Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 964 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

12 bounded away in flight, when there came a swishing sound in the air, a lariat noose settled over his head, and he was dragged violently to the ground, just as Buffalo Bill came bounding after him like a deer. The boy sport had caught the man in his flight most cleverly! “Well done, boy pard. I almost feared : he would get away,’’ and the scout had ® the man by the throat now, as he knelt over him, and his revolver muzzle was in his face. “It is Doe Stone!” said the boy sport. “Yes, just the man wé want, for he will De better than any of the rest for the work we need him for,’’ declared the scout. The man was silent, feigning to be stunned by the fall. But the prick of a pin in Buffalo Bill's hand quickly brought’ a yell of surprise and pain from him. “See here! No playing ‘possum with me, “Get up and come on, for we want you. “* Boy sport, just light up in your cabin. and we'll see what game is lying yonder | under Bunco’s care.”’ The weapons of the man were taken from him, and then the seout led his pris- oner to the cabin, where the sport soon had a light, The other two were brought in, both dead, and placed upon the floor, and Buneo said quietly: “Ben Lucas and Barney. “Two of a kind and pards of Red Sam. “Doc Stone, you have gotten into pickle,” “What has I done?” asked the prison- er, who was terribly scared, as could be seen, | “ Nothing, for you. . : ; * But we wish to have a talk with you, and unless you wish to hang before day- light, you had best do some quick talk- ing,” said the scout. ‘1 don’t know nuthin’!” ‘See here; you were once a different man from what you are now. You re- ceived an education, were a physician by profession, and some crime you committed sent you a fugitive to this country.” “Now, you are here to save your neck from the gallows, and being an outcast, a fugitive from justice, you wish to make what you can out of it,”’ * That’s about so,”* growled the prisoner. * Now, these two dead men came here with you to kill this youth. “You are all members of the Silent - Slayers’ band, as is also Red Sam; and “of late no less than five of them have been wiped out—two in the saloon, Pete Dunn in his cabin, then two here, and Red Sam is used uP and you are a prisoner, so you see we have got.facts down fine against you, and if you care to talk we are willing to listen. | “If not, then you go back to the SpSrts’ Delight saloon this night and hang,” and Buffalo Bill spoke in a tone that showed he was in deadly earnest. Pet. a CHAPTER XXII. 5 je THE PRISONER. 4 --- Doe Stone was in a very bad fix, and he | ‘had the good sense to perceive it. | He was above the men with whom he herded, or had been, that was evident, for tie he still had the bearing of a gentleman at a times... | He now looked from Buffalo Bill to the ‘boy sport, then at Bunco, and back again at the scout. _ At last he said, in a helpless sort of way: _-* “What do you want?” guided by _ “TN tell you, and then be | your own feelings wholly. | ' e down here to prospect, it is | true, but not for gold exactly. we were too quick for ~é « ~. ) e y% (* . ‘* . ‘ - «Sia Pare _ | ' Sn all & 7 ‘ a a r , e A ‘ * » Zz ‘ee . a may? , ‘ 2 ; ne 7 . 24 * at) = fe (S 25 ee ey? A * *. Ae, - Ps e ~e “7 A - *° 4 : ~* o es es 7 4 7 é “ 4 af, we <<" 1 y » ce aa > ‘& LA * Buffalo Bill’s Decoy. er “It has come to the ears of the com- mandant of the fort, where I am an officer, that Devil’s Canyon is as black a place as could be found. “The deeds of you lawless men here have given it a very bad name, and I was sent here for a specific purpose. *T supposed that it would take me months to shadow to the gallows the men I was after, but I discover, through meet- ing the boy sport here, and my old friend Bunco, I will accomplish what I came for in a very short while. * Now, the acts of the Silent Slayers are’ known away from Devil’s Canyon “It is also known that they kill for some purpose unknown to us. “They have a motive that I can only guess at, and when [ hear from you, I will know if my guess was right. “The members of that secret band of murderers May number twenty, perhaps more, perhaps less, but I set them down as at least a dozen. ‘As I have shown you, that with the five dead, Red Sam laid up for repairs, and your neck in the noose, six of them are accounted for.”’ * Does yer mean I’m an assassin?” in- dignantly asked Doe Stone. “Yes, for I caught you in the act, and I overheard you say to your men that you would knife the boy sport. ‘*Buneo and I fired as we sprang into view, and two fell, and you might have escaped but for the sport’s clever hand with his lariat. “Yes, you are an assassin and one of the band of Silent Slayers, for there were several who watehed you and your pards to-night, when it was reported that Pete Dunn was dead and had been killed by the Silent Slayers. “And more, there are three more men whose looks betrayed them, and I can go and put hands on them to-night. “ Yes, you are known, for you betrayed yourself in more ways than one, and let me tell you right now that I ean account for Pete Dunn's death, and in the morning those two bodies lying there will be found in their cabin, for Buneco says they live together, and upon their breast will be dis- covered the knives of the Silent Slayers and the slips of paper that have been pinned on the dead after your secret mur- ders have heen committed, for we have i one you Were to put on this boy. See? . Doe Stone trembled from head to foot. He seemed to feel that he had been caught in a trap. from which there was no escape. He had heard the scout unravel the secret of the mysterious murders, and felt that he was wholly at his mercy. After «a moment of thought, he cried out in a tone of pleading that was most pitiful: | “What do you want me to do?” * Confess.” “Confess what?’ ** Everything.” * About what?” *T see that you do not appreciate the danger you are in.” “You'll hang me?’ “No, I think we had better play the Silent Slayers act, knife you and leave you at your home to be thought to have been killed by that band. “Then we can go on in our own way and find out who the others are, but [ll take good care that Red Sam, whom we | know, does not escape.” “You wish me to confess my guilt?” “Oh, no. ‘Do as you please about it.” “Tf I confess?” “Well?” : 3 _ “ What terms do you grant me?” . a e > 2 . < AW, 79 ' Re Pee “Ee \ .. A: ee ‘ ow i tac ® a . Fs ’ : fi > Fi ae ’ '. 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ON { | oe TS eS epee ~ SVRCONUUIRO ELV i; 4 a ‘ ERY. 7 ; Fis Be ORS = aS Serr = ws money demand of you.” ‘ Ah! now you are talking like a sensible man,” * You will give me my terms?’ sé No.” \ “What then?” : “T'll give you my terms,” was the stern _ rejoinder. { “IT mugt know what they are before I ; utter a word.” ~* You shall.” “My terms are that you shall answer every question I ask you truthfully. | In return your life shall be spared, you Shall not be known as one of the Silent Slayers, though I would advise you to dig out from camp, as some of your pards might give you away, as soon as we have _ found out whether you have deceived us _ or not. “5 *“ Those are my terms,” CHAPTER XXIII, THE DESPERADO'S TERMS, Doc Stone heard what the terms of the scout were, and then asked: “What will you do with me while you are waiting to find out?’ “We will leave you here a prisoner under the care of the boy sport.” “That won’t do,” “It must.” “It will not do, then.” sé Why ”” “If you do as you say with those bodies there, the real Silent Slayers will be puz zled as to how they died, and it will be laid upon the band.”’ * Well?” “If I am missing they will at once sus- pect that I have sold’out, betrayed them, a they will skip, and you will be thwart- ed.” le oy is reason in that,” said Buffalo “ Now, I alone of all the band will know the game’s up, and I will not attempt to “Let me go back to Red Sam’s cabin. ll give him a quieting medicine to keep him there all right, and pretend he is not so well, “Then you can go on with your work of catching the rest of the band, and when you feel sure I have been square with you, then you can set me free. ‘ Now listen to the terms I have to pro- pose.” “You wish us to play the decoy game again—use you as a decoy to eateh the rest of the band of Silent Slayers?” * That is just it,’’ = hg But you have terms to propose? _ * Let us hear them.” | “T will.” et " “In the first place, I ean give you in- ~ formation that will not. allow another — member of the Silent-Slayers to escape, “ Remember, I am selling out.” a eget? ; | “I know that I have got valuable goods to sell, and I am aware of their full value.” , ‘p= ae, abe 4%, fog of “Go ahead.” | “Those two bodies there have both got belts of gold on them,” Pes “Now I have, say, some twelve hundred laid up, and they have not as much. | “But Red Sam can treble my amount, and IT want what they have and he has.” “You will want a gold mine hext, and have us work it for you.” | “I’ve got the gold mine, or at least the means of getting it, and I am high-priceq for I won’t reap from it, and you will. when I have told my secret.” fo 3 “Go ahead.” “Por that reason Tam going to make gq ss “Oh, no; I get as 4n inh Bs foe as it were, from my pards.”*? 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