Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 363 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

18 times and don’t leave much more behind than an exploded balloon. ‘When this man espouses the cause of the woman who has proved herself to be so worth- less he exposes himself to an attack and he must not complain if the blows fall thick and heavy upon him. ‘‘T have a suspicion that it may be possible that it was this man with his money who lured the false-hearted woman away from me; of course if this is the truth it does not make her blame any the less,” ‘“‘Not at all. Well, it’s to be fight then!” ex- claimed the chief, briskly. ‘‘* Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!’ as the poet says. I can’t take a hand in the fight except to recover the child, but to do that Vl give you the best men on the detective force.” ‘“T shall try to do a little in that line myself, and I have a couple of friends who will aid me.” And so he two walked on arranging the plan of the campaign. CHAPTER XXIII. DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND. Tue shades of night were just beginning to darken, and Mrs. Judge Jones sat in her luxuri- ant parlor, gazing through one of the windows into the street. Her brow was troubled, and the restless tap- ping of her jeweled fingers upon the window- pane betokened anxious thought. And there was cause for her alarm, too, The judge had decided to close all his Boston business and transfer his head-quarters to New York, and therefore had offered his mansion for sale, fully furnished, just as it was, and that morning the real estate agent in whose hands the property had been placed, waited upon her and asked permission to bring a gentleman to in- spect the house in the afternoon. In the afternoon the gentleman came, and a most thorough examination he made of the the premises from the cellar to the garret. The lady took a dislike to the man at first sight, although he appeared to be a perfect gen- tle man, but like many another in this life par- ticularly those belonging to the vast and almost indescribable body, known as Bohemians, she was a prey to superstition in a certain way and believed in presentiments and warning. And as it happened the moment she set eyes upon the stranger some secret monitor within whispered that he was a foe. The inspection of the house was but an ex- cuse; he had comg there to play the role of a spy. 0) then after the gentleman had departed, she happened to glance out of one of the win- dows and caught sight ofa shabbily dressed man, asort of a notion peddler with a small basket squatting upon the doorstep of one of the op- posite houses, And when after a while one of the servants drove him off he went down the street a few yards and took up his position on another step. He did not appear to be the least anxious whether he sold anything or not and the same subtle instinct which e the lady suspect that the gentleman was a spy also convinced her that this peddier had no other business in the street except to keep a watch upon her house, Then, after awhile happening to look out of one of the rear windows, her attention was at- tracted by a couple of men engaged in building a grape arbor in the hte of the house on the next street, right back of her mansion. One man worked away diligently and handled his tools with the skill of a practiced workman, but the other had that peculiar air about him which generally comes to the man-hunter after long years of practice, and he was not any- where near as expert with his tools as the other, and the lady set him down at once for a police spy. Py was evident the house was watched both front and rear, and the game was being carried on in the most skillful manner. Late in the afternoon too Old Lead Pencil came skulking through the street, and the pres- ence of the old tramp in the vicinify was a sure indication that mischief was afoot. About dusk the judge arrived and the lady met him in the hall. The gentleman was not in a particularly gocd humor as was apparent immediately to the} rac- ticed eyes of the lady by the expression upon his e. He followed her into the parlor, seated him- self in one of the chairs, by the window, and his happening to wander through it fell upon the shabby-looking man seated upon the door- step on the opposite side of the street. * Aha!” he exclaimed, ‘‘ that’s suspicious!” “What is the matter?’ the lady asked, al- though she had a shrewd suspicion as to the eause of the exclamation. “To you see that seedy-looking fellow over yonder on the doorstep?” ‘Yes, I have noticed him before; he has been there nearly all the afternoon, or to speak more correctly he was sitting on the pepe of the house directly opposite when I first saw him, but a servant drove him off and then he moved up the street to where he now is.” “That fellow is a spy, confound him!” Crowningshield, the Sleuth. growled the judge angrily, and he is watching this house, ‘*But why should he do that?” inquired the lady in the most innocent manner possible. ** Oh, there’s reason enough for it,” replied the judge, and then he gave her a full account of the interview which had taken place that morn- ing between himself, Howard Crowningshield and the Chief of Police. ‘*T expected that there would be trouble, and if you remember I told you so, I did not want to come to Boston, but you forced me to do so, ‘*T knew that it would be dangerous, but you insisted, and now if there is trouble you have no one to blame but yourself.” The tone in which she spoke irritated the judge, and he retorted: ‘Hang it, madam, I want you to understand that Iam going to be master in my own house, and then, a do not intend to be trammeled in my movements. ‘Tf I see fit to come to Boston, I am going to come, and if anybody dares to attack me, they must stand the consequences.” ‘Then if you have made up your mind to that, why are you annoyed?” she asked. ‘‘ If you are prepared for war, why grumble when the struggle approaches?” ‘* Oh, that’s all very well, madam, but it is not pleasant to have a lot of infernal police spies dogging your footsteps just as if you were a criminal liable to arrest. ‘Tn an hour after these two men quitted my office a watch was set upon me, I had occasion to go down State street on business and was obliged to stop into half a dozen places, and a eentlemanly-looking scoundrel was at my heels all the time. ‘“T did not leave the office this afternoon with- out being spied upon by the fellow, and he even tracked me clear to this when I came home, I got inside of the car and he staid on the rear platform, and when I got off he followed at a safe distance behind, and [I’ve no doubt that while this seedy fellow keeps watch at one end of the street, my follower is on guard at the other.” “But I donot understand the object of this movement; what is to be gained by it?” she asked. ‘* Why, he hopes to get some clew so that he will be able to recover the child that you were fool enough to take away!” the judge snarled. “Tf you had not- meddled with the child, I don’t believe there would have been a bit of trouble.” ‘* But that idea is ridiculous!” the lady ceclar- ed, angrily. ‘TL hain’t got the man’s child, and know noth- ing whatever about him!” ‘Yes; I know you say so, and I told him that I didn’t believe you knew anything about the matter, and most surely I did not, and I would not allow you to get mixed up in the affair if I had any say about it, but I don’t think he be- lieved me, and when I was making it the idea came into my head that perhaps J was a little weak-minded to believe it Pyaele: ** You women take strange notions sometimes —you yield to whims that aman would laugh at. It oceurred to me that it was possible you had encountered the child and yieldedto the tempta- tion to steal it. ‘‘ Tf that is the truth you must give it up; you understand me, madam, you must give it up for I will not allow you to make a fool of yourself in any such way.” The angry words and the brutal way in which they were spoken aroused the ra_e*of the wo- man. She was no saint, and possessed a demon-like temper, although she was such a complete mis- tress of herself that she rarely allowed it to be- come manifest, but on the present occasion her rage blazed forth fiercely. ‘* Don’t dare to talk to me like that!” she cried, a red, hectic spot visible in her pale cheeks. ‘*T am not your slave, although for years you have treated me like one and I have submitted for the sake of the money that you lavished up- on me, ‘‘ Tt was your money bought me in tho first place; you ought not to forget that; I never at- tempted to deceive you in that respect whatever I may have done in others.” The copper king, although so genial and good- natured abroad, was a perfect tyrant at home, and as his wife had always patiently borne with his moods and made no protest, he was amaz- He at her boldness in thus openly bearding im. ‘* Madam, do you dare to use such language to me?” he exclaimed, red in the face with rage. a Yes, Idare! What do I care for you ex- cept for what you give me?” she retorted in de- fiance. ‘Oh, that is all, is it? Well, I'll soon ar- range that. I picked you out of the gutter, and the hand that lifted you up can also throw you down.” ‘*No, you make a mistake about that!” the lady answered, scornfully. ‘* With all your shrewdness you made a blun- der when you took me, if you cid so with the idea that you could get rid of me when you pleased. Tam your lawfully wedded wife, and although I am ready to be deprived of the pleas- ure of your agreeable society at a moment’s no- tice, yet you must pay the bills incurred for my support, and I can assure you I intend to live ina manner becoming to the wife of the man who is known as the great copper king.” For a few moments the judge was speechless, from the effects of rage and amazement com- bined, and when he had recovered the use of his tongue, his first impulse was to bid the defiant woman leave his house and never darken his door again, but then reflection came to his aid, and as he thought over the matter for the first time, he understood what kind of a woman his. wife really was. In an instant, as it were, a vail had been re- moved from his eyes, and he saw clearly. She knew what she was about, undoubtedly had money saved up to aid her to fight her bat- tles, and would surely prove troublesome. And so, he choked his rage, as well as he could. “Well, it is of no use for us to quarrel,” he ob- served. “If you haven’t the child, we can eh at Crowningshield, although I don’t doubt he will do all in his power to worry us.” ‘* As you please,” she remarked, indifferently. And so a truce was patched up between them. After supper the faiize went cut to his club, leaving his wife to enjoy her meditations in solitude, * CHAPTER XXIV. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. Tuer presence of the detective annoyed Mrs. Judge Jones, for, like the judge, the idea that she was watched was distasteful to her, but She consoled herself with the thought that when they satisfied themselves that the missing child was not with her the watch would be with- drawn, The man was still at his post on the other side of the street, for she could easily distinguish his. figure by the aid of the street lights. ‘“‘Let him stay there until the crack of doom!” she exclaimed in contempt. ‘ What care I?” Then she sat down in the easy-chair by the side of the table upon which the drop-lamp was placed, and endeavored to become interested in the evening newspaper. But it was hard work for her to fix her mind upon the pried page, for ker busy thoughts were elsewhere, ‘‘ He is not satisfied with the story I related to him,” she murmured, communing aloud with herself. ‘‘And he means to make trouble for me if he can. ‘* Ah, but can he? “That is a question that it is almost impossible to answer. The judge declares that even if he goes to law he will not be able to accomplish anything; of course there will be a terrible scandal, but what care I for that?” And she laughed contemptuously, as she put the question. ‘‘ Scandal! What dolI care for scandal? So long as I have plenty of money and am able to live in the luxury my nature craves, the tongue of the world may wag about me as it will. ‘¢ But then will not the old dead past be raked up?” and her face became clouded as she remem- bered what could be said of the past. ‘* Will the judge dare to face the world and still cling to me when the truth is known? ‘No, no, he would not dare, and he would be the first to turn against me, for he is a craven at heart, when the world began to yelp at me, ‘‘T suppose I may as well prepare for the in- evitable then “Oh, how I hate Crowningshield, although I never received anything but kindness from him, but I can’t help it. ‘‘T despised him in the old time for being such a fool as to be so easily tricked, and now that he threatens to punish me for the pent. I hate him. oe believed that I was indifferent in regard to the future. I did not think I cared what be- came of me, but now that I see before me in the near future the prospect of once again being thrown upon the world, dependent upon my own resources, I am disgusted at the sight. “True, I have been prudent enough to put by some money in anticipation of such an event as this occurring, but what are a few thousands of dollars to a woman of my extravagant habits. ‘“‘T have been so accustomed now to a life of luxury that I would rather die than be reduced to the condition of being obliged to take an ac- count of every penny I spend. ‘“Oh, this miserable man!” and the woman sprung to her feet as the words escaped from her lips and commenced to pace up and down the apartment, strongly resembling in her motions the caged tiger, restlessly oe to find a way through the iron bars which hem him in. It was natural, under the circumstances, that the woman shovld resemble the caged king of the jungle and the forest wild, forshe really felt as if the web of destiny was being slowly drawn around her, and that almost before she knew it she would wake to the consciousness that she was helpless, > (E(0) JOO AMIE <S (0)