Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 221 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

> over, to make sure no bones were broken, ‘after which he soliloquized :— ‘* Waal, I’m caged—thet’s sure’s:— ‘The early bird thet caught the worm An’ started out to hunt, An’ met a ram frum Alabam’, An’ got an awful bunt. ‘*They’ve shet me up byar like sum prisoner ip a Bastile, an’ ef | ain't gone off in ther kerbase o’ my reckonin’ entirely, et’ll be a considerable eriod ere Lam able to perigrinate once more in my native sphere, and resume editoral enter- prise. exert myself the powers of these walls are not adequate to contain my noble self.” Perhaps he could make his escape! Hoe decided not to despair until he could test the matter, and to that end drew a keen-bladed knife trom his bootleg, and set to work at cut- ting a hole through one of the doors, so that he could reach his hand through and dislodge the bar upon the other side. It was a slow and tedious job, which required more than one hour of steady labor, the effect of which brought beads of perspiration to his brow. He finally accomplished his object, and had the door unfastened. It opened into another room which was a duplicate of the one that had been assigned him as a prison, and this in turn had a door which opened into some other room. This door, however, was not locised, and he was enabled to pursue his investigation with- out hindrance. One room after another he entered, and found them nearly all alike, until fifteen bad bee: visited, and yet the end was not! What strange mountain den was he rambling through, of such gigantic dimensions? The sixteenth room brought a change. It was a mammoth affair, the heavy log ceiling being supported on upright timbers or pillars of the same material. Several bunks of skins contained white-robed figures, such as had con- stituted the poet’s captors, They were appar- ently asleep. Shakespeare paused in the entrance, unde- cided whether to enter or not, as there was danger of his being discovered. Seeing no stir, however, he ventured softly into the room, and across it to the further side and into a passageway beyond. Now came a predicament. His ears were greeted with the blare of a trumpet, and he heard many footsteps march- ing along toward him through the densely dark and varrow hallway he had entered. Glancing back into the apartment he had just left, he saw that the sleeping gbosts had risen to their feet, and were advancing toward the center. To advance into the passage seemed to court actual discovery, while to retreat into the room was to confront the same result. So dark was the passage it was barely possi- ble that, by standing pa against the wall the new-comers might pass by without discov- ering him—only barely possible, yet was the only chance and he resolved to try it, 6 On came the tramp of feet, as if in mili- tary order; nearer they ap roached, until Shakespeare could see their shadow, even in the dense gloom, and felt sure he must be dis- Sotnre!. He drew his knife and waited for the worst. On came the band, and he perceived that they were clad exactly in the style they had been at the time of his capture, only that they wore black gowns, instead of white ones, now. The first couple passed him, without discover- ing him, and he felt a great relief as he was satisfied the rest would do the same. About twelve couples passed him, and he was about.to breathe freer, when be heard still an- other lot coming, a little in the rear of the others. He wa’ now becoming so accustomed to the darkness, that he could better distinguish them as they approached, and saw that they were two of the Black Gowns, leading a third man between them, who wore no gown. A hand- kerchief was thrown over his face, however, so as to render it impossible for the poet to see it. No fool was Shakespeare, Life among the mines had taught him a few things, if he was big and blatant, and one of those things was to be crafty. ' And feeling sure that the man in charge of the two Black Gowns was none other than Deadwood Dick, alive and well, despite all evi- dence to the contrary, he resolved to makea bold offer to rescue the young mayor ef Grim Guich ol xmcw the reason Woy: Pa | who conducted between them the man I half suspected, however, that should I Sugrar-Coated Sam. ee CHAPTER XI. A POET’S GRIT AND STAGE DRIVER’S HONOR. Two men were of no great account in the eyes of the bullwhacker; he had often laid out many more than that in a single struggle, and lived to tell of it. To successfully attack these Black Gowns, however, meant a big job in point of discretion and caution—one blow must do the work, with- out giving them an opportunity to alarm their friends in advance, or all would be lost. Nearer and nearer approached the couple, whom the bullwhacker was next to certain was Dead- wood Dick—closer, until they came opposite him; then, with the agili y of a panther, he made the spring which was to tell the tale. There was a short, almost noiseless struggle, then two men lay dead upon the floor of the passage, and two stood up facing each other, They were Deadwood Dick—he who had been ' known in Grim Gulch as Sugar-Coated Sam— ee eee a i ST + and Shakespeare; and even in the darkness tbe men recognized each other. ‘You!’ Dick gasped, a little surprised that the man who had in a previous life experience been his enemy should now come forth to his rescue, ‘Yes, I!” Shakespeare declared in an wnder- tone. ‘* Thar ain’t no time fer contemplative retrospection, you bet yer boots! Ef we want ter get out o’ hyar wi’ our cravat models un- touched, we’ve got ter slope mighty suddintly. D’ye know whar ther exit air?” “Ves, follow this passage back, and it will bring you to daylight, Go ahead, and I will follow.” The bullwhacker mado haste to obey, and Dick, of Deadwood fame, was not slow in fol- lowing his example. Down the passage with rapid. but careful steps, it was not long ere they debouched through a doorway into a mountain glade, fringed with trees and overshadowed by tower- ing walls of rock. The only apparent exit from this glade was through a split between two. mountain peaks, which constituted a mountain ravine, and the two'had barely succeeded in reaching the mouth of this when they heard loud yells in their rear, and saw the Black Gowns pouring from the cabin. ‘it’s leg bail for security now!” Dick said, ‘‘and [ opine the man who can make the fewest laps to the mile is the lucky fellow. Come on!” and he took the lead on a brisk run up the gulch. Shakespeare followed suit, while after them came the Black Gowns, howling like a pack of coyotes, t was no use, however, for them to give chase, and they finally abandoned it, for Dick and the poet had a good quarter-mile the start, and appeared quite able to make it more, both being fleet of foot and inspired with the deter- mination to escape or drop in the attempt. Seeing that they wero no longer pursued, they slackened their speed somewhat, and began to cast about them for indications of their where- abouts, The best way of finding out seemed to be to ascend one of the peaks and take observations therefrom. This they accordingly did, and found, as near as they could judge, that they were some seven or eight miles north of Grim Gulch. The day was pretty well gone, and feeling considerably exhausted, Dick questioned Shake- speare concerning the state of affairseat Grim Gulch, and then said: “Tt is so late, and things being easy in the town, I guess we had better remain here until to-morrow, and then I will disguise myself, and we will return to the camp. I guess I can fix myself up so I won’t be known—for a few days at least. But tell me what appears most strange to me—why do I find a rescuer In you? I fancy we were not exactly friends up in Tombstone a short while ago.” : ‘‘No, we war not, ’ca’se I war inclined ter be bullysome, but now I’ve got over that. Since I’ve lost my nasal appendage, friend Richard, my speeret has underwent a change, and I am able to discover that all thet shines ain’t auri- ferous an’ thet thar’s gud resolutions in ary down-trodden human, ef ye only take pains ter cultivate it. I foreseed thet ye war a purty level sort o’ senator, despite all efforts to crush you, and so [ reckoned et would be a purty gud idea to give you a lift in an hour of need,” ‘** And you have done so, and have my hearti- est gratitude and thanks,” Dick said, warmly. ‘““The escape from those pretended ghests, ig most providertial te me, Some tame ag. a dv ; 11 ing adventuress voluntarily gave me a teken which exposed the secret burial-place of a vast amount of mined gold, which sbe said was rightly hers. I came to Grim Gulch, as Sugar- Coated Sam, with a party of other prospectors, to hunt for the buried treasure, but found neth- ing where my clew directed. It now seems that the chief of the band you recently rescued me from, was the husband of the woman, or, at least, that is the claim preferred, and that the woman had stolen and secreted all of his gold, and fled. If this story be reliable or not, I of course do not know. At any rate, by some means unknown to me, the chief of this band of miners and robbers combined, got wind of the fact that I had come into possession of the clew to the burial-place of the stolen treasure, and he sent his aids to capture me, He, in per- son, if was, who robbed my safe, after knock- ing me over, and his men it was who came to the jail, murdered the guards and freed me, after which one of the dead men was clad in my own garments, and I was borne away to this mountain retreat from which you rescued me. Here in the short interval since my cap- ture, I have been subjected to many indignities, and, at the time of my release, thanks to you | for it, they were going to blister my feet, in hopes of extorting from me the secret of the buried treasure, which I should think twice about surrendering, did I possess it.” Shakespeare was silent a few moments, them he said, after first having related the recent ex- ploits of the pseudo ghosts, in Grim Gulch; ‘“‘Thar’s another thing [ allow ye don’t know,, an’ et’s one thing w’at brought me to your res-~ cue,” ‘Ah! indeed! What is it?’ ‘Waal, et ain’t werry pleasant news at the best, an’ I suppose et’ll be a surprise to ye, but heer she am. Ther partner 0’ yer joys and sor- rows, Calamity Jane, lies sick in Grim Gulch at the cabin o’ Bessie Burt. She war playin’ strong keerds fer ye, during the campaign, an? callin’ herself Bumblebee Bob; but she got. more lead than she could stand up under, and so had to crawl away to shelter. I figured the thing out, and allowed thetef Commydore Burt war to get hold of et, thar might be a rumpus, s0 I come to let you know,” ‘*Bad enough,” Deadwood Dick muttered, his brow darkening. ‘‘I was afraid the brave but reckless heart would not remain behind, as she promised me. As you say, if the Mormon devil, Burt, were to find out her presence and helpless condition he would do the utmost in his: power to kill her. We must basten back to the town, at once!” Shakespeare was ready. He seemed fully as. eager as Dick for the welfare of the two women, As they had no horses, nothing was left for them but to’make their journey on foot, with- out any certainty how many miles they weuld have to cover nor perils they might encounter. Shaping their course in the presumed direc- tion of Grim Gulch, they set out through the gathering twilight. The day preceding the night which was te witness the attack upon the Burt shanty, by the commodore and his followers, was a far from bright day at the shanty. The exertion of the previous night, whieh had brought such exhaustion to Calamity, had also brought on brain fever, and all through the day she was wildly delirious. _ At times she would call for Deadwood Dick, in piteous tones; then again she would grow furious over some nameless lab | of an equally nameless person. A lull would then follow, for few a minutes, when to all appearances the poor girl would enjoy a refreshing nap. It is doubtful, however, if she really felt any better, as she would soon begin her ravings again. “Bessie was nearly distracted. She tried everything she knew, to relieve the sufferer, and when that failed, she sat down in a corner, and indulged in a good, prolonged cry. She could not refrain from it—she keenly felt what was the pain of being alone and friend- less, and especially in such an hour of sickness and distress. The sick girl must. have heard her sobs, or else subtle instinct told her who was crying, for she sat up, abruptly, on her bed, Her eyes were wild and strange in their glaring expression, and her features were rigidly drawn as if she were in an angry ssion. ° ‘What are you crying about?’ she asked in a. eold, repellent way. ‘“‘Who told you te sniffie.” . Bessie 1OoKS: UK With 2 slart. atterty shocked Eboo <eom gs)