Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 902 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

Motte i Freckles thyiz fo find the missing Jack Hammond, , . % i , OS Pam . New York Nat in Colorado. ‘Oh, how did you know this?” Helen de- manded excitedly. ‘*Oh, 1 guessed it,” assumed Nat, indif- ferently. ; “Then you are a wonderful detective, young as you are; but, tell me, can you guess more?” _‘*T will do that when I hear your confes- sion.” ‘* Very well; you shall hear it. ‘‘Let me tell you that there is a foe to Jack Hammond in this house, and it is a woman, Who she is I will not tell you, more than to say that it is not myself.” ‘*T know that,” ‘* How do you know it?” ‘“No woman plots against the man she wishes to serve. But, continue your story,” urged Nat. ‘‘ It is a woman who is his foe, you admit; therefore she is the one to benefit if Jack Hammond is dead.” | ‘*T grant that,” ‘“You know that there is a wrong con- templated against,him, and you wish to serve him and thwart the woman ?” ‘* Yes; that is my wish.” ‘‘Now, miss: is his father angry with him?” ‘** No; he certainly is not.” ‘* Will this fortune come to him from his father?” y 66 No.” “* Now to your confession, if you please,” enjoined Nat. ’ ‘*T have nothing now to confess; you have guessed it all,” Helen replied. ‘‘One question, then: do you consider this foe of Jack Hammond one to even plot his death to carry out her ends?” . ‘1 do; I am sorry to say.” : ‘‘Then, if he is not dead, his life is in danger, you believe.”’ ‘* That is my belief.” ‘*If I find Jack Hammond you wish to see him before others do?” **T certainly do.” ‘‘Have you anything more to say?” “Yes; I wish to consider you in my service, now, and to give you money to defray nll expenses.” “ Thank you, I am well supplied with ar sy and I never take pay until the case is ained.” ‘Find Jack Hammond, [then, and your reward shall be liberal. Tell him to come East with you, and remain in hiding. Then you must come to me and say where I cun see him, and he shall hear the whole story that I have to tell upon certain con- ditions that I have to @emand of him. ‘* Now tell me where I can reach you by letter, and I will give you an address by which you can communicate with me.” Ten minutes after New York Nat left the ‘elegant home, and, taking the Elevated cars up-town, got off at the station nearest to the cottage where his sister lived, Olive met him at the door, and the two walked out to their favorite seat upon the bank that overlooked the Hudson. ‘Well, sister mine, you got your situation as lady’s maid?” said Nat, playfully. ‘* Yes; Iam to serve as lady’s-maid and irl detective, and I believe that I will fill oth positions to the satisfaction of the lady that employs me, and of the chlief of the Unknown Boy Police, who sends me there.” ‘*T have no doubt of that,” rejoined Nat; ‘and let me give you a piece of imforma- tion: ‘‘There is a woman in the house plotting against Jack Hammond whom [am oing to seek, So, find out who she is, and her motive. In fact, unearth the skeleton in that elegant honie, and mail a letter to me of any and every important discovery. Letters to you, I will dddress to the cottage, et rere.” oo, | That night saw New York Nat, Keno and ‘ing West upon an Express train -—* SN, SSS ———————————E————— ——_— eee ..__OOO$O SS ae . CHAPTER V. A RECOGNITION. New York Nat knew that he could not return to the little station in company with Freckles and Keno and the three not be recognized as the boy miners who had been the heroes of the stage coach adventure at the time the outlaws attempted to kidnap Jack Hammond, so, consulting with his two pards it was decided that they should say they had come back to again go to mining, hoping to strike it rich. In this way they could hang about the little settlement for days, and get what in- formation they might pick up about Jack Hammond, and if he had not been heard from they could take the trail to hunt him down. They reached the border. station in the middle of the night, and at once went to the little tavern where they had found quarters before. The night clerk recognized them, and greeted them pleasantly, giving them the same room, while he asked: ‘* Goin’ ter gold-diggin’ ag’in, boys?” ‘‘Yes, pard; we invested what we had, and came West to try it again, so will get an outfit here, and look about for the best place to go,” ‘Well, I wishes yer luck; but, 1 guess you is all sleepy, so V’ll show you yer room.” ‘‘Thank you; we are tired. any news in the town?” ‘Waal, it’s a leetle dull jist now, and there has only been four men kilt since you was here. But, hold on! You know that young feller who disappeared that night, the one the road-agents wanted ?” ‘* Yes, I think 1 recall him.” ‘Waal, you oughter, young feller. I re- members vou was ther gamecock that let in on ther gang and saved him.” / “Oh, yes; that man?” said New York Nat, as though just recalling Jack Ham- mond to mind. ‘Yas. Waal, he hain’t put in'an appear- ance since, and they do say as his body was found by Fred Fox, the stage driver, lying right in the trail where they held the coach up when you,was along, and the passengers buried “it.” & “* He was killed, then, as was feared?” ‘Yas, that’s about the fact.” : ‘‘That’s a pity! He seemed such a nice young man,” said Nat. “Tt was a pity, for he was a nice feller— none better. We has his traps here now, which he left in his room the night they called him out, : “You is young to guzzle, but will you take a night-cap fu’st before you goes to roost?” asled the clerk, politely. nae, No, thank you; we never drink,” replied at. ‘*Take a peep in at the boys, then, before you goes up,” and the clerk, Wide Awake Tim, Jed the way to the door opening into the gambling-saloon. The three boy pards stood gazing in at the scene with considerable interest—a scene only met with in the Wild West. ' Men in top-boots, rough clothing, slouch hats, and armed to the teeth, sat at rude tables, gambling for small or large sums, &s their wealth allowed. The air was dense with tobacco-smoke; there was clinking of glasses, loud , conversation, mingled with oaths, the rattle of money, \and boisterous laughter: all making a drama that a single word might precipitate into a tragedy. After a few moments Nat and his com- rades turned away to their rooms, but the moment the door closed upon them Nat whispcred: A _ “ Boys, I have made a discovery!” ‘‘What is it, Pard Nat?” sahed carenye 2a Ps: gies “The day when the coach was held up, But, is there Keno, errr rrr grrr nr eee one of the masked road-agents who escaped our fire was strange:y marked. His mask did not cover the fact that be had lost an ear, and had beneath that ear a red star in exact- shape of a cross, I noticed this in particu- lar—a very singular mark.” ‘*T should say it was singular!” comment- ed Freckles. “'To-night, the man sitting at the right of the door, in the saloon, and gambling heav- ily, had but one ear, and beneath it that red scar of a cross,” ‘“ Whew!” whistled Keno. ‘That is a great discovery,’ muttered Freckles; ‘‘it means big business, I guess.” ‘* Yes, that is one man to spot,” Nat as- sumed. ‘‘ We must find out all about him, for he will know the secret of the mysterious. disappearance of Gentleman Jack, or I mise my reckoning,” . ‘You bet he will, Pard Nat; and, know- ing what we do he can be forced to tell. Oh, it’s a rum strike you have made.” ‘‘ Yes, it is a recognition that will pay us well; so, to begin without delay, I will go down and risk a few dollars on a game to find out who he is.” | Nat left the room and descended to the of- } fice. Wide Awake Tim was already fast asleep, and must have been having a bad dream; for he sprung to his feet with a yell, whipped | out his revolver, and blazing away killed the | Chinee who was just about placing the clerk’s midnight supper upon the counter before him, Down went the Chinee, dishes and all, | with a crash, and the noise brought a crowd | from the gambling saloon next door. | ‘“Durn if I hain’t kilt ther ‘Heathen © Chinee.’ .I was havin’ a.bad dream, and may he woke me up sudden, and I tuk him fer the devil, and blazed away,” | ‘‘ Well, if the Devil’s dead we hain’t got nothing. to fear, now; so come back, boys, and finish our game.” : ‘*The crowd returned to the saloon, leav- ing the dead Chinaman, and Wide Awake Tim to keep the vigil over the departed. | New York Nat had witnessed all, and ad- vancing to Tim, asked: ‘Who was that man who said, ‘asthe / y Devil was dead he had nothing moreto |. | fear’?” tial th ‘© *Scar Face Sam,’ is what the boys call — him behind his back, but several who has did it lies with thar toes tarned up tothe daisies; so, don’t you go and make no mis- take, young, feller, but call him Satan Sam, for that fits him, too,” and Wide Awake Tim | gathered what of his supper remained on the as floor, paying no heed to thedead body, for = |_- ‘¢ John” was only a ‘‘ Heathen Chinee.” pee) i But Nat was more humane. He raisedthe | body to a bench, folded the arms across the breast, and then, turning to Tim, remarked: = |,_—| ‘“T thought I had seen Satan Saminthe | mines when I was Out here before.” es 2 | ae ‘‘T guesses you has, for he strikesmany —§| — trails, and goes about looking for goldand = | —— for trouble, and between youand me, I wish =| _ he'd meet his match, for heisthe baddest kind, as‘you’ll find out if you stays here | long,” and Tim, having rescued part of hi =| — supper, calmly sat down to eat If, | tS The New York Shadower had heard — enough to prove that Satan Sam was not® — stranger in the settlement, and he returned 4 ~*~ © <a re . 3 4 a Lie ier . _ to his room, assured that this ‘‘baddest”™. = man was his game. . SER 4 IS | CHAPTER VI. beet ba SHADOWING SATAN. seed A Wen the. three pards of the Boy Ferret = band descended to breakfast the next morm~ ing they found the landlord himself on duty = in the office. He was jokingly telling some Shy As of the men how Wide Awake Tim had gone to sleep and had the nightmare just as e a tail Johnny, the Chinaman, hed broug ee” ‘ « : ohh 4 ay / > 4 dy a es | : Ss, 7 —) ; img an 4 rw i) | - pe ws WS EE = ' rs . > : 2» «g in , ; « - ¥ --* | 100 com |