Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 378 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

, Lol + We ¢ ‘2 ae i” ‘2 ‘ whe . — — . - —— + He was what a lady might call pretty—a retty dude—and with his graceful mustache, center-shot hair, and ever careful regard to the arrangement of bis attire, won the appellation of ** Nabob ’—making bim Nabob Nea. The Bung-Eye Hotel was Nabob Ned’s head- quarters, and when ué@ was not otherwise occu- pied be could generally be found at the faro or oker-tables, where he was considered pretty ucky. ‘‘Stud-horse poker’ reigned as the favorite game, and his bonor, Mr. Ned—his other name, he claimed, was Rsevelt—was an adept at the game, and consequently seldom lost. One wild, wet evening, when the rain pour- ed down caaselessiy, and the thund-r fairly made the dwellings of Slab City dance upon their foundations, Nabob Ned sat at one of the numerous tables ian the Bung-Eye, opposite a wiry, dark-visaged individual, with black curl- ing hair and mustache, wno looked as if he might be of Mexican descent. This Mexican, Pedro Sperra, had a considera- ble pila of gold and greenbacks before him, while Nabob Ned had none, “‘Play again, senor!’ he said, in a soft voice. ** Never get discouraged at soslight a loss.” ‘*Discouraged?’ and Ned u tered a sareastic laugh. ‘ Well, I hardly believe ’'m the one to get discouraged. But, you see, [’m not exactly the fool you take me ‘o be, I might play here with you all uight without winning a pot; or if I won a pot, it would be because you choose to let me do so, in order to draw me on,” ‘‘Ha! Whyso?# You do not mean to east any insinuations, I trust,” and Sperra’s eyes flashed. “You can take it that way, if you choose,” Ned replied. ‘‘I have said 1 pues pa you no more, because, no matter how good a plaver I migbt be, I would stand no show with you!” ‘* But. hold on, sir. You mistake the sort of gentleman you are talking to. A man bad better say out to me just what he means in plain words, rather than to dodge about in hints —it will be far better for him!’ ‘‘Toat matters not to me, If you feel dis- osed to take exceptions to what 1 said, do so, t matters very little to me whether you do, or do not.” Sperra uttered a snarl of impatience, ‘“‘I[f you retract, all right, I accept your silence as an apology for your cowardice!” he said, pointedly, and in a way that elicited a broad smile from the several bystanders, whom the little bout of words bad brought to the spot, The smile, perhaps, more than the open in- sult, caused an angry flush to suffuse young Rosev-lt’s face. “See here, confound your impudence!”’ he cried flercely. ‘You want to pick a fuss, don’t ou? . ‘* Yes, sir, 1 am perfectly willing to accom- modate you,” Sperra replied, calmly. ‘* You insinuated that I had won your money by un- fair manipulation of the cards. I retaliated by suggesting that you were a coward, I repeat the epithet; you are @ coward among cow- ards!” Probably Pedro Sperra became forcible in his speech because he believed that Nabob Ned was a coward and would submit to insult without fighting. Then, too, the wily Mexican who was evident- ly a man of education, wanted to make an im- pression upon the Slab Citvites from the start, which would give him further prestige as a ‘solid ” man, But it so happened that be missed his calcula- tions, for Nabob Ned leaped lightly upon the ray table, and with bis right foot administered a kick upon the gambler’s jaw, which elicited a how! of pain and rage from him. In leaping backward from the table, Nabob stumbled over a chair and went crashing to the floor. Ere he could arise, Pedro Sperra had left the table, a glittering knife in bis grasp, and was upon his fallen partner-at-cards. ‘* You accursed Yank!” he hissed, clutching _ Ned by the throat with one hand and raising the knife with the other; “I'll cut your heart out!’ and the blade was descending when Sper: ra’s arm was caught by one man’s right-hand grasp. ___ The same grasp raised the Mexican off of Nabob Ned, and stood him squarely on his feet —the whole operation being performed without a word spoken, And who wa: this timely rescuer? It’ was a question no one could answer. _ He was not a giant—indeed, was about a half- head taller than the Mexican, and there were a e of bigger men in the room than he, > @ * » aq yA vail wal i . ; P =" . . 1 < rire es & .. ' yr . - - t. A ‘ ‘¢ > y.* 3 - bos . wre eee And aside from the fact that he was rather good-looking, as the faces of men go, there was nothing particularly striking about his appear- ance, He bad a cecidedly firm cast of countenance, an eagle-gray eye, and a pleasant mouth, orna- mented with two rows of pearly teeth. His hair be wore in a wavy mass, tbat rippled back over bis shoulders; a mustache, brown, like his hair, aud a sligbt imperial, added to bis good looks; but, bis garments were ragged, and lit- erally covered with mud. Consisting of stogy boots, breeches, woolen sbirt and corduroy jacket, they had not originally cost a fortune, but now looked as if they bad seen hard ser- vice; while the slouch sombrero upon bis head had been beautifully riddled with buckshot, In lieu of a weapon-belt, a leather bridle-strap was fastened around his waist, but no weapons were there to set it off. And this was the man—not over twenty-five years of age—who bad picked Pedro Sperra un, and stood him on bis feet, with as much appar- ent ease as though the Mexican had been a mere boy. ‘Thar! stood!” the new-comer admonished, ‘“What war ye tr)jin’ to git thru’ yerselr, Greaser?? “Caramba! Tllshow you! Tl have your life for this!” Sperra hissed, not deigning, how- ever, to raise the knife, for, indeed he was pow- erless to move the hand in which it was clutched, ‘‘I’ll cut your accursed heart out!” “Tin bettin’ ye’r’ wrong!” the stranger re- torted, good-naturedly. ‘ You’re the most harmless. Greaser I ever saw. Git up, young feller! Woat’s the matter of you!” Nabob Ned had raised himself to a sitting position, and was taking in the scene, bis face depicting bis surprise. ‘*Oh! there is not much the matter with me,” he replied, ‘‘except tlint we had a little dispute about cards and the M:xican called me a cow ard, Ikieked bim on the jaw, and stumbled, in getting off the table. Hemounted me then, and wag near knifing me, J reclson!” ‘* Not so near as he would have liked to be!” and the young rescuer eyed Sperra sharply. ‘*T haia’t no purtickler love fer Greasers, my- self, an’ especially this byer bud, Pedro Sperra!” ‘‘How do you know me?” the Mexican growled, suspiciously, * Jest ther same’s a hoss knows vats— only, a leetle different. Ive got a claim ag’in’ yer life, me chrome-yaller snoozer, but, jest at present, I'll not makealevy. There,now! Seo thet ye don’t come no more monkey bizness around byer, ag’in,” He released bis iron grasp upon the gambler’s arm, at the same time speaking a few quick words in the Spanish language, which were un- intelligible to any of the bystanders. Sperra glared back at bim, a moment, de- fiantly, the venom of rancorous hatred in bis glance; then, turning abruptly, he pusbed his way through the crowd, and disappeared, It became plain to all, then, that the stran- ger of the iron arm had some power over the Mexican, which Sperra dared not resist—a fact that excited a new element of curiosity among the citizens of Slab City. CHAPTER III. EAGLE CITY ED—THE CHALLENGE, THE strunger at once became a favorite, Those sunburnt veterans of the mines, were pretty accurate critics, in their way, and they at once ‘‘ sized” the stranger as ‘‘every inch a man, and sharp as a steel-trap,.” It was not until an bour or two after his ap- pearance within the precincts of the Bung-Eye that bis name became known, Then, too, it might have remained unknown but for the fact that, an inquisitive mule-driver, from Mariposa broached the subject, by slap- ping bim on the shoulder and facing him around to the ber, ‘‘Nominate ver p’izen, stranger, an’ tip us ver handle. [’m Big Boots, ther terror from Eagle City, an’ chock-full 0’ narve an’ electri- city, an’ et strikes me on the temple thai I've gazed upon yer alabaster visage afore!” A ponderous fellow, this mule-driver, im- mense of girth, and as dirty and seedy as you aften meet ’em, out in the mountains, is whiskers had once been dark, but had been bleached, by sun and rain, and the same might be said of his bair; while, as for his mouth, it might easily have answered the purpose of two. The end of his nose was one mass of seed warts. His feet were incased in a pair of boots larger than the largest stogies in the room, and it seemed evident that he must have derived his title from their size. 4 a | : ‘ : : : ; t AD »>2 .*. y" ‘ Fe a i egw So a SN a a : ‘t a ag oT é i The young stranger eyed him a momert, curiously; then, laughed: ‘Well, now, I allow youre got cueek!” he declared. ‘‘ Asif a good-lookin’ feller like me, could ever be known by a high-minded inder- vidual like you. By the way, however, faint and dim in my recollekshun aire a shadow—a mere ordinary shadder, w’ot lukslike you. I’m frum Eagle City, myself, an’ when they try ter catch me wi’ good squar’ bait, they ginerall allow they’re fishin’ fer Eagle City Ed—which aire my name. Now, we’ll obliterate our sor- rows,” Tbe drink was bad, and Eagle City Ed turned around, facing the crowd, and with bis elbows leaning on the bar, looked the assemblage over with a curious scrutiny. “Yas, pilgrims,” he finoellv said, ‘I’m frum Eagle City. Mebbe ye hev judged thet same, by the broad-cloth I wear, have left Eagle City with many sad regrets—thet I hed never seen et—an’ ef thar’s any o’ ycu wanter go in- side distemper paintin’ a 7a Doctor Tanner there's vacancies thar for one or two more, I tell ye, I went in like er lion an’ slid out on me lamb-like uppers. An’ now, as 1 behold yer smilin’ visages, I realize more fullsomely what chances in life I’ve lost—chances fer bread an’ bacon, You will excuse me, gents, ef my auburn-haired remarks approach ther ragged edge o’ sarcasm, but, ye see, I’m broke wuss’n ther egg w’ot ther elyphant stepped on. Thet hydra-headed orthinologival beast, hunger, has consumed the entire nachinery of my in- terior man, an’ I kin even now feel bim tryin’ ter gnaw off my suspender buttons, Ef some galoot, or galoots, wi’ more lucre than senso, will march up ter ther manger, and contributo a few sovereigns toward buying me a monr- ment—of grub—ye shall ever hev ther musculor thanks of yer flat-futted friend, Eagle City Ed- ward,” With the ease of a side show blower, cid the strange combination of muscle and waggish- ness deliver himself of this barangue; then tak- ing off his bullet-riddled hat, he held it out for the reception of alms, For a full minute the bystanders stared at bim, as if deliberating whether they should open their hearts or not; then, a man stepped forward, and in passing the sport without look- : g -¥ abe dropped a five-dollar gold-piece into ye Dat, Ard this man was—Pedro Sperra. Kuple City Ed’s face manifested no surprise further than a sort cf humorous contraction abcut bis mouth, The crowd Icoked even mere puzzled than he, ‘‘Boyees, der ye see?’ broke in Big Boots, “Aire ye goin’ ter Jet er durned Greaser git ahead o’ ye? Not fcr Sarah Jane! Hyer’s a gold V, wot come to me, while on a spree, an’ cuss’d be we, ef | don’t give et to hee!” and the gold-piece was flipped dexterously into the air, anf dropped alongside the other one, in the at, Big Boots’s action was a signal for others cf the bystanders to show their liberality, ard the coins, large and small in denomination, flowed freely into the hat, until nearly every man in the room, except Nabob Ned, bad contributed something. ' ‘*Come, Nabob, ain’t ye goin’ ter do some- thing?” a minercried, ‘* Ycu orter, fer you’re better able ter do it than ary man of us!” Nabob Ned stood leaning against the bar, regarding his late rescuer with an uninterpret- able stare. He started at being asked foralms, and thrust his hand down into bis pocket. “Sorry, gents, but I just lost my Jart red to the cursed Mexican,” be said, slowly and celib- erately. ‘*What other money I possess dors not belong to me, but to the estate of Jobn Smith, Heirs may come along, some day, to claim it,” : ** Babi” ** Nonsense,” ‘*That’s a nice way ter squeeze out o’ et!” * Too thin!” : ‘Ye orter go soak yer head!” ‘*Nabob Ned fer gratitude, every time!” Such and other expressions of disgust escaped the lips of the miners, causing a vivid flush to come over the agent’s face, : He saw tbat the arrival of Eagle City Ed was more than likely to swamp bis own prestige unless he did something to keep his footing among them. ‘You are unjust, gentlemen!” he said, bow- ing. ‘‘I am very grateful to the gentleman from Eagle Cit y for saving my life, and you sd rest assured be shall not Being out of cash, I'll do the next best thing.” { hit. 7 7 *. , ‘Us go unrewarded, —