Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 423 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

CG The Lost Finger. ow oe SO oO CC eee covered. I will be ruined. And the worst of it | is that key. I will be suspected of having a hand in the burglary. Harry Foster, you must save me! If you refuse, I will drown myself.” ** Keep cool, my boy. There is no need of all | this excitement. How much have you taken? | What do you want me to do?” ‘*Three hundred dollars. Lend me that amount. I will return it out of my salary, and I will bless you forever, Harry, for saving me from the consequences of my first and last crime.” ‘I didn’t think you were such a fool, Will. But I don’t want to see you quite gotoruin. If you will solemnly promise—’ ve will take a solemn oath never to speculate again. ““ Then I will loan you the money.” ed scornfully. Then‘a look of deep indignation colored his brow. ‘* Here is all 1 have about me,” he hotly ex- claimed, emptying his pockets on the table. ‘* There is my pocketbook. You are at liberty to examine its contents. This is an extraordi- nary outrage.” Paying little attention to his words the two men coolly opened the pocketbook and poured out on the table the bank notes it contained. These they quickly ran over. ‘* Nothing crooked there,” said the speaker, shaking his head. ‘Very well. Do you want to examine my person? I am ready to submit.” : The officer looked him over from head to oot. ‘*T think there is no occasion for that, Mr, Davis, speechless with gratitude, caught Har- | Foster. We have no reason to think that you ry’s hand and pressed it fervently to his li ps. | have this marked money concealed in your cloth- ‘**There, there, my poor fellow! Do try and-| ing.” calm yourself. You would do as muchforme,; ‘Then tell me what this means,” exclaimed in the same situation. Here, take this, There | Harry, in hot anger. ‘* Who lodged this vile in- is about what you want.” | formation against me? I demand to be con- He drew from his pocket the roll of bank- | fronted with my accuser!” notes which dtmimviaed his winnings at the gam- ‘“Wecan tell you nothing, sir. We are not ing house, and which he had carelessly thrust | in the secrets of the office. By calling there to- there. These he pressed into Davis’s hand. morrow I have no doubt you can obtain full ‘* Now, not a word. Take it and go home. | satisfaction. But I believe the information Try and get somé sleep, and level up your head | came to the office in a letter.” for to-morrow.” | ‘* Then I must and will sce that letter.” ‘I shall never forget your kindness, Harry,” ‘* Very well, sir. I presume it will be at your murmured the poor fellow, affected almost to ; service.” The man’s voice was polite but cold. tears. ‘‘And I will die rather than try such a | There was a strange expression on his face. game again. One experience of this kind is | ‘‘One word more before we go. If I were you, enough.’ | when I burned letters and threw the ashes on the ‘“* Off with you now, to bed. am going.” Harry smiled as he again mounted the door- steps and took out his key. “That same temptation has ruined many a weak-minded simpleton. It would be better for the honor of the country if Wall street were sunk to the bottom of the sea. Atany rate, I don’t fancy Davis will do it again.” He was humming an air from the opera as he opened the door of his sitting-room. He paused and stood trausfixed in surprise. He had good reason for astonishment. The room was brightly lighted up. Two men sat by the table, both strangers to him, and evidentl of a different class of society to that from which he chose his friends. There were indications of confusion about the papers in his desk, as if they had been rudely handled. ‘** What does this mean?” he sternly demanded. *““Who are you} By what right have you taken ion of my room?” He advanced with a face hot with indi ““Mr. Harry Foster, isn’t it?’ ask the men. ‘“*T imagine so. Nobodyelse has a right to in- trude here at this hour of the night.” “Then you'll have to excuse us if we've han- dled things a little rough. Don’t often make such late visits, but orders is orders. We'll thank you to show np the contents of your pockets.” ‘“*Ha! You are burglars, then?’ cried Harry, springing back and seizing the bell-pull. ‘* You are here to rob me?” That is where I | hearth, I would take better care to see that | there were no unburnt corners left.” Harry looked at him, with a sick feeling at his heart. ‘*T do not understand you,” he faltered. ‘*T wish simply to say that I have picked up a very interesting slip that was not = burned, There are not many words on it, but they are quite striking.” He held before Harry’s face a blackened corner of the burnt letter. The alarmed gentle- man looked on it with dilated eyes. It contain- ed parts of two lines, is startled gaze read the dangerous and ac- cusing words, which by some strange chance had been alone preserved: “torn off my opal ring.”’ The officer looked into the whitened and scared face of the startled gentleman. ‘‘ Well, sir,do you feel inclihed to explain these words?” ‘* Not now, or here,” cried pomale hurriedly, ‘‘ At the proper time and place. Is there any- thing more?” ‘“No. We will bid you good-night. And hope you may have pleasant dreams.” His visitors left the room. derstruck, gazing after them with wildly staring eyes. ‘Oh! that terrible chance!” be muttered, de- airingly. ‘‘How shall it ever be explained? What shall I say if Iam questioned? Howscreen _ Estelle from this fatal business? I know not! I know not!” tion. one of ‘Oh, no!” answered the man, without stir- He flung himself in des ti : ’ bag pe : ‘ peration on the bed poi “If I was you [ wouldn’t raise a disturb- | and buried his face in the pillows. He was be- yond the power of thought. CHAPTER V. THE MARKED MONEY. ‘‘T HAVE a few words for your ear, Harry,” said Mr. Ditson to Foster, as he entered the bank ata late hour on the morning after the events just recorded. ‘‘ There was one matter connected with that robbery which I kept from you, and from everybody, by the advice of Mr. Sharp, the detective. But something has oc- curred this morning of so strange a character that it can no longer be kept secret.” ‘* Ah!” answered Foster, with a shadow of ap- prehension. ‘‘I fancied I knew it all. _ What new complication has turned up? Anything re- lating to that finger?” ‘‘No. That remains as deep a mystery as ever. Detective Sharp has done his best, but as yet he is completely off the track. He has his lines thrown out in a hundred directions, but he has caught no fish.” Harry smiled. He would far rather have lost all the money than have a shadow of doubt at- tach to the lady of his love. ‘* What is it, then‘” ‘‘It is this. Among the money deposited by Jenkins the drover on the day before the rob- bery there were a number of marked bank- notes. They were somc he bad received from a vept the landlady, and there’s no use in letting everybody know it.” Harry dropped his hold of the bell pull and advanced straight towardthem. He had changed ‘is mind about their being burglars. ““'Who are you? What do you want?” ‘* There is our warrant, Mr. Foster,” answered the man, laying an official document on the table. ‘*‘ Weare officers of the law, sent here on business. Just read that paper. You will find that it is a search-warrant, regularly issued by Judge Brown. We have completed our search of your room. Now we must scarch our person.” “A search-warrant!” answered Harry, full of amazement. ‘‘To search for what? On what charge? On your lives don’t lay a hand on me till this outrage is fully explained!” ‘*T have no objection to tell you,” answered the officer. ‘‘I hope, for your sake, there is nothing in it, for itisa mighty awkward busi- ness, It seems there was some marked money among that stolen inthe Ditson burglary. Now information has been left at the office that some of this marked money has been seen in your possession. We have been directed to make search immediately, before you could possibly di of it.” stood the pre A dozen sensations marked his face. There’s nobody knows we are here, ex- of varying emotions, He laugh- ' Harry stood thun-. ne <_< SSSssssl doubtful customer and had marked himself. He told me of this the next day, and described how they were marked. These notes formed part of the stolen money.” ‘* Ha!” excaimed Harry, impulsively. ‘* That explains, then. I hope you had nothing to do with that outrage. Yet you say it was a secret between you and the detective.’ His voice was full of indignation, as he fixed his eyes severely on Mr. Ditson’s puzzled face. The banker evidently did not know what to make of those words. ‘* What are you driving at?) What outrage? I don’t understand this wild talk.” ‘* Then you are not aware that my rcoms were visited and searched last. night by law officers, and that I was even obliged to empty my pock- ets for their inspection? It seems I was charged with having some of these marked notes in my possession.” ‘“By whom? Good heavens! Foster, this is an outrage indeed! I would sooner suspect myself than you. What gave the police the right to make such a seareh?” ‘* An anonymous letter, they say. They were informed that I hed been seen with some of these notes, and that I might get rid of them unless searched at cnze. Who sent this anony- mous letter, Mr. Ditson, if the affair was the se- cret you claim?” ‘Don’t ask me!” cried Mr. Ditson, help- lessly. ‘* The thing is getting beyond my de th. It is a complete bundle of mysteries, The matter must have leaked out at the police office, and got into the hands of some of your enemies. Suppose some of the burglars had heard of it, and concealed part of the stolen money in your room, and then made this charge against you? Such things have been done be- fore.” Harry shook his head, with a smile. ‘*T hardly think that Ccetective Sharp is that sort of a leaky vessel. And besides, no such money was found in my room. Iam ata lossto understand the business. Ivt what, then. did rou refer to? What is tho strange thing that hae happened?” ‘See here.” Mr. Ditson picked up scme bank notes that lay on the table kefcre him, and threw them over to Harry. ‘Examine the backs of these. Look here in this corner. That is Jenkins’s private mark.” ‘* Where did you get these?’ ‘*They were found in the bank this morning.” ‘‘ Ah! Hidden somewhere?” ‘“No. They turned up among our regular cash. These are not all. Over two huncred dollars in this money have been found.” Harry sat back in his chair, and looked at Mr. Ditson with a puzzled expression, ‘* That is very strange,” he said. ‘*T should think so.” ‘* How do yeu account for it?” nti I have just seen Sharp, I will give you his theory. ‘* Very well. He should be able to see through a knot-hole.” ‘Tt has given him a new view of the case. He is satisfied now that some of our clerks were concerned in the birglary. He thinks they found that their money was marked, and were afraid to dispose of it.” ** And what then?” : ‘‘ They replaced itin the drawers, and took out an equal sum in other money.” Harry drew a long breath. “That seems to explain it,” he remarked. ‘* But it makes the information against me more mysterious than ever.” ‘*T am not so sure of that.” ‘‘'Why? Do you see a way through it?” ‘‘Tt may have been a scheme to lay the sus- picion of this returned money on you.’ Harry looked at his superior with a startled expression. ‘‘By Heaven, you may be right! But what docs Siieep say? I know he doubted me fram the first, because I could not look on that bloody finger with the coulness of a butcher. Does he charge me with this?” ‘“No. The fact is, Harry, we have traced the notes. They all came from Will Davis’s desk. This confirms a suspicion which Sharp has al} along entertained. Davis carries the key of the bank, and the detective declares that the door was regularly opened by the key. Here we have two very suspicious points against Wilk Davis.” , “Tt looks so,” said Harry thoughtfully. ‘What have you done? I was delayed this morning, you know, by that Johnson business. But I did not notice Davis as I entered.” ‘* He has been arrested, and taken away.” ‘“VYyhew! That is sudden. Too sudden, E