Beadle's Dime Library No. 391 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

sett 4: ok the deuce she struck at me so directly. / deliberating a 22 - Si, signor, me-a understand ze English varra ‘goot. ‘Yowll get along all right then; just do what you are told, keep your eyes open, look 5 and you’ll havea ¢ood place here, That’s all,” Andrews rung his bell; the butler made his appearance, and the youth de ; ‘* What do you think of him?’ the master asked, after the door closed behind the two. ‘* His face seems familiar,” replied the secre- tary, as if puzzled, ‘* It ought to seem so, for it is Kate Scott dis- guised!” CHAPTER XXXT. THE NEW MAN. ‘THE deuce you say!” the secretary cried, in utter surprise. “It is the girl!” Andrews exclaimed, posi- tively. ‘‘ There isn’t the least doubt about it, ‘so you see my presentiment was not a false warning. **If it had not been for the feeling that took ssion of me the moment my eyes fell upon he face of this supposed Italian boy, I should . not be as well situated as I am to cope with this foe, the most dangerous by far tnat has ever menaced me,” ‘‘Tt's a mighty bold game,” the secretary re- marked, with a grave face and an ugly look in his eyes. ** Yes, one would hardly think a woman could muster up courage enough to try such a des- rate adventure; but what puzzles me is how By what lucky chance did she come so near to the trail? Have we been careless, and neglected to cover up oF traces as we vg, ow have done?” ‘*Oh, no, we have n just as careful as ae It’s nothing but a piece of luck, that’s ‘*Some of these women seem to have the fiend’s own luck sometimes,” the secretary re- plied. ** You know my opinion about women pret well, by this time, I reckon,” he continued, **And if you remember I advised you not to pay any attention to this woman. I was afraid we would get into a snarl if we bothered our heads about her.” ** And I was equally afraid we would get into a snarlif we did not. I tell you, Mike, this girl has the perseverance and pluck of a blood- hound,” Andrews rejoined. ‘*Tf we had allowed her to go on unmolested, she would have certainly got us dead to rights in the long run. ‘*T foresaw from the beginning that she was likely to prove the most dangerous foe that ever struck in our track, and that was the reason why I was so anxious to silence her.” ** We've got the best of it now, anyway,” the other suggested. ‘* Oh, yes, a most decided advantage,” and a dark smile came over the face of the speaker. _** We know her, and she cannot be certain about us. At the worst she can only suspect; and it may be possible that she does not know how hot is the scent which she has struck. **It may be that she has only an inkling that the secret which she seeks is located somewhere in this neighborhood, and jumped at the chance which I offered her in order to get an oppor- tunity to examine this locality at her leisure.” ‘*T shouldn’t be surprised if you have hit off the right thing,” the secretary remarked, after ut the matter for a moment. * And now do you see how wise I was to put faith in the secret, incomprehensible instinct which warned me that danger threatened?” “Oh, I give up beat in regard to that. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t know it was so, but then there’s a great many wonderful things in the world—things which a man can’t under- stand at all, and it ain’t much use for a fellow to bother his head about them.” “‘That’s solid chunks of wisdom, Mike,” An- drews observed. ‘‘ Accept the world as it is make the best of it, and don’t worry your head about things you can neither understand or alter, ‘* Now, as far as this girl is concerned, I think ‘we have got the dead wood on her in the worst kind of a way. *¢ She has thrust her head into the lion’s mouth; Tt think it is probable that she does not know it, but she will make the discovery when the teeth close upon her,” and Andrews laid back in his chair and laughed asif he had given utterance to a pleasant jest. ‘*How soon will that little operation take place?” the secretary asked. ‘* What is your idea about it?” ‘*The quicker the better,” the secretary re- plied, with savage accent, and he clinched his muscular hands as though he was longing to perform the job there and then. ‘* That is ved opinion; the girl is dangerous, and I shall not rest quiet until she is placed in a situation where she will not be able to do an mischief,” Andrews remarked slowly, and wit an air of deep reflection. ‘*There’s only one thing to be done,” the other observed, with a dark look upon his coun- tenance, © **Oh, yes, there isn’t the least doubt about Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective. that, and there mustn’t be any slip up in the proceedings this time.” And then the two men put their heads to- gether and engaged in a whispered conversa- tion, the purport of which the reader will know anon, And now leaving the two to their dark medi- tations, we will turn our attention to an inci- dent, os ioe hardly worth the detailing, 1¢ which has an important bearing upon our tale, A huge buck negro, black as the ace of spades, had charge of the horses in the really elegant stables attached to the mansion. Pomp Johnson, he was called, and, like the majority of mankind, he was not fond of doing a work that he could avoid, @ was a well paid fellow, for he was a glib- tongued chap, and was popularly supposed to be a first-class man in regard to horses, but what he did know wasn’t a circumstance to what he didn’t. Thirty dollars a month he got, and for some time he had been on the lookout for an assist- ant to aid him in his arduous duties. He had complained to his master, alleging that the work was too much for one man, but that gentleman thought differently. , All the satisfaction he could get was that his employer would be willing to d a man if he, the hostler, would pay him. So Pomp, acting on the principle that half a loaf was better than no bread, had done his best to pick up some cheap man upon whose shoul- ders he would be able to put the greater part of his work. This was not so easy a matter as the darky had anticipated, for all the men who applied for work set a fair value upon their labor, and were not disposed to work for their board and a trifle of money. But on the morning that the interview oc- curred between Andrews and his confidential agent, the ‘particulars of which we have just detailed, an applicant made his appearance at the stables who seemed likely to come up to the ideas of the sable Mr. Johnson. He was an Irishman of i ie or fifty, a powerfully-built, muscular fellow, poopy ca- pable of a deal of work yet in spite of his age. The clothes he wore were old, and from their texture and cut had evidently never been fash- ioned in the *‘ land of the free and home of the brave.” A new importation, clearly, and one whose lines had not been cast in pleasant places since crossing the stormy brine. He had a rather intelligent face, although it was disfigured by a short stubby beard of red- dish gray. Sy first word he spoke betrayed his nation- ality. ‘* Arrah, now, boss, do yees be afther want- ing a dacent man to help around the stables?” he asked, and he took off his well-worn hat and bowed as respectfully to the negro as though he had been the greatest gentleman in the land. The deference of the man tickled the vanity of the darky, and he fairly swelled with impor- tance as he answered: ‘‘ Well, I doesn't *xactly know ’bout dat, white man. W’ot kin youdo? Does yer know anyt’ing bout hosses?” * Hosses, is it?” and a broad smile came over the face of the man, while he winked in a know- ing manner, ‘‘ Shure, ye might look the country over, big as it is, and not find a man who knows more about hosses than meself.” ** Dat’sa pretty big brag, fu’st t?ing, you know, white man,” Mister Johnson observed, with the air of an oracle, ‘*Upon me word, sur, ’m the b’y that can make it good if you'll only be kind enough for to give me the least bit of a try.” ‘Well, Cap, I dunno as we want a man as big as yous is; nowif yous was a right smart chap of a boy—” ‘*Phat’s the differ, anyhow?” exclaimed the old Irishman, eagerly. ‘‘ Shure, I’m able for a b’y’s wourk, any day in the week.” ** Oh, yes, indeedy, dar ain’t any doubt ’bout dat, but is you willing to take de wages dat a boy would git?” the colored gentleman inquired, shrewdly. ‘* How can the Jikes of me tell till I hear phat they are?” responded the Lrishman. : ‘Well, Cap, you see de way de matter is, de boss ain’t willing for to git any more help, ’cos he’s like all de big-bugs and wants to git all he kin for his money, so all he’s willing for to do is to find de fodder, and de wages has got to come out ob dis rc chile’s pocket.” ‘Oh did any mortal ever hear the likes of that?’ exclaimed the old man, in mingled horror and indignation. ‘** De boss will feed yer—and we libs on de fat ob de lan’ hyer, too, 1 wants you to understand —yous kin sleep in de hayloft wid plenty ob blankets and buffalo-robes fur to keep you warm in the winter-time, and Pll gib you four dollars a month,” ‘*That’s a poor ery for an able-bodied man like meself, but Tl take it, please the pigs, for itmay l’ade to something better.” And so the bargain was concluded, much to Johnson’s delight, particularly when, after a test > ad . ty a of the Irishman’s abilities, he found that his helper was a handy man about the stable. fter the cleaning up was performed the ne- gro went to the mansion for orders, and the new man improved the opportunity to take a look at the lott above. A window in it com- manded a view of the house, and the Irishman, taking up a position by it, drew a pair of opera- glasses from his ket. ** Oh, this will do nicely,” he muttered. CHAPTER XXXII, SIDONIA’S RESOLVE. A WEEK had elapsed since the Grimgriskin family had entered the portals of Blithewood as the guests of its master. And during that time Andrews had played his cards in the most admirable manner. He had managed by means of a lucky coup in the stock market to land old Grimgriskin a win- ner to the tune of over ten thousand dollars, and as a natural result the great oil king became possessed of the idea that the young man was a genius, if there ever was one in this world, and when his better half had suggested that if they did not look out there might be danger of a love affair between their host and their beautiful daughter, the old man had looked wise and re- marked that in his opinion Sidonia might do a eat deal worse than to become the mistress of lithewood. Andrews had not neglected to conciliate the ola lady, but had devoted himself to her fully as much as to the daughter. He treated her with the utmost deference, listened to her extravagant stories with the greatest interest imaginable, and flattered her in such a delicate manner that it quite won the heart of the shrewd, yet unsophisticated matron. Then, too, Andrews made a great impression upon her by the respectful manner in which he conducted himself toward her uncouth cub of a son. He spoke of and treated Alcibiades as though he thought him to be one of the finest young men in the land. If he had been a prince and the heir to a king- dom, the cunning adventurer could not have treated him with more ‘ Mrs. Grimgriskin at first did not know exact- ly what to make of this, for she had generally been accustomed to hearing some unpleasant truths in regard to her rascal of a son from al- most every one who came in contact with him, but Andrews spoke in the lightest possible man- ner of his ‘‘ peculiarities.” : All young men were a little wild, so he assert- ed. It was only natural; with age would come soberness, and, in fact, it was a well-known thing that all the great men whom the world has delighted to honor had more or less mischief in them when callow youths, By such specious pleading as this the wily flat- terer made a deep impression upon the mother and daughter, who were only two weak women when Alcibiades was concerned. At the end of the week Andrews felt perfectly sure that as far as the father and mother were concerned there would not be an objection to his suit. As for the lady herself, he did not feel so sure, but she was a quiet, odd kind of a girl, not one of those who wear their heart upon their sleeve that all the world may run and read. He felt certain that he was not disagreeable to her: nay, more, if he was any judge of wo- mankind—and he flattered himself that he was —the girl’s actions plainly indicated that she liked him; but whether the mE | was strong enough to induce her to give a favorable an- swer when ke put the all-important question was something that could only be settled by actual trial. ; He felt sure enough of his ground to go ahead upon the first favorable opportunity, though. One obstacle only could he discern in the way. Three members of the Grimgriskin family were favorably inclined, but the fourth, the one who by rights ought to be his warmest ally, he doubted. He felt certain that Alcibiades was not in- clined to be friendly. That individual had been in the sulks ever since the night when he went for wool and suc- ceeded in getting shorn. He avoided everybody and StS ducted himself as though he considered he a much-abused individual. Both the mother and sister had taken the alarm and endeavored to discover what was the trou- ble, but for a time Alcibiades was as close as an oyster. For a week he resisted all the persuasions of his mother, and the blandishments of his sister but at last, in an uncautious moment, he had succumbed to the influence of Andrews’s good liquor, and before he hardly knew what he was doing, confided his trouble to Sidonia. She was amazed; for Alcibiades confessed to GOMmIG cS con- was JOO : A % ™, 2 ) ( | | a ‘ i? -