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Penny Dreadfuls, 1897 · page 11 of 16

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$ alow thief in such a situation might lay his hands on. ‘fhe man had evidently been dead some time, and furthermore, we may as well state right here, that the coroner subse- quently decided that he died suddenly of sa ae y a ; q oe 2 . isease. ‘That he had been enganed in examining the stock at the time death overtook him ‘was certain; the stump of a candle lying _ on the floor, close to his left hand, showed __ where the light came from, and how near _ Jim’s elevator came to going up in smoke, Butall would have been plainer to the _ Board of Trade Boys if either of them had seen that mysterious hand come in under _ the door, and cover the stock on the night they had their stirring encounter with the -maninblack. - _No doubt the tramp, seeing his opportun- _ ity to steal, had taken it, but as neither of ~ .. the boys did see the hand the matter was - alla mystery to them when they returned to the office, Joe Stellmeyer awaited them there a es prisoner, : Say, Will,” he whined, looking at Jim, _ don’t be hard on a fellow; let up, won’t you? I'll give the whole snap away.” As we * w"“G = _ | “My name ain't Will,” replied Jim, cold- a on, bags! It don’t make no difference. You two fellows are so much alike I can’t tell you apart, You're the one who came here with meI suppose? Let up on me, - won't you—say ?” a 3 This time he appealed to Will, who puz- gled him still further by replying: - meyer—that’s as sure as my name is Will - Young and that we used to go to school _ ‘The prisoner was in despair. _ * Well, anyhow, this will ruin me,” he groaned. ‘“ , can’t you? Ill make 1 yo tell me who put you up to id you catch Ik Thorne?” "partner in this deal ?” aise,“ Paes. right,” lied * ; rey 2, ’ ec S ~ ;* a 24 ae) sig >: ee cm, j , a Y , sn. E ee AVY 15 SIOV, UO: re 2m oa “1 = ¥ A | ~ » % if we decided to lethim go?” _ _* Why certainly, providi u come _ down with the dust “ i * Of course; I’ll fix that all right. Tl - havea talk with him anyhow. Suppose _ you take the officers outside.” = Sas Well, Joe! What have you got to say for yourself?” asked Wil], when he and Jim found themselves alone with their risoner. f he you let up on me if I speak ?” _ ee es ’ ** Will I trust you?’ ** Say what you've got to say. I’m dead onto you, Joe Stellmeyer. I heard every -, word you and your man said in Mr, Rock- __ ingham’s conservatory this evening, and I _ ain’t the only one who heard it. There are _ two witnesses to prove that you Intended ___* T was hired to do it, Will, and Pll say _ this: I’m sorry I ever went into the matter. “a moe would have seen you harmed, that’s “Who hired you?” — * Solomon Dillmeyer.” - — “Ah! I thought so!” _. * He’s down on you, Will, and he means _ I s'pose you know you hold a little overa _ quarter interest in the Hoffmeister pat- - ents. It’s a big thing.” — “Of course I know, Are you Dillmey- _ er's attorney, Joe ?” | __ ** Well, I’ve done some work for him, yes.” Do you know the names of the other stock holders in the company ?” “Certainly Ido, I can give you a com- _ pletelistrightnow. Go light on me, Will. 7 ve lost a lot of money at faro latel: , and between that and hard drinking, I’ve be- come desperate. Let up on me and I'll turn over a new leaf.” Of course Will yielded in the end. He was too kind hearted to do otherwise. So it ended in Detective Munsell and his bet rs going one way, and Joe Stellmeyer _ another, | “No arrests,” was Will’s order, and _ Bright and early next morning there was - @ @oroner’s ers for the Board of Trade Be oys to atten 7 . Willand Jim briefly testified that they had accidently discovered the body in the _ cellar of their elevator the ni é _ but nota hint of the details of the affair Will was on the Board at the opening as aon half an hour later Dillmeyer — ; ~ * ~ Y = Rae 7) fs, - % “Will thought he looked startled as he eaught sight of him, TJ didn’t come here with you, Joe Stell- |. “You'd better listen to him,” he whis- know this Ik Thorne. If he’s your shabby | in in black, [can arrest him any time 3 | ad’ fn ae ai oS iain Saar ee yaa sé : % =a We * patna Soe = a ®& ke Se x 4 dh asked toget your stock away from you if he can. | —~TYHAPPY But if it was really so, the Jew instantly controlled himself. ** Ah, how you vas, Meester Young?” he said, extending his fat paw with his usual friendliness. “Right up to date,” replied Will, shak- ing hands, ‘Glad to hearit! You go to Mees Rock- ingham’s teh Racy night? How you en- joy yourself? Huh?” ‘‘Never better; by the way, Dillmeyer, do you want to sell your stock in the Hoff- meister Hoisting Co., because if you do, I’m prepared to make you an offer?” It was too much even for the Jew. ‘‘Vat you mean?” he demanded, turning pale. ‘‘I vas bresident of dot concern—vy I sell ?” ‘““Why,” replied Will, slowly, ‘* because I mean to force you out if you don’t go of our own accord. Remember what I say, illmeyer. I mean it. Ill have you_out of that concern inside of two weeks, just as sure aS we are standing here on the 9 DY CIVEN HAPPY AWAY eta ARE YCU TRYING FOR C THE SERIES NOW RUNNING? SEE {6th PAGES y of Spuyten Duyvil. (Continued from page 8.) ‘So am I, my lord,” replied Sir Henry, as he shook his hand, ‘I think we shall have things our own way this time,” ‘‘T hope you may not be disappointed, Sir Henry.” ‘‘T am unable to even imagine a failure, oo hed is rd Howe entered the boat and was rowed out to one of the largest ships in the fleet, whilst Sir Henry turned with his staff and made his way back to his head- quarters, ‘**That means that they don’t expect to meet again soon—that Sir Henry is going somewhere, and Lord Howe can’t co- operate with him, That means up the country. It means, too, that I must get over the river before morning and report ie spy mut ‘ A5,Y LOO | ‘*, haven’t time now. I must get back as soon asIcan, It looks asifa move was about to be made by Sir Henry. Ill goup as far as old Peter Hardway’s place and wait there till night. None of them will know me in this make-up. Wonder how that captain is since that little pitch- fork fight the other evening? Guess the old man wouldn’t be glad to see me, so I won't introduce myself to him as Jared Holmes, Maybe he'll sell me a supper, for I must get one somewhere. John Bowles lives a mile out of my way, orld go there.” He trudged along patiently, never once forgetting the stoop or the fo of the old man whose character he had assumed, No one seemed to notice him, and so, just as sunset came on, he reached the Hard- way place. rs. Hardway and Jane were milkin the cows at the n, and the old man an Zeke were feeding the horses, Old Peter's face wasastudy. Both eyes were in the deepest mourning, and his nose bore evi- dence of disrespectful usage, CHAPTER VIII. KATE HARDWAY AND THE SPY, O_Lp Peter HARDWAY Saw the old man with the stoop, stop at the barn gate, and greeted him with : ** Good-evening, sir. ; ‘*Good-evening,” returned the visitor, “Can you sell me a gi aly lam going up to my son’s place, above Kingsbridge, and can’t get there till long after supper time,” ” ‘‘T guess we can, sir, if my wife will re the trouble on her hands, She is the cook.” ‘*You can have all you wish, sir,” said the wife, who was milking at the mo- ment, ““Thank you, ma’am,” said the visitor, “7 igi his brow with a dirty handker- chief. ‘‘What’s the news down in the city?” old Peter asked, “They say they have caught that Spy of Spuyten Duyvil, sir.” “Eh t I’ gasped the old man. “They say they caught the Spuyten Duyvil Spy this afternoon. He was dress- ed up asa woman and was selling apples from a basket.” “ Well, thank the Lord for that!” ex- claimed the old farmer, tossing a pitchfork into a manure heap, ‘“ That’s the best news I’ve heard since the war began.” Jane stood like one petrified, her face tered to himself. and pro- “Sorry Loa a6 by sud nes Freda,” be muttered, as he walked along, “but I} | pressive of astonis DAYS "eo white asa sheet, whilst hereyes seemed to reveal a soul steeped in desolation. ‘“T hope it isn’t true,” said Mrs, Hard- way, stopping her work to look up at the man at the gate. ‘* They will hang him if they catch him,” : ‘*Of course they will. Hanging is too good for him,” said old Peter. ‘¢ You are a loyal kingsman, I see,” re- marked the visitor. ‘“‘Tt isn’t that, sir. Do you see those marks on my face ?” ‘* Yes,” and the visitor looked him fullin the face. ‘** What made them?” ‘* That Spuyten Duyvil Spy. He was here in this barn the other evening, a little later than this, and when I ordered him to leave he attacked me. That’s why I say hangin is too good for him. If they hang him I’ go Gown and see bim swing.’ ‘‘He must be a dangerous youth,” “Dangerous! Yes, andvicious. Heisa bad man !” ‘‘He is but a boy yet,” said Mrs, Hard- way. “Iknow his mother. He is good to her, and is a friend of our son, who Is with Washington. Mr, Hardway kicked him, and that made him mad, I guess he'd like to see somebody hang him for kicking him, Men are very often unjust to each other.” ‘He isa brave man,” said Jane, speak- ing for the first time, ‘‘and I hope it is not true that they have caught him.” “Oh, my wife and daughters are his friends,” remarked old Peter, “‘ but I'll shoot him if he ever comes round my place again.” ‘* That would be murder.” ‘“Yes, but they don’t call ié murder in these times,”’ and the vindictive old farmer shook his head in a way that showed plain- ly his conscience would not bother him in the least about it. When the milking was done, the old man took two pails of milk to the house, -his wife going with him, Jane came some dozen paces behind with one pail. ‘* Let me carry it for you, miss,” the visi- tor said, as he waited for her to overtake him, She said nothing, and he took the pail from her, ‘Oh, sir, is it really true that they have caught him?” she asked. ** Caught who?” ‘* Jared Holmes—the spy.” ‘“No, He got away.” She caught her breath, ‘**Did you see him?’ she asked, eagerly. “Yes.” | oie : “And you are sure he got away ?” ** Yes, I am Jared,” and he used his natural voice. **Oh!” and she looked hard at him. He smiled, and said: ‘*T ran into an old building and dropped the dress and basket, coming out as an old man, They won't hang me yet awhile.” **Oh, but they will catch you some day, if—if—if you don’t stop it,” ‘*T am not afraid of being. caught. Why, I saw Sir Henry and Lord Howe’to-day— was close enough to ’em to hear ’em talk,” and then he chuckled. ‘‘Some of the soldiers fell in love with the apple girl, and wanted to kiss her.” Jane laughed, and her mother looked back to see what was amusing her. The girl instantly ceased, and tried to look very much unconcerned, as she went on up to the house. Just as they reached the back porch, they heard the sound of horses’ feet out on the road. ‘‘ It’s Colonel Greenfield,” said Jane, as shesaw the uniform. “ He comes nearly every day now.” Jared dared not ask why hecame, But he noticed that the colonel was alone, saw him hitch his horse and go round to the front of the houtse, ‘* He will be here for supper,” said Mrs, Hardway to Jane, ‘“ Yés,” and Jane nodded her head and hurried to the kitchen. Her mother soon joine@her. In another minute the daugh- ter had confided to the mother the secret of the identity of the visitor on the back porch. The old lady was thunderstruck, “ What if the colonel should know him!” she gasped. ** How can Jane replied. ‘* Call him in here!” said Mrs, Hardway, and Jane beckoned him into the kitchen where she placed his chair for him, “You foolish boy!” she said to him. “Why will you run into such danger?” “*Can’t keep away,” he laughed, “They'll hang you yet,” He chuckled. “‘ What if the colonel should know you?” she asked. ‘IT don’t think he would bother me. He is afraid I'd hurt him, What's he coming here for?” 5 ‘** He has tp coming ever since Captain Wilkes was hurt,” said the mother, ‘* He’s courting Kate,” said Jane, anxious that he should know that particular fact, Jared gave a low, prolonged whistle ex- hment, Jane watched his face to see how he took he when none of us did?” it. She knew he had a liking for Kate, |d But she saw no sign of wrong there and felt relieved, Kate remained in the sitting room, entertaining the colonel until a little ii before the supper was ready. Then she ran in and said : **Oh, mother! Colonel Greenfield says they caught Jared Holmes down in the city to-day while he was dressed as a girl and selling apples to the soldiers, and that ne got away again! Did you ever hear the i e 7? ** Yes, dear,” replied her mother, ‘‘ This entleman here has just told us about it, e says he saw the girl himself.” ** How did he look dressed up that way ?” Kate asked, turning to the visitor, ** He looked like a mighty nice gal,” he replied, whereat Jane and her mother laughed heartily. “Well, I know I should have almost died laughing had I seen him,” said Kate. “You wouldn’t have known him,” re- marked the visitor. **Oh, yes, [ would, He couldn’t fool me, I know him too well,” and she shook her head in such a knowing way her mother and sister again laughed. ** They say his best friends didn’t know him,” Jared continued, **‘ Why, he scream- ed just like a girl when they caught him,” ‘* How did he get away?” she asked. “Why, when =e heard him scream, some sailors thought the sergeant was abusing a gal, and they ran to her aid, They almost killed the sergeant. She got away, and——”" ** She?” : “Yes; Ican hardly believe she was a mer Ialmost fell in love with her my- self. Kate laughed merrily, and went back into the sitting room to tell the British colonel what the old man in the kitchen had said. The colonel was amused, and expressed a desire to see him. She went back and told her mother what the officer had said. “Let him wait till after supper,” said Mrs. Hardway. “It is now ready to go on the table,” She returned to the colonel and told him that supper would be ready in a few min- utes, and that he could talk to the man af- ter the meal or at the table. He was con- tent, and soon after that supper was an- nounced, He led her into the dining-room with a gallantry that charmed her, Jared Holmes saw that she was more than pleased with the Briton’s attentions, Jane was overjoyed that he had seen her with him, as she then knew he would give no thought to her after that, _ At the sams sa table the vivacious Kate insisted on the stranger repeating his de- scription of the Irish apple girl as he had seen her down-town, aaa as he did so her merry laughter rang through the old farm- house. ** But I'll never forgive him for daring to strike my father,” she said. ‘* You are at least loyal to your father, if not to your king,” remarked the colonel. ‘The king is not as good to meas my father is,” she replied, ‘*That is because his majesty has never seen you,” was the gallant reply. “Thank you. I wish he could see all our girls gree gents ore eeceee him to be more Kind to our people. You see I am just a little bit rebellions.” *“ Yes—that is quite natural with all woe I “negra ven to as n pettic ‘: - torted. py Pp oats,” she re “Yes, Petticoats conceal a great deal of treason in this world.” “True, by gosh!” exclaimed old Peter who was quite sore over his wife’s refusal to abet his maneyolent threats against Jared Holmes, CHAPTER IX, THE SPY PLAYS THE HOG, AFTER fet tr Mrs. Hardway refused the shilling Jared tendered in payment for the meal, But he insisted on her taking it, wy fe ** You must show it to him so he cannot accuse you of knowing whol was, should he — hear 3 ig ** Yes, mother, take it,” advised and she finally did so. “ ae ee “ en you see Joe tell him we al ourjlove 5 him,” rg Be to hia — = may see him soon, forI don’ think I'll be back here for some time,” scl * Where will you go?” Jane asked. **I hardly know, I shall be with the aa, 2 ill ** You will come and come back, will you not?” ee 1 ee S he was leaving sh in his band, Sage ee ms Some rations for you—should you need © y. “Thank you, Miss Jane. I them when none can be had, + alt oss member your kindness,” and he shook her hand cordially and passed out into the mes. e went to the colonel’s horse, unhitch him and led him up the road one fittte istance, When beyond hearing he sprang ae ne a te away. to /oionel Greenfield will have to do the walking this time,” he said to himeelf. “5 900 cor