Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 508 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

=~." - in the direction of the ful friend. 24. Topnotch Tim, the Mad Parson. into the brook that ran down the middle of the gulch, and frequently barking their shins against the broken rock and bowlders that blocked the way, all of which involved a display of vocifer- ous language that would not have been tolerated in a Sunday school. And still they trudged on, their course con- tinually leading upward, until the sides of the gulch gradually lowered, and finally it opened ! into the tangle of bills that formed the upper portion of the Topnotch mountain range. Ceesar had never before followed the gulch so far, and he did not know where he was; but he a forward on the trail of Susie’s captors, coping as close to them as he dared. is wish was, if possible, to give her some shadow of comfort by informing her of his pres- ence, and then to watch for a chance to rescue her from the scoundrels who had possession of her. When Dan Lasher and his band had fairly got out of the gulch, they halted for rest and refreshment, the refreshment being of the liquid kind and carried in flasks that were passed about freely. As the drinkers became hilarious, Cesar crept closer to them, and pee A forgot his cau- tion in his eager desire to attack them then and there. If he had two revolvers, he would probably have opened fire upon them; but, when his five shots were exhausted, if not sooner, he would surely be at their mercy, without accom- plishing anything for Susie. The senses of one of the men were acute enough, notwithstanding the liquor he had drank, to cause him to suspect that some strange or unfriendly presence was near, and i pricked up his ears as a wolf might have one, Suddenly he jerked out a revolver, and fired resence he suspected. The bullet whizzed close to Ceesar’s head, and the dwarf crouched down, so quiet thereafter that he could not have heard himself breathe, ‘“ What do you mean, Larry?’ sharply de- manded Dan Lasher. ‘‘ What did you fire at?’ ‘Seemed to me that J heard or smelt some kind of a varmint over thar.” **{ reckon, Larry, it was whisky that was doing your hearing and smelling just then.” **Mebbe it was; but I ain’t in the way of missin’ many chances,” ** Well, don’t give us any more such foolish- ness, or you may have trouble with me. Come, pes we are wasting time here.” usan Marlow had remained seated during this halt, ber face pale, but watchful and deter- mined, She neither spoke nor moved, and by no sign did she show that she was aware of Dan Lasher’s _ glittering and gloating gaze. When the part and accompani murmur. Cesar also started up and followed them. It was still dark, but soon there were signs of the coming dawn, and within an hour day began to break. The man called Larry, who had not profited by Dan Lasher’s reproof, still kept his nose and ears actively employed, with special attention to the rear, suspecting that there was something to be ‘*‘ heard or smelt” there. After awhile he fell back behind his comrades, but so quietly that they did not notice his deser- tion, and it was not likely to be perceived by ya eer dwarf who was pursuing the party so closely. Then, as the day dawned, Dan Lasher and his men were startled by the sound of a struggle in their rear—a short and sharp struggle, with set forward again, she arose her captors quietly, without a _ quick but few cries, A pistol-shot ended it, and Larry sauntered _ back to the band. ‘*So you have been doing it again. What do you mean by that sort of thing?” sharply de- manded Dan Lasher. ‘*T mean that I’ve got my work in and made it pay,” coolly answered Larry. ‘‘I was sure that a spy was follerin’ us, and I caught him and killed him.” ' **Did you know the man? Who was he?’ ‘*Topnotch Tim’s dwarf feller. A tough sub- ject to handle, too; but I settled him.” _ Susan ered about her heart; but she checked her tears, d it might be supposed that she had not heard e short and sad story of the death of her faith- CHAPTER XXXITI, THE MAD PARSON’S QUEST. It has been said that Timothy Marlow’s mind was all astray when he started out to a e _ the impossible task of finding a trail in t night. — tis wits were eek wool-gathering, and he ad Parson,” was then indeed ‘“‘ The a | . There was some method in his madness; but _it was an inadequate and useless method. It would have been impossible for him in his best condition to pick up that trail, especially as _ it followed the main trail for scme distance, and he could not have begun to determine where it _ emerged from that. Marlow shuddered, anc a pain gath-. Besides, the outlaws, that they might the bet- ter cover their tracks, had gone over into the gulcb that held the old man’s bonanza. Of course he did not know that, and he pressed forward blindly, having a vague idea of who the men were who had killed young Marvel and carried off his child, and of where those men might be found, but without possessing wit enough to take the nearest route to their usual haunt, If be had been able to follow them and over- take them, what could one crazy old man do against so many well-armed and desperate toughs? Necessarily he had nothing like a clear and definite idea of what he intended to do, except ae be must follow the raiders, and find his child. If he had been in his normal, or even his half- normal condition, Susie would have confided in him thoroughly, and would have implicitly be- lieved in his power to rescue her from any num- ber of enemies, under any possible circum- stanves, But she knew that he had gone off in an ut- terly irresponsible condition; that he was on one of his ‘‘ annuals,” that he was a crazy man when he left his home, and that it might be several days before he would return, as the Scripture says, ‘‘ clothed, and in his right mind.” Consequently she could not depend on her father for aid in her present extremity, and had no thought of depending on him. The only person’ to whom she could look for any help was Ceesar’, the dwarf, and she had learned that the poor fellow had been ruthlessly slain while he was endeavoring to aid her, Perhaps there was one other person—he who had declared himself her lover— from whom sbe might hope something; but it was surely a wish ratber than a hope. How was he likely to learn what had really happened to her? And what could he be ex- pected to do, in his ignorance of the facts? In the mean time Timothy Marlow blindly and vaguely pursued his search in the darkness of the night. The method of his madness showed itself in the eb pean with which he sought to find the trail. It was not by the sense of sight that he pur- sued his search, but by those of feeling and ie groping and sniffing about, as Cesar or a wild beast might have done. All the time he gripped tightly the rifle which he had taken from the desolate cabin, but without sense enough to load it, though he bad plenty of ammunition for the purpose, The empty rifle did not help the old man to find the trail, and finally he abandoned the at- tempt to discover it. After that he wandered on more blindly than ever, and apparently with less definiteness of u purpose. Again and again he pressed his hands to his head, and now and then he would seat himself on a rock or & log, looking for a time as if he had forgotten his child and everything else that the world contained. Then he would rise and struggle forward through the intense darkness, keeping no steady or certain direction, but wavering and meander- ing, as if he did not know whither he was going, or what he wanted to do, What hope could there be for Susie in a man so helplessly demented? How could he ever find her, and how could he help her if he should Ty Lopes to find her?” His route, if it could be called a route, osama brought bim to the head of the gulch throug which Dan Lasher’s band had passed with their captive. he point he reached might have been easily gained by him much sooner, if he had been in possession of his senses, Indeed, if he had gone thither directly, with- out stopping or wandering from the true course, he might have reached the head of the'gulch be- fore the outlaws emerged from it, as they, in their wish to cover their tracks, had ‘ gone around Robin Hood’s barn ” to get home. As it was, be was about an hour behind them, and it was broad daylight when he reached the place where the gulch opened out intothe higher ground of the mountain. *Daylight seemed to make no difference to the Mad Parson. He staggered or wandered on as blindly and uncertainly as he had during the darkest part of the night. Suddenly he stumbled over acca ep, Soi he might easily have seen if his eyes had n at- tending to their duty. It was just such an object as he had stumbled over before he entered his desolated home on the plateau, and he would have been even more de- mented than he was, if he had not at once recog- nized the unmistakable feel of a corpse. He looked at it, as he was close to it on the ound, and pereeived that it was Cesar, the warf, who lay dead there, This revelation, so sudden and so startling, uickly made a decided change in Topnote im. Though his mind did not at once become clear, his wits were greatly revived and strengthened, ~ ) read, : _ 4 e +... 4 iy ’ ° e ‘ ted ii . i %y . an to ; YW vs Msc Sek ; Ji, a . ““ and he had a much better apprehension of his surroundings and of the meaning of things. It was evident that Ceasar bad been shot to death, and that told the story clearly enough for the old man to understand it. The dwarf had of course been killed by the scoundrels who ravaged the bome on the plateau and carried off Susie Marlow, and he must have been following them with the view of belping her or keeping track of ber, when he met his desth at their hands. Therefore the Mad Parson knew that he was on the right track, and, bis mind having cleared ee) he also knew where he was and whither he had intended to go, His destination, as he had vaguely figured it before he left the plateau, was the outlaw settlement where Dan Lasher bad taken refuge. In the clearing up of things that followed the discovery of Ceesar’s body, and considering the place where the body was found, in a direct line from the Marlow house to the haunt of thé out- laws, it was plainly impressed upon that old man that he knew just where his daughter was to be found. CHAPTER XXXIV, END OF THE QUEST. Ir would never do to leave Cesar’s body there to be devoured by foul beasts or birds, and Topnotch Tim, though he then had a defi- nite purpose, and was in a hurry to execute it, did not hesitate to stop and care for the remains of his faithful friend and servant. This he did by covering the body with stones until there was a sufficient pile to secure it from desecration. Before he began this above-ground burial, he tenderly and reverently searched the corpse, a proceeding which the outlaws had omitted as something not worth their while. He found the bag of valuable chippings which the dwarf had brought away from the bonanza in the guich, and secured it upon his own per- son, being fully aware of its nature and value. Having rendered the last service to Ceesar’s remains, he pushed forward resolutely, knowing well that he was near his destination, And so he was, as half an hour’s rapid travel brought him to the outlaws’ settlement, It was located in a hollow in the hills, a sort of basin which would have been a lovely place if it had been decently inbabited; but foul birds have foul ways, and those which had nested in that basin were not calculated to make a para- dise of the locality. The sunlight that beat down upon the place showed a few rude cabins, such as miners build in lonely places, and there was no sign of culti- vation, of horseflesh, or of any valuable property. Timothy Marlow stood for a while behind a point of rock, which sheltered him from the possible view of any persons below, and looked down upon the scene. Though he could not yet be said to be fully ‘*¢ clothed and in his right mind,” his senses had to a considerable extent returned to him, and he knew pretty well what he was about. Asa drunken man may be sobered by a sud- den shock, so the Mad Parson had been, it may be said, called back to life by his unexpected discovery of Ceesar’s dead body, He was still somewhat dazed, but was slow- ly pulling himself together as he stood behind the point of rock and looked down into the basin. Some of the outlaws were strolling about there, engaged in no special occupation, but mostly smoking and loafing. Timothy Marlow wondered which of them it was who had killed poor Caesar, wishing that he might single out that one and make an end of him, whatever should happen to the others or to himself. Susan was not visible anywhere, and it was not to be expected that she would be, as she was probably a prisoner in one of the rude cabins, The Mad Parson gripped his rifle as he gazed at the idle outlaws; but he had not yet be-— come aroused to the fact that his weapon was comparatively harmless, as he had not thought to load it. What chance could there be for one old map with an en.pty rifle against so many stalwart fellows who were saci age armed? Ry no chance at all, The daylight was against him, too. In the darkness he might have crept about the cabins, and might possibly bave found an opportunity to strike an effective blow; but in the broad daylight he was liable to be discovered at every movement he made. Yet something must be done, and he was full determined to do something, in spite of all odds and disadvantages, What he had to do was to attempt in the day- light a task that might be safely accomplished only in the darkness; but bis mind was not yet clear enough to enable him to fully appreciate the danger of the undertaking. Holding tbe empty rifle in his left hand, he dropped upon the ground, and began to work his way down the slope toward the basin. The slope, however, was a pretty steep de- clivity, and was mostly covered with broken stone. Ooks. ~comich Fe. ‘ “pe eh we A ,’ tes 5! = * ‘ ‘ —* “i y - “e? 3 am