Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 363 — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

oer —-_ * Well, well, we’re all in a bad box, arn’t we?” Curly Kid exclaimed as the others came up and he saw that the boy had been found ail also noticed the ‘“* bracelets” which ‘* ornamented” the wrists of the woman. ‘** Well, we can’t keno ever time, as I’ve often heard you say. We must give the banker some chance to live,” Moll responded in the most phil- osophical manner nosaiEte. _‘* No word of reproach from you, eh?” Curly Kid observed. ‘Well, gentlemen, now I want to say a few words about this woman’s share in the matter. ** You've got me dead to rights and I’m man enough to stand up and take my medicine like a major. But as far as this woman is concerned, she is Sopieate innocent of having anything to do with the abduction of the boy, and in fact didn’t know that the child was in the house un- til some hours after he was put there. ‘‘ Her womanly curiosity led her into mischief. She was anxious to see who was concealed in the secret chamber at the top of the house and so discovered the boy. _ “Of course when this discovery was made she immediately understood what kind of a game I was up to, and I must do her the justice to say that she protested against it in the most vigorous manner, saying that she was satisfied that nothing but evil would come of it. ‘‘ But I was always a headstrong rascal, and so I went on at my own gait. “She was right, I was wrong, and I suppose I will get five or ten years in the State prison ee as to afford me time to repent of my stupid- ity. ‘Be so kind as to remove the handcuffs from her wrists, Endicott,” said Crowningshield. ‘* You pitied my poor boy in his lonesome cap- tivity, and did what you could to brighten his weary hours, and in payment of the service I release you. You are free.” ‘Thank you, sir,” replied the woman, grate- fully, as the lawyer removed the handcuffs, ‘Tt won’t do you any harm to save me from jail, and perhaps some of these days you may need a favor, and if so, Heaven will surely re- member this act of mercy and raise up a friend to serve you,” ** Don’t preach, Moll, it ain’t in your line,” Curly Kid remarked, contemptuously, ** Although [ don’t doubt that every word she says is true enough, though. ‘* Sometimes it really appears to me asif there was a recording: angel somewhere, who is keep- ing an account of these little things. ‘*T say, Crowningshield, you couldn’t strain a point and let me slide too, could you?’ remarked the desperado, with a sarcastic smile, for he had not the slightest hope of any such clemency being extended to him, ‘In your caso the law must take its course; to pardon you would be but to let forth a human tiger, whose sole mission is to prey upon. its fel- low-man.” “Well, your head’s about level there, and no mistake,” Curly Kid replied, scornfully. ‘*T am an outcast—a pirate, a modern Ishmaelite, whose hand is against every man. “* That’s the game Ive been playing for years, and it’s too late now to start in on a fresh deal.’ **Tt is never too late to reform,” returned Crowningshield. ** While the lamp holds out to burn the vilest sinner may return, eh?” quoth Curly Kid, in con- tempt. ** That’s good old Scriptural doctrine, but I don’t take any stock in it, ** You'll come and see me, Moll,if I’m not lucky enough to get out of this, a nd have to seek seclusion for a few years.” ‘** You know very well, Curly, that I will stick to you while life remains,” she answered, warm- ly. ‘** Oh, you’re a trump!” ‘* Let me see,” observed Endicott; ‘‘ how are we going to get our prisoners into the city? Have you got such a thing as a horse and wagon on ithe premises?” he asked, turning to Curly Kid. ‘‘Say, don’t you think it is rather a cheeky thing, asking a man to find his own vehicle to carry him to prison?” asked the master scoun- drel. ‘© Will not that plan be better than to compel you to walk?’ the other retorted. ** Well, I don’t know but what there is a good deal of truth in that,” the desperado admitted. ‘“‘There’s a horse and a small express wagon in the barn, and they are at your service if you will see that they are returned after you get through with them, because Moll here will want them to work the place. You see, we do a lit- tle in the truck line.” ‘7 will attend to that,” the lawyer promised. The woman produced the keys of the barn, Endicott went after the rig, and in a short time returned with a rather vicious-looking sorrel horse hitched to a light express wagon. There was the usual front seat, and the law- er had put a couple of old shoe-boxes which he had discovered in the barn, in the rear part of the wagon to serve for seats. Winslow volunteered to drive, the prisoners were put in the middle of the wagon, while Crowningshield and the lawyer occupied the rear box, i “Take care of yourself, Moll!” exclaimed Curly Kid, as they drove off. ‘‘ Keep a stiff upper lip; this is a bad serape, but I’ve been in worse in my time, and managed to get out of it.” CHAPTER XXXIV. THE ESCAPE, Away went the express wagon, the woman waving her hand in a parting salutation until they were out of sight, and then with a sad heart she returned to the house. Leaving the woman to her lonely meditations, we will follow the prisoners and their captors, ‘* Which is the nearest way to the city?’ Win- slow inquired, not being familiar with the lo- cality. > eis straight on in this road which crosses the Charles river and enters Cambridgeport; that is the most direct way and the best road.” ** All right.” At this point, the gambler felt Curly Kid nudge him with his elbow, and he understood that this was a signal for him to pay attention to what was coming. **T don’t know though, but what it is bad ad- vice for you—that I’m giving,” the master- scoundrel observed, in a reflective sort of way. ** How so?” Winslow asked. ‘“Why, because my pal here and myself are two of the best divers in the country, and when we come to the river, if you don’t keep an eye upon us, we’}l be apt to take a header into the stream from the draw, and then you would have to whistle for your prisoners.” ‘*Oh, that’s a likely story!” exclaimed the doctor, while the others exchanged smiles. “You or any other man would be able to swim in the most magnificent manner with those bracelets on your wrists,” Winslow continued. ‘**'You would be apt to swim to the bottom pretty quickly,” the lawyer remarked. Crowningshield paid but little heed to the conversation, He was drawing Little Golden- locks closer to his side. The boy had been placed on the rear box be- tween his father and the lawyer. **Oh, but you ain’t reckoning on the fact that we are champion swimmers!” Curly Kid exclaimed in a spirit of badinage. ‘*Tt would really do your heart good to see myself and my pal here come some of our tricks in the water. Crowningshield, the Sleuth. oo wee a Ce ‘We had it on the cards once to swim the | rapids below the Falls of Niagara, but we could not fix it so that a big enough stake would be offered to pay us for the risk, and so we gave it up. ‘**'You were wise,”? Winslow observed. None of the three believed that there was any truth in the man’s words, but thought he was indulging in the pleasant pastime known as chaffing. But it was the truth. Both of the men were superb swimmers—al- most equal to profesionals 4 exhibitions of their skill in performing all sorts of tricks in the water. The gambler, of course, being fully aware of this, knew when Curly Kid began to speak about the matter, that there was some deep purpose concealed in the apparently playful remarks. The secret nudge which he had received from his conrpanion had warned him to be on his guard, He fully understood what game his compan- ion nianaed to play. When the bridge was reached, he calculated in some way to get out of the wagon and leap from the structure into the water. Swimmers as expert as they were could easil make their way through the water, even though laboring under the disadvantage of wearing handcuffs, and as the street at this point was guaite wide, and the banks only sedgy marsh, if they once succeeded in getting into the water they had a pretty good prospect of being able to make their wl ie Just exactly how the daring and desperate Curly Kid intended to get out of the wagon, seated as he was in the midst of his guards, so as to make the leap from the bridge into the stream, was a mystery. He evidently had some scheme in his head which he believed could he carried out, or else he would never have broached the subject. Situated as they were, with the State prison staring them in the face, with the almost cer- tain prospect of being condemned there for the term of at least five years—the chances being good that they were far more likely to get ten years than five—any method of escaping from the doom to this living tomb, even at the risk of life, would be gladly seized upon. No further conversation took place between the parties until the bridge was reached. Then, as the horse’s hoofs clattered upon the wooden way, the gambler again received the warning nudge from his companion, ‘* Here’s the bridge—get ready for your leap!” suggested Winslow jokingly, as they entered upon the structure, ‘Stop the wagon, and give me a show for my money!” was the rejoinder. 10 make a living by | 25 The animal was a vicious, unruly beast, as full of tricks as a pet deer, The doctor was not a good driver, and the horse had sense enough to understand that he was being driven by a stranger, and by one who was not well enougn acquainted with his tricks to understand that it was not safe to drive him with a loose rein. He had behaved tolerably well on the read, only betraying an inclination to shy once ina while at some real or imaginary object, followed by a sudden bolt as though he meditated upset- ting the wagon into the first convenient ditch, ut the moment he got on the bridge, the beast laid his ears back, and began to act as if Old Nick had got into him. He pranced and he cavorted, danced first to one side and then to the other, as though he was in mortal fear. ‘*Go along with you! what are you about?” the driver cried. The auspicious moment had arrived. The two on the back seat were so occupied in watching the eccentric movements of the horse, that they were not paying any particular attention to the prisoners, The three friends were not trained detectives, who had learned by sad experience the impor- tant truth, that it is never safe to trust any of these old and hardened criminals, although they seemed to have given up all idea of attempting to escape. Their revolvers were bestowed in their pockets, In truth, it did not seem necessary for these well-built, muscular men to keep weapons in their hands to guard two criminals securely ‘handcuffed, The further the horse got on the bridge, the worse he seemed to behave. ‘** Oh, if I only had a whip wouldn’t I lay it on this brute!” the driver exclaimed in anger, Again the gambler felt the nudge of his com- anion’s elbow, and from the energetic manner in Which it was given, Randolph guessed that Curly Kid wished him to understand that the decisive moment had arrived, Suddenly, without a moment’s warning, the master scoundrel gave vent to a yell that would have done honor to the wildest red-ckin that ever roamed the border. . The effect on the horse was electrical. The brute took the bit in his teeth, and darted forward at break-neck spced. The effect of this mcovcment, was that all within the wagon, with the exception of Wins- low, who clung to the lmes with desperate energy, were upset, and went pell-mell out of the vehicle onto the bridge. Crowningshield was so occupied in endeavor- ing to save Little Goldenlocks from being bruised, that he never gave a thought to the eet oes and the lawyer, having landed on the road of his back and bumped his head against the hard boards in such a forcible fashion, as to cause a multitude of stars to dance before his vision, wasin no conditicn to look after them. The two pals being in a measure prepared for just such an event, escaped with only a few umps. They were on their feet in an instant, ran to the railing, end then with a shout of triumph, leaped over it into the dark waters below. The tide was running out, hurrying seaward with the velocity of a mill-race, And by the time that Crowningshield and Endicott got upon their feet and ran to the rail- ing, the two pals had vanished in the gloom which hung upon the surface of the tide. ‘* By Jove!” Endicott cried, ‘‘that was about as plucky a deed as J ever witnessed!” ‘* Yes, it was indeed; no one can say a word against the bravery of these two men.” ‘Do you think they will succeed in making their escape, handcuffed as they are?” “They are taking a greatrisk of course, but if they are expert swimmers, which I do not doubt, they ought to ke able to get to the land.” ‘‘We might recapture them if we followed down the banks,” Endicott suggested, all the in- stinct of the man-hunter aroused. ‘‘ There is very little chance of that, the banks are low and wet, nothing but a marsh, all cut up by little gullies flowing into the stream at right angles, so if we should attempt to follow the streams down the banks, the first thing we knew we should find ourselves up to our necks in mud.” “That would be a pleasant experience in such _a night as this particularly, for since the clouds have come up the moon is obscured two-thirds of the time.” ‘¢ What is to be done—let the fellows like ancient honest Dogberry, ‘ thank that we are rid of a pair of knaves?” ‘* Yes, after all what does it matter? I have recovered my boy, and that is all I care for,” Crowningshield answered. ‘“* Let us hasten on then, and see what has ke- come of Winslow.” They proceeded over the bridge, and after they had gone for about half a mile on the Cam- bridge side, they met that genceman returning with the horse and wagon, having succeeded in’ o, and eaven Winslow did not reply, because the horse at | at last taming the brute; then they got on board this moment began to give him trouble, again and started for the city, ee er, ee rere mee Gomiulchboo SS) (eo)