Beadle's Dime Library No. 299 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

ee — <= — —- — a “Tf there are more men following them on foot,” replied Si, ** we couldn’t have got through them with one of their set as a prisoner without a fight. The pleasure of hanging bim ain’t worth the risk—not atthisstage of the game.” ‘‘ Tam very well satisfied,” said lron Despard. ‘“‘The map is the thing of importance; and we have it entire,” They had just reached the further end of the gulch where the horses were picketed, when they met the party on foot from Coyote. ‘What did I tell you?’ said Six-foot Si. ‘They outnumber us enough to clean us out in aset-to; but we are too many to attack witbout very good reason,” The men of Coyote halted, with their hands on their weapons, They saw the three cham- pions, but no trace of the litter, of the wounded man, nor of the nurse, If the latter bad been taken to Malligan’s Bend, there seemed no good reason why the little army should have returned. I¢ was more probable, then, that a messenger had been sent tor aid, while the other two remained to guard the deftle; in which case Bob Cady would still be in the gulch, and it i that some compromise had been effected by which the tbree champions went free with their allies from Mulligan’s Bend, while Coyote detained their victim. Thus reasoned the foot party from Coyote; and of course they felt bound by the arrange- ment of their leaders, Six-foot Si did not halt his men, but marched by the hostiles, bidding them, as if no antago- nism existed, a pleasant: **Good-morni ng gentlemen!” They returned his salute with sulky suspicion but did not oppose his progress, which was all he asked of them. Si chuckled when he was clear of them: ** Gents, ef them galoots knowed tbat they was goin’ to find an empty bird’s-nest back thar, you jest bet we wouldn’t bave got off so easy! ‘When they find that we bave cleaned ’em out all round, they may b’ile over, an’ come back at us like a thousand o’ brick; so I move that in the interests o’ peace we slide ahead. You needn’t be afraid to run jest now, gents; fur be- fore this thing is over I'll give ye chance enongh to show your metal,” They knew that Six-Foot Si was no coward and never “crawfished,” when principle called pi bim to stand. But his was the courage which is governed by reason and humanity, and not a fuolbardy defiance of danger, which needlessly sacrifices life at the behest of vanity. S> they counted it no disgrace to break into that swinging trot with which the Indian ac- complishes so extraordinary forced marches. Tne return to Moulligan’s bend was unevent- ful. So far the advantage was all with the three champions, Although he hovered between life and death, Bob Cady was henceforth se- -cure from the machinations of his false partner; while Iron Despard, matching the scraps of the -cryp like the pieces of a Chinese puzzle, found map, key and translation perfect. ‘“‘An’ now, gents,” said Six-foot Si, “ this dhyar ain’t all. The fu’st thing necessary was to git our friend hyar out o’ the enemy’s lines, so’s ey wouldn’t chaw him up fu’st, an’ then find -out their mistake afterward. What did we do? We marched over thar, an’ fetched him away!” “You jest bet we did!” yelled one who, with- -out drawing fiue lines as to rigbt or wrong, was wontent with the fact that Mulligan’s Bend “*had got ae with ” Coyote. -“ But that thar ain’t no place to stop, ' Thar’s a right an’ a wrong to this byar thing; aw’ ef ‘the wrong is whar we believe it is, thar ain’t no ‘reason why that galoot, Moran, should continue ‘to be backed by our friends of Coyote.” ‘* Hang their backin’! What’s that to us? Ef ‘they want our man, let’em come byar an’ take him! Eh, boys?’ This sentiment was received with such a yell -of approval that Si was forced to cast the weight of his personal influence against it, ‘** Look a-hyar, gents,” he said, “it’s all right ‘fur one camp to crow over another in a general way; but when it comes to the puttin’ down o’ “crime, I reckon we all have the same interest -ag’in’ the criminals; an’ you jest bet yer bum- ble sarvant ain’t the man to interfere to screen ‘no man from bis just desarts, no matter whar he belongs! But Iron Despard ain’t in that fix; the which Joe Moran is; an’ he’s the ga- loot we want to bang. Thar’s as good men in Coyote as anywhar else; an’ ef they only knowed bow things really is, don’t you go fur to believe that they would be at all backward ‘about comin’ forwurd an’ bangin’ bim so high that Gabriel’s horn wouldn’t reach him! Now jest let us uvite in makin’ this cuss climb a tree; an’ then ef you’ve got any quarrel with Coyote as Coyote, why, you kin take a day off to fight it out whenever ye git ready.” The men‘responded to this =p 1 heartily. Then, at the request of Six foot Si, Iron rd told what be knew of Joe Moran’s treacherous assault on bis partner. _At this case of perfidy the greatest indigna- ‘tion was expressed, by groans and profane wenunciations. In the mines there is but one . - Three of a Kind. crime equal to horse-theft—the betrayal of a ** pardner.” In a wild country, where men have no fixed abode, the absence of family ties makes the | artificial one of partnersbip almost indispen- | sable to the preservation of life. Not to con- sider the more than proportionate advantaze | that two men have over one in guarding against | an attack by men like themselves, a passing 11. ness, or a comparatively trifling accident. might | leave an isolated man helpless. So, while men _ who have no claim upon each other are put on | an equal footing, and so long as they observe the ordinary rules of fair-play are amenable to no higher law, partners are held to a close ac- count of their fidelity. Joe Moran, then, stood forth in the character of that monster, a false ‘* pard.” ‘‘Now, gents,” said Six foot Si, ‘‘ I move | that we form a committee, an’ go over thar peaceable, an’ give em the true inwardness 0’ | the thing.” Nothing tickles the American fancy like a committet: so Mulligan’s Bend, toa man, voted Six foot Sia “‘ man of idees,” and swore that his last project was the next best thing toan armed invasion of the rival camp, A committee of twelve was appointed, with Six-foot Siat its head, invested with powers discretionary and plenipotentiary to negotiate a treaty of peace and amity between the cities of Coyote and Mulligan’s Bend. ‘‘ They'll take it more quieter,” said Si, *‘ ef we leave behind the gents that bas r’iled’em. Then we'll git’em to appoint a committee to come hyar an’ bear our side o’ the story. ‘ Pat your man ag‘io’ ourman,’ says we, ‘an’ the one that fails to show up the true color goes up a tree?’ That's what we says to’em, an’ that’s fair—the which they can’tdeny. An’—yehyear me?—Joe Moran ain’t a-comin’ hyar to tackle Iron Despard.” A victory is a victory, whether won by diplomacy or by force of arms; so at the pros- pect of ** backin’ Coyote down” the Benders | tossed their hats in the air and yelled them- selves hoarse with enthusiasm. And thus sped on their mission, the committee marched outof | the camp, and hied on their way. Meanwhile the foot force from Coyote bad hastened down the gulch, taking the horses | with them, to learn the condition of the com- promise. Tne passive yielding up of Iron Despard had not surprised the four men who were of the tv of horse; but when one of them proposed that they follow his rescuers, in the hope of meeting their reinforcement on foot, Adam Far- ley’s disinclination to followup a matter which he had inaugurated so hotly struck them as a little strange. ‘*Gentlemen,” was all he vouchsafed, ‘‘I reckon this thing is off for the present.” And he coldly turned away, and walked through the defile, leaving them to follow at their leisure. Joe Moran flushed and then paled with anger. ‘*It seems that Mr. Farley confines his hos- tility to Tiger Dick, who happens to bave won his money, and is only ready to git squar’ with bim when he can git him at hopeless odds, If that is so, I reckon we kin spare bim without any great loss. But I am fightin’ fur my pard- ner, an’ I prepo e to foller bis murderer ag’in’ the world. Now, how many in this crowd is ready to stand by me?” | Nat one responded to this appeal. The men frowned sullenly. Joe Moran was not of their camp. He bad no claim upon them, What little they knew of bim was not of a sort calcu- lated to move them to entbusiastic partisanship, On the otber hand, though he took little pains to conciliate men—perhaps ause he took so little—Adam Farley was quite popular; and when he “soured on the thing,” his foliowers began to view it askance without any further reasou for doing so. ‘ All right, gentlemen!” said Joe, with sup- fury. “If you kin afford to have it said that you let murderers walk out o’ your camp Without nary attempt to bold ’em, I allow I kin find backers somewhere else, or go it alone.” ' He followed Adam Farley through the defile; and the men followed him, not very well satis- = with the position in which they found them- selves, Joe Moran might have gone alone after the army from Mulligan’s Bend and tried to enlist the party on foot to aid him in an attack on his enemies; but he reflected that they would ask bim why he had been deserted by his own party; and having sampled the temper of the men of ote, he resolved to waste no further time on them, but to proceed at once to a new method which be had conceived. Acknowledging like Moran defeat in the first round, Adam Farley was also unwilling as yet to throw up the sponge. Going to his office, be wrote to Detective Farnswortb, informing him that he would find in the vicinity of Coyote, the man who had so far succeeded in eluding the hound-iike perti- nacity of bis pursuit. The citizens of Coyote, finding that discussion of the matter led to nothing, finally dispersed — $$ A rrr —_ to their respective claims, and entered upon the day’s work. None of them relished the * hum- ble pie” Mulligan’s Bend had served out to them; but in the absence of leaders they were forced to content themselves with “‘ mutterings | not loud, but deep ” of the revenge they would exact if they ever the hair was short, But the sun bad not réached the zenith when \ asquad of men marching in double file were | discovered coming down the road from the di- rection of Mulligan’s Bend. They had neither banners streaming nor drums beating; but each mun bad his hat cocked bravely on the side of his head; and as they marched down the street, keeping step with a tread which was meant to indicate that ‘‘ when they put their foot down it was thar,” they looked to the right and left with the bold, defiant glance with which hostile parties have eyed each other ever since men were first array- ed in arms. At sight of them, all about in the surround- ing bills men at windlasses called down sbafts, and then elevated other men from the bowels of the earth, all of whom took their way to the open space in front of Biily Bowlegs’s saloon. They looked suspicious as weil as curious as they gathered about the little band. What was the meaning of this aggressive Movement on the part of these abettors of crime? got the rival camp “ whar CHAPTER XVIIL IDE AND SEEK. THE committee from Mulligan’s Bend stood in dignified silence, exchanging words with no one, though they were all more or less acquaint- ed, until a considerable crowd had collected. Then Six-foot Si adcressed them with a formality befitting the embassador of a foreign ower. Pees Gents, we have tbe bonor to be a_com- mittee representin’ the city of Mulligan’s Bend, an’ we want to see the highcockalorum o’ this hyar burg.” ‘“You kin do that powerful quick,” said one, who constituted bimself spokesman for the Coyote crowd. And calling out to a man who was coming down the street, he cried: “Hey! Sam, run an’ tell Ad Farley that he’s wantin’ down byar by a party from Mulli- gan’s Bend.” Farley had seen the committee, and 7 git that he would be in demand, thougbt it woul add to his consequence to wait until he was called upon. Being duly summoned, he made bis appear- ance with the deliberation of one who can afford to keep others waiting his movements, After a somewbat stiff interchange of saluta- tions, Six-foot Si announced bis mission: ‘‘Mr. Adam Farley, sir! an’ gentlemen of Coyote!—it is the duty of this by .r committee to inform you that you have been gulled by as or’nery a cuss as ever showed up in these hyar mountains. Ef so be you'll appoint a commit- | tee to set with this hyar one mee bas the bonor to address ye, we'll take ’em over to the Bend in | the best style we know how, prove to ’em that this skunk Moran tried to kill an’ rob bis pard, the which our man, Iron Vespard, tried to save his life an’ property; an’ when it’s all over, an’ the two camps jines hands over the bloody chasm, as it were, we'll send ’em back home ag’in with their skins full o’ the best we’ve got! Send on yer man an’ pit him ag’in’ our man, an’ the one what has to crawfish goes up a tree! It’s in the hope that the good feelin’s that has ever existed between the two camps will con- tinue that Mulligan’s Bend sends her greetin’ to Coyote—the which it would be ad ne poor piece o’ business fur to fall out over sich a skunk as this same Joe Moran.” The last part of this address was gammon i the fullest sense of the term, and threw dust in the eyes of nubody. Every man present knew that the two camps bad been at daggers’ points of jealousy ever since Mulligan’s Bend had been located one month after Coyote. But then we must leave our politicians and dipl ts slight margin beyond the literal tru sake of oratorical effect. ) Six-foot Si’s commuvication,ba virtues not common to addre state. It was brief and to the were roused. , “Tbar couldn’t be nothin’ fairer ’ declared one, who nodded to his compani and received their nods of assent. Adam Farley saw the trend of public senti- ment; and careful of bis reputation, he made baste to seem to be in accord with it, ‘‘T cannot answer for Mr. Moran,” he said; “but as faras { am concerned, I see no objec- tion to a joint investigation of the matter; and if it is proved that we bave been misled, none will be better satished with the result than I. At comic ‘S-COl JOO