Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 523 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

Reynard oe eee 13 * T have slept on the matter and my resolution | ward nearly knocking three of us from the has been formed. I can’t approve of the agree- ment which disposes of me to you, You will still be half-partner, and the earnings of the mines—” ‘“‘They’re worth nothing beside you, girl!” broke in Faverell. ‘*Ud go to the ends of the earth and through thick and thin for your smile, You don’t know the feelings that produced the avowal I made to Don Diamond when we settled the business about the miues, Your wealth never entered into my thoughts. What do I care for money? Haven't I thrown to the winds in my time a dozen fortunes? Iam Ford Faverell, the man of many adventures, but I can settle down and become a model husband,” ‘* All of which may be true,” quietly an- swered Coral. ‘‘I reserve the right to dispose of myself when and where and to whom I think proper.” ** Despite his wishes?” ‘Even against his commands!” was the firm response, Again she got a look of amazement from the man in the chair. “7 warn you to look out!” said Faverell, smiling as he spoke, ‘‘Iam one of those men who hold people to their bargains,” ‘* Are you, indeed?” said the girl in return, ‘“Then, do I understand that you will hold Don Diamond to the agreement?” ‘* To every clause of it.” She drew off and looked at him. ‘*T see you with the mask off!” exclaimed she. ““T now know Ford Faverell as I never knew him before. Iam not combative. I want no conflict wita the powers that rule in Red Jack; but I shall oppose to the bitter end the power which would make me the wife of my father’s slave!” The dark face of tbe Yellow Hills Titan got darker still. He sprung up so suddenly that the chair top- pled and threatened to capsize, but he righted it with a quick movement aud then turned to . Coral. ‘*T like hot blood and black eyes!” cried he. **T like to see them snap above the cheeks of stirred-up beauty. So you don’t want to become the wife of Big Faverell of Dakota? Does it look too much like hawk and dove, my girl?” He came toward her, a mcunotaia of passion on the move, and Coral saw that he bad roused all the tiger in the big sport’s nature. For all this, she did not quail. “My thougtts are my own,” she retorted, her hands clinchel with firmnéss and ber eyes abating ncne of the resistance he bad aroused. **Do you want me to repeat my decision, or-—” *‘It is not necessary,” he interrupted. ‘It would not mend matters if you did. The cove- nant made you my betrothed, and your spirit cannot unmake it, No, Coral: you have been bound to Faverell with an oath which the man who made it dare not break, and which, if you knew the truth, you would not want broken,” He seemed to take delight in this revelation, ** Let the future answer for itself, sir! Don Diamond is coming. You came to meet him, I[ will retire ”—as she did so, at once, ‘*‘ A little tempest ahead, I see, but I’m equal to the occasion,” muttered he, ‘‘A girl like that is worth risking a good deal for, and Ill risk my head,” Don Diamond entered. He recognized Faverell. ‘You are back! It was accomplished to the letter! I see it in your eyes!” he exclaimed. ‘* When do we fail?’ responded Faverell, a grin of triumph upon his repulsive face. ‘*Ha! hal I thought you would make a clean sweep of it. Did they ride into the trap? Tell me all,” and the major threw himself excitedly into a chair. Big Faverell proceeded to give a thrilling and highly colored description of the massacre of the cavalrymen in Vulture Gulch, It was a pitiless recital of as cruel a butchery as ever took place in the wild West, and the man who spun the story had an auditor who seemed to gloat over every word, ‘* What became of Reynard?” eagerly inquired Diamond. ‘**He went down with the rest.” ** Are you certain of this, Faverell?” “Tam. There was no rare though Ray- mond gave us some trouble in the cave.” ‘** Ab! the captain was the last man, then?” ‘“* He was, is escape from the bullets borders on o miraculous. Did the man wear a steel vest ‘“No! He would have spurned such a protec- tion,” assured the major. ** We had a long chase after him in the many chambered cavern,” proceeded the Titan, ‘In one of its rooms we met with the only accident that mars the expedition.” ‘*What was that?” **Raymond wasrun down along one of the many le‘ges. We got him between two fires and were closing in when he resolved to sell his life as dearly as possible. Talbot was in the lead. He had lost his mask, and, as he was bear- ing a light, it is presumed that Raymond recog- nized him. Allat once the cavern resounded with a revolver-shot, and Talbot pitched back- f ledge.” ‘** Dead?” cried Don Diamond, finish Talbot?” ‘‘Not quite, but it wasa miracle that it did not.” ‘* What became of the captain?” ‘‘The spot from which he fired the shot was found unoccupied,” ‘‘ Where was he?” Favereil smiled. ‘‘He had taken the most desperate chances imaginable, After shooting Talbot he lowered himself over the wallof an unsounded chasm and dropped.” ** How far?” ‘‘ Heaven knows,” answered Faverell. ‘‘ We came to the conclusion that the pit is well-nigh fathomless. There is no trail to the bottom; **Pid the shot ‘| the walls are perpendicular, and a stone dropped into the place sends up no sound of its striking.” Diamond seemed to shudder, ‘Thus the trail of the blue-coated trail-hua- ters has ended,” observed he. ‘* You left among the dead in the guich ample evidence of red- skin work?” ‘‘ Yes,” smiled Faverell. ‘* Before long Uncle Sam will bave an Indian war on bis bands, And all for a man and ar Overland stage!” The boss of Red Jack was silent for a moment, then added: ‘*A thousand thanks, of course, Faverell. Now, I have other work for you.” CHAPTER XVII. ROBBED AND TEMPTED. As the day advanced other men, singly and in groups, rode quietly into Red Jack. Among them was one who wore a bloody bandage around his bead, and whose eyes emitted sparks of fiery triumph, This person went almost direct to Major Dia- mond’s house, and was congratulated on his ‘‘narrow escape,” of which the nabob seemed to have heard, ‘‘He didn’t intend that I should escape,” growled the man with the bandaged head when he had displayed a ragged wound along the left temple. ‘'I presume the torches destroyed his aim. Atany rate we made short work of the blue-coats, and their captain has gone to deliver his report by way of the bottomless pit. The firing was superb, major. They tumbled right and left—men and horses, and, when we went down to the finish, it was better still, Now let Unele Sam learn by experience that be mustn't make ferrets of his soldiers. I wish there had been a regiment instead of a troop, The result would have been the same. We had them com- pletely at our mercy, like rats in a trap.” Tough Talbot, the soldier-hater, was in bis element while relating the story of the massacre in Vulture Gulch, and Major Diamond humored nin listening to the entire account. ‘* What say you about Reynard?” anxiously asked Don Diamond, recalling the reply Big Faverell had given to the same inquiry. ‘© Oh, he fared as the rest did, of course, not one of them escaped,” ‘* Were all the bodies scalped?” ‘‘ About all. A few may have escaped in the confusion. We left among the dead plenty of evidences of Injun work, away.” ‘“T call the work well done,” approvingly smiled Diamond, ‘‘As you say, Talbot, Uncle Sam will now give up hunting for the lost ferret, He couldn’t have intrusted this last ex3 edition to a more troublesome man than Carlos aymond. He was just the person to stick to the trail till he found something. I knew him in the service, and when, after a lapse of nine- teen years, he crossed yon threshold and stood before me in the light of a soldier-detective, I knew we had to crush some one, And, in this instance, the soldiers had to share the fate of their leader.” Tough Talbot went to his cabin, and threw himself upon the rude cot that occupied one corner. ‘‘T told him nothing was brought from the battle-field, but my trophy is not for his eyes,” said Talbot to himself, as he took from his bosom a small locket which he opened. The light which came in at the window en- abled him to see the small gold locket he held in his hand, and when he opened it and gazed on the portrait of a young girl, he smiled, **[ wonder who she is?” he continued, for the soldier-hater had robbed the dead—a thing not at all beneath him, ‘I like those eyes, They must be blue, and the hair brown and like silk, She’s fully as pretty as Coral, and if I could find out something about her, I’d give Coral up and thus let Faverell have a free road to her charms,” He continued to hold the face before his eyes, and to look at it with all the guilty passion of a man of his sort, ! All at once a shadow fell across the surface of the miniature, and Tough Talbot, with a quick start, threw a look toward the window, A face was there, and as he caught sight of it he dropped his hands and instantly hid the picture. The following moment the cabin-door opened, othing was brought and Talbot left the cot to face Big Faverell, who now came in with his eyes riveted upon him. There was a striking difference between the physiques of the two men, With his peaked face and a frame which did not carry an ounce of surplus flesh, Tough Talbot was a great con- trast to the rounded features and stalwart figure of Faverell, the Red Jack Hercules, The natures of the two men were dissimilar, for while Faverell bad the boldness of the tiger and never feared to attack in open day, Talbot was the sneaking panther who crawls upon his prey at night with noiseless step and merciless claw. ’ The soldier hater saw that his work of hiding the trophy he had brought from tle battle-field bad not entirely escaped Faverell’s e) e. ‘¢You have disobeyed orders,” said the giant, almost at once, ‘“T?” answered Talbot, assuming surprise. “You! We were to fetch nothing away from the field. The future detectives are to find nothing which may remove suspicion from the Indians. We have no child’s drama on our hands, So I shall have to ask you for your trophy.” Talbot drew back, with his eyes fixed on Faverell, and for a moment the two men stood face to face in silence, To deny having any trophy of the massacre would have plunged him deeper into the trouble at hand, and Talbot saw that he was dealing with a man in more ways than one bis superior, ‘What I brought away wasn’t much,” said he, apologetically. ‘lt fell from a soldier's pocket and 1 mechanically picked it up.” ‘¢ Let me see it.” Biting his lip to keep back the rage that seemed to devour him, Tough Talbot turned to the cot and found the locket. ‘‘ Here it is—only a picture,” he continued extending the find. ‘Did you think 1 would bang it upon the wall to be inspected by any- body who came along?” Faverell said nothing, but quietly opened the locket and held it toward the light. “Tt isn’t much, is it?” laughed Talbot, The gold case closed with a snap and as the hand of Don Diamond’s right bower covered the locket be turned to the soldier-hater and ad- ministered a cutting reproof. ** Don’t tell me that he happened to discover the trophy through my window!” exclaimed Talbot when be was alone once more. ‘Ford Faverell: had wind of my find, I must have been watched in the Gulch. Some one saw me pick up the locket—some one who doesn’t like me any too well. And he went to Faverell with the report, I have been robbed by the man who more than once has crossed my path to my disadvantage. Didn’t he change color while he looked at the face in the locket? I guess my eyes saw some- thing of this. He wants no trophies of the massacre to damage us herein Red Jack! So he says. Tll bet my head that be will not destroy the ove of which be has coolly robbed me, Captain Faverell, beware huw you play against the man who knows your life like a book, If you are Don Diamond’s partner in all the bonanzas we have bere you may still fail to be Tough Talbot’s master.” Between these sentences were oaths of rage ank expletives that almost impregnated the atmosphere with the odor cf sulphur. Talbot beat the air with his fists, and walked back and forth in his anger like a tiger within tbe walls of his cage, When he stopped be drew a wide-brimmed hat down over his forehead and covered the bandage that concealed the wound made by Raymond’s revolver in the cavern. As he was about to quit the cabin the door was opened without ceremony, and he looked into the face of a man in mining garb. ‘* Zeo would like tu see you,” the miner said. Talbot echoed the name in a voice of sur- prise, ‘* When does she want me?” ‘* Now, if you can come,” “ At the Yellow Witch?” ** No, at her house,” ‘**T will come.” The miner went away leaving the soldier- hater in a state of bewilderment in the door, ‘‘ A message from the Queen of the Yellow Witch Mine at this time has a meaning, ejacu- lated Talbot, ‘‘We are not on intimate terms, for I never could get on with an iceberg like Zeo. Now she sends for me, quite a condescen- Sion, by George! and I’ve got curiosity enough in the matter to obey at once.” Tough Talbot, still smarting under Faverell’s lash, left the shanty and went direct to the best building at one end of the mountain capital, Next to Don Diamond’s residence, Zeo his bonanza rival had the finest house among the Yellow Hills, It stood on a gentle rise overlooking its in- fericr neighbors, like a castle frowning on the hovels of the servitors. Zoe had become rich enough from her one mine to plant a palace where her house stood. The Yellow Witch had been well named, and it had yielded without stint under the eyes of its mistress. "EeOMIGDOOKS io)