Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 571 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

a's 38 ‘a Iw. bt o's WS, soe Pom 2 cent af eer 2 Air-Line Luke, the Engineer Detective. “Tt sartainly is. Whoa, Maria; I reckon we'd better stop!” It was night. A heavy freight-train was thundering along toward its destination, and the speakers were its engineer and fireman, The engineer was Ben Howard, popularly known as ** Doc” Howard; and the fireman was Luke Jackson, though he was far better known as ** Air-Line Luke.’ Luke’s father had been an engineer on that road, and atthe age of fifteen, Luke, being a rugged and hardy boy for one of his years, had begun his railroad career as fireman on his father’s engine. One night, shortly after starting out, his father was taken suddenly ill, and Luke ran the train safely through to its destination, and on time, too. And that won for bim his sobriquet, by which he was almost always accosted. His father was now dead, and another engi- neer held his place on the Fast Line, but Luke was about to be promoted to an engine, In fact, this was to be his last trip over the road asa fire- man. On the next night he was to run out the Express Freight east. This night the train was the Express Freight west; the road was the B. L. & H., in one of the Western States, and the scene a point about half way between the terminal stations of the road, near a large mountain where an iron bridge crossed a lively little river. On the west side of this mountain was a big fill, where were the river and the bridge. The Freight was going down the mountain re ata whi seat, and was just nearing the ridge, when the engineer broke out with the exclamation quoted. The fireman looked "pape in the direction in- dicated, and there in the center of the track, on the otherside of the bridge, was seen a faint bluish light. Both engineer and fireman had their heads out of their windows in a moment, and with bis ‘whoa, Maria!” the driver whistled for brakes, shut off steam, and reversed his engine, all in the shortest possible space of time. What they had seen might well startle any one. As they approached the bluish light a figure in white rose up outof it, and, with uplifted arms, awaited the coming on of the train. Doc Howard did all in his power to stop, but the distance was too sbort, and, in another mo- ment, the engine was right upon the hideous ob- ject and it was under the wheels, ‘TI ruess the stuffing is knocked out of that ghost!” observed Luke, as he jumped down to the tender to look back after it. ‘‘T shouldn’t feel more’n a heap surprised if you was right, sonny,” responded the engineer. ‘¢ Anyhow, we'll soon be stopped, an’ then we will go back and see what is left of it.” In a reasonable distance the train was brought to a stand, Then the engineer and fireman jumped down and ran to the rear. ‘‘ What is ter pay now?” called out the head brakeman, as the two ran past, ‘‘ Somethin’ run over,” answered Luke, and brakeman was downin a moment to join em, In a moment more they met the conductor running up toward the head. to find out the cause of the sudden stop, and when he was told what had happened, he, too, started back. When they all reached the point where the engineer bad seen the specter, however, nothing was to be found, There was not a sign or mark of any kind to show that anything had been struck by the engine, aud the whole thing was a mystery. ‘‘T reckon it was a sure-enough spook,” ob- served the engineer. ‘© reckon you imagined it,” retorted the con- ductor, ** and the best thing you can do now is to get onto your machine again assoon as you canand go on. We are late enough, without fooling around here any longer looking for ghosts.” “That's all right,” the engineer growled, “but you don’t want to think that I would make such a stop for nothing. There was some- thing on the track, and that Ill swear to, And, what is more, we ran right over it.” ‘‘That’s the straight truth,” supported the fireman, ‘‘for I saw it too; and if it wasn’t a host it was his brother, as sure as Moses was in he bulrushes.” Doc and Luke returned to their engine, and the train started on. ‘Well, Luke,” the engineer questioned, ‘‘ what do you think of this adventure?” vig Peay know,” was the ly. ‘ It is strange and no mistake. What do you think about it?” ‘ Just about the same that you do, I reckon,” was the return. riences during my twenty years at the throttle ut this is the strangest one I ever met with. I would like to know what it all means, Perhaps old Doc is going to be called hence, and this is a warning.” ‘‘ Nonsense!” cried Air-Line Luke; ‘‘I don’t believe in such signs, It is all superstition that attaches any importance to apparitions and specters.” ‘* Well, we won’t stop to argy the thing here, lad. But I think I could convince you that there is a heap more insuch things than you are aware of. The train rolled on, and in due time came to the town of West Plain, where it met and pass- ed the Express Freight east. This was the train that Air-line Luke was to run out on the next night. It was, in fact, the same train he was on now, as Doc Howard was to take hold of a passenger train, When they stopped at this station, the en- gineers and firemen usually exchanged a few words of greeting, and on this occasion Howard and Air-Line Luke bad something of more than passing interest to relate. ‘‘ What kind of a story is this you are trying to give us?’ demanded the driver of the east- bound train, thinking that the others were try- ing to catch him with some sort of joke. ‘* We are giving you a ghost-story,” answered Luke, ‘‘ and one of the genuine kind. You may see it yourselves before you are much older.” ** And where did you say you saw it?” ‘‘On the grade just this side of the Warland River, not far from the bridge,” explained How- ‘*T have had some queer ex- ard, ‘* Well, I'll keep an eye peeled for it, and if I seo it you can bet that I will find out what it is, ‘Then you'll do better than we could,” de- clared Doc and Luke, and so they parted, and while Doc and Luke went on to their destina- tion, Marysville, the other train pulled out from the side-track, and continued on its way to Princetown, the eastern terminus of the road. The engineer and fireman of this train talked about what they had heard as they sped along, wondering whether there could be any truth in it, or whether Doc and Luke had been putting up a little joke upon them, or at least trying to. ‘ ‘‘ What do you think about it?’ the fireman asked. ‘¢ Well,” responded the engineer, ‘‘I thought at first that they were trying to send us off on a blind switch, but the more I think about it the more I think there.is something in it, I have heard tell of such sights being seen just before some great accident, and it may be that some- thing of that kind is about to come.” ‘*T hope not, goodness knows!” ‘‘ Same here, my boy!” declared the engineer; “but we are getting near to the place now, and ng ee we will see something of it ourselves.” hen they crossed thé top of the hill and turned down toward the river, both men kept a sharp lookout ahead, but for some moments they saw nothing. When they came near to the bridge, however, there suddenly appeared a faint bluish light in the center of the track ahead, and then they knew what to expect. ‘‘ There it is!” cried the fireman. ‘Keep your eye peeled now,” admonished the engineer, ‘and we may be able to find out more than the others did about it.” Even as he spoke, the engineer shut off steam and slackened his speed, and ina moment more the bluish hght was right at hand. The eyes of the two men were bulging out like white door-knobs, and their hearts were beating wildly, but they did not for an instant remove their gaze from the shining rails. And at that instant the specter appeared. Up it came, a hideous figure in white, with arms oustretched and waving, as though warn- ~e train to stop. his was a little more than the engineer could stand, and with a wild, sharp whistle for brakes he reversed bis engine and did the best he could to stop, but the distance was now too short, and ina moment more the horrible thing, what- ever it was, passed under the wheels and disappeared from sight. The train ran on over the bridge before com- ing to a full stop, but, as soon as it did stop, the coger whistled to back up, and proceeded to O 80, Conductor and brakemen all wondered what a be the trouble, and all were quickly out to earn, As soon as the place was reached where the thing had been seen, the engineer and fireman sprung down to look for some signs of it, nothing could be discovered. In this res they were no better off than Doc Howard an Air-Line Luke had been, It wasa mystery that they were not able to solve. The conductor and the brakemen laughed at. the idea, at first, but, when told that the same f thing had been seen by the Freight going west, they grew more serious over the matter. The train moved on again, and, as these men were no wiser than those who had seen it first, the mysterious affair left on all a painful sense of some impending trouble or calamity, lt did not take long for the story to get around, and by noon next day it was known from one end of the road to the other thata road apparition had been seen near the War- land River bridge. Of course many laughed at the idea of a specter, but others, who were more or less super- stitious took it very much to heart. What did itall mean? Was some terrible avcident about to happen? . “That, finally, was the question which every man on the line asked himself; for, superstition or no superstition, the presence there of the spec- ter aroused that sense of the supernatural which lies down deep in every nature—in the low born and tbe bigh alike. CHAPTER II. A RATHER PECULIAR CASE. Toe town of West Plain was larger than might be supposed, to judge it by its name. | was a little city of some twenty thousand in- habitants. " In the office of the First National Bank of that lace, on the morning succeeding the night of he events recorded, an old gentleman was seated at a table in iy thought—Mr. Joseph Redding, the president of the bank. His face wore a troubled expression, and he seemed to be anxiously waiting for some one to come, Presently the door opened and one of the bank’s clerks came in. ‘A caller desires to see you, Mr. Redding,” he announced. The president looked up. *¢ Show him in!” he replied curtly. The clerk soon returned, ushering into the office a voung man of perhaps twenty-eight. ‘‘Mr. Redding?” the stranger questioned. ‘¢'Yes, sir,” was the return, and the clerk bav- ing retired, the president motioned the caller to be seated. “You are the detective from Marysville, are you not?” the president asked, ‘““T am, sir,” was the reply. Wilson Hooper.” “< Did your employer tell you anything about the nature of the business that I want you to undertake?” ‘None of the particulars.” ‘Then he did tell you something? “My name is What did he say? “Simply that you have a suspicion that you: are being robbed.” “Then I will post you, so that you ma clearly comprehend the work before you. am being robbed in a systematic manner, but have no idea who the thief can be. And, not only that, but of late I have found that there is a great deal of counterfeit money afloat in this part of the country, and it is a clever imitation of the money of this bank.” “Then it is in the nature of a double case, I infer, unless the same parties are concerned in both crimes. Do you think thatcan be so?” “Tt is impossible for me.tosay, a8 l*haye no idea who the guilty one or ones are.” ‘‘ Well, have you any clew whatever for me to work on?” ‘Not the slightest.” “Then it looks, at first glance, as though it would prove something of a task for me.” ‘*T have no idea that you will find it an easy one, for I have done my best to get hold of some sort of clew, but have been completely baffled,” “Well, let us begin with the robbing of which you speak. How is it carried on?” ‘ Ry cleverly forged notes.” : x joverly forged notes, eh? That is good, to begin with.” “ Good? I don’t understand.” “Why, counterfeiting and forgery are ready associates so I think the two cases are likely to become one,” “There is something in that; indeed, I think you are right.” ‘You say the notes are cleverly forged: are they all in the same handwriting” LIC ——————— a en eT ee