Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 901 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

then Daddy Grimes was leoring tures, choked to speak. He only glared lowering faces which gathered near spluttered out: “This is the way ye kape fai Sure, an’ Oi’ll have yez driv off th ‘the earth, av it costs a million. wint forme. Ye are just cowardly ous thaves, an’ Oi’ll say yez all hu have to howld the rope mesilf.” » “Go slow, Malloy. _ it’s coin we'll hev. When you ladies, You an’ ther captain war s you white.” an’ this wor the way ye kipt faith. ‘“‘Thar’s not goin’ ter be much agin from this time on, so till we git it. along. up ip a twinklin’,” want to till him what Oi thin dhirt.” out a change ov linen. on er we'll put it on fur ye.” one he could trust. _—he dared not think of her. his wrists, — let them know he was that if he was moved from this would be taken to hig daughter, A he would speak, or act, _ great distance, and still silence, he te ’ in the mountain. “Will yer have it out now, er ney, thered around him. nx Now! he said firmly, but lookin in search of a missing 1ace. ** John Malloy the bad hour av it must come. say Belle foorst. yy | will Oi spake av yez trol me from ) . their own, and that Captain Curse _°_ Jy in the possession of the prisoners, : Pe. ~; P 2? hae ay ‘ : =tios Py) SER 7 ’ - ’ be *) RP : e.. Pot. sf Gat fi ‘ss 2 i 2 - iv +4 . s » ‘2 - 4 a be . s v4 x » * he . /. » at of Sa a % € £% ‘ * , 7 o 7 ars 2 be ~*~ | P=) Cn, 7 _~ ’ Ht: ts rey Fwd 7 ‘ ’ i ; = i. Wal ? ; — = 7s is not the mon to But Ontil Oi do, divil a word 44 * ¥ . ~« - . is ahi ‘ ie . ~ ea * ¢ ¢ e ’ Diamond Dick, the Gilt-Edgre Shooter. down at him with a vicious grin on his battered fea- At first the mine magnate was too badly up at the By the time his throat had straightened it- self, and his breath should have come regu- larly, he was about choked with wrath. He made more than one effort before he th, is it? e face av It’s the wrong man ye chose for a foight whin ye , tricher- ng av Oi It’s coin we want, an’ get ter rantih’ ’round that way yer’ only makin’ things harder fur yourself an’ ther young ettin’ up a half-price game that wouldn’t work on us, nohow. Come to Limerick an’ we'll treat ‘ Lightnin’ blast yez, Oi came there wanst, Do yez think Oi’m all fool, to trust yez ag’in?” trustin’ It’s got ter be all id cash, and we'll hold on ter all we hev Roust yerself up an’ come his hyar deal can’t jest be finished ‘‘ Dake me to your captain, ye hounds! Oi av him. Oi put mesilf in his hands, an’ he’s played m . ‘‘ Don't guess yer ez anxious ter see him ez yer lets on; an’ it'd be a dog-goned sight lon- ger journey than you keer ‘bout takin’ with- e | Captain Curse are dead, an’it war I thotshothim, Git a russel - Malloy did not doubt the intelligence, and it came back to him with a shock, H knew, or had known, Curse as a man of his word, whether he had any other good quali- or not. But of these men there was not And as for his daughter e said not another word, and only made one vain effort to break the cords which Daddy Grimes had deftly knotted around Then he arose to his feet, and nodded to ready. He fancied spot he fter that, as the case might be. Though Malloy did not know the exact | spot where the den of the outlaws was lo- cated, he was pretty sure it wus not at any | and taken his stand. ill maintaining his | told from his tone he meant every word he suffered himself to be taken away. | Inwardly, he was none the less anxious; qn the way seemed interminable, though in | ah reality it did not take long to reach the eyrie will yer wait till mornin’?” questioned Daddy Grimes | [1'l) be ther ae when they had reached the end of the jour. and, save those who were out on picket duty, or acting as sentinels, all the outlaws g around But off i must now till pe _ Thesuspicion darted into his mind that | orter know when rhaps this gang was working a game of | letter, an’ we want it now. We're goin’ ter was real- and per- | cae « 7 ré ‘ ¥, a -* = te i | 4 "uk w.* oe 7 a val & ‘‘Stiddy be jerks, John Malloy!” said a |-haps even now was taking them to a place of wicked voice, as a man crept forward; and safety. ‘* Oh, we'll trot her out, fast enough, if that is what you want. But I reckon you and she would be a heap sight happier if we'd fix up our leetle ’rangement ‘thout bringin’ ther women in. It won’t make ‘em feel good when they see yer drawed up . ther rack, an’ ther fodder mighty ry.” Daddy waved his hand, however, and one of the men left the circle, returning in a mo- ment, bringing with him thetwo girls. Belle was there, and looking none the worse for her visit, but her companion could scarcely say as much, Vera looked very pale and very weak. There were blood-splotcheson her dress, and a bandage arouud her arm. She clung to Isabel, who, in turn, supported her with one arm around her waist, ‘Is that the way yez kape faith wid me?” asked Malloy, sternly, pointing at the droop- ing girl, ‘* Do yez think Oi’d dale wid scoundrils ez wad bharrum a girl?” ‘‘ Accidents will happen, an’ it war her fault. WhenTIsent Curse over ther range she put herself in line. Ther ball went through an’ through him an’ lodged in her arm, She’sa little staggered with ther shock, but it’s more skeer than hurt, an’ she’ll be all right by mornin’—’specially if she gits away frum byar.” ‘What do yez pripose?” asked Malloy, looking at his daughter, who had thorough- ly contained herself even at the sight of her father, ‘* You tried to make a deal with Captain Curse that war, and he sold us out, but he couldn’t d'liver ther goods. We ain’t none ov yer two-cent gangs. Sence we took to ther road there ain’t no record ov a haul less ner twenty thousand dollars, an’ that’s our limit on therlower end.” ‘“ Av yez don't sthick to yer bargains ye’ll foind no wan’ll do business with yez. A mon may as will be did an’ done wid it. Av ye raises proice wanst what's to hindher raisin’ av itagain? Tin thousand have Oi paid, an’ tin thousand willit stay.” ‘“‘An that’s another thing. Checks don’t go with us, Curse could handle such things, but he’s skipped for the summer land. It’s got ter be hard, cold cash or a hard, cold corpse. Two or three ov ’em mebbe. You wrife a letter to your friends and tell’em to git it ready—twenty thou- sand, mind you—an’ we'll let ’em know where to send itto. Itll take a week ef yer gets a move On, an’ ef ye don't we'll be chargin’ interest,” ‘‘ Divil a cint more will yez get. Ye have me check for tin thousand, an’ av that won't do, chrack yer whip!” The mine-magnate had made up his mind, If anything could be saying, Daddy gave a cruel laugh. me Yor most too fresh ter skin, eh? Meb- be that scheme will work, an’ mebbe it won't. Ef we begins ter crack that whip we'll keep it up tell somethin’ breaks, An ef ye don't give in I'll bet bigh yer execky ter won't be so hard-hearted. How kin ye? money, an’ bet yer sweet life she'll be glad ernuff ter buy herself Outen ther hobble.” Malloy grew a, trifle redder in the face, and bit his lips, but remained silent, He had made up his mind, and kept his gaze away front the two girls. He was more afraid of being moved by their entreaties than by anything the outlaws could do or say. e was glad they had kept silent. Daddy Grimes grew impressive. ‘You ain’t a fool, John Malloy, an’ yer ye’r’ beat. We want that blow up ther path hyar, an’ skip fur other quarters. Afore we go we want ter send vo P RD e ¥!? a ‘ yi? -. 3 * * 1 - 4 i 4e. a = 5 dk j svn Ss ae igv hee Pade Ha we fs uv i® 3, ys y € % . Ro s a ,i me, J ‘ . * ro -. y vi — ¢ awewy men out of ten his work would have been ; tw -, : o~h al % arth tt, 44 "ah tae? J Wg 4 al TOPS Ld : eta” diet ia! * te os Ot - ra oth a ‘ word to yer frien’s, Last time of askin’. Are ye goin’ ter come down?” iaeie ‘* Last time av answering, no!” | , ‘*Then, by the living blazes, we'll pa cracking that same whip. Get the fire ready, boys; and a couple of yousee the gals don’t chip. When it gets too funny they may want a hand in.” Malloy’s hands were already bound, and to knot a rope around his ankles was but the work of amoment. While two of the men held their Winchesters horizontally across _ their breasts, barring the way for Belle Mal-« — loy and her friend, others brought forward | the fagots, and laid up the torture pile. . dig ‘¢Et looks like rushin’ matters, but I’ve — Mf told yer why we're doin’ it. Will yer give — in now, er wait ten minnits longer, till ye’r’ | all one blister? I know what I’m talkin’ of. I’ve tried it more ner once, an’ she never — fails,” | He waited a moment for an answer, but | none came, and Malloy set his square jaws _ still more firmly. ) “Then strike ther match! We'll heva | leetle, twenty-thousand dollar blaze,”’ The match was struck, and soon the fire: — began to crackle merrily. an CHAPTER XIV. ALIVE FOR VENGEANCE, Ir the genteel bandit who answered to the: name of Captain Curse was not dead there was small blame to be attached to Daddy Grimes, who had shot to kill, and with nine finished a second after he had pulled the trigger. Fortunately for him, if not for the world at large, Captain Curse was atenth man, — and terribly hard to kill, If there is sucha thing as a charmed life he seemed to have — it, The bullet pierced him through and through, and he fell to its stroke; but he — was not by any means dead, For a little he was senseless, and that fact served him well. Daddy Grimes bent over | him, marked tbe dreadful nature of his wound, thought he saw his expiring quiver, and felt no further fear of the future, Cool- — i ly he rifled the pockets of the late com- — mander, saw to a surety that he had the — check which had been received from the a “4 ‘eh manager of the Fair Isabel, and then turned ‘ae the body over to a couple of the subordinate outlaws, a ‘Drag him off an’ pitch him out ov sight somewhar, over ther rocks. Out ov sight. out ov mind, an’ we don’t want ter leave him lyin’ ’round hyar,” | ‘Curse seemed to be dead; and if he was not, the treatment received certainly should have been enough to insure that end, , The two men who had the body in charge carried it on along the cave-like ledge, and finally dumped it over where they thought — it would take a clear fall of some fifty feet, | and be forever out of sight, or danger of resurrection, , | When the object left their hands the dark- _ ness of the gulch swallowed it up, and the _ rocks hid it. They turned and went back to — their brothers in crime, ie , Daddy Grimes saw them return, and under. — stood from a satisfied nod given by the leader that his commands had been obeyed. That | was suflicient. 4 He asked no questions. There might be | some there who would not care to hear the | particulars in a matter of which they had not — ‘ altogether approved. Besides, there were | other things more important. The trapping | of John Malloy was next in order, and was — the chief thing to be discussed. - Daddy had ™ played his cords so well that every man un- derstood it meant ten thousand dollars for — the gang; and it was that belief which cost | Captain Curse his chieftainship, woe How well their plans for the mine-mag- — nate’s capture succeeded the reader hag | i t+ (ere a — ‘ ‘aes 5 .