Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 240 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

a a 8 | | Cyclone Kit, the Young Gladiator. ~~ was the unfeeling response. ‘‘ I demanded that you should marry me, and you very unwisely re I then gave you over to Pietro’s care until you should be conquered.” A scornful smile flitted over Bertie Bird’s face, **Do you have any hope that you will ever be able to conquer me, Juan Cordiz?’ she demanded, with sarcasm. “Of course I shall,” he replied, complacently. “lve a great faculty of reaking in young fillies, like you. I dare to presume! shall not have much further trouble with you, as Il am arranging to have the ceremony take place in th oe this evening, be you willing, or not receding the ceremony I shall enter the ring and fight a notéd gladiator and sport, Cyclone Kit by name, and prove to you that in the way of manly accomplishments Juan Cordiz knows no equal. If I succeed in killing him, Elder Magold will unite us. It will avail you nothing to whimper or protest—my will is law, and I will have my way! Pietro, you may remove her.” “Oh! you monster!” Bertie gasped, as the dwarf seized her once more by the wrist, and dragged ber back to her place of imprisonment, in an adjoining room. After she was gone, Don Juan seized pen, ink and paper, and proceeded to write, rapidly. en he had finished the following was the result: - ** TO-NIGHT ! Grand Entertainment at Amphitheater, Gold-Flake. The Right Reverend Prophet of the Mormon Church, Juan Cordiz, will, in public, take unto him- self another wife, in the person of Miss Bertie Bird. “Previous to the Marriag Juan will meet in battle a noted Gen bravo Cyclone Kit by title. A general attendance desired.” “There! that will fill the bill,” the villain muttered, as he perused the contents of the aper. “I'll do for the long-haired foe, to- night, and then turn my attention to the latest arrival. I fancy he is more to be feared than the other.” That night arrived. It was dark and gloomy the wind soughing down into the basin, in fitful As soon as darkness began to gather thick, and lamplight was a necessity, the citizens be- gan to assemble within the amphitheater, of which mention has previously been made, ‘Throughout the town notices had that day been concerning the forthcoming entertain- ment, and of course, as if was under the aus- ag of the Prophet, the whole population urned out, and the raised seats surrounding the ring were well filled, including several box stalls always reserved for the elders, One of \these boxes was occupied by Don Juan’s right- hand man, Pietro, and his prisoner, Bertie Bird, who had been warned that if she did not conduct herself according to directions she had been =— by Juan, Pietro would cut her throat,'and her out into the ring. Knowing by experience from childhood, that Cordiz never hesitated at crime, the poor girl dare not disobey—indeed, she knew that it would do her no good to disobey or offer protest nst the will of the Prophet, as all of his ormon flock were bound to support him in all his views and uphold him in his actions, no mat- ter what they were. The “enteftainment” as the Don had an- unced it, was to begiu at eight o’clock, and ng before that hour arrived, the interior of the amphitheater, which in summer time was used for religious services, presented an appearance at once novel and characteristic, reminding one not a little of the similar amphitheater scenes of the Romans and Spaniards, of ages past and gone. The tiers of seats were thronged by an eager and expectant people, who looked strangely Say and uncouth, in the wavering glare of the light of a bundred resinous torches, Around the outskirts of the ring below, sta- tioned about a yard apart, were a number of slouch-hatted, masked men, attired in red shirts, black pants and top boots, and armed with rifles. These were Mormon Danites, and constituted a guard, while at the same time they occupied positions in a sort of sentry boxes where they could not be attacked. About eight o’clock a gong was sounded, and Cyclone Kit was brought forward into the rin by a couple of roughs, who immediately retired, leaving him the center of attraction for many pairs of eyes. ; He had been specially prepared for the ordeal he was forced to undergo. He was stripped to e te 2 Prophet . e the waist, while his lower garments consisted of a pair of tight-fitting buckskin pantaloons, and a pair of moccasins and leggings, gayly trimmed with ribbons to match. His long wealth of hair had been tied up into a tuft on top of his bead, Indian style, and gave him a wild, unnatural appearance. bay Around his waist was a belt, containing a single dirk knife of stout make and razor edge. fter he was left in the ring by the two men who had ushered him in, Cyclone Kit stood gaz- ing about him in curiosity, not knowing exactly what to os rte He saw the many strange and varied faces that were turned toward him with expressions of pete “E and knew that they were ready to applaud the heartiest when he should have to fight the hardest for life. He had no pity to expect from them, who were possessed of a dis- like for all declared Gentiles; he knew that it was next to useless to expect mercy at their hands. . He saw the guards in the sentry-boxes, and knew they had been placed there to shoot him down, should he attempt to escape from the ring. He saw among the faces in the audience that of Queen Cordiz, caught her eye, and received a simple nod. 3 Then he saw a door open at one side of the ring, and a savage-looking bloodhound leap forth, while at the same time the audience gave a shout of approval. A glia came into Cyclone Kit’s eyes, ex- cited by a spirit of indignation, that these peo- ple, who claimed to be civilized, should delight to see a man matched against a wild beast. Waiting until the dog was half-way to him, he raised his hand above his head, and gave vent to a sharp, peculiar cry. The bloodhound, whose eyes glared redly, paused with a growl and licked his chops hun- grily, but made no move to advanee further. Quickly taking advantage of this respite, Cy- clone Kit jerked the knife from his belt, and hurled it at the savage brute. True to its aim, the point of the blade struck the r animal midway between the eyes, and nearly cleft its skull in twain. Without even a howl it fell to the ground dead, and Kit stepped gracefully forward and extracted the knife, after which he waved his hand at the audience triumphantly. If he: had expected rigs re which he did not, he would have been disappointed, for only a faintly perceptible murmur of surprise es- caped the tators, and all was then blank si- lence for the space of a minute, when a stern voice cried: “Turn in the bears !” Kit looked quickly in the direction whence the voice came, and saw the Den standing upon a box, near one of the sentry-boxes, looking the picture of rage incarnate. ‘*Yes, turn loose whatever you choose, old Sardine!” Kit shouted back, goo-naturedly. “T’ve just struck my gait, now, and can kill you off enough meat in five minutes, to last you a week, big _— as you are.”’ ‘*We shall see!’ the ruffian ruler retorted, with an oath, ‘‘ You have received but the first installment.” So Kit perceived, when he saw the door open again, and a regular army of huge grizzly, bears came lumbering out into the ring. For once in his life, he realized that he was confronted by danger with which no man could successfuly hope to cope. There were six of the bears, and eve them huge in size, and judging by th appearance, on the verge of starvation. hey were growling among themselves, and as they came forward the largest of the lot reared erect, Thunders of applause went up from the audience, as they saw the terrible odds the young Gentile had to contend with. Bertie Bird, in her box, realized that the brave fellow could never conquer the bears if not properly armed, Instantly seizing a revolver from the belt of Pietro, who sat by her side, she threw it into the ring, behind yaoe Kit. So intent was the audience in watching the approaching bears, that the act was not noticed even by Pietro bimself, until Kit had possessed himself of the weapen, and firmly stood his eee with the weapon cocked, and ready, in is grasp. . , “Stop! stop!” Don Juan roared, fiercely; ‘don’t dare to shoot those bears.” “Shut up, you devil, or I'll shoot you!” Kit cried, turning upon him so fiercely, that the Prophet dodged down out of sight, at which one of gaunt — was a perceptible titter among the specta- ors. Immediately, Kit began to run like a deer around the outer edge of the ring. The object in this was to get the bears to chase him, in which device hegwas not unsuc- cessful. They immediately gave chase, one following the other in single file, the biggest bear leading. Being an expert runner Kit bad no difficulty in keeping ahead of them as long as they made no “ breaks” or ‘* crosscuts.” Two or three circuits about the ring were made, when he suddenly closed in on the rear bear, and drove his dirk to the hilt into the top of his neck; the next instant leaping over him he attacked the fifth in a like manner, and then the fourth third and second, amid thunders of applause from the electrified spectators! The whole wonderful action had occupied but an instant of time, with such lightning celerity did the daring beast-killer move and strike! Even Don Cordiz could but stand and yell and clap his hands, so strongly did the great act impress him. Every blow had been deadly fatal, for neither beast went many steps after the knife had been buried and withdrawn from the back of their necks, and all dropped dead, ere the applause had died out. Cyclone Kit did not tackle the last and largest bear in this way, but leaped to the cen- ter of the ring, and allowed the giant bruin to take his own course. After lumbering around the ring until he came to his first f prinrien ye companion, the monster halted, and reared upon his hind feet with a growl of anger. Then, seeming to comprehend that Cyolone Kit had been the author of the wholesale slaughter, he rushed savagely after him. . But Kit was after him also! Firmly standing his ground he raised his re- volver and fired a single shot—then walked over to one side of the ring and sat down upon one of the lifeless bears. The big bear staggered as he received the deadly bullet—tottered unsteadily, and then, losing his balance, went plunging forward to . the ground, from which he never was to rise in life again. | The bullet had pierced his brain, entering through one of his eyes! As soon as the bear was floored, Kit rose, waved his hand to the audience, and turning to Don Juan, who stood upon bis perch like one stupefied, he eried out: ‘* Have you any more live stock you want to dispose of, ay holy old brute?’ ** You will find ont!” the Don roared, leaping forward into the ring. ‘‘I'll see whether you can cope with me now. Guard, bring two good swords at oncé!” ‘ All right,” responded Kit, evidently pleased with the turn affairs were taking. ‘‘I am good at hog-sticking!” CHAPTER VIII. CARLISON TRIES HIS HAND. ‘‘HERE come the weapons new. Threw them on the ground, Pierre, and let the Gentile take his vr tt v The man obeyed, and then departed. “Pick out your weapon!” the Don erdered, pointing to two handsome swerds, which lay be- tween them. “It is the last weapon you will ever use; let it be said you had a choice of the swords, ” ‘See: I pap out the slenderest blade and leave you the finer one. Take it, and square yourself, if you wish te bn with a man, you miserable old rip!” retorted Kit. The Don threw off his coat, and seizing the re- maing sword, at once stood on guard, Kit simply glanced at his weapon. Tbe two men then advanced! Only a few paces—then the clash! clash! clash! and ring of steel; the battle had commenced. Knowing, as they did, that Don to Cordiz was a most expert swordsman, ®he excited throng rose to their feet and gazed down inte the ring with eager expectancy. In the mean time, when the eyes of all were turned upon the scene in the ring below, another man was alert to the execution of a prearranged plan. To reach the private boxes it was neces- pe! to enter a narrow hallway from the street. aiting until he saw that every one in the amphitheater had no eyes but for the scene in the ring, Arthur Carlison slip from his posi- tion on one of the seats and hurriedly left the » ’ | eGoim GHOGKS e < “—" ~~