Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 294 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

." \ 4 4 = ' > ia 4 P-y be ay Pt Paul, looking at the man from Denver, “I’m no kitten, if 1 hey been robbed ov one ov my paws. Foller me.” He turned, confident that he would be follow- rst the man he addressed, nor was he mis- taken, Equally confident that no bullets would be fired into his back by the thirty pards left be- hind, Broadcloth Burt canal quickly after him,and the two men, representatives of the rival silver towns, were walking side by side through the cool shadows of the morning stars. Paradise Paul was eager to reach the cabin he had left but a few moments before, and not a word was spoken by either until the captain of the Deadwood toughs sprung across the threshold of his shanty and whirled upon the man behind him. ‘You say you hev the proof in black an’ white,” he said. ‘* Produce it now.” With a deliberation that was perplexing, Broadcloth Burt ran one hand beneath his coat and found something he had lately put away— a bit of neatly-folded paper, whose creases bore the impress of a woman’s care. “There! you can read!” he said, throwin the little packet upon the table at which Pau stood, impatient for his enemy’s reply. | my kids and handle the thirty pards of Dead- | wood—your thirty human devils with naked ' hands! | mother. | Maud, the Mormon Spider, Bowie Bluff, and all The girl pa back to her waiting She goes thar in spite of Merciless | the villains that call Deadwood home! Cram | this into your pipe, Paradise Paul, and enjoy a smoke at your leisure!” TT Sn Instantly the one hand of the Deadwooder | pounced upon the paper and began to unfold it, watched closely, triumphantly, by his single companion, ‘““Hang me! ef you heven’t a document ov some kind hyer,” he said, while he worked. That was all, but heavens! was it not enough? The gloved hands of Broadcloth Burt, the ele- gant, fell from Paul’s shoulders, and he stepped slowly back. It took Paradise Paul a moment to recover. “ Denver and Deadwood!” hissed the captain | not believe it!” be murmured. of the toughs. ‘*'We know one another fully at last. It shall be war to the knife ’twixt the two towns; but don’t ferget fera minute thet it’s thirty ag’in’ one!” “lll not forget,” and Broadcloth Burt stepped across the thresbold. ‘‘ Let it be war to the very hilt of the border blades. Denver against Deadwood! Iam satisfied!” ‘‘ Jehosaphat! what a man!” fell from Para- dise Paul’s lips when he found himself once more Broadcloth Burt. the Denver Dandy. —— ' ask you what ye’r’ goin’ ter do about it. the only occupant of his little shanty which a | | few moments before he had left at the words of an unknown tongue which had told him that | the Denverite was a prisoner at the Full-Hand. ‘The game he plays for Alice shal! be his last, | The paper from Denver failed ter prove a win- nin’ hand. If I with thirty men like my pards at my back, can’t scoop him, then let me feed the Black Hills vultures afore the week’s end! ‘Ef it proves thet Alice’s mother is still alive | it’ll skunk my time all holler.” “That gy te will not lie,” said the Denver sport, with pride, “because she who wrote it is above lying!” At last Paradise Paul got the paper unfolded and was mastering its contents, a task which, from his imperfect education, was herculean. ‘An’ this proves it, eh?’ he suddenly ex- | ' ’ claimed, looking up as he turned to the man | waiting quietly the result. ‘‘ Thar’s no name to this paper—only ‘ The Patient One.’ The speaker's voice was full of derision. “Only ‘The Patient One! repeated Broad- cloth Burt. Alice’s mother.” ‘*Oho! Alice isn’t mentioned in this docu- pg be You'll hey ter hev better proof than e curled at this expression, and a tigerish snap dit up his eyes, “It doesn’t satisfy you, I see,” was all he said, but his voice was the ominous rumble that sometimes precedes a terrible a “What does it prove?” snee the captain of the toughs, holding forth the letter. “ Thar’s no name to it. An’ you had it in black an’ white, too! Is thet the way they do business at Dei.ver?” ‘‘ Yes! It is no proof to you, maybe, but to me, villain, it is allI want. I know that she who wrote that letter is Alice’s mother. She wants her child—the one you have kept among the worst set ov men thet ever breathed. Oh, I’m here in Deadwood—in the lion’s den and without a friend; I know all that, You needn’t tell me with your eyes that you will not let Alice go bly to that mother who is ready to die when che has kissed her child. 1 | out ov town on the Deadwood trai i ! ‘‘T know it: but that woman is | The hidden lips of the Denver dandy proudly | ' | But whar is Alice just now’—thet’s the ques- tion.” ‘*T can tell ye,” said the man who appeared at the door at that moment. ‘‘She’s done a trick you’d never bev thought ov, cap’n. She’s elo with Colonel Sandbanks!” aradise Pau! uttered a cry. ‘With that old skunk? It’s a lie!” CHAPTER XVIII. HUNTERS THREE, Ir the belle of Deady ood had actually gone off with the proprietor of the Setemup, she had done that which nobody in the town had never dreamt of. ' oo wood! Isay so, an’ lam Paradise Paul. That patient woman story is a transparent lie. He’s been hyer long enough ter hev fixed up a thou- sand tales. Send me Colorado Clate, Monte Mark, an’ Idaho Hal, With my pick from the thirty pards I could find a needle in a lead mine. I want those three; thet’s all. Go an’ find them for me.” The man departed and Paradise Paul leaned against the eabin door pale, but wild-eyed, and with the cool wind of morning playing against his cheek. ‘‘A woman in Denver Alice’s mother? I will ‘** Broadcloth Burt has fixed the yarn up for a purpose; but he hit me too late. Alice has run off with the most despicable man in Deadwood, an’ | am now confronted with a lie. Oh, lm willin’ fer it ter be war, Denver Burt; you’ve thrown down the challenge an’ we've already picked. it up. WhenI get my bands on Alice ag ina ne- armed it is true, but for all thet I’m still better than twenty-two hundred devils!” He lauged at bis own words and stood in the door until he was joined by three bronzed athletes who came up in the first streaks of day, and halted in his presence, ‘‘Mike found you, eh?’ said Paul eying. the trio with much apparent satisfaction. “He found us together, Paul. Does that astonish you?” was the reply. “Not atall. Hetold you thet | want you, I guess?” ‘*Thet’s what he said,” ) **Wal, Ido. Come into the shanty. , We'll | say what we've got ter say under kiver.” Paradise Pau! drew back into the house and was followed by the three toughs who seemed eager to hear him proceed. | ‘I’ve been hit hard—a reg’lar side-wipe,” grated Paul continuing, as be leaned against the rough table and faced his men. ‘‘ Now don’t make a fuss over what I shall say, fer it?) be ‘-pouse. Thar’s work ahead an’ we must lose no time indignatin’. Alice hez eloped with Simon - Sandbanks.” The sudden announcement seemed to stagger | Paradise Paul, and the words ** It’s a Jie!” drop- ped involuntarily from bis lips. What! Alice left town of her own free will with Simon Sandbanks? Impossible! ** 1 don’t pertend ter lie, cap’n,” remarked the bearer of the disagreeable ee seeing the doubt expressed by Paul’s flashing eyes. ‘I only say thet thet’s just what ther girl hez done —nothin’ more, nothin’ less.” . ‘With thet skunk!” cried the captain of the Deadwood toughs. ‘‘Thet’s her way ov gettin’ even with me, I suppose. With Simon Sand- banks!—with the meanest human critter thet ever sot foot in Deadwood! Thet’s a good deal for a feller ter stand, an’ hang me up by the heels! ef I'm goin’ ter stand it, either. Give me yer proof,” what lies he coaxed her off. I’m not _hangin’ov a Mormon dog. ov **Wal, the kernul left Deadwood two hours ago.” “Wal?” ** He rode one horse an’ led another.” “Is that all?” ‘* Not quite, cap’n. Under the big tree just E a woman have sworn that she shall, and I will not fail to | war waitin’ fer him. I measured the foot- keep that oath!” ** Mebbe ther chances ar’ that ye won’t!” was the reply. ‘* You’d better go bac the patient one thar. such proof as thet. I’ve raised her ter b’lieve thet her mother is dead, an’ since you an’a woman in Denver hev putup a poe dead ter Alice her mother shall ever be! arnadise Paul a dozen wildcats, stand while bl flows be- tween that girl an’ you—between her an’ the woman in Denver! When you landed in Dead- wood I smelled a scheme—a cold deck, an’ I hit it hard, too. Broadcloth Burt, Big Jehu goes back at daylight. Hadn’t you better go along an report ter yer female ot without the girl!” grated the Denver ie; aca tee stride carried cong Para- e in ne ehun derbolt e suddenness of the dropping x ere, you daisy devil,” h> went on as his dark eyes flashed ata his hands fell like trip- meri ee oO ee Villain’s Shoulders. ‘ war an’ w ife, war tet i¢ be! I wasn't barn 4 ar to the knife, can’t strip at any time wolves thet ever sneaked ata leaders heels. I proclaim my intentions. I am after the Alice. If you and the thirty pards are willin you will an’ mebbe you won’t, an’ » ter Denver an’ console | I give the girl upon no ' Ef he had abducted the | | irl | was the answer. to empty their veins to circumvent me, I shall | accommodate you atany time. Would a with a heart write the letter T have itewn you and lie? Would a mother ona sick bed send me to Deadwood fora girl who was not her child? Iam for the woman who wrote that letter. Set your infernal wolves on my track. Let the truce you proclaimed at the Casino be broken now—at th Pao! ‘ ee, i h ¥ iv ws . e bevd bie * minute! Make it war to the knife and the knife to ths hand t’ at gives it _™movion. When it+comes to the test I will doff ' protect her-—it’s a durned shame! an’ thirty pards, each one more dangerous than | p prints thar.” ‘*“ An’ Alice’s feet would hev filled them, eb?” ** 1d swear ter it.” “Ov her own accord! Thet’s what riles me! rl—carried ber off ag’in’ her will, it wouldn’t look so bad: but fer her to go off with him of her own accord now The three pards started visibly.’ ‘“Thet’s the way I acted when I heard it,” said Paul with a smile. ‘‘She’s gone, sure enough. Mike has proof enough. But what stirs up all the tiger in me is the diskivery thet the keeper ov the Setemup didn’t bev ter carry her off. Sbe went with him ov her own ac- cord.” ‘** No!” exclaimed the three in chorus, ‘‘She did nothin’ less—cuss the girl! I raised her fer suthin’ better’n thet!” And Paul’s hand rattled an’ emphasis on the table. ‘ I want ’em both—Alice an’ her enticer. Heayen knows by in’ ter I want them both.” We've been sp’ilin’ fer more excitin’ than. the But what’s become roadcloth Burt—the Denver doll thet slid out ov our clutches at the Casino last night?’ ‘‘Let him hang about Deadwood er vamose, just ez he picvesies the present. We ad a racket bhyar arter the scene down thar, stop ter inquire now. “All right, cap’n. sutbin’—fer suthin’ _I know what brought bim ter Deadwood, an’ arm must yer shall know when I want ve ter.. Alice an’ thet bash-mixer first. I can’t go just now; this get a start on ther road ter bealin’. I trust you three, tharfore 1 exact no oath, I —just when [ want ter keep her whar I kin | She shall be unted down: both shall be overhauled, an’ the want Alice hyar afore night, an’ ther colone too, They baven’t got much start, She wai fer bim at the big tree on the Denver trail, Mike says. Now go!” oy Eager to send the three pards on the bunt of Alice. Psradise Paul dismissed them with a wave of the band. He knew his men, for each of the thirty pards had been tested before and not one had been found wanting in either courage or devotion, old ‘forty-niner will wish thet he never saw | Deadwood. [ve just had a visitor 'tewwixt whom an’ me thar’s got ter be war ter the knife.” “I saw him leave the shanty just before I came up.” ‘That war the chap, Broadcloth Burt. Got lin’ ap _ “¢ he failed.” ; ‘ ‘‘He hasn’t left town yet, cap’n,” suggested the Dead wooder’s hep olt | ~y) “Let him go. He'll hang around byer till he diskivers that Alice is gone. When war you in Denver last, Mike?” ‘** Last month.” | ‘It's a good while ago; but did you ever see *‘ Never struck a lead ov thet kind anyhow,” ** War thet his story?” This desperate league bad existed since the foundation of Deadwood, and its members obey- ed their chosen captain always cheerfully, and _ without as much as a semblance of a murmur. At the wave of Paul’s bronzed hand Colorado Clate, Monte Mark and. Idaho Hal filed from me hyer from the Casino ter prove suthin’ start- — | | the cabin and left its master once more alone, ‘‘It warn’t our business ter ask questions,” said the first named of the three when the trio bad thrown themselves into the saddle a short distance from Paul’s cabin. ‘‘I don’t know about Simon Sandbanks coaxin’ a girl like the Deadwood daisy off with him. I told ye what happened arter the Denver stage came in last night—how Big Jehu fetched Broadeloth Burt n good clothes thet I | or bear ov a woman thar what war waitin’ fer | a letter from below, how T found bim bendin’/ and fight the meanest a Jost child er suthin’ ov that sort?” over that Mormon spider what he picked up ou’ the trail, an’ how I gave old Timothy a bullet _ only ter see thet blamed driver tote him toward Captain Paul made no reply, though he Utah? Wal, it does look ter me thet we'll find seemed on the point of making an injudicious | Alice somew , admission when he suddenly checked himself. ‘*T only wanted ter know,” he said, after a pause. ‘ Now, we'll go back ter Alice. Gone clean off with Colonel Sandbanks! Dead wood, Bay, isn’t it nigh day ag’in?”’ ‘* Tl strike that station mighty soon.” “Ten go an’ hunt up the pards I name an’ send’em hyer at once. What ister be done must be done quickly. No time fer foolin’ now. The girl must come beck hyer—back to Dead- | It disgraces | cloth Burt behind, pinay ae t kno | r else than ridin’ beside old Sand- But ther cap’n’s orders stare us in the re ogetnen, an’ mebbe he yar. e’re leavin’ Broad- from Iron-Grip isn’t far off, an’ yer don w how nigh thet Mormon viper is—Merciless Maud. It’s a pre- cious lay-out, but we can’t belpit. It’s for us to banks. face. He says the knows. But look run the kernul down. Paul an’ the pards thet | stay back must keep their end up ace ‘*Thet’s their lookout,’ said Mowte Mark. EComilcbooks —— - con