Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 769 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

= Ves -: ay i a ee 8 ome « ee eres Soa . ares 12 ‘*T don’t know; [ would go anywhere rather ‘than fall into his hands again,” ‘* But, you bave no money.” ** No; but Ido not care for that.” “New York is a bad place to be alune in without money. Might almost as well be in a hhowlin’ wilderness.” ** Oh, Ican find some one who will befriend me, i can go to the police and ask them to take care of me and send for—for some friend at Pauuauel- whia,” ** No, that won’t do, my dear.” ‘*Then you have only raised my hopes to dash them at once?” **No; but it won’t do for you to go out alone without money or friends. We are short of anoney ourselves, or we’d belp you.” ‘Then what am I to do?” ‘You wait till I go talk to Burke a minute.” The woman returned to the otber room, ‘* Well, what does she say?” Burke demanded, in the same low, guarded tone, ‘*Sbe is willin’, She will give anything she’s got to get away.” The woman told what had passed between her and the girl, and the two men gave close atten- tion to her words, “That is all we want,” said Gil Brand, ‘I will go out and get the rig, and you do the rest, I'll be back here in no time.” ‘‘All right; and don’t make no bungle of it, fer we depend on you, now, you see, and your pay depends on our success,” ‘1m fly, you bet,” With that Gil was off, and Burke and bis wife turned their attention to their part of the hate- ful scheme, The woman went intothe other room, released the girl, and brought her out to face her master, as the woman had to acknowledge the brute to ‘* Well, my gal, you want ter git away, do ye?” Burke said. ‘**Oh! if you will only give me thechance!” ‘‘ Well, that is what we think of doin’, if you do what we want ye to do,” “T’ll do anything you say.” ‘* Ye see, we have made up our minds that we ain’t gettin’ enough out of this thing fer the work we are doin’ and the risk we are takin’, and so we're goin’ ter give you a chance,” ‘*Only tell me what I must do,” * Well, you must sign a paper, sayin’ that you will pay us five hundred dollars as soon as you get your money, and sayin’ also that you won’t never bring this thing up against us,” ‘1 will do that willingly, oh! so willingly!” “That is all right; but, when you get out you won’t know where to go, and ye may get into wuss trouble than you are in here. How about that?” ‘* 1 will take the risk of that.” ‘You don’t know what New York is, my gal. Now, he'e’s a little game Mary Ann and me have beeu thinkin’ out.” ** What is it?” ** Well, ye see it is all to our interest that ye don’t come to no harm, fer if ye do we will be out all around.” ** Yes, that is so.” ** Now, Mary Ann has a friend, a ruther good woman, who will take keer of yea day or so, and we want yetogothere. I have sent out fer a kerridge to take ye there and you must go,” ‘** You are not trying to deceive me?” **Does it look like it? Here we are cheatin’ your guardian, and givin’ up all we expected to Nia of him, I guess it shows fer itself, don’t i ‘Yes, yes! When will the carriage be here?” ‘*Mighty soon, Ill fix the paper while Mary Ann gits you ready,” “Allright, but be quick about it. Ob! how ean I ever repay you for this act of kind- ness?” “Oh, it ain’t so much kindness as it is busi- ness, so don’t think we are angels yet.” Burke busied himself with some writing at once, while the woman put a shaw! around the girl, adjusted her bat on, and made her ready. ‘* There!” exclaimed Burke, when he had fin- ished, ** this covers the ground, I reckon, It says you are to pay us five hundred when you git your boodle, and that you ain’t tosay nothin’ about this little racket.” ‘*Give me the pen,” the girl hurried, It was put into her hand, and she signed her name to tbe paper. ‘* Now,” she cried, “‘let me go, my part, don’t for Heaven’s sake refuse to do ours, ‘“No fear of that, me gal. The rig will be here in short order, and then you will soon be out of reach of your hated guardian.” I have done Just then came a lond knock at the door, Burke opened it, and it was Gil Brand, who stepped in, ‘The cab is ready and waitin’, sir,” said he, **cordin’ to your orders,” ‘* Allright, You are to take this young lady to the house of Mr. Gil Brand, and tell his wife to take the best of care of her as long as she wants to stay. You know where the place is,” ‘* Yes, | know,” ** All right, Don’t let anything happen to the lady, and see that she gets safe in Mrs. Brand’s house before you leave ber.” ‘All rigbt, Come right along with me, lady.” ‘* Yes, you go with him, my dear,” urged the woman. ‘ He will take you to the woman we told you about,” ‘* And, mind one thing,” added Burke, ‘‘ Don’t forget this paper I hold, and don’t you try to go back on it, when you get among your friends again, lif you do, it won’t be well fer ye, that’s all.” ‘*Oh! I will keep my word, surely I will,” The girl hurried out after Gil Brand, who led the way down to the street. As soon as they were out the door he took her by the hand andled her to acab that was in waiting, and hurried her into it, Closing the door with a snap, he sprung up beside the driver and away the vehicle went, at a lively pace, the girl not knowing where she was being taken. Nor was that the worst. No sooner had she been thrust into the cab than she found herself in the presence of an unknown man, one whom she had never seen before, and fear seized her at once, ** Who are you, sir?” she demanded, ‘* My name is Jacob Wasbers,” was the prompt auswer, ‘‘ And what are you doing here? I was to have this cab alone, I thought.” ‘‘T am merely going along to see that you reach your destination all right,” the man an- swered, ‘* By whose orders?” ** Now, never you mind that. You are going to be taken care of all right, and that is all you need worry about.” Laura’s fears began to increase, but she tried to think perhaps it was all right, Perhaps it was only a precaution Burke Wedger bad taken, so that he would not lose her, since her safety was his only security for the money she had promised to pay him, The cab rolled on, and nothing more was said between them, Tbe man kept his seat, did not offer in any way to molest her, and so she was coming to think it was as she bad thought it out. Presently the cab stopped, and Mfr.. Washers opened the door and sprung out, cffering his band to her, and there was nothing for her todo but accept his offered belp. . Brand was down from the top at the same time, and as soon as her feet touched the ground she was burried across the sidewalk and into a house before she bad time to think or act, The door closed after her, snd she was bur- ried on up the stairs, now screaming with fright, and into a room at the rear. ‘* Here you are, my lady,” cried the man Washers. ‘* What do you mean, ruffians?” the girl cried, springing away from them, and drawing her fizure to its full height, in a naturally tragic way, her eves flashing. ‘* Keep cool a minute and we’ll tell you what it means,” was the response. ‘*T demand my release at once, sir!” ‘* You won’t get it.” ** Burke Wedger lied to ma, then, did he?” **We have got the bulge on him, my lady! This is our game, now,” ** And what are you going to do with me?” ** Well, if you are ready to hear it, I suppose I may as well tell you now as any time.” ‘* T demand to know at once,” ‘* Well, I know all about your trouble with your guardian, and about his wanting you to marry Bob Howmark.” éé Well 0? ‘‘ We are going to help you out of that fix.” ** And how?” ‘““We will give you your choice of two chances,” ** Name them!” ** The first is, to marry me. ** You insult me!” ‘* Perhaps; but that is the situation.” ‘*] will take my own life first! You will drive me to do that, I demand you to'set me free, and that atonce! Do you hear? At once!” I am—” “J . a Ee a — =m a oe Broadway Billy, the Retriever Detective. ~ CHAPTER XIV. ‘STHERE IS MANY A SLIP.” Git BRAND stood with bis back against the come while Jake Washers was nearer to the girl, Both laughed at her, in a manner that was not calcnlated to soften her anger any. She saw how helplessly in their power she was, ‘* You need not get so bigh about it,” Washers said, ‘*‘ We are not going to let you get away from us, you can bet on that. You will either pt pay me or we will sell you back to your guar- ian, ‘*{ will never marry you, you villain! nor will you ever put me in the power of my guar- dian, I tell you I will kill myself before I will submit to either. I am desperate, now, and mean just what I say. If I do that, my blood will be on your heads, and I will baunt you while you live,” ‘* That sounds all right, but such talk as that belongs to blood-and-thunder drama, my dear, This is real life, as you will find before you are done with it. Now, let us consider the matter. I offer myself as your husband, I am as good as Rob Howmark, and maybe a little better. I won't brag of that. Anyhow, you might go further and fare worse.” The helpless girl had turned her back to bim. ** Then, if you don’t cotton to me, after a fair trial, you could settle a good portion of your property on me and we'd partcompany, See? All I am after anyhow is your money; I don’t care particularly about you.” The girl turned instantly to face him. ‘* Tf that is so,” she cried, ‘‘ you are welcome to the money, I will give you every dollar of it if you will only let me go,” The fellow laughed at that, ‘*That sounds pretty, too,” he said, ‘‘ but it can’t be worked,” ‘*l mean what I say. I will pay you any amount you demand, if I have the money to pay it—’ ‘* Don’t say any more, please. You haven’t the money,and you can’t have it for twoor three years yet, unless you marry. If you marry, the man you marry will come in for it and I must be that man,” ‘* Never!” Just then many heavy steps were heard below, and the two men looked at each other, their faces paling. ‘* What does that mean?” cried Jake. ‘**T don’t know,” Gilanswered, ‘‘ Somethin’ is wrong,” There caine more and more of the steps, and they were mounting the stairs, Now thoroughly alarmed, the two rascals opened the door and looked out into tbe ball, As they did so, the light from tbe room they were in disclosed the place the intruders were in search of, and they sprung forward at once, ‘This way!” a voice called out, and Broadway Billy, revolver in band, sprung up the few re- maining stairs and forward at the door, the others right at his heels. Billy it was, witb fat Skinny, Bronson Pender and balf a dozen policemen at his back. With an oatb, Gil Brand tried to close the door, but Billy got his foot in it to prevent that, and the next instant Pender and a policeman bad their shoulders against it. Others were right at hand, and in a moment the door was hurled open, only to disclose the rascals trying to make their escape by a window, ‘*Hold there!” cried Billy. ‘‘If you get out you'll drop dead to the ground, and here’s what says so!” The fellows glanced over their shoulders, and saw the resolute faces of the young detective and those with him, together with the weapons ey had in band, and it made them hesitate. hat settled it, “Up with your hands,” Billy ordered, ‘‘or Ill drill you as quick as a Texas ranger can drill a coyote!” By this time the frightened girl recognized her lover, and with a cry of joy she threw herself into his arms, sobbing. i ‘* Looks like it’s all up, Jake,” said Gil Brand, in undertone, ‘* Yes; curse the tuck!” ‘* Hands up!” Billy ordered again, ‘‘If you hesitate one second more we'll shoot you down in your tracks!” Their hands went up. No sooner done than Billy and one of the officers had handcuffs on them, ‘* How do you like that?” Billy asked, ‘* That is the end such fellows as you are bound to come to, sooner or later,” ee COMICDOC a ce = = = — ~