Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 363 — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

. a the street.” a I don’t ixtcnd to run any risk. it was a very delicate subject and I had to handle it in the most gingeriy manner.” ‘Oh, certainly, and that was the reason wh I put you onto the job, instead of tackling it myself. I’m no good as far as a woman is con- cerned,” Curly Kid admitted. ‘‘As a general rule I can talk the eyebrows clean off a man, but I never had any luck with ei: j i = an by apologizing for my intrusion rote) it - bnew the business upon which I came she would excuse me. ‘Then I plunged boldly at once to the point, by remarking that I believed she had been mar- ried and divorced, before meeting with her pre- sent husband, Judge Jones.” ** Well, that was coming right down to .busi- ness,” Curly Kid observed. ‘*'Yes, but she met the bluff like a see a} *‘Mird you, took the matter,perfectly cool— didn’t betray the least annoyance, and all she said was that I had been misinformed. ** Judge Jones was her first husband and she had never been married before.” ‘That was a pretty Peace denial.” ‘Indeed it was and when I expressed my surprise and said I had been informed that some ten years ago she had been married to Mr. Howard Crowningshield and that a child was living the issue of that union, she answered that it was a mistake and thatshe had been con- founded with her twin sister Roxanna. ‘‘Her name was Roselle, but that she had a twin sister, Roxanna, who had married this Mr. Crowningshield and left him after a couple of years, gone to Chicago where she procured a divorce from him and shortly afterward died.” ‘“*T see, I see,” observed the other, thoughtful- ly. ‘‘She’s going to try the twin sister game.” ‘ Naturally I expressed my astonishment and in order to draw the woman out, I asked if the child to whom I refer was still living?” ‘*And what did she say?” asked Curly Kid, eagerly. ‘** Oh, she merely shrugged her shoulders, said she really didn’t know, and what was more, didn’t care,” ‘Then, perceiving that there wasn’t much chance for us, | made a bold push and put the question plainly to her whether she had any in- terest in the child’s welfare or was utterly indif- ferent to it.” ‘‘That was bringing matters to close quar- ters,” Curly Kid remarked, ‘She wasn’t at all afraid to meet the issue,” the gambler replied. ‘‘For her answer was prompt and to the point. ‘* She did not take the slightest interest in the child—would not know it if she saw it and it was no more to her than any begger’s brat run- hat was decidedly to the point,” said Curly Kid making a grimace. ‘Yes, she further said that if I had no other business with her except to talk about the child I was merely wasting my time and she must beg to be excused, ‘* Of course, after that, there wasn’t anything more to be said, and after making due apolo- gies for my intrusion, I came away.” Curly Kid remained silent for a moment, ab restlessly with his fingers on the e, ‘* Well, we must go for Crowningshield,” he said, at last. ‘*I would rather have the women to deal with, for in sucha matter as this a wo- man is not usually inclined to be as obstinate as a man. ‘‘A man, being pugnacious by nature, is pret- ty apt to fight when you come to put the screws upon him, but a woman is more inclined to listen to reason, and when you convince her that she is in a tight place, she is generally willing to pay liberally to get out of it if she has plenty of money. “ You can’t strike Mrs. Judge Jones this deal, so you will have to deal with Crowningshield,” the gambler observed. ‘And then there’s another point to be con- sidered. ‘You have arranged the matter so as to give him the impression that the mother has got away with the cbild. ‘Now, when you come to touch him for a ran- som. won't he be inclined to cut up ugly, think- ing that tho demand comes from her?” Sark Kid reflected upon the matter for a moment, then he said: . “That point of yours, Randolph, is well put. There isn’t the least doubt that he’d fight like a demon if he thought she had anything to do with the matter, so that we must arrange to undeceive him as soon as possible. ‘We must explain to him, you know, that this boy business is a little commercial trans- action engineered by some gentlemen of leisure, who are possessed of moro brains than cash, and that if he values the life of his kid, the quicker he emulates the example of thesharp we read about in the Scriptures, and comes down, the better.’ “Siow will you get at him? by means of an in- terview? If will be risky business,” the gambler observed, vith a wise shake of the head. “Yes, T know it, andl can tell you, partner, é ——————— — 5 Crowningshield, the Sleuth. ** No interview business in mine, if you please. No, no, that’s not the | aps I'm going to play at all,” Curly Kid replied. ‘** A man of genius like myself, Randolph, you know seldom travels in the old ruts. That is the reason why, when I go into a speculation, I usu- ally manage to come out ahead of the smart cle- tectives who are always on the lookout to trap ** And have you thought out a plan to get at Crowningshield, without giving him a chance to put the bloodhounds on your scent?” ‘Yes; the idea came to me the instant you spoke about the matter. ‘* That is where the genius comes in, my boy,” Curly Kid remarked, laughingly. ‘It doesn’t take a man of my kidney a week to think outa plan of action. ‘On the contrary, the brilliant idea comes in an instant, and in about ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the scheme that flashed across your brain like the meteor light through the sky, is far better than the one which only comes after hours of hard brain work, ‘Tl get the kid to write a letter to his papa stating that he is held in durance, vile, and that a contribution of ten thousand dollars will be required before he will be released, and, as there’s danger in delay, suppose we go out to the house at once,” He consulted his watch. ‘We have just about time enough to catch a train, so let’s be moving.” “All right, I’m with you, the idea is a good one, and the quicker it is worked the bet- ter. Half an hour later the two were ina train hur- rying away from Boston, little suspecting that a spy was hot on their track. CHAPTER XXVIIL A CONSULTATION, THE iron horse is a wonderful traveler, and it did not take the conspirators many minutes to make the journey from the modern Athens to the little railroad station, which was only a short distance from the old house where Curly Kid had secreted the boy. The two conspirators were the only passengers who left the train at this station. Curly Kid took particular care to look around him as he alighted from the cars, saying quietly to his companion: ‘* Keep your eyes open, ae for some one may have tumbled to our little game and I don’t intend they shall pipe me off if to say about it.” ‘* Yes, a man can’t be too cautious,” the gam- bler observed, The precaution taken by the two seemed to be a needless one though, for no one else got off the train, and in a few minutes the iron horse was in motion again, and soon disappeared in the distance.” it was a bright, moonlight night, so that all the surrounding objects could be distinctly seen, and the two kept watch of the train until it van- ished from their sight. ‘* All correct!” observed Curly Kid. ‘ I didn’t think that there was much danger that any one had got on to our game, but this isa might uncertain world, you know, and as the Frenc say, it is the unexpected that is always hap- have anything Sarr ‘* We were the only ones who got off the train, so I guess everything is all right, and I don’t really see, too, how it would be possible for ead one to get on our track,” remarked the other. By this time the two had left the platform and had started up the road which led from the depot toward the house which they sought. ** Randolph, my boy, you are not so olda hand at this peculiar sort of business as your uncle,” said Curly Kid. ** You must remember that I have been a good many years at this sort of thing, and my experi- ence teaches me that sometimes it is impossible to cover your tracks so carefully as to keep the bloodhounds from scenting them out. ** Now in this case to-night. You visited the lady; there may have been some spies prowling around in the neighborhood, for if Crowning- shield has been smart enough to give the case into the hands of some good man, the first move in the game would be to put a watch upon the house of the woman, and spy upon every one that comes from it, strangers in particular. The spies would follow you; you would lead them to me, then my footsteps would be tracked, and so the right scent be hit off.” ‘Yes, it could be done in that way undoubt- edly,” Randolph observed. “Til go bail, though, that you never thought of such a thing until I mentioned it just now.” “You are right there—I did not,” the gam- bler admitted. “And I Sepe aS that after you left the house you never looked about you for the purpose of observing whether there were any spies in the neighborhood or not?” _ Well, no; I did not take any particular no- tice; but I think, though, if there had been any- body lurking in the neighborhood I should Lave seen them.” But even as he spoke, back to his mind came LE LE 21 the memory of how his brain had been in & whirl as he left the house where he had so unex- pectedly encountered the long-lost Roxanna; and though he did not feel inclined to admit the fact to his companion, yet in his own mind he was satisfied that if there had been any spies in. the neighborhood, and they had used reasonable care in concealing themselves, he would not. Lave been apt to see them. But as he and his companion had not been | followed, he came to the conclusion that no harm had come from his absent-minded care- lessness. : ‘* ‘When a man has been skulking along in the shadow of the law as long as I have, he gets su he is really afraid almost of his own reflection in the sun. ‘‘ It has come to be a second nature for me to look around whenever I am in the street for the purpose of seeing whether there is anybody playing the spy upon me; and it doesn’t make any difference whether I am engaged upon a business operation or not. The habit has grown. upon me so that I do it constantly. ‘** Now, I don’t suppose you noticed it, but I was on the lookout all the way to the depot.” ‘* No, I did not observe it.” ‘*T don’t do it, of course, in such a manner as to give myself away,” Curly Kid observed. ‘** And [ had an idea two or three times, from the way some fellows acted who were coming alon the street after us, that we were being fol- lowed. ‘IT kept my eyes open after we boarded the 1, train, but they did not come inside of the rail- ing, for I kept watch of the gate, and if any one of them had come through I would have spot- ted ’em in a moment. ‘*There were three of them that excited my suspicions, but I guess I was barking up the wrong tree after all.” ‘Oh, I suppose the idea is that you are apt to be over suspicious at times.” Curly Kid admitted that there wasn’t much — doubt that this was a fact. * We're all right now, though,” he said, im conclusion. ‘‘ For if there had been any spies after us, they would have been obliged to have rot off the train at the station, and then I would ave immediately tumbled to their little game.” ‘Suppose they had waited until the train started and then jumped off on the opposite side from the depot,” the gambler suggested. ‘* Partner, that was exactly the little dodge I expected them to try,” the other responded, ‘‘and that was the reason why I staid on the platform and watched the train until she was out of sight, **Nary man got off of her, for I would have spotted him in an instant if he had. Oh, ’'m up to all games of that sort.” And in this satisfactory mood the two walked onward, taking no pains now to look behind. them for they felt that they were secure from observation. But Curly Kid, for once in his life, despite of his good generalshin, had been beaten. The two had been followed, i And the chase had been commenced when the if gambler quitted the house of Judge Jones, Spies had followed him, not one alone buti three, and they had tracked him to the saloon iN where his partner waited for him. a ( Then after the gambler was fairly domiciled — , within, one of the spies had taken advantage of a couple of travelers entering to get adrink to | march in with them, took a glassof beerat the | bar and at the same time observed what the man ) whom he had tracked so closely was up to, i Dame Fortune in this instance took it into her ut Geawielous head to frown upon the master scoun- i drel, } ‘ a = —— eee eee - ts “ The spy knew who he was, and what an un- Hi savory reputation he bore, and when he join ie his two companions without, was able to com- a municate to them this important bit of infor- mation, which, of course, convinced them that it gy were on the right track. ri With the greatest caution then they tracked 12 the two from the saloon to the SPs and guess- | ing from Curly Kid’s manner that he was on the watch, they did not attempt to board the i train in the usua] manner, passing through ype “ gate and exhibiting their tickets to the man who guarded the entrance, ot But they got on board of the train all the . same though. ! They went to the street at the end of thede- © pot and when the train pulled out, going slowly __ at first of course, each man selected a different car and jumped upon it. is Then the man who was acquainted with the desperado—who had got on the lest car, pro- | ceeded to ‘‘locate” the two who had been so cleverly tracked, by passing through thecoaches, —_ | entering by the rear door so he was able to dis- Bl ii cover the men he sought without attracting / their attention in any way. ; } The two were seated in the forward part of | the car, and the three spies took up a positionin = the rear part of the same coach, and when ra . Curly Kid and his companion, upon them sta- « tion heing reached, made their exit from the [! front door of the car, the three spies hurried out of the rear door, but they did not get off on the f side where the platform was, but descended on eom Ebooks, Gor