Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 770 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

ask to see Anne Parson, and be prepared to meet the woman to whom you are engaged. This is all I need say. Be careful, do not let on that . you know the truth, but get away from here as quietly and as quickly as you can, taking Almah with youif you still want her to marry you. There is danger here for bota of you.” CHAPTER XIV. ARRESTED ON SUSPICION, DEADWOOD DICcK, after some further talk with Walt Thornton, or de. et Mayham, in which he gave him ull the particulars in his possession, returned to the hotel. Mayor Archibald Grimm was still there, talking with a groupof men, and the subject was the one topic that was upper- most in every mind—the stirring events of the pars twenty-four hours and the reappearance of ed Roy. Harry Stacey, or Handsome Harry, was one of the group, and was one of the first tosee Dick when he entered the room, ** Well, did you find your man?” he asked. ** Yes, [ found him, and have had a talk with : ” **T thought you would find him still there. No use asking if you bave made avy progress in “~—* your own case, I suppose,” “No, I have not, as you rightly infer,” an- swered Dick, ‘I cannot bope for anything now until I get a reply to my letter there,” indicating the notice he kad posted. As he looked in the direction he indicated, he was seen to start, and the others followed his aZze, | Dick sprung forward instantly, and the others | saw quickly what had drawn his attention. Over the notice he had postec was a folded paper stuck there with a pin, Everybody was amazed to see it, and every man of them uttered an exclametion of one sort r another. No one had seen the paper put there, and Dick had been the first to discover it, Dick had already put out his hand to take it down, but he stopped. ‘* How came this bere?” he demanded, turning and facing the crowd. ‘‘Did any one among you see it put up?’ ‘‘Nary a man of us,” declared the mayor, mptly. ‘‘ Ef thar had, you bet ther cuss wbat one et would ’a’ been nabbed, eb, me children?” **T sh’u’d snicker to sneeze,” agreed one mar, in his homely way. “ Has any suspicious character been in here?” ‘* Nary a one.” ‘* Mr. Stacey,” to handsome Harry, ‘‘ what do ej | think about it?” . ae i bave a suspicion, but I hate to express it,” was the response. “It may get an innocent » -# sk man into trouble. Suppose you see what the thing has to say, before I tell what I suspect, | _. The note itself may explain something.” _| Dick snatched the folded paper from the wall, - \and opened it. _ © He read it first to himself, and then out aloud. This is what the paper contsined: | ‘“Drapwoop Dick, Jr:— “Yours of even date has been noticed, and con- tents digested. Glad to find you are inclined to | aoe reasonable, You want aninterview. Very well; you shall have one. You will be notified of time and place later on. So far your wife has not been harm- ed. You warned me against harming her; let me give you a word of warning by way of excuange of compliment, When my messenger comes to give you notice of time and place of interview, do not at- tempt to hold him, for if you do your life will pay the forfeit in thesame moment, Beware! ** Again I suscribe— iy ‘From You Know Wuom.” at “(Great storm-king a-bowlin’!” cried the mayor, ‘This hyer is what I call puttin’ et bl a under our noses purty strong. Who kin ther om cuss be anyhow?” a “Tt would be worth a good deal to know,” y said Stacey. ‘Let us look at the writing, Mr, a or: Bristol, and see if any of us can recognizeit, It if is not likely, however, since the other could not me be detected,” ig The mayor stood nearest to Dick, and Dick BA, Ts handed the note to him. "ike “ What is your suspicion, Mr. Stacey?” he at *. the same time requested. ‘* You see the note iv- | self discloses nothing.” ** Before I answer that,” was the response, “I desire to see the writing, to compare it with a certain signature here in the hotel register. I may be all at sea, but the suspicion is there.” ** Hyer, then, take et and compare et,” cried t mayor, passing the note on to him, “I can’t ‘ke nothin’ out of et meself, But, then, I ain’t ‘good et that sort of thing, anyhow, You °e ther idee that this Red Roy is hyer at ther r Bugle, hev ye?” 1e Moment, and I’!] answer,” Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Defeat. Stacey, with the note in band, stepped to the register and compared the writing with that somewhere on the page. ‘* By heavens!” he exclaimed, ‘‘I believe I am justified in naming my suspicion, Mr, Bristol.” ‘**Name the man,” cried Dick, ‘* Suspicion won’t kill bim, anyhow.” ‘* Took here, and compare the two writings.” Stepping aside, he yet held bis hand on the book, and with his finger pointed to the name— ‘“HuENRY WHIPPLE.” Dick compared the writings eagerly. He had a suspicious thought against this man once al- ready. Was that suspicion about to receive sup- ort? . At first there was little resemblance, he thought, but he soon changed his mind in that respect, The capital ‘‘ W ” in the note and that in the signature were quitealike inform. It was the same with the Jetter ‘* p.” **T believe you are right,” Dick bad to admit. ‘*Tnen he’s our mutton, by ther great storm- king!” cried the mayor. ‘* Whar is he?” ** One question first,” said Dick, ‘* Was he in here while 1 was out? If not, we may be judg- ing him falsely,” ‘**'Yes, he certainly was in here,” answered Stacey. ‘*‘He came in shortly after you went out, but did not remain very long. did not notice which way he went.” ‘** Did any one else notice?” asked Dick, ‘* Et strikes me he went to his room,” put in the proprietor, ‘** Well, was be seen near this poster of mine?” Dick further demanded, ‘t Was be seen on this side of the room at all?” ‘* Tf I remember right,” Stacey reflected, ‘‘ he took a few turns around the room, after which he went out on the piazza, After that 1 did not see him» at all,” ‘* He’s our game,” cried the mayor. ‘“ We'll have him, anyhow, and if he’s innocent et won’t hurt him any, as you said yourself. Come right on, me cbildrun, and we will see ef he is in his room,” Witb that the mayor dashed out of the room, into the hall, and up the stairs, with ten ora dozen of his ‘‘ childrun ” at his back, Deadwood Dick and Handsome Harry re- mained behind, ‘*T shall be sorry, if he is innocent,” Harry mused, ‘‘for Grimm is just the man to hang him if there is suspicion bhalf-strong enough. He rules here with a grip of iron, as perhaps you have seen,” **'Yes, [ have noticed that; but, the man must have a fair trial, no matter how much suspicion there is, And, Stacey, do not let the mayor forget in his baste that my wife’s life is at stake, The rascal has yet the strongest hand, even if Whipple does prove to be the man,” The excitement was great. In a few moments loud words were heard in the interior of the house, followed by a scuffle, and then the heavy tread of returning feet. The mayor was soon in the bar-room again. and after him came bis followers, Henry Whip- ple in their midst a prisoner. The man was pale, his eyes were dilated, and he louked terri- ed, ‘** Now, whar’s that ar’ note?” the mayor cried. It was given to him, and stepping to the pris- oner he held it up before his face, demanding: ‘** Ts this hyer your writin’, Miater Man?” ‘* N-no, sir,” was the gasped response. ‘*Do ye swear et ain’t?” ‘* Y-yes, sir,” ‘*Then tell me how et is that you was seen ter stick et up thar on ther wall with a pin,” was the fierce demand, the mayor pointing with bis jong arm to the spot where the note had been ound, ‘* [—I—I didn’t do it,” the prisoner declared. ‘* There is some mistake, my good man,” ‘* Thar ain’t no mistake about et,” the mayor insisted, ‘‘This hyer writin’ is ther same as your writin’ on ther register thar, and ye can’t git out of et. You ar’in a bad box. We hey got ye at last, Red Roy, and a rope and limb is waitin’ fer ye,” The man trembled in every limb at this charge, and could hardly stand. ‘“‘This—this is a mistake,” he gasped, “I am no outiaw; I am not Red Roy, as you charge. I did not write this; I did not post it up there; I never saw it before; I am innocent, gentle- men, [swear I am, How came you to suspect me? My name is Henry Whipple, and I have no other,” ‘Pll tell ye how we kem ter ’spect ye,” the mayor made answer, “‘Ther note wasn’t up thar when you kem in ther room hyer a leetle while ago, but et was up thar after ye went out. 1S Then, when we found et was like your writin’, what else was we ter do? Now, you say you ain’t guilty, but we bev got ter have proof of that. As mayor of this hyer camp I’m goin” ter hold ye prisoner ‘till ther proof is forth- comin’,” ‘* Allow me a word, mayor?” asked Dick, at this point, ‘*Sartain; many as ye want,” The mayor was Dick’s friend, as, for that mat- ter, was the whole camp, ‘* Well, it is this,” said Dick: ‘‘ This thing will soon prove itself. If this man is innocent, as he claims, my meeting with Red Roy while be is a prisoner will be the proof ofit. If lL have an interview with the outlaw to-night, there can then be no question.” ‘*T see only one other thing that might rest against him, in that case,” spoke up Stacey. ‘* And what is that?” ‘* That be may be an ally of the outlaw’s,” ‘* Well, we don’t keer a durn whether he’s Re@ Roy or only a tool of bis,” the mayor cried. ‘* Ef he is either one he will swing, you bet. Take him off, me childrun, and lock bim up fer trial. This hyar camp has declared war ’g’in’ ther out- law tribe, an’ war et is goin’ ter be, you kin bet on’t,’ In spite of all bis struggles aud all his protests, the man with the tufts of side-whiskers was dragged out of the room a: d away to the ‘lock- up, a place be was not likely to get out of with- out some outside help; and the mayor took pre- caution against his getting that. And when he had been taken from tbe room the case was talked over at length, pro and con. Finally Dick went out into the sitting-room, to find Almah Parmiter, or Anne Parson, as she was known there. ‘ She was not there, but a servant carried word up to her, and presently she came down and en- tered the room where Dick was waiting. ** Well,” she asked, *“* bave-you satisfied your- self of the truth of my story?” **T have no reason to think you have told me anything else,” was the answer, ‘“‘I have seem Mr. Mayham,” “Then he is here! I wassure of it, And did tone tell him the whole matter, and that | am ere and eager to see him? Did you?” ‘Yes; I told him everything. I told bim, ) too, to come here quietly and see you, and them y to get away from here as quietly as possible, taking you with bim, if he still cares for you. And I believe he will come, You bad better not lose any time here, for reasons which Mayhans» will probably explain to you himself,” CHAPTER XV. A PARTING PICTURE OF RED ROY’S DOMAIN. THE day wore wearily away, wearily for both Deadwood Dick and his imprisoned wife; and particularly for the latter. Let us look again into the red chamber where she was held in bondage, still coupled with the galling hand- cuffs to the negress who bau her iv keeping, The preceding night had been an almost sleepless one, and the long day had been like a hideous nightmare, Kate’s mind had been busy, trying to think of some plan for escape, but all in vain. She had not refused to eat, that would have been folly; and bad just finished her supper when we look in upon her. Particularly during the last hour had her mind been at work considering ber situation, and trying to guess what the outcome would be, She had al! confidence in Dick, but knew that he was entirely without a clew, and the chances of his discovering ber niding-place were against him, Perhaps he would surrender everything, and make terns with the outlaws, for her sake, Her whole sou] was against that. She would die if she must, but Dick must not make conditional terms with a villain, nut even for her sake. If she could only communicate with bim in some manner! That, however, seemed out of the question. Was it impossible? She thought and thought, bending all the powers of ber mind to the single question, If she sent a communication ut all, it must be through Red Roy’ himself, In that case, she would bave to write it in his presence, and he must be allowed to read it. It certainly looked impossible to invent any hidden message that would not be discovered when it was put to the test under his close scrutiny. It was im- possible, Yet, was it? That thought urged her on and on, and finally a thought came to her y that immediately filled her with hope, It wasa - desperate chance, but it was her only chance, oy and the risk must be taken. From that moment she began to play toward a certain end, s Shortly after eating ber supper she gave y Taal