Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 296 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

eS ee ——— these citizens, but unless some unusual circum- stance occurred to ‘‘rile” them, they were generally peaceably disposed, except the usual Saturday night spree, evidences of which are ever to be found in all towns from California to Bismarck. And this being Saturday night, at least two- thirds of the aduit male population were out on a ‘* tear,” with little other purpose in view than to have some fun, spend their week’s hard earn- ings, and imbibe freely of the vile decoctions handed out over the bar in Western mining towns. The story of the sgage robbery hit these wide awakes on the sensitive spot, and for what information he vouchsafed, they “ sat ’em up ” so lively for old Corkleg that he was “‘ sey- eral seas over” ere he had finished his thrilling narrative, and was obliged to sit down and keep mum. No one was then left to look to for informa- tion, except Chin-Chin, the dandy Celestial, and he was unceremoniously trotted out into the bar- room, ordered to mount a barrel, and explain his recent adventure—or pass in his chips, This latter expression was equivalent to sure death, and enough of mining life had Chin-Chin re to be cognizant of the fact that he was in deadly peril, | | Therefore, he mounted the barrel with grace and alacrity, yy “Now, lookee_ hyar, you pigtailed son of a washee-washee!” exclaimed Modest. Mike, the typical bullwhacker, bruiser.and. rufflan-gen- eral who looms up conspicuously in the average Western mining. town, until some, better man comes along’ and deprives him of his spurs; ‘* see byar ou. almond-eyed, flat-mugged nig- ger! e, ther representative citizens o’ th hyar burg, do command, yer to mMakea clean breast of this road-agent bizness, wi’out any palaver or superfluous gab, and the sooner: ye do it, the safer will be your cue—sartin sure!” _ ‘*Melican man gittee Melican man drunkes!” Chin-Chin ‘said, wisely, ‘* Let Melican ‘man gittee Chin-Chin drunk, “too, and he tellee muchee heep news, allee’samee.” Vo pe ‘Not by a durned s jet, you chop-stick rat- eater—nary a time! Not a drop of anythin kin ye hev til ye.guv us a concise statement o the facts of the stage robbery |” | ‘* Belly well, Chin-Chin nottee know much, Stage stop belly sudden, an* Chin-Chin go head ober heels oufee door, allee samee like debbil. Melican man raise hin-Chin up by queue, Melican man dressee in red, with big hatee, an’ mask. Melican man rob Chin-Chin of allee money; den we, gittee. board stuge muchee |. quickee, and comee here.” ‘* And the cuss who cavorted at the head of fhis gang hailed to.the name of. Apollo Bill, did he }’ “ Yes, he belly muchee nicee looking, man, allee samee likee a god of joss.” The morning g's F the arrival of Lord Clifford and lady, in’ McGuffin’s was a pleasant one. The air Was pure and bracing, with just enough force to soothe the every sense, warmed as it was by mellow beams of radiant sunshine, and scented with gentle fragrance of the out leaving forests and early flowers. Birds filled the morning air with their melod M : the boisterous but not unmusical shouts of the miners. going to their work; the hum of in- sects— combined to make it a cheerful, dreamy and luxuriant dawning of day; at least, so ough Lacy about the rude séttlement. There was nothing picturesque or even ro- mantic about McGuffin’s. There were half a hundred or more of rude unpainted shanties and cabins, situated at the very foot of a rugged mountain, upon a level sandy bar or bend, around which’ the muddy waters of a deep, dark stream surged with sullen murmur, All the mines were reachéd by means of drifts or tunnels into the’ base of the mountain, except one or two small unpaying surface claims on the bend itself, What there was tomantic about the place to a lady of her refined and society-cultured tastes, Lady Theresa could not conceive, but the air was very pure and refreshing, and so she wan- dered on, There were but two streets, running from the base of the mountain to tbe river’s edge, and Lady Theresa was upen the steep bank of the latter, looking down into the dark muddy waters, when she heard a footstep behind her, and turned to behold a young man, perhaps a hittle older than berself, approachi He was well dressed, wore a Pichitude of | pa i a — - ee ee Theresa, as she strolled’ or Apollo Bill, the Trail Tornado. ———— ee To be sure they were nearly all a rough crowd, | good jewelry, and was of good form, His face was well chiseled and falr to gaze upon, and his graceful curling mustache and well-trimmed hair were of blonde color, and his eyes of clerest blue. Although somewhat surprised and alarmed at his intrusion, Lady Theresa was too self- _ possessed to betray the fact, and stood re ard- ing him with a cool stare that must have confused any ordinary person, As he. drew nearer, the blonde stranger tipped his hat as gracefully as a Fifth Avenue swell could have done, ‘*Ah! pardon my seeming intrusion,” he said, bowing, ‘‘but I believe—l trust I have the D nlm of addressing the me bu Lady heresa—niece of Lord Clifford of Clifford Cliff,, England—or, can it be possible I have made a mistake—-” ‘ And a look of much concern came over his ace. “You have made no mistake, sir—but I am at loss to conceive how you should know any- thing about me,” Lady Theresa replied, prompt- ly and baughtily. ‘Oh! I dare say you are puzzled, and had I not ‘possessed some knowledge of you and Lord Clifford, I should never have umed to address you. I trust you like our little,city?’ “Hardly. I have not seen anything about it, as yet to fall perneerly in love with, Until 1 have some better recommend of you than that accorded by self-introduction, I will excuse you, sir.” And her ladyship turned again to gaze out upon the river. The dandy’s face flushed for an instant, at the rebuff, but only for a moment, when he said, pleasantly: , “Of course you are doing a perfectly proper _ thing, we being strangers, but I hope to hawe the pleasure of renewing, your acquaintance, after I have formally introduced myself to his Lappahin. Good-morning!”,....__. dy Theresa was conscious that he tipped his hat, and then rétreated down the’ street, when she burst.into a langh. “Such a gallant, indeed!” she said; ‘ but then, he may be of use to me.” The individual who had so informally intro- duced himself to, Lady Theresa, was known at McGuffin’s, as Dick Drew. He was the Bdopien son of the only professed varistocratic family in the .mining town, and like the generality of adopted sons, felt himself of great importance, while at, the same time he was a thoroughbred tai pi He was at times dissipated, and a gambler of no mean accomplishments, and there were few, if any, who had any Brent amount of love for him, notwithstanding his rather fascinating ap- Immediately after quitting the presence of Lady Theresa, young Drew went to the hotel, and inquired if Lord Oli ‘ord was to be seen. As Drew was a good patron of the establish- ment, the obliging barkeeper, who wore a pair of revolvers in his belt, immediately sent a ser- vant to ascertain if his lordship was.in his room, and found that such was the case. Drew was accordingly ushered..up to the. gentleman’s ‘apartment, where the visitor was pleasantly received, and requested to be seated, Without hesitation, Drew seated himself in the easiest chair in the room, and helped hiniself to a cigar from Lord Clifford’s holder ‘which stood upon the stand, within reach. ry “‘ Mh! yes—a very pleasant morning, indeed ‘” he began, scratching a match upon his boot, and lighting up. ** You, ae peg are Lord Clifford, of Clifford Cliff hamlet, England—are you not?’ “Tam,” was the nobleman’s reply. ‘' Whom have I the honor of addressing?” ‘*fam Richard Drew, at your service, son of the Honorable Darcy Drew of this place—one of the most prominent capitalists and mine- owners of the region.” ‘* Ah! I see, ell, sir, can I do anything for you this morning, Mr. Drew?’ ‘*‘Aw! no—that is, 1 dare to presume I can do something for you,” was the somewhat sur- prising reply. ‘‘ Hearing of your arrival and misfortune, I dared believe that I~” ‘Thanks! I anticipate your intended kind- ness, but though deprived of what ready cash 1 had on my person last evening, I have a suffi- cient letter of credit from the Bank of North America, New York, to supply any demand I may need at present.” oy et ‘‘A very handy thing to have, indeed. But, if I cannot help you in one way, very surel can in another. I believe it was your for- Monk:a articles o - — ee — - -_——-— tune to possess, not long since, an avant cowrier by the name of Pringle?’ 45 Shara ge W hat of him?’ ‘‘ What of him remains is deposited six feet: under terra-firma, down at Gray’s Ford, where in the vernacular of the mines, he ‘ passed in his chips’ about a week since.” ‘* Pringle dead? How know you this?” ‘“‘ 1 fell in with him as a traveling companion, and attended him during his lastmoments. He confided to me his mission to this country in search of your lost child, and requested me to meet you here on your arrival, and tell you he had been unsuccessful.” “*Poor fellow! I suppose he had enough money to bury him?’ ‘‘He had not, but I buried him at my own expense. That, however, is nothing worthy of further mention.” ‘Think not so, You shall receive whatever sum you expended onhim. Of whatdid he dié?’ ‘Heart disease, combined with pneumonia,’’ ‘‘ Ah! I was aware he had an affection of the heart, but did not think he would be carred off so suddenly. And you know of my mission to this country ?” ‘*T do, and I doubt. not I can place you face to face with the man who knows what has be- come of your lost child!” ‘* You, tell. me this!” Ty dao)” * Then, name your price, and cenduct me at onne to the place where I can meet William e, ‘* Presently !. The price is the thing first to be considered, before making a , you know,” Dick Drew said, with a sinister smile upon his blonde face, CHAPTER IV. .. A MYSTERIOUS POSTER AND A QUEER RECEP- SION. THE next day, Clifford called upon Moses 3 | ical Jew. in appearance and habits, but some there were who hinted that there was more. of the Yankee about him than of the genuine Jew. If such was the case, one thing was certain ;. he was playing a well-studied part. Moses Monk was a man of means—a banker, money-lender and pawnbroker combined. He did a general banking business, in his lit- tle shanty, negotiated loans, and lent money on f personal value, place was a regular curiosity, and to Lord Clifford’s mind the fat individual présiding behind the counter, who was nearly as thick as he was long, was even as much of a curiosity as the miscellane- ous articles he had collected around him. e was some fifty years of age, with a face florid and. doubled-chinned; black, wiry hair; plonesns: ibiee black eyes, looking out. from under edge-like brows; a hook nose with a seed wart on the end, and a fierce black mustache. He dressed well, however, despite his lack of beauty in face and figure, and there was an ex- ession about his countenance which betokenec that he was a.shrewd one to deal with. ‘‘Goot-morning, mine frient!” he saluted, bridging a pair of glasses before his eyes, as the gentleman entered. ‘‘ Ish der somet’ings vot I can do for you, dis morning?” ‘‘ Yes, I trust there. is,” Clifford replied, ap- proaching the counter. ‘‘I am short of means and wish to draw some money either on my foreign or American letter of credit—say ten thousand dollars, My American letter is from. the Bank of North America, New York.” ‘* A very gaot pank, sure it vas, poot I have not so mooch monish to. my name!” Moses re- spended, promptly. ‘‘ You write me an order for der amount, und I gif you five t’ousand now und der balance ven I w on New York.” ‘“That will not answer my purpose. Can you cash a thousand?’ ‘Yaw! I giff you eight hundred for von t’ousand dollar order, mine frient.” ‘“What? Is that the kind of a premium you bankers exact?” _ ‘‘ Dot ish shust id. Ve don’d vas keep open shop for noddinks. Ve coome here to make onish. . ‘‘So I should infer. I don’t know which is the least honest—the man who robs the stage, or the one who robs publicly, with the»people’s sanction. But, as I have got to have some money, I suppose I shall have to. yield to you, this time, And going to a side desk, the nobleman wrote out a check for one thousand dollars—the Jew, in the mean time, watching him like a hawk, as if there was something in his appearance that. struck him, iarly. his lordship said, laying the check on the coun: com ive me the eight hundred dollars!” , books;com