Night-Hawk, The Mounted Detective — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

_THE MOUNTED DETECTIVE. Te -=- - “Come close,’’ whispered Byron. The men approached closer to him. The detective is somewhere around. . “*You know it?’’ -** No; I only suspect it,’’ ““ Where 1s he?’’ ‘I have an idea.’’ ** Speak.”’ ** It we find him?’’ “* We will fix him] “* J will aid ycu! Lay low, and the man is in our hands!’’ CHAPTER XXXII. THe faces of the three men were ghastly; they had a big job on hand, but it was more than ever necessary that the detective should ve silenced. The men huddled together, and Byron said: ‘‘If he is near, and has heen listening, he has the * whole business,’ knows where the ma chine shop is located, and just what the racket ig clean through!’ The captain of the men fully realized the significance of what was said, and he trembled, and on the other hand Byron trembled. He knew that should the pluce be ‘“* pulled,’’ his ‘life was not worth a ‘‘1ap,’’ as he would be ac- cused of having given the thing away, and there were mén connected with the enterprise who were the most desperate criminals in the tand. An Italian and a Frenchman were at the head of the base metal coinage movement. They were calrying out an extensive game, | It will be reniembered that aiany times, when burglars were arrested or interrupted ip their work, tools of the best manufacture have been frequently discovered, and the detectives were, and have been, always at fault as to where such fine steel work was manufactured, and as the matter stood, the listening detective 1ejciced that he had tumbled to the ‘‘ burrow.”’ The italian and the Frenchman were expert machinists and die-sinkers, and, as innocent emigrants, had opened an ordinary black- smith and tovl shop, and they did a legitimate business mending plows and general farm uten @ils; but back of this legitimate business the scoundiels were members of an organized secret gang, and in an underground shop, ingenious- ly constructed, they worked nights, and man- ufactured ali the fine kits of burglars’ tools used by the most expert cracksmen in the coun- try. And, besides, they were, as disclosed by Byron, at work, making the proper dies and machinery for running off base-metal coins, and also counterfeit notes. The whole thing was one of the most comprehensive schemes of plunder ever organized. The men needed capital, and the turglaries that were being carried on were for the purpose of supplying the money for the purchase of stock and other needful appurtenances of the under- ground machine shcp. The detective, from what he had overheard, together with information already in his pos- session, was able to establish the above facts, and he consequently felt the importance of his discoveries, the necessity for moving slowly and gurely. On the other hand, the three men who had forced the statement from Byron more tully realized the importance of catching the detect- ive; were he to escare and succeed in trailing to their ‘* burirow,’' the whole fraternity would be ruined, as the result of their accumulations for over a year had been thrown into a com- mon ** boodle ’’ for the support of the machine- shcp; their ‘‘ swag ’’ had been converted into cash and invested so as to facilitate the grand scheme cf plunder they had on hand. In answer to Byron’s declaration the eaptain said: ‘* You gave this thing away.”’ ‘‘I call your friends, here, to witness that _ you compelled me to make a statement.’’ . You’re a cunning man, Byron; you are working to cover your tracks.”’ . An angry look shot into the tavern-keeper’s eyes, and he said: ‘‘ Be careful, old man; 1 can’t take too much,’”’ | ‘*“You can prove your innocence?”’ ‘I’ve nothing to prove.” ’ As the matter stands, the gang will hold you responsible.’’ | - “ve nothing to do with the gang. It’s nly because I’m a square man that 1 haven’t made a big stake.’’ | ‘lt loeks dead against you.’’ ‘* All right; if that’s the way you feel, I’m out of the thing, and will look to take care of myself.”’ | One of the other men said: ‘* Captain, you're pressing this thing too far.’’ ‘* Yes; you are pressing it too far.”’ ‘** You can show your loyalty,’’ said the cap- (ain. ‘*T owe nothing to the gang.”’ ** You can show your friendship.’”’ ‘I’m willing to do that.”’ ) ‘* You suspect the presence of the detective?”’ ‘“* Yes, if he has not got away.”’ ‘* Aid us to catch him, and we will look upon you as our best friend.”’ | ““l°am willing-to aid you, but we must go slow and sure.”’ ** We are under your orders, and if you at: tempt any game you are a dead man.”’ ** Then we can’t work.”’ ‘Why not?’ ‘* 1 must have ycur confidence. ”’ ‘You have it.’’ ‘* Then take back your words.”’ ‘* Consider them unsaid.”’ ‘* | have an idea.”’ ‘* What is your idea?’’ ‘‘We must lead into a ‘throw-off.’ If there is a listener, we have let out a note of warning.”’ | ‘“ What wil! you have us do?’’ “You lads must threaten me—make an at- tack on me in words. Let it come as though we had afresh outbreak after this whispered talk we have jus® had.”’ ‘*] see your game.”’ Our readers must remember that the whis- pered talk took place in a rapid manner, and that the men really were not whispering together more thaa three minutes at most, and, acting under Byron’s suggestions, the captain said: ‘“ Old man, it’s no use fooling; your expla- nation is not satisfactory. Hawk has escaped us, and you gave him the ‘ tip’!’’ “It’s false!’ While talking, Byron produced a slate and commenced writing upon it. He was just jot- ting dcwn his suspicions and his instructions as to how the men were to operate. Meantime the conversation continued, and the semi-tragic farce made it appear as though the affair would end in a tragedy indeed. ‘“‘ It’s easy for you to Say it’s false; but, see here, how is it he slipped off so quickly, just after we had tumbled to his identity ?’’ -**'That is a matter | can not explain.’’ ‘* Until you do explain, it will stand that you are in with him.”’ ‘*Vll stand no more of this!’’ exclaimed Byron; ‘* I’m notin with you, lads. I’m under no obligation to you, and I’ll take no blame.’’ ‘* You will take what we give ycu, and if you don’t open up I’il give you the contents of this!”’ | ‘* Hold!” cried Byron, ““Then open up.”’ ‘* I swear I know nothing about the man who was here. I did not exchange a word with him, and when he went away it was at his own will.”’ ‘It’s the last call, old man; you can’t tool us!’’ | ‘* I’ve no idea to fool, 1 say; and it’s a cruel thing for my life to be threatened in a matter that does not concern me.”’ ‘* Open up.’’ ‘“ Hold! | say, ‘Open up!’’ eame the command in.a louder and fiercer tone. ‘*] swear 1 do not know anything about the man, only that he went away.” While Byron was talking he passed around the slate bearing bis instructions, CHAPTER XXXIII. THE slate informed the men that the cough had come from under the bar-room, and also stated that they were to steal out one at a time, and that a lantern was to be suddenly thrust under the flooring. The men\understood the instructions, and the programme was carried out; one of the men at a signal slipped away, and his instructions were *" $0 shout if he saw any Ode’’ A moment later Py a second man slipped out, and lastly Byror aad the captain passed out together. The tavern-keeper had passed his repeating rifle over to the captain, and the men caicu- lated that if the detective was really there his moments were numbered. Byron carried the lantern, and on tip-toe the men approached the opening under the flooring, and held a whispered consultation. ‘* Have you seen any one?’’ asked the captaia, ‘¢ No. a7 ‘** Have you heard any one move?’’ sé No. >? Byron slipped the lid of a masked lantern, and dio9pping upon his bands and Knees, shoveé the lanrp under the flooring; the captain knelt be- side him on one side with the cocked rifle in his hand, and the other two robbers were, on the other side. vith cocked revo’ vers, As the light from the unmasked lanvern shot -jthrough the gloom under the building, a man s head was revealed, and the tavern-keeper said, in a husky whisper: ** There he is!’’ : The captain had seen the hat, and the outlines of a human form extended beyond it. For a few moments there was music in the air, The man under the building made no re- sponse, The scoundrels congratulated themselves om their success, For a good five minutes not a word was spoken, and they held the lantern so that its light was thrown directly upon the sleeping form, but not a muscle moved. Finally, the Gaptain said: ‘“ Who will go in and see what there is under there?’ Lhe faces of the men were pale and their voices subdued. Not one of them volunteered to go under ii building. ‘' Who will go?” repeated the captain. Still there came no response. At lengetb he.-said: ‘* I will go myself. ”’ The captain took the masked lantern from the hands of the tavern-keeper, and crawled in. A moment of breathless silence amd interaet¢ followed, broken only by a curse. The captuin came forth from under the floor. ing, Dearing with him a hat which had been perforated with bullets, and the coat the Dutch- man had worn, The men realized the trick that had been played upon them, and they, too, joined in the uttering of bitter imprecations. “* It’s not my fault,’’ said Byron. ‘* He wae there, and I did all 1 could to aid you fellows in getting the best of him.”’ Indeed, the detective had béen there, but he was not the man to be caught ** napping.’’ Tom Hawk was the king of strategists. In chang- ing his position under the flooring, he had . shook down a nest of cobwebs, and the dust getting into his eyes, nose, and throat, com- pelled him to cough, though his life depended upon the effort, and he observed the suddea lull] in the conversation cf the men overhead. At once he discerned that he had been dis- covered, and he made up his mind that it was time to leave. He did not mean to be caught like a bear in a spring-trap, and at the same time he made up his mind to have a little sport, and he arranged his hat and coat so it would appear that a man was stretched out under the flooring; and it was at the empty hat the men had been blazing away. W hen the burglars realized the trick that had been played upon them, Byron was loud in his declurations of innocence, The men adjourned to the bar-room, one of them asked: : ‘* What shall we do now?’’ ‘* Boys, this is bad business!’’ While the men were talking a dark figure was a second time c1awling under the flooring, and the daring detective, despite all that had occurred, took the desperate chances of once more listening to their talk, ‘* Yes, it is bad business; that man has al} the points on us now. He must have over- heard every word that passed, ”’ He certainly did.”’ ‘* Byron, we will be compelled to trust you.” ** Certainly, you can trust me. I have shown myself your friend.’’ 3 Ne ‘That man will come here again,’’ ** He will, but under another disguise.’’ ‘‘ All right! We will put up a job on him and ° . < : ‘ : . #. : i ae ‘ f eae et dy de ee eB . | he a we