Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 38 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

——_— The eyes of the chief were heavy with tears as he looked upon the face of the man he had loved so well. Even the se nature of the savage gave way before the grief of that sad our. And then, bending over, he took the helpless form within his arms. A second only the Indian pressed the senseless figure against his own broad breast, and then with a wild start and a half- shriek, almost womanly in its nature, he placed the body again upon the cold earth, and glared with eager eyes upon the passive face. Life was not yet extinct! In some little corner of the manly frame the vital spark still lingered. The random shot had struck fairly home, but so strong the constitution of iron-limbed Injun Dick that the potent lead, which would have carried death to almost any other mortal, had only produced a deathlike swoon, The heart was beating feebly, and the savage chief, well gifted in the rude medical practice of his race, doubted not that he could save the stricken man. The fight for the Cinnabar mine was not yet ended! Injun Dick Talbot lived, and while he breathed no mortal man might hope to possess the Cinnabar lode in peace. Again it would be war to the knife! mae ee The eyes opened; the great dark eyes, as keen as the orbs of a Wildcat, and yet at times ‘ds soft in their light and as lustrous as tlie star-gazers of. a beautiful girl. Slowly the life came back to the manly form, and then, as the red chief raised the head of the reviving man upon his knee, the eyes of Talbot fell upon the distant lights of Cinnabar. | ‘Again I pass from the shadows of ‘the valley of’ death, and wake to life; Cinnabar, thy glories are miné; and mortal ‘ian shall not wrest them from me. By. fair. means or foul. again T’llown the Cinnabar lode, and woe to the men who dare to stand between me and my prize?’ , | | And the pale stars, glittering above, registered the oath, CHAPTER L _ THE VELVET HAND, AGAIN we write of the young metropolis of the Shasta valley, thriving Cinnabar City. We take up the recital of the fortunes of this celebrated town and its inhabitants just one year from the time when the beacon fire, blazing on the side of Shasta, had attracted the attention of the mbabitants.. : And, during the year, Cinnabar bad changed, considerably. Many of the former inhabitants had departed; and fresh ones “had taken their places,” ts | | The ‘Citindbar lode had ‘been ‘sold for taxes, and had been purchased for quite a small sum by a gentleman named Fernando del Colma, a native Californian, originally a cattle-raiser on the lower coast, near goles. An etl -_ : Del Colma was a than of thirty, apparently; a true Spanish- Mexican-American—a man of inédium size, dark eyes, dark e. hair, pointed mustache and. beard, complexion of tawny ge ; listle fect, little hunds, almost- efféminate in théir character. settled melancholy séemed to brood ever on his handsome, haughty features. Great ¢outrast was he, every inch a gentleman, to the rude and uncultivated men by whom he was surrounded, _ He was a true descendant of the old race—the cattle-breeding, pleasure-lovinig, proud, haughty, but gentlemanly lords of Cali- fornia, who held thé land in vast tracts before the yold discoveries brought in the’pushing, adventuring Anglo-Saxons. There was hothing in common between the old race and the new men, and little by little the rancheros gave way to the gold- miners. Fernando’s father had been one of the largest landed proprie- tors on the lower coast, and, dying, had bequeathed to his two children, Fernando and his sister Bianche, a large fortune. Fernando, careless and ua-hrifty, like all his race, had made sad hayoc with his money, until at last the day of reckoning came, and the young man found that tew of his father’s broad acres remained unincumbered. | Pleasure must cease and work begin. During his trips to San Francisco he had made the acquain- tance of a dashing young fellow, who called himself Bertrand Redan, and this gentleman, who professed to be well acquainted with the upper miuing country, had often advised Fernando to try his luck in a mining speculation. So, upon discovering that something must be done tw retrieve his impaired fortunes, Del Colma had turned all his property into ready cash, and acting upon Redan’s advice, had bought the Cinnabar mine; and, as he knew very little about muning matters, Redan accepted the position of superintendent, and agreed to manage the whole affair. A haadsome, dashing-looking fellow was Redan, being rather tall in stature, well built, with black eyes and hair, which he wore long and curling, very white skin, and with a general air of refinement. | A pretty fair miner, too, as he quickly proved when ie set the men to work to clear up the rubbish which had accumulated around the Cinnabar works, and proceeded to put the mine in working order, An evil name the Cinnabar lode bore; too much blood and - treasure had already beet expended there, and the old resideuts of the town, who knew something of the mine in the old days, shook their heads sagely, and ‘‘ reckoned” that no luck woud come from meddling with the iode which bad already cost vue of the peculiar traits of his race. 2 = _ Beadle’s Dime Library. Indian war, to say nothing of the officials of the town who had fallen by the desperate hand of the Death Shot of Shasta. Some. of these sayings had come to the ears of Del Colma, but he shrugged his shoulders with true Spanish indifference, and proceeded to erect a cottage just outside the Cinnabar property, a small, snug dwelling, and in looks superior to amy other in town. Cinnabar City was not particularly well supplied with women, and what there was, as a general_rule, were rather weather- beaten and ugly. It was a matter, fhen, of little wonder that the arrival of Blanche del Colma excited a great deal of interest, for Biatithe was a Leauty. No fairer girl had ever stepped foot within the Shasta valley. She was strikingly like her brother; the same eyes, the same hair, and the same peculiar melancholy expression. 7 She was as sweet by nature as one of the juicy oranges of her own sunny clime, but as proud\as though she had’been born toa queen's estate. Blanche del Colma had lived a month in Cinnabar, and yet no gentleman of the town could boast that he was a friend of the charming girl; very few indeed could lay claim to even a simple acquaintance, Still she was no recluse; hardly a pleasant day but saw her in the saddle, She rode a spotted mustang, a creature of infinite beauty, as though she was born to the back of a steed. But there was nuthing in common between the fair Spanish- blooded girl and the gay young fellowseof the town, She was not for them, nor they for -her, In her«tigh& they were rude, rough men, and she would have as soon thought of entertaining an affection for one of the half-blood herdsmen upon her father’s éstate'ag to allow ber maiden. tafi€¥ tobe plehsed With, one ot these sturdy men of Cinnabar. ; fae Romantic by nature, she looked for a gallant lover, some stranger from beyond; the seas, one ef the old race, perchance, from whence her ling had sprung. ~~ met tara Del Colma, like most native Californians, was a slaye to some | He was a hard drinkér,, deeply addicted to play, lacked the thrift. and caution of the, Anglo- Saxon, and wis As careless with his money as though he still possessed the broad acres that his father once had owned near to the ‘city of the Angels,” on the southern, coast, and; naturally, his love for gambling, and for strong liquor, brought him often in contact with the young fellows. of the town, Therefure; when in company with the gay bucks of Cintiébar, he had encountered Blanche, common courtesy had compelled him to introduce his com) ariions: | | Sinall benefit, though, the introduction, had_ been to thé enam- ored youths. A.cold bow atid a scant “‘good-morning” were all that the Californian beauty ,vouchsafed in return for their élabo- rate salutations, . n~estoatnils ol t rb Lhere was # small group of friends, generally found together after thé toils of ‘the day were ddéne and commonly termed by the ‘Innes. the’ “Occidental gang,” with whom Del: Colina was quite intimate, and as the members of the “gang” were the leading men of the town, it was only natural that_one and all, with one exception, should be ardent’ adfmirers of the fair senorita, , &, ae Clint MacAlpine, formérly postmaster, but now mayor of the city; John Rocks, ustttty termed “ Sandy” Rocks, largely inter- ested in the Queen City Mifing Company of Angel’s Bar, a thriv- ing suburb of Ciunabar; “Judge ” Bob Candy, the éxpress-agent ; Billy King, formarly the barkeeper, but now the thriving p o- pristor 6 the Orcidental Hotel; Leo: Polloék, the largest store- keeper in the town, were the principal members of the Gecidedta ‘‘ gang,” and with the Occidentals, too, was usually to be found one of the most noted characters of the city at the time of which we write. He was a man of thirty or thereabouts, a little above the medium size, with a strong, manly face, a well-knit figure, and a bearing which stamped him as a captain among captains, His face was always smoothly shaven, and he was as neat and careful in his dress as though he were a promenader fresh from the asphalt pavements of la belle Paris, rather than a denizen of one of the roughest little mining towns to be found in all California. He dressed so oddly that, once seen, he was not apt to be for- gotten. A complete suit of black velvet he wore; coat, vest, and pantaloons, the hat even, were of the same material, and his ruffled shirt-bosom, wherein gleamed two tiny diamond studs, was a miracle of art. The best card-player in all Northern California this gentleman was reputed to be, and, clear from Yreka to Mount Shasta, he was knuwn as “The Velvet Hand of Cinnabar.” Richard Velvet he called himself, and he had such a soft, “taking” way with him, as many a foolhardy miner, confident in his skill card-playing, had found to his cost, and he was always so cool, so self-possessed, that it was not long before “Richard Velvet, that new sharp,” became shortened to “ Velvet Fland;” and the gentleman in question rather liked the title, 50 that he got into the habit of giving his name as Velvet Hand. These little nicknames stick on the Pacific slope. Many a skillful player of cards was there in the territory tri- butary to the lively city of Cinnabar, but not one of the tribe could win with the ease and grace of Velvet Hand. A strange fact, too, about this quiet gentleman, and one which his companions had often noted and commented upon: he a lone of all the young men of the town seemed not to have fallen a victim to the charms of Blanche del Colma; he alone of all toe Occidental gang had not secured an introduction to the dark- eyed beauty, and jet he was on more intimate terms with Fer- namo del Colma, her brother, than any other man in the town —LDertrand Redan, the superintendent of the Cinuubar works, alive Ux vopled (EOE NOC KS (€() ' — fh +