Beadle's Half Dime Library (no. 1071) (1898 02 01)
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hele Siva 1,.189%. Yo. 1071. Five Cents a Copy. BEADLE AND Spaae ey i eae Kvery/ | a ol. ol, KUED, $2.50 a Year, 92 Wiii1aM Street, New York, Tuesday. - DGC \S We a ¥ Rn i \ . f SOF Ki iS GP) SEX LAPS G OO : = (2. SGI ‘*. (4 3 > c THAT FLOATING FIGURE WAS AGAIN OVER THE CENTRE OF THE CAMP, i ‘ BE a a ae II IN cet A aN IN SN us Be —- ~
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j au ¥ m’ a = 3g } ees i ee _ interfered. You have done a thing it, You are crazy Dandy Dick's Decoy ; THE ROUSING TIME AT ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE. BY ROBERI RANDOLPH INMAN, AUTHOR OF ‘DANDY DICK, DETECTIVE,” ‘DANDY DIOK'’S DOUBLE,” ETC., ETC, CHAPTER I. A MONSTROUS DEED. ‘“‘Goop heavens! Craig Morgan, you would not hang me!” “Yes, Jezebel; and not only would, but will. Owen, make ons that lariat,” A scene on the lonesomest of mountain trails. Two men and a woman thy actors, The woman is upon her knees before one of the men, her hands clasped and held toward him imploringly, her face a picture of comm- ingled fear and horror, The man is looking upon her with the utmost contempt. His hard, cruel face, wears a half- smile, his lips curl with scorn, and a hand rests upon a revolver. He appears inclined to shoot her. With a lariat in hand, the third personage stands awaiting his master’s directions. His face, too, is cruel and villainous, It is au early moruing hour, the evidences of a night’s bivouac are seen around, and there are indications that the trio have taken a hasty departure from some where, The man Owen turns and casts the end of the lariat over the convenient limb of a stunted pine near at hand, while Craig Morgen draws the weapon upon which his hand has rested, threatening to kill the woman who now clings to him with arms around his knees, “ Curse you, let go of me!” he hisses, ‘If ou don’t, I will drive a bullet through your ead and so save the trouble of hanging you.” ‘* Shoot me, then, shoot me if you will,” the woman sobs, while tears stream down her cheeks, ‘‘ but do not, oh! heavens! do not hang me! What have I done that has made you hate me so?” “Well enough do bi know what you have done, Pearl Mayne,” is the stern response. “Tt know that two or three times I have saved ur life at the risk of my own, Craig Morgan!” 8 the pitiful rejoinder, '** Bah! what of that? Perhaps I should have escaped in some other way, even if you hadn’t that over- balances all that, and I say again that you shall swing!” ‘But, what is it I have done? Surely you will not take my life without telling me the . I fell asleep last night at your side; a moment ago you awoke me with curses, dragged me here, and— Oh! you do not mean it, you can not mean it, Craig!” “You shall soon see whether I mean it or not, you Jezebel! No, J will not take your life with- out first telling you why I do it; there would be poor satisfaction in that. It is beceuse it was you who freed Dick Darrel, when I had him in my power, and you who murdored my compan- ion, Adele Woolfe,” he woman releases her hold and falls back, a new horror depicted upon her face. _ “ How—how could you know that!” she gasps, _ “ How, indeed, except by your talking in your sleep a few minutes ago!” : ‘+ Heavens! then I have told you everything. But, you do not know how I loved oer you can never understand how I loved you “ Bah! if you call that love, I want none of , and the sooner you are out of the way the better. You do not deny the Oa eat make, so I want no further proof,” **T can offer no denial, If you overheard me talking about it in my sleep, I can only beg for 3 ee ee ee ee ee Dandy Dick’s Decoy. standing me, I will be more to you than Adele Woolfe ever could be, if you will only let me.” ‘Bah! she was worth a dozen of you. There was no nonsense about her, She proved her re- gard for me by her deeds, She was brave, dar- ing, just such a companion as I needed, and, in a way, I loved her, You killed her, and you shall— : “ Aad I will kill you!” the woman cries, springing up, knife in hand, ‘If J cannot have your love, you shall never give it to another!” She springs at him, but the other man, havin prepared the lariat, has come up behind her, an now seizes her arms, f * Ha, ae ha!” Craig Morgan laughs again. * You see it is of little use, my fair lunatic.” She is speedily disarmed, and together the men drag her to the tree. Loudly she shrieks for help, but the rugged hills only send back the echo of her voice, Her .hands are hastily tied behind her, and Owen Maron holds her while Craig Morgan puts the lariat over her head and adjusts the noose, ‘In God’s name I beg you to sparo my life,” she implores. ‘* My eyes are now opened, and I see you as youare. My love is suddenly as dead as though it had never been,” “Ha, ha, ha!” again, mockingly. “ And you will soon be as dead as your love, too, Up with her, Owen, and let us away.” And then together the two heartless knaves pull, the woman is dragged up from a sitting posture, is | swung nearly as high as the limb, the end of the lariat is hastily made fast, and with onedook at their work the two scoundrels hurry away from te fee leaving the writhing body swaying to and fro. CHAPTER II. A HEINOUS CRIME. ‘““Y am not answerable to you, Munson Kil- ore. “We will see about that. If you have a wea- pon, prepare to defend yourself.” ‘* But I have no weapon—am totally disarmed. I have no quarrel with you, and I refuse to be drawn into one, Let me i “Not so fast, Valentine Hamilton. If you are disarmed, so much the better for me end the worse for ou. I have lured you here with | a purpose, and that purpose is—to kill you.” — An early morning hour, as before, The scene, a broad plateau overlooking a deep, shadowy gorge. Two younz, good-looking men face each other, one with back to the gorge, the other before him with drawn revolver. | The one is entirely at the mercy of the other, and at the last. words—words spoken with mur- derous emphasis, his face grows pale. A glance is enough to read the other’s intent, ** You do not intend to murder me!” he gasps, **We cannot both s8 Gulnare Montrose, and I have taken oath that she shall be mine,” ‘But, she does not care for you, and you cannot hope to win her hand, even with me out of your path, She knows you for the villain you are, ‘‘Havea care, Valentine Hamilton, or I will drop you in your tracks,” ae _ ‘You can do no worse than you have declared is your intention, Give me a weapon, and give me a chance for my life.” _“ Do you take me for a fool? I offered to do that, thinking you must be armed and I could not help myself; but, since you are not armed, so much the better, as I said.” . Re “Curse you for the cold-blooded knave you are! You would murder me, without anything to be gained by the dastardly crime, Yes; Ido take you fer a fool, for none but a fool would think of doing such a thing. You can never hope to marry Gulnare.” . : “ You'rea liar! She was as good as mine be- fore you showed your accursed face at Rough- anud-Tumble,” “I kaow better than that, for I know how ut- terly she desnixs you. You vever hai the host “t 4 huneraes vyinning hor, aml never cen ve.” . ; P : ‘¢We will see about that, too. I shall have one chance the more with you out of my sh that is certain; and, curse you! I am going put you out of my way here and now!” “ Put down that weapon, and let me meet you on equal footing. I will fight you, and will kill you if I can, too, as you richly deserve!” . ~ I have not lured you here ‘in the game for nothin respond when A alr at pein to | bully, a fellow full of fight, her | try it, if T give you the chance, wich have ao: wae | | Emo ot Pteren thought that note to you came from Guinare Ha, ba. hal” “f a ** Not least among your villainies was that of te forging her name to the note that brought me here and placed me in your power. Heaven’s | curse will rest upon you, if you carry out the threat you have uttered against me, You had bf better think twice before you go too far in your evil work, Would that I bad a weapon at my command, and I would show—” “Little good it would do you if you had, for I hold the drop, as you can see, here do you prefer to have the bullet? Name your spot, and there I'll try to put it.” 3 ry you intend to murder me, Munson Kil- ore “Can you doubt it, after what has heen said?” ‘**- Yes, I can; for it seems impossible. Surely “Then doubt no more, In one minute you die, and Gulnare Montrose shall be my bride in spite of everything! Say your little prayer, if a know one, and have uny idea that ib will— “Curse you! Ill choke—” With that fierce interruption, the defenseless man springs forward with the rage of a tiger, straight at the throat of his enemy, but the re- volver speaks, and he is suddenly checked, He stops, claps his hand to his bead, and, in the same moment, begins to reel backward to the edge of the eg One brief moment he sways upon the brink, and then over he goes and down—. A smile—a fierce, devilish smile, lights up the faco of the murderer. ‘Ha! that was well done,” he mutters. ig is one step in the right direction, auy- OW, Coolly he takes the empty shell from the weapon, tosses it over-the ledge and puts a load- v4 one Jp its place, and thrusts the weapon into is pocket, “There will be a missing man at Rough-and- * Tumble,” be says, half aloud, as he turns away ~ from the scene cf his crime, ‘‘and a vacanc at the Pay Dirt Mine. Mungo Montrose will be hunting around for a new superintendent. It was well done— Ha, ha, ha! It was well done, and no one can ever suspect me.” CHAPTER III. AN INCIDENT AT ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE. ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE was a rougb-and-tumble camp forsooth, _ It was about as rough a mining-camp imagination can picture, and yet it was sea~ soned withal with a little salt of respectability. But the sprinkling was so that the rude — element largely predominated, and the sober, rier aMiounad tiene ee oe n the public a ; the place. Y The vital spark of the camp was the Pa Dirt Mine, Without that, the place would not havo | existed, or at best would have been buta meager settlement of perhaps a dozen shanties—and the indispensable saloon. But the “Pay Dirt” was there, and the camp was of greater importance, There was, then, first, the mine, with its office, and buildings. Then, next in importance, from the minority point of view, the residence of the resident and manager. After that, in order, — the hotel, post-office, saloon, and the shanties i eneral, But from the other standpoingaaar the majority point of view, this order of igs was reversed, + First in order, as it was first in importance, comes the saloon—the “ Swill-tub Saloon,” 4S it was known. Next, perhaps, the ce, an after that the hotel of the camp, which rejoiced in a strikingly unique n the “ Bedbug Bungalow.” Came then the shanties in gonetal, and so on down the scale to the last and least item of all, the mine, And the rough elem in the majority, as stated, this was tbe gen ° accepted register, From the minority. leading and ba camp was Mr. Mungo ! farail d Bia) we Siewe 80¢n amily and their imm “6514, down’ tte social gamut to the point where the line was drawn. On the other hand, from te majority view of the matter, the leading of the camp was one Big-foot Pha ee a ellow, who held the office of ma, much to the disgust—the aoe ce aeabas saan) at, § ) better class of citizens. he was cock of thy I i ee ee FO OE ae, ee as the point of view again, the “tant persona out the Montross, te presidas Dirt, After bin \is ssociates, and walk, ‘th int h-and-Tumble in the Com: Roug the ce ap in Be ee ta 3:
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ee Pn Dandy Dick’s Decoy, 3 ‘Judge Lynch,” in the person of Big-foot Brown, the mayor, bas opened his court on the space in front of the saloon and botel, and sits upon his box ready to hear a case, A great, wild crowd is gathered around, and a little distance away come half a score of men, dragging after them three unwilling Chinamen, with ropes around their necks. And as they come nearer the crowd breaks out in a wild cheering. ‘ ; ‘Order in ther court!” cries the judge pond: ing with his heel upon the box on wh ch his chair stands. ‘‘Order in ther court, ye noisy aloots, ye! or I'll git me down from hyar an’ nock «ther stuffin’ out of a dozen or two of ye, Bring on ther yaller cusses, boyees, an’ we'll make short work of ’em,” The cheering is choked off, and is speedily ended, while the Chinamen are pulled into the space in front of the judge’s stand. As pale as the natural bue of their skin will admit, the poor wretches look frightened nearly to death, and are protesting loudly and wildly against the treatment they are getting. “No bang Sam Yip,” the foremost cries, as they are brought around face to the judge. ‘No hang Sam Yip. Him alla samee good Chinaman; him nostealee, Only him do washee- wasbee alla samee like rest of Chinamans, No hang Sam Yip—no hang Sam Yip!” And the others echo his wail. “Sbut up!” cries the judge. ‘‘ Shut up, ye durn yaller skunks! Sbut up—shutup/ If yer don’t, ’m a. sickly coyote if I don’t order ye took off an’ hanged, ther same as I intend ter do, anyhow. Keep yer heads shut, now, an’ jet’s git this business done ez soon as we'kin.” “ Hyar ther cusses is, mayor!” speaks up the jeader of the men who have them in tow. * We yanked "em right out of ther washee tubs an’ off’n ther ironin’ board. What is goin’ ter be done with em?” “ Weis goin’ ter hang ’em, in course, that’s what,” the rough mayor declares, ‘ We'll give %em somethin’ of a bearin’ fu’st, hows’ever, fer ther sake o’ form.” ‘““That’s. ther talk!” cheers the ruffianly “No Chinese need apply hyar now, you bet!” You shut up,” Big-foot sternly orders, glar- ing round, ‘ m shut,” the prompt obedience, “You yaller cusses, tend ter me: We bas made up our minds that we don’t intend ter wave ye round byar any longer. Fer thet rea- son and ter git rid of ye in ther shortest possible time, we is goin’ ter hang ye. Now you has nad a fair an’ square trial, an’ that’s the verdick. Tuke ’em an’ string ’em up, boyees.” With one voice the three prisoners set up a wail most piteous, and resist with all their strength. 4 But, resistance is useless, and they ure on the point of being dragged away to their fate when other actors appear on the scene. Two women broke through the crowd, al- most out of breath, and one is calling out to the judge to bold on until he has heard them in the Chinamen’s behalf. “Holdon a minit, then, boyees!” the mayor commands; “‘ byar’s the ladies, an’ it wouldn't he perlite ter refuse em a say in ther matter. It won't make much difference with ther ver- There is a halt, and the prisoners are brought ck, ‘¢-You are not going to bang the poor wretch- es, are you, sir?” the foremost of the women breathlessly. “Why, yas, ter be sure,” is the assurance, “That's ther best way ter git rid of ’em, yer knows, If you and yer pard thar has come hyer ter set up a washee, by ther horn spoon yer sha’n’t have no yaller opposition!” ‘But, sir, we do not want you to bang tke r fellows. If we had known they were estab- ished here, we wonld beve gore on to come vutber camp. Let wem go heck to their work, please, and we will go on. It wouldn't he fair for us to come here and drive them ont, ‘her darnation it wouldn’t! You jest let me be ther jedge of that. Hyer you comes to eur camp, you and yer woman pard thar, an’ says ye are two poor women as wants ter set up a mill an’ do honest washin’ an’ mendin’ fer us, We hears yer story, an’ makes up our minds ter give ye a show, an’ now, durn me, if ye don’t want ter sp’ileour fun.” “Dont be offended, sir; but wa wouldn’t want to cause the death of the poor wretches, you know. Unless you will let them go, we won't stay here, anyhow, You must not hang “ Waal, I ber durn if wimmin ain’t queer crit- : fi _ a re ea ne S ters! Here I thort I would be doin’ yea honor, by hangin’ ther cusses in ther quickest sort o way, an’ now yer says they mustn’t hang. Waal, waal, wimmin is past my onderstandin’, abyhow,.” “* No, sir; they must not be hanged,” the wo- man firmly protests, ‘‘ We had much rather move on and leave them in peace—-” ha must let these fellows go; and, not only so, ut you must help them to pack up their belong- ings and to get away. On no other conditions will we remain with you, much as we would like tostay.” ° : ‘That settles it, then,” Big-foot cries, ‘* Yer is goin’ ter stay, an’ I’m what says so, Let ther cusses go, boyees, an’ some of ye help ’em ter pack up an’ git out, I don’t see as it makes a none of odds jest how we gitsrid of ’em, after a . CHAPTER IV. A LITTLE MILD FUN, Ir had been on the previous night that these women had made their first appearance at Rough-and-Tumble. Together they bad entered the Bedbug Bungalow and inquired for lodging. And baving had something to eat, they toh their story to the crowd that bad gathered curi- ously around. They were from the far Northwest, and were seaqnelly working their way East. They would ike to stop for some weeks, or perhaps mouths, at this camp, and do washing and mending for the men. This was the manner in which they were working toward their destination, One, the elder, claimed to be a widow, and gave her name as Lamb. The other, she said was her sister, whose name was Katy Dansen, They were roughly, almost shabbily clad, wear- ing men’s hats and the roughest of shoes, and had the appearance of having tramped many a mile, They were not bad-looking women, and in truth, had they been more becomingly attired, might have been called good-looking. Their ages were anything between twenty-five and forty. Description in particular is unnecesse ry. The Widow Lamb was the one who did the talk- ing for both, her sister seeming to be of a retir- ing disposition. ‘As soon as their story bad been told, the mayor took the matter in hand promptly. ‘ Yer shell stay hyar, you et!” he declared, * An’ we'll give ye our trade too, Ther galoot what don’t pat’n’ize ye will hear somethin’ drop, an’ I’m what says so. I’m mayor of this hyar burgh, ladies; Reginald Brown, at yer sarvice, You jest go ter roost an’ take it easy, an’ me an’ ther boyees will go to ther Swill-tub an’ talk it over. That’s Regy Brown’s orate; you hear!” And with that he went off, bis followers at his heels, and the women took hisadviceand retired to their room, i Swill-tub the matter was discussed at length, The camp had a ‘ washee-washee” already, one that was managed by the three Chinamen, and it was a plain fact that there was not enough trade to keep two institutions of that kind running, “The Chinese must go!” was the final con- clusion, “* We'll ‘tend to ’em in ther mornin’,” spoke Big-foot Brown, ‘ We'll wait on ther wimmin an’ tell ’em it’s all right, an’ then we’ll step over an’ hang ther yaller cusses an’ ther hull business will be arranged.” But somebody mentioned the unfairness of hanging them without a trial, so it was further arranged that they should be tried before they were burried off, Acsordin,ly, next morning the neayor and s¢me of his fohowers went to the hotel and in- formed the women tbat they would soon have a vacant shanty ready for them, and from there went to attend to the Chinamen. Big-foot prepared his court while the others went for the prisoners, and as has been shown there would have been speedy hanging, had not some knowledge of what was going on reached the women, who hastened to the scene and balk- ed the mayor’s programme in the manner shown. At the mayor’s order, the frightened celestials were allowed to go, and they madea dash for their shanty like escaping rats running for a ole, } “Look out thar! Head ther cusses off!” the mayor shouted. “If they gits in thar they’ll try ter hold ther fort! Head ’em off, an’ don’t give ’em no chance ter do nothin’ o’ that kind.” After them part of the crowd ran, pell-mell, and it was a close race, but, as the Chinamen dodged into their shanty, there were enough men close upon their heels to prevent their shutting the door, “That war a close shave, by darn!” exclaimed the mayor, as he witnessed it from his tribunal. ‘*Orter been kicked fer not thinkin’ o’ that, We has got ’em now, an’ in balf a hour you will see ’em ambulatin’ out of ther valley, ladies.” “Tt seems too bad,” the Widow; Lamb ob- served, ‘t but you have made up your minds that we shall — so I suppose—” ‘“‘ Bet yer ife on’t!” the mayor assured, ** Wim- min is at a premium’ hyar, an’ mebby both of will be able to pick upa purty decent sort o’ usband out of ther galoots ’round ther camp,” ‘Ob! no, no!” the widow protested, laughing. ‘‘ We shall not seek for any greater honor than to do your washing and mending, gentlemen,” “But pe will want some galoot ter chop wood and make fires,” one fellow spoke up, * And husbands generally object to that, you know,” was the response, The crowd gave a laugh, and the women went off in the direction of the Chinamen’s shanty, There the crowd had dragged the poor Celes- tials out again, and were moving their belong- ings after them at a lively pace. “Hold on just a moment, gentlemen,” the Widow Lamb requested. ‘‘ We are here with- out any traps of our own, and are prepared to buy these of the Chinamen at ‘a fair price. We must buy or hire made, and if we can buy these wecan begin business at once. See if the fel- lows understand.” “Docs yer onderstand that ‘ar?” demanded the mayor, who had followed to the shanty, ** What does yer say to it, Sammy?” Sam Yip could speak English fairly well, and could understand it a g deai better than he could speak it, “Hund’ed dlollals,” he quickly set his figure. ““Givee Sam Yip hund’ed dlollals money, and Chinamans ip out alla samee quick.” That was brief and right to the point, ‘Tt is more than fair that we should pay them something,” the Widow Lamb remarked, ‘‘ see- ing that we are not only taking their traps but their business as well, and as we have about that sum we will pay it,” ‘Not by er dol-garned sight!” cried Big-foot Brown, ‘Ther hull durn outfit ain’t wu’th more’n twenty-five cents, an’ ther p’izen cusses hev salted down a good many dollars sence they has been hyar. Yer bad better let us hang ’em ma’m, as we was goin’ ter do, It willbea good dea] cheaper.” At mention of this, Sam Yip and his compan- ions turned pale agai, and seemed on the point of running fcr their lives. “ T wenty-fi' dlojlals,” Sam ‘bh suddenly came down. Givee twenty-fi’ dlollals, and takee evelyt’ing.” “ Here is the money,” said the widow, passing it over, ** An’ now jest see how quick you kin get out of pistol range,” suggested the mayor, signifi- cantly touching his revolver butt. But again did the woman interfere. She wanted the Chinamen to be allowed a sufficient time to gather up whatever personal eff ther sale did not include, and offered to assist them. ‘Waal, go ahead,” Big-foot drawled, ‘ Wim- min beats my time all holler, an’ I’m what says so. This hull business might a’ been done, an’ ther cusses half buried by this time, But, go ahead, and when you git done I reckon we’ll have some fun.” Sam Yip was quick to take in the situation, and communicating to bis brothers in tribulation the respite that had been granted, all three has- tened into the shanty to gather up their effects, the women with them. q Sam understood that bis only friend in the whole crowd was the widow, end vs ane ap- proached him, when they were within doors, he was uot alarmed, : ‘+ Here, put this out of sight and say noth’ng,” she remarked, in whispers, extending another sum of money tohim. ‘This will surely repay you for all loss and incopvenience. Say noth- n ” Tho Chinaman grinned from €ar to ear. ‘Me savvy,” he muttered, and the money dis- appeared under his blouse with remarkable promptitude, Some ‘ tall hustling” was done by the three heathens in their scramble to get their valuables, and particularly the sums of money they had buried in one corner of the floorless back shed, Pretty soon they bad made up their several 2, koe Se
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a _ Bally he too gave up. would prove to be one of those occasional mys- |. _ teries which are never sulved. ilies bes personage who had + Soe, ta Bacret, — —*y : eon 4 , / Dandy Dick’s Decoy. + arcels, and were ready, and with a nod to the idow Lamb, Sam Yip Jed the way out. * Waal, have yer got it ail now?’ demanded the mayor, somewhat impatiently. “Yes, alla samee gotee him now,” responded Sam, with another grin, ‘tThen git a move on ye, instanter! We will give ye ten seconds ter git out o’ range, an’ then we're goin’ ter open fire. Now, git!” '** You betee!” cried the Chinaman, and he was off at once, with his companions at his heels, Toeir every effort was strained to put distance between themselves and the crowd in as short a space of time as possible. The crowd yelled and hooted, some shots were fired in the air, and the tliree ran as fastas their legs could be put in motion. They were allowed to get some little distance away, when the whole crowd let off a volley, not trying to hit the fugitives, however, and the last that was seen of the frightened Orientals was the cloud of dust that remuined behind after they “had rounded a bend that carried them out of range. es CHAPTER V. HUMBLE HOLDER OF A MIGHTY SECRET. Ar this time Rough-and-Tumble bad a month- old mystery. . That mystery was regarding the’sudden and unaccountable disappearance of one of the camp’s most popular citizens—Velentine Hamil- ton, superintendent of the Pay Dirt Mine, And it was a mystery without a parallel in the camp’s history—a mystery that had defied every -effort to solve it, Mungo Montrose, president and manager of the mine, had offered a large reward for infor- mation concerning him, but nothing had been learned, and now it did not appear likely that anything would be heard of him, It was the ay toler opinion that for some secret reason he ad suddenly taken himself off. - But there was one person in the camp who would not believe this, That person was Gulnare Montrose, daughter of the mine president, She was firm in her con- viction that the missing man bad met with foul play. | Aiked to give her reasons, her answer was that Mr, Hamilton bad been a man of too much honor to do anything of that sort; but, urged to point her suspicions, she could not do so. The fact was, that Valentine Hamilton was boas ‘he had ‘gone very suddenly, No one ad seen him since the night previous to his dis- appearance. Then he bad seemed to be about as usual in every respect, so far as noticed. Next. day he had failed to appear at the mine, } Examination into the matter had shown that he had occupied his bunk in the mine office that night as usual—where he had beon in the habit of sleeping. He had probably gone out early, and bad locked the door of the office after him in, going. But, where had he gone? Why? What had become of him? not be answered, Aes ¥ No one at the camp claimed to possess any ability as a detective; still, many had taken keenest interest in the matter, and had investi- gated asfar as possible, Looking into Hamil- Questions that could ton’s career since his arrival at the camp, two ape before, there was nota spot to be found on is record, Big-foot Brown, to begin at the top of the list, socially and officially, as considered from the majority Penapoink had lent the best ener- gies of his massive intellect to the task of un- raveling the knotty problem, but had given up in despair. He had begun with the theory of foul play, but when he had been the rounds of all the bad and desperate characters of the camp, and bad been unable to fasten suspicion upon any ove, he gave that up and cast bis vote with those who believed the young man had simply _ gone off for reasons best known to himself, And then, to drop at once to the bottom of the list, socially and officially, still looking at it from the majority point of view, Mungo Mon- - trose had exerted himself tothe utmost to learn something about the missing man. He had of- fered rewards,.as bas been shown, and besides that, had aces into the matter himself, making a most thorough investigation of it. Not a Beoukt Matoees phe ina ox ep ecdedtee ) is questionings regarding the | man, But re aay eon ht him nothing, and fi- t looked as though it the camp bad es- et another iene | oe ne ee | CI BOT cats gt SE * + ve EEN a Sai who occupied a position about half-way up (or down) the scale social and unofficial. He was manager of the mining company’s supply store, and held the office of postmaster. A rath- er good-looking young man, he had the regard, to a considerable extent, of the citizens in both divisions of the social gamut. At the Swill-tub where he occasionally took a fling, as he called it, he was able to hold up his end with the worst of them. On the other hand, he could so con- duct himself that he did not seem out of place even in the best room of the Montrose residence, He had done his level ‘best, as be declared, ana his conclusion was that it must be as the major- ity believed. If not that, then it must be that be had met with an accident, It did not seem possible that a man so well liked could have met with foul play. ‘ But the theory of accident was not given much weight, since, if an accident, the man would have been found somewhere; so it had come, at last, to be drawn down to the one point mention- ed, except in the mind of Miss Montrose. From what has been said, the part played by this Munson Kilgore can be appreciated. And he confidently believed that the truth of the matter would never come to light, Perhaps it never would, and certainly that seemed to be the way it looked at this time. But there was yet another persopage of whom men- tion must be made in this connection, This was a simple youth, a half-wit, known about the camp as Silly less fellow, too silly to be even the object of rude jests, yet he was not altogether bereft of thought and reason. Naturally, as is the case with such persons, ke had his likes and bis dislikes, and one of his dis- likes was Munson Kilgore, ‘Why he had avoid- ed him from the first, 10 one knew, and perhaps he himself could not have told, But, suddenly, that aversion had grown to actual fear of the man. Within the month, Silly Bob had shunned Kil- gore to such a degree that he even avoided meet- ing him on the street if he could doso, He would go around the whole camp to his objective point rather than come face to face with the man he seemed to fear so greatly. Some had noticed it, and it was considered a a joke, On one occasion, a few days succeeding the seit esr oata of the superintendent, Bob bap- pened to be passing the hotel when Kilgore step- ped out right in frontof him, Bob gave a whoop that would wave done credit toa Sioux, and turned to run, but Kilgore caught him by the collar and gave him a shaking that made his teeth rattle. He demanded to know why the youth feared him, declaring that he would harm nobody; but Bob only yelled the more, and when he was released, ran screaming from the scene, The witnesses to this enjoyed it, but Bob rather had the sympathy of even;the worst and roughest, and Kilzore understood that it would not do to abuse the poor fool, however much he might be tempted to kick him whenever he saw him. On this oceasion Silly Bob had run screaming all the way home, that is, to the only home he knew at the camp, and that was the shanty of the three Chinamen. He was made use of by them to carry water from the creek to supply their tubs, and they used him so well that he rather liked them, He stopped his screaming as he entered, and passing hurriedly through, sat down on one of his pails behind the ovter shed of the shanty, and there rocking himself to and fro, muttered in his accustomed way. “If Bob only dare tell what he know!” his words ran. “ Bob know where poor Hamilton be, but Bob’ can’t tell; fraid he get sent same place. Oob! Ob!” and he half screamed again in undertone, “It was awful—awful—awfal! And he rocked to and fro, to and fro, moaning and crooning, as only a person similarly afflicted can do, ** No, no, no!” be finally. cried out, ‘* Bob can’t tell—Bob *fraid to teJl—fraid to tell! Kilgore would kill me! Shoot me—push me over ledge —oob! No, no, no! Bob never can tell! Poor Hamilton—poor man, poor man! Bob tell, then he get sent in sameway— No, no! Bob never tell! Nobody would meatier POF. Silly Bob, anyhow,” 3 _ So, on that occasion, be bad taken on, and many times since he bad been found in similar great distress, till it was the opinion that he was rapidly losing the little spark of wit that had been given him, _ Had his mutterings been intelligible, perhaps something of it all would have been gathered up, but they were not, or not to any extent, and it@would have required great pationce a ee ee Bob. He was a harm- |: even had there been any suspicion to lead any one to make Bob a séudy. His fear of Kilgore rather increased, until now he could bardly see him without a scream rising to his lips and his limbs trembling under him as though ready to let him to the ground, And this Silly Bob, after the Chinamen bad been run out of the camp, suddenly maue bis debut into the shanty and into the presence of the two women, taking off his bat and finger- ing it nervously, while he rolled his eyes fr:. one to the other in his idiotic way. ** Well, and who are you?” asked the Widow Lamb, not upkindly. “Please, I'm Silly Bob,” was the timid re- sponse, ** And what do you want?” the natural ques- tion followed. ‘¢ Please, I carried water fer Sam Yip.” The Widow Lamb caught the situation at once, or thought she did. She had noticed that the water had to be brought from the creek, “Oh, thatis it, isit?’ ske pleasantly remarked. ‘And perhaps you want to see if your services will be needed any louger, now that the estab- lishment has changed hands?” The silly fellow made it understood that such was the idea he had dimly in view, and when he had been finally assured, kindly, that he might still make his home there, and continue to carry water as before, tears sprung to his pale, weak eyes, : eens ' CHAPTER VI. HAMILTON'S SUCCESSOR, THE two women began business forthwith, and receiyed a’ rush of custom that ought to have made their hearts glad—to say nothing of mak- ing their backs ache, They attended strictly to business, worked early and late, and after a few days, when the novelty of the thing had worn off, no more at- tention was paid to them than the requirements of business made necessary. Up to within a week or so previous to the com- ing of these women to the camp, Mungo Mon- trose had been superintending the Pay Dirt Mine himself, in the hope that Hamilton would event- ually reappear. But, as time passed, and there seemed no likelihood of his doing so, had at last put up a notice announcing that a new superin~ tendent was wanted to take charge of the miue- There had been several applications, but by men who did not suit the manager, in one way and another, and the post was still vacant. And it remained vacant, too, until some time after the two women had opened their laundry, About a week after the laundry had changed hands, there came one day a new applicant for the position of mine superintendent. — It was in the person of a good-looking man of fine figure, having clear-cut features, dark hair and eyes, and a dark full beard that was rather | closely trimmed and which became him well, Entering the office with a brisk, business-like air, he commanded the respect of the rather testy president of the company, to whom he an~ nounced that ke was there to make application for the eee that was vacant, ig Ad 6 “pa do you?” Mr. Montrose rejoined. That is what has brought me here,” was the response. ‘' Hearing of the vacancy, I thought I would drop down this way and apply.” * Where do you hail from?” “From further north and west. My name is Reuben Randal.” “Well, you have had experience, Mr. Randal, of course. It is not likely that you Would ap-~ ply unless yon had had.” - “Not very likely, If you want a man, take me and use me for awhile, and in that manner find out whether ‘I am the on¢ You Want or not. If I am not, you will be at liberty to tell me so, and no harm done.” 4 © “That's fair enough, certainly, and I will ad- mit that I rather like Your 8Ppearance and inan- ner. But what about the question of salary?” “J will take hold at the same rate you were paying your last superintendent, if that is satis- actory.” | ey , Which Tat afraid it isn’t, You see, Ham- ilton had been he = = lees more than ree ears, and we ent pay. . she pay you at the rate of what his Salary had been, to begin with, " « And how mtch was that?” “Pwo hundred a month.” “Tpat will do. I will take bold, & you want ” : , Wyo, ay tt bolt Mi, Banal SR what is ach aun WHE a ge eae you want the post of superintendent, Ps ABO Es Pink, i 5 = cal —— Oe oe Oe | a ee ee Se Se a es ~~ —— ~ >» we as
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SS ee oe Ue ae ee ES OF — a ee eg eee eee ee ee ee ee ~ , pe ee ee ete —— : ; that sort. Should by i mn i roy Dandy Dick’s Decoy. anything that is reasonable and fair, Anything ; liberal rewards, and every man in the camp has that ain’tt— But, let me bear what it is,” ‘* Tt is something which [ think you will a with me is both reasonable and fair. re Hamilton left us very suddenly, very mysteri- ously. We cannot account for his disappear- ance. Should he return, showing good reason for his absence and desiring to take bis old place, I should feel inclined to let him have it,” | “Then the vacancy was not made by a resig- netion?” : “No; as I have just said, pearance is a mystery that has been puzzling us for more ‘than a month, No one can imagine Hamilton’s disap- One morning he was simply gone, and that is all we know about it. I cannot account for it—do not pretend to account for it. There was no reason why he should go, so far as can be seen, Oa the other hand, it looks as though there was every reason for his remaining.” “Well, that does savor of mystery, true enough, Under the circumstances, I will take the place with the understanding that if Mr, Hawilton does return he is to have it,” ‘‘ Nothing fairer can be asked, Mr. Randal. When will you assume the duties?” *+ Just as soon as you havea mind to introduce me to the men and put me in charge,” “Very well, we will let it be this afternoon, And now let me give you some hints regarding the mine and the camp in general.” “Thu more the’ better, sir. A new man can- not have teo much iaformition of that sort. to begin with, The better be understands the lay _ of the land, the better for bim and all.” “*T agree’ with you. Now Hamilton was a very successful superintendent. He was liked by everybody, and had the good will of every- body. For that reason, we have mace up our minds fully that be cannot have met with foul play. It does not seem possible.” _ “Ha! Then it was suggested that he bad met with foul play?” ‘¢ Yes; but there was no proof of it, and under the circumstances I do not see that there was any foundation for thinking so, Still, my daugh- ter holds to that idea with stubborn tenacity. “¢ Your daughter, eb?” Yes; she and Hamilton were quite friendly —in fact, I suspect their regard had gone beyond that stage.” ‘“ Has your eign eer any theory to offer in support of what she holds so determinedly? Is there any foundation for her believing that the man met with foul play of any sort?” ‘No; there does not appear to be. Her idea seems even less probable to me than that of Mr. Kilgore’s.. He set forth the view that Hamilton had perhaps met with some accident; but, if so, it seems to me he would have been found, No; he must have gone of his own accord, for some good reason.” ' “Tt looks so, say—” : “Ah, yes. Iwas on the point of telling you something about the camp. We have a rough place bere, sir—a regular rough-and-tumble hole indeed, The ruffianly element is largely in the majority, and your success will depend upon by) ability to gain and hold the regard of that class, “Glad to know the exact situation. But, as you were about to I will ry and govern myself so as to bring thin about in the desired way.” p i Mr. Montrose went ahead from that point, then, telling Mr, Randal all that has been set forth in the previous pages regarding the camp and her deniz=ns. ‘The new superintendent gave close attention to everything, and finally brought the conversa- tion back again to the subject relating to the missing man, He appeared to be interested in that, Yes,” said Mr, Montrose in answer to a ques- tion,“ he was without a single enemy in the whole camp, so far as any-of us knew. It is simply oue ofthe greatest mystaries that ever came un- der my observation, \Why, bave you an idea of trying to get at the bottom of it? ** Ob, no; but naturally it interests me, seeing that I am to fill the place made vacant so pecu- r je wade By the way, where was Hamilton from? ere eas corresponded with his relations about ' “He was from the East, and I sent word to his brother, whose address I pappened to know, A reply from bim says it is unaccountable, as Valentine was not the fellow to do anything of ; e turn up there, they will let me know at once.” Py een ** And in the mean time there is nothing more ry e tried his hand at the case without any success whatever. It is one of those things which only time can straighten out.” ‘*You may be right, and no.doubt you are; but, have you tried what a detective might do in the matter?” him well, though he died a couple of years be- fore Oi was born,” This raised another laugh, and Barney was taken for just what be was, an original charac- ter. ‘* How the dickens kin ye remember him, if he died before ye was born?’ demanded a voice ** No, we haven’t; and what’s the use? We | in the crowd, have all been detectives, every man of us, and | we haven’t found even a clew. Why, there’s Kilgore; he’s as shar‘p-nosed as any detective, I dare say, and evenhe had to give it up.” “But still a professional, coming into the camp unknown to any one, might be able to pick up something important where any one else would fail. They know just how to set at work, and something might come of it, It would do no harm to fry it, anyhow.” “*T thought about it, but cast the idea away as useless, something, I will think about it further. But, from the interest you manifest, J suppose you will be trying a back atit. Go ahead, if you are so inclined, and may good luck attend you, If you can solve the mystery of Hamilton’s dis- ae egrences the reward shall be yours.” ut Randal had little thought that he should, be able to discover anything, and after some further talk the subject was dropped. CHAPTER VII. AN INTERESTING ARRIVAL, THE shades of night were falling over. the camp, some days later, when into the pene in which the camp nestled rode a young Irishman mounted upon a mule, It needed no question to determine that he was Irish, for his voice proclaimed it. His brogue was unmistakable, He was singing away at the top of his voice, and drew attention as he ap- proached. , He had just ended the wild, meaningless chorus Of a rollicking song as he came in sight, his singing having been heard long before he could be seen; and as he rode leisurely up the street.toward the center of the camp he launch- ed out into another verse, as follows: “ Bryan O’Linn had no breeches to wear, ’ So he bought him a sheepskin to make him a gaat With the skinny side out and the woolly side in, * They're nice, light and cool,’ says Bryan O’Lion.”’ And then off into the chorus he went as before, and by the time he bad come to the end he was at the Swill-tub Saloon, ‘“* Howare ye, b’ys, wan an’ all?” he cried, as he brought his mule to astop. ‘t Av it wasn’t so late in the day Oi would say, Dhe top av dhe mornin’ to ye, As it is, ye must take dhe will fur dhe deed, an’ no more said about it.” . ‘©Who ther dickens be you?” demanded Big- foot Brown, who happened to be on hand, ‘* Who else, but mesel’,” was the good-natured answer. ‘Sure, it’s naythur me father nor me brotber Oi am.” ; “Ye thunderin’ lunkhead,” cried Big-foot, ** any darn foo! would know that.” ‘“‘Dhen phwy for did ye be askin’?” A how] of laughter followed, much to the dis- gust of the mayor. ! The new-comer needs no introduction, if the reader has perused any of the preceding stories. It was Barney O’Linn—Barney, the - original, the inimitable, ““Confound your stupid head!” the mayor howled, ‘can’t yer onderstand nothin’? I axed ye who ye be yerself; not who ye be somebody else. See if yer kin grip ther meanin’ o’ that. Barney took off is apology for a hat and scratched his head vigorously. ; ‘* Begob, but Oi have no recollection of yer askin’ me anyting av dhe koind,” he responded, in a puzzled way. ‘“ But dhat don’t matther, Phwat ye want to know is who Oi am mesel’, an’ not who Oi am somebody else. Sure it is ae Oi am all dhe toime, an’ nobody else at a . ‘* Well, then, blast it, who is yerself?” “‘Arrah! Now it is makin’ av it plain ye are! Sure Oi am Barney O’Linn, at yer sarvice—son av dhe famous Bryan O’Linn, whose praises ye qvat heard me cbantin’ as Oi kem into dhe camp, ure ye must have heard of him, He was dhe pride av dhe family, so he was—dhe flower av dhe flock, as it were.” And of a sudden, off he went, into another verse of his song: Still, as you say, it might lead to. ‘Did Oi say dhat?” asked Barney, innocently. ** That’s what yer did,” ‘Sure Oi meant to say it was mesel’ as died a couple av years before he was born, which will make it sound_betther,” . This time the crowd was almost wild. ** Phwat’s dbe matter wid ye all?” Barney ask- ed, innocently as before. ‘Sure is it makin’ fun av me ye are?” ‘* His father born a couple of years before he died— Haw, haw, haw!” and one man in the crowd almost went into fits, while the others laughed the more at his poor attempt at repeat- ing. “ Begorra, it was somehow dhat way, any- how,” Barney soberly insisted, ‘‘ Maybe it wus me mother dhat was born a couple av years afther me father died. I dunno just bow it was now. But, no matther. Here Oi am, dhe rant- ing, roaring son av dhe original Bryan. Hear me sing.” With that he rendered another verse of what seemed to be his favorite song, as follows: **Brvan O'Linn he bought him a gun, He planted dve trigger right under his thumb, He pulled dhe trigger, dhe gun gave a crack, An i as a Bryan O’Linn on dhe broad av his ack. Cin ' Vis, Begorra, so it did; an’ by the same token dhis is dhe same gun Oi have wid me now.” And as he said this he hald up to view a big musket with which he was armed. It was one of the old-fashioned kind, ‘Oi don’t belave it was ever foired but dhat wanst,” he added, |‘‘Sure it is Oi bave never | foired it mesel’, but Oi kape it loaded an’ primed ready fur action, an’ av_ever Oi do have occa- sion to use it—whew! Dhere will be a ruction around, you bet! Sure it carries enough buck- shot to sink a ship, more or less.” His odd ditty and quaint remarks had won for him the good will of the crowd, even to’ Big- foot Brown, and he was by this time the center of an admiring circle, “‘An’ how about yer mule?’ questioned the mayor, ‘ Ain’t that somethin’ élse that belonged to Bryan O’Linn? It won’t do ye any harm ter stretch out a few more of yer mighty lies, I~ reckon,” ; ‘* Lies, is it!” echoed Barney. ‘Sure Oi will huve ye to know dhat no O’Linn was ever guilty av tellin’ lies, no more he was, Yis, dhis same mule was wanst the property av me father, dhe same as dhe gun. Oi will sing to ye about dhat, but in dhe song dbe mule is mentioned as & horse, Me father got ch’ated in him, ye see, He bought bim fur a horse, an’ he never knowed — dhe difference; but be often said he would loike to fallin wid dhe gossoon phwat ch’ated him so _ outrageously.”” ¥ _ “But, ther song, ther song!” urged some one in the crowd, i Thereupon Barney threw back his head and started another verse, in bis clear and ringing voice, as follows: , ‘ ‘Bryan O’Linn went to bring his wife home, He had but one horse, dhat was all skin an’ bone, He Fe her behind him as n’ate as a pin, And her mother before him, did Bryan O'Linn, ‘“‘Dhat same he did, begob! And ye see hel mintions dhe b’aste as a horse. He said never a toime would he call it a mule, no more be would, Oi have fed dhe critter up a bit since dhen, too. Don’t growd too close to bim plase, He isa — divil at kickin’, sometimes.” iy Barney’s homely, honest face beamed with the best of good-nature, and he looked around over the crowd as though he wanted to have every man for his friend. : And the crowd, the while, was shouting for mors of thesong. It was something new, andin — a way quite a treat, ; ‘“You're a son-of-a-gun on wheels!” cried the mayor, ‘ Git down off’n that ‘ar be-haw critter an’ let’s grip yer fin. Darn me if I don’t sort of cotton to ye. You're the best singer ever struck Rough-an’-Tumble.” a. 2 ae ** Bet yer life be are!” was shouted, ‘ He’s a Jim dandy from Ballahoo!” : ‘Give us another verse, Irish!” _ rye * That’s ther ticket!” _ “*Dhat same Oi will do, to pl’aze ye,” ant ed a - * An’ dhat’s dhe sort av a _b’y me daddy was,” | Barney. ‘‘ Dhere ain’t but wan more verse a _he cried, when he came again to the erid of the. ow, an’ sure ye may as well take dhe whe that can be done, I suppose?” — ky me t ot that ‘long and wordy chorus, ‘Sure (i remember | piecd an’ save me cuttin’ off a 1 No; not I can see, I have offered ae piitisiin to oe Sah ‘. wr ia Be why he went, where he went, or bow, or when,
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~~ peared on _ would be loikely to spoil on me hands. An’ bere ye have it: “Bryan O'L'nn and his wife and dhe mother, Dhey were all goin’ over a bridge together, Dhe bridge broke down an’ dhey ali tumbied in; ‘We'll find ground at dhe bottom,’ says Bryan O’Li.n,” With the ending of the wild chorus, Barney took off his apology of a hat and tossed it into the air, giving a wild Irish whoop as he did so, and when the hat came down, caught it on the end of his big gun. ; *“* An’ dhere ye have it,” he cried; ‘dhe same. as dhe shoemaker t’rowed at bis wife—dho last and dhe all av it. An’ now, an’ it pl’aze 7°. Oi’ll git mesel’ down, have some wan to care fur me b’aste, an’ av dhere is anyt’ing to ate iy dhe place, begorra Oi am afther it. The young Irishman was given a royal recep- tion, and was soon eating his fill. He had made friends with the wholecamp at once, apparently witbout an exception. CHAPTER VIII. SPARKLER THE SPORT. THERE were other new arrivals in the camp that evening. : Business in the Swill-tub Saloon was at full blast, and the evening hour was ripening, when a hard-looking case sauntered lazily in. He was rough, bearded, ragged and dirty— about as tough a customer as the camp could boast among ber denizens, if not a little more so, A rag of a hat adorned bis head, and his eyes looked rum-red and hazy. ‘‘Waal, byar I be,” he cried, as he glared around the room, and every eye was upon him at once, ‘Ther five-cornered cattymount of ‘ther ragin’ wilderness. This hyar is me, citizens: Lazy Luuk, ther solid chunk o’ raw tiger an grizzly b’ar combined,” ' With that he braced his feet, wide apart, push _éd bis hat back from his face, with the front. brim standing straight upin line with his nose, and jamming bis fists down upon his bips, glared ‘around in a challenging sort of way, as though he only wanted somebody to dispute his claim, when he would proceed to wipe up the floor with that somebody’s person, ordo somo other desperate thivg. And he did not have to wait a very long time to fiad a man who dared retort, i “ Waal, what if yer is byar?” sung out Big- font Brown, ‘Yer needn’t think thet nba is goin’ ter run away from yer, if yer is a com- -bination o’ tiger, lion an’ wildcat all in one. We reckons thet we kin tame yer, if it comes ter that so yer had better coo} right down, an’ don’t make no rumpus byar, An’ now yer wants ter ae yor jaw, for yer has interrupted ther con- . By the ‘consart” he meant the singing. ney O’Linn, bein urged, had been givin them a few songs, and had been on the point o striking op another when this fellow had ap- he scene. “Interrupted ther consart, hev I?” the new- ** Av’ what fer a kind o’ con- part was it? I don’t see no bally-dancers around, mor nothin’ of that kind, Say, what was it, ‘anybow! If it wasn’t a first-class show, with extra trimmin’s, bet yer life on’t I kin beat it all holler meself.” ““We was havin’ some rattlin’ good songs, that’s what it was,” cried the mayor, rather hotly, ‘‘An’ now, you jest shut up an’ sot ‘ ane or by durn if I don’t make yer do 1t, that’s -_“ Make me do it, hey? That kin1 o’ talk sort o’ sounds like fight, Mister Man, Who mought ou be, if I dare ter ax yer? Yer kin see how m tremblin’ wi’ fear as Ido it! Don’t speak too sharp at me, now, or I'll have a fit.” * The fellow was wiggling his knees, pretending test fear, and she crowd began to scent some ahead, ‘The mayor was not the man to stand - much foolishness such as this. _. “Yas, I'll make yer do it!” Big-foot cried, as was! nothin’, Dandy Dick’s Decoy. The fellow had taken off his hat and poked it under his arm, where he held it while he bowed and scraped desperately before the local mone arch, exclaiming his apologies, Sot down, then, yer blowin’ coyote,” Big- foot ordered, ‘‘an’ if I hear one peep out of yer, by dara if 1 con’t come an’ stan’ ye on yer head, er two pins I'd do it anyhow, ter arn ye what | “That’s one way ter get out of it,” sneered Big-foot, while most of the crowd were much in favor of that plan, and many edged toward the bar at once, ** About the easiest way out of it,” returned the stranger. ‘‘Come on, men, every one, and name your choice of terribles, No need to urge that invitation, for there was manners is, Now, not anotber peep out of yer, a rush for places, an’ mind it,” The fellow having dropped upon a chair, the mayor strode back to his place, swelling more than ever with self-importance at the immense way in which he ha ‘*take water.” “Now, then, Barney,” he said, ‘go on with ther consart. If thar’s any more noise out 0’ that galoot, thar will be a funeral ter-morrer, you bet! Now, let’s have a bummer.” * Begob, but it?s willin’ Oi’d be, av Oi was pee ea av a singer,” modestly prefaced the jolly young Celt, ‘*As it is, ye will have to tuke up wid dhe best Oi can offer ye.” ‘Oh, come off!” was the shout. Barney cleared his throat, and soon another rollicking song was being rendered in his round, full voice, While he was singing, yet another new-comer put in an appearance—a stranger, as before, but one the extreme opposite in point of appearance to the * cattymount,” He was a dandy, in matter of dress. Clad in a suit of finest black, with a high silk hat in keeping, and patent-leather boots, he shone like a tulip in a bed of weeds, ‘ Kid gloves were on this spotless fellow’s hands, his bosom and collar were of the whitest, and on | the bosom shone a diamond of imménse propor- tions and greatest brilliancy, He was about thirty in point of years, at a guess, and rather a ood-looking individual. ** Well done!” ho cried, when Barney had end- ed. “That was a good one, my laddy, and worthy of applause,” and he clapped his gloved hands vigorously. 4 Immediately all attention was turned» upon him. Few had noticed bim till now, and many were the exclamations uttered. ‘¢ Great calibers!” cried Big-foot Brown, * what be it, anyhow? My! but it area sparkler, an’ no mistook "bout that/ Say, mister, what do yer take this hyar camp fur, anyhow? Do yer think yer is in some swell city of ther East? Them ‘ar duds don’t pass hyar.” “What fault have duds, ay good man pleasantly. ; : ** Don’t call me yer good man,” Big-foot snap- ; ‘I’m a darn bad man, an’ don’t yer fergit it. Yer clothes is too fine ter stand ther atmus- fere of this hyar camp, that’s what’s ther diffi- kilty with ’em,” “Ob, you are mistaken there,” was the smiling response, ‘I have worn them for some time, and in places fully as rough as this camp of yours, and there isn’t a wrinkle in a wrong place about them yet, and Ihave given them some rough usage, too, I am quite able to take care of them.” ‘Oh, yer is, is yer? Now mebby pe only think so, If I had a rotten egg I think I'd a Ma shy at tbat ’ar hat, jest fer ther fun of it, r) don’t "low ‘no high hats hyar, nohow, Thar was Montrose, when he fu’st kem hyer. He trotted outa plug on Sunday, but he didn’t trot it in again, Thar was nothin’ left of it, you bet. We kin stand sorae things, but not that.” ** And do you know what I would do if you were to throw a rotten egg at my hat, my fine fellow?” “Don’t yer call me that’ar, nuther! No; I don’t know what you'd do, but I sort 0’ reckon that ye’d run like ‘sin ter escape gettin’ another dose of ther same, Ido, by darn.” — “'That’s where you mistake. I would make you eat a raw egg—no, I mean a rotten one, and if you didn’t keep it down I'd make you take another, Now if you want to throw any eggs hardly ** Did ac got to find with my > the stranger inquired, Say? camp with the most he declared. “It would bo oor | necessity of obeyin Say, who in ther dickens be you?” the mayor ' demanded of the stranger. ‘‘ Want to know who I am, eh? Well, your question is a fair one. I am best known simply made this new arrival | as Sparkler, the Sport.” “Sparkler, the Sport, hey? Waal, pow, you is a sparkler, an’ no foolin’ erbout that ; but you wants ter have a leetle more keer how yer opens yer trap when in good sassity. Jam Reginald Brown, Mayor of Rough-an’-Tumble.” CHAPTER IX. A CLEAN KNOCK-DOWN, | Amon the first to respond to the invitation had been the other new-comer, the dirty tramp who had called himself Lazy Lunk, With a hasty jump he had been the first man at the bar, and leaning half-way over, had hoarsely whispered to the man in attendance, whom he had caught by the arm: ; ‘¢ Saay, be good, will yer? Thisis ther chance of a lifetime, yer knows, 1 do, if you don't. Give me a drink ther fu’st one, an’ Pll slink out an’ try an’ work in fer a second round, See? Two sales fer you; two balls fer me,” ** Git out!” was the response, as the barkeeper jerked away from him. ‘* Move away,now, or I'll have you fired out. Ther stranger called up the men an’ citizens, not tramps and bums, Get out, or I'll climb you. You won’t get any of ther good stuff this round, an’ don’t think yer will.’ “Ther merry I won’t! You jest hand down yer p’izen, or thar will be somethin’ droppin’ on your side of ther plank. Swy,d’ye hear? I’m inter this hyar thing, or I'll know the reason why. What d’ye think, galoots?} Hyar ther Yizen-dispenser won’t give me my dose, Bet yer ife if I don’t git it thar will be a circus hyar, an’ one that will amaze ye,” . ‘Hello! What isthe trouble with you?” de- manded the Sparkler, as, having pacified the mayor for the time, he gave attention ‘to this al- tercation, ‘© Why, this hyar dirty bum put hisself up hyar on your treat, sir,” was the ready explana- tion of the bartender. ‘‘I tell bim ther call wasn’t fer his sort, an’ I'll fire him out if be don’t slide, you bet!” “Oh, no; let him have what he wants,” the generous Sport, ordered. ‘This treat is for the whole house, and I will pay my footing in your’ cars. Take what you desire, my. fen fellow, and if it don’t kill you at once it will by and by. Give him his dose with the rest.” | The bartender growled something bemg ‘darn foolishness” but no his,” and Laz Lunk Mi allowed to i ‘est of the crowd, ae ver life thar’d been a time hyar if I hadn't got et,” he declared, as he wiped his: mouth on his sleeve. ‘‘ You’re a white man, stranger, from ther of yer hat to ther bot~- tom of yer boots, an’ I love yer.” i “ That’s all right, my friend, You have had your medicine, so make room for some one else.” ie «“ All right: but, my! ain’t that ’ara sparkler, though “di He was reaching out with thumb and finger, to take hold of the big diamond on the Spark- ler’s bosom, where his dirty touch would have left its mark, when the sport suddenly grab- bed his wrist and checked him, “Hauds off!” be crieds. ‘* YOu may look, but you mustn’ touch, my friend. I don’t want my shirt freecoed with dirt, if you please.” “You is darn ‘fraid, of yer linen,” sneered thé bummer, “I wouldn’t tetch it; T was only goin’ ter feel of yer di’ming.” about it’s: funeral of “ poison ” “Well, you needn’t touch that, either. You it wouldn’t be worth @ dollar,” would dim it so dirty cuss tryin’ ter do?” de- “What is ther. manded Brown, wh S iS palcre eh nn, SE | 0 6 : up. only wanted to finger my stud, » 2. — | ee eee 7 i my ee
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_ —_ though,” Big-foot observed as be turned again ‘¢ Wh—wh—what?” the fellow gasped. which I will not mention now, You will pardon to the Sport, ‘fer it are a beauty, an’ no mis- The crowd assured the mayor that such was | my speaking thus plainly, but you know wha " take, Wouldn't mind owniv’ one like it my- | the fact, but it was bard to make him believe it, | my regard for you is.” hi self” unless be was pretending, as probably he was. *“T understand,” f But, just there he was interrupted in a sur- ‘If that’s ther fack,” he said, getting up, ‘I “But I am none the less ready to put forth = prising way. Like Lazy Lunk, he had reached | don’t want no proof of it of ther same sort. You my every effort to solve this riddle concerning f out a thumb and finger to take bold of it, when | is ther fu’st man what ever laid me on me back, Hamilton, and to bring him back, if that is wih the Sport caught hold of bis wrist, And the | an’ byar’s me hand. We’ll be friends, fer I ain't | possible. Gulnare, | love you, but that love is mayor was so amazed that he stopped short with | fool enough ter want ter bave yeasaenemy; | not selfish, lt is a love that seeks ing IR be oa . Dandy Dick's Decoy. | mouth agape, nary.” greatest bappiness, and if that happiness ‘* You can see it without handling it, sir,” the He gave bis band; it was taken, and so, to the ‘Say no more, Mr. Kilgore, please say Do a | ; Sport remarked, pleasantly, ‘‘That was just | surprise of all, it ended, more, I believe I have been judging you } the mistake the other fellow made. You must] . wrongly. Inever believed you capable of such ( keep your hands off.” CHAPTER X | generous impulse—to call it that. I believe I a 4 The mayor was too amazed to speak, at first. ae Se have never understood you aright.” E | To think that any one would dare to interfere MUNSON KILGORES SCHEME, “T hope such is the ease, Gulnare. And if I 4 rn with him in this way! And right in public, WHILE this scene was being enacted, another | dared, I might at this moment put just one Bs | too! It would never do to let it go at that. | was transpiring that 1s worthy of some atten- | other question, Will you permit it? Yes, I i Why, it was being used just the same as the | tion. will, it is nearly similar to the one I asked you og J ‘dirty bummer had heen! It was in the parlor of the Montrose cottage, | some time ago, and which you answered with \ He did not take into consideration that there | where Gulnare Montrose and Munson Kilgore | such force, Should Mr, Hamilton not reappear he - was little difference in his favor between himself | were engaged in conversation, in—say three months, will'you then allowmeto ~~ | and the bummer, “Yes,” we find the young lady saying, “ papa | ask that important question again?” ea has engaged a new superintendent in poor Ham-| Tears came into the beautiful eyes once more r, ilton’s place, I have not seen him yet, but his | —for they had already once appeared, and she a name is Reuben Randal, I suppose you have | allowed bim to take her hand. Ux ‘* Why, ye durn ape!” be cried, ‘‘do ye mean ter say that J can’t tetch it? 1 reckon I will, then, Jost ter show ye who is boss ’round hyar.” : He reached out again, with thumb and fin- | seen him.” “Yes; at the end of that time you may ask ger, and this time his hand was knocked away ** Yes: I haveseen the pees He is good- | me again,” she gave permission. A without any regard for his feelings, either | looking—perhaps you will agree with me, but of “Thank you—thank you!” he exclaimed, ’ ease or sentimental. There was likely tu be un, ‘** You may be boss of the camp,” the stranger coolly remarked, ‘‘ but you don’t want to make the great mistake of trying to play the boss rather forbidding countenance, as I think. He | raising the hand and pressing the fingers for an ms wears full beard, and does not look to be over | instant to his lips, ‘* You kave given me hope— aa thirty. Wears his’ beard close-trimmed, and it | something to live for.” ee | becomes him well.” : “But in the mean time—” ah ‘¢ You seem to have observed him closely,” S e did not finish what had come to mind, 5 over me and my personal property. When you “T have. There is naturally some interest in “In the mean time,” Kilgore took itup, "Io undertake that, you are going too far.” the man who is to take poor Hamilton’s place.” | shall make every effort to find the missing man. A. ‘Hungry hyenas! Do yer mean ter say thet ‘‘T suppose so, Indeed there must be, Isn’t | If he comes back, and satisfactorily explains his my fingers is dirty, like ther otvuer bum’s over | it strange that nothing can be heard of Mr, | absence, then lam willng to leave you free to thar? Do yer mean ter put me on a level wi’ |.Hamilton? But, we have agreed upon that a | choose between us, ard abide by your decision.” him? Darn meif I don’t take that bat off yer | hundred times.” “T have greatly misjudged you,” the girl head and make a spittoon of it, by, you dan- ** And still it is never old. Yes; it is more | muttered in undertone, ‘*I have greatly misun- \ dy snipper of a galovt, I could take ye in one | than strange. Do you still hold to your theory | derstood you, Mr. Kilgore,” ree hand an’ pinch ye in two!” that it must have been foul play?) What ever Steps were heard on the stoop without, their “ Better go slow, Mister Brown. If you make | brought that idea to you with such force?” conversation abruptly ended, and they drew a : me do it, I will stand you on your head aboutas | ‘Tdonot know, It came of itself, and notb- | little apart. ta ing can change it. Yes, [ still hold to it, and From what has been set forth, it can be seen ah nothing can drive it out, unless it is proof to the | that Miss Montrose was a person of impulse, and ar contrary. Ob, Mr. Kilgore, can’t you and the | one not bard to deceive, Perfectly honestinin- , other's do something to solve the awful mystery? | tent, she had all too little force of will to cope B: “You know how gladly I would do so if I | with such intriguants and conspirators as this’, could,” man Kilgore. , nl “T believe you. You are more generous in Following the sound of steps, the door opened, the matter than I could sup you would be,” | and voices were heard in the hall. ‘¢- Ves: I would restore Valentine Hamilton, or One was that of Mr. Montrose, the other, one would solve the mystery concerning him, were | that Gulnare bad never heard before. She lus duck, I set out ter feel o’ that’ar di’ming, ter see if it go slow!” ) it possible, even though by doing so I were to | glanced at Kilgore vith,a questioning look. __A fierce, dangerous expression was appearing | banish the last hope of a cherished desire.” ‘“‘T believe it is Mr, Rendal,” Kilgore said, in the stranger’s eyes and upon his face, The villain spoke with impassioned accent, The door opened, and Mr, Montrose came in, Perhaps the mayor saw it, but it would never | and tbe maiden bent her eyes to the floor. followed by the new superintendent, +8 * Are you in earnest in what you say?’ she Introductions followed, and Kilgore saw, or f . fancied he saw, that Miss Montrose looked upon — ‘‘Try me,” was the cry. ‘*Show me any- | the stranger with something of admiration, , thing that has been undone, toward bringing A dark look settled upon bis face, for a mo- a solution to this problem, and see how will go | ment, and one which caused Randal to give at work.” him a second glance. But, it was soon gone, Would that I were able to suggest some- | and the little company fell into conversation, | — thing, but it seems that everything has been Mr. Montrose’s short acquaintance witb his done, It was foul play, Mr. Kilgore, I know it | new superintendent had satisfied him that he was, Somebody would have seen or heard of | was what he had seemed—a gentleman, and one him by this time, hai it not been,” worthy of his confidence, and wanting to have It would seem so; but, on the other band, if | some conversation with him thatevening, he had he went away secretly, with the desire to be | sought Randal out at the so-called hotel, after- missing In just this way, he would take care not | ward inviting him to the house, . to let his identity be known to any one,” ‘You want to get acquainted here,” the man- . I suppose so; but Mr. Hamilton was not | ager said, after introductions, “and I recom- — : that kind. He was too open, too honest, to play | mend Kilgore to you in all confidence as just the 8 dee $ no business to touch the | such a mean role. No, no; I will not believe rson to put you on good footing with nobel ~ diamond, and I won’t let him or any other man | that of bim. It was foul play, and if the trath y. Hecan doit better than I could myself, is ever learned you will seo that I was right,” as he has dealings with everybody inthe camp, Saget is.” “‘T honestly hope not, anyhow. I wouldn’t | and is obliged to be on good terms with the ut Big-foot reached out notwithstanding, and | want it to prove anything so terrible. But, | rougher class, whether he would or not.” e flashi f Miss Montrose, may I at this time ask a serious | ‘Then I shall have to put myself under your The instant he did so the Sport's Jeft hand came | question?” wing for an evening, Mr. Kilgore, some time Ob, no-no; not now, not now!” the young | soon, and take a survey of the place.” . : “Tt will give me pleasure to make you ac-_ Perbaps you misjudge what it is I have in | quainted,” was the response. ‘‘ I am obliged to | ” looking forward eagerly and speaking | be on good terms with all, much as I detest an vy. occasional visit to the rough places of our rough _ } bs . “TI do not know, but better not ask me any- | camp. We will go around together as s00n as — This was something the crowd had never seen | thing now. Wait, wait until some other time, | you may desire, I suppose it is time I showed | myself among the roughs, and company will be ill I have asked before, | welcome,” . f anlage ‘and now I expect he will want more, | G It is something else.” | ‘*The sooner the better, I should think,” ree | ery well, I guess I can accommodate him with-| —“ Not the question to which I gave you such a | marked Montrose, ‘*Get the good-will of the = — t. | decided answer in the negative? If it is not | rough class, Randal, before they have had time to atve you their i)].” . ay it is not chat, but it is almost asim-| The conversation finally came around to the subject of the missing man. fis ee a othing new could be said. Miss Montrose — stuck to her opinion as firmly as ever, and her — father and Kilgore held to theirs, That of Ran- ca dal was not decided. _ ae re a _ Finally, the two young men left the house | company, and made their way toward th the matter, and must carry it through, and as t man of With his right fist rep for action, the mayor i the left hand, certainly iz Ty mn ban) 8 R 3 o S 8 o g ise) ® ’ ~ " : - 4 > . i - : : : eee ee i 7 el ne a a eee ee = Pe. a ~y o — ‘ 47 i ce 2 i=) a] i~] 2 i S s a =a b-| ° i] = b=) =] c co o og fo} = Cc o = = a ° “ ey * din
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of the camp, where the evening carousal was about at its height. And as they proceeded, Randa! continued to talk about the missing man. CHAPTER XI. DIFFERING OPINIONS, Y ‘“ THAT seems to be a strikingly queer case,” ‘3 Randal remarked. ‘*Yes, it certainly is all of that,” Kilgore : agreed, ‘‘ Strangest I ever met with in my ex- : perience,” - ’ ‘* Perhaps you havg some ideas regarding it ‘which you would not express in the presence of the lady. You may know much more about the young man than she, or even her father,” **T understand what you are hinting at,” was the response, ‘‘ but it is just that that is the mighty queer part of it; There was nothing erooked about Hamilton, s0 far as any one knows, He was one of the best fellows you ever . saw, “That is strange. Of course tha\ is what Mr. Moutrose said of him, but I thought a younger man might know more about the mat- ter. A general idea was in my mind that per- haps there was another woman in the case, as it sometimes bappens, Now that you supp rt _* their opinion, I am inclined to agree with the young lady in her view,” zt ‘¢ That it must have been foul play?” ea ** Exactly.” ** Well, 1 can’t agree with you, for the reason at that suspicion can pointed nowhere with ef- fect; in fact, there is no suspicion against any- body, Hamilton badn’t a single enemy in the i camp.” f ‘So it seems, from all that has been said, but he may have had an enemy for all that.” ‘** But I don’t know where you would go to ‘ find him. He has been here over two years, - and if he had an enemy who would do him in- jury in a bodily way, I should think he would have done it before.” ‘True enough; but his enemy may be one who has some recent grudge, This is all idle speculation, however. Let’s drop it.” “I’m willing, though I hate to drop it, too, I i. wish I could clear it up, so as to have an end to = ‘* And they tell me you have done some hard work trying to clear it up. You and Hamilton eels were friends, I take it.” : * Oh, dais wh were friendly enough, but not intimate, Yes, I have tried all I know how to find out something about him, but haven’t been able to get the slightest ¢lew.’ “It is certainly a strange case, Perhaps it it, will never be cleared up. A strange disappear- ance is a baffling thing, sometimes, There . hia Hallo! what is the matter with that fel- ‘ ow?” Well might he ask. They had just passed the shanty occupied by the two washerwomen, and turned a corner, r when they came face to face with Silly Bob. is _ Immediately that poor half-wit uttered’ a , scream that was startling, turned about as quickly as possible, and away he went, as though - ademon were after bim, still screaming. _ ‘Manson Kilgore laughed. at "That is Silly Bob,” he explained, ‘ Heisa yd! pot fool whois more afraid of me than he could of a rattlesnake, and without reason, too, for : I never did anything to him to make him so,” ‘* His scream was enough to startle any one, Where does he bang out?” ‘‘At the laundry. He was there when the _ Chinamen had it, and he still hangs on with the ~~ Women who run it now.” The story of that event—the change at the laundry, was told, and by that time they were at the saloon. . When they entered it was about the time when the mayor had made friends with Sparkler the port, ** Hello! an’ bello!” sung out Big-fodt, ‘‘if yer _ uncle’s eyes don’t fool him, hyar is more stran- ers, It never rains but it pours, by darn. Who is this hyar, Mun?” addressing Kilgore. “This gentleman is Mr. Reuben Randal, the new superintendent of the Pay Dirt, and it gives me pleasure to introduce him, Mr, Randal, let me present you to Honorable gage ee Brown, |. Mayor of Ronugh-and-Tumble, . Brown, you ae lth Pi taea Randal a man of the right caliber, “ue “Mr, Brown, I am glad to know you,” Randal frankly declared, as he stepped forward, offering {°° his hand. ‘“ Ther new yb c+ | | Ce eee EE a SaaS Dandy Dick’s Decoy. Everywhere, so far, Randal bad heard noth- ing but good words for the missing man whose place he occupied. ‘*T haven’t any hope of filling bis place as he filled it himself,” was the response, ‘‘ but hope to have the good will of all your citizens,” ‘“‘ Thar’s a way ter git it,” sung out one rough voice, ** And how is that?” the superintendent asked. ‘* Do ther same as ther Sparkler hey done,” ‘*You will have to inform me who the Spark- ler is, and what he has done,” Randal said pleas- antly, ‘“Ther Sparkler!” exclaimed Big-foot, wheel- ing with a flourish of the hand; this hyar is ther Sparkler. An’ he is the best man what ever sot foot in Rough-an’-Tumble, too, an’ den’t ye fergit it,” Sparkler the Sport and Reuben Randal looked at each other keenly, as though there was a chance of recognition. But it was only for the passing second, and the Sparkler extended his hand. 4 ‘¢ PH consider it as an introduction, if you are willing,” be said, ““And I have no objection,” was Randal’s re- sponse, Their hands met, ** And now,” Randal questioned, ‘* what thing is it you have done, that has insured your stand- ing with the crowd?” ; ‘** Why, I have treated all around, that is all,” ‘Oh, that is it, eh? Well, men of Rough-and- Tumble. just rough and tumble yourselveg up to the sbelf and see if you can stand another dose of the same at my expense.” | Before the invitation kad half been uttered there was the crash of a chair overturned in haste, then another, and Lazy Lunk, the first stranger of the evening, was at the bar ready to indulge, A “Hyer is me!” he announced. ‘Give it to me, boss, 2nd give it tome quick! Man wants but leetle here below, but wants it good an’ long an’ plenty strong. Pass it over hyar, an’ see how quick I kin gullup down a three-finger por- tion that ’ll make smoke come out of my ears.” “Does your treat include this hyar galoot?” the bartender asked. He called the attention of the new superin- tendent to the hard-looking fellow who was making the noise, “Yes, it includes everybody who wants to run the risk,” was the laughing answer, ‘* Does yer hear that?” cried the Lunk. ‘‘ Trot it out, now, an’ consider me as good as me neighbor. That’s ther idee. Hyar’s to ther rich an’ ther poor alike, men of Rough-an’- Tumble; an’ I’ve been both in my day.” He downed some of the fiery poison and turned away. For the succeeding ten minutes the bartender was kept busy enough. : It is of no gilded palace saloon we write, but: one of the roughest of the rough, While this was going on, Randal was talking with the mayor, or rather listening to his talk, and Kilgore and the Sparkler were standing a little apart. The latter was paying some passing attention to some notices which were ou the wall, when suddenly his eyes fell upon one which seemed to have more than usual interest for him. ** Hello!” he exclaimed, ‘‘ what is this I see?” ‘That's a reward offered for information con- cerning a missing man—” ‘**No, no; I don’t mean that, but this other. Is Devil Duval wanted away up in this section, too? ‘‘Oh, you mean that one, That’s stale, It has been there a good while, but I guess the man | it calls for will never put in appearance here.” ‘“* Well, you may hope not, certainly. He isa terror, tks little [know about him. Isee that reward posted wherever I go. Pity they couldn’t catch and hang tke wretch,” ; “Yes, if all they say about him is true.” ‘And it is, unquestionably, They can’t tell anything to his hurt.” “Of whom is that you speak?” asked Randal, who just then turned toward them, with the mayor. . “Ob,*I don’t believe half I hear about him,” he declared, when he had been told, ‘‘ A rough enough customer, no doubt, but who can believe such stories as are told of him? Itis putting it on a little too strong, I think.” At that instant a surprising thing happened, (..) CHAPTER XIt, tT Ee, sega OF THE RIFLE, eves were instant a crash of glass at a room, Near the rear, | Sandee ¥ a ec a a a a turned in that direction, to behold the muzzle of a rifle looking in, and before any could dodge there came the sharp crack peculiar to that weapon. The report kad followed the breaking of glass so closely that it was heard before half the persons in the room had bad time to look in the direction of the window, and immediately the rifle disappeared from sight, baving been seen by only a third of the crowd at the most, “Whoop! Murtheration!” So cried Barney O’Lion, who had been right near the window. Ard with the cry he sprung up and beunded out upon the floor, ‘* Sure is it dead or aloive Oi am?’ he demand- ed. ‘'*Pon me soul Oi do bel’ave dhe spalpeen thried to blow dhe head off me, so Oi do!” ‘* Who in ther mischief done thet ’ar?” cried Big-foot Brown, glaring around to see who was dead, expecting nothing less than to see a vic- tim lying somewhere, ‘An’ what in tker wuss’n mischief did he shoot at?” At first nobody seemed to know, but presently there was a shout, and one in the crowd made a discovery. * Hyar it are!” he cried. Pashing forward, he pointed to the placard that published the reward for the outlaw, Devil Duval! There, De sg through the placard and deeply imbedded in the wall was a rude barb, around which, secured with fine wire, was what appear- ed to be a piece of paper. terest was centered upon it. “That is it, sure enough,” cried Sparkler the Sport. ‘I thought I heard the bullet strike this side of the house.” ‘So did I, an’ [ war lookin’ ter find ther hole when I spotted this hyar thing.” _ ‘* What can be the meaning of it?” questioned Reuben Randal, ‘ “Jest what I wants ter know, an’ j:st what I’m goin’ ter know, if it is ter be diskivered,” and the mayor shouldered his way toward-the spot where the barb was imbedded, ‘ Way was made for him, and his grimy fist was soon around the barb, trying to pull it out. ‘Has anybody gone out to see if the man who fired it can be seen?’ asked the new superintend- ent of the Pay Dirt. ” Not a person seemed to have thought of that. There was an immediate rush for the door, on the part of many, but none ventured to push too close to the window. These were back again to report before the mayor had the thing out of the wall, Noone was to be seen, they said, Whoever it was had ye _ rifle, had made off and was not to be ound, ‘*In course he has made tracks!” cried Big- foot, as he tugged at the rude arrow. “If [ had ther cuss byar 1’d make him pull ther thin out wi’ his teeth. By ther great calibers, would!” : “Hold on, mayor,” suggested Randal; ‘‘ never mind the iron, but get the paper that’s around it there. Maybe it says something.” ‘Why, darn it, in course!” agreed the mayor, ‘“T never oor o’ that. Why didn’t yer speak afore ye spoke In Nios seattle he had the fine wire removed, and then from around the iron barb carefully unwound a half-sheet of paper. “* Hyer it be,” he cried, looking at it, ‘an’ thar’s writin’ on it, too! See what it says, Mister Sparkler, bein’ as you are in ther best light.” ‘ "He extended it to the Sport, who took it, ey up toward the light. and read it ovt aloud. It was worded as follows: . : - “To THe HeatHEeN Horpe oF ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE;— “You are the worst set of cowardly ruffians out of jail and unhung. Your camp is the worst hole this side of the infrrnal, Still I won’t quarrel with you if you will come toterms. Hunted everywhere, IT want a hole to run to. If you will agree to let me make my headquarters @t your camp when it gets too hot for me in the bills, let me know. It must be peace or war between us. and you may have just whichever you choose. Your anewer in writing, posted alongside of this notice, will be enough, I shallsee it. Don’t let yourselves think that I am fool- ing; I mean business just citber way you will have it. Name your choice ef the two evs. “ Yours for peace or for war, “Devi, Duval, THE OvtLaw.’ owl, | hia faces than one grew a shade pale, and a oq have to say. and it chad ding Ol. Immediately all in- | At the mention of that name there was a
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—< So i ee eee SS eee \ ye are byer in ther room, an’ see if it is strong ' strong in ther letter as it be in ther sperret, not by er mighty ways.” , view possible. “more definite than the threats of rOuN b ~ v n bt by ¥ rt Dandy Dick’s Decoy. ment worthy of more than passing mention, if | deserving of that, Not another word or sign had come from the outlaw, with whom troudle had been looked for immediately, after the message he had deliv- ered in so striking a manner. It was the mayor’s boast that his prompt answer must have fright- ened him off. But there were plenty who scouted at that idea, If Devil Duval was the man he was re- puted to be, or anything near such a desperate character, nothing was likely todaunt him, It must be that something had kappened to make him alter bis plans tosuit circumstances, However, be that as it might, Rough-and- Tumble rather congratulated herself that she had escaped a visitation so easily, Inquiry con- cerning the outlaw, since bis mysterious visit, had brougbt out many of his desperate deeds, and none in the camp wanted him ty come there, bluster and brag as they might. He was liked the better a long ways off. A fiend who could coolly cut off a victim’s head, as it was reported he had done, or who could tie a victim up against the side of a cabin, and kill him by the slow torture of firing forty or more bullets into bis body before he allowed one to reach a vital spot, was one whose company was not to be desired, in truth, there were even worse crimes than that laid to the charge of Devil Duv 1; and we who know somethin about the arch scoundrel, know that in all probability the worst that was said of him was true, All was quiet about the camp, unusually quiet, but it was only the calm that preceded a storm, sod The two women who had taken the places of the Chinamen in the laundry were doing a thriving business. They were busy early and late, and it was evident that they were making money. Silly Bob was with them. Among their best customers were Sparkler the Sport and the new superintendent of the Pay Dirt. Each of these gentlemen donned a fresh ‘‘ b’iled* every morning, and occasionally oftener, if one chanced to get soiled, and their calls at the laundry were frequent, in conse- quence, And their washing was , ia ig since ‘‘ b’iled shirts were an expensive luxury, In all this time nothing had been beard of the missing man. It was now considered a long chance that he would ever be heard of again. Reuben Randal was av occasional caller at the Montrose cottage, but bis attentions to the fair Gulnare were nothing more than civil, polite and agreeable; So far as he was concerned, Munson Kilgore had no occasion to fear rivalry, if appearances went for aught. : In another direction, however, Kilgore had good cause to feel the stingof jealousy, Spark- ler, the Sport, had made _ bimself intimate with Mr. Montrose, had gained the eutree to his fire- side circle, and there was no disguising the truth that Gulnare was looking upon him with more than ordinary interest, And Kilgore was not unaware of it, either, Barney O’Linn was stlll in the camp, with no other purpose in view, seemingly, than to get the most enjoyment out of the passing hour. In mentioning him it becomes necessary to in- troduce a character who, thus far, has not found mention in our romance, brought. Now he broke out into a storm, fairly jumping up and down. “ Great calibers!” he screamed, ‘do yer mind what ther cuss hev called us? A heathen horde, be we! By ther ruins of ther ragin’ rampage if we don’t show him a thing or two, if he comes hyar! An’ he wants ter ring us in wi’ him, an’ make his headquarters hyar—” Force of words failing, he finished it out by jumping, stamping an brandishing his wea- pons. ‘This certainly looks like business,” observed the Sparkler. ; ‘‘ But, what brings him away up in this lone region?” questioned Randal. ** Seeking safety, I should say, judging by the tone of the note,” responded the Sport. “Tt must be that, for there is no very rich trail for him to collect tollop. But have you any idea that he means all be says?” ‘T have heard enough of the fellow to believe anything of him. If his men are around here, then this will be a healthy place to move out of, that is all I have to say.” *“ And I never believed half I have heard of him, as I have said already,” rejoined Randal. **¥f he is the desperate character he is said to be, there is likely to be a rousing time around here, Ishould say. Put, I hardly believe anybody is going to run away; eb, mayor?” ‘Waal, I ruther sbout not!” cried Big-foot. *‘ By ther gods o’ war, if this hyar campever got a insult, it hev got it now! Citerzens, be we goin’ ter stand anything of this hyar sort? Be ‘we goin’ ter be called heathen, an’ never kick ergainst it? I jest rise up my Eberneezer an’ scream NO! Hustle’round, somebody, an’ hunt up a piece o’ paper, till I post ther cuss his an- swer.” : Paper and pencil were finally forthcoming, and Big-foot spreading the paper out on the wall, proceeded to write. i ; It occupied him several minutes, and no one could tell just what manner of answer he was preparing, until it was done and he had posted ait up. en it was read by all who could read. “Thar!” he cried. ‘* Thar, devil, see how that setson yer stummick, Jest gaze on it, if so be enough ter suit yer taste. An’ it ain’t half as His reply, printed out in crude letters and worse spelling, was in these words: “‘DeveL DuvoL THE OvTLAW:— ‘“Yeau cinn go tu yur namesaik! We doant cair fur yeau hair. If yeau cumm hair yeau will git an pizn doas, ann doant yeau fale tu mind that. Yeau inn maik it war ann be darn tu yeau! ** Ann we meen bezniss. *R. Brown, Mare.” And as the mayor pointed to this, he glared around over the crowd, as though trying to pick out the man who might be the outlaw or one of his followers, But no one was szen upon whom suspicion could rest, 2 is rough attempt in the line literary caused Kilgore, Randal, the Sparkler and a few others to smile, but they all agreed with him that it was to the point, and that it could not fail of being understood, d they agreed, too, to back him up in the matter. There was one person in the room, one in par- , ; ticular, who pata attention to Seatything, but This personage is one Jean Timball, a fellow who kept in the background himself, who had appeared at the camp a short time be- fore the coming of the two women, and who at first had seemed to have no end or purpose in view. He had hired a shanty, set up housekeep- ing on his own hook, and minded his own busi- ness, Later on he had sought employ at the Pay Dirt, and had been taken on as a laborer, This Jean Timball was a man of thirty or thereabouts, fairly good-looking as men go, and wearing a full beard that was, in appearance, runving to seed, as it was beginning to look in need of the scissors, With this man, somehow, Barney O’Linn had struck up an acquaintance that had ripened into friendship, and now they were sharing the same shanty. There was noth- ing peculiar about this, since every shanty had | from two to ten inmates, men who clubbed to- gether for mutual good, Reuben Randal, the new superintendent, had pore himself to be the man for the post he ld. He had the good will of all the men under him, and that was a strong point. He , @ few intimate friends, however; Mr. Mon and Munson Kilgore seeming to be the only ones, The men under bim. were treated a And this was. ney O’Linn, After his ex- cited exclamations, following the rifle-shot, he had subsided, and nothing more bad been heard from him. Now he stood a little out of the center of the crowd. § x: It would have been hard to have picked out ‘any particular individoal who was to be sus- pected, for everybody’s interest was awakened and at the highest pitch. The hour that followed was an exciting one, The matter was discussed from every point of It ended as it had begun, without anything 4 the mayor, And finally the excitement died away, to a de- gree, and at last the crowd broke up. The evening had not been without some re- ‘sults, whether for good or evil. The new super- intendent had found faycr with the majority easte of the. camp’s denizens, and peat aa grown up, seemingly, a degree of fst ellow- shipamong him, Munson Kilgore, parkler the Sport, one or two others, - CHAPTER XIII. , and without fear or favor. And he had no trouble save on one occasion, when ene big, burly fellow had refused to obey some rea- vents last re- | sonable order, | was no excite | This was a fello t “i 'O.. Wee: Tbh, ¥ “ness to way's trying to | make trouble in some way or other, in the camp? and who bad ranked scarcely second to Big-foot Brown as a town bully. On that occasion Ran; dal had repeated the order, and the men we a all pausing in their work to see how it would || come out, It was, in fact, the test of the new f superiniendent’s ‘‘ caliber.” The third time Randal gave the order, and this time with the threat of immediate discharge if it was not promptly obeyed, The bully laughed ct that and uttered some bragging boast, when, to the surprise of all, Randal caught bold of him and pitched him out of the drift as easily as though he had been a boy of ten, That was the only occasion of difficulty of that sort. The bully came back, shamefaced and cringing, owning that he was no match for the ‘*super,” and asking leave to go to work again. He was given his place, when he went to work with a will, and was now ove of Randal’s stron- gest backers. And the man Timball, whether Randal noticed it or not, had Jooked upon this little ‘‘scrap” with evidently the keenest satis- faction, and bis admiration for the “‘super” seemed to increase from that moment. Later, he told Barney about it with much evident rel- ish, as the best thing be had seen in a dog’s age, ‘** Lazy Lunk,” another who has found place in the preceding pages, was still in the camp, as in- ‘a dolent as ever, and as ready to imbibe “ poison.” i Who he was, never troubled anybody; it was 7. plain to be seen what he was. Of course the two women at the Jaundry had long since discovered the antipathy Silly Bob had to Santon Kilgore. The Widow Lamb had questioned him about it, but_Bob could not yet be induced to tell anything. He had, after much urging on one occasion, muttered something about fearing Kilgore would kill bim, but that was all the women had been able to get, much as their curiosity was aroused. One afternoon Kilgore entered the shanty at a time when Bob was behind the rude counter’ helping the women about their work, and there was no way of escape open tohim, He turned deathly pale, and sunk down behind thecounter, weak and trembling. Kilgore laughed heartily, and demanded to know what was the matter with the women’s _ brave protector, ¥ ‘* He is afraid of you, that seems to be all,” an- ' | Lee swered the Widow Lamb, “ And deathly afraid of me, too, I should say,” ‘* was the return, ‘‘Come outhere, Bob;I won't — harm you,” x | But the silly fellow came not, He merely — groaned, and tried to get out of sight com- ? apes That his fear was genuine was not to e questioned, ; an ¥ ‘*T can’t seo why he should fear me 80,” ob- served Kilgore, y Rate a ‘¢ He says he is afraid you will kill him,” the 4 Widow Lamb remarked, Hes. At that, Bob gave a louder groan, and when they looked be had stretched out and wags twitching and jerking in a genuine fit. RR Kilgore looked puzzled, eyén alarmed, and e made his stay as short as he could. _ ed ae When the women had succeeded in bringing Ba Bob out of his fit, the poor fellow was as limp as . “4 a rag, and on opening” his eyes, in af weak, balf- screaming way, he cried: “Over the ledge! Over'the ledge! Poor or pet poor Hamilton! Silly Bob know | There he stopped, with a gas , realizing that he was overheard, and sunk back upon the floor © __ completely used up. Natpie “ ‘The two women looked at each other in a sug. gestive way, and from that moment their kind- — Silly Bob increased, if possible, Their — main aim seemed to be to win his confidence, After that, for some reason or otber, Reuben Randal began to make advances in A kindly, way toward the youth, and not only be, but = Barney O'Linn, and even Jean Timball. Did | Munson Kilgore but know it, the beginning of the end bad been marked for him, and the mys- tery of Valentine Hamilton was ere long to be cleared up! = a st Pe ve he vi Lepti # 8a ee CHAPTER XIV. : AN AMAZING SPECTACLE. , hi} OnE night later on, at a Jatehour, two men met at a little distance out of Rough-and- . umblie. : After an exchange of words they clasped S. : , to y ¥ Well, Right Bower, what is the word?” | asked one. , “ Little of nothin’ was the answer, 1 hopes of seein? De aes
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10 rejoinder, ‘‘but they may hear of me again in some way or other. That was a clever dodge, wen. “¢That’s what it was, Morgan—yer sce I have to call you by yer right baudle once in a while, to keep my mind fixed on who you really be, It has made’em all look upon Devil Duval as a turrible somethin’ a good ways off.” «Ha, ba, ha!” in a low, sinister laugh that was unmistakably that of the arch demon named, “They may find him a good deal nearer than they want to, if a Sayre happens to make me show my teeth. y the way, you are playing your part to perfection. I believe we are going s to down Dick Darrel this time.” “That’s what we will, if nothin’ bu’sts, But, talk about my playin’, Morgan; yours is jest immense! Nobody could ever suspect you of bein’ Devil Duval. It is the best game we have tried yet, and there isn’t a chance of fail, that I can sée, But, how about it? Have you got Dar- ’ rel dead to rights yet? It’s the cussedest queer thing I ever seen, how he kin fool us so lng.” “Your talk is like that of a regular tough, i , Owen,” commented Morgan. ‘ You are spoil- ing your language. But, all the better for this once, 1 don’t see-how there can be any doubt about the thing, as we agreed before, do you” “That this Jean Timball is Dick Darrel?” ‘* Rixactly.” Y “No: but what puzzles me is, how he kin ri himself up so cussed well that we can’t be sure o m. _ He is smart, Owen, and it will take all our skill and nerve to beat him, or even to fight him off, If we get into his power once more, we are gone up.” ot ‘‘T believe that, But, about his smartness, I don’t consider he’s any better off in that line than you, I’d like ter seo bim tumble to who ou are, and you have met him a dozen times a day ever since we have been here.” ‘Well, it is a game of devil against Satan, ‘ong you know.” ht “Thats so, And about the woman?” “She isn’t here. If that one at the laundry hadn't a pard with her, I might suspect her; but, it’s useless, tas both just what they seem, See how they toil from morning to night, Mary Warne would never dothat. Curse it, it baffles me, If she is here, she is disguised as a man, and you can depend on it.” ‘But, what good is it doing them? They can’t tumble to us.” : * So I think, now, and I think it’s time for us Wy to take the matter up and wipe them out.” in “That’s what we must do, I have had a 4 chance to kil] that Irishman a dozen times, and never get found out, He is a daring devil, to (ake the risk he does in this hole.” “Never fear but he knows what he is doing. Vi But, I bave something to propose to you. I have noticed that he and his * pa Timball are in the habit of holding a sort of secret chat almost every prone near an old shanty balf-way to the mine, You must hide there and hear what they have to say.” : , “ Just ther thing! I’ll make it my business to be in that old shanty every evenin’ fer a week. If thar’s a clew, you bet I’m willin’ to work for it, iN _ * And I think there may be, We have tried Be listening at their own shanty, but the little we have heard don’t amount to any tiing, We must have f that this man is Dick Darrel, and then do away with him.” “ And if we can’t git the proof, then do away with the pair of them, anyhow, on suspicion. It wouldn’t do any harm, that I can see, and we know it would strike the right man in the Irish- map, If right, all well; if wrong, no harm, One man more or less in the world don’t count.” ‘¢- Yes; and that is all right so far as it goes, ‘but the man we want and must have is Dandy - Dick Darrel. I want you to find out to a cer- ‘tainty if we have got him cead to rights in this -man Timball,” ‘*Don’t we both agree tothat? Isn’t it plain enough? You couldn’t separate Dick and his - Trishman, not with a thorny club.” But it looks so unlikely that they would come here together, and live so open, when the _ Irishman is a dead give-away.” — ° , . “Mebby thai’s jest their game, But, rest ’ ha ~ reer — bs —— ose ars i and I’ll soon know the truth, if they are in bit of meeting as yousay. I hadu’t no- - ticed it, Tl lay for them.” . Peg Bay aud get at the truth of it. This tame i bh soni ern orr ary an Goo | | inquired Sparkler, the Sport, who soon appear- _. “Great fightin’ calibers!” the mayor screamed, pore of thing, do you?” i hele on farrel and the woolly West won't. ; } oF we'll earry things with t . Dandy Poe If it pie euh a ghost we seen Dandy | like ter know what Dandy Dick’s Decoy. _ The crowd affirmed the mayor’s statement of the direction of the camp came the sharp shrieks of a woman’s voice. Looking, they saw nothing at first, but the screaming continued at intervals of a second or two, and voices began to be heard here and there, as men rushed out to learn the cause, “We must part and get away,” spoke the outlaw chief. ‘‘ Yes, an’ let’s slide at once,” agreed his Bow- er. ‘‘Meet you again to-morrow night, same hour.” But at that instant their attention was arrest- ed by something else—something more startling than the screaming. Above the camp, in the foggy darkness, sud- denly appeared a rosy light, and an excited hum of voices followed, showing that it was seen in the camp. * Then, in the midst of the rosy halo, came a vision that, for the instant, seemed to chill the blood in the veins of the two scoundrels who gazed upon it from the distance. A woman, hanging by her neck from the limb of a tree‘on a jagged plateau—a scene they both recognized instantly as only too real. ‘It’s the ghost of that woman!” excitedly ejaculated Owen Maron, . ‘‘ Ghost the devil!” retorted Duval, ‘‘ There’s no such thing. It’s a trick, and one of Darrel’s playing, too! “Tt must be a ghost,” urged Maron, ‘‘ How could anybody know anything about it? And how could Darrel do such a trick? It és a ghost, Morgan.” ‘‘] half believe it must be something super- natural. See how cussed real it is! It’s the same spot, the sare sight we saw when we left the thing swinging there— But, hark!” The woman’s voice again, in a wild, weird scream ! . “Look! Look!’ was tke unearthly cry. ‘Look upon the work of Devil Duval! See how he served a woman who loved him too well! He hanged her—hanged ber! To-night her rotting body sways in the winds at Indian Plateau, on the Old Pass, See the work of that devil’s hand!” ‘Curse it] we must part and get out of this,” cried Duval. ‘* Right!” agreed Maron. ‘ Here I go,” Away he did go, ie ay Ate Craig Morgan moved off in the darkness in another direction, “Took! Look! Louk!” came the woman’s voice once more. _‘* Devil Duval is in your midst, citizens of Rough-and-Tumble, and the blood of this murdered woman cries to you for vengeance! Are you men? Rise, bunt him down, and repay what is his due—the worst death that you can invent for him, See to it that he does not escape your hands, Dick Darrel, if you are here, avenge this wrong as you avenge your own!” That was all, The light faded rapidly, and he darkness was the more intense for its having n there, The citizens of the camp, half of whom were upon the street by this time, gazed in speechless amazement at the place where the wonderful vision had Spree and where now was Agcy but inky blackness, What did it mean it, : ‘Thar she hanged, I tell yer,” the mayor in- sisted, ‘‘an’ right out of ther black up thar comed ther most awfulest voice you ever heerd. If it wasn’t a ghost, 1 want ter heer somebody tell what it war.” At the time of the appearing of the wonderfu) apparition, as said, the hour was very late, and only those who had been up and those who had been among the first to get up, upon hearing the woman’s screams, had witnessed it, but they A were in sufficient number to support the story. ; Men kept coming, until the whole camp was out, or nearly so, and at the front were the mayor, Sparkler, Kilgore, Barney O’Linn and others. . ** Begob, maybe it is dhe banshee it was,” Bar- ney suggested, “Tf it was, it’s death to Devil Duval it was chantin’,” cried one fellow. The story was soon told so that the latest ar- rivals upon the scene bad as much knowledge of it as the first who had come, and it only re- mained to discuss it at length. Needless to say that was done, fully. Nothing like it had ever been witnessed by any one there, and it furnished much food for comment, ** Aw’ the voice said it was ther work of Devi Duval,” the mayor summed up, * an’ called on us ter avenge the crime. Be we men? Wull, I should how! that we am, an’ if that Devil Duval is in our camp, by the great calibers he has got ter be hunted out an’ strung up. Then’s whut I’m bowlin’, an’ it’s me what hewls 1.” ‘An’ sarve dhe spalpeen roight,” cried Bar- ney O’Lion, ‘‘But sure it is dhat dhe cuss isn’t bere, or it is mesel’ would fknow him, so Oi would.” Barney bad made no secret that he had had dealings with the outlaw as the follower of Dandy Dick, But it was understood that he was out of the hunt now, and had no further knowledge of the affair between Darrel and the outlaw. : However, he bad not told Dandy Dick’s story ; merely giving a superficial account of what had - taken place on one or two occasions, ‘* But,” reminded the mayor, ‘‘ther voice hinted that Dandy Dick Darrel must be byar in ther camp. If he be, let bim come forth, an’ by ther devil down.” “There is one way to settle the question of the truth of the story,” spoke up Munson Kil- gore. ** An’ how are that?” demanded the mayor. ‘* By sending to see if a woman’s body really does hang at Indian Plateau.” “That’s so; but it is a darn long ways ter mae: it can’t do ther woman no good any- ow, “T would say try to get hold of the outlaw first,” suggested Sparkler, the Sport. ‘ That would be the right beginning, and the man who takes him will reap a handsome reward, you know.” “That's so, too; but, how is a feller ter know ther cuss?” demanded Big-foot. ‘That is more than I can tell you,” the Sport nded. hile they were discussing this point, sudden- ly, from the direction of the south side of the pocket, came a loud, defiant pre ‘Hal ha! ha!” it pealed and echoed, And then followed the words: ‘ Devil Duval defies CHAPTER XV, VOICES OF THE NIGHT. — Tue first man to break the stillness was Big- foot Brown, Suddenly he began to shout and whoop with | you! You can never take me! Rough-avu- all the power of his strong lungs, calling upon umble is at my mercy! You refw to be the denizens of the place to hustle themselves | friends with me; look out for my stivg. When I strike, thefe will be nothing left of your place, And for Dick Darrel—death |” The crowd listened in amazement. And, be- fore any could speak, out of the north came an- other wild laugh, followed by ® retort, _ “Ha! ha! ha!” came the peal. “ Your time is short, Devil Duval! Laugh while you may, for I am tireless upon your track, Dandy Dick Darrel fears yon not, and ere long will clainy your life’s biood in atonement for the crimes you have done, This camp 1s not at your mercy; it defies you! Dare to show yours If, openly, and it will be. your death and not mine,” . The crowd listened in speechless awe, Was it trne, then, that both the outlaw and bis tireless Nemesis were within- the camp at that moment? ; The men looked from one to another. ques- tioningly, and many stopped to note just who ont, and also calling for a prophet who might explain the strange sight that had been wit- nessed, The spell broken, the whole crowd made the night hideous with their wild whoopings. Gradually lights were brought, from one way and another, and the square in front of the saloon and hovel was lighted up sc that a man might recognize his neighbor. “What seems to be the trouble here, mayor?” ed, buttoning his coat and vest. ‘““What don’t seem ter be ther matter? Didn’t yer see ther cussed thing?” ‘‘No; what was it? Ibear the men talking ghost, but surely you don’t take stock in that What was it like, any- ow? ‘* Seein’ is believin’, by darn!” asserted Big- _ then I'd | were t ‘it was, that’s all. Thar | cle, There threa right up thar in ther black | i ee i ee ist Pe ots . mn hanging there”. | soon.” at ’ i ei ah Ter Bens J oe ther calibers we'll back him to a man an’ bunt’ re and who was missing from the cir- tened . ~ — SS ee eee —— 2 ee
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a Ne 8. a . at the Swill-tub, amon beset ot “That’s ther sentymints of this byar camp, right toa dot! You jest show yer nose hyar, ister Devil, an’ if thar won’t be one less in ther sulphurous clime—or one more sent thar, then I miss my guess. You come hyer, an’ see if thar won't be a time sich as will make yer back hair curl.” » A pause, a silent wait, but neither of the voices had more to say, and thet hought came to the mayor to send out men to find the persons who bad spoken. Many were ready and willing to go in search of Dick Darrel, but none were really willing to set forth to find the outlaw, in which direction danger and death seemed to lie, But the search revealed nothing, No person was found in either direction, and the myster. of the voices of the night was not cleared. Gradually the excitement died out, the crowd melted away, and finally the camp was once more in repose, Next morning, in the minds of nearly all, it seemed like a dream, Tnere was nothing to show that it had been, and certainly nothing to explain the wondrous vision that bad appeared intheinky clouds, The sun was brigbt, the fog and clouds having cleared, and it seemed im- re tnat anything of the kind had been seen at all, There were some who even questioned whe- ther or not it bad not been the effect of a too- prolonged stay at the Swill-tub that had caused t. But there were too many witnesses for that theory to gain footing. No, mysterious as it was, the picture in the fog, sd, Shaped with the voices of the night, had been real enough. That was not to be questioned fora moment. But the mystery of it all. How the picture?—or hac it been a ghost, indeed? And then, too, Dandy Dick and Devil Duval —who were they? bere were they keeping themselves? What was going to come of if all? Questions no one could answer, But everybody, from the greatest even unto the least of them, and that ran the'entire gamut between Big-foot Brown and Mungo Montrose—had a prescience that something was coming; that there was go- ing to bea rousing time at Rough-and-Tumble before the matter was finally settled for good and all. But for a day or two there was no sign of it. Everything went on as before, and there was no excitement greater than an occasional fight rough customers who had imbibed too ly of the % swill,” But, under the surface, there was a swift cur- rent that was rusbing on with a burden-of thrilling events that were soon to boil to the sur- faca and bubble over, to the intense excitement of the camp asa whole. And what had been seen and beard so far, were but mere shadows cast before, eb There came about this time a break between Munson Kilgore and Sparkler, the Sport, Kilgore, unable to bear longer his attentions to Gulnare Montrose, bad taken him to task about it, and not wisely in private, as he should ve done, but on the street where there were tnesses, The Sport regarded the matter coolly, and de- manded to know what claim be, Kilgore, had upon the lady. Was he her husband? Was he even her 1 snitor? If not, then he, the Sport, could not give way to him in the matter, so long as his presence was not displeasing to the lady—and he bad no reason to think it was. ot words followed, hot on the part of Kil- ore, apd there were threats, at which the ret merely smiled. They had not spoken nee. pimecsel he CHAPTER XVI, “wanps UP, DICK DARREL!” ON the two evenings Since the night of the mysterious ghostly appearance in the clouds, a certain personage who bas been well introduced in the foregoing chapters concealed himself in a deserted and half ruined sbanty about half-way between the center of the camp and the office of the mine. We know for what pu cy he was there, and on the s-cond evening of bis Vigil he was re. warded. Barney O’Linn and his “pard” Tim. ball sauntered out that way, and finally stopped right near the shanty to tulk. They were in earnest conversation, and while nob speaking loudly, their tones were plainly audible to the man in hiding in the shant r might as well bave been, for all the eaves- er could make of its meaning. un ; peer ad aes But it was @ Conversation of Greek and Latin | derstand, but not 0 | P"geem' that there | in my Se ee ee eee ee ee Dandy Dick’s Decoy. But there came something vretty soon that he could unerstand, and something that interested him eer ‘* But, Dick,” Barney started to say, when the other re him. It was the name that arrested the keener at- tention of the listener. 1t was a name he had wanted to hear. ‘Why will you call me Dick?” Timball asked. ‘My name is Jean, and nothing else,” ‘Sure it is a name dhat will slip out in spoite av me,” Barney declared, ‘* Well, you don’t want to let it slip out,” the other admonished, © ‘‘ Call me by my name, and notbing else.” “* Sure Oi will; but don’t be afther gettin’ mad wid me about it.” ‘‘Oh, Iam not mad, Merely wanted to cor- rect you and set you right. Now, go on with what you were going to say,” “But, Jean,” Barney went back and began anew, ‘‘mice an’ swallows don’t both have wings, ye sure mustknow, An’ dhere’s no legs on a snake, no more dhere is. Dhat is moon- sbine when it’s rainin’,” ‘* Yes, I know, Barney; but you will admit that there is hair on a dog’s back, and that a whale don’t do so well out of water as it does in it. And if it comes to that, did you ever see a swallow that didn’t have wings? [ never did, I’m sure.” A fair sample of the meaningless talk the listener had been taking in for a full quarter of an hour, and it continued for some minutes longer. Finally the two went off in the direction of the camp, and aftér awhile, when it was grow- ing dark, the eavesdropper came forth from his place of hiding and moved away in another direction, “Pd like to know what they was talking about,” he complained to himself. ‘I don’t set up to be a fool, but I haven’t brain enough to grip the meaning of such talk as that. But, by thunder, 1 got one point dead to rights, The Irishman called the other Dick, and that settles his gouse! It is Dandy Dick, and can’t be any- body else.” j } Meanwhile, Barney and Jean, in their shanty, were holding another conversution considerably different to tke one the {listener had been obliged to take in, That night proved another that was cark— unusually dark—it being again very foggy as on the other occasion, Once more Devil Duval and his Bower met, according to appointment, and at the same hour as before, coming to each other in the same man- ner, with the siznals that have been mentioned. “Well, what is the word, Right Bower?” Duvalasked, ‘* We have got the pair dead to rights,” was the response, i Then you heard enough to satisfy you, eh?” You bet! Barney called the other Dick, by a slipof the tongue, and Dick shut bim up quick, Oh, there’s no doubt about it now, and he’s our Ey te ., But, what did they talk about?” ‘Don’t ask me that, It was the worst -fool- talk Tever listened to, an’ that I’m givin’ you straight, There was simply nO sense at all in a single thing that was said atween ’em.” : The outlaw insisted upon knowing something more about it than that vague statement, and nis Sore tried to repeat something of what had eon said, Needless to say he failed, but his rendering |: was in no wise hurtful to what really had been said, He could not possibly jumble things any worse thap the original had n jumbled and confused, : While they were talking, away off at the north end of the valley pocket once more ap- red the strange light they had seen before, “ Look there!” cried Morgan, ‘Ther ghost again!” exclaimed Maron. ‘It’s furder off this time.” ; " : “Yes; but see how fast the light is growing brighter, and how fast it comes this way! “Thunder, yes! And it comes right from the direction of that cussed place, too. Tt must be a ghost, Morgan; what else can it be? moving out of here, and trying ajbhand some- where else.” i Shh el nad VW door was closed I am for |, on the road to it, but that one thing seems to have made a coward of me, as I don’t mind ownin’ to you. Not that it troubled me so much: till after we had seen this ghost the first time—- Good heavens!” That awful ghost—picture—whatever it was,, was again hanging over the venter of the camp,. and again a woman’s shrieks were splitting the ears of all who beard, almost, It was too real, too vivid, to be considered a mere pictyre, The very scene of their crime itself, on that fatal morning, had not been more real, Both looked, Owen Maron quaking with fear, but Craig Morgau experiencing no other sensation than that of hate and exultation, ‘* Little does it bother me,” he said, carelessly. ‘*The wench deserved it, and I would do it. again,” “T only wish I bad never had a hand in it.. But, let’s get out of this, See, the town is get- ting up in hot haste this time, Everybody wants: to see it, I’m off, and you the same,” Lights were appearing from every direction, men were shouting, and in a few minutes after the screaming was first heard, the entire camp: — was out, It had been the resolve, on the part of nearly every individual, that, should the ghostly visitor appear again, he would be one who would see it. And each was successful, with but few excep- tions among the more tardy ones, It was the same scene repeated that found de- scription in a previous chapter. The wild screaming, the denunciations against Devil Du- val, and then the call upon the citizens of the camp to avenge the wrong that had been done, The vision lasted only a few moments, whem it faded and vanished as before, and gradually, as before, all excitement died out, and finally the camp was quiet and dark, Next day there was nothing but the memory of the vision to prove that it bad been a fact. The camp was growing, it seemed, unusally quiet: and orderly. But it was only upon the surface. That under-current was growing more fierce and excited with each passing day, On the following night—the night following; this second visitation of the ghostly sky picyure, and at a late hour, there was a low knock sound- ed upon the door occupied tby Barney O’Liom and his ** pard.” ; It had to be repeated before any response was: had from within, but at length the voice of the young Irishman was heard, demanding to know who was there and what was wanted. “There is trouble at the mine,” explained a voice without, ‘‘and Mr, Randal wants Timbalk tbere at once,” ‘¢ What is the trouble?” asked Timball. J ‘* The drift is cavin’ in,” was the reply ‘All right; be out at once,” Tim ised, ‘* Tell him I’ll come right away.” There was the response of *‘ All right” to that, . and steps were heard hastening away from the door, A few moments .Jater Timball opened the door and stepped out, The instant he did so, half.a dozen masked men surrounded him, press~ ing weapons against his body, “Up with your bands, Dick Darrel!” cried one, ‘or you die where you stand,” CHAPTER XVII. THE TABLES TURNED, INSTANTLY with that order there was a hasty rush of feet within the shanty, a rear door was — thrown burriedly open, and Barney O’Linn — dashed out. Timball bad put up his hands as ordered, de~ manding to know the meaning of his arrest,and declaring that he was not Dick Darrel, but Jean ~ Timball and none other, And in the light of the shanty his face was a picture of surprise. Tt had all taken place within a space of afew seconds, after the opening of the door, and even with their stern command the masked men had passed into the shanty, forcing Timball before them at the point of their weapons. Now the — bebind them, but the rear was A moment later and Barney would have been a prisoner, too, He had barely escaped as it. — open, was, leader of the band cried. . ‘*Shall we take after him?’ asked one of the men, ready to start, and others with him, “No; it’s no use, in the dark,” was the an-— swer, ‘* We'll take care of this | prom- — REVELATIONS. +. yt Feb “Curse it! that other has got away ” the ice hgh A s was being done the leader stily ground the room, as it for. a See _-
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} ) — - was revealed. | Dandy Dick's Decoy. ~caped him, wude table, and there, together with some paper vand envelopes, was one envelope that bore the mame—‘‘ Richard P, Darrel.” It was post- mmarked, and had been opened. There was no etter within, however, ‘* Hal” the masked leader cried, “‘you wil | «deny your identity in the face of this, will you?” -He held the envelope up to view. ' That belongs to the Irishman, the cowardly enr who has gone off and left me in this fix, when, if he had been prompt, he might have ree the whole lot of you with that musket of his, The leader looked at the man keenly. ** You are a darling at assuming a disguise, Dick Darrel,” he declared, ** but you can’t fool ‘us any longer. We have got you dead to rights “in more ways than one, I will simply remind you that your Irishman has beeu beard to call -you Dick, when off bis guard for the moment.” A new expression came upon the prisoner’s _ “face, an expression that seemed half despair and’ half disgust. “Curse it, I give up!” he muttered, and was P silent, “Ha, ha, ha!” the masked leader laughed, moderately. ‘‘I have got you this time, Dick Darrel, in spite of your tine playing. This night is to be your last on earth,” ‘*Do your worst, Craig Morgan,” was the de- ‘fiant response, ‘‘l fear you not. A man can die but once, and it must come sooner or later,” ‘Gag him!” the leader ordered; dnd it was speedily doue, But little time was wasted. The light was put out, the door opened, and with their prisoner in hand the rascals went forth, Not half a dozen steps had they taken, how- aver, when the greatest surprise of their lives was sprung upon them. Two bull’s-eye lights ‘flashed upon them, and with the Jight came the stern order for them to surrender or die. For one brief moment the rascals stood as though paralyzed, and that brief moment sct- ‘tled their fate, They were surrounded by armed men, and as soon as the light was upon them, almost, others dashed forward and seized them, They were over-matched, three to one. The rascals ine i fiercely at first, but they ‘had been allowed no time to get at their “weapons, and were speedily overcome, ' No word bad been spoken, except the first order, and in less {than one minute it was all over. ‘‘Dhe foinest Oi ever saw in me loife!” whis- per Barney O’Linn, as he stood with his musket the fore. ‘‘How do ye loike dhe turn ay Abe tables, ye murtherin’ gossoons?” The masked prisoners glared fiercely at the _.» men before them, There was, ‘first, Barney O'Linn with his big _ musket, but immediately in front of all stood Reuben Randal, the new superintendent of the Pay Dirt, two glittering revolvers in his grasp, And with him was Mungo Montrose, with a ‘score of men belonging at the mine, But, these were not all, Holding the lights ‘were two women, the Widow Lamb and her alleged sister, the women who conducted the _ Janndry. For another moment the situation remained “unchanged, except that one man had freed the hands of Jean Timball and removed the gag from his mouth, and he’was next to speak, “A case of Presto! my fine fellows!” he ‘smilingly remarked. Still the ontlaws spoke not. Too amazed were ; pcp at the transition to recover their balance, eas . And, little wonder, It remained for Reuben Randal to speak next, “Craig Morgan,’-he said;—and certainly the voice was not his own, ‘‘ once more I have you in my power, Once more Lam ready to call you. to account for the wrongs you have done me and ‘mive. And this time there will be no escape, Jam Dick Darrel, your relentless Nemesis!” With the last words he stepped forward and spatched the disguise from the léeader’s face. It was the faze of Sparkler, the Sport, that “Curse you!” the arch-knave gr He had opened a drawer in the have known as Luzy Lunk. There he was in all his bristly beard and dirt, but he was trembling violently. The day of his usefulness was past. Crime and rum had at last overcome him, ‘“At last Oi have ye wanst more, Heaven's curse upon ye!” cried Barney. ‘‘ Oi will settle wid ye dhis toime! No more escape fur ye— no, nor fur dhe divil ye own as yer masther, aythur. Sure it is dhe ind av dhe rope ye nave reached, the both of ye, murtherers and mis- creants that ye are!” ‘ “The end of the hangman’s rope!” cried Mr. Montrose. ‘ ‘“‘They’ll never meet that fate,” declared Reu- ben Randal—rather Dick Darrel. ‘‘ The lives of the infamous scoundrels belong to me and Bar- ney. ** Dhat same dhey do,” Barney echoed. During this, the masks had been taken from the faces of the other four, revealing the features of fellows who were instantly recognized as some cf the worst characters with which the camp had been infested. . But it was to the chief cf knaves that atten- tion was given, : : He stood with face deathly pale, but with his hateful, hellish smile curving his sinister lips. All had by this time been so securely bound that there was no chance for the escape of a sin- gle one of them, And it had all been done with- out a sound that was loud enough toawaken the sleepers in the nearest shanty. i, at do you think of it, you rascals?” ques- tioned Jean Timball. ‘‘ You were nicely over- reached—fell into a pit of your own digging, as it were.” ' “‘T admit that we have been neatly duped,” BE = te z ‘* Great calibers ergain! Yer don’t tell me | ‘Tt is certainly so,” assured Timball. ‘We want you to call all the citizens together after breakfast, when the prisoner will be produced.” “Bully! Greatest o’ calibers! but this hyar ‘does me heart good, it do, an’ I’m what says so. But, who done the crime? Has ther body, been found? Who is ther one who diskivered ther cuss?” . “This gentleman, Mr. Timball, is the one who sifted the case,” Dandy Dick hurried to say. Timball looked at Dick with a meaning smile. Well he knew that only for Dick Darrel he would never—or at any rate not yet—have been at the end of the case. y ‘‘Ther darn he did!” cried Big-foot, extending his hand. ‘‘ Who be you, pard, anyhow?” ‘‘ He is Mr, Timball, a detective whom I sent for to sift this case,” put in Mr. Montrose, ‘I revealed the fact to no one, wanting him to haye every chance of success that was possi- “ Well, I ber dern!” was all the mayor could say. if It is as you have heard,” said Timball, ‘except that I did not get at the bottom of the case alone. But, you will hear all about that later on.” : ‘And let us go at once,” suggested “Prince Richard, ‘“‘ We are dfawing attention, and there will soon bea crowd around. You spread the news, Mayor Brown, and in a couple of hours we will be ready.” _ : ~ “Bet yer life I will!” cried the mayor; and half dressed as be was, he made a dash in the responded Craig Morgan, in bis clear, defiant | direction of the Swill-tub. tone; “ but the next inning will be mine, This does not end the matter, unless you hang us bere and now,” ** And you know I won’t hang you,” retorted Dick Darrel. ‘‘Tt must be man to man and kuife to knife, between you and me, Nothing short of that will ever satisfy. That will be your next inning, as you term it, and tke long delay will only add to my joy when I feel my knife pierce your heart, if heart you have.” This was spoken with such foree that all in- voluntarily drew back, and the face of the arch fiend grew yet more pale, ‘* But, come,” Dick added, ‘‘ we must get them away before the whole camp is astir. We have a safe place for them, and one from which there will be no escape.” 2 All started in the direction of the mine, with the light of the lanterns turned to the dimmest, and in a brief space of time the prisoners were safely lodged in a place that clearly had been prepared for them, and from which escape was impossible, — CHAPTER XVIII: MURDER WILL COME OUT. ; LEAVING reliable men on guard, Dandy Dick and the others passed out of the drift and down into the camp once more, ““T am sorry to have you defer your revenge on my account, Darrel,” remarked Jean Tim- ball,as they all stopped for a few minutes’ talk before separating and seeking their beds. “ That is all right, Timball, and glad to doit,” Dick made response, “‘ You have served me well, and now it is our turn toserve you, We have your case down to a fine point, from begin- | ning to end, and in the morning you may go ahead, now that our prisoners are secure.” ‘‘ Yes; it is the clearest case I ever saw, and there can be no question when we give the facts to the public,” ' ‘“ Not a shadow of doubt,” assented Mr, Mont- rose. ‘*Curse the man! I can hardly aye oO - hat we Valentine iscovered the mur- chair, and addre | last, thanks to unexpected help, the ease has 7: were The rough element so largely in the majority, as said, it was necessary thus to “pat the mayor on the back,” as it were, to gain all bis sympathy on the side of right, for great was the revelation that was to come. ; Big-foot spread the news rapidly, shouting and blowing around at bis loudest, and in his excite- ment he forgot all about his breakfast. He ar- ranged his court before the saloon, and an hour too early the whole camp was collected around bim to see what was to follow, Something before the time set, Mr. Montrose, Reuban Randal, Jean Timball and many others were seen coming from the direction of the Mon- trose cottage, but they bad no prisoner with them, as was readily noticed, As they approached, Muns:n Kilgore stepped out from the piazza of the Bedbug Bungalow and age them, coming along with them and talk- g with Randal and Timball, _ ‘‘'Thunder!” cried the mayor, as they drew near, “‘ ie ain’t got no prisoner, an’ that’s ther fact. Hope he ain’t got away from em.” Whén they came up, and had ed through the Se in the See that had been made for them, he demanded: ‘* Whar’s ther pricey boyees? I onderstood e ter say ye had him, me And Tee have, sir,” Timball made answer, Kilgore was standing between Timball and Dick, as though be were one of them, “Waal, whar is he?” was the demand, Timball and Dandy Dick turned both together and a revolver in a band of each was pressed under Kilgore’s either ear,’ “This is the man!” said Timball, coolly. Had a bomb burst overhead, it could not bave occasioned half the amount of surprise. __ Barney O’Linn stepped forward immediately and snapped handcuffs on the rascal’s wrists, and he was a prisoner safe and sure. ; “ Great calibers!” gasped the mayor, ‘it can't be so! Thar must be some mistake. Can’t er say nothin’ fer yerself, Kilgore? Thunder! This byar can’t be true, neighbors.” ” “Tt is the grim fact, Mayor Brown,” assured Mr. Montrose. ‘See the coward tremble! See his pale face! See the damp On bis forehead! We have got the proof against him straight and Hear Mr. Pimball ‘4 sure, 'e A “It is a lie—a lie!” the prisoner exclaimed chokingly. Timball stepped upon a box that stood near the large one upd which the mayor had his ssed the crowd. “Tam a professional detective,” he began, “Some time ago I received a call from Mr. Montrose, wanting me to come here and try to fovessiepte the disappearance of his superin- tendent. about, and worked in a very quiet way, At been brought to a close. _ , f - As you know, Barney O’Linn pi stance when be ¢ " S I came, in the manner you all know |
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Px, ~ SS SS ee SE Ra Re Hehe ee mare Sie Ao rl Sr CEN NN ET A - saw there was scmetbing in that, some object or other, so I let bim share my shanty, but kept an eye on him, I was not long in discovering that he had interest with the two women who run the laundry, and later, that be and Mr, Randal here were old friends, I learned all [ could, and finally took Barney to task about it, ‘¢ Well, he admitted it all, and told me some- thing that induced me to take him into my con- fidence. That led to their taking me into theirs, and we have worked together since that time. But, you will hear more of that when you hear from Mr, Randal. Now, you all know Silly Bob, who works at the laundry, You all know how afraid he has been of Kilgore. It was not without good reason that he feared the man, for Silly Bob saw Munson Kilgore murder Valen- wr] | dread something that, at sight, told its own tine Hamilton!” “A lie—a lie!” the prisoner screamed. never did it!” ‘Tt is the truth, as I am going to’prove!” was the calm response, ’ ‘* An’ if yer did do it,” spoke the mayor, grim- ly, ‘it means a rope fer yer neck, sure as cali- bers.” | “By kindly treatment,” the detective went on, ‘* the women got the secret out of Silly Bob, ave it to Randal, and he passed it on to me, Toxether we investigated it, and the result is that the proof is positive. Kilgore loved Miss Montrose, and the superintendent was in his way. He could not bope to win her hand with- out' removing him. It was a desperate thing, but be was equal to it. He forged a letter, mak- ing it appear to be from Miss Montrose, and sent it by messenger to Hamilton. Silly Bob was the messenger, and he heard Hamilton read the note half-aloud, It requested him to meet, the supposed writer at the plateau near the camp at an early hour. “ Silly Bob took it into his head that it would be a good idea to go there a little earlier, bide himself, and so witness the lovers’ meeting. He went, hid upon a shelf of rock a little above the plateau, and witnessed, not a love scene, but a ‘cowardly murder! First to appear was Kil- gore. He stepped back close against the wall an waited. Ere long came Hamilton, He stepped boldly out upon the plateau, and when he was near the edge, then Kilgore covered bis heart with a revolver. There was a short talk between them, which Bob cannot repeat in full, but which showed that Kilgore had decoyed his rival there for the purpos: of murdering him; and then Kilgore fired, and Valentine Hamilton ’ toppled over and down into the gorge below,” Immediately there was a mad howl for the murderer’s life, and the mayor and others had all they could do to check the crowd and stay them in their intention of doing violence before the prisoner had had a chance to speak in his own behalf. elas CHAPTER XIX. BORDERLAND JUSTICE, . ‘“ Hotp on, boyees! Hold on! Hold on!” So the mayor shouted, springing up in his Place, bis weapons in hand. ** Yes, hold on,” echoed Timball. to give the man a fair hearing, * proof satisfy you.” ‘‘ That’s to ther p’int,” cried Big-foot Brown. “We have knowed Kilgore long an’ well, feller galoots, an’ be must havea fair show fer his money. Ther proof must be anted up.” ~ ‘That is it,” added Dick Darrel. ‘‘ You don’t want to bang @ man on the say-so of a silly i. youth. Satisty yourselves about it, first, and hen do your hanging afterward, if that is what you mean to do if he is guilty—and he deserves it! But, make sure youare right.” = There were many shouts from the crowd, to the effect that no more proof was wanted than the man’s face itself, but the tide was turned, and the mob became quiet Once more, ‘‘ Such is the story,” resumed Timbal], Now, “You want and let the mayor, itremains for you to appoint a committee, heading it yourself, and make an exploration of | that gorge under the plateau. Pick your men and ni at once, and a will stay here with the prisoner till you get back, It will not take you over an hour. And whatever you find there, bring it with you. t | shouted, ' no use my denying it, Dandy Dick’s Decoy, | Waal, reckon Dll have ter, Funny he ain’t round, an’ sich a time as this goin’ on.” And immediately he proceeded and picked out eight or ten men to go with him to investigate. They set out with eager haste, and the crowd settled down to await their return with what | patience they could. | ‘You mayas well confess,” remarked Tim- ball to the prisoner, ‘‘Confess to a lie!” was the sncer. ‘‘ Never! I did not kill Hamilton, and I defy you to prove it agaiust me,” Perhaps he had the secret hope that nothing | would be found under the plateau, althouyh he ougbt to have known the detective had investi- gated, and knew just what was there. In something less than an hour there was a shout, and the committee was seen returning. And among them they carried something—a story. The prisoner, pale as death itself, shook like a leaf, and finally broke down, With a groan he sunk upon the ground, whining for mercy, It was with an effort again that the crowd was held in check until the proof had been es- | tablished, although it was hardly needed. The mayor and his party came up, bearing on a rude stretcher the decaying body of a man, and that man—the missing superintend- ent. . ‘* Hyar be all what’s left of poor Hamilton,” Big-foot spoke. ‘‘Tber proof ar’ all that kin be asked, an’ more, Kilgore is ther man that done i¢ 2? ‘¢ We knows it!” shouted the crowd, ‘ Fetch ther cuss erlong till we hangs him! He’s got ter swing fur it, you kin bet!” ; ‘Hold on, boys, bold on,” cried Timball. ‘* Let’s hear what more your mayor bas to say,” “T say ther proof is solid an’ sure,” Big-foot ‘‘Hyar! See what pore Hamilton writ, after his fall down thar in ther death hole. Mr, Timball, you read it out to ther crowd.” As he spoke he took from under his coat the torn bosom of a shirt, on which was seen some pencil writing. - ‘* Where did you.find this?” Timball asked. ‘Tt was in ther dead man’s hand,” was the. answer. ‘‘ An’ this byar pencil was withit, It are pore Hamilton’s own shirt front, torn off by himself ter write on,” Ybe prisoner utterly collapsed, gave some startling interest to this new bit of evidence, The hand of fate was certainly against him. The writing on the bosom was large and sprawling, but not a word of it was to be mis- taken. And the detective read it aloud, as fol- lows: ‘“« By the hand of Munson Kilgore! He lured me to the plateau, and there shot me, and I fell over. I am dying. Avenge me, whoever finds my body. What I write is true, as God bears me witness. “ VALENTINE HAMILTON.” The last line and the signature were in very staggering letters, showing that the poor fel- low’s strength was fast going. How sang he ae lain there, suffering, it was impossible to “What has yer got ter say to that thar, yo cusséd hypocrite?” demanded the mayor, turn- ing upon the prisoner, ye T have nothing to say, only to confess,” was the answer, It is all against me, and there’s , killed him, for the reason this accursed detective has given.” With no hope for his life, he stood in a sort of dogged despair, awaiting the fate that was sure to follow. “And, curse youl” cried Mr, Montrose, ‘you had the brass to pay attentions to my daugh- ter! \ ‘Yes, curse her!” was the sharp retort, ‘‘ Better for Hamilton to be where he 4 than to have married her, too. She is as fickle as the wind. Only for her, I would not be where I am.” j ’ : Montrose pressed forward, as though he would kill the wretch where he stood, but the crowd forced him back, ; ‘¢ We'll attend to him,” said the mayor, ‘* We'll give him a send-off, you kin bet.” ** An’ mebby he is ther outlaw, Devil Duval,” somebody suggested. _ “No; we know better’n that,” declared the mayor. ‘He hey been hyar too long, if yer will stop ter think.” ‘** No, he is not the outlaw,” assured Dick Dar- | “Twill have a revelation for you, present- ae oncerning that the But let us have Case done with first.” — Tayor—“ Judge Lynch”—bad resumed | his box, atid now stood up, saying: | one, ‘Munson Kilgore, this byar court finds your. guilty of murder, an’ that of ther wu’st sort. ou’ has been tried, an’ now ther sentence is. that you be hanged up by ther neck till yer croaks, Bovees, sarve him!” Immediately followed a wild shout, a mad rusb; the prisoner was seized in rough hands. and hustled away. It would have been useless to protest, had any one been inclined to do so. , The rouge class was so greatly in power’ that: their will was law. **Sarves him right,” cried the mayor, as he looked on. ‘‘They can’t do no wuss to him ’am he desarves, so let ’em go it. String him right up, fellers, an’ let him dance bis last jig on wind. It’s a pity we couldn’t make two jobs of it, an* give him a double dose, that’s all. Yank him, an’ then plug him wi’ lead till he are ballasted. fur ther hot clime!” The mad crowd needed no urging. To the nearest tree the doomed wretch was. dragged, being kicked and cuffed all the way there, and in less than a minute he was dangling in mid— air. And then immediately a fusilade of pistol-~ shots was fired at his swaying mB You shudder at the. picture. It is not over-, drawn in any particular. Such is the prompt and effective way, rough as it is, of dealing with, crime on the far borders of civilization, where. the written law is a dead letter, In about three minutes it was all over, and al? that remained of the murderer was his riddled, body swaying at the end of the rope, And the Bre ret. riucd to where the body of his victim. ay. > ‘ This the mayor ordered buried with all the» pomp the camp could possibly show, and the funeral was undertaken at once, . Nothing had been seen of the mine manager’s. daughter, but nothing was thought of that. The situation was understood, and no one went to tell her of the discovery, for undoubtedly she: knew what was going on, By this time the forenoon was more than balf- spent. Nota person had thought of work, and the mine and everything else was idle. The «x~ citement was too high for such things as that to. be given attention for a moment. No sooner had the burial taken place than the crowd: surged. around Reuben Randal—Dick Darrel eager to hear what it was that he had to tell. them regarding Devil Duval, CHAPTER XX, DANDY DICK’S STORY, THIS was sooner than Dandy Dick bad count-- | " ed upon. He had wanted to bring things about in hivsown time and way. But the denizens of © Rough-and-Tumble would hear to nothing that. — was to bring delay with it. So Dick’s plans, whatever they had keen, had to be changed, and the mob had to be appeased. And the mayor was the worst man be had to | contend against, Nothing would do but Dick must tell his story then and there, and the mayor and his horde had to be satisfied. ick finally agreed, therefore, and, saying a few words to Barney, mounted to the mayor's: seat of justice, so that all might see and hear, ‘““My friends,” he spoke, ‘I see you are de-- termined, so I will change my plans to gratify a you, Kindly make way for my man, Barney O’Linn, to pass out and bring my other allies: here before you, You willsoom have an interest: in them as well as in my story. with, let_me tell you that my true name is not. Reuben Randal, but Richard Prince Darrel;. better known as Dandy Dick Darrel,” The shout that greeted this was deafening. Nor did it end with that, There were cheers. and comments from every side, “ By the time this abated, Barney O’Linn was’ back again, bringing with bim the two women: an from the laundry. And then, at a suggestion. from some one, there was further. delay while _ the platform was enlarged so that allof them — migbt occupy it. ' “Yes, I am sumed, and in order that the crowd might have afull understanding of his feud with Craig Morgan, he went ahead and told the story of the past as it bas been disclosed in previous stories, He was listened to attentively, and when finally he paused, there was a wild shout for the life of _ his hell-born foe, yer ae ‘*No, no; be is not yours, but mine!” Dick — opposed. “He must que me, man to Man. — im Wap Hanging is too good for him,” Sty! *“ But who be he?” cried Big-foot Brown, put- — ting the Cee that was on the That Reva ue a a ae us of og ape = a ia 9 rs, we'll burn himat ther stake!” = “Ha vatience, and hear my story to the, oa on yor Pet ae Now, to begim Dick Darrel,” Dandy Dick re-
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‘as 2 To) *. _ ing the demon from my her b was supported, and reaching up, she caught ho Mi 5 a tly : ‘ ended her life with bullets, Asit was, she was By ey, pty Aeival Warne, as the crowd had already ss W ey. i de a expect them to en Dandy Dick’s Decoy. past, and have brought i # story down to the eginning of the present, will proceed from that point. Having been decoyed myself, and «almost to my death, the thought naturally came to meto play the same card back again upon my thated foe. And with that end in view I set to work with the help of my faithful allies, My decoy, then, was Barney O’Linn, And . I can not say enough in praise of the manner in ‘ which—” ‘*Whist, now, draw it mild,” Barney inter- ou R ‘nat 98 which he played his part,” Dick finish- ed, ‘* And the same of these women, who have ‘been more than faithful to my cause, Well knowing that Barney, without disguise, would de recognized and followed by my enemy, did he want to get at me secretly, I proposed that he should put himself in his way, when I and the others would follow on in disguise and entrap him if wecould, And that was not all: Barney was to come here and make friends with some <one whom the outlaw would be likely to mistake for me, and whom he might try to entrap and “Tt took time to prepare, but finally the “scheme was ready for the working, and we turn- ed our steps in this direction. Barney was in advance, and this camp was cbosen as the scene of what was—is—to be the scene of the last act in the almost drama, so uvreal the whole seems —may seem, to those who look on. To us who are the actors is is only too real. But, I am aheadof my story. I must go back to an event that had taken place some time previous to this, It was when we were docging our enemy, to learn something of his plans, and before our own scheme had been arranged. Let me turn aside fora moment to tell you about that, since it is one of the important factors in my story. “One forenoon we were pusbing our way along over a rough mountain trail, myself, Mrs. Warne and nese when we came upon a thrilling sight. Ahead of us, on a treeat the edge of a plateau, hung the form of a woman, At first we could not make out much about ber, but nppence Hye phon we found that she was alive, and that, even with a rope around her neck, she was gar a herself by her arms thrown over the limb! In a few seconds we had cut ber down, but she was unconscious and we had no hope that she could live, We recognized her as' the woman of whom I have told you— ‘the one who wasso faithful to that outlaw devil, We did all in our power for her, and at last ‘were rewarded by having her recover and tell . her story. “She, as she admitted, was the one who had killed the outlaw’s woman ally in the cavern, [t ‘was done in one of her fits of almost insanity— jealous insanity. It was a secret she meant to carry with her tothe grave, After again rescu- wer, she had no thought but that he would be faithful to her, and at first it seemed as though he would be, He could be faithful where it served his ends, But, some time later, when they were moving in haste in this direction, she one night talked in her sleep and told everything about the crime sbe had done, This so enraged Duval that he hanged her as soon as it was light, with the ng iho his fellow devil, his Right Bower, Owen Maron, “ It would have been the end of the woman, but for one thing. They had not taken time or — to teas er paren ig 8 ete ioeek ers gles, immediately a sing ban and free. She had been over which the me 8 came sudden] drawn almost to the lim of itand drew herself up, It was done before the men had pas beyond hearing, and bad they remained a moment longer they would have discovered it end undoubtedly would have enabled to loosen the rope around her neck, and to ig hold with her arms, an.j there we found ber, This woman, gortlemen, is she!” He indicated the one of the two who had been known among them as Katy Dansen, the sister to the “ Widow Lamb.” The to nm inf A ; “Our scheme -was, finally,” Dick resumed ‘that the two women should come here and open a laundry, that being thought about as unlikely an he as our common foe would in. They were to inves- mn their We b disguise, and after rt Ba: . from them, " eeftedae G20f | ee ge | Timball, and so decoy our enemy into the belief | that he was I, We did not know then that Mr. | Timba!l was a detective like ourselves. That | came to be known in the manner he has already | explained to you. - ‘Then, later, I came to i) ed the situation of superintendent at the Pay Dirt Mine, I was to keep entirely in the background, but with a careful eye upon our decoy, so that be could not be harmed. When we had taken him into our confidence, and he came to know the role that bad been forced upon him, then it was with slightly less risk to himself. I owe Mr. Timball much thanks for the help he has given me. We waited and watched, to get at the identity of our foes, but it was slow, hard work, for Craig ae was a match for our best efforts, and had been from the first. I had come to know that in order to overmatch him I must exert myself to the utmost. He is keen, subtle, fear- less, a giant in strength and will, and a devil at heart. In the matter of disguises, few detectives can beat him. we finally came to know positively that he was Sparkler the Sport!” : ** Sparkler, ther Sport!” Tbe crowd went crazy in its excitement. Nothing like it had ever been known at Rough- and-Tumble, There wasa wild, urgent demand for the man to be produced, for it had been un- derstood that the outlaw was a prisoner. ‘*He is mine,” Dick Darrel insisted. ‘*‘ You shall not see him alive, unless you pledge me year word, every man of you, that you will eave him for me to deal with. I tell you he shall not hang; I must fight him to the death. You have heard my story; can you wonder at my determination in this?” ‘No! No! Yer shell hev him; an’ if yer gits dda thar is plenty more ter take up yer gbt. ‘* And there must be no interference,” Dick insisted, ‘‘It must bea fair fight, for I would scorn to take any advantage of him in that. Curse him! my hate of him, and the wrongs I have to avenge, will carry me through.” : “Yes! Yes! A fair fight! "You shell hev it! He is your meat, an’ you is ther cook!” A hundred such cries, enough to show Dick that the crowd would grant what he demanded. . ‘© Yes,” he resumed then, ‘‘ Sparkler the Sport and Devil Duval are one and the same; and his Right Bower, as he is called, Owen Maron, you have seen here in the person of the fellow you have known as Lazy Lunk,” Another outbreak of excitement. ‘*Yis, begob!” cried Barney O’Linn, ‘‘ an’ dhe same ismy muttin, Ye know dhe wrong he has done me: sure nothin’ but. his blood by me own hand will ever blut out dhe score.” He, too, was assured that he should have the revenge he desired. CHAPTER XXI, SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE, THERE was more to be told, and as soon as tic gah quiet was had, Prince Richard re- sumed, ‘*The Right Bower was the first we detected,” he continued, ‘‘ Watching him, we ere long made sure of our man in Sparkler, the Sport, After that it was tat Satehdg ® ox ba sailing. ‘*We knew that Barney and Timball were un- der close watch, then, and that all they wanted was the proof that Timball was myself. lt was our aim to give them that proof, They, Timball and Barney, walked out by yon shanty of even- ings, and there held conversations that it would puzzle a professor in lan es to have made anything out of. It was simply meaningless, But in it, somewhere, Barney would address Mr, Timball as ‘ Dick,’ and then would follow words calculated to confirm the listeners in the sus- picions they had. “ And Rin: will want to know something about the Rhos y sky-pictures that have been seen—” “Yes! Yes! How was them ‘ar done?” “ Simply e ptican work. The dense fox serving the purpose of the necessary reflector. Mary Warne here painted the scene, and Mr. Timball’s ingenuity did tho rest. In fact, it was he who pro it. It was jag M done, aud helped us in more ways than one. It is needless for me to tell you that when Sparkler appeared upon the scene, buttoning his coat and vest as though he had just gof up, it was alla sham. He had not yet been in bed on either oc- casion. All that I have said of his skill and craftiness does not do him justice. He is a foe- ‘steel, and one whom it would It was only a few days ago that. “But, I must push on with the little more that remains to be told. Need I tell you that, with a score of men, and these two faithful women, we spent several long and weary nights out of doors, within a stone’s throw of the shanty occupied by Timball and Barney? We knew that did my decoy work as we desired, the life of Timball would be attempted. Knew that he would be lured from his shanty, taken off into the hills, and there quietly murdered. We must be prepared for that move, and be on hand to checkmate it when it came to be made. Last night—rather this morning, it was attempted, The rascals came tothe sbanty, knocked, told Timball that he was wanted at the mine, and then the man who had knocked pretended to go away. The moment Timball opened the door he was made @ prisoner, ** Barney eprung out immediately toalarm us, but we were already on hand, and at the cabin. No barm could have come to Timball, unless they shot him down at once, and it was not at all likely they would do that, They pressed him into the shanty, were there some minutes, and when they reappeared we were ready to capture them, and capture them we did, It was about as clever a piece of work as we ever had a band in, And now they are prisoners in the mine, six vf them, and their escape is impossi- ble. I shall not again be cheated out of my re- venge, for there is no friend to aid the arch devil this time. This woman whv would have willingly laid down her life for him, has at last come to see bim as the monster that he is, and he has no more bitter foe in me, scarcely,” ‘“‘ That is true,” Pearl Mayne declared, fiercely. ‘* Should Dick Darrel fail in taking his life, then by my hand he dies,” ‘*Or by mine!” added Mary Warne. And certainly they bad cause enough against him, as the reader of the previous stories must admit, : There was little more to be told, and Dick hastened to the end. The points were brought out in full, and everything made clear; and in- tense—more than intense—was the interest, ‘* An’ now for ther endin’, cried Big-foot Brown, almost beside himself. ‘‘I never seen sich a rousin’ time as this hyar, by calibers! An’ ther rcusin’est part of it is yet ter foller, Great calibers! Trot that p’izen snake out byar, Dand Dick, an’ jest most everlastin’ly bore him wit yer bowie! Ain’t that ther talk, feller sinners an’ galoots in general? Yer shell bev it out with ther cuss, an’ hyar’s what sez so! I’m Mayor of} Rough-an’-Tumble, aw’ my word is law, One prolonged yell of approval greeted this. Dick motioned the crowd to silence as speedily as he could, “Once more I want your piediget word, men of Rough-an’-Tumpble,” he said. ‘* An’ yer has it! Yas! Yas! Yer kin have ther cuss all to yerself, an’ do with him as yer wants to!” “You promiae me, then, that not one ef you will interfere. That he will let it be a fair fizht to the end’ even though it be against me,” ENot aman in all the crowd but pledged him- self to that condition. ‘ “Very well, then,” spoke Dick. “We will bring the fellows out here, and you may do with | four of them as you will. The other two, Craig Morgan and Owen Maron, we intend to fight to the death.” “That’s it! Trot ’em out! Let ther sarcus begin! Whoop! You is ther man on wheels! You is good fer him!” ) Hundreds of such exclamations, and it was quite a time before the mayor could make bim- self beard to say a few words, He ordered the crowd to remain there while Dick and his party went for the prisoners, and it was With weapons in kand that he gave the order. hi Dick, Barney, Timball, and their picked men, set out for the mine, for the purpose of bringing the prisoners forth. : i “Well, Barney,” Dick remarked, ‘ this is to be the ending of a long, bard and trying fight.” viele 's | .. : Barney, “ An’ may God an’ dhe roight be wid us,” “Amen! to arte Yes, this is the ending scene, for there has been no possible escape this time, nor will there be, We have guarded too well. Ah! how I will delight in working out the fury of my hate upon the teh.” “An! d Q, BOT No a ee ne i Fa teas Wee J wre e divil help him when wanst ye do said F A (4 ey pushed forward with haste, and ina = short time the score or more of men, allarmed, =— soar eltgl an ood on inthe direction ; place where the prisoners were. EOE” . 2
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Dandy Dick’s Decoy. 15 ro stfong fellows, who held the entrance to the traverse tunnel that led to the com where the ~ rascals were bound; and they had but one report to make—that everything was all right and the prisoners safe. How could 1t well be otherwise? They went on, now with torches to light their way, i a little distance more brought them to the end. And there on the floor Jay the prisoners, as they had been left, bound and helpless, But of a sudden, and with a ery, Dick Darrel, who is in \¢ advance, springs forward, : Then, with a groan, he lets fall his torch and sinks back against the wall of the tunnel, over- : come, Qneof the prisoners is a woman—a wo- { man bound and gagged; and Craig Morgan, his \ hated foe, ts gone! The others, close behind, spring forward to his side, i “Phwat is it?” cries Barney, / ““ Cheated again,” answers Dick. ‘‘Oh! mer- $2 ciful heavens! am I never to have the revenge . that is justly mine?” : : A sob escapes his breast, and tears dim_ his ry eyes, And who can wonder? It was enough to ? break the heart of the strongest man, It wasa bitter—more than bitter disappointment. The others stood silent, struck dumb withawe —if it was that. But Dandy Dick soon roused up. Grabbing his torch, he turned to look at the f face of the woman. A cry escaped him. Turn- Ms ing her toward him, he saw—the face of Gulnare : Montrose! It was she who had baffled him! | ‘Curses on you!” he cried. ‘“ Why did you ‘* We ought to let the men outside get to the house first, so if we rum the ratout of his hole they can be ready for him.” ‘* They will be there as soon as we, so come on —don’t stop another moment. I am eager to see the wretch taken. I could see him hanged and never shudder. Come, for I am going.” Snatching a torch from the hand of one who stood near her, she started down into the dismal darkness, and Dick and the otbers followed, It was a last hope—a least hope, There was just the bare possibility that the man had not yet made his escape at the other end of the tun- nel, and if not—well, it would mean death for mine, an’ dhat here and now, Come on, ye, spalpeen And while talking he had cut the cords that bound bis foe, ““You had better let the men hang bim, and not risk your life,” urged Dick. i ‘*Never a toime!” Barney cried. ‘Would 2 you do dhat same? Begorra, but Oi am av dhe P. moind ye wouldn’t.” And Dick knew only too well that be would - pal ot. He saw that Barney was right in what he de- manded, and putting himself in his place under — \ like circumstances, handed a knife to the young i Irishman’s foe. Owen Maron grasped the knife with a feelin ; of despair, evidently, and for a moment stoo on on the defensive, but the next instant he () pine Ga the weapon and faced hisfenemy with- = =— out t. a ‘ No,” he muttered, ‘‘killme, I deserveit,” = ‘* Dhat same Oi will,an ye don’t defend yer- sel’,” Barney sternly declared, advancing with , his knife raised and reedy, 14 Perhaps it was the glittering blade that made ay the villain change his mind. Anyhow, change it he did, and stooping he picked up the knife be rae had dropped and the two men sprung at each 4 other, | bs Dandy Dick moved near, and stood readyto —— render instant assistance, incase Barney should get the worst of it, or there appeared danger that he would. Never would’Dick allow him to be killed if he could prevent. Still, he knew the satisfaction it would be to Barney toslay his foe with his own hand, For a few moments the struggle was hard and furious, Back and forth they bent, turning this way and that in their desperate effort for the mas- tery, and each with the determination that the other should die by his hand, It was a fearful thing to witness. \ Suddenly the knife-hand of one man flew free ~—ib was that of the outlaw! . Dandy Dick sprung to intercept the blow that tia he knew must follow, but his aid was not need-. “a ed. With a sudden turn Barney had thrown Re, oe for the moment out of reach of the | ade, At that same moment, too, his own band was Pak’ torn from the other’s grasp, and now the deci- 7 sive moment was at hand. Both knives were ‘ free, and flashing in the light,and it only re-. mained for the favorable opportunity for one of ie them—perhaps both—to dip deep in blood. ; i? There was a pause of a second, and then—then the end, The struggle wes short, sharp and = fierce, Suddenly there came a half-scream and) ng hare and one of the men fell, piereed to the Cat ear A, him. The girl guide was well acquainted with the way, evidently, and pushed forward ata rapid pace, flashing her light at every turn, edger to find the man whose bitter enemy she now was. Pend at an abrupt bend, a groan escaped her lips, ** The door!” she ga . ‘What door? hat about a door?’ asked Dick. Even while speaking he had advanced far enough to see for himself, Just ahead a heavy door barred the tuunel, and from the girl's manner it, was plain thatyshe believed it fastened, Springing forward, Dick hurled himself against it, only to find that it was almost as solid as the rock itself, ‘* We must break it!” he cried. ‘* Come, men, all together, and we shall carry it off its hinges!” He stepped back a pace, and then with two others dassed forward again. The shock made the door tremble and creak, and without any delay the blow was repeated, and again and again. Finally the door splintered in the center, and then of a sudden it gave way and Dick and the Seay pushed through, torches and weapons in and, From that point the tunnel was no longer a part of the mine, and was straight and narrow, and as far ahead as could beseen there was noth- ing that had the appearance of a human form. *Come, now we can run,” cried the girl guide, and once more taking the lead she bounded along through the passage with the speed of a deer, Ina brief time the tunnel ended ina cellar, and worn the girl stopped and flashed her torch around, The outlaw was not there, That he bad made good his escape was clearly evident, The girl led the way up the steps that ran from the cellar to the kitchen ofjjthe cottage, Dick following right after her, and as she threw open the door an unexpected sight met their gaze, | On the floor, and bound, lay the woman ser- vant of the family, having been deprived of her oo Zs do this thing?” t He freed ber so that she could speak. 4 ‘« Because was a poor, blind fool,” she respond- ed, weakly, ‘* {loved the man— No, was fascin- 5 ated by him, and I could not believe him guilty. | As soon as I knew he was here, I came to him, through the secret tunnel from the house. I re- 4 \ moved the gag from bis lips, that he might talk, at He told me it was all a terrible mistake, and that I alone could save him. That if I did not free him, his blood would be upon my head. He swore his love for me, But, bah! I shudder now at the thought. I cut his bonds, when, quick as be a tiger, he turned upon me, gagged and bound | me, and in a moment more was gone. Fool— - fool that I was!” “Yes, fool indeed!” cried Dick. ‘‘ But how was it he did nct free the rest of them?” “He laughed at them all, telling them they had served his ends as far as they ever could, . and said he would leave them to their fate.” 4 Was there any limit to the diabolical de- pravity of this human devil? , CHAPTER XXII. , ferent = i drese, ; Pate It Shae Barney O'Linn by rose es paren “> ve) _ Tae guardsman had followed in and stood It but tbe work of a minute to release “*Me revenge is ha 6 panted. ‘‘ Now, is cpecshlea. They had not heard a single suo-| her, when ehe bounded to her feet, looking odd | Dick Darrel, Oi am devoted to you to dhe end for your own.” ag ‘One less, Barney, and [ congratulate you,” giving bis band,’ : 2) yal “'Yis, and may your turn soon come,” he « “Tt will come some day, never fear.. Craig — Morgan shall die by my hand, if life is sparen | me to hunt down the monster!” Oe A The body was taken up and carried out, the prisoners being taken along at the same time, rif’ No time was lost, then, in getting back tothe place where the eager crowd wasimpatiently awaiting their coming. eae Needless to say the disappointment was great when it was made known thatthe chiefof the | rascals was missing. The crowd went wild, et It required all the best cfforts of Dandy Dick and the others to prevent harm beingdoneto the girl who had freed him. She bad wisely = put herself out of sight, : Tine The other outlaws were pron disposed of, and, with Owen Maron, were all buried in one common grave. It had been a bitter disap- — pointment for the two women, but they pled, themselves to Dandy Dick anew for ano oteeeie. Gs For two days the excitement in the camp (ry tinued, and it was with cup a parallel In the 4 | picious sound. But the explanation given by the x, girl was enough to reveal everything. . “Well, the impossible has bp ini - Dick Darrel sighed after a moment of silence. * But,” rousing up quickly, “is it too late? May we not » bath ture the fiend before he gets away! How one nee he Jeft you here, woman! ith the last question he turned abruptly pon e ; “It is more than an hour—yes, it is nearly ; two hours fance was the reply. “Come! we ee We, tisroa .in the mi at your house pe “Was the Way Open for him to get out, think pf Fonte may etre: ay not, Don’t let us ° E w i i “ jane ment,” ick chech meee ou enough in ber short skirts. ‘‘ Dhe murtherin’ villain!” she screamed. “Which way did he go?” demanded Dick. She pointed to the door, and it was enough. To search for him further would be folly. t was clear that he had made his escape. ®@ woman quickly explained how it had hap- pened. She was at work in the kitchen, when suddenly the door leading to the cellar was opened and a man sprung upon her. He threat- ened her life if she made a noise of any kind. _ Seizing her, with a strength she could not re- sist, he gagged her, and before she was aware of what he intended, had stripped off her dress, quickly binding her hands and feet immediately after. And then, with all haste, he put the dress on himself, and throwing a shaw! over his head, went out. It was more at length in the telling, but the facts were simple, and with asigh Dick descend- ed again to the tunnel and retraced his steps to the point where he had left Barney and the pris- rs °PTho others followed, together with the nien 4 gone around, one of the men havix fii ths door to them at the heahe, 3 “Dia the villain escape?" asked Barney, as soon as Dick appeared. Thal : u _ ‘ >a cottage in all haste. Do you under- , + Yes, yes" Wis ths response, and the direc. tions were carried ¢ men quickly 9) Gor themcelves whion fitte would do,» “eeting he “Masther Dick,” snoko Barney, “ye w “Yes, he has made good his escape, Barney,” | camp’s history. Finally it quieted, and Dick ee me stay ere @nd kapé me eye on so was me. arswer. “We have our work to do 4 La Beanery. Mary nino antl Pearl bey 7) 1 ee vna Dick. “Aga | over oR, 2, shell Deein Spother tare af | Ok tle eave ater © romag ne bad 3 4 ” i . A) ; 1 a ea ‘ ; A tam “ see thy wy, fn does 7 one? erie nd} once, Never will [give up g The rough camp was . can stop me.” Fa cs, st t is sorry enou h Oi am dbat he got ‘is it to the end of Olan not to be ch’ated out av me own revenge . _ | dhis toime. And Oi will not put it off a single - | minute, aythur, but Oi’ll have it here and now, ve dh ‘villain a knife, some wan, and let bim ; t me, By the eeatnoy ts hig. tao noe it ca egd | i estab ad one ques te) edly. *
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Published Every Tuesday. Each Issue Co BEADLES*H ALF-DIME*T IBRARY. BY EDWARD L. WHEELER. Deadwood Dick Novels. 1 Deadwood 20 Deadwood 25% Deadwood $5 Deadwood 42 Deadwood 49 Deadwood 57 Deadwood 78 Deadwood 77 Deadwood 100 Deadwood 104 Deadwood 109 Deadwood 129 Deadwood 188 Deadwood 149 Deadwood 156 Deadwood 195 Deadwood 201 Deadwood 205 Deadwood 217 Deadwood 221 Deadwood 282 Gold-Duat 68 Deadwood 268 Deadwood 809 Deadwood B21 Deadwood 847 Deadwood 851 Deadwood B62 Deadwood 405 Deadwood 410 Deadwood 421 Deadwood 480 Deadwood 448 Deadwood 445 Deadwood 458 Deadwood 459 Deadwood 465 Deadwood 471 Deadwood 476 Deadwood 451 Deadwood 49L Deadwood 496 Deadwood 500 Deadwood 508 Deadwood 515 Deadwood 522 Deadwood 529 Veadwooa 584 Deadwood 589 Deadwood 544 Deadwood 549 Deadwooa B54 Deadwood 561 Deadwood 567 Deadwood 572 Deadwood 578 Deadwood 584 Deadwooa 590 Veadwood 505 Deadwood €00 Deadwood 606 Deadwood 612 Deadwood G18 Deadwood 624 Deadwood 680 Deadwood 686 Deadwood 642 Deadwood 648 Deadwood 654 Deadwood 660 Dendwood 666 Deadwood 6723 Deadwood 678 Deadwood I 684 Deadwood 690 Deadwood 695 Deadwood 700 Deadwood Dick, the Prince of the Road. Dick’s Deltiance; or, Double Daggers. Dick in Disguise; or, Bulfals Ben. Dick In His Castle. Dick’s Bonanzay or, The Phantom Miner. Dick In Danger; or, Omana Oll, Dick’s Eagles; or, The Pards of Flood Bar. Dick on Deck; or, Calamity 2 ne, the Heroine Dick’s Last Acts or, Corduroy Charlie, Dick in Leadville, Diek’a Device; or, The Double Cross Sign. Dick as Detective. Dick’s Double; or, The Gorgon’s Gulch Ghost. Dick’s Llome Hase}; or, Blonds Bill. Dick’s Big Strike; or, A Game of Gold. Dick of Deadwood: or, The Picked Party. Dick’a Dreamy or, The Rivals of the Road, Dick’s Ward; or, The Black Hill’s Jezebel. Dick’a Doom: or, Calamity Jane’s Adventure, Dick’a Dead Deal. Dick’s Death-Plant. Dick. A Romance of Roughs and Tougbs, Dick’s Divide; or, The Spirit of Swamp Lake. Dick's Death Trail, Dick’s Deals or, The Gold Brick of Oregon. Diek’s Dozen; or, The Fakir of Phantom Flats Pick’a Wucata; or, Days in the Diggings, Wick Sentenced; or, The Terrible Vendetta, Dick’s Claim. Dick in Dead Clty. Yick’s Dinmonds. Dick in New Yorks or, A “Cute Case,” Dick’s Dust; or, The Chained Hand. Pick, Jr; or, The Crimson Crescent Sign, Diek, Jr.’a, Deflance. Dick, Jr4 Full Hand. Dick; Jr.’a, Big Round-Up. Dick Jr«a Racket at Claim 10, Dick, Jr.’a Corraly or, Bozeman BIll. Dick, Jr.’*# Dog Detective, Dick, Jr.» In Deadwood, Dick, Jr.'s, Compact. Dick Jr.’s, Inheritance, Dick, Jr.’s Diggings, Dick, Jr.’*, Deliverance, Dick Jr.'s Protegee. Dick, Jrvs, Three. Dick, Jr.’a, Danger Ducks, Dick, Jr.’s Death Hunt. Dick, drs, in Texas. Dick, Jr., the Wild West Vidocg Inch, Jr., on Mia Mettle. Dick, Jr., in Gotham, Dick, Jr., in Boagon, Dick, Jr., in Philadetphia. Dick, Jr., in Chicago. Dick. Jr.. Afloat. Dick. wr.. In Denver. Dick, Jr.’ Decree, Dick Jr, in Beelzebub’s Basin, Dick Jr., at Coney Island. Dick, Jv.’ Leadville Lay. Diek, Jr., in Detroit. Dick. Jr. in Cincinuattl. Dick, Jr., in Nevada. Dick, Jr.5 in No Man’as Land, dick, Jr., After the Queer. Vek. Jr.e In Buffalo. Dick, Jr.’a, Chase Acroas the Continent Dick, Jr... Among thé Smugglers. Diek, Jr.’s, Insurance Case, Dick, Jr., Rack in the Mines, k, dr.» tn Durango; or, ‘ Gathered In.” Nek, Jr.’a Diacovery; or, Found a Fortane, Dick, Jr.’s. Dazzle. Dick, Jr.’s. Dollara, Jr., at Danger Divide, Dick, Jr.’s, Drop. —_ - & - TOA Deadwood Dick, Jr., at Jack-Pot. Deadwood Dick Irs, in San Francisco, 716 Deadwood Dick, Jra Still Hunt. %22 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s Dominoes, 728 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s Disgulse 784 Deadwood Dick. Jr.’4, Double Deal, 740 Deadwood Dick Jr.’s, Deathwatch, Deadwood Dick Jr.’s, Doublet. 752 Deadwood Dick Jr.'s, Deathblow, 75S Dendwood Dick, Jr.’s Desperate Strait, 764 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Lone Hand, 270 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’« Defeat. 776 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’a, Resurrection, TS2 Deadwooa Dick. Jr Dark Days. Deadwood Dick Jr. Defied. 792 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Double Device. 797 Deadwood Dick, Jr’.«, Desperate Venture, © 802 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’#, Diamond Dice, 807 Deadwood Dick Jr.’s, Royal Flush, 812 Deadwood Dick, Jria Hend-off, 816 Deadwood Diek, Jr.’a, Rival. Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Boom, 828 Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Scoop. 884 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’«, Proxy, 840 Deadwood Vick, Jr’a, Clutch, 845 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, High Worse, 852 Deadwood Dick Jr., at Devil's Gulch. 858 pose voce del > "Hy enre-stale Muastie end woo ck, Jr.’s Bombshell. 870 Deadwood ‘¢, or., In Mexico. 876 Deadwood Dick, Jr’s Decoy Duck. 842 Deadwood Jr. In Silyer Pocket. Sek Peadweod hha PERS Pere, Sane end woo JrJa, Double Drive. 904 Deadwood Dick, Jr/a, Trade-Mark. 910 Deadwood Dick, Jr., at Tip-Top. 916 Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s Double-Decker. 928 Deadwood Dick, Jr. at Dollarville. 984 Deadwood Dick, Jr... at Flush Flats, 940 Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Shake-up, 946 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’«, Double Drops 951 Dendwood Dick, Jr.’a, Right Bower. 957 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Ten-Strike. 965 Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Gold-Dust. 971 Deadwood Dick Jr.’a, Oath, O77 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’# Death-Doom, 986 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Beat Card, 992 Deadwood Dick, Jr., at_ Gold Dust. 998 Deadweod Dick, Jr.’s, Big Play. 1005 Deadwood Dick, Jr., Branded. 1011 Deadwo 4D ck, Jr.’s. Dutch Pard, 1018 Deadwood Dic ., J».’s, Big Four. BY ROBERT R. INMAN, 1086 Pandy Dick’s Pouble. 1024 Dandy Dick, Detective. BY MARCUS H. WARING, 1026 The Three Spotter*. 1048 The Street Spotters’ Weird Hunt. 1058 The Three Spotters’ Dead Mystery. t Other Novels by E. L. Wheeler. 80 Rosebud Rob; or, Nugget Ned, the Knight. 84 Rosebud Rob on Hand; or, Idy), the Girl Miner. 88 Rosebud Rob’s Reappearance; or, Photograph Phil. 121 Rosebud Rob's Challenge; or, Cinnamon Chip. 277 Denver Doll, the Detective Queen; or, The Yankee’s Surround 281 Denver Doll's Victory; or, Skull and Crossbones, 255 Denver Doll’ Decoy ; or. Little BIIll’s Bonanza, 296 Denver Doll’s Drift; or. The Road Queen. 868 Yreka Jim, the Gold-Gatherer; or, The Life Lottery, 8T2 Yreka Jim’s Prize; or, The Wolves of Wake-Up, B85 Yreka Jim’s Joker} or, The Rivals of Red Nese, 894 Yreka Jim of Yuba Dam. 209 Fritz, the Bound-Boy Detective; or, Dot Leetle Game, 218 Fritz to the Front; or, The Ventriloquist Hunter 244 Sierra Sam, tho Frontier Ferret; or, A Sister's Devotion, 245 Sierra Sam Secret: or, The Bloody Footprints, 258 Sterrn Sam’s Pardy or, The Angel of Big Vista, 258 Sierra Sain’s Sevens or, The Stolen Bride. 884 Kangaroo Kit; or, The Mysterious Miner. 889 Kangaroo Kit’s Racket; or, The Pride of Played-Ont, 89 Death-Face, Detective; or, Life in New York. 96 Watch-Eye, the Detective; or, Arabs and Angels, 117 Gilt-Edged Dick, the Sport Detective 145 Captain Ferret, the New York Dutective. 161 New York Nell, the Boy-Girl Detective. 226 The Arab Detective ; or, Snoozer, the Boy Sharp. 291 Turk the Boy Ferret. 825 Kelley, Mickey & Wo., the Detectives of Philadelphia, 848 Manhattan Mike, the Bowery Detective, 400 Wrinklea, the Night-Watch Detective, 416 igh Hat Marry, the Base Ball Detective, 426 Bam Slabaides, the Beggar-Boy Detective, 434 Jim Beak and Pal, Private Detectives. 26 Cloven Hoof, the Buffalo Demon; or, The Border Vultures, 82 Bob Woolf; or, The Girl Dead-Shot. 45 Old Avalanche ; or, Wild Edna, the Girl Brigand. 58 Jim Bludsoe, Jr., the Boy Phenix. 61 Buckhorn Bill; or, The Red Rifle Team 92 Canada Chet; or, Old Anaconda in Sitting Bull’s-Camp. 118 Jack Hoyle the Young Speculator. 125 Bonanza Bill, Miner; or, Madam Mystery, the Forger, 188 Bossa Bob the King of Bootblacks. 141 Solid Sam, the Boy Road-Agent; or, The Branded Brows, 177 Nobby Nick of Nevada; or, The Sierras Scamps. 181 Wild Frank the Buckskin Bravo; or, Lady Lily’s Love. 286 Apollo Bill, the Trail Tornado; or, Rowdy Kate. 240 Cyclone Kit, the Young G)adiator; or, The Locked Valley, 278 Jumbo Joe, the Boy Patro); or, The Rival Heirs, 880 Little Quick-Shot 3 or, The Doad Face of Daggeraville, 858 First-Class Fred, the Gent trom Gopher. 878 Nabob Nedy¢ or, The Secret of Slab City. BS2 Cool Kit, the King of Kids; or, A Villain’s Vengeance, 488 Santa Fe Sal, the Slasher; or, A Son’s Vengeance, 486 Sealakin Sam, the Sparkler; or The Tribuna) of ‘Ten. 918 Kit Keith, t ¢ Revenue Spotter. $22 Sol Sharpe, the New_York Night-lHawk. 948 Old Hayseed Among Bunco Men, 1001 Banty, the Denver Bootblack. BY J. C. COWDRICK, 490 Broadway Billy, the Bootblack Bravo. 614 Broadway Billy’s Boodle; or, Clearing aStrange Case, 586 Rroadway Billy’s ‘ Ditikilty.” 657 Broadway Billy’s Peath Racket. Ce 579 Broadway 605 Rroadway 628 Kroadway 669 Broadway Billy’s Surprise Party. Billy; or, The ®-~ Detective’s Big Inning. Billy’s Dea. et; or, The League of Seven. Billy Abroad; or, The Bootblack in Frisco. 675 Broadway Billy’s Beats or, Beating San Francisco's Finest, 687 Broadway 696 Broadway 708 Broadway 711 Broadway 720 Broadway 785 Broadway 78S Broadway 758 Broadway 762 Broadway Billy in Clover. Billy in Texas; or, The River Rustlers. Billy’s Brand, Billy at Santa Fe; or, The Clever Deal, Billy’s E'ull Wands or, The Gamin Detective, Billy’a Business, Billy’a Curloua Case, Billy in Denver, Billy’s Bargain; or, The Three Detective, 769 Broadway 55 Broadway 788 Broadway 786 Broadway 790 Broadway 796 Broadway 800 Broadway 805 Broadway Billy’s Stgnal Scoop. 810 Broadway Billy’« Wipe Out. 815 Broadway Billy’s Bank Racket. 821 Broadway Billy’s Bluff. . 826 Broadway Billy Among Jersey Thugs. S88 Broadway Billy’a Rald. 889 Broadway Billy’« Big Boom. 844 Broadway Billy’« Big Bulge. 849 Broadway Billy’s #100,000 Snap. 856 Brondway Billy’s Blind; or, The Bootblack Stowaway. 862 Brondway Billy in London. 868 Broadway Billy Shadows London Slums. 874 Broalway Billy’s French Game. 880 roadway Billy and the Bomb-Throwers. 860 Sllver-Mask, the Man of Mystery; or, The Golden Keys, 869 Shaata, the Gold King or, For Seven Years Dead, 420 The Detective’s Apprentice; or, A Boy Without a Name, 424 Cibuta Jonny; or, Red-Hot Times at Ante Bar, 489 Sandy Sam, the Street Scout. 467 Disco Dan, the Daisy Dude 606 Redlight Ralph. the Prince of the Road. 524 The Eaginest Detective; or, Redlight Ralph’s Resolve 648 Mart, the Night Express Detective. 671 Air-Line Luke the Young Engineer; or, The Double Case 5692 rhe Boy Pinkerton; or, Running the Rascals Ont. 615 Fighting Marry the Chief of Chained Cyclone, 640 Bareback RPeth, the Centaur of the Circle, 647 Tynvewrlter Tilly the Merchant’s Ward. 659 Moonlight Morgan the*' Pizenest ” Man of Ante Bas, S87 Battery Bob. the Dock Detective. 894 Arizona Dick’s W ipe-Out. 900 Jumping Jack’s Jubilee. 906 Satety Sams the Cyele Sport. 912 Train Boy Trist’s Wot Uustle, 918 The Trump Dock-Boy, 924 Big Boots Bob, the Fire-Laddle. 980 Kuatler Ralph, the Boy. Spotter. 085 The Ex-Newsboy Detective’s Cham. 941 The Bowling Green Detective’s Drop. 944 Cowboy Charlle’s Double, “ 947 The Bowery W reatler; or, The Butcher-Boy’s Backer. 958 Paddy’s Trump Card; or, Silver Sallie, the Girl Sport, 960 The Rroadway. Sport; or, Fiver Fred’s Clear Case. 967 #1000 Reward; or, The Rival Reporters’ Sleek Scoop. 978 Bantam Blily, the Corker-Ferret. 978 Pluekv Pat. the Street-Roy Detective. 989 Bieyele Bob’s Hot Scorch, 997 Becorcwer Sam, the Detective on Wheels. 1004 Scorcher Sam’s Sweep-Stake «. 1009 ‘tse Girl Oy cliy.’s W.nning Hand, Billy, the Retriever Detective. Billy's Ghadew Cnase. riod Queet englens; or @ Trio’s Quest, rity the Combine’s Big Pull, BY ARIZONA CY. Vou Ret Bob from Crosa Crick. 88 You Bet Bob’s Cireua, BY COL. PRENTISS INGRAHAM, 1052 Buffale Billin Hisguixe. 1046 Goid Plume, the Boy Bandit, or, Buffalo Bill, the Pon) Express Rider. 1042 Little Grit, the Pony Express Rider, 1040 Buffalo BILVs Pony Patrol. 1018 Butfalo BUPs Texas Team, 1007 Buffalo Bill's Sure-Shots. 1000 Buffalo Bila Decoy Boya. 995 Buffalo Bills Drop; or, Dead-Shot Ned , the Kansas Kid P88 Bulfalo Bill's Lasso Throwers. 981 Buffalo BID s Fighting Five. 975 Buffalo Bill's Kifle Shota. 968 Buffalo Bill's Kush Ride; or, Sure-Shot, the High-Blyer, 964 Buffalo Bill’s Decoy: or, The Arizona Crack Shot 955 Buffalo Bill's Maz a-Chane, 948 Buffalo BIL’s Snap-Shot 3 or, Wild Kid’s Texan Tally 942 Buffalo Bill’s Tough Tussle, 986 Buffalo Bills Boy Mascot; or, Joe Jarvis’ Hold-up. 929 Buffalo Bila Crack-shot Pard. 650 Buffalo BUDPs Boy Pard; or; Butterfly Billy, 216 Isison BAL, the Prince of the Reins. 4 222 Bison Bill’s Clue: or. Grit, the Bravo Sport. BY BUFFALO BILL. 55 Deadly-Eye, the Unknown Scout; or, The Banded Brotherhood 68 Border Robin Hood; or, The Prairie Rover. } 158 Faney Frank of Colorado; or, The Trapper’s Trust, 1029 The Phantom Spy. 1088 Kansas Kings or, The Red Right Hand. BY CAPT, ALFRED B. TAYLOR, U. 8. A. 191 Buffalo Billy, the Boy Bullwhacker. 194 Buffalo Bill’s Bet; or, The Gambler Guide. BY COL. PRENTISS INGRAHAM, 1087 The Artist Detective, 1084 The Gold Witch’s Shadower. 1081 The Texan Hustlers in Cuba. 1027 The Cowboy Raiders in Cuba 1025 The Flying \ ankee or, The Ocean Outcast, 1028 The Cowboy Clan in Cuha. 1016 The Boy Bugler in Cuba. 1% ~ 982 New York Nat’s Drop: or, Ex-Ferret 8ykes’ Bold Game 926 New York Nat and the Traitor Ferret. 920 New York Nat Trapped. ¢ 914 New York Nat's Three of a Kind. 908 New York Nat’s Double. 902 New York Nat’a tn Colorado. 896 New York Nat in Gold Nugget Camp. S89 New York Nat’s Deadly Deal, 888 New York Nat’s Crook-Chase. S77 New York Nat’s Trump Card, New York Nat and the Grave Ghouls, 865 New York Nat’s Masked Mascot. 859 New York Nat, the Gamin Detective. 858 Dick Doom’s Kidnapper Knock-Out. 847 Dick Doow’s Ten Strike. 842 Dick Doom’s Flush Hand, ’ 272 Dick Doom’s Death-Grip; or, The Detective by Destiny, V7 Dick Doom’s Peatinys or, The River Blackleg’s Terror.” | 784 Dick Doom; or, The Sharps and Sharks of New York, 288 Dick Doom in Boston; or, A Man of Many Masks, 798 Dick Doom tn Chicago, 298 Dick Doom in the Wild West. _ 808 Dick Doom’s Clean Sweep; or, Five Links in a Clue, 808 Dick Doom’sa Death Clue, : S18 Dick Doom’s Diamond Deal. 819 Dick Doom’s Girl Mascot. 829 Dick Doom’s Shadow Hunt. 885 Dick Doom’s Big Maul. 3 749 Dashing Charlie; or, The Kentucky Tenderfoot’s First Tratig 756 Dashing Charlic’s Destiny; or, The Renegade’s Captives. 760 Dashing Charlie’a Pawnee Pard. 766 Dashing Charlie, the Rescuer. 497 Buck Taylor, King ot the Cowboys. 7BT Buck Taylor, the Comanche’s Captive. 748 Buck Taylor's Boys; ot, The Red Riders of the Rio Grande, Ana Fifty Others, BY LIEUT. A. K. SIMS. © ydy or, The Dead Set at Silver City. +4 pom-Cat ane stene vb The Affuir at ‘T ombatone, 681 Tom Cat’s Terrible Task; °, The Cowbo Detective 688 Tom-Cat’s Triumph} or, Black Dan’s Great ~ ombine. 546 Captain Cactus, the haparral Cock; or, Josh’s Ten Strike, 568 The Dandy of Dodge: or, Rustling for Millions. 5?6 The Silver Sport: = aaNet maa he Man With a Shadow oo +e ee Let the Dutch Vidoeg; or, Hot Timesat Round-Up 611 Bil aS Barnacle, the Detective Hercules. G46 Cowboy ld, the Cattle-Range Detective. 657 Warbling William the Mountain Mountebank, 665 Jolly Joremiah» a vee -“atathe he Lookout Scout. éao ie A Agr SA Spy: or, The Mystery of Two Lives, » 699 Birnple Sim, the Broncho Buster: or, For Big Stakes. 712 The Meamerfat Sport; or, The Mystified Detective. 288 Toltec Tom, the Mad Prospector, & Kansas Jim the Cross-Cut Detective. w4 e 61 Marmaduke, the Mustanger Detective. eR The Rustler of Rolling Stone, 75 Lone Hand Jee ‘the Committee of One, 801 Kent Kirby, the High-Kicker from Killbuck. 882 The Doctor Dete ctive in Texan, Itetectiver In Colo — - rado. 72 Two Showmen Billy’s SnapShot, ) 8 987 The Texan Firebrand: or, Brazos 961 The Tramp’s Trump-Trick. NEW ISSUES. 64 Dandy Dick Decoyed. By Robert R. Inman: bead Rure Shot Seth, he Boy Rifleman. By Ou ¢ ob eF 1066 Co boy Chris, the Des rt Centaur, Ry W.W. re, 1067 Vou Ret Bob's Jangle. By, Arizona Cy, i 1068 The Cruise of the Bea Wo'f, By Col, Tngraham. 1069 On Land and fea. By Bracebiidge Hemyre i), 1070 Nat Todd; or, The Fate of tue Sionx Captive. | By Ellis. 1071 Dandy Dick's Decoys By Robt, RyInmane, 107% Keen Enife, Prince of the Prajries. By Olt Coomes. JUST ISSUED. dS ta Redskin Ruse. By Col. P. Ingraham eee fied Bev caste in Cinnabar, By. W a . Wilder. 1057 Gold Hifle, the Sharpshooter. By Ed. L, Wheeler, “ 2ove oT, J Flanagan 1058 Roderick, the Kover. me Wexas Jack b9 Ned Wylde, the Bog Scout. r Texa 1060 haat the Renegade. By © oH arava Ingraham. 1061 Silver Star, the Boy Knight. By Nd Coomes +s 1062 Tho Left-tland Athlete. By Rrscoltaes emyng. 1068 Wild Bill's Weird Foe, By Wm. G Patten. A New Issue Every Tuesday. ss £.Dime Library is for sale by all newsdealers, pa, bts or sent by mati on receipt o! aix cents each. “BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers, 92 William Street, New York, ~