Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 1004 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

“) ae es =f The Len —_ 10 4 here again? Phwat business is it brings It was a brief message from his supe- him here?” rior, asking him to come in for’an jn- ‘No, I don’t know that he is coming | terview as soon as possible. here, Molly, but he may. As to what will Sam ate his lunch and took a little bring him, what but a nightingale voice | rest, then set out. and a pretty face?” “You got my note?” asked the chief, “ Bah! go Jong wid yer blarney, when Sam entered the private office at ry - ye “s P ~ ~ - z ‘ ~ s 7. ae é > Be we an ee . me ». - var a = * < _ - - ae. ° | 2 ti ee a - 4. tes - 4 now.” 4 *““Il mean it.” headquarters. eat “Sure, it is not singin’ another wurrud “Yes, sir,” the Scorcher Detective an- ; Oi’ll be, so dhere.” swered. “‘T have a piece of business for you to look into, Sam,” “So I supposed. “You ‘have been George? ”’ _“ Just eame from there, sir.’’ “ Well, this matter will take you back “Don’t give up your singing, Molly; too bad your voice has never been culti- vated—”’ ‘*“Phwat’s thot?” | “Oh, made perfect by care and study, Rea > under some great musician, so you could soa sing opera, and all that sort of thing, ot you know. You wouldn’t have to do/| to the same neighborhood.” | - washing, then.” | “ All right, I am agreeable to that, as I pa ‘Oi guess me voice is good enough as | have already got a mystery on my hands ‘* of it is, sor,” was the rejoinder to that. | up there.” “Sure and Oi was an opera singer Oi} ‘So much the better, if this will not couldn't marry Mike, and phwat would | interfere with that. If it does, I will put loife be worth widout Mike? Oh, no, Oi) some one else on this so as not to in- guess me voice is good enough as it is, terfere with any other plans you ae SKE ye | What is it? ”’ up around Fort eS) —— a and Oi’m not eryin’.” have,” ie _ “Well, I guess you are right, after “Let me have the particulars, then: I ak 5. all,” said Sam. can decide.” y ‘And as fur dhe ve cask Oi loike it.” ‘Mike will have a jewel when he gets you, sure enough, and if he doesn’t ap- preciate the fact and use you well he had , ought to be horsewhipped, that is all.’ 7" _ “ Never you fear fur Mike, sor.” . “Well, to business: If that fellow comes again, talk with him and find out all you can about him. Get his name and where he lives, if possible, though not at all likely you can do that. Any- how, I want you to pay particular atten- tion to his throat.” “ All right, give me your attention. I will be brief and right to the point. I think we are on the track at last of those mysterious robbers who have been playing such havoe with the big silk and jewelry stores of late—in fact, I am sure we are, if you can only follow up the clew.”’. ice? I thought—” “Never mind what you thought, Sam. The others are stumped, and say there is no clew to follow.” es RIE ren phwat’s the mi GC Wid his) «phen. you may a8 well save your : 4s breath, chief, as tell me the story, if f it. co a SCR) HUE TRS ee scaron | that is the way the others look at it. What can I hope to do where such men “On his neck, ye do be meanin’, don't | ..__., Pes if you please; the front. part “You will take hold of this case, Sam Buckley, and I expect you to solve the mystery. Now, not another word out of you, sir, till you hear what the case is, and then I want to be assured that my confidence in you has not been mis- placed.” Sam was silent—he had been ordered to silence. er down where his collar should be.” Pa “ And suppose ‘he has a collar on?” Te _ “Then you will not be likely to see it, a of course, but he may have on the same outing shirt he had on this morning, and - that was rather low, if you noticed.” “ Well, all roight; but don’t you furget | 9? . pity. to tell Mike. he at work?” “ At an early hour this morning,” the ae chief went on, “an undertaker’s wagon S; < All right, 1 will go eciocnaa ask for broke down under the bridge that unites himdand’ make it right with him. He | the two parts of Trinity Cemetery, on might toss a brick at my man, if he Eleventh Avenue, and there, strange to a r | say, it was deserted.” » ee aaa here and found mime talking with Stil) Sam was allent: cae es prev “There it was deserted, I say,” the s i seca pat + sp it hap pen: Math Hae chief went on, “ and’ there a patrolman cy rs : . | found it; and not. only so, but he found ca hon NR, RE okey pasty right away that it was loaded with silk’ and laces, ae . jng up your time, Molly.” evidently stolen, spilled along the curb | i + tae ae Te Ps, that is all roight, sor; afther dhe from the bursted body of the wagon, and he took charge of it, of course.” — 1 a z mS good turn ye done fur Mike thot toime. Sava anid Woe A ide ‘a eae _ Only fur you, sor, he moight now be in : oa | ear ‘The patrolman took the rig. to the ea teas Eslystt caeay pene BECO as Oi was station and reported the matter, and a report of it was sent to me. About the “ls + a same time that I received that, I oh a ee complaint from Baltman & Co., stating <a ess ‘is hat no pele teat oy S6on Sates that their store had been robbed during és a few more rem: ks the Scorcher took the night to the extent of several thou- leave sand dollars’ worth of goods. One of their : men went up and examined these things, | | find ee eg Sil cord, he et ia ford a | and identified the lot as the stolen goods. - Bt There you have it.” uilding where he was’ employed, ms . ens that he had not been at work that ae: want me to speak now? asked whales 2 + course I want you to speak now. What is your epinion of the matter?” “Don’t mention it dante my girl— Your pardon; I mean Miss MeGee.”’ Bat “Not kuowing where he lived, and not : a hi re thinking it of great importance, ORY ROR ey 7 fe did not look further, “You say there is no clew, so I sup- «He went home, | f pose it is useless for me to ask ques- Bae <)> Bie, re ‘jhe sum a pole from headquar- tions Soper ane a QTR, bak. atirid sites sO idan ? ws pit XS. Scorcher Sam’s Sweep-Stakes. “Why have you called me for the serv-.- *“ 4 * ‘ ‘ & 4 . i Aw - ; ~ Ji is . . Q r . “They say there is no clew, but that es Me dees not prove that you will not find one. Go ahead and ask all the questions — “a you want to, and see what you can ie , Thereupon Sam puta fides of ques- tions to his chief, with which we will not weary the reader, as to the identity of the wagon, how marked, the horse, what | but when he had done kind, and so on: he found that he had learned nothing that was likely to give him any light. His chief looked at him, as if fearful that he would give it up, as the others had done. Of course, not every man on the force had been called, but several of them had, with that result. They could see no way of proving where the rig was bound for at the time of the ac- cident; would it be the same with Scorch- er Sam? CHAPTER XII. THE SCORCHER’S EXPERIMENT. It was a case calculated to baffie any- body. The wagon bore the name and address of its presumed owner; but there was no undertaking establishment at the num- ber given. | In fact, there Was none anywhere near that place, nor had such a name ever been heard of there. Hence, it had to be concluded that the wagon was a clever blind for a different business. Sam remained in thought for several minutes. . The chief began to get anxious, bere finally he broke out: “ Now, don’t say that you give it din I won’t hear to it. I want you to trace that wagon to its destination.” “Well, you give me a pretty stubborn task, chief; but I will undertake it, nev- ertheless. I suppose the others have taken every mark on the wagon and har™ ness—”’ “Yes, yes; everything that promised a clue even in the remotest manner.’ =" ‘But they have left the horse?” “ Yes, the horse is in charge s that precinct.” “ Then I will take the horse, sir. ‘ales no other way, and ev en that is if Pg promising.” : “ But a horse can’t talk; Sam.” vouihie® “No: but a horse has got hotes sense, and I will rely on that.” — “ What do you mean to do?” Site “Why, simple enough, chief. have.the horse hitched to some sort of wagon and drive up under the arch where — the accident occurred, and let the animal © have free rein to go where it will from that point.” + By Harry! Why didn’t we think of | PA Because it is so yb a plan, I sup pose, sir,” said Sam. “No; because we were. wot Scorcher ‘ — a Spe I ’ ae ‘ {. will | t ys im > — * A a i. ape ; 3.8 oF. 7 i 4 ok “al Me ea, % Bes? q JAS a ~ a . “7 - ue * . ‘as 6 Sams, you mean,” the chief disputes the Pit ne alfa point. \ . © Well, is that all, chief?” That is all. ga see the horse and wagon, of course.” — “T’ll go at once.” Mee “What we want, you see, is to get ho. of the thieves; and if th ized band of them, as I begin to think now, we want evidence that Bist ood pat: | oF. ae “ All right; I’ll do my level best, ‘si vite ets them into our hands. Ys ays “That means something, then. ‘sy the matter you are already on— that? saad ; m gave an outline of it, and. You have every pa ae : that I can give you; but you’can go.and Be aK ay there is an =e a em Pa os ‘ a » Ae Seth A a , “ary ‘ie x > ea ently took leave of his. superior to take up the new task that had been assigt