Beadle's Dime Library, No. 406 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

> It belongs to Leonard: but I know “Til get it in be- od the paper, the editor,” he said hastily. fore he gets his orders not to mention it. Good- 9” “The small man darted away out of the tent, jumped into the red road-cart, and drove away full speed to the Sentinel office, into which he rishede to the surprise of the editor, who was up to his nose in proofs, as he looked up. ‘““Why, Moone,” he said cordially, ‘* what’s the matter?” ‘‘Matter? Why,' Johnson, do you call thisa live paper, and don’t know the news? Bownsse’s elephant got loose, and he’s off over the country breaking things, and your company here—the Guards and Invincibles—had to give him a vol- ley. Here it is, all up for you—true, on my sacred word. It must go in if you have to hold the paper for it.” The editor seized the MS. and glanced over it rapidly, humming to himself. . hen he turned sharply. ‘““What show’s this for, Moone? The Hicks? I can’t put itinif itis. Can’t help if it sells ten thousand copies. Daren’t. J’d lose my place. I don’t own the paper. It’s Leonard's, and he’s given orders not to mention you.” Moone tossed his head scornfully. ** Look through it if you like. Ive not said a word about our show. It’s not mentioned once; it’s Bownsse all through.” The editor looked again and scanned every line for the name “ Hicks;” but, as it seemed to be no where, he finally said: ‘Well, it shall goin. We've about ten min- utes left.” Then he rushed into the printing-room, and drove the foreman almost into a fit of apoplexy by telling him that the article Moone had writ- ten MUST goin if he had to cutit up in fifty pieces to do it in time, ; Moone remained in the office till he saw the alley proved and the forms in the press, when es icked off the first paper that came out, and dashed off to the show with it, in the red road- cart. That evening Coalville read to itself, in great indignation, the following article: ““AN ELEPHANT ON THE RAMPAGE. **Our citizens will be astounded to hear that a real wild elephant, as vicious as they make them, is at large in Coal county. It got loose, this afternoon, from the Bownsse show, as the men were trying to throw it, to administer discipline, in the brutal style peculiar to elephant-tamers of the second class. The agonized animal, maddened by the red-hot irons with which they were searing its trunk, broke loose from ifs fastenings and charged in the direction of a rival show, in which pf eens to be at the time our local companies, the Guards and Invincibles, who, with the promptitude of soldiers, headed by Lion Charley Noble, sallied out to resist the assault and defend the helpless women and children beh'nd them. Thanks to the skill and courage of Lion Charley, who first faced the monster single-handed, and to the marksmanship of the Guards, under Cap- tain Spicer, who poured a volley into the animal’s head, the charge was turned and the wounded brute rushed off in the direction of Deacon Smith’s barn, where it will probably take to the woods and do much damage. “Too much blame can hardly attach to the care- lessness or incompetency of the men who made such an accident le. any deaths occur, they will rest at the door of the show-people who undertake ‘to handle elephants without knowing how to do it.” “There,” said Pop Hicks, as he folded up t ge [ didn’t think they’d put it in bat they ave. What’ll ye do with this?” Moone grinned wearily. ‘Put it into every paper in the State as an ad., with the heading ‘What Cociville says about G. B. Bownsse’s Show.’ I'll advertise him with a vengeance. But I say, sir?” ‘* What, Moone?” “We ought to buy King Philip cheap now. Jim Perkins got burt.” | Pop started and looked admiringly at his small ~ lieutenant. ** Well, you are a deep little guy. So we can, so we can, and give Bownsse fits too, hey, hey, hey? Wouldn’t it be a joke?” CHAPTER XIX. KING PHILIP ON A TEAR. EARLY next morning a party of men, with pitchforks, goads, ropes and chains, set out to undertake the recapture of King Philip, the wild and runaway elephant who had given so much trouble. Elephant Jim, with his arm in asling, a scowl of mingled mortification and pain on his dark face, rode at the head of the party _ in Bownsse’s yellow dog-cart, driven by no less a person than Mr. Bownsse_ himeelf, while Stone rode on horseback among the other men, and seemed to be giving direc- tions. For Elephent Jim had actually lost his grip _on King Philip at last. As the maddened brute rushed away, when . he first broke loose, he had sent Jim flying with a side kick, in the confusion. ‘No, I'l bet he didn’t see me,” Jim was ‘Saying, in a lachrymose tone, to the manager, © $ , “ ee St << ail lal TD i CLT LL LL LL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL LOL <, Old Pop Hicks, Showman, as they droveon. ‘‘ Henever would ha’ done it if he'd see’d me to know me. _ It was them galoots as started in to burn him on their own hook as made the hullrumpus. Id like to know who give ’em leave afore J come. Vd fix him,” Bownsse said nothing to irritate him, for he was more than half-afraid of Elephant Jim, but he winked over at Stone, who was the party in question, and Stone observed, haughtily: ‘‘If you want to know who told the men to do it, J did. I believe I havea right todo as I please in this show.” Jim turned his dark face round on the gambler with a singular look. ‘““ It was you, was it?” he said. ‘Yes, it was me,” was the bold reply. ‘And if you had been sober instead of lying round like a drunken brute, we shouldn't have had the trouble. It’s your fault; no one else’s. You let the beast get out of control, and he had to have his lesson—” ‘* Yes, and a blazes of alesson you made of it,” returned Jim, in a tone of concentrated scorn. man, you would. so durned smart, go and take now, and [il go home.” Then a bitter scowl of rage contorted his features, as he shook his fist at Stone, crying out: ‘‘Gosh darn yer picter, here I be with a broken arm, and you’re hull. and sound, and I'll bet my life King Philip ‘ll knuckle down to me before he will to you and all the rest, with yer pitchforks and chains.” Stone was about to make a hot reply, when Mr. Bownsse said soothingly: ‘There, there, what’s the use of disputing like two old women? What's done can’t be helped. and he skeered old Hicks’s folks nigh out of their lives. our show and a lot of soldiers to drive him off, and he smashed five big wagons for ’em at that. We'll get him back, Jim, and you'll erform him next town, too, or it’ll be funny. lephant Jims ain’t hangin’ on every bush, are they, Jim?” Jim’s exorbitant vanity cooled down at the compliment, and he said, more mildly than he had spoken: ‘*T ain’t sayin’ it warn’t-my fault. I'd no business to get budgy. But I do say if I'd taken the job first off, the old thief would never have got off. Think I don’t know my iz?”’ | “If you had,” interjected. Stone, in his usual sarcastic tones, ‘‘you’d never have let him get so wild.” Elephant Jim gave him a furtive glance, very unlike that of Lion Charley, but just as dangerous, and said, slowly: ‘‘All right, mister, all right. My arm’s broke, but there’s a bone in it yet, and you'll find that out some day.” Stone eyed him fiercely. Luckily he didn’t hurt our show, | 15 We'll see, some ‘*A bargain’s a bargain. day or other. There’s King Philip ahead of us. Now let’s see ye ketch him with yer pis- tols, my solid guy.’ About a quarter of a mile ahead of them, in a field of green corn, they could see the gigantie bulk of the runaway elephant, as he gathered the green stalks up in his trunk and feasted on their sweets. The men came to a halt, and Bownsse said to Jim: ‘Now, then, take command. You know what todo. We don’t.” Jim shrugged his shoulders and motioned toward Stone with his head. ‘‘He’s sich a fly guy, set iim at it. He knows all about elephants, he does, Let him ketch him. I ain’t no good.” Stone bit his lip. He had plenty of courage; but the sight of the elephant in the field cooled his ardor con- siderably. He took out an opera-glass and surveyed Kink Philip carefully, In truth the elephant did not look like a “You'd make a blank of a animal | pleasant subject to handle. All right, mister; if you’re | King Philip | His head and body were covered with little streams of blood which had dried on him, where he had received the volley of the mili- | tlamen. To him the leaden bullets had done no more harm than a charge of small shot to a cow. | They had scared him off at first, but that was all. His life lay too deep for anything short of a big bore rifle at close quarters, aimed at head or heart. And as he was an African elephant, with 'aconvex forehead, with a brain invulnera- ble except from the front, King Philip looked like an ugly customer to handle. Therefore, Stone put down the glass, and tried to say, indifferently: uhey had to get a man out of | re) ‘‘It’s none of my business. J dont own the elephant—-you do.,”’ Jim smiled as he sat in the cart. ‘* Will ye do as you're told, then?” Stone hesitated. ‘Yes, if you promise not to put up a job on me, to make that brute pay me your spite.” Jim smiled again. ‘‘ Ye needn't be afeard. I ain’t that sort. I pays my own debts. ‘hurt. ye for his price. If you want to get him we've got to get him outer that field, | and he won't come unless he’s coaxed, — Ride in and holler — at him, then turn and run like blazes, so he'll Don’t go too fast, orhe’ll giveup. - You've got a good hoss. foller ye. Dare ye do that, or shall I send one of the boys?” is tone was so sneering that Stone was stung into saying: > ‘*] dare do paying you do!” Jim’s eyes flashed fir ‘““Yedo, do ye? We'llsee about that?’ I wouldn’t let him 3 y He jumped out of the cart, suppressing ‘‘What do you mean? Do you suppose I'm afraid of you?” Jim laughed a short, dry laugh. ‘* All right, mister, we'll see some time. side of the road. Mebbe the arm ain’t broke as bad as some The field in which King Philip was feed- think it,” ing was separated from the road by two Stone laughed back at him. ‘“‘ [know that well enough. I’ve seen plenty | of gentry of your kind, and laid them out, | the corn-patch, and lay in ruins where he _the grimace of pain the action caused tohig = injured arm, which was not brokenafterall, but very severely bruised, and went to the 9 % others; but the stout rail fence had been ley- | eled by the monster as he made his way to | too. Sick or well, you can’t cow me, my friend. I’m no brute, but aman. Now, shut up your head.” As he spoke, he threw back his coat, put his hand to his hip, and eyed Jim fearlessly, adding: ‘*T’ve had sug of your drunken inso- lence, My man. come from California, where it’s put up or shut cup. Which is it with you?” Jim eyed him in the same sidelong way as before, and answered slowly: “It’s git out and go home and leave you to get King Philip, if you want to pick any more musses with an unarmed man. If you’re so darned brave, go on and get him. home.” Stone saw the folly of resenting apy ening Jim said, so he flapped his coat to again, an said, with a curl of the lip: ** All right. fs 7 iaughed his peculiar, sh m lau again, his peculiar, short, laugh, as he aevaed ‘ 2 ‘ll go If you are the man you had passed. ‘* You, Billy Harkins,” said Jim to one of the men, who was a leaper in the ring, “ are you game to put on a rope?” Billy nodded quietly, and another man answered with him: . Tl help him, Jim. Jim nodded as if satisfied. . “You'll do. Now, Mr. Stone, let’s see if rere as good stuff as you make out to be. ou see that tree?” He pointed to a iarge apple tree a good two feet in diameter at the ground, and con- tinued: ‘We've got to get Philip tied to that tree. y you are, lead him right under it, and we'll dothe rest. Dare ye do it?” _ §tone had turned pale, but he suppressed his natural tremor, and answered, haughti- I suppose you fellows must ly: , have your way. You can settle it any time | ‘‘Tam ready. Tell me how to proceed.” Jim looked at him curiously, and witha > certain respect he had not hitherto shown. “Remember,” he said, “this is no fool of /— z ak JOO <eom (E al cS I’ve done it afore.” | , oe - #) i 8 id , Pe ‘oo? a rs / ee aed ~ ‘ he J F “4 ‘ve, e' fe eG AS’