Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 467 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

that he had only a few minutes previously de- clared that the citizens might as well let him die if he wanted to. Disco Dan watched all this narrowly, and when the ‘“‘ parson” was done, he inquired: ** Well, what did you find?” **Nothing,” the ‘‘ parson” answered, ‘* He has no serious wounds, and I guess in a short time he will come around all right.” And he was about to turn away, but just then, to the eat surprise of every one, the sport raised a ndsome gold-mounted revolver and aimed it straight at his heart, Where the weapon had been concealed, no one could tell. ‘*W-what do you mean?’ Kenton gasped, starting backward a step and turning pale. “This revolver says ‘Hands up!’” the sport answered, calmly. The ‘‘parson’s” hands went up, though loud and bitter were his curses. ‘“What do you mean by drawing on me?” he cried. ‘You hold your hands right where they are for a moment,” was the sport's response, ‘‘ and I will explain to the satisfaction of all. ** Citizens,” he asked, ‘‘ you all know that I am responsible for Red-eye Jim’s condition, do you not?” ‘* Yes,” was the ready answer; “‘ but it war his own fault, sport, an’ no one kin blame you!” ‘** That is not the point,” Disco Dan declared. “The man is unconscious, and I am directly the cause of his being so. ‘* Now, suppose this man had a valuable gold watch, or a diamond stud, and—” ‘‘ Ha, ha!” laughed Barry Barleycorn, ‘‘ Red- eye have a gold watch an’ a diamond stud! h! Come now, sport, that’s most too good!” ‘*T say suppose he had,” Disco Dan repeated. ‘Suppose he had something of value upon his rson, and I detected some one stealing it from im. Would it not be my duty, seeing that I am the cause of the man’s being helpless, to pro- tect his interests until he revives? Would not that be the white thing to do?” **Tt would, for a fact!” ‘* Bet yer life it would!” ‘‘ Then, sir,” and the sport turned upon Ken- ton, ‘“‘I demand that paper which you have just taken from this man.’ The ‘“‘ parson” was pale, but he was perfectly eool and self-possessed, and he responded: ‘1 have taken no pa rs from him, sir.” ** Then,” responded Dan, ‘* you make it neces- sary for me to tell you right here that you lie !” The ‘* parson” turned from pale to red, and exclaimed: ** Pellow-citizens, do you believe this? Have I not lived long one among you for you to know me better? Do you take this stranger sport’s word against mine? I say I have taken no paper from Rei-eye Jim, and I defy my ac- cuser to prove it! ou have all been nape around me here, my friends; and did any one o you see me take anything? Of course you didn’t!” As no one spoke, it was evident that no one else had seen it, and loud murmurs were heard from among the “ parson’s ” friends. “*T believe I am the only one who saw you take the paper,” the sport averred: ‘for it was about as clever a piece of sleight-of-hand work as lever saw. But, take a paper you did, all the same; and again I demand its return. I am bound to look after this man's interests until he can attend to his own affairs again, even though he did hunger for my blood.’ “ Again I tell you I did not take any pepe ® ‘* And again do I tell you that you lie” It was an exciting moment. Kenton stood helpless, the deadly revolver of the sport aiming straight at his heart, and the eyes of its possessor burning into his own, un- flinchingly. As for the crowd, every man looked on with _ terrible anxiety. For a few seconds the silence was unbroken; then Barry Barleycorn spoke: ‘See heur, sport,” he said, “ you must be mistaken. ‘I’ve known Kenton heur fer years, an’ a squar’er man ain’t ter be found in th’ hull Nor’west than he.” “True, I maybe mistaken,” the Daisy Dude admitted ; ‘‘ but I have a few stray dollars down in my pocket which I am willing to stake on it, if you want to bet.” . “Take him up, Barry,” the ‘‘ parson ” quickly exclaimed. ‘‘ You’re sure to win! Stake every cent you’re worth in the world!” These words rather led the crowd to believe that the ‘‘ parson” was innoceat, after all; and many of the men were willing to bet high on it, anyhow. Disco Dan, the Daisy Dude. ‘*Durn mycats if I don’t take ye up, Mr. Dude!” Barleycorn cried. And as he spoke he produced -his wealth in ready money to back his words, ‘** An’ so will I!” called out several more of the ‘*‘ parson’s” friends. Disco Dan saw that it was now time for him to prove what he had said, and he exclaimed: ‘*‘Hold on! citizens—hold on! Dont risk your wealth, for you'd surely lose it, I have a sure thing.” And then to the “‘ parson” he added: ‘* You said a short time ago, my friend, that I possess clear grit enough to entitle me toa ginger-snap, or words to that effect; and you have also defied me to prove that you are guilty of what I accuse you. Now, I think I have just ys clear grit in my composition to do it. I said you took a paper from this uncon- scious man’s breast, and so you did. That pa- paper is now hidden in the right sleeve of your coat, and, if proof is wanted—here it is!” And with a lightning-like movement, the sport thrust his fingers into Kenton’s sleeve, and drew forth the document which he had seen him steal. CHAPTER IV. DISCO DAN’S PROOF. It was a striking tableau. On the bar lay Red-eye Jim, still unconscious his head resting upon a cigar-box near the en of the board, and his feet reaching far down toward the middle. On one side of this fallen gladiator stood Disco Dan, his gold-mounted revolver in his right hand, pointing straight at the ‘‘ parson;” while in his left he held up the paper which he had just plucked from the ‘‘ parson’s” sleeve. Kenton was standing just behind the end of the bar, near Barry Barleycorn, his hands partly raised as he had been holding them ever since the sport had first ‘“‘covered” him, His face was as pale as death, yet distorted with rage. arleycorn, standing near him, had his eyes fixed upon the paper, and his mouth stood open in mute surprise. All around Disco Dan, and at the end of the bar, stood the crowd, the faces of all clearly showing the astonishment they felt. For a moment silence reigned. Disco Dan was the first to speak. ‘Well, what say you, now?” he queried. “Tt is a lie!” the ‘‘parson” burst out. “‘A foul, black lie! I did not take that paper from Red-eye Jim!” ‘* How came it in your sleeve, then?” the sport asked. ‘‘ The sleeve is rather a peculiar place for a man to carry his own private papers in, is it not?” ‘‘ Citizens,” Kenton cried, appealing to the crowd, ‘I tell you this is alla lie! That paper was not in my sleeve at all! It is a sleight-of- hand trick!” Instantly the ‘‘ parson’s” friends t-ok up the » Disco Dan saw the game at once, but he had still another trump to play. ‘Keep cool, gentlemen,” he warned, “and I will yet convince you that it is no trick, as this man would have you believe. When he slipped this paper into his sleeve, it had a yellow wrap- pe on it; but now, as you see, it has none, here, then, is that wrapper? It must still be in his sleeve, and I have drawn the paper out of ‘“‘T tell you it is all a lie!” the ‘‘ parson ” in- sisted. ‘‘ Even if there is a yellow envelope or wrap in my sleeve, citizens, it is a part of this flash sport’s trick, I am as innocent of the charge he makes as you are.” And so earnest] dia Kenton declare his inno- cence, that half the men in the saloon began to believe he spoke the truth. , The ‘“‘parson” thrust his fingers into his sleeve, as he finished speaking, and, sure enough, he brought out a large yellow envelope. ‘‘ What did I tell you?” Disco Dan exclaimed. * And what did J tell you?” retorted Kenton. ‘“T tell you it is all a clever trick. I do not know what the object of it is, but I do know that this paper was put into my sleeve by the very man who now accuses me of stealing it. You have all known Red-eye Jim long enough, citizens, to know that he never carried any pre: cious papers around with him, nor pa of any kind, for that matter. I tell you this is a put- up job.” ‘“Tt is not a ‘ put-up’ job, citizens,” Disco Dan earnestly declared. ‘‘What I tell you is the truth, and I[ will swear to it.” 1S te can you prove it?’ Barry Barleycorn asked, ‘““T have proved it™ Dan asseverated. ‘ Did ou not see me snatch the paper from his sleeve? Vhat more do you want?” “The citizens of this little town want a great deal more!’ the ‘‘parson” assured. ‘* You claim that I took the paper from Red-eye Jim by a sleight-of-hand trick, and I claim that you per- formed a trick yourself in making believe to take the paper out of my sleeve. So far, it is about an even thing. But, my stranger sport, I am a citizen here, aad am known; while you— you were never seen here before. It is not like- ly that your word will be taken before mine, is it? I think not!” It was clear that Disco Dan was losing his erp. e now saw where he had made his mistake in not forcing the “parson” to produce the paper, instead of taking it from him himself, as e had done. But it was too late to correct that. Ben Bantam, etgr Barber, and a few others still stood out for the sport, but the majority was for the ‘‘ parson.” And the ‘‘ parson” was not slow to take ad- vantage of his chance. ‘‘ Furthermore, citizens,” he cried, ‘ suppose Red-eye Jim dies! How then? Who will be re- sponsible? It will be this ‘Daisy Dude,’ as you call him! He will be responsible, and he has even acknowledged that he is responsible for the man’s being where he is, ‘* Red-eye was a bad egg, citizens, we all know; but he was human, and the man who takes the life of a fellow being is—A MURDERER. ‘* And what do we do with a murderer out here?” ‘* Hang him!” was the prompt response. **'You’re right!” the ‘‘ parson” echoed. ‘‘ And if Red-eye dies, it will be your duty to hang his murderer.” ** An’ we'll do it, too!” was the cry, as numer- ous weapons sprung to light. ‘*Hold on! citizens, hold on!” the sport cau- tioned. ‘“‘ Be careful how you handle your guns, now, or I'll blow the whole roof off of this lying ‘parson.’ Red-eye is not a defunct yet, not by a long sight; and, even if he were, you couldn’t hold me for it, for I only acted in self-defense.” ‘* Too thin!” the “parson” muttered. ‘ You urged him on, by putting on your airs and play- ing the dude around here, P cm like a bull is en- raged when a red cloth is flirted before its eyes. More than that, you took him foul, anyhow.. You were behind him when you lifted him up,, and he had no show to defend himself at all,” **And how did I get behind him?’ the sport: demanded. ‘‘ Did he not lift me over his shoul- der? He had every advantage of me for a mo- ment, but— Well, he hadn’t the muscle to re- tain it, that’s all. ‘‘ Now, citizens,” he added, “I'll propose a plan to Pye an easy way of settling this ques- tion, and one.so perfectly fair and square, that no one can object to it.” ‘Wal, let’s hear it,” was the eager demand. ‘It is simply this: Red-eye here seems to be coming around again now, and we will leave the question tohim. If—” | “Yes,” the ‘‘ parson” interrupted, ‘but how do these citizens know but that you and Red- eye are partners in the game?” ‘‘Pardners yer grandmother!” cried out Ben Bantam. ‘ ye s’pose two pards would try fer to lambaste th’ stuffin’ out o’ each other? Not much!” . “We can very easily settle that point, too,” averred Dan. “I will retain the paper, and we will leave the yellow envelope lying here on the bar. Let not a word be said about it when the man comes-to, and we’ll see what remarks he will make when he sees it, ‘This will be all the proof any one could ask. If he recognizes it as his, and inquires where the per it contained is, then you will know that [ am honest in the charge { have made. If he does not recognize it, ever after his attention has been called to it, and says it is not his, then I will forfeit one thousand dollars in hard cash as compensation for having injured our ‘ parson ” friend’s fair fame and feelings, and will hau) down my colors and get right out of town, ‘* Is that not fair enough?” ‘‘ Jest ez fair an’ square ez can be!” declared Ben Bantam. And no one else could deny it, although the “parson” tried to raise still further objections. -eye Jim was regaining his senses, and after a little more liquor had been poured down his throat, and some water dashed upon his face, he opened his eyes. He glanced at the faces around him for a few seconds, and at length raised himself upon bis elbow and exclaimed: cComicbooks (Gi @)