Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 523 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 The Dandy Sport. mining-camp. Hundreds of joyous natives half-crazy with delight, crowded and jostled one another in the street, whooping and yelling at the top of their lungs, each and every man striving to make more noise than his neighbors, Meantime, the Silverton contingent had has- tened to make themselves scarce. When the game was over, the Canyon Cityites, eager to congratulate their victorious players, had en- tirely ignored the presence of their rivals from down the gulch; and now, when the excitement had in a measure abated, it was a noticeable fact that not a Silvertonian was to be seen in camp. Sore from defeat, and unable to face the de- risive taunts of their triumphant opponents, the Silverton party had, doubtless, gathered up their weary sluggers, and departed for home, ae to seek solace for their lost wealth and giory. However, their disappearance failed to cause the victors much concern. Canyon City held the title of ‘“*‘ champion,” clear and indisputable, and in addition, gloried in the possession of thousands of dollars, for the Silvertonians had backed their club heavily, and the result left them empty-pocketed. Realizing that the occasion demanded more than ordinary demonstration, the worthy citi- zens at once set about, with what little material was available, to celebrate the glorious victory in a style of which Canyon City might be proud. It was decided to commence with a mighty bonfire, to be followed by a triumphant proces- sion, in which every one might participate. Im- mediately a party set to work collecting ma- terial for the fire, and by nightfall a vast pile of inflammable rubbish had been accumulated. A tumble-down shanty, long since abandoned, was selected for the nucleus of the gigantic blaze: and as soon as darkness had fairly settled over the valley, the pile was fired amid great entiu- siasm. As quickly as possible followed the procession, and a more ludicrous array never astonished the eyes of mortal man, First came the ‘** band,” if indeed it deserved the dignity of that appellation, hastily impro- vised from the scanty material available. A battered trumpet, relic of Mexican war days; a squeaky fiddle, from some far away Eastern home; an impromptu drum corps, composed of a big copper kettle, together with tin pans innu- merable—this comprised the music; and what the musieians lacked in skill and harmony, they fully made up in enthusiasm. Next came a pbalanx of torch-bearers, act- ing as Lody-guard for the members of the Can- yon City Base-ball Club, who marched proudly along, the cynosure of hundreds of admiring eyes. The central figure of the procession was alger- non Arnold, whose wonderful pitcbing had won the day. Mounted upon the shoulders of two of the victorious team, he was borne proudly along, reeted with vociferous cheers at every step. he young Easterner would fain have shrunk from so conspicuousa position, but the crowd willed it so, and Arnold good-naturedly ac- quiesced. Following the players came a motley array of men, comprising most of the town’s population, - jostling and crowding each other with little re- gard for order. Many of them carried torches; and all, unable to do their feelings justice by mere strength of lungs, fired volley after volley into the vacant air. Surely such a novel sight was never seen in Canyon City as this nondescript assembly of parading cits, as up and down they marched, making the night hideous with their noise, After a time, when pounds of powder and lead had been wasted, and every man shoute:l himself hoarse, the enthusiastic crowd broke ranks, only to assemble egain around the blaz- ing bonfire. A mammoth bar had been improvised in the open air, the stock in trade of which was sup- plied from the various saloons. The liquor dealers had been upon the winning side of the game, and could afford to be generous to every- body in general. Consequently, fiery tangle- foot was dispensed free to whomsoever thirsted. Under these circumstances, it would be need- jess to state that the bar was well patronized. The ‘‘free liquor” idea caught on so readily that soo everybody was in a state of unusual exhilaration. Near the bonfire, a rudely-constructed plat- form was erected; while the space around it was roped off to keep back the crowd. Into this opening the victorieus players were escorted. When every one had pon rae near the spot, ‘‘a pilgrim” approached the platform, i and climbed gingerly to its giddy summit. The new-comer was one of Canyon City’s intelligent citizens, and quite an important character in his way. He signed himself as Timothy Tenny- fellow, but the practical cits, having no time to waste in pronouncing such long-drawn cogno- ane referred to him familiarly as Tonguey im. Timothy was unquestionably a fellow of con- siderable genius, whom untoward circumstances had, as he himself expressed it, doomed to ‘* blush unseen, and waste his sweetness on the desert air;’? and from his well-known ‘‘ gift of gab,” he was always in great demand upon oc- casions like the present, The orator balanced himself with no little difficulty, for even he had not been able to witb- stand the temptation of the free bar; and with a majestic wave of the hand, he motioned the noisy crowd to silence. ‘* Friends an’ feller-citizens, ladies, gents an’ little children,” he commenced grandiloquently, ‘‘ it gives me unutterable pleasure in thus being permitted to address you upon this long-to be- remembered occasion. Of course it is entirely superficial for me to tell you why we are cele- brating. this evening; the occurrences of to-day are, [ trust, already fixed indelibly upon your memories, A few hours ago, the fiery, untamed rabble of Silverton invaded our peaceful burg, with the boasted determination of wiping the earth with our poor upstarts, who dared dispute with them the proud title of champion; now they have gathered up their weary sluggers, and are sadly wending their homeward way, with the feelings of men who have bet their ducats not wisely but too well. ‘* Heller-cits, the tug-of-war is over! The mighty struggle, so long looked forward to, has resulted in favor of Canyon City. Victor perches upon our banners! As Bob Tngerechl onee said to me, ‘* Veni, vidi, vici!” which, being interpreted, means we have met the big- mouthed Silvertons, an’ licked ’em clean out of their muddy bocts. ‘Kind friends, I fear the present occasion is too momentous for my feeble tongue to do it justice. I am completely overcome with ya triotic emotion. With your kind permission will pause to take something.” A glass of ‘something ” was promptly handed up to the silver-tongued orator, who, being thus revived, was enabled to proceed. ‘* Tt was, indeed, a famous victory, gents, and in the midst of our jubilee, we mustn’t forget the brave fellows whose prowess won us fame and fortune. They did their work nobly, each and every one of them; yet, in spite of this, the fact remains that our success was due mainly to the efforts of a stranger—a man to whom our relations were antagonistic. ‘You all know, gents, how things were when the Silvertonians arrived. Our crack pitcher was disabled, and without him the balance of the team were demoralized. Disaster seemed inevitable! In this dire extremity who should appear upon the scene but the man whom, but a short time before, we had driven, an exile, from the camp, not for any barm he had done us, but simply because popular sentiment was against him. Unmindful of this, he magnani- mousiy offered his services; and with what re- sult? ‘We laughed and jeered at first at the spindle-skanked dude, but our feelings under- went a complete transformation when be set- tled down to work. In open-mouthed amaze- ment, we watched him mow down the Silverton sluggers like chaff before the wind. To us in- experienced novices, his playing was a revela- tion in the base-ballistic art. We have read of the doings of smiling Micky Welch, of Rad- burne, Clarkson, and tricky Jacky Flynn; but beside the record of our champion, their vaunted achievements pale into insignificance. To be sure, he was no $10,000 man, yet Kelly, himself, couldn’t have got there to better ad- vantage. Cits of Canyon City, 1 hope you all will atone for your previous discourtesy, by honoring the Dandy Sport who condescended to help us out of a Very small hole: and now have the honor of publicly presenting him to you. Behold, gents, the marvel of the nine- teenth century, whose wonderful work with the peer entities him to be knuwn among Us as Wizard Arm the Prince of Pitchers!” A sweeping flourish terminated the long- winded orator’s flow cf eloquence; but, alas for Tonguey Tim, whose legs were by nO means steady, the motion was disastrous, for he lost his equilibrium, clutched wildly at the empty air, then went headlong into the midst of the crowd below. A roar of laughter greeted the orator’s mis- cr er -—-eoo—r—————————————— es a ara ae OO eee a hap, mingled with loud cries for the dandy pitcher; and Algernon Arnold, now the hero of the hour, reluctantly ascended the platform. His appearance was the signal for a loud burst of applause. ‘“Gentlemen, I thank you for this demon- stration,” said the young Easterner, feelingly. ‘‘Tam glad to know that my efforts are appre- ciated, and that whatever ill feelings may have existed between us are now wiped away. Not being possessed of the eloquence of our silver- throated friend there, I must excuse myself, hoping that Canyon City will continue to pros- per, and that her base ball team will always be at the top, as it has been to-day!” As Arnold gracefuily retired, there arose rounds of applause that made the hills resound; then— Suddenly there came a chorus of shrill, un- earthly yells, mingling with the trampling of countless hoofs, the combined sounds of which drowned the lusty shouts of the crowd round the boniire; as a dark body of horsemen dashed swiftly across the lighted space, and plunged like a cyclone into the startled assembly. Straight into the crowd they rode, the steel- shod hoofs of their steeds beating down the be- wildered men of Canyon City, who, panic- stricken, scattered like sheep before the unex- pected onset. For a moment the air resounded with wild yells and rapidly-exploding firearms; then the mysterious assailants cleared themselves of the melee, and vanished as swiftly as they came. And when the Canven Cityites recovered from their emazement sufficiently to look for their injured comrades, it was found that Algernon Arnold had also disappeared. Nota trace of the Dandy Sport was to be seen. CHAPTER X, TOMMY THE KID COMES TO GRIEF. TOMMY THE Kip was tully determined to-do his utmost to assist Reginald Ray and niece in their dire extremity, and to do this, the first thing essential was to follow Cool Carl’s satel- lites, and learn where they took the unfortunate prisoners, Like a shadow he glided in pursuit of the re- ceding party, now some distance away. He could locate their position by the torches that gleamed like stars in the darkness beyond; and which, while lighting the perilous way of the Canyon Cityites, served alsoasa guide to the sleuth in the rear. Prudence warned the boy tracker not to ven- ture too near; so when he had reached a position scarcely a dozen yards from the rearmost man, Tommy checked himself considerably, and pro- ceeded with the utmost caution. Secure in the impenetrable darkness, the youth had little fear of discovery, lest some un- f.reseen cirumstance should betray him; but, nevertheless, he exercised great care and de- liberation in his every movement. A single misstep might be sufficient to make his presence known. Hanging on the trailof the cut-throats with all the tact and ratience of an Indian scout, Tommy the Kid kept bis eyes upon the waver- ing line of tell-tale torchlights, Suddenly, as if by magic, each light simulta- neously disappeared! Tommy the Kid stopped instantly, every sense on the alert. Could it be the gambler’s men had discovered they were followed? Although he listened attentively, not a sound reached his eager eyes. After waiting severe] moments, the young tracker became convinced that the party were not in the trail: and be was equally sure that where the torches were extinguished, else he would certainly. have heard their footsteps. Vet, the fact rep:ained that Cool Car]’s men had miraculously disappeared—somewhere! Tommy the Kid was nouplused; and he vig- orously scratched his head, 88 if the procession would evolve an idea to relieve his perplexity. ‘‘ This beats ther Dutcb,” he muttered. ‘It’s a reo’lar case of ‘NOW Ye see it, an’ now ye don’t.’ Either them ga'oots hev all tumbled in- ter Satan’s Kettle, or they’ve tuk a notion ter walk straight through this mountain wall. Ah!” Improbable as either suggestion might seem, the latter idea sent a gleam of enlightenment into the fertile brain of the young sleuth. Promptly advancing, he Closely scrutinized the\ somber face of the gigantic mass of rock that walled in one side of Spirit Canyon. It was an apparently solid mass of stone, it’s monotonous, dull-gray appearance being re- lieved, here and there, by masses of hardy vines they had not advanced a step from_the spot. sis el tt aa sea ln itty, Ee — ee = i