Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

| J r © & A \ iw ¥ . - $ | | | | 3 -“*but don’t go down to the town, whar fg te let ~~ | geoundrel who had so ill-used him, he would cer- tainly do her a mortal injury. The girl was naturally indignant, the more so as she was convinced that her father had been entirely to blame in the quarrel. ‘*T guess if you had let the young man alone and minded your own business, that he would not have troubled you!” she exclaimed, tartly. ** Let him alone!” cried old Jackson, angrily; “do you s’pose I was going to let ’em throw this miserable galoot up in my teeth as being a better man than I was? I want you to under- stand I was the boss of the town, and when this Cool Colorado came to the fore, I had to lay him out or give un calling myself a chief.” ‘Well, I think you had better give it up!” Polly responded. ‘‘I don’t think that it is nice for men to go around challenging each other to fight, just like a lot of bulldogs.” “Oh, shut up! Wot do you women know about such matters, anyway? But I will get uar’ with the galoot afore he is many days older. ‘*He is mighty handy witl® his fists and his wrestling tricks, but jest wait until I git arter him with a gun, and see if I don’t make him hump himself,” and then the old man broke out into such a fit of violent swearing that the girl in affright was driven out of the apartment. After having had a nap old Jackson felt bet- ter, though, and partook of his supper in a com- paratively peaceful state of mind. The old man did not wake up until late, and it was eight o’clock before supper was over; then the girl, after egy, Pog table, said she was going to pay a visit to Mrs. Stark, a neigh- bor who lived in the first cabin down the trail toward the camp. **T hain’t got no objection,” said the old roar you bev ary chance of seeing that galoot, for I’m dead set ag’in’ him, an’ 1’m sart’in to lay him out one of these days,” The girl replied that she had no intention of going anywhere except to Mrs. Stark and then eparted, : ive minutes after she left there came a knock at the door, and when old man Jackson went to see what was wanted he found the three Silver Moon sports and Teddy Flynn. ‘* Walk in, gen’lemen, walk in; I'm right glad to' see you!” Jackson exclaimed. After the four entered the house and seated themselves, Crooked Pat O’Neal took a look around and said: “We have come on a leetle matter of busi- ness, Jackson, and I s’pose, afore we get at it, its as well to be sure that what we say won't be carried all over the town.” “Oh, that is all right,” the other replied, confidently, ‘‘ there ain’t ary soul in the Soules but myself.” “Your daughter lives hyer with you, doesn’t she?” asked the sport, with a suspicious glance _ about him, just as if, despite the old man’s Pz, : iA * us - the moment he beard statement, he expected to see Polly Jackson lurking in some corner. ‘Yes, but she is not in the house. She went eut ten or fifteen minutes ago to pay a visit to one of the neighbors, Mrs. Stark, who lives down the trail, and she won’t be back for an hour or so, for when two women get together thar’s allers a heap of talking to be done.” ‘You are sure then there isn’t any danger of our conversation being overhead?” Crooked Pat O’Neal queried, gut Sart’in! thar ain’t the least possibility of it.” ‘* Because we have come to have a little talk with you on a mighty important business mat- ter, and if our conversation should be over- heard by any spy, and the thing get out, all the - fat would be in the fire.” “Don’t you worry *bout that!” old Jackson rejoined in the most confident manner possible. ‘You kin shoot off yer mouth all you lke and no one will be uny the wiser for it.” Thus assured, Crooked Pat O’Neal introduced Teddy Flynn to Jackson. ‘‘ Mebbe you have heard of Mr. Flynn before, - seeing as he used to hang out in Bitteropolis,” - the chief of the three =a Jackson shook his h **No, I never heered of the gen’leman afore.” ‘He used to own the Pine Creek Claim, the mine, you know. that Cool Colorado is inter- .” the sharp explained. Old man Jackson aeiiied his teeth together he name of his foe. “ Durn that galoot!” he exclaimed. ‘ l’ve got D the worst kind of a dge ag’in’ him a reckon I will have to"ae lees nnin’ ’round the camp arter a gen’leman "bout hissize fore long.” _ “ Well it was in reference to Colorado and hi wl Aa th . . : . > ‘2 . 4a “ %¢@ ’ ' igs cee f “* -~ ¥ ' hen en hee | et Ree bate > + r, . , ¢ ‘ *s mS ie “gf Cool Colorado, the Half-Breed Detective. i, eae ies Fale | ’ * A ore . * ste if Ae 4 mine that we came to see you to-night,” ob- served Crooked Pat O’Neal. ‘*T reckon thar’s going to be a leetle trouble *bout the mine, and i kinder had an idea that you would like to take a hand in the fun.” ‘You kin just bet I would if it is going to give mea chance to get a whack at this mud- colored galoot!” ‘Oh, I reckon you will get all the chance you want!” Slender Bud exclaimed, and Missouri Johnny chimed in with an emphatic, ‘‘ that’s so!” - **T can explain the whole business to you in a ers of shakes,” said the chief of the three pe Mister Flynn hyer got kinder dissatisfied with the mine and Alex Williams, happening to come along and take a fancy to the property, pressed him to sell, ‘* Mister Flynn wasn’t particularly anxious, you know, but as the other fellow was so hot after it, finally, he agreed to let him have it for five hundred dollars, but he made Williams sign an agreement that if he, Flynn, wanted the property again within one year he could have it yy paying back the purchase money—the five hundred, you know—and a hundred dollars im addition as a bonus,” ** Yes, yes, I see,” and old Jackson nodded his head, sagely. ‘*And Imust say that it was a mighty smart thing for you to do, Mister Flynn, to get old Williams to sign that agreement, for I heered talk on the street to-day that that Pine Creek Claim was worth fifty thousand dollars of any man’s money !” Flynn looked amazed, for this was the first intimation he had received that the mine was worth any such sum. He looked at the three sports, and they smiled, for they had Teddy Flynn securely held by writings, and it was too late for him to ‘* kick” and demand a higher share, He consoled himself with the thought that/if it had not been for their cunning wits he would not have stood any chance to derive the least profit from the affair. ‘‘Hyer’s the agreement, all right,” Crooked Pat O'Neal remarked, producing a written paper and giving it to old man Jackson. He perened it carefully, then handed it back with the remark: ‘Tt seems to me that the matter is as straight as a string.” “Yes: but this half-breed, who is now in pos- session of the mine, will likely be axinet to show fight,” Slender.Bud observed. _ “The chances are big, you know, that Will- lams never said anything to him about this agreement, and when we come to demand the mine he will be apt to show fight.” “IT shouldn’t be a mite surprised, for he’s an ugly snake!” Jackson declared. ‘We three have gone in with Mister Flynn in this speculation,” the Creole explained. ‘The property is rich enough to stand a com- pany, and so we have formed one,” he contin- ued. ‘‘I own a quarter, and each of my pards here has a quarter, Mister Flynn an eighth, and there is One eighth left which we reckoned that, mebbe, you would like to take.” ‘* Sart’in!” cried old man Jackson, ~ romptly; “* that is, if you ain’t fixed the ante too high.” ‘* We have bonded the mine at sixty thousand dollars, but if you want an eighth interest, you needu’t pay but a thousand in and let tke rest come out of your share of the profits.” os Good enuff! Count me in!” the old man cried. The three acted shrewdly in securing the co- operation of Jackson, for he was recognized as a square and honest man, and had a number of friends who would be apt to side with him if there was a fight for the possession of the Pine Creek property. ‘* Well, we are glad you see fit to go in with us, for we don’t think Colorado bas treated you right, and now you will have a chance to square the matter.” Crooked Pat O’Neal observed, ‘To-morrow we are going to demand the sur- render of the mine,” ‘He won’t give it up—he’ll fight!” old Jack- son asserted, . ‘‘Then we will go for him red-hot, and if he gets hurt there will be no one to blame but him- self!” And with this significant declaration, the in- terview ended. ee CHAPTER XIII. A FRIEND IN NEED... As a rule, men who delight in positive asser- tions, without taking the trouble to inform themselves surely regarding the matter in hand, are generally wrong. - : . td P ; x av . » 4 v 4 A hy is . * y a" And so it was in this case in regard to old man Jackson’s positive declaration that there wasn’t the least danger of any one playing the spy upom the conversation between him and bis visitors. He relied upon the fact that he had seen his daughter depart and had not witnesscd her re~ turn. But she had returned though. To tell the truth, Polly Jackson had fallen deeply in love with the young and handsome Cool Colorado, It was a case of love at first sight. Many a man had sought to win the favor of her smiles, for such girls as the blooming Polly are fewand far between in the wild western land, but until she encountered the dashing half- breed the maiden had never looked upon the face of a man whom she cared to see again. It is an old saying that the course of true love never runs smooth, and certainly the adage seemed to be correct in this instance, for al- though the young miner had never told the girl that he was smitten with her charms in words, et his eyes had spoken, and Polly felt sure that be was as much impressed with her as she was with him. But as neither had spoken of love to the other, it could not be justly said that there was a love affair between them, and, therefore, the girl] felt that her father’s reproaches were terribly un- just. Then too, if she and Cool Colorado were lovers, ‘it would tend to make the young man anxious to be on good terms with her father instead of bad. So ber conscience acquitted her of the charge of being in any way the cause of the ill-feeling between the two men. She knew by experience that her father was inclined to be ugly when he had been drinking and, being proud of the gifts in the physical line which nature had bestowed upon him, he was much more likely to seek a quarrel than to en- deavtr to avoid one. It was an easy matter for her to decide then that in this trouble between her father and Cool Colorado the blame was entirely on the side of the old man. She was heated and excited from meditating over the matter when she left the house and just in the mood to do something desperate. It was only about five minutes’ walk to the cabin of the neighbor whom she intended to visit and she had just reached it when her at- tention was attracted by the sound of men’s voices, coming from the other side of the house, around which the trail led. — The cabins concealed the men from her view,,. but it was evident that they were so near at hand that she could not hope to get into the house before they came up. The girl was in no mood for conversation, and knowing that if any of the new-comers: chanced to acquainted with her they would be certain to stop for the purpose of exchanging: a few playful remarks, she hastened to get be- hind the cabin so as to avoid them. The desire succeeded, the party—it was the three Silver Moon pards and Teddy Flynn— by without the slightest suspicion re- garding the proximity of the girl. And asthe men passed by the cabin Teddy Flynn was uncautious enough to remark: ‘We will rope the old man Jackson in to a. dead certainty and then we'll make the haif- breed skip the gutter!” ‘*Hush!” continued Crooked Pat O’Neal, ‘*don’t be shooting off your mouth so freely. A still tongue makes a wise head!” Then the party passed out of hearing. But the girl had heard cnough to give her to understand that the men were on their way to see her father to get him to join in some plot. wna was designed to work harm to the man she oved. Under such circumstances the girl did not, hesitate long in regard to what she should do, At all risks she must overhear the interview between the men and her father—she must be. ° able to learn the details of the plot, so as to warn Cool Colorado of the exact nature of the danger that threatened him. Therefore with the cautious steps of the wild beast stealing upon its prey, Polly Jackson made her way back to the cabin, There was an excavation under the house, where the original builder had started in to. make a cellar, but had given the task up asa bad job before be had half completed it. _ Polly knew that by concealing herself in this tunnel] she would be able to overhear all that was: said in the room above. : . As the reader has seen, the girl succeeded in, her plan. 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