Beadle's Dime Library No. 152 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

er — ET Oe wy The reply was rather precise in its tone, for | Lillian was not stre that this man’s age gave 4 him the privilege.of asking so many questions. ' Again, for some time, the train rushed on, neither speaking nor addressing the other. | They approached a bridge that spans a deep gully, through which flows a shallow little stream. i There was a, deafening crash, a thunderous roar, and the cars were piled on top of each ! other in a confused and shapeless mass, The steam could be heard escaping in a’ malignant fntss from the engine ahead of them, while the | -screamas Of the women and the hoarse shouts of | the men, the crying of children who had been -separated from their parents, the breaking of glass, as this or that passenger tried to free | himself from the car which bad now taken fire -and was burning rapidly, ‘all lent to-the horror i of the scene. Lillian was thrown forward on f her face, and inthe breaking up of seats and each other and her, and she lay there, utterly helpless, with the hissing, roaring fire momen- tarily drawing nearer and nearer. ——_—— i labeys CHAPTER 1X. YOU BET! Wuen the sharp ping of the guard’s rifle ? broke the stillness of the midnight air, and was f closely followed by Ralph Gordon’s throwing iT up bis arms and falling to the bottom of the i boat, his companions, noticing little and caring Hi less for his welfare than for their own skins, | rowed steadily onward, applying all their | mighty strength to the one idea of getting the little craft out of the reach of the guards’ bul- i lets. i Not so Mosquito. ij, He had a good many dollars concerned in Ralph’s preservation, and, besides, he had con- I ceived a strong liking for his honest and up- H} right manner, t! Bending over him, the lad began looking | - searchingly for the wound a; best he could in I the dim light and the jerky, spasmodic motion hi of the beat. At last his search was rewarded, for, opening ! the wounded man’s vest and shirt, he could } plainly feel the warm red blood upon his hand. i Diving into Ralph’s coat-pocket, he brought \ forth a han ‘ the Jad ever had one himself—and quickly be- gan to stanch the blood that was flowing free- ly from Gordon’s right breast. ‘‘TIs he much hurt, Skeet?’ asked one of the { men, ‘‘Skroogs fired that shot I reckon, an’ Hi ye know he’s right smart on the shoot.” i” ‘‘ Yes,” chimed in another, ‘‘I see’d him i when he raised his gun, an’I thought be was ‘h aimin’ at me, an’ says I, Bolly, you’re done fur, iy.’ but he hit the Cap instead, an’ I reckon I ain’t feelin’ very bad ’cause ’twasn’t me, you bet!” “T guess he’s a goner,” said Mosquito, in re- i ply to the first question. ‘‘ Pull down to the ) ‘Dive’ and we'll take a look at him.” The “ Dive” was one of the city retreats of i these men whom the reader has rightly conjec- tured were members of the gang of counter- feiters that infested the neighborhood, and was . situated on the bank of the James, in one of the i vilest parts of the city. ‘ Here were ribaldry, profanity, obscenity, and all the vices that pertain to men of this stamp, and the place was guarded by such secrecy that it was next toa matter of complete im. possibility of its existence ever being discovered except by the favored few, Boats were put out from the prison, in the ‘hope of overtaking the fugitives, but either they did not try very hard, or else the flying men were particularly expert at the oar, for all sounds of pursuit soon died out far behind them, and after a half-hour’s steady pull, the little boat ran in under a dock, after one of the men had pulled on an apparently rusty old nailand the square logs that formed the pier seemed to open to receive them. Quickly tying the boat after carefully clos- ing the aperture behind them, the men took Ralph gently in their arms, and bore him through a long, damp passageway, opening and closing several doors with great care, and finally depositing him upon a sofa that stood in one corne.' of a comfortably furnished room. ‘“‘ Now 'Skeet, you run for the Doc,” said the man who had been spokesman all along, and whose name was Sam Crook, and the lad ran off excitedly, soon returning, accompanied by aman considerably under the ‘middle age,’ who stroked bis brown beard thoughtfully as he regarded the man upon the sofa, ny mee - * ’ = ag ee ee es ge ” - Ts,” SU ESL Oe eae eS SPR See ‘ i = * ae ey <, Orta a ‘ SS ee | fixtures they were piled mercilessly on top of | erchief—it is doubtful whether ° Se Pa Captain Ironnerve,’ the Counterfeiter This was Doctor Ritch, a young physician who, lacking nothing of wealth, had conceived the charitable idea of locating in a poor quar- ter of the city, and doctoring those who were too poor to pay the average leech for their at- tentions. As he will take quite a prominent part in the remainder of the story; his description is neces- sary. Of medium higbt, jet-black hair, dark- brown beard, open blue eye, kind and benevo- lent in his expression, square of the shoulders, deep of the chest, firm in his ideas, he was just the one who Gould wink at the villainy of hu- mauity as long as he could alleviate their suf- ferings, and call it-no sin. Bending low over Ralph, he tore open the shirt and examined the wound that Bernard Skroogs’s bullet had made. Doubtfully be shook his head as he probed for the ball, which he found bad entered the right breast, breaking one of the ribs as it entered, and passing upward and to the right, had finally lodged beneath the pit of the arm. ‘Will he live, Doc?’ asked’ Mosquito, whose anxiety was fast getting the better of him. “Tt is somewhat doubtful,” returned the doctor. ‘I have seen men live and entirely recover, after having received even worse wounds than this one, but such cases are excep- tions; however, I will extract the bullet, and then if we can return him to consciousness, I “may be able to save him,” “T reckon you're the chap as kin do it, if anybody kin,’ said Sam, decidedly, and the universal “ You bet!” that followed, coming from everybody in the room, announced the doctor to be a great favorite among the motley crew. ‘*T hope there is no internal bleeding,” mur- mured the doctor, as he bent low over his task. After probing skillfully and for some time for the ball, he at last pulled it out, flat and misshapen, but no hemorrhage followed it, and the doctor, straightening himself up, said: ‘Now if I can get him out of this stupor I may be able to save him,” and he at once be- gan applying restoratives, after carefully dress- ing the wound, and at last, after long trial, Ralph opened his eyes and looked around. “Well, my man, how do you feel?’ ques- tioned Doctor Ritch, when he saw that success had crowned his efforts. _ ‘“ Not very bad,” said Ralph in a weak voice, and trying to smile, *“ Where am I? How did I get here?” he asked after gazing wonderingly around the room fora time, and placing his hands upon the back of the couch—or rather his hand, for one arm was rendered almost useless—he es- sayed to rise. “T brought ye here, Cap,” cried Mosquito, ‘* an’ the Doe ‘ll cure ye, sure pop!” * Yes, I think you will recover in time,” said the doctor, gently holding him down. ‘But you must keep quiet and follow my directions to the letter. Itis an ugly wound, and must have great care,” ** An—ugly—wound! Oh!” He on net remember at first, what had brought him there, but now it all came to him, and closing his eyes, he said firmly: “‘Doctor, I must get well, and will.” “That is right, my man. The will has con- siderable to do with it. Now try to sleep, and hope for the best.” “*T will get well! Iwill recover!” muttered Ralph as he closed his eyes again, and Mos- quito chimed in with his characteristic: You bet!” CHAPTER X., WHO IS WHO? It will be remembered by the reader that we left the Lady Lorna in rather a precarious condition, she having fainted with horror just as Baldo, followed by several companions, en- tered the hut. To say the ‘‘old man of the tree” was sur- prised at finding the cabin occupied by other than the dead body of Vega, would be but expressing the truth, but quickly springing forward, he raised herin his arms and ex- amined her features. ‘¢ Crandyl’s ward, by all that’s lucky!” he ex- claimed, as the light of their torches fell upon her beautiful face. ‘* Quick, then!” he added to the men who ac- companied him. ‘Some brandy!” and taking the proffered flask in his hand, he poured a few drops of the hot liquid between Lorna’s half- parted lips. Te Rn eg a re ee ete This operation he repeated several _ times, rubbing her hands and forehead vigorously all the while, and he at length had the satisfaction of hearing a low sigh escape her, and seeing her open her eyes and gaze vacantly around. But there was no intelligence in her glance, nothing but blank wonder and astonishment, and even rough, coarse Buldo shivered when he recognized the awful truth so plainly written upon her countenpauce, ' Lady Lorna was mad, " The awful scenes she had passed through in the last few hours had shattered her nerves completely, and now the mind that was once so active, the intelligence that was once so quick, both were gone, and left in their place was only the mere body of the woman, gov- erned and. controlled by no will, aud actuated by no desire but that which theeye and the ear encountered and the faint memory of things of the past left upon her. She was a child again, without a thought and witbout a care, Her reasoning faculties were entirely gone, but part of her memory. was left her. | After Vega’s body had been committed to the earth, Baldo and his men constructed a rude litter out of seme convenient. saplings, placed Lorna upon it, and trudged away with her toward the Sighing Pine. , A wild, almost fleeting thought had ‘oc- curred to Baldo when he at first discovered that the lady Lorna’s mind was gone, and while they were busy in performing the Jast sad rites over the old woman’s body, this thought had matured and grown in strength, until now he had almost settled upon it. , Baldo bad seen Lady Lorna many times, but she had never seen him, He knew of the re- markable resemblance between the two Lornas —or Lorna and Lawrence—but, wiser than some other people, he knew the whole cause of it—who Lorna’s father wasand who Lawrence's father was. . Then why did he not use his knowledge? What was he keeping it all to bimselt for? You shall hear. That Baldo was not what he pretended to be, the reader has no doubt already determined. In other words, Baldo was not Baldo at all, but a deep and scheming man, who chose’ to wear the garb of an old man, and, by bending his back, reduce his stature sesquipedal, thus ren- ie his hight little more than that of a mere oy. And now, as be waddled along, somewhat in advance of his men, he was muttering to him- self in an undertone, but, as we are favored, we will get close enough to hear what he is saying. ‘‘ Why isn’t it possible?” he is saying. ‘‘ Law- rence is entirely subservient to my will, and anything which I tell her is for the best, she will perform unhesitatingly. ‘This one is certainly crazy and can know nothing of any change which comes toe her, so if Lawrence can act her part entirely accord- ing to my’ instructions, there appears to be no reason why 1 should not succeed, I will make the attempt anyway.” They strode on in silence for some time and all the while Baldo was turning matters over in his mind, and Jaying his plans carefully, so that there could be ro mistake, or nothing left undone. Arrived at last at the Pine, the men were instructed to bear the Lady Lorna to the same room where Baldo had conducted the Gipsy girl but a short time before. ‘ ‘‘ You may go now,” said Baldo to bis col- leagues, when the girl bad been carried to the apartment. “It will be just as well for you tosay nothing of what has happened to-night, and as a plaster to puf over your tongues, you may divide this between you,” and he handed them a well-filled purse, The counterfeiters left the room, and Baldo approached Lady Lorna, who was lying on one of the sofas, the other being occupied by Law- rence, who was sleeping soundly, ‘* Well, Lawrence, do you know me?” he asked of the Lady Lorna, who lay gazing va- cantly about her. She turned her eyes upon him in a questicn- ing manner and replied: ‘*T don’t know you, and my name is not Lawrence, it is Ralph.” ‘“Ralph, eh?” cried Baldo, rubbing bis hands delightedly, for the cards seemed to be playing directly into his hands. ‘“ Don’t you remem- ber me? Try and think.” Lorna closed her eyes and contracted her eom (¢ S (G JOO 2