Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 481 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

—— + OO ‘Why, don’t you suppose that he has already been caught, as you say?” ' ]T reckon not; or the boys would set up a yell over him.” ‘*We seem to be hopelessly at cross-purposes somehow,” suid Edith, to whom everything that Jim said sounded contradictory. ‘‘ What do you imagine has become of the boy?” ‘**T allow he’s cut his lucky. He’s assly asa *possum; an’ maybe he’ll git cl’ar off. It ain’t very likely, though. He’s too easy to spot.” dith was in despair. All of this was more and more unintelligible. ‘*T hope that you, at least, will make some ef- fort to find him,” she said. -‘‘ If the men are so malicious as to refuse to aid you, you may pro- mise them any reasonable reward from me. After saving him from the hoodlums of San Francisco, I don’t want to fetch him to greater harm.” ‘* But, ma’am,” cried Jim, scratching his head in bewilderment, ‘‘ ef they clap onto him, theyll string him up out of hand!” **Hang him? What for?” ** Fur saltin’ the boss.” “For what?” ‘Fur killin’ Mr. Swayne.” ; ‘‘Oh, monstrous!” cried the girl, aghast. ** Who has carried his prejudice to the extent of bringing so absurd a charge? Why, he is only a child.” ‘** He’s had a bad eye on the boss ever sence he larruped him—ef you'll let me say so, ma’am.” But before he could explain the evidence against Little Ah Sin, a great hubbub rose at the stables. The savage intonation showed that the men were in a rage. “Come!” cried Edith, catching hold of Jim’s arm. ‘‘He must be saved from their ruthless persecution.” And she ran out of the house at the top of her speed, CHAPTER IX, ‘SIN A FIX.” LittLe Ad SIN had a boy’s natural desire to be at the ‘‘ doin’s,” but Edith had thought that in so rollicking an assemblage it would be im- gees to protect him from persecution; and he ad yielded to her judgment with Oriental do- cility. However, his curiosity was agog; and he waited for the first souhd that would indicate the return of the revelers. Hearing Jack Swayne ride up, he peered forth from his place in the stables, not caring to go out and run the risk of being caught prying by the stern master of the ranch. The horrified cry of Abednego Swayne, fol- lowed by his wife’s scream, and the headlong exit of the scapegrace son, goaded Little Ah Sin to a frenzy of excitement. ‘* Hi! that some man makee bobbery ‘long that house!” hecried. ‘‘ S’pose one teem catchee killum!” And with the fear of at least an attempt at robbery followed by violence of some sort, he slipped out of the stables and crept toward the house. Not a sound came forth. It was possible that pee: intruder had left every one dead behind The door stood wide open, On the alert to spring to cover at the slightest sound, Little h Sin made a wide detour to get where he could see within from a distance, without get- ting in the bar of light that streamed out into the meet He discovered the figure of Mrs. Swayne ly- ing prone on the floor; but her husband lay in the corner, out of his range of vision. ‘Hi! that what thing catchee that mississee?” he cried. And his fear for her overcoming his dread of her husband, he made his way toward the house, yet cautiously, so that he could escape if the man who had used him so cruelly proved to be astir. He reached the door and peeped in, without any sign of Abednego Swayne, — ith an ejaculation of anxicty he stepped across the threshold, when a moan from close at hand thrilled him like an electric shock, He turned quickly, and sew the master of the ranch sitting with his back against the wall, staring at him with a wild, haggard look that made him more terrible than ever before. Little Ah Sin’s jaw dropped. He could not stir a step to save his life. Abednego Swayne had not lost consciousness, It was the horror of the attempt on his life by his own son that had unnerved hi , eee ees Little Ah Sin. : om shock left him dazed, like a groggy pugi- st. ‘Come here!” hecommanded, in his most se- pulchral voice. As one under the sway of a mesmerist, Little Ah Sin advanced step by step. He saw fhe blood, the death-like pallor. They were as terrible to him as toany child. They invested the wounded man with something of that horror which superstition attaches to the dead and to supposed supernatural beings. The little Celestial conceived of him as a ghoul who sat there waiting to clutch him, and to fold pe 7 an embrace which would smear him with ood! es a ie & Once alone, Abednego Swayne turned his oughts inward, and from that moment forgot. Little Ah Sin’s very existence. He fell upon his knees on the verge of the recipice, and lifting his face and stretching his ands toward heaven, cried: ‘Look down upon me, the vilest of sinners, oh, God! and from thine abode of light cast one ray of hope across my darkness! Here I dedi- cate what remains of my miserable existence to penitence without ceasing! Not my rags of righteousness, oh, Lord! but accept thou my sorrows, my despair be He rose, and with his eyes on the ground made his way up the gorge, going almost direct- Step by step he drew near, quaking from head | ly away from his home. to foot, half dead with fear. Wai, Abednego Swayne meditated no harm to m. ‘‘ Help me up,” he said, in a decidedly practi- cal way, extending his hand. But to the terrified little Celestial the words were scarcely intelligible. He stopped. and stared. The man had to catch hold of him, and drag himself to his feet. A moment he stood dizzily, clinging to his uaking support. Then he opened his coat and shirt, and examined his wound. He felt it and moved his body about, his face showing that the last Was not without: pain. But whatever the precise character of his wound, he concluded that it was not mortal. ‘The hand of Heaven imterposed once more!” he muttered. ‘A long-suffering God vouch- safes to him yet another hour of grace. I thank Thee, ob Father!” —_— | The rocky character of the way would enable him to go for miles, if he wished, without leav- ing a sign by which he could be traced. fe was bareheaded, and without a morsel of food or the means of procuring any, and so went out into the wilderness to do penance, like a her- mit of the Middle Ages, Little Ah Sin crept after him for a long dis- tance, until assured he was going into the very heart of the mountains, and then hastened back, that he might be in his place when the master was missed. But the unexpectedly early return of the re- velers was fatal to his purpose. He heard them even before he got in sight of the house; and run as he might, they had ar- rived and the stable-yard was flooded with the light of their torches before he could slip into se- curity. When the torches were thrown down and extin- guished, he hoped to run the gantlet in safety; He looked at his wife, yet with no outward | but, alas! some of the unlucky fellows,who found appearance of tenderness or anxiety. ‘** The curse will never lift from her while we two abide under the same roof,” he muttered, abstractedly. ‘‘If I could but make acceptable atonement alone, the scourge. might fall upon her less heavily. He stood for some time in deep thought. Presently he roused. ‘*Tt must be done at once, if at all,” he said. ‘*God bless my effort, andaceept it!” To Little Ah Sin he then anid: ‘*Go tothe stables and get a sack of oats, Fetch it on your shoulders. Do you hear? Do nee set it on the ground once between there and ere, Little Ah Sin obeyed wonderingly. Abednego Swayne took a last look about on the scene of his domestic associations, and then said: ‘* Come!” He made Little Ah Sin follow, dragging the sack after him. This of course obliterated their footsteps, except where here and there Little Ah Sin stepped aside from the track, Reaching the mountain run, the sack was thrown into the vectde ins Little Ah Sin looked on in wonder. He could not guess the purpose of so odd a proceeding. ** Kneel!” commanded his stern master. And he forced the trembling lad upon his knees, ‘* Swear that you will never tell to living man what has been done here—that you will not let it be known that you know anything about what has become of me!” ‘‘ No makee talkee!” gasped Little Ah Sin. Seizing him by both shoulders, Abednego Swayne bent down so as to bring his face close to that of his quaking little victim. % ‘If you do,” he said, in slow, fierce tones, look out for me! I know how to punish a traitor!” “* No makee talkee!” again quavered Little Ah in. ‘‘ Go back to the stables; and when the people rags let them find you in bed and asleep. o! It did not occur to Abednego Swayne that he was commanding duplicity—that to secure his ends through the deception of another was the same in principle as lying himself. As for Little Ah Sin, he was glad to get off on any terms. However, his curiosity was so keen as to over- come his fear, once he was free of his master’s clutch. He reflected that he had plenty of time to get back to the stables before the dancers returned; and in the darkness he could spy upon the gloomy fanatic, and find out what really be- came of him, with little danger of detection. With the subtlety of an Indian, therefore, he no sooner got out of the sight and hearing of the other than he doubled upon his track and returned to where he could watch his further proceedings, * ps eo a? . 22 eee Sa I | | — eee aoe Ue no pleasure in watching coquetry in which they themselves had no share, went directly to the stables, where they would inevitably have de- tected him endeavoring to enter. He waited for some lucky chance in his favor, in momentary expectation of the commotion which would announce the discovery of signs of vio- lence in the house, His one hope now was that those at the stables. would run to the house to see what was the mat- ter, and thus give him his opportunity. That he might slip out of his clothes and into bed without an instant’s delay, he loosened ev- erything. Once between thé blankets, he would look at. his inquisitors with such bland innocence that the most skeptical would believe that he had been sound aaleor since sundown! But the chance was not afforded him until the searchers went to the whirlpool, following the trail of the dragged sack. Then he whisked into the stables and into bed. like a shadow. But, alas! it was now too late. In the excite- ment and anxiety of his sore strait, it did not occur to him that he had probably been looked for. He was not old enough to be able to weigh all the chances of a situation. So, returning from the whirlpool, the men found him where they had looked for him in vain not twenty minutes before. ‘‘ By the livin’ Jingo!” cried the fellow who first discovered him. ‘* What’s the row?” asked another. ‘‘Come hyar an’ see! Blow me tight ef this hyar don’t beat the old feller himself!” Their curiosity thus piqued, several ran to the spot. There lay Little Ah Sin, to all outward ap- pearances sleeping as sweetly as any baby! The men held the lanterns above their heads and stared at him. Not an eyelid quivered! ‘¢ Waal, I sw’ar!” muttered one of them, ‘‘ Ain’t he a beauty?’ asked another. ‘‘He’s slid in hyar sence we war hyar after him.” ** You bet!” ‘* An’ he’s playin’ possum on us now,” ‘¢ He ain’t doin’ nothin’ else!” ‘* He’s a good one, I'll swear!” ** Ain’t he!” ; The speaker lowered his lantern close to Little Ah Sin’s face. The boy moved uneasily, as a disturbed sleeper; caught his breath, and sneezed; and thereupon his eyes flew wide open, as if he had been roused by the violence of the paroxysm. In the most natural manner imaginable he started up to a sitting i batting his eyes. as if ney were dazzled by the light, and throw- ing up his hands as if to ward off one of those playful assaults with which he had been waken- ed not ery before, ‘‘ Hi yeh! that b’long what thing you makee ‘long mi? More better you makee sleepee ‘long,