Beadle's Dime Library No. 146 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

SE Ss SS 3 27 see OPS Se 26 The Doctor Detective. 7). that the daily journals on the morning after | matter? What was he to Lescant, or Lescant | out—to swesr that it was alla mistake, and that Lil the successful raid contained a full account of to him? he knew nothing of the characi-r of the people : the affair; in fact, the gentlemen of the press | Leaving the woman to puzzle her brains over | whom the police captured in his house; but, =), who ‘‘ wrote up” the narrative, had not hesita- | the problem, we will foilow the official. when be came to think the matter over, quietl Straight down-town he went to the office of and calmly in the solitude of his dunzgeou coll, i ted to enrich the true record with the flowers of | their imaginations, and by so dving succeeded in making a really *‘ stunning” article. All New York gaped wit read the account, marveled at the boldness of the White Band, the sleuth-hound-like perse- | verance of the doctor detective and the genius of tbe chief of police. wonder as they | the superintendent of police. That gentleman ' was “at home,” and in exceedingly good spirits over the brilliant piece of work performed by his men on the previous night, ‘* What is this report in the morning papers about this fellow, Lescant? Is there any truth in it?’ he asked, abruptly. he saw that the position was not strong enough to make a successful fight. Tiie end bad come, and flight alone was left. So he fled. He was aided ‘by an Official inside the great prison. W hat, to this venal creature, wis tlielity to his duties compared to a thousand dollars, cash in hand, paid down on the nail, for conniving at the escape? Lescant made his way at once to the secret hiding-place of the White Band, the old vault under the ruins of the ancient chape! by the banks of the Hudson, only stopping on the way to indite a letter to the judge, The fugitive reached his hiting-place without ‘* Oh, yes, the reporters have elaborated the affair a little, of course, as they always do; but, in the main it is correct.” ‘But, by Jove! what a stupendous game this fellow has played!” the judge exclaimed. “That is, [ mean, if he has played any such games as th) accounts of the affair make out, | Black Jack sat in his cell in the Tombs. As | the reader will probably remember, this was | the desperate ruffian, in whose behalf the Big f Judze had spoken so stronsly. i! Jackson had risen from his hard couch in ; no very good humor that morning. Ue had | had an interview with his lawyer during the Se ee | la ———S Ss = — —— — ——- orange + se we —- ee ow ee ae oe we orienta a a = — ee a ee ee eee - a -— os. | -— ee ~~ e - ———— ae - ————. — ——_— mee oe = * previous afternoon, and that gentleman, had significantly told him that if he had any outside friends who could do anything for him, he had best apply to them as soon as possible; other- wise his chance of going up the river for ten or twenty years was good. Black Jack was one of the prominent mem- bers of the White Band, and now since the legal aid which their money had procured could not save him some other way must be tried. It was this state of things fhat rendered the criminal decidedly blue; and his mind was not reassured when, through the kindness of his keeper, he got hold of a morning paper and in it read the account of the capture of about all of the powerful band of criminals to which he belonged. With the destruction of the band his last hope vanished. If the leaders were in prison how could they help him? As tho felon pondered over the situation he ‘‘weakened.” He could see only one chance of escaping a long term of years at Sing Sing: he would turn State’s evidence, betray his com- panions, if the authorities agreed to deal lightly with him. And he was in a hurry, too, to communicate this to the oat pe official, for the appalling thought haunted him that some one of the cap- tured men 5 think of the same thing and thus forestall him. And, just about the same time that the in- former finished his recital, and the authorities were chuctling over the proof which they had secured, the Big Judge, who was a late riser as a ygoneral rue, while enjoying his elaborate breakfast, glancing at the news in the mean- while. read the account of the capture of the White Band. The judge was not in a good humor that morning; neither was his wife, who sat on the opposite side of the table. His surrender of the rl to her persecutor, as the madam termed scant, had terribly annoyed her, and there had been some very bitter words between the two, for his assertion that the law would com- pel the girl to go, in the long run, and that it was a great deal better to avoid a public scan- dal and have her go quietly in the first place was not believed by the lady. In fact, she ha asked him pointedly if the man essed any power over him, so that he had forced him to take the course which he had taken. The judge had flown into a terrible rage at this, and had quitted the house, declaring that he would not stay to be insulted. Searcely had the eyes of the judge fallen upon the staring head-lines and he had mastered their orem | when, with a hollow groan, he gunk back in bis chair. The lady looked up in amazement; never be- fore had she seen her husband so overcome. ‘* What is the matter?” she exclaimed, rising in alarm and coming around the table. “Oh, itis nothing; a sudden spasm of ge that’s all,” he replied, with a great effort to re cover his ae Not for the world would he have let this proud woman, whom he had married for her stately beauty, know the truth. ‘I have not been very well of late, and I suppose I had better see the doctor.” He erumpled the newspaper up in his hand and rose from his chair as he jeole. ‘* But, you haven’t eaten anything!” ‘*[’ve not the least appetite.” And in truth that newspaper article had completely taken away all desire for food, It seemed as if an- other morsel would have choked him, He dressed himself and got out of the house as soon as possible, taking care to take the paper with him, After the quarrel on Lescant’s ac- count, he did not wish his wife to learn that that gentleman had been arrested and locked in the Tombs on the charge of being the leader of a band of criminals, whose exploits had caused a howl of rage to resound through- out the city. By carrying off the journal he thought to keep the uews from her, but, her suspicions had been excited in regard to this sudden illness. She thought it had been caused by something which he had read in the morning paper; so the moment her busband was out of the house she sent fora paper, and, of course, was soon in possession of the facts. ' But, ean? to be more puzzled than before. Why d the judge be so excited about the ' eee eee ee —<—<—- ——_ — — about being captain of a gang, you kuow, and | difficulty; but an hour later, after his disap- all that,” ** He has gt it for all it was worth, and if it had not been for this Doctor Diamond get- ting on his track, it might have been a Jong time before we could have tripped him up.” ‘* But, have you secured legal proof sufficient for a conviction?” ‘*Yes, we have strong evidence; one of the gang has ‘squealed,’ and that will fix the whole of them.” “That is a strong point.” **'You bet! But, we have only just got hold of the thread, and Lintend to follow it up. which makes me think there are members of the gang in high places, and I’m going to dv my level best to ferret them out—every soul of them!” * You may rest assured that if any of them come before me, I will put them where they won't be apt to do any harm, for some time.” **Tf all the men on the bench were like you, judge, we shouldn’t have so much trouble with these rascals.” The judge bowed at the compliment, and then withdrew. For all bis smooth words he was sreatly disturbed in his mind,and uncertain ow to act, CHAPTER XXXIX. A CAT-LIKE MAN. In all probability, not many readers have ex- plored the gloomy recesses of the massive pile ii Center street, New York, known far and wideas the Tombs prison. But, those who have, most certainly have been impressed with the idea that the unfortunates who passed within the portals of the Egyptian-like edifice, might exclaim with Dante, *‘ All ye that enter here, leave hope behind!” So strong the prison walls and bars, so care- ful and complete the watch, that for a prisoner to escape, when once fairly within its confines, seems well-nigh impossible. And yet, criminals have escaped from the Tombs; some by ingenuity and skill, and others by 7 ainasa the men paid to keep watch and wal Lescant was regarded as an important pris- oner, and the Tombs warden was warned to keep a careful eye upon him. Not that the au- thorities thought he would make a dexperate ef- fort to escape, for they regarded bim as the head who planned, rather than as one of the hands who executed; and now that they had got him safely lodged in jail, together with the greater part of the band, it seemed as if the de- cisive blow tay to paralyze the gang. But, despite bolts and bars, the watchful war- den and ever-vigilant keepers, Lescant did es- cape; but when, or by what means, no man could tell, It was suspected that, having been rovided with false kevs by a confederate, he ad contrived to unlock the door of bis cell, then had slipped out into the corridor; a dis- guise ona a light overcoat, wig and whis- ers, wasin readiness, and thus eqatppee and provided with a forged pass, he had succeeded in passing the door-keeper, and had got off with- out detection. Of course there was a great outcry when this escape was discovered, and the police authorities were convinced that some one of the Tombs officials must have been in league with the pris- oner, for otherwise he could not possibly have got out. A searching examination followed, but nothing of value resulted, The prisoner was gone; no one knew how, and there was the end of it. Not the slightest clew did he leave be- hind him any more than if he had flown up into the air like a bird, or sunk down through the earth like a specter, But we, using the novelist’s privilege, can easily.trace the footsteps of the man fleeing for dear life. Although Lescant had succeeded in obtaining his liberty, the White Band was destrove’; too many of its members had been caught in the haul of the police net; the evidence then was too strong and conclusive for any in that they might escap> the meshes of the w,. fLescant’s first idea was to brave the matter | terribl I) have got some information out of this informer | A TT LL | pearance had been discovered, it would have n a difficult matter, for the chiet of police, annoyed that his prey should have slipped through his fingers so easily, took mea- sures to ‘‘cover” every avenue of escape lead- ing from the city. But, the precaution was taken too late; the bird had already won its freedom, Lescant found the vaulé deserted; it was a part of his policy not to have the secret timmy place occupied any more than could be helped, 80 as to lessen the danger of discovery. ° Very few of the band had escaped the police raid, but, as luck would have it, two of the most important members, although not very active ones generally, had been fortunate enough not to have been in the house when the descent was made upon it, and one of these two was the agent who effected the chiet’s es- cape. ft was the Jew, whose voice Doctor Diamond had recognized when in the power of the band on the memorable night when he had been doomed to death. This man kept a large second-hand store on the corner of the avenue from which came the cross-street on which the doctor lived. His brother was the man who had died, attended by Diamond, and who was supposed to have betrayed the secret of the band to him. The Hebrew, with all the cun- ning of a Vidocq, had managed the escape, and now was in the city, striving to find out what steps aby being taken for the recapture of the captain, hen Lescant arrived at the vault, he first proceeded to light one of the torches and then examined the place carefully in order to be sure that no one of the band was lurking nigh. Satisfied on this point, his next movement was to prepare for the journey which he was about to undertake. The outlaw chief, in contempla- tion of just such an untoward event as had bap- ned, had made careful provision. Ina secure iding-place he had laid away a goodly store of gold; also a most ye 9 disguise. This he assumed, and then carefully stowed the money away upon his person. ‘‘There,” he muttered, when this was accom- plished ; ‘*now Iam prepared to seek seclusion in some other land for a while, until this infer- nal affair blows over. I was right about that Doctor Diamond; the very first time I ever set eyes upon him, I became impressed with the conviction that he was destined to cause me trouble. It is strange how true these apprehen- tater tone a his parations the fugi ter comple re ons the : tive sat down to wait; Be expected a visitor, but was uncertain at what time he would ar- rive. Not until after dark, at any rate. This surmise was correct, for it was about eight o’clock when the little bell scun led which was the signal that some one had pared into the underground passage which led trom the vaulted chamber totheriver, _ , A cunningly-contrived door was at the end of this passage, and it was so arranged that when it was opened the bell within the inner chamber rung. Soon the new-comer stepped from the shad- ows of the narrow passage into the little circle ¢ Peg cast by the torch. It was the Big udge McQuencher’s face was deadly pale, and it was evident that he was in a great state of ner- vous excitement. “Sit down, sit down, judge!” Lescant ex- claimed, in his cool, off-hand way, motionin him to one of the tombstones which the ban had utilized as seats, ‘‘What is the matter with ycu? You are as pale asa ghost!” Oa, this infernal affair!” groaned the judge, we in great agony of mind, ** Yes they have bu’sted our bank this time, but, althoug they contrived to put a yoke on my neck, the bird was too sharp for m, in the long run.” “What do you intend to do now?” “*Get out of the country as soon as possible and wait abroad until this affair is forgotten.” ~ Gs. Ne wi ide be dL soe ha - will; in a couple of years no one wil] femetiber it at all. This pty fast country, and events come too quick oe h other’s heels for . ong in the memory,” ye any one affair to But is it over the Big Judge asked, a ‘ | | JOCKS (S <€om