Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 794 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

_ - aa 3 r : ——— Se ett, .._. — 3s ee eee i _« x —_ —_ ~—“g eee y 10 old fool! Why in blazes didn’t he write out his directions in good plain United States lingo, and not inflict upon his lawful heirs and legatees a lot o’ hieroglyphics that would puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer to de- cipher?” He pushed the paper aside and left the table in deep disgust, only to return a mo- ment later, however, and renew the attack with increased vigor. ‘‘Come, Kirby, old man, you mustn’t give up so easily!” he exclaimed, cheerfully. ‘* This puzzle must be solved, or you’ll never live to finger the precious pile that lies con- cealed in yonder mountains. To search for it now, without a tangible clew, would’ be like looking for the traditional ‘needle ina haystack. Everything depends on this bit of writing. The enigma can be—must be unraveled; an’ I’m going to do it this very night, or bu’st in the attempt!” Kirby bent to his task with a grim de termination to ‘‘do or die,” but he proceed- ed in the aimless, hesitating manner of one who was unable to hit upon any system or method of interpretation. He read the letters backward, downward, crosswise— he turned the paper upside down! He tried a dozen different ways that his tortured mind suggested. But all in vain! The cipher still remained the same to him—a confused and unintelligible jumble. For more than an hour he pored over that mysterious inscription, while the dingy Jamp by his side burned lower and lower, and fantastic shadows crept about the room. The blood-red letters seemed to have sudden- ly become imbued with life, and danced be- fore the gambler’s vision ia the most tantaliz- ing manner, as though mocking at his in- ability to penetrate their secret. And still King Kirby struggled on, with a zeal and determination that was worthy of more satisfactory results. But he was fast losing both courage and patience, now. He glared like one distracted at the elusive cipher, while unathemas welled from his lips. Suddenly, unable to longer endure the strain, he jumped to his feet. ‘*Curse the gibberish! It will drive me mad!” and with a violent movement he hurl- ed the precious paper from his hand. It fluttered to the floor, close by the open window, where it lay unheeded by the irate gambler who, in a rage, strode up and down the room. At this moment heavy footsteps on the stairs, followed by a peculiar rap at the door, announced the coming of Black Jerry, who had certainly chosen a most unfortunate time to visit his chief, for, when Kirby ad- mitted his obedient servant, it was to vent upon him the Spleen of his ugly mood. ‘*Ho, ho! So you’re back again, are you? Curse you for # blundering idiot! Aren’t you ashamed to show up around here, after making such an infernal mess o’ things?” To which greeting Black Jerry gave no outward sign of surprise or resentment. He had seen the boss of Satan’sCamp in ‘just such moods before, and knew from experi- ence the Value of discretion. Standing in, silence before his irate chief, he meekly lis- tened to the taunts, ‘Oh, you’re a brilliant specimen, you are —a star of the first magnitude! Next time I have a simple job to do, Ill engineer the biz myself, blast me for a Chinaman if I don’t!” Kirby resumed his interrupted walk, while his associate calmly took a seat, and reached for a cigar. Finally Kirby paused abruptly before his waiting colleague. ‘* Well?” said he, inquiringly. ** Well, pard?” ‘Do you bring good news or bad? Have you succeeded in rounding up those slippery young Easterners?” Black Jack shook his head. *‘ Nary a time!” he answered. ‘‘ The boys (= Dt er 3 Oy cere — or eet ce e_p a tlngly eget or Headlight Harry’s Hunt. have been busy all day, searchin’ high an low in ev'ry direction; but the galoots have covered their tracks so that it’s wuss’n look- in’ for a needle ina hay-mow. By this time they’re hid securely—but only the devil him- self knows where!’’ ‘* What’s that you’re saying? Not yet re- captured ?”” demanded the boss gambler, fierce- ly. ‘‘ Then, what in the name of blue blazes are you loafing around here for, when your work is unaccomplished?” ‘* Well, pard, I reckon there’s no sort o’ use in keepin’ the search up after dark, is there? The boys ’d be in the same predica- ment as the nigger who went down ce!- lar on a dark night, without a light, to look for a black cat that wasn’t there.” ‘*Confound your joking, Jerry! This is no time for such tom-foolery. I tell you those men must not be allowed to escape. Things have come to a pretty pass when a couple of tenderfeet can cut up such monkey tricks right here in Satan’s Camp! Oh, yes, Jerry; you've made a pretty mess o’ things this trip! It was only by accident you managed to catch the felluws at all, and then it was only to have them slip through your fingers like'eels! You ought to be proud o' such a brilliant exploit!” “‘T reckon, pard, we've got the galoots fast enuff, when we'll have ’em trapped ’gain,” confi- dently declared Jerry. ‘‘Indeed? What makes you so sure of that?” His face was distorted by an evil grin, % . his glaring eyes were fixed upon the gar blers in a look of deadly hate. An inarticulate cry escaped the lips of the uglv being when he saw that he was discoy- ered. Like a flash his arm was raised; then some object flew through the air with uner: ring aim, shattering the dingy lamp into a thousand fragments, and plunging the apart- ment into darkness. At the same instant the dwarf leaped catlike to the floor. For a moment the two gamblers stood petrified with sudden fear and astonishment: then the King, with an execration, bounded forward to grasp the audacious intruder, while at the same time Black Jerry-rushed to the open window to cut off his retreat. But the dwarf’s superior cunning proved too much even for their combined efforts. Slipping, eel-like, through Kirby’s out- stretched arms, he darted across the room, reaching the door before his would-be cap- tors could realize what had happened. iw another moment he was flying down the Stairwey to the saloon below. After him in hot pursuit followed the exas- perated gamblers, King Kirby being in ad- vance, with Black Jerry close at his beels. On the topmost stair the former slipped und fell, while Jerry, unable to check himself in It’s only a question of a ‘few hours | time, stumbled over the prostrate form of his chief, anc together the precious pair rolled over and over down the steep incline, finally bringing up, bruised and breathless, in the midst of a startled group of loungers. The Spider, meantime, had successfully ‘The only way they can retreat is by the | south pass througi which runs the wagon- | made his way through the crowd that throng- trail to Fortune City. Now, I’ve got that | ed the room; and now the discomfited pur- trail so strongly guarded I reckon a rabbit | suers struggled to their feet just in time te a + SL sss serene testes Lee ND stent disses LL couldn’t slip through without discovery, The runaways are hid away somewhere among the hills jest west o’the pass. To- morrow, at daybreak, I shall have a hundred | see his ugly figure vanish through the door, his mocking laughter ringing in their ears. ‘‘ After him, boys!” yelled King Kirby, im wild excitement. ‘‘ Shoot him—shoot him men scouring the hull mountain in search of | down, somebody! Don’t let the ugly imp ’em. Even should we fail to diskiver their hidin’-place, we will at least make the chase so hot that the innocents won’t dare to ven- ture forth, an’ so will starve to death like rats in a trap.” ‘* Ay, Jerry, I reckon there’s small pros- pects of their escape in the long run,” Kirb escape!” But, though a dozen mer rushed eagerly im pursuit, it was only to find om reaching the open air that all traces of the fleeting dwarf had disappeared; and the boss of Satan’s Camp could only curse in impotent fury at the clever way in which he had been outwit- admitted, somewhat appeased by the plausi- | ted, ble explanations of his satellite: ‘* But let there be no further bungling or delay in this matter, The sooner those fellows are in my pewer again, the better it will suit me, and the better will you be likely to fare when we strike the hidden treasure.” But what was the object of the Spider's nocturnal visit? And why, after discovery, had he so strangely persisted in entering the room, in the very face of his enemies? A ‘sudden suspicion crossed King Kirby’s mind as he asked himself these questions. Jerty’s wicked black eyes glittered avari- | Ripping out a horrible oath, he snatched up ciously, while his mouth opened in an expan- sive grin. “I always have that future reward in mind, you kin bei!” he chuckled. ‘‘ When d’ye expect to make a strike for the old man’s nuggets, anyway, if I may be bold enuff toask? Durned if I ha’n't a-gittin’ jest the least bit impatient over the delay.” ‘‘Just as soon as I succeed in geiting at the meaning o’ that infernal cipher, curse | it!” growled the boss of Satan’s Camp, and his brow darkened perceptibly at the bare re- collection of that recent tussle with the elu- sive cryptogram. ‘‘ Here I’ve b’ea working for hours over the cursed thing, but not a bit of satisfaction can I get out of it! See here, Jerry, perhaps you can help me out! Are you a good hand at solving riddles?” ‘* Not of that pertickler breed, I reckon. Ye can’t expect much enlightenment from a poor cuss whose edication has b’en so sadly neglected that he can’t tell A from Izzard,” responded ‘the rough, with a dubious shake of the head. ‘* Nevertheless, you shall have a look at the pesky thing. Here is the mysterious document, and—” | An imprecation followed from Kirby for, as he turned to look for the fallen paper, there, crouching like a panther at the open window, in the very act ot leaping into the room, was the hideous figure of the Spider! the nearest lamp, and hobbled up-stairs as quickly as his bruised and aching limbs. would carry him. > Bursting into the room recently occupied, he looked eagerly for the precious paper which, in a fit of passion, he had thrown te the floor. It was just as he had feared, the | cipher was gone; and the object of the dwarf's nocturnal visit was no longer a mys- tery. The mystic cipher—the golden key to wealth untold—had been stolen boldly from under his very nose, and King Kirby could only curse in impotent fury as he realized how cleverly he had been euchered by the enemy. CHAPTER IX. THE DWARF'S RETURN. MEANTIME, While the dare-devi] dwarf was creating such a commotion in the camp of the enemy, his fugitive friends remained quietly in their distant hiding-place, await- ing his return with no little anxiety. | While fully appreciating the fact that they were no longer in immediate danger from King Kirby’s minions, yet the Railroad Pards found their present surroundings quite uncongenial in several respects, It was In no wise pleasant to sit in a damp, solitary cavern, with not a ray of light to relieve the intensity of the darkness; besides, the pangs , | jhe " - r. at rs / / > : - : b 7 P : ine ai ~ - |. | ee) pao 4 -