Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 639 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

‘* —_ i. - es “ ~~ ’ “ows .— > e ws "Iwo ee —< ~- =. a = 5" : ya = 4 7 & ~ > - = = ‘ ~~ — -— > Ye orsse “es ey ot ® 2S . p . ee j 7 ¢ —— »*> e . i Pe D" ? “ee 4 . ~~ + ait os. Sunrise Saul. ¥ es ie or “y : ‘ , : x t - mh By te ore é . ‘| Pe » lhe Bg “Yes, I had fallen asleep, but did not rest long; I am too old to sleep in the ordinary seat of a car, When I awoke, this paper touched my chin, and [ found it as I have said.” ‘Was it done for a joke?” ~ “7 don’t think so.” ** Whot, then?’ Mr. Enonbridge mechanically smoothed the paper with his wrinkled hands, and looked at vacancy in a way which aroused all of Saul’s ity. ‘ ay am on my way to a place near Boston, to see my son, who is in trouble. This document seems to connect with his case, and hints at trouble in a way which alarms me!” ** Have you any idea, sir, who wrote it?” ce No,” ** If any one on the train knows aboutit, why don’t he come right to you?” ‘* That [ don’t know.” ‘Who else is on the train that knows of your errand to Boston?” | ** My granddaughter.” ** She did not write it?’ ‘** Bless me, no! It is not in Emmie’s yr, and, if she had aught to say, she would spea right to the point.” ‘* What are you going to do?” ‘*T want to find the writer,” '* How can you do that?” **T don’t know,” Neither did Saul. Whoever had written the letter evidently preferred to remain unknown, and, as he had lett the letter and made good his esc: pe, there seemed no way of detecting him. Saul saw that Enonbridge was not in a fit condition to pursue the investigation. He trem- bled with excitement and pbysical weakness, and, plainly, the best place for him was in the car. Poor as were the sleeping accommoda- tions, it was better than to be wandering around in an aimless way to find an invisible person, The news-agent set out to convince him of this, and succeeded so well tnat Enonbridge finally returned to his quarters, ‘* What next?” thought Saul. ‘“‘ Jockway de- clares that he has seen his enemy, and this old gentleman has a strange letter. Truly, there’s a pile of romance carried on the railroad, It’s always so—probably four persons out of every five whom we carry have either a hidden secret, a deep sorrow or a criminal design. Queer reading it would make if we had all their his- tories written up!” Jim, the brakeman, approached. ‘* Any news?” he asked, ‘No. Have you?” Saul answered. **T should smile!” “What is it?” Jim held up his hands, ‘* See what I’ve got here in my grip?” ** An old-fashioned pocketbook, or ‘ wallet,’ as [ve heard my grandfather say.” “Exactly. Well, Saul, [ found that by the car, totally empty, when I was amblin’ along. Now, how come it there? Did the owner sling itaway? Bet yer boots hedidn’t. That con- cern has a history !” CHAPTER VII. _ A TRAP TO CATCH A THIEF. Jim’s emphatic manner impressed Saul strongly. ‘* What is the history?” the latter asked. ™ oe te what we must find out,” Jim re- nded, } ‘Then you know no more than that it was lying by the car?” ** That’s all, but I can guess more,” “You think that the mysterious robber has been at work again, eh?” ' So saying, Jim held up the pocketbook again, ‘* Empty to the last red!” he added. ‘* Some old-fashioned feller has been gone through, his money appropriated ay our slick-fingered thief, an’ the useless wallet thrown away. Say, Saul, ef we ketch our man we have got ter hustle,” _ Saul was of the opinion that something more than ‘‘ hustling” was needed. Since the un- known robber begau to work the train, the compary had put some of the very best of New York detectives on the trail. They had utterly failed to make any discovery, and it was an open secret that their employers regarded the robber—or robbers—as far shrewder than the detectives, " It was no small task to cateh such c1 and the youth was excusable for hesitating. ' He would not admit a lack of confidence. “Plainly,” observed Sunrise Saul, ‘ pocketbook was emptied by the unk ** That’s sure,” al: » b aiiere: and every one has been recognized b 80 ‘* Have you a plan, Jim?” ** Only to watch.” ‘*Do you think we shall catch them?” ‘*T mean to, By the way, have you been in the smoker, lately? ‘* About twenty minutes ago.” ‘Things are gettin’ lively there, The card- players are whoopin’ things up. Seems they had considerable whisky, an’ they are soakin’ it inter their hides, Maybe you noticed that the quiet gentlemen who played whist durin’ the day are all asleep, and that the present players are black sheep.” ‘* IT did notice it.” ‘*There’s mischief in them.” ‘Think so?”? ‘**T know it, Come an’ see!” Jim led the way back to the smoking-car, and Saul was not slow to see that affairs had changed for the worse. The card-players were a hard-looking lot, and their flusnued faces showed that they were: losing what grain of prudence they usually bad. Saul knew that they had been d' inking freely, and wondered where the supply of liquor had come from. Liquor was there, and bottles were being passed around freely. “This ought to be stopped,” the youth ob- served, ‘* Who can do it?” ‘** The conductor.” Jim shook his head, ‘* He ain’t got control over men who keep the peace, Them fellows ain’t exactly drunk,” ‘*They will be, soon, and dangerous, In cases like this the conductor ought to take authority, and stop the men before they lose all sense.” It was a difficult question to deal with, and so the trainmen found it. Due remcnstrance was made to the bard drinkers, but without any good effect. Serious fears began to be felt, Would the men turn into rioters? If they did they would make matters very un- pleasant, and the ‘‘crew” was hardly strong enough in numbers to handle them. Probably the great majority of the passengers would be found on the side of law and order, if it came to a crisis, but they would not welcome an in- terruption to their rest. There was no doubt as to where one man stood. Buck Jockway did not rest. Back and forth along the track he wandered, looking for his enemy. The rule that every car except the smoker must be free from intrusion was en- forced, and the Lame Horse miner could not pater) there, but he hoped to find the man out- side, So he went about, peering into the face of every one he met, ready to settle his grudge if opportunity was vouchsafed. hen he was addressed concerning the pos- sibilities of a fight, his gloomy face lighted up with savage joy. ‘‘Count me in!’ he exclaimed. ‘* Nobody can’t say I’m a lawless man, but I am durned upset, now, an’ a scrap will jest do me good, Ef thar is a row, let me know it, I kerry asix, an’ the old gal has got a tooth in every socket. She kin bite!” After that he kept near the smoking-car, anx- ious for the fight, but bis patience was tried be- fore he had any chance to work off his accumu- lated passion. The riot was, perhaps, prevented by another sensation, Sunrise Saul was standing by the car back of the ‘smoker ” when something like a bat flap- ped down upon his head, and then dropped to the ground. He looked up quickly, and just hada glimpse of a descending window. He looked down, and saw an empty pocket- book at his feet, This was a discovery which could not be pass- ed over lightly. The mysterious train-robber was busy, and something must be done about it, Saul went at once to the conductor and told his story. That officer shook his head.] ‘** The robber, again!” ‘* He seems to de working the whole train, and slinging the empty ‘leathers’ out by whole- sale—as it may not all be done by the mysterious robber.” ‘** [t is!” declared the conductor; ‘‘ it’s just in his line. Since the trouble cn our trains began, merous empty pocket-books have been found the side of the track by our laborers, and 1 y This shows that it is the me person robbed. invariable habit of the robber to pocket the cash and throw out the ‘ leather.’” _“ Tt’s a wonder he isn’t seen to do it,”. ‘* The robber isa dare-devil; all things go to prove that.” They went to the platform of the car to see who occupied the seat next to the window from which the pocket-book had been thrown, and saw a feeble old man and little old woman peacefully sleeping. Obviously, the robber was not either of them. ‘* No flies on our robber, if he is a dare-devil,” added the conductor. ‘‘ He didn’t give his own poaiee away, and we are allinthe dark, Vd ike to nab that fellow! Iregard it as not only a challenge, so to speak, when he threw out the ‘leather,’ but an intimation that we were blamed fools, Tl catch him if I cap.” ‘* How? By alarming the car?” ‘* Not by any means. If the robber has stow- ed away a whole fistful of bank-notes, if would be hard to prove that they were not his, Not one person ina hundred takes the numbers of bills which he carries, No; our one way ,is to ‘lay for’ our man, and take him on the sly.” sé How?” ‘¢ ¢ Pipe’ the car.” ‘¢T see,” ‘* Boy, you look pretty fly.” 6s Do 1?” ‘¢ Yes; and I think I'll give you the job,” ‘** Just as you say.” **T will send Jim in to change the ventilators on the north side of the car, and, while he is thus occupied, you can slide in and lie down on the floor. This done, you are to keep still as possible there, and not let any one suspect that there has been an addition to the happy family.” This did not meet Saul’s approval, asit would restrict his freedom of movements for the rest of the night, and the conversation ended ina brakeman having the chance, instead, The watcher was soon introduced into the car, according to the programme, but Saul was not by any means sure that the robber would consent to be caught. Anxious to solve this question, he planted himself on one of the brakes and, keeping well back so that the darkness, the fog and his posi- tion combined to make himself invisible, added his gaze to the vigil kept, In the smoking-car the card-playing grew feeble. Some of the drunkards went to sleep, while the others grew less noisy. It looked less like a riot. An bour elapsed. In the marked car all had been quiet, and Saul nearly went to sleep on the brake-wheel, He was sitting with closed eyes, and his thoughts had wandered, but he finally awoke with a start and the knowledge that he had nearly fall- en off the wheel. He glanced into the car again. Some one was moving. The lamps had been turned down quite low, but he could distinctly see a moving figure. It was that of a man, and was crossing the car, This did not necessarily prove anything, for he might be the most honest of men. But Saul soon had cause for suspicion. The unknown did not walk boldly; bis progress was slow and furtive, and he looked sharply at the sleeping passengers in the seats as he went. * ischief afoot, I do believe!” Muttering these words, Saul leaned forward and watched eagerly. Was the solution of the mysterious robbery-case at hand? he prowler appeared to be uncertain; once, he stopped entirely, and looked arouna, but finally moved on, At last he paused, crouched down and seemed to fumble in one of the seats—possibly, over one of the sleeping passengers, Then Saul saw the brakeman spy arise, take a few steps forward and reach the prowler, Another moment and the latter was seized in the railroad man’s firm hold and thrown to the floor. CHAPTER VIII. NABBED AT NIGHT, ‘‘ l'vE got him!—I’ve got the robber! Come an’ git bim!” This cry sounded in an excited way from the brakeman’s lips, and Sunrise Saul waited for no more. Springing to the door, he flung it open and opened the car. There had been a struggle, but it hardly deserved that name. The prisoner had not shown remarkable strength, and, me, taken at a disadvantage, had been overpowe without much trouble. . @ was now lying under the railroad man’s knee, while the passengers, startled by the out- cry, were springing up all around. ‘Turn up the lights!” added the brakeman, 4‘ in a voice like a small burricane. nes od © — :