Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 517 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

; ‘ : ¢ © Ps * % 3 > at, * ee fe : a, t mo ‘ Ke a ‘ i _ * | s . . é * seemed to shrink from some impending dan- er. ‘* No! no!” he gasped, in terror. ‘* You must tell her,” said Harry, firmly. ‘Confess dot ve haf deceived her from de cradle?” cried the old man, with an anguish that startled his hearers. ‘‘ Ve haf robbed her dead mother of the first lisp of love from her baby lips! Ach, Gott! I nefer t’ought of dot before!” And throwing the skirt of his loose dressing- gown over his head, he bowed it on his arms, on the table, while Rebecca began to rock back and forth, moaning. ‘*1t is retribution!” pursued old Abraham, ** She vill turn avay from us. He vill make her belief dot we haf wronged him, Ah! I know his tongue.”’ He rose suddenly to his feet. ‘*No! no!” he cried. ‘* My lips can never tell her dot! Ve must fight—fight him todedeath!” He looked savage. Hiseyes blazed. His bent form straightened. ‘* Wait!” pleaded Harry, taking hold of bis arm. ‘Listen to me. If you persist in this hopeless struggle, you will ruin everything. Think of your age, and that of your wife. e will easily prove that it is next to impossible that you should have so young achild. Every one will scout the idea, when one who resembles her so closely as he does opposes his claim to yours. And can you look her in the eye, and tell her that it is false?” The old man saw in imagination the wonder- ing Pier Nal rig in the gran tender eyes of the child who had listened the words that fell from his lips as if they were gospel truth; and with a great cry, he dropped into a chair so sud- denly that his whole figure seemed to collapse. Harry put his hand upon his shoulder. ‘*You must be a man,” he said, ‘‘ and face this thing bravely. Tell her all. She will see the love that has prompted you. She will be- lieve that you acted for her good. On the other hand, if you wait for him to prove it in spite of you, she will believe that you have been acty- ated by prejudice against him, as Jim Gladden and everybody else does now.” ** Never! never!” said the old man, doggedly. Harry was in despair. He sought to appeal to Rebecca; but the old woman could do nothing but moan. A rap on the store door checked Harry in an out- burst of rage against the obstinate old Hebrew. Abraham sprung to his feet, and stood like a beast at bay. | ‘* T vill open de door,” announced old Rebecca, with a firmness that contrasted strangely with her past helplessness, ‘If dey kill dis olt body, it vill be little loss, safe to my olt man and— and Miriam!” Her voice broke as she referred to the gir]. ‘* We will put out the light,” decided Harry, ‘so as not to be a mark for any one out in the dark. Then you throw open the door and stand aside, I will guarantee to pile six dead men in the doorway before one living one passes it!” They extinguished the light. Then Rebecca opened the door. A single figure of aman could be seen outlined in the doorway. ‘‘ Halt!” cried the boy deputy. ‘‘ Who are you, and what do you want here at this hour?” CHAPTER XVII. A FRAUD OF THE FIRST WATER. It was Mr. Midge who stood before old Abra- ham’s door, and was challenged by the deputy marshal. ‘* Don’t trouble yourself about me, Mr. Dep- uty.” XT that you, Mr. Midge?” cried the boy on ard, ee his revolver at once and going orward, ‘‘In the way of business, if you will permit me. This is a little informal, but I confess to an interest in your charming protegee; and I thought that you might find yourself in some perplexity, which a suggestion—” ‘Tf you would be so good! There never was any one more welcome,’ And with a swelling heart the boy grasped the hand of the legal shark who was so cunning- ly taking him in. He introduced the attorney to Abraham, and soon they were seated in close counsel. ‘*T hope you will help me to make Abraham listen to reason,” said Harry. And he stated the issue between them. What was his surprise to see the attorney _ Shake bis head. ‘*T think I must side with our esteemed friend ners ou,” he declared. c * . « ¢ & 1 !” cried old Abraham, rubbing his hands. _ “Dereis hope! ‘You see some vay to balk him?” & ‘ 4 a ‘oe +> >See Jim Gladden’s Deputy. ‘‘ The law,” remarked Mr. Midge, ‘‘ is a beau- tiful contrivance. It has the graceful windings of a ram’s horn, The trick is, to know how to manipulate it.” ‘‘Whatis your plan?” asked Harry. ‘‘ We will get a postponement of the case on the plea that the young lady is prostrated by excitement and unable to make her appearance in court,” ‘*But this will not be true.” ‘‘ A mere form,” said Mr. Midge, with a wave of hishand, ‘* A doctor’scertificate of ill health! A good deal easier than an I O U!” , “It is Doc Sawyer!” cried Abraham. ‘' He shall swim in whisky.” ‘‘ But what good will this respite do us?” asked Harry. ‘‘ In the end there is no escape. A day or two at most—” ‘Will probably afford us ample opportunity for a second attempt, which will be more for- tunate than that of to-night,” said Mr. Midge, quietly. ‘* But [have pledged my word,” ‘‘ Therefore you will have nothing to do with the matter.” ** Who then—” ‘“‘T understand that you were assisted by a couple of enterprising lads who have not pledged their words, and who will probably not be so scrupulous if they have. Then there are men in this camp who would jump at the chance to defeat the law, on general principles.” ‘*T vill give them a better reason for aiding us,” cried Abraham, Once started, he seemed to have thrown to the winds all mercenary considerations, Our hero was seized with a great, trembling eagerness. He knew that it was an evasion of the spirit of his pledge; but if this could be done withont directly compromising his honor, he would not obstruct it. Abraham was driven almost wild. ‘* You are our savior!” he cried. ‘* Monish will not compensate you. Three hearts vill never forget you in their prayers. ‘* And she shall thank you. You vill not re gret serving one so sweet, so helpless.” And running to the foot of the stairs, he called: ‘‘Miriam! Miriam!” She came down, pale and terrified, fixing her great eyes questioningly upon the stranger. What was the issue of this long conference? What bad this unknown person to do with it? But Mr. Midge smiled upon her with the fatherly patronage of a village parson. ‘*Come, come, my little was he said, ‘‘ you mustn’t look so frightened. ou have friends who will see you through—never fear.” Abraham caught her by the hand, and dragged her forward, pouring into her ears the praises of their new-found deliverer. She stood at the knee of the good-natured attorney, and allowed him to chuck her under the chin and pat her on the shoulder, telling her that she was well worth fighting over, and prais- ing the pluck she had shown in the attempt to elude her enemy. She was too shy to thank him in words; but Abraham and Rebecca made up her deficiency in this respect, until Mr. Midge was fain, as if overcome, to say: ‘‘ Really, my good people, you are a too , rig ig the mere ordinary performance of my uty. Abraham Erpnees money upon him, of which he took only his usual retaining fee, saying that they would see about the rest as the case pro- gressed. He then took his departure, followed by a shower of blessings, Having outlined the interview to his fellow- attorney, he added: ‘* My dear colonel, you should sometimes take these good deeds upon you, and receive their re- ward. Those good people will pass amore com- fortable night than if the hope were not held out tothem. It will be the better for their health, and will not prejudice their case any.” At that moment our hero was pacing the night, thinking with a swelling heart of this man who had come to their rescue; and Miriam, in the sanctity of her virgin chamber, was link- ing his name with that of her lover, in her com- munion with heaven! CHAPTER XVIIL COLONEL BLOOD ‘‘ COUNTERS.” Pappy’s FLatT was a human bee-hive, For miles around men had poured in from less fa- vored camps to see a ‘‘ ginooine A No, 1 court.” The aps Soo any was turned into a ‘Temple of Justice;” and the boys looked with profound respect on the half-dozen law books . J we ee = | | | | . Ay. 7 6) Oh he which stood in a row on the table behind which Judge Owney Maglochlin sat in anything but judicial state. His manner was rather in keep- ing with the whisky and cigars that flanked the Statute Book. What set everybody on the qui vive, was the fact that no one had ever seen the girl’s face, save only the Three Jolly Pards; and they had steadily refused to ‘‘ give it away.” Now, however, she would have to stand un- vaiied in the open court. But what is the meaning of this?—old Abra- ham with his head hanging dejectedly on his breast, and a stooping figure, black-robed and A escorted into the court on the arm of Mr. idge. ‘* Rebecca!” criedone of thecrowd. ‘' You be blowed! It’s the gal herself; an’ my money says so!” ‘*An ounce of dust either way!” shouted an eager individual, shaking a buckskin bag above his head. ‘‘Put up, or shut up! What’s the word?” ‘‘Tt’s a dead blind!” cried a third, radiant with delight at this prospect of a bet in which the shrewdest could get no ‘** pointer.” And in five minutes’ time there was scarce- ly an ounce of dust in the camp which was not ‘‘up” on the issue as to whether the budding beauty of the girl or the shriveled ugliness of the old woman would be revealed by the lifting of the vail. Mr. Isaac Salomans sat beside his counsel Colonel Blood, wearing the sad countenance of a man who, having been deeply wronged, yet bore no malice against bis enemies, No sooner had the court been called to order, with the customary ‘Hear ye! hear ye! hear ve! This court,” etc., than Colonel Blood was on his feet, addressing ‘‘His Honor” in most bombastic and highfalutin phrase. However, before he fairly got under way, he was unceremoniously cut short by Milton Midge, Esq. ‘‘Tf the learned counsel for the prosecution will yield to me a moment,” he said, ‘* I am about to move the court for a postponement of this case.” ‘‘A postponement!” cried the colonel, lanc- ing his opponent with a ence of fiery scorn. ‘‘If it please the court, I insist upon an im- mediate hearing of the case. The parties to it are all present; and any proposal to delay can be but for the purpose of jae time—for what, I will not say. But I repeat it, sir—it is but a pretext to gain time!” ey seemed to nettle the imperturbable Mr. idge. ‘* | repel the insinuation with scorn!” he cried. “T hold in my hand, if it please the court, the certificate of an eminent practitioner of this locality—the family physician of my client—to the effect that the young lady about whom this suit is concerned is unable to appear in court, being prostrated by nervous excitement over the persecution to which she has been subjected by the person claiming to be her father.” The room rung with cheers by those whose bets were decided in their favor by this speech; and altercations rose on every side as to whether the money should be paid over at once, or not until the lifting of the vail had added indisputa- ble confirmation. ‘“-Yes! yes! Iswea~ it by the beard of the Prophet!” shouted old Abraham, leaping to his feet. ‘“What we ask,” pursued Mr. Midge, ‘is that the case be deferred to the end of the sit- ting, to give the young lady time to recover.” But the colonel overflowed with objections, Everything was irregular, He almost spat vpon the certificate. The words flew from his mouth ‘like hot shot from a hot shovel,” asthe boys putit; and when he finally gave over, rather because he was out of preate than for want of a reasons why the motion should not be granted, everybody admit- ted that: ter 4 ‘‘ He’s hove up'a purty middlin’ pile o’ dirt fur the other cuss to run through the long-tom, por oem What'll ye go that it shows up ary color? Mr. Midge addressed himself to the task, with a flow of eloquence which called forth this char- acteristic comment: ‘* Tt jest shows how easy the hop-o’-my-thumb, an Bes him fifty better!” But, meanwhile, Colone honest Jim Gladden, who was watching the pro- cedure with a frown which indicated his sus- picion that all was not above-board, er ‘‘Look here, sir!” he demanded whisper, ‘‘are you a to this plot?” | ‘* Plot?” repeated Jim. . > : es ae wy P , +: : . a + eS t ayer ee ete if gt ' é or J en, gan a : a . ® ¢,* oy ete Oe i SROs Re ae it is to lie! He sees. Blood had turned to in a flerce ~ it ya ee - 4 Hine, Nagai S&S we a = s., —_ a o ny . + » ol « * ~" f -_ _* « 4 ——_ - . . A yt -* see a . ~ . = € ~ a - is ow ~y. ~comicbooks.com ae)