Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 306 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

- from the bank 16. ‘‘ Well, Wing-Wing, what is it—anything dis- covered?” ‘“Wing-Wing hop-skipee bullah allee tlime after post-manee—see—see!” and he thrust a small slate in the detective’s face. Somebody bad evidently been figuring on the slate and had rubbed off a greater portion of the numbers that were upon it. But there remained one distinct number that Jo Call looked at with something lke a thrill. 101, Instantly he evinced a deep interest. ‘* How did you get this slate?” he interrogated. “Tell me about it?’ ““Splot post manee light away. Go homee. Wing-Wing makee all lightee. One man, one night. one dollee. Post-manee make beap tlime on slate’”—pointing to a slate—‘‘ lubbee out an’ filly’ emupagain. Go bed, heap snore; Wing- Wing see keyholee. Hop skipee, vou blet, gra slatee, bullah, top heap allee, allee tlime, settee- emupagain |!” ‘‘- You saw the man making the figures on the slate?” Winvg- Wing nodded. 101,” repeated Call to himself, It was one of the numbers he had received resident as a number of one of the missing bonds. Now more than ever did he desire that the pos‘-oftice clerk should be watched. He gave Wing-Wing some additional in- structions and sent bim off. The Chinaman made a motion that, as he removed his hat, sent his pig-tail in a swing around and touching his shins at the front; then he danced away. ‘* Ready,” said Call, stepping out to rejoin the others who awaited his leadership in a raid upon the premises of Arban, the astrologer. But there was to occur still another inter- 9 hag to the contemplated raid. t the instant a cab drove up to the curb and halted. Its occupant was evidently coming to the agency. A vailed female alighted without the assist- ance of the driver. Straight into the agency she hurried and glanced around. “What can we do for you, madame?” inquired Call, a little surprised that a female, unattend- ed, should call upon him at that unseemly hour. For it was now fully midnight. “ A word with you, sir, if you please.” She addressed herself particularly to Jo Call. ‘' Step this way, madame.” He led the way to the rear room and placed a cbair for ber. To his astonishment, when she crew aside her vail, he saw before him Mrs. Fenwick. ‘‘ Have you made any progress in the case of my husband’s death?” she asked, though he de- tected in an instant that the remark was made more for the sake of opening conversation than anything else. ‘** Nothing that I can report, madame.” *‘] have called to give you a point in regard to it that escaped my memory when I first con- sulted with you.” **T would be glad to hear of it.” ‘*Tbhe man who murdered my husband was a Milanese.” ‘* A Milanese?” ; i Yes, I have reason to-say that I am sure of ‘* What are your reasons?’ ‘‘Have you time to listen to a brief story? I ask, because it seemed to me that you were about to leave your office with others at the time I came in.’ **Tf it can concern the ease of your busband, I will make the time,” Call said. He wae ag to the door and exchanged a few words with Tuff. ‘*Now, madame,” returning to her, ‘please be brief, for as you remarked, I was just on the point of going out on some urgent business,” In a brief way Mrs. Fenwick related the story of the golden beetle as she had told it to Erminie, with the exception that she did not go so much into detail. When she bad concluded, she said: ‘* You will admit, t am sure, that, under the circumstances, which seem to attach to the sin- ‘gular object—this golden beetle—the perpe- ‘trator of the murder must be a Milanese.’ “Very likely,” responded Call, into whose bead had at once come a prodigious idea. 8 ¥ there anything more, madame?” ** What is it?” “This,” She | aoa ge from a pocket a small diary. “IT found this in my garden yesterday. It must have been drop there By the person whose name is on the cover inside—Albert Royal. This Albert Royal ”—handing the little book to the detective—‘ has been forbidden the house, because be was so presuming as to pay attentions to my daughter. He is a clerk in the post-office—at least, he is a delivery-clerk who goes his rounds as deliverers of letters do. This young upstart has made love to my daugb- ter. Both I and Mr. Fenwick had forbidden ey oe DDD = et I find that he is in the habit of meeting rminie, and Erminie, on the very night that her father was brought home dead, met him in the garden and gave him money.” “ How do you know that she gave him money ?” ‘‘T have a witness to the fact.” ‘“* Well?” ‘‘ Will you please look at the page which I marked with my finger when I handed you that diary?’ Call did so. He received another surprise; for there was a number that was the same as the number which he had just glanced at on the slate brought him by his peculiar shadow, Wing-Wing: ““ 101. bb | ** Well, madame?” “ You will be surprised, Mais wp when I tell you that in the same cab which brought me here, I have been to the house of Mr. Upton Girard, the President of the Agricultural Bank, and really compelled an interview with bim.” And, as the detective was silent, she con- tinued: “That number which you now look at was the number of one of a lot of bonds which I know my husband had on deposit in the Agri- cultural Bank. I was at first impressed with it in only a small degree—sufficiently, however, to cause me to make the unseemly call that I did, which was to inquire whether the bonds were still in the bank. This, because I suspect- ed that all was not right between my wenn ct and this upstart of a clerk. I learned from Mr. Girard that the bonds were no longer in the bank—” CHAPTER XVIII. A SHOCK LIKI) THE SHOCK OF A FISSION. ‘* PARDON me, Mrs, Fenwick,” Call interrupt- ed, “but did Mr. Upton Girard have any- thing in particular to say in regard to the bonds?’ “They were Richmond and Danville bonds. All he told me was that they were no longer in the bank; they had been drawn out by my hus- band on the day the evening of which he was brought bome dead.” “* Well?” A peculiar look came into the sparkling brown eyes of the woman, as she said: ‘‘ But I have formed an idea.” ‘Of what character?” “My husband was murdered—at least, so decided by the coroner to-day—and you will admit it.” ** Yes,” “‘The bonds are missing, for there were no papers on my busband’s body when found.” ** How do you know this?’ ‘‘T have been to the station to which his body was first carried, ‘There were no papers, save a few letters of private correspondence, which were only sufficient to indicate who he was. ‘*-You have formed an idea you say?” “Yes; I think that the clerk—Albert Royal —knows something about the murder, because he has in his diary one of the numbers of one of the missing bonds,” ** And how do rau know that number to bea number of one of the missing bonds?” ‘*Because I knew much of my husband’s business, I belped him to make a memoranda of the numbers at the time they came into his ession.” ** What do you wish me to do?” ‘Set a spy on Albert Royal—and I may add that I will be highly pleased to discover that he is in some way connected with this mysterious affair!” and for the first time, Mrs. Fenwick exhibited something like a spitefulness in her tone. ** T will do-as you desire, madame,” he said. Of course he would not tell her that he was already watching Albert Royal. Mrs. Fenwick, with this assurance, took her departure. ‘Now then, I guess we are ready,” said Call returning to the main office after an absence o nearly half an hour. No further interruptions occurred to the con- templated raid, The posse of detectives, in police rank, started from the agency under the leadership of the dwarf detective. Men were they—each man a hero of more than one thrilling personal record; and a for- midable array it was that now proceeded to- ward the mysterious bouse. When they reached the building, it appeared asif the band that concucted its affairs within the structure bad not pursued the escaping de- tectives of a few hours before as far as the front entrance, for the door was open as it had been left—that is, without the fastening of the lock, which the tools, brought by Jo Call on his entrance with his partner, had forced asunder, Probably never in the history of the detective force of the Virginia capital had so many of its best detectives, either police or private, been combined as on this occasion when the dwarf our daughter having anything to say to him; ' detective undertook to lead them into the den The Roughs of Richmond. of those who were drifting the tampered-with coin into the mercantile market. For as he went he told Bob Boswick enough to convince bim that they were about to enter the den of a desperate band calling themselves the Order of tne Golden Beetle, and to which band be bad traced, in his own mind, the origin of the spurious coin. Tuff reached bis partner’s side as they arrived at the front of the house. And in accordance with their rule, Call stated all that had transpired between bimself and Mrs. Fenwick in such a manner of brevity that that lady would have been surprised could she have heard it. ‘* What is your theory on all this’” propound- ed Tuff. “This: Dorsey Fenwick was murdered by a Milanese. Arban, the assumed astrologer—or Alvaro Mandez—or Signor Murguio—is an Italian already completely under our suspicion.. He is the Milanese who has committed the mur- der. This manis Master of the Order of the Golden Beetle. Mrs. Fenwick does not suspect that much. She is probably by this time queen of the Order of the Golden Beetle, the object of which is to throw on the market the spurious coin. I believe that Dorsey Fenwick, the de- ceased, was a rogue. Our object now is, to cap- ture as many of the gang as we can.” ‘‘ But what about the gang called The Roughs of Richmond?” “ This Signor Murguio, by your own account of the case, is also a leader of that gang. It was in hee of his vendetta that Dorsey Fenwick has been slain. The Italian was alt the time playing a sharp game, Dorsey Fen- wick not being aware of it.” ‘Then you think the Italian has the bonds?’ ‘‘ Undoubtedly—unless he has negotiated them quickly. In which case—if they are in the hands of a third party who bought them in fe faith—the bank will have to whistle for ts money. I should have thought the president oe have known that, but I did not enlighten im. “ Why?’ ‘* Because, if we can catch them upon the thief, we can take them and earn the reward. When we get through with this job, I will in- stitute a hunt for the bonds and see if it cannot be contrived to get them back again into the possession of the party who first negotiated them—if they have been negotiated—-then our course is plain sailing. I think the Italian could only feel safe in negotiating them with some one who would be per to take risks—pro- bably some one ‘in’ with him, you see—” ‘*What’s the matter?” inquired Bob Boswick, at this point, and stepping forward to the door,. as if to see what caused the delay of their en- trance. The two detectives were not the partners to give away their conversation to any one, so Call said: ‘“ A little trouble with the lock, that’s all. Now it’s all right, Come on gents, and remem- ber the instructions I have given you. The man who fails to follow minutely every action of mine as we &° through this building, may find himself suddenly burled to death, Come ahead!” With the dwarf detective in the lead, the others entered the dangerous building. On the stairs Call took to the banisters, being imitated by the rest, and they crawled past the perilous trap on the Aang g: At the door of the astrologer’s room all pro- duced bul)’s-eye lanterns, and the effect of the many flashing a was novel. ‘* Be prepared for an ambush at any minute,” warned Jo Call, as he drew his revolver for action if necessary. With drawn weapons and flashing Janterns the band of detectives advanced across the room to the inter-mural way, Then down the joisted and secret stairway, and presently they stood in the council chamber of the mystic order. Their rubber-soled shoes had made no noise during their descent; they now stood in the midst of a most profound silence, Everything betokened that the mystic order must be absent from the building entirely. The iron door of the prison chamber from which Ischan had been delivered still remained open, the depth of impenetrable blackness be- yond seeming like the interior of the throat of some somber and nameless monster. But the two leaders knew what they were about, Tuff was instantly busy mga teig 4 off the flags from the center of the room, until he announced by a silent signal: ** Here’s the spot!” Pts, He stood beside the “a that was the center of the flags of the stone floor, counting six in each direction toward the walls, A small tile in the center of an adjacent flag immediately attracted the attention of the sbrewd detectives. Call at once determined—by noticing that its edges had a loose appearance—that it had some- thing to do with the manner of opening the se- cret 4 Th the he was right. | Le re Gomichboo (E