Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 962 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

- took the boy by the hand and quietly led him | away. As they left Bruin and the camp-fire behind, Fred did not object. After awhile Fanny halted, ** Whatd.» you know about Nestor Northrup?” she asked, looking keenly at the boy as she spoke. utr Don’t know nothin’ ’bout him; but I war mighty much afeared that he might know some- thin’ bout me! He’sa snooper frum ’way back, an’ a bad man on wheels, ef these opticks ov mine be wu’th much, W’ot’s he doin’ ”” He bas business with father, and will hardly notice a boy like you, If you wish to keep out of his sight rem here a while, He will not stay long, and when he is gone | will come and let you know.” ** That’s ther prezact size ov it, ef he kin tear hisself away frum sich fascinating s’ciety ez yourn in a reasonable time. An’ fur Dandy —keep him whar he won’t git hurt. I’m offal tender-hearted, but I can’t a bear,” pags ic seemed as though she was always laughing—nodded—and went away. Then Fred, after carefully looking around, went away also, [He crept. Hecrawled. He glided. oiselessly and by slow degrees he wormed his way toward the fire, and the two men that were talking together. His curiosity got the better of his fears—if he had any—and eacted as though he was willing to run a few risks to gain a little information. The conversstion wasin a low tone, and yet loud enough for the listener to hear the most of it, after he got into position. The visitor, whom he had recognized as Nes- tor Northrup, was cing. **That sort of talk is played out, my friend. You may as well confess, You followed me here, If I bad not friends who keep me posted on all that is going on, you would have kept mighty quiet until the time came for you to strike, If I find you within twenty miles of Hard Pan by this time to-morrow ht, you will turn ose toes up to,the daisies, never ve § what don’t mean; end Iam saying all of ‘*T want tew know!” answered Amariah, quite coldly. ‘* Yew have bin sayin’ a lot ov stuff, more or less Latin an’ Greek. I don’t know ii’) Such man ez yew menshun; an’ ez fur yew, I never see yew afore, » Ef yew fool round ther bizziness end ov a ho’net, yew’ll be apt tew find out how sharp-set he kin be when he’s in right-down airnest.” ‘Pooh, Cyrus Dawling! You were a coward then, and you are a coward now! I am not afraid unless you shoot at my back; but I have no time to watch you. The easiest plan is to give you fair warding. Then, if you don’t get —down you go!” ** An’ what will I be doin’? This air a free country, an’ I reckon I'll stay. Now, ef yew hev ary occasion, yew kin set up, an’ hev some supper. Ef yew ain’t, I'd jest ez soon yew pped my camp, onless yew got suthin’ more important than all that.” Nothing more important—for you. There may be some other things that I might men- tion, but for a man that seems as dead bent on sudden death as you do, I do not think it is worth while to speak of them. If I have not said enough to warn you—beware!” Amariah looked coolly after the retreating “gure untilit faded from sight in the evening gloom. Then he busied himself with his pots and kettles, as if he thought there was no here- after—or~none, at least, in connection with his late visitor. There was @ person who thought he had not heard all that could be heard; that person was Little Limberleg. He kept very quiet until Nestor. Northrup had his hiding-place, and then followed silently. It was not hard to do; andhe had hisreward. By and by Northrup halted and gave a low whistle, which was an- swered by the same kind of a sound, and he was joined by a man who had evidently been in waiting. It wag risky, but the boy crept nearer, until Northrup eould almost have touched him with an ordinary cane, if one had been in his hand. By that time the first burst of confidence was over, but there were still pickings enough to pay Fred for his trouble. The first thing he heard was: ‘Yes, dead sure. I gave him fair beta too. For the sakeof the zirl he may take it, f he was alone I would le on it that he would make a straight plunge into Hard Pan.” “ And make things mighty lively for the So if he is as brisk as they say. You saw the girl, did you? No mistake there?” Flip-Flap Fred at Hard Pan. ood ‘*Not a sign of one, We will have her, to- night, She is worth her weightin gold. Butif we take her we will have to kill him; 80 just j>t those two points down, and add them together.” ‘* It strikes me you made a mistakein threat- ening him, though. All the good of that was to put him on his pee ‘* Mudge! if I told him he must look out for me to-morrow he’ll close his eyes to-night, See that you heave your lambs ready for the frolic.” They separated without discovering the pres- ence of the boy, and departed in different direc- tions, After be was certain that they were out of hearing Fred arose, and made his way back to the spot where Fanny had left him, @ was afraid that she had come for him in his absence, and was trying, as he went along, to frame an answer that wuuld suit her questioning in such a contingency. He found, however, that the girl wos talking in a low tone with Azariah, and so interesting was their conversation that the two had forgotten their supper. What more likely than that they had forgotten him? He coughed slightly, as a means of attrac their attention, and saw the girl turn towar him with a start, She said something to Hold- fast, and then came gliding back. “You must forgive me for not yi tay my pees sooner, but the time faster than knew. Come, Iam afraid that you are al- most starved. You should not have waited af- ter you saw that the man was gone,” ‘*Reckon that’s what Dandy thought. He war kind ov encouragin’ me, but I ’magined I might introo’. I mou’t be hungrier, but then I'd be a-starvia’,” He spoke as though he meant it, but his re- mark rrecdeg: # drew the sympathy that one would have thought the occasion deserved, Fanny actually looked at him with suspicion ; but led the way to the improvised feast, Fred followed his conductor, and took a seat at what he could but confess was a much more bountiful board than he had expected to see, The supper was a matter of business with the boy, and he wasted no time in remarks, When he had finished he was full, and for a little time thereafter was silent, sitting by the side of the fire while his entertainers put away the frag- ments of the feast, and the articles of table use. After a time Azariah came and sat down be- side him, and produced a pipe. He was thought- ful, and not inclined to talk. As for Fanny— she had retired to the wagon. The wagon was canvas-corered, and was ka by a lantern that swung from its roof, The boy had not a chance to see inside, since the curtains were down; but the vehicle had a com- fortable and at the same time a Gypsyish look, that made it very attractive to his young eyes, **'Yew don’t smoke?” queried Holdfast, after al silence. ‘*Nary smoke! Ain’t old ernuf ter use it ter advantage, an’ bin kinder savin’ it up fur a new sensation when ther vanities ov life be other- wise purty nigh played out. I'll begin ter smoke when my beard’s grown, an’ ther nat’ral "looshuns Ov youth ain’t ez strong ez they be at resent. Nothin’ like keepin’ a leetle capita! ter all back on,” Amariah looked him over again, with new interest, The little touch of philosophy was a revelation—if it was founded on fact. “If yew keep in with Amariah a while, mebbe yew will never learn, an’ then yew will miss one good thing in life. Better begin w. “Think Dl be cut off in ther bloom ov m youth, eh? Don’t reckon so. Bin throug everythin’ thet kin phaze a boy ov my bigness —fire, bullits, water an’ all—an’ here I am yit. Ther’s nothin’ fur me ter try but old age; an’ that’s along way off. Atleast, I’m a-gamblin’ on it, Ef you're willin’, I’m agreeable; an’ we'll make a boss team, an’ no mistake,” **I’m not denyin’ thet I hev some idear ov takin’ yew in tow. I might find use fur a boy ov yewr style, ef I war sure thet I could trust him, An’ ef, after tryin’ him, I found I conldn’t, it would be mighty bad fur that boy. Yew think thet you sabbe?” ‘‘ Mister Holdfast, I cottoned to you an’ Fan ther minnit I see’d yer. I got ez much nerve ez ther next boy, an’ [ don’t talk fura cent, T me; ef I don’t pan out ter suit, ab sh I’m Little Limberleg, agin, an’ you kin paddle yer own canoe “IT hey give yew warnin’, an’ ef yew live threw tew-night, an’ suit, we'll go tergether in ther mornin’. “Good chance ter hev our throats cut, hev we? I ain’t afeard! I hey a weepin, an’ kin 3 — eee a take keer ov me an’ Fan, ef you xin look out fur yerself. Signs do look ez though ther’ was goin’ ter be blood on ther moon.” The boy took a revolver out of his bundle, thoughtfully raised the hammer, and made the cylinder revolve until he was sure that every barrel was in working order. Then he thrust it into a receptacle that was under a jacket, and looked up inquiringly at Ama- h, ‘“Yew may understand thet ther’s danger; but yew may not know thet ef it comes yew must dance ez Azariah whistles,” ‘* Ef you're ther boss Peng kin spread ther lay- out ter suit yerself. hat do yer think are goin’ ter be ther trouble? Ary thing in ther natur’ ov a gang?” ‘* Yes; a gang thet will be ’round tew-night to take Fanny an’ kill Amariah. Ef they find any small boys lookin’ on, they will be goin’ fur them, too.” ‘‘ That's the kind I like ter see. Hev a chance ter keep yer hand in, an’ all corpusses fur. I’m here, Azariah, an’ ef they kin stand it | kin, Bring on ther gang.”’ CHAPTER III, EBENEZER CROFUT HAS STRANGE VISITORS. HARD Pan was brisk and populous. As a mining center it was catching all the floating pulation that was unattached, and that by ook or crook could get there, There were solid citizens, who bad come to stay; and there were others who only wanted to skim the cream off of the pickings, and then goon, There were miners and mines; gambling-houses and mblers; roughs and rough places; all in addition to the people and places that made up the solid part of the town. Ebenezer Crowfut came early. He brought a little capital, which he had embarked purely in a mercantile venture. He had be- ond his expectations, and when this story spre e was one of the responsible business men of the place, who was generally respected as an honest man, and a prosperous one, The rougher por- tion of the community let him alone altogether, and the balance delighted to do him honor, When he first settled in Hard Pan some one dubbed him ‘‘ Old Slow and Sure,” and he was sometimes called that name yet, The day this story opens he was sitting on the stool that was behind his desk in the little cud- dy-hole that had been partitioned off at vhe rear of the store, and which was known as the office, A knock on the side of the partition, near the door, caused him to look up from the books that had been claiming his attention. ** Come in!” he called, and the door opened. As he heard no step he naturally looked up over the desk. In spite of himself, and his usual serenity of “eq he he gave a little start of surprise at what e saw. Standing on the threshold was a lady, dressed as he bad not seen a feminine dressed for years; and holding by the hand a girl. They stood in silence, looking timidly into the room, and Mr, Crowfut’s invitation to enter seemed to have startled them. The elder looked down at the younger, and the child answered by a reassuring pressure of the hand. Then they advanced a oe or two, and were standing in the middle of the office, the door of which the child closed behind them. Over the top of the desk, Mr, Crowfut and the lady looked at each other, until the gentle- man broke the silence. ‘‘Sorry madame that I cannot offer you a recs Is there any way in which I can serve you ‘*T hardly know how to approach you, since itis with what must seem to you a curious re- quest. I have heard you spoken of, Mr. Crow- fut, as a man of honor, as well as of charity. I desire to—” The sound of hasty footsteps behind her inter- rupted the lady. She ceased speaking, and looked back over her shoulder, just as the door opened, and a singular looking man appeared, his eyes fixed full on hers. Without a word the lady threw up her hands, _ in what seemed a dead faint fell to the oor. “Dear me!” cried Mr. Crowfut, addressing the man, rising as he ke, and starting to come around the desk; ‘* what does this mean! Who are you, and what are you doing here?” ‘* This means, sir,” answered the man with the ueer eyes, ‘‘ that you were almost the prey of e wiliest, most designing adventurees that ever lived, Ifshe had ever told you her story, and she has a different one for every place, you would have been lost.” comichbooks7com