Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 838 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

1 Ne Oe Lah ‘4 Nes yy" +4 f a5 a> \ Paha wil “ a’ jg viw, 9 ay + me ets ‘ ; ; . f 2. “~ to ae “ yy ; Sey - a +> ete js Vis choos, TOT SSO ” ' ‘ 77% 4 Poker Pete’s Double Dodgre. ees ee ee eee ee While daylight lasted, there was scant | danger of an attack on the coach, since no ground near to the camp was entirely favor- able to an ambuscade.. For some hours the little procession pushed on at a fair rate of speed, apparently only anxious to get along as fast as possible. Inside of the coach there were but the three passengers. As a good share of the treasure belonged to Ezra Ford, the mine-owner, and as the men of Pay Dirt were all more or less ad- mirers of Ezra’s fair daughter, their pres- ence was not to wondered at, or that they had influence enough to secure a place for oung’ Harker Hazen, the girl’s accepted over; but any one else, not of the guard, would have found a difliculty in securing a passage, As the stage rolled away from the camp, where he had been both persecuted and prosperous, Ezra Ford seemed to be wrapped in his own thoughts, and paid but little at- tention to the young couple, who were pretty well wrapped up in themselves, as lovers usually are. He only came out of his reverie when the coach came to a sudden halt. Then he awoke to the things that were transpiring around him, and looked out of the window with some anxiety. At the same time, he felt for his gun, for his first thought was that the agents had made their appearance, To his surprise, he saw another vehicle, smaller than the one in which he was seated, but provided with a team that looked every whit as stout Perched on the driver’s seat was a man whom he recognized as one of the reliables of Pay Dirt, and it was evident at a rlance that the outfit had been waiting there or some time. What it meant he could not at first guess, but he was soon to find out. Sailor Sam was ereaey on the ground, saying something to the driver of the other concern, and after he had received his an- swer, he turned to Ford, with a positive nod. ‘Sorry, Ezry, but there’s going to bea change in theschedule. It wouldn't ’a’ done to be spouting it out back there, but we’re going to make an extra quick trip, and the other craft is the one that is to cut and run for it. It’s a trim craft, but not as bigasa line-of-battle ship. If it is time you are after, you want to get on board, but there’s | only room for two. Perhaps Harker can make port just as soon as the regular, but I won't swear to it. it?” tated to answer. “Think it out in the next minute, then, change cargoes. After that we’ll berunning | on different tacks, with all set that will | draw.”’ | ‘Which concern does the guard go with?” | asked Harker, his head appearing alongside | of Ford’s. ‘Mostly with this one,’ pointing to the second coach. “We got to make a split, and this craft may catch the hardest raps, so 1 ought to have the biggest crew.” Young Hazen came to an instant conclu- sion, if Ezra did not. “Then Mr, Ford and Helen had better go with you; my place is with the coach which | has the weaker guard. There will not be | much time lost, for both are going to the one place.”’ ‘*Tumble out, then, those that are going, | for there’s no time to lose.” Sam spoke sharply, and it was plain the , men of the guard had had their orders be- forehand. Some of them sat still, and some | —-two or three—dismounted, assisting Miss Helefi to the ground, and seeing the Fords take their places on the back seat before en- tering the other coach themselves, 4 *4 : ‘ - » Af Se ‘ + 4¥ Sr os & 4 vi a . , 7 - - ; J i” _ 4 ‘ff 7 « tet tat) . tae ‘ C A 4 v4 a 4 > : * vad, sal ; “ 7 / > ‘+ ey ole 1 ‘ot What do you say about . | behind. Ford scarcely knew what to say, and hesi- | | afraid it won’t win, for we don’t lay by any longer than to | | want todo is to be ready for them. answered Sam, ; will crowd on all sail, and if spy there be, by As there were but two seats inside, the ' quarters were rather contracted, and in addi- | tion there wasasmall but strongly-built box, ' which resced at their feet in the middle of the floor. As long as they remained awake and in the vehicle, it would be hard for them to take their eyes off of it, In the other coach this box had occupied a position in the boot; Sut that was while they were passing over a section of the road be- | lieved to be absolutely safe. Now was the time when greater care was to be taken. It took but a moment or two to make 1ese changes.. Then, at a short order from | Sailor Sam, two whips cracked, and the two | vehicles separated, rolling off in different directions, Helen said nothing for a time. She un- | derstood that for some reason the treasure | was supposed to be in danger, and that this / movement was intended to save it. It seem- ed likely the danger would be for the other ; coach, since this would travel by an un- | suspected route. Of course, it was natural | Sailor Sam shorvld wish to have her come | with this, and she could see for herself there was no room for more; but she would bave | re easier if Harker Hazen had been with | them, However, she fancied that coach number ‘one would make such rapid time, now the | load had been diminished, that it would es- | cape stoppage; and she did not think there was much danger of it, anyhow. She would have liked to have questioned Hank Henry, who was in charge of this sec- tion of the guard; but he kept bimself aloof, ‘and she fell to wondering whether there had been any particular information as toa probable attack on the convoy to cause this unexpected caution. With so many of the guard, and two of the passengers out, there was plenty of room left in coach number one for Hazen to turn around in. So much room, in fact, that he soon felt i lonesome, and without saying anything to the driver, swung himself out of the win- dow, up to the top, where he found Sailor Sam seated, quietly smoking a pipe. { ‘* My watch on deck, shipmate,” he said, (as Harker made his appearance. ‘‘ Don’t object to a comrade, though. Guess there’s 'no danger fora while yet, and you must feel lonesome down below.” ‘* Not so lonesome as worried,” answered Hazen, as he filled his own pipe. ‘‘I am not sure but what I ought to have stuck to the Fords, if I had to go it on foot, or hang on If there is any danger from agents they have you marked down fine, It was a cute dodge to transfer the box; but I am They are as shar on the scent as wolves, and if there has not been a spy dogging our steps I am greatly mistaken—always supposing there is any- thing to dread from the outlaws.” ‘“ Avast, there! Perhaps there are road- pirates, and perhaps there ain’t. What we Hank ee ae | — -—_—— _—— the time he has run into the lagoon where their craft is lurking, and starts them on the trail, it will be too late to head Hank off. And he’ll have the heels of them when it comes to a stern chase.” ‘““And if they follow wus, our decks are cleared for action, and I suppose we'll give them the best we got in the ship?” suggested Harker, ‘‘ Maybe, and maybe not. I reckon they won't be doing damage for the,sake of it, and perhaps it would be as well to let ’em know there’s no booty nor, beauty here. Then, if they go about on the other tack, ‘‘T wish I could feel as sure of it. But, if Kill and his demons come to life, or if we meet more like them, they might be ugly ag when they found they had been fooled,” _ there’s no harm done,” ‘‘That’s so, and if it looks like a fighting chance when they hail us to lie to, maybe we better give them a broadside, dnd then rum the gantlet. We'll see now it looks.” Up to the time of the transfer Harker Hazen had never doubted the death of the outlaw chief ina tunnel to the storehouse, when he had made the daring attempt to plunder the place. An explosion of dynamite fired by Clean Grit, had caved it in from end to end; and Kill and his men were supposed. to have been, at that very moment, in the tunnel, as the direct passage to the treasure. room. | Yet, none had actually seen them enter the tunnel, and there was a possibility that by some means little short of of a miracle the outlaw desperadoes had escaped the death they so richly merited. It was a rather startling contingency, then, to contemplate, this thing of falling again into Kill’s hands; and Hazen, having already had an experience of that kind, mentally resolved that whatever Sailor Sam: might do, he himself would resist to the last He showed nothing of his uneasiness, how- ever, and chatted with Sam for some time. The first spot where danger was to be an- ticipated was stillsome miles away, and tilk it was reached he could afford to take things. coolly. With a team going at a good, round trot, miles are dropped behind quite rapidly, and Sam gave no hint. It was something more than a surprise when, an hour before he had the least expectation of hearing it, there suddenly came the disagreeable challenge: ‘Down brakes and up with your hands? Another turn of the wheel, driver, and you are a dead man!’ CHAPTER IV. A GENERAL SCOOP. At the order young Hazen gave a swift glance to the front and saw three masked men standing in the roadway, with leveled pistols. That was all he had time to take in, He knew his elevated position made him a fair mark, and that it was almost a certainty he would be slaughtered before he could draw a weapon if he attempted to reach for one, while any delay would only make the chances for successful resistance more slen- der. Fortunately, as it seemed to him, he was slightly screened from view, since he was seated at the rear of the top of the coach, and on the near side of the trail, while the out- laws stood upon the off side. Without waiting to pick a soft spot he dropped over the rear edge of the vehicle, sliding along the boot, and reaching the ground in a heap. The spot chosen by the agents for the at- tack was one well suited to their purpose, and they had taken precautions whieh seem- ed to render success a certainty, The trail here was narrow, and hung on the side of a hill almost precipitous in its slope, and with jutting rocks which, scatter- ed along its side, formed the best sort of op- portunities for an ambuscade, And one or two of these rocks had been rolled down upon the trail, so that it would © 4 be impossible to pass in case the driver proved obstinate, and attempted to rush by, while there was scarcely room enough on the trail for the coach to turn around. When it reached the obstructions—which were con- cealed from sight at a distance by the turn of the hill—there the coach had to stop till the Sag ] 18 obstructions were rolled away, and to do a! ‘es that last was no easy task. All this Harker Hazen took in beforehe | dropped, and he suspected that if he wanted to provide for his safety it could better be = done by flight than by fight, though he did == not intend to get beyond hearing until he = = C ~~ 900ks. ; ' ¢ 7 ° . " mS pi a OO ae > * Bt f =) 7 < _ | @) Mm . 4 @ ive ; ~_— — ‘ ~~ OO eee 7; 34-22” . - 7 _, _ oe oe aw = ga o* a Ma oe, . \ - ¥ om e