Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 728 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

a! . 7 rn Slee 4 o> 4 (¥ ae Mae Neg" A f yi ee, 774) - rer ie " He Ys ry ms . | had been brought, to date, and it did not appear | likely that any would be captured. - | In truth, no one seemed anxious to take the » }matterin band. Those who had nothing to lose, | | ured little, while those who had, thought it far a easier to administer the ounce of prevention than L | to have resort to the pound of cure. 4 And so matters rested. -| Kentway had counted much upon Deadwood Dick, as he publicly declared, after his killing of the dreaded Guerrilla Jake, but as days passed ‘and nothing was seen of him, it was the public verdict that he had become frightened at what he had done and bad taken himself quietly > ? Wh 3 "| Whether this was true or not, it was certainly 4 believed strongly enough, and the good name of our Lion-hearted Richard suffered considerably, Finally came a day, this day of which the |} opening of our romance treats, when the mayor was more than usually concerned about the state of affairs, For, be it known, the killing of the outlaw chief had roused the band to the greatest fury, and all sorts of evil had been declared | against the city by the new leader, Terrible | Phomas. Warning notices had been found in the camp |signed by that worthy, declaring war to the ‘| knife, and death the worst for Deadwood Dick, ‘)if he cotild be ‘got hold of. So, as can be seen, -Kentway’s uneasiness was not without founda- ma when we make known that on this day he , | expected a special stage bearing a party of the & |} stockholders of the mine with which he was con- 24 mected, | @ appeared to be more nervous and fussy . } than he had ever been on any othef occasion, | ‘“Confound that man, Deadwood Dick!” he complained, ‘* What did he want to come here }and stir up this hornets’ nest for, and then slink } SRP and leave us to stand theresult? Confound 4 him, I say!” But this confounding dil not alter the situa- \tion any. The stage with the stockholders was coming, aud something ought to be done to jn- jsure its safe arrival. But was it necessary? '| That was where the thing hinged now, Precaution had been taken already. This | was not a regular stage day at the camp, and it 2 ‘wasenot at all likely that the outlaws could * | know of its coming, It did not seem possible Zhat they cont ow anything abe ee he Ww Nae of it by those , with whom 7 oA ai consulted, “| But this did not seem to remove Kentway’s _|Uneasiness, and he detlared that he should not ©! feel settled in mind until the stage had safely tl arrived, — ee weve Oey ty» “| It was alongia the afternoon that a horseman ©! rode into the town. He was a man of thirty, |at a guess, rather good-looking, and was well 4) mounted. His left arm was bandaged and in a | . Crawtie rein in front of the leading hotel. “lhe made inquiry for Howland Kentway, an ©! that gentleman happening to be on hand, made himself known. | “Tam Richard M. Bristol, better known as ,| Deadwood Dick, Jr.,” the stranger informed. '’)**T have heard that 1 am considered something *\of.a coward here in this camp, and have come 4) fo remove the stain from my name if I can.” ** Hal the devil!” ejaculated the mayor. “No, I beg your pardon,” said the stranger; ** fT didn’t say so.” | ‘| “But J did!” the mayor snapped. ‘“ And I “| say it again—the devil! Whathas brought you jhere, after all this delay? Why didn’t you show eat oa in the first place, after killing that D re ) } ee 7 ‘Slyou. Why I didn’t come then, I will explain, I 4| Was hit in the arm by a bullet, though I toid the driver [ wasn’t hit, and finally growing dizzy, “just when the stage entered the valley, I toppled _ |, off, and that was the last I Knew till I found 's| myself in a camp twenty miles from here,” ~| ‘The deuce you say!” |. “Exactly. Isuppose I wandered there—must | Dave wandered there, for they tell me I was | found on the street, the following morning, and ©\ there I have been since, resting up. Hearing ‘|that I am considered something of a coward r here, as I said, [ thought I would call around “and show myself. What manner of welcome k, ne going to geS from you seeing that I am ,) Here? @\ cried. ‘* Under the circumstances you could not «|help what happened. We're ready and willing € menpr back anything that has been said; eb, en ) : ' % i e “That we are,” was Eo Md enough, then,” S . i : a f° ae , \) Vi) WAR fe ete Y Ay Phas La eae 5 y Yost a ’ rad Pavey Pi na eas ovat, \ - ‘ Ve Bhd a ay ee os ee t. - ee oie f z + *. f be 4 te * ’ pon, 2! De Pex *, « ‘ota a. aon at - The new-comer ac- eutit. This. — _ “ What has brought me here now, I bavye told” , \ . Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Disguise, cepted, and he slipped out of the saddle. “It was my intention to come bere and lend you a hand in this affair of yours, but this misfortune overtook me, so I am out of the race for the time being. these days, and then we’ll try a hack at our brave gentlemen of the road.” ‘*Tt was a misfortune indeed, and an unfor- tunate affair for us, for the killing of their chief roused the band like a nest of vipers, and they say they are going to make this city suffer for it. ‘* We'll see about that, one of these days,” re- marked the young man, Leaving his horse in the care of a man whom the mayor told to take charge of it, the new- comer followed the mayor into the house, and the news soon spread that the famous Deadwood Dick was in town, ; Deadwood Dick was no stranger there, by re- putation, A case he had recently handled, further nortb, had been the sensation cf the day only a briet while before, and everybody was eager to get a sight at him. Within an hour he was like a per- son on exbibition, at the hotel where he had registered. Kentway, in the presence of a group, told him about the expected arrival of the special stage, and of the concern he felt for its safety, He asked the opinion of the lion of the hour as to what ought to be done, but as by that time it had grown too late to do anything, all that could be said was that it would have to be waited for. There was nothing else to do, so the time was watched eagerly by those most concerned, and by the hour when the coming stage was certain- ly considered due there was a great crowd wait- ing and watching for it. But another hour dragged by, and it had not yet appeared, and Kentway, unable to stand it longer, ordered a dozen men to set out to meet it. In a short time they were off, CHAPTER V. -— HOLDING UP THE STAGE, In the mean time what of that special stage? | Setting out early in the cay froma railroad point, the afternoon saw it lumbering along on the home-stretch to its destination, It carried a dozen passengers, all told, one of) whom was a womar, Except the woman, it was one party, a com- pony, of stockholder of the Lily Mine at Pond uy, ; The woman was a stranger to them afl, She had been onthe train with them, from fur- ther west, and learning at the railroad point tbat they were going on by special stage, had begged permission to accompany them, This at first was refused, but as the regular stage did not leave until the next day, and she would have to wait over a day at the rail- road, permission was finally given; so she was one of the party, and her presence went to make up the round dozen mentioned, The driver was a. veteran of the line. ‘His name was Zeke. Fielding, better known as Squint-eye Zeke, owing toa defect in one of his organs of sight. He was a hearty, whole- soaled fellow, full to running over with stories and reminiscences of the trail. hief among tke passengers was one Dombey Vudge, who held the office of president of the mine, He was a solid-looking man of sixty, rugged as a bear, and tre life of the party, The others were men of the usual assortment, all evidently well fixed in the way financial, The woman was a plainly dressed little body, good looking, and with a pair of keen, fear- less eyes, She had some baggage, and carried a peculiar-looking bag—rather box—supported from her shoulder by a strap, This little box, leather-covered, was an object of much curiosity among the other passengers, but as they could not very well ask anything concerning it, and as the Jady did not volun- teer any information, their curiosity was not satisfied. ‘ She was pleasant company, but with ladylike dignity and reserve that could not be disregard- ed. And she was treated with all respect and courtesy by the gentlemen, several of whom were old enough to be her father, with years to spare, It was, altogether, a pleasant company. The afternoon was waning when the stage en- tered a long, dismal canyon, at the other end of which, as the driver promised, they should find their destination. “Waal,” the driver remarked, ‘‘ considerin’ that ther train was better’n a hour late, we ain’t done so bad, Nightfall orter fiud us thar, I sh’u’d opine. That be, ef we don’t git beld up.” ‘*And what do you mean by that?” asked u ’ . ‘ f tt Gil iA t= iit) Oy e F 6 ae a TH is . ; ii : My! +} tte | >> : ’ 4 ‘ na. ‘ — < f f > d opt - te a % = ; 4 bat =, But my arm will be well again one of | | Dombey Fudge, who was taking his turn on the | box—an honor they had been sharing from time totime, ‘‘A meeting with gentlemen of the road, such as you have been telling us about, I suppose.” ‘“You hev hit et, right on ther head,” the driver assented. ‘“‘Thar’s one of ther wu’st bands ’twixt here an’ Pond Lily that yer ever heerd on, An’ ef they does hold us up, fer ther luv o’ goodness don’t try ter fight ’em, or et wull be death to ther hull kit an’ caboodle of us.” This word of warning was passed along, and for a time the conversation was on the subject of road-agents in general, and those of this trail in particular. But as time passed and nothing was seen of them, and they were finally within ten miles of - their destination, it began to be a matter of con+,.- gratulation that they were going to get through’ | untouched, 407 oe, ‘¢ Bt don’t do ter crow too ’arly in ther morn- in’,” warned Squint-eye. ‘‘ We ain’t out of ther woods yet. Still, thar is less miles ahead than ther’ be ahind us, an’ thar’s somethin’ in that, But this hyar canyon is ther place ter look fer ther cusses, ef we is ter meet ’em er tall.” They were now ina very narrow part of the canyon, and ahead, a short distance, could be seen a portion where it abruptly widened. ita As the driver ceased speaking, the stage othe ed into this wider part, and asit did so, suddenly came the ringing order: = — ‘*Hands up, there! or take pills!” - 3 ‘‘ Whoa!” the driver promptly responded, clappivg ou the break and pulling up hard on the ribbons. rte 3h aM The stage was brought toa stop inthe sho t kind of order, and there, akead of and around if, were discovered half a score of masked men, @ save one with grim rifles presented, The exception was the man whose horse block- ed tie trailimmediately ahead, ae In his bands gleamed a pair of dangerous re- | volvers, and it was he who had given the orcer ,F to stop, He was masked, like the rest, but there was _ more to say of bim. He wore a loose black cloak, as it seemed to be, and on the breast of it was the name— et atl “TRON IVAN,” This, fu plain letters of white, was the most striking ching about his whole Sppaaennesi Evi- dently bis name; it was too plain to be mistaken for anything else, a at | . ‘* Hyar we is!” sung out the driver, putting up his hands as soon as the stage had been brought toastop. ‘* What is yer pleasure, Mister Iron Ivan? I see that’s ther name yer carries, though I reckon you is a stranger hyarabouts.” ‘* Hands up, every one, and keep them up, that’s the first and vital thing,” the leader of the band answered, ‘* We must ask you to pay toll, ‘if you please, gentlemen. You can’t find any objection to a simple request like that, lam sure, | Get down and out of there, every soul of you, and no delay about it,” ‘‘This is an outrage!” stormed Dombey Fudge, ‘* You ought to be gc bo every one of you. This is high-handed robbery; nothing short of it!” lron Ivan laughed. “That is what some are uncharitable enough to term it,” he admitted, ‘* But, be movi gentlemen, or the worse for you. And han up, every one, or it will be death fer you, and surer still if you resist. Come now, hustle /” “That's what’s ther matter,” chipped in an- other of the band, no other than Terrible, ‘‘ These hyar rifles is jest itchin’ ter puke lead at yer, an’ef thar ain’t some movin’ ov your part mighty quick, they’ll do et, too,” ““Come, folks, we'll have ter obey ther call,” observed the driver, as he proceeded to get down-himself. ‘* They holds ther best hand, an’ thar’s no use 0’ cur kickin’ over ther traces. E won't do no good. Might ez well git down an’ ante out our leetie bood!es.” ‘And mind that you keep your hands well up.” cautioned Iron Ivan, | Blastering and complaining, the passengers proceeded to get down and out, and last of all came the little lady. At sight of her Tron Ivan might bave been noticed to start. That he recognized ber was not to be doubted. His start might bave been noticed, we say, but it was not, ‘*Ha! a lady among the rest, eh?” he observed, The woman was looking at him with strange interest, her. face pale and her lips compressed, Perhaps she thought she recognized the voice! ‘Yes, a lady with us,” retorted the mine- president. “If there is a spark of manhood about you, you will spare her any sbare in your — homas the — mr =< ~ ~~ J te Bee eS ’ a - a ° é ‘ ree < "Hit ~ °. 7 ye 4 oes * ‘ { the + a > wa, * & a. ° “ + ~ ~ AD Ye te