Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 1102 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

26 The Stranger Sharp. eee A CC A A A A A renee ne men a eeeepeeeenenenarenangapanumnmametammnaaeapmmmetaananasaa cae The manin front of the stage seemed to be and placing himself by Isabelle’sside he nodded ‘“‘No, no; we know ea game worth ’two of the leader of the road-agent band for it was he | toward the hillside. that. who first made his appearance in the trailand, | The girl cast an anxious look at her father. ‘* Instead of coe twenty thousand to with leveled rifle, signaled to the driver to come “Go with the men, don’t fear, they will not | rescue the girl, I would, if I were you, gladly to a halt. harm you,” the alcalde said, outwardly calm, | spend fifty thousand to rescue Isabelle and Now with rifle menacingly flourished he rode yet witha burning fever within, for he longed punish these villains who have dared to commit up to the stage-coach. | to take the rascals by the throat. so bold a crime.” ‘‘ Well, driver, what is it to be,afight ora The girl departed with the dusky-hued scoun- ‘‘ My own idea exactly!’ Old Bullion replied, surrender?” he queried in a harsh voice, evident- , drels, and took up a position about a hundred | and then he told Santilla of the meeting which ly disguised. | yards away. was to be held in the plaza to deliberate in re- ‘‘ Nary fight,” responded the knight of the Then Old Bullion was searched in the most ! gard to the matter. reins and ain thorough manner, but beyond the forty odd dol- ‘+ & es idea!” the chief of police exclaim- ‘‘ That is whar your heads are level. Who lars which he had in his pocket, as he had in- | ed. ‘* We can raise a half-a-dozen scouting par- ties and can search the country so thoroughly, that if the scoundrels have a nest anywhere within a hundred miles of Santa Fé, we cannot fail to find them.” have you got inside the hearse?” | formed the outlaws, nothing of value came to ‘* Old Bullion and his darter.” light. ‘Gad to hear it: we're flat broke, the hull | Then the coach was ransacked, but as the al- gang of us, and we are jest dying to strike | calde had told the truth about his valuables somebody who is able to put up a good stake to start us a-going again.” At this point the alcalde stuck his head out nothing whatever was discovered. The road-agent chief was terribly enraged. ‘You have tricked us, you old scoundrel!” After a few more words of not enough im- portance to be worth detailing the two made their way to the square, About all the people of Santa Fé and its environs had assembled in the square. A rude platform had been erected about large enough to contain a dozen people. Jimsonweed, who was generally elected to preside over anything of this kind—all Santa Fs recognizing his abilities as an executive officer— having been duly chosen by the crowd as chairman to preside over the meeting, had or- ganized a posse to prevent the impatient, ignorant fellows, who knew no better, from in- truding on the platferm, and when the alcalde and captain of police arrived they were at once escorted to seats upon the elevation, where were already gathered eight of the principal citizens of the town. he cried. ‘‘But you are not out of the wood | yet! _ Then he made a signal to the men who had the | girl in charge. | Ina swiikiing she was grasped by the man on | the ground, lifted to the embrace o the brawny | Savage on the horse, then the other sprung into | the saddle and away they went, without paying | the least attention to the wild screams of the _ hapless girl thus rudely abducted. | “When you want your gal, alcalde, come with twenty thousand dollars alone to where Mud | Creek runs into the Rio Grande and you'll find a | man there Bee tere to talk business with you!” of the Bloodsuckers, and then he of the window again. ‘‘ Well, I’m sorry to hear that, stranger, for T’m afraid that you are doomed to bea leetle disappointed this time. ‘‘As a general thing I travel pretty well heeled and can be depended upon to cut up toler- ably rich. ‘But I came away from home in a hurry this morning and didn’t £ for my cash, so, boys, if I pan out an even fifty you'll be lucky.” ** Oho, ho!” laughed the outlaw leader, hoarse- ly, as he approached the window through which the head of the alcalde was poked. ‘‘That’s too thin a story; that will not go down with us. Weknow you, Martin Marma- | cried the chie duke, as well as you know yourself, and if you think you can play any gum game on us, you have made a mighty big mistake in your reck- oning, that’s all!” The alcalde became red in the face; it was | the folly of such a course, halted. 1any along year since he had been addressed in this fashion and it was not pleasant. ‘‘} am not trying to play any gum game!” he declared. ‘‘On the contrary I am giving it to you as straight as a string. Of course if you do not choose to believe me, I cannot help that. It is the truth that lam telling you and there is no two ways about it.” ‘*Too thin—too thin!” declared the outlaw chief, bluntly. ‘‘We know that you never travel without your wealth. ‘‘ Oh, we are posted, weare. Wharare your sparklers?/—whar’s the big roll of bills that you always carry in your pocket? ‘‘Come, old man, shell out, and the quicker the better. We don’t want to be disagreeable, but we want your plunder and must have it. ‘¢ The fact is we have been laying for you for a month of Sundays, and now that we have got you foul we are not going to be cheated out of the wealth!” “Tt give you my word, gentlemen, that! you are barking up the wrong tree this time,” the alcalde declared, earnest. y. ++ You are welcome to search me, but you will find that it is as I have toid you. ‘‘} have made it a rule to always play a square game, every time, and J am not going to change my policy now, although you have kinder rung in a cold deal on me.” ‘Oh, no, we know your trick—you can’t fool us; we are too old roosters to be caught with chaff!” the bandit cried. ‘* Vou have stuffed your wealth in among the cushions, dropped your diamonds in some slit which you have cut in the coach linings, but we will have the plunder ont if we have to rip the durned old hearse to pieces. ‘*So tumble out and give up aged we’ pons; sorry to disturb you, marm,” he continued, ducking his head «to Isabelle, ‘but business, you see, is business, and thar’s no help for it, ‘‘Hop out, both of you, and don’t you at- tempt any funny business, you old galoot of an alcalde, or we'll fill you so full of holes that you won’t hold water. ‘‘We have got the drop on you, and with us Bloodsuckers it is shoot on sight!” ‘*T realize my position, gentlemen, and I am not fool enough to attempt to offer resistance when it cannot possibly do mé any good,” Old Bullion replied, with a creat deal of dignity. and then he got out of the coach and assisted his daughter to descend. Atasignal from the outlaw chief the rest of the band hastened to the spot. | And now that he had time to survey the road- agents, the alcalde noted, from the dusk hands, that two of the four were either red- skins or else masquerading as Indians. Brief time had he for reflection, though, for the moment the men came up the outlaw chief instructed one of them to receive the alcalde’s weapons. And after this ceremony was performed, the road-agent leader said: ‘* Now, alcalde, we'll have to go through you, and your gal had better get out of the way. ere etary ce a eR LE LLL EE LL eee | put spurs to his horse, and followed by his com- panion, dashed away. The old man, in bis rare and despair, rap a few steps after them as though he thought he could pursue them on foot, and then, realizing In a few moments the outlaws with their | beautiful captive disappeared amid the foot- hills. “J ump into the coach, alcalde!”’ cried the driver: *TVll make Santa Fé in quick time and you kin raise a gang to corral these scoundrels!” ‘ The advice was good, and Old Bullion adopted i CHAPTER XXXVITI, SANTA FE DELIBERATES, Tar driver was as good as his word, and the coach went back to Santa Fé on the jump. The moment the coach made its appearance in the streets of the ancient city, all who saw it understood that something was wrong, and by the time it got to the plaza and halted, there was quite a little crowd gathered. The driver explained the situation in a few words, excited almost beyond measure when he thought of the daring outrage that had been perpetrated. ‘+ We have been stopped by that infernal gang of Bloodsuckers: they went through the alcalde, and have carried off his gal!” The citizens stared at each other as they listen- ed to this startling announcement, as strange as any that the streets of the ancient city had heard in spite of its years. By this time Old Bullion had descended from the coach. During the few hours he had aged fearfully; he seemed fully ten years older than the man who had left Santa Fé that morning. on dozen voices were raised in sympathetic cries. ‘It’s an awful blow, gentlemen,” he said, ‘¢and I don’t really know what is to be done.” ‘** Call lea? ora meeting, alcalde,” suggested Jimsonweed, who happened to be in the crowd, ‘‘ call a public meeting, and give us alla chance to chip in and help you out, ‘“Thar ain't a man in the town that will hold ee I’m betting all ('m worth in the world on it! ‘‘The wretches have abducted my child for the evan of extorting a ransom from me,” Old ullion explained. ‘The chief said that if 1 wished to get her back again I must come alone to where Mud Creek empties into the Rio Grande, and bring twenty thousand dollars with me.” “Twenty thousand devils,” yelled Jimson- weed, in a great rage. ‘‘ We'll give them twenty thousand ropes to put around their ’tar- nel necks, though [ reckon if we git our hands upon them one hempen neck-tie apiece will be enough to settle their hash.” The crowd vociferous!y echoed this sentiment. And it was settled that a meeting was to be held in the plaza in half an hour to discuss what was best to be done. Old Bullion took his way sadly to his office, after being detained some ten minutes by anx- ious sympathizers on the way, In the office he found Santilla, the chief of police, tranquilly smoking a cigarette. The moment the alcalde entered he noted the “« A couple of you escort the lady over yon- | strangeness of his looks, and anxiously inquired der: this was addressed to the outlaws. The two dusky-handed fellows, whom Old Bullion had taken to be Indiams, moved for- ward, man who had received the alcalde’s weapons, One of them was dismounted, for he was the | the cause, Great was the indignation of the chief of | ey when he learned of the outrage which doe ad occurred. ‘* Twenty thousand dollars!” he exclaimed, in conclusion, \ ) When the alcalde and the captain of police came upon the platform there were just three empty chairs left. Old Bullion and Santilla took two of them, and then the eagle eye of Jim- sonweed caught sight of the Fresh of Frisco standing in the front ranks of the crowd near to | the stand. ‘* Come right up this way, Mister Blake!” the saloon-keeper exclaimed. ‘‘ We need jist sich men as you are when we git into a leetle fix of this kind! ‘*Come up and gi’n us a lift!” ‘““Thank you, but I had rather be excused from occupying so conspicnous a place,” Blake replied, ‘¢7}'m a new-comer in the town, and there’s a heap of men here better fitted to step forward and suggest how the thing ought be run than I. ‘* But ’'m with you though to put her through, whatever is decided to be done, to the last dolar and the last gasp!” There was a cheer at this. The chief of police looked darkly at his an- cient foe, but the alcalde thanked him with a courtly bow. ‘¢ Thar ain’t no use of talkin’, Mister Fresh of Frisco, but you’ve got fur to git onto that yere stand!” cried a stalwart fellow, right in Blake’s ear, and the surrounding crowd agreeing with the speaker in this opinion, gently forced the Californian forward until he was really obliged to accept the seat reserved for him by Jimson- eed, It will be merely a waste of time and of the reader’s patience to relate the details of the de- liberstion. Suffice it to say, it was the sense of the meet- ing that before agreeing to pay any ransom for the return of the girl, all possible efforts should be made to track the abductors and recover her by forge. And so four parties were formed to take the trail and endeavor to make it hot for the Blood- suckers. | One was commanded by the alcalde, another by the captain of police, the third by Spanish Jobn, and the fourth by the Fresh of Frisco. Blake tried to get out of the command, saying it wasso long since he had done any scouting that he was afraid that he had forgotten all he knew about it. But the crowd wouldn’t take no for an an- swer, and so Blake consented to take the com- mand, provided that Jimsonweed went along. The saloon-keeper readily agreed to this, al- though, as he said, he could “juggle a tumbler or ity an egg” far better than he could strike a trail. It was arranged that all four ies should proceed in one body to the spot where the stage- coach was stopped by the road-agents, and then try to follow the trail made by the marauders ay they rode off through the foothills with the girl. Of course, as the reader knows who has fol- lowed the fortunes of Jackson Blake, the Fresh of Frisco, since the day when we first intro- duced him to notice, no better Indian tracker or plainsman existed than our hero, but for reasons of his own he did not allow the fact to become known on this occasion, but kept modestly in re Ar allowing the others to do the g. The party reached the spot where the attack had been made and then the men who professed to be scouts and [ndian-fighters were sent out in advance to follow the trail. A couple of these men were what they pro- fessed to be, butthe others were a lotof ignorant : : Pay DOOKS.CcCO n COIr - Pi ’ 4 \ +; 44 - % ae aA . *, . A ' j - 7 on