Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 533 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

ae ee ——— He spoke rapidly ; and meantime his eyes roved about in search of the shooter, even as he sprung at Chestnut, who was crouching under the red lantern. He was just too late to get him. There wasa trampling of feet on the stairs that led down into Faria and then a crowd rushed up, with Oregon at the front, The man with the scar took in the situation at agluncv. He caught Chestnut by the collar and twirled him behind him, without ever checking bis own rush, When Chestnut was put out of the way that uncovered Ben; and as a step by each brought the two within distance Oregon let goa straight blow from the shoulder. Bull Dog Ben was a heavy man, and had the reputation of being a bruiser; but there was no chance to guard against a stroke like that. He fell like a log, ‘* Now then, let’s see what’s goin’ on hyar,” said the sport, gazing keehly into the darkness! Two men were helping away a third, and the trio vanished while he looked. ** Oh, they’re jest a gang ov strippers, ez were goin’ ter go through Chestnut,” suggested a a aia whom Oregon recognized as Happy Saul, ‘* Mebbe they’ve corraled his coin, an’? mebbe they ain’t. Vl find out; an’ you keep yer eyes open fur Bull Dog Ben when he gits awake. e’ll come back at yer fur ther size ov his pile,” It was hardly necessary to give this warning, for the sport’s eyes had come back to the pros- trate man. Oregon knew that he had bit hard; but he did not know how much punishment the othér man could take; or whether his fist had reached a spot where it would do the most good, Ben rose with a lurch, and, for an instant, was speechless, while he drew his sleeve over his eyes. Then he was himself again. Into his belt he thrust ‘the revolver that had never left ri iain and he stepped forward with a steady read, ‘** A good lick, that, pard. I sh’d jedge yer calls yerself a broozer, an’ that’s ther kind I like ter meet. You've got ter settle with me fur that clip yer got in on me unawares right hyar, an’ now. After that mebbe ther town ’ll hev suthin’ ter say to yer. Ef you wants ter go on ther war-path yer got ter sing out ye’:’ comin’, er pay fer ther corpses thet drop when you shoot at large. They're kerryin’ one off now; an’! jess Ben had kept a great deal back he was fit mebbe you’d hev put a hole in me ef yer hedn’t found company war comin’, an’ ther reesk war gettin’ bigger.” ‘Why, confound yer ugly picters! fur a cent I'd take yer over my knee, an’ smack yer good fur yer dirty lyin’, var’s my shooters, a load in every bar’l. [ didn’t git out till all ther shootin’ war over. Don’t put on side! Yer kim out ter meet ther boss fool oy Brace Box, an’ he got erway with ver baggage. A softy don’t hev ter holler fur help many times when Oregon’s ’round,” «Then it war you ez hit me?” ‘* Put it down in yer di’ry. Ef yer hed stood a half-inch nearer you wouldn’t ’a’ bin talkin’ tome now. Ef yer wants tur hev it over, put yer hands up an’ say when ver wants me ter hit yer; but don’t talk, I ain't one oy ther talk- in’ kind.” ** You hit me whar yer kin; an’ I’m a-comin’ fur yer now.” The crowd was delighted, Disputes at Hank’s were generally settled with knife or revolver, but two men who were willing to make an exhi- bition of their skill with Nature’s weapons were always sure of an appreciative audience. Those who were deeply interested at the card table, and some of Pedro’s patrons remained; but for the most part the crowd had deserted the cellar by this time, and were ~willing to speak words of encouragement quite promiscuously, or to take a hand in if needed to keep up the interest. There were plenty at Oregon’s back to see fair play, or foul play either. The light might have been better for a scien- tific display of the manly art; but it was good enough for the combatants to see each others’ faces, and hands, As everybody knew that the fight was for neither fun nor profit, on his side, Ben did not think it worth while to smooth the scowl from his face. Hecame up to tho scratch with an evil light in his eyes; and without hesitation or delay sent_a right-hander as hard as he could drive it; for it seemed to him that with his hands so far down Oregon could never parry it. He never was more mistaken. Oregon only seemed to turn his arm, and the fist went harmlessly by his head. ' As an offset his own return was almost as neatly parried, Then they struck together three or four times, short yet ugly blows, that dropped to their places with a snap, and would have beaten an ordinary man to the ground. The difference in the punishment was that Oregon caught the strokes so nearly on the top of his head that they glanced on down without doing any great damage; while Bull Dog Ben oh tbe hard fist of his antagonist for the most part with his face, The rally did not last long, for Oregon sprung Oregon, the. Sport with a Scar. 1 out of distance, popping bis man with his left as he went. ‘*Time!” sung out some one who had some idea of ring contests in general without much knowledge in detail. Oregon glanced over his shoulder, and his eye lit on Happy Saul, A step or two brought him near to that worthy, who was cautiously craning his neck up from the cellarway. ‘* Hev yer got Chestnut out ov ther way?” the sport whispered. ‘* Bless yer soul, he got hisself out ov ther way. He didn’t wait fur tickets, checks, er nothin’, Ef you'd ’a’ gone erlong it would ’a? saved a heap ov trouble, Ef Killer, er Coldcard, er some ov them big guns don’t turn up ter regulate ther crowd it’s goin’ ter be tough nuts fur yer mother’s darlin’; an’ mighty oncomfort- able fur me.” Happy Saul belied his name, just then; for a more lachrymose whisper could hardly be imag- ined, ‘* What you got ter do with it, anyhow? You go hunt Chestnut, an’ leave me ter toot my own horn,” retorted Oregon, who had no time to pick bis words since Bull Dog Ben was coming around again without any of the spectators hav- ing a suspicion of how nearly the seemingly slight temple-blow had knocked him out. For a moment he had been half-dazed; but as he said nothing, and glared mechanically at his foe, his condition was not noticed. When his strength had fairly come back he put up his hands once more and stepped forward, a good deal quieter than when he began, but twice as wicked. The crowd had surged in during the temporary cessation of the fight, and at this sign of its renewal a little ring was again formed, The act showed Oregon that it was expected there would be no shooting; and in his own mind he decided that there should not be much of anything else. He was as cool as the coolest as he ejiged forward to get within distance. It was not likely that any one would interfere un- til Ben had his chance. It was after the Bull Dog was knocked out that he knew he would have to keep his eyes open for the outside rush, And knock him out he intended to, So far, there had seemed but little difference between them—Oregon alone knew the difference in the amount of punishment given and received, Un- for little more than a chopping-block in the hands of a man like Oregon, desperate fighter though he was considered to be, _ Foot to foot they stood, their hands almost touching, their arms weaving in and out, with wand then a feint. There were plenty of en- aging words for the tough, but he did not n to heed them. The lesson of the first round not been altogether thrown away on him, he was waiting to sea his chance. The opening seemed to come at last, as Oregon with seeming careijessness, dropped his guard a trifle, and lounged back on his right foot, Once, twice, Ben struck, left and right, with a strength that seemed likely to beat down any guard; and he was certain that the other could not take a backward step if he tried, Oregon took care of himself, ; : He leaned slightly forward, parried with his left, guarded with his right, sent in as a returna powerful jab with his left, that landed squarely on the chin, and then followed 1t up, as Ben threw back his head, with one very straight and hard, that carried the whole weight of his body with it. Brace Box had never seen such a scientific blow before; and was quite unpre- pared for the result, etinl * Back went Bull <b Ben, dropping into a motionless heap; and he lay where he fell, be- reft of sense and motion, ! ; ‘‘Warp it to him, pards!” shouted a_ voice, ‘* He’s done fur Dave an’ Ben, an’ now’s ther time ter git even!” With a fierce snarl the whole crowd seemed to fall bodily on Oregon, and beat him to the ground, CHAPTER XII. THE MAN AT THE DOOR. Merry May had felt fairly well satisfied that it was only a bluff when the outside gang was mentioned, though, of course, it was possible, if she succeeded in escaping from the room, that she might meet some one to try to bar her way before reaching the open air. She might have bound the insensible man, but time would have been taken that seemed very precious just then, if her judgment of how hard she struck was at all correct, he would not give any trouble for some time to come, Anxious as she was to avoid bloodshed, it would have gone hard with any one who might have met her as she swung open the door and looked into the little passage. Her derringers were ready, and she would have shot without mercy. Fortunately there was no one in sight. The door closed behind her with a click, that a pet if there was a spring-lock on the in- side there might be some means of fastening on the outside, , The passage was dark enough; but one of her matches showed her brace of bolts, above and below. She sprung them hastily into their sock- ets; and thus having made herself secure against an attack from the rear, she advanced more leisurely, ** A queer sort of aden this,” she thought to herself, as the further door yielded to her touch, and she found herself in the open air. ‘* It shows the party bas nerve, or they would never dare to fit up such an institution right in town. It ought not to be very bard to trace the ownership, and when that is found your fin- ger drops on Cyril North. Of course, he didn’t count on my getting away, but he might have. looked that far ahead. A nice little thing Miss Viola might have dropped into; and where, oh, where would she bave been under the circum- stances? [ll know the place if I see it again with my eyes shut, ow it’s time to report progress at headquarters. If they want to ye it on, ve got the lost Cyril cooped for’em. All they have to do is to come out in force, and gather himin. But you bet I don't make any further move in this game until I know a little more about its ins and outs, I begin to see there’s a heap of risk even if there is a big pile of money.” It seemed plain that the place bad been pre- pared for a prison. It might have been used for other captives, or got up specially for this occasion: but, at present, it held the jailer; and from what Merry May bad seen of it, she had no doubt it would do its duty until some one ap- proached it from without, Once she had a notion to watch for a time, in order, if possible, to discover some of Cyril’s confederates; but the idea was abandoned al- most as soon as suggested. They were of no great interest to her, ana safety was what she was after just then. Sbe turned away toward the central portion of the town. Before going very far Merry May became aware that something interesting was going on. The hum of a crowd begen to come quite dis- tinctly to her ears. She hastened her steps, ready to see what was to be seen, or run away on the shortest notice, ° In that frame of mind, the light in front of the entrance to the Hole in the Ground came into view, and the throng that was gathered under it, just at the moment when Oregon had knocked out Bull Dog Ben, and the friends of the latter were falling upon him en masse, Such affairs were always distasteful to her though, in the way of her profession, she had been compelled to face such scenes more than once, At first she thought of quietly flanking the spot, and leaving the roughs of Brace Box to their unballowed diversions. Then it struck her that she was more or less interested in both Oregon and Neville North, and that it was possible one of them might be the victim, She turned her steps again directly toward the crowd at hearing some one shout, ‘Slug ther srrnngent? As she turned, a man went running lig iy pest, and she recognized him as Solid Sam, e went straight for the crowd; and behind him, with careful deliber- anon losing ground at every step, went Happy aul. ‘** Down in front!” sung out Sam, as be sprung into the crowd, swinging his burly shoulders, *“ About half ov you fellers thet wants ter pard, jest try on yer game with me. He's a good man, heis, but (ma slugger from Sluggers- ville! If thar’s any over, Pl] take ther balance, You, thar—quit!” Half a dozen men were at Oregon, with more seemingly ready to take a hand when the origi- “4 six got tired out, or if anything happened to em. With this half-dozen, Oregon was having an interesting time, and acting as though he really enjoyed it. They were all in front of him, striking for keeps; but they were decidedly too thick to thrive. The sport, on guard, was cool- ly throwing their blows to this side and that, moving with an agility that was wonderful in a man of bis size, and holding them at bay with but little effort. At the first rush, not a man in the crowd had doubted that Oregon would go down, If be had not done so in the two or three minutes of skurry, no one was yet discouraged when he struck his first blow, as Solid Sam came bound- sy to the rescue, y that time the sport had his men allina line, and was ready for the offensive, His shifts and dodges had not been understood until his work was fairlyin, He let goleftand right, left and right, while, with every blow a man went down. One after another they dropped, just Jike ten-pins. That was what Sam meant when he shouted, ‘' Down in front!” An instant later he was yelling somethin else, as he saw a pistol-barrel glistening, an knew that the programme was about to change. The man addressed quit—and it was a great chance that he did not quit permanently, for Ryan reached for the back of bis neck, and had his time and distance all right. ‘* Now, then, what’s the racket?” he added, as he placed himself by the side of Oregon, a re- volver in each hand, 4 ‘*T guess yer know me, Solid Sam, You kin GOMmicbooks,com