Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 773 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

ae te ‘ - ; 2 '¥ : ; " 4 ° _ - . - a _ , ee ee re eo ee nee es ane aces hee ee Sa eee: Fe Ng 7” se e~ af ' . ee et — ee ee ee ws ¥ “J : 4 a | el Sha . +s ae ON - r ee Ps % -* “ “9 4 ¥ NM « , “2. ‘ aks : . 6 The Rustler of Rolling Stone. could. He could not doubt that by some means the assayer had come into possession of the truth, e was too bewildered and fear-stricken to mentally inquire how this had been done, He resolved, however, to defy his accuser and deny everything, ‘‘ An interesting piece of history, is it not?” and Quartz smiled sarcastically. ‘I thought you would have something to say about it!” ‘** It’s all bosh!” Red Fee reiterated, mustering all his courage, ‘‘ Me an’ Curt Thomas found that mine, an’ there was no underhanded game about it. We had a fight with a grizzly which we found in there, an’ that’s why we named it the Grizzly Bear, ou’ve jist got your facts a jittle tangled, Tell yer friend Craigen that, will ye? I ain’t the honor of the gentleman’s ac- quaintance; but if he’s a man o’ sense, be ought to know that he’s a-makin’ a fool o’ himself, an’ you, too, by sendin’ sich a message. Give him that, will ye, with my compliments? an’ say to him that when he gits the Grizzly Bear by re- tailin’ sich yarns, 1 hope he'll send me word about it,” Mr, Quartz was firm and stern, seeming more determined than ever, ‘* You are not ready for a compromise, then, though you know these things are true?” ‘*T can’t see that there’s anything to com- promise,” with some show of warmth, ‘If there was, I might talk. We hold the Grizzly Bear fair and above board; and we mean to hold it so long as the veins show color,” There was a ring of defiance and of confidence in this, though he could not help shuddering a lit- tle, whenever the vision of the ghost interposed, which it did almost constantly. ‘* Better think it over a little,” the assayer urged. ‘‘Il am gathering proof of these things, and the time is not far distant when I shall use it. It isn’t wise for you to be too hasty, Red- mond, I offer you a compromise, now; after awhile, nothing of the kind will be considered,” Red Fee's answer was as before, ** You will do nothing?” ‘* Not a thing!” he thundered, ‘‘ An’ I sha’n’t thank ye fer comin’ bhyer ag’in with this nop- sense!” *‘ Very well, then!” rising to depart. ‘‘If you prefer war, it shall be war to the knife!” CHAPTER VII. A SURPRISING INCIDENT, THE smoldering fire in the assayer’s furnace again threw its uncertain and fitful Jight on the two men whom we first saw there—Philip Craigen and his brother Tom. It was the night following Philip’s visit to Red Fee, made as Quintius Quartz, Quintius was reasonably sure that Redmond had no suspicion he was Craigen. He had watched Redmond closely, and believed that such a suspicion would have revealed itself in the man’s manner. This was as he wished it to be; for he was not ready yet to throw off the mask and confront Red Fee in his true person. Tom had assumed a partial disguise. It con- sisted only of a mustache; but this so altered his appearance, especially his appearance in the character of Rose Latham, that there seemed small danger cf his ideutity being revealed. In addition, they were quite alone, and the light from the fire was of the poorest, Tom was laughing softly at some observation made by Quintius., ‘* The old gent is badly rattled,” he said, seem- ingly taking up the thread of their conversa- tion, ‘* Your visitto him upset him. He knows now that his secret is shared by others, and the fear of the result will give bim no rest,” ‘* He was rattled last night, but it did not in- cline him to a compromise.” ‘* Probably he thought that the big end of the division would fall on your side of the line. He has had me writing letters allday to various parties offering the mine for sale.” ‘* 1Vhat is his price for it?” ‘* Wifty thousand dollars!” “Whew! He holds it bigb,anyway. But it’s worth it, every cent and |l’m not sure but twice over. The veinsare extremely rich. Of course, there’s no knowing bow far they extend, or bow soon the really valuable ore may play out, but I think there’s more than fifty thousand dollars in there,. Why, there’s half that in sight now!” ** Almost the exact words he used to me this morning. Aud he made the same statement, or nearly the same, in the letters he dictated. Only he raised your estimatéa little. He claim- ed the Grizzly Bear to be worth a hundred and fifty thousand, and laid great stress on the low price at which be was offering it,” ** What excuse did Le make for placing it on ‘** His great need of money, and his inability to work it properly.” The assayer was silent and thoughtful fora few moments, **T presume he wanted these parties to come out and look at it right away?” be questioned. ‘* Yes: or send reliable agents to investigate the matter.” ‘* Getting you in there as bis secretary was a master-stroke,” Quintius commented, medita- tively nursing his chin, ‘‘It will enable us to keep up with all his little games,” e Jaughed lightly, and looked quizzically at his brother, They had been speaking in cautious tones, sscarcely raising their voices above a whisper. Carefulness in this respect was with them one of the cardinal virtues, **Tt’s really a funny piece of business, I sup- pose you feel that, even more than I can, when you are seated with him in his office, and he thinks you the admirable creature you pretend to be!’ Tom echoed the low laugh, ‘*Tt’s funnier than that,” he declared, ‘*A dozen times funnier! I thought I should break down this morning and revealeverything. Why, would you believe it? the old fool is actually in love with me, He couldn’t keep from saying as much!” ‘*Must have been the effect of the liquor he took last night!” Quintius observed, dryly. ‘* He was soaking himself in good shape when [ called on him.” ‘** And he’s kept up the soaking process all day, It’ll take the profits of the Grizzly Bear to pay his liquor bill, if he continues as he’s begun, I suppose that’s what made him such a fool! ‘When the wine is in, the wit is out,’ and ‘ there’s no foo] like an old fool!’ ” ‘* Tt’s all the better for us,” smilingly. ‘* He'll not be so likely to give you your walking-papers, and a genuine case of love will blind bim to a good many things. I presume you discouraged bim in a very dignified manner?” ** Didn’t I, though!” chuckling at the recollec- tion, ‘*‘ Sir!’ I said, as icily as the north pole, and then I petrified bim—froze him to his chair’ as it were—with one of my chilliest glances, Ha! ha! you ought to have seen him eat humble- ie! P Quintius joined in the laugh; then observed, gravely: ‘*That offer of the mine for fifty thousand worries mea little. Some capitalist, or syndicate may snap it up at that. The property’s dirt cheap at the figure. We'll have to make some move to block the sale, if it seemslikely one is to take place, If the mine gets into other hands, it will mean a barder fight for us to get it.” Tom grasped his brother by the shoulder in a warning way, and lookedupward, A suspicious sound had attracted him, The next moment, the flimsy ceiling gave way above their heads, and a man dropped un- expectedly to the floor beside them, He came down, spread out likea bat, and‘ struck with§a thump that seemed to indicate broken bones asa result,” The brothers were surprised beyond measure at this unwelcome intrusion, But, they did not lose their heads, Quintius was the first to act, He spruvg upon the man, before the latter could recover from the shock of the fall. Tom leaped to bis aid, both of them proving more thana match for the assailed, Nevertheless, the man did not surrender with- outastruggle. He foughtand kicked viciously, and exerted all his strength to burl the brothers from him and make bis escape, ‘*Get me that rope in the corner!” Quintius commanded, ‘* We'll tie bim first, and look at him afterward, l’ve got him where | can hold him!” Tom obeyed; and then proceeded to bind the spy, whom Quintius was bolding down. That he was a spy, and had concealed himself in the garret to hear what they might say, neither doubted. How much he bad heard, they could only surmise, When the fellow had been secured, Quintius arose, tbrust a pine splinter into the embers, and held it so that the light might fall in the man’s face, This revealed his identity and called from him a string of curses, He was Curt Thomas! Before this bad been Cone, Tom had taken the precaution to retreat to a shadowed corner where his face could not be plainly seen. This man might already know who he was, but it was best to take no risks, ‘* What does this mean?” Quintius fiercely de- He was answered by another volley of oaths. ‘* Speak up!” he commanded, with angry em- phasis, ‘*‘ What were you doing up there?’ Thomas bad no ready reply. ‘¢ Unless you can answer satisfactorily, I shal? have to file a complaint against you, on the charge of burglary.” ‘¢] reckon 1 must ’a’ crawled up there when i was too drunk to know what I was a-doin’,” en- deavoring to smooth the matter over as well as he could, ‘‘That’s you, is it, Mr, Quartz? Blamed if I knowed ye. If you'll take these ropes off’n me, I’ll go peaceably about my biz- ness, ‘* Who told you to come here spying on me?” Thomas loudly denied that he bad been spying, insisting that he had crawled up there while drunk, not knowing where he was, or what he was doing. A ladder led from the lower part of the shop to the garret, and Quartz frequently departed from the place for,a few minutes, leaving the door open, ‘Who you got back there with ye?’ Thomas asked, lifting bis head and attempting to look ia the corner where Tom had taken refuge, ‘*T don’t know that it’s any of your affair!” was the sharp reply. ‘‘ It’s enough for you to know that it’s a friend of mine,” The assayer had been doing some rapid think- ing. He saw that nothing was to be got out of Curt Thomas, and he did not care to pro- ceed against him legally. To retain him there as a prisoner seemed useless, * You may go,” he said, casting off the rope; ‘*but if I ever see you around here again, you may rest sure you will not get off so easily,’ e threw open the door and pointed to the street; and Thomas, glad to escape, fled, ‘* What do you think of it?” Quintius asked of his brother, when the door had been closed and locked, ‘**That he was here for a purpose, It must have been connected with the mine, or my work for Red Fee, Can it be that I am suspected, and that he followed me from the house?” ‘“* He came here before either of us,” was the positive reply. ‘*‘ Otherwise he could not bave got in, He didn’t follow you! I think be was spying on me, for his own and Red Fee’s benefit, because of my visit and claims lastnight. What he heard, thougb, ’ve no idea, If it was any- thing of value to them, we'll know of it full soon. CHAPTER VIII. LOVE’S ENTANGLEMENTS, Tom CRAIGEN had not overstated the case im speaking of Red Fee’s infatuation, By day and by night Fee thought of his come- ly typewriter, to the detriment of the many business interests be had in hand, His dreams were about equally divided between her and vi- sions of the ghost. This constant dwelling on the charms of Miss: Rose Latham promised to interfere sadly with the ‘“‘boom” he was trying to inaugurate in Lucky Ledge. He had achieved in the past some- thing of a reputation in the boom line, which be was now seemingly bent on wrecking. To besuc- cessful as a ‘* boomer” requires incessant activi- ty, combined with alertress, skill, and a daring that approaches audacity, Red Fee bad all these, but just now he was not making good use of them. Too many things were distracting him, The fears engendered by the ghost, the liquor he was drinking to dull those fears, and above all, the foolish attachment for the preten- der who was acting as his secretary. His drinking did not make him kindly disposed toward any of the inmates of the house, except Rose Latham. He treated ber with marked subservience, But pot so with Louise Norton, his step-daughter, and Betty Butterball, the ser- vant, He was inclined to be especially abusive to Louise, a handsome girl of eighteen or nine- teen, and the daughter of bis dead wife. Two or three days after the unexpected tum- ble of Curt Thomas into the assayer’s shop, Tom | Craigen, coming early to the office in the guise of Rose Latham, found Louise shedding tears bitterly, as she put the office to rights, There was one thing Tom Craigen had not told his brother, and that was of the violent fancy he had conceived for this girl. Probably he felt a little ashamed of it, for there was a cer- tain ludicrousness about it in connection with the disguise he bad assumed, Louise knew not that Rose Latham was a man, having been as completely deceived on that point as bad Red Fee, ‘Why, what is the matter?’ the typewriter | asked, looking at the girl in bew fIdernienge ballad : \ fia, ¢ ¥ the market?’ manded, . Cc 900 N S.cOoMm nN ‘co