Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 508 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

5 AT ly * . te = hy “4 a . = 28 Topnotch Tim, the Mad Parson. The outlaws, perceiving that the odds were then against them, scattered, and began a guer- rilla fight. , Pe. Circling arouud the cabin, and availing them- selves of such cover as they knew to be handy, they were difficult to get at, and their presence was decidedly dangerous, Desirous of avoiding bioodshed as far as was possible, Ben Eagleson called off his men, and started a new scheme for the discomfiture of the enemy. As the darkness favored the outlaws, who were thoroughly acquainted with every foot of | ground in the basin, he decided that there should be no darkness, Therefore he set fire to one of the cabins, and soon had it burning briskly and brightly. Thus he made a light by which the where- abouts of the outlaws could be discovered, and deprived them of one of their places of refuge. Another cabin was fired, and another, and then all were in a blaze, except that which was occupied by Dan Lasher. The rest of the work, owing to the light and the destruction, was easy enough. Of the remaining outlaws, some were shot, and a few were captured, but the most of them escaped, glad to get off with whole skins, and the meuntain war was ended. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE END OF HANDSOME DAN. THE battle in the basin being ended, the at- tention of the victors was directed to the casu- alties of the campaign, which were not as light as the leader of the expedition had hoped they might be. wo of the Topnotch men had been killed out- right; two, including Pete Gannon, were bad] wounded, and there were a few slight wounds which were not counted. The losses of the outlaws were considerably heavier; but there was no sympathy for any of them, as they had long been a nuisance and a terror to the Topnotch region. In front of Dan Lasher’s cabin, where the hottest fight was made, the mountain men had suffered the most severely. Susan Marlow, hearing the shots and the tu- mult outside, had been filled with fears and anxieties; but Pete Gannon had tried to calm and console her as soon as he could, assuring her | that it wag “ all right.” Following this assurance, Burch Blanton | rushed into the cabin, and the next moment she } = t plied themselves to an attempt to ? An of rt was clasped in the arms of her lover, ‘*- You are safe!” exclaimed Burch, thankful! How is your father?” Timothy Marlow was standing silent in the middle of the room, looking down upon the form of his late persecutor and antagonist, who lay insensible on the floor, ete Gannon had inteuded to pull the old man off before be could crush the life out of his ene- my, but had been compelled to give his undi- vided attention to the detachment of outlaws who attacked the cabin. When he had been wounded, he got intoa safe place, attempting to stop the flow of blood, and saw the Mad Parson standing there, looking down at Handsome Dan, ‘*T wonder if that man is dead,” he remarked. . **T hope he is,” calmly answered the Mad Parson. ‘‘ He ought to be. I meant to kill him, and he deserved death. after he told me of what he had done and expected to do.” ‘‘ Yes, I heard that, or the most of it, and I will have eee to say about that after a while. But I hope the man is not dead. There may be something to be got out of him. If I You are pretty badly off, yourself, Mr. Gannon,” broke in Burch Blanton. ‘ Let me see if I can straighten you up.” The young engineer was not a bad rough sur- ‘*T am so was able—” _ geon, and Ben Eagleson had wisely included in the stores of the expedition a few appliances for wounds and other casualties. Blanton called him in, and between them they dressed the detective’s wound in fairly good style. Then, at Gannon’s earnest request, they ap~ ring the in- sensible Dan Lasher back to life. Whisky was the principal remedy applied in that case. Administering it liberally internally, and vig- orously rubbing it on externally, they soon had the satisfaction—if it was a satisfaction—of see- ing the patient gasp and open his mouth and eyes. He was propped up against the wall, but his senses did not seem to return to him, and he sat there silent and motionless, looking as if there was no life in him worth speaking of. “You said that you might have something to say, Mr. Gannon,” remarked Timothy Marlow, “abou the story that man told me. What is it? . ‘“*T have to mae that what he told you was y the truth, but mostly a lie. Your wife, Mr. Marlow, is not dead.” é - >@ me . 5 ~“*Not dead?’ _ mother alive?” “Not dead? Is that possible?” exclaimed Susan. ‘“Is my ae , ; , A if \. tatua M A é vy / 4 . od ® ad L \ J oe ~¥-*S* ‘ a> A ~“<. wie 5? Faas fe ~ Be : ‘*She was alive a month or so ago, to my cer- tain knowledge,” answered the detective. *‘ That man lied, too, when he said that she bad been living with him as his wife. She bad never done anything of the kind, 1 took pains to trace the whole matter through a long time ago,” ‘* What became of her, then?’ demanded the Mad Parson. ‘*That is what I am going to tell you. It is true that he enticed her away from Anoka; but, when she reached the town where she was to meet him, she repented, and refused to have anything todo with him. He left ber in anger, and since then has often met and annoyed her, but to no purpose,” ‘* But, what became of her?’ again demanded the old man. ‘“*She was ashamed and afraid to return to her home—ashamed to meet her child, and afraid to face her husband.” ‘* She would have been gladly welcomed. My wife, the mother of my child, could never have been turned away.” Susie had gone to her father’s side and taken his hand, and just then she kissed him. **Do you know where she is now?” he asked. **T donot. She supported herself in one way and another, but always bonestly, and her work, together with her desire to avoid that man, kept her moving from place to place. A month or so ago I knew where she was; but she was then about to leave that place. Probably that lying wretch knows where she is, and I wish he could be made to tell.” ** You have been some time‘in Topnotech, Why did you not give me this information sooner?” ‘** Because I wanted first to find out how your wife would be treated if sbe should return to ou. Besides, she had made me promise to keep ner secret. lL would not have told it yet, had it not been for the meanness of that man’s lies . I wish the truth could be squeezed out of him,” Dan Lasher was seated as he had been left, propped up against the log wall of the cabin, looking as if his body bad broken down and his mind had deserted him, Yet he was not without intelligence, and now and then, when Pete Gannon was speaking, bis eyes glittered, and his lip curled with scorn. When the detective wished that the truth could be squeezed out of him, he almost laughed, **Tt shall be done,” declared the old man. “Tf he knows anything he will have to tell it.” Ben Eagleson had come in with a few others, and had listened to the greater part of this con- versation. He now went outside with Marlow and Burch Blanton and the rest, leaving one man to watch the gambler. , Outside they held a consultation, at the close of which they filed into the cabin, all looking solemn, as if they had settled a very serious question. ‘*Dan Lasher,” said the marshal, as he stood and faced the prisoner, ‘it has been decided by this committee that you deserve death, be- cause you are responsible for the death of Simon Marvel, and because you carried this young lady away from her home with most villainous intentions.” The prisoner sneered faintly. ‘*1t has been decided that you must bang,” continued the marshal: ‘‘ but we mean to give you a chance for your life. If you will tell this old man where his wife can be found, and will leave this part of the country never to return, we will let you go.” ‘“* Tell me where she is, so that I can get her,” implored the Mad Parson, ‘and I will forgive you all the wrong you bave done and intended to me and mine!” The gambler’s sneer, though evident, was a very feeble one, and his voice could hardly be heard as he answered: **T don’t know where she is,” ‘** Get a rope!” ordered Ben Eagleson. p When the rope was brought there was no use or it, Dan Lasher’s face had turned ghastly, bis open eyes were glazed, his jaw dropped, a shiver passed over his frame, and he died with a sneer on his lip—no longer Handsome Dan, but a corpse which looked like the body of a man at least ar Ea old, **]T killed him,” said the Mad Parson, ‘and I meant-to, Satan saved me for that, and now Satan will loose his grip on me.” The few outlaws who were heid as prisoners were allowed to go, after being warned that it would not be safe for them to show their faces in the Topnotch district again. The man who killed Cesar, the dwarf, would surely bave been hanged if he had been caught: but he had made his escape. Decent burial was given the two Topnotch men who had fallen in the battle; but it was de- cided that cremation would be the best way to i aoe of the others, berefore their bodies, after all had been duly searched, were carried into the cabin whers Dan Lasher lay, and the cabin was set on fire in sev- eral places. : It burned brilliantly, and by its light the ex- pediticn left the basin with Timothy Marlow and his daughter, ; . Y td mit iy: Bi > cal % +5 4 aa - . e My Mar eA Se te ea rts ite din Sem Me ss » at NS CHAPTER XL. SUSIE’S DOWER. TrmoTHY MARLOW aid not return to his — ruined home, but went to Topnotch with the others, where he left Susie at Burnbam’s hotel, greatly to the satisfaction of Burch Blanton, Accompanied by Pete Gannon, be went away on a long journey, his purpose being well known to his daughter and her betrothed. With the aid of the detective, he finally dis- covered his long-lost wife, and easily persuaded her to return with him to Topnotch. There was a joyful reunion of Susie and her mother, and it was agreed that the past should be buried in oblivion, and a new life should be- gin for all three. Matters being so pleasantly arranged, Blanton pressed foran early marriage, and his request, as it was favored by Susie, was readily granted, The young people were married at the hctel, and their marriage was the occasion of a general jubilee at Topnotch, as well as at the mine, Shortly after the marriage the old couple went to the yet desolate home on the plateau, to restore the ruined furniture, and generally put the place in order. This task was soon completed to the satisfac- tion of all, and the home looked brighter and more beautiful than ever. In the midst of this happiness it was evident that something was preying on the young hus- band’s mind, and after a while he made known the cause of his anxiety. ‘*T will be very sorry, Mr. Marlow,” said he, ‘*to take Susie away from you and from this pleasant home, but [ am afraid that I will be forced to do so before long, as my business—” ** Don’t worry about your business, my son,” broke in the old man. ‘‘I can easily convince you that there is more money for you right bere than you will be likely to find anywhere else.” ‘‘How is that, Mr. Marlow? hat do you mean?’ The father-in-law opened a trunk, from which — he took a heavy canvas bag, and poured out on the floor a mass of gold nuggets and chips and splinters. ‘* Are those worth anything?’ he asked. ‘Worth anything?’ replied the astonished young man, ‘‘I should say that they are. I ave scaler ever seen any such rich specimens. Where did they come from?” “That bag, my boy, was on poor Ceesar’s body when he was killed by those scoundrels, and they neglected to search bim. I took it from him, and fastened it upon my own person, and me, also, they failed to search, and so it happened that I brought the bag safely to Top- notch, and have it yet.” ‘* But I don’t understand. Where did Ceesar get the specimens?” ‘* He chipped them off from the outcroppings of a little claim of mine near here.” ‘A little claim? I should think that you might well call it a big claim.” ‘*Come with me. I will show it to you, and then you can decide whether it is a big claim.” Burch Blanton accompanied the old man to the narrow gulch where Ceesar was working at the time of the raid on the plateau, and to the cae ea that was so well hid in a uiche of the rock. When the young engineer saw what was there, and examined the rock in the light of his eological knowledge and mining experience it astonished him even more than the hag of specimens, He declared that it was a wonderfully rich discovery, and that a fortune could easily be got out of it. ‘‘That is my daughter’s dower,” said the old man. ‘‘The claim bas been properly made and recorded, and it shall belong to you and Susie. You can easily get capital to work such a bonanza as that, and I venture to predict that the Topnoteh Mine will not be a circumstance to it. ** But what do you expect to do?” **T shall go back to the ministry of the Gos- pel. Satan has at last let me loose, and Iam again fit to preach the Word. Tothat I shall devote what is left of my life.” And so it was, Timothy Marvel soon gath- ered a congregation in the rising town of Top- notch, to whom he ministered so acceptably that a church was built for him, and he was no longer known as Topnotch Tim or the Mad Par- son, but as Parson Marlow, who was univer- sally respected and loved. Burch Blavton aud his wife settled on the beautiful plateau, and bis expectations concern- ing the bonanza in the gulch were more tban realized. The body of Cassar was removed from under the pile of stones, and was buried on the plateau, where his grave was carefully tended by Susan Blanton. After the tragic events that followed the clos- ing of the gaming-places and other resorts, Jacob Marvel and the rest of the Tycoons were disin- clined to make any further efforts to regulate the morals of Topnotch, but allowed the town to run itself, greatly to the satisfaction and prosperity of the people. THE END, £.8- ims & es