Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 296 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 ee ee - -- - + eS. — wwe ore oe ee probably never see again, for the Vigilance Committee are after him, hot and heavy, and ’Il elevate him as soon as they get him. Besides, he cares nothing for you. When he was in McGuffin’s he was accompanied a& woman dressed in male attire, who cailed herself Rowdy Kate, an’ I reckon he was on purty good terms with her.” ‘* Bah! I do not believe it!” ‘* Well, I do not know whether you door not. But anyhow you must tell me which man is the father of this child. If you do not, we are henceforth strangers.” “So may it be, then. Until [ see fit I shall disclose nothing te any one.” “You are silly and stubborn!” “Tam not. ou never thought well of me until you found I was worth money from hav- ing in my on one of the chiléren, I know all you care for me is to make some ar- rangements whereby you can get on of the reward money and I will have nothing to do with you. Go back to your Jew shop and try to earn an honest living.” ‘Yes, I will go, but you may,see me in soon in a way that will not suif you. Adieu, Lady Honesty !” Then, with a bitter laugh, he turned and left the cavern. Mary Monk gazed after him with flashing yes. “Oh! you contemptible coward, how I despise you!” she cried. ‘‘ You thought to make your cousin your dupe and tool, but, no matter who is the parent of yonder sleeping. child, you shall not have the satisfaction of earning the reward, nor any one else while I can helpit. There are a few things I must learn before I yield my charge to any one, and, first of all—is William Blake .true to a certain promise he made me some years ago?” Moses Monk went at once back to McGuffin’s. He was literally boiling with rage over his defeat, and th» soliloquized exclamations he made while en route were more forcible than fs elegant. He arrived at the mining-camp early the next forenoon and opened up his ‘shop,’ and while he attended to current business his mind was by no means idle, When the duties of the da went at once to the hotel, an Lord Clifford, A maid dhswered his knock, and informed bim that Lord Clifford was not in, | As she did not invite him to enter and await his return he went back to the ‘shop,’ and, throwing himself on a bunk behind the counter, was soon in the arms of Morpheus. For hours he slept soundly, but was finally awakened by some one slapping him, smartly upon the cheek. ening his eyes he beheld two men standing de him, both of whom. wore long beards, evidently false, and masks beforé their eyes.. True to a natural crafty instinct born in him, Moses Monk next turned his eyes upon their clothing and made a discovery. : Move he could not, because his hands and feet were securely bound with cords. ** Vel, vot you vant?’ he demanded, surveying them with unflinching gaze. “‘ Vot you mean py all dis foolishness mit me?” ‘‘ Waal, neow, I reckon we’re hyar tew see ye on business, an’ thort we couldn’t find ye enn more at liberty than sum sech a time as this!” one of the men drawled out in an unnatural voice, | * Oh! shut, oop!” Moses retorted. ‘‘ Off you t’ink I vas a fool? 1 know you both, und id ain’d no use for you to dry on any monkey busi- ness mit your voices.” The two intruders exchanged glances, and ut- tered a grunt each of disapproval. | ‘*‘ Well, it don’t make any difference if you do or if you don’t,” was the answer. ‘ We’re here on business, and have accomplished a part of it—that of securing some of your lus cash, The remainder of the business is. this: You know where Mary Monk is hiding with the lost child. Tell us where to find her or we will kill you ere we leave this i ‘“‘ But dot would be murder, und you don’d vas dare gommit murder!” Moses protested, greatly alarm “‘Oh, we don’t, eh? Do we look as if we are men to falter at the execution of any crime that would further our ends?’ , for you to kill were over he to the room of “Vell, no; but id von’t me, pecause you got hang en, ‘Oh, no fear about that. There’s been more than one mygterious crime_at McGuffin’s that no one ever got banged for, and you can rest ee — ee ee Apollo Bill, the Trail Tornado, assured you’ve not got enough friends to con- cern themselves about your demise. Besides, we are not known to be here, We mean busi- ness from the word, and so the page ou tell us what we want to know, the quicker you ain’t a dead man,” ‘*T don’d vas know vei? Mary Monk is at all!” “You lie! It is kno.m you left the town night before last, and the ‘e, of course, is where you went. Itis useless t deny anything. Pi count one, two, three—thi , if you don’t pro- ceed ™ unload, in a pret y lively manner, Pll blow your brains out, quici er than you can say scat! One—two—three—” ‘* Hold on! I peg! I tell you! You follow up der drail up der river shore a number of miles, till you come to a plateau—den you climb up a steeb omy till you find von plack hele mit der rocks. Dot vas der entrance to von cave, und in dis cave you vil find Mary Monk.” ** And the child?” ** And the child.” “Very good. Now, then, you will do us a favor by telling us whether that is Bill Blake’s child or Lord Clifford’s?” ‘* That I don’d vas can do,” Why not?” ‘** Because I don’d vas know, mineself. I vent last night on purpose vor to find oud, but Mary vouldn’t tell me. Ifshe had, I should haff got der reward from Lord Clifford, to-day.” ‘Then it is a good thing we nailed you, to- a ‘You are too dangerous a customer to be at large, and must die. So say your prayers!” ‘‘Dick Drew! Darcy Drew! You dare not kill me!” | “We shall see!” one of the masked men hissed, and his upraised hand came down swiftly. Moses Monk uttered a groan—there was a gur ling noise in his throat. me,” one of them whispered, after all |. was silent. ‘‘ You were foolish ,to kill him, father.” , “Bah!” the other replied, ‘‘ He’d ’a’ been too dangerous. As it is, now, the girl is in our power, and we must get her, as soon as prac- ticable,” The twocriminals speedily left the shanty by the rear, and hurried away through the dark ness, for the late moon had not yet risen. They had not gone far, when two. figures ap- around the corner of the shanty, and Prey wer pooling fi f Rowd were mn the es O wdy Hate and the dandy Celestial, Chin-Chin. ‘Sh!” the former said, in a whisper.. They.- *ve gone, and that ain’t all. They’ve killed the Jew, I reckon. ‘You heard him groan, didn’t “ Chin-Chin hearee, allee samee likee Melican | girl. Blood muchee git cold!” -.‘“Humph! you’re a ebickta. Nevertheless, all thet I keer is so ye heerd. e heerd, too, what ther Jew called ther galoots!”’ | ** Of course—Chin-Chin velly sharp.ears.” ‘Well, then, listen. We'll keep this matter quiet for the present, Mind—not a word of it, to any one, until I get ready to spring the trap. Then, as sure’s my: name is Rowdy Kate, I’ll bring those rascals to, the doom they deserve.” ‘* Allee rightee. Chin-Chin do just what Melican girl slay.. If Melican girl gittee any money, she dividee with Chineeman allee samee as if she was his wifee!” “Oh, you bet!” Kate said, with a laugh, The next morning the news of the murder of Moses Monk became known, and created more of a sensation than such a.crime usually would make in the mining-camp. A coroner’s jury was at once impanneled, and brought in a verdict that he had been murdered with a.sharp knife, by some person or persons unknown, and for reasons unknown, A search was afterward made of his office ard it was discovered that all his money had been stolen, as well as a quantity of gold and diamonds he was known to possess. Then some one mentioned that it looked very probable that, being as the money was gone, Apollo Bill the road-agent was the author of the crime, A dozen stood ready, of course, to grasp at this theory, and in a short time it had become an. established fact. that Apollo Bill had, in reality, committed the crime, That night, a queer looking specimen of hu- manity, mounted upon a queer looking speci- men of a donkey, rode leisurely into the town, from out of the mountain-gulch route, eee Eo ee ee ee — - — —s —— CHAPTER X. ‘ZEKIEL STROP TO THE FRONT. To begin with. his wardrobe was of the most dilapidated varity. His pants, coat and shirt were ragged and patched to such an extent that there was scarcely a semblance of the original cloth of the garments to be seen, and the colors of the patches embraced all the various hues of the rainbow, His feet were incased in brogans of large size and the battered wreck of a once stylish plug hat which was plugged full of bullet-holes, was set. upon the back part of his bead. In face he was a decidedly peculiar-looking person, meaniy af of his physiognomy bemg covered with cd of a brick-red hue, matted and irregular in length, and his hair was of the same color and condition. The mule he bestrode was one of the scrawn- iest of its race. And this individual drew rein in front of Madame Moree’s dance-house, from which strains of music were issuing, and gazed around him, in apparent wonderment, as if it were next to impossible to credit the sense of his hearing. , ° ‘‘ Waal, now, gol darn my knittin’!” he ex- claimed, sla ping his fiery much-tained steed upon the side. “I swow tew gracious ef thet ’ar ain’t the fust fiddle I’ve hearn sence [ left Podunk, N. H. I say, hellow, thar, fellers, be thet aire a fiddle I heer?’ ‘You bet. yer boots, Yank!” one of the out- side loungers replied, to whom the stranger had diasesd his inquiry. ‘‘ This is a dance-house. Won’t ye come in?” ‘Waal, neow, I don’t keer ef I do, fer dancin’ aire one 0’ my side-holts, 1 tell ye. I swow to racious ef I ain’t bin to more corn-shuckin’ , cae up around Podunk, than ye kin shake a stick at, an’ the eons uster say I was some un’kins on the Fisherman’s Hornpipe an’ oney Musk, an’ sech dances,” And with this. remark, the stranger stepped out of his saddle, and stretched himself, to get rid of the kinks of his journey. ‘““Spect how a feller can git some one tew dance with, ef he goes in thar, can’t he?” “‘Oh! yes, utidoubtedly,” Dick Drew said, he being one of the crowd. ‘‘The madame is a widow, an’ Pll. bet she’ll freeze, to you like hot cakes to the griddle. Come from. the East, eh?” _ * Waal, now, you’re shoutin’, stranger, you aire! I’m from Podunk, N.. H., I am, an’ my name’s Zeke Strop—old Obediah Strop’s son, ye see. Mebbe ye know dad;.he owns a saw-mill, at Podunk, an’ he’s got ther best span o’ oxen in the State, sex pig pullin, Waal, ye see one 0’ the Simpkins boys uster lend me yaller novels ter read,an’ thru’ ’em I hearn tell so much consarnin’ ther gold excitement out in this country, thet, I told dad there warn’t no sorter use 0 talkin’—I wouldn’t never + skid anuther. log till I’d see’d a few o’ the sights *twixt hum an’ here. So I throw’d my leg over old Mazeppa, heer, an’ heer I am—dead broke. So ef any o’ you chaps want. to make a poor | cuss happy, Vll take straight whisky, fer mine,” “Why of course. Whisky is as free as water here,’ Dick Drew exclaimed, foreseeing some sportahead. *‘ Walk right in, Mr. Strop, and have something at my expense. How many barrels do you hold, riend *Zekiel”” ‘Well, I’m generally gaged at forty gallons. but I allow I aoa “Anon ten gallons,” Zeke Fepiler with a grin, e then followed Dick Drew and_the others into the saloon, and Drew called forth the black wine directing the man from Podunk to help self, This Zeke proceeded to do, by unbl ly uring outa brimming glass, and downfff it with a smack of satisfaction, “Well, now, gol darn my knittin’ ef thet ain’t like ile on troubled waters, tho’ et ain’t nowhar as good li’ker as we git up in Podunk.” ‘Well, here comes the madamé,” Drew said. ‘lll give you a good introduction, and no doubt she’ll invite you to have a glass of cham e.” I'd like ‘“‘ Phew! neow that’s good of you. tew get acquainted, furst rate.” At this juncture, the music having ceased, the madame appeared behind the bar. ‘‘Madame Moree,” Drew .said, turning to Zeke, ‘‘ allow me tomake you acquainted with the Honorable Zeke ake 2 ex-mayor of the City of Podunk, N. H. . Strop has come here for a few days’ recreation, and I recom- mended him to academy as the place for terpsichorean pleasures.” In acknowledgment of which introduction Zeke bowed low. COMRMIE NOC <S (E@) ‘_ ~~