Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 524 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

# i, a Y + Po ' - i ad 4 7 * .« , += on Qa ¥ A, ap ‘2 4 . goa: but for the pre ne edle i _ = « * . * 5) q > * 7 * g . eile . a - These rooms were on the second floor, and over or nearast to the piazza. , It will be remembered that Mme. Sibylla had asked for such rooms especially, and Parlors No. 2 and No. 4, with their adjoiming rooms, were the only suites enjoying that distinction, Slipping to one of the windows, Frank ralsed it and looked out. Everything was clear, and if the windows of the other rooms were only unfastened, it would be an easy matter for him to get in. Stepping out boldly, he was about to advance to the next window, when, suddenly, a new thought restrained him. ‘‘Great smoke!” he exclaimed, ‘‘ how do I know but they have returned here.” He made a rather hasty if * Going back into Parlor No, 2, he paused to consider the point. How should he proceed? There seemed to be but one way, He would have to go out into the ball and knock at the door. He would knock loudly, and if no one an- swered he could pretty safely conclude that there was no one at home, This he did. He knocked two or three times, quite loudly each time, but no answer came. Satisfied then, that they were vacant, he re- turned to Ralph's room and once more got out through a window, Advancing quickly, then, to the next window, he found to his immense satisfaction that it was unfastened, In a moment he was within the room he de- sired to search, He first of all looked to the door, He had no- ticed that the one in the other parlor was secured with a spring lock, that could be opencd from the inside without the aid of a key, or could be fastened within so that no key could open it from without. This one proved to be of the same sort. _Fastening it, so that no one could surprise him by coming in suddenly, he turned his at- tention then to the trunks. Both were locked. ‘*This is bad,” Frank confessed_to himself, ‘“‘T certainly dare not force them. I have quite a number of keys, though, aad itis barely pos- sible that one of the lot may fit one or the other of the locks.” He tried them, first on the larger of the trunks, but without avail. Then he turned to the second, or smaller one. He had little hopes, but, much to his surprise, the very first key he tried turned the lock, This was encouraging, and he quickly threw up the lid. The trunk seemed to contdin nothing but clothes, but, Frank was not satisfied with a glance, and he proceeded to explore it. Taking care to remove each article and place it so that he could return it at a moment’s no- tice, he took the clothes out piece by piece. Presently he found articles of man’s wear, as well as the dresses, etc. of the woman’s, and, a moment later, he drew out a coat that caused to leap to his feet with an exclamation of surprise! cloth seemed to be of the same kind as the little piece he had found under the nail. P Hurrytag to a window, the Engineer-Detec- tive lost no time in taking the piece from his ketbook aud comparing it. It yi the — : Eagerly, then; he searched for the place from which the piece had been torn, x But he failed to find it. Imagine his disappointment, “There are always more than one suit of clothes cut from the same pestern of cloth,” he mused, ‘‘and this clew is of no use to me unless I can find the very garment trom which it came. But let me look again, perhaps the trowsers are there, t00. : With feverish haste he turned again to the _ trunk, and dived into it once more. on ore moments’ search brought the garment to light. Turning back to the window, he unfolded the trowsers, and then instantly uttered an exclam- ation, for there, in one leg, just below the knee was, evidently, the very hole from which the Sin little piece had been plucked by the sharp-pointed ‘By heavens!” Frank exclaimed, “I am on the right trail now! This is better luck than I deveq dream of. No wonder almere No wonder they are not here. And, seeing them as they roubie in ng them. Poor old Daddy! your death shall be avenged now,” and gazed at the evidence he held no doubt have The Engineer Detective. in his bands, and for some minutes he was silent and thoughtful. How should he proceed?” His first idea was to call the clerk and a police- man, and put the room in his charge. © No, that would not do. The police should have nothing to do with the case if he could help i t. Nor would he call the clerk. No, he would repack the trunk, exactly as he had found it, keeping nothing out, and would go at once and procure a warrant of arrest, He would not apply at the Central Office, but would go to a justice whom he knew and whose office had no connection with the Police Court in a direct way: one being under the county authority and the other attached to the city. He lost no time, As soon as the trunk was put in order as he had found it, and locked, he left the room, not by way of the window thistime, but by the door in the manner explained. He was more than satisfied with his progress. Leaving the hotel, he set out at once to find the justice he had in mind, and half an hour later was armed with a warrant for the arrest of Mr. and Mrs, Palmere. In the mean time, barely had he been gone fifteen minutes from the hotel, when an Express- wagon rattled up and stopped before it, and ‘* Brace” Tyler sprung down from his seat and entered the office. ot CHAPTER XI, IT GROWS INTERESTING, WHEN Mr. Palmere and ‘“‘ Mme, Sibylla” entered ‘ Brace” pda By house, and the door closed after them, Brace led them into his best room, There was a woman there whom he intro- duced as his wife. She was a coarse-featured creature, and quite shperen none too honest. race invited his calle:s to be seated, and then remarked. . ‘*So, Burke, old boy, somethin’ has bu’sted, eh? Well, things will bist once ina while, It seems ter be th’ natur’ of ’em, An’ ye’ve come here to git out o’ sight fer th’ present, eh? Well, as I said afore, you’re welcome. But what is th’ racket?” ‘* Well, Brace,” Burke responded, ‘‘I do not care to go into the particulars of the thing, but we are wanted. We have done nothing, of course, but—” ‘“Ob! of course not,” Brace interrupted, with & grin. ‘* But we do not want to be bothered, you see,” Burke went on, ue, too, smiling, , **[ see, I sve,” said Brace, nodding. ‘“* And if we can stay here for a few days, till the affair cools down a little, and then can get out of town, we shall be all right.” * All right.” said Brace. ‘I know how it is myself, an’ 1 guess we kin help ye out; eh, old woman?” ** 1 reckon we kin,” the hard-featured woman answered, rr alt nobody spotted ye comin’ here, did they, urke?” Brace queried. ‘No; { took good care of that. We came a very roundabout\way, and when we came in there was no one ih sight except two women and some boys.” : ‘‘Good enough, then. Yesee when ye want ter keep out 0’ sight, ye can’t be too keerful.” * Ob, I took care of all that.” "iS y though, can’t ye confide in an old pard, Burke? What is yer lay, anyhow, an’ what be ye wanted fer?” ‘* Well, since you’re doing the white thing by nig Brace, I suppose I ought to let you into the riffle. Mrs. Palmere shot a glance at her husband— a glance meant to caution him to take care what Ba wes id no atte , urke paid no attention to it, though. nomo than though he ba not seen it. nis "y You a he went on, ‘‘ there was considera- ble of a robbery committed at a hotel where we recently stopped, and as we left there early next morning before it was found out, the thick- headed landlord s sted us,” ‘Ha, ha, ba!” Brace laughed, “as if you would lift anything!” * Just so,” said Burke, with a wink. “ But when we came here, and to-day saw a man who belongs to that hotel, we have slipped out of sight to avoid trouble.” -** Ha, ba, ba! Egzackly so.” ‘““You see it would only be a loss of time for us to go back to that town and prove our in- nocence, ‘* Kgzactly, egzactly.” ————— Sh rr''-'—'m""_"0'|'_'_( 0—0 OO OSs OOOO] h ——-. —r—reoacoc«-w—TS$FFS Pe enw"'"'" -'-"**—— OOo — ee —_———— << ** So we prefer to keep out of sight.” ‘* Jest so, an’ I can’t blame ye, How fer a robbery was it? Did th’ lifter git much of a haul?” ‘* No, it didn’t amount to beans—as I heard.” ‘All th’ worse. it had been a boodle worth anything, now, a feller wouldn’t blame ‘em fer huntin’ round,” _‘*That’s so, They make as much fuss over a little hundred or so as they could makeif it were a million,” ‘‘ Have they got any proof ag’in’ any one?” “That’s just where the pain lies,” Burke snapped. ‘We can’t tell what they’ve got. ors made one straight shot, and it came so mighty close to us that we got out. We don’t want to be taken for the thieves,” ‘Well, you’re safe here, I reckon, an’ there’s se need o’ yer bein’ seen by any one fer a few ays. t will be seen that Burke was lying to his old friend, He evidently had no intention of letting him into the facts, ‘‘Can you show me to a room, Mrs. Tyler?”* Mrs. Palmere presently asked. “1 have on more dresses than feel comfortable, and must take some of them off.” ‘Sartainly,” said Mrs. Tyler, as she rose up and | stepped toward the door; “jist follow me Mrs. Palmere did so, saying as she left the room: ‘‘It is too bad we had to leave the trunks, Burke, and if you can think of any safe means of getting them, I hope you will.” ‘Where is yer trunks, Burke?” Tyler asked, when the women went out, ‘*They are at the Grand Hotel.” “An you had to leave ’em, eh?” és Yes,’ **'Wasn’t there any show ter git ’em out?’ ** No, none at all. You see I was afraid we were being watched, so 1 went down to the of- fice and settled for a week, and then we went out as though for a walk.” ‘* Purty well done, too.” Burke went on, then, aud explained the ways they had thought of for getting the trun away. | ; ; ‘*Say,” his companion suddenly put in, “1 think it kin be done yet.” . ‘You do?” ts Yes. ” ‘* How—in what way?” _ Why, something like one of ‘ own plans,” ‘‘Go ahead and give me your idea,” “Well, suppose you give me a note to th’ hotel clerk, tellin’ him to deliver th’ trunks to me, You kin say a friend has made ye promise to spend a couple o’ days with him, an’ as yer rooms is paid for fer a week, it can’t make no difference to the clerk,” ‘* But suppose the trunks are watched?” ‘*] will take keer 0’ that part of it.” — * “How will ae doit? I think you will find it no fool of a job,” 6 i know that, but if you will pie me th’ note to th’ clerk like I said, I think I kin do th’ rest of it. Pll goan’ git a reg’lar Expressman th? fu’st thing. ‘Lhen I'll ride to th’ hotel with him an’ we'll git th’ trunks aboard. Then as we start off I'll give him th’ address out loud, fer th’ benefit of any one as may be watchin’, Dll give him a number on one of th’ high-toned streets,” ‘The wagon will be followed, though,” Burke objected, it * Will it? You wait till you hear th’ rest 0” th’ plan ” ay ‘Well, out with it.” ‘Well, we'll start. Ye see I won't go there till *most night, an’ after we start an git in one of th’ out-ol-th’-wiy str vets, il clip th’ Express- man over th’ heaa an’ knock him senseless, Tben Vil take th’ Jines, an’ th’ man that follers that wagon durin’ th’ next balf bour will bave a pair 0’ Ingy-rubber legs. I'l go a mighty Jong ways ‘round, an’ I'll come down at just ip th’ street bebind this house, an’ there wel) take th’ trunks out an’ start th’ horse cy.” , . That looks all REE Burke commented; ; put woulda the clerk be likely to ask where am ‘* S’pose be does, can’t I tell him a good stiff lie?” ‘** Does the clerk know you?” : ‘Not as I knows on, ‘this is a big town, an’ no one man kin know everybody else, pears | net taediatns hana OU of 3H You do now bim, thenf™ b th’ hotel n'a’ dog’s No} ~ ene been in th’ is a little oe age, an’, 1n fact, that ‘to’ town 18 a © pal re; ‘lardomain.” a ‘Well, [ have a mind to risk it, Brace, for I . i= + . & ge - « - i. Caan t od : “¢ e @ et af oe ee ee eee es