Night-Hawk, The Mounted Detective — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

v THE MOUNTED DETECTIVE. Now, listen, last night’s scheme was a ‘ jump er,’ The Jads got together and arranged it within the hour when they set to carry out the game.” ‘* | know that.”’ ‘And Night-Hawk was ahead of them at the cottage; had all the points. °’ ‘* Yes, and 1 was told to-day in the county jai) that you were the only man to whom they opened up their scheme. ”’ ‘*] believe that, and worries me.’”’ ‘“ It ought to worry you, the matter has a bad iook.”’ ** | have been thinking the matter over, and that is where 1 am getting down to the facts.” “* Let’s have ’em.”’ “* A stranger was in my house last night.’’. ** Ah how’s that? What sort of a looking man?’’ : ‘Ag jnnocent a looking chap a3 ever crossed my threshold.”’ ‘* How long did he remain?’’ ‘‘ Well, 1 missed him after the men had gone out to hold a little consultation.’’ ‘‘ And did he turn up agaia?”’ <¥ No. ’”’ ‘* This is me, Byron.”’ _“ Tt’s the truth.’’ ‘* Well, l’ve one word to say; don’t give the tale to any one else.”’ ** Why uot?’’ ** It’s too fresh.”’ ‘‘And you doubt me?”’ ‘‘No, I do not doubt; I’ve reason to believe you are a straight man. 1 am your friend; l’ve stood in for you, or you would at this moment be a marked man, as the lads were dead set to lay you oul,” ‘If they barm me they harm an innocent man.”’ “hat stranger, have you seen him since?” ** No.”’. ‘** Had you ever seen him before?”’ ae No.’”’ ‘‘ Not the night the attack was made on the CastieY”’ | ‘Phere was a stranger in my house two or three nights in succession, just previous to that fittle racket.”’ ‘* And he has not shown up since Cheesy and Snagsy were caplured?”’ ‘* He has not.’’ ‘‘ And the only stranger in your house to- night is the German?”’ s+ Y es. >> ‘* You never saw him before?”’ - ** Never.”” ‘* All right; we’ll work a game. We will return to the bar-room, you and I; then some of the jads and I will hold a little whisper, and atterward we will slip ovt for a consultation. Meantime, you keep your eye on Dutchy, and if he slips out aftefr.us, you come and let me know.”’ ‘‘ A good scheme,’’ said Byron. _ ** it must be worked very slow, you know. No ‘ give-away.’ ”’ ‘‘ You can depend upon me.’’ | ‘‘ Mind you, old man, we must get at the bottom of this thing, or I’d nct give a rush for your chance; the lads are mad.” ‘‘] am willing to stand trial.’’ ‘They will not wait for a trial; they are, In fact, trying you now.’’ | ‘All right; we will try the game on the Dutchman.” A tew moments: later Byron and the man whom he had met in the barn returned to the bar-room, and they tound the Dutchman smok- ing his pipe as peacefully as a Comanche war- rior after a long chase. Meantime the pretended Dutchman was Keep- ing up a lively thinking. He reaiized that he had big game to chase. ; it is the, very fact that a pretty nice thing you're giving CHAPTER XXI1X. LOOKING like a German, but thinking In good English, the stranger in Byion’s place said: ‘Let me capture that fellow with the evi- dence against him and 1 reckon the gang will be a tradition in this section of the country!’’ Meantime Tom Hawk puft2d away peaceful- ly at his pipe. : The man who had been in the barn was ap- proached, a few moments after his return to the bar-room, by one of his companions who yave him a ‘‘tip.”? The detective saw the move- ment, and he was uneasy as he recognized that the ‘‘ tip’ was a genuine signal, not a part of the scheme that had been arranged by the two men in the barn. He sat still, however, and let his eyes do duty. The two men adjourned to one corner of the room, when the man who gave the signal de- manded of the captain: ‘* Where were you?”’ ‘* When?’’ ‘* A few moments ago.”’ ‘Out io the barn.’ ‘‘ What were you doing there ‘* Asking a few questions of Byron.” ‘Did you see any one around?”’ ae No,.”’ ‘* You are sure?’’ “Yes; why do you ask?” ‘© A man left the room just after you did and he appeared just ahead of you.”’ ‘* Aha! the Dutchman?”’ ¢¢ Yes.’ . ‘Stanley, we are watching that fellow. ‘Have you noticed anything queer about him ?’’ _* No; have you?” ‘*] should smile.’’ ‘‘ What’s the tip?’’ ‘¢ The man is under cover.”’ ‘‘ Aha! is that so?’’ éé Yes.’’ ‘* You have been watching him?’ ‘* 7 have.’’ ‘* And what do you make out?” ‘* He’s watching, too.”’ ‘* Watching who?’”’ ‘* Watching everything that is passing around here,”’ ’ ‘* You speak German?’ , ‘*] do, and that’s how 1 tumbled to him. 1 heard him call tor a beer, and | at once tum- bled to th2 fact that his Dutch-English was not gvenuine.”’ ¢ ‘* Who can it be?”’ ‘‘That we are tc find out, but one thing is certain—he is under cover.”’ ‘We can set a trap for him.’’ ** How?”’ ‘* You and I will go out.” ** Well?” ‘*He may follow us.’’ ‘** Yes?”’ ‘* We will know it.’’ eé Yes.’ ‘* All right; we will know what to do,” “ Catch him?’’ | ‘* Ag gure as your name is Chris.”’ » ‘‘That scheme suits me.’’ ‘* Well, come.”’ The two men rese and stepped over to the bar, held a few minutes’ whispered conversa- tion with Byron, and then both stole from the house togethet. Ten or fifteen minutes passed, and the two men returned; the Dutchman sat peacefully smoking his pipe. He had not left his seat. The schemers were foiled. ‘‘ Captain, he’s tumbled.”’ 6é No.’’ ‘‘ Then why didn’t he come out?”’ «©Phat we are to learn; we must work in with him.’’ ? ‘* Hew shall we do it?”’ ‘* Ask him to drink.’’ - * Get bim up to out room.”’ * All right.’’ ‘¢- You can talk to him in German.’’ ‘* A good scheme,” A few moments passed; the captain asked all hands in the place to have a drink. There were only one or two of the usual loungers around.”’ The German did not respond to the invita- tion, and the captain went over and gave him an especial invite to take a drink, The man accepted the invitation. ‘‘You're a stranger around here?’’ said the captin. *** Ya-a-s.”” ‘* Looking for work?” ** Ya-a-s.”’ : ‘* Are you a farmer?”’ ‘* Yes,’ spoken with the prolonged drawl. ‘*T want a man.” . ‘*T vos looking for a tlacc.’’ ‘Tf you are a good man | might take you on with me.’”’ ‘‘T vos gladt oof you hire me.” ‘* You can come up to my room pretty soon, and I will talk the matter over.’’ ‘* You lif here?’’: | ‘*] will remain here to-night.” ‘* Vere vos your house?”’ co? f ‘‘Ten miles from here.’’ ‘You vos Keep horses?’’ ** 'Yes."° ‘*T vos a guot horse-doctor. ’ ‘*So much the better.’’ I'he men remained for fuliy an hour in the bar-room. usual loungers to go cff about their business. At length the place was all deserted save by the captain and Chris; the two other pals of the captain had mysteriously disappeared. ‘* Come up to my room,”’ said the captain. ‘All right; 1 go mit you.” : The captain led the pretended Ge1man to a room over the bar-room, and, a few minutes later, was joined by Chris; the latter at once addressed the detective in German, and recelved a prompt reply. | The roan looked puzzled, and he and the cap- tain exchanged glances—indeed, Chris passed a ‘certain signal over to his leader, and the latter commenced asking the German a number of questions pertinent to farm-work, and, aftel a lime, receiving a signai from Chris, he sald: ‘*T will talk to you further in the morning.” ‘¢ 7 vill not stay here to-night.”’ ‘‘Oh! you will not stay here?” €é No.’’ ‘¢You can come her2 and meet me in the morning?’’ gh & Fee ‘** Do so.”’ The German left the room aad returned to the bar-room, when the captain said: ‘* He ain’t our man, eh?”’ ‘‘ Bah, you didn’t take my call.” ‘¢ What do you mean?’’ ‘That fellow is—”’ ‘* Who?”’ | ‘‘'Tom Hawk, as sure as your name is Stan- ley.”’ ‘‘Tom Hawk?’’ ejaculated the captain. ‘* Yes, Tom Hawk.’’ ‘‘ Why didn’t you signal?’ | ‘“- You didn’t want to be killed, did you?’’ ‘* What do you mean?’’ ‘* Well, you are dull.”’ ‘You and I tackle that man alone in this room?”’ ‘‘ Our friends were nct far off.’’ ‘‘ But he would have settled us before our friends got here. Listen, that man would never have come to this room unless he had known that he was all right.’’ ‘* How, all right?’’ ‘* He was ready for you and me, you can bet your bottom dollar. He knows we have dropped to him.”’ ‘* What makes you think so?”’ ‘‘The fact that he did not follow us out speaks volumes; it tells us he had tumbled to our came.”’ ‘* And now, what shall we do?”’ ‘¢ We must catch him napping!”’ CHAPTER XXX. . ‘‘ Wt, it’s easy enough to say we'll catc him;’ but when will we have a better chance than we had here?”’ 2 ‘* It was dead against us here.’’ ‘* When will we have a better chance?”’ ‘¢ When we take him unaware, and we can | not attempt it otherwise.’* The two men returned to the bar-room, but the German had disappeared. ‘*Do you think he will meet me row ?’’ asked the captain. ‘* We will not wait to learn.”’ ‘* What is your game?”’ ‘<1 will tell you what my plan is, anc you can act or not, as you choose.”’ ‘* State your plan.’ ‘* It can be stated in a few words.”’ ‘* State it, L say.’’ ‘* There are three ,of us.”’ 7) Y es.’”’ ‘* We are well armed.”’ ‘* Well armed—yes.”’ ‘It is after midnight.”’ J** All right.’’ ‘‘'The road is a lonely one ”’ ** Ah! I see.*" | 3 ‘* Follow him.”’ ‘* Now?”’ e¢ Yes.’’ ‘* And catch him in the darkness? sé Yes.’”’ ® ‘* It’s a ‘ go | The third man was summoned, and a com aultation was held with Byron, who stated that the @crman had not been gone five mings . here te-mor- 747? Prince gy, trl ee Tee Oo Rees re » ‘ a¥ « . : oN ~~ x D, The captain was waiting for the .