Beadle's Dime Library No. 392 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

' Dr i's", 7 af f - nd » . \ . eS ' i} - pi f i" ) a : TAs eh Baia y \ a hy +* a + | * i re ia i 2 = : at , ~ BS. . ee te ae A ae ee "A Vers!» \ > - & one ee ‘ “2 - ; e al ; \ es. - . a5 ee a 8. ‘ - * “j i oe 4 ¥ , * Pw a A - : Z be ¥e ef ‘ * - d 7 tas he 7 * ah - 7 that it came from an yt we ~ Ss rd - didn’t como back to with a smile. ts + a - a 10 **Tf he has a chance for life, by glory! he shall keep it.” Impulse, hightened by a flash of the eye drove Ruby Rob forward. He did not want the spark of life fanned into a substantial flame. Colorado Carlos knew the secret of the portrait, he had read the boot-con- cealed letter of the Silent Hound, therefore better _ for Ruby Rob that he were dead. Pious Phil was going to do all in his power to increase the Ishmaelite’s chances for life, and if he should succeed the hand of Colorado Carlos would yet lay a bold game against the scheme for the onanza of the Golden State. It was time for Ruby Rob to act. ‘* Now or never!” he thought, as he started to- ward the lean Alcalde of Trigger Bar. ‘*See here. If you knew why that man was shot, you wouldn’t talk about helping him along,” he said. Pious Phil wheeled about in an instant. **' Why war he shot?” he asked. ** Por cause,” was the reply. ‘It is a just case of blood for blood. Colorado Carlos in unpro- voked murder killed the brother of the man who shot him.” Pious Phil drew back a step. ‘Ts that solid?” he said, looking Ruby Rob in the eye. ‘*Tt is. You believe in the unwritten law of the West, Pious Phil?” _ * T always did thet.” ** This is a case of it.” The next moment there came a sound that startled both men. ** That man lies!” said a human voice. Instinctively, Ruby Rob and Pious Phil looked at the prostrate sport. The lips to all appear- ance had not moved, but the eyes had turned and were fastened on the Satanscrown rough. ‘“He said that, didn’t he?’ said Pious Phil, ~ looking at Captain Rob. “Tf he did, he will never repeat it!” was the flashing response, and the speaker went forward with the ire of a fury. ‘Not thet way!” and Ruby Rob was halted by the skeleton hand of the lean alealde. ‘If that man lives you shall meet him on equal ounds. He ain’t yer equal now, an’ he sha’n’t killed in my shanty. Give him a chance,” *““T'd sooner give the devil one!” cried the ~ Satanscrown sport. ‘* A chance Colorado Carlos shall hev’, be he devil or saint! I am master hyer, as you ar’ said ter bé in Satanscrown.” The two men were looking into each other’s faces; Pious Phil was giving the desperado of the South glance for glance. ‘““Give him the chance, then,” suddenly said Raby Rob. ‘ Try all your skill on the mountain Ishmaelite, and fetch him through if you can. [ sha’n’t interfere. Isu pose he knows who gave him the bullet he got to-night. If it should have escaped his memory, when he comes to, tell him Topaz Tom, and that behind the shooter are the banded Jewels of Satans- crown!” . Captain Rob threw another fierce look at Colorado Carlos and stepped back. The eyes of the mountain Ishmaelite were still upon him, “Tl tell him every word!” said Pious Phil, but Ruby Rob was already gone. CHAPTER XI. THE MAN DANGEROUS AGAIN. Tr was the third night after the somewhat thrilling events just narrated, when a man drop- a from a saddle in Satanscrown and lifted the _ latch of a cabin that stood before him. As he step inside he was greeted by an ex- clamation of surprise in a woman’s voice, and Nugget Nell confronted him. ‘Did you find the trail of the Golden Gate heiress?” asked the woman. _ *T found it and lost it,” growled the man, who was Ruby Rob, ‘ The girl was at Trigger Bar sure enough.” “* Kate Lossing?” ‘* Yes, the heiress of the Golden Gate.” **But you haven’t maven up the chase? You tell me this?” The camp Cleopatra was excited. ‘*The boys are on the scent. I left them at - work—Topaz Tom, Agate Alf, Jasper John and Onyx Oll. Iam confident that the girl left Trigger Bar the night we got thar; that she went off with a young miner called Idaho an. ‘“ What! were you so near?” cried Nugget Nell. ‘“ Within reach, almost,” said Captain Rob, ‘*We met Colorado Carlos at Trigger Bar, and Topaz shot him.” ‘And you got the picture and the docu- ment?” , ‘*No. A man known as Pious Phil played an _ unexpected game, and prevented. It makes no particular difference, though. What has hap- pened here?” ‘A good deal,” said Nugget Nell, and her mind went back to the occurrences that were still fresh there. “In the first place, Cuban Con made a forced sale to a man who is more dangerous than Colorado Carlos was.” AV bo is he?” The woman laid her hand on Ruby Rob’s The Lost Bonanza. —— and leaning forward, looked up into his ace. ‘* Colonel Tarantula,” she said, in a voice that was full of fear and hate. rr Rob started visibly. _ “That man? Why he is your—” “There, don’t finish!” interrupted the woman, growing suddenly white. ‘* Yes, that man is ere; he came the night you left; he made Cu- ban Con take a thousand dollars for his ranch; he got the drop on Diamond Dave, and still holds the fort.” For a moment the Satanscrown boss did not speak. Nugget Nell’s revelations seemed to have taken his breath. ‘* What new phase of the game is this?” he said at last and suddenly. “Heaven knows. When I thought myself free, he turns up. Iam confident that he is on the hunt of the Golden Gate heiress. I am also morally certain that he killed the Silent Hound.” ‘That man?” ** Colonel Tarantula!” ‘* Where is Diamond Dave?” ‘*T haven’t seen him for a whole day. When Colonel Tarantula first came, Diamond Dave was going to kill him on sight; he went to the saloon with that intention, but the man from Texas has completely cowed him. Diamond ave, wherever he is to-night, is the veriest coward that walks the earth. He wouldn’t face the colonel for his share of the bonanza, cash in his hand.” ‘*There must be something eh ar persuasive in this man,” said Ruby Rob. ‘I have never seen him. All I know about him you have told me. What has become of Cuban Con?” ‘* He left camp last night.” ‘Frightened off by the Texan?” asked Ruby Rob between his teeth. **T think so.” ‘* Has he disturbed you since he came?” ‘* Tie was here once,” “Well?” “Tt was the night you went away.” ‘* He recognized you?” ‘*Yes.” “What did he say?” “The interview was brief. He went from here to Cuban Con’s cabin and bought the saloon.” ‘Well, that is not enough,” said Captain Rob. “‘T want to know what Colonel Tarantula said to you. Did he make any threats? The Colorado Cleopatra hesitated, but the dark eyes of the Satanscrown boss were upon her. ‘Tell me the truth,” they said. ‘‘ He made one threat,” she confessed, in tones scarcely audible. ‘“ What was it?” ‘‘He threatened to drag me to San Fran- cisco.” “Por what?” Ruby Rob saw the woman’s lips close firmly behind the last sentence. ** Go on, Nell.” **Not for you or any living man!” she cried. ‘*T have a secret which you shall never hear from my lips. I would sooner go to San Fran- cisco than tell it toeyou.” ‘** You committed some crime there,” he said, | coldly. ‘‘ Before I found you, you did it. I never did think you the most innocent woman in the world. Iam notdeceived. Do you know what lam going to do? I intend to make this Colonel Tarantula tell me what you did there!” ‘Anything but that,” she cried, suddenly clutching his arm, but he shook her off and stepped back, ‘*T ought to do it, anyhow,” he said in a softer tone. ‘‘ However, [ won’t, Nell. You can keep your secret for all I care; but I've given you a good scare.” The woman looked thankful, like a person who is jerked back from the verge of a preci- ice. ee I am going to show the foreigner that I run this camp,” he went on. ‘That means Colonel Tarantula,” said Nug- gev Nell taking breath. ‘** Tt means him!” Ruby Rob did not question the woman much longer. He seemed anxious to cross weapons with this man who had installed himself as a citizen of Satanscrown with an effrontery that was astonishing. Nugget Nell put no bar upon his departure, and her breath of relief was taken when once more she found herself the only tenant of the hut. Captain Rob went to a cabin which belonged to the man he had left in charge of the camp, and entered without on, A lamp which had almost exhausted its oil was burning on the table and near it lay a piece of paper which the sport picked up an as follows: ; “To CapTaIn Ros:—I am going away never to come back. Iam almost certain that I know where my long-lost brother Gideon is, and it is my duty to gotohim., You can get somebody in my place. I ‘solemnly declare that the presence of Colonel Tar- antula has nothing to do with my going. I ho the hand you hold will win the stakes; give my su stitute my share. Good-by. DIAMOND Dave.” F . ' - , . = * t i] i" i : ¥ f A oth ie eo . et? 27 q ee ke Ee 4 ts ‘ a ——E _ = —EE LEE ae EE a ne cainsedied A smile stole over Ruby Rob’s face when he reached the end of this letter. ‘*From what Nugget Nell says about you, Diamond Dave, this letter is a confession of cowardice,” he said. ‘I'll just keep this fare- well and some day I may have the pleasure of shooting it into your teeth. It must be a won- derful man who can cow you, for I never saw a cowardly sign in you, Diamond.” He thrust the letter into a pocket, blew out the light, and left the cabin. Overhead a lot of fleecy clouds were skurry- ing across the silver disk of the moon, and a light wind that was warm and pleasant came from the west, blowing over the little cemetery on the mountain-side to which the tongueless man had lately been added, From where Ruby Rcb stood he could see the open door of the place until lately kept by Cuban Con, and when he knew that he Fe find Colonel Tarantula there a fierce light sud- denly lit up his eyes. Before he moved he drew his revolvers and assured himself that the steel chambers were filled. Then he took a step toward the moun- tain saloon, but stopped and hesitated. ** Ts it policy to go there and provoke a quar- rel with this man whom I have never met?’ he asked himself. ‘* Merely to resent the threat he made to Nugget Nell, no; to show him that if he is hunting the heiress of the Golden Gate he must be careful how he plays his hand, yes!” Captain Rob went toward the saloon again. There was something striking about the pic- ture of the long-haired, big-hatted sport walk- ing toward the scene of Satanscrown’s most memorable affrays. More than one-half of the occupants of the mountain cemetery had been carried from Cuban Con's, ready tor the long rest which no pistol-shot disturbs. A strange curiosity possessed Ruby Rob. He was eager to see the man who had forced Cuban Con to sell out a lucrative business, and who had transformed Diamond Dave into a coward. He did not halt until he was almost at the threshold of the saloon. Whan within six feet of the door he caught sight of a man behind the counter, and as if a thunderbolt had dropped before him he stopped and drew back. **Can it be?” he exclaimed. ‘Is that theman called Colonel Tarantula? I told Nugget Nell that I had never seen him, but I know that fel- low. A man with only one name in this part of the world is nobody at all. The last time I saw that man was the night he broke the Mexican faro-bank in Taos, and walked off with ten thou- sand. He wasn’t called Colonel Tarantula then. He was Major Mossback, but he’s changed his name and advanced to a higher military title. He has forgotten me, of course. I played against him that night and helped to lay the plans that made him a pauper before he got out of town. [ didn’t expect to meet him here, and with a hand in the game for the million bonanza. Going to send Nell to Frisco, eh? We'll see about that, colonel!” The next moment Ruby Rob was at the thres- hold of the trap, and the one following he was inside. The bar at that moment was deserted, but the little card-tables were filled. Colonel Tarantula had turned his back to the counter and was lighting a cigar. : Captain Rob walked straight to the bar and threw his finger up to enjoin silence on the men who had discovered him, then he leaned forward with a Satanic grin on his countenance and said derisively : ‘*Tll take whisky cold, colonel.” The strangeness of the voice that spoke these words had an instant effect. Colonel Tarantula wheeled in the droop of an eyelash and the eyes of the twomen met. The smile was still at Captain Rob’s mouth. *“*T am Ruby Kob, colonel,” he continued. ‘** And if you have no objection, I'll drink to the success of the new citizen of Satanscrown which is yourself,” ‘Certainly. Excuse me, I did not know you were Ruby Rob. You were not here when I too eo Have you a favorite bottle, cap- in? The nonchalance of the man was remarkable. While Ruby Rob’s sudden appearance no doubt startled him, he was now not in the least ex- cited. 3 ‘‘He does not know me as one of the players of the Taos game,” said Rob to himself. ‘He woe probably jump out of his boots if I should tell him. Meantime Colonel Tarantula had taken a bot- tle from one of the shelves, and it and a glass ee = pono the hear ent ks sport, u «i out the liquor he glanced up through his long lashes, pa aie the new ranch-owner looking at him through his wn. ‘* Hyer’s to you, colonel,” exclaimed the sport. ** May yer success ever equal yer beauty— “Hold! I have just recognized you,” inter- rapted Colonel Tarantula, and his hand across the counter, fell upon Ruby Rob’s arm. | “I saw you lastin Taos. You played oo ag me thar but I don’t caxe for tad We bo used comicboo b . P . © 1s ts WS rs s ae s ‘> v¢ a ee eee Ty : om ee Se - a a Bs . ¢ f +. , ’ F ae " ¢ ~. a i? pee