Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 192 — page 29: what you’re looking at

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

es - 4. The Lightning Sp 29. oyer his shoulder, and fired full at the skull of the retreating outlaw. With a great crash the Bullion Boss went lown, just as Harley Vernon, wild-eyed and bleeding, came staggering through the doorway Xt the back of Quigly, and felled bim with one swinging, right-hand blow. Then Lightning Dick wheeled, and with pis- tol in either hand, rushed along the passage- way toward the canyon and camp beyond, CHAPTER XXXV. ALL WITH THEIR BOOTS ON, AT the sound of pistol and cry the outlaws -started; the hands of the men with the car- Something | yonder’s Leetle Lide. bines made a quick movement. lantern gleaming faintly in the distance. Withb- out hesitation they pursued their flight. When, after a tiresome, though brief, jour- ney, the party came out upon a narrow path, which led upward and outward, a disreputable- looking addition was made to their party, in the shape of Daddy Bender. ‘‘ Elijer-fishbites!” exclaimed the hero from Black Dam. ‘ Didn’t I told yer soé All down but mine—set ’em up on t’other alley. An’ thar’s me ole side pard, Circus Pete. No fraud are he, but ther clean, white article. Shake, old boy. An’ byar’s ther dashin’ Nellie; an’ me friend ther sexton ez berried me alive so’s I’d think he war a desprit case; an’ down When we march inter had happened; they knew not what, or whether | Slaughter Bar, ther’ won’t be no big eyes ner it was any of their concern. The captain had _.Sust gone in that direction, and he allowed no 1eddling in bis affairs. The moment of hesitation had its terrible _ ori@e. From the wall of rocks behind them rose a P*arsh, croaking voice: ‘‘ Hands out, all!” it said; and the men part- ly wheeled. Then they heard another voice, which they knew was Circus Pete’s: ‘‘T’ve been on yourtrail fora year. You're the men that sacked my ranch and murdered my mother, and at last I have you foul, Curse you, I’ve come to slay!” They wheeled again, quickly, at the cry. -everal scattering shots tore around him, and then he got in his work, The stream of steel still flowed from his left hand up and back, but knife after knife he caught with bis right and hurled. No man could bave emptied a revolver quicker or with more deadly aim, No jest was it now, but simple slaughter; and first of all dropped Jean Lemaire, with a knife driven straight through his heart. Two men were left standing. Circus Pete caught the last knife by the hilt and bounded toward them, as for a second time they cocked their *volvers. Though the juggler seemed to bear a charmed life, the chances were with them, and seeing it, they were cool enough to take deliberate aim. They dwelt a shade too long. Another shot sounded from the cavern in the rocks, and now Lightning Dick, appearing at the open doorway, fired twice. From the miscellaneous stock of weapons the juggler armed himself, and then made his way up to his friend. Save for the outlying senti- nels and those away on duty, the band of the Bullion Boss was annihilated; and these two held the camp. Joe Byers remained to be sure, but he did not count; and Mart Quigly was in their hands a prisoner. ‘‘ How, in ther name ov George Washington, did yer git hyar? Ithort I war playin’ a lone hand, but I held a born natural, with two aces ter back it, an’ that kind ov a hand Ill ‘*% wd on every day in ther year. I see yer ov found ther gal. Pistols an’ death couldn’t keep yer back from her—I might er knowed it— but how did yer find yer way in?” Lightning Dick smiled, waved his hand and beckoned. He supported his double—Nellie, who leaned upon his shoulder, white-faced and shivering. No wonder. Death seemed all around them, and the ight, black and cold, was gathering in. They ould just see the outlined form of Mart Quigly “us he staggered to h’s feet. With a spring Circus Pete was at his side, with the muzzle of a pistol in his ear. “‘ Hands up!” be shouted. “If you move ter draw I'll drill yer.” The unlucky Quigly thrust his hands up and in & moment they were bound together, for Vernon faintly gurgled: “Do not harm him, The girls have need of him.” “So you’re here, too,” muttered the juggler. « Quite a tea-party; but ef you'll take a fool’s advice, yer wouldn’t wait fur refreshments, but move right out. I’ve cleaned out ther Boss’s pockets, an’ ther rest ov ther camp won't n out much plunder,” Nellie looked from one to the other. Cer- tain things pueled her, yet there was no time now to ask vr explanations, The hand of ing D . drew her, and the others fol- lowed. e@ votered the cell in which Ver- non had bee. confined, mounted the rope, vanished through the aperture above and found tuemselves in another cell, with a lighted ‘ ‘ | nothin’, an’ they’ll sot ’em up solid fur Billy Bender, ther man ez cleaned out ther Bullion Boss gang. An’ coin! Copperbeads an’ coal ile, what coin I’ll hev when ther gents give mea starter accordin’ ter merit.” “Qh, hold yer yawp!” said Circus Pete, wearied at last at having the bummer pranc- ing around, ‘‘ We’ve got ther back trip ter make, a funeral ter attend an’ a cussed sight of chin music ter listen to afore we got time for you. We can't make ther Bar ter-night ef we fool away time on the road.” Howlin’ Billy found it convenient to take immediate heed. He was a queer compound of alternate courage and cowardice, and knew by sad experience that whichever way he turned he was pretty sure to get into a scrape, though he had been peculiarly fortunate, so far, in getting out again. If he had been instrumental in doing a great deal of good by leading Lightning Dick hither, he was not at all certain that he would have any other reward than an approving conscience, The bit of talk had served to distract atten- tion from Little Lide, who was hurrying to meet the party, and now quietly joined it. The two men had stumbled across her on their way thither, aud it had been difficult for the Lightning Sport to prevent her following him into the outlaws’ retreat. Her face flushed a little at the cordial greeting from Nellie, and it flushed still more under the pressure of Har- ley Vernon’s hand. Then, together, they went down the mountain side, CHAPTER XXXVI, THE GRAND FINALE, THE Bullion Boss had executed his maneuvers so skillfully that Slaughter Bar had been thrown completely off the track; or, rather, it bad followed the wrong trail. Of course, there were plenty who paid very little heed to the matter of the girl’s abduction; but even they were startled the next morning when exag- gerated reports of what had occurred were freely uttered and discussed. It was understood that some half-dozen per- sons had been shot at the Alhambra and in the street, as Many more were missing, and Judge Schneider had been found alone in his residence with a bullet in his brain. By rare good luck and thorough management po one knew that Pete Mahone was lying in the Pilgrim’s Pride with a hole through his body that would have let out the life of almost any one else, Several indignation meetings had been held, the town was up, the Hair Pin mine men were raving. It was just as well that the latter were off on the search for the road-agents, whom they accused of the judge’sdeath. When the weary little party from the mountains reached the Pilgrim’s Pride there might have been some questions asked that would have led to an explosion, As it was, Peter Van Vedder hustled them in, and shut the doors before the gathering crowd had a chance to follow, The girls had been informed of the death of the judge, and had been led to expect develop- ments, but nothing definite had been told them of their nature when they found themselves by the bedside of Pete Mahone, over whom John Oaks was watching with tender care. At the foot of the bed, on a low stool, sat a compara- tive stranger, the Irishwoman who had arrived by the stage and with whom Vernon had, had some conversation. The two girls came straight forward and looked anxiously down at the wounded man, with whom the other Circus Pete had been closeted. “Tell us the truth, if you know it,” said Nellie; anxiously. She scarcely knew what to expect, ‘At least Iwas no kin to that man who claimed me as his daughter. No father of mine was he. I could see it in his eyes.” ‘You are right,” answered the man, in @& reedy voice, ‘“‘he was a villain—worse even than he or you dreamed, since he slew your father. He did not know that, though, for he was deceived, like the rest.. Tell me, first, what you know of the story.” “Ob, I know nothing—nothing. I suspected him from the very start, when, after years of silence, he came to claim me from those who had at least sheltered, if not loved me. Then I found a letter from a miscreant in England that opened my eyes, though everything was indistinct, like a picture seen through a vail.’ Who are you? WhoamI? Who is this girl Little Lide?’ j ‘(My dear, I will answer your last ques— tion first. Little Lide is my daughter. I am Edwin Vernon, come back to life after weary years of wandering, and you are the daugh- ter of my brother, of him who bore the name, for a time, of Clinton Bride, but whose right name was Roger Vernon.” As he spoke the man looked furtively at Little Lide, who, as she heard, drew nearer and nearer until at the last be felt ber warm: hand clasping his, Not very much of a father to own judging from what she had seen,’ yet such as he was she accepted him. He’ kissed her hand once, and then continued: . “Tt is strange that so many should move. in thé Vernon affair at the same time. Fate, I. suppose. Each of us has caught up a thread’ or so of the hank, and now all is straight and plain. Here is the straight story with no em- bellishmenits, or explanations of who furnished’ the separate links. | “Very unfortunately a man was killed yeare ago under circumstances which seemed to im~ plicate us, and we fled, Roger and I. , “Roger had the wealth of the family, his own and mine, and settled down to business, called himself Bride and afterward married. I put the true Nellie in what I thought good hands, in San Francisco, and wandered away. I could do ’most anything that was worthless, from the tricks of a juggler to riding a racer. I acknowledge that I cared little for my child? and less for my brother and my fortune. I was all over the world, and being concerned in a South American revolution spent years in prison. When I got out I began to look for my own and could not find them. After a time the trail led me here. I adopted a dis- guise intending to array myself in opposition to judge Schneider, and shoot bim down, when * I could safely do it, without mercy. J knew that the girl he bad claimed was not my daugh- ter, but I believe now that he did not. . “The judge, in the East, was known as Har- old Varley. He brought an awful calamity - on my brother, and afterward having robbed © him, as I believe, took his life. He had, how- ever, the private papers of Roger, which ex- plained the lives of both of us—and in the ~ West he adopted’ the name of Schneider be- cause that, was the name I had given my daughter. I am not certain, either, that he ever knew who Clinton Bride really was. He had an outline of his scheme even then, though years elapsed before he perfected it, when he had met and got into his power MartimQuig- ly, a servant of ours. He intended to claim my daughter, who was heiress in her own right, through her mother, to a large estate, and taking her and Quigly pass himself off forme. Part of that he afterward modified by having Quigly make a dying confession, and afterward clear out. “‘My brother had a son, who: was born dumb, and by the calamity I have mentioned - was thrown out into the world to shift for him- self. Some time ago he met Schneider, as he was called, and was recognized; but did not himself know his own history. He found it. out afterward, to a certain extent, and by a strange chance came here with avother Circus — Pete, who, I suspect was the original, end who was on the trail of the Bullion Boss and his. : gang. They formed the same idea, to astonish the Bar—and we were nearly drawn into col-. lision. My double knew a thing or two, how- ever, and found friends that helped him well, ‘“‘My brother had a daughter named Mary, who was sent to the West in charge of Mrs. Macarthay there. When the true Nellie dis- appeared, you, still an infant, and very much of a white elephant, took her place, Mrs. Macarthy is now a véry worthy woman, and she recognizes you beyond a doubt—which was What she was brought down to do. 0)(0\(6) e€om Cc Ss)