Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 365 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

f q ree | yee i 26 paper on the table, and the next moment he pounced upon it like an eagle. He could not keep back a cry when he saw the contents of the unexpected find. Tt was the gold map! For a moment the alcalde of Red Eye could scarcely credit the evidence of sight. e shut the door which stood slightly ajar and sat down at the table. His heart seemed to stand still for joy; the blood in his temples was like boiling water. He never thought that the map might be a decoy; he studied it in the lamplight and mas- tered the lines one by one like a person masters the parts of an enigma. esaw below the map these words: ‘* Here is the gold map, Dropshot, Now lead your men to Ophir.” E ‘We'll sec about leadin’ ’em thar some other time!” ejaculated the alcalde. ‘‘I found this map hyer; it war left for me an’ I kin doas I please. Lead ther boys ter a place I’ve earned myself by my persistence? fell see about thet!” The ending of the second hour after the al- calde’s return found him still at the table mas- tering the diagram. By degrees the exact loca- tion of the lost mine was dawning upon him. He saw that at that very moment he was not very far from the spot. Strange to say, he had founded Red Eye with- in a few miles of the wonderful bonanza big enough to enrich the whole camp. Why not tell his comvanions? They had stood by him through thick and thin, they had bound their very souls to him in a compact which, as a whole, had been faithfully kept. But no! the greed of gold, the desire of pos- sessing the entire ‘‘ find” took possession of him the moment he found the priceless diagram in his hands. He forgot his pards, or, if he thought of them, it was to vow secretly that they might find it if they could. The alcalde thought he had mastered the whole thing when he deposited the paper next to his skin and got oF He did not stop to inquire who had left the map on the table: it could not have been Gilbert. Dropshot Bluff had stepped from the table when the door moved and a man’s head appear- ‘** Cap’n,” said the caller who was the smallest man in the camp, a well-built person of five feet with sandy hair and restless gray eyes. ‘*Cap’n, I’m afraid Red Eye’s goin’ ter hev an internal revolution.” ‘* Come in and give me ther lay-out,” said the alealde. ‘I didn’t like certain looks I saw when Flush Flip war tellin’ me about Vera’s comin’ an’ Thunder Tom’s death,” The man shut the door securely behind him and eee ee the table. ‘** Now, go on,” said Dropshot, in low tones of command. ‘““Thar war one thing Flush Flip left out ov his story, cap’n, an’ thet war why Vera shot Thunder Tom,” the sandy-haired rough went on. ‘It warn’t because Tom war so eager ter intro- duce her ter cabin number four—it warn’t thet, Cap'n Dropshot—” “Wal, why war it, then?” ‘* Tt war because she called him Tom Sheldon an’ accused ’im ov bein’ one ov ther three Mor- mons wanted by ther Gentile a” The alcalde started only slightly, but he leaned forward and laid his hand on the little: man’s shoulder. ‘* What do they say now?—thet’s what I want ter know,” he said. ‘‘ They don’t b’lieve ther Viper do they, Gabe?” Thet’s just what they do,” was the answer. ‘‘ They say thet Vera called yer Dave Dastard, ther man wanted for thet crime ov ther 10th ov J uly in Mormondom.” ‘* Who says this?” weet Bluff grated the question between teeth. ** More’n half ther pards.” ‘¢ Who is ther leader?” ‘“* Rattlin’ Roy.” ** Ther man I saved from a Comanche stake! Thet’s gratitude!” said the alcalde, with a smile. ‘* Ar’ thar any si ov mutiny, Gabe?” ‘“Wal, I should whisper,” was the answer. ** For once old Red Bye is about ter divide,” the little man wenton. ‘‘Ef ye ar’ Dave Dastard, cap’n, you'll hev ter fight er go ter Mormondom with Red Bye for an escort.” ‘Is itso bad as that?” cried the alcalde, un- able to restrain himself.” **An’I am Dastard ther Mormon elder be- cause that woman said so?” ‘* Ther boys hev got thet inter their heads.” For a moment the alcalde of Red Eye was silent. He saw the danger that surrounded him. * Ar’ ye thet man, cap’n?’ asked Gold Gabe, carieent as he fastened his eyes on the rough’s ace. **Do you think I am?” cried Dropshot Bluff, bending forward till his face almost touched the little man’s. ‘‘DoI look like Dave Dastard?” ‘*T—I never saw him,” stammered Gabe, **Do you think I am he?” **T only know what Vera said.” ee a ‘Vera ther liar!” ejaculated the alcalde. ‘* What if I war Dave Dastard, Gabe? Would you turn ag’in’ me?” The Red Eye pard recoiled. ‘* Cap’n, ve been taught ter regard that mur- der one ov ther most devilish that war ever per- petrated by man,” he said. ‘‘ I’ve been one ov yer right-bowers for ten years. I've stood by yer through thick an’ thin; but ef you ar’ Dave astard—” Gold Gabe paused as if awed into silence by the alcalde’s look, ‘* Why don’t you finish yer sentence?” laughed Dropshot Bluff. ‘‘ I didn’t stop yer.” Gold Gabe remained silent. He stared at the man before him and looked very foolish and much frightened. ‘“You’d quit me, eh?—you’d league yerself with Rattlin’ Roy?’ and for the second time the alcalde’s hand descended upon the little man’s shoulder, There was no withdrawal from that terrible clutch. ‘* Wal, Iam ther Mormon elder!” said Drop- shot Bluff. ‘‘I am ther identical Dave Dastard who got even with Uncle Sam’s officer an’ his family years ago in Mormondom, You don’t want ter yell, Gold Gabriel; yer don’t want ter say that you ar’ ready ter j'ine Rattlin’ Roy an’ ards. I’ve played it long enough among you »0ys. I hev beaten ther Gentile League, an’ ther pards in thet Mormon game who hev fallen died by ther hand ov Vera ther Viper.” ‘“* Yes, by ther pistol ov ther sorceress,” gasped Gold Gabe. Dropshot Bluff held the man at arm’s length for a moment and then dragged him to the table. ‘*T always said that when ther crisis came, ef it ever came, I would meet it,” he continued, displaying to the little man the visage of a cool thug. et is hyer, now. It confronts me in Red Eye. Ar’ they preparin’ for a descent, Gabe? I want ther truth; ther shadder ov a lie seals yer doom!” ‘*T came hyer ter warn yer, cap’n,” was the reply. ‘ An’ ter say almost that if I war Dave Das- tard ye’d turn from me an’ hand me over ter ther Gentile League.” “*T don’t think I could do that. Honor bright, cap’n—" ‘No squirmin’ now!” interrupted the alcalde. ‘‘ Am I ter be entrapped?” ‘Tt looks that way.” ‘: By Rattlin’ Roy an’ pards?” “ec es.” ‘“‘ For transportation ter Mormondom?” **T shouldn’t wonder.” ‘* Not while ther sun moves!” cried Dropshot Bluff. ‘I begin hyera game that will be play- ed ter re end if it every drop ov blood in e! Before Gold Gabe could anticipate a single movement, the alcalde’s hand landed at his throat, and closed there so suddenly and fero- ciously that the little man was lifted almost off his feet. The eyes of the big alcalde gleamed like the orbs of a maddened tiger; he looked down into the blackening face of the man he forced across the table, and while he held him there, tighten- ing his grip by degrees, he looked like a devil in victory. **One by one thus, if they give me provoca- tion!” he hissed as Gold Gabe ceased to struggle. ‘‘As Dropshot Bluff I can play one game, as Dave Dastard another!” For several minutes his terrible grip at the little man’s throat did not relax; he held him in the light of his lamp until he no longer struggled in the least. “They made me absolute monarch hyer, an’ by heavens! that is what I will be!” he exclaim- , suddenly removing his hand, and a human body dropped to the ground. ‘I am goin’ to the end of the gold trail I have found to-night. I have Gilbert’s secret at last, an’ it’s worth fightin’ for. Dave Dastard, eh? Found out at last! Thar ar’ those in Red Eye who may dis- cover that the sting ov ther Mormon serpent is death!” A moment later the big alcalde took the lamp, and held it close to the face of the man on the floor. The face was almost black, and Gold Gabe lay still. *t Who’s out thar?’ suddenly exclaimed the al- calde, starting up and then toward the door. —- they come for me, as Gabe intima- At that instant the door was pushed open the width of a hand, and something was thrown upon the table. Dropshot Bluff reached the threshold in an- other bound; he threw open the door and looked out, but not a soul was in sight. After awhile he went back to the table, and picked up the object that lay upon it, which was a piece of paper. e little sheet had seen its best days, for it was no longer white, and the alcalde hastened to open it. ‘** What is this?” he murmured, as he locked at the strangely-formed letters. ‘* Ccld Gabe warn’t a mile from ther mark, arter ali.” Then he read the paper, which ran thus: LT ss Keen Kennard, the Shasta Shadow. ‘“‘DropsHot Biurr:—Yer escort ter Mormondom will be hyer within ten minutes.” The alcalde looked up and hissed: ‘*T never go back thar alive!” CHAPTER XXX. THE TRIGGER ROUTE. Go._p GABE had told a true story; there was mutiny in Red Eye. If there was any one thing hated above all o hers in the sierra country, it was the infamous crime which, happening a few years prior to the opening of our story, had blackened anew the name of Mormonism, It was that crime which had called into ex- istence the Gentile League mentioned in preced- ing chapters; it had hanged one man, and hunt- ed two more beyond the limits of the territory, and while it had passed from the minds of some men, it had not been forgotten. For years everybody had been on the lookout for Dave Dastard, the Mormon elder and his outlawed pard; notices and offers of reward were seen in every gold-camp; but the two men were not found. But at last it was known that Dropshot Bluff of Red Eye, was this Mormon monster, and the men who had sworn allegiance to him, were ready to turn and take him back to Utah. Grim George was dead, Thunder Tom had died by Vera’s revolvers on the desperado’s grave, but the chief perpetrator of the crime still lived. Gold Gabe had warned his old master too late, and he had received death in return for his action. Helay under the alcalde’s table, with the light of the little lamp touching his face— choked to death by the man he had served with a fidelity that deserved a better fate. were ot Bluff looked like a desperado brought to bay, as he stood erect in his cabin, with the strange note crushed in his hand, and his eyes fixed on the door asif he expected to see his enemies burst in at any moment. ‘‘ When this sierra chick goes back ter Mor- mondom under guard, the stars will leave their camps!” he said in audible tones. ‘‘ So they call me Dave Dastard instead ov Dropshot Bluff, eh? I am ther exiled Mormon elder an’ not the alealde ov Red Eye! Very well! I accept the change ov name, na it shall not keep me from ther mouth ov ther lost Ophir. With ther map in my possession at last an’ studied out, I hold ther oat hand yet.” Five oes Pe Ap away, but nobody came. The unmasked alcalde glanced at the warning again. It said that the mutineers would be at the cabin within ten minutes. As the seconds wore away, the alcalde put out the lamp and took up afresh revolver, ‘‘ Now let them come,” he said. ‘ I might as well fight hyer asanywhar. Rattlin’ Roy heads the mu- tiny, Gabe said. A cooler head couldn’t do it, but I will match ’im!” Meanwhile the mutineers were preparing to meet the man they had served so long. ‘*Tt war ther meanest crime ever perpetrated,” said a well-built man of forty, who stood in the midst of the crowd that filled one of the largest cabins in the camp. ‘‘ Gents, this is Red e with all its bad record, but_bad as it is it shall harbor no man who, as a Mormon elder, wiped out ther family ov one ov Uncle Sam’s officers. I am convinced thet Dropshot Bluff is Dave Dastard, ther hunted Mormon, an’ hyer, regard- less ov consequences, I break ther oath I once took for him. Iam against him now, for when first I heard ov that terrible crime I went out among the sage brush an swore ter avenge it if I had a chance, if it war fifty years afterward. Ther Federal major war nothin’ ter me,” the er went on. ‘ It war Mormon ag’in’ Gen- tile, an’ when it comes ter thet, I’m Gentile from hat ter boots!” A murmur of ea greeted the last sen- tence, and the dark-faced men moved toward the door. ‘* Hold!” the man went on. ‘If thar is a man hyer who wants ter serve ther cap’nas Drcp- shot Bluff, he shall hev thet chance. We force no man inter this game ag’in’ his will. Ther scheme is ter take Dave Dastard back ter Utah an’ ter throw him inter ther clutches ov ther Gentile League. Let all who stand by ther al- calde hold up their right hand.” A minute’s silence followed the speech, and not a hand was lifted. ie “Tt is Utah with ther Mormon elder or bu’st!” Rattlin? Roy went on. ‘'On no account is he ter be killed, it makes no difference what he does.” ! ‘“ But ther lost Ophir, Rattlin’,” said a mem- ber of the group. “Utah, first!’ was the quick reply. ‘“ This is ther only thing that would make me desert Dropshot Bluff. He might be Satan himself, an’ I'd serve him, but I can’t serve Dave Das- tard.” ; Two minutes later the occupants of the shanty went out into the starlight and waited for the command to march upon the alcalde’s cab- in, ‘He hasn’t got wind ov this,” said Rattlin’ Roy, in a low tone. ‘‘ We will have him before he suspects ther truth. Remember what I have (E(@) Gomicboo sath —— ee ~