Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 340 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

4 steadily. Clip, the Contortionist. 13 The lad thought that he recognized Cheyenne Charley, and sougbt a place where he could climb down and make sure. In the ravine he cautiously approached the drinking man, made certain of his identity, and hid where he could watch him at his leisure. Soon be had the satisfaction of seeing him tumble over and fall asleep. This was the opportunity that Clip wanted. He might easily have killed the outlaw as he sat there; but he had another use for him, and he was opposed to shedding blood if it could Pie aasitook ped up to th trate e quietly step up to the prostrate man, Kamnoved his rifle and hid it, and cantioualy ab- stracted his revolver from his belt. Then he stirred him pretty vigorously with his foot. : As the stirring was not a success, he shook him and punched him soundly, until he opened his eyes and sat up. When the outlaw got awake, and was able to take a confused glint of the situation, he saw y himself confron a resolute young man with a leveled revolver, | Perceiving his danger, he reached for his own istol; but it was gone, and his rifl> was also visible. He easily recognized the fact that he was at an extreme disadvaptage,and that there was nothing for him to do but to submit to such terms as his foe chose to dictate. “ What do you want?” he sulkily demanded. ‘“‘T want you,” answered Clip, ‘‘andI have got you now where I want you.” ‘* What do you want of me?” “] want you to tell me something.” ‘‘Fire ahead, then. What is it?” ‘* Who eihed my sister?” ‘‘ Who killed my sister?” repeated the outlaw ina maudlin way. ‘‘ Who killed Gock Robin? I, said the sparrer, with my bow an’ arrer.” ‘You had better be careful how you speak to ne, = are at my mercy, and I mean to get pe truth out of you. ho killed my sis- ter ‘“‘Whoare you, anyhow, young chap?” * ‘You know me as well as I Know you. Iam Clipton Saunders, and you are Charles Rentz. My sister was Meta Saunders. You were about our place in Kansas when she diss pppated, and ou left just before her body was found. You now who killed her.” __ _ “Maybe I do, and maybe I don’t.” ‘“*‘7 am sure that you do know, and you must tell me. Was it you?” ‘No. As sure’s you live it wasn’tme. I had nothing to do with ber anyway. The man who killed her was powerful fond of her.” ‘¢ Who was he?” “What’ll you doif I won't tell?” ‘7 will tie you and hand you over to the Vigilantes, who are on your track, and they will ban you.” on will do that if I do tell?” “Tell me the name of that man, Charles Rentz, and you may go free.” “ All right, if you will give me that chance. It was Spence Sy mmes.” “The man I suspected. Why did he kill her?” ‘‘He was Seneehni toe of her, as I said, and when he met her there on the road, and she told him that she hated him, he was so mad that he shot her. Then he left the country. As I was witb him when he did the trick, I thought I had |. better skip, too.” ‘‘That is enough, Charles Rentz. and make the most of your chance,” The outlaw, who had been considerably sober- ed by this interview; walked away, slowly but Go, now, CHAPTER XVII, AN UNEQUAL DUEL, Cure SaunpERS looked after the recedin form of Cheyenne Charley until he was out o sight. ‘hen he placed the captured revolver in his a. “ belt, and examined the captured rifle, to - amurd ae my sister. 4 ry - f so ats + se Ay “ia 2 F as r a % ’ TS « p> 4 me f, He stood there, with a far-away look in his Ev eyes, @ dark frown on his brow, and his lips cae, at he had just heard had evidently moved 7. a ’ 4 . . ~ ; Ay depths of his nature. » he said, ‘‘I know who was the I am sure that the ke the truth, or I turned loose It was not for id not have spared him. nothing that I came here in search of the man i, pected. IT must find him now, and if I do Vigilantes will not peed to hang 1, ¢ have sworn that he sball die by my ge | in the darkness, and fell into a The breaking of a twig near by arrested his attention. He looked in the direction of the sound, and saw the man he sought. Spence Symmes had not been having an easy time since the disastrous conclusion of the raid upon Mat Warner’s ranch, Indeed it may be doubted if any of the band who were alive and unwounded had experienced a harder time than the leader. He was so badly “‘ flustrated” by the arrival of the Vigilantes, and by the failure of his second attempt to secure possession of Helen Warner, that he was not at the time of his flight as cool and clear-sighted as he was wont to be Consequently he did not use such care and forethought as Cheyenne Charley did in select- ing his place oi exit from the valley, t is likely, tov, that the shots which were aimed at him more than at any other unsettled his nerves. He started up the hill at a point where it was remarkably pieep and rough, and had a ver difficult climb before be could consider himse out of the way of bullets, He was yet at a considerable distance from the top when darkness closed in upon him so thickly that he could scarcely see as much as a tree before him. | Then he became entangled with rocks and fallen trees and. ravines, so that he completely lost his way, and was strongly tempted to stop and wait for daylight. But he pressed on and up, until he stumbled Instinctively he threw out his hands as he went down, and caught a prugce rock, to which he clung until he could collect his senses and steady himself for further efforts. He had no way of judging the depth of the ravine; but it seemed to be easier and less dan- gerous to descend than to ascend, and he groped his way downward with great difficulty, reach- ing the bottom in a badly bruised and exhausted condition. There he was content to stay and rest, and he i 4 well, in spite of the roughness of his rocky In the morning he looked for his rifle, which had of course cropper from his grasp when he tumbled into the gully. He found it; but it was ruined, the lock and the stock having both been broken by the fall. This was a real disaster, as he felt himself to be, without his rifle, no better than a sneak and a tramp, He needed food, which he could not expect to get by killing game with his revolver, and although there were people here and there on whom he had been accustomed to depend for supplies, they would be as likely in his hour of defeat to betray him as to assist him. He fully realized the fact that his only chance was to creep out of the country, and that it was not a brilliant chance at the best. The course of the gully led toward the south and he followed it downward until he came ou at the bottom of a oeeP ravine, His clothes, in which he had always taken much pride, were torn and soiled, and his face and bands were bruised and bloody. He knew that he cut a sorry figure;.but he did not ex- — to meet anybody, and surely did not desire O. His surprise and disgust were great, therefore, when, as he was walking westward along the ravine, he suddenly found himself confronted by Clip Saunders and a leveled rifle. He knew Clip well, and had cause to dread him, not only because of his past, but because he believed the lad to have been connected with his recent disasters, ‘‘Halt, there!” ordered Clip, and Spence Symmes halted. ‘* What do you want?” he asked, in just such atone as Cheyenne Charley had used when he asked the same question. ‘“T want you,” answered Clip, ‘I have just seen your partner, Charles Rentz, and I have roneeal the truth from him. I now kn who it was that killed my sister, Meta Sa who was foully murdered in Kansas.” “ Are you sure of that?” replied S ‘‘T am sure that you are the man. The outlaw turned asby pale, and his fierce eyes drooped. There could be no doubt that the thought of that deed was a dark spot in his memory. Then he looked up, coolly and iret ? “What are you going to do about it?” he de- manded, in a hoarse voice. ‘IT am going to kill you,” replied Clip. “Don’t you think it would be better to turn ders, mes. —— o . : as the job over to your friends, the Vigilentes, who cela be glad of the chance to hang me?’ ‘*T bave sworn that I will kill you with my own hand.” “Well, as I look at you just now, you seem to be able to do it, as you have arifle, and L have none. Go on with your kilung, young man.” ‘*I don’t need to use the rifle,” replied Clip, who was angered by the cool and nonchalant manner of his antagonist, He pitched the rifle far from the reach of eitber of them. ‘“* Your pistol will do the work then, as I have nothing to match it,” sneered Symmes, “ But that would scarcely look like killing me with your own hand.” . Cie threw away the pistol, and drew his long 2. nD ‘* I will kill you with this,” he said. As quick as thought the outlaw drew a revol- ver from under his coat, and smiled as he cocked it. ‘I think you had better postpone that killin business,” said he, ‘If you stir a step 1 wi shoot you down in your tracks.” But, Clip Saunders had already formed his resolution, and he carried it out with the quick- ness of lightning. He leaped forward as if he had been shot out of a cannon, and the gleam of the knife told his deadly purpose. | . Spence Symmes, flurried by this sudden onset, fired two hasty shots, one of which missed the mark entirely, and the other struck the lad’s left arm. _ Before he could fire again the keen blade had passed through his neck, and he fell on the ground, his life-blood gushing forth in a torrent. Matthew Warner and two of, the Vigilantes, who had been scouring the forest in that direc- tion, came running to the spot, attracted by the pistol-shots, , A few words put them in possession of the acts. “‘ His life was owed to me, and I have collect- ed the debt,” said Clip. ‘Tam afraid you ewe spoiled him for hang- ing,” said Mat Warner. ‘I meant to make a sure thing, If you want something to do, you may tie up my arm, as he has put a hole through it,” In a few minutes, and without being ablo to speak, Spence Symmes breathed his last, and was left there to the birds and beasts of prey. Clip Saunders’s arm was attended to, and he accompanied Mat Warner to the place where pe bad found a refuge for Helen and Harry enn. CHAPTER XVIII. TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF. : Tut Vigilantes were resolute and thorough in their purpose of exterminating the band of robbers that had been the terror of the region about Orodia. ) When they had found their hiding-place and driven them from it, they lost no time and omitted no effort in the work of clearing them out, Day after day, and night after night, they searched the hills and forests for stray members of the gang that had claimed Spence Sy mmes as a leader. They strictly obeyed their instructions, and wn without mercy all they found who refused to surrender. Those who surrendered—and they were very few in number—were hanged, as a farmer nails dead hawks on his barn as a warning to other hawks, Even the isolated settlers—not always un- suspected of sharing the booty of the plunderers —from whom they had been accustomed to seek shelter and supplies, turned against them, re- fused them the slightest favor, and aided in hunting them down. They could only die or leave the country, and the few who got away considered themselves ae fortunate. us the region was finally cleared of its worst characters, and if was no longer neces- sary to t on houses or cabins or tepees the skull and crossbones and mystic numbers of the Vigilantes, _ Among the few outlaws that were not dis- covered by the men who scoured the country wee poerenne iy st eerie ee _ How he escaped their thorough an tent search nobody knew but : and he could |not have explained it if he had been put to the torture, “= , ee ae « + & ICDOOKS:,€O _*¢ fp | | i