Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 229 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

16 ooo eseoa«swe—sSsS a oooaoaoa>>o>omnas, (| father whom she actually was afraid to face for ah that the very sight of her might prove “*[ reckon yer can’t do much ov anything till the doctor kims.” “* The doctor?’ “You bet. We ain’t sich hard-hearted cusses q3 yer think. When we takes up er case we goes ther hull hog. You kin trust a doctor an’a priest. Ther lawyers ar’ all right long ez yer payin’ em more money ner any one else; but when ther’s a higher bid ag’in’ yer—look out,” After thus moralizing the man gave her a few simple directions, pointed out a bucket of water and a cup, and then departed. Yet be turned at the door and cast one last oe at ber asshe stole on tip-toe to the bed, he sigkat of her face satisfled him. He nodded, turned, and went out. If she bad believed the statement that, with nursing, this man would get well, she be- gan te doubt it now, as she bent over him. Bat she had had time to gain control of her nerves, and did not intend to give way. He lay in what was more of a stupor than a doze. Occasionally his lips moved, and he ut- tered a low whisper. Bending over the daughter distinguished one word. ‘* Fillen!” _ be put ber cool hand on his forehead, and the touch seemed to have a calming effect. _ Then she wiped a touch of froth away from his and sunk upon her knees by his bedside, After a little he opened his eyes and whis- red: ‘* Where am I, and who are you?” “Do not Some miners found you, unded in the breast, and brought you bere, n they came for me to nurse you. I know little about you yet, but they tell me they have sent for a doctor, and that he soon will be here.” The caution was needless since the man did not speak again. His eyes closed, and be once more la into the stupor out of which he had py momentarily roused, len still crouched, listening to his breath- ing, and wondering whether it was the result of bis wound, or the use of the harcotics that she thought she could detect u bis breath, that k Pp him in his semi-sepsible-condition. ¢ was a lonely and a tiresome vigil, since she was all alone with the wounded man, for whom she eould do nothing. Onee or twioe she arose and moved silently about the g'oomy, vault-like room; but her ex- plorations ended in almost rothing. Scant was the furniture. There ath the bed on which 64 ee ' man was reposing, a rough table and a bench. The eeiling was high, and the grated win- dow was above ber reach. Ellen could have climbed up to it, but put that off to some more tog tn enmapg, even tf oppertuatiy rater’ ieslt. t escape, even if o 8 tse “Pinally she resigned heveelt to watching, burying her chin in her hands, and wondering whether the man on the bed could be her fa- ther. Time crawled on very slowly. An hour had -- ard and yet-it seemed like a dozen. 6 beard a low-voiced challenge without, below the window. A few moments later. the door! opened, and an outlaw entered; and fol- lowing him came a man whom she rightly judged to be the doctor. The Catsleeves were as careful with him as they had been with her. The same scarf was around his eyes, and his arms were pinioned to- gether at the wrists, id no attention te the girlish figure g in the shadow, but went at his patient with the air of a virtuoso. “The man eg patched him up waz no slouch; but he's in a bad way. Nip an’ tuck, an’ ther dog a leetle ahead, Can’t berry him in this hole. Take him intew sunlight an’ fresh air, nuss bim well, an’ he'll get through. Funny dogs these. Cut yer throat like winkin’, an’ reesk the’r own few save yer when in tr’ubble,” The doctor talked to bimself as he examined the patient. Then he turned hastily to the masked man who stood bebind him. ‘Vil bev tew watch him a bit, tew see what's bin done. Yow kin lock ther door, an’ leave mg an hour, Then I must git.” ‘Yer purty strong spoken, doctor, but ver ‘ther clean corn, an’ we kin risk pan. we eon er try ary frolicsome es ‘round hyar, vive er warnin’! Yer pulled ther cap’n through, but that’s no reason why yer sh’d put our necks in a noose. Don’t say too much to that young heifer.” The doctor gave a start. ‘Ah, yaas! [’doi’ar furgot. Yer said ther’ was oF —_ Foo dew ther fe soap I'll hey ter tell her what 1 ex an’ then she may go. I ain’t much use fur sen.” The outlaw laughed, and then turning, walked away. Hehad no particular desire to assist in the dressing of the wounds of Colonel Canley. Certainly the doctor’s fingers were skillfyl, d he did not hesitate to use them. Though en leaned forward with painful eagerness, scareely got a glimpse of the little, round Captain Cutsleeve. blue spot that marked where the bullet had almost got away with ber father’s life. All danger, at least of external hemorrhage, was apparently over. What was going on inside she wished that she knew. As the doctor was silent while he worked, she ventured a faint question. ‘“‘Help me turn the man over, easy like. Mebbe I kin tell more when I see his back. guess it mout be wuss.” Between them they turned the unresisting colonel over. “Ab!” said the doctor, in a tone of satisfac- tion. ‘I’ve got him.” “What?” Ellen grew more in earnest; but the doctor did not answer ber. Instead be took out a lancet, and made a sharp thrust into the flesh, that scarcely quivered. Then he thrust his finger into the incision, and drew out the ragged, battered bullet. ‘‘Mebbs it warn’t doin’ any burt thar; but he’ll feel heap better with it out. It went right threw bim, but if we kin keep ther fever down be’ll gitalong. I'll fix that though. 1’m sartin death on fevers. Now, who be yew?” There seemed to be a great deal of blunt honesty about this man, and on the spur of the moment Ellen trusted him, “T am Ellen Canley, and as I understand and believe, this gentleman’s daughter, though we have been separated for nay It is very strange; but I was captured by the Cutsleeves last night, being lured from Glory Gulch, when Ihad just arrived. They asked me to nurse a wounded man, whom they had picked up; and though I could not understand how men who had shown such brutal hate to me could heve softs enough hearts to aid a strange man, in mortal danger, yet I consented. They brought me tobim not long ago; and from what they said I found that the wounded man was my father, Can you tell me any more of this mys- tery! ** | kin—at least a leetle. He waz throwed in a dewel with Hart Blaine, last night; an’ while the others waz pokin’ at Blaine, who also got it purty solid, ther kunnel must ov wandered away, an’ got picked up. Ther man ez should ’a’ stood by him got inter sum outside foolish- ness an’ never seen him go. Mebbe that war a put-up job—mebbe it wa’n’t. Idon’tsay. But we've got him now, an’ you’ll pull him threw.” “And afterward? hat will they do with him?” ‘Oh, they’ll turn him loose. They’re square ez 8 die, roosters be. When they rob they rob, an’ when ron’ f bate they hate; but they don’t do good er evil by halves. ** And then, what will become of me?” “That’s somethin’ else, But by Jehoshophat! No! They sha’n’t hurt a hair ov yer head if I kin belp it. Trust in Dr. Coffin, an’ heur’s his band on it.” The doctor spoke in heat, at the last, as if white with a sudden resolve and thrust out a hand, which was neither large nor weather- beaten. As her own hand fell into it, one of the Cutsleeves, thrusting his head into the door ex- claimed: _ “Time’s up, doctor! Bay yer last say, an’ come on!” CHAPTER XXV. A SCOUT IN THE CANYONS, As Touch-Me-Not and bis twostrangely made friends moved away from the doctor’s office, after their short and satisfactory interview, Gouger broke me peer y perigee ae “Say, sport; eard yer shoot off su *bout er gal—Ellen Canley I think yer called her. Ef I don’t disremember that war ther name ov ther bit ov caliker ez kim in with yer on ther hearse. Yer don’t mean ter say sbe ar’ missin’ a’ready?”’ ‘IT do, and there’s some foul play about it, or Iam more mistaken than I usually get.” ‘That ar’ bad. I don’t ginerally cotton ter pettycoats meself, an’ when one ov ’em slings er shadder acrost m th she mostly makes powerful bad medercin’ fur me; but this un war jist er compound ov rock sugar an’ flooid lightnin’—suthin’ like er leetle gal I run ag’i’n once on ther trail ter Eden City, on’y more so. I took right down to ber, an’ Huckleberry, he war jist dead gone bu’sted on her—all, yer knows, in er quiet, reespecktable sorter way. So, ez friends, jest reel off ther natur’ ov ther trouble, an’ ef thar’s any way fur two roarin’ a mame ter climb ther tree you kin count us in. “ That is the way I like to hear it. You talk lots; but you mean a beap of what you say, and Idon’t mind letting you get a p at the ground floor, asI see it. I’ve struck a nice nest of trouble in this nh f and I sha’n’t goa step further until I see it all through. There's another Ellen Canley around—the woman in the doctor’s shop—and Colonel Jim Canley got it through the lungs this morning. There’s rocks lying about loose, somewhere, that ought to belong to our little woman; and there’sa Bie to gather ber shekels in. It won’t win hough, see if it does.” ‘ll bet yer’ right, Ef thar’s any bloody _ ———— S&S. woe place’: “fates patrollin’ ’round ter git away with h-uggage you p’int ’em out; an’ me an” Huck) “erry Il mount em. Now give us er leetle“iner p’ints on ther game, har d’yer think »1e’s gone ter?” ‘* T.at’s what I want to find out. I’ve got it down dead level that that lantern-jawed doc- tor, who is no Yankee at all, has a hand in the game; but what is the size of it, I'll have to call it tosee. I left ber at Johnny Goodman’s for an hour or so, and when I got back. I found that.she had been coaxed away. That’s the end of ber.” “Say. Yer don’t s’pose ther agents could. hev a bandin? They’ll be after you, heavy ; an” théy mout’ want ter squar’ it up with her. ‘** That’s another idea, that never struck me. They might have a hand in it—by heavens, es! Buc they had help from the town, and that help I want to find for a starter, After that, if | can’t strike ber trail, she will need a better friend, that’s all.” ‘‘Cinnermon b’ars an’ painters, we kin put yer on ther trail now—an’ take it right ‘long with yer. Ha, ba! Ef ther thort ther boss trailer ov Shaster c’u’d be fooled that way, they can’t black boots ter make er sbine. I heerd ‘em, ‘long back in ther canyon, afore we struck ther town. Three men a-hossback, an’ a gal. That war ther lay-out, I'll bet er mustang an’ saddle ag’in’ er rangin’ kiote# How’s that, Huckleberry ?” ‘* Ef you say so I say so; an’ ef you warn’t hyar, I'd sw’ar to it.” Hockleberry’s «cho was a little longer than his customary ‘‘ You bet,” though he spoke without the enthusiasm of his pard. Touch-Me-Not did not notice that. He was areas full of the revelation that Gouger had nade. ‘You sure of that? It’s darker than the ten of spades there, and you couldn’t tell three men “ie a hole in the ground at that hour of the night. j ‘It don’t take much hoss sense ter climb er chimbly, it’s all main stren’th an’ o’kardness, Ef they hedn’t stopped so short when the heerd me shout, 1 wouldn’t ’a’ keered; but know’d they warn’t standin’ thar listenin’ ter my singin’, so 1 rid on about half er mile, an’ then 1un back an’ marked ther spot.” ‘*Good enough, then. We’ Tet these sharps in town play their bands out, and to morrew morning bright and early we'll go gunning for oy ae and hunting up the trail of the lost rl. This was the way it happened that the next morning Touch-Me-Not and Tom Gouger flipped out, of camp at daybreak, leaving Huckleberry tehind to watch t drift ef public opinion and pick up any stray sce The two found the trail vith less trouble than Toueh-Me-Not bad expected. When he was on it he could see no actual signs, for a time, theugb Gouger asserted that it was a darned sight plainer than the nose on his face. By-and-by they picked up & crumpled glove. ‘* Mebbe yer ain’t gettin’ warm now? That wur dropped by me an’ Huckleberry, metbe? Oh. yes. You bet. Fits me finger like er ebarm.” He held the delicate little article up, and ut-~ tered a hoarre, cavernous laugh. Touch-Me Not nodded, ‘‘] don’t doubt you, All I said was that I could not see the tracks that you said were so plain. And I’ve pretty sharp eyes, too.” “Yer make me leff. It’s one thing ter git ther drop on er slouch like me, an’ another ter tell whether a ’skeeter sot on er log las’ week, er week afore last. Now hyar, yer see, ar’ ther (rack ov er wood tick, an’ yonder’s ther trail ov er mountiin-flea. They both went long afore dew fell las’ night, Ther flea hed er knapsack on his back and ther tick kerried er fourteen- inch bowie.” Gouger, as he reeled off this extraordi statement, looked at his companion and grinned. “Tl swear, Gouger, I believe you lie to hear yourself lie, At any rate you don’t expect to stuff me with your yarns. I can see that there is a natural roadway through this fiseure, and it’s more than likely it was traveled by the Cut- sleeves. That's good enough. We'll follow it and see where it leads to. Meantime, we’re more interested in road-agents than wood-ticks, mountain-fleas or musketoes. If we stumble across them I’ll bave a chance to see something of your shooting. You don’t seem to get it in yery often, but when you do get it in they say it always counts.” Gouger raised his eyebrews, but made no verbal answer. vas a regular Captain Blow Hard, and knew it, yet there was a rude chivalry about him at times and more than one town had owned him, backed as he always was by Huckleberry, as a a chief. It may have been that he had seen horses’ tracks on the rocky floor of the fiseure; but his eyesight must have failed somewhat, einee, be- fore the morning was over he had to own that he was totally at a loss. The crevice had widened into a canyon, then narrowed into a gash, and finally ended abruptly in a cul-de-rae. They looked this way and that; but the wood tiek had not got that far, aud the mountain- flea had gone another way, nice eKetey <3 (Eo) ee (E(0)