Beadle's Dime Library No. 27 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

| | | ee eel SOR tGP en - aS 6 sewing-machine. She expects to get some lace- colar work this spring, and if she does, she’ll be oble to earn from six to eight dollars.” ‘* Do you ever go to any amusements?” ‘“Oh, yes; I go to a lecture at the Cooper Institute once in a while, Mary and I, with Peter; then the jrirl stopped suddenly and her face flushed up. Weathers felt a violent attack of jealousy seize upon him. “Peter! so red?” “Why, Peter is the porter where I work; he lives down-stairs, and all the girls make fun of me about Peter, saying he’s my beau, and they’ve got me so that I can hardly bear the sight of him; but there’s another Peter that I love, though,” and Chocolate made a dive behind the stove and produced a lanky, sleepy-looking gray-and-white cat. ‘This is the Peter that I like, and you ought to see us play on the floor sometimes. I know it isn’t very ladylike, but it’s real good fun. Do you know, I'm afraid to whip Peter, even when he’s bad, for fear that he won't love me.” Then she held the cat up to her and caressed it with her cheek, Weathers envied the cat, And so the evening passed away. At ten o'clock, the two young men departed, agreeing to return in three nights with the measures for the shirts. **Oh, I’m a fool!” Stewart muttered, as they de- scended into the street. * How so?” “T love this girl.” * Well, then, ’'m another, for Chocolate has cap- tured me!’’ Weathers rejoined, with droll serious- ness. Who’s Peter, and what makes your face CHAPTER VIII, JOHN BLAINE AGAIN, ERNESTINE recognized the face and form reflected in the large mirror in an instant. She had not for- gotten John Blaine, though years had come and one since she had looked upon him. Blaine was dressed in a plain, dark suit, and stood in the center of the room, apparently listening, as if to ascertain whether there was any likelihood of anybody else entering the apartment. His mind satisfied on that score, he turned his at- tention to the girl. A single glance he gave at the mirror, and in the pale face and horror-stricken eyes reflected there, he plainly read that his presence in the room was known. ‘*Hirnestine,”’ he said, in a low, cautions tone, as if afraid that the very walls might overhear and de- nounce him. Slowly, like one under the fascination of some ter- rible spell, the girl wheeled around in her chair and faced bin’ ‘““You remember me?” he asked, as if half in doubt. ** John Blaine.’’ Slowly and sadly the words came from the white lips. “You have disrhissed your maid for the night?’ he questioned. ae es.”? 2 : there any probability of her returning?’’ Oo. Painful was the effort to speak, and the voice of the fair young girl sounded hoarse and unnatural. ‘Ts there any one etse in the house that is likely to come to night before you go to bed?” “*T—] think not.” A moment John Blaine looked at the white, horror- stricken face, and a touch of pity moved even his iron-like’heart. ** Don’t fear,’’ he said, slowly; ‘there is no dan- ger. Why, what are you staring at? Your face is as white as a sheet. Do I look like a ghost, or does the very sight of me chill the blood in your veins?” “Yeg,”’ the girl answered, slowly. He looked at her for a moment in a way that plainly showed that he was annoyed at the frank ex- pression, Then, as a sudden thought seemed to come to him, he went with noiseless steps to the door and turned the key softly in the lock, “There, now we are safe from interruption,’’ he said, and he took a chair from its place by the wall, drew it to the center of the room and sat down, fac- ing the girl. "She never moved; had it not been for the tremu- lous breath that swayed the soft, white bosom up and down, one might have imagined that it was a women of wax who sat within the embrace of the arm-chair, so white were her features, so motionless her figure. “T have been hiding in the closet waiting for you to come up,” he said, as ifin explanation. “I sup- pose that my appearance here to-night is something ofa surprise to you?” “No.” The word came softly yet coldly from the white, wax-like lips. The girl’s face, her voice and the quivering bosom all revealed how intense was the agony which she was enduring. ‘*Ernestine,"’ and his voice, ever low and musical, now became doubly so, as he spoke with tender ex- pression, “‘poor child, do not fear me.” And he moved his chair nearer to the girl and took her soft, white palns in his. There was but little contrast between the jeweled fingers of the dainty woman and the taper, girl-like hands of the escaped convict. His touch sent a cold shiver through her frame, and a long-drawn breath came from her lips, ‘** You are in an agony of fear,”’ he said, slowly. * Yes,” she murmured, ‘* At my presence?” ‘ Yos,”’ again the low, expressionless reply. ‘“Why should you fear me? Do you think that I come to do you harm?” he questioned, abruptly. She shook her head. “You are right; I love you too well to thinkof | harming you,” he said, quietly. ‘* You say that my appearance here to-night did not surprise you, and yet it is nearly five years since we have met.”’ “*T saw the newspaper which contained an account of your escape," she answered, slowly, and speak- ing only with great effort. ‘And you naturally thought that I would pay you a visit, eh?’ ae Yes.”’ “You were quite correctin your calculation, and now I suppose you can guess orcs { have come?” Again the girl bowed her head in assent. “Tt’s was a ticklish job to get at you,”’ Blaine said, reflectively. “1 did not want to come to the front Beadle’s Dime Library. door and inquire for you, for I am not exactly dressed in the style required by fashionable socie- ty. I thought, too, that the chances were ten to one that I should not be able to gain admittance to you, and even if I had, for a shabbily-dressed fellow like myself to have called upon you, might have given rise to remarks, and just at the present time, I am not desirous of attracting any attention to myself. There are some inquisitive gentlemen in New York who would give a trifle to lay their eyes upon me just about this time. I have become a wolf now, and prefer the night to the day. By the way, hasn't it been a source of wonder to you as to what had-become of me during all these years?” ‘I thought that you were dead,’’ she replied. ‘**Men of my stamp never die; they are like a cat, gifted with nine lives, and like that animal too, when they fall, they generally land upon their feet, No door ever yet closed upon me in this world, but that another one opened to receive me onthe instant. As you will perceive, I had good reason for not ringing at “your door, so I quietly watched my opportunity and sneaked in by the alley. I knew the house of old, though it is five years since I set foot in it, and I managed to get up-stairs to this room without being seen by a single soul. You were absent. I heard the sound of music coming from the parlor and naturally guessed that you were there; so I con- cealed myself in your closet and waited for you to come. Your maid came within an ace of discover- ing me once, too, which would have given rise to a very unpleasant affair; but, luckily, I had got behind the dresses at the further end of the closet, and so escaped her observation. Let me see,” and he look- ed around him thoughtfully, “it was in this ver room that I bid you good-by, wasn't it? How well remember it. Ernestine, you were a beauty then, though hardly more than a child, but you were a woman in sense and intelligence. The few years that have passed have not changed you a great deal, my beauty.’’ And, as he finished his speech, he leaned forward, took her cheeks between his yalms, drew her head down to him and kissed the full, rich li beats were wont to be so red and were now so white. Submissive as a child, she yielded to his caress, and yet, had her will been consulted, the chilling em- brace of the coiling serpent would have been far more welcome. * You’re a good girl,”’ Blaine said, the fascinating, winning smile, that was so dangerous, upon his face, and then his hand toyed carelessly with the shining, golden locks that floated down over the girl's shoul- ders. ‘* By the by, where were you about two years ago? Were you ont of the city?” “Two years?” and the girl reflected; ‘tyes, in Eu- rope. I returned about eighteen months ago.” ‘Ah, that accounts for it,’’ Blaine said, thought- fully. ‘“‘I mean that that accounts for my not being able to reach you, Just about two years ago I was sent to Sing-Sing,’’ then he noticed the slight shud- der that quivered through the girl’s frame, and guessed the cause. “Oh, I was innocent of the crime charged upon me,” he cried, quickly. ‘“ But at that time, I was taken ata disadvantage. I had run out of money; you were away, and, in fact, 1 had no friend at hand who would aid me, so by false swearing and lack of funds on my part to fee skill- ful lawyers, I got five years in Sing-Sing. But, like Jack Sheppard, the prison’s not yet built that can hold me. A friend came back; I had left a message for that friend who was faithful to the trust, and so, with gold, I cut a way through iron bars and a stone wall, And now I come to you for assistance.” “To me?” ** Yes; who else should Icome to?” he asked, mean- ingly. e Tue,” and the fair head sunk down in despair. “Oh, come, cheer se we he said, again caressing the rolden hair; ‘‘a few hours at most and I will take he dark cloud of my presence from the sunlight of your life,”’ A deep sigh from the girl’s lips was the only an- swer, “And now I'll tell you whatI want. The detec- tives are on my track; the man that escaped with me has been recaptured and blabbed all he knew in regard to my disguise and purposes, I have come into this house, John Blaine; I must go out as some- body else. The bloodhounds are close upon me, and I must double on them or Iam lost. This house as an asylum is one point gained: they will never think of looking for me here. Escaped convicts do not usually select Madison avenue palaces as hiding- places. I must remain here with you to-night, and to-morrow you must find me some place where I can remain concealed for a few days until the present hot chase is over and the scent is cold. In the mean time you can go out and procure me a disguise; then I want a thousand dollars or so to take me out of the country. It will be a very cheap way of getting rid of me, my dear. Don’t trouble yourself about my accommodation here to-night. Just give me one of the pillows from the bed, and I will camp down here on the sofa; it will be far more comfortable than my econvict’s bunk at Sing-Sing. You can watch over we while I sleep, and, mind, if I am discovered, it’s Sing-Sing and hard labor for three years.” Blaine rose from his seat, took a pillow from the bed and adjusted it upon the lounge, then extended himself uponit. The girl never stirred from her place, but remained motionless as a statue. “Now, go into your dressing-room, put on a wrap- per, then liedown on your bed. Your face in the morning must not ‘betray that you have passed a sleepless night.” The girl obeyed without a word. When she came from the dressing-room, the costly silk changed for a loose dress, again he spoke. “Come and kiss me good-night, then turn down the gas, and go to sleep if you can.” Twenty minutes later John Blaine slept as calmly as a child, while Ernestine, with an aching heart, prayed for the morning to come. CHAPTER IX. THE VIRGINIA COLONEL. “Youna man, I’ll trouble you for that leetle pack- age I left with you for safe keeping,” said a medi- um-sized man, dressed rather meanl , Speaking to one of the elerks in the office of the St. Nicholas Hetel, This was on the evening after the one on which —————————————————— —— or Blackie had been received as a guest in the Van Tromp mansion. ‘* Yes, sir,” said the clerk, casting a rapid glance at the speaker, and unable to remember of ever see- ing him before. ‘‘ What name, sir?” “Colonel Richard Campbell, Competition, Vir- ginia; I had room 440, ‘*You must be mistaken, sir,’’ said the hotel clerk suspiciously. ‘‘I remember the gentleman that i gave 440 to last night, and I am sure that you are not the Pari oe **T didn’t say that I had it last night,’ the Virginia colonel said, eh “Tf you will oblige me by stating what you didi say, sir?’’ observed the clerk, with elaborate polite- ness; he didn’t relish the tone or manner of the stranger, “‘T said that my name was Colonel Richard Camp- bell, of Competition, Virginia, and that I had room 440, young man,” the Virginian said, slowly and dis- tinctly; and as he spoke, he looked the clerk in the eve in a manner which was not at ail agreeable to that gentleman, who had been used to bullying un- fortunate travelers pretty much as he pleased, and he especially disliked being addressed by such a fa- miliar term as ‘‘ young man.” but there was a certain something in the eye of the colonel which said ‘fight quite distinctly, so the clerk contented himself with a scornful glance, and commenced to examine the hotel register. He ran his eyes rapidly over the page devoted to the preceding day, then the next one, and so on for about five days, but no Colonel Richard Campbell could he find. He instantly set the defiant stranger down in his own mind as being one of that peculiar class common to the metropolis, and not unknown in other large cities of our land, usually termed a * fraud,” ‘See here, I can't find your name on the register,” he said, and he eyed the stranger as insolently as he dared; for, though the colonel was far from be- ing a big man, yet the brawny shoulders and well- built form told of strength and power. ** So I perceive,” the colonel said, not in the least ruffled. ‘How far back have you looked?” ‘I have looked at all the arrivals for five days, gir"? ‘*Further back yet, young man; ‘go for it.’ ”’ Neither the colonel’s tone, the offensive “ young man” a aes aie nor the slang phrase, added to the mocde smper of the clerk, but he obeyed the in- junction, and consulted the register again. He went back a week, then to the first of the month, and then gave it up in despair. *T can’t find it here, sir!’ he exclaimed sharply. ‘*So I perceive,’ said the colonel, thoughtfully. “How far back does that register go?” ‘* First of January, ’seventy-three.”’ “Yes, Iwas here before that time,” the stranger said, apparently mi ig reflection. The clerk got out the register for the past year, “Now if you will oblige me with the exact month and day, sir?’ the clerk said. “The second of December,’ replied the stranger. i And still the search was fruitless, “You must have made some mistake, sir; I can't find your name,” the clerk said, very much annoyed ;) “ besides, I don’t remember you at all.” a ‘You wasn’t the man who gave me the rogm.” * Ah! I thought not,” and the clerk plainly implied by his manner his doubts as to whether the stranger had ever had a room in the hotel at all. ‘How long have you been here?’ asked the col- onel, suddenly. “Wighteen months, sir,” replied the clerk, short- Vi Ah! it was before your time.”’ ‘What!’ and the clerk looked at the quiet stran- ger in utter astonishment. “Tl was here December second, eighteen-seventy- one,’’ said the colonel, The clerk relieved his mind by swearing quietly to himself for a moment, then he again addressed the applicant: ; You want a package that you left here two years ago?” Bo Yes.” “Why didn’t you a so at first, and not put me to all this trouble?’ he demanded, indignantly, “What are you paid for, sonny?’ asked the stranger, coolly, And there was great probability that something more than words would have passed between the two had not the approach of one of the proprictors just at that time prevented it. The clerk cooled his wrath, and turning to the land- lord, made known to him the request of the stranger, “Ah, yes, I think I remember something about a package being left here and never called for,” the andlord said, thoughtfully. “Of course it necessary for you to give full particulars regarding it, as after this lapse of time it will be plan inipos- sible for any one to identify you,” he said to the stranger. . The package is a large i envelope, directed to Colonel Richard Campbell, Competition, Virginia. It’s sealed with red wax, and the seal has got this stamp on it,” and the stranger held up his little finger, on which was a seal-ring that on its surface bore the semblance of a bear's paw. Then he took up a pen and acard, and wrote the same inscription ae it which he had declared the envelope bore. “The package was directed by me,” he said. ‘* You can compare the handwritings, and see if they agree.”’ ‘Yes, sir.’ Then the landlord directed the clerk as to the particular part of the safe where the pack-} age had been placed. “Quite a long time to leave a package uncalled for,’ he observed, “particularly if it contains ar ticles of value.” “ Cireumstances prevented me from calling |e fore,” the colonel replied; “ but, landlord, you ought toremember me. Don’t you remember that Lear. story? HowI got hold of the tail in the cave cui! was afraid to let fo for fear she'd turn rount! Rls claw me, and then had a rough-and-tumble fig!.t W's her in the dark?” “Yes; it appears to me I do remember; doy n somewhere in Virginia, wasn’t it?” the landlord said, thoughtfully. me Yes: on the old Blue Ridge range, headwaters of the Staunton river.” *“ Ah, yes; [do remember,” $s) — comicboo