Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 663 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

- =~ £ A ey ard. Prd + * sie ° = id * a » Se ee Poaa.: a P vi ca * * ; ye hf 2 * ‘ Bra s f {eq “ "i i _ lan ~F P a |. ~ st Aa 's ‘am:. : + Ae <l \i oo i | ooo a + \ * . ’ M : t4) a * Nest” » ‘ J ¥ me. fy y. . a J é .# Me a * f sharp command caused the tramp to pause with his mouth wide open, the picture of sudden sur- rise, pee Eb! did you speak?” gasped Erastus. **T did.” ‘‘ Waal, waal! Thet’s most s’prisin’! I didn’t s’pose no one dared open their clam-traps. W’at ’d yer say?” **T said stop, which literally means chain up. You are using your mouth altogether too freely.” “Sho! Js thet so?” ‘“You are apt to discover that it is. You have evidently been drinking or you would not dare to come in here and fire off your mouth in this way. I advise you to go somewhere and snooze it off. If you want any fun—fun—come back when you are sober and get your stomach full. Now slide.” But Erastus did not slide. **Oh, no!” he grinned, ‘‘ Excuse me if I pause awhile. You are’way off if you think that l am drunk. It takes quite a lot o’ ther stuff ter git Ole Wooltop fuddled, an’ [ll sw’ar thet atween us, Jedge Blowbugle o’ Jacktown, and I, only surrounded one small gallon las’ nite. We both went light, though ther jedge c’u’dn’t see quite as well as usual this mornin’ an’ his pins was a leetle shaky. But /’m all right, bet yer boots!” Then the woolly-headed man took a double- shuffle to convince every one that his legs were allright. Gradually the scowl on High Card’s face grew more ominous, ‘*Tf you will wait till I attend to business with these gentlemen,” said the gambler, ‘‘I will see what can be done for you, my friend.” ‘*Oh, cert,” nodded Wagg, gravely, ‘I’m no hog ter want ter take yer ’tention all ther time. Jest go ahead with yer tooth-pullin’ w’ile I ’muse ther oe ge map A word from the card-sharp warned the crowd not to “‘jump” the vagrant till he should give them permission, and then he turned to hear what the delegation from the peaceable citizens had to propose. Wagg promptly made his way to the bar and called for a “* bracer.” ‘**T would like to see the color of your chanze before I set out the moisture,” said the cautious bartender, ‘*Hain’t my credic good?” asked the tramp, appearing somewhat surprised, “Yes, good for nothing.” “Is thet so? An’ I ther Alcalde o’ Jasper! Waal, waal! Reckon I'll hev ter pay spot cash then,” and his hand slowly descended into the capacious pocket of his ragged pantaloons. ‘ Wonder whar my puss is?’ he muttered, as he slowly felt around in all of his pockets. “I don’t seem ter fine it, an’ it orter be hyer. Guess I must ’a’ drapped it. Oh, well! I don’t mind, fer it only contained a eg or three hundred, Guess I won’t drink now; I hain’t hafe ser dry as [ wuz,” Then Erastus turned his back to the bar, and for five minutes his tongue ran without stopping. No one tried to interrupt him, for they did not care to put their fingers into High Card Harry’s soup, and every one felt that the card-sbarp had something in store for the tramp from Jack- town. In one corner Harry was tedlcttig earnest- ly with the delegation, evidently discussing the situation, **T hev taken er contrac’ ter ’muse the congre- gashunp,” observed the woolly-headed man, “ an’ I'm goin’ ter do my best ter do so. P’r’aps you folks don’t know thet I’m er poic?” No answer, ie I thort og he he nodded. : ‘Waal, I be. ll sing ye a leetle song w’at I composed as I was pn frum Jacktown, Jest lissen.” And without further ado, he began to roar at the top of his voice: ** Cum lissen to my ditty, I'll sing it soft an’ low,— There dwells in Jasper itty A gallant sport you know; He’s tall an’ straight--ther dandy! His eyes are darx an’ keen, An’ with ther keerds he’s handy, W’en he strikes er chap thet’s green, * er Jacktown came this daisy An’ er gang ter take ther town; Begobs! it wassent aisy W’en 'Rastus wuz aroun’! He tried er leetle poker— It is his fav’rite game— He met his match—ther jo Thet we call Violet Vane.”’ ' Every one within the room knew that this was a direct thrust at High Card Harry, and more than one expected to see the card» sharp drop the reckless vagrant in his tracks; but the gambler seemed topay no attention to the woolly- s SP ee Ay aees <5 Pe rae Aa ‘TS ee Violet Vane’s Victory. headed man or hissong. Quietly he continued his talk with the representatives of the law- abiding people of the town. Finally the interview ended, the delegation left the saloon and High Card Harry turned to- ward the bar. There was a slight stir, for every one expected trouble atonce, The tramp was the only one who did not seem to notice Harry’s approach. ** Yes,” Erastus was saying, ‘‘I hev kinder made up my mine ter becum alcalde o’ this hyer town. I understan’ thet thar is er leetle trubble hyer bout suthin’, If thet’s er fack, ’m jest ther lad ter straighten things out. [kin do it in er leetle o’ no time, an’ I'll ergree ter hev this runnin’ as it orter be afore twenty-four hours,” ‘* And I will give vou just twenty-four seconds to get out of that door,” observed Higb Card Harry, quietly, drawing a gold watch from his pocket and glancing at the face of it. “If you are not gone in that time, I will have yon fired,” = Wagg gave vent toa whistle of astonish- ment, ‘“Now you don’t mean thet,” he asserted— ‘vou can’t! There is apt ter be fun in this ranch afore I am fired.” The card-sharp said not a word until the twenty-four seconds were up, then he turned to Hickory Jimmy, who was standing near: ‘Fire him, Jimmy.” The wrestler grinned and spit on his hands, ** Bet yer life I will,” be chuckled, savazely, as he began to advance toward the intended victim, . **Bet yer life you won’t!” came promptly from the vagrant’s lips, as his long-barreled revolvers appeared in his hands. ‘‘I am a mighty hard man ter fire w’en I hold ther drop. Jest chain up or chaw lead!” And it was plain that Wagg meant business, therefore Hickory Jim paused irresolutely. **T’m no rassiler,” admitted the woolly-headed man, as he leaned lazily back with his elbows on the bar, the rusty-looking revolvers being inted to the front. ‘‘ I thort I wuz yesterday, ut 1 got holt o’ this same galoot an’ mighty soon changed my mine. My back hain’t got over achin’ yet. He guv me ther all-durnedest flam 1 never got. No, thank you, I don’t keer fer enny more in mine, I know w’en I’ve got ernuff o’ er good thing.” The wrestler looked toward High Card Harry for instructions. The gambler scowled, an evil gleam in his eyes. “*] will give you one more chance,” said the dark-faced sport, ‘‘ You may leave this room unmolested now. If you appear again, you will be shot on sight. If you do not go peaceably, you shall be thrown out.” _ An’ wu’d ye throw me revolvers an’ all?” inquired Wagg, blandly. Yes, through that window to your right.” “All right, throw away! Jasper City will hev_ sevarial funerals ter-morrer, I reckon, Su’thin ginerally draps w’en one 0’ these anti- mortem pill-dispensers an’ system-perferators kersplodes, Wade in, sinners!” Just then Erastus felt something cold just back of his rightear. It was the muzzle of a revolver held in the hand of the bartender, who commanded: | _ ge them revolvers! If you don’t I'll blow the whole roof of your cabeza off!” Wagg suddenly grew pale. ‘** Hole on! hole on!” he spluttered. ‘‘ I cave! I'm reddy ter git out now. I don’t believe I want ter run fer office ennyhow. Fact is, I w’u’dn’t be alcalde o’ this ole campif I c’u’d jest ez well ez not,” ‘* Disarm him,” ordered Harry, coldly. Two men sprung forward to obey. “"Tain't no fair,” whined the tremblin vagrant. ‘“‘ This cotchin’ er man frum bebin is low dirt. I reckon I stubbed inter ther wrong ig and I’m willin’ ter depart quietly now. his hyer gittin’ mixed up in pollerticks an’ run- nin’ fer office is danger’us business, Wage’s long revolvers were taken from him and laid on thé bar. Then the two men looked to Harry for further instructions. “Fire him through the window,” was the grim command. > They seized the woolly-headed man, and were about to obey, when a clear, ringing voice cried: ‘Hold a little on there! What's all this row about, anyway?” : CHAPTER VIII. ANOTHER CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE, speaker was a new-comer in the saloon, and a stranger in town, He was a rather un- dersized man, and was dressed in a seedy-look- ing suit of faded black. His rather florid face / *e - ’ A : ; Lex oy. as- ~ ete : FSi wT) * - . - : ; ° te) - Puy OE cutie PP x tena’ “ RS Ti, eS ee Se ee a - = ; be , . } * £2 w ve os ‘ is aa DS am ws -. was made to look doubly florid, as his stubb whiskers were fiery red. A mass of reddis hair formed a “fringe” entirely around the lower extremity of the battered silk hat that was set upon the back of his head. His hands were thrust deep into the pockets of his panta- loons, and a half-smoked cigar, beld in one cor- ner of his mouth, gave him a rakish air. But his eyes were dark and keen, and his voice bad sounded clear and distinct, despite the cigar, causing the men who were about to throw Eras- tus through the open window to pause and look around, ‘‘What’s all this row about anyway?” re- peated the seedy stranger, blowing out a cloud of cigar-smoke. ‘*I would like to inquire what our friend of the shaggy head has done tbat he should be so rudely ejected through yon yawn- ing window.” Cool as an icicle was the red-haired individual as he leaned lazily againsta post near the center of the room, and allowed his keen eyes to pass swiftly and searchingly over the throng. Al- though he appeared anything but dangerous, there was something about his careless manner that caused the card-sharp’s satellites to pause and hesitate ere carrying out the orders of their leader. High Card Harry wheeled with an oath, re- volver in hand. ‘“Who in blazes are you?” he demanded, sav- agely. ‘* Well, now, partner, I don’t know as that is any of your business,” was the calm reply. ‘‘But for all of that, I don’t mind swapping handles, to speak figuratively. Who in blazes are you ?” The scowl on the gambler’s face grew still blacker. He did not fancy the stranger’s cool, impudent manner. ‘*- You are either a fool or a lunatic,” declared the angry sport. ' “Possibly you are right,” admitted the red head, soberly. ‘‘ I’ve been told that same thing before, but I notice that I ’most always manage to rustle around and hold up my end with the rest of the boys. I must say that if I am either a fool or a lunatic, I am about the smartest one that I know of,” The gambler laughed sneeringly. ‘‘ You are altogether too smart,” he asserted, ‘‘You had best have a care, or you will wish you bad not thrust your nose into High Card Harry’s business.” ‘Thanks, awfully! I am so glad you men- tioned it. So your handle is High Card Harry? A gentleman who sometimes feels of the papers, I should infer. In other words, a shark who makes food of the foolish little fishes which come in his way. I wonder if some of the little fishes ever turn out to be full-grown whales,” At which the woolly-headed man snickered. ‘* Jeehocus!” he grinned, ‘* Now you've hit it, pard. He run plum erg’in’ er whale w’er he tackled Violet Vane at Jacktown. Sweet Vio- lets is small, but—oh, my /” The stranger smiled knowingly as he blew out another cloud of smoke. “Tt ofttimes happens thus. The mouse some- times proves to be a tiger with claws worse than Damascus blades. Now I am a sport myself, and 1 must admit that I have been there many > atime. Some of you people may have taken me fora millionaire in disguise. Iam not. I am no grasping monopolist. I am no Jay Gould, Y aca simply one of the bloods, deucedly down on my luck, I beard that this town was off its trucks and needed some one to yank things into running order, so I jast slid in here to present myself as a candidate for the office of alcalde.” Tbe camp tramp gave a whoop of delight. ‘‘ Great jeeswax!” he bellowed, ‘ Ernutber one inter ther ring! This hyer’s gittin’ kinder interestin’, I swow! Stranger, w’at %s your name?” ; The seedy individual removed his left band from bis pocket long enough to doff his battered high hat, as he answered: ““Most honorable sir of the shaggy caput, my baptismal handle is Coolan Casey, a peculiar name I think you will admit. Out in this land of rustlers, however, they have altered the title somewhat and call me a Cool Case. Ihave been told that the abbreviated cognomen suits me to a full-grown capital T, as all who know me say I am indeed a very Coo] Case,” High Card Harry gave vent to an oath of dis- st. are You are too fresh for killing,” he asserted, contemptuously. ‘* You had better take a back seat and witness the performance from a safe distance, for something may fall on you and hurt you if you get toonear.” - c ata ar a —