Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 512 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

| | RES hs a Ns Pay one A OMEN RSP oo Be ty een eH, ; sy el - Pak ome. J ; | § ‘. > ‘ : nN” . . rf lac ry = E a Dodger Dick. 13 Y ‘ the person or persons who attempt to balk me. ‘‘Solomon Strauss, vot sells clodings on Bax- The young sport turned pale. it I don’t want any of your advice, Alice. Let | ter street.” ‘What is the charge against me?’ he de- mH me alone. Gcod night, When your wharf-rat ‘Oh! Well, Solomon, what do you want!” manded. 5 detective shows up, drop me a line, ha, ha!” ‘“T vants ter talk mit you, Larry.” ‘*‘ Abduction—brought by the boy here. He aye but failed to reco And while his laugh rung in Motber Stur- if geon’s ears the door opened and shut, and he was gone! CHAPTER XV. THE RAT AT LARGE, WueEn Larry Lang awoke the next morning his first thought was of the girl who had escaped the night before. He again wondered if, she kad gone back to Mrs, Hartwick’s. _ * One thing is certain; I have not tumbled in- to the arms of the police!” he exclaimed. ‘‘ Rosa , will relate her story with much embellishment | to the reporter, and he will proceed to turn the thumb-screws of the law on me, I must beat them both. Fergus Fleece may keep the paper he stole from me as it cannot do me any good now. Give me a chance and I'll give them all the slip!” Larry resolved first to discover whether Rosa | had returned to her boarding-house and second- ji ly, to get beyond the clutches of the law as speedily as possible. His t move was to slip quietly from the hotel and repair toa i vientehatit clothing store where he exchanged his fashionable clothes for a suit a little frayed, but passably genteel. Then he purchased a set of false whiskers suitable for his age, and thus disguised, set out for Mrs. o Hartwick’s. ¥ When he had rung the dour-bell of the widow’s -_ hoarding-house he waited coolly for her appear- ¢ ance, and when she opened the door, and stood i before him, Larry tipped his hat politely and £ wished her good-morning in a tone entirely un- Ve like his usual one. ; Mrs. Hartwick gave him a searching look, ize him, to see on business a young ‘*T have call fig ra rs woman who boards here,” Larry began. i name is Rosa Rogers—” | ‘Rosa has not come home!” exclaimed Mrs. Hartwick. ‘‘ Where will I find her?” ‘‘T do not know.” | “ But she boards with you?” ‘“‘ When she is here.’ Larry drew back. | ; ‘‘T will come again,” he continued. ‘‘ I want- ‘| ed tosee her for my employer, Philip Potts, of Duane street. Rosa sews some, I believe?” sé Yes.” “T thought so. She may be in to-morrow. I will call again to see her.” He went away. ‘‘The disguise is perfect,” he said to himself. ‘‘Mrs, Hartwick has seen me hundreds of times, but she failed to recognize me, Rosa has not re- turned. In fortune’s name what became of the girl last night?” And Larry’s face got a puzzled look, The young man felt more at ease as he walked from the house where he had tried bis disguise to his satisfaction. He did not know where to look for Jack o’ Diamonds, as the crook had nu- merous haunts, and he did not know anything ny ha! about Red Reynard’s arrest, x - He avoided the cars and kept to the sidewalk, where he stood in Jess danger of recognition. ‘¢ Hello!” suddenly cried a voice at his elbow. ‘‘ Vere you grow dot beard, eh, Meester Larry?” The words went through the young sport like Retas Ass x Gee. = a a knife. ‘‘T know the man without looking!” mentally decided Larry. ‘It is my old employer, Solo- mon Strauss, the last person I want to meet.” ae Py The next moment there was a hand at his ee Lys. % sleeve. ‘Don’t run away, Larry. I vants ter talk ter mine old clerk vot I lose all of a sudden - gome days ago,” continued the hawk-billed Jew who had confronted the young man. Larry’s first impulse was to knock the man down and run, but he saw that such action would only raise a hue and cry, and eventuallv - Jand him in the hands of the police. ~ It was a Jewish holiday, and Solomon Strauss, arrayed in his best clothes, was enjoying it when he ran against his former clerk. “What did you call me?” suddenly asked Larry, assuming an indignant expression, as he - Jooked into the Jew’s face. ‘“You vas mine old clerk, Larry Lang. I vould know you ’mong a t’ousand peoples. Vot you wear d for, h _ * “Larry Lang, am I?” cried the young sport. You don’t want n e me for one of your wace, Who are you! a % a ia - ah, ~, +i > Si eT) *< be - as r >. <t a cis daca deem, Pees -— *? . " 7. = 3) says that Mr. Solomon Strauss, your former em- ployer, will probably bring another charge,” the officer answered, ‘*He will do nothing of the kind,” exclaimed Larry. ‘As for the charge of abduction, it won’t hold water.” ‘‘Not if Rosa comes forward and tells her story?” put in the boy. sé osa ” ‘*- You didn’t find the girl at Mrs. Hartwick’s, did you? Well, I should whisper not, my light- fingered clerk o’ Baxter street! Rosa will be on band when wanted; don’t give yourself any un- easiness on that score.” Larry made no reply, and in silence he was conducted from the scene of his mishap with the hand of the stalwart officer at his wrist. The game was up, and he had tarried too long near the scene of his last play. The Dodger did not lose sight of Larry until he saw him beyond the doors of the station, and when he walked from the building there was a smile on his lips. ‘‘One more, the boss of the gang, and my work isdone. If I could, I’d let him go, for a certain woman’s sake, but Justice wants him under cover.” Dick spoke thus while he hurried away watch- ed though he knew it not by a man who had seem him land his prisoner at the station-house. CHAPTER XVI. THE STORY OF THE TRAP. ‘* ALIVE, by the powers!” growled the mam by whom Dick Sly was watched like a bawk. ‘Did the two rats play me false in ‘the chapel? Woe to their skins !f they went back on Jack o” Diamonds!” Meantime Dick had turned into a by-street and was making good time down the pavement. Jack o’ Diamonds bad not lost sight of him, but he kept at a respectful distance unseen by the young dock spy detective. Not long afterward the Dodger entered & house and was greeted by Donald Dustin, the young reporter, who uttered an exclamation of surprise at sight of him. ‘That was a fine drubbing you gave Larry!” eried Dick, dropping into a chair before Donald could begin the twenty questions at his lips. ‘* You heard of it?” “Yes. I am told that you went for him im good style. You couldn’t wait, Donald?” “No. The pag Hi of the fellow incensed me. I presume he will now play a new game against Rosa.” ‘¢ He will do nothing of the kind.” ‘* What do you know?” ‘‘Larry has made new acquaintances.” ‘Who are they?” ‘The police.” ‘‘ What! bas he fallen into their hands?” “* He has.” _ ‘‘Not now. I have business up-town.” | The grip of the Jew tightened. Mr. Strauss was not to be hoodwinked by a | falsehood. | “Mine shop ish just around der corner,” he | remarked. ‘* You will go mit me, Larry. Dare | ish some dings I wants hexplained.” No wonder Larry drew back, | He did not want to be faced by the pecula- tions he had committed while in the Jew’s em- | ploy. He knew he could not make them gcod, and Solomon Strauss was not very forgiving. A few feet away stood a burly policeman, who | seemed ready to step to Solomon’s assistance, | and a glance at him made Larry apparently do- cile. There was a glitter in the Jew’s eyes, and a moment later Larry was conducted away. “Tf L don’t give this sheeny the slip may I never see fortune’s face again!” he muttered. ‘‘T know what will follow if he gets me beyond his doors. I'll bestripped of every cent I have, and Mrs. Strauss, a real lioness, will hold me up while her husband works the racket. You’ve caught a hawk instead of a pigeon, Solomon. Go on and let me prove it.” Just around the corner was Baxter street, and the part struck by Larry and his captor was the clothing merchant’s paradise of New York. Larry went with the Jew without opposition. He wondered bow Solomon had penetrated his disguise when Mrs. Hartwick had not. He did not know that bis gait, which he had not chang- ed, had given him away to his old employer. In a little while the Jew conducted Larry into an alley at the mouth of which stood his place of business whose interior was familiar to the young man. At a rude door Solomon stopped and produced a key. , How's my time!” passed through Larry’s mind. ‘If he gets mein the trap, I’li come out used up, if I get-out atall.” The next moment just as Solomon was open- ing the door he had unlocked, Larry jerked back. he Jew uttered a loud cry and turned. ‘Not yet, my old fox!” ejaculated Larry, as he caught the Israelite who sprung at him, and held him at arm’s length. ‘I don’t go intc your trap. If you follow me, or raise a cry rl give away your transactions abont those con- emned goods, and the fire!” ‘Mine Gott! vot you say?’ gasped the Jew, suddenly white. ‘*T’ll blow that fire business to the police!” was the answer. “ into your shop and let | me go in peace, I guess I hold the best hand, Solomon, I didn’t want to say this on the street, but I can tell you heres Now, go!” He pushed the Jew toward the door which opened as he.touched it, and the next instant “ieee Strauss pitched headlong into his own ouse. ‘‘My card was played at the right time!” | ‘* What is the charge against him?” sot Larry, as he turned away. ‘‘ Abduction, with Rosa as the prosecuting: The city sport was atthe mouth of the alley | witness.” ‘** Then she has been found?” ** Rosa is found |” Dick’s last sentence was the greatest surprise of all. Donald sprung forward and caught the | boy’s arm. Rosa found? Where is she, boy?” * Found! | again, and a moment later had joined the pedes- trians. Nobody, apparently, had witnessed his en- counter with the Jew, and he had congratulated himself on this score. ‘‘Give me an hour, and I will cease to bea citizen of Gotham!” he cried. ‘There, that is the man!” ejaculated a voice near bim at that moment. Larry heard every word, and was thrilled. All at once a hand that seemed to give bim an electric shock was laid on his shoulder, - *m the man,” thought Larry. The following second he had been brought to a standstill, and was looking into the face of a large man, That is the fellow; that is Mr. Larry Lang!” exclaimed a youthful voice, and Larry saw a boy step to the man’s side. ‘‘He’s got false whiskers on, and all that, but I know him. [ve followed him all the way from his hotel.” ' Larry was thunderstruck. He had been fol- lowed, and the boy was a spy. “ Who is this young imp of Satan?” he flashed, leaning toward the boy, whose eyes had a spar- kle of victory and delight, ‘‘ T'm Dick Sly, the Dodger o’ the docks!” was the answer. . “You that wharf imp! Why, I thought that—” ‘That Jack o’ Diamonds’s trap in ‘the chapel’ caught me, eb, Larry?” laughed the lad. ‘‘l’'m here to prove that the trap caught no- body. I guess you’re the man I want.” | “T thought I would startle you,” laughed Dick, his eyes sparkling like twin stars. ‘‘ You’d robably fly to her right away and leave me to ollow at my leisure if I told you, Just waita bit. I have a little more news.” ‘‘Go on!” cried the impatient youth. ‘“‘ You look like you know moret a morning paper.” “Our old friend Jack o’ Diamonds sprung a trap under the docks a few hours ago,” contin- ued the boy detective. **On you ” ‘On ‘ Richard Sly, Esquire,’ as Silas Seldon would call me, His tool, Tony Whack, lured me to ‘the chapel’ where wasset a trap of which I knew nothing till yesterday. I was warned in a strange manner, and by a boy who is worth his weight in gold to Jack o’ Diamonds if he can play his big game out. I was on my way to ‘the chapel’ when I was touched by some- thing in the darkness, and then I heard a low voice. I got down and felt with my hands, for I could not see anything, and discovered a boy who gave the whole scheme away. “T was told not to go to the middle of ‘the chapel’ which is a hollow under the wharf. The boy who called himself ‘Prince Peter’ then told me about the plan for my destruction, a plan which he had heard discussed by Jack o» ’ (E(e) AAS