Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 963 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

“naw of - » : “oe ee The East Side Spotter. in a neat walking suit, and with his derby | saulted and robbed of the all-important “He and I were standing together down — hat drawn well down over his handsome, | package. yonder,” pointing inside the lumber ‘yard. iti ‘Sinister features. Meg Slooger had entered Sylvester’s suspicions appeared to in-| “I was holding him in conversation until hy and placed her pitcher on the table. crease. The spy still dogged his footsteps. | you should show up. He began to twig oe ak He moved lightly to the only door of the “There came some fresh fellows into the | something was wrong, and swore that if I Ns am room, placed his back against it, and faced | saloon after vou went out,’’ said one of the | didn’t put him on to the money, he’d do | the girl. “If you utter a single cry, 1 will | two shadowers to the other, at the same |me up then and there. Then that ‘other | kill you, Meg. Don’t forget that. Now, | time looking back uneasily. ‘“‘ Looks like | chap,’ indicating McGraw, “came up. where is the money?” we are being followed ourselves,’”’ he added, | They whispered together. “Money? D’ye think I’m a national; “I begin to wish I was back in Iowy, “After that Sylvester turned = and feu bank?” Adam. This sort pf work don’t suit me.” | knocked me down. ‘Then the two ran bay “TI think you know where it is, quite as * Hush, Mr. Rawlins! It is mighty quiet | away. I suppose that other fellow,” point- eo ie well as you know what I mean. Come! | about here. You are nervous; that’s what's | ing at McGraw again, “had shadowed you i: where is the stuff?” the matter with you. Now, you wait by | and caught on to the fact that you were oa The spy outside was listening as if his | this wall until I go and get our men, Don’t f following. Well, I picked meself up, and ie wn life depended on his catching every word. | lose sight of Sylvester,” then your men brought me here.”’ t Meg’s lips curled,. though her face was Then the boy detective, for it was he, “ Unele,” cried the East Side Spoiter, | by pale, darted to the rear of a low frame building | in great excitement,, “that chap who ran ) “ Will you have patience?” ., which stood dark and seemingly unoccu- | must be John Sylvester, the very man we ae “Patience! Do you think that when a} pied. The locality was lonely and dreary. | are after. He is the arch villain of the ? . man has gone to such lengths as I have | At the rear of the structure was a small, | whole deal. I am after him. Scatter, all : gone, he will stop short of murder? I | square aperture. Inside all. was silent and | of you.” : i have done with patience!” in darkness. Adam, after listening a mo- ‘ Hold on, nephew!” called the ex-inspec- | “ Murder!’ She eyed him so meaningly | ment, thrust his head into the opening. tor, but Adam, pistol in hand, had disap- that he grew confused and his gaze sank. Then he gave the signal. in a cautious | peared amid the lumber piles, after snatch- “1 don’t believe you would stop at any- | whisper, as agreed upon with Sergeant Slop- | ing a dark lantern from one of the officers. thing.”’ er, for these were the stables at the rear of Meantime Adam ran on for a minute or * Well, then, you had best be warned in | Folsom’s lumber yard. _ two, without any very definite idea as to time.” He spoke menacingly. “‘ When I Bub only continued silence followed. | the course he had best pursue. ‘Then he was trussed up here the other night I did | Adam waited a moment. stopped and closed the slide of his lantern, not fairly realize my power over you. But “ Rawlins!’ he uttered, in a louder tone, | thus placing himself on the same footing of now I do. Either you will return to me | and looked at his watch. semi-invisibility as with the man he was : that package of money, or your brother But before he could make out the hour in | after. ; steve shall sit in the death chair and your | the gloom, a stealthy step sounded beside | The East Side Spotter had made over 4 father go up for life.” him. He attempted to turn, when he re‘ | half the circuit of the yard when he met ; “ What for?’ Meg pretended to be great- | ceived a crushing blow on the head that | an officer approaching, with the slide of ly horrified and astonished. felled him to the earth. his lantern open. “For the Rawlins murder. You know “ Hold on!” he began; then came insensi- “That you, boy?’ inquired the police- me. I am in @ position to carry out these | bility, as the lad struggled to regain his | man. ) things. Come, I say! That money! Where | feet. “Me it is. Why don’t you dowse your am is it, girl?” His gurgling cry was quickly answered | lantern, officer? If that chap wants’ to “Very well. If nothing else will serve | in different directions. Men rushed for- | get away you are helping him by showing your purpose, I suppose I must givein. But} ward from behind various piles of lumber | him where you are.” you have done me dirt so often that I | upon the lad’s assailants, who were two in “Mr. Bird says for you to come on. He hardly know whether to trust you or not.”” | number. One of them was quickly seized, |} wants to leave here.” “ Enough of that sort of talk. Where is | but the other, by alert dodging, eluded the | ‘‘ You tell my uncle to leave, if he wants the stuff, I say?’ officers and disappeared amid the lumber | to. I am going to find John Sylvester.” “Do you think I am ‘silly enough to | piles. The boy detective left the officer and con- keep it here?” she retorted. “Come on! “ After him!” called the leader, a small, | tinued his search quietly in the dark. 3 Follow me!” but active man, and several of his men, At the back side of the lumber yard a mot yk “If I see a single sign of treachery on | bringing forth dark lanterns, started in | large coal shed abutted. Adam worked ag your part, I will blow the shallow brains | swift pursuit. ‘ Hello, Adam! Pretty stiff | along, slowly feeling and scrutinizing the | out of your pretty head. Remember that!” | erack, that, wasn’t it?’ , planking, and oceasionally drawing the f re He kept close behind her as she opened The boy detective, now recovering, recog- | Slide of his lantern in order to inspect some % the door and passed out. At the side door | nized his uncle, the ex-inspector, in the | SUSpicious-looking place. ; ¥, of the saloon she hesitated, when he whis- } leader of the rescuers. By the same lan- “Sylvester knows: this place,” thought i ! pered: , tern’s flame, he also saw in the prisoner, | Adam. “TI found out yesterday that he Le “ No, you don’t! I know the cash is not | no less a personage than Phil- McGraw, the | has an interest in one of these yards. To- | in there, or if it is, and you have fooled me, | double-faced detective, who looked both | night Meg piloted him this way for us, be- be your days are numbered.” alarmed and confused. cause she used to meet Sylvester here and ib Meg shrugged her shoulders and glided ‘What does this mean?” demanded the | knew the place well.” a into the street, with Sylvester close beside | spotter. ‘ Where are Meg and Sylvester?” Near the corner of the back wall the i her, one hand now resting on the pistol in ‘“Hasy, now, nephew,’ replied the little | spotter came across a short, heavy piece of ae his pocket, At a discreet distance behind fol- | lean man. “ My men are scouring the yard | timber lying on the ground. It was one of th lowed the spy from the coal shed, who | and vicinity.. If we had been five minutes | the foundations of an exhausted lumber ¥ paused & moment to speak to a comrade | sooner we might have saved you that } pile, where a number of long boards were Bk lurking amid the shadows near the en- | knock on the head.” lying confusedly together. An idea seized ey trance to the saloon. : “But I don’t understand,’ began the | him, and, running to the fence, he pushed 7 . “All right inside?’ asked the spy from | young detective, rising and drawing his | against the planking until one of the up- the coal shed. pistol. ‘Sloper was to have some men in | right boards yielded to his touch: “Right, as drunken fools can be. Little | that stable. I came and gave the signal, | Adam held his lantern close. There were danger of that crowd breaking up, Too | as agreed upon. Here is Mr. Nahum Raw- | the marks visible where the timber had we much booze!” lins,” pointing to that now wondering gen- | been used as a battering ram to loosen the “Come on, then! We must keep the girl | tleman, who had drawn near. “He knows: | plank. and the man in sight, no matter what | We were to take the main rascal, the master} ‘“ Here is where he got out,” decided the happens.” hand in this whole case. Meg was bring: | lad.. | if THE MESSENGER BOY’S DISCOVERY. “Well,” explained the ex-inspector, CHAPTER XX. 3g Oa The two shadowers followed Sylvester } “when I came to think over what a large- THD EAST SIDE SPOTTER’S GAMP. and his feminine guide for a number of | sized contract you had taken up, I thought Adam closed the lantern slide and lig- blocks. Meg had hurriedly pinned on a | that I had better, perhaps, help you out a | tened at the opening, at the same time hat and seized a shawl as she left the | little. I don’t know anything about your } slipping his pistol into his right-hand coat house. The man had attempted to draw | arrangement with Sloper, but instead of re- | poeket. her hand through his arm, ‘but she shrank | maining at my club, I looked up some of | Then he wormed himself through the St | away. my old men, had you shadowed, and— | opening made by pushing aside the plank, -— a ee He was growing uneasy. ‘Once he paused | here we are. Lucky for you we took hold. | and began to explore the coal shed, This eae 2 ae as if about to decline going further, but ap- | But here comes that girl with two of my | was a long, half-open affair, with great be! Bett Le ee parently seemed to think "better of it as | men. Hope they will catch the other one | piles of coal separated by boarded parti- fae ARS Meg kept on. At last they found them- | who skipped.” | tions. Ht Ber ‘selves in the region of coal and lumber} “Where is Sylvester, Meg?'’. asked | In a far corner was a small brick build- to ae ath yards where Artful Adam ‘had been as- ! Adam, anxiously. ing, used as an office, cares /