Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 673 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

ae ae ct} Pare Vee 5 a c The Lightning Express Detective. \ 11 * As Renwood was led up to where the cheery firelight illuminated the scene, it was to find his friend, Headlight Harry, closely guarded. In mute astonishment, the two youths stared | couch of skins. atone another, Neither spoke; for their hearts were too full for utterance. Each had relied on the other for assistance, being of course ig- norant of one another’s whereabouts; but now the knowledge that both were in the power of their enemies, was enough to plunge them into the depths of despair. Dave Darke, too, came in fora share of sur- rise. With his own hand he had set Headlight arry adrift upon Mad River, and imagined him dashed to pieces upon the rocks of the De- vil’s Jump, Yet there stood the railroad-boy, much the worse for wear, but unmistakably in the flesh. The ex-cashier could not understand it, and superstitiously held aloof until Black Bart advanced and made the mystery clear. ‘‘ Well, if we keep ov, I shall have the whole of my friends at the wedding,” said the lieuten- ant, complacently. ‘‘Our doughty young voy- ager shall accompany his friend to the happy land, to-morrow. The morethe merrier, Ha, ha!” The prisoners were led away, under a strong guard; and then Black Bart called his men to- gether. The band gathered around the cap- tain, by whose side stood Dave Darke, Waving his hand for silence, Black Bart addressed the assemblage: ‘* Men, [ have to announce the return to our Brotherhood of our old comrade, Dark Dave, who, as first lieutenant of the band, formerly served long and well. I hereby appoint him to his old position, with authority second only to my own, and trust that the return of Lieu- tenant Darke wi!l bring increased prosperity to the Black Brotherhood.” Ringing cheers greeted this announcement, for Dave Darke was a universal favorite, However, there was one among them who failed to share the general satisfaction. A swarthy Mexican named Gaspard had been made lieutenant to succeed Darke, resigned; and now the return of the latter relegated him to his former subordinate ‘position, a proceeding that naturally failed to please the dark-skinned son of Mexico. But the Greaser knew better than to openly express his dissatisfaction. He simply scowled vindictively, and covertly shook his fist at his more popular successor, Lieutenant Darke soon separated himself from the group, and sought the captain of the Black Brotherhood. ‘* Well, are you satisfied now?’ demanded that worthy, grimly. ‘* Perfectly. Allow me to say, captain, that youarea jewel, Why, the town is astounded at your daring trick! The good citizens are rushing about like a lot of maddened hornets. But tbe fair maid-—I suppose she 1s here?” ‘*Safe in yonder cabin, anxious, I s’pose, to see you,” said Black Bart, sarcasticaily, ‘* By the way. Dave, how did you leave our friends at Richville?” *“ Under such circumstances that [ shall hard- ly venture there again, unless with the Black Brotherhood at my back.” ‘* Of course you drained the bank before leay- ing. How much did you get?” he eyes of the captain glittered avariciously as he spoke; however, the reply was far from encouraging. ‘¢ Nothing worth mentioning,” answered Dave Darke. ‘* You see, the cash had dwindled con- siderably, owing to my previous demands upon it: so everything available amounted to but a couple of hundreds, excepting a quantity of sil- ver, too bulky to bring away.” Thus glibly lied the lieutenant of the Black Brotherhood. He did not deem it necessary to mention the gripsack, filled with fat bundles of erate, which he had carefully hidden by La roadside, soon after so hastily leaving Rich- e, **T think I'll stroll over and call upon m handsome bride-to-be,” remarked the scoundrel, Pei turning away from the disappointed cap- n “Pool! Did he think I would divide with him?” chuckled Dave Darke, to himself, ‘*‘ Look out, Black Bart! You ere a shrewd genius, but I imagine I can bea trifle sharper. It’sa dan- gerous scheme I’m planning, but, if successful, within a month J shall be commander of the Black Brotherhood!” Highly elated, the villain approached the hut which contained his hapless captive. Pushing open the door, he entered without, the least cere- mony. An old lantern hung upon the wall, and its « - eu Ye pig Gea Drore retake ON > feeble light partially illuminated the rude in- | your own reflections for a time. Remember, terior. The outlaw could distinguish the form | to-morrow is our wedding day, and I hope you of Grace Garland, as she reclined upon the | will conclude to be more reasonable. Now, dear, before I leave, give me one sweet little kiss from | those warm, ripe lips!” So saying, the outlaw advanced triumphant- ly; but Grace Garland sprung back with a star- tled cry. Something flashed brightly in the dim light, and a glittering dagger, clutched in the gir)’s uplifted hand, swiftly descended upon the out- law’s breast! Desperation nerved the maiden’s arm, and she struck swift and straight. Only the superior quickness of the lieutenant saved him from in- stant death. Too late to avoid the attack entirely, he man- aged to catch the descending blow upon his left forearm, Cursing with rage and pain, the ruf- fianstaggered back, blood spurting froman ugly cut, ‘*Curse you, tigress!’’ he hissed. ‘* You shall pay dearly for that blow. Vil cut your claws, my vixen!” and so saying the discomfited lien- tenant rushed from the hut todress his wounded arm, Grace Garland stood for a moment, blankly staring at the retreating form. Then her overstrained nerves gave way, and | she fell upon the floor in a deep swoon, the bloody dagger falling from her nerveless grasp, CHAPTER XII, A FRIEND IN NEED, DuRING Dave Darke’s unsatisfactory inter- view with the prisoner, other events, equally as ' interesting, were transpiring within the outlaw stronghold. ' Black Bart had adopted a unique method of securing his two captives—Ralph Renwood and Headlight Harry. As before stated, three sides of the plateau consisted of precio cliffs, shooting downward for hundreds of feet; and the captain’s quick brain conceived a novel plan, whereby he could keep his prisoners, and at the same time render a guard unnecessary, The two young men were placed back to back after which’a long, stout rope was produced an passed round and round their united bodies, un- til they were bound together even more closely than the Siamese twins. Then a short piece was attached, each end, to the cord around their breasts, which, when passed over their heads, formed aloop or yoke. To this was knotted the end of another long rope. When this contrivance was completed to the satisfaction of Black Bart, that individual or- dered the pinioned captives lowered over the brink of the precipice, after which the end of the rope was passed several times around an ad- jacent stump, and securely made fast, Satistied that no man, not possessed of super- natural power, could escape from such a pre- dicament, the bandits prepared for a night’s rest, leaving the unfortunate prisoners to their own reflections. These were, to say the least, unpleasant. Their sition was not only novel, but hazardous. There they le in space, perhaps a dozen feet below the top of the cliff. The suspending rope being attached to the yoke exactly above their heads, served to keep them balanced in an up- right position. elow them yawned a frightful chasm, a plunge into which meant instant death—death * from which they were separated only by a sin- gle rope! Possible it was that one of the knots might slip; and the thoughts of what would fol- low such a catastrophe caused the brave fellows to grow faint and sick with horror. t first they swung with a slow, oscillating motion, but this gradually decreased and left. them hanging a dead weight before the face of the cliff. Nothing but impenetrable darkness above and below; for the sky was overcast, and the low, sullen muttering of distant thunder foretold a coming storm. Pen cannot adequately describe the feelings that surged tumultuously through the breasts of the prisoners, hanging motionless ‘twixt earth and sky, fearful that, any moment, the thread-like support might part, and precipitate them down, down to a horrible death! But no such catastrophe occurred. Black Bart cared not to lose his prey in that manner; so un- usual care and skill had been exercised in pre- paring the cords. An hour passed slowly away, and yet the ropes held firm. : Powerless to move a muscle, the two friends hung from the cliff without a word. Talk would not improve their situation one iota; nor did either feel in a mood for speech. | ** Hist!” ts As the door opened, Grace sprung to her feet and confronted the intruder. Recognizing the c' uelly-handsome features of the ex-cashier,she shrunk back in dismay. ‘* Why, good-evening, Miss Garland!” saluted the lieutenant, doffing his hat with mock polite- ness. ‘‘lam surprised to find you here. Is it to see me that you have ventured so far from home?” Grace Garland took a step forward, her eyes flashing, her breast throbbing with righteous indignation. ‘*Stop, scoundrel!” she cried. ‘‘The very sound of your voice is hatefultome. Whyhave you come here to torture me with your unwel- come presence? Go, I say!” The girl’s voice rung free and fearless; her ogg: trembled with passion; her eyes flashed re. The otitlaw lieutenant fell back a step, sur- | prised at the spirit of his prisoner. Instead of | a meek, submissive girl, he found a veritable | tigress. | | ‘** What a little spitfire you are,” he exclaim- ed; *‘and so charming! I never saw you look so beautiful, my dear. But, pray, what have | done to merit your dire displeasure?” ‘*Hold! Perfidious wretch, I know your base scheme, through and through. It is to you that I owe this indignity. It was you who caused me to be taken from home and friends, and brought to this loathsome place. Dave Darke, you are an unprincipled villain!” The outlaw laughed amusedly. ‘You are very complimentary, my dear; I must confess I’m not an angel; yet, please | don’t rub it on too thick. Yes, Gracie, it was I who had you brought here. You are a regular Yankee at guessing.” ‘You shall pay dearly for this outrage. Powerful friends will soon come to my rescue. Then, Dave Darke, beware!” ‘*)’m not at all alarmed by your threats, my pretty angel,” said the outlet: coolly. ‘“*In this secluded Spot, at the top of Mad Mountain, you are beyond reach of your Richville friends, Only two of them know of your whereabouts; and they are both prisoners in the hands of the Black Brotherhood,” ‘* Two of my friends prisoners?” ‘‘That’s what I said. Particular friends, too, [believe. One is the boy, Headlight Harry; the other—Ralph Renwood!” | ‘* Ralph Renwood a prisoner? Merciful Hea- ven, what will become of me now?” Overcome by the terrible thought, Grace Gar- land staggered against the wall. The outlaw watched her exultantly. ** | thought that would take you down a Pee, my young vixen,” be chuckled. ‘' Your dear friends are close at hand, but in scarcely a fit condition to aid you; so you may as well aban- don all hopes of rescue, and resign yourself to the inevitable.” ‘* And what is that, scoundrel?” ‘* To become my wife. . | have long loved you madly, and swore to possess you for my own, Failing to do so by fair means, I was compelled to resort to foul, and the result is, you are now hopelessly in my power. To-morrow we shall be legally married; for we have among our number a regularly-ordained minister of the gospel, who long since forsook the path of the righteous for a more remunerative calling. Doubtless he hasn’t forgotten how to tie the knot in proper style. ‘* Your friends shall be interested witnesses of the ceremony, though I doubt if it affords them much pleasure. Then, when the guests have beensent on their way rejoicing, nothing remains for us but to enjoy a life of ease and leasure, Safe in our own quiet mountain ome, What do you think of the prospect, dear? Is it not delightful?” ** Very nicely planned, but not yet executed,” retorted Grace Garland, who had partially re- covered her composure, with a wonderful efforf> ‘*Remember it takes two to makea bargain. Before I would become the wife of such a mur- derous, black-hearted scoundrel, I would take ae with my own hand!” ave Darke heard these spirited words with an ominous scowl. ‘* Sorry you are so obstinate. Miss Spitfire, for it won’t do the least particle of good,” he exclaimed, confidently. ‘‘ A woman whoshould mind, ani won’t mind, must be made to mind. Ili tame your rebellious spirit, my proud beauty. ‘* Now, however, I will go, and leave you to nl LT icbooks o- b yo. ee oe ea Uae col ah ee ae ~ ° ow + a - * = : ———— * pnaee eee eT a re mw, 7 ~ : = : . + <<" > i _— - UA > me > hee oe ~ ty j : met on r > ‘ Ni com