Beadle's Dime Library No. 412 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

—$—— would not meet it, and was put on the stand and ay sworn in, e deposed that his name was Thomas Brad- ley; his occupation that of a tailor, but admit- ted that he had lived as a tramp for many years. Then he was asked if he knew Mr, Skinner, the ironmaster. ** Don’t know as I do, boss,” hesaid. ‘‘I ain’t much on names.” ‘* Well, you see that _ other side of the table. before or not?” Snoopey grinned as he looked at Skinner. **Oh, yes, boss, I know him well enough. Don’t know his name, but I know the man well enough.” ‘* When did you first see him, and where?” i) ** Seen him at his own house last night, sir.” i) The judge looked surprised, but Van Slack _-—s gave him a glance that said as plain as looks could speak: ‘* Wait till I get at him.” a ‘Tell the story of how you saw him in your a own words,” said the old lawyer, looking up at ' | the ceiling im an absent-mirded manner. 1 Snoopey began rather awkwardly, but warm- ' ee © entleman here, on the ave you ever seen him er pa mote ——— —— 2”) “SF ed toe he proceeded. ‘* Well, boss, ye see, me and Terror Jim, there, was old pals, and he allowed as how he knowed | this man, Skinner, as ye call him, and that he -—s -was going in to see him, and strike him for _ guthin’, And he give me orders to wait outside while he wentin. In course I thought he was jist a-coddin’ me; but, sure cnough, he went right straight to the house, and I seen the other i man come out to him and take him up-stairs. And then the waiter-fellers in the house, they got out, and I thinks to myself there warn’t no use in my stayin’ out while Jim was a-gittin’ his insides filled. So I slips in at a rear winder and hides in the dinin’-room under a table, where | the gent was kind enough to leave quite a big __ ¢hicken, which I took under the table with me.” oF ai “Well, goon. What next?” said Scriven im- “ayy Ry ** Well, boss, as I was munchin’ away under _. the table, who should come in but Terror Jim, all dressed up, as ye see him to-day, along with the other gent, and they sits down and begins to eat. That is, Jim did the eatin’, and the other feller did the talkin’. Then it come out how Jim and him had b’en old friends when they was sailors somewhere, and bow ei Be poisoned the captain and mate of some ship called the Aurora, and how Mr. Skinner here was afraid that Jim / —-was going to split on him about it. And then Lae Jim he struck hard for stamps; but the other gent he wouldn't let him have a cent except he’d “promise to do some work for him.” | * And what work was that? Did he offer him a place in his mill?” | -—- - Snoopey grinned. _* Yes, he did that at first; but Jim he kinder | «allowed that he didn’t want no work nohow; ' and [ reckon he was right. gents. I ain’t - ‘hankerin’ arter that myself. What he wanted, | he said, was money, and he warn’t the man to -work for 1t, nuther; though he hadn’t no objec- tions to fight for it.’ And then the boss he asked him if he was willin’ to take a fightin’ job, to Tay out a man; and arter some bargainin’, Jim he agreed to do it,” “You mean that he agreed to murder some one?’ asked Scriven, when Van Slack jumped ica Abe “JT object. He can’t put words into the wit- ais —ness’s mouth. Let him stick to the rules of evi- dence.” | * Very well, then, to oblige you [ll put the | question in another form. tage ok you say | that Terror Jim—by the by, who is Terror Jim, ae please? Is he present in court?” ae ‘rad Snoopey turned with a visible effort, and 7 _ -poin to his old partner, saying in a low b eh _ “That's the man, gents. Him and me has | - been on many a tramp together; and I wouldn't || have gone back on him, if he hadn’t wanted to get us both into a hangin’ i i. What do you mean by that?” ' _ “JT mean, boss, that it was all agreed ’twixt . him and Mr. Skinner, that gent over there, that Jim was to lay fora man called Larry Locke and another called Paul Van Beaver; and that i was to do the spying for ’em, and git them to come to some place, after dark, when Jim, and _ some pals he agreed to git, was to lay them both . out stiff.” he ge And what do you mean by laying them out ; ’ oe a. at —7 * Jf Ete TNE ’ aT ” % sta * 4- 7 rt Fa wt ? ~ _ * Why, killin’ them, of course, boss,” _ “Then you mean to say that you beard a plot between Terror Jim and Mr. Skinner, to kill Is that . ie Neg it?” ‘This time Van Slack did not object. On the a contrary, he looked as if he was decidedly sick of his case, and when his client whispered to him something on the subject, he snapped: “*Tt’snouse. Let him tell his story.” Snoopey answered slowly and distinctly: “That's just what it was, boss, and Jim he said as how I was a good feller to spy, if I got --—«Jieked once or twice a week veg’lar. Bat he don’t git no chance to lick meno more, if you aif * geatke $0 06, boss,” “That is all, your Honcr, My learned r _— . re RP anl Van Beaver and Larry Locke. <<” c . mS oe a a, =~. ‘, . od wa We a iv... OS tye a . Pe - wy, om aw vr -2 2 a he re ease ot ® ~— oe ee er eer ee brother can take the witn holes he likes,” remarked Scriven. is through and the committal of Skinner and Somers for conspiracy.” Up jumped Mr. Van Slack viciously, and tried his best to shake the story that Snoopey had just told. He questioned him about his past career, and the robbery he had committed, tried to make him say that he was mistaken as to the things he had heard under Skinner’s table, but failed to shake Snoopey in the least. On the contrary, the tramp got more and more impudent in his replies, and finally gave the names of all of the men whom Terror Jim had hired to aid him in the plot, that had so nearly succeeded in com ing Larry’s death. it was over at last, the judge had no resource but to accede to Scriven’s motion to distaiss the complaint, and he did so. CHAPTER XXXITX. DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND. THE dismissal of the complaint was followed by a spirited fight between Scriven and Van Slack as to whether Somers and Skinner should be committed, then and there, for their conspi- racy to murder Larry and Paul; the said con- spiracy having gone into effect as far as regards only one of the parties. Finally the judge announced that he would hold both men to answer; the iron-master in a nominal sum, ‘fas there was no danger of his and pick all the ** When he Larry Locke, the Man of Iron. I shall move to dismiss the complaint, | | coat When | trying to escape,” while the tramp, as a stran- | ger, would require the sum of a thousand dol- lars bail. This opened the eyes of Terror Jim, who be- gan to beg his partner in sin to bail him out; but, somewhat to the surprise of Scriven, the ircnmaster refused to do any such thing, and told his accomplice, in open court, that ‘* he had nothing more to do with him.” For his own part he denied having given any such instruc- tions as those repor by Snoopey; and Van Slack made a fiery speech, in which he said that ‘*it was plain the two tramps had got up a plot to bring discredit on Mr. Skinner, by getting up the story between them,” Larry listened to the skirmish as if much puz- zled at the way in which the judge took the part of Skinner, or at least seemed to do so; but when it was over, he had the mortification of seeing Skinner walk out of court a free man, to all appearance, while Somers and Snoopey were taken off by officers; the first as a prisoner, the last to be detained es a witness, His only consolation lay in the fact that he was not put under bonds himsel ; but even this was somewhat dampened when Skinner, as he walked out of court, said to the young work- man, in a low, malignant tone, that showed he wished to provoke him: ‘‘Think ye did a heap, didn’t ye? But this figut ain’t over yet, Larry Locke, and don’t you forget it. my yay yet, and afore you’re a day older you'll know it.” Larry made no answer to him; for he per- ceived that the ironmaster, for some reason, wished to provoke him into an angry retort. He had just got through one fight, and the evurt- room was full of well-dressed people, who seem- ed to be friends of Skinner, from the way in which they crowded round him as he went out, speaking in loud tones of the ‘‘ infamous con- spiracy,” that they seemed to be convinced had been set up between two tramps and the strikers, to injure the character of a respectable man like himself. Old Scriven, being a lawyer, did not seem to be blamed by the friends of the ironmaster, though one or two observed that ‘‘ they thought he might be in a better business than bolstering up a lot of Anarchists and dynamiters.” But Scriven noticed none of them; packed up his papers and books, and took his way to the office, where Paul followed him, having seen Larry on his way to his own home in a triumph- ant procession of the strikers, who had waited outside of the court-room to welcome him. Once in the office, the old lawyer entered into a long and secret consultation with Paul, as to their future proceedings in the case, the out- come of which will appear a little later. As for Larry, he went home and found his wife waiting for him, her face pale and anxious, | | EE — eee } | You hain’t got to the bottom of | en ee ee | for she had been frightened by all sorts of con- | tradictory reports as to her husband’s safety. “Oh, Larry, boy,” she said, as she hugged him vigorously, ‘I’ve been scared out of my life about ye. First they said ye was killed, and then they said they'd seen ye alive, and if ye hadn’t come when ye did, I believe I should have come after ye.” ** Glad ye didn’t,” said Larry, soberly. ‘* Them courts ain’t fitting places for women to go to, and I tell ye a working man don’t git much show in them, if the judge sees a chance to take it away.” ‘** But what chance could the judge have to do anything to you, Larry, boy, when ye haven’t done nothing against the law, and stopped all the fighting and thieving. Why, the men are going 0 work at Kelly & Barr’s mill already, an : Larry, who had been rubbing his head rather ag’ ee a oS —_—_—_— arene y A over the thought of his troubles, here ooked up quickly, ee: ** What’s that you say? Kelly & Barr start- | ing 2 the works again?” | ‘Wh ** Did- ' , yes,” was the surprised reply. n’t you know it? I thought you must have been | the man set them going. They started work at noon, and they’re at it now,” rry jumped up at once, and resumed the he had laid off. ‘*There’s some shenannigan going on,” he said. ‘They haven’t made any agreement with our assembly, and the strike isn’t over till us do.” e was just going out of the door when Molly asked him anxiously: ‘* But what’s the harm if the men areat work, Larry? You ain’t going to stop them again, are you? Why, they wouldn’t do it for you.” Larry looked back at her long enough to say: “You don’t know the ways of the bosses as wellasI do. If they don’t sign an agreement, there is nothing in the world to keep them from cutting down the scale next week if they please; and a new strike won’t be easy to organize,” And away he went toward Holesburg, at a rapid walk, till he came near the great, mill of Kelly & Barr, where, sure enough, the huge chimney was already belching forth its clouds of smoke, while a crowd of curious workmen were hanging round outside; and inside the works everythin had occurred to s Larry recognized the men outside as belong- ing to other mills, and asked them how Kelly & Barr had come to open - They all looked pew ed and unable to give him an explanation; ut as he walked in, he noticed that the men at work avoided his eye and seemed a little ashamed of themselves, Poor fellows, hungry and ragged, with their families clamoring for money, they had given in to the offer of the rich Kelly, whom Larry could see, sitting at his desk in the office, with his old pompous air, as if he owned the whole world, while the men who had occasion to go in did soin their old style, with their bats in their bands, and the timid cringing air which had always belonged to the employees of the rich ironmaster. Larry stopped one man, who was wheeling a harrow toward the mouth of the furnace, and asked him quietly: ‘Who sent you to work? Has any one de- clared the strike off? If so, who did it?” The man looked doggedly at the barrow, say- ing sullenlv: ‘*T don’t know, unless it was Kelly himself. He sent round word to us to come to work on the old scale, and he would give us half a day extra, if we would get the furnace going before night. What’s aman todo? My children are starving, and the Knights ain’t give me more’n enough to buy food for half of them.” ‘‘And so, to get a week’s wages this week, you are willing to go back, without any security that Kelly won’t cut you down to the low scale the week after,” said Larry, severely. ‘‘ Oh, you men, you men! when will you learn that, when a fight ison, the man that sticks to the end is the one that wins? Now, you just listen to me one moment, John Sliney. [’m going into the office to see Kelly. and if this thing isn’t all right, I’m gcing to give the signal to stop work. You refuse to obey it, and you know what be- comes of you as a Knight of Labor.” Sliney hung bis head as he replied: ‘“We ain't said we was going back on the Knights; but the boys they allowed that old Skinner got the best of you in court—” “Who told you that?” asked Larry, angrily. ‘That is some lie of that traitor, Sloman, who came into court prepared to give away all our secrets. but didn’t dare to when my eye was on him, Spread the word among the soe that the strike isn’t over yet, and won’t be till I give the word. I’m Master Workman here, and I’m bound to take care that the bosses don’t cheat you while I’m around.” He walked straight to the office, where he found Mr. Kelly, with his back to the door, swinging on his turning-chair and looking as lordly as ever. He pretended not to see the Master Wcrkman as he entered the room; but Larry marched stra‘ght up to him, and laid his brcad band on the shoulder of the rich man, saying: ‘‘ Mr. Kelly, a word with you.” Kelly looked round, and the usually pompous look departed from his face, to be replaced by a charming but exceedingly insincere smile, as he said: , ‘“Why, Mr. Locke, is it you?” ‘¢ Yes, it is,” was the dry reply. ‘‘I see you’ve got your men at work again. How is that, sir? Kelly smiled still more gtaciously, as he replied: ‘“Why, simply enough. I own the works, and I’ve set them going again.” ‘‘ And what wages are you paying the men?” asked Larry, with the same unflinching direct- ness, while several men who had seen bim enter the works came crowding round the window to was going on as if nothing them. ‘look in with anxious faces, as if they hung on every word. Kelly saw them, too, and the lordly look faded "cOmIecbooksS con Payee re