Beadle's Dime Library No. 384 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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22 agreed that it was advisable to accept the in- vitation given by Everest, but Phenix, with his well-known shrewdness, had determined to take all possible precautions against falling into a ep, e was wel enough acquainted with Everest to be aware that this king of rascals would not hesitate at any means, no matter how bloody or desperate, to remove from his path a foe whose absence was material to his plans. And so, no sooner had he agreed to accept the invitation and the woman had departed, than be set measures on foot to ascertain all the particulars in regard to the house which he was about to visit. The young girl was still under Talbot’s pro- tection. Now that Phenix had ascertained that Ever- est was in pursuit of her, he had advised that she give up her place and accept his hospitality until the man who appeared desirous of per- secuting her should be driven from the field. The detective had not the least doubt that he should not succeed in getting the best of the wily desperado, particularly now that he had the aid of Talbot, whose rare good qualities in a fight of this kind he was prompt to recog- nize. Fedelian was content to remain under the pro- tection of her new-found friends. Her mother had never treated her in a way to lead her to regard her parent with the affec- tion that a child should feel toward the author of its being, and in fact of late years a feel- ing of aversion had begun to grow up in her mind caused by her mother’s peculiar treat- ment. It really seemed to her as if her mother was bent upon doing all in her power to show her that she was fairly hated by the parent who ought to have been proud of sutbh a child. Fedelia was a strange girl, too, in some re- spects. She was reserved and distant; her life had been an almost friendless one, for there had been few persons whom she had encountered in her pilgrimage through this vale of tears that pleas- ed her fancy sufficiently to make her wish she could call them friends. The detective and the Westerner, however, pleased her exacting fancy. She respected the grave and taciturn Phenix and admired Talbot whose gallant attempt to rescue her from the ruffians who tried to ab- duct her caused him to appear like a hero in her eyos. And so it was that she trusted herself unre- servedly in their bands, following implicitly their advice. That the girl would be perfectly safe in his house the detective did not for an instant doubt, for he reasoned that it would be a bold rascal indeed who would attempt to snatch a prey right out from under his nose. And then the house was well-protected too, although there was but a single man-servant at- tached to the premises, but he was a middie- aged, bull-dog-like Irishman, as devoted to his master as one man could be unto another, and as he had served for five years as the detective’s assistant, be was well-posted in regard to all sorts of tricks and traps. The housekeeper, who was a muscular woman ‘fas strong as a horse and as bold as a lion,” could also be depended upon to ‘‘ hold the fort” to the last gasp in the event of an attack, Then too the house was guarded by as perfect a burglar-alarm as money could procure, besides being connected with Police: Head-quarters by that miracle of modern invention, the telephone. So in case of any emergency assistance could be readily procured. There was good reason for all these precau- tions for the life of the sleuth-hound had been attempted a dozen times at least. Desperate men who had emerged from long confinement within Sing Sing’s cold gray walls sought to —_ square” with the untiring pur- suer who run them down. Relatives of felons who had been brought to the bar of judgment by the detective’s power at- tempted to procure sweet revenge by removing at one fell swoop this terror of evil-doers, But thanks to the precautions which the de- tective took, one and all these evil schemes mis- carried, and among the dangerous classes of the reat city he came to be regarded as a man who hore a charmed life, proof alike ’gainst bullet or inife. §. Under these circumstances the detective de- parted on his mission without a single appre- hension that danger could possibly come to the girl in his absence. ; i But as the best of generals will sometimes lose an important battle through some slight error so did the acute detective make a mistake in not taking greater precautions to guard the girl who was trusting to his protection. F ; He made the mistake of underrating the abil- ities of the man who desired to gain possession o the girl. But then be hadn’t the least idea of how anx- ious the other was to accomplish this purpose, = Injun Dick, Detective. So without the least apprehension that watch- ful eyes were upon him, he departed on his mis- sion, not even taking the trouble to warn either the Irishman or the housekeeper to be extra careful. All the inmates of the house were in the habit of retiring early, and so by the time the party who had boldly resolved to beard the lion im his den had reached the neighborhood of their des- tination, all within the detective’s abode had re- tired to rest. Then came stealthy feet through the silent street. It was a quiet neighborhood, and there were not generally many travelers on the street after nine o’clock, The block upon which the dctective’s house was situated was not particularly well-lighted, and there were plenty of dark shadows to aid in concealing the eit forms who came prowl- ing like so many hideous night-beasts of prey down the street. There were two men, muscular and deter- mined-looking fellows, and a little wee bit of a boy. A tiny fellow, who did not look as if he was over two years old, and yet he strode along like aman, and wore the face of a lad of ten or twelve years upon his shoulders, Plainly the little fellow was a dwarf, and his age could not be told from his stature. The three halted in front of the detective’s house and peered carefully about them. ‘‘ All is serene, eh, Mickey?’ observed the tallest and most muscular of the two men, who seemed to be in command of the party. “You bet!” responded the other. ‘* You bet!” squeaked the manikin. ‘* The cop has just passed, and there ain’t any danger of his being around here for another hour at least.” ‘* Nary danger,” said the second ruffian. ‘‘Nary danger,” chorused the dwarf, who seemed content to be but an echo of his com- panious. ‘To work then, and the quicker the better,” commanded the leader. ‘‘ Everybody seems to be a-gittin’ ready to go to bed, and we can crack the crib in no time.” ‘¢ Mike is at the corner of the street with the coach,” observed the second fellow, ‘‘and I gave him orders to drive up here in "bout ten minutes. Patsey is keeping watch at the corner below, so we'll have plenty of warning if any stray cop happens to turn up.” ** All correct, and we'll go for the crib.” Up the steps went the taller ruffan and the dwarf, while the other lounged below, evidently to prevent a surprise. rasping the manikin in his muscular hands, the *‘cracksman” for such the fellow plainly was, swung him up to the stone coping which was over the doorway. With a dexterity which plainly could only have been acquired by long practice, the dwart, by means of a ‘“diamond-point,” the glazier’s tool, cut a pane of glass from the sash, taking it out whole, and then passed through the aper- ture into the apartment. The window was guarded by a burglar alarm and the slightest attempt to open it would have immediately alarmed the house; but this novel means of entrance bid defiance to all burglar- alarms. The moment the manikin disappeared, the tall ruffian joined his companion on the side- walk and the two sauntered over to the curb- tone. ‘The kid will do the trick up’ brown,” the boss cracksman observed, with a chuckle, ‘To professionals in our line of business, that little cuss is worth his weight in gold,” the other remarked, ‘* He’s got a head on his shoulders, I tell you,” spoke the other, with the air of a , ‘“1f he only had the body to match his head, there's no telling what he couldn’t do, but as it 1s— ‘* He'll stretch a rope some day,” observed the other grimly. ¥ Mebbe, or the op is plucky as a bulldog, and had just as lief kill as eat.” Then there was silence. Five minutes elapsed; a rap on the iron lid of the coal-hole in the pavement attracted the at- tention of the men. They stooped and lifted the cover. Thedwarf had unfastened it underneath. The inmates of the detective’s mansion were at the mercy of the CHAPTER XXXII. IN THE TOILS, PROBABLY never in the bistory of the a. lar’s art was a more clever piece of housebreak- ang recorded. he coal-hole was not protected by a burglar- alarm. But what genius would ever take it into his head to suppose that cracksmen in search of plunder would enter the house by means of the coal-hole in the pavement, defended by a strong bull? And matching this was the shrewd device hatched by the clever brain of the Old Man, of introducing the manikin into the house by means ofthe window of the hall bedroom, an apartment which was not at present used by any of the inmates of the house—a fact which the master-scoundrel took care to ascertain be- fore commencing operations. Ieverest was a decided genius in his way. When he proposed to operate in any locality, | his first proceeding was to obtain accurate in- | formation in regard to the premises and its 1n- | mates. A map of the house and surroundings was drawn, every window, door and passageway being shown, with brief remarks in regard to material, amply large enough to hold an angry | their fastenings. A complete description of the inmates of the house was also written cut, with all their habits carefully noted, and when all this careful pre- paration is taken ito consideration, it is not strange that the Old Man rarely attempted to ‘“‘erack a crib” without succeeding. And this present venture he had planned with more than usual care, for:he had an espe- cial liking for all such dangerous games, and ta, be able to snatch the girl from the care of such a protector as Jce Phenix would be a tri- umph worth going to considerable trouble to obtain. Thanks to the plan of the house which Everest had obtained and which the dwarf had studied until he was as familiar with the inside of the mansion as if he kad resided there for a yeer or two, the mamkin was able to find his way to the cellar without the least trouble; and so the cracksmen obtained access to the house without disturbing any of the inmates and in spite of the elaborate burglar-alarm. The voice of the dwarf was heard the moment the cover was lifted. **Come on, quick,” he said. ‘‘ Everything is O. K,” The tall ruffian descended through the coal- hole into the cellar, dropping into the dungeon- like depths with the ease of a skillful acrobat. After he had disappeared his pal replaced the cover and resumed his watch, and no one pass- ing through the street would have dreamed that there was aught amiss. When the tall cracksman gained the floor of the coal-bin, the dwarf turned on the light of the tiny dark-lantern which he carried and led the is to the upper regions. he girl occupied a bed-room on the second story, in the rear of the house, and to the door of her apartment the dwarf conducted the boss ruffian. “Tt’s an easy job,” the manikin remarked, with the air of a judge, as the two paused out- side of the door and the cracksman paused to examine the lock. ‘It’s only a common lock, you see, and there’s no bolt on the inside. ‘‘The detective did his level best to fix the house so that the crib would be a hard one to crack, and I guess he thought there wasn’t the least danger of any one getting in, and so didn’t trouble himself *bout the inside fastenings.” And the dwarf chuckled as he reflected how easily the sagacity of the ‘‘Old Man” had set at naught the precautions of the detective. ““The key is in the lock, too,” the other ob- served after a squint through the key-hole. ‘Oh! this is as easy as rolling off a log,” the little man observed, with a contemptuous air. ‘*T don’t see why the captain took it into his A oe to put sich fellers as we are at such an easy job. “Tt don’t need High Tobys of our stamp; any of the boys jest learning the trade would have done jest as well.” “Mebbe so, and mebbe not,” the other re- plied, too well acquainted with the dwarf's in- veterate inclination to find fault to trouble him- self by discussing the delicate point. And as he spoke the cracksman drew a pair of burglar’s “‘nippers”—as the strong, peculiarly shaped pincers used by these minions of the moon are termed—from his pocket, and seizing the small end of the key which projected on the outside with the nippers, he unlocked the door with the greatest ease, and so carefully was the operation managed that the turning of the key in the lock did not make the slirhtest noise, The door being unlocked, the master cracks- man opened it in the most cautious manner, send so well was the job performed that not the slightest sound was heard. he dwarf entered the room toes, and his companion foll heels. Cautiously the manikin allowed the light from his dark-lantern to illuminate the apartment, and as the gloom was dispelled a sight met his eyes that almost made him utter an exclan aticn of surprise. The girl sat at a table at the end of the rocm near the window. An open book was before her, and she had ev- idently fallen asleep over the printed pages. ‘““This is mighty lucky,” the master ruffan observed, in a whisper, to the dwarf. moving cn tip- owed upcn his | on) Ret ee a a mR eS i a Ly ——— and from the nature of the case it was impos- bi sible that he could have. iron cover fastened by a chain of the same! ‘* There’s her hat and cloak yonder, you bring a | cComilrebooks..com |