Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 869 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

At this momert Joe called from above. ‘‘ Come back here, boy. We're not done with you yet.” They had finished their search and founc nothing. ‘‘Much I’ come back. I ain’t made that way,” answered Ned, starving to run down- stairs. CHAPTER VI, THE STARVATION CHAMBER. “Srop, you young hound! Hold up,or [ll skin you!’ yelled Joe, as he rushed from the room, and ran after the flying boy. “On, yes! Pll comeright back. Jist you wait there till you see me, Tell old Grip [’m a-com- in’,” He wasrunning at full speed down the stairs as he. shouted back these words, But he was not going to escape his enemies so easily, Grip sprung to the head of the stairs, and called out at the top of his voice: ‘‘ Hillo! down there. Stop that boy! Don’t let him escape!” There was the sound of footsteps below. As Ned reached the foot of the lower flight, he found himself confronted by the burly form of the bartender, who had heard the alarm and rushed from his den, ‘¢ What’s up, boy? You can’t g0 this way.” “Catch him! Bring him back!” came from above. ‘¢- You hear that, boy? You'd best cave.” ‘Much Ill cave,” retorted Ned, turning the corner of the stairs, and taking his old course toward the yard. But in running through the kitchen be found a snag in his way. His enemy, the woman, stood there, and as he ran past she grasped him firmly by the coat-collar. ‘¢ Been hookin’ something again, have you?” Ned strove vigorously to tear himself loose, but in aninstant more the bartender bad him by the arm, while Joe came plunging into the room and seized his other arm, ‘¢Come back,” he cried. ‘‘ We’re not done with you yet.” ‘Tm done with you,” screamed Ned, strug- gling to escape. ‘‘ This thing’s played out. I ain’t nobody’s football.” He struggled, fought, scratched, bit with all the savagery of a young hyena, giving the three of them all they could do to hold him. They dragged him back step by step, he still resist- ing. Then he began to yell for help at the top of his voice. ‘* Murder! Help! Murder! Police! Help!” he screamed, loud enough to be heard a block away. ‘* Stop him, or we’ll have the whole street on us!” cried Grip, who had now reached the spot. ‘“‘Gag him! Knock him senseless! Do some- thing to stop his tongue!” The bartender obeyed. His burly fist fell on the boy’s head with a blow that leveled him to the floor, At the same moment the woman whipped off her apron and tied it around his mouth as an effectual gag. ‘¢ Now, up the stairs with him.” Joe and the bartender picked up the prostrate boy and started for the stairs. It was no easy job. Ned could yell no more, but he kicked and fought as fiercely as before,and Grip and the woman had to come to their help before they could make any headway. At length, one grasping each foot and oneeach arm, he was carried up-stairs lke a sack of wheat, borne to a‘room on the fourth floor, and flung down like a log. ‘* You'll stay there till you tell me what you’ve dons with that paper, if it’s a month,” hissed Grip. ‘‘And you'll stay hungry, I'll starve you into submission, you sewer rat. We'll see who'll tire out first.” | ‘* it won’t be me, you can bet your level dol- lar on that,” retorted Ned, as he tore the gag from bis mouth. No answer was given. The door was slammed to and locked and he left alone to his medita- tions. He could hear his tormentors walking away, probably to make a fuller examination of bis <liscarded clothes, ‘*{f LT ain’t sold you, old Grip, there’s no use talkin’,” he said, to himself,triumphantly. ‘‘It p°ver come inter their noddles to go through this new rig. ! tell you, that cowcumber dodge was cute, And wasn’t it lucky they didn’t git onto my hat yisterday!” He laughed to himself as he lay prostrate, slowly recovering from the effects of his violent struggle. It was fifteen minuves before he rose to his feet, and even then he mnaipeged with ex- baustion. He had about used up his nerveforce in the fight, a ee He looked around the room, It was bare of furniture except one or two broken chairs. There was a single window, which he soon found tc look down on an alley between two houses. There was no escape this way. The surface level was more than thirty feet below him, Had it looked upon the street he might have called for help, but no one was likely to enter that alley, and the house opposite presente only a blank wall, unbroken by a single window. They had him here. He left the window and went to thedoor. The lock wasa strong one, and the door of inch-thick solid stuff. ‘*T reckon I’m in for it,” he said to bimself, ‘*But I ain’t goin’ to guy up while ther’s a chance open. If old Grip tries to starve me Ill eat that paper, and then seeif he getsit. He's goin’ to tire me out, he says. We'll see who’s got the most grit, him or me.” This thought, however, brought a measure of precaution to his mind. He took the precious prize from his pocket and thrust it into a crack beneath the surbase., ‘‘They mought tackle onto that cowcumber dodge,” he considered, ‘‘and come and go through my new rig. Old Grip’s no slouch, nary time; but I reckon I’m rayther wide-awake, too.’ He had not yet completed his examination ‘of the room. There was a closet to be looked into. This he opened, but found nothing but a handful of old newspapers at the bottom, and on the up- er shelf some blank writing-paper and a few oose envelopes, The stump of a well-worn lead-pencil, an inch in length, lay there, too. ‘*Dunno as all that’s much good to me,” he muttered. ‘‘ There’s nobody to write letters to jist now.” Night in due time came on. The events of that day had been many and exciting, and the th hey prisoner was papery well worn out. ith the first approach of darkness he flung himself at full length on the hard floor, and within five minutes was as fast asleep as if he lay on a couch of rose-leaves. Rough as it was, he had slept the night before in still worse quar- ters. When he woke again the room was flooded with light. He had been roused by the rough application of a foot and the sound of a loud voice: ‘¢ Come, stir your stumps. hand over that paper?” [t was the voice of Joe, Ned struggled to his feet, and looked up in quizzical triumph, a You went through my duds; didn’t you get it ‘*You knew very well it wasn’t there, shoot you! Stand still now. I’m going to see if you managed in any way to transfer it to these clothes. You’re smart enough, hang you!” Ned stood quietly, with a quizzical smile on his face, while Jos thoroughly searched him. Nothing was found. Joe looked at him with a Are you ready to car 1 yep aspect, ‘*Soe here, boy, you’ve hid that somewhere,” hesaid, ‘' You’d better give it up. You don’t know Mr, Grip, or you wouldn’t fight him. He says he’ll starve you, and he’ll doit. You'll not get a mouthful to eat nor a drop to drink, if it takes a month, You’d better take what he of- fered and hand over the paper. It’s no use to you, anyhow,” ‘Tt is to him, though, and I reckon I’ll stand a little starvin’, just to spite him. How much is he givin’ you fur this job?” ‘*Confound your impudence!” cried Joe sav- agely. ‘lll break your jaw if you try any slack on me! Will you take the fifty or not?” ‘The price of papers has riz,” said Ned cool- ly. ‘*That dokyment’s worth a cool five hun- : ed now, I won’t sell it to old Grip for a cent ess, ‘‘Then stay here and starve,” cried Joe an- grily, as he ‘golem the door to with a bang, and secureély locked it. That day was the longest Ned Norman ever p Not a soul came nearhim, By night e was desperately hungry, and was suffering horribly from thirst. At intervals during the day he hammered madly on the door, but no one came to his relief, During the night his sleep was broken by ter- rible dreams. He awoke the succeeding morn- ing the prey of the fiercest anguish. He could have stood the hunger, but the thirst was Jc- Ma him, Should hegiveup? Another day like this would kill him. He set his teeth like the te of a steel-trap. ‘Pll beat old Grip if Idie for it! Hé kin starve me, I reckon, but he can’t tire me out.” At this moment the key was turned and the door opened, The face of Joe lookedin. That of Grip was visible in the hall behind it, } a a | a “* Are you ready to take the fifty dollars anc give up the paper?’ ‘*No! You can tell that white-faced devil that’s hidin’ behind you that that paper’s worth five bundred dollars, and he can’t have it for a cent less, if 1 die for it, Jf he don’t take that now, it’ll be a thousand to-morrow,” A fierce oath came from Joe’s lips, For the mo- ment heseemed about to make‘an assault on the indomitable boy, but at a signal from Mr, Grip, he closed and locked the door. Ned could hear their footsteps as they walked away. In an ex- tremity of anguish, and hardly knowing what he did, he flung himself against the door, and kicked and beat it with all his strength, Joe returned. ‘+ Well,” he called through the door, “‘ are you peace to give up?” ‘*] want some water! Bring me some wa- ter!” ‘¢ Not a drop till you hand over the paper.” **] won’t do it,” cried the unyielding boy. tel won't never give it till old Grip fouls over.” on the floor and writhed in the agony of star- vation. But terrible as was his bodily anguish his mind remained firm, Hisindignation ag» inst his enemy was so great that he felt ready to die rather than yield. At this moment a sound came to his ears that brougbt him instantly into an attitude of listen- ing attention. t came again—a boy’s whistle. It reached him through the open window. Like an arrcw from the bow Ned vo, to his feet, and hastened to the window. There, in the alley his mouth. Hesaw the ragged form of a dimin- utive boothlack, who was fixing up his box and whistling as independently asif he ownec New York. _ “* Hello!” cried Ned, with a cry of hope and oy. ‘‘ Hello yourself!” answered the boy, looking around him in surprise. ‘¢ Squint your eye up this way.” ‘‘ On! it’s there you is?” answered the young- ster, who had now caught sight of Ned’s head, protruded from the window. ‘‘ Whatcher want?” ‘‘T dunno. Want to git out o’ this, I reckon,” ‘‘Well, why don’t you git out? I ain’t a- hinderin’.” ‘*T can’t. Um a prisoner. here, and they’re starvin’ me,” ‘‘ My eye! what a lark!” The shoeblack was now full of interest, ‘TY ain’t eat or drank a mouthful fur two days.’ “That's p’izen bad! It ain’ta sell? Ye’r’ not yin’ me or nothin’? ‘*7]) tell you all about it; it’s a paper they want to get from me,’”’ answered the pent-up ne- gotiator in a low, mysterious tone, ‘* and I won’t give it up, no, not for a cent lessthan a thousand dollars.” I’m locked up [f he had desired to rouse the utmost interest. of the boy, he couldn’t have taken a better course. Here was a romance in real life that was worth a dozen novels. ‘¢ Wait!” cried theurchin, ‘‘ Pll fetch you out. I'll bring all the boys, and we’ll go through the old shanty like rank p’izen.” ‘*No,” said Ned, to whom a new thought had just then come, “I can tell you a better way. ou know New York?’ ‘¢ Well, I'd smile! Whatcher take me fur?” “Then I want you to deliver a jetter for me. It’ll be worth a dollar to you.” ‘I’m yer hoss. Sail in,” ‘‘ Wait a few minutes till I write it.” : Leaving the window Ned hurried to the closet took possession of the pencil and a sheet of aper, and hastily wrote a few lines. He then nclosed the sheet in one of the envelopes, and taking the hidden paper from the place where he had concealed it, rected the envelope. ‘‘Can you find Burton & Jones’s store, No, — William street?” ‘¢+You bet. I ain’t no cross-cut saw, but I reckon 1’m sharp ’nough fur sich a job as that. Ain’t yer got nothin’ barder?” ‘Take this letter there; ask for Mr, Burton;, don’t give it to nobody else. Tell him where I am, and ask him to come and take me out, You: won't forget this place?” ‘‘Do you seeanything green in my eye? A, i it fr ten, Jist the raringest high old sheban old shebang in York. Drop that thar dokyment.: I'll fotch him.” Ned let fall the letter, Without waiting for Joe walked away again. Ned flung himself’ below, was something that brought his heart to- e unfolded it and placed it. with the written sheet. He next sealed and di-- Ps ~ . be i sa ey - \ tr ~~ ee >) * es al wpe. Ly 4S ee = |’ Se 4/5 ° & & ca * Np