Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 419 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

*P}) co with you, if my presence will not inter- fere with the business in hand!” exclaimed the mayor. “Not at all!” “ And I will make one of the party,” the Governor ed. “T shall be glad of your cormpany, gentlemen, for I think tht the author of this communication means business. I will have a squad of men near at hand, ready for action, if any immediate work is re- wired. Iam sorry for Irving; it will be a dreadful ow to jiim if the fellows have captured his precious on, and it takes a squad to snake him out of sir hands. He'll be disgusted, for, so far in his wofessional career, he has been very successful and 3 work «d up some cases that would do credit to any det. ctive in the world, bar none.”’ “At twetve, then,” said the Governor, as he and the mayor arouse, “Yos, but we want to start about a quarter be- fore. Suppose Il meet vou at the Fifth Avenue Ho- tel? Iwill have a coach and it will give us ample time to reach the spot, if we start from the hotel at a rier before twelve,” o this the others agreed and then departed, The superintendent arranged to have a squad of a half a dozen of his best men in the neighborhood of the A ong at twelve exactly and manners the matter go thut they could reach the locality without any one suspecting their presence in the vicinity. “The bird is probably a wary customer and I must be careful not to frighten him away before he sings his litiile song,”’ the police chief observed. ot the slightest thought that there might be per- sonal danger in the quest ever entered the brain of the superintendent. He knows the rogues of New York too wel!; no five or ten of them would have dared to attack the superintendent in the open street, no matter what the hour. Proinptly that night, at a quarter to twelve, the two officials were at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and equally as promptly the superintendent made his appearance in a coach, The mayor and the Governor got in and away they went. } Right to the minute, just as the bells tolled the it midnight hour, the three men alighted from the i re Le the Broadway side of the park, near the We itw ELA. ies.) “kt main here, gentlemen, if you please,’ said the police official, “* white I go forward and see what the party is raade of; it will not do for all of us to go, or if the rascal saw three men, he would be apt to suspect that tucre was a ti:ap and refrein from put- ting in an appearance, When a fish of this sort is a hooked he has to be played very carefully or you'll never Jand him.”’ Te others saw the wisdom of this course, and so i they remaine i by the hack while the superintendent \s waiked to the end of the park. City lial! Park formerly ran to a point at the lower enc, but the General Post-cffice was built upon that pur'icular spot and a broad street, for the conveni- ‘¢ ence of the mail-teams, so that they can resch the a reir doors of the building, separates the post-office from the park. At the edge of the street the chief halted and lovked around him. He reachei the spot just asthe beils gave the final stroke of the hour. No one was in sight; ten, fifteen minutes the he: official waited, but no one came; then the ficure of a a ronan, half-reclining in an angle of the building op- | posite, attracted his attention. % | wouder if that is the party and he has fallen asleep?” The chief crossed the street and laid his hand apon the man’s shoulder. It was the detective, Irving, cold in death! | be CHAPTER IX. ott LAMARDALE’S SUSPICIONS. Repmonpd L‘MARDALE was one of the representative men of New York. He had entered the great me- tropolis years ago, when the city was a small town intioed com to what it now is; a poor boy, yet with an indomitable will, he had worked his way uv nntil the benking-house of Lamardale was as we known and its ence as great as that of any other establishment in this same line of business in the country. Lamardale was one of the, so-called, successful men; everything he touched seemed to turn into gold, and 1t was a joke in the commercial world, when any one of note became interested in a losing ulation, for the “street” to say, ‘“Get Lamar- dale to take hold of it and then you will see the : Bb) += et ee eee Sid a # - te 2 eT wer hp ote ee di — ~~ Ses4-¥ money come tumbling in, In person the banker was a tall, portly man, well- __ preserved for his years, being over seventy, with a ) A massive face, betraying his resolute nature in every ‘a line, fringed with iron-gray hair, and illuminated by a pair of keen, gray eyes, that showed little trace of a the ravages of time. 4 Like most men who have fought the world success- fully, and acquired a commanding positiun and co- lossal wealth, Lamardale had an imperious way and was impatient of contradiction. He had been so long accustomed to having all his schemes progress to a successful end that the miscarriage of his }lans in rezgarl to the girl annoyed him greatly, even , Batterhofer, who was used to his moods, havin ~~ been his confidential adviser and attended to ¢ F his important and private business for years, was couaged t at the irritation which he displayed about the matter. - When the lawyer had returned from the steamer and related the story of theo rig yh of the y pir the old gentleman had ilown into the most vio- pe nt passion, Pe, “itis a plot—a conspiracy to extort money from me!” be declared, Jumping to his feet and pacing e up and down the confines of his library with the rier restlessness of a caged lion. De “A conspiracy to extort money!” cried the old mf lawyer, utterly unable to comprehend what his client Me was dri at. “Yes, yes, I understand it all! but the rascals will y find that the game will not werk. They have the | girl—they can keep her for all that I shall do, and -* , much good may they get out of her! But if they think to use her as a weapon against me, they never made a greater mistake in all their lives!” ) “Put, Mr. Lamardale, | do not understand—” oe * Of course not! of course not,’ the other cried, The Bat of the Battery. impatiently. ‘* You cannot be expected to under- | stand a matter of which you know absolutely noth- | ing. I tell youitisa plot: Icanseeit ata glance; | and I have been afraid of something of the kind all | the time. 1l suspected that there might be certain parties base enough to follow the girl from England and try and use her as a weapon against me the | moment she got on this side of the water. They | discovered I had sent for her, and they laid their plans 1G Petree i | ‘*Mr. Lamardale, I trust you will excuse me for | being obliged to differ with you,’ the lawyer said; | he was as ey white-haired gentleman of the old | school, very polite and very precise. ‘** Well, how do you differ?” *Your statement that some Soe in England dis- covered that you had sent for the girl cannot pos- sibly be’correct, for you did not appear in the mat- ter at all; in fact, so cautious was Lin arranging the details of the affair, so that pone agency should not be suspected, that I myself did not appear in the transaction, but the business was done in the name of one of the clerks in my office; so, Mr. Lamardale, you may rest assured, as far as the affair itself was concerned, no one in England could possibly have suspected that you had anything to do with it. In fact, 1 do not see how any one, either here or else- where, could have known anything of it, for I was careful not to speak about the matter to a soul, and as it was known only tous, I do not comprehend how it could have leaked out.”’ By this time Lamardale had recovered in a mea- sure from the violent passion into which he had been thrown, aud Be ow reflecting upon the matter he was obliged to admit the truth of the lawyer's remarks. * Besides, the young man on board of the steam- er, from whom I received the particulars of the strange affair, informed me that there wasn’t any | doubt in his mind that the man who carried off the | rl got on board the steamer by means of a smail | oat when she came to anchor off quarantine,” “But the motive for the crime?’ Lamardale uestioned, “There must have been some power- al motive, for a man wouldn’t put himself in jeopardy by so willfully defying the law without a good and sufficient reason.’ **That is very true, and that is what occurred to me the mo'rent [ heard the particulars and ques- tioned the young man in regard to it. He was a sensible, intelligent fellow and came to the point at once with all a sailor’s frankness, He thought the man was crazy.” * Crazy !"’ the banker exclaimed. * Yes; he had a talk with the fellow on the deck just before the abduction occurred; he noticed something peculiar about the man and got the idea that he was not a passenger, and naturally was uzzled to account for his a Parone on the ship. e asked his name, then went to examine the pas- senger-lists and when he returned the man had ren- dered the girl insensible in some way and in a small boat was making off. Chase was at once given, but & Storm came up and the abductor with his victim escaped by running right out to sea,”’ “it is the strangest affair that I ever knew of in all my experience,” the banker remarked, reflec- tively. “‘Of course, my dear Batterhofer, I have more than a stranger's interest in this girl, and there are weizhty reasons for that interest; one of these days you shall know all, but for the present, I will re- tain the secret. I have sedulously kept myself in the background in the matter, for fear there might be parties i Kugland, who, if they learned I was in- teresting myself in the girl, would strive to use her as a tool to wring money from me, knowing I was a man of means. Mind! I am not sure that any such par- ties exist, [ only took precautions in case they did; but as to any o..e on this side of the water troub ing the'y heads about the girl, it looks altogether impos- sible; for while it was pr bable that there might be persons in England who knew something about her and her family, it is certain there wasn't any one in America besides myself who did. My unfortunate brother, who fell by the hand of this secret assassin, had some slight knowledge, but that I imparted to him, and now that he is dead, I alone know aught of er. “Tt is certainly a mysterious affair, and the sup- ition of the young man, Mr, Blount, who is Third cer of the City of Chester, that the deed was perpetrated by a lunatic seems to be the only reason- able explanation.” **By the by, how would it do for me to see this entleman?’’ asked Lamardale, abruptly. ‘ Possi- ly he might be able to suggest something. Ido pes feel leave the matterin this unsatisfac- tory state. After bringing the girl clear from Eng- land, I'®bject to having her taken out of my han in this unceremonious manner.” “It would be an excellent idea!” ** Suppose you see him and bring him up as soon as convenient,” ' , “Very well, my time is my own to-day. I've nothing important on hand, aud T’il hunt him up.” The lawyer departed, but he acted so, promptly in the matter, and was so favored by circumstances, that within two hours he returned accompanied by Mr. Blount. The young man was introduced to the banker by the lawver, and at the first glance Lamardale, who prided bimseif upon his judgment in reading char- acter, took a fancy to the gentleman, and so, with- out hesitation, he confided to him the deep interest which he took in the abducted girl. “Mr. Batterhofer informs me,’’ he said in conclu- sion, ‘that itis your belief that the man who com- mitted this most atrocious crime was not exactly righs in his head.”’ “Yes, sir, that was the opinion I formed, although from the conversation I had with him on the steam- er’s deck, just before the act was committed, I should not have suspected that there was anything the matter with him, but when I chased him in the boat, while the storm was rising and I threatened him with my revolver, then he most certainly acted like a man who was a little cracked in the upper | ry.” * Could you imagine any motive that the man could possibly have for the outrageous act?" ‘None atall; I am satisfied that he was a stranger to the gir], and gained access to the deck of the steamer by means of the same smail boat in which he escaped, and there not being the slightest reason ee a ee forthe deed, as far as I can see, is why Iam im- oressed with the belief that it was due to the witless reak 6f a lunatic.” **Tt looks like it! Upon my soulit does!’ Lamar- dale exclaimed, The old lawyer agreed with this. ‘**Put now the point is—what has become of the girl?” the banker asked. Blount shook his head, “IT am afraid, sir, that the ruffian, whether sane or a lunatic, hurried both himself an‘? the girl to certain death. He was in a smal! boat, the storm was high, and the coast dangerous.” “But there is a chance that they might have escaped ?”’ ** Yes, sir, a chance.” “Are you at liberty to accept a commission to look into the matter?—-never mind the expense, I will stand that, no matter what it costs.” Blount accepted the offer gladly, for he was deeply interested, and half-an-hour later he was on his way to the Jersey coast. CHAPTER X. IN THE GALE, Axp what was the fate of the boat which, like a yhantom craft. fled, tossing on the raging billows, to the darkness of the night? The sea was raginje uouctuins high, and the wind kept steadily increasing in strength. The boat, run- ning straight before the gale, raced ouward at almost incredible speed. The craft was almost half a mile from the land, and every now and then, when the lightning’s flash illuminated the darkness of the night the low out- line of the Jersey coast could be distinctly ob- served, ‘* Now, then, follow me if you dare!” the unknown had shouted in wild glee, as he ran past the low sandy point of the Hook into the open sea, and with a turn of the wrist, pointed the prow of the boat to the ‘insides thus getting the full benefit of the wind. As he had anticipated, the other boat gave up the chase, and as he cast a glance backward and beheld them pull around, he laughed in wild, fierce glee. “Aha, you cowards! you don’t dare to follow me!” he aried, ‘‘and you are wise not to attempt it, for I would lead vou to certain death! Oh, isn't this glorious? This is life—this is worth living for! How the balmy breeze fans my fevered cheek and cools my heated brain!’’ And then again the man lauched in wild delight, and if Blount could have heard him he would have been certain that his guess was right when he came to the conclusion that the man was @ lunatic. When the stranger agcin looked behind him the pursuin’ boat had disappeared, ‘The blind fools to imarine that they could over- take me, and all the advantages on my side!” he ex- claimed, scorafully. “But have they given up the chase?” he cried, abruptly, after quite a long sile.ce. He was keeping the boat right straight before the wind and racing along at a speed of fully ten knots an hour. ‘No, no, it is not likely,” he muttered, after cogitating over the matter for awhile. “That young uppy has taken a fancy to the girl. Isaw that n his face, and thet is the reason why he pursued me £0 hotly, He is a sailor and knows that he might as well chase a wiil-o’-the-wisp os follow me over the open sea, but he is of the bull-dog breed and will not give up the pursuit while a chance re- mains, Ile cannot follow me in the teeth of this gale, but he can wait in the calmer water inside of Sandy Hook to intercept me when I return. Yes, yes! that will be his plan undoubtedly: but what chance is there for its success on such a night as this, with the storm raging, the sky black with angry clouts, and all so dark that, excepting when the lightning flashes its vivid ngs, not an object can be di tinguished a hundred feet distant? A singe boat could hardly succeed in patrolling the entrance on a clear nicht, let alone in the face of such a storm as this. My game is simple enough; I will go about and make for the Long Island shore and slip up into the bay under the lee of the land.”’ It waa a noticeable fact that now the man was cammuning with himself, there was not a particle of fo accent perceptible in his voice, which plainly showed that the accent was not natural but assumed, The the victim of this outrage, had been ] placed in the bow of the boat, and the man had not paid the least attention to her, until now, when a movement on her part showed him that the influ- ence of the drug, which had stupefied her, was passing away. Slewly the use of her senses came back, and at last she sat up and stared around. She was still so confused that she did not realize what had occurred; she was like one wandering in the mazes of a horrid But as she looked upon the waste of waters, shut caught agi ofthe in eaten thesranger ; of the strik eatures e stranger, crouching in the stern, all at once she realized what had taken place, but when she did she was even mee bewildered, if such a thing could be, than be- She understood that she was the victim of a foul he had been abducted from the deck of the steamer by this man, whose evil eyes seemed to lare at her with demoniac power, but why bad this en done? what motive was there for 90 foul a deed? She had not been injured—had escaped bodily harm, excepting that she felt wick and faint from the effects of the drug which she had been forced to inhale. The few trinkets she wore had not cost a pound note, and surely no one would be silly enough to imagine she had any money con- cealed about her person; what then could aiy one gain by perpe' rating so great a crime? “You have recovered your senses, I perceive.” the man observed. 7 “What does this mean?” she exclaimed “TI do not understand,” and norant air. “You know well enouch! Why have you com- mitted this gross outrage? What did I ever do to you that you should assault ine in so cruel a mau- ner?” “Oh, you are still in a delirium, I see,” he ob- served, ‘* My dear girl, you must try and call back he assumed an ig- com S) (c JOO ‘