Beadle's Dime Library No. 391 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

- —_ = ———e —— rs earlier you git on the ground arter sunrise the better. The fish are on the feed early in the morning and they are hungry, but arter the sun gits up and the surface of the water is warmed | they go down into deep water so as to keep cool. Do you see, [’m going for bluefish, and I reckon I'll git some, too!” ‘Ts that boy your son?” the officer asked, try- ing to get a chance to give the old fellow a shot. ‘Not much. I ain’t no I-talian.” ‘‘ What’s your name, boy?” the sergeant que- ried. *- Me no k goot English mooch,” responded the lad, with an idiotic grin. , ‘* Pablo is his handle, but I calls him Billy for short,” remarked the old man. ‘* Well, take care that I don’t run across you some night when you’ve got a ‘ boodle’ aboard, for I know you’re on the ‘cross,’ and Pll run you in, sure. Give way, men!” | Off went the police-boat, and then to the ears of the patrol came a remark from the old fel- ow: ‘*TDon’t take no police sergeant, Bil CHAPTER XVI. WHO THEY WERE. THE remark coming plainly to the ears of the police nt, irritated him, and he was pro- - yoked into exclaiming: _ T believe there is something crooked about that old man and boy! It don’t seem reason- able tome that anybody would be going after _ fish at such an hour as this.” “Well, Idon’t know, sergeant, about that,” - gaidone of the policemen. ‘These old cranks who follow fishing for a living are up to all sorts of qneer practices. I shouldn’t be sur- prised if he has given it to you straight enough.” * The durned old rascal!” and the sergeant | ghook his fist at the fast-receding boat. ‘I | would give a trifle to get a chance to run him in.” ” ong shuck of aman to bea y “He was a cheeky old blackguard, too fresh | entirely,” remarked one of the men. | Leaving the patrol-boat to go on its lonely way, we will turn our attention to the other craf The old man and the boy kept their eyes on the police-boat until it was swallowed up in the | gloom, and then the man turned to the boy, | and, in an entirely different tone of voice from | the one he had used while conversing with the |. police official, said: ‘‘That was a pretty good test of the com- leteness of my disguise. That was Sergeant urphy, and if there is a single man on the police force of New York who ought to be acquainted with me, Tom Murphy is the . | ; we Xf ? “4A " ag? But he didn’t recognize you,” observed the other, with a laugh. “No, not in the slightest degree, and al- oe ough he had a suspicion that there was some- we thing wrong about us, he fell into the error of ie = g we were abroad on crooked work in- | tent.” “Oh yes, there isn’t any doubt about that.” , Y The speaker had dropped the Italian boy * » yp soow and was using as good English as can Coal generally heard. cb al | fm glad the incident took place, for this is - the first time I have ever tried a disguise of this ' kind and I was not quite sure it would be as perfect as some of my others,” observed the old - man, but there wasn’t the ears trace of age Bi about the speaker now. ‘‘If I have succeeded a “pulling ‘the wool over Tom Murphy’s eyes _ there isn’t much danger that any oue else will be able to recognize me, for Tom and I have intimately acquainted for years and he me as well as though he was my own ’ knows _ * My disguise is not bad either, that’s plain,” remarked the other, “for none of the officers By od that I was anything but an Italian be ae a On, you are an apt scholar, and if you keep on in the way you have begun, I’ve no doubt you will be a credit to the profession.” _” Possibly by this time the reader has made a - shrewd guess at the identity of the old man and + he worthy police sergeant had reason for Be, ap suspicion. The two in the boat were not ' what they seemed, but he was on a false scent - when he sus ted they were engaged in some | usiness, for the old man was Joe ' \ Vs re = & ' a he erooked ” - Phenix, and the boy his Decoy Detective, Kate On tt. A eet uest they were on, and why they had assumed such complete disguises, the reader will goon learn. : “Tt ought not to take us over an hour to run down the bay,” mused Phenix, as the boat glided ecue. ‘‘even with this light’ breeze; if we had a fair wind we could do it in half the time.” ; Tam not ome to judge, for you have not yet informed me as to where we are go- ” 4 Oe rene, T had forgotten that; but I did not _ know myself until I saw the superintendent of _ police,” Joe Phenix answered. or, eS <4 -. ‘The worthy chief was unusually mysterious about the affair. He sent word vesterday morn- ing that he wished to see me on particular busi- ness, and when I waited upon him, he was care- ful to assure himself that no one could possibly overhear what passed between us, and the first question he put to me was in regard to my abil- ity to handle a sail-boat. ‘* When I informed him that I was considered an expert in the management of all sorts of small craft, he appeared to think it was ex- tremely fortunate, and then he came immediate- ly to the business in hand, ‘* Tt was an important matter, too. Forsome months now the police authorities have been satisfied that there is in existence in New York and its Mea an organization of desperate criminals banded together for the purpose of defying the law. ‘*These men are bound by the most fearful oaths to be true to each other, and death is the penalty of treachery.” ‘*Such organizations of rascals are quite common, too, I believe,” the girl remarked, eager to learn all she could in regard to the scoundrels to whose destruction she had devoted her life. 7 Oh, who m es, it is only natural for these men e a living by preying upon society to league together, for in union there is strength; and then, too, when it comes to a big job, it is impossible to work the trick without hree or four men, for the ground cannot be covered, and the details properly attended to, otherwise. ‘But this organization is on a far more elab- orate scale, and must not he confounded with these potty bands of outlaws,’ Phenix re- marked. ‘‘T presume not, or else the police authorities would be easily able to cope with it.” ‘* Exactly; but this league seems to be one of the most elaborate and dangerous that has ever come to the notice of the police depart- meut. ‘Tt was just by accident, too, that the super- intendent got a clew to it, for he hadn’t any sus- picion that such an organization existed, al- though he has been puzzled to account for some large robberies which have been committed late- ly, the work being performed in such an adroit manner that it has been impossible for the po- lice to secure any clew to the perpetrators, and et from the way in which the trick was done it was clearly the work of experts. ‘““Two nights ago, though, one of the best- known ‘cracksmen’ in the country was shot in an up-town sporting-house in a quarrel with some of his pals, and as far as the police could ascertain, the trouble arose about the division of the plunder obtained by some bold robbery. ‘‘The wounded man was carried to the hos- pital, but his assailants managed to escape, a the police were unable to get any-clew to them. ‘‘In the hospital the wound was examined, and the doctor expressed the op nion that it was mortal, ana that the man had not three days of life left. ‘*When this fact was made known to him he fell into an intense rage, declared he had been assassinated by the gang to which he belonged because he had evinced a disposition to kick against the power which the master spirit of the organization, whom he called the Spider, was endeavoring to wield over the others. ‘*He swore he would give the whole thing away. He did not know persoteny the men who had forced the quarrel upon bim, except that he felt sure wer were ‘crooked,’ and had been set on to attack him by the Spider in order to punish him for his rebellion. “Strangers had been selected to inflict the punishment so that the victim might not sus- pect that the secret organization was at the bot- tom of the matter and out of revenge be induced to betray the secrets of the band. ‘‘The man became so excited that the doctor in charge was compelled to interfere. ‘‘This disclosure took place in the wee small hours of the morning, right after the man had been carried to the hospital, so it was arranged that the superintendent should be informed of the important disclosure the wounded man pro- 1 to make, and an interview was appointed for the following afternoon, the doctor prom- ising to brace the man up with aie cordials so he would be able to tell his story. ‘¢ But when the superintendent arrived at the hospital on the following afternoon, as per agreement, the man was dead.” ‘‘ Ts it possible?” exclaimed the disguised girl, who was listening to the recital with the utmost interest. ‘‘The man had been poisoned,” continued Phenix. ‘‘ The secret organization evidently had a spy in the hospital, and when it was discover- ed that the victim intended to make a clean breast of it, measures were taken to effectually stop his mouth,” ‘* And so no clew was obtained?” ‘A slight one only; he was out of his head at the time-of his death, and raved rugs and from his disjointed utterances it was gath- ered that the criminal league had a secret haunt down the bay somewhere on the Long Island Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective. eee OO OOO EETETEIIEE EE EEEEEEEEEEEEEERE EERE EE ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— 7 te 4 - a3 — , [ y -. hi hs » shore, and as near as could be learned, it was: between Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton. ** Before taking any steps in the matter, the chief did me the honor to ask my opinion about it, and at the same time he was careful to keep entirely to himself what the doctor had disclos- ed to him, for, as he frankly remarked to me: . There may be some leaks right in my own of- ce. '* His idea was to set his detectives to work examine every house in the suspected quart: but when I represented to him that such course would certainly alarm the rascals, for it is a well-known fact that the criminal class know the detectives far better than the detec- tives know them, he told me that he would place the matter entirely in my hands and to go ahead in my own way. Then he asked me if I could manage a boat, and suggested to get myself in some cunning disguise and sail along the shore both by day and night. ‘*The neighborhood of the water had evident-- ly been selected by the scoundrels so as to have: ouble access to the rendezvous. ‘*The idea was a good one, and here we are hot on the scent, and if I deceived my old friend, Tom Murphy, by my disguise, it is not likely that the game of whom I am in search will be able to detect that 1 am a wolf in sheep’s. clothing.” ‘*Tt is not likely.” ‘*No; and if fortune favors me, I will hunt this Spider Captain to his den,” CHAPTER XVI. THE MASTER OF BLITHEWOOD. New York pay is truly renowned: well-in- formed travelers have often remarked that it was very little, if any, inferior in natural beau - ty to the far-famed Bay of Naples. The shores are well-wooded; charming villas, some of them perfect palaces, are scattered here and there. The Long Island shore is particularly attrac- tive, and there is hardly a drive in America moré beautiful than the shore road which, at an elevation of a bundred feet above the water leads from Bay Ridge to Fort Hamilton, and. then continues, dropping to a lower level, to Bath and New York’s tamous summer breath- ing spot, Coney Island. n this delightful bay view road, about half- way between Bay Ridge to Fort Hamilton, stands a massive mansion built in the Gothic style, with a bewildering amount of wings and gabled roofs, There are some ten acres of pleasure-grounds attached to the house, which stands quite a ways back from the road with an elaborate lawn in fiont, fringed by stately forest trees in the meh park style. e public road cuts rouge the grounds of the house, and that portion of the estate which lies on the bay side of the drive, slopes from the road to the water’s edge, along which is built a massive stone wall. Resting on the wall is an extensive boat- house, with room below for half a dozen pleasure-craft, while the upper part is utilized as a billiard and card room. ; A balcony two stories high, running complete- ly around the house afforded a pleasant prome- nade when the weather was suitable for such en- joyment. At anchor in the bay, a short distance from the boat-bouse, were two elegant yachts, One, sloop-rigged, of about twenty-five tons, the other a steam launch of smaller dimensions. Take it all in all, Blithewood Hall, for so this. country place was named, compared favorably with anything of the kind in the neighborhood of the great Metropolis of the New World, There were many larger places, estates which cost a deal more money, but few of them were as perfect in all their detoils as this bijou coun- try place. e owner of the property was a well-knowm man in the lower portion of great Gotham, the territory tributary to Wall street and the stock exchange. He was a young man, not over ‘thirty-five, « tall, handsome, olive-faced, dark-eyed, derk- haired fellow, with a prepossessing face, a musi- cal voice, and an uncommonly gentlemanly ap- pearance. He was called Bernard Andrews and was, comparatively speaking, a new-comer in the great Metropolis. New York bad only known him for some. five ears, : He had made his appearance in the guise of a financial agent of a rather obscure railroad in Texas, which am: uited to very little actually, although to read ils prospectus one would have been apt to imagine it was destined to be the trunk road of the world. The position secured him admission into a cer- tain circle of operators who were supposed to be about the sharpest men in Wall street, and many wiseacres shook their heads and, propbet- like, predicted that the young man would soon be sheared of all his golden fleece by these keen wolves. : But Andrews, although new to the lairs of the | stock-exchange, soon proved to all who had the curiosity to watch his career that he had long Colm SS JOO (S / o. ‘ - , é a, | . \ , ih ua - of Cae .