Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 571 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

' i) ws Bok ~ 4 c ’ ‘ + 4 « - . * pig! of die - . J - i ww Sd y a. "Ral 7 * ‘? + P : Y * ’ .¥ it. hy > Phe Ge ‘8 we iy Migs’ 2 : £2 , ——— — will be out of my way forever. Then perhaps I shall be able to carry my point after all. a, ha, ha! that girl might as well kick against fate as to try to oppose me. I will have her in spite of her and her father and the rest of them.” But even as these thoughts ran through his head he was measuring up the chances of sus- picion falling upon him, What if Hogan were to be detected in the crime, and made a confession of the plot? And what if it could be proved that he had been in the saloon with Hogan? And what if their con- versation had been cverheard? But this was only borrowing trouble, If it came to the worst, would not his word go fur- ther than that of such a inan as Hogan? Having gone so far, it was hard to turn back, and he had no intention or desire to do so. As for Hogan, he was in bigh feather. ‘**T thought I could wring him fer a few cases,”’ he chuckled, as soon as the cashier was gone, ‘‘an’ I did. An’ now not only will I have ’venge on that upstart, but I'll be paid fer takin’ it at th’same time, This very night Ill cut down that tree and drop it across th’ track ahead of ther Express Freight, and to th’ Old Boy he’ll 0. Ettie Hogan, the drunkard’s miserable, rag- ged and dircy little child, in ber hiding-place behind the boxes, gave such a start that she was in danger of being discovered. She was but nine years old, yet understood full well the hor- rible crime her father was contemplating. Her heart beat wildly, but she managed to remain quiet, for discovery meant a beating and being sent to the bated boarding-nouse, where se would get another for having been so long ab- sent. The keeper of the saloon understood this, and whenever Ettie was there and her father came in, he never let her presence be known, Hogan chuckled and muttered to himself for some minutes, and then he called the keeper of the place over to him and ordered something to drink, ‘* Have you got the money to pay for it?” the proprietor asked, Hogan displayed a new bill. ‘*T reckon I have,” he boasted. ‘*Hello! I should say you have!” the keeper exclaimed, ‘*I am glad to see you on your feet aga in, Jake. You are bound to bea gentleman yet. Seeing that there was money to be had, the roprietor hurried around and furnished what had been called for, and treated the miserable wretch witb as much respect as he could have shown to the greatest ward politician. Hogan took not only oue drink, but many, and not only drank himself, but invited every- body who came in to drink with him. And the result was that within an hour one of the crisp new bills had passed into the possession of the saloon-keeper, and a second one was broken. And so it went on until about dark, when he got up from the table and sta egered out, Waiting until her father had had time enough to get out of sight, Ettie came out from her hiding-place, hurried out of the room, and then ran away toward the station as fast as ever she could go, CHAPTER IX. LUCY TO THE RESCUE, DAN FIELDING was just preparing to settle down to read the paper, shortly after supper on the evening of which we now write, when a messenger called at the house with word for him to report at once at the station to run out a special train. Asmay be imagined, Dan did not relish this, and yore he wisbed that railroads in gen- eral, with the B, L. & H.in particular, were under the sea; or something to the same effect, But that did not help the matter any, and after scolding around for a little time he got ready and started out, Nor did Lney Fielding like it any better tha her father, for it meant that she would have to spend the evening alone, unless some neighbor Pappenee to drop in for an hour or two, ere was no use in worrying over the mat- ter, however, so she took it a good deal more calmly than her father, and wished him a quick trip and safe return. She went about her work singing and happy and in ashort time had it all done up. And then she sat down to do some sewing. No one came in during the evening, but the hours passed quickly by, busy asshe was with her sewing and her pleasant thoughts, and she was about to retire when knock at the door, tba wy * ’ ee "s veg tee AWW oe s Fy bee a vu foul . La a, Te" ~ nf ihn 3s"s te og! Air-Line ——— — —— — ™ ¥ | . * Who in the world can that be,” Lucy thought | as she went to open the door. She was not afraid, and so opened the door without delay. There on the step stood one of the most mis- erable-looking and ragged little girls she had ever seen, ‘Goodness me!” Luc ** Please, me name is faltered. ‘* And what do you want—something to eat?” ‘**I be hungry enough,” was the child’s an- swer, ‘‘ but I didn’t come fer nothin’ ter eat.” ‘*Then what do you want?’ Lucy demanded, not a little anxious to know what was the cause of the child’s ex:cited manner, ‘* Please, will ye teil me what yer name is?” the little one asked. ‘What my name is?” **'Yes, ma’m.” ; ‘*My name is Lucy Fielding,” was the reply. ‘** 'W hy do you ask that?” ‘* Then it is you that I want ter see,” declared the ragged girl, in greater excitement than ever. ‘‘ And what do you want to see me for?” ‘‘Tt is you that be goin’ ter marry th’ young engineer on th’ railroad, ain’t it?” the child fur- ther questioned. ** Child, you puzzle me,” said Lucy. ‘ Please tell me at once what you are coming at.” ‘* Well, I will; but please let me come into th’ house so that no one kin hear me. It is awful portant,” Lucy allowed her to step inside, and then urged her to hurry wifh her story, for her in- born curiosity was now fully aroused, And as soon as she could collect her ideas, the child began; **Early this evenin’, ma’am,” she said, ‘I heard two men a-talkin’, an’ they was plannin’ ter do somethin’ awful bad. They were talkin’ about you, an’—” ‘* About me!” cried Lucy, her thougbts turn- ing at once to her rejected suitor and her father’s words of warning, ‘Yes; an’ they was plannin’ ter kill th’ man ye intends ter marry. That was what 1 got on- to of what they said, an’ knowin’ who you was 1 made up my mind ter tell ye so’s you might have a chance ter see that they didn’t do it. I wanted ter git herein time so’s you could save him. Only you mustn’t let any one find out that it was me as told yer.” ; Pale and trembling, and with wildly beating heart, Lucy demanded: ‘** And who were those men?” ‘That I can’t tell ye, ma’m, indeed I can’t, I would git killed if Idid. But let me finish tell- in’ ye all about it, so’s ye kin do somethin’.” ‘* Yes, yes, go abead,” rag urged eagerly, ‘Tt is th’ ingine man on th’ Freight they in- tends ter kill, an’ they be goin’ ter chop down a big tree an’ drop it right across th’ track an’ let bim run inter it.” Lucy was almost beside herself for an instant at the horror of what she had heard, ‘* And do you know what train it is? or what the man’s name is?” she inquired. ‘It is th’ freight train, an’ th’ man is th’ one that you be goin’ ter marry, an’ that is all I know about it.” ‘*Mercy sakes!” Lucy gasped, ‘‘can this be true!” ‘* There’s not th’ word of a lie about it, ma’m,” declared the child, earnestly and excitedly, *“*Oh! I believe you, my child; but I was wondering whetber you could not be mistaken about it all, Itseems too horrible to be true, Will you not tell me who the men were whom you overheard?” ‘“No, no, not for th’ world; fer they would kill me, sure. An’ now that I have told ye, an’ done all [ kin, [ will go.” ing gaurd at the clock, : In half an hour her lover's train would be cried, ‘* who are you?” ttie Hogan,” the child due, “You say you heard of this early this even- ing?’ she questioned, not allowing the child to ) ** Yes, ma’m.” ‘*Then why did you not come and tell me, or some one else, at once? It may be too late now to prevent the murder,” _ “Istarted fer th’ station as soon as I heard it, ma’m, but I was seen and made ter do work at th’ boardin’-house.” This accounted for the loss of time, The girl had been seen by the landlady of the boarding- house and dragged home. And as her father was the guilty one, she dared not mention what she had heard there. ‘** And why did you not tell some one there?” came a half -+timid | Laer taghe demanded, , please, I couldn’t. You don’t know, 7 Fe . ; : Tie - , * i . b S ark oy ae 4 rs 2 : . oe er, __ 22S = | | ’ Luke, the Engineer Detective. —_—_- | ma’m; you— But, let me go, an’ then — an’ do all you kin,” ‘* Yes, I_ will hurry; but you shall go witl me,” was Lucy’s quick decision, and she hur- riedly put on a shawl and hat. ‘*No, I can’t go with ye—really I can’t,” the child objected. ‘I was sent out fer beer, an’ if I don't go right back Pll pit ’most killed.” ‘* Where do you live?” Lucy asked. She was told, and when the child insisted, with tears, that she must go, she allowed her to do so, not having time for any further words with her. The child bad explained a little more than we have quoted, and Lucy understood that the place where the crime was intended was about half a mile above the station, where there was a big tree. And she knew the place well, haying played there many a day when a child. And as soon as the child was gone she asked herself what she should do. It was her first impulse to run at once to the station, but her time was Jdimited, and the station was in the opposite direction to that from which the train would come, and she feared that she would not have time to reach there early enough to do any good, It was a trying moment, No, she must go to the rescue herself. It would not do for her to waste one moment of the precious time. ; There happened to be a lantern in the house, and lighting that as quickly as she could she caught upa piece of red flannel and started, taking barely time enough to lock the door after her. What she intended to do with the red flannel will be shown presently. ' The nearest way to her objective point lay across the fields, the railroad being on the out- skirts of the town, and that way she started without a moment’s hesitation. The hour was getting late,and the way was wild and lonely, but the girl was brave, and the desperate situation lent ber additional courage. On she went, the lantern she carried lighting her way, climbing over fences and jumping over ditches, wherever necessary, with marvel- ous agility. And she had not gone a great distance when she heard the loud, deep tone of the whistle of her lover’s locomotive, away off among the bills, and that lent new strength and speed to her limbs. On and on she ran, until at last she was ob- liged to pause for want of breath. And then she beard the sound of an ax, the blows falling rapidly and strongly, and instantly realized what it meant. ‘‘Even now the villains are at their heinous work,” she gasped, and as soon as she could re- cover sufficient breath she started on. Once more the whistle of the train sounded, now nearer than before, though yet some miles away. ‘* T shall be too late,” was the girl’s despairing thought, as she strained every muscle and nerve to its utmost. At last, though, after what seemed to be an age, she came out to the railroad, and then she burried along toward the point where the large tree stood. : It was some little distance yet to that place, and before sbe reached there she snp once or twice to listen for the sound of theax. And each time she beard its blows still falling. At the place where the tree stood there wasa bank on each side of the track, and the tree was on the side opposite to where tbe girl was walk- ing. Here theroad ran through a cut perhaps — ten feet deep. When Lucy came opposite to the tree she stooped, and called out: ow ‘“« What are ycu doing over there?” There was no answer, but the sound of the ax stopped instantly, and for a moment the girl thought that she had frightened the men away. But a moment later ber blood was fairly chilled with horror, There came @ terrific crash, and down upon the track came the tree with a force that fairly shook the ground. “Oh! horror!” the girl cried, aloud, “ It is done!” She stood as though rooted to the spot for a moment, and then the next minute she was startled to hear a nh come up from the track where the tree had fallen. “Goodness!” she exclaimed, “the tree bas surely fallen Upon some one, crushing bim to the ground. Perhaps I can help him out.” Such was the case, but the one upon whom it — bad fallen was the one who had cut it down. And that one was Jake Hogan. Justas the tree was falling he slipped and fell into the cut, and ‘ é - — ee | . = roe en a aa ie en ee < ‘. * 7 —_ : - ee ae a. * * r . “s a | . °