Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 340 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

we ee oe poo _— = - ——— . - a — eye - wee . +e lt a . ple Sn a a ee - —S el mw ee Sti ga ee — : S Fie te . =e ——_ —* ne a é : i * . 2 et , : v er - = ¥- —_ - oy — ms ys Wy a ¢ we on * i iia ial — tes 5 > Area oe - aon, Fumeh AMT ea eid ‘ =) - * ‘ a = “> wre "> Cool Conrad, the Dakota Detective. ** Thet’s what I don’t know,” growled Captain Noll. ‘“‘I know one thing, though. ‘Id give five years ov my life ter hev my claws at Red Roy’s throat five minutes! Curse me ef I wouldn’t make thet g’loot see all ther stars ever born inter existence afore his feet slipped over ther brink ov death! I warn’t lookin’ for him last night; who war? I war about ter turn back ter Holy Hank’s whar I left you with Leo in yer clutches when he pounced upon me like a tiger an’ ther next thing I knew, Il war gaspin’ fer life among you. Red Roy hanged me didn’t he? But do you think he cut me down?” The group was silent for a minute. ‘* it’s a kind o’ puzzle, isn’t it, captain?” said one, atlength. ‘‘Mebbe Red Roy didn’t intend thet you should die.” ‘Not arter I hung him down in Satan’s Hotel?” cried Oregon Noll. ‘*I don’t b’lieve thet, boys. Red Roy intended thet I should be strangled ter death an’ it wasn’t his hand thet cut me down. Now, thar’s another mystery. Whar did Doctor Pablo crawl ter?” ‘*Towards ther mountains ther blood trail F0es, was the reply. ‘‘We didn’t foller it. t ther — go.” “I’m willin’ ter do thet,” laughed Oregon Noll. ‘I thought Leo gave him his everlastin’ —she shot him at arm’s length. Let him die some whar Ripe J ther gold hills! Good-by, Doctor Pablo. e kin get along without you.” And Captain Nol! laughed again. It was a wildly ee eo group that stood between the cabins and ed as we have just recorded. Oregon Noll had escaped death by one of those miracles that seem to help the most desperate men in their hour of need. It was probable that if Leo had not cut him down when she did, his life would have gone out at the end of Red Roy’s rope; but, as it was, he had been choked into insensibility by the cord, and the efforts of his pards in restor- himself thither to die, he hoped, among ir gloomy shadows, and dropping on the rocks over which he craw]- ed small particles of his life-blood. He halted at last with an exclamation of joy. The trail seemed to have come to an end, but close inspection would have showed that it turned aside from the mountain wall and wan- dered on, But Doctor Pablo did not follow it. He crept up to the wall and saw—what? A dark place under a large bowlder met his eyes; it looked like the opening to a cavern. Before he drew his body under the stone, he looked and listened fully five minutes. Not a sound broke the stillness to disturb his intentions, and his eyes, always on the alert for enemies, saw no one. He went forward again, but down a dark corridor from which nobody could see the glit- tering stars, The Mexican serpent had reached his destina- tion at last. ‘*T am here!” he exclaimed, a few minutes later. ‘' Doctor Pablo has reached the home he shares with no one. Carajo! he is safe here, and from it he will go forth to strike the ene- mies who want his blood!” A match first, and then a lamp found in the darkness illumined the eleva cavern, and Doctor Pablo, the wounded snake, threw him- self on a blanket and looked at the wound in the breast. His teeth cracked and his eyes grew wild as he as his bloody clothing from his skin and then glared at the track of ’s ball. He washed the wound with water found in an earthen pitcher, and then applied some astrin- gents which one corner of the cavern yielded. After all this, he finished with adhesive band- ages, and then laughed over his success. ‘Doctor Pablo is far from dead yet,” he cried. ‘The strength of the lion will come back to him | here, and he will unite with it the cunning of | the mountain cat!” | | ce ee -——__ - -———_ - —- ‘‘ T don’t know but that you deserve death at her hands,” he said, looking him in the face. ing him to consciousness, had proved successful, here was something ferocious about the man | so that Oregon Noll, the boss of Pistol City, was | who had ged himself for leagues over a | almost himself again. rough mountain trail to that place. The continued absence of Silver Chick not e sat in the flicker of the lamp that threw only puzzled, but irritated Captain Noll. his shadow on the wall behind him, and glared He went away shortly after Monte Merle’s | with blood-shot eyes toward the entrance as he death, and had not mentioned his intentions to | spoke. — one, He did not see the pair of eyes that regarded | t was, to the men of the gold camp, unac- | him at that very moment, nor did his ears, keen countably strange. ; as they were, hear the step that carried their More than once during the day that followed | owner toward him. Red Roy’s unsuccessful stroke for vengeance ‘* Well, doctor, you have come home again, I | Captain Noll thought of Silver Chick, and tried “ae to account for his singular action. At these words Doctor Pablo uttered a cry of Not all the camp knew that the Chick and | astonishment and turned around, while his hand Monte Merle were brothers, but they were, | wandered toward the couch at his left. nevertheless. ‘‘ You here?” he said to the speaker. ‘‘ In the The monte palace in’Frisco was a valuable | Virgin’s name, how did you find this place?” Jers of property; it raked in thousands annual- ‘* Accidentally, doctor,” was the laughing re- | , and had a fame which had spread far beyond | sponse. ‘‘ Where have you been since last the Golden Gate. night?” Why did not Captain Noll think that Silver| ‘ Nearly dead among the bushes along the Chick had gone to take possession of his brother’s | trail.” riches? ‘*Oho! then you are shov?” Simply because they had sworn to stand b 6 Yea,” each other a thick and thin, and to die ‘* Who did it?” together, if needs be, with their boots on, side by ae Mexican ground his teeth before he re-— side. ied. | Captain Noll had confidence in his right ar An enemy, I see, doctor,” continued the wer. questioner. He could not think that gold had lured him ‘¢ Yes; the meanest one I ever had.” back to ’Frisco; he would the last man on ‘* Silver Chick?’ earth to charge Silver Chick with treason. ‘‘ No; the girl who came from .’Frisco for As for Doctor Pablo, the Mexican, he did not | blood! She shot me, Marmoset, but, as you see, care. Doctor Pablo still lives!” The trail of blood which led to the mountains The ee aes the gold camp came forward until told him that the Southern viper had dr he stood before the Mexican. ! Even while Captain Noll and his pards were discussing Silver Chick’s absence, a man crept along a mountain trail like a wounded serpent. ‘‘ Crista! won't I never get there?” he hissed, madly. ‘‘ Will Doctor Pablo never reach the cave he discovered on one of his trips to the mountains?’ It was the wounded Mexican, the infamous wretch who, as Santa Cruz, years before, had perpetrated one of the most diabolical deeds ever committed on the southwest border. He had reached an elevation in the trail from which, had it been daylight, he might have looked down upon Pistol City. With teeth set hard and eyes blazing unnat- urally, he crept over the trail which wound through the wooded slopes, and offered to carry him up to the stars that sparkled overhead. If there was a place for him to die in, he was anxious to find it; if a cave existed at that ele- vation, he was eager to reach it, there to curse his slayer and to nurse his wrath in secret. ‘* She thinks she has killed Doctor Pablo,” he laughed to himself. ‘‘The girl who escaped when Santa Cruz struck the rich ranchman thinks that her revolver has avenged all. Sacrista ! let her beware of the rattlesnake she has only scotched! The balm of life is in the secret cave: it will make the Mexican strong, and he will sting his enemies to death!” The minutes flitted by over his head, and the winds of the high trails fanned his cheeks, but he crept resolutely on, traversing the ground foot by foot, biting his lips every now and then, , ‘‘ She would not slay without cause.” * What do ‘A good tient, but I will inform you here that Bi gapents on the ground the contents of nearly all your | bottles. That is why I am here.” The wounded man made a move as if he would like to have sprung at Marmoset. ‘‘Never mind. I will keep out of your clutches,” he said. ‘‘I was not in this cave ten | minutes before I knew it was one of your re-_ treats. I expect a friend here presently.” ss Wh 0?” ‘* Men call him Red Roy.” Doctor Pablo started. ‘*T know you don’t like him,” Marmoset went on, ‘t and he doesn’t fancy you, doctor. He may not come alone when he does come, but a person | named Leo may be with him.” F ‘‘ Sacrista !” burst from Doctor Pablo’s lips before he could keep it back. Marmoset smiled. “You don’t want to see her, then?” he said. The hands of the Mexican are ou know?’ exclaimed the doctor, eal. Doctor, ’ve been pow pa- | : ‘*Tam ready! ready for her throat.” ‘‘ Just as if we'll let you reach it. Aha, doc- tor! there is no safety for the men Leo the Trailer hates. Hark!” Both Marmoset and the yellow viper turned toward the opening of the cave and listened. The boy held a revolver in his hand and kept | his finger at the trigger. Both had undoubtedly heard a noise which — indicated the near presence of some one. Who was it?" All at once Marmoset started toward the en- trance. ‘‘Tll unearth the intruder,” he said. ‘‘ We'll see, doctor, who has come to the mountain cave.” He had taken three strides forward when all at once a growl rent the air, and hesaw the glaring eyeballs and the figure of an enormous panther! Quick as a flash Marmoset raised his revolver and fired, and with a yell almost human in its intonation, a huge body shot past him in the smoke, brushing his cheek with a tail, A second later there arose a terrible cry from Doctor Pablo’s lips, and the lamp being over- turned by the maddened beast, left the cave in darkness ! ‘* Dios! Dios! Help, senor, help!” rung through the cavern, but Marmoset could not see a, thing. He knew that the Mexican desperado was bat- tling for life in the clutches of a panther, but he could offer no assistance, for he knew not where to begin. Therefore, with a bowie clutched firmly in his right hand, Marmoset stood amid the gloom, expecting at any moment an attack from the terrible animal when he should have finished Doctor Pablo. It was a strange and thrilling situation. CHAPTER XXII. A MESSENGER TO ’FRISCO, WHILE the events just described were taking place in the cavern among the mountains, scenes of a different character, but equally as thrilling, were occupying time at another place. The night was pretty well advanced, and there were two lingerers at Holy Hank’s bar. One of these fellows was Captain Noll, and the other a pard, his equal in size. Holy Hank himself stood behind the counter contemplating the two men who had just drain- ed their glasses, and who were talking in low but earnest tones, with their heads close to- gether. ‘Shall IT go, captain?’ asked Oregon Noll’s | ard. ‘Say ther word, an’ I saddle ther hoss er a ride ter ’Frisco. Captain Noll hesitated. ‘*T don’t like ter b’lieve thet ov Silver Chick,” he said, in slowly spoken accents. ‘‘ But I would give all I’m worth ter know whar he is ter- night. gs . ‘Then I ride ter ’Frisco, eh?” Before Oregon Noll spoke again he consulted his watch. ‘¢You kin go, Jerry,” he said, glancing up at his companion. ‘‘ You know what terdo, Ef ther Chick is in’Frisco you'll find him at Monte’s old palace. Don’t tell him that I’ve sent you— — don't let him suspicion that you ar’ my spy.” ‘*T ll fix that, captain,” ‘Play it fine, Je Gods! Silver Chick n Noll ct him, must not know that I, Ore I can’t—I don’t want ter—b'lieve thet he’s gone back on me arter ther oath we once took ter stand tergether; but why does he stay from Pis- tol City. Ef he is in ’Frisco, he’s deserted me in an hour ov need. Go, J erry but carry with you my partin’ command: ‘ Play it fine.’” vague Jerry reached for the bottle which st on the counter, and helped himself to a big drink. “Off it is for ’Frisco, captain,” he said, ‘You kin bet yer life thet Pl play it fine.” The two late customers wa together to- ward the door and passed out. In the starlight that flooded the ground out- side, Captain Noll held out his hand, and took his companion’s bronze fingers in his grip. The next moment the two men had separated, and while Oregon Noll walked toward his own shanty, J ; ar Jerry moved away in a con- trary direction. _ ‘Ef Silver Chick’s gone back on meI want ter know it,” growled the boss of the gold camp. ‘Ef Jerry finds him in ’Frisco, by heavens! I'll go thar myself an’ scatter his brains over the faro- tables! J will submit to no treason. Ov course, he’s Monte Merle’s brother, an’ heir to his wealth ; but he’s also bound to me by an oath which I will enforce with the trigger. Things hev gone awry hyer lately. Ther une ted has hap- pened in Pistol City. Ther brother ov ther young gold galoot we pulled up in ther Colorade canyon years ago has come fer vengeance. Cool Conrad, eh? Give me a chance on him an’ it’ll be Dead Conrad! Then a blood-huntress called Leo, whoever she is, is hyer on a red mission, an’ Red Roy is avengin’ his visit ter Satan’s Hotel. An’ Marmoset has slid from camp, an’ Floss is gone! Great Caesar! what’s ter happen next? I don’t keer what!” and the teeth of the speaker fairly cracked behind the last words of defiance. ‘(In the starlight stands Oregon Noll, the man with iron nerves an’ a heart ov steel!” he went on suddenly. ‘‘ Hanged, deserted, an’ hunted, he is still unconquered, an’ in his boots is ready ter fight it through! Let ’em come, singly or in irs! We stay hyer till ther game has been played ter ther end!” here was more than a flash of defiance in the Gomicbooks (E se