Beadle's Dime Library No. 258 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

cave as glibly as though he had been telling the truth, but when he was eagerly asked if he could guide a party back there his pompous manner vanished. It wasa peculiarity of the cave that those who came out could never find their way back unaided. Thus, this dubious character became an in- mate of the mine-owner’s house, where he at once made two enemies. His manner disgusted both Lila and Miss Ware. He put peace and quiet to flight, smoked in the parlor and carried a whisky-flask constantly in his pocket; in fact, he seemed a perfect pecan of a Western des- perado on semi-good behavior, Lila asked her father why he harbored such a man, and his reply was unsatisfactory, but Hes- ter Ware took a different way in getting at the information she wanted. “Uncle Edmund,” she said, abruptly, when ge with him, ‘‘what game are you play- ing He looked at her in evident astonishment, ‘ Wicked William and I have just indulged ip draw poker,” he said, after a pause. ‘‘Nonsense! [ don’t mean that kind ofa game. My dear sir, do you think I am blind? Ease your mind on that point. You have three guests here and none ot them are welcome. Allen and Birch you hate; I strongly suspect you fear them. That swaggering ruffian, Wicked Wil- liam, is here because you have a use for him. I ask you again, what game are you play- ing?” artlett attempted to laugh down the idea, but Miss Ware was not to be thown off the track. She gave substantial reasons for her suspicions until he was aroused from his indif- ference. ‘She is shrewd and, I suspect, little troubled with a conscience; I will range her on my side before she takes the other.” Then he added, aloud: ‘“ For my part, I have no game to play, but I suspect one is being worked against me, The signs you mention are defensive, not offen- sive, ones.” Miss Ware hesitated for a moment. She was convinced that he did not intend to divulge; if she learned the secret, it must be through other means, **Can I help you?” she asked. It was Bartlett’s turn to hesitate. Experience had told him that confederates were not de- sirable articles, but it is better to silence a sus- picious person than to let vague ideas reach the whole world. “You may make love to young Allen, if you will,” be abruptly said. Hester laughed. ‘A pleasant task, really.” ‘‘ With a view to making bim ta/k,” he added. ‘You are shrewd and ought to be persuasive, ary to find out what brought him to Colora- oO,” Hester agreed, though this result was far from what she had hoped for. As far as ber directions went, they embraced nothing new, Sbe had already gotten up quite a desperate flirtation with Allen, hoping to win his confidence, but he did not yield to her charms In a satisfactory degree. Really, the young man was beginning to grow uneasy. His residence under Bartlett’s roof was uupleasant and did not seem likely to pre- sent any good results. Some slightly suspicious things had been observed there, but nothing which he could assert was out of the way; he was not prepared to say that the household was any different, or any more blamable, than bun- dreds of others about him. On their way back from the mine he had said to the ex-detective: ‘““ We are wasting time; our only hope is to capture Tom Quain, alias Bullet Head,’ ‘Then let us seek for him to-night,” said Blenker, calmly. Thus it was that, after pretending to retire for the night, they secretly left Bartlett’s and started for the mountain. They went well armed, and as the moon would soon be up they entertained some hope of being able to enter the cave and find the Bravo. The mountain was reached, ascended, and the search began. The full moon sent a flood of light upon the scene, but in such a way as to be of no use. The higher ground was vividly lighted and in many places glowed whitely, but all this only served to make the canyons and ravines, to which the moon could not pene- trate, seem all the darker. It wes not the first time that men had search- ed for the entrance to Bullet Head’s cave, as will be remembered, but the result was the same asusual, The wildness of the place, the unsystematic formation of everything, ren- dered the locality almost a labyrinth, and on this occasion the two men were unable to find the place through which they had emerged. Thoroughly tired, at last they sat down on a bowlder and began fanning themselves with their hats. It was at this moment that a voice ropounded an unexpected question. ? Won't you smoke a sight while you wait, gentlemen?” Both sprung abruptly to their feet. They t in search of the flashed quick glances nr sss ts SE SSS eae See ee ET | Bullet Head, the Colorado Bravo. | speaker, but the character of the miniature canyon had rendered the voice unplaceable, ‘* Look this way!” repeated the voice. This time they were less at fault and glanced upward, and there, half-way up the cliff, a man lay on a shelf of rock where the moonlight fell full upon him. Witb his head resting on one hand, and his legs outstretched, his manner was so cool and indolent that the two men could only look in silence. ‘‘ Were you hunting for Bullet Head?” he continued. Allen aroused. He believed he recognized the same voice that had addressed him in the cave, and he resolved that if the redoubtable Bravo was indeed at hand he should not es- cape. “We were looking for him, and we have found him,” he said, quickly raising his revol- ver. ‘* Don’t dare to stir from where you are; you are my prisoner!” ‘‘Ts that a fact?’ was the coolinquiry. ‘ I would never have suspected it, How and when was I captured?” ‘‘ Words are unnecessary in this case,” Allen curtly declared. ‘‘ You are Bullet Head, and as we have been searching for you, we shall not let this chance pass. Descend and yield your- self a prisoner!” ‘* Just as you say,” was the lazy reply, “* but before I obey I must ask you to look around you. Perhaps you will see something of im- portance.” Blenker, who had mistrusted this scene, had not failed to give prompt obedience, and as he looked he suddenly grasped Allen’s arm. ‘‘ We are in a trap!” he hissed. ‘‘ Weare Set by the road-agents. Look for your- self] CHAPTER XVIII. A MYSTERIOUS ROBBER. ONE glance was enough to show Allen that the ex-detective had made no mistake. Dim as was the light in the canyon, it was sufficient to show a double line of men by which they were hemmed in, and every one carried a rifle. ‘* You see,” added Bullet Head, coolly, ‘‘ that the case is allin my own hands. You came to seek, and you have found; while, if the circum- stances are not to your liking, it may interest you a bit to know that I mean you, as well as you mean me,” ‘*‘Come down and see us, then,” said Allen, quickly, deciding to make the best of the situa- tion. * Pll do it.” Without further loss of time, the Bravo arose and vanished in the deeper shadows. He was still to be heard, and they knew he was toiling down an invisible pathway. “Are we doomed to another term in the cave?” Allen muttered, addressing Blenker. ‘* Itlooksthat way. It’s certain We arein the grasp of these fellows—irrevocably so; and our only hope is to drift with the current, and hope for the best.” Allen was very reluctant to acknowledge that their situation was so desperate; and, with the fire of youth, he considered the chances of re- sistance, but even he was obliged to admit that it would be folly. The Bravo, baving descended the cliff, romptly advanced toward the entrapped men, is face covered by a mask, as usual. % fam ready to receive you in the cave,” he said. ‘* We did not come here with an ambition to be a prisoner,” said Blenker, dryly. ‘*] suppose you wanted to capture me?” ‘We wanted a talk with you.” ‘* Well, I won’t disappoint you. The talk shall come off. This, however, is scarcely the place for a council, so we will go inside. When we are through, you can return to Red Bullet Bar unhindered by me.” Neither of his hearers placed much confidence in the promise; but as they were so completely in his power, Allen agreed without hesitation— it was best to accept coolly what could not be avoided. Acting on this rule, they made no opposition when the Bravo added that, though they would be allowed to keep their arms, he must bandage their eyes before pone In this fashion, but with many a perplexing turn, they were conducted inside; and when their eyes were uncovered, they were in Bullet Head’s private room. He motioned them to be seated, passed a box of his cigars, and then settled down in his own chair. Allen and Blenker were filled with surfrise while even Goliath, the giant servant, seemed stirred out of his usual stoical manner. ‘* Well,” said the outlaw, ‘‘ let us now pro- ceed to business. You came here to see me— why ?” ‘We want a frank talk. We came to Colo- Well, what for?” —— to see you.” “ First, are we right in believing your name azes you did! to be Thomas D “I should be a fool to admit: it, but I will (15 make no denial. Proceed the same as though you knew it to be a fact,” | This was equivalent to a confession, for wh should the outlaw say he would be a fool to ad- mit it unless he was acquainted with Quain’s evil record, ‘Well, to come right to the point, we think you can throw some light on the death of Regi- nald Sinclair.” i, t thought that was settled twenty years ago. ‘*So it was, after a fashion, but we do not feel satisfied with it. Thomas Quain, to speak plainly, I am the child that you bore to your house me night when your own one died,” Bullet Head had started slightly; he showed an interest not before visible. ‘* Yes, lam he who bas been known as Allen Quain, the nephew of Eben Garland, and the supposed son of Thomas and Mabel Quain.” be smoke no longer puffed from behind the Bravo’s mask, but bis face could not be read, ‘‘The supposed son,” he said, es) aE wih S 2 you are no more than tbat, who, in reality, are you?” | ‘That is just what I wish to know. One stormy night, twenty years ago, you entered your house with a child in your arms, Mabel, — wife, informed you that your son, an ers, had died during your absence, and fora while you were so angry that you raged likea pirate. You had relied on the child to inherit the fortune of Eben Garland, and you felt sure he would not leave a cent to you or your wife. However, you had a happy thought, and as a result you substituted the child in your arms— ee {—for your own, and no one suspected the fraud, ‘* Who told you this?’ Bullet Head harshly asked. ‘* Mabel Quain,” ‘¢ And who was the child carried to the house?” ‘That is what you should best know, but what I wish to learn. Where did you get the child, and who was it?” A silence ensued. Bullet Head did not an- swer, but his keen eyes could be seen through the holes in bis mask as he gazed at his compan- ions, and Blenker, accustomed to read signs, saw that his hands trembled. ‘* He sees the shadow of the gallows!” thought the ex-detective. ‘What do you mean by all this rubbish?” the Bravo suddenly burst forth, in an angry voice, ‘“ Why do you call it rubbish?” Allen asked. ‘* Because it is nothing but a fiction.” **Do you still claim me for your son?” ‘“Myson? Bah! Lam not Thomas Quain! My son! I have no such thing. I am an English- man by birth; I have been but a year in this country and I know nothing of all roux Quains and Garlands and Sinclairs. Bah! your lies won’t deceive me, and, by my life, you don’t leave this cave until you tell the truth. have it out of you if I torture you to get it!” The Bravo had leaped to bis feet and these words were poured forth rapidly and fiercely; but though bis hearers could not avoid a degree of alarm it was a moment of triumph, b ri His emotion proved that the shot had gone — home, ‘This man can tell us how Reginald Sinclair died!” thougbt Blenker. ‘‘I only fear that he himself, dealt the fatal blow, in which case it will be hard to make him confess. The promise of a full pardon will bardly tempt a man who is ruler of such a band as this,” Aloud, he calmly said: P - ‘‘We can prove all we have asserted, Mr. Quain, and w hat we want of you is to know who the babe was whom you brougbt to . house that pn yht. My yuung friend here, naturally anx: us to know his own name,” ‘A short tin » ago your chief desire was to know something about one Reginald Sinclair, “ True.” S ‘** What has the ; to do with the present case?” “ Again we ans ‘er, that is just what we wish to know. Can you inform us?’ “Why do you cc..nect them?’ harshly asked the outlaw. ‘‘ Simply,” answered Blenker in a deep voice, “because we believe the child of whom we have spoken was the son of Robert Sinclair.” Bullet Head dropped back into his chair, The — ex-detective would have given much at that moment to see his face, but though it was hid- den by his mask he could not conceal bis agita- tion. ‘“To the man who can tell us the truth of affair we will do our utmost to givea full lawful pardon for all past misdemeanors,” add- ed Allen. The Bravo’s hand was clinched tightly around the arm of his chair, but his voice seemed to gain strength and clearness. ‘‘ A generous offer, upon my word!” ‘* And one made to you.” “To me?’ it} Yes,” ‘* What do I know of the matter?” ‘* You are Thomas Quain and you know the real paren of this young man whom you have presented to the world as your son, and e€om (E S IOO S * 4 co i. ~ ow _ 4 T