Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 398 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

the next stage for Denver, and was seen no more in that locality. _ A night or two after, Kit, bidding Dainty, his wife and Pard, good by, for a short time, and requesting her to remain in her room until he returned, walked to Faro Frank’s and asked Pete to saddle his horse. Frank had taken charge of the horses that Kit had left on going East, and under Pete’s care they were in excellent condition. Mounting, Kit trotted off up the road and ar- riving at a point where a gully scarred one of the steep bluffs on the side, sprung to the ground, and began to scramble up the ravine. He disappeared in the matted mass of bushes and did not notice that he was closely followed by a short thickset man, dressed in the garb of a miner, who stole so silently after him that not the slightest rustle betrayed his presence. Crawling between two logs that lay side by side, Kit disappeared, while the spy who was tracking him, seated himself, and quietly await- ed his reappearance. An hour rolled by, when Kit again reap- peared, and, having peas: a pile of brush over the end of the opening through which he had crawled, descended the gully, andin a few mo- ments the hoof-beats of his horse sounded on the road, and gradually died away in the distance, Then the spy arose, and walked boldly for- ward, throwing the light from a dark lantern he carried on the pile of brush and sought to move it from its place. But try as he would, the mass would not stir an inch, so getting down on hands and knees, he set systematically to work to try and discover its secret. He grasped and pulled and pushed ever branch in turn, until he became almost discouraged, when suddenly his light flashed on a branch which seemed somewhat smoother and more worn than the others. The wood and bark looked as if they had been handled more than once, so, grasping the bough loosely, he slid his hand along it until he en- countered an obstruction underneath. Here was a catch, cunningly contrived, which held the branch immovably in position, and pressing on it, he released the snap, and, push- ing again, was rewarded by seeing the whole mass turn silently to one side, exposing an open- ing between the two logs. nto this he crept, being compelled to lie flat on the ground and slowly drag himself forward. He had not proceeded far when he saw, by the light of his lantern, a trap-door, level with the earth, by the side of which hung a rope, taut- ened as if holding a heavy weight. Seating himself on the platform, he pulled up- ward on the rope, when the trap began to de- scend and in a short time he had reached the bottom of the shaft. But as he stepped to the ground, he neglected to hold the trap, and it having no weight to counterbalance that attached to the rope, it flew up with incredible swiftness, while the sudden jerk broke the cord, and it fell at his feet, while he platform, jammed tight, stuck fast and re- mained in its place, high overhead. He was entombed alive! Realizing that the best thing he could do for the present was to continue his explorations, he continued on through the passage until he came toa huge cavern, which was a veritable Alad- din’s cave. Gold glinted on every side and high overhead, lying on the floor in nuggets and shining with a yellow glow from every nook and corner. There were millions in sight and other mil- lions doubtless awaited the stroke of the pick. For a few moments the man stood bewildered, and then muttered: ‘Tf the captain and I could get hold of all this, we could afford to let the other go to grass, “No wonder Mr. Kit can fling money about so reckless like.” And turning his lamp in every direction, he examined the cavern thoroughly, gloating over the treasures it contained. At length his attention was attracted by a huge chest that stood in the corner, and ap- proaching it, he endeavored to raise the lid, but without success, as it was firmly held down bya half-dozen locks, Braced and strapped by a network of iron bars, it was almost as strong as a bank-vault, and would have resisted the attacks of a score of men for hours. Having assured himself of this fact, he began to think of getting out of this subterranean treasure-house, and, returning to the shaft, he endeavored to think of some means by which he could escape. But the sides were of smoothly-cut rock, and Kid-Glove Kit and Pard. even could he reach the top, the trap, firmly | course fastened, would bar his further progress. 5 and. as he approached the opening he closed his eyes with a shudder that did not arise ‘* A cat couldn’t climb up there, nor a bird fly | altogether from cold. out,” he growled, ‘‘ and it begins to look as if lL had gotten myself into a scrape. ‘*The captain could never find me and my | twenty feet, into the And an instant later he was shot far out into the air, balanced a moment, and then fell, full 1 hollowed out by the only hope is that Kit will return soon and get | force of the water in the rocks below. on the trap and fall, thus breaking his neck. ‘‘ If the platform was not in the way, I might manage to climb out,” ‘**] guess Id better take a snooze and wait un- til something turns up. ‘* And [ll put the light out to save the oil, al- though these lamps wiil supply me for some lit- tle time.” And throwing himself on the dry sand that strewed the floor, the spy was soon sound asleep. In the mean time Kit had galloped to The Broadway, left his horse, and returned to the hotel, immediately going to the room where he had left Dainty. But she was not there, while the lamp on the table cast its light on a piece of paper tae on the floor, which he picked up, and glanced at with staring eyes and beating heart, CHAPTER VIII. A STRANGE ENCOUNTER, WHEN the sleeping man awoke, he had noidea of the time, for the cavern was as dark as a dungeon, and before he lighted his lantern he could not see a thing, He had noticed that there were several lamps hung about the place, so did not worry about his light, but he began to feel both hungry and thirsty and was seriously alarmed about the scrape he had gotten into. He looked in every nook and cranny of the rocky walls, without result, and was about to give up the search when, in a far corner, in a niche of the rock, his foot struck something hard that was covered by the sand. Clearing the covering away, he found an iron ring, which was fastened to the center of a square slab of stone, and pulling on it he easily raised it, disclosing to view a small cavity hewn out of the solid rock. And in this, fitting almost exactly, was a wooden box, which, on being opened, he found to contain an ample store of edibles and a half a dozen bottles of water. ‘*Good enough!” he ejaculated. ‘I can’t starve or die of thirst, at any rate, for some days. Now fora meal. I only wish I hada few oysters and a dozen bottles of beer from the ‘* Fresh Clam” to finish off with. Looks a little like I might never see that place again, though.” But the former proprietor of the ‘ Fresh Clam” seemed inclined to take a philosophical view of the situation, and seating himself against the wall satisfied his hunger. He had left The Guich as the Reverend Mr. Elkhart, and returned the following day as Jim Jordan, having put on a heavy black beard and wig and dressed himself in the garb of a miner. fter eating somewhatsparingly, for he wished to make his rations last as long as possible, not knowing how many days hisimprisonment might last, he arose and walked to the provision case to replace in it the remnants of what he had; but, as he reached the hole, his lantern, insecurely placed, fell over on its side, and in an instant was extinguished, leaving him in total darkness, As he realized that he had best not move for an instant, his foot, which was just at the edge of the hole in the floor, slipped into it, and he trying to catch himself, plunged headlong for- ward against the wall, his head striking it with terrific force. His heavy felt hat protected him from any serious injury, but, as he crashed against the rock, the whole wall crumbled and fell away, and he pitched forward and downward with'a cry of despair. ut he only dropped a few feet and splashed into a swiftly-flowing current of icy-cold water, and was swept away, clutching in every direc- tion, with no result, however, except that of tearing his fingers until they bled. He was hurried on, gasping and struggling, until he collected his senses and struck out boldly; and being a fine swimmer, was able-to keep himself afloat without any difficulty. And as he swam on down this black stream, he caught a ghimpse of a ray of light, which rapidly drew nearer, until he could see that it was the opening through which the stream plunged, and heard the roar of the cataract where the water leaped from the face of the |' cliff. | He was powerless to stay his impetuous i | | In the whirling of the waters he spun about a few moments, and then was carried out and down the stream, when, raising himself, he managed to grasp an overhanging branch and drew himself to shore. Half-fainting and exhausted, he fell on the bank and laid there for some time, until he was somewhat restored, when he arose and looked about him. High on both sides towered the cliffs, to the hight of six or seven hundred feet, while the ends were blocked by precipices that were equal- ly lofty. And recognizing the place, he saw that he was imprisoned ina canyon from which there was absolutely no escape, and which was inac- cessible from above, save by the dangerous route which had brought him thither, and to traverse which was almost certain and sudden death. And now indeed he gave up all hope, for his condition was doubly worse than that of a short time before. The sun was shining in a clear sky, for his sleep in the cavern had been long and sound. Walking through the thick growth of timber that covered the bottom of the canyon, he sud- denly came upon a little clearing, an acre in ex- tent, about which the trees stood almost as regu- larly as if they had been planted in order, And as he stepped out into the opening, he started with a yell of terror, and would have fled, but that his feet seemed glued to the ground and he could not move. For against every tree leaned a human skele- ton, and as there were at least fifty trees, so there were fifty of the grinning, fleshless skulls —fifty white and bleached remains of what had once been living beings. But graduslly his terror grew less, and he ob- tained control over his nerves, and advanced into the clearing, in the center of which stood a small cabin. The door of the house was closed, buf on lift- ing the latch he found that he could enter, so, stepping in, he looked about him, and then leap- ed back, for, as his foot pressed the threshold, a man, standing directly opposite the door, raised his gun to his shoulder, and aimed directly at the intruder. Covered as he was by the log walls of the cabin, he began to parley. ‘* Stranger, ’m dyin’ with cold, an’ want ter come in an’ get warm. I ain’t after no harm, so put down yer shootin’-irons and be friendly.” Receiving no answer, he cautiously peeped in and saw that the occupant of the room ha lowered his weapon, but was still standing in the same place. For a moment he hesitated, and then, nerving himself for the leap, he sprung through the door, rushed on the other and seized him before he could raise his rifle; when they both stumbled and fell tothe floor, _\__ CHAPTER IX. A FORGED NOTE. For a moment Kit stood as if frozen into im- mobility, and could not have moved, and the written words seemed like flames of fire dancing before his eyes. The words were these: ‘** DAINTY :— “My horse stumbled, and threw me heavily a short time ago, and lam unable to move. Come to me at once. Kir,” The writing was his, the signature was his, and had the note been one he could have writ- ten, he would have sworn to the writing and the signature. ‘But it was a forgery, and the note had evi- dently been sent to her for the purpose of lead- ing her into a trap. With an oath which was surely not recorded against him on high, he dashed from the room, and hurried down-stairs, bursting into the office like a tornado, ‘At what time did that note arrive for my wife?” he demanded of the landlord, who trem- | bled like a leaf. ‘*T—I can’t say, sir.” ‘* Tid you not see the messenger arrive?” ‘* N-n-no, sir.” ‘‘ But you surely saw my wife go out?’ ‘*T thought she was up-stairs, sir.” *‘ And what reason had you to suppose that?” JNA comicbooks.com reese