Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 630 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

“” «= eo ~ 2 4 Cape a = Ven Ae a a et ett . — ~< og a OU et et > : a” & ~ ea ~~ . ,. Deadwood Dick Jr. in No-Man’s Land. 3 and I allow he kin shoot, too. I ain’t fond o’ him, but he’s no slouch on the fight.” Thus conversation drifted along, until there came a knock at the door. Knocking at a door in No-Man’s Land was yet an unknown quantity, and hence the patrons of the dug-out were somewhat startled. ‘‘Wonder who the dickens that can be?” Tim Hale asked. ‘‘Some stranger, I'll agree,” replied Jim Oaks. ‘‘Ef I were you, Tim, I’d invite him in. He may be a gander worth pluck- ing.”’ 5 ‘*T’ve got nothin’ ter do with that part,” Tim replied. ‘‘1 ain’t no robber myself, and so l’ve no shake in the matter at all. However, I'll let the feller in, whoever he may be.” So he went and opened the door, and into the room stepped no less a personage than our famous friend, Deadwood Dick, Jr. There was only one manin Tim’s place who knew him, and that man was Jim Oaks. He had seen the noted detective somewhere - in the course of his travels, and immediately sprung to his feet. ‘‘What aire you here fer?” he demanded, belligerently. ‘Oh! I just dropped in out of the wet,” Dick replied. ‘‘ Any objections?” ‘You came here to try for the gal, hey?” ‘‘ Well, yes—to try to rescue her.” ‘‘Then you will have to fight me first be- fore Golconda,” Jim Oaks averred. CHAPTER ITI. TWO BIG WAGERS ON THE RESULT. “lw your man!” Dick replied, ‘‘ and I am likewise Golconda’s man. I came here to win the girl!” Oaks laughed loudly. ‘You'll have a fine time of it!” he de- clared. ‘‘ Why, ye little banty, ye can't lick one side of Golconda, much less me! From what I see of ye, ye can’t lick a cat!” ‘‘Try me and see ”’ was the answer, Oaks sprung to his feet. «« We'll sce about that,” he declared. ‘‘ If you want a nice little racket to-night, you shall be accommodated.” ‘While [ am not anxious for a fight, I’m the last man to back out,” Dick replied. ‘« Ag soon as you are ready, call around and see me. I am here!” With this the two men made a rush at each other, and clinched. No blows were struck at first, for it was purely a wrestling bout, in which Dick scored, by landing his adversary upon his back. Oaks was upon his feet in a moment, how- ever, and sparring away with a vengeance. But his blows fell short of their mark, or were parried by Dick, whose clever boxing skill soon became apparent, The set-to lasted about five minutes, by which time Oaks’s face resembled a chunk of battered beefsteak more than anything else. Then, with a swinging right-hander, Dick laid the giant insensible upon his back. The rest of the gang stared. Jim Oaks had long been considered a ter- ror in the art of slugging, second only to Golconda, and for a stranger to step in and knock him out in this style, was something wonderful in Hae estimation of the observers. : After finishing with Oaks, Dick turned to the gang, who had risen to their feet. ‘‘Any the rest of you want a crack?” he demanded, savagely. ‘‘If not, have the condescension to face to the bar and imbibe at my expense; and if, by a dose of cold water, you can revive your unfortunate comrade, why he is welcome to a shout, too,” The men came to time at a jump. To re- fuse a treat in Tim’s dug-out was equal to getting no future credit there. And credit, a ar Western town, where there is no particular amount of loose money floating mt he is not a particularly undesirable thing. Hence the crowd immediately marched up and put their frontage to the place from which the liquid potations were to come. Now, Tim Hale was not the man to lose a cash customer when he could avoid it, so seizing a bucket of combined water and ale- slops, he dashed it into Oaks’s face, which had the effect of bringing him to his senses, for he sprung to his feet, after an endeavor to recover from the deluge that had been poured over him. ‘‘ Who doused me?” he demanded. ‘‘T did,” replied Tim. ‘‘ The feller as did e up, he wants ye to hev a drink with him, if you have no objections. He has invited the rest o’ the boys, an’ would like ter hey you j'ine ’em!” Jim Oaks arose to his feet in astonish- ment. ‘‘ What, he offer to treat me, after giving me the worst lickin’ I ever had?” he ejacu- lated. ‘‘ Why, darn my skin, I never heerd of sech a thing. The feller must be a saint, or suthin’ of the sort. Say ”—walking up to Deadwood—‘‘ you ain’t an angel, are you?” ‘“Well, I’ve never been credited with being one,” Dick replied. ‘ You ought to know. You’ve had a specimen of my beauty, and ought to be able to determine upon its merits. However, if you are in the least in- clined to step up and kave a smile, it is at your disposal.” Oaks stared. ‘‘T\ wish I had a round little sum of money,” he said, ‘‘and I'll be darned if I wouldn’t back yer gall. Ther’ ain’t a man, ‘cept it is Golconda, what ever did me up be- fore, and ef I had the sponds, why, I'd just bet two to one that you kin lick Golconda all holler!” | ‘‘T’'ll take that bet, if you can git any one to back it,’’ spoke up the voice of a man who had abruptly entered the room. ‘‘Thomas Thornton!” ejaculated some one. ‘* Yes, Thomas Thornton,” was the laconic rejoinder, ‘‘and the man who is going to own the Singing Bird, if you please.” The speaker was a tall, powerful man, of perhaps forty-eight years, with a full beard and hair of light-brown color. He was well dressed, and really rather imposing of ap- pearance. One particular of his personal ap- pearance was the lavish display of jewelry he wore. Diamonds flashed upon his shirt- front, on his finger, and the gold-headed cane he carried contained an extra-sized diamond set in the head. The observation of Thornton appeared to nettle Oaks, for he spoke savagely. ‘‘Well, you can bet your sweet-scented socks you won’t get the gal, Mister Thorn- ton. Ye may have more money than any other galoot in Beaver City, and put on a lot 0’ more lugs, but you sha’n’t have Singin’ Bird. I ain’t afeard of ye, and I'll swear ye dassen’t meet Golconda yourself! “Oh! LTve no intention of entering the contest, sir,’ Thornton replied, _loftily. ‘Gentlemen never fight. They simply bet!” ‘‘T wish I had the rocks,” retorted Oaks, ‘an’ your offer wouldn't g0 a-beggin’!” ‘*Your money would do you no good,” Thornton replied, ‘‘for, rather than see the Singing Bird sacrificed to a pack of ruffians, I will buy her out and out. What is your rice, Rocks?” ‘No sell!” the red-skin replied. Golconda. He tell!’ ‘‘But, Golconda refuses. the girl’s master, to say!” ‘“No sell! No say!” replied the stoical red-skin. ‘‘ Man gets girl who beats Gol!” ‘*But, man, I'll give more for the girl than you can realize,” persisted Thornton. ott the first place the girl is not yours, to begin with. In the second place, you have no , ‘“Go to It is for you, legal power to auction her off in this man- ner!’ Old Rocks sucked away at his grimy clay pipe, with a placid grin. ‘*No law in No-Man’s Land!” he said. ‘*1’m as rich as you, backed with gun, ’cep’ you more money than me. Girl not for sale. Want her, fight for her!” Rocks was no fool, aseverybody in Beaver City was forced to admit. He always had an eye to business, and so had hisson, They appeared to hold some secret relating to Sing- ing Bird, it occurred to Dick, by which they hoped to profit, even beyond the gladiatorial exhibition, the admission to which was to be five dollars. As it was expected that a ver considerable audience would be present, it was reasonable to suppose that the receipts would be very large. —'**T’l] give a thousand dollars for the girl!” Thornton said, drawing a wad of bills from his pocket. Old Rocks looked at the money for a mo- ment, with a greedy glitter in his eyes, Was he going to accept the offer? Dick hastened an intervention. ‘‘Don’t you take it, old mant” he said. ‘Let the girl be contested for, Rather than see her sold outright, as a slave, I'll agree to pay double any amount this man may offer, and fight for the prize in the bargain!” Rocks sucked away at his pipe and sald nothing. ‘Evidently you feel greatly interested in this girl,” Thornton remarked, turning fierce- ly upon the young man, ‘Yes, presumably as much as you do!” Dick replied, ‘‘ Although I have never met the young lady, I have reason to believe that there are unscrupulous designs against her, and I am inclined to protect her so far as lies in my power. Does that satisfy you?”’ ‘In other words, you have come here to meet Golconda?” ** Exactly!” . ‘ Well, you can meet him if you like, but you won’t get the girl, Ill bet on thata cool thousand to five hundred thdt he does you up so finely that you'll be glad to take a quiet sneak out of Beaver City, never to return.” “Ts that so? Well, I'll just have to take that bet, if we can agree on stake-holders,”’ ‘‘Oh! I guess there won't be any trouble about that. There are afew reputable cit- izens in Beaver City, if it does bear a bad name, and I flatter myself I’m one of ’em. Then, there’s Jim Lane, the town-marshal, hae every one knows to be as square as a ie!” “Well, he is that: Lane is one of the squarest, upright men we have in No-Man’s Land. He’s settled more disputes, and en- dured more fightin’ an’ hardships to settle ‘em, than any man in The Strip,” said Tim Hale, from behind the bar. : ‘What is your opinion of Lane?” Dick asked, turning to the Bully, Jim Oaks, “You ought to know something about him, if anybody does,”’ | “Yes, | know him,” Oaks replied, ‘‘and he knows me, an’ tho’ I can’t say we're par- ticular friends, 1’l] do Lane the justice o’ sayin’ that he's honest, and a.game man. He likes sport as well as his next door neigh- bor, and t don’t know of any other man in Beaver who w’u’d be fixer fer holdin’ stakes, than Jim Lane. Oh! Lordy! don’t I wish Ihad some money to bet!” This to his pals. “Who would you bet on?” Dick asked. ‘‘On the feller, and the only one who ever — ive me a lickin’, yourself!” ‘Well, if Pa can make a bet with Mr. Overbearing Thornton, I'll back you!” Dick assured. A murmur of surprise ran through the as- semblage, in Tim Hale’s dug-out, and the young man from Deadwood became an in- stant favorite. Thornton was evidently 4 game man, too, for he instantly inquired of Dick: com vpoOOoOKS: com