Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 483 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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coat. Gee OP ee We Et OF2 8a Oe a aTO® —— 3 = . a os 4° Flush Fred, the River Sharp. 15 sions right there, he was worried by fears for the future. ‘* Why, Charley, old boy, you look as solemn as an owl,” remarked Flush Fred as the landlord seated himself at the table. ‘ST feel solemn,” he replied. ‘* This has been a terrible day, and I don’t know what the end of the trouble will be.” **Tcan tell you what it will be,” interposed Mr. Bates. ‘‘We are going: to give those Staceys such ashaking up and settling down, that they will be glad to hunt their holes and keep quiet. We have hit them some hard blows, and we are going to keep on pounding until we beat into their thick heads the fact that they don’t own the earth.” ‘‘That is all well enough for you, Mr. Bates, who are an outsider, and don’t own property here.” ‘* Don’t own property! Why, man alive, my moneyed interests in this county are ever so rauch heavier than yours,” “TT hadn’t thought of that. But you have not got all you are worth invested here, as I have, and your family is not dependent upon your business here for a living. Suppose the Staceys should win this fight and keep the upper hand, what will there be left forme among them? If they should do nothing worse, they might be ex- vected to persecute me and ruin my business, iver if they should be beaten out of their boots, there would still be plenty of Staceys about here, and they would hate me and do all they could to harm me.” ‘*'You take a gloomy view of the affair, Mr. Taintor.” ‘“‘Tam speaking plainly, and I must confess that it has a gloomy look to me,” Mr. Bates’s bright smile was a pleasant con- trast to the landlord’s solemn looks, ‘* Now, Mr. Taintor,” said he, “let us see if we can’t take a more cheerful view of the situ- ation. Jt is my belief that the Staceys are going to get such a thrashing as will last them a long time, and that the men who join in to whip them will have the upper hand here after this, and can keep itif they want to. In that event you need fear nothing from the Staceys, and I will be responsible for any damage to your prop- erty or business in the meantime. But that is not all.” ‘* What is beyond that?’ inquired the land- lord. are entirely too good a man to be wasted in such a dried-up hole of a place as Staceyville, and I would like to take you out of here and put you in charge of an establishment in Mem- phis where you will havea chance to spread yourself.” Charley Taintor’s honest face brightened up amazingly. This \.as something better than he could have hoped for, and the clouds that had obscured the future were at once chased away, ‘Mr. Bates, you are a brick!” he exclaimed. **T might have known that you wouldn’t leave me in the lurch, and [I had no business to grum- ble and complain. You may count on me in this difficulty to any extent, and whatever I can do to help you will be cheerfully done.” ‘All right, Charley; but we don’t want you to risk your life, unless you should happen to get excited, as you did a while ago. Now, if you please, [ wish you would ask some of our friends to bring Colonel Jeff Stacey in here, as we have a bone to pick with him,” CHAPTER XXII. TOUGH JEFF STACEY. CoLONEL Jerr STACEY was brought into the room under guard, and was seated in a chair. Taough lis feet were free, his hands were still confined, but at Fred Henning’s request he was untied. The prisoner was naturally cast down by his sudden and unexpected capture, but was not dismayed, and surely was not the ‘least bit frightened. e looked defiantly at his captors, and his | only response to their polite greeting was a scow]. ** We are glad to meet you, colonel,” remark- | ed Henning. ‘* Under the present circumstan- | ces we are glad to meet you right here.” The colonel evidently was not glad, and he was not going to say that he was, ‘‘ This is a nice little family party,” observed Fred, ‘‘ We are having supper, as you perceive, and a very good nie se It is, too. For the Southern style of cookery, I think that Charley Taintor’s cook is one of the best I ever met, and she only needs better materials to° work with i than can be found in sucha backwoodsy place as Staceyville. By the way, we are going to change the name of the town before we are through with it.” ; “ Are you afflicted with & running off at the tongue?” inquired Colonel Jeff. ‘‘ Talk seems to be cheap with you.” . “ But it ist everybody who can put himself outside of such a supper as this just now. You, for instance—I shouldn’t wonder if you would like to have some of it. I doubt if you have had anything to cat in a long time—surely not | since noon, Would you care to join us? | | ‘* It is my opinion, Charley Taintor, that you | ‘“Wouldn’t object,” gruffly answered the colonel. “Il am really afraid that we can’t allow it though. We will want to get the truth out of you, colonel, and it is possible that we may have to starve it out.” “Starve away, then, but don’t give me any more of your durned foolishness. I am tired of that,” ‘** Do let the gentleman sit down to his supper in peace,” interposed Andrew Bates. ‘‘ Draw up your chair, colonel, and help yourself. That is what you was invited in here for, As we may have to hang you before long, we have no right to starve you.” This was also somewhat ungracious; but Col- onel Jeff was hungry, and the meal was an ap- petizing one, and he hastened to do ample justice to it, “You folks are playing a big game,” he oes out when he had partially satisfied his lunger. ** Do you refer to the game I plaved when I caught you out yonder?” inquired Flush Fred. ‘* That was a pretty sharp game, I flatter myself, and my little trap worked admirably.” ‘‘fam speaking of your riot and rebellion against the constituted authorities,” ‘* Yes, we are working that scheme up pretty well, and we flatter ourselves that we are going to win, The fact is, my dear colonel, it has been decreed that the Staceys must go,” ‘You will all goto the gallows before that happens. ‘There are Staceys enough here to eat you all up.” ‘They bit on us to-day, but found it right hard chewing.” ‘*T know what that man is after,” declared Colonel Jeff, pointing . quite impolitely at Andrew Bates. ‘* He wants to make money out of this business, but he will lose more than he will gain. He don't care how many people may suffer, if he can get his pitiful money; but he will have to pay for his fun with the rest of ou. ss I suppose you would call my action a new way tocollect old debts,” observed Mr. Bates, ‘* Desperate diseases, my friend, require desper- ate’remedies. and the Stacey disease is a desper- ate one. I am inclined to believe that the remedy will work a cure.” “It is hardly worth while for us to argue the question with this gentleman,” said Henning. “Time will tell; and the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Weinvited the colonel in here for another purpose, and to that we will now give our attention,” Flush Fred faced the prisoner as he spoke, gazing at him with a look of cold and bitter de- termination that fairly made him shudder. ‘*What’s the matter?” stammered Colonel Jeff. ‘*‘ What do you want out of me?” ‘* The truth, and we mean to have it. I have heard it said, colonel, and I believe it was truly said, that you are one of the meanest and most cantankerous of the Staceys, and I can assure you that we don’t mean to show you a bit of mercy unless you come to our terms and tell us what we want to know.” ‘What do you want to know?” ‘The truth. If you have anything of that kind about you, you had better give it up before we take’ measures to squeeze it out of you,” ** What do you want to know, I say?” ‘*You told Mr. Stanniford and me that we were accused of having abducted Miss Eva Bramwell, What we want to know is, first, whether it is true that that young lady has dis- appeared from Bramwell Stacey’s house.” “Tt isa fact, and if you don’t know it, there’s nobody else that does,” ; **Under the circumstances, colonel, and con- sidering your position as a prisoner and a uest, Lcan’t call you a liar, and must leavo you to form your opinion on that point. My second question is, who carried off the young lady?” ** You did,” stoutly answered Colonel Jeff, “That’s what you are accused of, and there’s witnesses to prove that you did it.” * The remark that [ have just made applies to that statement. Really, colonel, I must advise you to pull the cork out of your bottle of truth, uf there is such sn article in your possession, as this sort of thing can’t be allowed to goon much longer. My third and last question 1s, what has become of Miss Bramwell?” ‘That is more than I can tell you, sah. If vou don’t know, who does?” From Flush Fred’s eyes flashed an ugly ana vindictive fire, and even tough Jeff Stacey quailed before that almost murderous look. ‘You put me out of patience,” said Fred. * You can give true answers, if you will, to the questions | have asked you. I have no doubt that the facts are in your possessioa, and you must be persuaded to part with them. We had thought of starving the truth ont of you; but that would be too slow a process, and we must squeeze it out.” ‘ What do you mean by squeeze it out?’ mut- tered the prisoner. delineate 4 sera, bi of your neck, Snch erate an stent lyi of ia hanging matter.” 1 e708 re SUNY Ca you mean to say that you will hang me ‘*Unless you tell us the full and exact truth, and that very soon, we will hang you by the neck until you are dead, and may the Lord of Ananias bave mercy on your soul!” ‘Don’t if seem to you that you folks are going too far?’ protested the prisoner. fear of the law?’ ‘“*We have waded into this thing over our 4 ’ : ‘* Have you no shoe-tops, and may as well go up to our knees, We must have the truth at any price,” ‘*Go on with your hangin’, then. You'll get » no answers from me but what I have given — ou.” , At this point the proceedings, which had be- come interesting to all concerned, were suddenly interrupted in a startling manner, Shouts and cries, especially the screams of women, resounded from the rear of the hotel where the kitchen was located, and with them were mingled shots and the loud voices of men, “The Staceys!” cried Charley Taintor, and he and his three friends sprung up to meet what was clearly a fresh attack on the the enemy, Jeff Stacey saw his opportunity; but he was a little too quick to seize it. Reaching forward as Flush Fred rose prisoner jerked from the young man’s belt revolver that was conspicuous there. “It is my turn now!” he shouted. “The Staceys will be on top now, and we'll see who will do the hangin’.” ‘* Go on!” Henning ordered his friends, ‘I will deal with this man.” \" * ' rs ] part of f ¥ perhaps | the r the | 4 They took him at bis word, and hastened out i to meet the attack in the rear, which was evi- | dently a fierce and serious one, ““Tll settle your hash, anyhow, you aA i 4 gambling rascal!” roared Colonel Jeff, and b eyes sparkled with malice as he cocked the re- volver. If he had been thoughtful enough to put the | table between himself and his antagonist, he 4 would have had him at bis mercy; but Fred Henning, even though unarmed, was not afraid of a leveled revolver when he was near enough to the man who held it. He was as cool as an iceberg, and as calmasa ~ ty be enough for him, and he thought he wassecure day in Indian summer, _ o all appearances bis life was merely a ques- tion of seconds; but two or three seconds would of those, A quick and sharp glance showed him that the hammer of the revolver was raised over a nipple that had no cap «n it—that is to say, a chamber that had been discharged. 7 The discovery made him smile, He could afford to give his adversary that shot, but was not likely to give him another, “a vs . ~~ 4 ] a Colonel Jeff did not notice the condition of the — ; weapon when he cocked it, as his eye was fixed on his antagonist with deadly intent, As soon as he uttered his’threat he leveled the 4) revolver and pulled the trigger; but the hammer fell harmlessly. The imprecation that rose to bis lips was choked down, Flush Fred rushed in, grasping bis adversary’s throat with his right hand, while with his left he grabbed at the revolver. The suddenness of the attack, and the severi of the pressure upon his throat, compelled Col- onel Jeff to drop the weapon and cometoa — clinch, Then it was that Fred Henning *‘ had him.” 4 “q (el qs q -# + , Though Colonel Jeff was bigger and brawnier than he, the man from the river was all muscle — and as active as a cat. a He had got the underhold, too, or the inside hold, and knew how to use it, ert | , 1 * While his antagonist was wildly pawing at | ty a him, Fred dropped his throat grasp, took a body hold, and with his left foot knocked out the big man’s vere eats Colonel Jeff topp a corner of the table in bis descent, and when he reached the floor he was senseless, | Henning promptly turned him over ; face, and tied his hands bebind his back with the cord that had previously been used for that pur- i pose, This conflict bad covered such a small space of time, that it was not too late for the victor to” join his friends in repelling the attack from the © 7, ae) rear of the hotel. : Without stopping to put another cartridge in — the revolver he had picked up, be away. AN ATTACK IN THE REAR, Av the rear of the hotel the situation was pretty serious just then. The fact of the capture of Colonel Jeff Stacey E a i a ed and fell, his head striking on his | ““ % was not yenerally known until his repulsed and ~ discomfited followers bad returned to their = * position out of reach of the enemy’s fire. “ Then it was discovered that he was missing, — and nobody knew what bad become of him un a wounded man came limping in and said that he had seen the colonel seized and run inside the barricade by two of the Independents, The news was very depressing to the Stacay~ - 7 | GEomicbooks (C + f ¥ b ' CHAPTER XXII. ee mise! ~ . he ee ' yi, © i a ee