Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 186 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

nO Fl - a ® - _ Into the room came the assailants who had crushed in the door with a heavy log as the bat- teling-ram, and through the doorway the rays of the moon came, thus partially lighting the apartment. Although this light was dim, the «yes of the pilgrims, accustomed to the dark- ness, saw Clearly enough nine well-armed men, end each and every one habited in the strange Cat dress! ‘‘Let me go!” “eo yelled the boy, excited almost to frenzy when he beheld the intruders and realized that he was in the power of the dreaded marauders. ** No, no,” again plead the girl, clinging to him with such earnestness that the boy was unable to shake her off. The leader of the Cat band, the first to enter the room, quickly perceived what was going on. ‘Oho! he’s got a barker has he?’ he cried ; ‘let him weapon if he dares! bead will take all that nonsense out of him. What is he thinking of? Does he reckon that he, single-handed, can fight nine ofus? Oh, any one of our gang could chaw up six like him and count it no work atall.” ‘*Oh donot harm him, sir; he will not attempt to resist,” plead the girl, who, by this time, had got ker hand on the revolver, and with a violent effort wrenched it from the boy’s grasp, and, exhausted by the effort he had made, as well as overcome by the excitement, the boy’s strength forsook him, and he sunk back in a dead faint upon the bunk. *Whatis the matter with him?’ demanded the Cat leader. ** He has fainted, sir.” ** Shall I knock the young cub in the head?’ asked one of the ruffians, shifting his grasp on his heavy revolver from the handle to the bar- rel, approaching the bunk as he spoke and flourishing the weapon over the head of the senseless boy. ‘*No, no, for Heaven’s sake!” shrieked the girlin an agony of terror, ‘‘do not harm him. Kill meif you will, but spare him!” and, clasp- ing the senseless form to her breast, she inter- posed her own body between the boy and the marauders. ‘““No, let him alone,” growled the leader; ‘when I want anything done 1 will tell you.” The ruffian fell back and the Cat commander came a step nearer to the bunk. ‘*Tiow soon will he come out of this?” he asked. ‘‘ We want you to go along with us, but we can’t bother to lug him if he can’t walk,”’ ‘‘ Why do St wish us to A a do you want of us? e have never done any one any harm since we came into this camp, and we do not possess anything of value!” the girl ex- claimed, wildly, all the terror in her being roused by the ominous words of the outlaw. **You know the secret of Conejos, though, and that secret we must know,” the ruffian chief declared, coming a step nearer, his eyes glarin ferociously through the holes in the cat’s heac which he wore, and his hot breath fanning the cheek of the maiden, whose face grew as white asa sheet ; she bad been pale before through fright, at this terrible irruption, but now her face was as the face of the dead. ** Indeed, I know nothing of it,” she mur- mured, ‘So you said before, but I take the liberty to doubt that statement,” the outlaw retorted. ‘*Oh, I understand it well enough, and I rather admire the grit you exhibit in this matter. Of course I know itis rather rough for you to come so far and dare so much and then have to share your secret with somebody else, but, you see, I was first on the trail, and I kinder look upon you as an interloper ; still, if you will make a clean breast of it, and tell me allthat you know, you will fiid that I will do the fair thing by ou. ‘*Oh, why will you not believe me when I as- o, gal, and let: him try to use the | I reckon that a lick in the | | upon Cool Desmond. - -* they might not relish this little surprise party of ours. How long wil) it take you to fetch this boy to his senses?” ‘Oh, not long, sir; a few minutes only!’ she hastened to exclaim, fearful that the outlaw mice change his mind and do violence to the youth. ‘* All right; go ahead with you, and be as fast as you can, for we have no time to lose. One of you fellows stand in the doorway and keep a good look-out, for we don’t want our little pic- nic hyer surprised.” The biggest and burliest Cat of them all im- mediately took up a position in the doorway, from which he easily commanded a view of the sleeping town. The girl, in great trepidation, unloosed the flannel shirt of the boy at the neck and pro- ceeded to chafe his hands and wrists. Quick to fall into a faint, the boy was almost equally quick to recover from it. In a few moments he began to show signs of life; then he opened his eyes languidly, and for a moment looked vacantly around him. Soon he caught sight of the evil-looking outlaws in their horrid disguises, and a violent shudder shook his frame. ‘Oh, it is no dream!” he cried, ‘‘ but stern reality’! For Heaven’s sake have mercy on ‘Get up and come along with us!” ordered the outlaw captain, ‘“‘ and thar isn’t the slightest need for you to be skeered yet awhile, either. You are not dead, nor are you likely to makea die of it—that is, if you mind what we say and do exactly as we want you to; but s’posen you were ugly and tried to cut up rough, | wouldn’t give a copper cent for your life.” ** Oh, sir, he will do as you say—we will both “8 a say if you will not harm us!” assured e girl. ‘*Get up, for it is time we were off; morning is near at hand and we mustn’t be caught by any of the early birds of the town. We know all about the party that was after us last night, and much good did it do them. When they want to put salt on the tail of any one of my Cats they will have to get up mighty early.” By this time the boy was on his feet and the two stood clinging tegether, their arms around each other, the perfection of helplessness. ‘Come along and come quietly,” the outlaw warned. ‘Don’t attempt to escape, or try any gum mes on us, for it won’t do you the least it of good. If you were to try to run and raise an alarm, we would pop you over with our revolvers afore youhad gonea dozen yards. Is the coast all clear?’ to the man in the door- way. , All O. K., captain,” the sentinel replied. ‘‘ Three of vou get in the rear and the rest on the sides of our birds hyer,” the chief com- manded. The men did as ordered, and the outlaw turned to depart, when— Crack! ‘Out shrill on the air rung the short quick bark of a revolver, startling the outlaws. ‘‘ Aha, who fired that shot?’ the Cat leader cried, he and all the rest preparing on the in- stant for battle. The sentinel at the door only wheeled slowly half around, and with a heavy thud came down on the floor, all in a heap. Disregarding the two prisoners, and antici- pating that they were caught in a trap, with drawn revolvers the Cats leaped over the body of their comrade and rushed through the door. CHAPTER XXIV. AN UNSEEN FOE. PELL-MELL out of the door of the cabin the outlaws poured, each and every man expecting that a bloody fight awaited him on the out- side. They believed that the miners had stolen in them and were prepared to cut off their sure you that I do not know anything of the | retreat to the hills. tnatter of which you speak?’ she cried, in an- guish, the big pearly tears streaming down her cheek. The Cat leader shook his head; he was no child to be fooled by a woman’s protestations, or a woman’s tears; he knew better; but, being an extremely cool, obstinate and plucky band, himself, he rather admired such qualities in others, even though his own little games were interfered with thereby. ‘‘ Well, of all the game little heifers I ever did see I think you are about the worst!” he de- clared, in a critical sortofa way. ‘‘ But come; we are wasting time, and time and tide wait for no man; we must be off to our mountain home before any of the camp galoots wake up, for / ; Judge of their astonishment when, upon reaching the open air, the bandits were unable to discover the slightest trace of a foe! The town still slept the sleep of the just, bathed in the uncertain light of the capricious moon, but of life there was not the slightest trace, any more than if the town had been a de- serted one. In blank dismay the outlaws stared around them and then upon each other. What did it mean? Their comrade had been slain right be- fore their eyes, stricken down upon his post without even a chance for his life. A PAE The chief was the first to recover his wits, and upon his mind there suddenly flashed the remembrance cf the secret slayer who had al- mn ee str ee ready touched, with his bloody and withering hand, so many of the outlaw band. It was this mysterious foe who had done this ed. ‘‘Quick! Examine and see whar he got his wound!” the chief commanded; ‘‘ then we must be off, for the pistol-shot will wake some of the miners up, and if we get the town after us the boys wil be apt to make it lively afore we get out, The order was obeyed; the outlaws clustered around the body of the dead man, and, as the Cat leader had expected, he had been shot through the head, right above and a little in ad- vance of the ear! One and all understood, now, who it was that had wrought the death of their comrade. A feeling of superstitious fear took possession of them ; against an open foe they would have con- tended to the death, ayd laughed at the idea of fear, but this secret, silent slayer, who struck his fearful, deadly blows from the ambush of the dark—who gave no warning of his presence —was ita wonder these savage and ignorant men conceived that some supernatural power had taken it into his head to descend to earth and wield the executioner’s brand? The outlaws glared around them as they stood by the body, each man with his hand on his cocked revolver, yet every one of them believ- ing that the foe who haunted them was one —— whom mortal weapons would be of no avail. ‘“ Well, it’s a good man gone and one whose loss we will feel,’ the outlaw leader observed. ‘‘ Strip off his Cat dress; we don’t want to leave that after us to tell tales.” This was done at once, and the body rolled outside the door. ‘‘T reckon this hyer little job will cause some , to-morrow morning,” the outlaw said, ‘‘and the first thing you know they will be laying all these mysterious doin’s at the door of the Cats, but that won’t hurt us much.” \ The ruffian was right, for when the body was © discovered in the morning, it did create a great deal of excitement, not only from the peculiar wound which had caused the death, but be- cause the man was one of the best-known citi- zens of the place, although never bearing the best of characters. ‘‘“Come on! We'll get out while we are healthy; fall in, you pilgrims!” the leader com- manded, savagely; and away went the party, the chief at the head, behind him the brother and sister, guarded on both sides, and the rest of the band in the rear. The pilgrims had ceased their supplications; they realized that it was hopeless to attempt to turn their captors from their Le a by mere 7 words, and so went along as quietly as lambs to the slaughter. Contr to the fear of the outlaws, the shot had not alarmed the inhabitants of the camp; not a soul had stirred, as far as could be seen; not a light was visible. But, the surprises of that a and morning were not yet over, for, scarcely had the party traversed a hundred yards whenagain the short, ae bark of the revolver rung out, clear and shrill. All but one in the party dodged in alarm, the ilgrims excepted, and that one, every bullet “ its billet, every man his time to die, and his hour had come. , He reeled, staggered, gasped convulsively, pie aa down, struggling, in the agonies of death. The silent slayer had chosen to take two vic- tims, this night, instead of one! The Cats did not attem pt to examine the body this time; they knew well encugh who was do- ing the fearful work. ; ; he party had stopped in their tracks as , though the pistol-shot had impeded further mo- tion; the pilgrims clung together, pale with fright, while the outlaws with blanched faces stood around them. It was like holding an interview with death itself, for each man in the band feared that his turn would come next, and what possible escape was there from this unerring shot whe, from some secret covert in the rocks, coolly and de- | liberately picked out his victim? If it had been daylight the curling upward in | the air of the smoke after the pistol was dis- charged would have revealed the hiding-place of the foe, but, in the dusky obscurity of the night, of course such a thing could not be dis- ed cerned. The Cats were in a dilemma; they did not know what todo. The unseen and terrible foe might be in their front, or in the rear, or on either flank; the man who had suffered had been <s com cboo , ee eee >