Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 891 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

i... « —_——. — —~ SS = ¢ ~ ~~. "Sie = —_— — + eyr~ - - . a = ee I e _ _ - Pe ne ag, et A ary fry, —— — ~ = " = _ at = tes a ae) 14 eg Em ee en wnt 9 Aa nem OOOH YT 0 ens a ad —— 3 +e - pe ee te” me 4 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Dead-Sure Game. ‘know that he took ther trail in that direc- | trail, and we had better see who that ‘is, tion. What’s more, he’s got big nai!s in his stogies that makes a star on each heel!” ‘* Ha! that’s worth the ten, of itself!” cried Dick. ‘you'll go quietly to Rosy Posy and be there on my return, you may get another like it. Keep sober till you see me,” Dick paid the promised sum, and vaulted ‘into the saddle. | “That’s w’ot I'll do,-you bet!” the bum; mer promised, and the waved his hand as Dick and Ned rode away. ‘Well, we have got him, sure,” declared Ned. ? . ‘*You think so?” *“‘Sure of it, if he has headed for Placer Village. There’s only two trails, and those ‘boots of his will tell the tale.” ‘‘¥es, I think you are right; but, in point of time he has the start on us, and may have got there and gone further; or, he ma have changed his mind. Still, cn we'll ‘‘And we'll cross bridges as we come to ‘them, not before.” ** Good thought.” And on they pressed, Near the camp the trail was much used, ‘but ere they had gone a mile they discov ered the boot-heels that had the stars on them. . They now pushed forward at a gallop, and made no stop till they came to a place where there was a forks, and ‘there Ned examined well the ground to make no mis- take. *° ‘Not goin’ to Placer at all,” he an- nounced, ‘‘ That was a blind. He is stretch- ‘in’ his legs fer Paradise. an’ that’s a good forty miles off.” “But, there’s the star,” said Dick, calling attention to it, in the trail that led in the direction on Placer Village. “But, et aint heavy enough,” argued Ned. ‘‘An’,ct’s left by the same boot every step, don’t you see? And thar on ther side | is the print of a bare foot—” ‘By Heavens, you are right!” ; ‘‘Te’s cute, is that cuss. He said Placer ‘Village fer a blind, an’ now he is tryin’ to ‘make it "pear that we went that way fer sure enouch, But, he didn’t. Ha! he wants ct to look’s if he got on ther sod here, an’ this is the last of the trail.” They looked in the other direction, and there they discovered the imprint of bare feet, here and there along the edge of the worn trail, and finally these tracks appeared in the center of the trail, making good strides for the place called Paradise, And, in less than a mile further, the star boot-heels were again discovered and they led straight on and on, CHAPTER XVII. BAGGING A BUZZARD. Frxatty Ned Wyler drew rein, ‘You are a brick, my man, and if . eyes ina wondering way. first, and attend to our man afterward, Make no noise.” They drew to the side of the trail, and waited. : T'he hoof-strokes of a horse were heard, and soon the animal came in sight around a bend. To the surprise of the two men the beast was riderless, though it was saddled and bridled. 1t looked asif there had been trou- ble up the trail somewhere. ‘‘ What does this mean?” asked Dick. ‘“*T give it up.” ‘‘ We'll capture the beast, anyhow.” ‘‘That will be easy enough, if we don’t give it a scare.” ‘Let the horse see us before it gets upon us, and it will naturally come to a stop for company.” They moved on down the trail at a walk, leaving room for the riderless animal to come between them, This the horse did, dropping to a walk as he did so, and Dick caught the rein. ‘‘Do you know the horse?” asked Dick. “Should say I did!” declared Ned. ‘It’s Marshal Mackerel’s!” ‘The deuce it is! Then maybe something has happened to the marshal, I don’t like the looks of this.” ‘*T see no blood on the horse or saddle,”’ ‘Well, we’ll find out when we get back, of course. Now for our man.” ‘‘-Yos, if he is still here, I hope he hasn’t taken it into his head to cut across coun- tr we “That would give us trouble, sure enough.” . ‘‘But, I hardly think it, for he is a lazy cuss. More than likely he is sound asleep in the bushes.” Looking close to find the spot where the fellow had turned from the trail, they were not long in making sure of it, and then fol- lowed it. | There was something of an open glade, just beyond the first line of bushes along the trail, with a few trees here and there, and in a few minutes Dick sighted his Dead-Sure Game, 3 _ There was Den Hiker, lying sound asleep beside a spring of water under the shade of a tree! Nor did their approach awaken bim. The captured horse stepped immediately a0 the pool, and i to iy and ce ismounting, carefully put the e of his lariat around the sleepiae et gina but even this did not disturb him. Dick remounted, and then he gave the lariat a sharp jerk, This had the effect to bring the fellow back from the Land of Nod, and he opened his ‘‘ Get up there, and put up your paws!” ‘eried Deadwood Dick loudly, at the same time pulling on the Jariat. x The captured man was not slow to take in | to say you had better say it.” hold of the lariat, and Dick slipped out o the saddle. “ Put a hole in him if he tries any tricks,” he ordered. . ‘* You bet!’”” Ned assured, - Dick stepped up to the prisoner and dis- armed him, and having done that, de- manded. ‘‘Hiker, how did you tear the sleeve of your shirt?” . There was a missing strip in one of the sleeves of the fellow’s red shirt, all the way from shoulder to wristband. ‘¢T don't know as that is any of your busi- ness,” was the retort. ‘‘No, I suppose not, but you ought to have it mended. I-noticed it last night, when you tried to do me up, at the time of the little unpleasantness in the hall.” ‘‘Wull, what ef ye did?” “Did you tear it before, or after, you last saw Barth Dimund?”— * The fellow’s face turned white, and his knees evinced a decided weakness in an ia- stant. ‘‘What yer mean?” he demanded. | ‘Just what I’m asking you! Did you tear your sleeve after your last interview with Dimund, or before?” ‘*T ain’t had no interview wi’ Dimund.” ‘All right; let us see how this strip of stuff will fit the place that is torn.” Dick took from his pocket the strip that had been taken from the band of the mur- dered man, and held it against Den Hiker’s arm, It was the very piece that had been torn from his shirt! , | “That is all the proof we want, sir,” Dick declared. ‘‘This rope around your neck will serve to hang you with when we get you to Rosy Posy.” , Down the ruffian and began to beg. ‘‘Let me go! please let me go!” he pleaded, ‘‘I own that 1 did do up Dimund, but he was no good, anyhow, an’ et wasa fair fight—” | preg ‘Hold on right there!” ordered Dick, “Was it a fair fight with Abe Arnold, when you shot him in the back—’’ | ‘‘Who says I shot Abe Arnold? I didn’t know he was dead!” ‘“T have not told you he is dead, have 1?” ‘‘No, but I take et that’s what ye mean ter say. cf Well, that’s a small point. Let’s see $ what kind of a gun do you carry, anyhow— Ha! f thought so.” | ‘You thought what?” ; | - Dick took from his pocket the bullet that _ had taken the life of the man in question, and compared it with those in Hiker’s revol- ver. | dropped to his knees, It matched them, and there could be little © ‘ By. doubt where the bullet bad come from, ‘Nothing can save you, my fine fellow,” — he declared. ‘If you have got any prayer | ee ————— eee ee ~ ~ 2. — nile An alg ——s . &:' : : : ? PS 4 pe a Ls: i ‘ee of 4 ee — = “You don’t mean to hang me now!” | “ Why not?” (ieee ‘‘Ber ther love of goodness don’tdoet! I'll do anything ye want me to,ef ye wil only spare my life!” 4 ae “Will you make a clean breast of thig = whole business?” Pi GU oe he “Yes, yes, I swear I will!” "2 emer “Well, who hired you to kill Hiker and =~ the situation then, He was on his feet in no time. ‘‘ Great Jimminnee!” he gasped, eee up his hands in the approved fashion. © guess et’s your say-so, pardner.” “Yes, I think it will be,” assured Dick, grimly, _ . ‘ But, what do this hyer mean?” ‘Tt means that you‘are a prisoner.” i Dick did likewise, and looked to his com- ‘gt anion for explanation. | Sia Bristol had not been doing the trailing to an a -any extent, since he had tbe fullest confi- ae dence in Ned. EK: He had watched him closely for a time, ; | and, satisfied that he knew his business thor- oughly, especially after what he had seen at bere Pie the place where .the trail forked, had taken hyer an’ 4 3 es : As ; a — ors Nac no further concern, | ; ‘“Yes,"a blind man could see that; but, ) eee 7 Dick had work to do with his brain, and | what am'I a prisoner fer?” Arnold?” ® | Pat a Bh arn allowed Ned to take care of their present | ‘‘ What were you running away for? You “Kt was Pistol Polly, that’s who et was, _ ‘oe Sh iaath ttask. | answer that question, and you will have | an’ nobody else Bey che.) 1 Paes _ “What is it, Ned?” Dick asked. the answer to yours.” | ‘* So I thought, and so I am aoe curpraae a ; } ay “The trail stops. I think I understand « Wull, I didn’t know as I was runnin’ | But, why did she want them killed? Can 4 ie it.” } ) _ |away. This hyer is ther first I have heard of | you tell me that?” Ny i : Hi | ‘What is it?” | et, ifit’s so, Didh’t look much like et, when | ‘‘ No, I don’t know that, fer certain, but [ wold hoe _ “The fellow was up all night, and he has | ye found me asleep hyer, did et?’ think I have got onto et, an fer that reason ig fea tuckered out and crawled into the bushes for |} __** This talk is idle. ‘We have got you, Mr. | I was lightin’ out, ter save my own skin.” | ce Y eh yh ie pleep.” id | Hiker, and that is the main point. Ned, “¢ Well?” i Wack nine! Sone hee 5 Re . ‘‘That’s so, and we may find him there | take this lariat.” _ hes | ‘Ye see, I take et she had hired them to ly ie Meg gtill; but, here comes some one down the Dick's companion, riding forward, took do dirty work for her, an’ to shut their a iy ‘ . @ ‘e a >. & ? . a.&7a> * ~ re } ¢ "> a te a >» SZ : \ s > TON y | be . . 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