Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 628 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

ton his brother, and the machinery was immediately put into anotber motion. ** Away we go,” cried Billy; ‘‘ an’ now if you want ter look out, Skinny, jest git up there aside th’ captain,” **Yes, go right up, my lad,” said Mr. Daun- ton, ‘‘and see what you can. It will be worth something to you.” Skiony ventured to obey, and as he looked out ahead and around, his eyes opened until they nad the appearance of saucers. **What d’ye think of it?’ Billy demanded. ** Was I tellin’ ye any lie?” ‘*[ guess ye wasn’t,” the thin partner man- aged tosay. ‘‘ lt is jest ahead o’ wonderful.” ‘* Well, [ should say so, Billy agreed, The boat was held on its course until it ar- rived down in the middle of the bay somewhere, and there it was stopped and allowed to rest up- on the bottom, “Here we are,” cried Billy, as he laid hold of Skinny and gave hima shaking, just to amuse himself and show how frisky he felt, ‘tan’ this is th’ craft that will do th’ business fer that tug ter-day, an’ don’t you forgit it.” ‘What is that?’ inquired Mr. Daunton. ‘‘T was speakin’ ter fatty bere about th’ busi- ness that [ said I wauted ter see you on, sir,” Billy explained. ‘‘As soon as th’ others kin give me their attention, too, I will onwind th’ story to all of ye.” “All right; but what do you mean by doing the business for a tug?” “That is part of th’ skeem,” Billy answered. ‘“‘There is a tug that has got ter be lifted high an’ dry out o’ th’ bay, ter-day, in order ter save a life. But, here’s th’ captain an’ th’ engineer, an’ now Ill give ‘ye th’ whole thing as straight as a string.” They all sat down, and Billy went ahead. ‘“* My pardner here,” he commenced, ‘ has been tryin’ his hand at detective work in my absence, an’ has made a big success of it. He got on ter a clew ter th’ fellers that done me up, an’ tracked ’em ter their den. Then he got under their crib an’ heard all that they had ter say about th’ case, an’ more besides, It seems that they are up ter a bad game, an’ one that has got ter be nipped in th’ bud or it will cost one life, an’ mebby a good many more,” ** Boy, you astonish me,” declared Mr. Daun- ‘* It is enough ter astonish anybody, sir.” **Go on and let us hear the rest of it.” ** Well, th’ thing in short meter is this: Th’ steamship, Ocean Queen, is ter arrive here ter- day. A pleasure yacht is ter meet ber an’ take off two passengers, One passenger is a young lady, an’ th’ other isa man, th’ intended hus- band of th’ lady. A tug has been hired ter run th’ yacht down in th’ bay, an’ sink her.’ Th’ young lady is ter be saved, but th’ plot is that th’ man is ter be drowned. That is ter say, he is ter be murdered.” ** Horrible!” “* Wal, ruther, I should say.” ** A score of lives will be endangered.” “Jest so; an’ it will be lucky if they don’t drown more than they want ter. I tell ye it is tn’ dirtiest skeem that I have got on ter in some time.” ‘Well, what is it you want us to do?” in- quired Captain Daunton, ‘True enough,” supplemented Mr. Daunton, ‘* this is a clear case for the police to deal with,” ‘* An’ mebby let ’em make a mess of it,” ob- jected Billy. ‘‘ Th’ perlice ain’t by no means perfect,” he went on, “* an’ th’ surest way that / could think of ter block th’ game an’ nip it right in th’ bud, was ter come ter you an’ get you ter be on hand an’ run th’ tug down. That would Save th’ disaster, an’ then, after that, th’ per- lice kin take holt o’ th’ case an’ bring th’ plot- ters ter account.” ‘“Tagree with the boy entirely,” spoke up Charles, the younger brother. ‘‘ We can take care of that tug, and see that no harm is done to the yacht, and thus do what the po- lice might make a failure of.” ** Kerrect,” chimed in Billy. “Why not take steps to warn the captain of the yacht to look out for the danger?” suggested Mr. Daunton. ““Sweet pertaters!” cried Billy, “‘ you don’t git on ter th’ case yet, sir. The captain of th’ yacht is as deep in th’ mud as the other one is in th’ mire. Ain’t that so, Skinny?’ ** Sure thing,” Skinny supported. “Worse and worse,” interpolated Captain Daunton, ‘ They will make a sure thing of it unless some effective step is taken to balk them,” ** Of course they will,” urged Charles; ‘‘ and I Tha é Broadway Billy’s Dead Act. think it is our duty to take the matter in hand. Don’t you think so, father?” ‘* Well, I don’t know but you are right, boy,” the father admitted, ‘for we can make a sure job of it, where a boat on the surface might make an utter mess of the whole thing.” ** An’ will ye try it?” asked Billy, eagerly. ** Yes, we will take it in hand.” ‘Good! Bully fer you!” ‘*T suppose there is no mistake about this, is there?” Mr. Daunton inquired. ““ Speak up, Skinny,” directed Billy, ‘‘ speak up an’ give us th’ facks.” ‘“‘ There is no chance for a mistake about it, sir,” declared Skinny, ‘‘onless they change their minds, an’ that ain’t very likely, from th’ way they was talkin’ last night. It is ter be done, an’ all th’ plans is arranged,”’ ‘That is allI want to know. Do you know the name of the tug?” ‘© No, sir.” ‘* We do not need to know that,” put in Cap- tain Daunton, ‘* We will follow the yacht, and cau readily tell if any tug bears down upon her with evil intent.” So it was arranged, and Broadway Billy and his thin partner were happy to think that they had secured such valuable aid. CHAPTER XIII, A SCENE OF DANGER, It was the forenoon of a lovely day, and everything was bright and pleasant, Just such a day it was as one would choose for a day of pleasure on the water, At about ten o’clock two carriages drew up in front of the residence of Lady St. Gerome Hamptden. A man alighted from the first one, ran lightly up the steps to the door, and was promptly ad- mitted, It was Bertrand Wellingford. Mrs, Hamptden was ready to receive him. ‘Did you think that [ was not coming?” he asked, ‘* Not at all,” was the quiet response, *‘ though we have been ready these two hours, I know that you are a man of your word, and one who has never failed me yet.” ‘* Thank you,” with a bow, ‘“‘ you pay me an undeserved coinpliment.” ‘*Not at all, Well, are you ready for us?” “Yes; the Ocean Queen has been sighted, and will be at Sandy Hook this afternoon,” ‘*That is good. I am glad to know that she will be here before night. Is the yacht ready to receive us?” ‘* Everything is ready, Lady Hamptden.” ‘*'Tl'hen we will go down and get aboard at once, if that is your plan,” ‘lt i? The party, consisting of Lady Hamptden, six other ladies, and two geutlemen, left the house and entered the carriages, and were driven rap- idly away. Bertrand Wellingford was with them. Now that we can have another good look at him, there need be no further doubt concerning his identity. He and Captain Iron-grip were one and the same person, Good-looking, faultlessly dressed, manly in appearance, who would have suspected him of being such 4 Villain at heart? But a rascal he was, as we need not say. And a deep, dark scheme he had in mind. Regina Hamptden, Lady Hamptden’s only child, had been abroad to complete her educa- tion, Lady Hamptden had been for many years a widow, and being an American by birth, had returned to her native land after the death of herhusband. Sbe was very rich, and her daugh- ter, too, was immensely rich in her own right. While abroad, the daughter had made the ac- quaintance of one Alfred Hamptden, related to her as second cousin, and the pair had fallen in love with each other. That love had run into an engagement, and he was coming home to make her his wife. : Lady Hamptden was aware of this, of course, and the proposed marriage met with her ap- proval, Bertrand Wellingford, téo, was related to the family in some remote way, but he was not by any means rich, as has been already said of him. But he was on the outlook for wealth, and had his eye upon Regina Hamptden as the shortest road to that desired goal that came un- der his notice. He was from England, where he had made the acquaintance of the voung lady, and had fallen in love with her, if his greedy desire ad- mitted of love in its make-up. He had been acting in a measure as Mrs. Hamptden’s agent, 11 and had thus come 1o know much of her busi- ness. He saw Regina in the stepping-stone to the very position in life that he coveted, and immediately began to plan to win her hand in marriage, But it was a dubious outlook, He was older than she, quite a good deal older, too; and as she had plenty of wealth while he had none, the chances for his winniug her were slim indeed, The next and greatest obstacle that came in the way was a favored lover. This was Alfred Hamptden. Wellingford tried once to put him out of his path, but made a failure of it, and as the police of London were hot after him, he set out for New York, In London he had held a position very similar to the one in which we find him in New York, and was, really, a ‘‘ crook” of the first water. Had it been known, more than one neat bank burglary might have been traced to his door. And this was the rascal who was plotting to harm the woman who had always been his friend, and who was planning to dispose of the daughter’s intended husband, in order once more to clear the field for himself, After bo had come to New York, he had come to know Lady Hamptden personally, and by showing himself at his best before her, and ap- parently letting her read him like an open book, to see for herself that he was, though poor, a man of honor and gentleman born, had won her regard. t was this card that he relied on to win finally the consent of the mother to a marriage with the daughter. A sad accident would occur, the intended hus- band would be drowned, he—Wellingford— would save the life of Regina, and would for- ever stand high in the favor of both mother and daughter. From that point it would be but a step to the position of son-in-law, even though he was old enough to be the girl’s father, The reader can now fully understand the vil- lainous rascal’s plans, and see that he was des- perate enough not to stop at any crime in order to come out successful in the end, When the party arrived at the pier where the steam yacht was awaiting them, Lady Hampt- den was delighted. “This is charming!” she exclaimed, as she stepped aboard, ‘‘ Bertrand, you have my en- tire approval and heartiest thanks,” The villain bowed. ‘‘T could not be more richly rewarded,” he said, humbly. Smart as he thought himself to be, the fellow was blind in one respect, It might not have been an impossibility for him to have won the hand of Lady Hamptden, perhaps. But he may have seen the chance and purposely passed it by, preferring to risk allupon the daughter, This is only a speculation. The whole party was delighted, The steam yacht was indeed a beauty, one that Wellingford had secured by the merest chance, and it was handsomely furnished and equipped. Everything that could be desired was there, and it was with high spirits that the party start- ed out into the river and down toward the bay, It was in the afternoon, and the majestic steamship, Ocean Queen, came steaming grace- fully over the bar at Sandy Hook, and into the lower bay. Many passengers crowded her deck, and all seemed light-hearted and joyous and full of hap- py anticipations, Among them were two in whom we have an especial interest. These were a young lady and her companion, a gentleman who seemed about five or six years her senior. They were standing close together, leaning over the rail, and the young lady had a pair of glasses in her hand. She was a beautiful girl, about twenty years of age, and was richly, though plainly attired. She was talking to her companion in an ani- mated manner, passing the glasses to him fre- quently and directing his attention to some fa- miliar object, telling him what each was, He was, perhaps, twenty-six years old, was ood-looking, and was blessed with a sound, healthy, and well-proportioned body, He was sun-browned, had a handsome mustache, and looked more like an American than English- man. He certainly had none of the nonsensical “m’lord” airs about him, but was plain and practical in everything. : Near by was the young lady’s maid, and an elderly lady who was evidently her duenna, Boats of various sorts were moving here and