Beadle's Dime Library No. 278 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

f ‘* Fortune’s strikin’ me hard!” he ejaculated. ‘ “By the eternal heavens! to-mnorrow will see me back in You-Bet. Then, look out, you ov the ther velvet band! We’ll begin ther second act ov ther play, when I gitthbar. I know who I’ve ot ter fight now—you an’ ther feller what ropped ther colonel. I don’t care fer Pigmy . Pete. LI kin make terms with him. Thet biack- i eyed Mexican ov his I'll hey on my side afore i long. I'll come out on top at ther end ov there fight. Hello!” be exclamation was caused by the appear- ance of a horse and his rider who came from the direction taken by the Indians who had dis- i Big W olf. | ‘* Where is the silver?” asked the Sioux. ; ‘In the mine.” P i “Where mine?” “Back yonder,” and Cari’s hand pointed to- ward You-Bet miles away. ** How much?” it ‘¢ Hevn’t I said—a tun!” ‘* An’ it shall be Big Wolf's?” M ere” — gleam, and Cold-Deck Carl found his limbs _ free. A shout of triumph which he could not keep i" back burst from bis throat. Ay _ “ Injuns ride off,” resumed the Sioux chief. Shae ‘Now, White-face, we will take the silver trail. The big man offered Big Wolf no silver an’ 7 without silver an Indian can’t play in the moun- | tain camps. Come,” y The listener looked searchingly into the In- a dian’s face. ‘‘Any way to get back to You-Bet,” he mut- tered. “I’m goin’ thar; but I don’t own the first rock of silver, but what ov it? Ill get rid ov ther Injnn. He’s betrayed Hercules an’ he'll betray me. Back ter You-Bet! Look out fer ther man whatar’ comin’ back ter kill!” | wild-cat city by the railroad, and he and the ioe red-skin rode on gad forward. Ete They watched one another as if afraid of WZ treachery, and not a word was spoken for sey- oe eral miles, , ‘*The red devil is actually goin’ back ter ther town,” murmured Cold-Deck Carl at length. i” ‘*He’s got more grit than [ thought he bad, vive ~ My shadowy bonanza tempts him. My silver mine!” and the gambler laughed to himself, Suddenly he leaned toward the Sioux, and saw his chance, The next second his hand darted at Big Wolf’s throat, and as it closed there, the long arms of $. ‘ the Sioux fell about bis body, and the two men fell to the ground in a struggle for the mastery. ‘‘T want no Injun traitor with me in You- Bet,” hissed Cold-Deck Carh ‘ I go back alone, er stay hyar fer ther buzzards!” _ CHAPTER IX, taf PIGMY PETE’S PARD, tk . THe Happy Rattler from Silver Bow and his | strange pard, Kicking George, were not missed when they left Joe’s saloon to meet with the e catastrophe which we have seen overtake them. ia Nobody thought of following them, and the ae singular pair were left to shift for themselves, = If the Rattler had been followed no one would / ss pave thought of looking for bim in the depths ie of the old mine, and Cold Deck Carl was not | the man to go back and lend a helping hand to age the person he had sent to a terrible doom, Ta | The man from Silver Bow had come and e orto was eccentric and ety. and was known throughout the Northwest for his jolly | good nature. He had never been known to think seriously Tere of one thing for a moment, and everybody had F za looked upon him as a crack-brained individual, ‘\a ag never without money, and always hunting a a bar for his donkey to kick to pieces. But, as we have seen, the Happy Rattler had settled his mind on one thing and that was that Zoe was the long-lost child for whose return to . a certain ranch in Arizona there was a long- Me standing reward, and his language has led us -infer that he bad come to You-Bet with a well- 7 defined purpose connected with the lost beir. eae Cold Deck Carl seemed to be aware of this, else he would not have forced the two pards down the :outh of the mine, In doiag this Carl was only clearing his way. We caurot say that he really feared the good- natured individual from Silver Bow, but as he knew who Zoe was and moreover was in bis way, he thought it best to get rid of him. It was Pd late on the night with which we e have been dealing all along, that a little man By with a quick nervous gait crossed the main Ry, | thoroughfare of You-Bet, and walked toward mits" _ the mines. ’ 4 Zi It was Pigmy Pete alone, and evidently with ay ap in view. ATE : Had fingers at my throat to-night, the kind es what choke, too,” the dwarf said to himself as i he shrugged his shoulders, ‘ By my life! Cold- ' .Deck Carl meant bizness. I saw that by his Bes eyes. Lola’s diamonds bluffed bim, an’ he took appeared, ee Gold-Deck Carl awaited the man with much | ’ interest and soon found himself face to face with | rocks, one of which, He turned the head of his horse toward the | hand fell on Pigmy Pete's arm. TT Aktien eee te ee ‘4 «= Hercules Goldspur. —— eee ere = his spite out on me, He felt like he bad ter do suthin’, an’ so he jumped at my throat, Gods! he’s a tiger, that fellar is; got a grip like a steel-trap. war an infant in bis bands, an’ if Hercules hadn’t interfered I wouldn’t be hyar now. Nary aspectator war going to interfere. Tber’ seems ter be a standin’ rule in You-Bet ter let all fights take keer ov themselves. Hercules came just in the nick o’ time an’ I’m all bunk, barrin’ a slight soreness about my windpipe. It war a close call, Lola, I kin do without any more ov ther same kind.” Past the mine that held the pards from Silver Bow went the little man, and disappeared among the shafts north of the town. He did not stop until he reached a pile of at the foot of the heap, he | raised and looked beneath it. | This stone was of peculiar shape and was | easily distinguished fromthe rest. It lay at the | edge of the heap and made a good mountain ; post-office. | Not satisfied with baving looked under the | stone, Pigmy Pete felt around with bis hand in | search of a letter which, owing to the uncertain light, migbt have escaped his eyes, | His search which was diligent and continued er There was the glitter of a knife-blade in the _ for several minutes revealed nothing, and Pigmy Pete rose with a sigh of disappointment. | ‘Not yet,” he said in audible tones. ‘* Mebbe Tm a little too previous, but it strikes me he |oughtter behyar. Ain’t youcomin’, pard? Me an’ Lola bev played our part of the comedy | pretty well, but you oughter be hyar ter help ther thing out. No letter an’ no man, You | couldn’t miss this stone-heap, fer I sent ye word just bow ter find it without mistake.” Pigmy Pete’s disappointment was genuine, and he was about to deepen it by another search when a slight noise made him turn, and he stood face to face with a man whose arrowy figure rendered him ghost-like in the pale silvery rays of the moon, ‘Great God! you at last, Ferd—” ‘* Hush! no names here,” said the man as his ‘*T am here myself and that’s why you found no letter under the stone. What do you know?” ‘* A good deal, pard.” ‘* That’s rood.” ** Me an’ Lola hey found out a few things, ef we haven’t been a year in You-Bet, I warn’t more than in ther town than a fellar got his finger onto my throat an’ choked me inter Star- dom. Cuss him! pard. I will return ther compliment one 0’ these days, I will pay ’im back, er my name’s not Pigmy Pete, Queen Lola’s pard.” The countenance of the listener betrayed his anxi.ty while Pete talked, showing a pair of mad little eyes while he rattled off bis words. In person the man who had come to the stone- pile instead of the letter was a head taller than the Happy Rattler, whom he resembled in the color of his eyes. He was tall, wiry and quite handsome, and was clad in rather rough clothes, which did not seem to be his usual garments. He had doubtless passed the fiftieth mile-stone of life, for his abundant locks were iron-gray. Nobody could see the contour of his mouth for the mustache that covered it. Armed with two revolvers, the butts of which were observable to Pigmy Pete, the man looked omnes of contending with any enemy. e was quick and keen-eyed, one of those men whose first glance is a deadly aim. ‘*T have asked you what you know, and you have said a good deal,” said this man after Pigmy Pete had finished. ‘‘ That isn’t very satisfactory.” ** Well, she is hyar.” ‘What! am 1 so near her, then?” and the speaker recoiled a step. ‘‘ My God! Pete, can it be that after so many years 1 am about to fold her to my heart once more?” ‘“‘T don’t Know about that,” remarked Pig- my Pete, looking at the man in his agitation. ‘‘That depends on circumstances, Thar seems ter be a few difficulties in ther way. Yes, sbe’s hyar in You-Bet tis very minute, but she’s got a pertecter, an’ he’s a jumper what you read. about. Thatisn’t all, Thar’sa man byar called Cold-Deck Carl. Says he’s from Mariposa, but that’s a lie. He may bev a pard somewhar in the vicinity—” “ He had one,” interrupted the grizzled man, quickly; ‘“ but he left bim down in the gulch. ‘* Afraid ter show himself in You Bet, eh? ‘‘No, 1 made him stay in the gulch.’ ‘You, Ferd—” - “Yes, I killed him!” ‘ Pigmy Pete recoiled astep and stared into the face ot his companion. : “ Have you begun ter kill already?” he ejacu- lated. ‘‘ Why, you haven't been byar six hours,” A faint smile brightened the face of the stranger. j ‘‘ | would be recreant to my heaven-registered vow if I had not shot that man on sight,” he said, suddenly relaxing into seriousness, “When my eyes fell upon him, all the wrongs of past years surged up in my heart, and I shot bim,” “Then it was—” ‘The colonel, of course.” oe eee ee - gigs to-night. ee A moment’s silence followed this announce- ment, **Thar’s one less for us ter tackle hyar,” said Pigmy Pete when he spoke again. ‘‘ But Cold- Deck Carl is still on hand. Then, The Man of the Velvet Hand is here.’ “ Heis the other man I must have seen to- night " ‘He's a daisy giant, isn’t be? Saved me from Coid-Deck’s fingers, thet closed on m windpipe because Lola biuffed bim with her diamonds. I owe that jumper one.” * But if necessary you'd forego tie pleasure of thanking him for bis service?’ “Try me. I'm yer man for anytbing. I belong ter you body an’ soul an’ I guess I speak for Lola when I say this. Them diamonds ov her’n ’d bluff anybody on top o’ ground. I like Hercules Goldspur fer what his velvet band did fer me to-right, but say ther word an’ I'll bate bim. Do you know that he’s Zoe's stand-by?” ‘‘That soft-handed Hercules?” ‘ That’s just wbat he is—Zoe’s pertector.” ‘My child's friend! Zoe, lam here for m long-lost girl. Are you going to go back to the old ranch with me, or will you cling to Her- cules Goldspur, The Man of the Velvet Hand?” ‘You'd better ask ber thet question; I’m not capable of answerin’ it,” said Pigmy Pete, ‘‘T kin say, however, that she’ll go back with you. We bevn’t come byar fer nothin’, Lola an’ me bevn’t played travelin’ spies all these long months fer fun, an’ now that we've found yer child, Ferd, we’ll see that she goes home, You saved my life, Hercules Goldspur, but if m master says kill you, your life will not be wort a digger’s breakfast. I’m Pigmy Pete, but ’m as handy with the revolver as Lola is with the cards,” Nota word replied to the little man’s out- burst of devotion. He looked into his companion’s face, and saw bim turn slowly away. ‘* Heayen, can it be that Iam really near my child?’ be said in whispers. ‘‘ After years of search have I reached ber at last? Help me to o on to the end, to take her back to the old ome and see her strew her mother’s grave with flowers. Zoe! Zoe! all my heart flows out to you to-night. Iam bere—your father, with hair whitened by suffering, yet with a determina- tion to fight bis way, if reed be, to happiness and success. I bave already killed. The blood of the man who planned your abduction, Zoe, is on my bands, and 1 may be compelled to redden them again, I am ready! I bave not hunted all tbese years to shrink from the end. lam here for you, Zoe. If necessary I am here to kill a thousand times!” The last word still quivered the man’s lips when he turned upon Pigmy Pete again. He came forward, calm and self-possessed, showing bimself ready for any emergency. ‘To work, Pete!” he said. ‘The work be- I want tosee my child. ‘‘ Where bb | is she?” ‘‘This way,” was the reply, and Pigmy Pete started off with an qager man at his heels, ‘You, an’ me, av’ Lolain You-Bet will keep ther pot b’ilin’ ef they give us an At that moment a man steppe shadow of the sea han’ foe “You can’t have the girl, Ferd Sutter, Isay no !” be said. It was Hercules Goldspur. trouble,” out from the CHAPTER X. LOLA’S MISSION, BEAUTIFUL beyond description was the morn- ing that followed the night whose scenes we have attempted to record in the foregoing chap- ters. One of the first persons astir was a keen-eyed little man who was seen leaning against one of the cabins with his arms folded upon bis breast, ‘* Missed her, bey?” he exclaimed. *‘ The Man ov the Velvet Hand has taken ther first trick, an’ me an’ my pard ar’ stumped. Must hev smoked ’im out last night an’ vamosed with the daisy. Just in time, too, fer ef Ferd gits bis fingers on his own, notbin’ kin tear ‘im eth though daylight bad fairly broken u the mountain-town, Pigmy Pete was the eae person seen in his immediate vicinity. He looked fresh, as if he had enjoyed a gree ee probably in the cabin against which he eaned, The little man had passed a few hours of You- Bet’s memorable night beyond the threshold near which he stood; but he was not the sole tenant of the place. It was then occupied by the person who had accompanied bim to You-Bet, the deep-eyed Mexican girl who had staked her diamonds a apinet Cold-Deck Carl’s bills. ola, who had just risen, stood at the little window of the hut, her eyes sparkling with ex- citement, and her mind at work. “Why doesn’t he come?” she suddenly aloud in an impatient strain, ‘‘ Hercules Gold- spur has run off the girl, net {f they don’t watch, he will prove more than a match for thom. Where is Pete? “Hyar,” and the opening door revealed the comic . = 900 S S s . ae (ee) | \ y aa a NN