Beadle's Dime Library No. 384 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

—_——- ——— nished, although all the furniture in the room was good, though old-fashioned, the relics of a past age. There was only a large center-table in the center of the room, the sofa upon which she re- clined, and a couple of chairs. A gas-light hung from the ceiling over the table, and a single Sinan being lit, illuminated the room. There were two windows in the room, both concealed by heavy, old-style damask curtains, and when she arose to her feet for the purpose of gazing forth, that she mightascertain where she was, she discovered that the windows were guarded by heavy iron bars upon the inside, The girl recoiled in horror, for her first thought was that she was the inmate of a prison. But then, though she had never been inside of a jail in her life, yet from her reading she knew that prisons were not furnished in the style her apartment boast d. What did it mean? The view from the window was a rural one, trees, shrubbery and grass, but no houses or any other signs of human existence. Then she proceeded to try the doors, ane were two in the apartment, one at each end. The first one, a massive oaken affair, was se- curely locked, evidently from the outside, for there was no key visible. The other led into a small room, a bed-cham- ber, nicely fitted up, but in antique style, like the main apartment. More and more perplexed, Fedelia returned to the main room and was amazed to find that during her brief absence a visitor had ar- rived. A middle-aged man, with iron-gray hair and a heavy beard of the same hue, dressed com- pletely in black, which gave him a ministerial aspect which was still further enhanced by the old-bowed spectacles which were perched upon ; nose. The gentleman had seated himself by the center-table, apparently to wait for the com ing of the inmate of the apartment. ee ee ee ous St FEE ; eer ey 5° 4 mus? . Injun Dick, Detective. ‘‘ Beginning to notice!” she cried, indignant- ly. ‘*As soon as I recovered my senses 1 be- gan to notice, of course. ‘* But I do not understand this—what am I doing here, and how comes it that I am in this place? ‘* Where is Mr. Talbot and Mr. Phenix?’ ‘“*Mr. Talbot and Mr. Phenix!” and the old gentleman shook his head gravely. ‘* There comes in your delusion again. Those two names have been continual)y on your lips during the last month.” ‘“*During the last month!” almost shrieked the girl, so amazed was she by the statement. ‘‘Why, sir, what are you saying? I have not known either of the gentlemen for a month!” ‘In your imagination, child, I mean.” ‘‘In my imagination?’ she repeated, in be- wilderment. ‘* Yes, of course; are you sufficiently in pos- session of your senses to understand that no such persons exist?” ‘** No such persons exist?” ‘*Certainly not; they are only creatures of your disordered brain.” And now, all of a sudden the truth flashed upon her. ‘*Great heavens!” she cried, do you believe that I am insane, and is this a mad-house?” ‘* Oh, dear, no,” and the old gentleman bland- ly rubbed his hands together again. ‘‘ Oh, no; you are not crazy. You couldn’t talk with me as sensibly as you do, if you were out of your mind, ‘* But, as the poet says, you are troubled a little with thick-coming fancies, ‘‘ They do not amount to anything, my dear, Little, simple delusions, you know; time and rest will work a cure beyond the shadow of a doubt.” The girl was so excited at this confirmation of her awful suspicion that she felt for a mo- ment as if her brain would give way beneath the shock, but she struggled bravely against | the feeling. ‘*Oh, this is terrible!” she cried. ‘* I am in When the girl arrived he rose and bowed in | a mad-house, and you, I suppose, are one of the the most respectful manner. Felelia was puzzled. doctors?” ‘* That is my profession: but this is not really This gentleman, with his grave and rather , a mad-house, my dear young lady. pleasant face, could not be a jailer, or else all | she had read upon the subject was utterly wrong. ‘* Good-evening, miss,” he said. ‘‘ How do vou find yourself this evening? Allow me the pleasure of offering you a chair.” And then, with all the courtly grace of the old-school gentleman, he brought a chair and placed it a short distance from his own. Almost mechanically the girl accepted the attention. She was so bewildered by the strangeness of the affair that she hardly knew what she was doing. is, please.” dhe took out his watch and held out his hand as though this was all a matter of course. Again Fedelia complied, although she knew not why, except there was a tone of gentle com- mand in the voice of the stranger that seemed to wm obedience. **So, so,” he said, apparently communing with himself fully as much as with the lady. ‘** Not quite so much fever to-night. ‘*The change is for the better. I was sadly afraid this morning that you would be worse to-night, and I am glad to see that I was wrong in my conjecture.” This morning!” ejaculated the girl, who knew not what to make of this strange affair, ‘* Why, I never saw you before, sir, to my knowledge.” ‘Certainly not—certainly not, my dear,” he remarked soothingly, in precisely the same tone that one would use to a refractory child. ** But why did you say that my pulse was bet- ter than it was this morning? How can you know anything about it if I did not see you?” the irl demanded, amazed, and a little annoyed by he peculiar manner in which the old gentleman had spoken. ‘* Oh, well, we will not discuss the subject,” he replied, in precisely the same soothing tone that so offended her. “This is a sanatorium—a retreat, established and kept by one of the most eminent physicians of the day. ‘*No common mad cases are received here, only patients troubled with slight brain disor- ders, who require care and seclusion more than anything else.” ‘** But who placed me here?” the girl demand- ed, abruptly, as the thought came to her that some one must have acted in the matter. ‘* The party who has the best right to do so.” ‘* My mother!” the girl cried. “Yes, my dear, your good mother, who is sorely troubled by your sickness.” ** No, no, it is a trick—” ‘A trick?’ ‘* A terrible plot!” “ A plot?” ‘** Yes, yes, I am a victim!” Hardly had the wor ls escaped her lips when the door was violently burst open. The doc- tor sprung to his feet. CHAPTER XXXV, TRAPPED AT LAST. Tne doctor was evidently alarmed and plain- ly exhibited it. : And he had cause for alarm, too, for into the room strode the three men whom he most dreaded to see. As for the girl, she recognized that rescue was at hand and with a scream of joy she greet- ed the new-comers, “Oh, I am saved!” she cried, as she sprung toward them. ‘‘ Heaven itself has sent you to my aid.” The reader has probably guessed who were the three men who had come so timely to the rescue of the girl. It was Phenix, Talbot and Bowers. As if by a miracle they had escaped the fien lish trap which had been set for them. How they escaped the reader will see anon. ' TL TL ‘* The jig is up, and you might as well know and’ admit it first as last.” ‘“You are in my house, remember, gentle- men, and I will not submit to any more inso- lence!” Although driven to bay the man felt disposed to make a good fight, and was determined not to» submit without resistance. ‘Yes, we are in your house, and with a squad of detectives surrounding the premises, too,” the de‘ective replied. ‘* We have captured every man of your gang on the place, and have them all securely bhand- cuffed. ‘* There’s a coach outside for you,” he contin- ued, addressing the girl, ‘‘ and this gentleman,” | —he indicated Bowers—‘‘ will conduct you to it. Inside of an hour you will be safe at home.” A bitter curse rose to the lips of the baffled man, and he made a movement as though he would attempt to detain her, but a significant. gesture from the detective restrained him. Fedelia left the room escorted by the vet- eran. ‘**And now, Old Man, to give you the title. common to the members of your gang,” the: detective said, ‘‘ you might as well take off that wig and beard, for all disguise is useless. now. ‘‘'This last trick of yours by which you at- tempted to send us up a peg or two in the world miscarried, and through the failure we were able to get promptly on your track, “It is the old story over again, the engineer ‘hoist by bis own petard.’ Your ‘chickens come home to roost,’ ” Slowly the man removed the spectacles, then the gray wig and whiskers, and Malachi Everest stood revealed, ‘* Well, I believe I will have to admit that at present you seem to have a little the best of the cee he said, as he placed the articles on the table. ‘** | confess, too, that I do not understand what you mean when you say I wanted toelevate you in the world.” ‘* You do not know, then, that your cottage on the hill was blown up by dynamite to-night, and then the ruins took fire, and in an hour nothing remained but a heap of smoking ashes?” ‘* Ts it possible?’ and so good an actor was he that he really looked surprised. ‘*Oh, yes, you are surprised at the intelligence no doubt.” ‘*Yes, I am amazed, and it will cost me a trifle, too, for I was not insured,” ‘* You invited us to e conference there to-night for the express purpose of destroying us.” ‘‘Nonsense! 1 gave you no invitation.” ‘* Your wife brought it.” ‘* She will not say so when confronted with me.” ‘* Very likely, as she will never speak more in this world, so you are perfectly safe in saying that.” ‘‘ Was she hurt?’ he inquired, affecting to feel anxious, ‘*She is dead.” ‘* My poor girl!” And the speaker covered his face with his hands, but the action dld not deceive the others. ‘* Oh, that is altogether too thin,” Phenix ex- claimed, in a tone of poles “You know well enough that you planned her death, I su pose she was beginning to tumble to your little games, and you fancied that the best way to in- sure her silence would be to close her mouth forever with the great seal of death.” ‘*This accusation is absurd!” the master ras- cal exclaimed in contempt. ** Oh, is it?” ‘‘ Most certainly, and I defy you to prove that I had any band in this affair—if any such thing really occurred, and I am not certain in my mind about it. : ‘This may be all a yarn of yours intended to get me in a trap. 1 am not so sure of the honesty of you detective chaps. I know that it is a common game of you bloodhounds to pretend to the man whom you desire to entrap that you know all the particulars of the crime for which the pocr devil is wanted, and he, thrown off his guard and thinking that there isn’t any use of keeping silent so long as all is ‘*Now if you will let me see how your pulse known. like a fool makes a clean breast of it, gives himself dead away and so, by his own babbling tongue thrusts himself into prison and his neck into a halter maybe.” ‘‘ But you are not fool enough to do that, eh?” the detective inquired. ‘** You are right, I am not.” , ‘Well, as a general thing, I dent usvally show my hand until the last minute, nor allow my opponents to see the game I am going to | play,” Phenix observed, slowly. | “But on this occasion my hand is so full of trumps that 1 don’t mind allowing you to geta limpse of it. ar You are extremely kind,” sneered Everest, but for all his tone of bravado he was scriously alarmed by the confident manner of the detec- tive, for he knew Phenix by reputation only too i. Tine detective, unlike some men of his calling, | Phantoms from the grave could hardly have astounded the ‘‘ doctor” more. The three shook hands warmly with the maiden, for it was a jovful moment for all of them. “By a lucky accident we were enabled to get upon your track and so we were able to balk this scoundrel of his prey!” the detective ex- cliimed, ‘‘ The doctor!” Fedelia exclaimed, not exactly “Why not discuss it when there is evidently some mistake?” she demanded, spiritedly. “TI | ‘| am not a child, and I do not like to be treated _.. like one.” | | “Certainly not, my dear, and no one shall treat you in that manner,” and then he leaned back in his chair and smiled beamingly upon | ' her through his spectacles as though he expected | her to be completely satisfied with this assur- | an”e, | a ‘‘ What is the meaning of this?” she demanded | knowing what to make of the hostile manner | impetuouslv ‘* Why have I been brougbthere, | that her friends exhibited toward the bland and oth and what kind of a place is this where there are ; oily physician. : ot g bars upon the windows just as if it wasa prison; ‘Doctor, eh?’ the detective remarked; ‘‘ is and the door is kent. locked?’ - that bis little game now?” “T see, T see. ron are beginning to netice| ‘‘Whatdo you mean, sir, by such language?” your su rovnlines; that is a geod sign—that , the “doctor” demanded, with becoming dig- shows decided iniprovement,” and the old gen-; nity. _ tleman rubbed his hands sof‘ly together in a | ‘Oh, it’s of no we for you to try to pull the manner that greatly irritated the girl. wool over our eyes!” the sleuth-hound rejoined. 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