Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 303 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

Top Notch Tom, the Cowboy Outlaw. 15 very useful to inspect the country for many | finished giving his directions, and rode off in miles around. One could read an ordinary new the direction of Satanstown; while all but two aper,set up | of the cowboys, after a short consultation, left at a distance of two hundred and fifty feet, and | the spot where they had been congregated, and features of people were clearly visible at several miles off.* rode toward the log-house, Now, with her interest fully aroused, the The time was mid-day, and the girl bad just | girl turned the glass to follow them, and watch- been sweeping the horizon, in the hope that she might see something of Tom Field, for her sis- ter was getting into a very nervous state, since the night when he came home. That night had cost the county the lives of six men, of whom the company bad lost four, and the ranchers two; though the number of wounded men balanced the other way. Since the fight, both sides had kept very quiet; for the feeling of the public, as the election drew near, was getting so delicate that neither party dared make a move, for fear of affecting the chances. Some of the fences had been cut that night; but the feeling of the townsmen was agnor the company. as far as that was concerned. Like a exans, they were in favor of free- dom in the abstract, though the concrete argu- ments of bard cash bad a good deal to do with the change that had come over them since the company had stopped supplies at the hotels, feeling secure of toe victory. The ranchers had begun to spend money, too, now that the contest was getting to a close, and the — belonged to auy one yet. Helen Collingsworth had n looking out through the telescope toward the north, in the hope of seeing some strangers there: but the prairie in that direction lay bare and empty, save for the cattle, scattered about and grazing or lying down in the sun, The cowboys of the ranch were resting or rid- ing slowly along on their beats; for the cattle were all quiet, and there were no symptoms of any change in the weather, such as sometimes produces a stampede. From the belvidere one could plainly see the line of posts and the odious wire fence of the company; and, on tbe other side of this hateful barrier, the cattle of the corporation were feed- ing at large, blackening the face of the prairie with their numbers. As yet the cattle of the ranchers bad not been seriously inconvenienced by the cramping quar- ters to which the fence confined them, for the still had an allowance of about an acre to eac animal, and the grass bad not been quite ex- hausted. The difference between the ranches outside and inside the fence line, could be trace by the darker appearance of the herbage in one case, where it had not been eaten so close, and the brownish hue that was creeping over the other, where there was bardly room for thecattle to graze much longer, without change, The red hats of the cattle company’s guards were clustered thickly at the boundary of the Collingsworth Ranch, and the men seemed as if they were holding a consultation about some- any Ber other, when Helen saw some one rid- ing briskly toward them, from the log-palace of the rich corporation, and the circumstance attracted her anew to the glass she had just quitted, Through the telescope the face and figure of the horseman were clearly revealed, as he rode on at a gallop; and Helen saw that it was Berke- ley, armed as if he was going out on danger- ous service, and that as he halted the men gath- ered round him, and he seemed to give them ome orders, It was to her rather a strange sensation to be looking through the powerful telescope at this man, who was nearly two miles off, and see him as plainly asif he bad been standing by her side. It seemed to her, fora moment, as if she must be able to hear what he said, and she was actually able to tell the purport of his speech by careful observation of the movement of his lips, and the gestures with which he accom- panied them. She was assisted in this by the fact that she had studied the art of speaking to deaf people, in the person of Deaf Smith, whom she could make to understand her, by speaking in a whis- per, when no one else could by shouting. e HRnglishman, like most of his class—for Berkeley, with all his rascality, came from the gentlest stock in England, and could not shake off the habits of speech and manner implanted in him by early education—spoke clearly, and did not slur his words into each other, while his articulation was very distinct. She ma to make out that he was giving them orders to go somewhere; and, from the direction in which he pointed, she imagined it must be Satanstown, As he went on with his directions, several of the men turned their pistol-belts round and looked down at their weapons, as if they had been asked whether they were in good order, Then Berkeley turned his horse, as if he bad *A good four-inch object-glass, with a proper eye-piece, will test ona printed page of letters ce e en us ren- de which is about eight inches hb vis- ible at a distance ranging from three and a- to seven miles, according to the goodness of object- glass and power of eye-piece, | ed the party as it rode off. She saw the men go to the log-house and stop at the piazza, where they dismounted and stood round, waiting for orders, as she thought, Presently she was undeceived by the appear- ance of another party of men, coming from the direction of Punch Burleson’s Ranch. These men rode up and dismounted, as had the first; and stood there waiting. The first party had been five men, and the party from Burleson’s swelled the number to twelve. Convinced now that something was going forward, she kept her watch at the telescope, and soon saw a third and fourth party, comin in from the ranches of Deaf Smith and Colone Callahan, all of them halting at the porch of the great log-house, and waiting, like the rest. More parties arrived, till she had counted no less than fifty horsemen, and then the form of Berkeley made its a rance from a direction that showed he must have been round collecting his forces; for he was accompanied by more than a dozen men. He rode up to the porch, and the men who were there mounted in haste, and rode off with him in the direction of Satanstown. Helen watched them till they disappeared over a swell, and then turned ber gaze toward the town itself, which was visible at a distance of five miles, on the summit of a little swell in the prairie. Presently she spied the horsemen, riding out from under the shadow of tbe swell that had hidden them from view, and they took their cose straight to the town, as she had antici- t Sweeping the horizon, she was surprised b the sight of more men, coming from other di- rections, in which she recognized the men of her own party, from the difference of their dress, They were coming in small groups and hurry- ing toward Satanstown, as if they, too, had been warned to go there; and she set it all down to some meeting, in connection with poli- ties. She saw the cattle company’s party enter the town before any of the ranchers got there, and wondered what the matter could be: when she beard the tramp of a horse, at full gallop, be- low the house, and, looking out of the window saw Punch Burleson there, waving his hat, an evidently in a state of great excitement. The rancher was pale, and the sweat was pouring down his face, as she could see, from the way in which he took off his hat, to wipe his brow. Her father had come out of the house below, and she heard Punch talking to him in tones of great excitement, though the distance was too great to enable her to hear distinctly what he sa She would not have been a woman, if she had not desired to know more than she could hear from above; and it wasthe work of a very few minutes to burry down-stairs and run to the door, where she saw Punch in earnest conver- sation with her father. As soon as the honest rancher saw her, he stopped with abruptness, and seemed to be much embarrassed; but Helen advanced and asked him; ‘What is the matter, Mr. Burleson? Is there any trouble that is taking the men to the town?’ nch hastily answered: ‘* Why, no, Miss Helen; it ain’t nothen at all a lady need trouble abaout.” But the expression on his face contradicted his words so completely, that she said: “Come, come, Mr. Burleson, it is no use to try and deceive me. I haye been watching from the belvidere; and all the cattle company’s men have gone there too. Whatisthe matter?” Punch hesitated and looked toward the judge: a that Helen’s eyes naturally turned that way also, She saw that ber father was very much agi- tated too, and that his face wore an expression of deep trouble. *: t is it?’she asked again. ‘‘ You are nitiog something from me, father, What is Unconsciously she had raised her yoice some- what, and the judge put his er on his lips, as a signal for silence, as he whispered to her: ‘For God’s sake! don’t speak too loud. Tl tell you all, if I can trust you; but don’t let Di hear a word. She was asleep on the sofa as I came by the parlor.” Then Helen knew that there was bad news of her brother-in-law, and her face paled, as she said quietly: “Tell me all, and I will be calm. Tom is in danger—is it not so?’ Punch broke in hastily. * Don’t say danger, miss—don’t say that, The boys will stick by him tiil the death, and we won’t let them snoozers come any of their games over him; but we got to jump, I tell ye, if we're todoanything. That’s ail I come for the jedge. Kin ye keep the ] % quiet, and fool her, while we’re gone, miss? That’s what’s the matter naow.” The man, now that the question was fairly before the girl, seemed to be relieved and spoke directly to ber, and Helen answered: ‘*T will try what I can, but I must know what is going on, or I shall never be able to invent ex- cuses.” The judge answered instantly: “That’s right—that’s right, Helen. We can ; trust her, Punch. She’s got the grit of the whole family, and she won’t go back on her word. Il tell you what it is, child. Hank the Nailer has fot om; he has arrested him, near the Indian Territory, and I don’t believe there is another man in the State who could have done it. But that’s not the worst of it. He would have had to be brought up to trial some time, and the sooner the better, to get it over. But those cattle men are going to town, and it is feared that they are going to try and lynch the poor boy. That is why we are going to town, to er) Fs sheriff.” Helen had listened to the story quietly, and now she asked: ‘* Has the sheriff sent for help?” CHAPTER XVIII. THROUGH THE TELESCOPE. . THE question: ‘* Has the sheriff sent for help?” was,a simple ohe; but it made her hearers turn | their heads away, for they knew that he had not. Punch Burleson was the first to answer: **No, miss; he has not; and that’s the trouble. You see, Jack Wilbur is a good boy, and makes a good sheriff! but he ain’t, what’s to say, as spry as he useder be. He don’t know the ways of those men at the big ranch, and we’re afeard that they'll get the Satanstown boys on the rampage, with thar bad whisky, and get ’em to talkin’ of break the jail. That’s why we want yer father to come down thar, ’cause the boys all knows him, and knows he wouldn’t do nothen that warn’t on thesquar’. Isent aour boys all over, anyhow; but it won’t do to beva fight, ef we kin help it, miss, Ye see, Hank, the Nailer, is one of the best boys the Lord ever made; but we kinder think he might Lb. ve let the company ketch Jack, all alone.’ **T should think so,” said Helen, with a flash in her eye that made her look bandsomer tian usual, ‘I think, for a man who has pretended to be Tom’s friend, it was very shabby conduct. He knows Tom was never guilty of murder. Why, I— She checked herself suddenly, as if afraid of having said too much, and added, to her father: **Go to the town, and I will see that Di is not excited. If anything happens—” Here she stopped again, and seemed to be struggling with her feelings. “If anything happens to him, which cannot be hidden, J will break it to her. God bless you, and speed you, father.” She threw her arms around the old man’s neck, and turned away to re-enter the house, while the judge hurried away to the stables, where the riding horses for the house were kept, to avoid the trouble of having to lasso them, in a hurry, out at pasture, Then Helen went into the parlor, and found her sister, sleeping, calmly as an infant; for she had lately become a great sleeper and was tired by the least thing. Helen sat down by the couch, and watched the young wife with a face that showed the current of varied emotions. She thought how her heart would be torn, if it were her own husband who was in the ter- rible danger which Burleson’s words implied. Once she had had a sort of idea that it might have been her own case; for there had been a time, in the courtship of Tom Field when the sisters were in doubt which of the two he pre- ferred; and there were not wanting ill-natured peo le, who thought that Helen Collingsworth or t a little bad,” when her sister was mar- ri But Helen herself knew better. She had a sincere affection for Tom; but it was only that of a sister, who had never had a brother in her life, and enjoyed the change. She was very fond of Tcm, but still fonder of ber sister; and it was the knowledge of the danger to that sister should she hear, by any abance,. of what was about to h n that made e usually quiet and collected Helen sit by the couch of the sleeper, trembling to sea her awake. It was not very 1 before Diana awoke from her slumber and looked up at her sister with the query: Pee ap) o & “What tims is it, Helen? I really think I must have been asleep.” hag e And Helen had to smile and try to keep her from seeing that there was anything the matter, — “T should rather think you had asleep,” she said playfully. ‘But it is all right. You want to sleep all you can nowadays, so as to be well and rosy when Tom comes home,” Diana sighed. “When Tom comes home. Ah, yes, Heleng — | \ IJOOKS e€om .) (E - ‘i ._ “" 4 * tT