Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 262 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

“4 “ (Seva’ Ps 2 a < ighting Tom. | me anything to-night without harm? Ask the senora if it is safe.” ‘*The colonel went up-stairs and came down in a little while, saying: ‘‘De ladee vill see you.” Overjoyed at the answer, Harvey went up and found Nina lying back in a large rocker, dressed in a loose wrapper, her hair unbound, a wet cloth round her forehead. ‘‘She ’ave headache,” explained the senora, ‘*She vant say somet’ing to you, senor. Do not spik mucba. She bettair to-morrow.” Harvey went to the girl, whose eyes were closed, and she put out a hand, saying: “*You’re—very kind—very kind. Never for- get it. You saved my life—twice. Never thanked you.” ““Don’t think of it,” murmured Harvey, pressing her hand. “1 ep did what any man would have dune. I wish | could ask you one or two questions, in order to preserve you from that man’s power.” She still kept her eyes shut, but whispered: “Ask on: I'll tell you.” ‘What is that man Jarvis to you?” he asked. “My step-father,” she answered. ‘‘He was separated from your mother, I sup- ” said Harvey, feeling his way. ‘‘Yes: for years. We were hiding from him,” she murmured. ‘‘ We thought he was far away in California.” “Very good,” said Harvey. “ Now tell me this: has he any right in your house in West — street?” She shook her head. ‘‘My mother’s money is her own, she told me; but she feared him.” ae ?? ‘The girl shuddered. ‘‘ He was so cruel, years ago.” Tben she opened her eyes, asking feebly: “Can he take me away? Has he any right? Could he get me from here?” » ‘‘Have no fears,” returned Harvey, firmly. ‘‘He cannot get you from the colonel, and as soon as Ls are well enough to talk fully on the subject I can protect you. Have you any rela- tives to whom you can go?” ~ We had to rum away ten The girl closed her eyes again, and her lips | trembled as she said, faintly: ‘‘No, They were angry with mother for her marriage,” ‘How long ago did she marry Jarvis?” ‘Fifteen years,” answered Nina, with a shudder. ‘‘l was five years old then,” ** And your mother lived with him five years, as I understand,” “Yes. Ona, I shall never forget them. Ho was a fine-lookiug man when mother married him, and pretended to love me. But he began to be so cruel—ob, so cruel.” She shuddered violently, and Harvey said: ‘There. Don’t think of it now. Have you any prop:-rty in the house that he can take away, and can your girl, Kate, be depended,up- on Nina smiled faintly. ‘* Poor tie! She has been with us twelve years. Yes. You can depend on her.” ‘Very well,” said Harvey. ‘‘When will you be twenty-one, if it’s a fair question?” ‘‘Next year,” was the answer and Nina opened her eyes inquiringly. Harvey nodded and smiled. ‘Then we are all right, I think,” he said, ‘‘T want you to sign a letter I will write, au- thorizing me to act for you. To-morrow be ready (0 give me the names and addresses of some of your father’s or mother’s relatives, who can act as rdians to you, till you come of age. I will communicate with them. In the mean time I will go to the housa, and take charge of things for you. It will not be safe for you to go there, for he might force his way in and capture you again.” Nina’s eyes had opened wide in fear, and she said earnestly: “Pll do anything you think best, Anything to escape falling into his hands again.” ‘*You shall not,” said ey in his most re- assuring tone. ‘* We'll prevent that at any hazard, Miss Somers, Now I'll write.” He wrote a short letter, which she signed, and he went away, saying as he departed: ‘* You shall hear from me soon. He had reached the door, when she said; “Mr, Harvey—” In a moment he was back. Very faintly she said: ' ‘‘My mother—did you find—” “«] did,” he said gravely. ‘ Rest satisfied. I will see that everything is done in proper order She covered her face with her hands. ‘*Poor mother!” she said in alowtone. ‘‘She is better off than I. Oh, how can I bear to be left all alone?” ““You are not all alone while I am near to help you,” said Harvey softly. ‘* Remember that I will never desert you, till you no longer need a friend. Sone by: s Then he went away for good and, once in the street, made his way to the ferry and thence up townin New York to West —— street, where he arrived just in time to see a hack driving ee 4 4 # we * re + “2 “we ¥. , E = A & > 2 oe . a ae P- — eer et ee yy. A eee furiously up the street, ahead of him, with Buck Jarvis on the box by the driver, | Harvey took a glance at his surroundings, | when he saw the hack, ~ He was alone, on foot, and he knew well that the neighborhood was a “rough” one. The rocks and shanties between the blocks and the | tuunble-down rookery of ‘‘ Murder Row ” in the distance were not unknown to Lim by reputa- tion; for Smith, Brown & Smith had a good deal of criminal practice, in which their manag- ing clerk, Harvey, had figured at various times, hunting up the evidence of witnesses. He had never been in *‘ Murder Row;” but he knew some of the men who lived there (when they lived anywhere), and made up his mind that trouble lay ahead, if Buck Jarvis had any friends among them, He did not yet know who Jarvis was, save that he was a ruffian, but it was evident that his destination was the little house in which Nina had lived that morning. As he watched the coach drive up, he saw several women, who had been sitting on the front steps of the house, get up and run away into other houses, while the robust form of Kate O’Donnell vanished. et CHAPTER X, A LITTLE STREET AFFAIR, THE young man waited at the end of the block till he saw Buck Jarvis stop, run up the steps and begin to pull the bell and knock at the front-door, while two other men got out of the hack and began to try the lower windows, Then Harvey saw that something very unu- sual was the matter. He had imagined, when he went away in the morning, that Buck Jarvis had gone into the house on his departure. Now, it seemed as if Buck could not get in. Was it possible that Kate O’Donnell had had pluck enough to keep him out? ‘* By heavens, she has!” he muttered, as he noted the fact that Buck was unable to gain an entrance, though the noise of bis thundering at the door echoed to the end of the block. Presently he saw Kate’s head poked out of an upper window, and heard her screaming: ‘* Murder! thaves! murder!” At this there was a cessation of the pounding below, and Buck Jarvis roared: ‘* Come down and open the door, Irish, or P'll bu’st it open, and have ye ’rested!” ‘Yell be ’risted yerself!” screamed Katie. ‘‘Ye’ve no business here, ye murderin’ thafe, and I’'vesir’ “sr the police, so Il have.” ** Police be durne*?!” roared Jarvis, ‘* Here’s two of em now, Show yer shields, boys.” The moment Harvey heard that, he started off on a run toward the party. He still retained the pistol bis friend the col- onel had lent him, and had on his hands, con- cealed by gloves, the terrible brass knuckles that are as effective as clubs in sk‘llful hands well used, He felt sure Jarvis was deceiving the girl, and feared that she would surrender to the idea of police, she came near, the three men heard the echo of his steps, and turned to look, when he shouted at the top of bis voice: ‘** Don’t trust him, Kate; shegine not police.” Buck Jarvis heard him, said something in a low tone to his men, and all three started out 1c meet him on the sidewalk, in ominous si- ence, Harvey watched them closely as they came, but saw they had no clubs, convincing him that the twomen could not possibly be police. All three kept their hands in their pockets, and be- gan to spread as they came, to take him on either side, There was no nk a shadow of a doubt that they meant to attack him. As they came closer he recognized the face of Sag sae oa bur- one of the men as that ofa glar, who had been defended by his firm about a year before and acquitted on an alibi, .be called out at once: ‘* Look out there, Jimmy Nelson. You ought to know who I am.” Jimmy Nelson started, and said something to Buck Jarvis, who retorted aloud: ‘‘Don’t keer a darn who he is! You know the terms—you kin get ’er if you wade in.” So saying, he advanced with the other man, while Jimmy Nelson, after a moment of hesita- tion, came on also, saying: ‘“‘Can’t help it, Mister Harvey. Git up and dust, or we'll have to slog wack : “You will, will you?’ cried Harvey, jumping into the road, so as to get his assailants in a line. ‘Forewarned is forearmed, Nelson. Back! or you'll be sorry for it!” **Double-bank him, boys!” cried Buck, and as be spoke he drew from his pocket a slung- shot on a short handle, with which he rushed at Harvey, followed by the otber two, all, from their eager, savage expression, intent on finish- ing their man kly. arvey saw them coming, and fied up the street at a pace that enabled them to follow in — 5o% ’ ple Be a \ —_- = the hope of catching him, though he could have distanced them easily, being a champion runner up to a mile. As he had expected, the pursuit soon caused the three to separate, Nelson being ahead, till a good bundred feet divided him from the rest, when ane rey slacked up as if exhausted, allow- ing the burglar to gain on him. Vhen tie sound of footsteps told that only a few feet divided them, the young man stopped and whirled round so suddenly that before Nelson could aim a good blow his wrist was caught, and he received a right-hander in the face which split open his cheek and knocked him dizzy. In an instant the slung-shot was clutched by the active Harvey as it dropped from the bur- glar’s nerveless clasp, and the young man dealt his opponent a single blow on the nape of the neck, under which Nelson fell like a log, Then Harvey bounded like a deer toward his remaining adversaries, waving the slung-shot and crying: ** Double-bank me, will you? Look out!” He ran full speed on Buck Jarvis, and the big bully turned and ran to one side, The second man, a sbort, square-built fellow with a determined jaw, met Harvey fairly and both struck at each other. Harvey saw the blow coming just in time to stop ” own and change it to a parry as he passed. The two leaden bullets clashed together, and then, with an active turn of bis own wrist, the young man brought his weapon on the back of is opponent’s hand, disabling it for a moment, and extorting a grunt of pain. The next moment he had executed the same trick as be had on the first man, mastering one wrist with his left hand and plying the other rapidly. | t takes very little work with the slung-shot to do the business, and three blows had not passed when Harvey’s foe sunk on the ground sense- less, when the young man felt a blow behind him that struck him on the shoulder, nearly breaking his collar-bone, and realized that he had let Buck Jarvis steal a march on bim, He did not stop and turn to fight, for it flashed over him that would be useless; bu! instinctive- ly he threw himself forward as if falling, whirled over on bis back and began to kick yvio- lently, just in time to catch Jarvis in the ribs with both heels, Had he remained erect he must have received a second blow, penalty on the head, which must have finished bim, but as it was, he knocked the breath out of Buck’s body for lon enough to enable himself to spring up and ge out of further harm’s way. Then, prinding bis teeth to keep down a groan of pain, he came at Buck once more, vengeance in bis eye, But Buck did not dare to face him fairly, He backed away, flourishing his weapon, and sat fe out: ‘You keep ’way from me or I’ll shoot.” ‘ _ As he spoke he put his left hand to his hip in search of a pistol: remembered that it was on the other side, and hurriedly changed his D The momentary indecision was fatal ate for, quick as a flash, Harvey was on bim, an had disabled his wrist with a blow, extorting a howl of pain, when the dude tripped up Buck by a sudden kick, and held the slung-shot over ve him ying “N in, or, by Heavens, I'll end all your villainies,” ow, Buck saw, quailed and faltered: . ‘* D’ye want to murder me? I cave.” ey turned him over unresistingly, and took the pistol from his pocket, ‘ ‘Thats safer in my charge than yours,” he said with cold sarcasm. ‘‘ Now get up and out of this, if yo.’re sensible.” ~ Buck Carvis scrambled up, grimacin with pain, and backed away, holding bis bart wrist and growling: ‘20 a ht, all right; I’ll be even with you yet fur th “You can do as i please about that,” said Harvey; ‘‘but all I’ve got to say is this: you kee > away from this house, if you value your life,” Buck Jarvis made no reply, but went to the hack and drove away down the street in the direction of ‘‘Murder Row,” picking up, on the way, his two battered companions, who began to recover slowly from the effects of their bbing. : As for Harvey, he went to the Somers House and called up to Katie: ‘‘Come down, Katie, and don’t be afraid, I’ve found Miss Nina for you.” Kate uttered a cry of joy and hurried to the door. Before entering, Harvey took a last glance down the street foamare urder Row. Ho naw the hack stop, and three men get out, and go into one of the shanties. Then the hack drove away, and he felt a thrill in bis heart as he looked at the sun, realized that darkness was coming on, a that the three villains were stil] in the neigh- torhood, with half a bundred more ready to o : e ee”) ee ee ee ~ > o, * * » comircbooks ae i” ‘ * - —_ 2) ~—_ ee eee ee =e Lt. aw 2X 2S; oe dy RPS A hte SY on —= = = A. am