Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 365 — page 29: what you’re looking at

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Keen Kennard, the Shasta Shadow. 29 a second had the woman from the South in his arms. ‘*Goin’ ter Mormondom with Dave Dastard, eh?” he exclaimed. ‘’ When I poke my head into the Gentile noose ther stars will turn ter comets! No, my tigress, Dagger Johnny never knew how ter tie a man ter stay.” Vera did not struggle much, Biting her lips she looked up into the alcalde’s face, and made no reply. He had already shaken the revolver from her hand, and now he held her out at arm’s length and laughed triumphantly in her face. ‘“ Your time, not mine, has come!” he cried. “Dave Dastard ther Mormon elder finishes hyer ther work he an’ his pards failed ter do in Utah! Thar is no escape, woman. Grim George an’ Thunder Tom shall be avenged by ther last ov ther three. Let me whisper in yer ear thet T have at last ther secret ov ther big bonanza, thet I have solved ther puzzle. I go from hyer ter ther lost mine, an’ when Dropshot Bluff turns up ag’in away from hyer he will be a gold nabob with nobody alive bold enough ter throw ther name Dave Dastard inter his face.” Still not a word from the woman in his clutckes. ‘* [ll serve yer as I served Gold Gabe who lies dead under my table!” he went on. ‘‘ Never trust a pard ter tie his old captain’s hands, It is poor policy, Viper Vera!” He lifted the woman from the trail as he snap- ed out the last words with bits of triumphant aughter, and sprung with her into an opening like a huge crack in the mountain to the right. ** Won't yer ask for mercy?” he said. ‘From Dave Dastard? I'll die first!” exclaim- ed the avenger. ‘‘ Very well, then; die it shall be!” The narrow pass swallowed up the pair, but from it soon came a cry which ended suddenly as if the hand of man had shut it off. ‘So much for one woman!” said Dropshot Bluff as he emerged from the place a minute later. ‘‘Choked an’ thrown inter a chasm as deep as ther pit under cabin number four, ought ter keep one serpent out o’ my way. I owe Dagger Johnny one for ther knots he made. Oh, I’m bound ter play this game cl’ar through an’ ter reach ther lost Ophir with a full hand! When I am nabob an’ boss ov ther big bonanza, I'll masquerade among ther Gentile League, but not as Dave Dastard ther Mormon elder. No! By Jerusalem! thet character would hardly do thar!” He stood in the trail and laughed for a mo- ment, then with Vera’s revolver in his hand, he started south, toward Red Eye. If he had looked back he might have seen a figure on his trail, almost at his very heels at times. The trails of the sierra are not cold long at one time. When man hunts man in the mountains, he is always on hand; he tracks by starlight as well as through the light of day. Dropshot Bluff seemed destined to lead his trailer to the famous camp, but it was not likely that he was going back to the men_who had ris- en in mutiny against Dave Dastard. ‘* Hyer I strike the gold path!” he exclaimed, aloud, halting suddenly where another trail seemed to cross the one he trod. ‘ Dropshot Bluff, ye ar’ at last in luck. You hold ther key to Ophir |” He pages forward and disappeared. His tracker did the same, and the shadows of the pines hid both from the glittering stars, CHAPTER XXXII. TRACKING THE SECRET DOWN. More than once during the next twelve hours did the big alcalde of Red Eye consult the dia- gram found on his table upon his return to camp. He had surely fathomed the mystery of the lost mine if the map was correct, and he firm- ly believed that it had been correctly drawn. The morning of another day broke and found him still among the mountains, but the person who had tracked him during the night had dis- ores: ropshot Bluff believed that he was now on the way to the lost bonanza, and that, with Red Eye behind him, and with nobody to share the secret, fathomed at last. t them circumvent me now, if they can!’’ he exclaimed. ‘TI hold ther coldest deck ever held in ther sierra kentry, an’ woe ter ther per- son, Man or woman, who attempts ter beat it!” What had become of the alcade’s tracker of the night before? If Dropshot Bluff had gone back with the stealth of a wild animal, he might have seen a person who would have called forth an ejacula- tion of amazement. Walking slowly over the trail which here and there showed the alcalde’s tracks, appeared a woman who wore a dark mask, behind which shone a pair of glittering eyes, Queen Moro! Afoot now, she was still on the trail of the lost mine, and if she had lost the Red Eye rough in the starlight, she was still surely on his track. There was something terribly persistent about this strange woman who wanted wealth to car- ry outarevenge. She had followed Keen Ken- . ee een a . nard from Sacramento, she had invaded the heart of the sierra, determined to find first the hidden gold, and then to turn upon some one whom she hated with all her nature. The sun came up and passed down the western slope of the heavens to disappear again. he alealde of Red Eye Bar believed that he stood on the threshold of the enormous fortune hunted so long and so persistently. Vera the Viper was behind him—dead. Red Eye had been faced and riddled with the revolver, and he—Dave Dastard, the Mormon elder—was the winner in the gold game. Concealed in a pass, he waited for the stars to show themselves. A critical examination of the map told him that he had surely reached the solution of the labyrinth. He was waiting for darkness to take the last step. Above him rose the sloping side of a mountain on one hand, and on the other a perpendicular wall strangely seamed as if by the action of water. The alcalde stood in the shadow of this wall, his body well concealed and his eyes beaming with eagerness. Night never came so slowly to the boss of Red Eye before. The long summer day seemed to linger beyond its allotted time, and the tardy stars came out one by one as if the heavens had lost some of its lights. ‘*T can walk straight to it now,” said Drop- shot Bluff. ‘‘ Thar’s not ther least doubt about thet. Ihev solved ther map, an’ hyer I am at ther mouth oy ther lost bonanza. I didn’t hev ter choke it out o’ Gilbert arter all, I didn’t hev ter shoot it from any one else. It dropped inter my lap like a ripe plum, an’ when I warn’t ex- pectin’ it. What if Red Eye hed found ther map afore I came back? Thet would hev been a bad find for me—but Red Eye didn’t find it.” He laughed and waited on for the night, and it came at last. Dropshot Bluff moved cautiously from his lace of concealment. He had the eyes of the awk, and seemed to know ee where to go. A few rods down the trail he suddenly left it and struck into a bridle path that took him into the mountain. ‘**Tt?s somewhar hyar,” he said, pausing where three bowlders lay one piled upon the others, undoubtedly the work of man. He crouched behind the stones and took out the map, It was too dark to see the diagram now, and he had recourse to a match which showed him the lines, ‘*T am hyer!” he exclaimed, throwing the match away. ‘‘ Twenty steps from these stones in this direction,” and he started off, counting the steps he took, When he stopped again he was touching a pile of rocks which had been gathered from the mountain. The largest was not larger than a man’s head. The next moment Dropshot Bluff fell to re- moving the heap one by one, and the stones made strange noises as they fell here and there from his hands. Half an hour’s work revealed a dark hole large enough to receive the body of a man and the alcalde rested with a satisfied look on his face, At last! The aperture seemed to lead into the moun- tain-side and the whole surroundings suggested a lost gold mine. : Dropshot Bluff dropped on his knees and look- ed into the cavernous opening. He thought of Gilbert Golden and his companions who years before had discovered the rich lead which had proved so disastrous to the party. He recalled the youth’s story of the search, and the terrible sufferings of the little band. Springing to his feet at length, he gathered a lot of pine cones and formed them into a torch with which he went back to the opening. Ten minutes later Dropshot Bluff was crawl- ing through gloom in a narrow corridor whose ceiling and side walls he could touch with his hands. At length he reached a spot where he could stand erect and the torch camein play. Holding it above his head, he made the circuit of a little chamber which had been hollowed out by hu- man hands years before. The walls bore the marks of picks, and the floor was strewn with eet Rooter dirt. 6 man from Eye in ted eve art of the chamber. He ran hie forck alone the rar and picked up some of the rocks at his ‘eet. _All_at once an exclamation of discovery parted his lips. ‘Thar seems ter be no discount on this!” he cried. ‘‘I am in Ophir at last, an’ when I go back ter civilization as ther gold king, ay play some hands that?ll astonish the natives.” ‘So will I,” said a voice. Dropshot Bluff dropped the nugget and wheeled. : ‘ ‘¢ You?” he cried, stepping back, with his eyes riveted upon the person who confronted him, ‘‘ Why not?” was the answer, accompanied by a laugh which the rough from Red Eye did not like. ‘‘ Well, Dropshot Bluff, you have found Gilbert’s lost gold-mine, and so have I.” The alcalde started forward with grated teeth, but a shapely hand waved him back. ‘Not till we have compromised,” said the same voice, which possessed a silvery sound which under other circumstances would have been pleasing to the alcalde. ‘* Compromise over this bonanza?” cried Drop-- shot Bluff. ‘* Perhaps; certainly, if, upon examination, ¥ find it big enough for two.” The big alcalde saw only the two eyes that glittered behind the silk mask, while his con- fronter spoke. He faced Queen Moro, and she was the track- er who had followed him to the bonanza, ‘*T compromise with no woman who is asham- ed to show her face,” he said. ‘I have found the lost Ophir without yer help. It belongs ter Dropshot Bluff, an’ by ther eternal Heavens! he works it as it suits him best. Show me thet face, however, an’ mebbe we'll talk.” For a moment there was no reply. ‘*T show nothing till the time comes, and it is not yet here,” the woman said. ‘“‘I have play- ed my last hand for Gilbert’s secret. I have found it. My vengeance ground now is San Francisco, and there I strike my last blow.” ‘* Ag’in’ ther men what branded yer on ther face, eh?” ‘Who told you?” cried Queen Moro, starting. ‘* Never mind. I know.” “Yes. I strike the men who marked me hid- eously for life,” cried the woman. ‘* You would start back and shudder were I to lift the accurs- ed mask I have worn so long. The men who marked me thus have wealth at their command. I must have wealth to fight them as I want to. I sent Keen Kennard into this country to find this mine for future vengeance, His delay put me upon the trail in person. Iam here.” ‘* By follerin’ me,” added Dropshot. “T admit it—by following ‘el was the re- ply. ‘‘ What is the prospect! Is the game worth the candle?” ‘** Do you know gold when you see it?” ‘“*T ought to; I was raised in a mine, almost.’” The alcalde of Red Eye picked up one of the nuggets at his feet and tossed it to Queen Moro. Then he thrust the torch forward that she might inspect it. e saw her eyes suddenly shine more intensely than before as she turned the rock over and over in her hand. “Tt is gold!” she said, looking up into his ace, ‘* Wal, I should remark!” was the answer. *‘ Ther marks ov Gilbert’s pick ar’ on these walls.. This is Ophir, woman.” ‘“ Give me the torch!” The torch was snatched from his hand, and the next minute he was rts 4 at Queen Moro as she moved it along the wall, which her eyes scrutinized with great eagerness. ‘* Jove! what a chance ter balk her!” sudden- ly muttered the Red Eye boss. ‘She tracked me hyer; she has been my sleuth. May I roast in Tartarus if I divide one ounce with this hid- den and branded face ov Sacramento!” and he followed in her path like a leopard after its prey. “Playing panther, eh?” exclaimed the woman whirling upon him. ‘‘In your estimation this find is too big to divide, Dave Dastard. So be it! I share that opinion with you. To break and drive to ruin the nabobs who marked Queen Moro for life, she must have it all!” The blazing torch flashed in his face, and he uttered a er oath as she forced him back. “Tt is too big to share, Dave Dastard!” she cried again. ‘‘I have endured too much to throw a part of it to you!” Down came the heavy, scathing torch once, twice, three times in swift succession upon the alcalde’s uplifted hands. The attack seemed to have the fury of a tornado in it. The fire blinded him, the blaze beating across his face set him in a rage; he staggered back bewildered, howled, and cried for mercy! Once more the novel weapon descended; the torch seemed to beat out his very eyes! Dropshot went to the wall with a despairing ery ; he fell against it, and then sunk at its foot. ‘Ha, ha! there’s too much here to share with you,” and she stooped over his blackened face and held the torch down that she might inspect it. ‘‘I can now muster my miners, and when I go back to the cities I will begin the game of a woman’s vengeance.” Of course there was no answer, for the man from Red Eye was unconscious, if not dead, and Queen Moro went back. ‘* This is better than falling over a little preci- ice and losing Floss, my enemy’s kin!” she lacathuad: with almost a fiend’s triumph, while she moved toward the mouth of the cavern. ‘‘T can find the girl again if I want her, but I have the gold bonanza in my hands, and I will werk it first. Good-by Dropshot. I don’t think you be ever go to Mormondom with Vera the iper. he torch had been extinguished by Queen Moro before she reached the starlight, and a few minutes later she was collecting the small bowlders which bad concealed the meuth of the mine and piling them back in their o]d places, Having accomplished the work, she turned Eomicboo S ee oe —_— re Erg (ECO) ff