Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 769 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

sbiny nap; bis hair, black and silver mixed, was neatly cut behind and smoothly brushed; he had a high all-around collar, and his black broadcloth coat fitted him as neatly as though it had grown upon bim naturally. His back was toward our trio, but now and then a side view of his face was had, when he would glance at his companion on the same fie wore a high hat that had no flaw in its | | ‘* Nixey, McGinnis! I miss my pumpkin,” Roger and Skinny stole another glance at the man, and shook their heads, It seemed they could not agree with Billy in this. ** Stop lookin’ at ’em,” Billy cautioned again, *‘ for we don’t want that ugly customer to get onto the fact that we are sizing them up, Give me your ‘tention, and I'll tell ye— Ha! did He’s a polished rascal, or seat, and it was seen that be wore a pair of | ye see that?” gold-rimmed glasses, and had a chin whisker. This man appeared to be the head of the party, for he held the tickets for himself and the others, Skinny and Roger could find no fault with bim. Beside this man was seated 8 woman who was maturally taken to be bis wife. She was a per- son of forty, if appearances counted, and dressed in keeping with the man’s elegant attire. She ‘was topped off with a costly bonnet, jov of the feminine heart! and had a gorgeously black- beaded cape. The sleeves of her dress, one of which could be seen, sbowed that garment to be of black satin. Her hair was mostly dark, but was considera- bly threaded with white, and her wrinkles, when her face was occasiunally seen in profile, summed her years to tha number mentioned, at least. Her natural skin was yellowish, but her face was seen to be painted and powdered almost to the bloom of youth, A pairof diamond ear- rings of no mean size sparkled and flashed con- @tantly with every jar or movement, She looked to be as eminently respectable as the man. Neither were Billy’s ‘‘ pards” able to detect anything wrong about her. These persons were seated three teats distant, the two between being unoccupied, save for one Old lady in the one nearest them, The next seat beyond had been turned, and the persons occupying that were facing Billy and bis companions. The ranger and Skinny, gag way, occupied the seat just ahead of illy. The two persons occupying the reversed seat ‘were both women, or one woman and the young lady who has been mentioned. The latter sat nearest the window, and ber face was sad and her eyes exhibited traces of weeping. She was a pretty girl, but was very plainly dressed. er companion wasa woman of middle age, with a hard, barsh visage. Her eyes, particu- larly, bad an evil glint, and ber whole appear- ance was coarse. She was clad in a most un- tasteful way, with a bonnet that might once have been vulgarly ‘‘ loud,’”’ but now had a for- lorn and slattern appearance sad to behold. She | They bad seen it, and were able to appreciate Billy’s grounds for suspicion. Tbe conductor had just entered the door, and the rough, brutal fellow was seen to give the girl’s head a a jog with bisarm, At the same time the pol- ished man leaned forward and whispered a word to her, while the woman beside her moved nearer. ‘*Great ginger!” exclaimed Skinny, ‘‘ I don’t know but there is something in it, Billy, after all,’ ‘‘T know there is something in it,” Billy averred, ‘* My blood is fairly beginnirg to boil, and the fever is creeping right up to the top notch. They are my game, sure pop!” ‘* What do you think is wrong, my son?” in- quired the ranger. ‘*‘ Whatdo ye make out of et all?’ ‘t | haven’t made et out, yet,” answered Billy. ‘That is the reason the fever is raging so, When I do I’ let you know al! about it.” ‘* No; but what is et ye s’pect? That’s what I meant ter ask ye,” ‘** 1’) tell ye,” returned Billy, speaking guard- edly. ‘‘Il bave had my eyes on them for some time, and the longer i study them the less I know. The first thing that made me notice ’em was the fact of that nasty-lookin’ woman riding face to face with such a well-dressed couple,” ‘* That’s so, when ye come ter think of et,” as- sented the ranger, ‘‘Then,” Billy went on, ‘‘I got onto the fact that she is holding fast to one of that girl’s hunds, and that the girl has beencrying. There’s two big drops in ber eyes now, after that scoun- drel poked her with his arm that time— No, don’t look now, for he is looking this way. He’s an ugly customer, I’ll bet on that.” ** He’ll be a first rate fellow to keep out of the way of,” assumed Skinny. ‘* Sut be is going to find me in his way, if he is up to any rascal work with that girl, and I give you notice of that now,” declared Billy, firmly, ‘“*He’ll kill ye; he looks jlike it,” Skinny warned, ‘* Mebbe he would if be got the chance, but Pll try to keep him from getting the chance, was strangely out of place in such well-dressed | No matter, I’m going to know more about them company. But, even here, Skinny and Roger did not before I know less. But, to tell you the rest of it. If my thinker isn’t out of order, and I allow their imagination to play any part, and | don’t believe it is, I have sized it up pretty saw nothing wrong. When Billy called their attention to the fifth personage of the party, however, it was differ- ent. This wasa man whosat on the next seat beyond, He was a brutal-looking, low-browed fellow, with a stubby beard aud mustache tbat did not add anything to his beauty. He was sitting with bis back to the side of the car, and cover- ing the whole seat. At first Skinny and the ranger had not count- ed him as one of the party with the other four, but now that Billy drew their attention to bim, they saw he belonged to the same set, He was sitting side-face to them, and occasionally his evil eyes looked in their direction, ‘Well, what do you thiok now?” Billy de- manded, ‘*T don’t like ther face of that feller, anyhow,” admitted the ranger. ‘Same with me,” assured Skinny, ‘If eny- thing is wrong, he is the rooster you have got your eye on, Billy.” ‘‘He is one of "em, that’s 80,” agreed Billy, ‘‘ but the king-pin of the bunch is the sleek, pol- ished chap in the dicer and gold lookers, Don’t get excited now, and don’t give’em any more at- tention.” ‘“Et ain’t possible!” ejaculated the ranger. “* Why, he’s a Bible patrol, or I’m a chicken,” ‘**Don’t bet all your money on that,” Billy cautioned, ‘f All isn’t gold that glitters, and everything isn’t a preacber that looks like one, “Ob, you are allus looking for a mare’s nest,” growled Skinny. ‘‘How do you know he isn’t what he seems to be?” ‘Sweet pertaters!” Billy exclaimed at that. **T am not denyin’ that he ain’t what he seems ter be; I’m only too certain that he is just what the seems to be, and nothing else,” “A sky pilot?” from the ranger. close, This preacher-looking man is the chief rascal, and the young woman js the victim. The evil-faced man and woman are the tools who are doing bis villain’s work for him. What do you ~~ to that?” t was Roger Watts who responded, ‘*Now that I git ther same look at et that you do, Billy,” be said, “bang me ef it don’t ‘pear so, But, mebby et’s all right, mebby ther gal is sick, or sometbin’, and they are takin’ care of ber—” ‘*Nixey, McGinnis! They don’t poke sick girls over the head, do they? They don’t make prisoners of ’em, do they? Preachers and prize- figbting ruffians don’t ride arm in arm as a gen- éral thing, do they? There’s more to it than that, Rover, and I’m going to know what it is.” ‘‘How are you going to find out?” asked his fat confederate. ‘* Why, trail them, of course!” ‘* But, you can’t do that. We have got to go home as soon as we get to New York, and you will have to let this case drop.” “Skinny, I am ’shamed of ye. I couldn’t never forgive myself if I did, and should ever hear that this girl had come to-grief when I might bave boosted her out of her diffikilty.” ‘* But, your sick mother!” urged the other, ‘* Skinny, [love my mom right up to the chin, and I’m going to ber just as soon as business will permit: but, I can’t desert beauty in dis- tress, nohow, and you must not expect it of me, Lam only human, and when the detective fever ets hold of me the way it bas hold of me now, might as well give right up. You know Broadway Billy.” CHAPTER III. HOT UPON THE DOUBLE TRAIL. So was the matter cettled, as far as Broad- way Billy was concerned; yet, it was one which ‘Broadway Billy, the Retriever Detective. 3 had its unpleasant features, and he wished heartily he could tave reached home without any new case to draw his attention from the duty be owed his mother. But, be bad spoken the truth; it was simply impossible for bim to think of giving up the case, or what promised to be one, and allow the young woman to be taken off be knew not where, possibly into some deadly peril from which noth- ing would save her if he did not obey the in- stinct that had spoken to bim, One thing he partly regretted, and that was that he bad telegraphed to his mother, Had he not done that, she would not be expecting him at any certain bour, and a little delay would not worry her any. Her reported sickness did not worry bim great- ly, for he was suspicious that it bad not been very serious. Her letters had been full of wishes for bis return, and he felt that a slight illness had been taken advantage of to telegraph for bim. Stili, be could not be sure of this, and hence was not by any means as easy in mind as he might bave been. Seeing that Billy was fixed in his resolve, Skinny suggested that he and the ranger go on to the house at once, and tell them he, Billy, would be along later. Billy could nct agree to tbat, either, how- ever. He wanted to bein at the first welcome home, and not come in as an after edition, as he expressed it. That was not to his liking at ‘* Then bow are we going to fix it?” demanded Skinny. ‘* We'll have to stick together till we hole the game, that’s the only way out of it | can see,” Billy answered. ‘* And your mother mebby on her deathbed, and prayin’ you'll only burry up and get there *fore sbe has to give up the ghost and go flittin’ across the dark—” *“Sbut up!” cried Billy, ‘‘or your ghost will go flitting before you know it. You allus come in with that wet blanket of yours and chill a fellow to the bone, Ugh! you have made me shiver,” ‘Which proves your conscience isn’t easy,” Skinny assumed, ‘It’s mighty sure it wouldn’t be easy, if I didn’t look into this matter and see whether or not this lamb is in the power of wolves or not,” cried Billy. ‘*'Ther Jad is right,” the old ranger agreed with him, ‘‘ Et won’t take long ter find out somethin’ about ’em, and alittle while won’t make mucb difference. It will be laid to ther ’count of a late train.” Billy urged the matter with Skinny until he had finally won him over, They bad by this time seen enough more of the suspected persons to assure themselves that they were all against the helpless girl, The girl was in their power, and afraid of them, and her distress of mind was plainly shown in her woe-begone face. At times tears would start, and she would put up her free hand to hide her emotion, That one hand was held by the woman in the seat with ber, could no longer be doubted, and more than once the man behind her was seen to whisper something in her ear, while the sleek gentleman now and then leaned over to say just a word, And they seemed to do this especially whenever the conductor passed through. So passed the time until the train neared its destination, Finally the end of the long, long ride came, and the train rolled down from the Jersey City Heights to the ferry. Billy had cautioned Skinny and the old ranger not to pay much attention to the suspect- ed persons, but to let him do the watching in his own way, so they could not be detected at it. During this final short stretch of the run, the passengers all prepared to leave the train, those who had not already made their preparations, and among others the ones upon whom Billy had his waccbful eyes. And it was while they were doing so that Billy made a new discovery. This was, that one band of the pretty but sor- rowful girl was secured to the wrist of the wo- man beside ber by means of a handcuff! He had only a glimpse of this, true: but that was enough, and it brougbt to his lips his pet ejaculation, ‘* Sweet pertaters!” he cried, ‘“ I knew it!” The woman in the fine bat and satin dress helped the woman opposite her to button her cape at the throat, and a shawl was pinned around the shoulders of the girl. Into the station rumbled the train; there were some fitful thumps and jars, and the panting < ee \ Le < » ; . , \ : ve | + e% -* - —s | * Js e sh > | ai © oO ( y . «4 ~ a 4 PS a . og t| Va a 0 em oe = oe 8 Jee ee .* +, i P - | . F >| ',* «2 =245 y / V 7 Gp 7 < | A =!) a eg