Beadle's Dime Library No. 263 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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28 ' die!” said the counterfeit Bentbush in a terrible voice, as Norola closed the door. Then the speaker looked for Iron-Armed Abe. He was not visible; both he and Diamond had disappeared from the room. He felt dismayed. Camp was for the moment inactive—thunderstruck, as it were, by the turn of affairs—but be would soon arouse and make | matters warm for the audacious Black Rider. As for the hunchback, there was a door to show where he had gone, but nothing to show where he then was. If he had deserted in this emer- ency, Doctor Rube had indeed shouldered a urden larger than he seemed capable of carry- A he er ee ————— = a tt = xe | ing. yes yon infernal scoundrel!” gasped Camp, re- covering his breath, ““what do you mean by this outrage?” **T mean that the cards have gone wrong for yom that you are my prisoner and that your ife depends on your keeping a still tongue in your head!” Use forgot to assume Bentbush’s yoics and his ‘words rang out in @ way which was not only pstthade 2 but which made Camp stare at him in sudden interest. “Eh? Ob! Ah!” cried the prime-minister, “*so it’s you, is it? Well, we’ve got you again,” Concealment was out of the qnestion and Doctor Rube settled down to sturdy action. “You never made a greater mistake. The shoe is on the other foot. I’ve got you and I intend to keep you as long as you are useful. Let me say, too, that if yousound an alarm | will shoot you like the wolf you are. Do you hear?” Something in his voice changed Camp’s man- ner completely and showed him a thorough coward at beart. He began to shake in Rube’s rasp and put in a plea for good treatment, but the doctor cut him short and asked Norola to try the other door. She did so and found it locked. Doctor Rube was confused and surprised. What did it mean? The hunchback was not a man to be easily overpowered or to deserta friend—what, then, meant this sudden disap- pearance of both bunchback and Diamond? It was a profound mystery. Several minutes passed in waiting, but Iron- Armed Abs did not return. Rube felt that the passage of time was full of danger, but what could he do? Hemmed in by foes and danger ashe was, he felt a strong desire to have the ; » arm of the huncbback to lean upon. It} ' The pause at last became unendurable und he | resolved to make an attempt alone. It would be a mean feeling if he was compelled to relin- quish Norola without an effort. ‘*Camp,” he said, after meditating for a time, ‘*lam ina position where I must win or lose all. Such being the case I shall proceed accord- ing to the demands of the occasion. Iam going to make you useful or put a bullet through you. This is plain talk, but i have shown yourself a first-class rascal and I will not be foolishly sentimental. Camp, you must guide me from the c ty!” ' 4 = = | stammered the prime-minister. : “‘IT do expect it, and it will beso. Hear me, Camp: you must guide me faithfully through all my dangers, giving me the protection of our presence, en seeing you will believe all is well, and you must not undeceive them,” Really, you can’t expect that,” Stas Ss “: What you ask is impossible,” ** How so?” “T will not guide you! Do you expect me to cut off my own nose?” ‘ie expect you to guide us and, sir, you will Doctor Rube spoke in an inexorable voice, and rubbed his revolver against the prime-min- ister’s ge os until he lost all his courage and declar.d that he would do anything Rube or- dered. He was certainly frightened enough, at that time, to have promised to jump into Black Pit, but would it last? Doctor Rube called his attention to the fact that if he was himself recaptured his life would be forfeited anyway, and since such was the case, he proposed to proceed boldly and if | Camp attempted treachery, shoot him down at once, This point settled, Nor: la went to get her outer garments, which was a necessary delay, and Camp was directed to lead the way to the outer world, | He began by unlocking the door Norola had vainly tried, which 3% Serge an idea to Rube. } Inquiry developed the fact that only Camp and Diamond possessed keys to it, and deepened the mystery of Iron-Armed Abe’s disappearance, vee : was not prudent to consult Camp on the air. The prime-minister led the way along a hall, down a stairway and to an outer door. They emerged from the house and marched down the street deliberately and in an order planned by Doctor Rube. Thoce who saw them gave but a casual glance as they saw Camp arm in arm with a young lady, with what seemed to be one of the Black Riders following at their heels for some pur- spose known best to Camp—perhaps as a guard. But, as the reader knows, those who thought = eetee = ye —— = + = ~ ——_— = See i ~~ thus made a great mistake. Camp, instead of being monarch of all he surveyed, was in a state of nervous terror, He walked on as Doctor Rube had directed, but though he dared not turn his head he knew “that terrible fel- low,” as be bad named the doctor, was only | ark & provocation to send a bullet through | his bead, We need scarcely say ‘‘ that terrible fellow ” | was equally anxious. He had taken the reins in an energetic manner, as a brave man will in | emergencies, but in such a hot-bed of enemies he | could never feel at ease. He looked at Norola, | whom he knew to be one of the most deserving | of her sex, and felt that his single arm was but a weak shield when the magnitude of the danger was considered. They bad gone but a few yards when some- thing startling and unexpected occurred. There was a rending, grinding, crashing sound, mingled with a sort of boom, and the | ground shook under them as Doctor Rube bad once felt it when some strong chemical ex- ploded in a laboratory and nearly dismembered a dozen of callow surgeons. But in this case it seemed even more startling, | and when several pieces of slate roofing clat- tered to the ground, all turned to look at the . source from which they came. Diamond’s house wss no longer the stately building it had been. One-half of it bad crum- bled, the roof had fallen in, and it was clear | that some sort of an explosion had nearly torn it rock from rock. To add to the excitement of the scene, mon, most of whom wore the Black Rider costume, were seen rushing out here and there, and a red light sprung up in the center, showing that the ruin was on fire. But a wilder, stranger scene was in store for those who looked, and Doctor Rube instinc- tively uttered a cry at sight of the startling picture suddenly made visible on what re- mained of the roof. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE MIDNIGHT FLIGHT, THe light which had flashed up from the burning house was strong enough to illuminate the immedi- ate vicinity, and all who looked distinctly saw three men engaged in a desperate struggle on the flat roof. wined about each other :ike serpents, they were making revolutions so rapidly that no man of ordinary figure could have been recognized; but Doctor Rube bad no difficulty in seeing that one | was Iron-Armed Abe. The other two were plainly tools of Diamond's, | and Rube half suspected the captain himself was one. Men who would otherwise have endeavored to stop the flames paused to watch that fierce contest; even the fugitives forgot that they ought to flee, | and merely gazed. The Destroyer bad plainly met men who were no children even in his strong arms, but as the red light crept up higher Rube saw that his movements | were a good deal hindered by popes they had par- | tially succeeded in noosing around bim. Back aud forth they struggicd, back and forth, now going dangerously near the lappin fire, then reeling close to the eaves with the dizzy descent be- ans but at all times struggling with unsurpassable ury. Suddenly Iron-Armed Abe seemed to arouse as | though he had .cast off the dangerous folds of the rope, and then he was seen in the full splendor of | his power. Those strangely muscular arms made good their claim to the sobriquet man had given him. He cast aside his foes as a tiger dashes away a puny | cur, and a long, thrilling yell of derision pealed from his throat. Then, clutching one of his foes,a man dressed as a Black Rider, he raised him aloft and strode to the | eaves as though he held but a babe. Below, twoscore of men had gathered, and the | chance to kill the dread Destroyer was better | than ever before; but not one could raise a hand. Breathless, they watched the hunchback and the doomed wretch, who squirmed in vain in his iron grasp. One moment they were seen as though for a ter- rible tableau, and then the Black Rider shot out into the air with all the force Abe’s arms could give. Out and down he went, whilo the Destroyer'’s wild laugh was mingled with the groans of the crowd, and then with a dull thud his wretched clay met Mother Earth, and his share in life was past. But another thrilling scene was too close at hand | for any one to bend over the Rider. Another face a beside Iron-Armed Abe, and all recogniaed. iamond. The deadly foes were side by side, and, it almost seemed, separated from the rest of the world. Diamond's chance for eternal triumph seemed at hand. Abe was laughing wildly, almost maniacal- ly. and the other man might have pushed him from the roof. Such seemed his purpose for a moment, for his hands were outstretched and his face glowed with | an eager light, but even in the moment when tri- umph seemed to be his he unaccountably paused, the strength seemed to die out from his arms, and he sunk on his knees beside the man he so deeply hated and feared. Then Iron-Armed Abe turned, laughed even more wildly than before and caught up Diamond as he had caught up his subordinate. . And then the men of the Desert City saw their ruler hovering between life and death. ‘*Ha! ha!” laughed the Destroyer, “‘behol1l King Diamond! Ye fools who bend and fawn when he passes by, and think him the mightiest sovereign of earth, look on him in his weakness. Look at this vile wretch!" Dead silence reigned in the crowd. The flames were creeping on in the house and there might be | enced him and he made the ' flight and turns at bay. | tor Rube became — people there who needed their aid, but still they ooked, expecting every moment to see Diamond precipitated into their midst as his man had been, Rut another element, as destructive and more ae than Iron-Armed Abe, was gathering in ts fury, and a repetition of the crushing, rending sound had no sooner indicated a second explosion than a cloud of sparks and wood flew into ip air and then, with an almost human groan, the remain- ing portion of the house sunk down, roof and walls, | into the fiery pit beneath. At the first demonstration the bunchback was seen to drop Diamond, but neither men made ap at- tempt to escape. They stood erect and only a few feet apart until the fall of the roof caused both to disappear, and then the cloud of sparks which went up was like their epitaph. ot until this scene was at an end did Doctor Rube arouse from his rapt attention. The various scenes had occurred papi! despite their force, but bad they consumed half an hour he could not have thrown off the spell. When the roof went down he could no longer doubt that both Diamond and his foe had perished in the fiery depths, and he recalled | himself to the present, This was done too late for his good; Camp had seized the opportunity to part from dangerous com- | pany and was nowhere to be seen. Plainly, there was no time to be lost after that. They could no longer rely on Iron-Armed Abe, and it was clear Camp would get his tools together as soon as possible and seize the escaping prisoners; the jenny wonder was that they were not there al- ready. Nworola was shivering with the emotions the late startling scene had awakened, but she yielded promptly to Rube’s hand and their flight was re- ' sumed, At that moment the doctor could think of no way open to them except to return to Black Pit. It was true they must now do without the hunchback’s aid, but Griff was a veteran and could be relied upon to do every possible thing for Norola, So they placed their faces toward Smoky Moun- tain and went on hurriedly, keeping in the shadows and avoiding other travelers as far as was possible. Noroela had been informed that she was going to Griff, and she seconded Rube in every effort. Even then he thought of Leora and wished his companion would mention her, but he asked no questions, and on his heart was a heavier weight than he would ac- knowledge as he thought that the chances were the girl had perished in the fire. One-half the village had been traversed when, among the vague, mingled sounds at the rear, Doc- tor Kkube traced one plain and clear; treeed it and caught his breath in a strange way through his set teeth as a suspicion assailed him. The sound was the bay of a dog, and he believed it was being used to track them in the darkness. He turned his face toward Norola, uncertain whether it was best to tell her, but she had not lived a wild life in the past,in vain; her lips uttered the words he had mutely put in form. “I fear you are right,” he answered; ‘‘in fact, I cannot doubt it. Every second increases the suspi- cion. The dog is on our track and gaining rapidly.” ‘““ What can we do?” ‘Keep ahead of bim as long as possible and then turn at bay and kill him silently and quickly. From that moment all depends on whether our human foes are at the heels of our brute pursuer.”’ P ; The stream of water; cannot that be made use- ul?” Doctor Rube had thought of it, but it was so far | out of their direct course that he was reluctant to turn. The importance of throwing the dog off the | scent—he would otherwise follow them to Black Pit, even if he failed to previously overtake them—influ- eviation, They ran rapidly, but nearer still sounded the bay of the hound and their chances grew desperate, Further still they went, and then both the river and the dog were near. Doctor Rube saw that he could not use the one to foil the other, and he on] thought of making the best use of his time. He had drawn the saber which had come to himasa yb e from Bentbush, and with this he meant to oO his best. A little further and the water of Golden Creek flashes before the fugitives, but the dog is almost at their heels. Doctor Rube sees the folly of further He drops on one knee, ea for the meeting, and none too soon. A lithe, light-colored form shoots out of the dark- ness straight toward him, the long-drawn, mournful howl stops short as the man-hunter sees his prey; and then, with a rush, he speeds in to the death, his red Jaws opened for the fata] grip. But it never comes. Kneeling like a rock, Doctor Rube advances the point of the saber with rare jud ent, and then, at the critical moment, drives t with all his force, into the tawny breast, Another howl breaks from the dog’s lips, but this time it is one of pain and alarm; dashed to the earth by the force of the collision, he lies kicking and cry- ing for the last time on earth. octor Rube withdraws the saber and springs to his fect, hopeful of a clear retreat then, but his hopes are in vain. There is another sound, and this time human foes emerge from the darkness. He even recognizes Camp and Redspur in the front, with half a dozen stout Riders, this time on foot, in e rear. Norola uttered a faint cry, and at the sound Doc- ssessed of a sort of fury. He resolved not to yield, in any case, but to fight as | long as he had strength, and then die, if need be, in defense of Norola. ven then, with that infatuation he could not resist, he thought of Leora Templeton and, believing her dead, cared little whether he liv or died himself. “Back!” he shouted, swinging his red sword be- fore the eyes of the enemy. ‘“‘ Back, you demons! I will brain the man who first advances!” “Hold, there!” interrupted Redspur, checking his men. ‘' Young fellow, you're too brave a man todie like adog. Yield, tamely, and I'll swear to do my best for you.” “No, no!” interrupted Camp, sbriliy, ‘he must not live; he must die!” The sound of bis voice, which had become @istastc- ful to Doctor Rube, stung the latter into a stil] more unnatural fury, and he cut short Redspur’s efforts Eomicbooks.co