Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 469 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

The Rival Giants of Nowhar. i << eee ri oe - = 7 end. > es ee ee oe _ - —— ~ ee eee, ee ——_—- -- -- —— ——_—- — + -- — ‘ Hark! thar are ther spy’s signal! He are at ther door—a sign thet ther way are cl’ar.” The door swung open ere he ceased speaking, and Cockney Jim, the bartender, glided into the apartment. ‘*Der camp’s deserted, gents, ban’ der gal’s halone,” he announced. ‘‘St, Elmo’s last order was that yer strike swift hand sure, or heat lead w’en ’e got back from der plateau.” Silence deep and unbroken brooded over the deserted gold-camp. Within the narrow con- fines of Nowhar but a single living, moving figure was to be seen—Wheezy Ben Meggins, ambling along at asharp trot toward the cabin- home of the giant of the golden locks, Alternately groaning and cursing in subdued accents, that for the sake of appearances he must feign haste, and for once move rapidly in the now broiling rays of the sun, the corpulent rascal headed straight for the open door of the alealde’s cabin, every ounce of his superfluous flesh a-quiver and burning, and the perspiration | c-c’u’dn’t refuse, an’ away I kem, fergettin’ my ‘* We shall see!” he muttered, grimly. P trickling freely in oily drops down his face. own p-pain an’ s-sufferin’, I j-jes—” ae ‘The goal reached, he rapped sharply with his Seized here with a skillfully feigned paroyysm CHAPTER IX, ! knuckles, then withdrew a pace, pushed back | of violent coughing and strangling, the ruffian HOW THE DUEL ENDED. his greasy slouch hat and nervously mopped his | toro feebly at his throat with bis grimy bands, A HusH fraught with expectancy came over brow with his shirt-sleeve, and staggered weakly along—inwardly chuck- | the motley group upon the plateau’s verge as the A moment of waiting; then a starry-eyed vision of loveliness, that fairly astounded the hardened wretch, appeared at the door, ‘* Mornin’, m-miss,” he exclaimed, jerking out the words with a painful effort, and clutch- ing absently at his hat as he awkwardly at- tempted a bow. The girl, an expression of mingled surprise and expectancy showing on her face, returned the salutation. ‘* B-be yer ther alcalde’s s-sister?” ‘Tam; why do you ask?” was the quick re- sponse. Wheezy Ben looked around, hesitated, then sought to cover his confusion by again apply- ing his sleeve to his fevered brow. **T h-hate ter s-say et, m-miss; but I hev b-bad news fer yer. Now, do-don’t get excited; j-jest be p-patient ’ith m-me, fer I hev ther tis-phthisic an’ c-can’t talk f-fast. Yes, 1 hev b-bad news fer yer.” Vith a swift, impetuous movement, the star- tled girl advanced a trifle, a look of fear creep- ing over her pretty face.” ‘Bad news for me!” she exclaimed, anxious- ly. ‘Speak, man—is my brother—” ‘‘Where are we going?” suddenly cried the | strides. | ‘Thar! she hev gone an’ guessed et!” broke in | girl as they reached an abrupt bend in the can- Honest Jeems Rivers clinched his horny hands the ruffian, the grieved tone in which the words | yon. in sheer vexation. were uttered in perfect keeping with his facial ‘* Patience, leetle g-gal—we’re m-most thar,” ‘* Alcalde, what say you now?” exclaimed S*. expression. ‘‘Onhappy Ben Meggins! w’y, oh! | returned Wheezy Ben, evasively, 2s he disap- | Elmo, éexultantly, as the quick eyes noted the w’y war yor sent with s-sech an orful t-tale ter | peared around a jutting rock. ‘‘ Watch w-whar | move. ‘Your man is actually the most ver- distress this b-b’utiful c-critter!” The rascal’s. adroitly couched apostrophe was not without its effect, One fleeting instant the girl reeled back, her slender hands pressed tightly to her painfully throbbing heart. The look of unutterable hor- ror, distress and despair in her dark eyes would surely have moved a being less bardened than the brutal wretch before her. Then, with a suddenness that ‘fairly startled Wheezy Ben, every trace of weakness vanished as if by magic; her slender, willowy figure was - drawnerect, her tightly clinched hands dropped to her sides, her black eyes filled with a curious sparkling light, and her face became set and stern. ‘* Speak out, man—I am listening,” she said, in cold, abrupt tones. | ** Very well, m-miss,” wheezingly uttered the ruffian, gasping for breath, and clutching at his throat as if in the last stages of suffocation. “Ther good Lord knows B-Ben Meggins are g-glad ter s-see yer g-gritty an’ able ter stand ther b-bad news he b-brings, ‘* M-miss, ther alcalde, yer b-brother, hev bin sh-shot, an’ b-badly w-wounded. Et Il k-kill *im ter b bring ’im h-here. He hes s-sent m-me ter lead yer ter him.” A great shudder ran through the slender form of the girl; a single sharp, convulsive sob broke the oppressive silence. ‘* Wait!” The one word, and she abruptly retreated in'6 the cabin, closing the door. Ejecting from his capacious maw an amber rill of tobacco-juice, Wheezy Ben blinked his eyes knowingly at the rough wall. ‘‘ A sly ole galoot aie you, Benjy—a very sly ole cuss,” he mused; ‘‘ but look out thet this hyar purty leetle gal with ther bright black eyes don’t lay yer by ther heels, She are a daisy—a puffect hummer.” A moment later, just as the corpulent fraud bad succeeded in distorting his features with a ll an expression of settled woe, the blonde giant’s sister appeared from the cabin. ‘* Come!” she ejaculated, hastily knotting the ribbons of her wide straw hat beneath her shapely chin. ‘*‘Come—I am ready; let us go.” Nonplused at the coolness and abruptness of the girl’s words, Wheezy Ben hesitated a mo- ment, then started to lead the way through the deserted camp, limping violently. ‘*T’m a puffectly misabul wrack, m-miss,” he rgled, with a dolorous attempt at a sigh, as aa noticed the impatience with which his victim regarded his shambling gait. ‘T-time war, m-miss, w’en I war es spruce an’ es b-brash es eny ov them; but B-Ben Meggins are past ther p-prime ov his oncet n-noble m-mnanhocd, am every j’int in his pore ole c-carkase are racked ith p-pain. ‘* But w’en ther alcalde l-looked up at m-me ith sech a s-sorrowin’, pleadin’ look inthem thar b-big b-blue eyes ov his’n, an’ sez, s-sez he, *M-most trusted f-friend, go b-bring my s-sister ter s-soothe my d-dyin’ minutes; w’y, I j-jest ling at the pity evoked from the alcalde’s sister. ‘* Poor fellow!” murmured the girl, never for an instant suspecting the true character of her guide, and too dazed and grief-stricken by his skilfully concocted story to note her surround- ings as they hastened onward, Her thoughts were constantly with the strick- en giant, Biting her nether lip to keep back her tears, she followed in the footsteps of treacher- ous Wheezy Ben. A few minutes sufficed to see them half a mile from the camp. At a lonely spot between the hills the ruffian suddenly turned from the faint trail and entered a nar- row canyon. Here their path was rough, dark and dreary, the sunlight being excluded by massive, over- hanging walls of rock. The girl shuddered; a sense of impending peril oppressed her. Slipping her hands into the folds of her dress, she nervously clutched the butts of a pair of trusty revolvers. As they pushed onward the way grew rougher and darker; the canyon contracted in width, and the giant walis seemed to meet far over- head, yer step, miss—ther s-stones are slippery am’ yer may fall,” he called back. With her eyes cast down, the girl passed around the angle, A moment later she missed the footfalls of her guide, and at once looked up to find herself confronted by two villainous- looking men. They were none other than Ugly Mike and his ally, Pious Pete. rt One glance at the evil, leering face of the chief of the Cripples, and with a wild cry of alarm the girl turned to flee down the canyon. Wheezy Ben, whom she had passed, adroitly blocked the way, ‘* Quite a surprise party, hain’t et, mum?” he cried, a mocking grin spreading over his oily face, a devilish light dancing in his beady black eyes, ‘*Now yer hev her, Mike, safe an’ sound,” continued the fat rough, in a gurgling voice, ‘* An’, darn me! ef I ever see’d a purtier bit ov kaliker an’ ribbons than she are. An’ she mo- sied right along arter me, too, jest ez ef J war a Baptist parson. Ob, Ill bw’st! And the reugh quivered violently with sup- pressed mirth. ‘* Gals like her is ez sea’ce ez four-leaf clover,” observed Ugly Mike, striding forward. ‘‘Stop er foolin’, Benjy; le’s git her under kiver up yar, an’ putt back fer ther plateau. Et won't do fer King Gabe ter ’spicion thet we hed eny- thing ter do ’ith ther girl’s makin’ herself sca’ce at camp, or Nowhar ’ll be too hot ter hold us.” Confronting the apparently helpless girl, the chief thrust out his grimy hand to grasp her arm—only to start back with a hoarse oath, with the dly muzzles of a pair of self-cocking revolvers staring him full in the face. Swift as thought itself had been the action of the girl—so deftly performed, in fact that she was about toassume the defensive, ‘Stand back, you scoundrel! keep your hands off and allow me to pass from this place unmo- lested or Pll kill you as [ woulda crawling ser- pent,” she cried, the words coming in calm measured accents over the glittering lengths of her weapons. ‘* Jewhillerkens!” gasped Ugly Mike, abruptly ducking his head, asif to avoida blow. ‘ Benjy, yer hes corraled a puffect screamer—dern my cats ef yer hain’t! Close in, galoots, an’ take: her we’pons!” / ‘* Sthand chust vere you vas, mine tear frient®’ er py chimminetti! you vas petter order goffins. fer t’ree!” cried a stern voice at the bend in the canyon, and the Teutonic tramp, Hunki Hans, slowly advanced, his short, heavy ‘‘sixes’” raised and at full cock, his mild blue eyes gleam- ing brightly. ‘*Mees Morton, ef tey vas so mooch as der leedle fingers move, shoot,” Ugly Mike and his allies exchanged glances of alarm. The next instant the chief of the Cripples placed his fingers against his lips and blew a loud, piercing blast, which echoed and re-echoed up and down the gloomy canyon. sharp crack of Shasta Sam’s revolver died away: The dark giant had taken up a position di- rectly opposite to the jutting face of the tower- ing spar, midway of the horseshoe, in full view of the two duelists. A few paces distant, be- tween him and the crowd, were Guld Gabe, St. Elmo, Faro Frank and the mine superintendent. With revolver uplifted, Shasta Sam stared ps sa for a full minute at the distant hunch- ack, Then Dunkle was seen to throw himself flat upon his stomach among the huge bowlders, with his rifle in position for instant use. On the other hand, Jonathan Trotter remained erect, his rifle carelessiy grcunded, engaged to all appearances in a close survey of the trend of the plateau. Satisfied, apparently, with the action of the hunchback, the dark Hercules wheeled half around, facing in the direction of Trotter, ther with a careless downward swecp of his long arm. restored the weapon to his belt. Handling his Winchester with painful awk- wardness, the pseudo-Yankee years, a. m0~ ment, then walked forward with long, deliberate dant specimen of the Yankee tribe I ever saw. He don’t know enough to get behind a rock and stay there. No, no! he must needs walk right into good range and let Dunkle toast him to his heart’s content. Nowhar’s first duel is degen- erating into a mere farce—a butchery.” ‘** Don’t bother your head about that thar Yank, dainty sport,” retcrted the blonde giant, with provoking coolness, ‘‘It’s pretty safe to say he isn’t as green as he locks. We can’t tell how much experience he’s had in jest sech affairs as this, He is a mountain tramp, you know, an’ mountain tramps are sometimes derned deceiv~ ing critters. ry can tell who is to be th’ victor. tainty until th’ fight is fought, th’ last round fired, an’ everything ready for th’ obsequies. An’ even then you can’t sometimes tell. ‘* Now, look over thar, will you? Th’ Yank has made his fu’st move in th’ game, an’i¢"* smacks ov along head. Hidden from sight be- hind that big bowlder in th’ chain extendin’ across to th’ outer edge of the pyerenny, th’ crit- ter’ll have things pretty much bis own way, an? will play with th’ leetle hunchback purty Much as a cat toys with the mouse safe under her claws. “Taken all around, I give it as my opinion that Mr. Dunkle will have to get up an’ fairly hump himself even to dislodge the Yank.” _ There wasa ring in the alcalde’s words express~ ive of a great degree of satisfaction. ig The position taken by Trotter was beyond dis- pute a strong one. With this unpleasant fact staring him in the face, Julian St. Elmo gnawed savagely at the ends of his tawny mustache, and. cast an anxious glance in the direction of hunchback desperado. Cty | That wortby Was creeping cautiously from rock to rock, working slowly toward the edge of the plateau. | for—the long, flat bowlder at the very edge—he yee +s . fos Z } : ty y ; © »* Fa ‘ . ~ Se | p) » A . ‘a t “ ; i uy ’ v4 { gu . / oP... a - 7 : ' * ‘ : _— \ — | () ; ee ee Se Re ee _— ee sat — vo ‘Then, too, in ructions ov this sort no man | It is all onsar- | ; % : ‘‘ Tf he makes the point he seems to be aiming . the ~ Fi