Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 812 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

_city,—had been suspended and the place was iu - odds! , there, And that they did. The good citizens of - yy ; = -—-- haps, but it was the best they could furnish, At the time of the election of the mayor it had been proposed that a new name be given the eamp, but the names suggested could not sup- plant the old appellation around which the affec- tions of the people bad become entwined, One worthy cit had proposed calling it Lyn- donia, he having something of the ssthetic in bis make-up; but no one seconded his motion, Said one man: ‘‘ We ain’t no doods hyer, ar’ we? What we want is a big-caliber name—a full-grown name wi’ whiskers on et,” Various names were suggested, good, bad and worse; but not one of them seemed to strike the popular fancy right, so, it was voted to retain the old *‘ handle ” till such time when a better one could be thought of, The camp had come by its name in this wise: A party of prospectors, coming out upon one of the chffs which overlooked the valley pocket on one side, had considered it a likely spot and decided to go down and investigate; but, they were so long in reaching the bottom, and had to make so wide and ‘tortuous a detour, that, when they decided .to stay, they were all in favor of calling the place ‘* Roundabout,” But, to get back to the point of starting. It was in leed a great day for Roundabout—a red-letter day, and the letter of the very biggest and reddest kind at that, The new fire-engine was expected to arrive, and all manner of work at the camp—pardon, full holiday dress for the occasion. Some months prior to the time of our story there had been a great fire in the camp, a fire that had well-nigh wiped the place out of exis‘- ence entirely; but, the mineral wealth being there, the city had sprung quickly up again like the fabled phenix from its ashes, Theu, when it had been declared a city in fact, and a mayor elected, it was proposed thata fire- engine—the real article, gilt-edge, double-action, and all that sort of thing- should be sent for, in order that the city might be better able to cope with the devouring element in case of another conflagration. And, not only so, but the aequi- sition of a fire-engine would cause Hustleville to turn green with envy. Hustleville, by the way, was a camp that stood rival to Roundabout, Both were in the same gulch, and not a mile apart, but were separated by a closing in of the rocky walls on both sides until only passige room remained, This narrow passage from one camp to the other was called the ‘* Choke,” The spirit of rivalry had existed ever sinca the time when both camps had endeavored to get the post-office and it had been awarded to Roundabout owing to the fact that Roundabout was the older place and the first on tho trail, and the two camps were barely frien lly to each other, For some time, having the post-offics, Round- about was in the supremacy; but, Hustleville grew rapidly, and when, finally, owing toa slight misunderstanding among some of her denizens one night, material was furnished wherewith to start a cemetery, the Hustilevillains claimed the palm; off-ring the argument that a cemetery was better than a fourth-class post-office by long Secretly, Roundabout admitted this to herself, and the point was all the stronger and the thorn in the flesh all the deeper owing to the fact that there was no room in Roundabout for a ceme- tery. Roundabout bad the smaller half of the pocket, even though the better, and all the ground was needed for more enterprising use than to store away dead men in, When, after a time, there arose need for such a placa, — it was that the said thorn in the flesh was eit. It was on the occasion of the death of one Stogy Stiver, so called, who came to an untime- ly end by committing suicide—as it was humor- ously put; the fact being that he contracted the speedily fatal ailment of a bullet in a vital part by calling a bad man of the campaliar, As Stogy had never been of much account anvhow, nothing was said to the bad man for his prompt action in defending his veracity, and he got off the more easily owing to the fact that the camp he Ag loss to know what to do with the de- unct, There was, positively, no place in Roundabout where a cemetery could be started, and yet, little as they had cared for Stogy in life, S dead was deserving of a decent burial; so, the ‘only thing to be done was to carry the body over to Hustleville and ask permission to bury it Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Head a ee the rival camp, after thinking the matter over, decided that it would cost their neighbors just prospect for a free fight was nipped in the bud, twenty dollars to bury in their ground; and the FKustler, being one of them, the promising ‘** Lucky for him he was called away,” observed their ultimatum was—the payment of the said Ej litor Dubby, of the Hustler, to those around, twenty dollars or carry the body home, It was | *' I was just on the point of jerking bim down a bitter pill, but the case was urgent and so the | from his horse and giving him what he has been money was paid, After awhile, however, Roundabout came up on top again with a newspaper, the Roundabout Rustler, and for atime held the lead. Hustle- ville, however, soon hustled around and set up a printing establishment of its own, and one day sent a horseman over into the rival camp to distribute sample copies of the Hustleville Hustler. They were just as good as their neighbors, they allowed: and they allowed, too, that their camp was still a little in the Jead, having a green and thriving cémetery, even if the other camp did contribute to it. And so stood matters at the time of the fire, after which, for a considerable while, Hustleville cer- tainly did hole the better hand, Now, however, Roundabout was about to rise supreme! With a fire-engine, and a regularly organiz>d fire company, where would poor benighted Hustleville be? That was what the ‘** Hustlers ” were asko!. And that was just what the **Rustlars” were going to have;it had been ordere:!; it was expected to-day ; ani, everybody wa3 crazy wild accordingly, . The citizens of thes3 camps, it may be said in explanation, were called by each other more after the names of the respective paper of each camp than by the name of the camp itself, The good people of Hustleville had objscted, to the point of fighting, to being called Hustlevillains —300n corrupted into ‘* Hustle, villains!” and the men of Roundabout, not being particularly fond of the designation Roundabouters, were willing to compromise, The street was full of people, and every Rustler was known by the broad expanse of smile upon his face, Hustlers were there in goodly number, too; but they clearly were not ‘in it.” They stood around with their hands in their pockets, look- ing on. here was a considerable number of men on horseback, waiting to dash out and meet the coming ce aay as soon as the signal of ap- proach was heard, while hundreds on foot were ready to full in line with tbe procession, Mayor Gadzooks was ona prancing charger, looking the happy man he was, bowing grace- fully to every woman who would favor him with a look; while Mayor Kreeps, of the con- temporary camp, saw it all, with a feeling of envy iu his heart buta Jook of the utmost disdain upon his face. ‘Ye think ye ar’ doin’ somethin’ smart, I s’pose,” Kreeps sneered, when he had proper op- portunity. ‘We ar’ goin’ ter do ’somethin’ tall, ef that’s what ye mean,” Gadzooks retorted, ‘‘ You foes, won’t he able ter reach us with a lightnin’- rod,’ : ‘Think we won't, hey? I'll bet we'll ’clipse. y® inside of a month so bad ye won’t know what’s happened. What’smore, we won’t have ter have a clean-out by fire to give us an idee, either.” ‘* No; you'll take pattern after us, same as ye did when ye started that. wabble-kneed newspa- per over there, But, go ahead, an’ welcome to ye; ef it’s a fire-engine, we bavé ther satisfac- tion of knowin’ et can’t be a finer one than ours, unless ye plate it wi’ gold and silver.” ‘* Havea care how you asperse the Hustleville Hustler, Mayor Gadzooks,” the editor of that sheet spoxe up. ‘' We can hold our own with the Roundabout Rustler, we are vain enough to boast,” “Something you can’t do and pever have done, sir,” cried the editor of the Rustler. ‘“‘ We originate; you imitate, We lead; you follow, We barvest; youscavenge,” , “Sir! PH handle you without gloves in my next!” : ““T wouldn't handle you without gloves for any consideration, sir.” **Do you mean to imply, sir, that—that— that— hat do you mean toimply, you ras- cally knave?” ‘1 don’t mean to imply anything, you sneak- ing-varlet! I mean just what I said, There might have been trouble, for these two men did sometimes get into that unholy occupa- tion vulgarly designated a “scrap”; but just then the signalof the approach of the freighter was heard. The signal was the report of & gun, away up at the head of the gulch beyond the pocket, and as soon as it was heard the horsemen dashed away in that direction; and, Editor Sneed, of Fee ee _ ————————————————————————————— itching for a long time now,” No notice was taken of that, however, Every- body was too excited, and the crowd was hastep- ing away in the direction the horsemen had taken to jvin in the triump)ial pageant. Every eye was turned toward the pass, now, where the coming freighter would first be seen, and every heart was filled with eager an- ticipation, Hustler as well as Rustler, but chiefly the latter, It could not be denie’ that the possession of a fire-engine by one camp was a blessing to both; for, should a fire occur in Hustleville, the Rustlers would be only too glad to rush over there to show whet they could do, A quarter of an hour passed; then the horse- men up at the head of the guich were seen to wave their hats and a cheer was soon borne along on the breeze. In another moment the Isading horses of the freighter appeared, and the whole host of Rustlers cheered, Team after team the horses came into sight, each animal bedecked with flags and plumes, until ten teams had appeared, and then was seen th» massive wagon withits preciousload, There was the fire-engine, all gleaming and glittering in its dress of polished brass and flashing nickel! And the way the Rustlers did let themselves loose then was exhilarating to behold, The escort of horsemen led the way, then came the freighter with its ten teams, and after that the cheering and dancing populace, The Rustlers were the actors; the Hustlers the audience—being notin it, There was a drum, a horn, and any number of kettles and pans with which to increase the din, and in this manner the grand p*ocession came into the camp, colors flying and band playing, and finally came toa halt before the Union Hotel, where nine rousing cheers and a whole den of tigers were let looge, Verily, it was Roundabout’s greatest day! CHAPTER II. THEIR BLOOD-CHILLING FIND, THE new fire-engine was certainly a thing of beauty, something its possessors might justly feel proud of, andif they were over enthusias- tic there was an.excuse for it. Feeling so good themselves, they could not hold malice toward their neighbors, and the hand of fellowship was offered right and left without stint until the men of Hustleville were made to feel that they were not entirely out in the cold in the great demonstration. . The wrappings had been removed from the machine up in the pass, in ordei' that it might be brought into camp in all its glory of red paint and bright glitter, but it still remained to take it down from the wagon, set it up, and give it a trial. eee important. part of the day’s business yet remained to be performed, accord- ing to the programme, Yes, a regular programme had been arranged. A platform had been set up in the Square in front of the hotel and principal places of busi- ness and resort of the camp, and speechmaking was now next in order; the nine managers, the mayor, the editor and cther leading citizens be- ing billed to take part. After that would come the unloading and setting up of the engine, and its trial, and then a dinner at the hotel, to which the leading men of the rival camp had been invited—-out of cour- tesy? Perhaps so; but, the Rustlers were not cverlooking any opportunity for ‘ rubbing in” their claims to superiority, and this was certain- ly one not to be neglected, By tbe time the cheering had subsided the speakers had taken their places upon the plat- form, and Onway Woodworth, manager of the Grub-stake Mine, stepped to the front to ad- cress the assemblage, at he had to say was brief and to the int, He congratulated the camp upon {ts valuable acquisition, urged upon the mayor the selecting of a company from the best material the camp could furnish, and asstited the people of Hustle- ville that if a fire occurréd in théir camp on the other side of the Choke the bee from Round- about would respond gladly to their call. Then followed Elitor Sneed and others, and lastly Mayor Gadzooks, who ended his address with the o vation: ‘¢ And now, feller-citizens and neighbors, seein’ that we have areg’lar hummer of a fire-ingine hyer, I want ter know ef et ain’t bout time we kicked ’gainst payin’ a tax of twenty dollars on | Tt i a I —_—- boo —s =EO