Beadle's Dime Library, Vol. XII, No. 145 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

18 strovg enough to goon your way, and grate- ful enough to try and forget and forgive what has happened about Tierra Roxo, where, cer- tainly, you had no business ever to come.” “Girl, who are you? What relation is there between you and these outlaws?—for connection of some kind there must be. You are young, you are reckless, and yet you seem hon-st and true. Dare [ trust you? Why should you have come to our aid?” “You have asked me some such questions before, and I told you [I could not answer them. Whatis it to you? Accept the goods that the gods send you, and never mind wheth- er they are brought by an angel or some one else. I bave taken a fancy to aid you, and as lopg as that lasts you will find me tolerably true.” porn “But surely you have not lived here al- ways; and youare notalone. Your father— who is he? Your mother? There isnot a line in your face that is familiar, yet something tells me that you are one I should know,” ‘‘Wather! Mother! Come! You are ask- ing too much. Ihave supposed, sometimes, that yonder man whom you cailed Captain Skull, was my father; but then, again, I know that he isnot. Yow certainly do not claim the honor.” | She looked at him sharply, her black eyes gleaming, whether with anger or interest it was bard to tell: and waited for his answer. He hesitated, shook his head slowly and re- plied with something of a far-away look: ‘‘No child of mine lives, or ever has lived; why do you ask?” ‘No reason need I give fpr a woman's ques- tion, and for yours J’ll give you a woman’s answer. Why does Captain Skull bate you?’ The question was to the man, but Catalina’s eyes turned to the woman, and hardly bad she spoken when she saw a crimson flame: spread over the face of Kate, who raised ber hand with a warning gesture, and gave the answer herself. ‘‘ You have chosen to say nothing in regard to yourself; and perhaps )ou are wise, Grant to us the same privilege. To you we would only tell the truth, and perhaps it is better that that truth should not be told; not here and yet at least. You have served us well. If we leave our bones here nothing will ever con- vince me that the fault was yours. If we es- cape, come to us when and where you will, aud ask us what you choose; you will not find us un ful.” ee ee ee ‘Promises are readily made; but not so. often kept. Perhaps when I remind you of yours I will find you as ungrateful as the bulance of the world. Let it be so, though; what matter? Iam not serving for pay. All this talk is worse than folly. I came: to tell you that you will not see me again for perbaps a day, perhaps longer. When I can see my clear I will return to you and then you must be ready to leave. Meantime you can think well whether, when you are off and away, it willbe worthy of you to do or say anything that can harm me or mine, in name out waiting for further answer Cata- lina left the cabin boldly and threw herself into the saddle. There was no onein sight and if there bad been she would not have hesitated, for she did not believe that there was any suspicion of the nearness of the two fugitives, avd if there had been, in no other way would it be so easily disarmed. t to the ranch she went, and at the door was met by a tall, thin-faced woman, whose dark complexion, and black hair and eyes seemed to pronounce ber a native Californian, of the Mexican stock. There was something dark, forbidding about the countenance of this woman, although it retained traces of much former beauty, and she looked at (be girl with a cold glitter in her eye, as though reading her through and through. ‘Ab, Catalina,” ste said. -‘‘ You are ever wise, since you are never in the strength of the storm. Itis as well for you that you were not here ten minutes ago. ‘‘And why?” asked Catalina coolly, as she relinquished ber bridle to a balf-clad Loy who came rupning up. ca “Pray, what have I done now, that I should want to be in hiding?” ‘“You know best. Your uncle was away all ‘ht, and when he came back the first. thing be asked was after you. He swore roundly when they told him you had come in at mid- Pistol Pards. . a _ _ —_—_——- — — night, and went to look if your bed had been slept in. He scarce believed that you had just ridden away. What new wickedness have you been up to? It must be something worse than ever and I doubt if it will soon be forgiven.”’ ‘* How can I tell of what I am accused now? The pranks of a girl are easily magnified into a crime when the judge is bent on having a culprit, Let those who brought me here take me as they find me; or seund me away. Do I want to dwell here?’ ‘‘You might dwell in a worse place, and have fewer friends,” answered the Woman, standing aside to allow Catalina to enter. “ But that you will not believe?’ ‘* Scarcely.” ‘‘ Willful children that try to have their own way always, sometimes meet with trou- bles they need not. If you would take advice I should say that while your uncle is in such mood it would be well to beware how you anger him,” ‘* And it would be well for others to take care how they meddle in business that is not their own, or trouble themselves of matters that are my concern; I can protect, and I can avenge myself.” ; She swept away toward ber room unmindful of. the fact that the woman held forth her hand as if to stay her until her answer could be heard, and followed protesting that there was a mistake. The room into which Catalina entered was darkened by closed shutters and she advanced to throw them open: the door behind her sud- denly closed and she beard the snap of the bolt in the great lock, that told her that she was a prisoner. ‘‘Ha, ha, my lady! You may protect your- self sure enough, for all the worid can neither get in nor out through this door; and the win- dows are stoutly barred from the outside. How you will avenge yourself remains to be seen. Maie yourself comfortable as you can, for out of there you do not come until your uncle returns, and that may be aweek. There is a lamp there for you to light, and you shall not starve.” Whether or no she was suspected, Catalina was caged. CHAPTER XXIV. COLONEL DASHWOOD TRUMPS A TRICK, THE two exiles gave one last look in the direction of tue camp, and then turned down Red Cat Gulch. Whatever might be the basis of Soft Huna’s interest Alabaster Jim’s appear- ed to be purely gratuitous. ‘(min this drag with you, an’ I’m goin’ to see you out,” was his answer, as Sott Hand called to his mind the haste which he had dis- played to get off to the North, ‘‘ ve struck a streak o’ luck byar, things is panning out rich, an’ tur a pard you’re about as good as they make ’em, so | ain’t-a-growlin’, Only don’t you furgit thet ther tough work is just. beginnin’, an’ ef I stick, you ain’t to throw off.” J ‘‘ Not my name,” answered the other short- ly. ‘*There’s a little matter of saving my life between us, that I’m not going to forget,” ** All right, [TH give you a chance at mine some day. An ef we-don’t stir up some tun at Irish Molly’s you kin call me a Dutchman, I feel it in me bones,” It looked as though the bones aforesaid were poor prophets, however, for around the house everything was silent, and in the dim, uncer- tain light of the early morning it looked deso- late and deserted. Contrary to the rule since the strangers bad been received, the doors and windows were tightly closed, and, as Alabaster Jim remarked, it appeared as though there might bave been a death in the family. Soft Hand was inclined totake a serious view of the matter, He looked, and be lis- tened, He examined the roadway, and even crept around until he could obtain a view of the rear of the house, if by chance there might be any one lurking there. Nothing else suspicious could be seen, yet he was not satisfied. “See here,” he said. “If there has been uny trouble here and that Lrishwomwan has turved her shanty into a fort she may Jet drive first and talk to us afterward if she sees us coming in force; I bad better go on ahead and see what's the lay-out. She’s as handy with the pistols, ’'ve heard, as with her tongue, and I tell you. that s saying a good deal.” ‘* Drive on, but ef thar’s fun save a leetle till Ikim up.” : So leaving Alabaster Jim at some little dis- tance from the house, Soft Hand imarched boldly up to the door and gave a thundering knock, to which there was no response. Again he beat a tattoo with bis knuckles, and waited for some sign from within; which did not come. ‘No use to waste time,” he muttered. ‘‘If there was going to be shooting the frolic would have begun. Here goes.” Shoulder forward he flung himself against the door, which creaked under the attack, but did not yield. ) Once more he tbrew his weight against the stout boards, and this time, with a crash tbat rattled through the old house, the door flew back, and the way was open, Im fact be fol- lowed the door in with a rush that was ag in- voluntary as it was rapid. “By George! they’ve skipped the ranch, or some one’s taken them in from the damp. There’s no one bere.” The little stream of misty light that. crawled in through the open door haidly showed him the shadows. He strode across the room and casting up a heavy bar was about to throw open the shutter, At that instant a strean’of dark forms, withb- out even a whisper of warning, pounced out up- on him, First, from. a closet close at hand, a little, tough, wiry Mexican bounded out, cat-like, and sprung upon his back; clinging fast with both arms around bim, then two crawled out foom under the bed, one dropped down trom the loft above, and two more dasled through the partition door, crying: ‘‘Give it up, pard; we'll have you dead or alive!” And the five bounded to the assistance of the little Mexican, the foremost man carrying a pair of glittering handcuffs, Six on one, and no time or chance to use his weapons. It looked as though they had him beyond a doubt. Certainly they ought to be able to dispose of any ordinary man before © Alabaster Jim could come to the rescue, even | if he heard the noise of the fray. But Soft Hand did not even attempt to draw his revolvers. Up and bebind him be threw bis hands the moment the Mexican settled on his back. Then he bent forward, stooping low down with a sudden jerk, and up in the air went the Mexican, and moved partly by the shock and partly by the powerful hands of the bronze-bearded man he dropped right in front of Soft Hand who as _ instaptly changed his gripe and catching him up as though he was a feather, whirled him swittly around his head. Down went two men, stricken to the floor by this novel bludgeon, while the remaining three sprung back, but were unable to escape the human catapult. With another swing Soft Hand hurled at them the body of the Mexican, and leveling one more he sprung forward, and catching, by the throat, the other two, who were too dumfounded to organize resistance, he tore them from the floor and flung them in a heap upon their comrades. At the same time Alabaster Jim came dash- ing into the room, a pistol in either hand. “Tve got ‘em, James,” said Soft Hand, coolly, as he stooped and snapped the handcuffs ou the wrists of two, linking them together, and then drew his revolvers, ‘I’ve got ’em; but saints or angels cc uidu’t tell what we're to do with ’em. It wwuuid be butchery io cut their throats; and they’re dangerous Cuttle to let go, As they're all of them masked 1 judge they ’re part of Captain Skull’s gang, ‘‘ A purty lookin’ set they are. Idon’t want ‘em either, I'll tell you, pard. This shanty ain’t wuth much, an’ ther owner won't have much use for it, tur 1 jedge they’ve hed to plant her afore they could set up shop hyar fur them- selves. Ther best plan would be to tie’em in a beap, lock up ther-doors an’ winders, an’ burn up ranch, road-agents an’ all together.” He might well have been in very earnest, so soberly did -be make the proposition, and while he spoke he was quietly removing the arms from the belts of the prisoners, of whom several were senseless, and the rest, half stun- ned, were covered by Soft Hand’s revolvers. ‘That seems somewhat bloodthirsty; but we’l] tie them up.and see what damage they've done before we make up our minds.” . Without much trouble they succeeded in COMDIE OOO! K<S (E@)