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Deadwood Dick Jr. Branded

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<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> CAUGHT IN THE TOILS. Deadwood Dick was in a desperate fix. He did not see any way of escape, no matter which way he looked. Having been there in the daylight, he knew there was no way down save in the one direction. And in that direction the way was blocked by the outlaws, who would shoot him on sight as they would shoot a dog that might offend them. They had the advantage of him in every way save one only. He held them in momentary check by his threat to destroy the prize they were after, and which, according to their code, belonged to them. There was another consultation among them. Then Captain Joaquin called out: "Deadwood Dick?" "Well?" "We have to admit that you have got the best of it at present. We are willing to make terms with you." "Well, you have heard one of the conditions." "Yes, but that would be to place still more advantage on your side. We can't afford to arm you against ourselves, you know." "That is one of the conditions, nevertheless, and I want to tell you that you are letting valuable time get away from you. I mean business when I say I will burn this stuff." [Pg 11] "Don't do that; we'll come to an agreement somehow." "What do you propose, then?" "You come down here with that cash, and we'll give you the chance I told you about." "The drawing for a white bean?" "Yes." "What assurance have I that I will not be shot at sight?" "None but our word. We'll respect that, if you are willing to meet us half way. We are determined to have that money." "Joaquin?" It was a woman's voice that called. Dick recognized it as the voice of Susana, and wondered what had brought her there. "What are you doing here?" cried Captain Joaquin, in something of anger. "I thought I told you to remain at the house." "Yes, but I could not do that, with you in danger. I had to come out and find you. Do not be angry with me; I could not help it. Besides, I was anxious about your treasure." She had come out into sight, while speaking. Deadwood Dick was peering over the edge of the ledge, at a point where a shadow protected him. He saw the young woman cast a swift glance around, saw that she was nearly out of breath from evident haste, and that her face was flushed. "What danger am I in?" was the angry demand. "No danger, I hope, but I could not know that. I could not remain there in uncertainty. Do not be angry, Joaquin." "Well, sit down and rest yourself, and do not interfere in this matter. Now, Deadwood Dick, let me know at once what you will do or what you want us to do." "If you will return my revolvers to me, in good order and loaded, I will come down and turn this money over to you, on condition that you let me escape with my life, or give me a fair chance to do so. It is for you to accept or refuse, as you please." "We refuse." "Very well, then; this money goes up in smoke." "Heavens!" cried the young woman. "Do not burn the money, sir, I beg of you!" "It is the only weapon I have," declared Dick. "Without it, I could not hold your cutthroats at bay for a moment. With it I must bargain for my life." "Perhaps you regret the chance you gave me," suggested Joaquin. "No, I do not. I was simply giving you the benefit of a possible doubt, though, in truth, I did not believe it existed." "And what do you promise him now, Joaquin?" the young woman inquired. "I have promised him his life if he will come down here with that money," the Red Rover explained. "You had better accept it, sir," the young woman called out. "You are at a disadvantage, and cannot possibly hold out there a great while. That is your only chance." "But I have only the word of an outlaw that my life will be spared." "That word will be kept, will it not, Joaquin?" "Of course it will be kept. But I told you not to meddle in this matter. Keep out of it, now, or return to the house at once!" The young woman gave him a sharp glance, and leaned back against a boulder that lay behind the stone on which she had sat down. Dick believed that he caught a look of pain on her face as the torches lighted it up. "It is all one-sided," said Deadwood Dick. "Arm me, and make me an equal, and I will leave the bag of money here and come down and go away. Refuse, and I will carry out the threats I have made. There need be no further parley about it." "Well, I'll do it, but I have not got your weapons here." "Send for them." "It will take time to get them." "No matter, we can call a stay of proceedings until your man returns with them." "And you will destroy none of the money mean time?" "No, I will not." "Agreed." Captain Joaquin spoke a few words to one of his men, and the fellow started off. Deadwood Dick withdrew from the edge of the ledge then, and put on his thinking cap. The advantage lay with the outlaws, there was no denying it. He did not believe they would be fools enough to arm him. There must be some trick in it, he believed, but what it could be he could not imagine. He looked around for a means of escape, but knowing full well that it did not exist. He would have to trust to the word of the outlaw captain, and take chances. No word was passed between Captain Joaquin and him during the time the man was gone, and Dick waited eagerly for the fellow's return. He had a scheme in mind, but whether it could be made to work or not remained to be seen. It would be at the risk of his life, but he hoped to give them the slip and get away with the booty. At last he came. Captain Joaquin called out to Dick, and he responded. "Here are your weapons, now, but how are they to be sent up to you? And what assurance have we that you will keep your word?" "I have a plan to propose," said Dick. "Let that lady bring them up to me, and she may carry the bag down to you in exchange. Then, when you find that it is all right, all go away and leave me to come down when I please." That, however, was not his scheme. "What is the sense of that?" demanded the Red Rover. "I will bring them up myself." "And perhaps shoot me the moment you come where you can get a bead on me. I will not trust you that far, Captain Joaquin, for I do not believe you mean to allow me to get away from here if you can help it." "But you have my word that you shall be allowed to go away alive—that is, that your life will be spared." "And he will keep his word, sir," spoke up the woman. "You have nothing but his promise, the same as I," said Dick. "He must meet my terms, or I will carry out the threat I have made. It can only cost my life, anyhow and—" A noise just behind him caught Dick's ear at that instant, and he turned his head to see what it was, when a man threw himself upon him and bore him to the ground. Dick, already kneeling, was taken at a disadvantage, and he was shoved headlong over the ledge. Even as he felt himself going, the thought came to him to protect his head with the bag of money, and so he did, holding it tight to his head and drawing himself into as much of a ball as possible, for there was not the least use in his trying to save himself the fall down the rugged side of the cliff. And so he fell, over and over, landing at the feet of Captain Joaquin. <hr class="chap" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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