Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 389 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

ee ee tic ranchman very dead indeed, three bullets, any one of which woul enough to kill him. ‘* And thar’s whar I buried him,” said the lad as he brought his sad story to a conclusion, pointing at a stake near the edge of the ravine. Ktta Phroop started as she was confronted by this evidence of the presence of her dead father, and her tears began to flow afresh. ‘*Then there can be no doubt of his death,” said she, ‘*If you don’t believe it, mum,” coolly ob- served Chinquapin, *‘ you kin dig ’1m up.” He did not perceive the brutality of this re- mark until the girl burst into tears, and then he hastened to make amends, ‘**Didn’t mean that, miss. Take it back. He’s thar, though, and every word I’ve told you is true as gospill,” ** Nobody doubts you, my friend,” answered Joep Jones, “‘and we are all greatly obliged to ou for what you have told us and shown us, ut you should remember that it is her father who is dead there,” ierced by ‘* Let us get away from this scene of murder,” | said Walter Brandis. ‘‘As George says, the question now is what is to be done, and we had better go back to the shade and talk it over.” When they returned to where they had left the horses it was soon made evident that Jep- tha Jones had fixed and definite ideas of what ous be done, and he proceeded to explain them, **This ranch,” he said to George Throop, ‘‘ be- longs to you and your sister, and a very pretty piece of land it is, one that is bound to be valu- able when the country settles up. Now that you are here, why shouldn’t you stay here?” ** There is no aia to stay,” objected Etta, ‘* You can stop at Gonzalez for a little while, and it won’t take us long to run up a shelter that will do for tho present. As we find time we can improve, and before winter sets in we can have things quite shipshape here.” ‘* But you are forgetting the danger,” suggest- ed Brandis. ‘‘ It won’t do toexpose Miss Throop and her brother to the same peril that their father suffered from.” ‘*The danger is past now, my boy. Uncle Sam runs this province. A company of blue- coats is stationed at Gonzalez now, and the cattle fiends have had orders to leave the ranchers alone. Besides, I’ve got another scheme to offer.” ‘* What is that?” inquired Walter. “If you don’t object, 1 will move my horses and traps over here—those that are left—as the place I was driven todon’t suitme., Iam prom- ised cavital enough, and am going to reorganize my show for another season, That will make quite a little settlement here, and I shall have at least half a dozen good men who can fight in a pinch. Among us we ought to give these young folks a good start on the ranch, and know that the country is bound to settle up.’ “'That’s so, Jcp. The railroad is finished beyond Sandstone now, and I expect to be detailed to run a line out this way before long.” Colonel Double-edge. _in older communities would be styled the dis- have been | orderly element. Nothing was more natural than that the roughs and rowdies, whose numbers of late had considerably increased in Sandstone, should take sides against an official who had been so resolute and constant in the suppression of disorder, and who in the discharge of his duty had been quick ' to shoot down those who resisted him, | ou | | It was agreed that the circus man’s ideas were | good and acceptable, and before the party left the ruins they had decided that Etta should stop at Gonzalez for awhile, and that the men should at once set at work to run up a shelter. ‘* Ne, too,” emphatically observed Chinquapin as ho mounted his burro, CHAPTER XI, SQUEEZED OUT. were settling the question of their immediate fu- ture in the Gonzalez valley, Sandstone was in the whirl of a great excitement, But there was no doubt among Jim Sartine’s supporters that the orderly element in Sandstone would easily outvote the disorderly element, The roughs bad put up as a candidate Mike Hooligan, who kept a saloon which was the ac- knowledged head-quarters of the hard cases. Nothing could have suited Sartine’s friends better than this, as it made the issue so clear and distinct that the friends of order could have no excuse for voting against him. But an unexpected and unwelcome complica- tion arose, Sam Sholes, previously mentioned as the pro- rietor of the **‘ Onward” Saloon, announced 1imself as a candidate for city marshal, He was regarded, as it happened, not only as a highly respectable citizen, but as one of the truest friends of the cause of order. This development was a matter of painful sur- prise to the incumbent and his friends, who held a consultation to consider it and decide what should be done about it, It was settled that Jim Sartine himself, who was on the best of terms with Sam Sholes, should go to him and ask him in a plain and straight- forward.manner what he meant by his move ment. The marshal could find no fault with the man- ner of the saloon-keeper, who was quite as plain and straightforward as he was, Nothing could be more open and above-board than his statement. ‘“* It’s all as clear as day, Jim,” said the new candidate, “1 am workin’ for you, as you ought to know, and am playin’ your game.” ‘* Glad to hear that,” answered Sartine; “ but it is not quite as clear as day. I don’t see how ou are working for me when you have started in to run against me.” ‘“‘That’s jest the p’int, Jim. You don’t seem to look inter things quite as deep as you might ha’ done, and that’s amazin’ to me. As you wouldn’t look out for yourself, I’ve been lookin’ out for you.” ‘** Kind of you, Sammy; but I don’t seem to catch on.” “You know that Mike Hooligan is runnin’ aginst you.” ‘Yes, and now you have jumped in.” ‘*But why?” ‘“*That’s the question.” ‘“* The answer’s easy. If you had looked into things, Jim, as ae i as you ought, you'd ha’ found out tLat Hoo gan is pickin’ up lots o’ votes, and that he is likely to make a closer run ag’inst you than you think. Heis a dangerous customer, Jim, for a fact. As soon as I saw how things was goin’, my game was plain, and I came out as a candidate, to make sure of beatin’ Hool- igan, TI’}l be likely to take a heap of votes from him, without drawin’ one away from you. See?” The candidate did see, and he thanked Sam Sholes for his friendly move. “Youre quite welcome,” said Sholes, ‘ and between Hooligan and me you'll slide into the office as easy as rollin’ off a log.” Jim Sartine promptly reported this explana- tion to his counselors, who were also satisfied that the friendship of Sam Sholes was to be de- ; | pended on. Vurie the Throop orphans and their friends | | | The stir was caused by the approaching elec- | tion for city marshal. 1t is safe to say that a Presidential election woull not have agitated the Sandstoners near as much as this; for the man who was to ‘‘ run the town” was more important in their eyes than all other earthly authorities, _ The question of an election had been sprung upon them somewhat unexpectedly. There had been some talk of a doubt as to the time wken Jim Sartine’s term would legally end; but the public did not give the matter much thought until it was decisively settled. Some of the city authorities who were secretly or openly cpposed to the’ reigning favorite bad obtained a decision from a court of competent iurisdiction to the effect that an election must e ordered for the first Tuesday in September, and it was ordered accordingly. So the contest went an to the end without more excitement than might be expected, and with few collisions and casualties. On election day the friends of law and order— meaning the friends of Jim Sartine—armed | themselves and guarded the eae: for the expres- 1e sed purpose of preventing t from playing ‘‘ roots” on them. As everybody was armed and cn Hooligan crowd guard against everybody else, there was. nothing | _and they did not gather abou peculiar in this precaution. It proved to be, however, entirely unneces- sary. There was never a quieter election in Sand- stone, and a more docile and demure set of men than the Hooligan crowd could not have been discovered at that place and time. They were unusually and unexpectedly sober, the polls in bodies; but they peaceably slipped in their un- obtrusive ballots and went their several ways without making any trouble for anybody. Such a state of things was so wonderful and Jim Sartine and his friends senerally took this unheard-of that it might well have aroused the change in good part, though they were not spar- | suspicion that mischief was brewing somewhere ing in criticism of the men who had brought it about. They believed thatgheir favorite would be tri- umphantly if not alnfést unanimously re-elected, and considered the contest for the office a mere matter of form. Jt was true thot there was an opposition which ‘became daily and hourly stronger and more de- cided; but it was supposed to be such an opposi- tion as would be easily overcome, } on the sly. Bat it only begot in the minds of Jim Sartine -and his friends the belief that the rcughs and rounders recognized the uselessness of making a fight, and that Hooligan had practically aban- doned the contest. It was not until the day was more than half over that the Sartine side #woke to a sense of the new danger that threatened them. It leaked out in one way and another that ‘ This opposition was largely composed of what Sam Sholes was polling an unexpectedly large srr nn nnn nn Ts wD 9 vote, while Mike Hooligan was scarcely running at all. This development nearly paralyzed the law and order men, and it was natural that they ‘should suspect trea@hery. Some of them hastened to hunt = Sam Sholes, who had not been seen near the polls during the sae 8 . But he was not to be found. He had gone out of town on private business, it was said, and was taking no personal interest in the election. One of his intimate friends expressed the opinion that some of the demoralized Hooligan men were voting for him out of spite, but their spite work would probably amount to nothing, as Jim Sartine might be expected to have a walk over. But Sartine and bis friends had become un- easy, and they hastened to rally their forces and bring up the stragglers before the end of the battle. The result proved that their apprehensions had been well founded, as the count showed that Sam Sholes had been elected City Marshal of Sandstone, not by a heavy majority, but by one that was too big to be questioned. He had polled almost the entire Hooligan vote, and had drawn enough from Sartine’s support- ers to carry him in. There was scarcely a doubt in the minds of the vanquished party that the election was a ‘skin game,” a Saat case of bargain and sale, and that Sam Sholes had been elected in the Hooligan interest according to a pre-arranged scheme that had worked to a charm. But there wes nothing to be done about it, and not even the satisfaction of ree or killing somebody could reasonably be had, Sam Sholes professed to be unutterably aston- ished at the result, and the Hcoligan faction oa very quiet. hey carefully refrained from any public de- monstration of rejoicing, as it might lead to a row. They were well aware of the fact that Jim . Sartine was still in power, and that he and his friends would delight in making it hot for his opponents upon the slightest provocation, ut no provocation was offered, and it was generally remarked among the Sandstoners that they had never known an election so like a funeral, except that there was a lamentable lac)x of ‘eed oi As for Jim Sartine, so unexpectedly squeezed out of his position, a new Othello with his *‘ oc- cupation gone,” he declared his intention of getting away from Sandstone as soon as his term should expire. “I know where I can get good pay for guard- ing mines,” said he, ‘‘and that is what I shall catch onto for a while, anyhow.” His many friends gave him a good send-off when he left Sandstone, assuring him that they would welcome him and care for him whenever he chose to return, CHAPTER XII. . DANCING TO ORDER. THE little party of four friends in the Gonzalez valley had been hurrying forward their affair ata lively rate, Jeptha Jones proved to be a man of infinite energy, a considerable portion of which he in- fused into his associates, who were surprised at the rapidity with which they made the work progress. The circus man, too, exhibited such fertility of resource and contrivance that he easily took the lead in all matters relating to the restora- tion of the ranch, and even Walter Brandis civil engineer as he was, gracefully yielded the control of the work to his friend. Jep was aided in this by four good men, his own employees, who were old! circus hands and necessarily Jacks at all trades. } In a very short time a sufficient hause had been run up, with a fow outbuildings, and dep had brought back to the valley the remainder of his circus stock and ‘* traps” which he had pre- Ny Sarg been obliged to remove to a safer loce- ion. Thus the ranch became quite a settlement, and presented a busy scene, to which the pres- ence of Etta Throop added an element of beauty and brightness that was higbly appreciated by every member of the party. Chinquapin, who persisted in attaching him- self to his new friends, and who was one of the most ardent admirers of Etta, had already ren- dered valuable services to the Throops. Since the death of Tom Throop te had kept track of the scattered sheep, and when the ranch was re-established he hunted them upand bought back a considerable portion of them, which wes a saving of no small consequence. Having done his share of providing for bis friends at least a temporary abiding place, Jep Jones proceeded to attend to his own affairs. He had enlisted a capitalist in his enterprise, who was to supply him with money for refitting and reorganizing the circus, and on that score he had nothing to trouble him. But it would be necessary to procure fresh “attractions” and new “talent,” which must be purchased or engaged in time, and for this Cc Gomicsooks