Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 1092 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

Old Cross-Eye, the Maverick-Hunter. tumble fighter in the county, and who prided himself’ oi the fact that no man had ever yet aucceed-d in getting ‘‘his word” from bhim— that is, induced him to call ‘‘ enough ” when he oa bis eyes in dauger of being torn out of his hedd. He was near enough to the ranca for every- thing that he said to be heard, but he did not see the girl; for, as soon as, she saw .bim, she whisked into the house and peepea out from be- hind the shield of the door. She heard Deaf Smitb call out, as soon as the ‘other was close enough to be spoken to: ‘So ye’re byar again, air ye? Ye con arned | lunkhead, what the blazes air ye doin’ in ‘Texas, anyway? Yeain’t got the pluck of a chivken, leave alone a white man, hear m ?’ Then Helen peeped out more openly, and saw that Field bad stopped his borse and was ey- ing the other in a way that showed his appre- hension, The girl grew positively sick with sbame as | she saw it, for she thought that be was about to | But she listened | show-the white feather again. and heard him say, with a slow emphasis that showed be wus trying to make the deaf man understand bim: . ‘‘Mr. Smith, I don’s wantAny difficulty with | you. Lonly desire to live in peace with my my neigbbors. nether Deaf Smith understood him or not | is not ma'erial to the question, If he did, the words did not soften him a bit; 7 bhé rode ciose up to the other, aud bawled out: ; ‘*'You’rea coward! D’ye hear me? A cow- ard! D’ye want any more, ye :‘arned Yankee skunk! Till slap ye in the jaw, if ye want ir.” Then Helen uttered a sort of moan to herself, as she saw the young man suddenly set spurs to his horse and gallop off, while Deaf Smith, with a taunting laugh, took out his pistol and sent a bullet after the flying horseman, that went singing over his bead and cut the top of his bat in the operation. ‘To think,” she murmured as she shut the aN door, ‘‘he should be so handsome and such a gentlemen, and yet a coward. It is incredible.” As for Deaf S:nith, be put up bis pistol, and came riding to the house; when abe saw that his face was murked with an ugly gash, asif be had been in a fight over night, and had got the worst of it.. , Lt The sight of this man, who bad just perpetra- ted such a brutal and causeless insult on one who had never offended bim in any way, caused . her to shudder slightly, for, with all ber South- dos ern prejudices against cowardice, as she thought a . of the patience under insult displayed by Field, ‘ she-had no love for the bully who had picked 2 ea the quarrel with him. at Se - So she shut the door and went up-stairs, where.she found Diana at the window, her face rg flushed with anger, showing that she bad heard 7 the conversation as well as Helen. The judge was sleeping, and Diana beckoned her sister out of the room, to whisper: ‘‘Isn’t it infamous? I shall die of shame, if be ever’comes here again. He mus? fight these fellows; they are only icking on bim because they think he will not fight. What does that Deaf Smith want, I wonder? I won’t see bim. IT hate him.” : She spoke with a vehemence that showed how she was affected, and Helen was surprised at her manner, Hitherto Diana bad been the one who had treated Field with contumely, and bad spoken of him with the utmost bitterness; and now, to the surprise of her sister, she was ac- ‘ tually angry with the man who had insulted eS: dim, as much as with himeelf, pe- toe - ' But Deaf Smith had come to the front door, ‘ead and was ringing On bell with a vigor that - ae ae knew no denia d Aunt Chloe, who had a Th come with the family from the State of Georgia, 4 eee game waddling out of the kitchen, where she had been preparing the breakfast, grumbli Pet all the way at the early caller, and went to the door, when the girls, who were up-stairs, heard the voice of the deaf rancher “oe: “Don’t be skeered, auntie, in’t b’en at a shootin’-match yit.. Haow’s the jedge? Up t? ie Why, laws, Marse Smith,” exclaimed Chloe, og! Hay horrified at the sight of bis face. ‘‘ Whar has Pht Se ‘you b’en? Old marse done gone and got burt- ia #4, Ines night. Didn’t ye heer on that, marse?” See eaf Smith had got into the habit of watcb- Pn, tiie ing the lips of people and gathering a great > ae deal of what they meant from their motion, ay ‘ “Hurt!” he echoed. “ Who's burt? It takes ™more’n that to skeerareg’lar Texan. J ain't hurt, not to speak of; but I’m mad, cl’ar through,” : A Sa _. Chloe stared at him and meade no ent , Beaks oy ‘‘Why, what’s de matter, Marse Smith?” ee ‘‘ Matter!” echoed the Texan, with a string of oaths, which he did not restrain in the least “. Oey oe for the presence of Chive, ‘‘The darned ga- ° 3 ae joots that’s come round hyar, fencin’ in the | ’ country, is what’s the matter. I wanter see | sd together, to see w to be done. The galoots Shy has gone and killed a ag me cut in the face, Say! d’ye | lever had, and I wanter see the jedge, and have a palaver on what’s to be did.” Helen and Diana heard what he said, and cOmprehended in 4 moment what bad happened, Deaf Smith had come to the same grief that bad befallen their own father. With a look—that sort of look which passes etween two women who thoroughly under- | stand each other—they went down the stairs, | from the landing at which they had been list- ening; and, as soon as the rancher saw them, | he pulled off his bat with a low bow, and said | politely: | ‘*Hope you ladies didn’t hear me usin’ any bad talk, I1t slips out sometimes, and I don’t /mean to. Is the jedtge up yit, ladies? Thar’s | goin’ to be trouble in this caounty, and we wanter git the solid men together,” | Diana who knew him best aye could make _ herself understood by bim whé@h no one else | could, said in a whisper, but making the mo- | tions of ber lips very plain: | Father—was—hurt—lest—night.” | The rancher understood ber ina moment, an | cried: ° ‘Then, by gum, it’s jest a scandalous shame! | The jedge hurt, too! Was it over a wire fénce, ladies?” Helen nodded, and the honest, but hot-tem- pered man had to go outside the door to indulge | ina burst of profanity which he could not re- strain, but which he would by no_means give | utterance tu in the presence of the ladies, ; | | LE eee eee When he came back, relieved by the little out- burst, he asked: ‘*Is he hurt bad, Miss Di?” _—_-_—_-- CHAPTER X. THE ENGLISH OVERSEER. Drana COLLINGSWORTH answered Deaf Smith very slowly, and trying to give empnasis to every word: ‘“ The—doctor—was—here. will—get—well.” Deaf Smith’s face brightened up as he said: “The doctor! That was darned lucky, warn’t it, Miss Di? I thought old i.orsford war at Austin. He told me he were a going to Some convention or other.” : Diana pointed. down the rcad where Field had just gone away, saying: ** That—was—the—doctor—you—met—just— now.” mare ie] Had she ie ay Deaf Smith’s face she cculd not have surprised him more than she did, when be fully understood what she meant. His face changed from its usual ruddy color to a pallor that looked as if be was afraid of what he had done, and it was with an accent of profound regret that he said: “Darn my buttons and skin, Miss Di, if I’d ha’ knowed that, I'd never—” | Then be pulled bimself up short, for he was one of the kind aid gine: ign that there has been any sort of a fight, when ladies are around, and continued: : He—says— he— : glad to byar that the jedge is gettin’ better, ladies, When he gits well, we want to see him. It’s time this thing were stopped, and it’s a-goin’ to be, you kin bet yer bottom dollar. Good-day, ladies,” : eae, And he burried away with such ludicrous promptitude that Helen smiled to her sister, as she whispered: ‘He’s ashamed of himself, and he ought to be too, It’s one th to be timid, and another to a bully, who sets on innocent men.” Diana made no answer, for she had turned away her head as soon as Deaf Smith had left the door. The girl was actually crying, and when Helen asked what was the matter, all she would say was: ** Never mind, never mind. I only wish I bad never been born,’ . | “ And with that she rushed back to the sick- room, and Helen was surprised, all the rest of the day, to find the ususlly wild and flighty Diana at the bedside, the most — nurses, while she herself had but little to do. The day wore On, and in were surprised by. the coming of a rigor Shs horsemen, with a tall man ae the head, w handsome face and English dress proclaimed that be was the English overseer of whom they had heard such marvelous tales, He came riding up to the with his following of men, as if he had been an Indian chief at the head of a war-party. The men with him were all armed to the teeth, and had the air of tough customers, but they remained outside, while the leader came into the entrance, and rung at the door- Il. To old Chloe, who opened it, he said: “Ab! would you be so good as to inform me if there is a gentleman—of the name of—ah— | en ge Pat, ollingsworth—lives bere?” “*Yis, marse,” sdid old Chloe, respectfully, for she saw at a glance that the stranger was what she called “one of de big bugs.” The tall stranger came a little closer in, and the jedge, and git the»men that has a stake, , asked her: ot the gentleman in, by any chance, fur me, and give: old! at spviles all the 1ooks. ¥is, marse; but de jedge is berry sick. He ey -\ was in the same boat with the rest. tient of e afternoon they. gate of the ranch, - + » done gone hab an accident last night. Hein bed, marse, but de young ladies is in, marse.” . She added this, with an idea that the young ladies would be angry if they did not see_ this bandsome stranger who had come there, Poor Chloe did not know anything of the cause of her master’s accident, and had no idea that the man before her was that cause, The Honorable George Berkeley hesitated a moment, for the words told him that there was another victim of the fence that hud been put up in the dark, and that the tide of unpopu- larity was. growing steadily all the time. Then the native and acquired impudence of the man prevailed, and he said larguidly: “Ah yes—that is very untortunate, Indeed. Please give the gentleman my card, and say that I called. I wish to be neighborly, you know, and—ah—wel!l— Good morning.” Then be turned away from the door, and went to his horse, where he found Tomlinson waiting, to whum he said quietly: ‘* Beastly awkward, Tomlinson. The old chap Took a cropper over the wires in the night. By Jove, ifs getting bad for the poor beggars.” Then he rode away, and the troop of despe- radoes that followed bim there rode after bim with a reckless swagger that told of their anx- iety to pick a quarrel with any one rash enough to provoke if, , 5 He had come out that morning to find ovt what had been done during the night by the fence, and to make sure in advance that no one should think him a man to be intimidated by any amount of anger or threats. He had met Deaf Smith on the road in the morning and the furious rancher had shown bim plainly by the air with which he passed him that there was nothing which would bave afforded him greater pleasurethan to have entered into a fight with him, then and there. But that was just what Berkeley bad been ex- pecting, and the sight only made him smile de- risively; for he wes secure from any ill-organ- ized attempt to entrap bim into a quarrel, by the number and character of bis followers. Deaf Smith had only three cowboys on his ranch, for he was a small owner, and the cattle company had twenty, besides the special con- stables sworn in for the defense of the great claim. | Tbe moneyed corporation could count on about fifty men, well armed, to resist any at- tack, and they were safe from the anger of any single rancher in Satanta county, or of any- thing short of a levy in mass of the whole vat lation of the Sant , ‘So Deaf Smith bad had to take out bis re- venge in scowling, for he had sufficient prudence to know that it would not with a man who was waiting forit, _ Punch Burleson was equally powerless for evil to the strange overseer; though he was more bitter if possible than Deaf Smith. He had been demoralized by the way in which the des- peradoes, at TomlJinson’s back, bad set on him, at the smalle-t provocation, on the previous night; and was not inclined to try conclusions aise Mer any more, till he was better pre- But when it came to Judge Collingsworth, whom Berkeley knew, from Tomlinson, to be a respected and well-known man all over the State, the English overseer began to look thoughtful, as be rode away from the ranch, observing: “It’s a beastly awkward thing this, Tomlin- son, The old gar’s got burt,“ I thought you said he had ser id y the by.” ‘So he has,” replied Tomlinson, - “Very” Homdhome, thiny say? Nek Gh * Very. ome, they say, as the re- ply, with a slight rise of color, for Tomlinson remembered bow on a certain occasion one of them bad openly cut him dead, when he had tried to force bimself on ber in the streets of | Satanstown. ‘Too darned haughty for m taste, but there ‘ain’t no denyin’ they’re hand. some. | “Then, by Jove! they must think we're a set savages,” the Briton thoughtful}; d. “*I wish we'd bad time to warn that old fellow about the fence before he went home, It’s a beastly bore!” he Honorable Geor . called et gor he did not like ‘‘a bea bore,” mlinson understood bi ’ m. ' -““T wonder if it would do to send the old duffer a note of zy,” he pursued, medita- tively. “lf the girls are bandsome, as you say, it’s just}as well to— Look here, Tomlinson, suppose you take a note to the father, and see how they take it?” . ; Tomlinson shook his head. ‘‘ Thankee, sir; but 1 don’ nt any in mine. "3 worth, at fo go to any, wouse in thie county, til we've go to any, & n this I) we’ve our fight, an owned these men. You don’t know Tex Berkele ‘yet. wh y smiled, in bis superior, English o Ab—vyes—perbaps [ don’t understand Tex- as, as well as you do, my friend; but I flatter * ° - v * ¥ ‘z J y to pick a quarrel: 200k —) We