Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 451 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

rc 7 a e — ie, ae hs _ Aa>.">- *&- a OF ae -, 1G wat - i te 4, raat” ~~ as oS Ge < Ce - 7 bs _ we ® ‘ns » << sr ~~, fy Posy - a¥ ’ - ae al ws ———— * » , a -_ “T put my fingers to my nose, an’ allow’d he'd better try hishand. Before he could draw a bead on me an’ send one home, I could dodge out 0’ sight. An’ ef he tried to foller me, I could lose him up thar among the crags an’ brush, an’ not | half try. He knowed that. ‘Then he come the honeyfugle dodge. What was Lafeard of? He wasonly foolin’, fur to see | ef he could skeer me. “Waal, you bet I knowed all about that. So I asks him what was he doin’ with another man’s wife? T was what looked queer to me, “He gee it was no go;so he gits rily agin; an’ he swears that he'll cut the heart out o’ me one o’ these days ef I give him away, an’ bring Little Jingo an’ the hoys down on him. ‘Then she ups an’ says, in the way she has with her what you all know as well as I do, that she’s had better men than Little Jingo before ever she see hide or hair of him, an’ she’s got a better one after him; an’ it’s nobody’s business! An’ she calls the Undertaker fur to come on, an’ never mind such a leetle cuss as me, ‘Then they pull out, taking the left fork. An’ ’stid o’ goin’ on to Twin Bluffs, I put back fur Canyon City, an’ hyar Ibe. Now, what air ye goin’ to do about it?” “Tm goin’ fur Little Jingo’s shanty!” de- clared Burt. ‘An’ blast yer eyes! ef this hyar thing ain’t so, ’ll make mincemeat 0’ you!” “That's yer privilege! Come on, boys! Hvar’s fur Little Jingo’s shanty. ell see who's got the right o’ this thing ‘% And the crowd went, with the result narrated at the end of the last chapter. The sight of Little Jingo left not a shadow of doubt in any one’s mind, Burt Younger was so enraged with it all, that he vented his anger on Limpy Dick, as we have seen. ‘‘Blast ye!” he cried, ‘it’s bad enough with- out your etarnal croakin’!” Then the boys would have formed a company to hunt the Undertaker tothe death. But Little Jingo said No! “This hyar’s my funeral; an’ I say that the man as lifts a finger ag’in’ the Undertaker ur— ur—her /—will have to settle with me! eese it, boys! It’s mighty good 0’ ye to want to see me righted, but I reckon I know what suits me best. ‘But, do you propose to stand this?’ cried Burt, in astonishment. “Ef it was me, ’d— Vd—I'd bolt him without grease ” “But it ain’t you; an’ that makes the differ- ence. I tell you, drop it igs ‘Little Jingo—” “Ts my funeral, I tell ye; an’ I pro to run it to my own notion. So now, git out 0” this, all of ye. I don’t want none o’ you rats smellin’ around my carcass.” The words were rough; but they with perfect gravity. In his pain, be let alone. ; The boys understood and respected his feeling, and so left him in peace. Not staying to redress his injuries, Limpy Dick skulked off. The boys thought nothing of less. No one sympathized with him. So it was nothing to them that he left the camp. They felt that he had come onl gratify his malice; and that accomplished, he was free to go about his business again. But they were not indifferent to Little Jingo’s 1 the business of the camp stopped while eo) discussed, them, Burt Younger was the leader about whom the others gathered, eagerly listening to everything he said ‘ _ He freely expressed his resentment against the Undertaker, aud even more bitterly against _ Colorado Kate. ee ‘“ But it’s tother an which between ’em,” he added. ‘“ When & mans pard an’ his wife shakes him, I allow it’s playin’ it mighty low down allround.” Then he growled his ee oa at the way Little Jingo had shielded the of enders from the just vengeance of the community. “He's always been too soft on that thar skee- zicks. Jest look at the way he stood it when he cleaned him out o’ the Ace 0’ Hearts!” The day passed in this fruitless discussion; and just before nightfall, the arrival of the Overland coach was an event which promised to rouse the spirits of the crowd for a time. But when it drew up before the hotel, and the were spoken he wanted to this, and cared wrongs. first “pilgrim” to alight was the Squire, the boys frowned again. They had not forgiven him for ‘cleaning out” their favorite. He turned and assisted a lady from the coach; and then the clouded faces lighted eagerly. f9 Colorado Kate. —_— - There was not a moment's doubt of one thing- All voted- her the most refined and delica woman that had ever visited the camp. What won the instant sympathy of all those rough fellows, was a look of sadness on her face. She raised her vail, and scanned their faces” eageriy, expectantly. Butif she sought a fam- iliar face among them she was evidently disap- pointed. ‘‘ He is not here,” she said to the Squire. ‘‘He lives up the gulch a cael was the reply. ‘‘Vll send for him, without letting him know who it is, and have him here to see you~ directly.” ‘“No,” she objected. “Let us go to him. After what I caused him to suffer, it is little on should be the one to seek a reconcilia- ion. The Squire bowed gravely, with the drop- ping of the eyes of one who puts a curb on rising indignation. “T yield to your wish,” he said. ‘*T hope that he may prove worthy of your noble con- descension.’ He turned to Burt Younger, who had over- heard what had pas-ed between him and his companion. ) ‘‘Ts there a lady’s saddle in the camp?” he sked. “You'd orter know thar ain’t, Cap,” replied Burt, only too anxious to put the Squire under the appearance of insincerity. _‘* No more is thar within a hundred mile o’ hyar, like as not. The Squire turned again to the lady, dis- daining to notice Burt’s manner. “You see the impossibility of carrying out your wish,” he said, ‘On the other hand, it will be no inconvenience for him to come to rou. ‘‘T can ride without a saddle, if I am given a gentle horse,” persisted the lady. Can I get the use of such a horse?” asked the Squire. ‘“‘] allow the lady kin git almost any sort of a beast she wants,” said Burt, with pointed emphasis. ‘‘ But, look hyar, Cap. Is it Little Jingo you’re wantin’ to see?” ‘* No,” said the Squire. ‘*°*Cause ef it is,” persisted Burt, not heeding the Squire’s denial, ‘‘he ain’t in no shape to receive visitors at this stage o’ the game.” He looked at the lady as he spoke, which ac- counted for his choice of words, and the marked oliteness of his tone and manner. He always ‘laid himself out” when he addressed the sex. “Tt is Mr. George Saunderson that we wish to see,” she said, in soft, musical tones. ‘The Undertaker?” cried Burt, with a start, turning toward tbe Squire. , “Yes,” he tg or 2 gravely. Then to the lady be explained in a word thet it was a nickname by which Saunderson was known in the camp. But Burt’s embarrassment was now too evi- dent to pass unnoticed. He scratched his head, then took the quid of tobacco from his mouth and threw it away, finishing by wiping his hand on his trowsers. He hitched his weight uneasily to the other foot, and look about at his comrades, and then at the lady, in awkward distress. “Ye ain't lookin’ fur that—fur him, ma’am?” he asked, his manner, his voice, and his check- ing of the word that sprung to his lips, all combining to betray a strong feeling in the matter, “Yes! Why not?” asked the lady, at once alarmed, ‘ t has happened to him?” _ It was plain that this was the quick anxiety of a woman for one she loved. She went on, with almost a piteous cry: ‘‘He is my husband! Do not keep me from him, gentlemen! Tell me at once!” ‘“Your husband!” cried Burt, staring at her blankly. Then he recovered himself awkwardly, and went on hurriedly: “Why, yes, of course. But—a—ma’am, I think with the Squire, that p’raps you'd bet- ter go in the hotel, while we send fur him. Ye see, ma’am, the hoss as I was a-thinkin’ about has gone a mite lame, an’ it ’u’d be resky to send you on her up the gulch with- out no saddle, bein’s as you ain’t used to ridin’ that way.” But this was too plainly a prevarication. The lady sprung to Burt's side and seized his arm. ‘Oh, tell me!” she cried. “Something has happened to bim! He has been hurt! He 1s sic ” ““T wish’t he was, ma’am! I wish't to God he was!—an’ dead, an’ buried too, before he ‘got the chance * * “a . - r pare ait eo. e AP wt a rs is —_ ee to bring sorrer to the like 0” ou, ma’am!” cried bonest Burt, with a sudden urst of feeling. CHAPTER XX. COLORADO KATE COMES BACK. Tue lady snatched her hands away from him, and sprung back, “What?” she cried, in astonishment and won- dering resentment. “Thar ain’t no use in tryin’ to kiver the thing up,” said Burt. ‘‘ You’ve got to know it fu'st or last, an’ mebby as well fu’st as last. Hyar it is, ma’am; an’ it’s sorry I am to have it tosay.” - 'What?—what? cried the lady, breathlessly, finding the suspense intolerable. “Thar’s a man out yon,” said Burt, shaking his band in the direction of Little Jingo’s shanty __‘‘as white a man as ever trod in shoe-leather? —as has shut himself away from his friends like a wounded b’ar what has crep’ into a holler log to die! Who done it? The Undertaker, cuss him! He was his pard, ye onderstand. Do ye know what a pard is? A feller pilgrim what a man ties to!—closer nor ary brother.” ‘‘ But what is all this to me? I do not under- stand you!” cried the lady, in bewilderment. ‘““T wish’t to God ye didn’t have to onderstand it, ma’am!” averred Burt. ‘ But you’ve come fur a galoot as sold out mighty cheap, a-swop- in’ Colorado Kate fur the like o’ you! Colorado Kate was Little Jingo’s wife, ye onderstand. They make a dog-gone sweet pair—his pard an” his wife!” ‘But, you don’t mean to say—” ‘‘T do mean to say jest that, ma’am! More sorrow to me to have to sp’ile yer ears with it.” The lady stood aghast, looking from one to another as if for some one to contradict this charge. Now the Squire interposed. ‘‘ What is this? he cried. ‘‘ Do you accuse George Saunderson of having run away with another man’s wife, and that man his partner?” “You heard me, boss!” answered Burt. ‘“ But when?” * Yistiddy ” ‘* Yesterday |” “More than that,” pursued Burt, as if to blunt the pain of the wound he had been forced to inflict on the lady, ‘* he pulled his pard’s cache, an’ made off with the rocks!” ‘* Robbed him?” cried the Squire. ‘‘ He left the shanty!” said Burt, as if to em- phasize the greed that had left nothing else. The Squire turned to the lady with a peculiar look in his eyes. ‘What did I tell you?” he asked. ‘“ First and last, it is the money he is after. You ought to thank God for your narrow escape.” ‘Don’t! don’t /” she cried, almost fiercely. With headlong haste she turned back to the stage door, pausing with her foot on the step and her hands grasping either jamb. ‘Can this stage go back immediately?’ she asked, in a choking voice. “Are there fresh horses?” : 5 The driver had stood with his mouth agape, drinking in the scene. He now answered: ‘‘ The hearse goes on in the mornin’, ma’am.” ‘“‘ But I wish to go back /—and at once!” cried the lady, impatiently. Then addressing the Squire: “Charter the coach—if necessary, buy it! Buy fresh horses! I cannot breathe the air of this place. Take me away !—take me away!” The last was a hysterical cry. She fell to catching her breath and sobbing, as if her heart were breaking. Burt Younger clinched his hands and swore below his breath. Little Jingo or no Little Jingo,” he mutter- ed, ‘I’ll lay him out fur this!” And in that crowd he could have found a company that would follow him to a man. The Squire did not seek to dissuade Mrs. Saunderson from ber 2 aed of at once leaving the spot of her bitter {Coste nna His heart swelled with a chuckle at his success. ‘Now a divorce! In a few months, or even a few weeks—why not?—a new marriage! Then wealth, and Europe!” He assisted her into the coach, saying to the crowd as much as to the driver: “T reckon this is all right, It’s money the company’s after, whichever way the coach runs. And then, as you don’t start until morning, you can have it back here in time.” Then to Burt: ‘ff you will let the lady have the use of the best horses in the camp, you can charge your own price for them.” -*She’s welcome to the best we’ve got, an’ no charge to her.” . . 7?" | " [i | , es \ i. 5 ia ei P rea ’ a ¢: ee i? J % 7°" . : . ,, al *? " i ese Lt . . ‘ Me =~ Ba > « Pl c ¢* ys it oe eae