Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 416 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

16 Mo face became aimost that of a fury. Her dusky “a 3 eyes glittered like those of an enraged ser- | t pent, ‘her grand form dilated, and one hand % caught at the jeweled haft of a poniard which ae nestled in her bosom, as thougb she would pluck it forth and bury it in the heart of the girl who og so undauntedly flung this bitter truth into her Dis) teeth. i But still swifter in her actions, Medea drew I% the revolver with which she had taken the pre- eaution to arm herself before leaving the hotel in company with Professor King Smith, and the & a Ps full in the face, checking ber band as the leaming dagger was half-drawn from her som. | ‘‘T am prepared to defend myself—” began = Medea, when there came an impatient rap at the ty door, and the voice of the fat little professor INE muttered: tanh) ‘* Come, sister, are you not through? Time is | —s up, and _ unless we are back promptly, Honest ee Giles will raise the entire town! Open and let ae me in!” y i? ‘‘TIn. one nioment,” replied the woman, re- |. turning the dagger to its hiding-plice, her rage apparently appeased as she addressed Medea: Por the last time, will you be warned?” ae ‘‘T have spoken plainly enough. I must keep ') my oath, Tell me the name under which I mey nte Jim, | } | perforated muzzle stared the enraged woman | eee a = the He was perfectly familiar with his surround- ings, and as he reached the rear wall, he cri unbooked the heavy wooden shutter whic guarded a narrow window, and flinging it open, lifted Alva Pennington feet foremost, thrusting him through the opening and suffering him to drop outside, In another instant he scrambled through the aper‘ure, and dropping lightly to his feet gave vent to a low laugh of triumphant mockery. He knew that Curly Kaine would be watching for him among the fear-maddened crowd as it rushed from the darkened room into the light which streamed into the archway in readiness to shoot him down without mercy. * All right!” he muttered, with a keen glance around him. ‘“ Let bim have his swing now. I'll fetch him in the long run, Only for Pen- nington—”’ The man whose name just fell from his lips, suddenly rose from the ground and seeming to recognize him as a foe, struck out viciously at him in the dim shadows, Luckily for Monte Jim, Pennington was yet a tenderfoot, and in his bewildered condition forgot the weapons he carried, striking out with his clinched fists instead. His brain dizzy, his senses confused, the wounded man misjudged his distance in the gloom, end the force of his unresisted blows turned him half-around, and |___ find Lloyd, Pennington, and let me go,” calmly | he staggered into the firm grip of Monte Jim, : | r -—~—-—«»repilied ~Medea,. slipping her pisto mae ket, though still. Taepiic her hand on the = | co utt. i ‘*‘So be it, then!” her strange hostess cried, her voice hard and cold. ‘* Your fate be on 7 your own head, for I will never more lift finger ~~ - t aid you!” ‘“‘T ask it not. Only keep your promise.” “The man you seek now calls himself Monto - Jim,” said the woman, brushing past the almost stupefied girl and openifig the door to admit ber brother, addressing him sharply: *‘l am done with her. She knows all she came to learn, and is r. ady to go back with you. Take her, and ix 9 _ The little professor seemed well accustomed to sudden. changes on her part, for without a | i _ word in response to her almost savage th ag Wi he touched Medea on the arm. Stunned, she turned and followed him through tbe door, . without another glance toward the woman who 4 “ag had so thoroughly astounded her by mentioning ' ‘that name—by declaring that Monte Jim was ea re person she was seeking as Lioyd Penning- Sah SON. _. For a moment the ligh. from the house fell _ _. full across her pale face, and it was seen by a | ~-—s passer-by, who uttered a sharp cry of amaze- ene s. iment as be caught her arm: * You, Miss Pennington! coming from the house of that infamous. woman!” 7 eo ’ . a e iw aa ah CHAPTER XVIil. oe BLOOD JS THICKER THAN WATER. * 2, THoucn he held. the game apparently in his own hands, thanks to his boldness and the pre- a ———_—_— ee SS ~ eautions which he had taken to have his men on — oe might chance to arise, Monte Jim knew that _ €urly Kaine would not suimit to exposure be- fore all that crowd, if there were any possidlo -- means of turning the tables on him. Thanks to this, he was not taken entirely by surprise when the chandeliers fell with a crash, in swiftly he dropped down below the level of . the table, just in time to avoid a bullet which gped from out a little cloud of flame-tinged yarns lighting up the rigid, desperate face of ee! gatnbler. _ Aery of agony followed the shot, but 1t came mot from the lips of Monte Jim, and the figure that dropped heavily to the floor was of one who had taken no more active part in that a he work than to watch the curious battle of the rival gamblers. -* Amidst the utter confusion which followed the fall of the chandeliers and the extinguish- ment of the lights, the voice of Alva Penning- ton rung out distinctly: “Hands off, here—fight fair! Ah, I’m cut !” Monte Jim was half-way under the table, _ making for Curly Kaine when he heard and re- “a oe meee that voice, and without a second’s hesi- tation he abandoned all idea of taking his re- wy e at that time, and, backing out, caught the ns ering form of the young gambler in his arms. a _ The panic-stricken crowd was se i De ig 2 le in which lights were still burning, though but little penetrated the thick curtains which hung over the arch-shaped opening in the partition. he . : 7 é * , For a brief space Monte Jim felt himself car- - ried along by the blind, umreasoning rush, but ¥ then, holding the limp figure of Pennington on _ one arm, ho struck swiftly with his clubbed re- volver, the sweeping blows rapidly clearing a space around him. Then, instead of making his way toward the sheet of light which was now streaming in through the archway, as the - Ty ee of the fugitives tore aside the curtains, Monte Jim hastily retreated to the rear of the _ room, where yet all was dark. — te ; v « . ‘An Fae Y 4 ‘e “ * hand and in readiness for any emergency which | | into her | who muttered hastily in his ear: ‘*Don't try to make yourself a bigser idiot than nature intended, Adva Pennington! I pulled you out of that rumpus, at the cost of my reveuze on that crooked rascal, Curly Kaine. Don’t make me wish I had left you to be tram- nled under those feet—thero wouldn’t be a whole bone left in your skin by this time, only for me,” **Somebody cut me,” muttered Pennington, irresolutely struggling to free himself. ‘* Darn such a cowardly trick! in the dark, too, when I wasn’t on my guard, Letup, man! l’m going back to get even with the dirty scoundrel!” The iron grip of the dashing sport grew still tighter, and he held the enraged young man helpless as he muttered: ‘*So you shall get even, old fellow; I pledge you my word on that score. But I’m not go- ing to let you run your head into a hornets’ ne t, until we see just how decp that knife went, You've coming with me, to my rooms, just now.” ‘* Who in blazes are you, anyhow? ‘* The truest friend you have in all Bismarck this night, if you would only believe it, Alva Pennington,” was the earvest response, as Monte Jim, with a gentle force, led the young man around the corner and out of sight of the Clip- per Shades, out of the front door of which the crowd was now rushing, with loud cries and shouts of excitement which bade fair to soon arouse the entire town, ‘* Curse the friends!” muttered Pennington, on whom the liquor which he had freely’ imbibed earlier in the evening seemed just beginning to take effect. ‘‘ Where’s Frank? He rar. off and left me—and I bad cut—clean through to the hollow, I reckon, from the way itsmarts! Devil take all such frier*. a3 that, say I!” Beginning to fear thet Pennington was hurt worse than he had at first believed, Monte Jim burried him along, half-carrying him on his strong arm, pausing not until the hotel was reached. Not alittle to his relief, he found the bar deserted by all save the Jandlord, the others having rushed headlong to tue scene of action at the first alarm. “Get hot water, cloths, liqnor—you know what’s wanted, old man!” hastily muttered Monte Jim, as he caught the form of his com- panion up in his arms and crossed the room, ‘* This gent has been cut in a row at the Clip- per ere and 1 brought him here. Lively, now!’ Swiftly climbing the stairs, Monte Jim bore his heavy burden into his room, placing him on the bed, while he turned to strike a light. Not a lit{le to his surprise, when he performed this, and turned once more to his patient, Alva Pen- nington was sitting up, staring around him with a bewildered air. It was a curious, but not unprecedented fact. Showing the effects of liquor but slightly while playing, no sooner had that treacherous blow sought his life, than Alva Pennington became so drunk that be could scarcely stand alone, The free flow of blood, while being helped to Monte Jim’s room at the hotel, apparently drained the liquor from his system as well, for, though plainly bewildered, the young man now seemed as sober as he had before receiving his wound. ‘‘Monte Jim!” he muttered, na pag ra | look- ing around him, ‘‘ How in thunder did I come here, and what’s happened, anyhow?” Just then the landlord put in an appearance, and Monte Jim made an evasive reply as he hastened to look at the injury the young man had received, | At first his countenance was grave enough, but a brief examination chased away the shadow, for he saw that the wound was only a super- ficial one, though the flow of blood had been considerable. The blow bad been dealt from behind, and plainly meant murder, but the steel * 9 Sk gi, SRS TN vn EMER ae “Wh Ah . i ™ & a ay Se » 7 . Ld ‘ >) Black Sheep of Bismarck. ELLE eee eee EEE ———————————————— LT ———————— em sO SN nee eee te ee ¥ PA “. Pal a. . 4 > “* a . 4 t pad ox mi a ’ , . . - fad struck a little too low and too far to the left, glancing along the ribs a few inches below the left arm-pit. ‘*'You’ll be as sound as ever inside of a week, old fellow!” cried Monte Jim chesrily, as he compléted the bandaging as neatly as though he were a professional. ‘“‘If you lay low to- morrow, nobody ’d ever suspect you of being an invalid.” ‘* Who do you reckon it was cut me?” ‘* A mistake, no doubt!” was the quick re- sponse, ‘It was intended for me, I reckon, but the rascal got mixed up when the lights fell, and we changed our positions so suddenly. Don’t worry over it. Scme day you may have the chance to repay the compliment, with interest added to date.” These words were drawn forth by a sudden cloud which settled over the face of the wounded man. His chin dropped on his palms, and he looked the picture of sullen despair as he stared moodily at the floor, marked with his blood, ‘* Better have left me alone, and let them finish their cowardly work!” he muttered, sur- lity. ‘*‘ My money is gone, and with it goes my last hope, A man had better be in Hades than on earth without money !” Monte Jim made no reply, but pulling a chair up to the table, drew from his pockets great handfuls of bank-notes and gold coin, among which his white, supple fingers moved rapidly, sorting them out into piles, while Alva Penning- ton moodily watched him, his face growing darker and more forbidding as he calculated the amount of money in sight. Men'e Jim spoke not until he had completed his inventory of the money before him, but then be turned toward Pennington and abruptly de- manded: ‘*How much did you blow in to-night, my friend?” ‘‘ very dollar I owned!” was the moody re- sponse. ‘¢ And that was, in round figures?” ‘*Vive thousand, besides the thousand you loaned me. If you can find any person fool enough to offer you a dollar for that debt, you’d better take it. It’s all you'll ever see of that thousand, unless there happens to be a saw- bones in these diggings who will put up a few ducats for the chance of getting the corpus of on infernal ass te dull his instruments on. If so, close the bargain, and I'll furnish the stiff!” Reckless as this speech sounded, Monte Jim could see that underneath it Jay a current of truth. Penniless, Alva Pennington cared little how soon he Iceft this world, ‘*Time enough for that when all other means fail, old fellow,” coolly retorted the sport, his fingers busy among the bank-notes. ‘* There you are, my friend. Just run over it after me, and see that the amount is correct.” As he spoke, Monte Jim pushed the smaller pile of notes toward Petnington; but the latter made no move toward taking them, his blood- shot eyes glaring almost fiercely at the other as he spoke: ‘What are you driving at, anyway?” “Paying my honest debts; nothirg more!” coolly. ** You intend that money for me?” “Certainly. It belongs to you. Put it in your pocket.” ‘‘ That won’t wash, Monte Jim. You played the trick on me once to-night, to say nothing of the other evening, but it won't work again,” al- mcst savagely muttered the young man. ‘* A trick, you say?’ quietly. uttered the sport, his eyes opening widely. ‘* May I ask you toex- ome what sort of a trick you have reference to? ow am I trying to trick you?” “That's whatt don’t know; but I’m not all fool, and I know that a man of your caliber doesn’t shed his money quite so profusely, with- out seeing his way of getting even in the long run. I took back the first sum because I knew that I bad been gouged out of it by your gang. The other, this evening, I could not persist in re- fusing while those cursed cards were before my eyes, and, like a fool, I felt that I would not only be able to repay you before I rose from the table, but I believed I could win back my own money. I lost, of course; but if I live long enough, I'll repay your loan, with interest. ‘*So much for that. As for this money, put it in your pocket, where it belongs, and don’t repeat your offer. You've done me a good turn this night and I con’t want to quar- rel with you if I can help it. But accept your org without the slightest claim on it, I will not ‘*Now it’s my turn,” coolly uttered Monte Jim, as the wounded man sunk back in his sea breathless from the energy with which he ha poured forth his rapid, earnest speech. ‘ Let the money lay where it is, until I prove to you that, in common justice, if belongs to you more than to me.” ‘You can’t stuff that down me!” muttered Pennington. ‘* That’s all right,” smiled the sport. *‘ I won’t force you to take it unless you are convinced that it belongs to you, by good gambler’s law and usage. ‘‘ When I stepped inside the Clipper Shades, this evening, I had not the slightest idea of play- GOMME cS 1 JOO She (O) | & > " 1 v , ° ; See Pe) eo