Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 658 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

F i | | ; en pee gee —— 4 - . ~~, » = z. = - - - - . = ‘ ; _—~—— ee eee ye ee ee oe SS SS ee ee ee ee tg el EE nee ~ ° - . o ° . = . oe =. ~ Pee ~~. » : A She gazed at the diamonds in speechless dis- may. oi ust Heaven!” she said, in a whisper, ‘‘ what does this mean?” Not a word answered Horace Addison, but he looked as keenly as ever. She said no more, Her frightened gaze con- tinued to dwell upon the jewels for several mo- ments; then the hand which held them sunk down and Carona turned her gaze upon the old gentleman. Her face was whiter than ever. ** Who put this upon my neck?” she asked. ** Isn’t it yours?” he asked. éé No,” “Then how could it get there?” ‘“*T don’t know.” ** Where is your own?” Her hand sought her neck. ‘** Gone!” she returned. **And you don’t know bow my jewels came into your possession?” sé No bb There was a brief silence. Addison and Rob Wiley felt that to believe in her further was to do violence to common sense, Carona had been the first to drift ashore, and the necklace had been around her neck when she was brought to the shanty. True, as Rob well knew, Wesley Carter had aided to bring her, but his position had been snch that he could not have made any change of necklaces, even if so disposed, No one could have made the change after the irl was washed ashore. She must, therefore, ave worn the diamonds when she left the schooner, ** You don’t believe me?” cried Carona, sudden- ly, sharply, as she saw the expression on ddison’s face. ‘*T am asked to credit a good deal,” ‘*Some enemy has done this,” “How? When?” "In this shanty!” Addison shook his head, Determined todo justice to the girl he bad informed himself on every minute particular until he was as well qualified to discuss the matter as though he had been with the girl ever since Sky-Rocket Rob pulled ber from the water. ** Im ible!” he answered, “* Mr, Addison, do you condemn me?” the girl asked, her eyes full of tears, ‘*Would to heaven I need not!—but listen to what I have to tell!” He then went over the whole ground and showed how impossible it was that any substi- tution could have been made, but Carona was not convinced. ‘*It was done here,” she asserted, *‘ for when the last, call came for us to go on deck, and I was prepared for it, I distinctly noticed the necklace which I wore, and I knew it was my own, That is settled—the change was made on shore!” If she was innocent it was unfortunate that she made the last statement and accompanying assertion, for Rob knew positively that such a change had not been made since she came ashore, ‘* Miss Dane,” answered the old gentleman, in a voice far from steady, “I am filled with deep regret, buf I cannot believe you!” he look which then appeared in Carona’s eyes haunted Rob for many a day to come. ‘* And you—you think me a thief ?” she gasp- “T will not say that. Heaven must be your judge; 1 will not, Child, child, [have thought well of you, upheld you, been your defender, felt attracted to you, loved you asone of my years may—andcanI condemn younow? Idare not answer one way or the other, for my head is ergs against my heart; but one thing I find it hard to credit—that that necklace got upon your neck unknown to you. It was stolen from me just. before we went on deck; I can’t believe but you know how it got into your possession!” Sky-Rocket Rob stepped quickly forward. ** Miss Dane,” he announced, “ you ain’t desert- ed, yet, I still think you innocent, and I'll stand by you!” CHAPTER VIII. AN EVENTFUL CHANGE, Ros was nothing if not loyal, and, unlike Horace Addison, he was young. Consequently, he was more ready to believe than the old gen- tleman, His heart was not more kindly, how- ever, and Addison met the last utterance with the earnest response: “No one here is going to deal severely with Miss Dane, Iam attracted to her inspite of myself, and she is safe from annoyance,” ** But I’m going to prove her innocence!” Rob asserted. ‘* How?” ** T don’t know yet.” ** You shall have all the aid I can give.” “IT thank you most gratefully,” Carona an- Sky-Rocket Rob, the Life-Saver. 7 away. It wasa place of considerable size and some pretensions to style. Although many of its male inhabitants were fishermen, that was not by any means the sole industry. All of the pursuits flourished which are usual- ly to be found in a town of corresponding size, swered, addressing Rob, ‘‘but I am not sure | and the hotel did a good business in catering to that I deserve all this. Naan A and I may as well yield first as ast. ‘* Don’t you do it!” stoutly returned the Life- Saver. ‘‘I’m going to be your champion, and there may be such a thing as getting at the bot- tom of all these mysteries,” ‘* What will your friends say?” “Why should they say anything?” ah sata 2 that lam charged with being a ief!’ ‘* All the more reason why honest folks should stand up for you. You ain’t guilty and I know it; and what’s more, ’m going to prove that you ain’t!” ‘* Have you a plan in mind to accomplish that result?’ inquired Addison, ** Not yet.” ‘*T will furnish aid, financial and otherwise, if it can be done.” ‘But you think me guilty,” interrupted Ca- ona. ‘I don’t know what to think. If I were twenty years younger I should, I suppose, con- sider the evidence against you conclusive; but advancipg years have put aspirit of charity within me that does not always yield to mere evidence. Besides, I have from the first—if you will pardon an old man for saying so—been drawn toward you by a singular sympathy and interest. I wish you well. My position is not logical, and is hard to understand—but, I hope all will end well.” Rob Wiley found it less difficult to under- stand than the old gentleman thought; he com- prehended that, while Addison’s strong intelli- gence and worldly wisdom compelled him to see the strength of the evidence against Carona, his rare kindness led him to hope against hope that she might not be guilty. The Life-Saver was not similarly situated. He was young and impulsive, rather than logi- cal; he had taken a strong liking to Carona; sc was firm in the faith that she was inno- cent, Her own face wasa picture then. Deepest sorrow was thereon expressed, and she seemed ready to sink under the load, It was no con- solation to her that Addison wished to think well of her: it only showed her more clearly how desperate her position was, If one as noble as he thought ill of her, how would it be with the general public? The return of Roger Walden and Mrs, Vin- cent-Brown interrupted the conversation, and other matters came under consideration. The Giant’s Boot, well fitted as it was for Foretop Ben and his fellow-fishermen to live up- on, was not the proper place for the shipwrecked persons. Ben’s shanty was the only dwelling on the little point of land, and its accommodations were limited. On the other hand, the neighboring town af- forded ample accommodations, and to that place the castaways must go. This was a very simple matter for Addison and Carter, but Carona’s friends—and this meant Addison, Rob and Roger—were not wholly at ease in re- gard to her, She was either an accomplished evil-doer or a child of misfortune, If she was the first, she ought to be avoided; if the second, no effort in her behalf could be tooearnest, If the one, she was not a fit subject to go into a private family; if the other, she was not suited for life atthe hctel, among the rattle-headed summer board- ers, Rob Wiley grappled with the subject bravely, as was hiscustom, He had relatives in the vil- lage who, he thought, would be just the ones to receive her, an aged man and his wife, the last of whom was his father’s aunt. At his father’s own home there was a tribe of growing children who might not always be thoughtful of Carona’s feelings, --When this plan was explained to Walden he gave it his support at once, He was anxious to help the storm waif away from Mrs, Vincent-Brown, and it could be done in that way, Little more time was lost. The fishermen launched the boat with which they had crossed from the mainland the nigbt before, and all of the party except Foretop Ben’ and two com- le entered and were rowed across the Alt, Once more on land, the town was not far r se : ' 4 + a, > ry | Misfortune dogs my | summer boarders from the cities, To this hotel Mrs. Vincent-Brown went with- out delay, her manner showiug that she was | ie at Rivers Fae anh es » . > the re Na oa mm 3 @ ‘ 5 g p a \ Oe Sa a i “a Os ; , ‘ “© deeply offended with Walden. She bad sought his society a good dealever since she came down from New York like a fenzale Napoleon, to con- uer as she marched, but the night on the Giant’s oot bad aronsed her ire, That it would be permanent was not to be. be- lieved. She belonged toa class of women who forgive a man easily—a sister woman, never. Wesley Carter escorted her to the hotel. Both ignored Carona, They knew that Addison again had his diamonds, and appearances indi- cated that the gir: was not to be prosecuted. More than that, be seemed to have joined Walden in acting as her protector. ‘The more fool, he!” declared Carter. ‘The old chap is in his dotage,” pronounced Mrs. Vincent-Brown. ‘** No doubt.” ‘Do you believe she has lost her past life?” Carter sbrugged his shoulders, ‘““Do I believe the moon is made of green cheese?” he retorted, ‘* No doubt, she is a professional thief.” ** Looks that way.” ‘*T suspected it from the first” ‘*'You are a lady of good judgment,” ‘‘ When I see anotber woman,” declared Mrs, Vincent-Brown, ‘‘I can read ber at a glance, Call it intuition or what you will, I can see through her with singular skill, I never make a mistake!” The faintest possible smile on Carter’s face showed that he regarded this conceited claim as absurd, hut he was the speaker’s ally for the time being, and he answered dutifully: ‘You have proved your skill in this case,” *“T only hope she won’t steal this town bodily.” ‘*Sbe may not find the officers of law, here, so soft-headed and mush-hearted as old Ad and this Walden clown,” ‘*T only wish J had charge here!” Miserable Mrs, Vincent-Brown, holding her bead high in the air, and ——— to be a model of her sex, was working herself into quite a fever over Carona’s case, and at each turn she fancied that she had more and more cause for it. Really, as it was not her place to condemn Carona, anyway, she was only harrowing up ber own mind with the poisonous fangs of groundless resentment. Horace Addison, too, went to the hotel soon after, limping painfully, and leaning on an improvised staff, Roger and Rob took Carona to the selected refuge. Mr. and Mrs; Bone were quiet, simple- minded people, and though Roger, from a sense of duty, told all that he knew concerning the storm-waif, they did not fail to see the matter as he did. They readily agreed to receive Carona, and harbor her until she decided what to do, Just then she was ina state of great uncer- taintv. The conviction that she ought to be in New York City, which had caused her to leave Norfolk, was no Jonger strong. On the other hand, she declared that she ought to remain where she was until events proved her inno- cence, ‘‘ And,” Rob said to Roger, as they left the house, I’m going to be the instrument of prov- ing it! alden answered rir ti eanag nA for he was all in sympathy with the boy Life-Saver, but, really, he could not see how the result was to be accomplished, CHAPTER IX, TONY BRISTLES’S MISFORTUNES. 2 Waat's that fellow skulking around there for? ‘* Wants ter git in out o’ the fog, I reckon,” ** Poor place to do it.” “Good place; hard ter git in.” “* He’s an evil-looking knave.” ** Rags an’ dirt is i skin-deep.” ‘*T believe the man is a burglar.” It was late in the evening of the day after the wreck, Sky-Rocket Rob stood near Otis Bond's house in company with Tony Bristles, who has heen menticned as a partner of Foretop Ben, Tony—his real name was Anthony Brittou—was ‘ : : ‘] a. , : ' se , AAG. “Met Seis : 1 ae 4 * ¢ ; i ‘ * ar " - mee) | | ti s | ewe . .| wie ow Te ) "1 oe “at ¥, fee a Pine rer, 24. -! oe 4 =e ae Whe: Pat an ae t: oe, ee Ga ie; ar rh to Ind ‘ea! ; 7 books.com < ‘ ef, ad » ~