Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 202 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

‘that one was missing. 14. tis ‘““Yes, unless they did without ’ 7”? —_—— sleep last ‘“Why should they?” ‘You say, Boze.” Again the pair looked each other squarely in the face, bul Zeke scon turned his gaze toward where the stars and stripes floated over the fort. ‘“‘T reckon we had better go thar,” be said, The idea was at once acted upon, and it was not long before they were closeted with tbe captain. He had been still sleeping when they arrived, but he was soon out of bed and listen- ng to their story. hey told all freely, forbearing to make any | comments, and it was plain from his manner that he did not catch at any suspicion. “There isa good deal of mystery about the affair,” he slowly said, when they had finished, ‘“but one point can soon be settled. I will see if any of my men are missing.” He went to the door and spoke to Sergeant Springer, and that systematic warrior was soon engaged in marshaling his host. “It is unlucky that you could not have watched them at the same time you was riding to the rescue,” said the soldier, with a non- chalance the prairie men did not feel, ‘‘ but I think we shall find it was only a quarrel of some sort among roughs.”’ It was a very plausible theory, but when the sergeant had assembled bis men it was found Private Roger Wood, man did not answer to bis name. Captain Brigham was surprised and Sergeant Springer was dumfounded. It had always been his boast that he could put his hand on every one of bis men by day or night, but here he was - clearly shown that one, at least, had been ab- oe sent for several hours unknown to him. The truth was soon learned—the missing man had gone out the previous evening on some trivial errand, and such of his comrades as had Cactus Jack, | | | known of his absence had not dared mention it | _ to their superiors. , Matters began to assume form; the guides | believed a soldier had been shot near the grave, and Woodman’s prolonged absence was cer- tainly singular. Captain Brigham became at once the ener- getic soldier. He ordered out half of bis men, and, disregarding the claims of his stomach, was soon in the saddle and riding toward Town- | send’s. He wanted to look the scene over and in some way, discover just who had been the victim of the night’s tragedy. The guides took him over the whole ground and explained all the movements of the several arties carefully, and Brigham saw and listened, but did not seem to gain any idea therefrom. In the midst of it all, the front door of Town- send’s house opened and a young man walked moderately toward them. Brigham saw him with pleasure, for he was Lucas, the younger son of the ranchman, and he might be able to throw some light on the subject. He made a rather fine appearance as he strode cefully forward, for he bad a good form and ace, and, like all the Townsends, was inteligent and frank of manner; and the genial smile on his face showed tbat he did not know anything was amiss. ** Hallo, Brigham,” he said, pleasantly, ‘‘ what has brought you out so early? Are the Apaches on the war-path?’ ‘“*T haven't seen any? Have you?” “* Not a red.” “Did you hear anything unusual last night?” “No. Why? Has anything strange occur- red?” : Lucas glanced toward the village as though he expected to see if in ruins, but all seemed as on the previous day. Brigham began at the beginning and told the whole story. It was a narrative which natur- ally surprised the young man, for he found it hard to believe that such things could occur right under his window, asit were, and he know nothing about it. ** By George! they were bold!” he commented, an . *Itisa little too steep for even this wildland. But wait; I'll call father and James and see if they heard the pistol shot or saw the ? The idea was so good that the entire house- hold was soon interviewed, but the searchers might have spared themselves their trouble. No light was thrown upon the affair. ith a barely perceptible sourness visible on their faces, the guides took up the matter where they had left it. All this delay had done them no good, and it was plain that the unraveling of the mystery depended on them. First of all, they desired to find the body of - the man who had been shot. That it wasin the river seemed probable; that it had been carried away on the back of a horse was possible. Whichever way it went, the assassin had acted promptly, and the fact that no blood was found upon the sand at any point except the exact one where he was shot, was proof that his ene- mies had been shrewd enough to stop the drop- ping of the life-fluid, With Cactus Jack and Zeke at their head, the Gr party went first to the river, but not a sign was fou nd there to indicate that it had been used to cover the corpse of the murdered man, The \ | search was thorough, and at the end the guides expressed the opinion that the solution of the mystery lay toward the north, whether the un- known horsemen had ultimately gone. ‘* What do you make of the affair, anytvay?” Lucas Townsend abruptly asked. ‘“‘I am ip- terested, for we are not willing that our ranch should be thus used.” ‘* Decidedly not,” said James, ‘‘ and, since we have been forced into it, we want to take an active part. To begin with, do you think a man was really murdered, and, if so, was he the missing soldier?” He looked full at Cactus Jack as he asked the question. ‘‘Beyond a doubt murder was done,” the guide quietly answered, ‘‘and I have no doubt but that it was the soldier who fell. , My theory is that he chanced upon four of the Black Masks, who were laden with their booty, and followed to learn more.” ‘* An’ Varned too much,” added Bozeman. ‘* But who was the man who came out of the bushes and shot bim?’ Lucas asked. “That is the subject for study,” the giant aid. ‘* Well, Ido not see that we are progressing any by standing here,” said Brigham, impa- tiently. ‘‘ Let us get to work on this mystery at once,” ‘*You chaps may do as you choose,” said Zeke Bozeman, ‘‘ but me an’ my pard are goin’ ter foller ther trail. Come, Cactus Jack; let’s be goin’.” The mountaineer spoke with energy and his friend at once fell into line. They said good-by somewhat abruptly tothe others, and setting their horses’ heads toward the north, galloped off, ostensibly to lift the trail. When they bad gone a bundred yards, how- ever, Cactus Jack turned and looked his com- panion fu!) in the face. ‘* Boze,” said he, ‘‘ you have an object in this.” ‘*Sart’in I hev,” the mountaineer answered. ‘*T mean, beyond what you said to them. What more is there?” ‘*‘] wanted ter get you away from them chaps afore you said too much,” ‘Too much? What do you mean?” ‘*T mean that we are on ther trail, boyee!” Bozeman spoke with emphasis, but bis grim old face told little, and Cactus Jack added: ‘* You will bave to explain.” ‘*You suspect more than you hev told. It is easy ter state what / suspect. Fustof all, I allow them four riders were Black Masks, an’ then 1 allow it was ther sojer thet follered them. Now, who shot him?’ ‘* Say it yourself, old man.” ‘Why was they ridin’ so nigh Townsends? Thar was danger thar ef they was seen an’ they knowed.it, so why did they go thar? Ill tell yer. It was because they had an ally in ther house.” “ Thunder!” said Cactus Jack, but he did not seem so very much surprised. ‘‘They went thar because they had an ally thar, but whether it: was ter give him their lunder or not I can’t say. Would they have haltod their hosses under ther very wall ef all had b’en aboveboard?” “Tf your theory is right, one or all of the Townsends must be in league with the Black Masks,” ‘* That’s ther size on’t.” **Can it be?” * Why not?” ‘‘They seem frank, square and honest, and they are certainly well-to-do.” ‘Still, you think jest es I do.” “T admit it, Boze,” “Another thing. Do you remember that when ther unknown man come out o’ ther bushes, bis future victim allowed him ter talk tamely to him fur some leetle time?’ és ‘Waal, it follers that ther murdered man knowed his assassin an’ believed him honest, else why did he not take measures ter insure his own safety at furst sight o’ ther critter?” ** Go on.” “‘T consait that ther man who come from ther bushes was either James or Lucas Townsend, an’ that he come es an ally o’ ther robbers. The soldier knowed him an’ thought bim squar’, so he was able ter shoot him down in cold blood ’cordin’ ter programme.” ‘‘T see now why you didn’t want me to talk before the other men,” said Cactus Jack. ‘* You don’t dispute what I bave stated.” ‘*No, because I think there lies the head- quarters of the robbers of Black Bend.” And the giant leveled his’ finger toward Townsend’s, CHAPTER XVIII. THE WARNING. As might be expected, nothing came of the efforts of Captain Brigham and his fellow sol- diers, Work like that in which they bad just engaged was notin their line of business, and the leader finally decided that his best course was to march back to the fort and await the return of Cactus Jack and Bozeman, By this time he was beginning to feel the the Giant Guide. need of breakfast, but when he arrived at the fort be found new claimants for his attention. The emigrants, after being theroughly c:eaned out by the robbers, had been allowed to go their way unharmed. They soon reached the village, gave the alarm, brouget out Brigham’s men ouly to cause a wild-goose chase, and then, it is to be charitably supposed, they went to bed. But, thus early in the morning, they were again astir, and Brigham found them anxiously desiring aid of all imaginable kinds—food, work, money and the like. He heard them all with patience; gave food and advice liberally, and then, at last, happily rid of them, sat down to care for himself. One man of the party had not applied for uid. This was Jean Dupage, who had escaped being robbed and still seemed tolerably well supplied with funds, He bad secured quarters at Dutch Hans’s hotel, and saying little to any one, kept his sharp, black eyes open to all that transpired around bim, A sbrewd, self-capable man was the little Frenchman, and from the way he critically examined all the real estate in the town, the landlord soon came to the conclusion that he was a mar of means who had thoughts of invest- ing some of his capital. One peculiarity the stranger had which was not exactly to his credit. The female sex was not largely represented at Black Bend, and many of those who were there were not in any degree comely, but Monsieur Dupage seemed deeply interested in all and managed to get a look at what faces he saw on the street, ‘*Mine gracious!” Dutch Hans observed to his bartender, ‘‘ ish der man looking for a wife, or vat ish der matter mit him?” ‘*| take it heis a crank,” was the terse snswer. Both of these opinions covered a good deal of ground, but the Frenchman gave no clew to his motives, and, so quietly did he act, no one ex- cept the two men before mentioned suspected that he was interested in the female population of the town. Later in the day, he was requested to appear before Captain Brigham and tell what he knew about the late robbery. Cactus Jack and Boze-: man, having found an end to their.trail at the river’s bank two miles above the fort, had re. turned unsuccessful, and it was they who sug- gested that monsieur be called. He threw no lght on the subject, but it may here be stated as a somewhat singular fact that he made no mention of his encounter with the female outlaw. The fact may have escaped his memory, buta little reflection by one acquainted with the case would awaken a suspicion that he was keeping a portion of the truth back from some hidden motive. Ignorant of all this, Brigham and the guides. were favorably impressed by the man, and he went away after having established a good reputation. The officer was a good deal worried at the complicated state of affairs. Instead of easily unearthing the Black Masks, as he had hoped “to do, matters had grown much worse, and only the confident manner of the guides kept him from feeling discouraged. Cactus Jack and Bozeman went back to their quarters to get a little needed sleep. Before retiring they discussed the situation and mutu- ally decided that an investigation might lead to embarrassing results. No doubt existed in their minds but that some one inside of Townsend’s knew more about the outlaws than was to their credit, and the fact that Captain Brigham was interested in Miss Marian led them to wonder if he would really like to see the matter sifted out if. it was to lead to the implication of any member of the household. it was decided that they had better keep their suspicions to themselves fora time, and with this resolution they sought their couches, Night was near at hand when they awoke but they then paid their respects to one of Dutch Hans’s suppers and prepared to go out on a tour of observation. While lingering in conversation with the bar- tender, their attention was attracted to the re- marks of two men who were having a tete-a-tete at a table near by. ‘‘ Ef I hadn’t anything eJse to do,” said one of them, ‘“‘ I would try ter find out who the gal was. Is’pose it is all right fur the young feller ter keep her shut up som’ers, ef he an’ she are agreed, but I reckon a man might make a dollar out o’ the case.” “In what way?” the other man asked, ‘‘“Why, you see the young feller is rich an’ proud, and he don’t want his family ter know this part o’ his business. Old Townsend would rave like a mad bull ef he knowed it. Conse- quently, Mister James would pay a price ter hev the matter kept dark.” | ‘ Ain’t you jumping to conclusions? The mere fact that you saw James talking with a gal who is a stranger in Black Bend don’t prove that she Is his property. She may be the darter o’ some out-o’-town settler.” ‘‘Mebbe, but I don’t think it. They acted secret-like, as though they had something to hide, an’ the young feller scowled at me mighty black when I passed as though she was too to be looked at.” 900 : Ss < ~e we > 7 oF