Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 144 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

> influence, but as Lance gradually recovered the use of his eyes, he saw enough to tell him that if evil was really intended, he was helplessly entrapped. He saw that he was surrounded by armed men, nine in all, or all that were then visible. Though lounging against tree-trunks or stumps, with seeming carelessness, he could see that one or more could leap upon him before he could make a second movement in any direction. They were all rugged, resolute looking fel- lows, not especially calculated to shine in so- ciety, but awkward ap nists in a hand-to- hand struggle for life and liberty. A single glance showed him this, and witha ready coolness far beyond his years, Lance ac- the situation, relaxing his grasp upon his pistols, and leisurely alighting. o ake the gentleman’s horse, Abe,” said a tall, rough-clad, but far from unhandsome man, we forward. “* It’s a rather peculiar reception, this, stranger, but when you have been bothered as much with horse-thieves as we have, you will under- stand it better.” “‘ No offense taken where none is meant, I as- sure you,” replied Dainty Lance, with a care- less grace. ‘ But I will not trouble you so far. Now that Miss Fair is among friends, I must net forget that I have an appointment in How- a — “‘At any rate, you must wait until I have sposee with father—he must thank you,” said yrtle, gently drawing the bridle reins from his hand and motioning the man who had ad- vanced at the order, to lead the animal away. All this might easily be only a natural hogpi- tality, but though the youth made no objection, he felt more and more confident that all was not as it should be. With the one exception of the tall man whom Myrtle called father, the men looked more like horse-thieves than honest emigrants. And if not more, he set them down in his own mind, even while resolving to make the best of a bad affair, and meet cunning with cunning. Without appearing to do so, he noticed that the men 80 arranged it that he was kept con- stantly surrounded, and never for a moment beyond arm’s-length of atleast one of the party. Yet all was conducted with such quiet adroitness that, had not his suspicions been awakened b rb ga facts, he would hardly have noticed al is. With one exception, the men seemed good na- tured and even particula'ly glad to see him; that coe, a short, powerfully buil. young man, dark and handsome as a Gipsy, only gave him short, surly responses, an ce smiled quietl as he saw how often the moody fellow t his eyes toward the spot where Myrtle Fair was earnestly conversing with her father. ‘*So-ho!” was his inaudible comment. “A jealous lover!” In this conclusion he was correct, but before he could pursue his observations further, Myr- tle’s father, whose name was Edward Fair, came forward and warmly g bis band. ‘“‘My daughter has told me and I ey know how to find words to sufficiently than ou- “Then the best way would be not to try,” interposed Lance with an easy laugh. “And I pave bom more on repaid oe the little I did, y pleasure of making her acquaintance and our ride hither.” . “ | ‘You are as generous as you are brave, Mr.—” ‘‘ Lancelot Daintree is my name, sir.” The r paused, amazed at the effect of his announcement. If he had introduced himself as his Satanic Majesty, the consternation writ- ten upon the faces about him could have been no ter. But then the Gipsy-looking fellow strode for- ward and said: “You lie, curse you! Your name is Harry Ballou!” next moment his heels flew up, and his head struck the earth. " CHAPTER IL. A QUESTION OF IDENTITY. THERE was nothing mysterious about this sudden overthrow of the Gipsy-looking fellow, for even he saw it co , though unable to es- —— prompt retort to his fiery accusation. . iy Lance made one step forward as the jealous lover confronted him, thus bending the whole weight of his body to the swift, right- handed lunge that caught his insulter off his suard and knocked him so cleanly off his le that his head and shoulders first touched the uround, ten feet away, } Dainty Lance, the Boy Sport. The stroke sounded sharp and clear as the crack of a whip, and those standing nearest the young stranger, involuntarily drew back a pace or two, as though unwilling to receive a like compliment. Dainty Lance cast a quick glance around him, but if he was looking for an avenue of. es- cape, he must have seen that they were all closed, unless he chose to run the risk of dealing with powder and lead. Though fearless and‘ daring to a fault, Lance was nobody’s fool. He saw that he had been decoyed to this lonely spot for some ulterior purpose, and he knew that, did they cheese te so exert their their disposal. e would make the best fight possible in such an extremity, but weuld do nothing more to precipitate the crisis. These reflections occupied scarcely an instant, and with a cool composure remarkable in ene so young, Dainty Lance stood upon his guard, ready but as yet making no effort to draw a weapon. Tough as a knot, the Cee aking young man quickly scrambled to his feet, and draw- ing a long, venomous-looking knife, would have hurled himself upon Lance, only for the prompt action of Edward Fair. ‘* Kasy, Dan Rowe!” he cried, authoritative- ly, his voice coming deep from his chest. ‘* Put: up your weapon and bottle your wrath, or you'll have to deal with Hammer Fair!” rted by actions, he angry fellow’s held him motion- ess. ‘He struck me—I’ll have his heart's blood for that blow!’ snarled Rowe, his eyes glowing like those of an infuriated wild beast. ‘* He served — right—” ‘Don’t spoil the gentleman’s sport,” inter- posed Dainty Lance, with a cool insolence that proved even more stinging than his words, ‘Give him his head, and I promise to convince you all that he is the liar he accused me of be- ing.” Seite Fair turned his head sharply and addressed, not Dainty Lance, but his men. ‘‘Close in on him, but remember what he is worth—” He paused, amazed. A light form darted ast him and took up its position beside Dainty nee, a cocked revolver glistening in the red rays of the camp-fire. t was his daughter, whose voice rung out sharply: ‘* Keep your places, all! This under my protection,and any hand him is raised against me!” ‘You see what comes of trusting a silly, ro- mantic fool like Duck?’ grated Rowe, i his arm free from the grasp of the Satbntehod father. ‘1 was against it from the first, but ou wouldn’t hearken toreason. His éoll’s tace made a fool of the girl—but he shall never live to boast of it! IT’ll cut his heart out!” With a snarling curse he leaped forward, his knife uplifted, but then paused and involun- tarily recoiled. Nor were his words unsup His heavy hand closed u a with a power eri eee is ifted against No single man could have cowed him, but the } whom he loved with all the power of his ry, impetuous nature, confronted him with leveled revolver, stern determination written in every feature as she cried: ‘**Back, Daniel Rowe! back, or by all the wers above, I'll cool eo mad blood by a llet through the brain! Back, I say!" = ay Lance stood a quiet and ly wholly disinterested spectator of the wild, pecu- liar scene. He knew now that his first suspicions had been well-founded; that he had been decoyed thither through a cunning scheme, for some evil se. But be knew, too, that be could not hope to successfully fight his way clear of such heavy odds. He. h:d made one bitter ae and to counterbalance that was the un- deniable friendship of the fair decoy. The few words that had already been spoken, taken in connection with the amazement with which the leader of the party received the an- nouncement of his name, told the quick-witted youth that he had probably been mistaken for somebody else. And believing this, he decided upon a bold, daring course of action. With a quick, dexterous motion he the pistol held by the girl, in such a manner as to prevent its explosion when wrested her grasp, saying: “Many thanks, Miss Fair, but Iam not used to hide bebind a petticoat when danger threa- tens me, if you please, I'll manage my part of this affair after my own fashion.” s At the same time Hammer Fair, as he had ‘ wer, his life was wholly at. “fo much time in idle talk.” termed himself, once more seized the jealous lover, growling: * e another offer like that, and Tll have you tied up, hand and foot, like a runaway schoolboy! Can’t you wait until we’ve got the truth out of him? Are we to lose all our time and trouble, just because you have taken a fool notion into your head? By the horns of the devil! I’m getting sick of your infernal tem- Perhaps it was this explosion of rage, or it may have been the action ofthe fair decoy that influenced Rowe. She appeared mortally of. fended by the cavalier manner in which Dainty Lance had treated her defense of him, and flounced away, her face burning hot. Let the cause be what it might, the angry lover im- mediately cooled down and returning his knife to its sheath, shook his arm free, and leaned inst an adjacent tree-trunk. nee coolly uncocked the weapon left in his hand by his offended defender, but still retain- S possession of it while addressing Hammer air. ** You have a peculiar way of welcoming vis- itors. Do you insist upon furnishing every man a name of your own choosing, and then try to rw him in case he doesn’t fancy the substi- “Dan did act the fool, but you name,” responded Fair, clearly taken aback by this.cool attack. “Dan did act the fool—I grant you that. He called me a hairy baboon, or something of the sort—” “Harry Ballou—your real name—we know you too well to be mistaken,” interposed the other, sharply. “ My name is not Harry Ballou—never was— never will be. am ncelot Daintree! I never even heard of the person you are mis- taking me for, before to-night.” The youth spoke deliberately, but with a ris- ing flush on his smooth, girlish cheek that be- ened a growing impatience. Hammer Fair stared at him steadily. The men interchanged quick glances. The fair decey drew a little nearer while a short, mock- ing laugh came from Rowe’s lips. We all have eyes and cansee. He thinks to bluff his way clear. No doubt he has scented our little e. But what’s the use of wasting Truss him up to a tree, and try a dose of hickory-oil!” From the murmur which came from the other men, it was clear that this blunt speech found an echo in their hearts, and Hammer Fair made use of the hint. “You will have only yourself to blame if it comes to that, young man. For my part, I wish to treat you as generously as possible, consistent with the end we have in view. But you were decoyed bere, that we might glean ve us a false some important information from you. & out plainly. Tell us what we wish to know, and as soon as we can do so with safety to ourselves, you shall be set at liberty, to go where you will. Refuse—be obstinate, and you shall be made to speak out. You understand?’ During this deliberate speech, the brain of the yeuth addressed was more active than ever. this trouble would not have been under- taken for any light cause. The watching along the road, the pretended assault u the part she had played since, the precautions taken at the lonely camp—all this pointed to- ward me om | ies gt he ceaepihon to penetrate the mystery if possible, never giving a second thought to the danger he would be in- curring in thus playing with edged tools. _ He saw that they were fully convinced that he was the person called Harry Ballou, and he made up his mind to accept the position, though not'so suddenly as to arouse their suspicions, “I have told you myname. If you don’t choose to believe me, allright. That will not alter the truth. After all, I am not particular, ha stranger in this State, there are tions of the country where my name is rather too well known for comfort or safety. Tl make a ain with you. “TI frankly own that I am what is vulgarly known as ‘on the make’—nor am I over-particu- lar about details,so long as the pay is good. And, unless I mistake, you all pull oars in the nee boat. I can scent horse-dealers in the & **Do you take us for horse-thieves?” sharply cried Fai n the decoy, air. “If I have mistaken your line of business, I ask pardon,” resumed Dainty Lance, with a wave of his hand. “ You may te road- agents, train-wreckers or bank-breakers; but that you are not of the fools called henet men, Ghbooks eom co