Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 189 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

“Now, Cap’n Corduroy, shout ther music in which we is ter j'ine ther chorus,” said Kit Carr, the former speaker among the four. ‘Well, when I sought you in the mines I told you to engage three good men and true for some rough work that would bring good ay.” ‘ YAW heur are ther gents, tho’ I doesn’t sw’ar they is good or true, fer the’r characters is left ahind them. “But, cap’n, they hes ther grip o’ a wild- cat, an’ kin hold on like a bull-dog.” ‘* Just the kind of men | want, for the one on whose trail I am, and have been for two years, is a man hard to get away with.” “ And is we five goin’ ter grip on one man?” “é Yes. ” * We'll chaw him up.” | “Not so easily, as I have known him to kill | five men in less than two minutes.” “‘Durnation! who are this huntin’ hyena on ‘two legs?” “ He is called Wild Bill.” ‘Wild Bill?” ‘“Yes, Perhaps you bave heard of him?’ ‘‘ Heerd vo’ him? Pard, you is jokin’, for we basn’t heerd 0’ nobody else in these heur parts, 0’ late. , “Yer see he got away with Dagger Don, the ' noted road-agent cap’n, and then he fanned out a gang as tackled him at his ranch, and news come floatin’ up ter us how he got ther drop on ther two chaps as called ‘emzelves Blonde and Brunette Bill, and I tell yer he | are a terrer,’’ oe | ‘*Then you understand why I wanted five | men to do the work of calling in his chips?” ‘*T doe,” ; ** He has a ranch not far from here, and on the trail to Poker City.” | ‘If we don’t find him at his ranch, he'll be in Poker City?” © ae | “When we meet him, I will give the signal, | and we’:l open on him together.” ‘* Yer don’t like him then?” ‘No, sir.” “Yer don’t ’pear ter do so.” “I hate bim, and I have sworn to kill him.” ‘* But yer wants help?” . Yes; as there must be no mistake this time.” | : ‘Yer has tried it on then before?” “*T have,” ‘“‘ But bis toes w’u’dn’t turn up?” “Curse him, be killed my brother.” ‘‘ Were your brother sich a leetle lamb as ter let him do it?’ . ‘‘My brother was a wild, reckless fellow, | but had a good heart. ‘* He was drunk one day, and in sport was going to hang up a nigger, just to scare him—” ** Likely it did scare him too?” ‘He did not intend to kill him, only to have some fin with him, and Wild Bill interfered, there was a row, and he killed poor Jim.” ** Waal?” “My other brother, Sandy, and myself | started on the track of Wild Bill, to avenge poor Jim.” “And where are Sandy Corduroy now?’ asked Kit Carr, as the other paused from sup- ‘pressed emotion, | ‘‘ Dead!” was the savage reply. : ‘Toes turned up to the daisies?” | * Wild Bill killed him.” ‘‘Like as not; for they do say he gits away with a!l who is lookin’ arter him.” ‘‘We met him one night, a year ago, and f attacked him. He shot Sandy dead in his tracks, and the wound he gave me—” | ‘‘Then you met him there?” | “The wound he gave me kept me in bed for y| several months.” | “Lordy! yer wasn’t able then ter see yer brother planted?” ‘No; but I live to avenge him, and, as I . told you up in the vamps, I will pay you well | for your work.” ‘Waal, we is ther pets ter do ther biz.” ‘*] have found out his haunts, since I saw you, and know just where to find him, if he is not at bis ranch, ‘We will pretend to be miners from the upper camp, traveling around for a little spree, and when we meet Wild Bill, keep your eyes on me, and at a given signal, I will draw, and you do the same, and if I don’t drop him, then you do the work.” _ “Well be thar; but it do look jist a leetle fough fer five of us ter jump on one man.” “Tf you seo the man you won’t think so.” cS ‘ ‘ys 7 : f ~ Wild Bill’s Gold Trail. lillie . “Waal, he do hev ther name o’ bein’ a : square thing all round; but I have met Wild howlin’ terrer, an’ it are safer ter tackle him | Bill, I hate him, and I owe him a grudge I with odds, “But thar are trees in this kentry, pard; hope one day to settle.” ‘‘ Pard, yer talks squar’; but onless yer lariats is plenty, and they do say as how thar | keeps yer tongue atween yer teeth, ther fust be Vigilantes around.” ‘Bah! All in Poker City, if we kill him | moonlight, an’ Wild Bill wi er toes to ther be payin’ ther thing yer know, up will go there, will be glad to get rid of him, for the _ expenses o’ buryin’ yer.” whole town is afraid of him. ‘““Come! let us be off for his ranch.” Five minutes after the five villains were on “1 donot fear him,” and it was evident . that the potations he had indulged in, were making Captain Corduroy very reckless of con- the way to carry out their deadly work—if sequences. they could. CHAPTER VII. ANDY’S WARNING. Wuen Andy Rush re-entered the bar— where the red-heuded attendant, or “ spiritual ‘I don’t say yer is skeert; but onless yer wants deadly trouble, an’ yer good time in Poker City sp’ilt, don’t say nothin’ as will bring yer ter drawin’ eg’in’ Wild Bill.” It was evident that Kit Carr and his imme- diate friends were sorry to see Captain Cor- dispenser,” Carrots, was doing a rushing busi- | duroy “let the cat out of the bag,” or divulge ness, for crowds had assembled to talk over | the secret, for they could see that Wild Bill the attack on the stage-coach—he found there | was not the man of unpopularity there they a motly assemblage indeed. There were tradesmen of the town, miners from the camps, cowboys from the surround- ing ranches, sports, idlers, and a few strangers, who had just arrived in Poker City. They were miners, they said, from up the country further, and having dug out a rich harvest of golden metal, had come to Poker City to spend a little of it in having a good time, . There were five of them present, and they were evidently having a ‘‘ good time,” accord- ing to their ideas, for they were drinking heavily, and one of their number, a large man clad in corduroys, was “stand’ng treat” con- tinually for the thirty souls in Poker City, whose thirst seemed to increase after every drink they took. “Come, Andy, let me interdoose yer ter my perticker friend, Cap’n Corduroy, o’ Calamity City up ther mountains,” cried a tipsy idler, whose friendship with the ‘‘ Captain” had be- gun but half an hour before and increased ac- cording to the treats he had received at his hands, Then he continued: ‘Cap’n Corduroy, this are Andy Rush, the boss of ’em all in handlin’ ther ribbons over a team of six, and ther’one who were on ther box when Cap’n Tiger an’ his gang tackled ther hearse this mornin’,” Andy accepted the outstretched hand of Captain Corduroy, who then presented him to his four pards from Calamity City, and the driver having come in for a drink, was not averse to joining the strangers. Captain Corduroy, it was evident, wanted to win the favor of the denizens of Poker City, and he sought the hearts of the masses by fill- ing their stomachs with liquor at his own ex- pense. As captain, he claimed that he had the right to treat twice to one time of each of his four companions, and thus it went on until the Hikok Hotel rung with the shouts of the drunken roughs. ‘This is called the Hikok Hotel in honor of that desperado Wild Bill?” said Captain Cor- duroy, addressing Andy Rash. The driver turned and laid his hand upon the captain’s shoulder and said with drunken solemnity, but in real earnest: “Stranger, this house were named in honor o’ Wild Bill, the J. B. Hikok Hotel of Poker City; but don’t you whistle out no such word as desperado whar that clean grit white man are concerned, or thar’ll be trouble.” ‘You don’t mean thet he will causé me trouble?” “‘T does mean that and more.” “What more?” ‘‘Thar be friends 0’ his heur as won’t heur a word said ag’in’ him.” ‘‘Bah! I have heard that he is hated here by all who know bim.” ** You hes heerd a durned lie, ef yer mother told it to yer.” “What?” ‘Tsay it are a lie, fer Wild Bill hev done more fer this town than any other man, an’ thar hain’t no one in trouble as he don’t help out, while he sometimes are on hand ter clean out them as come heur fer a fight. ‘“‘T wants ter be friendly with yer, stranger pard, but don’t yer say nothin’ ag’in’ Wild Bill, fer be are my friend.” ‘Well, Mr. Rush, I don’t wish trouble with you, or any other man in Poker City, for we came here to have a good time, and are not quarrelsome. ‘We'll ‘spend our money free, and do the had been led to believe, and, as they had heard he was in town, they felt that to kill him, without trouble to themselves from the citizens, there must be some good cause on their part. Having given his advice to Captain Cor- duroy, Andy Rush called for drinks, and when they had been disposed of, he slipped out of the crowd, Going to Bill’s room he failed to find him, and then he strolled down to the store where Bill always traded. There he found him, laying in a supply of pro- visions for a trip, and also filling bis cartridge- boxes with ammunition. ‘‘ Waal, Bill, yer is fixin’ fer ther trail, it seems?” he said, ‘Yes, Andy, for I start soon to see what I can trace out regarding where the Dozen have taken Mr. Insley and that unfortunate lady.” ‘ Bill, ef I wasn’t tied ter ther Overland, I w'u’d go with yer; but, as yer knows, I hes ter go ovt in the mornin’ ag’in with ther old hearse,”’ ‘“‘T know it, Andy, and if I wanted company, you are the first man I should look for to go with me. ‘But somehow, I do better alone, when I ar to ferret out any work of a mysterious ind, ‘“‘Come, go with me to the stable, for I must get my horse and be off.” ‘‘ Bill, 'd oughter let yer go without tellin’ yer suthin’; but somehow I cannot,” “What is it, Andy?” “Waal, fust and foremost, there are five gerloots in ther hotel come down from Calamity City ter hev a good time.” ‘‘ Well, can’t they be accommodated here?” ** Yas, fer as fer thet, ther graveyard are not full, an’ there are room fer more,” . ** Ah! they want a row?’ “Thet seems ter be thar way o’ thinkin’, Bill.” “Well, you keep out of it, Andy, for there are five of them you say, and you are too good a man to be killed. ‘Let some of those we can spare in Poker City get into the circus,” ‘** But, Bill, 1 is jist a leetle afeerd thet it are a better man than I be they is lookin’ fer.” Who?” , * you,” ae No. ” ‘‘T means it,” ‘* Who are they?” “Ther cap’n calls hisself Cap’n Corduroy, an’ ther handles o’ ther others I didn’t fasten ter.” “I know no such man, at least by that ”? ‘“‘ Names is slip’ry out heur, Bill.” “Yes, but what makes you think they want a row with me?” “Tl tell yer, Bill. ' ““Fust aud foremost, they five comed heur tergether. “Then they is all big fellers as looks ag though they was bent on mischief, and didn’t scare easy. ‘Thar weepons is good, and not fancy, and they hang together like a drove of sheep, not one of ’em gittin’ out o’ arm’s length o’ t’others, “They spends thar money free as pourin’ water on a duck’s back, and I was interdooced to ther cap’n, who interducted me to bis and he told me be hed a grudge ag’in’ you, an’ calt you a desperado,” ‘‘ Well, I am often called pet names, Andy.” “Yas, and thar are many who holds ill feelin’ ag’in’ yer too; but still I thinks these fellers mean biz.” | ay GOMIEDOOKS