Beadle's Dime Library No. 146 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

‘) 4 4 SS Pe ST ES ee ee eee SEE BI ae 14 The Doctor Detective. tious tone, barely above a whisper, he asked— “Tl say, goveruor, there ain’t any danger, is there, that any y kin overhear a cuss—wot he says, you know? ‘* Not the slightest. danger of any one over- hearing if you are careful to speak in a mod- erate tone of voice.” ** All right; I will try wot I kin do in that line, but I’ve got a woice like a bassoon, ’cos I’ve been used to yelling on the water; mebbe you kin see that lama seafaring man? The doctor nodded; there was a flavor of the sea about tie fellow, © ‘* My brother and me allers used to travel to- ethor,” continued the visitor, sinking his voice oa hoarse whisper. ‘‘ We follered the sea fur ears, but lately we have bin loafin’ round New ork, picking up odd jobs in ’longshore line, and we were out on the river one night, and the furst thing I knows, Bill—that’s my brother, governor—he, had been _b’isting in the ‘blue ruin’ pretty freely and had got more cargo on board t he could stow—well, he went to catch an orange that was floatin’ past and over he went, and, governor, he couldn’t swim a lick, either. I dnpeped the oars and went for him with a boat-hook, and I got him, too, yer honor, I pulled him into the boat, but it was too late; the salt water on top of the rum had finished him; poor Bill had slipped his cable and made a port in another world. Here the man halted and rubbed his eyes with his big, pawlike hands as though troubled by tears, but the keen-eyed doctor couldn’t dis- cover any trace of enotion in the fellow’s stone- ltke face. , ‘* Yes, sir,” the man continued, ‘‘ poor brother Bill was done for when I got him into the boat. I did the best I could to fetch him up ag’in but it was no-go. Well, governor, not to worry you with too long a yarn, when I got on shore, fell in with a bad gang, reg’lar rounders, you know, up toall sorts o’ things; not that I ever had a hand in their tricks, ’cos that ain’t the kind of man Zam. In course, feeling all cut up by Bill’s slipping his cable, 1 warn’t sorry to h’ist a little rum on board, and when I got ’bout half-seas over, some of the g said as how I could make a trifle out of Bill and save the ex- pur of planting himinthecold ground. Well, ain’t got much l’arning, yer honor, and not being in a right kind of way for thinking any- how, I consented, but now that Lam sober, the thing kinder goes ag’in’ me, and I reckon that I would feel better if 1 took Bill’s body and had it p a Christian.” Ic would be natural for you € do so, and I haven’t any doubt that you would feel better.” ‘*That is what I have bin a-thinkin’; so, gov- ernor, if you will be so kind as to tell me when I kin have Bill I'll come arter him and plant him as good as if he had bin a lord.” The doctor stared in amazement at his visitor for a moment; then he pas on his glasses as if a comers to examine the face of the man more osely. “‘Oh, you needn’t be afraid, governor,” the man remarked, ina very mysterious way. “I'll fix it so that there won’t anybody know any- thing aboutit atall. In course I don’t want it until you get through with it, ’cos you paid your money like a gentleman for it, but arter ou get through, way you might as well let me ve it as anybody else, ’cos it will save you trouble; of course, as you will have to get some one to take it ebene ~ good man I do not understand you at all!” | udontor exclaimed. ‘*‘ What on earth ere you tal about?” “The stiff,” replied the fellow, in a hoarse whigper, ‘‘the stiff wot you bought the other night and gave two hundred dollars for, you know—wot you ordered.” ‘You haye made some mistake; this is not a medi college !” ‘Do you s I don’t know that? But I say, governor,” and here the fellow’s tone changed to one of entreaty, ‘‘ wot is the use of yer trying to play this here rig ona cove? You ot the stiff and ng for it, and now all I axes s a chance to take it off yer hands.” ‘There is no body in this house,” observed the doctor, rising, ‘‘and if there ever was one it has been oq om of, long ago.’ ‘*You have binina mighty hurry to get rid cf it, and who got it, anyhow?” growled the fellow, rising and skulking to the door. “T’ve a very bad memory, and I couldn’t really tell you. ‘“‘Tt’s rough on a poor cove, governor, but mebbe you will change your mind and tell some- pody, sometime,” and then the fellow departed, in the speech a threat seemed hidden. CHAPTER XVIII. THE DOCTOR SPEAKS, Doramus was careful to see that the door was securely fastened after his disreputable- loaning visitor had retreated ; then he joined the savant in the study up-stairs, and to him re- ee aca of the odd interview. “Tt fs ge, Daniel, and I must say I don’t exrctly yederstand what it means,” the savant eumittec, “Neither dol. Of course the story about the CLL LLL A I Nea lie subject being the body of his brother I do not credit for a moment; and there isn’t the least doubt in my mind that there is some deep mo- tive at the bottom of the affair. Why should the fellow be so anxious to get hold of the re- mains?” ‘‘From your description I should say that he was not the kind of man to take it very much to heart whether the remains had decent burial or not.” ‘* Oh, no, not at all; a bad egg, Gayaway; as bad a one as I have ever encountered and I[ have had dealing, in a strictly professional way, of course, with some of the biggest in the body-snatching business.” ‘‘There is only one reason why any one should wish to get hold of the remains,” the savant observed. ‘* Well, if you can see any reason, you are wiser than I am.” ‘The fellows who sold you the body might be tormented by a suspicion that life was not extinct in it when they delivered the body to Se Perhaps something has happened to make hem believe that the victim was not silenced as completely as they had hoped; a visit to you they thought would reveal the truth. If the man was Jead and you had used him to experi- ment upon, an inspection of the remains would satisfy them that they had no cause for fear; but if, on the contrary, the man had been re- stored by you to life, of course you would natu- rally state the fact.” “Very true—very true, indeed; it is more than probable that you have hit upon the truth. ‘** But, cunning as the rascals think themselves they did not succeed in their little game this time,” Phileard observed, with a great deal of satisfaction. ‘Oh, no; I am no child to be handled by these scoundrels at their will,” and the old phy- sician shook his head knowingly. The visit afforded the two friends food for conversation for some time, and it was quite late before they retired to rest. The last words of Doramus as he bade his friend good-night referred to the suspicious-looking and a stranger. The doctor slept in the front room over the saint and the windows looked upon the street. e looked to the fastenings of the casements, as was his usual custom before retiring, for a lit- tle piazza ran along the front of the house and it would not have been a difficult task for a nimble man to climb up the pillars and then en- ter the room through the windows if they were not fastened. These utions taken the doctor retired to rest, and being, in spite of his age, ef a robust and healthy nature he fell at once into a sound sleep. The gas was burning dimly, so that there was light enough to distinguish objects in the room. he old gentleman had slept soundly for some time, Faget dreamless sleep, as was usual with him, when he was rudely and ab- ruptly disturbed. Strong hands were laid upon him, and, with a startling presentiment that something was wrong, he awoke. And th were not right. his bedside stood three tall figures, all robed in white, and ee one held a gleaming knife in his The doctor sat bolt upright in the bed, his eyes dilating with astonishment. The masked robbers, against whom he had so sb turned keys and shoved bars, had come at as And the way by which they had managed to enter the room, without disturbing the inmate, was plain, One of the windows leading upon the piazza was wide open. In the newspaper, that very morning, Doramus,inan accountof arecent case of house-breaking, had read how easily the common style of sash- fastenings could be opened by inserting a thin-bladed knife between the two halves of the sash, and he said to himself, when he had read the article, that he would re- place the old fastenings by new burglar-proof ones immediately, but he had neglected so to do, and the result was that the masked marau- ders found an easy entrance. “Do not attempt to give an alarm, or we shall be compelled to use violence,” warned one of the disguised men, pointing his knife in a threatening manner at the breast of the old man. ‘*Keep quiet, and no harm will be done you,” the man continued. “ We want to use you well, but, if you compel us, we can use you very ill, indeed. e doctor was amazed by the speech; the man Ihe no hg yen thes os nie y, sir, [am not disposed ve you trouble, but I am afraid you will not profit much by your visit, for I do not think there are many portable articles in the house worth tak- ‘| ing away,” the doctor declared. ‘“We do not come after your valuables, sir,” replied the mask. ‘‘We only want the body that was brought here the other night.” Doramus, ay astounded, only stared ued: | as the man con **Do not attempt to deny that you received it, as you did to the agen whom we sent in quest of it this evening. Tho doctcr stil was speechless. ‘Come, the body; where isit? We want it, no matter what condition the remains are in.” As Doramus couldn’t accede to this request, for the best of all reasons, he was ata loss to know how he could lain the matter without betraying the secret that was confided to his car e. ‘‘ Why do you hesitate? Of what value is the body to you? Or haven’t you got it?’ The question suggested a way to the doctor to get out of the difficulty. ‘No, it is not now in my posseasion.”’ ‘* Where is it?” ‘*T do not know.” “Is it not in the house?’ ‘“Ttis not.” ** Who took it away?” _ “Sir, L hope that you will not press that ques- tion, for I have promised to keep the matter a secret.” | ‘* My dear doctor, I would not be the means. of making such a man as yourself break his word for the world,” the intruder replied, with extreme politeness, ‘‘ but I think I can solvethe mystery. Thecorpse was not a corpse; in fact, the man was not dead, and you restored him to life. Is this not the truth?’ The old gentleman, not a master of the art of deception, falsehood did not come natural to him, even if he had been disposed to equivocate about the matter. ‘*No need to speak, sir!” exclaimed the dis- uised man, abruptly, reading the truth in the ace and hesitation of the doctor, ‘“ We are very much obliged to you for your informa- tion. And now, if you will give us your word not to create an alarm, we will depart.” Doramus readily promised, and, in a twink- ling, the mysterious visitors took themselves off. CHAPTER XIX, THE STRANGER, SEVEN days had elapsed since Doctor Dia- mond had departed from his heuse, and he had neither returned nor sent word to the anxious housekeeper in regard to his whereabouts, and Mrs. Converton began to get anxious. She had never known the doctor to act in this w before, and now apprehended that some evil might have befallen him. In fact, so anxious and worried had she become that she had ge- —— —— of ars Sha the superintendent of ce and askin advice upon the sub ject. She would tell the tale of another “ miss- g man,” “lost in New York,” the great whirl- oes vate often ingulfs its victim, leaving no re behind to tell the story of the Anal taking Oo The conduct of the little boy, too, was a source of mystery to the housekeeper. He had called eight or ten times to see the doctor, and erage gé ae by ber in regard to his business had, in the most obstinate manner de- clined to disclose it, putting her off with the declaration which she felt sure was not the exact truth, that his business ‘‘ didn’t amount. to much anyhow;” the doctor had been kind to @ poor, sick woman, and he wauted to thank him for it. But, owing to the prolonged absence of the oe bah ue an idea came into the little fellow’s ead that it was possible the m ous de- parture of Miss Eldon and the a of the medical man had some connecti and this thought determined him to stick to his notion of seein 4 Mt until he succeeded in ac- com Aged 20m On the oveuthe of the seventh day Mrs, Con- verton came toa determination in regard to the best course to pursue. “T will wait until to-morrow morning,” she said, ‘‘and if the doctor is not hére o’clock I will go and consult the police.” — The lady sat in the parlor, for she had gro so anxious that she nearly ail her time at one of the front windows looking out on the street, and hardly had she finished the sentence when there came a ring at the door-bell. At once she jumped to her feet, for every time that any one came to the door she imagined that it was the doctor, ‘No, it is not him,” she murmured, as she proceeded to the door. ‘‘He has a key and would not ring.” She opened the door; the man that stood there was the same one who had visited the a he age a of police, that morning, and » —— story of the existence of the secret nd. The moment the housekeeper looked upon the face of the stranger she became impressed with the idea that she had seen him before, and yet she could not recall the time or place. “Mrs, Converton?” asked the man. The housekeeper almost started, for the voice "tc Yea, sir,” she replied, extremely pustled es, sir,” she replied, extreme ; “T bring you a m © from Doctor Din- mond. He has been called away on’ unexpected business and —! not be able to return for some time,” and the man tendered a letter to the housekeeper, which she opened and read immediately. ECORNICLOOOKS com