Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

Cool Colorado, the Half-Breed Detective. +) ' . “3 7 | on ten ohh) ety 5 Sen —————————— And now that it was apparent that the knife was not the one pene Dg to Cool Colorado— unless indeed the half-breed possessed two exact- ly alike—he was staggered but not satisfied. Dull as his mind was he had hit upon the idea that Colorado—as he was familiarly termed— might have two knives, and so, after weighing the matter over in his mind for a few moments, he said: ‘‘ Wa-al, that isa pretty good explanation of yours, Colorado, but then, if you are the chap ‘ who did the mischief you would be apt to be ready to fool any galoots w’ot got arter you in some sich way, so I hope you won’t take it hard if I say that a judge and jury ought for to jook inter this matter. If you are an innocent ora a in course, you ain’t got anything to ear. “Oh, I havy’n’t the least objection to stand trial,” the half-breed replied, immediately. ‘‘There isn’t the slightest doubt that I can easily prove I hadn’t anything to do with the matter, but unless instant pursuit is given the odds are big that the scoundrel who did the eed will get away.” ‘“T will see to that!” Big-nosed Smith ex- claimed, in the most confident manner possible. ‘“?Cording to what you say the galoot was heading for Alpine and we kin git right on his track.’ In obedience to Smith’s suggestion Cool Colorado gave up his arms and was conducted by Big-nosed Smith and a couple of the miners to Bitteropolis while the rest took the trail for Alpine, the only eastern outlet from the valley in which the mining-camp was situated. True there was a southern trail which led down into Gunnison but it was a long, round- about way. CHAPTER V. THE TRIAL. As the prisoner went with his captors with- out the slightest reluctance—and none of them had any fearof his attempting to escape—it was not deemed necessary to take any extra pre- cautions in regard to him. The party proceeded to the hotel at Bitter- opolis—it was after midnight when they arrived there—and as the place had closed for the night, the landlord had to be roused from his slumber. Great was the astonishment of Perkins when he learned the particulars of the affair. He Ticatid She idea, though, that Cool Colo- rado had any hand in the outrage. ‘Why, boys, it was ’bout ten o’clock when he left here, and, ’eording to your yarn, Mulligan’s cabin was robbed jest about that time, and I reckon it is a clear onpossibility for a critter to be in two places at the same time, particularly when they are five miles apart. ‘‘Now I tell you, Smith, it takes a mighty good walker to cover that distance much inside of an hour.” None: of the miners who had figured in the ar- rest of Cool Colorado were noted for keenness of wit, and not one of the party had ever taken the trouble to figure out whether it was possible for the half-breed to commit the crimes, accept- ing as true his statement that he had not left Bitteropolis until a late hour. The landlord, though, was a man who dealt in figures and, Yankee-like, was quick at calcu- lating, and so the moment that Big-nosed Smith made the announcement that Barney Mulligan’s cabin had been robbed about half-past ten o'clock and then the robber had killed Alex Williams, who lived a quarter of a mile down trail, and they had arrested Cool Colorado on the suspicion that he was the man who did the deed, the landlord of the Millionaire’s Home knew immediately that, to use the old saying, the miners were ‘‘ barking up the wrong tree.” Perkins did not hesitate to express his senti- ment, too, in the plainest way. In fact, he told the miners that, in his opinion, they were acting like a pack of jackasses, and while they were fooling away time with Cool Colorado, the real culprit was afforded a chance to escape. > Here again Big-nosed Smith’s bullheadedness came in, ‘Tt was all right!” he declared. A gang had set out in chase of the horseman whom the half- breed had described, and he ‘‘ reckoned” that notvithstanding Cool Colorado's statement seemed to be pretty ‘squar’,” a judge and jury ought to have the chance of looking Into it, The miners too were ratber inclined to side with their leader, particularly as the half- said it didn’t make any difference to him as he had not the least fear of standing trial “ All right! go your own gait!” Perkins ex- claimed. ‘* But I tell you, once for all, you are ? * ae oe Ape aR age rt R for > P J : he 14, - Pid. Ang 7 — “~ = wr a a just wasting time which might be used to better advantage.” Big-nosed Smith was determined though to ‘‘run” matters according to his ideas, and so Perkins provided a large room for the accom- modation vf the prisoner and his guards. Bitteropolis bad not yet arrived at the dignity of possessing a jail, or any place of deten- tion, where a prisoner could be safely confined. In the apie the news of the tragedy on Pine Creek and the arrest of Cool Colorado on suspicion of being concerned in the matter spread with wonderful rapidity and, as a natural result, by seven o’clock in the morning almost all the inhabitants of thé camp and its vicinity were gathered in and around the Millionaire’s Home, The sentiment of the crowd was that Big- nosed Smith and his fellows had made a mistake in arresting the half-breed, yet there were a few who held with the captors that, under the circumstances, a judge and jury should have a chance to pass upon the case. Just about seven o’clock the miners who had been dispatched to trail the strange horseman returned and reported that they had not been able to get on his track. In fact, they stated that they had not found a single paren on the road, which the horseman had taken, according to Cool Coiorado’s state- ment, who had seen any such horse and rider. They had gone as far as the toll-house—the road to ae was controlled by one. of these modern robbers, commonly called toll-gatherers —and the man in charge of the toll-house, who, of course, was accustomed to noting. all who passed, said, decidedly, that, although three horsemen had passed his station that night be- tween nine o’clock and twelve, yet no “ dark chestnut horse with three white stockings and a bright blaze in the forehead,” had gone along. ‘* There were one white hoss, a sorrel, and a bay, but nary che:tnut.” So it was plain that the stranger had quitted the Alpine trail before coming to the toll-house. When this report was made public, there were a few suspicious souls who shook their heads and quietly insinuated to their cronies that it was ‘‘mighty queer” if the half-breed had met any such horse and rider as he de- scribed, no one else happened to see them. It did not take long to select a judge and jury. Tom McGregor, a middle-aged, tawny-bearded Scotchman, with all the thrift and hard ‘* hoss- sense” of his race, was unanimously elected to preside over the trial. Twelve good men were chosen for jurors, and the trial at once commenced. As the camp lacked a ‘‘ temple of justice,” and there wasn’t an apartment in the town any- where big enough to accommodate all the peo- ple who wished to witness the proceedings, the judge decided chat the affair should take place in the open air—beneath ‘‘the broad canopy of Heaven,” as one of miners, poetically inclined, remarked, In fact, so small were the buildings—which had been run up in a hurry, for the camp was a mushroom city which, after the fashion of Aladdin’s palace, had sprung up alimost in a single night—that there wasn’t a room in the town big enough to accommodate the judge, jury, prisoner and witnesses, to say nothing of the citiz-ns, who would have been furious if they had not been allowed to witness the pro- ceedings. The old saying regarding the ‘‘ law’s delays” does not apply to Judge Lynch’s court, as this truly American institution is run in the far Western land. _ A box with a chair on it was provided for the judge, the jurors squatted upon a couple of shoe- boxes, a barrel standing upright, the good head upward, was provided for the prisoner’s accom- modation, and upon this he sat. Tom McGregor proceeded immediately to busi- ness, ‘Say, Colorado, this is a bad business—what do you know about it?” Thus questioned, the half-breed told his plain, straightforward tale, to which all listened with the deepest attention; and although the by- standers were amazed at the murder, they were still more astonished when Cool Colorado re- vealed how great was the amount of gold which he and his partner had taken from the Pine Creek Claim. And there were a great many of the listeners who were inclined to believe that the half-breed had either made some mistake about the matter cor was wantonly exaggerating the value of the secret hoard. If he. had spoken the truth, the Pine Creek Claim was worth any ten “ strikes” in the neigh- mE EEE EEE —————————————— ae EE a ’ 5 . . Se. ees ; borhood, a fact which not a soul in the camp had suspected, for it was well-known that the discoverer of the ‘‘ lead” did not make a fortune out of it, and when he succeeded in selling it to Alexander Williams at a good price, went around town and boasted in regard to how he had ‘‘ stuck the tenderfoot.” ‘‘ Well, man, your story is all straight enough on the face,” the Scotchman observed, “ and now, Smith, we want to hear from you. “Why did you arrest Colorado, and what reason have you to cup he had any hand in the murder of Alex iN iams?” As will be seen, the miner judge did not pro- ceed in accordance with the time-honored rules of law courts; but, as a bystander significantly observed, ‘‘ he’s gittin’ thar, all the same!” Thus summoned, Big-nosed Smith related the particulars of the robbery of Barney Mulligan’s cabin, and the finding of the knife which they saw was exactly like the one carried by Cool Colorado, This led to his being suspected, and so the party went at once to his cabin for the purpose of interviewing him in regard to the matter and so discovered that Alexander Williams had been murdered. Then the speaker described how they had found the half-breed examining the money-belt of the dead man, and seeing the blood upon his hands, at once jumped to the conclusion that he was the murderer, ‘‘ Did Colorado offer any explanation?” Big-nosed Smith said he did, and related what the prisoner had said. ‘‘°Tain’t improbable,” the judge commented. ‘* But how about the knife? as it bis’n?” The miner was obliged to admit that Cool Col- orado had denied the ownership of the knife, and had produced his weapon to show he spoke the truth. ‘‘ Any man in the crowd ever see Colorado have two knives exactly alike?” the Scotchman asked. The miners loéked in each other’s faces in an inquiring way, but no one in the assemblage was able to come forward and testify that they had ever seen the half-breed in the possession of two knives, ‘‘ Well, that p’int don’t go for much, then,” the Scotchman observed. ‘‘Tf it can’t be proved that the prisoner had two weapons, the finding of a knife, which the robber dropped, exactly like the one Colorado carries, ain’t any proor ag’in’ him.” ‘* Where are the knives?” The pair were handed to him, McGregor examined them with a critical eye. ‘They are as alike as two peas, but I reckon there’s plenty more like them in the camp. ‘Pears to me that I have got one in my belt now.” And as he sp»ke the judge drew forth his own knife from its sheath. It was the truth. The keenest eyes could not have detected that there was any difference in the weapons. ‘‘ Well, that p’int is settled, and now let us see if we can get at the time when these two crimes were committed.” This was easily done, and according to the tes- timony the robbery of Mulligan took place about half-past ten and the murder of Williams thirty minutes or so afterward. CHAPTER VI. THE VERDICT, ‘Now, then, Colorado, ’bout what time did you leave tbe Millionaire’s Home last night” the judge queried. ‘*A few minutes past ten.” ‘¢ As I understand the matter, your defense is that you couldn’t ibly have got from the camp to Pine Creek in time to commit these crimes?” ‘‘ Yes, sir; I think I can prove the cleverest kind of an alibi.” ‘‘ Well, it kinder seems that way to me, too,” the judge admitted, frankly. ‘ But we are go- ing to get right down to the roots of the thing. ‘ Anybody here who can tell anything about the time that Colorado left the Millionaire’s Home last night?” Perkins. the landlord of the Millionaire’s Home immediately stepped forward in the promptest manner. ‘“‘T calculate, judge, I kin tell you something bout that,” he said. “Spit it out!” ‘“‘Tt was jest about five minutesarter ten when he started fer to go. 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