Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 840 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

> : o > OE RE - S * ' 7 “s : a CO thf . ——_—— = — «tl . — << She - ery OS EE tee _ = ~ 7 » “ = ne te + gn ee ens + T ee . el “a : 12 Y- Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Clutch. “I give it up; thought I’d put you onto it, ‘that was all.” *‘And that’s right. Tl get hold of tl cub.and get it out of him or [ll kill him.” *“He’s.afraid of you. Hadn't I better take it in hand for you? Maybe I can draw him out even better than you can yourself.” ‘You can try it if you want to.” * All right, 1 will. Iam curious to know about her, and want to pick up every - point I can, If she is single, as she gives out, Hartz has got to hustle to win her ahead of me,” ‘‘If you mean business you will have to - fight for her, I’m betting.” $ Néthing would please me better than ‘that. Icould do Hartz up, I am sure, and ‘then the field would be mine, for there’s not jikely to be another rival.” ‘‘ And if you got the worst of it—” “Then the shoe would be an the other foot, that would be all the difference, and I wouldn’t know anything about it anyhow; and what we don’t know never grieves us, don’t Pt see.” If Timothy Gibson had a boy, the camp of gy hs did not know it. o one there thought the mayor had ever been married, but could the busybodies have overheard this talk there would have been food for gossip. : When Cooper took his leave he sauntered olf up the gulch. Finally he stopped at the shanty of a aniner, about the worst looking den in the whole camp. An old woman {pet outside the door, sitting on a section of a log—with which the shanty was furnished in lieu of chairs, was smoking a pipe. . ‘« Hello, Mother Snyder,”’ Cooper Greeted. ‘“* Waal, what der you want hyer?” the old _ woman demanded, sharply. ‘*Where’s Trip?” | ** He’s inside thar doin’ dishes, thar’s whar! Don’t s’pose I'd be doin’ ’em an’ a lazy hulk jike him around, do ye?” ‘Not a bit of it. But, can’t you spare him @ little while? I want a boy, an’ he’ll just suit me. Tl pay you; you needn’t let Josh know anything about it, and you'll have that much the more for bitters.” ‘* Wal, I don’t mind, Mister Cooper, seein’ it’s you.” g Here’s something, then. Send the boy out.” The woman rose and made her way un- steadily into the shanty, showing that she was even then none too steady on her foun- ‘dation. Her voice was heard fora few moments, ‘in rather loud and harsh talk, and then a boy came out at the front door in haste. This was Trip—or, Timothy Gibson’s boy. He looked around, and seeing Cooper a lit- ‘tle distance off—for he had strolled slowly ‘away, ran to him. | The boy was not a bad-looking lad of twelve, but was so ragged that he had barely clothing enough on him to hide his naked- ness. His face was shockingly dirty, but hi hands, just out of the dishwater, were are -enough, - | ‘You want me?” he asked, ‘Yes; come along with me, my lad,” ‘Cooperanswered. ‘‘ I want to talk with you ‘a little, that is all.” He took the little fellow—he was a little fellow, being under size for one of his age— by the hand and led himaway further up the gulch, | : This seemed a surprise to the lad, and he ‘held back. He had evidently expected the direction would be toward the center of the camp, where he would be required to do some “work. — , “* You ain't goin’ ter whale me, be ye?” he asked. ‘Why, no, of course not!” Cooper assur- f. xed. ‘What puts that into your head?” — * >. ; 4 > | : * | iP A : ». i Zi 4 ve * ‘ “at : 3 Mm + 7" ~~ ; Se SS vhs — +e = gta ', 4 : &. — 4 — Leu Mp a" al ae 4 Vii ek a [> a = “I thought mebby Josh had got ye to knock me around, bein’ as he can’t git home | so we'll go back till the whistle blows.” ‘Oh, no; Lonly wapt to talk with you. But, why should he want to knock you abe: as youcall it? What have you been loing?” : ‘* Ain’t been doin’ nothin’, only a lady gave me some money and old Mom Snyder got her claws onter it, and I thought mebby Josh had found it out and wanted me clubbed fer not fetchin’ et to him.” ‘Oh, no; nothing of the sort; so don’t be alarmed. Don’t you ever have any money of your own, Trip?” ‘Money? No; wouldn’t know what ter do with et.” ‘Well, there's no chance for a boy to spend money here, that’s true, but here is a bit for you all the same.’ Put it in your pocket; it’s your very own.” The lad took it as he might have taken a stone, or # nail, and put it in bis pocket. ‘“ What did the lady give you money for?” Cooper now asked. | ‘*T don’t know; she talked to me, an’ then ne gev me the money an’ said be a good y. > ** What did she talk about?” ‘* Nothin’ much,” ‘*She must have said something, though.” **Well, she wanted to know what me name was, an’ I told her Trip, and then she wanted ter know Trip what? I told her jest Trip an’ nothin’ more to et.” ‘* And then what did she say?” ‘‘She wanted ter know ef [ hadn’t never had any other name, an’ I told her no; an’ then she wanted ter know who my mom an’ dad was, an’ I told her Josh Snyder an’ mom. An’ then she said I didn’t look like ’em.” ‘*] don’t see how she could tell who you looked like for dirt.” 3 ‘** Well, she said so, anyhow.” ‘* And what else did she talk about?” ‘She asked me if I ever knowed any- body by name of Baker, an’ I told her I didn’t. An’ then she wanted to know a good deal more, I don’t remember half of et. But, what do you wa Cooper?” nt o’ me, Mister ‘* Just want to talk with you, that’s all. Did the lady ask you if you had always lived with Mom Snyder?” ** Yes, she wanted ter know that, too,” ‘‘ And what did you tell her?” ‘“Told her yes.” ** And then she wanted to know if you was sure of it?” ‘Why, how der you know ’bout et? You wasn’t thar, was ye, Mister Cooper? I know ye wasn’t, though.” ‘‘ No, I wasn’t there; I’m only guessing at it. What did you tell ber when she asked if you was sure of it? Did you tell her yes to that, too?” i ‘* Yes, that’s what I done.” ‘‘And then she wanted to know if you did’t remember any other bome at all, I sup- pose. And maybe she wanted you to think hard, just as hard as ever you could, and then what did you say?” The lad was looking at the man in greatest surprise. ** Somebody’s been tellin’ ye,” he declared. ‘No, ['m only guessing, But, what did you tell her about that? Did you tell her yon remembered some other place besides om Snyder’s?” | ‘‘ Yes, I had ter tell her true, ye know. I told herI did sort o’ remember a different place, where everything was nice, but that was only like a dream now. And she want- ed ter know ef they used ter call me Harry.” “Harry, eh?” ‘Yes; an’ I’ve been thinkin’ a heap about that ever sence, fer et does seem like I uster know somebody named Harry.” ‘“* And that was all she said?” | ‘*Ob, no; she said a pile, but I fergit et.” : - ‘. : : . : PX ue he i. Ae hk wwe SE —— <—_ the . Lan a i y , - * “ HM, ~. : ‘ >*! : ws ‘4 - * . . ‘ ye pe G f ~ og Se ekg le el, ee ve i Oar AES + cock eee 2) Ne Ss Se aN ben. MEIER ay oes a ‘Well, that’s all you can tell me, then, But, see here, my boy.” . ‘What is et?” ‘Tf she talks with you again don’t let on that anybody else has been asking you ques- tions.” ‘‘Not even if she asks me?” ‘*No; you can tell her somethin’ else. And don’t have too much to say to her any- how, for she’s as likely as not to tell Josh something about you and get you a whal- ing.” They sauntered back again, and drop- ping the boy at the Snyder shanty Cooper hurried on to the mayor’s office to report. ‘* Well, here’s fun afoot,” he announced. ‘* Whst is it?” ‘This woman is bound to learn all she can about that kid of yours, and the boy has been telling all he could.” From that he went on to give the puarticu- ars. The! mayor listened to the end, wonder- ingly, and finally broke out: “Who in the deuce can she be? I'll swear I never saw her before in my life, and don’t know a thing about her.” ‘‘ But, it’s plain that she’s after your scalp, Timothy, and the best thing to do is to get that boy out of her reach, You can hire the Snyders to move away between suns,” ‘* That’s so, and that’s what I'll do, too. I’d have killed the rat long ago, but that’s going against nature, you know. Yes, I'll see them and get them out of the place be- fore to-morrow’s sun is up, and that will settle the whole business, so far as the kid oes.” one But it don’t settle the woman.” ‘‘T'll leave you to do that. If you want her, why the dickens don’t you take her and marry her?” ‘‘ You seem to forget that she will have something to say about that, and that maybe she wouldn’t agree with me on the point,” ‘-And then, there’s Hartz, too. If you allow him to oust you you are a greater clam than 1 ever took you to be, Wat. Go in and win, says I.” ‘* Will you stand by me, if I go in to win whether she is willing or not?” ‘Yes, I'll stand by you. If you want her, take her.” | CHAPTER XII. STRAWS TO INDICATE THE WIND. THERE was a ed 5 in store for Mayor Gibson before that day closed. It was drawing toward night when he purposely fell in with Josh Snyder, and had he noticed, he might have seen that Josh was as eager to fall in with him. ‘IT was looking for you, Josh,” he said at once. ‘‘Come, walk along here and I will tell you what I want. I’m going to pay you to get out-of here to-night, you and the old woman and the boy, and—” ‘* Let me say onct, fore ye go any furder,” the old man broke in. ‘‘ 1 was on ther look- out fer you ter ask ef ye knowed anything | about that ’ar kid. Mean’ ther old woman © can’t find! him nowhars, and we don’t know what’s become of him. Ain’t been ter home ther hull a‘ternoon.”’ ‘‘The dickens you say! of him?” ‘* Ain’t that jest what I said I don’t know? That’s what I wanted ter ask you. Ain’t you seen him?” — * Neither hide nor hair. What’s become I have a netion I know where to begin to look for him, — though, and [ll see if I can’t bring him to light. You go home and get ready to move, and if I get hold of him I'll hand him over to you.” / ‘* But, whar am I goin’ ter move to?” ‘Oh, strike out for a-straight fifty miles at least, and drop into some camp under another name.”