Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 303 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

~~ —_— Wild Cat allowed a grim smile to cross his face as he answered: ‘*Me see’um. Go that way. Me stop ’um.” Helen turned to her father. “Tt cannot be possible that he has seen them when it took all the power of the glass to show them plainly. But he says so,” And he had, CHAPTER XXVI. THE HIGGINBOTTOM MOTTO. AS soon as the case that had furnished such a fund of excitement, bad terminated so ab- ruptly, and while Helen and her friends were hurried off into the judge’s sanctum, the court- room was rapidly emptying itself into the streets, and the cowboys of the rancher party started off, with the full intention of ‘ inting the town red,” in honor of Top Notch Tom’s victory. Levy, full of mortification and disgust, tried to squabble with the district attorney, at the want of cour he had sbown to his associate, but Cross, wna? d sen the way the wind was blowing, repl y: “Come, anictee! ee all poppycock, Levy. ‘You lost your case, when you did not make it sure that no one saw the death. That telescope settled the business, and you were fooled. Give it up, man. You ain’t any match for this Top Notch Tom; and that English client of yours is a stick.” So Levy was fain to hurry out of court, wbile his own men were still there; for he was afraid of the jeering he would have to sustain, if he came unawares into the midst of the other side, after the way in which he had handled the oung lady, who was the idol of the ranchers, or miles round the town, He felt especially afraid of Hank, the Nailer; whose face he had caught, while Cross was pee and who had eyed him witha glare that had frozen bis very soul within him. But Hank had departed as soon as the case was settled, to attend to his suproprate duties, as marshal of the town; and the two-horse truck, full of weapons was being driven out of town, to the place where the men were dis- armed, to await the coming of the hilarious cowboys. ee Levy, feeling no longer safe within the town, till the rancher party departed, kept in the midst of the red-hatted retainers of the cattle company, and found his friend Berkeley, to whom he said: ‘* You’ll have to take care of me fora few days, after this; for my life isn’t safe, if these fellows go on a drunk. - Berkeley curled his lip with a bitter sneer. “T suppose so. You’re a wonderful lawyer. I only wish I'd never come to this blasted country. I shall leave it at the earliest oppor- a eg bes may be sure,” And Levy bad not spirit enough to retort to the sneer, but was glad to get a pony from one of the men, and ride off with Berkeley, as meek as Moses, to keep in company at any cost, As they went, they heard the rumble of wheels behind them, and the great truck, full of Pistols and rifles, came lumbering after them, on its way to the place of disarmament, Hank, the Nailer, was not with it; and that fact emboldened Levy to remain with his friends, as they resumed their arms,and rode siowly off to the prairie. The cattle company’s men had come out in full force, that day, nearly seventy strong; and they bad arrived and departed in a mass, so that the Jew felt comparatively safe as he rode along toward the ranch; but his face was despondent, and the Englishman wore a gloomy scowl, that told, plainer than words, the nature of the thoughts that possessed him. They had gotten about a mile from the town, when they passed a motte of timber, tuat was frequently resorted to by ties from the chureh—for they had a church in Satanstown, of the Catholic faith, the only remnant of the old Mexican domination, and the church had a Sunday School, that gave panics, once & year. The motte, from its use, had therefore acquir- ed the name of “ Holy Joe’s Wood,” and was further favored by a branch of the Blue Fork, that ran a torrent after a mountain storm, and was dry all the rest of the year. . The sight of this motte seemed to rouse in Berkeley a train of thought; for he drew up his horse and eyed the place for nearly a minute, in dead silence, while his men, who thought he saw something there, watched him curiously. But he shook his rein again, and rode on, more thoughtful than ever, till at last he said to the lawyer, who was riding by him: ** Levy, did you ever hear of the motto of the i on family?” ; ‘‘No. What was it?” . The lawyer asked the question listlessly, as if he thought nothing of it, Berkeley replied: ‘“‘Then I'll tell you. The Higginbottom fam- ily have a motto that reads: ‘ Never say die,” and I believe in it. We have just hada bad fall—what wecall a cropper in England—but we may get in at the death yet, if we ride fair and put our hearts together. I am going to ——$—$—$ have another shy at that Top Notch Ton, if I have to risk swinging for it.” Levy started nervously. He had never known bis companion to show so much excitement; for the Rasliabmen enerally affected the indolent —and insolent—drawl of the Loudon swell. He looked at Berkeley narrowly, and saw that he meant every word he said. The face of the Englishman was set in a frown, as hard as flint, and he bad evidently made up his mind that something desperate bad to be done. ‘‘But how are you going to proceed?” he asked. ‘I don’t see that we have any chance, We are very lucky if Cross doesn’t turn on ts and bring us—or rather you—before the grand jury, on the girl’s testimony.” Berkeley nodded. ‘*That’s the very reason wy we have to do something. If we don’t, I shall have to cut my stick; and you are gone, as far as your election is concerned. We must kill this man, this very night, as he comes home.” ** But how?” “How? Easily enough. Don’t you know that all bis friends will go on a grand spree, to celebrate the victory of the day. We bave our arms; and theirs are all in that truck, yet. When they come home, they will all be too drunk to shoot straight, and our men have not touched a drop. That wood is the very place to hide, and sally out on them. There will bea full moon to-night, and, the fight once begun, must be carried on,” Levy screwed up bis mouth. The plan did not shock him, with its cold-blooded atrocity; pel. he was thinking of the possibilities of de- eat, At last he replied. “‘It might work, as far as they are concerned; but Ae will not get drunk, for one. He isa tem- perance man; and so is Hank the Nailer. If they come out together, we shall have a hard row to hoe, Cap; and it’s no use deceiving our- selves,” ‘I know that. Iam not the fool you think: but you don’t know me yet, Levy. I go in, ex- pecting to get shot, and I shall think of orly one thing, which is, to shoot down Hank, the Nailer, and this Top Notch Tom, before a fight begins fairly.” ** You'll have a hard time to do that, Cap.” ‘I know it; but you’llsee I doit. Don’t say a word now. I must think out the plan. It isn’t quite plain yet.” And the Englishman rode on, in advance of his men, buried in thought, for the rest of the way to the ranch-house, where they arrived at noon, and where he dismissed the men to their duties about the cattle, as if nothing had oc- curred. He and Levy went into the house, and the captain called for wine; for he rarely drank whisky, and kept his head clearer there y: He and the lawyer had a long, secret consul- tation in the office; and the result of the talk was a summons, which went out in the after- noon, for all the cowboys to meet in the ranch- house. The men came there, obedient to the sum- mons; but it was easy to see, from their sullen faces, that they were disheartened by the result of the day’s trial, and ready to give up the fight, The Englishman called them inside the house, in groups of six or eightat a time, and took them into the office, where he made them all drink from a special brand of wine, that had been laid in, on p for the entertainment of distinguished visitors, and which was far sapenies to anything they had ever tasted be- ore, What he said to them, in the office, remains a matter of conjecture; but, when they came out, which they did, in about five minutes for each gang, they wore a different expression, and had alook of eager expectancy, that augured well for the way they would behave, that night, in case of a fight. By the time it was dark, and just before the moon rose, one day after the full, the seventy borsemen were primed for the plot hatched be- tween the exemplary gentlemen who had pre- bared it; and the whole party rode away in the rection of Satanstown, with a silence that showed they meant business. Berkeley had found out, from spies, that the ranches around were deserted, and that the men were in town, celebrating the victory of Top Notch Tom, The old judge bad returned to his own house, with his daughter, alone, in the middle of the afternoon; but Tom Field had not come with them; and the inference was plain that he bad stayed behind, with the rest of his friends, to join in the celebration. Levy suggested that it was ‘‘ queer that be had not brought the Indian to the town that morn- ing, and had not come back to see his wife, who must bo anxious about him;” but the English- man only answered: ‘We must take the chances of that. There never was a move, in a game of chess, that did not have its counter, if you only know how to make it. Come on.” So they rode away in the moonlight and took their way to ‘‘ Holy Joe’s Wood,” where they Top Notch Tom, the Cowboy Outlaw. + oo re i mu — Ze hid themselves away, with their borses, far enough from the road to prevent the animals from being discovered by their neigbing, in case of the passage of travelers from the town. Then they tied the ponies to trees, and spread before them the corn they bad carried, on the pack of their saddles, when they left the ranch- ouse. The animals had ly been kept with- out food, all the afternoon; and set at their corn, with an avidity that showed how seldom 6:4 got it, and how they enjoyed it. ben the men came out, on foot, through the wood, and lay down, lining the edge, waiting for their prey, with the patience and subtlety of old campaigners, while Berkeley, with three men, rode out, and took their station so as to command the approaches to the town. The three men were the witnesses in the case of the day before, and knew that; on their suc- cess, that night, probably depended the issue, whether they would be prosecuted for eeeery before the next grand jury; for Berkeley bad taken care to impress that fact on their minds to take from them any hesitation they might have otherwise had, in entering such a plot. Then came a long, weary wait: while they listened to the shouts that came to their ears, at intervals, from the town; showing how the cow boys were enjoying themselves. At every shout, Berkeley’s eyes glared, and the men with him looked at each other uneasily. The time drew near, when the conflict, which every one knew was to be a bloody one, was to be inangurated. At last they heard the distant rumble of the ground that told of many horsemen, coming at a gallop, and Berkeley rode back to the edge of the wood, and called out, in guarded tones: ‘*Get ready, boys, and don’t throw away a shot. It all depends on the first volley. r that, run in. One man on foot, is worth ten on horses, for shooting in the moonlight.” Then he rode back to his post, and listened to the idly approaching thunder of hoofs, mingled with the shouts and yells of the excited men. The noise stopped at a distance, and there was a great buzz of voices, as the cowboys re- Claimed their confiscated weapons from the custody of the marshal and his deputies, Then he heard them, coming closer. CHAPTER XXVII. THE AMBUSH. THE approaching horsemen were coming in straggling parties of two, three, and half a dozen, yelling and hooting; singing songs of joy; quite oblivious of the possibility of an enemy being near them. Berkeley and his three men withdrew to the shadow of the wood, to watch; fer the captain had made up his mind that be would fire at no small game that night, and the first voles would have to settle the question, by the deat of Top Notch Tom, and, if possible, of Hank, the Nailer, if the company was to gain any de- cided success, The first party passed by, and saw no one in the wood, while the men on watch heard the cowboys boasting of how they were going to “clean out the fences of the darned company, now, and make Top Notch Tom the member, by a two-to-one majority.” The next party to come numbered nearly a half dozen, and the fingers of the desperadoes in ambush itched to | the triggers, omy re- strained by the fact that they had given their words to Berkeley, not to fire a shot, till they heard bis rifle go off. Eighteen men had passed, when there was a noise in the direction they had taken, and a great yelling. The next minute, a figure dashed out into view, from among them, and came tearin down the trail toward tbe motte, ata s that showed he was urging his pony to the ut- most. Berkeley saw him coming in the moonlight, and caught sight of the fluttering of a plume, as the pony darted along. Then a map, crouching over the neck of a pony, by, and the Englishman saw that it was an Indian, whipping with all the merciless sever ey. that characterizes the treatment of horses by Indians. For a moment he was startled, and then he took aim at the flying figure, with his rifle, as the Indian dashed by, to meet a dense body of horsemen, coming up the road, talking and laughing. e shot sped, and the horse fell in the dust. Whether the Indian was injured or not, was not to be seen; but, the next minute, out of the wood rushed the men in ambush, and opered fire on the advancing horsemen, with a sudden- ness and severity that emptied saddle after saddle, in a twinkling, when the battle began in earnest. The sudden advent of the Indian deranged all the careful plan that Berkeley bad laid, with very creditable military skill. The Englishman divined that it could be no other than Wild Cat, and that the cowboys had recognized him as he passed, for otherwise they would have Gomicbooks (S com