Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 705 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

A) i - ¢ | Violet Vane’s Vow. 15 Rush Cole threw up his arms and fell to rise no more. In terror the cthers leaped upon the waiting horses, but as the woman sprung upward, she was dragged back by Royal Norman’s sinewy hands, Pistol Pete and Hank Irons escaped with a few bullets singing past their ears, The rescuers who had arrived in the very nick of time were Royal Norman and the young man whom Damascus knew as Bayard Swift. | Lifting lone in his strong arms, the mine su- perintendent carried ber into the cabin, As the lumplight fell upon his face, the girl saw who it was. Thinking of Vane, she gasped: ** Where is he?” ; His eyes alone replied, and she shrieked: ** He is dead, dead!” | Then she fainted in his arms, CHAPTER XVIL, LAST OF THE SIX, ‘* Fire, fire, fire!” ‘Barely had the citizens of Damascus learned the cause of the fusilade of pistol-shots at the east side of the town, when they were startled by the cry of fire. “Fire? Whar is it?” *‘ At ther. Duke’s! Some o? ther gang’s fired his shebang!” There was a general rush for the scene of the new excitement; but when. the greater part of the crowd arrived there they discovered the fire had been extinguished, and the incendiaries cap- tured. ‘* Who are they?” was the general question. **Tron Hank and Pistol Pete.” re oe not of ther Royal Duke gang.” sé rs) ‘*Then what for did they start the blaze?” “* Pure cussedness, I reckon.” But, that was not the explanation. The two toughs had started the fire in order to draw the attention of the people to that quarter of the town, and give them a chance to rescue their captive leader, Queen Ada. When Royal Nor- man and the ex-robber lieutenant had so sud- denly come upon them, they had thought them- selves assailed by a much larger number, both of the young men having kept in the shadows. Had they known the truth, they would not have fled in such a hasty manner, They had been detected and captured in the act of firing Horatio Duke’s house. With the body of the crowd, Frisky Fritz and J. Milton Mole arrived at the mine-owner’s house, ‘*Py cracious!” exclaimed the little Dutch- man. “ This is shust v’at I vants. If I can keeb this crowt arount here I vill mage to them some revelation v’at vill knock uf them ther breathing oudt.” He hastened to speak to a few men with whom in some manner he had become familiar since arriving in Damascus. These men spoke to others, and soon a considerable number were “aap, fuel and piling it as if for a big bon- re in the street before Horatio Duke’s house. There were many conjectures concerning what was to follow, the prevailing opinion being that the fire-bugs were to be tried on the spot by an impromptu court; but a rumor passed over the throng that Mr. Duke would address the strikers. Instead of diminishing, the gathering increased in numbers till nearly ei entire population of Damascus had assem- When the fire was started, and the light of the blaze fell on the assembled throng of expectant people, the front door of Horatio Duke’s house swung open, and J. Milton Mole appeared. The poet had removed his battered white bat, but there was a heavy bandage around his head, asif he had sustained an injury of some kind. Tossing back his long hair, he touched his breast with the tips of the fingers of his Jeft band and bowed very low. Then he began to speak in rhyme, as usual: “To = and ladies gathered here I have few words to say; Some things, now dark; will seem quite clear Before you go away, Deceit has filled your hearts with rage Againsta noble man Who in your wrongs did not engage ;— Believe me, if you can. But, wrongec himself, he lay in chains, The victim of a foe Whose evil hands and scheming brains Had laid a brother low. Though born alike in form and face, Tn natures far apart, One brother took the other’s place, And evii was his heart, But to this town a person came Who saw through the deceit; And he wiil now your notice claim And show to you the cheat.”’ The poet stepped aside, and Dutch Fritz promptly appeared, bowing and smiling. ‘* Yaw, dot vas so,” agreed Fritz, ‘* I vas dot veller v’at saw drough der grooked peesness, you pets you! I vas nod so pig a vool as I might pe, nnd somedimes I gatches onto somedings. This town vas peen vooled like der DIt Poy, und don’d you vorgit him! I vas coing to show you v’at I vas drivin’ ad. Shust you dake a look ad this gustomers,” Two men appeared with a third between them, the last being manacled. Cries of amazement came from the crowd. ‘It is Mr. Duke!” ** Dot vas apoud der vay id Joogs,” smiled the Dutchman; ** but, who vas this, berhabs you can dell?” A general shout of astonishment came from the assembly, as still another man appeared. Were there two Horatio Dukes? ‘*This vas der genuvine ardicle, und no mis- dakes,” asserted Fritz, ‘‘Der veller v’at baf dose peautiful vristers on vas der schnide, und, be vas der cus-tomers v’at haf raised der turvey] aboud this striging peesness. He mages all der beoble pelief dot he vas Meester Dukes, und all der time Meester Dukes vas von bris’ner mit der cellar uf his own house. How vas dot vor high? he listening citizens could scarcely credit their eyes and ears, but the genuine Horatio Duke hastened to say: ‘What this gentleman has said is quite true. This man who looks so much like me, and who has successfully represented me fora short time, is in truth my half-brother. Heisa fugitive from jus- tice,and last night be applied to me for protection and concealment; but the nature of his crime was so revolting that I refused to have anything to do with him, for all of the ties of blood between us, He left this house in a rage, but at a later hour he stole back and gained admission in some manner, He attacked mein my bed and over- came me, then carried me to a walled apartment in the cellar—an apartment I had constructed for a special purpose. There he made me a prisoner, while he returned to work out bis vile plot against me, ‘* With a razor this unnatural brother removed the beard upon his face, concealing the fact by a crafty staining of his newly shaved features, Then he donned a suit of my clothes and became as you see him, my counterpart. He had little trouble in terrifying and bribing my Irish ser- vant to keep quiet, for Mike’s keen eyes detected the deception, This afternoon Meta, my adopt- el daughter, also discovered the astounding fraud and denounced him to his face. From that time till the rascal’s discomfiture she was a prisoner like myself. ‘“‘This man, realizing that his daring game could not continue a great time, resolved to ruin me while it was in his power todoso. For this reason he enforced the cut-down and all he could to enrage you, my fellow-citizens, against me, Little he cared if you blew up the mine! Little he cared if you burned this house! If the building burned, I would perish in the flames Meta would perish in the flames, and the bold fraud might never be detected. ‘* But an officer of the law was on his track. Late this afternoon a person whom you know as Miss Mehitable Aunable Miggles forced her way into the impostor’s presence. By a crafty trick she overcame him, binding and gagging him securely. Then she tackled my trustless Irishman and soon had him attended to in a similar manner. After this, she searched the house, found where Meta and myself were con- fined and released us, : ‘Friends and fellow-citizens: You who know me best know [ am not the man to op- press the laborer, I believe in paying every mar the full amount he earns. It has never for one moment been my intention to reduce the wages of my men, They are honest and faith- ful, and they earn the money they receive, Every one who wishes to do so can return to work to-morrow at the old scale, ‘** But, do not forget that you, as well as I, owe a debt of gratitude to Miss Miggles,” What a cheer went up from the throng! They shouted for the ** Duke of Damascus” till it seemed they would split their throats. When the noise somewhat abated, some one called for Miss Miggles. Grinning broadly in his jol!y manner, Frisky Fritz observed: “* If dot veemales vas coming arount this vay berhabs I had petter tage a sneak der corner arount, She vas von holy derror v’en she gits ber muscles on, I pelief I pet you. I bat sooner pe kickt py dot mules than ha’f her shood off ad me her shaw,” sut, the little Dutchmam) made some singular and rapid movements © .ib a startling result. His copious figure suddenly dissolved into a mass of crumpled skirts which fluttered down and concealed bis male attire even as he but- toned a loose waist about the upper part of his form. Anold sun-bonnet was snapped out of some place of concealment and whisked onto his head, Then, as be tied the strings under bis chin and gave his face a twist that seemed to rob it of its roundness and make it long and solemn, he vociferated in Miss Miggles’ sharp and rasping voice: ‘“ Landy sakes to goodness! if here hain’ta congregathering of horrid men, and if there is anything I do respise it is a man !” A perfect roar of astonishment and delight burst from the throng as the full magnitude of the deception broke upon them. Fritz and Miss Miggles were one and the same! ** Ladies and gentlemen,” said the skillful im- personator, when silence in a measure had been restored, “I am in truth Cyrus Craft, of the Pinkerton Detective Agency.” Rapidly he removed the female rig and stood before them in male attire once more. Then he added: “* I was detailed to capture this man in mana- cles, Jim Derril, who is wanted formurder. He > a crafty villain, but I have ‘nipped’ bim at ast, It ended with a lynching—Hank Irons and Pistol Pete being accorded the benefit of Judge Lynch’s justice, while Queen Ada, the wicked, with a pistol, ended her own life when she dis- covered that the ex-robber lieutenant was the survivor of the duel with Violet Vane, Thus. the hand of stern retribution had de stroyed the Serpent Six, Jim Derril received the punishment his crime merited, Frank Fenton—known in Damascusas Bayard Swift—and Ione Wilson, the vailed lady, disap- peared from that part of the country, and no man save Royal Norman knew whither they went, The men returned to work, and once more things prospered in Darrascus, where Horatio Duke continued to be the most popular of u)) its citizens, In due course of time Royal and Meta were married, The sun had sunk behind the mountains and night was swiftly coming on when a solitary horseman halted at a point where the rugged trail led downward into a valley. It was J. Milton Mole, There was an expression of heavy sadness upon the poet’s face, and he still wore the bandage around his head. He spoke aloud: ‘** Well, that part of my life is left behind for- ever. God only knows what the future will bring. I will cast aside this disguise, never to assume it again, It has served me well in ac- complishing my purpose, as also has my ven- triloquial gift. Right here I will leave J. Milton’ Mole forever.” He threw aside the battered high white hat and removed a wig of false hair from his head. Then, producing a flask, he bathed his face with a liquid that quickly removed the lines so skill- fully penciled there, and— The man was Violet Vane ! ‘“‘It takes more than a scalp wound to kill me,” he grimly observed, as he once more ar- ranged the bandage about his head, ‘“ Fenton’s bullet came near ending my existence, but he shot a trifle too high, However, he thinks me dead, thanks to the detective, who himself was deceived for the time. Had Fenton and Nor- man remained a few moments longer they would have discovered the truth; but I am glad it isas it is, and I hope we may never meet again.” For several minutes he remained in a position of deepest thought, his lips rigidly compressed and the look of sadness still in his dark eyes. At length he spoke to the horse and rode down the trail, man and animal soon being lost in the murky shadows now lurking in the valley, ' THE END. ' ” mn cd F ia <~MP ~ eo cP i 4 = —