Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 770 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

ns camp safely.” Kate was still silent. ** Well, what do you say?’ the man ir red urged, ‘*T must refuse your terms,” was the answer, boldly spoken. it is my intention to tell where I have been, and all about you and your secret hiding-place,” ‘‘ Whew)” the man whistled, ‘*‘ Thatis the kind of a beauty you are, isit? If thatis the case I am afraid you will remain here an indefinite time. Red Roy is not the man to be trifled with, I assure you of that.” ** Nor am I a woman to make a promise which I would break immediately upon regaining my liberty,” was Kate’s spirited retort. ‘*Then the fact that I saved your life goes for nothing, eb?’ ** 1 am not so sure that I would have been killed, sir. I certainly would not bave accom- panied my horse over that cliff, let the result of a leap from its back have been what it might.” ** You say so now, but you would never have thought of it if it had not been for me.” **You are wrong, sir. It was a decision I made immediately upon seeing my danger.” * Well, well, that is past now. It is the present that claims our attention, You are in my power, and unless you pledge your word not to reveal my secret you must remain here, But, this is the most uncomfortable part of my secret home Come, let me conduct you to my parlor, where we can talk the matter over at our ease aod leisure.” CHAPTER VII. KODAK KATE IN THE OUTLAW’'S RETREAT. KopAK KaTE had by this time come to realize that sbe was in a serious dilemma, indeed, In an unknown Cavern, in the power of a man who knew not fear, and upon whom bullets had no effect, she was about helpless. But, she was a woman of bravery and great coolness, and her presence of mind did not desert her for a mo- ment, Many another would have given way to tears, ‘‘ Very well, sir,” she responded to the propo- sition just made, ‘‘ Since | am to be your guest whether [ would or not, lead on. Itis truly a cheerless spot here,” ‘‘ Bravely spoken,” Red Roy complimented. “This way, if you please, madam; and you may precede me, 1 will direct you as needed.” He indicated the direction, and having re- moved the light from its place, be held it aloft in bis band to light the way. Kate went along a passage that seemed to be a natural crack in the solid rock. The trend was downward, and presently a word of caution from the man in red gave her warning of a chasm near at hand. This was reached, and for some distance the Way was narrow and dangerous, It was passed over in safety, however, and then came a flight of rude steps cut iu the side of the chasm. Here a rope ran along the side, fastened at sbort spans, and taking hold of them as directed, Kate went bravely forward, and after a descent that seemed never ending, finally reached the bottom, where the cavern widened, and where, in the distance, another light was seer. ‘“‘Bravely done!” cried Red Roy. ‘‘ Not one woman in fifty would have come down that dangerous passage without a word of fear, You have aroused my curiosity to the highest pitch to learn who you are, madam,” ‘* No matter who lam,” was the cold response. *“ Whicb way now, Sir Outlaw?” “ Straight abead toward yonder light, Madam Fearless,” was the direction. ‘* We are nearly at the end of our journey now,” ‘‘Tam not sorry. 1 only hope I am so much nearer freedom.” ‘Your freedom will depend solely upen your- self, lady. But, we will talk of that when we come to our destination,” Kate went forward with a fearless air, though not without some natural misgivings, and ere long came to the point where a lamp was sus- pended from the roof of the rock passage, Behind the lamp wes a heavy red curtain, in two parts, suspended from a rod and falling in rich folds to the ground. Stepping forward to this, the man in red drew it apart in the middle, and with a wave of the band, said: “Enter, fair guest, and make yourself at home,” For a moment Kodak Kate was dazed by what she saw, and hesitated. dition that you promise not to reveal what you know concerning Red Roy and his secret den, I will set you free and see that you reach the ** When I get out of your power Before ber opened.a vista as grand as it was strange and unexpected. salon, in the center of which hung a brilliant chandelier. It was richly furnished and car- peted, and the ceiling and walls were bung with heavy red cloth. Red was the predominating color, and it was set off to the highest degree of elegance with white and gold. Tbe furniture was heavy, rich and costly; handsome pictures adorned the walls, and everything wasin keeping, It looked like some Parisian salon, or ascene out of Fairy- land. Here the air was warm and pure, and alto- gether if was an inviting place after the cold, dismal way that bad just been left bebind. ‘Enter, Lady Incognita,” the outlaw again invited. ‘* Here you will find comfort, even though a prisoner, and bere we can finish our conversation, You need not hesitate.” Kate stepped forward into the place, the man foliowing, letting the heavy curtain drop to its place behind him, ** Welcome to the home of Red Roy,” he said. ‘* Take a seat and be as comfortable as possible, Remember, you are here as a guest, for the pres- ent, and no harm shall come to you,” ‘* As a most unwilling guest, you must remem- ber, sir,” Kate reminded. “If [ sit down, it is not because I willingly aecept your invitation, but because [ am tired. Let us bave an under- standing as soon as possible, if you please.” She sat down, and the man in red dropped upon a chair facing her, ‘‘From what you have said,” spoke he, ‘*1 fear our understanding can mean but one thing for you, and that is, imprisonment bere for the present. It is not iny will to hold you, but if you oblige me to do so, I sball not hesitate. Now, are you willing to reveal your identity to me? ‘*Tam not. You need not ask that,” ‘Tt matters little. A visit to the camp will reveal that, for no doubt your husband will make bimself known.” ‘* Il certainly shall not do so,” ‘All right. Now, one thing more: In order to regain your liberty, will you pledge yourself to keep secret what you know about me and my place of hiding?” ‘**T will not, as I have already told you,” was the undaunted reply. ‘*‘ When I get away from here I will make known everything. I feel that I am under no obligations to you.” ** Not for your life?” ‘*T would have leaped from my borse, any- how,” ** So you said before, had to bring you here.” **'You need not have done so, You might have left me on the cliff, disappearing yourself.” ** And leave you to tell of the mysterious man in red who had rescued you, and who bad disap- peared in the solid wall? Ob, no.” Kate remained silent, ‘“*IT knew better than that,’ the man in red wenton. “I would not bave it known where the upper exit of this cavern is. With swift calculation I resolved upon my plan of action, never doubting but you would take the pledge of secrecy upon yourself in order to regain your liberty as soon as possible. That is all you bave to do, lady, and I am willing to accept your word in the matter,” ‘*T will not pledge myself, for the reason I have given,” was Kate’s determined return. ** Then there is only one thing for me to do, and that is, to hold you here, I will leave you now, and go to learn something about you. By the time I return you may have changed your mind,” ** Do not count upon that, sir.” “* Well, it matters little to me whether you do or not. If you have to remain here itis your own fault, not mine.” Rising and stepping to the wall, the man pulled a cord. A few moments later a negress came into the room, at the furtber end, and advanced, ‘* Martha,” spoke the master of the place, ‘here is a guest. You will see to her every want while I am absent, and also see to it that she does not escape from here, She is a pris- oner, to be plain about it.” ** Yes, sah.” ‘*And you, lady, take heed that you do not attempt to get away. You do not know your way in this place, and might get into serious trouble, For your own safety let me urge you to be foolish enough to be wandering around aione, “i if chance offers, I shall not hesitate to es- ES is im i i possible. I could bind you, but I It is unfortunate that l Deadwood Dick. J r.’s, Defeat. 7 You area woman of sense; will not do that. There was a long | be sensible in this,” With that, and a bow, the man inred went from the room, ‘* Now, yo’ done heard what he said,” spoke the negress. ‘* Better take it easy and not make no trouble, for dat do yo’ no-good, Now, what kin ola Marfa do fo’ you?” ‘* You cap do nothing for me, unless to show me the way out of this place, and of course you will not do that,” was Kate’s response. ‘*'Yo’ have got good seuse, gal, to know dat,” declared the colored woman, witha grip. ‘‘ No use yo’ askin’ dat, nohow. Now, here is a room whar yo’ kin be alone if yo’ want to.” Stepping to one side of the apartment she drew aside a fold in the red hangings, disclosing a small room beyond. ‘** But, it ain’t likely nobody will bother you beab,” the woman continued, ‘‘so jes’ make yo’self at home. Don’t try to getaway, trough, fo’ dat won’t be no use, and only get you into trouble. Don’t reckon nobody will’sturb yo’ till de boss returns nohow,.” Having declared herself thus, the old negress wert back the way she had come, and Kate was left alone to her own reflections, Her thoughts were anything but pleasant, as can be imagined. She thougbt of Dick and his anxiety more than ‘of berself and her danger. He would not know what had become of her, and would be almost beside himself, as she be- lieved, There was no help for it, now, however, and she understood it so. Knowing how useless it would be for her to try to make ber escape, she did not undertake it, but remained there, rest- ing herself and preparing for whatever was to follow. There was one thing that gave her consolation, and that was the fact that she was not disarmed, One weapon bad been taken away from her, but she had another, which she bad thought it better not to let be known. It might in*-ome other event prove her best friend. She had learned by experience that the man with whom she had to deal was not a cowurd, and ber bullets bad bad no effect upon him. If it came to another occasion for resort to weapons, she would be ready, and would kncw sometbing she had not known on the first occasion. This gave her courage, She examined the place thoroughly, and made herself at bome as she bad been told to do, Everything needful for comfort or neces- sity was there, even to books and music, and after a time the old negress brought her a good supper. Of this she did not hesitate to partake, for she was bungry, and knew it would be folly for ber to refuse to eat. And shortly after she had done she received a visit from her captor. ? This time be was not clad in red, except his bat and mask, but wore a loose robe that covered him completely to the floor. ‘* Well, fair prisoner, how are you passing the time?’ he asked, ‘‘Impatiently enough,” was the answer. ‘ For how long a time must 7 remain in your gilded prison?” ‘Well, Mrs, Bristol— Ha! that causes yon to start, does it? You see I now know who you are, It did depend only upon your giving your promise not to reveal what you know, but now I bave to withdraw that offer. It will depend al- togetber upon « hat course your husband is will- ing to take in the matter.” ** Does be know where I am?” “He does not, He is going on like a crazy man, Would you Jike to send him a line to as- sure him you are alive?” ‘Tf you grant me that favor it will gladly be taken advautage of. I see you know whol am, so there is no further use for me to try to witb- hold my identity.” ‘* Not the least, Kodak Kate. In the drawer in the table yonder you will find paper, pen and ink. ‘‘ You may write these words, but nothing more; thus,—* Dick:—I an, all right, and for the resent safe. Kate,’” Without hesitation the prisoner took pen and paper and wrote as directed, delivering tne note unsealed into the hands of her captor. After that he wrote one himself, and with them left the room, leaving Kate again alone, Ske now felt easier in mind, for she had vo doubt but Dick would get the message somehow, CHAPTER VIII. THE NIGHT MEETING—THE MOONLIGHT DUEL, DEADWOOD Dick, Mayor Grimm, and Harry Stacey remained for some time in conversation