Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 196 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

es “Oho! Tam right, then!” the spy cried, with agrim smile. ‘* It is the Morel case.” ‘* Well, mademoiselle, you are right, and I confess that your know fed re puzzlesme. What do you know about it?” ‘‘There is an American now in Paris, General Obadiah Washington Calhoun,” and she checked the names off on her ugly, discolored fingers as she spoke them. ‘‘He comes from Punta Rosa, Florida, where the red savages live, and he seeks a girl, an heir, Tampa Morel, who is lost, not in the jungles of her native land, where she might be found, but in the wilds of Paris where the chances are a hundred to one against her discovery. Youare the lawyer of the Morels, whose fortune this girl’s appearance threatens. Bah! is it wonderful, then, that when you, Mar- tin Chopine, come to see La Marmoset on im- portant business she should guess what the business is likely to be?” ‘*Oh, no; but, how did you know anything about it? Oh, excuse me, perhaj.s | am putting an ‘impertinent question ; possi..y ib is a pro- fessional matter?’ ‘* lt is, but no secret. I have, been employed by the American to find the child. Peste! what am I talking about! The child is a young woman now, of course—as old as I am, nearly.’ The lawyer at once guessed that La Marmo- set had a weak spot. She wished to be consid- ered young, but fron what he could see of the woman—which was not much, it is true—he judged that she would never see thirty-five again. ‘* About your own age I should think.” The lawyer had learned that a little flattery sometimes works wonders. ‘** But to find this girl in this great city. It is absurd! no name, no clew. It would be like breaking the bank of a gambling spa; once ina year such a thing can be done, but it is always accident, not skill or design. But, what is it you want? Not to find the girl, I will be bound!” and the female spy laughed harshly at her own wit. “No, we are not at all enxious to find the girl, but what we wan5 to know is exactly how strong a case this American has.” **Oh, yes; Lam nochild; I perceive! Ha! ha! ha!” and again the harsh, grating laugh rung out, ‘* You want me to steal bis proofs, if he has any—bis papers about the girl, and then he will not have any case at all, and this is what Monsieur Martin Chopine wants—the honest ad- vocate!” **No, my child, no/ You wrong me,” replied the lawyer, in his gravest manner. ‘‘I do not wish you to do anything of the kind, and in or- der that you mayfully understand me I will explain my position, without reserve. Iam the family lawyer of the Morels as my father was before me. Ihave seen the young lady, Made- moiselle Marie, for whom fan now acting, grow up from childhood. I have as great an affection for her as though she were my own child, Heaven, mademoiselle, has never blessed me with children. The estate which she inher- ited from her uncle is not a large one. Her uncle, you must understand, is the father of this girl for whom the American is seeking. If the story which the American tells is true—if he has'the proofs to back his tale, and succeeds in discovering the heir, everything that she has in the world wiil be taken from Mademoiselle Marie. At a single blow this delicate, gentle girl will be reduced to poverty, also Madame de Moissac, her cousin, an aged lady who shares with Mademoiselle Marie the small income which is received from the Morel estate. [wish to soften the blow, if it must fall. I wish to as- certain before we enter upon the contest whether the American has any substantial case. If he has we will try and compromise the affair; if he has not then we will fight.” **You wish to know what proofs he _ has. Copies, then, will do us well as the originals.” ** Exactly.” **Very good! I will undertake the task,” ** And your fee?” ‘* Depends upon the trouble the service gives me, It will not be cheap, monsieur lawyer, for I am avaricious.” ‘We will not quarrel about the price. Come ‘fo me when you have anything worth telling.” With an elaborate bow the lawyer departed. CHAPTER VI. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE, ‘An! you old rat!” and the woman shook her fist at the door as it closed upon the lawyer. **Wait and see who will win this game—your haughty countess or the girl deserted in the streets of Paris, left to This affair of Morel is likely to prove a valuable one tome. First, my dear Monsieur Preval has his suspicions that the American is not what he seems—in fine, thinks that he is a swindling ad- venturer, and that his tale of the lost heir of Morel is all a lie; so he has employed me to find out the truth; but I know already that whether the American is what he pretends to be or not, the girl, Tampa Morel, is no fiction, and that she has been in Paris, although not now to be found; but that is my secret, and Monsieur Preval must not be allowed to share it—at pres- asi gh in the gutter! ¥. La Marmoset, the Detecti enn ent! Then, through his lawyer, the American employs me to find the lost girl, and now comes Monsieur Chopine who wishes to get at the pri- vate papers of this American! Peste/ I am likely to be much involved in this mystery be- fore it is ended.” The appearance of the shock-headed boy in- terrupted the woman’s meditations. In _ his hand he bore a scrap of paper upon which a name was written. ‘A man is below and wants to see you,” the | by to‘ling with the needle, boy said, as he handed the paper to La Marmo set. ‘‘ Alexander Castiglione!” she exclaimed, her tone now as different from the one in which she had conversed with the lawyer as though she were another personaltogether. ‘* How does he look? What is he like?’ Her voice trembled and her whole manner betrayed great agita- tion. ‘*Come! speak quickly, my little man!’’ The boy, despite his dull appearance, was a shrewd youngster, and had taken,a good look at the man whose message he had borne. “Tike one who is ‘in trouble,’””’ replied the boy, using the thieves’ argot to describe a man hiding from the police, fearmg that he might be arrested. ‘‘Tall, dark, handsome?” and there was a fe- verish eagerness in the tone, ‘“Yes; he’s tall, and he’s dark, but. he don’t look very handsome; he’s all muffled up, and ho looks like a man who has had a hard time of it. ‘lt is the name, but is it the man?” the wo- man murmured. ‘ Let him come up.” ‘‘Take care and have your ‘ barker’ ready,” cautioned the boy, with the unnatural wisdom so much beyond histender years. ‘‘ Maybe he’s a chicken whom you have sent to pass his time away at Toulon, and now he has called to pay his compliments to you on that account.” ‘‘Aha, my pippin, trust La Marmoset to look after her precious skin!” and then from behind her the woman took quite a heavy revolver, the hammer of which was drawn back, ready for action, She held it up significantly, and the boy grinned, displaying his yellow, fang-like teeth. You see, my infant, if this gentleman for- gets the respect due to a lady, I will administer a leaden pill that will at once teach him man- nei's. So show the gentleman in, my angel, and do not fear that mamma will not be able to take care of herself, If it is an escaped galley- bird coming to settla an account with me, he had better have walked straight back to Tou- lon, given himself up and have done with it, oe they torture but do not kill, while I do both. The boy departed; La Marmoset replaced the revolver by her side underneath the shawl, but it was within easy reach. ‘*‘Canit be he?’ she murmured. ‘ After five long years will he come again into my life? And how do I feel toward this man who has wronged me so eee Do I hate him? Ought I to kill him without mercy? Heaven forgive me! I thought I had done with senti- ment long ago; I fancied that my heart was so seared by suffering that it had become insensi- ble to either pity or love, but now at the ap- proach of this man who has been the evil eon ot my life, my heart throbs as if it would urst. If the old lawyer could have’ overheard this muttered sentence he would have been com- pletely astounded, not so much at the words as at the way in which they were uttered, for the voice of the female spy had now become as soft and as musical as the tones of a prima donna, whose silver notes cost golden crowns, Had this strange woman then two voices, either of which she could use at will? There was the sound of a man’s footsteps ascending the creaking staircase without, the worn wood of which remonstrated strongly against the weight imposed upon it; then came a low tap at the door. ‘*Mnter, monsieur!” cried La Marmoset, in her harshest and shrillest tones. Into the room came a tall, well-built man, sie, “a dressed, with a scarf wound round his neck and an old cap pulled down over his eyes. He had the appearance of a dissipated citizen, one of the class who are forever prating about the “rights of man,” and who, in times of dis- order and violence, are sure to be found fore- most in the difficulty, The caller closed the door carefully behind him; then, turning, faced the woman. Eager were the looks with which they sur- veyed each other. ive years since either had laid eyes upon the other’s face, and greatly changed now was the appearance of both. ut the man, with eyes always full of sus- icion, had an idea that the woman had so essed herself as to disguise her identity, and age precisely the same idea in regard to m! In spite of this, though, each was sure they recognized the other. **So, it as I thought,” the man observed, the first to break the silence; ‘‘ La Marmoset is—” ‘*La Marmoset!” exclaimed the woman, quickly, ‘‘ For the sake of all the saints do not ‘ ve Queen. | ET — utter the name which once sounded so sweet when spoken by your lips.” **T have no doubt that you think me the most worthless of villains,” he said, abruptly. ** And have I not good reason to think sor’ she retorted, her voice shrill and unnatural. ‘* Five years ago what was I when you met me? ‘* A sewing-girl, living in a far worse garret than this, endeavoring to keep life within you I oecupied the ad- joining garret.” ‘*‘And when [ fell sick and could work no longer you came to my aid; you nursed me to health again; supported me; yeah grateful, for to you | owed my life. I gave you the love you asked, Mon Dieu! if you had asked for ml heart out of my body you could have had i = bh ‘And we were happy until we parted, eh?” Happy! Yes, it was a fool’s paradise; ha, ha, ha!” and she laughed, shrilly. ‘‘1 say that I would have given you my heart, but I gave my soulinstead! If I had not been a trusting child— an idiot, [might have known that I was to be bub a plaything for an idle hour and then cast aside forever. The mysterious life you led; you pre- tended to be a student, studying fora doctor, but you were not; “0: were hiding in disguise, yet even with all the knowledge I now possess, cannot guess why,” ‘You are satisfied then that f deserted you?” ** Did gee not leave me without even a part- ing word, and I waited and watched for you to come back? Watched like the poor innocent child that I was, for not until days lengthened into weeks, and weeks into months, did I dream that Thad been forsaken—cast off to die of a broken heart!” ** Will you listen to my defense?” “Yes, but it is useless to lie to me, for five years have changed me from a child into a woman, and if you lie l can detect it upon the instant.” **Oh, Iwill speak truth; but listen and judge,” The man helped himself to a chair and went on: ' “The story of my life is quite simple and is quickly told. At an early age circumstances made me what the world calls a rascal, The law persecuted me and instead of bending and submitting peaceably to be wronged, I resisted and fought my oppressors with all my might. I became an outcast, but I considered that the world owed me a living, and as mankind at large seemed inclined to deny the debt I re- solved to help myself. The result was an ar- rest and a condemnation tothe galleys, Toulon did not keep me, though, but when I again found myself in Paris it was necessary for me to keep myself secluded, else my friends, the gendarmes, would have got hold of me and sent me back to serve out my sentence. *‘It was while skulking under an assumed name in obscure lodgings that I met you, and the cause of my abrupt desertion, without a parting word, of the woman I loved can you not guess?” ‘* The police arrested you and sent you back to Toulon to serve out your sentence,” ** Exactly.” *“Why did you not send me word? I know enough of the way things are conducted down y onder to understand how that could have been one, ‘If a man has money, yes; without money ro Sn helpless at Toulon as he is anywhere e “And you tried to get word to me?” “cc Yes.’ There was alook in the keen black eyes which showed that she did not believe it, . ‘* A comrade would have done such a favor for a friend in trouble without money.” “True, and so one promised to do for me. He gave leg-bail all right, but was retaken be- fore reaching Paris and killed in the struggle. Of course I knew nothing of it until long after. ward. Two years I did duty and then was dis- charged, I came to Paris and searched for you— **T lay on my back in a hospital for in- curables, dying of consumption, so the doctors said!” cried the woman, with bitter accent. ‘** But they lied—these learned men with their big words and their wise looks. It was no dis- ease, but starvation! When they gave me medicine | got worse. Then came along a young man, whose eyes were not blinded by the scales of age, whose opinions were not cramped by the iron rules of the school of medicine. He believed me when I said that I was hungry; he did not shake his head and say the poor girl is delirious, like the rest, He gave me what I wanted and I got well. I might just as well have died, though. It is a pip hag why we mortals sometimes cling so to a life which is not worth living.” “The riddle is easily read; we are all gam- blers at heart, and there isn’t any one in this world so poor and so wretched but what se- eretly believes that fortune will change some time.” ** Perhaps that is truth.” **T know it is, Well, to come to the end: [ searched for you and you were not to be found comicb