Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 196 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

20 rung through room and bullet cut into head. That is all.” The girl had spelt this out slowly, letter by letter, with the most careful attention. “7 have it now, my tulip!” she exclaimed, joyfully. there, and shot you through some peep-hole in the wall, or else the pistol was in position, care- fully arranged, so that any a to open the door would cause its discharge. 1 must havea look into this affair myself. the better. Keep sa Os x spirits, and when I return it will either be to se of this establishment as a badly wounded police spy, or else with the secret of the Hotel Morel in my possession.” It was not a difficult matter for this accom- plished woman to frame some excuse for leaving the hospital, and two hours later the lawyer, Monsieur Chopine, was waited upon in his office by a stupid-looking youth who appeared to be a German and who carried a small bag of tools ‘in his hand. The boy brought a note from La Marmoset, stating that she had sent this lad, another lock- smith, to take ~ the task which had resulted so dismally to the first workman. Chopine took a look at the boy and thought to himself that she had chosena strange fellow if she expected to soive the mystery which lurked inthe apartment of the countess; but, that was the Detective Queen’s business and not his, and so he immediately: conducted the dall youth who could not “speak very goot,;” tothe hotel. There he was taken to\ the room, which, since the accident to the locksmith, had been aban- doned by the young lady. . The lawyer shook his bead 4s the door ¢losed’ behind the lad, and he beard him turn:the key in the lock on the inside, but Chopine, with all his acuteness, had not guessed that this stupid was La Marmoset in person, determined to get to the very neart of the mystery. CHAPTER XXXIL A DISCOVERY, “Ou, oh!” cried the disguised spy, egy web a sudden idea flashing through her brain as she stood in the center of the apartment and sur- veyed the wall before her with eyes that seemed almost sharp enough to penetrate it, ‘I have it, Lhave it! How simple, yet how cunningly contrived, and what a dull head I have not to have thought of it before! There is no one lhere—no one on the wateh to assassinate the explorer whoseeks to discover the secrets of the Hotel Morel. Ohno; but in place of aman a bit of machinery that works with human skill. I have heard of such things before, in these old laces. My cunning ro was assassinated y machinery. Clever as he is he was contend- ing with one more clever still. The user of this secret passage feared that his secret might be discovered, and in order that the interloper might be taught a bloody lesson, he arranged the machin that controls the o of the a pistol would Lo distberieod, door so tha ge aT at any one attempting to enter. hat is the secret of my fellow’s assassination, and now I must be on m lest a similar fate befall me. In f about the wall, seeking to discover the secret which would open the concealed door, he touched the lever that discharged the The pistol was arranged at about the level of an ordinary man’s breast; he was stooping and therefore received the ball in hishead.” This goon orang oc > as ~ a she upon as though she cer- information as to the fact. he proceeded with the utmost caution, mut- tering her thoughts aloud after the fashion common to her as she the wall. ‘¢ Where is the spring which opens the door, , and where the one which discharges the 1? The weapon may not have been reloaded since my rascal got its contents, but I won't risk that, for it may have been recharged, or it may be a double-barreled’ weapon. The lever which fires the pistol is certainly more easy to find than the one which _— the door, or else the contriver of the erous affair is not as cun- a 3 as I think.” The wall was covered with rich velvet paper, heavily embossed after the fashion common to the time when paper was first introduced into France for wall decorating; and the artists en- deavored in the cheaper material to excel the work of the deft fingers that wrought the old- time silken and velvet hangings. The paper was of dark green color with a wealth of golden-hued vines running riot over it. ‘¢‘In some obscure spot lurks the spring which moves the lever,” muttered, examining the surface of the wall with eager eyes, yet careful not to run her fingers beedlessly over ‘*1t should be about on the level of the breast. Aha!” The exclamation was produced by a sudden ‘‘ You were right—you were hot on the scent; there is a secret closet or passage In the wall, and some one was either concealed I will give mon- sieur’s pistol a chance to make a pretty little hole in my head, and the quicker I set about it the hospitalities and the discovery which her keen eyes had made. She had reasoned that the concealed mechanism was worked by a button placed in one of the sunken places of the paper, and that the re- peated pressure of a human finger upon the button would be apt, in time, despite the dark color of the paper, to slightly discolor it; she had detected a taint spot upon the wall, such as she had expected to find. ‘¢ Now the pistol is directly in range of this spot or else it would not harm any one seeking to discover the secret,” the queen continued. ‘Hence, if I withdraw to one side and at arm’s length examine it, if my manipulations dis- charge the pistol, or whatever kind of fire- arm it is, my precious oe will not be apt to be damaged ”—which inference the girl imme- diately proceeded to test. Closer examinatiom disclosed that the soiled spot was the head of a small button, which in reality aie be 9 slightly enough to allow any one with small fingers to grasp it, by pressing in the velvety pile of the paper, which was ex- tremely heavy. ‘‘ Now then, what would the average mortal do upon discovering the existence of this but- ton?’ she queried, as if debating the subject with a second party. ‘‘ What are buttons for, used in connection with secret panels? To press upon, of course! You press upon the button; hey presto! open flies the door and you are master of the secret!’ Tbat is surely what my pretty boy thought; he pressed upon the button and immediately received a bullet in his head for his pains.” And then this detective genius laughed, as though she thought the murderous surprise which the contriver of the secret me- chanism had arranged to be an excellent jest. ‘No, no! clearly I sball not press upon the button. How else can it be used? Three cther motions, only, possible. It can be shoved to one side—twisted around like a key or pulled out, but no pressure, for that is dangerous. First to see if it will move.” With her fingers she made the trial, but the button appeared to be as solid as though it was a fixture. ‘* Not to the right nor to the left, and nei- ther up nor down,” she muttered. “Now will it revolve?” But it would not; the secret was not yet in her on, ut you must come, then!” and as the fin- gers nimbly exerted themselves to obey the in- structions, outdid come the button, which was the bead of a small, strong steel rod. When two inches of the rod eme from the wall there was a 8 click! click! as though machinery had been set in motion; the rod_be- came immovable, and slowly a small iron door in the wall swung om disclosing a dark and narrow passage and a flight of steps leading evidently into the underground on, But this was not all which the cuentas. of the iron door disclosed. A heavy, old-fashioned pistol, with a lever attached to the triggor, was so ar- ranged that—7:s the female spy ad _ any attempt to open the door by pressing upon the button would have driven the end of the steel rod against the mechanism and thus have caused the discharge of the wea The end of the rod was ourved inbo a hook, pulling out of the button caused the hook to catch upon a jecting leve-, which set in erg the machinery that drew back the bolts o f the iron door and allewed it to ie Yow And when the door was open, the mystery as to how the pistol-ball had found its way through the iron without ham any trace of its pas- ma mystery which puzzled the acute dof the female spy more than she would have cared to bave acknowledged—was ex- plained. When the door was closed, the muz- zle of the pistol was brought against a little hole, justas largeas the bore of the weapon, and covered by a tiny piece of iron working on a loose hinge. When the pistol was disch , the door, or curtain, was lifted by the shock, and after the ball had passed through it fell back again into its place. A more ingeniously arran apparatus than this secret door cL Dente Genes with all mn _ ed professional experience, had never beheld. ‘‘ At last the secret is mine!” La Marmoset exclaimed, triumphantly. A glance at the pistol had told her that it was unloaded, and therefore the place had not been visited, by the person who had so alarmed the countess by his nocturnal entrance into her apartment, since the disguised spy had been shot. ‘‘ Who is it? who is it?’ quoth La Marmoset: ‘‘ whence does this passage lead—for what is it used, and by whom? Am I about to discover somethin that will make me master of the se- crets of th clear away the cloud that now enshrouds the missing heir?” Evidently the woman believed that she was upon the threshold of an important discovery, and she took every a precaution to make her mission successful. } LaMarmoset, the Detective Queen. —E ' | nals, have circulate From the bosom of her blouse she drewa tiny — $43 oo — SD dark-lantern, one of the bull’s-eye pattern, which, despite its size, gave quite a powerful light; and also produced a medium-sized re- volver. Carefully she examined the weapon, clicking the cylinder around so as to be sure that the barrels were cbarged and in perfect order. . Then she lit the lantern and descended the nar- row stairs, flashing the light on ahead, driving;* the darkness before her. Straight down went the passage, and the spy' followed it until she was sure she was below they, surface of the earth; when if ended, she found herself in a narrow apartment, extremely like a dungeon, with neither door nor window in it as far as could be seen. Nothing but four bare stone walls, buf in one corner of the room was a stooland an old table upon which lay a large pocket-book and half-a- dozen or more of lega)-looking papers. With a ery of joy La Mafmoset rushed to- ward them, ‘ CHAPTER XXXITII. A STRANGE STORY. “TAMPA MoreL—Tampa Morel!” exclaimed the ad¥Vocate, hardly able to believe that his ears had served him aright, so completely astonished was he by this entirely unexpected avowal. ‘Yes, monsieur; that is my name.” ‘‘ Upon my word, mademoiselle, rou will par- don my surprise, but I assure you I am utterl astounded. Here I have been searching all Paris for you—in fact, I may say, ell through France, and have even pushed my mahities across the channel in England—in London, and all without the slightest results, and now you come upon me without the least warning. L have advertised for Phin in all the leading jour- thousands after thousands of handbills; but stay, perhaps it is to one of these devices of mine that I am indebted for the pleasure of your company to-day?” ‘*Oh, no,” she replied, with a shake of the head. .‘‘I seldom read the newspapers and ft have never seen anv of the handbills to which you refer, although I have lived in Paris a long time; and then, if I had seen them it is not probable I should have known that I was the person referred to, for it is only recently—very recently indeed, I have learned what I was and who I am.” “That is strange!” he observed; and now, the first surprise over, he began to have a desire to cross-examine the claimant in order to see if she really was what she pretended. ‘* Yes, it is strange, but it is the truth. I was brought up in total ignorance of my birth and parentage;—not that I was told there was any mys about my birth, for that would naturally have excited my suspicions and have voked me to solve the m false- ood easily covered up all traces. If you will have patience to listen I willrelate to you all I know of my life.” The wily Rinot said he would be delighted to be so entertained. To allow the girl to tell her own story in her own way would give him, on the watch to detect discrepancies, a fine chance to decide whether the story was true or false. “Until recently I believed that my name was Camille Bienville, and that 1 was the daughter ot Auguste Bienville, who was a French trader at Eau Gallie in Florida.” “In America?” added the lawyer, as the girl paused. ‘Ah, yes, [have h of him.” “Yes, in America; and now, to go back to the tender years of my childhood, my first re- membrance is of a log-hotise, overgrown with trailing vines, fey apap upon a vast expanse of deep blue water, that washed upon & sandy shore of dazzling whiteness. . “That is your earliest recollection,” observed the lawyer, drawing a blank sheet of ny in front of him upon the desk, behind which he sat, and g to take notes. — “Yes, sir, that was my childhood’s home.” » ‘© And those who were around you?” ‘‘Ah, monsieur, my memory does not serve me as well in regard tothe faces,” she replied, with asigh. ‘The little [can remember is so vague and indistinct it is almost impossible for me to separate the real from the unreal; to say which is trath and which is imagination. [ seem to remember a low-voiced, sweet-faced lady, with dark éyes and hair, who used to lull me to sleep with plaintive melodies, and a tall, stately man, With jet-black hair, but streaked bere and there with gray threads, who carried me in his arms and around whose knees I played in happy, childish glee.” The lawyer nodded, approvingly, as he jot- ted down the particulars.. The description | fitted the account of Morel and his American wife exactly. ‘© Your father and mother, no doubt.” ‘‘On that point I have been in a maze which ' now seems to be clearing away; you will un- e house of Morel and enable me to | derstand asI goon.” ' “Yes, yes; goon, I beg.” ‘‘The next memory that comes back to me from the vista of years long oe is of the paint- ed, plumed red-men of the Everglades, the say- age Seminole warriors, their squaws and chil- dren. With them I dwelt in the wilderness and shared their wild life; how long I cannot tells Gomicbooks,.. Go - J ————— Se be as ee le = - s —— |