Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 521 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

‘Where is Captain Despard?” cried ’Roy, repulsing the girl’s demonstrations of delight. * He is not here,” ** And Thalia?” ‘* Absent also. But whatis the matter, Roy?” Ione had noticed the excitement the young man could not keep down. There was no answer. . ‘* Something has happened!” she cried, ‘‘ Has fortune taken a turn against us just when we almost feel the fortune In our palms? I[ don't want to be beaten now with all the work done. Think of the training I have gone through. I 4 . am fitted to play the heiress to perfection. Why, Thalia even declares that I am News- | aper Nell, without the rough edges that girl - as.’ *Roy had been thrown into bad humor by not finding Despard or Thalia in the house, He did not seem to hear the girl. ** When will they be back*” he asked. , ‘*Before long. If you will wait bere—” . ‘* Ali day, perhaps? I can’t afford to!” snapped PRR ‘* Yes, [one, something has happened.” ? , The girl instantly lost color. ie ** I've feared it would! To-morrow we are to 4 rake in the fortune. To-morrow we are to get , Merle Mallot’s money, for Newspaper Nell is safe, and that boy spy, Dodger Dick, as they call him—” ‘ _ “Well, what about him?” grinned Roy lean- Pi ing toward the girl. ‘Why, he is out of the way forever!” 3 The city flasher fell back and laughed. ‘* Who told you this?’ he suddenly asked. . ** Despard,” answered Ione, ’ ** When?” - ‘* Early this morning.” ) ‘* Ah! he was here since last night?” ** Yes.” | ‘Well, fone, there’s many a slip *twixt cup f and lip, and I fear this is one of them.” The beautiful girl uttered a long cry and stag- gered from ’Roy like a person in agony. ’ * ? CHAPTER XIII. THE LOST NEWSGIRL, ‘““THERE’s nothing for me here,” thought ’Roy | Surface. ‘I don’t want this girl to go on in jo my presence, and probably give the scheme | away to some one else in the house. Dll get away,” and he moved toward the door. But Ione, who had dropped into a chair, was up and at him lke a beautiful leopard. ‘**'You’ve got to tell me alli—everything, and that before you get away from here!” she ex- m claimed, springing between him and the door, Ly **'You have confessed that something has hup- pened, a slip ’twixt cup andlip, youcallit. Now, sir, whatisit? Is the fortune in danger?” Roy could not help admiring the beauty of the girl who confronted him in such excitement. He knew that without her the deep-laid scheme * for one hundred thousand and more would prop- f ably fail. | ‘* It may not be much after all, Ione,” he an- b swered, with a smile, intended to be reassuring. ¥ ‘You can’t deceive me. You let out a little too much awhile ago.”’ f} ‘‘ You are easily frightened, a shadow makes you tremble. Have courage, Ione,” The girlseemed to take hope. ‘¢Tt is not much, then?” she asked, “It is nothing.” ‘‘T am to be rich after all?’ rkled. ite A queen of gold.” ‘Good! I won’t have to play the missing heiress long. But, Roy: if the girl should get away, if Newspaper Nell should discover who she is, and place her cause in the hands of the right parties—” ' ‘Don’t conjure up something that cannot hap- pen,” interrupted the young flasher. ** You are the child cf Merle Mallot’s first partner, the child supposed by the up-town nabob to be dead, Don’t you see, Ione?” : om ve **Old Jerry Dunn told Despard the whole story before he could die in peace. We had to discover the real heir before we could play you fora trump card. Now that we've got every- thing in our hands, a few little things are not going to balk us.” ‘* How sanguine you are!” exclaimed the girl. it “Why should I not be? You will let me go f now, won’t you, Ione?” The girl drew back and let Roy to the door, and a minute later he was on the sidewalk. ‘*T had to paint things in their rosiest colors to get away from her,” he said to himself. ‘I must own that affairs don’t carry a roseate hue And her eyes a i —————————— ——— ——— ——————DLLBL LL LLL LL o 4 Dodger Dick’s Best Dodge. just now, but we'll again before long. Despard must pay more at- tention to his grip hereafter.” Brandon who was still on the alert saw Roy walk away from the house, He believed that by keeping track of the young man he would find Despard or Dodger Dick, and giving ’Roy a little start, he took his trail once more, In the mean time, Dan Despard had made a discovery which astonished him as much as one of a similar nature had amazed ’Roy. lt was not lonz after the young man’s visit to Bleecker street. Despard went there himself, and ascended to | the room on the second floor. He unlocked the door and found the place empty. The Dodger was gone! The boy he had caught in Newspaper Square and conducted to Bleecker street where he had choked him into insensibility, had vanished like an autumn snowflake, and Despard was staring at an empty cot. There was something startling in Dick’s dis- appearance, It meant more than mere escape, and nobody knew this better than Despard. ‘**'Thunderand guns! we’ ve got to push things!” cried the villain, turning from the scene that maddened him, ‘* The next time Ill know what my hands are doing. Merle Mallot bas kept his agreement with Thalia, for the ‘ personal’ is in the papers. We've got the nates fairly in the trap. He is willing to buy the papers back for one hundred thousand, but that is only a be- ginning. Here, I have lost the wharf Norway, but it won’t be for long. By Jupiter! it shall not be!” Out he went, locking the door behind him, and going down-stairs like one mad. ‘I think you’ve lost something, Mr. Despard,” laughed a boy who saw the Gotham sport emerge from the house, The next time you'll clip the wings of the birds you catch. I thought mine were effectually clipped, but the transom was just wide enongh to let me through. I like transoms o’ that sort, for ve tried ’em before; but no thanks to you, Cap’n Dan.” When Despard walked off he was seen by the speaker who was our young detective, Dodger ick, once more on deck and eager for action, Despard led the boy some distance when he dodged into the cigar store in front of which Brandon had previously watched ’Roy, as we have seell. ‘‘ Headquarters, eh?’ exclaimed the dock spy. ‘“You’re a cunning fox, Dan Despard, but if you don’t watch, you'll lead me to the papers which Merle Mallot says must be back in his hands within twenty-four hours.” Let us follow the New York tiger. The proprietor of the cigar store greeted him with a smile as he passed through and intoa Garsened room furnished wita chairs and several es. Despard did not pause until he had passed up a flight of steps, and found himself on the third floor of the building, A large and rather good-looking woman of forty met him, but not with any demonstrations of pleasure. ‘I wish you'd let me out of this job,” she said, ‘** I don’t like it.” ‘* Getting squeamish?” laughed the city sport. ‘*T don’t like it, I say,” was the answer, ‘“T have never kept jail betore. Besides, I believe the police suspect something.” ‘* Nonsense! They suspect nothing,” exclaim- ed Despard. ‘‘ You surround yourself with fears. You don’tsleep of nights,” ‘‘ That is true, and all on account of the per- son in there!’ And the woman pointed toward a door near by. ‘I wish I had never agreed to take your prisoner, Take her somewhere else, Mr, espard. Make some other person jailer; only relieve me!” ‘* You won’t have to keep guard much lon- ger,” answered the sport. ‘‘Ah!l yowre going to remove her, are you?” said the woman, her face brightening for a mo- ment, ‘* Before Jong Fanny.” ‘She is as bright as a button,” continued the woman, ‘She takes her imprisonment good- naturedly sometimes, and tales a good deal. She’s got a neat little sum laid up in one of the savings banks, all made out of her papers.” ‘* Does she look for rescue?’ asked Despard, eagerly, ‘J tbink not very soon, though she says she has friends who will not desert her.” ** Did she name them?” sc No ” “T believe I will go.” And Despard walked i 11 = them in that condition | to the door, but stopped and turned to the wo- man ‘* Perhaps she has retired,” he said. ‘* Bless you, no!” was the exclamation. ‘‘She sits up late reading. Walk in.” And Fanny opened the door. Despard crossed the threshold of a medium- sized room, and at once saw its occupant in the soft light that pervaded it, The next instant he was face to face with Newspaper Nell, the girl about whom a great many people were wondering, for she had been missed from her accustomed corner on the street. ‘ Nell was seated near a little table engaged with a book; but when she saw the Gotham sport advancing from the entrance, she flushed and left ber chair, Fanny the jailer had shut the door, and the newspaper girl was alone with the chief of the golden league, ‘** You don’t come often to see your prisoner, Mr. Despard,” said Nell, with a sarcastic smile. ‘‘[Tam very comfortably situated here, though this is not Mrs. Hollystone’s,” Despard was surprised at the girl’s cheerful- ness. He did not expect to find her in this mood, ‘*L.am glad you take things so cleverly,” he answered, hardly knowing how to meet her sally. Nellie was silent for a moment, , ‘‘ How goes the game?” she suddenly asked, ‘‘ What game, Nelly?” ‘Oho! When did you become obtuse, Daniel Despard?”’ was the laughing rejoinder, ** What game, is it? When did you last see your young yartner, Roy Surface, aud what does Merle Mallot offer for his lost documents?” Despard was astonished at the girl’s fund of information, and he did not at that moment think that she could have obtained it all during one visit to Dodger Dick. ‘* Why keep on the mask that hides nothing?” cried Newspaper Nell. ‘* You play a very poor hand, Captain Despard. One of these days all your birds will be at large, and the game for gold will run out with you in the dregs.” A fierce light flashed upin the city tiger’s eyes, ‘** You think yourself one of the birds destined 278 5 pence eh?” he cried, drawing close to the girl. Her dark orbs laughed at him. ‘*By Jupiter! I take pleasure in telling you that my cages always hold!” he exclaimed. ‘Since you like your present quarters, you will retain them. The game is progressing favor- ably, Nelly. Ha, ha! I thought l’d drop in to see how you were getting along. Fanny is a good jailer, but you don’t want to cross her girl. ou can’t afford to do it,” and Despard drew back and looked sternly at Neil. CHAPTER XIV, THE DODGER IN A BAD BOX, DESPARD soon afterward withdrew and left the newsgirl to herself. He had but one thing to worry him now, and that was the disappear- ance of the Dodger. If he could find the boy and throw a new net over him, he would be in a position to com- mand success, and be resolved to devote his time and energies to this purpose, When he left the building through the cigar store he did not see Dodger Dick who was on the watch, and when he started off, he had the young ferret once more at bis heeis. Dick had hopes of tracking Desnard to his permanent lodgings which he thought were either in, or not far from, the Bowery. Tne chief of the gold Jengue headed straight. for the latter place, and the young spy soon | saw bim strike the the well-known st: eet, After a short chase Dick located Despard in a well-to-do building which he believed contained the man’s rooms, If the villain lodged there, would not Merle Mallot’s stolen documents be on the premises? The Dodger did not quit the vicinity until Des: ard came out. The man was permitted to go away without being followed. Dick had another object in view. ‘* Now for a little spying out of the land!” ex- ; Claimed the wharf spv, hastening up to the house. ‘Pve had something to do with these Bowery houses in my time, and T know how to get at them. We’ll see what this thing amounts to. The first floor of the house from which Des- pard had just emerged was a notion store kept for the time hy a florid woman of ample avoir- dupois. When she saw the well-clad Dodger GOmMiG iS, OOO) 4 * oo we % bd o ‘ i ) é a “rea