Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 469 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

? ra ‘ nf ‘ - ’ -” ~~’ care otbing. - look after \ will likely have the Yankee at a sharp disadvan- tage,” muttered Faro Frank, 1n tones so low that none but St. Elmo heard. ‘I judge a shot from that quarter would be a disagreeable surprise to | the tenderfoot.” ‘‘ True,” assented the gambler, in tones equal- ly guarded, as he drew his confrere aside, ** But fear we are playing a losing gamo. If this Trotter is half as shrewd as I begin to suspect he is, the jig is well nigh up with Dunkle.” “How so, Jule?” ‘‘T base my conclusion upon this fact: Just beyond that chain of rock sheltering Trotter, a gully sufficiently deep to afford him concealment cuts across the plateau. If he has been keen enough to recognize its advantages and taken to it, as I suspect he has, he is even now in a tion to open fire on Dunkle when the latter expects a shot.” ‘‘T see,” said Faro Frank, with a significant nod. ‘‘if the Yankeo has crept down the gully, Dunkle is in danger of a, death-shot every time he leaves one roclx to creep .o0 another on his way to the plateaus edge to bring his antagonist into range.” “Exactly. If wo could only hit upon some way to put our misshapen friend.on his guard, I believe his final success would be assured; for, pitted man against man, there is tomy mind not the slightest doubt that the Yankee would bo doomed. Dunkle is merely plaving fcr time now. The affair must be prolonged to give Ug- ly Mike and his allies a fair chance to work out their plans below. “We must warn Dunkle in some way, for taken in all its bearings the affair promises to be a very profitable one if ho succeeds in killing his man. ‘* In the first. place, it will effectually dispose of Mr. Trotter, a character entirely too curious and too prying to suit our somewhat fastidious tastes, and at the same time enrich us to the ex- tent of some five or six thousand dollars. ‘Then, too, it isa direct and bitter blow to the alealde; for at one stroke we deprive him of an ally dangerous to us, and open up the way for Ugly Mike to steal the girl.’ ‘And if the Yankee wins the fight—what then?” asked Faro Frank. _ **We still have the girl in our possession— just now the most important consideration of all, tomy mind. Of course, the money staked, as well asthe future services of the Yankee would be lost...Mior thedifeor the tunchback It is only for the sake of the money up, and from a desire to rid the camp of the Yankee that I wish to see the infernal little beast win the fight. ‘‘And for these selfsame reasons I want to put him on his guard against the move probable npon the part of Trotter; but just how to work the trick is a problem too deep for me to solve, though asa general thing I rather pride myself on being pretty apt in such delicate wrinkles.” ** T have nothing to suggest,” said Maro Frank, musingly. ‘The fact is, Gold Gabe and his '» friends are watching us so closely that none but a master-hand could hope to work the tricl un- detected. Shasta Sam might be tried.” ‘The suggestion is good, at all events,” re- turned St. Elmo, looking over his shoulder for the dark Hercules. ‘‘ Whatever is to be done must be done quickly, for Ihave an intuitive feeling that the cursed Yank has adopted the very plan of action we have the most reason to fear, Where is the giant? he was here a mo- ment ago.” ‘‘He has been back among the crowd; he is coming yonder.” And with his left hand the wounded gambler beckoned Shasta Sam. “There is yet another thing that I do not like ~—e"yile absence of Hunki Hans, Trotter's Dutch a. pard, from the plateau at this time,” continued t. Elmo, hurriedty, as the dark Hercules slow- ly approached. ‘‘Did he remain In camp to the girl, or is his absence due to too much whisky?” In either case, he, 7 way. ae Ugly Mike aro Frank, , | “True enough; and the chief of the Cripples has a firm belief in the truth of the saying that dead men tell no tales. Ifthe valiant Hans eally remained behind to watch over the al- eade’s interests he will hardly live to tell what hap ned. _ © But Shasta is here—not girl, Frank.” | As the dark Hercules passed the giant of the golden locks, their eyes met in a single intense he would prove but a trifle in and his allies,” declared a word about the / glauee. ie y. The next instant the heavy repcrt of Trotter’s rifle rung out across the plateau, hushing for a moment the voices of the crowd, OSsi- east | | | in ‘f'We are too late!” exclaimed St, Elmo, in low, intense tones, prefacing the words with an oath, ‘* See! that faint wreath of smoke off yonder at the very edge of the plateau marks the Yankee's position, He has taken advantage of the gully, just as I suspected. The bhunch- back’s only hope is to remain quiet until Trotter grows restless or reckless and shows his precious person, ‘Look! ho has no hope—the fight is over!” cried Faro Frank, clutching St. Ilmo’s arm, and pointing across tho level of the plateau, as a hoarse shout went up from the crowd, ‘ A sin- gle shot has forever settled the matter. From now until eternity Jonathan Trotter has naught to fear from tho hunchback!” And to all appearances the wounded gambler spoke the truth; for, extended at full length, flat on his back upon the hard, dry earth of the level, there was the misshapen desperado,.shot down while creeping from rock to rock, Confident that his single shot had ended the duel, the pseudo- Yankee sprung into view, hur- rying forward with his rifle at a trail. Instantly the crowd became wild with excite- ment, not unmixed with exultation, The hunch- back had been heartily disliked and despised be- EE ——— eee cause of his contentious nature, and from the | beginning popular sympathy had to a great ex- tent been with the whimsical mountain tramp. During the tumult that ensued, a pellet of crumpled paper was thrust into the alcalde’s band. A quick glance over his shoulder failed to discover the source of the surreptitious mes- sage, With an ejaculation of surprise, Gold Gabe covertly unrolled the paper, which proved to be a leaf torn at random from a memorandum- book. Penciled on it, in scrawling, irregular charac- ters, were the words: * Jessica is probablv imperiled by a plot of St. Elmo, as Ugly Mike, Wheezy Ben and Pious Pete, three of the most desperate of the camp pests known as the Cripples, are not here, Take or send down at once a party strong enough to beat off the outlaws should they attempt anything crooked,” Anonymous, and surreptitiously delivered though it was, the warning had a marked effect upon the giant of the golden locks, Hard by stood Jeems Rivers, narrowly watch- ing every move of St, Limo... In... amoment, Gold..Gabehad “pushed his way through the surging crowd to the side of the mine superin- tendont. Hurriedly, and with cautious utterance, tho contents of the mysterious message were im- parted to the latter. ‘*Oho, oho!” grated Rivers, shutting his teeth hard. ‘‘I kin see ther finger ov thet artful cuss in ther absence oy ther three cut-throats men- tioned. Shall I pick six good men an’ putt off fer ther cabin at a double-quick? You are needed hyar.” ‘Yes; pick your men and get down to the camp just as aes as you can,” returned the alcalde. ‘I will follow you just as soon as I can, This matter here is almost over, If you find anything wrong below, signal me with three pistol-shots,” A quick pod, and the mine superintendent yushed his way through the crowd. Crumbling the bit of paper into a wad, Gold Gabe dropped it into his pocket, and turned to note the movements of Trotter. But little time had been consumed in learning the contents of the message and in starting Rivers back to the camp; yet the giant of the rolden locks found that the mock Yankee had crossed the level and reached the side of his van- quished foe, A moment the mountain tramp stood calmly gazing down at the pallid face of the hunch- back, then wheeled abruptly and faced the throng that bad followed in his footsteps. ‘Wal, gents, it do appear as if th’ scrimmage wasover,” be remarked, dryly. ‘I hain’t sayin’ it in a boastful way, but yeour leetle pard 0’ th’ erooked-back wasn’t much o’ a man, arter all; an’ if he was as good as th’ camp c’u'd show, it hain’t sayin’? much for Nowhar. An’ thar hain’t no use o’ any wry faces or hard feelin’s over th’ matter, either. “But I didn’t lay myself eout to slaughter him; I kalkulate yeou'll find a hole drilled through his right shoulder, an’ that is about all th’ wuss off he is fer tryin’ to amuse hisself at th’ expense o’ Jonathan Trotter. If he has had his fun, he is welcome to it. ‘* Neow, some 0’ yeou fellers thet are handy at sech things git to work an’ fix him up. reckon he wasn’t so etarnal bad but he had some friends among yeou. : ‘As for th’ money up, by hemlock! I kalki- : —_—--——_- ———- --———_—— —- - eee eee Se late I'll take it. A quick eye an’ a steady hand have turned on me th’ smiles o’ fickle Dame: Fortune, List, you sportivée sports! if you baver aught to say, speak, or forever hold yeour peace! Lightly and unflinchingly had the mock Yan- kee spoken, his words at times bordering on the reckless, and kindling in the breasts of many of Nowhar’s citizens a spark of resentment; yet,. in the depths of his coldly gleaming gray eyes, in the peculiar smile hovering upon his thin lips, in the easy poise of his wiry form, there was something which held the turbulent spirits. in check, ‘* We have no wish to dispute your claim—the money is yours,” uttered St. Elmo, coldly. ‘* You have won the fight; but, if you will take a bit of advice, you w ll make yourself scarce in Nowhar. Ours is a quiet, law-abiding camp, and we have no manner of use for gentlemcm of your ilk.” ‘Opinions differ,” retorted Trotter. “It sorter runs in my head that Nowhar will yet have causo to shake hands with he: self because- o’ my bein’ heur,” ‘Wind enough, gents,” interposed the al- calde, impatiently. *‘ This hyar unfortunate af- fair hes been settled, an’ it’s high time we were gettin’ back into th’ valley. Who knows?— Yr’aps th’ durned Cripples~-Ugly Mike, W heezy Ben an’ Pious Pete, have carried off th’ bull camp.” So unexpected by St. Elmo was this thrust, that for a moment he was.thrown off his guards his face plainly betraying alarm as he retreated. a trifle, while his slender hends dropy ed swiftly upon the butts of the revolvers belted to his: waist, At tho same instant the sharp report of a fire- arm of some sort echoed faintly from the val-- ley below. Its effect upon Gold Gabe was extremely startling. A smothered cry of rage burst from his throat; his blue eyes glowed madly, and with a single swift, convulsive bound, he cleared the space between himself and the gambler. St. Elmo stood spellbound, a look of horror’ on his ashen face, utterly powerless to stir. “Your life shall pay for your treacpery, dainty sport!” hissed the giant~ot the golden Jocks, every fiber of his massive form aquiver~ with passion, ‘*‘ You haven’t a minute to live! If you’ve a word to say, say it!” The gambler moved not a muscle. He strove to speak, but not a sound escaped his palsied tongue. Known to the camp as a man of irom nerve, of desperate courage, he had at last. weakened in the face of peril, and the prestige that had been his pride was gone, A tragedy was imminent, The crowd reveal- ed its appreciation of the fact by a strange hush, “Speak out, you treacherous devil!” grated the giant alcalde once more, his long forefinger’ playing lightly against the trigger of his self-- cocking weapon, ‘' What have your hired as- sassins done with my sister ? Speak, quickly— or never!” Silence, dead and unbroken, followed the slowly enunciated demand. The lurid glow im the eyes of the blonde giant deepened, Like a flash of light, his glittering weapon was raised. until its Ceadly muzzle-bore fell between the- glassy, herror-frozen eyes of the doomed gam~ bier. A single instant, then the herculean form of Shasta Sam, the man from Cinnabar, shot out from the front rank of the crowd, as if hurled, from a catapult, alighting squarely at the side. of the enraged alcalde, Ere his feet had fairly touched the earth, the dark giant’s long right arm swung upward in 7. sharp, swift stroke at the pistol hand of Gold abe Too late; the leveled weapon exploded spite-- fully, and Julian St. Elmo ropped in a writh- ing heap, a short, gasping cry issuing from his tightly-drawn lips. With the abruptness of thought, the giant = the golden locks wheeled and faced Shasta un, With eyes blazing with intense rage, their re- volvers in hand ready for instant use, the Rival. A aan, for a full minute glared fiercely at each. other. ; Then tho impending storm burst in all its — ury. —_—_—_—_———— CHAPTER X. HUNKI HANS SHOWS HIS HAND. ; THE sudden appearance of Hunki Hans, the mountain tramp, around the bend in the canyor, |