Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 144 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

‘knocking them over like so many nine-pins be- fore a well-bowled ball, and clearing the door- jess he by en But then he heard a half- choked cry behind him, and turning his head, he saw Decoy Duck down upon one knee, her ankle in the grasp of one of the men knocked over by his furious onset. Had his companion been one of his own sex, Dainty Lance, after such a rash and foolhardy opening of hostilities, would have left him to shift for himself, as a single active leap would suffice to carry him down the steps to his good horse, and once in the saddle, he would have been comparatively safe, but he could not de- sert a woman, foolish and criminal though her actions had been. Two blows in swift succession toppled over his nearest foemen, then Dainty Lance dashed his foot into the face of the man who still clutched Duck by the ankle hurling him along the floor, bleeding and senseless. Ten he raised the form of the girl in his arms, and ran swiftly down the steps, placing her in the saddle with a er telge exertion, cutting the halter close to the 1 ° At this moment, a pistol was fired from the top of the steps, and with a sharp cry, Dainty Lance staggered and fell against the shoulder of the alarmed horse, completing its fright, and sending it down the street at a mad pace, De- coy Duck, half-unconscious, clinging mechani- ca. to its mane, ith ry yells of mingled triumph and vengeance, the men rushed forth and pounced upon the fallen outh, each one eager to deal him a blow, and not their eagerness defeat- ed itself by forming such a confused heap over the prostrate body, there can be little doubt but that would have ended the earthly career of the young adventurer. Harry Ballou was aroused by the fearful tumult, and rightly attributing it to the cause in which he had enlisted the services of John Steuben and the Regulators, he hastily pulled on his pants and boots, then rushed down stai just in time to notice the fall of the sup Thoth’ turally quiet and ful, wh ough na et an ce when once aroused the bankers son Win aap as & lion, and unwilling to stand by while murder was being done upon even a criminal of the Soepent Pe he rushed into the melee, and soon succee in bringing the men to their sober senses, Clearing themselves, they picked up Dainty Lance, who was insensible, quite as much from the effects of the suffocat rene bi him, as from the pistol shot, and carried up into the hotel: ‘ Here Tim Farrer, a stalwart settler of Irish descent, and who had been second in command of the Regulators, assumed the control of the case, calling to his aid those ee to the organization and peremptorily clearing the room of all outsiders, with one exception. Ballou, though no Regulator, was suf- fered to remain, being the owner of the stolen a and thus, ina manner, the public prose- cutor. This done, attention was directed toward the fallen chief, for the first time, but a brief exami- nation of his person speedily proved him beyond all earthly aid. The hand of Decoy Duck had been all too true. Her bullet had passed through the brain of John Steuben, shattering his skull in a frightful manner, en this result was made known by those who conducted the examination, a deep, deadly murmur arose that showed what scant mercy the mt need expect at the hands of bis captors. rry Ballou sbuddered and turned pale, brave as he undoubtedly was, and sorely re- tted that he had not suffered the loss of his orse, favorite though it was, rather than have the blood of this youth, so strangely like himself, resting upon his conscience. Feeling as though he would suffocate in that closed room, he made an excuse to leave it for a few moments, using the horse still standing out- side as a pretext. ’ Several of the Regulators bore him company and there was no little excitement occasioned ames, Set and the motley crowd which had collected before the hotel, by his cays’ A sertion that there had been a terrible mist 4m Bape the horse was not the one owned by 1im _* The resemblance was as remarkable as the one grec, Aven aye the young men them- selves, but y soon pointed out the absence of several minor marks that distinguished his own horse, and conviction followed. Filled with a new hope by this important discovery, Harry Ballou returned to the hotel and made it known. ‘That proves he is no horse-thief!” he cried eagerly, ‘‘ He was wrongfully assailed, and committed no sin in defending his life. You must let the poor fellow go free!” Tim Farrer pointed weg ormmeng y toward the corpse of John Steuben, lying in a pool of its own blood. ‘‘Life for life!” he enunciated in a deep, solemn tone. ‘‘ As good and true a man as ever lived, lies yonder dead, assassinated while in the discharge of hissworn duty. His blood would haunt us night and day, were we to suffer his parte to escape our vengeance!” deep, sullen murmur ran around the room. Toattempt choking these men off, would be like robbing a tigress of her whelps! ‘But there was another man,” persisted Ballou, reluctant to yield while the ghost ofa hope remained, ‘‘ He may have been the one to fire the fatal shot. Who saw it all?” There were at least half a dozen present who had been witnesses of the entire scene, but the majority of them had been roughly handled during the rush made by Dainty ce and Decoy Duck in the effort to escape, and when Farrer called upon them to bear witness, they had but one story to tell between them. Whether they had been unable to distinctly see which hand had fired the shot that laid John Steuben low in death, or whether they were not unwilling to perjure themselves in order to avenge the hard knocks the present prisoner had dealt them, can only be conjectur- ed, but certain it is that they one and all swore int-blank that Dainty Lance discharged the eath-shot. The hotel clerk knew better, for, from his ition he had a side view of the whole affair, ut he was a timid sort of creature who always floated with the current, and on being appealed to, said that he could not safely swear to the one who had fired the first shot. He consoled his conscience with the reflection that this was the truth as far as it went; for surely it was not safe for him to flatly contradict the sworn evidence of those five rough, heavy- fisted fellows! Dainty Lancé had recovered his consciousness while this investigation was under way, but he held his oy knowing that whatever he might say wo 4 only enrage the Regulators still more im. e watched Harry Ballou with a peculiar in- terest, not only because he was interesting him- self in his welfare, but for the ettracntinairy likeness which existed between them. How- ever matters might turn out, he was not sorry that he had attempted to do his ‘‘ double ” aser- vice. Harry Ballou did not yield easi > though he now saw that he was fighting hopelessly against fate, What little chance there might have been for the prisoner, was utterly destroyed by this false witnessin nF Even Tim Farrer at length grew impatient, and told Harry that he would save trouble by quietly leaving the room. “The boys are growing angry, and you may get roughly handled,” he added, in an under- tone. “ You can do nothing here, If an angel from heaven should come down to bear witness in his favor and plead for his life, it would be breath spent in vain. John Steuben was mur- dered, and his slayer must hang—that’s flat!” Harry realized the truth thus told, and his head was now aching as though his brain would burst. He had done all he could, and with a last pitying glance at the prisoner, he wearily left the room. Tim Farrer had not spoken too strongly. Dainty Lance was already doomed to death, and the Regulators were panting with their eagerness to avenge upon him the death of their idolized chief, More as a form to quiet his own conscience than from any doubt as to the answer he would receive, the newly promoted ot eater? the mo- mentous question: guilty or not ty? R The verdict and sentence came in the same reath: A ety of murder—to be hanged on Gallows a No one thought of asking when the dread sentence should be carried out. The Regulators never allowed their resolutions time to cool. Me rag sentence and execution went all to- gether. With a wild, fierce growl that plainly told those without what was ge the Regulators jerked their prisoner to his feet, half a dozen strong hands grasping his person. Dainty Lance, the Boy Sport, Ne ” — The door was flung open, the excited crowd d pe made way for the company to pass hroug Dainty Lance quietly yielded to the impulse given to him, but there was no trace of fear upon his pale, blood-stained features. He knew that any present attempt atescape would be worse than useless. At best he would be roughly handled and bound. But still hedid not despair. He coolly bided his time, watch- ing for a more favorable opportunity to make a desperate dash for liberty. " e could not have been cooler, but he m have felt more confidence, had he known t there was one true friend—a heart of goki— among bis enemies. The Gallows Oak—the name explains itself— stood not quite half a mile out of town, and the yelling, bloodthirsty crowd were not long im covering the distance, There were few preliminaries. A huge bon- fire was kindled, both to give light to the execu- tioners, and permit the crowd to see the whole affair, then a long rope was tossed over the stout, horizontal limb beneath which the doom- ed youth stood, and Tim Farrer fitted the noose around his neck. As the men who had held him, darted away, eager to do their part in swinging him inte eternity, Dainty Lance, believing that this was his only chance of escaping a shameful death, dually turned around so as to nearly face im Farrer, his muscles steeled to the d attempt, but then he hesitated, for his eyes rested upon a face he knew well A short, sturdy form, clad in buckskin and woolen, pressed through the crowd, crying: “That knot ‘ll slip, Mr. Farrer! At the fust ull, the p’izen critter ‘ll be loose and away oct ye!” : Taken by surprise, the amateur h suf- fered the bold intruder to snatch the noose from his hand, and fling it clear from the throat of Dainty Lance! ‘Run fer it! take kiver, Lance!” cried the young fellow, and as he spoke, his right hand rose and fell, driving a long, keen bowie-knife to the very haft in the broad chest of the | lator, who flung up his arms and fell backward, without a groan, heart cloven in twain! CHAPTER VL A FRIENDSHIP TRUER THAN STEEL. THOUGH retrospective glances are generally unpleasant ones, and liked by neither readee nor writer, at the races stage of this stery, such becomes absolutely necessary. Perhaps it would have been better for beth John Steuben and H Ballou, if they had not so lightly accepted the explanation givem by the young fellow who brought them te a halt in their rapid ride to Howard. But they were not the only persons deceived on that night. of strange events. With the moon shining upon his back, as he stood gazing after the two horsemen, the ome fellow uttered a low, unconscious sigh of per- plexity and apprehension. Not on his own account, <i anger Hardy had fought his way through the world ever since early childhood, and the daily conflict had so toughened him that by a perfectly naturai. transposition he became y Zeph. That sigh, then, was on account of his best friend and self-elected master, Lancelot Dain- tree. Zeph felt certain when he entered the read and barred the way, that Harry Ballou was Dainty Lance, and this belief was wholly un- shaken when the banker’s son rode yr ently past him. He thought that his friend had some good reasons for denying his identity, which the hasty questions put by John Steuben seemed to confirm. Hence his adroit and effec- tive evasion. ‘*He’s playin’ some o’ his ‘darin’ tricks,” mut tered Zeph, watching the receding horsemen, ‘‘ He didn’t want to be knowed. An’ from the ware feller with him talked, he ain’t ne. He said no more. Thislast reflection decided his course, and with broad breast squared, his head thrown slightly back, Hard ph broke into a swift, level run that carried him over the ground at a wonderful rate, and kept him with- in hearing of the clattering hoofs upon the hard road ahead. It was a long race, but Hardy Zeph was well named, and maintained his an appar- = Y reyes that spoke well for his muscles and / n He was only a few rods behind the horsemen. when they rode into the little town, and as they in S.€O EOmMIcboo