Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 38 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

24 Beadle’s Dime Library. —_————_- -— - hungry demon it has swallowed all and now clamors for more.” “All right; Pl go in and see what she has to say about the thing. You'll excuse me, colonel, if I give vent to my feelings and say, darn these women critters! they are allers mixin’ things up!’”’ and thus having in a measure relieved his mind, the big sheriff marched into the house, Like the majority of big men, Blum prided himself upon being a lady’s man; and so, when he came into the room where Blanche sat, he removed his hat and bowed gallantly. ‘*Excuse my intruding, miss, but I’m the sheriff, and I’ve come to see about this hyer auction sale.” Yes?” said the girl, smiling in her cold, stately way. As Blum afterward said, in describing the interview, ‘‘ she could jest hang herself alongside of any of them furrin queens an’ sich, an’ nary one of them would take the starch outen her.” ‘‘- You bought the mine, miss—twelve thousand dollars.” 7 ao ‘*T spoke to your brother about it.” 4 hs He knows nothing of my affairs,” said the girl, with dig- ra he said, miss; well, there’s ten per cent. to be paid to onc’t. ‘“Ten per cent. of twelve thousand is twelve hundred dollars,” Blanche observed. ** Yes, miss, I guess that is correct.” The worthy sheriff was not a man of figures, and he was get- ting out his book and pencil to ascertain the amount, when = 7 nt spoke; but her prompt declaration carried conviction it. Blanche took a buckskin bag from her pocket and counted out in double-eagles the sum of twelve hundred dollars, a sight which made the eyes of the stout sheriff fairly blaze. Never before in all his life had he seen such an enticing display. Sixty double-eagles, all arrayed in nice little piles, ‘‘Count the money and give me a receipt, please,” she said, in quite a business-like way. The sheriff, much astonished; mechanically did as he was bid. This was the lady whom her own brother pronounced to be not worth twelve hundred cents, ‘* Correct?” Blanche asked, “Quite correct,” the sheriff replied, the count finished, Then he wrote a receipt and handed it to the girl. ‘‘ Forty. per cent. more in thirty days?” she asked. “Yes, miss; and then the deed will be given, and the mortgage repared.” ‘Very well; the money will be ready. Good-morning.” The sheriff understood that this was a polite hint that the interview was ended, so he gathered up the gold and withdrew with his load, no light one, as any man will find who at- empts to walk off with sixty double-eagles. Blum marched out of the house feeling duly elated, for he had feared that the whole “‘business” would have to be performed over again, and he had no wish to figure as the victim of a silly woman’s whims. ‘Now, whar is this durned old Californian who sed that this air beautiful heifer war clean bu’sted?” the sheriff ejaculated, as he strode out of the house. ‘‘ Whar is he, so I kin shake the double-eagles at him and make him look sick—tryin’ to fool the sheriff of this hyar durned old corral with sich a cock- and-bull story!” But the Californian had departed. Gloomy and desperate, be had yielded to Redan’s suggestion that he had better try some liquor to keep his courage up. The wily superintendent was anxious to learn how Blanche had possibly contrived to raise so large a sum as twelve thou- sand dollars. Del Colma could not afford him any information though. In fact, the Californian bluntly declared that he believed the girl had lost her wits, and that bidding for the mine was but the whim of a moment. Anxious to learn the truth, Redan hurried away, as soon as he conveniently could, leaving Del Colma to continue the de- bauch which he had commenced. It was not often that the Californian yielded to the demon of drink, but when he did, he drank until bereft of both sense and reason. The superintendent hunted up the sheriff, and that worthy, in reply to the question as to whether the girl had made good the ten-per-cent. deposit, shook a handful of golden coins in the face of the questioner. “Did she make it good!” he cried, exultantly; “‘ well, now, she did, you bet! Ponied up jest like a little man, the solid stuff, an’ I’m betting my head ag’in a lump of quartz that she’s good for every cent!” Amazed and disgusted, Redan strode away, his face overcast with a portentous frown. The game was going most decidedly against him. Del Colma came not home to his cottage that day; but as he was in the habit of remaining absent at. times without warning, Blanche was not alarmed. Night came and still no Fernando. Instructing Sanchez to keep watch for her brother, Blanche retired to rest, and about the midnight hour the sleepy hostler, dozing in his chair, was suddenly aroused by a most rude attack. Who or what his assailants were he could not tell, for he was blindfolded, gagged and securely bound in an instant. Then the midnight marauders ascended to the room where sleeping innocence reposed. Bound, blinddfolded and gagged, wrapped closely in a blanket, Blanche was borne from her apartment, placed upon the back of a horse, securely held by stout arms, and then, by a dark, ir @uitous route, was carried su -. ..- wa Of Cinnabar, CHAPTER XXXI. A WILD ACCUSATION. GREAT was Del Colma’s astonishment, returning home at six o’clock in the morning, after sleeping off his debauch ina private room at the Occidental, to discover honest Sanchez, trussed neck and heels like a turkey ready for roasting, in the lower, outer apartment of the cottage. The bonds removed, it was some time before the half-strangled Mexican could tell his story, and then it was a brief, broken, and most unsatisfactory one. Seized by strong hands, during his sleepy watch for his master’s return, he had been blindfolded, bound and gagged, and so ex- pertly, that it was plainly evide: be assailants were master- hands at such business! Some tit: ver midnight the attack had occurred, for Sanchez stoutly pr.. .ed that he had heard the time-piece strike the hour of tweive, and it was not long after that he had been roused from his slumber by the strong hands griping him by the throat. Unable to understand the reason of the attack, for the cottage contained no valuables calculated to attract such desperate birds of prey, Del Colma hurried up-stairs to question his sister. He found the door of the apartment open, his sister’s clothing scattered in confusion around the room, but ne Blanche! And then, all at once, the unhappy brother guessed the object of the midnight attack. No gold or silver or precious stones had lured the night-hawks, but a single jewel that in the olden time would have purchased a king’s ransom. Blanche had been abducted! But by whom! To one man only the suspicions of the frenzied brother pointed. Eagerly he tried the charges of his pistols, put fresh caps upon the nipples, and then, thrusting an ugly-looking, long Spanish knife into his girdle, he sallied out, blood in his eyes, murder in his heart. Straight to the Occidental Hotel he went. An all-night party were just emerging from the hotel, intent upon getting a breath of the pure, fresh air of the morning, 80 deeply laden with the balsamic odor of the pine groves, after their prolonged vigil at the card-table. There was the mayor of Cinnabar, Clint MacAlpine; the gay and festive Billy King, the popular landlord of the Occiden- tal; Leo Pollock, the principal store-keeper of Cinnabar, as wild a coon after business-hours as the best of the ‘‘boys;” Judge Bob Candy, the express agent; and last, though not least, the sharp, Velvet Hand, Oh! it was a high-toned party! So any citizen of the town would have assured you; more manhood to the square-inch than you can often find, search the wide world over! Straight up to Velvet Hand the Californian walked, and pull- ing a revolver from his pocket, ready cocked, fired straight at the handsome face of the Cinnabar sharp. For once in his life Velvet Hand was taken entirely unawares, coming down the steps of the hotel, full of life and fun, for this ‘“‘high-toned” party never met for the express purpose of win- ning each other’s money; card-playing was but a secondary object. True, they played, but for small stakes, the bets limited to a quarter-ante, and wild betting frowned upon—it was the festive game of poker they enjoyed. A little wine was drank, but not enough to hurt any one of the party; they came to gether for the sake of fun, and with joke and song and story, they enjoyed the fleeting hours; and the sad, gray light of the early morning stealing in at the curtained windows saw quite a different set of faces from the haggard countenances that sur- round the professional gambling-tables when the aurora gilds the eastern skies. As we have said, Velvet Hand was completely off his guard. He had not even noticed the Californian until the latter sprung for- ward and pulled the trigger of the revolver. But the star of the sharp was surely in the ascendant that apr ey for the hammer of the revolver fell without exploding cap. The over-caution of Del Colma had defeated his murderous at- tempt; in fresh-capping his weapon he had neglected to force the cap down upon the face of the nipple, and this neglect had re- sulted in a miss-fire. No chance for the Californian to recock the revolver and make a fresh attempt, for in a second Velvet Hand caught him by the wrist, and adroitly twisting it, until Del Colma fairly groaned with pain, forced him to drop the weapon. And at the same time, too, Clint MacAlpine and Leo Pollock seized the infu- riated brother in their strong arms. Del Colma was instantly recognized. iehe Good heavens! Del Colma, are you madf’ MacAlpine ed. “Let me go!” the Californian exclaimed, hoarsely; “‘ this man has wronged me almost beyond belief. Let me go, I say! It is his life or mine!” “Let bim go, gentlemen, if he will have it!” Velvet Hand said in his cool way. ‘As I am a living man I never wronged him in any way, shape or manner, but if he wants satisfaction, I’m not the man to cry nay to him! All I’ve got to say is, that I want a fair chance for my life, and if he’s insured, I'll give his heirs a chance to make a stake outof the company.” ‘No, no!” cried MacAlpine quickly; “this sort of thing has gone quite far enough! Why, Del Colma, I took you to be a man and not a cowardly assassin. I don’t know how you manage things where you came from, in Lower California, but up here in the Shasta region, we call a man who pulls a pistol or draws e GOnmiGcaooks (E(0) a a —i