Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 241 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

| a ae OUNGES 4 "ont he re eo ss flesh and 24 she would obey the man she had learned to love so well—loved never so truly, soardently as now when she contemplated slaying him. ‘‘Qne of my pistols here, Brocky Bill!” cried King Saul, sharply. ‘‘ Her royal highness is im- patient to open the ball.” As the weapon was handed him, King Saul passed it to his queen, then made a signal, at which the accused was drawn up Clear of the floor and set to spinning rapidly around, his guards falling back a few paces. Queen Dixie took the pistol and raised the hammer with a hand that was steady as fate it- self. Her lips were tightly compressed, ber face as white as that of a corpse, but her eyes a i vividly as she brought the weapon to a evel. All eyes save those of King Saul were riveted upon the white bowl against the lips of Lofty Dick. He was watching Queen Dixie like a hungry hawk watchesa chicken, and never once removed his eyes until the sharp report broke the breathless silence, followed by a wild cheer from the intensely excited Rustlers, which told “on, Beam that the difficult and dangerous feat had been successfully performed. Instantly his hand clasped the smoking re- volver, which was yielded up without an effort to retain it, but a low, bitter speech hissed into is ears from the woman; *‘Had I missed my aim, and injured him, the second shot would have had your brain for the target!” **T anticipated as much, and was on my uard,” he retorted, with a low laugh, as he wed his head and seemed to be congratulating her upon‘her success. After this, there was little delay, King Saul ealling the marksmen by name, and they ad- vancing to the foot of the throne after snapping eff the pipe stem, took their shots. Brocky Bill was the first one summoned, and he knocked off such a small bit that King Saul frowned, The veteran’s habitual whine was doubly accented as he saw this. ** [t’d be onpolite to show as much grit as the ueen, now wouldn’t it? I kin stan’ the loss o’ the sheer o’ the next raid, but I’d never git over hittin’ of the lad, now would I?” His prudent example was followed by his mates, They were on their metal, knowing the severe penalty for failure, and having often performed the pipe dance, sessed both the skill and nerve essential. One after another, they performed the feat, until the last pipe was broken, and Lofty Dick cried: ‘“Tf you are through with this infernal mum- mery, let me down, and I] fight any one or the whole kit of you, to settle forever the question of nerve and grit. Even you, King Saul!” ‘“‘Wait a bit, my dear sir,” coldly replied Spitfire Saul,e with a hard, menacing laugh. ‘There remains one more pipe to be broken, for I claim my right to prove my nerve with the rest of these honest fellows. I know that it is unusual, but as you had one shot at me, it is no more than right that I should burn a little powder in return. Am I not right, men?’ There could be but one reply to a query - worded like this, and a general murmur of assent went up from the crowd. “In other words, you mean to murder me, having failed to thrust the dirty work off on a followers!” boldly cried Lofty Dick, his lue eyes ablaze with hatred and defiance. ‘You are wise! If Lever had another chance, I would kill you!’ _ “Tf I fail to break the pipe, Ill pay the pen- alty, never fear,” laughed King Saul, snapping the stem short to the bow]. Lofty Dick made no resistance, but clinched the stem in his jaws, then was set whirling rap- ey. King Saul leveled his weapon and with a swift aim, yale trigger. With a piercing shriek of horror, Queen Dixie fainted, and would have fallen from her seat, only for the swift grasp of King Saul, for me gy the bowl was broken, Lofty Dick was CHAPTER XVIII. THE BRIDE OF DEATH. Every eye had been riveted upon the whirl- ing figure of Lofty Dick and the pipe-bowl which rested snugly against his lips, no longer vividly red, but dull and ashen, like those of a man who feels the near a age of death. Not that one among the entire gathering doubted either the nerve or skill of King Saul, for time and again had he given them indis- putable evidence of possessing both qualities in a most extraordinary degree but after the reckless defiance which Lofty Dick had hurled in the teeth of the King of the Rustlers, very few among them all could bring themselves to believe that King Saul would permit him to escape scot free. But neither did they antici- te how surely the chief meant to revenge imself, and a general cry of horror broke from their lips as they beheld the pipe-bow] shattered to atoms by the bullet, while the form of Lofty Dick was exactly facing the throne. Crushing the bowl, cos through teeth, aoe the battered lead severed the spinal-cord near where it joined the skull. A convulsive twitching of the muscles, a quiver- a nner SI cc sss Spitfire Saul, King of the Rustlers. — — ——s +s ing of the limbs, then the golden-crowned head | as guilty as Lofty Dick, ard equally Negakeon drooped forward upon his breast. , “Hold hard all!” thunderea Spitfire Saul, scarcely waiting until the echoes of his death- shot had died away. ‘‘Up with your hands, every mother’s son o’ ye! And empty, too! The man who hesitates long enough for me to spot him will need no funeral sermon. Steady, now 1? Swiftly as he had spoken, the Jast words had not left his ‘lips before each and every one of the Rustlers were standing with their hands elevated high above their heads, trying their best to face their dreaded chief without a visible evidence of the fear which filled their hearts, but with far from complete success. Though he had ostensibly disarmed himself before the punishment of Lofty Dick began, Spitfire Saul now held a cocked revolver in either hand, covering the score men before him, his eyes glittering with a fire that seemed to scorch whatever it fell upon. ‘* 1 broke the pipe, as I was bound to do, to complete the punishment due the injury which that dead dog inflicted upon Snapper Johnny. And to save both time and trouble, I broke it after a fashion that amply rewarded rank and double treachery, as well as carelessness or cun- ning design. “You all know that I have just escaped from captivity. It was not from either careless- ness or recklessness that [ fell into the hands of the enemy. I was sold, betrayed, by the two beings in whom I placed the most implicit trust—in whose hands I not only left my honor, but my life and liberty. How they rewarded my trust, you have heard, but only in part. Some day I will give you the entire history, from its inception to the bitter end. Now, I need only swear by the sacred oath that binds us together in fellowship, that all I charge is true as death itself, and can be proven be- yond the the possibility of a doubt. ‘‘ Lofty Dick was one of the traitors, and the woman whom you have thus far regarded as your queen, as my wife, is the other,” Not a sound from the Rustlers as Spitfire Saul paused in his rapid explanation, his voice too husky and strained for him to proceed, just then. ut their faces spoke far louder and more plainly than words could. Wonder, hor- ror and a prow op doubt, all were written there. Not for Lofty Dick; in the black accu- sation which King Saul had brought against their idolized queen, they alike forgot him and his sickening fate. He hung there, slowly turning round and around as the rope untwisted, the blood running down his breast and already beginning to drip upon the floor, marking out a loathsome circle upon the hard-beaten clay. A ghastly sight, but no one had eyes or thoughts for it just then. “You have heard my explanation, men,” Spitfire Saul resumed, his voice colder, harder, but with that devilish light still glowing in his greateyes. ‘I have taken oath to its absolute truth. I will do more, when the proper time comes, for though you are bound by your vow to believe whatever I tell you, I will not stand on that privilege. You shall have the entire evidence of the treachery shown me by Queen Dixie and her paramour, Lofty Dick. I can ik thas they sold me to my enemies, for gold. can prove that this woman, when I was taken alive and cast into jail, fearing lest I should escape the doom she and her lover had designed, disguised herself and entering the town, spent her gold—stolen from me, by the way—lavish- ly, hiring ruffians to raise the cry of lynch-law and collect the mob to drag me out to death b the rope. I swear to you that I can prove all this, and even more. ‘*Now I ask you, notas your chief, but as one man speaking to another; do you blame me for having killed Lofty Dick? Was I not bound to do so, by the oath I have taken in common with you all, as a Rustler? And not only for that charge, but because he foully attempted my death, but just now. ‘‘Snapper Johnny was right in his double charge. l| ted the traitor of meaning mis- chief, and watched him closely. I saw him shoot Paap, not through carelessness or Jack of nerve, but to so startle and confuse him that he would not notice what followed; then he whirled and shot at me. I barely escaped his shot, by throwing myself over to one side, You can see the print of the leadon the wall behind me, now. “ Again I ask you: did I sin in killing the traitor?’ Without an exception, the voices of_the Rustlers were raised in the negative, and King Saul nodded approvingly, as he lowered the weapons which he had all the time kept cover- ing them. The signal was understood, and the upraised hands came down, though the Rustlers still maintained their places, ‘‘In keeping my oath to punish al] traitors with death, I have also avenged my wrongs,” continued Spitfire Saul, speaking more evenly, his voice less strained and unnatural. ‘ As for this traitor,” touching the senseless form of Queen Dixie with one elbow, but without glanc- ing toward her, ‘‘she is a woman, and there- fore sacred, so far as life goes. True, she is full + ; | t | | | punishment, but that must come in a different shape. Her doom is to live on, and learn to repent. In slaying Lofty Dick before her very eyes, | have dealt her a blow that burts her far worse than the mere loss of life, and one that she will feel more and more acutely the longer she lives. Both awake and sleeping, it will haunt her; a nightmare from which she will never be able to escape, no matter how fast or how far she may flee! ‘Gentlemen, you have bad the sport I promised you; now,to work. You will mount your horses and make your way to the old ren- dezvous in the hills. Play the old trick, of scattering widely, that the winds may the more easily blot out your trail, In all probability, 1 will be at the rendezvous before you; but if not, await my coming. You can go.’ The Rustlers moved uneasily, at the same time interchanging covert er at seeing which, the brows of King Saul quickly contracted, and the evil light in his eyes deepened; but notwith- standing this, Brocky Bill, bat in hand, his whine deeply accentuated, shuffled to the foot of the throne. ‘*Blow my durned foo)’ brains out, ef you like, boss, but I cain’t help axin’ ye to jess lis’en to me, this once!” ‘‘Speak out, and cut it short!” sternly de- manded Spitfire Saul, his, fingers tightening their grip upon the butt of his revolver. ‘I can forgive you much, old man, for I know that you are faithful and true as the day is long; but don’t try me too far. I’m in an ugly humor to- night,” ‘* It’s the missus, boss,” the veteran whined, tears in both voice and eyes, as be cast a shud- dering glance from the chief to the deathlike countenance of the insensible woman, ‘ No doubt she went wrong, sence you say so, but fer all that, she’s a woman, an’ she bin mighty cluss to the hearts o’ us rough critters. Not one of the fambly but would ’a’ laid down his life at her biddin’, an’ counted it a thing to thank per fer. Say that you won’t—won’t butcher er— King Saul impatiently checked him with up- lifted hand. “As you say, old mate, she is a woman, and therefore her life is sacred, particularly to me, whom she has called husband—whom she loved, before that cursed boy came between us with his baby face. I swear to you, one and all, on my honor as your king, that J will not harm her further. Is that plain enough?’ Whatever reply Brocky Bill meant to make, was cut short by the subdued, but none the less earnest cheer which burst from tbe jips of the Rustlers, telling how powerful was the hold of Queen Dixie, disgraced though she had been, traitress though she had been proven, upon their rude, fiery love. ° “Enough!” cried King Saul, with an impa- tient gesture. ‘‘ You have my orders: see that you carry them out without ye I will meet you at the rendezvous in the Hills, and then we will strike a blow that will show our enemies King Saul and his merry riders are still alive and full of poison! Go!” Without another word they filed out of the building. and as he bent his ear in listening, King Saul could hear them preparing their horses for the road. A faint moan from the woman beside him, a slight stir of her hands, attracted his gaze, and he saw that she was gradually recovering her senses. With a catlike leap, he left the throne, and reaching the one door, closed and barred it, then returned to the throne, bending overand gazing fixedly into the face of the woman whom he had once loved with all the ardor of his fiery heart, but whom he now hated even more com- pletely. In one hand he held a handkerchief, ready to clap to her lips, should she arouse with a cry, as he feared; but this was an unnecessary precau- tion, for he could hear the rapid clatter of hoofs as the Rustlers rode away from the desert sink, long ere her senses were restored sufficiently for her to realize her present situation. Producing a small pair of handcuffs from be- neath his robes, King Saul sn‘ pped them upon Queen Dixie’s wrists, eee savagely as her eyes opened with a start, at the chilling touch of the polished steel. ‘*Good!” he hissed, his eyes glowing redly, his huge mustaches curling so as to show the white, pointed teeth beneath the hair. ‘“ You are awake,again. I’m glad of that, for I would not have you miss a single move as I play my little game of revenge and retribution!’ $ at is the matter?’ Queen Dixie faltered, her. brain still confused from that horrible shock, and unable to recall what had bappened until her startled gaze fell upon the body of yas Dick, now hanging motionless from the ceiling. One instant of frightful silence, then a wild sbriek burst from her ashen Jips, as she strove to fling herself from the throne, her frenzied geze riveted upon the corpse. But King Saul caught her in bis ‘geoh tins arms, and forcing her back, swiftly bound her fast to the seat, growling: , m ~~ (al - JOOKS: (E(0) ( C 4 to SE ett = ~ Se «jill 2 %, * : i * * ' <~ - .