Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 383 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

ee ee 24 ‘‘just keep out o’ sight. you can lay out anywhere in the hills quite comfortable, and you may take what grub you want and somethin’ to cook with. But you mus’n’t come nigh the house for a day or two. Kinder scout around, out 0 sight, | and when you see some 0’ my togs hangin’ up on a pole, then you can come a-kitin’. » Muggs protested that he could sleep on the ground as well as anywhere, that she needn’t bother about his grub, and that he was happy only when he was obeying her orders. After giving her instructions, she mut- tered something that was audible to ‘‘ Beau- t Ms “Tf he don’t come as he promised, and don’t settle it right up, there'll be trouble in the family.” ‘ie ‘To Muggs his demission was the occasion rhe of much inward joy. it It was just what he wanted, giving him two points which he had greatly desired to . rain. ; He learned that the expected time was approaching, and just when it would ar- rive, As a matter of course, one of the ‘‘ gentle- I men from Butte” must be Andrew Birkett, Ay and it might be possible for a sharp fellow bj with good eyes and ears to find out why ei came there and what he did there, | In the second place, it would give Muggs something better than an excuse for absent- i ing himself from the cabin during Andrew | ‘\ oe Birkett’s stay there. I; The gentleman from Butte wowd be sure to recognize him if he should see him, and | that could not fail to make trouble. ~ | } t devise a scheme for getting out of the scrape ——— had not been able to hit upon anything that iH scemed to suit the case, i Now Bet Rawson had kindly cleared the way for him, making everything easy. wv It was no wonder that he adored her, and ht, was thankful he kad not been tempted to Ve ill-use her, - g He could feel sure, too, as she was anxious | ht that his presence should not be known, that she would give Birkett no description of him. ih These complications being so satisfactorily | i settled, he hastened to make such arrange- — o. upon the gentleman from Butte and his companions, whoever they might be. @ Taking advantage of one of Bet Rawson’s ' abdsences, he fashioned what may be styled a_ peep-hole for the purpose of outside obser- vation. He skillfully removed a piece of a log from Beat end of the cabin, and carefully replaced + it, leaving it so that ‘he could remove it from (3 the bateide when he wished to do so. ; Then he arranged on the outside, adjoin- _ ing his peep-hole, a cover with a lot of old _ boards and rubbish, making it so that the stuff seemed to have been thrown together | carelessly, but at the same time leaving in the _ pile a hole where he could lie perdu, and . take note of what was going on within. mA, § The next morning, in obedience to the in- _. structions of Bet Rawson, he left the cabin, _. promising that he would keep out of sight , until ape should hoist her signal. 2 He did not say that he would keep away from the cabin; but he fully intended to .. make good his assurance that he would keep out of sight. It was highly important that he should do 89. He first went to the secret glen where he i had established his corral, to see how his { pony was getting on. He found that steed of the Piegan strain _ still there, in good condition, and evidently ' glad to see him. Then he concealed himself within sight of the cabin, and where he could watch the i) trail which he had followed when he came from Butte. He had a long wait; but he was apparent- ote y ossessed of unlimited patience. Kront the middle of the afternoon he was rewarded by the sight of two men, who —"s ® SS Se OS aE a _—— ——- = = ‘ >» sa P FA a Oa Se horses were fatigued by a long journey. ~~ both of them. ) | One was Andrew Birkett, and the other In this weather He had racked his brain with trying to | in the event of Birkett” s sudden arrival, but | ments as would enable him to act as a spy | came riding slowly up the traii, as if their | From his hiding-place he easily recognized — was Alf Sanders, a man of somewhat smoky | as I struck the trail again it told me that “jus Keep out o' sight. In this weather | was Alf Sanders, a man of somen reputation, who officiated as a justice of the peace at Butte. They were talking together earnestly, but Muggs was not near enough to hear what was said. | He saw them cross the valley and head for | the cabin, | for them, and watched them until they had hitched their horses and gone in. Then he followed them—not exactly fol- lowed, but went there, too. For his own sake, he was mindful of his promise to keep out of sight, and did not in- tend to allow the centlemen from Butte to catch a glimpse of him. Therefore he made a circuit by which he reached the other side of the valley, and made his way along the base of the moun- tain under cover of the rocks and trees and undergrowth, to the cabin, striking it on the side where he had established his hiding- place. In this advance there was the risk to run that some person might come out of the cabin and use his eyes a little too well; but Muggs guarded against that danger as care- fully as possible, and the intervals during which he might have been visible were few and very brief, He crept into his hiding-place, and pulled a piece of board over the hole at which he _ had entered, thus making his cover complete. Then he cautiously removed the bit of log which he had arranged for that purpose, | leaving a hole through which he could hear and ps urtly see what was going on within. His chances for hearing were good enough, | but his ability to see was marred by the dim light of the interior of the cabin, and by the necessity of keeping his peep: hole so small that it would not be noticed from within, He saw the two men from Butte seated _ there, and saw Bet Rawson preparing food and drink for them. No doubt she would have been glad of the help of her handy man just then, so that she might have been free to let her tongue run, and to sit and listen to what was said by the others. | But she found time enough to ask many | questions concerning what was going on in the world as represented by that region, and it was plain that her consuming desire for news was only partially satisfied by the cau- tious answers of Andrew Birkett. | Some of the subjects that were touched upon were discussed in a low tone, Birkett occasionally holding up his fizger and point- ing at the partition, as if anxious that the oc- cupant of that room should not hear what was said. The gentleman from Butte, however, was seated near the peep-hole, and most of his | words were easily absorbed by the eager ears of a bigs | Bet Rawson told with much glee the story of Sam Slevin’s visit to the cabin, his _ inquisitive ways, and the able style in which she had treated him as a mob and dispersed him She did not know the name of the intrusive stranger, but described him accurately, and suggested that from her description Birkett might be able to recognize him. As it happened, he did not need the de- scription to enable him to ‘‘spot” the in- truder. “T know that scamp well enough,” he said. ‘‘Indeed, I know him a durned sight too well. He has got a hint of the scheme I am working, and is the one man I must watch and guard against. Though I left Butte secretly, he was on my track, and followed me out here. You did a ood thing, Bet, when you drove him off, though it would have been better if you had put a bullet through his head and made an end of him.” ‘‘T hain’t got into the business yet, Andrew Birkett, of shootin’ men down in cold blood; but you may bet your sweet life that he didn’t ‘find out anythin’ here, and never will.” ‘Good girl! I know that I can depend on you for that. Has anybody else been around here since that time?” ‘* Not a soul,” she answered, lying prompt- ly and without a blush. Perhaps she did not consider ‘‘ Beauty ” anybody, or that he possessed a soul. sie er ed on him,” resumed Andrew Birkett, *‘ shortly after I left you. Assoon | i ee re ere EL LLL LL where Bet Rawson was waiting | — -_—_ somebody had been following me, and I at once suspected that same scalawag, §So I stopped on the way and laid for him, mean- ing to give him a lesson that would cure him of meddling forever and amen. | had as fair a shot at him as I could ever ask to have, and drew agood bead; but luck was against me, and I only killed his horse. I had the satisfaction of knowing, though, that 1 had set him afoot, and that he w ould have a tough tramp getting back to Butte.’ “Didn't he | co for you when he got there?” inquired Bet Raw sOllg ‘*Not a bit of it chances; but I judge that he is too much of a sneak to try to get even with me that way. All I need to do is to keep him off my trail, and that’s why I waited until I knew that he was far away before I started to come out. here.” “Tam glad you didn’t kill him, Andy. I don’t like that sort of thing.” ‘‘That’s my business, old girl. If I seea good chance to take his head off, I'll try it. again.’ CHAPTER XXXIV. A 8PY AND A SNEAK THIEF, Tue work of spying proved to be tedious business for Muggs, and not a little painful as well as tiresome. He found himself in a cramped position in his hiding-place, and the necessities of the situation were such that he could scarcely stir sufficiently to relieve his stiffened lim :bs and aching joints. But he was as tough as he was ugly, and the delight of the discoveries he had made and expected to make more than compen- sated him for his physical miseries To be sure he had as yet learne d little that he had not already known; but some of the conversation that he caught had given him hints of further revelation which he anxious- ly awaited. Therefore he was willing to suffer and be patient, in the hope of getting a valuable report for Sam Slevin, for whom he would at any time willingly have periled his life. His waiting became quite wearisome be- fore anything further of interest occurred, and then it was not a matter of much con- sequence. It seemed that the occupant of the closed- off apartment became impatient of confine- ment or anxious to know what was going on, as there was a knocking on the door o the partition which Muggs heard plainly. Bet Rawson went in there, but stayed only a few minutes. ‘‘T have told her that you are here, Andy, and she wants to see you,” the woman said when she came out. Andrew Birkett went behind the partition, and remained there fully half an hour. In the mean time Bet Rawson and Alf Sanders talked of matters that were not in- teresting to Muggs. ‘You were in there with her a long time,” she said, when the prominent citizen of Butte at last came out. ‘Don’t be a jealous fool, Bet,” sharply re- plied Birkett, ‘‘ If you ever have any cause for jealousy, it has nothing to do with this place and that woman. This 1s business and nothing but business, and I am glad to be able to tell you that it will soon be settled. She is going to sign the power of attorney, and Alf Sanders will fix it up to fit the law, and then I will have all | want out of her A Whe will she do it, Andy?” ‘‘Pretty soon. There is no hur will have supper first, and you ha start to getting it.” Bet Rawson set about this work with alacrity, and soon had her supper smoking on the table. A lamp was lighted, and a portion of the meal was taken in behind the partition. The sight and smell of the food filled Muges with longing: and increased his in- ternal misery, as he had had ‘nothing to eat since nforning. But be partially satisfied the cravings of his appetite by gnawing some scraps which he had brought away from the cabin, and patiently awaited the next scene in the drama. When supper was over the two men smoked We ‘better I gave him plenty of JOO eom (E Su