Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 129 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

(mms ee fort within the hour. Sufficient long these colonist dogs have usurped my rights, and now they must go, or die, and I’d rather kill’em than not. To-night they will not be expecting us, and it will be our very opportunity to sur- round and take ’em!” In the meantime the colonists were doing the very reverse of the scoundrel’s calculations— were watching for an expected attack, Every one within the fort was expecting an attack, and was prepared to fight for the pos- session of the gulch. ‘*T tell ye what, feller-cityzens,” said old Bill Myers, removing his grimy clay pi long enough to speak—‘‘I tell ye what, feller-city- zens, ef ye don’t see things smoke afore mornin’, Pve lost my reckonin’. Here’s meand my right bower, Sing Song—we’ve tramped tergether these three years, an’ Sing, he’ll tell ye I nevyer in thet hull time predicted wrong. Eh? Sing? ‘‘No wrongee—Myers muchee sure,” the celestial replied with a nod. ‘tT, too, am of the opinion that there will be an attack before morning,” St. Celton, Sr., added. ‘‘And teu to one we shall be con- ue ‘‘ Never!” Fred St. Celton said, fiercely. ‘We may get whipped, but never conquered by this outlaw demon. Here is one right hand er fight when the rest of the body is co ‘‘And here another!” Edith Harris said, eagerly, ‘‘ But place arifle in my hand, when it comes to fighting, and I will show you that I am loyal.” “You shall be tested!’ Judge Elliott said. *Andif you turn out to be as you have all along claimed, we shall have many apologles to offer you.” ** None of which you need offer, as they are not asked for. Youhave treated meas a pris- oner of war, and I have not suffered. There- fore, I shall not be revengeful.” **T wish Montague and the girl Slippery Sal were here, and I think we could defy them for a time, at least,” Warwick said. . ‘We can, as it is!” Edith declared coolly. ‘* Don’t fear for your personal safety, for, should Reg danger menace, you can depend upon it t my husband, the genuine Deadwood Dick will be on hand.” Somehow her words inspired hope in the hearts of the colonists, even though they were doubtful of there being any difference in their ey enemy, and the other Deadwood c That there were two persons bearing the same name was beyond their understanding. Slowly the night dragged away; midnight came, still no ST of the outlaws. By having all lights extinguished within the fort, they were able to see the lay of the coun- try, without, and distinguish objects a short distance away. About two hours before daydawn, when the night was the darkest, dusky objects were seen moving in the clearing, to the east of the fort. ‘“‘The outlaws, sure pop,” old Bill Myers an- nounced, ‘‘They’re creepin’ up, thinkin’ ther fort’s asleep. it reddy now, ev’ry mother’s son an’ darter of ye, and we'll see ef we ken’t wake up the varmints. Fill every loop-hole, an’ pick out yer man, an’ when ye heer m clarion note ag’in, give’em salt an’ pepper till they’re thoroughly seasoned, fer cayote feasts.” he loop-holes were promptly manned and ‘womaned,’ for that matter, and the approach- ing figures were covered, as one by one they made their appearance, out of the gloom. Five—ten—twenty—thirty there were, all told, although there appeared to be a hundred of the dusky forms. ‘‘ Now! git ready,” cried Myers. ‘‘ One! two—three—fire!” CHAPTER XII. THE OLD ORIGINAL TO THE FRONT. THE cry of Myers was instantaneously an- swered by the crack of a dozen rifles in concert, Then, from the black night without welled up another cry—a wild yell of pain and rage, com- ing from the outlaws, for almost every bullet of the oe mee taken effect. “ Hurra! thet’s ther way ter give ’em jessy!” Myers cried, delightedly. es Eee, ra nyo treating! Give em another blizzard before they get out = ight.” Aceordingly the repeating rifles spuke again, spitefully, and another dozen of “the outlaws went down, either dead or wounded. Deadly practice was this, and in consternation the re- ruffians retreated from view. f : Enough had they had of the colonists to con- vince them that everybody in the fort was wide awake and prepared for all emergencies. ‘‘It no use wasting more life!” Deadwood Dick’s Double said, with a bitter curse, ‘‘ Get back tothe stronghold, and wait until to-morrow night. Then will [turn a trump card, for which there will be no alternative. Enough of this shabby kind of warfare has there been: and we'll now come down to business.” Under the same cover of darkness a horseman left the gulch basin, a few moments after the conclusion: of the brisk battle, passing through the south gap over the Leadville trail. Once out of the basin, he put the spurs to his horse, and they flew swiftly down through the gloomy canyon-like seam in the rugged face of nature, the horse evincing an unusual degree of knowledge in selecting the easiest portions of the trail, and the rider sitting in the sad- dle with apparent ease. On down the canyon they went, until its intersection with the Ken- n y Gulch trail to Fairplay was reached; then the horse was reined in, and the rider removed a mask from his face, and stored it away into one of the pockets of the jacket he wore. Once the mask was removed, a handsome face was re- vealed—a peculiar face, adorned with imperial and mustache, and 3 yh by a pair of mag- netic black eyes, whic one brightly with a resolute expression. Armed with rifle and revolver was this night- rider, and evidently familiar with the country around him, for he soon turned into Kennedy Gulch, and struck off in a gallop again. For an hour he rode thus, and just as day was beginning to break in the east, he dashed down a little descent, right into the heart of a little camp that was pitched ina sort of a tree-strewn ket. The embers of a campfire smoldered at the foot of an old hemlock, and around them, upon the ground, a party of men were rolled in their blankets, fast asleep. Bunt they hastily arose, a round dozen of them in number, as the horseman up, and weapons were plentiful drawn. ‘You needn’t mind about pulling your Boy guns, gentlemen!” the new-comer said, with a ile, as he drew rein. “I’m not a dangerous eg epee nen ye rile me,” ‘* Well, you know it’s always best to be ready, in case of emergency,” replied the leader of the party, a small wir fellow, with iron-gray hair and mustache, and an eye as keen as a hawk’s. “Certainly,” the stranger replied, bowing as- sent. ‘‘If you never allow yourself to be taken at fault, ten chances to one you will never be taken at all. I believe I have the pleasure of addressing John Webb, the sheriff of this coun- ty, have | not?” ‘You have, sir. My name is John Webb. May I also ask your name?” ‘“Yes. I am Edward Harris, alias Dead- wood Dick, ex-road-agent!” the stranger re- plied, coolly, at which announcement the sheriff and his men stared. ‘“'You, Deadwood Dick!” the officer ejacu- lated, allowing his hand again to drop upon the butt of his revolver. ‘Yes, [am Deadwood Dick, but you have no power to arrest me. I ama free man, and have the papers to prove it. It is not as an enemy that I come, but as a friend.” ‘Well, sir, let’s hear your errrand. I’ve heard so many evil reports of you, in the past, that you must really excuse me for standing on my guard, you know!” eadwood Dick laughed. “You do quite right!” he said. ‘‘ You would do wrong to trust even yourself, too far. My errand I will briefly state. You are, doubtless, aware of the location of Cat City, and Gorgon’s Gulch, some miles to the north-east?” **T have heard of the same, yes.” “Well, not long ago a mabe of Virginians traded their homes for the Cat City Basin, and emigrated there with the intention of sepia px d and settling the tract for which they had traded. ‘* But they have been bitterly opposed by a ng of ruffians headed by a fellow who calls he elf Deadwood Dick, having appropriated my old title, and by his crimes under that name, endangered the freedom granted me by the Governor. Learning that you were in this Micra mt upon an outlaw hunt, I came hither to see if I could not prevail upon you to scoop in this gang, on your way, and thus not onl relieve me of an unpleasant position, but al- Fe) aoe these celonists from an unpleasant sit- uation. histle. ‘Why, hang it, this is the very chap I’m | John Webb gave vent to a strange, prolonged w i>” ‘3 \ ie Deadwood Dick’s Double. 13 cateashsinndinomaspenpsientansipelidtiiasjidannetanansinnmndnmeesionee aime omiertlen, nasiaeaaas hunting for, but have aot been able te find. He’s been raising the devil generally, up around Fairplay, and only last night we took his old «tron hold, and licked out a lot of his men, But I supposed all the time that there was but the one cuss sailing under the name cf Dead- wood Dick,” “Then you thought wrongly, for I am th: original, anda free man. Who this other cus lomer is, I bave yet to learn.” “ Well, we'll find out, directly, perhaps. Dif mount and accept the hospitality of my mesg and we’ll arrange our plans.” Not long after the defeat and retreat of the outlaws, day dawned upon the little | eoea basin, and with its coming came Lew Lyons, bear- ing the hind quarters of a fine buck-deer upon \is shoulders. Though somewhat suspicious and prejudiced against him, the colonists were glad to welcome the fresh meat, for there was little to eat with- in the fort, and the fresh juicy venison was tempting in the extreme. Therefore the dark- browed son of Kansas was vouchsafed a more cordial reception than usual, He, too, seemed in a more amiable mood, and chatted and conversed in altogether a better humor than he had, heretofore. V’hen questioned as to his movements dur- ing his absence he did not vouchsafe much information, merely saying that he had been up in the mountains. About noon Montague arrived on the north- ward-bound stage, and brought an additional stocy of edibles and ammunition, so that the fort vas now pretty well prepared to resist a siege, should there be one. t ren passed swiftly, still no further signs of the outlaws were seen. Night drew on, and once more settled ite shador’*s over the valley. And still no perceptible appearance of the enemy. ‘‘Tam of the opinion that we’ve successfully squelched ’em!” old Bill Myers declared, when it came time to turn in. “ Anyhow, I don’t believe they’ll come swoopin around the fort to-night, after ther blizzard they got last mght,” ‘‘T don't know about that,” Montague de-— murred. ‘‘Maybe they calculate we think that, and will be sure to come.” “Tt won’t do no harm to set a guard, at least,” Lyons said, it being his first manifesta- tion of interest concerning the safety of the fort. And so it was decided, Myers and Sing Song being chosen for _— pss during the night. They accordingly took their stations outside of the cabin, which the tavern-keeper averred was the safest place. The rest of the colonists then turned in, and were soon asleep, jittle dreaming that it was a bad move for them, or that their chosen guards would not prove equal to the position, For be it known, both Myers and his Celestial servant had a particular and indiscreet weak- ness for the bitters called ‘* bug-juice.” Not only did thes hanker after it, but im- roved each shining moment to gargle their hroats with it, when not otherwise busily en- d. The darkness without the fort was very dense, and its density seemed to cause a thirstiness in the windpipes of the two guards, which grad- ually increased until Myers was obliged to step over to the tavern after a little brown jug. On his return he and Sing Song both sampled the contents, and were evidently well satisfied, judging by the way they smacked their lips. e one sample however seemed but to create a demand for another to ‘‘ wet up the darkness,” and greeny the twain took rth caer pota- tions from the jug. The liquor, instead of being enlivening, seemed to conduce to sieepi- ness, and before the second jug had been brought over from the Casino, and finished, | beth Myers and his companion were s ed out upon the ground in a drunken sleep. : Shortly after midnigbt the door of the fort was cautiously opened, and a head was thrust through the aperture ; then, a moment later, the form of Lew Lyons followed suit, A chuckle escaped him as he noted the points of the situation, principal among which was the condition of the guards. ‘Sound asleep, and—hello! here’s a couple of jugs, which accounts for it. Ah! things are working finely. The guards are out of the | —the dog is geed, and now all is in . ness except Deadwood Dick, the second.” ‘‘ And he is here,” a low voice replied, as & man stepped around the corner of the cabin. ‘Ts the coast clear?’ EGOMNE \ | JOOKS