Beadle's Dime Library No. 278 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

; Pe! m ‘ , aa Wines © a, ‘ we r 7 Py needn’t trouble himself about it, for he’s about ter get the first one back.” By this time Goldspur had placed the paper a last the door of the cabin and was in the act of writing something upon it. The strides that carried Cold-Deck Carl for- | ward were cat-like, for they were absolutely | without noise. When he stopped he was vot six feet from the man writing slowly in the moonlight, bis broad shoulders almost filling the doorway. Carl’s arm went up till it was on a level with Goldspur’s head, and the white tip of the rolled inanifesto which protruded from the barrel of his revolver alinost touched The Man of the Vel- vet Hand. All at once Cold-Deck Carl dissipated the somewhat thrilling tableau. “Turn!” be cried, and as Hercules Goldspur wheeled upon him, he continued: “ I've broaght your manifesto back.” The growl of the tiger about to spring upon his hunters was in Cari’s voice, the glare of the jangle ro .rch’s eyes was in his. “Do. ou vant it, Hercules;’ Carl went on. “Tt’s sticu.a’ out ov my dropper an’ I’m goin’ ter shoot it inter yer brain! Writin’ another, war ye?” For a second there was no reply. Never before had such a splendid target been erin to a mad marksman like Cold-Deck rl. Hercules Goldspur looked more magnificent than ever in bis rich lace-trimmed jacket, tight acti and high yellow-topped boots whose eels were ornamented by the spurs which had given him the name he bore. **Shoot!” be cried looking into his tracker’s eyes. ‘‘Drawin’ yer blood-line around You- Bet, eh? I don’t want the manifesto you’ve i pereey inter yer dropper, an’ I’m not goin’ ter ke it, either!” With the last word there was a pantherish =r forward of a human hand. urving slightly upward as it shot out, it sent Carl’s arm from its level, and pushed on to his throat. The lightning-like spring was the work of a second, Brain and arm had worked together, and in an instant the velvet band of the giant Apollo of Idaho was at Cold-Deck Carl’s throat. ““How about shootin’ my paper through me now ?” laughed the victor whose black eyes glittered with victory, ‘Don’t you think something ov postporin’ ther job, Cold-Deck? You had me awhile ago an’ you let ther oppor- tunity slip. Fool!” Cold-Deck Carl saw the eyes of Hercules Gold- spur dance like dervishes; but he could not ak, The grip of that velvet hand at his throat seemed to paralyze all his powers. The strength of the laced giant was pro- digious, “IT want to introduce you tosome friends who have just come to You-Bet,” continued Her- cules. ‘Come, my train-stopper. They want to see you; I know they do. Oh, what a fool ace been to-night, Carl. You had Hercules ldspur at the muzzle of your revolver an’ ou wouldn’t shoot. The manifesto will never taken back. Ho! ho! How do yon like the erie ov the velvet hand?” With bis silken fingers still at Carl's throat, Hercules began to drag his victim away. This seemed no task at all, though Coid-Deck Carl could hardly keep his feet, so merciless was the choking he bad already received. He kept his consciousness by the workings of a mighty will power, for he wanted to see the a arrivals mentioned by the Northwest Her- cules. Past the cabins and around the base of a bill he was conveyed by his captor, then into the mouth of a guich whos? high walls shut out the meconlight and filled the place with shadows, Would Hercules never stop? And was he taking his victim? fi a a Longe = . moment a confused urmur of voices, and al! the gian ounhe talual, ; at once the giant “We are hyar!” he said to Carl. The captive attempted to straighten himself but that awful hand was an incubus be could not shake off. The following moment he saw a number of indistinct figures, and then—he was hurled from Goldspur’s hands, “There!” cried Hercules, ‘There! red wolves of the silver trails, is one of the men 425 want!” And as Carl fell among twenty dians, the giant waiked away! “whither CHAPTER VIII. GETTING OUT OF THE TRAP. A GRIM smile wreathed tbe lips of Hercules Goldspur as he walked from the spot where he ad given Cold Deck Car] to the red-skins whose had seized bim before he could defend r self or attempt an esca “They wanted a victim was all he said. | ™m whence bad those Indians come, who ot they have bim,” . ie Tw . a ® ~~ J 45 «4 mm 8% 4 ¥ . Apt i ‘> we : ’ - 7 J , : $n pe he. were they, and what had brought them to ‘Hercules Goldspur. , You-Bet? Indians were not uncommon visitors to the wildeat city along the track of the Northern Pacific. They came and went at their own good pleasure, trading with the miners drinking Joe’s worse whisky, and it was bad, or lounged about the town for the purpose of stealing any- thing that was portable. They were, for the most part, Sioux, strap- ping big fellows with hang-dog visages, ready to make a man hold up in the mountains, or to plunder a cabin when its owner’s back was turned, On several occasions prior to the date of our story, the exasperated citizens of You-Bet had_ held Jynch court and treated several of these red thieves to a we!|-adjusted noose; others bad been hnnted down and shot without the shadow of a hearing, and badly spelled placards warn- ing the Indian to keep his distance had been posted on rock and tree. This summary work had produced a certain effect for a season. The savages bad remained away for so longa time as six months, when some of the holder ones ventured back with good borses for trade, and a few ounces of Just. These articles condoned their past offenses in the eyes of the roughs of You-Bet, and Joe added to his exchequer, while the Indians depleted his stock of liquors and lost silver and steeds, Things went on as usual until the red skins fell back into their old hatmts of pilfering which called another Vigilance Committee into existence, and the inoffensive Sioux was sum- moned to depart to healthier regions, Again You-Bet bad rest, rest for several months, or until the night that witnessed the scenes described in the preceding chapter. The iron-borse whose first appearance in the wid Northwest had frightened the Indian, frightened him no longer. The shriek of the locomotive possessed no ter- rors for bim now, He roce his horse up to the track and gazed placidly atthe train as it swept past him; be even rode on it, the red-skinned lord of the smoking-car: and got off at the first station to plunder the first cabin found ynprotected. . Indians of the description Just mentioned were those who had come to You- Bet. Twenty in number and well-mounted and armed, they were ready for anythibg that might turn up. Their leader was a man who was Hercules Goldspur’s equal in physique. This red giant was the first man to catch Cold- Deck Carl as be waseflung from Goldspur’s hands into their midst. His urm pushed the arms of his followers back, and his glance made them keep their dis- tance, It was some moments before Carl recovered, The grip of the velvet hand was something terrible. He felt it in every fiber of his system, and the fingers seemed to be crushing his windpipe, although he knew that Hercules was already far away. . The stalwart Sioux held bis prisoner at arms’ | length and for some moments gazed in silence into bis face. Goldspur’s last words still rung in Carls ears. * There, red wolves of the silver trails, is one of the men you want.” Did the Indians want bim?” If they did, for what? ‘White man fall in to the Sioux’s bands at last!” suddenly exclaimed the giant who held him: “Him no more lift bis hand an’ say, ‘Hang Indian! bim only a dog!” ‘*IT never did that,” replied Carl. soul! Hercules Goldspur has lied. I never sat in judgment ona red-skin, an’ I never will.” ‘White face lies like a Pawnee squaw!” flashed the Sioux. ‘‘Goldspur no lie to Indien. Him no split tongue.” “Tf you lintend thet fer a joke, it’s a daisy,” laughed Cold-Deck Carl, ‘‘ No! Hercules Gold- spur won't lie. Pardon me, my cherubs. I slandered bim when I accused him of false- bood. But he handles the truth in a reckless manner sometimes. Hercules Goldspur! The time will yet come when I will shoot your in- fernal manifesto through your head.” ‘*Mebbe so, white-face.’ | ; That remark seemed to bring Carl back to his present situation. “Wal, are you goin’ ter keep me on the word ov the devil who has just walked off?’ he asked. “He said you wanted me, didn’t hef Wal, what do you want me for?” , ‘Big Wolf has spoken. White-face has said, ‘Hang Injun!’ an’ the men of the camp have pulled ’im up.” “Tsay it’s a lie!” cried Carl. ‘I don’t care who told you so. It is aninfamous lie. The man who uttered it dares not face me. It’s a case of mistaken identity. I never saw You- Bet until to-night. I have condemned no In- dian to the noose. You have heard the lie of the biggest, meanest coward in lIdabo—Hercules Goldspur!” | 7 He elevated his voice as he finished, in hopes that The Man of the Velvet Hand might be within hearing, but no answer, not even a laugh of derision, came back. He saw that the Indians took no stock in his asse Verations. Disbelief was traceable on their countenances, and be saw that unless he escaped from their clutcbes he was doomed. ‘*White-face come along,” said Big Wolf in response to his denouncement of Hercules, “The big white man no lie to Injun.” ‘Of course not.” sneered Cari. “ One thing you daren’t do, an’ thet is to take me back to ou-Bet, an’ let me meet him face to face.” Big Wolf shook his bead, and his grip tighbt- ened on Carl’s arm. ‘* Come,” be said. The desperado’s eyes flasbed defiance, ‘* Not a step till you tell me what you are goin’ ter do with me,” be said. “I’m no infant ter be dragged over ther ground by a lot ov ainted skunks. Not a step till you speak. emember that | am Cold-Deck Car!, not from Mariposa, but fresh from Pistol Gulch, in Ari- zona,” For a moment the stalwart Sioux regarded the prisoner with a look of contempt, then his thd changed suddenly to a flash, and he stepped ck. ‘* White-face find out by’m by,” he said, and as his hand went upward the whole band leaped at Carl. They seemed about to tear him to pieces, for he was caught on every side and lifted clear of the ground before he could resist in the least. Hercules Goldspur might bave struggled in vain among those red-skins; as for Carl, not so strong as the giant, be was belpless from the eee — _————-- ee | first. Before he could collect bis senses, scattered by the sudden laying on of hands, be was car- ried from the spot and placed upon the back of _a borse which stood in tbe midst of a number of —— eee _ ankles, and then at a signa 'onel an’ left me. és By my ; | steeds, whose saddles weye dirty blankets, fast- | ened on after the Indian manner. In less than a minute, it seemed to Cold-Deck | Carl, he was fastened to the horse by a repe which passed under the kee and secured bis from Big Wolf, the whole band dasbed away. The only extra horse in the lot was ridden b the prisoner, and he had a chance to study bis captors es they galloped along now through a gulch, now over a little plain and then across the railroad track almost in the far-spreading glare of a locomotive’s head-light More than once Cold-Deck Carl ground his teeth till they seemed to crack, Fifty times be clinched his bands and uttered oaths of vengeance, Hse was going from You-Bet against bis will, Jeaving all the actors in the wild Northwest drama bebind, leaving Hercules Goldspur tri- umphant, the Happy Rattler at the bottom of the mine, and all bis schemes abortive! These thoughts were bitter ones, ‘* Pll have to wait an’ see what the red skunks ar’ goin’ ter do with me,” be said at the end of his musings. ‘I'd give a million if I hed it fer asolid grip on na revolvers. Thar’d be some dead Injuns byarabouts. Hercules, curse him! knew to whom be flung me balf dead. He an’ Big Wolf hev an’ understandin’. I'd like ter go back tee You-Bet an’ tell the men ov that devil's hold that the pold-laced gentleman is in league with a thievin’ Sioux who hez fetched twent red skins hyar fer a purpose. By heavens! will go back! Hevn’t I sworn by the colonel’s corpse thet I would win in this game fer gold? Didn't l send fer the colonel, tellin’ him thet the girl wer in You-Bet an’ thet hyar we'd be- gin ther game together? They killed ther col- They spared ther life ov one who alwavs holds trumps at ther end ov ther game. Cold-Deck Carl plays a bad berd. Her- cules Goldspur—a bad hand, Mr. Big Wo'f—~a ea fr hand, you whoshot my pard, ther vol- onel. These words fell in hisses from the lips of the man who, Indian-surrounded, was leaving You- Bet still further bebind bim. All at once Big Wolf appeared at bis side. The Sioux bad dropped back from the bead of the band, and his eyes were an avaricious ques- tion as they met Carl’s geze, ‘What White-face got?’ he asked. ‘Got? repeated Carl, his dark face lighting up at the question. “More than the devil who tbrew me into yer clutebes.” ‘* Silver?” ‘‘ A tun ov it in the best mine in Idaho.” Big Wolf’s eyes pebeporsg He laid bis red arm, and sent a swift glance among his fol- lowers. “We see, White-face,” he said in a whisper, and then went back to the head of his band. A minute afterward the Indians who hed surrounded Carl from the capture urged their steeds into a faster gallop and passed him. He was alone. In an instant he spoke to Fis horse and the animal as if glad to obey the command stopped while the words still sounded, LI ’ GOmicbooks and on the gambler. rs com abd ¥ q