Beadle's Dime Library No. 1 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

No, 1. What.can a single arm do sion ofthese devils incarnate? . no obligation to risk your own life a spanger who more than likely is charge brought against him, and whose life, in — event, has been little good, will be little loss, to society.” _ Whether or no this were sufficient justifica- tion of inaction, he made it answer, not however without keen compunctions of conscience and questions which he could not stifle as to his real motives. Meanwhile The Stranger had been brought under the fatal limb and the rope adjusted to hi You are under in defense of A Hard Crowd; or, the blind pas- | strange agitation manifested by Dr. Chilling / | guilty of the | so?” | | | ; neck, whose fine proportions were disclosed by his | | shirt lying open at the breast. A jarring of the | boughi: of the tree had sent down repea show- ers of. rain upon his face and breast, ago him to a dim perception of his situation. Ye his eves remained closed, and he gave no out- ward indication of life, “Gents,” said one of the men who were hold- ing The Stranger in position, “it’s bad luck send off a galoot as hasn’t the sense to know that he’s been snuffed out; an’ I reckon I don’t want to take no leadin’ hand in no such e. I don’t want to smell brimstone all my life, an’ have this cuss’ spook an’-corner. [2 gel wer bape 1 fingers ur so, asl make ‘im pick u know that fur ’im down below.” ‘‘ Give him the whisky!” assented Poker Tom not with the best grace. He was impatient of dela , "The fiery stimulant was poured between the unresisting li Its effect was soon apparent. The Stranger drew a deep tremulous breath, and opened his eyes. ‘* We've got yeou, ye thievin’ whelp!” yelled the exultant gambler, shaking his fist in the face of his victim. ‘‘ Now gitr fur a clean jump into as red hot a hole as they’ve got t’other side o’-Kingdom Come!” Ae meds gene let her b’ile! oop! an’ away she goes!” The executioners drawn their knives to prick the horse into a sudden bound which should carry him from beneath the doomed man, leaving the latter dangling was preps for the fatal lunge; were sta “‘ Hold!” cried a shrill voice, which cut the air like a knife. See incisive some iy commmnane’ pafomes by tthe.ringing. report of a pi fired e air thrilled every one to the heart and arrested a wild clatter of iron-shod every motion. Then there was hoofs, the breathless rush of two horses urged to break-neck speed, the warning cries of the crowd as they surged apart to give passage to the reck- less riders, a sudden reining in of the steeds upon their haunches, and, almost as if. they had sprung from the clouds, Dauntless Jerry and Gentleman Sam’s sister appeared beside the vic- tim of mob law, facing his executioners with drawn pistols. With the serape-like blanket wrapped about his shoulders, his sombrero drawn low over his eyes, and the handkerchief binding one eye and side of his head, Dauntiless Jerry looked like a young brigand, as he dashed the nearest torch from its bearer’s hand. But the dim eyes of The Stranger took no cog- nizance of his pronase, They were fixed on the -Minerva-like uty of his sister, whose white rage awed that whole mob of rude men. His heart thrilled with admiration of the regal Bes- ture with which she severed the rope above hi head. But those who had su him leaped aside to avoid being trampled beneath the iron hoofs of his friends’ horses; the animal he be- strode plunged once or twice before he could be restrained by Jerry’s ready hand; and in the No more ver! Now “effort to preserve his balance the strength of the -wounded man gave way, and he lapsed into unconsciousness. ydettiy Gentlemar be fainting man. With rse e side of the mar such a look as might have thrilled him back into ‘conscious life, he seen it, she threw her arm about him and received his head upon her m. ically-beautiful tableau—a. pic- Dee eeohe Major Graxsemee gar used ite his lip to the drawing 0 “Blood. & bee ee fhrough the crowd, to ge himself beside the beautiful Amazon who thus boldly plucked meat from between the tion’s paws. a CHAPTER XV. DELIVERED ANEW. DavuNTLESs Jerry had left the bedside of The . with a mind tossed about by bed th t. The stirring scenes of that eventful nigh furnished many topics for reflection. ‘How strong an t; and presently his mind turned to kin’ round in every dark hole | give ’im three | of the ng to | too hi the Old Gent’s got a seat picked out | — | | i } | | | | i in the air. All | outlines of their but their hands | tion of her as she appeared in the morning, we | ———$$ worth. ‘‘ What did he see in me that disturbed him asked Jerry of himself. ‘“‘It must be a chance resemblance. He can be nothing to me. see my sister!” Je laughed lightly, as he spoke; but his face ost immediately became serious again. ‘“ What if the whole mystery of my life were tobe cleared up? I believe that Kate knows, if I could only get her to tell. Poor Kate! she has been father, mother, brother, and sister tome. But if this man should know; if he should prove that I am what I have scarcely dared to hope!” He paused, while a deep flush mounted to the roots of his hair; and when he spoke again, his voice had that peculiar tenderness so like a woman’s. ‘No! no! not to be made ruler over all the world! It may be a vain hope, after all; but I to | will avoid him until—until—” The flush, hidden by the darkness, grew ee er and deeper on his cheek; and his voice ee "gama so that he concluded only in O . ‘He might be abashed, if I proved to be one ndees. Not that any are too good or : for him! God heal him of that terrible y this time he had left the town far behind, and plunging into the woods along a bridle- path, he.soon came upon the secluded cabin which he called his home. An hour later, two riders emerged from the bridle-path upon the highway. In one we might have recognized, but for the darkness, Dauntless Jerry’s serape- like blanket and slouched sombrero, But the other, had it been light enough to distinguish loveliness from deformity, would have chained the attention. In the young girl whose rare beauty of form and feature must have been striking in any assemblage, we would have re- cognized Gentleman Sam’s sister. ot from the uncertain light of the lantern suspended from the foot of her escort to enable them to pick their way through the rayless night—for it gives only vaguely the general figures—but from our recollec- might draw a comparison giving to her cheek a most dazzling fairness, with the faintest percep- tible tinge of carnation, where his was bronzed with exposure and overcast with the bluish specks indicatiy » of a shaven beard, and, in the piace of his saucy black rings, investing her with a crown of mua the mass of golden blonde hair which fell unrestrained to her waist, Otherwise she was.as like the Jerry whose hand and eye had curbed the rage of the ruffian Red Hand as twin birth could make brother and sister. | As they rode along they seemed absorbed by ea gs pgs thought; and the silence between hem was only occasionally broken by discon- nected speech. But when they neared the town their attention was attracted by discordant sounds and an unwonted illumination of. the foggy an ‘The devils are at work again!” said Gentle- man Sam’s sister, giving the rein to her horse. Perhaps it was some subtle instinct which kindled her impatience as they advanced. To keep pace with her, Jerry was forced to urge his horse with spur as well as voice, long before they reached the Maca ep of 5 When they came in sight of it, the girl ex- claimed: “See! they are about to hang some one!” As his executioners raised The § r’s head to administer the stimulant, the light of torch fell upon his face, and even at that dis- tance the girl—did some sentiment of heart quicken her perceptions!—recognized him. God! it’s The Stranger!” she ex- sé My claimed. Then, with a cruelty born of desperation, she ed her horse with the point of a knife into t fierce rush which ed her to the side the doomed man in time to save him from ignominious death. What pen can do justice to her fierce beauty, as she supported the limp form of The Stranger and scathed his enemies with the fire of her eyes. It would have made his heart leap had he seen her face and interpreted aright what it expressed. But she, ignorant of her own feel- ings, ar la never ed that aught was beti ayed which she might wish to hide. ou cowards!” were the first words in which her withering contempt found expres- sion, ‘‘ What is the meaning of this outrage?” Poker Tom was in nowise anxious to w the wrath of so fierce a nature upon himself. He had seen a display of Dauntless Jerry’s mettle during the early evening; and rumor said that Gentleman ‘s sister was in no whit behind her brother in courage and _ skill with the revolver. He therefore curbed his in- ternal rage at this frustration of his purposes, and kept safely in the background. It was the owner of the horse who replied: ‘*Wal, mum, I don’t know as this hyar’s any 0’ yeour funeral; but the whelp stole an’ we're puttin’ of him through fur it,’ of an oe —_—_ TOY DOSS, « Gentleman Sam’s Sister. | | i while his death | And yet, the hair might have deceived him. He_ any material inj 15 ee —_ ee “You lie, you vagabond!” was the ‘prompt response; and Gentleman Sam’s sister thrust the muzzle of her pistol within six inches of the man’s face. This was unanswerable logic—the only kind which will ‘‘go down” with the sort of mep with whom she had to deal. Gentleman Sam’ sister evidently understood their mode of rea soning; but she also appreciated the fact that after conclusions have n drawn in this way, a slight admixture of ordinary evidence may eae greater permanence in the popula mind: “T was present when this gentleman first came into Comper yes of this horse. I myself held the bridle of the animal for him to mount, after my pistol had unseated its former rider, who was one of The Red Hand’s gang. ey had ambushed him and would have murdered him, had he not escaped on this horse. If the beast was stolen, look to The Red Hand and his fellows for the thief.” Without waiting for further argument, she turned to Major Gravesend, who by this time had gained her side, and said: “Here, sir! You look like a gentleman. Will you assist in getting a stretcher on which this gentleman can be borne to a place of shelter?” With her glorious eyes resting upon him, something of its wonted color returned to Major Gravesend’s cheek; and he replied, with marked deference: ‘Madam, I am at your service.” This time it was only a rough board, taken as the first thing which came to d. But it an- swered the pop and The Stranger was soon on his way back to the widow Robinson’s. It was with an anxious face that that estima- ble lady met them at the door of her humble abode: but she was soon reassured by Gentle- man Sam’s sister; and while her deft fingers re- arranged things for the reception of her inva- lid guest she gave pious expression to her joy at his return. Soon Dauntless Jerry appeared with the sur- geon whom he had summoned anew; and while the man of medicine examined his patient the © youth stood aloof in abstracted meditation: “Tf he is now properly cared for,” said the physician, at last, ‘‘he will not have received from this last exposure. Come, gentlemen, if you will now disperse and leave him in quiet, it will be all the for The men withdrew, many experiencing a sense of relief at the prospect of The Stranger’s re- covery—so fickle is popular sentiment. The major, loth to leave the woman in whom he had conceived so deep an interest, recollect- ed The Stranger’s miniature, and would have made it an excuse for again bringing himself under her notice; but, bethinking him that it would serve as an introduction at another time when she would be less preoccupied, he retain it in his possession and withdrew with the others. Dauntless Jerry, after a brief leavetaking with his sister, mounted his horse; and The Stranger was left to quiet and the care of the women. As for The Stranger, after his restoration to consciousness, he la into the sleep of utter exhaustion. ‘He did not know that in the ab. sent So patynrd . cess figure knelt at 7 side, and, wi er lips resting — hand, offered up thanks to the giver of all good ak. | for his deliverance out of the hands of his ene- mies, CHAPTER XVL THE STRANGER’S LOVE. Ir was on the following evening, after the fall of dusk, that Dauntless Jerry — drew rein be-— e fore the widow Robinson’s. hed from time to time, and his voice was very hoarse, as from cold taken from the previous night’s ex- “How is your patient?’ he asked of the widow, who received him with her placid smile of motherly hospitality. “He is awake and doing finely. Come in, and I will fetch a — immediately. Dimly Dauntless Jerry could distinguish The Stranger | on the bed in the further corner of the room. He approached, saying: . My friend, lam ¢g to see you so much more pleasantly situated than when we last met. How are you feeling?” The St grasped his extended hand, not, however, with his wonted strength, as he said: “Tam easy, thank you. This little brush will amount to nothing. But you have been wound- ed. and seem under the weather with a cold.” “Tt is og e said Jerry, ‘‘We must ex- pect these little rubs. A bandage and cold water will remedy such slight scratches.” “J cannot forget that it was received in my defense,” said § , with feeling. “ Jerry would not ge so little in a far less worthy cause,” said hi r, somewhat shyly. ‘¢T am sure that he would gladly undergo any pain or in your behalf a “You are most welcome, as far as 1 | ‘