Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 292 — page 17: what you’re looking at

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

ale 4 Moke Horner, the Boss Roustabout. ————— —e —_—_— ever appeared at table, I must_bave seen and recognized you—though I actually believe you have made some attempt at disguising yourself! Ha! is it a lover that I see--in fancy--betore me?” It was a very clumsy attempt at raillery, but the poor woman evidently took his tragic ut- terance for genuine, and she clung to his neck closer than ever, eagerly exclaiming: “Oh, Marcus! you know better! You know that I have only your image in my heart—that I can never love any other man! You know this—don’t you, dear?’ Indeed he did, better far than those poor uivering lips could tell him just then, but the ancy seemed to bim an admirable one for his present purpose, and he improved it, ‘‘An hour ago, 1 could have taken an oath you did, without the slightest doubt or hesita- tion, but now—if so, why are you here, in, dis- uise, when I left you safe in Orleans, Rose? f you have not betrayed my trust—aave not fled with a fayored lover—” With a swift motion her little hand was placed over his lips, cutting short bis cruel speech. And there was a trace of indignation in her tones as she uttered: ‘Stop! not even you can couple my name with such burning shame! You know that I have not—that I never had a_ lover other than yourself!” Gideon Gillespie gazed steadily into the up- turned face for a few moments, then uttered a short, disagreeable laugh. ¥ ‘‘Deny that you are Mrs. Mareus Dingeon? My dear girl, I'd take a solemn oath to that effect on a stack of Bibles tall enough to serve one as a ladder to visited the moon up yonder!” ‘* Yet you cruelly deceived her into the be- lief that you were single, and as such you won her love. You deserted me for nearly two months, and it was only when that cruel letter came that [ even suspected your treachery—that I for the first time doubted the perfect truth of your statement that important business called you from the city! Even then I would not believe the vile charge brought against you, until it was proven beyond all possibility of mistake,. 1 went to the house mentioned in the letter. I found them awaiting your coming to refute those heavy charges and clear your fair fame. I found a lovely woman who stood up proudly in your defense whenever the slightest slur was cast at your honor, and I loved her for it, even when she called me a liar as I showed the paper that proved my rigbteous claim upon you, asa wife!’ *‘And between you all, you made a very neat little hot bath for the devoted Marcus Dingeon, should be eyer turn up again!” Jaugh- ecl Gillespie, his eyes gleaming with exultation, ** How I wish I could bave been there to see!” ‘““Why were you not?” Rose suddenly de- manded,, ‘* You should have been! You were cruel to me, cruel to her, unjust to all!’ ‘*And so you fancied you would meet me dangling in the train of the lovely Drusilla, ‘¢So! the shoe is on the other foot, then? You | eh?’ believe of me what you scornfuily repudiate for yourself? You fancy lam running away with another woman, and hence you have donned this disguise, tbe more surely to discover my falsity? Is that it, Rose?” This was cutting dangerously close to the verge of the truto, but Gideon Gillespie had taken a comprehensive view of the facts, and be believed tbat he was still master of the situa- tion. With the gloom of night above and around them—with those madly -tumbling waters below—alone on the hurricane-dec*, with no eye to note, no hand to check—the un- scrupulous Villain felt that the game was still a winning one, + ‘*T did not follow you knowingly, Marcus,” quickly replied the woman, pipes cing with an earnestness which even be could not doubt was based on truth, ‘‘I never even suspected your presence aboard until less than an hour ago, when I chanced to see you with that woman and caught the sound of your voice.” ‘*You heard what we were talking about, of course?” slowly asked Gillespie, his right arm stealing around her waist as he cast a furtive lance at the water below, ‘“T could hear nothing connected, was the faint, trembling response. ‘I only caught a word or tro now and then above the roar of the wheels and the puffing of steam. I only knew you were pleading with ber—for her love —and you my lawfully wedded busband! ‘‘A mere flirtation, such as, I dare say, you have carried on with many a bandsome fellow when business called me out of the city,” lightly laughed the heartless man. ‘You know better than that, Marcus,” more in sorrow thaninanger, ‘Shall I tell you why I came aboard in this disguise, and why I have kept myself concealed so carefully?” ‘Of course! That’s what I’ve been trying to get at from the very first,” was the impatient retort. ‘*‘] came because I learned that she—Drusilla Ward—had secured passeae aboard, Iresolved to keep her in sight, believing that thus I would all the sooner find you!” ‘Pray explain your meaning a little more clearly, Rose,” he said, as she paused with a searching glance into his face. ‘‘ What reason had you for thinking pons ou would find me by keeping closer to Miss Ward than at home whered left you?” ‘You can ask this in such cool tones? Af- ter all that bas occurred? After giving cause for that shameful letter? After wooing a love- ly, innocent woman to become your wife—” ‘* Meaning yourself, my dear?” with a heart- less sneer. ‘*T] mean Drusilla Ward!” was the caer re- ply, as the poor woman gained strength from the very cruelty with which she was treated. ‘* You pretended to her that you were a single and-heart-free man. You wooed her, and in the end you gained her love—you went so far, even, as to have the wedding day set, or at least become formally engaged to her. And all the while you had a wife living in the same city!” “Wait a bit, my dear girl,’ with a short, ugly laugh. ‘‘ You are taking too much for ranted, perhaps. ou say you are married. , Lask the name of your busband?” She stared into his pale, hard-set countenance for a moment in silence, amazed at bis hardi- hood in thus casting doubt on ber words, which no man in all the world better knew to be sim- le truth itself. Unflinchingly be encountered het steady gaze, and aah that he really waited her answer, she added: : “Dare you deny that I am your wife, Mar- cus Dingeon?” 2 eh leet eit rats ee ————— ee ._—200000_—or" ‘Tt was my only hope when the long days went by and you neither came nor wrote,” was the quiet, sad reply. ‘‘I knew then that you had deserted me—that your love for me had died away before your mad passion for Miss Ward, Ltried to die, but they would not per- mit metodoso, Taey forced me to eat and drink, and with returning strength came the wish to die, if die I must, at your feet, pleading for the love which was my only heaven—the love which no witting action of mine has ever forfeited!” “Very pretty—but nonsensical, my dear. Excuse me; 1 do not wish to interrupt your recital. Pray continue.” The poor woman shrunk away a little, and the quaverivg in ber voice told how keenly she felt the sting of those sneering tones and mocking words, ‘I sold the jewels you gave me, Marcus, and with them paid my passage to St. Louis. f kept close (o my state-room, pretendivg illness —little pretense was needed, heaven knows!” with a sudden outburst of bitterness, ‘* Only the stewardess has seen my face since I came aboard, untilnow. I.came on deck for a breath of fresh air, and noticing a couple near, I sat down behind that boat, to keep from bein noticed. Heaven knows I never once dreame of the discovery | was about to make! And when I recognized your voice, my brain whirled and I believe [ actually lost my senses for a few minutes, Then—you know how it turned out.” ‘* You say you heard me pleading with a cer- tain lady for ber love?’ slowly demanded the man. ‘‘T heard you ask Drusilla Ward to become your wife!” was the steady response, ‘* And you with a living wife! You, my husband! Ob, Marcus! are you all bad—all evil?” With a short, cold laugh, her companion made reply: ‘‘T am afraid you forget yourself, madam. Married you may be, for aught I can say to the contrary, but most assuredly peu are no wife of mine—highly honered as 1 ought to be at your selection!’ With a little incredulous cry Rose started back, staring up into that cold and cruel face, scarce able to credit the evidence of her own senses, ‘Not your wife? Marcus, what do you mean?” she gasped, “T mean that this little farce is played out, Rose Enright,” was the. stern, relentless reply, as his arm tightened about ber round waist and bis glowing eyes stared keenly into hers, ‘‘I mean that if vou ever had any legal claim on me, as Marcus Dingeon, it no longer exists!” Instinctively the stupefied woman put one hand to her bosom, and Gillespie showed his teeth in a grim smile as he divined that she was seeking ber marriage certificate. ’ j ‘‘Here, as we stand alone and without wit- nesses, [am willing to admit that I married you—that we were united as firmly as the laws of man could bind us together.” “Then why.deny me? Why say that I am not. your wife?’ ‘ ‘Simply because I have grown tired of you, and have met another whom I love a thousand- fold more than Lever did. you, even in the first flush of our honeymoon!” was the brutal re- sponse, ‘*' You may kick and squirm, but it is the truth, and the sooner you come to a proper understanding of the case the better it will be for all parties concerned. ‘We were married, but who is there to prove it? True, you have a marriage certificate. The clergyman still lives, but he is blind and cannot conscientiously swear tc me as the man he joined to you. The only other witness is dead. hg | ’ — Lae’ —_— rr The paper itself will prove nothing if I deny that it is genuine, I never expect to return to Orleans to live, I will change my name and deny that Lever saw or knew you, What can you do in a case of that sors?” His reasoning was lame, his conclusions faulty, but be did not believe Rose was in a con- dition to detect either one or the other jnst then, and he was right. She was stunned, her heart was crushed within her bosom at this sud- den revelation of the utter baseness of the one man in all the world whom she had loved and trusted, lt seemed like some frightful night- mare, and she was vaguely conscious of try- ing to rouse herself from the soul-sickening dream, Keen, sharp-witted man of the world though he was, Gideon Gillespie misinterpreted the cause Of her silence, and acting on bis baseless fancv, he spoke even more freely: ‘* ‘You see, Rose, the trump cards all lie in my hand, and if 1 choose to play them for all they are worth, you can’t secure a single trick. I can ruin you wherever you ge; | can bring ar down to starvation, or even worse, if you refuse to listen to reason. But if you act sensibly and yield to the inevitable, you shall never bave cause to regret this little confidential interview. Willfyou, girl?” ; “ Will | what?’ faltered Rose, pressing one hand to her forehead like one whose brain is in a confused whirl. ‘‘I do not comprehend, Tell me Ralply what it is you expect of me.” ‘* You are strangely obtuse, this evening,” he said, with a short, ugly laugh. ‘See if you can understand this: [am not Marcus Dingeon. I married you under bis name, simply because I knew be was my most dangerous rival, and I needed a deadly weapon to have ready for use in case the worst should come, I never loved you, . Llooked on you simply as a tool, by using which at the proper time, I might win the wo- man I didlove. I bave so used you, and now that I have no further use for you, I cast you aside as I would a worn out glove! , ** Still, I will not say that L hate you, only as awife, It you resign that empty claim—which you can never assert.to my injury, since no liy- ing soul ever believed me Marcus Dingeon save yourself—and act sensibly, J will still support you, will still spend an occasional spare bour in HOpR company when I have nothing better to o; will— gt shan blow across the lips cut)his vile speech Her face pale as death, but. with eyes that flashed with indignation such as only a bitterly insulted woman could experience, Rose Enright stood facing him, ber bosom panting. her very soul on fire, : ‘You cowardly cur!” sbe gasped, her voice low and hoarse with the intensity of her pas- sion. ‘At Jast you bave dropped your. m and suffered me to see yon in your true colors!” ‘Precisely what I intended, my dear,” was his careless retort, though his strong arm re- sisted all her efforts to free her waist, and his evil eyes shot a swift glance around them. ‘* Soft words would not shake you, and so I had to hit right from the shoulder. I make you a fair offer: what do you say?” ‘This!’ was the intensely earnest answer. ‘‘T will foil your vile schemes, though it cost me my life! You may kill me, but before 1 die, I will see Drusilla Ward and save ber from ,your devilish arts! “twill proclaim you for wLat you are—a perjured busband, a—” ‘* Not yet, my lady!” the villain grated, suv- agely, through his clinched teeth as his arm tightened around ber waist with paralyzing force, while bis tight-clinched fist rose and then descended upon her exposed temple with a sickening thud ! lhstantly ber struggles ceased, and she hung < ht. He aan swift on bis arm a dead weig ' glance around him, and seeing nothing toexcite bis suspicion, he lifted her clear of the deck, held ber for an instant over the guard, then cast her headlong down into the hurrying wa-— ters below! ¥ CHAPTER XV, MOKE IS “ ALL MIXED UP!” _ OF all those who witmessed the sudden recoy- ery and consequent actions of Purty Paddy, probably Moke Horner, the Boss Roustabout, was the most thorou bly astonished. He did not believe the man lived who could *‘ come to time” after tbat terrible throw, and feeling sure the struggle was at an end, so far as the Irishman was concerned, he had generously re- frained from adding the weight of his own body. to the fall, turning away to where Yellow Jack Tandy stood holding his clothes. —y ‘Look out! de little white debble come ag’in!” warningly cried his excited second, and Moke wheeled with bis hands on guard as Purty Paddy scrambled to bis feet in readiness to re- new the fight for supremacy. MA Then came that clear, cutting voice from the | guards above, and like one haunted by an eyil conscience, Purty Paddy glared angrily in that — direction—to behold the face of a man whom he could have taken his oath was dead! Moke Horner also glanced epee and he, too, caught a brief glimpse of the apparition— Eomicbooks