Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 202 — page 31: what you’re looking at

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

Pegs: — - = i 9 OE ‘ - Cactus Jack, the Giant Guide. they raised her they saw the hilt of a knife resting closely against her breast She had seized the oppor- tunity and followed the man she had loved to the other world. CHAPTER XLII. THE END OF MYSTERY. Loretta cast herself on the still trembling form and passionately kissed the lips which would soon be pale and cold. Whatever her faults, the unfor- tunate girl had been her sister, and the tie of blood strong. "Onctes 3 ack turned to Brigham and Zeke, bis face ng strangely. ve he aid. solemnly, “it is forus to doa ood deed if we will, Lucas Townsend lies there y oe and he has a brother, a father and a sister who will mourn his loss. We know him and his crime, but shall we turn mourning into agony by publishing it to the world? His secret rests wit us four, Is it not better that we should allow all others to think as they think now, that he was an honorable man, and tell people he died at the hands of the League of Gold?” Brigham caught at the suggestion. The outlaws were destroyed as a band, two-thirds of them were dead and the others prisoners, and with his work so well done it was not necessary to name their chief. They could keep the secret and spare Marian a life- time of extreme sorrow. ‘Let it be so by all means,” he said, quickly. Then Cactus Jack raised Loella from her dead, while the other two men went on in the re. At the point of rock a bullet whizzed past Brighan#s head, but Bozeman s revolver spoke a moment Jatér and the shot forever ended the career of C, the wounded lieutenant of the band. The affair startled Cactus Jack, but after an in- vestigation he went back to Loella. “There’s a good bit of mystery in the air,” he said, ** but it strikes me you are a woman instead of aman.” “You are right,”’ she promptly said. ** Moreover, I think I know you.”’ *So you do, Jack, for you saved my life in the barranca and it was I who afterward saved you from the assassin hand of Tom Knott.” ‘*Is the time come when you can tell me who put ou in such a fix as that in which we found you at he barranca’”’ “Tt was Lucas Townsend, but the particulars must be told you anon. There is much that I will tell you. when I have time. By the way, it was Lucas who shot tho soldier at the mesquite grove. Woodman was dogging the four robbers, who were taking away some plunder they intended to hide near the river, and when Lucas came out of the mesquite he did not suspect he was a foe. He was shot down in his tracks and the body muffled to pre- vent a trail of blood and afterward thrown in the river.” “Townsend was a perfect demon at heart,”’ said the guide, in horror. “ Boze and I have suspected for some time that he was the assassin, but this Gettles it.” “| heard it from his own lips as he told oneof his lieutenants. That reminds me of one thing I sus- pect you have learned. Elbridge McKey was an officer in the band, and his business at the Bend was only a cloak to cover his spyirig. He sealed his own fate, however, when he aspired to win Marian Townsend for his wife. She refused him, and when he went to Lucas and demanded his aid. he put his head in the lion’s mouth. Whatever faults, Lucas loved his sister, and when McK proved stubborn, he shot him dead. ‘He did one good deed, at least. Has James been mixed up in this affair?"’ ‘‘ Not in the least. Like his father, he is a worthy and honest man.”’ **T thought so,” Lyd d tie we ee aaa time I suspec m,, for I heard of his meeting S atl outside the town, and suspected that it was Zina; but I — learned that ‘twas Nola, the t “s mounteln Br iact something I once said to her,” Loella observed. “I learned that her life had been saved by one of the Townsends, and that he was a regular visitor at the cave. informant made a mistake and told me it was Lucas; so I went to in the disguise 6f Monsieur Dupage, and warned her to beware of her new acquaintance, re- ferring to him only as ‘Townsend.’ Since then I have learned that her friend is James, not Lucas, and I must retract what I said.” At this point Brigham came forward. “We are delaying here too long,” he said. “I must go to my soldie and while Bozeman watches by poor Lucas, you had better carry out our plan by bringing James and Marian here. o ~ « Go,” said Loella,” and I will do my ‘ «We do not leave you in danger,” iad Brigham. «The outlaws are literally eut to pieces—I doubt if » has escaped. We found James and Marian one ing comfortably in little nooks off the main resm, bound, but not injured; and Nola, too, is hl e. and the speaker went away; but not A ca gh sey one when the sound of revolver shots was heard. They dashed forward, and rounding a point of rock, found James facing two outlaws, while two others lay dead before him. The ruffians h chanced upon him as he was trying to conduct Marian to where Brigham had 6ne: but they were armed only with knives, and fe was making it warm for them. “He has the Townsend ay without the vil- jain he seet forward, and just as James drop- da third victim, seized the fourth with his empty hands. and dashed him inst a rock with such force that he fell senseless to the floor. It was the last blow struck in the war against the ‘League of Gold. These four men had escaped the general attack only to fall a little later. Cactus Jack took charge of James and Marian, breaking the news of Lucas’s death as they went. It was a hard but his work was well done, Brigham found his blue-coats and the miners listening to a boastful speech from Bill Bush, but wet such a victory the oration was tsk * e captain made ations for departure an then ween back to w athe had left Loella and the ‘ Nola others. Marian and James had exhausted their first sorrow over the fate of Lucas. They had been told that he died fighting bravely, and as neither suspected that it was in behalf of the outlaws, they were mercifully spared the greatest grief of all. With the consent of Loella, the body of Zina was | buried in the cave. some time, but the quietest way just then would cause the least comment. A sister’s tears moistened the damp earth, and Cactus Jack was kindly sym- pathetic, and so ended the last chapter in a misdi- rected life. Then the entire party went back to the Bend— Brigham, Cactus Jack, James, Bozeman and his war-horses made the town howl with Perhaps it might be removed | Marian, | Nola, Loella and the lesser lights; and Bill Bush | triumph. There was mourning at Townsend's, for Lucas had come home never to go away again in life, but the thoughtfulness of their friends saved them the worst pang of all. They believed their loved one had died bravely after living honorably. The Bend soon resumed its usual quiet aspect. The masked robbers came no more to plunder and annoy, and the change was a welcome one. Brig- ham won renown from his campaign, but givin to credit to the guides, gained for them additio glory. One more revelation came on the heels of the others. Old Prospect was found in his cave, to which he had returned after a crazy wandering and Brigham no sooner saw him than he recogniz a man he had known in his boyhood when he lived in Kansas. ‘lhe old man’s real name was Ordway, and he had worked for a settler named Emmons. One night the Indians burned the cabin, and, it was sup- posed, killed the whole family, but the sequel | proved that Ordway saved Emmons's infant daugh- ter and fled with her. His own injuries destroyed his reason and he had always believed Nola to be his daughter, but she was really named Ethel Emmons. A few weeks after the destruction of the League of Gold, the Townsend family went East, taking Nola with them, for she had promised to become the wife of James. Marian and Brigham, too, had had a talk which was satisfactory to them. They left Lucas sleeping under the southern sun. Marian had dism fear that any of her family knew aught of the outlaws. She believed McKey had maliciously lied to her, and the mystery of the blue coat had been satisfactorily explained. The case of Lucas was a sad and strange one. Brigham believed he must have been partially in- sane, and the belief did no harm; but, really, he was one of those men who cover bad hearts un- der pleasant smiles and winning ways. A dutiful sonand affectionate brother, he had not the moral strength to resist the temptation to commil crime opened to him in the West; and once on the down- ward road his cruelty was too horrible for con- templation. Two years have ed since the events of our story. The stars and stripes still float over the fort, but it has a new name and a new captain, for Brig- ham has resigned his office and retired from the = ‘ phi) ye Ep ae — digger at bene ow be n ush rules as king. ns, but only a few of the old-time Pieracners mf there. Zeke Bozeman is hun in Montana once more, but Cactus Jack has abandoned wild life and is on a Texan ranch. If the reader surmises that Loella is his wife it will be no mistake, and no happier couple can be found in the Lone Star State. At a happy home in the East is a large and grow- ing family. On the day that Marian became Brig- ham’s wife, James Townsend and Nola also joined their fortunes for life, and not one of the four has ever regretted the step. Mr. Townsend gained t honors from his scientific labors and is still a shining light among the craft. He gave up revolver practice when he left New Mexico and is happy wi animate curiosities. He is very proud of his ex- soldier son-in-law, and with. his he has added considerable to the literature of the science to which he has devoted his life. : Old Prospect lived the remainder of his days at the Bend. His mind was too far gone to miss Nola, or even remember her, and it was Bill Bush who at- tended to the last duties due him when he died. Sergeant Springer is at a post further north, so Bill Bush is left alone to relate the deeds done in the wild days when the e of Gold made life so un- certain in the vicinity of Black Bend. THE END. his bugs and in- > DIME DIALOGUES AND SPEAKERS FOR SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS AND HOME ENTERTAINMENTS. Dialogues, Nos. 1 to 29 inclusive, 15 to % lar dialogues and dramas in each book. ume 100 O pages. Speakers, Nos. 1 to 4 inclusive. Each speaker 100 pages 12mo, containing from 50 to 75 pieces. u- at YOUNG PEOPLE'S SERIES Dime Book of Winter Sports. Dime Book of Summer Athletic Spots Dime Gents’ Letter Writer. Dime Book of Dreams. Dime Fortune Tell Dime Ladies’ Letter Writer. Dime Lovers’ Casket. Dime Ball-Room Companion. Dime Book of 100 Gam Dime Chess Instractor. 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