Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 518 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

>.’ = Ee . ? we oa ; 7 = += Me 6. <?0e: male P by OG ee Sa * 4 day or two, so as to Jead the girl to suppose he has gone to the West.” xs é ** Well, as you have made his acquaintance, it ought not to be so very hard to get at him out- side of the garden, and if we can get him to visit our den the trick can be worked.’ ‘That is jest what I have been laying wires for,” Dublin Mike replied, with a knowing wink, *‘and f[ have got the affair pretty wellarranged, I reckon. ** Thar’s a party going off for a leetle racket to-night arter the show is over, and Sioux Sam has promised to j’inein. I’m going too, and at our first halt we will ring you into the gang.” Good enough,” Old Wick exclaimed, emphati- cally. ** The devil himself must work against us if Sioux Sam escapes from our trap.” ‘That is exactly what I think. It is dollars to cents we do the trick!” Dublin Mike declared. CHAPTER V. INSNARED. THE scheme had been shrewdly planned and the two adventurers were just the men to carry it out. Through the sid of Bowlegged Ben, Dublin Mike had been able to make Sioux Sam’s ac- quaintance, and, as the ruffian had so complete- ly changed his appearance, there was no suspi- cion that the avy who took such a lively in- terest in the Wild West show was one of the desperadoes who had once made things so lively in the neighborhood of Red Bluffs, Nick Spader too had been introduced to the scout, and the young man, never suspecting that there are as many snakes in the grass amid the 2H toe haunts of the East as in the western wilderness, was decidedly impressed with the agreeable army: There were three in the part tained leave of absence from this particular night. The great scout ruled his show with true military discipline and kept his men well in hand. Bow-legged Ben had tan the ‘‘ racket” ‘toa pard of his, named Mustang John, and he being on intimate terms with Sioux Sam, had induced the scout to join the party. So, after the show was over on this particu- lar night, the three men after completing their duties, left Madison Square Garden in com- any. <3 On the street they were joined by Dublin Mike and the party proceeded to a well-known saloon in the neighborhood where they had a glass of beer. In the saloon they encountered Old Nick, who was immediately invited by Dublin Mike to join them. After a show of assumed reluctance this gen- tleman consented, and the party set off to “see the elephant,” as Dublin Mike remarked, It was not a remarkable elephant that the party saw though, for they merely made the rounds of the various up-town gardens where melody—and beer—flowed freely. y who had ob- uffalo Bill on About one o’clock, Nick Spader suggested . that a little substantial refreshment would be in order, and as the rest agreed to this, he piloted the party toa small, English chop-house, as he ‘termed it, on one of the up-town cross-streets, The police authorities, though, would have given was saloon and restaurant combined. In reality, it was a ‘* house of call” for thieves, and its reputation was that more desperate crimes had been planned beneath its roof, and it had sheltered a greater number of criminals both of high and low degree, than any other place of the kind on the Manhattan Island. But for all of this, it was a quiet little place, a small bar-room, a chop apartment adjoining, and some small rooms up-stairs for the accommo- ‘dation of private parties. Although the police knew that it was the re- sort of the worst criminalsin the city, yet no scenes of disorder ever took place within its walls, and they could make no complaints on this score, The proprietor, a big, burly Englishman, a retired prize-fighter, was not the kind of man to low any disturbance to go on likely to bring the notice of the police to bis place. To all outward seeming, the establishment-was rfectly reputable, and none of the Wild West vovs had any suspicion that there was anything out of the way with the place after they got in- side, By this time, Bow-legged Ben,who was a very wreaichnedal fellow, and easily affected by liquor, was beginning to feel the effect of what the had drank, although none of the party had in- that on sich roosters as we are!” he exclaimed. a different name to the place, as -_ s he Cool Colorado in New York. dulged at all strongly, so the moment he entered the chop-house, he made a bee-line for the bar, and announced his intention of “firing a | quart of benzine” down his throat. ‘“Say, this fellowis in for a racket here,” said Old Nick, in the ear of the young scout, ‘‘and I am not anxious to have any in mine.” ‘*Neither am 1,” Sioux Sam observed; “I don’t mind a few glasses of beer, but I don’t care to stand up toa barand gulp down whisky. There’s no fun in that sort of a t ing for me!” ‘That is my opinion exactly. am rather dry, and I wouldn’t mind a little native wine, a bottle of catawba, or something of that sort, but no whisky.” ‘“*1 tell you what, I think we can get out of this riffle if we work it right, Shall I try it?’ ‘** Yes, by all means,” Sioux Sam answered, ** for now that Ben has started on whisky there is no telling when be will stop. ‘*T know him of old; when he gets three or four horns of whisky into him, itseems to make another man of him; he gets crazy and is not satisfied to stop drinking until he is unable to stand . ‘* Well, I don’t care to go through a progamme of that kind,” Nick Spader remarked. ** T don’t see any fun in a man making a beast of himself, so we will get out.” “Allright! I’m with you.” ‘** We will bave a chop in a private roor up- stairs, and leave this fellow to the delights of his spree.” 3 “Go through that door,” and Spader pointed to one between the bar and the main entrance to the saloon. Enter the first door you come to up-Sstairs. I have had mauy a cosey meal in that little room, and so I know tbe lay of the land. I will remain here and cover your retreat; being a stranger, I[ will be able to get along better with this idiot than you, for he’s just in that state to get angry if a pard should refuse to drink with him.” This was good counsel, and Sioux Sam made haste to follow it, The others being occupied in listening to Bow- legged Ben, who was gravely informing the barkeeper that he was ‘‘a tin man on wheels,” **the bounding buffalo of the old Rockies,” ‘a bad man to tackle,” and a lot of other stuff of similar character, it was an easy matter for Sioux Sam to make his escape without attract- ing the notice of the rest. And none of them observed his absence until, at the close of his remarks, Bow-legged Ben called upon the others to ‘“‘nominate their poison.” Then there was an explosion. ‘*Darn my cats, if Sam hain’t gi’n us the shake!” the prairie hostler cried in wrath. ‘* No, he’s just gone up-stairs to have a chop,” Nick Spader explained. ‘‘Blamed if I don’t have him down!” Bow- legged Ben declared, and he made a movement toward the stairs, Dublin Mike was on the alert for just such a thing as this, and he immediately laid hold of Bow-legged Ben’s shoulder. ‘** Oh, DO, DO, you can’t play no sich game as ‘* You are trying to slip, so that we won’t get no drink, but you can’t come no sich trick as that onto us! “ Come back and set up the bug-juice like a maa!” The plotter had calculated shrewdly, for this appeal immediately drove all idea of going after the deserter from Bow-legged Ben’s mind. ‘Oh, no, boys, I sw’ar I didn’t have no sich idee as that.” “ Let the cur go if ke wants to; and I say, old man,” he cried to Nick Spader, ‘* you oughten to have a drink either, for letting Sioux Sam slide out without saying anything ’bout it!” ‘* Well, fine me a bottle of catawba wine, and I will carry it up to Sam,” Nick Spader replied, chuckling as if he thought he was getting off a capital joke. ublin Mike took occasion to give out his opinion that it would be a big thing to send u e wine to Sioux Sam, “seeing that such stu is only fit for a gal to drink,” So Nick Spader was able to retreat with the wine, leaving the rest to enjoy Bow-legged Ben’s hospitality at the bar. Up-stairs in the private apartment he found the young scout. The room was small, about twelve feet square, plainly furnished, and with gt visible to excite any one’s apprehensions that it thing but what it pretended to be, an apartment where a party of gentlemen could enjoy a meal in private, without any danger of being intruded upon, was any- 5 ‘“‘T had quite a time to get away,” Old Nick observed as he entered the room carrying the — of wine and a couple of glasses in his and, Women as he came in he closed the door behind im. A eareless move, apparently, but upon the door was a spring lock, and the closing barred the portal. No one without a key could now gain admis- sion to the room, He filled the glasses and pushed one over to the young scout. ‘* Pve ordered a couple of chops,” Nick Spader remarked, then taking up his glass examined the wine in a critical manner. ‘** Looks like good stuff,” he continued. ** Well, here goes!” A ow ga Sam nodded to Spader and drained his glass, But the moment that Old Nick got the fluid into his mouth he was seized with a coughing fit and had to spit it all out. ‘*Darn the thing!” he cried, “it went down the wrong way! ** But we'll try ’em again!” Spader refilled the glasses, then the two nodded at each other and again Sioux Sam a of his liquor, but just as Spader got his to his oy he pretended that he thought he heard a noise a the door and with the exclamation: ‘‘I reckon some of the gang are coming up!” he hurried to the portal, continuing to spill the contents of his glass upon the floor as he went along. At the door be made believe to listen for a moment, then shook his head, saying: ‘* No, they ain’t coming up; it is their chin- ning down-stairs that I hear,” and with his back to Sloxs-Gem he made a pretense of drinking the wine. Smacking his lips, lustily, as he turned around he exclaimed: ‘‘ Well, now, that is pretty good stuff!” As the reader has doubtless suspected, the wine was drugged, and by this time the two doses which Sioux Sam taken began to operate. The scout looked up ina stupid sort of way, nodded as if he comprehended what had been said, but the drug had bound his senses so that he was unable to reply, and then, slowly, his head sunk upon the table. ‘* That settles him!” Old Nick cried in triumph, Then he touched the spring of a secret door in the wall. It opened and disclosed a dumb- waiter, big enough to hold a man. n this he placed the insensible scou touched a button projecting on the wall an down into the lower regions sunk the machine with its helpless burden. The trick was successful. CHAPTER VI. A GLOOMY PROSPECT. WueEn Sioux Sam woke to consciousness he found bimself 4n utter darkness. He was stretched upon a rude bunk, as he dis- covered upon examination, which vividly recall- ed the WiJd West to his remembrance; and there was a dull pain in his head as though he had been dazed by a heavy blow. He rose, sat on the edge of the bed, pressed his aching head with his hands and tried to remem- ber what had happened. ‘*T feel as if I had been on a spree for a week!” he exclaimed. ‘*My head seems to be as big as a bushel basket! Mighty strange, too, for I didn’t drink enough to hurt me, and it was that wine too which seemed to sew me up, ‘*T don’t understand it at all!” By this time his eyes had become in a measure accustomed to the darkness and he was able to get some idea of the apartment in which he sat. It was a cellar evidently, for the walls were of stone and the atmosphere damp and clammy, At this point the scout happened to remember that he had some matches in his ket, and he immediately got them out, struck a light and proceeded to examine the apartment. As he had guessed, it was a cellar. A small apartment without windows, but there was a massive door in one corner, All there was in the place was the rude bunk on which the young scout sat, and a box placed at the head of the bed, upon which wasa pitcher of water and a small loaf of bread. Sioux Sum stared in astonishment at these two articles. ‘‘Hang me if this don’t look like one of the underground prison-cells such as they used to have in olden times!” he exclaimed. And then a sudden thought came to him, JNA comicboo