Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 793 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

2 Dick Doom in Chicago. Among'those few weretbree persons who stood aft. They had come upon deck when the last of the passengers had gone below to turn-in for the night. Two of these three were in irons, manacled hands and feet; and, confined in their state- room by day from curious eyes,they were brought on deck by their keeper to get fresh air when darkness rested upon the deep. The other of the trio was not in irons, but paced te andfro near the others, his eyes ever and anon instinctively falling upon his prisoners —for such they were, ; One of the latter was a man with dark, foreign face, and yet who had the appearance of a gentile- Man born and bred.. The other was a “Mmanof tall form, military bearing and having the easy air of a man of the world, He was elegantly dressed, wore a diamond in his scarf, its match upon his little finger, and a handsome watch chain crossed his vest, His wrists were heavily manacled, and a chain connected them with the irons.upon his ankles— the latter with a link chain long enough to enable him to walk, The face of this man, as the light from the cabin fell upon it, was one to never forget, it was so full of expresgion—nay, of a power of fas- cination in its strange beauty that commanded admiration and respect. ‘* See here, senor; down in those dark waters of the Atlantic is escape from the doom that will surely be mine, and rest from further struggles,” suddenly said the taller of the two men in irons, as he gazed over the taffrail down into the dark ocean waves. ‘“‘T am no fool, for 1 would never take my own life as long as there was a ray of hope to escape. rs i will go to the gallows, too, once the ac- cursed detective keeper there gets.-me to Texas, but I shall not give up hope of escape until the rope is about my uéeck,” said the other. ‘Well, mine has been a checkered.tife, and my escapes from dying on the gallows have been simply miracles, — me ‘* But, itseems that. I have come to the end of” my.rope, this time. I have played the boldest of games for years, have been gentleman sport, lanter and adventurer, robber and murderer, f so ‘you will, and I had, in playing my last card as a French count in Boston, believed that I would never be discovered to be what I am. ‘* But, yonder fellow, Dick Doom, well named the Death-Grip Detective, in the very moment, it seemed to me, of my success, dashed my hopes to the ground, and you, my partner in the game for gold, fell with me, He bas us both in irons, in his power +g 6 ‘““T have been already sentenced to die upon the gallows in New Orleans, but escaped from under its shadow; but lam going back there, now,.and to die, ‘What hope have I of escape from such an end, save in the depths of the sea? Down there all ends; and after a short struggle, a few mo- ments of agony and agonizing thoughts, all will end, for these chains will carry me qnickly to perdition.” “ Well, you may jump into the depths, but I will not. You may thus end all by a plunge into the sea, and be borne far down with your irons, but I will do no such foolish thing, for in the end it is but a leap from the gallows, and that only when every ray of hope has gone from me, ‘‘No, no, my dear senor, or count, just as you please to be called, I will stick tothe ship and trust to good fortune to escape, for the chance may come to me,” ‘*Tt may, and it may not. Surely it cannot come to me again,after all the eseapes I have known in the past, ‘Oh, no, the only way I can keep off of the gallows is to leap over this taffrail and thus find my doom,” * you really| contemplate the’ act, serious-. at Assuredly I do,” | **T could hardly believe you were in earnest,” “But I am—was never more so in my life, of —— Tam tired, com ag I have come own to poverty, as the money in my purse, my diamonds arid watch and chain are a fhe wealth I have in the world, and should I live how bard would be the struggle to keep up my life of luxury as I have known it in the past, ‘ Then, tod; I do not believe there is a disguise on earth I could assume to hide from the eyes of that man there, Dick Doom, the Death-Grip! ** No, I shall take the leap, 1 think,” young ferret and said; - The speaker looked over into the dark sea as he spoke, The steamer was a league off-shore, and she was gliding along swiftly over the smooth wa- ters, for a.d calm rested upon the sea, as could be seen by the flapping sails of a vessel just left astern. The light from some farm-house ashore glim- mered over the waters, and upon which the eyes of the threatened suicide rested a moment, and then upon the vessel becalmed and rapidly fad- Ing out of sight astern, ‘Ho, Dick Doom!” he suddenly called out; “thus dol disappoint you and cheat the gal- lows of its prey. 1 was not born to be hanged,” and with a bitter laugh the man in irons sprung over the stern of the steamer into the dark depths of the sea, CHAPTER IT. THE DETECTIVE’S sTORY. THE cry arose on the steamer, running from stem to stern: ‘¢ Man overboard!” The vessel was slackened in her speed, but when the captain knew that it was one of the risoners, one loaded with heavy irons who had jumped into the sea he ordered the vessel to be sent on her way with the remark: ‘* He went to the bottom like a stone,” **T cannot think so, sir, and I wish that you would send out boats to search the waters,” said the detective, But the captain looked at the detective as though he deemed him crazy, to believe that a man in irons could livean instantin the sea, and would not detain his vessel for a search. Tbe detective then stepped to the side of his other prisoner and asked: ‘* Did you know that Gibson intended to drop into the sea?’ ‘* Yes, he said so, but I hardly believed. he would be such a fool.” ** He told you then of his intention?” “He said that he saw no hope, so intended to cheat the ” *T am not so sure that he has.” ** How do you mean, Detective Doom?’ asked the pre in surprise. ‘*T donot believe that man was born to be drowned,” ** You think he was born to be hanged?” *¢ Surely.” ‘** He had even heavier irons on than 1 have,” ‘“T know that, for I put them on him,” wr you think he could swim with those irons ‘*T should hardly think so, yet still Ido not believe he was to drown. $$ Come, T’'ll see that you do not follow his example,” and the detective took the prisoner below to his state-room and chained him there, The good steamer went on her way, but a gloom seemed to have fallen upon the passen- gers. | They had heard of the midnight suicide, and, prisoner under sentence of death though the man was, it impressed them unpleasantly and the superstitious ones feared that the vessel would never reach port in safety, j Among the passengers was a gentleman from Chicago and his daughter. | The meres p was @ millionaire, an invalid, going South by a sea voyage for his health, which had been failing of late. His daughter was a girl of eighteen, beautiful in face, exquisite in form and with a nature that was very lovable, 4 Upon the evening following the tragedy aboard the steamer, Dick Doom, the detective, was standing on deck gazing at the vessel’s wake, as though e ting to see the ghost of the dead prisoner floating behind ,then on the ase h i light, sin e was a youth possessing a slig ew form, araceslt as a woman’s and quick in eer movement, * His face was a study, for it was one that a woman might be of, so perfect was it in every feature, so full of rea) beauty, yet at the sameé time stamped with manliness, He was neatly dressed, wore a slouch hat, and might have been taken for a student rather than aman whose deeds as a detective had gained for him a name of being.a wonder as a Becret Service Ferret, ite His other prisoner was below, and the beau- nger from Chicago walked up to the “Pardon me, sir, but are you a detective?” ‘* Yes, miss, I have the honor of being a member of the Secret Service,” “Your name is—” ** Dick Doom, miss.” ** And mine is Clarice Carroll, ‘May I consider this an introduction and enter into conversation with you?” *‘ With pleasure, Miss Carroll, for we are fellow passengers,” was the response of the young detective. ‘* | wished to ask you about your prisoners, Mr. Doom?” : ** What would you know about them?” ** All that you care to’tell me, for I admit that the man who committed suicide last night had a strange fascination for me, “He bad wondrous eyes, for I have seen him on deck and in the cabin, and, do not think me bold for saying 80, but if ever { fall in love with any man it will be with just such a one as the suicide,” Here was a strange confession for a young girl to make, and the detective so regarded it, He gazed-upon ber with deepest interest and said: ‘* That man, Miss Carroll, had a face for his soul’s screen, for, @ man of wondrous fascinations, he was yet one of the blackest- hearted men in the world, ‘‘A fast youth in Kentucky, he poisoned his fatber to get bis inheritance, and rendering a service to a young planter, he won the heart of the planter’s sister, a mere child, and made her his wife to in the end get rid of her by murder. ‘* He has plotted for fortunes and won them, ‘‘ He has stained his hands with murder time and again, and, run down and captured, tried and sentenced to death, he has invariably escaped. , “¢ Fe escaped from prison in New Orleans just before the day set tor his execution, went to Mexico with one who aided him, and who, a French noble, killed in rescuing an American family from bandits, he impersonated him, playing his cards so well that he very nearly wrecked the life of the lovely gir] who believed bim to be all he represented self to be, * Robb her brother and herself of their jewels, be followed them to and there I tracked him down, as 1 had before run him to earth, ““T was taking him to New Orleans, with his pee a Ai is wanted in Mexico for crimes committed, when he leaped into the sea.” “To bis death,” ‘¢T am not so sure of that.” : ‘* Well, he was a wonderful man, Mr. Doom, and I thank Ae for telling me of him; but, still, a map with his face, I’fear, even if he were ever so wicked, could win my heart, and, bad as he was, I am glad he is dead, for my beau ideal of splendid manhood igs gone, never to be met agal ,’ and Clarice Carroll sighed for her lost Oo CHAPTER III, THE RESCUE, Mr, CARROLL’S bealth was much _ benefited by bis sea voyaze and stay in the South, and in the early spring he had started with his daughter for their home in Chicago, Clarice Carroll had found the young detec- tive a most enjoyable companion, and the two had talked much together on the run to New Orleans. | There they had ‘parted, Dick Doom to con- tinue on to Texas with his prisoner after making his rt to the chief of police in'tke the Crescent City of the fate of the man inirons who bad leaped into the sea, And the face of that suicide still haunted Clarice Carroll wherever she went, ‘* How could a man with such a face, with those glorious eyes, be 80 vile as he was painted? ‘¢ Could she love one who was thus wicted?”’ Such were the questions she asked herself over and over again, as the timé passed on, The father and sister had sched a western city upon their return homeward. Mr. Carroll had met there an old friend and had gonegto the club with him, while his daughter sat in the pleasant’ parlor of their suite of rooms enjoying the latest novel, Midnight came and the rumble of vehicles in the streets had died away. The sound of ee along the corridors of the hotel were no longer heard and gradually the met was settling into silence profound, Still Mr. Carroll did not return; still the st she drop off to sleep in her - chair, the open book in ber lap. : How long she slept she did not know. She une Gwenn by wild cries ringing through e ho EComiIcboo ‘@) cs ———— ee A oo ~-|-