Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 170 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

; } - ¥ ‘ 4 A Tromp Card. - thisdiscarded ‘blanket, pressed the wide-brimmed bat down ‘fiercely over tis eyebrows; and waited impatiently the aruimal of his horse. | ht was notdong in making dts appearanse, and in-a very few minutes he was» . sain into the biinding enotr tuscheekbeineond . emerged but an hour before. | i The landlord returned :dleme into: the 00m, : ‘where his three cronies-awaited him. » | ‘“8fow’s this?” askedJoe eee an . *Wihere’s the ld fellow, with the hang-dog x who tracked you out to the porch?” eityor’ 6,” was‘Soelomon’s shert answer, *“Gone!” echoed the thirdof his:cronies; now « ee “atdu't bee vight tof’ asked Soloman .an- " Slee arterno-good,” with dubious shake of the thead. “*Bo you know him?” asked Joe curieusly, “ Imoticed you euipone Sin.’ * What I knows we,” replied ‘the other. “Te only one ‘thing ‘to -say; and thatde, he’s arter mo good,” eo ee OUT IV A BITTER STORM, is’s a ‘reg’lar beast. of a ssight,consarn it!” — an ill-favored, . ~dressed. fel- w, ashe opened ‘the door; plunged ito a hut near the road «hich the.tmo. travelers, had just taken, “You mought well say.so;" growled a-secnn: from the.chimney eorner. ‘“ Y.ou've in «cold enough and snow enough to set.the wkole house in a shiver, bleme your pictur’.” The interior of the ‘hut consisted of a, le room, with a low-reofed loft above it. he light of,a lantern on the table ehowed that the. building was a dilapidated structure. Indeed it seemed to have been deserted, and to be .ec- ee Sy ry tem rily, for the fire.in the € y was fed with some diesayed boarmis torn from the floor, mingled with wet fagets 1 gathered (from the surreunding weed. {: By the table sat a man,much more presentable fi than his reugh compamions. ‘These, three in . number, were dressed 4n eoarse pantaloons, 3! pushed into the tops of bigh boots, svhile their ‘* upper garb consisted of thick flammel shirts, * But the fourth was. dressed meatty, and with . even some appearance of foppishness, his coat | ‘aepinyine the glit- | ed, “It isa hundred times more comfortable ’ of the latest cut, bis necktie ter of a diamond in, was as well marked im face. ‘The others were rude, unkempt, ill-favored fellowe, whom one would not have liked te meet alome; on a vag road. But their leader as he seemed to be, a keen-cut, fair-skinned visage, with a haughty t =, age and a piercing glance in his high-browed eyes. A thin tlack whisker marked the lower of his face, while bis up lip was by a leng but slender ccs, He looked up with some interest, as’ the man entered and shook the snow from his wide- brimmed hat. ‘‘ Any news?” he asked. “Yes, He has promised to be on hand by twelve to-night. It is a howling old storm ou But, you know him, If he says a thing once, tire and water wouldn’t hinder him from going through with it.” ; “Twelve! He should pass here a little after eleven, in that ease.” He drew out a handsome gold watch, and looked at its white dial. “It is later than I thought,” he muttered. ‘* Comae, boys, it is nearly time we were moving. Get your traps together, We must be on guard without delay.” ‘‘Funny weather this, for Christians to turn out in,” was the rebellious answer of the mah in the ey corner, “ I’d let the young hound go to Jericho, if it was me.” “ But it isn’t you,” sternly repiied cheir lead- er. ‘fAndI donot see that any one is asking to turn out. Itstrikes me that it | would be hard to stir up a set of greater repro tes. A followed thie speech, as if they con. sidered it highly limentary. there ? was tening of bel wee ms hats, and examining of weapons, each of tne Vv crew sotating well provided with pistols. In tem minutes more they had partly extin- guished the fire in the old hut, closed the slide of the dark jantern, and left the building, plunging with many a shiver into the swirling snow and biting wind that ruled without. ‘* What in the blazes did you close the lantern for?” growled one of the men, as he scrambled up froma temble intothe deep snow ‘Open , 4 ithe slide-and let us sec where we am going. We willbe diving into the brambles next.” Tu megponse tue slide of ise danddtantern was ithrown:epem, fiingiug a ray oO! si,cat In adwanee, which displayed a narrow path, ifanked by h brewn-trunked trees. Jn »tbe cleer ‘beam | into their — by -, oe winds, aye Stunzeling forward, with wany a mutter ‘curse, they soon reached the side of a narrow the forest, and was marked ouly by :a thicker swirliof snow and a partial te treat of the cloge- growing trees, “* Pineris the " said the leader. ‘' Two.of -you‘take the side .of the moad, And be wile awake, mind you. Hes not to pass, if we have te stop him by a bullet. #ut..don't. use your(pistels if you can belp it. I hed .rather . re ki che young hound, except ‘he gets ney &s8i ‘‘ What will be the signal ,of attack?’, -one of the men. ' : ‘‘ Aflash from the lentern. Quick! ‘In ;posi- Sion su). We may look for him at,any.2ain- ute.” ‘The sooner the better,” was the grumbling », as the desperadoes sought out..the .po- ed them. ell upon. the woods, breken .only, by the,sough of the wind through the snow-laden branches, . Th e flakes continued to descend. in | occasions! gust blew | Lf their neiseless way. An them tm blinding clouds down the :open.-road, bat the boughs of the fonest.they. were ited by the wind. sambushed villains waited Sopsveutti théirfingers and ears nipped by the cold,, whil the, deseending snow slowly shrouded :them. in white drapery. While this ambush was being prepared, the pier. an: ty who had made a temporary halt at the Golden Lion, was plun pina 4 the fierce January storm, -blindedl by the snow, ibut wrapped up too warmly to greatly heed the.eol ‘The nizkt was very gloomy, its only iight.be- ing ‘the faint white glare of the shew, with which the whole country was deeply movered, Only a darker shadow marked where the fences ran a the craig and it was Be! times ye cult prevent plunging against these dimly visible boundaries. *T would give something handsome if f eould spend the night at the Golden Lion,” he muartter- + to face.a roaring fire than such a howling storm as this. But I promised to come through, and eome through 1 will, if it rains cobble-stones,” . For several xeiles his journey continued, the weather growimg worse rather than better while the cold seemed to increase as the night wore on. “{ wish | had a secord edition of old Solo mon’s famous punches,” Le again remarked. “That one has lost its fire. feels-worse after the warn:th of a punch Cies out, than if ho had not touched it. Keer wp our spirits, old lass,” patting his horse’s arci:- ng neck. ‘‘ We have a six miles journey bet: re us yet: but you and I have been through worse than this togethcr.” A deeper gloom now marked the sides of the road, the avenue seeming like a white channel | between lofty banks, forest. The horse gatloped briskly forward, the snow here being less deep, as it was pertly caught by the sheltering boughs of the trees, They had penetrated the wood for ebout a quarter of a mile, when a strange sound to the left caused the alert traveler to look keenly in that direc- tion. At the same instant a narrow line ci light shot across the dark road, just in front of his horse, causing the animal io halt and rear in sudden aff , “Halt! Yield yourself prisoner, or it will be bes eg for you!” came a loud voiee from the ght. At the same instant a rush took place, several men breaking from the shelter of the woods, and gathering in the center of the road. One of these g the bridle of the rearing horse, ‘* Down!” he cried. ‘‘ Off your horse, or you are a dead man" a P that bridle, or there will be a winged tootpad!” was the stern reply of the traveler, ~ he strove to regain coutrol] of the frightened orse, ‘Seize him! Drag hira down!” came the voice of the chief villain, while the light of the lantern was thrown upon the form of the young traveler, revealing him in its brilliant Juster. rush was made toward him, bat, at the ey had entered the \ here passed through ithe center of | 1 believe a man | (eng Che 2 ——_ ee same instunt, a pistol eracked in bis hand, amd | the {ellow at his bridle joosed his bald with # gniugied groan and curse. Oat of my way, hounds!” cried tire pistol for anvther shot, if necessany,. : The animal dashed. fur pely fet arene, lees ing down the groaning individual in ‘front, amd eaurying its rider instantly well:out of the lines wf Jighs. ‘A pi shot sounded behind him, yi off his hat. Another, and the horse, with a ; : in, gave a savage plunge and taua- “4 ~ e'p- ~ scream of bled headlong, in a quivering heap, to ti “On him, men! Down with him! Don't leat him escape!” yelled. the leader of the ambushed. . A quick rush was made,the’ tern being again thrown «pon | the rider was not there, as they had expecked * {| see him crushed beneath the fallen animal, ,, With remarkable agility he had flung his Tee from the stirrups at theimetant of the horse} ‘tau, and leaped from \the saddle. He wa» thrown prestrate, but the force of his fall was yen by the snow, and im an instant ke had \\serambled to his feet and.sought the shelter of | the neighboring trees. _,** Two can play at this game!” he cried, ase second bal! from his pisto) pierced the hand of one, of the ruffians, causing him to it of | around in pain. _Ere the conflict could ‘proceed further it wag broken by an unlooked-for diversion. | 4 over the cushion of snow, a second horsemag | had. come upon the combatants. A loud ery was the first intimation of his presence, -“* Back, hounds! Back, .cutthroats!” he 5 at lated. ‘Release your prisoner, if you have taken him. Where are ycu, Wildfirer” *““Here! Safe and sound!” came back in tones of surprise from the first traveler. ‘ Ware! whoever you are. Ware! or you are a dead anan! You are under their pistols!” - His warning was too late, At that instant the gleam of the lantern fell upon the form of the orseman, revealing to the astonished eyes of | the young man the figure of his late companion atthe Golden Lion. At the same moment | was a keen report from the pistol of the leader | of the highwaymen. The uniortunate traveler threw up his arms, with an ejaculation of pain, | and fell headlong from his horse into the deep _ bed of snow. The animal, almost simultaneously, stumbled over the fallen horse in his path, ana fell kim- self, scrambling awkwardly to his feet. One of the villains ran forward to seize this trembling and frightened horse; but he was too late. For the young man had darted with the agility of a panther from behind his shelterin tree, caught the bridle of the animal, and lea | like a cat to the saddle. “Another game that two can play at!” he shouted, as he set spurs to the horse. “ You have killed this poor cresture’s master, but Will Wildfire is not to be so easily laid out by a crew of villains.” Putting spurs to the horse be derted rapidly onward, bending low in his saddle, as bullet after bullet followed him in his flight. In a moment more he had disappeared in the thick darkness, leaving the baffled and enraged ruffians alone with their dead. = CHAPTER ITI. : A LATE WEDDING GUEST. :} - lt would not very well express the fact to say that the villains looked at one another with sur- prise and dis Looks would have been wasted on such a night as that, but they were by no means sparing of curses, and expressions baffled rage. * May Satan fly away with the young imp!” roared one, ‘“‘ Shoot me if he hasn’t bored my hand with a bullet,” Se “Your hand be hanged!” yetied another, | “*He’s cut a hole clear through my shoulder. #m bleeding like a stuck Pig. * ‘‘ Why in the blazes didn’t you hang on to the bridle?’ demanded their angry leader, “A | minute more anc we would have hadhim. & blessed set of cowards you all are, when the | wind of a bullet is enough to settle any une of | | you,’ | a Th- wind of a builet, hey? It was a bit toe _high a wind for my liking. Anyhew I bru down his beast, and here we ar witha d horse and adead man on our hands.” _ ** And we'd best make tracks, quicker than lichtning. He monght have the white, O08 OD US.” . TT A chooks A) A . (ECO) e horse. bu} , : “weapon with startling suddenness, and to dance — ; 4 Gor