Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 481 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 ‘‘ Let me pick her up, ma’am,” said Jim Steb- bins, kneeling beside Edith. « Gently! gently!” said the girl, sobbing with nervous excitement. **PDon’t take on,” said Jim, soothingly. ‘‘I reckon it ain’t nothin’ serious. I’ve seen my mother took this way.” He gathered the woman up in his strong arms without apparent effort, as tenderly as if she had been his sweetheart. Even in that moment Edith felt that here was a true gentleman. If his speech was not the most elegant, his feelings were fine. He had a true respect for womanhood, ‘‘This way,” she said, leading toward Mrs. Swayne’s room. It was unoccupied. ‘Where can Mr. Swayne be?” she asked, as Jim was placing his burden on the bed. She was answered by a cry from the other room, One of the men shouted excitedly: ** Good God! what’s this?” Then came shrill screams from the women, ‘*Tt is blood—a pool of blood!” cried one of them. ‘Oh! merciful Father! they’ve been mur- dering each other! I always said they’d come to it, sooner or later.” ‘‘Take me out!” gasped one, as if on the point of fainting. Edith started up from bending over Mrs. Swayne with efforts to resuscitate her. She was as paleasalily. Her eyes grew dark with an awful dread. In the midst of the Babel there was a patter of fect, and a whimpering voice called: ** Edie! Edie!” It was little Jerusha. ° Since the tragedy which had filled the house with terrifying sounds, she had lain quaking with her head under the bed-clothes not daring to call to her parents for assurance that all was right. Edith ran to meet her half-way down the stairs, and putting her arms about her, led her back to bed. She had quickly passed her handkerchief over her face eas hieaah away her frightened tears; but she could not calm the quivering of her nerves, nor relieve the ghastly pallor of her face at will. ‘“What is the matter?” asked the child, not blinded to her agitation by her brave effort to appear calm, “T can’t tell you now, dear,” she replied. ‘But stay here in bed, like a good little girl, until I come back to you.” So habituated was the child to unquestioning obedience, that she lay still, only listening with all her ears, struggling to suppress her sobs of fear. Edith returned to the ‘* best room.” There she was horrified to find a pool of dark blood, and close beside it the impress of a bloody hand, She turned sick and faint, but with a heroic effort collected her faculties. Whatever had happened, it was a time for action, not weakness; and with less finely tem- pered natures giving way all about her—the men in confusion and the woman in hysterics— she proved her metal. Jim Stebbins had already assumed supervision of the work that devolved upon the men. ‘‘Come! brace up, boys!” he said, ‘* Light up them torches again. We can’t do anything without seeing what we’re about.” The torches, which had been thrown into a heap, were hastily relighted, and the search for clews to the tragedy began. ‘‘Thar’s the heathen,” suggested one. ‘‘ He ought to know somethin’ about this hyar buzi- ness,”’ ‘“That’s so. But look sharp! to take these blazin’ things to the stables. him up in the dark, an’ git a lantern.” Several went, but they called Little Ah Sinin vain. ‘‘ He ain’t thar, pard,” was the report made to Jim Stebbins. ‘‘ They’ve gobbled him up, too, whoever they be.” ‘‘That’s queer,” said Jim, puzzled, ‘‘ They didn’t touch little "Rusha.” ‘No more they did. Isay, Jim!” The speaker suddenly ; ut on a mysterious ex- pression, as if a startling thought had just oc- curred to him. ‘* Waal?’ asked Stebbins. The other drew him aside, and said, in a low tone, so that the rest might not hear: ‘*? don’t want to stamp onto nobody what’s already under foot, ef so be he’s allright. But You don’t want Rout * - ara ou : or . : ‘ , * Ager pX _- ‘ ot, a « ; ps :_~-* i. ke Y al ae ‘ Little Ah Sin. ome hyar’s a queer go, one way 0’ lookin’ at it, e 9”? ‘‘What way o’ lookin’ at it?’ asked Jim. ‘‘ Why, the heathen, ye know.” ‘Waal, what about him?” ‘* Suppose he’s seen his chance to come back at the ole man, an’ boosted him up to glory?” Jim Stebbins started. The suggestion was possible, if not probable. But he at once associated Little Ah Sin with Edith. Besides, he had promised to stand by him. So Le xrenelled the insinuation. ‘*Go put yer head to soak! What! he? You might as well ask if leetle ’Rusha hadn’t had a hand in it!” ‘**Not quite, pard. The gal hain’t his sleight with a toad-sticker. An’ maybe you're furgit- tin’ the yarn about his standin’ off the road- agent. tell ye, thar’s more o’ tho devil in his yaller skin than you give him credit fur.” “Why, hang it all! the old man would break him in two!” ‘Ef he didn’t git him foul—maybe so. An’ what do you say ef the deacon tried to whale some more religion into him while Lady Edith was out o’ the way?” **'You keep yer mouth shut!” said Jim, witha brooding frown. ‘‘ We’ll find some evidence ag’in’ the kid before we open on him, ef you please.” And he walked back toward the house. But the herder did the very reverse of keeping his mouth shut. He had an idea, and the more he thought of it the more likely it seemed to him that it was the true solution of the situa- tion, . He resolved to secure the credit of it by pub- lishing it before it occurred to some one e!se. The first hint was like a spark in dry prairie grass. Everybody accepted it at once with convic- tion. Meanwhile Edith had the women flying about, getting vinegar and brown paper, and other remedies, to resuscitate Mrs. Swayne. ‘Has the misses come to?’ asked Jim, anx- iously. ‘‘One word from her may save a heap of time.” ** Not yet,” replied Edith. a terrible shock.” ‘* Maybe leetle ’Rusha can tell us somethin’!” ‘‘T am sure that she knows nothing. What- ever happened, she must have been afraid to come down until she heard us.” ‘*Thar’s nothin’ fur it but a blind hunt, then. Ef the misses comes round, send us word.” And he went out again. He was met by a confused ryin whic ‘* She has received oup of men hur- forward, one of them having something all were trying to get a look at, and all talking at once. ** 'What’s the row?” he demanded. ‘* What do you make o’ this hyar, Cap?” And a bloody knife was handed to him. It was clearly distinguishable from the straight-bladed bowies in common use, ‘** Nobody but the Pagan carries such a rib- tickler as that,” said one of the men. ‘Whar did you find it?” asked Jim. ‘* Over yon, in the dirt, whar he throwed it.” ‘* Hold on!” persisted Jim. ‘' You don’t know that he throwed it,” ‘Waal, that thar ain’t all. Maybe you won’t stand out so stout fur ’im after you’ve seen the rest, ** What rest?” ‘* Come an’ look fur yerself, an’ see what you make of it.” With nods of the head and denunciatory mut- terings, the crowd showed their conviction that appearances told against Little Ah Sin. ‘We've cut it all up, jest about the door, with our hosses’ hoofs,” said the accuser. ‘‘ But ye kin make it out clean up to the sill, when ye know what to look fur. Come this hyar way; an’ we'll trail it back.” Jim Stebbins was led to where there were traces of some heavy body having been drag- ged over the ground, its passage being clearly marked in the dust of the borseway. Without difficulty this could¢be followed Hack to the threshold. ‘* Waal?’ asked the man who had already put his own interpretation on this appearance. ‘Tt does look as if somebody had been drag- ed over hyar,” admitted Jim. ‘“ Let’s follow itup. That’s the only way to make anything out of it.” ‘*That’s the last of the old man! me ?” This was‘spoken with so deep conviction that the men shuddered. ‘*'What’s become of him?’ asked one of them, to draw out the answer that all anticipated. Ye hyear ee OE -_-- ‘** You trail that home, an’ see,” was the eva- Sive reply. No one pressed the speaker further; they essed his meaning. ‘*Look sharp, boys,” suggested one. ‘‘ We may find somethin’ by the way.” , holding their torches close to the ground, they followed the trail, on the alert for signifi- cant signs, ‘* Thar you have it,” cried one. ‘‘ Blood!” ** An’ hyar’s more o’ the same.” ‘* That’s whar he stopped to rest.” ‘* Thin as he was, the old man was some of a load fur a eh to tote, ye onderstand?” All accepted this explanation of the signs. It was confirmed a moment later. “Eh! What’s this hyar? Don’t tramp it out! What more do ye want than that, I'd like to know?” ‘*The Pagan’s spoor, by Judas!” It was undoubtedly an imprint of Little Ah Sin’s junk shoe. ‘**Do you mind, boys?’ cried an observant one. ‘‘Hyar’s more, an’ half rubbed out. That means that he was draggin’ the body after him.” A deep groan of rage went from lip to lip. These discoveries were made only on the most favorable ground, As the way became more and more rocky, it was more difficult to find traces, But all guessed whither it was leading; so they passed rapidly over spots where no signs were visible, and picked up the trail again fur- ther on. So they came to the verge of a gorge in the bottom of which ran a rapid mountain tor- rent. “Thar’s whar he dumped him!” said Little Ah Sin’s accuser, ‘‘In the Devil’s Stirabout!” said another, with a shudder. At the point where they stood the bank of the run was precipitous. The waters ran chill and black twenty feet below. Stooping and holding their torches close, the men examined the rocks, ‘* Set yer peepers on that thar!” said one, in a low, hoarse voice. It was a dark blur on the rock. The men shuddered and drew back. In silence they moved further down the run, soon reaching a point where it ended abruptly, the water sucking down into the ground in a whirlpool. ew minutes they looked at it gloomily. The sullen swirl had no tale to teli intelligible to human ears. In silence they returned to the house. ‘‘Has the misses come round?’ asked Jim again. “Yes,” said Edith— at last.” ‘* An’ what does she say?” ‘*T can’t get an answer out of her. She is in a terrible state. She only lies and moans, and keeps crying out the most awful prayers!” e girl shuddered with the recollection of the scene she had just passed through. ‘‘It won’t matter,” said Jim. ‘‘We don’t need nothin’ out o’ her.” ‘* What have you discovered?” asked Edith, breathlessly. ‘‘ That the boss is done fur, fur good an’ all.” ‘You have found the—the—” ‘*Body? No. Nobody will ever see any more o’ that. It’s gone down the Devil’s Stirabout!” ‘Oh, no! no!” ‘*T wish it wasn’t.” ‘* And Little Ah Sin?” ‘**'Thar’s a loud call fur him. don’t git him,” “That they won’t get him?’ repeated Edith, her eyes opening with surprise; for she had as yet heard nothing of the suspicion against her protege. Supposing that Little Ah Sin had been made away with in like manner as her guardian, it seemed to her that Jim was expressing the wish that he would not be rescued, ‘‘ Surely,” she added, with a pained look of reproach, “you are net so prejudiced against him as to wish him to come to harm?’ ‘*T, ma’am?” cried honest Jim, puzzled to fird himself so misunderstood, ‘* /’m wishin’ him luck, little as he desarves it.” ‘*I—I don’t—think—I understand you,” said Edith, hesitatingly. Jim flushed to the temples, thinking that she was Nag bye ae to his motive for befriending Little Ah Sin. ‘* It’s along o’ your havin’ a‘soft side fur him, ma’am, ye onderstand,” he explained. ‘* And for that reason you hope that he will not be rescued?” ‘Rescued, ma’am? I’m hopin’ he won't git ketched.” I hope the boys