Beadle's Dime Library No. 391 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

18 ‘¢ Yes, that is the name.” ‘“* He is a different kind of a fellow altogether, and rates as one of the few first-class rascals in the country. { ‘*For some years now the two have traveled ! together, and it is very likely that Four Kings | _is*in the confidence of this master-rascal for he is of the right stamp.” nie “The moment I recognized that the man { whom I was obliged to shoot was the same one } whose revolver I had made free with in the cellar . I suspected that my escape had been discovered and this scoundrelly captain had made up his { | mind to kill me at all hazards, thinking that with Hh the knowledge I had acquired I might prove f dangerous,” ‘You are right beyond a doubt, and his Hi. thought was correct too, for with the clews we have it will be a wonder if we do not hunt him down. ‘‘Our game is now to cruise up and down from Fort Hamilton to Gowanus, and keep our eyes open. I feel sure that the rascals have a way of reaching their haunt by means of the water, and sooner or later we'll run into them.” Byes. ‘** But the story that this man told of my sis- My ter’s death, do you think it is the truth?” Kate | asked, anxiously. ‘a “Tt sounds ae yr enough, and yet it may not be true. e will soon learn.” By this time the two were off the Narrows, _ then they ‘‘came about” and headed up by the Long Island shore. ——— — << a ‘ "<< ‘ CHAPTER XXV, ON THE BOAT, “Hey? wot do you say?” asked the fisher- man, who seemed to be rather hard of hearing. “T sa , don’t you want some passengers on board of your craft?” Andrews repeated. ‘‘ My friends and I feel as if a little trip on the water | would do us good.” 7 _ +» “Waal, I dunno "bout that,” replied the old - man, who of course was the detective in dis- guise. ‘* We’re arter fish, and I dunno as I kin ___ spare the time.” **Oh, I'll make it worth your while. Tl give _ you five dollars for the use of your boat for about four hours, and I doubt if you can make as much as that by fishing.” _- . * Waal, thar’s an old saying that a bird in __ the hand is worth two in the bush, so I reckon Til rake in that little five dollars of yourn, seeing as how you seem to have plenty of money __, to throw away,” the old man observed, with a Then, with a dextrous movement, he brought _ the boat up alongside of the landing float. **Come along, gentlemen,” said the host; ‘‘a trip down the bay will freshen us up,” and he | _ led the way to the landing stage, the two dudes | alae ne, sig eto between them young . Grimgriskin, howling: mea’ *** A life on the ocean wave, i! A home on the rolling deep.’” _. “For Heaven’s sake, stop your noise!” An- - drews exclaimed, who did not relish this un- Wait until we getout on the water, and then '. you can sing to your heart’s content.” “All right, old fel’! Wish { may die if I howl any more, but I want you to understand er 5A that Iam at the top of the heap when it comes _ _ ** Sis thinks she is some pumpkins when she dips into her high-flown opera trash, but she can’t hold a candle to me, for Im the sweet om singer of oildom, 1 am, and don’t you forget bie at? an 2 A, ae + : Andrews hurried the young man on board of the craft as soon as possible, the young men as- sisting to the best of their ability, and away they went. | “Now, skipper,” said the host, ‘‘ run straight _ down the bay, and when you have gone far enough I will tell you.” 7. * All right, sir.” + The boat was what was called cat-rigged, having only a single sail and no jib. iw “Acting on a whispered suggestion from An- _ drews, the two young men took Alcibiades to ye the bow of the boat, while the host remained _. with the old man in the stern, the Italian boy -_-being curled up in the middle of the craft. A. With the coming of the morning the wind had freshened so that there was now a good breeze, and as it was blowing straight down the bay, a) the boat, which was like a singed cat, being far better than it looked, glided through the water ata rate of . ie of the party, with the exception of An- _ drews, were affected by the liquor they had drank, now that they had come from the close room into the open air, and, too, they began to feel the loss of sleep. _ The easy motion of the boat as it glided as gracefully as a swan through the water, was conducive to slumber, and within twenty min- utes after starting, the two dudes and young _ Grimgriskin were fast asleep, stretched out at o -full ie oy upon the bare boards. i But the host. was seemingly a man of iron, for he did not show the slightest trace that he had _ been up all night, nor of the exciting events a —— ’ through which he had passed, but looked as fresh as though he had just arisen from his bed after a night of health-giving slumber. he detective had scanned his unexpected pas- sengers closely, although not apparently taking any particular notice of them. Of course he had recognized the two dudes the moment he had set eyes upon them, and was delighted at this piece of good fortune which ri given him a chance to play the spy upon em. Neither Andrews nor young Grimgriskin wero known to him, and he was glad of an oppor- tunity to examine them at his leisure, for he had not forgotten the information that the girl had given him in regard to the two dudes. From what she had overheard, she thought there was a probability they knew something of ed aay shee y which began in the heart of the Cat- skills. Phenix was perfectly certain that neither one of the young men was likely to prove to be the | party who had decoyed the girl. It the unknown Henry Tappan and the Spi- der Captain were one and the same, as seemed more than probable, it was likely that he was eon strong in good society under some false appellation, and might be an acquaintance of the young men. In the circle to which the two dudes belonged, an adventurer of the Spider Captain’s stamp would be able to secure pigeons well worth the plucking. So the sleuth-hound felt interested in all the associates of the dudes, At the first glance this keen-eyed observer detected that the gentleman who had hailed him was no common man, There was an air of superiority about him which would have impressed a far less shrewd observer than the veteran thief-taker, yet there was nothing to suggest anything wrong. As for Grimgriskin, Phenix dismissed him as a fool at the first glance. There wasn’t anything about Alcibiades to suggest that he had the brains or the nerve to successfully play the role of a commander of a desperate band of outlaws. The detective was thirsting for information, and as the character he had assumed was that of a talkative old man, he began operations the moment the boat got out into the stream. ‘*That friend of yourn has been h’isting a little benzine, I reckon,” he remarked, ‘Yes; he’s naturally weak-headed, and it doesn’t take much liquor to affect him,” An- drews replied. ‘***Pears to me it’s rayther ’airly in the morn- in’ fur to go to h’isting,” the seeker after know- ledge remarked, innocently, and he looked in the face of the broker with a smile that was childlike and bland. ‘*'Yes; it is rather early.” ‘*P’raps you bin at it all night?’ the other suggested, with a grin, just as if the idea had but now presented itself to him, ‘Very likely.” ** Didn’t fetch any of the benzine aboard with ou, I suppose?” and the fisherman wiped the ack of his hand across his mouth in a very sig- nificant way. ‘*There’s plenty aboard, but stowed awav in such a manner that you can’t very well get at it,” and Andrews nodded to where young Grim- griskin had stretched himself out. ‘*That cuss is no better nor a hog,” the boat- man observed. ‘‘ W’ot’s the use of a man’s wasting good licker by swilling it down by the bucketful. Say, do you live up in the big house thar?’ and he pointed to Blithewood, standing out prominently from among the trees. ‘Yes, that is my place.” ‘**T reckon you’ve got about as nice a shant thar as tharis ’round?” the fisherman remarked, surveying the estate with a critical eye. ‘*It is generally considered to be as fine a place as there is along the shore,” ‘* No finer as far as I kin see, and I'd go my bottom dollar on it, too. Say, are you one of the Vanderbilts?” ‘Oh, no; not quite as well off as all that.” ‘'W’ot might your narre be?” ‘* Andrews; Bernard Anurews,” ‘* Are you a trader?” ‘‘ Well, yes; in a certain sense I am. I do business in Wall street.” ‘*T see, I see; you re one of those Wall street fellows. Waal, Wall street is as good as a gold- mine, I reckon, to a man who knows the ins and outs of it.” ‘ Se gubihaly contented himself with nodding his r Heap of money made tkar, and a heap lost, too, I reckon.” Another nod by Andrews. ** And your friends—are they in Wall street too?” the boatman continued. ‘' Don't look usif they had it in ’em to wrastle with the bulls and b’ars that I’ve hearn tell on in that air quarter. No offense, you know, but thar ain’t one on the three w’ot looks as if he knew enough to go in when it rains.” ‘No, they are not in business at all. They are all gentlemen of independent fortunes,” ‘*T reckon that air is a pretty lucky thing for them, for if they had to wrastle for their ben Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective. i ; ~~ - hh al without anybody to help ’em, they would be apt to come out of the little end of the horn, onless appearances are dreadfully onsart’in,” the fisher- man remarked with the air of a prophet. ‘*Oh, they are smart fellows cnough in their way. If they had to come right down to hard work, the chances are that in time they would be able to hold their own. You can’t always udge by a man’s appearance in this world, you ow,” Andrews answered. ‘Right you air; no mistake "bout that. Now take this hyer boat; she don’t look as if she was worth over ten dollars, but 'm giving it to you as straight asa string when [ say that a hun- dred of no man’s money couldn’t buy her!” ‘*She certainly is doing well now.” _**Oh, she’s a bully boat, but she’s an odd fish, like myself, I reckon. My name is Turtle—Gid- eon Turtle—but all the boys call me Gid Turtle for short, and that is the reason why I call my boat the Sea Turtle.” ‘* That is an odd name,” ‘You bet! but, as I said, I’m an odd fish, Say, that’s a nice house next to yourn, in amon the trees, but it locks awful lonesome—some o those ducks live there?’ and he nodded to the young men forward, ‘Ob, no, that house is deserted: no one lives there, and the folks hereabouts say that it is haunted,” Andrews replied. CHAPTER XXVI, AN UNEXPECTED OFFER, THE house to which the boatman referred was an old-fashioned, gloomy-looking pile, situated a mae hundred yards down the road from Blithe- wood. It was a massive building, built in the old Gothic style, with many wings and curiously constructed peaked roofs. It was surrounded by a regular thicket of trees, so that only the peaked roofs of the house were visible, ‘*Haunted! you don’t say so!” the boatman exclaimed, and with open mouth he strained his eyes to examine the marvel. ** Yes, so I have heard, but I do not take any stock in such stories,” Andrews replied, care- lessly. ** All old houses deserted and left to go torack and ruin are always declared to be haunted, but as I have never encountered any ghost yet in my travels, and I have not staid at home all my hfe, I give no credence to hobgoblin stories,” ‘“Nobody lives thar?” the disguised man asked. _ The sleuth-hound was not merely assuming an interest in this matter. The moment he heard of the haunted house, the thought immediately suggested itself to him if this story was not a cunning device, put into operation by the Jawless gang who had seized upon the old house for a head-quarters, to keep inquisitive people from examining the premises too closely, “No; and it has been deserted for years, I understand.” : “Waal, that air is mighty strange, now, for it seems to be a right nice house, and all it needs is a leetle fixing up.” ‘*The story goes that a couple of murders were committed there some years ago—nearly ten years back, I believe. ‘*A son murdered his father and also mor- tally wounded his sister who interfered to save the old man. ‘‘He fled to escape the punishment due to his crimes and nothing has ever been heard of him since, ‘* The estate, which was a large and valuable one, fell into the hands of the lawyers, and they have been fighting over it ever since, so the house and grounds have gone to ruin.” ‘* Nobody but the ghosts to live in the old house, eh?” questioned the fisherman, apparently taking a deep interest in the tale. ‘Well, as I have told you, I don’t take any stock in ghost-stories, but the people in the neighborhood who have known al] about the old house for years, say there isn’t money enough in the world to induce them to pass a night within its walls.” ‘The ghosts walk, hey?” asked the boatman, with eager curiosity. ‘So they say.” . ‘What do they look like—did anybody ever see ’em?” ‘** Oh, yes; there’s hardly a person in the neigh- borhood who hasn’t a story to tell about the ghosts, and there’s scarcely one of them, man or woman, who is willing to pass by the old house ott Wiotdo the ghoew feck. tike= ot do the ghosts loo e—did hear tell?” : ae ‘**Oh, yes; first, there’s the ghost of the old gentleman, with his snow-white hair and beard, all clotted .with blood, which flows from a ghastly wound in his temple where bis murder- ous son struck him, and then the sister, all clad in white, but with frightful blood-stains upon the otherwise spotless robes, wanders up and kag wringing her hands and moaning bit- rly. **Sakes alive!” the boatman exclaimed. “I reckon a couple of ghosts like that would be *bout enuff to scare a man into fits,” <S . GOMmicboo — 4 -