Beadle's Dime Library No. 146 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER IL. ANOTHER, SUMMONS. The Doctor Detective ; but, what could he do against two such assail- ants and taken as he was completely by sur- Tux doctor returned at once to his home and | prise? seated himself in his little parlor, his face _ gioomy with thought, A,ain he was alone— alone, and with wild ideas whirling through | his brain. For a good twenty minutes he sat, never stir- ring, his gaze fixed vacantly on the floor, his head drooping upon his breast. It would have baffled the keenest reader of the human face to have gue from his im- pare features the thoughts which were pass- ng through his mind, A sharp ring of the door-bell disturbed his meditations. With a sigh he rose to his feet; he was in no mood te go out into the world; he had no heart to mingle with busy life; rather would he have rem<ined quiet and communed with the dead, in thought and x iain if not in reality, But fro, the sharpness of the ring he guessed it was » professional call; some erer desired his services, and in haste, too. A rough-looking man was at the door—a big, brawny fellow, who looked like a ‘longshore- man. ‘Are you the doctor?” he asked, hurriedly, when Diamond answered the summons. 46 Yes. ”? ‘‘Well, you’re wanted, right away ; there’s a mate of mine took mi hty sick; acts jest as if he had been p’isoned. He’s been cruising alon the shore, and come out to the sloop chock full; we put him in his bunk all right, but now he’s est howlin’in agony, and me and the capti’n inder got it into our heads that some of the land-sharks have been a-dosing him, jest to go through him, you know.” *‘ Where is he?” ‘In the sloop out in the stream. We came down from Albany with a load of lumber this afternoon, and we hauled up for supplies. We’re bound for Port Jefferson, Long Island; the Sarah Jane Hammond is the name of our craft.” ‘‘ Very well; I will go at once.” ‘‘ An’ fetch some medicine along, Cap, for I tell yer he’s jest sweating away like a steam engine.” I have a small medicine-case in my pocket, I never go out without it.” ‘*Come along, then; the boat is right down at the dock, foot of the street; Jim is in it, wait- tng for me, while the cant es is taking care of the cuss. Oh, I tell you! he is powerful bad!” The doctor took his hat and departed with the sailor, hurrying along with him as if it wasa case of life and death, although, in his own mind, he did not believe there was much of any danger. I'he stranger had simply taken some worse liquor than he had been accustomed and it had made him sick. _ here was no moon; the bright, twinkling stars alone lit up the sky; the dock at the foot of the street was very dark and gloomy when the two left the light of the river street behind them and walked out on the pier. @ waves rose and fell with that regular swash against the piles of the wharf, which al- ways sounds so rmelancholy ré night. ‘*Thar’s the sloop!” said the sailor, pointing to where a light cut the darkness out in the mid the stream, ‘‘and here’s the boat,” he co ed, going toward @ pair of steps by the side ot the pier, leading down to the water. Through the dense +“ of the night, Dia- mona could distinguish that there was a boat, containing = single man, rocking in the water a the po obo of the steps. e sailor town, was warned to ‘‘mina your eye! as ae sate into the frail craft; then the man who accompanied him took the tiller, the other »ne1.oosened the ‘‘ painter ” from the steps, ana oent tothe oars. The doctor had been di- rected to seat himself nalf-way between the oars- man and the sailor at the helm. _ by thc vigorous strokes of the oars- man, the iight craft shot out into the stream, and, when they icft the pier behind, the gloom 3hat around them like a 3able curtain. The side, at aalt-flood, set eet on. A up the river, so the Sarsman was compelled to make allowance <or this, instead of pulling straight e followed the | tor che vessel, the light of which acted as a | guide for aim. At .irst the doctor had gazed curiously at the strange scene which the river presented at this hour of cho night, but soon gloomy thoughts again began to take ‘possession of him, and he owed his neaa to sink upon his breast as he eV ieldea co their influence. a (Chi afforded the man behind him—the one WG Wa» at the tiller—the opportunity which he | desired, Diarmond’s back was toward him; the doctor | faced tue carsman, inthe bottom of the boat | essenger, letting | the blanket carefully, | unfoldea 1b. and then, with a dextrous motion, | cast it over one nead of the nenpeens doctor; | blanket. The er, took up was 2% heav go ot the che moment atter be clasped strong arms Bravely he struggled, but soon the rufflans ove arara him and bound him tightly, hand | and foot, with the rope. Then, placing him on the bottom of the boat, each man took an oar and they set to work to mond h earnest, changing however the the harsh voice of the leader called out for him row in good direction of the boat entirely. For about an hour Diamond, almost smothered ! and 3 ——- sageway the opening suddenly closed again, tian darkness prevailed. right on and when | tell you, stop,” the ruffian ordered. Impelled by curiosity the doctor counted the ste . the way seemed long enough, and yet Dia- only measured twenty steps when to halt, ‘*Now, count twenty-five,” continued the by the blanket, had leisure to reflect upon the man, ‘‘then walk ten steps forward and stop. meaning of this strange assault. {t was not probable that his assailants were y after plunder, for he carried nothing upon his did as he was told:—he counted trouble. | — ——— forward ten paces and halted. e rson that would repay them for suc at was the motive then? { | i Count out loud,.so that I kin hear you.” All this seemed like child’s play, but Diamond twenty-five, rkness was intense—so dense it re- Still onward went the boat, and still the busy minded one of the old saying that it could be thoughts chased each other through the brain | cut with a knife. of the captive man. At len a shore c eee the current of his thoughts. He was li craft and carried along by the two men. ivy was rough and uneven; he could detect his from their irregular motions, and then, h the grating of the boat’s keelupon formance o bodily from the bottom of the | The | when the way became smoother, from the sud- | den closeness and dampness of the air, the doctor guessed that he was in some subterranean pas- sage. e air was as damp and dense as the reekings of a charnel-house. At last his bearers stopped and laid him down at full length, and from the feel of the substance upos. which he rested, he knew that it was earth. : ‘We are going to take off the blanket and release your hands so as to prepare you for what is to come,” said one of the men, and by the voice Diamond recognized that it was the mes- senger who had pretended to be a sailor—the doctor was pretty certain now that it had been a pretense—who 1 tee he plot was plain to be seen; it was all a device tc entrap him, but for what purpose? Ah, there was the aad “Say,” continued the speaker, ‘‘ when we take the lashings off don’t you go to cutting up ugly, for we are armed to the teeth and we shall not preying y to use our weapons if you force us to O so. By this time the blanket was removed and the doctor had a chance to look around him. He was in a low which seemed like a tunnel, for there was h below, above and on all sides. A lantern, which swung from a long spike, stuck in the wall, afforded light. Two men were with him—he guessed they were the two who had been in the boat, but they had covered their faces with masks so that they could not ber ized; in truth, Diamond had taken so little notice of the face of the pre- tended sailor when he had had a chance to see it, that, when he thought over the matter he felt seed certain he could not identify the man if he should happen to see him n, One of the men commenced to undo the cord which bound his arms, while the other kept guard over him with a cocked revolver. Of course, even when his arms were freed, any attempt to resist the will of his captors would be utter folly. His ankles were still tightly bound, sure precaution against an effec- tive resistance. The lashing which confined his arms being re- moved, the informed the doctor that he would be ob ged to place a fastening upon his wrists, but then the rope around his ankles would be removed, so that he could walk. ““As you please,” the doctor remarked, calmly, fast as if all this outrageous proceed- ing was a mere commonplace matter. e wrists were securely tied, then the rope around the ankles was removed and the ruffian assisted the doctor * “ise. Diamond had haru., any use of his limbs at first and it was as much as he could do to stan for the cord had been wound very tightly aroun his ankles. “Can you walk?” questioned the guard, when the goes finally stood alone. ‘I think so,” and to try, he took a few steps forward, ‘‘Oh, you’re all right now. Go ahead,” the other said to his comrade. ‘‘Give the signal- knock that a captive waits.” CHAPTER III. | THE WHITE BAND. THIS was more and more mysterious; and with keen attention Diamond looked upon the movements of the ruffians. ° One of them approached the wall and with the metal-mounted butt of his revolver struck on it; the clang of a distant bell answered, and sud- denly a cavity appeared in what was ap ntly solid earth. There was no sound as if a door had opened, but the as it were, melted away. In truth it looked like magic. Beyond the opening a long, narrow, dark pas- sage appeared, ‘Fo oo him and I will bring up the rear,” around Diamond's body, pinioning his hands to | said the ruifian, who all along had acted as hisside. The oarsman, too, dropping the sculls which were secured in the locks, sprung to the ce ot his com on. d was pretty powerful, as men go, / kesman., Into the way went ruffian No. 1; after him the auctor then No. 2. The moment they were fairly within the pas- eee ee | But hardly had the doctor finished the per- the task which had been set for him, than it seemed as if it was growing lighter. At first he thought it only appeared so because his eyes were getting used to the darkness, but soon he became convinced that the darkness really.was vanishing, and with considerable curiosity he watched this new development of the strange affair. Less and less dense grew the darkness, and the gloom was melting away so slowly that the change was almost imperceptible; it was like the breaking of the dawn, Gradually the gloom became so transparent that the doctor was able to distin h the sur- rounding objects; and as near as he could make out he was standing in the middle of an im- mense burial vault; in the walls were niches where rotting coffins lay, and the peculiar smell which had so forcibly struck him upon his first entry into this mysterious place was now ex- plained; it was reeking with the foul which arise from the mortal remains of the once quick and living, slowly returning to the dust from whence man comes. The place reminded the doctor, who was a great student, of the vast vaults such as are usually found under the great Europea. churches, and the dim, uncertain light was such as would come from a half-score of flickev’- ing tapers, for it wavered and danced, as ir, like an artful girl, it was ue with the dark shadows which lurked in the corners of this gloomy receptacle of the dead. | The doctor had just about mastered this knowledge when a voice broke the solemn si- lence which reigned therein: *‘ Prisoner, turn.and look upon your judges.” The voice was singularly ible and pleas- ant, although the command was y de- livered. The doctor wheeled around, impatient for a sclution of the mystery, and a strange sight in- deed met his eyes. : In the center of the vault were grouped three figures, all robed in white shrouds, but tle shrouds were so arranged that they eovered the head as well as the y, but the part thar went over the faces was in some peculiar way _ 80 arranged that it was partly transparent, and rn the contour of the faces beneath could plain) be discerned, and the faces were white rot | ghastly like the features of the dead. The center bon was seated upona long ob- ject covered with a black cloth, which from its was evidently a coffin; the other two were standing leaning upon great naked cros-- hilted swo such as were used by the head. - menin the old feudal days. On each side of the two, leaning upon the swords, stood « een skeleton, one bony hand uplifted enil in its stony clutch a taper of black —_ which burned with a quivering, uucertuim St was a scene calculated to trv the nerves of the strongest man, and yet in the face of tux doctor neither curiosity nor fear was per- ceptible ; it was as if he wore a fleshy mask, ‘Doctor ond, you are very near to death,” said the center ’ ‘* May I be allowed to ask what crime I have committed?” the doctor replied. ‘* You know before whom you stand?’ . ** Indeed I do not.” ** Does not your own knowledge tell you that?” “Tt does not.” “Nor the crime that you have committed?’ ‘ etber you live or die u self alone. Tou stand before the Counail of Three, the Head-centers of the White Bard: now you know who we are, and you know, tcv, why ou have been brought bere.” “No, sir, you are wrong; I do not know—. am utterly and entirely in the dark.” ‘ “This pretended ignorance will not avail ou!” the man in the shroud sponpehnde sae iently. ‘‘We know that you cre i: «f our secret, and we must be sa..sfied in regart to the use that you intend to make of that knowledge.” ou, sir, you are laboring under a ‘*T assure great mistake. I know absolutely nothing whatever about you, or your organiza tion, more than I have Come this j Diamon:t answered, earnestly, ganar he had an ile that the assertion would not be believed. (ECON MLC 4 IOOKS (E(e)