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Entered as Second Class Matter at the New York, N. Y . Post Ol‘flce. Copyrighted 1893, by Emma: AND ADAMS. September 1‘). 1893.

$2.50 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADL C AND ADAMS. Price,
NO‘  a Year- No. 98 WILLIAM STREET. NEW YORK. 5 08111330  

 

 

 

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Foiling the Frisco Sharp.

A Story of the Mississippi.
BY HAROLD PAYNE.

CHAPTER I.
A FULL HAND.
“Excuse me‘ gentlemen. I have something
_ _ r,—’—_— ———-' tosay in this little game! Just make her fast
'1 7 " V " and shove out that gang-plank again, or some of

“I WILL LASH YOU TO THE SPAR WITH THIS ROPE, AND DO WHAT I CA you will be putting your families to the expense
PADDLE IT ASHORE.” of buyin’ crepe in about a second !"

 

 

 
    

‘t.

   

 

 

2

 

.\nd the crowd that had just rushed aboard
of the old Gray Eagle halted in dismay and
turned their white faces toward the speaker.

And no wonder.

A. man had mounted a sugar cask which
stood close to the levee, and had them cov-
ered with two murderous-lookingi six-
shooters.

This would have caused this hardy crowd
of Mississippi River toughs little umasiness
if the man had been an ordinary mortal.

But when they turned amt saw that it was
Dan Louis, otherwise the RiVel‘ Sport, or
Dead-Hind. Dan, a thrill t-f terror went to the
heart of the bravest in that crowd, for they
all knew-him, either personally or b repu-
tation, and knew that he was peeu iar for
two things. One was, that when he said a
thing he meant it every time, and the other
was, he never missed the object he shot at.

The crowd in question, which numbered
about twenty, was a hastily organiZed Vigil.
anee Committee, headed b ' one (,‘aptain
Donald Foxen, and they had in their custody
at white-haired, benevolent-looking old gen-
tleman and a beautiful young girl of seven-
teen.

These two )eople had put up at the Plan-
ters’ IIouse, rt. Louis, a few days previous,
representing themselves as father and (laugh.
ter, and nobody paid any attention to them,
except to notice that the old gentleman
seemed to have plenty of money, that the
young lady was very beautiful, and that
they both had the appearance of great res
speetability.

They occupied adjoining rooms, and all
went well until the arrival at the hotel, some
days later, of this same (la )tain Foxen, who,
accidentally or intentiona ly, took a mo
directly opposite theirs, and the very nex
morning after his arrival claimed that he had
been robbed of a large sum of money and a

‘case of valuable diamonds, amounting in all

to several thousand dollars.

The followiinr day the old gentleman and
his daughter left the hotel with the intention
of taking passa e on the Gray Eagle for their
home, in Memp iis; but, no sooner had they
crosscd the gang plank when they were sur-
rounded by this mob, whose leader. Foxen,
informed them that, inasmuch as they had
robbed him, his committee would now take
them in charge. He then ordered the crew
to haul in their lines and put out into the
stream at once.

Dan Louis was also stopping at the hotel
at the time, and, accidentally overbearing a
conversation between Foxen and a rather
tough-looking individual touching this mat-
ter. decided to watch him.

Therefore, as soon as he heard that the old
gentleman and his daughter had left the
hotel, he inquired which way they had gone,
and, on learning this, lost no time in making
his way to the levee, where he arrived in the
very nick of time, for the roustabouts ,were
already letting off the lines and had hauled
in the gaug~plank.

There was not a second to be lost.

"he boat was already too faraway from
the wharf for Dan to leap aboard, and was
still moving away. So he sprung upon the
nearest object, which happened to be the
sugarcask, and, leveling his two revolvers
upon the. crowd, ave the above command.

Foxen hesitate , but did not obey the cem-
mand, and as he paused to glance at his
questioner on the top of the sugar-cask, he
instinctively drew his own revolver. . This
was a signal for the rest of his gang to fol-
low suit, and in less than a second the whole
mob stood revolvers in hand.

It was all, in fact, the work of a second,
but the instant Foxen’s pistol gleamed in
his hand, and before he had time to raise it,
a sharp report heralded the discharge of one
barrel of one of the weapons, and Foxen’s
revolver went spinnin into the air and fell
at)“ the water. Dan had shot it out of his

 

Dan, the River Sport.

 

 

 

That struck panic to the crowd, especially
when some one whispered that the man was
the notorious “Dead-Shot Dan, the River
Sport.” .

lt‘oxen was also embarrassed at the mo-
ment, but was not long in recovering his
self-possession, and then began to consider
what was best to be done.

Before he had meditated two seconds,
however, a second command from Dan
brought him to his senses.

“ Draw in that slack and bring her ashore,
quick! fer I‘ve got a full band!" was the
command, and there. was such an air of Cool
determination about the young sport that
Foxcn was spared the trouble of giving the
order, and the next instant the frightened
roustabouts had grasped the cable and were
tugging lustiiy to bring the boat about and
swing her up to the wharf again.

“Curse him!" muttered Foxen, when he
saw what was taking place. “ I wonder
what that young jackanapes has to do with
this matter, anyway “I” And addressing
Dan, he demanded: ‘

“ What do you want, anyway?”

“I told you what I want,” replied the
other, coolly.

“But these people are thieves—robbers!"
pleaded Foxen. “They have robbed me of
ever 'thing I. have.”

“ 'do not know whether that is true or
not,” res )onded Dan, in the same tone as be-
fore. “ f it is true, you have your-redress.
There is plenty of law in St. Louis, without
resorting to Vigilance Committees. And the
fact that you have done so leads me to believe
that what you say is not true.”

The boat touched the dock and Dan
sprung from the elevation with a view to
rushing aboard, but whether the thing had
been pro-arranged or the action was simply
spasmodic, the crowd made a mad stampede
for the shore, completely blocking the way
and preventing Dan from getting aboard
for several minutes. At ten or twenty paces
off he was equal to the whole crowd, but
when it came to pushing his way through
them, it was another mater. ‘

Finally he succeeded in making his way to
the deck of the Gray Eagle, after the renter
part of the mob had got ashore, and ooked
about for the old gentleman and his daugh-
ter. But they were nowhere to be seen!

The young River Sport was dumt‘ounded.
He knew they could not have gone ashore by
way of the gang-plank over which he had
come aboard, so they must still be on the boat.

Perhaps, fearing some danger from the
threatened shooting, they had ascended to
the cabin.

At the thought be bounded up the steps to
the cabin.

But a thorough search revealed the fact
that they were not there.

Then it occurred to him that he had
been wasting his time, for he knew Donald
Foxen to be as cunning as a fox, and
would not be caught napping.

Dan. therefore, hastened down-stairs again
and did what he should have done in the
first place, made inquiry of ,some of the crew.

“What became of the old man and his
daughter?” he dc’i'nanded of the first man he
came to.

“ Oh, dem?” said the darky. “ Dey’s dun
gone wif de tallt‘gemlen in de skiff yander.”

And as he spoke the negro pointed to a
dark ob'ect moving away in the distance,

which, y the-slanting rays of the just dis;

appearing sun, Dan coud,see was a skiff
containing five people, whom he understood
to be the old gentleman and his daughter
and Foxen and two of his men who had the
others in custody.

“ Why did you not tell .me in time that
they Were making their escape?” he thunder-
ed at the negro.

“Why, sah, I—I didn’t know, ssh, dat
you‘n wanted to—to know, sah,” falterod
the negro, frightened nearly, to death.

     

 

 

Dan did not stop to discuss the .
with him. lie had business to attend to.

“ Here!” he called. “ See how quick ~
you can lower another skill", and see how
well you can pull afterward!”

The roustabout needed no further bidding,
but, calling a couple of his mates to his as-
sistance. they soon had another skifl' in the
water. and two stalwart negroes sat down at
the oars, while Dan sat in the stern to inan-
age the tiller.

As the skiff glides through the water 'in
pursuit of the fugitives, let us inquire who
the people engaged in this little drama are,
so far as we can ascertain at this time.

Daniel Louis, the River Sport, who is to be
the star-actor, was a young New Yorker,
who had come West some three or four years
before to make his foi'tune, and, like most
young men who go toward the sunset with
that object, he was a trifle poorer, if any-
thing, than he was the day he reached the
West. Ile had learned a good deal, however,
among other things, besides 'a good deal
about human nature; he had learned to be a
gambler, at which profession he met with
the average luck—was sometimes flush, but
often broke. He had also earned the re-
putation of being the best pistol-shot, both
along the Mississippe and in the far West.

A month before this history opens, Dan
had struck a streak of luck in the mining-
camps, and had rolled up a pretty big wad.
But it wasn’t quite large enough, as he,
thought, to go back East and wed “ the
prettiest girl that ever wore skirts," so he
went down to Frisco to increase it. There
he met Donald Foxen, a sharp'of the worst
type, and before he was aware of the gentle-
man’s character, Foxen had beaten him out
of the greater part of his money by a. skin
game, and then suddenly left the hotel where
they were both stopping.

Dan soon discovered which way he had
gone, and follower]. For a long time he had
been unable to come up with the rascal, and
had only just done so when he found him in
the midst of his scheme against the old man
and his daughter. ,

What the gambler’s m'otivc could be, in
the event of the old man and his beautiful
daughter being innocent of the charge he had
preferred against them, Dan could only
vaguely surmise. But that he had some mo-
tiVe, and a rascally one, the young man was
as well satisfied as he was that the father and
daughter were innocent.

Under the gigantic strokes of the two pow-
erful negroes the frail little barquc skimmed
over the water like a prairie hen through the
air, and as the darkness gradually closed
down upon the great river, deepning the
tinge of its murky waters, he was gratified
to see that he was gradually shortening the.
distance between them.

“Pull away, my lads,” he said, encourag-
ingly as they spun along. “ If we overhaul
that craft before the have time to land, I'll
give each of you a ve dollar gold-piece!”

“Golly!” cried both coons in a breath, ‘ 
“ we’ll do our bcs’, boss, to earn dat money." .

And their eyes were equally as bright as;
and a good deal bigger than, the prOSpective
gold-pieces. r . '

The swarthy giants tugged at the cars
more heroically than ever, and sent the skiff
shooting along at an increased rate of speed.

The distance between the two skifis was 7

not more than a hundred yards now, and
Dan’s heart bounded at the prospect of soon
having his enemy in his gras and of reseuj
ing the defenseless father an daughter.

But just as his hopes reached their hi heist. 
the fugitives’ skifi landed on the Ilinors  ‘

shore and its occupants disembarked.

CHAPTER II.
A CHASE IN THE DARK.

 

ONLY two or three minutes ela sad after-L
tlglel fugitives landed when Dan 3 so sprung :,
a ore. ’ .  g

      
 

 

 

:Wuny' a." I... -

     
 

t, short as the time was, they had time

u get considerable start of him. and as the

show just here was fringed with a thick

'Wood, he at cc saw his disadvantage.

Still, he was not discouraged, and pressed

on.

It soon became so dark. that scarcely an
object could be seen, and only for the fact
that the young girl had on a white waist or
sacque, it would have been utterly impossi-
ble to follow the fugitives at all.

‘ 'v 1 1,3 “Curse that fellow!” muttered Dan, al-
 luding to the gambler. “ I wish lie wore
" 3r... something white’instead of the girl. I’d soon

e‘ L , put an end to this chase. But as it is, it’s

‘ t  lucky for me that even she wears something

, , - _ that can be seen in the dark, or——”

  Here he stopped—not only soliloquizing,

' '  but also stopped walking. ‘

l;- The cause of this was that the white ob-

’ ‘ gig ject which had served tr guide his progress

1' had suddenl disappeared! Whether it had

   
  

was too conspicuous a mark and had thrown
something over it, or the party had reached
a house andgone in, Dan could only conjec-
ture.

He hesitated but a moment, however, and
pushed on with all speed, and was nearing
the spot, as well as he could judge, where
he had last seen the white sacque, when
somethin whizzed past his car like a bee,
followed %y a flash and report only a few
yards away.

Quicker than lightning Dan had his own
pistol leveled in the direction he had seen
the flash, but before he pulled the trigger a
thought flashed through his mind that caused
him to hesitate. The girl! He was as apt
to hit her as any one else. Nay, more so.
For it would be in exact keeping with the
character of the cowardly Foxen to put her
between himself and danger. \

Dan lowered his weapon, therefore, and
instantly moved out of his present range,
but was more cautious about making any
noise this time, and when he had moved a
little way he paused and listened.

For several minutes he stood listening
intently, but not a sound could he hear.

He could not understand it. But he soon
made up his mind that the fugitives were
nowhere near, otherwise they must have
made some noise to betray their presence.

And Dan took a few steps forward, when
to his surprise, he came plump up against a
hu e rock or cliff.

his solved the mystery of the fugitives’
disappearance, They had evidently gone
behind the cliff.

Feeling his way along the face of the
rock, Dan moved cautiously along until he
came to a sharp angle, and turning which,
he found himself once more on the very
brink of the river.

Here he paused again to listen, and away
off in the darkness above the low murmur of
the great river he could hear the sharp click
of oars.

There could be no doubt that this was the
fu itives.

ut what puzzled the River Sport was
where the had got the boat.

Evident y the shrewd Foxen had arranged
matters in advance. Possibly this was the
“same boat that they had come over in, and
Foxen had left one of his crew in the skiff
with instructions to row down the river and
.‘ .meet them at this point. This the gambler
would be capable of doing, for Dan remem-
' .bered hearing him say that he was raised in
. the vicinity of St. Louis, while he (Dan)
“ was totally unacquainted with the country.
‘ - ’ What to do next he scarcely knew.

He cursed himself for a feel that he had

   
  
  
   
 
  
   
 
  
   
  
    
  
 
  
   
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
  
    
   
   
  
   
 
  
  
  
  

   
    
          
        
        
       
        
 
     
 
 
 
 
  
 

  
 
 

; polled to walk back to where he had left them.
And then, as likely as not, he would find
than; gone.

  

 

just oceurre to Foxen that the white sacque ‘

 

,-;. .,...,,,..., “Mil.”  -. . ~ 3, 1..., . ,., ..

Dan, the River Sport.

\Vhile he \ 'as turning this matter over in
his mind, he was suddenly startled b the
appearance of a steamer coming l‘Ollllffr the
bend at this point, and almost at the same
time, by the glare of her beacon, he saw a
skiff pulling toward her.

A moment later, and while he gazed, he
saw the steamer reverse. her engines and
slacken her speed, and, while he could not
see what was going on, he had no doubt that
the fugitives were taken aboard, foran instant
later the steamer was under way again and
the skill was nowhere to be seen.

There was but one course left him now,
and he was not slow to resolve upon it.

\Vithout loss of time he hastened back to
where he had left the skiff. But as he had
more than half expected, it was gone.

This necessitated a walk of five or six
miles to the bridge, and another long tramp
across to the city, but be accomplished it all,
and hastened to the depot, where he bought
a ticket for Cape (lirardeau, the first point
at which the steamer was likely to land.

Although he had to wait nearly an hour
for the first train south, Dan arrived at his
destination several minutes before the steam-
er got in, and waited for her at the levee.

As the night was a little cool and raw, as i‘

it usually is in that section, Dan saunter-ed
into a saloon near the levee, which looked
bright and inviting compared with the chilly
fog arising from the river, albeit, from the
loud talking he guessed there must be a pretty
tough crowd inside.

As soon as he entered the saloon he found
his suspicions were correct. But that (lid
not worry Dan. He. was used to tough
crowds.

No one would have taken Dan for a
Westerncr or a sport, as he always dressed
quietly but neat, and had the appearance of
a well-to-do business man. So, the moment
he stepped into the saloon, the crowd of
rufllans began to eye him suspiciously.

Dan paid no attention to them, but saun-
tered up to the bar and ordered a drink,
which experience in Western life had taught
him was a necessary consideration for re-
maining in the place. He had no more than
done SO, however, when a big bully with a
villainous face, walked up to him and growl-
cd:

“ I say, pardner, yer ain’t er-goin' ter
drink alone, I reckon?”

“ That depends upon how I feel about it,"
rejoined Dan coolly.

“ Wal, I like that!” snorted the big man,
stepping a pace or two away and sizing him
up from head to foot. “ Say, young feller,
d’ye know who e’r’ talkin’ to?”

“ I haven't t 10 slightest idea, and care
less," was the cool response, as Dan raised
his glass to his lips.

“ \Val, sar, my name is Rusty Dunn, an’
I’m a bad man from Bald Knob. I kin lick
anything that wears hair an’ kin plug a ball
truer than any man on the Mississip!”

“Glad to know you, Rusty," said Dan in
a quiet tone. “ What will on have?"

“ I won‘thev nothin’ wit you, cuss yer!"
snarled the big man, springing several feet
away and making a motion as if to draw his
revolver. “I won’t hev nothin’ with you,
’cept blood.” -

With that the big man drew his weapon,
but before he had time to raise it on a level
with Dan, the latter had raised his own pis-
tol and fired, striking Dunn‘s weapon a half
an inch from where he grasped it, sending
it flying out of his hand to the latter's sur-
prise and horror, as well as that of the rest
of the crowd, who had gathered in a cor-
ner expecting to see some fun at the ex-
pense of the “ tenderfoot ” as they supposed
Dan to be.

The bigyman and his gang stared at Dan
in blank astonishment.

The latter returned their gaze with a
good-natured smile on his handsome face,

. and finally said:

“ You say you are a crack shot, Dunn, how
does that strike you?"

The big man made no reply, but strode
,over to where his pistol had fallen pith a
surly air, and picking it up, surveyed it ('l'iti-
cally for a moment.

He was surprised to See that the sport's
ball was wedged in between the barrel and
cylinder in such a manner as to pl‘chnt the
latter from revolving; thus rendering the
weapon useless!

()ne of the best shots in that. part of the
country, as Dunn was, he could not under-
stand how any man could have.accomplished
such a feat intentionally, and came to the
conclusion that it was a mere accident.

“ A lucky shot, eh, Rusty?" put in one of
his pals.

“ ’l‘hat's what it was—nothin' else,” growl-
ed the giant, glancing maliciously toward
the young man with the revolver. “ Any
fool’s liable to make a lucky shot, but it‘s an~
other thing to do it a second time."

llardly were the words out of his mouth
when Dan fired a second shot, plugging his
ball right beside the first one, and again
carrying the weapon out of the astonished
Rusty's hand.

Now the crowd did stare at the new-comer.
A dead silence reigned for several minutes.

Meantime, Dan stood with his back against
the bar eying the crowd goodnaturedly.

Finally a tall, rather fine—looking individ-
ual in the crowd strode up to the young man,
and extending his hand, while a smile played
about his month, said:

“Put ’er thar, stranger! I’d like tcr be
'er friend. If I ain't mistaken, I seen you
in Frisco a year or so ago. You ain‘t Dead-
Shot Dan, air 0?”

It was now an’s turn to be surprised.

“ You've struck center, pard,” ho answer-
ed, grasping the stranger’s proffered hand.
“ But ou have the advantage of me, although
your ace seems familiar.”

“ No, ’tain’t likely yer remember me, 'cause
I never bed the pleasure of yer acquaint-
ance then. But I seen or shoot a glass 0'
whisk ' outen a fcllcr's land one ni rht, an’
plug t if: knife outen a Greaser’s ham jest as
he was about to stab a man, another time.
Yer might ’a’ heard 0' me, though. My
name’s Marmaduke.”

“ What?” exclai ed Dan in astonishment.
“Not Major Rodney Marmaduke, the king
of poker-players?”

“ The same. at our service."

“ Well, well! should say I had heard of
on. By the way, what are you doing
ere?"

“ Stranded, thet's all. My folks lives hiar,
but I wouldn‘t be in these diggin's of I
hadn’t went broke two weeks ago up in St.
Louis, an’ dropped down hiar ter rusticate.
What mought you be doin’ down hiar,
pardncr?” ‘ v“

Dan looked at him and smited knowingly.

“ I have business," he observed. " Impor-
tant business.” And then proceeded to re-
late his adventure with the gambler, and his
attempt to rescue the old gentleman and his
daughter from the villain.

“ A gal in it, is they?” ejaculated the
major, when the young man concluded his
narrative. “Jest what I'd expect of you

ter tackle the hull crowd alone, do yer?"

“I see no other alternative,” rejoined
Dan.

“Look’e hiar, pard; thet ain’t doin’ the
squar’ thing by an ole acquaintance. 1 don’t
claim ter handle a gun like yerself, but I kin
hita man the size of Donald Foxen twenty
paces, an’ not half try.”

"Whut's the matter with lettin’ me later
this deal?" interposed the big man at this

oint.
p “ Well said, Rusty!" cried the major, grasp-
ing his hand. “ Pardner, you’ll never strike
a truer friend than ole Rusty nowhere.

 

we j’ine yer?"

young bucks. But say, yer don't propose ,

 
    
  
  
  
  
  

 

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.,

M.  , 
 . .- :- _;4;r_

    

 
   

4

Dan, the River Sport.

 

 

 

“With all my heart,” replied pan. And
the three men sealed the compact with
“ tanglcfoot " just as the low, guttural
whistle of the boat was heard co111ing round
the bend.

(lllAl’Tl‘Jlt III.
A CHANGE ow enoonAmm.

"I HAVE an ided, gentlemen,” said the
River Sport, as the three friends stood on the
levee awaiting- the arrival of the steamer.

“ What's thet?" demanded the 1"‘ajor'.

“ Plug the coyote frum the shore Y”_ inter-

olated Rusty.

“No. 1 have been thinking the matter
over a little since we’ve been standing here,
and my idea is for us three to take passage
on the boat, and I will keep shady forawhile,
as Foxen will recognize me if 11c sees me,
and if he's to he got at to-night, you, major,
get him into a game of draw. Iie's loaded to
the ground with coin, and I’d like to see you
win some of it, or all of it, even if you have
to put up a deck on him.”

“ I wouldn’t mind thet a bit,” responded
the major, shufiling an imaginary (leek of
cards in his nervous fingers with the instinct,
of .lhe gambler. “But they's two things
ag’iu‘ it. la the fu'st place, Iain't got a
shudder of a stake, an' in the second place,
I‘m dead down on puttin’ up a cold deck on
strangers, onlcss he’s crooked hisself.”

“ Then, you have no excuse whatever,” in-
terposed Dan‘. “For, in the first place, I
will stake you, and in the second, you need
have no seruples about tricking this chap,
for he’s as crooked as a ram’s horn. Why,
nearly every dollar he has in the world he
Wm) from me by a low down trick that I (lid
not discover till it was too late.”

“ Nuif said,” gloated the old man, chafing
his hands gleefully. " Ef I don’t make him
sick afore he’s dealt a dozen hands, I’m an
ln'un."

fiy this time the steamer had rounded in
and landed, and the three men went aboard.

Dan turned up his coat-collar and was
fortunate enough to get into the cabin with-
out being reCognized by any of the crew.

The three men took a state-room to-
gether, and Dan went in at once while the
major and old Rusty ado a tour of the
cabin in search of Dorild Foxen. But in
the course of half an hour they returned
to the state-room to report that, while they
had made the discovery that the gambler,
his pals and the old gentleman and his
daughter were on the boat, they had long
since retired. So the friends decided to
defer the execution of their scheme till
morning.

The next morning Dan. feigned illness
and had his breakfast taken to his state-
room, but the keen old major was about,
and in the course of the afternoon succeeded
in making Foxen’s acquaintance, and later
of drawing him into a game of draw-poker.

From the major’s appearance, Foxen im—
agined he had a regular snap, for he took
him for some backwoods jay who thought he
knew the game and had a lot of money to
throw away.

The major allowed him to continue in this
way of thinking for some time, and Foxen,
with the idea of drawing the old mossy-back
further in, allowed him to win a good deal
at first, but finally the wily gambler got
tired of this sort of business and decided to
swoop down on the old farmer, as he con-
sidered the major, for his whole pile.

He therefore waited till it came his deal,
when he gave the major a hand consisting of
four kings, thinking, of course, that he
would bet his last dollar on such a hand.

And he was right in his conjecture. The
ma'or did at up all the money that Dan
ha given im as a stake, it being every
penny the youn man had in the world, and

' the few hundre dollars the major had won

in the beginning of the game.

 

Foxcn smiled complzwently, for he knew,
or thought he knew, that he would soon
have the old man's last dollar.

Finally when the last dollar was put up,
the major ail'ectcd to be very nervous, and
then the gambler called out.

“ Well, partner, what have you got

The major, with trembling hand, ail'ccted
for the occasion, put down his four kings,
but managed to conceal the fifth card in his
hand.

Foxcn thought nothing of this, as he
knew he held the four highest cards in the
i’Ecck anyway, and the fifth card in the
major‘s hand was of no consequence, no
matter what it was, so the gambler smiled a
little more complacently as he laid down his
own hand, and, without taking the trouble
to look at his cards, proceeded to rake in the

ot.

“Hold on!” yelled the major, clutching
the gambler’s hand. Hth’hat air yer doin’
it on 1’”

The gambler cooll withdrew his hand
from the stack of golr. and bills and taking
up his cards, smilingly proceeded to spread
them out for the major’s inspection.

The next instant the color left Foxen’s
face and he ground his teeth.

“ Hell and fury!” he muttered.

And no wonder.

There were but three aces in his hand and
two small cards, whereas he imagined he
had four noes.

The gambler was nonplused.

He did not know what to make of it.

He had been beaten at his own game, but
had not the least idea how it was done.

But when he gave himself the four aces
he was so confident that he was playing
with a greenhorn that he failed to notice the
old major when he filched one of the aces
out of his hand and substituted another
card for it, and 110w he noticed with horror,
that the supposed greenhorn held four
kings and an ace, making the highest hand
possible in the deck.

Foxen glowered at his opponent an in-
stant, and then roared out:

“ It’s a put-up job! I won’t stand it!"
And he jumped to his feet and drew his re-
volver.

But before he had time to use it, if such
was his intention, a sharp report rung
through the cabin, and the weapon sailed
into the air like a boomerang.

The astonished gambler turned his gaze
in the direction from which the shot had
come, but could see no one. The next in-
stant his check was ashcn.

“Great lieaveu!” he cried, in very terror.
“ If I did not know that I)ead»Shot Dan was
dead, I would swear that that was he that
fired that shot. lie is the only,man who could
do that. But—”

Here he became silent, and his limbs trem-
bled under him.

Like all gamblers, he was superstitious,
and he evidently believed that it had been
Dan‘s ghost that had fired that shot, for he
was under the conviction that he had killed
the young man when he fired at him in the
woods.

Meanwhile the major had scooped the
money from the table and was busily engaged
in stowing it away about his clothes.

Recovering himself somewhat finally,
Foxen turned from the contemplation of the
su posed ghost, and, seeing what the major
w s at, it excited his wrath. But, as the
major now held a revolver in a position in
which it could be readily utilized should oc-
casion offer, this, together with the gambler’s
dread of the imaginary ghost, kept him from
any very violent demonstrations. ‘

He ground his teeth and muttered a string
of horrible oaths as he watched the major
coolly, smilingly raking off the bi rgest part
of his (Foxen's) wealth, and final y, unable
to contain himself any longer, he cried;

“By Heaven! You can’t do that again!

9’)

 

I must. have my 1‘evenge,,and curse n.
I don't show you a trick worth two of th
this time!" ‘.

“ In other words, yer wanter play me an~
other game, do yer?” observed the major, in
a quiet voice.

“ I do," snapped the gambler, hotly.

“ All right, pard,” drawled the major.
“ I‘ll go yer one, cf I lose. But mind yer
eye, hoss fly, and don't try no game on the
old man, fer he ain’t no sieh er fool es you
think he is. He’s been playin’ keerds for
quite a spell now, an’ knows several 0’ the
tricks.”

“ Sit down if you want to play,” retorted
the gambler sharply. “Let us have an end
of your palaver.”

With that he picked up the pack of cards
and began to shuille them nervously.

“ Hold on a bit,‘pard,” put in the major.
“ I reckon we'd better hev some new keerds.
this time. Ye’vc got them ones down too
tarnal fine. ’Sides, it’s my deal.”

“ Just as you say,” growled the gambler,
and calling one. of the cabin-boys, ordered a
new pack of cards. '

When the old man took the fresh pack in
his hands and began to shuttle them, he said:

“ Now, ardner, is it ter be a squar‘ game
this time?‘

“ Yes, square game ” growled the gain
blcr. .

“ All right then, I won't mark the keerds,
and say, pardner, s'pose you make up yer
mind that way too. ’Causc if yer try it, that
thar ghost might let drive at yer ag'in, only
it mightn’t be satisfied with shootin' yer gun
away, an’ might take a fool notion ter p ug
yer in the think-box.” '

Foxen made no reply to this harangue.
but watched the major deal the cards in
gloomy silence.

The major had given him a good hand on
purpose, but to his surprise, Foxen did not
bet very high, and as he himself had taken
an inferior hand, the gambler won whatever
there was'up. And if he suspected that the
major was drawing him on, he did not evince
it. In fact, his demeanor was dogged and
sullen for some time.

Finally it came to Foxen’s deal again, and
something told the major that he was about
to perpetrate one of his tricks, and kept his
eyes on the gambler sharply

The old man did not detect him in the act
of committing an trickery; but when he got
his own hand he mind that it contained three
aces and one king, and he got another king
in the draw completing an excellent ful
hand.

The major was sharp enough to know
that this meant one of two things: either the
gambler was playing a desperate game of
bluff or he held four of a kind of some small
denomination, it mattered not what. Any
four of a suit would beat a full hand.

The major affected to be delighted with
his hand, and this threw the gambler off the
scent, and he began to bet up high.”

The old man covered and raised him every
time and it was not very long before Foxen
was getting to the end of his pile and his ex-
citement increased correspondingly.

Finally he had put up his last dollar,which

included a case of jewels worth several.

thousand, and called the major.

The latter threw down his hand, when to
the gambler’s unutterable surprise and her-
ror, four aces turned up, while Foxen only
held four five-spots. ‘

The gambler grew as white as a corpse
and glanced quickly at his own hand again.

He expected to see there one ace, which
would have proven the major to be a swind-
ler, but to his astonishment, the card was a
deuce. . ‘ '

Nevertheless, although he could not prove
it, he knew that he had been tricked, and
sprung to his feet livid with rage, and draw-

ing a long knife, was in the act of plunging"

it into the major, when another report rung

 

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1 major.

av"

ut and the knife, like the pistol, spun away
from his grasp.

At the same instant the major, who had
been too slow before, leveled his revolver at
the gambler’s breast as he drawled:

“Better take it quiet, pardner. Skin gam—
blers ain’t got no more right to kick than
anybody else. Take a walk.”

” Curse you!” muttered the gambler, and
strode away.

“ Sarved him right,” laughed old Rusty as
the fellow moved M 'ay.

‘ CIINPTER IV.
A councu. or WAR.

“ BEAUTIFUle done,” exclaimed the River
Sport a few minutes later, when the major
returned to the state-room and emptied his
pockets upon a table for his companions’ in-
spection. “ And now that we have got the
rascal‘s money, there is nothing in the way
of rescuing the old gentleman and his
dau hter.”

“ ‘speeially the darter, eh, Dead-Shot?”
laughed the old major. “I kin see whut's
in your mind ’most as plain es cf yer hed a
winder in yer breast." -

“ You only imagine you can," retorth the
young man sharply, coloring a good deal
nevertheless. “ The fact is, 1 have no more
interest in that young lady than any right-
minded man should; and as for any feeling
'of sentimentality, I never thought of such a
thing.”

“Thet’s all right,” said the major, drop-

ing a good deal of his taunting tone. “But
its jest as nat’ral for or young feller ter feel
sympathetic towards a gal es it is fer an In-
,jun ter love whisky, and they‘s no harm into
it, nuther, an’ I wouldn’t be ashamed of it if
it was me, an’ I‘ll be switched cf I’d git r'iled
over it noway.”

“ You’re right, old partner,” rejoined Dan
in a better natured tone. “ I was too quick.
Especially with you, who have been so good
a friend just when I wanted a friend the
worst. Forgive me, old man.”

“Sartain,” cried the old major, grasping
his hand warmly. '

“ However, I wish you to understand that
I know nothing about this girl, beyond the
fact that she appears to be in trouble—I do
not even know her name.”

“ How d’ye 'know, then, thet she's in
trouble?”

“ I overheard a conversation between this
fellow and one of his pals, in which they
planned this abduction of the girl, under
pretense that she and her father were
thieves."

“The black-hearted vilyun!” snorted old‘

Rusty, who had remained silent up to that
time. “ We orter plug the rascal fer luck.”

The old major was silent and thoughtful
for some moments, but at length he raised
his head and drawled; -

“ I tell yer, Dead-Shot, seems terT me thar’s
‘somethin’ kinder funny ’bout this business,
arter all. You think this critter’s abductin’
the ole man an’ his gal. W al, mebbe so.
But‘don’t it strike yer a trifle queer thet they
go ’long so gentle? ’l’cars ter me thet a
man an’ a gal as didn‘t wantcr go would be
.a little skittish.”

“ I have thought the same thing myself,
major,” responded the young man, thought-
fully. “Especially when they were in St.

, Louis and could have called an oflicer. But

of course, the rascal took them by Surprise
after they got aboard of the boat, and that
about dark, so that it may be that they were
too much overcome with fright or panic to
even call for help. And as for the present,
'it may be that this fellow, who is very slick-
tongued, has succeeded in coercing them
into silence either by promises or threats,
till he gets them away to some spot where he
can do as he likes with them.”

“ So, yer don’t take no stock in the story
’bout them robbin’ him?” interrogated the

, bac \.

 

Dan, the River Sport.

“ Not the slightest.”

“ Nuther do I, me boy.
I’ll tell yer whut I b‘lieve.”

“ W'ell'!”

“I b’licve, fu'st of all, flict the old gent
hes a bar'l 0' gold somewheres, and that
coyote is arter it. an’ by some hook or crook
he’s got the ole chap under his thumb so's
he daren’t open his lips. ’Nuther thing, l
b'lieve he’s stutlin’ the old gent with the
notion thet he’s his only friend, while every-
body else, especially yon, is ag’in’ him an'
dead bent on killin’ him.”

“ I’m bettin’ ten ter one that the major‘s
struck the winnin‘ keerds this trip,” inter—
posed old Rusty.

“ Yes, your theory is a good one,” as—
sented Dan. “And that accounts for the
whole mystery. But we must make some
sort of a move to ascertain the facts. First
of all, we must find out what room they
occupy, and whether the girl and her father
are in the same room with Foxen."

“Jest have thet ter me," pntin the major.
“ I’ll find out in a jiffy, fer I know the stew-
ard.”

“All right, you go and find out, and
Rusty and I will remain here till you come

,;I

An' besides thet,

The major went away, and in the course
of half an hour came back to report that
Foxen and his two pals occupied one state
room while the old gentleman and his
daughter occupied another adjoining it, and
that the gambler and his pals kept a strict
watch upon the latter.

“The first thing to be done, then," ob-
Served Dan, “is to lay the case before the
:aptain of the boat and obtain his permis‘
sion to act. In that way we will run no risk
of being molested by the crew or of hav-
ing them assisting the rascals when it comes
to the pinch.”

The major and Dan sought an interview
with the captain at once, and he was greatly
surprised to learn that anything of the kind
had been going on on his boat, and was, in
fact, loth to believe it. He knew that the
old gentleman and his daughter had been
brought aboard the boat as prisoners, but
understood that Foxen was a detective and
was taking them South on a requisition
from the Governor of Missouri.

“If he is a detective,"- interposed Dan,
“he can probably show you his authority.
Has he done so?”

“ No, I never thought to ask to see his
authority," admitted the captain. “ I merely
took his word for it.”

“Then be good enough to treat us in the
same way, and allow us to investigate the
matter. If we discover that there are any
well-grounded char 1res against these people,
or they are going With him of their own free
Will, we shall not molest them. But if we
find that this man is uplto any foul game—”

“ In that case,” interrupted the captain,
growing interested in the oung man’s story,
“I shall be only too glat to assist you in
rescuing them and bringing the villain—if
such he proves to be—to justice. Yes, you
have my consent to investigate the matter
as much as you like.”

“Thank you, éaptain,” responded the
young man. “I trust we shall make no
trouble for you and your crew. \Ve will
try to avoid it.”

With that he took his leave and he and the
major returned to their state-room.

It was now late. in the evening, and the
best time in the world to carry out their
plans.

“ This is going to be rather a ticklish job,"
said Dan. “ We will not be able to see the
old man and learn the fact as long as Foxen
and his pals are watching him, and we have
no legal right to rush in upon them until we
have some evidence that they are guilty of
what we think they are.” ,

“Thet is kinder puzzlin’,” rejoined the
major, reflectively. “Ef I hedn’t got the

 

coyote down enter me fer cleanin’ him out,
I might go in and git him interested in an-
other game 0’ draw; but I reckon he Would-
n't care tcr tackle me any more, even if he
hes a stake, which isn’t likely artcr whut I
pulled outen him."

“No, we will have to try some other
scheme. I think .1 have it,” he resumed,
after a pause. “ It is evident, from what
you told me, that Foxen thinks he killed me
when he fired at me in the woods, and that.
he firmly bclicved it was my ghost that fired
at him this afternoon in the cabin. So, my
plan is this. I will rub a little flour on my
face, put a sheet around me and pay him a
visit. You two can keep close to my heels,
and when I get the door open and him
properly frightened, you can rush in and
help me to buck and gag the three pirates.
Of course, if We find on investigation that
they are innocent, it will be an easy matter
to release them and apologize for our mis—
take."

“ Thet’s the idea exactly,” cried the major,
enthusiastically. “ An' it's my opinion thet
we’ll not hev no apologizin’ ter do."

“ Mine too,” chimed in old Rusty.

Without further parlcy, Dan proceeded to
make himself up as a ghost and his two com-
panions overlooked their revolvers and pro-
cured some bits of rope, and then, when
everything was quiet about the cabin and
nearly everybody had retired, Dan, followed
by the major and old Rusty, made his way
to the state-room occupied by Foxen and
knocked at the door.

There was no response, and he rapped
agahr

“Who‘s there?" came a stcntorian voice
from within. .

“ The captain,” replied Dan, imitating that
otllcial‘s voice.

“ What d'yer want?” came from within.

“ I want to see Mr. Foxen at once," said
Dan, still in the captain’s voice. “ The boat
has to be tied up at the first landin , which
we will reach in a few minutes, am I want
to transfer you to another packet which will
pass at about the same time, if you prefer
continuing on your journey to lying on board
a stationary boat for a week.”

There was the sound of voices in discus-
sion inside, mingled with a good deal of
grumbling, and finally the door was opened
a little way by one of Foxen’s pals.

As soon as he caught sight of Dan’s face,
the fellow uttered a groan of terror and was
about to close the door again. when old
Rusty, with mere presence of mind than any
one who knew him would have given him
credit for, threw his great giant body against
the door and held it open.

The next instant Dan glided inside, closely
followed by his companions.

The three men had retired and were entire-
ly unprepared for this visit, the only one
that was on his feet being the fellow who
had opened the door.

There was suflicient light in the room fur-
nished by the lamps in the cabin, to dis-
tinguish the outlines of a man, and render
Dan's ghastly face more horrible than if it
had been lighter.

The two men who were still in bed, Foxen
and one pal, were too badly frightened to
even get up, and the major and Rusty
pounCed upon them and had them bound
hand and feet before they realized what was
going on.

In the mean time Dan had throttled the
man who was on the floor, and soon had him
overpowered so that his companions had no
trouble in binding him when they had finished
with the other two.

They then slipped a gag into each of their
mouths to prevent them from making an
outcry, and then, closing the door and look-
ing it from the outside, were ready for the.
investigation.

“The first thing to be done,” l'Cllltllth'tl
Dan, “is for me to get back to the state-

 
   

,C‘
r

 
 
       
     

   
        
     
     
     

  

Dan, the River Sport.

 

 

room and remove this ghostly make-up,
otherwise I will surely frighten the girl to
death.”

He returned to his state-room, and soon
came back with his natural face and ap-
pare].

“Now, major, you and Rusty go round
to the outside door and prevent them from
escaping in that direction, in case they
should attempt it, and I will go in from the
cabin." -

“ It's funny yer didn’t think 0’ that when
we was enterin’ the gambler’s room,” sug-
gested the major.

“I knew it wouldn’t be necessary,” said
Dan. “ I was quite sure that my ghostly
make-up would paralyze those chaps so
badly that they would never think of trying
to escape.”

“ An’ you was ri ht,” chuckled old Rusty.
“ I never see nobo y as bad skeered as them
fellers was."

Ilis two friends then took their departure,
and when he considered that they had had
about time to get round to the other door,
Dan, with a throbbing heart, rapped at the
door of the state-room that contained the
young lady and her father.

CHAPTER V.
A FRIGIITFUL APPARITION.

As had been the case at the door of
Foxen’s state-room, Dan, the River Sport,
was compelled to repeat his knock not once,
but two or three times, before he received
any response.

inally, however, a timid voice, which he
recognized as that of the young lady, de-
manded what he wanted.

Being put to the end of his wits for a
reply, the young man repeated substantially
that same story that he had told Foxen's
pa .

Dead silence followed for some moments,
and then the door was opened a few inches
and a face which Dan recognized as that of
the old gentlemen, peered cautiously out.

Upon seeing that it was not the captain,
the old entleman was on the point of clos-
ing the door again.

But Dan was too quick for him;

indeed, it was the only thing that could
be done.

And in spite of the old man’s struggles
and protests, the young man grasped the
door and forced it further open, and finally
succeeded in forcing his way into the room.

The old man was too badly frightened to
cry out, especially when Dan presented his
revolver to his breast and told him/to keep
quiet if he wanted to save his skin. .

“ I do not want to hurt you,” observe
Dan reassuringly, as soon as he got the old
gentleman sufficiently calmed to listen to
reason. “0n the contrary, I have come to
assist you.”

“ What do you want?" murmured the old
man in a voice tremulous with fear.

“I want to rescue you from the clutches of
the man who has you in charge,” rejoined
Dan in a kindly voice. “ 110, as I understand
it, is carrying you away under the pretense
that you robbed him in St. Louis, which
charge is false, and he has some other motive
in view. What it is, you can doubtless tell
better than anybody else. Now, sir, please
tell me your whole story, whether the charge
which he has preferred against you is
true or not, and if not, what his probable
motiVe is for carrying you and your daugh-
ter off."

As Dan spoke he took his eyes off the old
man's frightened face long enough to glance
about the room in search of the young girl,
and was surprised to see that she did not ap-
pear to be there.

This puzzled him.

There did not appear to be any hiding-
Blace in the cramped state-room where a

uman being-could be stowed away, and yet
' she was nowhere in sight.

 

After a moment’s hesitation, during which
the old man glanced about nervously as
I though in search of some way of escape, he

 

finally said in an dmost inaudible voice, but
with a beseeching tone:

“ No, no, no, sir, you are entirely mistaken.
Mr. Foxen has no evil design against my
5 daughter and myself. He is our best friend
j and is protecting us from designing people
i who persist in following us, with what design
j 1 know not. Certainly nothing good.”

This was a complete set-back for the
I young man.

There was so much carnestness: u l candor
in the speaker‘s tone that Dave was utterly
unable to decide whether he thought he was
telling the truth or was merely speaking
under the pressure of coercion and fear.

There was one thing that assisted him
materially in his dilemma, and that was the
major’s prophecy that Foxen had made the
old man believe that he (Foxen) was his best
friend. This appeared to be the best solution
of' the mystery, and Dan saw that the only
thing to be done was to convince the old man
of his error.

“My dear sir,” he began, “I understand
why you still uphold this villain who, if let
alone, will be the ruin of both you and your
daughter. He has coerced on into it. You
are afraid to speak. Now, et me assure you
that I am your friend and will protect you
with my own life, if necessary, and you need
have no fear of speaking out, as Foxen is at
this minute as helpless as an infant, both he
and his pals. Moreover, let me tell you that
I have nothing to gain in the matter, and
on'lly desire to see justice done.”

0 Dan's surprise, instead of answering
directly, the old man tottered across the
room to where a lamp was hanging and
removing the Chimney, ignited the wick.
Then turning toward the young man again,
examined his face critically for some mo-
lnents.

At length he said:

“ Are not you the young man who came
down to the boat just as were puttin out
and commanded the crew to stOp; and7 also
shot the pistol out of Mr. Foxen’s hand ?”

“ I am,” returned Dan, somewhat surpris-
ed at the question.

“ I thought so,” continued the old gentle-
man. “ Then you are the person, above all
others, whom he warned me against." And
the old man gave Dan a look that indicated
plainer than words the horror with which he
regarded him.

Dan was in a quandary what move to
make next.

It was plain that he should never be able
b ordinary logic to uproot the impression
p anth in his mind by this smooth-tongued
schemer.‘

Consequently something
tried.

Again he looked for the missing girl,
now that there was a light, and was soon
convinced that she was not in the statc~
room.

What could it mean?

Was it possible that she had not come
aboard after all, but had been concealed
somewhere in the wood?

This theory seemed plausible, especial]
as he had not seen her since coming aboar ,
and he had it on the end of his tongue to ask
her father; but a little reflection decided him
to wait a little while.

" Are you aware, sir, " he finally resumed,
“ that this man Foxen has charged you with
cobbing him of a great sum of money and
valuable diamonds?”

To Dan’s surprise, instead of replying, the
old man hung his head in a manner cal-
culated to show that he was guilty of the
crime. '

D “ Of course the charge is false?” demanded
an.

Still the old man hung his head and re-
1 mained silent. '

 

else must be

 

 

Dan also remained silent for some mo-
ments, hoping that he would speak, but as
time \vent on, and there appeared no likeli-
hood that he would reply to his question, the
young man finally said:

“ Well, sir, there is no use of playing ’pos-
sum with me. I came here with the deter-
mination of getting at the bottom of this af—
fair and I am going to do it.”

The young man had uttered these words
with such energy and so utterly unlike his
ordinary mild tone, that the old man was
startled and looked up at him in a half-
frightened and half-surprised manner, but;
still did not speak. The young man, after a
pause in which to note the effect of his
words continued:

“ Either you are uiity of that crime, or
you are not, sir. If you are guilty, the
proper authorities have a right not only to
know about it, but should have you in cus—
tody. If you are innocent, then this man
whom you believe to be your friend, is
blackenin your character and that of your
daughter for some wicked purpose. What
that purpose is I have no present means of
knowing; but there is one thing I will do.
1 will act upon your confession to me. If
you admit that you are guilty I will turn

on over to the authorities at the ver first-
lhnding where there is a magistrate; ut if
you protest your innocence, will still keep
you under my charge and protect you until I
get this fellow where he is not likely to do
you any more harm. Now, sir, which is it.
~—innoccnt or guilty?”

Foralong time after the question died
away on the young man’s lips the older one-
still reinaine silent. But he flnall raised
his head slowly until his eyes rests on the
young man’s face, and then began in a low,
tremulous voice:

“ What Mr. Foxen says, I am sorry to say,
is true. I am guilty. My greatest regret is
that Mr. Foxen should have divulged the
secret, thus bringing ignominy upon my
child through my crime. As the money and
gems were returned to him, he promised to
keep the secret inviolate, and for my daugh—
ter’s sake, protect me from the law untilywe
should reach our Southern home. As it.
now is, however, I presume you will have
to take me in charge and turn me over to the
authorities.” ,

“Unfortunately, that is true, sir,” re—
sponded Dan, still keeping up the ruse,
although he still did not believe that the old'.

entleman was guilty. “Likewise your
aughter, as Foxen says she is also guilty or
aceessory.”

“My God!” cried the old man in despair.
“Does he also say that? Believe me, sir,
she is not guilty. It was I alone who com-
mitted the crime. My daughter knew noth—
in g about it!”

“That I can easily believe, sir. But tell
me, how came
have plenty 0
you not?"

“ Oh, do not ask me, sir.
that Iam guilty and am willing to suffer
punishment for it. But do, please, try to»
save my poor, innocent daughter. ”

“ I certainly will, if it is within my power.

But. where is your daughter? I thought that.

she was in the same state-room with you.”

The old man cast his eyes about nervously . r -

especially toward the back door.

“ I do not know—now," he murmured
almost inaudibly.

“ She is aboard the boat, is she not ?”

“I—I hope so,” he little more than whis-  r “ 
pered. Then all of a sudden he looked up as 3 
“Where is Mr. Foxen?” 

if by inspiration.
he asked in an anxrous, nervous tone.

“He is where he will not molest you}?

again.” ,
“ What do you mean?”

. t 3
“ I can tell you no more at present.” But: I
seeing that the old man was burning with». " :1.
I curiosity or anxiety, he finally added: “ ‘

on to rob this man? You. ,
wealth of your own, have ‘

All I can say is, '

 
 

   

 

 
 
  
   

  

  

  
    
  
  
   
 
 
    

        

 

 

Dan, the River Sport.

 

  

east until you are willing to trust me to the
extent of telling me the truth about this
matter."

The old man’s countenance underwent a
series of rapid changes. At one moment it
lit up with a gleam of hope and it looked for
an instant as though he were about to
divulge the truth about this mysterious af-
fair, but the next instant it darkened again
with a cloud of despair, as though he had
closod his soul and locked it.

At length, finding that the old chap was

i, 1 not likel to change his mind for the present,

 and destring to discover, if possible, the
. , _ whereabouts of the girl, Dan arose to go.
 " “Well, sir,” he said, as he took the key
' r from the door preparatory to locking the old
‘ entleman in, “I will take the liberty of

coping you safe in your room until we
reach the next landing, which will not be
lon , however.”

’Ighe young man 'then strode out, leaving
the old gentleman in a state of mingled sur-
prise am despair. .

He did not lock the back door, as his com-
panions were guarding that, besides he want-
ed to give the young lady an opportunity
of returning if she des red.

When he reached the other side of the
boat, Dan was astonished at the state in
which he found the major and old Rusty.
I. i , The were standing there clutching the rail-
‘~ ' ing or support, their faces as white as those
of the dead and their eyes staring wildly at
 '_ ‘1 {hie rear door of the state-room Dan had just
3‘ '1; , ' e t.

“f v “ What on earth is the matter?” demanded
.‘il- , ‘ the young man. '
‘. It was several minutes before either of
f, . them could utter a word, but upon being

' :- urged and threatened, the major finally
:7 ‘, as ed- '

 l g p '

v . : , “ There, there! Out of

1 -'_ i. 2‘  Ghost!” , .
 ' “Yes, real ghost, Dead~Shot!" reiterated

.5 . _\..1.j:‘-<9.' v.1

v-e} .uu‘gi-y-’;.? ’tfis‘.n...,.sr.~. .;

3.4.“

£2.39, -‘ .

that door!

 

32gb ‘ old Rusty. Real ghost!”

 ' ~ CHAPTER VI. .

I  j I , A DOUBLE smuuusa. I

 it So badly frightened were old Rusty and
xii; ,‘ the major that it took a good while to bring
~55 “3:3. ' them to their senses enough to get them to

,5)": a"; V their state-room, and once there, it took
i it}? quite a while longer to bring them round
‘ is"; sufficiently to enable them to tell what had

  ha pened to frighten them so terribly.

' ‘*  fly dint of patience, however, Dan finally
mangged to get them to talk rationally.

“ hy, yer see,” began the major in a
tremulous voice, ” 'est as me an’ Rusty thar
got roun’ in front 0 the door, it opened, an’
as we didn’t happen ter be lookin’ squar‘ at
' . it at the time, we kinder thought it might
be the old chap er-tryin’ ter make er sneak
' outer yer, an' both on us made a rush at the

‘ person as was comin’ out, an’ ot right atop
‘ of 76m afore we noticed What it was, when
all of a sudden I heerd Rusty kinder rrmm
and say ‘ Oh, Lordy! whut’s thet?’ an fin-n
I looked up, an‘ by jingo! I- like ter fainud
when I seen it!”
“ What?” demanded the young man, un-
able to keep a straight face. i
“ The ghost!” replied the major, with
‘ bated breath.
"‘ The fiddlesticksl” replied Dan, in dis

 

gust.

 “Thet’s right.’a put in old Rusty. “Real

., ‘ghost. No humbug!”

“Come, I’m positively ashamed of you,”

cried the oung man. “Men of your age

wand experience. talking about ghosts. "

' “Wal, then, I‘d like ter knp'w whut it

was,” s’aid the major. "If it wasn’t a

ghost, it was somethin’ us looked mighty like
truone.”

 ....“How do you know? Have you had

much acquaintance With these airy night
owlers, major?”

* No, but it looked jest like pictur’s I’ve
:of ’em.” . _

  

  

 

 

 
   
  

  

 

“ (‘ome, tell us 'all about it," demanded
Dan, in a firm voice. “ Rest. assured it was
no disembodied spirit, although l am willing
to believe that it was the young lady making
her escape, probably in her night-robe, for
she was not in the room when I got in
there." .

“ Is thet so?" cried the major in a crushe(
tone, and he glanced significantly at old
Rusty. ,

The latter’s jaw dropped.

“ Wu], 1’“ be blamed!” he finally drawled.
“ D'ycr reckon that it was her, major?"

“ if it was, I’m a cussed ole fool, thct’s
all,"growlcd the major. “ lt‘erl'd ~"a' sWore
’twas a ghost, an' cuss my cats cf 1 don’t half
b’lieve it was, or the whitest mortal I ever
laid eyes ontcr.” \

“ The girl is fair,” explained the young
man “ And besides, I presume she was
frightened at the time. But there are two
more things I want to do before weallow any
more time to slip by. One is to find what
has become of the girl, and the other is to re-
lease Foxcn and his pals, on the express con-
dition that they will go ashore at the first
landing.”

“ Better wait till she lands afore yer take
a cord olIen them ducks,” suggested the
major. '

“Certainly, I won’t release them right
away, but I will see whether the fellow will
agree to the proposition or not.”

“Yer kin jest gamble he will,” muttered
the major. “But carryin’ it out‘s another
thing. My opinion is, he‘ll go ashore if he
hes a six-shooter at the back of his head, an'
not a minit before. ’ _

“ You’re shontin’, major,” put in old Rusty.
“That chap’s layin’ low fcr mast, an' heain’t
er-goin’ tcr move till he’s plugged. Oh, how
I’d like tcr >lug the son of a gun!" and he
tapped the l it of his pistol affectionately.

“ \Vell, come on,” interposed Dan. “ Let
us get to business. You fellows skirmish
round and see if on can run across the girl
any place while call upon my dear friend
Foxen."

And without further talk, Dan left ‘his
companions to carry out their part of the
work, while he made his way directly to the
state-room of Foxen.

As he had locked both doors of this state-
room. the young man had no thought of
anything but to unlock the door and walk
in. which he did without delay.

But the moment he got inside he paused.

lie was surprised at the sight which met
his gaze.

There was a double surprise for him, in
fact.

In the first place the men whom he had
left tied an hour before were no longer
there.

And in the second place, the young girl
whom he had missed from her father’s room,
and whom he had sent the two old chaps to
lnmt, was there.

And she sat there as complacently as
though she‘had been there all along.

There appeared to be but one solution of
the mystery, and that was that the girl had
come to the men‘s rescue and unbound-them.

.This would seem to indicate that she was,

gfter all, iniperfect sympathy with the gam-
er.

The young man was dumfounded. lie
did not know what to do for some moments.

“ Do you know, miss, what became of the
three men who were in here a moment ago?’

“I do not, sir,” she replied as coolly as
though she had told only the simple truth.

“Dan was more puzzled now than eVer.
He was also disgusted, for if this answer
was any indication of the girl‘s character, he
concluded that he had risked his life in a
very poor canse.

“Were they not in here when you came in?”
he Ventured to ask further.

“ No, sir," was the cool rejoinder. “ There
have been no men in here to-night.”

 

1

 

Dan was floored. if she had been a man.
he thought, he would have argued the point
with him in vigorous terms, but what was
the use of wasting time with a girl?

lie strode out of the room in disgust.

When he met Rusty and the major a little
later, they had scoured the boat from stem
to stem, without finding the girl.

“No need of searchng any longer," ob-
served l)a.n dejectedly. “ I have found the
girl, but the men have gone.”

“ Found the gal l"

“ Men gone!" cried each in turn in an ex-
cited tone.

Dau told his story in as few words as pos-
sible, and at the conclusion, said:

“ I‘ve put in nearly twenty—four hours and
risked my life twice. and you have lost about
twelve hours, all for nothing. I’ll tell you
what I begin to think. ”

“ Whut's thet?" asked the-major.

“ I believe," observed Dan, “ that the
woman is into it as thick as Foxcn him-
self.”

“ 'Pears tcr me thet ye’r’ about right thar.
boy,” gruntcd the major. “ Tell yer whut I
think. i think thet thar gal’s done stole the
money from the gambler, an’ then her dad.
like an ole fool, shouldered the blame tcr
savo hcr repertashnn. Men is awful foolish
when they have purty dartcrs. 1 knowed a
feller up our way, named——-"

“ Never mind about the f'eller up your
way,” interrupted Dan impatiently. “ Let
us see whether we can find these men or not.
If not, I propose to get off at the first land—
and gave up the chase."

“ llullol Whnt‘s thct?” cried old Rusty
suddenly, pointing off up the river.

“ Wal, it looks tcr me like or skill? with
three men in it," responded the major.

“ That‘s what it is,” observed Dan. “ And
I’ll bet a hundred to one that it is Foxcn and
his pals."

“ 'l‘hct‘s whut," remarked the ma'or.
“ Whut shall we. do 'bout it? Git or s 'ill'
an put off arter ’em?”

“No, let them go. My only proposition
to them was to be for them to go ashore and
not molest these people any more. And now
I wouldn’t care much if they had taken them
along with them.”

“ Oh, don‘t be too hard on the gal.”
pleaded old Rusty. "‘ She may be all right
arter all. An‘ jest as sure es she looks’at
yer with them black eyes 0’ horn. you'll be
ready tcr swear she’s an angel of light an’
beauty.”

Dan did not reply to this, but put off for
his state-room rather sulkily. for him, deter-
mined to get a few hours of sleep, although
it was now ncaringdaylight.

He did not undress, however. and after he
had lain there on his bunk for along time,
he discovered that he could not slcc 1.

There was too much on his mind. and an
image»that of the beautiful girl—was con-
tinually before him; and she appeared to
plead her innocence of anything of which she
had been charged. Again and again the
young man strove to dismiss the image. It
would not go, and he finally decided to in-
vestigate the matter still further, now that
the men were gone.

He was up early, the following morning.
and came out on deck just as the boat was
putting in at One of the way-landings.

rl‘hcre was a railway station at the place,
and the young man watched the few pas-
sengers who went on or off Vcry closely,
more than half expecting to see Foxen and
his friends. ”

But to his relief the boat finally pushed out
again without any of them putting in an ap~
pcaranee.

. . a
He was just turning awry from the guards
. ' n apair of roguish'

black eyes met his own and caused him some- ‘

to return to the cabin, wl

thing of a thrill, such as he had never ex-
perienced before.
A little closer inspection showed-V him

t

 

'1 ft"
. _
,
,
' hi".

   
    
   
    
  
  
   
  
    
   
  
  
  
  
    
   
  
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
    
  
    
 
 

Buffers-shy . -< ~~

i,
i}.
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r
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4,\

 
   

_. ’m-.~— 9......

8

~~~-wa x4 w.- " ur-W

, - .-~...-r..~... .~......, ,.

Dan, the River Sport.

 

the eyes belonged to the young lady. She
too had been looking for the fugitives, evi-
dently.

lie was about to turn away without may
further notice of her, when she half smile ,
and then beckoned him to her.

She was standing in her state-room, the one
in which her fatherhad been, and merely put
her head out as she looked.

As soon as he was near enough for them to
speak, the girl said:

“ You didn’t see anything of them, did
you? ’

There was something of a taunting spirit
in her tone, he thought, and it piqued him;
and although he knew perfectly well whom
she referred to, he affected not to, and asked
simply:

“ Whom ‘2"

“ Mr. Foxen and his friends,” she replied.

“ No, miss, I (lid not,” he retorted rather
giggly. “ And what is more, I hope I never
i “ In that respect we are of thesame mind,”
she said, smiling. “ I hope I shall never see
them again. But I fear that I shall.”

 

CHAPTER VII.
A PA'l‘IIE'l‘IC s'ronv.

DAN was greatly astonished at the girl’s
last remark.

Up to that moment he had supposed that
she was leagued in some way with this un-
principled gambler.

But her remark seemed to indicate that,

V now he was gone and she was no longer un-

der his control, she had regained her cour-
izl e sufficiently to express her dislike for

m.

The young man was too much embar-
rassed at first to express himself, but after a
few moments he recovered his self-posses-
sion enough to say:

“ Why, miss, I should have thought that
you would have been glad to see them.”

“That is because you neither know me
nor my experience with this man Foxen,”
she rejoined, with an arch expression that
Was very puzzling to the young man.

He was silent for a few moments again,
and for the life of him he could not raise his
eyes from the floor.

At len th he screwed his courage up once
more an continued:

“Then, why did you release them last
night?”

To his surprise and discomfiture, she burst
out laughing.

“ Why, don't you see, for the very reason
that I wanted to get rid of them. When I
left my father's room, it was not because
you were coming in, sir, but because I
thought it was he. AfterIleft the state-
room Iwalked about the deck for some time,
until the two men whom I had seen in front
of our state-room had disappeared, and then
I started to return to my father. But just
as I was passing the room in which Mr.
Foxen had been I heard groans.

“I tried to open the door, but found it
locked. Then I went and got the key to the
outside door of our state-room and with it
unlocked his door, when I found the three
men bound and gagged. .

i “ My first impulse was to leave them so,
but Mr. Foxen made signs for me to take
the gag out of his mouth, and thinking that
he had something to say to me, I finally
complied with his request. As soon as he
could speak he told me that if I would re-
lease him and his friends they would leave
the boat at the first opportunity and that he
would never trouble me any more. I then
qrcleased them, and, whether it was from a
desire to be truthf for once in his life or
fear of you, he kept his word. Indeed, he
did not wait for a landing, but had the skiff
which he had brought aboard at St. Louis
lowered and they escaped in that. I fully
expected to see him come aboard again at

      

 

the last landing, and that is why I was watch-
mg;

The River Sport was silent for a little
while after this recital, but finally asked.

“’Would it be asking too much, miss, to
inquire how this man managed to get you in
his power in the first plaCe?”

She did not answer immediately, but hung
her head, colored a little and appeared about
as much embarrassed as Dan had been a little
while before. I

At length, however, she raised her head
and said in a low, confidential tone:

“ You have been kind to us, sir, and I can
see that you are a gentleman. 'l‘hercfore, if
you care to hear our story, and will kindly
step inside, my father will tell you all about
our troubles since we first knew this man ”

The young man made no reply in words,
but took a step forward as an indication
that he would like to enter the state-room,
whereupon she opened the door for him to
enter.

The old gentleman received him with a
benignant smile when he went in, which
was quite a contrast with the. way in which
he had met the young man on the occasion
of his previous visit.

After inviting him to take a seat and
the girl had seated herself upon the edge
of one of the lower bunks, the old man com-
menced:

“ My name is Casper Desban, and my home
is in Memphis. I am pretty well to do,
we have a beautiful home in the suburbs of
the city, and Florence here is my on]
child. I have a sister residing in ()aklam ,
California, and my daughter has been out
there going to school. '

“A. month ago I went out to visit my
daughter, and to bring her home at the
expiration of her school-term, which was to
be in a couple of weeks. 

“ I stopped part of the time the Palace
Hotel, San Francisco, and while there had
the' misfortune to be robbed of all the money
I had with me. Of course it was only a
question of a few days at most when I could
have had money sent me from home, but in
the mean time I had been unfortunate enough
to make the acquaintance of this man Foxen,
whom I mistook for a gentleman, and casu-
ally mentioned the fact of my loss to him.
He at once not only offered to let me have
whatever money I required, but actually
forced it upon me.

“I was naturally overwhelmed with his
kindness, and was foolish enough to intro-
duce him to my daughter.

“He at once began to show her marked
respect, and, whether the child really
thought an thing of him or not—”

“Papa, did not,” interrupted the girl
at this point. “I showed him all the re-
spect I could because he had been kind to

on.”

“Yes, I believe that is true,” pursued
the old gentleman. “And I am glad to
know that Florence was not as tweak as
many girls of her age are. At ,all events,
whether she merely respected or had a
deeper regard for him makes no difference
now. She did one very foolish thing and
that was to accept a present from him—a
present that could only be expected to pass
between the very warmest friends or a be-
trothed couple. It was, in short, a case of
jewels Worth at least ten thousand dollars.
Idid not know of the affair for several
days afterward; but as soon as my dangli-
tcr showed them to me, I insisted upon her
returning them to him at once. She did
attempt to do so, but he flatly refused to ac—
cept them from her. I then took the matter
in my own hands, and started in search of
him with the jewel-case. But when I came
to inquire I learned that he had left the
hotel, but where he had gone I was unable to
discover. However, I left the ease of jewels,
together with the amount of money which
he had lent me, in charge of the landlord

 

perfectly true. You may believe it or not. 

for him. But what was my surprise, a few 7 .
days subsequently, to receive the whole
package again by messenger and the messen-
ger could give no account of where he had
got. it.,,

“ l again took the package to the landlord, i
explained what it contained and whom it was
intended for. The landlord, upon hearing
the name of the man who had owned the
jewels, refused to have anything to do with
them, saying that the chances were that they
had been stolen. I was now in a worse pre~
dicameut than ever; but as I was compelled
to leave San Francisco in a greathurry, hav- .
ing prolonged my visit already too long, I "L
could do nothing but take the jewels with "
me, hoping, however, that I should soon hear ,
of Ii‘oxen, when I determined to return them . , ,-
to him. i

“ We were compelled to stop over in St. 2,
Louis, as I had some business to transact ‘ . 
there, and when he had been stopping at the v  ‘
Planters’ for about a week, who should ap- 1'
pear but this man. 3

“ The moment we met, and before I had
time to offer to return his jewels and money,
he said: ‘Well, sir, that was a pretty trick
you played upon me in San Ii‘raneisco—tliat
is, you and yourdaughtertogether.. I could
hardly have credited you with such a thing.’
Thinking that he referred to my leaving the
jewels for him, I said, laughingly: ‘ As you .
were no longer there, what else could I do?’ ' x' 4

WM *1 b-JC‘H

 I
i
1!

- « an»...

Q
2

in » {Jug ‘

a
I

1.3»

To my surprise, he turned upon me with a 1
black scowl and said: ‘At least, sir, I had I
no idea you would abuse my friendship to, - v,
the extent of robbing me!’

“‘I was thunder-struck. I could not make
out his meaning. I still thought he must be
jesting. ‘What do you mean? I demanded, ‘. a _ .
half sternly. ‘ Come, now,’ said he, ‘ do not  - l‘f. ,
attempt to play the innocent with me, old I ‘4
gentleman. I have seen too much of the
world.’ I '.y 1

“But as he could .not fail to see the genu- -
ineness of m distress, he added, after a
pause: ‘Well: perhaps—possibly you are in-

   

"9

A

65

HMA'A 1—4

nocent. Tell me, have you seen your dauglli- ' r ‘
e .

ter in possession of a case of jewels?’
here went on to describe them. ‘ Why yes,’ 
I said, my heart in my threat, for the affair 
grew more and more mysterious and horrible .
every instant. ‘You gave them to her, of i-
course? I did not want her to keep them, ,
coming from a stranger, and that is why she  i
offered to return them to you when you re- - ,1 "
fused to take them back.’ He eyed me LT", \'
sharply fora minute or two with the air of 5‘4
one who is debating in his mind whether he "
shall openly denounce you as a liar, or dis-
puteyour statement in a milder way, and
finally said: ‘ Is this her story, old gentle-
man, or yours?’

“At this I lost my temper. ‘What do
you dare to insinuate, sir?’ I demanded. ‘ It , 1 ,.
is not the story of either of us. It is the  .»,
plain truth as told b my daughter to melf ,  5v,

“ ’I‘he fellow laug icd sarcastieally. ‘ This ' ' '
is a very pretty story, indeed!’ he sneered ,

‘ Now, old gentleman, let me tell you the 
straight of it. Your daughter stole tlwso
dt'mn/mds .” ,

“ ‘It is,-a lie!’ I told him. ‘A wicked, 
malicious lie! And if I possessed the man- '
hood that I once had, you should pay dearly , ‘ t»,
for this cowardly insult to my innocent "
child!’ ,

“ The follow only laughed at my anger. _ ’1 .‘
‘You may as well hold your temper, old j?
gentleman,” said he. " -. .f'

“‘Never!’ I cried, ‘until I have been ' v 3‘, ‘
avenged for that insulti’ For you may - _ =
know my Sopthern blood was up. r ’ xi:

“ ‘ You would do better to listen to reason,’ 95
he observed, as coolly as you please. ‘ Come ‘
in here till I tell you how it is.’ And he
pushed open the door of his room, which we r  V -,
happened to be near. I went in, hardly . __ ' .
knowing what I was doing, when he re-  , " a”
sumed: ‘ What I tell you, old gentleman, is '

 

 

 

   

 

 

' this proposition:

 

Dan, the River Sport.

9

 

I cannot blame you for rejecting it. I should
«do the same were she my daughter. But, as
I say, it is true, and the court will believe
my story whether you do or not, for the
reason, if for no other, that the jewels are in
her possession.’

“ ‘But they shall not remain in her posses-
sion!’ I cried, starting for the door. ‘ I will
dash them at your dastardly feet!’

“ ‘ Stop!’ he said, quietl . ‘ Do not make

,a fool of yourself. Look there!’ and he
pointed toward my own room-door, which
was opposite, and to my horror, I beheld an
officer standing there. ‘ That man will en-
*ter the room at a word from me andmake a
search, when, of course, the jewels will be
found.’ .

“ ‘ Coward! Scoundrel!’ I cried in the
bitterness of my despair. ‘ What have I

ever done to you that you should thus ruin I

my only child ?’ ,

“"Be calm,’ he said, in the same dispas-
sionate voice. ‘I have no thought of ruin-
ing your daughter, old gentleman, or you
either, and that is the reason I came to talk
the matter over, instead of having her arrest-
ed as I might have done. Now, I make you
Return me the jewels and
pay me over one hundred thousand dollars,
and the world shall never know anything
about. the affair.’

“Glad to get out of the scrape in any
way, and half believing in my daughter’s
guilt, I agreed to the proposition, although i.
‘knew that it would ruin me—make a beggar
of me. ‘ But,’ I told him, ‘ you will be com-
pelled to rely upon my honor till I reach
home, as I have not the money with me.’
Her reflected a few moments, and then re-
plied: ‘I will go with you. If anything
should happen on the wa , you can exoner-
ate your daughter by ta ing the odium of
the crime upon yourself. But mind,’ he ad-
ded with sudden energy, ‘ if you attempt to
betray me, I will expose your daughter by
having her arrested!’ This is why I con-
fessed to the guilt. Up to late yesterda af-
ternoon he had compelled Florence to eep

othe jewels so that he could havo something

tangible in case he wanted to have her ar-
rested. But when he got hard-pressed in
his game with your friend. he was compell-
ed to put it up, hoping, ofcourse, to save it,
and withit the money he had lost. But now
that it is no longer in her possession, I feel
free to speak."

CHAPTER VIII.
THE CONFLAGRATION AT NIGHT.

As soon as the old man had finished his
story, without a word the young man arose
and left the state-room. A few moments af-
ter heireturncd and laid the jewel-case down
uponthe little table in front of the old man,
'with the remark:

“ There, sir, is the case of jewels. They
are mine now, but I have no use for them.
'I ,ive them to you for our daughter."

f‘ the young man ha stuck a knife into
him it could not have caused him to start
more convulsively and blanch more deathly.
Pushing the case away from him with a
shudder, the old gentleman cried in a horri-
‘fled tone: . i

“ No, no, no, take the detestable thing
away! The very sight of it makes my flesh
creep! It has caused me and mine all the
trouble we eVer had, and I would not have it
nor allow my daughter to have it!”

“ But, my dear sir,” protested Dan, “ there

can be no harm in taking them now, as Foxen

has gone."

“ Gone?” groaned Mr. Desban. “Yes,
gone. But how long will he remain away?"

“ He will not dare to return while Iam
here, and I shall accompany you to the end
~of your journey, if you will allow me.”

“It is very kind of ou, sir, and we shall
tappreciate it if you Wil accompany us to our
home in Memphis. But the jewels we can --

’1 5 ~not acoept, I should always live in mortal

 

 

dread as long as they were in our possession.
I should always be expecting that he would
return, and, finding this tell-tale case of
jewels in our possession. no telling what he
would do.”

“My dear sir, if he should return and
claim tliejcwcls—which is not at all likely——
you would only need to inform him that they
originally belonged to me, and though, al-
though he did win them from me at a game of
cards, my friend won them back and gave
them to you."

“That is all very Well, my young friend,"
interposed the old man. dolefully, “ but
what proof could I have?"

“ Proof? Look!” And Dan threw up the
lid of the case, embossed on the inside of
which was the legend in gold letters:

“ ruasicm‘nn 'ro
DE AD-Sll 0 ’l‘ 1) AN,
(Daniel Latvia)

In acknowledgment of his genius, as the
Best Shot on the Pacific Coast,

BY Amnnmo FRIENDB.”

The old gentleman stared at him in blank
amazement.

“ You don’t mean to tell me that you are
the famous Dead-Shot Dan, do you?” he
finally asked.

“That is what some people have been
foolish enough to call me,” replied the young
man modestly.

“ It is no matter of surprise, then, my
dear,” said the old gentleman, turning to his
daughter, “ that he performed what we con-
sidered a miraculous feat the other day. I
am proud to know you, sir,” he added, turn-
ing to Dan again and extending his hand.

“Proud enough to accept the jewels?” in-
quired the other, grasping the proffered
hand. ,

Mr. Desban was silent for some moments.

” I will make you this proposition, Mr.
Louis,” he finally said. “Come home with
me, and if we all arrive in safety and are in
the same frame of mind then as now, I will
allow my daughter to accept the present.”

“Very well. I accept the proposition,”
rejoined the young man. rising to go.

Just then the breakfast-bell rung and they
all wont into the cabin together.

“ Seems ter me es though yer was a-mak-
ing purty good headway with the gal,” ob-
served the old major, with a mischievous
twinkle in his eye when Dan returned to his
own state-room late in the afternoon.

“What makes you think so?” demanded
the young man. sharply, coloring violently.

“ Why, ye‘vv spent the better part of the
day with her, an’ it w’u’d be cur'us if 'er
didn’t purty nigh understand one ano: lCl‘
afore this time. " ‘

“ You were never more mistaken in your
life, major. Asa matter of fact, lhaven’t
addressed half a dozen words to the young
lady.”

“ Iluh," grunted old Rusty. “Then yc’re
not half the shot with yer tongue thet ye air
with the derriugcr."

“ The fact is, gentlemen.” interposed Dan,
impatiently, “ I had no thought of the girl.
I have been talking to her father all the time,
or rather he has been talking to me. He has
been telling me how he came to get into this
man Foxcn's power.”

Dan then Went on to relate the story which
the old gentleman had told him; at the con-
clusion of which he said:

“ And I proposeto see them through, if it
cost me my life, for I have taken aninterest
in these people such as I never took in any-
body bcfore.” .

“ Don’t blame yer a bit,” responded the
major. “They’re nice folks—’specially the
gal, an’ we'll go ’long with ye, if yer want
us, eh, Rusty?”

 

 

“ Bet yer life,” re joined the gentleman ad-
dressed.

“ Thank you, my friends. I appreciate
your kindness But if you don’t mind, l’m
going to lie down and have a few winks of
sleep, as I didn’t close an eye last night, you
remember. "

Anybody who has been on a Mississippi
steamer on a warm summer day km ws how
awfully drowsy it is, and Dan s soon
asleep, from which his friends did not
wake him even for supper, and he slept far
into the night.

\Vhen he finally did awake, it was at the
sound of hurrying to and fro on deck, ac-
companied by shrieks and cries of alarm from
the passengers, mingled with the dread cry
of fire!

Dan dressed himself hurriedly and rushed
out upon the guards, when a sight met him
that caused his heart to stand still.

The boat had reached that portion of the
river, just below Cairo, where the confluence
of the Ohio causes the Mississippi to widen
out into miles of watery waste. and here,
where the shores are almost out of sight, the
great steamer had suddenly and mysterious-
ly caught on fire, and was already a vast
sheet of flame.

The young man’s first thought was of his
new friends, the old man and his pretty
daughter.

no therefore lost no time in dashing along
through the alrcad ' thickening smoke, min-
gled with an occas onal tongue of flame, to
their state-room.

He did not wait to knock, but wrenched
the door open at once, when a volume of
of dense black smoke burst upon him, driv-
ing him back.

A terrible suspicion Seized him.

The old gentleman and his daughter had
doubtless been suffocated in the smoke!

Recovering himself, therefore, he dashed
into the room, in spite of the stifling
smudge, and proceeded to search for his
friends. I I

But he could find nothing of them, and
finally came to the conclusion that his friends
had made their escape before the smoke had
become so dense.

When he reached the deck once more, he
saw that all the boats available had already
been manned, and were making their way,
laden with passengers, for the distant shores,
while a hundred or so frantic men and
women were left to save themselves or per-
ish.

These Were all collected on one side of the
boat—the only side where any living being
could exist for an instant, as the rest of the
craft was already enveloped in flame, and to
this part Dan made his way at once to look
for his friends. But his search was in vain.
They were nowhere to be seen.

Iloping that they had succeeded in getting
into one of the small boats, he looked about
for some means of saving himself. He had
taken the precaution to put the jewel-ease
into his pocket, and having no other bag-
gage abeard, he had nothing to do but look
out. for himself.

Noticing a‘ropc attached to a spar, he first
made one end of the rope fast to the guards
and then threw the spar OVerboard. Then
strapping his pistol around his head to keep
it above water, he grasped the rope and slid
down to the water.

Once mounted astride the spar, it was but
the work of an instant to sever the rope with
his knife, and a few seconds later he floated
clear of the rapidly-perishing steamer.

But no sooner was he out of danger him-
self, than he thought of the selfishness of his
conduct in saving himselfand leaving others
to perish, and this caused him to glance
back at the burning steamer, with the idea
of returning to it in case there appeared to
be any hope of rescuing any one.

The night was very dark, the sky being

overcast with clouds which the dense volume '

   

  

w "44-ng l ‘ ' .

   
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
 
  
  
   
   
  
  
  
  
   
    
   
  
  
  
    
   
  
   
  
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    
    
 

ng-Tf'f 

z" 

10

Dan, the River Sport.

 

 

of black smoke rendered all the darker, and
the glare of the burning steamer illumincd
the dark waters for a long distance.

For a few seconds the young man sat
astridc the spar earnestly scanning the flam-
ing Vessel, when all of a sudden he was sur-
prised and relieved to see a number of small
boats approach from somewhere in the dark,
,and before he had recovered from his sur-
(prise the remainiwr passengers had been low—
ered into them am the boats again paddled
away into the darkness.

They had hardly disappeared, and Dan
was just thinking about resuming his slow
and painful task of paddling ashore with a
piece. of board, when something occurred
which made him pause.

The deck of the steamer fell in with a
crash, sending a shower of sparks on high
and illuminating the heavens for an instant,
as well as lighting up the water in the innue-
diate vicinity of the vessel, and he saw, on
the only portion of the boat not yet swathed
in flame, the forecastlc, two figures, while
in the water beneath was a small boat con-
taining a single figure, who was standing
erect and appeared to be resisting the efforts
of the two persons on the forecastle from
entering the small boat.

What it meant or who the parties were
Dan had not the least idea, but he made up
his mind without delay that there was some
villainy going on, and he determined to in-
terfere if possible.

He therefore set to paddling with all the
energy he possessed toward the burning
vessel.

When he got a little nearer, he observed
that what he had suspected was an actual
fact, the person in the boat was keeping the
others from entering.

He also saw that in a few seconds at most
the fire would have eaten its way to where
the two figures stood, and licked them up in
its fury.

He was satisfied now that the person was a
would-be murderer, and that his destruction

_ was the only means of saving the others; so

without waiting to consider the matter any
further, Dan snatched his pistol from the
back of his head where it hung, and fired.
The next instant the figure pitched forward
into the water, and the two persons sprung
into the small boat just as the forecastle fol-
lowed the rest of the vessel into the waves.

CHAPTER IX.
A srrmomaa FOR LIFE.

DAN pulled away now with all the strength
he ossessed to reach the small boat.

I e was anxious to see who the persons
Were whom he had saved, and also desired to
ascertain how badly he had hurt the man
whom he had shot. ,

But before he had covered half the dis-
tance, he was horrified to see, all of a sudden,
the boat capsize and the two persons plunge
into the water. . Q

And what rendered matters still worse, the
fire of the burning vessel had so far sub-
sided, or its glare screened by intervening
timbers, that all was total darkness in the
vicinity of the boat.

He pulled more manfully than ever now,
and was soon near enough to discern an out-
line of the people struggling in the water.

As he approached a little nearer he was
surprised to see that there were three of
them.

One had partially climbed upon the cap-
sized boat, and the other two were clinging
to the gunwales on either side.

A few more strokes now brought him up-
on the scene, and he grasped the first one he
came to, which he was surprised to find was
a woman, and raised her upon the spar.

This was ticklish business, as the least
thing was calculated to cause the spar to roll
and thus plunge its passengers into the
water. But Dan was very calm, and to his

 

_ great advantage the unknown w‘oman was 9.1-,

r. it ashore.

 

so. As soon as he felt himself safely seated
with the woman in front of him, Dan said:

“ Clear the boat, gentlemen, and we can
soon right her.”

To his unutterablc surprise, the man who
had crawled upon the boat sprung into the
water at his very side, and cried in a husky
voice:-

“ I’ll clear you, curse you, Dan Louis!"
and struck at the young man’s leg.

Dan recognized the voice at once as that of
Foxen, and a sharp pang told him that the
fellow had struck him with a knife.

And what was worse the blow, together
with the excitement in finding who his as-
sailant was, served to unseat Dan and he roll-
ed into the water with his charge;

Ile (lid not lose his presence of mind, how-
ever, and grasping the woman, he raised her
up and whispered to her to take a firm hold
upon the spar. To his satisfaction, she did
as she was told, and the young man turned
his attention to his assailant, who had come
at him at this moment with the evident
intention of administering another blow
with the knife.

But Dave was too quick for him, and
grasped his wrist in the nick of time to pre-
vent the fellow from plunging the knife into
his back.

The men were pretty equally matched,
and for a time Foxen gave Dan all he wanted
to do; but ere long he noticed that the gam-
bler was losing his strength.

And then, as a sudden flash of light from
a falling timber lighted up the scene, Dan
saw that his antagonist was badly wounded
and that his face was covered with blood,
showing that Dan must have wounded him
in the head when he fired.

Still, the fellow struggled on manfully,
and Dan, seeing that unless matters were
brought to a climax very soon, he should be
exhausted, became desperate, and, nerving
himself to the utmost, succeeded in grasping
Foxen by the throat. ,

His grip was something prodigious ordi-
narily, and now that it was strengthened by
desperation, it was not long before the gam-
bler began to asp and grow perceptibly
weaker, and ere ong to re ax his own grasp
on the young man, so that the latter had no
trouble in throwing him away from him.

As soon as he got rid of his antagonist.
Dan grasped the man who still clung to the
gunwale of the boat, and bearing him in his
arms to the spar, bade him take hold of it,
which he did, and then the young man tried
to right the capsized boat. But after Several
futile efforts, be abandoned the task and re-
turned to the spar.

“ Now, good folks,” he said, “ if you think
you can endure the hardship of the water
for a few hours, I will lash you to the spar
with this rope and do what I can to paddle
We can at least keep our heads
above water till daylight, when I have no
doubt some boat will pick us up.”

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Louis,” was the
lady’s response, and he recognized her voice
at once as that of Florence Desban. “Again
you have saved us from that heartless man.
How shall we ever repay you?"

“Let us think about getting out of this
first, and we can talk about thanks and such
things afterward, if we see fit. But you
appear to be chilled, Miss Desban. Let me
put my coat about you.”

He had noticed that her voice trembled
and her teeth chattered as with cold, when
she spoke. But she persistently refused to
allow him to remove his coat, which when he
attempted, he found an utter impossibility,
anyway.

The old gentleman was too much chilled
or too weak to talk, for he allowed himself
to be lashed to the sparin silence.

When' this task was completed Dan again
mounted the spar, and, as he had no board
now, proceeded to paddle away as well as he
could with his hands. - .

 

The swift current of the river bore them
down rapidly, and Dan's only hope was to
veer his spar as far as possible toward the left
or Tennessee bank, so that as soon as they
reached a bend which he knew to be only a
short distance below, he could run it upon
the bar.

Very few words passed between Dan and
the girl, and as for her father, he never once
opened his mouth. Only once did the girl
speak at any length, and that was to aslolhtu
if he knew what had become of his two
friends, the major and old Rusty.

A pang of remorse stung the young man.

In his excitement and anxiety about
Florence and her father, he had entirely
forgotten the two kind-hearted but simple
old chaps.

It would not do to tell her this. however,
so he said, after some hesitation: ,

“ The fact is, Miss Dcsban, that I was
asleep when the fire broke out, and I trust
that my old friends got off in one of the
boats.”

“I do hope so,” she said.
didn't?"

Dan could think of no fitting reply, so he
remained silent, and at the same time he
thanked his stars that it was too dark for her
to see his face, which he felt must be scarlet
with shame. '

From this scarcely a dozen words were
spoken, and thus the dismal night wore on,
and the first gray streaks of morning were
breaking over the low, dark landscape when
their cars were greeted by the sound of the
paddle-wheels of a steamer, and a few mo— .
ments later the dark outlines of her, besprin-
kled here and there with lights, came swing-
ing round the bend.

The little group had been silent for a lon
time, and Were so benumbcd with col
and weakened by long exposure that they
were scarcely able to speak; but when the
boat hove in view they took on new hope‘
and even gave vent to a feeble exclamation
of joy.

Dan, the only one in the party with suf-

“But if they

'ficient remaining strength, hailed the steamer.

with all the lustiness that he could summon,
and was gratified a few seconds later, to see a.
small boat lowered manned by two stalwart
roustabouts. The boat was not long in pull-
ing up alongside of the half-dead trio, and
with the assistance of the powerfuldcck-
bands, they were lifted into the skiff.

As the rescuing craft pulled toward the
steamer the three unfortunates, who had
spent the night in the water, regained enough
of their cheerfulness to crack a few jokes at
their late misfortunes, and even give vent to
an occasional peal of laughter.

“ Just wait till I get you down on iny
plantation, my boy,” observed the old gen-
tleman merrily, “and if we don’t make up
for this, I‘m a Dutchman. We will open the
oldest wine on the place!"

At this everybody laughed, and thus they
went on until the side of the steamer was
reached, when a rope ladder was lowered and
the little party taken on board.

The moment they stopped on deck, how-
ever, their hearts sunk, for there in all his.
ugliness stood Foxen, although his head was.
bandaged and he leaned heavily on a cane.
There was a sardonic grin on his face, how-
ever, and a look of malignant triumph that
made our friends a little sick at heart-
Especially when they noticed who accom-
panied him, for, standing beside him was
a United States marshal, who, as soon as
Dan stepped forward, also advanced and
said:

“ Is your name Daniel Louis, sir?”

“ That is my name,” replied Dan, calmly.

“Well, sir, I have a,warrant for your ar—
rest.”

“ Upon what charge?” demanded Dan.

“Attempted murder and conspiring with

two other parties to rob a certain person of; ' :

case of valuable diamonds.” .

   

 

      
     
        
          
         
 
    
         
         
      
        
   
    
            
     
       
        
     
      
     
         
        
       
     
       
 
 

  
 

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Dan was thunderstruek, but before he had
time to reply the marshal’s two assistants
stepped forward and placed theirons on him,
and in the mean time, the marshal approached
Mr. Desban and demanded his name.

“ Casper Desban,” was the reply.

“ Then I arrest you as principal in the
robbery of Donald Foxen of a case of
diamonds valued at ten thousand dollars.”

The handcuffs were placed .upon the old

entleman, and the marshal then turned to

‘lorence and went through the same for-
mula with her, but omitted the handcuffs.

The marshal then proceeded to search Dan
and soon brought out the case of diamonds.

Holding them up before Foxen he asked:

“Is this the case, sir?”

“ It is,” replied Foxen.

“ Is there any mark about the case by
wilhilch you can identify it?” asked the mar-
s a .

This was a little unexpected, and the
gambler turned a little pale, and before he
had time to recover his accustomed compo
sure the marshal had opened the case, and
seeing the inscription on the inside of the
lid, asked:

“How does it come, sir, that Daniel Louis’s
name is in here?”

“ Oh, I suppose he had it put in after he
stole it,” faltered the gambler.

f‘ That hardly looks reasonable, when you
say that the case was stolen from you the
day before yesterday in St. Louis, and these
.pcople have been aboard of the boat ever
since. Where did you get this case sir?” he
went on, addressing Dan.

. “ The inscription tells you, sir.”

“How came it in Mr. Foxen’s possession ?”

“ He won it from me at a game of cardsin
San Francisco.”

“ And how did' you get it back?”

“ I win it from him in or little game, thet's
howl” came a hoarse, familiar voice, and the
major stepped from the crowd of passengers
who had gathered on the deck. “ Thcm’s
the facts, sur, an’ thet durned coyote daren’t
dispute it!”

 

CHAPTER X.

DOSED WITH ms OWN MEDICINE.

HE major’s sudden appearance was so
unexpected to the gambler that he was un.
able to repiy, and before he had time to re-
cover from his shock old Rusty stepped to
the front. \

“ Them’s facts, Mr. Marshal,” he drawled.
“I see the major do it myself, an’ so did
Cap’n Dudley o’ the Gray Eagle.”

“That is true,” said the captain, who
stepped forward at that moment. “I wit-
nessed the game in which the case of jewels
was won from this man, whom I happen to

' know as a skin gambler, as we call them
along the river. I also know that he was
engaged in some sort of a black-mailing
scheme against this old gentleman and his
daughter, when this young man discovered
it and frustrated his scheme. More than
that, I have pretty good evidence that it was
he that set fire to my boat last night.”

~ “ It’s a lie!” roared the gambler, who had
just succeede in regaining his voice.

“Whether t iis is true or not,” broke in
Dan, “This much I do know. That when
this old gentleman and his (laughter were
trying to escape from the burning vessel I
discovered this man holdin them back, and

onl for the'fact that I fire at him and the

~ ballof my pistol stunned him so that he fell
into the water, he would have compelled
them to remain on the burning vessel until

, they erished.”
, . 5 V, " hat is perfectly true,” corroborated the
‘ ' old entleman. “ Iy daughter and I had

faile to get into the first boats—those of the

1 ; . vessel—but were about to enter one of the
" . second lot—those sent to us from the shore,

when this man suddenly appeared with a

 .boat and told the crews of the other boats

were already crowded, the crews rowed
away without us before we had time to pro-
test, and then when they were gone, he
laughed at us and refused to let us enter
his own boat, telling us that as he had
failed in his former design, he would now
have the pleasure of seeing us perish in the
flames!" ‘

An audible shudder went through the
crowd of bystanders.

Even the marshal turned a little pale at
such heartlessness.

He turned upon the miserable gambler,
who was fast losing his self-composure, and,
after eying him keenly for a full minute,
said, in a low, calm voice:

“ What have you to say to these charges,
sir?"

“They are all lies! Infamous, wicked
liesl” he cried, with a desperate attempt at
coolness.

Again the marshal looked him over, and
finally said:

“ I wish for your sake, sir, that I could be—
lieve they were. Unfortunately, however,
the evidence of these people, some of whom
I know to bearirreproaehable reputations,
no less than your own self-accusing face,
tells me that you are guilty of all they have
charged you with, and that the charge of at-
tempted Inurder against this oung man as
well as 'our charge against t llS old gentle-
man am his daughter of robbery, is ground-
less. However, if you demand it, I shall
have to take them before some tribunal. But
under the circumstances I should advise you
not to press the charge, as it will only make
your own case go worse with you.”

“Let them go," muttered the gambler
doggedly. “Anybody can see it is a con.
spiracy to ruin me.”

In the meantime the marshal’s assistant,
at the latter’s order, had removed the hand-
cuffs from Dan and the old entleman.

As soon as the gambler ha finished speak-
ing he turned to 0.

“Hold on!” cric Captain Dudley, grasp-
ing him by the arm. “Marshal, be ood
enough to take this man in charge til we

or his arrest on the charge of incendiarism,
attempted blackmail and attempted murder."

“Very well, captain,” said the marshal.
“ As I. know you to be a responsible man, I
shall do as you request. Detain that man!"
he went on addressing his assistant. “Put
him in irons and take him to my state-room
till we land at Memphis.” ‘

The deputy did as ordered, and the gam-
bler submitted without protest, and was
taken awa .

Dan andy his two friends were then given
state-rooms and some of the passengers gave
them a change of clothing and, after a good
breakfast, they returned to their wdnted
cheerfulness.

“ I should like to know,” observed Dan,
when the three friends were seated in the
cabin together after breakfast, “ what Cl uscd
that fellow to persecute you with such‘per-
sistency.”

“ He was bent upon carrying out his
scheme of blackmail, I presume,” rejoined
the old gentleman. ’

“ Ah, sir, I believe there was something

more than that,” insisted Dali. “If that
had been his only motive, it is hardly likely
that he would have followed you any longer
than he found his scheme frustrated. And
the fact that he tried to prevent you and
Miss Florence from escaping from the burn-
ing steamer Would indicate that he had a
terrible grudge against you."
r “ It may be so, and yet I cannot imagine
what it is for. So far as I know, Incver
had but one enemy in my life, and that was
when I was a young man, and be, poor
wretch, ended his own miserable life, after
causing all the trouble he could to others.”

“How was it, sir?” asked the young man,

 

with an eager countenance.

et ashore, when I shall procure a warrant'

 

“ Yes, tell us, papa,” chimed in Florence-
“I have heard the story often, but it is al-
ways new to Inc—always interesting.”

“ It was when I was courting your mo.
thcr, my child,” began the old man, strok-
ing the girl’s hair affectionately. “ Like-
most young men who court a woman worth
having, I had a rival. 'llis name was Ed-
ward ’l‘horne, somewhat younger than my—~
self and, I must aeknowled re, considerab y
better looking. IIowever, or some reason.
or other, your mother accepted me and re-
'ectcd him. Instead of accepting his fate
Iike a man, and seeking happiness in another
direction, he attempted to avenge his im-
aginary wrongs in various ways, and made
us no end of trouble. And I shall always
believe that he knew more than he cared to
tell about the abduction of our first-born, a
little son only three years old. I used ever ‘
means in my power to recover the child an .
spent two or three fortunes, but to no avail,
and finally had to resign ourselves to our
fate. Ileaven was kind enough to us, how-
ever, to give us this sweet daughter as a-
compensation; but I cannot help but think
what a staff my son Would have been in my
old age.”

“ And Thorne?" interposed the young man,
as Mr. Desban paused, and did not appear
inclined to proceed.

“ Oh, yes," resumed the old entleman.
“Ile went West somewhere, an we heard’
afterward that he ended his own life, after
losing heavily at cards—die was an inveter-
ate gambler. Let me see,” pursued the old.
man reflectivcly. ‘ ‘ My boy would have been.
about twenty-two now."

“ Just my age,” observed Dan.

“Indeed?” cried the old man enthusiasti~
cally, as though there was anything remark.
able about two young men being the same
age. “By the way, my young friend, you.
have no home, why not come and be m son?
I have plenty, and you will be bet-tero than
rambling about the world with no settled.
purpose. "

“I thank you for your kind offer, sir," re—
sponded Dan. “But I could not think of
accepting it for two reasons. In the first
place, I could not think of accepting bounty
that I had not earned, and in the second:
place, I could never be contented to settle
down in one spot for any length of time, and
——what‘s that?”

As he spoke two or three sharp reports of
fire-arms in quick succession rung out at the
opposite end of the cabin from where they
sat.

Dan sprung to his feet and started to rush
toward the scene, but felt himself detained.
by some one clinging to his sleeve.

()n looking round he saw that It was Flor-
ence, and her great beautiful eyes were gaz-
ing appealingly into his.

“ Don’t go!" she pleaded in a gentle
voice.

“I must go!” he urged impatiently, strug-
glin g to free himself from her grasp. " Some
one may be in danger. ”

" For my sake!” she implored.

To a more susceptible and less practical
young man this would have been sufficient
to restrain him. But Dan possessed too
much of the spirit of the hero to be staid by
anything when he thought anybody Was in
need of assistance.

Without another word, therefore, and not
daring to encounter those Wonderful eyes, he-
gently tore himself away, and dashed off too
ward the other end of the cabin.

There he soon saw what the trouble was.

The boat had landed at a wooding-place a
few minutes before, and a gang of roughs,~
friends of Foxen, had come aboard, and,
overpowering the marshal and his two depu-
ties, had rescued the prisoner!

When Dan arrived upon the scene lie-found
the marshal, who had been badly wounded,
bound hand and foot, as also were his depu-

!

tics; and, revolver in hand, the gambler was

   

           
     
       
     
       
     
     
     
     
     
      
 
     
      

    

12

Dan, the River Sport.

 

 

 

compelling the captain of the boat to head
her for the shore.

As soon as he understood the situation,
Dan took a head on the gambler before the
latter had time to see him. The next instant
Foxen threw up his hands and reeled to the
deck.

A second and third shot brought down
‘two of his gang, and the rest began to
waver.

One of them, however, still held out, and,
turning upon Dave, fired two shots at him
in uiek succession.

he young man felt a keen twinge of pain,
which only nerved him for another shot,
which he delivered to such good purpose
that the ruflian sunk to the deck, and then
Dan felt a dizziness coming over him that he
could not resist. Everything swam before
him, and his strength oozed away. Then
the world grew dark, and all was over for a
moment; but only for a moment. The next
instant he was upon his feet again, ready for
the fray.

When they had seen him fall, the panic-
.stricken rutlians regained courage and ral-
lied, and by the time Dan was on his feet
three of them made for him.

They had already seen enough of his
marksmanship to convince them that they
had no chance as long as they were at a dis-
tance—that their only salvation was to get
him at close quarters.

Therefore they rushed upon him before he
had time to deliver more than one shot,
which brought one of their number to the
deck, and the other two grappled with him.

Seeing the disadvantage he would be at
with two of them, he strove manfully to use
his pistol, but to no purpose. One of the
ruiiians clutched the wrist of the hand in
which he held his revolver, and the other
had him by the throat, and the three went to
the deck.

Even then they could not overpower him,
and he saw one of them draw a knife.
Quicker than lightning Dan clutched the
hand with the grip of desperation and suc-
ceeded in wrenching the knife away, and be-
fore the fellow had time to regain it, Dan
had buried the blade in the ruflian’s side.
The latter at once released his hold and rolled
over on the deck, while the other fought
more desperatel than ever.

Dan had him iiy the throat and it appeared
as though the battle was his.

But just at that moment a most unexpect-
ed thing occurred. The man whom he had
stabbed recovered from his faint and, clutch-
ing the knifeagain, plunged itinto the young
man’s side. This was so sudden and unex-

ected that it took the sport completely off
is guard.

The pain was so intense from the new
wound that, with the loss of blood he had
already sustained, Dan felt his strength giv-
ping way, and soon became unconscious.

CHAPTER XI.
A 'I‘IIItlLLING ADVENTURE.

DAN’s return to consciousness was with
the sensation of being in the cold water.

At first he could not realize his situation.

lle imagined this to be a part of his ex-
perience after the burning of the steamer.

Opening his eyes and looking about, how-
ever, he saw that it was still dark and that
he was alone and in the water, but no burn-
ing boat. was in sight.

nstinct had caused him to struggle to
keep his head above the water the mo-
Ihhent he felt its chilly waves overwhelming
- 1m.

As soon as he realizedhis situation, he
struck out to swim, without any definite
idea which way he was going.

As his eyes became accustomed to the
darkness, he saw that the shore was not far
distant and that he was fortunately making
in that direction.

He had not gone far when he encountered

 

d

 

a floating pine log. and getting upon this,
he had little trouble in paddling to the
shore.

When he had reached the shore, Dan
stopped and listened.

He knew that he could not have got in-

to the water without some one putting him-

there, and he began to wonder who it could
have been. "

As he listened, the muilled sound of oars
broke upon him, and it was evident that the
oarsmen were receding.

These, then, must be his would-be slayers.

They had evidently taken him from the
steamer after he became unconscious, put
him into the skitl' and brough him to this
lonely spot for the express pur ose of drown-
ing him.

What puzzled him most was to know who
his perseeutor was.

It could not be Foxen, he thought, for he
was satisfied that the gambler was dead after
the last shot he had received from Dan’s
pistol.

But Dan’s reatest anxiety was to know
what to do andr where to go.

He had not the slightest conception of
where he was, and his wet clothing clinging
about him drove a chill to his heart.

He was moreover very weak from loss of
blood and the pain caused from his late
wounds. And besides, he was extremely
hungry and faint.

However, it would do no good to stand
there pondering oyer his situation, so he
struck out from the river-bank, where, he
knew not nor did he care a great deal.

On, on he pushed, over fields, through
swamps and around bayous and Over muddy
ditches.

Hour after hour went by and still no sign
of human being or human habitation.

,Finally, however, his eyes were gladdened
at the sight of a light a long way off.

The sight buoyed up his waning strength,
and he pushed on with all the energy he
could muster.

At length, after another half hour’s walk,
he came upon a small but in the edge of the
wood, which he supposed was a negro
shanty.

There was but one window, and from this
the light he had sighted from a distance was
streaming.

Dan was about to knock at the door, but

the sound of voices inside caused him to hesi-
tate. .
They were not the voices of negroes, and
his curiosity was aroused to know who it
could be that was still awake at this late
hour.

He soon discovered from the angry tone of
the voices that there were several men, and
that they were wrangling over something.

Passing round to the darker side of the
but (the light from the window illuminated
the side on which he then was somewhat),
Dan looked foran opening through which he
could inspect the interior of the but.

He was not long in finding a crevice be-
tween the rough logs through which the light
was coming, and, putting his eye to the hole,
was astounded at what he saw.

About a dozen hard—faced men were col-
lected about a blazing fire in an old~fash-
ione fireplace, and in their center was a box
from which one of the number, who ap-
peared to he the leader, was slowly taking
roll after roll of bank-notes, together with
gold and silver coin!

A horrible suspicion came upon Dan at
once. ,

These were evidently river pirates, who
had committed a robbery somewhere, possi-
bly the boat on which Dan and his friends
had been when the ‘ight’occunred.

This led to another horrible apprehension.

Perhaps they had murdered his friends.

While these reflections were passin
through his mind, the men inside completed

their work of “taking the. money from the i had deferred it too long, for the next in.

 

!

l

 

l
|

I
l

.policy to do this than to make himselfknown

box and made what appeared to be a satis-
factory division of the spoils.

They then brought out a large black bottle
and passed it about and every one took a
long pull at it.

After this one of them got up and going
into a corner, brought out a bag of provi-
sions and spread the contents out on a rude
table which he dragged from somewhere in I
the darkness. , 

The men all seated themselves about the ,
table on boxes and kegs, and fell to, raven~ j; ,‘

f

   

ousl .
This whetted Dan’s already eager appetite
tenfold, and he became so hungry that he

could hardly restrain himself from risking W V .
his life by going inside and asking for some- I . '

thing to eat. ‘ ‘ 1
He probably would have done so had he ; .
not been arrested at that moment by what

he heard.

“Thet was a part good haul,” said the
leader,a black-bearde ,villainous—lookin g ras- ,‘
cal. “ Another sich pull as thet, an’ yourn '
truly’ll retire from the business, settle down '» -,. 
and become an honest man.” . < '

At the mention of his becoming an honest
man, they all roared with laughter.

“ Yes, cap’n, thet was a right smart haul,”
chimed in a square-jawed man, whom the
others called “Pink,” probably from the
fact that he had one of the reddest heads of
hair Dan had ever seen. “I sh’u’dn’t wonder ;
ifI w’u’d retire on my laurels, too, if we V i

l

 

c’u'd make another sich haul." ,

“ I don’t wanter run across no sich a
fighter as thet young chap they called Dead-
Shot Dan ag’in, though,” continued the cap- i
tain. f_

“ He was a good one,” remarked one of y
gang. f 

“ Good one?” ejaculated the leader. “ He ' 2 
was simply scissors. By the Eternal! I be-
lieve he could shoot the eye eaten a needle 3
and not half tryl” ._

“ I ruther reckon he won’t do no more I
shootin’ though,” laughed Pink.

“ Well, hardly,” returned the leader.

“ If he does,” put in another, “ he’ll do it
with wet powder."

“ Don’t be too sure of' that,” chimed in
one who had been silent up to that moment. I

“ Whut d’ye mean ‘2” demanded the leader. 2,

“ I mean that he’s a capital swimmer as r \
well as shot. I’ve seen him swim out in , '
California.” I

“ Huh!” granted the leader. “Wal, I
guess he won't swim much in the condition
he was in when we doused him.”

“ I sh’u’d say not," responded Pink, with
an angry scowl at the man who had dared to
say a word for the young man whom they
all seemed glad was gone.

Dan’s champion subsided into silence, but
it was evident that he had rendered himself . :ng
exceedingly unpopular by his action. -

Dan wondered who he cpuld be.

He did not appear to be of the same guild
as the others.

His language and appearance all showed '
him to be refined and well-bred, whereas the , 3“:
others were evidently of the lowest possible  .' . ;
east of humanity. ' ‘

Who could he be?

But before the River Sport had time to re-
flect any further on the subject he was sur- _. 
prised to see the man who had taken up for  "
him get up and leave the room. ' ‘ ,

In a few moments Dan heard. him coming , ,3 * l- I
around the side of the hut. ‘

Dan was undecided what to do. ' .

He could, if he desired, keep himself eon- 
cealed from the fellow, but was it better '

 

1,:-.,-~-‘3.':';.“..

  

and run the risk of being turned over to the
fellow’s pals? For after all, he had no assur—
anee that the man, simply because he had
said that Dan could swim as well as shoot,
was not an enemy as well as the rest.

But if his purpose had been to hide, he

  
  
  

          

     
 

), .
y 

2' ‘  t «312-? 3—34.55: < '

    
   
   
   

  
 

13

 

Dan, the River Sport.

 

 

eaned, half-fainting against the cabin for
support.
The fellow came up very close and peered

l
i

.-;nt the fellow stood before him, as he i lot of cold meats, bread and other substan~

tial viands, and spreading them out on a rock
that seemed made purposely for a table.
“ Thank you," said Dan, gratefully, and

through the darkness to scan him, as it was L sat up to the improvised table.

so dark that he could only see the outlines
of the young man, and finally said:
“ Is this you, Dan?”

When he had partially appeased his appe-
tite, and the liquor began to have its ex-
hilarating etl‘ect, l)an feltas though he would

The latter was too much surprised to speak , like to learn something of his benefactor,

for a moment, and the other went on:
“ Come, you must not stay here.

A
l

will find you before long and then it will be ;

all day with you. Come with me.”

With that he started offdirectly away from
the hut, and Dan mechanically followed him.

The man went on for some time without
apparently giving a thought to Dan, but
after a while he turned, and, seeing that
Dan was staggering from actual weakness,
the fellow stopped, took the young man by
the arm and assisted him along.

Not long after this Dan felt that they

were entering some kind of an inclosure, but '

what it was he could not imagine.

The walked what appeared to Dan to be
ahum red yards or so. when his conductor
suddenly stopped and, pushing him down
upon a seat, said:

“ Wait there till I make a light."

With that the fellow.» struck a match and
applied it to a- grease lamp that was sus-
pended from the ceiling by a chain.

As soon as the light flared up Dan took a
surve of his surroundings, and was sur-
prise( at what he saw.

The place he was in was a cave, rock-
walled, and extended as far as he could see.
CHAPTER XII.

A nuns» IN NEED.

ALL this time Dan was wondering who his
new-found friend could be, and when the
lfight flared up he took occasion to study his

ace.

To his surprise he saw a rather handsome
young man about his own age, tall and well
built.

When he had got through with lighting

the lamp, the young man turned to Dan with ‘

a smile, and asked:
“ Are you hungry, old fellow ?”
“Yes,” returned the youngman. “Very.”
“ So I supposed. Just wait here a bit and
I will bring you something to eat and some
dry clothes.”
And without another word, he dashed off
on a run and was soon out of sight.
Dan was more puzzled than ever.
Where could he have seen this man? For
he was sure he had seen him somewhere.
Evidently the fellow felt kindl toward
him, else he would not have riskc his own
scalp to befriend him‘as he bad.
But what if this was only a scheme to be-
tray him?
He soon dismissed this thought, though,
for the young man returned in a remarkably
short space of time, before Dan thought he
had t'me to reach the but, much less return
from t, loaded down with provisions, clothes
and the like.
“ Here you are,” he said in a cheerful
voice, throwing a bundle of coarse but com~
fortable clothing down in front of Dan.
“ Better put theSe on first thing, and that
will put on in a better condition for eating
your gru .”
Dan wanted no further bidding, but dis-
robed and donne the dry clothing at once.
As soon as he as dressed, the young man
produced a bottle of 00d spirits;
“ Try that,” he sai , in his good-natured
way. “ It will drive the chills out of your
bones.”
Ii)an took the bottle and had a good pull

t t. '
a, The youn man was right; it’ not only
drove the ch ls away, but appeared to put
new life in the young sport.

“ Now I presume you can nibble at some-
thing," the stranger went on, taking out a.

l
I
l

l

 

i

 

as well as show him that he appreciated his

’l‘hey l kindness.

“I do not know how I shall ever repay
you for your kindness,” he began.

“Don‘t mention it,” said the other, light-
ly. “ I am repaid to see that you enjoy it."

“ You are very kind. But would you
mind telling me. how you happened to know
me, and also how you knew that I was out-
side of the cabin?"

“ Certainly not,” returned the stranger,
promptly. “ I knew you because you saved
my life at Stockton, California, about a year
ago by shooting the knife out of a Greaser‘s
hand just as he was about to plunge it into
me. And I knew that you Were outside of the
hut because I saw you when you came up!”

“ Oh, you happened to be outside, did
you?"

“No, Iwas not outside. I was peeping
out of a chink. The fact is, I was more
than half-expecting you and watched for
you.”

This was a poser for the sport.

Why was the young man expecting him?

“ You may be surprised that 1 should
have known that you would come this way,”
continued the young man, “but the fact is,
I saw you begin to swim before the skiff
got out of sight of on. You were probably
too much engrosset in saving yourself just
then to notice that we were only a short dis-
tance away at the time. M companions did
dot notice it, as they dir not look back.
Then as soon as we landed, which was only
a short time after we left you, I made an ex-
cuse that I wanted to stop, and allowing
them to go on, I sat down on the shore and
watched you as well as I could through the
darkness I could keep track of you by the
sound of the splashing water as you swam.
My intention was to take you in charge as
soon as you came out, but my companions
got suspicions that something was wrong
and began to watch me,” so I had to go with
them.”

” Did they suspect that I was safe and that
you desired to assist me ‘1” ‘

“Oh, no; that never entered their heads.
They were afraid that I would desert them
and give them away for the robbery they had
just. committed."

“ llad you no part in the robbery?”

“Oh, yes, I was one of them. But they
have known for a. long time'that I am sick of
this sort of thing and would like to get away
from them, if I dared.

“ \Vhy do you not dare to leave them

“ Because they would kill me."

“ (‘an you not keep out of their way ‘2”

“Oh, I suppose I could, but when there
are fifty against one, it is up-hill business.”

“ There are two of us now, though,” sug-
gested Dan.

The young man shook his head dismally.

“ Two against fifty are better than one
against fifty, but it is still an unequal
match. ”

“ That depends upon who the two are. If
you can procure a couple of good six-shoot-
ers, I think I am about equal to half the
number at long range, anyway.”

“ I can easily believe that,” rejoined the
young man dolefully,” but you would have
poor support in me.’

“ I guess you can render me a good deal
of assistance in a pinch,” laughed Dan.
“ Suppose you get me the pistols and see
what we can do in a fair fight.”

“ Oh, as to that, I brought you a pair of
pistols,” said the young man, producing the
weapons.

3)!)
.

Dan's eyes glistened at the sightof the re-
volvors, which Were beauties, and all loaded
ready for business.

“ 'Why did you bring me these if you did“
not wish me to join issues with you?” he
asked, after he had examined the weapons.
“ Oh, those are for you to defend yourself
with. ”

“ You do not care to leave this gang,
then?”

“l dare not, although I would like to."

“ Ilow came you to join them in the first
place 1’"

“Romance. I was a young fellow, just
out\ of school and full of romance, and I
thoughtl would like to be a brigand, such
as I had read about.”

“ And it is not what you expected it would
be, eh?”

“ ()h, it is romantic enough, as far as that
goes, but i begin to see that 1 am wasting
my life foolishly. I should be settled down.
to some business,”

“Where do your folkslive?"

“ In Stockton, California. And I suppose
you would like to know what my name is.
’Well, 1 cannot give you my real name, as we
are all sworn not to divulge that to any liv-
ing man. llowever, I am known among my
mates as Crisp, and you can call me that."

“ Well, Crisp,” said the River Sport in a
kindly voice, “ I am sorry you will not allow
me to help you as you have helped me.”

“My dear sir," ejaculated Crisp, enthusi-
astically, jumping to his feet, “ you have al-‘
ready helped me more than I can ever repay.
Do not talk of repaying the little I have
done.’-’

“ But are you not rather unpopular among
the gang?”

“Well, I admit that I am not as popular
as some. That is on account of the course I.
have always taken."

“ What was that?”

“ I have always counseled mercy when any
one was taken or we were about to commit a
robbery. I never liked to see blood shed ex-v
cept in self-defense.”

“ I should think it would be rather un-
pleasant to belong to a society where there it
disagreement. You had better take my ad-
vice and leave them at once, old man. We
will stick together and I am sure there will
be no risk, and as for money, we can get.
plenty of that."

“ Where?” ,

“ Well, I have a good deal of my own, he-
sides the old gentleman is rich, and he wili‘
never see me ora friend of mine want for
anything as long as he has a cent.”

“ Do you mean the old gentleman that was
on the boat?”

“ Yes.”

lrisp shook his head.

This tilled Dan with apprehension.

“ llas anything happened to him?” asked
Dan quickly.

“1 do not know positively, but I am afraid

I!

so ,

“Why?”

“The captain told his men not to let that
old fellow oil’ alive," replied Crisp.

“ W'hat captain '2”

“ Captain Foxen.”

“ What has he to do with this gang?”

“ lie is the leader of it."

” You do not mean to tell me that the
man I saw in the cabin is Captain 1’0er) 1’”

“Certainly I do."

“Why, he looks nothing like Foxen, and
he talks like a roustabout, the fellow inside.”

Crisp laughed.

“ That is nothing. He is in disguise.”

“ Does he have to disguise himself from
his men?"

“ Of course. If they knew that the gen-
tlemanly fellow who was ordering the mar-
shal to arrest you was the same as he that
leads them they wouldn’t obey one of his
orders. They think that he has no soul, and

 

lit is impossible to convince these rough men

um“-
\

 
 
   
    
  
   
   
  
    
  
  
  
   
   
   
   
    
   
  
   
    
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
    
   
   
    
     
   
    
     
   
    
   
     
    
     
    
    
    
   
      
     
       
      
     

   

 

14

Dan, the River Sport.

 

 

that that kind of a man could have any refine-
ment about him.”

“ How did you come to know all this?”

Crisp stopped short and turned a little pale.

“ I’m afraid I’ve already told you too much.
If the gang—”

“ Yas, ruther too much fer yer health, young
fellerl”

Both young men looked up to see who the
speaker was, and were horrified to see old Pink
standing there with two murderous-looking re-
volvers pointing at theml

CHAPTER XIII.
IN A TIGHT PLACE.

CRISP was too much panic-stricken to move,
and stood like a statue, staring at the new-comer
as though he had been some monstrosity.

But it was quite different with Dan; he did
not lose his presence of mind, in the least.

‘ He knew it would not do to make any move
while Pink had the drop on him, so he bided his
time and watched his opportunity.

It soon came. The old fellow could not stand
there long without saying something; neither
could he keep his eyes on both men at once very
Well, especially while he was talking.

Taking his eyes ofi.’ Dan and fixing them on
Crisp he began:

“ as, ye’r’ talkin’ altogether too much fer a

oung teller, and talkin’ ’bout things that yer

adn’t orter. l’ll jest hev ter tell the cap’n,
and—— ‘

He paused, for something rather astonishing
had happened.

First one and then the other of his pistols had
flown out of his hands as though they had sud-
denly taken wings!

He could not understand the meaning of it.

Neither could Crisp, at the moment, although
he had heard two pistol-shots in rapid succes-
axon.

Dan was the only one who really understood
the mystery, for he it was fired the unerring
shots that had done the work.

Pink understood more about it the next instant
when he saw Dan’s two pistols poked into his
face, and the cool voice of that young man com-
manded him to hold up his hands.

The old pirate was dnmfounded and began to
tremble violently as he was about to raise his
hands, but at that moment something occurred
to change the order of things.

Just as the old man was about to raise his
trembling hands above his head, and Dan had
his eyes fixed on him, there came astentorian
Voice that every one recognized.

“ Put d0wn them hands, coward! Are you
going to be done for by a couple 0’ boys?”

And when Dan and the other two looked up
they beheld the black-bearded leader of the
gang. whom Dan now knew to be none other
than Donald Foxenl

He stood there as he finished speaking, glar-
ing at the three men, with a coupte of pistols
leveled at Dan.

“ Lower them gunsi” roared Foxen.
’em, I say, or I’ll fire, curse ye l”

Scarcer were the words out of his mouth
when, instead of lowering his pistols, Dan blazed
away, and made the best shot of his life.

Firing with both pistols at once, he carried
away, at one shot, both the weapons of the as-
tounded Foxenl

That individual wai. too badly frightened to
stop to see what had caused the remarkable
coincidence, and was about to take to his heels,
when a demoniac yell behind him warned him
that his whole gang was at hand.

This nerved the naturally cowardly rufl‘ian,
and he stood his ground.

For in the first place, he felt a certain
security as long as they were at his back, and in
the second place, he knew that if he showed the
white feather before these men, his leadership
was at an end.

Under this pressure the captain soon regained
his courage and commanded his men to charge
u on the band, as be imagined it to be, intrench—
ed) in the cane, and take them dead or alive.

The men wanted no further order.

Without stOpping to consider the possible con-
sequences, they dashed on, in spite of the fact
that Dan brought two of their number to the
ground before they~had taken half a dozen steps
in advance.

This only infuriated them all the more, and
with a yell like that of a pack of savages, they
dashed into the dark recesses of the cave,whither
Dan had fled as soon as he fired his last shot.

He did not run far, howaver, before he ran up
against a solid wall which brought him toan ab-
": t standstill.

e naturally thought this was the end of the

“ Lower

 

cave, but feeling hastily along the wall, he found
that there was a passage around two sides of the
impediment; in other words, it was a point
where the two passages diverged.

Taking the left hand road he took a few steps
along it, when he discovered that there was a
recess in the well just large enough for him to
stand in, so he stepped into it and stood there
awaiting the coming of the gang.

On dashed the gang, and, like Dan, ran into
the solid wall or partition, and piled up on top
of each other.

With a series of execratious they recovered
themselves after a little, and creeping round the
wall to the right, dashed ahead.

This left Dan free to escape from the cave if
he chose, and he considered it the wisest thing he
could do, as they would come back sooner or
later, and set about looking for him.

Dan had no more than made up his mind to
this end when he proceeded to carry it out, and
started on a run for the entrance of the cave.

As he was going toward the entrance he could
see fairly well where he was going, and made
good progrese.

A sharp run of two or three minutes brought
him to the mouth of the Cave, and he was about
to make his escape, when Captain Foxen slipped
out of a niche and confronted him with a pair of
pistols.

So sudden and unexpected was the captain’s
appearance that Dan had no time to draw his
revolver until the other’s weapons were right in
his face.

“ Ha! ha!” laughed Foxen. “Now let me
see how you like holding up your hands, young
man i”

In his excitement he had forgotten to use his
assumed slang.

Dan did not raise his hands, though, but in-
stead, looked the gambler square in the face for
a moment, and then said:

“ So you think you’ve got the drop on me, do
you, Donald Foxen?"

This was a surprise for the captain.

He imagined that nobody there knew who he
really was.

The shock was so great that he instinctively
lowered his pistols for an instant, and that was
what Dan was figuring on.

No sooner did the gambler waver in his pur-
pose, when, quicker than the wink of an eye the
young marksman had his Own weapons leveled
on his enem .

“Perhaps it would be better the other way,
captain,” suggested Dan, coolly. “ Just see
how quick you can drop those pistols and put
up your hands! You know I never miss my
mark !”

“ Curse you !” growled the gambler, dro ping
his pistols and raising his hands above his ead.
“Now, what do you want?”

“ I want you to accompany me to the nearest
town where there is a marshal, so that I can
give you up.”

“ What for?" growled the other, glancing to-
ward the interior of the cave in the evident hope
that his gang would soon return and rescue
him.

“ It is not necessary to explain new. You
know and we have no time to talk. Come!”

The captain cast another despairing glance in
the direction his men had gone, and not seeing
anything of them, began slowly and reluctantly
moving away with the young man.

“ Come, move a little faster !” commanded
Dan, peremptorily, at the same time putting his
pistols a little closer to the face of the dis-
comfited captain.

The gambler evidently thought his time had
come, for he began to walk at a hurried step.

In another minute they would have been clear
of the cave, but just then a deafening yell an-
nounced the r: pid approach of the gang.

Dan saw that it was all up with him unless he
could get his prisoner into the cabin so that he
could guard him and use the walls as a fort, and
he began to urge him to greater speed.

But the captain, on the other band, was
aware that his only salvation lay in delay.

So, in spite of the young man's threats, he be-
gan to lag slower and slower, while the gang
were rapidly gaining on them.

The young sport had just get beyond the en-
trance of the cave, and seeing that it was day-
light, began to hope that he could succeed in his
plan, when a renewed yell told him that the ruf-
fians were within a few feet of him.

Dan now saw that his scheme was a failure,
ptfid the only thing left him was to save his own
i e.

80, without paying any more attention to his
prisoner, he took to his heels and ran for the
but with all the speed in his power.

 

Dan was a good runner, among his othe
complishmeuts, and went over the ground like .
deer, but the gang had good runners among
them too, and were soon clOse upon his heels.

The sport managed to keep away from the
fleetest, however, and after a five ininutes’
sprint, reached the but and dashed inside and
closed the door and fastened it on the inside.

He had no sooner done so, when he poked his
pistols out of a Couple of port—holes near the
door which had evidently been made for that
purpose, and awaited the coming of the gang.

He had not long to wait.

Scarcer had he got in position when the
foremost dashed up to the door and attempted to
open it.

Without a word of warning, Dan let him have
it and broke his arm.

The fellow dropped his pistol, threw up his
arms and began to yell as though he had been
shot through the body.

By that time the rt st of the gang had ar-
rived 0n the spot and a lively skirmish then en-
sned.

Of course they could do the young man inside
no harm by their firing, but they kept it up just
the same, while he was fetching a man to the
ground wounded with every shot.

This state of affairs lasted but a few minutes,
though, for Dan’s ammunition gave out and he
was compelled to stop firing.

The gang seemed to realize this fact instantly,
for they uttered a wild yell and began trying to
hatter the door down, but that door was
of stern wood, and resisted their best efforts
for a long time, until, at length, a happy thought
struck one of the crowd, and he soon brought a
heavy stick.

Four of them grasped this and began to use it
as a battering—ram.

The door could not hold out against this,
and after several heavy strokes from the im-
proviSed catapult, the door yielded and came
doxvn v ith a crash.

Dan saw that further resistance was vain.

The numbers were too great for him, his pis-
tols were unloaded and there was no escape from
the shanty.

The now furious ruflians rushed in and seiz-
ing the defenseless young man soon had him
bound hand and foot and tied to a tree outside
the hut. __

CHAPTER XIV.
A CLOSE CALL.

As soon as the rascals had Dan securely bound
to the tree, they busied themselves with looking
after their wounded and ascertaining how much
damage the young fellow had done them.

It was not long before those in charge of the
entorpriso Were ready to report, and when their
report came in to the captain, that individual
was astonished and disgusted.

Two men had been killed outright and eight
had received wounds of various descriptions.

“ This is a purty state 0’ things!” roared the
captain. ‘f The idea of the Mississipi Rangers,
who prides themselves on bein’ the toughest
gang on the river, allowin’ a mere striplin’ to do
them up in that style 1”

“ But,” interposed old Pink, who was carrying
one arm in a sling, “ you fergit that he’s the
crack shot 0’ the kintry, ’sides, we’ve got him
now, tight enough.”

“ Yes, ye’ve got him now,” growled the cap—
tain. “ But yer oughter had ’im afore he done
all this. If it hadn’t been fer thet girl-hearted
young Crisp thet begged fer his life. I’d ’a’ slit
his wizzen afore I throwd him overboard, and
then we'd ’a’ been dead shore thet he’d ’a’ never
swum outen the Big Muddy.”

“ Thet’s whut kims of havin’ sich milk-sops
round ye, cap’n,” said old Pink. “ In my ’pin-
ion. the bes’ thing ye kin do is ter slit Crisp’s
wiZZen afore he does any more damage.”

“ Cain’t do it. Wisht I c’u’d.”

“ Why not, cap’n?"

“ I owe the young feller an obligation, and
Cap’n Foxen was never kn0w’d to go back on er
friend as done him a favor.”

“Whut did he do, cap’n?"

“ Saved my life when every durned coyote 0’
the gang hed run off and left me in the hands 0’
the Vigilantes, thct’s whut he done!”

“ Oh, that was jest ’cause he didn’t like for sea
bloodshed,” interposed old Pink.

“ It don’t make no difference whut it was fer,
he saved my life, and I ain’t goin’ back ontohim
now!

“ But he’s a traitor, cap’n,” suggested another.

“ I don’t b’lieve it.”

“ Pink saw him takin’ grub to the young

oha ”
“‘Ihet’s nothin’. Crisp w’u’d take grub to the

 

     
 

 

 

     
 

 

 

 

" 5:32;. -3...“ _ A

fee. _7- a;

I.

15

 

Dan, the River Sport.

 

  

. il if he tho’t the old man was hungry. J ist
e same he’d turn round and fight him the next
mlnit."

“ But,” pleaded Pink, “ he was a—givin' ’way
the tigerfuts o’ the gang to the young chap.”

6 1h! l

“ ’l‘het’s straight," and old Pink chuckled at
the effect of his announcement.

He hated the young man who had assisted
Dan, and now thought he had the captain influ-
enced in his Own favor sufficiently to turn hin
against Crisp.

Seeing his apparent advantage, the wily old
Pink followed it up.

“ And, cap’n, it was him as give the pistols to
the young feller, what he used ter kill two of our
best men and wound eight more with.”

“ Sure?"

“ Seen him with my own eyes,” and Pink
chuckled again.

He was sure nOw that he had it all his own
Fay, but was silent and watched the captain’s

ace.

Finally, seeing that the captain was not likely
to as anything, the old fox continued:

“ hut’s yer orders, cap’n?"

The captain had evidently Jeen musing, for
when Pin spoke he started as though he had
been awakened out of a sleep.

“ Eh?" he said. ,

“ I say whut’s yer orders?” repeated the
other. -

“Shoot him to death at midnight!" was the
peremptory command.

Pink chuckled gleefully, but to make certain
that he had not mistaken the captain’s meaning,
he asked:

“ Who. Crisp. cap’n?”

“ Crisp! No!” he thundered, turning upon
the now cringing old man with a black scowl.
“ If yer hint sich a thing ag’in I’ll make you the
victim. It's Dead-Shot Dan, I mean. Shoot
him where he stands, there, tied to the tree, as
long as there's a piece big enough fer a rope to
cover 1”

“ All right, cap’n i” answered the old man
meekly, and bowing submissively, took himself

0 0

All this dialogue had taken place within
twenty paces Of where the River Sport was lashed
to the tree, and he could not avoid hearing every
word of it. ,

Still he did not lose his courage nor wince.

After Pink had disappeared, the Frisco Sharp
turned and gazed for several ni‘inutes at the
young man bound to the tree, in silence.

Finally he approached him and again looked
him over critically. '

“ I suppose you overheard the conversation,
did you not?” he asked in a taunting voice.

“ I did,” was Dan’s cool rejoinder.

“ Well, what have you to say?”

“ Nothing. It is just what I should ex-
pect gout a lot of cowards like you and your
gan

Foxen bit'his lips.

“ Take care, young man I” he owled. “ How
can Wu expect mercy after suc talk as that?”

“ he asked you for mercy, Donald Foxen!”
retorted the young man, bitterly. “ I should as
soon expect mercy or justice from an Apache
as from you or your wolves.”

' Foxen saw that it was no use to try to placate
him, so he changed his tone.

. “ So, Crisp told on the secrets of the clan,
did he?" he deman ed, in a.jeerlng tone.

“That is my business !" retorted the other,

sternly.
“ oodi Well, I happen to know that he did.
otherwise you could never have known who I
am. But, that makes no difference now. Sup-
pose I should let you go, would you divulge the
secrets Ou have learned and bring the officers
of the aw down on me?”

“ Yes!” and the young man’s word was
spoken with vim. . .

“ You would not, in consideration of your
Infill??? my secrets?”

“ Did you not hear me refuse to Promut"
CrispJust‘now after hearing that he had be-
trayed me, simply because he had once saved
my lifel”

“ Yes, and the Only feeling of admiration I
ever experienced for you was aroused by that
sentiment. I confess that I did not believe you
on ble of anything half so noble.”

‘ Why; then, cannot you act the same noble
art, an promise to keep my secret in grati-

do for having spared your life?”

“ Bocause. in the first place you hays no inten-
tion of sparing my life: and if on had, it would
only be for the selfish and of {aving me keep

, your acoursed secrets. The cases are entirely

 

different. When the young man saved your
life, and purchased your gratitude, he did it out
of pure goodness of heart, just as he did when
he saved my life last night, and, as you said
awhile ago, he would do to the devil.”

Foxen lau ed and lapsed into silence.

After a little while he said:

“I admire your bruvrry, young man, and
almost love you for saying that you admired me
for one little act .‘of my life. It was the only
genuine expression of sympathy I have received
for years. I am flattered by the cringing crew
who have axes to grind, but you, having noth—
ing to gain, expressml an honest opinion that
went to my heart. I wish to God I could save
you! I wish I dared to trust you i”

And without another word, the bandit chief
strode away.

From that time on the young man was left
alone with his Own gloomy thoughts, with the
prospect of nothing more cheerful than death
before him.

No one came near him during the whole long,
tedious day. But near dusk old Pink appeared
with a bowl of bread and milk which greatly
refreshed him.

Time dragged on after the old man left him,
and it seemed to him that not only midnight,
but the whole night had had time to pass.

But when he lookei up at the stars, which
were his only companions now, he knew from
their position that it still wanted an hour to
the time set for his execution.

The outlaws had kept up a continuous din of
jolliflcation, in the cabin all night long, but
they had suddenly gi‘Own quiet, and Dan eup-
posed that they had either gone to sleep or
were preparing for his death.

He saw no one stirring, however, and as the
time wore on and he saw that midnight was
approaching. he had almost begun to hope
that the villains had drank themselves into
such a state of stupefaction as to be unable to
perform the proposed deed.

At length he saw that it was within a few
minutes of midnight and almost at the same
moment he heard some one approaching.

At first he almost hoped that it was his friend
Crisp coming to rescue him. but as the figure
approached nearer, he saw that the person was
much larger than Crisp. ’

He did not stir, and the figure came on up
to him, and to his astonishment, began to un-
bind him.

As soon as this was accomplished, the figure,
without having uttered a word. motioned the
prisoner to follow him, and put Off in the direc-
tion of the river. The young man could hardly
walk, so weak was he and so stiff were his limbs
from the griping cords. but he managed to stag-
ger on, and in the mum; of half an hour they
reached the river. Here Dan saw that a boat
was anchored, and his rescuer ste pad in and
motioned him to follow the examp 9. Dan did
not want a second bidding, and was soon seated
in the stern of the skiff.

The mysterious person then grasped the cars
and began to pull down the river.

The swift current carried the frail craft along
without much effort on the part of the oarsman,
and in the course of two hours Dan mw that
they were approaching a city.

Before they quite reached it, however, the
boatmqn landed and, stepping ashore, motioned
Dan to follow. The latter obeyed, and they
struck out from the river and walked for an hour
or more through thinly populated streets, which
indicated that they were in the suburbs of a

city.
Finall they came to a handsome residence
surroun ed by magnificent grounds, and the man

eto .

'lpurning to Dan and removing a cap which he
had worn OVer his head ever since he. came out
to the tree where Dan was tied. the Frisco Sharp
began: ’

“ Do you know me. Dani”

“ My God! Donald Foxen l” exclaimed the
young man in surprise. “ How came you to do
this?”

“ Ask no questions. As I told you, I love you,
and could not see you die. You may betray me,
but I will trust you. At least you cannot find
the way back to our camp before we move, for
your wounds will lay you up for the next week.
as mine wdl me, if they don’t kill both of us. I
feel that my wounds are fast taking me off, and
if I don't get somewhere where I can get medical
aid I will be a dead man inside of a week. This
is the residence of Casper Desban, the old gentle-
man whom yon befriended on the boat. He will
receive you kindly and take care of you. He
docs not know that you were abducted from the
boat, and when you appear he will simply think

 

that you have come from the boat. You were
unconscious when you were taken Off, and—”

But the young man heard no more. His weak-
ness had overcome him and he swoonod.

Foxen called a cOuplu of the servants of the
house and had him carried inside, telling the
servants that Dan was from the steamer.

CHAPTER XV.
UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENTS.

'WIIEN Dan Louis came to his senses he could
not imagine where he was.

He stored about him in bewilderment, but his
surroundings were new and strange.

At first he thought lu- was alone, but as be
cast his eyes about the room, he was surprised
to see an old lady and a young ncgrcss sitting
near a window on the opposite Side of the apart-
ment, and at the same time he became conscious
of an almost overwhelming scent of flowers com-
ing in at the window.

He tried to raise hiiiisolf. but found, to his
surprise and horror, that he was unable to
movo' and yet, strange to say, he felt no pain.

He led not lieen conscious long in fore the old
lady noticed it, and, rising, crossed the room to
his bedside.

She was a motherly looking woman with a re~
fined and kindly face, and as she approached
she smiled.

“ Ah, you have awakened,” she said. in a
gentle voice. “ How do you feel, my boy?”

“Very well, thank you,” he replied. ‘ Where
am Ii"

“ At home, and among friends," answered the

lad .

'lphis answor puzzled him more than ever.

What could she mean by saying that he was
at home?

Surely they had not taken him back to New
York to the adopted home from which he ran
away, years ago, on account Of ill-treatment?

And if so, who could this woman bel He had
never seen her before.

These thoughts flitfed through his brain with
the rapidity of lightning, and before he had an
Opportunity to ask another question. the lady
bewildered him still more by stooping down,
putting her hand under his head in an affection-
ate manner and kissing him.

“ Thank God, my 1 0y is safe!” she cried, while
her tears fell fast and warm upon his face.
“ We thought he was lost to us forever. But
God has restored him to us!"

This was all an enigma to the young man; he
Could nmke rothing of it.

And then hefcre he could recover from his
surprise, two other persons entered the room.

As his eyes wandered toward them, he was
surprised and delighted to see that they were
his friends, Mr. Desbnn and Florence!

Before they approached the bedside Dan
noticed that the old gent]: man stopped and
whispered scmetliing to Florence, at u hich she
nodded, and then the to 0 came on in no more de-
monstrative mood than usual, by w hich he un-
(l8! stood that the old gentleman had advised
Florence not to show any enthusiasm, lest it
8:10;le excite their guest too much in his weak
5 .a .

“Well. young man,” began Mr. Desban af-
ter he had taken his seat at the bedside. “ am
glad to sce that you are much better. We were
worried about you for a day or two. but “‘0
doctor told us this morning that you would
come out of your sleep greatly improved.”

“Thank you, sir: 1 do feel very much better,
altht ugh I set m to be rather wea ."

“ That Is only natural, after what you have
undergone; but, good nursing—which you are
sure to receive here—will soon bring you out as
strong as a lion.”

“ Tell me,” interposed the young man, as soon
as he could get an opportunity to speak, “ how
did it come about? Why did not my friends,
the major and old Rusty, come to my rescue?”

-“ Why, my boy. they were mortally wounded
l-ieforo you arrived on the scene, and have since
died. and we feared the same fate for you for
awhile, but now, thank God, you are out of
danger!”

“But, how did you got away? Did not those
fellows t to take you into custody again?"

"No: t a fellow you were contending with
was the last one of the gang to hold out, and he
was so badly wounded that you had scarcely
more than fainted when he became unconscious.
After that the boat’s crew recovered from their
panic and at the craft about on her course
and we b no more trouble until we landed a
Memphis here. You were taken in abs 0 by
the captain of the boat, but he brought you one
two days afterward.”

“ How long have I been here?”

.1;  _,

.‘ ‘JJ:

4; w,
'1‘:—

‘z-é. ~ tine:

r

'i

 

 

 

16

“ Two days this afternoon.”

“And yet it seems only an hour ago since I
was fighting for my life with those villains.”

Dan said nothing about his subsequent adven-
fire, out of gratitude to Foxen, for sparing his
1 e.

“ A brave fight you made of it, too. Poor lit-
tle Florence could hardly be restrained from
flyilng to your side, in the thick of it. Brave
gii' l

The young man raised his eyes to those of the
beautiful girl for an instant, and the color in se
to his cheekfi.
she only smiled, and something told him that
she had none of the feeling for him that he had
for her. '

For some reason which he could not explain
the young man felt a pang of disappointment.

He was silent for some moments, as were all
the others, the old lady alone evincing any feel-
ing, which she did by still holding his hand and
stroking it.

At length Dan asked:

“And Foxen? What has become of him? I
ho I did not injure him fatally."

he mention of the gambler’s name, Dan was
surprised to see, caused the old lady to start and
the color to mount to her cheek.

The old gentleman did not answer at once,
but after a period of silence, during which
father, mother and daughter exchanged signifi-
cant looks, he responded:

“I am afraid you are too weak to hear any
more at present, my boy. Suppom you sleep
a while, and when you awake again, I have some-
thing to tell you.”

This announcement was the worst thing he
could have done, for it only excited the young
man’s curiosity, which was more calculated to
agitate him than any recital could possibly do.

“Oh, no, air; I am strong enough to hear
anything,” he insisted.

’ ‘ I am afraid not,” rejoined the old gentle-
man.

“ But I know I am. Besides, the anxiety
you awaken would never allow me to sleep un-
til I have heard what on hava to tell.”

“ What do you thin , mother?" asked the old
gentleman, addressing his wife. “ Do you
think he is strong enough to hear it?"

“I cannot seo haw it can hurt him,” shere-
sponded. “ Besides, I am no less anxious than
he is to haVe it over with."

“ Very well, the,” continued Mr. Deeban.
“I will tell you; but you must promise to be

“ I will be calm, sir."

“ Well, you remember I told you about a man
who was my rival for the hand of my wife when
I was 0 .urting heri"

“ Yes. sir.”

“ Well, it turns out that this man Foxen
was none other than my old enemy, Edward
Thornel”

“ Then, he did not destroy himself, as you had
heard I” i

“ So it seems.”

“ How did you learn this, air?”

“Listen, and I will tell you the whole story.
The wound you gave the wretch proved fatal.
He was brought on to Memphis here, and taken
to the hospital two ds sago. The same night
he sent for me, and I 0 ed upon him.

“ As soon as I sat down by his bedside he put
out his hand and said: ‘ Desban, can you forgive
a dying mani’ Then it was that I recognized
him as my old enemy. ‘ Edward Thorne, I ex-
claimed, ‘ is it pmsible that it is you’i1 ‘ Yes,
he replied. ‘I‘thought you were dead,’ I re-
marked. ‘80 I led on to believe; but it was
not true. Would to God it had been so. It would
have saved us both a great deal of sorrow.
But let by-gones be by-gones. I feel that I have
very little time to live, and I have something to
communicate before I am silent foreVer. You
remem her the child that disappeared from you 1’
he went on. ‘Do I remember it? Can I ever
forget it?’ I cried frantically. ‘If I only knew
for certain that he was dead—’
stopped me. ‘ Never mind ravin over the child
now,’ he interrupted, bluntly. ‘ e is not dead~
and that is one of the things I was about to tell
you.’ I was about to break in again, but be
checked me as abruptly as before.

“ ‘ I took the child from you for revenge, as
you may know, and at first thought I would
make you pay a big ransom and then return it
to you; but. later, I made up my mind to have
it put out of the way and have an end of it.
Bu , somehow or other I do not know how it
was— bly I was not uite as de raved as I
had a van myself credit or bein — ut the fact
is, I did neither. Instead, I sent t e boy to some
frieudeof mine, who raised and educated him,

But, he was surprised to see that t

'1

Dan, the River Sport.

but, as I understood afterward, they treated
him so unkindly that he ultimately ran away.
I had lost all trace of him, and, like yourself.
thought that he might be dead, when one day I
ran across a young fellow in San ncisco who
had some money and Was inclined 0 play cards.
I also learned that he had a case of diamonds
which had been presented to him by a gun club
in the city for his superior marksmanship, and
induced him to let me see it. The moment I saw
the name I of course knew who it “as, and de-
termined not only to Win all his money but also
that case of diamonds. I succeeded, or so nearly
so that he had but a. few dollars left.

“ ‘ And then it happened that I met you a
fortnight afterwards, and as you did not recog-
nize me, I determined upon the scheme which
was frustrated by this some young man. My
plan was to present the jewels to your daughter,
and then have you arrested for stealing them,
and use this as a means for blackmailing you.
But, as I said, the scheme was a failurcl’ And
here,” continued the old gentleman “ the fellow
grew too weak to speak further. he answered
just one more question, and, ihen expired.
asked him: ‘ Is this boy—this Dead-Shot Dan—
then my son—my lnng~lost son?’ To which he
ansWered in the affirmative. So, my boy, you
are our son, and this is your own mother."

At this the old lady, who had been restraining
herself with difficulty all this time, gave way to
her impulse and clasped her son to her bosom.

And she had no sooner released him when his
sister embraced him long and passionately.

“ Just to think,” resumed the father, after
they had finished embracing the newly-discov-
ered son, “that it should have been our boy, of
all people in the world, that saved our lives l”

“ And to think that at One time,” rejoined Dan,
“ I believed you were in league with that rascal!
I was quite ositive that Florence was.”

Florence aughed, and as her eyes met those
of her brother, she blushed.

“The funniest thing about it all to me.” she
said, “is that I was just on the point of falling
in love with my own brotheri”

“ I beat you in that respect, then,” rejoined

with you, sister, and the saddest disappointment
of my life was to find that you met me so coldly
when ydu came in, awhile ago.

“That was not my fault. t was in accord-
ance with papa’s instructions. He was afraid
that any demonstrations on my part would ex-
cite ou. Forgive me, brother.’

“ have nothing to forgive, dear. Indeed,
only for the fact that the dear old major and old
Rusty are dead, I should be perfectly happy.
Are ou sure they are dead, father i”

“n can only say that it was so reported to
me

“.Wal, than, durn my buttons of yer can’t tell
them as reported it thet they didn’t tell the
truth, bya jug-full!” and the old man in the
flesht sitalked into the room, followed by old

as
“ ’lyhet’s true es preachin’," affirmed the latter!

THE EN D.

 

NEXT HALF-DIME, No. 844,

—__.__

THE DETECTIVE MARVEL AGAIN!
Broadway Billy’s Big Bulge.

BY J. C. COWDRICK.

 

An astonishing case—the rapid succession of
deaths in a party of ten insured men, their insur-

 

ance going to the survivors.
How they died—what was the extraordinary
inct..od adopted by the Insurance Company-4110

' introduction of

But here he |

Billy and His Beagles

" to the scrutiny—the use made of a Street Arab to

 

spot and shadow the suspects—the diabolical mech-

,anism of a doclor—the singular mistake of Billy
in protecting the biggest villain of them all—the
consummate an be and his boys practiced to open
up the dread secret, and “ get the bulge " on the

Caterie of Conspirators—

all this makes a story of startling incidents and
breathless interest, so that readers will in truth

vote it .
A Decided Stunner.

H

Dan, laughing, “ for I was already dead in love ~

 

 

 

nthe
‘ like -

Beadle’s Hdillime library.‘°"‘

BY COLONEL I’BENTISS INGBAIIAM.

72 chk Doom'u Dcui ll-Grlp: or, The Detective by Destiny.
7"." Dick Doom'u Dcetlny; or, 'l‘ln- River Blackleg’s Terror.
N4 Dick Doom: or, I he Nlnlrlm «ml Shark-i of New Yonk.

as Dick Doom In Boeiqu or, A Man of Many Musk.

793 chk Doom ln (‘hlcuxm

798 Dick Doom lu ihc “'lld “'caf.

308 chl.‘ Doom’u (‘lcnu Nwocp; or, Five Links in n ('lm-.
80S Dick Doom’a Dcuth (‘luc.

813 chk Doom’e Dliiuiolul Dcul.

H19 chk Doom’n filrl Muacot.

829 chk Doom‘u Shadow Ilunf.

1'49 Dushlng (‘harllog nr,'l‘lu- KI-ntnckchnilerfool’n Fin-tTraii.
756 Dun-hing (‘Ilurllc'u Dc-ilny; or, The Renegade's Captive.
1’60 Dun-hing (‘hurllc‘a l’uwucc Part].

7"“ Dunlllluz Charlie, the Rescuer.

49? Buck Taylor, King of the Cowboys.

73? Buck ’I‘nylor, it... ('unmi rlle'e ('a dive.

2’43 Buck 'l‘uylor‘n Boys; nr,’l‘he Re Riders efthu Rio Grande.
560 I’uwnco Bill, the l’ruirlc Shadow".

7”! I’uwncc Bill; or. (‘an, the Mad ('owboy.

7H9 I'uwuco Blll‘n I’chgc; nr,'l‘he t‘owboy'sDeem.

725 l'uwnoc "III; or, During Dick.

"92 llcdl'crn’a (‘urlouu Cur-c; m, 'l‘ln Rival Sharpe.

“97 lfedi'crn at Dcvll‘a Bunch: or, The Sharp from Texas.
70'! Bcili'crn’u High "and; or Him-Jacket.

70? Redi'ern'a Last 'l‘rall; or, ‘he Red Sombn-ro Range".
663 Bed Bulph’n Run-c; or, The Bun uneei Midshi unnn.
674 Bed Ralph’s Bold Game; nr,'l'he Wizard . allur.
079 Bcd Bulph, the blnidower, or, The Freehoetur'n Legacy.

644 Butterfly Bllly’a Disguise.

6le Buttcrfly Bllly, the Pony Fxpress Rider.

654! Buiicrily Billy's Man uni.

662 Butterfly Billy’s Bonanza.

565 Kent Kingdom or The (lwls of the Overland.

570 Kent Kiluulon'a Shadows-r; onthe Card Queen.
fr’l’fi Kcnt Klngdon’a Duo] 3 «vr. The Surgeon Scent.
586 Kent Kingdon’s Doom; m,‘l‘he Buckskin Avenue?-
545 Lafitte Run Down ; or, The Buccaneers of Barratarls.
560 Lafittc‘a Legacy; or. Th.- Aveaglns Son-

555 Luilttc‘s Confession; or, The Creole Corsair.

520 Buckskin "I", the (‘oumnclu- Shadow. ‘ ‘_
525 The Buckskin Brothers in Texas.

580 The Ducknkln Bowers; or. The (‘owhey Pirates.

685 The Buckskin Rovers: or, The Prairie Fugitive.

540 The Buck-kill I’urdn’ Quest; er,Captnln Ku-Klsu.

503 The Boan llddy z or. The Slmi’k and tho- Sea Cat.

507 The Royal Middiy’u Luck; or, The llunlm Midsth

511 The Royal Middy’s Foo.

4150 “'lznrd “'lll : or, The Boy Ferrel oi New York.

464 “'ian “’lll’a Street Scouts.

474 “'Izurcl “'ill’e I’m-d or. Flora. the Flewer Girl. .
483 “'Izurd “'lll'n Lust ‘mlet or. The Ferrets Afloat. ‘ i,
429 Duncan Dare. Ihe Boy Refugee.

488 Duncan Durc'a Plot: or. A Cabin Boy’s Lurk.

48? Dnncem Durc'e I’rlzc; or, Tin-Sea Raider

441 )uncun Dure's Secret; or.'fhs Ute-n Fireflv.

402 leodor, the You Conaplrniori or. The Fatal League.

407 [sailor’s Doublc I’IIIM': or.'l‘hc Holy Insurgent.

412 Iowdor’ll “'ur-(‘loud Cruise; 0|. ' lie Vllld Yachtsmaa. I
216 Bloon Bill. the Prince oi the Reins.

ace Bison Bur- (‘luez or. Grlt,the Biavo sun.  ;‘

’1 ‘1 '1 *1

 

804 Dead Shot Dnully’a Dilcm-Q
801% Dead Shot. Ilnnly’a Double: or, Keno Kit.
814 Dead Shot Deuldy’u Della-Ices 0r. The lav Bugler-
607 Dead Shot Danny's (‘hh l; or, The River Detective.
Merle Monti-’1: Loan for Life.
250 Merle Honk-’05 Mutiny: or. Brandt, the Buccaneer. ' v
264 Merle Monte’a Treasure Island. '
260 Merle Monk: the Condemned. 1
276 Merle. Mosaic'n Cruise: or. “The Gold Ship " Chase.
2'“) Ilcrle llontc'a Fm: or, The. Pirate’s Pride.
'84 Merle Monte’a Pledge: er. The Son Marauder.
19? The Kid Glove Sport 3 or Little Grit, therld Rider.
204 The Kid GleVe Sport’s Doe-g er, infele Bill, the
Pony Exprcas Rider.
825 Marlo the Cowboy Counter. .t,
78! Ruth Declmoml, Ihl‘Glll Shadower.
“NB Drlundo. the Ocean Free Flag.
ill? Ralph, fllc Dead-Shot Scout.
802 The ,l'uxuhond oi‘ the lines.
59? The Texan Defective: or,'l'he Flask Iraves.
591 Dclmonte. the Young Sea Rover; or, The Avenging Sell“.
580 The Dutolutt Cadet; or. The False Detective. v 'n
496 Arizona Joe; nr. Tbc Boy l’ard ol"l‘exne Jack. -
487 Newsqu Ned. the Revolver Ranger V -
46" Neptune Ned, the Boy Coaster: or, Plrate in Spite. I . 
462 The Sailor Boy Wanderer: or. The Born Guide. a ‘
446 [haphazard llurr z or.’l‘he sea  arses.
893 The Bed Ola-mos "ands; or, 'lhe
8S7 “'ur nth “'lll. tlm ’l‘rnlinr Guide.
BS” The mllun I’llott or, The Search for Pirate Island. . , >
877 Bouodel, the Boy Rover or.'l'lie Fingleu Schooner. '
28'? Billy Blue-Rye», of the 1 lo (ll-undo. ' a "1
2B? Lone Stir, the Cowboy Ca tain. . s
229 (win-eon Rule, the Girl rniler; or.’l‘he Cowboy’s Triumph. 4' .
116 The Iluaaur Captnlnx or. The Hermit of Hell Gate. .
111 The Sou-Dev" ; or, The Midnhipinan’s Legacy. 1 .
103 Dick Dead-Eye, the Sinuggier ; or, The Cruise oi the Vixen. r
75 The Boy Dnellnt; or, The Cruise of the Sea-Well.
62 The Shadow Ship: or, The Rival Lieutenante.
24 Dlumoml Dirk; or, The Mystery of the Yellowstone.
17 Ifnlph Boy, the lloy Buccanccr; or. The Fugitive Yacht. ’ , ,
1' The Flylug Yankee; or, The Ocean Outcast. I . .

LATEST AND NEW ISSUES.

330 The Grim Lodge" in Rat: Alley; er, Citizen Rube ., n ’
nl Number Seven. liy Ben D. llullidnv. ' V‘ .
£81 The (‘lilcugo Drummcr’e Dcnl. By J. G. Bethune. ‘ VI :51
832 ’l‘lic Doctor Detective in Tcxue. liv Limit. A. K.Sima. . ' .. I
3433 Brontlwuy Billy’s Bold. llv l. C. Cowdrlrlt. x
3'84 Dcudwoml Dick, .lr.’e. Proxy. Ev Ed. L. Wheelei- '
9355 Dick Domn‘u Big "qu. Br (lol. 1‘. lnuruhmn.
H36 Slim-nor Stoleo‘n 'DoubkI Dcul. lb‘ Wm. G. l‘ulten.
£87 The Blir Four oi'fllc Bowel-y. l£_\- Jo l’ierce.

‘55-?‘5‘:F—3

- A‘.’

y Lieutenant.

838 Poker l’cie‘a Double Dodge; er. The Civic Coll. ’--- is,
By Win. R. lip-tar. , . .fi‘. .
S39 Broadway Billy's Blf Boom: or, Cernerinlz Counterfflf- 4!, ‘
(‘rt-oks. My J. (l. Cowdrlr . it, .
. - 840 Deadwood Dick’s Clutch; or, Crushing Captain Crusher. .‘ I. f;- ,‘

lly Edward 1. Wheeler.
811 li’lilnge Charlie, the Cat’s-Paw Sport.
1 ll ti 8".
841 The Actor Detective in Chicago; or, Dick Doom'e
' Flush Hand. By Col. l‘rcntlss lngrnlmm.

By Marma-

843 Dan, the Blver Sport; or. Felling the Frisco Sharp. By
Harold Payne. . '
844 Broadway Billy’s Big Bulge. By J. C. Cowdrlch. I‘ ' «
A New Issue Every Tueeday. "

The Half-[Dime lerary Is for sale—by all newsdeolesn, five _
seats pas oopy, or sent by mail on receipt of six cents each. ‘ :31, "
BEADLE AND ADAII. Publishers, .1
98 William Its-set. New You. . .

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