yourself.” ‘* Allee samee!” grinned the Celestial. ** Tr does not seem to frighten you badly,” said Grace, ‘* No use gittee scared ’fore gittee hurt,” was the logical response, > “There is something in that,” agreed Mable, ‘*but you must be on the lookout and see that no harm is done you,” ‘* Allee samee do that,” “Have you heard of a Yang Kee since you have been bere?” The Celestial grinned from ear to ear, as though something tickled him very much. ‘* Yes; allee samee takee Hop Wab for Yang Kee,” he answered. ‘*‘ Hop Wah say he no sabe; allee samee him no sabe what mean,” ‘© Well, ll tell you, Hop, This Yang Kee is in danger here, and they think you are he; you can see what that may lead to. You must be bbe? Page Hop.” _ The Cel was still grinning. ’ - “4 ay - i, Ee eee ae ae i CLO Pee Se ry) ae ae Dandy Dick’s Dragnet. o_o ‘* You bettee!” he assured, “‘ Me allee samee lookee out.” Some orders were given him, then, and he set about his duties, and finally, being needed no longer, was allowed to go. As he left the room he was accosted in the hall by the Chinese servant who was with Gobles, It was in his native tongue that he was ad- dressed, and what he said none might know, Their talk was of short duration, anyhow, and Hop Wah went on his way. It was a little later when there was a knock at the door of the room occupied by Mr. Tea- berry. That personage straightened himself up, be- came the insurance ageut at once, and bade the st come in, ‘he door opened, and entered Mr Sinclair Fowley. ‘‘ Ha!” the insurance agent exclaimed. ‘ I am glad to see you, Mr. Fowley. I hope you have been thinking favorably of what we have talked about.” ** Insuran¢e?” ‘“* Exactly.” ‘* Sorry to disappoint you, sir, but I haven’t thought a word about it since. [ have cowe to see you on another matter entirely.” Fowley had now closed the door, and taken a seat near the agent, ‘‘Not insurance, eh? Well, then, I am at your service, sir; let me know what is your pleasure,” ‘See bere, Darrel,” cried the mine-manager, laughing, “ what is the use of»your trying to deceive me? I know you, sir, you see,” Fowley had a confident smile on his face, as he looked sharply into the eyes of the suspected man, and Mr. Teaberry returned his sare with blank amazement, **Tsdon’t want to doubt that you know what you are talking about, Mr, Fowley,” he said, in response, ‘‘ but bless me if ldo, What is your meaning, anyhow? Darrel, Darrel-—isn’t that the name of the missing man here that I have heard of?” | CHAPTER X. BY A CLEVER ARTFUL DODGE, Mr. FOWwLEY grew red in spite of himself, That confident «smile bad faded, and be looked at Mr. Teaberry in a wondering way. Still, he was not quite ready to give up. He had evidently made up his mind to settle the question one way or the other, *T did not expect this of you,” he com- plained. ‘* You did not expect what of me, sir?’ asked Teaberry, pleasantly. ‘* hat you would refuse to take me into your confidence, Can’t you trust me, Dick Darrel?” ‘* My dear sir,” cried the insurance man, with all the earnestness he could summon, ‘*‘I am not Dick Darrel. You have made a great mistake.” ‘* Well, if you won’t, you won’t; but 1 thought you might trust me, Besides, I have sometbing mighty important to reveal to you, and that’s what has brought me here now.” ‘* Lf it is anything secret for Darrel, sir,” said Teaberry, ‘don’t tell if to me, for I tell -you candidly that Lam not he, What has made you suspect that [ am? Do I look so much like bim? W hat is it?” ** Are you telling me the truth?” **Of course I am,” agran you swear that you are not Dick Dar- re ‘Yes; if you demand it, I swear that I am not that man,” “Well, then I’m mistaken, that’s all, and of course can’t tell you what I[ desire to tell him.” ** Certainly not, Mr. Fowley.” There was a pause, ** Will you tell me what has led you to suspect me of being Darrel?’ the insurance man asked, ‘* Haven’t you heard the story?’ the manager inquired, ‘* No: you know I have been here only a short time. I have heard the name, and gleaned some idea of the story, that’s all,” ** Tl] tell you, then.” Mr. Fowley told the story of Dick Darrel, then, as fully as he knew it himself, dwelling at length upon that part that had come under®his own observation there at Imperial. ‘*'You gee, sir,” he concluded, ‘‘a man. who could adapt Himself to any disguise, and at such short notice, is to be suspected in any form or makeup, reasonable or unreasonable; and as you happened here about the time when he was naturally looked for, I may be excused for mak- ing the mistake it seems to have made,” ‘Now I can see and understand,” said Mr. 7 ; x: ADF is ’ P - V¥ %y ey wT eee ee FAP aif "> % Phu) : » a wy be te sf ant — oy Pes Acted myers I b+ ne ‘. ae \ wy aw . avi tid “a 4 ape + ey s aah Teaberry. ‘‘I hope I have satisfied you that I am not the man. _ If I had been, | do not believe i could have kept the secret, after the blunt way in which you opened upon me, Ha! ha! That was a rich joke, I would like to see you go for the real Darrel in the same fashion, and see how he would take it.” ‘*l only wish I could find him, for what [ have to tell him is important, and he should know of . it.” ‘* And J wish I could help you: but as I have never seen the man, and as you expect him to appear in disguise anyhow, I can be of little use. But, sir, about that insurance?” ** Don’t talk insurance to me just now, I beg, I have other things to think about. Dll see you later about that,” ‘“‘All right, and don’t forget. Vil give you a reduction, for to have your name as a starter would be a big card for me bere, And, by the way, should you get on track of Darrel, let me know, I’m iaterested,” Mr. Fowley gave a half promise respecting both propositions, and cutting the talk short at that, went out. No sooner had he gone than that grim smile came again upon Mr. Teaberry’s face. ' ** Took me to be Dick Darrel, did he?” he mused to himself, ‘* Well, 1 wonder if I suceeeded in convincing him of his mistake? I wonder if I did?” Night came on and settled down over the little valley, and the lamps of Imperial City made their best effort in a puny Way to rival the day- light that bad departed. The business of the evening began as usual, the Princess Primrose Saloon being the leading resort, At the hotel all was quiet, The Gobles retired early, as usual, and the newer arrivals the same; except Mr. Teaberry, who paid a visit to the Primrose, If be expected to do any business there, it was plain to him that be must make himself one of the boys, and that be was willing to do, as ap- peared. : The fun of the evening was at its height when he entered tbe resort, discordant music bein coaxed out of the old barrel organ Dick Darre had brought to the camp, and several couples trying to dance to its disjointed time. “*That’s what I like to see!” cried Teaberry, clapping his bands, when the dance ended, ‘* That’s the way to doit, boys! Life is short at best, and you want to crowd in all the fun you can, And then, if you have a policy to back you, you can toss dull care to the winds, and wade right in.” ‘* Hullo!” cried one of the dancers, “it’s Ola Teaberry!” ‘‘ Nobody else, I assure you,” Teaberry cried, ‘*Here I am, Teaberry the true, Teaberry the brave, I’m the friend of every man, and want to do every man good. We paas this way only onee, my brave boys, so let us go in for having some sport. Strike up that music again, my friend, and I’ll show youa Teaberry waitz. Who will be my partner for the dance?” With that, he caugbt up the tails of his long coat and twirled around a few times in a way that might have made old Terpsicbore giddy, The crowd laughed, the music struck up again, and a red-shirted miner offering himself as a partner, Teaberry caught hold of him and they went into the dance wildly, Furthér back in the room were seated several persons who are known to us, They were around a table, and a bottle of the so-called “‘ soothing syrup,” the best of the house, was before them, They were Baldwin Bloome, Goodman Craw- ley, Lawyer Corker and Gold-plate George the marshal, They were smoking and talking, evidently talking upon a weighty matter, since they ap- peared serious enough in mood, At the entrance of the insurance man, and his loud remarks, they all looked up, and now seem- ed interested in what was going on where he was, ‘‘ Well, what do you think about it?” asked Gold-plate. ‘I'm betting it’s him,” said Goody Crawl, ‘* He’s got jest bis build,” ‘*But, Fowley says the contrary, now; or anyhow he is mighty much io doubt about it.” “No matter what Fowley says,” remarked Baldy Bloome, ‘*‘We must remember it is — Dick Darrel we are dealing with. He could fool — any of us,” “We'll find out about that,” said Marshal Pierre. ‘“‘I bave posted Big Ben to get upa row — Awe 4 : with him, and if it is Darrel we'll see a display of his strength, very likely. Waitawhile,” a gi J ' n % : : ¥ . oe sje PN ' : ' A ’ hat | a - , “ if be ‘ em) Ni ad Ot ae “ : wh i - ee ae 2) . o ~~ " ' rs i . ay 1 > > / \ iy cus : ‘ : ; ; = mM @) . 3 > és as sii & . t < #, * ly