Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 685 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

8h. 2 Happy Hugh, the Boy-Musician Detective, LI ~ t open third story windows of a large tenement house, . He was ‘‘ countrified ” all over, but, notwitb- standing his looks, he wasa handsome old man of sixty or thereabouts, and his home-made gar- ments, a little the worse for steady wear, well- fitted his well-fed figure, Down from the window which he eyed so closely, and through the gathering dusk of a summer’s day, came the musica] notes of a flute. This it was that had reminded the countryman of ‘‘ old times,” He listened entranced until the lively tune came to an end, and then seeing in the doorway of the human hive a large woman with bronzed arms akimbo, he stepped nimbly forward: ‘* Who might be making the noise up there?” inquired the old man. he woman grinned, ‘It might be Ole Bull from the way that flute goes, but it isn’t,” said she. ‘*T jedge not. I’ve been listening spell-bound ever since J caught the first note, Nelly used to be handy with the flute when she was quite young.” eae Could she play like that boy?” ** A boy, is it?” “Yes: you’ve been listening toa concert by Happy Hugh. If there’s a cricket in New York happier than him, I'd like to see it,” “+ And I’d like to see the the boy himself.” ‘You would, eh? Well, that’s the easiest thing in the world though you'll have to climb three flights. We've got no elevators in this rookery.” The stranger stepped inside, ‘Happy Hugh’s playin’ again as you can hear,” continued the woman. “ The flute will guide you. He’s on the third floor, second door to the left,” The man bounded up the dirty stairs with the agility of a person not half his age, and the notes of the flute as it played a merry hornpipe, indicated the right door, which stood half ajar. Pushing it open the caller saw asmall room almost square. Its furniture consisted of a cot, a table and two chairs, one of the latter being occupied at the time by a boy of sixteen, who seemed to be putting his whole soul into the flute. The countryman looked at the scene, and smiling, waited until the hornpipe was finished; then he stepped into the room, “ Hello!” cried the boy, looking up. ‘‘ Did 1 draw you up here?” ‘“ That’s exactly what you did. Yourplaying made me think of old times,” ‘‘ My playing? Then yoy used to play when—” ** No, i never had a flute to my lips, but Nelly had.” ‘* Nelly?” ‘* Ah, you never knew her!” The countryman was now standing in front of the boy musician who was looking up into a face which bad suddenly grown sad, ‘‘T know two or three Nellys, but I guess neither of them is yours,” he said, ‘‘ Do you know who I am?” ‘‘Pve just heard that they call you Happy Hugh.” ‘Yes, because I keep the air astir and the ple awake with my flute. Happy Hugh! ut of course I’ve got another name,” ‘‘ Certainly,” nodded the old man, ‘‘ My name is Ahijah Axtell.” Happy Hugh’s deep brown eyes seemed to open to their widest extent. . ‘‘ Axtell?’ he exclaimed. ‘* Not the owner of—” He checked himself and looked the old man over from head to foot, ‘‘ The owner of Axtell, the flyer? No, I’m not that lucky chap, I own a few good horses,{but they’re plugs alongside of him.” ‘“That’s ‘ Axtell,’ said Happy Hugb, calling his visitor’s attention to a wre i ge print on one of the walls. ‘* I keep nearly all the celebri- 4 ties of the day here.” One would bave thought so, and Mr. Axtell evidently did, for the four walls of the room were literally covered with illustrations cut from the pictorial papers of the day, and when the boy’s visitor had given them a glance he turned to the young flutist again. ‘‘ Dm looking for Nelly,” he said in a serious voice. ** Ts she lost?” ‘Nelly Axtell is lost,” was thereply. ‘“‘ The irl is my grand-daughter, She went away Receni home five years ago when sho was nearly fifteen.” ‘* Did she come to New York?” ** We think she did.” ** Alone?” Happy Hugh had become ixterested in the old man’s story, ‘We're not so sure about that,” answered Abijah, ‘'I may beon a wild-goose chase, but L can’t give Nelly up. I gota letter some days ago.” He felt in one of bis pockets as he spoke, **[t wasn’t dated, and all we had to go by was the post-mark,” With this be produced the letter, which he handed without reserve to Happy Hugh. ‘*It came from New York, I see,” said the boy. who had previously turned on the gas, Mr. Axtell nodded. ‘*l want you to read it,” hesaid. ‘“‘ It eon- tains no secrets, but there’s some tall lying in it. Happy Hugh relieved the envelope of its con- tents, which consisted of a single sheet of paper, on one side of which, in a disguised hand, was the following: ** OLD MAN AXTELL:— ‘*You are wasting time looking for Nelly, the run- away. She’s perfectly happy whero she is, and wants to be forgotten by those whose name she once bore. She is Nelly Axtell no longer, and she wouldn’t own you if you were to find her. She’ll send for her legacy one of these days. So, don’t waste your mouey on a profitless search, but keep it for a rainy day. JACK XERXES,” ‘“That’s a funny name!” said Happy Hugh, ‘‘and, of course, it don’t belong to the person who wrote that letter.” ‘*Of course it don’t,” echoed Mr, Axtell. ‘‘There isn’t such a name as ‘ Jack Xerxes’ in any Directory in the United States,” pur- sued the boy. ‘But, why should Nelly want to run away?” ‘‘She hadn’t any need to, and Heaven knows I never accused her of doing so, One evening she went to fetch the cows, and that’s the last we saw of Nelly.” ‘Tt is strange, sure enough,” commented Happy Hugh, ‘*] should say so, She disappeared as com- pletely as if the earth had swallowed her, Nelly was the only girl I ever knew who took to the flute, I don’t know how she came to like that sort o’ music, but she liked no otber kind, When I heard you playing—and playing some of Nelly’s old tunes—I had to stop and listen, and come up to see you.” , “Tm glad you came up,” said the boy. ‘* When did you come to town?” ‘*T’ve been here a week.” ‘* Looking for Nelly?” ‘‘ Well, Vve been doing nothing else, P’m nearly played out.” ‘*T believeit, This is a big city,” ‘‘ The biggest I ever saw.” ‘‘ Have you told your story to the police?” “No, and I'll tell you why | haven’t, morn I don’t want anybody to know I’m here, Tell the police, and the newspaper men will have tho whole story in a short time, and I don’t want to head a sensation. I prefer to look for Nelly without any brass band business abont my mis- sion. Happy Hugh, I believe that if I had you with me for a few days we'd find her.” ‘Why so?’ ‘“- You see, I’d have you play on your flute in different quarters of the city, and if Nelly was around we'd know it.” * That’s not a bad idea,” laughed the boy. *‘ But, let us go back to that letter. The man who wrote it knows what became of Melly.” ‘To be sure he does, the villain!” cried Mr, Axtell, clinching his hand. ‘‘ When he says that Nell wants to be forgotten by us he lies in the blackest heart in a bumanp breast! Nelly was an Axtell all over. I know she didn’t quit us of her own accord, I’m afraid I am wasting the best years of my life looking for her, but I couldn't waste ’em in a better cause, I teil ou— Just then a footstep fell at the open door and a voice broke forth: ‘‘ When will you come round, Hugh?” it said, Before the boy could reply Mr, Axtell turned and caught a oitmpes of a thick-set man who stood in the doorway. ‘*T'll be down in a few minutes, major,” an- swered the boy, at which the man said ‘ All right !” and witodrew, ‘Who was that?” asked Ahijah Axtell, his face a curious study. ‘‘That’s the manager of the Eureka Employ- ment Bureau three squares below,” said the boy. ‘‘He’s a queer chicken and knows where the dollars are, every time. 1 guess you never saw the major before.” “I’m not so sure about that,” exclaimed Ax- tell. “ [’ve got a pretty good memory. If I’ve never seen ‘the major,’ as you call him, I once had a glimpse of his brother.” ) ‘¢ When was that?” ‘t The day before Nelly went away.” Hugh looked at the old countryman witha smile, ‘‘T don’t think the major’s been out of New York once in ten years,” said he, and then, as he slipped the flute into his pocket he continued seriously : H Dun going to help you find Nelly, Mr, Ax- ell, _ * You?” exclaimed the old man, drawing back in surprise, ‘*Why not? It looks to me like a rascally piece of business, and, then, [’ve searched for lost people before. Will you let me belp you?” Ahijah Axtell’s eyes suddenly glowed with de- light, and this was answer enough, CHAPTER, II. HAPPY HUGH’S DISCOVERY. A FEW winutes after this Hugh was on bis way to keep his promise with the man whom he had called ‘* the major.” The boy, before parting with Ahijah Axtell, had obtained his present city address, and the letter signed “Jack Xerxes” reposed snugly in his pocket. : “That was a strange meeting, and I’m inter- ested,” said Hugh, while he walked along. “TI believe, with the old gentleman, that there’s some welllaid plct at the bottom of the girl’s disappearance. Some sleek rascal is playing a trump card, and [’'m going to try to find out who itis, I won’t tell Phelan, not now, at any rate.” Phelan was a detective friend of his, ‘*Phil of late likes to getall the glory be can without doing much hard work. No,” decided- ly, “he sha’n’t hear of this matter at present. Vl pipe the case a while on my Own hook, and see what it yields mo. Mr. Axtell mentioned some things’ which I must not forget. He sur- prised me several times, If lost Nelly, the flute-player, is living, she’s a young lady, and one worth looking at, too, from what her grand- father says.” By this time Hugh had nearly reached his destination, and a little further on he disap- fen ee in an open hallway, and bounded up a ong flight of steps to the bachelor quarters of the Manager of the Eureka Employment Bureau, ‘‘The Major,” or Joly Jenkins, as he very often signed his name, was, in his own estima- tion, at least, a very important personage. He was a thick-set individual with a round face which boasted of closely-cropped mutton-chop whiskers, and a very heavy musiache, the ends of which had a decided curl, His age was about forty, though hoe did not show it. He was tasty in dress, and, being fond of good living, took his meals at the ‘t Golden Eagle Restaurant,” which was “ just around the corner,” and the swellest establishment of the kind in that part of the city. As we have heard Happy Hugh inform Mr. Axtell, Joly Jenkins knew how to make money. The Bureau did a good business, and its dupes were many. Everybody who registered on its books as seeking employment was required to deposit a fee, and, if work was found, anotber fee was forced from the victim, The major did not pose as the proprietor of the industry. He was merely the manager, and Happy Hugh always thought that the handsome man who sometimes dropped in and held a con- fidential talk with Joly, in the private office, was the real head of the concern, Mr, Jenkins was the boy’s musical pupils on the flute, Hugh nearly laughed in his face when cone day he said he wanted to learn how to play that instrument, and as he offered to pay well for instructions the young flutist was not adverse to giving him all the ‘* pointers” he could, ‘‘Teach that fellow to play the flute?” ex- claimed Hugh as be walked home after the first lesson. ‘i’d as soon un’ertake to teach an ele- phant to whistle!” When the boy reached tbe major’s rooms after his interview with Mr, Axtell, he found his pupil waiting for him. twas a warm evening, aod numerous drops of sweat which glistened on Joly Jenkins’s brow told Hugh that he bad been practicing. ** Did the old fellow I saw in your room want to learn the flute?” asked Mr. Jenkins. “Not exactly,” answered the boy. ‘He heard me from the sidewalk, and, having an ear for music, came up to listen. ‘IT didn’t see his face, but_he seemed to bea fresh arrival in the city. You didn’t mention the Bureau, [ presume?” “Yes, I did,” quickly responded Hugh, “ £ do that whenever I can. ‘Byer so much obliged,” said Joly, picking comicboot