Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 851 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

The Tie-To Sport. . . a , hl P ‘know into whose ranch he had come, for | No pleasure does it give meto look on the| Half a dozen men on one—then, it seemed , _ after the way he had thrown up Meg Bran- | wine; and for five years not a drop of the in- | the one was on the half dozen. -~ don’s hand, and assisted in her capture, it | fernal poison hath passed my lips, Once I Once around he turned, with a wave of might be supposed she would have no love | was that manner of a man, and therefore I | strength that swept up every one within for him, and would hardly be willing to , understand the mistaken goodness in thy | reach into his grasp.. Whether they stood tolerate his presence. hearts. One of the will have todrink twice. | behind him or in front made no difference, Still, she was not visible, and it might be | he wanted to make his harvest before she came to the front. As he passed the sport the boy gave him an odd glance, and muttered: “That war straight goods I war givin’ yer. Look a leetle out.” “Tm a-looking,” returned Dell, airily, as he tossed a coin into the extended cap. ** Looks as though you might have been tak- ing lessons from Captain Brand, but this show is worth the money. You better keep an eye open yourself. A wink from the madame when she arrives and there would be trouble in the air for one small boy.” *'Thankee fur nothin’. Ef I can’t hold my end up I'll call on me pards. Sabbe?” ‘* Don't call too loud, then, and maybe they will hear you,” retorted the sport, as he turned toward the bar. He was just about to name his vanity there when his at- tention was attracted by a hubbub near the door. ‘*Hyer’s ther Saint!” shouted a voice. “This time we got him sure. You can’t fire and fall back,” laughed another. “Bring him along up, and we'll see if he has the stomach to sample some of tlie madame’s benzine.” The burly form of Giant Jim could be seen, surrounded by half a dozen tormentors who without using any great roughness ' were hustling him along as well as they could. For some reason he had entered the saloon, and had been spotted at once. He offered no resistance; neither did he seem to be either alarmed or indignant. Sadness there was on his face, however, and he simply appeared willing to find out how far they would work their wicked will. In the briefest of times the crowd had him facing the bar, while the ringleader of the gang cried out sharply: “Sling out your tumblers, Early Ike, Here isa gent that is quite a.stranger to, the ‘Gates and we want to do the honors clear up to the nines. Your stiffest bug-juice, Ike. Nothing else will satisfy the Saint from Side Ace. And I’m not sure you have any- thing in the shop that will take hold at the right place.” ‘* Money talks hyer,” growled Ike, sur- veying the crowd suspiciously. ‘‘If the gent wants good licker it must be paid for accord- ing. want to know how many are going to irrigate, and see coin enough in the dis- _ tance to make it a safe investment.” “4 **Oh, bosh!” retorted the fellow. ‘‘If ou don’t believe Mariposa Mike is good or all he calls for hyer’s the collateral. ' Set ’em up to the extent of that. If any more want to drink with the Saint they will have to pay their footing. That’s enough for this gang.” Mariposa Mike, as he called himself, Jung - down a gold coin without taking his fingers _ off of the shoulder of James, and it looked - as though the hand which cast the coin ' was going to drop back to a revolver for - it made a suspicious move in that diregtion. For that Early Ike cared nothing.” His _ ye had turned to the Saint, and as he saw nothing which looked like kicking there he By, d down tbe bottle which held their _ - fieriest brand. - One of the crowd seized it, and filled - tumbler after tumbler as Ike swung them "out. Each man grasped his glass, and a _ brimming one was left for Giant Jim. _ _ ** Now, Saintey, take your medicine and _ ‘down it with the‘rest of us, It’s not often _ you give us the chance, and we want to _ show Me we are your solid friends. Down Verily, friend, thou art much mistaken. a a I cannot, and dare not, indulge,” Very mildly did the Saint offer his refusal, but it was received with a show of anger, real or pretended. ‘* Drink first and preach afterward. Turn up your tumbler now and we'll hear your sermon; but don't monkey with the sinners when they have you foul.” A glint of fire came into the eyes of the Saint, and he shut his lips tightly. The Tie- To Sport, who was watching the scene with interest, was not sure whether it was the insult or the temptation which called it there. He shook his head gravely, and then stood motionless, ‘Drink!’ more sternly still ordered Mari- posa, his hand going, this time, all the way to his revolver, ‘Verily, no!” ‘Then—drink, or croak, and make your choice infernal quick,” and the pistol of Mariposa Mike flashed out, its muzzle com- ing up till it almost touched the nose of the man from Side Ace. The giant folded his arms across his breast and looked reproachfully at the threatener, ‘* Verily, the rope is all twisted and ready for such sinners as thou. I desire not to go over the range, but life and death are not of my giving, and 1 could not go in a nobler way than resisting temptation. I drink not.” ‘“ Shoot, Mike, or give up your gun!” laughed some one on the outskirts of the crowd, imagining a dead-lock had come; but Dell Hammond, watching the proceed- ings with a coldly-professional stare, made up his mind there was something more in all this than appeared on the surface, Sinners Flat might be a rough place, but he hardly thought it one where it would be safe to shoot a man simply for refusing to drink when invited. If he once became sure that it was, he rather thought he would have a word to say. There were other men who seemed to have & worse opinion of the town, or a better knowledge of Mariposa Mike. Though no one directly interfered, here and there a voice arose: ‘* Best go a little slow, there, Mike!” “‘It’sa shame. The old fool never chip- ped into another man’s game, what does Mike want to chip into his for?” ‘*'They may crowd the camp a leetle too hard ef they don’t hold on.” It was evident Mike had a reputation for doing what he said, and not caring much what it was, either, And he seemed to be an unhealthy man to interfere with, too. But Mike did not intend to go to such ex- tremities at once, The game was probably arranged beforehand, While he held the attention of the crowd, as well as of his victim, the rest of his gang, were quietly making ready, and, as if at some preconcerted signal, they threw them- selves suddenly upon the Saint from Side as and endeavored to bear him to the oor. CHAPTER VY. ONE GAME CLOSED AND ANOTHER OPENED. Ix Mariposa Mike and his allies wanted to unchain a cyclone then and there they suc- ceeded in doing it. There was not time for them even to view the ‘‘ black, funnel-shaped cloud” of wrath which few but Daisy Dell saw rising in the danger quarter of the compass. for he reached them all, gathering them up, and flung them in one confused heap on the floor. The dead-lock was not only broken, but Mike no longer held the drop, When his friends swung into action he lower.d his gun, as though its threatening muzzle was no longer needed, and now, to his surprise, the drop was on him, With a deftness that was an overwhelming surprise the giant shook a revolver out of some unsuspected hiding-place and thrust it full into the face of the ringleader of the crowd. ‘‘Call off thy hounds!” he shouted, in a thunderous voice. ‘‘ Thou hast tried to do even worse work than could be dreamed of by such as thee and thine. Sooner than have it accomplished I would slay all who would have a hand in it and then turn this muzzle against myself. Up bands or die!” The Saint from Side Ace had been bad ger- ed before, and had accepted the chafling of the sinners with a mildness in keeping with his title. Now, he was worse than any sin- ner of themselves, Mariposa hesitated. He had been a chief among the sinners so long that such a defeat seemed almost an im- possibility. Had he not been quick to realize the desperate earnest in which the order was given he would have turned the weapon he still held. But the blazing eyes were looking him through and through, and he was aware the least motion of an offensive kind would be the signal for his death. “All right, Saintey, you have me,” he an- swered,.forcing a laugh, ‘*Put up your tool and move along. We will allow you to go dry. Ii was alla bitof rough play, and it won’t do to make too serious a thing out of it, We might end by mussing the floor,” ‘Call off thy hounds, then, before they fare worse. If but a drop of that accursed fluid had passed my lips, by this time they would have been past praying for. Men call me a saint, now, in derision, bet if I fought not against it with soul and mind your poison would turn me into a devil.” While he spoke he was keeping watch not only of Mike, but his pards, some whom were beginning to rise from the floor. ‘‘ Steady, boys, the fun’s over. We bit off more than we could chew, and each one had better spit out his mouthful, and wait for another time to take a fresh start.” ‘“Ez you say, pard,” laughed one of the fellows, apparently not at all ina bad humor over the defeat. ‘We wanted ter see what wartin ther aloot, an’ we found out, orful suddint. That’s good ernuf fur me. I ain’t settin’ up fur a chief.” ‘‘That’s right,” added another. ‘‘ He had the fun and we got the ‘experience. A hog wouldn’t ask to have any better. Never- theless, ef he would take a drink—” The fellow looked at the Saint in sucha comical way as he uttered the invitation that there was a general roar from those who had crowded up again now the danger ofa shooting scrape seemed to be over. “The fun is over, gents, and Jim the Giant comes out jaybird.” added Mike, with a wave of the hand; and at last the Saint turned in one direction, and he and his pards in the other. Nevertheless, there was a look in the face of the man from Mariposa that gave token he had been cut deeper than he chose to let on. It was possible the end of the horse- play had not really come yet. ‘‘Sensible Saint, after all,” was Ham- ‘ “‘comicbooks.com Lyte f PS OT ¢,50; i o of oa . _ Nem ; re 2 Gly fr - J