Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 416 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

ki band pulled out a pistol and threatened to blow - out the brains of the false friend who had dared - to steal like a serpent into his house to dishonor it, but bis mates caught and disarmed him. though with growing uneasiness as she was forced to note paused with a long-drawn breath, she bastily . ’ r> 78, WP de a rad: a | . i.’ rs * Monte Jim, the Black Sheep of Bismarck. =¢ - > ae = ~ ee a id — * » , ’ ~ - — - ‘ id a. — . him not, and after some more earnest conversa- tion through the barred door, he left me alone. ‘¢ Tt was nearly midnight when the outer door opened, and I heard a footstep on the stairs, then a key turn in my chamber-door, which opened to admit—not my husband, but the vil- lain whom I had overheard plotting the ruin of my brother with Lloyd Pennington! ‘*T was dressed, and sitting beside a table, but I leaped to my feet with a little ery of won- der as I recognized the bold intruder on my privacy. I naturally expected my. husband to follow him, but instead, the scoundrel closed the door, turned the key in the lock, then with- drew it as he faced me, an unholy smile light- ing his liquor-inflamed countenance. ‘I demanded the co tyerg bag this strange con- duct, waving him back as he approached. He paused, but it was with the insolent assurance of one who feels that he is complete master of the situation, and able to abide his time. ‘*There is no necessity for ay eames word for word all that he said, though 1 could do so, for every syllable is written upon my heart in letters of fire. Enough that he informed me [ was now his property; that I had been duly bought and sold; that my husband, wearying of my constant tears and reproaches, had, against a large sum of money, wagered the key of my chamber, and all the treasures which it was capable of unlocking. The game was played and my husband lost. He gave up the key, and the fortunate winner had hastened to reap his reward. ‘‘This the shameless villain told me, swaying to and fro, as though too far gone in drink to stand steadily; and he would have spoken still plainer, had I not checked him in my honest in- dignation. What [ said, I cannot recall at pres- ent, nor is it necessary that I should. Enough that [ did not spare either hini or my husband. ‘‘ When my breath failed me, and [ paused, a complete and startling change came over the villain, and his bearing was now that of a com- plete sober man. ‘‘He said that his story of the manner in which he gained possession of the key was a lie, in which he had been coached by Lloyd Penning- ton, who was determined to get rid of me, once for all, as he wished to marry a rich heiress whom he had long been courting as a single man. He sent this rascal to my chamber, and was to follow after bim, in an hour or so, with a number of witnesses, who were to swear to finding me in his company, and through that means enable Lloyd Pennington to secure a divorce. y ‘‘Stunned by the ot noha duplicity of the man I had so passionately loved, I listened, like one in a dream, while he mace this revelation. My quietude was misunderstood by the brutal rascal, and it gave him renewed courage. ‘Tf I would yield and grant him the reward he sought, at some future time, he said he would beat a retreat and tell my husband that I had firmly repulsed him, causing him to Hee precipi- er, in order to preserve his life. ** 7 had my lips to indignantly repulse him and his vile proposition, when there came a sudden rush of feet along the landing outside my cbamber, and the door was burst open, Lloyd Pennington and several of his boon com- panions rushing headlong into the room. ‘‘ As though half-insane with rage, my hus- ured out that was he would “Then his pretended rage was upon me, char ing me with se a vile and treacherous, swearing that bring me before the bar of justice and strip from me the name which I had so foully dis- honored. ‘‘T listened until his breath failed him; then I uttered a single word—the name of my brotuer —and the door of a closet was flung open, my brother and a detective, both with revolvers drawn, stepped into full view, boldly confront- ing the astounded plotters who had so cunning- ly laid their snares in which to entangle me!” CHAPTER XVIL MORE SURPRISES THAN ONE, Wirn a painful interest for which she could hardly account, Medea Pennington had listened to the narrative of this strange woman thus far, the passage of time. More than once she had eile an attempt to hasten the conclusion, only to be silenced by an imperious wave of the hand, but now, as the woman uttered: . ‘“‘T have no right—no wish to hear all that you may have suffered in the past, madam, It cannot alter my firm resolution to find Lloyd Pennington and perform the sacred duty in- srusted to me by one who is now dead. pete yourself, by telling me where I may find him since it must be as unpleasant for you to recall as it is for me to listen to this sad recital.” ‘Tf I can bear it, you surely ought!” “ But I do not recognize the necessity—” “T do, then!” cried the woman, rising to a sitting posture, her face deeply flushed, her reat eyes allaglow. ‘If you are so stubborn- y determined to seek out Lloyd Pennington, ou will in the end become intimate with him. top! I know the man and you do not. I can readily foresee the end. He will take a fancy to your pure, angel type of ee the more readily because it is in such complete contrast with his satanic nature. He will lay himself out to win your heart, and he will succeed, even as he succeeded with me, you believe him as but little below your pure level, and in the end he will gain all he seeks. ‘“‘Some day it may happen that my name may be brought up between you, and as an an- tidote to the lies which he will most assuredly | pour upon my head, I must tell you my side of | the story. Not but what, despite all reason, will end by believing most religiously that am a female fiend, while he is a martyred demi-god; but for a time, until your subjection to him and his devilish art is complete, you will do me justice. That is worth striving for even if it did not do me good to occasionally re- call the black and terrible past.” With a low sigh, Medea sunk back in her chair, realizing the utter uselessness of further protest. The woman laughed shortly, as she noticed this, then said: ‘‘ Have a little patience, my dear child, and I will make the remainder of my history as brief as possible. “T find I have anticipated my story a little, but a few words will sufiice to pick up the drop- ped threads. ‘You remember I spoke of my brother’s com- ing to see me, while chamber, and after I believed him far away, thanks to my warning him of the dastardly plot which Lloyd Pennington and his boon compan- ion had formed to rob if not murder him. **T was forced to tell him all that led to my being locked in, and his rage was as great as it was just. He vowed to seck my recreant hus- band, and avenge the black insult, even though he had to dip his hands in human blood, and it required all my eloquence to make him forego this hasty determination. ‘** It was only when I reluctantly consented to separate from Pennington for good and all, that he yielded: and it was to procure evidence against him that our little ambush was pre- pared, ‘* By means of a skeleton key in ‘the hands of a detective whom he sought out and employed, Brother King opened my prison door, and to- gether we finally map out a plan of pro- cedure which promised to end in the self-be- trayal of Lloyd Pennington, sufficiently at least to insure my procuring a divorce from him with- out too great pert ‘* At the first sound of footsteps, my brother and the detective hastened to place themselves in ambush, from which they were to emerge when I gave an agreed-upon signal. Great was my surprise when, instead of Lloyd Penning- ton, his treacherous bosom friend made his ap- pearance; but it promised to serve our purpose equally as well, and I played my part bravely, aed the sudden appearance of my false hus- ‘*T must have succumbed, then, but for the support given by my allies in waiting. They could clear my name of the foul charge, and turn his dastardly blow back on the head of the villain who dealt it. ‘*At my signal they broke from cover, and Lloyd Pennington stood aghast, for the moment unable to comprehend its full meaning; but then, with a howling curse of fury, he strove to recover the weapon of which he had been de- prived by his ally, when he sought to frighten me into a confession of guilt by threatening m life. He failed, however, for he had no weak woman to deal with now, and under the muzzles of two revolvers he speedily cooled down, out- wardly at least. ‘* Under the same significant persuasion, the man who had so triumphantly exhibited the key to my chamber, was led to make a full con- fession of their dastardly plot to effect my ruin, which King wrote down as the sentences dropped reluctantly from his lips. When he concluded, he was obliged to add his signature to the confession, which was witnessed by all the others, save my husband. “Then I confronted him, and all the bitter wrongs I had suffered at his bands, all the in- sults and cruel blows, were summed up in a few passionate sentences. I told him, then, how his tool had betrayed him, and I swore that he should never wed the heiress he.had been court- ing while yet my husband, nor any other, until the grave closed over me. I would hold this confession for use against him, should he ever attempt to obtain a divorce from me in order to wed another victim. I bade him go his way and never trouble me agair. If he dared to molest me in any manner, cr if he sought to claim his right asa husband, | would produce more than this confession—I would—and here I breathed a few words into his ear which caused him to grow white as a corpse, and tremble like a leaf in a gale of wind. “That is enough of that peculiar scene. It makes my heart grow sick, even at this distant day, to merely recall it. was fast locked in my | ae —~ ae me ee + ee oe ee | | He will try to make | _ lost—I felt that without Lloyd Pennington life | | | | _ showed itself, faint and indistinct, but sufficient ' I | | i ' | | | | | 15 ‘Lloyd Pennington vanished from town that very night, and no person could say what had become of him. I went to live with my brother, and of the next few months there is little to tell, save that my health began to fail me, and poor brother felt that I was gradually fading away to leave him alone on earth. ‘‘He suspected the truth, though I would never acknowledge it. {fam ashamed of the ad- mission now, but I was pining forthe love | bad was not worth the trouble of living. And yetl knew him to be the assassin of my parents—ex- plain it how you can; 1 simply tell the truth, to my own shame. ‘‘ For a year we heard nothing of Lloyd Pen- nington, aud it sometimes seemed to me that the earth must have opened and ingulfed him, as he fled that night, in a fury of baffled rage and guilt. But then the trail of the serpent again for recognition by those who had learned to know him so thoroughly. ‘‘ Three separate times my life was attempted, but it almost seemed as though Providence had me under its especial care, for as often I escaped with life, though the last attempt left me on what was, for months, believed to be my death- bed. ‘““ Bach time the clew seemed to point to Lloyd Pennington, and I now know that our first sus- picions were correct. He no doubt believed I suspected his agency, for he lost no pains in covering up his trail, only to come forth from his hiding to strike another blow at my life. ’ ‘‘Tt would have been better for him had he went his way and left me alone, for I believe I would have pined to death, in time, feeding on my ‘hopeless love. As it was, his unrelentin rags J worked a perfect cure in the end, an J when I left that sick bed, it was with only one ~— | purpose in life; to haunt Lloyd Pennington, and | ruin his every hope in life, even as he had de- stroyed mine. ‘* From that day to this, I have been a fester- | ing thorn in his side. I have followed himlike | a sleuth, no matter where he went or what cun- | ning disguises he might assume. With the for- tune which my brother divided with me, I hired | a trusty force of fearless men to serve me aS body-guard, and thanks to this precaution, am still alive. Scores of times Lloyd Pennin / Os has sought to kill me, but as often has he foiled, and the blow returned—not at his life, for I willed that he should live on to more thoroughly feel my vengeance for a ruined life. ‘‘He came here, and I followed him, to save from his evil arts a young and puregir]. I have placed her on her guard, though as yet he does not ct my agency, or he would have fled from Bismarck as from the plague. : ‘‘Through my brother, I learned that he had — noticed you, and when 1 also learned that you F were making inquiries concerning Lloyd Pen- nington, I resolved to see youand warn youof — the ery peril into which you were running > blindfold. be ‘ “If you had accepted my warning in the same spirit it was offered, I would not have > | troubl ou with my sad story. But you were like a little bird that has come within the fas- cinated circle with which a rattlesnake sur- rounds itself, and seeing that no less positive proof would be accepted, I have torn the — ee from the black past, and shown you the ae F nature of the demon whom you seek. Be ‘For the last time be warned! Abandon Hee dangerous quest, and return to ag home. | f you persist, Lloyd Pennington will add you to his long list of hapless victims, so sure as there is a heaven above us this night!” eet - Like one uttering a prophecy, the strange woman stood before Medea, her right hand up- lifted, her face flushed, her eyes flaming with a yp ys red light as though filled with fire. eed. A cold, icy hand seemed grasping her heart, _ almost stopping its throbbings, but Medea Pen- __ nington showed no outward signs of flinching, and the voice in which she spoke was clear and pre without trembling: by ee ‘‘T thank you for the interest you seem to feel in my welfare, but had your story been tenfold as sad and tragic, its recital could not have weakened my purpose. I am bound by anoath taken beside the death-bed of a man who was ail the world tome. With his cold hand clasp» ing mine, I pl myself to seek Lloyd Pen- nington until 1 found him, or until I became a convinced that the grave had forever claimed him. That oath I must keep, even though IT knew the attempt would lead me tomy own grave,” # ‘*It will—or worse!” exclaimed the woman, passionately. Be “To death, perhaps, but never to the dis- age at which you hint,” quietly replied Me- 2 bitter, mocking laugh, then the sharp — words: + ‘So I would have said, in the innocent days _ of my youth; and I was stronger far than ever gifs you dare claim to Fe ‘5 oa ‘Tn person, possibly; never in spirit, else you would have a far different tale t6 tell.” ee Proudly the words were uttered, and un- — flinchingly Medea confronted the woman, whose EGoOmicbooks com i 4 -