Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

12 Cool Colorado, the Half-Breed Detective. without the conspirators having the slightest suspicion that any one was playing the spy upon them. After the four visitors departed, the girl crept from the tunnel and, retiring toa safe distance from the house, so as to evade discovery in case her father should neniee to come to the dour, sat down upon a rock to deliberate over a plan of action. The plot which had been so craftily formed was certain to succeed, in her opinion, and the half-breed would be taken 7 surprise, and pro- bably killed, unless she could manage in some way to warn him of the danger which threat- ened. But could it be done? Who in the town could she trust to carry such an important message? s me shook her head in despair. here wasn’t a soul whom she would dare to ask, And then the bright thought flashed into her mind that she could go herself. But she was ignorant of the exact location of the - erring and the trail which must be taken to zveach it, Mrs, Stark would probably know though, and Polly thought that by some skilfully put ques- tions she could obtain the information she desired without arousing the woman’s suspicions, There was no time to be lost and the girl hur- ried away at once. Fortune favored Polly, for as she approached the house Mrs, Stark came to the door, thinking she heard some one knock, so Polly was not obliged to enter to have speech with the woman, and time was saved. : * —s to the camp?” Mrs, Stark asked. ‘ es,”’ “Tf you hear anything new ’bout that dread- ful Pine Creek murder [do hope you'll stop and tell me when you come back!” ‘‘Oh, I will; but where is the Pine Creek Mine’ and how do you go to it?” “Straight up the trail-along Bitter Creek until you come to Pine Creek, which is the first creek, and the mine is the first one up the creek. ‘*Lors! Ive been wanting to go thar ever since I heered of the dreadful thing, and, if you like, we will go up there together to-morrow or next day.” : ‘Yes, that will be wise—good-night!” and Polly hurried on, but as soon as Mrs, Stark closed the door she turned and retraced her steps, for she was going away from the mine. his was the Bitter Creek trail, and she must go north instead of south. She knew that the Pine Creek Mine was north of her father’s house, for it was in passing the cabin where she lived that Cool Colorado had chanced to encounter her. It was a lonesome way, but the moon was up and afforded the venturesome gir] light, so that it was not as desolate as it would have been if utter darkness had reigned. Polly hurried forward with wonderful speed, and as the road was tolerably good she succeed- ed in reaching the cabin of the half-breed in less than an hour. ' The light streaming from the chink over the door showed that the occupant was at home, Weil-nigh breathless from her haste, Polly knocked on the door. Warned by the fate which bad befallen his ard on account of his heedlessly opening the door, Cool Colorado did not unbar the portal, but first sought to ascertain who it was that craved admittance, In reply to hisdemand to know who was there, the girl replied: ‘*] want to speak to you on some important business, Mr. Colorado!” she replied. ‘‘ It’s Polly #Jackson.” Considerably astonished at this information, the young man hastened to remove the bar which tastened the door and gave admittance to the maiden. Polly was trembling with excitement when she entered the cabin, and Cool Colorado, per- ceiving the girl’s condition, hastened to provide a chair and a glass of water for her. “Just wait a moment until I get my breath!” she exclaimed, ‘‘ and I will tell you all about it! ‘‘It is an awful long distance up here and I believe I ran almost every step of the way!” ‘** The errand then that brought you must be an important one,” Cool Colorado observed, ** It is indeed—to you, for I come to warn you of a plot that threatens, not only your mining property here, but your very life!” The half-breed was amazed, and after thank- ing the girl for her great interest in his behalf, ‘besought her to explain. As briefly as possible, she told the story of the lot which had been concocted by the three ilver Moon sports and Teddy Flynn to take the Pine Creek Claim from bim, and how they had bribed her father by the offer of a one-eigth in- | terest to take a share in it. | Tears came into her beautiful eyes as she de- | scribed how her father had willingly entered into | the scheme. Cool Colorado perceived her emotion and tried to console her. ‘‘ Don’t feel badly about the matter,” he said. ‘‘ All men make mistakes sometimes in their lives, and your father has, unfortunately, taken a violent dislike to me, and it is not my fault either. I didn’t want to quarrel with him, but | he forced the fight on me; for your sake I spared him all I could and I will again.” Then, taking a seat by the girl, he passed his arms around her waist, while her head reclined on his shoulder, and he made the sweet confes- stam of his love which she was so willing to | ear. Only a few moments though did she yield to the blissful influences of love’s young dream, then starting up, she said she must return lest her long absence should arouse suspicion. But she went not home alone. Cool Colorado accompanied her until she was within sight of her father’s cabin, and then, with a last embrace, they parted. It was after eleven when the girl entered the cabin, but old man Jackson had been paying at- | tention to a bottle of whisky, and therefore took | no heed of the passage of time, so the girl was | not closely cross-examined in regard to her long | visit, Jackson’s only thoughts being of the mor- | row when he would have an opportunity to wreak vengeance upon his foe, the daring, pow- erful, skillful Cool Colorado, who had beaten him in so easy a manner. | CHAPTER XIV. THE PLOTTERS ARE SURPRISED. BRIGHT and early the next morning the con- spirators met, according to agreement, at a cer- | tain big rock about a balf a mile up the trail | beyond old man Jackson’s cabin, t was arranged that the five should meet at this point,*which was well outside the camp, so as not to excite any suspicions, which would be | sure to spring up if the miners saw five men, | armed to the teeth, marching through the camp. It would be guessed at onee that the five were on the ‘** war-path,” and a crowd would be sure to follow them in order to see what they were up to. Now this was just what the conspirators did not want, They didn’t require any witnesses to the little game which they contemplated playing, and so took all possible precautions that no one in the camp should have any idea of what they were going to do. All five were not only armed with revolvers and knives after the usual miner fashion, but also carried rifles, The four who came from the camp proceeded in couples, a took the precaution to strike off from the traji through the rough and broken country to the eastward as though they were | | | in search of game. Old man Jackson, eager for a chance to get at his foe, was the first one to reach the meet- ing place. Crooked Pat O’Neal and Teddy Flynn came next, and five minutes afterward Slender Bud and Missouri Johnny made their appearance, Little time was fost in words, for all were anxious to get at the business in hand, and in a few moments after Slender Bud and Missouri Johnny came up, the party started, and went forward at a good e. Little was said during the march, but when the party left the Bitter Creek trail and turned into that which ran along Pine Creek, Crooked Pat O’Neal let fall a few words of caution. ‘Look to your weapons, boys,” he said. ‘* See that they are all right, and in good con- dition, for this half-breed is a desperate fellow, and if he takes it into his head to show fight— and the chances are that he will, although the odds are big against him we can’t afford to have | any misfires, for it would be apt to cost some ! one of us his life. The rest hastened to assure Crooked Pat that they fully comprehended this fact, and then | every man made a careful examination of his | arms so as to be sure that each piece was In per- fect working order. Just before they came in sight of the half-breed’s cabin Slender Bud called a halt for the purpose of deliberating how best to make the attack, And when he put the question: ‘* Now then, gents, which is the best way to do this trick? One and all looked at each other as though troubled to answer, _ Crooked Pat O’Neal broke the silence by say- ing: “Give us your idea, Bud; you have the best head for a thing of this kind of any man in the party. ‘* Well, my notion is that we had better sur- prise our game,” Slender Bud replied. ‘*T think the chances are a million to one if we give Cool Colorado the chance he will fight like a devil, and, as he always goes armed to the teeth, the odds are big that some one of us will be apt to get hurt in the skirmish.” There wasn’t one in the party who judged it wise to dispute this statement. ‘* Now if we find him inside of the cabin we must creep up quietly, knock, and when he opens the door jump on him,” ‘* But os fa he is outside?’ Crooked Pat O’Neal asked. ‘‘He may be dawn at the creek, you know, working on his claim,” ‘‘ Well, in that case we must scout in quietly and surround him, then make a sudden dash, ‘* He will pull on us, of course, but we may be able to lay him out before he can do much dam- age. The plan seemed to be a good one and all were willing to try it. They went on for a few hundred yards and then, as they were approaching the neighbor- hood of the cabin, proceeded with extreme caution, Finally they reached a point from whence they could command a view of the Pine Creek Claim, but the cabin was hidden from view on account of a bend in the trail. The half-breed was not in sight, so it was plain | he was not at work. ‘* He is in the cabin, evidently, and we will be able to surprise him!” Slender Bud exclaimed. The gang passed around the bend of the trail and came in sight of the cabin; then the surprise and disgust of the party can be imagined when they discovered the man they sought, seated on alow rock, with his back against a huge bowlder and flanked by other bowiders to the right and left, so that it was a clear impossibility to either surround or to attack him in the rear. Upon his lap he held his rifle, and his hands were playing carelessly with the lock, He was on the watch, for he discovered the new-comers just as soon as they came in sight. The plotters halted, uncertain what to do. The three Silver Moon pards were too old birds not to suspect, from the nature of the cir- cumstances, that their plan had miscarried. In some mysterious way the half-breed had got a knowledge of their purpose, and was fully prepared to receive them. e had stationed himself in a strong position, too, one where it was impossible for attackers to secure ‘‘ cover” in advancing upon him, ‘* Well, our cake is all dough now, as far asa surprise goes,” Slender Bud remarked, “Yes, we'll have to chin a little with him and see if he will not listen to reason,” Crooked Pat O’Neal remarked. ‘‘We can lay him out, of course, but we will be apt to lose some men in the fight, and, mebbe, when he sees that we mean business, he may be willing to come to some kind of an arrange- ment. ‘“‘Tf he don’t, why, we will kill him, that’s all!” Slender Bud exclaimed. ‘Yes, yes, that’s the talk!” old man Jackson cried. e hadn’t had any breakfast, for he had stolen from the house without awakening his daughter, but in lieu of eatables he had finished the bottle of whisky, which he bad _ been enjoy- ing on the previous evening, and the result of this tippling upon an empty stomach was that he was pretty well ‘‘ under the weather,” Teddy Flynn was getting uneasy; be did not like the appearance of things. On the previous evening, when the plotters had decided that they would seize the mine and if Cool Colorado resisted they would kill him, the scheme seemed to be perfectly feasible, for were they not five to one? But now that the five and the one were face to face, with arms in their hands, it did not seem to be near so easy @ job as it had appeared when the matter was discussed and determined upon. Pe Bud, will you talk to him or shall I?” ‘‘[ reckon I had better do the talking,” Slen- der Bud replied. ‘‘The cat is out of the bag evidently. He knows that we ain’t come for the sole purpose _— mer ee i