Beadle's Dime Library No. 384 — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

Injun Dick, Detective. 19 a - _ — name?” asked Phenix, in his most insinuating tones. The woman hesitated and glanced at the two ards. Talbot thought that it was his cue to speak, and was quick to improve the opportunity. ‘* This is the lady of whom I spoke,” he said, addressing the detective. ‘* Mrs, Leander Bea- verwick.” ** Ah!” murmured Phenix, surprised by this intelligence, and quickly perceiving how im- portant it was. “Yes, | was once called by that name,” she admitted. ‘* Yet this young lady’s name is Heverstar,” Phenix remarked. “The name of my first husband,” she ex- plained. ‘* Yes, yes, I see, and possibly the contracting of your sezond marriage is the reason why you pursued the strange course you did in regard to your daughter.” ‘Exactly; my first marriage was an unfor- tunate one. My husband and I did not agree and I fled from him before the birth of the child and soon after, before the babe came, he was taken suddenly ill and died. ‘* He had the grace to make provision for the expected babe, but treated me in the most shabby manner, ‘‘f admit I bore the child but little love, and did no more for it than I was obliged; but she is my daughter, the law gives me the right to her, and when [ learned that she was in this house and under your protection, Dick Talbot, I made up my mind to claim her.” Her eyes flashed, and her tone was bitter in the extreme as she looked upon the man who, at not a remote period, had come forward and stood between her and starvation. ‘*Now that is really a wonder—how on earth did you find out that she was in this house?” the detective inquired, in the most innocent and guileless way imaginable. The woman hesitated; she fancied there was some trap in the question, and she was deter- mined not to be caught. ‘“T was told so,” she said at last. ‘*T do not really understand who could have given you the information,” Phenix persisted. ‘* My husband heard that she was here.” All within the room pricked up their ears, metaphorically speaking, at this intelligence, and Bowers muttered under his breath: ‘* Another husband? Durn me if she ain’t worse than the Mormons!” ‘* Your husband? This, I take it, is number three?” Phenix observed. ‘*T believe that is a matter that concerns my- self more nearly than any one else,” she observ- ed, sharply. **Certainly—of course; and may I ask the name of your present husband?” inquired Phe- nix. ‘“‘T do not know any reason why I should wish to make a secret of the matter,” she re- plied, a hard and stony look appearing on her face. ‘*Of course not,” the detective urged, his pro- fessional instinct leading him to believe he was on the eve of an important discovery. ‘‘ My husband’s name is Malachi Everest.” This was an astonisher for all of the three, ‘¢ Malachi Everest,” murmured the detective, ‘The infamous, black-hearted scoundrel, who murdered your husband, Leander Beaverwick |” Talbot cried, unable to restrain his righteous in- dignation. The face of the woman flushed, and then paled; her eyes drooped and a half-shudder ran over her form; but witha a strong effort she re- covered her composure, and with a defiant ex- pression forced the answer: ‘‘What grounds have you upon which to make such a charge?” she exclaimed. ‘* You know that it is the truth,” Talbot re- plied, ignoring the question. ‘*This scoundrel came to our cabin on the night of the tragedy in discuise, and you vol- unteered to find the treil for him. **T see now that it was all arranged before- hand. ‘You went forth with this wretch to waylay your busband, and you succeeded in your de- sign; your accomplice murdered him; then he robbed the cabin and contrived a mine designed to kill Bowers and myself; but by a miracle, as it were, we escaped, and we have pursued you to the East hot for vengeance!” CHAPTER XXVII. THE WOMAN EXPLAINS. A WEARIED look came over the face of the woman, and she shook her head impatiently, _ ‘This is mere idle talk!” she exclaimed. ** You have not followed me because you believed I had a hand in the death of Limber Bee, but because you were determined I should not en- joy the society of the only man that I ever truly oved, ‘*Of course, you do not know the story of my life, and therefore are not able to judge me as I ought to be judged. —— ee Ce ee Se ‘* Malachi Everest is not my third husband, but my second. ‘‘ We were married a good ten years ago, and for a time all went well, and then the demon of misfortune descended upon our humble home, and we were driven to the West to carve out a new life. * And there, amid wild and rude surround- ings, my husband fell, innocently, into bad company. He became the friend and associate of bold, bad men, not knowing them to be such. ‘At last the explosion came. The vile wretches were detected and arrested, and my husband with them. ‘The villains did not qwetly submit to the law’s demands, there was a conflict, and in the struggle some of the ofiicers were hurt, one of whom afterward died of the wound which he re- ceived, ‘* My husband was accused of the murder, was tried and convicted—convicted on false testi- mony, for he was as innocent of the man’s death as an unborn babe. ‘* But the people of the community were so prejudiced that it was impossible to secure a fair trial and so Malachi Everest was sentenced to the State Prison for life. ‘Thus was I left alone to the mercy of the world, sick both in heart and body and utterly without means. ‘* All the neighbors shrunk from me, for I was the wife of a felon, and every one believed I was just as bad as the man who had been sentenced to pass all the rest of his days immured ina dun- geon cell, * At this critical moment in my history, Leander Beaverwick encountered me, ‘“‘He had just inherited a small property and became infatuated with me, despite the awful situation in which I was placed, ‘* By the laws of the State I was a free woman, for my husband’s crime divorced us. ** Weak and sick, not knowing which way to turn, I yielded to Beaverwick’s importunities and became his wife. ‘*'You, as well as any living soul, know the miserable life I led with him,” she continued, ad- dressing her remarks directly to Talbot. ‘Ti ue, you didn’t get on well together, but that was no excuse for your being an accom- plice in his murder,” Talbot observed. ** As there is a Heaven above, I declare to you I an innocent of all knowledge of the deed!” she cried, The woman’s words seemed to bear the im- press of truth, but the circumstantial evidence was strongly against the plea. ** You recognized that the old man was your felon husband in disguise on the night when he stopped at our cabin and inquired the way to Murphy’s Gulch,” Talbot said. ‘I did, and thoagh I was surprised by his a pearance yet I did not dream that any terrible event would follow.” ** What passed between you after fia uitted the neighborhood of the cabin with him for the ostensible purpose of showing him the road?” our hero demanded with the grave aspect of a judge. ‘*He told me he had come to take me away. He had been pardoned and was a free managain ; understanding how I was situated he thought it best to come in disguise and have an interview with me, ‘* | explained to him that I was lawfully mar- ried to Beaverwick, but he laughed at the idea, ‘“*The miserable scoundrel would be glad to sell you for a few hundred dollars,’ he said, and he proposed that we sbould go through the canyon and meet Beaverwick as he re- turned, ‘* We did so; Beaverwick was in liquor and inclined to be quarrelsome, as he always was when in his cups, ** When he found out who Everest was he flew into a violent passion and swore he would kill him upon the spot, ‘* He drew his knife and precipitated himself upon him. ‘In self-defense Everest struck him, and the blow was fatal.” She had hurried on in her narrative as though she could not utter the words fast enough, but now she hesitated, closed her eyes for a mo- ment and pressed her hands across her temples as though anxious to shut out the vision of the ast. " After a moment she went on: ‘*Tt was in self-defense—I was a witness to the tragedy—the only witness—and there isn’t a jury in the land who would not on my evidence acquit Everest, for it was not murder. ‘* After the deed was done, we counseled to- gether and concluded that as no one knew aught of the affair it would be best for us to keep our secret and depart from the region as soon as possible, ‘** We returned to the cabin, and I went to the secret hoard and took one-third of the gold, to which I was rightfully entitled, and then we de- parted and came straight to the East, “T had little idea that you, Dick Talbot, was on our track, anxious to bring us to the gallows,” ’ a ES ‘**'You have told a plausible tale, and I hope for your sake that the major part of it is true,” Talbot remarked. ‘‘It is true! every word of it is true!” the woman cried fiercel “> ** Possibly you believe it is, and yet you may be mistaken,” the detective observed. ‘‘ It is impossible for any one to be mistaken in regard to such a matter. I am only telling you what I know, not what I surmise.” ‘* But you are greatly in error in some particu- lars,” the detective rejoined. ‘** And extremely ignorant upon some others,” Talbot observed, dias, ‘* All the gold in the secret hoard was taken, the two-thirds that belonged to Bowers and myself, as well as the one-third, yours by right.” ‘** [ will swear that I was careful only to take my third,” responded the woman, doggedly. ‘** You betrayed the secret hiding-place to your companion.” ‘* Well—yes; I took the money in his presence and explained to him that 1t belonged to me.” ‘*Then ycu left the cabin?” Yes.” ** And you did not return to it again?” “ No.” ** But your companion did,” ‘* Not to my knowledge.” ‘* Think over the past now—try and remem- ber exactly all that happened,” Talbot con- tinued. ‘‘It is as fresh in my memory as though it was only yesterday,” she affirmed. ** After you departed, your companion on some pretense quitted you for awhile; he returned to the cabin, helped himself to the rest of the gold, and constructed a mine connected with the candle, so that when | returned and lighted it, the house and its inmates would be blown into atoms.” ‘*No, no, it is impossible; he would not do such a thing.” ‘*T am not asking you to give your opinion in regard to that,” Injun Dick exclaimed, severely. ‘*T am only trying to find out if your companiom did not leave you for a sufficient time to accom- plish such a thing.” There was a pause; the woman hesitated to answer. ‘*T see that my surmise is right,” Talbot con- tinned. ‘ Your companion did leave you, and was absent a suflicient time to lay the trap which was coolly calculated to hur] Bowers and myself to death,” ‘He did leave me, but it was only for a few minutes,” she reluctantly confessed, ‘‘ He re- turned for the purpose of destroying all signs of our trail, so that the route we had taken could not be discovered.” ‘** And the plot to murder Bowers and myself at the ford of the Rio Grande, and the attacks upon usin New York, do you know aught of them?” ** Nothing,” she replied, sullenly. ‘* I will not say that my husband has not attempted to give blow for blow, for it is only natural for a hunt- ed man to turn and attempt to rend his pur- suer's,” It was now Phenix’s cue to speak. ‘* Mrs. Beaverwick or Mrs, Everest, as I pre- sume you are more rightly termed,” he began, ‘*T begin to believe now I have heard your story that you have been a terribly deceived woman. ‘You are apparently ignorant of the fact that Malachi Everest has been for years leagued with a band of criminals who live by defying the laws. ‘‘ For twenty years at least the hand of jus- tice has been reaching for him, and if it has not succeeded in grasping him so effectually as to shut off his wretched life, it is because he, the criminal, has been smarter than the agents of the law. ‘* But the pitcher that goes often to the well will be broken at last, and Malachi Everest some day will meet the doom he so justly deserves,” **T cannot believe that this is the truth,” she responded, slowly, yet there was a look in her face which seemed to sa y that she had a suspi- cion it was only tke truth. “And do you intend to keep my girl from me?” she continued, ‘** Most assuredly, until you give up this asso- ciating with this outlaw,” Talbot replied. “Dick Talbot, you will meet your death on this Atlantic slope,” she prophesied, and then gloweringly departed, CHAPTER XXVIII. ON THE DEFENSIVE, Ir was with a sad heart that Mrs. Beaver- wick, or Mrs, Everest, as we shall hereafter call her, left the house of the detective, She was like one wandering in a maze, and the niore she reflected upon the matter, the greater became her confusion. ‘Can it be true?’ she kept asking herself, as she proceeded on her homeward road, **Can it be that the statement of this detec- tive is true, and the man whom I have loved and trusted all these years is naught but a felon who deserves to bg the inmate of a prison-cell instead of walking freely in the sunlight? comicboo SiG