Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 380 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

ar. The Golden Serpent. 15 Tiger Dick conld not have made stronger the impression of his perfect ingenuousness than his manner did, However, the Governor had one more test. ‘‘Mr. Langley,” he said, with sudden direct- ness, ‘‘ we have received an intimation of the perpetrators and their motives,” ‘* Ah? replied Dick. And his looks showed that he felt that, for some reason, he had been trifled with. ‘‘ The captor is the Golden Serpent,” said His Iixcellency. Tiger Dick started. Then he looked from face to face. He saw that every eye was reading his countenance, He flushed and rose to his feet with haughty indignation in looks and bearing. * Gentlemen,” he said, ‘‘the motive of this woman is plain to me, as also your purpose in this inquisition. But both you and she are mis- taken! Iam not a party to her effort to effect my release—which proves your mistake; and I will not profit by it—which proves hers. If, after what has passed between. us in the last few days, Mr. Farnsworth yet hesitated to assure you of my non-acceptance of a release so pro- cured—” ; But loyal Jim Farnsworth had leaped to his feet. ‘Tt did not, Dick!” he cried, hurrying forward with extended hand. ‘I said from the first that it was no—go!” ‘*‘ He at least,” continued Dick, without break, ‘‘could have told you that, in dealing with me, nothing was to be gained by indirection, Is it not plain to you that the capture of the com- mittee was the success of the plot? Then, if I were in it, why should I hesitate to avow my complicity?” ag By this time Jim Farnsworth had him by the hand with both his own, and insisted upon being heard first. ** Dick!” he cried, ‘‘ you in your turn should need no assurance that I was not in this under- hand business. Haven’t I always dealt with you on the square? I never dreamed that you was to be put through the mill like this, until the thing was done.” In these words was His Excellency treated to an altovether new sensation. Here were a rogue and a rogue-taker holding him up to re- proach as a man of devious methods! What was the world coming to, when gentlemen of their kidney took the highest in the common- wealth to task on a point of honor? \ But then His Excellency was too thorough a olitician to allow his temper to get the upper and of him. ‘Pardon me!” he said, with a quietly sarcas- tic smile. ‘‘ But, admitting that yours is a ‘omewhat exceptional case, you will not bold me to too strict an accountability for my error of judgment. I promise to be frank enough with you for the future. “To begin with, then, the Golden Serpent has offered us an exchange of prisoners; and we have concluded to liberate you with a clean record. You will be detained— Stay! I will show that what I have seen of you has not been altogether lost on me. From this moment you are released on parol, to bind you only until we have assurance of the safety of our committee.” ‘* You forget,” said the Tiger, quietly, ‘* that T have refused to return to the world through such means.” : “But, my dear sir!” cried His Excellency, ‘is not this a super-refinement of sentiment? You have had no share in bringing this about. I am sure that these gentlemen will join me in testi- fying so much to the world, if that will satisfy your scruples.” Tiger Dick smiled as he looked about on the acquiescent faces. ‘*T leave such evasions to those brought PP in the subtleties of the law!” he said, with a bow which included them all. ‘* Ha, ha, ha!” laughed the Secretary of State who, having no legal affihations, was out of range of this thrust—‘‘ got vou there, boys!” The lawyers laughed good-naturedly. “You gentlemen of so extraordinary punctil- iousness,” replied one of them, ‘‘ would fare hard, if we didn’t occasionally get you off on some fine pee ‘And do you mean to say,” cried His Excel- lency, ‘‘ that you would rather hang than not?” ‘“‘T mean to say,” replied Tiger Dick, gravely, ‘that the old life is behind me, I mean to say that, seven months ago, I pledged myself to add nothing further to my all-too-lony list of crimes, but to do something to reclaim the past, if there was virtue in sincere repentance, I had re- ceived my reward in advance. Do you fancy that, having accepted it, 1 would go back on the agreement?” ; All understood that this was an allusion to the woman’s love that bad given him a new pur- pose in life, None present was so careless as not to respect this stand. For the first time in their lives they began to see how it was that true repentance was a thing of such great significance. Here Was a man lifted in their esteem, in spite of them, from the depths of infamy to a place among honorable men; and all because he had ———_— Onn experienced a change of heart which was pal- pable to them. Two or three of them were members of the Church—His Excellency, for one, as we have seen. None of them had ever quite realized that the repentance of even a murderer could have so purifying and elevating an effect as this that they now saw before them. It had hereto- fore been to them a matter of words, which they had repeated mechanically until they had no real live meaning, ‘*Then it seems that we are at a stand,” said His Excellency, making no further effort to shake Tiger Dick’s resolve, ‘* But how will the Golden Serpent receive this? She has impressed me as a lady of strong determination and rather passionate impulsiveness. Suppose she flies ina temper, and vents her disappointment on our friends?” ‘* But how unreasonable,” cried one of the gen- tlemen, ‘‘when we are in no way to blame for the failure of her scheme!” ‘* Unreasonable!” repeated His Excellency, re- calling the Golden Serpent’s outburst. ‘If you ** They’ve cut out a large pattern for you, my boy!” said Farnsworth, turning with a laugh to Prison Warden Dan Ford. ‘** Let ’em come!” said Dan. ‘' They’ll find They say that one we’re enough for the best of ’em!” ‘*Don’t you be too sure. of ’em actually got in to His Satanic Majesty, and asked him for some points on the situation down below. There’s an awkward end to the story, though. He got in, and got his points; for the devil himself couldn’t head him off, once he started in to questioning him. He got in, as I said; but the trick was to get out. That big 2 even a reporter. He’s down there yet!” So Tiger Dick was taken back to prison as he came; but that night he was a free man, his mission begun, Would he succeed? Would he win his way back among honorable men?” CHAPTER XX. A REPORTORIAL FERRET. Just before he set out on his new mission, had been privileged to see her, you would agree | Tiger Dick received a letter which made his with me that she is a person not wholly amen- able to reason.” ** PH tell you what to do,” said the Mayor of Frisco, ‘IT wish you would,” said His Excellency, turning to him as a last resort. ‘*Give her permission to argue her case with this gentleman. If she can induce him to follow her, he is hers; if not—why, she will associate her failure more directly with bim.” ‘*That’s the best thing that seems to offer,” said His Excellency, not wholly relieved of his anxiety. ‘‘ But lest she should take it into her head to do something desperate, there should be some provision for having her followed, so that there might be help at band in case of necessity. A general discussion followed, in which every one offered what occurred to him, Tiger Dick had been standing aloof, his thoughts wandering away to that little bay in the Gulf of Lower California where his heart was. Suddenly his. face lighted up, and he started hurriedly toward the group of counselors, breaking abruptly in upon their discussion, ** Gentlemen!” he cried, ‘‘I have something to offer which has just occurred to me, asif by inspiration!” ** We are willing to accept almost anything,” said His Excellency. ‘** My proposition is this. I know a lot of fel- lows who are under the ban of the law, whom I should like to be the means of reinstating among honest men. Will you extend the mantle of exe- cutive clemency to them, if I will call them to my aid, and not only recover your friends, but break tip the band of the Golden Serpent? They are road-agents, the whole lot of them. One wroviso before you decide. If I capture the tolden Serpent, I must be free to restore her liberty. I can’t hand over to the law one who has shown herself so anxious to serve me.” ‘* Let me say a word!” cried Jim Farnsworth. ‘Take Dick up without any if’s or and’s; but stipulate that I shall be allowed to go with im!’ His Excellency smiled at the eagerness of the detective, who promised to be as enthusiastic an ally as he had so long been a stubborn antago- nist. “*T accept,” he said, ‘‘ without any if’s or and’s, and with only the stipulation you petition for, if it is agreeable to Mr, Langley.” “Tt is!” said Dick, with marked satisfaction. ‘*Tn this way, gentlemen, I feel that I can honor- ably earn the pardon of the State! It will be something to put two-score men once more in the right track,” ‘I wish you every success!” said His Excel- lency, extending his hand. He was moved to it by seeing that the thing Dick attached importance to, was the being able to make other men sharers in his reformation. Tiger Dick flushed scarlet. Never before had he felt his real position as he was now made to feel it by this one little act of genuine humanity. ‘** Wait! wait!” he said, stepping back, and actually putting his hands behind him. “1 bave done nothing as yet!” ‘*As you will,” said His Excellency, under- standing his scruples! The Tiger hurried to the details of his plan, that he might escape from this embarrassing sit- uation. ‘*Tt must not be known,” he said, ‘ that T am out of prison. Let the Golden Serpent think that you are still deliberating over her proposi- tion. I will goin disguise.” “The trick will be to keep the reporters at bay,” said Jim Farnsworth. ‘‘If one of them smells out our little game, he will have it all dished up in the papers in an hour’s time.” ‘**'You can be taken back to San Francisco to- day openly, and be smuggled out to-night.” _ “But when they come round for their regular interview?” asked Farnsworth, with a wry face expressive of his disgust at the prying of the newsmongers. _ ‘“ They can be sent to the right-about, with the intelligence that for State reasons there is to be no more interviewing for the present.” ————— eee eee eS re heart leap. It was needless to look at the postmark, to guess that it was from Lower California. Its dainty chirography was equaled only by its delicacy of thought and expression. There was no ‘gush’ init. Its terms of endearment, few and the reverse of ex- travagant, occurred only where it seemed as if the writer had used them involuntarily and almost unconsciously. Down in one corner, written so fine as to be scarcely legible, he found the outreach- ing of a great yearning tenderness: ‘If you only knew!” When he saw that, he dropped his face upon the letter, in an ebullition of ungovern- able emotion. When he lifted his head again, his counte- nance was irradiated. If he did not know all the love she hinted at so shyly, it is safe to say that he guessed enough to fill his cell with golden sunshine. This,” he cried, ‘‘shall be my inspira- tion! With such a goal in view, I could cut my way single-handed through an imperial army !” While this ¢xaltation was yet upon him, Jim Farnsworth appeared with his disguise. A few minutes later they passed from the prison. “Hallo, Farnsworth!” cried a happy-go- lucky voice, as they were going out. ‘* Just the man I want to see! You fellows have stolen a march on me. What was this flit- ting to Sacramento and back? Every item about the redoubtable Tiger Dick is worth its weight in gold, you know.” And a young man with his hat set careless. ly on the back of his head, a stray lock of hair falling over his forehead, his necktie in a loose knot just ready to fall apart, and having a general air of Bohemian negligence, seized the’ detective by the hand, while he drew some loose slips of paper from his pocket. ‘*T haven’t time to bother with you now, Sam,” said Farnsworth, trying to brush b the reporter, ‘‘ You'll have to strike Ford. He hasn't anything else to do; and he'll fill — you full.” “Oh, I say! what's yer hurry? Hang Ford—I’m at the outs with him. Give me the greatest lot of rot you ever heard. I'll trot along down the street with you. Won't keep you a minute, if youre in such a des- perate rush.” ‘But I tell you, man, I’m ‘going some- where,’ and it’s a business trip; so don’t bother!” ‘*See you in an hour—any place you set!” “1 sha’n’t be free in an hour.” “'Ta-ta, then! Wish you luck. Dan's better than nothing. Hang him! if he gives me guff, I'll get square with him somehow!” The reporter cast a sharp look at the dis- guised Tiger, and then nodded and winked at Farnsworth. He set out with a rush for Dan Ford, while Tiger Dick and Jim Farnsworth made their exit into the street. The door had scarcely closed behind them when, clapping his hand to his pocket, Sam Briton cried: ‘*There I go passes after all! What's the good of a head, if you dont have it about times?” again! Didn’t give him those 4 you at the right And with this bit of philosophy on his lips’ he rushed tective. headlong after the departing de- Le ~"Eomicboo (E (S:C OF Oy eas