Beadle's Dime Library No. 490: 'The Lone Hand in Texas' — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

0 EO 9 wee ee _ =" .elin oo SS Se eae The Lone Hand in Texas. — CHAPTER XVI. THE BOSTONIAN APPLIES, AFTER the young man departed the old Jew gazed after him fora moment inan extremely thoughtful way, then he wagged his grotesque bald head to and fro, ‘** Aha, my tear, you play an extremely bold game, and mooch [ fear dot some fine day on dot game you Vill slip up and den dere vill be the blazes to pay. ‘But it concerns me not. Oh, no, Iam not dot kindofamans, I doasquare pisness; every- body in der town vill bear witness to dot. It is not mine fault if one of mine gustomers gets a leetle off. ‘*Und what foolishness der mans makes mit dis clerk! Dot five tollars mit der week he might as vell throw into der river. “Of it is der vill of brovidence dot old Al- dama's daughter und dis young mans comes to- gether, dey vill come und don’t you forget it.” By which remark it will be perceived that the old Jew was something of a fatalist, like the most 4 men who descended from the races of the far ast. The meditations of the aged Hebrew were in- terrupted by the appearance of the two strangers, When Webster, who led the way, and the Lone Hand entered the store, the Jew descended from the counter and advanced to meet them, bowing and cringing as though he believed them to be customers come to leave a goodly sum of money in his till. ‘**Ts this Mr. Oppenheim?’ the Bostonian asked. ‘** Yesh, yesh, dot ish my poor name,” the Jew responded bowing more lowly than before. ** Vat can I do for you, shentlemen?” **My name is Webster—Leonard Webster, and I bring a letter of introduction from Mr. Jona- than Briggs of Brackett.” and the young man handed the epistle to the Jew. ‘Ah, yesh, from mine very goot frien’ Mr. Briggs!” Oppenheim exclaimed as he opened the letter. ‘*It does mine heart goot to hear from Mister Briggs, for he ish der squarest kind of a man.’ Then the old fellow perused the letter while the Lone Hand improved the opportunity to take 2 good look at him. But the Jew was not so busy with the letter as not to be aware that he was heing inspected, and the fact made him nervous, for whils he was ap- jarently busied in the letter yet out of the cor- ner of bis eyes he was watching the Lone Hand, ‘* Mine gootness!” the Hebrew muttered under his breath, ‘‘vat eyes dot mam has, Dey go through a mans like der pair of gimlets, ‘*Oh, I am not surprised dot Moreno don’t like der looks of dis mans, [I like him not mineself. **He isa bad mans mita glass eye und you bet your boot. I vill goslow vhile he is der town in By this time he had come to the end of the letter, so he again raised his eyes and beamed on the young man. _‘*Mne goot fren’ Mr. Briggs say dot you were a clerk mit him and dot you would like to try it a vhile mit me.” **' Yes, [had the misfortune to fall sick and during my illness he had to get another man, so when [ recovered [found my job gone. I did not care toremain in Brackett anyway for I don’t think the climate there agreed with me,” Webster explained. ‘* Yesh, yesh, I see.” | ‘So, hearing that you wanted a clerk, I got this letter from Mr. Briggs and started for Pe- droville.” ** Dot vas right,” the old man remarked, with an approving nod. ‘One blace itish not goot to stay in too long sometimes.” . ** You are in want of a clerk, then?” “Oh, yesh, my trade is too big for one mans ts handle, but Iam afraid dot der pay will no be pig enough for you. Dot mans, Mister Briggs, 1 know shoost like der back of mine hand: he mooch more monish gives dan I can afford me to pay,” the old Jew remarked. ** | got twelve dollars a week with him.” * V’at did I tell you!” exclaimed Oppenheim, elevating his eyebrows and throwing up his hands as though astonished at the magnitude of thesum. ** Many is der week when I do not make more ash twelve dollars here mineself,” he declared. Fag a day, you mean,” the Lone Hand added, yiv. ‘*Vhy not say in der hour, when you goes in mit a joke to crack?” the old man asked, with a ae smile. ‘* Well, I suppose that is nearer the figure,” the other remarked, soberly, as though he took the Jew’s sarcastic statement for a literal fact, ** Ten or twelve dollars an hour, a hundred odd dollars a day, six hundred a week—” ‘“Yesh, yesh, four or five hundred t’ousand tollars mit der year,” exclaimed Oppenheim, throwing his hands up excitedly. ‘Oh, Wile youare about it make you a goot meer out, und den der first thing you know ve vill have der Red Glove Raiders carrying me up in der hills und holding in onto me unti: I fifty tousand tollars fork over,” ‘*Oh, no, there is not the least danger of that,” the Lone Hand exclaimed, confidently, ~) “yr : a. a a. é ms .t > L—wJ.s =" ee ‘‘T am not so sure, mine fr’en’,” “Dog will not eat dog, you know, and the Red Glove Raiders would never think of troub- ling aman like you, rightin the same line of business as themselves.” It was a jest of course; the manner of the speaker plainly showed that, vet when the words fell upon the ears of the old Jew it pro- duced the same effect as though a glass of ice- water had been suddenly povred down the small of his back, and it required all his self-possession to prevent his betraying how deeply he was af- fected. As it was, he changed color, and a slight shiver shoox his frame. ‘Ah, mine goot fr’en’, for gootuess sake do not a joke make ’bout dem Red Glove Raiders,” he exclaimed, ‘‘it sends der coid chills up und down my backbone every time I hear me mit mine ears der name of dose rascals.” The Lone Hand laughed. **Oh, you must not mind a joke,” he said, and in his sleeve he chuckled as he saw how straight to the mark his apparently random shot had gone, ** Vell, to der last clerk I gave two tollars per week and boarded him,” the Jew said, in a hasty way, as though desirous of not again touching npon the disagreeable subject of the outlaws, ‘*T don’t really think I could work quite as low as that,” Webster remarked, “Oh, no, mine goot sir, [ do not ask you to come for dot money,” the Hebrew exclaimed, ‘* He was a common mans—no such mnans as you are, but der best I can do mit you would be ten tollers per week, und you find your own board,” ‘* Do you require me to sleep in the store?” ‘Oh, no, I sleep here mineself; one mans is enough to watch the property.” ‘‘ Very well, those terms will suit me, I ac- cept the offer. When do you want me to com- mence?” ‘‘ Right avay, my tear! Der quicker you be- gin der quicker you vill get posted.” ‘That is true,” Webster replied. ‘‘ Well, I will go up to the hotel and make arrangements for my board and then be right back.” ‘*Dot vill do, This shentleman, I suppose, does not a situation vant?” the Jew remarked, with a grin, nodding to the Lone Hand as he spoke, ‘* Not at present, thank you, but have you another vacancy?” the Arkansian asked. ‘*Oh, my gootness, no! One mans is all der pisness vill stand. I was merely talking for der sake of making a ioke.” ‘*A joke! aon’t see anything of a joke about it!” ** You hafe not introduced me to your frien’ yet, Mister Webster,” the Jew remarked, grin- ning all the while as though he was greatly en- joying something, ‘¢This is Mr, Hand. Mr. Oppenheim,” the Bos- tonian said. The Jew shook hands with the Arkansian in the warmest manner, and then he nodded and winked mysteriously. ‘‘ Mister Hand, eh? Dot vas goot! Vot ish der first part of your handle?” “s Liki Hand.” ** Ah, yesh, dot vas betterish goot!” and the old man chuckled, hugely. ‘* TL, Hand—lone hand, aha? Und dot ish der ‘kind of game dot you come down here to blay, colonel?” oo onelt What the deuce are you driving ** Oh, dot ish right. I vill not give it away!” ‘Give what away?” asked the Lone Hand, with an air of amazement, . ‘*Dot is all right!” and the aged Hebrew winked in the most mysterions manner. ‘I thought I had before seen you de first time I mine two eyes laid on you, but I vas not sure, for I am mooch troubled mit near-vightedness, [tink I met you mit your command at Fort Franklin or at El Paso der time of der border droubles when you drove der Mexican troops across der river.” ‘*Oh, see here, you have made a mistake and are barking up the wrong tree!” the Lone Hand exclaimed. ‘‘I am no soldier and no more a colonel than you are!” ‘* Mine gootness! is dot so?” *‘ Sure as you are born;. you can bet all your ph on it, Moses, and you would win every me. ‘*Mebbe I hafe a mistake made,” the Jew re- marked, but he shook his head as though he felt extremely doubtful in regard to the fact. ‘*Oh, you have, and there is no mistake about that. My name is L, Hand, at your service; Iam a ulator down in this country on a prospecting trip seeking what I can devour, and if you hear of any good chance for busi- ness I will be much obliged if you will put me ento it.” Yesh, yesh, I shall be glad.” ‘I will be back to commence my duties in half an hour,” Webster said, and then the pards departed, leaving Moses Oppenheim a prey to great uneasiness, Mine gootness Broconer he exclaimed, af- ter the door closed behind his visitors, ‘* dot is a . — ; on tet oi el i ye be 13 dangerous man! I would not for ten t’ousand tollars kafe dot mans get me after, oh, no!” And the old Jew wagged his head more rapid- ly than ever. ‘“‘Tf der poys know when they are vell off dot mans dey vill put out of der vay as quickly as possible, ‘Oh, mine gootness! dem gimlet eyes of his look right through a mans into his very heart. ‘* Aha, I vill as straight as der chalk line valk while dot mans der town is in!” : Possibly it was a wise corfclusion at which the aged Hebrew had arrived. . CHAPTER XVII. PREPARING THE TRAP, ‘WELL, well, I begin to think that I have got hold of the extremity of an extremely long- tailed rat bere,” the Lone Hand remarked to bis companion as they retraced their steps to- ward the hotel, 3 ‘‘That is good! Of course I am not much of a judge in scch matters but dull as I am I could see that you bad the Jew pretty well both- ered there one time,” ‘* Yes, my shot went straight to the mark and it mada the old rascal wince, and yet I do not doubt that he has everything so well covered up that in the event of an explosion it would be difficult to get proof to connect him with the matter, ‘‘ It was his guilty conscience that made him wince,” ‘Yes, and how cunningly the old scoundrel jumped to the conclusion that I was a United tates soldier in disguise and tried to entrap me into owning it.” ‘* The trick did not succeed though.” ‘* No, because in the first place I am not, so the guess went wide of the mark, although I have seen service for | fought in the war and rose to the grade of a captain, but at the close of the struggle like the vast aaa of the men who served I retired to private life and did uot seek to obtain a commission in the regu- lar army. ‘** But if I had been a colonel of the regulars come down here in disguise with the idea of get- ting on the track of these outlaws I would not be idiot enough to acknowledge the truth to the first man who made a shrewd guess at it.” ‘* He pretended to recognize you.” “That was all humbug of course! The old fellow never laid eves on me befoie my advent in this town in his life,” By this time the two were near the hotel. ** Let us stroll on down to the calaboose,” the Lone Hand remarked. ‘It will not take us long, and you will have plenty of time to ar- range with the landlord when you return,” ‘* Yes, of course,” And the two walked past the hotel toward the calaboose which was at the extreme end of the town. ‘“*T want to get an idea of the lay of the land in reference to this little pleasure party to oe the Lone Hand remarked as they walk- ed along. a | va been thinking the matter over and I have come to the conclusion that it will not be healthy for either you or | to take part in that lynch business to-night unless we are so well disguised that we cannot possibly be recognized. ‘*If you remember I said sometbing to this effect before.” ‘* Very true.” “‘T thought then that we could disguise our- selves, but upon reflection I see that it will not be an easy matter. You might possibly do it, but as i am rather taller and somewhat broader across the shoulders than the average of men the chances seem to me to be about a kundred to one that I would be spotted,” ** Yes, it is likely.” ' ** And, as the boys say, the Red Glove Raiders have ‘got it in’ for both of us—a gentleman about my size in particular. ‘* Now I feel as sure as a man can feel in this world about something that it is impossible for him to be absolutely certain of, that the outlaws will make a dash on the lynch party to-nightin : order to rescue the half-breed, and as I havea sus- icion that some of the gang will be in the — Frock party it will be an easy matter in thecon- _ fusion attending the rescue for the scoundrels to put a few revolver balls into us, thus rudely cutting our thread of life in twain.” : ‘*Oh, undoubtedly it would be an easy mat- ter, and, hang me! if I want to give them the © ie chance.” ‘“That is my idea to a hair; I don’t want — * them to get a whack at me and I do want a chance at them, but the thing must be worked — , so they will not have any suspicions that we do— not intend to give them an opportunity to assas- int is to locate the tree to which sinate us, ‘The first they will be likely to take the half-breed; they will be more apt to country than uP into the town.” ‘¢ Undoubtedly.” By this time the pair had got past the cala- __ boose, ‘ . > As we have said this building was on the Ks >. skirts of the town; beyond it were only a take him toward the open ~ a AlCl eyoye)