Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 1102 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

Be ‘‘But I will not trouble you for the recom- mendation, though, for I haven’t any idea of leaving this ancient burg; not for the present, at any rate. ‘‘T like the town, and the town seems to like me, and I have made up my mind to settle down here, and, as alcalde of the ranch, I have come to you for counsel.” ‘© Counsel?” exclaimed Marmaduke. ‘Yes, advice, you know. In the first place | I wanted to find out what you honestly thought of me. ‘¢‘ Your opinion, I take it, will be the reflex of the town. ‘“ You think I’m ascamp of the first water— ergo, the town thinks so, too. ‘That is all right then; I have attained the hight of my ambition in that line; further I cannot go. ‘‘Now, 1 propose to try another tack. I want to see what sort of a figure I shall cut in trying to be an honest, quiet citizen and an upright man. ‘‘T have been @ sport and sharp long enough. I have made a small fortune in the business, and now, like the sinner on the death-rack, I propose to reform. “T want to get into some nice, quiet busi- ness, and I am not at all yh gata 3 in regard to what it is, so long as I can make a decent living at it. I have ample capital to start me, and I thought that in your official capacity as alcalde of the town you would be able to give me some good advice in regard to the matter.” Old Bullion looked sharply at the quiet-faced ort. ie had a suspicion that there was something back of all this; but what it was he could not ess, on Humph—well, I don’t really see how I can be of service to you,” he observed, “T don’t know much about trade, anyway. My business is raising cattle, and there isn’t much money in that for any one, unless they are prepared to go in on a big scale. “Tf you could raise fifty or sixty thousand now, there’s a ranch next to mine here which could be had for that money, and I think ducats could be made.” “JT can raise the money,” replied the Fresh, placidly. ‘* You can?” ‘Yes, without trouble.” “You are Letter heeled than I thought.” 5 You've got that amount of money, haven't ou? me Yes, and double it ten times!” replied the old cattle king, with conscious pride. ‘‘ That is exactly what I reckonedon. I'll pla poker with you and win fifty or os thousand.” ‘*No, you won't!” roared the alcalde, in a voice of thunder. -** You have skinned me once, and hang me if I'll ever give you a second chance!” ‘‘Now what is the use of a man trying to re- form if you're going to throw such obstacles as that in his path?” exclaimed the Fresh, in an in- jured sort-of-way. ‘‘ See here, what on earth are you up to any- way? There’s some -game back of all this! You know there is!” the alcalde declared, ‘‘T have told you nothing but the truth, Lam tired of being considered a cardsharponly, You know the world thinks there is great difference between the man who plays cards for sport to pass the time away, no matter how high he bets, and the unfortunate wretch who gambles that he may live. ‘‘ ] want to become an honest member of s0- ciety. I haven’t made a business of gambling since I came to Santa Fé, and there isn’t any reason why I shouldn’t leave my old life all be- hind me, and begin a new one here against which the tongue of slander cannot rail. ‘Come, alcalde, will you not give me a chance! Don’t you need an overseer or something of that sort on your ranch? , “T'm’a good rider, and can fling a lariat as well as any Mexican that ever coiled a rope. ‘‘D]} work for low wages and do my best to make myself useful to you. ? **T might te on d room for you in my mines, a hundred miles to the south,” observed the alcalde, reflectively. ‘Oh, no, thank you; that wouldn’t do at all,” replied Blake, quickly. ‘ And why not?” questioned the alcaide, in as- tonishment, ‘¢T don’t want toleave Santa Fé.” ‘¢Oh, you don’t,” and a peaaaet expression appeared on the face of Old Bullion. “No, I like the town; P'm quite comfortable here, and I have made up my mind to settle down for a time, anyway.’ ‘* There’s some reason back of this; you cannot pull the wool. over my eyes,” Marmaduke de- ** Tm too old a bird and have seen too much of the world. ‘¢ What does such a man as you are care, for a town. except for what he can make*out of it? All towns are alike to you.so long as you can continue to feather your nest well. ‘* Yousay youcome to me for counsel and yet you are not acting honestly with me.” The Stranger Sharp. EES ee ‘¢Oh, yes, I am,” Blake asserted. ‘‘- You haven’t give me your true reason for | wishing to stay here. ‘¢Of eourse it really isn’t any of my business, | but since you have come to me for advice I can- not very well give it unless I know all the facts in the case.” Blake hesitated for a moment, and then he looked the alcalde straight in the eye. ‘‘Perhaps what [ have to say will not be agreeable to you.” ‘Well, you can judge of that better than I until I know what it is,” Old Bullion replied, a dark look on his face which evidently meant mischief. ‘“‘T suppose I might as well make a clean breast of it, come what may!” Blake exclaimed, | decidedly. | ‘‘ Hear the truth, then; I stay in Santa Fé be- | cause I love your daughter Isabelle!” | With a cry like the roar of a wild beast Old | Bullion jumped to his feet and sprung straight | at the throat of the Fresh of Frisco, | , CHAPTER XXXTT. THE TUG-OF-WAR. But Jackson Blake was not to be taken by | surprise. Like the practiced swordsman he had been | watching the eyes of the alcalde and saw the in- | tention to attack written there before Old Bull- ion made a movement. So, as Marmaduke leaped at him, displaying | all the fury of a wild beast who fancied that his | prey was about to escape, the Fresh rose to meet im, and Old Bullion did not succeed in gaining | the least advantage by his sudden attack. The two men closed in a lusty grapple. Apparently the cattle king had a decided ad- vantage. He was taller than his anfagonist, larger | ds more, | | ing his weight to the fall. every way, weighing at least fifty poun and to the thinking of a man who was not a iudge in athletic matters ali the chances were in is favor, but a veteran sportsman would have decided otherwise. The extra weight was bone and fat, more fat than bone, a disadvantage, rather than other- wise, while Blake was in as good condition as a pugilist who had gone through a long course of careful training in anticipation of an important contest. There was hardly an ounce of fat upon him, A follower of the fistic art would have declared he was in condition ‘‘ to fight for a man’s life.” The alcalde, despite his years, was possibly the stronger man of the two, but then to coun- terbalance this advantage, he had but a slight knowledge of the wrestler’s art, while Blake, on the contrary, was an expert in all the tricks of this peculiar tie pa In his wild life of adventure he had wrestled with all sorts of men and under all kinds of con- ditions, and from each and every adversary he had learned something. And Blake was an apt scholar, too, in this sort of thing and possessed the wonderful facul- ty of picking up a trick of this kind in a few minutes that an ordinary man would puzzle hours over. So the advantages were decidedly with the younger man. Old Bullion, too, had failed signally in his at- tempt to take the other by surprise. It had been his idea to grasp the stranger by the throat and give him a good choking for his impudence. hen, too, the alcalde was not free from con- ceit which whispers to the average man that he can succeed where a fellow-mortal has failed. So far the Fresh of Frisco had easily beaten every man in Santa Fé with whom he had come in contact. It would be a big thing—to use the common expression—if he, the alcalde of the town, should succeed in getting the best of his ‘‘ tough customer ”—if he could prove to him that there was one man in the town who was his equal, if not his master, : Old Bullion was only a fair shot with either rifle or pistol, could not boast of any skill with the knife at all, but he was wonderfully strong, and believing he was far superior in his physical cifts to Blake, he calculated that if he could succeed in closing in with the other he could easily master him, so had resolved to make the attack. His first move though was not a success. If he could once get his strong hands on the windpipe of his adversary he felt sure be could shake oie until the other would be glad to cry enough. _ But shonga he sprung directly at Biake’s throat he did not manage to reach the mark, The arms of the other were in the way and as he felt the strong grip of the Fresh of Frisco tighten on him, he suddenly realized that the | task he had undertaken was not, going to be as | a) one as he had anticipated. | of bis steel, e stranger was evidently a foeman worthy They struggled. up and down the floor, en- twined like two huge serpents. The alcalde bad given up_his idea of choking the other and had made up lis mind to ‘‘ throw” on Old Bullion’s realized that one him, a task which he thought he woulc not fail to accomplish, being so much the stronger and heavier man. To this end then he bent all his energies, essaying to get a ‘‘crook” on Blake so as to twist him off his feet, but in some mysterious manner the Fresh managed to wriggle out of every tight place into which the alcalde got him, before the older man could exert his strength for the final effort. Great drops of perspiration began to gather row; not for years had he taken any such violent exercise. He began to puff and pant, while his adver- “cid | did not seem to be in the least disturbed by his exertion. The alcalde felt that his strength was begin- ning to desert him. The violent and unaccustomed exertion was telling on him, He felt that the point was rapidly approach- ing when it must be now or never, and then he began a series of mighty struggles, nerving himself for a supreme effort. The thought that the Fresh of Frisco might prove the victor in this contest, which he him- self had provoked, was as gall and wormwood to him, and so ke essayed with all his might o cast the other to the floor, intending to add his own weight to the fell, and so crush his nimble antagonist. But, try. his best, he could not accomplish his purpose, although he strained every mus- cle in his posy, and then all of a sudden he lake had rianaged to get a peculiar hold upon him. He essayed desperately to break the serpent- like *‘ lock ” of his antagonist but could not. Blake had twisted him on his hip, then there was a sudden jerk—the alcalde felt that his feet were leaving the floor—and down he went with a crash. flat on his back, hisadversary add- he head of Old Bullion struck the floor with a terrible thump, and for a moment or two the shock stunned him. When he recovered his senses, he found that Blake was sitting astride of him with his left hand twisted in his neck-tie, which was a plain silk handkerchief which he wore loosely knotted around his neck in sailor-fsshion, so that by pressing the knuckles of the tist into the throat it was ible to half-strangle him, and the other fist, viciously doubled up, was thrust menacingly under his nose. ‘You miserable scallywag Of an alcalde, how dare you attack a gentleman in this ~snner?” Blake demanded. “Tet me up,” gurgled Old Bullion, half- strangled. ‘* Not by a jugful!” ‘You'll strangle me!” ‘“You ought to be strangled, you wretched old rascal!” Old Bullion was white with rage. ‘‘ Oh, if I only had a chance, you scoundrel i he stammered, so exasperated that he could hardl ak. ‘¢ You've, got a chance; what are you com- plaining about, you unhung horse-thief? You've got as lendid chance—to be hammered until none of your friends will know you. I reckon that it’s my say-so this time!” And as he spoke the Fresh of Frisco swung his muscular fist in the air as though he intended to let it fall directly on the prominent nose of the alcalde. ‘¢ You miserable scoundrel], don’t you dare to strike me!” cried the alcalde, the other having in a slight measure relaxed the pressure of his throat so he could speak. ‘“ Dare to strike you! I’m going to smash you all to pieces!” replied Blake, and again he brandished his fist in. the air. “Tf you dare to strike’*me Ill murder you when I get up!” Old Bullion cried, almost chok- ing with anger. ‘Oh, that’s all right! I’m not a-going to let you get up,” the Fresh replied, ete f “Tm going to pound you for awhile and then. T'licut your throat!” ‘‘T could wind up your earthly career with a revolver-ball just as well, you know, but the re- | port of the pistol would make a noise and might attract some witnesses to the scene, the cold steel, though, does its work quietly. ‘“« And after I settle your hash, there will be a good chance for me to run for alcalde, and I He had designed to seize Blake by the throat. | reckon 1 will make a heap sight better one than h | you, you miserable old goat-stealer!” “You're crazy!” cried Old Bullion, who really began to believe that the man was not in his right senses, so matter-of-fact was he in his manner as he made known his bloodthirsty design. 3s That's a goodidea, I can kill you and then swear I did it in a crazy fit. “But hold on!” exclaimed the Californian, ek es ‘ “T forgot: I can’t kill you; you're the father 9 the girl that I want to marry one of these ays. “Never!” cried Old Bullion. ‘Oh; yes, I will; we'll fix thet all right be- tween us, she and I, and if you cut up rusty it will be time enough to wipe you out then.