Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 850 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

ee pe} — ee - oe up the population of the metropolis, Caleb Cin- ders wasa factor, It was the city of his birth, ani it suited him well. He was a boy with a history, asd the history was as simple and un- pretentious as himself, : jiis father had died when he was an infant, anihis mother was left with two children, the List of whom was a girl six years older than Caleb. Afterward, the widow married again, aud, like Maud Muller, many children played at her door. There were six by the second mar- riage, Caleb was the unfortunate of the flock, The second husband took a fancy to his step-daugh- ter, and a violent and groundiess dislike to his step-son; and, asa result, the boy grew up with irrefutable evidence always !*cfure him that the favors of fortune were not dispensed with strict impartiality. he step-father was not ricb, but he had money enough and some to spare, and his own children had all the necessaries of life and a good many of the luxuries. Unfortunately, he could not give them brains, and, though all were still your g, they were vain, shallow, supercilious and mean, as Caleb knew to his cost, They ig- nored Caleb, at times, and would have abused himif they bad been big enough, As it was,a complaint from them usually caused the step- father to abuse him for them, Caleb’s sister never lacked for anything, and, when still young, she was sent to a girls’ semi- nary in Massachusetts to obtain a finished edu- cation, Before h‘r graduation Caleb had ceased to be a member of the family home, Rebelling against repeated injustice he had, ereatly to his step-father’s relief, begun life for himself at the age of twelve, and became his own master... When he was fourteen his sister returned with a graduation diploma in her hand and fine clothes on her back. Caleb called to see her, He came with coarse well-wornclothing and toil-hardened hands and bis plebeian appearance gave the fair graduate athriliof horror. It was dreadful,she thought, that such a COMmmon person should be her bro- ther, and she requested him to obtain better clothes, He, at that time, was working for his board, his lodging, and a bonus of one dollar a wéek, Not having the money to buy fine garments, he told her that she woukd have to take him asshe found him, or not at all. She decided not to take him at all. A few months later she was married, but Caleb did not attend the wedding, wor bad he seen her since. At the time when our story begins Caleb was fifteen years old,and as much cast upon his own resources as though he were anorphan. Scorned by his sister, and hated by his step-father and the offspring of the second marriage, he had but one friend among those of his own blood—his mother! Seasons may come and go, kingdoms rise and fall,and the world change as the helmsman, Time, directs its course, but a mother’s heart knows but little change. When forsaken by all the rest of the world, a mother may be relied upon, TNaleb’s mother loved him, believed in him, prayed for him, and would have helped him if she could, ‘She had always done her best to shield him from harm and abuse, andall that he was he owed to her when he went out to fight the world at the age of twelve. After that she could give only sympathy, love and encouragement, but it wasa good deal, and she had less cause to worry over him than be- fore: he seemed to be doing well ina humble way. Misfortune had not crushed hisspirits; on the contrary, he wasfull of life and good-humor, and, being both bright and honest,.he bade fair io achieve success in the end. Tor the time being he was in the service of Irving Proctorham, a wealty New Yorker. The latter’s residence was well up-town, where the progress of events on Manbattan Island had not turned the neighborhood into a human bee-hive, and he had some land anda good many fruit an 1 ornamental trees around his house, He had a man to care forthe grounds, and Caleb Cinders was an assistant. Caleb’s real name was Lyons, but it had among many of his nequaintances, been lost sight of. Among his other duties he had to care for the furnace, and some fanciful n given him the nick- name of **Cinders.” It stuck to him, and he usually claimed it as his own when asked for his name, One afternoon Caleb had been away on an er-” rand, Whenit was done he returned to Proctor- ham’s and went about his next jub, In order to do it he had to enter a certain part of the stable, but, when he tried to do so, he . | arn eal eu h naturally ——— _ — —— — Caleb Cinders, the New York Castaway. —- = eee a ee eee —— ee ——_— sow found the connecting door locked, This sur- | doctrine an’Jeffersonian principles, an’ I feel prised him, for it was out of the ordinary course | ashamed. Wal,my aie you shall be returned of events,so he looked for Jason Timms, the | ter your home-base, but man-of-all-work, to getthe key, Jason was not to be found. Next, Caleb inquired for Mr, | Proctorham, and was told that he was absent. ‘* Pretty kittle o’ fish!” commented young Cinders. ‘* How kin I dothe job ef I can’t get in? There’s a mat’matical problem fur you, Caleb.” Meditation satisfied him that there was only one course open to him, By using a Jadder he could ascend to the loft window, aud, from there, reach the desired quarter. ** 1ll do it, too,” he decided, ‘* Might get red of it, but what’s the use? It’s got ter be done some time, an’ it won’t do any good ter put it off. Vil go up!” He‘ found the ladder, leaned it against the side of the barn, ascended: to the window and enter: d the loft. This, like the lower floor, was divided into two parts, separated by a partition and a door. A fresh surprise awaited him—this door, like that below, was locked! PF Wal, this is sort o’ queer!” he observed, aloud. ‘‘ Somebody has taken a heap o’ trouble ter shut things up tight, but here’s the key, W onder ef Bluebeard has been here an’ fixed up a lot o’ scarecrows?” Smiling at his fancy he unlocked and opened the door. He had never known this particular door to be fastened in the daytime, but the fact that it had been locked on this occasion was not strange enough to cause him to look around critically, He entered briskly, thinking only of his er- rand, and then recoiled as he almost run up against anotber boy. He stopped short and stared in bewilder- ment, ‘* Jim Cricky!” he ejaculated. The other boy was much younger and much smaller than he, being alittle fellow who did not look to be over five yearsold, and he made a most melancholy picture just then. His face was un- fenatiened, his mouth bore a piteous expression, and his eyes were red with weeping. He seemed just ready to weep again, but delayed the cperaion to stare at.Caleb. AndCaleb was greatly surprised. Thesmall boy did not belon to the Proctorham household, nor had Cale ever seen him before. If he had been a tiger, bis presence would not have taken the larger boy any more by sur- rise, Pe Wal, I'll be chewed!” Caleb ejaculated. **Say, did you blow in here?” ‘¢They took me in,” replied the small boy, with a sob, ‘* Whoi—tbe sparrers?” ‘* The men did.” ‘* What men?” **T don’t know,” ** Got locked in by accident, hey?” ‘No; they did it on purpose,” ** You don’t say so!’ There was a trace of skepticism in Caleb’s voice, and a good deal more in his mind. Every naturalinference led him to doubt the statement. Why should any one lock the boy inthere? If he had not possessed aninnocent, honest face he would at once have been set down by Caleb as a liar of the first magnitude, As 1t was, the larg- er boy was doubtful. ‘ ** D’vye live around here?” he asked. *¢T don’t know where I am,” was the quaver- ing reply. Then how’d you get here?’ ‘*‘T went oution the street, and some men grabbed me and put mein a wagon, and brought me here.” .“ Where d’ye live?” ‘¢Upin the street where the lame boy lives,” Caleb shook bis head. ‘*’Tain’t hardly exact enough, my’ frien’, What’s yer name?” | *¢ Allan Garland,” ** Got any fathers or mothers?” ‘*])’ve got one mother.” ‘* Everybody ain’t got so many as that. So some men bbed you an’ brung -ye here, hai ‘you holler, an’ kick, an’ raiso a rum- us ‘*T told them I didn’t want to come, and I cried, but they wouldn’t let me go,” mournfully explained Ailan, as the tears began to course ra- pidly down his cheeks again. * Remarkable case, b’jinks! Here me an’ the other tax-payers 0’ New York hire all the big men we kin find ter he perleecemen, an’ pay them bang-up wages, but @ youthful citizen kin be kidnapped right under our n an’ locked up in a stable, ’Tain’t’cordin’ ter the Monroe | possess the necessary facts. | _L MDM il lle lll tlt tt o ve got ter find out where ’tis, first-eff.” Caleb undertook to gain this information, but succeeded only poorly. Allan was too young to He stated that his father was dead; that his mother was named Mrs. Garland; that they bad lived until recent- lyin a remote place, the name of which he could not tell; and that they had lived since coming to New York in a street where the houses were very big, and where there lived a lame boy, al- so, but what the nae of the street was he could not tell. In briet, there was no clew except his own name and his mother’s, Caleb could not imagine why the boy had been locked up in the stable loft, or who had done it, but he was determined to see Allan out of his trouble. [It did not occur to him to take his companion to the nearest police-station, but, accustomed to rely on himself, he now acted according to the usual rule. ‘¢ Teil ye what I'll do,” he said; ‘tin *bout two hours I shall be done with my day’s work, an’ then I’ll put yeall right, Ef IJeft here afore the usual hour I'd ketch a blowin’ up, for Irving Proctorham is a migbty hard man ter git along with; but when I’m off duty we'll jest strike out fur your marm’s house, You'll know it when you see it?’ **Oh! yes!” cried Allan, brightening up. ‘* Jes’ so! Sartain! I thought so,” Caleb agreed, cheerfully, ‘“‘Them eyes o’ yourn is bright as a real diamunt ring, an’! s’pect you're a clipper when you ain’t off yer feed. now how ter feel fur ye, for 1 was young, myself, once, Come on, my frien’, an’ I’ll help ye out oO’ your diffikilty, sure pop!” CHAPTER. II. A DANGEROUS ENEMY, THERE was sometbing very cheerful and en- couraging in Caleb Cinders’s manner, and the small boy’s heart swelled with gratitude and joy. Small as Caleb himself was, he looked to Allan like a rock against which he might safely lean, | ’ Caleb had already formed his plan. His com- panion must have a refuge until such time as he could start out, and this refuge could not be on the Proctorham premises, He did not believe that the house-servants would be willing to receive Allan, and if they were, there would be troubleif Irving Proctor- ham learned that a stray boy had been taken in. The master of the place was a severe and selfish ‘man who had no sympathy to give to any one. After considerable trouble Allan was assisted down the ladder in safety, and then Caleb took his hand and they started to leave the grounds, But they were not to get away without trouble. They were moving toward the street ‘along a winding, tree-shaded path when a form loomed up in their path which was larger than Lotu boys, combined. t was Irving Proctorham! Cinders knew at the start that there would be trouble, A stranger on the grounds was the austere gontleman’s pet borror, and a stranger in charge of a hired youngster like Caleb would ie to him like a red flag to an ill-tempered ovine, The first thing Mr. Proctorham did was to » iook astonished; the next was to scowl like a pirate. Then he sharply demanded: ** What’s this?” ! ‘*Tt seems ter be a boy, sir,” quoth Cinders, trying to be very lite and pleasant. | ‘What is he doing here?” ‘*He’s goin’ out.” ‘‘ How dared you bring him here at all?” ‘OT wa'n’t me who did it. ’Twas somebody else, an’ they shut him up in the stable; but he couldn’t feel reconciled ter being either a hossor an ox, so he wanted ter gitout—"» ‘¢ Shut him up in the stable! Who did it?” ‘*T don’t know—” | “Boy, how dared you go near my stable?” Mr, torham flung out the inquiry with a good deal more of noise than was necessary, and the scowl on his face was so alarming that Allan, instead of answering, nestled closer to Caleb and began to cry again. , ‘‘Didn’t I tell ye somebody brought him?” quiere returned Cinders. ‘'He didn’t. come hi f. | ‘Did you bring him?” ’ ‘Hey I lost the roodiments o’ the English language, that I can’t make myself understood?” demanded Allan’s champion. ‘‘Some men that he didn’t know abductioned him, brought here an’ shut him up in the stable; an’ there he * ” - : é +. * .~ : UP 4 - ny bt a * | | vol Ngle Sot Tae pa CDOOKS.COIr