Beadle's Dime Library No. 152 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

Captain Ironnerve, the Counterfeiter Chief. 5 wculd have upon any one whotried to break it open,” Picking up a stone that lay at his feet, he cast it against the solid oak and nail-beads, when, as if by magic, the brass knobs fell aside, revealing a hollow behind each one. ** You see,” said the old man, with a smile of satisfaction on his countenance, “ that, should any one attempt to gain admittance here un- asked, their first move on reaching this door would be to break it down. The first stroke they»made would cause the nail-heads to drop aside, but would reveal nothing but so many holes in their places. But the next stroke would send five hundred bullets whizzing up this passage, for each place you see there is the muzzle of a pistol:barrel. They areall worked by the same spring, and the spring connects with each brass nail, so you see it would be im- possible to strike the door without working the springs. The other passage is protected in the same manner.” “But why do you need this protection?” asked Lorna, whose curiosity was at last aroused. ‘That you shall see presently,” answered Baldo, as be touched a spring~in the side of the corridor which caused the knobs to fly back to their places; and then another, at which the door swung slowly open, revealing a similar passageway beyond. Through this second corridor they traversed for some distance, when reaching another door, Baldo, by means of another secret spring threw it open, and Lorna found herself in a large, square room, furnished with simple elegance, and evidently with an eye to comfort, for settees and divans were scattered here and there, while handsome rugs almost hid the floor from view. A desk stood in one corner, and a large iron chest in another; pictures that a connoisseur might delight to gaze upon, hung from the walls, and from the center of the ceiling hung suspended a large chandelier of cut-glass, from the angles of which, varied colored lights were scintillating, giving the room, or rather cavern, a beautiful and yet a ghostly appearance. Upon the desk, which stood open, a common student-lamp was burning; and altogether the place looked the home,of luxuriance, ease and solitude. Lorna almost gasped with surprise when Baldo led her into the beautiful apartment, It was like Fairy-land to her, who had only been accustomed to the commonest kind of living, and to tramping about all day in the woods, picking the flowers and listening to the varied and joyous songs of the many birds, whose plumage and names she was very familiar with; but to enter an old pine tree, by way of a door that she had never dreamed and passing from that, through a long dark corri- dor into this abode of elegance, seemed to her like enchantment. She could only gaze around the place, speechless, and astonishment depicted upon every feature. Baldo smiled, half pleased, at her surprise, and motioning her to one of the couches, he seated himself on the huge chest in the corner and said: “ Well, my child, you appear to be somewhat astonished.” ‘‘Oh, Iam indeed!” she replied, looking up into his face in wonder. “Do you like the looks of things here?” asked the old man. Had Lorna been older and more experienced in the ways and mannerisms of the world, she would probably have said no; but living as she had, with no knowledge of what was trans- piring around her, and coming of a race bre: sa oe for gold and the luxuries can buy, she was pleased, and clapping her hands and laughing, answered yes. a hon sim- ple nature and uneducated mind could not stop _ to reason as to the whys and wherefores of this mysterious retreat; she only knew that it existed, and that she was pleased. \ “ Would you like to live here all the time?” »again asked Baldo, after a pause, in which ‘he had been regarding her closely. ‘*Couldn’t I go out into the woods, among the birds and flowers, at all?’ she asked, tremu- lously. “Certainly! you could go out all you liked.” “‘Then I would like to live here; oh, so much!” | “ You my child.” ‘Oh, may I indeed?’ and a glad smile wreathed itself about her beautifully-formed mouth. ‘Vega is dead, and you could not live all alone in that miserable hut; besides, I prom- ised her that 1 would take care of you, and in order to do.that, I must have you near me. | ‘‘But you must conform to two or three things which will. be necessary to your wel- fare if you remain. | I am not the only inhabi- tant of this place, by far, although they mostly mind what.I say. Still, it is one of their set rules that no petticoats. be allowed in the ‘Pine,’ and I have brought you here at the risk of my life.”. ° ‘« But why?” | ; ‘You shall see. In this chest you will find a number of suits of clothes, and one out of the lot will be sure to fit you, I will leave you for a time, and when I return I want to find a boy instead of a girl waiting to receive me. Do you understand?’ ** But my hair?” **T will cut it.” ‘And my ear-rings?” *'You must remove them.” “My voice?” ‘* You must make it rougher.” ‘My name—what of that?’ “T had not thought of that; but I will have one for you when I return,” and with this, Baldo left her. ' “Am I dreaming, or is this a reality?” thought Lorna, as she proceeded toward the chest, and threw back the lid. Coats, caps, pants, boots, shoes, everything that goes to make up the dress of a man, was scattered promiscuously in the chest, and Lorna, anxious not only to get the best, but the one which would fit her the nicest, pulled them all upon the floor, Finally selecting one of the suits, she donned t, and then viewed herself in the. mirror that hung immediately in front of her. ‘*T rather like this,” she thought. ‘I won- der if any one will know that I ama girl. But I must put those things back in their places, or Baldo will scold.” While folding them up, and taking more pains with the packing than the one done who had the job before her, something in the pocket of one of the coats attracted her atten- tion, and with the curiosity natural to her sex, she inserted her hand, and drew it out, in- closing an enameled case which she quickly opened. The face in the case was that of a young girl, in the fancy dress of a Spanish Gipsy dancing-girl, with a tambourine in her hand, and she was poised in the dancing attitude. “ Oh, isn’t she handsome?” sighed Lorna as she gazed upon the face before her, and not knowing why, but obeying an instinct she could not name she placed the picture in one of her now numerous pockets, and then thrusting the remainder of the things into the chest, she closed the lid and seated herself to await the return of Baldo. She had not long to wait, for presently the door opened, and he came into the room. ‘“‘ Ah, Lawrence ; dressed already?” For a moment Lorna did not reply, thinking that he was speaking to some other person, but he was looking so. pointedly at her, that she said: ‘Is that the now name I am to take, Baldo?” ** Yes; and you make a. first-class looking lad, too. Now, Lawrence, I will cut your bair,” Taking a large pair of shears, the child’s beautiful locks were soon shorn completely from her head, and then with a cap set jaun- tily upon one side, she looked every inch a boy—and a fine one too, as Baldo had said. Not satisfied with this the old man went to bis desk and produced some cigarettes, gave them to her, bidding her she must learn to smoke. ‘‘But they will make me sick,” she said smiling up into his face. ‘Nonsense! they will do you good, and in order to become a model young man you must smoke.” We will leave her now for a time, trying to master one of the cigarettes, and with each spasmodic puff, gradually becomirg paler and paler, for the nicotine was getting into her head and making her dizzy, and into her stomach and making her sick. She bad entered upon a new life, and a life of lawlessness, although she knew it not, but, ‘‘where no wrong is intended no wrong is done,” reads an old proverb, and the case of Gipsy Lorna, proved eventually the proof of the maxim, CHAPTER VI. THE ESCAPE FROM PRISON, Nigut had fallen; dark, dismal, and cloudy, and yet no rain was falling. . The steady tramp of the guard might be heard about.the prison, as they monotonously paced back and forth, now and then shouting the cry ‘‘all’s well,” and passing on, to again repeat it as each hai hour of time dragged itself slowly by. It was dragging slowly enough to Ralph Gor- don, as he impatiently paced from one end of his narrow cell to the other, as if trying to'im- itate the guard without. Occasionally he would glanée at his watch— which he had bribed the keeper to allow him to retain, and then close it with a snap, as if the time as it wore heavily along, annoyed him by its tardiness, “Twelve o’clock!’ he muttered as he glanced at the time-piece for perhaps the fiftieth time during the last two hours. ‘If he comes to- night it must be soon. Ah!” The exclamation was caused by hearing a voice speak in a low tone, apparently right at his feet. ** Hist !’” it said, that was all, “Who and what are you?” asked Ralph in a low tone, and turning quickly. Mosquito,” was the quick reply, and indeed there was no need of the assurance for Ralph could now plainly see the head of the lad, poked partly into the cell, through an opening in the floor, exactly where he had discovered the loose block sore little time before. “Keep mum, Cap,” warued Mosquito, cau- tiously, ‘‘cos we don’t want any o’ the ‘ Billies’ pryin’ around here now. How about that thousand, eh?” ‘“‘Tt’s yours as soon as you get me out of here,” assured Ralph excitedly. ** An’ you won’t gi’ me away?” “*No, my boy—I won't.” “Swear it, Cap, cos they would hang me sure.” ‘‘T do swear it! And now make haste,” “Got every thing you want?” asked Mos- quito after a pause. “ Yes.” “ Sure?” “Of course I’m sure. What would I have in this cursed hole that I would care to take away with me?’ ; “ ‘Your temper, Cap—keep that.” “A wise rebuke, young man, You are older than you look,” *“Not much; but I’ve see’d life, I have,” and the lad wagged his head knowingly, as if to impress the fact deeply upon the mind of his hearer. : *“Come,” he continued laconically, and dis- appeared from view. _ Somewhat surprised, but determined to es- cape from bis cell at any cost, Ralph let bim- self down through the narrow opening, and upon alighting, found himself upon a flight of steps, which apparently led up to the cell he bad just left. “Hol on till I shut the trap,” said the voice of Mosquito, for it was so dark in the passage that Ralph could not distinguish an object. Soon the trap was closed and then the lad scratched a match, lighting up a long flight of steps ti. t seemed to lesd down, down, down, until they ‘isappeared in the gloom. ' ““Now sn’p!” ordered the boy, when the match bad géne out. ‘I've got a Jack at the bottom of the steps, and when we get there we can see our way, but you have got to feel your way until we get there. Mosquito took the lead and Ralph followed as closely after bim as he could in the impenetra- ble darkness that hung over all, and at last, after going down step after step until it seemed as though they were descending to the very bowels of the earth, Mosquito stopped, and soon the corridor was brilliantly lighted by the rays of the ‘‘ jack” he bad spoken of. ‘Now, Cap,” said the lad, in a low tone, “this passage leads along for some distance, | and is safe enough, but wher you get near the entrance you want to close the slide and wait until you hear me whistle.” “Why, where are you going?” “Through another passage to get a boat.” ‘* A boat! . “Cert! This takes you straight to the river, and it’s pleasanter settin’ in a boat than ’tis to flop around in the water; besides, it makes less of a racket, and the water makes one feel damp.” : Having thus delivered himself, he placed ths JOO GOmiG <SriG (o)