Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 414 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

‘Ee’ . 7 = R P ; yr = ool 1 ‘ HW ; i . a — fy - to him as a prisoner. They were to find out if the young miner had found the Lost Gold Mine, and to search for it themselves if he had not. Also, if they came across the Red Renard | he too was to be captured, so that his secret 1 might be tortured from him. p hus, under orders, the Bravo set out, and Bt without adventure he reached the hill over- looking Bonanza City, which lay in a valley, f surrounded by overhanging mountains. bs The place, from its name, a stranger would ch have judged was of some importance, and, ? in the eyes of its denizens it really was; but i the first view was by h for it consisted o some small, some large, and a few rising to a few hundred cabins, his life, for Captain Kit wanted him brought tavern, the landlord of which was the Red Renard, the Indian Detective. ———— ee = e , at -” < 3 7 « : - : -— a = He had never backed down before but one ““boss gambler of ther town,” as the citizens |; man, and he was King Kendall. put it. His hotel was not so well kept, but his saloon and gambling hell were the most gor- As the latter was not there, the Bravo had determined to assert his rights, and at once. lf the Digger Dan party wished to turn geous resorts in the town, and the boarders the laugh on him, on account of Kendall at Bonanza Hall gambled at the resort of | proving his master, and driving him from Doctor Dick, as the landlord was called, for | the camp, he would make the laugh a dear ‘he had once been a surgeon in the army, those said who knew him. one, he made up his mind. But if they wished to keep that affair to Between Doctor Dick and Parson Pete a | themselves, and let him tell his story, then real friendship existed, for the former had on a number of occasions furnished the corpse for the latter to bury, and his fee had always been a liberal one. no means prepossessing, | Parson Pete looked the itinerant dispenser of piety, for he was tall, thin, wore a black suit buttoned up to the throat and a high hat, with spectacles, which some said had plain glass in them, while Doctor Dick was as flashily attired as a Broadway sweil, and was called han@some even by his enemies, and all knew him to possess the courage of his sentiments, as in fact did the parsor, too. There were other saloons in Bonanza City, | ; " he was willing to have it so, and remain their friend. But to hold the winning hand from the start he entered the Free and Easy with his Weapons ready, and glancing over the saloon, he called out savagely: ‘* Who is it here thet are lyin’ about me? ** Quick! let him come out, or prove him- self a liar, for lis back ag’in ter reside in Bonanza, and I has a contract with ther buryin’-ground on ther hillside ter furnish stiffs.” A silence fell upon all. Not a man moved, but all eyed the bully. Digger Dan and his three comrades had no but they were of little account, and with the | desire to crow over the Bravo. mention of the Overland stables, half a dozen | ___ the dignity of barns in size, and in looks tco, ——s geattered along both sides of a small river. Ly The ‘‘city’’ was fully a couple of miles in ¢ ¢ Jength, and in width hardly a hundred : th yards. » © The river was narrow and deep, the cur- ia rent was rapid, the banks steep, and about ‘ every cighth of a mile a rude bridge spanned | a it, capable of supporting a man and horse, while one of these primitive spans of the on stream was large enough to bear an Overland / coach and six, or a ‘‘ prairie schooner.” , Sere This bridge was on the main trail, or street, running through Bonanza City, and which, | They had intended telling their story of stores, a blacksmith-shop and a stone jail, | their adventures, and simply putting it that where a prisoner was kept until the Vigi- | Buck Bradley had found his master and lance Committee ‘‘sat on him,’ I have fin- been driven from their camp, since which ished my description of this very interesting | time they had not seen him, coming out of the mountains to the east dis- | mining-camp, where some of the scenes of | te “23 hela in a canyon to the west. ; <a i”) 4 long this trail, or road, the Overland i coach, bearing the mail and passengers, was * ——- wont to travel once a week, and its arrival and departure were events in the life of * ‘Bonanza City, for, excepting a Government i train or emigrant party, nothing else visited _ dhe secluded mining-camp. The citizens of this strange place were an odd mixture, for they were men who had come there to seek their fortunes, either by digging it honestly out of the generous earth, or by keeping store, gambling, or living upon _ their wits and their fellows, Perhaps a large percentage of Bonanzans had come there on account of its remote- ness from Jaw and order, and because they were fugitives from justice; at least, they — Jooked it. | Most of the cabins were the homes of the A miners, situated, as I have said, along the ' banks of the river, and also overshadowed by the overhanging cliffs of the valley, which Was very narrow. | ____ Few of the miners had to go far to work, » so that after nightfall the camp was rather ~... lively. Bi The miners thereabout panned out a steady income, if not a large one, and there was . work for all who were not lazy. 2 The larger cabins spoken of were about a --gs¢ore in number, and were mostly grouped about two large bridges, and upon either side of the river. » 2a 4 « ‘el art. The largest was the Bonanza Ilall, a so- called hotel, where a rough bedstead and hay mattress were the furniture of the 3" rooms, for guests were expected to furnish | me their own bedding, and could wash them- gelves under a shed on the river-bank, where were buckets and basins, or leave it alone at their will. Raye A few of the rooms, some four or five, -s-~were better furnished, but these were kept for guests’'who were distinguished, or what a was just as good, could pay the exorbitant price asked for a night's lodging. ‘The table was by no means a poor one, / but game, from buffalo to birds, was the stand-by, with bacon, corn and wheat bread and coffee. Br The cook and waiters were Chinese, and good servants they made, too, while the host + 4yas a Methodist parson, who had come out into the Western wilds as a missionary, but finding that converts were few and far be- tween, had gone to keeping a hotel. «He had also built a church near, and held services there almost daily, for he held forth _. only at funerals, and they were of daily oc- currence, though seldom it was that a man ‘had been known to die a natural death in _ _ Bonanza City. 7 ie é * -* mi he -* | | A S-ssstse-tsssssseeee my story are to transpire, and whose deni- zens form some of my characters. With the exception of the coming of the Overland stage, the killing of a man or two every week, and a hanging at the hands of the Vigilantes, Bonanza City had but few other means of excitement. True, now and then a miner “struck it rich,” and that caused lively talk for a while, and another won a large stake at the Free and Easy; but then there were two topics of deep interest the citizens never tired of. These were the Gold Buzzards of Colo- rado, under their leader, Captain Kit, and the Lost Gold Mine of the Death Moun- tains. Refer to either of these subjects amid a crowd of Bonanzans, and an earnest con- versation followed. The departure of King Kendall and his party for the Death Mountains was known, for the secret of their destination had leaked out, and there was but one person in the town who believed in their success, so numerous had been the failures in that direction. That one was Doctor. Dick, and he had Parson Pete reading the burial-service over said: ‘“‘T believe they'll reach the mountains in safety, and stay there, even if they do not find the mine, for that young fellow, King His coming there then was a great surprise to them, for the miners they had met, as they entered the town, and said he was not in the camps. For a moment no one moved, or spoke in answer to the Bravo’s challenge, and then he said: / ‘*{ have spoke, and woe be unter ther pilgrim thet hes used mv name light. ‘‘ Now, here I are, so let him stand out and face the music.” At this Doctor Dick arose. His face wore its usual calm; but a smile that was not a Lleasant one to behold danced about his lips, for those who knew him well had seen him look thus on several occasions before, and those who had then brought the look to his face were lying up on the hillside in What was known as the Kingdom Ceme Cemetery. ‘* Bravo Bradley, I allow no man to enter my saloon upon the war-path. ‘‘If gentlemen get into trouble here, and then draw and settle the matter, that is all right; but you shall not come in with your guns out and try to paint the place red, for I won't have it, and you'll either put up your irons and sit down like a man, or I'll have you to-morrow.” Doctor Dick spoke slowly and distinctly, His hands were clasped behind him, seem- ingly a favorite way he had of standing, but Kendall, is the man to lead them, and he'll | the Bravo did not doubt but that they have his way in spite of Buck Bradley, Dig- ger Dan and the rest of the boys.” Thus the days went by in Bonanza City, and one evening four men suddenly and un- expectedly entered the saloon of the Free and Easy. | They were Digger Dan and his party, and a wild shout went up at sight of them. Hardly had they been called upon to tell their story, when into the place strode the tall form of Buck Bradley, the Bravo, and he had his revolvers in his hand as though he had come for mischief. CHAPTER XXIX. THE RETURNED GOLD-HUNTERS. Tne sudden entrance of the Bravo, into the Free and Easy saloon caused a general surprise and deep interest, for there wa mis- chief in Buck Bradley’s eye, which his hav- ing his revolvers in hand did not belie. The four men comprising Digger Dan’s party had jos taken a seat at a table, by in- vitation of Doctor Dick, who had ordered drinks, and Bonanza Bill was about to give their experience to a large and interested audience, when the Bravo entered. It was evident that he had alsv just arrived in town, and had heard outside that the Dig- ger Dan party were in Doctor Dick’s, and he | i grasped a revolver. The bully saw the Doctor in the midst of a group, while he stood off to himself. If be fired in that direction, even if he killed the Doctor, a dozen weapons would be turned upon him he well knew, so he said, in response: ‘Waal, Doc, I don’t wish ter break ther laws o’ ther Free and Easy, so in goes my irons until I hears what Digger Dan and tothers has ter say ag’in’ me. ‘*Let’s have some wine all round,” and Buck walked over and sai down at the table with the others, while Doctor Dick said: ‘‘You are not as big a fool, Buck, as I thought you were, and I am glad to see it. ‘‘Now let us hear your story of the hunt for the Lost Gold Mine.” “I'll give it to yer as far as I knows,” was the answer, and, after joining in a drink all round, and to the surprise of all, at his own expense, for the Bravo was not one to pay when he could avoid it, he continued: ‘Waal, pards, as yer seems ter know whar we went, 1 might a3 well own up it were ter s'arch fer ther Jost Gold Mine. ‘‘But here we is, an’ ther mine were not i not found, but it are my idee never will e, ‘* Yer knows ther han’some game-cock as There were not half a hundred women in | expected trouble, so determined to have it | went with us? the camp, although the male population | out. * ie Buck Bradley, as the reader knows, had | opposition to Parson Pete, as been a ‘mortal terror” in Bonanza City, a , narve, and a stroke o’ lightnin’, an’ I hasn’t 1 roprietor of the Bonanza Hall was | kind of ‘‘graveyard provider” as some of | had reason ter change my mind, fer in a calle , was the ‘' Free and Easy,” another the boys expressed it, ‘amounted to two thousand. _" Running vf @* ee : ° ‘‘ Him as called himself King Kendall? ‘Waal, I said then as he were a man 0’ leetle onpleasantness we hed afore we reach- micdooks (EO) _— TT. se rs. ra | | i 's - a? .