Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 443 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

ee eee ee ee eS ee eee —y* - Deadwood Dick Jr. public, I resolved to kee track of the case, and | um, and in falling, came within an ace of being | have ever since, and also of you and Alice, be- lieving some day I would strike a bonanza. It was in this way I came to know so much about your other matters.” ‘** But about the child?” ; ‘‘ Well, armed with proofs of the child’s iden- tity, Phyllis Penrose, the nurse, with her child, wandered far and wide in search of Henry Hol- lis. Heaven only knows where they did not go. Finally, when the girl was twelve years old, Phyllis, who was a saving woman, and had amassed some wear Nae her protegee in a semi- nary in ’Frisco to educated, and continued her search alone. “The girl only remained in school two years, then ran away, and was lost all track of. Even Phyllis could not find her; butshe kept patiently on, and—” Here Potter paused ‘*Go on!” Frozen am interested.’ ** Are you?” ‘“You bet! Much you have told me is news.” - “Indeed! Well, Phyllis Penrose arrived in Bummer’s Bar by stage to-night.” ‘+ Phew!” ‘‘T tell you, I’m hot on a trail. And if I am not mistaken, her former protegee, Rolla Hollis, came in on the same stage, and is now enjoying a voyage down Reese river, in company with Richard Bristol, alias Deadwood Dick Jr.” ‘“(ood God! Not California Kit?” “You bet!” ‘“ What makes you think so?” “ A discovery. In dragging the girl to the raft, her sleeve became pulled above her elbow, exposing her bare arm. As she lay upon the raft, her sleeve still remained up. As the raft moved off, I was close to the water’s edge. You remember the vivid flash of lightning. My gaze went then intuitively to the girl's bare arm. and what do you suppose I saw?” ‘s How should 1 know?” “T saw a crimson crescent upon that arm, of about the size a quarter-dollar would cover— saw it as plain as I see you now.” ‘¢ Ha! and the boy bade us beware of the sign of the Crimson Crescent!” ‘Yes; but 1 hold that as a coincidence; he, too, may know of the mark, and used it as his ‘Bill cried, excitedly. “I emblem, But the crescent has a far greater significance.” ‘What? Ha! Iremember!” and Budd Bris- tol sprung to his feet excitedly. ‘‘ Upon the arm of Henry Hollis’s child was a birth-mark in the shape of a vivid crimson crescent!” ** Just so!” ‘‘Good Heaven! Then there can be no doubt but what the girl boxer is really Hollis’s child!” ‘“Or was, rather, for I’ve misgivings she is drowned ere this. If so,all my long trail of searching and scheming is baffled, when I had begun to hope I was on the road to a fortune.” ‘* How do you mean?” “Til explain. It has been only a few months _.. Figeethat I discovered the whereabouts of Hen- att and o> 7 a | ry Hollis.” ‘* The deuce you say!” “No; Henry Hollis.” “Where?” ‘* Right here in Bummer’s Bar,” ‘** Great Julius Cesar!” ‘* No; Henry Hollis.” “* Still poor?” . ‘“‘Nixee. Worth half a million, if a cent. ‘You saw him to-night.” as No?” ‘“T say you did. The man called David Hy- Henry Hollis, formerly of Boston, are one and the same person.” Frozen Bill fairly gasped with astonishment, and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘‘By thunder! I believe you are right,” he said. ‘““T know I am right!” Potter replied, confi- dently. ‘‘I have satisfied myself beyond a doubt on that point. And now, can you stand another astonisher?” “Yes; fling ahead.” = +i ‘Well, sir, Hyatt, or Hollis, is married, and ais wife is Mrs. Alice Anna Paulding-Bristol- ‘Potter-Hollis!” CHAPTER IX. . A NIGHT OF TERROR. Away down the canyon, as the furious river ran between the mighty mountain walls, tore the frail raft that was the only thing between the two prisoners and a watery grave. As the fat, airent around the bend with a sudden lurch, immediately after Deadwood Dick, Jr., had uttered his curse upon the camp, the young Avenger was jerked off his equilibri- a ‘ * € - - . a. J of "Qt fh 1 ts " a one ~ toby b anit ar) V4 ’ ‘% be = 4 ,™= ~~ 7 - - r= Fal ee) we * * “ rr pitched into the foaming torrent. He caught himself in the nick of time, how- ever, and dropped on the, middle of the raft, close beside California Kit. Me then found that the bonds encircling his wrists were loosening by stretching and straining, sothat it took him but a minute to free his hands. At once he drew a knife from his pocket and cut the bonds about his feet, and quickly freed Kit’s bonds. Both were free! ‘“There! We've at least so much advantage,” he said. ‘* Yes, and if worst comes to worst, we'll go down together, Dick!” she said, encircling his waist with her arm. ‘* Right. you are!” he replied. ‘I'll not de- sert you, even to save myself, Kittie. But, let’s not think of giving up the ghost yet awhile, for our craft behaves herself quite well. The only trouble to be feared, I think, is in rounding some of the bends. The raft may then go crash- ing against some of the rocks. However, let us hope for the best.” o they clung together, and were borne on, on through the terrible night, which seemed to them more like some hideous nightmare than stern reality. ? The rain poured down in steady drenching tor- rents, and the lightning flashed luridly, making a weird and awe-inspiring display, answered by the thunder crash and boom. The thunder and the river, indeed, seemed trying to outdo each other in adding to the din. The raft kept nearly to the middle of the stream, but rocked and pitched, fearfully, and the ropes that held the thing together. threaten- ed to part at any moment under the strain. On! on! on! flew the raft, upon the bosom of the torrent, which seemed to gather volume and increased speed at every rod of its noisy course between the frowning mountain walls. ‘ Kit!” Dick said, as the girl clung to him, ‘this raft ain’t going to hold together long. The ropes are giving ’way, I think.” “ Oh! Dick!” ‘‘T hate to alarm you, my friend, but there is no use of concealing the truth. There is no tel- ling what minute we may be buried in the seeth- ing waters, and be rudely separated. us be prepared. When this raft goes to pieces we may both be drowned, or only one of us, or again, mayhap neither of us. In either case, Kit, remember that you have won the love of Dick Bristol! Strange fate, and stranger cir- cumstances have thrown us together, and this has caused a stronger feeling to take root in my heart, than merely ordinary friendship.” ‘‘Oh! Dick, I am so glad to hear you say those words, for you utter my own feelings, be- lieve me! I love you, and here, midst all this eril, I am only too glad to tell you so. Oh! Dick! Dick! if we could only escape!” | And she threw her wit pe eg a about his neck, and their lips met in the first kiss of love’s young dream, For a moment neither spoke; then Dick said: ‘If we both escape, my little love, we may still become separated in this gloom. If you es- cape, go back to Bummer’s Bar, and rejoin your friend Monte. If I escape, I will then know where to look for you. If Ido not escape, and you never see me again—” ‘‘T will avenge you!” Kit cried, earnestly, ‘‘and your words to the men of Bummer’s Bar to-night shall be fulfilled.” ‘‘Bravo! And should I escape, and you not, I will avenge you, my darling, and make the name of the New Deadwood Dick such a terror in the camp, that every man will quake with very fear, when he hears it. To this I swear, and seal the oath with a kiss!” And, as he suited action to the word, there came a fearful crash of thunder; there was a grinding noise under the raft; the timbers sud- denly parted, letting the young lovers into the foaming vortex of angry waters. they went down, Dick’s left arm was clasped about Kittie’s waist, and when they came up, they were struck and thumped with the de- bris of the wreck. Nerved to desperation, however, Dick struck out manfully for the shore, pushing aside tim- bers and propelling himself with his right arm. By superhuman exertion he managed to keep his and Kit’s head above water, and at last his hand touched shore, and ing the rocky edge, he found he could touch bottom. It was not until he was nearly strangled that he succeeded in getting Kit upon land, for she was now ‘limp and apparently lifeless; then he drew himself out of the water. , ae cee as was his anxiety about the girl, he was obliged to rest a moment before he could So let + 11 aa move to see what ailed her, so exhausted was he, They had got ashore on the same side of the stream that Bummer’s Bar was located on, and were now in the narrow stage-trail. At last Dick got his breath, and crawled over ‘* Mv God! she is cold and motionless!” he gasped, ‘‘and has no pulse. No, nor dots her cosy beat. Oh, Kit! Kit! have I lost you, He waited until a lightning flash gave him a aoe to examine her, for the darkness was in- nse. The flash—a long, vivid glare—soon came, and he made the discovery of a slight bruise upon her ae not enough to abrade the skin os still, perhaps, a blow hard enough to kill er. There was also a wound on the top of her head which was bleeding freely. ‘* Great Father! she is dead!” Dick cried, kiss- ing the white but beautiful face, with tears run- ning down his cheeks, ‘* And I have now two debts of vengeance to settle instead of one. Ay? and no time must be lost. *Tis less than an hour since I left Bummer’s Bar, and they will not. expect me back. But Dll go back, send Old Monte to watch over the girl, and strike my first blow to-night!” , Raising the limp form in his arms, he set out at a rapid stride toward the camp. A nalf-hour’s rapid walk and he was upon the bar. There were but few lights burning, as he skulked through the camp to the rear of the bar, where Ubere were many acres of land not yet. built up. It was still raining, and no one was abroad. He at length found a tool-house, near the ore- mill, which was open. There he tenderly laid poor Kittie upon a bench, and after kissing her cold lips repeatedly, took bis departure. ‘* Now, then, for vengeance!” he cried, as he strode toward the Daisy Saloon. “ They shalt know before they sleep to-night—these men of Bummer’s Bar—that tbe boy they started on the route to destruction has switched off and re- turned—that the junior Deadwood Dick is even as revengeful of injury as was his undaunted prodecestor. Ha! ha! David Hyatt, you could ave saved us but you wouldn't. Why net take you for my first victim, and then follow with Faul Potter and Frozen Bill? By that time the people will tremble at the Sign of the Crimsom + _ Crescent, I think! CHAPTER X, THE TWO FATHERS’ REVELATIONS. THE announcement of Paul Potter, caused Frozen Bill, alias Budd Bristol, even more as- tonishment than had the previous revelations. ‘* She here, and married to Henry Hollis?” he - jaculated. ‘*‘Why, that seems hardly credi- e,” “Tt’s a fact, just as hard, and don’t you for- get it. I know it to be so, for I have personally interviewed her ladyship. You see, Hollis, or Hyatt as we will call him, met her in Omaha, before he came here, and she meee her cards: so nicely that he married her. knew of the affair at the time, but they disappeared, and I didn’t get track of them until quite recently.” ‘‘Then, you came here?” — ‘Yes, I made bold to call upon her. She wasn’t over glad to see me, you know, but FE didn’t care so much about that. We talked over old times, and finally, as I was about to depart, I ventured to snatch a kiss or two,” and Potter laughed. “You rogue!” chuckled Bristol. begin to admire you.” “IT thought you would, as our acquaintance ripened. There is nothing one-horse about me. But, I haven't told you the best of it. Just as IT was snatching the kisses, you know, who should pop in but Hyatt, himself. Ha! ba! ha!” . ‘The deuce! Dll bet he was thunderstruck!’” ‘*] should say so. He demanded to know ‘*Really I what was the meaning of it, and Anna’s ready | wit got me out of it.” “ How?” \ “Oh! easy enough. You see, when Hyatt met, her she still bore my name. bet! Well, she just turned around, and told Davy that I was her brother, Paul, just from the city of Chicago, and had come West to t. work. The old man didn't believe it until I showed him some letters that had been sent to me in Chicago, a month before. Then he ac- cepted the situation for all it was worth, and 3 made me welcome. ‘‘ Anna buzzed him to give me ‘employment, aah and, although I really didn’t need work, he C Luck, you — books p _ 7 "1 Zs - re -“ & % - of a f |