Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 105 — page 29: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XXXI. A DUEL FOR A WIFE. CONFIDENT that at last he had got his hands fairly upon the prime object of his search, Cap- tain Moonshine, Dan Brown of Denver, like a true detective, lost sight of everything else in his resolve to capttire said criminal alive. Had an earthquake been in progress, he would not have relaxed his bulJ-dog gripe on the outlaw’s throat until the road-agent was conquered, or while he himself drew the breath of life. They fell to the ground together, struggl furiously, but all at once the form of the mask outlaw grew limp and nerveless. Brown knew what this meant. Even while engaged in that mad wrestle for life, he noticed how heavily the skull of his antagonist had come in contact with the rough rocky floor. He knew that this ab- rupt yielding was not feigned, but he still griped the outlaw’s throat with one hand while he re- moved knife and pistol from his person with the other. Then, to make sure that he had ged the right game, Dan Brown grasped the black cow] and tore it away from the head and face of his captive. And as the gleam of the one candle fell upon the upturned face, the detective gave vent to that sharp cry of wonder. —_ For there, easily recognizable despite the fact of its being discolored and swollen, was the face of Frank Blackwood ! More than this the two men were not given time to discover just then; for the surviving road-agents, now fighting desperately like men who know there is a death-rope around their throats, were being forced back along the nar- row passage by the enthusiastic Vigilantes un- der old Jack Gill. Pausing only to clasp hand- cuffs on his prisoner, Dan Brown of Denver and Noah Crabtree blocked the further retreat of the outnumbered road-agents. “Throw down your weapons and surrender, or you die like dogs!” the detective shouted, in a clear voice that rose high and distinct above the terrible clamor of exploding pistols, clashing steel, fierce curses and yells of rage, hollow oans of those who sunk to the blood-stained oor, and the horrible screams of those whose awful wounds for the time overcame their man- hood. He was answered by an angry yell from the burly Big Horn, who recognized him now for what he really was. ‘*Kill him ef we don’t make another count— it’s that bloody hound, Dan Brown of Denver!” he howled, and fired two shots in swift succes- sionat the hated foeman. é Dan Brown heard Rachel Trowbridge cry out, and believing that she had been smitten down by the missiles which he had narrowly es- caped, uttered a fierce cry as he senta bullet crashing through the brain of the outlaw. Then he was among the huddled wretches, a veritable fiend of battle. While his own body appeared to be impervious to knife or bullet, he dealt death around him with every stroke. Noah Crabtree was beside him, fighting like some grizzled but still invincible lion, while the Vigilantes, led by Jack Gill, now just in his glory, pressed the doomed road-agents hardly from the rear. One minute of this horrible struggle breast to breast, then the few survivor's of the outlaw band dropped their weapons and cried out for uarte r. ya: The man that strikes another blow will have to fight me!” thundered stern old Crabtree at the top of his mighty voice. “Take the living prisoners, but harm them not!” As for Dan Brown, the moment he saw the victory was assured, he turned and rushed back to the rock chamber, fearing the worst. In- stead, he saw Rachel erect and apparently un- harmed, though one of the shots ed by Big Horn had fairly zed her temple, drawing forth the cry that moved the detective to des- peration. This sight of the one whom he had learned to love with all the ardor of his fiery heart, alive where he feared her dead, a strange glow | over ag in her eyes as they rested upon his face—the light of love as instinct told him—caused him to forget all else, and with a low, glad cry he sprung to her side, clasping her yielding form passionately to his breast. There was only one spectator to this scene. Frank Blackwood recovered his senses, and re- cognizing Rachel in the embrace of bis bitterest enemy, staggered to his feet with a hoarse curse of furious rage, raising his manacled hands to- gether and ee tee ell the detective. Once again did Rachel save her lover. She saw the threatening blow, and pushed the de- tective back with a warning cry moment ‘*Captain Moonshine ” went down_be- _— a neatly planted blow from the fist of Dan rown. As he fell, Brown noticed a curious object steel, and scrambled up the rocks, bid n the floor, and picked it up for ex- lying u is enemy prostrate amination while holding i ted upon his breast. And | bed of his vengeance, pressed his attack with nary ne held the at a" had from the redoubled vigor, closing with and overthrowing | of ‘“ u there he held the mystery which | t first enshrouded Captain Moonshine, concealing his identity even from the most trusted mem- bers of his band, and enabling him to playa i The next | rancher. | | | | | Dan Brown of Denver. —— double role without fear of detection by either | Freed from his bitter enemy, Blackwood friend or foe. | staggered to his feet, and before a hand could The dis e was a mask of dark flesh-colored | close upon him, he flung himself —— down silk, to which the glossy beard, mustaches and | the dizzy depth upon the ragged rocks below! hair were secured by woven into the material. The nose was padded and stiffened, changing the wearer’s nasal organ from pug to Roman. Taken altogether, the mask and wig was a marvel of cunning art. Besides ‘‘Captain Moonshine,” only ten of the outlaw band bad been taken alive, the re- CHAPTER XXXII. JUSTICE METED UNTO ALL. THe Vigilantes lost no time in descending to ; ' the bottom of the gulch, but they found only mainder being slain while desperately fighting. | the horribly inamried remains of the dead road- They had not died wholly unavenged, though | agent chief. After a brief consultation, the the loss was greatly disproportionate, owing to | sickening object was covered over with stones the completeness of the surprise. _and bowlders, and left there to molder away as As several of the Vigilantes were severely | the vears rolled on. wounded, two men were at once dispatched to| Dan Brown was very much annoyed at thus Grenada for stretchers by which they might be | being cheated out of his brightest triumph, but removed. Meanwhile the others made prepara- he soon forgave old Jack Gill when Agnes con- tions for passing the remainder of the night | fided to him and Rachel the true cause of the where they were. The dead bodies were re- | rancher’s action. Their eyes met—those of the moved, after being identified and their names | Jovers—and each could see that the same thought indicated by a cross upon the list of the order | was working in the mind of the other. There possessed by Dan Brown of Denver. | was no longer even the frail barrier between The recesses of the underground retreat were | them. As his lawful wife was still living, the thoroughly searched for any runaway road- | ceremony performed on that night not lon agents, and while thus engaged, Jack Gill ex- | past, was only a farce. Rachel was still Rache perienced a terrible shock, discovering his wife, rowbridge. whom he had, until now, believed safe at home, lying bound and gagged in a narrow niche in the wall. In her hysterical joy at being rescued from what she believed was almost certain death, Agnes made a full confession of the past, ad- | mitting that she was the lawful wife of Frank Blackwood. This was a heavy blow to the honest old rancher, and though he freely granted the for- | iveness she pleaded for, bis weather-beaten ace was strangely white and his manner sub- dued when he left her, to perform his other duties. All were weary and well-nigh worn out by the hard work they had undergone since the rocket-signal was sent up from the ranch owned by Thomas Munro, and the majority, knowing that hours must ela before their messengers could return from Grenada, were only too glad to accept the proposal made by Jack Gill that they lay down to rest, leaving him on rd. The prisoners were securely bound. here could be no danger. If any straggling member of the band should chance that way, sturdy old Jack would give the alarm in good time. Knowing nothing of the story told by Agnes, Dan Brown made no objection. He too was glad to be relieved from the duty of watching, There is not much more not because he wished to the hours of wait- | chapter from the eventful ing in sleep, however. Together in the little | Recky Mountain Detective, which the intelli- rock-chamber, he and Rachel Trowbridge were | gence of the reader cannot supply. passing the happiest moments of their lives, | Ezra Blackwood, on learning what had oc- thus far. — | curred that morning, including the capture of Jack Gill was acting with a purpose. His | his son (the messengers were as yet ignorant of brain was full of the terrible revelation made by | the tragic death of the road-agent) hurriedly de- his wife, and though he knew that, if left alone, parted from Grenada on the early stage. But. her lawful husband would certainly pay the | he was fated not to escape the punishment. nalty of his manifold crimes with his life, he | which his criminal plottings deserved. vm Fhe ighigs upon taking vengeance in his own ands. He patiently waited until the Vigilantes were all as cop then bent over the prostrate form of Frank Blackwood, freeing his limbs and motion- ing him to follow. The criminal knew that his enemy had learned all, and believed that he in- tended to slay him, yet he arose and followed the man in silence. He knew that death was inevitable, and preferred this method to the shameful punishment by the rope in the hands of the eri? ‘‘But not for long, my queen!” softly whis- pered the detective, in her not unwilling ear. ‘‘ Make the most of your short respite, for there must be another marriage service read ere _long, and I will make sure that it is strictly binding!” Agnes Gill—as'we will still call her—saw that there was no further use for her, and silently glided back to the side of honest old Jack, Soon afterward the stretchers for the woun- ded men arrived, together with a vast crowd of excited and exultant citizens of Grenada, who could not believe the glorious tidings without ocular demonstration, , Glorious was the reception of the cortege as it entered the lively little mining town. Dan Brown of Denver received a perfect ovation, from which he was glad to escape by hastening into the Golden Eagle with blushing Rachel w- bridge hanging upon his arm. And was not Enoch Dodge the proud man that day? It was his friend who had wrought all this glorious work—and for the remainder of that day his | bartenders were kept busy handing out free liquor to the citizens who flecked thither to cele- brate the extermination of the notorious ‘“ family ” headed by Captain Moonshine. ee eee to this ife of the great- Only a few miles out from Grenada, the stage upset, and the old lawyer was picked up dead, his neck being being broken. Fortunately he was the only sufferer by the accident. One of the men who was with Dick Wilder when Henry Thorold was murdered through be- ing mistaken for Dan Brown of Denver, made full confession of the horrible deed. The muti- lated remains were recovered from Devil’s Gulch, and given a Christian burial by his friend and business partner. ngman. ; : David Crabtree never recovered from the in- Jack Gill led the way in utter silence out of the | jury received at the hands of Dick Wilder, but cave, Only pausing when a narrow shelf was immediately after reaching home, sunk into in- reached, smooth and level, but bordering an | sensibility which lasted until death came to abyss of frightful depth. Here he pa and | his relief. Charges were made against him by for the first time spoke aloud: the two men arrested at the Crabtree ranch, but Bo ei ether I yg shaw — fer. The | no oust believed them. 4 It was set down to mal- ittle woman me her ry 1s mornin’. ice a a vyearnin or rev You treated 4S cng Sy dog, pas a oin’ | Crabtree. 7 S i. to give you a fa’r shake fer your life. ou Dan Brown sacredly kept his pledge to David kin kill me, all right. Ef you don’t, Pll {<i and never even hinted tho alle to his belov you. An’ then l’ll marry the little woman | wife. ‘in. Thar’s a knife, jist like my own. | Jack Gill heartily forgave Agnes for the de- Take it, an’ pray fer the devil to help ye | ception she had practiced toward him, and pub- licly wedded her over again. And Agnes learn- now!” Witha soarhng ory of Joy, Blackwood picked ed to love the old man, even more tenderly up the weapon, ‘This was far more than he had | than she had Frank Blackwood in her girlish dared to hope for. Only one life between him | days. They are still living on the cattle farm, and liberty! Nerved by the thought, he leaped eday is long, and with a young upon the old_man, their blades striking fire as they met and crossed. nknown to Jack Gill, Agnes had watched his movements, and the moment he left the cavern with Blackwood, she hastened to arouse Noah Crabtree, begging him speed to the aid of her husband—for such she stiJl regarded the PaPPY as fami growing up about them, Ruth Crabtree never married, though she is still living. The memory of Will Wilder— more sinned against than sinning—is still sacred her. Enoch Dodge still “‘ runs ” the Golden Eagle, and to-day is mayor of his pet town. Last, but by no means least, come Mr. and Mrs. “Dan Brown of Denver.” They were married within a month from the day on which ‘‘ Captain Moonshine ” met his death. Though his wife. was so rich, Dan Brown would not -| abandon his profession, nor did Rachel ask him todo so. No one can glory half so much in his widely-extended reputation as ‘the lovely wife Dan BROWN OF DENVER, THE Hecky MOUNTAIN DETECTIVE.” THE END. com Speedy as were the movements of the Vigi- lante chief and his men, he came near being too late. He was guided by the clash of opposing ing bis subordinate hold his rash hand, | Instead, Jack Gill, determined not to be rob- his enemy. just as his arm was raised to deal the Tinishing blow, it was seized by Crab- tree. (G| 90 )) ‘Ss co