Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 347 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

—— — a ~ - Aa si bd - al, = ‘ . a _- s o ~ = a 7 % - sa a oo "FPR Me F bg o ~— er. “= ay cl . pl eet Che? > “2a a A gag Tr Soiah i LO -_— we eee ee “4 Bh ANS Peg M HI Gey Emp ee 'y . * - ** Well, ll not be porkopolis, swag, l’ll give ye a good-sized bits of it.” “Then, it’s a bargain. I reckon Devil’s Dig- gin’s is on her last legs, anyhow!” Heavily though the rain poured down, they rode on, but at a rate of speed necessarily slow. ‘ Turning out of the gulch abruptly, into a dense jungle of small pines, they began to toil up the mountain, In entering the jungle they had to cross the guich creek at a point where it formed a sort of ol upon the bottom-lands, and accordingly he tracks made by the horses’ feet were wholly : obliterated. ) The strip of pines ran almost perpendicularly to the mountain’s top, and a sort of animal trail, time-worn and tortuous, followed within the labyrinthian passages of the trees, The ascent was difficult in the extreme, but the plucky, strong-limbed horses were equal to _ the emergency, and at last a halt was made, many feet above the gulch bottom. The spot was a sort of bench on the mountain- side, and was still within the confines of the pine belt, where the light was none too plentiful. ‘* We dismount here!” Masked Mose said, slid- ing from his saddle, ‘The rest of the journey is on foot. It is not far.” Swerving to the right, from the forest, they picked their way among the crags and rocks until wef came to another slight plateau, open- ing off of which was a dark and narrow fissure, which appeared to penetrate into the very bowels of the mountain. ‘There is the entrance to the mine.” Masked Mose announced—‘‘the place where Deadwood Dick and Leclede took out their six! y thousand dollars’ worth of stuff. There’s a subterranean passage or chamber within which is as dark as the shades of Hades!” . > % Sea P shades war ruther rose-tinted!” McBride said, suggestively. ‘* Mebbe you'll know for sure, hereafter, But come, There’s a stuck of dry torches just within the passageway, We'll explore and get back to the Diggiags.” ‘ They advanced toward the entrance, to follow the suggestion, when Masked Mose suddenly leaped back with a startled oath. astened upon the rock directly in front of bim wasa Paper containing the following words, which evidently had been written by a finger dipped in human blood! * BEWARE! **Woe unto him who shall enter, or seek to work, i this mine, Beware}! “THe Hanp or Fare.” Masked Mose uttered a bitter oath, while McBride, figuratively speaking, “‘turned blue around the gills.” ‘What does it mean?” he gasped, backing off in alarm. **Mean!” Masked Mose replied. ‘That some 4 one bas been here! But I'll devilish soon rout whoever has dared usurp my rights. Come “along, McBride!” ~ “Nary!” McBride growled. ‘ Nonein mine coffee, ef ye please, If you find everything ‘sagaciating salubriously, ll then propel after * you: but not till then.” “Bah! Pull yer tools, and foller me, an’ et’s a thousand dollars to you, when we get back to the Diggin’s.” “Enuff. Scoot!” With a grim glitter iv bis eye, Masked Mose drew vis revolvers, and led the way. CHAPTER X. JERRY FINDS A MASTER ‘ THE extraordinary acceptance of Roaring . Ruth’s challenge, by the ’49er, caused a chuckle ; to escape the spectators at the Argyle, The idea of an old man like him, attempting to cling to the back of a trained and bucking burro, was preposterous, to say the least, and even Roaring Ruth gazed at the old man in as- . tonishment. { ‘**Ye don’t mean it?’ she ejaculated, turning | tohim. ‘‘ Ye don’t purpose ter give the under- taker a job, so soon after your arrival in the ne Paggings® Ge ** Most assuredly I do not, young lady,” he re- lied, with dignified promptness, “} happen v need fifty dollars just at the present time, ae and | ride that mule!” «S # ~ty- .- . aA » - "sua >’ + , > 4 :" 7 . ‘oe ° ~? > : 7 A es 4 - “ e . -~ “ - ‘ rn é oy ’ : *. ‘ 3 nal At | < -_ . ' ’ ‘ : “ - ‘* And, ef you find the buried treasure, you drop out?’ ** You bet!” “*T reckon that ain’t fair, Ef I go inter ther J bizness, I opine I orter share witb ye.” lf I find the “I was always of an opinion that them aire | we 25, > % + 5 2 - b- »* or” Deadwood Dick’s Ducats, ‘But [say you can’t do it! But one man ever did it, an’ he got bis neck broken the sec- ond time ke tried it. So take warning—I won’t issue you a life insurance policy, ef ye try ter tackle Jerry!” ‘*Oh! of course not—I take all the responsi- bilities upon myself, like a little major. If I conquer the burro, so that be allows me to ride him, you give me fifty dollars?” ‘** From the bottom of my heart!” ** Td prefer it from the bottom of your pock- et, if it is all the same to you,” he said, dryly. He then approached Jerry, who stood gazing i as if comprehending all that had been said. ‘Jeremiah, I’m goin’ to ride you!” Jackson announced, ‘‘I don’t suppose you have any ob- jections, eh?” Jerry bobbed his head in the affirmative, which elicited another howl of laughter from the miners, Patting the sagacious animal on the back, a moment, Jackson threw bis right leg over bim, and was mounted, and sat there with folded arms, and a smiling face. At first, Jerry made no hostile move, but ac- tually trembled, where he stood, as if realizing that bis master had “ arrived in town.” Roaring Ruth looked her surprise, but said not aword. She felt positive that it was out of the question for Jerry to submit thus pass- ively. And she was right. A moment later his hind parts began to gradually rise, to a perpendicu- lar position, even as the gymnast of a circus balances bimself on his hands, and elevates his heels in the air. One out of a dozen men, could hardly have remained seated, but Mr. Jackson was not dis- concerted, Even when Jerry’s body was per- pendicularly poised, the stranger remained on the mule’s back, bis feet securely locked to- gether beneath the animal’s belly, bis head res ing back against its rump, and his arms composedly folded, Nor did the reaction unseat him. With a revengeful squeai, Jerry then began to pitch in, with all his might and main. He reared and bucked, whirled, lay down and rolled over—but when he arose, Jefferson Jack- son was calmly seated upon his back. The burro now became fairly furious, for he evidently enjoyed the ceremony of duping a rider as much as did the spectators, but to be baffled by an aged stranger, seemed to him the hight of indignity. evertheless, all his favorite pranks and practices failed to unhorse the ‘49er, ani if it were possible to a burro to look ugly, Jerry did that same thing. Finally, he ceased to buck, and glared sav- agely about him, as if in search of some other method of getting rid of the man upon his back. Spying a large window, at the front of the saloon, he made for it, bis intent only too evi- dent; but, if be thought to scare Jefferson Jack son, he reck’ed without his host, for lengthwise of the burro, did the plucky stranger throw himself; there was a crash, and bis would-be victim disappeared. Only for an instant, bowever. Then they came flying back through the open window-casement, from which the first plunge, had carried both glass and sash. Neither Jerry nor Jackson were harmed, and the former now looked strangely docile, for a wonder. His first action was to trot up to the bar, and in bis usual way, place his forefeet upon it, as an intimation of what he wanted, Satan uncorked a bottle ad poured the con- tents down the voracio’ snimal’s throat, whereupon he once mor: .ropped on all fours, Then, with renewed vigor, he again began bucking, making some mighty leaps, that would have thrown expert riders. . Roaring Ruth watched the proceedings with interest, her gaze hardly once leaving the face of Jeff Jackson. [t was plainly ber belief that, if he was an old man, be was a remarkable one. Once, she saw somethiug, which strergthened her suspicions, if she bad any. She saw Jack- son suddenly clap his hand, for an instant, to his head, at a point where his bair and beard me’, just above his ear. As his fingers percep- tibly worked it immediately oceurred to Ruth that Jackson’s hair and beard were false, and that he was not what he claimed. The burro finally ceased his antics, ana turn- ing bis head, gazed at his mistress in a way as much as to say: ‘It’s no use, old gal. job!” I give ’er up as a bad And the crowd, catching the spirit of the oc: casion, applauded, vociferously. Jackson turned to Ruth, a twinkle in his eyes, ‘Well, young lady, does Jeremiah give up beat?’ he demanded, pleasantly. ““He does,” Ruth replied, ‘‘and you richly deserve the money, even if you did spoil my chances of making a stake. Jerry gives up, like a little man, and will stand by you, in any row!’ Jackson dismounted, and received the fifty dollars, with a profound bow. As for Jerry, he gave vent to a consumptive cough, stepped over to a near-by table, and then laid down as if in very disgust. He was, for once, clearly ‘‘ busbed.” CHAPTER XI. THE SPECTER. It lacked but little of nightfall when Jake McBride and Masked Mose made their reappear- ance in Devil’s Diggings, and, judging by out- ward evidences, their mysterious journey had not been crowned with much success. Aside from being soaking wet, they evident) bad passed through some sort of a siege whic had resulted in their personal demoralization, McBride had a bullet-wound through the flesny part of his cheek and another through his ear, which had left that projection hanging ": a small ligament, and bis hat was so full of bul- let-holes that it would have made a good sieve, His left leg was bandaged, and he limped when walking; and anotber stray bullet had plowed a furrow through his mustache, cleaning out a line of bristles, sleek and clean. Masked Mose had hardly fared as badly, He wore bis left arm in a sling, but otherwise was unburt, The advent of the pair in the Argyle, ns may be supposed, created a sensation, and the unfor- tunates were immediately plied with queries as to how they came by their wounds. But the answers were evasive. ‘* Ob, we got into a fracas with a gang o’ foot- pads, an’ they were too avoirdupois fer us!” Masked Mose growled, while McBride surlily corroborated the statement. All further questioning effected naught. If the precious pair bad been ‘‘done up” by road« agents, they were certainly in no mood for ex- patiating on the fact. So they were left to the task of drying off ex- ternally, and wetting up internally, at which latter they appeared exceedingly handy. Roaring Ruth saw them from a distance, as she was seated at a table, near to which stood Jefferson Jackson engaged in smoking a fragrant weed, ‘* D’ye see them two daisies?’ she inquired of him, as she idly shuffled a deck of cards. ‘Yes, I was just observing them. They look ratber broken up.”’ “So they are. They went out to bunt Dead- wood Dick’s gold mine, and their appearances seem to indicate that they found it.” ‘* Exactly; though they say they had a scrim- mage with footpads,” ‘* That’s a blind—regular shutter. They’re too peop menined to make such a yarn at all plausi- e, ‘“Maybe Deadwood Dick isn’t dead, and was at home to give ’em a warm reception.” ‘*Such a thought has just occurred to me, But Lé m positive Dead wvuod Dick was dead when Il and Dutch Dave left him.” ‘To verify the fact it will be necessary to re visit the place, I suppose?” “Yes; and to satisfy myself, I am going to do so this very night, ow would you like to ac- company me?” ‘That depends somewhat on the weather. I am getting a little too old to recklessly expose myself to the elements, By the way, whois the fellow tbat wears the mask?” ** Calls bimself Masked Mose. For my part, I believe bim to be the reel Harry Leclede, who murdered Deadwood Dick.” ‘*He may be, because what other reason could he bave for keeping Ais features thus concealed ?” ‘*To concea) his identity, of course—for in- stance, like yourself!” Roaring Ruth suggested, staring at him quizgzically. Mr. Jackson started, and darted her back a sharp glance, ‘* What do you mean?” be demanded. ‘*‘T mean that your little racket works well on all but me,” she replied so coolly as not to give him much chance to manifest surprise. ‘* You came near dislodging your false whiskers while riding the burro, and I chanced to catch you at it—that’s all.” books.c