Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 870 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

ai° us, that’s all,” ‘see, he has the weapon in his hand yet, my good friends.” “Capture him!” ““Pake him’ ** Keep off with youl” warned Dick and Pete together. A. crowd was rapidly forming, and an officer was seen running up. ° It was a big sensation for that sleepy city, ‘““What has happened?” the officer de- manded, ‘** That man shot a beggar because he ask- ed alms,” cried the bushy-whiskers. ‘*It is false!’ thundered Dick. not discharged my revolver at all. you a liar, sir!” ‘* Valgame Dios / ‘*T have I brand Do I inot know what my own eyes see? Ask these men, who saw it as well as I. Carrambo/ but are you not going to take the assassin, cowards?” ° ** Back!” cried Dick, ‘‘I-have not shot any one, but I will if you press me to it, This ‘is a put-up business, and I warn you that I’m going to resist arrest. Vamos / Make way for us, there!’’ ‘* That’s ther talk,” agreed Pete, in Eng- lish. ‘‘ We'll fight before you shall be put in the jug, Dicky, boy. Ther ball has opened sooner than we looked fer. Make room for us there, you dirty rascals, or we'll drill leak-holes clear through ye! Out of they way!” Pete and Dick sprung forward together. “Stop!” ordered the officer. ‘I arrest you, Americano /” ‘‘Arrest and be aanged to you!” roared Dick, now in a towering passion. ‘* Don’t shoot ter hit,” Pete admonished. “* Shoot to seare, first, ef ye have ter shoot.” ‘They ought to get it in the neck!” The crowd fell back, all save the officer and the man of the heavy whiskers, who were determined. Pete and Dick fired together, just over their heads, and the policeman fell back a little, but the man of the whiskers made a grab for Dick and caught him. Dick could have killed him, but that would not do. Thrusting his weapon away, he grappled with the man, and the next moment the short and heavy fellow was standing on his head, to the amazement of all. | The officer was calling for help, now, and the crowd was growing every moment. Dick and Pete broke their way through, and darted away. ‘“* After them!” roared be of the whiskers. ** Don’t let the assassin escape you! He has killed a man here!” ‘“Yes! Yes! After them!” echoed the crowd. ‘‘He has killed a poor, harmless beggar, and he deserves the worst we can do to him,” The short, thick man fired, but not to hit, for he dared not shoot low enough for that for fear of hitting some one else. Dick and Pete ran hard for a narrow street, some distance off. It was darker than the rest of the city, seemingly, and promised chance for escape, The greatest coward can go in for a chase when the enemy is fleeing, and under the urging of the whiskered man the crowd surged forward, ‘We qire in for et, Dicky,” observed Pete, as they ran. . ‘It looks like it, Peter, sure enough,” Dick agreed. ‘‘ Who shot that fellow, think “you?” “That same short cuss in the whiskers, that’s who, I kalkylate. Et was a put-up job on us, of course, jest as you said et was.” ‘‘And they are bound to get us, I’m afraid.” | “ Not ef we know et.” *‘ But, we are strangers here, and we’ll be “sure to run into a trap.” “We'll fight to the death, if they corner “I don’t agree with you there, Peter.” ~* And why not?”. ‘“* It won’t do for us to draw blood if we can help it. It might go hard with us and balk the carrying out of our mission.” ‘But, they’il hang ye ef they git ye, Dick.” “We must see to it that they don't do that. Lordy! hear them howl, will you though!” , \‘ Like ary pack of consarned hyenas, as I’m born. But, let ’em howl, fer they haven’t got us yet, and they waon’t, either, if we can help it, you bet!” They were now in the narrow street, and here a slight shadow favored them. The moonlight was on strong, however, that even here they had but slight protection, It was one of the poorer streets of the old city, and descended at an angle in the direc- tion of the ravines tothe south. It seemed not unlike a mountain defile. And it was apparently deserted, too. The people were out on the Maza, no doubt, for some kind of a public Reraoteteation was going on, as the Americans were aware, hav- ing heard the music. On they ran, the street becoming deeper and narrower all the time, and at last a dead wall loomed up before them. At the same moment the crowd poured into the other end of the street. “Trapped!” cried Pete. ‘* Like a pair of rats!” echoed Dick. ‘‘ And if they get us we are gone up, sure enough.” ‘‘T am, and no mistake. They will swear my life away in spite of me,” “Then by the star bangled spanner they mustn’t get ye, that is all there is of it!” ‘‘ Well, you say how we are to get out of here.” * ‘* Bt’st into a house.” - This they tried, without “waiting a mo- ment, but it did not work. The houses were empty, and the doors all secured, And the crowd was coming, was growing nearer each moment. Unless they could es- cape within the minute they would have to surrender. The wall was at least twelve feet high. On one side it was flush with the house, forming a sharp right angle. \ This was not the same on the other side of the street, where the house was away from the wall about a foot and a half. There was no escape that way, though, for the space was walled up, at a depth of two feet or so back, and only a neat hiding- place was presented to the eager men. Dick sprung across and entered the angle, ‘Follow. if you can, Pete!” he called. ** Where are ye goin’, pard?” ‘*Over the wall, if I can,” and bracing himself in the narrow space, Dick began to hitch upward by sheer force of muscle, ‘‘Darn me ef ye ain’t goin’ ter do ét, Dicky!” cried Pete, ioyfully. ‘Ef they give me a minute more, I'll try et, too, but et ain't likely Vll have time,” ‘ “Come on, and don’t attempt to stand them off.” “Too late, Dicky; hyer they come!” ** Don’t resist them, then.” ‘* No use in et,” Dick worked away, hard and furious, and at last wasable to grasp the top of the wall with his hands. It was but the work of a moment, then, for him to draw himself up, and the next in- stant he disappeared from sight of his pard below. : Pete sprung out of the narrow place, and faced the crowd, now at hand. **Stop!” he called in Spanish. ‘‘ Don’t commit suicide by running against our bul-, lets!” The crowd halted, naturally. ** What do you want?” one man called out, ‘‘Do you surrender? If you don’t, we will fire upon you.” Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Mexico. Lenn nn nnn enc n ccc c ccc c ccc cn ccc c nn nnn ence nnn nnn n cnn cnn nn nC tai aa Ua | Sr ra C—O eee ee iti ee OO oe eae lee es oe ee ‘We want to parley a minute,’ ‘* Say on, then,” ‘‘If we surrender, will you treat us fair?” ‘We will lock you up so that the mob can't harm you, if that’s what you mean,” ‘“Well, that will do, I suppuse. We didn’t kill that fellow, and all we askis a fair hearing in the matter,” He was promised that, when be called out that they surrendered, but when the officers advanced to take them, they, found only one man, and as Pete would not tell what had become of Dick, they were puzzled. CHAPTER IT, PETE IN PRISON. DICK ON DBCK. THERE were now five or six policemen in the crowd, sesides these, the crowd was made up of Mexicans of every degree, from high to low—from caballero and senor to peon, It seemed strange to them that one of the Americans should have vanished so com- pletely from their sight, when they were sure both had entered this blind street, They could not understand it, ‘‘'Tell us where he is,” they fiercely de- manded. **Can’t do it,’ declared Pete; ‘‘ don’t know myself. Heis simply gone.” They examined the walls. Was it pogsible that he could have climbed up and got over? They decided not, Still, they might have searched, to make sure, but just then a voice hailed them, as they thought, and their attention was drawn elsewhere, “Hello, Pete!” the voice in question sung out, ‘* Where are you, Pete? Pete in a fix and Dick gone to the devil! Hello, Pete!. Hello, Pete! Hello, Pete! Where are you, Pete?” This voice came from the housetops, fur- ther back along the street. ‘*'There he is!” exclaimed they all. ‘* And he is defying us!” ‘He mocks us!’ ‘*Come!” Two of the policemen had Pete, and the others dashed off to secure the companion of the prisoner. Pete was laughing heartily, and in order to make perfect the accidental deception, he called out in Spanish: ‘“ Why didn’t you keep still, fool? Now they have you, sure!” That settled it; they had him already, in their minds. Back along the street they ran, dragging Pete with them, leaving Dick to escape if he could, ‘“ What's the matter, Pete?”’ sung out Pol- ly, further along on the housetops, ‘‘ What is up? Tryin’ to paint town red? Polly want booze!” ‘‘There he is! There he is!” ‘Yes! yes! That’s he!” ‘*Come down with you!” ‘* Foul assassin!” ‘* Murderer!” Pete was doubling up with laughter, for this mistake struck him as being unusually ridiculous. ‘“Keep your mouth shut, you fool!” he shouted, in Spanish, as before), ‘‘If you don't they will have you before you know it. Might as well let them bave a string to your neck like they do a pig.” ‘Polly wants whisk! Polly ‘wants booze!” i Youll get lead, I kKalkylate,” in En- glish, The crowd was greatly excited, and were determined now to have the man. Some shots had been fired in the direction of the roofs, just to scare, but Poll Parrot paid no attention to them. She followed with the crowd rather than led them, keeping up an incessant chatter all the time, and the deluded natives thought they were being terribly abused and their anger increased. | : ie : 4 } \ . j eh? > 4 py v if <a) * , ‘ f we oth ; p ee \ - ¢ | ' *. 4 mM ee * . ‘ : a