Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 518 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

“i — - -- Sr -SO whose protection she was, knew, but wouldn’t let on.” ** But what was the ade?” “*That’s the p’*int I jumped for, the minite Bow-legged Ben allowed I was right in my no- tion that the gal was the Snow White Dove. I knew that Ben was no fool, except when he was in liquor, and he would be mighty apt to try bis best to find out what the gal was up to.” ‘* Had he discovered?” “You bet! The gal was dead struck arter the cowboy, Sioux Sam, and when she found that he had agreed to go with Buffalo Bill’s out- _ fit she made up her mind to come along too, but as she didn’t want Sioux Sam to know she was with the gang she fixed it so as to pass fora common Ute squaw. ** You see this love scrape has been all on one side, like the handleof a pump. The gal is dead one on Sioux Sam, but the gay and festive cow- y don’t seem to hanker arter her, although she is about as much a white gal as a red, has got considerable eddication too, and no stranger would be apt to take her for a red-skin unless he Mtn gr even if he got well acquainted with er. ‘“‘Let me see!” exclaimed Nick Spader, ab- ruptly, as a sudden idea occurred to him, *‘ wasn’t it this girl who was mixed up in some wild tale about a secret gold deposit of almost incredible richness up in the hills somewhere north of Holy Cross Mountains?” ‘* A secret mine known only to the great chief of the Ute tribe, the knowledge handed down from father to son.” “Yes, that is it; that is the way I heard the story, and as the last t chief of the Utes, who was the Three Big rs, the father of this irl, didn’t have a son, on his death-bed he in- sted the secret to her,” Spader remarked. ** You have it, straight as a string! And now do you a to get onto my idea?” ‘* Well, I can’t say that I do, exactly,” replied Nick Spader, slowly, after reflecting upon the matter for a moment, ‘* But [ suppose that through the girl you ex- pect to get at the secret of the hidden treasure?” “Right you.are to a dot!” Dublin Mike ex- claimed. ** And, mind you, if one-half the stories are true that are told of this mine, it is a bonanza as big as any one that was ever struck on this hyer solid earth. “In the old days the Utes used to bring in nuggets worth from fifty to a hundred dollars, ullets, as they called them, but when they found how crazy the whites were to get at the secret of the mine, the red bucks were smart enuff to stop bringing in the solid chunks, ‘* Bat the mine is thar, all the same, just as it was thirty odd years ago, when the gold fever first broke out.” ‘* How are you going to get atit through the girl? You don’t expect to coax the secret out of her, do you?” reason for this masquer- ‘*[’'m going to use this infatuation of hers for (ohanmpa ublin Mike replied, with a shrewd uckle, ‘**Now I have got you I can work it; for you are just the kind of man to work such a me, I'll get on the right side of the gal, pre- nd I can make it all right between then and Sioux Sam, ** Then we'll get Sam out of the way for a while, and have you write a letter sEpexentiy gam, ¥ eg Sam, telling the gal to follow him to the West, where they will be married, and to come with me disguised, for fear of Buffalo Bill stopping the fun. You kin imitate all kinds of hand-wrote, you know! “When we gether in the West, we will offer to swop the cowboy for the secret of the mine.” Nick Spader pondered over the matter for a moment, and then exclaimed: ‘“*If we work it right it is ten to one we do the trick!” CHAPTER IV. WORKING, THE PLOT, It was little wonder that the heart of the In- dian princess had been captivated by the dash- ing young plainsman who was known as Sioux Sam, for in addition to being a royal fel- low, he was as perfect a specimen of manly beauty as could be found in a long day’s travel, A little above the medium hight, magnificent- ly built, possessing muscles t an ancient gladiator would have envied, with his frank, open countenance, fringed with flaxen hair, worn long after the scout fashion, and lit with a pair of clear, honest blue eyes, he was the ob- werved of all observers when he made his ap- Sra or Cool Colorado in New York, pearance in the arena, presided over by the famous Buffalo Bill, The maiden, too, was well-formed by nature and would have passed for a beauty even amid the city belles; but in order to disguise herself and prevent any one from suspecting that the princess was in the show, she had disfigured her retty face with a walnut dye, and arranged 1er luxuriant, coal-black hair in such an ugly fashion, almost covering her high forehead, and plastered against the side of her cheeks, that it entirely changed her appearance, and no one would be apt to believe that she was really a beautiful girl, Sioux Sam had little idea of the passion which he had insp'red in the heart of the maiden, for she was almost a stranger to him. He had made her acquaintance in a romantic fashion. Halting for a few days in the little mining- carp of Bluff, up in the Colorado moun- tains, while on his way to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West, one night he had interfered to pre- vent some miners, who had drank more whisky than was good for them, from molesting three Indians who were proceeding quietly out of the town. As it happened, all three of the Indians were women, and when the miners made this discov- ery they were determined to have “‘ some fun” with the ‘* heathen,” and their first demand was that the three should perform a war-dance for their amusement. Sioux Sam’s arrival on the scene just at this time upset the plans of the drunken fellows. Rendered confident by their numbers they ‘‘ went in” to ‘‘clean out” the intruder, but the plainsman, single-handed, was more than a match for them and it did not take many min- utes for the miners to realize that they had made the biggest kind of a mistake, and they soon took to their heels and ran for dear life. And from that day the young girl cherished a love for the daring scout and contrived to meet him in the camp. But Sioux Sam, although as brave as a’lion where men were concerned, was singularly shy and reserved with women, and he had nct the slightest impression that the girl took any par- ticular interest in him, She was grateful, of course, because he had been able to render her a service; that was onl natural, and the —— man regarded the girl’s earnest words in no other light, It is probable that if he had remained in the camp his eyes might have been opened in time but two days afterward he left for the East, and the Indian princess made the rash resolve to follow him, and so well had she P igs the part she assumed, that no one in Buffalo Bill’s outfit with the exception of Bow-legged Ben, succeeded in penetrating her disguise. t was a bold game that Dublin Mike and Old Nick set out to play, but if any men could carry mee @ scheme through they were the ones to o it. Although Spader felt pretty certain that the detectives, from whom he had so cleverly es- caped, believed him to have found a watery grave, yet for fear of a recapture he assumed a disguise which completely changed his personal appearance, and then he did not hesitate to go where he liked. The pair were constant visitors to Buffalo Bill’s show, and, taking advantage of a favora- ble opportunity, Dublin Mike got into conversa- tion with the Indian princess and told her frank- ly that he knew who she was, and then, pretend- ing that he had been in Red Bluff when the incident occurred which had brought her and the young plainsman together, he said right out that he guessed he could tell the reason that had brought her in disguise so far from her home, Dublin Mike was an artful talker, and it did not take him long to secure the confidence of the girl, the task rendered more easy by his bold statement that he and Sioux Sam were bosom friends, and that he had often heard the scout speak in regretful terms of the beautiful Indian girl whom * had left behind at Red Bluffs. This caused the heart of the girl to beat for joy, for she had not the slightest suspicion that er new-made friend was deceiving her. And then, too, he told her that there wasn't the least doubt in his mind that if Sioux Sam could get a release from his engagement with Buffalo Bill he would immediate y quit and hasten to Colorado as soon as the iron horse could carry him. The Indian princess that he would not betray her secret to the scout, for now she be- gan be apprehensive that her passion had caused ber to take a bold and unmaidenly step, The deceiver protested that he could be trust- x ed; nay more, he assured the girl he would keep. on the watch, and if Sioux Sam made up his. mind toreturn to the West he would let her know, and he assured her that he would do al} in his power to aid in joining her to the man of her heart. It was no wonder that the innocent Indian maiden was deceived, for Dublin Mike was such & cunning villain that old and experienced men of the world had been tricked by him. After a while, when he saw that he had fully gained the girl’s confidence, he pretended that he had hinted to the scout that she was in New York and Sioux Sam had been delighted at the. discovery. ‘“‘In fact,” as he said to the deluded maiden,. apparently ina burst of confidence, ‘‘ there is: no use mincing the matter: the moment he heered you were in the city, he owned right up to me that he was dead in love with you ever since the time when he made your acquaintance in the mining-camp, and had felt as queer as a. fish out of water in this byer Eastern country, so far away from home. ‘“*He’s awful bashful though, and that is the- reason why he never dared to hint to you that he worships the very ground on which you. tread.” This disclosure, naturally, made the heart of the Indian princess leap for Joy, for she had not: the slightest suspicion that there was any de- ception, baving the most absolute faith that. every word her new-found friend spoke was: true. Under these circumstances she was not in the: least surprised, when, after a few days had. elapsed, Dublin Mike announced to her that. Sioux Sam had made up his mind he could not. endure such a life longer. His passion had grown so intense that he felt. he must have the girl he loved so dearly for his own for all time, and he had requested Dublin Mike—the plotter was not known by his own name, but called himself Billy Taylor, of Silver: Cliffs—to ask the girl if she would follow him to Red Bluffs if he ‘* jumped” the show and fled to the West. ‘* He wants me to look out for you, you know, and bring you out there to meet him,” the arch deceiver said in conclusion. The Indian princess did not hesitate for a moment in deciding to go. Her love was so intense that she would have dared all possible danger; no obstacle great. enough to keep her from fleeing to the arms of the man she adored. Dublin Mike explained that Sioux Sam had endeavored to get Buffalo Bill to release him from his contract, but as he was reluctant to. explain sn, he wanted to quit, the great scout was not willing to comply with his request, so the young plainsman had determined to take French leave, and as he feared the law might be called upon to detain him, hé was going to dis- guise himself and go West by a roundabout way. He suggested that as soon as the girl heard he: was among the missing, she should depart, es- corted by “Billy Taylor,” and, as suspicion might be excited, and the police placed upon bis: track, it was bis idea that she had better assume a disguise. : The girl agreed to this readily enough, and in rting, the eee friend cautioned her to» on the watcb. ‘You will find that Sioux Sam has gone from: some of the boys some morning,” he said, ‘and then you must prepare to git out as soon as pos- sible, I will bring a disguise for you, a regular white woman’s dress, you know, with a hat and a vail, which you kin draw over your face after the style of some of the white gals. ‘* You kin put on the rig inside your tent, wash the paint and dye off, then slip out, I will be waiting for you, and it is a thousand to one that we kin git out of the garden without any one . gitting onto our trick.” , The girl assented to the plan, and Dublin Mike departed to join Old Nick, who was near at hand, anxious to learn if the scheme was likely to suc- ceed, “Tt is all right,” Dublin Mike replied, in an- swer to the questioning look of the other. ‘‘ She hasn’t got the least bit of a suspicion, and we kin work the thing as easily as rolling off alog, You won't bave to write no letter.” And then be explained to his fellow-plotter: how he had arran matters with the girl. Nick Spader nodded in approbation, ‘““We will do the trick exclaimed. of the job,” Dublin Mike observed. ‘We must get Sioux Sam out of the way for- yond a doubt,” he ‘Yes; but now comes the most difficult part: + 7 a tle “comicbooks ce a €om