Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 542 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

sa the gamblers, ‘ it’s 12 This left but six to guard the camp, which | gamblers. force, commanded by Cyrus Johns and assisted | except the game, by his brutal lieutenant, Bill Moore, was con- | cool and steady eyes, The three off duty— | the face, sidered amply sufficient. the two leaders and another man—scattered about, and finally, spreading a blanket on the hillside, a hundred yards south of the summit, began a game of.poker, one dollar ante. Pedro, talking with his merry guard, saw the game commence, and had he been at liberty, woul { have thirsted to join; but suppressing his passion, he watched the slow hands of. the robbers as they moved over the cards on the blanket. ‘* There are the three best poker-players in the band, pard,” remarked Veach, ‘‘ Read charac- ter and faces—well, | should remark they can; and Cyrus Johns can almost tell what a man’s got in his hand by looking at his face.” The game had commenced. The cards were shuffled out and dealt, the ante was deposited. A small pile of gold coin lay near each player’s hand, slowly diminishing in size, as colin after coin was placed in the center. Their tones were low and cool, and each player alternately eyed his companions’ faces, the money, eg his hand, The frequently re- curring words, ‘‘ I see, I raise, I call,” were ut- tered in the same unvar ying monotone. But they were betting heavily, a were so far oc- cupied in watching their companions’ faces and fingers, that at the expiration of an hour they did’ not notice that the hunters had disappeared in the distance. But the guards did, and the other two had be- come intently interested in the game on the hill- side below them. Casting a parting glance at the camp, they bade Veach ‘ ws atch that greaser,” and joined their companion gamblers, standing over them and intently watching the progress of the game. The three players remarked the presence of the guards, ey betting heavily, had entirely forgotten that they were neglecting their duty. The lax guards presented theire laims for admit- tance, The losers in the game—Cyrus Johns being winner—were glad of an opportunity to play against two mediocre gamblers; and soon two more men were sifting at the blanket, two more piles of gold shone under the cards, and two additional pairs of suspicious eyes were watching their antagonists, Veach, for some reason, now became extreme- ly jolly, and began to eulogizea certain dark- orbed damsel whom he said was awaiting his re- turn in the Woecden Nutmeg State. Gliding from one feminine subject to anotner, in the fishy, gentle way males clo, he remarked what a cursed pity it was that the boss cut up so about agirl. With that, he narrated what he knew of her adventure. Her capture by the.band; her contempt and scorn of Cyrus Johns; ber subse- quent imprisonment, and final escape; and re- marked, in conclusion, with a furtive glauce at a great piece of scoundrelly villainy to pspper you on ber account, ain’t it?” Pedro thought it was. Veach continued, drawing his knife and whetting it rapidly on his boot: ‘*She’sa right neat bit of a girl—too nice to live with Cyrus Jobns,.” Pedro did not know—he had not seen her, Veach looked down into the gully where the friends were moving about from time to time, and suddenly said: ‘I’m a peacemaker.” Pedro was glad to hear it, The robber filled kis pipe, and firing it, handed it to Pedro, who gratefully thanked him. After watching him smoke for a few minutes, he again burst out in a low tone: “ve got a sister back in Connecticut, Fe- leepy, and my eve! ain’t she pretty. Now you wouldn't think, looking at me, that I could have a pretty sister, would you?” e was a hands mie, dashing fellow, this ban- dit, and as it would do no hurt, and might pos- sibly be well to tell the trut th, Pedro did— he thought 1t very likely. The young fellow seemed gratified, and smoothed his brown mustache. “She's good !” he resumed; “‘she’s good—and if any fellow dared to say anything against her, do you know what I’d do?” ‘* Kill him.” ‘Certainly; as quick asI could draw trigger. How a fellow will fight for his sister and mother —won’t he?’ sé Yes, ” ** More’n he will for a man, eh? You bet, Slander can’t hurt a man much, but it ruins a woman,” He whetted his knife more rapidly now across his instep, and again stealthily glanced at the a aaa LL LL ALLL LL LL LLL LLL ARR LLL LLL ttl tC tll ttt ne ee The Canyon Pards. They were oblivious to scainte > Across the blanket gleamed vazing their adversaries in The muttered tones, the ‘‘see and raise,” went the rounds of the circle, and the spar kling gold tormed a ring of glitters as 1t was changed from the supply to the bet, from the stake to the winner. The sun became hot, and the players doffed their coats, and pulling their flapping slouch hats over their eyes, went on with the game. Down in the camyp, from time to time, Pedro received gestures of encouragement from his comrades, which he would fain answ er, but could not loose his bonds. The heat arose in its liquid, shivering waves from the meza; the dis- tant mountains purple-glistened in the south ; and still the monotonous tones came from the circle of players, accompanied by the chink of gold; ‘*I see, I raise, I call.” ” «+ T can't be bribed,” w hispered Veach, with a sunny smile; °° none of us can—we are too ric h, too rich, How do you like the tobacco? 2—it's my best: the stuff I smoke on loafing days. Sweet, ain’t it?” It was villainous, ‘Si comforting.” ‘*T thought so. Well, a rich man can afford to smoke good tobacco, can’t he?” tg E senor tg “T like ‘si? better than word. Don’t you think ‘¢ Si, senor.” Veach caroled ‘*‘ Auld Lang Syne,” cheerfully. ‘**T like to sing that—it reminds me of home,” he said. ‘Little black eyes is there, and sister. Sister looks a heap like the girl yonder in your cam ““ Does she?” ‘¢ Si—which stands for ‘ yaw’ in Dutch;:” and Veach dwelt on the Castilian monosyllable. ‘I say!” he added vehemently , **[T can’t be bribed, but if my sister was in yonder camp in the stead of the one that is there, do you know what I’d do?” ‘** You would fight for her.” ** Until I died, or Cyrus Johns’s gang had been thr eat ” and his eyes gleamed like coals. ‘* No, Feleepy,, ou cam’t bribe me,” he said, after a pause; ** for I’m too rich. But by— Feleepy! I like my sister, and she looks a heap like her; and if ’twas m y sister there, now, I’d fight our gang of scoundrels until [ died, 4 Pedro ap pplauded his brotherly love. wr Feleepy, ” he growled, with a snappish ter- rier’s every action, ‘‘T can’t be bribed—don’t think so.” ‘Tt know you cannot, senor.” ‘‘We call our sister Dot, though her name is Dorothea. Dot is a cute name, ain’t it?” What under the sun, thought Pedro, what is he driving at, with all his talk about his sister? Veach again glanced furtively at the gam- blers. T hey were buried in their game, Over the plain, I[t was bare, ‘* Who's winner?” he cried. He was not heeded. ** Who’s winner, I say?” They did not hear him, and still the tones went round the circle; ‘‘I see, I raise—” ‘Hallo! Hallo-o-o0!” Cyrus Jobns started and looked up, but seeing his captive still under the supervision of Veach, again bent his eyes on the game. Veach ebuck- led in str ange delight, ** Who’s winner, ~ Cyrus?” ¢é Me, oP) ** What's the ante?” ‘‘ Five dollars,” ‘“ Whew-w! how much money’s up?” ‘* Seven hundred and eighty, and Ill raise you fifty,” he concluded, again intent upon the game, Veach’s eyes snapped like those of a ferret. ‘“They are excited, Feleepy.” ‘*T see they are.” “They don’t notice us—nothing short of an earthquake would rouse ’em.” ‘‘- You are doubdtless correct.” Veach stopped whetting his knife and felt its edge, ‘It’s sharp,” he said, and reaching for- ward drew the knife across the sinews that con- fined Pedro’s aukles, easily severing them. ‘‘Feleepy, give me my pipe, for it’s all I’ve got, and [ don’t want you to carry it off, Now I'll free you, but [ want you to sit still until I make the ends of the sinews look as if they had been broken, Will you do it?’ ‘*Yes,senor,” and a grateful look went out from Pedro’s raven eyes, ‘* Senor, if you ever want a friend—” ‘That'll do,” hurriedly whispered Veach, “J do it because she looks like Dot—not be- cause I like you.” , senor, it is sweet and ‘yes,’ it’s a softer 79? so, Feleepy? Pedro was free. But he waited as Veach tore the several ends of the sinews with his knife, Another look at the gamblers. Still ‘I see, I raise,” but no cali as yet—the stake was now a thousand dollars, and every man had a good band. ‘* Heleepy, you?” ‘** Yes, senor, my friend, I will.” “Now, F ‘eleepy, 1 want you to lay down that pipe before you forget it, and bu’st me in the nose hard enough to draw the claret. Will you do it?” ‘‘ It will give you pain, my friend. Us ‘No matter. I'll make Cyrus Johns believe you broke loose and knocked me down. Fe- leepy, ’ve favored you, now youdo me a good tur n—-will you:” ‘ Yes, ? ‘* Ail right—you haven’t laia down the pipe— Feleepy, dow’t go bac - on me and carry it off.” And his liberator eyed him reproachfully. Pedro blushed, laid ee the nasty pipe, and stealthily rose, eyeing the busy gamblers, “Tell her I said she looks like | my pretty sister Dot, will you?” earnestly urged Veach. ‘ Will rou be sure?” ‘Quite sure, my friend.” *. All right—blaze away—but don’t hit too bard, F eleepy.” , The brawuy arm of the Spaniard shot unwil- lingly out from his shoulder and struck the other squarely in the nose, causing the blood to spurt over his face; then he was r unning rapidly down the hill toward camp, while V each rolled on the ground. The latter took some blood from the miniature torrent which gushed from his nose, and dashed it into both eyes, then sprung to his feet and discharged his gun over Pedro’s head. “Hurt ‘y!” he cried to hiscompanions. ‘ The ereaser’s bu’st loose,” At the report of his gun the gamblers looked up and saw that Pedro was gone! Then, leav- ing the game they grasped their guns and dashed to the top of the hill where Veach was discharg- ing chamber after chamber of his revolver at Pec dro, though a hundred yards over his head. But they arrived just in time to see the burly form of Pedro disappear headlong into the gully —safe. ‘* Curse you for a fool!” screamed Cyrus Johns, in an ecstasy of rage. ‘ He’s gone, has he?” and he struck the man a heavy blow. Veach reeled: and staggered, pressing his hands to his face. ‘He knocked thunder out of Veachy,” re- ‘*1'll bet his nose is broke tell her she looks like Dot, will marked Bill Moor e. in a dozen places.’ phd 4 heart Veach. ‘‘ And if the infer- nal blood hadn't got into my eyes so I couldn’t see to shoot, I'd 1g? Gropped that cursed greaser in two seconds—blast his dirty hide!” CHAPTER XV. A BATTLE WITH KNIVES. PEDRO had scarcely received the congratula- tions of his friends, when tbe robbers on the summit, enraged at his escape, charged down upon them, shouting like demons, Pedro, hav- ing no gun, was given a revolver by the over- joyed guide—a weapon he could wield with accuracy and rapidity. Running his eye over the coming robbers, he noticed that they num- bered but five. One was missing, and that one was Veach, Casting his gaze again to the sum- mit, he saw that merry bandit spring upon a horse, and striking spurs to the animal, gallop swiftly in a souther ly direction. ‘‘Hal” thought Pedro. ‘‘ He has repented his good already, and has gone to bring up the re- mainder of the band.” : But the young bandit had not. Disgusted and ashamed of his connection with tbe villains, he had taken this opportunity to desert, and ae even now speeding toward the Colorado iver, Pedro was brought to a sense of the coming danger by the rifle reports of his three com- panions, and one of his quondam Captors reeled, halted, then fell with a terrible curse, with his life blood staining the ground, The others barely paused to ascertain his condition, then seeing he was past human aid, pressed on anew with rifles ready and knives drawn, intent on butchery. ‘‘ Scuttle behind the breastwork, boys!” com- manded Jack. ‘* They’ll let us have a volley before they try the steel.” His command was obeyed none too soon; for even while he spoke the bandits halted and took a hasty aim. But Jack’s forethought had spoil- ed their intention—as the report rung out, the icbooks.com