Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 1092 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 Old Cross-Eye, the Maverick-Hunter. ee. Pa a fool, there. If you, are afraid to go, say the | that the others would not begin the action, be- word, and I will. “Tomlinson looked aghast at the Britisher who spoke to bin in this way. Had any other man in the State told him to his face that “‘he was afraid” he would have pulled on him, in a moment. But there was something in the languidly haughty way of the English seamp, which he had contracted from the habit of associating only with the titled sharpers of the other side of the sea, that overawed Tomlinson, in spite of himself; and he said: ‘Well, captain, if it comes to that, I don’t hesitate to say that I should be afraid to go to that house, alone, now. Didn't you see the men Ho seg us? If one of us went there alone, it is ten chances to one that he would be set on, and dropped before he had time to pull a weapon.” | ‘But what for?’ asked Berkeley, with the same air of supercilious wonder that he had displayed: omlinson was nettled. ‘What for? What in blazes should it be for? Ain’t we gone and hurt“the olf man, at the ranch, and ain’t he the boss, thar? Texas cow- boys don’t wait long, when a friend’s hurt, They’d ha’ opened fire on us, that time, only we was too stroug fur ’em; and they seenit.” —* Berkeley turned his horse’s head to the house that he had just left, asking: ‘“And do you mean to say that, if one of us goes there alone, be is liable to be fired at, with- out any questions asked?” ‘“That’s jest what I mean, Cap.” Tomlinson bad heard that his new chief had been in the British army, and called him *‘ cap- tain ” from the necessity of every man in Texas to wear a title of some kind, and as a mark of respect, ‘Very well, then,” said the Englishman, with an air of resolution that made the others stare, ‘“‘I am going back there, to apologize to the ladies and if you have not the pluck to fol- low me, you can stay behind, Mr. Tomlinson.” So saying, without any more ado, he rode off, back to the Collingsworth Ranch, Tomlinson stared after bim, and then, setting spurs to his horse, called out to the rest: “‘Come on, boys, We ain’t goin’ back on the captain.” erkeley turned round on them, and stopped them with a gesture, ‘IT don’t want any of your men,” he called out. ‘If you want to come, alone, with me, Tomlinson, you can doso.. But Iam not going to be frightened off by any man in Texas. You mark my words. Alone, or with you; but no crowd. You Texas people believe in crowds.” Tomlinson was touched in a sensitive spot at the words of the other. It wasa regular chal- ee to show who was the bravest of the two, and the reckless Texan never-evaded a chal- lenge of that sort. “Stay back, boys,” he said, to the others, waving his hand to them. Then he set spurs to his horse, and followed Berkeley, to whom he said, as he came up: “If youw.want to go in and get killed, Cap, it’s your own lookout, not mine; but no man shall say Jack Tomlinson was so fond of his life that he went back ona friend. I’m with ye, all the time,” The one virtue of the man—a reckless cour- age—shone out as be spoke, and Berkeley, who had about the same amount of good in his com- position, nodded as he observed: ‘You're the right sort, after “all, Tomlinson, Come on, If there’s any trouble, we shall have to make the best fight we know how; but I don’t believe there will be any. I’m going to ask for the ladies,” So saying,-be deliberately rode up to the house, and saw, as soon as he got there, the ad- vice of Tomlinson had been sound. The front yard of the ranch was empty, as it had been be- fore, but there Were six or seven cowboys, who had just ridden in from the range, outside the place, looking as if they had come back on pur- pose to have a fight; for.they had their bands on their hips, and came on at a lope, straight toward the two strangers. ’ ‘Look here, Cap,” said Tomlinson, as he saw them, ‘‘I don’t wanter be made a target on, afore my time, and if we don’t put to the house afore those fellers get thar, ahead of us, there’s oing to be music. They’ve found out that the ull range is shut up, and, they’re jest a-goin’ to have a rouss for satisfaction.” ; Berkeley’s only answer was to pull out his sagace and wave it defiantly at the cowboys, as 2 eried: “Come on, you cowardly beggars. Three to one. It’s the only way you dare fight,” CHAPTER XI. THE FREE FIGHT; THERE is nothing a. Texas cowboy admires more than pluck, and when the men of the Col- lingsworth Ranch heard the defiance of the Englishman, it was. a direct challenge to them to show fair play. = They came on, the same as ever, with their pistols out’ but they-did not fire, for they knew ing the weakest in numbers. Shorty, who headed the gang, cried out: ‘Ye sha’n’t say we wouldiE fight ee squar’, stranger. Bring on ’er champion. e’re*the boys to drill the holes in him.” Tomlinson rode out at this challenge, crying: ‘‘1’m the’man for you, sir. Man to man, and no jumpin’ three to one.” ‘* Good for you!” shouted back the chivalrous Shorty. ‘I’m the man fur you, Tomlinson. Git back, boys, and give us a ring.” The other cowboys, at the word, checked their horses, watching keenly to see that no un- fair advantage was taken by Tomlinson, while gen did not use their own superiority in num- ers, It was an eminently Texan spectacle, to see the two men ride at each other, singly, while the Englishmark on one side, and the cowboys, on the other, looked on, in the grimly indiffer- ent fashion that comes of indisposition to inter- fere in a‘fair fight, Tomlinson and Shdfty were about a hundred yards apart, and made their preparations for the fight with characteristic coolness. They were few and*simple, consisting in put- ting spurs to their horses, and riding off diagon- ally, so’as to circle round each other, to the left, as if they were about to engage band to hand. The cowboy reserved his fire, and so did Tom- linson, for neither had any ambition to -miss, and the waver of a hair’s-breadth in aim would make all the difference in the life or death of the other. The ponies cantered steadily and rather slow- ly, for they were used to pistol practice, and knew what was required of them. As they got witbin about twenty yards, Tom- linson raised his pistol, and Shorty did the same, Then came two simultaneous cracks, and both men staggered in their saddles, Shorty uttered a wild yell, and threw up bis arms, when Tomlinson fired a second shot, and dropped the unhappy man from his saddle, stone-dead. | Shorty’s bullet had struck the desperado in the chest, but bad not disabled him sufficiently to stop him from giving the cowboy the death- stroke. Then the veteran fighter waved his pistol at the other cowboys, and shouted: ** W bar’s the next man?” The taunt was like to have cost him dear, for the other men, maddened at the loss of Shorty, and seeing what fools they had been to throw away the advantage they bad, made a rush for- ward and opened a brisk fire at Tomlinson, who fired back at them with accurate aim, undis- turbed by the confusion of the melee, in which he was at home and at his best. Berkeley, who had served in India at one por- tion of his. checkered career, rode in and joined in the fight at once, with the result that, in less than two minutes, two cowboys were killed, and both of the-rash men who had entered the front inclosure of the Collingsworth Ranch were off their horses, wounded and firing from the ground, behind the shelter of their animals, at the assailants, while the party wbich had been left. behind, seeing the trouble going on, came dashing back without orders, firing as they came, in such a style that the cowboys of the Cullingsworth Ranch sought safety in flight, and left Berkeley and Tomlinson masters of the field, both men bleeding and faint, but. tri- umphant, Then came a pause after the storm, and when Berkeley looked up from the ground, where he saw the bodies of. two men, he beheld, at tb door of the house, a young lady, very beautifu in face and figure, who was gazing at the scene oe expression as if she was terrified half to eath. The Englishman, for the first time since he had been in Texas, felt ashamed of himself, as he saw the. young lady, and realized what he had done in bis empty bravado. Had he been anything else than what he was, he would haye ridden away and let the matter go, but he bad so much pride in his own powers of persuasion, in the case of the female sex, that he actually took off his hat, went up the steps, and said to the lady: . “Ab, 1 beg your pardon, I’m sure, for the trouble that these people have put you to; but I assure you that it was not my fault. I merely came here toapologize to you young ladies for the accident that bappened from that fence of ours, last night, and your menset on me and my friend here. Iassure you I am most heartily sorry for the whole thing,” The young lady looked at him in a way that he did not understand. She shudderedslightly, as she said: + Lge go away, sir. You have done enough already, without insulting us at our own door.” seneerey bowed low, and was about to retire, rather crestfallen, when he heard the hoofs of a galloping horse, and a young man rode into the inclosure and reined-up at sight of the bodies, with a ery of borror that woulc have been wrung from almost any one at the sight. There were three dead men on the ground, the blood oozing from the wounds in the breast that they had received; Tomlinson was holding on to his horse, in a fainting condition, the courage of the man alone keeping him from dropping on the ground by the rest; and, in the ranks of the des- peradoes who followed Berkeley, were several men, who looked as if they had not escaped: scot-free. ‘ Berkeley himself was bleeding from a wound’ in the head, where the bullet had grazed the teniple; and the blood that streamed down his face made bim a ghastly object. The whole place looked as if it had been the scene of a re- cent battle, and no one would have thought that the occurrence took place in a time of profound: peace, when the law was supposed to besupreme over a large portion of the Union. But the young man who came galloping in, at that moment, was too much accustomed to such sights to be more than momentarily diseoncert- Berkeley had his eye on him, as soon as he en-- tered and called out to him haughbtily: ‘* Here, you, sir, what do you want here?’ Tom Field—for it was he—without answering; got off his horse and went to Tomlinson, to whom he said with a quiet assumption of authority that made the other stare: ‘“‘You’re burt badly. Get that jacket off at once, I want to see what’s the matter.” Tomlinson, with a faint smile, asked: ‘*Who the blazes‘air you, anyway, stranger? I don’t know you,” ‘‘I’m a doctor,” was theinstantreply. ‘‘If you want to die where you are, I’m not going to let ou. ¢ Then he turned to the men sifting on their horses, close by; and added authoritatively: ‘Some of you get off, and make this man @ litter. He has got to be carried out of this. After I have attended to him, P’ll look to you.” The words, *‘]1’m a doctor,” produced an im- mediate revulsion of feeling in the crowd, which had taken possession of the ranch. Even deés- peradoes have their feelings, and they all wanted to be attended to at once. Field waved them all back, as he said: “One at atime: this man is the worst hurt here, and I have acase in the bouse, too. what I told you: get sticks and make a litter.”_ Then. he went to Tomlinson and helped him off with his fine velvet jacket—for the déspe- rado had attired himself, after the manner of bis class when on horseback, in all the finery of the Mexican vaquero. He paid no attention to the lady in the doorway, though he knew well it was Diana Collingsworth, and that she was looking at bim, all the time. Berkeley stood near him, and regarded the wounded desperado anxiously, for he saw that Tomlinson was badly hurt, and he had depended on him greatly, for the control of the men who had been engaged as special constables. The young doctor earefully examined the wounded man, and said to Berke- ley: ‘* Your friend is shot through the right lung, and he needs to be put somewhere in quiét, or - he will go off very quickly, How far off do you live, sir?” ¥* About ten miles,” was the rather dismayed reply. ‘‘Look here, doctor, what are his chances?” Field shook his head. ‘‘Tmpossible to say till to-morrow. If he gets over the fever well, he will have a fair chance. He has a good constitution, from the way he stands this, but he is a badly-wounded man, Berkeley turned to the men with him, und gave them a few brief orders. . , He went to the doorway again, where the young lady still stood, and asked her: ‘* Have you any objection to our taking some of the wood in your patch of timber, yonder, to. make a litter?” : The young lady shook her head. “Take what you want,-as long as you go away from here,” was all she answered. fe The look of hatred and contempt which sbe gave him, as she spoke, brought the blood to the cheek of the proud English scamp, who was wont to have avery good opinion of himself under all circumstances. He obeyed her, and Tomlinson was attended to, while the doctor looked to man after man of the desperadoes who had come down on the ranch, till they bad all been sent away, and the place was empty. ‘Then be walked up to the front door, where Diana stood like a statue of watcbful observa- tion, and said to her: “T bope your father is better, Miss Collings- worth,” Diana shuddered, as she answered: ‘Better! How can that be, sir? You said that he was to be kept quiet, and here. they have had a fight under his very windows, If I had not come here, and stood in the doorway, they might bave pevetrated into the very house itself, How could you attend to them, as you did?” + ’ Her eyes were glittering with anger, but he answered, without any sort of hesitation: - “You do not understand the code of morals of a medical man. It is our duty to heal; not to burt. 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