Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 467 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

a 12 was soon at work at the cords that held him fast. ‘““There’s a knife in my pocket,” Dan whis- red. ‘Get it out and cut them.” The knife was soon out and opened, and the sport’s release quickly followed. Both being fr-e, they put the pole up in its place again, so that they could retreat to it in ‘case any one came in; and then they began to figure on getting out of the cabin when the time came for them to act. There was a Window on each side of the door, and one of them having no shutter to it, the prisoners could look out. They could see and hear the four guardsmen, who were near the door, and at first glance escape seemed impossible, While they stood there they, and the guards- men as well, were astonished to hear a sudden burst of music float out upon the evening air— music the sweetest they had ever heard, CHAPTER XIIT. RED-EYE SURPRISED, THE music that Disco Dan, Red-eye Jim and the guardsmen heard, was the song the twin sisters were then singing in The Den Saloon. “Great peak o’ Shasta!” one of the guards- men exclaimed; ‘‘ it must be angels!” ‘‘ Guessiit are, fer a fact!” the others agreed. And then all were silent as death, eagerly listening—charmed. And as the girls’ voices rose and fell in perfect time and harmony, the four men with one accord began to move away, step by step, toward the point whence the sweet sound came, and ere long they were lost to sight in the dark- ness, Even Disco Dan found the spell hard to break ; but seeing what an excellent opportunity was afforded for immediate escape, he shook Red-eye Jim roughly by the arm, to recall him to his surrounding danger, and said: ‘‘Come, Jim, come! This is our chance to escape. We will not get another such opportu- nity ina hurry! Wecan get out here through the window, though. Come! out you go!” ‘All right, pard, out 1 goes fer a fact;” and Red-eye put one leg over the sill, thrust his head out, and in a moment more was safely outside. Disco Dan quickly followed, and together they hurried away from the scene. All things end, and the song was no excep- tion. And then as the guardsmen listened to the wild burst of applause which followed it, one of them remarked: “Td give my boots to be thar, boys, you bet!” ‘6 An’ so would I!” each of the others echoed, Another song followed, as we have shown, and when that had died away the guardsmen sudden- ly remembered their prisoners. “Come!” one exclaimed, “‘we’d better be ettin’ back thar to th’ cabin, How th’ doost id we git away up heur anyhow?” “Hanged ef I know,” another replied; ‘ but, ez you say, we'd better git back thar.” ‘he guardsmen returned, and one of them tried the door; but, finding it all secure. they all sat down on a bench at one side and talked. After a time Ben Bantam came strolling down to where they were, and he asked: ‘Well, boys, how’s ver-pris’ners?” ‘‘ Oh! they’re all safe an’ sound,” was) the re- ply; ‘‘d’ye want ter see em?” And the speaker rose up, ready to open the door. “No,” replied Ben, ‘‘no matter; I thought I’d come down afore I went to roost an’ see thet all was O. K.” ‘‘- Yes, everything is O. K., pard, an’ we'll see thet nothin’ happens.” ‘Of course,” said Ben, ‘‘ you'll take care that th’ men do not get out; but I want to warn you to be jest as keer’ul obout lettin’ any one git in. We don’t want ter find dead men heur ter-mor- rer, an’ there’s some in this town who wouldn’t stop "about makin’ ’em so, ef they got th’ chance.” ‘* Oh! we'll be keerful, you bet!” ‘“ All richt. [bone ye will. I thought it best ter mention this, ter put ye on yer guard. ‘6 Good-night.” Ben Bantam then returned to his domicile, and the guardsmen resumed their conversation, Meanwhile, Disco Dan and Red-eye Jim had moved quietly but rapidly away to the outskirts of the town. When they thought they had gone far enough to insure their safety for the time being, they came to a stop, and Dan said: ** So far so good, Jamesy, old boy.” 7 * me , a 9 he — ed ~ —- a Disco Dan, the Daisy Dude. ee ee Se ‘‘Sure’s ye live!” Red-eye exclaimed. ‘‘ An now what's ther next move on ther programme?” ‘* Weill,” replied Dan, “the first thing we want to do is to recover our tools of warfare. I saw that bartender put them in a closet behind the bar, and I suppose they’re there still, 1 must have my revolvers and my cane, or I am not worth shucks, and, I guess you would like to have yours, wouldn't you?” ‘‘Wal, yes, I reckon I’d feel a little stiffer in th’ back, pard, if I had ’em in my belt; but, how be we goin’ ter git ’em?” ‘*'We must go into the saloon and take them.” ‘* Holy smoke! ye don’t mean it!” ~Yee, do." ‘*But, Pard Dan, they'll drill us so cussed full 0’ holes thet gur bleed will all leak out!” Dan laughed. ‘“You do not understand me,” he said, ‘I mean that we must enter the saloon after it has closed for the night, and steal our tools.” ‘* Oh! now Isavvey!” Jimexclaimed. ‘ That’s a hoss of another color. Yes, we'd orter be able ter git ’em that way, I reckon.” ‘Does any one sleep in the saloon?” ‘‘ Ves, Barleycorn sleeps thar, an’ right ahind th’ bar, too; but he’s like a log when he gits set- tled down ter ‘ poundin’ his ear,’ an’ I guess he won't trouble us, ef we’re kinder quiet about it.” ‘‘We've got to risk it, anyhow; so let’s work around that way and tale a look at the ground. If we don’t get our weapons before our escape is discovered, we'll be in a bad fix.” The two men moved cautiously around to the rear of The Den, and there they concealed them- selves in the deep shadows and waited for the time to come for them to act. In about an hour the saloon closed. and short- ly afterward all the lights were put out. Half an hour or so longer the two watchers waited, and then they approached a broken win- dow and listened. A sound greeted their ears that, as Red-eye Jim defined it, was a cross between the sound of a buzz-saw and the bray of an ass. It was Barry Barleycorn, snoring, ‘‘That’s Barry,” the ‘‘eyclone” whispered. ‘*‘ Now, who’s fer it, you or me?” “JT will go in and get them,” Dan replied ‘‘and you will stay here and give me the tip if any one comes around.” ‘Allright. Give me yer foot an’ Pll boost ye in.” The broken window had not been closed up, Barleycorn eviden'ly feeling secure, sleeping be- hind the bar with a brace of revolvers under his head; and the velvet sport found no difficulty in vetting in. Once inside the room he advanced to the bar with the greatest caution, and was soon behind it. A little careful search discovered the closet that Dan was in search of, and he soon had it open, To his great satisfaction he found that his cane and revoivers were still there, as were also the weapons belonging to Red-eye Jim; and tak- ing them up one by one he deposited them about his person, and then retreated to the window. Barleycorn did not once break off snoring, and Dan's escape was easily made. ‘‘Where’s my tools?” Red-eye Jim asked, as the two drew away from the vicinity of the saloon. “ Tve got them alf safe,” Dan r plied. ‘‘ Let’s get away from this spot as soon as we can, though.” Jim muttered his dissatisfaction, but followed the sport all unsuspecting until they had gone quite a distance away from any building, and then all of a sudden he found Dan’s hand upon bis shoulder, and a revolver pressing against his head, “James Jumper,” the sport said, sternly, * you are my prisoner,” ‘What ?” Red-eye alarm. ‘‘T say that you are my prisoner!” ‘* An’ who be you, anyhow?” “*T am—” But we are not quite ready to disclose our hero’s identity. Suffice it to say that his reply caused Red- eye Jim’s knees to knock ropether: and a groan to escape his lips, ‘* What d’ye want me for?” he asked. “T want you to give me a full account of that affair in the place on H—— street, San Francisco.” If ever a man was badly scared, that man was Red-eye Jim. ‘“W-what affair? he gasped. ‘I don’t know what ye mean.” gasped, in genuine ‘You know well enough what I mean.” ‘*Pard, I swear—” ‘“ Hold on, now; don’t do anything of the kind. I've got the deadwood on you, and you know it.” And the sport added something that instantly brought the *‘ cyclone” to terms, ‘Tl cave, pard,” fe said—"*T cave, I give ye my word, though, honor bright, that I didn’t have nothin’ ter do with that job.” “You didn’t?” ‘No, I didn’t!” ‘* Who did do it, then?” ‘‘It was a pard o’ mine as done it, an’ he’s dead.” ‘““ And who was that ‘ pard’?” Red-eye mentioned a name, and then Disco Dan said: ‘Tf what you say is true, you are in no dan- ger. Now, I want you to tell me everything — know concerning this case, from the very eginning down to date.” Red-eye proceeded to do so at once, ‘ A long conversation followed, and at length the two men came to a perfect understanding. ‘* Now,” said Dan, ‘‘ give me that paper which you say is in your boot.” Red-eye sat down at once and pulled off one of his boots, and the paper was soon in Disco Dan’s possession. Dan then restored the ‘ cyclone’s” revolver and knife to him, and then together they start- ed down the street toward the lower end of the town, where Red-eye had a small cabin. They had only proceeded a short distance, though, when they heard voices, and saw the dim outlines of some men coming in the oppo- site direction. ‘‘Some fellers is comin’ this way,” Red-eye whispered, ‘*So I see,” responded Dan. of sight.” And he quickly drew his companion back be- hind a slab shanty that was near at hand. The sound cf the voices drew near, and in a moment more four men stopped right in frent of the very shanty where the sport and his man were concealed. CHAPTER XIV. SURPRISE AND MYSTERY. AS soon as the four men stopped in front of the shanty, one of them asked: ‘‘ Well, cap’n, what’s our orders fer ter be?” ‘“T will tell you,” was the reply, and the voice was unmistakably the voice of Barton Barker, the ‘‘saint;” ‘and I want you te pay close at- tention to what I say.” * All right, cap’n.” ‘Tn the first place, I want one of you to go down to the other end of the street, and, at the end of ten minutes, whoop and howl and fire off your revolver until you arouse the whole town.” ‘¢ What th’ doost he that fer” ‘“T will tell you. You must be quite a little distance away from the jail when you begin, and the guardsmen at the jail will at once rush up to see what is the trouble; and—” “In course they will! S’pose they take it inter the’r heads ter slug a feller full o’ cold lead, too; how then?” “ Ah! there is not much danger of that. You ean play off drunk, you know,’ “ All right.” ‘hen, es soon as the jail is left unguarded, I want the other one of you to climb into the old cabin through the broken window, and, with your knife, kill both prisoners, ‘Do you understand me?” ‘Yas, cap’n, We onderstands ye well enough; but this heur are goin’ ter be a mighty resky job. ‘¢ Not much risk about it at all!” the ‘saint” snapped. ‘If you’re too cowardly to undertake the job, though, say so at once, and I will get some one else. Two hundred and fifty dollars is not to be snapped up so easily every day.” “Cap’n’s right, pard,” ecided one of the others, ‘‘an’ we don’t want ter lose th’ shekels; so come on,” ‘‘ Are you sure you understand?” the “ saint” asked again. ‘* Yes, we onderstands it all kerrect. “3 ‘“Well, then, be off with you, and see that you don’t fail,” The two villains started upon their mission, and then the ‘‘saint” turned to his companion and added: ’ ‘‘ And now, for our part in the game,” ‘Well, what are your plans?” This man had not spoken before, but it did not surprise the listeners to recognize his voice as that of Karlo Kenton, the ‘ parson.” ‘“T will tell you my plans,” the “ saint”am “Let’s get out | | ee eee