Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 560 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

—_ ,? The Man from Mexico. 9 cid dt aid, in an unostentatious way, and, as has been said, he never won the money of one who was known to be in want. Men whose claims were panning out well, and who were reckless in their playing, he was ever ready to meet in a game. There was something in his dark, sad eyes, something behind his handsome face, as im- penetrable as a mask, that made all feel that he was a man with a history. What that history was no one could know, Of his antecedents no one knew anything more than he chose to tell. What he did tell of himself was that he was from Mexico, a gambler, and enjoyed a roving life. It was his pleasure to play cards and wander ' about. He sought trouble with no one, and yet never shrunk from danger, and never allowed an un- fortunate and weak manto imposed upon in his presence. | Landlord Sampson did not understand him. He was lavish with his money, even courteous toward him, and yet Gold Grip Sampson seemed to feel that the gambler avoided him for some reason. He had noted, too, that the Man from Mexico had not sought Stella, as he had feared he would, for though he liked the man, he saw that he was one to dread where a woman was con- cerned, and he did not wish to have to warn his daughter against him. As for Dick Deadly Hand and the others, Landbord Sampson had never taken them into consideration as worthy of thought where Stella was the object of their attention. The Mexican he could not but admit sessed a very remarkable face, and one fu fascination. : His form was" perfection itself, and he knew what his nerve and pluck were. He looked to be of thirty-four, but perhaps was older, and he was in the full vigor of man- hood. Somehow, in spite of his being a professional gambler, Landlord Sampson feared his influence upon Stella, and the evening he had met her in the streets and returned home with her, he took occasion to speak to his daughter regarding him. It was the custom of Landlord Sampson to go NW to bris home each evening after supper, and spend an hour or so with Stella, who read to him as they chatted together. The little cabin was charmingly fitted up, for there was a carpet on the floor and curtains at 1 the windows, while the furniture, though rustic, was most serviceable. There were pen and ink and pencil sketches upon the walls, some oil paintings of scenery and portraits, all Stella’s work, a guitar, many fancy little articles of her handiwork, with bear, wild-cat, panther and other skins, trophies of the bunt. After an hour or two Brees pleasantly with Stella, Mr. Sampson would bid her good-night, and go over and fix up bis hotel books for the day, after which he would adjourn to the Live and Let Live and count up his earnings, remain ing up until late, a — _ 2 = (o- ng a ee Os- of Se n the evening in question, he found Stelle running her fingers idly vver the strings of her guitar, and seemingly lost in reverie. Now and then she would sing in a rich, sweet voice a verse of some ballad, but then relapse into her idle drumming of the guitar strings once more. ‘* Well, Stella, what do you think of that strange Man from Mexico, for you met him this afternoon, you told me?” said the landlord, by way of breaking the ice. ** Yes, father, I shot a deer that crossed my ly trail, and dismounted to see how I could get him upon my horse, and away went the scamp, leav- ing me alone. ‘* Senor Merl was coming along the trail, and I was about to hail bim, when I saw him seize his lariat, throw it, and in an instant my runa- way was caught.” ‘* And fortunate it was, for you would have , been alone in the nrountains, miles from home, and on foot, ‘* You are too daring, my child.” ‘It was the fault of my horse, father,” and Stella smiled. ‘** Well, to answer my question?” ‘* What was it, sir?’ and Stella knew perfectly . well what it was her father had asked. i, 2 ‘* About Merl?” ** What about him, father?’ was the innocent eT. ; ‘‘ What is your opinion of him?’ “*T hardly know.” ‘“* He is a man of education,” ** Yes, he sses a superior education, sir.” ‘* And is as courtly as a cavalier of old.” cm ‘* His manners are perfect, father.” i! ** A handsome fellow, too.” © Strikingly so.” ** And yet a gambler-gentleman.” ‘So he admits, sir, I believe, for he says he isa gambler.” “Ob, yes, and a bold one, too, and has skill and luck that are phenomenal. ** T wish I knew more of him,” i Te ’ / =f rr ~ -——~ - ee ~ nn 4-3 —- . < n nee ‘* There are few here, sir, that we know aught ne.” ‘* True; but he is an exception.” “Did you ever see him before he came here, father?” ‘‘ No; and yet it strikes me that I have; but I never visited Mexico in my travels, and it isa fancied resemblance to some one I have known that he possesses.” Stella made no reply, for in her question to her father she had wished to discover if he had met the man, or could recall him, whom she be- lieved had known her mother, and from whom she almost began to believe the note had come that had caused such sorrow, which had ended in suicide, It did not seem to her that the Mexican could bea wicked man at heart, andif he had been the writer of the letter to her mother, certainly he had risked his life to save them, and her he had savea. There was a mystery init all that Stella was anxious to see through, and she was not ata loss to know why her father had begun to discuss the Man from Mexico with her, ‘* Does he know more of this man than he will admit to me? ‘* Does he fear I may fall in love with bim?” were questions she asked herself, After a silence of some minutes, in which both father and daughter were busy with their own thoughts, Mr. Sampson at last said: ** Well, my child, the Mexican came here under circumstances that placed us all under a debt of gratitude to him, and he has bad a wholesome effect upon that reckless fellow Desmond, and I observe upon others of his stripe. ‘* He has done more for charity toward good deserving fellows than even I have, and against all a he bas bought and dwells in the Doomed Man’s Den, so he seems not to know what fear is. ** Just why he has come I do not know; but I sincerely hope ho, may not prove a villain as some hint that hd@fmay.” ‘* If he does, father, he will belie his face.” “True; but he isa man with a history, and I only wish I knew just what it was,” ‘** And so do I,” was Stella’s mental rejoinder, for she cared not to utter the words aloud. Ross Sampson was just rising to go over to the hotel, when the Chinee servant at the landlord’s household dashed into the room with the cry: **Muchee shaotee at Livee and Lettee Livee pretty quick.” As he uttered the words several quick, sharp reports rung out in the direction of the saloon and the landlord darted from the room, A moment after Stella followed her father, CHAPTER XV, STRANGERS IN LAST CHANCE, Tue “ Live and Let Live” as the miners gen- erally called Landlord Sampson’s gambling and liquor saloon, was in full blast, and a dozen games were in progress at the various tables, and nearly a hundred men were gathered in the place to spend the greater part of the night, There were a few who never gambled, and they were playing checkers, backgammon or chess with boards that were made in the camps. Here and there a man was seen conversing with another apart, and in other places men were seated at tables with glasses of liquor be- fore them and over them discussing the news of the day in general. But the greatest interest was around the ta- bles where the men were engaged at play, and here gathered lookers-on who were more or less interested, according to the sums at stake, The Man from Mexico did not put in an ap- pearance. He generally came late, played a few gam for large stakes and then left, after treating a present, as was his usual custom. There were men in the mines of a better stripe than were the masses, men such as was Sampson, and between these and the Man from Mexico there had sprung up something very like a feeling of friendship, The Man of Mexico though ever courteous, was reserved, and seemed like one who was con- tent with his own society, and yet this very man- ner made men respect him more. So it was that on the night when Sling Slang, the Chinee servant of Landlord Sampson, dashed into his house and told him to come quick to the Live and Let Live Saloon, he dreaded that trouble had come between Dick Deadly Hand and the Man from Mexico, and this was Stella’s fear also, Since the arrival of the Mexican, from some reason, matters had not been going with quite so reckless a hand as before. and at the saloon aforesaid, of which Landlord Sampson was pro- prietor, not a single death had occurred, There had heen shooting affairs and cutting scrapes in other saloons, and in the mines, but they were of little interest to the frequenters of the Hash House and its syrroundings. Some balf-hour previous to the appearance of Sling Slang at the cabin of the Sampsons, three men had entered the Live and Let Live. Se were seen at a glance to be strangers in wn. One was a tall man in what might be an of- ficer’s fatigue uniform, though there were no shoulder-straps denoting rank, His pants were stuck in high-top cavalry boots, and he wore a very handsome pair of what appeared to be gold spurs, the rowel clasped in the beak of an eagle, and the wings going back on either side of the heel. His close-fitting pants and fatigue coat showed his splendid form to perfection, and about his waist was a military belt, with sword-straps, but no blade, though a pair of handsume re- yolvers were in holsters, one on either bip. His hair was dark-brown, curling and fell upon his shoulders, while he wore a mustache and imperial. His face was bronzed as though from con- stant exposure, and it was a face to see and re- member. — He wore a black slouch hat with a broad brim, and on one side was a pair of small crossed sabers, His companions were also in blue fatigue suits, but without swords, and appeared to be private soldiers of a cavalry regiment. Their faces were heavily bearded, and they wore no crossed sabers upon their hats. They walked to a table that was occupied by two miners and sat down, for there were three vacant seats there. The two miners were playing checkers, and one of them glanced up, and observing the strangers, touched his companion under the table. The other looked up, and gave a slight start. The stranger who looked like an officer called for drinks, and leaving his two companions after dashing off his glass of liquor, walke over toward a table where a game of cards was being played for large stakes. One of the players was Deadly Hand Dick, and he was playing with a miner who never in- dulged in a game where the amount gamble for was less than a hundred dollars. . He was known as Poker Pete, and had a mine that panned out well, while he was also most lucky at cards. He bad been a strong rival of Dick Deadly Hand in cards, but the latter bad generally been the winner in a game with him, when Poker Pete had as “often won from every one else he had played with. He had expressed often a desire to play with the Man from Mexico, but it bad so baprpened that he bad never gotten the opportunity. Now he was ahead of the game with Dick Deadly Hand, and winning steadily, the amount played for being two hundred dollers. Poker Pete was a man to be feared, and few cared to have trouble with bim. Even Dick Deadly Hand had never sought trouble with him, and those who had done so were up in Hallelujab Roost. As the stranger walked up to the table, Poker Pete glanced up, started, and played the game — out rapidly and nervously. He seemed not to have his mind longer on what he was doing, and Dick Deadly Hand won, and with cards that would never have done so, had not Poker Pete seemed suddenly to lose his © nerve. ‘‘T plays no more, pard, for I has other biz on band jist now,” he said, and he rose quickly from the table. ‘‘ Permit me, sir, to join you, if you are still in the humor of plaving,” and the stranger ad- dressed Dick Deadly Hand, while Poker Pete without any excuse for his sudden ending of the game walkefl quickly away. | ‘Yas, 1 S&re a man as plays ter win, and don’t squeal ef I loses, so jist camp out in Poker Pete’s cheer and name ther sum yer plays fer, pard,” said Dick Deadly Hand, who was rather © glad to get rid of the man who had been so © steadily winning his money up to the last The fact was Deadly ame. and had not played with his usual luck, since the coming into Last © Chance of the Man from Mexico, and some of those with whom he was not very popular bad hinted that it was a proof that he had used marked cards. : Certain it was that Landlord Sampson had otten a pew supply, as those he had hed on band the Mexican had shown him were all most skillfully ‘* doctored.” Va The stranger bowed, took Poker Pete’s ‘Va- cated chair, and said: : 3 ‘s Will a hundred be too high, sir?” * ‘“‘Not for me,ef you kin stand it, Stranger Pard.” The answer of the sete was to put down a hundred dollars on the ble/and the game was begun. The el won, and with a pleasant smile the stranger said: , “You play well, sir, and as we are in the same game let me introduce myself. ¥: I belong ‘* You has dle to ther name, I guesses?” “Tf you mean a title, yes. Iamacaptaip.” — ‘‘Wall, Cap'n Reckless, I are glad ter know yer and I interdooces myself by ow’d by out here, and it goes. “ al ° “oo the army and my name is Reck- — e name I am haem F ® ~ o Wy ax} ? fot " i = ok ‘ - - i . " SY « * -y aoe — 4 ag i - J en ,- ~ er - s a ee ad eee | ; * * ‘ 4 en ae gcd - . * - a a. a . hd * , ~~ te a * _ 4 Py te a * + <= a> whee * EJ \, : i* 7 elt