Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 41 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

~ 7 i ee, » s a ~— Ne “JT don’t see how you could possibly forget John Clark, and you’ve only been away about four months,” The girl was evidently mystified, hardly knowing what to make of the man. ‘‘Four months, eh?’ Gold Dan remarked, slowly and reflec- tively, ‘‘and I’ve been gone four months?” “Well, you ought to know; but you’re wasting time; why don’t you escape through one of the windows? They have not seen you yet.” ‘‘Who do you mean?’ Dan asked, apparently not in the least alarmed, “ Clark and his—” ‘“‘ His Mormons!” ‘‘ Oh, that party that came in are all Mormons, eh?” Kate stared at the speaker for a moment in utter wonder. “Why, what has got into you? You know every man of them well enough!” “Do I? oh, yes, of course;’ but it was plain the speaker was puzzled. ‘¢ And there is Bellman Googer, who has sworn to shoot you on sight!” ar The deuce he has!” and the man appeared astonished at the intelligence. ‘‘ Will you have the kindness to point him out to me, so that I can be on the look-out for the gentleman?” “Why, you know him as well as you know me!” was Kate’s quick reply, as she half-rose from her seat. Dan took a good look at the beautiful face of the girl, and then answered, slowly: ‘Yes, I suppose I do; but which one of the crowd yonder is he?” “That stout, fat man with the big boots, drinking champagne.” ‘Oh, yes, I see; and he’s going to kill me on sight, is he?” ‘Yes, you know he is. Come! don’tberash! You can easily escape through one of the windows; none of them have seen you yet; it has been reported that you were killed on the Montana trail, and one man said that he saw you dead, with a bullet through the brain. Your appearance here to-night is a surprise to all; so escape now, while you can!” ‘“Oh, no,’’ and he spoke decidedly; ‘“‘ I’m not going to expose myself to the chance of having a hole drilled through me by hop- ping through the back window. If I had dreamed that I was so well-known in this town, I would have kept away from it,” ‘‘ Are you crazy?’ Kate now cried, in marked astonishment, “Yes, I believe my head is a little affected,” Dan responded. ‘¢-You see I was struck by a ball in the head, and that has proba- bly impaired my memory.” ‘‘'You seem strangely forgetful!” ‘“‘Tam; the fact is, miss, I don’t remember any more about these men than if I had never been in this town before.” “You are joking!” ** No, honest injun; and, by the way, what have I done to this fat man that he desires to imbrue his hands in my gore?” “Why, you cannot possibly have forgotten!” Kate cried. “T assure you that my memory of the life that I, Gold Dan, © led in this town is utterly gone. Why, to give you an idea, I couldn’t even tell you your name,” ‘Ts it possible?” “Quite so; so please explain at once what I have done to this fat Mormon, so that I may be prepared for him, when he dis- covers me, which he will be sure to do after he gets through drinking.” ‘You ran away with one of his wives—his fifth wife, the youngest and the prettiest of them all, Mary-Jane!” ' ‘Oh, I run off with Mary-Jane, did I?” and this strange man made a comical face. ‘* Yes, where is she now?” “Hang me if I know; but I say, is there anything eise that I have done—are there any more men around Corinne, that you know of, who are dying to take my scalp?” ‘* All the Mormons hate you!” “Why?” ‘* You know well enough! you call them names—say that their Prophet is a fraud—” “And so he is!” he cried, abruptly. ‘‘ In that particular the Gold Dan of the present exactly agrees with the Gold Dan of the ” ‘You will stay, then, and brave the danger?” the girl asked, anxiously. “Yes; I reckon from the manner in which I wag greeted on my entrance, a while ago, that I am not without friends in this lace.” . ‘‘No doubt you have friends, but few men in the town would care to take your part if John Clark takes a hand in the game,” Kate answered earnestly. ‘John Clark? That’s the big fellow yonder, the Duke of Corinne, eh?” | “ Yes—a very dangerous man, ** He runs the town?” ‘“Yes, no five or ten men dare to stand against him. He is the chief of the Danites—the terrible Destroying Angels that execute the vengeance of the Mormon leader. He is said to have killed over fifty men with his own hand.” “A terrible fellow, ain’t he?’ and as Gold Dan made the remark, with his keen, cool eyes he was surveying the propor- tions of the Mormon leader, but there was no look of apprehen- sion on his features, “But you do not seem to fear him,” and Kate looked into the face of the buckskin-clad man with a curious gaze. ‘* Fear, miss? I reckon I don’t know the ae of ae word wnen applied to a human,” he answered, quietly. en my time pose I'll die, and not before; but let me take this opportu- ity to thank you for the service you have rendered me, Gold Dan. ) | 5 Through your warning I am prepared for my enemies. I fancy that Gold Dan must hold a pretty high place in your esteem.” The girl laughed. “You and English Will are my two best friends, and [ don’t know which of you I like the best,” she replied, lightly. ‘English Will?’ “Yes, he is the captain of the grading gang on the Union Pacific, you know.” “Oh, yes,” and he looked around. ‘Is he here to-night?’ ‘‘Not yet; but you and he mustn’t quarrel, mind!” ‘““No fear of that, for I’m the mildest-mannered man in the world, if people let me alone.” At this stage in the conversation there was a sudden movement among the Mormons around the bar. All those within the room who knew of the bad blood between the gold-dollared plainsman and the Mormons, had expected trouble when they had seen the latter enter the apartment, and now, perceiving the sudden commotion in the saintly group, they understood that “ fun” was at hand. “Gold Dan here? Whar is he, the infernal scoundrel?” the fat Mormon cried, in sudden wrath. CHAPTER VI. A HAND-TO-HAND ENCOUNTER, “Loox out for yourself!” cried the girl in warning. ‘It is not yet too late for you to escape!” ‘Escape! only to» be taken at a disadvantage elsewhere!” replied Dan. ‘Oh, no! I know a trick worth two of that!” ‘But you are unarmed and they are weaponed to the teeth!” Apparently Kate’s remark was true, for no sign of warlike implements could be detected upon the person of the plainsman, but he only laughed carelessly, and before he could make reply, the big Mormon made a movement toward him. Every eye in the room was turned upon the scene, while there was a general movement of the bystanders from the center of the apartment to the shelter of the side walls. There was trouble ahead and none of them were anxious to stop a bullet. The Mormon, Googer, wa; a stout, thick-set man, pretty well in flesh, but as strong apparently as an elephant. With the approach of the enraged man the girl had arisen from her chair and wheeled it over into a corner of the room, and then leaning over the back calmly surveyed the scene. The high-back chair concealed nearly all of her figure from view; therefore no one within the room suspected that, yielding to her womanly liking for the dashy plainsman, she had resolved not to stand tamely by and see him slaughtered in cold blood, but, taking advantage of the mask of the chair, had drawn the dainty silver-plated revolver, ever her constant companion, pulled back the hammer, and stcod ready to afford immediate aid to the assailed man if he should stand in need of it, which seemed extremely likely from the way things were going. Yet the girl knew full well that to attempt to brave the Mormon power, or step between the terrible Danites and their victims, was hazardous in the extreme, but when did a woman ae hesitate to aid the man she fancied, no matter how great the ? A sudden silence fel] upon the room when the burly polyga- mist strode toward his enemy. Gold Dan had backed quietly against the wall so that it was impossible to take him in the rear, and there, cool and composed —the most careless and indifferent-looking man in the saloon—he awaited the assault, All the Mormons, acting apparently by Clark’s orders, had placed themselves before the door, which was at one corner of the room, so as to cut off all escape. Nearly every person within the saloon had his hand upon his weapon. No love was lost between these hardy borderers and the “saints,” and his open attempt to rule Corinne went sorely against their grain; and more than one huge-bearded, flannel- shirted giant whispered to his neighbor: ‘“‘ Dog-gone me ef he shan’t have a fair show or else thar’ll be a free fight! These Mormon galoots are running the thing too fresh!” And the Danite, John Clark, looking around upon the circle of angry, resolute faces, began to understand that the day had passed when the crook of the Mormon finger could make the men of Corinne crouch and tremble. The Danite had little fear, though, as to the result of the approaching conflict. The plainsman was, apparently, unarmed and the Mormon husband, burning to punish the successful rival who had stolen away from him his fifth wife, the youngest and fairest of them all, too, had no thought of using knife or pistol. A burly, powerful man, strong as a horse, as the saying is, an Englishman born and bred, and partial, as are all the inhabitants of the ‘‘tight little island,” to the manly art of self-defense, his sole idea was to give the destroyer of his domestic bliss a terri- ble thrashing. And the idea that the gold-buttoned plainsman would be able to offer a successful resistance never for one moment entered the minds of the Mormons. Gold Dan had the reputation of being a good revolver-shot, and tolerably expert with ’the bowie-knife, but as a boxer he had never distinguished himself. The almost breathless silence was broken by tne harsh voice of the angry ‘“‘saint,” who had now approached within about six feet of the plainsman, and stood glaring upon him, ‘*So you’ve come back, ’ave you?” he cried. oOln VOOK