Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 173 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

California J ohn, the Pacific Thoroughbred. é a “You are so very kind,” she murmured, as | ‘* Perhaps to me, the creature left friendless and she accepted the seat. ‘' Every one is so very kind that I really do not know how to find words to express thanks.” ‘* Well, miss, if you don’t know how, don’t try,” the captain remarked, humorously. ‘*T am all alone here, since the death—the sudden, cruel and mysterious death of my pro- tector—anud now that I feel the need of counsel and ass: stance I hardly know how to act.” ‘* Now, miss, let me put you right on that ’ere pint!” Alcibiades encinit ed. ‘‘ Youain’talone, in this hyer town, and you mustn’t allow your- seli to think thatyou are. You have got a heap of friends hyer—friends who will stick by you tighter than wax. If you want anything, all you have got to do is to explain what it is; if it is advice, why, thar are s- ms pretty long heads in this hyer camp, and I reckon all you have to do istosay the word and they will do their level best for you. If itis money, jest say how much and [ will bet "bout all I am worth it won’t be long afore .he sum total is scared up!” The lady hed fixed her dark and brilliant eyes full upon the face of the speaker, and the Keno King suddenly became impressed with the idea that the girl wore a mask; almost heavenly as were the glorious eyes; yet, looking into their depths was like gazing at the surface of a deep pool which reflected only the face of the ob- server and afforded not the slightest indication of what lay beneath. It was the charming face of a child just blooming into glorious woman- hood, yet it was as thoroughly under the con- trol of its owner as the face of a woman of forty, trained by years of bitter experience to believe that dissimulation was a virtue. | The more the crafty and unscrupulous Alci- biades looked at the beautiful girl the stronger became his conviction that she might turn out to be a very dangerous woman, but not in the slightest degree did this belief turn Keno Bill from the purpose which he had formed. The more dangerous the woman, the more his skill and the greater his triumphif he succeeded in winning her. The captain, not so much interested in the lady as his companion, and a man of much duller comprebension, saw only a charming young girl, friendless and alene, and the sus- picion never occurred to him that she might be able to take good care of herself, helpless as she appeared. © ' | ! | ‘You are very kind, indeed; every one here | is so kind,” the girl repeated, and all ths while | her face as devoid of expression as though it | was of marble. “ But,I do not need money; Mr. Wentworth always kept me well provid- ed. ‘‘T reckon that you want a leetle advice, then,” half queried the captain, ‘* Yes; advice is what I need.” *“ We will do the best we can for you, miss,” Alcibiades mechanically remarked. ‘*Ob, yes, miss, don’t be afraid ef speaking out. Wewill do our very best for you, every time!” the store-keeper added, encouragingly. “Te isin regard to the mysterious death of my protector—” ** Ah, but we have got the man, miss!” Keno Bill assured. ‘‘ We have got him safe enough, and though he made a pretty bold dash for liv- erty this afternoon yet we managed to corral him again.” ‘And are you sure that he is the man who did the deed ?”’ ‘*Well, yes; assure as any one can be of a thing of that sort. Of course no one saw the murder committ d, but the evidence against the man is strong enough to hang a dozen, let alone one.” | alone, he may The store-keeper, deceived by the girl’s impul- sive manner, assented at once; and Bull, althou he felt sure that it was for this alone the girl had come, did not see how he could object, al- he feared it meant mischief. **Come right along with me,” the captain said. ‘I will take you up to the calaboose, and, meb- be, he might talk a leetle bit to you.” ‘You are so kind,” the girl murmured, and bidding Alcibiades good-evening, she departed with the store keeper. ‘*She’s up to some game, I bet,” was the Keno King’s decided opinion. CHAPTER XIV. THE STORY OF THE GIRL. on dan — to the shanty + -_ a few min’tes,” the captain requested, as he departed with thelady. And Bill sat down on the door- step, and, with a lowering face, watched the pair until they were lost to sight around the corner of the Keno saloon. To the rear door of Alcibiades’s retreat the captain conducted the girl. The two guards, who were sitting down in front of the portal, got up and respectfully made way for the pair to enter. Within the room, with a table between them, on which was placed a lighted candle, sat the jailer and the prisoner, en in a friendly game of *‘seven up.” 6 mule-driver’s money had given out, the Fresh’s successful coup at mess having i = #. his —— -~ as ere was no fun er without money, the gentleman Seca Hualp 3 had sug- **seven-up” to pass the time away. But, whether at seven up or at poker, the muleteer was no match for California Jobn. Such a man jer turning up jacks, and thereby scoring points, Jake Hairpin had never before encountered. He even accomplished seeming impossibilities with the greatest of ease, for, when Hairpin, with malice aforethought, stole every jack in the pack, and got them corraled in his boot-leg, his opponent, on the very next deal, flipped up a jack with the same ease and grace as before, and the discomfited mule- skinner couldn’t help remarking that he ‘‘ reck- oned there must be five jacks in this ’ere pack, too,” and in his mental caleulation he tried to figure out how many packs of cards the other must have secreted about his person to be thus flush with face cards upon the slightest provo- cation. ** This lady would like to have a few minutes’ talk with you, Jobn,” the captain said, as he introduced Miss Romero into the apartment. The prisoner rose and bowed in an easy, graceful way. “Shall I wait for , miss, or will you find your way to the hotel alone?” the captain asked. Oh, no, thank you; I could not think of putting you to so much trouble,” she replied. ‘No trouble at all,” the store-kee an- swered, gallantly. “And I say, John,” and he turned to the arg “if Iwas you I would answer this lady’s questions if you kin, ’cus it won’t make much difference to you now, any- how, for you will be a goner to-morrow, sure as shooting!” ‘Never say die, you know; that is my go is go te answer. eh at is all right; keep your courage up, bu if you will take my advice you will af oer house in order for another world.” Then the captain withdrew. ohn, placing a chair for Miss Romero, po- litely invited her to be seated. She complied and then cast a glance at the ‘* Not much coubt about it, miss. He had a | jailer, who had taken up the cards and was fair trial, and the boys are all pretty well agreed that evenif ke didn’t do the job himself he knows who did doit. You see they have kinder got the idea into their heads that there | Mr. Hairpin, is a gang mixed up in this matter, and that this fellow is the chief of the party,” the store- keeper explained. ‘* And he will be hung, then, to-morrow?” — ** Yes, unless he contrives to give us the slip to-night, and I reckcn he won’t be able to do that, smart as he is,” Keno Bill averred. But why should he commit sucha foul deed ; what motive was there for it?” The question was too much for the pair, so they shook their heads, ‘* He does not admit that he had anything to do with it?’ she continued. ‘‘Nary time! He’s as stubborn as a mule "bout that, and sw’ars he never even saw the man,” Alcibiades announced, “Tf he is the guilty man, there must have been some powerful motive to urge himon, Such a horrid crime could not have been committed recklessly and without cause. I cannot under- stand it, and, now that the man is so near to death, why should he not speak and tell what induc+d him to stain his soul with such a crime?” ‘The hope of escape keeps his mouth shet, I reckon,” Keno Bill replied. ‘‘He won’t believe that his death is sartin until he feels the rope around his neck.” " ‘Will you let me see him?’ asked the girl, .abruptly, as if it was a sudden inspiration. | ing. - a TT preparing to amuse himself at a game of soli- “* This is my jailer, the sheriff for the nonce, ’ the Californian explained. “*T would like to have a few minutes’ con- versation with you alone,” she remarked—‘“ that is if this gentleman does not object,” and she bent the full power of her brilliant eyes upon Hairpin. And the mule-skinner, rough and un- cultivated beast that he was, could not resist the influence of her magnetic beauty. **Wa-al, you see, miss, that is strictly ag’in’ the rules,” he replied. ‘‘ This hyer gen’leman is a slippery sort of cuss; he has managed to slide outen hyer once and the boys are mighty well skeered lest he does it ag’in. And if he should make tracks, I reckon the crowd would be mad enough to string me up in his place, aad ’tween you and me and the bed-post | aiu’t quite ready to pass in my checks yet.” ‘*T will give you my word of honor not to at- tempt to escape, if that will satisfy you,” the prisoner said. ‘‘ If you will be so Kind as to break through the rules for this once I shall be ever so much obliged to you,” the lady remarked, with her sweetest smile. As Hairpin observed afterward: ‘‘ A gal with a smile like that was capableof making a man murder his own grandinother.” ‘All right, miss; dur’. dif I don’t risk it this time, but itis my own 1. ck that I am a-stak- Have no fear; I give you my word that I ; : "~* => a e andl ond Py ae {25 ’ tet y Fo . <£ as * = ™ eee ear a vais" — ——_— _—_———_—- OO -- OC” SS DT LL ooo ~ . . ' ® ae ‘ bes — —- — a é J Lie will not attempt to escape, even though the way was open before me, until you return again to this room.” ‘*Fairer couldn’t be said; so go ahead and chin all you like while I step out,” and with this admonition the mule-driver vanished into the saloon. The girl rose noiselessly from her seat and ex- amined both the doors as if to be certain that they were tightly closed. Evidently she was determined there should be no listeners to the interview. She then turned to the prisoner. ‘“‘ Be seated, please,” she said, ‘‘for I fancy we shall have much to say to each other.” She moved her chair close to his own and sat down by his side; then she looked him firmly in the face for a few minutes with a fixed and earnest gaze, and the Fresh on his part, fully as interested as she, thought that he had never seen a more beautiful girl. ‘You are innocent of this foul deed?” she said at last. ‘*Upon my life I am,” he replied, earnestly. “‘ And yet you have been convicted and will be punished for it unless some lucky chance in- tervenes te save you.” ** Yes, there isn’t much doubt about that: I am the victim of a popular prejudice. A crime has been committed, and, m the nature of the deed, the peculiar and mysterious way in which it was perpetrated, a panic has arisen. The people are clamorous for @ victim, and as I happen to be the first one handy, they intend to put me through.” ‘But, isn’t there any chance that you may escape from this f doom?” The Californian took a good look at his ques- tioner. Was this beautiful girl, after all, only a spy sent by men fierce for his blood to dis- cover whether or not he-still cherished hopes of escape or a rescue from the doom which seemed so certain? He read naught but honesty in the charming face, the deep, dark eyes of which were looking so earnestly into his own. ‘Oh, yes; until man is really cold in death, seen is alwaysa chance for life,” he said at ‘‘And can I be of any service to you?” the irl asked, in evident earnestness. ‘“‘And you would aid me if you could?” he uestioned, and there was just a little doubt in the query. “Yes, for I believe you are innocent. You had no acquaintance’ with Jason Wentworth, or Martin Kenyon, for that was his true-name.” “You are right; I never saw or even heard of the man. From what I bave learned, though, since I have been accused of his death, ke was in the keno saloon while I was there, but, as there was quite a crowd in the place I did not — to notice him. If there had been any ge between us—if we had ever met, or had ad any trouble, there would be a reason for the deed. But the men of this camp have got it into their heads that a gang is about to invade the town, and they look upon me as theadvance guard, so they are going to string me up as a warning to the others to keep away.” ‘“*For five years I have accompanied this man _ who bas been so mysteriously slain, on his rest- less, uncertain way through the world, and I am sure that you and he were not intimately associated during that time, for I was well ac- uainted with all bis affairs. Of his life before t I know nothing, except that his career hos been a checkered one, and that he has mure often been in the dark valley of adversity than basking in the sunlight of prosperity. 1 know, too, that in the he has been known by a dozen different names. I have never known him but by one until to-day, and then, carefully examining all that he left behind him, I found in his valise a secret pocket in the lining, which contained a few old papers. From one of them I gathered that his right name was Martin Ken- on, and this same paper gave meaclew toa oe who evidently bore hin a hatred which could only be satisfied by death.” CHAPTER XV. WHO SHE WAS. THE Fresh listened with the utmost attention; this was important indeed. From her bosom the lady drew a folded pa- pane paper worn with , evidently an old etter, and opening it gave it to the prisoner. As he had surmised, it was a letter, and writ- ten by a woman's hand, although the writin was bold and masculine, It was brief, and nies as follows: “Martin Kenyon: For the last time I give you % chance to redeem your word. If you do not acce;:t it, then beware, fo’ the wrath of the roused licness robbed of her cubs will be as nothing to the rage which will inspire me, and to that just anrer, as surely 4s there isa Heaven above us, you will fall a victim. Go where you will, earth shall not holda spot so secluded as to hide you from my vengeance, ‘You know where to find me. Bring orsend me what I seek, or else look to yourself.” There was po signature. The prisoner read it aloud, a curious look upon his face; then turn- ing it over examined it in the most careful man- ner. ‘There is no date or signature—nothing to e us 0)(0\(0) G A> — com os oaetepigquadci ot org lttinmtg ~* : oF. be. 4 > . ih