Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 812 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

a . leg >t a ee - >" - e . " a , ~F a > Ld - - & - — . ; ~~ > ‘ 7 yO ere ee The mayor mentioned names, and in a few moments the platform was comfortably peopled, among the rest being the two newspaper editors /an the poet laureate of the fustler. Ina little while Fly Fan came back, bringing Litue Maggie with her, and together they mounted the steps and took seats, it was noticed that the fighting poet held a prominent place, The deputy detective had taken bis seat, and he now rose again and stepped forward to tell his story, ‘' Citizens,” he said, ‘‘ I have performed the work that you gave me todo, and am here to report the results. I have found that a murder ‘was done, and it was the head of the victim that came bere in the box of the fire-engine. ‘*T went from here to Chicago, and guided by the information given me by Mr, Murtagh here, visited the hospital where, as he said, Mr, Mead- way had died. There I found the record, straight and true; and the next thing to be done was to disinter the body and learn whether the head had been severed from it or not. ‘“We wert to the place where the body had been laid to rest, and had it taken up. On open- ing the coffin, true enough, the head was miss- ing! It had been severed, and there were marks on the box and on the coffin to prove that it had been taken up and the head severed from the trunk after it had been buried. That, it would seem, was all the proof nesded to establish be- yond all doubt the identity of the head found ere, ‘Thad further tests to make, however. I had wit me a photograph of the head that came in the box of the fire-engine, and show- ing that to the men at the hospital [ asked them if they remembered it as the face of Mr. Mead- way. They were struck at once with surprise, declaring emphatically it was not the same face at all. Here, then, arose a complication; if it was not the same face, which person bad been mistaken in the matter of identity—Mr. Mur- tagh, or Miss Meadway?” As he put the question, the speaker turned to Murtagh. That worthy was somewhat pale, and a trou- bled look was upon his face, What did it mean? “There was positively no mistake on my part,” he declared. ‘* Very well, sir,” the detective accepted. ‘I went back again to the cemetery and made a thorough search around, with the help of the man who attended that part of the grounds, and presently, at some distance from the grave, we discovered where a sod or two had been taken up and replaced. We dug there, and under the spot we found a man’s head, which, strange to say, was recognized by the pacyee of the hospital as the head of the man they bad buried under the name of Meadway. A strange affair, is it not, Mr, Murtagh?” He turned again to that gentleman, who was not only somewhat pale, but decidedly white, ‘* Why, what’s the matter, sir?” the detective asked, to draw the attention of alltohim, ‘* Are you ill? You look like a ghost.” ‘*No, no; there’s nothing the matter with me,” the man declared. ‘‘Go on with your story. It was the horror of it all that made me feei faint, that was all, sir.” ‘*Ob! Well, to continue, I had a photo- graph taken of that face, and set about dis- covering who the person was, if possible, At the Police Headquarters I gota list of all the men who had been reported missing about that time, and with my photograph in hand I made a canvass of the addresses given, and finally I discovered the one I was seeking. The photo- ey was recognized as the likeness of one eter Ruckler, a man who had disappeared from his home suddenly and had never been heard of again, So, you see, gentlemen, Mr. Murtagh must have been mistaken after all, for several persons positively identified the head as that of Ruckler.” “IT was not mistaken,” cried Murtagh. ** Don’t you suppose I knew my friend?” “It certainly appears that you did not, for Ruckler and Meadway looked nothing alike; be- sides, J happen to know that Mr. Meadway is alive now,” ‘* What! Meadway alive! Ha!ha! ha! Why, sir, you are an ass, that is what you are; you are no morea detective than the poet here is one. Miss Meadway here has positively identi- fied the bead as that of her father. How Joel Meadway can be alive without his head is. more than I can understand.” “*That would be impossible, of course; ke is not alive without his head, for he has it upon his shoulders intact. As to my being an ass, per- Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Head-o ff. haps I am; but when you compare my detective ability tu that of the poet here, as you call bim, youdome proud. Gentlemen of Roundabout, allow me to introduce my respected chief, Deadwood Dick, Junior, who will now adress you, doing fuller justice to the subject than I can possibly render.” He had laid a hand upon the shoulder of the poet, as he spoke, and now that worthy rose and made a bow, , ‘Since my identity has been made known to you, gentlemen,” he said, ‘‘I may as well cast off the mask and appear in proper person before you.’ Even as he spoke his face took on a changed expression, and with a sweep of the hand he re- moved the wig of long hair from his head, and, lo! there he was, the redoubtable Richard! The cheer that went up fairly made the gulch Could it be possible that the Prince of the West had been playing such a role among them for so long a time, unsuspected? For a couple of minutes or so nothing could be heard save the shouting and cheering in wild confusion, and during that time a silent panto- mime was performed upon the platform. Eimund Murtagh was seen torise and move as if to leave the platform by the rear, but Fly Fan, the girl sport, sprung up and placel a re- volver to his head and detained him. The next moment Deadwood Dick turned and placed handcuffs upon the man’s wrists. The excitement went beyond all bounds, Fina !ly, by urgent motionings, Deadwood Dick ‘brought the crowd to something like order, and began to address them, Eager to hear, they became quiet again, and he said: ** Fellow-citizens, I have been playing a little game of deception with you, as you are now aware, and I beg your pardon, It was all in the way of business, however. By your leave I will tell you all about the strange case, ‘By a strange combinaticn of circumstances, I was here when you sent for me, as you are now aware, By the same mail I sent letters to my aides, and the result is what you have seen, Mr. Hardy came to yon, bearing a letter from me, although that letter had been written right here in the Union Hotel. ‘ IT had come here with my wife— Gentlemen, let me introduce Mrs, Bristol, who has been known to you for some time as Fly Fan.” Kodak Kate gave Dick her hand and bowed to ~~ throng, amidst another wild and prolonged cheer. ‘‘We came here,” Dick resumed, when he could be heard, ‘Sin the interests of a matter of _which this case of yours has turned out to be a art. It is a strange complication to say tha east about it. Wecame ‘here in the behalf of Joel Meadway, ** You show surprise, and well you may, all things considered. Let me give you the facts of the matter. Mr. Joel Meadway came to Bristol City awhile ago to see me, telling mea stranze story. I recognized that he was not right in his mind, but at the same time I was able to per- ceive that there was some foundation of truth in what he told me. ‘* He was, he said, a wronged man. He had once been rich, but had been cheated out of all his property by a gear twin brother, and thus beggared, This twin brother was a villain, and became the willing tool of some sharpers, and, taking upon himself the identity of his brother for the occasion, bargained and sold all the property, When Joellearned what had been done, as he soon did, he fought the case, but lost it; Witnesses were brought to prove that he was the man who had sold the property, and as tbe consideration had been great, there was no redress. The twin brother was unknown, and the unfortunate man was unable to prove that he had a twin brother, “His great loss wrecked his mind, and he wandered f rth after the death of his wife, tak- ing his jittle girl ;with him, and bis despoilers proceeded to enjoy their ill-gotten gains, squandering his wealth with lavish hands, Here it might have ended, but it came to their knowledge that their victim had another and even greater property in hisown right, of which neither be nor they had known anything at that time, and they laid their plans for getting hold of that as well, But, the twin brother had meantime become lost to them, and they could not again work their schemein the same manner. So, they thought of another plan, By the death of Meadway the property would fall to his daughter, so it was arranged that he should be put out of the way and then one of the plotters would seek to marry the girl. | oe em EO a RE RR A oR RT ‘‘Two of the rascals are Edmund Murtagh and Aaron Prestley here— No use your deny- ing it, for we bave the proofs. And there are others whom it will be easy for us to find and urrest, now. We did suspect Mr. Woodworth, too, but after shadowing him closely, as my wife has been doing, we find that he had no part in it, but is an honest man as the average goes, ‘* Now, how did the scheme work? First, they wanted to prove the death of Mr, Meadway, They had him in sight, as they believed, but, as it happened, it was the rascally twin brother, They provided a subject for the hospital, whom Murtagh identified as Joel Mealway, and when he died he was buried under that name. Then the body was tnken up and the head severed and hidden elsewhere. ‘‘Oh! it was a hideous scheme, and they de- serve all the punishment that can be justly given them. They deserve no mercy, and they will get none,” CHAPTER XVII. THE END. SHOUTS were heard in the crowd for the lynching of the rascals then and there, but Deadwood Dick stood ready to defend them, ‘Let us have none of that talk,” be orderad, sternly. ‘The law will deal with them all in due time. The days of lynching are past, in a camp that lays claim to being under the laws of the land.” ‘¢ Give us ther rest of ther story, then,” cried out one man. ‘* Yes, I will carry it forward to its ending. When the sham Mr, Meadway bad been disposed of, then it was necessary that proof vhould be shown the daughter of his death, and not only her, but all interested in her, How was it done? Henry Meadway, the brother, was killed, and it was intended to bring his head here secretly and leave it in the camp to be discovered, ‘* At the place where the murder was done, however, fortune favored the assassin, for on a freight car, near the spot where the murder was done, was found the fire-engine that was coming here, and tbe head of the victim was putin the fire-box of the engine and the body bid away in a secret place. Investigation had been provided for, you see, Murtagh would tell what he knew about the death of Mr, Meadway in the hospi- tal, and if the body was taken upit wceuld be found that the head was missing. ‘How and why such a thing kad been done, would, they believed, be a mystery for all time, but it would be known clearly enough that Meadway was dead, and then the daughter would be heir to all his estate. You see the scheme now, do you not? Murtagh has been working to marry the girl, and then he would pay the other rascals their proportion of the profits, But, thanks to the clever work done by Mr. Hardy, in whom I am well pleased, we have nipped their game in the bud, so to say, and it has come tonaught, Joel Meadway is at Bristol City, alive and well.” ‘Three cheers for Deadwood Dick, his wife, and ther hull combination!” one man proposed, And they were given with a will. The crowd could not contain itself at all, so great was the excitement of the hour, ‘¢ Further,” Dick concluded, ‘‘ you will recall that Mr. Prestley thought he recognized my wife as his, and we have had time to investigate that matter. We have discovered his poor, wronged wife, living in a wretched condition ina camp up in Colorado, where he deserted her, and if be has any property I mean tosee that she shall have ashare of it. She hassent us her photo- graph, and there isa strikirg likeness between her face and that of my wife, enough to warrant the mistake he made. ‘‘What can I say in conclusion? This man Murtagh, whose right name is Pelmont, J shall hold for murder, for he it was who killed Henry Meadway, taking bim to be Joel. Also Prestley, who was an accomplice in the business, And the others will be arrested in due time, for we have found them out and they shall not escape us. It has been an eventful case, and it was a well-laid scheme and one that might have been successful; but, as it seems, Providence took a band.in the play against the villains, and they have come to grief. It is a case in which we are not going to take the credit to ourselves, except so far as it belongs to Mr, come ** So, good citizens, if I have deceived you for a little time, forgive me. I was bereon busi- ness, as you Can now understand. And, no harm bas been done anyhow. I want to offer an es- pecial apology to the citizens of Hustleville for — ing I may have said in that crazy poetry anything of mine—so-called—that did not fit them It was allin the way of fun, you know. And, ’ | e = ee eee Oe : SL ———— TTT TT TT * ’ tate ita na ; ° e* - i A : ' ne eg P| " A = ; 4 ' | a \ | FeN | || “ . a @ + eae ‘ all