Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 434 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

/ ; / . ' a - ———>_ ome, _— = —-— mes then he suddenly stepped forward with extended hand, exclaiming: , ‘By Heaven! can this be true—Christopher Guion?” ‘*Yes, it is I,” the old man replied, rising, “You did not expect ever to see me, Harring- ton?” “Tl give you my word of honor—no! I had altogether lost track of you, hearing occasional- ly that you were gradually going down to that end we all must reach.” . ‘* And forgetting, at the same time, that you hold a large sum of money of mine that, at my demise, must be accounted for!” What?” Sey ex-speculator’s face changed color very rapidly. ‘J nat as I remarked,” the elder man said, with wonderful composure. ‘‘Some five years ago I placed twenty thousand dollars in your hands to invest for me in speculation. You were'rated Al, on ’Change, and I never bother- ed myself particularly to look after the amount, . trusting in your honesty and our friendship of earlier days.” ** But—” Hold on! I am talking at present. Some time ago I learned that you had retired entirely from the stock business, and as you did not call around, I felt it my duty to call on you and come to a settlement.” Hurst grew excited. ** Come to a settlement?” he ejaculated. ‘‘ Do you mean to say that we are not already square?” _ * Most positively and assuredly not, Harring- ton. mh: shold your papers for the money de- ited. ** And J, also, hold your orders, which absorb the entire amount: investment, twenty thou- sand; profit, ten thousand; total, thirty thou- sand dollars!” And Mr. Hurst certainly looked triumphant. “My orders, sir?’ cried Mr. Guion, rising to his feet. ‘‘ Why, sir, what do you mean? I have given no orders, so far as the money I in- trusted to you is concerned,” “You have not ?” ‘*T have not /” _“* You have not issued and signed orders, from time to time, authorizing me to pay to one Gil- bert Guion, sums of money ranging from one thousand dollars up?” “Tf have not. I you hold such orders they are deliberate forgeries!” Harrington Hurst walked up and down the room, his brows contracted into a fearful scowl. But suddenly he brightened up. “By Heaven! if this be so,” he cried, ‘‘ I have at last got an offset against my dread enemy! You say these orders are forgeries?” ‘* Most assuredly. As you can Jearn, I have not issued an order for years, asI have done no business. Furthermore, I was not aware that you knew Gilbert Guion.” ‘*Indeed! [I have known him, to my sorrow. I first had an introduction to him on Third street. He was an affable fellow, and soon won my Pasypapp and finally induced me to let him have a lodging room in my own house. He appeared to have plenty of money, and specu- lated quite successfully in stocks, and so I final- ly took himin. At last, however, unfortunate- ly for me, he got a grip on me that I was pow- erless to shake off, nd he has held it ever giuce,” ‘* ‘Well, well! this is indeed news tome. So Gilbert has been playing the villain, has he? Well, well! I always had an,idea he was not above villainy. But tell me all about it, Har- rington. You and I were always on good terms, and you can trust me, you know. Tell me what this power is that my grandson holds over you?” ; Harrington Hurst hesitated a moment; then he drew his chair nearer to his visitor and sat down. Pay ‘“‘T will tell you,” he said, in a hoarse, unna- tural tone; ‘‘but you will be the first one to know it. will bare my guilt for once, and make a clean breast of the facts, as they are, T resume you have heard rumors concerning my amily trouble?” | ‘*T was told, some three years ago, that your wife and youngest daughter had committed sui- ‘cide by drowning in the Delaware.” ‘*Tt will never be known that such was the case, as no bodies were found. The only reason for the belief is, that my wife had often told her lady friends that she had a great mind to drown herself, She was very sensitive, and yet a wo- man of t force of character. “Well, you see, the cause of our family trou- ble wasrum, Upto a year ago I had a Jim Beak and Pal, Private Detectives. ee eae <- -- = pretty stiff drinker, on which account we had more or less family jangles, and I am willing, now that it is too late, to admit that | was the principal one in fault. ‘About three years ago I took my eldest daughter to Germany to finish her education and after'a tour by myself, in which I visited Baden Baden and Monte Carlo, I returned home. Liquor had pretty well gotten the Bebe hand of me, and I was far from being a pleas ant man. ‘One night, when I was intoxicated, I had a quarrel with my wife, and actually threw her into the street, and locked the door on her. M 4 daughter Helen escaped by the rear way. Short- ly afterward I awoke to a sense of the unjust act [ had committed, and went forth in search of my wife and child. But I could not find them, or obtain the slightest clew to their whereabouts. ‘The next morning’s papers reported that one of the hands on a ferryboat had seen two bodies floating in the river—women's bodies, But, al- though I caused a search to be made for them, they were never found. ‘*Oh God! you can never know what I have suffered, Mr. Guion, since that fatal night! ‘Tt was a few days afterward that your grandson showed his cloven foot. He came to me and positively asserted that he and three other men had seen me push two women off of a wharf into the Delaware the night my wife and daughter disappeared, and that, unless I chose to pay well for it, they would cause my arrest for the murder!” ‘* Horrible!” “You may well say so, I was thunderstruck —dumfounded, I tried to assert my innocence but was only laughed at, and warned that [ had re choice of paying ‘ hush-money,’ or going to jail! mo And, did you accede to this villain’s de- mand?” ‘* What else could Ido? I was grief-stricken, and felt guilty for what I had done; and then, too, the mysterious disappearance of my wife and child, had created a great talk in the neigh- borhood, and I was looked upon with suspicion —or at least, I thought.I was. It was generally known, around here, that we had not lived hap- pily, and the people seemed to take an insane de- ight in staring at me whenever an opportunity was afforded. Therefore, what could I do but become the slave of Gilbert Guion? Did I re- fuse, he swore to testify against me, and to pro- duce three other witnesses to corroborate his testimony. The chances were ten to one that I would have been led to the gallows, within a twelve-month. So nothing was left for me but to yield to his demands,” Well?” “ At first, he went lightly, taking as low as a hundred ata time. After a while he gave me the orders from you, I was suspicious, but on comparing the writing with former writing I had of yours, I could see no difference, and con- cluded the orders were genuine, and cashed them. After your balance had been exhausted, to a dollar, Gilbert renewed his demands for mo- ney, and would not listen toless than a thousand ata time. Had I not possessed a large fortune, he would have made me a beggar, ere this. In all, including your orders, he has taken over seventy thousand dollars, by this blackmailing scheme. Some six months ago he announced that my daughter Hazel,who had returned from Europe, beautiful and accomplished, must become hig wife, and that I must persuade her to do so, un- der penalty of exposure to the law.” ‘¢ The detestable wretch!” ‘‘ Worse than that. I endeavored to buy him off, but he would not listen to it. He did not want money, but wanted my daughter, and com- pelled me to promise that I would use all my in- fluence in his behalf.” Mr. Hurst then went on, and narrated what is known to the reader; all about Hazel’s strange marriage, the missing certificate, and Hazel’s recent flight, ending with: ‘So you see, Christopher, as a man, I am re- markably and bitterly cursed. I am at the mercy of a demon, and probably shall die thus, unless I can use the forged orders to checkmate him.” And Harrington Hurst buried his face in his hands, and was plainly both sorrowful and re- pentant. Mr. Guion had listened attentively, and thoughtfully. It was several seconds before he spoke, and a singularly weird silence pervaded the room in the mean time. . Finally he said: ‘‘ Harrington, I have listened to, and consid- 1$ —————- + - — | ee ee ee CS . ~-« - ———- ee eee i ered your story, and, believe me, I truly pity you. Youare getting old as well as i, and it pains me to see you going down to your grave so unhappy. Perbape, aged and infirm as lam, Tecan lift this weight, with a power as firm as that belonging to younger years. Will you give me those forged orders, Harrington?” ‘* What?’ The ex-speculator looked up, as if he did not fully comprehend. ‘* Give you those orders?” ‘‘Yes—to be used for the sake of banishing this power that is bowing you down.” B. How can you do that? ‘That remains to be seen. But I can do it. Give me the orders, and promise me to remain right here at home, inactive and quiet, and I will get you out of Gilbert’s power.” sé nd—”’ ‘*T will do more. I will use my best en- deavors to restore your Caughter to you, on con- ditions.” ‘* Name them!” ‘‘They are that, if she still loves the man to whom she was so strangely married, and desires to live with him as a wife, you will take them in and treat them as daughter and son.” ‘Why these conditions?” ‘For the sake of harmony.” Hurst arose, and went to his safe; he opened ~ it, and speedily returned with a small package of papers. “There they are,” he said. this load that is bearing me down, do so, act entirely according to your wishes.” ‘Very well. Remain quietly at home, as I have said, and pay no attention to Gilbert Guion’s threats. henever I am prepared to spring the trap on him, I will let you know. I must be going, now,” Hurst showed him to the door, and watched him get into the coupe, As the driver gathered up the reins, the ex- speculator caught sight of the face of Nellie otts, With a groan, he staggered back into the ves- tibule, and fell to the floor, in a swoon, while the Guion equipage rolled ref its occupants not aware of what had happened, “Tf you can lift I will CHAPTER XIII. THE VAIN SEARCH, Jim Brak looked on with a scowl, as the Spider entered his office, with his bootblack har- angue and song. ‘* Where have you been?’ he demanded. ‘‘*Pipin’ old Jake,” was the response, as the gamin dropped upon a chair. ‘‘ Got any cigars,, or chewin’, or gum, or liquorice, or taffy?” ‘‘No! What in the world caused you to neg- lect my business, to follow old Jake Morgan?” ‘*Interlect! 1 see’d by ther glim in the old house-pirate’s eye thet he was in fer suthin’ or other, sich, so I follered to enjoy the fun.” ‘* And bad your trouble for your pains,” ‘* Nixee! I had pains fer my trouble. I wus all cramped up on top of a bale o’ rope, an’ when I tried to straighten out my shanks I near got the lockjaw—fact!” ‘Nonsense! If you’ve got anything worth telling tell it, and no more funny business.” “Well, I'll give it to you straight, and in short chunks, Follered Jake; Jake went to wharf, "bove South street; went out on wharf, behind stacks 0’ rope; I wasn’t fur off; byme- by, ‘long comes man; goes out on wharf; meets Jake; I follers; gits on top o’ rope; listens! Aire that short enuff? Kin make it shorter, ef ye want, as fer instance—” “That will do! Who was the man who went out on the wharf—did you know him?” ‘You bet! It was Gilly Guion—land-lubber, smouger, double-decker—’ “ Gilbert Guion?’ the detective interrupted, in amazement. “You bet!” That same snoozer in a new vole, as the theatrical fakirs say.” ‘‘ Go on; I am interested.” ‘‘ Well, there’s where my oration ends, Ef you wanter know what transpired, heer’s my re- port, word fer word. Yer see, Jamesy, yer didn't teach me pacnrereny all fer nothin’, I’m as fly as ther next one, ef my name isn’t Vanderbilt, an’ a gold.spoon in me mouth:” and the youth handed the detective a couple of sheets of paper, on which were the many curious hieroglyphics, peculiar to short-hand-writing. Beak’s face assumed a looked of pleasure, as he surveyed the work of his apt pupil. He was an accomplished ph her, him- self, and had made Spider his pupil, in dull ea with a result that was highly satisfactory m. His face betrayed that he was not a little sur- micboo (Ee) cS