Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 196 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

eeneememenee ‘‘A short, stout man, was he not?’ asked the | we por, sam in time to protect her from the ticket seller, as be came hastily from his office. ‘* Yes, with a heavy black beard!” ‘You are too late then. He bought a ticket, and is off in the train that started three minutes ago. It is more than a mile out by this time.” A look of dismay came upon the officer’s face. He removed his hat and wiped the sweat from his face. A crowd of interested auditors had gathered around him, ‘But you can telegraph on and have the train searched,” suggested the ticket agent. “A good thought! We will telegraph to the authorities at every station where the train stops. Thanks for the idea. We will have him yet, unless he chooses to break his neck by springing from the train between stations.” Ina few minutes more lightning messengers were darting through those long lines of wire that bordered the track, leaving the train quickly beltind in their marvelous speed, and carrying forward the story of Bob Rockett’s daring escape. All along the road the authorities were put on the alert. He was a murderer in flight. He must be captured. Such was the burden of the tune that was played upon those marvelous wires. And still the train rushed along its iron way, seemingly too swift for pursuit, yet already left far in the rear by those silent messengers that had sped so kapidly on their way. But, as may well be imagined, Bob Rockett was fully aware of this danger, and on the alert to escape it. With its loud whistle of warning the train slowed up toward its first stopping place. Yet twenty minutes before its arrival the news of the escape had reached this point, and a dozen men were gathered upon the plat- form commissioned to search the train. Slowly the wheels ceased to turn, train came to a dead halt. ‘** Hold!” cried an authoritative voice to the conductor. ‘‘ Don’t let a person leave the train, There is an escaping criminal on board. A murderer. The cars must be searched.” The men appointed for that purpose had already sprung to the platforms of the cars, and guarded the doors at each end, while the person who had spoken went cautiously through the cars, examining the face of every male passenger with a keen scrutiny. Yet he reached the rear car without seeing a person resembling the description of Bob Rockett. He passed through this still more carefully. Near the end was a cross-looking old fellow, who was fretting and growling fiercely at the outrage of making the passengers prisoners in the cars. ‘* Ain’t found your man, I guess?” he growled, as if glad at their failure. “No. Do you know anything about him?” ‘* Well, there was a chap ie off the tail end of the train a distance back, just when it begun to slow up. Shouldn’t wonder if he was your game.” At this cool announcement a curse broke from the lips of the searcher. ‘Why didn’t you tell us that five minutes ago, you old donkey?” ; ‘‘Old donkeys, when they’re shut up this way in a stable, take their own time to kick, you know. I guess you felt the donkey’s heels that time.” The searcher rushed from the train. ** He has escaped!” he shouted. ‘ After him, lads! He must have made his way toward the river. We will have him yet.” In a minute more the special police guard were on their way toward this stream, which ran here at nearly half a mile distance from the railroad. The fugitive had about ten minutes the start, and had made such good use of his time, that they failed to see him, though much of the country lay open to the view. . On reaching the neighborhood of the river they spread out, extending their line along the row of elegant private residences which there bordered the flowing stream. Two or three of them were in the neighbor- hood of Mr. Garland’s residence, which formed one of these mansions, when the clear sound of a pistol-shot broke out upon the air, coming from that direction. Fray A ery of alarm burst from their lips as they started toward the mansion from which the sound seemed to proceed. CRAPTER X. SEEKING BUT NOT FINDING. WE must return to Bob Rockett and Grace Essex, whom we left in the garden of Mr. Gar- land’s riverside mansion. The long He had arrived ag —— ! Shadowed; or, Bob Rockett’s Fight for Life. hands of her infamous assailant, Rusty Mike. But he was himself a fugitive; the pursuers were close upon his footsteps, his pistol-shot had guided them; their voices were heard in loud outcries from the neighboring road; whither should he flee for safety ? He looked to right and left like a wild ani- malatbay. Yonder was the river, but it held no boat by which to escape. The country was alarmed, it would soon be Sets with pur- suers, there was no safety by land. His per- | jlexed eyes turned upon the face of bis warm- Scarhad companion, Her eyes were fixed mean- ingly upon him. ‘“You are in danger? You are pursued? These are the voices of your enemies?” she hur- | riedly asked. ‘Yes, yes. And—” his voice sunk into si- lence, as he again looked in deep disquiet around, ‘* And you see no way to escape?” ‘* None.” ‘**Then I will conceal you. I believe you in- nocent; and [ owe you that, and far more than that. Follow me, quickly. There is not a mo- ment to lose.” She led the way with a light and rapid step toward the house, a hey could hear ths tones of the pursuers call- ing through the still air. They seemed all around them, Already some of them appeared to have invaded the garden. Only the thick, clustering shrubbery of the winding alleys hid the fugitives from sight. ‘*Come, come!” rung the low, clear tones of the beautiful guide. ‘* Quickly! They are ata distance yet. “We can gain the house unseen.” Bob darted forward with redoubled speed. He grasped her arm and almost carried her on- ward in his strong gripe. 1t wasindeed no time to stand on ceremony. Ina minute more they had gained the house, and passed out of sight through its rear door. fPanting, breathless, overcome with exertion, Grace hastily closed the door and turned the key in the lock. She thea fell back with a reeling motion against the side wall of the passage, her brain swimming with a momentary faintness. Almost at the same instant two of the pur- suers broke through the shrubbery and came into full view of the house on this side. ‘There is nobody here,” cried one; “ yet I could swear that 1 heard a movement through the bushes,” ‘*Try the door,” suggested the other. Hastening forward he turned the handle of the door. it failed to open. ‘** It is locked,” he “A ‘*We must have been mistaken,” declared his companion. ‘*‘Or perhaps the noise we heard was some one going the other way. Let us search the garden.” They had hardly vanished within the bushy closeness of the garden walks before other pur- suers came upon the scene. The pistol-shot had caused a general alarm. | ‘‘Itcame from this direction. There is no doubt of that,” cried one of these. ‘‘ Whereare the men who came this way?” ‘Yonder they go, through the garden. [ll wager a thousand the murderer is somewhere about this establishment. We must set guards in the road and allaround it. Ton toone but we have him caged here. Some of you run to the right and left, and rouse the people in the next houses. Give a generalalarm. It hohas gotaway from pyeee grounds he cannot go far before we have im,’ @uick movements followed in response to these orders. The clustered group dispersed again, some to establish themselves as sentinels around the Garland property, others to carry on the news, and set the whole neighborhood in alarm. Meanwhile the two fugitives had heard with suppressed excitement the voices without, and the effort upon the door. They looked at each other with startled eyes. ‘That was a narrow chance for safety,” ejrculated Bob, with a breath of relief as the receding footsteps of his pursuers were heard. “Follow me,” she briefly answered. ‘ The | moments are golden now. We have none to | waste.” | She led quickly to the foot of the stairs, and hastened up them to the second floor of the house, Bob following. Despite his usual energy and coolness, his heart was beating like a trip- | hammer. It is not easy to command one’s nerves in such perilous escapes. Outside the leader of the party of search was left alone. He had sent off all his force in dif- fcrent directions, and stood leaning against the oes it trunk of atree that rose beside bim, waiting the result of the seareh of the garden. His haste. had been such that he needed a short rest to re- cover bis breath. Five minutes elapsed, during which, at inter- vals, could be seen the forms of the men who were thoroughly investigating the bush-grown gardens. At the end of that time they ap- proached him, with disappointment written upon their faces. ‘*No returns,” cried out the nearest. ‘‘ The place isempty. Our man is not here.” An expression of doubt came upon the leader’s countenance. ‘*T believe he isin that hc use,” remarked the other. ‘‘We heard a rustling noise in the bushes. When we came up there was no one there, but the back door was locked. He must have entered.” This idea suddenly aroused the indecisive leader. “TI believe you are right!” he cried. ‘“ We will search it, at any rate. That pistol-shot | was not made by a bird ora fish. Here, Phil, you 5 an eye upou this side of the bouse, Tim and I will go in from the front. If our man is there he has got to come out,” In a moment more he had leaped the garden wall into the road, and was approaching the front door of the mansion. A loud, sbarp peal at the bell brought to the door the only servant present in the mansion, a. woman who had been employed in the kitchen, and had failed to perceive any of these events. ‘*' Whose house is this?” asked the officer. ‘* Misther Garland’s, sure.” It was evident from what part of the world this good lady bad come. “Is any of the family at home?’ ‘Nobody at all, sur. ’Cept Miss Grace and meself, which is two of us.” ‘*Call Miss Grace!” ‘*Shure, an’ maybe she might ax who wants to see her,” answered the woman, growing sus- picious of this sharp-voiced visitor. ‘You may tell her that it is an officer, who has come to search the house for an escaped murderer,” said the speaker, showing his staras he pushed rudely past the woman and into the bh all. ‘Och! fur the good Lord’s blessing! A mur- derer!” she screamed, ‘‘ But, save you, honey, there’s not the ’scription of a soul in the house but meself and Miss Grace. And that’s the Heaven’s own truth.” ‘We will see that,” exclaimed the officer curtly, pushing on toward the stairs. “ Stand here, Tim, and guard the stairs. I will search the lower rooms.” The woman stood for a moment aghast at this ey proceeding. She then attempted to run up oe stairs, but was prevented by the man on rd. ‘You omadhoun! To have the imperdence to stop me in me own house!” she cried, struggling to pass him. ‘Oh, Miss Grace! Miss Grace! Shure, an’ you’d best come down here. There’s a pair o’ burglars, and I’m a-wearin’ me soul out a-tryin’ to stop them from robbin’ all the vally’bels. Ido b’lieve they’re ’mong the silver = this blessed minute, and in broad day at that. \ After several minutes of this loud calling Grace appeared at the head of the stairs, and looked down with an expression of surprise. At the same instant the leader of the searchin party reappeared from an unsuccessful investi- gation of the lower rooms. ‘‘What is the matter? What means all this outcry?’ asked Grace with ee. ‘“‘Excuse me, miss,” replied the officer, po- litely. ‘*I am sorry to find only women in the house, for it is necessary that we should search it. Weare in pursuit of a fugitive, a murderer, whom we have reason to believe has concealed himself here. We will put you to no incon- venience, but the house must be searched.” ‘There is no fugitive murderer here,” she coldly answered. ‘That you cannot be sure of. He was traced to the grounds of this mansion. He was heard to enter the house. He may have concealed bimself here without vour knowledge.” ‘* And why should I believe such a story?” she replied gd ne od ‘Where is your au- thority for such a search?” ‘*Tt is here,” he answered, as he threw open his coat, and displayed the policeman’s star. “That may be counterfeited,” she coldly re- joined. ‘‘Come, Bridget. I do not feel like trusting this person alone in our house. He may search for his mystical murderer, but we | must look out that nothing else disappears.” With a grimace at the sharp suspicion in the ‘ - 4 ena natiepiiestneneeeeast _ — — — a -_ —. Sl Sn a ee ee ee —— - ee _ — + eee — a ow books com com