Beadle's Half Dime Library (no. 773) (1892 05 17)

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Jalalallalallaly/ ® a - op ST TTL ma Za ~ i” A Prt WW UNG heats AW. OBR-Co | it Li a! | Entered as Second Class Matter at the New York. N. Y., Post Office. Copyrighted 1892, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, May 17, 1892, Ja) VW A} Of $2.50 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS. Price, ea | area “si sth pata No, 98 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK, 5 Cents. Vol, XXX, QW = aa : 7 Wag ee pe a ~\ ~ E = \ west > ‘ \ \ 5 x » \\ | \ v en \ Heme \. \ iN iW, ally t a ii Ai er Au | NWR d i, ei i wt The Opposition Boom at Lucky Ledge. The Romance of the Great Grizzly Bear Strike. BY LIEUT, A. K. SIMS, AUTHOR OF ‘‘ KANSAS Jim,” ‘“‘TOLTEC TOM,” ‘* COWBOY GID,” ‘‘ WARBLING WILLIAM,” ETC., ETC., ETC. ay CHAPTER I. STRANGELY REVEALED, ‘‘ LooK out there, Fee! He’s a-comin’ fer us!” The speaker placed a hand on the arm of his SSS Ee a | 4 FEVER OF EXCITEMENT GREW ON HIM AS HE CONTINUED HIS CLOSE SCRUTINY, THE companion and drew him hastily back. Before BEAR'S CAVE WAS LITERALLY SEAMED AND STARRED WITH GOLD, them was a clump of bushes near the margin of

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L$ The Rustler of Rolling Stone. a stream, and from out of these bushes a large grizzly bear had made a sudden and startling appearance, The bear was growling savagely; and, strange to say, there were flecks of bloody foam on his ponderous jaws, Fora moment he stood hesitating, swaying bis huge head slowly from side to side as if uncertain whether to risk an attack or beat a retreat. A growl deeper and more menacing than any that had preceded it called forth the exclamation. Felix Redmond, the man addressed as Fee, and universally Known as Red Fee, dropped a hand to bis pistol, undetermined what course to pursue, To accept the grizzly’s gauge of battle, armed as they were only with revolvers, seemed suicidal, A lu:ky shot might terminate the affair in their favor; but an unlucky one might so arouse the brute’s ire that their lives would pay the forfeit. Neither of the men were cowards, but they knew enough of the habits of “Old Eph” to un- derstand the peril they were in and to act with caution, Red Fee’s companion drew still further back, almost dragging Fee with him. “?Twon’t do to try bullets!” he nervously as- sumed. ‘‘If the critter’s willin’ to goits way, I’m willin’ to go mine,” Bruin evidently reconsidered his determination to fight, induced thereto no doubt by the re- treatof the men. Showing his teeth in another cavernous growl, be turned about and made his way deliberately toward the river, increasing his gait to an ambling trot as the distance grew betweeao him and his natural enemies, ‘“*T thought it was fight, fer a minute er two,” taking a deep breath of relief, as he looked at the retreating form of the bear. ‘I hain’t a-spilin’ fer a row under sich conditions—not [!” This companion of Red Fee was seemingly a tool rather than an equal, which was indicated more by his bearing toward his superior than by anything else. They resembled each other very much in general outward appearance, being clothed in the ordinary garb of western miners, of which the most conspicuous article is the inevitable red flannel shirt. There was, how- ever, one difference. Red Fee was “ bearded like the pard,” while the other, whose name was Curt Thomas, had a smoothly-shaven face, Red Fee paid no heed to his companion’s words. He was looking earnestly at the clump of bushes from which the bear had emerged, and a ques- tioning light shone in his eyes, ‘* What in Sam Hill is a grizzly doin’ that near to town?” he queried. ‘“ Answer me that, will ye” He glanced across the brow of the bill and over the rising ground to where, but a few hundred yards away, a group of rough shanties was visible. They represented the new mining camp of Lucky Ledge—a camp which Red Fee bad been instrumental in ushering into existence, It was the newest of the new camps in that re- gion;so new in fact that its builders and pro- moters had not had time to familiarizs them- selves with the peculiarities of the surrounding country. ‘* Lookin’ fer somebody to grub-stake him, meboe!” and Cart Thomas laughed at his own joke, ‘* A queer place fer a bear to come out of!” Red Fee continued, not heeding Thomas’s words. ‘* Shouldn’t think a grizzly would bide in a bunch of brush like that.” He stepped forward for the purpose of in- vestigating. The bear had disappeared from sigbt, and, they felt reasonably sure, would not return, ‘You got a good look at the beast?” to Thomas, who had obediently fallen in behind him. ‘‘ There was blood on his jaws, er my eyez fooled me, Tell me what that meant, will ye?” Thomas was inclined to nervous levity. ‘*T ‘low he’s been a-eatin’ up some o’ them raw Eytalians what you brought over yisterday frum Sunset City. I don’t think they’d know enough to git out o’ his way, There'll be a dead bear in these hills if he has, fer there’s dirt and garlic enough on one of ’em to p’izen an elephant!” Tney had reached the screen of bushes, Be- fore them they saw a passage like a game-trail, Still further enlarging this by pressing into it and bending back the obstructions, they made a discovery that drew from them low exclama- tions of astonishment. The bushy clump con- cealed the mouth of a cave! They halted, with words of wondering sur- prise, It was plain the bear had come froin this cave, ‘*Mebbe there’s another ’n’ in there!” Curt suggested, voicing the thought of both, ‘‘ Bears an’ lnjuns an’ rattlesnakes air li’ble to hunt in couples!” ‘*T intend to see what’s back there,” Red Fee nen» sen neee decided, impelled by intense curiosity. ‘If there’s another bear in there, likely the two have been at it, tooth and nail, and that'll accourt for the blood we saw.” He pushed the bushes still further aside, drew bis big revolver, and made a cautious advance, Curt crowding close at his heels, The opening was not so large but that they hud to stoop in passing through it. Just be- yond the entrance they were forced to stop, he darkness was becoming so intense they could see only a few feet. ‘*Go out into the bushes and see if you can rustle something for a torch,” was Red Fee’s command; and Thomas hastened away to obey. He was back in a few moments with two or three bunches of light wood that promised to answer their purpose. A match was touched to one of these, and by its flickering glare they continued their explorations. They had not gone a dozen feet when the flickering light revealed a pair of objects that seemed surprisingly out of place in that gloomy hole. One wasa manJying faceupward on the hard floor. The other was a bit of writ- ing supported in the cleft of a stick, which was planted in a fissure of the rock near him. To all appearances the man was dead, His face was so blood-covered that the features were in- distinguishable, the blood having flown from a scalp-wounds } Here, then, was the explanation of the mys- , tery that had so piqued Red Fee’s curiosity, | The bloody flecks seen on the jaws of the bear | could now bs reasonably accounted for. The unknown had invaded Bruin’s den, a combat had resulted, and the bear had achieved the mastery. But, what was the meaning of the piece of paper upheld by the cleft stick? Red Fee glanced at it even more keenly than he did at the prostrate figure on the floor, then went to it and reed it by the light of the flaming torch, It was a mining-claim notice, filled out in regular form, and Philip Craigenv. had been placed there by the man who was now seemiugly lying dead at their feet, the victim of the big grizzly. Red Fee flashed his torch upon the surround- ing walls, looking at tkem with eyes that blazed with cupidity. Then he bent over the stranger. ‘¢ The chap ain’t dead!” he declared, placing a hand over the feebly beating heart, and at the same time making a minute inspection of the scalp-wound, Curt Thomas was looking on with an interest the most intense. ‘* He ain’t dead,” Fee repeated. ‘‘ That’sa bad scratch there, and he may git well, and he may not!” There was a strange quaver in his speech, which did not pass unnoticed by Thomas, He got up very deliberately, and again scanned the walls by the light of the smoking and flushing torch. A most unpleasant lcok had come to his face, a look which one unacquainted with the man would not have found enssy to interpret. It indicated conscienceless avarice, if not murder, He uttered a hoarse ejaculation as gleaming points in the wall caught bis trained vision. The notice bad revealed to him that the cave had been staked as a mining-claim by this man, Phitip Craigen, and he was searching for some evidences of its value. He had known many claims to be taken which were not worth the trouble of the legal formal- ity, and he was not sure this might not be one of them, But, when he caught those points of light, and quickly followed the discovery bya careful examination, be knew that Philip Craigen bad not erred. He bad seen rich ore, but be did not remember to have seen any that promised to yield more of the precious metal to the ton than did this. A fever of excitement grew on him as he con- tinued his close seritiny. The bear’s cave was literally seamed and starred with gold, He per- ceived that almost within touch of his hands was a fortune, such a one as he had for years dreamed of acquiring. Heturned from the walls and looked into the eyes of hiscomrade. He saw mirrored there the desire that had overmastered him, Curt Thomas had always been his pliant tool, and would not fail him now. ‘*Tt’s worth a big risk,” he said, glancing at the form of Craigen before speaking, ‘‘ Air you with me in it?” There was in bis eyes almost the glare of in- sanity. Thomas nodded, These two understood each signed with the name of | There could be little doubt it | other, and there was no need for words. Words were dangerous things, to be used sparingly at such a time. ‘What will we do with bim?” again looking at Craigen, Tbomas wrinkled his brows in a fiendish scowl]. ‘** He’s as gocd as dead a’ready! Why not clip him on the head, and then chuck him into the drink?” ‘*Ts there any need?” cautiously, as if desirous of feeling the ground well before him. “He'll pass over tbe divide before morning anyway, don’t you think? No usein sticking our heads into a noose if we don’t bave to.” ‘“T would be safest!” was the cold-blooded comment, ‘He might come out o’ that, and it’d be easy enough to fix ’im so that he never would. Jist a quiet rapon the head, then toss’im into the river. If be’s found, no one could know twas done, and there’s the marks of the griz- zly’s claws to tell their own tale!” The rascal really seemed anxious for bis su- perior’s permission to carry this into ¢ffect. **No,” Red Fee averred, drawing back, as if he already beheld the bangman’s noose dangling before bis face, ‘‘We’re goin’ to have this mine ”—the glitter of avarice in his eyes—‘‘ and we needn’t run the risk of banging to git it, The feller’s sure to die, and burryin’ will only bring about bis end a few minutes sooner.” He took the notice from the stick and thrust it into his pocket, seeming to have already made up his mind asto his course of action. Then he drew outa notebook, tore from it a page, and scribbled a similarly worded document, which he signed with hisown and Thomas’s names. This he placed in the cleft from which Craigen’s no- tice bad been taken, He surveyed his work with a cunning sort of satisfaction, lighted another torch—for the first wes burnt out—and giving it to Thomas, burried from the place to inspect the surrounding land- | scape, Night was near at hand, and a few ligbts al- ready shone from the windows of Lucky Ledge. The fear of discovery made bim nervous, but there was nothirg in what he saw and beard to add to the feeling. The river foamed and raved only a few yards away, the rocks and hills were | silent, touched by the ineffable glory of the fad- ing sup. The beauty of the scene passed unheeded. He was only anxious to ascertain if the way was clear for the consummation of bis plan; and bav- ing satisfied himself on this point, he turned back into the cave. A haif-hour later, when the gloom of night was falling, he and Thomas emerged from the bushes, bearing between them the unconscious form of Philip Craigen. This they deposited by the riverside at a point where 1t would not be readi- ly discovered; and then stole guiltily away to- ward the town, They had taken the precaution to place the injured man near the bear-tracks visible in the sand, and doubted not that when the body was found, the cause of death would be attributed to the grizzly. On the following morning they expected to herald their great ‘' find” to the world, CHAPTER II. THE MASQUERADE. FroM one of the p:incipal buildings of Lucky Ledge came the fantastic caperings of a pair of violins, accompanied by the sounds of dancing. More than a month had elapsed since the occurrence of the events just noted, and in that time Lucky Ledge had grown and prospered, vntil now it called itself a city. It must te re- membered, however, that it dces not take much to meke a city in the ruder portions of the West. A dczen shanties and a general store are sufficient. There have even teen ‘ cities” whose only ex- istence was on paper. The music of the violins came from the upper part of the building, The lower part was. oc- copied as a saloon and gambling resort known as the Moss Agate. The ball which was in progress was a mas- pared given by Felix Redmond and Curt homas in honor of the opening of their new mine, the Grizzly Bear. Their plan for the disposition of the body of Philip Crajgen bad not worked to their entire satisfaction. Nevertheless, its success was such as to warrant them in continuing in possession of the property. On the morning which fol- lowed the discovery of the mine, they had duly announced their find to the wondering men of the camp. This was, of course succeeded by a general rush to that point, and an examination of the richness of the ore, But to the surprise of the plotters, the body of Craigen was not found by the river’s brink,

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They immediately hegan a surreptitious search for it, but could discover it nowhere, nor learn what had become of it. The fact filled them with apprehension. But the belief grew in their minds that Craigen had regained sufficient atrength to walk, and bad insanely wendered into the hills where he bad perished. There seemed no other natural conclusion, and they took courage. The development of the mine was at once commenced. The cover of bushes was removed from the entrance, the opening enlarged, and a roadway built to the town. The active work of mining was to begin now, and in honor of that event the ball was given. It ig scarcely necessary to say that the room above the Moss Agate was thronged almost to the point of suffocation. It was not a large room, and could barely accommodate those who desired to participate in or witness the dancing. The fact that it was a masquerade greatly added ito its attractiveness, Inso small a place every man knew his neighbor, and there was much curiosity manifested as to who the various maskers might be, There were so few women in Lucky Ledge that the presence of a representative of the gentler sex provoked much notice and comment, She was habited as a shepherd maid, and a crim- son mask concealed her features, She had danced frequently with an athletic Mepbisto- pheles, and was now conversing with bim in low tones, The surmise that she night be Red Fee’s daughter was dissipated by the actions and words of Red Fee himself. “She ain’t my daughter, ner she ain’t my cook,” he said, speaking to a crowd of cronies, “‘an’ I’m hanged if [know who sheis! I’m goin’ to ask her to dance with me after a little, and then [’ll try to find out,” Red Fee was got up ip a most gorgeous man- ner for a man of bis customary negligence, ' He even wore a white shirt and a Prince Albert coat, justifying this lavishness by the observa- tion that the opening of the Grizzly Bear Mine was an event of no ordinary moment, He had had his beard trimmed, too, and thus meta- morphosed was not a bad-looking man, Curt Thomas was similarly arrayed, but Curt was uneasy and awkward in this new gear, Mephistopheles was still talking to the shepherd maid when Red Fee crossed the room, and bow- ing low before her, requested the privilege and honor of the next dance. The girl laughed lightly behind tke mask, bringing an unwonted flush to Red Fee’s swart cheeks, There was something in the laugh that seemed to indicate that the girl was sneering at him, But her words reassured him and caused bis beart to bound, for he had feared a refusal. The voice was low and pleasapt; in truth, al- most too low. Apparently there’ was an effort at repression. Red Fee listened intently to the tones, hoping to thereby discover the girl’s identity. The voice wasastrangeone. He was sure he had not heard it in Lucky Ledge, If that were true, where had this charming crea- ture come from? She had not dropped from the clouds, and women were not so plentiful that she could have entered the town without notice, She had appeared in the room above the Moss Agate, coming from no one knew where, Red Fee turned his gaz2 on Mephistopheles, wondering whose was the face and form there hidden. Did he know who this man was, he might know who was the shepherd maid. It was like questioning the sphinx, Though mask- ed, Red Fee was known to every one in the room, as was Thomas and a number of others. They could not lose themselves in a fancied character. But these two—Mephistopheles and the girl—had so acted their parts that guesses were wild and useless, “I'd like to git a look behind that,” Fee ob- served, as ke led ber forth. ‘You shall, by and by!” was the murmured answer, ‘' When the time for unmasking comes! Just now, I am the Shepherd Maid; nothing more, nothing less.” Red Fee bent over her to catch every word, He was inclined to be gallant to ladies, and the circumstances surrounding this woman in- creased this natural tendency. He could not but fancy that the face hidden behind the crimson cloth was beautiful. Yes, and young! There was a willowy grace in the girl’s movements that could suggest no other conclusion. It had been a long time since Fee bad danced thus with @ young and handsome woman and because of this—and possibly because of the mystery—his admiration assumed proportions to threaten his peace of mind. Fee was not an easy dancer, though he wasa Chesterfield compared with Curt Thomas; and in his boisterons bouncings, a large wallet slipped from his hip-pocket and fell unnoticed by him to the floor. A man standing near glanced quickly around to make sure that he was unobserved, then drew the wallet toward him with his foot and secured it, He felt cer- tain there was money in it, Three times did Red Fee crave the hand of the shepherd maid in a dance, and three times did be whirl through the giddy mazes, Gradually the behef was growing on him that this was not a girl at all, but a man disguised as such, possi- bly one of his intimate associates, A feeling of shame-facedness came with this, for he had al- lowed himself to utter certain foolish and mean- ingless nothings whicb,in that event, would cause him to become the laughing-stock of the camp. Thinking of this, he became so uncom- fortably hot that the Prince Albert seemed to incase him like a band of heated metal; and he grew doubly anxious for the denouement, The unmasking came at last; and he saw be- fore him, not the associate he feared, neither the beauty his first fancies had pictured; but a healthy, rosy face, rather coarsely lined and somewhat,unsymmetrical, but a pleasant face for all that. ‘6 was an unkvown face, too. It had never been seen in Lucky Ledge. “Your name?” he questioned, unmasking at the same time, and fumbling for his wallet to get the card be had prepared for the occasion. He stopped as if petrified, and as if in a dream heard the girl give her name as Rose Latham, The wallet was not there, and the swift suspi- cion came to him that this woman had stolen it. She had had ample chance todo so, He grew white and red by turns, hesitating what to do. Should he accuse her openly? She who had played so upor his heartstrings? Before be could decide, she had bowed laugh- ingly to him and retreated through the swirling throng. A sudden jam kept him from following her; and when he did, he could not find her. Mephistopheles, too, was gone! ‘* Curse the minx!” he ruefully muttered, “I wouldn’t have had ber to git that pocketbook fer a good deal, There’s more than money in it to me!” CHAPTER III, IN THE ASSAYER’S WORKSHOP, THE glow of a low fire of an assayer’s furnace shone dimly on the facesof twomen. The scene was an assayer’s sbop on the outskirts of Lucky Ledge. Over the door of theshop was the name, QUINTIUS QUARTZ, painted in big letters; which were now, however, almostindistinguish- able by reason of the gloom of night. The taller of the two men was the assayer. He had an earnest, manly face, It was beard- less, and seemed uncommonly pale, looking al- most, ghastly white at times beneath the light of tbe fire. They were conversing in low tones. Could Red Fee have peered into the shop at that moment, he would have been treated to a genuine surprise, for the face of the younger man bore a striking resemblance to that of*the mysterious shepherd maid! ; The assayer was holding in his handa tiny “button” of gold ore, and this he exhibited as he talked, ‘Just look at that, Tom,” and he passed the “button” to the other, ‘ There’s richness for you! There isn’t a mine in the country that will go as much of the pure stuff to the ton as will this Grizzly Bear Mine, as they call it.” ‘* And to think, Phil, that you have lost it!” “Lost it!’ with an impatient gesture. ““There’s where you are mistaken, brother mine! I haven’t lost it: nor do I intend to! They hold the winning hand now, but the game hasn’t been played out, by a long shot!” The tones were intensely earnest and bitter, ‘I suppose you know what they are accusing you of?” pocketing the ‘‘ button” and drawing forth the wallet which Red Fee had lost at the masquerade, ‘*They say you stole this from Fee the other night when you were dancing with him. Of course tat is amistake. [don’t know who took it, but I found it this morning in some sage-brush near tne Moss Agate, It had been rifled and thrown there. But, there was a very interesting bit of paper in it. Interesting to me, anyway,” He opened the wallet and produced a folded sheet, which, when he had spread out, proved to be the notice that Red Fee and Curt Thomas had found in the cave, and which they had re- placed with their own, The younger man’s curiosity seemed greatly aroused at sight of this, The Rustler of Rolling Stone. eee | ** And they accuse me of taking his wallet?” he questioned. ‘* Not me ?” ‘* No; the bewitching creature who danced so frequently with this claimant of the mine, What was the name? Oh, yes: Rose Latham!” He laughed significantly as he bent over the paper. ** Strange how this notice should get back into my bands in so singular a manner!” ‘*The wrong might have been righted at that time, if I had Leo f known!” tbe young man mournfully asserted. To make clear the meaning of this fragment of conversation, it will be necessary to return to Philip Craigen, who was left by the river-side in a supposed dying condition by Red Fee and Thomas. His injuries, while ssvere, were not so serious as they hoped and believed. Still, they might have proved fatal, had pot help arrived. It came, a few hours later, in the person of the young man who was now conversing with him, and whom he had called Tom. This was Tom Craigen, his brother. Both had leit Sunset City two days before, Tom some hours after Philip. Philip was a professional assayer, and some- thing of a Western boomer. He believed there migbt be abundant work, as well as abundant money at the new diggings of Lucky Ledge. At any rate, he could obtain employment as an assayer of the new ores being there brought to the surface. The trail into the cave had attracted bis notice, and being of a venturesome disposition, he had prepared a torch and gone in to see what he might discover. His eyes had quickly re- vealed the value of the ore seams in the walls of rock, It was plain they were yet unclaimed. It wasarich and almost unequaled find. He could not but marvel at his good fortune in thus stumbling on it, It heralded wealth and ‘all that the term implies, With trembling fingers, fearful lest he should be seen and thwarted before the deed was done, he wrote the notice and set it up in a split stick, Then, almost dazed by the riches surrounding him, he’ continued his explorations, his mind filled with wonderful fancies. This preoccupation had a serious result, He stumbled unwittingly on the grizzly that had been peacefully sleeping in one of the side pass- ages, The brute was angered by the intrusion, and charged him viciously, He attempted to beat a retreat, tripped and fell near the notice, and was stricken senseless and clawed by the bear. He knew nothing until hoursafterward. Then he found himself by the river, with bis brotber bending over him and dashing water into his face. His brother was not alone. Accompany- ing him was a man of hunter-like mien, a stran- ger to Philip Craigen, and, until a few moments before, equally a stranger to Tom Craigen. The bunter had been endeavoring to restore Philip Craigen to consciousness, when Tom ar- rived on the scene, Of his good intentions there could be no doubt, and young Craigen was truly grateful to him for his services, ** Keeled over by a bear!” was the sententious comment, pointing to the marks of the grizzly’s blow, ‘‘Come nigh doin’ him up, too, but he’s wu'th a dozen dead men yit. IfI bad him to my cabin, I could nuss him up an’ make him as good as new, in a little while.” Philip Craigen looked up, recognized his brother, even in the faint moonlight, smiled, en- deavored to speak, and then relapsed into un- consciousness, As for Tom Craigen, it is doubtful if he would have known his brother, bad it not been for the familiar garments, So blood-covered was the face of the wounded man that it was wholly un- recognizable, After some discussion, it was agreed that the best thing that could be done was to convey Philip to the hunter’s cabin, a couple of miles distant in the hills. The Craigens had no ac- quaintances in Lucky Ledge, and this offer of the bunter was a godsend, The old man’s skill in treating injuries of this character was considerable, and witbin less than two weeks, be had tee 4 on his feet; and though the latter was still weak, his wounds had bealed, and he felt himself again able to battle with the world. Long before that time, however, news had come to them of the claiming of the mine by Red Feeand Curt Thomas. Philip had acquaint- ed his brother and the hunter with his discov- ery, and a visit made by the hunter to the town had revealed the true status of the case, An investigation set on foot by the old man had brought to light the truth concerning the nature SNe

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new claimants. ** You'll have to fight ’em,” was his declar- ation. He had some money, and this be pressed on Philip when the Jatter felt strong enough to begin the battle, which he proposed to make j for bis own, The inine was his, Of that there could nut be the shadow of a doubt. Yet he could not establish it, nor prove his title in any court, The work of the usurpers had been clev- erly done. His notice had been removed, and theirs placed in its stead, and there were no witnesses to testify in his favor. Certainly, his unsupported word would go fur naugbt. If he regained the mine, it must be in an indirect manner, and by stratagem, rather than by force or legal means, He did not wish to take the money; but when it was urged ou him be resolved to make the best possible use of it. A portion of it had gone toward the erection of the shop in which the two young men now were, and as a purchase price of av assayer’s outfit. At Philip’s advice, and in accordance with the line of conduct he had mapped out, his brother did not show himself in the town for some days. His first appearance was at the masquerade in the guise of the shepherd maid The Mephistopheles of the same night was Philip himself, ‘Yes, the wrong might have been righted, then,” Philip agreed. ‘But, you did what seemed best, You couldn’t know anything about my discovery.” This was a point they had touched on man times, Tom always bewailing his ill-luck, tt he had but known of the mine, and of the changed notices, he could have set up another notice for Philip, and remained there to guard and enforce bis brother’s title, But, be had not known, and so had gone away, leaving Red Fee and Thomas to consummate theirscheme, And since then he had not been able to do any thing. The subject was fraught with bitter memories. ‘*The button shows that the thing is worth working for,” and Philip again read the notice he had taken from the wallet. ‘‘I wonder what I can do with this thing? I can’t make it serve as evidence, for it would be very easy toclaim that I wrote it as an afterthought,” ‘* And I wonder what they will do if they find Rose Latham?” “Hang her!” relaxing the rigid lines of face and looking smilingly at the questioner. ‘It might be, though, that Fee might want to marry her, A thief loves a thief,” He was becoming thoughtful again, ‘“* That suggests an idea:—It will be just the thing to help me out when | start this opposition boom. I have been thinking of some other lines for you, but this is by far the best. Red Fee wants a type-writer operator, I saw his ad, in the Sunset City papers of yesterday. Apply for the position, That will let you into his secrets, more or less, and be the biggest thing in the uni- verse for me when the tug comes,” ; He smiled again, looking into his brother’s ace, ** You don’t comprehend? My word for it, if Miss Rose Latham applies for the position, she will get it!” ** You don’t really mean it?’ drawing back in a startled way. ‘‘My dear Tom, nothing less, It’s the great- est idea, yet. As his private secretary, you will know the ins and outs of his whole business; and if I don’t knock the boom out of Lucky Ledge, Vil be ready to believe that bear scra away some of my brains when he swiped me,” ‘* But this charge of stealing?” Philip Craigen looked at tbe paper again, slowly folded it up, and stowed it away in one of bis pockets. **T don't know how you’re to work that. [ sup- poset he old foolreally thinks you tookit, You’li have to rely on your wit—and your beauty. A handsome woman, my dear Tom, is a power—in amining-camp. If you’d say the wori—I mean if Rose Latham would say the word—half the men in Lucky Ledge would be ready to chaw Red Fee up for suggesting sucha thing, Why, it’s been so long since they’ve seen anything bet- ter than a greasy squaw, that even a Rose Latham could set them wild!” Tom Craigen was flusning like a school-girl under his brother’s words, a thing extremely pleasing to Philip. “Just blush that way, Tom, and simper a lit- tle, and trail your perfumed skirts as daintily as you know how over the floor of his office, and the old sinner will be ready to fall down and of the alleged discovery of the mine by these ‘They'll never give up anything ’cept- | in’ it’s by force. You can count on me to back | e ” The Rustler of Rolling Stone. worship you. He'll forget that he ever losta wallet, or ever thought of you as the thief, Will | you do it?” Tom twisted his heel contemplatively into the soft pine of the floor, screwing out a little trace of sawdust. He was silent for fully a minute, Then he said very deliberately and very em- phatically : “Twill!” CHAPTER IV. AN UNEXPECTED CALLER. Rep Fez sat in his room—a little office he had had fitted up at bis residence—and scowled un- easily at the floor and out through the window that commanded a view of the town. He was ill at ease, and had been stewing and fuming all morning. Intrutb, he bad given himself little rest since the hour he had discovered the loss of his wallet, The loss of the money it had held was a comparatively small matter; though, just then, when his expenses were heavy to the break- ing point, he needed every cent he could get. It was not of the money he was thinkiog, how- ever, but of the slip of paper which the wallet had contained. ‘*T needa guardeen!” he groyled, rising and striding restlessly up and down the room, with his hands thrust deep into bis trowsere pockets. “Twas the biggest fool trick I ever done. An idiot ought to ’a’ knowd better than to hang onto a thing like that! Why didn’t I stick it into the blaze of the torch?” He had been making a quiet search for the missing paper, and had had Curt Thomas en- gaged in like manner, He feared to mention his loss to any one. No good could come of it, and it might arouse dangerous distrust. What puzzled and worried him most was that the mysterious shepherd maid could nowbere be found. So far as was known, not a person in Lucky Ledge had ever set eyes on her since her disappearance from the Moss Agate. This was a strange and, to Red Fee, an ominous circum- stance. Could it be possible, he asked himself, that she had known of the contents of the wallet and extracted it from his pocket for a pur; ose? But what could she do with it? Claim notices were not uncommon things, Philip Creigen was not known in Lucky Ledge, and the description of the metes and bounds of the mineral veias in the cave were not specific enough to be dangerous, Still, a feeling of vague uneasiness haunted Red Fee. The shadow of impending peril seem- ed to hang above him, and this feeling he could not shake off, In his search for Rose Latham, he had time and again asked himself what be would do should he find her, The memory of her femi- nine graces and witchery lay yet fresh on his mind and beart, He was a susceptible man; and he had been striving to nerve himself for the necessary sternness, ‘*Confound the women, anyhow! They al- ways gita feller into trouble, Inever knowed it to fail. There’s my wallet gone, my mopey one, anithat paper gone, The idee of her a- kin as rosy and temptin’ as ripe persimmons, and a-talkin’ as sweet as custard-pie, and at the same time a-liftin’ of my pocket-book! 1t jist goes ahead of anything! Til know not to be so precious trustful anuther time!” He started and chabged color. In his pre- oceupation of mind be had been speaking aloud; and a knock on the door warned him that some one stood on the threshold cf the office. That some ono might have overheard him. He did not wish to be disturbed, and his face showed bis annoyance, as he turned the knob to ascertain who the caller might be. His hat came off with marvelous celerity and he endeavored to coax a smile to his face, when he saw that his visitor was a female, The smile gave way to a look of surprise, Before him stood the object of his thoughts, Rose Latham, She was not habited as the shepherd maid, but was becomingly attired in clothing of some dark material, ** Come in, come in,” he said, retreating quick- ly and placing a cbuir for her. Her sudden appearance gave him an un- wonted flutter, and he could not conceal bis astonishment. ; She accepted his invitation, and as soon as seated produced a copy of the Sunset City Sirocco, and pointed to his advertisement there- D ‘*I notice here that you want a private secretary, some one to take charge of your correspoodence and. books, and I have come to apply for the position.” She went straight to the point with business- like accuracy, though smiling sweetly and speak- ing in low toues, “Yes! Ah! Ahem!” rubbing his hands to- gether to hide his confusion, The proposition was more astounding than even the visit. ‘Yes; I put that ad. in the paper; but I was a—er—a-thinkin’ about a gentleman in that connection,” He hesitated, at a loss for words, ** You bave—er—had some experience, Miss-— Miss Latham? The ad, mentions a typewriter, you see! I want my correspondence done up in ship-shape—-A No, 1 style—you understand. It has a big effect on business, These hyer money- ed galoots back East will pay a good deal more attention to a letter if it’s got up jist right with a typewriter, It looks more like busi- ness, I aim to havea lot of letter-heads print- ed, with ‘Lucky Ledge’ and the date line in some kind of scroll work er other; and I'll put my letters on that, It’llfetch’em! They won’t know but that Lucky Ledge is a second Lead- ville fer boom,” Having got his ‘‘ wind,” he was rattling on, trying to gain time to study the situation, size up his visitor, and determine what to do, Doubts of the correctness of his previous sur- mises began totroublebim, Surely, this charm- ing creature was not a thief. But if not, who took the wallet?” “Think I can satisfy you,” she averred, as soon as given achance to reply. ‘1am famil- iar with business forms, and know how to oper- ate a typewriter.” ‘** Tt would take the jack-pot!” Red Fee thought, looking earnestly at her, ‘‘To have a hand- some creater like that »-sasbayin’ around in this byer old office! Gee whillikins!” He did not venture to put these thoughts into words. Instead, he asked: ‘* When could you go to work, miss?” ** To-day, if you wish.” Red Fee ran his fingers through his hair, He was delighted and bewildered, though unde- cided. He could not drive from bis mind all thought of the theft. If this young woman was inclined to steal, would it be safe to give ber the run of the office? She would necessarily be in- trusted with more or less money, ‘*] ain’t got the machine yit from Sunset City,” talking again for delay. ‘‘ Ner I ain’t got them ginger-bread letter-heads I was a-speak- in’ of, ‘*] am very anxious for the place,” she said, with an appealing glance that quite melted Red Fee’s beart and hustled his doubts into the back- ground. **T migbt find some work fer ye right away,” looking at her admiringly and _ earnestl7. ‘Where might ye be a-stayin’, Miss Latham?” She cast down her eyes. ‘Tf you please—” hesitatingly, ‘‘1 should rather not answer that question, If I can get work, I shall stop at the hotel over there. If not, I must leave the town,” e mentally resolved that she should not leave the town. ‘‘ Needn’t answer, if you don’t like,” shifting uneasily. ‘‘I had no business a-askin’ you. You can git work right in this shop, and as fer the hotel, the hotel bo hanged! If you’re a-mind to, and can put up with sich as we've got, you can stop in this house, My daughter’ll only too glad of your company.” Rose Latham murmured her thanks, sinking her voice so low that Red Fee had to guess at part of the words, He was rapidly becoming enraptured with her charms, though he realized he was making a most egregious fool of bimself, But for the life of him he could nctat that time have done other- wise, ‘*May I go to work to-morrow?” she question- ed, not giving him a chance to retreat. ‘‘ Iam very anxious to begin as soon as possible.” ‘To-morrow it is,” he said, ‘ I’m agreeable, I'll send for the machine and the other things to- night, an’, until they come [ ‘low I can find plenty fer you to do,” He was avout to request the privilege of sum- moning his daughter that he might introduce her to this new employe, but Miss Latham pre- vented him by rising and retreating toward the door, ‘*T prefer to go to the hotel for to-day. To- morrow I will be ready for work. And, Mr. Redmond, you can’t know how I thank you, and what a weight you have taken from my heart,” With these words, and a rare smile, she was one, She had searcely vanished, when Curt Thomas pushed the door open and peered in, He fol-

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The Rustler of Rolling Stone. lowed this by advancing into the room and clos- ing thedoor after him. Red Fee knew that Thomas had seen the girl, and he grew flushed and bot in consequence. “Why didn’t you send fer some one an’ have ker nabbed?” was Thomas’s anxious query. ‘‘It ain’t too late, yit.” He placed a hand on the door-knob as if medi- tating doing it himself. Set down!” commanded Fee, growing still redder. “ But she'll git away!” Thomas urged. ‘I’ve been watchin’ fer her straight along, an’ that’s the fn’st time I’ve seen ’er. Where did she come frum?” ** Hanged if I know!” Thomas was about to dart from the room in spite of the command. ‘*Set down, I say! I don’t want that girl tetched. I’ve hired her!” The other was dumfounded. ‘You heerd what I said?” I’ve hired her! She come in answer to my ad, fer a secretary, an’ T took her in.” “Well, may I beswitched!” Thomas slid into a chair, inert and helpless. He bad _ no words with which to meet the state- ment, He could only stare his amazement. ‘*What’s wrong about that?” trying to assume a brazen attitude to conceal his shame-faced- ness, *‘A thief! The thief you was a-huntin’ fer!” As he said it, a look of craftiness overspread his features. ‘*That was only guess-work on our part!” de- termined to ride Thomas down and force him to adopt this new opinion, ‘* You don’t think me a fool, Curt!” Thomas maintained a discreet silence, His thoughts might not bear utterance, “Ye see it’s this way, Curt,” brightening asa new idea came to him. ‘‘ The way things stand, now, we couldn’t prove she took that wallet, even if we arrested her. If sho stays hyer, I ean mighty soon find outif she’s a thief, That's why I took her.” A humorous twinkle was showing in Thomas's eyes. “T‘low I can see as fur through a mill-stone as the next man, if there’s a big enough hole in it!” and the corners of his mouth twitched in a griu. “All ve got to say isthatif you don’t watch her, she’ll steal the houso over your head, jist as she’s stole yer heart!” It was a parting and center shot; and baving delivered it, he swung the door open and bolted into the street, auxious to seé what had become of the young woman who had already gained such an aseendency over his chum and partner, CHAPTER V. A GHOSTLY APPEARANCE, * My God! what’s ibat?” Red Fee had gone into his new mine to look after some details of work. Very little had been done as yet, only enough to show the richness of the veins and anticipate their development, It was night; extremely dark without, and pitcby black withm, Red Fee carried a miner’s lantern to light bimon bis way, and this fell from his hand to the flinty floor, as he uttered the exclamation, W hat be saw was enough to chill the blood in the veins of thesanest. Twenty yardsaway was another man—or apparition in the shape of a man—Fve was not sure which, though he inclin- ed to the latter supposition, He bad heard a tinking, clinking sound, Sup- posing it to be the pick of sone belated miner, he had not given it much beed, but bad hurried on his way. He had stopped aghast, on turning one of the shoulders of rock, At almost the point where he and Curt Thomas had found Pailip Craigen was apparently Craigen himself, The general resemblance was remarkable; even the face was clotted and gory as Craigen’s had been. Red Fee reeled as if about to fall in a swoon, but gathered his staggering energies and drew himself erect. Tve horrible thing, plainly revealed by the light of the balf-overturned lantern, was staring at him ina blood-chilling way with eyes that Seemed fixed. There was a grotesque expansion of the crimsoned lips as if some rending ery was to be hurled at him, _Red Fee was sufficiently courageous on all or- dipary occasions, but he was accustomed to con- tend with creatures of flesh and blood instead of specters from the grave, But for the similarity in look, he might not have thought of Craigen in this connection. True, he had never seen Craig- en’s face, it having been completely masked by its bloody covering; yet he felt that before him was the very face, the very form tbat he and Thomas had borne to the river-side, a few weeks previous, Could the dead come to life, or their spirits re- visit the scenes of earth? Ho had always scoffed at the idea. He had never cared to think much of what might lie beyond the boundary of this existence. Here was ocular demonstration that the dead might and did return. Otherwise, he was dreaming or the victim of a hallucination. He bad never been given to anything of the kind, He forced himself to pick up the lantern as a measure of reassurance. As he did it, the un- canny thing moved toward him with a slow and gliding motion, Red Fee gave a quick cry in which was com- mingled horror, doubt and indecision. Bat, he as quickly recovered, and drawing his revolver fired at the moving figure, Not once, only, but twice and thrice, The echoes reverberated and rolled, like the discharges of artillery, yet the specter stood in the selfsame place, unmoved and undisturbed, There seemed even a smile on the horrid red lips, a smile of derision and accusation, Tais was too much for Fee's nerves, He threw down the revolver and tbe lantern, and with acry of terror bounded through the dark- ness toward the entrance. And after bim came a chilling and unearthly wail, repeated and multiplied by the echoes of the cave until it seamed that all the demons of inferno were voic- ing a chorus to frighten him, There was a low nattering of feet, too, which was similarly mul- tiplied by the echoes; and with a yell froz2n on his lips, Red Fes reached the opsning and dashed out into the starless night, He ran like ons bereft of bis seuses, not stop- ping until he pitched headlong over a bowlder, where he lay panting and bruised, and almost afraid to risa. ‘*Great Jupiter!” he gasped, as his courage began to slightly return, “ What could tbat have been, anyhow?” He glanced back toward the mine, but could sed nothing. Neither could be hear anything, though for fully ten minutes he Jay there strain- ing his ears for the slightest sounds, He got up on his hands and knees and sur- veyed his surroundings over ths top of the bowl- der, He was near the river’s edge, and had he continued on in that mad race, whould have run plump into it, He was already shivering like a leaf, and now the cold perspiration broke out on him, To hava fallen into that torrent in the darkness might have meant death, His mind was in so chaotic a state, that the gurgling of the leaping waters, as he now turned his attention to it, seemed like echoes of the eerie howl that had so startled him. He scarcely knew how long he crouched there bebind the bowlder, He did not want to remain there, but he was not yet brave enough to risk venturing from this place of concealment, “If Curt was only here,” was bis longing thought, He courted Curt among the bravest of the brave; and even began to fancy how he and Thomas would return to the cave and pump lead at the thing that bad frightened bim. This brought with it tbe uncomfortable reflec- tion that he had three times fired at the ghost without result, What would Thomas's bravery avail in a contert with a creature like that, a creature that was surely not flesh and blood. The sweat stool in cold, Samp drops on his face, when he finally crawled from his hiding- place and made his way fearfully toward the town. He was so weak he could scarcely drag one foot after the otner; but he reached home finally, and pulled bimself wearily into the office, “gad!” he cried, pouring out a glass of fiery liquor and swallowing it almost at a gulp. ** That goes ahead of my time! I wonder what Thomas will say to that?” ‘ CHAPTER VI. FACE TO FACE, He dropped into a chair, with the glass and the liquor-bottle near at hand, and endeavored to speculate on the occurrence that had so startled him. He could make nothing of it, though his courage began to come back to him as he drank of the potent contents of the bottle, He grew so brave after a time, that he earnestly desired the coming of Thomas, for the purpose of going with him to the cave. Nevertheless, when there came a sharp and distinct rap on the door, be started and shivered, and exhibited as much nervous trepidation as if the ghost had suddenly appeared at his elbow. Not unti] the rap was repeated did he venture to get up and see who was there. lt was Quartz, the assayer, who advanced into the room, without giving Fee a chance to invite him. Quartz was not one of Fee’s favorites, but any ove promised to be better company than bis own thoughts, and so he cordially welcomed him, at the same time filling the glass. Quartz gave his head a negative shake. “J never drink,” he declared, pushing back the liquor, ‘‘1 don’t think it’s a good idea for a man who has any business to attend to; and even ons who hasn’t, would no doubt be better off without it.” ** As you like,” retorted Red Fee, draining the glass himself, for his tingling nerves still felt the need of a bracer. ‘It’s a little raw out to- night, and this warms a feller.” He shivered and glanced hastily about the room, ‘*The reason I mentioned business is because that is what brought me here,” and the assayer drew a folded paper from the inner pocket of bis coat. There was something so familiar in the look of the paper that Red Fee could not repress a start. “Tf I’m not mistaken, you’ve seen this be- fore,” unfolding the sheet and holding it up for Fee’s inspection. The latter sbrunk into the depths of his chair, as if desirous of hiding himself; but no word of confession | passed his lips, though Quintius Quartz looked at him scrutinizingly. Red Fee recognized the paper, but he had no intention of saying so. It was tbe notice he had taken from the cleft stick, and which had Cisap- peared with the wallet. A multitude of sugges- tions crowded his balf-fuddled mind, ‘*You don’t think you ever saw it? drawing it out that the writing might be more easily read. ‘' You might be able to make some men think so, Mr. Raimond, but not me, You have seen this more than once, and know a good deal more about it than you care to say.” “What air you a-drivin’ at?” Red Fee growled, burrowing still deeper into the depths of the chair and working his head down into the collar of his coat, like a tortoise withdrawing into its shell, ‘‘ Hanged if 1 ketch on! Lemme see the thing,” “You can see it very well from where you sit! You might take a notion to rip it into rib- bons. I think it’s safer in my bands, If you wish, I’!ll read it to you.” **T don’t see that it’s anything but some feller’s claim notice. They’re as thick round hyer as the leaves,” “Then you can read!” refolding the paper and thrusting it into the pocket. ‘* We'll retire it from exhibition, and see if we can get down to business,” Red Fee was troubled by a sense of uneasi- ness. He fancied some demand was to be made on him, though be knew nothing of its character. The thought that this Quintius Quartz was the thief who had taken the wallet was also upper- most in his mind, Then the girl was innocent! There bad likewise come to him a suspicion, born since the showing of the paper, tbat this very man might be the ghost! Evidently the assayer had an interest in the mine, or he would not be there now for the purpose of bargaining and haggling. But the old rogue was resolved to do nothing to implicate himself, and so i.eld his peace, per- mitting the assayer to continue. ‘““A3 you saw, it’s the claim notice of Phili Craigen. That’s the name signed toit, Now, happen to know that this man Craigen is not dead, More than that: he bas commissioned me to see you concerning his title to the Grizzly Bear Mine, for be claims it as bis,” Fee turned a shade paler in spite of the liquor flush on his naturally red face. ‘*Mebbe you kaow what you're a-drivin’ at, though I'll be hanged if I do!” + bit of history mey aid you,” Quintius blandly asserted. ‘‘This man, Craigen, whose name is attached to the notice, stumbled on the eavern which holds the Grizzly Bear Mine, as he was coming to Lucky Ledge some weeks ago, He saw the richness of the ore veins, and put up the notice as the first step toward holding them, He was attacked by a benr, and left for dead. You found him, you and Curt Thomas; substi- tuted a notice for his; and carried him out to the river, thinking he would die. But he didn’t, He is still alive; and has sent me to tell you that he intends to make a fight for the mine,” “ Bosh ” Red Fee was visibly trembling; but he gave as much force to this sneering exclamation ashe

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\ | could. He could not doubt that by some means the assayer had come into possession of the truth, e was too bewildered and fear-stricken to mentally inquire how this had been done, He resolved, however, to defy his accuser and deny everything, ‘An interesting piece of history, is it not?” and Quartz smiled sarcastically. “I thought you would have something to say about it!” ‘* It’s all bosh!” Red Fee reiterated, mustering all his courage, ‘‘ Me an’ Curt Thomas found that mine, an’ there was no underhanded game about it. We had a fight with a grizzly which we found in there, an’ that’s why we named it the Grizzly Bear, You've jist got your facts a jittle tangled, Tell yer friend Craigen that, will ye? I ain’t the honor of the gentleman’s ac- quaintance; but if he’s a man o’ sense, be ought to know that he’s a-makin’ a fool o’ himself, an’ you, too, by sendin’ sich a message. Give him that, will ye, with my compliments? an’ say to him that when he gits the Grizzly Bear by re- tailin’ sich yarns, f hope he'll send me word about it.” Mr. Quartz was firm and stern, seeming more determined than ever, ‘* You are not ready for a compromise, then, though you know these things are true?” ‘*T can’t see that there’s anything to com- promise,” with some show of warmth, ‘‘If there was, I might tal. We hold the Grizzly Bear fair and above board; and we mean to hold it so long as the veins show color,” There was a ring of defiance and of confidence in this, though he could not help shuddering a lit- tle, whenever the vision of the ghost interposed, which it did almost constantly. ‘* Better think it over a little,” the assayer urged. ‘‘I am gathering proof of these things, and the time is not far distant when I shall use it. It isn’t wise for you to be too hasty, Red- mond, I offer you a compromise, now; after awhile, nothing of the kind will be considered,” Red Fee's answer was as before, ** You will do nothing?” ‘* Not a thing!” he thundered, ‘ An’ I sha’n’t thank ye fer comin’ hyer ag’in with this nop- sense!” “Very well, then!” rising to depart. ‘‘If you prefer war, it shall be war to the knife!” CHAPTER VII. A SURPRISING INCIDENT. THE smoldering fire in the assayer’s furnace again threw its uncertain and fitful Jight on the two men whom we first saw there—Philip Craigen and his brother Tom. It was the night following Philip’s visit to Red Fee, made as Quintius Quartz, Quintius was reasonably sure that Redmond had no suspicion he was Craigen. He had watched Redmond closely, and believed that such a suspicion would have revealed itself in the man’s manner. This was as he wished it to be; for he was not ready yet to throw off the mask and confront Red Fee in his true person. Tom had assumed a partial disguise. It con- sisted only of a mustache; but this so altered his appearance, especially his appearance in the character of Rose Latham, that there seemed small danger cf his identity being revealed. In addition, they were quite alone, and the light from the fire was of the poorest, Tom was laughing softly at some observation made by Quintius., “Tbe old gent is badly rattled,” he said, seem- ingly taking up the thread of their conversa- tion, ‘ Your visitto him upset him, He knows now that bis secret is shared by others, and the fear of the result will give bim no rest,” ** He was rattled last night, but it did not in- cline him to a compromise,” ‘* Probably he thought that the big end of the division would fall on your side of theline. He bas had me writing letters all day to various parties offering the mine for sale.” ‘* What is bis price for it?” “ Wifty thousand dollars!” “Whew! He holds it bigb,anyway. But it’s worth it, every cept and |l’m not sure but twice over, The veinsare extremely rich, Of course, there’s no knowing bow far they extend, or bow soon the really valuable ore may play out, but I think there’s more than fifty thousand dollars in there,. Why, there’s half that in sight now!” ** Almost the exact words he used to me this morning. And he made the same statement, or nearly the same, in the letters he dictated. Only he raised your estimatéa little, He claim- ed the Grizzly Bear to be worth a hundred and fifty thousand, and laid great stress on the low price at which he was offering it,” ‘What excuse did Le make for placing it on the market?” IA eel aieaaeiee NEAR eT ala A aaP Ap APA EIUC AE ARIE a ATT ATE eNO TE ER in LOINC ORG Ss OT Ti EN The Rustler of Rolling Stone. ‘“* His great need of money, and his inability to work it properly.” The assayer was silent and thoughtful fora few moments, **T presume he wanted these parties to come out and look at it right away?” he questioned. ‘*- Yes; or send reliable agents to investigate the matter.” **] reckon 1 must ’a’ crawled up there when i ‘* Getting you in there as his secretary was a | was too drunk to know what I was a-doin’,” en- master-stroke,” Quintius commebnted, medita- deavoring to smooth the matter over as well as tively nursing his chin, ‘It will enable us to| he could, ‘‘That’s you, is it, Mr, Quartz? keep up with all his little games,” Blamed if I knowed ye. If you'll take these He laughed lightly, and looked quizzically at | ropes off’n me, I’ll go peaceably about my biz- his brother. ness.” They had been speaking in cautious tones, ‘* Who told you to come here spying on me?” sscarcely raising their voices above a whisper. Thomas loudly denied that he bad been spying, e Carefulness in this respect was with them one of | insisting that he had crawled up there whi the cardinal virtues, drunk, not knowing where he was, or what he **Tt’s really a funny piece of business. I sup- was doing. pose you feel that, even more than I can, when A ladder led from the lower part of the shop you are seated with him in his office, and he to the garret, and Quartz frequently departed thinks you the admirable creature you pretend | from the place for,a few minutes, leaving the to be!” door open, Tom echoed the low laugh, ‘Who you got back there with ye?’ Thomas ‘“‘Tt’s funnier than that,” be declared. ‘‘A | asked, lifting his head and attempting to look ia dozen times funnier! I thought I should break the corner where Tom had taken refuge. down this morning and revealeverything. Why, **T don’t know that it’s any of your affair!” would you believe it? the old fool is actually in | was the sharp reply. ‘‘ It’s enough for you to love with me, He couldn’t keep from saying as | know that it’s a friend of mine,” much!” The assayer had been doing some rapid think- ‘*Must have been the effect of the liquor ing. He saw that nothing was to be got out he took last night!” Quintius observed, dryly. | of Curt Thomas, and he did not care to pro- ‘* He was soaking himself in good shape when I | ceed against him legally. To retain him there called on him,” as a prisoner seemed useless, ** And he’s kept up the soaking process all day, * You may go,” he said, casting off the rope; It'll take the profits of the Grizzly Bear to pay | ‘‘but if I ever see you around here again, you his liquor bill, if he continues as he’s begun, I | may rest sure you will not get off so easily,’ suppose that’s what made him such a fool! e threw open the door and pointed to the ‘When the wine is in, the wit is out,’ and ‘ there’s | street; and Thomas, glad to escape, fled, He was answered by another volley of oaths.. ‘* Speak up!” he commanded, with angry em- phasis, ‘* What were you doing up there? Thomas bad no ready reply. ‘* Unless you can answer satisfactorily, I shal? have to file a complaint against you, on the charge of burglary.” no fool like an old fool!’” “ What do you think of it?’ Quintius asked of ‘* Tt’s all the better for us,” smilingly. ‘‘ Hell | his brother, when the door had been closed and not be so likely to give you your walking-papers, | locked, and a genuine case of love will blind him to a good many things. I presume you discouraged bim in a very dignified manner?” Didn’t I, though!” chuckling at the recollec- tion, ‘‘ ‘Sir!’ I said, as icily as the north ores “ He came here before either of us,” was the and then I petrified bim—froze him to his chair, | positive reply. ‘‘ Otherwise he could not bave as it were—with one of my chilliest glances, | got in, He didn’t follow you! I think be was Ha! ha! you ought to have seen him eat humble- | spying on me, for his own and Red Fee’s benefit, ‘““That he was here for a purpose. It must have been connected with the mine, or my work for Red Fee. Can it be that I am suspected, and that he followed me from the house?” pie!” because of my visit and claims last night. What Quintius joined in the laugh; then observed, | he heard, thougb, I’ve no idea, If it was any- gravely: thing of value to them, we'll know of it full ‘*That offer of the mine for fifty thousand | soon.” worries mea little, Some capitalist, or syndicate may snap it up at that, The property’s dirt cheap at the figure. We'll have to make some move to block the sale, if it seemslikely one is to take place, If the mine gets into other bands, | j | CHAPTER VIII. LOVE’S ENTANGLEMENTS, Tom CRAIGEN had not overstated the case im speaking of Red Fee’s infatuation, By day and by night Fee thought of his come- ly typewriter, to the detriment of the many business interests be had in hand, His dreams were about equally divided between her and vi- sions of the ghost. This constant dwelling on the charms of Miss: Rose Latham promised to interfere sadly with the “‘boom” he was trying to inaugurate in Lucky Ledge. He had achieved in the past some- thing of a reputation in the boom line, which he was now seemingly bent on wrecking. To besuc- cessful as a ‘* boomer” requires incessant activi- ty, combined with alertress, skill, and a darin that approaches audacity, Red Fee bad all these, but just now he was not making good use of them. Too many things were distracting bim, The fears engendered by the ghost, the liquor he was drinking to dull those fears, and above all, the foolish attachment for the preten- der who was acting as his secretary. His drinking did not make him kindly disposed toward any of the inmates of the house, except Rose Latham, He treated her with marked subservience, But vot so with Louise Norton, his step-daughter, and Betty Butterball, the ser- vant, He was inclined to be especially abusive to Louise, a handsome girl of eighteen or nine- teen, and the daughter of his dead wife. it will mean a barder fight for us to get it.” Tom grasped his brother by the shoulder in a warning way, and lookedupward, A suspicious sound had attracted him, The next moment, the flimsy ceiling gave way above their heads, and a man dropped un- expectedly to the floor beside them. e came down, spread out likea bat, and‘ struck withfa thump that seemed to indicate broken bones as a result,” The brothers were surprised beyond measure at this unwelcome intrusion, But, they did not lose their heads, Quintius was the first to act, He spruvg upon the man, before the latter could recover from the shock of the fall. Tom leaped to his aid, both of them proving more thana match for the assailed, Nevertheless, the man did not surrender with- outa struggle. He foughtand kicked viciously, and exerted all his strength to burl the brothers from him and make his escape, ‘*Get me that rope in the corner!” Quintius commanded, ‘* We'll tie bim first, and look at bim afterward. l’ve got him where I can hold him!” Tom obeyed; and then proceeded to bind the spy, whom Quintius was holding down. That he was a spy, and had concealed himself in the garret to hear what they might say, neither doubted. How much he bad heard, Two or three days after the unexpected tum- they could only surmise. | ble of Curt Thomas into the assayer’s shop, Tom When the fellow had been secured, Quintius | Craigen, coming early to the office in the guise arose, tbrust a pine splinter into the embers, and | of Rose Latham, found Louise shedding tears held it so that the light might fall in the man’s ! bitterly, as she put the office to rights, face, \ There was one thing Tom Craigen had not This revealed his identity and called from him | told bis brother, and that was of the violent a strivg of curses, fancy he had conceived for this girl. Probably He was Curt Thomas ! he felt a little ashamed of it, for there was a cer- sefore this had been Cone, Tom had taken the | tain ludicrousness about it in connection with precaution to retreat to a shadowed corner | the disguise he bad assumed, where his face could not be plainly seen. This Louise knew not that Rose Latham was a man migbt already know who he was, but it was | man, baving been as completely deceived on best to take no risks, that point as bad Red Fee, ‘What does this mean?’ Quintius fiercely de- ‘Why, what is the matter?” the typewriter manded, asked, looking at the girl in bewilderment,

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Ro The Rustler of lling Stone. “ Nothing,” replied Louise, throwing the hair back out of her eyes. ‘Then why are you crying?” Louise threw down the duster and gave way to a fresh burst of grief. “Oh, Miss Latham, you don’t know how father abuses me! He has been cursing me again this morning, and for nothing at all.” Miss Latham had removed her outer wrap, and was now seated, * Cursing you!” in tones the most kindly and compassionate. “Yes; and it was about you!” and with a gulping of sobs she threw herself into the type- writer’s lap and buried her face in her hands, It was an uncomfortable situation for Tom Craigen. A red spot flamed in each cheek, and his heart gave a queer flutter. “It was about you,” Louise continyed, her slight form sbaking with the violence of ber emo- tions. ‘‘ Father says I’m not respectful enough to you. I’m sure, Miss Latham, I desire to be!” A great temptation to take herin his arms and soothe her into quiet came toTom, Hecould scarcely resist it. But he did, and said gently, as he passed his fingers through ber hair: “IT couldn’t wish you to be more so. [am sorry your father has got such a foolish crotchet into his head, If you like, Pll speak to him about it,” “Ob, no! No!” lookiog up affrightedly. ** Please don’t!” **T won’t, then, a thing?’ Tom’s face was as red as fire, almost; and now it was Louise’s turn to flush perneah ys “ Oh, I thought you must know!” She stopped and hesitated, fearing she had al- ready gone too far, ‘*T don’t know,” she was assured by Miss La- tham, ‘I can’timagine. What was it?” Louise flushed and laughed, a laugh which drove away the tears and made her face radiant. ‘Why, papa means to marry you if he can!” ** Does be say so?” Tom was perspiring most uncomfortably, and mopping his face to get rid of the streaming moisture and couceal his confusion. If Miss Norton had not been blind as a mule, or too in- genuous herself to suspect such a bit of play- acting, she must have bad her distrust aroused by Tom’s all too evident distress, It may be, though, she attributed it to the surprising;nature of her communications. “He didn’t say so in that many words, but thats what he meant. But you mustn’t tell him!” lifting a finger in good-natured chiding. ‘* He isn’t really my father, you know. You can marry him if you like; and, although it might be pleasanter for me if you did, I shouldn’t ad- vise it, You don’t know him as wellas | do, Now, I am going. Good-by!” She imprinted a kiss on the typewviter’s face, picked up the duster and fled, leaving Tom ina most distressed condition, He was not given time, however, to think much on what had occurred, for at that moment he saw Red Fee coming toward him along the little corridor leading to the back yard, Miss Latbam knew from the look on Fee’s face that he had beheld the last scene in the little drama which had just been enacted, Red Fee was smiling broadly, aud seemed pleased with what he bad witnessed. ‘*Gittin’ on good terms with Louise, I see he asserted, coming into the office and drawing the door to after bim. ‘‘That’s right! That’s right! I’m glad to notice it. Louise is a good girl, though she does r’ile me once in a while like arattlesnake, I sha’n’t quarrel with you fer kissin’ her!” The sentence was finished with looks instead of words, and said quite plainly; “If it bad been me you had kissed in place of Louise, [ should have been pleased!” Tom Craigen could not hide his confusion. His tace was still as red as fire, and the perspira- tion continued to stream from it in a way that did not add to his womanly beauty, But Red Fee did not give any heed to this, possibly be- cause he had been drinking heavily again that morning. The liquor had emboldened him once more, and obliterated the bitterness of yesterday’s rebuff. **Wouldn’t you like to become the mother of s0 handsome a young woman us tbat?” said the boomer, winking coarsely, ‘‘ [ hain’t so old nor so bad-looking but what you migbt go further and fare wuss, It would bea big h’ist, too, ina wordly way. . I’ve already got a szoodly store o’ ducats, and that Grizzly Bear Mine will make me the richest man in these parts,” Rose Latham’s perturbation was rapidly pass- But why should he think such ” ing away, now that the original occasion of it had left the room. Shefelt able to hold her own with Felix Redmond, even if she was not able to do so with Louise. ‘*You forget yourself again, sir!” she de- clared, stilling her agitation with an effort and speaking as coldly as possible. ‘‘ I came here to render you a certain service, not to be insulted by such proposals, If you have no other use for me than to tender me an offer of marriage, I am ready to go!” Red Fee became immediately subservient and fawning. ‘*T was only jokin’!” he cried. “‘ Jist a-jokin’! You flash up like gunpowder. Where’s them letters I was lookin’ at yisteraay? I’m ready to answer ’em now.” She had partially risen as if to get her wraps, but this change of demeanor stayed her, The situation was so ridiculous that Tom Craigen could not repress a broad smile, in spite of his utmtst endeavors to do so; and this being taken by Red Fee asa flag of truce, peace and harmony ounce more reigned. CHAPTER IX. A ROLLING STONE THAT GATHERS NO MOSS, EVENTS of an interesting character began soon to tread on each other’s beels, In the first place, gossip of a kind most disad- vantageous to the interests of Red Fee com- menced to circulate in tbat mysterious manner characteristic of ill-news, and which beffl’s de- scription. It was reported secretly that wurder most foul had been committed in the Grizzly Bear Mine, and that the ghost of the slain man ca baunted the scene of his untimely taking off. This had a bad effect at the outset, just at the time when Red Fee was trying to push opera- tions in the mine and open it up, that he might the easier sell it, A night shift of miners bad been set to work, but they threw down their tools und incontinently struck before two nights bad passed by. They had seen the ghost, so it was said and reported it to be the ghost of a miner—being led to this conclusion by certain low, clinking sounds which they had heard, These sounds could only be explained by attrib- uting them to the agency of the spook, Miners are apt to bea superstitious class, and these were not an exception. The scare spread to the day men, and only two or three of these were courageous enough to venture into the mine, even when the sun was shining brightly without, Rel Fee was in despair. Certain memories made him almost as much afraid of the ghost as was the mostignorant miner, Cold chills chased each other up and down his back whenever he thought of the mine and its dread occupant, Nevertheless, he was resolved that something must be done. In some manner the ghost must be laid, or he would be a ruined man, * Hany it all!’ conversing with Curt Thomas on the subject. “I don’t think I ever saw sich a lot o’ right-down cowards as this town holds, The idee o’ the hull blamed camp bein’ scared to death ata shadder!” ** Shadders don’t clink on stones like some one a-handlin’ a miner’s pick,” Thomas dubiously averred, ‘‘I hain’t seen the thing, an’ 1 ain’t a-wantin’ to; but I heerd its music, That was enough fer me!” Red Fee was disgusted and disappointed. He had hoped to be atle to induce Thomas to enter the mine and lie in wait for the ghost. He saw he would bave to make an advance on that proposition, “You ought to be too sensible, Curt, to be afraid of a thing like that, I’m not afraid of it; and to show you that I’m not, I’m willin’ to go with you to the mine to-night an’ Jay fer the thing with pistols,” Curt shook bis head, ‘* Nary!” was his sententious comment. cuse me |” “If we don’t git red o’ the thing in soma way, the mine hain’t wu’th shucks!” Red Fee urged, ‘‘{ bad it as good as sold, last week, an’ fer fifty thousand, To-day we couldn’t get five thousand; en’ if this thing keeps up, in an- other month we can’t give the mine away, I shouldn’t mind it, if we could go on with the work, But wecan’t, The men air that scared, they’re crazy. 1 don’t believe that some of them would go in there fer a half-interest.” *T don’t blame ’em,” Curt muttered. ‘* What g00d’d a half-interest do’em if the thing should put its fingers on ’em?” ‘Bah! You're the worst one in the lot!” and Red Fee could not conceal bis displeasure. ‘Thomas, I took you fer a man of sense, and you're showin’ yourself to be a plum idiot!” “ Ex Thomas accepted the reproach without a mur- mar, possibly thinking it was better to be a live idiot than a dead hero. He went away shortly; and Red Fee com- menced preparations for a trip to the mine. To support bis courage he took a long pull at the bottle on the table, and then sat down to think over the situation. Only the realization that he was being brought to the verge of ruin could bave induced him to contemplate a visit to the place. He had no real belief in spirits, anu this greatly aided him); but what he had already seen bad shaken and unnerved him. In his moments of cooler deliberation he was sure the uncanny thing was only a man mas- queradipg in that grim and horrible manner. 3ut this reflection lost its bolstering force whea- ever he came face to face witb it. ‘“*It must be Quintius Quartz a-playin’ that trick,” he asserted, as be vad so often asserted before, ‘Of course, it ain’t no ghost. It’s a man, an’ he’s got a reason fer doin’ of it. Now, who'd be so likely as Quintius? He wants the mine, and bas set out to gitit. If he can’t do that, he’s determined that he’ll ruia me, apvway,” He did not leave the house until near the hour of midnight, the time when the ghost was accustomed to disport itself. He took with him his big revolver and a heavy knife, but no lantern, reasoning that if the ghost was a man, he could the more readily approach it in the darkness, All was quiet as be neared the mine. Only the swash and moan of theriver could be heard, These sounds added to the loneliness of the place; and Red Fee stopped, shudderingly,*as be drew near the entrance. His courage was already oozing: but he screwed it once more to the sticking-place, and ventured into the black mouth of the mine, He crept forward in a crouching posture, mov- ing with the greatest caution. A pebble turned under his foot, and be started as if a rifle bad been fired at bim. The interior was gloom itself. No noise, no ray of light, There was no indication that any being, spirit or otherwise, ever came there, Red Fee knew that it lacked only a few min- utes of twelve, The watch in his pocket ticked so loudly he felt sure it would discover. him, sh iuld any one draw near. Suddenly, and witbout premonition, a low clinking as of iron striking against stone reached him; and at the same moment a light blazed forth from the darkness; and within the circle of its rays stood the mysterious being who was personating the original claimant of tbe mine, Red Fee could scarcely repress a low cry of horror, There was the same bloody face that ha: so terrified him before. A slight sense of reassurance came to him, bowever, when he saw that the light which re- vealed the form was produced by a lantern. Surely, no spirit from another world would need so material a thing. With the thought, Red Fee drew bis revolver aud fired it as rapidly as he could. The echoes were appalling. Tbe light went out; whether shot out or extinguished by the ghost he did not know, No sound came to tell him whether or not his aim had been effective. Witb the disap- pearance of the light the specter vanished; and Red Fee Jay back, panting and exbausted, an uncoutroll: ble panic taking possession of him, “T believe I got him, that time!” be whisper- ed and then crept from the place, trembling and shaking like a victia of ague, No dead man was found there in the morning; and the circumstances taken altogether so shook Red Fee that he could not help detailing them the next day to Rose Latham, From thence they reached the ears of Quintius Quartz. Q@ .intius had been 2s much puzzled as any one hy these gbostly un anifestations in the Grizzly Bear Mine, and had given much thought to the matter; but could hit on no theory that prom- ised a solution. As the reader has seen, Red Fee was inclined to lav these appearances at the assayer’s dcor, But in this Red Fee was mistaken. Quintius Quartz knew no more about the matter than did Fee bimeelf. In fact, not so much. Fee had seen the ghost, and he bad not; all his informa- tion reaching him at second-hand. But Quintius bad other things to think abont, just then, and so paid little heed to the matter. He had started a rival town across the canyon, more than a mile away, and he was bending all bis energies to its upbuilding, This town was to be the club with which he purpesed to break his enemy’s head. He had called it Rolling Stone, in defiance of the old adage <2 Ae

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8 The Rustler of Rolling Stone. which says that ‘‘a rolling stone gathers no moss,” The name came as a part of the accident which induced the commencement of the town, Quintius was a prospector of no mean skill; and in looking over the slopes of the opposite moun- tain for indications of the precious metals, bis foot had dislodged a stone which went tumbling into the valley, Beneath ‘sign ” his straining eyes longed to sec, Within a few days some rich veins were located; after which Quintius Quartz made a wasty trip to the East, and succeeded in in- aucing some capitalists to join with him iu his enterprise. From that moment dated a boom which had no parallell in the Red Mountain district. Red Fee was distracted, and his paralyzed by fear and the effects of drink, The shadows of the horrid shape that haunted the Grizzly Bear Mine hung over the campof Lucky | Ledge, preventing all progress; aud its rival, Rolling Stone, speedily caugbt up with and assed it in the race for supremacy. “V1 do him up, yet!” was Quartz’s exultant exclamaticn, as he met his brother one night in the shop for consultation. ‘‘ Rolling Stone’s on the boom, while Lucky Ledge is standing still, if it is not going backward, ed Fee to the wall and buy Grizzly Bear mine in for a song. That’s what I’m striving for. He robbed me of it as deliberately and merciless- ly as does the highwayman who slugsa traveler! Then, I'll be in a shape to pay back the old hunter with big interest, and to make things square with all those who have befriended me,” lt was a triumpbant and perhaps a boastful prophecy; but the facts just then seemed to justify it. sche ake CHAPTER X, THE BATTLE OF THE BOOMERS, A ‘*RUSTLER,” in Western parlance, more frequently means a man of enterprise and energy than it does anything else. As applied to cattle-thieves, it isa term of opprobrium., Applied to a man of business tact att daring, it is to a great extent a designation of honor. In this latter sense, it was very likely suggested by the rustling sound which the stiff breeze makes in passing over the prairie grass; and when used in reference toa man, indicated that be moved about with a breezy celerity prophetic of suc- cess. If ever any one deserved the title of rustler, according to this view, it was Quintius Quartz, In his efforts for the advancement of his new town he was energetic and tireless, No grass was allowed to grow under his feet. What- ever he undertook he did thoroughly and quickly. Red Fee turned his attention from the doings of the ghost long enough to recognize the fact that Lucky Ledge was being outstripped by its new rival. The Grizzly Bear was not the only mine In and about that camp, though it was by far the most promising. He bad only a partial interest in any of these, while be and Thomas were sole owners of the Grizzly Bear. But the latter could not be worked now, and he re- solved to turn his attention to the development of these, in an effort to head off the growth of Rolling Stone. By stretching his credit to the utmost limit, and mortgaging these mines, he brought on machinery, and introduced the latest processes for crushing the rock and extracting the ore, Under the impetus of the money thus thrown into circulation, Lucky Ledge took a quick, up- ward spurt, and fora time seemed destined to regain its old position, his energetic movement on Red Fee's part called for a similar advance by the assayer, and it soon became a battle between the boomers, Both towns might have succeeded in a quiet way, had their leading spirits been willing. But Quiotius Quarts was determined on the financial ruin of the man who had so foully robbed him, and Red Fee was equally deter- mined not to be beaten. Both were handicapped by a lack of funds, Quartz had practically nothing when be came into the valley, and Red Fee little more than hope and brilliant prospects, Not to be outdone, the assayer sent for a well- known railway official with whom he had an acquaintance, and after showing him over the camp at Rolling Stone, he invited the official i his office for the talk he had hinted at in his etter, “ You see what we’ve got here,” said Quartz, plunging at once into the subject. ‘' There is | plenty of ore bere, and it’s rich, The trouble is that stone was the | cunning hand | If that ghost will | just keep up his antics awhile longer, I'll crowd | it costs too much to get provisions and ma- chinery in and out of this valley. It takes the big end of the profits,” He did not tell the official how badly he was in debt, and how sorely be needed money. That would bave been a confession of weakness which be did not desire to make, He had strained his credit to the utmost limit, and felt that something must be done now, or all his carefully-worked plans would yet result in failure, Of one thing, bowever, he had made sure, He had returned to the bunter the amount of his loan, with generous interest. Should ruin come, this debt had at least been paid; and he could secure his other creditors by transferring to them ; all of the Rolling Stone property. He did not | intend tu fail, though, if energy and bard work could prevent it. ; The cflicial inclined bis head, but did not com- mit himself, ** Tf a line of raitway could be run from Sun- set City to Rolling Stone,” Quartz earnestly con- tinued, ‘‘it would mean the saving of this im- mense Outlay, and assure the success of the camp.” “It would cost a great deal,” the official ob- served, surveying tbe carpetless floor. ‘To be frank with vou, Mr. Quartz, I don’t think our | line could afford it, It wouldn’t pay. There’s | too much rough country to be crossed.” ‘*Tt could be done, though?” questioningly. | ‘Yes; it could be done. The only trouble is, | it wouldn’t pay.” “That's what I’ve been wanting to get at!” | tines exclaimed, earnestly, ‘‘We made an estimate of the value of these mines awhile ago, | My brother and I and three others own them, my interest being the largest. They are already mortgaged, but not to anything like their true value, See here!” He drew out some account books and pro- ceeded to explain to the official the amount of indehtedness resting on each mine, and on the works and buildings. The record of the assays, with computations of the probable wealth of various veins, were also discussed. Theinterest of the offivial, which bad already been awak- ened, was sensibly quickened, ‘Tf you will run aspur of your railway into | this town, I'll tr nsfer to you three-fourths of ali the shares I have in the mine and property of Rolling Stone.” The man looked at bim earnestly, seeming half inclined to doubt that Quartz meant it. “*Tt would not leave you much!” he observed, ‘* Rnough to let me ont, with some to spare.” Quartz did not then tell bim of tke great richness he believed to lie in the heart of the Grizzly Bear Mine, nor of bis claims and hopes in that direction, * There is one proviso,” he continued, ‘* There must be an agreement in the contract that for one year the end of the track, after it has reached here, shall not be pushed further.” There was an uplifting of the official’s eye- brows, ** You know, of course, of the rivalry existing / between the towns, If Rolling Stone 1s made the end of track for one year, it will kil Lucky Ledge as dead as a herring.” “They could freight from here; and would have a boom of their own, reached them,” **T understand that, But it would practically cause the removal of their town to this place. The tide might, and probably would, flow back | at the end of the year; but in the mean time I should be able to accomplish my purpose,” ‘Which is?” | The assayer regarded him closely, when the road **f believe you are a man who can keep a’ secret, Felix Redmond stole from me the Griz- zly Bear Mine, and I am resolved to get it back. If Lucky Ledge took a downward tumble, values will decrease; and Redmond—who is already mortgaged for more than he can ever pay—will be forced to sell; and then will come my time.” ** But if the Grizzly Bear is mortgaged?” ** Which it isn’t, and won’t be. fies tried it time and again; but it has such a reputation that no one will advance a cent on it.” **TPIl look into the matter,” the cfficial prom- ised, rising, ‘‘ and let you know'to-nigbt.” He was back again shortly after nightfall, having spent almost the entire day in looking over the two towns, His face told Quintius Quartz that the proposition would be accepted. Before they could arranze the details, a smell of smoke was wafted to them; and while they were speculating as to its probable cause, they heard a low cry and the sounds of a struggle. They rushed out into the street to discover | flames leaping from tve principal building of the place—a building so situated that, if burned, the fire would almost certainly communicate to other houses. Toe erection of those buildings bad strained the assayer’s slender resources, and their destruction at this time meant ruin. It was no wonder, then, that his face whitened, and a cry escaped his lips, There was a sort of dance or fandango in pro- gress in a shanty a few hundred yards distant, where were gathered all the men of the place; and the fire-bug (Quivtius could not doubt that the fire was of incendiary origin) bad taken ad- vantage of this to accomplish bis villainous work, Ciear and sharp rung out the assayer’s cry of oe fire ” The sound of the scuffle still came, and he | raced with the railway official in that direc- tion. The combat was taking place within the lee of the building, and almost within reach of the flames. To Quartz's intense astonishment, the ! antagonists were his brother Tom and Red Fee, The latter saw them coming, wrencbed bim- self from Tom, and leaped away into the dark- ness, vainly hoping his identity was still unre- vealed, “That man set fire to the house!” Tom ex- claimed, springing up in great excitement, ‘Don’. let bim get away!” The official had not recognized Red Fee, not being familiar with bis features; but he darted in instant pursuit, a chase which proved fruitless, The alarm of fire bad reached the men at the fandango, and these were now racing down the street. k ‘‘ How did you happen here?” Quintius inquir- ed of his brother, his curiosity at that moment stronger than any other feeling. Tbe explanation was quickly forthcoming. Red Fee had in some manner, gained an ink- ling of the object of the cfficial’s visit to Lucky Ledge, and recognized tbat if Rolling Stone was thus favored by the railway, all bis efforts to boom his own town would be fruitless, The struggle between the two points had already reached a dangerous pitch. Red Fee was un- scrupulous, and determined on a boid game to bluff this new move of bisadversary. He would set fire to Rolling Stone, and wipe it out of ex- istence in a night. Tom had learned this by overhearing a con- versation between Red Fee and Curt Thomas. The talk bad occurred but a short_time before aud immediately at its conclusion, Red Fee had started for Rolling Stone to put his scheme into effect. Tom bad followed as quickly as possible; but be had been delayed by the changes neces- sary to be made in his personal appearance—for he had feared to venture ont as Rose Latham, This skort halt bad enabled Red Fee to reach the town and fire the building, but did not give him time to escape. Tom had discovered and assaulted him, and the struggle had ensued, But the young man felt sure that Fee did not recognize his assailant as Rose Latham, the sec- retary. CHAPTER XI. FIGHTING FIRE, Tus explanation had barely been given when Quintius Quartz saw a tongue of flame issue from the upper room of the office he and the as- sayer had so recently vacated, The building beyond it was also on fire; and it seemed more than likely that the incendiary bad applied the torch there first, and that the fire, having gained headway there, bad communicated to the upper part of the office, The crushing thought that the town was doomed, came to both the assayer and his brother. The inhabitants were now gathering in force, and strenuous efforts were being made to fight the flames, preparations for the work being chiefly directed to the larger houses. Quintius turned from these and ran toward the office, after directing Tom to remain with the men and do what he could. There were many small articles of value above the office, which be desired to save. Chief among them them was a bundle of papers, prin- cipally evidence incriminating Felix Redmond in a number of ways, both before and after bis coming to Lucky Ledge. The collection of these had cost Quintius « good deal of time and rata and be was not willing to lore them, Especially was this so since this latest outrage. He had placed them in the upper room, think- ing they would be safer there than elsewhere. At the rear of the office, and reaching to the upper room, was arope. There was a stairway leading from the Jower room to the one above, ' but the door communicating with it was locked, i 5 } - '

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t. and Quintius recalled the distressing fact that the key was in the pocket of a coat he had not with him, Therefore, the only way to reach the upper apartment was by means of the dangling rope. Quintius was not possessed of a sailor’s ex- pertness at rope-climbing, but he was active and siuaewy. He was resolved that those papers must be secured, if it could possibly be done, There were only two ladders in the town, and the men engaged in fighting the other fire were making use of those, He reached the rope at a run, grasped it, and began to draw himself up, band-over-band. The building was not of great height; neverthe- less, the task was one to tax all his strength. With every muscle strained, he worked slowly up the squirming rope, coiling the lower part about his legs at times, that he might stop and rest. He was within a yard of the upper floor, when the door above him was suddenly burled open, and a man leaped over his head and to the ground, Quintius was so startled that he came near en go and falling headlong. And well he might be startled! The man bore the bloody face of the ghost of the Grizzly Bear Mine. As soon as the fellow’s feet touched the earth, he leaped up and darted away as nimbly as Red Fee had done, As before stated, Quintius Quartz bad never seen the ghost of the mine; but he had heard descriptions of it, and these descriptions tallied exactly with the figure seen, For a moment he clung to the rope, bewildered and trembling, hesitating between a desire to descend and investigate this mystery, and to con- tinue on his way. The man had disappeared in the gloom beyond the firelight; and, after a mo- ment of thought, Quintius climbed tcilsomely on. He gained the room, which was already well filled with smoke; and after securing the papers an‘ valuables, hastened down, The men were contending gallantly against the fire, The supply of water was wholly ivade- quate, however, and they could do little, By means of buckets passed from man to map up the ladders, they saved some of the buildings furthest removed from the conflagration; but tbose in which it started, with the ones adjoin- ing, were destroyed, “‘And now what’s to be done?” the railway man inquired, when the flames had died down and he and Quintius were once more in conver- sation. ‘I’m afraid you’re done up, my friend! Your stamp-mill is gone, and ali your macbiner aud appliances, and your houses, The outlook is a little blue,” Quintius was trembling from the strain to which he had Leen subjeeted, ‘*T am here, yet!” he declared, with a sudden show of vehemence. ‘*And go long as I can move a finger, P’li not surrender, The scoundrel has burned me out; and the worst of it is, L'll not be able to prove it against him. Tom and I re- cognized him, but no one else did; and we would be considered prejudiced witnesses, I am in bet- ter shape, though, than when I commenced the fight. He left me for dead, then. I’m very much alive, now; and he’ll find it out before I’m through wich him! } This will not prejudice the chances of the railway?” ‘*A great deal of the property in which I was to have an interest is gone!” was the dubious an- swer, “T understand that, but I have another pro- position, Get your railway here within a month, and I wii! convey to you seven-eighths of all my wipe t ; ** Which will leave you practically nothing!” That is true! ‘Butlm in the shod to 1 and [’jl do it if it takes everything I have, If I can’t down Lucky Ledge, I’m gone, anyway. If I do it, and secure the Grizzly Bear Mine, Um all rigit, Red Fee bas robbed me, and now has burned me out! Will you accept my proposal?” After some reflection, the officer expressed a Williugaess to do so; and the contract was writ- ten ou’ that night and signed, the officer depart- ing tor Sunset City before daybreak, Quintius had said notbing to him of the rys- terious figure that had leaped from the upper room of the office, He knew not what to say, or if it was the part of wisdom to say anything. Hence, bis silence. _““ Who was this strange creature?” he asked himself time and again, without getting any sat- isfactory reply, It did not seem possible that the “ ghost” could have been there in collusion with Red Fee, en- gaged with Fee in firing the buildings, Every- ! Thé Rustler of Rollin thing in the past tended to show that this could not be the case; andif not, who was he, and what had he been doing? CHAPTER XII. LAYING FOR THE GHOST, RED FEE was much disconcerted by the at- tack made on bim by Tom, and was shaken by well-grounded fears when he rushed from the place. He had not recognized Tom, and rested under the delusion that the assault had come | from one of the Rolling Stone miners, But he knew Quartz well enough, and could not doubt that Quartz knew him, A shivering sense of dread hung over him as he hurried homeward through the night. He anticipated arrest; and until morning walked | nervously up and down the narrow confines of his office, trying to shape some plan of defense, His courage grew with the.coming of day and the non-appearance of the officers. Ata very early hour he sallied out to ascer- tain the exact nature of the damage done by the fire. The towns were so close together that he had been able to view the conflagration from his office window; but he sought more definite information. Even yet the red glow from the ruins tinged the eastern sky. The fire had summoned almost the entire population of Lucky Ledge, and many of these were still returning, dropping in by twos and threes, discussing the catastrophe and its prob- able origin. To the most obtuse, it was plain that the buildings had been fired, and much speculation was indulged in as to Why tbey were fired and by whom, The absence of Red Fee from the crowd sur- rounding the buildings had not been noticed, and he now mingled with the speakers and heard their comments without attracting suspicion, His uneasiness abated as the bours wore by and Quintins Quartz made no movement; and he rightly judged that Quartz feared to trust to the slender evidence he might be able to bring against hisenemy, Discourse with friends and boon companions—for Red Fee had these in abundance—increased his growing confidence; and before nightfall he had east aside his fears and was again plotting and scheming in the old way, Now that Rolling Stone was practically de- stroyed, he felt sura.of success for Lucky Ledge, But this faith was qhickly shadowe!; for within less than two days it became positively known that the railroad was to be continued from Sun- set City to Rolling Stone, which was to be its terminal point for an indefinite period, The Sunset City papers were filled with re- ports and rumors concerning this new enter- prise; and much disturbed, Red Fee visited that lively town to learn the exact truth, and en- deavor to induce the railway officials to con- tinue the road on to Lucky Ledge, He found his worst fears verified. Tbe railway was to be extended to Rolling Stone, but not a yard further; and neither money nor promises could induce those in authority to reconsider their decision. Red Fee returned to Lucky Ledge a desperate man, In spite of bis villainous scheming and crimes, ruin stared him in the face, Rolling Stone was rising on its ashes like a veritable pboenix, and the restless and shifting population gathered at Lucky Ledge were moving or pre- paring to move to the more favored location, guided by an instinct akin to that of the rat that leaves the sinking vessel. He bestirred himself witb all bis might to counteract the many influences that were work- ing against him. Early and late, night and day, be talked, persuaded, argued; set on foot schemes innumerable for the revival of the wan- ing business of his town; predicted untold for- tunes and glorious futures for those who remain- ed {true to it;—but all to no purpose, The men were going, and nothing could stay them: and as the days slipped into weeks, and the railway began to crawl snake-like across the ridges be- tween Sunset City and Rolling Stone, the flight became a panic, Hehad kept his secretary more than busy all this time with appealing letters to parties in the East. He had sent out untold thousands of cir- culars and pamphlets extolling the wonderful mineral resources of Lucky Ledge, and ics un- surpassed advantages from a mining and com- mercial standpoint; but all to no effect, Post- age and energy were alike wasted. There is nothing so difficult to revive as a waning boom, The railway was now within five miles of Rolling Stone and would enter that town in less than a week; and Red Fee, sitting gloomily in bis office one evening, considered this and all that had befalleu him, and determined to again g Stone. make an effort to rescue the Grizzly Bear Mine from the grasp of the spook, That was really the only mine there worth the working, It was indeed a valuable miae, and if he could drag up from its bowels the great wealth there stored, he might even yet tide over his ill-fortunes. Now, it was a useless property, wholly abandoned by the miners. No offers of | increased pay had been able to secure its work- ing. Red Fee had tried not to think about it, and in the rush of business had succeeded fairly well. He had a spell of the shivers whenever his thoughts turnea on the ghostly manifestations, ‘‘]'Il do it!” he declared at last, after fidget- ing for a long time in an effort to come to some resolve, ‘'Thot’s a slick game being played by Quintins Quartz, or by some one he’s hired to do the ghost trick.” He tried to speak the words firmly, but they did not entirely reassure him, He could not but recall bow his shots bad failed of effect; and he had always prided himself on being an excellent marksman with the pistol. **T don’t see how | missed him, when he was a-standin’ out that fair and open, but I surely did!” He got up and walked nervously from one end of the room to the other. “Yes; I'll do it!” be again exclaimed, taking out. his revolver and examining it. The grip of the weapon appeared to add to his kindling spirits, He slipped the cartridges from the cylimder, refilling it with fresh ones from a cartridge-case in the drawer of his desk, “Them look all right, and they’re big enough to go through either man or spirit, without any trouble!” He thrust the weapon into his hip-pocket, and sat down again to watch tbe slow-going hours. He did not touch the liquor-bottle this time, having some weeks before reached the conclu- sion that a whisky-fuddled head was not the sort of head needed to compete with the assayer. Tom Craigen, in the disguise of the i a writer, had been holding social converse with Louise in the parlor, and was on his way to his '} room as Red Fee left the bouse. He had de- scended with lightsteps, knowing from the lamp in the office that Red Fee was stil] there, and hoping he might learn something to his and bis brother’s advantage by a surreptitious advance aloug the narrow corridor. Red Fee had just stepped into the rear yard, having previously extinguished the office lamp, and was examining his revolver by the light of the moon, when Tom saw bim, Like intuition came the knowledge to the young man that Fee intended a visit to the mine; and he resolved to follow him. His curi- osity had long been aroused by the reports of the strange doings at the Grizzly Bear. After looking at his weapon, Red Fee moved away iu the direction of the mine; and Tom Craigen, not given time or opportunity to dis- card his feminine toggery, came after. Red Fee moved rapidly, and it did not take him long to reach the mouth of the mine, Tom Craigen was close at bis heels, and crawled into the tunnel-like entrance only a few moments } ———— after Fee vanished, He halted here, fearing to go further, and waiting to be guided by sounds of l"ee’s move- ments, None such came, and in a crouching posture be remained there long and anxiously. Fee was also waiting: waiting for the ghost to appear. But though the hour of midnight came and went, nothing occurred to disturb the serenity of the night. Tom, tired out by ineffectual watching, was about to retreat, when Red F.e, moving back along the passage at the same time, almost tum- bled against him. Red Fee uttered a cry of horror, recoiling violently in the idea tbat he had come unexpec- tedly on the ghost; and Tom, equally fright- ened, also uttered an exclamation and essayed to gain the outer entrance, Tbat exclamation told Red Fee that this was not the ghost. In spite of its startled character, Tom’s cry held a strangely familiar sound. In fact, Red Fee was almost sure he recognized the voice as that of his tvpewriter, : ‘* Cuss ye!” he gritted, recovering and spring- ing forward, ‘I'll kill ye fer that!” Tom could not doubt that this was meant in earnest, and tke fear of a pistol-shot from Red Fee’s revolver added wings to his feet. But the wings were destined to be elipped. He stumbled against a stone, and rolled bead- long on the rocky floor, Before he could regain his footing, Red Fee bad reached him and grasped him firmly by the shoulder.

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10 “What air ye doin’ Elsi als Ge tobe Koead™ ah tin. Hhacing Fa Wilk bs van Base least Ghaseca | was tne angry “juestion, as he dragged the seeming girl toward the outside. ‘‘It’s you that’s heen playin’ ghost, is it? Well; [ll take occasion to learn ye some- thing!” Tom was almost too startled and frightened to reply; and besides, he bad no adequate answer ready. “Now, what air you doin’ hyer?” Red Fee tiercely demanded, when they were out in the starlight and he could see he bad made no mis- take, ‘* Rose Latham, bave you been a-playin’ this ghost business? If I thought you had, I’d murder you!” ** Indeed, Mr. Redmond!” Tom pleaded, cling- ing to his feminine character, ‘ Indeed, | know nothing about it! I—I have not been ’ playing ghost. I—I—” He shook her as a spaniel might shake a rat. ‘“*Tell me what you air doin’ hyer, then!” fairly shouting the order. ‘Speak up, now, and no nonsense! What was you a-doin’ byer?” Rose Latham, taking refuge in a well-known feminine weakness, began to sob hysterically. “Tt was mere cu-curiosity!” she wailed. ‘“‘ Nothing else, Mr, Redmond, I assure you. I had no—po intention of doing anything wrong! There’s been so mu-much talk about the ghost of the mine, that I thought I’d coine down and try to get a peep at it. ‘I dida’t know you were in there; and when—when you ran against me—I —I thought you were the ghost! Boo-hoo—oo!” There were some weaknesses in the story, and Red Fee’s distrust was not removed by it, But the sobbing declarations were not without effect, He released his painful grasp, and stood looking sternly at her. **T don’t know, yit, but you’re a-lyin’ to me!” the declared, ‘‘ and if 1 find out you air, it?ll go hard with you. [ll let you off this time, but you needn’t think I sha’n’t be watchin’ you, She interrupted him by a fresh outburst of rief, itn Do you believe in ghosts?” he suddenly ques- tioned, ‘*T—I can’t say that I do,” tremblingly. ‘I never saw one,” ‘*Ner nobody else, That is, the genuine arti- cle. There’s plenty of make-believe ones, like the one that’s been playin’ hob with the Grizzly Bear.” He turned toward the town, without inviting her to accompany him; which she proceeded to do, however, notwithstanding this lack. Another series of sobs shook her form, It would not do to lose the good opinion of Felix Redmond at tbis stage of the game, and she was resolved she would not, if tears could avail. ‘*You’re a brave one, Miss Latham, J must say!” dropping back to accommodate bis steps to hers, There ain’t many women would ven- ture into a ha’nted mine like that, If you'll go ag’in and kill the ghost fer me, and bring me proof that you’ve killed him, Pi give you a thousand dollars!” The proposition was met with more sobbing. Miss Latham would agree to do nothing of the kind; and still under the shadow of his dis- pleasure and distrust, they reached the house, CHAPTER XIII. A QUEER PROPOSAL, A FURTHER conversation ensued when the office was gained; and the result of that conver- sation convinced Tom Craigen that bis period of usefulness as Red Fee’s secretary was ended. Throughout the walk from the mine Red Fee had been in a hesitating state of mind, No sus- picion of the true character of Rose Latham came to him, and the potency of her feminine charms was still strong. But the thought con- stantly gained ground that she was untrue to his business interests, Her lame excuses bad not satisfied him; and he wondered time and again if she was not, after all, the one who had been playing ghost, Tom retired to his room much agitated. Red Fee had hinted that his services could be there- after dispensed with. ‘*Not on account of this business,” he had said. ‘* But you’ve seen yourself that for the last two weeks I bain’t bardly had anything for you to do,” Notwithstanding this assertion, Tom knew that the true reason. for his dismissal lay in the events of that nigbt. He could not dorbt it; for, though business had been slack, Red Fee eed never hinted that he would not further need im. The dismissal did not so much concern him, He had already mainly accomplished the object which had induced him to assume the disguise of a feminine typewriter and enter Red Fee’s employ. He was distressed because, in leaving the house, he would lose the pleasant conversa- tions with Louise. There had grown up in bis heart a strong love for this girl. Louise, on her part, had become extremely fond of the typewriter, never dreaming of the deception the latter was practicing. They were together a great deal, especially’ of evenings; and thus Tom was enabled to study the girl’s character, and understand the true nobility of her nature, He had been more than once abased in his own estimation by the part he was playing. It seemed a treacherous and mean thing to do, to thus gain the girl’s confidence, But he excused himself with the strange circumstances of the case, reasoning that he could not do otberwise, Many times he bad desired to reveal himself to her, but had not dared. To have done so would have been to defeat all bis purposes in coming there, Now, however, that he was to leave the place, he was resolved to speak out and tell her who he was, and to express his regard for her. Tom slept little that night, tossing and rolling uneasily, his mind so wrought up by thoughts of these things! The only conclusion he came to was that he would leave the house early in the morning, re- turn some time during the forenoon, clothed in his proper masculine garments, ana seek the de- sired interview. But events prevented the carry- ing out of this programme, Louise chanced to be in the corridor, as he essayed to make his way to the street. Her fresh and blooming beauty quite overpowered him. The sudden fear that a delay might be fatal, pressed upon him. There was no know- ing, ‘he thought, but that Red Fee might so poison her mind in the interval of his absence that she would not listen to him, or even meet him when he came again. He could not forget his feminine apparel; and he blushed crimson, as he encountered her and requested a few words of conversation. “T presume you know I am going away?” questiovingly, taking her hand, ‘* No; surely not, Miss Latham!” mk Yes; Iam on the way tothe street now. I shall send for my things. Your father has no further use for me.” Louise seemed distressed, * Are you blind, Louise, that you have known me so long and have not guessed my secret?” again reddening painfully. Louise started, There was an unaccountable change in the accents of this supposed girl friend, The low, feminine tones, assumed by Tom as an additional disguise, had been thrownaside, His voice naturally had something of the cadence of a& woman’s, a peculiarity that had been ex- aggerated. ‘“*{—I—do not understand!” mered, A sudden fear that this friend was losing her mental faculties came to her, ** You are blini!, Louise! Will you forgive me for the deception? I am not Rose Latham—a woman, as you suppose; but am Tom Craigen, a brotber of Philip Craigen, who is known as Quintius Quartz, the assayer.” Louise gave a little scream of fright, and seemed about to fly, “Stay!” Tom adjured, catching her by the arm and detaining her. ‘Stay until you have heard me ont! You will not hate me for this, Louise? Assure me you will not! For ob, Louise! I love you better than life itself! Not as ope woman might love another; but as one man loves one woman!” Louise stood transfixed, apparently unable, to speak or move, so overwhelmed was sbe by this surprising revelation. ‘Tell me you are not offended!” Tom pleaded. **Only tell me that, and I wiil go away—” His appeal was br ought to a sudden end, The door of the office was quickly and angrily hurled open, and Red Fee appeared on the scene. Neither had dreamed of his presence there, as he had never been in the habit of visiting the office at so early an bour. ‘€ Oh, you'll RO away, will you?” darting for- ward and clutebing Tom by the shoulder and dashing him barsbly against the wail, ‘*‘ guess V’ll have sometbiu’ to say about that! So, you’re Phil Craigen’s brother?” He drew his revolver and for a moment it seemed that he meant to empty its contents into the body of bis false secretary. Tom, who was wholly unarmed, was seized witha panic of fear. He put out his hands im- ploringly, as if to ward off a blow, “I’m the biggest fool thisside of the divide, fer not knowin’ that before! But you'll git a chance to do no more dirt!” Louise stam- The Rustler of 20 Rustler of Rolting’ Stone Stone. : Louise screamed, believing her father intended murder, ‘* Shet yer yawp, will ye?” turning fiercely | on her. “If ye don’t ll serve you as I’m a-goin’ to serve him. A man rigged out in female finery, an’ playin’ a game like that!” He lifted his band asif to strike Louise, who was sobbing bitterly. “* Tf you’ll let me go, I'll promise not to come here again!” Tom quavered, Ob, yes; Pil let you go! Tve already played the fool 30 big that ought to wind up the game by doin’ that very thing!” He was trembling with excitement, and seem- ed scarcely able to restrain himself from flying like a savage bull-dog at Tom’s throat, Not the least embittering reflection was that he had al- lowed himself to fall in love with this pretender. He felt humiliated beyond measure. He had never so played the fool before. ‘“*Hyer I’ve been a- -lettin’ you into all the secrets of my business, an’ a-givin’ you the run of my affairs! It’s no wonder that Quintius Quartz has been able to lay it over me!” Red Fee had some time before come to the conclusion that Philip Craigen and Quintius Quartz were one and the same; and now he was sure of it. Tom cowered guiltily, shrinking against the wall and trying to edge toward the door. He was brave enough under ordinary circum- stances; but there was such deadly menace in the eyes of Red Fee, and he was so unnerved by this sudden exposure, that his usual courage quite vanished. ‘*No, you don’t!” observing the movement toward the door, and striding forward with the revolver ready in his hand. ‘* You don’t leave hyer, except as you go with me! ** Now, you go to your room!” turning threat- ening to Louise, ‘* And if you leave this house before I git back, you’ll wish to yer dyin’ day that you hadn’t, ** Go!” as she still hesitated; and Louise, trem- bling like an aspen, could do nothing but retreat to ber room, * Now, you'll walk along quiet in front of me, or I'll fili ye full o’ holes!” commandingly to Tom, when. Louise had vanished, ‘*No more monkey business, ] tell ye!” He A Ney toward the garden, What are you going to do with me?’ Tom ventured to ask. ‘That's all right! Hunt ghosts, likely! You was uncommon fond o’ buntin’ ‘em last night. I’m pretty well satisfied that you’re the one that’s been playin’ that game!” He again waved his revolver toward the rear entrance, ‘*March along there! I ain’t got any too much patience this morning, as you'll find out, if you try me, Thé quicker you mind my orders, the better it'll be fer ye!” Coerced by the weapon, Tom could do no- thing but obey. He looked anxiously about as they stepped ante the garden, hoping some one might be near to Whom he could call for assistance. He was disappointed. ** Yelpin’ won’t do y> any good!” interpret- ing Tom’s quick glances, ‘* An’, at the fu’st one, down yo go!” ‘* Where are we going?” “To lcok fer that ghost! An’ step along lively, or ther thing’ll die of old age "fore we git there.” He motioned in the direction of the mine, to- ward which a dimly defined trail led from the house, ‘*Right along there, d’ye see?’ An’ hold up them dainty skirts, er the sage brush’!! slice ‘en: into ribbons, You’re an uncommon fpeart female this mornin’! An’ purty! Ob, my!” There was a bitterness in this that showed how deeply the iron bad entered his soul. He would never be able to forgive himself for bis late obtuseness, More than once Tom Craigen was on the point of attempting to break away by running. But the certain knowledge that be would be fired upon, and the almost equally certain knowledy: that he could not fail to be bit, held this desire in check, Av indefinable fear of what might occur when the mine was reached took posses- sion of him, Tre black entrance soon came into view, and at sight of 1t Tom shrunk back. ‘On there with ye!” was the stern command. “That ghost’s jist a-dyin’ fer our society. Yeu can occupy your time in makin’ love to it, Itl appreciate the kindness,” Notwithstanding the sternness with which this was spoken, Tom hung back as they gained the opening, though he realized that now he was ee Tn es Ss oe 7 is SS ie SE pe ee oe

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a <a SS SEN eats BSE Ss ee ——- ne ee ee ee ee en J ar The Rustler of Rolling Stone. it wholly in Red Fee’s power. There was no shrinking on Red Fee’s part; no abating of bis fierceness, At the point of the revolver, he forced Tom into the mine, and toward the one narrow gallery that had been opened. The light of the new day came in but dimly. “There’s where I’m a-goin’ to bole ye up!” pointing to the gallery, which seemed to inter- sect the heart of the mountain. ‘‘ You can take yer choice! Walk in there peaceable and sensible-like; er I'l] put a ball into ye, an’ then drag you in!” Tom saw that there was no help for it, and so summoned all his resolution to sustain his sbrinking spirits; and walked into the tunnel- like place with as firm a step as he could as- sume, A few feet beyond the entrance he had to stoop, the opening narrowing down to a throat-like aperture, beyond which it again ex- panded, Against this small opening Red Fee tossed bowlders, backing these up by larger and still larger ones; and bracing all from the outside by some heavy timbers which had been brougbt there to serve as props, 1t_was as secure a prison as could be desired. “‘ Perhaps the ghost will let ye out!” Red Fee bawled, when be had completed his task to his satisfaction. ‘‘ No one else will come near you, no matter how you shout!” CHAPTER XIV. RED FEE DEFIANT. QUINTIUS QUARTZ viewed with satisfaction the rapid progress that was being made in re- building Rolling Stone. There were many drops of bitterness, however, in this cup of delight. The money necessary to carry on the work bad been obtained at ruinously usurious interest. Much of it had cost him five per cent, a month, or < the rate of sixty per cent, per annum, and ps yment would have to be made in sixty and yinety days. It was a fearful burden to assume, and he had done it only because be could do no- thing else. He was inthe same condition that Red Fee felt himself to be in, He must either regain the Grizzly Bear Mine, or go to the wall. His debts were already more than enough to swallow bis small remaining stock in the mine of Rolling Stone. He could not doubt that he was suc- ceeding in ruining Lucky Ledge; but he often questioned if he was not, like Samson, crushing himself with his enemies. He had believed that before this, Fee would be forced to a sale of the Grizzly Bear at solowa rate tbat he could afford to buy it in. Fee had offered it for sale to some of Quartz’s agents—of course not knowing they were such—but his figures were still too high to suit the assayer, And the days and weeks were crawling by, constantly bringing nearer the periods of pay- ment, Feeling thus, he called on Fee; this visit oc- currirg, as it chanced, on the night following the morning in which Fee bad jailed Tom in the mine. He found Fee very much disturbed, though of course could not guess why, The setpet aad at him angrily, as he entered the room and coolly belped hiinself to a seat. ‘*T-came to see you on a little business,” said the assayer, smoothly, “Out with it, then!” Red Fee exclaimed, feel- ing that, as there was no love to lose between them, there was no use in mincing words, Quartz quietly drew from his pocket the claim notice he had exhibited on a previous occasion. ‘* Tbere’s no one to hear us bere, is there?” ‘** Not unless you’ve brought some spy along!” The assayer looked at bim pres i and in- quiringly. ‘*T don’t know that I need to care who hears this, You’re the one that ought to care!” **Oh, am 1? Mebbe you'll be so good, then, as to tell me what it is!” ‘*No doubt you’ve guessed before this that when I came bere representing Philip Craigen, I came representing myself?” Red Fee’s face was as immovable as a rock, He did nut intend to be caught. ““T am Philip Craigen!” “Oh, you air? I’ve been thinkin’ all the time that there wasn’t no sich a man.” “Yes; ’'m Philip Craigen; and I’ve come to perce 3 for the last time, that you turn over to me the Grizzly Bear Mine, or its equivalent. It’s mine, as you well know; and I’ve about got ry, the evidence to convince the world of the _Red Fee stared at him with hostile and super- cilious unbelief, ‘“* And I’ve also collected evidence to show that you set fire to Rolling Stone!” In spite of bis iron nerve, Red Fee could not repress a start, as he listened to this charge. Quartz, who was watching him closely, noted this. ‘*T recognized you at the time; but my proof was not sufficient then to make a case, and | held my peace. Now, I am ready to move on your works. In the language of a certain general, I sball accept nothing but ‘unconditional surren- der!’ Red Fee’s hand had dropped to the revolver- butt that was elevating bis coat-tails, and he now glared at his adversary in a most vicious and vindictive way. ‘* Now, I’ve a proposition to make,” paying no heed to Red Fee’s warlike attitude. ‘* The Griz- zly Bear is mine, in all justice and fairness, You know that as well as I do; and you may as well believe me when I say thatI intend io get it back! There is one thing I will do: I will repay you whatever you are out for the opening of the mine; for ali machinery and work and necessary expenses. You know that the mine is worth very little at the present time!” ** And who made it wu’thless?” Red Fee hotly demanded. ‘* Whois it that’s been hirin’ some one to play ghost there, an’ scare the lives out o’ the miners?” ‘**Not I, I assure you!” **Oh, you didn’t! You're a very innocent sort o’ critter, Mr. Quartz! Now, I happen to know tbat you’re the very gentleman that’s been a- doin’ that! [’verun that ghost business down, an’ [ know what I’m a-talkin’ about!” The assayer could not know what discoveries Red Fee had made, and scarcely knew what to reply. ‘“* Whatever you have found out, I know it does not implicate me,” _““No?# Well,” angrily and somewhat incau- tiously, ‘you can bet yer boots that yer ghost won’t play any of his tricks again! I’ve pulled his teeth—clipped bis claws!” Tbe assayer did not connect these statements in apy manner witb his brother. “I don’t care anything about the ghost! I do want to know, though, if you intend to surrender this mine?” ‘Not to you!” was Red Fee’s wrathy reply. ** You can’t prove what you say, an’ you’re only tryin’ to frighten me out of my property. But you'll not doit! You may as well understand that, fu’st as last!” ‘‘But this proof I have against you? This proof that you fired the town?” ‘“ Which you hain’t got!” bristling aggressive- ly. ‘* Crack yer whip, Quintius Quartz! I never stole the Grizzly Bear Mine; an’ I never set fire to your windy old town! Your proof! Bab!” “ Then you refuse to do anything?” “It ain’t the mine you want to buy, Quintius Quartz! You want me to pay you for your silence! I sha’n’t do it! You ought to bave sense enough to know, that, after the fight we’ve been makin’ against each cther, nothin’ you can say about me would be believed, It would be put down to spite and enmity, I think you know that, as well as I do,” Quartz did know it, though he would not say so, He saw that nothing was to be gained by further talk; and after reiterating his charges and threats, took his departure. CHAPTER XV. A WOMAN'S COURAGE, As Quintius Quartz left the house, he was confronted in the darkness by Louise Norton. She did notapproach him while he was near the pri but some distance away, and near the street, Her first words showed him that she had been crying. ‘**Oh, Mr, Quartz! Your brother” aa gave agasp of surprise and wonder- ment. ‘* My brother?” he queried. “Yes, your brother—Mr, Tom Craigen, the— the typewriter girl!” he assayer could scarcely find bis tongue to reply. A tbe bed of contending thoughts and 1e0Tles possessed him, How hac ir i this Uno wledaee a, OW Bae eee _ “I don’t know that I understand you!” striv- ing for time and further information. She proceed hastily to explain. It was not an easy task, forshe did not desire to speak of Tom’s confession of love. ‘** Why, Mr. Redmond found out this morning that your brother was not what be seemed to be! That, in fact, he was not a girl at all, but a a man, and your brother. And then—thev he dragged bim away! And ob, I’m afraid, Mr. Quartz, that something dreadful bas happened !” Even in the faint hght, Quartz could see her clasp her bands appealingly. ‘Come further away,” he requested, in an agitated whisper. ‘‘ We are liable to be over- heard here,” He drew her deeper into the sbadows. “* How did Mr. Redmond discover this?” It was a pointed question and not easily evaded, ‘* He heard Mr. Craigen talking to me—and something that was said revealed it to him,” ** Did you know of the deception before?” ‘*T did not, I never dreamed of such a thing!” “And you do not know where Tom was taken?” in deepest anxiety. There was again a negitive reply. Quartz was lost for a moment in thought, He knew how desperate was Red Fee; and the ex- perience already had with the man was enough to show that he would hesitate at no crime. “You fear the worst?” gently questioning her, for he could only be grateful to this girh who was accepting such risks to aid him, *T dcn’t know what to fear! I don’t know what to do!” Again he wagsfsilent. ‘**Do you think you would have courage enough to do a bit of spying and trailing, should it become necessary? If your fath—if Mr. Red- mond has done anything desperate in the mat- ter, it may be hard to find it out. It will be hard, anyway. Butif he hasn’t killed the boy, the fact may be revealed by watching bim, and following him, Would you be willing to under- take the task, Miss Norton? I don’t know who else to ask, or of apy one who would have an opportunity to do it so well as yourself, Red- mond may already be leaving the house. ‘*T will burry to Rolling Stone, advise with friends, gather a body of men, and return as quickly as possible, “TJ will do what I can,” she timidly prom- ised. . ‘I fear it will not be much. You don’t know what a temper Mr, Redmond bas, when he is aroused.” She was much agitated, and her voice shook, The assayer felt that no time was to be lost: and with a few words of counsel and encourage- ment, be hastened away. It was some time before she could muster sufficient spirit to turn again toward the bouse. As sbe did so, she saw Red Fee glide down the garden walk in the direction of the mine; and, witb a prayer for strength, she followed close after bim, flitting along like a shadow. She did not at once pass through the epening into the mine, as she saw Fee do, but hung about the place, filled with strange fears, She could scarcely bring herself to venture in. But this she did, after a time. The floor was uneven, and she stumbled along blindly, in constant terror lest she should be discovered, She could not see Red Fee; but she fancied she heard bim talking or mumbling to himself, and crept in the direction of the sounds, She did not dare approach too near, and crouched in a depression, trying to ascertain what was occurring. Red Fee soon retreated, passing very close to. her, causing her to shiver with fear. He con- tinued on toward the entrance, however. She now knew not what to do. An impres- sion that Tom Craigen was blocked in the mine somewhere had grown on her, and she had even fancied that what she had beard might be a con- versation between him and Red Fee, But this might only be fancy. She hesitated, asking herself whether she should agein follow Red Fee, or make a search of the place, Before she could decide, she was thrown into a panic by the sudden blazing forth of a light. It came from a lantern, the flame of which was turned low. By the gleam of the lantern she caught her first glimpse of the mysterious habi- tant of the mine. Louise Norton was not at all superstitious, her brain being far too clear and well-b;lanced to: permit a belief in ghostly appearances, Never- theless, she could not repress an involuntary start of fright and awe, She had listened to descriptions of this particular gbost, and these descriptions tallied exactly with what she now saw. Thee could be no mistaking that horri- bly bloody visage, She crouched even Jower than before, clasping her hands and almost holding her breath; and remained in that position until the uncanny tbing had passed from sight. To judge from its actions and the direction taken, it was pursuing Red Fee. rue VARS OR alan

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12 The Rustler of Rolling Stone She arose to her feet, and was about to hurry from the place, when a voice reached and de- tained her, It was the voice of Tom Craigen. CHAPTER XVI. A PROMISE OF HELP, THE distress of Tom Craigen when left in the darkness of bis prison by Red Fee was beyond description. He Felt sure there was not an avenue of escape, Still, hope did not desert him. He was too young, and his nature too buoyant for that. A hundred things might happen to bring about bis release, He resolved not to admit that he could not release himself; but set to work at once to test the strength of the barricade raised by Red Fee. He might have lifted and moved some of the stones, if he could have got at them in a way to exercise his strength on them. This he could not do because of the narrowness of the tunnel at the point where the barricade commenced. Nevertheless, the bowlders were of such size that they did not join closely together, and at one point the interstices were so connected that he could look through them into the cave, which was a mass of gloom, except immediately about the entrance, He pushed and strained at the nearest bowlder, lacerating his hands badly in his endeavors; but he accomplished nothing. It seemed useless to look for a way out at the other enc of the tunnel, yet he kept along the rough floor until that end was reached, feeling everywhere for an opening. Of course, none idee found, and he stole back, heart-sore and aint. As the sun mounted higher and higher, pour- ing some of its light through the entrance, the various objects in the cave became visible; and for hours Tom crouched before the narrow slit, peering out in the hope that some one might venture within, to whom he could call, But the day wore away, and the mine remained un- visited, It was a long and weary day, filled with anxi- ety and pain, combined with the pangs? hun- ger and thirst. Some time after nightfall, Tom was startled, as he looked out, by seeing the ghost enter. It swung along, with the lantern in its hand, very auuch as an ordinary man might have done, Toe lantern was set down; and then with a miner’s pick, the strange figure began to tap on the wall, producing a succession of the clinking sounds whic had so often been heard, Tom was so sure it was a man, that he called out to it, appealing for help, Almost instantly the pick was dropped and the fantern extinguished; and the ghost ran away, like any badly-scared mortal. Tom watched anxiously for its return; but, when it came agaio, though he called to it in bis most pieading tones, 1t paid no heed, continu- ing to tap at the walls as if unconscious of his presence, Suddenly tke lantern was turned low, and the strange thing vanished beyond one of the rock buttresses of the interior; aod almost immedi- ately thereafter, Rod Fee made bis appearance, <oming straight up to Tom’s prison. ‘**Won’t you please let me out of here?” Tom begged. ‘I shall die if you keep me in here longer!” ‘Ha! hal ha!” laughing disagreeably. don’t know that that ougbt to worry me, save me the trouble o’ killin’ ye!” The words were utterly heartless, Tom saw that it was useless to beg for leni- ency, and remained silent, ‘*I might listen to you, an’ have some little pity on ye, if you’d ever had any on me, I can tell ye one thing, though, that likely’ll be pjeas- in’: you're a-goin’ to have company purty sdon, in the person of Mr, Quintius Quartz, your brother, It il be pleasanter like, Youtwo can talk together, an’ fizger out how you’ve downed Felix Redmond. of comfort in it!” The tones were irritating and mocking. Red Fee could not refrain from some further thrusts at the hapless young man, before re- treating. He had scarcely vanished through the en- trance, when the ghost reappeared, moving along with the dimly-burning lantern, as if trail- ing bim. Tom Craigen was about to turn back to his nny sick with disappointed hope, when bis een eyes caught the outline of a shadowy female figure. He knew this could not be Red Bee or the ghost, and impulsively called to it, When she heard that call, Louise Norton uttered a little cry of fright. Sbe did not fly a“ I Tell Vve no doubt there'll be a deal from the place, however; but turned about and looked in the direction from whence the voice came, ‘It’s me! Tom Craigen! I don’t know who you are; but if you area woman, I know you will try tohelp me, Iam shut up here in this tunnel!” Louise burried toward him, trembling violent- ly, She could see nothing, and therefore bad only the voice to guide her, She was afraid, too, that Red Fee might return, attracted by Tom’s words, ‘* Who are you?” Tom hoarsely whispered ; and when Louise made herself known to him his joy passed all bounds, He tremulously explained how he had been shut in there by Red Fee, ‘You will find the entrance blocked with stones, and these propped and braced by timbers,” Louise hurriedly felt over the barricade, and then strove with all her might to lift the braces, ‘“*l can’t do it!” she panted, ‘They are so heavy, and are squeezed in here so tight that I can’t budge them!” Again Tom’s hopes fell. **Can’t you remove them in any way?” The girl tried once more; and was obliged to confess she could not, “You will go, then, and bring some one who ean? Oh, Louise! Louise! To think that we should meet again in this way!” ‘*T came to look for you, and to help you!” she said, softly, understanding something of his thoughts, ‘Ill go, and at once! I hada talk with your brother, to-night, and he bas gone to Rolling Stone to get help. I will meet bim and guide bim and his men here,” Tom was about ts overwhelm her with thanks; but she had glided away, feeling tliat time was too precious to be wasted in unnecessary talk. CHAPTER XVII. FEE MAKES A CAPTURE. It was with a rapidly beating heart that Tom Craigen listened to Louise’s retreating footsteps. He had seen Rei Fee and the ghost vanish in the direction she was compelled to take, and a sudden fear for her personal safety came to bim. That bis fear had foundation was quickly shown. A scream arose from the entrance, followed by harsh words from Red Fve, Louise, in attempting to make her way out, had run a)most into Fee’s arms; and before she was aware of his presence, ove of his strong bands had closed on her shoulder in a vise-like grip, extorting the scream whicl) Tom heard, Red Fee was much surprised when he dis- covered who his captive was. He bad caught the gleam of the ghost’s lantern, and was lying in wait; but the ghost had turned in another direction; and just as Red Fee was about to make his way back into the cave, Louise had appeared in the entrance. The angry man placed one of bis big palms over her mouth to still any further cries, and barshly dragged her outside. ‘*What air you doin’ hyer?” he fiercely de- manded, raising his hand as if to strike, ‘Tell me that, or I'll murder ye!” Louise was stubbornly silent. Although des- perately frightened, she realized that confession might make her position worse, “You follered me byer!” Fee savagely growled, “I know that well enough! An’ you come to git that two-faced critter out of his scrape? I guess I'll see sometiin’ about that myself. Now, you'll come along with me, er Dll know why?” He jerked her rae Rad forward, pushing her into the path that led toward the bouse, “Tis mighty strange, when even my own fam’ly turns ag’in’ me!” was his bitter comment, as he urged her on, ‘ As if it wasn’t enough to have these hounds a doggir’ me!” Louise made no reply to this outburst. She was greatly terrified by what bad occurred, well knowing the vindictiveness of Red Fee’s nature, Her anxiety for Tom was also great; avd she racked her wits in vain fora plan by which she might acquaint his brother with his position. Red Fee did not allow her to halt until the house had been gained. Then be pusbed her in front of him into the hall, and drew the door to after them and locked it. “When you git a chance to play a trick like that ag’in, my lady, you'll know it!” glowering at her, ‘I didn’t think you’d side with my enemies, er I'd have watched you; but I'll know what to expect in the future!” He motioned ber on, and pointed to the stair- way that led from the corridor, “You'll go up to your room, an’ you'll stay there until I choose to let you out! An’ that won’t be in a hurry!” Louise dared not refuse, Her face showed white and drawn under the swinging lamp that illuminated the corridor, and her eyes were tear-filled. She was trembling, too; so violently sbe could hardly stand. ‘‘Go on!” he growled, as she seemed to hesi- tate. ‘‘I don’t want to bave to make ye; an’ you'll regret it, if you drive me toit. I ain’t in any mood fer foolin’!” His Words were not necessary to reveal this, It was shown by his entire manner, Louise turned wearily toward the stairway, up which she advanced in frcnt of him. When her room was gained, he pushed open the door and comm 1nded her to enter. She obeyed submissively; and when he had locked the door and pocketed the key, he left her, His thoughts were in such a whirl that he was forced to pace for a time up and down the cor- ridor, before he could determine on a definite line of action. For several days it had been plain to bim that he could no longer hold out agaiust his enemies. His debts were overwhelming. He saw he could never pay them; and felt that, when the end came, foes more bitter than angry creditors would be arrayed against him, While affecting to scorn the charges which Quintius Quartz had made, he was really much alarmed by them. He had been uneasy ever since he was caught near the fire at Rolling Stone; and only Quartz’s long silence on that subject had lulled him into even a fancied secu- rity. Ho could not always keep Tom Craigen shut up in the mine. He could slay him, it is true; and was probably only kept from it by a cow- ardly conscience, which was beginning to trem- ble at every shadow. A rap at the office door caused him to start guiltily, So shaken was he by the events that were hemming him in, that he half feared to ascertain who the caller might be; and, as he strode toward the office, be dropped his hand to his r volver to be ready for an emergency. It was only Curt Thomas who had rapped at that unseemly hour; and Rod Fee let him in with a growling protest. His face brightened, however, and his thoughts took a change, suggested by Thomas’s pres- ence, “I'm gittin’ tired of wnis busivess!” he de- clared, belping himself to a chair, after he had turned up the light. Thomas stared at him. not comprehending his drift. ‘‘T mean this whole o1amed ousiness! The fight on Rolling Stone, the mining, and all of it! I believe Vl put out, an’ jist let things slide,” ‘You can’t do it, can ye?” ‘Hardly; but I can do that better than I can stay! I'm ruined,any way you putit. If I had back some of the money I put in hyer, I’d go before mornin’! “*Tj] tell ye what Pll do, Thomas; I'll sell ye my half-interest in the Grizzly Bear for a thou- sand dollars, if you'll spot it down in cash.” Thomas looked at him as if he could scarcely ‘ credit the statement. ‘““Pif do it,” he said, with great promptness; and thereupon dived into an inner pocket and drew out a roll of bills, ‘*Cash itis! Jist look em over to see that I don’t cheat ye in the count,” Thomas knew that only a few weeks before Red Fee had been holding the mine at fifty thou- sand; ani] he acted as if he feared that the thousand-dollar offer might be withdrawn as quickly as it had been made, It was Red Fee's turn to exhibit amazement, He had fancied Thomas would have difficulty in raising the amount, yet he saw before him bills to the valuerf almost five times that. “I thought ye told me t’other day that you was hard up?” an angry lightinbiseyes. ‘‘ You was hard-up when I wanted to borrow a little; but you’ve got money to snap up a bargain, when it comes along!” Thomas wivked knowingly, not heeding the tone. “Ttgall right, pard, This hyer ain’t counter- feit, You can bank on that! A feller’s got to look out fer Number 1!” He counted out tbe thousand dollars, and rolled the remaining bills into a wad, which he thrust back into his pocket. “There you air! Now, make out and sign the document that’s to give me possession !” Red Fee permitted the bills to lie on the table, while he took up a pen and began to write.

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i _ Outlines of the men and horses; and thinking of | ’ drawn; and at the The Rustler of Rolling Stone. 13 **Run upto Sam Burns’s stable an’ send ’im hyer with his fastest horse,” looking up from the r. P thiewes hesitated. He was go slippery a character himself that he feared to trust others. **Tll have this ready fer ye by the time you git back. Send Burns byer at once!” He resumed bis Biroogy and Thomas, after a moment of uncertainty, left the office. Within five minutes Burns was there: and Red Fee went out on the steps to speak with him, ** Go to Rolling Stone as fast as yer horse’ll let ber Call on that law-sharp, leolm, and ring me the money he gives ye. Give him this, and it’ll be all right.” He delivered t> Burns some papers which he had taken from his desk, They were deeds, signed upin due form the day before and con- veying to Malcolm all of bis interests in Lucky Ledge, with the exception of the Grizzly Bear mine, for the ridiculously small sum of two thousand dollars. Malcolm bad made bim the offer the previous day, and the papers had been ast moment Red Fee had backed down and refused to deliver them. A few words of explanatioa followed; but - Burns was not detained a moment beyond what was necessary, and was gone before the coming of Curt Thomas, Although Red Fee was taking this step with seeming haste, it had really beem in his mind for some time, and was the outgrowth of many hours of weary and anxious thought. What had recently occurred was precipitating the catastrophe that be had felt must come; and now it only seemed the part of wisdom to save what he could from the approaching wreck and betake himself with it to some place of safety, In comparison with the figures that bad for months wreathed themselves in his roseate dreams, the amount he could bear away was small; but it was that much better than nothing; aud if he remained he might not only loze it, but would in all probability lose his liberty, He was still scribbling away, divided between bis task and thoughts on his plans, when Thomas arrived, The paper was finished in a short time and delivered; and then Red Fee m- self of the bills, Thomas did not remain any longer than was necessary, and went away feeling very jubilant, CHAPTER XVIIL. BACK TO ROLLING STONE. QUINTIUS QuARTZ had but one idea firmly fixed in his mind, as he hastened from Redmond’s, after his nocturnal conversation with Louise, That was to hurry to Rolling Stone, gather a force of tried and true men, return with them and oblige Red Fee to tell what he knew of the whereabouts of Tom. Not only would he do that, but, if Tom had been imprisoned—as Quintius believed—then he could compel Fee to compromise the matter by a transfer of bis in- terest in the Grizzly Bear Mine. This was the _ plan outlined by the assayer, and he did not doubt that it could be worked, There was, of course, a possibility that Tom Craigen had been foully dealt with, and the assayer’s brows darkened and bigs eyes flashed as he thought of this, If Red Fee, in his desperation, had gone so far as that, he re- solved that a swift and bitter vengeance should overtake him. The collecting of the men was not so easy a task as he had anticipated. Many of those on whom he most relied were absent from the town, and substitutes bad to be sought. This occupied a great deal of time; and nearly two hours elapsed before he was ready to turn his face toward Lucky Ledge, at the head of a band of mountcd men. They had covered perhaps half the distance, when they heard the hoof-strokes of a hor-e advancing from the direction they had themselves come, Feeling that it would not do to permit this horseman to pass, Quartz disposed bis men Nn a semicircle across the trail The man might be a messenger sent by friends of Red Fee to give the Jatter warning of the coming of Quartz’s party,” The horse scented the men; and on bein forced forward by its rider, whirled quickly and threw him to the ground, Before he could arise, Quartz was on him. As the reader has suspected, this horseman was Sam Burns, Burns was wiry and strong; and hurling Quarts desperately aside, leaped to his feet in an effort to break away. He did not know who his assailants were; but he saw the shadowy ' the money in his pocket, decided the men were road-agents, They were closing about him, though; and their Joud commands to halt, backed as they were by a suggestive clicking of revolvers, brought him to a stand. A match was struck, and its light flashed into the prisoner’s face, There was a mutual recognition. Burns gave a short, hard laugh. ‘“*T thought you was agents, pards, and that I was done fer!” It was an unfortunate speech, As a general thing, Sam Burns was not known to carry any- thing that would be likely to arouse the cupidity of a road-agent, “You were mistaken in that; still, we must see what you’ve got. I’m not certain but that you’re bearing a message to Red Fee, We are going for him, and we don’t care to have him warned of our coming.” The match bad gone out; but even the gloom could not conceal Burns’s uneasiness, The search, which was quickly made, brought to light the two thousand dollars, and a note from Malcolm to Red Fee concerning the sale. The conclusion was irresistibly forced on Quartz that Red Fee intended to leave the country at once; and with it came an added un- certainty as to the fate of his brother, If Red Fee had murdered Tom Craigen, that would be the most powerful reason in the world for urging him to instant flight. “You were taking these things’ to Redmond” his voice harsh and choked. ‘Speak truly, Sam Burns, or it will be the worse for you! Redmond has borne away, and perhaps murder- ed, my brother; and I do not propose that he shall enenne punishment for it.” lt was Burns's first intimation that the as- sayer had a brother, He saw, though, that Quartz was in deadly earnest, and that it would be foolhardy to anger him by a refusal to reply, or by an evasion, “Tell me bow boy came by these bills?’ crowding one question on another. ‘‘ And why = were riding so swiftly toward Lucky Ledge? up, man!” — He was trembling with excitement, and showed also that he felt there was no time to ‘“‘T was carryin’ them things to Red Fee,” Burns avowed, thinking a direct confession the safest. ‘‘He sent me over to Malcolm’s to git ’em, an’ I was on my way back, when you stop- ped me.” : ‘* And you were to deliver them to him at his office?” Burns hesitated. ‘*No; not exactly. I wasn’t to take ’em to his office, but to the little bunch o’ trees on the river-bank, not fur from the Grizzly Bear Mine,” Quartz felt tbat his suspicion that Red Fee intended an immediate departure was correct. ““And did he tell you that he was going away ” ‘* Nothin’ of the kind!” “What is this money for?” ‘Hanged if I can say, exactly; but I reckon he’s sold out to the Jaw sharp. That’s how I sized it up, anyway.” ‘*And I size it up that he means to leave, as soon as he gets these bills. You will have to go with us, Burns! We'll not rob you or hurt you. We'll give you a chance to deliver the money to him; and then we'll scoop him in and make him do some talking, or know ba e gave the money and the letter back to Burns, but did not restore to him his horse. It was led by one of the men; while the others closed with their animals about its late rider to prevent an escape, CHAPTER XIX. PRISONERS TWO. To return to Louise Norton, locked in her room, She gave way to a paroxysm of ago- nized grief, as she listened to Red Fee’s retreat- ing footsteps and thought of Tom Craigen im- risoned in the black mine. She could not know ut that Red Fee meant to return to the mine to barm or abuse the prisoner, really fearin that was his intention. Tom’s situation an danger oppressed her far more than her own, She heard Red Fee stop in tae corridor below and begin bis restless pacing. Although this was a relief, as indicating that be did not intend to return directly to the mine, it also prevented her from making any outcry or attempting to escape, Thomas’s rapping at the door reached her, but, though she strained her ears to catch some words of the conversation that ensued, it was in vain. There only floated to her a low droning, barren of significance. The coming of Burns, the horseman, did not tend to relieve heranxiety. She felt that it por- tended some ill When Burns rode away, sbe strove to catch a glimpse of him from the win- dow that looked out on the street, but the dark- ness was too great. All she could tell was, that he was galloping in the direction of Rolling Stone, - How she longed for the return of Quintius Quartz, with the men be had gone to collect! She resolved that when he did come, she would in some manner succeed in attracting his atten- | tion, even if it was followed by condign punish- ment, She hoisted the window-sash and leaned far out, hoping some one migbt pass near to whom she could whisper of the strait she was in. But. the hour was too late and the place too isolated to really expect any passere, Even the principal street was almost deserted, though she could yet see a few lights gleaming redly. ‘Oh, if unty bad a ladder or a rope!” was her mental wail, The distance was too great for ber to attempt to leap down; and, as she could see or bear noth- ing, and the night wind chilled her, she closed the window. After a time she heard Curt Thomas tramp away; and hoped, even while she feared, that Red Fee might accompany or follow him. But Red Fee resumed his nervous pacings. For many minutes the monotonous and heavy tread of his boots informed her that be was stilb in his office. Then she heard the door open and close, and his crunching steps on the k, A nervous tremor seized ber. If he left the place, there might yet be a chance for her to es- cape in time to be of service to Tom Crai- gen. She waited until] the sounds had died out; then began to count slowly so as to accurately measure the passing moments, They seemed so leaden-winged that she feared she might other- wise be too hasty in her movements. It would be fatal to ber plans’ to make any outcry while Red Fee was still within hearing. When ahe felt sure he had had time to place a. sufficient distance between himself and the house, she began toshout to the servant-girl, and to stamp furiously on the floor. The servant’s room was just below her own, ** Ob, Betty!” she called, emphasizing the cal? witha vigorous thump from the heel of her boot. ‘ Betty, are you asleep? Ob, Betty! Wake up, and come up bere at once!” Betty Butterball was a heavy sleeper, a thing well-known to Louise; and so she stamped an shouted with all ber might, making enough noise, as she afterward declared, ‘‘to awaken the dead,” Finally ber efforts seemed rewarded with suc- cess. She heard Betty’s startled exclamations, and the thud of the girl’s bare feet as they struck the floor. “ Come up here, Betty; and bring the hall-key with you. 1’m locked in here.” There were burried, rustling sounds in Betty’s room; aud soon after she appeared excitedly be- fore Louise’s door, bearing a lighted lamp. “What in the world is the matter?’ was her- anxious inquiry. ‘Tm locked in here, Betty! Did you ene the hall key? Father locked me in here, an took away the key!” Betty gave acry of astonishment and alarm, one in ber agitation came near dropping the amp. *“Oh, dear!” she wailed. ‘‘ Locked you in? Whatever shall I do?” “*Go and get the hall key, if you haven't got it already. It will unlock this door, And be} ar, about it, for father may return at any ime, Betty seemed incapable of action; all she could do was to give utterance to exclamatory evidences of her surprise and alarm. **Go and get the hall key!” Louise sharply commanded, ‘“ Don’t you hear?” Betty bad a bigh regard for her mistress, but it was sometimes outweighed by her fear of Red Fee. ‘*-Yes; [bear! But, Mise Louise, if he should catch me? Ob, dearme! Whatever shall I do®” Louise’s patience was rapidly becoming ex- hausted, when Betty at length turned to tbe stairway and descended to the corridor, She was back very shortly. ‘*The key isn’t there, Miss Louise!” Louise understood why. Red Fee had feared something of the kind, and had taken it with bim, ‘* Isn’t there another key that will do?” Louise,

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Wedeeth 1G casi po back © wine and ws “Or, can’t you bend a wire and make it answer the purpose?” * The key is here!” Betty reeled against the wall, in an almost fainting condition, and Louise started as if a pistol-shot had rung out near her, It was the voice of Red Fee, He had returned unexpect- edly and silently; and, hearing something of the talk, and from it understanding what was in progress, had removed his boots and crept quietly up the stairway. ‘‘ This is a fine business, now, ain’t it?’ sneer- ingly. ‘‘ Who gave you any call, Betty, to bother with my affairs?” Betty could only gasp. ‘Tf you’re wantin’ to git in there so bad, I reckon I can help you!” with that same evil sneer, Thereupon he applied a key to the lock; and, ‘when the dcor swung open, took the lamp from the hands of the half-fainting servant, grasped her roughly by the shoulder, and pushed her into the room, He chuckled satirically, as he closed and locked the door, and dropped the key into his pocket. ‘*'You two can be company for each other. 1t’ll keep ye from gittin’ lonesome.” Louise leaped toward the door, pleading to be released. ‘Oh, father!” she exclaimed; be'so cruel?” His voice softened a little, for he had always liked Louise, **T don’t mean to hurt ye, Lou!” addressing her by her pet name. ‘‘‘ But you'll have to stay in there awhile. You can git out easy enough in the morning! You'll have to stay there, now; otherwise, you'll bu’st up all my plans, I'm a- goin’ to leave hyer in a few minutes; and after I’m out of town, I don’t care how soon some one comes,’ ** But surely, father, you will not hurt him?” “Hurt who?” “Tom Craigen. up in the mine,” The answer was an oath; and without giving her any satisfaction on that point, he ran lightly down the stairway, resumed his boots, anil was gone. Louise’s fear and excitement were now at fever heat. She bad about lost all the respect and regard she ever had bad for Red Fee, and his declaration that he intended to leave the country did not greatly touch her, Her anxiety for the safety of Tom Craigen amounted, how- ever, to agony. Red Fee bad not romised be would not injure the young map. is reply to her appeal had been an oath; and that was ominous, “Why don’t Mr. Quartz come?” she exclaim- ed, wringing her hands and hastening to the window, ‘*Oh, if he would only come! I feel that something’ dreadful will happen if he de- lays much longer!” The slowness of the assayer was inexplicable to Louise. She could not know of the many “things that had occurred to consume his time. ‘*Let us shout together,” she said to Betty. ‘** Maybe that will draw help!” She raised her voice in a wild cry; but, through fear, Betty remained silent. There came no answering response, Louise hoisted the sash and called again. She then listened anxiously. Far away she fancied she could hear the trampling of horses’ feet; and she called again and again. Then remembering that she had a little pistol in the room, she brought it forth, and fired shot after sbot out of the window, till she emptied the chambers. “Surely they will hear that!” she asserted, as she again hearkened to the far-away hoof- beats. ‘‘ Oh, if they only get here in time!” ‘Show can you The man you have fastened CHAPTER XX, VINDICTIVE FEE, A FEELING of bitter vindictiveness possessed Fee, as be made bis way from the house in the direction of the mine, He was bitter against Curt Thomas—though not in the same measure as against Tom Craigen and his brothers; not because of any feeling that Thomas had injured him, but solely for the reason that be bad been forced by circumstances to sell the mine to Thomas at such a ruinous price, Mixed with this was the impression that Thomas had not acted toward him in a generous manner when he accepted the mine at those figures, and that Thomas had really been pleased at the chance of such a bargain. ‘* We'll see how much good it’ll do him!” he voflected, as be hurried on. ‘ His one thousand Be = ee ee Rustler of Rolling Stone. will grow to five, before he gits his mine in shape fer work, after I'm through with it !” He stopped as he beard, borne faintly to him, the frantic calls of Louise. For a moment he seerned about to turn back, and uttered savage oaths in a low tone. But he crowded down his ragv, as his fancies turned toward the girl who was struggling to free herself from her prison, His kindly regard for Louise was the one good point in his thoroughly bad nature. It had not been sufficient to persuade him to let her go, to keep him from previous barsh treatment, nor to prevent bim from deserting her forever at this critical time; but it did turn from her the fierce animosity that raged in his heart against every other person who bad sought to cross bis plans, ‘*Let her yowl!” a harsh, unmirthful laugh escaping him, ‘‘It won’t burt her, and I hope it won’t hurt me, It’s a good ways up to town; and, though she’s got rather extry lungs, I don’t think any one will hear her.” He started on again, hastening his footsteps however, when the pistol-shots reached him, and the black look came back to his face. “She may bring some one with that, and I'll have to hurry. If the gamblers hear that shoot- in’, they’ll think there’s a lively fight goin’ on, and they’ll come a-b’ilin’!” He still hoped, though, that the shots would not be heard, His rapid, swinging strides took him to the mine without delay. He bad resolved upon a deed of desperation, which he went about as coolly as if it were only ap ordinary affair of business. Not far from the entrance was stored a quan- tity of blasting-powder, It had remained there since the opening of the mine, and its existence been almost forgotten, save by Red Fee. He knew its exact location and amount, and knew also that there were some fuses there. A feeling of mad desperation took possession of him, as he approac ched the powder. The nearness of the contemplated deed and ite vic- tim, poured oil on the fire, If he could not strike Quintius Quartz in person, he would strike him through his brother. The death of Tom Craigen would give full measure of re- venge, and to bring about Tom’s death, in a horribly terrible way, was what brought Red Fee to the mine, Not only would he avenge himself on Quin- tius Quartz, but by ruining the mine be would even the score between himself and Curt Thomas. It would be killing two birds with one stone, ** They don’t know what kind of a man Red Fee is when he’s driven to the wall!” growling out the words as he bent over the deadly ex- losive. ‘*‘He never shows his teeth before he ites. There’ll be some men hyer who'll have cause to remember me!” He drew himself erect, as a new thought oc- curred to him, ‘“*T wonder, now, if I couldn’t lay fer Quartz and git a shot at him, after I blow this thing up?” Many dangers would attend such an effort, as he realized when be began to think it over, “One thing at a time!” be muttered, as be stooped again tothe powder, ‘' This fu’st, and the other if I can. Nea aybe I can lay fer ‘him, after I git that money from Burns. Then if I git a shot, let ’em ketch me if they can!” He worked with much adroitness and skill, making several trips, and bearing a large quan- tity of the powder to the point selected. This was a cavity in the rock near Tom Craigen’s prison-tunnel; and Red Fee could not doubt that the explosion of the powder at that place would tumble the overhanging rock into the tunnel and crush the prisoner, He was careful to prevent the young man from hearing him; not that such a discovery could hinder the completion of the scheme, but because of a guilty and sneaking feeling. As he worked, there came an ill-defined sound, and Red Fee sunk to the rocky floor with the silence of an Apache, The sound bad not come from the tunnel, but- from the main chamber of the cave. This was his first conclusion; but, as he lay there, he gradually worked himself into the belief that he bad heard nothing at all, and had been misled by bis nervous excitement, He was fearing interruption all the time, and this fear might engender the deception. Nevertheless, he did not return to his task until he had made a quiet and stealthy search of the immediate vicinity. He found nothing; and as time was precious, be placed the powder in the cavity, weighted it to give the explosion greater force, and arranged a short-time fuse, With nervous, shaking fingers, he lighted and applied a match to the fuse; then fled precipi- A emer terme anemone . tately from the place, but so silently that bis movements could scarcely have been heard, The sputtering fuse was located in an angle where it could be seen neither by Tom nor by any one looking from the entrance; and, thus bidden, there was not one chance in a thousand that it could fail to do its work, Red Fee was shaking still, and a profuse per- spiration bathed his body, as he made bis way out into the star-gemmed night, There was no beauty in the stars, they seemed rather to look dawn on him like accusing eyes, He shuddered as he glanced back at the black entrance and thought of what was beyond it, Then he turned in the direction of the little rove which he had selected as his place of meet- ing with Burns. He was not destined to reach it, however, be- fore the occurrence of the explosion. Red Fee was not a practical miver, and in his fear of an interruption, he had cut the fuse shorter than he meant to, shorter than he thought; and, even as he looked backward, the ground shook with an uncertain tremulousness resembling the premonitory symptoms of an earthquake shock, and then there came a dull, rumbling roar that grew and grew in volume and intensity; and the very mountain seemed to rock and rend and crasb into fragments. Red Fee was burled from bis feet; but he was uninjured; and, as soon as he could Jeap up, he turned his back on the scene of his dreadful crime, and with a sickening, sinking sensation, rushed wildly away. CHAPTER XXI. WHO WAS THE GHOST? Lovrise held the smoking revolver in her hand when she had emptied the last chamber, an strained her eyes through the night in an effort to catch a view of the distant horsemen, She could not be sure that the sounds came from Quartz’s party; but if she could draw any one to her relief, time would be gained. She greatly feared Red Fee would hear the shots and return to thwart the accomplishment of their purpose, But some risk bad to be run. His coming back would be something, for it would delay his movements against Tom raigen, if any such were contemplated. She listened for his approaching footsteps on the pebbly walk; and when, after some moments, they were not to be heard, she turned her atten- tion again to the clatter of the hoofs. There could be no doubt that the horsemen were drawing nearer. There were no more cartridges for her weapon or she would have used it again to basten their movements, though she could tell that they were swinging forward at a goodly gait. Five minutes later the tramp of hoofs yas in the street, and the party halted in front of the house, Sbe saw a man spring to the ground, and called loudly to bim from the window. It was Quintius Quartz. He was moving to- ward the office, but stopped §to catch what she had to say. “Shut up in there, eh? and Redmond gone!” in a voice betokening intense astonishment, He did not wait to hear more, but shouted to one of his men and ran to the door. Having no key to unlock it, he gave it a vig- orous kick; and when the man joined him, they threw their combined weight against it. By thus making battering-rams of their bodies they drove the door inward, following it so pre- cipitately that they sprawled headlong on the floor. lt was now an easy matter to gain access to the corridor, **T don’t. know that this is just the right thing to do!” Quartz exclaimed, as he bounded up the stairway. ‘“Tt’s a criminal offense to break in a& man’s doors that way, but I hope the cir- cumstances will pardon it, At any rate we have the permission of his daughter who seems at present to have charge of the premises, ” “ Or ruther they have charge o’ ber!” the man wheezed, as he panted upwar at Quartz’s heels, “You'll have to break in the door,” called out Louise, when they arrived in front of her room; and forthwith a sturdy kick from the assayer’s boot tore away the fastenings. There was no light in the room, and no time was taken to get one, In hurried sentences Louise related what she knew concerning Tom’s imprisonment. he information stirred Quartz to great in- dignation, as well as to instant action, “T]] bave to go at once!” be declared; “ but T’ll come back in a little while and conduct you and this young lady to a place of safety.” He was bounding down the stairway two steps eta time before the sentence was completed. a

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The Rustler of Rolling’ Stone, 15 He realized the need of haste, There was no certainty as to the intentions of Red Fee, but it was reasonable to conclude they were not friend- ly to Tom Craigen. He ran for bis horse, at the same time calling loudly to his men. He had not mounted, though, when the great explosion came. A scene of wild terror ensued, The borses reared and plunged, being with difficulty re- strained by their riders, Quartz’s heart almost stilled its beating, so overcome was he by the fear that smote him, He knew that vo blasts were being fired in the mine, and it seemed wholly unlikely that an accidental explosion could occur. Shaking in every fiber, he climbed to the back of his horse; and as soon as the animal could be brought into control, he led bis party at a swift gallop down the uneven slope. They were rapidly approaching the mine, when arunning figure attracted their attention. It was Red Foe, who was flying so wildly from the scene of his awful crime, A suspicion that this flight was connected with the explosion came to Quartz, and he swerved in chase, his men plunging recklessly after him. Red Fee had no chance in sucharace, He dodged and twisted among the concealing bowl- ders; then faced quickly about, driven to des- peration, and fired point-blank at the forerost pursuer. The rearing of his borse saved Quartz’s life; though, even as it was, the bullet whistled within an inch of bis head, Before the desperate man could repeat the shot, Quartz knocked him down by a blow from a hurled revolver, Even then, Fee would not surrender without a struggle. But it did not take long to reduce him to subjection. Quartz had no time to spend over his prisoner; and leaving him in charge of two men, he started with the others for the mine. A bull’s-eye lantern was produced by one of the party, and by its light they enterei. In- 3tantly they came upon evidences of the terrible wreck wrought by the explosives, Great frag- ments of rock had been torn loose and tossed in ajl ilirections, The powder smoke hung dense and stifling, making the light of the lantern red and faint. Not far from the center of the cavern Quartz halted, with a gasp of horror. Before him lay the limp form of a man, whom at first glance he believed to be his brother, With acry of pain he dashed forward, kneel- ing at the stricken man’s side, His followers hurried up with the lantern; and then Quartz discovered that the unfortunate was not Tom Craigen, but was, on the contrary, the mysterious being who had so long been playing the role of ghost, This was revealed by the blood-colored stains on the face. With wondering exclamations, Quartz’s party looked down at the unfortunate, and the query, ‘¢ Who is he?” passed swiftly from lip to lip, Before it could receive answer, their attention was drawn by faint calls, These came from Tom Craigen. Though the tones were weak, Quintius recognized his brother’s voice and made immediate answer. He seized the lantern from the hand of the man who held it, and rushed in the direction of the sounds, *“ Where are you, Tom?” he shouted, holding the light above his head and looking over the scene of ruin before him. ‘* Here!” came the reply, from directly in front, “In this tunnel. I’m wedged ia be- tween some rocks, and can’t help myself.” Sharply Quintius’s call rung out for assist- ance, which was immediately given, As soon as Tom’s position could be correctly ascertained, the men began to remove the wreckage of bowlders that lay between him and liberty. The timber-braces had been splintered and thrown to the further side of the cave, and only the big stones used by Red Fee to block the tunnel bad saved bim from death, The tunnel was really the least injured portion of the mine, because of the shielding thus given it, Tom was found pinioned and helpless, but not much hurt. There were some bruises on his legs and hips, and when be was assisted to rise, he was dizzy and faint, However, this feeling passed quickly away, and he declared himself almost as good as new. The meeting between the brothers was indeed a& joyful one, though the outward manifesta- tions of this joy were not excessive, As soon as it was seen that Tom was safe, some of the men hurried back to the point where the unknown had been left, To their surprise they found he bad returned to consciousness. He was scarcely able to speak, and his words were so low and husky that his identity still re- mained a mystery. Not until they had borne him to the river and washed the red stains from his face, did they recognize bim, A simultaneous ery of astonishment arose. He was Curt Thomas! The bloody stains had been conferred by a reddish paint; and rudely-fashioned armor had protected him from Red Fee’s bullets, One look into the white and drawn face showed that he was not long for this world; a fact he fully re- alized, *““[’m dyin’, boys!” he hoarsely whispered. ‘*Carry me somewhurs an’ make me easy. ve a little talkin’ to do, an’ I hain’t long to do it in!’ Red Fee nad been brought up by this time, BY LIEUT. A. K. SIMS. 546 Captain Cactus, the Chaparral Cock. 68 The Dandy of Dodge. 576 The Silver Sport. 588 Saffron Sol, the Man With a Shadow 589 Tom-Cat and Pard; or, The Dead Set at Silver City. 601 Happy Hans, the Dutch Vidoeg. 611 Bildad Barnacle, the Detective ~ EE 622 Texas Tom-Cat’s Triad 681 Tom Cat’s Terrible Task. 688 Tom-Cat’s Triumph; or. Bleck Dan’s Great Combine. 646 Cowboy Gld, the Cattle-Range wetective. 357 Warbling William, the Mountain Mountebank. 665 Jolly Jeremiahs the Plains Detective. 676 Signal Sam, the Lookout Scout. 689 Billy the Gypsy Spy. 699 Straple Sim, the Broncho Buster. 712 The Mesmerist Sport; or, The Mystified Detective. 788 Toltec Tom, the Mad Prospector, 745 Kansas Jim, the Cross-Cut Detective. Marmaduke, the Mustanger Detective. BY CHARLES MORRIS, 118 Will Somers, the Boy Detective. ; ic, ‘ : 122 Phil Mardy, the Boss Boy. and his surprise at discovering who the ghost | ;35 Picayune Petes or, Nicodemus, the Dog Detective. really was was as great as that of any one there. 180 Detective Dick; or, The Hero tn Rags. He had never suspected Curt Thomas, 142 Handsome Harry, the Bootblack Detective. . am 17 Will Wildfire, the Thoroughbred. The sorely-wounded man was lifted tenderly | 152 Black Reas, Will Wildfire's Racer. n rne up the long slope to Red Fee’s residence, | 157 Mike Merry the Harbor Police Boy, $25 Doe ae ee eee © | 162 Will Wildfire in the Woods. The carriers had scarcely started with their | 465 Billy Baggage, the Railroad Boy. burden, when Louise Norton and Betty Butter- | 170 A Trump Card; or, Will Wildfire Wins and Loses, ball were encountered. Their anxiety had | 124 Beb Rockett; or, Mysteries of New York. driven them forth, 188 The Hidden Hand; or, Wil! Wildfire’s Revenge. Thomas asked for stimulants when the house 13 Fred Halyard, the Life Boat Bos: cr, The Smugglers. was reached, He was very weak, and failing | 196 Shadowed ; or, Bob Kockett’s Fight for Lafe. fast. His story, told as soon as he was able to +e perk Pan. the aoeee King. ie : : 21% re he Dan¢ etective, speak, was listened to with marked attention, 220 Tom Tanner} or, The Black Sheep of the Flock. He bad undertaken the role of ghost with a ane Sem Oharcea she Preminm Darky. a - 235 Shadow Sam, the Messenger Boy. purpose. That purpose was to prevent the 2 12 The Two ** Bhooda”; or, Shenandoah Bill and His Gang. working of the mine, and to so depreciate it in value that he could buy Red Fee’s interest for a | mere trifle. How well he succeeded—aided, of course, by the counter boom at Rolling Stone— the reader has seen, He bad climbed into the room over Craigen’s Rolling Stone office, immediately preceding the fire, for the purpose of obtaining possession of some papers which he believed would in- criminate bim—a hint that Craigen had got hold of such papers having reached him, brought about bis death, had been to release Tom Craigen. Now that the mine was bis, he did not wish the young man to be beld there, He had disguised himself with the red paint, not desiring that his agency in the matter should become known, especially to Red Fee. The confession contained sometning else, and that was an avowal of how he and Fee had | gained the Grizzly Bear Mine, To most of those present this revelation was very unexpected. It involved the revelation that Quintius Quartz and Philip Craigen were one and the same. “ye wronged you, pard—wronged you bitter!” the dying man confessed. ‘I can’t | undo it, but I’ll rest easier, an’ mebbe have a better show up yander, if I try. I never had any right to the mine, ner had Red Fee; but I bought his interest in it to-night, An’ now I want to turn it all over to you, if a feller can turn over anything which he don’t own, an’ which is yourn already!” A look of peace came to his face as he caught Craigen’s generous words of reply. He had tried to make reparation, and his death was the calmer for it, Red Fee degenerated into a whimpering coward, when he heard this confession and saw how completely he was in the toils, A month afterward he was tried for the murder of Curt Thomas. This trial consumed the thousands he had recently obtained; and, though his worthless life was spared, it was scarcely a favor, for he was condemned to spend the remainder of it in prison and at bard labor, At Philip Craigen’s earnest solicitation the railway was pushed from Rolling Stone on to Lucky Ledge; and the prosperity that came to the united towns was phenomenal, Of course, the Craigens shared in this prosperity; and the reopening of the Grizzly Bear Mine was made memorable by the marriage of Thomas Craigen to Louise Norton, and by a ball that far eclipsed the masquerade, THE END, Beatle's Haif-Dime Library. ae BY COL. A. *. AOLT. lack Buckskin: The M d Men of 19 Kenneth. To ne Maske en of Death Canyon, 485 Littie Lightfoot. the Pilot of the Woods, 528 The Dandy Sport; «-. The King Pin Conspirator, 678 Headlight Marry’s Wazard; or, The Lightning Express etective. 691 Headlight Harry's 4 727 Headlight Harry's Siren, 759 Headlight Harry's eritage. And | ¢ bis last vi-it to the mine, the one which had | ; 252 Dick Dashaway ; or, A Dakota Boy in Chicago. 262 The Young Sharps: or, Rollicking Mike’s Hot Trail. 274 Jolly Jim, the Detective Apprentice. 289 Jolly Jim’s Job; or, The Young Detective. 208 The Water-Hound; or, The Young Thoroughored. 805 Dashaway, of Daketa; or, A Western Lad in Quaker City, $24 Ralph Ready, the Hotel Boy Detective. 841 Tony Thorne, the Vagabond Detective. 858 The Reporter-Detectives or, Fred Flyer’s Blizzard. B6T Wide-Awuke Joe; A Boy of the Times. . The Bloods of the Boulevard. Rat Detective. Larry. the Level Firefly duck, the Liver 428 The Lost Finger; or, The Entrapped Cashier. 128 Fred Flyer, the Reporter Detective. 482 Invincible Logan, the Pinkerton Ferret. 456 Billy Brick, the Jolly Vags d. 166 Wide-Awake Jerry, Detective; or, Entombed Alive, A479 Detective Dodge; or, The Mystery of Frank Hearty. 488 Wild Dick Racket. 3 601 Boots, the Boy Fireman: or, Too Sharp for the Sharper, b66 The Secret Service Boy Detective. Jimmy the Kid; or, A Lamb Among Wolves. Tom Bruce of Arkansas: or, The Wo)fin the Fold. Plucky Paul, the Boy Speculator. 667 Bob and Sam, the Daisy Detectives. 709 The Curbstone Detective: or, Harry Hale’s Big Beat. 757 Detective Frank’s Sweep-stakes. BY FRANK DUMONT. The Branded Hand: or, The Man of Mystery. W tld-F ire, the Boss of the Road Blue Blazes; or, The Break o’ Day Boys of Rotky Bar. Ebony Dan; or, The Rival Leagues. 5 Evil Eve; or, The Vultures of the Rio Grande, 655 0 ~ ry 0 1 12 12 14 17 18 MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORS, 4 The Wild-Iorse Hunters. By Capt. Mayne Rela and Frederick Whittaker. 9 Adventures of Baron Munchausen. 12 Gulliver’s Travels, By Dean Swift, 14 Aladdin; or, The Wondertul Lamp. 16 Robinson Crusoe. (27 Illustrations.) 18 Sindbad the Satlor. His SevenwWoyages, 22 The Sea Serpent; or, The Boy Robinson Crusoe, By Juan sews. 88 The Ocean Bloodhound; or, The Red Pirates of the Carribees. By 8S. W. Pierce. 86 The Boy Clown: or, The Arena Queen. By F S. Finn. BS Ned Wylde, the Boy Scout. By Texas Jack. 561 The Boy Rifles; or. The Underground Camp. By A.C. Iron. 95 The Rival Rovers; or, The Freebooters of the Mississippi. By Lieut.-Col, Hazeltine. 98 Robin Hood, the Vutiawed Ear); or, The Merry Men of Green- wood. By Prof. Gildersleeve. 105 Old Rube, the Hunter; or, The Crow Captive. By Captain Hamilton Holmes. 112 The Mad Hunter; or, | be Cave of Death. By Burton Saxe. 124 ‘Tippy. the Texans or, The Young Champion. By George Glerson. 128 The Young Privateer; or, The Pirate’s Stronghold. By Harry Cavendish. 148 Sharp Samy; or, The Adventures o1 a Friendless Bor, By J. Alexander Patten. 227 Dusky Darrell, Trapper: or, The Green Ranger of the Yel- lowstone. By Edward Emerson. 261 Fergus Fearnaught the New Yirk Boy. By G. L, Aiken. 266 Killb’ar. the Guide; »%r, Davy Crockett’s Crooked Trail. By Ensign ©. D. Warren. 298 Red Claw, the One-Eyed Trapper; or, The Maid of the Cliff. By Captain Comstock. 817 Peacock Pete. the Lively Lad from Leadville. By Lien- tenant Alfred Thorne. 828 The Sky Detective; or, A Boy’s Fight for Life and Honor, By Maior Mickey Free. 850 Red Ralph, the River Rover; or, The Brother’s Re- venge, By Ned Buntline. B65 Raltimore Ren the Bootblack Detective. By A. P. Morris. 874 Gold-Duat Tom: or, Ben’s Double Match. ByG@ H. Morse. 876 Cailfornin Joe’s Firat Trail. By Colonel) Thomas Hoyer Monstery. 418 Rilly Bombshell, the Cliff Climber. By F. S. Winthrop, 475 The Black Ship. By John S Warner. 484 Comanche Pick and Hix Three Invinelbles, By Henry J. bomas. S82 The Cowboy Duke, By Edwin Brooke Forrest. 552 Ariel the Athlete. By Dayid Druid. 585 Will Waters, the Boy Ferret. By H. Enton. 682 The Dead Yetective’« Double. By Gerald Carlton. 721 Maverick Mose, the Arizona Detective; or, The Wizard o Urkos Pass. By Wl] Lisenbee. 746 Quiet Jack, the Secret Service Spy; or, Too Much for Red Leary. By Dan Dunning, (of the Secret Service Corps). A New issue Every Tuesday The Half-Dime Library i» for sale by att newsdealers, five cents per copy, or sent by mall on receipt of six cents each. BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishera. 98 William Street, New York.

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BEADLE’S« H ALF- DIME* LIBRARY. ee de a ; Published Every Tuesday. Each Issue Complete and Sold at the Uniform Price of Five Cents. No Double Numbers. OT meteor hn eer ee f ——$—<— ! ——— ia = { BY EDWARD L. WHEELER. Deadwood Dick Novela 1 Deadwood Dick, the Prince of the Road, 20 Deadwood Dick’s Defiance; or, Double Daggers. 28 Deadwood Dick in Disguise; or, Buffal, Ben 85 Deadwoed Dick in His Castle. AZ Deadwood Dick’s Bonanza; o-, The .«antom Miner. 49 Deadwood Dick in Danger; or, Omaha Oll. 7 Deadwood Dick’s Eagles; or, The Pards ot Flood Bar, a | ap Ah pes oa abe) or, yg eres $ ane Heroine, ‘ ead wood ek’s Last Aets or, Corduroy Charlie. 100 Deadwood Dick In Leadville. pe ee wee ae af oe lee; Bas The Double Cross Sign. adwoo ¢k as Detective, ; 129 Deadwood Dick’s Double; or, The Gorgon’s Gulch Ghost. 188 Deadwood Dick’s Home Base}; or, Blonde Bill. 149 Deadwood Dick’s Big Strike; or, A Game of Gold. 156 Deadwood Dick of Deadwood: or, The Picked Party. 195 Deadwood Dick’s Dream; or, The Rivals of the Road. 201 Deadwood Dick’s Ward; or, The Black Hill’s Jezebel. ore parser ep ee Nee Lore pean Jane’s Adventure. ead wood ck’s Dead Deal. 221 Deadwood Dick’s Death-Plant. 282 Geld-Duat Dick. A Romance of Roughs and Toughs, Po bal 4 ba ay pivige or, -* Spirit of Swamp Lake. s wood ck’s Death Trai 809 Deadwood Dick’s Deal; or, The Gold Brick of Oregon, 821 Deadwood Dick’s Bozen; or, The Fakir of Phantom Flats 847 Deadwood Dick's ta; or, Days in the Diggings, prt eee male | isk Sentences or, [he Terrible Vendetta, end w oo ck’s Claim, 405 Deadwood Dick In Dead City. 410 Deadwood Dick’s Dinmonda. 421 Deadwood Dick in New York} or, A “ Cute Case,” rt} peagweed Brees Peet or, The Chained Hand, cad woo ek, Jr. 448 Deadwood Di¢k, Jr.’«, Deflance. 458 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Full Hand. 459 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Big Round-Up. 465 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’«, Racket at Claim 16, ash peonweas pick 5 a Coreg: oe Eveuen Bill. ? eid woo ck, Jr’, Dog Detective, 481 Deadwood Dick, Jr., tn Deadwood. 491 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Compact. 496 Deadweod Dick, Jr.’s, Inheritance, 500 Deadwoed Dick, Jr.'s, Dig ings. 5608 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, De Freranes: 515 Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Protegee. 522 Deadwoed Dick, Jr.'s, Three. 5629 Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Danger Ducka 584 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Death Hunt, 589 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Texas. 544 Deadwood Dick, Jr., the Wild West Vidoog 649 Deadwood Dick, Jr., on Mis Mettle. 4 554 Deadwood Dick, dr., in Gotham, 5661 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Boston, 567 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Philadeiphia, 572 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Chicage, 578 Deadwood Dick, Jr., Afloat. &S4 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Denver. 590 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Decree, 595 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Beelzebub’s Basin, 600 Deadweod Dick, Jr., at Coney Island, 606 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’«, Leadville Lay. 612 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Detroit. G18 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Cincinnati. 624 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Nevada. 680 Deadwood Dick, Jr., ln No Man’s Land, 686 Deadwood Dick, Jdr., After the Queer. G42 Deadwood Dick, Jr., In Buffalo, iat ae bale pick vhs chase heres the Souietnens eadwood Dick, Jr., Among the Smu era. 660 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, [nsaurance Gaser 666 Deadwood Dick, Jr., Back in the Mines, 672 Deadwood Dick, Jr., (a Durango; or, “ Gathered In,” +4 peotweee be SA pisoevery3 or, Found a Fortune, : eadwood Dick, Jr.’s. Dazzle. 690 Deadweod Dick, Jr.’s. Dollars, 695 Deadwoed Dick, Jr., at Danger Divide, 700 Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Drop. 704 Deadwood Dick, Jr., at Jack-Pot. 710 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in San Francisco, 716 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’«, Still Hunt. 722 Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Dominoes. 728 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Disgulae, 784 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Double Deal, 740 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’a, Deathwatch, TAT Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Doublet. 752 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Deathblow. 758 Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Desperate Stralt. I ~ BY J. ©. COWDRICK, Broadway Billy Novela 490 Broadway Billy, the Bootblack Bravo, 514 Broadway Billy’s« Boodle. 536 Broadway Billy’s ‘ Difikilty.” 5657 Broadway Billy’s Peath Racket. 579 Broadway Billy’s Surprise Party. 605 Broadway Billy; or, The Boy Detective’s Big Inning, 628 Broadway Billy’s Dead Act. 669 Broadway Billy Abroad, 675 Broadway Billy’s Beat; or, Beating San Francisco's Finest. 687 Broadway Billy in Clover. 696 Broadway Billy In Texas, 708 Broadway Billy’s Brand. 711l Broadway Billy at Santa Fe. V4 Rroadway Billy’s Full Hand, 785 Broadway Billy’s Business, 788 Broadway Billy’« Curious Case, 758 Broadway Billy tn Denver. 762 Broadway Billy’s Bargain, Other Novels by J. C. Cowdrick, 860 Ailver-Masek, the Man of Mystery. 869 Shasta, the Gold king or, For Seven Years Dead, 420 The Petective’« Apprentice; or, A Boy Without a Name, 424 Olbuta Johny or, Red-Hot Times at Ante Bar, 489 Sandy Sam, the Street Scout, 467 Diaco Dan, the Daisy Dude. 506 Redlight Ralph the Prince of the Road, 524 The Engineer Detective. 5648 Mart, the Night Express Detective. 571 Air-Line Luke the Young Engineer, 592 The Boy Pinkerton. . ¥: 615 Fighting Marte the Chief of Chained Cyclone, i‘ 640 Bareback Beth, the Centaur of the Circle, 7 Typewrlter Tilly, the Merchant’s Ward, 659 Moonlight Morgan, the *‘ Pizenest ’ Man of Ante Bar. BY BUFFALO BILL (Hon. Wm, F, Cody), 8 Kaneas King; or, The Red Right Hand, wy 19 The Phantom Spy: or, The Pilot of the Prairie. ' | §5 Deadly-Eye, the Unknown Scout. | 68 Border Robin Hood; or, The Prairle Rover. heh 158 Fancy Frank of Colorado; or, The Trapper’s Trust, Other Nevels by E. L. Wheeler. 26 Cloven Hoof, the Buffalo Demon, 82 Bob Weolf’; or, The Girl Dead-Shot, 89 Death-Face, Detective; or, Life in New York. 45 Old Avalanche; or, Wild Edna, the Girl Brigand, 58 Jim Bludsoe, Jr., the Boy Phenix, 61 Buckhorn Bills; or, The Red Rifle Team 69 Gold Rifle, the ening asniry| or, The Boy Detective. 80 Rosebud Rob: or, Nugget Ned, the Knight. 84 Idyl, the Girl Miner; or, Rosebud Rob on Hand, 88 Phetograph Phil; or, Rosebud Rob’s Reappearance, 92 Canada Chet ¢ or, Old Anaconda in Sitting Bull’s Camp. 96 Watch-Eye; or, Arabs und Angels of a Great City, 118 Jaek Hoyle the Young Sveculator. 117 Gilt-Edged Dick, the Sport Detective 121 Cinnamon Chip, the Girl Sport, 125 Bonanza Bill, Miner. 188 Bose Bob the King of Bootblacka, 141 Bolid Sam, the Boy Road-Agent. 145 Captuin Ferret, the New York Detective. 161 New York Nell, the Boy-Gir! Detective, 177 Nobby Nick of Nevada; or, The Sierras Scamps. 181 Wild Frank, the Buckskin Bravo, 209 Fritz, the Bound-Boy Detective: 218 Fritz to the Front; or, The Ventriloquist Hunter, 226 Snoozer, the Boy Sharp; or, The Arab Detective. 286 Apollo BAI, the Trail Tornado. 240 Cyclone Kit, the Young Gladiator. 244 Sicrra Sam, the Frontier Ferret. 248 Slerra Sam’« Reeret; or, The Bloody Footprints, 2558 Slerra Sam’sa Pard; or, The Ange! ot Big Vista, 258 Sierra Saim’s Seven; or, The Stolen Bride. 278 Jumbo Joey the Boy Patrol: or, The Rival Heirs, 277 Denver Doll, the Detective Queen. 281 Denver Doll's Victory. 2K Denver Doll's Decoy ; or. Little Bill’s Bonanza, 291 Turk the Boy Ferret. 296 Denver Doll's Drift; or. The Road Queen. 299 A No. 1, the Dashing Toll-Taker. 808 ’Liza Jane, the Sir) Miner; or, the Iron-Nerved Sport. 825 Kelley, Hickey & Co., the Detectives of Philadelphia, B80 Little Quick-Shot}; or, The Dead Face of Daggersville, 884 Kangaree Kit; or, The Mysterious Miner, 889 Kangaroo Kit’s Racket. 848 Manhattan Mike, the Bowery Blood, 858 First-Class Fred, ‘he Gent from Gopher, B68 Yreka Jim, the Gold-Gatherery or, The Life Lottery, 872 Yreka Jim’s Prize. eB 878 Nabob Ned} or, The Secret of Slab City. 882 Cool Kit, the King of Kids; or, A Villain’s Vengeance, 885 Yreka Jim’a Joker; or, The Rivals of Red Nose, 889 Bicycle Ben; or. The Lion of Lightning Lode, 894 Yreka Jim of Yuba Dam, 400 Wrinkles, the Night-Watch Detective. 416 High Mat Harry, the Base Ball Detective, 426 Sam Slabaides, the Beggar-Boy Detective, 484 Jim Beak and Pal, Private Detectives, 488 Santa Fe Sal, the Slasher. 486 Sealskin Sam, the Sparkler. BY T. C. HARBAUGH. 28 Nick o’ the Nights or, The Boy Spy of 76. 8B? The Hidden Lodge; or The Little Hunter, 47 Nightingale Nat; or, Tne Forest Captains, 64 Dand 1 ae er, The Outlaws of the Oregon Trali. 82 Kit Harefoot the Wood-Hawk. 94 Midnight nek } or, The Boy Trapper. 106 Old Froaty, the Guide; or, The White Queen, 128 Klown Charley the White Mustanger. 189 Judge Lynch Jr.i or, The Boy Vigilante. 155 Gold Trigger, the Sport; er, The Girl Avenger. 169 Tornado Tem; or, nium Jack From Red Core. 188 Ned Temple, the Border Boy. 198 Arkanasaw : or, The Quen of Fate’s Revenge. 207 Navajo Nick, the Boy Gold Hunter. 215 Captain Bullet; or, Little Tonknot’s Crusade, 281 Plucky Phil; or, Rosa, the Re! Jezebel, 241 Rill Bravo; or, Toe Roughs of the Rockies. 255 Captain Apoll , tne King-Pin of Bowie. 267 The Kuckekin Detective, 279 Old Winch}; or, The Buckskin Desperadoes. 294 Dynamite Dan; or, The Bowle Blade of Gochetopa. 802 The Mountain Betective; or, The Trigger Bar Bully, 816 Old Eellipae, Trump Card of Arizona, 826 The Ten Parday or, The Terror of Take-Notice, 886 Rie Benson; or, Tie Queen of the La-no. 845 Pitileas Matt; or, Ked Thundertolt’s Secret, B56 Cool am und Par’; or The Terrible Six, BE6 Velvet Feot, the Indian Detective. 886 Captain Cutlass; or, | he Beccaneer’s Girl Foe, 896 Rough Rob; or, The |! win Champions of Blue Blazes, 411 The Silken Lasso; or, The Rose of Ranch Robin, 418 Felix Fex, the Boy Spotter. 425 Texas Trump, the Border Rattler. 486 Phil Flash, the New York Fox. 445 The City Vampires; or, Ked Rolfe’s Pigeon, 461 One Against Fifty; or, The Last Man of Keno Bar, 470 The Boy Shadew: or, Felix Fox’s Hunt. 477 The Exceisior Sport; or, The Washington Spotter, 499 Single Bight, the One-Eyed Sport. 502 Branded Ben, the Night ferret. 512 Dodger Dick, the Wharf-Spy Detective, 621 Dodger Dick’s Rest Dodge. 528 Fox and Faicon, the Bowery Shadows, 588 Dodger Dick, the Dock Ferret. 548 Dodger Dick’s Double; or, The Rival Boy Detectives, 558 Dodeer Dick's Desperate Case, 568 Dodger Dick, the Boy Vidocq, 578 The Two Shadows. 582 Dodger Dick’« Drop. 594 Little Lon, the Street-Singer Detective, 610 Old Skinner, the Gold Shark; or, Tony Sharp on Guard, 626 The Champtlon Parda, 687 Dick Doan, the Dock Boy Detective, 645 Kit, the Pavement Sharp. 658 Billy Bantam, the Boy Beagle. 671 Jersey Jed, the Bov Hustler; or, Shadowing the Shadower. 685 Happy Hugh, the Boy Musician Detective. tol naronrans Fred, the Camera Sharp. 715 Wide Awake Len, the Quaker City Ferret. %82 Daisy Dell, the Pavement Detective; or, Trapping Bg Game. 42 Billy Winka, the Bell Boy Detective. 754 Billy Winks, the Boss Boy Shadow. eY WM. G. PATTEN. ¢ 489 The Diamond Sport}; or, The Double Face of Bed Rock. 519 Captain aM yatery 3 or, Five in One. 581 Dale? ware the Sport from Denver. 587 Old Bombshell, the Ranger Detective. 604 Tron Fern, the Man of Fire. 619 The Boy Tramp Detectives or, The Double Grip Witness 629 Vielet Vane, the Velvet Sport. 641 Diamal Dave's Dandy Pard. 651 Bound Roy Frank, the Young Amateur Detective 668 Violet Vane’a Victory. 682 Wild Vulcan, the Lone-Range Rider, 698 Violet and Dalay, the Posy Pards, 705 Violet Vane’s Vow; or, The Crafty Detective’ Craft. g14 Old Misery, the Man from Missouri, 24 Violet Vane’s Vengeance. 780 Violet Vane’s Verdict. ZAl Violet Vane, the Ventriloquist Videog, 750 Violet Vane, the Vanquished, BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAMAM, ? The Flying Yankee}; or, The Occan Outcast, 1% 24 62 wS 04 216 222 229 287 245 250 264 269 276 280 28-4 R57 804 808 814 BIT 885 887 898 402 407 412 429 485 487 441 446 450 454 462 468 474 488 487 495 497 508 507 Ralph Roy, the Boy Bucexn. er; or. The Fugitive Yacht. Diamond Dirk; or, The Mystery of the Yellowstone, The Shadow Ship; er, The Rival Licutenants. The Boy Duellet ; or, The Cruise of the Sea-Woh. Buffalo Bill, the Pony Express Rider, Bison BALL, the Prince of the Reins; or, Buffalo Bill’s Pluck. Grit, the Bravo Sport; or, The Woman Trailer, Crimson Kate, the Girl Troiler. Lone Star, the Cowboy Captain; or, The Mysterious Ranchero Merle, the Midday ; or, The Heir of an Ocean Freelance. The Midshipman Mutineer} or, Brandt, the Buccaneer, The Floating Feather; or, Merle Monte’s Treasure, The Gold Ship; or, Merle, the Condemned. Merle Monte’s Cruise; or, * The Gold Ship” Chase, Merle Monte’s Fate ; or, The Pirste’s Pride. Merle Monte’s Pledge; or, The Sea Marauder. Hilly Blue-Eyes, the Boy Rover. The Dead &::ot Dandy ; or, Benito, the Boy Bugler. Dead Shot DPandy’s Double. The Mysterious Marauder; or, The Boy Bu rail. Bonodel, the Buoy Rover; or, The Flagless Schooner, The Indian X llots or, The Search for Pirate Island. Warpath WILL, the Traitor Guide; or, The Boy Phantom. Reawulf, the Boy Lieutenant; or, The Red Clasped Hands. Inoder, the Young Conspirator; or, The Fatal League, The Boy Insurgents or, The Cuban Vendetta. The Wild Vachteman; or, The War-Clouu’s Cruise, Duncan Pare, vie Boy Refugee. Captain Cart, tie Corsair; or, A Cabin Boy’s Luck, The Sea Raider; or, The Hawks of the Hook. Vhe Ocean Firefly ¢ or, A Middy’s Vengeance, Waphazard Harry; or, The Scapegrace of the Sea, ) Wisurd Will, the Wonder Worker. Wizard Will's Street Scouts, The Born Gulde; or, The Sailor Boy Wanderer, Neptune Ned, the Boy Conster. Wizard Wills Vagabond Pard. Wizard Will's Last Case} or, Ferrets Afloat. Nevada Ned, the Revoiver Kanger Arizona Jee, the Boy Pard of Texas Jack. Back Tayler, King of the Cowboys. The Reyal Middy ; or, The Shark and the Sea Cat. The Hunted Midshipman; or, The Young Sea Ranger. 511 The Outlaw Middy; or, The Young Patriot Sea Ranger, 520 525 5380 Buckskin Bill, the Comanche Shadow. Brothers in Buckskin; or, The Tangled Trails in Texas, The Buckskin Bowers. The Bue skin Rovers; or, The Prairie Fugitive, Captain Ku-Klux, the Marauder ot the Rio, Lieutenant Leo, the Son of Lafitte. Lafitte’s Legacy: or. The Avenging Son. The Creole Gorsair; or, The Golden Wings of the Gulf Pawnee BIL, the Prairie Shadower. Kent Kingdon, the Card King. Camille, the Card Queen; or, The Skeleton Trail, The Surgeon-Scout Detective, The Outcast Cadets or, The False Detective. Pawnee Bill's Pledge; or, The Buckskin Avenger. Delmonte, the Young a Rover; or, Tue Avenging Sailor. The Young Texan Detective; or, The Black Bravos, The Vagabend of the Mines. The Rover Detective; or, Keno Kit’s Championa, Ralph, the Dead-Shot Scout; or, The Rio Ruiders, 44 The Hercules Highwaymun. 776 Butterfly Billy, the Pony Rider Detective; or, Buffale Bill’s Boy Para. Rutterfly Biliy’« Man Hunt, Butterfly Billy's Benanza. The Buccaneer Mid«hipman; or, The Sea Rover’e Ruse, The Wizard Sailor; or, Red Ralph, the Royer, The Sea Shadower?y or, The Freebooter’s Legacy. 3 Orlando, the Ocean Free Flay; or, The Tarnished Name. The Rival Sharps; or, Redfern, the Secret Service Scout. The Scarlet Sombrero}; or, The Sharp from Texas, Blue Jacket Bill; or, The Red Hat Rangers’ Red Hot Racked The Red Sombrero Rangers; or, Redfern’s Last Trail, Carl, the Mad Cowboy; or, The Lariat Queen. Pawnee Bill’« Pledges or, The Cow boy Kidnapper’s Doom, Paring Dick, Pawnee Bill’s Pard; or, The Red Cavalry Raid, Ruth edmond the Girl Shadower. Buck Taylor, the Comanche’a Captive. Ruck Taylor’s Boys; or, The Red Riders of the Rio Grande, Dashing Charlie; or, The Kentucky Tenderfoot’s First Trail. Dashing Charlie's Destiny; or, The Renegade’s Capt've. LATEST AND NEW ISSUES. Dashing Charlie’s Pawnee Pard; or, Red Hair, the Renegade. By Col, Prentias Ingraham. Marmaduke, the Mustanger Detective; or, The Great Mix- Up at Crescent Butte. By Lient. A. K, Sims, Broadvay Billy’s Bargain; or, The Three Detectives in Denver. By J, C, Cowdrick. Violet Vane’s Vision; or, The Fiery Hand of Fate, By Wm. G. Patten, Deadwood Dick, Jr.’«, Lone Hand; or, Kodak Kate Secret Seven. By Edward L. Wheeler. : Flipper Flynn, the Street Patrol; or, Knocking Out the Kid- nappers. By Jo Pierce. Dashing Charlie, the Rescuer; or, The White Sionx Queen. By Col. Prentiss Ingraham. Mae and Jack, the Invincibles; or, The Diabolical Three. By Dan Dunning. Eagle Ned, the Boy on Guard; or, The Camp Spiders of Ragged Robin. By T. C, Harbaugh, Broadway Billy, the Retriever Detective; or, How the City Buzzards Were Brought In. By J, C, Cowdrick. Dendwood Dick, Jr.’*,) Defeat; or, The Tandam Team 6 Thorny Trail. By . dward L. Wheeler, Foxy Fred’s Odd Pard; or, The Keener’s Huge Hustle. By Jo Pierce, Dick Poom’s Death-Grip; or, The Detective by Destiny, By Col. Prentiss Ingraham, The Rustler of Rolling Stones or, The Opposition Boom at Lucky Ledge. By Lieut. A. K. Sims, Clear-Grit Cal, the NeverSay-Die Detectives or, The Strange Case of Captain Seudd. By Wm. G. Patten, Broadway Billy’«s Shadow Chase; or, Materializing the Spooks. Ry J. C, Cowdrick, Ready May 3lst. Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Resurrectiong or, Iciele Isane from Frozen Flats. By Edward L, Wheeler, Ready June 7th. A New Iasue Every Tuesday. The Half- Dime Library !« for ale by all newsdealers, fire cents per copy, or sent by mail! on receipt of six cents each, BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers, 98 William Street, New York. a