Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 858 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

~ match and eed it, and as % blazed up he ' allowed it to drop down toward the water. The place, as now revealed, appeared not ' unlike a mine-shaft, the bottom filled with water, and if it was such, the water might be ten feet deep or it might be a hundred. Then, too, as the light reached the surface - of the water, it revealed what appeared to be’ - the body of a man, floating face downward. _. Dick looked sharp, in the brief time he - had, but he saw only one body. “That may be poor Clavering,’ he told himself, ‘‘but I don’t see anything of Pete. However, I don’t believe he got into the water; reason why, he wrote that note to me, and the paper was dry.” This was good reasoning, but at the same time, if Pete Parrot had been sent down into | the shaft, as Clavering had been, how had ' he escaped falling into the pool at the bot- » tom? | -Tt was ariddle, and Magic Mose had to give it up. Twisting the remaining half of the paper into a rude torch, he lighted that and pro- ceeded to survey the shaft upward and around. Upward, the long, dark hole was lost in » blackness, but on turning to look all around - the sides Dick found an opening just behind him, as he had been hanging at first, an open- ing that looked like a passage. : “ Ha! now I smell a mice!” he exclaimed. } | | | i ‘* Polly want booze!” ‘‘Hang you and booze together! We want to get out out of this fix worse than we want anything else, I guess, Yes, Poll! I smell a mice! This rope is about the right length to reach this passage, and it has been used as a ladder by which to pass up and down.” | It looked as though he had struck close to the bald truth, . yoepHaving satisfied himself, he tossed the torch wway, and taking a fresh hold on the rope he freed his Jeg and began to swing. A couple of swings, and he struck the de- sired spot, and flinging out a leg he caught _ it over the ledge and was all right! It was but the work of a moment to wiggle along and find support independent of the rope. He did not let the rope go, but drew the end of it in after him. _. * Now begins a new chapter,” he told him- / / sie | “ ee oF me é ‘. . : ‘ -i¢@ r - . = 7 . - . , = , : ‘ mm - tae “ ; r —_—— a oe “ =. a | <i et ee i a ee <_< a Teng a self, ‘‘ We’re crowding ahead pretty fast, Polly.” ‘Oh! we're having a bully time! Ha a a!” - ~ you in my pocket for a change.” _ ** Polly want booze! Polly want to—” _ But, Magic Mose choked the bird off and - crammed it into his pocket, saying as he did i ; Zz fee ‘‘T must stop your rattle for awhile; no knowing what trouble you will get me into if I don’t,” ee! Mose now tena another match, having a ~ good supply of them, and surveyed his new surroundings, ae e was In what seemed a narrow tunnel, and it was plain that at some time or other in the past there had been a mine, or at least an effort to establish one, here where Deming ~ now Stoo pe i He * ar re TD ot “groan, piss ~~ -He listened, intently, a minute, | -Yes; he was not mistaken; a pronounced —_ was a prone came up from the pit from which he tien. DG just escaped, ye ad is ae aos! “That poor deyil is alive,” he said to him- self. “I must get down to him, if it_is pos- AT oe even at the risk of my life. Helloy” a The answer was another groan, a little praarhs "| - louder than the others, | “Who are you, and where are you ?’ Dick Oley. in in the water down here. I’m Henry _ Clavering. For God’s sake, help me if you “ ° eA are human.” 2 = aie J = 4 . ¢ a9 pr get. y vie ; ewe a * m. aS, 9 ™~ “ ‘ ‘a ,* d* ta ai a» ie 6, 7 a ty. _ _ Le ats opt ne. ! mon. Ps Tae: . ‘, = Le ket > A ‘. ‘ <7 ue Me Lt ee . . ». 7 ir 7M be. sit ko v8 rs, ‘ee Sage 4 . Fr ¥ Ps ‘ a . J ~ T. a? X ¢ “ . e” 7 ; : - § 7a > wats 4 d. | _ While he looked, he imagined he heard a Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Death- threw you down here.” “Sh! No shouting now! I think I'll put | h “‘Vll do it, or die trying,” was Dick’s spoken resolve.’ ‘‘ Keep your nose out of the water as long as you can. I’ll hustle and see if I can find a rope.” ‘Thank God! But, you must hurry; my neck is nearly broken.” “Why didn’t you call out before?” ‘*T have been away from this spot; thought I saw alight this way and cameback again,” ‘*' Then you can wade?” ‘No, no; I have the back of my head hooked over a piece of timber. Only for that I would now be dead.” ‘Well, keep your grip,and [Pll do my best to help you out.” *“Who are you?” ‘‘Mose Mantell, the fellow you saw and spoke to, up there in the den, before they ‘Then they served you the same?” » ‘*No; I came down to explore the place, But, this is waste of time. Hold fastas long as you can, and I'll get down somehow if I have to jumpdown, There may be another way out,” *“T don’t know; I fear not; don’t, for the life of you, come down without a way to get back again. It will mean death for us buth, if you do,” ‘Well, I’ll see; you keep your grip and Pll do the rest.’ ‘All right; ’ll hang on like death.” Dick drew back again from the shaft, and struck another match. ‘‘T must have light, or I can’t do any- thing— Ha! there is a golden streak of luck, by the Royal Harry!” At one side, near the shaft, were a number of candles in candlesticks, where they had evidently been left by the members of the arpa band on the occasion of their last Visit! Lighting one of them, Dick was all right so far as light was concerned, He looked around further, hoping he might find more rope, but none was to be seen, so he proceeded along the tunnel, It was a dismal, reeking hole, but, gabe been in worse places many a time, Dick pai no heed to that; he. pushed forward as fast as aah yet not put out his light, he way sloped gently upward, and the tunnel was not straight, but the footing was good and good grogress was possible. Suddenly Dick thought he heard a noise ahead, He stopped short, looked, listened, and as e did so he caught sight of a man away ahead along the passage. _ Instantly he put out his candle, not car- ing to make himself a target for revolver practice, and listening a little longer, push- ed cautiously forward with all the silence he could observe, He had been looking fora rope, for he did not see how he could do anything for Henry Clavering without one, but thus far he had looked in vain; yet he hoped to come to the end of the passage ere long, and there believed he would find not only rope but other things besides, The sounds he had heard were repeated, and were like some one trying to force a door or something similar, He listened again, but while be listened they ceased al- together, and he pushed forward, | He tried to move silently, but with his boots on, that was impossible, though the noise he made was only slight, Suddenly his way was blocked, and a voice cried out: _ “Stop! Up with yer hands, too, or by the horned hornets ef I don’t drill a tunnel through ye as big as this one we ar’ in! Give a ’count of yourself, mighty suddent, or I'll let drive at ye anyhow.” TT sss CHAPTER VIL | _ | DEADWOOD DICK’s DEED OF DARING, Drapwoop Dick recognized the voice in- stantly as that of his pard, Pete Parrot, f 5 ma . Pe i me al "ta : 4% > 2 4 wy Si rd f2 ‘ > f Le 4 A. f ag wees oe Hole Hustle. ar sae ; frozen fuck,” Mivate g | went along Parrot Pete told all about his | that we have come here todo them up, or __ Poy ee "*y + . - ee » + aver wa F = 4 Vy / Vadl'e © 19 4 +é ’ es PTT; ¥ ‘ - : * « os : ’ @ . ’ - : , + a : p> ™ Se . 4 ‘ . ‘ he \ ” 7 ‘ ‘ - and he made haste to make himself likewise known, “Don’t get excited about it, Peter, my pard!” he said coolly. ‘It’s only Mose, with Poll in his pocket. How in the merry deuce did you get here, anyhow, without being killed?” ‘Great hummin’ liornets!” cried Pete, feeling for Dick’s hand in the dark and giv- ing it a hearty shaking. ‘Is et you, Mosey? How in ther tarrel did you git hyer so soon? Hev ye seen anything of Poll Parrot?” ‘You bet!” Poll answered for herself, at that moment working her head out of Dick's pocket. “You homely old sinner,” cried Dick, ‘didn’t I just tell you that I had Poll in my pocket? What’s the matter with you, anyhow ?”’ ‘So ye did, boy, so ye did! but, darn me ef I wasn’t so overishjoyed ter see you that , I clean forgot it ther same minnit.” y ‘Ha, ha, ha! Worse and worse, Pete, It , is darker'n the shades of Egypt, here, and yet you talk about seeing me. Ha, ha, ha! But, I'll soon make that all right, pard.”’ ‘‘ Well, I have been in a fix bad enough ter knock all ther sense out of me, anyhow, Mosey.” | 7 ‘‘1 don’t doubt it, Pete. There, ain’t that better?” He had lighted the candle, ‘Bet your life!” cried Poll, who had climbed out of Dick's pocket, and now took | her place on Pete’s shoulder. “You ar’ right et’s better,” agreed Pete. | “Ain't we jest ketchin’ et hot, though, Mosey? How in ther name of wonders ar’ a goin’ ter git cut of this hyer mess 0’ ys is ‘You ask me too much, Pete. But, have ou seen any ropein your wanderings around ere?’ ‘« Seen a rope? How could | see anything, wi'out a light?” | ‘* That’s 89; one on me.” “What do ye want wi' a rope?” ‘There’s another fellow in trouble back there in the pit, and we have got to help him out.’ ‘* Who is he?” Dick told him, and gave a hasty account of himself and what had happened since their retiring to bed at the hotel. ‘‘ Et beats old sin, that’s what et does,” Parrot Pete averred, ‘' Ter think we should git into all this hyer trouble ther first night we sot huff in Deming. I hev heard it was a hot place,” ‘‘And now you believe it, eh? But, let's get back again to the shaft, since there 1s no hope of finding a rope.” ‘‘And what ther doose will yer do without one?” | ‘* Have to use the one that’s there.” “What ar ye talkin’ about?” ee Rope.” “Wull, you may know what yer mean, Mosey, but blame me ef J do, an’ that’s a They had started back in the direction of the shaft, making all haste. And as the =_ . - + ~— ‘=. own adventure aud narrow escape from rede i “What do you make out of it all?” asked WAGs ick * \ bi ry "ba “That is what I hev been tryin’ ter git Katey ly old head, boy.” | oe through my homely head, boy. Wee ae ‘*T ’most have to. Mania gre We tb “4 ‘They are a bad lot, these maskers” “We hev no reason ter doubt et, Mosey, as I kin see,” ; ity Mie , « And, from what they said, they take MeN es 2 methin’ like that.” ate ai “So I figger et out, but they never made g bigger mistook in all their lives, Mosey Re ee . . 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