Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 388 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

~~ is : A WS ~~, =~ e+ . —— 10 nS NS Sa ai acs nae tae PR pi Ga OS aed ay Pea eae MARU PELE ROME . don’t forget that without your help I should still be out yonder—and, more than that, that she would be with me! Now, although I would- n’t give up the place at her side to any other man, nor to you under any other circumstances, I propose to divide the situation with you. Stay where you are, and I will take the other side, Ihave no doubt that she will give you eeecuentD and gratitude while she gives me ove,’ He went to the other side and, kneeling down, took her other band, Ony Losy had made a very liberal use of neat whisky in his course of treatment. He had poured a considerable quantity of 1t down Lola’s throat just before Little Oh-my came up, Dur- _ ing the discussion between him and Cameron she had shown signs of returning animation, and as he knelt at her side she opened her eyes. His love taught bim what to do. He gave ber band a quick pressure, and bending over her cried; “ Lola, my darling!” Sbe opened her eyes full upon his face, and with 8 murmur of glad recognition tried to lift herself up to his breast, releasing her hand from George Cameron’s clasp. The disappointed lover let her go with a sup- pressed oato, and had the further chagrin of seeing ber nestle in bis more fortunate rival’s arms as he clasped her rapturously to his breast. Old °49 was so delighted with the turn mat- ters had taken that he proceeded to dance a jig op the spot. Butin the midst of his happiness Little Ob- my was recalled to a disagreeable reality by bearing the sound of horses’ hoofs, ‘‘Look hyere, gents,” be said, hurriedly. ‘That iron-headed Probst is bound to carry his point. I depend upon you to stand him off while I take this innocent child toa place of security.” The men winked at each other. They had no sentimental reason for believing in Lola’s inno- cence. At the same time, she being Liitls Oh- my’s “girl,” they bad no thought of “ goin’ back on him.” He caught ber upin bis arms, and whistling eto his horse, ran away with her, Jake Probst rode up only to find his bird flown. He knew by the sullen defiance on the faces of some of the men, contrasted with the serene smile of welcome on Old ’49’s, just what he would have to encounter, ‘‘Waal, pardner,” cried Old 49, as if this were a casual meeting, ‘“‘ what luck? Out pros- pectin’?” | ‘*No,” replied Probst, to speak.” “Ah!” responded Old °49, ‘‘ Mighty poor huntin’, at this hyar season o’ the year, | reckon,” ‘Waal, that. depends,” answered Probst. “You seem to have had considerable luck, fish- in’.’ ‘‘Now ye’re jokin’!” said Old °49, laughing as if he considered it a very good joke indeed, “Ef youll hand the girl over, we'll call it a joke all round,” said Probst, meaningly. All understood that under his words lay a covert threat that they might find ic no joke to resist the law, even in that lawless country, when it was represented by Jake Probst. “The girl? hat girl?’ asked Old ’49, inno- cently. ‘*Come! come!” said Probst. ‘“‘That thar will do fur boys; but men at your time o’ life an’ mine know tbat business is business!” “ Ye’re right,” assented Old 49. ‘‘An’T al- low you'll find us a business crowd.” Probst saw the old man’s thinly-masked meaning. It roused his dogged determination. Turning to his subordinate, be said: ‘*Follow me!” And without more ado he reined bis horse in the only direction that Little Oh-my could have taken. But Old 49 interposed. ‘¢T wouldn’t go that way.” he said. ‘““Why not!” demanded Probst. ‘‘Oh, because! That’s the way we air goin’: an’ thar ain’t room fur more’n our crowd, ye onders‘and.” ** Waal, then, I will go first, and you kin fol- ler at yer leisure.” : ‘¢ Excuse me, if you please!” And the old man reined his horse across the ‘““T’m out huntin’ so way. At that the Marshal of Two Bits flared up. “Do you know who you're stoppin’?” he asked, with the ominous calm of a dangerous mian. ‘‘The Marshal o’ Two Bits—the fire-eatin’ se , aly te po! . So's _ Juul A ty fx Little Oh-my. Marshal o’ Two Bits!” said Old ’49, looking him steadily in the eye. Then in the same tone he asked: ‘*Do you know who’s a-stoppin’ of ye?” ‘‘No!” thundered the marshal; ‘‘ an’ what’s more, I don’t care a—”’ ‘*‘ Barrin’ an’ savin’ yer prisepce!” interrupted hisassistant. ‘Sure,it’s haird words that air more handy than fair ones, but it’s them you go fur- thest fur that’s the ch’apest in the end. Wid all respict to yer bovor, Musther Probst, w’u’dden’t it be well to tell the gintlemen phwat it is the colleen bas been doin’?” The Marshal of Two Bits condescended to say: ‘“When you onderstand that the girl lam after has stabbed a man to death in a dance- house last night, maybe you'll stand out of my RY an’ not interfere with the execution of the aw, ‘‘That may all be so,” said Old 49,‘ As fur as we air concerned, if ain’t neitber hyar nor thar. The question is, who’s goin’ down that thar trail. ou’ve been so rambunctious about it that we propose to fight it out on this line.” ‘‘Then you air goin’ tostop me?” ‘‘Our crowd is goin’ down that thar trail fu’st, ur know the reason why! but we pro- pose to have supper before we start. Then ef you want to foller, o’ course the way is open to ou the same astoany other man. That’s all ve got to say.” Jake Probst looked about on the men. There was a general loosening of weapons, He understood, without verbal explanation, what that meant, ‘“ All right!” he said. ‘‘ Maybe I'll be even with ye yit! It’ll be a cold Atty ef I don’t!” ‘‘Whenever you feel like comin’ on, en mass or in sections, you’ll find me at home,” replied Old ’49, coolly. The marshal wheeled his horse and rode "er. ithout stopping for their supper, our hero’s friends followed after him. There was one in the party who rode with his eyes on the ground in moody silence. It is perhaps needless to say that it was George Cameron, ‘“ He’s hatchin’ mischief!” said Old 49 to him- self. ‘I'll have to keep an eye on him!” — CHAPTER X. A NEW ASPECT. THE gossip over the tragedy reached Senor Fabriano as he sat in the bar of his hotel, gloomily brooding over his unpromising inter- view with the marsbal. At first he did not heed it, until something in the description of the stiletto with which the deed had been done cevgbt his ear. Then suddenly starting up, he advanced to the speakers, addressing them in agitated tones: ‘‘Gentlemen, I beg your pardon!” The men turned and stared at him, with the quick-coming frown which bespoke their dislike, one of their number vouchsafing surlily: ‘‘Waal, what’s wantin’?” ‘‘ Did you sav, sir, a dagger with a wavy blade? —in short, an Indian creese?” **Tojun nothin’,” growled the man, don’t use them kind o’ things,” ‘“‘T should have said Hast Indian, or more properly Malay.” “Injuns ‘Waal, you've got me, I’m free to own. J don’t know nothin’ about none o’ yer yeller- faced kind, J don’t! Malays or what-not, I reckon they’re a bad Jot all round. But, for one, J don’t see what it is to you, anyhow!” The tone, more than the words spoken, con- veyed an insult. With difficulty the Mexican controlled the swelling in his throat. “Thank you!” he said, and turned away, As he hurried from the room, the men follow- ed bim with sullen frowns, ‘What does the dog-gone Greaser mean by comin’ sneekin’ around hyar, anyway?’ mutter- ed BBB man who had repaid his courtesy with insult. Forgetful of the churls he left behind, the Mexican hurried to the scene of murderous violence, Here men involuntarily made way before his impetuous advance. His face told them that his was not the idle curiosity that moved them. ‘‘ Where is the murdered man?’ he asked. “This byar way, pardner,” readily answered the man addressed, And half-escorted, half-followed by the curi- ous crowd, be was borne to the side of the corpse, by f bad ag aed ey . i oS Zr. a at bth 5 GRAS CES LY ATE POSES ‘“Who is he? What is he wantin’ with Milado?”’ was the eager inquiry. With knit brows and closely-compressed lips. he gazed at the repulsive body. ‘* Will some one kindly get me some water?’ he asked. ‘‘1 cannot make out the features for the blood.” ‘‘ Hallo, thar! Some water!—fetch some water this way!” ip Everybody was eager to hasten its produc- ion. Then all bung upon the result. Senor Fabriano knelt down and dipping his handkerchief into the basin; washed away the blood and brusbed back the matted hair from the forehead of the dead. He rose with a sigh, as if his expectations had been disappointed. ‘“Who bas the dagger with which this man was slain?’ he asked. ‘‘ What do you make of him, boss?’ interrupt- ed one who was more curious than sy mpatbetic, ‘*Some o’ your folks, I reckon?” ventured an- other. “They don’t look much alike,” dissented a third. ‘Dry up, an’ Jet the gentspeak for bimself!” cried one who saw that nothing was likely to be derived from the speculations of the crowd. ‘¢ Gentlemen, this man is nothing to me, as you seem to expect,” said the Mexican, seeing that he would have to satisfy their curiosity before he could hope to get anything in the way of information out of them. ‘Why in thunder didn’t you say so in the first place?’ demanded one, who thereupon turned awey in disgust. ‘What did you want with him, then?” asked one, who saw anotber field of inquiry. ‘‘Tt may be,” said the Mexican, sadly, ‘‘that by his death this man has but made more hopeless the/wrong which he did me in life,’ ‘‘ What has be done to you?’ ‘‘ Excuse me, gentlemen! Iam not yet sure that there is any connection between bim and me, We were speaking of the weapon with which the fatal blow was struck. Can you tell me where I can see it?” ‘Jake Probst bas got it.” ‘‘ The marshal?” Exactly.” ‘‘ And where is he to be found?” ‘¢ You'll have to pull foot purty lively to over- teke him, stranger. He’s goin’ fur the leetle spitfire that laid Milado out—an’ sarved bim jest right, say 1!” ‘¢ He is in pursuit of the misguided girl?” ‘‘Hold on, stranger! Don’t you go fur to callin’ no hard names! She give this ugly cuss his dose; an’ I reckon Probst ’]l swing her if be kin. But the manas says that she was misguid- ed will have to swaller two shootin’-irons an’ a rib-tickler, the which these hyar is samples!” And most ferociously did Lola’s champion brandish his weapons, confronting the supposed traducer of the favorite as if about to carry his threat into instant execution. ‘““You misunderstand we, friend,” said the Mexican, mildly. ‘‘I meant but to say that it was unfortunate that the child should be led to take blood upon her hands, It may be that |, of all men, have most reason to thank you for your generous defense of ber.” ‘Why? What is she to you?” ‘Tt is possible that she is my daugbter.” The crowd stood open-mouthed, ‘Run away with Milado, I reckon?” ventured one, “Abducted in ber childhood,” explained Senor Fabriano. ‘‘ Sho’, now! You don’t say!” In those simple words were expressed as gen- uine sympathy as ever warmed in a human heart. In the wronged and suffering father the ‘‘Greaser’”’ was lost sight of. Ina breath four- fifths of the crowd went over to the side of tbe man whom a moment before most of them had despised, now ready to go through fire and water to help him rigbt his wrongs. ‘‘Look a-byar, boys!” cried one. ‘Jake Probst don't touch a hair o’ that thar gal’s head, ye onderstand ?” ‘*Not much he don’t!” was the hearty as- sent. ‘“Boss, we’re with ye! You jest clap onto yer own when the marsbal fetches her into camp, an’ you'll have the backin’ o the last man in the place,” ‘Thank you, my friends!—thank you!” said the Mexican, with deep emotion, grasping the pesos that were warmly extended to bim on all sides, ‘‘ Boys, we don’t want that bloody marshal to a Se EFAS : . > ? or 2 Jb. ig ae