Beadle's Dime Library No. 415 — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

“3 ee —E——EEE wee = ere ee eee ee A flush of anger was mounting to Paul’s face. He could account for the outrage in but one way—Commodore Nettleton had been at the ‘bottom of it. His father had ny oe of the subject from the beginning, and had shown an aversion to all steps taken in the matter, before and after the robbery. What was more likely than that the hot-headed veteran had taken what he might believe the necessary step to end The young man’s wrath arose, and he asked Hazlitt to remain where he was for a few min- utes, making no effort to restore things to their former condition, He went out, was gone about ten minutes, and then returned accompanied by Commodore Nick. Tbe latter’s face was unusually red, and he looked to be in a towering passion. He was, Paul had bluntly, and rashly, charged him with the assault on the professor, and for awhile the air bade fair to turn blue in the room, It was an insult the veteran could never forget. The idea that his own son should charge him with assaulting a guest under his roof was out- rageous. Barbara had averted what might hava been an overwhelming crash, and tg ewe calmed the commodore; and as she and Leona declared that they had been with the ex-mariner all the while that Hazlitt was in trouble, it was clear that all were innocent, or all guilty. Suspicious as Paul was, he found it hard to believe the latter. Nobody was more anxious to have the mys- tery cleared up than Commodore Nick, and he had now come to the room to see the scene of the mystery. ‘Well, I’m blowed if it don’t look as though a squall had struck here and tipped every thing over. Professor, haven’t you any idea who did it? If you have, spare nobody's feelings, but spit it right out.’ ‘‘ Unfortunately, I have none.” “* When besa come to the pass that work like ‘this is done right in my own house, in broad day, it’s time for an upheaval, I vow. Looks as though somebody was moving; carpets torn up, and all thatsortof thing. It beats thedickens!” ‘It is very strange that nobody heard them.” ‘“‘ Where’s that detective?” ‘‘ Sure enough, I had entirely forgotten him.” Paul hurried out, and soon returned accom- panied by Neat. The latter looked more melan- ¥ choly than usual, but not by so much as one word did he betray surprise. He looked sadly at the upset room, and then quietly questioned Hazlitt ‘and the commodore. ‘ No light was thrown on the subject. The detective proceeded to interviow Mrs. Drake and Loyola. Both stated that they had been hard at work all the afternoon, but had neither seen an intruder in the house nor heard any suspicious sounds, Joseph Jigson and Tim Welch were questioned. ‘They had seen no strangers near the house, ‘Search was made for a possible trail, but none was found. Another me was added to the already large list, and Mr. Neat was as much perplexed sever. He saw two waysof accounting for the affair. The first was that some one really be- lieved that Hazlitt had stolen the parchment and concealed it in hisroom, and the vis t to him was expected to reveal it. This, however, did not reveal the identity of the guilty parties. They might have been persons who wanted the parch- ‘ment, themselves, or the deed might have been done solely because it was believed that Neat ‘svas on the wrong track. The second plausible theory was that the whole matter was a farce, or, rather, that it was de- signed as a blind; a cover for those who already sessed the secret cipher. ~ But where was the blame to be placed? Mr. Neat surprised Paul by going back to the old secretary, from which the parchment was . originally lost, and making a thorough search of the interior. Of course the object was to make sure that it had not fallen into any niche by accident; but the fact that the drawer fitted ‘80 Closely seemed to make this search wholly use- It was useless: the parchment was not in, or about, the secretary. Next, Neat asked Paul if he had ever been known to walk in his sleep. The answer was emphatically in the negative. He was a very quiet sleeper, rarely dreamed, and had no inclin- ation to somnambulism. This theory exploded. The man from San Francisco grew more mel- vancholy. He could not grasp a solitary clew to the mystery. Paul stillinsisted that Red Jaguar -and Loyola were thieves, but Neat doubted it. Admitting that they had a motive—which seemed impossible—he believed that their first step after ‘securing it would have been to flee from the vi- cinity. Ifthe parchment was worth stealing, it, and their safety, were certainly worth taking care of art . a Then there was the mystery of Rosa. All in- uiries for ber bad failed, and those who were ragging Nigger Arm looked as much for her body as that of Bill Peters, eat belioved that Rosa could explain the ee “ — ~ 8 ee _ panty astm -s _ - } ; Hot Heart, the Detective Spy. — os ce em robbery, if she was alive, but she was probably lyin lifeless at the bottom of Nigger Arm, or had been carried oceanward by the t:de. He did not believe Rosa would have made herself an ally of the Indians in such a misde- meanor. More likely, he argued, she had had a lover; but, as before explained, he had de- aor to look upon either Jigson or Welch as guilty. He felt that he must look further. The professor’s adventure bad a demoralizing effect on all, or nearly all, members of the household. The boldness of the deed was al- most t belief. Had it been at night it would have been no more than an ordinary occurrence; but it had been done by day, just when it seemed impossible to escape detection. esides Hazlitt, the commodore, Leona, Bar- bara, Mrs. Drake and Loyola had all been in the house. It had been a daring act to run the gauntlet; it had been rare luck that the attempt was so -uccessful. What is secret and vicious is always to be dreaded; itis like fighting a foe in the dark; and though there was nothing to show that any of their lives was threatened, they were uneasy under the knowledge that these were unknown foes who had the skill to come and go at any time, unseen by the honest members of the house, Barbara noticed that Leona was particularly nervous after this new revelation, yet she had seen Leona’s nerves tested more than once. On one occasion, in San Francisco, the girl had captured a burglar alone, and marched him through the house to the commodore’s room at the muzzle of a revolver, And now Leona changed color like a school- girl, and trembled perceptibly. The commo- dore laughed at her for being’so weak, as he expressed it, arbara did nothing of the kind. Barbara had a theory. She believed that Leona knew who had stolen the yellow parchment, This would have shocked ber under some conditions, but not as she men- tally explained the matter. Leona was, after a fashion, betrothed to Paul, and was expected to marry him, Barbara, however, knew that the irl disliked him, and had a strong fancy for hilip Warburton. Leona was an honest, kind-hearted girl, but was not above worrying those she disliked. Was it not possible that, disgusted by the secrecy Paul made over the mysterious treasure, and pitying the commodore’s vexation, she had taken and concealed the parchment? This was Barbara’s solution of the mystery, and though it left the professor’s adventure un- explained, it did seem to account for Leona’s nervousness and other new peculiarities. She had aroused moro of a tempest than she had expected, But what of the attack on Hazlitt? Here Harbara was wholly at fault; she could not explain that; but the thoroughness of the search sbowed that the unknown person had been very much in earnest, As the day grew near its close Leona donned her hat and went out. She seemed to have a definite object in view, and as she took the path that Philip Warburton nearly always used on his return from work, the nature of her urpose was not bard to surmise. In due time Philip appeared, and he met Leona in the walk. Since the commodore bad ‘‘changed his mind” and directed the over- seer to stay, the latter had said no more about leaving, but this was entirely due to the fact that the note had been in Leona’s writing, and aD contained that significant addition: By L. He felt that this meant a good deal, so he re- mained. He was _ glad to see Leona on the present occasion, but soon perceived that she was not in her usual mood. Plainly ste was anxious to have him stop, but she did not show the half-shy welcome she had given him in the past. ‘‘Have you heard the news?’ she abruptly asked, after a few commonplace words. “ About Professor Hazlitt? Yes; Welch came down to see us, to ask if we had seen any one lurking around.” **'W hat do you think of it?” ‘Tt is very mysterious,” said Philip, with a thoughtful frown. ‘‘The whole affair is mys- terious. Something has been stolen. What is it? Who was the thief? Who has done this last outrage? Allis mystery.” ‘* Can’t you solve the mystery?” ‘Unfortunately, I cannot.” ‘“‘ Have you been with your men all day?” “ec Yes.” ‘* And have seen nothing suspicious?” ‘** Nothing whatever.” ‘‘ Somebody must know who the thief was.” ** Certainly.” ‘That thief will be severely punished when caught.” ; S: Te will undoubtedly get the full benefit of aw.’ “Then I advise him to go away from here as soon as possible; to go without losing a mo- ment.” ‘* Perhaps he has already gone.” sos es ite em ~~ ut at 8 Ome —— wid ¢ : = a ‘ 25 a ‘*T think not.” Philip looked at her closely. ** Do you any one, Miss Erwin?” ‘* Tf I do, the seeret will live and die with me. It may be that he did not fully realize how rave an act he was committing, but the law eee no mercy. If the thief remains near here he is sure to be caught, and disgrace and ruin are sure to follow. If he is wise he will ga at once.” Philip looked at her in what seemed increas- ing surprise. She spoke rapidly, almost fever- isbly, and her gaze, wandering across the broad fields around them, never met his. A puzzled expression rested on his face, and he slowly re- lied: ° ‘‘If you have a suspicion, I advise you to be state it to Commodore Nettleton.” | Leona turned upon him almost fiercely. ‘* You are the last man in the world to give - that advice!” she exclaimed. CHAPTER XXXL RED JAGUAR HAS SOMETHING TO SAY, WAkBURTON looked at the spirited speaker in surprise, ry ‘‘I do not understand,” he said. ‘“‘ Wiil you a ay wet aa eona stood with her band pressed over her heart, as though there was unusual emotion ay there, and she seemed to struggle for calmness _ before she replied: : ‘If one who is of the family is willing to for- give the robber, you ought to be.” ‘True; I have no personal interest in the matter.” : 3 ‘ Don’t you think the robber had better leave ere? ‘* After having returned his booty, yes.” ‘** Perhaps he dare not return it.” ‘* That is possible.” ‘‘ In any case, he had better leave here before — he is detected. It will then be too Jate,and Paul Nettleton will chow him no mercy. He 8 £* must go away.” al Warburton bad grown more perplexed,for | both the words and manner of his com on 4 were ve ene but Leona suddenly s | looked at the setting sun, said something about | being in haste, and burried away toward the ae house, ae The overseer looked after her until she disap- i i ared., ° ‘* Well,” he thought, ‘‘I don’t know whatto | make of this. Inever saw herinsucha mood, | and the way she kept reiterating that therob- ber ought to go away was remarkable. One | would think— Ha! can it beshe thinks J am the | robber?” Philip looked dumfounded, laughed andthen — grew grave again. Whatever it might other- wise have been, it was no laughing matter to +, " » . d 7 e Ren hl ex oa = .= 7 ' Py 4 7 7 « ’ ‘ be thought a thief by the girl he loved. Buthe saw no other way to explain the matter. She had plainly met bim intentionally,and hadthen devoted nearly all her time to asserting that robber ought to make his escape while he could. Philip moved on with arueful expressionon © his face. He could not imagine what had led | Leona to believe him guilty of the crime, and be felt himself awkwardly placed. But then, i” she might not think anything of the kind, be might bave read her motives wrong. . ae As he passed along. a horseman came down — oh | the road at an easy pace. Philiplooked upand * — saw the placid face of Frazer Hot Heart. The — latter nearly always wore a placid expression; —__ bad it not been for his occasional outbursts, when he chastised some man just to keep his hand in, one would have said he wasat peace with the whole world. ? aa Between him and Warburton there was good wil’, pe Loth bowed pleasantly as the Fire Later * passed. a The latter rode on to Convent Rest, stabled Jack Jet, and then went inand preparedhisown __ supper. ” ae Convent Rest was not a mansion, but it suited him well. J.ooking from the window hehada rrand view of the Pacific, the broad fieldsand — the frowning top of Porcupine Ridge. There — were some clouds on his life, but he took mat- —s_— ters easy and was more contented thanthe aver- age of men. a He had finished supper and was > smok- > ing when footsteps sounded on the stairs. He ~~ waited for the unknown to show bimself. He ~~ did not fear that it was Garth Griffith, forthe ~— Bush-Wolf would not have come with so manly __ tread. He had only a moment to wait,andthen the visitor appeared. . ae ee It was Red Jaguar, the Indian ey it Sapa Hot Heart promptly rose, went forward, and gave the red-man bis hand. ae ‘You are welcome, chief—very welcome,” _ he said. rah, ‘“Hot Heart did not expect tosee me here,” _ was the quiet reply, though the chief had re- . turned the hand-pressure with due warmth. Oe ‘Hardly, I confess; though after our expe. rience on Porcupine Ridge, when we | atk vee - > - a. Miss Nettleton, we ought not to be ceremonious, __ I am glad to see you; pray"be seated.” ‘‘Hot Heart’s name is not well chosen; i6 — , ’..6 com : ba As xi EGomichbooks