Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 420 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

—_— —-- ——— es es steel es _ — -_—-— — — —_—_—_—__ — 13 Ee on winning, the turn being called against him | little fellow, we lived in a cottage below Cov- | ** Thank you, and I hope you will not forget to but once while he sat there. ington, and Jim Hannafin, my husband, who | call here when you are in town.” : The other players ceased making their small | was one of the smartest sports on the river,| ‘‘I surely shall not forget you, Mrs. Hanna-. | = bets to watch the bigger game, and the contest | used to come to see us as often as he could. | fin.” | shoved the money over to the stranger, express- ‘*T did not dare to stir until that man went | Moreover, she was tired and worn out—so ut- : :| ed the hope that he would call again and give | away; but as soon as he was out of sight I | terly exhausted when she reached the house that | the bank a chance. hurried to my husband, and found him dead, as | sie could go no further, and rest was an absolute ; As Gordon rose from his seat and sauntered | I supposed. necessity to ber. : | away, he was accosted by Mrs. Hannafin, who ‘*[T ran home and got help and sent for a doc- ; So she entered the log house, and was ushered regarded him smilingly and with evident in- | tor, and we took him to the house, and after a | into a large room which was nearly bare of fur- terest. while he came to his senses,” niture, conveying the same idea of temporary ‘You have been very lucky to-night,” said | ‘ Then he lived?” exclaimed Gordon. habitation that was suggested by the outside of J she. ‘‘I wish you would favor me with a few ‘*' Yes, he lived, after a fashion. The doctor | the establishment. 1 minutes conversation.” said that the bullet had injured his brain, and it There she found two persons, a woman of p ‘With pleasure,” answered Gordon, and he | had certain] y upset him completely. He got | somewhat elderly appearance and a young i | excused himself to Hank Byers, who left the | well, strong and hearty, but was never the same | girl. “4 | house, man again.” | The woman, coarsely clad and slatternly, had Mrs. Hannafin led the way into another | ‘*Tow was he chanzed?”’ | the same look of roughness and toughness that z 7 room, which was comfortably as well as hand- ‘* All bis former life had gone from him, and | distinguished the male Shropshires; but the girl | somely furnished, and to a table in a corner. he had no remembrance of it at all. He knew ! was different, : The table suggested an idea to Gordon, and he | nothing of his wife or his boy, and I was to | She seemed to be a maiden of sixteen, and, al- | acted on it at oncc. him only a kind stranger who was taking care | though dressed in a cheap calico gown that had ‘Will you allow me to order a bottle of | of him. Though he had been a card-sharp for | been cut without any special regard to style or wine?” he asked, *‘ and will you kindly help me | years, after that he did not know one card from | fit, she was neat and graceful to look ut, with a . empty. it” another, end did not want to know anything sweet and comely face that was rendered more | ‘* Certainly,” she answered, as she sounded a | about thein.” interesting by the shade of sadness that covered , bell, and the order was given. ** What became of him?’ inquired Gordon, _ it, and by the mournful gaze of her large brown | | ‘* Yes, Mrs. Hannatin,” observed Gordon, as ‘‘T had some money laid away that he had | eyes. es he raised his glass and nodded, *‘I have been | given me, and I sold my place and the furniture | Mark Hannafin, whoseemed to bein very good ; | very lucky to-night. ‘A fool for luck,’ as the | and brought him down here, thinking that a | spirits just then, took upon himself tbe part of old saying goes.’ . change of air and climate would help him. But | master of ceremonies, and proceeded to make ‘** But you are no fool,” she replied. he was the same here that be was up there. He | Eva acquainted with the members of the house- . | ** Perhaps! am not, in some things. I was | seemed to be fond of me and Mark, but when | hold. ‘ 4 smart enough to know that I had a lucky fit on | we claimed to be his wife and son he got angry, | ‘This old gentleman, Miss Talcott,” said he, 4 j and to take advantage of it, and this is where | and at last he left us. He is knocking about | is Mr. Enoch Shropshire, generally called Uncle 5 my meanness comes in.” somewhere now, busy at one thing and another, | Enoch, and this is his wife, who is favorably *“ What meanness?” and making a good living for himself, as I un- | known in these parts as Aunt Eliza. You are ‘*T was sure that I would win, you see, before | derstand.” _ acquainted with Bob Shropshire, who took us off . IT came in here, and fora man to buck against ‘That is a strange case,’ observed Gordon, | the sand-bar in his skiff, and this young fellowis , | your bank when he has a sure thing is too much | after a little reflection. ‘‘1 suppose that with | his brother Ben.” t ike robbing the widow and orphan. The fact | the rcst.of his forgetting he had forgotten| ‘‘ There is one other, Mr. Hannafin,” suggest- — . is, madam, that I needed a certain sum of | hisown name. If so, what name does he go by | ed Eva. money, and wanted it right away. I have | now?” ) 4 Oh, yes, Linda is the sister of Bob and Ben. ot it, you know, but I shall regard it asa ‘“ When he came to his senses after he was | She is a good girl, and means well.” Cd oan.” shot, I told him he had got a rap on his head, | Linda blushed faintly at this somewhat ie ‘You might have got a loan here, Mr. Gor- | and the word stuck to him, Since then he has | equivocal commendation; but she was the only , don, without taking so much trouble.” called himself Rapp, and believes it to be his | one of the group to whom Eva gave her hand. aN ‘* Indeed! I would not have thought of asking | name.” Mark Hannafin explained the cause and man- on such a favor from a stranger.” This was highly interesting information to | ner of the arrival there of himself and Silas ye ‘* You are not a stranger to me, sir—at least, | Gordon, whom it carried back at once t> the old | Birch, with the young lady, and ‘‘ Aunt Eliza” = Iknow you well by reputation. 1 have often | moonshiner who had helped the Gonders rob | at once took, or appeared to take, a motherly vb heard of Gray Gordon, and have had a curiosity | him; but he made no mention ‘of that affair to | interest in Eva. : to see him. You have been mentioned to me | Mrs, Hannatfin. **'You look to be all worn out, my dear,” said as a wealthy old sport, who occasionally takes ‘Did you know the man who shot your hus- | she, ‘*and no wonder, arter what you've been : a trip on the river and makes things hot for the | band?” he inquired. through. You must go right up-sta’rs, and lay 7 boys.” ‘He was a stranger tome; butI carried away | down thar and rest, while I take car’ o’ your nies “T am sorry to learn that I am so well | a picture of him in my mind, and from the de- | things and put ’em in shape to w’ar.” « Soa known,” remarked Gordon. ‘If I am getting | scription I could give I Jearned that he wasaj ‘I shall be glad to do so,” answered Eva; FN. famous, I shail have to haul in my horns and | river sport, aman who had been a particular | ‘‘ but there is one thing that must first be at- ee quit that line of business.” friend of Jim’s.” tended to, if possible. . Hannafin, you have Sy) ‘Are you a Californian?” inquired Mrs, Han- ‘* What was his name?” saved my life.” » he - nafin. ‘* Josiah Holcomb. I vowed then that I would ‘* Only helped, Miss Talcott.” ind ‘* T have lived in California.” hunt him down and kill him because he at- ‘*T want to beg you to increase tie obligation ‘* Was it there that you made your fortune?” | tempted to murder my husband.” under which you have placed me.” | ‘Such as it is, | picked it up there.” ‘‘Ts it not possible that he shot him in a fair ‘* Whatever I can do to please you will te pans ‘* By gambling?” fight?” cheerfully done.” sa “Yes, ma’am.,” ‘* He shot him, ard that isenough. But the ‘* Of course my mother will hear of the burn- ae “You must be a champion card-sharp.” man disappeared, and I have never seen him | ing of that beat, and I am above all things anx- ws * Nota bit of it. 1 scarcely touched a card | since. I have heard that he is dead.” ious that she should get the news of my safety = while I was on the Pacific Coast.” it might have been proper for Gray Gordon to | as soon as possible.” ae ‘“‘T don’t understand you, Mr, Gordon. You | remark just then that death buries all enmities; ** Tell me what to say and how to send it, and "he have just told me that you made your money by | but he did not say it. In fact, he raid nothing | 1 will do my best to get the news to your he gambling.” at all for some minutes, but gazed abstractedly | mother.” = ** And so I did, but there is more than one | at the glass which he bad just emptied. Then “If I can havea bit of paper, I will write a a, kind, you see. Compared with gambling in | he switched off on another subject. dispatch.” a: stocks, card-sharping is such a picayune and ‘‘ So Mark Hannafin is a son of yours. I have But the Shropshires were anything but lit- small potato business that it is not worth speak- | met him.” erary, and there was not a scrap of white pa poe ing of. That is the sort of scheme to make cr ‘*Quite likely, sir, as he spends most of his | to be found in the house—not as much as the fy-- ra, break on. Mining stocks were my strong hold, | time on the river.” leaf of an old book. as and I won right along.” ‘Did you know that he was aboard the Row-| Mark Hannafin had a note-bcok in his pocket; “3 ‘**T wish I could strike something of the sort. | ena when she burned?” but it was so badly scaked with water as to be ; Iam tired of keeping such a place as this.” ‘Oh, yes, I knew that. How did you know | worthless, and some time would be required to Qe “Do vou have to run it all alone?’ sym- | it?” dry it. ae pathetically inquired Gordon, “Are you a ‘*T was on the boat with him.” ‘**T have a very good memory, Miss Talcott,” ey widow then?” : ‘* How did you escape?” said he. ‘Tell me what you wishtosay,and **T suppose I may pass for a widow. My ‘* Simply by leaving the boat the night before | give me the necessary directions, and I will be Y ae husband is dead to me. she was lost. Have you no uneasiness about your | sure to remember.” eet “Ah! some family unpleasantness, I sup- | son?” ‘**f only want to tell her that Iam alive and | ser” ‘*None at all. I am quite suro that he is | well,” enswered Eva. and to this she added her vai, ‘* Nothing of the kind. It was a case of mur- | safe.” mother’s name and address, with thenameof the der. My husband was killed, you see.” “Where is he now?” | telegraph station nearest to Talcott’s Landing, — ‘*Tbhen he must be dead to all the world as “That is more than I can tell you; but he is | from which the dispatch would be forwarded, 43 well as to you,” suggested Gordon. | allright. Are you going, then, Mr. Gordon? I; —‘‘I donot yet know how or when this can be —/ ‘IT can’t exactly say that he is, It is a very | am glad you came, though you have taken a lit- | sent,” said Hannafin: ‘‘but you ay relyupon strange affair. Do you care to hear the story?’ | tle money from the bank. don’t know why I | me to do my best to get it off as speedily as possi- — sa ‘‘T am deeply interested, madam.” have told you my sad story, unless it was ble.” aa ‘““My son Mark is now nearly twenty-five | cause I was interested in you.” As a matter of fact, no such dispatch was ever ae years old, and that makes me consider myself | ‘It was very interesting to me, I assure | sent. eS: Fe | Perhaps the young man’s intentions were —j. settled down to a struggle between the bank and the stranger. Hank Byers did not at first take advantage of the *‘ point ” that his companicn had given him, but soon opened bis eyes to Gordon’s extraordi- nary run of luck, and hastened to secure a share of it by following the lead of the lucky player. He was rather late, however, in coming to this conclusion, and did not get the full benefit he had hoped for from the run, as Gordon, when he had a goodly pile of big chips before him, called quits, ‘*T don’t want to break this bank,” he said. ‘** A man needn’t make a hog of himself because he happens to strike a streak of luck, and Iam going to cash in my chips.” This was speedily done, and the dealer, as he anold woman, Years ago, when Mark was a | ‘** One night, when he had promised us a visit, | he did not come as soon as | expected him, and 1 walked out to meet him. ‘‘ The road ran through a piece of woods near my cottage, and just as I got to that piece of | | woods I heard two shots, one a littlo after the | other. ‘*T was scared and dazed at first, connecting the shots with my busband’s visit, and fearing that he had been waylaid and murdered; but I soon plucked up courage and ran in the direction from which the sounds had come. ‘‘ Pretty soon I stopped, worse than Cazed and | shaking with fear, for in a little glade there, into which the moonlight came freely, lay my husband on the ground, and over him stood a man with a pistol in his hard. | | | CHAPTER XV. THE HOTEL SHROPSHIRE. THOUGH Eva Talcott did not at_all fancy the appearance of the Shropshires or their home, there was clearly nothing for her to do but to go on with her friends and make herself as com- fortable as she could under the circumstances. Her hosts, although their dress and manners were rough, indeed, and their speech was calcu- lated to excite suspicion, might be only poor and miserable rustics, none the less honest because of their poverty and ignorance. It was to be supposed, also, that Mark Hanna- fin, in spite of his previous unpleasant atten- tions, must mean well toward her, as he bad saved her life at the risk of his own. you.” ah . ] _— _ % : A} : - , . . 4 a a3 ek ‘ ‘ . . - ‘ - > Aa - » ‘ ‘ - > - s 2 &.pAK % ye = tn ‘ te * i ah ia xT > ‘ if yi . ‘ ae ef . " - . ame tae —F (e mIcboo ‘4