Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 196 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

= —-- —_ 8 Shadowed ; or, Bob Rockett eo ee ee ee -<--—- room. But he started back in alarm as his eyes fell upon the sturdy figure of Bob, still tilted back in his chair, and with the pipe between his lips. But bis right hand held a cocked revolver, whose sights bore with a dead aim on the in- truder’s head, ‘*Glad to see you,” drawled Bob, taking the pipe from his mouth, and pufling out a volume of sm uke. ‘‘[?’m at home yousee. Most always at home to my friends. Take a seat.” aes, stammered the man, still backing off. ‘Take a seat,” there was an alarming sig- nificance in the click of the pistol lock. The intruder hastily seated himself, ‘“You are on the police force, I take it.— Come, don’t be handling that pocket. This weapon is rather quick on the triggor. Hands up! The man hesitated and stammered out some confused words. ‘* Hands up, I say!” Up went the hands of the discomfited officer, who had fancied that it would be a glorious thing to take Bob Rockett single-handed. He had hoped to win great repatation. by the ex- sah But the tables seemed somehow to have ned. ‘* You want to see Bob Rockett?” ** 'Ye—yes.” ‘‘That’s my name.” Bob replaced the pipe between his lips. ‘* Will you be kind enough to hand over your handle?” ‘* My handle?” “Yes. Your cognomen. want plain English.” ‘‘ Harry Todd,” replied the officer, writhing under the dangerous look of Bob’s pistol. Your name, if you * Very good. Being’s we’ve exchanged names, | su we change hats and coats, I feel like being friendly and sociable.” A whiff of smoke from Bob’s lips went curl- ing up toward the ceiling. He looked aggra- vaengly cool as he continued to lean _ back, with his feet upon the front round of his chair. ‘*You murdering hound, let down that pis- tol!” yelled the alarmed officer. ‘Softly, softly; no calling of names. And you needn't raise your voice, I[ can hear with- out that. Off with that coat!” Bob evidently meantit. The officer hesitated a moment, but that threatening pistol took a more deadly slant toward his bead. There was nothing for it but to obey. With a curso he flung his coat and hat to the floor. His hand reached toward his pistol pocket. Bob clieked the pistol lock again, by way of a gentle reminder. ‘Hands up!” he cried. The discomfited officer obeyed with a groan of dismay. Bob’s next orders caused him to reseat him- o's and double bis wrists behind the cbair ck. / “There’s a chance_for yeu now, Beau. Tie this gentleman’s hands.” Beau hung back doubtingly. “Tie them, L say, or Ili treat you to a leaden pill, too.” At this fierce threat Beau hastily sought the necessary materials in his closet, and proceeded to obey Bob’s peremptory order. ‘Tie him fast to the chair now. Tight, mind you. No half-way tricks on me, if you value your skin.” In five minutes the unhappy officer was bound hand and foot to the chair rounds, ‘*T hope you'll enjoy it here. Mr. Bink and I have some business out. I’m rather afraid you'll find it lonesome. Oh! 1 forgot that you might take a fancy to talk to yourself, which wouldn’t be healthy. Beau, my good fellow, just put a bit of something around Mr. Todd’s mouth, so that he can’t catch cold in his tee‘h.” A deep oath came from the prisoner’s lips. He would have yelled for help it he had dared, but that dangerous weapon was too near his head. In a minute more a suffocating thickness of flannel was tied around the lower part of his face, hardly giving him the opportunity to breathe. ‘Try and enjoy yourself,” said Bob mock- ingly. ‘‘I’d lend you my pipe but I hard: think you’re in the humor for smoking. 0 matter. There’ll be somebody along here ina day or two to let you out. Just keep cool will then. ,, Come abead, Beau, I want your com- ny. He had thrown off his own coat and hat, and assumed those of the prisoner as be spoke, “* Me?” cried Beau, despairingly. “Yes, pou you hound! Do you fancy I am going to leave you here to set the dogs loose on for fooling.” t ee ee eee _— my track? Come on, now, I’m not in the mood With a gesture of dismay to the bound officer Beau followed his peremptory guest from the room, locking the door behind him, at Bob’s stern commund, In a few minutes afterward the man in front of the cigar store saw two persons leave the suspected house and advance toward him. One of them he knew as Beau Bink. But whe was this other, in Semi-official uniform who held that worthy so firmly by the arm? He certainly was a very different figure from the person who had so lately entered that mansion. ‘** Understand,” growled Bob fiercely in Beau’s ear, “‘if you try to make trouble your house goes down first. Take that in.” He walked directly toward the person who was so intently regarding him, dragging Beau after him. Bob turned to this man witha knowing wink. ‘We thought it best to nab this one,” he re- marked, pointing with bis thumb to Beau. ‘I left Harry Todd on the watch. The chap’s there yet we think, but he must have some ras- cally close hiding-place. However, Harry is going to take this gentleman’s place and the rat may be coaxed out of bis hole. Bob laughed as he turned to go on,” ‘**T didn’t know there were two of you,” re- marked the man addressed, ‘Yes, I took the back way in. Harry and I had tke trap laid, but bless you, our rat didn’t walk in!” A comical smile marked Bob’s face as he pinched Beau’s arm warningly. There was a growing doubt in the man’s look. **] don’t know you,” he answered. ‘*And I don’t know you, so we’re quits on that,” Bob coolly replied. o Hang me if you don’t look like Bob Rockett himself,’ ‘Yes, That’s what our boys on the force say,” laughed Bob. ‘It’s a blasted uncomforta- ble likeness.” At this moment there came a tremendous yell from the upper part of the suspected house. It was followed by a succession of loud cries, and a fallasif achair and its occupant had over- turned. ** Harry’s got him!” screamed Bob, ‘‘ There’s the devil to pay there! Come, there’s help wanted.” The man to whom he was talking followed Bob in his flight toward the house. He even distanced him, and entered the house in ad- vance, Bob, in fact, did not enter the house at all, but kept on down the street, as if he had important business in another direction. He was by no mean anxious to go to the rescue of Harry Todd, who had in some way got rid of his gag, and given the alarm. CHAPTER VII. AT THE GARLAND MANSION, PauL Essex and his young wife were seated together in the sitting-room of Mr. Garland’s city mansion. He was partly reclined in an easy-chair, she being on a low stool beside him, holding his hand in hers, and gazing up into his face with a look of warm trust and affection. Yet a look of half dismay came over her face as a new thought passed through her brain. She puckered her pretty mouth, and bit at her finger in a most distracted fashion. “Why what is the matter, sweet?’ asked Paul, laughingly. ‘‘ Nothing out of gear with any of our mufual bows or furbelows, I hope?’ ‘*Hardly,” she replied. ‘‘I am not one to take that sort of thing to heart. Why, you give twice the thought to the set of a necktie that I do. You know that, you rogue. Men are always telking of women’s whims, yet they have twice as many themselves.” ‘Ah, mercy! didn’t know that I was drawing the fire of a masked battery on myself. Let me off this time and I won’t refer to furbe- lows again. But what is it, then, that ails my Grace?’ Her laughing eyes grew serious in their ex- pression. “Tt is that woman. I cannot get her out of my thoughts, Paul. To think of my meeting her in that strange way, after so many years.” “She is a cousin of yours, you say?’ “IT disown the relationship. To think that that woman tried to murder me, and that lowe my life to this young Rockett! How strangely all these things have become mixed up, Paul.” ‘““There is one thing which I can’t help think- ing of,” he answered. ‘What is that?’ “That I would never have known you only for that attempted murder, and for Rockett’s Se 's Fight for Life. a TT i eEEEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeE—E—eEeEEeEeEeEEEE ' Paul, with deep interest. eee =. ee bringing you to my mother’s house to be taken care of. She pressed his hand and looked up lovingly into his face. ‘‘We owe something to both of them,” she said. ‘‘It is strange how often the worst in- tentions work out good. I should prefer to pay no heed to that miserable woman, but my father is not troubled with any such feelings of senti- ment. He seems determined to proceed against her I wish he would not.” ‘“‘But he has another reason for it, Grace. She undoubtedly knows who were engaged in that bank-robbing enterprise, and may be frightened into revealing their names, I have my own ideas about that. Ideas, of course, are not evidence, but I could swear that it is to Bob Rockett that [ owe my eyesight.” ‘‘And yet you cherish ill will against him. That is not generous.” “No. It is the others I wish to bring to justice. Their cold-blooded leader, about whom also I have my suspicions. As for Rockett f{ fear that he is in far more serious danger.” ‘*'You don’t believe that he was connected with that horrible murder, Paul?’ ‘*T would like to not believe it. But it looks black for him, Grace. Very black.” ‘‘T don’t believe it, at any rate!” she ener- etically replied, springing up and walking the ior excitedly. ‘‘ And ’m ashamed of you for doing so. After all he bas done for us—for both of us—I wish you would not talk so, Paul. Men who save people’s lives, and try so hard to pre- vent them from committing unconscious crimes, are not the kind of men who muréer poor, he!p- less women. To think of what we owe to him, and then of your repaying bim with such sus- picion.” ‘* Well, well, be has one earnest advocate, at all events,” laughed Paul, as he seized his wife’s hands and again drew her down on the stool beside him. ‘*f hardly think he is capable of it, love. I think there must be scme horrible mis- take. If he be put on trial for this murder I certainly shall give my evidence in bis favor.” ‘*Oh, thank you! thank you!” she excitedly cried, springing up and kissing him. ‘“ You don’t know how deeply I feel for him. But when I think that I owe him a life—” ‘‘And I that I owe him a wife,” broke in Paul, returning ber kiss with warm interest, ‘‘ My debt is the deepest, for en are more than life to me. You are right. e are deeply in debt to Bob Rockett. We must defend him to our utmost.” Their conversation was at this point inter- rupted by the hasty entrance of Mr. Garland. He was flushed and excited. He waved a news- paper in his hand with a strange gesture, “Well, this beats all!” be exclaimed, with such emphasis that his two auditors sprung up in earnest attention. ‘“Why, what has happened?’ cried Paul. ‘“The most daring and bare-faced thing! Two of the most daring things, in fact. I do not see what our police service is coming to. To let themselves: be hoodwinked in this ridiculous manner! Out on such a city government!” ‘‘Why, my dear father,” exclaimed Grace. “T never saw you in such away. What is it that has happened?” “To think of a murderer attending the funeral of his murdered wife, and then walkin off freely in the face of a hundred persons! { doubt if such a piece of bare-faced daring was ever perpetrated before!” “Who?” asked Paul, hastily. ‘‘ Not this Mike Crapper?’ ‘Yes. He walked up boldly among the mourners and looked into the grave, just as any grieving husband might have done. No- body knew him, it seems, except the grave-dig- gers, and they had promised to let him get out of the graveyard egain before they gave the alarm. A piece of ridiculous sentiment.” ‘¢f don’t think so,” replied Grace, to whom there seemed something touching in the circum- stance. ‘Affection and remorse must have drawn the murderer there.” ** Did he escape?” asked Paul. ‘‘Ves.. There was a piece of weodland not far from the cemetery. Into this be plunged. He was pursued by fifty men, but managed to give them all the slip. It was a rough, rugged piece of woods, and very extensive. No doubt was full of hiding-places which the villain knew. At any rate they searched for him until dark, and set up a strict watch on the woods after night. But he has somehow given them the slip. The whole country around is being scour- ed for him.” ‘‘ Well, he certainly is a bold one,” exclaimed ‘But he certainly a 1 eee) < com