Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 776 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Resurrection. 9 surprise it will be because I do not live to do it, that is all.” ‘‘ But, are you sure there is no trick in this? Perhaps there is something back of it all, some trap laid for you which you have not been able to get wind of, You must use every precau- tion.” ‘« No, there is no trick aboutit This is their ame, and I am posted upon every point in it, You will bear a howl when they find I have shown them a trick worth two of theirs. Ha! ha! ha!” ‘* But, the camp is in arms now, mistaking their meaning this time, business,” ‘‘ What need we care? Weare safe, and they can never unearth us, They meant business be- fore, but what did it amount to?” ‘‘T know; but there was never such a demon- stration as there is now. And this man Icicle Isaac—I am afraid of bim. He gives me a chill whenever he comes pear me,” ‘‘He had better go slow, I can warn him, or he will be colder than he is now, and in a way that be won’t get warm again, too, Still, I think I can safely defy him, as I bave done, He is a puzzled man,” ‘*Do you not think it would bave been better for you to have let the money come in by the stage to-day?” ‘* Yesterday, you mean, No; for that serves to puzzle them the more, and it claims a share of their attention. It gives them something to think about,” ‘‘ But, now if they should get bold of vou it will mean death, since you shot those men,” ‘‘Ha! ba! ha! They have not got hold of me yet, and are not likely to get me, But, then, it would mean death, anyhuw, so what’s the dif- ference? But, a few more rich hauls and we are done with them for ali time.” ‘¢‘ And then for France, and a life of ease and enjoyment?” ‘* Yes; France and Paris! of my earthly ambition.” ‘‘ But, to mention him again, though I shud- der every time I speak bis name, has it not occurred to you that this Icicle Isaac may possi- bly be Deadwood Dick?” ‘“Pshaw! After what happened to Bristol? Rest easy on that score, for bis bones are at the bottom of that death-hole. Besides, he could never stand the test under my eyes which I bave applied to this man.” “Then the thought came to you, I see.” * ‘* Well, yes; but 1 knew it was an idle one, Still, I heeded it and studied the fellow well. Rest assured, he is not Deadwood Dick, though Satan only knows who else he may be.” ‘* And what about that Gypsy Queen?” ‘‘ Well, what about her?” ‘* Do you not think she may be Kodak Kate?” ‘*T suspected it, but I am satisfied it is not she, I bave my eyes upon another couple whom I suspect a good deal more?” ‘* And who are they?” ‘The old couple who came by the stage, and who are registered at the Bugle as Porter Fil- burn and Mary Martman,” ‘‘ Ha! then you bave a doubt about Deadwood Dick’s being dead, after all? ‘‘No; Lam talking about the woman now, I suspect this woman of being Kodak Kate, with some one to help her.” ‘“T have often thought we made a mistaké in allowing her to go, with the information she had, eventhough sure she was insane at the time, as we were, It wasa big risk.” ‘*T weighed all the chances. If she was not insane, she played her part mighty well. If There is no They mean There is the Mecca insane, we bad little to fear; if not, what could gbe disclose, when it came to the test? She might tell her story, but examination of the cliff would give the lie to it.” ‘‘ We ought to have held her, She went mad, when she learned what we bad done with Dick, an she would bave died in a short time,” ‘‘No matter; and, by the way, bere is further roof, if you want it, thatthe two we spoke of Brat are’ not Dick and the woman. When Icicle Isaac aud the Gypsy Queen met, there was n° sign of recognition.’ ‘“You would not expect any, if they were in league against us.” : ‘True; but they could not have played the role so well as to deceive me, and I knowit, No; whatever Kodak Kate may do, we have nothin to fear from Deadwood Dick. Why, it is folly to think he could escape alive.” ‘* He was said to have as many lives as a cat.” ‘*T care not if he had the Jives of ten cats, he could never have come out of that dismal hole with one of them.” ‘“*No doubt youare right. Anyhow, as you \ say, they will have some trouble in unearthing us, and even if they do we can still defy them, for they will never suspect us,” ‘* There is only one bad bill on my hands now,” ‘“* And what is that?” ; ‘* This man Mayham whom we have been hold. ing all this time. I am satisfied he cannot buy his liberty, just as he declares he cannot. What is going to be done with him?” ‘Send him to join Deadwvod Dick.” ‘That is easily done, but where does our pay for our trouble come in? Now,I have a new scheme which I want to lay before you to have your opinion upon it, Your judgment is al- ways worth something.” “Thank you, 1am sure. Well, what is it?” ** I did not let that man Whipple’s body go out of my hands without looking through the pockets, you may be sure.” ‘* And yet they thought nothing had been dis- turbed when they found it.” ‘Exactly. Ileft enough to satisfy them on that score. Now, that man’s business here, as I suspected all along, was to put young Mayham out of the way.” Well?” ‘*He was hired to doit. The next heir after our prisoner is Rudgar Mayham, and he would give much to have his cousin turn up dead,” ‘“Ah! Now I see.” ‘** Well, what do you think of it?” ‘* A good idea, but it will take time, You will say to Rudgar Mayham, that if he comes down with a certain sum, bis cousin will turn up ready for a coroner; if not, he will turn up ready for his rights.” * You are a jewel! shell.” ‘*Tt is a rule that will work both wavs, too. When you hear from Rudgar, you can—” ** No, no; there you are wrong. Our prisoner has nothing to bid, and we dare not accept his promises, for that would be to run our necks in- to the noose,” — “That is so; I was too hasty. My judgment is not so reliable after all,” ‘* Your judgment is all right; you only spoke a thought aloud before you had given it weight. But, is the game worth the candle? That is the mnain question.” ** And you mean—” ‘**T mean, will it pay in the end to go to all this trouble? The time, the caution in the cor- respondence, the difficulty in getting the money and furnishing proof of death and identity; it is going to be no small piece of work,” The wretches! the utterly depraved wretches! to weigh thus the life of a fellow-creature in the balance against a trifle of money! **TIt will depend on bow much money can be drawn out of the party concerned.” ‘* Ten thousand dollars would probably be the limit, and perhaps less than that when it came to the point.” ‘*It is no smal] sum, and it would fill a nice little niche in our setting up in style in Paris, It would furnish our palace, or go a long way toward it,” ‘*And it might, somehow, prove the means of our never reaching Paris at all, I think we undertook too big a job when we took hold y* this one, and I wish our hands were washed of 16, ‘“‘ Well, itis not far to send him to join Dead- wood Dick. And, Hal, here isa thought! We can visit England and call apon the Lord Rudgar Mayhanm, after he sets up, and cause him to open his purse to a nice little tune, knowing what we do, How will that be for high?” CHAPTER X. DEADWOOD DICK AND KODAK KATE, It was while these two evil spirits were thus engaged in conversation that a dark form stole out from the Silver Bugle Hotel and made its way up the guichin the direction of the begin- ning of the narrow and dangerous Fiddle-bow Pass, The camp was dark and silent, but this man moved with caution as though afraid of be- ing seen and followed upon some secret mission that had called him fortlf at this unseemly hour. A big, black slouch bat was on bis head, and a cloak of the same sable hue was drawn around him, as if, perchance seen, he would avoid re- cognition, As soon as be was beyond the line of houses he moved more freely, and pushed forward at a swinging pace in the direction indicated. Com- ing, in due time, to the place where the ledge trail made its junction with the gulch’ trail, he turned and began the ascent toward the ledge- table above the camp, the place which, a month before, had been the scene of such tragic events, and which so recently had witnessed the murder That is the idea in a nut- nnn nn eecmmmmmmmnmnmmmmmnmmmmnmmmmesm msm sss oe 2 Ne See eR RE RC ES RR ET of Henry Whipple, whose body had been found swinging in the street of the camp that morning in the manner described. His foot was sure, bis manner calm, and although there was little light be made rapid progress toward the top, Arriving at the level, he paused to recover his breath, and leaning with folded arms against the rocky wall he seemed lost in reverie, ‘‘- Yes, I am here at last,” be presently mused, ‘Cand I have a duty to perform, First, to learn the fate of my wife, or to rescue herif she be yet alive—of which I bave little hope; and next, to settle my account with that devil in human form, Red Roy, the outlaw!” We recognize the voice! It is—ii must be— he— Deadwood Dick, Junior, and aliveand well! If there were, in fact, any doubt, his words set- tle it. ‘‘ Yes, Red Roy, thanks to that Providence that seems to guard my life, I still live, and you shall yet feel the beavy band of Deadwood Dick, Junior, And,if you have killed my darling wife, as you threatened to do, God help yoo when you fall into my bands! No mercy will you find in me. I] know your secrets in part, enough to guide me to bring you to account, ‘* You thought to kill me, and you believe me dead, but you shall see that I am very much alive. You flung me into that awful chasm, and you consider my death as certain, but you do not know of the deep bed of yielding sand at the bottom, upon which I fell, more dead than alive, itistrue; or of the passage that leads for miles by a tortuous route to the plains on the east side of these hills. But, J know, know by the most remarkable experience of my life. I was 1 night and a day in finding my way out, and when I did at last gain the plains 1 was utterly played out and fell, to know no more un- til I came-to, days later, to find myself being cared for by men who ha’ picked me up and taken me to their camp, es, the hand of Providence was iv it all: Iam sureof it. And I have been spared for—what? For vengeance! For every pang I suffered, Red Roy, you shall suffer double; and for every pang you caused my poor Kate you shall suffer fourfold—I swear it! wang he was silent, thoughtful, almost pitiful- y sad, © Some minutes passed, and at last, having rest- ed after his exertion, he roused to action. Stepping out with silent caution to the middle of the rock shelf, he listened attentively for some moments to catch the slightest sound, There was none, and being satisfied that he was alone, that no one but himself was there, he moved back along the defile that led away from the verge over which, in the preceding story, the horse of Kodak Kate leaped to its death. He did not go far, but stopping, applied his ear to the wall on his left and listened again. This he did, moving forward step by step, for a distance of a bundred feet or more, but evident- ly without any result such as be desired, for at Jast he straightened up with a sigh, ‘‘It is there,” he muttered, ‘‘I know it be- cause I have been through it, Now I will see what result a little ight on the subject will bring.” Listening again, to make sure he was alone, he drew from under his cloak a bull’s-eye lan- tern and flashed its light upon the wall along which he bad just come, and retraced bis steps, He examined every inch of the way closely. There were cracks, plenty of them, but hisevery effort at following them for a distance sufficient for them to prove the existence of a door, or moving portion of the wall, wasin vain. Yet be knew such an opening was there, Twice he made the examination, but with like fruitless result, The moving rock was there, that he knew, but he could not discover the outlines among so manv cracks and seams, ‘‘ Well, if I cannot find it this way there is another,” he.decided. ‘* And that otber cannot fail, Terrible as it is, and dangerous, it skal! be done! Nothing shall deter me,” His work done, for the time being, he turned the slide of the lantern and put it under his cloak. ‘‘ Would it be useless to watch here, I won- der?” be asked himself, ‘*Two or three bours might find some one coming ont or going in that way, and I might thus learn the secret. is decision was quickly made, and be settled down in a deep rock crevice on the opposite side of the defile and began his vigil. The time dragged on, but it brought with it no disclosures, and finally, an bour before day- light, the Prince of the West got up and began se descent toward the camp in the gulch be- ow. ECOMIEDOO