Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 383 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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ae p= a rs oe ee a } —- a FL ‘tion with his aspect and attitude of deep /humility. He had well rehearsed the part he meant to play, and now he proceeded to tell the story which he had concocted for the purpose of this encounter, He had intended to make it a brief though moving tale; but the shrewd questioning of Bet Rawson, accompanied by a Jook that seemed to read his inmost thoughts, com- pelled him to stretch it out and to put in many details that had not been in the original plan of the narration. But he was equal to the occasion, and suc- ceeded in giving her a plausible though rather intricate story, without tangling him- self up, and without any contradictions that she could get hold of. He told how he happened to be alone ir the wilderness, and had there fallen among thieves, like the man who went down from Jericho, and had found no good Samaritan to assist him in his sore extremity. They had robbed him of his horse, his ‘arms and ammunition, his little bit of money, and of all he had about him except a few segments of hard-tack in his coat pocket, with which he had been able to sus- tain life until he had come in sight of that cabin, where he had ventured to apply for food and help. It was a pitiful story, pitifully told by a pitiful object, and the looks and tones of the object went far to confirm the truth of his tale. ‘And, indeed, mum,” said Muggs, at the conclusion of his narrative, ‘‘ef thar’s any work to be done about the place, you won't lose nothin’ by takin’ me in an’ givin’ me a bit to gat an’ mebbe a place to sleep; for ma food hand with an ax, and always ready to do anythin’ in the way of hard work.” Bet Rawson asked him a few questions concerning his previous employments, his destination at the time of the robbery, and other matters, all of which were answered to her satisfaction. Then she looked him over and sized him up again, and scratched her head. Scratching her head was a visible admis- sion of the fact that she was in a quandary, and Muggs took advantage of her indecision to press his suit again and to beg for help yet more pitifully than before. ‘‘Tll have to starve, mum,” he said, ‘‘if I don’t git holt o’ suthin’ to eat, and the good Lord knows that I’m more’n willin’ to work for my livin.” — Bet Rawson soon made up her mind to take this stranger in and care for him. She need not drive him away as she had done to Sam Slevin, because there was ob- viously nothing about him, in her view of the case, that she need be afraid of. Not that she had been afraid of Silver Sam —she would have smiled at the thought. But she had a plain and reasonable sus- picion concerning that young man that he might be a spy. He had followed so closely upon the tracks of Andrew Birkett, and his style and ques- tions had been such, coupled with his men- tion of the name of Margaret Tellson, that she believed him to have come there for the purpose of defeating Birkett’s plans in rela- tion to the money which she was to share. Therefore she had routed him and scouted him and sent him off with the biggest kind of a flea in his ear, But she could have no such suspicion con- cerning such a pitiable object as Muggs. He was clearly a waif and a stray, a poor devil who had been sadly misused, and who did not seem to have wit enough to spy out anything for anybody. Besides, he was @ man, though a very ugly one, and as such he might be useful to her—perhaps as a sort of compound of man and dog. . That was the notion she had of him just then, and it would have surprised her great] if she could have known how widely he dif- fered from that notion. She had not had a man to do a stroke of work for her since Josh Cattermole kindly replenished her woodpile. She had not forgotten how grateful she had been for that help, and the days were getting to be so warm that wood-chopping must be more than ever unpleasant to her, and there were many odds and ends of work Silver Sam, Detective. | at that season which she would be glad to have done for her. Therefore she had compassion on Muggs of Muggsville, and was quite willing to give him a lift. ‘Seems like you’ve had hard luck,” said she, ‘‘and it’s apt to get harder if somebody don’t look after you. What’s your name?” ‘Simon Peter,” answered Muggs, who had invented that name with some difficulty. ‘Queer name, that; but it’s a good Scrip- tur’ name, and I reckon your're all right. How long since was you in Butte?” ‘*‘Never been in Butte in all my born days,” lied Muggs. ‘*Come in, then, and grub up, and I'll see if I can find somethin’ for you to do,” Muggs gladly but humbly accepted the in- vitation. When he followed her into the cabin he took in almost at a glance every detail of the interior, including the partition that evi- dently cut off another room from the main apartment, Bet Rawson sect out some provisions, showed him the cooking utensils, and told him to prepare a dinner for himself, Muges went to work at once, and she seated herself in a chair and watched him. She could not help admiring the handiness and at the same time the neatness with which he did this work. No woman, however well-trained and ac- customed to the labor, could have cooked a meal more deftly and quickly. Bet Rawson sighed softly, but her sigh was evidently one of satisfaction at the thought that she had secured a treasure. ‘‘T ain’t sure but you can beat a China- man,” she said. ‘‘ Now let me see you eat.” Muggs was ready for this ordeal, and was prepared to prove by his voracity the truth of his assertion that he was nearly starved to death. He had deprived himself of breakfast that morning, and his unwonted tongue exercise had stimulated his appetite, which was usually something enormous. He stowed away the food so rapidly and ravenously that Bet Rawson, doubtless fear- ing that he would breed a famine in the cab- in, was fain to call a halt. ‘Better quit before you bu’st,” was her rather impolite way of putting it. Muggs quit. As a matter of fact he was glad to quit, as he was incapable of stuffing any more. Bet Rawson was so well satisfied with his performance that she brought out an old pipe and some tobacco, and invited him tosmoke, as if realizing the fact that he was not equal to any further bodily exertion just then. As he smoked she talked to him, and with her talk she mingled some more shrewd and searching questions. But Muggs was then thoroughly master of himself iy of the situation, and his replies were so plausible and plain that her fancy for him grew stronger. No doubt it would be a good thing to have a man in the house, especially such a handy man, and it would be a great relief to her to talk to him, in spite of his quite inexcusable ugliness. ‘That name of yours is a queer one,” she observed, ‘‘and it’s ’most too much of a Scriptur’ name to suit me. So, if you don't object, I will call you Beauty.” After he had enjoyed his smoke she gave him an ax and sent him out to cut fire-wood, while she seated herself in the shade and con- gratulated herself on her acquisition. She soon had better reason to congratulate herself, and Robinson Crusoe could not have been more rejoiced at finding his man Friday than was Bet Rawson by the discovery of her ‘* Beauty.” He was such a wonderful compound of man, dog and woman—as strong as any man need to be, as faithful and humble as a dog, and as neat and handy as a woman, In addition to his outdoor avocations, in which he was very useful, he took all the housework off her hands, and she was obliged to admit that she could not have oa it more thoroughly or more deftly her- self, Though his appetite was enormous he brought in game enough to more than pay for his board, and he could coil up and sleep ina corner of the room, and was never in the way. ' J 47 ee ee EEE EO EEO tL LL LL 23 It was wonderful, too, how interesting he proved to be, in spite of his ugliness. Although uneducated, and evidently unac- customed to anything that could be called society, he had a plentiful store of out-of-the- way knowledge—mainly relating to trees and plants and birds and beasts—in which Bet Rawson took such an interest as sur- prised herself, and it astonished her to dis cover what an entertaining companion shé had secured. Muggs of Mugegsville, while thus makin his footing good at Bet Rawson’s cabin, di not fail to keep an eye out for business, In fact, he noted with both his eyes and his two ears all that was done and said, especially keeping a close watch over the partition that concealed the mystery which he desired to penetrate. He did not betray the least inquisitiveness, however, but waited patiently for affairs to develop, and for the tongue of a woman to . do its perfect work. It was of course soon made manifest to him that there was a woman in there, and that her name was Maggie—at least, that was the name Bet Rawson gave her. This was more than Slevin had been able to learn, and Muggs, who had the inside track of the establishment, did not doubt that he would easily pick up more informa- tion. But Bet Rawson did not feel disposed to give him any points of value, merely men- tioning the matter carelessly when it was evident that he was aware of the presence of another person in the cabin. ‘‘Only a poor woman,” she said, ‘‘sick, and scarcely half-witted, who has to be watched and attended to.” CHAPTER XXXIITI. THE TIME AND THE MAN, . Ir would have been easy for ‘‘ Beauty,” situated as he was, to force a solution of the mystery by ‘‘main strength and awkward- ness’’—to conquer Bet Rawson, bind her, break open the door of the partition, and see © for himself who and what was inside, But he would have been quite unwilling to personally injure the woman who had been so kind to him, and who esteemed his good qnalities so highly. . Nor would he as far as he could see, fur- ther his designs by resorting to brute force. It was quite likely that Bet Rawson's statement was true, and that the woman be- hind the partition was some poor invalid with whom neither Sam Slevin nor Andrew Birkett had anything to do. * Besides, he had not been instructed by Sam to go to work in that fashion, but mere- ly to wait and watch. lt was not Bet Rawson whom he was to conquer or confound, but Andrew Birkett, and Slevin had assured him that if his sus- picions concerning the woman in the cabin were true, the prominent citizen of Butte would be sure to make his way out there be-_ | fore long. ey They, if ever, the time would come for playing a bold and aggressive part, é Muggs shortly began to perceive what he took to be indications of the approach of © that time. eee Bet Rawson began to grow more restless and uneasy than ever, straying awayfrom =” the cabin more frequently, often glancing at a calendar that hung on the wall, and occa- sionally muttering indistinct allusions to some coming evenf. te, At last, after her handy man had been there nearly a week, she made an important — Feng! communication to him, ee Fe ‘You'll have to clear out of this, Beauty,” was her remark. 1p eG Muggs put up such a piteous face that she softened toward him at once. ae at ‘‘Only for a little while,” she said,and went on to explain the reason of her edict of banishment. ‘pa ‘‘T am expecting some friends here to- eis. morrow—some gentlemen from Butte—and I won't want them to see you about the “ fee place. They will have some business to attend to which you don’t need to mix up yi Pie { with. So you will have to clear out fora | bit.” ve) The knobs on her retainer’s face glistened, _ *| to show how glad he was that he was to be sent away only for a while. 9 “You needn’t go far,” she continued— | Pcomicbooks:ce