Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 963 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

Makes me tired. But what business of ‘yours is it where I went?” “Tt is a good deal of my business, as you will soon find out. Now, answer my ques- 4 tion, young fellow.” “Of course I won't answer. Think you've got me in your headquarters’ sweat- box? Go talk to the marines. What kind of bluff are you putting up, Phil McGraw? The man stepped back, somewhat dis- | concerted. ‘Then he laughed, in a sort of ej mirthless way, aS he retorted. “You are a bit too fresh, my lad. is not my name—’” “Rats! Go twist your whiskers. Ill 4 swear you haven’t had them on over two hours. Don’t Il know you? Ain’t you old Sloper’s waiting boy? Can’t I remember how you used to clean out spittoons in the inspector’s room, when there was no er- rands to run or newsboys to bully? There isn’t a lad in our down-town office who wouldn’t know you, any time, even if you buried yourself in whiskers.” “T have a good mind to smash you,” - growled the irate headquarters man, for such he was. “Well, all I have to say is that Sloper must be hard run for talent when he falls back on the likes of you, Phil McGraw. Sloper ain’t very much himself, when it comes to real fine work. But all the dis- guising in town won’t make even a Sloper out of you.”’ ie “See here!” The would-be detective ; a seized Adam by the collar and dragged him a into the doorway. “I'll give you one more chance, Will you tell me where you went last night?” ““Not by a long sight. D’ye spiel? You can tell your fat boss, though, that he is putting his dull nose on a dead cold trail.” Then the boy detective jerked himself ‘loose from MeGraw’s grasp, butted the man lightly in the stomach, and dodged af into the street again. He ran off laughing, a) and for half an hour kept out of sight. oe Then he cautiously made his way through That — ns _ \ _ + the alley to the back yard gate of the / Rawlins residence and reconnoitered the i surroundings carefully. Taking out a bunch of skeleton keys iat. with which he had provided himself, the ) | boy soon gained an entrance into the yard. Py Thence, after a cautious look around, he v9 forced his way through a basement win- |. dow into the house. (ae? Inside all was dark and deserted. Hol- h eam low echoes resounded through the rooms ja at every movement of the boy investigator. is He struck a match, pulled down the hall (aR burner, and lighted the same. A sort of crawling thrill tingled through his veins ee as he looked around and noted the very -) chair in which the dead man had been * ~— geated, still in its place by the hat-rack. |. Adam examined the spot closely. Then Mir: {5 he went down on his kne¢s and began | searching the floor. uae! have learned one thing about circum- stantial evidence,” he said, to himself. _ § “Byery little may help out a case. No ~~ matter how trifling a thing appears to ge ‘oy | Hello!” i He picked up a much-trampled fdibent. Smoothing it out and wiping off the dirt, is he found it to be a piece of thin morocco ~~. © Jeather. Then the lad grew excited. ie Taking the cigar case from hts pocket he _ placed the crumpled fragment upon the same, fitting to a corner of the flap from which a piece had been torn. The two K edges fitted exactly. ae “Good!” ‘ha exclaimed. “This is in- deed better than 1 could have hoped for. I - wonder, now, what Mr. John H. Sylvester oe “ease? have been doing here with his ciga: ay very slight noise at his rear caused the red: to look around, when a harsh voice red: *- ” - ‘ % % be Te . ‘ . he gies 47 ry , v : i wo “s ~ bd f ae 4 a oy’ eo 4 j . L, =A ; | a : » ‘4 : - ~ % . ° oe ‘2 ~@?¢ ,,. > ~~ Vo er af The East Side ws aghcone ee ee me eee eo one D'ye that cigar -— ese eer eee “Give to hear ?”’ A hand from behind grasped at the cigar case, but plucky Adam held to it, together with the precious fragment; and, suddenly case me, lowering his head, the man behind slid downward over Adam’s neck and head, and fell full length on the floor. When the fellow arose, cursing furiously, he found himself looking into the boy spotter’s dancing eyes over the.barrel of a leveled revolver, “Why, Phil, young detective, of this case yet? your mother finds 3 worry, you know. ” “Hang it all!” growled the disgusted MeGraw. ‘“ How did you get in here? I had an idea you would be back, so I lay for you.” * Much good it did you, eh, Phil?. Want to know how I got in? Well, follow me and see.” Adam was warily backing toward the asement stairs, still keeping McGraw cov- ered, ‘Look here!” cried the baffled officer, “You had better let me know your bus- iness here. I tell you Sergeant Sloper will find a way to make you speak. I give you this as a fair warning.”’ * Well, Phil, old Sloper might induce me to split and give myself away, but not you, Phil. You had better go back to the spittoons. Ta-ta, old boy!” The young detective hastened down the stairs, leaped through the open window, and bolted out at the gate, and then glanc- ing back, he saw McGraw at the win- dow, impotently shaking his fist. ‘Now rack your shallow pate,” thought the lad, as he ny left the neighbor- hood. “It takes a walk in ahead of yours truly! ‘lang his impudence! Why don’t he work up his own case?” From one street to another he dodged, making quick turns through several courts and alleys, and finally remained in a cheap eating house near the HLudson River until he felt confident that McGraw, if he had attempted to follow, had been thrown from the trail. After that the young special took the ferry and crossed to Jer- sey City. Ten minutes later found him in the neighborhood of the address given him by Jennie as the residence of her mother. He knocked, and was admitted by a plump, well-favored woman of middle age, who, in reply to his queries concerning Jennie, grew angry at once and attempted to Close the door. But the boy inserted one leg, though his manner was extremely propitia- tory as he said: old boy,’ exclaimed the “haven’t you had enough Go back, sonny, before you are out, She might “T’m not from the police, ma’am, I dare say they have been troubling you, but IL have nothing to do with them. Indeed, I haven't. Lam a friend of Jennie. She would tell you so in a minute.” “T wish I knew whether to believe you,” returned the woman, dubiously. ‘“ They have worried the life out of us, them cop- pers have. They made my gell give bond, though she knows nothing, and since then there is always some fellow from head- quarters prowling about. They knock at all hours and ask the most imperdent questions. Well, they pestered the girl so, that this morning she left early.” “It’s a cruel shame the way those blokes do. It is, indeed, But I'm not one of them. I am looking into this case on My own hook, and had a talk with your girl the night of the inquest.” The woman regarded Adam curiously; then she opened the door a little wider as she spoke: “Are you that messenger boy as talked to my gell on the stairs?’ i a " 3 ite: . _ Ly = * <4 “y “9 ‘* fr: ee de + Cir: a epee dete e May eu SA cog tee open Med Sy ae iis Ps pcg eS Ih eect ah ies eee “* © As 7 _# 7 ‘aa a, €. .. Sees etter man than you to as I said before, “~ ae —" 4 “The identical chicken. And I tell you, ma’am, your daughter is a corker, she is, Where can I find her?’ 4 “Indeed, I don’t know. Said she to mé¢, ‘If I don’t tell you where I am going, mother, you don’t know.’ She’s cute, that gell is. She looked for you before she left, I think, and was disappointed you didn’t call early this morning.” ‘Been too busy to get here before. Well, can’t you give me an idea as to where she is? I want to—” Adam stopped as the postman ran up the steps with a letter for the woman, saying, as he did so: “For Mrs. Julia Cobtrn. That you?” Me it is.” Then to Adam: “It is Jen- nie’s hand write. Perhaps she will let us know where she has got to, at last.” The woman read the letter, then looked at the boy detective. ‘She has gone to a sister of hers over in Brooklyn,’ said Mrs. Coburn. “Jennie is a sharp girl, and she writes for me to tell no one her address but you, if you happened to eall. You see, she don’t want to be bothered so much. She will have to go to court When the time comes, and she thinks that is all the police ought to want.” . ~“ Right she is, ma’am, But she knows I am her friend. Now for her address.” Mrs. Coburn gave it, and, bidding her a cheery good-day, the boy spotter-special was off. Not long thereafter he entered a small green square in one of the neat, though not aristocratic, suburbs of Brook- lyn, and, crossing it, approached a quiet- looking dwelling where a small boy was playing on the steps. Adam accosted the child, and was abbut to ascend the steps, when some one rapped on the window of the basement. Jennie, smiling and beckoning. Adam entered the small area, as a door opened, and the girl appeared, She held out her hand. CHAPTER X, - SHADOWING SYLVESTER. The boy detective was ushered into a cozy dining room. The door closed, and he was alone with the bright little maid. “TI was looking out for you,’” she ex- plained. “Somehow I felt that you would Want to see me, so I hurried off a note to mother early this morning. I hope everything is going on as well as you can expect.” | “ Oh, yes. -It was a shame for old Sloper to have you put under bond for your ap- pearance. I just know it was his work.” “T feel sure that Mr. Sylvester was ‘the cause. He has been acting so strangely, I hear.” » “T have met that party,” explained the young spotter, dryly. ‘He did me rather a dirty trick last night.’’ Then he told Jennie of his adventures at the Hole in the Wall, and of his own sub- sequent encounter at the lumber yard, which resulted in the loss of the package of money. “How very. strange ie.s “Did the money ?” “There must have been a good deal, T saw the edges of great rolls of notes. This Sylvester must have known of its value, or. he would not have ventured on 0 des- perate course to obtain it from me.’ commented Jen- package contain much ‘But how do you know that the man — who did you up was Mr. Sylvester?” The young detective drew forth the cigar : case and’ showed the girl the name en- sraved thereon. Then he pointed to the ‘orn corner of the flap and produced the | soiled patch and fitted the parts together. — “TI found this case on the spot where he ye we had our struggle,” explained the boy. — “To me it seems minont. stent eve you won't be lying when you say” He looked, and there was — ~~, - He - y \ aes yt ; a : . , e \’ ‘ oh ¢ ih Ve a8 ue le) Sd: as ,