Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 288 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

10 examine it until well out of the place; and hav- ing discovered what kind of a place it was, he kept his eyes warily about him, lest he be way- Jaid there in the yard, in broad daylight, by those who might suspect that he carried more money about him. On the street, as he moved away, he unfolded the piece of paper and read this astonishing line upon it: ““T am a prisoner in the house of Jacobs, the yank dealer, and my life is in danger! Save me if you can—any one!”’ “ Whoever this girl is which Daniels seems to think is Ori- ele St. Dyer—when I| know that Oriele St. Dyer Was with that S ptee bard back there, in the den, at Patterson Park at the moment Daniels thought he saw her—whoever she is, I think she is in danger—not already murdered, as Daniels apprehended. But I must take the stepI had one in regard to that check business, first. hen, if there is anything in this appeal for help» [ will investigate it.” traight to the eastern station on Bank street he went, and a few seconds later, wien he bad introduced himself to the captain—for of course he was not recognized in his uncouth disguise— the wires were notifying every bank in the city to be on the lookout fora Song with a particular check, a minute description of which was given, Long before the individual who was reason- ably supposed to be Robert Rathwaite bad com- pleted his “raising ” of the check in the private saloon, every paying teller in the city was on the alert for that check. From the station he telegraphed to his own agency and ordered a telegram to be sent to the chief of police of Chicago, inquiring regarding a supposed grain broker, Robert Rathwaite by name, and requesting any brief information that could be given regarding his character. **Now then,” he muttered, when this was at- tended to, “I shall investigate the peril of the young lady who seems to be menaced by the Villainous gaog of that junk-shop. Who isshe/— for I am satisfied that she cannot be Oriele St. Dyer.” And just at that moment it occurred to him that the note contained no signature. Perhaps it was not even the girl who was in danger of ae losing her life. Be it who it might, West resolved to thor- Paty oughly overhaul the building at the rear of the | ¢ Junk-shop. ms He .bad observed that the house had a side ‘* ard, and a high fence separated it from the ad- Joteling property. § It was no easy matter to gain ingress in broad daylight, But in the disguise of a rag-picker, he ad- vanced by an alley-way at the extreme rear, and by patient means at last found himself standing within the inclosure of the premises. “A Forward he could see the Jew, engaged with en some customers. Se No one appeared to be near. And not ten feet from him was a cellar door. th a final glance around, to make sure he was not observed, he stepped to the dive and raised one of the balves, for there was neither lock nor bolt upon it. An instant later he had disappeared sak ba oe and igniting a patent fuse, he took a brief survey of his surroundings, He wasina y nary cellar, and at one side were a s By thunder!” he exclaimed. r] down eee oe ee all was as still as death, he immedi- ately extinguished the fuse, after that hasty and keen gl Ascending these, he came to a door, and. | cautiously opening’ the ‘door, he stepped into a some of the comfort the Jew was accustomed to enjoy, (from bis ill- gotten: the detective at once concluded) x wr it was furnished in an almost extravagant n the center of the apartment was a large table, the brocade cover of which dropped oie to the floor. nbs «s And while the venturesome sleuth was paus- | ing there to take a cursory inventory of the 7a vy aware of it, would have caused him to debate whether he was as safe in his stealthy | --- @ntrance as he then supposed. A man in a garb that displayed every out- line of a half skeleton form hurriedly entered the junk-shop from the pte at the rear with- --- in two seconds after the detective had vanished down through the cellar door. He whispered something in the ear of the ron aw item was traispiring which, had he D the time with a customer. “Eo A bréath that was long and aspirative es- gapped the Israelite and his eyes rolled above | his beard in a comprehensive —. Stepping to one side of his littered shop he touched a little knob that was almost invisible in the wall, and the same faint, distant sound ate: » OF | tare gong bel was heard. oe fter sounding this secret bell, he withdrew from the sbop, leaving the skinny anatomy who ‘ wv had come in to wait upon the customer, ce about him, and groped toward | Jew, notwithstanding the latter was busy at- ——- CHAPTER XII. BURIED ALIVE, AS the detective paused to survey his sur- roundings, he heard footsteps approaching. His first impulse was to retreat down the stairs to the cellar; but in a second thought, he hurriedly advanced to the table and ensconced himself beneath it, being completely screened by the heavy and thick cover that draped tothe oor. Not a second too soon was his action. The door opened, and the voice of the Jew was heard addressing some one who accom- panied him: ‘Yahs—yahs, | wos tolt py Shack Limber dere wos @ mans gome py de pack way into t’e house. Ware he can be, you tink?’ ** He came in by the cellar?” **So say Shack Limber.” **T don’t believe everything Jack Limber says.” ** Why he should say a mans wos in t’e house?” The other who conversed with the Jew, though unseen by the detective, because of the thick- ness of the table cover, was recognized by him to be Pietro Idello. Idello now said: WF it is true, then the man must be after the ri, ne Rachel?’ **Bah! you might as well stop calling her Rachel now—you caanot deceive me as you are trying to.” ‘** Dot wos her name.” **] say—bah! You have trained her well; but neither you nor she can make a fool of me.” ‘* But I wos not try to make a fool mit you, Electro Pete. T’e girl wcs Rachel all t’e time —never wos anyt’ing else, so bellup me—” ‘Well, I have my own opinion. And I tell ive once for all, if she has not consented to go ack to Italy with me as my wife—which she is —before sundown of this day, I shall kill ber and float her body in the basin.” ‘* My tear Pietro, you baf t’e privilege of do- Electro Pete, the Man of Fire. | ' } ing as you shall want mit her; she is not my | bloot—she is a shackass dot she don’d take t’e chances she haf to go mit you ant get t’e in- heritance of t’e mans Catazky. Of she do dot, I wos in mit my share of t’e ooo At this point in the conversation, tive experienced a peculiar sensation. The voices seemed to be growing fainter and fainter, and the planking beneath him was trembling. This bad been the case for several seconds, but so absorbed was he with what the villains were saying, that he did not at first notice it. It could hardly be that some passing team on Thames street would cause the building to shake, as farin the rear of the {premises as if was. Something was wrong. And as he suddenly conceived the idea that he was sinking gradually downward, he felt a reasonable alarm. Fainter the voices of those from whom he had now learned that the girl had not yet been harmed. | Yes, he was sinking. Where was he going? Avery and all, slowly, almost noiselessly—down, own! Fully realizing his strange peril, he resolved upon a bold move for his life. He threw up the side of the cloth opposite to where he knew the two were standing, and with revolver in hand started to leap fort But be was too late. | He gazed only into darkness, — And at the same time a fiendish laugh came from above. ‘‘Ha, ha, hal you spy! You thought you could sneak into this house and pry into the secrets of your betters. We knew that you were under the toble; you sealed your doom b trying to hide there. Look around you while there is still some light, for you see the trap we the detec- have you in—for presently there will be no light. And you may shriek till your a burst, without one sound escaping from the pit that is your tomb. I would like to know w you are before you die; but I can forego that, when I know that never again will you see the light of day after we close this hole over you, Ha, ha, ha!” . ** How you wos, my frient?’ mocked the Jew, maliciously, over the edge of the infernal trap, And the Italian again: “Others and smarter than you have tried to enter the secret places of the wharf rats of Locust Point; and they—like you now—only fell upon their doom. Good-by, and a pleasant: death to you. For you are to die by starvation, do you hear?” Not an answer did the detective make. He was availing of the little light that entered at the edge of the trap above, to make a rapid note of his surroundings; and the glances he pe about yielded an alarming discourage- ment. The table was rested on an immense screw— the planking under the table, rather—and this screw worked down below the surface of the cellar-like the table then was as if it simply was set there ——.—< ———e—— oO OC - on the earthen floor, its springs concezled, its management an unsolvable mystery. ‘*Goot-by, my frient,” whined Jacobs, and at the same time another piece of battened plank- ing, which worked on a slide, was drawn over the top of the trap, shutting him in utter dark- ness. He beard a bolt pushed into its place. “Well,” he muttered, with a long breath, “this is about the worst fix lever wasin. The wharf rats of Locust Point, eh? So there is an organization of some kind so called. A gang of villains, of course. I wonderif there is no possi- ble way to get out of this. I cannot feel that I am to end my life in a hole like this.” He began groping about, and as his hands felt over the solid masonry on all sides, his heart gradually sunk within him, for hopeless indeed did his case seem. While the foregoing events had been trans- piring, Mark Daniels had not been idle. He sought the room of Timothy Dimble at the hotel. ‘*Take courage, my friend,” he said to the drummer, whom he found in a state bordering on delirium. ‘** Have you discovered anything?” **T have seen one of the lost diamonds—” “You have! And why did you not bring it to me?” ‘Slowly, if you please, I have no desire to bring back a single diamond of the lot that were stolen—I want all. And I want the thief as much as | want the gems. I merely thought I would tell you this much to ease your mind a little. I think we shall soon get back your property.” ) In the office of the hotel Daniels met the pro- prietor. ‘* Any progress?” asked the latter, anxiously. ‘Yes, a little. By the by, have you noticed that Italian professor around to-day ?” ‘*He has not been out of the hotel, for we sent up his breakfast and several glasses of wine during the morning. Why do you ask about him?—Ah, there he goes this minute.” He nodded toward the entrance, out of which the Italian was just then passing. ‘I forgot to ask you what name he is régis- tered under.” **Calis Alfiero.” Here the detective’s attention was drawn + Sa a young man ae sat leisurely before 6 great stove, perusing the daily paper. Robert Rath waite. f Pes The detective advanced and politely laid a touch upon his shoulder. ‘*Ab, how do you do?” Rathwaiteimmediate- ly exclaimed. ‘ You are one of the gentlemen, who, [ understood, were detectives.” *'Yes. Il would like to have a word with you.” “Certainly, sir. Have you discovered any- thing about the missing young lady?” ‘*Itis of her I wish to speak. I think you can throw some light upon a matter that is at “Se a considerable mystery! ‘*What kind of a game are you up to?’ Daniels put, bluntly. ‘*“Game? I don’t understand.” **Come, what is the use of beating about. Let me tell you, there is that now in the hands of our mene which may involve Miss St. Dyer in an ignominious death, There is some great mystery in connection with her; and you must be cognizant of its secret. If you want us de- tectives to be of service to you and her, you would do well to place us in possession of all the facts.” . ““My dear sir, I assure you, I haven't the slightest idea what you are driving at,” rejoin- ed the young man in a genuine surprise that was a puzzler to the detective. | ees y is Miss St. Dyer hiding, and where is she “ Heaven knows, sir, if I could find her at this minute I would be a tg happy man. I have had as much as | could do to remain quiet here; but [have confidence in you detectives, and bave been curbing my desire to try and find her through my own efforts.” | **You saw Miss St. Dyer this morning.” ** What in the world—” | “You were with ber at Patterson Park,” For a moment Rathwaite appeared to be too completely amazed for speech. ‘‘As God is my judge, I was not!” he ex- claimed, after seemingly striving for breath. “You are willing to swear this?” “Tam. AsTI told you before, I came on here to meet Miss St. Dyer, who is my promised bride, and we were to be wedded as soon as I arrived, Her disappearance is as much a mys- tery tome as to you; I have not laid eyes on her for a month or more.” ‘*This is the truth?” “| swear it.” There could be no doubting Rathwaite’s sin- on: mang a few more words, the detective do- parted. He was a much perplexed mam His partner, West, had asserted that he saw Rathwaite in the k that very morning in lace, out of sight. The position of | company with Oriele St. Dyer. Rathwaite’s manner was certainly a trutbful <€om eS ,OO (E Gon a ———— \