Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 396 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

~ Ly i. 7? al ‘an Soe Py, rag a as on , » 4 f < ' ‘ { _* ee ey ¢ Pa z 2 “$5: ~~ +. * ti ve 6 Ky = a at a io J i *% = . gt Teen 10 acs * , J ara > . " s The Piper Detective. , haye been followed. The rest would have kept.” ‘But he wazzn’t follyed, so what’s ther use ter chin? [’m off now.” The citizen of Irish extraction was not contra- dicted, and yet he never was more wrong in his life than when he made his assertion, The runaway was followed, and to some pur- All through the struggle and the conver- sation that followed ita man had been looking on with a covert interest from a position only a few yards away. He was a man of medium hight and build, with nothing about him that would attract par- ticular attention, though of course his actions were suspicious enough to bring him into quick trouble had they been observed. This man, in fact, was on the watch when Wardiaw—or Craig Clayton, as he had been called—turned into the street, and a dubious | . smile settled around his lips as he saw him - march unsuspectingly forward. He made no movement as though having any | desire to interfere during the short, sharp con- test that followed, but he followed every move with close attention. When the man with the bludgeon broke away his eyes turned to him and never left him after that. Whenhe threw back at the policeman his last accusation he was not ten feet from the silent watcher, whose ornate was so totally unsuspected, and when , é finally moved off, his rubber-shod feet mak- ing no sound on the pave, he evidently did not dream that he was tracked. Certainly he had Jeft enough behind to detain any ordinary man. Perhaps the man on his trail was something more than ordinary. Certainly, as he rose up and glided away in pursuit, a smile curved his thin lips and he mut- red to himself: . “Straight for Copper Sile’s; and I’ll bet large ae. me ey that I have you, Mr. Paddy the Piper! 4 time to strike, for it begins to look like hav- ing a hand in murder to hold the blow off <s eager” _ @ eyes never wavered, and scarcely for a - minute at a time did he ever lose sight of the _ quarry that he was marking down; yet after a little a perplexed look came into his face, “Tf he wants to be on time at Copper Sile’s he’s taking a mighty queer way to get there. eV ee * OP dy f ‘ae . Pol. ‘ . ie ma ’ was altogether prudent - lips at seeing the man ahead deliberately go up There’s something strange about this. I wonder he suspects a trap, or if some one has been omer) him up. Oh, good heavens! What is e doing there?” The exclamation, that was really louder than was drawn from his a set of steps, and without hesitation ring the — door-bell. : Closer crept the man, taking risks that he had not heretofore cared to run, and though not il o A “re Po . . fe —or treacherous? no, a hundred, much more than that would _ break me all up—to hear what they are saying, and read that og sl ‘Aj ite of the a - é "s ’ A ~ ¥. 4 af within hearing distance of the low-toned con- _versation that followed, he was near enough to see that he was met inthe doorway by a woman. _ The two seemed to speak low and earnestly. Something like a letter passed between them. sa What is he doing there? Is the woman mad d give a thousad dollars— In danger, he moved still closer. Tf he had been seen by a policeman, his actions would have certainly brought him into trouble; as the man came down the steps the er ensconced himself in safety behind a eighboring porch. _ e woman leaned from the dcorway and 4 a “Jooked after the retreating figure, and the - -watcher gave another start. ! i. wa oes 7: ~ >) i*.4 sae _ _Then he left his letter and went on. >» s' a - >). Tx _ and closed the door softly. _ 80, the spy ~~ him off.” ‘Tt is Regina Rawle herself. What is she ee re doing here at this hour, and what can she have to say to him?” If he had heard, he would have been little the wiser. The man asked for ‘‘ Lizzie.” The wo- man answered that she had not been there. CHAPTER XI. CAUGHT IN HIS OWN KENNEL. woman drew back again after a moment, When she had done darted from his place of concealment and once more followed his game. ** Ah, he’s off for Sile’s at last,” he thought to ‘““T can afford now to try and head So certain was he now of the destination of @ ~ man he had surmised to be Paddy the Piper, * * | é id t without any hesitation he dropped the direct trail, turning abruptly aside. -—s With all his caution he had not been as suc- ’ ‘ o" “av le ¥y fA) --eessful as he supposed, since for the last five - minutes he had been watched in a furtive way Db Sra halted suddenly and shook his fist menacingly the man he had ben watching, who now a ¥ in the direction of the vanishing spy. ‘Bad luck to yez. Ef it war safe, it’s a pistol Yd be afther usin’ on yer bluddy, murtherin’ - ~*~ _ « e ¥ er come a little closer while ye silf. Couldn’t : c’u'd give yez a poult wid me wor at it, so ez - shtick? I wouldn’t miss twice in one noight, an’ it’s foight I’d sooner be afther than runnin’ away. Is he waitin’ round the corner, er is he _— a-lurkin’ nigh? Mebbe he’s throw’d up ther sponge; but I must go careful anyway.” If this was the same man who had, from a safe distance, denounced Craig Clayton and the police his brogue had come back to him, even when communing with himself. His hesitation was no more than natural, since he evidently was in a hurry to be gone, yet at the same time anxious to know why the party in his rear had seemingly dropped from his trail, and whither he had gone. ‘*{ haven't the toime er [I'd show him a thing or two, an’ ef it’s a chance that he saw me wid Lizzie’s friend, it’s knockin’ him crazy l ought to be afther. Mebbe I'd better not have you there to-night, but I c’u’dn’t do bet- ter. ‘ll thrust to me ligs, an’ be off at a great rate.” If the man who had been in pursuit had been there trusting to his ability to trail he would have found he had an almost impossible job ahead of him. Inand out of the different streets wound the Irishman, stopping at this saloon, going through that, meeting more than one acquaintance who gave him a nod, but did not seriously attempt to detain him until finally he seemed to reach his destination. It was not at Copper Sile’s either, though it was only next door to the den of that worthy. With the air of one who knows what he is about he applied a key. There was no undue haste about his motions now, and before entering he gave a sharp look up and down the street, as if in search of the man he hoped he had thrown entirely off of his track; yet in a wonderfully short time he had disappeared, the door closing quiet- ly behind him. ‘* Safe at last!” he exclaimed softly. ‘* Now thin, to dawn in on the b’yes, an’ give’em a thrifle av a hint av what’s in the wind. Sure an’ me hand’s full av worruk this blessid night! an’ dayloight ‘Il be moighty apt to ketch me afore I'm done wid it all.” Through the house everything was as quiet as though it was deserted, yet he listened a mo- ment in the hall. Then he turned and went down a narrow stairway that led to the cellar. He evidently knew the way well enough, since he went straight on, without hesitation or stumbling, though he was surrounded by per- fect darkness, At the bottom of the stairway, however, he stretched out his hand, It fell upon a dark lantern, that rested on a convenient shelf. Opening the slide he struck a match. Just then, holding in one hand the lantern, in the other the match, which was breaking into a sputtering flame, something like a deeper shadow seemed to rise up out of the night. He must have felt its presence—certainly at that instant he saw nothing of it, though he made an awkward motion to defend himself. The lantern and the match confused him. There was the loss of a shade of time, and then a swinging blow caught him well up in the face. The lantern dropped from his grasp as he went crashing back, and then what seemed the fingers of a giant caught him by the throat. here was no struggle on his part. The first terrific blow had knocked him dizzy, and then, while the grip on_ his windpipe tightened, three or four more strokes were rained upon his face, ae stunning, rendering him perfectly help- ess. As he quivered and then straightened out, his assailant turned him over on his face, and SEY draw his wrists together behind his bac snapped a pair of handcuffs upon them. Then another match was lighted, but this time it did its full duty in kindling the flame in the dark-lantern, which had been unharmed in its fall. ‘“T hated to take you foul, Paddy, but I had to do it. You never had any show at all, or you would no doubt have given a better account of yourself, You thought you had dropped me, did you? Ha!ha! It takes a better man than you to throw Charley Rand off of the trail.” It was the man whom tec the Piper im- agined he had dropped. All the blind work done had been so much into his hands, since it gave him time to reach the house first, and conceal himself at the very spot where an attack could be most successfully made. There was no more time wasted now. Rand first dexterously gagged his prisoner, so that if he recovered his senses he could not give an alarm, and then picking kim up as though he was a child, he walked steadily away. And he knew the ins and outs of the house well —better than Paddy the Piper, perhaps. He found a blind door where none had seemed to exist, and made his exit without trouble or delay. Atevery risk he intended to carry his yrisoner through Copper Sile’s cellar into the hiding-place of Regina Rawle’s brother. CHAPTER XII. MADAM VELVET SEES AN OLD FRIEND. MADAM VELV2BT, for a moment or two after she bad been left alone in her secret apartment was by far too angry to think much of her own position. | eC eee ——————————— LL LDBLLLLLLLLLLLL LLL LLL LLL LR LLL LL LL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL ee ee It took a hard struggle to preserve the out- ward calmness which at times she thought had become a matter of habit. The noose was still around her arms, the gag still in her mouth, yet these indignities counted as nothing. It was the sudden escape of the prisoner, that trou- bled her. Whatever might be the*meaning of the strange scene she had just witnessed it was certain that he had been taken out of her hands; and for some little time she had thought for nothing else. But a few moments alone in the darkness, scarcely able to move served to change the cur- rent of her thoughts, and she began to see the ay leasantness of her own position. To give any alarm seemed almost impossible, and no one than, she knew better that unless she did there would be no intrusion there that night, perhaps not for the next twenty-four hours. — In that time what would become of her? She recognized her own weakness and was almost afraid. A determined effort showed that the knotted cord on her wrists, had been fastened by no tyro; and with her mouth she could only utter a low, buzzing sound that scarcely could be heard through the confines of the room, much léss beyond. Her hands, however, were loose from the wrists out, and had they been in front instead of behind her she would have felt much easier. She could not reach the hidden bell cord, and very well she knew that from within she was unable to turn the bolts that sealed the door. The revolver in her breast gave her some hope. t was no easy task to work it safely from its place; but when every other hope failed she turned to it, and after what seemed to be an age had the satisfaction of feeling it slide softly along her dress to the floor. To stoop, then, air pick it up from behind was not at all diffi- cult, Holding it carefully with a movement of her thumb she raised the hammer, and fired, Almost instantly there was a gleam of light as the door was thrown open, and in the thresh- old stood a man holding a lamp on one hand, in the other a cocked revolver. Madam Velvet looked up joyfully. In spite of her effort, aid had come very unexpectedly. It had hardly seemed possible that any one was within hearing distance, or would respond to so dubious an invitation as a pistol-shot. The man’s face, however, was hidden by a mask, and an ulster flung loosely over his shoul- ders served to disguise his figure. He first peered curiously into the room; ,then closing the door with care, he advanced and cit the cord that held the gag in her mouth. ‘*So it is really you. Bless my soul, who would have supposed that a woman as shrewd as you are would have permitted herself to get into such an unpleasant predicament? I don’t see how you are going to get out either. If some one don’t happen along and find you, you will certainly starve to death.” There was meaning as well as mockery in his tone. The woman stared at him in amazement. ‘* Who are you?” she said, in a dry, husky voice, ‘* Perhaps I was in some danger of being kept here for a time as prisoner, but I can do very well whether you choose to assist me further or not. ‘* No doubt, no doubt. You might even have got along without me. In fact I was so afraid of that, that I could not rest until I had satisfied myself, by hearing from your own lips that I could be of some aid. I ‘am interested in you, my dear, assure youlam. It seems to me that you are just trying to throw your life away. Why should you be so foolish? It really is not like you?” ** And who are you, sir?’ Whyshould you, an moss go you know anything of me or oo ri She looked at him sharply. To this momeut she had failed to recognize a single familiar trait in either voice or figure. If she had not spoken of it, Madam Velvet had her curiosity to know why he should be masked and disguised. _ At the question he laughed again—a hollow, joyless, cruel laugh and with a movement of his hand brushed back tha mask from his face. There was acry of surprise wrung from her lips at last, and then she gasped. ‘* Edgar Raven!” ‘“Yes, my dear. Edgar Raven, at your ser- vice, You see that I am as hard-headed as of yore. Your bludgeons could not kill. I ama regular phoenix as it were, coming right back to life better than ever.” ’ ‘‘ But a moment ago you were lying here as if dead. I feared only that you would die. Then you were carried away.” ‘* By my friends, my dear, a friends. They knew just where to come, 0 doubt your pretty fingers could have closed tightly enough on my throat to choke the life out if you had been left to work your wicked will on the poor wretch that had fallen into your hands. But they came in the nick of time. Wonderful con- jurors they are, too; you wouldn’t Enow, now, that your gang had been at me. And so I have come back, not to harm you, but to warn you, eom (E “*