Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 888 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

@ their hearts might soften a little, nnd they _ Feturn; oragain, his figure might be revealed ‘against the glow fn the west, should they eo Pee to give a backward glance. em ut no softening of heart or purpose was ‘there in the party. They passed on till the babs» diminishing sound of their foot-falls was ‘vas lost in the distance, while the body of the h fallen man was left to stiffen on the plain. r Then, the boy crept nearer still, ‘* Ye’r’ a born liar, Mister Bruce, an’ I’ll bet yer done itag’in. He lies mighty’ still an’ quiet, but bet yer ten ter one yer lead didn’t touch his heart. Iseen ther flash, an’ yer bullet went. igh.” ** That's so, my boy, but for heaven’s sake keep cool a minute longer. If they saw you mussing over the remains, they would come back to drive you away. © Clark Bruce means me to lie hereas food for the wolves, but ll fool him now, and even up with him hereafter. Curse him, has he gone?” No need to tell Harry Carter to keep cool. He was always cool, Even when a corpse half turned on its'side and spoke to him’ with a very much-alive voice, it never turned a hair. ** Cool goes, an’ you kin take yer time fer comin’ ter life ag’in. I’ve nothin’ better ter do, an’ ef it makes yer feel good, I kin be ~~ ‘watchin’ by yer dewy couch ther hull night through.” ‘“ | believe you, my boy. You are one in a thousand. I was half afraid you would give a whoop when you heard my voice, and bring the hounds back to see what was the racket, And they had it all set up for me. If they had come, I would either have had to give leg bail, or I would have been a dead man in carnest,” **Kerrict you be. It takes nerve ter lissen to a voice from ther tombs.” Bie _ ** And you have it.” Asi ‘You bet, Ther nerve ov a meat-ax. ia Oh, my, ain’t 1?” | “a The supposed dead man gathered himself up a little and assumed 'a sitting posture. The four were gone now beyond danger Yee. of recall, and it was time for him to look af- AGO 0, ter himself. He squirmed: uneasily, and felt yy of his left shoulder with his right hand, ut- | tering something which was not a prayer, ols under his breath, The boy heard him, and came sti!l closer. » ‘* Nicked yer after all, did he? Let me git a squint atit. I’m jist old blazes at a case OV that kind, an’ from ther way ye’r’ a- twistin’, [ reckon it’s at a place yer can’t reach, Blame lucky I happen ter be ‘round, a able for ye’r’ a-bleedin’ a heap-sight free.” ee hile he spoke, he also acted. His fin- | ‘ / gers were busy around the spot where the : i wound was supposed to bey He helped the ~} ~~ young man draw off his coat, and then ci applied a bandage with askill and swiftness that was remarkable. é At first the patient was inclined to give some directions, but he soon saw none \ were required, for the boy understood his busi- ness. ‘‘ Really, it was a piece of luck to have you around if it turns out that you can be trusted.” “Trusted? Well, I should inquire, why not? With ary thing an’ fur everything. Et don't look, though, ez if it would be strainin’ yer gizzard much ter ’stablish a confidence with yours truly. Il tie yer up, an then you kin go on yer way rejoicin’, Do yer want ter loan me a quarter, er did _ yer think ov sellin’ mea half interest in ther "5 reak ov Day Mine? Ef yer doubt me, don’t @ @©~—- crowd yerself too hard, I kin still navigate ame alone.” |) ' ee ‘The youngster was talking for the sake of ‘talk. ~=He had a half formed idea the young RRS man was thinking of refusing his services and was in haste to get done with them, but _ mean time he desired to divert his thoughts. ‘You don't understand me,” answered Monte Saul, wincing just a trifle as the lad Gee 7 ~ -- 4 tl w=. > ° »- ~ “ay . _ 7 @ > /. = ’ LLL LLLLDLLLL LL DDLLDLLDLL LLL DDD DAB LLL ALLL, LLL LL LC Cl, Monte Saul, the Sport. drew tighter the knot he was making in the bandage he had applied. ‘‘I would leave Clark Bruce in ignorance of the fact that I am still living, and fear the temptation to tell how for once his aim was not deadly might be too great for you.” ‘‘ Now, look hyer, Monte Saul. You don’t seem ter know me, but I’ve hed a‘ eye on you fur some time, an’ I’m s’prised, It's a bad gang ter buck ag’in, but I didn’t think ig be quite so much afeared ov Clark ruce. You kin shoot a leetle, yerself.” ‘* As close as Bruce can, when I have the fair show, but to-night it was assassination they meant, and nothing else. The fellow who came out with me was in it as big as any of them. They took our weapons from us, and gave us those guns with only one barrel loaded in each. And the barrel of mine had no bullet init. If Bruce had miss- ed, some one else was to shoot me down; or if Thad closed in on the fellow who fired the craven shot, my second would have been the first to hand him a gun,” The lad uttered a low whisper of surprise. He knew something about the men, and the fracas which led to this duel, and he did not for a,moment deubt the word of Monte Saul. ‘* An’ so yer wants a chance ter lay low tell that hole in yer arm gets all right, an’ then wade in lemmons fur him. That’s right. That’s business. I’m dumb ez a clam, an’ you play yer game at yer leisure,”’ ‘“Thanks, my boy. You have it down fine enough to be near center with yourshot, When things get straight Ill settle accounts with him or break a wheel trying.” ‘Bet yer. Now, what yer goin’ ter do? Kin I help you ary further?” ‘* Not at present. I will go over to Honey Dew, and—could I depend on you?” “Ef it’s ary thing ter break up Clark Bruce you kin,” ‘* You seem to know me, but I declare J do not remember ever having set eyes on you before.” ‘* Nothin’ sing’lar in that, boss, I ain’t a old settler hyer, but it don't take me long in a place ter git things down fine, I got your record long ov ther first, and I bin waitin’ a week ter see you an’ Clark leck horns, I reckoned it would be t’other way when yer did j’ine; but yer can’t most allers sometimes tell what’s goin’ ter happen. Better luck next time.” ‘There was nothing of luck about it. I was fool enough to put myself into the hands of a man [ thought would be square, even if he was not a particular friend,’’ ‘‘And he sold yer out, Next time you jest shout fur Harry Carter, an’ you'll have a pard ter tie to,” ‘*Perhaps; but meantime 1 want you to undertake a commission for me.” ‘‘[’m ther lad fur commishuns. Spread it out, an’ Il take hold ov all four corners.” ‘‘[ want you to take a note to Miss Ames. You probably know where to find her, and if you don't, it will not be hard to’ discover where to look without exciting suspicion.” ‘*Know her like a book, Also her dad, Angus Ames, moreayer, Fork over yer let- ter an’ she'll git it ther fu’st thing after breakfast. Jff thar are ary answer, what’s ter be did with it?” “There will be no answer. If it was not a matter of vital importance, I would not venture to address her. Jt was largely to prevent the possibility of my speaking that the game of assassination was set up on me, Like a fool, I fell into the trap, but when it was sprung it did not hold, and gave me the name of the fourth man. Wait a minute and I will write the little I have to say. If she is wise, she will take my warning.” ‘An’ if she ain’t, an’ goes buttin’ head- fu’st inter danger, I’ll Jook after her a bit ae till you git ’rownd on ther carpet ag’in. F “Tf you only would. She seems to have i ——————————-!"-!__ suv ssl-—-—ssenpesenssenssssesiee a sO ——— NSN no friend she can trust. And if you could keep an eye on matters you could give me an idea of how the land lays when I get out again for business. I only expect to take a day or so off; but in that time who knows what variations of his scheme may be hatched up by Clark. Bruce?” ‘“Thet’s so, An’ ef arything mighty im- ortant kims up, ez I can’t wrastle with freself, I'll come over ter Honey Dew an hev a consultashun,” ‘All right. That willsuit me toa charm, and you may be sure [ will make it worth your while to serve me. Just now, Monte Saul may be below par in public estimation at Dead Latch; but the time will come soon when it can judge between him and Bruce, and I have no fears of which will get the decision. Here is your letter. Of course, if you should be asked any questions by out- siders, you know nothing about Monte Saul, or his whereabouts,”’ As well as he could the young man had been scribbling with a pencil on a few blank leaves of a memorandum-book. It was a one-handed sort of work, for his left arm wasin a sling, and the hand which protruded could furnish little assistance, The writing was almost a scrawl, but he took pains to render it as legible as possible. Carefully he turned one corner over and over, so as to keep the leaves together, and then handed the writing to the boy, who took it, gave a nod and a word of adieu, and then started at a jog trot for the town of Dead Latch, which lay something less than a mile away. CHAPTER III, THE WARNING, Tum conversation with Monte Saul had occupied some time, and it was not likely the boy would overtake Clark Bruce and his friends. ho he thought, at least, and he swung along the trail with a steady, careless step, thinking over what he had just seen and heard. ‘By jinks, it war ther purtiest trap I ever heared on, an’ Monte waltzed right inter it. They give him a fair show—ter own six foot by two in a grave yard—an’ left it ter charity ter do ther plantin’, I wouldn't allowed thet Clark Bruce would ’a’ done sich a trick, though. He might ’a’ knowed it would be mighty lonesome fur the corpse, all by itself, out thar on the prairie. An’ kiotes around, too thick ter shake ’a’ stick at. Guess he tho’rt they’d save ther expense ov a funeral,” He had not «got to the latter end of the train of thought which had been started. It had not yet struck him that, as there seemed to be a woman in the case, nothing connected with it could be strange, And he was destined not to reach that con- clusion for the present. From the direction of the town a confused sound of voices told him a party of men were approaching in haste, and that they felt there was no necessity to conceal their coming. Harry was on the look-out at once, ‘*That’s a wrinkle above me, by jinks! Me’s gone fur a corryner’s jury, an’ are a- bringin’ ’em ter view ther corpus whar it fell, Didn't da’st ter touch it. tell ther law allowed. Guess I ll see what ther court looks like afore I lays in fur a job ez a witness, When I know who's jedge I'll know ef it’s good fur me *hulsome ter stand in ther box,” He had left the trail the moment the first sound reached his ears, and at a little dis- tance threw himself on the ground. The straggling procession went by, and the boy retained his position. The foremost man in the lot was one of those who had stood by Clark Bruce, and Harry did not oe it was altogether advisable to be seen of him, © >} ith ' isn aa com