Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 962 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

Flip-Flap Fred at dard Pan. »e had it in mind to strike out for Dandy i. s about the sort of place that would | ») for a refuge. Like as not he knows oys over there don’t like my style, and » ould be tolerably safe.” 1p spoke in a reflective way, the words o be addressed to himself, rather than | mpanion, Thompson understood it 80, | ) .orapson was curious, and could not resist | .» ing for a question, | see here. ay didn’t he go there straight, and what me drifting downhere for? If he knew »e3 here,and he didn’t mean fight, why .t 9 stay away? He might have known >.> vould have to cut and run,” tell,” answered Nestor, witha shrug of ‘ers. '4.a queer sort of a fish anyhow; and ifit - for a cowardly streak when it comes to » ioc ae might no doubt be a dangerous man, ‘nt ther@ is pO use to waste time here, I will io )>e thances that you seem to be afraid of, “nd n you see me gointo the shadow, bring sos. -neasquietly as youcan, We must tr . ... @ the old fox by surprise. You and ~) o.* the girl away, and your fellows can ‘', \\4@ work, You must be sure, however, 3 done,” thead! The less you say about that part ’ t). .usiness the better.” ‘\ 5.9 they talked they watched the dingle ©: 'y. one ear all the time turned to catch the »-$sound from the spot where the wagon 4 iding, butso quiet was it that Thom -m > an to be ashamed of his caution. As Nur. up turned away, all followed him at the vise > 9 Of but a few paces. . © 1 not take long for them to cover the ort > stance for which the moonlight streamed over tvem; and yet there was no sign that \to-etah had detected their presence, or that vers -ould be any difficulty in making the at- somplete surprise, under the tree, the wagon was visible It was built something after the man- anambulance, It had a cunvas top, and here was a seat on either side that served oat; 1by night. Atthe rear end was a door, ot \ ag now open; and from within came the - un of long, regubr breathing, victim was al]l ready for the sacrifice! y had to-<io was to throw themselves in on Avmariah, Their weight alone would igh to crush him dewn, hey were even tell to a certainty exactly where Hold- Ot ! | Welter ‘ Wasi i - ” hike We os ¢ elessly the gang launched at the wagon; ething anexpected and terrible followed, aa noiseless flaie the whole place became gs day, while the gang was flung back, as | 1it had run with full speed against a solid 3 and there they lay, the most of the men iless where they dropped, and one or two sill had the use of their lungs howling loud h to speak for the rest, Northrup wasin the advance, he had the t of the full shock, and dropped a little er asleep, if anything, than the rest, mpson, however, was more fortunate, He ‘ received a lighter shock, or it did not the same effect on him. After the first untary yell or two, he recovered his senses sh to understand that if there bad not & stroke of lightning, it was the next thing and that they had run into a network of i that had given them the benefit of a ’ iS “> g electric shock | 1en he looked up at the wagon, he saw 1 fast standing in the little doorway, with a _.« le-barreled shotgun in his hands, the muz- f which was pointed toward the group in opleasantly Careless sort of a way! . swow!” grinned Amariah, as he caught aye of Thompson, “ef this don’t jest beat reation! Yew fellows must hey run ag’in’ patent, double-geared, back-actin’, bu’glar- f hoss-net. ays Ef I'd ’a’ knowed, an’ hedn’t bin in Sich a ding-basted hurry, ut hey showed yew ther way out, Ez it guess yew won't need furder instructions. ‘jer ’em tergether, an’ git em along outen > ge, fur I don’t feel like farder foolin’, an’ et * foolin’ does go furder Dll begin ter shoot, v kin onderstand that, er I’d be sayin’ I'd be a heap sight wuss.” ‘he voice of the stroller grew stern, and from way he looked along the gun, which he ught toa poise without raising to his shoul- .it was pretty plain that he meant all that laid, if not more, hompson looked to his rear. It was some “it lau | st : I “' If he knew that much before- | | | little distance to the line of trees from which he : able to carry out e | he had ho had marched his men. Hedid not fancy th job of carrying them back, and they did nut look as though they would be able to move for an hour, even if some of them were not dead, Without attempting to start an argument with the man with the ra he said as much, ** Dead, nothin’! hey will be ’round an’ | kickin’ in ther flint ov a lamb’s tail. ew out ov ther way when they begin tew jump. | it hurt, Jest shoulder Nestor | Nor n’ travel. Ther rest will be along | when ye™ git thar.” Without a murmur Thompson did as he was | ordered. He picked up Nestor Northrup, slung | him over his shoulder, and away he marched, ** Now, Little Limberleg, ef yew air good fur anything yew kin hev a chance to show it,” con- tinued Amariah, as he saw that Thompson was out of hearing of the low tone in which he spoke, ‘* Wich ther same will do ter gamble on,” re- sponded a voices from under the wagon. ‘* Ef you’!l tell me how ter do it thout gettin’ knocked silly 1's] come out ov ther et an’ take ther heels off ov them jolly roosters while you’re a-countin’ therm out. They’re no good jst now, but ef they come to they might think they was still in ther pit, an’ try ter git in a foul blow.” “Tt air safe ernuf, Scramble out an’ take these strings. Tie’em hand an’ foot, Flip-flap, while I keep ready fur’em with ther shotgun. It won’t do ter let the Philistines hev a chance,” and the queer showman grinned his delight at his electric knock-out, Fred had wakened at the right time, and had seen about all there was to be seen while the fun lasted, Now, he crept out without the least hesitation, took the cords that Amariah threw to him, and proceeded to obey orders in & very thorough manner. In a few moments he had the men entirely helpless. Then he looked up for further instructions, ‘‘T hev an idea, now,” said Amariah, looking at bis captives, then at the edge of the dingle where the two were supposed to be, and then at his wagon, ‘‘T think I will load ‘em up an’ take ’em along!” The idea pleased the boy. He laughed softly, nodded his head, and began to turn up his sleeves, as if anxious for the work to begin. And Azariah was in earnest in the matter. After a little more delay he went inside’ of the wagon, made a few arrangements, and was ready to store away his cargo. The binding had been done effectually. The men, now conscious again, could squirm, and make the task of more or less difficulty, but they could offer no effective resistance, When they attempted to demur Amariah coldly offered to turn on the battery again, under guarantee that there would be no more trouble. As a result they allowed themselves to be hauled into the vehicle without opposition. Then Amariah gave a whistle so low and soft that it could hardly have been heard a hundred yards away; there was a sound of horses’ feet on the turf, and Fanny came up quickly with the team that had been hidden fo sscurely it had wholly escaped the eyes of Northrup and his men, ** And now fur ther triumphal march ter Hard Pan,” legzhed Limberleg, in high glee as Ama- riah gave the signal to start. CHAPTER V., THE HONEY GATHERED AT THE ‘‘ HIVE.” In front of the ‘‘ Hive” saloon three strollers halted, just after the dusk of the following eve- ning came down, Amariah was there; Fanny was there; and so, also, was Fairy Fred, the boy with the limber leg, The screeching of the catgut, as Amariah tuned a violin, announced their coming to those inside; and without, quitea crowd of loiterers had already gathered, If Amariah was not al- ready acquainted with his ground he had cer- tainly made a most judicious guess, Nowhere else in Hard Pan would he have hit upon a spot where be would bave stood so good a chance to gather in coin, and at the same time receive de- cent treatment for himself and his protégés while aps oa the avocations they were about toessay, The Hive had all sorts of patrons; but the king-pins of them all were men who were the exponents of fair play, who did not allow non-combatants to be imposed on while within the precincts of the saloon. In this they were only backing up the rietor, Harry Harper, who had announ his tentions when he had opened the house in the first place; and with their assistance had been were ‘‘ places” by the score—where there was more fun going on; or more popular with the I jest want | whisky for a living, and kept several games run- anxious to provide other incidentals, for the sake eee his intentions ev2n better than ped for, Yet there was no place in the town—and there men who wanted amusement, and were to pay tueir money,and get the worth of i with the right change back. Harry Harper sol t d ning for profit; but he was not only willing but of entertainment, pure and simple. So it was that when Amariah stopped outside, and flourished his bow, Harry, who happened to be lounging at the door, invited him in, and by so doing made him free of the house. Amariah nodded to the invitation, played a few bars of a lively tune on his violin, and then, extending his bow with a flourish, in a solemn voice repeated: ** By innocent amusements we thrive, Here comes a load ov honey for the hive,”’ Then he gravely marched through the door, followed by Fanny and the boy. *‘ All right, now. If you have any occasion walk up to the bar and saturate. As for the kids, I sappose they don’t indulge, or I wouldn’t slight ’em. We wll treat you white here, and we waut the best you have in the shop, regard- less. Do your level best; andif you don’t suit, stop when you get thehint. After that you can look around Jike any other man; or go away when you havea mind to. While you are at work you are my guest, and the man that treats you bad settles with me. Now, that makes you at home. Blow on your fiagers and get to work as soon as you have a mind to, Only, don’t pass around the hat until we havea chance to see what your lay is, and what you can do,” * We do our best, and study now to please, Drink only in our hours of ease, O’er the whole earth we gayly roam, And find with all mankind a home. Live while we live, and this our only plan, Man’s proper game—diverting man,” So answered Amariah, beaming mildly around on his audience, a glass of whisky in his hand, which he emptied in the orthodox fashion by way of peroration. ‘“A very good game it is,” remarked Mr. David Collins, who was one of the listeners; ** but for a steady article of diet I should prefer draw- poker,” ‘* Tt is the exception proves the law, Condemn him not whose inner instincts turn to draw.”’ chimed in Amariah, : ‘* Thar’s even some men who kin hold up their eends at all both, Frum the one they turn tew the other ez nat’ral ez a bumblebee takes tew clover. I play ther fiddle myself, w’ich air good ernuf. With tumbling Fred and dancing Fan, It’s time, I think, the sport began,”’ When Amariah spoke he had a dialect of his own; when be spouted dogzerel he had another tone, and a pronunciation that was in the main correct. He turned away from Dave Collins with a bow that indicated that nothing more need be said, drew the bow sharply across the strings of his instrument, and looked at Fred, who dropped on his hands, made a revolution or two that cleared space before them, and then began a clever contortion act, interspersed with neck-springs, hand springs, and winding up with a back somerset from a handkerchief which he had thrown on the floor, and on which he again squarely alighted. The performance was more than good-natured- ly, it was delightedlyreceived. Amariah proved to be a musician of no mean skill, and the boy, in all his movements, kept time to the violin. Of course there had been some kind of a re- hearsal wees, hee day, but Fanny herself, whe watched the boy curiously, appeared both as tonished and delighted. He was even more clever than she had believed. When Fred had finished his act and retired, Amariah played on his violin, and furnished some fine music, the like of which had seldom been heard by his audience. Such sweet sti as he evolved actually brought the moisture several eyes, and softened some of the stoutes' When he glided into a waltz movement Fred opened the c'rcle ae little wider by throwing a ring of cart-wheels, and inte the middle of the vacant space glided Miss Fanny. When she entered the Hive the girl had worr a cloak that reached to her heels, This she dropped at Fred’s feet_as she moved forward and appeared in a neat, becoming costume, fit ted for the work. In time to the music sk floated around the ring, turning as she wer her arms outstretcbed, thus marking out th Eomichbooks.com