Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 963 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

a0 16 maker’s name is the same on both knife and sheath. I found these in a room where Sylvester had been in the habit of stopping part of the time. McGraw had the room hired for Sylvester. That is where the beauty, Phil, comes in,” McGraw turned very pale at this, ‘Adam went on. “1 now have it from the landlady her- self, that while McGraw, the false detec- tive, hired the room, Sylvester paid the rent. McGraw has been in Sylvester’s pay for some time. All this can be readily proved, if necessary.” ‘I say this is not so,’’ asserted McGraw. “ As for that package of money,”’ contin- ued the boy detective, ‘I lost it once. But I got it back, thanks to hofiest Meg, my right bower, and it is now in the care of Mr. Rawlins’s lawyer and under seal. I have his receipt.”’ “Then you did play me for a sucker,” cried Sylvester, indignantly glaring at Meg Slooger. “Yes,” added the East Side Spotter. “Meg and I laid a trap for him and he fell into it.’ ‘Curse you!” shouted Sylvester, overcome by rage. “If I could get for a moment—” He leaped forward, handcuffed as he was. Adam dodged a powerful blow lev- eled at him with the man’s linked arms. The maddened wretch then clove his way toward the door, until a big policeman grappled him and quickly choked him into obedience. An’‘ambulance was rung up. At the hospital it was found that the villain, in addition to two serious pistol wounds, had sustained a severe fracture of the skull. He soon thereafter became delirious, and died several days later, raving about the murder. Enough thus came out to amply substan- tiate the clews traced out and the proofs obtained by the boy detective. CHAPTER XXII, CONCLUSION, When the ambulance had departed, the prisoners and their guards were taken away in the patrol wagon. The Hole in the Wall was closed up, and two police- men left on watch for the present, 1x-Inspector Bird, the boy detective and Mr. Nahum Rawlins, together with Meg, went down to headquarters in a carriage. When all were gathered in the chief in- spector’s private office, young Rube Raw- lins and Steve Slooger were brought from their cells. As uncle and nephew from. the West Saw each other, both seemed pleased. | Mr. Rawlins shook hands heartily with Rube. “You shall.go back home with me, my boy,” ‘whispered the uncle. “ That is, as soon as this pesky business is settled.” Meanwhile, Adam had disappeared for & moment. Presently he returned with something in his hands, and confronted Old Slooger and his son. Steve already showed signs of weakening. Then Steve was shown the various ar- ticles, such as the cigar case, the torn flap, the dagger and its sheath, and lastly a minute fragment of the torn case. that had been found under the long finger nail of the dead man. A deposition was then read to Steve, cer- tifying to the manner, place and time of the discovery of these things. Lasily, the clothing worn by Steve on the afternoon of the murder was brought out. On the garments were sundry dry blood stains. A medical expert had de- cided that these stains were those of human blood. Both Steve and MeGraw were, by -this time, thoroughly unnerved. They were consigned te separate cells, and in a day but almost at you ¢> % ———— ae — or two both made confessions, the sub- stance of which finally cleared up the mystery of the murder, Sylvester, as an intimate’ associate of Eben Rawlins, became possessed of the knowledge that the old man often kept large sums of money in the house. In order to obtain these, he resolved, finally, to make away with his friend, for his finan- cial difficulties had made him desperate. At the same time he intended to steal the will, substitute a forged one in his own favor and thus pave the way for the ul- timate enjoyment of all the Rawlins wealth. Steve proved to be a pliant tool in the attempted accomplishment of all this. It was determined to enter the house by stealth, do their work and escape unseen, if possible. The day of the crime Sylvester and Steve both came to the house while the old man was absent and Jennie was up- stairs. Steve was to hide in the basement and do the deed. Sylvester, after Steve had gotten away with the plunder, was to exchange wills, by the aid of the old man’s safe key (always carried in the old man’s pocket); would then call by way of the front door, as was his wont, dis- cover the murder and give the alarm, if Jennie or some one else had not already done so. But while the and. before either Sylvester had gone two were in the house, Steve had hidden or away, Mr. Rawlins suddenly returned. He was in a_ bad humor. Surprised in the hall, the two rascals ‘were angrily questioned as to the reason of their intrusion. Sylvester saw that they were in a tight place, and gave the signal to Steve to do his part, which the latter did at onee, by stabbing the old man in the neck as he sat in a chair by the hat rack. In his death throes the victim clutched Sylvester’s, cigar case, which the latter had drawn forth, just as the row began. He rescued the case, but failed to notice the torn-off flap. After the deed had been thus impru- dently precipitated, the pair became panic- stricken, Sylvester managed to open the safe in the old man’s room, which was on the ground floor, and to exchange the wills, as he had arranged. But there was hardly any money in the safe, which he re- locked and. then restored the Key to the dead man’s pocket. The murderous: pair were searching Mr, Rawlins’s pockets for the’ money which they.supposed him to have reeeived that day, when a noise in the upper part of the house drove them away. Steve fled by the rear gate, while. Syl- vester went out at the front. Phil MeGraw was waiting outside. As a detective, he had been taken into the plot, as a means of throwing the police off the track. Later on Sylvester, re- membering the common-looking package that Mr. Rawlins had dropped, plucked up courage and went back. But, on re-entering the house, he dis- covered it was gone. Later on, seeing the messenger’s boy's conterence with Jennie on the stairs, he became suspicious, sha- dowed the boy detective, and. obtained the package by knocking Adam down. Meg had formerly been a sort of sweet- heart of Sylvester’s, whom he had _ trifled with and then had neglected. She was ~asily induced by Adam to eajole Syl- vester into visiting her on the night of his intended flight with his plunder, for he had determined to take all and leave his confederates to their fate. He had the package of money with him. While talking with Meg the package was purloined by Adam. Sylvester's ‘ subse- quent visit, disguised as Rube Rawlins’s — ————————————_ uncle from the country, was to endeavor te — regain possession of the money, On the night of his final capture he had been lured back by Meg under @& promise to restore him the money, of which he supposed Steve and others to be still in ignorance, He thought that Meg was still “gone” on him, and would risk almost any danger to retain the hold which he felt sure she believed she still exercised over his affections. Meg herself had informed the boy de- tective of the room hired by McGraw for Sylvester, and which’ was a seeret ren- dezvous for the three conspirators. When Mr. Nahum Rawlins went back to lowa he took not only his nephew, Rube, with him, but also Meg. Meg's father and brother both went to the “pen,” and the Hole in the Wall was closed. The kind- hearted farmer felt sorry for the unfortu- nate girl, and as he had benefited in @ substantial way through his brother’s will, which the Hast Side Spotter found in Syl- vester’s trunk, he easily persuaded her to bid farewell to her miserable city life and try her fortune in the country. Two years later she married an industrious lowa farmer. A wholly changed woman she was, and one well worthy of the respect which she commanded, Jennie, by reason of her being remem- bered in the will of Eben Rawlins. had no reason to complain of the final turn of fortune’s wheel. She regards young Hoke as the greatest of detectives, and still delights in telling her friends how Adam ran down the Rawlins murderers, While the Central. officers were at a loss for a true trail. When the East Side Spotter finally re- turned .to the city delivery office, he was quite a hero in the eyes of the other boys, notwithstanding the fact that he was mildly reprimanded by the manager for his long absence from duty, “TI think I ought to diseharge you, Adam,” said that gentleman, ‘What have you been up to so long?” ‘* Making this, sir,” and the bright-eyed spotter unfolded twenty-five brand new twenty-dollar bills, ‘‘Doesn’t that heat rushing messages at four dollars a. week, sir?” Then he told what he had beenyat, though it was safe to say that the manag- er was the only one in the office who had not heard of Adam’s connection. with the Rawlins murder case. “Sharp boy!’ chuckled the «manager. “Why did you not let me know. what you were up to before? My brother belongs to the Pinkertons. Assistant manager of their New York office, he is. I think he can make room -for such a lad as you are, Adam.” “ Nothing would please me _ better, sir, It is in my line, I guess.” The manager laughed and patted the lad's shoulder, *T should think you would be worth at least twenty dollars a week to them, be- sides. pickings—eh ?”’ And the East Side Spotter went out and hugged himself at his good fortune. THE END. NEXT HALF-DIME LIBRARY, No, 964 Buffalo Bill’s Decoy; THE ARIZONA CRACK-SHOT BY COL, PRENTISS INGRAHAM. jolele) <0