Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 852 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

@ * ‘ - ~ ‘ a % a , , Soon TS be ¥ of a a ral ~ » _— bbe Jey ak th -~ ie =" ~ « * _—_ ne or ~~ Ved ed s ’ . Ph ol a, » 4 | “A : —_ oe . Fa . | - side ; - “et * oe that it was his o _ better be postponed for awhile.” Sage’s ‘house, yet such was probably the ease, f¢r who in Devil’s Guich could afford such ® well stocked cellar? “Well, I can’t do more than take my chances,” concluded Mose. “If I get left, I shall have to fight my way out.” So placing the bird in his coat pocket, as Pete was wont to do with the bird when on the tramp, Mose proceeded to mount the stairs. On reaching the landing above, he found a heavy door confronting him. Trying it, he found that it was not locked, as he feared it would be. Now came the risky part of the job. If he ventured out, might he not get a bullet through his brain? His revolvers being empty, and water. soaked as well, his only available weapon was his bowie-knife. He must act, however, so he cautiously pushed open the door. It opened into a long hall, which was rich- ly carpeted. This hall apparently ran to the front of the house, On either side of it were rooms, and the doors of allof them appeared to be wide open. To reach the front of the house, Mose would have to pass all these open doors, and so run the risk of discovery. Then, too, there was no telling when Poll would begin to squawk. There was, apparently, no rear exit to the hall, not even a window. There were voices heard in one of the front rooms, but Mose could not make out what was said. The speakers, however, were feminine. Mose stood for several minutes meditating over what to do. If he escaped from the house his mission of finding both Harry Harris and Pete Parrot would remain unfulfilled, but where was he to look for them now? | A horrifying thought now struck him. Perhaps they had been drowned in the un- derground sea into which he himself had dropped? ‘*But, that seems hardly probable,” he decided. ‘‘If this is Sage’s house, and I’ve no longer a doubt but it is, those two men are here, somewhere, and Magic Mose don’t leave the place until he finds ’em, if he loses his scalp by remaining. If this parrot will only keep his mouth shut, I may be able to make & Canvass of the premises.’ But, Polly was not destined to keep still, for she immediately squawked. “Poor Polly! Pete gone! Polly want a cracker!” ‘Well, Poll won’t get one,” muttered Mose, ‘‘Confound you, if you open that mouth of yours again, I'll wring your neck!” ! Poll evidently knew what this meant for she remained silent, Mose then stole along the hall, peering into each room as he went. All were ory furnished, far more so than one would have expected to find, in a place like Devil's Gulch, None of them were occupied, however, except the front parlor, wherein the voices were heard, — Mose stole forward, took a swift glance in at the door, and then dodged back, to avoid discovery. There were three occupants to the parlor, ‘instead of two. One was Samuel Sage, the other was his daughter, and the third his wife, a languid, but hard-faced looking woman, on the shady of forty. , hae ag Sage was speaking: _ “Tf that detective had not come here, Ben would not have backed out, But, now, I reckon it’s all up, He said this mornin pinion that the wedding . ‘* No! no!” she cried, ‘‘ Burt will never be untrue to me I am sure.” “Oh, dry up!” snarled Sage. ‘‘ When vou have lived as long as I have, and pass- ed through as much, you won’t give way to little troubles. Bradford is already dis- charged from my employ, and has been notified that if he don’t leave camp in forty- eight hours, he will be lynched!” ‘Oh! papa, what Aas brought about this bad feeling toward Burton?” ‘That is my business, He had in some way—probably through that cussed detec- tive or my beloved friend Pete Parrot, learn- * eet was known to no one except my- self.”’ ‘* And it concerns me ?” **It don’t matter whom it concerns! If I get hold of that detective, his life will come to a sudden close, be sure of that!” ‘Oh! will it, though?” thought Mose. ‘*Perhaps you’re making a slight mistake. In fact lam sure you are. If any one’s life comes to a close, it strikes me quite forcibly that it will be yours, you old scoundrel!” The climax was at hand, Poll Parrot poked her head out of the pocket of Magic Mose, and yelled at the top of her shrill voice: ** Polly want cake!” ; CHAPTER VIII. IN GREAT LUCK. A SAVAGE oath came from the parlor. ‘*That accursed parrot again!’ cried the voice of Samuel Sage. , ‘‘How in Satan’s name could she have got back into the house again?” This told Mose that Poll had previously been fired out, One of the doors near which Mose was standing, being open, the detective dashed in with stealthy quickness, and closed it. He heard Sage come rushing out of the parlor, into the hall, and to prevent further suspicion of his presence, Mose reached his hand into his coat pocket, and shut off Poll’s wind, for a few seconds, so that she could not squawk, | The room into which he had bolted was a a bedroom, and out of it rose a staircase, leading to the upper floor. It was carpeted, and Mose lost no time in mounting the steps. | When he reached the upper landing he found a duplicate cf the lower hall, with rooms on each side, But in this instance all: the doors were locked, Down-stairs Sage was thundering about in great shape, ‘* Well, I reckon there is no hope here,” decided Mose after he had tried all of the doors, and listened at them, ‘It don’t ap- pear that either Pete or Harry are confined here.” He paced along the hall, wondering how he was going to get out of the house without detection, when, suddenly, he missed some- thing. | Poll was gone! ° The bird had managed to get out of his pocket, without attracting his attention, She was now nowhere to be seen, or heard, _ *“ Worse and worse!” be muttered. ‘‘ The bird has gone down-stairs to still further give me away.” | It seemed so, for Mose now heard Sam Sage come lumbering up the stairway, swear- ing at every step. | hat was he to do? It is not a pleasant thing to be caught rowling around another man’s house. There was no apparent way of poh da i until Mose spied a skylight in the roof, tor _ There was a step-ladder beneath this, and <a Deadwood Dick, Jr., at Devil’s Gulch. Oe a seconds; then to uplift the window sash was but the matter of a few more seconds; so that when the master of the mansion reached the upper hall, he arrived there just in time to see the intruder’s heels disappearing through the skylight. With an execration he clambered up the ladder, but before he reached the top the ladder fell backward, and went to the floor with a crash, This made Sage madder than ever, of course, but righting the ladder, he ascended once more, When he reached the top of the ladder, and poked his head up through the opening, he found his nose conspicuously close to the muzzles of a pair of revolvers, held in the grasp of Detective Magic Mose! Of course, as the reader has already been told, the guns were unloaded, but Sam Sage, the magnate of Devil’s Gulch, was not aware of the fact, and being a coward at heart, he most naturally hesitated. Magic Mose seeing this cowardice pro- ceeded to take advantage of the situation, ‘Why, hello! Is that you, Sage? Are you coming up to see Saint Peter? If so you will have to go back. Peter is off ona vacation and you can’t get in!’ ‘*Put up them revolvers and I will mighty quick show you whether I can’t come in, or not!” replied Sage. ‘‘ What were you doing in my house?” ‘* Prospecting!” ‘*Prospecting for what?” ‘For rats, and one thing or another like that. Any objections?” ‘* Yes, I have objections! I want you to come down off that roof.” ‘*Pshaw! the roof ain’t doing me any hurt, and I rather like it up here, The air is more pure, and it is more healthy for me, in every respect, than it would be down below. No, thank you, friend Sage, I am quite com- fortable where I am, If you don’t mind, however, you can go down and fetch me up something to eat, and if you have pot any cold chicken, or quuil on toast, why just trot that along.” | rat yeu don’t come down off my roof, I will kill you!” cried Sage, fiercely. ‘I can’t see how youare going to do it, when I have the drop,” ‘But, I will, though! Tl go and hire every man in the town if I can’t get at you in any other way!” — ‘‘All right! Trot’em along. But, first, bring me up the quail, for I am as hungry asa famished goat. And, for the love of heaven, friend Grant, don’t forget to aa : along a napkin. If anything in the worl spoils my appetite it is to be without a nap- kin, when I dine!” The cool audacity of this young detective fairly took Sage’s breath er “What do you mean by calling me Grant?” he demanded, ‘*T call you Grant, because that is your name. Years ago you won a child away from a gambler, on the Mississippi river steamboat. I am after that girl to restore her to those who will care for her,” “T know nothing about the affair, you impostor.” Sie ‘But you do, though, The girl whom you claim to be your daughter is Hazél Hood, daughter of Hood, the Mississippi river gambler, who, after you had won all his money, and the child in the bargain, blew his brains out!” | | ‘Tt is false, ridiculous, you miserable — liar!” “a | | ‘Tt is true, and you know it, you old re. probate!” *) “Tsay it is false. Nora is my own child, ee by my first wife.” 5 ‘‘You never had a wife until you got the 2 Es | one you now possess,” “"You lie! What the deuce do you know about it? I may have had a dozen.” * 4 a. - e . , ° . ; © a ape _ At this, Nora burst into tears, . to mount it was but the matter ofafew] ‘‘ But, you haven't, though” = = <« : fa* 7 : ‘ ‘ ’ 4 - ' ’ “2 . . 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