Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 935 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

_ The en me Detective’s Chum. -* . ™~ em ———= ee , disappearance—what are we coming to, anyhow?’ ‘“Guess I will hab’ to go with yo’,” ob- served Glossy. “I am beginnin’ to git interested in d’is fing myself. Heah comes a ear, boss, an’ ef yo’ don’t ‘ject to my color, V'll ride along. And he broke out singing: “Oh! d’e'trolley ear it run on wheels, Nebber know how good it feels; Git aboard an’ come along, While I sing my little song!’’ CHAPTER VIII. STARTLING STATEMENT. Business Bob caught hold of Glossy, in play. * Ohoke off, Glossy!” tie cried. “If you want to ride with us, you haye got to drop that.” “Can’t do it, nohow, Bob. You go ‘long on d’is car; I will wait for d’e nex’. I'll git d’ar’ ’mos’ as soon as you, anyhow. Yeu don’t know a good song when you hear it.” “That’s what's the matter, I guess, Glossy. I know I have heard a good deal of that one, and it gets worse all the time.” “D’at am all right, Bobbsey; yo’ ‘tend to yo’ business an’ I'll see to mine.” The detective had signaled the coming -ear, and Bob followed him and got on board, and as the car started off they left Glossy singing: “ Trolley ride am mighty nice, ‘Bout d’e biggest thing on ice; Turn de crank an’ let ‘er run, Bet yo’ nebber had sech fun!”’ And from that he rolled off into an- other yerse, but his words could not be caught, and the detective and Business Bob enjoyed a laugh as their car rolled | away with a hum and a buzz. In a brief time they were back again at the hotel. A good deal of excitement of a quiet kind was now noticeable, and policemen were seen about. : The clerk was engaged in conversation with a police detective, and their faces brightened as they saw Joe Phillips ap- proaching. “ What is this I hear?’ demanded Joe. “The body is gone,” said the clerk. “ How did it go?” “That is for you to say, you were the last one in the room.’ “And I locked the door when I came out and left the key with you. My boy here will bear me out in that.” “That’s straight,” spoke up Bob. “Well, I went up right after you had gone, with one of the proprietors, and there was no dead .nan in the room then,” declared the clerk. “Not a sign of a dead man,” agreed the proprietor, who was: standing pear, “*T would like to have this thing cleared up, gentlemen, for it is not good for my house.” “We'll do our best, of course,” said _ the police detective. “Certainly we will,” echoed Phillips. “But, Jones, are you doubly certain of “what you say? You saw the body on the floor; I told you I had put it on the bed when I handed you the key. Did. you: } look on the bed?” “Yes, we looked on the bed.” “ Well, here will be a sensation for the papers, sure enough. Was the. door - locked the same as I left it?” “Tt was locked, yes.” 4 | “Phat is the way T left it. Hello! here are some reporters. How fast news does ivel! Come, let’s all go up to the room | aie see what we can see.” So they did, reporters and all, but their. eA. et amounted to nothing. The body of. _ Robert ellen was gone, and there a ee was no clew to lead to its recovery, that is, no Glew that they could discover. The reporters, needless to say, kept their tongues and pencils busy, and made much of the mystery. The body was gone; found. ‘What is your opinion?’ asked the po- lice detective, as he and Joe Phillips left the room together and went down. “Suppose we sit down in the reading- room and talk it over for a few minutes, and put our heads together, as it were,” the private detective suggested. “ Nothing would suit me better.” “Come on, then.” “T’ll wait for you in the lobby, boss, said Bob. “All right, wait for me there, won't be a great while here,” sponse. So the two detectives entered the read- ing-room, while Business Bob passed on through to the lobby, where he heard a voice humming: ‘** When d’e car Zoes down a grade, D'en yo’ mus’n’ be afraid; Have a trolley to yo’ hat, So d’e win’ won't capture d’at!”’ There was Pete, with a pleased au- dience of two or three of the hotel porters standing around him, and all were grinning from ear to ear at the nonsensi- cal jingles he was reeling off by the yard. “Great Gowanus!” cried Bob. ‘Still at it, are you, Glossy?” “Seems to me yo’ is allu’s boun’ to inter- rupt me, Bob,” the darky complained, stopping short. ‘“‘ What am d’e news?” “Come over here, and I'll tell you. Seems to me you are taking a day off, to- day, ain’t you?” | “Yes, I am gittin’ ready to open on d’at corner I tole yo’ about.” “T see. Well, I wish you luck, course.” “ An’ I'll hab’ it, I ’pine. But, what is all d’e rumpus "bout d’at body bein’ clean gone?” Bob stated the matter as it ‘was known to the public generally, or soon would be, and continued talking with the darky till the detectives made their appearance. “Come on, Bob,” said Phillips. “Right with you, sir. So long, Glossy, till I see you again.” “So long, Bobbsey. Come an’ see me when I git open fo’ Tusiness, and I'll sing dat whole song—” “No, thank you; I guess I'll stay away,” laughing. And Bob followed his em- ploy er out, leaving the jolly darky render- ing another verse of his never-ending song something like this: ' * Goes up hill d'e same as down, Take yo ‘all around d’e town; Horses now all out ob use; Run d'e cars by lightnin’ juice!’ “ Well, where to now, bows?” asked Bob. “To see Mrs. Achterson again. Hope Ambler is still there, too.” ‘*So do I.” “Why?” “Want to see how he will take this new bit of news.” “Yes, and I may want you to shadow him. for me. [ am not sure on that score yet.” * Well, I guess I can do it. That is right in my line of business, and I am all business, from tuc ground up to my hat. I it was not to be Bob; I was the re- think I can do k'm up-_brown if I set my eyes on him.” ‘“* Maybe you: have got them on him al- ready, Bob.’ * Yes, maybe I have, and I want to ‘know all about him before I take ’em off again, too.” "They continued their conversation until they boarded a car, but let the matter drop and said no more ba feat ae | of | again, when they were soon at Mrs. Ach- terson’s door. The same woman admitted them. It could be seen that she had Deen Weep- ing, the same as her mistress. “ Has Mrs. Achterson company?’ asked Phillips. : ‘2 Oe. \ eae ae Yes.”’ ‘Very well; announce me.” They were soon shown into the sitting- room we have seen before. Mrs. Achterson was all but prostrated with grief, and Phillips saw that the call- ing of Ambler had not helped her. “There is new and terrible news, Mr. Ambler tells me,’ the woman said, as soon as the detective entered the room. “Do you think it possible that it has been a murder, Mr. Phillips?” “I feel certain of it.”’ “But where was the motive? was a slight excuse for suicide.” ‘“No, there is never a justifiable excuse for the latter, madam, nor for the former, save in a villainous mind.” ‘T agree wfth you there,’ spoke up Am- bler, immediately. “ And that is not all the mystery, either,” said the detective. ‘“Not all?’ ‘¢Na.’* “What is there more?’ asked Ambler. “Why, the body of Wellstone, too, is mysteriously missing, and can’t be dis- covered.” ' Ambler gave a great start, made a mo- tion as if he would spring to his feet, but restrained himself, and a slight pale- ness appeared for an instant upon his swart face. Mr. Ambler?’ There CHAPTER IX, SOME PROOFS HERE. Phillips and his assistant both noted these things. They exchanged no glance, however, for the reason that the detective did not look in Bob's direction. “Heavens!” the young man exclaimed. “Was it not bad enough? And, what mean all these mysteries? See how it af- fects Mrs. Achterson, sir. You should not have mentioned it.” Mrs. Achterson was trembling, and there was a wild expression. in her eyes. “It is frightful!” she cried: ‘First, the death of my daughter; then the disappear- ance of her body. Then the murder of Robert, and now the news that his body, too, is missing! I shall go raving, distract- ed, if something is not done speedily!” “ And you have still no clew?’ asked Ambler. “No definite clew,’ the detective an- swered. “I shall devote. the rest of the day to finding one.” “And what brings you here now 4 ?”" asked the woman. “You bade me come again soon.” “I did not look for you quite se soon, however,” “ Pardon my intrusion § then, madam; but I have some business besides, ‘sn * What is it?” “Can you show me a specimen of your daughter’s handwriting?’ “Yes, certainly.” The woman rose and stepped to a writ- ing desk in the room. “What can’you want with a specimen of the poor young lady’s handwriting, Mr. Phillips?” queried Ambler. , “To compare with other writing, of course, sir. think is Hers, but of which I am not quite sure. It can be easily decided when I see what is known to be hers.” “Why, sir, it is more F easily decided than that,” I have a specimen which I ses