Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 451 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 Then Burt commanded his men; ‘Raise her, boys! Stiddy, thar! ye! air ye tryin’ to spill ’em out?” For in their enthusiasm the boys had lifted too much on one side, so that Kate caught hold of her lover with a little shriek of dismay. The crowd laughed and chaffed the incautious bearers. ‘** You’re a healthy lot, you air! Why don’t you let that job out?” ‘*‘Maybe you’d like the contract!” retorted Billy Buncome. ‘Tl wouldn’t be found dead in sich a spavined an’ wind-galled crowd!” ‘*You’ve brung the leetle one’s gizzard into her mouth. Ireckon she wishes she was well out o’ that scrape.” Indeed, Colorado Kate clung to little Jingo, rceptibly pale and ill at ease, though she aughed. ‘* Now, go easy, an’ all together!” cried Burt, over his shoulder, out of patience with the want of concert in his men’s motions. ‘** Hay-foot! straw-foot!” shouted one of the crowd, by way of getting them in step. ‘‘Thar’s too many head bosses in this hyar crowd!” growied one of the bearers, as he changed step with an awkward shuffle. But they got all right at last, and then the **procesh” moved with ringing cheers and yells, and a wild swinging of hats and tossing of them into the air. CHAPTER XV. A SNARL FROM LIMPY DICK, NEVER was a more enthusiastic triumphal march than this. But one man in the camp re- fused to enter into the spirit of it, ‘s I - is needless to say that this churl was Limpy ick, ‘The blasted fools!” he growled below his breath, as he hobbled along on the outskirts of the crowd. ‘‘I reckon, now, that sorrel-top caloot allows he’s some, cocked up thar on the shoulders o’ them long-legged roosters!” But his lips quivered and his heart turned sick with the thought that it was Colorado Kate, the woman he coveted so madly, who was sharing with her whole heart in Little Jingo’s triumph. So they went out of the camp, up the gulch, to a new shanty which Charley had had built for the reception of his bride. ** We'll have it quiet an’ all to ourselves, out hyar,” he explained to her. ‘*The boys is all right—/fur boys! But when a galoot gits to be a family man, ye onderstand, why, then he wants somethin’ different. Havin’ a gang 0’ drunken snoozers a-yellin’ an’ shootin’ their wee- pons off at twelve o’clock at night right under is nose gits to be a leetle monotonous,” There was another reason too. Having aban- doned gambling, he was going to give his atten- tion to prospecting; and he thought he saw in- dications of gold in this direction. The retirement of the Undertaker from the Ace of Hearts, which Little Jingo had planned from the first, even if he had not been ‘‘ cleaned out” by the Squire, would now leave them to pursue their search together. With his wife and his pard, Little Jingo looked forward to a new life of happiness. Arrived at the shanty, Colorado Kate squeezed his hand and looked her appreciation of his thoughtful care. Everything was bright and new, and though the bare floors and equally bare walls, the clumsy pine chairs and table, and the bunks built against the wall, would have impressed one used to Eastern luxury as rather rude; yet it was by far the best furnished shanty in Canyon City, and struck every one who saw it that day as a marvel of neatness and comfort. But what ‘‘ took the eye” of the boys, and was a source of not a little pride to its future mistress, was the rough pine dresser which flanked the mud-daubed fireplace. On it were ranged, standing on their edges, with their bot- toms against the wall, a balf-dozea plates of blue and white delf. Before them stood an equal number of cups and saucers of the same ware. A lot of knives and forks,as bright as steel could be polished, teaspoons and tablespoons of pewter— but, there! if westop to enumerate the pots and kettles and other utensils that were snugly stored away in the bottom of this famous dresser, we shall be all the longer coming to the crowning glory of all—a broad, oval platter which reflected hack theadmiring faces pausing before it, broadened with smiles of wondering delight. ‘* Tin!” shouted one of the boys, carried away by his emotions. Waal, now, you bet yer sweet life my lord an’ my lady don’t gobble their Colorado | grub off o’ no sich dog-gone, low-lived metal Consarn | as that. ri i LL TTT eee SSS It’s chany ur nothin’ with ’em, by thunder!” ‘*'You’ll have a chance to sample the thing yerself, one o’ these fine days,” said Little Jingo, moved to hospitality by this indirect and wholly unintentional flattery. ‘*No! Sho! Waal, I sw’ar!” cried the de- lighted miner. And flinging his hat down upon the floor, he leaped into the air, struck his feet together thrice, and came down on it with a yell, ** Whoop!” And affecting to spit in the palm of his hand, he thrust it forward, and stood regarding his prospective entertainer with his mouth wide “ape making the pantomime of a boisterous augh, Little Jingo shook the proffered hand heartily, and then, with his hat cocked on the side of his head, and his hands on his hips, so as to throw his arms akimbo, the miner, affecting a gro- tesque strut, moved on, to give place to the next wondering spectator. So the shanty was inspected and commented on in a way most gratifying to Little Jingo, who had spared no pains to give the woman of his love a pleasant surprise, There was a happy tear in her eye and a tre- mor in her voice as she whispered to him: ‘* T’'d have gone to the old shanty, and never said a word.” ‘* But [’'d rather you’d come to this, and say a good many words!” he replied, with a twinkle in his eye, and pinching her, ** | shall—words that you'll like to hear!” she answered him, ‘ll stake my pile on that!” said Little Jingo. Then came the time to ‘*‘ stand up” before the ‘* sospel sharp,” and be ‘‘ hitched fur life.” Colorado Kate was dressed in white, and wore a wreath of wild flowers, in lieu of orange blos- soms. And she had a bridesmaid, too, dressed exactly like herself, barring the wreath. But who was to be Little Jingo’s ‘* best man?” It was Limpy Dick who asked, with his cyni- cal whine: ‘‘Whar’s the Undertaker? I allow he’s the man as ought to stand up with his pard. It’s mighty queer as he ain’t on hand at sich a time as this hyar.” The smile died away from Little Jingo’s face, and a slight flush of annoyance took its place, as he looked about, He had said nothing about it to the Under- taker. He had not thought it necessary, taking it for granted that his pard would expect to stand by him in this signal event of his life. But the Undertaker was unquestionably not at hand. Limpy Dick uttered a low: 6é H’m 197 And with a contraction of the eyes and a pe- culier, half-snearing smile, he turned his evil glance upon Colorado Kate’s face, so that, with- out knowing just why, she flamed scarlet, and demanded hotly: ‘* What do you mean, you—” But the angry, resentful words died on her lips, as she saw Little Jingo turn toward her, and lifting her eyes, met his glance. He had turned with surprise at heranger. He saw her grow suddenly pale. He looked from her to my Dick for an explanation, and en- countered that insinuating smile. A deathlike silence had fallen upon the com- any assembled. The men stared blankly, as ittle suspiciously as Charley himself; but the eyes of the women flashed with keen curiosity, as if they already began to scent some mystery. Little Jingo felt hurt at the desertion of his ard at such a time, and annoyed with Limpy ick for marring the pleasure of the occasion with his surly humor; but he resolved not to have his wedding spoiled by unpleasant mem- ories; and commanding his features, he said, lightly: ‘Waal, my pard’s a crooked stick—we all know that. But ef he don’t doto tie toina weddin’, he’ll back ye like a sack o’ wild-cats in a fight; an’ I reckon that thar’s somethin’.” And laughing, he turned to Burt Younger. ‘Burt, old man, you won't go back on me at this most tryin’? moment? I allow, ef the Un- dertaker’s wantin’ the cheek to face the ladies, you ain’t troubled in that way!” “Vou do me proud!” replied Younger, dof- fing his hat with a majestic sweep, and scrap- ing his foot on the floor, ‘ As fur the ladies, ef so be they kin stand it, I allow J kin!” And inthe general laugh that followed, the threatening cloud lifted. Then the knot was tied; and shortly after- ward the boys might haye been seen taking as- ae a ———— —_-—_- — i - _-~- -—— tronomical observations through long-necked bottles! It goes without saying that they were cheer- ful enough from that time on! Limpy Dick had witnessed the ceremony which made the woman he loved the wife of an- other, with an irresistible twitching of his white lips and a clinching of hishands. But he had not the heart to join in the merry-making. He slunk out of the house, and went away in- to the mountains, gnashing his teeth, and curs- ing his ill fortune. Far out in the craggy wilderness, he came up- on a man sitting on a bowlder, with his elbows on his knees and bis face in his bands, through the fingers of which trickled silent tears. The man of desolate sorrowing was the Un- dertaker, CHAPTER XVI. THE UNDERTAKER ‘*‘ TURNS UP.” Tr was not to be expected that the boys would get through such an occasion as Little Jingo’s wedding, with free whisky flowing like water, and all come off with whole skins. The fiddler got so *‘ boosy ” that he played jig tunes to waltz time. But the boys did not quarrel with that. They ‘“hoed it down,” each to his own fancy, and willingly granted Old Rosin-the-Bow the same freedom. But, unfortunately, there were not ladies enough to go round; and when two stogy-booted gallants fell by the ears over one coquette, Colo- rado Kate, to keep pcace on her wedding-day, had to carry off the most quarrelsome, who, in thus securing the belle of the ball, felt him- self more than paid for the loss of the other. But when a man’s skin is full of whisky, he has not far to go for a pretext to fight; so Little Jingo, too, had his hands full, settling the num- berless disputes that constantly rose. Some he laughed out of their dudgeon, and some he was fain to make “ walk Spanish ” out of the house. =. By this management, the ‘‘ shindy ” passed cff without any one getting ‘‘ knifed” or having “daylight let through him.” But it must be confessed that a grudge was there born between two who “had at out” on the way home, In the scrimmage one had an ear ‘‘chawed” cff, and one was most beautifully laid out for the undertaker. However, take it all in all, the boys voted it ‘the sweetest blow-out on record.” It was midnight before Little Jingo “turned them out of the house,” and the Undertaker had not yet made his appearance. Indeed, he did not present bimself until the following day, just before dark, ‘“A fine fellow you are!” cried Little Jingo, good-naturedly, though not without a trace of the feeling that his pard bad not used him quite ‘“white.” ‘‘I’d begun to think that you’d shook the ranch fur good an’ all. Whar in Cain have you been, anyway?” : Standing with his hat in his hand, as if he were a guest in that house, the Undertaker re- plied, in his wonted monotone: “Tve brought you ill luck enough, without setting myself at your wedding feast like a death’s-head. I know that it is only out of their liking for you that people put up with me at all: end I don’t add anything to their merry- making.” é ‘‘ Look a-hyar, pard!” cried Little Jingo, with generous heat; ‘‘ef you don’t want to fight, you don’t put on no highfalutin’ ficurishes with yer humble sarvant, ye onderstand!” And snatching the hat from the Undertaker’s hand, he threw it into a corner. Then he placed a chair at the table with a bang, and con- tinued: “Thar you set, like one o’ the family: en’ thar you stick, by thunder! an’ no back-talk!” : The Undertaker could not be unmoved by this rough loyalty. rs ie But Little Jingo was not Little Jingo’s wife, and he looked at her for her indorsement cf her husband’s hearty welcome. Colorado Kate had just turned f rom where shehad been bending over the fire, cocking the supper. Was it the heat that caused the flush on her cheeks? Or did she recall the expression in Limpy Dick’s eyes when he looked at her and sneered at the absence of the Undertaker? “Te vouwre waiting on me,” she said, “you'd ought to know, without my telling you, that Charley’s friends are my friends, and Charley’s ards—” 3 She stopped with sudden embarrassment, as if she had unconsciously run upon the expression comicbDoo - SS. = a game sok an