Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 859 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

. —~ + ee + De eee : a a hlease do not stay long, for Mr. Rochelle’s orders were that no one was to be allowed aboard,” The captain and the pretended ladies fol- lowed the boatswain into the cabin, and sud- denly he looked squarely into the face of a revolver and heard the words: ‘* You are my prisoner, sir.” With an oath the man started to run from the cabin, but he was seized bY the ladies and in an instant he was handcuffed and gagged. ‘* Now order the crew here,” was the cap- tain’s order, and throwing off their feminine garb the officers obeyed and the surprised crew learned that there was a plot to rob the yacht and they must submit to being held prisoners until the robbers were secured. Then they told how the boatswain had promised to treat them to some wine, after all got quiet, and said that he had the bottles already hidden away. ‘That wine is drugged,” sternly said the captain, and with ‘‘dummies” in the boat, for fear the robbers might then be watching, it pulled away from the yacht, to await off on the river a recall signal, ‘““The boatswain told me, sir, to set at nine o’clock a signal that the owner was ashore, and it woullt prevent any friends from coming off,” said one of the crew. ‘* Set it,” was the laconic response of the captain. ‘* And you will find that the boatswain’s friends will come off, and those are the ones we wish to welcome.” The signal lantern was set, the police officers took their places, and all was ready for the reception of the boatswain’s guests, CHAPTER XIV. LIKE RATS IN A TRAP. It was just after midnight when a boat was seen coming off from the shore and heading for the yacht. There appeared to be three men in it be- sides the two oarsmen, and as it came nearer a voice called out: ‘Yacht Ideal O. K.” ‘*Q, KY!’ came the answer, The next instant the boat ran alongside and a man standing forward and mufiled up called out in a quick, low tone: ‘*Get down below all of you until that police boat goes by.” Those thus addressed did not, from their rapid movements, seem to like the name of a police boat, for, without waiting to see where it was they fairly tumbled down the steerage hatch, while the muffled form made their boat secure, “Say, we’ve got to go quiet, so one of you come up at a time, and walk about like the crew, for there has been a boat out here to-night that looks suspicious, The words were whispered down into the hold, and spoken with a foreign accent, and a voice answered: “ All right, cully; you play ther music and we'll dance to it, Is the salt water gang asleep?” “Yes; now you come out and walk right to the eabin!’ A man came out; a sign of warning from the muffled form kept him quiet and he went off and entered the cabin. ‘“‘Now, mate,” and a second man was called out and directed to the cabin. Thus the others were called until the five river pirates were caught like rats in a trap, for each one, on his descent into the cabin, had heen seized on each’ side by powerful men whose grip on his throat and arms he could not throw off, and in an instant found himself manacled and gagged, ‘Set the signal, my man, for’ Mr. Ro- chelle to come off, for he has been notified and will understand it,” ordered Captain Williamson, coming out of the cabin and addressing one of his officers, the man who had impersonated the French boatswain, OE EP New York Nat, the Gamin Detective. 9 ee SlCr en a OO TO CS CO ll eer =|] es a eee ee — SC Or Cr The signal brought also the captain's boat, which had been in waiting, as well as that of the handsome young yachtsman, Ko- chelle, who was accompanied by the Secret Service chief. ‘* All right, captain?” asked the chief as he step ped on deck, ‘ Yes, sir, without a life lost.” ‘* How on earth did you discover the plot to rob me?” asked Mr. Rochelle, “The plot was made known to me by one I do not know, sir, and, being thus warned, to do the work was easy.” ‘“And that man Pierre, my boatswain, was the traitor?” ‘* Yes, sir.”’ ‘*T will leave him in your hands, chief; but I wish to ask your men to divide this check among them.” “Thank you; but I must say nce, Mr. Rochelle, for they have simply x He their duty. Who is the one that gave the warn- ing | cannot tell you.” ‘Then give him the check,” ‘‘T could not, sir, if I would, for, asl say, I do not know who he is.” ‘Not know who your informant of the plot to rob me was? Why, that is remarka- ble,”’ “Just that, Mr. Rochelle; it is remarka- ble. But this confession I must ask you to receive in confidence, for if it becomes known how | received the information, it might get some one into trouble. Some day | hope to be able to inform you, sir.’’ ‘“‘I sincerely hope you may,” and the young yachtsman continued in a low tone; ‘Do you know that I have more aboard my yacht than you imagine, for my partner, an Englishman, now at home, wished me to bring him over a lot of gold. nuggets which he himself had mined, and their value is all of fifty thousand dollars, while I have in the cabin safe some thousands in money, and also jewelry belonging to my wife, of consid- erable value, not to speak of silver-plate and other things, “Yes, sir, your mysterious informant has saved me a small fortune, and whenever you name him to me, he shall be paid a most liberal reward,” ‘He deserves it, sir, and I would give a liberal reward to know who he is,” bluntly declared the chief, Leaving several of his men on board as a guard, until the crew returnedin the morn: ing, the chief then departed, Williamson taking his prisoner to jail, which place they had the certainty of leaving, to. go to States Prison for along term -of years, and which caused the French boatman to say: ‘Well, monsieur, zere vas nopody’ kilt, so you vill not have ze plasair of hanging me up Wiz a rope.”’ ‘*Pon’t be so sure of that, Frenchy, for I have an idea you area very bad man, and we Will have to look up your past record,” as: sured Captain Williamson, and the French- man, muttering an imprecation, remained silent, and was quite unnerved when the iron bars closed behind him, while the cap- tain, as he saw them distinetly in the bright glare of the station, remarked: ‘“They are as bad a lot of sinners as we ever bagged together, andif lam not mis- taken, we can find other charges against them which will give them a long sojourn up the river, or a picnic or the gallows,” CHAPTER XY. A FAIR VISITOR. Tue Ideal sailed on time the next day, the testimony of the officers being sufficient against the River Pirates, who were very quickly found guilty of their crime and sent ‘‘up the river” for safe keeping. That each and every one of them had sus- pected the Frenchman of being the traitor, all believed until they found him incarcerated with them in the prison, though his inelina- tion had been to escape by turning State’s —— EE ee SSS OO eee eee ee em me 6 Evidence, only, the chief told him his services were not needed in that way as there was evidence enough to convict him with his brother pals. The more he pondered over who his strange informant was the more the chief was be- wildered and in vain sought a clue, He had made it his business to go to the court room and look into the face of every individual there and try and thus pick out the one whom he suspected was his ‘ Un- known Shadower;’ but in vain the search; not once did he find a face that he believed was the one he sought. A conscientious man, he’ did not like the idea of taking to himself the praise bestowed by the papers, in the instances when he had acted only under secret information, But, then, he was too shrewd aman to let it be known that his information came from some quarter he knew not where, for that might destroy his secret source of information and perhaps cause the sender of the secret letters to be suspected and put to death. The more he thought over the subject the more he felt convinced that the writer of the mysterious communications was none other then one of the gang of crooks, one less hardened in conscience than the others, or who acted in the cases from some hope of future personal gain, Captain Williamson was alone let into his secret, of his unknown correspondent, but the chief had placed a man on watch in his own quarters to note down every one who entered his private room, when he was pre- sent or absent, with strict orders that, did he discover any one, save his personal attendant, doing so while be was out, to at once arrest him, Thus had the chief set a spy upon bis own people, and that he might make no mis- take, he had made Matt, his assistant, a Spy upon one whom he had employed in the service of spying. ‘““T must get at who this Unknown Shbad- ower is, for as long as I do. not it convinces me that there is one better than Tand my shadowers are at our own game,” muttered the chief as he returned from lunch the day after the crooks, known as the River Pirates, were sentenced, ‘“A lady waiting to see you, sir,” an- nounced Matt, as the chief entered. It flashed across the chief’s mind that he was to receive another communication from the Unknown Shadower, and entering his private room he ¢aid shortly: ‘* Show her in, Matt.” The one who entered was a young girl, and a beautiful one at that. She was stylishly dressed and bowed in the easy way of one used to refined society, ‘‘Pardon my troubling you, sir, but I deem it my duty to place in your bands this sealed letter, which fell into my hands by accident,” she said, and her voice was very musical. The chief knew a beautiful woman when he saw one, and appreciated beauty as well, so in his, courteous way he bade his fair visitor be seated, took the letter and gave a slight start as he recognized the writing and black seal with its weird crest! ‘There is no need of my remaining, sir, unless you care to know how I got pos- session of the letter,” said the young girl. ‘*T should very much like to know, Miss— Miss—” She handed her card to the chief and he read thereon: ‘Miss KATHRINE KENT, | ‘* No, 101 —— Avenue,” “Tam glad to meet you, Miss Kent, for I know your father quite well.” She bowed in silence and he continued: ‘¢T have received like communications be- fore, and I would like very much to know how this one came into your possession,” ‘‘T was down-town shopping, sir, and . -