Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

_ don’t want to fool with any cyclones.” Cool Colorado, the Half-Breed Detective. ? Then, perceiving that cld man Jackson was in need of assistance, the three hurried to his aid. Jackson had been dazed by the terrible stroke, and it was a couple of minutes before he was able to understand what had happened. | Slowly he rose to his feet, all the fight evident- ly taken out of him by the rough handling he had received, but the anger still remained, and made ten times more by his overwhelming de- “Time!” ejaculated Big-nosed Smith, in a pro- fessional sort of way, when old Jackson got on his ‘‘ pins,” as he would have expressed it. Old man Jackson glared at the speaker in a iy indicated how unwelcome feat, manner which plain was his speech. Big-nosed Smith only grinned though, just as if he considered that ke had got off a good joke. Cool Colorado bad folded his arms across his breast while Jackson was recovering, but now that his opponent was on his feet, he threw him- self in position again ready for an attack. ‘Oh, you needn’t git ready for to fight ag’in!” old Jackson cried, ’cos you ain’t a-going to get a | chance to try any more of your boxing tricks on | 3 ‘* Ah, you have had enough then?” “Too much, I reckon, from the look on him!” ejaculated the irrepressible Smith. ‘‘ Mebbe you weuld make a better show if you | tried it on!” old Jackson exclaimed, eagerly. ‘* Wa-al, now, you kin bet a hoss to a hen that | i the Creole warned, true to the character he had of being “‘ the brains” of the three pards. ‘¢ You have given Colorado fair notice that you don't consider this matter settled, and, of course, from this time out, whenever, or wherever, he meets you he will be on the lookout for trou- ble.” ‘Yes, yes!” cried the other two sports, and old man Jackson nodded his head as much as to say he agreed with the speaker. ‘* So, as I said, you must be careful how you handle yourself when Colorado is around,” the Creole continued, ‘‘ because any uncautious movement on your part will be apt to lead him to suspect you are going to pull a gun on him, and he will be mighty apt to pull his and let her rip at you without saying much.” “True as preaching!” added Crooked Pat O’Neal, impressively. ‘* You bet!” cried Missouri Johnny. ‘‘Oh, I will be on the lookout!” Jackson ex- claimed, evidently much impressed by the gravity of the situation. ‘“‘ And when you pull on him, pull quick!” Slender Bud remarked, “‘ for I have a kinder sort of an idea that the copper-colored cuss is just old lightning on the draw.” ‘‘Oh, no, I’m not going to try any game of that sort!” the old man declared, his anger by this time having considerably abated. ‘‘Pve tried the galoot on two holts now an’ got a durned sight the worst on it in both heats, I wouldn’t make any worse!” the miner replied. ; and I reckon I ain’t anxious to give him another ‘That pint kin be decided better arter you git through!” Jackson retorted. “JT gin’t a-going to try the riffle!” Smith ex- claimed. ‘‘ I’ve got too much sense for to stand up and git punished. When I go into a > I pick out a man that I stand some show with. L | “You are satisfied then?’ Cool Colorado ob- served, addressing old man Jackson. | ‘‘No, I ain’t!? snarled the other in reply, ‘¢ and I want you to understand that this ain’t , the last of this hyer matter!” | ‘‘ You had better settle it right now for good | and all!” the half-breed suggested. ‘Oh, no, I will wait until I get a good chance | at you, and then I will squar’ the account,” old | man Jackson replied in his ugliest way. ‘+ And | want to give you a bit of a warning | too! Don’t you hang ’round my house, for i you do it won’t be healthy for you!” And then with his new-made friends, the three sports, the old man departed. ‘‘He came for wool and got sheared!” was Big-nose Smith’s comment. CHAPTER X., THE SPORTS PLAN. “T say, Jackson, it wasn’t wise of you_to ive out your little game so free,” Crooked Pat ‘Neal remarked, after they were well out of hearing of the others. ‘‘ Why not? Cursethe scoundrel! him before 1 get through with him.” “Of course, that is only natural under the circumstances, I don’t blame you a bit!” the chief of the pards asserted, sympathetically. “But if you calculate to do anything of the kind it ain’t just the cheese, you know, to let your man onto your racket, so as to give him time to prepare and be all ready for you when you go to make the riffle.” “Yes, thar ain’t any mistake about that. You made a bad break, old man, when you let on to Colorado that you was a-going for him one of these days,” Missouri Jobnny remarked. ‘Yes, yes, thar isn’t the least doubt about it,” Slender Bud observed. “The way to work a trick of this kind, on such a man as this cool and hardy sharp, is to take him unawares, then you will stand some chance for your money, but if you go to give him a fair shake for his white alley, the chances are big that he will be able to get away with you, and without half-trying, either.” | , “Yes, I suppose I acted like a fool in letting him know that I didn’t consider the matter set- tled and was going for him ag’in,” old man Jackson admitted, after thinking over the mat- ter for a minute. ‘But then, boys, you know a man don’t al- lers do w’ot he ought to in this hyer life. ‘You must consider the circumstances, I reckon if any one of you had got pourded in the I will kill awful way I did it would be suthin’ to make you | feel savage, and when a man loses his temper he ain’t apt to be keerful of w’ot he says!” ‘Oh, yes, there ain’t any doubt about that,” Crooked Pat O’Neal observed, and the others as- sented. ‘‘But you must keep your eyes peeled now,” 2 <« © § Neen e nn TEETTEIETEnnEInEIIEIIIIInISIIIEtEeennenn ne chance at me just yet. But if I caught bim fooling ’round my cabin, you know, arter my gal, ‘ticularly arter dark, I would be mighty apt to salivate him with a gun for keeps.” All three of the sports were loud in their ap- proval of this idea; and Crooked Pat O’Neal | took pains to assure Jackson that if he had any further trouble with the half-breed they would most certainly stick by him, and this circum- stance encouraged the old man considerably, for the three sports were valuable friends, When they arrived at the camp the party separated, old man Jackson going to his cabin and the pards to their saloon. The Silver Moon Ranch was one of the largest in the camp; in the front was the gambling- room and bar, and in the rearasmall apart- ment where the three kept bachelor’s hall. Like the majority. of the saloons on the fron- tier, particularly those who depended more upon the gambling-tables than the bar, there wasn’t much business ever done until the shades of night covered the earth, so the proprietors could safely trust the running of the place to their as- sistants. In their private apartment the three seated themselves to hold a conference. ‘* Well, boys, we managed to slip up in a first- class manner in this first trial,” Crooked Pat O’Neal observed. ** Oh, yepivou kin bet high on that!” Missouri Johnny cried. ‘““There is not the slightest doubt that we failed in the most complete and signal manner,” Slender Bud remarked. ‘* Still, under these adverse circumstances, it is well to remember the old saying that one swallow does not make a summer, and, when you come to reflect upon the matter, wasn’t we expecting a little too much when we reckoned that this old blow-hard would get away with such a man as Cool Colorado?” ‘’Pears to me we were a leetle off thar,” Missouri Johnny admitted, after a slight pause. “Yes, gents, but it wasn’t my calculation when I suggested the thing that Jackson would be donkey enough to attempt to stand up against the sport in a fair fight,” Crooked Pat O’Neal hastened to remark. ‘That is true enough,” Slender Bud exclaim- ed. “‘That was something that I didn’t calcu- late upon, and I reckon I can see as far into a millstone as the next man. My idea, of course, was that old Jackson would go for the half-breed with a gun.” ‘¢ But you didn’t reckon that he would get the best of the fight, did you?” Missouri Johnny hastened to ask. ‘* Why, see hyer, Missouri, you ought to know better than to put that question!” Slender Bud exclaimed, with an air of disgust. ** Well, I didn’t s’pose you did.” “No, sir-ee! If I had been putting up wealth on the fight, I would have been glad to back Colorado two to one, and I reckon [ would have gone in so heavily that, if Colorado didn’t suc- oe pulling off the affair, I would have gone roke, “My calculation was that the half-breed would lay the old man out, but then I was spec- ulating on the chance that Colorado might get Ri) a bullet; and then I reckoned, too, that some one of us could get an opportunity in the skir- mish to put in a shot,” ‘Yes, yes, that was the little game I thought might be played,’ Crooked Pat O’Neal re- marked, ‘‘ But as we didn’t catch the galoot alone that leetle trick couldn’t be worked,” said Missouri Johnny with a mournful stroke of the head. ‘‘ No, the presence of the miners knocked that speculation into a cocked hat,” the Creole ob- served. “ But, as I said before, boys, we can’t afford to give our idea up for there is big money in it if we can only make the riffle.” ‘‘ Not the least doubt about it!” Crooked Pat O’Neal declared. ‘‘Why, gents, this Pine Creek strike is the biggest one that has ever been made anywhere in this section. ‘‘Tf Colorado speaks the truth—and I don’t think there is the least doubt that he does—he and his pard have taken out over ten thousand dollars’ worth of stuff from the claims in the last two months besides their grub stakes.” ‘‘A mighty big showing!” observed Slender Bud with a wise nod, ‘You kin bet it is!” Missouri Johnny ex- claimed. . “‘ And [ can tell you what it is, pards, it is more than tke best ten—or mebbe, twenty ciaim in this district kin boast.” ‘ Not the least doubt about it, and the chances are that if agood force was put on the mine, and the thing worked as it ought to be, that ten or twelve thousand dollars a month might be pulled out of it,” Crooked Pat O’Neal de- clared. . ‘And to think that just one man stands be- tween us and the biggest bonanza which has been struck lately in Colorado,” Slender Bud observed. ‘‘ Say, pards, what is to prevent us from jump- ing the vlaim?* asked Missouri Johnny. “We will seize right onto it and if Colorado objects—which of course he will—we kin lay him out. ‘‘He’s a good man, I know, but we are three to one and if we can’t do him up, then we are a lot of chumps, that’s all!” Both of the others shook their heads in disap- probation of the scheme. They were more far-sighted and keener-witted than their companion, who was the ‘* bouncer” of the saloon; that is, it was his business to keep order and eject by means, more or less violent, any visitors who manifested a disposition to kick up a row. ‘“Oh, no, Missouri, that littlhe game would never work in this camp,” Crooked Pat O’Neal replied, ‘Such a thing might be done in the old days on the extreme edge of the frortier, but we are too durned near civilization for the scheme to work hyer.” ‘That is the correct lay-out!” Slender Bud ex- claimed with an approving nod. ‘‘Tf we should salivate Colorado and capture the mine in any such high-handed manner as you propose, Missouri, we should have the whole ae: about our ears, ‘‘ Why, I would be willing to go ten to one that the three of us would be either sbot or strung up to the handiest tree within four-and- twenty hours after we made the capture—yes, sir-ee, | would go twenty to one, and, as a bet- ting man, I wouldn’t want any better invest- ment for my money.” Missouri Johnny nodded in a mournful sort of way. ce: I reckon you hev got the thing down fine,” he observed, *‘ but if we don’t go for the claim in some sich way, 1 don’t see how we kin get our hooks on it.” ‘‘Tt’s a difficult job, of course; there’s no twe ways about that!” the Creole admitted. “And that is the reason why I thought O’Neal’s idea of getting old man Jackson to go for Colorado worth the trying. “Tf the half-breed was done for, then the claim is in the market, and we have as good a right to jump in and go for it as anyhody else. It would then be a fair fight and the best men could win. “Tf we had any shadow of a claim we could make a struggle, and the camp would hold off its hands, but we haven’t got any claim, and I don’t see how we could possibly get one.” The others shook their heads, for the riddle was too much for them. At this moment a customer came into the saloon without in such a boisterous manner as to attract the attention of the pards. “ Give me a drink!” the man cried, “and hyer’s my last coin!”