Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 173 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

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He’s your mutton; I surrender him. The will of the majority prevails in this _— !"—a declaration greeted with a wild uzza! CHAPTER XXIII. THE RIDE TO DEATH. ALCIBIADES yielding, the half-breed, the mas- ter of the Silver Hell, came to the front. ‘*Gentlemen, he announced, ‘‘ we want to put this thing right through at express speed and without any bungling over it, either. I move that we mount the prisoner upon a horse, put the rope around his neck and trot him off at once to the first cottonwood. What do you sa id The rnswer was a loud yell of approval. They fairly hungered for the blood of the vic- tim. — ‘“*Hiko, here, has filled many a grave in his time, and has served asa hangman more than once,” Charley Yampas continued. Over the hard face of the Hunchback came a in, and he nodded his head significantly. ‘* V’ll o the job up brown, and if I don’t you can string me up, too!” ‘*Tnat’s the kind of talk to suit!” cried a stal- wart fellow in the crowd, and the rest at once shouted out their approval. ' ** We must get him a horse, somewhere,” the half-breed remarked. “*Let him take my beast!’ Hiko volun- teered. ' **Oh, no, you are one of the chief men in the rocession; it won’t do to have you walk,” ampas replied. | Another horseman at once volunteered his steed. This man was Yampas’s master of cere- monies in the Silver Hell, considerable of a sport, and the bay mare he owned was reputed to be the crack horse of the town; sag fi she had so far beaten everything that ventured to enter the lists against her. ‘‘Good for you, Pete!” Hiko cried. ‘‘ Your mare will do, and the man will have the satis- faction of knowing that he rides to his death well-mounted.” ** Shall I bring him out?” Alcibiades asked. “*Tf you will be so kind,” Yampas replied, politely, and the crowd at once took up the eyes, yes, trot him out; we’re in a hurry!” ‘Maybe we won’t be in a hurry when our time comes,’”’ the Hunchback remarked. This odd piece of humanity was noted for saying un gee things. ill retraced bis steps through the saloon, and when he entered the room where the pris- oner was confined he found that the Californian had improved the opportunity to inveigle the two guards into a little game. en he reéntered the first round was fin- ished, and the prisoner, with his white and - ginewy hand, was just raking in the spoils, much to the disgust of his opponents. **Sorry to interrupt you, but thar’s a leetle business on hand that will, Fs eames , take up our attention for the next half hour, ’the Keno eee with a grim smile. ‘Yes? Well, boys, you will have to excuse me then,” and the prisoner gathered up the raoney and put it into his pockets. ‘I will give you —_ revenge at some other time.” ‘¢ It will have to be in the other world, then,” Bill remarked, ‘‘ for if the fellows outside carry out the programme ww Be marked out you won’t have any chancé in this one.” ‘‘What is the trouble?’ the Californian in- | Petey apparently not in the least discon- certed. ‘“*They are going to hang you,” Bill an- swered. “Dear me! Js that possible? Well, do you know a great many smart men, in whose judg- ment I have every confidence, have always pre- dicted that I would be hung some day, and per- haps my time has come.” He arose with as much coolness as though going out for a plea- sure excursion. A t stillness fell upon the turbulent crowd when the prisoner appeared at the front door of the saloon, closely followed by Keno Bill and the guards, California John, the Pacific ; } i | ' . ‘Gentlemen, I am your humble servant to command,” the Fresh remarked, waving his hand, patronizingly, to the throng. ‘I don’t want to appear in the light of interfering in other people’s business, yet as I have a slight interest in this leetle affair, will you allow me to suggest that I don’t really see the necessity of your being in sucha deuceofa hurry? Wh won’t to-morrow do as well as to-night? and, just think, a lot of people are calculating upon seeing this performance who live out of town and will most certainly miss the show if you in- s‘st on hurrying things this way.” one man the crowd drew a long breath and lcoked wonderingly in each other's faces; such an exhibition of pluck and coolness Needle Bar never before had witnessed. ‘‘Prisoner, you have been condemned to death after a fair trial, and this hyer crowd thinks that the sooner you are out of the way the better. You are a mighty dangerous man. It wasn’t your fault that you didn’t kill half a dozen of our citizens. A man like you in this hyer town would be wighty - to depopulate it after awhile unless some pilgrims came in. It was Charley Yampas who spoke, and al- though the Fresh seemed indifferent, yet in reality he was much astonished to find that this once seeming friend should now be at the head of the men thirsting for his blood. This was a riddle and no mistake. . ‘‘Hyer’s your horse, Mount, stranger, for your last ride!” the Hunchback exclaimed, in is loud, hoarse voice, which rung out harsh and discordant. ‘*Hunehbacks are good luck for me,” the Fresh murmured, as he looked upon the mis- shapen man. ‘‘I met three hunchbacks, one after the other, the night I broke the faro-bank in Frisco and won twenty thousand dollars. Are hunchbacks good luck in Frisco and bad in Arizona?” ‘Come, stranger, mount and we’ll git; the ae are auxious for the fandango!’”’ Yampas cried. : Just a single look the prisoner swept over the crowd, and for a moment the wild thought of attempting a dash for liberty entered his head, but he saw no friendly faces; all looked upon him angrily; a mob once started is like a tiger; it seeks to destroy; and force, not reason, is the omy thing that can turn it from its pur- pose. ) ‘* All right, gentlemen,” the sport assented, still cheerful and calm, although the pr et ahead did seem to be terribly dark. ‘‘It is never agreeable to go against the will of the majority, so l’m your antelope.” With a light spring the sg a een) leaped into the saddle, and as he settled himself in his seat and felt the mouth of the animal with the bit, his sporting instincts told him that he had sel- dom backed a better steed. ‘Oh, if I could only break through this crowd 1 would risk their pistols,” was his thought. But those who had him in charge were not disposed to give him a single chance of escaping. rley Yampas, a cocked revolver in took h ition on one side and Hiko, the Hunchback, on tiie other, and for further pre- caution Hiko made a noose in the rope which he carried and placed it around the neck of the doomed man, drawing it quite tight and retain- aay the end of the rope in his hands. Icibiades had watched the proceedings with acarefuleye. He had made up his mind to in- terfere unless he saw that every possible pre- caution was being taken against the prisoner’s escape. But, as the matter had been arranged ten his jealous mind could not cavil at any- g- The procession started; straight toward the bank of the river it went, and then when the yellow, muddy waters of the Colorado were reached the northern trail was taken. About a mile on a couple of good big cottonwood trees 1ew by the side of the stream, and from the a ay of the two a branch projected that was just the thing for the dread purpose. Once there Yam called for a volunteer, and a lit- tle wiry fellow climbed up into the tree and fastened the end of the rope to the limb. The idea was to drive the horse from under the man and leave him suspended. CHAPTER XXIV. MANY A SLIP, ETC. THE procession had proceeded at a walk all the way; the horsemen with the prisoner in the center, completely encircled by the crowd, and each and every man in the throng with a wea- pon was ready to open fire on the prisoner if he should ny gS escape, but when the prepara- tions for the final scene were complete the mul- titude forgot its vigilance in the horrible inter- est of the coming tragedy. : ‘Better tie his hands,” Alcibiades suggested. ‘* Yes, that would be a good idea!” Yampas assented. ‘‘Who has a piece of cord fit for such a job?’ ‘*T have,” and the Hunchback produced from his pocket a stout string, which he held re in the moonlight and with both hands tested its strength. oughbred. rayne: I believe that Hunchbacks in Arizona are bad luck for me!” the Fresh mut- tered, as he beheld this operation. ‘‘Hold on a moment!” now interposed the store-keeper. ‘‘ Ain’t we going it a leetle too fast, boys! Wouldn’tit be a good idea to try and get this man to confess his share in the mroaey. deed and to own up who his confederates are : The words of Judge Lynch were timely and all agreed that the suggestion was a good one. __* Put it to him, judge; you kin do the speech- ‘* You hear, prisoner?” “Oh, yes, I hear.” ‘‘ Well, what do you say?” - “Thav’n’t anything to say.” “Don’t you understand the offer?” ‘* What offer? I hav’n’t heard any yet?” ‘Why, I reckon that it is the sentiment of this hyer community if you make a clean breast of this affair and tell all you know about it that they will see what they ean do for you.” ‘*What they can do for me?’ and a con- temptuous smile curled the lip of the prisoner. ‘That is a very indefinite expression, and ma mean much or little. Sup I do tell all know, will I be released and and allowed to go on my way unharmed?’ ‘*T suppose you are willing to agree never to come back to this hyer town ag’in?’ the cap- tain asked. The Fresh laughed outright. __ **T could give that promise readily enough; Needle Bar has not made itself particularly at- tractive to me since I have sojourned in the “Well, we will do what is right in the remises,”’ ‘““If I make a full confession to let me go, free and unharmed The captain looked at Alcibiades and the Keno King winked, significantly. The store- keeper understood that this meant he was to promise anything to induce the prisoner to con- fess, but the fulfillment of the promise, though, was quite another thing. ‘Oh, yes, we’ll do what is right; you kin de- pend upon that.” ** And to do what is right will be to hang me, eh, after 1 have confessed?” cried the con- demned man, “*Oh, well, if you ain’t got any faith in us!” the captain exclaimed, attempting to assume an injured air. ‘* Not the least bit in the world, and you do not fool me for a cent! I feel renter sure that . > do not intend to spare me; but, if you were to remove this rope from around my neck, give me back my arms, make me a present of this horse and allow me to go free on the sole condition that I should make a clean breast of all I know about the murder of which I stand accused, I could not say anything more to you than what I have said, and that is, I do not know anything about it. I am as innocent of the deed as though I had been a thousand miles away from here at the time the blow wasstruck! Now then, drive on with your funeral!” “This fellow is clear grit, all the way through,” the captain observed in an under- tone to Keno Bill.” | * eee he don’t i be ag for a cent.” es es ve you got through speechifyi Charley Yampas aaired, shia ee ‘Yes, and I ain’t anxious to persuade the man to do what is right; if he is fool enough to throw his life away when there is a chance that he might be spared, why, it is his look-out and not mine; that is all [have got to say,” the store- keeper replied. The condemned man smiled contemptuously. The store-keeper could not save him even if he had the will; the men clustered around were eager for “the show,” and a deuce of arow hoe will agree would have been kicked “8 the hanging-match had been interfered with, unless indeed for very good caus e, “Go ahead then! Hiko, bind his hands, and, entlemen, fall well back; we must give our Friend. hyer a good start tor the other world,” Yampas ordered. The crowd fell back at once, while the Hunch- : back approached with the cord, ; Hiko reined in his steed beside the bay mare and then commenced to wind the cord aroun¢ the prisoner's wri-ts, bending over in the saddle as he did so and taking particular pains to make a good job of it. As more than one man in the crowd observed, ‘‘ The Hunchback is tying him for keeps.” But while the would be hangman was taking so much pains with the operation, he also de- livered a communication to the captive, and performed this act so neatly, difficult asit was, that not a soulin the crowd had the least sus- picion of it. ‘‘T am about to say something to you,” he murmured, ‘When your wrists are bound after I leave you, clutch the horn of the saddle with your bands, but do it carelessiy asif you were merely resting your hands uponit.” The saddle upon which the prisoner was seated was a Mexican one, built after the fashion peculiar to that country, with a long horn in the front, ‘* In the holsters are a pair of loaded revolvers, (ECO AMIE <S ’ Eo ooo) r . ~ i = r _ ss