Beadle's Dime Library No. 152 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

‘‘-You are progressing, in your new role.” ‘‘’m sorry for that.” ‘* Sorry—why?” ‘¢ Because I do not like this usurping another’s place.” “ec Why q77 *¢Tt’s wicked.” ** Not so much so perhaps, as you think.” ‘What can palliate the sin?’ For a moment Baldo hesitated. “The fact of your having as much right here, as Lorna Atherton,” he said, at last, “The one with whom I exchanged my gar- ments?” asked Lorna, with wide open eyes. sé Yes. ”? ‘*‘ How have I?’ “JT will have to defer my answer to that question, until some other time.” ‘‘ But I want the answer now.” ‘You can’t have it now—you must wait.” ‘* But [won't wait.” ‘Yes you will, child, if I desire it.” ‘“Twon’t! Tl expose the whole thing first. Tell me that I have a right here, and prove it, and I will stay; otherwise, and I will leave to- morrow,” and there was a look such as Vega often had, in her eyes, as she spoke, ‘‘ But—confound it, girl! I know what is best. for you—Iam working for your in- terests.”’ ‘Or for your own revenge for some wrong, which?” For a moment Baldo was startled. ‘*Shall I tell her the whole story, and trust to her hot blood to carry out my plans?” be thought. ‘‘No—that would hardly answer, and besides, she will work better, if she knows nothing of the end to be attained.” ‘¢ A little for my own sake,’’ he replied at last, “‘and a good deal for Vega’s, for I am sincere, Lorna, when I say it is for your in- terest to obey me implicitly—and besides, did not Vega tell you I was your friend?” “True! I had forgotten that,” she mur- mured, The namé of Vega acted like a charm upon Lorna, and Baldo had been wise enough to dis- cover it. He was a deep, and scheming man, and one who always looked before he leaped. The game he was playing was a desperate one, of which fact he was well aware, and never perhaps, in the whole history of his life —and it had been a fitful one—had his whole resolution been more completely brought: into play. That Lorna was but a child—compara- tively uneducated, although bright to a_re- markable degree, and that much depended upon her actions, he well knew. But he had waited years for some opportunity to turn up, by which he could wreak his revenge upon Gordon Crandyl for an old wound that still rankled, and when he had found Lady Lorna in Vega’s hut, out of her mind; when upon com- ing to, she had insisted that she was a man, and that man, above all others, Ralph Gordon, it seemed to Baldo, as though the devil him- self was playing into his hands. Then it was that he had made up his mind firmly to the course he would pursue, and having a rough sort of affection for Gipsy Lorna, he had thought to better her condition at the same time. True, he was a man who would not hesitate at any sacrifice, in order to achieve his own ends, but so long as the Gipsy girl would act in unison with him, he was resolved to en- deavor to benefit her, at the same time. All that he had to depend upon, to the at- tainment of this end, was her innocence, the power of Vega’s name, and her trust in him, and the last consideration he saw he was fast losing. “Why do you not trust me more than you do?” he asked her at last, ** Because you have deceived me, and I think that & person.who will deceive once will do so n. “In what way have I deceived you?” ‘‘In many ways. When [I first came to the tree, you stooped much more than you do now, and your voice trembled like an old man’s, besides the appearance of the fact that you could only hobble, not walk. Now I find your voice to be as strong and steady, and your language as perfect as that of the man whom you have told me to call uncle, while as for movement you are as spry as a wild hare.” Baldo rubbed his hands and chuckled. ““Thank you for complimenting me upon my acting,” he said. ‘‘I had forgotten the fact that you were a Gipsy, and prone to shrewd- ness. Now if I will trust you more than [ Captain Ironnerve, the Counterfeiter. Chief. have, will. you, in return, place more confidence in me?” “ Certainly.” ‘Then look.” She raised her eyes, and saw Baldo hastily remove his bald wig, and straighten his back, after which he stood before her in the light of a character that you—reader—have seen be- fore, It was Jim. Munger, the murderer of old Paul Leonard. Beyond a faint look of surprise in Lorna’s face, the transformation in the man before her had no effect. “ Now why did you come here to-night?” she said. ‘I am. tired and would retire if you are ready to depart.” ‘‘1t was only anxiety that brought me,” he replied, as he replaced the wig, ‘‘so I will go now, and let you get some sleep,” and with a hasty ‘‘good-night!” he sprung from the win- dow, and disappeared in the darkness. CHAPTER XVII. THE COUNTERFEITERS’ DEN, Wuen Crandyl left .Lorna’s presence he went straight to his room, and turning the wick up in his lamp seated himself at his desk and began to write. He was not a handsome man, and yet there was something interesting in his face, which, except for something slightly on the sinister— a narrowness between the eyes—might be voted almost good-looking. Blue eyes; a long, blonde mustache, and a coarse, cruel mouth were his most prominent features, while his figure was tall and well shaped. For some time his pen rapidly traversed the lines before him, but finally pausing, folding and addressing his letter, he placed it where his valet would find it in the morning, then going to his closet and selecting a dark suit of clothes, he.soon arrayed himself in them, Don- ning a black wig and changing his mustache to the same hue by means of some cosmetique he placed a black felt hat on his head and left the lodge, ' Calling his dogs— King and Bruno—he patted them for a moment, and then started off through the woods. After walking for some time, he paused be- fore the door of a hut, not unlike the one in which Vega died, and rapped loudly on the panel, ‘¢ Who’s there?” asked a gruff voice from the interior, ‘A friend,” replied Crandyl, ‘* What do you want?” ** Lodging.”’ ‘* Anything else?” cc Yes.,”’ ‘* What?” sé Lodging !” “Good—come in,’ and the door sprung open, revealing a snug-looking interior, al- though the floor was almost bare, and would have been quite so, bad it not been for the skins of wild animals, carelessly strewn here and there. | ‘Everything safe?” asked Crandyl in a low tone, when he had entered the hut. “Straight’s a lightnin’-rod, Cap,’ replied the occupant of the cabin, “Good; are the boys at work?” “T reckon they are, Cap.” “Good again. Any news from Richmond?” *‘ Nothin’ new.” ‘*Is Captain Ironnerve captured yet?” ‘*T reckon he aren’t,” and the man chuckled grimly. “Have Quigly and Small returned from Richmond yet?” **No; but I expect them every minute.” ‘‘Good. When they come, send them to me at once. Tll go below now.” ‘ Keyrect, Cap!” Gordon Crandyl moved quickly across the small room, to one corner, and pulled a peg from the wall, which looked as though it might be placed there assome sort of window fast- ener, then his companion followed him, and placing his feet upon the planks immediately beneath the peg, the other end of them was seen to fly up, disclosing a flight of steps, down which Gordon Crandyl, alias Captain Iron- nerve, the counterfeiter, quickly passed, and the trap closed over his head. It was only a short flight of steps, down which he passed, thence through a corridor for perhaps fifty feet, when, after passing through two doors, (heavy, and studded with brass nails, like the Sighing Pine entrance,) he entered a rn ee large, square room, brilliantly lighted, and in which fully a dozen men were diligently at work, They all looked up from their work as he en- tered, and there was a general exclamation of ‘Eivenin’ Cap,” after which they continued their various occupations. Calling one of the men to bim, the captain led the way from the room, by a door opposite the one at which he entered, and proceeded at once to what he termed his “ office.” It was a room probably twenty feet square, furnished as elegantly as though ina Fifth avenue mansion, instead of a cavern in the woods of Virginia. Paintings hung upon the walls, or rather were suspended Letween the folds of the tapestries which com} letely covered the four sides of the room, In one cerner stood picturesque looking racks, vj1n which sauoples of bills of different value weie , usted. At the end of the room was a large desk, strewn with papers, and bills, and in the lsrge cffice- chair in front of it, Captain Ironnerve seated himself, and motioned his companion to a seat but a few feet away. ‘Well, Sam?’ he said. ‘Well cap’n,” replied the negro, who wus a perfect giant in stature, and as black asel ony, * You went to Richmond?” , ‘** Yes, sah.” ‘‘ Any news of Gordon?” ‘“No, sah,” ‘‘The devil!” ‘Yes, sah,” ‘What did you do?” ** What yous tole me, sah.” ‘¢ And you heard nothing of bim?”’ **'No, sab,” ‘* Where could he have gone?” ‘* Dunno, sab.” ; A pause. ‘‘Did you hear nothing—no rumor what-~ soever?”’ asked the captain at last. ‘‘Only jes’ a little, sah. De young lady— Missie Leonyard I t'ink it am—has skipped de kentry, and cop’s t’nk dat whar she am, dere also am he.” “ Has a search been made for her? “Dere hes; but she was probably killed in de railroad accident dat you remember. Dat am de train she went on, an’ a body wer fcun’ dat answered to de descripting as dey had it.” Captain Ironnerve sprung to his teet and stuck out his hand to the negro, ‘*Sam!”’ he cried—‘‘ you have given me the best piece of news I’ve had in ten years. Now I want you to go right back where you came from; find out the truth regarding Lilliun Leonard’s death, and if ”—and his voice sunk to a lower key—‘‘if she is still alive make a corpse of her!” ‘*Yes, sah.”—The darkey’s imperturbable coolness did not desert him, even in the face of the captain’s hellish remark. “You may get what money you want of Benton,” continued [ronnerve, ‘fand while you are about it, you may take a few thousand vf the ‘queer,’ and get rid of that. By the way! Did you go to the Dive while you were duwn:” ‘* No, sah,” “Well, go there this time. Some of ths boys may know something of what I am so anxious to find out.” ‘Yes, sah,” and with a low salaam the Ltii- opian left the ‘‘ office,” only to be shouteu at again, and told to send Munger to the captiuin, when once more he took his leave. _ “Strange that I never thought of this | e- fore,” muttered Ironnerve, as soon as he w+ alone, ‘I can just as well have Paul Leon- ard’s property as not, by simply putting this girl, Lillian, out of the way, and putting in my claim. Something has got to be done with it, that’s certain; and if the girl is dead al- ready, so much the better, inasmuch as it will save me one more crime,” he shrugged his shoulders; ‘‘ but one or two more or less would make very little difference, as far as that is concerned, I imagine. ‘¢ What the devil has become of Gordon? I never could believe the guards killed him when he escaped, although the public, thank fortune, | think that Captain Ironnerve has gone under, and unless he turns up somewhere pretty soon, I am afraid I will be obliged to think so, too. He chuckled at his own humor, and turning to his papers, kept busily turning them over and over, reading some of them carefully, and laying others aside, until the entrance of Jim Munger. Munger was Captain Ironnerve’s right-hand ae Gomilcbooks, co [