Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 889 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

New York Nat’s Deadly Deal. 13) encs to him and getting no reply, he said: ‘*Blame ther boy, he has run off with my match-box,” ‘** He’s gone to buy some candles, Bill, and will soon, be back.” ‘‘ What are you doing here, Zip?” “Gin,” ** Well, it’s ther place you wants for that; but, why didn’t yer wait for me?” “Tm goin’ ter tell yer, pard, and more, I’ve got a leetle game to play that will bring me in a good thing, and you're goin’ ter git right in it.” ‘*)’m yer man, but I wish I could see, for I hates ther dark,” growled Killer Bill, as he drew his chair nearer and listened to the story of his pal. CHAPTER XXIII. TOLD IN THE DARK. New York Nat knew that Chub was what the boys called lazy and a great ‘‘ feed- er,’ but he was true as steel, bright, clever and would do all that could be done in de- coying Killer Billinto the trap he was setting for him, So he made his arrangements accordingly, and moved a cot and a chair into 2 room on the top floor, Then he sat down to have a talk with his prisoner and just see how far he could trust him in aiding to entrap Killer Bill. If he promised him his liberty for doing so he would again turn loose upon the public a convict and a vety bad man, This he did not wish to do. To secure his aid he would have to free him of his irons, and then the two men might resist and have to be killed, or kill some of the Boy Police, and this Nat wished to avoid above all things, unselfishly forgetting him- self in thinking of his fellow ferrets, and be- sides not wishing to attract attention to the old mansion, So he decided to try his own way to get what information he could out of Killer Bill and to capture him. Zip Ralston was ready to betray his friend for terms, but Nat decided not to call on him until he saw that he had to do so, ‘* You have a very strange voice, Ralston,” he said. ( “T was always fond of ventriloquism and my friends say 1 can imitate perfectly, but T don’t know how it would be .with your ' voice.” ‘Try it.” Nat did try it and kept on trying it, and the result was that he struck the exact key in the tone of the convict’s voice and soon could imitate it perfectly. Satisfied on this point he asked no more and then arranged the cot and chair in an- other room, | Chub had his orders just what to do, and the plan was to lead Killer Bill up in the dark, and usher him into the room where Nat was to be lying upon the cot, a false beard and wig, and the coat of the prisoner +: covering him to resemble Ralston, should a ae match be lighted. ) 1 It has been seen how well Chub played ie his part, and got the match-box away from ae the convict, leading him into the room where rf “a his supposed pal lay on the cot, i as Chub had slipped out then, and with the a PS ae other three boys and sentinel waited outgide i for the signal, | be aps Nor was this all, for crouched in one cor- mer of the room was the masked Ferret Queen, with a pad and pencil in her hands, re. ’ ready to take down as well as she could in short hand, all that was said, for she was an "expert stenographer and had assured Nat that she’ could write without being able to | gee the characters. . Fe 4 , * Hh 1 ¥ . i ‘y a) o a a+ op, : alg € 3 <4 A ood thing of it, Zip?” *$o you has a asked Killer Bill, when he had heard the story of how Zip had started to rob the sup- posed drunken gentleman, Sherman Can- field, and found out his mistake too late when he‘discovered that he had played into a detective’s hands, as he had believed. ‘But I bought him, Bill, as 1 writ you, and then I comed here whar I has hid more than once, ‘It's a spooky old place, but safe as a church, and ther boy, whom I has befriend- ed, brings me grub, as I is Jaid up a trifle,” ‘‘T wishes thet durned boy would return with a light,” growled Killer Bill. ‘Stores is scarce about this neighbor- hood and he bed to go a long way, I s’pose,” ‘“Waal, what is the good thing yer has on hand that I’m inter with yer.” ‘* It’s jist this, thet this old house belonged to a old miser, who hed lots of money. *» “IT know’d him, and he buried his money in ther cellar, and—” ‘* How does yer know?” ‘*T seen him, only I got jailed and never had a chance ter come back fer it. “Ther gold is thar and plenty of it, and you can dig for it, as my arm is near broke, and we'll go shares.” ‘* Done! it’s as good as made, if ther money is thar,” ‘‘ It’s thar, for the place hain’t been dis- turbed since ' seen it last, and the miser was murdered, so nobody found the money, see?” ‘* Yes, an’ I’m with yer, and it will come in great if I fails on a rucket I has on hand,” ‘* What’s that?’ | ‘Did you hear anything?’ asked Killer Bill in alarm, ‘* No, I meant what was the racket you was onto,” ‘* Oh, you scared me at first. ** Darn thet boy.” ‘* Well, I’min it with yer, hain’t I?” ‘* Yas, of course, and I'll give it to yer straight, and when thet snail of a boy comes with a lhght, ll read yer what ther papers said, and yer can see jist how my man lied about it; but [ldo him, as soon as I gits his money,” said Killer Bill emphatically. CHAPTER XXIV. | KILLER BILL TELLS HOW IT WAB8.. KILLER Bruty being assured of aninterest with Zip Ralston in the supposed miser’s treasure in the house, after a few prelimi- nary remarks about Chub's long absence, the dark, and hating to talk when he could not see, went on to say: ‘‘T has a chacce, as I said, of making big money, and I guess you kin help me in it. ‘* Yer knows, I has told yer, that I was a gold-miner in New Mexico.” ‘* Yes,” “Well, one meets all kinds 0’ people out there and I met one diggin’ for gold who was sich a gent clean through thet we all tuck to him and him and me become pards, though he hed one partic’lar friend who hed gone out thar with him, ‘‘ Somehow thar was a coldness atween them, and they parted company, and. then the one whowas my pard come to me one day and tells me thet be hed struck it rich, if I’d only help him, : ‘¢ [did help him, and his strikin’ it rich was nomore than thet his old pard had done go, and my help was to be in gittin’ rid of him, | “Ts yer listening ?” ‘** You bet I be.’ Tt’s so dark, owin’ to thet durned kid’s not comin’ thet I can’t see ter talk.” ‘ He’ll be back soon, so tell meyer game, pa on | ‘ ‘“ All right, I'll continue. ‘Well, we got away with the young man, | and my pard he paid me well and skipped out from the mines, “Thet man I seen afterward a couple of hd v uy e/ ‘ “l 4 : é 7 y + We eR Mme ehie timesand I struck him each time for money and got it, ‘‘Ther next time I seen him was when you was with me at ther concert t’other evening, ‘Well, I concluded, after I had lost you, to strike him ag’in, sol went down to his office and give a bluff, and he told meter come up to his house and I went, ‘‘He was cowed, after hearin’ me threaten ter tell his girl all I know’d, and promised me the money I asked, which were only fifty thousand,” A whistle of surprise came from the re- cumbent form onthe cot, and Killer Bill went on to say: “T struck him big, for he’s rich and I know’d I could get it as he is courtin’ a lady who has got millions, or will have, “At last he agreed to my terms, when I told him how he had tried to get rid of me in New York here, by havin’ a man he paid big money to, turn state’s evidence ag’in’ me, and pretend -he was my accomplice in that murder of ther old man, ‘* Well, you knows now the man, and you bet I intends ter git ther fifty thousand, for I has a bigger claim than before on him now,” ‘Yes, I knows, but what away has yer got on him, Bill?” . ‘‘He sent his man servant away when he expected me, intending te do me, and I jist escaped, as I was going out, not suspecting him, by dodgin’ when I see him whip out @ revolver, ‘*As luck would have it ther man servant had jist come back and let himself in with his key, and he got ther bullet aimed at me, and you bet I lighted down them stairs like | was goin’ fera doctor. ‘*T heerd him fire more shots and wondered, and as I got intothe lower hall he called out to stop the murderer, but he gave me time, seeing as I had not been kilt, and he didn't. wart me to be took and appear ag’in, him. ‘Well, ther papers tells the story as he gave it-to the reporters, and J jist laughed all to myself to see how cunning he was, ‘But his story goes, and so I don’t trouble with it, bein’ as I hain’t hurt; but I intends: ter make him pay more money now thet I has this new hold on him, ae ‘Why, does yer know, he give me two hundred and fifty dollars ter live on, all. friendly-like, until he could get his. cashed at the banks and pass me what I de-. manded. *” | other give- “But he’s got ter pay ‘more now, and’ we'll go to a foreign land, Zip, and live like: gents in it,” ti ‘You bet we will; but has you a gun? for I’ll go down stairs and sce if I don’t find that. Chub asleep in the cellar, and I jist wants ter scare him good,” : | ‘Yes, I'd do it.” ‘You lend me your gun and for I won’t be gone long.” ‘‘T hates ter part with one o’ my best. friends, Zip, for vother is my money: but here it is, and don’t stay long, orl’ll get ther sare in this black hole,” ‘I'll be back sooner than you think,” and the revolver was taken from the hand of Killer Bill, the form on the cot arose and suddenly there was heard a shrill whistle. At once the door was thrown open and the full glare of a couple of lamps revealed four forms in the doorway, and between them a jist wait here,| huge dog, while with his disguise thrown off, rod tood his revolver leveled at Killer Bill, s New York Nat, master of the situation, Pi CHAPTER XXV, NAT MAKES A VISIT, 2, ‘You asked tp see me, sir?” The speuker was Maybel Kingdon the | beauty and the heiress, and she swept into the parlor of her palatial home like a queen in response to hic » tes, acard sent up to her anda . ee a Be ore Ie Ta ¥ 4 + tal i . y anal —% t oat af) 4 ~ - ee as