Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 881 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

ee Ce cerned him; but there was the natural curiosity of the boy, and the natural instinct of the scout. On the whole, he felt strongly inclined to put himself on the track of Jerry. Jenkins. The hard-fisted sons of toil who gathered around the supper-table at Mrs. Malone’s that night seemed principally concerned in finding yut in how short a time they could put out of sight a liberal allowance of food. Scarce a word was spoken while anything to ! eat remained; then Jenkius, who as usual occu- ied the head of the table, remarked: ““ Well, fellers, what’s in the wind for to- night?” ““ There’s a cock-fight down at Peters’s the sly, you twig. But that’s to vest my fifty cents.’ ‘** Cock-fights is ’g’in’ the law,’ said Jenkins, reprov ingly. ‘“*The law be blazed! You’re gettin’ mighty delicate "bout the law,” “* Allers was, Couldn't break ther law on no ‘count »” grinned Jenkins, *‘ And yer oughtn’t to be teachin’ sich doctrines fore youngsters a Billy here. Wanter spile his morals, her where [m goin’ “ lpecthlacks don’t have none o’ them things,” ret axted Foherty, the other speaker. ‘That’s all you know about it,” cried Billy indignantly. “* I don’t know just what morals is, but if it’s worth having we've got it. I reckon a bootblack is as good asa hod-carrier or a millionaire.” “Good for you, little un!” laughed Jenkins, “* How’s bizness ter-day, Billy?” ‘“* Prime!” answe the boy, rattling his pocket. ** Ain’t got a five you can lend me?” ‘Ain't l? You haven’t seen my pile. Just fork over a ten for security, and you'll see how soon I fetch up a five.” **Soon’s you kin git the ten changed, eh? I calkerlate | won’t deal.” “You're a prime coon, Billy,” declared Fo- herty, slapping the boy on theshoulder. ‘ You come with me; I'll rat you into the cock-fight. It’s "bout time you were gettin’ your eddica- tion.” ‘*Suare, an’ yell do nothin’ o’ the sort,” de- clared Mrs. Malone, who was listening. ‘‘ The boys now l’arn mischief soon enough, widout the men to t’ache them. I'll niver consint to sich a thing.” “Your boarders Malone.” don’t belong to you, Mrs. Tt rkey ate business at nine o’clock that night. had already been paid a large sum for the job, whatever it was. Yet here it was past eight, and he was seated in a theater, — ntly with nothing on hand but to enjoy the play. This was c ertainly very od d. What to make of it the boy didn’t know. The play, however, drove all these thoughts from his mind. It had not progressed many minutes before he had lost all recollection of Jenkins’s plot, and was thoroughly wrapped up in the fortunes of the stage bootblack. This ragged boy, with his toru coat, bis | smirched face and his sharp tongue, was enough On | “ Dy fe got a conscience, Pat Foberty, and the | boy’s under my care. Soaway wid your timpta- tions, and say no more,” ‘“*Good for you, Biddy Malone,” laughed Jen- kins. “* You come with me, Billy. They're ¢ in’ to play ‘ The Bootblack of New York’ at the old Bowery to-night. ITi take you, and let you 2 pay my way in.’ “Oh. ves! when the moon rises at ten o’clock in the morning,” rejoined Billy, with a knowing wink. ‘*i won’t mind Camptown muster.” ““ An’ what in the wurreld is a Camptown muster?” asked the lan diady roing, but it’s ZOt to bea “It’s whe everybody pays his way, and thank ye to nobody.” ‘* Paix, but ye’re a deep one, Billy,” cried Mrs, a laugh ‘Stick till tha rlong. , tb, m5 DOY, Malone, with * All right,” rejoined Jenkins. ‘‘ We'll co see paddle his own canoe.” rose from the table with those words. What to mak: oF toe toeater eng im : in'’t know. but be n ul OD O18 it i eyes wide open. Did Jenkins suspect him, and bad be made this proposal as ans of throwing him from the track? if that was his 1 urpose » he was likelv to defeat and was not iikely to get ri i of him so Casi) ‘ prot osition, ava the li “assorted pair started to- gether for the bowery at the proper hour. On their way Billy chattered in a lively tone. He had meu Seen) an) pl T*, and was if iN] of hone d " e . . “ - : 2 fi r : ligt r rj toe hbootblack Jenkins drama. listened with a cynical curl of the lip. If he had laid a trap the boy seemed to have fallen into it. The ev rea ‘hed the house and each paid | bis W: ay as proposed, taking their seats in the gallery. Soon the orchestra blared through its overture, the curtain rose and the actors made their en- trance Upon tbe stage. Billy un to this moment had been lost in a uancary fferent place and in some very different | like himself to arrest all Billy’s attention. he soon became involved in the opening of a And | series of exciting adventures that made the lis- | tener oblivious to all that was tuking place around him, Had Jenkins got up and silently left the house at that moment, Billy would not have missed bim. But he took a different course. ‘* How do you like the play?” heasked, looking at the absorbed boy. ‘““Tt’s bull y! - returned the youthful auditor. “That chap’ 8 just gay.’ ** I’m goin’ out fur a plug 0’ "baccy. I can’t never set still ‘thout achaw. Ill be back in a minute.” In much less than a minute Billy’s thoughts were turned into a new channel. He had for- gotten the play and was full of the plot. “ All right,” he muttered, with seeming indif- ference, “slide ahead.’ Yet Jenkins bad hardly disappeared through the door before the boy was up and after him. This tobacco dodge, he said to himself, was much too thin to discount Biliy Turk. ’ He | Z bundred feet distant when the carriage whirled away at full speed, driving furiously down the fie pursued it at a full run, andin a minute r two more pursuer and pursued alike vanished from the scene, and only the sound far-off wheels remained. CHAPTER VII. THE ABDUCTION AND WHAT FOLL OWED, THE newspapers of the next morning, in their columns of local events, contained a start ling announcement. A young lady residing on Madi- son avenue had been cidnap ped, carried off un- der the very eyes of the police, at as early an hour as nine o’clock in the evening. A boy, one of New York'scorps of apn hart seen a struggle, heard a woman's cry of dis- tress, and seen a person forced into a carria ge, which instantly drove off at full speed. The boy had followed as rapidly as possible, bat had soon lost sight of the fast-driven car- risge. He had given thisinformation to a police- a and continued the pursuit before the offi- r of the law could learn his name and address, Fined ry in the neighborbood which the boy had indicated showed that a young lady had disappeared from No. — Madison avenue, a Miss Ellen Brown, who had hastily left the house shortly before nine in consequence of a note brought by a messenger. This note lay on hertable. It proved to be | froma Mr. Harry Weston, stating that his sis- Reaching the outer door, he caught a glimpse | of Jenkins about ten yards distant. heard from bim what seemed the sound of a laugh. Billy’s lip curled disdainfully. ‘“‘ He laughs best who laughs last,” himself. ‘* You think you're dumb, Jerry Jenkins. We'll t’other way.” The slouching figure in front moved on with be said to smart and ['m see if it isn’t some rapidity. Billy followed with much can- tion. It was quickly evident that Jenkins had something else in view than tobacco, oe or had already passed two cigar-stores with balting. Hea continued his journey, through street af- ter street, making for the east side of the city. Billy glided alcng, about fifty paces in the rear, Wabolng i is every movement, For considerably more than a mile this progress continued, They were now ina quiet | quarter of the city, among ~ moderate sized but i } even at ee early hour of the , were abroad nig . . ‘ . y 43 # Pe ~~ ‘ Them that are out are off fer Broadway, . - ir. rt - - a, 14 5 - = Sal l the DOY to me seit. rOlnsS Aidt IEeGIV & hang around sae rem , bess igza Jenkins had turned a sharp rner into an- T other street. Billy ran quickly to the corner, eager to get him in vi A ut on reacb- ing that point nobody was insight He burrik i forward \nothber street cross-d ~ ~ down this to right or le! n reaching it Billy was not able to see hin eltber direc- | tion. ” 7 : . é 7 “ 2 . " to the nex rr Hal 1 ray ‘yr ~ rs : | *T) 1} + N tr : the sioucbl as to be ses . bes ~~ tra? ; >} . . ‘ . . ° i roughly mystified, the young spotter wan- lered round the locality for some twenty min- > = . . r 7 +1 oooh I _. P pe irec. as ] OugI i A ul iti ‘ ad 5 val- 1iOwe i him up. ‘| do Km w that it’s any affair of mine. The grapes were sour now that they were out He was about to give up the quet in dis- gust, when his eyes feil upon a : arriaze drawn up in a dark place on the street he had just en- tered, and about two hundred vards a LWay. Two or three figures were visible near it. He remembered what had been said about a car- riage, and hurried up. Just then there seemed a slicht struggle in | the group at the carriaze, there came a faint cry in a woman’s voice. which was in stantly suppressed, and the next instant the forms dis- Jenkins was engaged at some very | appeared in the carriage. Billy, now thoroughly wis de awake. ran to- ward it with all his speed, but he was yeta He even | | sensational repor ts. wit ter would be in town that evening, by the half- past nine train on the New York Central, and requesting ber,as he had suddenly been called away On important business, to meet and take care of the young lady for the night. The newspaper report went on to say that Mr. Weston, who was well Enown as the con- fidential clerk of Mr. Edward Morton, commis- sion broker, had been seen, and declared the note to be a forgery. “His sister was not coming to town, he had not been detained by business, and the whole affair was a villainous con- coction. The news had plunged Mr. Weston into the greatest distress; he seemed unable to explain the abduction, and had spent balf the night in distracted w anderings and calls at Police Head- quarters in forlorn hope of tidings Such were the leading points in the somewha bh ‘flaring bead-lines, con- veral of the Saturday morning pa- pers. Some of these sugested that there was an engagement of ny oy between Weston — inad Tr) ' mi LIC in s+ > } a > > and the lady. and that tt ee ction had been . > > - - } | + nm thie toe WOrk Of 4 - lo WhO Dad taxsen tiis _ ’ > ——s Ti . . 7 cy - ~ , ~ — ad > * ' - . : rr : ‘Tr , ‘er . : - " . ibe Aalall CTCaLE some ex itement ine Ae, ur ; -+ : ry ha 7 lawn of the next day bad failed to brine tl . 7 ¢ : . . aad J ¥ . tidings of ber whereabouts, and the whole po- ™ . . . 4 7 , ~ nerd ~ lice force of the city were put on the lookout r apy traces of the adbddcuction, while one . > »~ TOrK up tHe Cas ; ~~ > . - . 7 _* i ’ = eT , (i= iT ive Wa: t : 7 sv Ta ’ n , ry . ~ ¥ teil ’ > > QD “ nte res ct i= > - . - ; “ oO Uv tnin ‘ & oe rrr " owe ®. - | YT ¢ I > ; > : vere,” grow! Jenkin Ler ught s e > ad a. | r a A fi un thelr e Aid i , ° . . 'y . ’ - ~4 7 .4 > wel i ; 34 . a 7 7 .* t's ryt ‘ e. AGS what it =) le : > e " : ° ; rs Jia bil . Dy ia ’ to be 8 i In the opel 56 r 2 OU > to kw ~~ | .r Lois . y 7 - : > i - ™ Z vy ~~" : ij me good t ive my tw anos in f r of tr : at YY s it I liv ; ~ : DE « KIDS uring tows conversation; but that i: ; \reak- ™ o faASt rit! - be i! 24 nity ie ~ "Ty > ; rt Yr : . : ~ Pal : : I ni : . bh a - ’ ’ - a + . | ~ Be ! >| te. nine y ‘- 7 1) ’ ; r yv > ,’ = « i .. : zt i . . 34 reac nt papers, TNAL's -_ " ; se "| +h a < slew ’ =s — . them; i det taney wouldn't got away from me j 4 aa 74 4 1 so easy. 1some on toe run } red Billy, —_? st" —_ - . ae wit } ft Te t sO - - PINneT T j "4 De » — ~~ » >> a . a p to find out W nat boy was before tte day's over. Some of the fell = wi ow.” sé e - _ Tr3 ‘y" ’ . er How did you like ‘7 Bootbla: slay at . , : - 2317 °? P : th e Bo pwer' i si! v3 ns ect Trye€ Tre f roel sa, si 7 4.71 39 " it was gay, I tell you /” exclaimed the boy, excitedly. *‘‘Co ldn't have done it better my-