Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 773 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

He realized the need of haste, There was no certainty as to the intentions of Red Fee, but it was reasonable to conclude they were not friend- ly to Tom Craigen. He ran for bis horse, at the same time calling loudly to his men. He had not mounted, though, when the great explosion came. A scene of wild terror ensued, The borses reared and plunged, being with difficulty re- strained by their riders. Quartz’s heart almost stilled its beating, so overcome was he by the fear that smote him, He knew that no blasts were being fired in the mine, and it seemed wholly unlikely that an accidental explosion could occur. Shaking in every fiber, he climbed to the back of his horse; and as soon as the animal could be brought into control, he led bis party at a swift gallop down the uneven slope. They were rapidly approaching the mine, when arunning figure attracted their attention. It was Red Foe, who was flyiug so wildly from the scene of his awful crime, A suspicion that this flight was connected with the explosion came to Quartz, and he swerved in chase, his men plunging recklessly after him. Red Fee had no chance in sucharace, He dodged and twisted ainong the concealing bowl- ders; then faced quickly about, driven to des- peration, and fired point-blank at the foremost pursuer. The rearing of his horse saved Quartz’s life: though, even as it was, the bullet whistled within an inch of his head, Before the desperate man could repeat the shot, Quartz knocked him down by a blow from a hurled revolver, Even then, Fee would not surrender without a struggle. But it did not take long to reduce him to subjection. Quartz had no time to spend over his prisoner; and leaving him in charge of two men, he started with the others for the mine, A bull’s-eye lantern was produced by one of the party, and by its light they entere1, In- 3tantly they came upon evidences of the terrible wreck wrought by the explosives, Great frag- ments of rock had been torn loose and tossed in all Jlirections, The powder smoke hung dense and stifling, making the light of the lantern red and faint. Not far from the center of the cavern Quartz halted, with a gasp of horror. Before him lay the limp form of a man, whom at first glance he believed to be his brother, With acry of pain he dashed forward, kneel- ing at the stricken man’s side, His followers hurried up with the lantern; and then Quartz discovered that the unfortunate was not Tom Craigen, but was, on the contrary, the mysterious being who had so long been playing the role of ghost, This was revealed by the blood-colored stains on the face. With wondering exclamations, Quartz’s party looked down at the unfortunate, and the query, ‘* Who is he?” passed swiftly from lip to lip, Before it could receive answer, their attention was drawn by faint calls, These came from Tom Craigen. Though the tones were weak, Quintius recognized his brother’s voice and made immediate answer. He seized the lantern from the hand of the man who held it, and rushed in the direction of the sounds, “Where are you, Tom?” be shouted, holding the light above his head and looking over the scene of ruin before him. ‘“* Here!” came the reply, from directly in front, “In this tunnel. I’m wedged ia be- tween some rocks, and can’t help myself.” Sharply Quintius’s call rung out for assist- ance, which was immediately given, As soon as Tom’s position could be correctly ascertained, the men began to remove the wreckage of bowlders that lay between him and liberty. The timber-braces had been splintered and thrown to the further side of the cave, and only the big stones used by Red Fee to block the tunnel bad saved him from death, The tunnel was really the least injured portion of the mine, because of the shielding thus given it. Tom was found pinioned and helpless, but not much hurt. There were some bruises on his legs and hips, and when be was assisted to rise, he was dizzy and faint. However, this feeling passed quickly away, and he declared himself almost as good as new. The meeting between the brothers was indeed a@ joyful one, though the outward manifesta- tions of this joy were not excessive, S soon as it was seen that Tom was safe, some of the men hurried back to the point where a rine had been left. To their surprise ey found he bad returned to consciousness, The Rustler of Rolling’ Stone. He was scarcely able to speak, and his words were so low and husky that his identity still re- mained a mystery. Not until they had borne him to the river and washed the red stains from his face, did they recognize bim, A simultaneous cry of astonishment arose. He was Curt Thomas! The bloody stains had been conferred by a reddish paint; and rudely-fashioned armor had protected him from Red Fee’s bullets, One look into the white and drawn face showed that he was not long for this world; a fact he fully re- alized. ‘‘['m dyin’, boys!” he hoarsely whispered. ‘*Carry me somewhurs an’ make me easy. DPve a little talkin’ to do, an’ I hain’t long to do it in! Red Fee oad been brought up by this time, and his surprise at discovering who the ghost really was was as great as that of any one there, He had never suspected Curt Thomas, The sorely-wounded man was lifted tenderly and borne up the long slope to Red Fee’s residence. The carriers had scarcely started with their burden, when Louise Norton and Betty Butter- ball were encountered. Their anxiety had driven them forth. Thomas asked for stimulants when the house was reached, He was very weak, and failing fast. His story, told as soon as he was able to speak, was listened to with marked attention. He bad undertaken the role of ghost with a purpose. That purpose was to prevent the working of the mine, and to so depreciate it in value that he could buy Red Fee’s interest for a mere trifle. How well he succeeded—aided, of course, by the counter boom at Rolling Stone— the reader has seen, He bad climbed into the room over Craigen’s Rolling Stone office, immediately preceding the fire, for the purpose of obtaining possession of some papers which he believed would in- criminate bim—a hint that Craigen had got hold of such papers having reached him, And bis last vi-it to the mine, the one which had | ; brought about bis death, bad been to release } - Tom Craigen. Now that the mine was bis, he did not wish the young man to be beld there, He bad disguised himself with the red paint, not desiring that his agency ia the matter should become known, especially to Red Fee, The confession contained sometning else, and that was an avowal of how he and Fee gained the Grizzly Bear Mine, To most of those present this revelation was very unexpected. It involved the revelation that Quintius Quartz and Philip Craigen were one and the same. “Tye wronged you, pard—wropged you bitter!” the dying man confessed. ‘I can’t undo it, but I'll rest easier, an’ mebbe have a better show up yander, if I try. I never had any right to the mine, ner had Red Fee; but I bought his interest in it to-night. An’ now I want to turn it all over to you, if a feller can turn over anything which he don’t own, an’ which is yourn already!” A look of peace came to his face as he caught Craigen’s generous words of reply. He had tried to make reparation, and his death was the calmer for it. Red Fee degenerated into a whimpering coward, when he heard this confession and saw how completely he was in the toils, A month afterward he was tried for the murder of Curt Thomas, This trial consumed the thousands he had recently obtained: and, though his worthless life was spared, it was scarcely a favor, for he was condemned to spend the remainder of it in prison and at bard labor, At Philip Craigen’s earnest solicitation the railway was pushed from Rolling Stone on to Lucky Ledge; and the prosperity that came to the united towns was phenomenal, Of course, the Craigens shared in this prosperity; and the reopening of the Grizzly Bear Mine was made memorable by the marriage of Thomas Craigen to Louise Norton, and by a ball that far eclipsed the masquerade, THE END, Beadle's Haif-Dime Library. oe BY COL. A. *«. AOLT. ack Buckskin: or. The ¥ d Me 419 Kenneth, the Enife-Kinc. ee Raber neu eis 485 Littie Lightfoot. the Pilot of the Woods. 525 The Dandy Sport; o-. The King Pin Conspirator, eadlight Harry’s Hazard; or, The Lightning Express etective. 691 Headlight Harry's 1 s 727 Headlight Warry’s Siren. eritage. eee eee oe -_ 759 Headlight Harry's had | é ‘ ¢ é owt BY LIEUT. A. K. SIMS. 546 Captain Cactus, the Chaparral Cock. 568 The Dandy of Dodge. 576 The Silver Sport. 588 Saffron Sol, the Man With a Shadow 589 Tom-Cat and Pard; or, The Dead Set at Silver City. 601 Happy Mans, the Dutch Vidocg. 611 Bildad Barnacle, the Detective Hercules. 622 Texas Tom-Cat’s Triad 681 Tom Cat’s Terrible Task. 688 Tom-Cat’s Triumph; or. Bleck Dan’s Great Combine. 646 Cowboy Gld, the Cattle-Range tetective. 657 Warbling WIlllam, the Mountain Mountebank, 665 Jolly Jereminahys the Plains Detective. 676 Signal Sam, the Lookout Scout. 689 Billy the Gypsy Spy. 699 Straple Sim, the Broncho Buster. 712 The Meameriat Sport; or, The Mystified Detective. 7838 Toltec Tom, the Mad Prospector, 745 Kansas Jim, the Cross-Cut Detective. 761 Marmaduke, the Mustanger Detective. BY CHARLES MORRIS, 118 Will Somers, the Boy Detective. 122 Phil Mardy, the Boss Boy. 126 Pleayune Pete; or, Nicodemus, the Dog Detective. 130 Detective Diek; or, The Hero in Rags. 112 Handsome Harry, the Bootblack Detective. Will Wildtire, the Thoroughbred. Black Beas, Will Wildfire’s Racer. Mike Merry the Harbor Police Boy. Will Wildfire in the Woods, Billy Baggage, the Railroad Boy. A Trump Card; or, Will Wildfire Wins and Loses. Bob Rockett: or, Mysteries of New York. Bob Rockett, the Bank Runner, The Hidden Hand: or, Wi!! Wildfire’s Revenge. Fred Halyard, the Life Boat Boy; or, The Smugglers, Rob Rockett; or, Driven to the Wall. Shadowed; or, Bob Kockett’s Fight for Life. Dark Paul, the Tiger King. Dashing Dave, the Dandy Detective, Tom Tanner}; or, The Black Sheep of the Flock. > Sam Charcoal the Premium Darky. Shadow Sam, the Messenger Boy. The Two ** Bloods”; or, Shenandoah Bill and His Gang. Dick Dashaway ;: or, A Dakota Boy in Chicago. The Young Sharps; or, Rollicking Mike’s Hot Trail Jolly Jim, the Detective Apprentice. Jolly Jim’s Job; or, The Young Detective. The Water-Iound: or, The Young Thoroughored. > Dashaway, of Dakota; or, A Western Lad in Quaker City, Ralph Ready, the Hotel Boy Detective. Tony Thorne, the Vagabond Detective. The Reporter-Detective, or, Fred Flyer’s Blizzard, W ide-Awake Joe; or, A Boy of the Times. Larry. the Levellers or. The Bloods of the Boulevard. Firefly Buck, the River-Rat Detective. The Lost Finger; or, The Entrapped Caehier. Fred Flyer, the Reporter Detective. Invinetble Logan, the Pinkerton Ferret. Billy Brick, the Jolly Vaganond. Wide-Awake Jerry, Detective; or, Entombed Alive. Detective Dodge: or, The Mystery of Frank Hearty. Wild Dick Racket. Boots, the Boy Fireman: or. Too Sharp for the Sharper, The Secret Service Boy Detective. Jimmy the Kid; or, A Lamb Among Wolves. Tom Bruce of Arkansas: or, The Wo)fin the Fold. Plucky Paul, the Boy Speculator. Rob and Sam, the Daisy Detectives. The Curbstone Detective; or, Harry Hale’s Big Beat. Detective Frank’s Sweep-stakes. BY FRANK DUMONT. The Branded Ifand: or, The Man of Mystery. 7 Wild-Fire, the Boss of the Road. Blue Blazes: or, The Break o’ Day Boys of Rotky Bar. Ebony Dan: or, The Rival Leagues. Evil Eve; or, The Vultures of the Rio Grande, MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORS, The Wild-lIforse Munters. By Capt. Mayne Relic and Frederick Whittaker. Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Gulliver’s Travels. By Dean Swift, Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp. Robinson Crusoe, (27 I! lustrations.) 18 Sindbad the Satlor. His Seven oyages. 22 Exe Sea Serpent; or, The Boy Robinson Crusoe, By Juan sew is. £8 The Ocean Bloodhound; or, The Red Pirates of the Carribees, By 8S. W. Pierce. 86 The Boy Clown: or, The Arena Queen. By F 8. Finn. BS Ned Wylde, the Boy Scout. By Texas Jack. 51 The Roy Rifles; or. The Underground Camp. By A. C. Iron. 95 The Rival Rovers; or, The Freebooters of the Mississippi. By Lieut.-Col. Hazeltine. 98 Robin Hood, the Vutiawed Ear); or, The Merry Men of Green- wood. By Prof. Gildersleeve. 105 Old Rube, the Hunter; or, The Crow Captive. By Captain Hamilton Holmes. 112 The Mad Munter: or, ' be Cave of Death. By Burton Saxe. 124 Tippy. the Texans; or, The Young Champion. By George 271@P°8on. 128 The Voung Privateer; or, The Pirate’s Stronghold. By Harry Cavendish. 148 Sharp Samy; or, The Adventures o: a Friendless Bov. By J. Alexander Patten. 227 Dusky Darrell, Trapper: or, The Green Ranger of the Yel- lowstone. By Edward Emerson. 261 Fergue Fearnaught the New Yirk Boy. ByG. L. Alken. 266 Killb’ar. the Guide; »%r, Davy Crockett’s Crooked Trall. By Ensign ©. D. Warren. . 298 Red Claw. the One-Eved Trapper; or, The Maid of the Clif. By Captain Comatock. 817 Peacock Pete. the Lively Lad from Leadville. By Lien- tenant Alfred Thorne. 828 The Sky Detective; or, A Boy’s Fight for Lifeand Honor, By Maior Mickey Free. 850 Red Ialph, the River Rover; or, The Brother’s Re- venvge, By Ned Buntline. 265 Raltimore Ren the Bootblack Detective. By A. P. Morris. 874 Gold-Duat Tom: or, Ben’s Double Match. By G@ H, Morse. 876 Callfornin Joe’s Firat Trail. By Colonel) Thomas Hover Monstery. 418 Rilly Bombahcll, the Cliff Climber. By F. S. Winthrop, 475 The Black Ship. By John S Warner. 484 Comanche Pick and Hix Three Invinelbles. By Henrv J. i"bomas. S82 The Cowboy Duke. Ry Edwin Brooke Forrest. 552 Artel the Athlete. By David Druid. 585 Will Waters, the Boy Ferret. By H. Enton. 682 The Dead Yetective’« Double. By Gerald Carlton. 721 Maverick Mose, the Arizona Detective; or, The Wizard o' Urkos Pass. By Wl] Lisenbee. 746 Quiet Jack, the Secret Service Spy; or, Too Much for Red Leary. By Dan Dunning, (of the Secret Service Corps). A New issue Every Tuesaday The Half-Dime Library i» for sale by an newsdealera, five cents per copy, or sent by mall on receipt of six cents each. BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishera. 98 William Street, New York. 4 9 2 4 6 om - f * a pad aalke sxeye) (E cS (ao: c