Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 657 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

.< > —- + TJ — a ee it Ole be « Se —— - Cheyenne bank I came to Rocket Range to meet Leonard and arrange for the transfer of the mine. He said there was no bank out here; that he keptall his own money in a private safe, and preferred that I should bring the cash, as he wished to use itin paying off certain in- debtedness. Like the dupe I was, I believed him, and complied with his request. “On arriving at Rocket Range, he engaged horses for both of us, saying the mine was at Silverton, and that we would go out there to look atit. He had already shown me the state- ments of the business of the mina for the past ear, but I had insisted on seeing the property efore turning over the money and accepting the deed. Inquiries made at Rocket Range had given me the idea that Leonard was the per- sonification of an honorable gentleman; and, in my inexperience, I no more thought of suspect- ing him’ than I would think of suspecting Harry. ** Just before we reached Silverton we stopped at aspring to get a drink, for the day was hot and we bad been riding hard. We had no drinking vessel; and, as I stooped over the spring, Leonard struck me a blow on the head with a club, ‘* All I recollect of the assault is a blinding flash of ligbt, and a sensation as if the heavens had fallen and crushed me. When I recovered consciousness I was lying on my back, partly in the water, and my clothing soaked in my own blood, My money was gone, together with my horse, and I was so weak I could scarcely stag- ger to my feet. ‘* Leonard had left me for dead, no doubt. It was then mid-afternoon, and the town still some three miles distant. Weak as I was, I resolved to make my way into the town, denounce Leon- ard to the authorities, andif he was there se- cure his arrest. ‘* Little I knew of the honesty of the officials of Rocket Range!” with a harsh and bitter em- phasis. ‘‘If I had known more, I should have fled from the place as from a pestilence. ** But as it turned out, I was the one to be de- nounced, A miner had disappeared from Sil- verton that morning, murdered, no doubt; and as I staggered toward the place, weak and feverish, I met a posse of citizens, Leonard was at their head, and at once denounced me as having slain the missing man. What kind of a story he told to make them believe so foul a lie I am at a loss to imagine. ‘They believed it, however, or pretended to believe it; and my blood-stained garments were taken as evidence of my guilt. ‘Urged on by Leonard, the posse became transformed into a howling mob; and about as much ceremony tr it me as if I had been a confessed horse- ief. ‘*In vain I pleaded my innocence and told the story of how Il came to be in that condition. Leonard stated that he had started from Rocket Range with me, but suspecting me of an evil in- tent on his pocketbook, he had left me and gal- loped on alone. ‘* | think my statements were more then half- believed by a few of the men: for when the mob was on the point of hanging me they interfered to prevent it. Then I was thrust into the jail, under a false name as I afterward learned. ‘* Time after time I pleaded for a bearing, but my pleadings were mocked at. The jailer would not allow me to communicate with any one, nor send out any letters or messages, That I could never quite understand, for I supposed that even the worst criminal had a right toa trial at the earliest and most convenient sea- son.’ ‘* f can explain it, I think,” Ware interrupted. «You hadn’t been in there long until the report was circulated that you had effected your es- cape. There was no necessity or law for trying a man who was non-come-atable,” Lewis Cavendish gave a gasp of surprise, ‘*Harry learned that, among other things, while concealed in the saloon. Leonard is a long-headed chap, and that was just another of his shrewd games. How many more we may run onto before we're through with the gentle- man only the future can determine. Quite enough to surprise us, no doubt.” “He couldn’t have meant to hold me there forever, I suppose?” Lewis questioned, after a moment of thought. ‘No; he intended to have you put out of the way. It was all planned; and as the public knew nothing of any such prisoner, I doubt not the matter would have been easy of accom- plishment.” Then the detective told of the scheme which we Regi had confided to Tanner only a few hours ore, < . ‘ t #ii€ ’ + - od 4 ° b ee ee ae nl 7 f « . q,.7 . ‘ 7 . i 4 . \ + have ; <4 , fe tee) 1 ta. 1. oe, : ‘ ey : : 4, ie," m* 24 = oA 34 % 4 i? " a’ il a4) i a \ Warbling William. ‘* A thorough villain!’ and Cavendish shud- dered involuntarily, as he reflected on the fate which was to have beenhis, ‘* What does Maud think of that?” He bad already been informed of the part Maud had taken in attempting to discover and rescue him out of Leona”d’s clutches; and had told the story of his acquaintance and. corre- spondence with her, ‘*She doesn’t know anything about it yet,” Ware replied. ‘‘ We were too greatly pressed for time to see her before starting for this int.” ** Won't she be pleased, though, when she knows it all!” and Harry clapped his hands jubilantly at the thought, The detective laughed. ‘‘ And think of my inamorata, Harry! The beautiful and dashing Miss Fulton! She will be tickled out of her seven senses.” ‘‘There’s one who won't be pleased,” said Cavendish. ‘“That’s Buck Hazelrig. In fancy I can see him gnashing bis teeth and pulling his abundant hair out by the handful.” ‘‘We ought to go down and give him a serenade,” the happy boy suggested. “I’m a little croaky from last night’s work; but I reckon if we’d join in under his window with that guitar, it would create a sensation.” ‘* And a sensation, probably, we shouldn’t like. He would have the entire town after us inside of twenty minutes, and we’d have to hump ourselves lively to get away from here with whole skins.” ‘“Pshaw! He wouldn't dare. Why, he couldn’t claim that Lew had escaped; for the very good reason, as you said awhile ago, that the people of the town don’t know there is such a person as Lew,”’ ‘True! Strange that view of the case didn’t strike me. Maybe it won’t strike him, and he'll arouse the town, anyway, and have a gay old time in explaining why he did it.” He was interrupted by the wild clanging of the jail bell. ‘Prophetic words!” the detective cried, start- ing to his feet. He’s discovered that we’re gone and you’re likewise missing. We'll have to make tracks for tall timber, Perhaps he has concluded to catch us first and explain after- ward. It would be entirely safe, I. venture to say, especially if he had John Leonard to assist him in making the explanation, That scamp can come as near to twisting men to suit himself as any fellow I ever saw.” He had picked up his guitar, and now stood listening to !he quick strokes of the bell. **See! There’s a light!” he cried. ‘“ The people are arousing. We must make ourselves scarce, hereaways, or we'll be in great danger of being taken, The releasing of a prisoner from jail is no light offense in this country. Come!” And with the command he burried into the eRe the Cavendishes following close at his eels, CHAPTER XVIII. A HASTY FLIGHT, BucK HAZELRIG was shrewder than he had been given credit for being. Awakening from sleep, in the early hours of the morning, he dis- coverod that the persons he had mistaken for strolling musicians were missing, and leaped at once to a correct solution of the situation. Hurrying into bis clothing he took the keys from the drawer where they were kept—they had been replaced by Ware—and rushed into the corridor, to find that the cell of the ‘‘ crazy young feller” was empty. He greeted the discovery with a string of lurid oaths, then hastened to one of the adjoin- ing cells, and spoke to the half-awakened occu- ant: R ‘*Do you want to git out o’ hver, Skinny? 0’ course you do; you'd be a pesky fool if ye didn’t. Well, I’ve got special reasons for want- in’ to let ye loose; an’ if»you’ll cut sticks lively, I'll do it.” He had dropped his voice to a whisper in making this astonishing statement, but the prisoner was quick of ear and comprehension, —* Try me, one’t!” he cried, sitting bolt upright on his cot. ‘* Ef any one ketches me, after I’m safe outen hyer, they'll hev to hustle.” ‘‘Of course [ll have to rouse the town an’ try to ketch you, Skinny. “Twouldn’t never do fer me not to. But Pll not try a mite harder’n ’'m actilly boun’ to; fer, as I said, I want ye to git away. ‘* They ain’t no games ’bout this?” the prisoner demanded, not understanding why Hazelrig should thus want to favor him. ‘None atall! An’ if ye’re goin’ ye must g I can’t stand hyer shilly-shallyin’ all night, neither, If you ain’t ready in jes’ one minute, yer chance is gone.” ** Dll be ready !” And the horse-thief—for such he was—began to wriggle into his clothing. Five minutes later, the jail bell was beginning to ring out its brazen warning and arouse the slumbering inhabitants of Silverton to the fact that another prisoner had escaped. ** ‘You see, it war jes’ this way,” the jailer ex- plained, as the people began to gather. ‘‘ Them } rotted singers were jes’ the worst kind o’ fakes. They pulled the wool over our eyes most beauti- ful. After you fellers went away las’ night, there come another feller, and blamed fool like, I let him in. ‘“‘The three on ’em silep’ right in my room, where I thought I could watch ‘em easy, though I never s’picioned anything wrong. Well, may I be bung, if I didn’t wake up a while ago an’ find the hull b’ilin’ of °em gone—an’ Skinny, the hoss-thief, gone along of ’em!” He had added the third man to the number of the rescuers, so that the presence of Lewis Cav- rome could be accounted for, should the trio be taken. ‘They played a master cute game to git Skintly out: an’ they got him, I never knowed of acuter. I’m much afeard it’s goin’ to trouble us to overhaul ’em an’ git ’em back.” Many others seemed to think the same, Never- theless a hunt was commenced as soon as a suffi- cient number had gathered to make a respectable: rty. Hazelrig bad instructed Skinny to start west- ward, a direction opposite to the one in which he proposed to lead the search party; for, by a series of shrewd guesses, he had formed a fair idea of the route Cavendish and his rescuers. would pursue. | By the time the jailer’s party got under way, the detective and his friends had placed more than three miles of the rugged path behind them, They had scarcely gone three miles fur- ther, however, before they discovered they were being pursued—and by men on horseback, Hazelrig’s forces, after considerable beating, had struck their trail near the point where it entered the timber; and, as there were several skilled trailers among them, they were enabled to proceed at a rapid rate in spite of the obstruc- tions. ‘That’s bad,” Ware observed, when, from a considerable elevation, he ascertained that they were being closely followed, “ They will over- take us, soon, at that rate. Wemusttry tocon- ceal our traii, before going further,” This they did by walking backward for some distance, then swinging from tree to tree until they bad covered several hundred feet. When they again dropped to the earth, they changed their course, and sought to conceal their foot- steps by traversing the rockiest and flintiest ridges, This maneuver was repeated several times, and with such apparent success, that, when more than hour had passed without sight or sound of the jailer’s party, they began to feel so secure that they again became incautious, They were made startlingly awareof the folly of this by the neighing of a horse, only a few hundred yards behind them! Hazelrig, with a squad of his men, had gone on in the general direction which he believed the fugitives would follow, leaving the others to puzzle out the intricate trail. By rare good luck he bad stumbled on a succession of foot- steps in a mucky place, and was now hurrying forward, boping to take the fleeing men un- awares. But for the neigh of the horse he might have accomplished his purpose, The detective’s little party again scrambled to the tree-boughs, There were no flinty ridges near, but a mountain stream with worn and rocky banks, flowed not far away, and toward this they bastened. On reaching it. they ran upward along its course for a considerable distance, and then con- cealed themselves in a hollow beneath the shelv- ing banks. “Cuddle down, and k Ware cautioned. “If they be apt to go hard with us,” No words were needed to cause them to main~ tain strict silence. The dreadful fear of dis- eoveny glued their lips and almost stilled their breathing. The danger was greatly lessened, however, by the character of the place they had secreted themselves in, It was a cavity in the rocks, so thoroughly screened by bus and undergrowth that its existence would mot be 1 Se ey had stumbled on it by the merest acci- perfectly still!” nd us here it will + is a | ee cor Fi “a ig fs 5 4 J r + Jai ys te © "2 tan oul, 4 Ney # Se bY a