Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 168 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

ook ‘‘But a fellow-being, nevertheless,’ was the «quick response. ‘‘I should be false to my oath were I to remain idle, not lifting hand or svoice in defense of a human creature in such extremity. Even if he be guilty of the crimes Jaid at his door—” ‘“‘Which he ain’t!” quickly interposed the ged lad, speaking with a strong earnestness. = He never killed the man—he never stole no “horses—’cause he was in bed an’ asleep. An’ “hen, what did he want or need to hire that Shoss-thief to sw’ar to his lies, if it was the rath?’ , The boy ceased speaking and cast a trembling eanxious glance around him, as though fearful the had already said more than was wise, to men vaho were utter strangers. ‘But the curiosity of the youth called Dudley was now aroused, and with gentle force he drew he lad to where the two horses had been hitch- «#1 in a small clump of trees, and where they ‘would not form such a conspicuous group as in ‘the open. _ Not that there was any great danger of their “being unpleasantly noticed, so long as the “hanging bee” was still in prospective, for mearly every able-bodied man in the little vill ‘Rad joined the mob, while the women and chil- aren for the most part kept closely within their y,omes. Once under cover, Dudley closely questioned She lad, his tones soft and encouraging, leading Jsim on to tell aj] that he knew or suspected con- @erning the matter. Sampson stood moodily by, listening intently cand with interest, yet inwardl praying that @he lynchers mi hf make ee of their hanging, and get it over with before his hot- a companion could carry out his rash re- ve. The substance of the information extracted from the boy, may be briefly summed up. His name was Dick Dado, an orphan boy, whom Joshua Bedell had given a home in re- @urn for such chores as the lad could do upon the farm. He appeared to love his benefactor, and to fairly idolize the daughter. He was positive that Bedell had not been out- sgide of his house on the past night, after the sun wet, until the angry mob dragged him forth as ‘- blood-dyed criminal. “‘'They’ve only got the word o’ Black Dan Boller fer it, an’ hain’t he swore he’d be even ‘with ’em both—she ’cause she wouldn’t hev none a his comp’ny, an’ him fer lickin’ of him the @ay he was drunk an’ ’sulted Miss Sally?’ **“You said some one hired him to swear to ‘Bis lies,” prompted Dudley, not losing sight of he passage of tifite. On this point the boy was reluctant to speak, ‘bat adroit questioning finally drew from him ‘Ghat, after the wounded outlaw had been taken “So the. house of Edwin Harcourt, father of the young man whom Tom Mason had silenced, “and the mention of whose name had so deeply agitated Dudley, he, Dick Dado, had hung ‘around anil managed to overhear a conversa- ion between the wo man and the auto- ‘rat of the village, in which the latter promised ‘he former a free pardon and a large sum of gaoney in case the crime could be fastened “apon Joshua Bedell. It may be doubted whether Dudley heard any qpart of this after the mention of the elder Har- eeourt’s name, for now he knew that his long sand for a time apparently hopeless search, was smearing its end. Nor was Sampson much less interested, "Rhough he questioned Dick stili further, glean- ‘Img one important bit of information; that Bally Bedell had a favored lover, whom Dick Skad warned as quickly as possible after the ar- west, and who had set off at once on horseback, “swearing he would either rescue the father of Jhis betrothed, or else most bitterly avenge his heath upon his destroyers. This, added to a few points which Dick had *anconsciously let drop, gave Sampson a shrewd “idea that, though Joshua Bedell might be inno- aeent of this pope we crime, he knew more about the band of outlaws than a strictly honest “suan should. “You hear?’ abruptly uttered Dudley, look- mg to the caps upon his revolvers with the care “af one who expects to shortly find use for them. “™ He says that Edwin Harcourt is the enemy of “he man they are about to hang. That should ®e reason enough for us to interfere, even hough he bad murdered a dozen men!” “*Tt’s easy to talk,” muttered the veteran, un- «easily, though, to do him justice, his forebod- “mgs were principally on account of his young «comrade, * but twenty to one is powerful long aodds, even with a surprise throwed in.” Deadly Dash. **T don’t ask you to help—” began the young- ster ed Sampson. ** See! Miss Sally—they didn’t kill her!” cried Dick, as he caught a glimpse of the girl leaving the log jail, her steps as yet feeble and uncer- tain, her bruised face slowly dropping blood upon the bosom of her light calico dress. He would have started to join his loved mis- tress, had not Sampson grasped his arm in the nick of time. ‘‘Let her go—she’s found out whar they’ve tuck her father. She’ll make a fuss an’ give them some trouble, or she ain’t no true woman —an’ it’s time we need most now.” ‘‘T leave the planning to you—my brain is in such a whirl that I cannot think clearly. Only —we must save the man.” ““’T won’t be much of a job—we only got to kill ’bout thirty-nine men an’ cripple the rest— only boy’s play! his may have been intended for sarcasm, or an indirect protest against the foolhardy if not impossible resolution formed by the hot-headed —- but Dick Dado accepted it as gospel, and enceforth looked up to Sampson as to a demi- god. The veteran was his master from that time on. This one fling was all that Sampson allowed himself, then, knowing how utterly vain would be any attempt to alter the determination of Dudley, when once fairly formed, he quickly arranged his plans, giving Dick Dado an im- portant t to play, as well as themselves. There is no especial n to dwell upon this point. What the veteran’s plans were, will be shown by the sequel. The bold action of the half-crazed maiden, fairly pn a the lynchers, and gained the time needed by Sampson. With the noose sti as parent’s neck, Sally Bedell made a passionate appeal for mercy. er words were eloquent, well deserving per- manent record, but an idle pen like this is not the one to perform the task. She was pleadin for the life of her father—for the only relative around her own as well cruel death had left her—and her pitiful speech should be sacred. Ever a favorite with her neighbors, it is al- most certain that her thrilling appeal would have been rewarded with success, in so far that the prisoner would have been yielded up to the due process of law, had it not been for the presence of the two sons of the murdered farm- er. Vengeance was to them a sacred duty, and Simon Heywood once more entered the wagon. He was not so passion blinded as to use an greater degree of violence than was absolutely necessary to remove the pleading, praying, shrieking maiden from the breast of the prison- er, for had he done so, the tide of angry pas- sions might have been turned against his own person. But this very prudence made his task a slow one, and though he managed to remove the noose from around the maiden’s throat, it also left the neck of her parent unincumbered. Intensely excited, the mob crowded around the wagon, unnoticing the near advance of two horsemen, and seeing that no more favorable opportunity was likely to occur, Sampson cast a glance of deep meaning into the eyes of his comrade, They moved forward to within a dozen paces of the wagon, and less than half that far from the nearest members of the mob. And then Sampson raised his hand bigh in the air, mak- ing a swift gesture that bade Dick Dado play his part. Promptly the lad made his appearance, com- ing from the direction of the village, screaming at the top of his voice: “The hoss-thieves is comin’—a thousan’ of ‘em! They’re in the town, killin’ the wimmen an’ children!” Instantly all was the wildest confusion. For the moment no one paused to reflect what a highly improbable tement this was; they only thought of their dear ones, left helpless at the mercy of the hated enemy. else was forgotten by all who had families, and like madmen they rushed toward town. Thus the majority, but others stood firm, among them the two Heywood brothers and Tom Mason, who were determined to make sure of their vengeance though the heavens fell. _ Still, the bold ruse succeeded far better than its sanguine originator dared hope, and he hast- ened to seize the golden opportunity, he taking one side of the wagon and Dudley tho other, leaning forward and striking out heavily with their pao butts, as they charged home. Both Mason and Heywood went down before ' “That goes without axin’,” quietly interrupt- | far to justify the wholly unexpected assault, and then Samp- son, with an apparent degree of ease that went name, grasped Joshua Bedell around the waist, slinging him across the sad- dle before him, and then dashing away for the friendly timber. Mark Heywood uttered a loud yell of angry alarm, and drew a revolver, but, ere he could raise the hammer, Dudley lifted his horse and hurled him heavily against the young farmer, knocking him senseless to the ground, But that cry reached the ears of the settlers, and like a flash the truth burst upon them. With furious cries and curses they opened fire upon the dauntless youth, but his only answer was a mocking leigh as he rode away, shaking his long black curls in scornful defiance of the humming bullets, CHAPTER IIL FLIGHT AND PURSUIT, THE very audacity of this attempt went far toward making it a success, since the settlers could not at first believe that these two horsemen were the only ones concerned in the bold rescue. True, none others were visible, but might nota strong force be hidden somewhere in ambush among the dense timber, ready to close behind the fugitives and warmly welcome those who followed? This suspicion was a perfectly natural one, and the more prudent among the settlers slack- ened in their pursuit, while still burning pow- der and winging lead as rapidly as possible, per- pes? contented that the young hot-heads should reap all the glory of leading the chase and bearing the brunt of the ambuscade. But these hot-heads were not very plentiful. The same suspicion seemed to have occurred to them one and all, Fortunately for the fugitives, those more deep- ly interested in the death of the recent prisoner, were thrown out of the race for the time being. Had Tom Mason or either one of the Heywood ‘brothers been in serviceable condition, the pur- suit would have been hotly pressed and the fu- itives overhauled, thanks to their almost utter ignorance of the ground which lay before them, After striking down the 7 of the risoner, as already related, the youthful Dud- ey devoted himself to covering the retreat of Sampson, who steadied the form of the rescued man before him, heading direct for the nearest cover, having no special desire to stop a bullet with his back on account of a perfect stranger. This wish to reach shelter, hindered Sampson from taking the traveled road which ran straight as an arrow for nearly half a mile, hemmed in by growing trees and bushes, riding along which the flying target would practically be station- ary aslong as within range. Divining this un- “og ome truth, he preferred taking to the tim- r, thus arousing the suspicions of the settlers that danger lay before them. Dudley turned in his saddle as he reached th¢« line of undergrowth through which eae had plunged, and shook his clenched fist towar the confused crowd, uttering a taunting yell then plied his spurs briskly and dashed on it pursuit of his old friend. Joshna Bedell was not the one least surprised by the bold deed that snatched him from out the very jaws of death. It is true that his daughter told him, while in the jail, that Seth Hovey was gone for a force with which to rescue him, but, as no furthe word or sign came, and the degrading noose we / drawn close around his neck, he abandoned ail 5 Regi hope, feeling that his death was inevit able. Thus the desperate dash, together with the unceremonious manner in which he was han- dled by the muscular veteran, caused his brain to whirl and almost deprived him of his senses. But the sound of pistol-shots, the whistling bullets, and then the spiteful strokes of the twigs and brambles as he was borne recklessly through the undergrowth, quickly recalled his wandering wits, and he glanced up to seet. . face of an utter stranger. At this moment Dudley forged alongside, and dextrously cut the stout thongs that confined his ankles, knees and arms. “Tm the lightest weight,” he cried, hastily. “Mount him behind my saddle. Hemust know the country better than we do, and can guide us out of this tangle. Those yelping hounds will soon recover from the surprise, and will press us close.” This feat Sampson By voy without any a arent difficulty, and a few well-chosen wo eee Bedell of the real condition of af- a EbDookKseGco Goim ——p=