Beadle's Dime Library No. 392 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

2 a ? 2 ae ‘ : . ; OO ge i he PM Bas om mi ee Lat ; ae - nd ~ _ ee ed oe ee Elle A in mie Ye rt inal — a % ” 5 ad es mente Texan. : or uc r wy Fe re * Lost Bonanza. 6 ranch, and in other ways familiarizing him with his new purchase. All the time there was a lurking tiger in the Spanish sport’s eye, and when Diamond Dave caught Cuban Con’s glance he saw that his re- turn was welcomed. ‘‘ Pve concluded to settle down, gentlemen,” said Colonel Tarantula looking at the crowd. ‘*T°ve roughed it here and there for many years but now l’llrest awhile and keep you suppli with the elixir of life.” ‘‘Ever run a ranch afore, kunnel?’ sung out a big fellow. ‘‘Somewhat,” answered Tarantula with a smile, ‘‘I’m no novice in any thing. Shall I give you.a sample of what I can do for pastime?” ‘* Don’t keer ef yer do.” Colonel Tarantula thrust one hand into his pocket and took out several gold-pieces, then he drew a revolver and came from behind the | counter. ‘*One at a time, kurnel? thet’s no trick in Satanscrown.” ‘* All at once,” said the Texan and the next moment he sent the gold-pieces toward the raf- ters of the place. The revolver went up as they struck the planks, and then came three shots in such swift succession that they seemed but one. Every piece was struck. The pards of Satans- crown looked astonished into each other’s faces, Then the colonel took another piece and sent it rolling toward the furthest end of the room. ‘“‘T'll hurry it along,” he said; the revolver flashed and the bullet striking the milled edge, caused the coin to disappear instantly. Cuban Con and Diamond Dave exchanged glances over this shot. ‘¢ This man is no infant,” muttered the saloon- keeper. Colonel Tarantula came back to his place be- hind the counter and looked at the Spanish blood. ‘* What time do you close?” he asked. ‘‘Oh, whenever the boys get tired,” was the reply. ‘* Do they play late?” *¢ Sometimes all night.” “T’m here to accommodate my customers,” smiled the colonel. ‘‘ You will stay in Satans- crown, of course?” , Cuban Con made no reply. He remembered the oath that he was to be killed on sight, but here the man who had taken it had bought him out and spared his life. He looked into the colo- nel’s eyes and tried to get at the real meaning of the last sentence. ‘*T may take a notion to go away,” he said at a venture. ‘‘ You have no objection, I sup- Q”) ** You will not quit this camp without my an- pesmi a was the response, spoken in a low tone, but emphatically for all that. Cuban Con bit his lip but made no answer. The gamblers who had been interrupted by Colonel Tarantula’s coming had gone back to their games, and the greasy cards were falling again upon the several tables that stood bere and there in the room. The lamps, there were four of these, showered the room with light, and their rays falling be- yond the open door where they mingled with the mellow moonlhght of the street were seen by the anxious watcher in the cabin near by. Sullen and watchful, with one of his big bronzed hands near the butt of one of the dead- liest six-shooters in Colorado, Diamond Dave stood near the end of the counter ready to play a fatal game on the man who had turned up so unexpectedly. He knew that Nugget Nell was waiting for his report, and he was burning with eagerness to deliver it and in language that would thrill and delight her. _ At no time had the Satanscrown sport caught Colonel Tarantula secretly watching him, but he was confident that the Texan had seen him at the end of the bar. All at once the colonel turned toward Dia- mond Dave, and then came forward with his black eyes fixed upon him, “Thar shall be few words,” said Ruby Rob's guard between his teeth, when he saw this move- ment. ‘ The first drop is the best one in this game.” Linea There was no suspicion in Colonel Tarantula’s eyes, although they glistened as he approached the Satanscrown s rt; his look, to some extent, disarmed Diamond Dave. ‘‘- You're one of the Six Jewels, they tell me?” he . ‘What has become of the other five?’ The words came like a shower of grape from a cannon at close range. Diamond Dave showed his teeth like a dis- turbed jackal, and at that moment connection was made between hand and revolver. the citizens of Satanscrown. As I’ve come here to 6 To stay ?—you?” interrupted the rough. ee ee eee Diamond Dave’s hand rested on the edge of | forward with a cry and stopped him in the the counter, but he was about to remove it with | street. a step backward, when the colonel’s fingers closed about his wrist. ‘* Let me go on,” continued the Texan, leaning forward till his eyes seemed to burn the aston- ished desperado’s cheeks. ‘‘I shall be a lamb till you make me a lion; a fly till you transform me into a scorpion! It is for you to say whether | I shall get along here. I know the drop games ee, are played from Austin to the ilis. wet the throats of your ow with the vilest tarantula-juice that ever filled a glass. Let me alone. Your eyes have watched me ever since I came here. if you want to know anything about me, ask the woman who has been made Queen of Satanscrown, Nugget Nell.” The grip of the long fingers relaxed, the Tex- an’s hand crept back like a serpent after a spring, but his eyes did not drop. Diamond Dave seemed thunderstruck; his right hand clutched the butt of bis revolver, but the w2apon was not drawn. Cuban Con, only a few feet away, was with- out color and was holding his breath. The col- hsion fully expected by him had not taken place. na er ave had not killed the man from the no. As Colonel Tarantula drew back, the Satans- crown sport was seen to move. ‘Tl get him from the door,” said Diamond Dave under his breath. The next moment he was going out. ‘** Good-night,” called Tarantula after him, and the big sport thought he detected a tinge of triumph in the tones. He threw a glance over his shoulder. ‘* Now! he doesn’t see me,” he muttered. With teeth set close, he whipped out his revol- ver and wheeled. It was the work of a half- second. Cuban Con, who had been watching for some- lack | My present business in Satanscrown is to | eee thing of this kind, saw the movement and re-— coiled to the shelves. ‘* Hands up!” suddenly cried Colonel Taran- tula, and before Diamond Dave could lift his hand, he saw the Texan’s eyes glittering behind a cocked revolver. If he was quick, Colonel Tarantula was quicker. The ex-barkeeper uttered an exclamation that drew the attention of all in the room. ’ ‘* Hands up!” repeated the lean man from the ano. kill you in your boots!” Caught by the cool man who was his superior | always mild and girl-like in expression, in agility, the Satanscrown sport was forced to elevate his hands. His teeth seemed to crack as he dia this; rage darkened his face, and his eyes | seemed on fire. Po was the first time he had ever been caught us. ‘* About face and forward,” said Golonel Tar- antula. I am a lamb till you make a told you!” | ** You came here on a secret mission,” snapped Diamond Dave. ‘*Let the future prove it, then,” was the re- ply. ‘Iam now Colonel Tarantula, proprietor of this ranch.” ¢ They say you killed the man who had no tongue! The spectators started visibly at these words. ‘** Is that your charge, Diamond Dave?” asked Tarantula, ** Do you put it in here?” lion of me, I have “Who makes it, then? Is there a man in Satanscrown who will say that I killed the man who died here last night?” Silence fell over the crowd, but the new owner of the whisky ranch soon spoke again. ‘*T am willing to be tried on that charge,” he said, looking from Diamond Dave to the crowd. ‘‘Impannel your jury and produce your wit- nesses.” ** I can fetch one,” the sport said. ‘* Bring him here. Now, about face—march! Go and‘get your witness, Diamond Dave. I understand that the charge has been made, I am accused of having killed the man who had no tongue. I demand a hearing before these men. - Diamond Dave saw that the last sentence was intended to end the wordy duel. He looked at the crowd and then once more over the leveled revolver held in the skeleton-like hand of the man from Texas. ** Hang me, if I don’t make it lively for him!” he grated, through his set teeth. “Ill get a witness whose word will outweigh his solemn oath. The men of Satanscrown dare not reject the evidence of Nugget Nell.” He was in the moonlight of the mountain street when he uttered these words, and his | face was already turned toward Cleopatra’s ‘* Dyer have to know?” he asked, insultingly. | cabin. “Ob, no; it’s not particular,” laughed the ** I'd like to become acquainted with all | growled again. ‘Tricked for once in twenty years,” he ‘* What will she say when she sees me?” : Nugget Nell was still waiting for the des- perado’s report, and he found her where we saw ‘““Why not, Diamond Dave? When did you | her last, in the doorway of her cabin. become oe here?” When she saw him coming she sprung ‘“* If you want it war, war it shall be! | ‘Show your palms, Diamond Dave, or Dll | ' | | | ‘*Why didn’t you come sooner?” she cried. “*T heard the shots, four of them. You—” ‘*No! I haven’t got him yet,” interrupted Dia- mond Dave. ‘ He is still bossof the ranch back thar, but he’s laid a snare for himself. We'll have a bangin’ in Satanscrown afore mornin’ if se do your duty.” ‘eT? ‘*Yes. All you have to do is to face Colonel Tarantula and swear that he killed the man with- out a tongue.” Nugget Nell’s look instantly became a stare and her face grew colorless. *““My God! I can’t do that!” she gasped, and then fell, in a swoon at the mad sport’s feet. CHAPTER VIII. HUNTED BY THREE. WE transport the reader to Trigger Bar, one of the two camps to be searched by Ruby Rob and pards for the heiress of the Golden Gate. Like Satanscrown, it nestled among the mountains of Colorado, and bad for its inhabi- tants the usual sort of people found in the gold- camps of the Northwest. Trigger Bar was ‘‘ exclusive,” that is, it never troubled anybody, and did not like to be dis- turbed. It had a standing notice that no Chinese would be permitted in the camp, and it was also expected that visiting white men would not stay long. The gold-camp was not as large as Satans~ crown; its fifty cabins were “ bunched,” and did not straggle along the mountain like the shanties of the camp we have just left. As allsuch places have a boss or prominent man, Trigger Bar was not behind the times in this respect. Its head character was a lank fellow of forty-five, who, because of his extreme desperateness, was contrarily called Pious Phil. his man ‘ran the Soe ina mild manner, from the character he had; but al) knew there was fight in his blood, and that elsewhere he had committed the most unprovoked crimes, . Trigger Bar was not Satanscrown’s neighbor, but the men of the last-named camp knew its location, and were well acquainted with the | peculiarities of its inhabitants. There was one person at Trigger Bar, how- — of whose presence Ruby Rob did not snow. This person was a vouthful-looking individual nct more than nineteen, with a faultlessly form- ed and beardless face, and deep-blue eyes. The figure, too, was perfect, and the countenance looked. out of place among the bronzed ruffians of the gold-camp. Another youth, a little older and more man- _ ly in looks, also occupied Trigger Bar, but he worked in the mines near the camp; the first de- scribed youth did not work. Pious Phil was whisky-shop of the camp. This was an incident most unusual, and from the first enchained the miner’s attention. He saw that the riders of the three steeds were powerful men, that they had ridden a long dis- tance, and were sports or gold-seekers like him- self and the men who occupied Trigger Bar. They had ridden from toward Satanscrown, but Pious Phil did not think of the distant camp at that moment. It need not be said that the three men created a sensation when they entered the cabin saloon. All eyes there at once became riveted upon them, and the miners wondered what had brought the trio to camp. ‘*T guess we got ahead of Colorado One said one of the three, with a smile, mountain Ishmaelite must have checked up © somes They drank at the bar, but not until they had invited the not very backward spectators to take something at their expense, | ‘*This is Trigger, eh?’ the apparent leader of the three said to one of the men who marched forward at the invitation. “This ar’ Trigger Bar. Ever hyer afore, rs stranger?” ** Never.” ‘* Goin ter stay a while, ain’t yer™ ‘*We may rest here several days, We are goin’ up inter ther Shasta country.” : ‘“‘Shasta, eh? I’m from thar,” said the Th t’s good. Mayb i at’s . Maybe you can give us some information about the lay of the tend in Shasta —when we want it.” } The pard of Trigger Bar did not notice the singular emphasis of the last words, but assured the stranger that he wasa regular encyclopedia of information pertaining to the Shasta country and that he was willing to impart it all for noth- The leader of the trio was our old acquaint- ance, Ruby Rob; his companions were Agate Alf and Topaz Tom. As to the meaning of their _ not*be in- visit to Trigger Bar, the reader need formed. Just outside the saloon, whose door was open, CO IOO <€om (E S) oing from his cabin to the _ nightly resort of the miners of Trigger Bar, © when he saw three horses halt before the main —