Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 628 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

i > 4 =~ - . ~< or * » = = a” g = Se i ae Le caiie™ thd” slotul-iand® Grlacing che palin the signal, and bringing the outside guardsman to him. ‘Th’ rats is in th’ trap,” he hurriedly said; o fer th’ cats.” ‘Phe man said never a word, but hastened away, and Billy returned to his post to listen, It soon appeared that the men had a prisoner with them, ‘*{s it a detective?” Billy was in time to hear one of the men inquire. ‘* No, it is not a detective,” Captain Iron-grip snswered, ‘** but it is the man whom we tried to ispose of the other day when the Old Boy in- terfered with our plans,” Broadway Billy could hardly keep still, Here he was, just in time to save that man’s life again, Now it all depended upon the eo with which Speare answered his ca ‘** An’ what will ye do with him now?’ one of the fellows asked, ‘*We will send him to keep company with that boy, down in the bottom of the bay,” the captain replied. At this they laughed. ‘* That is a sure way, an’ no discountin’ that,” one observed, ‘Is it?” thought Billy; ‘‘ you wait an’ hear what I will have ter say on that head.” There was considerable of talk, and aftera time the men were heard to move into the other room and bolt the doors after them, though Billy had to wonder where the bolts could be. Even Speare had been unable to find the door with any certainty. The explanation was that the bolts were in the face of the door, or its edge, if you will; and that they were moved by secret springs. Billy wasin a fever lest Speare and his men should arrive too late. Why did they not come? {it seemed an age since he had sent for them, But they were soon at hand, and one by one they crept in under the den and took their places, Skinny coming with them, as he had been faithfully promised that he should not miss the fun, It was clear from what was heard, that it was their intention to drown the man who was in their power, and that it was to be done in a manner similar to the way in which they had disposed of Billy, ‘*Why do you desire my death?” the prisoner was heard to ask. ‘*That is something that you will never know,” was the reply of Captain Iron-grip. < But, who is it that wants me put out ot the way?” ‘* Another question that cannot be answered. Let it be enough for you to know that within a few hours you will be in the other world,” ‘* My life has been attempted before; is it the same person who is seeking it again ? the pris- oner further asked, **T think I can safely answer that it is,” Cap- tain Iron-grip replied; *‘ but let us have no more talk about it. en, see to it that he is securely bound, and we will leave him here till after midnight, when we will take care of him.” The moving of feet was heard, as the men obeyed the order, ** He can’t Fr away,” one of them announced. “It is well,” said the captain. ‘‘ You may employ the time as you will, my man,” he added, addressing the prisoner, “until our return, You are in good company, and as shining as these bones are, so yours shall be ere long.” It was evident that they were about to leave the room, and Speare gave the sign for the at- tack upon them. With a single movement the boards of the floor were thrown up, and the letective, the po- licemen, and the boys, all were in the room in a moment of time. It was a surprise complete, and the officers had the rascals covered with their weapons be- fore they could realize what had happened. ‘The one of you that makes a move is a dead man,” said Detective Speare, in a stern voice, Even as he said it, he and one of his men moved forward, and in almost no time at all a, one of the fellows was handeuffed. Their gs en had been too great for them to gs of offering resistance until it was too ate, When that was done, the officers snatched the gowns from them, and nearly every oneof them was instantly recognized. ** Bertrand Wellingford!” the’prisoner cried in blank astonishment, as that villain was un- masked. Pier aie Iron-grip had nothing to say. He king at. one of the attacking party, and his lips were parted and his face was blanched. ae Sener S Nea ea. — LS, HB ap DA Nth NR RE i Billy’s Dead Act. i om one he had his eyes on was Broadway Ny ‘Ob! it is_me,” Billy exclaimed, ‘‘an’ I am as chipper as I ever was in my life. I reckon it is a Matter ©’ s’prise ter you ter see me here, af- ter th’ way you disposed of me, but bere | am allth’same. There is some things in this world that you don’t know yet, captain, an’ th’ chances is that you won’t live long enough ter learn ’em. You are likely ter be hanged, I should say. At any rate, you are booked fer a term up th’ river, an’ while you are there you kin while away th ibang: Bae in tryin’ ter solve th’ problem 0 how Willyum o’ Broadway kem ter life again.” Itwasa matter of the greatest surprise to them all, and not one of them could form any idea of how the boy had escaped from what they had looked upon as his certain death. Ay, more; had he not been found and actually buried? They could not comprehend it. The Sworn Seven were severely dealt with, and not one of them escaped the full penalty of the law. It wasa great surprise to Lady Hamptden, and when the whole case was made known to her she could not realize that it wastrue. Could Welingford be such a nardencd wretch? she questioned, The proof against him was the answer. Alfred Hamptden and Regina were married, and honored guests at the wedding were Broad way Billy and his partner, Skinny. Skinny never tires of talking about the affair, and declares that it was a good deal greater than anything he ever dreamed about, In com- sale. it, be insists thatit was not far behind roadway Billy’s funeral. The two boys are stillin business at the old stand, Skinny has now little to say in opposition to Billy’s detective work, since he has hada taste of it himself. Billy declares that he is afraid the fever will break out upon his thin partner in a severe form, suddenly, and carry him off. The Pirogne has not been heard of, since it was last seen by the two boys, and they are afraid that its ocean trip proved disastrous to their three friends, They are very anxious concerning them, and are living in hopes their worst fears may not be realized, and that the Pirogue may yet come to light all safe and sound, Our hopes are with them, The strange tale comes to an end. Only a few minor points remain to be brought out. It was never learned who the boy was that was thought to have been Broadway Billy, and who as such was buried. About one of the first things that Billy at- tended to, when other matters of greater mo- ment had been disposed of, was to have the headstone taken down, and his name and the accompanying words erased from it, In place of that he had the one word ‘ UN- KNOWN” cut in, and with that inscription the stone still marks the unknown’s grave, ‘* My time hadn’t come yet,” Billy declared, ‘fan’ there is no use tryin’ ter get a feller out o’ th’ world afore his time is ripe. It begins ter dawn upon my darkened intellect that I was born ter die of old age, or some other chronic ailment o’ th’ mortal body. I wasn’t never meant ter be killed. If I had been, my stock o lives would ’s’ been run out long ago, and I would now be in my wooden overcoat. No, sir-ee, Broadway Billy wasn’t meant ter be killed, an’ ye kin publish it abroad so that he who runs may read. I don’t want anybody ter make any mistake on that p’int. An’ you kin add as a postscript ter that, that Willyum o Broadway is still in th’ harness, an’ that he adds his weight ter the side o’ jestice an’ right every time. ‘“* Broadway Billy dead? Well, hardly.” THE END. Beadles Dime Library. BY CAPTAIN MARK WILTON, 176 Lady Jaguar, the Robber Queen. 194 Don Sombrero. the California Road Gent, 202 Cactus Jack, the Giant Guide. 219 The Scorpion Brothers; or, Mad Tom’s Mission, 223 Canyon Dave, the Man of the Mountain, 227 Buckshot Ben, the Man-Hunter of Idaho. 237 Long-Haired Max; or, The Black League, %45 Barranca Bill, the Revolver ( ‘hampion 258 Bullet Head, the Colorado Bravo. 263 lron-Armed ‘Abe, the Hunchback Destroyer. 266 Leopard Luke, the King of Horse-Thieves. 271 Stonefist, of Big Nugget Bend, 276 Texas Chick. the Southwest Detective, 285. Lizhtning Bolt, the Canyon Terror, 291 Horseshoe Hank, the Man of Big Luck, 305 Silver-Plated Sol, the Montana Rover. 311 Heavy Hand; or, The Marked Men, 323 Hotspur Hugh; or, The Banded Brothers, BY OLL COOMES,. 7 Death-Noteh, the Destroyer. 43 Dakota Dan, the Reckless Ranger. 44 Old Dan Rackhback, the Great Extarminator, 46 Bowie-Knife Ben, the Nor’west Hunter. 48 jJdaho Tom, the Young Outlaw of Silverland, 51 Red Rob, the Boy Road-Agent,. 99 The Giant Rifleman: or, Wild Camp Life. 137 Long Beard, the Giant Spy. 148 One-Armed Alf, the Giant Hunter, BY SAM S. HALL—‘** Buckskin Sam, 8 Kit Carson, Jr., the Crack Shot. 90 Wild Will, the Mad Ranchero. 178 Dark Dashwood, the Desperate. 186 The Black Bravo; or, The Tonkaway’s Trium s 191 The ae Tonkaw ay; or, Old Rocky and Par 195 The Lone Star Gambler; or, The Magnolia’s Maid. 199 Diamond Dick, the Dandy from Denver. 204 Big Foot Wallace, the King of the Lariat. 212 The Brazos Tigers : or, The Minute Men. 217 The Serpent of El Paso: or, Frontier Frank. 221 Desperate Duke, the Guadaloupe ‘Galoot.” 225 Rocky Mountain Al; or, The Waif of the Range. 239 The Terrible Trio; or, The Angel of the Army. * 24 Merciless Mart, the Man Ti iger of Missouri. 250 The Rough Riders; or, Sharp Eye, the Scourge. 256 Double Dan, the Dastard; or, The Pirates. 264 The Crooked Three. 269 The Bayou Bravo; or, The Terrible Trail. 273 Mountain Mose, the Gorge Outlaw. 282 The Merciless Marauders: or, Carl’s Revenge. 287 Dandy Dave and his Horse, White Stocking. 293 pieneee Steve; or, The Doom of the Double 301 Rowildar Bill; or, The Man from Taos. 3809 Raybold, the Rattling Ranger. 322 The Crimson Coyotes; or, Nita, the Nemesis. 328 King Kent; or, The Bandits of the Bason. 842 Blanco Bill, the Mustang. Monarch. 358 The Prince of Pan Out. 871 Gold Buttons; or, The Up Range Pards. 511 Paint Pete, the Prairie Patrol. MISCELLANEOUS, 6 Wildcat Bob. By Edward L., Wheeler. 9 Handy Andy. By Samuel Lover, 10 Vidocq, the French eos Spy. By himsel. 11 Midshipman Kasy. is aptain Marryatt. 32 nore of Yale: or, The Scrapes of Collegians. y John D, Vose. 60 Wine Awake, the Robber King. By F. Dumont. 68 The Fighting Trapper. By Capt. J. F. C. Adams. 76 The Queen’s Musketeers. By George Albany. 78 The Mysterious Spy: By Arthur M. Grainger. 102 The Masked Ban By George L. Aiken. 110 The Silent Rifleman. By H. W. Herbert. 125 The Blacksmith Outlaw. By H. Ainsworth. 1383 Rody the Rover. By William Carleton. 140 The Three Spaniards. By Geo. Walker. 144 The Hunchback of Notre Dame. By Victor Hugo. 146 The Doctor Detective. By George Lemuel. 152 Captain Ironnerve, the Counterfeiter Chief, 158 The Doomed Dozen. By Dr. Frank Powell 166 Owlet, the Robber Prince. By 8S. R. Urban. 179 Conrad, the Convict, By Prof. Gildersleeve. 190 The Three Guardsmen, 1 Rees eS Dumas. 261 Black Sam, the Prairie Thunderbolt. By Col, Jo Yards. 275 The Smuggler Cutter. By J. D. aig 812 Kinkfoot Karl, the Mountain Scourge y Mor- ris Redwing. 830 Cop Colt,the Snkice City Detective. By CO. Morris. 850 Flash Falcon, the Society Detective. By Weldon ob 853 Bart Brennan; or, The King of Straight Flush, By John Cuthbert. 866 The Telegraph Detective. By George Henry orse. 410 Sarah Brown, Detective. By K. F. Hill. 500 The True-Heart Pards. By Dr. Noel Dunbar, 518 Royal Richard, the Thoroughbred. By J. W, sbon. 528 Hucklebe the Foot-Hills Detective. By Lieut. A. K. Sims, 534 Green Mountain Joe: or, The Counterfeiter’s Cave. By Marmaduke Dey. A new issue every Wednesday. Beadle’s Dime Library is for sale by all Newsdealers, ten cents per copy, or sent by mail on receipt of twelve cents each. BEADLE & ADAMS, Publishers, 98 William Street, New York. wo *,* 7 ee s.com ie om~, ¥ <2 & ™'« ae