Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 727 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

a death-dealing six-shooters at his back again ex- erted their persuasive powers; and when the train moved on aguin, that long pine box, with its valuable contents, lay on the depot platform at Braoford. ‘‘ Now, then, the pox has gone, and we must follow to look after our treasure,” said the chief robber, hurriedly. ‘ Accept my sincere thanks, young man, for the valuable uid you have ren- dered, and be assured we shall never forget it. And now, since I have no further need of your services, and as I desire to postpone the discov- ery of this affair as long as possibie, I'll take the liberty to have you bound and gagged and placed beside your friend yonder. This was speedily done, and then, while the train was still running at buta moderate rate of speed, the four successful Express-robbers ]e aped one by enue from the open door and disappeared in the gloom, CHAPTER III. VAIN PURSUIT. THUS was consummated a robbery that, for s>rewdness of plot and boldness of execution, +and without a parallel in Western railway his- tory; and, as the train rolled rapidly onward, the luckless fellows who had so easily fallen vic- tims to this daring scheme, bound and gagged as they were, could but commune with their own unpleasant reflections, utterly powerless to pre- vent the escape of the audacious thieves with their plunder. However, they were not destined to long re- main ian that disagreeable position, At the very next stopping-place, a dozen miles beyond the point where the four marauders decamped, the suspicions of the station people were aroused by the messenger’s non-appearance, and the side door of the car being wide open, they immedi- ately entered to investigate. Of course the plight of the two Expressmen wai quickly discovered, and as soon as released they told their startling story. The news of the robbery created a great sen- sation, as may well be imagined, Trainmen and passengers, together with a considerable number of townspeople who chanced to be at the station, now gathered in an excited throng, eagerly discussing the situation. ‘Now, there’s still a slight chance left to thwart the robbers, if we act immediately,” cried Roy Noble, with difficulty making himself heard above the Babel cf voices. ‘* Advise the agent at Branford of the situa- tion instantly! The box containing the booty was left in bis care, and if the rascals have not already secured it, he may be able to preserve it from their clutches,” This advice was well worth acting upon, and a rush was instantly made for the operator, In a moment the magic i Shah making merry music, as it fairly flew beneath bis nimble fin- gers. In breathless suspense the crowd awaited a re- ply, but, to their increasing surprise and disap- pointment, none was forthcoming. Despite his repeated calls for Branford, that station made no answer; and finally the operator * abandoned the attempt in disgust, ‘‘No use, gentlemen; can’t get ’em!” he an- nounced. ‘‘ There is something wrong,on the line. Probably the’wires are crt.” Then Tim Tupper declared that he had seen a pair of linemen’s spurs protruding from the ket of one of the men who bad entered the xpress-car, and this fact went far to strengthen the operator’s theory. The cunning brain that planned this stupen- dous robbery had seemingly provided for every possible exigency; and, without doubt, the very first act of the gang after leaving the car had been to climb the nearest telegraph-pole and sever the wires, thus effectually shutting off all communication between Brauford and the West, For the present, at least, the robbers were masters of the situation. The country there- abouts was wild and sparsely inhabited, while the settlements were sinall and far apart. The nearest place where adequate assistance could be obtained was at Richville, the western terminus of the route, now over two hours’ run distant. To proceed to the latter place as quick- ly as possidle seemed the wisest course, aud this was accordingly done, Arriving at Richville an alarm was at once given, and, though the hour was late, and the majority of the citizens wrapt in slumber, the news spread with marvelous rapidity, The authorities were thoroughly aroused, and deter- mined upon prompt and energetic action; aud in a comparatively short time a strong sheriff’s had been organized, and was on the way the scene of action aboard a special train. -_—— — —————— - Headlight Harry’s Siren. It was scarcely daylight when the party reached the quiet little community of Branford. The station agent was immediately sought out, and roused from his downy couch. He appear- ed at the door in response to their imperative summons, sleepily ruboing his eyes, and aston- | ished beyond measure at the appearance of these early morning visitors, From bim it was learned that an old man had driven up to the depot in a stout wagon, drawn by u single horse, perbaps half an hour before the arrival of the train. In conversation witb the agent, the stranger gave his name as John Thomas, Claiming to reside in the back districts a dozen miles froin town, and stating that he had come for the body of his son, Bill, who had just died in Grandon, and whose body was to be sent home that night for burial, Though the man was a perfect stranger to him, the agent had no reason to suspect anything wrong in his presence, and when the train arrived and the long box, plainly addressed to John Thomas, was carefully banded out, be at once turned it over to its supposed owner. No sooner was the box safoly deposited in the wagon than the stranger, remarking that he hada long journey ahead of him, whipped up his horse and quickly disappeared, Here, then, was fresh evidence of the marvel- ously cunning manner in which the Express rob- bery bad been planned and executed, Clearly, no ordinary thief was at the head of this gang, but a master hand at villainy, to capture whom would reauire no small amount of strategy. After obtaining a minute description of the man who :ecured the box, together with the direction taken by him, the sheriff’s party pushed on, leaving the agent fairly overwhelmed with chagrin and astonishment at the knowledge that a gigantic robbery bad been committed, and the valuable booty carried away before his eyes in the very box he had handled so gingerly under the impression that it contained a corpse, For a mile or two it was an easy matter to trace the course of the robber’s team; but soon the road merged into a broader and more fre- quented thoroughfare, and then the troubles of the outlaw-bunters began. For here the hoof and wheel marks were so plentiful tbat to fol- low any particular carriage by this means was an utter impossibility. The sheriff’s party soon realized this fact, and wisely abandoned the attempt. There were other resources left, however, and the search was prosecuted as vigorously as cir- cumstances would allow. But luck was decid- edly against the man-bunters, Constant inquiry failed to reveal any person who had seen the man with the box, or, indeed, any other stran- Rots who might be associated with the robbery, he gang had doubtless put many a mile behind them before daybreak, and no man kuew whither they had flown. After spending the entire day in fruitless search, the party returned to Richville baffled ani discouraged. Meantime, the news of the robbery had spread like wildfire, and the entire community was wrought to the highest pitch of excitement; for, while deeds of crime ani violence were by no means infrequent along this line, running as it did through a wild and balf-civilized section of the West, this latest exploit fairly eclipsed all previous performances of the kind. In the thriving town of Richville the excite- ment was particularly intense, The daily news- papers came out with great flaring headlines, iving higbly-colored descriptions of the affair, eople neglected their business, and congregated upon the streets to talk about the audacious robbery, which now became the sole topic of conversation. The detailed statement of the Express-messen- ger, published by the papers, was eagerly read and discussed. Some believed the story impli- citly, while others were inclined to reject it as being bighly improbable and quite unworthy of belief. That yarn about the box with a secret door and a robber concealed within was, they declared, quite too transparent to deceive intel- ligent people, More likely the messenger and his youthful associate, Tim Tupper, were in league with the robbers, and bad deliberately admitted them to the car, if, indeed, they hac not actually helped to plunder the safe, It was quite natural that the Expressmen should take every possible precaution to conceal their own implicacy in the affair, and, therefore, to accom- plish that end had caused themselves to be bound and gagged, this together with the cunning man- in-the-box story being well calculated to avert suspicion, * Of course Roy Noble’s many friends, knowing well his sterling character, vigorously denounced this story as being quite preposterous and un- ee —_——-—— worthy of the slightest attention; nevertheless, there were uot a few others inclined:to believe otherwise, aud the ugly rumors, once put into circulation, spread with marvelous rapidity. It was not long, therefore, before the messenger was made aware of the existing rumors connect- ing him with the train-robbers; and his feelings on receiving this intelligence can better be im- agined than described. Roy was already sore and discomfited at the ridiculously easy manuer in which he had been outwitted by the robbers, and now this new phase in the situation was hardly calculated to soothe his injured feelings. Ais dismay was in- creased when, a few hours later, he received @ message from the local superintendent of the great Expre-. Company, requesting an immedi- ate interview, and upon reaching the latter’s office was coolly informed that, while having the utmost confidence in bis integrity, it was deemed best, in view of existing circumstances, to re- lieve him of furtber duty until the investigation of the robbery was completed, Poor Roy! As he emerged from the super- inte:denw’s office it was to feel that he was a marked man, cursed by the shadow of sus- picion, and he expected at any moment to be seizad by the law’s minions and burried away to a prison cell, While the latter event did not take place, it was none the less a fact that his every movement was closely watched, and any attempt at flight, had he been so inclined, would have been speedily frustrated, It was bad enough to lose the valuable pro- perty intrusted to his care: but to be suspected of impli-acy in the robbery was more than the sensitive messenger could bear with equanim- ity. Hosts of sympathetic friends were ready to assist him, however: and, consoled by their cheering words, Roy waited as patiently as pos- sible for the lifting of the cloud of suspicion that now hung threateningly over him. CHAPTER IV. I1TAD MADGE’S MANIFESTO. ON the second morning after the great Express robbery, an interesting group of individuals might have been found in a certain building be- longing to the railroad corporation, and located | near the Richville station. The party numbered perhaps half a score, and was composed entirely of railway employees. The place where they had assembled was & large, bail-like apartment comprising an entire upper floor, and had been fitted up expressly for the use of the company’s employees during their moments of leisure. sides answering the pur- pose of a ats and smoking room, it was also supplied with the paraphernalia for billiards, gymnastics and other kindred amusements, It was Superintendent,Renwood who bad been instrumental in providing this cozy remy oo place for the hard-working “boys” on hig divi- sion. He was ever mindful of the comfort and welfare of bis employees, his interest perhaps increased by the knowledge that they were most of them his old-time comrades, for it was but a short time since he bad risen from an engineer’s cab to the repousible position he now occupied. It is needless to say. that this act of generosi- ty and thoughtfulness on the partcf their ee: intendent was fully appreciated by the gallant railroad boys. There was scarcely an bour in the day that the place was wholly deserted, being resorted to during the periods of enforced idleness between ‘‘runs;” while in the evening, when all hands were off duty, ove might bunt the whole town over and fail to find a livelier place. On the present occasion, however, the various means of diversion that usually attracted the pays ’ bad apparently lost their charm, for all hands gathered in a little group engaged in earnest conversation, the sole topic of which was naturally the recent robbery, The center of this little knct of railroaders was Headlight Harry, a tall, athletic youth with sparkling blue eyes and wavy auburn hair. The youngest engineer in the company’s Service, he was second to none in point of skill and reli- ability, and enjoyed at once the implicit confi- dence of his employers and the bighest csteem of all who knew him. By his side stood his fireman, Rufe Ruffle, a sturdy young fellow whose sterling worth as a bold and fearless rail- roader had been proved on many 4 trying occa- sion This pair were fast friends and inseparable companions, off duty as well as on, and together they bad figured in innumerable perilous adven- tures each of which bad served to unite them mors firmly in the bonds of friendship, This mutual attachment was so obvious that their