Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 419 — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

- ———<— The Bat of the Ba oui, 's the detective line. But come; enough of this | By his superhuman exertions he had managed nonsense. Do you suppose that I will tamely submit to such an outrage?” me?” ‘‘None; alive or dead, I'll hold you,” - ‘“Bah!” And with the utterance of the con- temptuous exclamation, he flung his sword straight at Phenix’s head, and then plucked from a secret pocket in the breast of his coat a revolver, evidently a self-cocker, for he dis- charged it immediately. Crack! crack! crack! rung out the are re- rts on the still night air—thbree shots, fired point-blank at Phenix’s breast as fast as the cylinder could revolve. The detective was in a measure taken by sur- prise, for, although, from the expression in the eyes of the other, he had anticipated an attack, vet he had counted upon its being made with the sword, and the sudden production of the re- velver was unexpected, He was quick to follow the example of his an- tugonist, but before he could get his pistol out, the bullets of bis foe took effect. Each one of the three shots struck him. He stagsrered back and then fell upon his knees, A yell of triumph came from the unknown. Taking deliberate aim at Phenix’s head, he fired a fourth shot. The detective fell over sideways. Then satisfied that he had disabled his power- ful sntagonist, he approached with the idea of administering the final stroke. But Phenix half rose, evident?y badly hurt and partially stunned, yet sensible of what was going on, leveled his revolver and fired, A cry of rage came from the other as the bul- let tore through his fiesh, and he recoiled before his determined foe, Phenix staggered to his feet, the blood stream- ing from the wounds in his head, presenting a frightful sight. ‘* Dead or alive I’ll hold you!” he gasped. The young man answered with another shot which cut away a lock of hair from the detect- ive’s temple. And then again the flash of flame came from the revolver of the man-hunter as he advanced with dogyed resolution upon his prey. Again the bullet had bit its mark. The unknown had emptied his revolver, and so was weaponless. With a yell of anger he threw the now useless weapon at the head of the detective. — The aim was good, and the missile tumbled | to get well away from the shore, yet not too far to command a good view, althougb a great mass soliloquized.. ‘‘He is as strong as a bull, and poe the determination of a panther, and, ite all members of the cat-tribe, he has nine lives. He is not dead, but probably stunned for the moment by the fall. The water will revive him, he will gain the land, and to-morrow fol: low again on my trail with more vigor than ever.” He set his teeth firmly together for a moment, and his hard drawn breath came from between them like the pantings of a wild animal ex- hausted by a prolonged chase, ‘Tt is time to make an end of it now for good and all!” he exclaimed. ‘If he lives and con- tinues the hunt, I am satisfied that my capture is only a question of time; in the end he is sure torun medown. Why then not make an end of it now? He is comparatively helpless. If there are any more charges in his revolvers, the chances are a hundred to one that the water has rendered them useless. I can return and put an end to him with as little ceremony as though he were but a calf in readiness for the butcher.” And having come to this conclusion, the un- known was prompt to act upon it. He brought his boat around and rowed back to the point from whence he had started, by so doing of course bringing his back to the shore, but he was careful to glance over his shoulder every now and then for the purpose of noting if Phenix had arisen from the water. But he was not gratified by a sight of the man-hunter. He brought bis boat alongside of the rock | from which the detective had slipped into the water. It was quite deep at that point, and the cur- rent was strong. He would have been swept up-stream for some distance in such a strong flood tide as this,” the searcher murmured. ‘I must look for him=up the stream. By this time, unless he has received a mortal hurt, he must have risen to the surface, and if I do not succeed in finding him, then I ought to be easy in my mind about the matter, for it will be pretty conclusive evi- dence that he has found a grave in the restless waters.” Keeping the boat a short distance from the shore, he rowed slowly along up the river. His quest was in vain; not a vestige of the detective could he discover. ttery. <1 < — ee just wait until twenty years have gone by, then I shall be a decrepit old woman, tottering on the verge of the grave, while you will be in the ‘You will be obliged to submit, for you can’t | of fleecy clouds driving across the sky at times Very prime of life. ; ma help yourself,” retorted the detective. Sartially obscured the light of the moon, Besides thas has peep Dae lore. my life | ** Can’t 1?” cried the other scorniully. “‘ Have Eagerly he watched—moments melted into and the r yaa * rear Oo @ anguls at 1 you a warrant for my arrest?” minutes, yet he was not gratified by a sight of caused me 18 Svs Lkesn *5 fatthfal fri ek ‘* No: it isn’t necessary.” his foe. | poner i my egausan , ‘aithfu. en 7 1, and do ‘Isn't it? Well, I can tell you that I will not | ‘ What does it mean?” he questioned. ‘Has | 2Ot even dream po aie ; yr eae x © we : yield myself a prisoner without you produce | the plunge into the river proved fatal to him? | , And this “ed we on y relat — - ex- that little legal document.” Ah! what a bit of good luck that would be for | isted between e saad Gossip e contrary ‘‘T can tell you that Iam going to take you | me! But I can hardly believe that such a thing being utterly unfounded. a r h alive or dead, and I sha'n’t trouble myself about | can be possible. Woultn'’s 4 be. deuced odd =x Elecoty! "3 Pg was summon e young man i any warrant either. accident should accomplish this difficult task af- Begs 4 oe , | avon will not dare!” ter all my well-laid leak had failed?” When the situation was explained to bim he “Oh! yes I will. You aremy game. Ihave | And then a fiendish idea came into his head, | ®°C ted par Sa eat” I will cive th tt | fairly run you to earth, and now 1 am not going and he rested upon his oars while he mused upon | . ertainly,’ e sal » will give the matter | to stand upon any ceremony.” ‘»| it. instant ene 3g . goa tee | ‘¢You area better swordsman than I, and so | © “ It is barely possible that death can have en- Miss Brandon ad ote y Sal npggint ipl ero I suppose you think there isn’t any escape for | sued, for he did not seem to be badly hurt,” he a young lady under her care about whose friends there seemed to be some mystery, and she wished to have the matter investigated. And now thatthe gentleman had accepted the commission, she produced the memoranda she had made. ‘*T have jotted down here all the facts in the case I have been able to ascertain,” she said, giving him the paper. ‘‘It seems to be a mys- terious affair, and I do not understand it at all, but I have no doubt you can ascertain all about it, although I fear it may bea troublesome task.” The gentleman gallantly protested that the more difficult the better he should like it, in or- der to give him an opportunity to prove how de- voted he was to her interests. ‘‘{t may be necessary to employ detectives, but do not hesitate, no matter how mucb it ‘*Ob, I should not allow any expense to stand in the way, even if you had not spokenin regard to the matter.” ‘‘ Examine the memoranda, and see if I have given you all the necessary points; I do not think that I have neglected anything.” He opened the paper and perused it carefully, and the surprises he experienced was so great that it was with tae utmost difficulty—despite the great command he had over himself—that he refrained from betraying it. Miss Brandon’s protégée was the girl who had so mysteriously disappeared, and who had sue- ceeded in avoiding all search, although the banker paid out money as freely as so much wa- Pa in the endeavor to discover her abiding- ace. ‘“{t’s a strange affair,” observed the lady, misunderstanding the expression upon the face of her guest. “Y s, very strange, but I think I can easily ascertain all about the matter. It ought not to be difficult.” And then as he @ Shee to his mind came a strange suspicion, i ight it not be possible that in some way his connection with the affair had been discovered?—was not this task which Miss Brandon had confided to him a shrewd de- vice to ascertain exactly how he stood? It was improbable aud yet not impossible. Culpepper had betrayed the banker to him; why might not the informer play the traitor again and betray him to the banker? : It was a wild idea, and yet so strangely was . a this wily schemer constituted that he allowed Saal Phenix over upon his back. Fully an hour he t in the search, and | 0 y SCO ; “5 The young peor sprung forward to improve | then, satisfied that nothing could be eapes by were he yeh post to it. 4 the advantage, but as he came up to Phenix, the | devoting more time to it, he headed his boat be to no ieve that Miss Brandon was a oe detective quickly raised his arm and sent an- | across the river to the New York shore. ee h eed tg to lead him into a trap, e4.' other bullet into the person of his foe. “Phenix is dead, beyond a doubt,” he mused, | 22 ry she might be duped into playing ye Again a yell of mingled rage and pain, and | “ but, oh! what wouldn’t I give if I could only | "2 fi eS ‘ P cg : ig then, apparently panic-stricken, the unkuown | be sure of it! One look at his lifeless body | , .° rst idea was to ascertain if there had ane turned and fled toward the boat, would be worth a fortune!” th phone communication between the lady and et He was bleeding from the wounds that he had He feared the detective more than all the rT nker, ‘, | iow received, but evidently no one of them was | world besides, tte the 2 not acquainted as far as he knew. \o a severe enough to disable him. —-- y the way, Miss Brandon, he remarked, pe , By the time he was half-way to the boat the CHAPTER XXXIV — a ate gt pause, during which he had cf detective had managed to regain his feet, and : een revolving these ideas in his head, ‘ have 2B opened fire on the retreating man, but his A LITTLE OF THE PAST, you heard the latest gossip?” 7 wounds had rendered his aim uncertain, and al- Miss BRANDON was es good as her word in No, I have almost retired from society and ‘oe though the bullets whistled closer to the person regard to the promise that she had made to the so I hear very little. . ~ of the fugitive than was agreeable to that gen-| girl who had come under her roof in so strange Ah, then [ suppose I must make confession, or tleman, yet he managed to get into the boat and | @ manner. but I thought you had heard something of it, Pa push off into the stream, ] ets Phenix pursued him with grim determination. One revolver being emptied of its charges, he She carefully wrote down all the fac‘s apper- taining to the case and then sent a message summoning a gentleman whose kind offices she Dame Rumor declares that before long my bachelor days will be over.” ‘** Allow me to congratulate ¢ ¢ ulat “hag then, if the drew another and kept up the fire, although | desired to enlist in the matter. report ls correct,” she said, in the kindest man- aaa rowing so weak from his wounds that he could This person was no other than Mr. Almayne. | "°&: | “a hardly stand, Miss mcg se a bis acquaintance some cannieneak must plead guilty to the soft im- ey itive bent to his oars with all his| two years before the time of which we write, nt. Dy fo Fa and tasre waeee's any one in the world for whom ane ho Is wee ora ? “ Dar gel acl mv Sea ee “This man isa demon.” he muttered between | she had a higher respect. Lam not certain as to that, although I thin ae his ne ecoth, : In fact the regard that the pair had for each itis probable. She is a daughter of the banker, Bs Shot after shot the desperate detective sent other once excited considerable gossip in the Redmond Lamardale,” 2 after the retreating boat. He had clambered | Circle in which they moved, and the rumor had A quick, convulsive breath came from the Ux to the top of a huge rock that jutted out into been widely circulated that it would result in a| {vbite lips of the lady; her face grew pallid and a the water so as to secure a better aim, but ven- SS despite the Shas hae in their ages. rae moment it seemed as if she were about to A turing too slipped the slimy sur- nd gossip in this instance, was not so far : ; , ae face, lost Remibets antriny headlong into the | out cf the way, for the gentleman had been | , Tbe gentleman sprung from his seat in alarm, aa i water. meg won 3A rapes by ect lady, and if it but Sg ice sei nga ee RN ihat-4 a | h f joy upon |} bad depended upon him no doubt he would have At Is nothing—a sudden faintness, that is om | poetiinis go ag eater, “stroke of ge or- | become her lord and master. all,” she murmured, speaking with great difti- ne tune. But Miss Brandon, while frankly admitting Le : Te : “Ah, you bloodthirsty sleuth-hound, that | that if she was twenty years younger her an-| hall I not ring for yourmaid?’heinquired, = _swer might be different, resolutely declined. | Percelving that he had unwittingly caused the ‘No, no,” she said, “I am in the sere and | /@4¥ great mental pain. , inde yellow leaf while you are merely on the thresh-_ No, no, it is over now, but the sbock waeso ee old of manhood, © Possibly the great difference sudden. so entirely unexpected, that for the mo- tae in our ages may not be so apparent now, but Mens all the painful past was recalled to me and Ay. ' uts a stop to your target-practice for a time at t east!” | | And now the fugitive relaxed a little in his | efforts, yet watching anxiously for the detec- BS tive to reappear. 4; J o | comicbooks.com - — —_—- — —— or as? oe 1 te j J a Wp tas rns