%\ .Ihillnmnmmmnmfiinull“"‘7% § ll . “I! .. ‘ a Mail Matter. May 1, 1889. Nol nfiffigl Publlshed Weekly by Beadle and Adams, Prloe, VOL No. 98 Wu.an Sn. NEW YORK. 1" “'6 Cents- \ WITH HIS KNIFE THE DOCTOR OUT THE FASTENINGS OF THE MASK, REVEALING THE PALE BUT DETERMINED FEATURES OF COOL DESMOND. The Idiot Boy Avenger. The Idiot Buy Avenger; CAPTAIN WILD-CAT’S BAND. BY ALBERT W. AIKEN, aurnon or “was LION or ran sna,” “SOL omens,“ “THE TWO DETECTIVES,” 11:10., me, are. CHAPTER I. ran moxrrvns AND was: WARNING. AWAY 11 among the head-waters of the Rio Grande de Norte, that famous river that has borne so prominent a part in our nation’s his- tory, lies the famous San Juan region—a tract of country consisting of small and fertile val- leys, belted in with cloud»piercin hills, on the ks of which the white snow fies long and ovingly. This San Juan region is really a marvelous country; sur assingly rich is it in gold and sil- ver veins; an yet, so difficult of access. and the means of transportation so bad that it is only within a very few years the adventuring pros- tor has penetrated to its heart and struck ‘s pick into the rich “leads” which fairly crop out of the ground. Little settlements grew up here and there, as rich mines were discovered, and of one of these wild and lonely camps we are about to write— of the “city of Jusnaoolis. situated at the foot of Death Valley—and well the valley de- served that name, as the reader will see anon. Alon a rocky. narrow trail high up in the mounts us, above Death Valley, came two travelers of such peculiar aspect that they would have excited attention anywhere; one, a fragile, delicate youth, apparently near to death’s door, the othera young girl of surpass- in beauty. 11 ber‘ hand she carried a shortbarreled re- peating rifle, and to the belt that encircled her almost perfect waist two holsters hung. In the other hand she grasped the lariat of the mule upon who‘se back the youth was seated. In person the boy strongly resembled the girl; he was clad in rough and shabby adgarments, much the worse for wear, and be h the same peculiar eyes and hair; but the hair, although exactl the same color, grew differently, and twine in little clusterin curls all over the shapel , head. Ho was ev eutly much younger than is companion, and upon his face an ex- pression of weakness and timidity ap red, magi:er at variance with the resolute ook of r. - Ever and- anon the boy glanced behind him," with a shuddering fear written on his face. “ Can‘t you hurry?" he would excluim on these occasions, piteously: “ I think that I hear the sound of horses‘ hoofs cluttering behind us.” “ It is only your imagination,” she would re- ply, endeavoring to assume a cheerful. careless expression although she never failed to glance anxiously behind hat every time the boy spoke. “It is nothing; for a week nearly, in fact, ever since we started, you have been aunted by the idea of pursuit.’ “ But where are we going? You have not told me yet,” the other observed, complain~ in ly. ' E Heaven only knows, for I do not,” the girl replied. “ I can only tell you that we ought to be now in the San Juan region, for that is the trail 1 have followed. It is wild, desolate and very thinly settled, but I know there are little mining-camps scattered through its valleys, and I am in hopes this trail will conduct us to one of these.” “ And, even if we reach a mining—camp, what then?” “What then? Is it not shelter and safety? Are we not nearly two hundred miles away from our foes? Who will think of looking for us down in this wild land?” _ ‘?‘”But what are we gomg to do—what can we 00 “Wait until we get into the mining-camp, and then we will see; there must be some work we can do, no matter how little the place is; it will not cost us much to live.” “ But, may we not be followed even here, and taken back?” the other inquired, anxiously, the thought of pursuit and recapture still evidently strong in his mind. “‘1‘ ere is no danger,I tell you,” reassured the girl, strangely patient: " besides, after we get acquainted in the place, we shall make friends, and the miners will not beapt to let our enemies take us, even if we are hunted down and discovered.” Strange words from such beautiful lips! What had this surpassineg fair girl and her feeble. sickly companion done that they should dread pursuit and detection, and had fled, like thieves in the night, through/this lonely and wild San Juan country? That is a question easier asked than answered, as the reader will see as our stol'y rogresses. * Dai‘ er grew the gloom, and more and more indistinct the trail. Suddenly the trail split in twain and the pair paused in doubt. “ Which one shall we take—:shall we go to the right or to the left?" the girl queried. “ Take neither, but turn and 11 from this wild land where nothing but in sery awaits you i” cried a hoarse voice, coming, seemingly, from the air above the head of the pair. CHAPTER II. run eran or THE MOUNTAIN. IN blank amazement the travelers gazed around them, striving with their eyes to pierce the loom which, like a funeral pall,surrounded and emmed them in. “ What was that—who spoke?” asked the boy in a trembling whisper,glanci u g fearfully around I m. The rider was so ten'ibly alarmed that he come near fainting, and it was as much as he could do to retain his seat upon the mule. But the girl, being made of stouter stufl’, had in a measure recovered from herflrst alarm, and this time she had located the vaice. Whoever 'spoke was concealed just above the 4} “swimwear. by night—no man knew from where or whence +and just the first kind of a mention was going on in the hotel, The then proprietor, a rather hastytempered Irishman, had got into a fierce quarrel with some of the miners from up film creek,jand a terrible row lmd follower], wea- gzns were freely used, and the landlord was dlyhurt; , r The cry, went up {or a doctor but there wasn’t one within the valley; then the stranger ,‘ stepped. forward and tendered his services, and after he set to work upon the wounded man the” bystanders quickly saw that he was not only a doctor, but, as one of them expressed it “ a rip- stavlng one, too!” Despite the care and attention which he re- ceived the landlord died, for his wounds were mortal, and it was not within the power of man to cure them; In gratitude, though, for the care which had been bestowed upon him by the stranger, who couldn’t have attended to him more closely and carefully if he had been his own brother, the landlord bequeathed to the doctor the hotel, which he accepted. V Some time after this, in-e gossipy mood one night. a miner remembered that no one had ever learned the doctor’s name. They had al- ways called him “The Doctor” and nothing more, and boldly he made question. The doctor drew up his tall, stately form—he was a splendid~looking man of middle age, with a full brown beard, and nearly six feet high—— and said, pleasantly: “ My dear young friend, don’t ask questions, because, if you do, I shall be compelled to con- fess that my name is: John Smith—that I poi- . soned sixteen men in the East, and that there is a reward of ten thousand dollars for my appro- hension.” In the Sun J nan region no greater breach of manners can be committed than to put impru- dent questions in regard to a man’s name and where he hails from, for, truth to tell, many of these honest miners are unlucky men who have left their country (State) for thelr coun— try’s good. The Doctor, never was troubled about his name ’ I after that. There was little low and much license in this growing camp, and yet the inhabitants got on pretty well together. Once in a while, though, a stranger would come in and make trouble, as one big six—foot giant (lid only a short time be- fore the period of which we write. He was a large fellow, a “ regular burster,” and for a time be rather cowed the b0 his talk, and they he )1; clear of him. ' ewas Robert Ridley—Ole obRidley 0! he said—the feller w’ot the song was write about; he was a chief—n humped—back elephant—a wide-enred will—cut, and various other strange animals, and finally declared himself the Tearing Terror of Tans but at last he “ r’iled 7’ the crowd. “ blow do yer call this ranch, Juanapolisl Oh, you mud~colored gophers w_’ot can’t spit Snanish —l kin—I kin come the lingo; it’s Wanapolis and be bles<~ lawman.“ i J 18 ' > " The Idiot Boy Avenger. is, it he really knows anything," the outlaw continued. There wasn’t much doubt in the minds of the band that it was the idiot boy who was doing the mischief, and eager and anxious were they to 17 their hands upon him. hat night, just after the dusky hues of dark— ness had completely covered in the earth, four well-armed, rough-looking men, from four dif- ferent ints—so it had been arranged, so as not to excite suspicion—stole in toward the hole in the hillside where the poor idiot had his lair. All of the four had seen the idiot in the town just before nightfall, and they felt pretty cer- tain that he would seek the shelter of his cave somewhere near midnight. Lying quiet, the four men watched the moon come up, and then. about midnight, saw her re- tire out of sight behind some heavy cloud—banks. They had watched the lights go out, one by one, in the mining-town, of which, from their posi- tion, they commanded an excellent View. The four were arranged at about an equal dis- tance from the cave, two on the hillside, a little below the line of the ledge upon which the hole ’ was situated, and two to the rear of the cave, and slightly above it. As they were situated, one of the two men below the cave should be the first to catch the sounds of any one’s footsteps ascending the hill, therefore the men above the cave did not trouble themselves to keep as good a watch as the men below. In fact, one of the fellows—a big, burly, evil- looking rufl‘ian—was so overcome by drowsiness . as to doze off to sleep. A code of signals, not calculated to arouse suspicion, had been ar- ranged between the four, so that the first one who heard the coming of the man for whom they waited, coull warn the rest. The man who slept fought all he could to re- ~ Vsist the drowsy influence, but for a time he yielded, and slept soundly, and then, all of a sudden he woke-woke with the suspicion that something was near him—something evil was at hand; a cold perspiration came out all over his burly frame, and with haste he reached for his weapons. CHAPTER XVI. TOO LATE. TEE brawny rascal was not naturally a very quick man, but on this occasion fear led him to move with considerable alacrity, but, quick as he was, the arm of the unseen foe, who was right at his side concealed behind a clump of bushes, Was quicker still. :_ The ruffiin was lying on his side, thus afford- ' ‘-ing a. fair mark, and, as he reached for his weapon—ho had carelesst thrust his revolver = down its holster when the drowsiness had crept ‘ I over him, thinking that he would have plenty time to draw it before the time for action would ’ , come—a steady and sure hand struck a terrible " blow, and the single stroke was at once the out. ,1 law’s passport to the other world. Just a single came from his lips, and then his soul took ' , 0 still the night that each one of his com- ‘ . rades distinctly heard the death-groan, and for a moment the sound seemed to awe them into statues. Bold, strong men, familiar with blood and death, they realized that the grim king of terrors was near; but then, after the one single cry, hearing nothing more, they roused them- selves from their stupor and set about to dis- cover the meaning of the sound. - “ Hey, Jack?” called one, cautiously. “ All right, Bill,” was replied. “ Did you hear that, Bob?” asked the first. “ You bet!” fl “ Where are you, Mart?” again questioned the rst. v But the fourth man, Mart answered not. This immediately excited the suspicious of the rest. He might be asleep, but it was not likely. “Blazes, boys! I’m afeard that something is wrong I” one of the men exclaimed, thus put- ting into words the thoughts common to all three. “Let’s see, anyhow!” ejaculated one of the others. The outlaws were prompt to act upon the sug— gestion, but it was with cautious steps and with drawn, cocked revolvers that they approached the spot where they perceived their comrade stretched at full length upon the ground. The ruliians had seen death in too many shapes, and too near at hand, to be deceived on the present occasion. The moment they caught Sight of the man they understood that he was dead, and, what was worse, that he had died a I violent death by a foeman’s hand. The outlaws in stupefled amazement gazed for a few moments at the horrible si ht utterly dumfounded. The Secret slayer found them and had done his fearful work, even while they had been on the watch to ap rehend him! And, what brou ht the terrible oath of their comrade more c early home to them was the thought that it might just as well have been one of them, for they fully realized that tlir deed had been planned so cleverly and commit ted so quickly that the assailed man had no: had the slightest chance afforded him of escap» ing from t 6 attack. traight to the outlaws’ cave in the canyon they journeyed, and, to what few of the rogues who had spent the night there, the told the story of the terrible deed on the hillsi e. By ten o’clock the next morning the captain and all the band were on hand, and then the story was rehearsed to a full audience and to the infinite wonder of the listeners. In all their strange life of adventure this was one of th. most astounding things they had ever hearu As the tale was told, the members of the band looked at each other with anxious faces: and in wonder, for the matter was getting to be SEl'l one in the extreme. There had been thirteev in the band, twelve men and a captain; of th thirteen, four had already fallen. “ Well, boys. I am clean beat,” Captain Wild— cat averred, after quite a long pause. “ I don’i know what to make of it. If it goes on in th.‘ WaY much longer there won’t be enough if us left to bury the dead. One thing, then u, I pretty sure of, and that is we were bar ing the wrong tree the other night when we t! it was the idiot. For a Lark some of the locked him up in Murphy‘s shanty last n.., Just to spite the Irishman, who ,basamortal 1' '99-! , m--.“ ,.,_,. «xx—:u'ltv‘h urn. . 1 , 7‘ .. n, .. ..._ ,. W W».~0;x.:z.’z , The Idiot Boy Avenger. 19 of the idiot, and he wasn‘t let out till this morn— ing when Murphy came home; so you see there wasn‘t any chance for him to be mixed up in this affair I" ‘ The outlaws gazed at each other with blank countenances. They were all in their ordinary clothes now, with uncovered faces, and had not assumed their odd Cat disguises. The “Cats” were feargully dissatisfied; the secret killer had most decidedly demoralized them, and nearly all of them had made up their minds that if the foe were not soon discovered, they would give leg-bail and get out of the way. CHAPTER XVII. IN QUEST or KNOWLEDGE. ' OLD J AKE LAUDERDALE and his girl had come up to the camp. Settling-day had arrived and the old man had come upto square accounts with young Shannon, and in order the better to do this he had brought his dau hter along. It was commonly rumored that hannon was a little sweet on the dark-hued maiden, in spite of her fiery temper, and the knavish old man, who was not ignorant of this, relied upon the girl to make the task of settling accounts an easy one. As he often chuckled to himself: “It takes a woman to pull the wool over a man’s eyes,” and most certainly his daughter had been of great assistance to him since he had taken up his abode in J uanapolis, for if it had not been for her, he surely would never have been able to get hold of the mine which he was now work— ing, for there were plenty of better men than be anxious to take hold of the propert , and willing to give better terms than those w ich he had the mine upon. But the girl had asked Shannon to let her father have it, and the young man had given it to him, much to the astonishment of the town at lar , who could not at first understand why sue a regular scallawag as old Jake should be preferred to the many better men who were anxious to try their luck; but “ kissing goes by favorf‘ it’s an old saying and a true one. And now, so great a rascal was old Lauder-— dale that, not satisfied with getting the mine on extremely easy terms, he was doing his best to cheat the owner out of his fair share. Old Jake’s mind rather misgave him on this occasion, though, and he had matter for anx- ious thought as, with his daughter, in the dusk of the evening he walked up toward the town. The mine had been panning out pretty well, lately, and some of his neighbors who were dis- posed to be inquisitive had been kee ing a pretty sharp lookout in regard to t e way things were going. And he was sorely afraid that some one of these neighbors might take it into his head ’60 30150 young Shannon and re— port to him how well the amine was doing. Now, the way the old man had figured it out, he made it appear that the last 'month was about the poorest one the mine had known since coming into his charge. _ He was much tron led 1n mind; a guilty con- science op ressed him, and just as he got to the outskirts t the camp be resolved to make everything safe by getting the girl to settle up , the account and pay over the money. Shannon might question him, particu. l Young larly if he had been posted by some meddling neighbor, and he might put some question that would not be easy to answer. “ I say, Iris, gal, I guess I will let you do the settlin -up with Mr. Shannon," he announced, abrupt y, as they approached the store. “ Here’s the dust, and the account you will find inside the bag. I reckon it is all correct, but I have a mighty Ipoor head for figures sometimes, and, maybe, may have made afew small mistakes." The girl understood her father’sfgame just as fully as though he had explaine it at length, and her lip curled in contempt. “Very well; I will do it,” she said; “butI am afraid that the mistakes you make are al- wasys in your own favor and never in his.” he lent her aid to fool young Shannon be- cause she did not care anything for the man; in fact, she had a supreme contempt—a hatred, for all the miners. Whether the blood within her, veins were Spanish, French, Indian or negro, it was hot and fie? enough. once, it was little wonder, when the rough miners in their uncouth and elephautine wa came a-courting, that she received their 8 ~ vances in the worst possible spirit, and replied to civil words with bitin , angry speeches. The iron was in her soul; 5 e fancied that all the world, save one, believed that she came of base and ignoble blood. Even Shannon’s civility made her look x askance. Perhaps it was this feeling that led her to lend herself a compliant tool to her father’s trickery. If the world despised her. she returned the compliment, and so the account was even. The two entered . the store together. As it happened, there were no customers present; so they had a clear field. ‘ The young man was alone in theaters, and old Jake greeted him with the hearty warmth that mean men and rascals generally use in this life as s. cloak to conceal their true nature. ” My girl has 0!: the dust and the accounts for the month, . Shannon," he said, after the first salutations were over. “It has been a rather poor month, but she will explain about that, while 1 go out on alittle busmess that l have to attend to." “ The month has not been a very good one, Mr. Shannon,” the girl repeated, “ and I have not brought you as much money as you have a right to expect.” ‘ Oh, that isall right; I am satisfied,” he said, sweeping the be of dust into the moneyvdrawer w1thout even to. ing the trouble to weigh it. “ It you hadn’t brought anything, I should still be just as glad to see you.” » Being perfectly satisfied that everything was all ' right, and that, as usual, Iris had succeeded in ‘ getting the amount passed, Jake went down the steps and headed strai ht for the den of Des- mond. This was one y what the girl wanted, for she wished to talk in private with young Shannon. « CHAPTER XVIII. A JEALOUS wonsu. THE girl had her eyes upon the old man; she - understood well enough that he was loitering at a . - .,-—a. w «.g—u-u, A. .«e «a (“v . gm..— r- v-ayn'v‘ q-e ~ an»; “a . 1 n yhix \‘mfil-n c—v—mr ' l 20 The Idiot Boy Avenger. the door for the purpose of seeing how young Shannon would receive the small payment, an she did not fail to see the old fellow take him- self off when he found that everything was satis— factory. This afforded her the chance that she wanted, for she had an object in consenting so readily to do the bidding of her father. A two—fold object in fact had she, and the moment old Jake dissappeared she proceeded to accomplish the mission upon which she had come. Sue had heard the gossip in regard to Des- mon i paying attention to the beautiful girl who had so unexpectedly made her appearance in the camp and desirel to know if there was any truth in what she had heard. Then she was Weary oi! being used as a. catspaw by her father and had made up her mind, if the young store~ keeper was favoring her father on her account, then the quicker he knew that he was not guin- ing favor in her eyes by so doing the better. Half-savage though she was by nature, yet she scorned deception “ Mr. Shannon. do you know anything about these strangers who have lately come into the Valle ’she began, “this brother and sister?” u “ h, yes,” Shannon replied, not at all sur- prised, since the “pilgrims ” had not yet ceased to excite general interest. “This girl is very beautiful, I believe,” and there was a. glint of fire in the dark eyes, al- though the tone was careless enough. “ as she certainly is a Ver%handsome 'girl.” “ An they say that Mr. esm ind is very much taken with her.” Shannon looked a little surprised at this for he had not noticed Desmond's pursuit of the girl. If he had any notion of the girl, although even to himself he had never admitted that he had, 0001 Desmond, the Desperado, was by all odds his formidable rival. “He is after the girl, is he not?" Iris demand- ed, flndiu that Shannon hesitated. “ Do not ' feartotefi me the truth; I Will not repeat it, A butif the report is true, let Desmond look out for himself for I will hold him to a bitter reck- onin i” In her anger the girl had spoken more open y than she had intended, and she perceived by the expression upon Shannon’s face that he was amazed. It was too late to retreat, new; so she resolved to confide fully in the young man, ‘ trustin to his honor to keep the secret. “I d d not intend to speak quite so freely,” V‘ 'she continued, “ but since my tongue has be- trAyed me I hope you will not reveal what I ,’ have said to you to any one.” Shannon hastened to assure her that she might rely upon, his discretion. . ‘ Desmond has no right to even look at any other girl 1” she went on, “and if he dares to {lay false with me I will make him repent it to he latest day of his life.” ,. “ It may not be so," Shannon remarked. “I will know before I sleep this night,” she I, continued, anger blazing hot within her veins. , And the gir departed, to find Desmond, hav- ' lug, during the brief interview, given the young Ito ekeeper much matter for thought. mm the store she went directly to Des- mond’s saloon. It was too early in the evening group of men, prominent among whom was old Lauderdale. The girl walked directly no to Desmond, never talking the slightest notice of her fut! "r. “ I want to speak with you a indifhnt; walk this way!” she said, with the air 0". a tragedy queen. ‘3' The gambler, thoth both astonished and dis- gusted, did not dare to I'bfnsc. He saw from her manner that she had not come on any pacific mission. “What is the matter with you, Iris?" he de- mended. “ I am crazy with anger!” “And why!” “ Cannot you guessi’j “ indeed, I cannot.” ‘ “ Why have you gone after this new girl i" “ I’ve a certain game to play, and, in order to win— 01 the stake is a big one—I have to keep on riendly terms with this new girl." “ The stake is the girl herself; I understand your game, well enough 1" she persisted, bitter< y, “ but you will not win, no matter how care- fully you plan.” “ Don’t be a fool, Iris; but listen to me. I will tell you all about it, since you must know," but, before he proceeded to explain, be cast a careful glance around, so as to be sure no one was near enough to overhear his words. “ You have heard the story of the massacre of Cone- 30?! Yes_n ‘ “ Well, by rights, there must be a large sum of gold—dust concealed about the old mines, somewhere. Old Conejos had it, and it has never been discovered, so it must still be there, and it is in search of the dust that these pil- grims came into this valley. This brother and sister know the secret, and that hidden gold-dust is exactly what I am after, and that is the reason why I am trying to get on friendly terms with the girl, for I am bound to have that dust, and if I once got hold. of it, my beauty, you and I will speedily get out of this.” - “ And you will take me with you?" the girl asked. doubtfully. ' “ Why. of course! Hav’n‘t I given you my word, and don’t I think more of you than nil them-st of the women in the world, combined?” “ Keep faith with me, for heaven’s sake l” the girl pleaded, passionately, “or else I shall be driven to deeds which wxll bring ruin down on both of our heads.” For a time Desmond had succoeded, but how long would peace continue? CHAPTER XIX. A PECULMR VISION. 11' was about ten o’clock at night, and the gentleman from Taos was not in the best of hu- mor.~ The fame of Cool Desmond, the Des- perado, awed him, and he did not banker after a contest—a trial of strength with such a man, for it was a common saying in the valley that the man who crossed Desmond’s path “:11le a graveyard “ lead " instanter. The big fellow was eager for revenge, though. for the slight that had been put u n him. and tor business, so the gambler was lounging in o so, a bright idea came to him; he id not dare to the doorway of his “den,” talking with ‘ a little —~¢”§.. .e>‘« '2‘ "i w. ,i i The Idiot Boy Avenger. ’ a: uarrel with the gambler, but he could go to t e “pilgrims” and drop a hint or two in re gard to Desmond that would be apt to block his game if he had any designs upon the girl, and the colonel had no doubt that the gambler was “ squinting ” in that direction. / So, neve” *eflecting upon the lateness of the hour, the incl started for the cabin of the r pilgrims. ‘ o the shuty restaurant of the two strangers he proceeded. A light; shone from within, show— ing that thednmates had not yet retired to rest. “ Now, then, dog my cats, if I don’t put a flea into Mr. Desmond’s eur,”the Taos man mut- tered, as he knocked at the door. “ Who is there—what do you want?" the voice of the girl demanded. Then it suddenly occurred to the giant that it was rather an unseasonable hour for a call and that possibly be had alarmed the pilgrims. “Don‘t be afenrd—it’s only me,” he assured; “and I’m a reg‘lar old side pardner of yourn; I’m the colonel from T2105, and I Went to speak to you on very ’ticular business.” “ Come to-morrow,” answered the girl. “ Tomorrow won’t do; I shall bu’st if I Wait!” exclaimed the Tans ,man, explosively. “Don’t you be afeard; I’m jes’ the biggest friend that you have got in this hyer town, and I have come to put you on your guard ag’iu’ a mean cuss w’ot I reckon will be apt to worry you if he git-s a chance.” There was a brief consultation between the two within. ' “ I recognize the voice,’ the girl said. “ It is that big man who was one of the committee that called upon us.” “ Do not let him in. no matter who it is!” , begged the boy, nervous with fright. " Not to—night, please,” the girl replied, genlr 1‘, endeavor-mg to smooth over the matter. ‘ Come to—morrow and We will ladly listen to what you have to say and thani you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness.” “ ‘Soft words butter no parsnips,’ ” the big fellow thought. “ But, look-where!" be ex} claimed aloud, just drunk enough to be obsti- nate. “ I reckon you don’t get the right kind of a hang on this hyer thing. I’ve come for to see you on the most important kind of business. I reckon it you oniy knew w’ot I have to say you’d fling t is dumed door open so wide that an elephant could walk in.” But the pilgrims were equally as resolute in their idea of keeping the big fellow as he was to gain admittance, and as they had a most de- cided advantage on their side, reluctantly he was forced to a andon his mission. “ That is w’ot a'gentl’man gits by trying to do a good-natured action," he muttered, as he took his uncertain way back toward the center of the town. “ Burned if it ain’t enough to make a man eat a. mule.” and then With a series of hair—raising paths the giant expressed his disgust at the pilgrims, the camp of Juanapolis, its in- habitants, himself, and in fact the whole World in general. So engrossed did the big loafer become in this pleasing task that be neglected to take his bearings, and walked straxght out of the road toward the foot-hills and only woke to a con— sciousness of his mistake W115!) he stumbled over a. knee-high bowlder, which brought him down on all-fours, sprawling. , He lifted his head and looked around him. And then his eyes fell upon a dark object which was crouching under the lee of a rock some forty or fifty feet ofl". The object, whose flank had been turned, so to speak, by the giant’s unexpected movement, thinking that it had not been seen owing to the, colonel’s condition, and anxious to escape d1s-. *‘ ‘ covery, glided quietly from its exposed ‘tion and took refuge amid some rocks a little further ff 0 . “W‘ot a cat!” he muttered, and, sure en- ough, the figure wore the likeness of a cat, but ‘ ' a cat of gigantic size—a cat as large as a. human and black as the sable robes of night. That he saw as it disappeared, and then he rose slowly to his feet, rubbing his eyes. i The colonel really was alarmed; he fancied that the man-with-the—poker was after him. “Cutsl” he muttered, in sore perplexity; “ I never heard of a man seeing cats afore; it is allers rats or snakes. I’ll jest git out of this hyer as quick as I kin.” And he “ made tracks ” for the hotel at ones. He did notnttempt to investigate whether it was » ,’ a cat or not; the one glimpse of it he had caught was quite enough for him. , At the hotel be related to the crowd in the bar-room what he had seen. He expected that the tale would be received with boots of in~ credulity, but. on the con'rary, the faces of the listeners grew sober. The mimic], a new-comer in the camp, was not as well pcsted as he might be, but the rest were. “ The Wild—cats are abroad, then,” remarked ’ the Doctor, reflectively. “ By Jove! that means. ,, , there will be bloody work somewhere around this camp to-niglit." CHAPTER XX._ THE STORY OF THE CATS. “Yes. sir-ea, when you see the Cats abroad» 1' ‘ by night, it means that there’s bloody work a cad,” the landlord repeated, and the rest in the room noddedassent with solemn faces. .- " The man from Time was astonished. - _ “ What on earth do you mean b all this h er, anyway?” he cried. “ Did I real y see 3. ca. tor sure? and, gentl’men, you kin tell me that I lie all you please, but that air beast was as big ash. ; - mii o! with any sich yam.” - “ Oh, we know about the cats; you see, you are a new—comer in the camp, and of course you x , ain’t as Well posted as you might be,” the Doctor explained. v v “ You don’t mean to say that you have got “ " cats in this hyer valley as bigas mules?" ,. "' You saw it with your own eyes,didn’tyoui”’ the host demanded, and the miners nudged each " other as much as tosay that this was a. knock- ' down argument. 1 ' The Tues man shook his head as though the words had been fists and had played a tattoo ‘ . upon his skull. . ‘ _ “ We], I sw’ar, I thought that it was all skim! ‘ beapoker game, and that m of human-withct I wasn’t any rich thing,” he confessed. don’t expect on one of you to believe me! I wouldn’t it any‘ pi grim tried to wool me . v‘v w "Imus-van... m»... mvrvruf “M‘. “a. .,,.-. sewn-w - .( Wanamaaww t. 7 «m. .w‘ u :rmvsr-‘V(fi“fl’2‘7. w _- ,7- ~mr'm ‘ . ,5 as.” w weg (a—«s:~'l"‘~""‘ "No, sir; you are all right as far as that is concerned; but to explain: what you saw was a V man disguised as a cat.” “The blazes you say!" the giant howled, in disgust; “ wal, it I had know’d that I would have jumped for him and clawed him in a min- uts.’ “ Yes, there’s a regular band of them,” the Doctor continued, “ and the have been fooling round here oil? and on ever smce the first settle- ment of this valley—in fact, before the camp had a local habitation and a name." “ And they rig up like cats so that folks won’t know who they are?” 1"," Exactly; my noble Roman, you have hit 1 “Oh, it I had only a-knowed it!” the giant vociferated; then he spit on his hands and dou— bled them up. " If I had only a-knowed it, wouldn’t I have whaled that Cat!" ‘ “Or got ‘ wiped out’ in trying,” suggested the Doctor. ’ “ Will them Cats bite?” the colonel demanded. “They have left many a bloody mark of their teeth since this hyer camp was new,” the other replied. “That chap under the table there could tell you more about them than any man in the camp it he only had his senses,” and the speaker pointed to the idiot boy, who lay curled up like a dog, fast asleep, apparently, under one o the tables. “ And w'ot does he know about them?” asked the colonel, his curiosity now doubly excited. “They murdered his father. mother, sisters r and brothers, and gave him a crack on the head at the same time that made an idiot of him.” “ The Cats did?” “ Well, it was supposed they did; that was the massacre of CoueJos.” v “ Cats—big black Cats! durned if that don’t beat me all hollow !” and the colonel brought his hand down with a heavy whack on the table by which he was standing. The idiot boy started from his slumbers. “ Cats—black Cats!" he cried, repeating the words of the other; “ yes, I saw them all—— " thirteen—thirteen big fellows, and all of them with gleamin , knives in their hands! Ohl see their a esl nd there are e irits round me now," 9 centinued, much to t e uneasiness of ‘ the miners, who lared about them and looked askance at the ark corners of the room as though they expected to see the airy forms of ' which the boy spoke lurking there. And the giant from Taos, with open mouth, stared, the most wonder-struck man in the com. “I see themin their white robes, waving their silver wingsl” and the boy’s voice was thrillineg low. He moved toward the door with outstretc ed hands. “They beckon meto follow them; know what they want! They want me to come with them on the hills under the moon. All right, I am coming!” and then, opening the door he passed out into the night, much to the relief of the crowd, who were naturall superstitious, and did not at all relish this so of talk. Even after the boy’s de- parture they looked anxiously around them, not The Idiot Boy Avenger. The bi man was the first to break the silence. “ Gent ’men, you may skin me for lariats if this hyer don’t beat all that I ever did heer tell on; but. I say, how ’bout this Cat busineSS? Is this hyer camp going to be run over by a parcel of Cats? Are we a lot of dog-goned skunks, for to h0w1 and crawl into our hole, ’cos a few black Cats come a-meowing ’round the town? Not by a jugful, if I know myself, and I think I do. 1 kin whip my weight in Cats, wild or tame, and I allers could.” “ Well, gents, it does seem really rough that these fellows should dare to come right into our town,” the Doctor declared. “ Yes, and to walk right over us i” the colonel added, excitedly. Then up spoke a brawny and grizzled miner, a staid and steady man, one of the solid ones of the camp; “ The urnel is right, and we mustn‘t stand ' we must take the war—path and clean ’em out i" 7This idea took at once, and every man in the room immediately volunteered. Some one sug— gested that to aggoint a leader was about the proper thing. e gentleman from Taos, with that modestyso characteristic of him, was about to volunteer for the pest, when the brawny miner headed him off just as he had got his mouth 0 n by nominating the Doctor. and the approve with which the nomination was re- ceived was quite strong enough to convince even the giant, who was not noted for clearness of comprehension, that he stood no show at all. The Doctor, as a rule. was a quiet man, and rarely bothered himself with anything outside of his own business, but on this occasion be for once broke through his rule and accepted the responsibility. A bright idea occurred to one of the miners. " Say, gentl’men, we ought to ring Desmond in on this deal seeing as how he is the boss fight- ing-man of this deestrict,” he suggested. This took immediately and the crowd pro- ceeded to wait upon the gambler. By this time it was near midnight, and as it happened to be a dull night as to business the Desperado’s Den was on the point of closing up when the miners marched into the saloon. . Desmond was considerably surprised and for a moment a prehensive, for, as the crowd en— tered. he bac ed behind the table asif preparing for an attack. The Doctor acted as spokesman for the crowd, and speedily made known the errand upon which they had come. But to the surprise of all who had expected mo that the gambler would onljy be too eager to joiijT in the “ picnic,” he decline . W" Wu, “I ain't lost any cats,” he declared. “and-, ., am not going to prowl round in the dark looki, m, n for anybody else’s; ’sides, I don’t take m,’.: ,.,';' stock in the yarn, nohow.” 1 , M.“ This was an aspersmn that the Tees many,” .L dignantly resented, but the gambler scorn.“ repeated the remark. and the miners. T nettled at his refusal, withdreW. 1.; They were all armed, therefore all preparu. : g for the expedition, so at once they set out. And then, for the first time, '1 susplcion 0‘ what the object of the marauders was, in enter- it 4 7 gig-to sure that hosts were not lurking in the ‘, krmott ereom. ing the town, came to them. . «a! .yflv‘.‘d~£ - ,_ .ng. . Jaw ‘3)Igehw5‘7fil»val&‘ui .. The Idiot Boy Avenger. 28 The Cats had been lurking near the cabin oc— cupied by the two pilgrims, the boy and girl! Did they threaten harm to the adopted children of J uanapolis? CHAPTER XXI. THE SEARCH. DEEPLY excited were the citizens at the bare thought of mischief threatening the two “ babes in the woods}? as one of the miners termed the pilgrims. _ _ . “ Dun: my skin if it Wouldn’t be a ’tarnal shame!" cried the brawny, gray-bearded miner, old Uncle Pete, as he was termed, when one of the crowd suggested that the “ Cats ” might be prowling around the cabin of the two wander- ers with hostile intent. Each and every one in the band echoed the sentiment, and as for the giant son of Tags he swore with a dozen blood-curdling and decided- ly original oaths that he would, single-handed, exterminate all the Cats west of the Mississippi, if a hair of the heads of either of the two was harmed. But as they preached near to the cabin of the fllg‘nms the tor commanded silence. “ 1: us know when we are pretty near the spot where you saw the fellow skulking,” the leader of the party remarked to Tees. A hundred yards further on the giant came to a. halt, and the rest of the party guessing from the action that they were near the place of action, halted also. f‘ There, Doc, the cuss was, jes’ over by them big rocks,” Taos said, in a hoarse whisper, while all clustered around the Doctor, grasped the trusty revolvers which they carried, ready cooked, and gazed with inquiring eyes at the point indicated A shrill, sharp whistle rung out clear on the still night air! , The miners looked at each other amazed, not knowmg what to make oi the sound, but before any. one of the part could make any remark, again it sounded, shri lend sharp as before. It was evidentlya signal. ‘Two sharp whish tles 1n quick succession, and the sound came from the rear—from the center of the town. ‘ “Hallo! what does that mean?" quoth the Doctor; “is it a warning to our game to make themselves scarce?” “ If it is so the Cats must have a. spy right in the town,” Uncle Pete observed. “Spread out and advance; we'll soon find !” the Doctor commanded. ‘ie command was obeyed with alacrity, but , ’ odor of the rt was wrong in his prog- ‘ ‘ they did nogasoozi find out, for they had» I but their labor for their pains. ‘ 1 f tletxs search over. the miners gath~ ew paces from the pilgrim shanty. 5, these fellows are too much for us," 5 v tor observed eagely. “Those whistles A, signal for t em ~,to get up and dust. I . J I .1, and if it is so, why, the Cats have got a . and a spy right in- the camp." But while the miners had been occupied in their fruitless search thewdouhtiug words, of the scatter. Desmond. had occurred to them. Had the lam: from Taos really seen anything like the is black Cat which he had described, or was it all a coinage of an imagination heated by potent fire—water? The colonel was noted for big stories, wonder. - fulldyams of wonderful adventures by flood and _ fie ; in fact, was the biggest liar south of Den— ver— an accomplishment which he was really proud to claim. Therefore no one of the party was taken by surprise when old Uncle Pete shoved his big fist * under the nose of the giant and shook it men- _ acin ly. “ ou long—legged, mule-headed, p’ison son of a perarie skunk! you lied when you said that you see’d a Cat a-prowling ’round hyerl” the V old man exclaimed. “ You lied, and you know ' you lied, you whisky-soaked,animate:l keg, you!" “ So help me Bob, I was giving it to you as strai ht as 9. string !" the colonel protested. “ on lie—you know you do! You lie so much that you can’t tell the truth when you want to!” the other retorted. “And you were , ‘ drunk, too; you are drunk, now; you couldn’t see a hole through a forty-foot ladder, if there wasn‘t any rounds into it! A Cat! 011, get outl You couldn‘t tell a cat from a mule ten yards ' OR, the way you are now i” , “ I kin fight any man in the crowd, hyer,’ w‘ot says that I didn’t see a Cat!” he avowed,.doub— ling up his huge fists, and shaking them in a de- fiant manner. “Mebbe you kin, but that don’t prove that you did see one," responded the old man dog- cdly. . , . ~ ,, g “Well, whether you did or not, it is (Elite v plain that We are not going to see one,” the ow , tor inte “ So, the quicker we get back to I town the better,” he continued. _ , “ Keepin’ us out of our bunks, the mule-head~' r ed mutton-jack!” old Pete muttered, With rev : . , vengeful looks at the colonel, who was terribly . put out by the complete failure that had been made. , ’ . ‘f 801’ on i” cried the giant, abruptly, an idea j getting into his thick head, “who knows but ' w’ot them Cats have gone through the cabin and ‘r ' carried the kids off already, store we come?" The miners stared at each other for a moment, ’I for they understood that there might be some, i ‘ thing in this, and the Doctor was quick to an upon it. “I will soon settle that eErection,” he ah- - V nounced, and then he march of the cabin and knocked. . I, No light was burning within to indicate that fr the inmates had not retired to rest, but it was. soon evident that the two were not fast in slum- , ber’s chain, for the voice of the girl, when” r plain] startled by the summons, inquired: j ~ “ ho is there?” *- ’ . “Don’t be alarmed, miss, it is onlya of friends.” the Doctor replied, in his Mundane. r tones. “Don’t you recognize my voices, Fem , the Doctor; we heard that there was some say , picicus characters prowling around the camp ‘ ‘ to—night, so a party of us came up to see it you: were all safe.” “Oh, yes,” replied the girl, much relieved,? when she discovered who her questioner was; “no one hastronbledusat‘all.” ' _ r _ , “ You must excuse us for disturbing you, but we felt a little Madam thought up to the door M / y The Idiot Boy Avenger. better come up and see if everything was all right.” . ‘Qh. you are very kind, indeed l” the girl re- sponded, ratefully. “ Every one is so kind to us here, t at I fear we never shall be able to ex- press how grateful we are." “ Well, good-night, miss; sorry to have dist turbed you,” and the Doctorretreatedfiollowed by the rest. The Taos man marched along with his nose . ‘ up in the air, dogged, defiant, and ugly, regard- less of the sly jokes perpetrated at his expense. He couldn’t very Well fight the whole gang, as he remarked, but, if any one or two men wanted ; to maul him on the Cat question, he was their ' mutton. __ CHAPTER XXII. run DANGER COMES. IN thirty minutes’ time after, the miners were all safe in their bunks; not a lightburned in the valley, not a solitary miner was astir. But all within the valley’s confines were not buried in slumber. Within the cabin of the pilgrims, the two strangers around whose past career such a mystery clung, the brother and sister, held busy and anxious converse. The boy lay upon the bunk. By the side of the rude bunk knelt the girl. Could their features have been seen, upon the white face of the lad despair strangely commin- glad with desperation would plainly have been traced. while the girl’s countenance betrayed signs of anguish but not of alarm.. “I tell you that we are in deadly peril l" the boy exclaimed, excitedly, glaring around him in the darkness as though he expected to see a _ foe start forth from each corner. ‘ . “ No, no; it is only your imagination,” the ‘girl assured, soothingly. “Oh, no, it is not! Why do you talk to me _ as if I was onlya child?” the other retorted. . “ I tell you I feel danger in the very air arouan V y us. I feel exactly the same as on that dreadful night, the events of which sent us forth wan— derers into the world.” , “ Heaven knows that it is not my wish to blame you or to speak harshly in regard to your acts.” the girl observed, slowly and sol- emnly, but I am sure that if you were less im- , pulsive—less given to acting upon the thought '(, 0g the'moment, it would be far better for both 0 us. ‘ “ Am I to blame?” the boy cried, in a very irritable and defiant way. “I am as Heaven made me and I cauu 3t help it. I am not cool and calculating as you are; it is not my nature, ' ,nor can I submit to wrong without attempting to avenge myself.” , “Ah,,that is exactly where the trouble is; it is better to submit, to endure in patien’ce, some- timesl‘than to resist.” “ You are too good for this world!" be ex- - claimed. “ You are a saint and should be trans- lated straight into Heaven, but I, on the con— trary, am only a poor, weak, erring mortal, and, mortal-like, when I am trodden upon, it is my nature to resist.” ,fl' “ Oh. but see what a terrible amount of , ' misery your rash action has caused us!" the ' 1 other cried, impetuogsly, unable to refrain from expressing in words the thoughts which crowd- ed so thickly upon her brain. “ If you had oul restrained yourself—if you had only temporizedy, we would not now be what we are—wanderers upon the face of the world, depending entirely upon the kindness of strangers for the very bread we eat.” “ I am accursedl” the boy wailed, excitedly; “ bitter bad fortune must have sat in my house of life when I was born, and the evil influence has followed me ever since.” “ Do not say so; I am sure it is not so,” the girl asseverated, softly. “ And yet, I tell you it was an evil hour when fortune led our wandering footsteps this way; I am sure of it, and nothing but misfortune Will come of it!” the boy persisted, in the feverish, excited way which was such a strange contrast to the calm, hopeful tones of the girl. “ We ought to have heeded the warning of the idiot before we descended into the valley, and have turned our steps in another direction.” “We would have been very foolish to heed the ravings of that poor boy whose mind is so sadly distraught. His warning was but idle words. He did not know us—could not know us, nor from whence we came, nor why we fled. How then could he warn us?” “ Many folks believe that such idiots, de— prived of reasoning powers, a uire an instinct that seems almost supernatura ,” the boy re- marked. “The idiot could not have known us as you say; and yet, he spoke of dangers from which we had escaped, and warned ué of daui gers to come.” “ Idle words—nothing but idle words; he talks so to every one; do not all tell us so?” “ Yes.” admitted the boy, who was resolute in not allowing conviction to take hold of him; “ but this dreadful massacre, the bare mention of which freezes my blomi with horror every time I hear it mentioned!” ‘f‘fi yell, what is that to us? What do we know 0 it. ' “ True indeed; what do we know of it; but why should this Desmond think that we know something of it? Why should the outlaw who assumes the strange disguise of a cat believe that we possess a knowledge of the secrets of the old ruined ranch ?” “ I cannot tell—it isa deep myste to me," the girl confessod, after giving the subject a few minutes’ thoughtful consxderation. “ And therefore I tell you there is danger in it for us!” the other again repeated. “ There is nothing left for us but to fly if we would es- cape the peril that is hanging over us." “ It is impossible, we cannot go," she replied, firmly. “ It is madness to remain!” “Life is as sweet to me as to any one, I sup- pose, and yet, sometimes I think it would have been better for us both to have died, when death was so near, rather than have lived the life we have been obliged to live since that time,” and the girl spoke slowly and sorrowfully. “ I will not die ghile I can cling to life,”, the _ other declared. T n he suddenly reached out his hand and caught the girl by the wrist. “ Hush I” he cried, excitedly, “what Was that? Did you not hear something? ...w,-~r,¢»mm-ama -.. v. , “ham-mama... , A... o Mm. ,¢.. VVlan'l l w w-. The Idiot Boy Avenger. The two listened attentively, and so still was the night that they could plainly hear the sound of their own breathing, whlch Seemed terribly loud. ‘ _ " I do not hear anything,” the girl Whlsml‘ed. after quite a long pause. “Wth was 1‘9 like?” ” Some one stepping cautiously outside the cabin door.” I Again the two listened intently, but the sound ——if sound indeed there had been—did not again come to the ears of the boy. _ “Oh, I am going crazy, I believe I” he mut- tered. “ I do not hear a single sound now, and yet I would have sworn that I heard the noise of stealthy footsteps outside the door. ” “ You are excited, and your imagination is overwrought. Lie down and try to sleep; in the morning you will doubtless be better.” ' With a subdued moan, the boy fell back on the bed. He closed his eyes; all was still as the stillness of the grave, and the girl believed that rest at last was at hand. Then in this dead and quiet calm, there came a. sound from without Sgt elapsed both of the anxious pair to start in , It was the sound of a hoarse whisper that came as distinctly on the clear, still air or the night as a loud command would have done by ay. “Now, all together, boys, one, two, three I” There was a heavy shock, and the cabin door, burst from its fastenings, came rolling into the room. CHAPTER XXIII. A. nsrnmous SHOT. THE boy sat bolt upright in the bunk, and w_1th blang eyes grabbed a revolver, but the girlhanticipating ‘ust such a. movement as this on his part, threw th her arms around him, thus practically rendering him incapable of carry: centemplated. “ Let me go!” he shouted. “ No, no, I will not; yield, resistance is mad— ness!” v Into the room came the assailants who had crushed 1n the door With a heavy log as the bat- ter1ng~ram, and through the doorway the rays of the moon came, thus partially lighting the apartment. Although this light was dim, the eyes of the pilgrims, accustomed to the darkness, saw clearly enough nine well-armed men, and Such 'and every one habited in the strange Cat less, The leader of the Cat hand, the first to enter the room, quickly perceived what was going on. “ Ohol he’s got a barker, has he?” he cried; f‘let him go, gal. and let him try to use the weapon, if he daresl I reckon that a lick in the head will take all that nonsense out of him." “ Oh, do not harm him, sil“, he Will not at- tempt to resist,” pleaded the girl, who, b this time, had got her hand on the revolver, an with .‘ a violent effort wrenched it from the boy’s grasp e, as and, exhausted by the effort. he hadma well as overcome by the excitement, the boy’s [,3trength forsookhim, and he sunk hack in a dead faint upon the bun . . L "What is the matter With him?” demanded ‘Cat leader. 3 out the desperate purpose which» he, ,limW‘l ,, m “ He has fainted, sir I” “ How soon will he come out of this?” he ask- ed. “We want you to go along with us, but we 'can‘t bother to lug him if he can’t walk.” “Why do you wish us to go—what do you want of us?” “You know the secret of Conejos, and that secret we must know,” the ruifian chief declared coming a ste nearer. ‘ . “ Indeed, know nothing of it," she mur- mured. . “ So you said before, but I take the liberty to doubt that statement," the outlaw retorted. “ Oh, wh will you not believe me when I as- sure you that I do not know anything of the matter of which on speak?” she cried, in an- guish, the big pear y tears streaming down her cheek. ‘ The Cat leader shook his head. i “ Come,” he said, “ we are wasting time, and time and tide wait for no man; we must be elf to our mountain home before any of the camp galoots wake up, for they might not relish. this little surprise-party of ours. w long Will it take (you to fetch this boy to his senses?’ _ “ b, not long, sir; a few minutes only!” she hastened to exclaim, fearful that the outlaw might: change his mind and do violence to the out . “ All right; go ahead with you, and be as fast as you can, for we have no time to lose. One of you fellows stand in the doorway and keep a , good lookout, for we don’t want our little picv nic hyer surprised.” » I The biggest and burliest Cat of them all im- mediately took up a position in (the doorway, from which he easily commanded a view of the slee ing town. T e girl, in great trepidation, unloosed the flannel-shirt of the boy at the neck and ‘pro- - needed to chafe his hands and wrists. ‘ Quick to [all into a faint, the boy was almost eqimlly quick to recover from it. n a few moments he began to show’ signs of .. ' life; then he opened his eyes languidly, and for a. moment looked vacantly around him. Soon he caught sight of the evil—looking outlaws in their horrid disguises, and a violent shudder shook his frame. “Get up and come along with us!” ordered the outlaw captain. “ Oh, sir, he will do as you say—we will both 31(1) as-ylon say it you will not harm us 1” assured e 2511' .. “ Get up, for it is time we were 01?; morning is near at hand and we mustn’t be caught by any of the early birds of the town.” ‘ By this time the boy was on his feet and the two stood clinging together, their arms around each other, the perfection of helplessness. “ Come along and come quietly,” the outlaw warned. “ Don’t attempt to escape, or try any gum games on us, for it won't do gou the least bit of good. Is the coast all clear to the man in the doorway.” \ _ ' “ All 0. K. , captain,” the sentinel replied. “ Three of you get in the rear and the rest on the sides of our birds hyer,” the chief com- manded. ‘ . The men did as ordered, and the outlaw _ turned to depart, when— £ 3-5 V _ 3—m- 14 ‘15», . .. Jw-R'Gcfifé‘w 28 The Idiot Boy Avenger. Crack! Out shrill on the air rung the short quick bark of a revolver, startling the outlaws. “Aha, who fired that shot?” the Cat leader cried, he and all the rest preparing on the in- stant for battle. The sentinel at the door only wheeled slowly half around, and with a heavy thud came down on the floor all in a heap. Disregardiug the two prisoners, and antici- pating that they were caught in a trap, with drawn revolvers the Cats leaped over the body or their comrade and rushed through the door. CHAPTER XXIV. AN UNSEEN FOE. PELL-MELL out of the door of the cabin the outlaws poured, each and every man expecting thjat a bloody fight awaited him on the out- 81 e. They believed that the miners had stolen in upon them and were prepared to cut of! their retreat to the hills. Judge of their astonishment when, upon reaching the open air, the bandits were unable to discover the slightest trace of a foe! In blank dismay the outlaws stared around them and then upon each other. What did it mean? Their comrade had been slain right be- fore their eyes, stricken down upon his post without even a chance for his life. ' ' The chief Was the first to recover his wits,‘ and upon his mind there suddenly flashed the remembrance of the secret slayer who had al— ready touched, with his bloody and withering hand, so many of the outlaw baud. d 1% was this mysterious foe who had done this as . “ Quick! Examine and see whar he got his wound,” the chief commanded; “then we must be off, for the pistol-shot will wake some of the miners up, and it we get the town after us the boys will be apt to make it lively atore we get . out." The order was obeyed; the outlaws clustered around the bed of the dead man, and, as the Cat leader h expected, he had been shot through the head, right above and a little in ad- vance of the earl ' The outlaws glared around them as they stood by the body, each man with his hand on his cocked revolver, yet every one of them believ- ing that the foe who haunted them was one agaiiist whom mortal weapons would be of no and . , ” I reckon this hyer little job will cause some talk to-m arrow morning,” the outlaw said, “ and the first thing you know they will be layin all these mysterious doin’s at the door of the ats, but that won’t hurt us much.” The ruflian was right, for when the body was discovered in the morning it did create a great deal of excitement, not only from the peculiar wound which had caused the death, but because the man was one of the best-knewn citizens of the place, although never bearing the best of characters. , “ Come on! We’ll get out while we are healthy; fall in, you pilgrims!" the leader com- manded. savagely, and away went the party, the chief at the head, behind him the brother and sister, guarded on both sides, and the rest of the band in the rear. But the surprises of that ni ht and morning were not yet over, for, scarce y had the party traversed a hundred yards when again the short, qlilliclll: bark of the revolver rung out, clear and» 5 r1 . All but one in the party dodged in alarm, the pilgrims excepted, and that one sunk down struggling in the agonies of death. The silent slayer had chosen to take two vic- tims this night instead of one! ’ The Cats were in a dilemma; they did not know what to do. The unseen and terrible foe might be in their front, or in the rear, or on either flank; the man who had suffered had been in the rear, but this did not indicate that the avenger was there, also. A few seconds only had the Cats paused, panic-stricken and bewildered not knowing what to do, when rudely were they roused from their stupor. _ Another shot rung out on the night air; another man went down, mortally wounded. The outlaws awoke from their bewilderment. If the first shot had turned them into statues the second report transformed them into fleet-footed runners who would not have disgraced any race— track in the known world. There was no need of orders; there Was no thought of the prisoners whom they had taken so much pains to secure; there was only one wild idea, and that was to get away from the spot uyi‘on which they stood, as speedily as pos- sible. hey spread out from the common center where they had stood like the rays of a fan, but one and all heading toward the hills and running for dear life! The brother and sister were saved—strangely saved, and they knew not whom to thank; ut in their cabin, on bended knees, they prayed to Heaven to reward their preserver, whoever he might be. CHAPTER XXV. DESMOND snows ms TEETH. 01“ course when the morning came and the inhabitants of the town awoke to a knowledge of what had taken place wonder wesintense, Nothing had ever occurre in J uanapolis since it became J uanapolis which so stirred the public heart. , Now that they had seen the two bodies dressed up in the Cat disguise, a‘ terrible commotion be- gan to spread around—that the outlaws, the‘ Wildcats, had their home and harborage right in the camp of Juanapolis! And when the Citizens reflected upon this and remembered how many bloody deeds had been traced directly to the outlaws since the building up of the town, _beg1uning with the horrible massacre of CODOJOS, they began gravely to de- liberate whether a little taste of Judge Lynch wouldn’t be a good thing for Death Valley. _ SusPicion was rampant- distrust was viable upon almost every face. Every man looked at his neighbor with an inquiring glance, as much a; to say: “ Are you one of the Cats! If you are, the quicker you get out of this town the healthier it will be for you.” _ Of course, Desmond, being the head sporting «fl . a... Wan-w .. way...“ who...» Puma"... , ,W, The Idiot Boy Avenger. 27, man of the city, with his boldly dis layed and apparently defiant sign, “ The esperado’s Den," came in for the principal share of this. Desmond, ignorant of the strength and extent of the gathering storm, made light of these threats when they were reported to him and said, cool and careless as ever: “Oh, I reckon it won’t be much of a rain, anyway,” and not in the best of humors, this affair did not tend to improve the gambler’s temper. A He had heard that morning some idle gossip concerning yoimg Shannon’s attentions to the girl pilgrim. and a careless remark dropped in his hearing, that it was ten to one Shannon got the “ gal.” for he was “such a polite cuss,” and had befriended the two upon their arrival in the town, greatly annoyed him. He had imagined that he would have an easy task to win the prize, for he did not think the camp held a possible rival, but, in some way Re bad strangely overlooked the young store- ee r. S annon was a good—looking youn fellow, with a pleasing address. fully his equaIin every respect, and, perhaps, his superior, when his professmn was counted in, for the world at large hasaprejudice against men who follow cards for a living, although this prejudice is not particularly strong in the Western mining re- gions. “I must go and see him; I must intervxew my bold storekeeping sharp, and make him show his hand!” he declared, at the wind-up of his meditations. “Mehbe, though, I won’t be able to makgmuch of him, for, if he finds I am on the war-‘path, he will probably crawfish, and try to get out of it easy, for I reckon he ain’t the man to stand up boldly for his game.” Whether the giimbler, with all his acuteness, had hit Roland S annon’s character of! correctly. the reader will soon see. These despeme kind of fellows often mistake quietness for cowardice. Shannon was in his store, and, as it happened, alone, when Desmond entered. From the peculiar look upon the gambler’s face. Shannon suspected his mission was not a pleasant one. “ See hyer, Shannon, I want a word or two with you l” Desmond opened, rather roughly approaching the young man, who sat on the counter, reading a newspaper. “ Certainly.” the {oung mnn replied, as pleas- antlyas though be t ought the gambler came on a friendly visit. “See hyer, Shannon. how many gals do you want?” he demanded, in a very offenswe manner. I The storekoeper looked surprised at the ques- lOD. “ I do not exactly understand you.” , “When you came sneaking after the Lauder- dale gal, I didn’t mind, for I’m tired of her, anyway, and would be glad to get shut of her but, with this stranger, the case is different. I have made up my mind that she suits me, and, as I hear that you have been kinder fooling round her, I thought I would come up and ex- plain matters to you, and tell you to stop.” “ And, suppose that I don’t stop?” “ Why, then you and I will have trouble‘." Shannon looked the gambler straight in the l . eye, and, from the peculiar expression upon the young storekeeper's face, Desmond saw, for the first time, that be had made a mistake; the man was game to the backbone. “ Sir, we will have trouble.” “ Theme is a nice little quiet spot down the valley, just around the bend in the cm .” “ I know the place, sir." “ Well, I will stroll down there, and on can follow in a little while, so as not to exci suspi- cion. We don’t want to let the hull town into this thing, you know.” “ Oh, no: there is no necessity for that.” The mhler strolled out of the town slowly, along own by the “crick,” until he ssed the bend which hld the town from his sig t. In five minutes Shannon took the same road. CHAPTER XXVI. THE DUEL. “ A BETTER place than this hyer, for a couple of gentlemen to settle a Ieetle difiiculty, couldn’t be found in all this territory,” the gambler re- marked as Shannon came up to him. “ And, I tell you, I was right glad ybu made up your mind to toe the scratch so promptly. I rather reckoned from the way you have carried sail since you came to the camp, that you might show the white feather if you were forcedto the scratch.” A peculiar look appeared on the young man‘s face and a peculiar light shone in his eyes. “ You really excite my curiosity. Will you pardon me if I ask how yo\{ would have made me fight if I had not chosen to do so?” “ Oh, that would hava been easy enough,” the other replied, carelessly. “I would have slap. ped your face, or pulled your nose, or have done something of that kind to kinder raise your courage up to the sticking point.” “Well, I tell you, Mr. Desmond, it is a lucky; thing for you that you didn’t try that sort of thing on me,” Shannon remarked, very quietly, “for right behind the counter on which 1 was sitting, within easy reach of my hand, was a good stout club, which I keep in reserve express- ly for emergencies, and if you had attempted to try either of the two games you mentioned I. should have promptly knocked you down with that club, and then I would have welted you until there wasn’t a whole bone in your body.” ‘ Desmond looked askance at Shannon’s muscu- lar form. He had begun the conversation with the idea of making the swrekeeper lose his tem- per, but had made a miserable failure; not only had he not succeeded in rufl‘ling Shannon, but he had become ruflied himself. “You have got your tools with you, I sup- pose?” he hastened to inquire, eagerto get to work and end the suspense. “ Yes,” and the other drew his weapon from. its holster. “ Enough saidl Suppose you take your stand by that clump of bushes by the (Stick tbar, and I will post myself by the big rockiyonderf Shannon nodded; the two paints indicated were about a hundred yards apart. Both men reached their stations at about the same moment. called out. “Well, are you ready, squire?" Demondé 28 The Idiot Boy Avenger. “All ready," was the calm reply. The two men stepped out toward each other. Desmond, advancing with the grim determina- tion of the desperado, was only anxious to give the gambler a lesson which should lost him for some time. Soon the two were within range, and the gam— bler, raising his weapon, took deliberate aim at his foe, but the trusted finger of his good right arm was not destined to pull a trigger that day, for as he raised the weapon to the level of his shoulder, out on the air rung the sharp, quick report of a pistol, and with a sudden cry of pain Desmond dropped the revolver ma though 2; hiid sudden’y become red-hot and burnt his nr . Shannon, in astonishment, paused; he heard the shot, saw the revolver fall and then saw the good right arm of the gambler drop to his side, apparently helpless. ‘ Oh, you infernal snake!” he cried. “ This is 1 {our game, is it? You have got some one to ide in the bush so as to assassinate me with out letting me get a fair chance for a crack at you?” “ Upon my life I know no more about the matter than you do i” he protested. “ Are you hurt?” “ The accursed villain has put a. bullet right through my wrist,” raising the helpless arm by means of the other hand. “ My right hand, too. If you haven’t a hand in it, itis mighty strange." ‘ As I am a living man, I swear that I have not! Seal the smoke is curling from that little clump of bushes on your ri ht, so the shot must have come from there: but will soon find out," and Shannon rushed at once, in headlong haste, toward the bushes from which :indeed a little white smoke was curling upward. CHAPTER XXVII. SERIOUS QUESTIONS. ' THE suspicious gambler, quick to think evil of every one, had believed that he had been en- trapped and had fallen the victim of a superior 'wit, but Shannon's prompt action somewhat puzzled him; and then, too, if his life had been , scught, why had not the marksman put abnll through his heart instead of through his wrist? He picked up his revolver with his left hand; then he followed slowly after the other. Shannon speedily reached the clump of bushes almost before the white and curling rings of smoke had died away, but, although the grass was pressed down. showing that some heavy body had repased there, there was not the slightest indication to show whether an animal or a human had reposed upon the spot. Desmond came round the other side of the bushes, a look of suspicion upon his face. As 'he had advanced he had bound his handkerchief round his wrist, striving to stop the flow of . blood from the ugly wound. The look of surprise upon Shannon’s face was evidently a genuine one, and Desmond, a g udge of human. nature. in his mind acquitted im of any knowledge of the affair. “ Some one has evidently laid in ambush here, but whoever it was he has got off, and left , no trail as far as I can see,” Shannon remarked, as the other came upon the scene. “Some secret foe, curse him!” cried Desmond, bitterly, “ and he has disabled me for life.” Hardly had the words escaped from his lips, when, round the bend in the trail came a crowd of armed men. The miners came straight on and surrounded Desmond, and then, with leveled weapons, they bade him give up his arms"? The gambler was amazed, for, although some subtle instinct had warned him when the posse made its appearance that it boded no good to him, yet he was not at all prepared for this de- mand. “ What do you mean?” he cried; “ why should I give u my weapons, and by what right do you emand them? I reckon that things have come to a pretty pass in this hyer valley if two gentlemen cenlt go out for a leetle amusement without a crowd coming and inter- fering—and why don‘t you go for, his arms, too?’ “You are our mutton,” replied the Doctor, who was apparently in command of the party, “ The fact is, Desmond, the Vigilantes are up,_ and the camp is going to be purified.” For a moment Desmond glared defiantly around him and laid his hand upon the butt of his revolver as if he medicated resistance even despite the fearful odds against him, but, he was “covered” by a dozen weapons, and, from the earnest faces behind the littering tubes of death, he understood that t e crowd meant “ business,” and that resistance was useless. “ There are the tools!” he exclaimed, angrily, casting down his weapons upon the ground, “ but I reckon you wouldn’t have got them so easily if you had only given me half a show.” “That is exactly our game; we don’t calcu- late to give such men as you are any show, for we ain’t anxious to have any more funerals in the town at present," the Doctor answered. In obedience to a sign from him a couple of the miners advanced with a lariat, evidently with the intention of binding Desmond‘s arms. , The gambler started as he beheld this and the big veins upon his temples swelled out like whip- or s. “ Hallo! what do you mean? You are not going to tie me with a lariat like a horse-thief, are you i" _ _ “ Desmond, thecharge against you is a deured sight more serious than horsestealing," the Doc- tor announced. . . “ Charge ag’in’ me? and What is it?" “ You are suspected of being the man who has committed all these secret murders, lately, which have so horrified the camp,” “ Oh, what utter, cursed nonsense!” the gam- bler cried, much more annoyed than frightened. “ What do I know about them? What reason had I to kill the men? I was on good terms with every one of them, and I didn’t do it to plunder them. for nary one of them had his valuables touched.” , a “ Well. We ain’t got much proof, that is a fact.” the Doctor admitted, “but we have gone for you on suspicion.” “ I reckon that I can clear myself, so start ahead as soon as you please.’ Desmond submitted to be bound and all marched back to the camp. l.¢y.afiwz,.w.~m_¢m§m & . m d whim. not“. 4.. , wife-fin w, ,w- - c .» «43.nl‘rszxlu: Mafia? '. J :M‘u’; \‘ . replied with a shake of the head. The Idiot Boy Avenger. '29 CHAPTER XXVIII. ran BREAK-UP. Anorch day had come and gone. . The Vigilantes had completely succeeded in their mission, and‘ without the shghtest sem» blance of a struggle, the town had hen purified. The birds and beasts of pre , the vultures and the jackals, all had taken ight when warned so to do, with the exception of three prominent men whom the citizens had placed in durance vile under suspicion of being connected with the mysterious murders which had so alarmed the town. And now, as the night drew on apace, from a wooden eminence high up above Death Valle , the five remaining Cats sat in council and 100 - ed down upon the town. Quite a contrast these nervous, gloomy, fear- ful men, anxiously )eering about them and ready to start at the slightest sound, fearing the coming of the deadly foe who had made such havoc in their band to 'the bold and reckless rufliaus who had lorded it over the valley. ' “ Well, boys, what is it to be?” asked the Cat leader, uneasily, for he had an idea that some of the band meditaied giving leg—bail, thus breaking up the party. “ Come! what do you say, No. 1—what do you think about it?” “ Oh, I don‘t know what to think,” the man “ In fact, I am Willing to think exactly as you think.” N“ 'ghem’s my sentiments exactly!” remarked o. . But the other two shook their heads in a man- ner which indicated that they had an o inion of their own, and upon the outlaw leader ‘xiug his eyes inquiringly upon them, they proceeded to ventilate it. “The thing is played out; better give it u and git out while our skins are wholel”No. 4- declared. “Yes, that is so; what is the use of trying to fight ag‘in’ this thing? It can’t be done,” No. 5 continued. “Just look at what has happened already. There were thirteen of us in the first place—«how many now?” “ Five l" responded his comrade. “Eight of us have been wiped out, and all on them in exactly the same way; now, don’t it look reasonable that, if we keep on, all of us will be served the same? I have got jest as much sand as any man in Colorado, but I ain’t really hankering for any more of this in mine.” “ Nor me neither,” added the other. The sentiments of the party were now clearly defined. Two were willing to abide by their , leader’s decision while the other two were for qultting as soon as possible. The outlaw captain had a purpose in view, and he required the assistance of all of the hand to carry it out, so he made an effort to win them over to his views. . “ Well, boys, I about agree With you that the dig‘is up. but, I should like. to make one big strike beforel quit, so osto have something handsome to quit on." ‘ All of them nodded in approval at this; the idea leased them. _ “ har’s a heap of dust hid up In the old Conejos Mine somewhares, if we could only find out whar it is.” “Captain, you must real] excuse us!” the s okesman responded; " we ve got enough. 9 want to cry quits, now, rightto once, if you won’t think it hard." ' The other man fully agreed with this sentiv ment, and so expressed himself, and the outlaw leader, fully rwlizing that it was useless to at tempt to change their opinions, did not try. They shook hands all around, and then the con- ference broke up. Two of them followed the Cat leader, while the other two struck off to the northward, following a little blind trail, al. most imperceptible to the eye. After twenty minutes’ walk they came to a little ravine, dot- ted all over with huge bowlders and little clumps of ines. n the ravine the two halted, stripped off their Cat disguises, and then, rollin them up into a. bundle, thrust them into a lit e cavity in the rocks, the mouth of which was hidden by a fringe of bushes, and which had evidently been made use of by the outlaws before. From the cavity the two drew out their hats, and one of them a jacket, which he immediately proceeded to put on. ~ The two then advanced to the mouth of the ravine, and looked down, in a reflective sort of way, at the camp, which, seemingly, was sleep- ing in the moonlight, for it was too far off for even a wonderfully far~seeing eye to distinguish any movement in the streets. “ Well, I reckon that we don’t either of us want anything more of this hyer camp,” one of them remarked. “ Nary thing more,” the other agreed. “Let’s be getting, then, while our skins are ,, whole, for I reckon this hyer region ain’t as healthy for us a‘s it might be. I tell you what it is, old man, that Conejos business was a mis— take- we have had mighty little luck since then, and l’ve a sort of an idea, that this cuss who has bin a-laying our boys out right and left, a sort of come from that air affair.” “ Mebbe so; but, let’s be traveling.” “ Good-by, J uanapolis i" cried the other, but, hardly had the words left his lips, when the sharp report of a pistol rung out on the night air, and, with a hollow groan, the man stag- gered, and hen, throwing up his hands with a. convulsive gasp, went down on his face, dead. For a m>ment his” companion stood like a. statue and gazed stupefied upon his comrade, stricken down so suddenly. He understood, well enough, what had happened, despite tde abruptness of the aEair. The secret 5151 at bed tracked them! Recovering from the readfal terror that had fallen upon him, he drew his pistol from his belt and bounded away. Vain was the eifort to escape, for, not ten steps had he taken when another shot rung out, clear and sharp, and the groan of a dying man followed as the the outlaw threw up his hands, clawing the air in mortal agony, and then went down, lifeless. __ CHAPTER XXIX. “THERE warm THIRTEEN—"' In blissful unconsciousness of the fate that ,V , awaited their comrades, and never for an in- 80 The Idiot Boy Avenger. stant dreaming that their doom was so near at hand, the outlaw leader and his two devoted companions went on their way to the cabin of the two pil 'ms. “ S’posin this cuss who has already made it so warm for us is on the lookout ag’ini” one of the rut‘fians asked. “ I am just calculating on the chance that he ain’t,” the Cat leader assured. “ Lightning don‘t strike twice in the same place very often, you know,-and I am acting on that idea.” In approaching the cabin of the brother and sister they used the utmost caution. First they scouted all around it in the most careful man- ner, so as to be satisfied no one was lying in wait in the neighbordood, but not a soul was to be seen. As the outlaw leader had calculated, the se cret foe was not lying in wait this time. “The coast is clear, boys," the captain an- nounced, “and we can make an easy job of it this time, if we can only get admission to the house, and I have a plan which I think will in- duce the irl to 0 en the door. Come on.” The out aw wa ked boldly up to the house, but with hurried footsteps as though he came in haste, the others treading with catlike caution in his footsteps. “ Miss Brown, open the door, quick!” he ex- claimed, in his natural tones, as he knocked at the portal; “ Mr. Shannon has been badly hurt down-town and he wants to see you imme- diately.” The scheme was planned with fiendish cun- ning. Shannon to the girl was the one true friend whom she respected—whom she loved, although she did not Confess this, evan to her- self, and the moment she heard that he was hurt apprehension for his safety overcame her fear of danger, and she immediately proceede to unhar the door, despite the remonstrances of her com- panion, who, with cocked revolver in hand, de- clared that danger threatened. But the lrl was deaf to fear now, and with- out paying he least regard to the other’s words, the opened the door only to fall back with a smothered scream of terror as the horrid images of the Cats appeared. ’ The scream was re-echoed by the boy, and in his wild despair, despite the brandished knife in the hand of the outlaw leader. he leveled his re— volver full at the intruder and fired. ' The escape of the Cat captain from instant death was almost miraculous, for the pistol was so near that the flash of the powder burnt his eyebrows, but the boy, in his delirium of fear, had not taken aim. but the hall came sonenr the outlaw’s head that it passed through the side of the Cat mask. Starth by the unexpected peril from which he had so narrowly escaped, and perceiving that the ho was raising the hammer with the evident in ntion of trying again, the outlaw sprung forward, and with a single blow struck him dead. For a moment the girl stood statue-like, tram- fixed with horror, and then, with aloud scream, she threw herself upon the body. “ Oh, sister—oh, Ma 1" she cried, in heart- rending accents, and t on fainted dead away, apparently as fully bereft of life as the mangled form to which she clung. This wild cry, in part. explained the mystery which had hung around the supposed boy, and accounted for his fear, nervousness and gener- ally flighty behavior. The boy’s dress covered the figure of a girl] “ A woman, ehl” cried the outlaw chief, who now regretted the haste with which he had acted. “Curse the jade! What did she want to fly at me like a tiger for? You take the girl, hPete’; she is light, and you can easily carry er. “ Oh, yes, I reckon I kin tote her all right,” and the outlaw, raising the girl from the floor, supported her in his burly arms. “Now for the mountains,” the ruiflan chief ordered, as the party passed through the door; but only fifteen or twenty steps had they pro- ceeded, when the sharp revolver-crack was heard, and down went the infirm in the rear, with a hollow groan. The “ Cats” knew well enough what this por- tended. Panic-stricken, the burly ruflian dropped the senseless form of the girl, but the avenger’s bullet was quicker far than he, and, even before he could start to run, again the re- volver spoke, and again the dying groan of an— guish announced the result. No braver man than the Cat chief, but, it was not in human nature to brave such a foe, there- fore no discredit to the outlaw that he took to his heels, expecting each instant to hear the ter— rible death-note of the pistol; but, another fate was in store for him than to perish on that spot, in silence and alone. Instead of a revolver report there was a whiz~ zing of something hurtling through the air, and suddenly the loop of a lasso coiled itself like a deadly serpent around his neck, flexible as silk, but strong as steel. Instantly the noose tight— ened, and he was flung so violently to the ground that he was stunned to insensihility. Then from the covert glided a dark form. Rapidly he advanced to the fallen man, care- fully removed his weapons, and with the brunt bound his hands securely together. From the shed stable at the back of the cnhinlha now brought the ill-looking little mule, which, as the reader will remember, was Used to transport the ill»fated disguissd girl into Death Valley. The avenger placed the still insensthe outlaw nstride of the mule, and bound him in 9. won- derful manner, so that he could not possibly fall or get ctr. . This completed, be carefully ruisud the girl in his arms and carried her into the cabin, and laced her within the bunk. Then returning, he took the bridle of the mule and set of! toward the center of the towr. CHAPTER XXX; run LAST or ran cars. THE town had been in a fever of excitement all day long, over the stirring events which bud taken place, and therefore at night the hotel and its vicinity were well-peonled. The hotel was the headquarters of the Vigilantes, and in one of the rooms Desmond had been confined. The citizens were in something of a quandary I-.‘Wa{’m;.s:‘¢ , k, , , ‘, a r I," -.Wfl'€;u5n This Idiot Boy Avenger. L at regarding the gambler, who stoutly protested that he was innocent of all wrong—doing. V Public opinion was pretty well dwided in re- gard to the gambler; some of the miners thought that he ought !to be hung, on way, as a sort of an example, while others dec ared that he wasn’t any worse than any of the rest, and that if he was banished from the camp it walk} he ample punishment. _ - But about eleven o’clock that night a discov- ery was made which at once turned the current of public sentiment strongly against the cool and resolute sport. . Desmond had managed to escape, and the armed guard had gone off with him! Instant pursuit was advocated, and while the excited miners, gathered in front of the hotel, were discussing the subject, down through the moonlit street came a spectacle that at once ex- cited great attention—of a person leading a mule, while on the back of the animal sat the strangest figure the streets of the mining-camp had ever seen, that of a. huge black cat, ap- parently bound secure] to the steed. The‘. procession”h tedrightin front of the hotel, and the crowd, forming a circle around the three, stared in wonder. , The Doctor as the chief of 'the Vigilantes took it upon himself to question the meaning of the masquerade. It was the idiot boy who led the mule and he laughed his peculiar idiotic laugh as the ques~ tion Was asked. _“ The chief Cat; all the rest are dead,” he re,- plied. . And then through the minds of the bystanders . came a glimmering of the truth. The Cat band ‘ had cruelly murdered his relatives, and, at the same time, so injured him that reason had partly fled but, with the stran ecunnin so common to the mind distraught, chad to wed on the track of the murderers, and as opportunity of— fered, had slain them one by One, sparing only the chief, whom he had captured and brought into town to exhibit. ' With eyes staring wide with wonder, the miners gazed upon the dreaded leader of the most terrible band of ruflians that even that wild Western land had ever seen. And so, the Cats were 51.1 destroyed—this, the leader. ex- eepted. “But, who is he?” the Doctor asked, putting the question that all the crowd were impatient to have answered. ‘ “ Go look 1” The Doctor did as he was hidden“ With his knife he cut the fastenmgs of the mask, revealing thepule but determined features of Cool Desmond. V ‘ A murmur ot surprise arose on the air, for no one in all the crowd expected to behold the gambler. . “Desmond!” cried the Doctor, in wonder, and then the crowd repeated the name. “Very much at your servwe now, fellow- citizeus, very much, indeed,” the gambler re— marked, with the most perfect coolness. “ The game has gone a ‘nst me; this {00] has played a lone hand an played 1t sowell that it has caused the death of tWelve as good men as evor ' ’ were banded together, and I, the thirteenth, am not likelytoescape, although I shall probably die on the rope and not by the bullet of this cun» ning rascal.’ At this pomt the idiot boy who had appar— ently not been paying attention at all to what the Cat leader had been saying raised his hand abruptly and the sharp crack of a. pistol rung out clear. A convulsive shudder ran through Desmond’s stout frame: he could not fall, for he was se- curely bound to the mole, but his head sunk forward—he was dead! shot through the head as all the rest of the Cat band had been, the bullet entering a little above and in advance of the earl _“ Thirteen killed my father-«thirtren have I lulled!” he said, rgod then he walked slowly away, the crou d espectfully dividing and thus ngmg room to pass. From that night the idiot boy disappeared, and neither Death Valley nor the town of Juan- apolls ever saw him more. What became of ‘ him, no one ever knew. , Our veracious tale is told, but a Word is due to the reader in regard to the two pilgrims who had entered the valley with such a, cloud of mys— ter hanging over them. V ‘ wo sisters were they, by name Condos—- Constantia and Mary, nieces to the ill-fated Couejos who had perished with all his family by the knives of the outlaws. With their father, who was a man of violent temper, they had resided at a little half-Mexi— can, half-American town on the 1: per Rio Grande, and some weeks before the time when we first introduce them to the notice of the reader, Mary Conejos, who was of a flighty and fxgvolous disposition, became involved in a love a air. - , The girls, utterly alone and friendless, deter- mined upon flight—Mary disguising herself as a ‘ ’ ho to avmd detection and pursuit. , hey had Wondered by chance intothe very valley where their kmsman and his, family had met their bloody fate. On the trail they had . met their idiot cousin, and he, recognizing the ' girls by their family likeness to his own sisters remembering their terrible fate, first warned them away and then constituted himself a guar- dian angel to watch over them, and so had saved them from the outlaws. . 0f the supposed buried golddust of her uncle Constantia had not the slightest knowledge; an the treasures have never yet been discowred, - although many have searched amid the old rams. ' 'l‘he destruction of the Cat band wuss good thing for the valley, and no one regretted their Violent ends. ‘ , Old Lauderdale and his daughter soon moved away, going no one knew where: the half-breed» could not hear to stay in the valley where her lover had perished. In due mum of time Shannon told his soft tale, his love 'was returned. and Constantia never regretted her choice. _, The desperado was suitably buried in a lonely spot amid the hills where the Wild pines sing ’ ever a mournzul chant over the remains of Cool Desmond. _ r , ' . ) THE END. BEADLE’S POCKET LIBRARY. " Published E‘lliery Wednesday. Each Issue Complete and Sold at the Uniform Price of Five Cents. 171 Frank Morton, lh.» Buy Hrrculrn. lryon Comm". 172 The Ynnkee Runner. By Edwin Emenwn. 178 Dick lllngle, Scout. By Edward S. Ellis. 174.1lnndy Rock’s Folu-rne. lly (i. W. Bruwno. 175 The Arnb Duteullve. By Falwnrd L. Wlxm-h-r. 176 “’111 “'lldllre‘o Pluck. lly Charles Mama. 1?? The Boy Commnndcr. fly Col. Prentiss lugmluuu. “'3 The. Mnnluo Hunter. By Hurlmi Snxv. ] 79 Dululy Lance; or, The Mystic \Turhsmuu. By J. Badger 150 The T‘ y Gold-limiter. l' .' T. (7. erhuugh. 181 The Scapegrnec Sun. By Cllm'lv; Morris. IS?) '5'?” linrk-Eklnnell Seoul. liy Lieut. Cul. lluu-illne. 188 .' :1 :33, art, Drlvmiw. By on Cnunum. 134. r: {:{fiZ‘rwelg/ht, the Boy Spy. \y Edwnrd warn-u. 135 Bluff, :l", (he Overland Prim-u. lxy Col. Fri-mils lngralmm 186 Dulnty Lance. nnd llln l‘urd. By JOfiEllll E. Badger, Jr. ’ 157 ’l'la- ’l'rupped 'l‘lrzcr Klng. By Charles Morris. 188 The ‘.'entrlloqnl~t Detective. BV Edwnnl L- Wheeler. 139 old Rovlzy’u Boyd. By Maj. Sum. S. llull. 190 Elm Sllnpklnn, Smurt. By Jium-s L. anvn. 191 Dandy Rock’s Rlvu]. By fir-r. Wuldu llmwnr'. 192 lllekory Harry. lly Harry S1. Gcnrge. 193 Detcctlve Josh Grlm. By Edmud L. thler. 194 Prospect Pete, the lloy Miurr. By 011 C(Illlll‘lo 195 The Tender-Toot Trnller. By T. C. linrbnugh. 1 m; The Dnndy Dctecllve. By Clrnrlcr Morris. 19? Roy, 0n: Young (‘nlllc King. By Col. Prenllu Ingrnlum. 193 Ebony Dnn’n Musk. By Frank Burnout. 199 Dleunnnry Xnt. Demure. By T. C. llarlmugh. 200 The Tn'ln llornenlen. By Fun. Frederick Whithhr. 201 Dundy llnrlie’n l'nrrln. By Wm. R. Eynler. 232 Tom, the Turn) Tigvr. By Ull Coumea. 203 Sam llw (min: Buy. By Charles Morris. 204 The. Young- (‘owlroyu By Cu]. l‘rerrlisn lnzmhnm. 205 The Frontler llcloellve. By Edward L. Whrelar. 206 “Write Llflllt: lug; or, The Buy‘Ally. By T. C. lhrblufll. 207 Kentuuk Tulbot’u Band. By Capt. Mark Wilton. $08 Trapper Tom‘n Cane Myntery. By Oll Cmum. 209 The Messenger-Boy Dena-(Ive. By Charles Men's. 210 The llunuhbnck ol'tlle )llnen lly Josvph lC. Badger, Jr. 211 Little Glunt nml lllll Band. By l'hilip S. Warns. 212 The Jllntown Sport. By Edward L. “'llerler. 218 The l’lrute'u l’rlze. By C. Dunning Clark. ’ 214 Dandy Dave, of 51mm. By T. c. Harbnngh. 215 Dnrlng Dan, the Ruuger; or, le Denver Drh'clivn. By all Coomu. 216 The Cowboy (‘uplulm By (7111. Prentiu lugrnhnm 2K? Bnld "end of the llrmklon. By Maj. Sum. S. Hull. 218‘Tho Mlucr Sport. lly Edward I. “'llecler. 219 Burk, the Delefllvc. By Alhrn W. Alkon. 220 Crack-Shot Frnnk. By Charla Mark. 221 Merle the. Mlddy. By Col. Prentiss lugrnlmm. 223 Rouehud Ben’u Buy... By Oil Comm. 228 Gold Conrnd’n Wuteh-Dogn. lly T. C. Hnrhnugh. 224 Frlnky Fer-guru, the New York Bay. By G. L Aiken. 225 Dick "row, the Mlnm‘l Sun. By Edwer L. Wluizlor. 226 anotu Dick ll Chlcnzo. By Clmleu Morrll. 22? Merle, the Boy Crulrwr. By Col. I’m-nun» lnmhun. ' 228 The Pram-her llereotlve. By Oil Coomel. 299 Olll lllekory’n Grit. By John J. Murshnll. 280 Three. Boy Spar-(n. lly (‘nph FrederiI-lr “'hlltalrer. 23H Sch-rn Hum, the Dmrllve. By Edwin-db Wheeler. 2832 Merle .“onte’u Trruunrc. By Cu]. Pnnliu lngnhnm. 938 Roddy Rover Kll. lsy Ensign C. 1). Warren. 234 Baldy, Ilia erwr ('l-irl. By Capt. J. F. C. Admnl. 285 Junk Stumy‘aflrulne. By Rogvr Sturhrrck. 236 Blerrn Snm’u Double. By Edward L. Wheeler. 23K” Newuboy Ned Detective. By Charles Morris. 2115 Merle Monte’s Sen-Scraper. By Cal. Pmnliu [up-lulu. 239 lion‘s Bl: Boom. liy Cnpl. Mark Wilton. 240 Sharp Shoot lllko. By Oll C(mmcn. 241 Slerrn guru’s Sentence. By Edwurd L. “'herlcr. 242 The Dunn-r Detective. By T. C. Ilarbnugh. 243 Dutch .lun'u l)llemn|a. By Mflj- L- “5 Cum"- 244 Merle Moute’u Dlr-gulse. By Col. I‘mmim hurrah-m. 2-15 Baldy?» Boy Partner. By Edward 5. Ellis. 246 non-cure Keen’n Apprenilue. lly Clmrlvs Nordi- 24? The (-‘rlrl'fiport. 113' Edward L. \Vlweler. 2-18 Glunt George’s Pnrd. By Buckskin Sam. 249 Rnnuh lioh'n “'lld lllde. lly T. C. llurbaugll. 250 Merle Monte”: l’nrdon. By Col. Prcutlu Ingrnhnm. 251 The Deni'llolccllvc. Bv Edward Willa“. 252 Denver "011’: Device. By Edward L. Wheeler. 253 The lloy Tenderfool. By Capt. Murk Wilton} 254 Blue]: lllll- Ben. By 3an. Lem: W. Cur-on. 255 Jolly Jlm. Dekcllvu. By Charles Morris. I 256 Merle Monie’n LnAt (‘r-nlnc. By Col. Prentiss lngrghwh 25? The Roy Chlef ol'Rm-ky Pun-A. lly .‘lnj. E. L. SLVnin. ",4 Donn-r Doll nu Dr-tortlve. liy E. L. thlr-r. .. .) thllo Foxtryo, llm Culnrmio Spy. lly 0‘.) (funnier. 260 51"”, [he Cubin Boy. lly Edwnrd “'illttt. 201 Blnde, the Sport; or, The Giant ofClelr Grit Crimp. By T- C. llnrbnuxh. 262 Illll , the Boy Rover; or, Terror Tom of Texan. lly Col. l‘. lnflm run. . 2‘78 Buiter Bob’s Buoy; or, Like, the Light-Hollie Keeper. By Cnpi. J. F. C. Adunu. / 264 Denver lloll‘s Partner! or. ml; Filth-kin. (hr Fran. By E. L. “'lleeler. 205 Billy, the Bumme- Boy; nr, Tho Young Itullrnnd D... lvctlve. lly Clmrle» Morris. 266 Guy'n Boy Churn; or, The Forest Wuif‘n Mush. l‘u- Card. Cmustock. 267 (Hunt George’s Revenge; or, The Boy: of “Slip Up Mine.” By llucluldn Sum. 268 Bond-Shot Dandy; or, The Rio Grando Mumudcrl. By Col. l'runlln lnuruhnm. 260 The Qnurlzvlllc Bonn; or, During David Ilnrke. By Edward \\'lilcll. , 270 Denver Doll’r- Mlue; or, l.i|llo llill‘r Big Lulu. By E. L. Wlwn'lcr. 2’31 Elmny Jlru‘a Terror; 0r, Ranger Rnlnholt‘n Ruse. By 01] (300mm. 272 Klt, the Girl Dewcliw: or,'D2mdy Duh in Crrlifmnin. By T. C. Hurhuugh. 273 The Glrl Illdcr; or, Nimble Ned’- Surprine. By Jon. E. Ji'ruluer, r. ‘ 274 Dem] Shot Dundy’n Double; or, limit», tho Buy Yard. ny Col. r. rum-dim... 7 275 Fred, the Oman Wall; or, The Old Snilur's l’rulrze. By Charles Morris. 9176 Dcudwood lllok 'l‘rmmed: pr. Rnxey Ralph‘s Ruse. By Edward 1.. Whecler. llcudy April ‘24. " ’l‘h‘ Idiot Boy Avenger; nr (‘mmn Wm“; H B- ' 21‘ emf... llyAlburt“’.Aikcn. Rumbrhlnlyh " '3 " l onn Alf lhe Miner: nr. Lilth- Sun sh t’ L lr. By 2‘8 #r‘: Hurbuught Romly l\luy 8. p o I “c 279 (‘olorndo J k, the 'l'hzur'. or, The Ghostonhe Trailer. By Frederick Dewey Rmuly May )5. 280 Dead Shot Dnndy'u Lth Den]: or. Keno Kw. New Role. lly Col. Prunliu lugrnlmur. Ruddy May 2!. 281 Nell, the Boy I’llot; or, The Pirate Lleutennnl’n Doom. - By Juck Farragut. Rmdy May 29. 28% Buck llnwk, Dctrollvg or, The Mmrnger Boy’- Fortune. liy Edward L. Wheeler. Kandy June 5. “endle’n Pocket lerm-y in for ule by all Nevada-lam, I!" can“ per copy, or sent by nmil on receipt a! fix tent: ouch. BEADLE AND ADAMS. Pulrllnhern, 98 William Street, New York.