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Vol I can lete QIjeadZe g- fldams, Q’ubh‘s/Lojas, price, N 1
0 ' In One umber. N0. 98 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK Ten Cents. 00 o

A Hand Csowd; or, Gentlemafiam’s SiStci‘j

A THRILLING TALE BY THE AUTHOR OF ‘TIGER DICK.”
u: r  '
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My \L‘Tr

 

 

 

 

 

 

I
.-._._A._. Mme .446,
breath and

 

“ ONE!” uttered Poker Tom, the Missourian’s second. The room was still as death. The Spec rs stood with pale faces, bated
hands clenched over their weapons, with that instinct by which, in moments of-such intense excitement, every brute stands on his guard. Every
eye was riveted upon the contestants~every heart stood stiltT-all felt that the next two seconds would usher in a double death.——P8ge 3.

 

 

2

 

A Hard Crowd;
GENTLEMAN sAM’s SISTER.

B! THE AUTHOR or “ riean DICK."

CHAPTER I.
BETWEEN TWO FIRES.
OMAHA was at the meridian of her glory as
(.‘ty.

 

 

the “ hardest place” east of Denver

Deeds of violence were of daily occurrence.
Every man was his own jud and executioner,
in cases that more particular y affected himself.

‘ shaven face, all save a mustache which foHOWed
! the curve of his lips. As he stood at r
‘ there was nothing

. the firm lines about the mouth and the clear
‘ ligfltaof the gray eyes.

Where the public freedom was invaded a short 1

Ihrift and a long rope were the unfliliug‘cor-
rective. A lit emblem of law, in thatdelectable
region, would have been a rimning noose, wit
bowie-knife and pistol crossed in the center.

In the low goggeries and gambling hells of
the city were be met the ve scum and drugs
of society—villains of eve ' e and vari

of crime—men who can-i their lives in their
hallld and were ready, “ at the drop of the hat,”
to
the heart of their fellows. To a den of this de-
scription I invite the reader’s attention.

It was a long room, its low ceiling dingy with
smoke, the monotony of its rude walls relieved
here and there by cuts from the illustrated pa-
pers and cheap prints in colors portraying

‘ sioned universal ‘

The

1
!

New York Library.

 

__ '
Ption elicited sundr ' laughing ejaculations of '

assent from his ru e auditors.
“Who is this hyar boss sharp that every— ‘
bogg’s laying their chips on?”

e question was put in a careles tone of
voice by a man who leaned against the further
end of the bar, with one foot thrown across the
other, the toe touching the floor. He was of
medium height, with dark wavy hair and clean-

cularly noticeable a ut
rver nnght have marked

him; but a keen o

tanyoneshould be uninformed as to so 4
notorious a character as Missouri Bill occa-
, and the questioner !

‘ immediate] feund  the center of obser-

vation. 3 question was answered by the first

speaker, in a tone calculated as intended, to 1

5 impress the'heare'r With the degree of respect !

‘prudencewouldmdthemm

ge abullet in the brain or drives. knife to a

question a

“I reckon, yeoumo htbegreeninl
these hyar  Bill fir a gay young I
rooster what kin jest catawamstiously chew up I

any two-legged critter what to show his I
h apan’ crow! Hey, fellas? air that the l
. chalk

I asseverated an individual who looked as if his

scenes in the life of a sporting man. At one ‘

side was the bar, with its tail decanters and in-
verted goblets bearing lemons in the hollow of
their bases—its mirror covered with mus-
keto-barrmg, flanked by pictures chi
able for their glaring colors and indelicacy—
and its presiding genius, the stereotyped bar-
tender, with carefully oiled. hair, waxed mus-
tache, immaculate linen. (he was in» 

notice» .

sleevesyand flashing bummpin, sleeve-buttons :

and seal ring. »
It was near ten o’clmk of a dark, drizzling

' ht; but the fog that enveloped eVer‘ythm‘ g
figment was scarcely more dense than he to-

‘ laughed another “but blowed if I’d be
1 enou h

!

3 bet!”

bacco-smoke that pervaded the room. The tin L

reflectorsicast the light of smoky lamps
motley crbwd. Some lounged against the
Others sat at tables, mostof them whiling the
Me with cards. Still others sat or stood in un-
social solitude, with their c' and thoughts
for their Only companions. ne individual was

1

testing hit skill with the bowie-knife, throng .

it at a quid of tobacco which adhered to the
doorpost - and when the keen point cleft the
quid fairly in twain he smiled grimly as he
imagined It a human heart.

At a table a little withdrawn from the rest
sat two men with whom we will first make ac-
quaintance. Their dress was of rude material,
hke that of the men b whom they were sur-
rounded but more cle y and in better repair.
This and their superior intelligence showed that
they were wont to move in a higher lane of
civ11ization. Indeed, in an eastern c1 _ their
presence in such a den would have provoked
suspicious comment; but in this rude country
where all distinctions were leveled, they. passed
wholly unnoticed.

The gentleman (for they were evidently n-.
tlemen) with a military mustache blew aw 'te :

wreath of smoke from his lips-and lettinghis
eyes range over the occupants of the room, said,
with a half smile:

“ There’ll be some hard customers to deal with
at the Judgment Day,'if the orthodox view is
correct.”

The settled melancholy of the other’a face
lightened a trifle, as he replied:

“I agree with you major.”

“Hush!” admonished the other, guardedly,
and he slouched his hat lower over his eyes—
“ no titles in such a place as this. I told on I
would show you a nest of rattlesnakes.
do you think of them?”

A hard light eglittered in the eyes of the other,
and his beard lip quivered, as it with bitter
memories as he replied: '

“M ' ehasledmetotraverse the slums of
New ork, dive into Baltimore’s darkest dens
of infamy, fathom the filth of New Orleans—I
have seen men whose utter wretchedm was
more marked; but about these men there is
somethiriirwhether it is that the are bolder-
what ah I so. f—it seemsasif eywonld do
in broad daylig t what the others wait for the
darkness to cover.”

“ They’re about as bad as they make ’em, I
fancy,” laughed the other. “ You are a doctor
-—-they ma make work for you at any moment
—as ugly- ooking a tien as you will meet
with anywhere. Bu let us hear what they are
talking about there at the bar.”

A vfllainous fellow with shaggy brown and
tobacco-stained beard was

“ I reckon the
Bill’s toes had be r git his measm-e'tookthe
day before,” he said, looking round as if confi-
dent that no one would have the temerity to
dissent from his opinion. I

“I allow the cum ’ud pass in his cheeks so
Sgwerful suddent, he’d be a stiff two ur three

ys afore he made up his mind it was him,”
declared another, whose vivacity of imagina-

,hadstep

- thedrof amanwho was used to having “el-

whatsupeonflhcom'i”

 

.bow _
aside the glam of the youth, sp' '

tothe ofthewitatwhichheistclaugh;
 I: goflmlmg.“ thethmom’ian was
w y. .pro aw romallsides.
thnthlsmcchani hilari hadnmewhat

“ That’s about the size of it, ur I’m a liar!” 1.

veracity might be far from unimpeachable. l
The stran r waved aside the smoke of his ,
cigar, in or or that he mi ht look down -the ‘
line of faces ranged along t e bar- and, while
his piercin eye re arded them coolly, he said, l
as careless y as be ore: 
“ I reckon he ain’t the Almigh l” '
“I‘ve got money what says t ar hain’t no 1
two-1e ged man in this hyar shebang that dast i
go tall  so!” declared the first speaker, confi— 1
en .
“Ipd jest as lieve hold the stakes, gents]; 
foo
to cover that leetle pile with a view to I
tryin soreskyanexperiment! I pass, you

“ Boss, it’s clean b me!” added a third, with

over a
bar.  a. shrug of the shoul ers.

And this sentiment seemed general. ’

At this point the door of the saloon o nod, to ,
give admittance to a. tall, raw-hon n,
with a. long gaunt face and high cheek-bones. ,
He wore a slouched hat, tilted very far on one '
side, and a red flannel shirt, with black velvet ;
la and cuffs, and anchors on either breast. u
His trowsers, originally gray but now faded !
and soiled to a snufl color were suppo at ,
the waist by a broad leathern belt, to which a
was hung a pistol at his back. The ri ht leg of ?
his taloons was prevented from fa ' over
the t b a bowie-knife—the famous “ rkan-
sas toothp 0k ”—thrust into the bootleg.

At his approach the silence of awe fell upon
the speakers, and he who had been so lou in
eulo now around with a smile of sub—
du trium , as who would say:

“H at gm have him, gents. Don’t he fill
the b' l at, I reckon!’

Just before Missouri Bill’s entry a. stripling
up to the bar and, a arently
without ceding the conversation the was in

rogress, ordered liquor. As the Missourian
w near, the bartender aetthe required bev-
era. before his other customer somewhat hur-
ri and indicated his readiness to serve the
bu‘l‘lg

 

an obsequious smirk.
randgl” was the laconic order, the “ boss”
receiving 6 mute homage of the crowd, with
a royal nonchalance that would not deign even
so much as a glance in acknowled out.

All made wa at the bar save he striplin ,
who seemed to inabstractedthmi t and o
hwdonstowhatwasgoingonamund ' . Mis-
som'lmlltook his place at the bar,and with

” no matter at whose e use, pushed

some of

or over the counter. The other roused
ed with meditations by this rudeness, demand-

flush.
"Look fig“, bog! ham' ’t you rather free
an’easy wi that thar big paw o’ yourni”
All stood at this audacious challenge,
«snag, too, such a bantling.
‘ W ‘a rt intended to be irresistibly face-
fimitha affected to look about as if
torso in‘the air. Then he bmahedhis
“9331.335”?! “*1 Madam“
, y ur was a In what
r, uskcetec
The syco hant makes no overclose scrutiny as

theli
from

nhsided,the outbretortedin esamespirit:
. “Sounds e a buflalo bull. It’s tricked out
like a scare-crow. It’s lon enough for a fish-
gfiéagalking of poles—pigew! it smells like 3

And he affected to move awa in dis .

A quiet smile twinkledt in  ey {of the
stranger, who from the first had laancdcaroless-
lyagainstthe end of the bar. He caressed his

 

‘ mustache with his left hand, and'ht the same i

“on: In?“

-‘ Missouri Bill glanced around in

3 bet!” replied the stripling, nothing daun

’ said

', git the chance at this hyar shop, an

- sure-’nougii

, out the fore-

Vol. I.

time the room rung with derisive laughter, com-
in no one knew whence.
ith a scowl that Satan might have envied,

nest of the
man foolhardy enough to laugh at ' expense.
But every one looked as s rised as he, the
ventriloquism of the stranger filing them all.
Then he turned upon the youth who had had
the tcmerity to beard him thus ublicly.

“ An’ who in blazes be you he demanded,
with ahorrible oath.

“ One what don’t propose to let no seven—story
lubber walk over me without squealin’, eon

b
the formidable front presented by the other. y
“ Bah! eou wouldn’t make half a. mouthful,
yeou wou dn’t!” sneered the giant, contemptu‘
ouslly;
“ oss,” replied the outh,jauntily, “I allow
lyl'eou’ve got a. powerfu open countenance—yeou
ave, so; but if on try to git away with me in
two bites, even, reckon yeou’ll want to let out
the job before you git through.”
Again the derisive lau hter run through the
room. Again was the issourian affled.
Then With eyes flaming like coals he turned
upon his audacious antagonist.
“My oung an’ ine rienced friend,” he
, wit sarcastic deli ration ” ef yeou’re a
itchin’ to git yeour mouth slappe , yeou kin jest
right smart

too, veou bet!”

“ Perhaps I see somebody what wants to 818.
it fur me—perhaps I don‘t!" said the youth, a -
fectin to look around for some one to perform
the 0 cc indicated.

A frown of impatience bent the brows of
more than one of the bystanders, to see this
rash young man so wantonly thrust his head
into the lion’s mouth, and they muttered some—
tging about a “ fool” with a very forcible qual—

er.

The bully stood a moment in astonishment.
Then, with a fierce oath, he raised his hand to
make good his implied threat. The next in-
stant he caught his breath with a gasp, as his
adve warded off the blow and dashed his

'quor in his face.

A cry of wonder and dismay went up from
the spectators. They expected that the next
moment would see the aimihilation of the fool-
hardy perpetrator of the deed.

Missouri Bill was confused for a moment, as
much by the audacity of the assault as by its
suddenness—only for a moment, however; then
he slapped his hand to his back and whip out

his revolver, amid a torrent of frantic bias»L

phemy.
 a clear, incisive voice out the air like a

l e.

“ Hold on, there, bow! Iv’e ot the drop on

on! Don’t cock that weapon. If you‘re bound

have a little game 0’ that sort jest call some-

bod that’s half your size; but on’t pitch onto
tha boy that can’t count inches to your feet.”

Apparently the “boy ” was fully able to take
care of himself ; for alread ' his weapon covered
Missouri Bill’s heart. He had shown himself as
read with the pistol as with the glass.

‘f  pla my own hand,” he said with a

nude.  I reckon they’ll have a new stoker
own below, If our friend hyar don’t keep the
muz_zle on_his leetle barker!”

Missouri Bill saw that the adversary in front
had been more than a match for him in nick
nees; he then glanced over his shoulder an saw
theman at the end of the bar standing in the
same careless attitude a ci between the first
and second fingers of  le hand, in his right 3
cocked revolver, and the smoke 'ust clearing
away from before his face. Thus tween two
fires, the bully remained with his own weal?!on
at his Side, not daring to raise it.

At the.drawing of weapons those nearest the
contestants had sought~ greater safety by hastily
fallin back.

In t e corner the two ntlemen first intro-
duced to the reader were a. sorbed spectators of
the scene. The major spoke.

“ Didn’t I tell you that you might have a sub-
;ect at any moment? I h It will be that
ubberly buffalo-bull. The boy’s got pluck, and
no mistake” . Afew minutes Winfth eatery.”

 

CHAPTER II.
A DUEL EXTRAORDINARY.

“GENTS yeou’ve got me this onc’t-that’s a
fact. An’ I allow it hain’t no dis

e fur any man to ueal when he hain’t no
a ow. But, yeou sn ' ’ cur behind thar, ef
yeoudasttofacemelikeaman,1'mako
crow-bait out 0’ eou in short meter, yeou white:
livered thief, an one pine-box ’11 do fur both 0‘

e!"

The bully looked a very demon in his rage, as
he hissed forth his fierce challen No one
knew better than he the disadv tags of an
enemy in the rear.

B this time a scmobre gin: six-21111003???” were
r m g on e r.

The ruflian w 0 had first spoken in eufggy of
the redoubtable Mimm‘lan now saw an Oppor-
tunity to favor With him by taking his
part; and he interposed in a blustering tone of
V0108:

 

 

 

 

 

 

(J
l
\

..

v“ 44‘.

a .1- .

._... __._..__.___-_.._.___—. . ._ w

“ Let up thar, boss! Fair play all round! We
don’t stand by an’ see notwo onto one, eou
know—not if my name’s Poker Tom—an we
thinksheaml Let upthar, Isayl Mantoman
-that’s squar’ l” ' _

In a twinkling, and as if in anticipation of
liis attack, the cigar had vanished from the left
hand of the man at the end of the bar, to give
place to a revolver whose muzzle frowned warn-
ineg upon the last speaker and those near 
as the weapon was aimed diagonally across its
owner’s ri ht arm. Meanw ' e, _
right han never wavered-an inch rom t e di-
rect line to Missouri Bill’s heart, and the s ta-
tors knew it.

The some quiet smile played about the man’s
lips. But it was purel . .
fined to the lips; for t e steely ghtter of his
gray eyes showed that the tiger of his nature

was on the alert. His voice, howsver, betrayed I

nothing of this in its evenly modulated tones.

“ Gents ” he said, “let me persuade you that
this hyar little game is being
understands his biz, every time!
you wants to git up a first-class funeral,
stick up his head where I can git a

betl Don’t all speak at once, gentlemen.
hear a call? Shall be happy to accommodate
an six!”

othing cows a crowd so quickly as a grompt
challciwe, backed by a “ six-shooter ” h
steady hand. The men edged nervously out of
ran , while one said:

“ ard, I reckon we cave. This h or liain’t '

none 0’ our funeral, no how yeou kin it. . .
“ I allow he’s got the rope eend an’ 15m pitch
the trump,” assented a second. _ ,
“It la. between him an’ Missouri Bill who’s
to be coo o’ the walk, sure,” added a third.
Poker Tom apparently yielded to popular sen-
timent. At any rate he wa mute. "
“ Very well, gentlemen,” replied the" man at
the end of the bar, in a tone of indifference.
“ I’m sassy when you crowd me; but stroke .me
the right way, an’ I allow new milk ain’t
sweeter.” _ ' . .
Then, addressing Missouri Bill, be continued,
pleasantly: . _
“I’m your huckleberry, mister, for the little
exc o’ civilities you hmted at. Jestth
up yer 'ttle b1ack-an’-tan, and we’ll arrange for
a we stand-up—an’-toe~the-mark.” _

‘ uri Bill returned  to its case,
and addressed the stripling W1 h whom his quar~
rel had begim. . '

“ Jest let me git this hmmeddlesome cuss in
my rear ready fur the rse, an’ I’ll fix you
afterward!”
Missouri Bill knew only the bully’s modeof
attack, which is to stamp out op . tion With
the heavy heel; and he ad his. other g)-
ponent with an air intended to cow him on . e

“ Well, my lark, I’m ready to lay {go out in
aha you . Wha shall it 1”.
“But e man at the end of the bar did not
seem to cow “worth a cent.” He twn‘led the
end of his mustache carelessly, and looked With
half-shut eye through the white wreath of smoke
that he blew slowly from his lips.

“As the challenged party sup_ I have
the ' t to determinethe condi ions of the
, ' “But I ain’t stall cular
as to weapons. Pistols across the b' d table
yonder or knives toe to toe—it’s .all the same to
me. If you have any chews, pitch the trump

y He knew that a bully would have no particu-
lar relish for pistols at such close range; and
Missouri Bill’s re ly proved that he was no ex-

ce tion to the e._

‘I wouldn’t flip a copper fur t’other n:
which,” he said; “ ut I reckon} kin. make a
handsomer corpse out o’yeouWith a k1an
pill makes such a cumed leetle hole!”

“ All right—knives it shall be. And we’ll. see
who makes the _ e co
we’ll ht: First, we
Secon our le hand is tiedbe
Third, our left legs aretied together atthe'knee.
At the word ready, we lace the t of our
lmifeontheleftbreasto .ourman ustoverthe
heart. At the word times, the batman wmsl

‘ oing to lay me out;
dirt work on your han

, light laugh, “
f to see-that no

the istolinhi's‘

runb amanwhol
any one of .

thim .
uint at it, 3
and he won’t have to go far for file y, 0111 “
o .

dinai

 

3 each attain
again? Iwish that thisdanger could be'averted

 Hard Crowd; or,~__G#entleman‘Sain’s Sister.

?
3:118 .you wont have any

“ t’s not that,” re lied the doctor, hastily.
“ Believe me, I woul be most ' '
you in an way in my power. Bu I fear I
should e but a sorry second in an affair of
this kind.”

“ Bless you sir,” replied the other, with a ;
reckon there’s nothing to do but 1

' t-flnge nt gees through
my pockets Willi); my coats 01!. I want an
hgiies’t man; and you face struck me favor—
a .

edoctorwasbynomeanssuretlnt hewas]

not allowing himself to be

a.
. murder, but there is a force in public sentznent,
mechanical and con- v '

however perverted it may be; and quietmg his
conscience with the reflection that, while his refu—

‘ sal to actcould make no difference with the duel,

he might on the other hand be of material ser‘
vice tothe man inwth he had suddenly con-
ceived a deep interest, he hastened to say:

“Ifyouthinkmeacom tentsecond,consid~
ermpatyourservice. willdothebestI
can.

“ I thanklgu, sir. 'Nobody could- ask more
thanthat. d afterthis isover, ifIcanever
return the compliment, I’ll try to show ou that
I am not quicker to forget my friends my
enemies.”

Without more ado he began quietly to strip
for the aflray, ying his clothes on the table.

“ a must

any kind that you would wish sent to your
friends?” _ .

A shade of something like sadness flitted crosss
the face of the duelist; then his lips were com-
premed with bitterness as he replied:

“ No. A man that’s kicked about the world
as mali‘i‘yyearsaa I have don’t have many friends
that’ care for his carcass.”

“ There was one—but, no; that was years ago.
She’s dead long before this, or doubtless has for-

otten me, even if you could find .her. No,
ere’s not onein all the wide world.” '
He roused himself with a start from the
dreamian into which he had fallen while pur-
suing this'aad retrospect; and fixingu n the
doctor a iercing glance, while his chest aboned
with e 'on,‘vhe continued:

“Did you ever think how a man—not a very
wicked'man on the start- go from bad to
worse, almostas if by com 'on, when he felt
that he was cut loose from all the world, with
nothing to live for, with no one to care whether
he wasup or down—when perhaps he had been
wronged—bitterly wronged l—-—until he had lost
faith in humanity?”

Dr. Chillingworth listened to his rapid utter-
ance With a t surge of responsive emotion.
Im 'velyv extended his hand and graped
tha fithestmngo manwlrohadthusgrownso
near

“Icannot explain the feeling,”he said,in a
voice tremulous with emotion. “ I have known
you but a moment and yet I wish that we had
met before. I reei that we could have helped
Have I found you butto loseyou

——that I could take it upon myself. You are a
young man yet. There is much before you—4’

“Excuse me; but you aremakmg a mountain
out of a' mole-hilt” interrupted thestrangar res
covering  with a sudden
effort. “ If I live until that flat lays me out, I
reckon I'll be uhier’n Methasalah.”

“ He’s a erful nun.” . _

“ A hull!” was the contemptuous re-

1 . . .
prutifthewontshouldcomayournamfl”
ltfimethg‘imep’ f Poke T I h vanity

was voioeo r om,w coo.

wasmightilygufled. up by his 

chosen second ythe man on whom he ‘piled

his~chi every time!” Bespoke inatbl'isk

mm toneyaddmg a grumbling sneer.
“c «nuns hh pal

“This in tin-nod himwith 1m
stranger n n . a
gmwwdémrt p0 friend. I: a.
‘.‘ our. on,” You
itching fez: it, I’ll give you all the time you
want,“er theotheroflmyhands.”

.. v- " "'3.-

toserve!

be prepared for the worst,” §

wa
- said the doctor. ‘yfiave you papers or word of ‘ strange

 

 

V
experienceafeel' of repu ance. Wh isi
I wonder? Smelylglcannot ve known ' 
the pastl”

His musings were interrupted by the grufl

’ voice of Missouri Bill

“ Ef the galoot is only biddin’ his sweetheart
fid—by it‘s all right he should take his time;
I allow he won‘t see her ag’in in a hurry.
But of so be he’s gittin’ skeery, an’ wants ter
crawfish—” ‘
The stranger wheeled as if stung by the inso
lent tone of the speaker, and with flashing eyes
and Iquivering nostrils, said:
“ on’t flatter yourself, my impatient friend.

I was only gi ' you time for our prayers, if
you have any. not, I’m y to 've you a
essoninfancycarving assoon as ewordis
given.”

He hurriedly slipped the miniature back into
his coat as it lay on the table. The limpse that
Dr. Chillingworth got of it showed  that it
was taegioture of a young and beautiful woman,

pain on rcelain and mounted in an old-
ashioned (1 setting.
The no moment, the combatants had taken

their stations in the center of the room. "Tag?
placed themselves with the left foot to ,
overlapp so as to bring the inside of the 1
together. n this position they were secure y
bound just below the knee. The left arm of
each was then bound to his back, and the sec-
onds retired.
The did muscular development of the
r elicited more one murmur of ad-
miration from the rude spectators. His skin
was as white and smooth as marble, while the
cot contour of every muscle might have
n the pride of any gladiator of old.
Missouri Bill saw it, too; for as his eye ran
ovgrhisantagomst,‘ asiftotakehismeasure,he
m .

“Yeou hain’t no chicken, an’ that’s a fact;
but I’ll clip your wings all the same.”

“When I #mu on this little rib-tickler I
reckon you you are a goose,” was
grim rejoinder-N and gone goose at that!”

An ai'iigy flash came into the and Missouri
Bill, at contemptuous smile of ' adversary.

“ Do yeou. know who I be?” he demanded,

pom usl . .

“ £3); {don’t usually make the acquaintance
of such fellows as you are. But I know one
thin about on, though.”

“ ’ Wing’s that?”

“ I know you’re a big fool to think that buil-
stren stands any show against science.”

“. ,air, ouread T’calledMissouriBill’s
secong, in a me odrama ‘0 tone. h, be: I

‘ give eou .‘ science enoug ore you
gitthroughl”hi8edthelfissomian ' ' '

,. With diliinti‘gs

nestrils and a sudden pin'ple flush, as be p
the keen. point of his weapon against the naked
breast of his adversary. .

.A in '  was the cox reply; and the
stranger d 'bera‘tel placed e paint of his
boww-knife on theo r’s breast, so thatit made
a just-perceptible indentation in the flesh be—
tween the ribs. Then he flxedhiseyesu 11
those of hisopponent with a sudden, fasdna '
intensity that made the color visibly recede
from the Missourian’s face.

“Andnow,” he hissed, while his eyes glit-
tered like those 018 basilisk, “do you know

me?”
“Yeou? The devil! no. Who areyeoul”
‘o‘ Why don’t you say—‘ Caramba, Ml’-—Ri~
cardo del Selene?”
The strangenesan his words with a
nicer

n Billstartedvielentlyandpaledtotho

p‘s.
. 11‘1" .m aspirated with a guy.
“ So you know me ’
:2 cum on! 29-”
“ I have neverseen you.”
“ Never?”
? fielegl Y is Wham
‘ a . our memory "
“Curse out what do you knowof moss Bl-
cardo del lane?” _ '
“Have you forgotten so soon?” the f
e manger seemed to enjoy torture 0
suspense to which he was  antag;

onist. Every moment, was making Minoan
Bhifizna'veisngmorie umteadhfl . Katalin ina
s ,-rn‘p voee,w e w psqu-
ered with a myu‘eriow terror.
“The foul fiend seiaegyoul Speak! Speak!
At what are you hin ’
In that. moment of tense excitement he
unconsciously to, drop the Western dia-
lect out of his Which showed that it was
on] aflected w enihe did‘use it. t
e stranger siniled as he noticed th'n, and

“ I have not forgotten I might have squared ‘
account-with you a while ; and ou-would ;.
havede in-your‘forgetffigeu. at I wish 

ou toremember. How strange that you should
Kansas“ "- W” ~
1 Bill burstforthinatorrent of wild

Without g, to heed him, the m
009%,“ cornmwunlfifiwfi 3

Is that straig' ht?” .
“ It’s a new game ” replied Missouri Bill, E;
ing slightly;-“ ut ifyeou’re a better man
-. me, yeou’re welcome to lay me out. I reckon
. ‘ ; / thar hain’t no crawflsh in me.” .
. W. gt’lslago, then. Pick y‘olilir second.” 1 th
 eceasedspeakmg' esharpeyeso e
 mangerranwertheassemhfeandsettled
' upon gm com W t‘vhvhom we
ma ow as . i a gulch.
step he went over towhere the octor

, 11' Into .
 “Pardner,”he said, “ ouarea

falhmynaxnowillbeofno uence.
Let media as I have lived. But,one thingl
askof on. There’s aminiature inmyooat
menu in I have worn it all in life,
and Iwanti buriedwithme. It’sonfiya y

nothingin' undo

Wow to . all expanse
on may keep the mama for yourkindnea to
orgiveittosoneonein ” .
drew forththelminiatum of which hehad
and gazed upon it with a clouded brow. i
he stood therewith that frown ofpainful‘
thougihthDr. Chillingworthstarted.
“ 'is‘therofamiliar aboutzthpt gerbils
mused. “ ha I motwith it, 0. VI
havobeonprepouna inhisfavor; Mm]

stranger to
I: me'butIreckonIcan ependonyouforthis
 littleservlce.” .,
.V  The doctor felt a thrill at thus being called
a  ‘ andrepliedinsome on: .
 “ ydeatrsir,I hope youwillnotmis‘m
’ standme- orreall syn thiesare.
" ybfl never: having had any

 you thugflalr;
 _ ;,3,ai.mwgsmaor. Thatbigbullyain’t

 

 

cottage

a.
i.,,j
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4: V, 7 The New York Library.

A strange hush fell upon the Missourian. His
bl hemous tongue seemed suddenly paralyzed. i
His i were 1i (1, his eyes protrud ng, his very ',
breat stayed. 

The stran er pursued in the same tone: 1

“Ma. 16t 124—.” ,
w‘ d Iyell of terror drowned his voice, and ,
Missouri ill leaped backward but was restrain- 1
ed by the ligature that bound his leg to that of ,
his adversary. !

The face of the stranger underwent a sudden 1
change. All the bantering, mooring expression
passed away to give place to the stern implaca-

ility of the avenger. His voice was clear, cut-
 merciless.

‘ Stand up and face your doom like a man,”
he cried, “ unless you are a coward as well as a
scound'rel!”

Missouri Bill stru led to overcome the terror
that had ralyzed im; but he stood quivering
from h to foot.

“Air the boss a-goin’ ter crawfish?” asked
one of the s tators in a su pressed whisper.

“ Crawfis nothin’!” dec ared Poker Tom,
saith an in ' h t frowli);l at this reflection on
t ecourageo isprinci .

“ I reckon the t’other’n has got the deadwood
on him some’r’s.”

“Jim Sluggins, air you a-givin’ of us wind,
ur talkin’?” emanded Poker Tom, 'p ' a
roll of money from the watch-pocket of 's

trowsers.

“ I’ve ot a sawbuck what says thar hain’t
no wind yar,” replied Jim, following suit.

“ Put it that, boss,” said Poker Tom, placing
his money in the hands of the barkeeper.

“ Pard, thar she am!” said Mr. Slu , de-
ggsliltling his money with a confident air. ‘ eou’re

’ ter lose; fur ther bossis skeered out sure!”

As these words, wconfifigged by a low
chuckle, reached his ear, ' uri Bill rallied
with a purple flush of cheek and brow.

“ I reckon no man don’t call time on me twice
without gettin’ his reg’lar allowance,” he said
witha swagger. “Jim Sluggins, you’d better

't your measure took; fur yeou come next, ur

’m a liar!”

Jim poled slight! at this threat; but he knew
that he was “in or it,” and that nothing he
could now say would make the matter .an
worse; so with an outwaer of coo -
ness, while he mentally c his indiscretion,
he said, with a shrug:

“I allow yeou‘re gittin’ a good deal on
yeou’re hands, fur—” ‘

“Gents, air you read t" interrupted Poker
Tom, who did not wish he man on whom his
money was staked to be further irritated.

Without a word the combatants again
into position. Their breasts, bared by
their left arms behind their backs, seemed to
court death. The doctor, accustomed as he
was to death in all its hideous forms, could
scarcely repress a shudder as he looked at them.

“ One!” uttered the Missourian’s second.

The roomwas as still asdeath. Thespectao
tors stood with pale faces, bated breath, and
hands clenched over their weapons, with that
instinct by which, in moments of such intense
excitement, every] brute stands on his
against all his fe ows. Every eyewas voted
:fion the contestants—every heart still—

felt that the next two seconds would mherin
a double death.

Every vesti
an’s face. '1!
his eyes lowed

c

of color had left the Missouri-
were tightly comprened;
heath his black brows like
living . He now seemed‘fortheflrsttime
to realize the full extent of his awful . He
felt that he must'dte; but he resolvod 1: there
shgigldf be 1111;; survivor. t l _
or antagonist, no a muse e quiver-ed;
no‘t fihfinge was visible in his face. -
‘ o

The Missourian leaned forward, to give impe-
tm to the thrust which he meant should search
out his adversary’s heart. He did not seem to
feel the keen point against which his breast
gmrmedmuunul, ‘ the blood started throughthe punc-

 was a nian of rock.

A wild ytzll theng
partisans: o a score » wea-
pons leaped from their places in that .
moment, when their champion made afsrocious
lungeandhisadversarysunk tothbflooronhis
ri ht knee. The blood cushed back upon Dr.
Cfiinlngworth’s heart with a force that made;
his head swim, as his imagination pictured a
warm, pulsing heart eleven in twain by the
murderous bowie. But the yell died away in a

of horror, and the blood leaped again to

e doctor’s extremities. -

‘ backwar

As he had ‘th th d allied fwfidthin
r w: e re. 0 , 8
the point of his w p n hom' adver-1

turn
’s breast, and pl into ‘the Missouri-
3:? forearm, strikim bone and thrusting
the arm to one side while he- shrunk away in
rose

l

 

Without a murmur, with only a convulsive
uiver and a demoniac contortion of his brutal
eatures the Missourian fell backward upon the

floor, with a heavy thud, stone dead!

 

CHAPTER III.
GENTLEMAN sau’s sism.

AND now let us turn back a few hours, to the
mornin of the most tragical evening in'the 0c-
ciden Saloon. -

No indication of the storm which made the
peared “0131:1181: mythight’ 11ml: ed up
. e con , e sun 00 own
as bri ht! as if its face would never be ob-
scured y roodin clouds. »

Nature respond gladly to this  influ-
ence. The gram were its greenest u ; the
flowers nod ed pleasant] to the passing breeze;
the trees rustled their eafiets in quiet en'oy—
ment; ‘and the throats of the man -colored en-
izens of their cool retreats sw ed almost to
bursting with their grateful songs. ‘

Bower-ed by the dense foliag that denied in-

to the sun and half-smo ered by clamber-

vings, a rphdedhut harem tge eye 3f the

payer-yon eusty wa,eepin eso-
clusion of the woods. y

Before the low door of this sequestered abode
a young girl, decked in rather fanciful costume
almost as varied in coloring as the plumage of
the birds that flitted fearlessl in her vicinity,
sat in the saddle, tappinfilher a y
with her riding-whip, w ’ e her horse champed
his bit, and tossed his head and stamped impa-
tiently to dislodge the flies that pestered him.

In the doorway stood a woman older by
aquarter of a cent , perhaps. Her face at
bore traces of early uty, now much f ed
by long suffering. Her checks were pale and
her eyes sunken. In the latter feature was a
vague something--whether their restless wan-
dering, or their intense brilliancy—rwhich con-
strained a second lance and inspired a feeling
an but co ortable.

‘Jo,” she said, ad the girl; and her
voice had in it the impatient aspenty of the in-
valid—“Jo, shall you be gone long? I almost
despairof anythingcomingof all our years of
search. I to fear—”

The woman broke off with a sort of sob, while
the tears started weakly in her eyes.

“What t2:10f {on fearfiaun' 1" asked the rl,
comingou o erreve ewi readysympa y.

The woman’s eye wandered aimlessly a mo-
mf‘n bsz $8 has  that might

m y c so we
meet him fzce to face, and t not know him.”

“Don’t fear that, Aunt te,” said the gir
conso ly. “ You would know him; and
think— am almost sure I should."

“It has been awearysearch. So man years!
-so many years! And the world is so ig—oh,
wit‘hglg’irfiomlgmed the W0f rward, d bend

e ur or one 0 an , -
an: the  asthma... ..

aun e , a soo ne.

“ We ma findthlm any day. Who knows?”

The e! ti-flvivomnn seemed to liean n the

stre o e oungerone. akingerun-
gaun eted hand,yshe pressed it to her cheek,
while she murmured, with fresh tears:
’ “Jo youarealwayssogood. What could I
do without you! And you will bring him back
tomgsome day? Oh, know you will! Dear
chum-dear child!”

“There! there, aunty!” said the girl, herself
much moved by this displa of aflection.
“You’llletmegonow. AndI bebackagain,
almost before on begin to miss me.” .

She theredup the rein,touched her horse
with e whi , and was gone.

Tearfully woman watched her until she
wasi'hiddenby the foliage, then turned wear-11y
into the hut. '
must b” “:33” fits??? ‘i‘tm‘n‘é

e un .o e we, it
looks d): tion and tion
fromtherudeped on the lankside-
walls and from the equally rude opkeepers
lo idly in their doorways.

' ore‘the Ocddental Saloon that fair mom-
ing. stood a man 'of mill to whom
wehavealreadybeenin ucodin eperson
of Major Gravesend. The girl’s somewhat'fan-
ciful,attirefirst caught his eye; but, when she
had approached near enough so that he could
distinguish her features everything was
forgotten in the rapt contemplation of her rare
loveliness.

As she eyes devoured her, until

the
or r 0
3....

When she had a doe breath showed

an“ dimmed...“ sm-
e e o w :-

noting wtthyethz a tion 0 '

i
S

hergraceful oonformityto the motions of her
horse, he ad the r of the saloon,
Andy Blake, who sat on the consul teasing a
mien- pup, '



,’a’ seen the
Bob. Sandy, be war the

" from Sandstone Pea

 

!

“ Who is that!”

“Eh? That? Oh, that’s Gentleman Sam’s
sister,” re lied Andy, looking up.

And wi that spirit of his class which invests
the community with the borrowed luster of a
local celebri , and pluming himself aomrd -
{yes a mom r of the community, he add .

riskly:

“But, hain’t she about as pearl; as they make
’em? Bet a boss they caint show her match
within a radius of a ew miles—eh, boss?”

“ Gentllmm Sam ” regard the majortsinter-
ro ve ,passin‘ gover scommen .

.‘  heared 0’ him, y r? Wal, he’s a
mite of a chick ygu’d thmk' yeou could uplut in a
pint mug; but .yer pile he’s a h team
when he’s mad! ey’re a retty as like
astwopeas,an’hotascoals£o han e—hoth on
em.

“ Where do they live?” asked the major.

“That I don’t adzackly know,” replied thb
barkeeper. “It’s some’rs up cormtry, two ur
three mile. You don’t often see Sam an’ his
sister together. Thar’s a luny what lives with
’em, they call Mad Kate; an’ one on ’em stays
along 0 her, mostl , while the other comes to
town. But when ey do parade in com y
they’re a pair 0’ high-stoppers as hain’t ma ed
eve? day, you bet!”

“ ut is it safe for so beautifulawomanto
traverse a lonely coun road unprotected l”

“ Safe!” repeated An y, with a chuckle.

“This is a pretty tough community isn’t it!
Suppose one of the five tlemen who hang
around here should take it into his head to run
awa with her?”

“ tIi‘igaway with Gentleman Sam’s sister?"
:elpea And in amaze. “Lord love ye!” he

ded with a h and a shrug, “ I allow it ’ud
takes ewo’ the oudest westo’ the Mis-
sissip’  away with her! ’igualify she kin
callany , an’ 've ’em long ds in the bar-
gain! Why, all flsh-hooks, stranger! it
ud’ ’a’ made eou jest git right u an’ howl, to

lieetle fracas she hem"wilt; .
tong 0 guns!
that ever crossed the Rocky Mount’ns; bu ,
blem yer soul, he knowed the p’mts of a purty

boss ur a gm woman!

“ Wal y be clapgzd his eyes on to Gen-
tleman Sam’s sister one , an’ he jest gin one
longwhistle an’comewal ' ’up to her likes
dancin’ maste . He took off his bat an’ bowed
untel he was nearly double, and he says, says

he: r
“ ‘Hallo, little gal! does yer mother kn0w
e’re out? Let me interduce to you the Great
Sandy Bob, resident of a Sand Bank,L
an’ inventor o’ sand-
wiches! I hain’t no great shakes on 1113'-
self; but when I see an angel, like you, in-
stance—um! but it makes my mouth water!’

“ Then he stood a nnin’ at her, an’ a-Wipin'
of his mouth on the ck 0’ his hand.

“Wal, she jest gin him a look what ’ud ’d
cleaned out any seven men in this hyar section
0’ country, an’ made fur to walk  him-
But, nothin’ ’ud do but he must have a kiss; so

“if; s" hi. W Y W
‘ 0 er cases in ! eou
a-goin’ by th , y ghout payin’ tole, no-

is hyar gate w:
how eou kin fix it.’

“ d he went fur to b hold of her.

“ Je-e-rusalem! yeou’ orter ’a’ seen her eye“
gasp! She jest steps back, an’ she “YE, 5&3"

“3 Stand aside, yeou fool! I don’t want tor
take the life 0’ such a worthless Villa-111' ‘8 YO“

I I

“ But Sandy, he ells with laughterifin'
makes a dive for hei‘e!8t aha jum to one side,
as spades a cat, an’ fired a 111.1180? “5 1“
stum {fit her, carryin’ away his 11? 1' up
an’four ntteeth,asslicktlsl»w 0‘
Sandy rolled on the ground, bellerin’ like a
buff o-bull. Gentleman Sam’s sister Pushed
him with her foot, contempt-downs. a! if 11,0
was so much dirt; an’ when he rolled over 868
go could see how he was fixed, shoulafli 59'5"

e:
“ ‘ I reckon yeou won’t kin nobody 101‘ '°m°
time to come. ’

‘ngn’ withhzhiat she gags of! down the street,
as nothin be

“When we comgptg tell Gentleman Sam, he

88 says he:
y‘IIIGGIN’AI. I reckon my sister is able totake
keer of herself. If any man thinks diflerent,
jest let him itch onto her, an time hes a
. has my permission. ” .

“ She’s uite an Amason," remarked the me
we .1 h”  m ; ““l‘ié‘. .i
W! the e e on o
“BHKWhatishern‘ge? ourefertoheronly

‘8 ‘Gentleman Sam’s sister.” <
“ I reckon thar don’t nobody know no more

thanthat,” replied Andy; “leastways that’s the
extent 0’ my pile.” .

After a few more qua]?ng which discovered
that Andy had indeed bed the end of his

information and the lad having
view, the m?0r saun y toward. his hotel
ammindeepmedltation.

his: ' L

 

 

 

 

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No.1. '

heavy black whiskers and the sinister frown .
that darkened his br0ws. That he was no com-
mon ruflian was evident from the intellectual
cut of feature; but, falling from a greater alti- .
tude, he had sunk to greater depths of infamy ;
than his less gifted fellows

At the moment he was walkin rapidly, with ,
his eyes on the ground, his han clenched and
his features working excitedly.

“ Curse him!” he muttered, below his breath;
“who is he? The sight of him thrills me ‘
strangely. There is something in his 
that seems familiar. Where in the past have
met such a man? In an event, why do I hate

or— Is it fear? Bah! am afraid of no man!
If I had but seen his face. I’m sorry, now, that
I did not follow him.”

Chancing to look up at this point of his medi-
tatio he saw the girl whom we have described

y.

“ ends!” he e aculated, stogp' short in his
briskwalk. “ hoisthiswit suc afacel Is!
this country enchanted? I meet some haunting
face at every turn.”

His loomy frown of a moment before had
sudde been dispersed by a lift of the brows,
expressive of wonder and expectancy. Clutch-
ing the of a wooden awning, he lared in- ‘
tentlya the face resented tohimin e profile, I
the attention of e girl beingnttracted to the
opposite side of the street, so that shedid not !

!

see him.
 in “£13?”de at?“ h" if“
man , reat y, s rp upon 0
'etor of the grocery before whic he stood.
Pm: What?” asked the man, startled by his >
vehemenoe into forgetfulnem of the game of
its which was occupying his idleness. l
“That—that—woman ' ll—what is she?” 1
“That? Oh, that’s Gen man Sam’s sister. 1‘
A clipper !——flve stories an’ a basement!” replied
the man, mixing his metaphor somewhat. '
“An’ who in blazes is Gentleman Sam’ssis-
tor?” demanded the first speaker, impatiently.
“Wal, I reckon that tells the whole story—
jest that an’ no more—Gentleman Sam’s sister.”
“Where does she live? What does she do?
Who is she?” pursued the first speaker, biting

"" 15%..

“ , I’ll never tell !” replied the shopkeeper,
with a grin Then, catching an ominous cam
in the e e of his interlocutor, he added, “ rec-
kon no y don’t know no ' ’ about her nur
' him. The ’re two odd chicks as hoes their own
row an’ is beled—‘ hands oi! !’ ”

Without d ' ' a re ly, the interrogator
turned upon his bee and rode 06 more rapid-
ly than before, on his morning walk.

“ Great Cain, Roam ha’r set light fur a
mimhijtfl” islhid one ofth quoit-players, address—

co eague wi a grin.
% what furl” asked the other. .

“ Do you know who that be -up sharp is!”

“ No. Who in thunder is be

“One as ’ud jest as leave shoves rib-tickler
up under your jacket, I reckon, as to stow away
tripgle—X tanglefoot—Tnn Ran HAND!" _

‘ ho! you’re a—jokin’!”

' But the

Meanwh e The
passed over the ground

!

er ed visibly.
Hand, as he was called,
with long, ra id strides,
until he came to a saloonbeforew “ch half a
dozen horses were tied.~ Uttering a peculiar
whistle he vaulted into the saddle of one, and
set off at a brisk trot.

Hissignalsoon met witharesponse; for, inu-

from the saloon, five fellows be-
iextzl‘rode the remaining animals, and fm him
at a pace which would enable them to overtake

«Other tronsof thegroggeryloungedtothe
door followed the reheating forms of the
riders with sullen looks; and as the swept
along the street more thanonebrow honed
with a frown of suspicion, if not of fear. Evi-
dently thfi were in no great favor in the town.

Meanw e the leader of this gang was medi-
tating, his dark face expreuive of exultant
triumph and merciless cruelty.

“By the of war!-—if it is she! And it
must be! S is her mother's very a
thousand-fold beautifled—purifled. Ha! I
what a reven l—to possem her! If her mother

,were only alive to witness our nuptials! But
her father is somewhere on the earth; and he

know! When I have secured her I will
hunthimup. Ha! ha! we’ll begins, after all I
theseyears! Hehashadhis y. Ihads.‘l
tasteofmine;butnow1amcomingintoitsf1fll.
fruition.

“Gentleman Sam’s sister! I must look into .
that. Some alliance more romantic than u- f
table, I am afraid; for I cannot he does: in l
the person. Perhaps my revenge may come in i
that way. There is eve ng in a-ociation,
.in spiteof thecantabout lood. Thetastedis-l
played in her dress is rather loud; and yet, ha

oval, it’s becoming, and harmonious in i i

we .
It this point hewas interruptedbythegal-!
l pace of his followers. Drawing rem !
h y heallowedthemtocometohisside. !
of the fires belowtheaverage stature ;
st in

of other soutobe‘
flash”
I f:' ' 

MM‘

 

Onewould

.I. " ' \

A- Hard .Orowd; or, Gentleman Sam’s Sister.

have said that he would make a far more for- '

midable enemy than his larger and dull
'ons. He rode next the chief, as by right.
im the leader addressed.
“ ,” he said, “ where is Mimouri Bill?”
“I don’t know,” was the reply. “ Somewhere
about town. He left us an hour .”
“Hunt him up and bring ' tothe rendez-

" vous. I have work for him. S p! Do you see i

2 that woman riding yonder?” g
Nebraska Larry, for such was the name by

i which he was known, glanced down the street

i and saw the girl whom we have already de- .

; scribed. A scarcely

rceptible cloud passed
over his face, as he 

“ Yes. Well?”

“ They call her Gentleman Sam’s sister. I
want you to follow her—she lives in the coun
somewhere about, in hiding I suspec ,
when you can without aw ning suspicion,
capture her. Take Joe and Quickstep with you.
See that you treat her with every courtesy; but

- she must be blindfolded of course, when‘ ap—

proaching the Retreat. Now, 05 with you, and
report as soon as you have accomplished your

et, let us scatter. and 00k up Mimouri Bill.
ere is famous work before us, pals. If we
succeed, you shall not be.without your reward.”
Lea the chief and his followers, Nebraska
Larry e ahead of the mer
compan him. There was a . expression on his
face which he did not care to have them see.
“Here is another!" he muttered, between his
clenched teeth and added with re remed fierce-

! ness:—“ I-Iow ion , oh Lord! how ong!”
required

It maneuvering for three men
to follow a woman under that midday sun, all
being mounted; but Nebraska ved
himself ual to the task. Watching man
Sam’s ’ r for some time, until she left the

town, Len? allowed her than to t out of
sight, but ollowed after, purposing come up

th her when she was beyond the chance of ‘

assistance.

His company had left the town two miles in
her rear w on he urged them to a gallop,
' on the greensward at the side of
w one the treadof their horsescould notbe
he‘a‘rd, soasnottoalarmthep

e
catching sight of er at a turn in the road.
tleman ’ '

1y down the road. Several sh reports in
quick succession gave some  of what

was ' her attention.

“What‘s ghat? ' ls!” exclaimed Quick~
ste . “Somebod ’sinhot water.”

“ 17131 sounded m beyond the curve.

t’s some of our gang, for sure!" cried : whichhehad at flrstexperienced for the man

oe. pugnan
“ Forward, men!” cmnmandeddNebrhafa Ifir- ! frown, sufficiently to permit him to exte
"1 W P‘ P l

spurs into his horse’s flanks he took .

ry. “We’ll gag our quarry,
our own men.
D' his
$28. d_ e of the road, followed by his satel-
Hearing the regularthud of horsss’hoof

GentlemanSam’ssistermrnedhes-headan
sawthreemenrushingdownuponherats

swinslns fuller-
J ’ckste
their" 331., 3%....” “m

f carrying
embargmg a pistol down the road
fore her as she disappeared.

CHAPTER IV.
ran srnascna.
the

thatterriblenight. Anawestrucksilen in
weird contrast with the recent about that
diedawa insodismslahowaell the
crowd. moment thus, and then Jim

media theairandstruckhisfeet
ceese eagainreachedthefloor, , :
“Rake stakes,by thunder! an’mytrea all

Pé‘kefio'i‘d yer bosses, thar: that’s foul I” shouted
r om. v
The conqueror ' hold, of his weapon

!
as his  fell, drawn it from the
breast where its bad searched out the
secret rmgsof e. Withaslashofthereek-
ingknflehe hadcut theoordwhichbound him
to the dead, wi
trowsers ofhis
breathlessecond,ascoo as if ascoreofhearu
hadnotstoodstillandthenleapedalmostto
bursting, only a moment before. .

A single word had escaped his lips, spoken
withotghnel’imn implacability of a Nemesis:

Dr. Chillingworth had half extended his hand
incongratulation, and,sgain overcomebythat
mysterious repugnance with which the face of

e otherwhen clouded bye frown

' hsdletitfalltchisside. But
motion unobserved- for at that instant
thew ofPokerTomfellupontheearofthe

I“.

of a lion-tamer, demsnbd: ,

ercom- ,

- to be kep’ warm. Stand up

who were to ac--

tam:

 

ired
“35”.

F
O
“ What do I understand on to say?”

With the example of his ead principal before
his eyes, a glance was sufficient to cow Poker

5 Tom; and with the cringing air of a whipped

cur he replied:

“ Pard, I allow it’s all squar’. Ef so be yeou’re
minded to set u as cock 0’ the walk, I reckon
that won‘t no y interfere.”

To Jim 81 ' he added:

“ The money s yeourn, an’ welcome.”

“ Set ’em up fur the boys Andy,” cried the
' bilant Jim, “an’ sling the balance over.
Quick come, quick go!—a nimble penny wants
b0 Ron b1 in a line, hyar,

ys! up, tum e up! any way to git up!
Strangers, I allow we don’t want no suckin’
thumbs in a corner. This hyar pison’s prime
an’ free as the air ye breathe! Come up an’ le’s
have a jingle all roun’!”

The last words were addressed to Dr. Chilling-
worth and Major Gravesend, who had not re-
sponded tothe hospitable invitation as promptly
as the rest.

“Etiquette demands compliance of us. It’s

‘ drink or fight in this delectable region,” whis-
k. 5 aged the major; and he and the doctor ranged
“Sam and Dave, kee with me—or, better

“mselH uzoos With, this rest]  his

y s to— gun 1m ug , raisi '

and then Eaused and lookeglfiquirinlglfy at
hero of the our.

“The S r,” was the quiet reply, with a

s ' ht inclination of the head
one looked a little surprised at the

my with which the man chose to surround
himse ;butinthe West, men get usedtoalmost
everything; and with a slight elevation of the
brows, Jim continued:

“ H ar’s to The S r—ma he never
want a squar’ meal ur a toothf o’ pison!”

When this characteristic toast was drunk of,
Dr. Chillingworth and the major resumed their
seats, while the other occupants of the room
gathered in small knots and discussed in low
fathet ywhichhadjustbeenenacted
' their presence, with looks of awe at the
ghastly corpse which lay in the center of the

cor, and of curiosity and respect at the con-
queror.

The S r was detained a moment 1
atthebar yJimSl ‘,who '

ursued. { hand enthusiastically an cried:
' men!" he cried, suddenly, !
; Ef it warn’t I’ll eat in head—dinged ef I don’t! ‘
Gen Samsslsterhaddrawnherhorse: '
back upon his haunches, and was gazing intent- E

“ Boss, that war the purtiest dodge I ever see!

Lord! when I see t t buffaler-calf a-takin
water, I wanted a million to put up on yer I—
blc'i'vgzdsef I didn‘t!” d l l
trsnger rm. e acommon-pace re y,
and  away from his admirer, turned) to
remme his clothes.
Someof_the sternnem had nowpassedontof
his face, and Dr. Chillingworth felt the interest

taketheplaceofthere ceexcitedb 
hand and say:
“ Let me congratulate you on the fortunateis—

sue of this affair. I can almost say that you
have done society a service by ridding it of such

a vi .'
“Pg; rubbed out an old score, and that’s all
the satisfaction I ask,” replied The Stranger.
that look which caused Dr. C ' '
wo h to shrink away almost shuddering wi

‘ Where have I seen that face?” he thought,
as'lhe rwasdonninghisclothes. ‘Is
it hatred the I feel, or what? Yet at other
girl‘s: I feel as if IIshouldliikehimasSfé‘i’end.

v strange. canno under-stain 1 .
A fit puncture just over the heart, and
running from it a white scratch, where the
t o the bowie had ranged across hist
not enough to draw blood were the
only marks e Stranger bore from the terrible
moonnter. When he had resumed his clothes,
he carelessly lighted a cigar, and turning to the
d‘Srs‘Iid: forge fried thoughl

‘ ir never t s ' n , some-
times orgive a foe. If in the future you ever
stand in need, believe me, I shall be ready, even
“Agamth mytlliite'dnoctm'n f It '” stro ‘

e e eimpulse u
him to seek to knowmoreof 
the remembrance of that strange frown be
checked the feeling, and let him depart without

further advances.

With the imperturbable coolness that charac-
terised his every movement, The Stranger turn- .
“Wm "Mb m”m'”m‘”h° aft” “3.7515? '
te ' _ w ose q 9
had interfaith _ ‘

“ Pardner,” said the youth, in a sweet, liquid

“I reckon I owe you thanksforlaying
out that lubberl oot. It was a dirty job,
but you done it the purtiest out—you did,
fur a fact !”

The Stranger stopped and took the proflered
hand of the youth. As he reased it in his firm
m, hedartedand loo atit. Itwasas

and simpely as a wom’s though brown-
ed by exposure.

The build of o youthwasin
mg. He was below the medium height,

kee

‘ etpslender in proportion. He wore a broad-
, {rimmed felt hat, set auntil on his head.
bWMMwifitheeye Abouthisshoulde '

rswss uddlc. manoddsort
of Mien, a blanket like a “exicau scraps

,o ......,- ._.._A-—.——__...-

l .
‘- d. I ‘f t
  L .4. -.r L

  

»- ’4‘... v~ H «

«vi-«t. .-, 
. ,

 

| didhlseyesrest upon the delicatelydelineatedl

 

 

looking as if it would im e his movements,
though he did not seem em rrassed by it. For
the rest, he wore top boots that came to the
inlets, and his weapons appeared secured by 8.

Something like interest came into the eyes of p
the duelist as he gazed; and he replied in a cor- ‘
dial tone:

“ You owe me no thanks, since I was pursuing
my own puiiposes. You’re a dauntless little
cuss, yoursel .. What must I call you? But,
what ’does it matter? I may never see you

n.

38"it-he old misanthropic look returned to his 1
countenance, and the hard lines reappeared i
about his lips as he half turned away.

The eyes of the youth flashed angrily. His ',
delicate pink nostrils grew white and quivered ;
with remntment. He drew himself erect with
a gesture that made more than one of the rude
spectators think him fit to be a young prince;
and his voice was tremulous with wounded 

vani ,ashere lied: .

“szranger, ' you don’t care to know my I
handle—” ;

The duelist turned suddenly and bent upon the
youngster a penetrating scrutiny. He had that
rare, magnetic glance, that calm vity of
look whic abates pamion. With a quiet dignity
which made all who saw it feel that he was not
of them, thou h mingling with them, he ex- v
tendIed his han and said:It tar

‘ our pardon. was a momen
weaknlieesg. yI am not indifferent. On the con):
trary your coolness has caused‘me to feel a live-
1 interest in you. What shall I call you if we
c cc to meet again?’

A smile like a burst of sunshine lit up the
face of the youth. Impulsiver he else the
extended hand of The Stranger in both small
ones

“Oh, we shall meet fast enou ,” he said.
“ But—do you really care to know ’

How like a girl’s his voice sounded. He looked
1:ny out from under his long, curved lashes;

d the color came into his cheeks as soft as the
blushes of a maiden. But for the silken, black
mustache and the bluish speckson cheek and
chin with which some faces alwa bear testi-
mony of the shaven heard, The S ranger could 1
almost have supposed himself in the presence of
a woman. Looking at him, he said to himself: 

“ What a little sensitive- lantl He has been ,
tr lantedinrudesoil,I ear. Ah,well!life'
is of stran vicinitudes.”

Aloud he sai :

“ Certainl . I should vex? much like to know
your name on do not 0 ” ‘

“ Well, ’ve a score 0 names, I reckon-—
a new one in ev lace—Gentleman Sam
Dandy Tom, Patent- ea or Joe, and so on. But
a moment ago you said I was dwuntless. I like
flat better than any of the rest. Suppose you
call me that.”

“ Dauntlessl Dauntless what?

“ h, almost any handle’ll fit—Tom, Dick, or

Je .’

worry let it be, then. Dauntless Jerry! I I
don’t be ieve I’ve heard the last of that name. ;
Good-night!”

With that he turned, and  up his
coat-collar, stepped acrossthe threshol on into
the  rain of the murky night.

The yout called after him:

“If you have, I lose my guea! But ain’t you
in to return the com limenti What am
Toto folks when they who chewed upithe

“fist bull fin s‘ezen counties?” and h
or e rep y. Turning ne-

ing 0v: the expectant faces the due (1’:
‘If any one asks you, tell them it was—a

A moment, and the night had swallowed him
up in its blackness.

“Whatdo youthinkof him?” askedthedoc—
tor of Major Gravesend while a murmur of
disvafi intment ran round the room.

a shru the major replied: '
“It’s one o the many curious phases of hu-
man nature a man meets with in this Western
country. Had he said his name was John Smith,
he would have been forgotten by ‘to-morrow;
but, as ‘TheStranger,’ttwill nottakekmgfor
him to become quite a celebrity.”

“Ishould think not, if hecarvesupmenlike
that every day ” replied the doctor.

“ Hum 11! e such exploit mag give a man
a repute on which will last a e. Rumor
will multiply it a hundred fold, until there is a
prevalent opinion that he lays out his man every
morni before breakfast, ljust to get an app
gets. 1ks’imple name of hil‘ullilefiha u hr’ Will

a r protection to ' n e was
a' “£3; arsenal.”
“ No one can deny that he is a cool hand. But

Isuposewehave seenallthereistoseeto—
nigh. Shallwereturntethehotell' Itlsla .”
‘If

Asth’eoi‘hglorro;somethingsli‘ fromthe
foldsof hiscjloak and fell upon floor. The

doctor ickeditupwithasharpeaclama
“HaPThe ’s cture.”
Andheheldupteminiature. .
“ In replsc' it in his pockethe mudhsve—J’
Buthenever thesentence. Nosooner

 

‘ grizzly, you

The New York Library: 

features than he stopped and gazed as if fasci-
hated.

“ What is it?” asked the major, struck by his 2

strange behavior.

But Dr. Chillingworth did not heed, if indeed

he heard him.

At the same moment the door of the saloon
was thrown violently open, and a dark-browed
ruiiian entered with a swagger that showed
that he meant to have his own way, “ or know
the reason wh .”

Instantly a hush fell upon the crowd, while an
apprehensive whisper ran from man to man:

‘Tnz RED HAND!”

He had taken but two ste within the room.
when his eyes fell upon the g astly co which
still lay untouched in the center of 9 floor.
An instant he stood like a man of stone, his eyes
distended with wonder and increduli ; then
with a fierce oath he leaped forward, an kneel-
ing beside the dead man, raised his limp hand
from the floor.

While the eyes of the crowd were riveted upsm
this scene, Dauntless Jerry glided up to r.

Chillingworth, and plucking him by the sleeve, ,
. said hurriedly: l
“ Pardner, I guess we’d better not make our- ,

selves so numerous around hyer, if we know
what’s health .
t! and he’ll Jest nater y chew
up eve hin and everybody that had a hand
in rubbm’ on his iard, sure!’

But the doctor *eemed deaf to all a Is, :
lead 1

even when Major Gravesond attempted
him from the room.

“ Stranger, you’ll git massacred, sure!” urged
Dauntless Jerry.

Something in his voice caught the doctor’s ear,
and he looked up, gazing full in the youth’s face.

One strange proceeding must here be mention—
ed. Notwithstanding his evident desire that The
Stranger should take an interest in him, Daunt-
less Jerry had, during all their interview, kept
his back to the li t, and his broad-brimmed hat
slouched over h s brows, so that, in the uncer-
tain light of the lace, The Strangerhsd had no
clear view of is face. Now, however, the
youth’s hat was tossed back, and the li ht from
a lamp, just above the'table at which t e doctor
and major had been sitting, fell f‘ull upon his
countenance.

At something which he saw there, all the color
faded from Dr. Ohillingworth’s face, and clutch-
ing the youth by the shoulder, with a hand that
shook as with palsy, he cried:

“ Boy, in heaven’s name, who are you?”

Jerry started back in dismay at the intense
emotion of the other; but, had he answered his
voice would have been drowned b a yell of
blas hemous rage that rung throng the room.

“ how me the man that did this! Show him
meg ’and I‘ll tear his black heart out of his

y ’

And Tm: Rm HAND leaped to his feet, foam-

ingat the mouth as he glared around.

CHAPTER V.
ran nun HAND.
IT was a stran spectacle. The bartender

 

‘ had abandoned s post to mingle with the

crowd outside the bar, a prehensive that his
co icuous position migh make him a ta
for e unreasoning rage of the ruflian w o,
in the first moment of wild mission, might seek
at. random some victim upon whom to wreak his
v . The patrons of the saloon in noless
W, had shrunk away toward, the sides
of wall,an one desiring to attract particu-
lar attention to himself. I _
In the center of the open space lay the inani-
mate and blood form of the yanquished duel-
ist. His eyes, Open, were covered with the
dull, bluish ofdeath, and his heavy brows

woreascow even more hideous than when in

life. From his pierced breast had ebbed the
red tide of life, until it lay upon the floor in a
dullaclotted 1. All unconscious now the
ban that the murderous knife—all
nonalc- the arm that but a moment ago

amigo it a fatal impulse!
A stood the man whose bloody deeds

hadearned for him the name of Ten Rm) HAND.
His top boots, armed with Mexican , the
arrayv'of weapons in his belt his bmad rimmed

slouched ha and above all his 3 black
brows and ered heard, gaveh a bri-
gdish a , and went far to produce

terror presence inspired in the breasts of

the rude men with whom he came in contact.
At present he stood with cocked istol, his form
quiveringi his eyes blazin th fury; and
might i! y have psi-sonata some fiend of de-
“79% ardl !” h lied ‘
cu cow curs e e in a
voice of thgnder. “Whit has done yum; (ide

“ Pardner, I reckon I—-” '

“Air yeou ‘the- man?" demanded The Red
Hand, instant] covering the heart of Polner
Tom with ht p l.

“ No! no!” nailed the terrified Tom, throwing
up his hands token of «nutty;he

“Ishetheman?” sted RedHand, re-
ferringtothecrow , while hisfingerstilltrem-
bled on the 

“ No!" rsspon a chorus of vases, raised to
a yell throw}: excites-sat.

That thar galoot’s a rSF’lar old .

r - __.___—_._,——— -— — «

' The Red Hand seemed to lower his weapon
with reluctance.

“ What do you know about it?” he demanded,
i with unabated fury. “ Speak quick, ur I’ll
bore you an ayl”

“ Re tting his share in the affray and not
assur that it would not eventuate in  death,
Poker Tom hastened to say:

“ It was in a squar’ set-to, an’ he chose me fur
‘ his second.” '

; “ You acted as his second in a fight?”
! "That’s it, boss. I’d ke a good word fur
i ’im afore he come in. I ad money what said
! thar wa’n’t no two-legged galoot in these hyar
l garts what dast to look squint-eyed at Missouri
1 in, an7_n

“ Did some one pick a quarrel with him?”

“ Wal, no—not adzackly. Yer see he pushed
ther boy’s whisky
tuck it up ri ht peert, an’—”

3 “Boy! hat b0 ? No boy did that! Do
i yeou take me fur a 001?”
i “ Hold on, boss. The boy didn’t do it.”

“ Didn’t yeou say a boy! Come, out with it.’

And The Red Hand fingered the tri r of his
wee. n nervous] and scowled a black menace.

“ didn’t say t t ther boy done it,” replied
Poker Tom, with the nervousness of a man who
is handling a hot coal.

“ What did yeou sav ?" yelled The Red Hand.

“ Why, yer see the boy tuck it up, an’ allowed
as how he was a-usin’ of his paw too free.”

f“ Well! well! Cut yeour story short! What
0 it?”

“Then Bill be made fur to cut! the feller’s
years; but ther leetle cum he flung his drink
into Bill’s gace quicker’n greased lightnin’!”

‘A boy

“ A chap of eighteen ur twenty, I reckon.”

“ Flung his w isky into Missouri Bill’s face?”

The astonishment of The Red Hand plainly
amounted to incredulity.

“ That’s what he done,” declared Poker Tom.
“ I reckon eve 'body see’d it plain enoug .”

“And did BE shoot the leetle idiot? Where
is he?”

“ Wal, no. He—”

“ Didn’t shoot him? Air yeou lyin’ to me?
Do yeou mean to say that Missouri Bill ’ud
stand any such thing from any man alive?—
much less a boy!”

“ Wal, yer see Bill he drawered on him; but
the other feller he got ther drop on Bill from
behind, an’ ’ud ’a’ salted him afore—”

“The other teller? What other feller?”

“ I reckon thar‘don’t nobodfiknow his proper
handle; but he called hisself er Stranger.’

“ Humph! What was he likei—short or tall—
hea or light? Describe him!” ,

“ a1, he wan’t so tallish, nur yet so short
neither. But he was nerve , yeou bet! I’
qualify; a lick from his bunc o’ fives ’ud feel
like a ick from a blind-”

“ Stow yer opinions! Wa’n’t thar any can

“ He had dark brown hair, a mustache o’ the
same gray eyes-0nless I disremember—”

“ erdition! Any man might have dark hair
my y 6 98 p1 '

“ ow think on it, he had a scar bn the left

Dark hair, y eyes an’ a scar on
the1 lest temple? Was e here? When? Where
is o

The Red Hand held his weapon in readiness,
and lared around as if he expected some se-
cre foe to spring forth and confront him.
Was it fear or hatred that blanched his face
and made his form tremble. The spectators
were uzzled to determine.

“ e wa’n’t no two minutes when you come
in,” replied P0 or Tom.

“ And this is his work?”

“ I reckOn he done it.”

“ How did it come aboth Make few words!
-—I can’t stop h ar all night!”

“ Bein’s that e Stranger had t the deed-
wood on him in a way that didn’t eave him no
show, Bill challenged him fur a squar’ stand-ha
an’-toe-the-mark. The Stra allowed
could stand that: so Bill he ck me fur his
second, and The Stranger he tuck the gent over

r in the corner—”

“ Who?” cried The Red Hand.

Instafinétly he wheelgg," glasedthgor ll fifleflt
upon . 0 an n 88- 01'-
ward with a howi of fury, his “WOW W‘
ing at the same instant. _

CHAPTER VI.
um um assom

On trognession dear reader andthen
 marchsteadilyforwirdtoit.
d t. , ~
! eflfi Hand and the major were not the
‘onlypersons who werestruck bythea pegr.
' ance of Gentleman Sam’s sister as she m,
i town one bright and beautiful mormng. 8m
:onthestepsofthehotel, Whihthegir rodeby
i was the mils: gho in themevsngng 
himse' if e W- qme -
'ing,as:medtobehiscmtom,and without
a to, watching everything that was

on about ‘

Hlsfacc, wheninropose,wcre a cynical ex.

 

s

H ~ ' ‘7‘.“

aside, an’ ther leetle cuss .

 

 

 

 

 

sation for having

No.7 1.

pression, as the face of one who felt that the
world had given him stabs in the back instead
of meetin him fairly face to face.
Sudden y it 1i hted up wonderfully, a wave
of enthusiastic miration sweeping over it and
guring it. All the apathy of the moment
before fled, carrying thebitterness with it.
“ Great Heaven 1 ‘ he muttered—“ what a
vision! Was ever anything more lovely! What

, beauty of form and coloring—what grace—

what rare delicacy!"

His eyes were riveted on Gentleman Sam’s
sister with an ea erness that drank in every
charm. He note the poise of the head—the
firm yet delicate touch on the bridle rein—the
graceful conformity of the body to the motions
of the horse.

His intent gaze drew the e e of Gentleman
Sam’s sister. She started t en flushed—not
With vexation, he knew. No; for a half-smile

of pleasure parted her lips, while her eyes lin- i

gored, as if by some subtle fascination.

Then came a deeper flush, and her eyes were
turned away evidently with an effort. The
Stranger felt with a heart-thrill that the attrac-
tion was mutual.

On rode the girl, with her face set resolutely
down the street. She knew that he was follow-
ing her with his eyes, and could hardly prevent
her own from seeking‘his again.

“He is a man!” s e mused. He is brave, I
know, and true to the death. What a contrast
with these beasts of prey, who call themselv
men, by which we are surrounded!” ‘

Meanwhile, The Stranger had arisen, keenly
interested.

“ I. must know her,” he mused. “ I have
traveled the world to find such a woman. In
all the thousands she is the first worthy of the
name. Hallo, landlord! Who is that? .

“Who? Where?” asked the landlord starting
out of a doze, and gazing about in bewflder-

snout.

In that instant The Stran 's mind under-
went a sudden revolution. be old cynicism
came back, more bitter by way of reaction
from that momentary lightning. —*

“ Bah l” he sneered, “it is of no consequence.”

And beneath his breath:

“She would turn out like all the rest. I’ve
had slaps enough to rest content, one would
think.”

Then aloud, again:

“ Have a cigar?”

% tothe
, stricken the animal
’ his

W—#Pfi=—:~—:&fi*:~-“' v — - r » - ~ - —-  -— ..—.rvr——-.»»-. r..-

 

“Throw up your hands, you doggauned
whelp! I reckon you’re my meat!” was his
challenge.

The tranger glanced over his shoulder, at
the sound of abrealn'ng twig in his rear, and

saw a second rider, also in mask, come into the ,

road behind him. A frowning Egilstol made his
gurpose sufficiently lain. 'dently, The
trigger was surroun ed.
M
an assault. The Stran r was made of no such
. Besides, something in the voice of the
challenger awoke a strange thrill in his breast.
“ I’ve heard that voice before!” flashed
through his mind.
now, surrender or not. Well, if die it is, I’ll
not be shot like a dog, at any rate!”

Without a word in response, he leaped to one 7
side, drawing his pistol and firing it at the same '

instant.

Shots from front and rear replied, and with
a yell The Red Hand—for it was he—dug his
spurs into his horse for a charge.

The Stranger fired again. ‘

With a cry of am and terror The Red
Hand’s horse stumb to his knees, then strug-
fifid to his feet end leaped to one side at a third

h from The Stran r’s pistol. So abrupt were
the movements of t e agile animal that The
Red Hand was unseated, and would have fallen
and but for a foot clinging to the stirrup
nd clutched in theggsmefilmanes . Panic-

e tranger at
' master from regaining
tion in the saddle.

anda

a pace that prevented

olling to increase his terror, The Strangelr ‘
0 -

turned to see why the other enemy had not

‘ lowed up the attack and put a bullet through

I the town—was clutc '

. the curve,

u
l
l
1

And be tossed one to the landlord, as compen- ‘

disturbed his slumbers.

As if the sight of Gentleman Sam’s sister had .

Stranger walked off down the street chewing

contracted his brows. -
“ Like all the rest!” he muttered—“fair and
inflow-hearted.”

E introduced a train of disagreeable thoughts, The Y

He had gone scarcely two blocks when a com; '

by.

n of five men 110
Edy gt ill, and three of their

Hand, Missouri

They were The ?

followers. Missouri Bill was in advance, The 2

Red Hand following in conversation with one '

of the men.

When The Red Hand saw The Strange
threw his horse upon his haunches, uttering a
sudden exclamation of wonder.

So absorbed was The Stranger in his own
thoughts that he paid no heed to the riders, nor
did he know that he had attracted such marked
re rds froin one of their number. Uncon-

ous he ke t on down the street, while The
Red Hand to owing him with a snow] of malig-
nant hatred, muttered:

“ Three times and out! And this time I know
It is the devil’s favor that I have

1

rhe‘

i

' ma 'c.
flashing

, lovelinem his cynicism fled away into forgetful-

his back.

Bfiit the Iago; was alrealdy dogvn in the rolad
on is ace e ,seeming ,an avoun '—
the same The Stran hml'seen ri t gn- h
the bridle of horse,
in that moment of derment between find-
ing itself riderlcss and running away.

‘Quick! Moimt and away!” cried Gentle-
man Sam’s sister. “ There are others around
coming down upon us like the
Wi'lxlhw’Strange ceded dbid .

e rn no secon 
nir‘ifi beside the home, like a circus
va ted lightly into the saddle.

A flash of admiration lighted the girl’s eyes,
as she witnessed his horsemanshi . Then she
gave the bridle-rein into his ban and struck

erown horsewith her whi. This was in a
measure to cover a flush t at leaped to her
cheek, called there by a look in The Stranger’s

Run-
er, he

, dark eyes that devoured her face.
the end of his cigar, the while a painful frown ,

This second and nearer view of her acted like
He saw her animated face and eyes
with excitement; and before her heroic

ness.
“Thanks, lad ,” he said,

1: and self—pos-
semed. even in e imminen that men-
aced them. “Do I owe. m life you? Was

it £21m hand that squared he accounts of that
vi n?”

“ I did not wish to kill him, and I hope I have
not,” she replied; “ but it seemed to be your

1 life or his; so I fired the shot.”

i

“It was bravely done,” said The Stranger.

: “Few of your sex would have had the nerve

i

1
i

and address.”

Further conversation was interru by a

{fill}, Es four horsemen swept around he curve
0

ursuit.
The orseof TheRedHandhadbeenchecked
b Nebraska Larry, and the chagrined chief

my man! _ owed to assume an easier position for rapid

stumbled u n him without his seeing me. But l riding. Than, wild with The Red Hand

he is so c god that but for that IOOWl. I 1hadwheeledhishorse and b the others

might have passed him i) unrecognised. There in no very elegant phrase, to fo ow,

are but few men with a rown like his” i his horse to a frantic gimp, grinding on and
Then turnin to the men, he said: , ribaldry between his th.

“Here, La atte Jake, tell Bill to set about
thebusiness I gave him to do, and come you

with me.” '
The man rode forward to where Missouri Bill

had drawn rein, delivered his message and re-

turned. .
The Red Hand and his satellite now dis-
mounted, hitched their horses and began to dog

the footste of The Stranger. .
Soon heplEeft the town, walking alon

I

l

l

the '

country road with his eyes flxod medita ively :

on the ound.

“ Heglour mutton !” exclaimed The Rod Hand
exultantly. “This a the last. that’ll be seen of
him. No giagodont’t cross my path and live
lo to his a uti "

I{gith rapid strides, he and La Platte Jake
sought a am their horses, leaped into the sad-
dle, and bed out or town by another road.

Meanwhile, all unconscious of the danger that
threatened him, The Stranger rode on, taking

the road traversed a little later by Gentleman -

Sam’s sister. An hdur’s walk took him into the
depths of the woods, when an abrupt challenge
roused him from his meditations.

Starting and looking up, he saw a masked.

rider inst  from the under wth that
ti: rad. The horseman w in the
and“ m» x' I y '

1

MWamhsdzoatsdio

But hishorse, though a good one was wound-
ed, and soon be to show signs’of weakness
from loss of b ood.
cruell with the spur; oaths and execrations
were ut empty air; he fell behind. Not, h0w-
ever, until he stumbled and fell from exhaus-
tion did the baffled and enraged rufflan give
over the chase.

But, we leave him with his chagrin, to follow
the ursued.

e r, left behind, for the time at least,

had aim ship out of the minds of The

I stagger and r“  rescugr. Botii;e had evi-

en " seen pe ore; on once 0nd the

19913th immediate harm, they gave thyemselves
“Pvtplmmghfi’fifi‘ighgh

en y p' to a rehend

no injury, thoggh yet ~ ursu ppyielded

themselves tot ose sw militia? mu t-
'0 W e 8.
temithe birth of mutual love. To The Stranger
no. leman Sam’s sister was a dreafmu‘cif 
I 813009 "a‘ lemma“ 0
composed in the beautiful word woman; while
the girl’s heart swelled with a new, delicious

. joy, as it enthroned

him
Lady,” said he, with a

strange cell of
reverence upon him. “I owe you y , Edd it
isbutfittingthatitshouldhenosf bededi~

you. I am to

Haylhdwwhsm

I

men would have blanched before such '

“It means death to me 3

A Hard Crowd;noun-GentlemanSam’s Sister. '7

A flush overspread the girl‘s face, accompanied
by a look of pain. (.‘ould she mar those first
delightful moments by telling him that she
rested under a cloud of doubt: But her innate
truth and bravery assei (ed themselves. If they
were to be friends —.for then She had no other
conscious thought—there must be no false views
between them. If he valued her no: aCcurding
to her own worth, then was he unworthy.

Turning, then—not, however, without humid
i eyes, tremulous lips, and a shade of bitternws
' in her voice—she‘ said:

“Who am I? I am what you see.
> u no more. Others boast their lin
ve none. I never know even a mother’s ove.
; I have not a kn0wn relative in all the whole
world.”

Unconscioust The Stranger drew nearer her.
, “I can sympathize wit you," he said, his
; face displaying blended emotions, a. sort- of glad-
; ness struggling with its pain. ‘ We are at one
I there. I never knew a mother’s love”
‘ “ Indeed!” said the girl. “ How I pity on!”
. And, in her sorrow, she extended er and,
g to rest it on his arm.

Thnll’ ed to his heart of hearts by the light
l touch which, though she knew it no , meant so
much, The Stranger bent swiftly and touched
the back of her hand with his lifis.

It was an impulsive art. He ad not thought
to startle the emotions which were unconscious-
ly taking form in her breast. He saw his want
of consideration when she snatched her hand
awa with a quick cry, and reined her horse
furt er from him.

“ Pardon me,” he said, retrie ' his en? r as
best he could. “ I have but ew we of
kindness in my desolate life. It was but the
measure of my gratitude that one true woman
should really give me her friendshi .”

His. wlords were well chgtlsgn 3;! vagimani;
especia y a 0 one, we respon sue
an appeal. fife was desolate, lacking the
bahn of womanly sympath .' - How richly
would she endow him of her a undance!

Her bosom swelled with an emotion that made
her eyes humid. She drew nearer 
all her confidence restored, and was 'abbut to
make he knew not what e1 uent 1:213} but at
that instant a hurtling soun reach sir ears.

The Stranger knew the sound. Before he saw
it, he knew that a 10 line was running out
from the roadside, an , at its end, a Circling
noose was ready to drop about himself or his
companion if not both. ,

He raised his eyes just in time to See the dan-
ger, thomst fotrgh hisl aha:  strikehitéhe noose,
so as save e gir . s assxstmg urpose
by. swaying her body to one side. At tge same
instant he threw his horse upon his haunches,
and bowed himself to the animal’s withers.

As it was, the lariat near] ' plucked him from
the saddle as it scraped his ack and shoulders.
But the horse received a of the Shock, the
loop falling partly over his head, as be tossed it
in the air, wren ' his neck violently and
completel terrifying im.

A yell m their enemies showed that they
were witnesses to this new attack on the ur-
sued; and instantly afterward the caster o the
lasso emed from the undergrowth at the side
of the , with presented pistol.

With a wild snort of pain and terror The
Stranger’s horse . down one of the forks
of the road, while the animal ridden by Gentle
man Sam’s sister, in ite of her efi’orts to the
contrary, took the ot er. An ineffectual shot
from the new foe onl served to quicken the
pace of the terrified animals. '

The 8 had just conscibusness‘enough
to clilfi to horse, without attem to
guide m, while he was being borne e knew
not whither. His bewildered brain could form

but an act conception of time. An inter—
val of he ew not how was terminated by
a shock; and all was a b '

When The Stranger recovered consciousness
he found himself lying beside the road, while
the animal he had bestridden nibbled the coarse

inflame g .32: ii? h “1:”; “1% if 

e on a —

aisly acres the way, indicated how hevfieald
been swe t from the horse’s back, while'the
bridle, about his wrist, showed why he
had not been abandoned by the animal. ,

Far down the road, where it disa peered over
the crest of-a hill, he could see c darkening
West, the sun ha ‘ disappeared behind the
clouds, that left onl re  there patches. of

yet vial e. , Judging from this, he
in  to; severaltgcfiilsrsfflconicigus.
' ‘ , an screw: ' an t e con-
stgw 'tion in which he had lain while the
dew fell  chill, be mounted his horse
and retraced is steps toward the fork of the
road where he had become separated from Gen-
tleman Sam‘s Sister. Evidently his fgise htng

given over the ursuit of him. \Had
escaped! or they left him to pursue, her
more closely? '

at?“ °‘ 12"“. are we.  ‘ifi
esoug ' - a m
searched fruitlessl ' for mdigcafions of the 1’s
tatelnvainhe forsomespotw
the hoof-prints would show that the pum
had stopped to gather round their comrades!

 

a

.bei'

I can tell :
e—I '

.V,....,...._ --..,.V .- ._.

, .‘A_-—-v

A v-» ~......

'“9

:3" 

 

8

 

the lasso. A quarter of a mile down the road
which Gentleman Sam‘s sister had taken, he
found where a horse had fallen and stru gled to
his feet again; but then the night sett! down,
hurrying clouds bringi g swift darkness, and he
was denied time to stu y its significance.

With a feeling in his reast, When he thought
of the girl whose fate was thus involved in un-
certainty, which he would not have thought
possible on so short an acquaintance, and in-

spired by one whose name even he did not yet .

know, he turned, to retrace his steps to the
town he had left that afternoon, on foot; and
to confront his assailants again, that Very night,
in a remarkable manner.

 

CHAPTER VII.
THE RED HAND IN CHANCEBY.

CONCURRENT with the scene depicted in the
fifth cha ter was the by—play in which Dr. Chil-
lingwort , Major Gra‘vesend, and Dauntless
J c were engaged.

1th the mysterious picture in one hand, and
holding Dauntless Jerry b the shoulder with

of the youth with a look in which memory was
groping through the shadows of the past for
some lost clue.

The New York Library.

At this oint they were interrupted b the
voice of ajor Gravesend, who calle out
warnin 'ly:

“ Loo out! were in for it!”

Doctor Chillirigworth and Dauntless Jerry
turned just in time to see The Red Hand crouch-
ing like an animal about to spring, his wolfish
eyes riveted upon the doctor, his left
0

his ri ht a cocked revolver hung at his side.

Wi a yell that began in a. rattling growl
and swelled into a perfect shriek of fury, the
rufiian leaped toward his intended victim, un-

consciously ‘pulling u n the trig er, so that the
f bullet was ischarged)O through the floor at his
; feet. Dro ping the revolver and transferring
! the bowie- nife to his ri ht hand, he came on,
his eyes blazin , his w 'te teeth glittering
through his tan ed beard.

Called so sud enly from his painful thoughts

into the presence of such imminent danger, the 1

. doctor was helpless in his bewilderment, and
made no effort to avoid the murderous attack.

 To save him, Major Gravesend drew his re-
_ ; volver and shot at the advancing rufiian. But
the other, Dr. Chillingwort gazed into the face 1 Dauntless J

erry was even quicker than he.

 Standing nearer the center of the room than
i did the doctor, he leaped to one side, and, as

The Red Hand passed him, stuck out his foot,

Dauntless Jerry offered no resistance, nor did .‘ over which the rufiian tri ped, falling just in

he have recourse to his weapons, with which he
was usually so read . He shrunk away, not
with apprehension ut onl startled with the
suddenness of the

Not heeding the wild yell of the Red Hand,
which prevented Jerry from replying, Dr. Chil-
lin orth repeated his question, unconsciously ,
shafirvilig the youth in the intensity of his emo— ‘
i

t on. ,

“ Boy! boy!” he cried, “ who are you? What i
are on?” I

“ reckon I hain’t nothin’ but what you see,” .
replied Dauntless Jerry, the dan or which 3
threatened himself and the doctor or the mo- .
ment driven: from his mind by the magnetic '
power of his interlocutor’s passion.

“ But fyour parents—who are theyi—where
are they ’

“ Gov’nor. I allow I’ll have to pass. I’ve been
up that stump a hea 0’ times; an’ I never got
no further than yeou at the present writin’.”

“ Are not they living? Where is your home?”

“ Stumped ag’in, boss, by the fust question.
As fur t other, I reckon my home’s wharever I
git my washin’ done, by the law 0’ the State.”

“ But our family—your father and mother?”

“ I rec on I never had none.”

“ Never had a father and mother!”

“ Leastways, they’ve never come to chalk, to
my knowledge.”

‘ Don’t you know who your ts are?”

“ Never seen nobody what claimed me. Reck—
on they’ve got lost, if thar ever was anybod
what I belonged to. Do you know any srch?
allow I’d like to find ’em jest fur the curiosity
0’ the thing.”

Dauntless Jerry looked wistfully into the doc-
tor’s face. A new ho was springing up in his
breast, that rende him oblivious to the vi-
cinity of The Red Hand, and to the mischief it

' ht portend for him.

6 doctor gazed into his face, forgetful of
everything else, and, as if communing with
himself, said, in a hoarse whisper:

“Who is it? Where have I seen it before?
Why does it affect me so? It eludes me con- I
tinually; and
Heaven! is it hopeless?”

doctor’s c utch. i
l

'far Poker Tom ha

, three dogs onto one?

at I seem so near. ‘ Greatl

time to esca the major’s ullet.

The Red and came to the floor with a crash,
'abbing the point of his bowie-knife far into the

ards. With a wild oath he was about to
spring to his feet and renew the attack; but
t 10 cold muzzle of a revolver was pressed to his
tem lo, and a clear, ringing voice commanded:

‘ ‘tidy, thar, boss! ur yeour carcass ’11 have
a beauty-. t what won’t wash off ! Ef I should
take a notion to lay yeou along side 0’ Missouri
Bill, I reckon you don’t stand no show; so
yeou’d better 0 y orders!”

It was Daun ess Jerry whose activity had
proved equal to the emergenc . As he stood
over the prostrate villain, hol ' g the cocked
revolver at his head, his face white, his nostrils
quivering with passion, yet his arm assteady
as an arm of bronze, the major, even the doc-
tor, could‘not help marking his rare beauty.

When he saw that The Red Hand compre-
hended his situation, Dauntless Je sitslpped
back a pace, still, however, covering t e an
with Ins weapon. Then without removing his
eyes from the head which he intended to per-
forate if necessary he addressed his friends:

“ Gents ” he said, “ this hyar’s a mighty on-
healthy place. I reckon yeou’d better slope, ef
yeou want to git out with whole skins!”

“ But you must save yourself,” cried the doc-
tor, now having recovered himself. “ We
can’t abandon you in this den of Wolves.”

“Come on. I reckon I’m nearest the door,”
replied Jerry, backing toward the entrance of
the saloon, 'et still preserving his aim.

All this ad trans ired so rapidly, that thus
stood in bewilderment.
But, seeing his champion down, and well know-
ing that' he failed to come to his sup rt at
such a time the capriciousttempered Hand
might on some future occasion “ take it out of
his hide,” he deemed it “healthy” for him to
make some demonstration; and flourishing his
“ six-shooter,” he cried:

“Fellers, air we a-goin’ to stand by an’ see
Not of the court knows
herself, an’ we think she do! Let up, thar, yeou
do gauned whel ! For’ard, fellers, an’ we’ll
ru em out han over fist!”

 

Then he gazed in silence until his eyes became
suffused with tears from sheer disappointment.

Dauntless J e returned his fixed gaze, stami-
ing rfectly ' l, scarcely daring to breathe,
lest should break the chain of the other’s
thoughts. He saw the tears start in the doc-
tor’s 6 es and the lines of care doc I), until he
lookedy like an old man in his espondency.
Then, thinking that he might aid his memory,
he ventured to ask:

“ Do I look like any one yeou used to know?
——a man or a woman?’

The doctor dashed the tears from his eyes,
and lifting the youth’s hat, gared athim even
more earnestly. . n

The boy’s brow was as white as snow, though
the lower part of his face was. bronzed b ex-
posure. In marked contrast With his fore.
was the 'et black hair that lay in silken rings

An od expression flitted across his face and
he flushed slig tly as he said: '

“ Never mind the ha’r—that might be almost
any color. But do I look like any one yeou
ever knowed ?” "

Sympathetic tears came to his gym as he
turned his face so tbatthe lightco dfall full
upon it, in his eagerness to assist the other’s
memory.

Suddenly a great wave of crimson swe t
acres his face; and with a startled look e
averted his face again, and snatching his but
from the doctor put it on so that it shaded his
testis-es.

In his disappointment Doctor Chillingworth
forgot to feel rise at this rocedure.
He only shook head des ndentl and said:

“Idon’tknow. Ican’tte . Itba csmecom-

 

pbtdy. It is hepatitis—hopeless!”

“Salt that yelpin’ cur—he’s all bark!” cried
Dauntless Jerry. “ Let the wind out 0’ him, an’
come on i” '

At this instant The Red Hand. pressed his
tongue inst his teeth and blew a note that
run s Iy through the room.

“ oes, don’t want to salt eon—I’d hate to,
like ’ison,” cried Dauntless erry' “ but .1 rec-
kon ’11 have to. Ef we git arm or whimper
out o’ yeou—” _

But he was interrupted by an answerm
whistle from the street, and the sound of rapi -

l a hmg' feet.
With one lea backward he reached the door
and shot the b0 t.
“Take the back door!” he cried, “an’ drop
oi‘ve bgdy that stands in the way! Lively!
ive y
In the one instant while Dauntless Jerry was
in the act of lea ing backward and his aim was
unsteady Red andstartedtohiskneesand
clutchc  remaini pistol.
“Take yeou’re han OR o’ thar, yeou devil!
ur eou’re a dead man! TAKE rr orr!”
e Red Hand had turned his'head, so as to
 with bloodshot eyes over his shoulder at
is youthful conqueror. He saw the white de-
termination in the beautiful face—the merciless
litter mthe eye that glanced donghthe pistol~
gm 1 With unerr' aim—heard e metallic
in the clear vo cc; and knowing that an
t’s hesitation would seal his doom, he re—
moved his hand from the butt of his istol, with
a scowl that Satan might have envi , grinding
out a fierce oath of impotent rage between his
clenched teeth.
On the other hand. while he would have shot

the rufflan without a qualm if necessary, Dauntg‘

 

Vol. I.

less Jerry knew that the security of himself and
friends lay in not firing the first shot, if it could
be avoided. An energetic warlike display on
the fipart of even three men, who were known to
be ghting only on the defensive, might cow the
who 0 unorganized mob which occupied the

 

ha d , room, having no particular interest in op-
n
utching the hilt of his bowie-knife, while in ‘

ing them; but a single shot, which looked as
if they were assuming the offensive, might draw

! upon them a volley from the crowd—as several

dogs will watch one another with grinning teeth
until the snapping of one brings on a general

, engagement.
‘ ‘ l mwith yeou, gents!” cried Dauntless Jerry
to his friends. “Pass them as minds their own

business; but drop every coyote what pro
to take a hand in the game; an’ don’t waste two
shots on one man!”

A rallying cry sounded in the street and the
footfalls were just at the door. Encouraged by
the prostpect of help, and desirous of showi
his zealr or The Red Hand, Poker Tom 8
forward with an answering cry.

“ Rescue! Rescue!” he shouted. “ Hurray!
we’ll wipe the doggauned varmints out!”

But he was met by Major Gravesend, who
advanced with a cocked pistol in either hand.

“ Clear the way!” he cried, makin straight
for the back door of the "saloon. “%Ve make
war only on those who war against us!”

He was seconded by Doctor Chillingworth,
who cried:

“Stand aside! If you compel us to shoot,
your death will be on your own head!”

Looking down the throats of four revolvers
Poker Tom “ caved ”—in other words, he fell
back precipitately among the crowd, his face
livid with fear. This was the signal for the
mob to divide; and they backed off toward the
sides of the room, leavmg a clear avenue to the
back door. .

Meanwhile, Dauntless Jerry, keeping The Red
Hand covered with his revolver, had pamed
round him, and was following his friends through
the crowd, walking backward. It required
nerve to keep his eye upon one man, trusting to
his friends to prevent any one of the score who
surrounded them from shooting him; but, Daunt-
less Jerry was equal to the task, and not a glance
to the right or left betrayed any uneasiness on

part.

Still kneeling where he first fell, the blazing
eyes of The Red Hand were following Jerry
with the tireless vigilance of a tiger’s; and he.
knew that a momentary diversion of his atten-
tion would give the ruflian an opportunityto
spring to his feet with leveled weapon and rob
him of the advantage he now held.

But, already the door was shaken by ruflians
from without. Then a heavy shoulder made it
creak in every joint. A momentary pause, and
the door came in. with a crash, ushering five
brutal-looking cut-throats pell-mell into tU
room; and, reckless of the danger, The Red
Hand leaped to his feet with a ell, 'ust as
Major Gravesend raised the latch o the cor.

Instantl six pistols were brought into range.
The crew surfed further aqfrt, each man try-
ing to shield h mself behind is neighbor.

“Down! Down!” cried Dauntless Jerry, as
the door swunfg open. .

Six sheets 0 flame almost simultaneously lit

he fiu'ther end of the saloon, followed by a
cloud of white smoke, and the room rung with
the report of small arms. But the bullets pat-
tered harmlesst against the walls, or sped
through the open door. The doctor and major
had both taken Dauntless Jerry’s warning, and
dro ped out of danger.

u out through the smoke bounded The Red
Hand, With his cut-throat crew at his heels,
while Jerr and his friends leaped through the

doorway, t e ever-thou htful Je ul ' the

door.to after him. 3 - rry p 1mg
Wild with rage, The Red Hand tore o the

door, deterrmned to continue the pursuit. But

as he was crossin the threshold a fist shot from
the darkness, ‘ng him fairly between the
eyes and felling him to the floor. The flash of
his pistol, dischar without aim, lit for an in-
stant the face of r. Chillingworth; then a. hand
med him by the ankle and he was drawn
y from the room, while a vbice from out

the darkness cried in clear, ringing tones:

“ The galoot what attempts to pass that door
walylis a dead man!” ’

e ruflian followers of The Bed Hand
sto ped short. N 0 one chose to make of himself
so 'ataretastopass htheddorwith
g: lamp lig t full upon him. at a. device was
u n. '

“ (lift with the lights!” cried a voice; and in
ten seconds the room was in total knees.

Then came a blind rush for the door—a con-
fused j ' —oaths—blows—c.nd finally the
ringing repo of a pistol, followed b a shriek
of mortal agony from some luckiest: f ow who»
had “ stopped a bullet!”

 

CHAPTER VIII. ‘
mum BILL rs “rump IN cum“.
firms” ‘

Men the saloon door closed behind Dunes...
Jerry and hi. friends, Dr. Chillingworth up
denly exclaimed:

3!"

 

 

i
!

‘¢.__,_.__._.‘.__~A_  I .

 

 

 

 

A ~o~r

 

 

No. l.

“Major,I want that man, and we must try “

and capture him. Stand by me, now asyou are
mi: i???“ ’ hat (1 to

eavens name w 0 you urpose
do? You can‘t take 'm alive. Hefias half a
dozen villains at his back who will stop at
nothing.”

“I must try!” re lied the doctor, laconically. ‘

“Gineral ” crie Dauntless Jerry, “better
take a foo ’s advice an’ git while yeou kin!
You’ll 't bounced, sure!”

But t e doctor was not to be won from his ‘

urpose. Taking his revolver b the barrel
he stepped back to the left-hand si e of the door:

No sooner was he in position than the door was ,
Hand. Like a flash the ;
I to the earth, by a blow which might have killed ‘

torn open by The Red
doctor struck him fairly between the eyes, and
the next instant had pulled him from the room.

“ Lend a hand, major,” he cried.

Major Gravesend sgrung forward and grasp-
ed the other foot; an to other they ran, drag-
ging the unconscious vi in after them, and
eaving Dauntless Je to cover their retreat.

That quick-witted in ividual took in the situ-
ation at a lance, and uttered the menace which
deterred he Red Hand’s pals for a moment.
But when the lights went out, he cried:

“ Gineral, the jig’s up! They’re a—comin’
sure! Drop the carcass, an’ 1i ht out hot foot!”

His voice attracted one of e Red Hand’s fol-
lowers, who bounded toward him with an oath,
dischargin his pistol as he ran.

Jerry no desire to kill an one unless
forced to do so in self-defense, and eeling secure
in the darkness, he took to his heels with a shout
of derisive laughter.

“Peg away, ole hoes!” he cried. “All down
but nine!”

He would have joined his friends, but was in-
tercepted by the men who rushed from the sa-
loon, and so took the who direction.

Meanwhile, Dr. C ' ingworth and Major
Gravesend found themselves greatly embarrass-
ed by the burden they were tryinghto drag ofl.
Allt e advantage gained by the dar ess was lost
by the unavoidab e noise .made in dragging so
heavy a bod over the and, and they were
soon short 0 wind and pressed by their
foes beside.

“ Hyar they air, boys! _ Come on!” yelled a
voice, anda pistol ball whistled by the doctor’s
head, asa dark form appeared bounding toward

An answering shout came from near at hand,
and then the rush of hurried feet and several
pistol shots in rapid succession. .

“ This will never do!” cried the major, letting
go the leg he held. “ We can’t more escape
unim ed.”

For answer, Dr. orth loosened his
hold on The Red Hand and drawing both his pis-
tols, fired several ra i shots at the ap roachm
shadows. A yell 0 pain showed the at I
one of the shotshad taken effect. But there was
an answering volley, and the doctor swerved to
one side, to be caught in the arms of his faithful
friend.

Major Gravesend was strong; and lift' the
doctor on his shoulder he ran with him own
thestreet, andturnedt eflrstcorner. Here he
ate breathl and set the wounded man
on is feet. Then e drew his weapons, deter-
mined to make defense, if still Jumued.

Fortunately, when the co ederates of The
Red Hand came upon their unconscious chief,
they gave over the chase and addremed them-
selves to his relief. Raising him from the

and. the four wh were unhurtborehimback a

the saloon while their companion, who had
received the doctor’s bullet, limped after them
venting his suffering and rage in groans and

oaths.

Finding that the were in r of no fur-
ther molestation, jor Gravesen turned tohis
wounded friend and said:

“Are you badly hurt?”

“ I don’t know; ’ was the faint reply. “It isin
my left breast and the side of my head. Take
me to where I can t some water.”

“Can you walk ' you lean uponmer’

“Ithinkso.”
Maor Gravesend t his arm amnd his
his ’s waist, while latterpasmdhisaround

the major’s neck; and so meg-gamed slowly to
the hotel. The landlord lent aid to my the
wounded man u stairs and t him to bed,
where he lay fain with exha on.

“ Gravesend, ” he called feebly, when he got his

breath. .
“Well,” said the major, coming to the bed-

side.

“Don’t lethimescape. Get men, and oflera
reward for his capture alive.”

“Kee "quiet, and rest assured you shall be
avenged.

“I snotthat. Ihave rreasonsforwish-
ingtotakehim. Don’tlet emshoothim,even
ifthey havetolethimescape. will not bet-
termattersifheiskilled.”

“Verywell; itshallbe attended to the first

inthem ' .”

“ twon’t do. He must be taken to-night,
orhewillesctga Itwillbeeasierbeforehere-
coversfrom eblongave him. Bpareno
Elna, Gravesend; the whole object of my

, tansoathispdnt." ,

fl  Hard Crowd ; or, Gentlema

‘ tor immediately, and t en lose no more time.”

But it was an hour before the sur eon was 1

‘ got; and then the may-(1)1: set himself to t e carry-
. mg out the wishes of ' friend, who would not
gist until assured that active measures were on
' oot.
I Meanwhile “three fingers” of raw brandy
. had brought
, he had recovered his fu was only equaled by
‘ the rofanity in whichi found expression.

blasphemy. “Where is he? Did you let him ,
., git away?” "
“ Cap n, we—”

But the speaker, Nebraska Larry. was felled

1 him had he not partial! dodged it.

i At this strange Froce me the s )ectators utter-
eRdeCf'aculations 0 sur rise. V by should The

companions, with no apparent provocation?

and stood wit hanging head. He was a gig-
ture of unmurmuring subjection. This, ,
caused a murmur of wonder. Why should one
man allow another to knock him down without
rotest? As they asked themselves the ques-
ion, more than one d furtively sought the
butt of a revolver, and ks of suspicion peered
from beneath more than one shaggy brow.

As for The Red Hand, he seemed only more
irritated. Had he seen the lurid light that
Elliodwed in the eyes of the man upon whom he

put so gross an indignity, he might have
experienced a different emotion. As it was he
mere] repeated his question in an even more
imperious tone. .

‘ Did yeou let that man give yeou the-slip?”

“We follered ’em until they dropped yell);i
an’ then they shook us in the darkness,” re '
Nebraska Larry, in a monotonous tone w ‘ch
showed that he was holding his voice under
| control. ,

I “Dropped me? I reckon yeou didn’t have to
I foller him fur, until he droned me seein’ he
drgfiped me right hyar,” rep 'ed The lied
wi a scowl and oaths, misunderstanding the
allusion.
g “ I don’t mean the lick yeou got hyar; but
they hauled yeou through the mud by the legs
until we scart ’em ofl.” “

“ Is that how I got all this mud on me?”

“ It air. I reckon they proposed to bag yeou,
bod an’ breeches.”

6 Red Hand swore more fiercely than ever;
and wheeling toward the crowd, he demanded:

“Who is he, anyway? Does any man lmow?”

The men addressed looked at one another
evidentl knowing nothi of the doctor, unt'
one of heir number ven ured, somewhat sul-

len] :

“I calkalate he ain’t lon in these hyar parts.
Nobody never seen him be ore to-day ’

“Wal, then, I reckon that won’t no one see
himvery often a er to-dayi” replied The Red
Hand, significan ly.

The crowd looked even more sullen at this.
It was plain that for some reason they were be-

'nning to regard The Red Hand with less favor

 

 

before.
Without heeding th The Red Hand passed
over to where Missouri ill still lay untouched
in‘ the middle of the floor.

“ Pardner,” he said, turning to the bartender,
“istharany way we kin git a pine box made

ng‘h' t off?” I
‘Thar’s lumber under the house; an’ hyar’s
hammer an’ nails,” was the reply.

“Take er pay out 0’ tbs an’ let’s have the
fixin’s rig t smart,” said The Hand, tossing
some money upon the bar. “ Sam an’ J 0e, yeou
knock a box together. An’, Qinckstep, take
Dave with yeou, git a shovel an’ ick some’rs,
an’ breoaekmground m the holler. ‘ e’ll give him
ganbomds ” -ofl, anyhow, an’ git the job off our

Then rough boards were brought; and while
the sawing and " was ingon, TheRed
Hand stood beside lif ea form of his
quondam “pardner.”

:hThlat’sh blafttfd shame P; 1:101  as
ea. coking w regret a e g y an
distorted face. “As squat a_pard as any man
ever had! He could threw his meat at twenty
paces like a book! Wal, pard, we’ll give yeou
a Christian sendofl, an’ then we’ll do his usi-

ness fur the galoot what laid eou out!”
With“ his cat he pushed e body so that it
rolled over on its ' the repulsive

face more fully to the ' ht.
“A blasted erepeated- then tum-
% to the bartender, he demanded a piece of

mime he chewed the end of a match
so as to form a sortof brush. Thishedipped
into the fast coagulating blood which lay upon
the floor, and traced‘upon the paper the words:
“ I morass ro snoor YOU on smart”

 

Then he dipped his broad palm' theblood
and pressed tuponthepaper,lea' theim-
”‘T'Pmmdt’smma this roceedm' g

e rs u
with somethingll‘ikeasupefsogtiouscgm
“I’ll gobail ’5 sold outtothe devil!” whis-

pered one, with a shudder.
it ' - '

“Well, don’t talkan more. Iwill getadoc-

e Bed Hand to his senses. When ‘

“ as he slid?” he yelled, with a torrent of I

and offer such Violence to one of his own ‘

The fellow flicked himself up from the floor, 1

n ' Sam’s Sister. 9

i: Ef he ain’t the devil hisself!” muttered an-
ot or.

Further remark was cut short by The Red
Hand, who turned to Poker Tom and said;

“ Pardner, I reckon yeou’d ow the cum
' what done this when yeou see him agin?”

‘ " Bet a boss I would, pard!” was the epigramv
‘ matic reply.

“Kin y'eou find him, 5’ f”

“ I allow I could scare im up some’rs.”

“ Wal, if eou’ll put that thar paper into his
hand, to-nig t ur to-morrow morning, I’ll stand
yeou in beer—money fur a wee ”

, And The Red Hand extended the blood-writ—
‘ ten document.

“ Did!” cried Poker Tom, to indicate his ac-
celpltlance of the mission; and he took the paper,
w ' e the man Who before expressed his belief
‘ in the alliance of The Red Hand with the Evil
One new nud ed his neighbor and whispered:

“ I allow I on’t want none 0’ that in mine.
. He’ll be found dead some 0’ these fine mornin’s;
an’ that’s what’s the matter with him!”

The rude box was soon ready to receive its
tenant. Missouri Bill was now dressed in the
clothes he had worn, The Red Hand taking
charge of his weapons. Then he was placed in
the box and the cover nailed down.

“ Gents ” said The Red Hand, “ this is a retty
nasty ' t to plant a Christian in; but iE’s the
best we 'n do; so bear a hand, an’ we’ll hav!
the grass a-g'rowin’ over him the fust thing in
the mornin’.”

Enough volunteered, and the box was raised
upon their shoulders and borne out into the Wet,
drizzling night, The Red Hand preceding it with
a lantern. They found that Quickstep and
Dave had already dug a sha110w grave; and
into this the box was lowered.

It was a stran 6 scene. The uncertain light
of the lanterns gled through the fog and

drizzling rain and fa u n the g oomy faces of
those bri dish men— ell upon their uncouth
drew—fa upon the arms peeping here and

there from beneath their garments, where they
were protected from the wet—fell upon the
sodden grass—fell kipon the yawnmg‘ graye and
its rude coflln! o priest—no mourners—no-
heads uncovered with  A moment they
stood, looking silently, oomily into the open
glue while Quickstep eaned upon his spade.

‘eré This}, field Hang sploke. good

‘en ” esai,“ewasa er
an’ always took he whisky straight. Tech all
seen him out; an’ I allow thar won’t none 0'
ye deny but what he died game. May nbne of
us have a worse send-off than Missouri Bill.
Re isscat in peace!”

‘ e ,Red Handt’s  wfas defectiyeghalnd he
‘wa’ntnogrea s esc agospe ' ger;
but he meant that his “ ’ should have a
“white ” burial, and he did the best he could—
at least such was the ' Bression left on the
minds of the spectators. t was true, what
false, in this opinion let the sequel disclose.

The dirt was then shoveled back and tramped
down; and the strange burial co'rtege set out on
their return to the saloon, little knowing what
awaited them.

CHAPTER IX.
on sron'r.

WmTheStrangerleftthe saloon his mind
was in a whirl of perturbed thought. Out
from the spectral loom of the past came long-
buried shadows to unt him anew.

“Ten ago tonight!” he muttered, with ,
, a shudder; and could one have seen his features,
! he would have discovered them wrung by a
throeof anguishthatleft them as grayas the
mist where the light streamed out into it, over

)

, the red curtains that covered the lower half of
1 the saloon windows.
3 The Str r drew up his coat collar and
. slouched his t closer over his 0 es-not to pro«
i tect himself from the weather for he did not
; notice that, so much greater was the storm that
; raged witlnn his breast) but with an instinctive
, desire to bury himself in deeper gloom. And
, so he plodded on through the mud and rain, not
1 heeding whither his steps tended. But he was
, attempting that evasion which millions have
I tried, and millions will try again, the vain ef-
1 1:70 elude the specter within' by physical
! i
, g‘At last! at last!” he muttered. “After ten
1 earsl—ten interminable years! I swore it, and
i have ks my oath—that part of it. Andthe
1 rest will ollow—I feel it! Great Heaven, if I
i were to come 11 him, n0w!  grant it!
, and then—then shall have nothing further to
; live for—nay, but one thing!”
i Onthronghthedarkneaand the mud and
'ihfi mt?” wmwmim’m Pfim‘f’fdyhe’i
i o o ' e m 1' gm ce 0
geye w ethe Visions that flittedbeorethe
; mehtal eye absorbed gistzvhcile attgtntion. ,On,
wit ste e ever eagemeu
that seetged in his brazi. _ .
g “I must be wary,” he pursued, afteralongn-
lence. “He ma comeupon me at anymoment
.Heandhissate 'tecannot be far apart.
. such‘flends are too well mated to forego one an-
, other’s society, except by the death of one
.‘them. But, suppose hewcre dead! Ten years

 

 

 

 

:, :vv..." .'_:.s:,."..;__.-
._ -. . . .

__.:_ 5—37-23.

I II

“:3, _:.;._ .2

"w

..~:

 time?”

, which he. had thrown u
which marked the spot w ere Missouri Bill had '

i
i.
,,

10

The New 'Y‘ork '* Library. '

Vol. L

 

of a life like his must be ten years of daily ex- 
e to death by violence.”

He dwelt gloomin upon the thought, and then i
broke forth again: _, V

“ No! I cannot be cheated like that. He must i
be alive, and I shall live to crush him! But he .
must be changed. Iwonder if I shall know :
him? Missouri Bill! I did not recognize him at
first. He is the same devil, robbed of the pow-
ers of dissimulation and compelled to stand
forth in his true character. If the other has
changed so much—but I am on my guard now,
and cannot fail to recognize him.” '

And so he muscd, until after the expiration of I
nearly an hour he found himself before his ho-
tel. Once in his room, he threw himself into a (
chair, rested his arms on the table, and dropped ;
his head upon them, only to resume the tram of e
painful thought at another point.

“Who is the boy?” he mused.
something in his face that attracts me. I was
never be ore so moved by a stranger. He is a
noble fellow—that appears in every look and

ture. But he will go to the devil in the life

9 is leading now. f I could onl get him
away from such surroundings, I mig t make a
man of him. But will he heed instruction
from me? M Go !what an example I am
letting out wi 11 l”

The Stranger set his teeth hard in bitterness
of spirit, and his frame shook with emotion, as
he muttered:

“ Can anything good proeeed from suchas I—
I, a murderer! Am I a murderer l” he pursued;
and then with his hands claSped hard over his
an h-blanched face, he cried aloud:

Two lives! Two lives! Great God! what a
burden! But it was a fatality. I would not
have harmed a hair of her head, though she
crushed my heart with her perfldy.

“No, I was never guilty of willful murder!
Do you believe moi—do you believe me?” he
said, in a whisper. ,

And as he spoke he felt about in his breast for
the miniature he alwa s were about his neck.
Not finding it, he reco ected that he had placed
it in his coat pocket, the ribbon which held it
ha ' broken. He thrust his hand into his

ke , but it was not there. Then he began
ficmarch his other pockets in succession, at
first composedly, then with increasing trepida-
tion; but the picture was nowhere to be found.

Soon this one quest banished eve other
thought; and springing to his feet in 8. ever of
anxiety, he gan turning his ockets inside
out, w 110 he paced the room, 100 g in 
where the miniature could b no ossibility
have gotten. Then he stood sti l and bought.

He was apostrophizing this icture when he
first began to look for it—this picture which had
been to him a sort of talisman all his life. He
had communed with it time and time again
durin his disordered life, as if it were endowed
with life and sympathy. In all his troubles he
had gone to it for comfort; he had whispered
his hopes to it: he had justified his conduct to
it; he had worshiped it—this simple effigy of
a beautiful woman! And, like a rdian
angel, its tender eyes gazing into his _wit yearm
ing love, cheering hope, sympathetic, grief-sor-
rowing reproof, or tofu] encouragement, as
his mood interpret it, had ever drawn him to-
ward the noble and guided his footsteps around
man a itfall that beset the pathway of his
checkered) life. But now, it was no; and it
was as if he had lost the amulet which guarded
and ided him.

“ must have lost it in the saloon,” he mused.
“If any one has discovered it, where is it by

__ AI. r...

“ There is

In feverish haste he snatched his hat and
rushed down stairs.

As he passed through the bar of the hotel,
Poker Tom stepped up to him and said:

“Pardner, I reckon ou’re the man I’m look-
in’ fur. I’ve got a leet e doc ent h ar—”

While spealdn he was tum lin in is §cket
for the blood- tten missive of he Red end.

But The Stranger interrupted him with a
frown of impatience, not stopping to learn the
character of his business.

“ At another time, my man. I am busy now,”
he said, and brushing by gassed into the street.

“‘14 man!’” repeated okerTom,indi t-
l . “ hatin blazes does he take me 1 I
(Slow I’m noman o’ hisn! What’s he in sich a
blasted hurry fur, I wonder? Rocks! the ga-
loot may be runnin’ away!” he added with sud-
den a prehension. “Blast him! I don’t want
him t3) skcdaddle before I gin him this hyar
doc ent!

Alglnhe dove into the street after The Stran-

r.
SeSonic distance down the street, in the direc—
tion of the bar-room in which the duel had
taken pllace, he saw a shadowy form hurry
across t e stream of light issuing from a saloon
window, and recognizing The Stranger, plunged
after him. '

The shattered door bore evidence of the vio-
lent entry of the confederates of the Red Hand,

 

 

 

and the (nick eye of The Strang
to noticelit. Entering the saloon, he found the
bartender in the act of scraping up some ashes

or did not fail v

the pool of blood I

fallen. Without giving this a second glance, he
turned to the corner which the doctor and major
had occu ied. He found the table tipped over
and one eg broken—evidence of a struggle of
some sort since his departure.

lVithout a word to the attendant, he went

upon his hands and knees to feel about inthe ‘

sawdust that lay on the floor, though in no place

thick enough to conceal the miniature of which
he was in quest. Every nook and corner was ! An’ hyar comes the man what’s
one over again and again, before he abandoned
he search. Then he rose with a look that made

the bartender quake internal] .

o

Upon his entry, that functi

osity. Now he step behind the bar with a
quick step, dipged '3 hands into some water,
and stood, all a ability, while be dried them on
a. towel.

“ What is the meaning of this? Havo you had
more trouble hyar since I left?” asked The

Straager.

“ al, boss, yes, I reckon they gin us a pretty
loud shake, take it all round,” replied the bar-
keeper, with a grin.

“The gentleman who acted as my second—
what has become of him?”

“ Wal, ye see, he found it wither onhealthy
in hyar, an’ he slid—him an’ t’other chap, an’
that s a fact!”

And the speaker grinned more broadly still.

“ What was the trouble? Did he git into a
a  with some (3221:?” hum , r Y

oss eou’re a-w ' 'n tenor! e see
The Red ii ’

and he dropped inonus jest ester 2

ou’d slid. He jest gin one Injun war-whoop,
it astride 0’ Missouri Bill, an’ wanted to know
who struck Billy Patterson, hot foot, now I tell

ye! Wal, while Poker Tom war a-tellin’ of him :f

about the little diifikilty yeou had with Missouri
Bill, be spied the gent over in the corner; an’
quicker’n greased l ghtnin’ he gin another whoop

an’ reached fur him—Lord! ye’d orter see him I

reachl—with his toothpick.

“ But the little cuss with the Injun blanket
war livelier’n a boss eel on a red-hot gridiron,
new eou bet ye! He poked out his foot—a
foot, y Judas! that wa’n’t bi n yer three
fingersl—an’ The Red Hand wen to ass like a.

thousand o’ brick! Stranger, the an’somest ‘w
dodge eou ever seen, ur Im a liar! Bu’st my
bug e ut the leetle cuss air a tearer an’ no
mistake! Lord bless ye! he clap his six-

shooter  The Red Hand’s temp e in a way'
that wa’n t slow, fur rocks!
“ ‘ Hold on. thar, boss!’ says he; jest as chip-
r an’ as peart as ye please; an’ dog my but-
ns ef yeou wouldn’t ’a’ thought, by Gain, sir!
that he stood seven feet in his socks Fact! ur‘
$10 lSwallow my head, ’thout pinnin’ the years.

straight into Guinea” (the bartender didn’t say
Guinea, but a place of equally torrid tempera-
ture) “through the six holes of a pepper-box
that didn’t look healthy, no way yeou kin fix it!
an’ he quit ravin’ around fur a spell, now can
beta hoes! But he whistled a

East as the gents made the back door.

and follered ’em like a boss whirlwind on a
big drunk' an’ yer kin kick me clean out o’
town, of the gent what alloyed second fiddle to
yeou didn’t drop him on e door-sill yonder an’
snake ’im out b the heels, b thunder!

“Stranger, t thar’s t e kind 0’ music.
they’ve been a- vin’ of us sence yeou’vo been
gone, an’ it wa’n t slow, fur surel”

Such was the “ whisky—slinger’s” account of
the aifra ; and The Stranger, who wu familiar
with suc scenes, as well as with the peculiari-
ties of style prevalent among gentlemen of the
bartender’s education and associations, formed
a pretty accurate notion of the le. He
ga hered, too, that And was quite on usiuh'c
over Dauntless Jerry’s in the ' .

“ Who is this Red Hand?” he asked.

Andy shrugged his shoulders, and then glanc-
ing furtively around and leaning across the bar,
said in a confidential tone:

“ I reckon thar don’t nobody ostl
know. Thar-’3 them what says—mind yo,’1ndon§
say so—but thar is them what say: i ’s 
cur’ousef he ain‘tthekinguplinof agangw ts
wallin’ powerful loud the Vigilantes in
thoseharpgrla! Thar’s been afewhomes
missin’ esta ut hyar an’ the boys is a-gittin’
to allow that they ll how whar they goes to
right soon, ur thar’ll be war] Wal, when a
man stan’s of! an’ knocks another down—an’ all
fur nothin’, as fur as ande kin see—an’ the

elect what gitgagunched ts up, a kind 0’

angin’of his h ,an’don dalttosayboo, I
allow thar’s somethin’ about it what’s kind 0'
peculiar! That’s the way it looks to a m up
a stumgr—eh, been?” - -

“W erewflllflndthemanwhoactodaomy

Tlildgtran in pted lib ‘

0 term And I tongue
at the first bathing place. Rising about
the missing miniature ov owed the
he might otherwise have feltxin it. Red Band.
miter that m had not olicibd the 9.

tion it d , and hi‘ ray to
r’s last interrogation was, bin. un-

usually concise.

!
“ al, sir,-The Red Hand he war a-lookin’ '

signal, an’a am ;
0’ five come through that thar door, hoopla! ;
The Red , tled

“ That I don’t know.”

5, I’ve said to yer;

Then, as The Stranger turned to go, he added:
“Boss, I reckon eou won’t squeal on what
ur this hyar Red Hand is

,1 a-goin’ ter lay fur yeou, an’ what I’ve said has

i been as one friend to another.”

“ Lay for me i?” repeated The Stranger, wheel-

! ing round. “ What has he t to do with me?”
| ‘Wal, ye see, Missouri ill was his pard.
‘ . _ ot the docky-
 ment in his breeches pocket, straight as a

g string, I reckon.”

I But it was Poker Tom that entered, and he
. looked at him with only curiosity in his eyes.

y The Stranger placed his hand 11 on the butt
I onary had stoppud l of his revolver, and turned towarrd the door.
his work and watched the search in silent cm-i-

l “Cap’n,’_’ said the gambler, advancing, “of
i eou ain’t in such a hurry as eou was I reckon

‘4 ’ve got a mite 0’ business wi

3 take up more’n a minute 0’ yer time.”
f!

none have you with me?”

yeou what won’t

“ lice a civil tongue in your head, my man!”
replied e Stranger, with a look which showed
“ What busi-

“ This hyar love-letter from The Red Hand!”

/ that he was not to be trifled with.

said Poker Tom, sullenly, yet with due ct.
1: at arm’s length, read the ominous words. Then,
i with a look that cowed Poker Tom and made
1‘ Andy felicitate himself on having befriended
N such a “boss sharp,” he extended the paper to
l the mbler and said:
5‘, “ ake it back to your master, and tell him
a. algal; shall not cheat the hangman by shooting
‘ Mechanically Poker Tom received the paper,
1 .and The Stranger turned to leave the saloon.
But the door swung o n and The Red Hand
leaped into the room wit a yell, discharging his
. pistol at the some instant.
I. The stranger staggered, brushed his hand
1 across his e es asif toclearhisvision,andhis
weapon spo 9 while he was falling to the floor.
The Red Hand uttered a sharp cry and fell
upon his face.
Then, followed by the crowd of roughs who
I had. left the saloon to witness Missouri Bill’s
3 barrel, The Red Hand’s particular crew rushed
;'. into the'room with drawn weapons.
. And is The Stran r to be trampled under
._ foot by such a be e? Hark! A cry that
blanches every cheek in the room! so shrill, so
full of agony, terror, ra e—but who can an-
alyghe a cry when the who 9 heart speaks!
rough an .open window, the sash of which
T was burst out in the mad attemm of the crowd
, to escape from the darkened saloon after The
Red Hand had met with such si defeat at
Q the hands of Dauntless Jerry oots a dark
2; form, with a flutter of col red dra ry. Anei h
v of excrtement and terro -—a cloggr of h ' ,
4 as a fiery-eyed steed is drawn upon hishaunches
3 at the side of the prostrate Stranger—the ap-
f. penance of a gay] decked female figure,
l. standing over the y of the fallen man and,
wah a cocked pistol presented in either hand,
7

-_.A.;

c in a veice whose intense passion thrills
thrggqike an electric shock:

“BACK! BACK! YOU DEVILS!” and the star-
realize that Gentleman Sam’s
sister _ leaped her horse through the window,
, into their very mid and ranged herself on
!thesideof themanw , scarcelytwo hoursbe-

fore, took her brother’s quarrel upon himself.

Not so much from her weapons, as in super-
! stitious panic at the sight of the white horror‘bf

her face her blazing‘gyes, her quivering tom
the _shrmk away. on there isthe soundo
ru. feet Without, and a voice cries in hoarse
command-

“Surround the house! Shoot down every
:11; 27510 attempts to escape, but take theohlef
“The his! The 11 tel” cries one of'l'ho
llamas“. Sh ..
1g are on , oroom we
in darknea, and pandomonium I'eig‘nsagau!1 pp“

 

, CHAPTER 1:
run STRANGEB UNDER A CLOUD.

the girl who had come to in.-
cm once before that dav.
“Thank God, she escaped!” he cried,_in his

heart.
Then, with an agonined thrill he added:

“But her present ! What“;
ugmrnow ’ f .
adream o admiration
hex- stand above hyirn so tly with who .35
m “1° as: - -
y, as faraway,ho $5”
lyoude

 

 

 

 

f The Stranger took the missive, and, holding it/
i
|

and almost instantly the~

 

 

 

 

 

. w: ...

No. .1.

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532,

a.“

A Hard, Crowd;' or,“ Gentleman Sam’s Sister.

 

 

 

 

:

d. 'i‘herewasa rub ofheavyfeet

the darkened room. Harsh veicea were

:- ° in quick command, in blasphemous Vitu-
peration, m cries of pain and rage, and in dis-
cordant hubbub—the last apparentl only to
increase the confusion. But above sounded
the frightened whinner and snorting of a. horse,
and the thud of his hoofs on the floor as he
plunged hither and thither in beWildered panic.

In the frantic effort to escape danger from the
frightened animal, and from the no less fierce
human beasts, the rude furmture was over-
turned and broken by the fall of heavy bodies;
and windows were crashed through, as afford-
ing the most available exit. Then, before the
room was yet emptied, followed a rapid ex-
change of shots outside the saloon, as in a run;
ning fight; and finally the sound of horses

is in re. id retrea . _
hoIiuddledpu in a corner behind hisbar, the
prietor o the Occidental saloon felt rather
P‘f‘ioub’ous” about li htin histWice-exti ed
in . usfarfie “comeotfw1 ahull
hide,” but a “t _ might b a
turn in his luck.” An occaSional scene of
sort gave agreeable variety to a life which, lack-
ing this spice, might become monotonous; but
in view of the abundance of adventure, and the
turbulence of its character, crowded into the
short space of one evening, and recalling the
roverb—“ Three times and out!”—And voted
the resent occasion “a leetle too red otfur
heal I” _

While the shuffling of feet, im tions,
blows and cries of pain and rage owed that
the human brutes had not yet all efl'ect-
ed their esca from that darkened pandemo-
nium, a crashing of the door and a cessation in
the thud of iron hoofs told when the horse made
hisway into the open air. _But a moment lon-
ger the blind stru continued, and then the
only sound audible in the room was Andy 8 own
su ressed breathmg‘ .

gt even the silence might be treacherous;
and preferring not to “sto a bullet if it
was all the same to the of the company,”
Andy remained content to “hold the fol-mt,-
awaiting the reaaurance of returmng any .
humanity; for he knew not how manymant-
mate forms, covered by the darkness. might he
on the other side his bar, the “ leavin’s ” of the
shind through which they had just passcd. _

“ T hain’t no groanin’.” he was saying to
himself, after the expiration of perhapsaquarter
of an hour, when a _b!'l§k step caused him to
thrill and start With thapprehension. Then

darknem came e challenge:
Wflo here! all dead or vamosed?

Gentleman Sam?” he cried.

re .
‘ fl   
t y , but we’ve had a jamboree

“Lord love ye, ho

is a amboree or sure!”

““A light! At; light!” demanded Dauntless
e im tien . .
J E5: drepgdy a liicifer burned blue in Andy’s
fingerr and a moment later the clear flame of
the match partially illuminated the room.

Dauntless Jerry was standing just be and
the end of the bar, withhishandsaxte be-
fore him, as one greping in the dark. A hand-
kerchief tied down over one eye and the side of
hisheadseemedtoindicatethat he hadnot
come of! without a token of the affray in which
hehadso ntlylaidTheBedHandhorsde
combat. dy cauglht only a ghmgse of him, as
with a ship erg he eaped forwar drgivFizg the
barkeeper sue a start that he p the
match, and they were again enveloped in dark-

}: ' ” the -
The t! The 11 ti was sharp com
mand; an with trem fingers Andy made
another case .

As the largpwick ignited Dauntleal J em
discovered kneeling at the end of the bar, -
ing over a motionless 10111111 mlawh‘igie l‘EAndGeyn :1:

‘ w o
c° Th" hm”  beyond the

man Sam’s sister
rush of the maddened mo . As or the rest,
one may gather the condition of . miteide
the bar from a s:lullisequent description in Andy a
characteristic e: ~
“It looked, b; Jove, sit! as .if a boss hurri-
cane had set the tablee an’ chairs todancm Ju-
ber, until their wa’n’t a piece left big mongh to
make a match of—blow me if there was!
ButTheStrangerdemandedtheir first atten-

mat‘litocks! he’s lagged. sure!” commented
‘th a f of awe. .
'  he was struggling With the ques-
tion:
“ Air the cock 0’ the walk rubbed out the fest
slatter after his tail feathers begun to sprout?’
But, unheeding, Dauntlem erry was tearing
away the neckcloth, then strippmg the bloatiy
shirt from the breast of

bloodhad
“Jam‘IMWIIflOum

 

Stranger’s; but in it there were hard lines of

',whiletheotherlay asif in
Star. With eyes glowing like con and a frame
quive ' from head to foot, the youth said, in
a low v01ce huskyr with intense passmn:

“If he dies, Ill hunt his murderer to the
grave, so help me God!”

“I reckon he’ll stand a pile o’ killin’ ” said
And . “ His kind mostly does. Ef sobc yeou’re
agreeable,
hushed yet.
J It did hit; to  And th‘at Dauntltelfs

ei so any elicac a u making 3
utqufiam of his friend, the subject of a
wager. Had it been his own mother, instead of
a stranger, the instinct to gamble might have
led him to say:

“ Wal, gents, has any one o’ yeou an opinion
what he dast to back? Air the ole woman off,
ur hain’t she? Come, pick yer side an’ pile yer
chips: fur I’m boun’ to cover somethin’ !’

eanwhile, Dauntless Jerry set about dress- ‘
ingethe wound of The Stranger with a solici-
tu as tender as any woman’s.

Presently a head was cautiously thrust in at
one of the windows. The whisky-blamed eyes
took a curious survey of the room, and then the
head was withdrawn. .

“Only one stiff, boys,” said a voice in the
darknem; “an’ doggaun my skin of it hain’t

The S r!”
“The bhmere sag: replied another voice.
Then save of patrons of the saloon,
who had lately vacated it so precipitately, re-

ful slum- I

I’ll] put up a sawbuck that he hain’t .

i had before!” said the former, with doe feeling.
“ I shall bring my own sister to help Irs. Ro-
i binson.
I Not very well content, the major saw Daunt-
less Jerry again go out into the storm in quest
! of his sister. Then, nothing else remaining to
j. be done, he picked his wa through the sodden
l streets to his own hote , buried in moody
r thought.

Dr. Chilling-worth received intelligence of The
Stranger’s condition with marked soliCitude. '

“ Don’t let him lack for anything which
, money will procure,” he said. “ 1 don’t know
‘ how it is; but some link binds him to me, I’m
; sure. It seems as if the crisis of my life were
‘ at hand; and I want him to stand by me, as I

feel that he will. If the other had only been
l captured! Do on think that he was killed?”
I ‘ No, ’,’ rep ' the major, somewhat absentl .
g “ He fell; but I hardly think his followers 0 d
I have carried him of! on horseback, if he did not
reffoyer consciousness sufficiently to help him-
se .

“ We must not remit our efforts to effect his
capture. I have followed him for nearly twenty
years, and I cannot be frustrated now. ’

There is little likelihood of his escapin . The
opinion is gaining prevalence that he is t 0 head
of a band of horse-thieves and cutthroats. It

will not be ard to raise the Vigilantes; and
they don’t such gentlemen with kid
glovm!”

“Butitwillbefataltom p ifheis
before Iwring from  Es secret with

 

entered, to be followed presently by Major
Gravesend and his men. ‘
“Is be much hurt?” asked the major, bending I
over the still‘unconscious form of The Stran- I
ger. 1
Dauntless Jerry looked up a pealingly.
“ What do you think about t?” he asked. 
“It’s not so bad as it might be,” re 'ed the I

major, after a brief examination. “ has an ‘
irOn constitution, I should say, and can pull ,
through harder rubs than this. of course

he must be removed from here. en, bring
that door; andwewilltakehimtohishotel.” !
Therear doorof the saloon was hangingbryl
one higge; and even in that the screws were ‘

lsoosen . ThiswaspitilledtindownandThe

tranger placed 11 i , ma'or covering
him with his c1 ,to protect him from the!
drizsling rain. I
“ We won’t tothe hotel," said Jerry, asthe I

men left the con, bearin the burden on their
shoulders. “I know a where he’ll get i
better care and have i quieter. This way, l
gents, for the widow Robinson’s. ” ,
yielded to his direction, the major walk— ’
by mthfdfiiad been placing The S i

e r on
the improv'zed stretcher the eyes cbafnfiajor i
Graveaendhadstudiedthe faceoftheyouthl
git: no little interest. Now he said, interroga-l,

v z

“ €011 have called yourself Gentleman Sam?” 

“That’s one o’ my handles,” asserted Jerry. l
“But I prefer Dauntless Jerry, seein’ this how 5

has given me that.” i

“ on have a sister!” pursued the major. |

“Well, what of her?” asked Jerry,  I

“She leaped her horse into the saloon in t
midst of the fracas. I hope she was not hurt. 4
You anow her present whereabouts, I pre- ;
sumo .» n
.0113" “35"” m?” it?” ~“‘° .i‘ii “i i

on exc erry mg 0 , an !
“2:165 at his interlocutor thro pl; the darkness. I

“ hen the lights went out 9 was standing 1
over The Stranger, threatening his assailants :
with her pistols, re lied the major and he Was ,
conscious of blend emotions  tln'ough ,
his breast. One was solicitude, and the other— ;
was it jealousy! At any rate, of the picture he
had seen through the shattered Window, he ‘:
would rather remember only the queenly bear- '
ingof the heroine,th he drove from mind ;
thefallenmanoverwhomshehadextendedher I
protection. |

“Andyoudid not seeher leave the saloon? 1
You do not know whether she escaped unhurt?” t

Jerry, anxiously. !

“No,” replied the major. “Do you know .
where to look for her, if she is uninjured? Let ‘
me accompany you.” .

deJ wi‘thhe k1middle changeOtf h '” i
sax erry, a n o manner. =
“ hank ye all the same.” '

And he resumed ht walk. '

Bepulsed so pointedly. the major followed .
after, notalittle vexed at  position !
inaboyscarcelyoutofhisteens. c that he '
saw a very formidable barrier in Je ’s re- 2
serve. Amanusedtocommand,heresovedto;
lmow more of Gentleman Sam’s sister, in spite. '
if need 1",, (if her m brother. 5

.184 an our 9. was an 1 1
tucked in bed, with the bullemracted  i
the wound neatly dressed by a professional '

sur
“ ith p n therebnoreason:
whyheshourlgnotbeon feet again inafew.
” was the verdict which made Dauntlem 5
Jerry’s face beam, whilethe majorunconscious-l

yfrowned. . . r ,
“Hoshallhavesuchnnrsiagasmaansver.

which he has spoiled my life. Promise me that
ion will not let them do that, if you can help
1 7

“I promise.”

“ And, major, The Stranger's picture—you
will oblige me by returning it. He will be db
tressedwhenhedisooversits loss. Him,also, I
must see as soon as I an: able.”

Meanwhile, in the stable yard of the [hotel a
new («(311er t was entering into the drama. “a:
crow 0 men, agog wit curiosity, was
and about a horse, listening to the excited
words of a man with a curry-comb and sponge.

Thar! How’s them fur yearmarks what don’t
wash?” he cried, exultingl , poin to the
sleek flankof the animal rom whic he had
just removed a white spot, evidently the work
of human 

“ Knowed e, ole boy!” he added, addressing
the horse, w 'ch rubbed its nose against the
man in evident recognition—“knowed ye, 01s
holy! Wal, I reckon!

hen turning to the crowd again:

“Gents, do ye see him a-shakin’ hands with
me, jest as much as to say: ' How d’ye do, old
fel’? I’m powerful glad to see ye.’ That’s the
boss of it, ye understand. Would he rub his
muzzle agin yeour am an’ nibble yeour sleeve
in that knowin’ way? Do ye see a boss how-
3’ye-dpin’ Tom, Dick and Harry? Wat, ye

out!

“ I allow somebody’s callin’ powerful loud fur
a lon rope and a runnin’ noose!” growled a
voice in the crowd.

It was from a man who had himself lost a
horse, and about him rose a murmur of sympa-
thy from his friends, one of them volunteering,
for the benefit of the uninformed, that “Joe
knowed how it was himself, since his 1111th
turned up missin’.”

“Who retended to run this hyar critter!”
demand a voice.

“ It’s the sharp what calls hisself ‘ The Stran-
ger,’ ” replied the hostler.

“ Him as dropped his meatinthe Occidental?"

“ That‘s the crowd.”

A hubbub of comment ensued, everybody can
curring in the opinion that The Stranger had
been a suspicious character from the first.

It needed but little to fan into a flame the

 

smoldering rage of men who felt that th had
been injured in the tenderest point; soon
the air with denunciation. A read leader

m found in Pokermiavzeho wasf otvyerjycyedt:
'opportunityto ,insae upon ‘
man who had cOwed him with the tire of hi
eye and belittled his dignity with the patronis-
ing address of “ my man;” and soon an excited
mob was uring down the street toward the
widow Ro inson’s.

In vain one more humane or lam excited than
the rest protested: . 1

“But, gents, the cat a flat on his back,
pluggedyith a bullet that wa’n’t sent home by
no fool.’

His voice was drowned in the wild hubbub of
imprecations and denunciation; and soon
door of the chamber in which The Stranger laz
yielded to the rude assault of men who “ didn
stand on no doggaun fool ceremony!”

A sudden flashing of the eye and a deep-
draivn breath was the only betrayal of emotion
on the apart of The Stranger as Poker Tom com-
mand :

“ Fetch ’ini along, tellers! Snake ’im . out 0’
that! I reckon he won’t clap hands on .10 more
horseflesh this side 0’ kingdomeoomel”

But a woman’s voice was raised in defense of
the man now so helplem. He who was?
foremost in laying violent hands on The Stran-
gerfeltonhisarmthaclingmgflngu's

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12

The New York Library.

'Vol I.

 

 

Woman. It was the widow Robinson who ' dragged the prisoner forward, drowning the

pleaded on behalf of her guest:

“ Men! men! have you no mercy? What aw-
ful thing are you about to do? Do you not see
that he is wounded, perhaps
not live gntil you have carried out your wicked

!

But she was thrust aside, not with intentional
rudeness perhaps, yet with a firmness which
showed the determination of the minions of
Judge Lynch.

The Stranger’s iron will and tenacious vitality
were evidenced by the fact that he did not lose
consciousness though his clothes were huddled
on with little regard for his suffering. Then he
was borne from the house by a hootm , yelling
mob, whose frenzy increased as it gan to
scent blood. ~

But before they reached the ropoeed place of
trial (heaven save the marki; and execution
(there was to be no mistake about that), there
was a characteristic interruption.

dying? He may i

‘ ence to the possible death of The

The ring of pistol shots was followed by the ,

a pearance of a man who rushed hotly pur-
silibd, from a dark alle . Half way across the

street, he staggered an fell upon his face in the 1

pounced upon by the mob at his
l

CHAPTER XI.
nouns wrra THEIR mars DRAWN.

WITH yells of triumph the mob plucked the
fallen manto ' feet, not, however, until he had
been disarm ; and even then half a dozen of his
assailants held him in their grasp, as if ap
hensive of a violent struggle. But aware 0 its
futility perhaps, the risoner disdained all effort
to escape, am 100 about on his captors with

. haughty contempt, only his glow“
ing the rage smoldering. beneath is outward

mud, to be
heels.

 

Scouting new food for their apgetite for vio-
lence,the crowd surrounding The
31 fell-ward, leaving his bearers to come up more

ow y.

tran rush- .
gar . left his frien ,he descended to the steps 0 the

voice of opplosition by their shouts: and the mob,
as little inc 'ning to mercy as heedful of strict
justice (since, if he did not deserve hanging on
any explicit char , it was more than likely that
he did on genera principles) was not slow to
catch the infection.

In such a community it is never necessary to ;

go far for a rope; and already two runnin
nooses dangled side by side from the sign
of the hotel when the mob came 11 .
In his room in the hotel Dr. Ch
in a fever of excitement, while the ma

orth was
stood

 

|
l informal), before some sort of court (even if not
. a legally constituted one), they threw their in-
. fluence on his side.

The execution of mob law depends first of all

upon unanimity, and a division bein

I the more yiolent were compelled to yield to this
. compromise.
, By this strange conjunction of circumstances,
I‘ it was brought about that the two bitter foes
; were confined in the same room. The unused
| loft of a barn served as a “ calaboose'” and for
, lack of iron gratings and stone walls the rison-
, ers were bormd securely with cords. Be ow in

at the window watching the approaching mob. ! the stable, its owner, Lou Bradshaw, the town
“ You must make an effort to save him,” said I jailer, sat, on guard, in company with " an old
‘onkhng,

the doctor. “ But it will be all the same; the
ex ure will be his death.”
ajor Gravesend made no re ly. At refer-
gtranger there
arose before his mind a picture of Gen enian
Sam’s sister, and again he frowned uncon-
sciously.
Sud enly he started and exclaimed:
“They‘ve got another, and—it’s The Red
Band!”
Instantl he jumped to the correct conclusion.
The woun ed ruflian, failing to esca
fellows, had gone into hiding, where e had been

with his l beautiful face, 'ghted with

crony,” Ned to efeat any possible
attempt at escape from those within or at rescue
j from their friends without.

Exhausted by his suiferin , The Stranger lay
; with closed eyes. Yet the ard lines of pain in
‘, his pale face were softened by what seemed to
g be a faint smile, as if his thoughts had strayed
; away from rankling enmities and threatening

l dangers, to pleasanter visions.
i And indeed his fanc had called up a picture
I fair to contem 1ate.— t was busy 'nting a
ity andfilmight it

, be something morei—while i owner stru led

l accidentall unearthed by some of the men who , to drag a wounded man behind a bar, out o the
|  forms the major’s party early in theeven- 4 reach of danger. Vaguel , as if in some half-

I

‘ ing verti 0 until he saw his

in .
5 The Red Hand?” cried Dr. Chillingworth.

[ forgotten dream. he reca ed a warm teardrop
i falling on his cheek and lips that thrilled him

And in the intensity of his excitement he rose i even in remembrance touchin hisin akissaslight

from his bed and sta
By an effort of '

. of the mo , then the supporting arm of his friend

, saved him from falling, and

eyes show- 5

Then, in a tone of wonder not unmixed with ‘

awe, passed from lip to lip that formidable

name. -

“ THE RED HAND! Tm: RED HANDI”

A moment later The Stranger was borne for-
ward; and the men between whom existed this
Vendetta of Blood were face to face, beneath
the glare of rude torches. Not till then had the
muscles of The Red Hand’s face betrayed
any emotion; but when he saw his fellow cap-
tive ' hard disdain relaxed into a smile of
fiendish malignity.

As for The Stranger, he looked calmly at his
late antagonist, betraying neither anger nor sur-

wordless meeting, which impressed the specter
tors with awe. The men seemed like i
holding themselVes in restraint. The tragic
death of Missouri Bill had given to The Stranger
a prestige rival' that  by the ominous
name of The Red (1. hat hand was bold
enough to fit the noose to the necks of these gi-
ants of destruction?
The crowd stood in mute contemplation, the
home of numbers oozing away

: humanity. rhen he bit his lip
prise. ) that such an idea should cross his mind at such
There was something terribly dramatic in this .

hausted back to bed.

“ Gravesend,” he “ whatever

gasped, huskil ,
becomes of the other, don’t let them hang him] .,

My God! it must not be!”
‘ I will do what I can ” replied are major.
Then callin an attendant in whose he

hotel.

It was a terrible scene that the major wit-
nessed. Beneath the glare‘of the torches both
prisoners were ghastly in their pallor. It was
not thaeflect of fear; but both were faint from
l of blood and from the excrucia ' pain oc-
casioned by their wounds. Only such iron wills
could keep the sick body from betraying its
weakness by utter prostration. Their stoical
calm was terrible by contrast with the wild ex-
citement about them.

The major thought rapidly. He reflected that
he was under no particular obligation to save
The Stranger beyond the common debt he owed

with chagrin

a moment! The next thought was the once
the miilb had W giogdintcztehlin wo d :1
peasetemunt' te gu eirappe'
with the death of bdth their victims. In truth
to his friend, then, he must save both, in order
to save either. As a sort of amends to his con-

! glance, he espoused the came of The Stranger

‘_‘ i‘euew citizens I” he cried, with the instinc-

r tive complaisance of a di ornate, “of what is

before i

the thought of individual risk, should either of .

these men effect his escape
wreak his vengeance upon those who had been
, conspicuous as his fees. The men who held the

, so that he could Q

risoners began to think that it would be,
‘healthy ” to shift the responsibility of their ,

position to other shoulders, a burden which the
others congratulated themselves on not havin
All experienced a shrinking (it

cause
feelin was changed by a voice cryin :

“ Endgame, tha-ur’s a pa-ur o’ thim, the trussed
bar- 1”

With a wave of relieved feeling, the mob real-
ised that these men of terrible prowess were in~
deed at their .mercy and if the gave them an
opportunity to retaliate, it we (1 be their own
fault. Then succeeded a feeling of exasperation
at the incipient fears they had entertained.

“ Fetch em along!” said a rude voice.

“We’ll l and then addressed

the manwho calls himsef ‘The Stranger’ ac-
cused?

“Bad luck to the thafe o’ the wor-ruld! he
has a propinsity fur appropriatin’ honest min’s
horses, an be to ’im:” cried a voice.

” Thar’s the hose, an’ hyar’s the _ ' htful own-
er; an’ he’s the galoot as rode him in town not
four hours a ,’ added another.

“The whe p had spotted him from nose to

assumed. . crup; but I knowed him—you bet l—the minute
that the late antagonists would make common;
‘ their enemies; until the current of ,

I clapped eyes on him,” affirmed the owner of
the horse.

“ Well,” ursued the major, “what do you
p to o with him?”

H   I”

“ Stri him up to the signboard l”

“ Cut his wind with one 0’ Judge Lynch’s
patent co arsl”

“ Make a warnin’ of ’um—the spalpeenl—to
all horsevthaves!”

To still the hubbub, the major raised his hand,
the mob with impressive

buss ’em, an’ take the music out of ’em at the i gravity.

me time!”

A yell of approval was the response, and the
mob surged toward the prisoners, each one eager
to “have a hand in.”

l for that you p

One voice was raised for delay. While Poker I
Tom was ready and anxious to be chief in com- :

' g the death of The Stranger, in the fall of '

9 Red Hand he saw the loss of a hero and a
possible futureall . Already he had had visions
ofstan' next TheRed Hand,inthe lace
‘ of Missouri Bill' for he behaved them to ve
been chief and lieutenant of a powerful band.

. the owner of the horse were to take the law into

i a hundred ?”

Now he said:
“Hold on 11%.” gents! I reckon thar hain’t
nothin’ agin j hed Hand, only that he tried 1

to avenge his r.
hke er pays 0 0’ him. Thishyar’sourman.”

Bu there was one circumstance which render-
ed a portion at least of his auditors deaf to his

I allow yeou’d better 1‘

Those who held The Red Band knew i

,‘ that by letting him escape now they would be

dgning their own warrants. So they

“Gentlemen,” he said, “have you considered
what you are doing? A man rides into town on ‘
a horse which proves to have been stolen, and .
urges tohang him. Isthe evi- I
dence conclusive at he actually stole the horse? i
And if it were can you proceed without the
forms _of law? Where is your judge? Where is !
kour jury? Where are your sworn witnesses? !

ho is to appear in defense of the prisoner? If

his own hands and kill the sup thief, it
would be. murder. Isit any the ess mums: if
he be assisted by a friend, or by two, or ten, or

With this introduction, be them
until he had given time for secon thought.
Those who had not been particularly prominent
and had least tofearwerethe flrstto ‘weaken”
—touse their own hrase. When, in conclusihfi
the ma or pro that both prisons! be

red to the window.  as air.
e f t back the blind- ! the hope that there mi ht be was enough to 've
e foe in the midst ; life a new value. An

e was borne ex- 5

1 both up, I reckon, and keep out the dampn

Was there any reali in it all? Even

was he now to lose at

. iife, of which, till now, he had been so care-
?

see

A harsh voice recalled him to the actualities
of the present.

“ Well, my chicken, I was in hopes of havin
“another 0 portunit to test your bullet-pm?
; qualities; ut it 100 as if our kind friends had
I  effectually drawn our teeth for the pres-
) en .

“ Did you get in reply to your ret chal-
lenge!” asked The yStranger, mockinng “It

was that I would not do you the honor cheat
‘! the hang-man.”
“ Curse you! I have determined to cheat the

‘ hangman in your case, in order that I may do
i you the honor and myself the pleasure to roast
i you alive !”
I “ Ah?” sneered The Stranger, tauntingly.
)“Isitanypartof yourpu tos itme,asI
] did your pretty fellow, ‘ uri ill, as he
i called himself?

“‘ I’ll have you cut in inch pieces for that l”
‘ “ Indeed? Shall ou commence the operation
i immediately, or wait until your head is well out
of the noose?”

“ Bah! There isn’t rope enough in the Terri-
l tory to hang me I”

‘ No doubt the men who ran away will come

back to rescue you.”

The Stran r laughed.

A volley oaths toldThe Red Hand’s exas-
peration.

In the midst of this outburst, he used ab-
ruptly, while his face lighted up wi triumph-
an ex

pectation.
“ Hark!” he cried. “ Do your hear thatN

low. A man’s grufl' bass alternated with a
woman’s higher treble.

“That "cried The Red Hand whilehis face
became iabOIiCal in its glee—“ That means life
to me. and death to you! ’

CHAPEE x11.
WORRY.

Lmrr alone to (gym-d the prisoners, Lou Brad-
shaw and Ned nklinghadrecoursetotheir
i and agreasypeck of cards,'to while the
ium of their vigil. It was not long before

became/conscious of a great desidera£m,
” Brad-

the
lac ' which all other pleasures soon
A 
“You’ve got the rubber on me ag’in, an’ still

s drew in the last “tri
shaw said:
not .”
ye}: Yeahagg,” replied his. companion, with
mock pathos; “ but I feel a goneness—hyarl”
And he placed his hand where his vest would

have lapped, had be worn a double-breasted

one. ‘
Bradshaw lau ed and said: v-
“Old hes, a ttle o’ the balm would build 93
m‘ I
6‘ An! it’s a werfiil 11on’heglrt’l’iy X0211th
dam essis—wenaeers . p0]-
two Islight save us from takin’ our death 0’ cold,
ye know!”
And the tippler winked at his own humor.
“ Suppose you go fur some, Ned,”
the other. .
“ Ah, Ned, but the prls’nerll Elm tho“-
but they’d miss me I”
“ Go along! I’ll console ’em, if they shed any,
“’23.?” “£311”. kintieto m,
“ son a mu as one
time. 1’wa wouldn’t stick‘atan’ thing
ole pal. ‘ But—I ..

 

 

in con ement until the marrow, when they
should be granted some sort of trial (if evl' so

I
w. ..-.... . . .. -

to aocommodn yer
mention it like pison, Ned l—only yeou knew
the story: ‘talk’s cheap, but it takes roch to

A murmur of voices rose from the floor be- "

 

 

 

5‘.» 9...”, a." .MWW »

 

 

 

 

No. 1.
fetch the whisky} An’ my banker, Ned—he’s
slid, I recko th all the funds. Leastways—”

“There! ere! That’ll do! Hyar’s the
akads—”

“A tem rary loan, ye know, Ned. When

flush—R0

“Oh, yea Don’t mention it. As you say—a
temporary loan!”

And the speaker laughed.

It Bub—l?

And he hesitated in the act of placingr the
money in the eagerly expectant palm 0 his
com ion.

“ utl” echoed the other; and a look of
pathetic disap intment came intohisface.

“ ed,” sai Bradshaw, with laughing calcu-
lation, ‘ Yyeou know eour weakness.” .
. “Lou, p the other, “hain’t we

r
“0 es; we’re fast eno ”
“W12 , then?" M ugh
Conkling evidently thought that settled the

matter.

“But when should 1 see eou back again!
Not until yeou’d swilled all licker yourself,
muff” moneypd ’t think I’d back

eou on on son
like 6.2%; 3° y

And the injured lookof the old tepermade

his chum shake his sides with laughter.

“H . Takethemoney. An ef eouhain’t

backwithafull bottle andanem whisky-
l’ll sci? ye sure!”

“ ed,” d the other, earnestly,“ he re-
ceived the mono with a radiant smile, “of I
hain’t l,s’qusre wi yeou this time, my scalp’s

ourn

Andhetrudgedoffth themistand
drizzle hug the money w 'ch was to -
chasethew erewithalto “makeamanof ”

He had scarcely disappeared when Bradshaw
startedatasmmdverycloseathand,anda
moms]? later zowomlanihstoodinhitre opendoor-
wa ughing see weapons

‘rOh, you’re a brave one,” 3e cried, ‘ to let a
w‘ htgzengxf’mgkfimnging

‘ yeou. ' u
te‘l‘nggt her  pleasure".h £3  

ve on o nme, en, on ve
toukifismer’shessid, ' y

“Never fear 0’ my f ’oyeou, h
I’vb seen little enough of yeou, late, but
my dreams. But, what in the world hm
mu hyar this time o’ nigh my prettfl

same yeou’re welcome as were in y!”
“mind his words found corroboration in anat-
a

t xififihfiifidmm a
‘ u o ewoman, 'an
herreed handdealthiseararlngflfp] :asa
reward orhisaudaci .
' But there was of inthe blow,
and he named it notfarfronaingzrhtly when he
exclaimed:
“Thunder an’ Mars} Katie! that’s a love-tapi
,as’udwinthehearto agri-ly!”
“I heard you’d got towatch all night, and
'thinkingyoudbelonesome, Icome togiveyou
abitomycom y” lainedthewoman.
“I wouldn’t ’a’ it, if ’d known you was
toforgetyourmannersattheveaystart.”
“ dear,don’tbehardonaf er,”ex-
her lover. “I hain’t hadadropto
wetm w it’ssolougI’ve forgot the
tasteo it' ah’bein’s Iwasdry,yerlips looked

'° m “L” para 11 to bottle.
cam my our If
you had less 0 the bottles.” _ y .
“Or more 0’ the lips, Katie. There’d be no
use for the bottle then. ye w.”
“I’m afraid you’re a sad flattarer Lou,” said
"the Woman, her pleasure in hereyes.

“ there’s man a worse one the
’ war over; and thinking you’d want “1%!ng
ou

tokeepthedam

, Bhedrewagsskfrombeneathhershawl;
andheswforward with pleased
aged. e! yeou’re one of a i” he
“Howread yonareforthebottlel”shesaid,
o a we v
withh iwith sho f exation.
“Orthe Kati ”hesaid. “Mahaitthe

lipe‘ an‘ we throw bottle out o’the win-
at”

gmfilhe thedli f’hepersisted (having
0 s
wharwithan ' '1). mile.

Thewomanlookedat witheesthat
' sparkled saucily. With alaugh that with
cogngeiléght she shrunkaway fromhim, all the
w v1

himwithhereyea
Thenext htherinhis

thehadca
arms and robbed her of which costs

m etisworthsomnch—tetheparties

. “on, Zimmd' Wheel-led, tchmg'
0 on sun

withthebottle. “Areryouagear,tha you

“at”? mars“... b... » .

sn eour e

'y “5‘ amItohaveytheki- the

too!”
“No,no. Igiveyoutheb’pttleto' you

naprspeafinfi nonsmss, die
_'°Itwouldnyt:’teso ifIthamtyeou
' a" huts-m "" m" "M" “m”

 

an“-

A quick flash lighted the woman’s eyes, as she 1 With scarcely a

A Crowd: or, Grem.1<3,nnse¥1w See’s

’13

lance at The Stranger, the

Sister.

 

 

saw the liquor pass down his throat m several ,' woman hastened to he Red Hand.

following swallows; but her lips smiled all the ;

while.

I

“My kmg and master!” she cried! kneelmg'
and bending over him. “my hand ’gives you

“ Whew!” gasped the man, catchin‘ghisbreath, I back to life and liberty!”

irahile thehtears came into his eyes.” h
vs to ave a sheet-iron hnmg' ' e swigged
that eve day! What kind 0’ whisky do yeou
call that};x

“That ain’t whisky, Lou. That’s cognac,”
said the woman.

“ ‘Cone ac!’ ” he repeated. “ I should say it

wasrilre’n ' ne! What in blazes is cone
ac
y “Hear the man! Don’t you know what
bran

dy ianlnu?”
nix“, yet t kind. I reckon that’s bottled light-
“  Zgu don’t like what I bring you, you
shan’t ve any more !”
‘Aan lséie snottzltiled’tllile bottle from his hand.
‘ c on 'e e began. .
Katie me!” she intermpted him.

“ Don’t

“ Oh, I see,” he replied,  “ Ye0u take
the bottle away from me so’s go back to my
nonsense as u call it.”

he; um'ph!’ she exclaimed, with a toes of her
“Egan bendmg' a searching look upon him, she
“What‘s the matter with you, Lou! You
must be in your cups. You never acted so bold
before.”
“Not because I didn’t want to!” he replied,
quickly.
A sudden change came over the woman.
“Lou,” she said—and going clese tohimshe
m earnestl into his face, with that uliar
of the oulders and setting of ehead
on one side which is so enchan ' amarkof
sh we, sndanervousinterlac' o theflngers
—‘Lou, do you reallycare an

surprise
Then, dra' a doe breath, he ejaculated
Withu'r’azmimo mbetall lebo m1
“ —yeou o nne
don’t care fur nomy else!” yer
“Oh, Lou!” efctlfiimed the woman; ind with
that claspmg o a hands where can grasps
mm “2 WWI-"mm. “i? ii" ‘33“
0 or supp ca on e
looked up at him wi a. delight which showed

“if..th €55”, taking her the shoul-
ders and into her face as if redulous
“his dowtwmmiii‘iflii‘mmflhm
t("Symiliuga’rd ‘ big-33mm”  watch-

When she plaegd herself

clasped her in

in the enthusiasm of his new-found hap-
; but holding his hands she merited
and  to his side leaned
her head against ' shoulder, so that she could

“Katie,” he aid, in a tone lowered byhis
earnestness. “is it sol Do eou like me, an’
will con havemesomedafiz

“ Lou,”said ewoman; “Iwant

wall.

,tangible evidence of what seemed too good to

e.-
In this
bdecfuio'n. p0“dream it was without rise
0 surp .
nmm remainedy' motionless until his
heavy eyelids closed and his head sunk to one
file until it foundreetintheangleof thewalls.
on she, called gently.
u.

H
ve no indication of hearing her.
drawing herself from her semi-recum-

betru
tion hereyes heldhisasifbyfas—

He

Wi
bant

“ Lou!” .

His hea lreathing showed how completely
his senses are wrapped in lethargy.

Nowthe tresehe of thewosnan showed in
the exultant gleam her e es.

“A clod!” she mu , and him
with her foot, as a sortof revenge forheren-
fomed fondling of a moment before.

With swift Mona whose dexterity showed
2%?“ “it; Wumw'fln‘fi'

uneo ouslman, ' e
his carbine and that
of late com

o N Conklingshesprung
thestairweglehlngintoflie’loftofthe

ble.

“Now for freedom to The Red Band!” she
exclaimed, with a sort of fierce exultation.
“Didthese dolte thinktehold him,whoisa
kingtotheml”

and

CHAPTElt‘XIIL
A TIGER“.

“an lifetomeanddeathtoyou!”
had been Bed Hand’s exultant exclamation;
and when woman appeared gummy
he could hardly rep“. aehout triumph.

If he noticed that everything was‘

fission. she  at him fixedly. She

Aman’udi

I

I
!
I

I

 

!

' for ma?” ! sneered Hand.
“Care for yeou?” he cried, with an honest F but both
' which left no doubt of his sincerity. i canpeck

!

l

 

With an almost tigerish passion she caught up
his head and kissed him on the forehead and lips.

“That’s enough of sentiment,” he replied,

rshl . “Now out these accursed bonds!”

“ They constricted m heart while they gelled
your flesh,” she replied , slashing them asunder
Eh the knife she had taken from Lou Brad-

W.
With a bound The Bed Hand gained his feet,
fin shook himself, as a lion just risen from his

“Free once more!” he cried.
whimfifnmk"??? Th St "
'ro'geyeeupon erar t
prostrate and hel less in his bonds. use ’ ye
“Ha!” cried e robber chief, “here is one
debt yet unpaid! Now, my trussed bird,” he
continued, mockingly, “ I’m ready to spit you,

as ou su

Shatching the knife from the woman’s lmnd
be advanced upon his rostrate foe, witheyes
glowing with en ' alight and white teeth
glelaming through ' shaggy beard like the

83 919%“ _

As for The Stranger, w eno fluctuation of
color, no wavering glance, no quive ' muscle
gave indication of evenashadow of fear, emade
such an effort to avert instant death—or better
laughter—as no brave man need have blushed

“You cowardly our!” he cried, his wound fa-
gotten in the storm of : passion that moved hi
‘dare‘you so much as free one of-myhands

“ Now let’s see

, But it would be lory enough for such a dog

slay a lion even 'ned l” , '

‘ Oh-ho m bantling! howloudly ycucrow!”

The “ I’ll release, not one,

our hands. And then let’s see if you
proportion to your racket. ”

As he spoke he reeled With vertigo induced by
the loss of blood” he had msinined from the
wound inflicted by The Stranger’s bullet in the
Occidental Saloon. But a mighty effort of his
willsent thebloodintohiebrain;andhe -

forward through the refuse hay whi
' thefloorofthebernlofnw

Meanwhile a wonderful ind come over
the woman who had liberated ' When die
first heard The ’s voice and sawhisface
by g ligfht of 31 hgmtennv  hungme one
0 rs tars, e 0 ing e '
which she still held, with a an den 3 
within herself, and at him with
eyes. The 10 1' she ooked the more deeplyehe

mov
“My God! it is he!” she muttered beneath

 of ' sh win ' he
1 a pam o g in :-
hoe, she pressed or hands over her heart, then
carried t em to er head withasense thatit
was about to burst. For an instant the mom
spun r0312:I ; the air gleaned lturbid and suffocat-
; an 9 1388811 8‘85? XSWWY-

utas'l‘he Red Hand passed her,heunoere-
moniously thrust his hand beneath the folds of
her shawl and drew forth a knife from its hid-
ing-place, with which he evidently was familiar.
this the blood lea to her brain,

awakeninglrnzivid realisation of the impending
‘iragedyw ' must resultfromthemee' 0

these men. Where a moment before she
forairdienOWstoodwithbatedbreath,
' back with clasped hands, as if help-
lem to avert the meeting she dreaded, yet
watching the antagonists with eyes that could
not withdraw themselves.

Whatever the past relations between him and
the woman, thus far The Stranger had not no-
ticed her particularly, and her presence in no
way distracted his attention from his approach-
ingfoe. Conscious of .his own extrenie lossof
strength, he noted every indication of weakness
on the part of The Red Hand. Heknewthat
2:13:1- could sustain a tracted 

irate foe,bent over-him, bendsand
thrustaknifeintohishand. e'rcseagain
he was almst over-cane with vertigo,.and»

was struck with a blinding dizziness which he
had not felt in his recuth bait pfisli’tgl, was;
fain to lean age-1m - w W ' pass '
hand acres his forehead.

Thus the stood, once giants of prowess, now
almost c dren in their weakness, waiti for
strengthtobeginthecontestwhichwae be
to the death. \

Whether because his wound had not told upon
him soi'much, or that the transition between
stooping and standing erect was not so greatas

intheoaseofTheS r;TheRedHandwas
the first to recover; balancing himself on
h'l hecried:

“Tune! Time! Getreadyforthedog’sdeeth
youmetedouttomypartner!”
“—in crime!" concluded TheSW,

quickl.
Avhihebrushedhishandacrosshisbmwms

 

 

14

The New York Library.

 

if to clear his vision. Then fixing his eye, which
in that moment regained all its wonted fire, on
his foe, and. grasping his knife flrmly,‘he ad-
vanced, 

“ You were irds of a feather; and as I spit-
ted him I’ll make a brace of you!”

Already they were toe to toe, and their blades
crossed with a rin 'ng clash, when a piercing
scream thrilled bot to the heart; and the Wo-
man darted forward, clutching The Red Hand’s
arm and dragging him forcibl back.

f‘ Elton ! Stop ! You sha not fight!” 'she
crie .

“Ofl you 'ade!” re lied The Red Hand, and
would ve uffeted er, but that she caught
his hand, her unimpaired strength more than a
match for his weakness frOm loss of blood.

“ I say you shall not fight!” repeated the

oman.

“ What! Dare‘ygu dictate—”

“Hallo hyar! u!‘ What in blazes is the

matter with the man? Doggauned of he hain’t

gone fast asleep. Hey, hyar! Wake up, I 32%!”
The voice came from below stairs, ca 5

The Red Hand to break off in his speech an

listen.

For once Ned Conkling had been faithful to
{his -mission, and, conquering (not without a
struggle which might have won canonization in
a be r'cause) his affection for “ greased light-
- nin’,” had borne the liquid treasure from the

place 'where criminals are made to the place
where they are confined.

supposed on

him

W

Finding his chumnsleep,‘as he
his , he crossed the room and shook

' y'by the shoulder, - saying:

“ o, hyar! Wake up! T e hull posse o’
hoes-thieves is goin’ to gobble us up an run off
the ris’ners!”

“ 0 you hear that?” cried the woman, ad-
"dressing The Red Hand. “Go !‘ 'You can es-
cape that drunken lout; but in a minute he will
havs a swarm of men here to interce t you.”

“I’ll have time to pay this debt ” said The
‘Red Hand, doggedly, to free himself and
return to the contest wi h e Stran r.

“I sa you shall not!” persisted e woman,
pushing toward the stairway.

“What in Cain! Is the cuss dead? An’—
"Hallo! What’s this‘hyarl—a woman’s bonnet!
An’ Lou’s pistols—they’re gone! An’ do my
buttons ef he scallawags hairr’t carried 0 our
"carbines! Thar’s been a. stain e h ar, sure!”

This was Ned’s summarizatron of 6 state of

things as-he found them, and the conclusion he
drew therefrom. He assumed that the ' n—
crs had fled; but he wanted help to look to the
case of his old c'rony, if he was not indeed dead;
so tothedoorheputhishandstohis
mouth and uttered a prolonged Indian war-
whoop.

“ ! Go!” cried the woman, (1 rately,
tuglng’i‘he Red'Hand toward the ' ay.
gakon will find the horses beneath Hangman’s

I

“A fit place!” muttered the robber chief,
‘struck bgrgrie samasmhof eventat h

A in nkhng' swarw wprung hroug
theatight, answered this time. by a shout from
'the direction of the saloon he had so recently
quitted. Then followed a confused sound of
"men's voices in excited exclamation.

' Seeing that there was no time for his encoun-
ta'r with The Stranger, even with the woman’s
'tion removed, The Red Hand shook his

at his late antagonist and said:

“This is our second round, and no blood. But
‘rer‘nember, the next time it is to the death, if
the devil and all his legions stand in the way!
'Three times and out!” .

With that he turned and tattered down the

‘Phorwm, men!” he cricd‘to an 
command, “an’ we’ll putastopper on the clac
0’ this noisy bantam!’

’As he' spoke, he fired'a shot at random, rightly
surmrsmg‘ ' that the valiant Ned would think rt

‘onheal y hangin’ round thar ” and sotake to
his heels, until his hail _the support of
companionshi. Inthiswayhrspassagewas
left clear to t e'open arr.

‘But the woman remained, to confront The
Stranger with a visage which would have done
"credit to a Gorgon.

He stood staring blankly at her, as he had
from the first of her interference, when he had

' gained a'clearvview of her face.

“Well!” she cried, fiercely, “ do you recog-
nize me?”

“ Pepita!” he said, in e dazed sort of wgy.

y.

“Ah! ou know me!” she cried, wolfis
“ I—I  t that you were dead!” he stam-
mered, again

pamin his hand across his brows.
“Through no‘ fatfit of yours, if I am still
. alive!” she snapped.
“ You know that I did not strike at you.”
“Bah! You struck at 'my heart of hearts!
Only to-night you stabbed my brother to the
heart. But do you think you hurt me there?
No! The fool deserved his death, if he was not
man enough to cope with such a manikin—s'uch
' a gigmy—such a—such a—”
ehesitated, at a loss for'an epithet sufil-
dantly expressive of  by which
to show her contempt for his stature. As a
sect. but slightly below the  ingot of

men the contrast between him and the tower—
ing form of The Red Hand was very marked.

After a moment’s hesitation the exasperated
woman burst forth: _

“Bah! you are not big, enou h for a fair-
sized woman! If I were a man would refrain
from st'rikin you for the same reason! If,
then, my bro her allows himself to be'overcome
by such a whiffet in a fair fl ht with knives, I
have no regrets—I disown im, as unworthy.
But,” she pursued, with clenched fists and blaz-
ing eyes, ‘ when you direct your bullets—that
in emal inVention “which laces all men on an
aquali’tyl—when you direc your bullets against

rmF

“It was in self-defense, even had he not
given me just provocation,” interrupted The
‘tranger.

The woman’s manner underwent a sudden
change.

“Oh, yes!” she laughed, mockingly. “We
made a fine dupe of you, did we not? And why
have you just assured me so earnestly that you
did not strike at me? Do 'ou love me' still?
Ha! Ha! Ha! Well, then, ow that I hate
you !—I hate youl—I HATE YOU !” she cried, rais-
‘rng her voice at each repetition, until it ended
in a shrill scream of f .

“See!” she continu , “I have just saved
our life. For love of you? No! No! No!

ords are inadequate to eXpress my detesta-
tiona-my abhorrence—my loathing of you! I
save your life as I would that of a mangy cat!
I tossittoyouas Iwouldtoss meat to a dog!

Ispurnit from me! I s itu nit, as I_ rt
u n’you! You are a agenchpoin my nostiess!

ou offend my sight! I would shrink from
touching on as I would recoil from contact
with a slimy lizard! Faugh! in your presence
every sense shudders with horror and disgust!
I leave you to the dog’s death which is coming
with yonder mob! At (yew last gasp reflect
that I lau hl—I jeer—I ancel—I—

With gers curved like claws and lips
drawn back from her teeth in' such a manner as
to be vividl sug ve of the tigress in her
nature, she ad vanoed until scarcely a foot

fierce words into his face. But sudden] she
broke off with a scream, and fled, wit her
hands over her ears, like some crazy creature.

The heart of a Woman is a strange thing. Did
she hate him so, ‘or was her ve intensity an
indication that after her ti ' fashion, she

‘loved'him'l 0 can tell?

As she disappeared dawn the stairway the re-
action came; and The Stranger sunk almost un-
conscious tothe floor. The confused voices of
the mob, which had remhod‘ the stable—door,
and the sharp crack of a pistol, followed by a

11, came to him faintl , as if from a dis-
nce. As things which 'r the blood during
wakefulness often call forth no corresggnding
emotion in a dream, so he was en iently
conscious to take cognizance of he sounds, but
felt- no thrill.
Was the woman dead?
He did not‘even‘ask himself the question.

CHAPTER XIV.
BENEATH m HANGIAN’B OAK.

DECEIVED by The Red Hand’s ruse and'hav-
ingthesu dfate ofhisohum "Orehis
eyes, Ned onkling beat a has retreat, or, to
use his own expression, "cut ‘out 0’ that
right smart, fur a fact! ’

‘Hallo, h ar! W’at’s the row?” was the salu-
tation 'of P0 er Tom,'as Nedishowed no inten-
tion to slacken his pace until he was in the
midst of friends.

“The hull hit an’ c'aboodle of-’em’s up you,”
panted the badly routed guard.

Lt'W'ho?”

“What?”

“Whar?”

A score of voices questioned him; eagerly, as
the'men thered ’round. ,

“The Hand, an’his Hull‘gandg,” re'lied
Ned, excited] . “They’ve, gob 1e up ;
an’ when I ye ed they charged me down the
stairs with a broadside, an’-—‘Well bein’s as-I’ve
got a family, I cut stick; an’ hyar be. Ireokon
he ambushed Lou behind a tticoat. He’s
lai out alongside of a woman’s nnet.”

“No more chimmusic! Hurray. tellers! ur
they’ll give us the sli "urged a voice.

“Hold on!” cried oker Tom, who was not
so“kwn”aftor The Red Hand'as became an
honest citizen.

But a mob recognizes leadership only. in the
men who are .in advance; and the gambler
found himself hkel‘y to be left alone.

Pell-mell they rushed each with his revolver
held in readmess, until the came in sight of
the open stable-door, from'w ch the figure of a
woman was issuing

 

“ Whoog! Hyarls sornethin’l” yelled the fore—
most. “ old on hyar, missy! We wants a.
lock 0’ er ha’r!”

“ Die, you fool!” was her fierce re ly.
A pistol exploded‘alm'ost in his ace, and he

 

fell without a
“ Stop’er! top’er! Stop’er!” yelled the-mob,
not thinking to use their weapons on a woman,

until Ned Conkling cried.

Vol. 

 

, through
separated her from The Stranger, hissing her ‘

~ defense.

' in the outskirts of the crowd, viewing?

'was waging
And e extended his hand to‘ arrest her flight. '

 

“It’s a galoot in women’s clo’s!’ Give ’in. a
pill fur Lou!” . ’

Then their pistols spoke in a scattering volley

But a taunting laugh came back fromit e
obscurity, where the fluttering skirts of the
woman could be but dimly 

With the advantage of dress in their favor,
the men found that her fieetness was fully'a
match for theirs; and when she reached Hang-
man’s Oak she had rather gained on her pur-
suers. There she mounted a horse with an

agility which went far in support of Ned Conk-

lin ’s theory.

. second voll of pistol shots had, no rcep—
tible effect. 6 fugitive bent to her orse’s
withers2 and urged him forward with voice and
rein, usm her knife for a spur. The'anirn'al
bounded orward, and was soon swallowed. up
by the darkness. . "

The mob- gathered in a disap ‘ ted group
beneath Hangman’s Oak, their 'scontent aug-
mented by‘the discomfort of the glutinous mud
unger foot and the wretched, drizzling rain from
9. vs.

The chagrin of one found expression in words.

“This hyar all comes 0’ alaverin’ and red
tape ! When all that’s need is a couple 0’ yards
0’ good hemp rope, what’s the use 0’ jedges an’
juries, an’ witnesses, and " ttifo ' ’ w 'elps
a—makin’ out that black’s w to, an White’s no
color at all. When I knows a thin , I knows it!
—an’ I don’t want no galoot w at takes to
tongue-we. 'n’ in the place 0’ earnin’. a’ honest
livin’ to gi own no lot 0’ books an’ try to make
me believe that it ain’t so. Ef a man s installed
hossstealin’, heng ’im higher’n' Hamanl—e-th'at’s
law an’ gospel enough fur me!”

“I piles my chips on that color every time!”
responded a voice. “ By ri hts the galoots
ou ht to be swingin’ fromthis yar lim now.”

An’ the doglgauned thieves has got e im-

‘dence to hitc thar bosses whar they’d ought

had thar necks hitched!” added one who evi-
dent] relished the joke.

Bu this discussion was fruitless, the birds hav-
ing flown- and slowl the men picked their Way
‘ the mudbac to the stable, to look after
the luckiess Lou. The found him in the Same
dead] lethargy, whic was destined to be his
last 8 eelp.

.Whet or he might have been saved by the
timely appliCation of medical skill can never be
known; for attention was sudrlenly diverted
from him by a cry from the stab e loft.

by a curiosi which found gratification
in everythi ass ated with the escaped crimi-
nal, some 0 the mob in prowling about the
premises, had stumbled upon The Stranger.

In a moment poor Lou was forgotten, and the
stable loft was thronged, Poker Tour now the
loudest of all in denunciation.

“ Hurray! by all the snakes, we’ve got the
kingpin,” he cried. “See! the knave was too
w ~ 'to crawl off, after his friends had armed
him with ribtickler an’ bull-dogs. Bear'a hand

’hyar, 'fellers, an’ we’ll hang him high enough to

make upggour the one as has ve us the 811 .” '
The p is lay far beyon his reach; bu ‘oven
had they been at his hand The Stranger ‘wds in
toode 'a aim or to have used them in, self-
hen he rude men approached he of-
fered no opposition. When they jerked limitin-
ceremoniously from the floor he lapsed’ ihto
total unconsciousness.
' Unheedod now their ibes and jeers. Nokind-
'lrng eye abashe‘d his in e assailants. most
cowardly vermin need show no respect to added

lion.

. , fellers,” su Poker Tom with a
grin, “ et’s giVe him s send-oi! from the back
0’ the last ho'ss he stole.” .

The proposition met With neral applause;
and soon the beast'was brough . The limp form
of the unconscious man was set astride and held
in position by men walking on either'side of the
horse, while another led him by the bridle.

Thus this weird procession, its ghastly de-
formities disclosed by the light .of lanterns and
rudely-improvised wrches, passed throu h the
gloom—Nature’s re robation of the unh oWed
preceeding—to the atal tree. Witne the
wild antics of the' mob and hearing the "un-
couth utterances, as they gave expression to
their feelings some in rude attempts at the
RogUe’s Marc , son‘n in mere ejaculatious of
drunken exultagiéihn; a  httga the manners
and Ian age 0 poop e g ve mistaken
this forgsuome savage ritual over the remains of a

depgrted-chiefudn.
e hubbub aroused thewhole town, and the
mob received constant augmentation, until
when it reached Hangman’s Oak, it com
all that had been present at the previous riot.
and man more.

Major rawsend having left his friend the
doctor under the influence of a narcotic,‘stood

e‘pro-
ceedin with a loomy“fr0wn. In bras:
gs a‘ egrb . conflict. H '

urged him to interfere m'behalf of the uncun.
scious man; but , something which he refused to
and at which he frow-ned biting his
nether lip with impatienCe, when it h ht be.
fore him themes” of Gentleman Sam’igfiu, ar-
gued-with insinuating plausibility:

“The mob will brook no inwa m

 

 

No. l.

A Hard Crowd; or, Gentleman Sa

m’s Sister.

15

 

 

 

 

Whatycan a singlearm do

no Obligation to risk your own life in defense of 1

a or who more than likely is guilty of the
charge rought against him, and whose life,
3323 -

. ' be little loss, to society.” _

Whether or no this were sufficient ’ustifica-
tion of inaction, he made it answer, not owever
without keen compunctions of conscience
questions which he could not stifle as to his
motives.

Meanwhile The Stranger had been brougnh:
under the fatal limb and he rope adjusted to '
neck, whose fine proportions were disclosed by his
shirt lying open at the breast. A jarrin of the
bought of the tree had sent down repea show—
ers of rain upon his face and breast, arousin
him, to a dimperception of his situation. Ye
his e es remained c osed, and he gave no out-
war indication of life.

‘,‘ Gents ” said one of the men who were hold-
ing The Stranger in position, “it’s bad luck to
send oi! a galoot as hasn’t the sense to know that
he’s been snuffed out; an’ I reckon I don’t want
to take no leadin’ hand in no such e. I don’t
want, to smell brimstone all my ' e, an’ have
this cuss’ spook kin’ round in every dark hole
an’: corner. I . ow we’d better give ’im three
fingers ur so, as’ll make ’im pick up enou h to
know that the Old Gent’s got a sea pick
hi: ’im down below.”

“ Give him the whisky!” assented Poker Tom
not with the best grace. He was impatient of

delay.

The fiery stimulant was
unresisting li . Its effect was soon apparent.
The Stranger drew a deep tremulous breath, and
opened his eyes.

“ We’ve got yeou, ye thievin’ whelp!” yelled
the exultant gambler, shakin his fist in the face
of his victim. “ Now git r fur a clean jump
into as red hot a hole as they’ve got t’other side
o’-%ng®m Come 1”

i

my'wifé‘o‘s‘:

out

poured between the

No more ver! Now
let her b’ile! an’ away e goes!”

The executioners drawn their knives to
prick the horse into a sudden bound which
should carry him from beneath the doomed
man, leaving the latter dangling in the air. All
was prepared for the fatal limge; but their hands
were sta ed.

“ H01 I” cried a shrill voice, which cut the
air like a knife.

.fl'he incisive tone of command, enforced by
l-the ringing. report of a pistol fired in the air
thrilled every one to the heart and arrested
every motion.

Then there was a wild clatter of iron-shod
heats, the breathless rush of two horses urged to
flak-neckgsepleed, the cries of tigfi crow?
as e sur apart givepassageto erec-
less riders, a sudden reining in of the steeds
upon their benches and, almost as if they had

rung from the c ouds, Dauntless Jerry and
gentleman Sam’s sister a beside the vic-
tim of mob law, facing his executioners with
drawn pistols. _

With the serape-hke blanket wrapped about
his shoulders, his sombrero drawn low over his
e es, and the handkerchief binding one eye and

side of his head, Dauntless Jerry looked like
. young brigand, as he dashed the nearest torch
from its bearer’s hand.

But the dim eyes of The Stranger took no cog-
nizance of his weaned They were fixed on the
Minerva-like uty of his sister, whose white
rage awed that whole mob of rude men. His
heart thrilled with admiration of the regal ges-
ture with which she severed the re above his
head. But those who had sup him leaped
aside to avoid beings tramp beneath the iron
boots of his frien ’ horses; the ammal hebe-
strode plunged once or tWice before he could be
restrained by Jerry’s ready hand; and in the

'efiortto ’reservehisbalance thestre ofthe
wound man gave way, and he a lapsed
into unconsciousness. .

Deftly Gentleman Sam’s  urged her
horse to the side of the f .tlng inan- Wlth
such alook as ' ht have thrilled him back into
conscious life, he seen it, she threw her am
about him and received his ead upon her

In -beautifu1 tableau—a pic-

It was a tragicall
ture which blanch Major Gravesend’s cheek

__andcausedhimtobitehis 1i tothedrawmgof
blood, as he ur his wa ugh the crowd,
to ran himse beside e beautiful n

who thus boldly plucked meat from between the
lon’s paws.

_—

CHAPTER XV.

DELIVERED ANIW.

Dimermss J e had left the bedside of The
Manger with a mind tossed about by perturbed
thong t. The stirring scenes of the. eventful
ht furnished man topics for reflection.
‘How strong an brave he is!” mused the
outh of the gladiatorial muscular de—
 an unwave ' Stran-
 "‘Ifhedies—but, no! eshall I.
" He 'quickened his horse’s pace with excig

11bit; and presently his mind turned to

_ in , chance resemblance.
event, has been little good, while his death ‘

 

and I “What if the whole In stery of in life were
real 1 to be cleared up? I be ‘eve that Kate
2 knows, if I could onl get her to tell. Poor

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i

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I

 

 

aginst the blind pas- ‘ stren 'tation manifested by Dr. Chilling-
sion ofAthese devils mcarna I ? You are under , w g6 am ’

rth

so?” asked Jerry of himself. “It must be a E
He can be nothing to me. 1
And yet, the hair might have deceived him. He '
see my sister!”
Jerry laughed lightly, as he spoke; but his
face almost immediately became serious again.

Kate! she has been fat er, mother, brother, and
sister to me. But if this man should know; if
he should prove that I am what I have scarcely
dared to hope 1”

He pause while a deep flush mounted to the
roots of his hair; and when he spoke again, his
voice had that peculiar tenderness so like a
woman’s.

“ No! no! not to be made ruler over all the
world! It may be a vain hope, after all; but I
will avoid him until—until—”

The flush, hidden by the darkness, grew dee
er and deeper on his cheek; and his voice sun
into silence; so that he concluded only in
thou ht:

“ e might be abashed, if I proved to be one
of the ndees. Not that any are too ood or
too hi for him! God healhim of that rrible
woun 1”

By this time he had left the town far behind,
and plunging into the woods along a bridle-
path, he soon came upon the secluded cabin
which he called his home. An hour later, two
riders emerged from the bridle-path upon the
highway. 11 one we might have recognized,
but for the darkness, Dauntless Jerry’s sera -
like blanket and slouched sombrero. But he
other, had it been light enough to 
loveliness from deformity, would have chained
the attention. In the young girl whose rare
beauty of form and feature must have been
striking in an?r assembl e, we would have re-
co ' d Gent eman Sam s sister.

ot from the uncertain light of the lantern
suspended from the foot of her escort to enable
them to pick their way through the rayless
night—for it gives only vaguely the general
outlines of their figures—but from our recollec-
tion of her as she appeared in the morning, we
might draw a comparison 'ving to her cheek a
most dazzling fairness, wit the faintest percep-
tible tinge of carnation, where his was bronzed
with exposure and overcast with the bluish
specks indicatii ) of a shaven beard, and, in the
place of his saucy black rings, investing her
With a crown of beauty in the mass of golden
blonde hair which fell unrestrained to her
waist. Otherwise she was as like the Jerry
whose hand and e e had curbed the ra of the
rufilanRedHan astwinbirthco dmake
brother and sister.

As they rode alon the seemed absorbed by
preoccupied thOugh ; an the silence between

hem was only occasionally broken by discon-
nected speech. But when they neared the town
their attention was attracted by discordant
sounds and an unwanted illumination of the

foggyhair.
‘ e devils are at work again!” said Gentle-
man Sam’s sister, giving the rein to her horse.

Perha it was some subtle instinct which
kindled er impatience as they advanced. To
kee pace with her, Je was forced. to urge
his orse with ur as we asvoice, long before
they reached t e vicinity1 of 3 Oak.
When they came in sig t of it, the girl ex-
claimed:

“ See! they are about to hang some one!”

As his executioners raisod The Stranger’s
head to administer the stimulant, the li ht of a.
torch fell upon his face, and even at at dis-
tance the girl—did some sentiment of heart

quicken her rce tionsié-recognized him.
“My I ’s The Stranger!” she ex-
claimed.

Then, with a cruelty born of desperation, she
62:1“ her horse with the int of a knife into
t fierce rush which ed her to the side of
the doomed man in time to save him from an
ignommious death.

What pen can do justice to her fierce beauty,
as she su ported the limp form of ' The Sta-an r
and sea ed his enemies with the fire of Egr
eyes. It would have made his, heart lea had
he seen her face and interpreted arlght w at it
expressed. But she, mt of her own feel-

,rperha , never ed that aught was
here ed w ch she might wish to hide.

_ ou cowards!” were the first words in
which her Witherlng contempt found expres-
sion. “ What is the meaning of this outing?”

Poker Tom was in nowise anxious to aw
the wrath of so fierce a nature upon himself.
He had seen a displa of Dauntless Jerry’s
mettle during the ear evening; and rumor
 that Gentleman &m’s sister was in no
whit behind her brother in courage and skill
With the revolver. He therefore curbed his in—
ternal rage at this frustration of his purposes,
and kept safely in the background.

It was the owner of the horse who replied:

‘ Wal, mum, I don’t know as this hyar’s'any

I
. . response; an
“ What did he see in me that disturbed him i the muzzle of her pistol within six inches of tho

 

o’ yeour' funeral; but the whel stole my hose,
an we’re puttin’ of him throng fur i ”

 

 

 

“You lie, (you vagabond!” was the 'prolnpt
Gentleman Sam’s sister thrust

man’s face.

This was unanswerable logic—the only kind
which will “go down ” with the sort of men
with whom she had to deal. Gentleman Sam’!
sister evidently understood their mode of rea-
soning; but she also apgigciated the fact that
after conclusions have n drawn in this way,
a slight admixture of ordinary evidence may
giyedthem greater permanence in the p0pulal
min :

“I was present when this gentleman first
came into ession of this horse. I myself
held the bri e of the animal for him to mount,
after my pistol had unseated its former rider,
who was one of The Bed Hand’s gang. ey
had ambushed him and would have murdered
him, had he not escaped on this horse. If the
beast was stolen, look to The Red Hand and his
fellows for the thief.”

Without waitin for further argument, she
turned to Major ravesend, who by this time
hadfiained her side, and said:

“ ere, sir! You look like a gentleman. Will
you assist in getting a stretcher on which this
gentleman can be borne to a place of shelter?”

With her glorious eyes resting upon him,
something of its wonted color returned to Major
Gravesend’s cheek; and he replied, with marked
deference:

“ Madam, I am at your service.”

This time it was only a roug‘lximboard, taken as
the first thing which came to d. But it an-
swered the Wm; and The Stranger was s00n
on his way to the widow Robinson’s.

It was with an anxious face that that estima-
ble lady met them at the door of her humble
abode‘ but she was soon reassured I?!" Gentle—
man Gam’s sister' and while her deft gers re-
arranged things for the reception of her inva-
lid guest she gave pious expression to her joy at
his return.

Soon Dauntless Jerry appeared with the sur-
geon whom he had summoned anew; and while
t e man of medicine examined his tient the '
youth stood aloof in abstracted meditation:

“If he is now properly cared for,” said the
physician, at last, “he will not have received
any material injug from this last exposure.
Come gentlemen ‘ you will now dis rse and

leave inquiet, itwill be all the cm for
him.”
The men withdrew, many e riencing a sense

of relief at the prospect of T e Stranger’s re-
covery—so fickle is popular sentiment.

The major, 10th to leave the woman in whom
he had conceived so dee an interest, recollect-
ed The Stranger’s min ature, and would have
made it an excuse for again bringing himself
under her notice; but, bethinking him that it
would serve as anintroduction at another time
when she would be less preoccu ied, he retained
it in his possessibn and wi drew with the
others.

Dauntless Jerry, after a brief leavetali'ing
with his sister, mounted his horse; and The
Stranger was left to quiet and the care of the

women.

As for The Stranger afterhis restoration to
consciousness he 19. d into the sleep of utter
exhaustion. He di not know that in the ab
sence of the widow a girlish figure knelt at his
bedside, and with her lips resting against his
hand offered up thanks to the giver 0 all good
for his deliverance out of the hands of his ene-
mies.

 

CHAPTER XVI.
rim STRANGEB’S Love.

11' was on the following evening, after the fall
of dusk, that Dauntless Jerry again drew reinbe-
fore the widow Robinson’s. e cou bed from
time to time and his voice wasvery .oarse, as
from cold taken from the previous night’s ex-

“ How is your tient?” he asked. of the
widow who receiv him with her placid smile
of motherly hospitality. '

“He is awake and domg finely. Come in,
and I will fetch a ' ht immediately, .

Dimly Dauntless erry could distinguish The
Stranger l ' on the bed in the further corner
of the room. e approached, saying:

- “ My friend I am glad to see you so much
more leasant y situated than when we last
ow are you feehng?”

his extended hand, not,
wi hiswonted stren , ashe said:
“I ameasy, thank you. This lttle brush will
amount to nothing. But you have been wound-
ed and seem under the weather with a. cold.”

1‘ Itis nothing,” said Je , “We must ex-
pect these litt e rubs. A dage and cold
water will remedy such slight scratches.”

“I cannot f0 et that it was received in my
defense,” said e Strau r, with feeling.

“ Jerry would mtg-11:1 go so little in afar less
worthy cause ” said ’ sister, somewhat shyly.
“ I am sure that he woultlimgtladly undergo any
pain or danger in your be .”

“Youure most heartilywelcome, asfarssl
am," said Jerry, speekingfor lum-

 

ru-

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16

The New York Library.

Vol. 

 

 

But The Stranger seemed not to heed him.
eyes were fixed upon the maiden, the ex-
ression of whose face was hidden by the chur-
darknem, at to whose emotions he had . _
the poise of her head, outlined be- : tion. When his brow throbbed w1th fever, her

some index in
tween his e e and the window.

“I have ut ‘ust dro inn n on in pass-
J “ limit takpefmy departure l wooed refreshing slumber. Un er such entle

ing ” added Jerry}. t
u

without delay. I leave you the care of my

sister, which will doubtless amply repay you for

the loss of myself.”

“ I owe you much for your deeds of valor in
my defense, and more for the procurement of

so sweet a nurse” said The Stran er. “But
how can I consen totax Miss Iola With thecare
of a stranger?”

~ “My brother’s friends are my friends,” said
the girl; “and you can show your regard for us
in no way better than by commandmg us and
everything we have. ”

The Stran r felt a delicious thrill whenever
she ke. '
hear so musical a voice.
cadences of Dauntless Jerry’s voice, only mel-
lowed by an infinite sweetness.

“Heart and soul for our friends, as against
our enemies,” said Jerry. “ Everything we

isyours;andwe shallbetoyouasa
rother and sister. ”

But The Stranger scarcely heard him. His
soul was still echoing with the music of that
other voice. Longing to hear it again, he ex-
tended his hand, and said:

“Miss Iola, how can I thank you? May I
have the proud distinction of classing myself
among your friends?” ‘

She placed her hand frankly in his; and he
thought that he could detect a ' ht tremulons—
ness m the member, as she repli :

“Will on?”

Her voxce Was low. Something in it thrilled
him. His fingers closed firmly over hers, as he
said earnestly: .

“ ’While God gives me life!”

In sudden trepidation she withdrew her hand.

“ We are making you talk too much, sir,” she

‘ said. “Sa—or Jerry, you had better go, now,
and we will have it quiet.”
Her brother laughed.
“You see I make her call me 'Je , after my
new christening,” he said. “ -by! You

mag not see me again for a week or two.”
6 premd The Stranger’s hand again, kissed

his sister affectionately, and turned to go .just'

as Mrs. dHob'mson appeared with a tallow dip in
or

When he was gone, Iola improvised a screen
with her shawl, and set the candle behind it, so
that the light might not shine in the face of the
sick man. Then she bathed The Stranger’s face

and hands in slightly camphorated water, and -
i talk to me, won’t you? I’m tired to death.”

beatgp his pi110ws afresh. Her skillful touch
seem to impart a new lightness to them.

“Is there anyt' more I can do to make
you comfortab e?” e asked, when she had
smoothed out and neatly tucked in the counter-

pane. ‘

He loved to have her near him; and as an ex-

he asked:

“ May I trouble you for some water?”

“I ought to have thought of that,” she said,
with a smile.

She turned to the little chintz-covered stand,
angled like an hour-glass, at the head of the

. Onitstoodhismedicineincups,andatin
dipper containing water. Iola t00k up the dip—

r, and left the room. The Stranger watched

r as she went, admiring the easngrace of her
walk. Presently she returned wit a refreshing
draught, just from the well.

Slipp her arm under his neck, she raised
his head 'md held the dip r to his lipls.
Her-touch him;andas esipedte
cooling liquid, his eyes so ht hers, wit
that brought the color to or checks and made
her supporting arm tremble.

As or The Stranger, the selfish rogue was a
long time si ping a very little, never askin
himslf whet or t made her arm ache to ho!
his head; and when she settled him back 0 'the

Eillow and withdrew her arm, he turn his
sad so thath herhandbrushed his
lips. Thenhe , hertoreadto ' sothathe
could hearher voice again; and whiles eswa ed
back and forth in the widow Robinson’s roc er,
he watched her through half-closed eyes. He
noted the graceful, undulating form outlined
beneath her simple dress. Then he studied her
face. It was a strange blendin of the gentle
and the resolute. She had a per set little rose-
uud of a mouth, so sensitive and sweet that he
lmged to brush the dew from her 1i They
contrasted vividly with the white tea beneath,
' that appeared and disappeared in c act of ar-
' ticulation. But he felt hat those lips could set
in stem resolve. As for her eyes, they were an
ever—varying marvol. Chan g With every
emotion, they now melted wi tenderness and
anon ed with in ' tion; now dreamy in
half-sad reverie anon t ey sparkled with viva-
c’ous interest. but in all their one domi-

nant expression revailed—tru constancy.
And so microfilm intothefantasyof a

dream, and he though her an rivaling

her harp’s sweetest chords with gliding

sedans-otherde

n all 1118 experience he had never ,
He recognized the '

Thus began the long, sweet da 3 when her
hand adjusted the curtain so tha the mellow
I sunshine was most pleasing, and her ntle
touch arranged the pillows m the easi posi-

; cool palm charmed the pain away. When every
? nerve twitched with restlessness her low voice

F ministrations, a much less vigorous consti tion
I than his must have re. idly repaired the damage
, of that unhagpy b at. And so he grew con-
’ valescent; an as he sat bolstered up amon the
i pillows and had her waiting upon every w im,
e thou ht that he would be content to remain,
invalid orever, if only to have her always near
lm.

Major Gravesend was a daily visitor ostensi-
bl to inquire after the health of The Stranger,
“ or whom Dr. Chillingworth had conceived a
fraternal regard.” But when he had gone
throu h with his regular inquiries after the sick
man, he would sit on the bench just outside the

 

door, under the overhan ng vines, and talk to
Iola about her brother, w ' e she sat sewing in
the doorway. ‘

Again and again The Stranger’s jealous eye ‘
noted the expression with whic the major re-l }

ded the girl, when she was not looking at f
m. He was evidently studying her an — ;
something more! As for Iola, her manner be- t
tra ed friendly interest in the courteous major §
—t t was all. 1

Then The Strangglr began to observe her con-
duct toward himse .

Several times when he had taken her hand, E
she flushed to the temples and hastily withdrew I
it, giving his pillows a touch, or some sli ht at- ‘
ten i
a

on of that sort, with an evident e ort to i
r as if she did not notice what he had ,‘
one. Gradually there came into her manner a

coy constraint; and she who looked every other

man squarely in the eye, avoided his glance as
much as possible.

One day theyhad sat thus until the major
took a reluctant leave. Mrs. binson was busy
with her washing atlthe back of the house, so
that they were safe from disturbance for an
hour. .‘Then, as loveis full of wiles, The S
fit'gdin a tone whose nervousness was all simu-

“ Isn’t there a slight draught from that door?”

“ Is there? How careless of me not to think
of it!” she said, and arose instantly and closed
the door.

“ How lonlgebefore your brother will be to,see
me again? t me see, he has only been here
once since he brought you.”

“ He is very b , you ow,” she replied,
landing closer over or wor , and flushing pain-

‘gl’o be sure. But come sit down here and

He spoke with the nervous impatience of a
sick man, and turned wearily on the illow,
with closed eyes and a slight frown on his rows.

She did Just as he expected, she would do.
Puttingasieherwork,seste tothe bed-
;icligalafid began to adjust his pl ows more com-

o .

Thenyhis deep-laid scheme transpired! No
sooner had she bent over him than the rogue
slipped an arm about her waist, and suddenly
opened his eyes full upon hers, with a look as
calm, as steady as if he had never seen a day’s
 in his lifts th '1 ttered

encompe yunawares eglru a
tremulous little cry and started back, crimson
to the tips of the cars But it seemed as if her
strength suddenly deserted her' and with the
hand that rested upon his shoulder not offerin
the resistance of a child, she stood tremblingan

panting:

“Oh! let me go! let me go!”

He laughed, the first ha y laugh she had
heard from his lips. Not t there wasan -
thing cular to laugh at; but that was t e
way 0 great thrill of What ran through
his frame expressed itself. on he breathed
her name, dwelling u n its melodious vowels
with a lingering ten erness that could have

Her heart leaped at the sound. Her eyes
swam in a humi languor. As if fascinated, she
saw only his eyes and his woo smile. Un-
consciously she elded to the persuasive clasp
of his arms, un she rested, almost fainting, on
his breast, and felt the throbbing of his heart,
and his warm breath on her cheek.

Their love sought no ression in Words. But
the woman whose free cart had been little
curbed b the conventionalities of artificial so-
ciety,1et or arms glllide about his neck, as was
most natural that e should, and clasped him
closer and closer until their 11

Thus lip to lip the drank 1n the first incense
of mutual love, an when they were calmer,
still holding her thus, he asked:

“Iola, do you know all that you are giving
me? Can you trust me?"

“ Utterly,” she replied, her eyes glistening like
humid diamonds.

“ And yet you know nothing of me—not even

myname.
‘Whatmattersymir name! For the rest, I

met.

 

 

knew all about you.”

‘ as that?”

“All about mer’he smiled. “All that lies

within the space of a fortnight, while I- have

been” on my good behavior, learning to love
on

f‘ I didn’t have to barn to love you !” she mid,
With a pretty, regroachful pout.

He laughed an kissed her.

“ Will you be satisfied if I tell you that it has
been the sweetest lesson of my life?” he asked.
“But how can you know so much of me!”

“ My life has ed metobeobservantofallmen.‘
It has taught me that the character of a man k
a summon affinity for his life; but how often
is his life a 6 index tohis character? I might
answer you by asking, do not you risk more in
taklfig me on trust?”

“ o, Iola. I think we are about quits in this
matter. I have seen enough of you to know
that youare inca bio of wrong-doing; and as
for incompatlbili of temper, there is no reason
to fear that, is there?”

“ No,” she lau bed; with a little hug. “ But
what loversw d ever admit such rank heresy

“ Iola,” said The Stranger, more earnestly, “I
shall presentl ask you to be my wife; but before
I do so, I sh tell you the story of m life, so
that you may make your decision in fufiview of
all the circumstances.” I

“I. am_ already yours,” she said, hiding her
face dln his breast. toting is the use of making
my eclslon seem n u an on
may tell me of youmelyfewheldpgothingiythmzyou vyvill
sa , will change itahair’s breadth? on may
to me what you please afterwards, and nine
anything?an of me; but I want mind
In . '

‘ I require nothing of you, Iola. But it is on]
right that my future wife should - make he¥
choice—J ' r

“After she has scanned you from head to foot
with the green goggles of suspicion, in search of
some flaw while on exercise the magnanimifl
of takinfiher wit out question! A man is -
ways so sh even in his generosity. I‘ll prove
to onthatl can be as magnanimous as on,
an , seging you force me to it, promise toge—

She hesitated in confusion fain to hide her

blushing face afianin; but rail , under the
spur of his laug ‘ g eyes, drew erself erect,
and with the self-assertive of hernature

flashing in her eyes, went on ravely:

 to be your wife even before you
1
“ Oh, no you dan’t!” he replied, la . “ I

asked you half an hour ago, and your
was: ‘Oh, let me go! let me go!’

He thought he had her there, and was laugh-
ing :thhaving  her ft: a reply. \A mo-
men segazed ace, ere essfirkling
with mischief ' and then with chest l e roses
andheadalittetooneside, sheasked:

“But, did Itrytogetaway?” '

At that he lau bed so loudly that Mrs. Robin-
mleftherw tecomeinandsharethe

“Areyouyoungpeople i to haveall the
sport to yourselves?” shegzs‘lgd si down
mwithin the door to rest a while, as much re-

ed bythe sight of theircheerfulfaees asby
thgz cessation mgabor. . ‘ -

o sooner or finger sounded u the
}atch, tharariolainsli tothfromkzhe sidepglf1 her
over,an _ pp g eroc rengagedher-
self with herwork. She nowl up channel
from her occupation of (flicking out a stitehwi
the nicest of care,an told acomicsl
which made the innocent old lady laugh un
thetears started in her eyes.

As for TheStran r,thisnewphaseof his
lady love’s nature tic ed him mightily. ' -

‘Whataslypuss onare!” emid,wheu
Mrs. Robinson had ed refreshed, to her
workédleaving them agilitlhaione. _“ You have

rov yourself so muc e better story-teller
hatIamalmostashamedtobe .” '

“You shall not begin now. on have had
excitement enough for the present First a
good lonfilnap; and then ‘we will listen to your
story in e early of this even! ." ‘

She a bed _ his
quiet, sugar-lathe was; pec to or; and he
gelding, was soon so , while she watched

m, as she had done a undred times before,
with a worshiping tendernem in her' ; only
new road consciousness of possemion taken
ggp of the shy longing thathadbeenthm

ore. -

#091!

 

CHAPTER XVII
AN INHRRUPTED s'roar.

WHILE The Stranger slept, Iola towed] to
make her dail visit to her m hgme, to look
after Mad  ; she had topassthe hotel; and
from his Window Dr. Chillingworth chanced to
seeher. En . hestaledatheruntilshe

from View by the corner of the house.
ehadbut an imperfect viewof her face; but
her form, her bearing, eve awakened
memories that sent the blood
his veins; and trembling with excitement,

turnedto his faithful friend, Major Graves“.
“Your 0 nick! My God! in
has just the etc! I am In it is she-

No.1.

. __.

it must be! Let'us lose no time. Great Heaven!
if after all these years-”
“ What do you say? Who is it?" asked the
major, eagerly.
“ Come on! You shall see!”
They descended the stairs as rapidly as the
et feeble state of the doctor would unit, and
tened into the street. But loo ' g either
way, no woman was in sight.

And he rubbed his hand across the scar on the
side of his head.

“ Nonsense, Chillingworth !” replied the major
“ This little brush did you no hurt. Let us in-
quire of the landlord. Mr. Harris, did a lady
pass here, within two minutes 1"

“ I reckon not, sir,” replied the landord,
taking his pipe from his mouth to expectorate,
and letting his chair come down upon four legs.

\si §\ 
_‘ 

1 same ‘urvan no ,,

lmmd THOR 0.01

z
o
3!

f a:
i
w
an“
E

W _‘ .
V‘Wfi .) i v.1,“

y),«
¥.‘L

m axed—“1 8:100 ms sun can {doom

A look of chagrin took the place of eager eg-
ncy on the doctor’s face. He brushed his
(1 across his forehead, and turned to hisfnend.
“Could it have been a delusion!" he asked.
flushin . “I have been deceived a thousand
times; int there was always some one then who
bore a chance resemblance.
mongrel) since in) wound!”

Have I acted.

A Hard Crowd; or, Gentleman Sam’s Sister.

17

sums of an old man, and threw himself on the
bed in heart—sick despondency.

After a few vain attempts to cheer his friend,
the major left him and went down stairs. From
the window of the bar, he saw Iola come out of
a side door of the hotel, and pass along the
front, on her way down the street. Like a flash
he recalled Dr. Chillingworth’s interest in
Dauntless Jerry; and it occurred to him that

u You have been right here in the doorway, l Iola might have entered the hotel without bag?

so that no one
them?”

“ For the last half-hour, sir.”

“ Let us go back ”
head sink upon his reast dej y.

Major Gravosvnd gave his arm. and the doctor

ed to hi> room again with the Ming 4

said the dr, 1e his '

could pass without your seeing i seen by the landlord, his back being in that

rection. .

“Hallo, Jack!" he said, to the barkeeper.
“ Did you see that lady pass, when she entered
th hotel?”

e
“ What—Gentleman Sam's sister?”
“ Yes. How lam: ago did she eat-1"

 

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“ Five minutes, I reckon.”
“ And she came from up the street?”

“ She didn’t come from anywhere else.”
’The ,major disappeared like a flash.

I J Mad Kate made no reply, but hugged the

! close to her bosom, weepin hysterically on or

shoulder. Perhaps she fe t that the ordinary '

. man would bring but little enthusiasm to such a

“ You were not deceived!” he cried, bursting . wildxgoose chase as that in which they were en-

into his friend’s room. “It was a woman, an
she entered the hotel at the side door, instead of
pass' in front of it.”

“ t do you say?” cried the doctor, now
all animation.

“ It was Dauntless Jerry’s sister—the little
fellow, ou know, who helped us out of the Oc-
cidental: that night.”

The doctor’s face fell.

“ His sister,” he repeated.
likehim, I presume?”

“ As much as two peas.
light while his is jet black.”

“ A chance resemblance,” said the doctor,
turning again‘to the wall.

“ And she, looks

Only her hair is "
7' she took a miniature from her bosom, an

“The; are twins, I should say,” replied the ‘

ma ookin a little surp

Tg’doctorgdid not explain that the chance
resemblance was between Dauntless Jerry’s
sister and the face that haunted his life.

! or he will worry at my absence,” she explained; '

“You must see her, at an rate. Will you "

go with me to-mormw?” asked ajor Gl‘avesend.

ppienltment, and without turning his head, re—
pl :
“ Yes—anything ”

a .
g her excitement subsided, her strength
waned, and
that the woman was really sick. Hast fishe
ut her on the bed; and 'presently Mad ate
gan to mutter the incoherent thoughts that
swe t across her shattered mind.
ith eager longing ’Iola caught every word
that fell from her lips; but Mad Kate’s secret
‘ was never more securely locked within her own
breast than dun'ngalher seasons of insanity.
The burden of her k was about her by; and

kissed
‘ it, and talked to it. v
It was sundown before she was quiet, so that
Iola could leave her; and then she romised to
return again that night, slnce M
demanded her care more than did her lover.
“ I must go and tell him that I am with you,

and her cheeks were red as roses at the thought

‘ that she was now linked to another, and that
Dr. Chillingworth was heartsick with disap- ‘

home. She was met at the door by a woman 1
' all eternity!

w hose face yet bore traces of early beauty.
“ 0h, Io! how I have I
cried her eyes suffused with

“ ~ t is the matter, aunty? Are you sick?”
asked the girl with sudden anxiety.

H Sicki—sick?" repeated the woman, with a
sad shakeof the head. “Ay, I havebeensick
these thirty years—sick at heart!”

“ Bumm are looking pale!”

And

girl placed her carequ in a chair.
The woman sat a moment wi closed sies,
the tears oozing slowly between the lids, w ile

the young girl hunnr over her wit affectionate
solicitude. Suddenly she opened or eyes, and
drawin the girl’s head upon her bosom, said:

“ 30 yo you given up looking for my boy?
Has that Stranger weaned your heart from

me?” .

A swift flush suffused the girl’s cheeks, and
she would have averted her face - but the woman
took it between her hands, and old her so that
she could gaze searchineg into her eyes. Then
Iola’s nathe independence asserted itself, and
she paid her interrogator glance for lance. A
moment thus, and the woman push her away

msrflr . . . .

‘ I see it!” she cried. “ You love hlm—thls
interloper! And this is my reward for earsof
love, when I might have hated you as 8 cause
of all my wretc edness!”

“ I the cause of your wretchedness?”

“ Yes ingrate—you and your mother! You
are not 113‘ to me; and et I have given my
life to you—to cast me do at the heck of the
ffirst ’fool who flatters you with praises of your
ace!

Passin over all the rest, that might have
woundedg her at another time, Iola sunkupon
her knees beside the excited woman, and with
hands clinng to her arm, asked: ‘

“Aunty untyi what about my mother?
Did she ever injure you?”

in those pleadin , almost reproach-

ful eyes, or mthat quivering , sent the blood
back upon Mad Kate's lea ' her fairly
ghastly. vWith_ a .shriek she lea from the.

chair and shr away with outstretched,

repelling hands she cried:

‘Dont t'ggch me! Oh, Heaven !”-l:withana

shudder. en ring against. t e w ,

with her face covfig her hands: “ Oh God!
is my retribution!” -

Still on her knees, Iola looked on in mute be-
wilderment. She had never seen such an out-
burst before. But before she could do or 86le'
an hing, the mood of her comm? Chang ,
all and enl sinking upon her and clasp-
ing the sore wmlexed girl in her arms, Mad
Kate oontiuu :

“10! I0! mydar i you havebeenthe one
comfort of m ~dellola life. I wronged you
when I acc you of ingratitude; for I know

you love 'me far better than I deserve; and it is

but natural that your young heart should ac-
km) vlelge the grandest law in God’s great
mommy, wooed so noble a man as he who
lLLS won it. But n my selfishness I had’dedi-

c ited on to the search for my _; and it out

n - to he heart to think that your lfe had now

'. . uw purpose.”

I " Aunty! mother i~for you are the only
' nther‘ I ever knew—”
" For God’s sake! don’t call me motherl”.cried
tn woman, wincing as if stabbed. .
Iola gizazl at her in tearful rplexity a mov
menfig and then resumed the
m-lr .

you could have ut seen the loo inhiseyes’
when he told me that he loved me! You would ,

read of her re- ‘
t more than did I.
“After all we have been to each other do E
{31 think that I would desert you now? l‘Io; ;
in us, he will help us. Oh! if g She lived long enough) to tell Mrs. Burke that ,

nth.

for you!” she '

. . : responsibili
Meanwhile, Iola passed on to her isolated ‘

henceforth the welfare of each must be the con-
stant care of the other. How many maids or
matrons benedicts or bachelors reflect on the
, incurred, when one human soul is
invested wit the power to shage, at least in a
degree, the destinies of another uman soul for

When she reached the widow Robinson’s

1 cabin, it was already dark, and the light within

showed through the white curtain that covered
the window. Her heart was in her mouth,
while she paused a moment on the doorstep,
with her thumb on the latch. Another instant
and she should see him—him! Yesterday it had
meant the heaven of her dreams; to-day it was
a reality whose sweet blessedness settled down
about her like a warm tropical wind, freighted
with the aroma of a thousand incense-breath-
in plants!

'n , she heard the inner door close. It
was Mrs. obinson either going from or enter-
ing the room. Scarcer owning toherself the
Wl sh that it was the former, she raised the latch
and entered.

What man cannot plot to secure his own hap-
piness? The S r had heard Iola’s ste , and
sent the ting wide for some wa r, so
that he migh have all to himself the first mo-
ment of the approach of his new-found love.
He was sitting in an easy~cllair awaiting her re-
turn with a happy smile.

And now the (girl stood with her back against
the door she ha gust entered, and her eyes fixed
inquirineg upon is face, her heart afiutt‘er and
her face aflame with coy ex tancy. She
never moved until he held on his arms toher
with his rare smile. Then, like the swoop of a
swallow, she glided across the room. to nestle
in‘Pifiamlgbag‘ainme. I la!” h hlspered'

c , my own 0 e w ;
“ but not until I am almost tarnished for your
presence!”

“Back again for an hour; and then must re-
turn to Aunt Kate. She is quite unwell.”

“ But, can’t our Brother, Jerry, take care of
her?” asked e Stranger, with a lover’s and
an invalid’s selfishness. -

Iola flushed suddenly. For 'one instant her
lezeshgl‘l, and :flhen rose again. full of rogulsh‘

ance.
x‘l‘gA man!” she cried, with  lips. “ He’d
make a pretty nurse—wouldn’t he
;edl‘hen, with her lips close to his ear. she whis-
“ You innocent!

but not now!” I’ve M g secret for you;

And at the sound of Mrs. Robinson’s return-
ing step, she slip from him and commenced
taking of her th gs. ‘ _

“ you’ve come, Iola,” said the excel-

 

 

! drunken fury. These

5 any secret of the fact that
1 lated

lent widow. “New I can got my ironing out of
the way. Our sick . y wouldn’t let me from
his side a minute, after he waked 13).”

And with a leasant smile she le them.

“And now or the story,” said The Stranger. ‘
i “ To be '

with, the name by which on have
thus far own me—‘ The Stranger ’-—ls as like-
ly to be my true name as any I ever had, within
my recollection. M infancy and early child-
hoodwerespentin t ecareof anIrishwoman,
who always treated me with kindness, after her
way of loo ' g at things. That is to say while
she was  no. means slow to'wrath, was
never rea y cruel. But her husband was a
brute. and she could not ro t me from his
ed me Patsy.
They never pretended confer u me their
surname, whlch was Burk nor did they make
was in no way re-

lola saw, what she had for tten, -

Kate now ‘

 

'rl I When Mrs. Burke asked the woman if I was her

‘ child she tried to answer, but death cut her at.
“ rs. Burke inferred that the woman was
not my mother, since she was very ordinal?r
‘ appearin , while some of my clothes gave ev -
‘ demo 0 wealth. Moreover, she bore no re-
semblance whatever to the miniature.
“ I have sometimes fancied that I could trace
* a resemblance between myself and the minia-
’ ture, which would seem to confirm Mrs. Burke’s
I theory. Here is the picture. Let us see if your
sharp eyes can detect a likeness.”
’ Be handed Iola the
, deeply affected Dr. ' orth. v
; Iola caught sight of. the gold setting,
Ishesnatched it from his hand with acry of

surprise.
! ‘ 5’s this the picture—of your mother, do you
I 88, ‘
l x I have always hoped so, but why are you so
} excited?”

‘1:  'ble? Carriiigbe?” criesthe 
no ls question, 11 ’ng upon
I miniature with devouring inten‘s‘iily, then read-
ing every line of his face. “Oh! it must be
i true! It istrue! Oh, my  Iwill ve
I you a name, and the true one! orace! or-

| ace! Dear, dear Horace!”
; And with a jo ous ripple of laughter and love.
she cast herse upon his breast and clasped

him about the neck.
“Iola, what in the world--” he began, in be-
‘ wilderment; but at that instant there was-a
x knock at the door.
Blushin , yet radiant. Iola flew to it.
Dr Chil gworth and Major Gravessn stood

on the threshold.

' CHAPTER XVIII.
amn TWENTY nuns.

Tan thin sickle of the moon had followed the
sun beneath the western horizon, leaving the
stale twinkling on a purple background which
gradually deepened into the deepest blue. As
yet the young city had not arrived at the

ht stage of developement, nor was the e-
n ghted wayfarer ligh d by the old-fashioned
sconce. The  of ghohstreett  cull);
partial] dispel] one an ‘ t are y e
which Jruggled through the dusty, fiy-spec ed
window of some corner grocery. or the equally
dingy, half-curtained window of somesaloon.

From the dimly-lighted portal of the princi-

hotel two men lune, arm in arm, and begin
pick their way down 'the gloomfi street. As
they pause for a moment i l the ght from a
window, the lower half of which is screened by
a red curtain while the upper half bears the in~

scription, in anciful letters:

OCCIDEN’I‘AL SALOON,
we may observe them.
In the youn r man, of decided military rdport,
we recognize ajor Gravesend. He ate a the
support of his arm to his companion, who bears
.marked traces of recent illness in the pallor of
sis fine and lltlegl'ilflolack o‘f5 vi '1- in a frmeiivi-
en com grea en urance w a
state is 11.3%..

But, what is more ' l, we remark the
settled look of melancholy, betokening a great
life-sorrow, which is deeper, if possible, on
Dr. . ’s face than when we last
saw him.

Glfilcing in at the saloon window, he re-

mar .

“All traces of the struggle are repaired,
Gravesend.”

“Yes, doctor,” is the reply. “That is the
way of the wor . More than anywhere else,
in this Western country toda ’s butche is
ei°wsbm°m’m°wtsw:.. -

ue e w 0 one or o e pals
ties are  causes little more excitement
than a dog-fight in an Eastern city.”

“ How is The Stran ’s wound?”

“Hesiod nicely. e” is almost as smart on
yourself. has been up and out of doors two
or three times” ‘

“ And, major, you have never yet learned his

6 9

“No. He is as close as an oyster in that mat
ter. He has never volunteered any informa—
tion; and no one has presumed to questlon him.
But, what’s in a name? You would know no
more of him if. he were to tell you hls name was
John Smith or William Jones. They rec
that fact  delectabledcountry, wheie no-
bod mum lineage, an eve one o ooses
a, Izhndle’ to suit hunse' lf. As r.' Chllli' n -
worth, ym almost unnoticed; but coil

ourself ' {51 Matt, and you would soon

Zeualéocal celebrl a "i m I l‘ "
,otave esraen ,,anc,
lied the doc r, with someowmty y

a \

 

. to them, and the name Patsy was one of
thelr own selecting. . 3
“Who my real arents were, they knew no {
ile I was yet a baby, a a
strange woman had been found by Tom Burke F
m a snow-drift, and brought into his shanty. I

she was- from the

, and to charge. her .
to preserve the miniature w

'hhung’roundtheli

thathewould do anythingformysake.” I neck of the baby she .can-ied in her arms.

‘9 w‘ u.

‘ Tastes differ!” was the laughing 
“Thereis somethin very remarkab 0 about
this man.” pursued r. Chillingworth, reflec-
tively. “I cannot help being prepossessed in
his favor; and yet there are rcssions of his
face that make me shrink from im with some-
:ililing like lgthingr—I don’t knew whether it}.
or trod.

‘ His n-owa isn’t the wildest spectacle lathe

world, Igrant you,” replied the major. with a

 

 

. __..._. .J--.-.. ;.. .3. _. .D.

 

.n __ ._s_- ,__._...W_, ,

x-Tvr: ~---- g .

 

 

 

No. 1. A Hard Crowd, or, Gentleman Sam’s Sister. 19
Dr. Chillingworth w on in silence. A “No! no!” cried the girl, with thrilling energy.  “Ha! ha! ha!” he laughed ' and bound-
oomy frown contracted ' brows. He was “ I have no brother! never had one so far as ; ed through the door, bearing her shrieking out

M e . ow u , w o l 0 on ow me in em
y'ththpast Ikn lBt hatf'tiD kn i'toth 'ht.
Presently he ke again. For Heaven’s sake! who am I P h! if you can One of e ruiflans had fsits-[gtoped and picked 11
“And this gir —-you call her—” tell me that! if you can tell me that! Speak! the pistols his chief had into the air an
“ Iola..” ' Who am I?” ' then thrown upon the floor, in orderto take 1013
“And the surname?” ' “My daughter! My dau hter!” again cried I unawares, and lea through the doorway just
“She seems troubled with nothing so non-es- the doctor, clasping her to is heart; and with I before his princi . Atthe same instantthe other

sentia! to Western ha piness. You saw how
readily her brother 5 ‘ his name from Gen-
tleman Sam to Dauntless Jerry. .An exploit,
or a mere whim, is sufficient to vs a man a
new designation, where the_inheri ce of prop-
erty calls for little tracmg of genealogical

trees.

Agam' was the doctor silent and a more pain" -
ful stoop came into his shoulders. But as they
advanced he seemed to revive. A nervous
eagerness quickened his step; and unconsciously
he abandoned the supgo of his companions
arm walking erect Wit new vigor.

” he strangest feeling has come over me!”
said he, musingly. “It seems as if some crisis
were impending. Oh! if after all these years
of waiting I should triumph at last! Gravesend,

not that I lack evidences of our friendship;
but I have practiced reserve so ong that I have
learned to shrink from a recital of the events
that have clouded my whole life.
anything come of our present visit, or not, you
shall know all to morrow.”

“Consult your own feelings, doctor,” re lied I b I la,
ytiing ‘ y o s ap
had

his friend. “Whenever you have an
toimpart, you know that I will receive it as
our best friend. Meanwhile, here is the

ouse.
“ I am all of a tremble, now that a few mo-
ments will decide everything. have been '

ap inted so often!”

he major knocked. A shadow flitted across
the window curtain. The next instant Iola.
stood framed in the doorwa , with. the h ht
falling full upon her. She s inclining t-
ly forward, her figure po I With her own
uliar grace, her cheeks tinged With a faint
m, at recollection of the position from wluch
the knock had startled her. Her eyes were
g curiously into the darkness, and her

' parted by a welcoming smile.
gfiho major started, and said to his heart that
he had never seen her looking half aslovely.

But there was another more decalsr affected
thanla he. Dr. Chillmgw' orth brush by him‘ ,
exc

mung:

“ ‘reat God! it is she! Thanh Heaven! my
dau hter, after all, these years!”

c rung across the threshold and would
have gasped her in his arms. But, with the
agility of a startled fawn she leaped barkward,
and to his amazement and dismay brought a
pistol to bear full in his face. She uttered no
cry, as might have been e from one of
her sex' but her cheek grown suddenly
pale. T e tender light of her eye too, had
given place totheflash of comman All the
plianc had gone out of her carriage; andshe
stood like an amazon, every muscle tense, every
seisise on thefalertérd, d h] mud

tart' orw an extending 'g
toWarduhg table on which lay a pistol, The
Streager demanded, sternl. y:

“ hat is the mea of this?”

But the next momen he caught sight of the
maor;andhis frown relaxed toasmileof
we as... at  “it. we:  m
dro er 6, an 8 P P
in the folds of her dress.

“1 your pardon, sir.” she said to the doc-
tor. “ ut in this countrywehavetobe re-
pared for all sorts of visitors; and your den
entrance startled me. Major Gravesend,’ you
are welcome. Pray be seatpd, gentlemen.

The major Lresented his friend to Iols-—a
courtesy she so owledgod with rare .

As for the doctor so absorbed was E that he
scaroel knew that he was being introduced to
the gir ; but, taking her hand mechanically, he

“I be our pardon my child, for my pre-
cipitancg. yYou will ac’cord it freely when on
know the cage. But—‘30 not think it an dle

uestionuw are you _

qlln hisleagetgnlem, he gazed earnestly, almost
ending in or eyes.

:Xithouyt a parent reason Iola. flushed to the

ere lied:
as p ’spr,ssinostpeople

’“' 931mm SamJ
ss n omen ’s . _
’r. Chillingworth’s e grew humid and his
face took on a look of espondency, as e gored
yet more earnestly in her face. . ”
“Can I be déofeiveldi Solike! solike! mur-
muredhis trem ous ps. .
A sudden trepidation seized Iola. 
the oandlfe £1011? the table, she  it 01:;
f her see or e es flashing an
13:11; that brough the color back into her

cheeks.

“Look! Look!” she cried. “Am I like any
one you ever knewl—years 880—“? 018mm“
ortwentybf them!”

“And you sayhe is yourbrother—your own
 ritgrhdthedoctor maximum?
nerve w eagerness,» that could bird]

stander.“

 

But whether He was in a measure

 

streaming e es raised to Heaven added: “ Great
I t After all these ears! after

all ese years! Oh! Maud! Maud look down
upon her and bless her! she is all even thy heart
813d ask! My child! my child! Oh! Oh!
Close to his heart he pressed her, raining tears
and kisses upon lips, cheek, brow and hair, his

. voice broken into cadences of melting tender-

ness. And she—who shall 321 what subtle in-
stinct quickened her heart wi lovei—clung to
hhim,  witha strange feililig‘ of tegrtir ming-
g W1 9. sense 0 0 an onging
breathed the wo : y ’
“ FATHER!” -
The amazement of The Stranger and Major

lGravesend can better be ima ' ed than de-

Ihave never made a confidant of you. It is I scribed.

The latter had caugh the candle out
of Iola’s hands, just as she was clasped in the
arms of him who_ca.lled her his dau hter; and
he now stood gazmg at them in mu wonder.
ared for the announce-
ment of relationship between the father and
daughter, for he had reflected on the strange
manner in which his friend had been affected

cc, and on words which he
dro touching the great sorrow of his
life. But that the filer} should den her twin
brother—iot- such he lieved Jerry be—was

As for The Stranger, he sat as rplexed and
as mute as was ma or. But is wonder at
the repudiation of her‘ rother was merged in
another and deeper feelin .

He saw his betrothed to who ten minutes
before was a. poor and friendless girl, now the
acknowledged dau hter of a man whose social
rank, as manifes in look and bearing, was
mkfibl°t 7%“ ii”??? 332 “‘1‘” 9‘"

e or ro or e e a rp in
his heart, keener than any the bullet hasagdca-
sioned, and._the color faded from his compressed
lips, when he saw Dr. Chillin orth straighten
up and, with his arm still a t the weeping

Io say.

“Friends, I claim your sympathy and con-
tulation; for I have this mght found my
ughter, who has been lost to me for nearly
twenty years—”

“ To all of which Ibear testimony!”

All turned, and in the speaker discovered,
with a thrill a masked man, standin just with-
in the threshold with a. pistol in either hand,
aimed, one at e Stranger, the other at Iola.
At his back two other men also masked, cov—

r

ered the major and Dr. Chillingth

tivel .
y presence of mind, Major Grave-

-' to him inexplicable.

With read
send dashed he candle to the floor and put his
foot on it. But at the same instant the window
was forced in; the Debt of a bull’s-eye flooded
the room more brilliantly than the candle had
done- and the muzzies of three revolvers flank-
ing the lens of the lantern, showed that two
more ruillans were read to sup rt their chief.
_ “Steady there you 'ttle spitflre!” cried he
who was eviden y the principal of the mfiians
to Iola. “ You can never draw that pistol
alive! The moment your hand disame
sagging the folds of your dress, that instan you

Pale to the lips, Iola gazed atheman, her
hand arrested its errand after her trusty
weapon. She could see his dark eyes litter
through the holes in his mask, andehehsd eard
his  tones, which showed that he would not
hesitate to carry out his threat.

ghdémflfiimmgtfilé n. y’vs

, , orno co 6 i e t us
for this time!" ’ go

She knew that this was the Wisth advice that
could be given,'taught b her mum ‘ence.

Then she heard again he voice of t e chief:

“ Men, shoot any one who raises a fin r!”

Hard Egon the heels of his lastword m
rung wi the blended reports of two pistols;
the glare of ,the bull’s-eye was turned full u n
her face, completely dueling her; and be ore
she had time for thought, she felt herself
matched  her father’s side and her arms
drawn behind her and held firm! in the grasp
of the power-mi chief. With milled dexterity
his hand next sought and.found the‘pistol she
carried. T ' advantage of the moment
while one handeas thus in di. -
mg her. of her weapon, she wrenched herself
 him in the face and tearing' away

.At this he only laughed; and the next instant
his arms closed about her again like steel bands,
and she felt herself lifted tom the floor. Strug-
gle as she might, she was erless.

The chief now tin-nod ' dark and boarded
visage toward Dr. orth, who stood
like one struck dumb.

“Es! ha! ha!” he laughed. “Youknowmei

Seeish isri f r n
m lion-m Wwyfilafiw lob-c.

M r

; Dr. Chillingworth leaped through

 

, istols disappeared from the window, though

e bull’s-eye remained.
One breathless instant of inactivi , and then
e doorway
in pursuit, cryin' :

“After them! giy God! the (1
life has robbed me of my child

But as he passed the doorway he was knocked
senseless by the butt of a revolvor; and before
the ma or could issue from the house, there was
a soun of horses’ hoofs in re 'd retreat, blend-
ed with the mufiled cries of e captive woman.

“Great God!" cried the major. “She is in
the power of Tm: RID HAND l—my friend’s life-
foe, and the greatest fiend on the border! After
twenty years, he has found her only to lose her
again t power can save her now !”

_ lyer of my

 

CHAPTER XVIII.
rim RED HAND AND mu) KATE.
IOLA’S screams were but the momentary tri—

umph of woman! weahim With her favorite
mom, she feared no man; but
once , andnin the of a burly ruf-

fish with whom her greatest renith was but
infantile weakness, her terror, for t moment,

was proportionately t. But, after that first
terri le consciousness of utter hel her
self-possession an with i her

native cunning. She ceased her screams and
affected the deepest d ency, the while her
wits were on the alert, ready to improve any
advantage chance threw in her way.

But ' her ca tor was equally wary' and when
they had rid far enough to ’heyond the
danger of immediate pursuitf he stopped and
tied her hands securely behin her back.

Iola was ' to see her captors turn into
the path 1 to her hut. A light shone
throciigh the hate  whiclti‘h fell before the
Win ow, partia uminating e space re
the door. The lyted Hand stopped a little way
back in the shadow with 1019., while one of his
men dismounted and knocked on the den.
Eliciting no use, he lifted the latch and
pushed open the cor.

“ Hallo, good folks!” he shouted.

Still no reply.

h“ Nobody at home, I reckon,” he said to his
c ief.
“Go in and look round,” was the laconic

command .

The man entered, into the inner room,
and discovered Kate Sitting up in bed, the
picture of wild terror.

“ With a startled oath heleapedback through
the door; and then, seeing that it was only a
woman, he laughed at his fright.

“ Hyar’s a woman in hyar,'what’s left hand
cousin to the devil or thewitch of Endor, i
reckon; an’ that’s the hull community,”

!‘ Blow out the light,” commanded The Rcd
Hand; and to the others—“Men, the
house, and lay out any one that you cat<h

' about.”

The cabinwas shrouded indarknem,in pur- .
suance of his command; and dismounting, the
robber chieftain bore his helpless captive into

oor to

thehousewithhim,andkickedthed
whenhehad entered.

“ A light!” he commanded.

A li ht was instantly struck.

Plan Iola in a chair, he kicked the
door to the inner apartment. Mad sat
clutc ' the bed-c othes, with the fires of
insanity inning in her wild eyes.

“Woman, come out of there!” commanded
The Red Band, frowning darkly.

Iola was thrilled at sight of the efleot on the

r lunatic. Her eyes became Wilder, her

th chatteredwith ten-ennui sheseemedto
shrink within herself.  her hands,
with the fingers wide apart. as to ward oil
some terrible danger, she aspirated hoarsely:
Horace! Hos-ace!”

“Horace!
“Come ontof there. Isa i”re tcdtfrc
robber chief, with. a fierce on an stamping,

his foot authoritatively.

. Thelunaticbeguntocringeandgrovel,wm_..

' iteousl :
mg Don’t, Horace! don’t! I never told! I nex~
told! Not a word l—not a-word, Horses!"

The Red Hand took a step across the thrci.
oldx asiftodragherfromthebed. Witha
shriek, the manure cowered against thewsi,
huddling the bed-clothes about her. i

“Oh! don’t! don’t! I will obe you. But I
never told, Hormel—not a wor ! not a wo-~..!
I rememberedthe oath! Do you think I would
dare to break it! No, no! I never told i”

§e%£”h“?’m3““‘i”m’ p...

e oer am to the
room; and Iola could hear the woman, whohad
sibodtohsr in smothsr's [flaeesinoeshecOuld
remember hurrying on 

While Mm,m»-Ielals std was

1....-. .. a--. .n

'~ .w ..
" "‘?“

.~ a. -.._
x

20

The New York Library.

Vol. I.

 

 

busy with the strange events which had been
crowded into the ast half-hour. She had been

claimed as a daug ter by the finest looking man :

she had ever seen, only to be snatched from his
arms by this dark-browed rutfian. "
former connection with her father did he hint
when he said:

“ Now she is ripe for my revenge!”

She remembered, too, that she had called to
her lover's lips a fierce ejaculation of l‘ilt'l'i: l b '
s. casual mention of the name of The Red Han .

and now, he was commanding Mad Kaiewfld ,

t 1
had she not told, from which she was inhibited 
.ola's heart leaped at recollection 1

she was acknowledging him her master.

by an oath:
0 Mad Kate’s strange hatred of her mother.
The one thing she had refused to tell her was of
that mother. Was this the secret between her
and the robber chief i Iola was uick to arrive
at the conclusion that The Red and, in con-
'unction with Mad Kate, or at least with her
nowledge, had stolen her, when a child, from
her parents; but what had The Str er to do
32h it? He must have been a more at that
e.
rupted story of her lover. What was he about
to tell her? Had it any connection with her
early abduction? But it was useless to multiply
questions where all was dark. She gave up the
puzzle, to await the revelation of time; for the
cor of the inner room opened, and Kate
sunk upon her knees on the threshold.
“Get up!” commanded The Red Hand, im-
patientl . “ I’m not going to hurt eyou!”

Still earful the woman compli , and stood 1

before him trembling, like a culprit awaiting
sentence.

“Is this the child?” demanded The Red Hand,

ting to Iola.

“ Yes! yes!” replied Kate, with nervous pre-
cipitancy.

“H’m! It is needless to ask you' her face
could never be mistaken—a glorious face, more
rarely beautiful than was even her mother’s!”

He cast 11 n Iola a gloating look, that caused
her to shud er in spite of herself; for she would
fig}: betray any emotion before him, if she could

it. -

‘P Where did you pick her up?” asked The Red

d, as a matter of curiosity.

“I saw her and knew her when her father
was deceived,” replied Mad Kate. “ I searched
them out afterwards, and persuaded them to
receive me among them. I made no effort to
eflect a restoration to her parent—her mother
died within an hour after ou last saw her. I
say I remembered mfioa , and took no step
to defeat your ends. ut I could not leave her
to w up in such vile company. When I had
@5121 stre h, which came of our out-door

e, and w e she was yet an infant, I ran
away with her, and have never seen them
since.”

“That was 'defeatin my aims, in part ” re-
plied The Red Hand; ‘gbut I forgive you freely
—for you have made my revenge all the
sweeter now! Before gods and men! she is a

orious woman! Ha! ha! how would my

ughty lady feel, to know that I possess her
daughter, more beautiful—ye ! a thousand
“foldl—than she, even at her ! Revsnge!
Revenge! Ha! ha! Revenge!”

Stepping before Iola, he took her b either
shoulder, and bent to kiss her on the pa. A
moment she struggled frantically, shudde '
with loathing her involun scream drown
by his bru laugh. Boun as she was, she
found herself helpless in his grasp; and with his
breath, foul with the fumes ,of alcohol on her
cheek, she was driven to desperation. With a
quick snap she ca ht his nether lip between
herteethand bitwit allhermi ht.

How with pain and rage, e Red Hand
clutched her throat so fiercely-[gut she involun-
taril her hold upon ' lip, gasping for
 Instantly he released her.

“ You devil’s fu !” he cried, “I mustn’tmar
your beauty, thong I fear ]you have made in—
goads, upon mine: But I’ tame you—never

ear!

The girl could make no reply. She at with
tears, not of woe ing, but 0 tion, in
her eyes, swallo g repeatedly to ease the pain
inher throat, where his iron grip seemed almost
to have crushed the trachea. In a moment her
delicate flesh showed the marks of his fingers, in
purple bands.

“ What have you been doing  eee ears?”
resumed The Red Hand, addressing  Kate,
while stanching the blood that flowed from his
wounded lip. .,

The lunatic seemed overcome by new trepida-

tion-
“We have lived,” she said, evasiver glanc-
ing nervously from side to side. “I have
htto inameasurethewrongldid

her, by f! her for something her than
the life of i cranes and d on to which
she must ct erwise have I did not think

it interfering with your—”
“ But yourself,” interrupted The Red Hand—
“ why do I find you so far beyond the bound of
civilization 1”
to cringe and weep afresh,

Tame“
"th  with you?” demanded

At what ‘

And now her mind recurred to the inter- .

! The Red Hand, impatiently. “ Come! out with
it!

“ Do not be angry with me!” whimpered the
imbecile piteously. “ I thought that we might

him!
er, but a man, noble and strong. And
thought—I have thought—”

She stop in confusion and terror, glancing
‘apprehenswely at Iola.

“ What have you thoufillgt?” demanded The
Red Hand, puzzled at her ‘ lay of emotion.

“Forgive me!” whined Brad Kate; “but I
have learned to love her so! I have dared to

could only find him, and make m old age
happ after ail. It is for him that have edu-
cated her, and trained her to purity in tho vht
a.de  that she might be inevery way wo y
l 0 un.

The rich color mounted to Iola’s cheek as she

listened and she was about to c out im ul-
, sivel that she had found him; ut the
, Han burst into a brutal laugh, exclaiming:
; “A truly excellent motive! But, as in the
' old time, where you have sown I shall reap; so
, your wild-goose chase will be productive of
; some good—it has prepared me a most admira-
ble Wife!”

Mad Kate uttered a startling scream, and
castin herself upon her knees beside Iola,
c the girl in her arms, as if to rotect her
from the robber chief, while she cri :

“Your wife? Never! Oh! you will not de-
grade her so! She is as pure as an angel! Oh!
you have not the heart for such infam ! A
JustGodwouldnot sit byand see sospoless a

one so lluted!”
“ Pia !” sneered the robber. “ M experience
to show that the God you talka 11 doesn’t

interfere much in mundane affairs. He did not
stand between me and her mother; no more
will he ste between me and the daughter.”

“ Oh! h! Oh! God protect thee, my fior
child, as he will never forgive me I” cried ad
Kate, rockin back and forth with the girl in
her arms an covering her hair with kisses.

Iola was deepl touched b these marks of
affection; and giving her 0 (1 friend kiss for
kissfishe whispered:

“ 0 not grieve; He will protect me.”

“ Talkin of boys,” inte The Red Hand,
“ who is t s fli lpant hop-o’-my-thumb whom
the 'lcallsbro er! Of course he can be no
role. 'onnto her, though they say he is her very

l .
p “Not a word, aunt Kate, as you love me!”
cried Iola, vehementlyi1

tinTheeln turmng' to 9 Red Hand, she con-

u :

“ You vile wreteh! he is one who will yet fit
the noose to your worthless neck! If {luau dare
to touch me, do you think that earth secret
places to hide on from his v cei I rom-
ise you, you s be flayed ,aullve for the t
alread put upon me!” .

“W ew!” laughed The RedHand. “He’s a
terrible fellow, ’t he? But, as they say one
might as well be hanged for a sheep as or a
lamb. IfIamtolosemyskinanywa , Ithink
lIie can’tlifivent a mucéi severer p ' ment; 3?

see on an en oy my possessmn o
oguuntil thg0 fall of his avaful vengeance! But,
{fistress Kate, ou haven’t yet answered my
question; and course you know that I expect
an answer. I wasn’t easily put off when we
were young, you remember: and the habit has
grown wit .” -

His eyes flas ed minously, showing what lay
beneath his carol tones. ‘

Mad Kate bowed her head into Iola’s 1a and
remained silent. A urple flush mounted the
temples of The Redeand. He reached. forth
his powerful hand, and clutching the shrinking
woman by the shoulder tore her awa ,drag-
Mob from the chair before her cgspim

o .Withsheers hofarmhe
her upon her feet, and holding her so, cried:

“ Do you mean to answer me?”

Thewoman raised her face to his piteously;
her lips moved, producing no sound: then her
head sunk upon her breast.

“Tell him! Tell him!” cried Iola, unable to
see Mad Kate suffer on her account; but the

woman had fainted.
WithanoathTheBedHanddsshedhei-to
the floor. .
“Fetch her al !” he cried to one of his
myrmidons, who stood a silent tor of
the scene; and catching up Iolain arms, he

blewouttbelightandstrodewtofthehut.

 

CHAPTER XIX.
A LIVING Ton.

“Mom and away!” commanded The Red
Hand; andallswungintothesaddleanddashed
down the bridle-path to the highway.

Rapidly they rode while the way was smooth,
but more slowly when it became rocky and ob-
structed Iola was familiar enough with the
country to know that they were in the bluffy
region which borders the Missouri River, in
such marked contrast with the rolling prairie
landof theinterior. Loo‘ at the stars she
Judgedthstitwesnesr 'twnsnthey

 

hope that they might love each other if we .

I

l

l

 

halted in a se uestered “ ket” or valley, be-
fore a few ru e cabins hi den away among the
trees. Here the women were se arated, The
Red Hand ordering Mad Kate to )e taken into

find the boy. Oh! I have had such dreams of , one but, while he set Iola u on her feet and

.

He has come to me, not a child any long- i bade her follow him into an a {)oining one.
iave ‘

With no little trepidation 101“. com lied, and
foimd herself in a low-coiled room, wi h a mu h
pine slab supported against the wall for a tab 6,
and rude benches supplying the place of chairs.
The Red Hand kicked open a door leading into
an inner a ment, whose blanket-covered
bunk proclaimed its use.

“ Here are our uarters,” he said. “Not the
most elegant in t e world, ‘. a". : ‘1 In: answer
our purpose. You may corszider yoursalf mis-
tress or prisoner, whichever you It i'er. If you
think you can escape, you are at iberty to ."

As he spoke he released her hands from he
ligature which had beimd them. Then witha
b0w of mock civility, he left the hut.

The first use Iola made of her liberty was to
search both rooms for some wea v1 of defense.
When she had collected everyt am; that could
possibly be put to such a use, 8!." found herself
in possession of a wooden poker, an ordinary
case knife, an unloaded rifle, a tin wash-basin,
Mair of top-boots, a bullet mold, a me] '

lo, and a chunk of lead (5 1.2; as a hens
eg . Abandoning all the other". as useless, she
11 the last in her pocket. If she could stun
'm by a blow she mi ht get an effective wea-
pon from his belt, an then to mistress of the
situation. Knowing that she was under sur-
veillance, she did not avail hersif of The Red
Hand’s mission to atttmpt escal '3.

She ad been aIOne scarcely tCTl minutes,
when The Red Hand reappeared.

“ I am sorr to disturb you,” he said: “but I
have change my plans. You will pardon my
seennn incivihty, if I rqugst you to again sub-
mit to ving your hands und.”

He apgsroached her for the purpose of putting
his wor into effect; but hastily drawin a
bench out from the wall and steppmg behing it,
she said:

“ Pegmit me to decline your very courteous

ues .

e looked at her surprised, yet pleased with
her spirit. In her flashing eyes he s:-.w the look
w1th which Dauntless Jerry ad held him, while
Jerry and his friends were making their escape
from the Occidental Saloon. '

“Curse the pair! the look mightily alike— .

the same spirit; almost be same features. But
it is 1mpossxble that she should have a brother-
unless—unlem— B Heaven! sup
Kate,’ as they call er, were deceiving me, and
this is not the child after all! -Wh1t is the mys-
tery of this brother, which she is so anxious
should not be revealed? I’ll force Mad Kate to
tell me curse her! If it should prove not to be
the c ' d after all— But, what’s the odds? Iget
a magnificent wife; for, by Heaven, she shall
bemy wife! andm reve is just as rfect,
solong asthe fa erbe'evesthati ishis
dau hter.”

. e he was thus meditating, his eyes were
gloating upon her beauties of person, and her
oftwet eful bearing.

on

“ It is so much easier to adjust these matters
amicably, you know.”

“ Never, you villain !” she replied. flrml .

He took a step toward her, and reac ed to
pull away the bench. He saw her incline slight-
y forward, every muscle tense and eyes flash
like fire. He saw her draw her right ban
slight] from the folds of her dress.

W t weapon has she there?” he asked him-
self' and, remembering that she had been alone
in the cabin several minutes, answered: “A
knife, most likely. There may have been one
lying about.”

Stepping back he blew a shrill whistle, mut-
term himself -

“I vs no particulardesireto ta cut, and
!—before I

she might give me one—the spit
the four men who

could secure her. ”

His call was answered b
actedashis bod —guard,t eflfth being yet in-
valid from the e ects of his wound.

“ Two of you tie her hands,” commanded The
Red Hand, tossing the cord to one of the men.

“ You cowardly wretch!” cried Iola, stepping
from behind the bench and extending her
hands. “ Are you afraid to attack an unpro—
tected woman single-handed? I shall not scuf-
fle withthe viletoolsthatserve you; yet to be
bound b even one of them is'preferable to sub-
mitting” such an errant knave and poltroon
as ou.

‘ Just so,” re lied The Red Hand, with exas-
perating indi ercnce. “But, if you please.
we’ll have them tied behind your back.”

Nebraska Larry, the man whom, in the
opening of our story, The Red Hand knocked
down without apparent cause, in the Occidental
Saloon, Stan forward to ca out the com-
mand of his chief. Hetied Iola’s .ds ,

et withacare not to pain her wrists. ,

hus engaged he deftly drew her handkerchief

from her pocket and ansferred it to his own
unobserved by any one resent.
“Thatwilldo,”said 9 Red Hand; end his

_body-guard wi drew.

this ‘Mad ;

you be persuaded?” he asked, aloud. '

._____-_.~..__.._.___. _ _

 

“I am sorry _to again put you to the incon- I

venience of ndmg before me in the saddle,”
ursued the robber chief  the help-
girl, who yet stood c and reso ute before
him;”“but prudential reasons makes it neces—

Ingnowing that she was wholly in his power
Iola followed him from the hut and permitted
him to lift her to his horse’s withers. Then he
swung into the saddle, and set forth through
the darkness at a. walk. At a narrow pass which

‘ gave entrance to the pocket, he was challenged

__.1

. Then the footsteps of the robber

53-:

y a sentinel.
. A minute later he passed the figure of a man
standing motionlem in the shadow of a rock.
The man fell into his wake, moving cautious] ,
guided by the sound of his horse’s hoofs. e
was out of sight of The Red Hand; but an ob-
server might have reco ' in him the man
who had bound Iola at his master’s bidding, and
stolen her handkerchief on his own account.
For nearl a mile he thus tracked The Red
mHand; buhasl ghgjslaltter  into the public

wa , e e orse on a swmging -

lop which soon distanced the man who €2.15
“ shadowing” him.

rW hen he could no longer hear the ring of the
hdrse’s boots in advance, Nebraska La gave
over thgupursuit with an oath, and rehrrned
slowly thoughtfull to the stronghold.

Meanwhile The Red d rode for an hour on
the highway; then for half an hour among the’
broken hills and valleys ; and finally tied his horse.
Letting Iola walk where the way was smooth
enough, and lifting her over the re lacos,
he continued forward for another -hour.
The goal reached at last was a cave, whose en-
trance was concealed by over ' vines. In
an inner chamber he showed Iola the place des-
tined for her habitation. A pile of wood would
enable her to maintain a fire, which would sup-
ply light and warmth. A shake-(down of‘ ed
grass, covered b a buffalo-robe and blankets .
servedas a couc A jig of water and food
egfigrgh for three or four ys were left by her

J .
“Whatiswan' in comfort is more than
made up in se'curi y,” said The Red Hand.
“You are in no danger of molestation, since
notasoul in the worl save myself knows of
thiscave. Beforeyouwill be in need of an -
thing, I shall return with a new supply, or
take ou to a new and more commodious abode
Unt' then, adieu!” '
Alarge rock was 'cel balanced before the
inner mouth of the galLry which connected
the 1311me chamber with t1lthe outer
wor Hand passed into e ,
knocked out a supporting rook. and the 
ed so as to completely close the opening.

chie went
down the gallery and died away.
awful sense of desolation came over Iola,
With the thought that she was immured in a
living tomb known only to her captor. What
if he ehouid’ be killed? Or, if he were captured
by her friends, she believed that he would
rather leave her to die in that awful sepulcher
than reveal her whereabouts.

In that unchanging gloom and silence she
had nothing b which to measure the flight of
time, save y the recurrence of hunger and
dro and the necessity of replenishing
her fire to avoid being left in utter darkness.

Her oughte were of the strange life she had
led in the society of a demented woman;
of the mystery which had shrouded that life
almost from its inception, and seemed
about to lift, when the rude hand of her a ne-
tor snatched her away; of the father whom she
had known for scarce a minute; and of the love
that had come to her life like warm showers to
the parched earth. L ' with her hands over
per 13w 13:: who e etiulll that ef-

ort ins image 0 er over rested
warm inherheart,shepassedmuchofthetime

inabeatific
Andsoshewai ahel less risoner. What
chanceinthe ous 'eof er jailermight

leave her to die in that horrible prison! But was
not even that preferable to his return}

With her mind tortured with chhéfin horrihibzlfi
dilemma, at above all dreading' e w
mustsee the ' ' of her loathsome bon-
dalfizh she fell into a troubled. slumber, from
W she awoke shrieking, shrinking with hor-
ror fromhis odious embrace and sickening at
his tainted breath on hercheek.

 

CHAPTER XX.
unnnasxa LARRY.
“J’ni‘eifiili‘ihwm Semitic mam:
e r r

fithr-ingthe gentleman in, and Mrs. Rob-
inson will a ly restoratives.”

That ex nt lad , weeping and trembling
with terror, assisted e major to hear his un-
censcious friend into the house, and they soon

’thered his scattered senses.
“Yourdaughteris in t hands of the man
The Red Hand,” said The Stranger.

A HardCrowd; or, Gentleman Sam’s Sister.

“ I cannot ex lain the feeling,” he said. “ but
somehow or ot er I have eve ' confidence in
your success in anything you un ertake. I can~
not find words to thank you for befriending me
and my child—”

“ It is unnecessary,” hastily interrupted The
Stranger, with one of his uliar frowns.
“ Even did I not owe to Miss ola my hasty re—
cove , I have an old sconro settle with The
Red lIsfand, which would lead me to hunt him to
hisslair.” h

tru lin to overcome t e mysterious repug-
nance gvghic this man’s frown inspired, Dr.
Chillingworth said:

“Let us make common cause against him.
N 0 man ever wronged another more deeply
than he has wronged me and mine. I have
been on his track for years, but dared not attack
him until I tracked him to the place where he
had hidden my child. I have been deceived a
hundred times, but never saw her until to-day.”

Wi in her eyes on her apron, Mrs. Robinson
had listening to the conversation. She
now inte 2

“ Woul ’t it be well to take Dauntless Jerry
in com ny with you? He is a brave lad and
will fig t manfully for his sister.”

Dr. Chillingworth turned sharpl upon the
speaker, his face convulsed by a su den spasm
o m.

‘ Madam,” he said, “what of this Dauntless

Je ? Do ou know him?”

“ ow ‘ ? Law bless you, sir! I’ve
knowed him this twelve mon . And a finer-
spoken or better—intentioned y g man ain’t to

be found in these nor a sweeter or more
amiable than his Sister, sir.”

“You call them brother and sister. I pre-
sume they are in the habit of  as such,
tho h the are not related in realit .’

“ ot ted?” repeated the g widow, in
amazement. “Why, bless your heart, sir!
they’re twins!”

A sudden pallor overspread the doctor’s face,
and he caught at the bed-post for sup rt.

“You must be mistaken,” he sai , huskily.
“The girl herself said that he was not her
brother and that she never had one to her
knowle ge.”

“ Iola said so, sir?” asked the widow, blankly.

H Y“. 7)

“That Gentleman Sam.1 or, as on call him,
Dauntless J erry, was not er bro er?”

“She said so.’

“Surely, sir, you must have misunderstood

«She never could have said such a thing in

earn .
These ntlfilmen can bear witnes: that 2181:-
sar so an w1 everyappearance o earn
nose.” The major bowed avely. He was think-
ing that Iola had indul
position. The S r sat in stem silence,

with gm brows. ' e he would not r-
mit h' to doubt her, he was al er
puzzled.

“But, gentlemen,” pursued Mrs. Robinson, “ a
chance resemblance so perfect is im ble.

They are as like as two peas exce t at one
has short black hair and the other 0 blonde.
Besides, eve body knows them as bro her and

sister by the own acknowledgment.”
“Major,” said the doctor, ‘ ou have seen
them. Arethey sonearly alike What is your
opinion?”
Hisvoiceshookandhis 9 es filled. He sunk
into a chair with the ol despondency upon

Major Gravesend’s eyes flashed and his
cheeks crimsoned slightly with indignation, as
he‘sfidisemphatically:th t th 1

my opinion a ' is im '
upon you, in the hope of gettiglgl; rich fapt(l)1selrx‘fg

“ Hold on there, pardnerl” cried The Stranger,
his speech running into dialectic form as his

rose. “Yourecoming down retty h
on a girlthatisn’tbyto speak in her own de-
fense. I reckon you d better take that back.”

“ I’m not in the habit of swallo ' my
words!” returned the ma or, defiantly. iew-
ing The Stran r as a riv , he did not feel over-
cordial tow him.

“ Gentlemen, I pm you desist!” said the doc-
tor, starting up. “ 0 cannot afford to have
dissension among ourselves. I think there must
be some mistake here. The girl has too truthful
a look, even if the dimcult of successful decep-
tion was notso great. Ie us present a united
front to the common enemy, and seek explana-
tion when we have recovered her.”

“I hope it may be as you suggest,” saidthe

major.

And The Stranger contented himself '
sesame... “t”
was P ° 1: the docto
disturbed than his words would 
Cate. While the team started irresistiblyin-his
eyesfihe thought:
mi‘. :25 M “°tha.d§sPP°mz:3-B“‘ 

0 0W 111 Be leve—
Gsshzssfil new" ‘ “1::
0 W ' acein ' hands andin
0f: irit  ’ an y
B an postorl And et 1
member the boy, the are too near-lg:r alg to:
, gem Why-W y have I been involved in
. such a network of deception and win-.123”

 

‘.
1

in a very bold im-‘

21

 

Major Gravesend sat with a dismal frown
knittin his brows, beatin a devil’s tattoo on
the tabewithhisfingers. ewaswishing “the
whole sex to the d I”

k in his chair with closed
ayes. His late be rothed was discovered to be

e daughter of a wealthy man, or was attempt-

g to herself off as such by disowning her
twin rother; for, thou h he would permit
no other man to impeac Iola’s veracity, The
Stran er {2t believed firmly in the relationshi
himse f. she would repudiate the tie of bl
so lightly at the romptin of ambition, would
shebe contentto ' herse f to an obscm'e ad-
venturer like himself when her newly-acquired
position and wealth would enable her to ire
to the highest in the land? But worse than
she was In the hands of his bitterest enemy.

Mrs. Robinso terrified by the appearance of
those about her, sunk trembling into a chair
which occupied an obscure corner. As she had
not witnessed the meeting between Iola and the
doctor, she was wonde ' what had induced
the girl to deny “ her own esh and blood.”

Surely the hapless Iola was undera cloud. All
those nearest and dearest to her had doubted
her, however much they had tried to hide the
fact from themselves.

That night a band of resolute men was form-
ed, and everything fit in readiness for the mor-
row’s e 'tion. ey would have set out im-
mediate y; but in that case torches should have
been necessary to follow the trail; and they knew
that an ambuscade and a slaughter by invisible
foes would be almost inevitab e. .

When TheStranger cametotryhisstre ,
he found that the leasure of bemg de t
upon his fair nurse induced him to play the
invalid lon r than his constitution de-
manded. r. Chillingwo too, seemed much
like his own self, supportedin a measure by ex-
citement.

Following the trail, they found that it led first
to Dauntles Jerry’s hut in the woods A thou--
sand little thin about the two rooms it con-
tained gave ev1dence of Iola’s resence. But
the housc was n0w tenantless, yet eft untouched,
as if its occupants had gone out onavisit. A
saddle, a rifle, a pair of top-boots and various
articles of male attire reminded Dr. Chilling-
worth painfully of Dauntlem Jerry.

“They may have captured the boy, too,” he
said further depremed at the tho ht.

- “ “2’ "Pmmgfii'i" d 3' 1; ail" "it?
signs 0 a e an on eve y
would have ca t  napping. Doubtleu he
was away from ome.”

“ They bbled Mad Kate, an’ that’s a fact!"
said one o the men. “I wonder what the g.-
loot wanted 0’ her?”

There was no ready solution to this question;
and as nothing fin-ther could be gathered at the
hut, the moved on. As t ey advanced
the trail harder and harder to follow,
from two causes. First, the soil changed from
asoftloam to a rockysurface; and second,a
heavgr rain which had come on  the
mg: , was fast washi out the few traces left.
A r wandering all the drenched and

w part had to acknowledge themselves
completely a); fault.

That night they bivouacked in the wilderneu,
andinthe mommglse ted into two parties,
the larger one un er be lead of Major Grays-
send, the smallln headed by The Stranger. The
latter was accompanied bly Dr. Chillin orth;
and also of the was oker Tom, w 0 now
declaimedlou yagainst eRedHand,to
w in the character of a. horse—thief, he
seem to have taken a peculiar aversion.

When the late second of Missouri an~
gounced his mmntfioriaaattfichgidimfiglf to The

tranger’s party, e r s ow ' uies-
cence b silence; but, there was an 331mm
glitter in his eyes and set to his lips, which
might have warned the gambler, had he ob-
served them, that the first sym tom of treach-
eryonhispartwduldbevisltecibyswiftdeath.
' t was arranged that the twopartiesshould
scour the country in search of The Red Hand’s
retreat' and a rendezvous was ap inted where
scoumfromeitherpartycomd e ect mtercom~
munication.
hIt wasdadhzut 3;; migd‘lsme, afterrgroon of
t e secon y, rs pa were
startled by the appearance of a man standing
directly in their path, with his hands held above
his head, the palmsrtodthe frond Th 8
on eman e tnnger
' ' withiryi’a few feet of him. ’

‘ A manwhohasthewilland the knowledge
whichwillpptTheRedHandinyourpowerbe—
fore sunset, lied the dark-brewed stranger.

“ By m i” cried Poker Tom, “ but, it’s
Nebraska l—him that’s thicker than seven
in a bed with

eRed Hand! Gen I In
ile that he leads usinooenieeleefi’eui'hnhy,
{hat’llcostusallourhidesw 7
“Are one memberof limited“
“9%?” " med This braskar' mrmmy oooll
‘ e , .
“Agnot you Iech by

W11 in our ofpowerg' your

. not,”re ' ,
l. “Isuppose you owthatweareafterfi
. chief of cutrthroate and all his suborde '

 

 

 

fiv

I

g r

 I

 

5i“ '

l:- -‘

__ r, u , .
.32..."

- )
V straighter n

I}.
r
I

“ I am aware of the fact.”

“ Then how do you ex t to escape

“ Wyhmaking terms With you.”

“ at are your terms?”

“ I propose to betray The Red Hand into your
Ewer before sunset, and leave the rest of the

ys to shift for themselves.

7'

he should escape the noose. ithout m help,
you might hunt for him twenty years an be no
nearer finding him than you are now. The

rice of this help is an engagement on your part ‘

t I shall go free.”
“What evidence have we that you are not
allots: to lead us into an ambush?”
o
' his

lack hair from his temple. As he did

so '9 face flushed pur le, and his eyes glittered ‘

until he looked like a emon of fury.

“ Well ?” asked The Stranger.

“It is a rule in the band that we shall never
address our leader, who is The Red Hand, by
any title. I accidentally began to call him cap—
tain, and some of the men here present saw me
knocked down before the words were out of my
mouth. Do
to for t suc 1 a thing as that?”

He rew himself erect, with flashing eye and

dilating nostril. He was a man above the ordi- ‘

nary level as was indicated b speech and
mienhand, the indignity must have cut him

deeIilyl.a
“ ve had my finger on the trigger to shoot
him a score of times smce,” he pursued; “but I
thought better of it, and reserved his neck for
the hangman. If you wish further security, let
me go on before you, where you can keep your
pistol on me.” i
“That’s fair!” cried The Stranger, the smol-
dering fire of his hatred flaming up lurid through
his e es. “Lead on! Let me get my grip on
the 1'; mat of The Red Hand, and I swear that

no man shall raise a hand against you until he i

has passed over my dead body!”

CHAPTER XXI.
A STRANGE DILEMMA.

“ MEANWHILE,” ursued The Stranger, draw-
ing his pistol and rownin menacingl , “it is
needless for me to tell you hat you w' be held
to strict account for your behavior, and an -
thing havgig the slightest a pearance of treac o
ery will f eit your life. d on!”

‘ Let me second the motion, Cap’n,” said
Poker Tom, also drawing his won and com-
in to the side of The Stranger. ‘ I reckon the

oot’ll git lugged, ef he don’t carry himself

1”

 

ck out any other three men in your com-

 but I don’t want that hound at my

,’ said Nebraska Larry, frownin darkly

at Poker Tom. “ Being in my rear he’d find an
excuse for shooting me inside of half an hour.”

“Maybe you think I don’t dast to shoot you
to or face!” cried Poker Tom with a fierce
0e ;and as he ke heaimedhiscockedpis—
tol at the breast o the other.

Like a flash Nebraska Larry’s pistol shot
forth, so that Poker Tom could look directly
down the barrel.

“Dro that weapon, you cowardly whelp!”
he in a ringing veice. “Drop it!”

im
mbler was cowed. Blanching to the lips, be

t his arm sink to his side, almost involun—

l .l

“ reckon this h ar hain’t the time to rrel
with eon,” he sai , with a scowl of m ignant
ha . “After yeou’ve showed us The Red
Hand, I allow yeou’ll git attended to.”

“I want your word that that dog shall not
shoot me while tugyrlt'alyeeoif of him,” said Ne-
braska e anger, not eigning
another look at the bier bully.

“ I’ll guarantee t,” was the Wily. “Put |
up your wealpon, Poker Tom. en you’re -
wan you’ be called on.”

Bcow ing darkly, the mbler slunk awa . ~
“ Lead on!” commantfe‘d The Stranger tg Ne-

braska Larry.
Without more ado the robber turned upon his
heel and strode forward, followed-b the others.
The sun was already below the orizon and
the woods were fast being enshrouded in the
gloom of night when The Stranger stopped his
guide. Suspiciome he said:
“Look here, my friend. I thought we were
to have The Red Hand before sunset. ”
“ You know for yourself that I have come in
the most direct line possible; and when I tell
on that we are Within half a mile of the s )t
e is to camp in to-night, you will see that us
far I have preserved the appearance at least of
sinceri .”
“That’s straight. I have nothing further to

a .77
They now advanced with ter caution, and
in due course of time they escried the light of
a camp-fire, surrounded by four men. The Red
Hand’s body-guard consisted of five men. One
was still invalid from the wound he had remived
onthe ' ht of the duel in the Occidental Saloon.
One had n sent on a scouting expedition, and
was now about to betray his chief into the
of the enemy. ‘ The other three were with

Wipel .

_ 
.W--.....—_-.- _.

I have nothing :
against them; but I’d give m neck rather than j

on see that scar?” asked the man, rais- ‘

on think men of my stamp are apt .

perious was his tone and look that the T

The M New York Library.w

“ There is our 0.
i you to bag it, said ebraska
ut one request—that you will not shoot The
l Red Hand. at least so as kill, but give him
; the full benefit of a rope-en l”
“ No fear but he’ll get his deserts!” muttered
The Stranger,his eyes glowing like coals.
Dividing his company into three rties, he
‘ arrangedasurronnd, the attack tobegm at a sig-
nal from him. Himself heading one of the parties
which was to move off at right angles on either
side, leaving the third where it was, he placed
the other under Dr. Chillingworth. Among his
own party be numbered Poker Tom and Ne-
braska Larry, determined to keep them under
his own eye.
“ One word,” said the doctor graspinfi his
hand earnestly. “ Do not kill The Red and
‘ outright. I must have a word with him before
he dies. This is all important, believe me! Have
I your promise?”
“ I have no intention of givi
able a death as shooting,” repli
griml . “ I owe

Poker Tom

him so honor-
The Stranger.
him too much for that!”

rted.
.ected eat ea emess and vigil—
: ancez creepin forwar with his pistol held in
j readiness. escntl The Stranger saw him
stumble, clutch hastlly at a bush, as if to save
himself from falling and in the act his pistol
exploded. It was done ve naturally. and
all of the party but two—The L tran r and Ne-
braska Larry—supposed it an acci nt. They
knew better.

: “Die! you infa'nal traitor!” cried The Stran—

r

ge .

His pIiVstol belched forth a sheet of flame, and
Poker om fell heavily to the ound.

“ Come on, men!” comment ed The Stranger
in a ringing voice; and turnin shareg toward
the fire, he led the way throng the rush with
E great bounds.

“ Shoot every villain that resists!” he yelled,
as be bounded into the open s arctmd the
camp-fire. “ Surrender. you b ack-hearted var-
iets! Down with you arms, every mother’s son
‘ of

on!”
arned by Poker Tom’s treacherous shot, the
i robbers were already upon their feet, with
s weapons drawn. The Red Hand made an at-
tempt to kick out the fire, at the same time aim-
ing a shot at The Stranger, who was the first
' man to TE”. The one action defeated the
! other, an e Stranger ke t on unharmed.
E in more at 1118 bac , the robbers dis-
! chgjg-efa volley, and turned to dash into the
i, wr s in the opposite direction. But they were
met by the party under Dr. Chillingworth.
I Another volley, and the turned sharply to the
1 left, directly in the face f the third pa .
‘ “Ball !” yelled The Red Hand. “ rge!
I No qua r! Freedom or the hangman’s noose!”
! A rattling volley, and the four men of the
; third pa went to the ground together.
3 “ Hurra !” shouted the robber chief. “ Now
for it. Scatter!”
But a deadly fire poured in from both sides
I at his three companions be 0nd the power of
‘ ight. A hot from Dr. ' lingworth crippled
l the right hand of the chief, so that his pistol
dro to the und; while The Stranger
I ski] ully tumbl

le .
"' %ne of the robbers lay on his face, stone dead.
' Another was faintly gasping his last. with the
' blood streaming from a wound in his side. The
, third being supported in a partially sittin posi-

tion by the trunk of a three, aimed a shot
at his foes.

“ surrender!” cried the doctor, hesitating to

shoot him.
I “ Never!” was the defiant reply; and aiming
i his pistol into his own ear, the rufflan esca
| the gallows by suicide.

example; for he found himself in the’ power of
two of his deadliest foes. But at that instant
he caught sight of Nebraska Larry, and realized
his treachery; and with a fierce oath of fury he
aimed at his heart, shouting:

“ That for your recompense, you treacherous
l defig’! Ha H hed La h
I “ a ! a!”la.u rry,as elea
g to one side; and the has sped harmlesst by.pod

With a fierce oath. the baffled chief turned his
{2:01 upon himself; but Nebraska Larry’s heavy

t kicked the weapon from his hand.

The Red Hand next drew his knife; but he
was disarmed, 0111 having succeeded in inflict-
' a slight woun on his ri ht breast.

‘Ha! ha! ha!” laughe Nebraska Larry.
“ Are we quits, old man i”

shot eyes, foaming at the month with impotent

ra .
58W? are not yet quits!” said The Stranger

confronting his fallen fee with the sternness of
an avenger.

. “Have not I _ an account to settle with you?”
! demanded Dr. Chillin orth.
‘ The Red Hand roll his eyes until the found

the face of the last speaker. Then his eatin'es

I were distorted b a laugh of fiendish malignity.
!

 

 

“Ha! Ha! a! Ha!”
I Not a' word; but he looked and laughed
- again: ‘

a.” .-

It only remains for ,
Larry “I have

him in a heap with a broken 

Seeing him, The Red Hand tried to follow his .

The Red Hand only glared at him with blood- ,

6', __....._—._. ...-.....-,..

'. Fol: 1-

._..—...

-M-.. .._. ,.

"‘Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Horrified b the hidden significance of that
laugh, Dr. C 'lingworth caught at a sapling
for su port.

“ here is m child?” he demanded, hoarsely.
“ You devil! w at have you done with her?”
H“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed The Red

and.

“ Ah !” cried the doctor with a sudden thought
“ We shall defeat you after all! The man who
betrayed you into our power can lead us to
your stronghold; and my darling will be res-
cued in spite of on!”

“ Ha! Ha! a! Ha!” laughed the fallen
chief again; and he rolled his eyes to the face
of Nebraska Larry.

“ We can depend u n your guidance, can we
not?" asked Dr. Chil ingworth, turning appeal-
inglv toward the traitor robber.

“ The girl is not at the stronghold—if you refer
to Gentleman Sam’s sister. e took her awa
ni ht before last,” replied Nebraska Larry, wi
a s ake of the head.

" Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed The Red
Hand, more devilishly than ever.

“ Do not on know where she is?” asked the
doctor, wit painful anxiety.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” came in that laugh
again, like some mocking fiend.

“ No,” replied Lang. “ Make him tell

“Ha! Ha! Ha' a!” laughed the robber
chief. Then rubbing his hands in ghoul-like

lee. here ted: “ ‘Make him tell you!’ Hal

a! Ha! Ha-a-a l” '

His laugh ended in a long-drawn shriek of
mocking hilarity.
1_fIt seemed to sting Dr. Chillingworth into new
1 e.

you.”

your men-uncut, at an rate, you
accursed fiend!” he cried. ‘ See w t I have
prepared for you!”

As he spoke, he uncoiled from his waist a. rope
whose use was not to be mistaken. At sight of
it, the men 'set up a cheer; but The Red Hand
regarded it unmoved, and laughed again.

At this point, all were startled b . a groan.
In contemplation of the intense emo ion of The
Stranger and Dr. Chillingworth and the fiend—
ish malignity of The Red Hand, the men had
forgotten their fallen comrades. '

“We have neglected these r fellows too
long. Assxst me here, men. d, doctor, here
is op rtunity for your skill.”

“ will do all that I can to alleviate their suf-
ferings; but I must confess to you that I am not
a physician. The title is part of a disguise I
adch while following yonder villain.”

“ ell, let us examine them and do what we
can. This one is beyond all re 'ef.”

Of the four men who had comprised the third
party, two were found to be dead and the re-
maining two severely wounded,'so effective had
been the last volley of the robbers. In The
Stranger’s mt , one man had fallen with two
bullets in ' y, dead, perhaps, before he

» struck the ground. The Stranger himself was
bleeding from two wounds, one in the shoulder

‘ and one in the side, where a bullet had ranged
along a rib. In Dr. Chillingworth‘s pang, three

‘ men were wounded—one severe] , two ghtly.

The survivors frowned dar y when they

summed 11 their loss.

“ Three ead men and six wounded!” said The
Stranger. / “Those fellows knew how to fight,
at any rate.” '

“I reckon their chief nrter hang powerful
hi h for this!” muttered one of the men. ,

1 ‘No fear but he’ll get hanging enough!” re-
lied The Stran yr, with one of his peculiar
rowns. “ You’ find another out in the brush
! yonder. I settled his account, so as to save a
bullet in the back, haps.”
, “ Let him go. reckon he’ll keep," replied
! one of the men. .

Had they gone to look for Poker Tom, they
would have discovered that he was not to be
‘ found; but so e were they at his treach-

ery, that no one to see whether or not he
‘ lay wounded, needing their care; but all ad~
; dressed themselves to collecting the dead and
1 making the wounded as comfortable as possible.

“And now, gentlemen,” said the doctor, when
this had been accomplished, “let us have this
rope over yonder limb, and test the efficacy of

. hanging!”
on dare not hang me!” said The

“ You fool!

Red Hand, coo .

‘ “ And why no l” demanded the doctor, tyi

! the noose With his own hand; for the men h

I sprun to the work with a will, and the rope
; was a ady dangling across the limb. -

“ For your daughter’s sake, I have placed her
where she can get neither brea nor water, save
l fromtfafymd. What wall b ogre Ffflheréncllo
,oum,iyou ereao e
f yuan who can find her!” y
l “ I intend to make your secret the (price of
! your life!” replied the doctor, coolly, a justing
l the noose about the neck of the robber chief.
I “Pugh! you are a fool, as I said before! Do
: Eton think me such an idiot as to purchase my
1'efromayou,onlytobe 'ven overtotheee
, devils? ave you he digni of the name of a
1 ' lance Committee, gentlemen?”

eRedHandspokewithaflememeerof
meek courtesy.

h , .

1

ww.‘~»» .

n

 

n

.-V

i
l,
.!
23

No. l.

“ We’re ‘vigilance ’ enough fur you!” replied
one of the men; and the rest jomed m a deep
rumble of wrathful assent.

” Hoist away!” commanded the doctor.

Out of the fourteen men—including Poker
Tom—who had com the attacking (pa ,
Dr. Chillinflgrth, ebraska Larry an two
other men escaped without mJury; but
those who were only slightly wounded
tolaya hand on the rope; and TheRed

 

were terrible to beho and
any hearts not steeled by long
made callous by daily scenes

He clutched I odically
at the rope above his head; but his right hand
had been rendered helpless by the doctor’s
bullet.

“Let him down!” commanded the doctor
when the purple visage of the wretch show
that he was at the int of suflocation.

The men obey .
long the torture as much as possible.

ago writh'
! must have mov

1' 01th loosened the noose; and The Red . Tom!”—and with a diabolical smile of triumph ‘
1%: lay in a hea .

, gaspm for breath.
“ Where is my tighter? demanded the doc-
tor when the robber chief was able to speak.
“Where she will sufler the pangs of starva-
tion—where she will burn with thirst! Ha! be!

my suffering—
‘ Hoist awa l” commanded the doctor; and
the bitter wor were stopped in the throat of
the obdurate robber.

' a scene from which the eye turns in

. Theywerewilling)to hrfi-i
r. -

Aflwrbwds Defiantlsean .Sam’S.Sister-

 

“.125!

ammo” of the ground in a  His !
d,

i

i

Again
horr . The ride of the sav whether white
or If) age ( ed to ‘

or red) ooul enable the crim man

face death resoluwa and with a calmness born
of bravado' but no will could cow the runs-
glgtghenthebodywasinthe graspof

. “ Lower away!” came the stern command;
and a ‘1.
groun
“ Where is my daughterf’
The doctor’s voice was implacable.
° “ Where she will die
you will never see—”
u  away,” . . .
The doctor was a man of ice. His vorce was

as steady” ifhisvictim had beenabaleofiTheRed
' . . I I when he wants
This time the struggles were faint, consisting ; reckon, th h,

merchandise

of only now and then an involun twitching

 

 

ing her! So do your worst! Ha! ha! ha!" he
added, leering at The Stranger, “are we quits
now? So you love her, do you? Well, you
will have the consolation of reflecting, for the
next four or five days, that she is dying a lin-
gering death; unless she has wit enough to dash

er head against the rocks and so emape the
hellish gnawing of hunger. bid on ever starve
until you cursed God, man an fortune? Ha!
ha! it is a glorious revenge!”

The doctor turned away sick at heart.

“It is no use!” he sai . “My God! what
shall we do?”

Any answer to the uestion was cut short by
a hurtlin sound in t e air. Before they had
time to thmk‘ , The Stranger an Dr. Chilling-
worth were dashed to thrown upon
the ground; and a ratt 'ng volley brou to the
ground three out of the five men he ding the

A wild yell—a rush—and the little glade

swarmed with men. .

TheRedHand struggled teasi ' posture;
heard their wild cheer—“Hurrah or Poker

sunk back unconscious.

.—

CHAPTER XXII.
mom FORTUNE.

THE bullet  b The Stranger at Poker
Tom his temp e, partially stunning him
for the moment. He arose to his feet however
just in time toseethepartyof The hednemi
overpowered. He turned, and with swift, glid—
misteps sought security in flight

t a distanceof afewmiles heranuponan-
other camp, which proved to consist of a dozen

1 men,bwith about a score of horses. Boldly the

I
v
|

androt,curseyoulbut\

1

gain ler stalked forward. until commanded to
t by a sentinel.

“I come as a friend,” he said, “with the

‘ a mass of quivering humanity lay ‘, new’sthatTheRedHand has justbeengobbled

up. .
Instantly the men crowded about him, while
one of them asked:
‘Who are ou, and what do you know of
The Red Han i”
“I’m Poker Tom, at your sarvice and my
name’s a firetty fair show of my mode of life.
and s the man what cracks the whip
eou galoots to come to taw.
e hain’t long fur this sixth, of
eou don’t ta e a hand in a leetle game inwhich

of the limbs: but the contortion of eatum, the : e held the loosin’ keerds.”

protrusion of eye-balls, was horrible in the ex-

t .
reByllfower awa i” commanded the doctor
‘ When the blood to issue from the nose and
' ears.
' ' The men obeyed. but their victim lay motion-
less.

' “ Here! a canteen—quick! He is dying!
Great God! if he should die now!”
Dr. Chillingworth the 11 nor down the
throat of the un ous robber c ref, and after
time“ restored him to conscio ess.
a “ 0h, curse you! have you brorlifht me back?”
was the salutation of The Bed
saw the face of his foe ben over him. .
Instantly the doctor was e stern Judge
“ Where is my daughter?" he demanded, as
e .
“n'll'lhgved “Hand” r madehnovrliaply, but la 
closed breathing ea ' . Presen _ y
head 513$ slightly one side, and his eye-
lids opened sligh y. ' . _
Dr. Chillingworth arose from his kneehng
posture and turned to The Stranger.
“ The man is asleep,” he said “ What can I

dare t (1 him resin He would
:33; surviaio mm if he cold die what

would become of my child? Advise me.
“ I know of no séronger nigoltive Egan hats

” ' tranger oom .

me. mliglsfiom than mist, and keeps him si-
lent, confess t I am at a loss how to move
” remiss him his freedom if he

It
rampfir" e can be hunted downatsiiy
timeafterward.”

may it.” ,
“ Bu sup the men should obiectr '

th ! re bed The
could persuade can; _th I; sort of

Hand, and shook him into wakefuln from
that sleep which is sometimes induced b
exhaustion follo intense agony.
ber chief awoke wit a start.
“What! on again?" he snarled.
’ devil claimxns own!”

turn awa hishead wearil .
finsgehhereifd  the doctor, ‘y I have a

to e. You have had a spice _of

what awaits you if you remain obdurate; if,

m the other hand. you release inry daughter,
free. Do you consent

“ May the

yo'.‘I‘1l'ie BedoHand _turned his face toward the,

doctor,  With t triumph and
deathlel . _
“ Never!“ he cried. with something of his old

w. “I have you both. curse you! iii iv-

l

l

4

!

' knif

l

 

and, when he I

1

 

A rapid interchange of questions and answers

soon put the cam ing pa in possession of the
facts, and canned them Io?Poker Tom’s loyalty
to their interests; and they were soon on the
way to rescue. '
skillfully-thrown lariat brought The Stran-

r and Dr. Chillingworth to the groun bound

y. the same noose. Before they coul dra'w v
_e or pistol, 1A; release themselves or beat 03 '
their fees, the robbers were u n them; and
they were soon securely bound, nd and foot.
Of the rest of the party, all were shot down or
forced to surrender except one, who effected his
escape in the darkness.

Aswe. have said, The Red Hand sunkback
unconscious, when he heard the shout of vic-
to of his adherents. He received instant at- ‘
ten on, and was made as comfortable as possi-
ble until morning.

When the cam was astir, Th Red Hand
called for Poker cm. The gamber presented
“shims? was“ first.

_‘ , sai ero rcief,scanning
him sharply from head to foot, “ if I remember
rightly], you acted as second to Missouri Bill,
w on 9 passed in his checks?” -

“ Boss, yeou’re a-cacklin’ tenor!” replied Po-
ke‘r. ggm. .

esameni ht ou sidedwith me whenI
got in chanceriyg’ y ’ 1'

:: Boss, yeoqre a-whistlin’ bass, fur sure!”

And last night you brought these fellows to
the rescuN eigo '

“ ow, ss, yeou’re jest a-shoutin’ in the
high notes! I reckon yeou’d been laid on the
shelf by this time, ef it hadn’t been fur yer
hiring}; sahivant!” ;

ve you befriended me and in men 1’”
“War, ye see I knowed as how ygou was
mm as was gents, the fust clatter; mi’ I never .
the stomach to see a boss sharp walked over
b alot 0’ cattle jest be¢ause he was
t ‘a‘tés the how!”
uch aidences of friendship should not go

unrew .
“Wal, boss I leave tha to yeou.”
“Howcanlre y ou
“ I’m to make e trump myself?"
:: argon please;
boss wenyeoutrussupthatthar:
chicken ”—pointirag to The Stra —“ ‘
have: tihe ’ftust han or;o the rope!” ne'er let me
on propose hang him ‘ust . I
have further business with him,”J replilglw The '
Red Hand with a black scowl. '
«(1391; ywhen he gits his send-off, I’ll have a l
in
.“Yes, if I don’t conclude to settle accounts ‘,
wrth him with my own hand. But is that all I
y‘l‘ffifl‘”
“ veyy’p’u anything siesta give!”

down-

.1

* at hanging.

 

 Stow yer money i"

“ Horsos?"

“ Humph! They’d be a through ticket fur a
free swin , ef I 0t ketched with one i”

The Han regarded the gambler closely,
as if to divine what lay beneath his replies
Then he said, slowly: '

“ My friend, I reckon you haven’t led a strict-
 .. m. we...

ow ey co spot me eve ‘ °
in the calendar, from carryin’ a pair of aces in
my sleeve to rib—stickin!”

‘ Suppose you join our brotherhood.”

“Bom, that’s jest the music my year’s been
a—ticklin’ fur, this half-hour! I’m yer buckle
be , fur ninety days!”

“ ell, my men are in the habit of earning
their positions. You know the traitor Nebraska
Larry. When you bring me his scalp, my men
shall salute y,ou as first-lieutenant, in place (1

. Missouri Bill.

 ’nough! Boss, let’s strike palms as
t t!

“And now,” said The Red Hand, when that
ceremony was rformed, “let us see our
tring up every one ut these

0.
Under the lead of Poker Tom, who sought

. the work with avidity, eager for a chance to

zeal, the wounded and the hel lea
pigsoners were nded to the limb on w 'ch

e Red Hand b so nearly expiated all his
crimes. They bore themselves manfully, none
deigninglte ask mercy of the hand they knew
was rut less.

When The Red Hand had thus in a measure
sated his vengeance, the band took up the line
of march toward their mountain stronghold,
bearing their chief on a rudely-constructed lit-

ter.

Bound to the backs of horses, The Stranger
and Dr. Chillingworth were led away, captive,
by their bitterest fee. The former betrayed no
emotion whatever, but the latter rode with his
head hanging despondently upon his breast, and
tears of anguish tric ' slowly down

show his

hh
‘ beard. It was more terrib e to know that his

daughter was in the power of this fiendish out-
law, asawoman, thanithadbeenasaninfant.
Then there was the possibility of rescue, but
now—

“Oh, God! the only ones who could help her
are helpless!”

He might have rebelled against Providence,
had he had the strength; but, crushed by his

t sorrow, he could only weep.

With the face of a demon, The Red Hand had

dressed his followers:

“Men, keep your wits busy while we march.
The man who invents the most cruel torture
shall receive promotion !”

And turning to his prisoners with a brutal
18.11%), he added:

“ ut I have a rare treat for you of my own
devising. You shall witness our nuptials. Ha!
ha! hat. the law requires two witnesses, does it
not? But one formality we will be forced to
dispense with—the priest! Ecod! we’re any-
thing but priests, we free rovers! Ha! Ha!

Ha! Ha l”

These thoughts were tearing the heart of
both lover and parent. The one wept; the
agony of the other found e redon only in the
beads of sweat that stood thick upon his brow,
whep he thought that he was he pleas—utterly
hel ess! ‘

eri they entered the defile which gave ad—
mittance to the robbers’ home, and saw. the
huts, even the stout heart of The Stranger failed
him; and his head sunk upon his breast, while
his heart seemed rent asunder by a sob
firm-set lips would not let mp. A moment
more and he should see her-oh God! in what a

p ' t!

  s as m we. .1 we.“
ringing ' o sma -arms, 0 o y
a rallyEiililg shout; and in gistinnnfidiate vi '
crieso umanagonyaii esfieklfi' ne
of terrified and wounded animals. en
wild confusion of a stampede suddenly checked
and thrown back u n itself, frantic oaths, des-

te commands. era ' crack of revolv-
ers, and cheer upon cheer of “umphant assail-
ants. Then a eadlong scattering of terror-
maddened horses, some bestridden, some rider-
less. .

From out the dust and smoke a horseman
dashed up to The Stran r. His bonds were

severed and a . into his hand.
“ Put in a shot or two for the of human-
ity!” shouted a vo'ce: and , The Stran-
Dauntless J c , bareheaded,

r
E}: raven och swept from his mples by the
wind and his eyes lazin with excitement.
“God bless you, boy! re is your sister!"
cried The Stranger. _
H War first and chin-music afterward!”
shouted the youth in return, as he dashed awaiy.
The Stranger was not slow to take in the t-
uation: A score of men, with Dauntless Jerry
at their h had evidently t ‘session of
the stronghol and set an am uslimfor the re-
turning robbers. The surprised freebooten
fight With the d ration of mean know
escapewasse overegainstthe nous.
But, they were outnumbered. their hams IQ.

 

 

 

tofayoungbo .

i more deeply interes

.o

24

dered almost unmanageable, and the fight
turned into a mad chase about the glen—a run-
ning massacre!

Only one of the robbers foii‘glht on the offen-
sive. It was P0 or Tom. 6 Stranger saw
him ur like the wind toward Nebraska Larry
as if 83) ride him down. The traitor horse-thief
fired at his assailant, brin ‘ his horse all in a
heap to the und. But oker Tom slipped

, from the sad e, fighting upon his feet, and
aiming across the 0 his writhin animal,
2 perforated Nebraska

rry’s breast. oundin
orward, he drew a. knife, and the next instan

swung aloft the rocking scalp of his fallen foe,
with a wild Camanche war-whoop.

But it was his last. The Stranger had now
spurred his horse within ran ; and his uner-
rmg aim laid the gambler a qmvering mass upon
the ground.

Later, Dauntless Jerry was chasing a robber

‘b the litter on which; lay the helpless chief.

0 Red Hand raised upon his right elbow da
spite the excruciating . ' that darted rom
his shattered hand, an aimed at the youth.
But The Stranger was upon him, a hand clutch-
ing his throat, and a pistol at his ear. Then
there was a iercing shriek:

“ Stop! top! It is your father!”

A woman With streaming hair, rushing from
the direction of the huts, threw herself upon The
Stranger’s arm, breaking his hold 11 n the
throat of The Red Hand, and forcing t e latter
upon his back.

The Stranger recoiled, not fully comprehend-
iflplgkthe import of that cry. He saw the woman

' across the body of the robber chief. He
saw the latter recover himself, and with an oath
place his pistol at the head of the woman. He
sprung forward and prevented the murder, him-
self Meiving a slight wound before he disarmed
the rufiian. The woman raised her face up ap—
pealineg and said:

,“ Dontkill him! He is yourfather!”

Them of blood streamed from mouth
an'énd n ' , her head dropped, and she was

I

In the strug 1e for the possession of the pistol
The Stranfigd set his knee u n the broken
leg of The Hand, and the la r had fainted
from the pain. Leaving him thus, The Stranger
raised the woman in his arms and bore her back
to the huts. La ' her 11 n a couch, he saw
that she was a y d . From her bosom
had sli a miniature, suspended to her neck
by a ri n. As he caught si ht of the setting
l his heart gave a great bound. t wasa counter-

part to the one he had worn from infancy!
' Turning it over he saw that it was the icture
Then he drew forth his own,
and compa it with the face of the dead. A
moment’s scrutin , and he fell sobbing u n his
knebsiicovering t e unresponsive face wit tears

and sees.
“ Clix"! mother! mother! found only to be lost

 

\

CHAPTER XXIII.

m WRONG KADE RIGHT.

“Is he dead?”

“Deadasanit; an’ it’s a doggauned shame;
fur he was as peart a kid as ever handled shoot-
in’ ir’pns, an’ would ’a’ made a boss sharp in

“ r, t do you say? Deadi—Dauntless Jerry
dead I

The Stranger brushed by the last speaker, and
Enelt 1Beside thltlamprt;io(titrattie;l fiorm. pagafigtless

erry upon 9, ps 9. ex-
premio ess e es just visible between t e half-
ahut lids. ere was dust in his hair, on his
cheek, and on his clothes.

With a regretful look thinking how the blow
would fall upon Iola, The Stranger knelt beside
him. He took the cold nerveless hand in his;
then thrust his other hand beneath the serape-like
blanket which Jerry alwa wore huddled
about his shoulders, to feel if he heart et beat.
Instantly a quick cry of surprise esca his li ,
and he turned his face to the crowd as i to

k. But checkin himself, while a purple

ush mounted to his row and receded again, 0

bent over the youth and gazed into his face with
an efirgssion of wonder and mystification.

“ t is the matter?” asked one ofthe crowd,
puzzled b his stran e emotions.

“Not ,” repli The Stran , absently.

Then he fted the youth in arms and car-
ried him to one of the huts, followed by the cu-
rious crowd. Having laid him on a bed, he turn-
:21 dto the men who had entered the but and

“ Gentlemen, althou h near! a stranger, I am
in the y than an one
else, in the absence of his sister. Will you save
me alone with him?”

The radar spirits yielded to his commandin
air, and he was left alone, as he desired, thoug
his strange behavior provoked much speculation.
But other duties ca led them away, and soon
clove the subject from their minds.

First the wounded had to be cared for. Then
two of the robbers who had survived, though
wounded, were tried before J Lynch and

hangian their own doors. t the t
putt of Dr. Chillingworth the robber c ief

 

 

_ ThenNeW Y0??? Emmy-

was reprieved, until the secret of Iola’s confine-
ment could be extorted from him. Next came .
the burial of friend and foe. E

When Nebraska La was raised, he gave 1
signs of life by a fain groan. Restoratives ;
were immediately applied; and when he became j
conscious, he asked: I
“ gave you hanged The Red Hand?” I
“ o,” replied one of the men. “He’ll lget I
worse, if he don’t tell the doctor what he as 1
done with his daughter.” !

“ Where is Dr. Chillingworth! Fetch him
here,” said Nebraska Larry, scarcely above a
whisper.

The doctor was brought.

“Han that devil without delay,” said Larry.
“ Your ughter is safe.”

“Safe!” re ted the father grasping the
hand of the ying man. “ In Heaven’s name,
where is she?”

“ You will find her at home. I tracked her
with a hound. Bring The Red Hand before me,
and I will make him acknowledge all.”

The Red Hand was hurried into the room, as
Nebraska Larry’s excitement was fast burnin
his life away. \ At sight of the man who h'
knocked him down, Larry raised upon his elbow
about tospeak; but the robber chief anticipated
him with a lau h.

 

“Ha! Ha! a! So Poker Tom kept his
pledge; and I here y proclaim him lieutenant,
as Pardner, your head would make a

fine- ooldng wig-block. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

“ The lau h best who la b last ” said Larry.
“How oesi please you to balked at every
point? Your life-long enemies are uninjured
and triumphant, throu h my instrumentality;
for I put your neck in e noose yesterday, just
as Inentrapped you and your cut-throats to-

ay!

“You pitiful fool ” retorted The Red Hand,
“ these dead dogs, who have snapped at my bid-
ding so long, are nothin to me. As for the tri-
umph of m enemies, w y don’t they hang me?
Ha! Ha! a! They dare not! They knowthat
the girl would starve. I shall make my terms
with them, while I hold her as hostage.”

“ You lie I” cried Nebraska Larry, exultantly.
“ I have balked you there; and in two minutes
I shall see your worthless neck stretched on on-
der tree, just before the window. Did it no oc-
cur to you that the hound could track you no
matter how carefull your trail was concealed?
I f0110wed you to hat secret cave; drew the
vines from the entrance; pried away the bowl-
der; and found the girl in terror, just amused
from a nightmare in which she thought herself
in your oathsome embrace. Ha! Ha! Ha!
Who laughs n0w? Gentlemen, away with him!
And hang him from yonder limb, where I can
see him !”

The truth of Nebraska Larry’s statement was
manifest. The Red Hand was struck dumb.
With a wild hurrah the men seized him, and
bore him beneath the fatal limb. The rope was
hastily ad'usted, and ready hands waited to
give the oath tu . Then Dr. Chillingworth
 before the oomed man.

‘ orace Clifton,” he said, his face twitching
nervously, “the enmit between us has been
bitter and of long dura 'on. Before ou die, I
wish to disclaim any hostility towa ou, ex-
cept such :1: has grown out of the grea wro
you have done me. Here, in the presence 0
hat God before whom you are so shortly to go,
I forgive you for that wrong! Have you any-
thi to say?” a

“ es,” re lied The Red Hand. “ Let me see
my wife—t e woman who entered your house
as Mrs. Henderson, and Whom they now call
Mad Kate.”

“She is dead,” re lied the doctor solemnl .

“Dead!” repea the bber chief, with ihe
first manifestation of ten or emotion. .

“She died I‘lfin your breast,” said Dr. Chill-
ingworth. “ en The Stranger lifted her, she
was one.”

“ ere is a golden cross upon her neck.
Bring it to me.”

It was brou ht. ,

The Red and touchetii it to his 1i , and

me in deep ought.

fired upon it for a lon
on her ' hiseyes aid said:

“She 1 ed me as woman never loved man
before; I wronged her as man never before
wronged the woman of his love! That she has
forfiven me all, I know, even though the Al-
mig ty has turned away.

‘ Say to the man whom (you call The Stranger
that his name is Horace liften. He will bear
it, although it has been sullied b so base a
wretch as I, because it was givenlo him by a
mother who loved him better even than she
loved me; and I believe that placed me be-
fore her God. Tell him also, t at he did not
kill the woman whom he knewas Donna Pepita.
She hes yonder, under the name of Nebraska
Larry, waitirig to witness m death. I do not
blame her. have been a master to her
‘°5§§e‘31“‘iy$”"' nought r

ve our son b to on ’
asked the doctor. y y

“No; I do notwish toeee him. And now I

have but one word to la to you. You cannot

 

be mantofthem nwhic hasinduced
myouman.

my trod of you and yours.
, ,

a. Juan-«wwvrr ~~. -. " ‘ "' Y

 Yo} I

ried her Maud Belknap deliberate!

won my
heart oni to cast it beneath her.fee . I do not
pretend say how far the sanction of society

affects the morality of such an action; but at
her door lies the responsibility of turning a
manz with the ordinary mixture of goodand
bad in his nature, into a fiend! You may think
me already sufficiently bad having deprived
my wife of her child, and courted another
woman While she was yet alive. But I took the
boyl away from her because I thought her unfit
to ave him—but here I acknowledge my error;
for I now believe her as ure a woman as ever
lived—and when I sough Maud Belknap I sup-
posed m wife was dead. I say again then
that she is responsible for what I am. She paid
her life for it; and I presume we are quits. In
so far as my revenge has extended to others, it
is rha right that it should be frustrated.
‘An now, gentlemen, all I ask of you is to
make quick work of me!”
Sick at heart, Dr. Chill'
properly, George Kingslake

ed away. It
was the signal for a tu

on the re , and the

next instant Horace 1fton, The Hand,
was writhi in the air.
Nebraska rry, or, to use a name indicative

of her sex, the Countess Pepita started 11 ri ht
in bed, at the sound of the “Heave—ho! t t
si aled the execution of the robber chief.
‘Die, you devil! die!” she cried, vengefully,
and 'then sunk back dead. '
But scarcely was The Red Hand in the air
when Geor lake, as we shall now

him turn an ed.

“ let him down! For God’s sake let him down
one moment!”

Startled by his excitement the men let go the
to and the robber chief fell to the ground.

‘ 0h, curse you! have you brought me back!"
he cried, when he recovered consciousness.

“I could not let you die before you had let-
tled one doubt,” said George Ki lake. “If
this is really my dau hter, who is e man she
calls her brother? course she can have no_
fighgr; and yet they look most wonderfully

e.

“ I do not know,” re lied The Red Hand. “ I
amasmuchinthedar asyou. ButIthinkthe
girl herself can tell you.”

“ you telling me the truth?” asked the
agonized parent.

“ Before God, it is the truth!”

“The boyis dead' but I have theasuranoo
of the woman you call Pepita that my daughter
Egghhgme. ,Do you behave that she spoke the

“She has certainly been at the cave when
your daughter was confined; and she has no
motive for deceiving you. And now have not
you tortured me enough? Take this accurled
{egg from my neck, and let me die by the bul~
e

“Gentlemen,” said Geo Kingslake, “in
mercy let us comply witth request. The
same end will be reached no matter by what
means his death is accomplished.”

With one accord the men threw down the
rope. Ten were then selected, who chose pre-

pistols at random, five of which were
coded with blank cartridges; and The Red
Hand died with four bullets in his brain and a
wound on the side of the head, so accurate were
the shots.
The interrupted burial of the dead was now
ed]; and when the sun had beneath
ad Kate and

resum
the horizon only The Red Hand,
 is"? “remorse-

' e su t e r, or
Horace Clifton, % e o , would to
provide sepulture for 's parents

All this time The Stranger had remained in
the hut with the body of Danntlen Jerry. He
has; came forth wi a strange expressionon

ace.
“ Gentlemen,” he said, “J desire to have mifi
young friend buried apart from the rest. W
you ingulge me by digging his grave in yonder
ve
nge indicated a secluded spot, and the men not
to work.

When the message of The Redv‘Hand was de-
livered The Stranger was much aflected, and
gave directions that litters should be pregamd
on which his parents might be borne the

't .
9-K,” he lifted Dauntless Jerry in his am

82% deKizégflakeed “flit”; $11713?“ It":
e y e m
boyTgHe f t a sort of jeal of him. Who

was he? What had he been in; den ht."
glow ’came that strange resemblance begwe-

an r

Beside the open ve The Straw:- laid down
his burden, and  from still whim
face a fold of the serapedike blanket which he
had thrown over it, he asked: .

“ Would any one like to take a last look!"

One or two ste ped up out of curiosity; but
the rest felt li a interest in a comparative
stranger. But Horace Clifton to give him his
proper name) seemed dee 1y ected, and laid:

“Gentlemen i‘fdfiou cavemewithhima
few minutee,l fill in the grave, and be
ready to start with you soon."

laced the body

 

orth, or, more r

 

 

 

‘ No.1.» '

, than twent

first
/ thought was that it was a sister, which would

gave; and while he knelt down beside it they
ft him in the gathering gloom. E
George Ki ke was anxious to seek his 3
daughter; but a strange feeling seemed to bind ,
him to the son of his enemy, and he waited his I
return from the grave of Dauntless Je . Now :
he could account for the frown that had afiected l
him so stran 1y. It was the counterpart of a
never-tobe-fgg'gotten frown which he had seen
on the face of Horace Clifton the elder more
years before. .

One nig t, before his marriage to Maud
Kingslake, he had sought. her in the garden,
away from the dazzling light and heat of the
ball-room. She had suddenly rung into his
arms with a cry of terror. Then e saw Horace
Clifton, standing in the shadow of the vines
Which clambered over a rustic summer-house,
his brows black with a frown of malign

ant
hatred which had been stamped indelibly on the
memory of his successful rival.

He had never pressed Maud for an explana-
tion of that scene. He had always supposed,
and he now knew, that she had flirted wi h the
fiery Southerner, and then roused his fierce na-
ture by repulsing his suit.

When the son ,of his old enemy came slowly
back from the grove, George Kingslake extended
his hand and said:

“ Your father and I have been deadly foes for
nearly twenty ears; but let the feud go out
with his life. t us start anew to-day, and
start frien .”

Horace Clifton grasped the frankly proffered
hand, with an earnestnes which made his eyes
humid.

“ Do you propose it?” he said. “ I cannot ex-
pres to you how heartily I accept.”

Then t e procession took up the line of march;
for the anxious father could not bear the delay
of waiting until mo ' . It was nearly day-
break when they reach Dauntless Jerry’s hut.
Impatient to see her the father and lover ur
their horses forw The found a light m be
hut; and as the approac , a shadow flitted
across the ‘ ow curtain, the door swung
Open, and Iola stood framed in the doorway,
peering out into the darkness.

“ Thank God!” in daughter, alive and well!”
cried George K' e; and spurring his horse
to the very door he threw himself from the
fiddle and 0 her in his arms.

Horace Clifton had generously held back, al-
lowing the fa'ther to receive his daughter’s first
caress. He presently dismounted and came
Within the rang of light. As soon as Iola
caught sight of 'm, she drew herself from her
father’s arms and cast herself upon her lover’s

breast. _ _
“Oh! Horace! Horace 1” she cried, nestling in
“flaw ’ f l‘ as keen pang of jeal
a ers ee w a -
; but when tllileg '  before him so
and beautiful, e jomed their hands and
gave them his blessing, with happy tears in his

0 es. '
y“ Didn’t I tell you I should  your promised
’ wife before you told me anything-about your-

self?” la hed Iola, mischievously.
“The evelo ments of the last twen -four
hours have left) little to tell,” re lied orace,

. “ Years ago, when re ing from
' ornia, where I had made uite a fortune, I
fell inwith a man in New Or eans who repre-
sented hunself as a Spanish count, sojo _
in America with his sister, the Countess Pepita.
I was but a boy, and, bewitched by. the girl’s
beauty, was soon engaged to be married to her.
Going to her hOuse one evening and not finding
her in the parlors, I passed into the garden in
quest of her. Hearing voices in an arbor, and
In ' it was she and her tlilrother, I crept
u them intendin to 've em a.peasan
pon . Then I leaigned thlat she was in reality
the wife of the self-styled count, and the sister
of avillain who was in. company with them.

The plot was simply this :TImmediately after
our marriage, the real brother was to appear in
the character of a disappointed lover an shoot
or stab me when my money would go to my
supposed widow to be divided among her pals.
I was so ' that I confronted them, on the
impulse of the moment. They set upon me, and
in self-defense I shot at the count, whom you
have known as The Red Hand; but the Coun-
tess Pepita, now known as Nebraska 1331,
lea before him, and receiving the shot, . ,
life as I supposed, in his arms. Knocking
down the brother, known as Ricardo del Selano,
[esca’ . Afewweeks ,I killed”him1na
duel, the c o . Bill. .

“ And, my da hter,” said Mr. We,
when Horace Cl' 11 had finished, you
clear u one mystery? Who is this youth you
ed your brother? .

Iola blushed to the roots of her hair, and then
in hing, hid her face in her lover’s bosom, and

am :
“ i him, race I can’t.” \
“$93: must-Ilmow,” said Horace, tenderly
stroking her hair “that when I bent over
Dauntle- Jerry, w om I sup be dead, I
discovered that it was a woman! My

I but

 

accord with Iola’s statement that Jerry Was
not her brother. Butwhenltookherintothe:

she soon revived; for her wound was but a

slight one, the bullet ranging alonga rib and €

stunning her for the time. She then astonished
me by announcing that she was neither brother

A Hard Crowdior, Gentleman Sam’s Sister. I 2.

trapper and guide from Pembina to the Colum~

, _ - -... ._.-__.__.____

bia, and Green gave him such a. welcome as he

‘ deserved. Though Nick “fought sh ” of the

nor Sister, but Iola’s self in dis ise. Her mus- ‘

tache was false; the blue spec on cheek and
chin were but a skillful imitation of shaven
whiskers in paint; her hair, eyebrows and lashes
were dyed with a dye which is easily washed off.
The discrepanc between long hair and short is
accounted for y the fact that, when she con-
ceived the notion of disguisin herself as a man,
she had her long and beautigul blonde hair cut
off and made into a wig, which she could wear

, in member.
ceive supplies of tobacco and ammunitio

‘ skins, for Old Nic

in her character of a woman, and leave off i

when she personated Dauntless Jerry.
“ All this was devised by my mother, who

had been an actress,” pursued Horace dwelling .

tenderlyhand reverent

H on the title of relation-
ship. “ 6 object of a

this was, that as a man

, dark, when e

Iola could pursue her quest of me freed from ,

the disadvantages she would have had to en-

counter as a woman. Now she shrinks from ‘

having this episode of her life made public, and
refers that the world should believe that her

. they did to

. rother died. Of course the grave in the grove 5
is an empty one; since Iola set out for home, to 

remove
in her true character, before I filled it in. I
have out to add that on the few occasions when
Jerry and his sister were seen together my
mother took the former character, a time being
chosen when her features could not be too close—
1y scrutinized.”

“ 1y children,” said Dr. Chillingworth,
grave y, “I have a word in further explana-
tion. 11 revenge for the slight put upon him,
Horace Clifton stole ourchi (1, our dear little
May, through the instrumentality of his wife,
who gained access to our house as nurser gov-
erness, under the name of Mrs. Hen erson.
The woman, as you know, afterward repented,
and made such amends to you, my child, as she
could,‘without breaking the oath by which her
husband had bound her.

“While explanations are in order,” said Iola,
“you may care to know that after my rescue
from the cave by Nebraska Larry—or perhaps
better, by Pepita—I came home here and as-
sumed my disguise as Dauntless Jerry: joined
Major Gravesend’s rty; captured the strong-
hold' and ambush the returnin robbers.”

“ By the way, what became o the major?” I

asked Dr. Chilhn orth, with some anxiety.
No one knew; ut later in the day the major
caiéie to his friend, and taking him by the hand,

sai :

“Dr. ' ' orth—or I suppose I should
call oqu.‘ e—Iwishtoe ressto
you ow much I have valued and sti value
your friendship; and the regret I feel at the
necessity of ’ from you. But I now come
tosaygood- y; an intenminutesIshallbeon
my way to the Far West.”

“What! Going away? But you have not
seen my daughter. And, ma'or, I wished to
have your company at her w ding, which is to
be the one happy event in compensation for my
10 ears of sufie ' .” ‘

‘f cuse me, my 'end. Bear to her my
adieus and my earnest wishes for her future
ha “Erin

er ps t e spasm of pain which shot athwart
his bronzed visage gave Geo ' 6 some
rception of the situation. He did not press

im further; and they parted with a firm hand-
clasp. Then the major mounted his horse, and
rode away until he was lost in the splendor of
the setting sun, never once looking around.

Reader, what more is there to tell? The
wron are ' hted in their children. When
George Kin _e weeps reverent] over a ten-
der memory, his tears are kissed away by a
firesent bri ht reality; and he forgets the old

ones in 0 new.

Tin: END.

 

 

OLD

Nick Whiffles’ Yarn.

BY CAPT. J. F. C. ADAMS.

 

 

Tim character of Old Nick Whifiles is ha il
illustrated in this “ arn,” which was told (filth:
bivouac fire of a udson’s Bay in on the
Saskatchewan. The part ,command by the
noted Captain Green, an accom anied by the
celebrated hunter, Oregon 801 inc uded a couple
of young Englishmen named Swoper and Fitz-
simmons—the latter “dubbed ” Persimmons b
the men for his peculiar traits of character. Both
were gullible to an extraordinary de , and
many was the joke the rough men pfiyed on
the adventurers, who were snobs even in the

wigglerness. th .

e eve ' e voy rs ut ashore near
“ Blackfoot k,” mdfim‘; had prepared
their cam when who should come in bu Old

Nick Ies! The camp was all hilarity then,
for the add old hunter was known to every true

M--, 0

er disguise and be ready to receive us ‘

Hudson’s Bay people, he greatly “ roze to”
some of their rties, and especially to that of
which his “ 01 rd," Oregon Sol, was a lead-
rom him he was Willi to re-
and
to sell his store of c oice
never bothered “common
critters” like wolves and muskrats. He was
the beaver hunter par excellence of the North-
west, and his stock of furs was sure to be

to him was willin

'cular occasion it was hardly
smell of cooking meat‘fllled the
air, and the employees of the Hudson Bay Com-
pany gathered around the blazing camp-fires to
enjoy the food which had been prepared for
their evening meal.

It was an interesting and pleasin sight to see
these rou h, hardy men of t e woods, attendin
to this “ uty,”w1th the same earnest vigor tha
paddling their canoe up and down
the Saskatchewan and its branches.

The light from the camp-fires was reflected
far out upon the river, and revealed the shadowy
outlines of the great mass of stone, on the oppo-

I site side the stream, rising to the hight of one

i
l

!

 

hundred feet and giving the name to the locah-
ty. Grim and huge and silent, it stood like
some giant sentine keeping ward and watch
over this gateway to the solitudes of the North-

west.

The meals finished, and the hunters gathered
in pa ilnlall the (ablandon of angina] enjoya-
ment,an olingan 'gupon egroun
smoked their pipes, told eir stories and quizred
each other.

There was scarcely one amo
not well uainted with Nick ' es and who
was not g to see him. He had around
the entire rty, shaking hands and exchanging
words wi each in turn; and new, as the even-
ing was more advanced, he and Oregon 801,
were seated near each other by the upper cam
fire, both in that easy position so natural
hunters. Both were smoking pipes, as indeed
was nearly every member of the party, includ-
ing Captain Green, a dozen trapg’rs, and Fitz
simmons and Swo r, the latter 0 displaying
handsomely carv meerschaums.

Conversation ran along in a desultory sort of
way, during which some three or four gave
some accmmt of their adventures in different
portions of the Northwest, until the evening
was pretty well advanced, when Captain Green
suddenly turned to Nick with the question:

“ Can you tell me why this place is known as
Blackfoot Rock? I have often wondered to my.
self, when I have heard its name mentioned, or
have been passing by it. I have asked several
of gur men, but there are none that can tell
me.

“ It takes its name from that rock over there,”
replied Whiffles, indicating the rock to which
he referred by a mere glance of his e es.

“ Of course,” replied the cap , with a
laugh; “but I mean to inquire whether you can
tell what the circumstance or legend is that

ve the name to the rock itself and by which
it has been known for so many years?”

“ I heered the story some twenty years ago,
when I wasn’t quite as old as I am now; it was
told me by one of your hunters on the North
Fork of the Saskatchewan—Black Diah, that
was froze to death the next year, while tra
ping in Oregon. He had heard it when 9
was a boy, from another very old hunter, who‘
see’d the sarcumstances that give rise to the
name, so you see I’ve t it straight, t
it’saroughstoryand ’maf that' Its it
to auto-night it’ll 've you a p’ison diflkilty
in be way of 81962:; to-night.”

This protest, ate in such words, very natu-
rally aroused greater curiosi than ever, and
all insisted so strongly upon caring the story
that Nick could not refuse; and mm up. his
pipe, and assum' the easiest attitude possible,

e told the followmg I

LEGEND or snacmor ROCK.

“It must have been more than a hundred

ears afiithat the Blackfeet down among the
hooky ountains of Oregon got into a wrangle
over something, and had such a fight that about
fift of ’em had to di out, to save their skulps,
am; they started 0 for some other lace,
where they might take each other’s skulps in .
peace and quiet, and vshere they might play all
manner of pleasant eviltry, without having
other folks interferin’ with ’em. It’s hard to
find such a lace. in this world, for white, red,
or black folks—it is, by_ hty! and it was
some time afore the animi es could light on
such a lovely spot, but they hit it at last, and
here was the place. ”

“ Whereweare encamped just now?” inquired
 Green.

‘ Not quite this one spot alone, but all around

them who was

. here like. I think one of the causes of their

settling here was that rock. Have you ever
been to the top of it?”
“Never,” replied several of the group, look—
across the river at the dimly-seen man,
w e the captain added: E
“ always supposed from its appearance a

 

3.
i
s
1.
'i;
,3:
.3,
l.
is:
4!.
3!:
l
l:
is
i

 

 

.1.-- t.-.

VT. .
14.

    

——..

, one of the coldest that they

 

26

it could not be climbed. It seems_to be one per-
'pendicular mass of solid stone.” -

“So it is in front and the rear looks the
bane, but there is a place, out of sight till you
make a purty good hunt for it, b which you
{tan make your way to the to). ’ve been to
the top a half—dozen times, an when you're. up
there, you get a bigger view than you ever had
nforo. I don’t know how it is, for we’ve all
been up on the mountains, fifty tiinrs higher
than that is, and we‘ve all seed a condenmed
lot of kentry stretched out before us; but it
must be that the land slopes away in every di-
rection from Blackfoot Rock, or else on
wouldn‘t git such a big View from the top 0 it.
But that ain’t the question just now, though I‘ve
no doubt that it Was on that account that this
little band of red-skins that I‘m telling you
’bout fixed on this neighborhood as the best

lace for them to enjoy themselves as a real

dian likes to enjoy himself.

“You see they was afeared the rest of their
maple, that thegV had sich a condemned diffi-

' ty with, migh take it into their heads tb fol-
ler on arter 'em, ‘and settle up the grudge. So
they made it a plat to have a warrior go up to
the top of the rock every morning noon and
night, to see whether any of their old enemies
were trying to steal a march onto ’em. ’Cause
a winter and summer passed awa , without
catching a limpse of an of ‘em, t ey didn’t
make up their minds that he wasn’t never go-
ing to come, but they kept t eir watch just as
close as ever.

“80 things went on till the dead of winter
again, and when that comes in these farts, you
know it’s winter and no mistake. here ain’t
any foolin’ ’bout it. The Hudson Bay Company ‘
owned all the country through here then, and a
hundred 'ears before it, jist as they own it
now, an it wasn’t long before these varmints
found that they had a pretty good thing of it.
Beavers and otters, and foxes and martins and
all sorts of game was as plenty as anybody ,‘
could want it to be, and the got good priccs for
their peltries, so they wo dn’t wanted thin
any mcer, if they could only felt that the other g
skunks wouldn’t come down to raise a con-
demned difi‘lkilty with ’em.

“ ’Twas in the dead of winter, when one day l
just as it was growin dark, the sentinel that {
climbed to the top 0 the rock spied a light !
about ten miles to the south’ard that he had I
never see’d afore, and which he didn’t know :
what to make of. He signaled to two or three
others to come up, and tho

c-wai»|~__ __ .. ._.._.. .

 

h the night was 3
th f h ld th devertldadtliin

ispartotewor eystai on p e
rock till morning, without an fire and with
nothing but their blankets, we. hing that fire
and trying to learn what it meant.

“ They was a pack of condemned fools to do
that, fur a light ten miles off, if it doesn’t go
out, isn’t apt to look like much of anything else
at night. It kept bur ' all the time just the
same, so they made up their minds that it was a
(temp-fire of their enemies, who had started to
hunt ’em out.”

“ I should think that some of their runners
would have reconnoitered the camp during the .
night and found out to a certainty the identity
a Tl'l power of the str rs,” remarked Captain
Dick, who, like the ot era, was listening with 1
do interest to the narrative of the trapper. 

'l t’s the identical» observation I made to 1
Black Dick when he told me the story, and he
mid he had remarked the same to the old trap-
per that had told the yarn when he was a boy
out he didn’t get a satisfactory answer. Sol
can’t give you a good reason why the Black- I
foot didn’t do that thing, which it sesms gir‘ould '

o. l

have been very natural for ’em to here
was lenty of snow on the ground, and they
coul have made the ten miles there and the ten I
miles backag’in without an trouble, but they i
didn’t chaos to do it ’cause suppose they was

sartin’ ’nough who the condemn ints was

without gomg to all that trouble. 8.1, when

morning come about tWenty warriors took a -
311111117 mm the top of the rock, and it didn’t
need a second glance to see that an amazing
war-party of their enemies was coming for ’em

sure.

“ When they see’d that, of course they had a 1
talk as towhat wasbest todo. Agood many '.
wanted to pack 11 and further north, but 1;
the big ot sai no,—- air pursuers coullxcliggo
as far y could, and they would have to e
a stand and fight somewhere, and they couldn’t
get a place as good “this. So the concluded l
to go up on tap of the rock, taking eir provi- 1
sious With ’em, and then their foes might. bang ;
“Phi” "‘°Y§°Ju"‘£“' 1;. an m d '

‘ y span 3’ ' y. In
when night come, the othezgeBlmfideet to the ,
number of a hundred 11. pe on this side the 1
river, crossed over on e ice, and surrounded 
the  In the :xllg'nlng they cogmexticed .
firing on more, 0 a rush go u '
the rear stain, but they didn’t try it the secong '

“ Th see’d that nothing could be done in the
way ofohgh andsotheybackedofl,andbe—
E2: 9. siege of place and there’s where they I

thepoorfoolsthathad tothetopcf,

«die—rockfnrithadnem MM.

The Neufirk _,.Librarvo

that that would be the way the business would
be fixed.

“ As it kept snOWing half the time, they man-

‘ aged to keep ofl thirst, but arter awhile their
provisions give out, and then the rough tunes
come. They had swore not to eat each other, as
white folks do, when they et cotched foul in
the same wa , and they kep their oath. When
they fomid t let there was no gettin’ out of the
muss, one of the warriors pro d that they
should all commit suicide, ant he set the ex-
ample hv jumping from the rock out upon the
river. The ice was eighteen inches thick, but
he struck it so hard that he made a clean hole,
and shot out of sight. The next Blackfoot did
the same, aimin so well, that he went exactl '
into the some ho e, and then the others l'ollere ,
all aiming so straight, that they po pcd through
the opening, one after another, "e a lot of
shoe jumping over a wall.

“ lint they didn’t all do that. The last one
that was left was the biggest warrior of the
whole. lot. When he walked to the edge of the
rock to foller the others, he looked over, at the
hole in the ice, a hundred feet below him, into
which all his brothers and sisters, and uncles
and aunts, and cousins, had gone, and he shook
his head, and he said he rather thought not. It
was his opinion that the rest was a pack of fools.

r and he turned back, climbed down the rock, and

makin his way out among the other Blackieet,
he ax ’em to givo him a chaw of tobacker and
something to eat. '

“ You see he’d been up there in the snow and
cold so long that he was bleached almost white,

Q and he looked so queer and foolish like that the
. other red-skins hadn’t the heart to

hurt him,
and sothe took him and nursed him and fed
him,—but hey suffered for it, and it placed them

; in the condemnedest difiikilty they ever dreamt
‘ of. That chap was so hungry he couldn’t get
; ’nough to eat. He ut himself outside of every- ,
. thing they could ca h and shoot, and done it so

fast that store they knowed it, all the rest of ;

" the lBlackfeet had starved to death, and he was
83 . alone and master of the situation.”

“What become of ’im heventuall ?” inquired 3
y ‘ thingas a work of art and a means of death.

youn chper.
“ ever went under; he’s living yet in these
parts. I’ve see‘d him often.”

“You don’t so. ,” remarked Fitzsimmons. ‘

“What does he 100 like, and how does he act?”
“ The last time I see’d him, he was disguised
as an Englishman, and was carrying a com

: with him and looking south for north, co dn’t

get ’nogh to eat, and went by the name of Per-
simmons!”

the

The laugh that followed was a roar, and the ‘

mor Englishman was an astonished man. How
(1 that old wood tram become . _ not
only of his name but 0 his very peculiarities?
How did he know Fitz carried a compass and
made it a “ nut" to eat all that was placed
before him? but puzzled the snob and awed
him into a silence which only added in the
comic effect of the whole proceeding.

Oregon Sol’s eyes; if their expression of quiet
humor could have been read, would have be-
travcd Nick‘s source of information.

With that yarn Green ordered all men to

was nowhere to be seen

 

t into a. ht, th would shoot out of sight

‘ emselves. t wo d hit a man five miles so

quick he wouldn’t know it; that was the worst
of it—he would never find it out.

I reorganized a fuse cannon—that is, I did
awav with the fuse. However, it was ro-fused
by the Board "

I invented a very complicated gun, with a
view of dispensing with so much powder, but it.
worked too well: it di used with more pow—
der than we could haul it.

I threw all my energy into the
a rifle that would astonish the iods of War
themselves, and succeeded. A full description
of this wonderful gun would fill two volumes of
the size of Webster’s Dic., so I won’t describe
it. It was very complex. and it was also in-
volved in endless comlplications. But. the corps
which was armed wit 1 them found, after a very
careful test, that the kus Were given to flying
off and the balls to staying in the barrel. An
order was issued for the guns to be reversed in
the next fight, that is, to point the stocks at the
enemy an fire, but, so many men were slaugh-
tered in this way, that the foreign nations
deemed it contrary to the rules of war, and it
was abandoned, at their urgent request.

As revolvers are so apt to go or! on all occa-
sions, I perfected a new style which wouldn’t

0 off even when you wanted it to, and the
arers could be just as careless as they pleased
It was a very healthy revolver.

I got up a revolving mitrailleuse, all that-Was
necessary was to attach it to the nearest 'nd—
stone and go to work turning the cr -It
would shoot in all directions with facility and
danger. The trouble about that was, it took
many men to work it. Whenever one took ho
to work it he would drop as if he was shot, and
upon examination it was found that he certain-
ly was. It would take a regiment ofmen to
work it an hour, and so on up. The soldiers get
discouraged, and rather objected to work it; so
we allowed it to be captured by the enemy, who
fired at us all the next day with it, and then we
went over in the evening and buried them all.

I next invented a torpedo. a most beautiful

It was filled with half a barrel of nitro glyce-
rine, and had a permission-cap on one end of it,
and nicely gilt handlcs at the rides. It was
designed to be carried by seven men who, dur-
ing a battle, would {‘11. b it up, run straight to
the rebel general‘s ht anqtaiters with it, where
he wouldbesittirg on a camp-stool, there set '

neral forcibly, sit him astride the torpedo
and old him there. while the eighth man, who
would be aligii with v. hammer for the pun
pose would 3 e the cup and the rebel neral
would go to see his grandmother. But, don’t
know now .what reason the men had for not un-
dertaking the job, although I told them I would
send them—not lead them, mind.

What I have done for my country nobody

‘ ever will know.

3 their blankets; and when the morning came, '
. and Fitz looked around for his slanderer, be

At break of day 01d Nick had vanished, even ,

more silently than he had come. ,

 

BEAT TIME’S
Ordnance Department.

Wm I was chief of the ordnance degen-
ment during the war, I spent most of in me,
and a good deal of my ingenuity, in pe ectmg
arms.

The first thing which I did was to improve a
t -two pounder. I im roved it greatly——
that to say, I scoured it a l over and took the

 

} rust off—it was very black.

d Next, inview of so many guns being spi ed
nor,
vents, so there wo

'had a,ba of ton castwiflicut

shuttle h thcgunnerswmtto -* t tw
"on ‘Mlengdu.flumwedow topuy.

guns
be nopossibility of their ,

Proudly, ’
Bur Tum.

THE. ORIGIN OF THE CIGAR.

The devil one day in a sad, listless mood,
Had laid himself down on the edge of a w00d:
But, bent on some mischief, be cast his eyes round.

 

é ’Spled near him a. bunch of coarse leaves in the

ground.
And plililllefld tthe tough things, which he crushed in

s s , .
: Then rolled out, and worked at. and gave them.

, twmt,

- Then grinned at his work with “tunic delight!

With is old brimstone tell he then struck up a

light,

‘ Set the end of the wood with a spark all on fire,

And found the result all that man could desire!
The stench that arose was so horribly dreadful,
Bugs. beetles and spiders swooued ed by the hand

~‘ Ha, mi" said old nick, “ now I'm off to the city;
l‘ll kick up a row; if 1 don‘t more‘s the gity.’
From that do forthwit there arose sue a dink

‘ Nick waggcd is old tail, looked on with a grin,‘
, While now in each household the women made I.
. 'Gslnst Satan's invention, the mteut cigar

ever being spiked. When the battery went into '

‘ action in the next battle it was discovered that

my couldn’t touch thorn ofl—a little matter ,

had esca.
in left to do t have the condemned, or
tofinvent a cartridge that would go off without
ton . I had the guns condemned
stringeht al with t etc i
0 on n .
5 nieces:g "I armed 9. pp it with them,
mwhile they went on whenever you wanted
them to, .
when you didn’t want them to.
afterward used to throw at the enemy, and

I were found to be very serviceable for that pur-

l I inheth 1 annngythmgrftise' th barrel was
van a o e e— e

eleven feet 10 light would accurame shoot

clear out of t. 'The trouble was, however,

that, whenever the soldiers who mica th

\

the trouble was they also went off ,
They were

my mind; so there was noth- '

l

- ' Black
invented a carbine that would sh00t 1 outfit Of a

It was a  much. He is aper ect mule.’

They were_nght; for the cash t was squandered

 

 

.-\ Damn journal' records a case when .,
Chiuaman “ was frostbitten from this cold
world into the rosy future.”

A mason“. editor, two shot-gu_ ns and a flour
sackof assorted m are said tocompletetho

’nowspaperofiice.

“Sn: here wife on indulge that too

’ y ‘ "on hue ndl

accuse our boys of having an an
The old man was silent.

in his manners

A MAN who was rather
that he was
actions, were

' osel obse edtoa. ting
Joe a) be " high-y" isBrl kdult d
c M

about marrl
divided between
y Primestufl’, he was at 3 Ion which
“I advice 0% means,” at
nut—you

lease don’t
or a father.”

Miss Boise

toohooee.

the lady, “to take
linking."

em,po

 

I Vol. II ’

roduction of I

it down, while each of the seven would grab 

 

 

 

 

BEADLE’S HALF-DIME LIBRARY.

Every one or them “ Live” Stories by “lee” Authors. Each number
a Complete Novel, at the extraordinary price ora HALF-DIME.

1 Deadwood Dick, THE Pame- or m
Bow. By Edward L. Wheeler.
Yellowstone Jack; or, Tm: TRAPm
ormExcmm Gnom. ByJ. E. r, Jr.
Kansas King; or, THE RED GHT
B Buffalo Bill (Hon. Wm. F. Cody).
The Wil -Horse Hunters. By Capt.
Mayne Reid and Ca t. Frederlck Whittaker.
5 Vagabond Joe; rm Yomm Wanna-
mo Jaw. By Oil Coomea.
6 Bill Biddon,.Tra er; or, Lin m
m Noam. By ward 8. Ellis.
7 The Yankee; or, Tm: OCEAN
Cums-r. 7 y Col. Prentisslngraham.
8 Seth Jones; or, Tm: CAPTIVEI or m
Faowrun. By Edward 8. Ellis.
9 The Adventures of Baron Mun-
chansen.
10 Nat Todd; or, Tin Fara or m
Sioux Cm By Edward 8. Ellis.
1 l The Two Detectives; or, Tn
Foam oraBomr Gnu. A.W. Aiken.
12 Gulliver’s Travels. A Voyage
Lilli ut, andaVoyage to Bro .
13 The b Spy. By 011 mes,
author of “ Vagabond Joe," etc.
14 Aladdin; or, Tin Womxarm.
LA]!

15 The Sea-Cat; or Tn Wrron or

Damn. By Capt. Frederick Whittaker.
16 Robinson Crusoe. His Life and
Burp Adventures, illustration)
17 Ralph y, The Bucca-
neer. By Col. Prentiss Ingraham.
l 8 Sindbad the Sailor. His seven voy-
ages. From the Arabian Nights.
19 The Phantom Sp ; or, Tn Pmo'r
or m Pauaxs. By alo Bill.
20 The Double Daggers; or DEAD-
woon Dion’s Dunner. By E. LWheeler,
21 Frontier Angel. A Romance of
Kentucky Rangers’ Life. By E. 8. Ellis.
22 The Sea Serpent; or Tm: BOY
ROBINSON Cannon. By Col. Juan Lewis.

23 Nick 0’ the Ni ht; or, Tin Bar.

Snor’76. B '1‘. .Harbaugh.
Diamonyd med

0' TKI snowmen lngraham.

25 The Boy Ca train; or, Tn PIRATI’B
Dwain-n. yBoger Stu-buck.

26 Cloven Hoof, the Demon. By
Edward L. Wheeler.

27 Antelope Abe, the Boy Guide.
By 011 Coome.s

28 Bufl'alo Ben; or. Damwoommox
m Discuss. Edward 1.. Wheeler.

29 The Dumb a ; or, Tn: Doar’s
Dace-1n B t. F.” Whittaker.

3 Roaring Ralph c‘wood, Tm:
Bscnass RAIOII. By Harry St. George.

31 Keen-Knife, Tin Pamus or ran
Punt-s. By

k; or, Tn: Mrsmr

Oil Coomes.
.  Bob Woolf. the Border Ruflan;

or, Tn Gian Dun-Saar. E. LWheeler.
33 The Ocean Bloodhound; or Tm:
' Bauhaus: or-rss Omens. 3W. Pierce.
34 Oregon Sol; or NICK errms’
Bo! s". By Capt. J‘. r. 0. Adams.
3 5 Wild Ivan, Tan B0! Oman: DUVAL;
By Edward L. Wheeler.
36 The Boy Clown; or, Tin: Qum or
ran Anna. B Frank 8. lion. .
37 The Hidden Dodge; or, THE Lirrns
Hmn. ormAnnoxnwas. Harbaugh.
38 Ned WJylde, Tn BOY 80001. By

Texas act.
39 Death-Pace. the Detective. By
EdwardLWheeier

. Roving Ben. A' story of aYoung
40 American. ByJoth.iiarshAll.

41 Lasso Jack. Tar Youso Mus-rue-
sa. Oil Ooomes.

42 he antom Miner; or, DIAP-
woon Drcx’s Born“. By Ed. LWheeier.
Dick Dar . the Pony Express

. Rider. By t. F. Whittakir.
Rube or Tm: ’Ian'r-
44 unui‘uhsgxu-rmr} maxi-3e.
45 Old Avalanche, t An-
nihilator. By EdwardLWheeler.
46 Glasl Bye. the Great Shot of the
West. By Capt. J. F. 0. Adams.
47 Nightingale Nat; on, Ten Bonner

muss. By T. U. h,

48 Black John. the t.
' B, J“. 3WB¥ADWOOD D an m

and... ; or, 1

Q9 DAIOI‘I. By Edward L. Wheelu.

 

50 Burt Bunker, Tm: Tums. A
Tale of the Northwest. By C. E. Leslie.
51 The Bo Rifles; or, Tun Unman-
GROUND m. ‘ By Archie 0. Iron.
52 The White Bufl’alo. A Tale of
.Stran Adventure. Charles E. Lasalle.
53 Jun B udsoe. Jr., Tn Bor anx;
or Tmuon To run Drum E. LWheeler.
5 Ne Hazel, Tn BOY Truman; or,
mPaamuPamcnse. ByJ.F.C.Adams.
5 Deadly-Eye, Tm: Umown Scour;
By Buffalo Bill.
56 Nick Whilles’ Pet; or In an
Van.“ or Dun. Capt. J. F.C.Adams.

57 Deadwood Dick’s Efiefi “121;,

Tar: Paans or Fnoon Baa. .

5 The Border King; or, Tm: SECRET
For. By 011 Coomes.

59 Old Hickory, or, PANDY ELus’s
Sam. By H St. George.

60 The White In ; or, Tan SCOUT
or m Ylmowrmn. ByJ.F.C.Adams.

61 Buckhorn Bill; or, Tun Ran Rm:
Tux. By Edward L. Wheeler. .

62 The ShadowBSg ; or, T8: RNA].

" Lineman. y Prentiss Ingraham.

63 The Red Brotherhood; or, Tn]:
'l‘wnwn Amom. ~ By W. J. Hamilton.

64 Dandg Jack; or, THE OUTLAW or
m neon Tam. By T. C. Harbaugh.

65 Hurricane Bill; or, MuanO 8A):
nu) ma “Pun.” By Joe. E. Badger, Jr.

66 S' leHand; or, ALnrnr-ona Lin.
By W J Hamilton

67 Patent-Leather Joe; or, OLD Raw-
68 nuggfimm ByP.B.Warne.

er Robin Hood; or, Tn:

PRAIRIE Rom By Builalo Bill.

69 Gold Rifle; or, Tm: BOY Dnrrcrrva
or m Bucx Rance. ByE. LWheeler.

70 Old Zip’s Cabin; or, THE Gann-
BORN II was Woons. By J. EC. Adams.

7 1 Delaware Dick; Tn]: Youxo Rul-
On 8n. By Oil Coomes.

72 Mad Tom Western, Tn Tam
RANGE!- By W. J. Hamilton.

73 Deadwood Dick on Deck. By
Edward L. Wheeler.

Ha k Harry, Tu: Y
74 nguan ByOll Coomes.0mm

75 The Bog Duelist; or,Tns Camera

or m am Wow. By Col. P. Ingraham.

76 Abe Colt, the Crow-Killer. By
Albert W. Aiken.

7 7 Corduroy Charlie; or, Tn LAST

Am or Dunwooana. By E. LWheeler.

7 8 Blue Dick; or, THE YELLOW Cums-’3

Vnouncs. By Captain Mayne Reid. ‘

7 9 Sol er, Tn: Gun Tnamn By
Albert . Aiken.

80 Rosebud Rob; or, Nuoan Nan, was

linear or m Gown. By E. 1.. Wheeler.

81 LIE-11;“. Jo, Tm: Trance or m

Captain J. F. C. Adams.

82 Kit Barefoot. Tux Woon-Hawx; or,
01.» rowan-Fans. By '1‘. O. Harbaugh.

83 Rollo. the Boy ; or, Tm:

Harness or m Gown Hoar. Oil Coomes.

84 l. the Girl Miner; or Reason

I out Hun. By Edward hWheeler.

8 5 Buck Buckram; on, Base, 'rnn Fa-

nn'l‘nrrn. ByCeth.F.C.Adams.

86 DandgyRock. THE-MAN-mon-Tnx.
as. G. Waldo Browne.

8 7 The Land Pirates; on, m LEAGUE
oanm'sIsusn. BstptMaymBgu,
Ph to h Phil ' '
8 .egmhmugefiem:
89 Island Jim: OR,THE Pm or rm:
v Fun“. By author or “Jack MW."
90 The Dread Rider; on, HE Tans
Damn. By George W. Browne.
91 The Ca tain of the Club. By
'Braoeb Hemynx. (Jack Hathaway.)
92 Canada Chet; 0r, Om) Asaooxm
nuSn-rrso Bm'e Cm. ByE. LWheeler

9 3 The Boy Miners; or, T3: Esoau'rsn
Ishm- By Edward 8. Ellis.

94 new..an mm

9 5 The Rival Rovers. By Lieutenant
001. Hareltine.

 

96 Watch-E e, Tn Dmarwa By
Edward L. eeler.
97 The Outlaw Brothers; or, Tm
Cmormmarn. ByJ.J.lianhell.
98 Robin Hood, TH]: Oumwan EARL
By Prof. Stewart Gllderaleeve.

Th ' f w.
99 Waldo rogue.o Tao; 3’

100 eemm: mm
1 0 1 Jfifimgeymflew York.
1 Dngynnggl BOY Blue-
 Tgflgngdist‘): ofthe Sea. By Col.

 Deadwood Dick’s Device. By
Edward L. Wheeler.

105 °eEM..anr-.§z:;m w... an.

106 °‘.‘.‘c.‘.‘.:.°::.¥;..“‘° Gum Br

1 07 03.3mm “.32 an:
108 Deng. Dem Em Bm
 Deadwood Dick as Detective.
By Edward L Wheeler.
 The Black Steed ofthePrai-
I fies. By James L. Bowen.
 TheSeaaDevilgor, Tnlimem
m's Imam. By Col. P. Ingraham.
1  The Mad Hunter; or, Tn CAVI
or Dan-n. By Burton Sue. \
1 1 3 Images: ma 8m-

ll4TheBlack Schooner. BrBooaa
Simon.

1 1 5 Ti‘iguflg‘iner. Br Gsoaos

 The Eugene:- Captain. BrCox.

 Will Seniors, Tn Bor Dane
m By Charles Morris.

1 1 9 “germs”; 2:: mm?!

 The Branded Band; or, Tan m
or Iirrrnr. By Frank Dummt.

12 1 Cinnamon  Gran Bron,

By Edward L.
122 Pgnwu ohm Boss Boy.

1  Kiowa Char , Tin Winn Mus-
won. By '1‘. . Harbaugh.
124 “meter gym...  “m
 Bonanza Bill, Miner; or, m.

Farm:

on Hm! Tn Peseta.
By Ed. L. Wheeler. ' - ‘

126 “3%?” exam:
 Wild-Fire, Tn Boss or :11:

By 3:30.; on, 'l‘as Wow.- or mm- Gar.

Th Y Privateer
 Bream:me Dy Hilly: a Ea?
en
 Deadwood Dick’s Double. A
StoryotWid-(htClty. ByEdwardl.
Wheeler. I
 Detective Dick; or Tn Hana
n1 Baas. By Charles li’orris.
13 The Golden Band; or, Dan)!
Boa so was Ml. G. . Browne.
January 87th.
132 Tn“..de em" or, Ta-
0
By mam 3. Ellis. Ready rebuilt; if m
 Boss Bob: 01:1ng or m
m ByEdwardL Wheeler, . NW
A m (can every week.
all‘m Lib
um“ ave coal- per "fig; 1% :2
All

recei of six cents each. Ln
mwmflwmism Street, New Year:

 

 

 

 

BEADLE’S

 

LIBRARY.

 

 

82 Large Three-Column Pages.

1. A Hard Crowd : OR, GENTLEMAN
SAX’S SISTER. By Philip S. Wame.

2. The Dare-Devil; OR, THE WINGED
WITCH OR THE SEA. By Col. Prentiss Ingraham.

3. Kit Carson, J r., THE CRACK SHOT or
m WEST. By Buckskin Sam.

4. The Kidnapper; OR, THE GREAT
SHANGHAI or THE NORTHWEST. By Philip S. Warne.

5. The Pire-Piends; OR, HERCULES, THE
IUNCHEACK. By A. P. Morris.

6. Wildcat Bob, THE Boss BRUISER ;
,3, THE BORDER BIoODHOUan. By Edward L. Whee-
or. author of “ Deadwood Dick,” “Double Daggers."

7. Death-Notch, THE DESTROYER; OR,
inn SPIRIT LAKE AVENGERS. By Oll Coomes.

8. The Headless Horseman. A strange
Rory of Texas. By Capt. Mayne Reid.

9. Handy Andy. By Samuel Lover.

10. Vidocckf THE FRENCH POLICE SPY.
flrltten by himse .

I 1. Midshipman Easy. By Capt. Mar-
(yet

12. The Death-Shot; OR, TRACKED To
DEATH. By Capt. Mayne Reid.

18. Pathawa :0R, NICK WHIFFLES, THE
OLD TRAPPER on THE ORTHWEST. By Dr. J. H. Rob-

n.

14. ThaEAendanegea, THE SCOURGE ;
OR, THE WAR- GLE or THE MOHAWKS. By Ned Bunt-
lne, author of “ The White Wizard.”

15. The Tiger-Slayer; OR, EAGLE-
HEAD To THE RESCUE. By Gustave Aimard.

16. TheWhiteWizard; OR, THE GREAT
PROPHET or THE SEEINOLES. By Ned Buntline.

17. Nightshade, THE ROBBER PRINCE
'Ol' HOUNSLOW HEATH. By Dr. J. H. Robinson.

18. The Sea Bandit; OR, THE QUEEN
N THE ISLE. By Ned Buntline.

19. Red Cedar, THE PRAIRIE OUTLAW.
By Gustave Almard.‘

20. The Bandit at Ba ; OR, THE PI-
RATES OR THE PRAIRIES. By Gus ve Aimard.

21. The Tra er’s Da hter; 0
THE OUTLAw's FATappBy Gustaveuifimard. 3’

22. Whitelaw; OR, NATTIE or THE LAKE
SHORE. By Dr. J. H. Robinson.

23. The Red Warrior; OR, STELLA
DEDORIIE'S COHANCHE LOVER. By Ned Buntline.

24. Prairie Flower. By Gustave Ai-
mard, author of “Tiger-Slayer.” etc.

25. The Gold-Guide; OR, STEEL ARM,
m REGULATOR. By Francis Johnson.

26. The Death-Track; OR, THE OUT-
qu or THE MOUNTAIN. By Francis Johnson.

27. The SYpotter-Detective; OR. THE
GIRLS or NEW ORE. By Albert W. Aiken.

28. Three-Pingered Jack. THE ROAD-
GENTOETHERoCEIES; ORTHEBOYMINEEOEHARD
.UCK. By Joseph E. Badger. Jr.

29. Tiger Dick, THE FARO KING; or,
i‘HE CASHIER'S Cm By Philip S. Warne.

30. Gospel George: or, FIERY FRED,
i‘HE OUTLAW. By Josep E. Badger, Jr

31. The New York ‘Sha ;’ OR, THE
m or minimum. ByAIbert W. en.

32. B’hoys of Yale; OR, THE SCRAPES
63‘A HARD SET OF COLLEGIANS. By John D. Vose.
Lu:33. Overland Kit. By Albert W.

en.

84. Roeky~ Mountain Rob. BY A1-
oertW Aiken.

35. Kentuell. the Sport. By Albert
W. Aiken.

36. Injun Dick. By Albert W. Aiken.

37. Hirl. the Hunchback; OR, THE
SWOEDIIAEER or THE SANTEE. By Dr. J. H. Robinson.

88. Velvet Band; OR, THE IRON GRIP or
INJUN DICK. By Albert W. Aiken.

39. The Russian Sp ; OR, THE BROTH-
ns or THE STAR“ CROSS. By Whittaker.

40. Th Lo Haired ‘P rdsz’
In 'I‘Asnaseor mngum. 371m. {W322

 

 

 

 

KIT CARSON, Ja—No. 8.

41. Gold Dan; OR, THE WHITE SAVAGE
or THE GREAT SALT LAKE. By Albert W. Aiken.

42. The California Detective; OR,
THE WrrcHEs on NEW YORK. By Albert W. Aiken.

43. Dakota Dan, THE RECKLESS RANGER;
or. THE BEE-HUNTERS' EXCURSION. By 011 Coomes. ,

44. Old Dan Rackback, THE GREAT
ExTARIIINATOR; or, THE TRIANGLE‘S LAST TRAIL.
By 011 Coomes.

45. Old Bull’s Eye, THE LIGHTNING
SHOT or THE PLAINS. By Joseph E. Badger, JR.

46. Bowie-Knife Ben, THE LITTLE
HUNTER or THE NOR‘-WEST. By 01] Coomes.

47. Pacific Pete, THE PRINCE on THE
REVOLVER. By Joe. E. Badger. Jr.

48. Idaho Tom, THE YOUNG OUTLAW
or SILVERLAND. By 011 Coomes.

49. The Wolf Demon; or, THE QUEEN OR
THE KANAWHA. By Albert W. Aiken.

50. Jack Rabbit, THE PRAIRIE SPORT;

or, THE CHILDREN OF THE LLANO ESTACADO. By Joe.
E. Badger. Jr.

51. Red Rob, THE BOY ROAD-AGENT.
By Oll Coomes.

52. Death Trailer,
SCOUTS‘ or Life and Love in a Frontier Fort. By
Hon. Wm. T. Cody, (Blflalo Bill.)

THE CHIEF OF

 

 

Each Number Complete. Price 10 e".

58. Silver Sam; or, THE MYSTER“ . A
Deadwoon CITY. By Col. Delle Sara.

54. Always on Band; or, THE SEC-41m
SPORT or THE FOOT HILLS. B Philip S.WE.¥M.
author of “A Hard Crowd,“ “Pa nt Leather .hw:

55. The Scalp Hunters. AROMAN‘M -
THE PLAINS. By Capt. Mayne Reid.

56. The Indian Maze‘pgea; or, ‘Iu
MAD MAN ON THE PLAINS. By 1 rt W. Aikm

57. The Silent Hunter; or, THE SCH"
HALL MYSTERY. By Percy B. St. John.

58. Silver Knife; or, WICELIFEE, Tu
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANGER. By Dr. J. H. Robinsm.

59. The Man From Texas; or, '1‘»
OUTLAW or ARKANSAS. By Albert W. Aiken.

60. Wide Awake; or, THE 1mm! 45
THE BLACK Hms. By Frank Dumont.

61. Ca tain SeawaifiTHE PRIVATE)!
By Ned Bun line.

62. Loyal Heart; or, THE TRAPPERH M
ARKANSAS. By GustaveAimard.

63. The Winged Whale. By Alba-h
W. Aiken.

64. Double-Si§ht, the Death Shot
By Joseph E. Badger, r.

65. The Red Rajah; or, THE SCOURen
or THE INDIES. By Captain Frederick Whittaker.

66. The S er Barque. A TALI
or THE PAcmc. Captain Mayne Reid.

67. The Boy Jockey; or, HONES‘I‘Y
VERSUS CRooxEDNEss. By Joseph E. Badger. Jr.

68. The Fighting Trapper} or, Kn
CARSON To THE RESCUE. By Capt. J. F. C. Adamo

69. The Irish Cagtain; A TALE m
FONTENOY. By Captain erick Whittaker.

70. Hydrabad. THE STRANGLER; o;
AIETHE,THE CHILD on THE CORD. ByDr.J..‘i
Robinson.

71. Captain Cool-Blade, or, THE MAN
SHARK or THE MISSISSIPPL By Joe. E. Badger, Jr.

72. The Phantom Hand. A STORY or
121E}? YORK HEARTHs AND HOMES. By Albert 1".

en.

73. The Knight ofthe Red Cross;
or, THE MAGICIAN or GRANADA. A Tale of the M
hambra. By Dr. J. H. Robinson.

74. , Captain ofthe Rifles. A Row
or THE MEXICAN VALLEY. By Captain Mayne Bail

75. Gentleman George, or, PARLon
PRISON, STAGE AND STREET. By Albert W. Aiken.

76. The Queen’s Musketeer, or
THISEE, THE PRINCESS PALEIST. By George Albonfl

77. The Fresh of Frisco. or, Til
HEIRESS or BUENAVENTURA. By Albert W. Aiku

78. The Mysterious Spy; or, GOLD!”
FEATHER, THE BUCCANEEE’S DAUGHTER. By A. I
Grainger. ,

79. Joe Phenix, THE POLICE SPY. &
Albert W. Aiken.

80. A Man of Nerve;
THE DWARF. By Philip S. Warne.

81. The Human Tiger:
or FIRE. By Albert W. Aiken.

82. Iron Wrist, the Swordmastu.
By Col. Thomas H. Monstery.

83. Gold Bullet ort; or, THE KNIGII‘M
or THE OVERLAND. By alo Bill.

84. Hunted Down; or, THE Warm
WITCH. ByAlbertW. Aiken.

85. The Cretan Rover: or, ZULEIEIIL
THE BEAUTIEIIL. By COL Prentice Ingraham.

Ready January 1., th

86. The Big Hunter; or, THE QUEEN
on THE WOODS. _ By the author of “Silent Hunter “

Ready January 28th.

87. The Scarlet Captain; or, Tin

PRISONER or THE TOWER. By 001. Dene Sara.
ReadyFebruary nth.

Amwicmwerytwoweeh.

or, CAIN

or, A Hue»

Beadle’s Dime Library is for sale by a.
Newsdealers, ten cents per copy. or sent‘ by ml“ 0|
receipt of twelve cents each. BEADLE & ADAI’K

 

more. 98 William Street. New York.