Beadle's Dime Library No. 392 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

— — —_ —_ - Se =——-- we were oe “ —_ : = es “." i... o> * . * ia 7 a ~~ Ma ¢ since we've er Gate. I’m of ther opinion—” - with thet young buck standing in the jittle while Red ~ . a a like to turn back. ‘Captain Rob. the corn; but l’m not done with that couple. Watch them as you would two rattlers. I don’t | came from behind the counter. swallow the story o’ the dream mine,” lea the bo if 16 The seconds flew by while he waited for the name that was to test the miner’s honesty. Jagaway stood along the counter, in the midst of half a dozen mountain men, but Topaz Tom was looking into his face. ‘+ Hello, in thar!” suddenly rung out a voice on the outside. ‘‘ I want ter see a man called Pious Phil, ov Trigger Bar!” The Satanscrown toughs looked toward the door and laughed; Topaz Tom’s fingers tightened at the butt of his revolver; he raised the weapon to his hip. : The call had been heard in every part of the saloon. Jingo Joel had heard every syllable, but be had not showed asign of astonishment. The face of the young Indian wasas immobile as ever. “This isn’t Trigger Bar, you fool!” shouted several miners. ‘‘ Thar’s no such a man hyer as Pious Phil.” Half a dozen men went to the door, but saw nobody. The caller, whoever he was, had dis- appeared. fter awhile Topaz Tom slipped out, and was ag by Ruby Rob among the shadows of the cabin. ** Well?” asked the Satanscrown boss eagerly. ‘*He never flinched, captain, an’ ther red never stirred.” Ruby Rob looked astonished, ‘* T guess ye'r’ fooled,” continued Topaz Tom, ‘*T would have bet a thousand on it,” said ‘* If Lam fooled, [ acknowledge en CHAPTER XVIII. COLONEL TARANTULA’S NEW HAND. “ Sursin’s hangin’ over thiscamp. I don’t ‘know what it ar’, but I feel it in my bones all ther same.” Onyx Oll used this language and his listener was Topaz Tom. The latter had lately left _ Ruby Rob, and the scene last enacted in the camp saloon was still uppermost in his mind. ‘1 don’t take much stock in premonitions, Onyx. I can’t say that I ever felt comin’ events in my bones, but suthin’ ar’ likely ter en ound ther heiress ov ther Golden ‘‘ Hush! thar’s ther white galoot’s Injun.” The two men looked toward a certain cabin net far away and saw in the doorway the figure of Red Buck, Jingo Joel’s Indian friend. ‘*Now, who says that suthin’ ain’t goin’ ter iA hanpen?? whispered Onyx Oli at his compan- ion’s ear. ‘Tell me thet it ar’ no eres, job door.” For some moments the two big sports watch- ed the person who had been discovered. It was late, and over Satanscrown hung the pall of mght and the silence ofdeath. Here and there were seen the shapes of various cabins whose inmates seemed to be sound asleep. The saloon had closed for the night as if its frequent- ers had inaugurated the habit of retiring early, and so still was it that the tread of a prowling coyote was almost enough to disturb the hour. | he Indian boy became a statue in the cabim door while the two pards regarded him with half-drawn revolvers in their hands. Topaz Tom leaned forward in his eagerness. _ **Mebbe ther cap’n ar’ right,” he muttered. - * He called ther half-starved miner Pious Phil ov Trigger Bar, an’ he says, ther cap’n does, that he ar’ willin’ ter stake a thousand ounces on bis jedgment.” ' Topaz Tom brought his _mutterings to a sud- - den close for the young Indian left the cabin - and was gliding away. | ll touched his companion’s arm and Onyx _ put his lips close to his ear: _ * Boots off! he whispered. ; The two pards leaned against the cabin at their back and drew their boots. - “ What did I say about suthin’ going’ ter hap- 3 pen?” continued Oll. To Tom said nothing; his eyes were fas- on the Indian boy whose gliding figure was just discernible op the shanties, Ina Buck had two mountain sleuth-hounds at his heels. They were ready for a at any moment, and woe to he should in any manner show them that he had entered Satanscrown on mis- coief bent. Red Buck seemad to have a certain mission to perform for he kept straight on and did not stop _ within the limits of the camp. ‘Goin’ back to ther mountains,” ejaculated Onyx Oll. ‘ Kin it be thet he gave Jingo Joel ther slip?” Topaz Tom looked into his companion’s face but madenoreply. It was evident that the sport was puzzled. The Indian boy was gone, the camp did not hold him now, and it was his mission to the mountains that puzzled the two sports at the edge of the emg » It was no use to follow the young Navajo; there were a dozen dark trails to be taken, and the shadows that fell over them made the dark- almost palpable. Still, the sports did not * Hello!” suddenly ejaculated Topaz Tom, as ; ri ofp, Se ES oa a ~ “sa? = =v »4 A — snap like this. Ain’t thar an opening ov some kind for me hyer?” | The Lost Bonanza. — ge | a noise struck the ears of both. ‘‘ What was that?” As the words were spoken the sports happened | to glance in the same direction and both saw at | the same time the flicker of a match, ‘* Somebody has opened Cuban Con’s place,” said Onyx, touching his companion’s sleeve. | ‘* By heavens! it isa stranger!” | By this time the two men had ceased to think _of the young Indian, and rapid strides were | carrying them toward the famous saloon. | The lamp over the end of the counter had al- ready been lighted, and the two Jewels saw a _ small-like man behind the bar. ‘* Hello! pard!” said Topaz Tom, appearing in the doorway as he spoke. The man turned and looked at the speaker. ‘* By Jove! I'm glad ye’ve come,” he said, ‘I bought this trap awhile back—” ‘*Bought it?’ interrupted Ruby Rob’s lieu- tenant. ‘‘ Id like ter know who pretended ter hev ther sellin’ ov it.” ‘** The man thet owned it, I guess,” was the an- swer accompanied by a smile. ‘**'Who war he?” ‘*Colonel Tarantula he called himself. I caught ’im on his way ter Texas an’ he sold me this ranch for seven hundred, and gave me a written pledge ov former ownership, an’ a deed ov transfer.” in ** Thet’s mule-proof cheek,” laughed Topaz om. ‘*What! didn’t he own it?” cried the little man, who did not look very dangerous as he ‘*Can it be possible that I have been swindled out o’ my seven hundred? He swore he owned the ranch, that he bought it ov Cuban Con—” **So he did, but when Colonel Tarantula left, ther ranch dropped inter our hands an’ we elected a barkeeper an’ overseer.” ‘The infernal wretch!” cried the stranger. **T am without a dollar in the world. I hev been shamefully taken in, an’ | am ag’in thrown upon ther cold mercies ov ther world. You won't keer ef I take a drink, will you?” ‘Take a dozen ef you want ’em,” said Topaz Tom, whose rough sympathy had been stirred by the stranger’s plea of poverty and wrong. The stranger turned with an audible sigh to the bottles, and poured out a drink, Holding the glass up to the light, he said: ‘*T hev ter depend on ther charity ov strangers for a drink! I’ve seen more ups an’ downs than any man livin’, I’ve been millionaire an’ Laz- arus, but never afore, gentlemen, war | in a The two sports shook their heads. ** Nothin’ I kin do, eh?” ‘* Nothin’ jest now,” said Topaz Tom. ‘Blame meef this ain’t hard,” was the re- sponse, and the speaker helped himself again from the same bottle. “Tf this ranch isn’t mine, [ll go,” continued thestranger. ‘‘ Mebbe I'll follow Colonel Taran., tula and make him disgorge. He war on his ring ter Texas, an’ a man like him isn’t hard ter find. He’s bound ter make himself known wherever he goes, I thought I war a pro holder awhile ago, but I don’t own a Ss “You néeedn’t leave camp yet ef yer don’t want ter,” said Onyx Ol. ‘‘Suthin’ might turn up for yer in ther mornin’, but it’s not at all likely.” | ‘“Think so?” cried the man, catching at a straw. ‘It’s likely thet suthin’ will not turn up,” said Oll. “J don’t think Pll stay,” was the response, slowly spoken. ‘‘ A pilgrim like Tom Hardesty might as well meander on. He’s down in ther valley ov despond now; by an’ by he may be on ther hill ov joy, but it’s almighty doubtful. Good-by, gents.” The little man held out his hand. “%Pon my soul, I hate ter leave two men ov honor like you ar’, but ther world ar’ full ov partin’s such as this; it is, by Jerusalem! Should we never meet again, remember thet for three days I war, in thought, owner ov Satanscrown’s ranch an’ a happy man.” The two sports could not refuse the proffered hand, and when they had shaken it Tom Hard- esty turned away. ‘‘It war an unexpected meeting,” said he in quite different tones, when he was a few feet from the two sports, ‘‘I did not expect to run across Topaz Tom and Onyx Oll so soon. If I could have taken possession,of the ranch without discovery, | would have held the fort. They didn’t know me; of course not. My reign here occurred while they were away.” The man who spoke thus walked to the edge of the camp and stopped. He was among the darkest shades that pre- vailed, and nobody saw him. If he could have seen Topaz Tom and Onyx Oll, his eyes would have followed them to a cabin which they en- tered, not far from the saloon, At the end of an hour Tom Hardesty walked back into Satanscrown. He seemed to know the place. This time he did not stop at the _ closed saloon, but ' until he could touc ssed it and did not halt Nugget Nell’s cabin with his hand. ‘ > ‘**They won’t let me keep saloon,” he said, “Then, by Jupiter! I’ll do something worse.” He crept to the little window beside the door and looked in, but the interior of the cabm was dark, and silent, too. After a little while he knocked lightly near the bottom of the door, and waited for a re- sponse. It was some moments before cue came, ‘* Who is there?’ asked a woman’s voice from the inside. ‘* Ther captain,” said Hardesty. The next minute the door opened and the man slid into the cabin. ‘* Light the lamp,” he said. Nugget Nell found the lucifers and the lamp, and proceeded to obey. She did not look at her visitor when the mutch flashed up, and did not see the smile with which he oth for the lamplight. As the light brightened, it revealed the figure of a young girl on the cot. She was sound asleep, and the eyes of Tom Hardesty seemed to gain an additional luster when they found er. “Tt is all right now,” said Nugget Nell, turning from the lamp. ‘‘ You see she is with us yet, I—” he camp Cleopatra broke her own sentence, and shrunk suddenly from the man before her. Not until then had she discovered that it was not Ruby Rob who had entered the cabin. In- stead of the stalwart figure of the boss of Satans- crown, instead of his fine eyes and ry irre mustache, she saw a smaller man with glittering orbs, and a full, though short, black beard. ‘*T am ‘captain,’ but not the man you ex- ted to see,” said the woman’s visitor, coming ward her. ‘* Don’t move! don’t send forth an alarm. If you do, you will never see the sun- light any more!” ugget Nell had recoiled to the wall, and was a statue of fright. ‘*T am playin’ one of my boss hands—nothing more,” continued sar 4 ‘*T see you have found the Golden Gate girl at last. It has been a long hunt, hasn’t it, Nell? There are others in Satanscrown at this very moment who consider her the stake in their game. I came last, but I on first. What did you think of the old ci- er? ‘** You did it. My God! when is this shadow- ing to end?” When it can serve me no longer,” said the man, sternly. ‘* Do 1 look like Colonel Taran- tula?” , ‘*To me, yes. No other man on earth has eyes like yours!” ‘* By George! that is complimentary,” laugh- ed the colonel, for Nugget Nell’s visitor was no one else, and then he glanced toward the sleep- ing girl. | ‘Have you administered your favorite opi- ate?’ he said to Nell. A smile came at once to the woman’s mouth, and her eyes rested for a moment on Mountain Moss. ‘*You need not answer me,” Colonel Taran- tula went on. ‘‘I still adhere to my belief often expressed to you—that in your veins is the blood of the Borgias. You should have lived in Italy three centuries ago; this is not your field, woman. But I see that you have not forgotten the opiate and the poi on.” He gave her a cold glance as he finished and went to the girl. Nugget Nell saw her sleeping sweetly under his eyes. All at once he bent over her. “Don’t you think this girl will become your rival if she stays here?” he said, coming toward her suddenly. ‘* How so?” ‘‘She 1s the heiress of the Golden Gate—you know that now. Ruby Rob wants her millions: he and the mountain roughs he has drawn about him have been playing for them ever since the girl was lost after the murder of her father. She has beauty, with her wealth, and Captain Rob is easily insnared. Why should he like » you, anyhow? If he knew what I know, you tog be Queen of Satanscrown another our, . Nugget Nell uttered an exclamation of fear. ‘* Do you know that there is a clause in Major Lossing’s will which prevents her from enjoying more than one-half of the bonanza until after marriage?” sé No.” ‘‘ There is such a clause; I have read it my- self. Now, don’t you see what Ruby Rob must do to get the millions? He must become that girl’s husband—not after mountain fashion, but according to law.” The camp beauty shut her lips and threw a fierce look toward Mountain Moss. ‘*Give me the girl,” said Colonel Tarantula. ‘Refuse to let me take her now, and you may suddenly lose your grip on Ruby Rob. You cannot hold him when he hears of the marrying clause of the will. The girl is sleeping under your potion. You have the antidote; a few drops on her lips will do the business. You can then take the opiate yourself, and to-morrow ere the sleep has worn off, they will find the girl gone. You were drugged by somebody in your sleep and robbed. Don’t you see?” Ss) Eomicbooks. eee ee