Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 853 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

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FO ee a.) oe » cai 4 on ° a3 is ‘ ’ “ K Ms a taal eal Ie . ~ € oA” wil 7 : a . . ee ae ',%9 “ i | ‘*But he has not.” ‘Nor will a man of his temperament do so, sir; but it will be the favor it so reported,” “ Why so?” ‘‘ You see, I get the balance of my bribe, sir, for I am hired to put him to death, or rather give him the poison.” cf, ‘*T fail to just understand your drift, Mr. te Doom.” ‘‘ If IT am bribed to take human life I have the money to prove the bribery on the part of one who wishes Westley dead.” ee Ab ir? ‘“‘If I see him, pretending to be his brother, I can glean information from him [ could not otherwise secure.” ‘*Having done this I can then play my Sg * 7 , ; % “% : i cards differently, for I will tell him that I. was bribed to take his life, but would not, and his anger against that one will cause him to say that which he would not other- Re wise do.” RY ‘You are reasoning well.” “Then, sir, with the papers reporting that Wirt Westley, presumably believing that he must hang, had taken his own life, will give me a chance to work this intended mur- derer for all that I can get in the way of a information.” | ‘“‘I see your drift now, Mr. Doom, and will do as you wish. | ‘* What do you say, chief?” **T always do as Dick Doom requests, sir, «. - and he has never failed me yet,” was the an- “ Swer, 3 ‘Then I will do so too, only [ll catch it ne when the truth comes out,” a ** On the contrary, you will get the credit, . chief, for a clever ruse that gained your 28 point, and if the papers were fooled you _ bagged ron game by fooling them.” ; ight you are, Doom, so give your ti orders as you wish them to be obeyed and ae I'll iadorse you,” said the chief of police. 2 CHAPTER XX. a WHAT HE KNEW. wae THe man who had fled from England, a ‘ 3 fugitive for his evil deeds, the son of a ‘7 nobleman, well educated, with a profession i } that would have enriched him, possessing ‘3 the talent he did, but who bad turned it to i evil ends, and, instead of reforming his life ee upon coming to America and beginning anew, ‘x had herded with the worst element of re humanity, and become leagued with mur- derers and robbers, until the end came when x he was arrested as a plotter and accomplice in Be the mysterious deaths in the Granger man- sion—this man, with all to make him honest 5 and true, had taken the downward path and lay in a cell awaiting trial that might send him to the gallows. His accomplice, Loyd Granger, the heir perce for the Granger fortune, had escaped, but in his case the plot of rescue had failed. His feminine accomplice, Charlotte Hull, Mg feigning insanity after wine, state’s AD evidence, had outwitted lawyers, detectives a and asylum attendants and was a free See woman, as But he, Wirt Westley, lay in his cell ira awaiting his trial. ay Gloomy indeed were his thoughts, for the ee escape of Loyd Granger had been reported ms to him by his keepers, and he knew how a utterly hopeless would be any future effort tt in his behalf to rescue him, 3 ao And yet he could not but start with a ray ane of hope when it was reported to him that his a brother wished to see him, as, ‘*My brother!” he gasped, remembering ie. that his father’s death a year before had left aa his elder and only brother a lord. a Had that brother, an English noble, who Beer had lectured him in other days, aided him, ss and at last vowed never to do anything ~~: more for him, repented of his vow and come Bie: to him in his misfortune? Re Par sie ask to have | ‘* Enough to hang the boy and Frills.” But how had he found him, disguised as he was under the name of Wirt Westley? He thought for a moment and then it came to him that Loyd Granger having escaped, was plotting his escape, and clasp- 1 ing his handsin a melodramatic manner, he | cried: ‘““Ah! that my brother should see me thus, should find me here!” ‘* Will you sce him, sir?” asked the keeper. ‘‘ It will crush me to the earth, but Il must, if only to bid him farewell, for he can do nothing for me now.” The keeper walked away and soon re- turned, accompanied by the visitor. He unlocked the cell door, allowed the vis- itor to passin, and said: ‘Your brother, sir.” ‘* Oh, my brother! *'That you should find me thus!” cried the prisoner, placing his arms about the vis- itor’s neck, — ‘*Oh, rats!” said the visitor impatiently, for the keeper had turned away. ‘*T suspected that you were here for a motive, and was playing a part,” the pris- oner said, somewhat crestfallen at the re- buke he met with in the singular but ex- pressive ejaculation of: ** Rats!” ‘*Play to an audience then, for Old Keys has gone, and I alone am here,” ‘And who are you?” ‘‘T am a pal of that she hyena, Frills, sent to get you out of this.” “Dear, good Charlotte.” “Oh, yes, good enough in her way, but business clean through; but she pays me my price and I am here to give you a lift.” ‘Good! How is it to be done? _ **The woman that the boy sent squirmed at the last minute.” “The boy sent no one, if you mean Loyd Granger,” ‘* Who, then, sent the Salvation gal?” ‘¢ Frills, ” . ‘‘She’s a dandy; but the girl lost her nerve,” | ‘‘She did, and you stayed while the boy skipped; but I come from Frills now to help ou,” ‘* What is your little game?” ‘‘She says, if she does not help you out, | is it your intention to squeal?” ‘* Like a pig under a gate, you bet it is.” You'll chin to save yourself?” ‘You bet, and I’ve sent in word that I’d play that tune.” ‘*Do you know anything?” ‘“They say you don’t know anything.” **Don’t 1?” “'That’s what they say.” ‘* Well, just ask Frills if [don’t know who that boy really is, and that it was her plot that put old man Granger in the soup years | ago, and followed with his son some years after, and next with the step-mother, all dying suddenly, and without a will, so that the one remaining would get the money. ‘‘Don’t I know, too, that she made the mistake in poisoning Mrs. Granger’s twin sister, hoping with her going out like a can- dle, and leaving no will, the, boy would claim all as heir. ‘Oh, yes, 1 know my text, and can peach, and peach I will if she don’t get me out of this, and if any one hangs it will be a form in petticoats. ‘* Just tell her this, will you, brother mine,” and the prisoner laughed in a derisive way. CHAPTER XXI. THE SUICIDE. ' Tue derisive laugh of the prisoner grated harslily upon the ears of his visitor, but the latter was perfectly calm, and replied: ** Well, Westley, Ill tell you a secret.” ‘Out with it.” ‘*It is just what the woman thought you would do,” : ‘ ‘‘ She tried to save you when she did Loyd Granger.” ‘* But it was a miss-deal.” ‘Yes, by a strange coincidence her mes- senger was recognized as an old offender, and arrested at the very jail door.” ‘* She was a bad one, eh?” ‘‘Yes, a forger, but known to Frills,” ‘* Where is she?” ** Frills?” ‘‘No, my pal that missed cue.” ‘* She is in this very prison.” ‘‘Poor woman, I am sorry for her.” ‘So you see Frills did her share.” ‘*She must do more,” _ What?” ‘¢ Save me.” ‘‘ She sent me here.” ‘And you can?’ ‘No, I cannot.” ‘Then I peach.” ‘‘So Frills decided you would do, so she engaged me to prevent it.” COE ‘* Vege" “How?” ‘‘ By silencing you.” ‘* How can you?” ‘‘By preventing your telling.” ‘‘Only my freedom, and my share in the plunder prevents that, for I know how I can save my neck from stretching, and | will.” ‘‘But Frills sent me here to prevent it, I tell you.” “You can’t, unless you get me out of this.” ‘*T-can.” sé How ‘i ‘* By obeying orders.” ‘* What orders?” “Those given me by Frills.” ‘* What are they?” ‘*Do you see this bottle?” ‘* You ‘¢ What is it?” ‘Tt is a flask—yes, it is whisky.” ‘You love liquor?” ‘More than all else.” “Tt has been your ruin?” ‘‘Oh yes, I may as well confess it,” ‘‘ And yet you would take some?” ‘‘Yes, give me a drink.” “Did I not tell you that Frills sentit to ou?” ‘‘T don’t care who sent it, 1 want a drink, for my throat is on fire.” ‘‘See, here it is, but I tell you not to drink.” ‘Dont preach to me, but give it to me.” ‘*Do you want to die?” “Tt will not kill.” Tt will.” ‘No, no, give it to me,” pleaded the man. a7) mS _" : ae Tae e ' ti : % “ 4 a ; | * 2 . ? oa Dick Doom’s napper Knock-Out. Bale ve, ie | ‘*T say that it will kill you.” | ro ‘In time yes, but let me drown my sor- | rows now.” in ‘Tt will drown them forever.” ee The words were uttered so expressively a that the man hesitated and asked in a hoarse = whisper: , ; ‘“What do you mean?” a ‘‘T mean that this liquor has been poison- me “What?” oy ‘Yes, it has been so fatally drugged that one drink of it would end your life.” ee, The prisoner seemed to realize that his Pe: visitor told him the truth and he shrunk back with livid faceand a look of horrorand = ‘c ; Bs, : ee poison 1 Be “Did I not tell you that your accomplice, — Frills, sent it to you?” ti a eae ‘« She poisoned it?” ae ** Yes.’ os = EOMIC 8 SS — — . ~~ ee ae! al ie a a ws A ea, a - ° . a oe