Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 408 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

12 ‘* But dead men don’t git up an’ walk off.” ‘No more they don’t. Therefore he wa’n’t dead.” ‘* It ain’t like the parson to bungle things like | that.” ** We all make mistakes, Johnny. Tf wo sid- n’t, nobody ’d ever git caught. Then whar’d be the use for Vigilance Committees?” ** Say, pard! this hyer will be a mighty good place to emigrate from ef Seaver gits off an’ blows on us. He had us piped down fine, an’ no mistake.” **So much the worse fur him! It was curi- osity, ye know, that made all the trouble in the world.” ‘* But, Hank, how was it that the parson man- aged to shunt tbe thing off onto the leetle gal?” ‘* Waal, that was more luck than anything else. Yesee, he found her little barker at the jicnic whar she lost it, and was soft enough to Cane it jest because it belonged to her.” ‘* Sweet on her, eh?’ ** Shightually !” ‘. But how in thunder did he come to put her in such a box, then? That was a mighty queer way of showin’ his affection!” ‘* Waal, ye see, she give him the mitten in a way that was calculated to rile any man.” “You was hangin’ around whar you had the chance to hear it?” ** Yes.” ‘*T thought it was your duty to pick him off?” “Ef I gotthechance. Butthe parson seen his opportunity, an’ went fur it. He put a stopper on the blab-mouth, an’ got the leetle gal ina hole at the same time. Then he caleulated to | a run her off an’ have his way with her, after | all.” ‘* An’ now she’s the deuce knows whar, an’ | Abe Seaver is spirited off ditto! What do you suppose that crazy coot done with her, any- way?” ‘** Ask me an easy one!” ‘* Hold on, pards! Hyar comes the Cap!” The conversation was brought to an abrupt conclusion, and the speakers, of whom there ap- | eared to be a dozen or more, moved about 1urriedly, like eye-servants preparing to receive their master. Little Leather-Breeches stood in the dimly- illumined corridor with mouth agape. In the few minutes while he had listened, there | had been opened up to him a deep and damnable | | **Just attend to your own affairs, and I'll at- Whom did it involve? The very man against plot of villainy. whom he brushed every day!—his neighbors, whom he had never dreamed of suspecting of such a thing! But he learned that the scream he had heard had not been caused by Belle’s capture by the conspirators. They had just expressed igno- rance of her whereabouts. There was one suspicion which he hesitated to entertain until it had found confirmation in the sound of the voice of the new-comer. In his eagerness he forgot the danger of being detected by some one coming to a point where they could see down the corridor in which he was, and crept further forward, ‘*Come, my men!” said a brisk voice, so dif- ferent from the genteel drawl for which he had listened that he scarcely felt sure that it could be the same, ‘‘ there is no time to be idling here. The Mad Millionaire is in the calaboose, where he can be got at any time in the next twenty- four hours. What lies immediately before us, is to find Abe Seaver and to head off this young bantam, Little Leather-Breeches. Wecan man- age him without much difficulty, I fancy, if we once get our hands on him, He is virtually an outcast; and no one wil) take the trouble to look him up, if he mysteriously disappears. He is now somewhere; either looking for Belle Briggs, or keeping her in hiding; I am not sure which. In any case, all I ask is to get him once safely in ourden. Nobody tells any tales who once gets in here!” And the speaker finished with a laugh. ‘‘ He!” muttered Little Leather-Breeches, scarcely able to believe. the evidence of his senses. ‘‘ Well, of all the wolves in sheep's clothing !—” Without warning a man suddenly appeared before the mouth of the passage, and stood star- ing at him b'ankly! Our hero’s wits were never wool-gathering. Taken by surprise, he instantly conceived the only plan that would protect him from be- trayal. Like a flash his revolver flew up so as to cover a spot directly between the outlaw’s eyes; and with the other hand he beckoned to him. The man turned pale, realized his situation, Little Leather-Breeches. and without uttering a sound to attract the at- | for him to attempt to find and rescue Belle and tention of his comrades, advanced to the corri- dor. Little Leather-Breeches retreated backward, keeping his weapon trained on his victim; and the other followed him, step for step. So they reached an angle, passing which they would be in darkness. Our hero knew that in such a situation he would lose the advantage he held as long as his mark was visible; so he passed cut of sight, but | in a whisper commanded the other to halt, when he had come so close that he could almost have reached him with his extended hand. ‘* ve got you, you arch villain!” he whisper- od: “‘andif you utter a sound, Ill blow your brains out, as you deserve, but that it would be , cheating Judge Lynch! A pretty leader of road- agents you are! All you want is to get Little Leather-Breeches into your den! Well, you’ve got him; or rather he’s got you! Put your weapons on the ground; but be careful not to try to get in a snap-shot on me, when you get ready to shoot, 1 may not be just where you expect to find me, as you cannot see me, though I can see you. And if you were to make a mistake, you would never have a chance to retrieve it in this world!” White to the lips, the outlaw captain drew his revolver and laid it on the ground at his feet, without a word, He knew when he was ‘‘ down.” Having seen his bowie placed beside it, Little Leather-Breeches lighted a candle, and then ci | commanded his captive to pass him and walk on in advance. The discomfited villain did as he was bid, still without a word, They had proceeded but a few paces further, when our hero discovered that what would have proved an advantage had the disappearance of the captain passed unnoticed, was destined to prove a mistake. Voices were heard calling from the chamber they had just left. ‘* Hallo. Cap! where have you gone to? What are you doin’ in thar in the dark?” With the quickness of light Little Leather- Breeches sprung forward, ‘* Tell them that it is all right, and that you don’t want to be interfered with!” he whispered, holding his revolver in unpleasant proximity to the captain’s temple. “Tt’s all right, boys!” called the captain. tend to mine.” But even as he spoke a flood of light came down the passage; and at the angle where our hero had compelled the outlaw captain to dis- arm himseif appeared a group of his followers, one of them bearing a flaming torch. Instantly Little Leather-Breeches blew out his candle, But the precaution was ineffectual. The ruddy light from the torch brought him and his captive out in bold relief against the black background of rayless space beyond. At a glance the whole situation was revealed to the astonished rogues. ‘‘ Wal, I swear!’ cried one, with an oath, ‘‘ef that’s what you call all right, I should like to see something that was all wrong!” ‘* Crowd against the wall and let me pass you; or you are a dead man!’ fairly hissed Little Leather-Breeches. And so terrible was the intensity of his men- ace that the man whom he held in his power sprung aside. Little Leather-Breeches flashed by, and so es- caped the danger of getting a shot in the back. Now he was able to face his enemies; and still holding their chief under cover, he cried: ‘‘ Now, men, it must be plain to you that I have your captain. There are enough of you to make mince-meat of me in short order; but you can’t do it intime to prevent me from laying him out, ‘And you, sir!”—to the captain—‘ recom- mend discretion to your men, if you value your life.” ‘* What do you wish me to do?” asked the out- law, to gain time to think up some way of out- witting the boy who had trapped him so clever- ly. Mu Order your men back into the chamber where I came upon you.” ‘‘ And what do you propose to do with me?” During the moment that had passed since the outlaws came upon him, Little Leather-Breeches had entirely changed his plans. With the necessity of guarding his captive every instant, and exposed to ambush. by the outlaws in a cavern the windings of which he knew nothing about, while they might know all about them, he knew that it would be hopeless a temember, | ee ee ee _—--_—- — — ——_ -_—- —— -—= —e take her safely to the outer world. But now that he could face all the world and prove her innocence, he had but to effect his own escape to command the whole force of the vil- lage to return and search for her. So he answered without hesitation: ‘*T propose to march you out past all of your men, and carry you a prisoner to town!” ‘* And do you fancy that I will prefer the cer- tainty of hanging to the chance of being fatally shot here?’ ‘No. You will count upon the chance of es- caping me somewhere in the passage through your men or after we have left the cave.” ‘* You are very shrewd.” ‘‘1 am also getting impatient!” The captain of the outlaws understood this hint; but just as he was about to turn to his men and give them the required order, Little Leather-Breeches saw his face suddenly lighten, as he glanced past our hero in the direction op- posite to that where his men stood. At the same time, a low ejaculation escaped from some of the men; and their captain’s eager look was reflected on their faces. Like a flash Little Leather-Breeches whirled round, and saw at his back a man whose blank look of bewilderment showed that he had just made his appearance at that end of the corridor, and was at a loss what to make of the scene be- fore him. Little Leather-Breeches recognized in him a crony of Hank Drake’s; besides, the evident pleasure with which the outlaws had hailed his appearance was sufficient proof that he was one of them. It was plain, then, that the lad stood between two fires; and only the promptest action could save him from capture, if not death. He saw his one chance, and leaped for it with- out an instant’s delay. With a lightning snap-shot he senta bullet into the brain of the last intruder, and springing to- ward him, snatched the torch out of his hand before it fell to the ground. Then he turned, to receive the captam of the outlaws with an equally effective bullet, if he found him in the act of trying to leap upon him; but that worthy knew too well the wonderful activity of the boy he had to deal with to try to capture him empty-handed. Instead, he bound- ed toward his men, shouting: ‘* A revolver! a revolver! ver!” They rushed forward with vindictive yells: and, knowing that he could not cope with them, Little Leather-Breeches sprung away, now forced to trust to his star of destiny. The windings of the passages gave them little opportunity to fire at him, though they im- proved what there was of it. He ran what seemed to him a mile, without the faintest idea of direction or anything save that certain death was behind him, whatever might lie before, when suddenly he ran into a small chamber, which was nothing more than a swell in the passage, and discovered that it con- tained a lot of open powder-kegs, which to his hurried glance seemed to be full of the com- bustible. His thought was that, by a circuitous route, he had come back to the outlaws’ retreat, and that escape lay just beyond. What then was his dismay to see some one rushing toward him with a blazing torch held above her head! But before he had lifted his revolver with that fatal aim which would have carried swift death to any one opposing his progress, he dis- covered that it was not an outlaw, but the witch to whose malice he owed his imprison- ment. She glared at him with a wild shriek of fury, and it seemed to be her purpose to thrust her torch into his face. However he had no time to bother with an old beldam, besides that at the same instant he caught sight of something on beyond that sent his heart into his mouth with mingled delight and terror; and deftly dodging her, he kept on, while she continued toward the chamber con- taining the powder. His pursuers reached the other entrance to this fatal chamber in time to see what it con- tained, and to divine the purpose of the insane creature who thus held their lives at the merey of any whim that might cross her distraught fancy. ‘Ye shall not Give me a revol- ‘“‘ Back! back!” she shrieked. desecrate the temple of the god!” She waved the torch over her head until it seemed impossible that no dropping spark should fall into one of the open kegs, } chooks.com