Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 897 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

a Davy Doon’s Bigs Bounce. 9 Passing to the waiting room, he glanced - ata time-card hanging ina prominent place and then turned toward the river as a boat well filled with the passengers of a night train came splashing up to the pier. Suddenly Jack Jason started and then walked toward a beautiful girl who had made her appearance. “Ah! this is luek—to see you the first one,” he said with a bow and the removal of his hat. ‘‘ You have arrived in safety I hope, Miss Holly. Your aunt has sent me for you as she could not come herself, and I am glad to be of service to you inthe great city.” ‘“Thank you; you are very kind,” answer: ed the blushing girl. Another fly was at the edge of the web. CHAPTER IX, IN THE SPIDERS WEB. THE young girl who was dressed in atrav- eling suit looked at the handsome fellow in amazement as if doubting his words though cleverly spoken and in a manner calculated to disarm suspicion. It was evident that she was unused to city ways and fora time she seemed completely taken in by the rascal’s address. ‘*Did my aunt tell you to meet me at the ferry?” she inquired. ‘‘She said nothing about it in her last letter, but, then, she—” ‘** Indeed!” broke in Jack, ‘* she thought of coming herself—thought to meet you in per: son up to within a few minutesago. But she became suddenly indisposed, nothing serious I am glad to say, and asked me if i would not come in her stead.” All this looked very nice and clever and Holly turned to a boy who was trying to re- lieve her of her travelling-bag and took a firmer hold on it. As they moved out of the ferry-house a policeman who had watched the whole pro. ceedings stepped up and spoke to the girl. ‘‘Is this the gentleman who was to meet you at the ferry, miss?” Jack Jason started and colored. “It is all right IL assure you, sir,”’ stam- mered the girl. “Very well, miss,” and the policeman fell back and saw the two pass on. ‘By Jove! that was a narrow escape,” thought Jack to himself as he moved away with his victim, ‘We will take a carriage to your aunt’s,” heremarked to Holly who kept at his side and in a moment he hailed one of the npume- rous cabs in the vicinity and they entered it. As yet it had not dawned upon the girl that she was in the web of a lot of human spiders. Asthe cab moved off, rattling over the stones and row and then passing beneath the lights of New York, Holly looked into the man’s face though he did all he could to hide it from her. What was she afraid of? All at once Holly Lane started and a cry slipped from her throat. | . In a flash as it were a countenance which she had not seen for years came back to her and the gleam in Jack's eyes and something about his mouth when he spoke broke the dream of deception. **T recall you now,” she said. ‘I re- member seeing you at the trial. You werea witness there and you testified against us. . I can't see why you should be serving my aunt now,” Jack felt color leaving his face, for they were still many squares from the goal and he looked at the girl who was leaning forward and studying his face in the lights ‘* You know nie. do you?” he echoed. “You are Van Kinder. I remember see- ing you at the trial. You testified on the third day—the day before the case went to the jury and I believe you left Pascal Point that very night.” ‘‘ Your memory is serving you in 4 singu_ ) lar manner, miss. Iam not Mr. Van Kinder, but Mr. Jack Jason, as 1 can show you when we reach your aunt’s.” But Holly was not to be deceived longer by the man, Every:look now confirmed her fears, and as the vehicle rattled on, taking her, as she now believed, from her real destination, she resolved to break the dream and get away. ‘* You will stop where we are now and let me out!” she cried, laying one hand on the inner door guard. ‘‘I will get out here. I believe you mean mischief, for when you say you are not Van Kinder, I believe you tell what is not true.” He merely smiled and laid his hand on Hol- ly’s wrist and let it close there like a vise. ‘*The carriage will not stop here!” he ex- claimed. ‘*‘ It will go on to the place where ITordered. You will not leave it till it stops at my command.” Holly fell back in her seat witha groan. She seemed to realize and suddenly that she had fallen into the web of the spiders, and that instead of being driven to Mrs, Lane, her grand aunt’s, she was being escorted to a trap. The poor girl, breathless and pale on the seat and confronted by Jack Jason, knew not what to do. She was alone in the great city — not only alone, but in the hands of a prac- ticed scamp. She felt that she would never see her aunt, and that her trip to New York in the interest of the fight for justice was about to endin death, On, on went tha cab. Suddenly, as if strengthened by the terror of her situation, Holly raised herself and looked at the man. Escape without help was impossible. Jack had placed one foot before the door and he was watching it with eyes of a lynx. She wanted to cry out for help, but the word seemed to stop in her throat and she again scttled back into the corner and let the cab rush on. ‘* We are almost there,” said Jack at last. ** You are not so bad off as you imagine,”’ These were fatal words for their speaker. They roused Holly Lane to action at last and she started upand caught the hand that went toward the door to detain her. ‘* Drive faster,” said Jack to the driver whose whip immediately cracked anéw. ‘‘ Help! help!” screamed the girl. The voice was smothered by the gloved hand of Jack Jason and she felt that her last hour had come, . The carnage was now rushing over the stones at break-neck speed. The horses were plunging on as if running away, but the driver kept his seat and now and then plied the whip. They stopped at last. As the cab moved toward the sidewalk in front of a rather good-looking house Jack leaned toward the half-fainting girl and grasped her wrist, ‘““We are here, It will do you no good to scream. Indeed, you will have to pay for itif you do. Beware!” These words seemed to complete the spider's work for when he opened the door he lifted a swooning girl in his arms and carried her into the house. Half an hour later this same man mount ed the steps before another house more pre- tentious In many ways and rung the bell. He was at once admitted and stepped into a handsomely-furnished parlor where he stood face to face with Nat Natty who {reclined in a chair in smoking-gown, ‘‘[’m back a little sooner than I pro- phesied,” said ‘Jack. ‘'I struck an unex- pected bit of luck and I am here to report. You recoilect Miss Lane?” ‘* Holly, the grand niece?” . ‘Indeed, I do. I recollect her as she looked the last day of the trial when they found our will the good one, She stood there in the court-room like a statue in mar- KK LL A ble. She was very beautiful, was Holly Lane.” ‘* Well, she hasn’t lost any of her beauty.”’ ‘* How do you know?” ‘‘T have just left her.” “You?” ‘Yes. Iwas struck by fortune to-night. I ve down to the ferry and picked up the pearl,” ‘Do you mean to tell me that Miss Lane has come to the city?” ‘‘] mean nothing else. She is in our little web now, the prettiest fly it ever caught.” Nat Natty sprung up and seized Jack Ja- son’s hands. He shook them with delight, saying that he should have a big check for his work and ended by asking him for the particulars of his catch. Jack nothing loth with a good cigar to lend zest to the relation told all as Natty lis- tened with smiles of delight. ‘What do you propose to do with the girl?” he asked, as he wound up, ‘‘ She’s inclined to prove a little obstreperous. I had an inkling of what we may expect in the carriage. She is not disposed to sur- render, but will fight us with the spirit dis- played by her grand-aunt in her hunt for Hiram Honeybee.” ‘““Oh, we will master the girl!” cried Natty. ‘‘ We have the cards in our hands, In the first place, we will get her to signa paper saying that she believes the will sus- tained by the courts to be the true oue and—” **She’l. never do that!” cried Jack. ‘‘ You will never get Miss Holly Lane to do any- thing of the kind.”’ ‘*'We won’t, eh? We will get old Brass to draw up an iron-clad document and she will put her name to it before to-morrow night. You shall see, Jack.” ack Jason went to the window and look- ed out through the slais of the shutters, He was watched by Nat, who suddenly opened a drawer in the table near which he sat and took out a check book. ‘*' You may need a little change to-mor- row, and I may not see you at the right time,” he went on and after writing in his book for a moment he tore out a check and threw it over to his companion. It was a check for fifty dollars, and the semblance of a sneer came to Jack’s lips when he noted the amount. But the check was pocketed without any fault-finding and in another minute they had separated. ‘“What do you take me for, I wonder?” cried Jack, as he looked up at the building. ‘‘A check for fifty dollars when I have ren- dered three hundred thousand safe for you this very night. Tll be hanged if I’ll have such a beggarly thing cashed!” He took the check from his pocket, tore it up and after chewing the pieces in his rage, spit them into the gutter. ** Liberality will never kill you, Nat Natty, but the lack of it may lose you your head!” he growled, as he whisked himself round a corner and Vanished, CHAPTER X, MRS, LANE’S NEW MISSION. NIcKEL NELL had something of importance to communicate to her boy detective friend shortly after the last visit made to her home by Jack Jason whose mission was to get the address of Holly, the grand-niece; but when she reached the boy’s house she found the door locked and nc one was able to tell her where Detective Davy was. Sadly disappointed, Nell turned back not thinking for a moment that Davy was in the web of the city spiders, but hoping that he would turn up or that she would get to see him when she came back as she promised herself she would do, Mrs. Lane was found in Nell’s room anx- iously waiting for her and the first words + it - ~ . : oo a ~ - -