The Deadwood Dick Library: Denver Doll's Device — page 15: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

I “Denver Doll's Device. TS taal Outside Pap took an empty flask from his pocket and filled 1t with water. ‘Now I’m jest goin’ ter play magic, like when by er doublejinted incantation I transformed ther mouth uv a Chinaman inter an eight-day eanal. When I git ther galoot terchase me -yeou slip behind ther bar an’ grab all ye kin earry an’ run. Weill divvy outside.” Into the Monaco went the festive pair, and up to the bar. - Pap held up his enpty hands and made sev- eral queer notions, when like a flash a bottle, apparently filled with liquor, appeared in his Believing it one of his own flasks, and seeing Pap turn and run, the barkeeper uttered ‘a howl of rage, leaped over the bar and gave chase, As he leaped over in one direction, Charles Suen Jones leaped over inthe opposite, and instead of landing upon the floor went through an open trap door rub-a-dub-dub-dub down a pair of stairs into the cellar. Fearing to go above again, he looked about for some place of concealment, -Espying what he supposed was an empty bar- vel, he leaped into it and—went down, down, down into utter darkness—ilown into the dis- (Seong of a mine, far into the depths of the eart| Feeling worn out and weak by the time night arrived, Yankee had retiredearly to his room in the boarding-house, Tt was a rather small apartment, at the rear end of the building, and furnished with a nar- row bed, a stand and a chair, a at One window, without a curtain, shutters or fastenings, looked out into the rear yard, from whieo any one could easily ascend to and raise the sash, ‘, “Wot a vary savory berth for a man whodon'’t know when he is liable to get popped over,” be muttered, lookingout of the window. “IfIam not greatly mistaken, I shall have visitors to- night—at least [have a kind of foreboding to that effect. So 1 will take care not to be caught epee ; - Together with his coat and some other clothes he manufactured a dummy and covered it over in bed so as to represent a man sleeping there; then he crept under the bed, where he could not be seen, and, armed with his revolvers, waited. It was a long wait, but his patience was not easily tired. A clock in another part of the houss struck one, and all seemed quist in the vicinity. Stil- another hour passed, and then he heard footsteps in the hall outside, followed by a cau- tious tap on the door. Aftara momsnt the same cautious tap, tap was repeated; then followed a silence of nearly fall an hoar, - “‘Taat was only a ruse to see if I was awake,’ gecontluied, ‘‘I can reasonably look out fora visit f-om the window now,” : From where he lay under the bed he had au unobstructed view of the window without being in danger of being seen himsell, tion, It was not long ere he heard a noise on the outside of the house, as if a ladder were being placed against it, and a moment later, the head and shoulders of a person was discern- ible outside the window. It was a man whose face was masked, and whose hea‘ wore a, broad- brim hat, Cautiously he raised the window, and then silently crept into the room. Yankee perceived that he clutched a murder- ous-looking knife in his hand, “ Humph! if he murders the dummy without discovering the joke, Pll follow him, see where he goes to, and who be is,” he muttered. — ith bated breath the would-be murderer approached the bedside—then came three quick, heavy blows, and the assassin retreated toward the window. ‘*Hal hal he'll never interfere with any of my plans again, ['ll warrant!* the Sport heard him ‘say as-he clambered down the ladder, From under the bed then came the Sport, and he was out and down the ladder but a few minutes after the assassin, who was making . leisurely off for the outskirts of the camp, up the gulch, ~ ; Like a sleuth-hound Yankee followed him, ee care to keep as much out of sight as pos- sible. For perhaps ten minutes this flight and pur- suit continued, when the Sport saw the assassin enter a clump of chaparral. Cautiously approaching it, he heard human voices, and soon saw two figures standing in a little opening into which the moonlight streamed. One was the masked man—the other wasnone ~ other than the cigar store beauty, Crystal Carrol! : ‘Well, are you here at last?’ the masked man demanded, in a tone that was auything but ~- lover-like, *© As you see,” Crystal replied, spiritedly. “ Pray where have you been?” “Tooking after you.” ‘¢ Well, you will know where to find nie after this, There shall be no more clandestine meet- ings, I have about come to the conclusion, Ralph, that you had better pay your attentions to some one else, asI do not think I care par- ticularly for you.” “You don’t, eh?”\ His tons was savage. “Youwve changed your national choice to a Yankee, have you?” - EE aes He is at least a gentleman.” ‘tUndonbtedly. I bear from Miss Verner that he once had a wife, who was the image of you, whom he beat, and by bh until, to save the life of herself and her child, she fled. This is the rowe you would for- sake me for, is it—me, a titled nobleman?” *¢T hardly believe you are what you claim, Ralph. Besides, I have great faith that Mr, Yankee is all a woman could desire.” “Well, then know, Miss Crystal Carrol, that Yankee, as you call-him, has been murdered in his bed. I just heard so as I came from the “You lie! It was Yaukee who said this, as he sprung He was right about the attack in that direc- | from covert, revolvers in hand, who was otherwise abused |