Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 533 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

"Onagen, tha Sport with SS TS ar a Scar. a oe a — reason to believe would be extemporized for his ‘*T move we choose Billy.” benefit. The alternative was suggested quickly and Oregon’s visit, brief though it was, had done | carried through with a rush. Billy—and every him good. He felt as though he was not alto- | body knew that the saloon-keeper who ran gether deserted. If it gave him a better idea of | ‘‘The Bower” was meant—was well known, the strange combination against him, it woke | but was not exactly the man that would have him up to resistance, making him at least able | been chosen on sober second thought. He came to talk for himself, if there was no chance to | forward without hesitation, and rose to the fight. dignity of the occasion without an effort. And it came just at the right time. - **There’s a prisoner, I understand, Bring Hardly had tbe Sport with the Scar vanished | him forward and we'll get up a jury. Brace from the little room when Jimmy Bower en- | Box has done me proud by this honor and I'll tered, leaving at the door two or three citizens | see that things are run up to the handle.” who had detailed themselves as an escort. At Billy’s invitation Neville stepped forward, He came as though he expected to find re- | The guard was there, as well as the presiding sistance, for he carried his revolver conveniently | judge, and there was still room on the porch for in his hand. When he saw that there was no | the jury. In the level street the throng had one there but Billy Devan and the prisoner he | collected, the sea of upturned faces showing looked somewhat disappointed; but, he asked | grimly in the light from the lanterns that no questions about Oregon, turning his atten- | had hung in front of the house. tion directly to the important matter on hand. A cry greeted North’s appearance, and there ‘* Very sorry, Mister North,” he began. ‘‘ This | was a surge forward that looked as though it hyer never had ther like bappen in my house, | might mean danger, an’ I hope it won’t ag’in. Real ladies are scarce Billy drew his revolvers and laid them osten- in Brace Box, an’ when anything happens to | tatiously on the table at his elbow. one it wakes ther citizens up like thunder. ‘** Don’t try to take a snap judgment on the They’re all outside, waitin’ ter hear what yer | young man or there will be some lively spatter- got ter say, and byer’s a committee ter inter- | ment, sure. Prisoner at the bar, bave you any- doose you. Ef you’ve no objections we'll ad-| thing to say about this jury we are going to journ outside.”’ select? You'll have your challenges, afterward, ** Why, you hoary headed old hypocrite. You | of course,” know I can’t object. There’s enough of you to ‘* T suppose you are addressing me,” answered take me out in little pieces if I did, and I’m not | Neville, “ Any men will suit well enough so sure but what that is the very thing you want to | that you all vouch for their being honest, ick do. Vill goout and meet the people, and tell | them out of the crowd as they come, and begin them the plain truth. Some one has been lead- | with the nearest to you.” ing them all the wrong way, or long before this ** As good as wheat, that! they would have found out where Viola went | of you, move a peg higher, to,’ and we'll swear you in.” Neville spoke indignantly, looking as though This method of selecting a jury was simple, he would like to choke Bower, and for a small, and saved time. Without delay the six were bonus would undertake the operation; but | told off and sworn, Billy ghbly repeating the Jimmy never ruffled a feather, answering grave- | form of an oath that seemed good enough for all : practical purposes; and Neville not pbjecting to either the number or composition, ‘* Now, Bower, we don’t need any prosecuting attorney here to coax any one to tell a lie. Just give us the facts in the case as you know them, SUEUR Here, half a dozen Mount the porch y: ‘“They all reckon they know well enough whar she went to, an’ ther only thing they’re goin’ ter decide on now is whether vou had her iL vex beats wilnt. Wer, Coott lies got tr | Seddon ee ete ae i e C _ and don’t get further from the tru yan you say : | can help. SHE we catch you—good-by, J io As he spoke Jimmy stepped to one side and That warning ought to be better than an oath, anes to the door outside of which the escort fe to make sure we'll sland you, ca stood, ower’s story is already known to the reader, Neville looked at them with strange coolness, | Though it was no news to the majority of the ise ey nae Po eee re yet he oe ne pire | “aren tp Oh semi fee ee oP ~ ag it; or @ did, be felt very much less alarm | how, at the request of Neville he bad sen iss than he would have thought possible before ex- | Viola to him. igs recognized the prisoner posi- Sg Set the 7 Sere he a now the promi- | tively as the man he had left in the dinin -room, nent feeling was one of satisfaction. | and as if to make identification certain, here Rather qaeer, that; but in the then sedate, | was a package of papers undeniably belonging respectable miners, who approached the situa- to North, that had been found on the table. tion with all due gravity, there looked to be a’ They had been at bis elbow when he sent for desire for justice. Perhaps the mob behind | Viola; rae gith remGd Uniden tguie epuaentinel that | eaetecneetliiad t of how, afewh am r explanations that | en followed an account of how, a few hours the citizens of Brace Box may think they are later, the accused had come to him and stated entitled to, Under other circumstances I would | that his cousin was missing, His manner was of course deny their right to inquire, but here, | sullen, and according to Jimmy’s idea, not at all where law is administered as in a state of na-, that of an honest man, startled by such a dis- et Ral rok question the jurisdiction of the pea, As : Mies Nowth? Jourt, Lead on. ere was a letter found in Miss North’s room For a wonder Neville was not speaking over | which Neville declared to have been written by the heads of his auditors, The three were all | another cousin—Cyril—for whom they had been men who had started life in a widely different | searching; but senate felt ns iy pan a sphere, writing was the same as that in the hote "You wie pep nee nae a es chance for | ragister ~ Ps your life, the only trouble being that so many | When he had seen this letter, he decided that of the crowd has formed his opinion beforetinnd | the prisoner had overreached himself, and im- p There are some who think Miss North is not | dead, but that you are responsible for her disap- | pearance, and they may want to ask questions | after Vigilante style that is very unpleasant to an innocent man. Keep cool, young man, and if you are innocent don’t throw away a chance, or lose your head.” ** And if I were guilty?” ‘* The aay a a useless, You’d look after those things anyhow, ft. 7 Boe cut rs ald shows what I ras ; ee ge le rp a “ed tiny ae ct at you do not believe in my guilt, udge Billy ruled differently. e said the ope tio bring every one else to your way of prisoner should wait until the prosecution was thinking.” ; _ closed, when he could ask all his questions in a The von ae ore place ah low tone, as | fH ; Then he meen ep y Saul. * they went along; the answer of the miner was | aul’s story has already been given. s the cut short by the roar of the crowd, as they | longer he thought it over the more certain he was came out into the open air, had recognized Neville, his evidence made things The cry was not as savage as it might have ' look blacker than ever, When he came down been. There is the growl of a beast as a beast; _ to the discovery of shoes and stockings, and and then there is the ravening growl when itis afterward the hat at the shaft, Neville, as well about to hurl itself on its.prey. When the jat- as the most of the auditors, thought the worst ~ pan z peas uromn a nD A is certain that | had ree: reached. He looked — at hee: ood or death only can quiet it. as if expecting some cross-questions, and as N, i ee. ‘oe savage enough; pone ore he put ck his hat and stepped down, but the mass claimed to be still open to convic- HES enezer White,” tion—whether honestly or not was a different ee spoke with a flourish. 4s general society thing. j . the man was never known by any other name a Feller-citizens!” said Bower,” reckon I set than Long Ebe. He was a good-natured good- this ball a-rollin’ in this d’rection, an’ I can’t | for-nothing, about town, but he was one of the say I’m sorry, since 1 know it's only turnin’ on | best of trailers and mightiest hunters outside of oes a ie ee mt aan aeHot os ee’ a bl littl] Ebe things, an ; at my house ou can warble your little song now n- this titog happened aw’ so, ov course I want it | ezer. It seems to fit in with the rest pretty well cleared up er know ther reason why. I move | if I’ve heard it straight.” Colonel Rollins takes ther cheer.’ Ebenezer had started off on the trail—or he had probably forgotten them in his which he had seen Neville pen. mediately put him under arrest. Kept the mat- ter as quiet as he could until further investi- gations had been made. Didn’t want trouble at his bouse, Neville took the arrest very quietly, as though expecting it. As an innocent man, he should have knocked him—Bower—down, Parties had been searching in every direction ever since, but he believed they bad found no pie except in the neighborhood of Blindman’s aft — ; ! } ' ‘¢ Killer ain’t hyer!” shouted a voice from the gel to un _ ae or Reese a nothing. en he heard what ha n foun crowd. down at the shaft, and had gone there almost alone that afternoon. The tracks around the edge of the shaft were so beaten into one another as to tel nothing, but he had let himself down with a rope to the edge of the water, and there, caught on a pro- jecting snag he had found—this, He held up something in his hand that was not visible half a dozen yards away, but the cry of those nearest showed tbat it was a genuine sur- prise, while Jimmy Bower, unable to repress his excitement shouted; ‘*An’ ef it aint a lock of her bair I'll eat snakes! I know it an’ l’ll swear toit. Ef that ain’t enough ov a corpus ter hold a inquest on I want to know,” And true it was that between his fingers, matted and twisted, with ends irregular where it had broken, Ebenezer held a little lock of Viola’s hair. CHAPTER XXVIII, A MOTION BEFORE THE COURT. As Long Ebe held up the fragment of a tress, and Jimmy Bower uttered his declaration, a strange eng happened, The crowd, that had been boisterous in its expressions of opinion, became silent while Neville North, who, so far, had listened to the proceedings with contemptuous silence, gave a great cry, that was heard to the very outskirts of the hushed assembly. Up to this moment he bad doubted if any harm had happened to his cousin other than falling into the hands of Cyril; now he was ready to believe that, innocent as he himself might be of the crime, there was more excuse for this court than he would have admitted a few moments before. Some one had done her to death, and he knew that some one must have been Cyril. How could he, in the face of Happy Saul’s story, convince the crowd that it was not himself? His very excitement at this Jast revelation | told against him. The storm was just on the verge of breaking. Had not Billy beld up bis hand with an imperative gesture, that seemed to tell that there was more to come, the rush would have begun, Billy—and not one man of a score in Brace Box knew him by any other name—played his part well, ‘Just a little patience, gentlemen, until we get to the bottom of this. Don’t crowd the court, because ape have placed in its hands the right to uphold its dignity. The testimony seems to point to the prisoner as the man who planned the deed: but [ understand that there is evidence to show the motive, and who it was committed the murder, The jury are i after the interests of justice; outsiders wi please not interfere.” Some of the jury looked a little uncomfort- able; others smiled and let their hands rest alongside of their revolvers. The three men on uard were silent and serious, Whether they lieved Neville guilty or innocent, the men on the porch appeared resolved to defend him until the judgment of the court was pronounced. Judge Lynch turned to Neville. * You understand we can’t make you a wit- ness against yourself; but perhaps you would be willing to answer a few questions,” ‘**T am as much interested as any here in hay- ing the whole truth known. No questions you can ask will be refused an answer if they fairly bear on the subject. I had formed a theory but this last witness has shaken my belief. I cannot think that Cyril is insane enough to commit such a crime; yet, from the testimon of the gentleman you call Happy Saul, I am al most bound to believe it,” ‘“You were see in the company of several men, Who afterward went in the direction of Blindman’s, Who were those men?” ‘lt is a mistake—though a natural one, Cyril North, my cousin, was most likely the person Happy Saul saw. When he chooses he can look enough like me to deceive even my friends,” ‘* Ab, we have heard something of him, but we never saw bim, Was not the man knownas Oregon one of the party?” ‘*I kuow nothing of the party; but I can vouch for it that Oregon was not with it.” ‘‘And are you sure that the woman who came in the stage with Miss No:th was not an- other?” ‘IT repeat, I know nothing of the party; but she could not have been there. It was she who informed me of Viola’s disappear- ance, ‘If they were friends how does it come they took no part in the search for the missing lady? Where was Oregon last night and to-day? Why was he not one of the searchers? Where is he now?” ‘* He was as keen on the hunt as any, but fell intoa trap that nearly caused his death, and from which he escaped but a short time ago, He is around somewhere, watching the proceed- ings, and I have no doubt will come forward at the proper time, to tell all he knows,” _ any one seen this Oregon to-day ?” Billy looked around at the crowd as he spoke, 23° i | NnIiGDOOKS (e Z (0) a" i