Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 702 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

made up his mind to act, for hs placed himself well, took a long aim, and his finger touched the trigger. There was a red flash from the muzzle of the rifle, a sharp report, and Miner St. John sprung to his feet. He stood upright one moment, his hands out- stretched as though toward some one, and then, without a word, sunk back dead in his chair. The man who had fired the shot did not move ! from his position, He saw his victim rise, that silent, pleading, stretching forth of the hands, and something very like a groar came from his lips. Then he saw the form sink back, and he knew that Gray St. John was dead. Yet still he did not move, still he did not ad- vance toward the motionless form, He seemed to lack the strength to move, and resting his hands upon the muzzle of his rifle, stood gazing like one entranced upon the motion- less form. At last a sigh broke from his lips, followed al- most immediately after by the hoarsely uttered words: ‘‘ Fool! if was his destiny to die thus, mine to kill him! ‘*T would not be weak, but strong, for much, oh, so much, depends upon it!” With this the assassin strode boldly into the cabin, closed the door behind him, and was alone with the dead. CHAPTER X, THE BLUE JACKETS. Since the rumored hanging of their chief the Blue Jacket Band of outlaws had been very uiet. - They were a bold, bad lot of road-agents who had done much damage under the leadership of a mysterious chief known as Blue Jacket Bill. Whether the blue Jackets, or the Comanches and Apaches were the greatest cause of dread to mivers, and settlers, and of worry to soldiers, no one could decide. Who Blue Jacket Bill was no one seemed to know, more than that he was a man of superb physique, dressed in black pants, long boots, and wore a bright blue jacket and a scarlet scarf about his waist. His head was sheltered by a black sombrero which had a visor which could be pulled down over his face, thus masking it completely. Splendidly mounted and armed, and a daring fellow, he had been for a long while a lone road- ent, Then, when a party of soldiers sought to cap- ture him, half a dozen other Blue Jackets ap- red upon the scene and Uncle Sam’s Boys in lue had been beaten off. Robberies of stage-coaches, trains and settle- ments followed, with an occasional dash upon the mines, until Blue Jacket Bill became terri- bly feared along the border trails, and all efforts capture him or his men, seemed utterly use- om.-s If one of his men was wounded in a fight, every other Blue Jacket at once gave hima shot and ended his life then and there, for they were determined to have it a case of ‘* dead men tell no tales,” But at last came several hard,blows upon the Blue Jackets, hit by one Redfern, a} boy scout from Fort Blanco. Next was heard the startling news that a noted gambler of Devil’s Ranch, but one who was much admired and always considered a saears man, had been arrested by Redfern as ue Jacket Bill, He denied it in toto, but he was carried by his captor to the fort, where soon after a man appeared claiming that he was Blue Jacket Bill, and he would not see another hanged on bis account, Of course that set the Sharp from Texas free, and next came a party of alleged Texan ran- cheros to the fort, one of them, an old man, claiming that the self-accused Blue Jacket Bill was his son, and an escaped lunatic. Of course this set bim free; but Redfern still stuck to his belief that the Sharp from Texas was really the right man, and tracking bim to Colorao he at once run down and saw hanged one whom he declared was Blue Jacket Bill. ' That be was mistaken the reader has seen. But Redfern returned to the fort, and from thence to Devil’s Ranch, and the result of his work there was the death of El Paso Pete, and the capture of several men who were dis- covered to be beyond all cavil members of the Blue Jacket Band. The proofs were against them, and taken to Fort Blanco they met with just punishment for their criines, Blne Jacket Bill. Redfern, the Revolver Sharp, had gone to Mexico, and since then the Blue Jackets had not been heard from upon the trails. But the Blue Jackets were not utterly wiped out, though frightened into keeping quiet. They had heard of the hanging of their chief in Colorado, and yet had received secret in- re from him since his alleged tragic end, Only lately they bad received secret notifica- tion to meet at the old rendezvous in the moun- tains, and just six men put in an appearance there, all that was left of the band, These six were masked, and they wore their costume which had given them the name of Blue Jacket outlaws, The place of rendezvous was a crater-like place upon the top of a hill, and the approach to it was incapable of leaving a trail, The men had assembled there one by one, and were grouped about talking over the occurrences since their last meeting together. The gist of this conversation was that they all were of one opinion regarding their chief, and that was that he had as many lives asa cat is credited witb, Upon the way to the rendezvous was a sev- enth horseman, He was mounted upon an animal that had the look of possessing great speed and bottom, and be was armed with three revolvers in his belt, He rode like one accustomed to the saddle, and what his face was no one could tell, for it was completely masked, He wore a blue jacket, embroidered in gold, a wide-brimmed, black sombrero encircled by gold cord, and had even his hands concealed under gauntlet gloves, so that whether he was pale-face, Indian or negro could not be ascer- tained by the eye. He seemed to know the trail well to the hill- top, and rode in upon the group there before they were aware of his coming. ‘* Well men, I am glad to see that the Blue Jackets are not all wiped out, for there are sev- eral of us left yet,” be said pleasantly, as the party quickly arose and saluted him as soldiers would their commander, ‘* Let me see whom we have left out of our band of thirteen. ‘* Answer to your numbers as I[ call the roll.” Then be began and slowly called the roll in numbers. As he called out: ‘* Number one!” he answered himself: ** Present!” Then came the other numbers up to thirteen, and just six failed to respond, the other six be- ing present, e took a slip of paper from his pocket upon which opposite each number was written a name and some description of the man, and the chief alone knew the secret as to who the Blue Jackets were. Those six present had come alone, and being completely masked not one of them knew who his comrade was. Only by his more gorgeous uniform was the chief known to his men. ‘* Men, I called you together to tell you that there is work to be done, and to convince you that your chief, Blue Jacket Bill, was not dead, ‘‘They may have hanged Trent Baxter the gambler, the Sharp from Texas, or some one else, but Blue Jacket Bill was not born to be hanged and he is, as you see, once more before you, ‘One week from to-day Mexican Joe, the driver, carries eastward a good many pesos ia old dust, and I will show them that Blne Jacket illand his men are still alive by transferring the treasure to our keeping. “At noon, at the Blue Jackets’ Toll Gate, where we have so often taken toll, meet me without fail. ‘* You can go!” The men again saluted, each man walked to his horse, mounted and rode away, not two of them going together. When they had been gone some time Blue Jacket Bill, the chief, also mounted his horse and rode away, taking the trail backinto the valley from whence he had come. CHAPTER XI. THE CHIEF WAS WELL POSTED, MEXICAN JOE was a gafe hand with the reins, knew the trails perfectly, drove a good team of horses and was as plucky as behooves a mortal maa to be. He was an American who was known as Mex- ican Joe because he had once driven stage in Mexico, Some said that he had driven it morein his own interests than the company’s, but he cer- tainly was looked upon asa good man to have by the line that ran coaches out of Devil’s Ranck eastward, It was said that Mexican Joe was so cunning that he could run a coach through carrying thousands of dollars, which the sharpest-eyed road-agent could not find. So one morning Mexican Joe drove out of Devil’s Ranch wearing bis accustomed smile of unconcern, and started upon his eastward run. He had as passengers four miners, who were on their way home, They had been reasonably good fellows, worked rather hard, and had added to their savings until they had laid upa bandsome “ nest egg” apiece in the hands of their wives, and were going back to enjoy the result of their labors, Their last diggings they bad kept to take with them in tbe natural ore, and each was proud of what be had to show, lt may be that this quartette would have re~ mained longer in the mines, for they rather en- joyed the free life there, had not Parson Freeze crossed their paths, Ore of them had been a convert at home, but eenree a backslider when temptation asailed im, The ‘*‘ parson ” quickly showed him the error of his ways, and he came back into the fold, while his influence brought in the other three. From that day the ‘‘ parson” became their best friend, and they gave up gambling and drinking for bis sake, while they decided to go home together aad lead different lives. So they talked it all over with the “ parson,” set a day secretly when they would depart, and then plotted how they could carry along their separate treasures without losing them, should avy of Blue Jacket Bill’s band hold up the stage- coach on the way. They hit upon & most clever plan, and with the aid of Mexican Joe it was carried out, The night before their departure, the parsom not being then in Devil’s Ranch, they slightly ‘* fell from grace.” That is, the unconverted among the miners made up a plot to get the ‘‘ Prayer Sharps,” as they called them, on a spree. They gave them a royal send-off, and whem the coach started at an early hour the next morning not one of the four bad been to bed and they were bundled into the vehicle in a con~- dition that they would not have had the parson see them in for half their hidden treasure. They bad been prevailed upon to take a part- ing me which was quickly multiplied by a dozen, or more, So Mexican Joe drove off with his four pas- sengers, all of them fast asleep, and he muttered to himself: ‘‘I'q give a Comanche’s sculp if the parson could be ’ere now.” So Mexican Joe sent the team along at a brisk pace, wholly unmindful of danger, for he, with others, considered that the Blue Jackets had been wiped out, ‘* Now there’s a place I never feel easy about, if there are no Blue Jackets now,” he said to himself as he approached a canyon pass known as the Blue Jackets’ Toll-Gate,” Here had scores of robberies been committed by road-agents, and over under the shadow of the cliffs were a number of graves, of victims and outlaws alike. Mexican Joe’s fears had not been without cause, for as he drove into the narrow pass among the rocks, he suddenly saw a horseman ride out of the pines before bim. He gave a quick glance over his shoulder and beheld two horsemen close in behind bim. There was Lo mistaking the man in front, It was Blue Jacket Bill or his ghost, He sat quietly upon his horse, his revolver drawn, awaiting the coming of the coach, which was yet a hundred yards away from him, The two Blue Jacket horsemen in the rear came on at a pace a trifle faster than that of the coach, On either side now, from the rocks, appeared two dismounted men, and these were Blue Jackets also, and armed with rifles. | ‘Tl be darned,” ejaculated Mexican Joe as he saw the trap into whick he bad driven. He wasa cool fellow, and agained remarked; ‘But they won't find the dust, though I does hope they give them drunken gerloots a scare as will sober ’em forever.” As he saw the chief of the Blue Jackets point significantly to his revolver with his left hand, Mexican Joe drew rein witb the remark: ‘“Bxcuse me, pard, I were driving a little fast: but durn me ef I didn’t think you was dead!” ofexe) cS —- -COr . ‘ : -_ ia r =, ee — —— = - * a — ows ee hoe Qe = ——- «= ’ ~~ e* >, = an -_ - - a> ee D ae? wnt 4 ke _ Se Se ene ee a ee ee a ee |