Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 583 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

= 4 ¥ c A wif ‘* And you think he will bet on Upperly?” Wes.’ ‘¢ Rex Peters will win.” ‘¢ That rémains to be seen.” ‘* Perhaps you would like to bet on Upperly?” St. Percy hesitated, and then replied: “‘T haven’t the money, just now.” ‘*Stir up your friend, then, If the faith isin him that the Wonder can down the Pride, let him show it. [ am_ no beggarly clerk who wants to bet twenty-five dollars; 1 go in to do business when I strike. I want to stake a thou- sand on Peters.” Landerson spoke thickly. St. Percy knew him of old; he had seldom seen him strictly sober, and knew that, having money, he would as soon risk five thousand dollars asone, Lan- derson was rich, as he was reckless. He would have been @ rare pigeon to pluck only, unfor- tunately for sharpers, he had good judgment. He rarely made a bet which, if the matter was decided upon its merits, was likely to leave him the loser, This, and this only, bad saved him from disaster in the past. He was going to ruin rapidly, and his moral sense of right was blunted, but he was shrewd enough to protect himself from sbarpers, St. Percy did not answer; he was thinking of that Solace’s promise, and wondering if it was safe to bet against the Pride of the Sixth Ward. He could not afford to despise money. He lived by his wits; what money he had was obtained by dishonest tricks; and though he now hada full pocket—for him—he wanted to put it out only when he was sure of doubting it, Landerson was not so much intoxicated that he failed to read a part of his meditations, ‘* Come, St. Percv,” he said, ‘‘ ld like to bet you.” **T haven’t a thousand,” ** Make it five hundred, then.” **T have that, but [ need it for other purposes.” ** The match will soon come off; make the bet, and if your luck is equal to your faith you can + Pe your money on the West Street Won- er. There was a new order of things; the pigeon was t-mpting the sharper. But Landerson was anxious to bet, not to win money, but for the excitement. He craved constant excitement, and that and liquor were killing him. ‘* Come, is it a go?” he added, St. Percy remembered Solace’s promise; he ut his hand into his pocket and took out five homdaed dollars, It was a vast sum for him— sharper that he was he shivered—but the die was cast. ‘‘So much on Sam Upperly, and against Rex Peters!” he said, in a fairly firm voice. “Good! Weill let Colonel Rugg hold the money.” The money was duly placed in the colonel’s hands, and then the bettors had another drink and separated. St. Percy walked away in a mixed state of mind. ‘It’s done!” he muttered, ‘‘and I make or break on it. There was a surer way to place the money, but it’s done and I rely upon Mat Solace to pull me through, Rex Peters must not win now. Win! He must—he akall lose! If Solace don’t drug him I will; ay, and Ill fix the young villain so that he’ll never trouble me again!” CHAPTER VIII. WHAT WAS IN THE BOX. Rex still stood at the window and looked out into tne street, but he did not see Five Points Phil. He had grown very much worried. He could not account for the young detective’s pro- longed absence. He had started out to follow the unknown man to wherever he stopped, and had been gone long enough to go to High Bridge and back, but—he had not returned, As the minutes wore on Rex grew more troubled. Had some great misfortune oceurred to his friend? They had suspected that the stranger was a desperate man, What was more likely than that Phil had been discovered, lured into some trap, and foully used? Rex shivered at the thought. And there he stood and watched the street, but all his watching went for nothiug—Phil did not return, Some one else finally came in—the man with whom Rex lived. As before said, his name was Toffling, but he was more commonly called ‘Umbrella Eph,” on account of the humble business he followed, He mended umbrellas, aided by his wife. Rex believed that this was not a necessity with them, and that they had money enough to carry them, in a modest way, through the remaining days of their life, but Wrestling Rex, they were cheerful old people who found pleas- ure in a moderate amount of work. Rex had been with them ever since he could remember. He had been told that his mother died in their rooms—she having lodged next to them—but he did not remember her. He only knew that they had been the same as parents to him; that they had always been kind, and he had been as well provided for as their humble circumstances would allew, Umbrella Eph came in and set’ two dilapidat- ed umbrellas in the corner. ‘* This weather is terribie,” he declared. ‘‘Very pleasant, I should say, Uncle Eph,” Rex replied, absently. ‘*That’s jest it—too pleasant by fur. Why can’t it rain? Who wants umbrellas mended this weather? Who wears out umbrellas this weather?” ‘* Never mind; it’s bound to rain soon.” ‘“The paper said ‘ Clear and cool,’ this morn- ing.” Nir. Toffling belonged to that class of people who eagerly consult the weather predictions every morniag with ame interest, and of all the class, few couid excel Eph in interest. He read nothing but weather predictions and his Bible, but to each of these he gave a good deal of atten- tion. “It may not be so to-morrow,” observed Rex, ‘‘ What we need,” said Mr. Toffling, with em- phasis, ‘‘is a soakin’ three-days’ rain. If it comes it'll keep usnbrellas wet all the time, peo- ple will set °em down handle up, the water will gather in the folds near the top, and lo! the um- brella cloth will rot. Ha! Id like to seea three- days’ rain!” The ambrella-mender went to the paper, and, having found it, read the predictions through three times. It madeno difference to him if the day was past; he frequently read the pre- dictions back for a week, and derived great con- solation from them. ‘“Ti’s a great mistake with makers o’ um- brellas that they make ’em so good,” he con- tinued, ‘*'They don’t look ahead an’ see that others must live, If I had the makin’ on ’em, nOumbrella would last over ten days!” ‘*Uncle Eph,” suddenly interrupted Rex, “what is to be done with Elia Austin?” Toffling had begun to fill his pipe. He de- voted considerable time to the task before he answered, ‘ She ain’t found no relatives, then?” * No.” Umbrella Eph lighted his pi and then sent a cloud of sanioke soaring up- ward, “Ef she don’t find ’em,” he replied, ‘‘ an’ no rich folks wants ter ’dopt her, I allow that the old lady an’ me will ’dopt her,” He nodded toward the room where his wife was when he spoke of ‘ the old lady.” ‘“ Would you do that, Uncle Eph?” cried Rex, ‘Tgain’t in me ter see a small child want,” the old man returned, ‘I feel poor jest now, an’ shall until it rains, but while I kin git an umbrella ter mend I won’t turn my back on an orpbim.” | e paused, drew a long whiff at the pipe, and humorously added; ‘¢ Pm an orphin myself.” Considering that he was seventy years old, this did not seem so very strange. Rex seized his old friend’s hand and shook it warmly. _ ‘*Uncle Eph, you’re the noblest man I ever knew!” Toffling took three long whiffs at his pipe. ‘‘As noble as Solace. an’ yer other sportin’ friends?” he slowly asked, Rex’s face flushed. ‘“ Why do you ask that, Uncle Eph?” The umbrella-mender was not satisfied with less than five whiffs this time. ‘* Rex,” he then answered, ‘* I am of the opin- ion that it will be best fur you ter do no more wrestlin’, but cut loose from Mat Solace, an’ all his sort. He’s a prime favorite In the Sixth Ward, I admit, but he ain't the sort 0’ a man I like, an’ while you foller bis lead you'll be ex- posed ter temptation all the time. Don’t blame me fur this, lad, fur I think ye eighteen-carat fine; an’ it’s ’cause I want ye ter stay so that I say—cut loose from Mat Solace!” “Uncle Eph,” was the prompt reply, ‘‘ your words are those of wisdom; I’ve seen all that I care to of so-called sporting life. There may be good men in it—I won’t undertake to say— but I haven’t struck them, [ve seen only Pon dissipated men,” Z *m glad you're tired of it,” I drifted into it unconsciously,” Rex con- 6 deliberately, _—— 7 tinued, ‘‘ Matthew Solace saw me wrestling for fun; he offered to put me into it as a business, The money tempted me, and I confess that I was rather pleased at being noticed by such a man as Solace. I didn’t know him then.” ‘* But you do now, eh?” ‘Yes. He is a sporting man, and he says he is every inch that sort of aman. He is interested in horse and foot-races, pugilism, wrestling, dog-fights and the like, and when not at any such place he is at bis liquor saloon. It sickens me to think of it, but, for fear you may think my expression rather late, let me say that he has only just begun to let me see him as he 1s,” Toffling nodded emphatically; he was pleased by the turn of affairs, At this moment the umbrella-mender’s wife brought Kila Austin into the room. The child h:d wept freely for her lost mother, and now her youthful spirits had yielded to Mrs, Tof- fling’s efforts to make her cheerful, and she was in a more contented mood, The old lady bore a pasteboard box in her hands, : “We have found this among Mrs, Austin’s things, and we will examine it now,” Ella had gone to Rex’s side, and when Umbrella Eph saw that she was not listening, he spoke in a low tone to his wife. ‘* No clew to her folks yet, is there!” sé No,” ‘* There was a mystery about Mrs. Austin,” said the old man, em phatically, ‘¢ But nothing bad.’ ‘‘Of course not—of course not!” he hastily agreed, ‘* That woman was an angel, an’ the child f* another. Itll be hard fur her ef her folks ain’t found, but I allow that we hadn’t ought ter let her suffer.” ‘We hadn’t, father.” ‘¢ Nor we won't!” ‘*That’s a good man!” Mrs, Toffling admiring- ly replied. ‘' We ain't got much, an’ we mean it fur Rex, but that child must not suffer.” Ella and Rex now came forward. ‘‘Is there anything of importance in the box?” the youth asked, ‘*We will see. Sit you down, all of you, and I will look,” Mrs. Toffling placed the box upon her knees, removed the cover which had been tied on, and the search began. Ella watched with childish curiosity, but the others felt a deeper interest. The impression was in their minds—and it was strong in that of _Kex—that if the relatives of the late Mrs. Austin could be found, Ella would not be a penniless child. Mrs, T ‘offling, saw that her suspicions were aroused, declared that there had been much in Mrs. Austin’s life to in- dicate that she bad a secret, even as her manners were those of a lady of the higher rank in life. The box was nearly full of papers and other things, but most of them were wholly unimport- ant now. There were receipts for the payment of bills, and various odds and ends such as most persons accumulate, without any clear idea why, if at all, they are of any consequence, Mrs. Toffling neared the ‘thei of the box without having made a discovery. “Tm afraid there is nothing here,” she ob- served, Eph glanced at the paper which contained the weather prediction. He had decided that he would have to adopt Ella, and was wishing that a big rain storm might begin, to spoil people’s umbrellas and add to his work. ‘* What’s this?” Mrs. Toffling had reached a small, flat pack- age, which was tied around with a string. The latter she removed; the paper she unfolded, and then a photograph lay in her hand. It was that of an old gentleman, and, accord- ing to appearanees, a well-dressed man, The face was smooth-shaven except for a fringe of beard beneath bis chin, and it was a face to at- tract and hold attention, Strength of character was to be read everywhere, The jaws were broad and heavy; the mouth tightly-closed and severo; and the large, steady eyes looked coldly forth from under heavy brows. The original of that picture had been a man to fear, perhaps to respect—but not to love, in tbe full sense of the word. All four of the party pressed forward to get a leok at the picture, but Rex’s attention was sud- denly arrested by an exclamation from Mrs. Toffling. She was looking at the face in what seemed wonder and perplexity. ‘Do you know who it is, aunt?” he asked. But Mrs. meee did not seem to hear him, She passed the picture to her husband with tho single word: ‘ See!”