Beadle's Dime Library No. 258 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

/ ; : : ' 2s off 28 tance had been placed between him and the out- law's resort. Lila made no resistance; she had tested her pow- ers before and did not care to repeat the attempt, but had she known at first how near the Bravo was one cry would have materially changed her future. Darke gave his horse no rest that night, but, doubly burdened as he was, urged him on until the stars paled and day was athand. Then he made for a new cover, for he had decided not to travel by day. ‘time would be lost by halting; but all alon the road were men in sympathy with Bullet H - and who made daily reports, chiefly to put the Bravo on the trail of plunder, and they would be sure to tell him of the runaways. Another night of travel followed; but Darke re- solved to rest no more on the second day than was necessary to keep his horse in condition. He was poring along a prairie which was skirted at the west by hills, and there seemed little fear of me ro any one there. Lu , he shot an antelope, and on this they made a breakfast. Lila, who had given up all hope, was silent and melancholy. Darke had used her with a considera- ble degree of kindness, but she did not forget that she was a prisoner. Twice had she refused his hand before her capture, and this last indignity was not calculated to change ber views. The lieutenant, on his own part, sat g steadi- ly into the embers of the fire he had kindled, and with a thoughtful look, puffed irregularly at his ipe. % Whatever his thoughts, he suddenly aroused at ‘* Lila,” he said, “‘ I want to ask you once more to jook on me as a little better thana brute. [may not be perfect, but do I deserve such disdain as you use toward me? Wherein have I sinned?” His air of injured innocence would have been amusing under less serious circumstances. ‘*T once heard you say that horse-stealing should be punished by death,”’ Lila replied; ‘‘ what, then, of woman-stealing - ‘* The case is different, for I love you—" ‘‘ The horse-thief loves the prize he secures.” ** You are relentless,"’ **T am just.” “Ts love, then, a crime?”’ **I believe it is in the majority of cases. At least, if you claim to be actuated by it, we cannot call it less than that.” ** Lila, you will drive me mad!"’ ‘**] believe you are that already.” An angry reply trembled on his lips, but he re- pressed it, and a ruptly arose. ‘We will go on,” he said, gloomily. They resumed their journey, but Darke was in a less cheerful mood than us He began to realize that the mere gain; it would nature settle down and tamely accept life with m. He began to wonder if he woule not do better to abandon her. He had a few streaks of honor in his wild nature; and at that moment, if he could have done so, he would probably have restored her to her | friends, . But who were her friends? Her father had proved himself an enemy, and Darke could not answer for the rest of the apron & As they went on the lieutenant did not failto keep a sharp Watch all around, for he valued his life as much as ony man, and he observed three horsemen in his rear, They were following exactly his own trail, and moving faster than he, and con- scious t made him regard them with suspicion. Resolved to company from them on the trail, he made a series of deviations and soon had the sat- isfaction of seeing them disappear from his view, ** Fa! here are the remains of a camp-fire and the coals are still bright. He has not been gone two urs. **T aim ter be right, but I should inequivocally say he has b’en rone less.”’ ‘Let us push on at once then.” ** Puffectly fit an’ proper, an’ ef you'll allow me ter take ther trail ['ll soon show him to yer.” ‘* Perhaps he hez the best hoss.” i **His’n is double-loaded an’ we kin easily run et own,”’ **T yield to your s'perior wisdom." | “Come ht on a ther red slayer shall have a chance ter slay.’’ The kers were three men who had halted where Darke had his mo fire. Ail are known tous; they were Wicked William, Gentle John and Ned, the sometime companion of Bullet Head in the possessor of Lila was but a slight hard to make one of her brave | ——— a — adventure. | trio looked about as before except that Will- iam’s complexion seemed less dark than usual. This ‘was due to the combined influence of Gentle John and an oreeceae of full-proof water. The delay of the trio was but brief, for two at bowin - — — Bullet Head, the Colorado Bravo. and he saw that he was nearing a wild place where it seemed easy to find hiding-places for an army. This was all the more welcome because, looking back again, he saw the trio of horsemen coming after him, and there was room for renewed fear that they were following his trail. He quickened the pace of Ins horse and went on briskly. Before him was a heavily wooded country, while on his right a sheer cliff extended to meet if. Before the wood was reached the unknown trio emerged from cover at the rear, but Darke began to feel at ease. The wood seemed to put out its branches like friendly arms. He reached the shelter and pushed on as before. The cliff was close to him at the rightand a hundred feet high, while on the left was a wooded bluff. | be: he was riding through a beautiful, walled-in valley. Suddenly however, he checked his horse and the beauty of the scene vanished. The cliff came around in front of him with a bold sweep and, meeting the en at the left, barred his progress in that direc- tion, One moment he looked and then a savage exclam- ation fell from his lips. No man could ascend that cliff, much less a horse, He turned toward the bluff, now his last bope. He found it steep and unpromising, but he was not to be stopped. He caught a glimpse of another horseman among the trees and recognized one of his supposed pursuers. Resolved to take the one chance open to him he - ae horse into a thicket and secured him to a ush. He then turned to Lila, **We must go up this bluff; it is our sole hope. We are pursued by men who I suspect will show no mercy to either of us. I hope you are sensible enough to moh pom? best to escape them.” “*T will; lead on.” The ascent was begun, but even Darke had under- rated its ene Had it not been for the numerous bushes they could not have made any progness om at all, but from them they received valu- able aid. Lila kept her promise and did her best, and they toiled laboriously toward the summit. Darke saw that point grow near with renewed hope. He had expected to hear a shout from below, but none came and the ascent was almost completed. Finally, Darke raised his hand to draw himself to the top and then— He suddenly found himself seized in a firm grasp, lifted from his feet and pitched headlong down the bluff. He went like a projectile of war, and there was a most tremendous uproar as he went crashing through the bushes, At almost the same moment a big, brown hand | t closed around Lila’s arm, ““Laim ter be right,”’ said a voice, “ but I won't venture ter lift you her till you say so.” The girl found herself looking into a very homely, but honest-looking face. ‘Who are you?’’ she demanded, her fears strug- gling with her inclination to trust him. : ‘*Gentle John is my name, an’ though I’m opposed ter warblin’ my own praises, gentle is my nature, Shall we go up?” CHAPTER XXXVI. FOOLISH JOE AS A GUIDE. GENTLE Joun, with all his uncouthness, was far from being a repulsive man, and Lila felt that she could trust him. She held out her hand and was helped to level ground. ‘I bowled your late lamented off ther alley kind o’ unceremonious,’’ added John. ‘I hope you don’t keer fur that item.” ‘**Not if you are really my friend.”’ , ‘*l am that, an’ I've come all ther way from Red Bar ter do it. I’m a stranger thar, bein’ late from Comet Camp, but I found ther squarest man in ther West at ther Bar when I arrove. That same is Wicked William, an’ ’twas him that roped me in fur this trip. I aim ter be right, an’ when William said ther game was s ht, I tuk a hand, I reckon they're all down but nine.”’ did not clearly understand all he said, nor did the name of Wicked William have a very cheerin sound, but she placed her trust in her rescuer; an when he su that they descend the bluff she He found a place less steep than the one by which she had ascended and they were soon in the cul-de- sac There they found Gentle John’s allies bending over Darke. The woman-stealer had fared badly in | his unceremonious descent. No bones were bro en but his elothing was fully as ragged as that of Wicked William, and his face was a good deal bruised. He lay moaning on the ground, but there_was _ more show than reality in his groans; he hoped for a chance to escape. *“You two hev come jest in time,” said William, deeply to Lila. “Ther red slayer bas been least of their number could read signs well and they a-slayin', as you kin perceive, an’ we must perceed pushed on caught sight of the mo before they were seen in era aaa uicken heir pace, rapidly decreased the distance between them. st ter be right,” said Gentle John, anon, “ but on ther reptyle ahead has seen us, | He’s I d * about in fashion, an’ tryin’ ter throw us 1er trail.” “ Puffectly fit an’ ef he kin do it,’’ William aoe ef you'll foller my lead I'll varmint pooty soon. We're gwine ter serenely answered, surprise ther bay ther gal back.” “Sartin we be, an’ ef her captor objects we'll bowl him off ther oon oe They were not men to be thwarted easily, and had Darke known who was on the track he would have to his horse and rode at full speed. The disappearance of the trio deceived h however, and he began to pick his way in a le fashion was traveling a country new to him, and i had chosen it intentionally to avoid no- tp he Fen attention was necessary to ad- Mee em SCE ESA whal ‘itatile Bs e wa Ww er and w saw was in Hf fields and of little enecarit The hills began to show on his right, as well as at the left, os ee ee in the way Darke had gone. They to ther cheerful duty o' an inquisition. A Coroner must be ‘lected ter set on this durnation critter an’ decide whether he is guilty or not guilty.” “I nominate you for coroner,”’ said John, “‘ Puffectly fit an’ proper, but judgin’ by ther looks o’ ther deceased, Be is so po or oon ter stan’ up an poe that settin’ is dang’rous. ear ye, arter which I must prorogue ye.” “*T aim ter be right,” said Gentle John, ‘an’ I move ther gal goes round ’mongst us an’ gits our votes.” No one objected, and the full vote was soon taken. It resulted as follows: Ned; ** Guilty, and deserving of death!” Pa eas William; ** Guilty, with extensive circum- stances.”’ ar the jury , Dut on the next point there was a serious division. Ned favored ha io him, the other two men thought an application o twenty lashes on the bare back woul pe his moral ideas, but Lila voted to let him zo entirely. Oddl h, ber le voice carried the day in ae ; Darke was told that he might go reoveled wen ckly, “But don’t ye never be seen agin whar ther | | | flowers o’ innercence bloom in ther medder,’ con- tinued Wicked William. ‘I’ve sat on yer marsi- fully, but ther next time thar’ll be a dead nigger in ther watermelon-patch when I git arter ye. I'm rank p izen ef ye take me in big doses, Go, an’ look out fur ther red slayer!’ But Darke went straight to Lila. **T owe all this to you,” he said, humbly. ‘ You have — me good for evil when I’m not ¢ eserving. I wish it was in my bpp pa to show youl appreciate it, but it can’t be. Let me say, though, that you'll have no more trouble from me, My face is toward Montana, and when I get there I may remember what my old mother taught me, illustrated as it has been by you. Good-by!’ He mounted his horse and rode away, never a to be seen by them. They watched out of sight — then turned their own faces toward Red Eben Garland did not by any means defy Tom Quain. He felt about as cheerful in the latter's posipeny he would in that of a tiger, and when ee bore hard on the screws he lost all ideas and theories of his own and declared himself ready to oblige his amiable brother-in-law in all ways. in was not so sure of his own course. Chance bad enabled him to shut Bartlett 3 in the vault, and he wished him to remain there in the com of the dead until he had received a specimen of hie OTT Garland: left at liberty, this purpose rland was a is would, of course, be defeated. +: 4 Such being the case he informed the lawyer that he must followhim. He only remained to fasten the cover to the death-vault, and he did this so well that only himself could open it, using a new artifice on the combination, and then he left the house ac- companied by Garland. As luck would have it, his coming and going were not observed, and as will be seen no one had ob- served Garland and Bartlett when they went to the store-room. Ki Lee, who had made all arrangements for the removal of Rose Jackson and Mrs. Quain to their new prison, waited in vain for his maser to oe roma and give him orders to start. He knew it was time such a move was made, for the drug he had mixed for the women was rapidly losing its powerand they would soon be able to make trouble. The Chinaman roamed over the house in and again in his search, but though all the rest of the seer cnr was enlisted, no trace of Bartlett was oun True, Ki Lee, who had taken it on himself to look into the store-room, heard a muffled voice arising from the iron vault, but be only shivered and mut- ered; “What! dey alibe still? ‘Melican manee have nine lives like catee!” As time passed on Celestial -dealer often visited and her friend and he saw that somet must be done or they would soon be con- scious and all would be lost. He resolved to take the responsibility of adminis- tering another drug to keep them as they were. He went to his room and soon returned secretly bearing a vial. He entered the room where they lay on the bed moving with a cat-like step. They seemed like people in an ordinary sleep except that their breath was heavier and their faces pale, Ki Lee held vial in his right hand, and leaning forward, raised Rose’s head. He advanced the drug, and it was about to pass her lips when a hand closed over his wrist. ** Wait!” said a voice. The Chinaman turned quickly and saw Foolish Joe. The latter, however, no longer acted the idiot capa He stood erect, spoke intelligibly, and looked the same, Ki Lee was not surprised, but his almond-shaped eyes twinkled angrily. “What you wantee?” he demanded. “IT want that,’ Joe replied, as be snatched away the vial. “You dat backee! How dare you touchee? backee, all lightee; no gib backee, tell You gib nel EAs aan Red86 etierceed to ind! e a gesture su cate lett, but the threatened quarred was averted ea a discovery. A sound from the bed caused both to look that way, and they stood in consterna- tion as they saw Rose looking at them ste ‘ “Gib dat backee!”’ cried “Ki Lee, ina tone, as he reached out his hand for the vial, but the scene cap ye a athe oo oo ’s hand suddenly eme from cover, and the dark muzzle of a revolver was turned upon the men. “Tll take charge here self,” she coolly said. “T am not to be Soleotied fie a cat or dog, and if killing to be done I’m the person to do It was a bloodthirsty but she had already learned the necessity of talk to the Far West Romans in a language —_ could understand. Ki Lee sh back like a poodle after a cold- water bath, but Foolish Joe faced the revolver with- out a tremor. ‘*T guess you're wide awake enough to know I'm not here as an enemy. I interfered to keep this rat- eater from poisoning you, and now I’m w to prave aay good-will by taking you toa safer an ‘ “T want to to a hotel,” said Rose, sitting up- right, and speaking in a business-like manner. “All right; I'll wring the neck of this varmint and you can slide out of the window.” Joe scowled at Ki Lee, who promptly drew a quem knife, but his mes wey = ony site - arm m easily, and 8 window, held hin by the back of the neck as he would a kitten. “*T reckon we had better get out of here,” he added. “I know a man who is your enemy, and the -> et you say -day to him the better.” Rose devoted her attention to Mrs. Quain. She d serve to | was still sleeping, but a little shaking aroused her Her bodily vigor came back plchly but her mind was far ye, being clear; a trouble from which Rose also suffered, despite the way in which she bad d tage ae men, . ne only was clear to her’ sh , get away from the bouse which then Covered tran <€om (E| OO NO) “S (EO)