Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 892 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

SVR ch me eee o - separated, and that was the last F 5 ws 8, > _ > . oi 2 ara " - cae ; — <a ad *? - ri-.* ® 7 - i -4 oa aes > ee Ae. © Bowery Ben in Chinatown. use the voice and the make-up together, It | not escape me. You donot think she would ‘was because | knew that you wouldn’t recog- nize me in my Chinese lingo, that I used my natural voice,” ‘“‘How do you come to be made up like that, Ben?” ‘Why, you see, a good part of my work is among the Chinese and by making up like this I am able to go among them without their suspecting that [ am not one of them- selves,” “Then you must be pretty well acquaint- ed in this part of the fown, I should think?” “Well, if I ain’t, ’'d like you to find me somebody thatis.” — *)’m glad of that,” replied Billy. . “* How’s that?” ‘* Maybe you can help me out.” ‘* With pleasure, if 1can. But what’s the trouble, Billy?” ‘My sister is lost down in here some- ‘where.” Ben Gaylord, variously known as Lung Foo, the Chinese Detective, the boy detec- tive, and sometimes Bowery Ben, although only eighteen and extremely boyish in ap- pearance, had already won considerable fame as a detective, and was esteemed by Superintendent Byrnes as one of his ablest ae most trustworthy assistants. Gaylord was a bright, handsome young fellow, with a muscle of iron and as brave as a lion He had a large, expressive and extremely tender blue eye, and a face as smooth as that ofa girl, which served him a good purpose sometimes, when he wished to impersonate a female, or even a Chinaman, William Brooks was a year his junior. | being but seventeen, and the two had been schoolmates. Billy was also athletic, strong and brave, ut his course of life had been somewhat different from that of his friend. He had entered the service of the District Telegraph Company on leaving school, and had continued in it ever since. Thetwo friends had met at the bend of oe street just where Doyers street runs in- to it. , Yon don’t mean to say that yoursister st lost in this dreadful neighborhood?” said n. : ‘‘T don’t know that positively,” rejoined his friend, ‘‘ but the last seen of her was down this way, and I have an idea that she got lost and was taken in by some of these villainous people.” “Which one was it?” - “i Fanny, »”? T remember Fanny very. well, and Iam very sorry to hear that she is in trouble. You say she was last seen down this way?” C ¥es.." +f whom?” $ My little brother, Freddie.” “He was with her, then?” “s Yes.” , ‘* What were they doing down here?’ “They had come down to the office to see me. As they started to return they missed their way, so Freddie says, and wandered about until it was dark,and then allof a sudden, the boy cannot tell how, they became die ever ‘saw of her.’’ “How long ago was this?” asked Ben, eagerly. ‘“'Three days ago.” _ “ Have you notified the police?” +« 6h. Yes.” “© And they trace of her?” “So it seems, I had just come from Police have been unable to find any have gone off of her own accord, do you?” ‘*T know she would not.” “Very well. I do not believe it either, and that will be to our advantage.” ‘* Will you try to find her, Ben?” asked his friend eagerly. ‘Why ask such 9 question as that, Billy?” ee Ben reproachfully. ‘* You know I will,” ‘Of course I know you will—that is, if you have timé. But I didn't know whether you'd have time or not. I didn’t know but you might be engaged upon some other “case,” ‘*So I am,” responded Ben, ‘‘ but that won't hinder me from attending to this one also, especially as the one I am on is located in this neighborhood.” ‘“‘T’m delighted to hear it, Ben,” cried Brooks enthusiastically, “‘ for I know of no one to whom I can intrust the fate of my sister as to yourself.” ‘‘“Thanks. Well, come on,” said Ben. ** You haven’t anything todo for the rest of the evening, have you?” eé O ” ** Well, come along.” * Where are you going?” ‘* Over here in Pell street.” ‘What's over there?” *«There’s an opium-joint run by a China- man by the name of Hung Lee, and we may be able to find out something there,” The friends walked on together for some distance, and as they walked Ben resumed: ‘‘This Hung Lee is one of the worst char- acters anong the Chinese residents of this quarter, He was run out of San Francisco on account of his connection with the High- binders out there, and he has had a good many collisions with the police of this city on account of running a fan-tan den or opium dive. They no sooner have him closed up in one than he opens in the other busi- ness.” ve And you think it likely that Fanny may have been enticed into his place?” asked illy. | ‘* More likely that she has been carried in by force.” ‘‘ Are they in the habit of doing that sort of thing?” | ‘* Indeed they are. Scarcely a week passes that some young girl is not abducted and carried into these dens, and then sent away to San Francisco to become the wife of some Chinaman, yom , ‘‘The fiends!” muttered Billy. ‘I hope that hasn't been the fate of poor Fanny!” ‘*T hope not,” returned Ben, ‘‘ But look! If I am rot very much mistaken, that is Hung Lee now.” ‘* Which?” ‘The big Chinaman standing there read- ing the bill, Run ahead, Billy, and find ‘out what the nature of the poster is that he is so much interested in, and I’ll wait here. He would recognize me in this rig, and I don’t wish him to know that Lung Foo is in the neighborhood.” The messenger boy approached the post where the bill was hungy and found Hun Lee reading the advertisement offering $1,0 reward for the discovery of Fanny. ‘Dey tink findee gal, pay tlousand dol- lee!’’ muttered the Chinaman, with a chuckle. Hung Lee then moved on, still chuckling to himself, and Billy waited for the detective to come OF ‘* What is it, Billy?” he asked. ‘* Why, as you see,” said Billy, ‘‘ it is the advertisement we had printed offering a thousand dollars for the recovery of Fanny, Lee. But I mustn’t go on in this Trig. They would know me sure.” ‘* What are you going to do?” ‘‘T have a room near here,’‘and I will just run up there and make up as my other char. acter ‘ Bowery Ben’, They wont suspect anything then, And the next time I make up as a Chinaman I shall goto a laundryman friend of mine and procure a different suit, one they haven’t seen.” With that Ben hurried away, and in fifteen minutes returned made up as Bowery Ben. They walked on some distance, and finally the detective said: ‘* Here we are. Now mum’s the word,” and as he spoke turned into a shop with counters on each side and filled with Chinese goods. Several Chinamen were in the place, chat- tering away in their own outlandish lan- guage, while behind the counter on one side stood a fat, oily -faced Chinaman, better dress- ed than the rest and wearing the little round cap with ared button on top, signifying that he was a mandarin of high degree, He appeared tobe on intimate terms with Ben, for assoon as he entered the place the Chinamen grinned, bobbed his head, and said: ‘* Hello, Blen! Wanta hlit the plipe?” ‘* Dat’s right, Hung Lee,” replied Ben, im- itating the East Side dialect. ‘‘ I wanter hit it hard, see?” ; ‘All litee,” grinned the Chinaman. “ Flend?” he went on, glancing at Billy. ‘““Yep, dat’s er pal o’ mine, Hung Lee, He’s all right.” ‘‘T know him all litee,” smirked the hea- then. ‘‘;Everblody all litee you bling. Walek up stlairs. You findee pl-enty plipe.” ‘“Yer bet yer life he’s all right, Hung Lee!” grunted Ben as he and his companion pushed past the knot of Celestials into the back room. They were soon after ascending a narrow, dark and bad-smelling flight of stairs. At the top wasa frail-looking door, around the ill-jointed edges of which oozed the sick- ish-sweet odor of opium. » Ben was accustomed to this, and did not mind it, but it gave Billy a sense of dizziness and nausea. De Ben gave three distinct raps on_the door, and pretty soon a wicket was pushed aside and a Chinaman’s face appeared at the open- ng. | we Who lat?” demandéd a voice from with- in, , | But recognizing the detective at that mo- ment, it said: ~ ‘* Oh, lat Blen! Hlello, Blen! And opened the door, Come in!” CHAPTER II. HITTING THE PIPE, Ir was a queer sight that met their eyes when the door of the opium jointewas open- ed, to the two friends. That is, it was queer to Billy, So far as Ben was concerned, he had seen it so often that it was nothing new to him, An oblong room of perhaps thirty by twenty feet in dimensions, poorly lighted and worse ventilated, the walls grimed with smoke and dirt, and the room itself totally unfurnished except for something like twenty dingy-looking mattresses thrown about on the floor, was what they saw. stages of stupor, were perhaps a dozen men of various degrees of degradation, The place was reeking with the sickening fumes of the drowsy drug which po 4 in clouds about the ceiling almost concealing Lying about on these bunks, in various a. Mie 2 a eee ns SS a awe Se — . Headquarters when I met you, and they had | and that Chinaman was reading it and | ‘learned nothing so far.” | chuckling overit.” it from view. | & “Well, old chum!” exclaimed Bob, grasp-| ‘ Whatdid he say?” Ben’s first business was to glance hastily — _ ing his friend’s hand, ‘‘if Fanny is aby rebee ‘He said ‘ They think they will find the | about with a view to ascertaining whether | in these diggings I’ll find her, depend upon | girl by paying a thousand dollars,’ by which | there was anybody there whom he could re- gy ee a As I said awhile ago, I know every | [ inferthat he thinks we won't.” st, a ay “fee ty 2 Be if: evook and turn of this locality, and she can-{ “Then there is no doubt that it wasHung{ Having apparently satisfied himself om | _/~_ PAE NS Pak Ms SSPE AE PA a BPS Cr a < Nee e We par ERT ee ee Fe CANE EE RMSE ee So E SR en Hg eRe Bri syn Wii ein Aa Be Geeky eons ake Meee ee kere eee OMG OOKS. COMM - |