Beadle's Dime Library, Vol. III, No. 29 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

Tiger Dick, the Far A moment | warning look from Tiger Dick, and tried to dissuade his hand hovered over one of the glasses, and alight | him from continuing; but thed waiter and started for his companions. powder droppedin and immediately dissolved. Billy ‘passed the liquor round, and as Charley had refused ‘ only to induce red to do the same, he accepted | his, Fred tossed his off at a gulp. Then he smacked his lips and said: “That was a double dose, wasn’t it?” “Oh, it’s reg lar p*ison,”’ replied Saunderson, laugh- ing. ** Whose turn next?” nd the game was resumed. As the evening advanced, Fred ordered liquor, al- though Charley positively refused to drink any more, Again Billy started off to the bar to light a cigar. While he was gone, Charley took the opportunity to say: “Fred, don’t drink any more. You have had enough,” ‘*Nonsense, Charley. You know water's a very unwholesome beverage on such a warm night as this, and I’m as thirsty as a fish.” ‘Fred,’ persisted Charley, “ we're old friends, and you won't get vexed at me for speaking my mind. jut I wish you wouldn't go with Saunderson so much. You know that his company isn’t very elevating, to say the least of it,”’ **Relieve your mind, old fellow. I'll never find fault with youfor it. But you know you always had very straight-laced notions about some things. Now what’s the harm in Billy’ Ain’t he a jolly fellow?’ “That's just it, Fred. He’s too jolly for fellows that care any thing about ee ee to say noth- ing about their own respectability.” “Too severe by half, my dear boy. But here he comes. Discuss the matter with him.” Billy now came up; and as he had been watching the faces of the friends, he guessed pretty nearly what they had been talking about. ** Kick, old hoss,” he said, mentally; “‘ but ve got the gentle Freddy under my thumb. Bet your bot- tom dollar on that!” Fred began to show unmistakable signs of intoxi- cation, and Charley tried to get him to go home, but did not sneceed. salary the interest in billiards flagging, Billy proposed that they “ go a-marching.”’ red,” he said, as they emerged from the billiard saloon, ** my grandmother's waiting for me further down the street, Ifeelitin my bones. Will you go along? It would be a pity to leave the dear old soul waiting any longer.” “No, no, Fred. Hurry home,” said Charley, tak- ing his friend’s arm. ‘Glad to have you go with us; but if you've en- gagements, why, of course, we'll make allowances, and all that sort of thin ,’ said Saunderson to Char- ley, taking I’red’s other arm. By-by, my noble friend, Fred and I are going to make pa night of it, Eh, Freddy, my infant?” ‘*What’s the use, Brewster? We're on the war- path: why not fight it out?” said Fred. ‘Come home, Fred,” said his friend, ‘It’s late enough already.” ‘“* Look-a-here,”’ cried Mr. Saunderson, ‘how long have you been Fred’s ma, that you undertake to drum him in at set hours? I suppose you mean to put him to bed before sundown after this?” Like every inebriate, Fred fired up at this imputa- tion of dependence. ‘**Confound it, Mr. Brewster,"’ he cried, with sud- den heat, “if you want to go home, why, go home and be hanged to you! But I feel quite competent to manage my own affairs, yet awhile. I think you're pretty free with cee advice, anyway, for one that hasn’t been asked.” “That’s a trump card,’’ cried Saunderson, F provingly, ‘*No aunties watching over their moth- er’s darling boy in our crowd. chassez !”’ And arm-in-arm they started off, leaving Charley burning with indignation. “If it wasn’t for her,”’ he muttered, ‘I'd drop him altogether. But I hate to see her brother going to the dogs like that, Well, I don’t suppose I can do much after this. He's provoked, and won’t listen to a word from me.” Meanwhile, Billy and Fred strolled onward until they found themselves in River street, At the door of ** The J ungle,”” Billy commanded: * Vile left!’ ‘* Hallo! what's this?” asked Fred, stopping on the threshold. ‘ Life, my bosom friend—life! We've got to see it all some time. Why not begin to-night? We'll just goin and look on, you know.” He led Fred in, resisting feebly; ordered drinks and then pushing open a green-baize door, ushered him into an inner room. The reader is, doubtless, through his reading, fa- miliar enough with the appointments and operation of a faro-bank to render particular description un- necessary. As our friends entered, Tiger Dick glanced at them with the ordinary interest in new arrivals, and then went on shuffling the cards, without aneneng ae aay sign of recognition with Billy Saunderson. e la ter stood aloof with Fred and began to explain the game to him. Games of chance, like trials of skill, have a fascin- ation for most, if not all men. Who, at our State Fairs, has not vied with the oldest turfman in his eagerness to catch the exact instant of time when the winning horse passed under the wire; and who has not felt a glow of sympathy with the fortunate win- ner at. some lottery? As the players flushed with success or paled at de- feat, Fred drew near with awakening interest. “Hurrah! let's put on a quarter, just to try our luck!” cried Billy, with apparent enthusiasm, He suited the action to the word, but Fred hung The cards were soon out, and Billy lost. Ma _‘*Gads!” he cried, with well-feigned chagrin, ‘‘the tiger chaws up everything yon put into his meat-trap. Well, I'll come n. Double and quits.” He placed half a dolar on the board, and won. “Whoop!” he cried, in evident delight. ‘‘ That'll buy five glasses of beer, at any rate. Try your ot Fred; try your luck, old fellow. The gods w food to a couple of innocents like us.”’ Fred tried, at first timidly; then with success came greater boldness, coupled with eagerness, and he played for heavier stakes, When he had played for some time, Billy got a - - - ee ee eee ce -_- . —_—— os rugged rs ed had pos- session of his brain, and he obstinately persisted. When Billy finally prevailed upon him, he went away with a hnndred dollars more in his pocket than when he entered the saloon. ‘**Egad! my infant, you’ve outgrown your swad- dling-clothes!” cried Billy slapping him on the back, *“ Who'd go to Congress after that? Salar grabs are allin the shade. But you always was a lucky card, red. Blow me, if I don’t believe you was born with your mouth chuck-full of spoons—gold and silver and everything else!’’ And Fred exemplified the truth of the adage: ** When wine’s in, the wit’s out." He felt complacent under the praise of his false friend. CHAPTER I. A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING. WueEn May Powell drove up to the bank, on the day subsequent to that on which Cecil first saw Tiger Dick, she found her father at his desk; but with that exception the bank was deserted. A look of disap- Seeger flitted over her face at not seeing Cecil; yut, summoning a cheerful smile, she turned to her father. “Come, papa mine, put up your pen, Haven't you written long enough? Mercy! I should have my fin- gers all over ink, with half so much writing.” Mr. Powell looked up with a smile. “Sit down a moment, pet,” he said, ‘ Here is the last magazine.” He returned to his writing, and May, sett her- self comfortably in an arm-chair, began to read, “Well, May,” said her father, at last, putting his n on the rack, “Ihave an appointment just now. ont you want to drive about a little while, and then call for me tise in half an hour?” “Oh, [have something interesting, that will keep me half an hour, if you will be ready in that time. y will wait here until you come back. Are you going far? Take the grays, if you are.”’ “Allright. I guess Iwill, Amuse yourself until I come back.”’ The sound of the carriage-whéels had hardly died out, when May let the m ine fall into her lap, and cast a wistful look at Cecil’s unoccupied desk. “If he would only come in,” she murmured, and a look of anxious thought came into her eyes. She arose and went to the window and looked out on the street. Suddenly she started, and a flush of jleasure came into her cheeks. The object of her or. was crossing the street toward her. 1 Cecil! how I love you!" she murmured, with clasped hands, devouring him with her eyes. Then, with a sudden thought, she stepped back from the window, and looked about fora place to hide, so as to give himasurprise. Her eyes fell upon the half-open door of a wardrobe, and the next in- stant she had eepnes in, all a-flutter with pleasure, leaving the door slightly ajar, so that she could watch him through the crevice, She had hardly secreted herself, when she heard him insert his latch-key. Then he entered and went straight to his desk. His back was toward her, and May couid watch him, without danger of detection. en he had been writing some time, and seemed deeply absorbed in his work, she tip-toed up to him, until she could look over his shoulder. Before him lay a letter in her father’s handwriting, and on another sheet of paper he had copied the nature several times, ‘ Cecil!” She laid her hand upon his shoulder. With a ery of aftright, Cecil leaped to his feet, shaking her off violently. Then he stood before her pale and trembling. ‘“Why, what's the matter, Cecil?” she said, sur- prised at his excitement. “Oh, is it you, Mayy”’ he replied, with a sickly , smile, ‘*How you startled me. I couldn’t imagine wWhile if HG hered up the papers and es ng, he gathered up the an slid them into his desk, burning the key. Ac ** How did you get in so quietly? I didn’t hear the grays drive up, nor the door open,”’ he said, turning toward her. » ah that’s a secret,’’ replied May, laughing archly. He saw that she had no suspicion of the nature of his i ‘a ; :. are you 0 keep secrets from me, m own?!” he asked, Soading her to a seat on the sofa. : “f have a perfect right to, yet awhile,” she said, laughing and blushing. And then with a sudden soberness and anxiety, mg with deprecation for her boldness: ‘ But am I the only guilty one?” Cecil took her hand, and a look of pain shot athwart his face. He hesitated a moment before . and then said: ‘*May, Iknow to what you refer. I confess that are pee al py of the send ee! shocks of my life, and the of your co suddenly upon me to-day shows that I am not yet over in o He hesitated again, and seemed struggling with painful thoughts, ** Never d, Cecil, dear,” said as Py no pone am sorry that I pained you with my foolish curiosity.’ “No, no, May. You have a right to some sort of an explanation ; and I cannot well tell you all the circumstances.’ ro he hesitated in embarrassment. ‘**Don’t say another word. Idon’t care a about it,” said May, with a young girl’s réady implicit confidence in her lover, “M ,’ said Cecil, earnestly, still holding her hands, “in the innocence and retirement of your life, hedged around by the protecting care of ts and friends, you have no conception of the wicked- ness that a man has to encounter out in the worldy The innocent are often called upon to suffer for the acts of the guilty. Will you be content to know that the trouble is averted? I would not sully the white- ness of yous pure spirit by telling hes its nature, even the knowledge of which must bring contamina- tion withit.” . ' She drew down his head and kissed his pale cheek. ‘“*My poor Cecil,’ she said, “forgive me for add- ing to your suffering by senseless curiosity. Iam glad that the trouble, whatever it is, threatens you no longer. Try and forget it, dearest.” ‘*“And you are satisfied with knowing simply that O King. a= 7 not been idle. Billy Sa ——wy itis through no fault of mine?’’ he asked, drawing her toward him. “ Yes, Cecil; perfectly.” “My darling!’ he said, fondly, kissing her brow and stroking her hair, The phaeton rolled up to the door, Cecil accom- nied May to the carriage, handed her in beside her ather, took a smiling leave of them, and returned to the office. * Perdition!’ he muttered; “what a narrow es- cape. But she suspects nothing. Perhaps she did not notice what I was doing? I am treading on dan- rerous ground, with pitfalls on every side; but, curse t! IT’i win all or lose all!” After dark, while walking an obscure street in disguise—for it would jeopard all of his plans to have the shadow of suspicion thrown upon him, ly being seen in questionable company—le was overtaken Ly Tiger Dick, according to previous arrangement. “Well, have you got the little joker?’ asked the Tiger, playfully. * There's op a that is to damn Fred Powers or myself,’’ said Cecil, pote rans ‘Tut! tut! man,” replied the Tiger. “Told up your head. Never say die—that’s my motto.” “That’s all very well; but I can tell you it’s no fool's game we are playing. I came within an ace of being detected in the very first step.” “The deuce you did! How did that happen?” “My precious sweetheart hid in the wardrobe at the bank—to give mea eae surprise, doubtless,” with a grimace—“and while I was preparing the paper I have just given you, came and peeped over my shoulder.” “Whew! And what did she say?” “Say? Nothing. she had had any suspicions, te don't suppose I'd be fool enough to persist in the slot?’ ; ‘*Of course not, But how did you pull the wool over her eyes?”’ ‘Why, I played the vole of a es Ye te persecuted for another’s fault, In carrying out the plot, I had to make a scarecrow of you; but I doubt whether I painted you any blacker than reality.” ‘Ha! ha!’’ laughed the Tiger. “A little smut more or less won't make any difference with your character or mine, will it? But how did the horns with which you were pleased to endow me account for what you were doing?” “It only accounted for a very natural pe of emotion, at her sudden announcement of herself. I confess that I jumped as if a small battery of howitzers had unexpectedly exploded at my feet, That was nervousness, consequent upon having met an old enemy on the evening previous. She had no uapicons with regard to the writing, if she noticed a . 8 it ‘“Ha! ha! ha! So she gave you a start, did she? Well, all’s well that ends well. By the way, I have underson has your future brother-in-law under his wing, and I expect to ex- tend the hospitalities of my house to in three or four hours from time. They are now out at the Dutch Gardens.” “Indeed? Have oe seen them?” ‘* Oh, no,” replied the Tiger, with a light laugh. Cecil turned upon him with a look of inquiry. “Very little goes on in which I have an interest, that I don’t get an inkling of, one way or another, said the Tiger, with a significant smile. “LT believe you,” replied Cecil, with a suppressed shudder, He felt that his own actions were constant- | ly under a special espionage, * Well,” pursued the Tiger, “‘you will be warned when this is cashed, and must be prepared for its ar- rival. By the way,I have another scheme on the boards, which, besides furthering this plot, prom. ises immediate results, in a uniary way. It's only in embryo now, but when oeee all the pins up, I'll let you know. Until then eu!”’ “Curse him!’ muttered Cecil, when the Tiger was gone; “his brain is ever teeming with devilment, I wonder what is coming next.” Ashe walked on, his mind turned to a feature of his plot in which the Tiger was not embraced, ‘There is one step that must pot be neglected,” he mused, “I must repair the blunder of losing my head, when Florence rejected my love. I should have kept friends with her, at any cost.” He had an ee pact a day or two later, when he met her at Mr. Powell's residence, Coming upon her in the garden, he detained her, as she was about to turn away, to avoid meeting him. “ thorp,”’ he said, humbly, “I believe that you will be generous enough to accept an apol- or my rudeness to you, two or three days since, I that you will let the sufferings of the moment pl my excuse, If you would have evidence of its tensity, it has left its marks in my face and in the weakness of my yet tremulous frame. Such a mo- ment comes to a man but ence in o lifetime,” He stood before her ap ntly bowed with hu- miliation, yet quivering with suppressed emotion not daring to look at her. His cheeks were pale and thin, his eyes sunken, and his hands trenrulous with the unsteadiness of nervous weakness, He had the a of a man just en a bed of sickness; me Florence, not knowing the terror and suspense that had racked him, attributing it all to disappoint- ed love for her, did what any other woman woul have done—pitied him—forgave him. " “Mr. Beaumont,”’ she said, ‘I accept your apol- ogy; and to show you that 1 doso without reserve, I assure you that I shall always feel for you that frered you.” “Do you?” he asked, looking u eagerly. more than I deserve, I dared Sot hoe it, YBut, see- ing that you have volunteered, will you give me your hand onit?” *‘ Willingly,” she replied, extending her hand. He s forw with a glad sparkle in his e and a panting in his beats She felt bend tremble as ro rh closed over hers, Of what- ever falsehood and duplicity Cecil Beaumont was guilty, there was no question as to the genuine- ness of his love for Florence Goldthorp, **God bless Pee Miss Goldthorp!"’ he said, his eves humid with feeling, “Forgive me, if I say that every new phase of your character makes me love you more and more. Do not be offended. I may never speak soto you again. Will you permit me? —it’s a poor boon for such a love as mine.” He bent and touched his lips to her hand. Then he dropped it, and then, his eyes blood-shot and Gomilebooks GO! ~~