Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 523 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

— — — ee — etme YS ~ a rrr “f ne { presume I must let you off, When do you start? Reynard consulted a watch, ‘¢ Ten o’clock is the hour set, I believe, fully two hours yet,” The bonanza king opened a side drawer and took outasmall book with a flexible leather back, ‘No, I don’t want any money,” remarked Reynard at sight of the book. ‘“There’s a good deal due you and you can have every cent of it in coin,” ‘‘No. Iam not going where one must spend money like water. I have quite enough to last me tillmy return. If I never come back—” ‘* Never come back, eh?’ echoingly broke in Don Diamond. ‘*[’m talking of the uncertainties of life, you see,” laughed the superintendent of the Chained Tiger, “Isay, if [never come back, take my wages and apply it to the secret service fund.” Don Diamond’s retort wasa look which broad- ened the smile at Reynard’s lips. ** But Pll get back if 1 can, major,” he hastened to say. ‘*Meanwhile, if you put Darrell in charge Dll know where to take hold when I re- turn. By the way, has Captain Raymond paid his respects to you yet?” ‘‘He came here soon after his arrival last night,” ‘* Seems to be a nice fellow.” ‘‘Heis. I knew bim in the service,” The Nabob of Red Jack thought it best to say this as Raymond would be likely to impart the information to Reynard curing the march, ‘** So he told me in the brief talk we’ve had,” said the mine boss. ‘*Did he size me up, Reynard?” curiously in- quired Don Diamond, leaning forward as he spoke, ‘* Not as we call sizing up, nowadays. I call Captain Raymond a first-class gentleman in Uncle Sam’s blue, and I hope to dip pretty deep nto him during the march.” ‘Well, you’ll find him worth probing,” re- marked the major. ‘‘ He came out on a wild- goose chase, though.” ‘*T guess he thinks so, too,” was the response, ‘¢T wasn’t here, you know, when Uncle Sam’s detective vanished like smoke with a four- horse team, and a driver to keep hin com- It is ., é ‘*No, so you weren’t, Reynard. You came in after the disappearance.” ‘*Some time afterward; but I recollect hav- ing heard of it before I got here, It always seemed to me that there was only one way to get at the facts.” ‘* Well?” **T don’t know that any of the detectives who have tried their hands at the case have tried to look into the motif for the crime,” ‘Tf crime there was, Reynard,” corrected Don Diamond. ‘Certainly. I have a due regard for the opinions of those who doubt that the Yankee idocq was murdered,” The fingers of Don Diamond which had been drumming on the table stopped suddenly, and at the same moment the eyes of the two men met, . **So you would have looked after the motive, Reynard?’ said the major. ‘sven, wx.” ‘‘ A good idea, perhaps; but,” with a smile, ‘the motive may have turned out to be as hid- den as the detective himself.” ‘* That is true.” ‘** Did you mention this idea to Raymond?’ ** No, sir. I know these army officers gear well. They don’t like to hear unsolicitec ions, however cordial they appear on the sur- face. Captain Raymond may not be one of this stripe, but for all that, I did not see fit to parade my ideas concerning a matter of busi- ness in which, as a mine-boss of Red Jack, I may not be interested.” his Be ‘But you have an opinion in the matter, Reynard,” persisted Don Diamond. ‘ This somewhat mysterious affair bas forced itself upon the notice of all. Great Scott! how could we help hearing of it when the energies of the Government have been bent on the finding of the lost ferret for the past five months, and when we of Red Jack have been suspected, watched, almost openly accused? What do you think, Reynard? I've never asked for your opinion. You know how little I have thought ot the Norway mystery by my never asking you for your idea before to-day.” Reynard leaned slightly against the table, and looked down at Don Diamond who awaited his reply. ‘“‘{ think the detective is enjoying good health —as good as either of us—at this very moment,” he answered, “Do you, indeed, Captain Reynard?” cried the major. ‘This is not the opinion that pre- vails everywhere. Why, lean show you men who would almost swear that the trail-dog is dead.” “So can I,” smiled tue Chained Tiger’s boss. opin And yet he says that the Lost Detective is in the Reynard of Red J ack. G famous by convincing Uncle Sam of this, | las Norway alive and in the enjoyment of good | | health? This is agreeable news, Don’t fail to convince the commandant at Fort Meade, if you are going there, and see that he sends the truth to Washington. I’m tired of all this con- | stant ferret work, and by a lot of men who really know nothing about it.” the victory—has not yet played his hand,” ** Who is he?” Reynard burst into a light laugh. ‘‘ A jump from ideas to prophecies, and yet ’'m no seventh son. I make myself ridiculous. [’m wasting time, Igoat ten with the troops. Good-by, major. Success to Red Jack till I come back!” his mine boss took, shook it heartily, dropped it and walked out, ‘In the name of Tartarus, what does this move mean?” exclaimed the nabob, leaping from the chair. ‘' Has the plot been betrayed in some manner? Are the soldiers to escape us by prov- idential intervention? No! Reynard has only added another victim to the death-list! Like a fool with his eyes shut, he rides into a trap. Ha! ba! ha!” CHAPTER XI. RESOLUTE RAYMOND, TouaH TaLsor, the soldier-hater, disguised as Cadron, the miner, had ag fa his part well, so well indeed that Captain Raymond, with all his tact and shrewdness, had not suspected the fellow’s deep designs, nor ecaughta glimpse of the claws under the velvet. Shortly after Reynard’s departure from Dia- mond’s presence, the Nabob of Red Jack was visited by the army captain, who announced that he had determined on an immediate re- turn. Not a word was said about the theft of the hub-band, as if Raymoad considered it a thing of too small moment to mention, The two men, Raymond keen and watchful, and Don Diamond guarded and cautious, con- versed for some time, or until the hour set for the departure of the troop. The captain gave out that he was going straight to Fort Meade, and such was his as- surance, that Diamond for a moment doubted that the ambush would fail. The Yellow Hills millionaire knew that fifty men had already left Red Jack—fifty men with mane in their pockets and Winchesters in their ands, These desperadoes led by Big Faverell, sec- onded by Tough Talbot, intended to form a junction some distance from camp, and then gallop to Vulture Gulch, whose pretended se- crets had formed the burden of Cadron’s talk with Raymond. It was to bea heartless massacre of Uncle Sum’s soldiers—a cold-blooded annihilation— and all because the men were obeying orders which had, for the time, transformed them into mounted detectives. Let us return to Raymond, Don Diamond bade the officer a more than cordial good-by. He said, among other things, with that insinuative grace which he could as- sume whenever he pleased, that he trusted the troop would have a safe and pleusant trip over the back trail, When he said ‘‘ safe,” he referred to reported Indian depredations, but added that the red marauders had not been heard of for some time, and he thought they had given up the notion of making adash against the mining- towns of the Yellow Hills, Raymond had ho to get another glimpse of Coral, but Major Diamond excused the young girl on the plea of indisposition, when he knew that she was burning to see the man about to ride forth to death. Raymond looked in vain for Cadron when he rode back to the little troop which he found in readiness for departure, land of the living. | | | “Phe real detective —the one who is to win | Ha! ha! let me quit before | ) the. | ness of an electric current through his veins, Don Diamond put forward his band, which | longer, and if you prefer going with the soldiers, | could settle a controversy which has become | window which overlooked a portion of the Plaza Nicho- | a man whose face denoted great eagerness and firmness of purpose, ‘* Off they are!” he exclaimed, as the com- mand started. ‘tI was afraid a betrayal of some kind was in the air, but I guess bier ela rats for the trap after all! Penned up as they will be to-night in the Gulch, they will learn when too late the folly of playing detective in this land of death. I hold the winning hand now. They don’t beat Don Diamond with a stake of this magnitude on the board!” He heard the note blown by the bugler of the troop, and from his window saw the departure which seemed to send his blood with the quick- ‘‘Not a man to come back! Not one to see the ramparts of Fort Meade!” in a voice of tri- umph. ‘'Won’t this teach Uncle Sam that the trail of his missing spy is a trail of death?” The soldiers were gone, and the Square, lit- tered with evidences of their bivouac, seemed to rejoice at the riddance. he trail leading from Red Jack was rough and picturesque. t some places it ran along the edge of precipices, while in others it mean- dered through valleys and deeply-cut canyons. The day threatened to pass without incident and the soldiers saw the sun creeping down the western sky to drop ere long behind the moun- tains and cast the whole landscape in shadow, Reynard of Red Jack had been a most agree- able companion to Raymond. The two men riding slightly in advance of the troop had exchanged incidents in their lives with that volubility which comes of an acquaintance- ship formed as theirs had been. The army captain was unreserved, There was nothing for him to conceal. He had carried his life on his sleeve as it were, and in all of it, net one blot bad attached itself thereunto, It was different with Reynard, There wasa decade which he bridged with silence while narrating the story of his life, He stopped where Raymond was most interested, and took up another thread beyond the part left out. What was in those ten years Raymond won- dered, but did not ask. ‘ Aman basaright to his secrets,” thought he, ‘and I shall not disturb Reynard in the pos- session of bis.” At length Raymond drew rein and looked at the immediate scenery that surrounded them. Almost directly beneath his horse’s feet ran a well defined trail which soon lost itself among the roughness of a gulch with lofty perpendicu- lar walls, The army captain took from his bosom a piece of paper which he opened and looked at atten- tively. Retard saw the movement, and fixed his eyes on the paper, Once or twice the captain had asked concern- ing Vulture Gulch and the land surrounding it, and had been answered at some lengtb. But not one word had Raymond said about his intentions, not a breath concerning Cadron and his information. Thus, Carlos Raymond had secrets, too! All at once the captain folded the paper on which wasarude diagram and gave the com- mand ‘‘ Forward!—left_ wheel—march !” Reynard looked at him with unmistakable sur- rise, ry Which way now, captain?” he cried, leaning forward and touching Raymond on the sleeve, ‘* A little side hunt,” was the response, ‘* A detour in search of the lost clew, eh?” ‘* Yes, to be plain. We intend to take a peep at the secrets of Vulture Gulch.” ‘* What do you expect to find there?” An irritable smile came to Raymond’s lips, * Really, Captain Reynard, I cannot tell till we have investigated. Don’t you intend to ac- company us, or shall we part here?” Reynard of Red Jack urged his horse forward and ina moment the two men were touching boots again. ‘** Captain Raymond, pardon my interference,” said the strange man, ‘‘ You say you are going He fully expected to see the miner among! to Vulture Gulch. You expect to find some- those assembled to see them off, and when be found*himself disappointed, he began to look for “be analy figure of Faverell which was also invisible, thing there. You would bave saved time and distance if yu had taken the canyon in on your way to Red Jack.” ** Perhaps,” acknowledged Raymond which ‘We are ready, sir,” said the soldier detec- brief reply did not rebuff Reynard. tive to Reynard, who rode} up at the last mo- ment mounted on a lithe-limbed black horse. “You have not changed are actually going with us, | **T like good company and cannot afford to reject it now,” was the answer, as the strange | man adjusted his feet in the stirrups. Raymond placed himself at the head of the troop and gave the command to march. your mind, I see, but ? | ‘*Do I understand that you made a discovery in Red Jack which takes you down this trail?” Though at all times approachable, the cavalry captain was a strict disciplinarian, and did not like to have his moves questioned especially by one not connected with the army, In an instant he turned on Reynard a look calculated to impress him with the fact that The he was addressing a soldier who was fixed in his next moment the clear notes of an army | resolves, trumpet rung out, and the crowd raised a cheer as the march began, Reynard and Raymond rode side by side, | Gulch,” said he rather stiffly. “You may understand if you wish ‘that I have some reason for going down to Vuiture *T may have their boots touching as the horses kept near , picked up a clew where all others have failed.” together, The men followed in close rank behind, and “That is undisputed,” answered Reynard. ‘You must remember that you are responsible ** You have requested my opinion, major. Now | pe ware of heer: Jack watched the troop till for’the safety of the men you command.” é Jast horse-tail disappeared, During these proceedings there stood at a you have it.” ! ~ * Alive, is he?’ queried the major. ‘* You ‘* Where is the danger?” snapped Raymond, Reynard drew off and looked at him # 109" (EO payicel Novel KS ] iN i | ( ) (e (@) i a rm . oe Ry ht