Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1090 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

Jubilee Joe, the Chain-Lightning Detective. Jubilee Joe, The Chain-Lightning Detegtive; OR, The Lamb in the Wolfs Den. BY MAJOR E. L. ST. VRAIN, BE, L. WHEELER, CHARLES MORRIS, WM. R. EYSTER, T. OC. HARBAUGH, FRANK DUMONT, CAPT. MARK WILTON, J. C, COWDRICK, AND DETECTIVE DOUGLASS. CHAPTER I. [BY J. C. COWDRICK.] A NIGHT-SCENE IN THE QUAKER CITY. * PHILADELPHIA, 1876. A beautiful night in mid-summer. The moon, in all its glory, round-faced and olden, hung over the city, and shed its mellow i ht upon the busy scenes, while the thousands of stars in the vast, unmeasured space beyond, shone like brilliant diamonds set in the blue dome of the heavens. Vor many weeks past the staid old city had been in an unusual uproar, night and day. Uncle Sam’s Soho Jubilee show in honor of his one-hundredth birthday was at its hight; and thousands upon thousands of children were there from all parts of his broad domain. Hotels and lodging-houses were filled, to their utmost capacity, and still hundreds of people could find no place to lay théir’ weary heads. From morn till night, and frony night till morn again, the streets were crowdéd. ‘At the stations of the Various railroads especi- ally, the crowd was an almost constant feature. People were coming and people were going at all hours, day and night. On this. particular night the station of the Fontes nia Railroad, at Thirty-second and Markét)streets, late as the hour was, presented an unusual scene of hurry, bustle and con- fusion. . Trains were late, owing to a hitch somewhere along, the lme of that great iron highway, and the crowd was: unusually large; Between the waiting-rooms and the gates leading to the train-shed, was one solidjmass of humanity. The gates being opened, the crowd gradually melted away, and in’a short time trains were coming and going as usual. it was after two o’elock in the morning when the last section ofa belated train from the West rolled into the station, and its passengers, when they alighted, looked weary and travel-worn in- One among them was a strikingly-beautiful girl, perhaps eighteen * aaah of age, who appeared to be traveling entirely alone. her hand she carried a small grip-sack, which was, as after- ward appeared, the only baggage she possessed. On stepping from the train she looked half- timidly around for a moment, and then followed the other pemeeneses toward the exit gates, The train had stopped on the second track from the long platform on Thirty-second street, which was used chiefly for the delivery of milk from the cars of the milk-train, and some parts of which were in deep shadow. The girl had almost reached the gates, when suddenly a man sprung down from the platform . mentioned, where he had been standing in the shadow at the end of the PA EASS OOINs snatch- ed the yrip-sack from her hand, and sprung back again ere she could scarcely realize what had sc ga | ‘he next mstant though she uttered a loud ery, and tried to follow the thief, but the plat- form proved too high for her to get upon. ** 'What’s th’ matter?” suddenly inquired a boy, who raised himself from a baggage-truck where he had lain down to catch a few hours of sleep, and whom the girl’s ery awakened. | ‘‘That man!” cried the girl, pointing to the retreating form of the thief, who was fast disap- pearing across an adjacent vacant lot, ‘* he has stolen my hand-bag!’ Waiting to hear no more, the boy sprung up and started in para’ but, unfortunately, as he darted across the platform he fell, and for a mo- er lay almost senseless from the force of the? oc When he regained his feet, the man was out of This . boy was a fair sample of the city’s street- Arab, or gamin. His name was Joe Bindley, but of late he had been dubbed, by his boy com- panions, ‘‘ Jubilee Joe.” He was about fifteen ears of age, strong and well-built, and, when his face was clean, decidedly good-looking. He was a favorite with the railroad men at the station, and was allowed to come and go at will, and tosleep where he would, so long as he chose a placv where he was out of the way. Thus it was that he was asleep on the truck under the train-shed on the night of which I write. Seeing that it was useless to attempt to follow the man further, he turned back, and sprung down from the platform to where the girl was standing, now weeping bitterly. ‘*T guess your hand-bag is a goner, miss,” he said. ‘‘ Nouse chasin’ a man after he’s got out of sight. Don’t cry though, but come along and tell th’ station-master about it.” And the boy conducted the poor girl into the ladies’ waiting- room, and then set out to find the official he had named. ‘* Where is the young lady?” the station-mas- ter asked, when he found a moment to spare to listen to the boy’s story. ‘*She’s in th’ ladies’ waitin’-room,” was the reply. ‘*Come, an’ I'll show her to you.” he station-master followed his young guide, and the girl was soon found. ‘‘T am the station-master, miss,” he said. ‘* This boy tells me you have been robbed. It is really too bad. Is there anything I can do for you? Shall I send for a carriage to take you to your friends?” ‘**Oh, sir, I have no friends!” the girl sobbed; ‘*not a friend in all the world.” ** Where are you going?” ‘*{ hardly know, sir. I came here, from a small town near Lancaster, to find employment. friend I had.” ‘** But, surely,” said the station-master, kindly, ‘vou must have had some objective point in view, when you started alone to come to this great city?” ‘«T had the address of a lady, sir,” the girl re- lied, *‘ which was given to me by a lady at ncaster, to whom I told my story. But that, as well as most of the little sum of money I pos- sessed, was in my hand-bag. Iam almost pen- niless. Oh! what will I do?’ * Can you not remember the lady’s name and address?” ‘*T remember her name, sir, Mrs. Bradford; but I cannot remember where she lives.” ‘* May I ask your name?” - 24 name is Laura Murray, sir.” ‘*'Well, can we not telegraph to your friend at Lancaster, and thus obtain Mrs. Bradford’s ad- dress for you?” ‘*Most unfortunately, sir, that lady’s card, with her address on it, was in my hand-bag too. I do not now remember even her name.” ‘Then she was a my to you?” ‘* Yes, sir. She spdke kindly to me when she saw me weeping in the station at Lancaster, and I told her my story.” ‘*You are unfortunate, indeed, You must re- main here till daylight, and then I will try and do something for yous Meanwhilé beware of strangers. o not make friends too readily with any one who may address you.” **Oh! thank you, sir!” the girl exclaimed. **'You are kind. I will do as you say.” The station-master and Jubilee Joe turned away, leaving the pir alone. Neither of them had noticed the evil-looking face of a man who had been listening to the conversation, standing just outside one of the open windows, ‘* So,” that man muttered to himself, as he, too, turned and walked away, “‘ your name is Laura Murray, is it. miss? And you’d like to find a Mrs. Bradford? Now, I wonder if J can’t help you out of your difficulty?” and as he mut- tered the words he winked one of his cruel eyes in a sly and knowing manner. Going around to the opposite side of the sta- tion, he roused a sleeping cabman, held a short conversation with him, and then returned and made his way, with a business-like air, direct to the station-master’s office. | . . ae the last train from Lancaster in, sir?” he asked. ‘Yes, sir; just arrived a few minutes ago.” ‘* Did you notice a young lady, sir, who came alone, and who no doubt acted like a cat in a strange garret?” ‘*T did see such a person,” the station-master answered; ‘‘ but who are you, sir?” ‘*My name is Gibbs. I am in the employ of Mrs. Bradford,who resides on Bainbridge street. She received a telegram last evening from a friend at Lancaster to look out fora young lady, a Miss Murray, coming in on a late train, alone; and I’ve been kept a-runnin’ here all night to My aunt died a few weeks ago, and she was the sae é . By “um Sak 4 “us. — i eo dal, me -@ nt ve. " Uin le) A \S a -& —iis aay P Pantene aS ~ 7 Sen enough, I'd kick th’ Mize Ny nats <* tS ih: 4 , = ~¥ y a=. w A~F\s a AS . -* tal DP Doe ee Se eS ise Lee . > A find her. sir?” ‘* Yes,” said the station-master; ‘‘ but wait a moment, please.” And he went into the ladies’ waiting-room again and spoke to the friendless girl. / “Do you think you would remember the name of the street on which Mrs. Bradford resides, if you heard it spoken?” he asked. ‘¢T think I would, sir; I read it over so many times. It isstrange that it slipped my mind at all.” ‘Was it Bainbridge street?” ‘* Oh, yes; that is the name; I am sure!” the girl cried joyfully. Cruel fate! How, among the hundreds of streets in the great city had the man happened to name the right one? Was there a plot back of it all which did not appear on the surface? or, was the girl mistaken? -- AE to’ the office, the station-master said: ‘¢The young lady you are looking for is in the waiting-room. Come, and [ll point her out te And he led the way. ‘‘That jigger may be true biue,” muttered Jubilee Joe, who was in the office and had lis- tened to the man’s story, ‘‘ but I don’t just fan- cy th’ cut of his jib. 1 guess Jubilee Joseph wilk have to go along, and see th’ end of this little af- fair. And hurrying out to the truck where he had. been sleeping, he put his blacking-box in a safe place—for he was a boot-black, be it known— and then sauntered around to where he could see and hear all that took placein the ladies’ waiting— room. ‘* Excuse me, miss,” said the man, when he ap- proached the girl in: company with the station- master, ‘‘ is your name Murray?” ‘* Yes; sir.” ‘‘ And are you from Lancaster? and looking for Mrs, Bradford, who resides on Bainbridge street?” ‘¢ Yes, sir.” ‘¢'Then I am here to take you to her home. She received a telegram last evening from a lady friend at Lancaster, requesting her to look out for you. . Are you ready to go?” The girl looked to the station-master, helpless- ly, to see what her reply should be. ‘*T think it is all right," the station-master said, ‘‘ But,” he added, turning to the man, *¢ who is this Mrs. Bradford?” ‘*She is a well-to-do lady, sir, who devotes most of her time to themany charitable societies. to which she belongs,” ‘Well, miss, I think you have found good friends,” the station-master then said, ‘‘and I would advise you to go to the lady at once.” ‘¢ Very well,” said the girl, as she rose from her seat, ‘‘ I am ready.” She thanked the station-master for his kind ness, and the man then led the way from the room, pening the door of a cab, which stood. near by, the driver of which was the one he had spoken to a few minutes previously on the oppo- site side of the station, he assisted the girl to en- ter, and then springing up on the seat beside the driver he said ‘tHome,” and the cab. whirled away. Renenraihile on seeing the cab the gir] was to enter, Jubilee Joe left the station and posted himself in the shadow of the wall over the mouth of the tunnel of the Junction Railroad, and when the cab came down and turned into Market street he sprung out and caught hold be- hind, swinging his feet up underneath as only a street-boy can. ‘¢Bet your new shoes with th’ Centennial buckles on, old hoss,” he said to himself, ‘‘ iftev- erything ain’t O. K. here you'll hear music in the air, or my name ain’t Joe. I’m chain-light- ning after you—you bet!” Little did the poor girl dream’ that she had such a friend so near at hand, nor the man, that such a spy was on his track, . When the cab came to the Market street bridge, however, a policeman, noble specimen of his kind, cried out: ‘‘ Hi! there, boy! git off that kerr’age! There’s a boy on behind, driver!” The cab was stopped at emce, and Joe had to dro off and take.to his beels, este torun in the same direction the cab was going, but the policeman stopped him. ‘‘ No, ye don’t!” said the officer. ‘‘ You want to run ahead, an then ketch on ag’in. You can’t do it this time, though. You’d best go back th’ way ye came.” “Say, you great, big, overgrown monument of ignorance!” cried Joe, ‘‘if I were only big stuffin’ out of you! ‘To hear Do you say you did’see such a persen,, - Prur - . i) a ST . “ * —% WS i neta ae” = = Al. LPS a >) 7 hens UP pe - au . ve ; ee “a < ye Te, Set had Ayes sa Ws hie ae. LOS 7 Sf : if ite ‘ a. Sd x ae gl