Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 902 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

, a - ‘. — ~ ~ o .._* - . » > eae all : - 4 iy : le Mf Eee “Now don’t go to offering pay, e + - f @ want you to help me out of a scrape, while, besides doing an all-round good act, you will help yourself, too, for | will not forget you: Iam New York Nat, the Boy Miner.” “The deuce!” exclaimed Fred Fox, and then he added: ‘‘T thought yer was a gospil sharp, sure as shootin’, though yer did look young for a prayer: slinger. ** Well! well! I’m glad ter see yer, though they does tell ugly tales of you and your pards in Junction City.” CHAPTER XXIT, NAT’S BOLD GAME. “'Trmre is not a word of truth in it, Fred, as I’ll prove to you. ‘‘T’ll tell you now that I know all that Satan Sam said of us, for I was near his camp and heard him and his men talking, Nat informed. ‘He went into Junction City with a great lie about me, and then started out with twelve others to hunt us down. “* Now I’ll tell you the whole truth, and I want you to help me out, for you are the man that can do it. ‘In the first place, Iam going to tell you a secret, and put perfect confidence in you. Then you'll see it all, and know who the men are that have been holding up your coach,” Fred Fox listened with the deepest inter- est to New York Nat, and heard the whole story of the attack on them, their flight un- der the guidance of their prisoner, the traps he tried to lead them into, and the discovery of the outlaw den, and Gentleman Jack a prisoner there. Now Fred Fox thought a great deal of ~ Gentleman Jack, whom he had known fora year or more, and had a warm spot in his heart for the Boy Miner Nat, and he-said with great energy: ‘IT see it all now, boy pard, and how Satan Sam tried to save his neck by just ac- cusing you. ‘* lve suspected him for some time, and I tell you I’m right in this thing with you clean up to my neck, and in it to stay, too. oy see you through; but what’ll we - start in on when we gets to ther city?” Tell the landlort that I am a Boy | Preacher from the mines, come to Junction _ City to meet a friend. ‘* Of course, that friend will not come, and I want you to pick your men, say six of them, to go back with me. “a They must pretend to be going on a prospecting tour, and go out in your coach day after to-morrow, and I'll go too. ‘When we reuch tbe spot where you picked me up we will leave you, and my pard Freckles will be near them with the horses, and lll buy a couple more: animals in Junction City, and have you lead them out for me, “That you must get men whom you can wholly trust, you well know.” You bet I know, and I'll get men that will do had as you say, for you are the cap- tain, boy par “They will not be unforgotten, Fred, for—” | for to catch those road-agents will be all the re- ward they want.” ‘« Well, those are the kind I want, and you know whom ig can trust, But, Fred, as 1 am in bad odor in /Junc- tion City, I want you to do me the favor to get £ Tay etters from the post-office for me. is ney will be addressed simply to Na- ‘thaniel handler, Special Agent, Junction City, with the words written on it: ‘‘ ‘Deliver only to bearer of seal stamped hereon. ’’ “TH t them.” here is the seal, and you can stamp | } wypnncnignciin =n * New York N at in tat in Coloreda’ wy to get the letters, and say the one to whom they are addressed sent, you for them, so I need not be known in the matter. > ‘‘ Then, too. I want you to buy two good horses, saddles and bridles, for those men, and they had better ride them, starting out ahead of the coach, I guess,’ ‘T)l do just as you tells me, boy pard; but oh! how much you does look like a sky pilot! why, you'd fool your mammy. ‘Now we is nearin’ Junction City, so jist talk fast if thar is anything else to ry Se Nat did talk fast, and a quarter of an hour after, when the stage drew up at the tavern, Fred Fox fully understood what was to be done. The ‘‘ Boy Preacher” was introduced with a flourish by Fred Fox to the landlord, and so perfect was Nat’s disguise that not a soul who had seen him before suspected who he was. ‘*He’s been doing a pow ‘ful lot 0’ good in ther lower mines, scrapin’ sinners out o’ hell fire, and I only wish he had a chance to do the same in Junction City, for if ever thar was a gang 0’ sinful folks gathered tergether ina commoonity, this is ther place. ‘Why, if ye’d dig down a few rods in this town, the ground would burn yer, Hades is so near,” said Fred. But the “ Boy Preacher” hastened to his room, passing on the way Satan Sam, who, seeing him, burst out into a rude laugh and called out: ‘‘ Lord hev marcy, landlord, what hev yer got thar?” ‘“A boy preacher, Satan Sam, and I guess- es he’ Il be after you.’ “ Yes, my mission is fighting the devil, and [’ll give you a call,” said Nat in his most sepulchral tones, ‘Pm blowed ef yer will,” answered Satan Sam as he walked on, while Nat was conduct- ed to his room by the landlord, who said: ‘‘] wishes yer ¢ ‘u'd stay about Juncion City fer a meetin’, parson, terit do be gettin’ mighty wicked here.” “ Maybe I will be able to give the sinners in your town a turn,” answered Nat, but the ‘landlord did not see the significance of the remark. CHAPTER XXIV. LETTERS FROM THE BAST. CONGRATULATING himself upon havin such a good ally as Fred Fox, New Yor Nat determined to keep as much in his room as possible, He had passed successfully through the ordeal of the landlord. Satan Sam and several others unrecognized, and he believed and hoped that he could remain unsus- pected. So far all was going well, and he quietly awaited the coming of Fred Fox, whose first act was to go to the post- -oflice for him, About an hour after his arrival, the stage. driver came in bringing with him several letters for Nat. ‘ll git supper now, pard, and you hed better do ther same, “Then, Vl light out on the trail o’ ther men I wants,” “All right, only say nothing to them about the work in hand.” ‘“T sabe.” ‘‘Let them think ey are going to the mines with you, and tell them their fare er be paid on the coach, for V’ll attend to u A righ t,”” ‘‘Here is the money to buy me the two horses and the outfit, and also a few sup- plies that we had best have on hand in case wa need them with our extra numbers. | “Now, I will go down to supper with you and read my letterg afterward.’ Nat gave the driver a roll of bills, and then pocketing his Ictters he went down to it upon the letter to show you have the - the supper table. - d . { - * _- q aaa . 7 : d - ¥ . “va A " , ee a \ Vd) y Saree i “ ff: ; : Aes aL ates cgay e had 4 rn | : ‘ ye. ¥ she gs’ . _. po Aw i . a te Wing Lung waited upon him ud boy the Ole tofwhdla) SERA Ga -@albdl’ Scion bie anna ave: him the best the tavern afforded, but did not appear to recognize the Boy Ferret in the pretended Boy Preacher. After eating his supper Nat escaped to his. room, for he began to realize that the mem about the tavern wanted to hear him preach. He pleaded a bad cold to the landlord, and reasee his room hastily began to open his mal One letter was from his lieutenant in. charge of the Boy Police band in his absence, and was a report of all that bad gone on since his departure, ending with a hope that he would be successful in his venture and soon return, It also ended with kind regards from all in the band to Nat, Keno and Freckles, Another letter was from Sherman Canfield, his ally and friend, and told him how mat- ters were going with him, while he said that. the chief of the Secret Service asked him often what had become of his Unknown Detective. ‘* Hasten back, Nat, for there is work for you to do here, other crooked trails for you to run down and wicked men and women to entrap,” was what the letter ended with. ‘The third letter was from the Mascot. Queen of the Boy Police, Olive. He opened it last like one who knew that; it contained the most important news. After a few words about having greatly missed her brother and hoping that he would soon return crowned with success, the letter went on to say: ‘All goes well with the band, but the boys are bringing in information of crooks: that will need you to deal with, though I try to do all that I can, and our good pards. do also, ‘‘ But we miss you sadly, and hampered as 1am by my place of lady’s maid, I can do. but little, as t get out but one evening in. each week. ‘‘ Now to matters here. I can tell you: some things that will surprise you, ‘There isa man in the case as well as a woman, in fact two women “T have discovered that one or both of the women, Mrs. Hammond and her daugh- ter, are playing some deep, desperate game.. “Tn fact, I Know now that Mr. Hammond: is the victim of a fiendish plot’ to put him out of the way. ‘Some one is poisoning him. ‘‘T took the medicine given me by Mrs. Hammond for ber husband, after Miss Ben- son had taken it from me, as is always her habit, and substituting a glass I had already: prepared, I placed the other aside, ~ “Finding an excuse to go out, I took the medicine glass to a chemist and had him analyze it. ‘His report, written, “was to the effect that it contained a subtle poison—one that. would slowly but surely destroy life if given regularly in small doses. “That was enough for me, for I knew that my suspicions were corr ect: that Mr. Hammond was surely being poisoned, ‘But by whom? ‘‘ Rither Mrs, Hammond changed his med- icine for that subtle poison and had me give: it to him, or her daughter changed it after I took it to his room. ‘“‘To complicate matters, the man in the: case appeared, ‘‘He is a man of fort tinguished looking, but if he is not a villain, then his face belies bim. _ ‘*T mean a soft, clever, velvet scoundrel.” CHAPTER XXYV. A MIDNIGHT CALLER. Nat smiled as he read the way that Olive described the villain, but interested greatly in all that he had read, letter, which was as follows: ‘The man called isthe doe. the pa k was out, and 1 wentsto ‘the } ‘ , _ A “~7 f * P * * : e é . ~ ry" . : : ’ * ’ - . * J " é > i ee ~~ ~~ “a re , handsome dis- - he continued the = P ie et Rs hie as cbook: r eT. ; a L (4 7+ ° a + a al — = ad ——” ~*~