Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 262 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 stopped by a customer, who demanded a Tele- graph. Mickey needed all his power of self-control to suppress a violent start, as he caught a glimpse of this man’s face. His hand shook in an un- wonted manner while he made change, and the customer might have seen a queer look in the boy’s eyes if he had paid any attention to him. A smile of tification came upon Mickey’s ee | as he followed the man with a significant ‘‘Knowed I’d spot him if I’d only wait,” he declared. ‘If it ain’t Jerry, the burglar, then a cat don’t like milk. And he’s buyin’ papers to see if ther’s anything bout t’other night’s job. I’m a-goin’ to foller that there coon to his caboose or split.” He was on Jerry’s track ere the latter had gained twenty steps in advance. The few sce he had left he quickly bundled up and hrust into bis pocket. It would not pay now to be detained by customers. Quite unaware of pursuit, Jerry walked on, reading the paper as he went. The boy was not far behind, though on the opposite side of the street, and he saw the movement of gratifi- cation with which the burglar read an item in the ow “‘Somethin’ ’bout the job, I] bet,” declared Mickey. ‘‘Perlice off the track, [ s’pose, and all rosy. If he only knowed that Mickey Malone was on bis track, maybe he wouldn't find things quite so rosy.” The pursuit was a Jong one, but the shrewd boy managed to avert Papicior of his purpose, though more than once Jerry cast a keen look around. Finally he tracked him to a house in a respect- able neighborhood in the lower part of the city. Tapped!” cried Mickey, slapping bis knee. “That's the fu’st step. Now for the second.” —— a - ee CHAPTER IX. HOW DUTY AND PLEASURE WERE UNITED. MEANWHILE Mr. Barton bad not rested quite easily under his loss. Full accounts of the rob- bery bad been published in all the daily papers, and the capture and escape of the boys care- fully detailed. As to their connection with the robbery various opinions were expressed, but the majority looked upon them as shrewd young rascals and apprentices of tbe burglars. Mr. Barton, out of respect for the widow, had kept back Joe’s name, but his loss was a very serious one, and it was necessary for the fullest investigation to go on, no matter who suffered. . Joram was in the greatest distress, when Mr. Barton called on her, in company with an officer of the pelice. ‘* Ob, sir, I can’t believe it of my Joe! You don’t know what a good boy he bas always been! And you might kill him before he will tell a lie, or take any thing that isn’t his ewn! There must be some terrible mistake!” “He has been keeping bad company, Mrs. Joram,” was thereply. ‘*‘ Where is he?” “IT would giveanythiugto know. Iam ’most distracted about him. He bas not been home since that night; only—only he came to the ‘window,in the middle of the night, and told Mollie that he had got to hide, but he hadn't done anythin ee * Ah!” broke in the police officer, much in- terested in this information. ‘Go on, Mrs. Joram. I should like to hear all] about that.” The widow ame eae to give the details of Joe’s nocturval visit. “Tf I had only been awake I would never have let him go,” she declared. ‘‘ But Molle is a mere child, and didn’t know what to do. The poor boy has got in trouble, and has been badly scared, but he would never do anything wroag, I know that.” “There, there, Mrs. Joram,” broke in Mr. Bar‘on’s kindly voice. ‘‘No harm shall come to the boy. But I must find him. He knows ee about this robbery and has got to tell it. * What do you think of it?’ he asked the offi- cer, after they had left Mrs, Joram’s house, “T hardly know yet,” replied the latter. ‘“‘ Tt is a story that has itstwosides. You know what mothers are. Their geese are all white swans, Yet it looks well for the boy that he had so much feeling for his mother and sister.” ‘*So it seems tome. The lad may have’ been led astray by bad company, and accompanied the burglars without hardly knowing what he was doing.” “You tell me you have met with a heavy | The Yeung Sleuths. loss, Mr. Barton,” said the officer. ‘‘ Were the contents of the stolen box so very valuable?” ‘* Yes,” answered Mr. Barton, in a distracted fashion. ‘Jewelry or money? We must be on the lookout for these contents.” ‘Tt wasn’t that,” answered the gentleman. ‘‘There was money in the box. But I care not for that.. It contains papers which are more important to me than a box full of money.” ‘*Ha! That may be important to us also. What was the character of these papers?” ‘‘They involve my claim to my estate. If they should be destroyed I might find it impossi- ble to prove my ownership. There is another rson who would havea stronger claim. Un- fortunately the most important document is not recorded.” ‘‘That is certainly very careless,” responded the officer, with a dubious shake of the head. ‘*But the loss of these papers will be for the pare of one party, you say. Is.there only 44 Yes.” ‘* Man or woman?” ‘‘ A man, and one who does not bear the best of records.” ‘*Good, The cayatery is opening. It is that man we want, by, you have nailed the whole affair in a dozen words. Where is he to be found?’ ‘In England.” “Whew!” came ina whistling sound from the officer. ‘‘ England is a good ways off. Butthen it is not many days’ distant. e may be here now.” ‘‘No. I havea telegram from him only two cays OMe, -) +i he officer hesitated and seemed lost in re- flection, ‘‘He may be doing his work by an agent,” was the next remark. ‘‘ This man is in some way at the bottom of it. I am sure of that. Come with me to the office, Mr. Barton. I want the complete story about this person, and a full description of him and his associates as far as possible. We may bit on some useful clew.” ‘*] doubt it,” answered Mr. Barton, dubious- ly. ‘‘ Il have not seen him for years, and know nothing about bis associates.” ‘“‘If we could only nab. thdse boys,” mused the officer. *‘ We must havethem. I am sat- isfied they can put us on the track. This little Joe, you say, is a bootblack?’ ‘** | believe that is bis profession.” ‘* And the other is an ill-dressed, dirty-faced, im pudent young reprobate?” ‘* That fits him exactly.” ‘‘Very woll. I will have the bootblacks worked up. It won’t be hard to find out who this second boy is. Ho» is evidently the ring- leader. Come to the office, Mr. Barton. I want all the particulars,” > During the succeeding days the mormepgyecs continued to give particulars about the - lary. But they were much of a pattern with hose about other robberies. Now the police were on the track. Now they were off it. Now they bad a certain clew. Now they hadn’t. It was the old see-saw that follows half the rob- beries that take place. The police have the thing down fine in the beginning; but it gets so dreadfully fine in the end that nobody can see it It was one of these newspaper squibs which showed plainly that there was no. trace of the robbers, that Jerry had read with so much sat- isfaction. Mickey, after tracing him to cover, seated himself complacently upon a fire-plug at the corner of the street, took the bunch of pa- rs from bis pocket, and carefully straightened hem out. “I ain’t much of a reader,” he soliloquized, ‘but Pve a notion I kin make out that there Jerrymiah. Ther’s somethin’ favorable "bout the house-crackin’ job; for Mr, Jerry wouldn’t smile like,a locomotive head-Hgbt *bout noth- in.” Mickey’s education was not of the highest grade, It took a hard wrestle with the alpha- bet for him to get the meaning out of the para- graph in question, but at last he accomplished ‘*] wish Joe was here,” he growled. ‘‘ He’d slide over it like as if if was so much ice, but it’s like so many righ re nails, with their pints upward, tome, “Sut { think I’ve got the hang of it, if Idid ha © « skip some of the big words as these fellers s.°:k in. to show their Varnin’,” The shrewd boy sat and cogitated wisely for some minu ** All the papers makes out as them two boys (On ee ene ee ge isin the ring,” he muttered. ‘‘ But they aint got the hang of who the boys is, so they kin low ahead if they want.” ‘‘ Got the Telegraph?’ asked a person who was passing. ‘““Yere you are, mister. Fifth edition, Ali the news.—Guess I’d best sell out. ’Tain’t biz- ness to take home yer stock in yer pocket,” Springing from pervh he commenced again to cry his wares. “ Tele h! Bulletin! Star! Yere’s all the news! Bilin’ hot! the Chinese in Californy!—Want a paper. mis- ter? Got all ’bout the burgl in West Phila- delfy. The perlice on the track. Full descrip- tions of the boys as stole the swag. Have a pa- per? Telegraph! Star! Bulletin!” The few papers which Mickey had left speedily went off his hands, as he continued to rattle out a record of news, realandimaginary. He took particular delight in giving details of the bur- glary, chuckling the while to bimself hoW neat- ly he was throwing all suspicion from his own shoulders by this shrewd course. ‘There, that settles it,” he ejaculated as his last paper went off, and the last penny slid into his = et. ‘‘ Wonder if I’d best strike out fur grub, or keep an eye = for wnt? the cracks man/—Hillo! Yere’s fun! Guess I'll lay low, and see what’s in the wind.” This exclamation was called out by the ap- rance, ae distance, of a face and form which he at once recognized. It was the man who had given bim the counterfeit coin, which had led to all the after events of this story. Here was another pau of which he was not so sure, as he had failed to get a fair look at his face on the night of the robbery, but he was in- clined to think that it was the ringleader of the burglars, the one they had called Mart. , ickey slipped — into a a doorway, which partly concealed him, while he kept his sharp eyes fastened on the form of the person in question. ! e latter turned into the street in which stood the house that held Jerry. He had not the slightest thought that the ragamuffin whom be saw lurking ina doorway had any connec- tion with himself. Mickey followed him with his eyes. The bo had now slipped behind the corner of a build- Chronicle! Yere’s 'bout ing, beyond which only the upper part of his head protruded. | ‘*IT knowed it! I knowed it!” he ejaculated, with a wild laugh. ‘‘ He’s stopped afore Jerry’s caboose. And now he’s spyin’ round fur snacks. Bet he don’t nail me! The young spy withdrew his head under cover, and did not venture to look out again until a couple of minutes had elapsed. He was just in time to catch a vanishing glimpse of the object of his quest, as the latter entered the open door of the house into which Jerry had al- ready disappeared. If anybody interested in the antics of boys had been at hand just then, they would have seen a very peculiar dance, and heard a very odd song, coming from a ragged reprobate, with clothes three sizes too big for him. ‘* Lawsee!” he shouted in glee, ‘' Ain’t the thing a-workin’! Now if t’other one, that they call Tim, ’€ only put in, we’d have all the snakes in one bag. Don’t 1 wish 1 was inside that shanty? I bet I'd finda keyhole as’d tell me somethin.” He continued to dance and sing, with a glee which he could not contain. For full ten minutes this mood lasted, ere the boy became sobered down sufficiently for reasonable thought. It was one thing to discover the haunts of the burglars. It was another thing to recover the stolen property, which Mickey fancied was necessary to clear himself of suspicion. ‘* If | was to put the cops on the track, they’d snatch me too. I know jist what they is. That there box is got to be nailed,” Such were his reflections after bis spell of glee bad passed over. But there was a ques- tion of probabilities to be worked ovt in the shrewd young brain. The robbery had been performed for the sake of the box alone. But who was it knew so well the position of that box? Who had a special reason for wanting it? Not the common burglars; but this well- dressed person who was the leader in the job. ‘‘ Does anybody s’pose as bow he’s goin’ to guv that there box to Jerry or Tim to freeze onto?’ continued Mickey. ‘‘Not much. I’m mighty sure he ain’t that kind of a hairpin. The box ain’t in Jerry’s caboose, and ther’ ain’t no use in me ’vestigatin’ it. Dve got to find out where t’otber one hangs out, and then ther’ll be some sense in workin’,” GoM OOKS=¢com