Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 437 — page 30: what you’re looking at

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

wat 5 & Ps a ; . >» 30 —_—_—-_- —— a et — —— <= If you will allow me to mix a little theorizing with the favts, I will venture the opinion that close attention to your scientific work so over: taxed ycur mind that your reason became clouded—certain it is that the last part is true. **Probably you knew your condition, but concealed it with the cunning often shown by those similarly afflicted. You announced that you were going to Europe, and suddenly disap- peared.” ‘** Where did I go?” huskily asked Woodside. ‘*To Pennsylvania, and put yourself under the care of one skilled in complaints like yours, and there it was that you remained all those years. In plain words, the asylum that you sought was a private home for the insane.” CHAPTER XXXVIITI. WHO KILLED TEMPLE HATHAWAY, WoopsIbDe’s face suddenly grew bright. ‘“And was I there all through those .years? Was I there when Temple Hathaway was— was—” ‘You were in the asylum when Temple Hathaway was slain; you never left the asylum during those years which area blank to you. When you applied for admission you gave a false name and address, as the head physician soon learned, but his rules were not as rigid as those of a Stato institution; you gave him a generous sum of money and he was content. ‘*There you remained a long time. You were never violent, and, showing no scientific inclina- tion, you were always eager to work on the land connected with the place. In this way you im- proved your health physically, and grew as rugged as a laborer, and he saw that you would ultima ag recover your reason, ‘*One day you disappeared. You had secret- ly left the institution, and he never saw you again until two yearsago. Then he met you on the streets of Jersey City. He inquired of others and learned who you were, but, with un- usual delicacy, or it may have been a peculiarity of his nature, he never addressed you. He had been well paid and was satisfied. **He now lives in Hoboken, having retired from business five years ago. t was on my way to see him when I chanced to aid in rescuing Miss Woodside to-day, and that is why I was in such haste. ‘**T learned about this doctor from an old man named, or rather, nicknamed, Deddy Posey. He was once an attendant in the asylum, from which he was discharged for dishonesty. He knew where the doctor lived, and directed me. Perhaps you wonder why he directed me. Well, his term at the asylum covered Mr. Woodside’s stay there, and he remembered him well. Why he remembered him I will soon state, as it was an odd fact.” The detective ceased speaking, and the pro- fessor took up the conversation eagerly: “T see it all now. I recovered my reason suddenly, when near my own home, and it is clear that it happened soon after my escape from the asylum. ether I had any presenti- ment of what was about to occur can, f[ sup- pose, never be learned. It isa strange affair, anyway.” “ Everything connected with those deranged is peculiar,” Dorgan answered, ‘ and their cun- ning is often wonderful.” ** But,” said Woodside, hesitatingly, ‘‘ what of—of Temple Hathaway?” ‘*T will now tell you. Let us return to the others.” Duke went into the hall, was absent a few moments, and then returned, accompanied by two other men. One was plainly an officer, and he led the second, who was handcuffed. At sight of this man Claudia, Philip and Wilberson looked in wonder. He was a stout, coarse-looking person, evidently of the lower ranks in life, but, except for these differences, he was wonderfully like Professor Woodside in every way—eyes, forehead, nose and general contour of the face. _**Miss Woodside and gentlemen,” said Deep Duke, quietly, ‘“‘ allow me to introduce Zachary Rose, gambler, thief, counterfeiter, convict and —assassin of Temple Hathaway!” ‘It’s a lie!” broke out the accused, fiercely. ‘‘T never saw or heard of Temple Hathaway.” ‘* Rasy, Zachary, easy!” warned the detec- tive, serenely. ‘* You can deny all you see fit when in court, but you will not harm your cause by keeping silent here. Now, Horace Wilberson, what have you to say?” Wilberson had nothing to say. He stared blankly at the other prisoner, and felt that all hope was gone. This man was enough like Woodside to be his twin brother. ‘*‘| now have an explanation to make,” con- tinued Dorgan. ‘ This man I never saw until to-lay, and our meeting was somewhat exciting. T was in a tumble-down old house in the lower art of the city, talking with a man of whom P shall have more to say later, when I heard sounds which convinced me that a spy was at the door, ‘‘T suddenly sprung in that direction, tore oren the door, and confronted this person just as he was taking aim at me with a revolver. I made a prisoner of him, and saw ata glance that it was an important capture. His remarkable Deep Duke, the Sile a EE fara to Professor Woodside gave me an idea. ‘* For some time I have been trying to solve the mystery of Temple Hathaway’s death, and twice since I have been on the case, my life has been attempted. Im each case I made a pris- oner, but these men refused to talk, and I could not learn why I had been attacked nor who set them on. I felt that there was an unseen power in the game, and that 1 was dangerous to some one, whom I did not know. Who was it? I have now learned, and you shall hear the story, as I have learned it from this man’s father, a person commonly called ‘ Daddy Posey.’ ” The prisoner grated his teeth and glared at the detective, but said nothing. Wholly un- moved, Deep Duke continued: ‘*Twenty-five years ago there lived in Jersey City one Jacob Rose and his son, Zachary. The former went to work in an insane asylum in Pennsylvania, remained there some years, re- turned, grew old, became a mere vagabond and finally became known by the nickname of ‘Daddy Posey.’ It arose from his real name, I suppose, but men gradually forgot that be was named Rose, ‘‘It is of his son, Zachary, I wish to speak principally. One day this person was on the street with a friend, when they metathird man, and this man was so like Zachary that his friend commented upon it. They learned that he was Professor Archibald Woodside. This was twen- ty-five years ago, and the professor was not as well known then as now. ‘The resemblance made an impression on Zachary Rose, and he assumed the name of Archibald Woodside at times. I believe he had no real object; it was a mere freak. Zachary was lazy and unscrupulous, and his great ambi- tion was to get rich at a bound. ‘‘ About this time he married a poor girl. This was not a good way to get rich, so, I dare say, he must have cared for her in hisway. Her name was Agnes Benson, and she was a member of the church presided over by the Reverend Mr. Oates. Rose then used this fact to help him along. He managed to get a recommendation from Mr. Oates, and, on the strength of it, secured a position with Bergnam, a dealer in South American goods. ‘““Now comes the darkest chapter in his career. He was not# content with his position, but wild schemes for pegee | rich suddenly filled his head, He went to a firm on Leonard street, and laid one of his schemes before them. It was considered for some time, but, in the end, was rejected because one of the partners pro- nounced it dishonest. ‘*This partner was Temple Hathaway. Rose or, as he called himself, Archibald Woodside, was very angry. Late one night he went tothe store when all the partners and employees were gone except Hathaway, and made a last, great effort to change Hathaway’s resolution, and get his scheme adopted. ** Once more he failed, and, in his mad anger, he struck Temple Hathaway down, inflicting a wound from which he died before four hours had elapsed!” ‘*T deny it!” asseverated Zachary Rose, hotly. ‘It is utterly false—I deny it all!’ ‘*'You will have the worst, won’t you?” said Dorgan, severely. ‘‘So be it. Unfortunately for you, you have told all this to your father, and I have his sworn statement.” Rose’s face grew pale, and he made no reply. ‘* When this deed was done Rose fled to Ban- gor, Maine, where he became a lumberman, and at times, a log-ariver on the rivers. There, too, he met and married a woman named Eunice Kastman. As he committed bigamy by so doing, he used the name of Arcibald Woodside during the ceremony—though known in Bangor as Zachary Rose—and his new bride, the most shy, nervous and inexperienced of women, did not notice the cheat clearly, though it afterward occurred to her. ‘* Rose took charge of the certificate and con- cealed it in the basement of an old church, where I found it during a late visit to Bangor. In his day the old church was the rendezvous of a gang of counterfeiters, with whom he was con- nected, but the police finally dropped on the gang and Rose fled to escape arrest. ‘“‘At Newburyport, Massachusetts, he stole a horse to aid his flight, but was captured and iven a term in the State Prison, at Chartes- wn. During his term there he was known as Archibald Woodside, the name he gave when arre sted, ‘“The day after his release some men called there and stated that they wanted him for a murder committed in New York. They failed to get him, and these men I have not yet placed, I suspect that they were ‘shady’ detectives, who gave it up when they found him gone. ‘“By the way, a certain small picture has ot Me a part in this case. It was one of rofessor Woodside, taken twenty-five years age. It fell into the hands of the elder Rose, alias Daddy Posey, at a time which will be understood by some here, and was by him sent to Zachary, to let the latter see how much he and tbe original were alike, Zachary had this icture when in Bangor, and he gave it to the rs. Rose of thatday, as his own. —_—_ nt Sleuth. ————_ $$$ — — ‘‘A short time ago Mrs, Rose came to New York, looking for her husband, and engaged me to find him. She gave me the picture, but I was assaulted by a so-called private detective named Peters, and he stole one-half of the picture. Lately, I arrested him for misdemeanors and recovered the picture. ‘** There are some here who have believed Pro- fessor Woodside guilty of Zachary Rose’s mis- deeds, and, at one time, 1 so believed. The pic- ture given me by Mrs. Rose was very like ycn- der painting on the wall, and Woodside express- ed an aversion to deserted wives. The latter ane I now account for as a mere hobby on his part. ‘One word more in regard to Zachary Rose and [am done, Of late he has been living a crooked, yet shady, life in Jersey City, and, as he sccon learned that I was investigating Temple Hath- away’s case, he became alarmed and set several of his tools upon me, notably a man named Brown, Another of his gang was nearly drowned in the North River, by mistake, Lut saved his carcass at the last moment. ‘* Now, all is made plain, and, you see, there isno reason why the houses of Woodside and Hathaway should not be friends.” Ralph went straight to the professor’s side, ‘Mr. Woodside, | have made some grievous mistakes in this matter. Will you forgive me?” ‘*Gladly, my dear boy, gladly. You redeem- ed yourself by rescuing Claudia, and [ could not blame you, anyway. Claudia, this way!” With tearful eyes, but a happy face, the old gentleman joined the hands of the young people. ‘* All is now settled,” he said. ‘‘I need say no more.” ‘* And it is certainly enough for us all,” Ralph gratefully replied, while on Claudia’s face was the light of a happiness too great to be expressed in words. Wilberson was utterly crushed, and Zachary Rose glared at them all savagely. ‘*To you,” added the professor, addressing Duke Dorgan, in a trembling voice, ‘‘ we owe a debt of gratitude such as few people ever know. [ hope to reward you more fully, but, for now, let me say that you have raised me to the hight of happiness, May Heaven bless you!” The drama is past, and light and shadow have fallen where they were deserved, Zachary Rose suffered the extreme penalty of the law, and none regretted his death. Wilberson and Peters went to prison for appropriate terms, and Deep Duke did not forget Brown and the other minor rascals. He gathered them in, and gave them their deserts. A confession by Peters explained all about the letters found by Claudia in the old cabinet. They were forgeries. Peters was bound to win his game, and, having obtained a.specimen of Temple Hathaway’s writing, he secured some ancient writing-paper and Wilberson forged the letters. Next, Peters burglariously entered the house, and managed to place them in the old cabinet unseen. It will be remembered that Claudia found them just before Peters’s open visit, when he tried to arrest Woodside, but was driven off by Duke. If he had arrested Woodside, and then ‘‘ discovered” the letters in the cabinet, his case would seem to have been complete. But, as in many other things, he was foiled by his tireless foe, the sleuth detective. The men who bad tried in vain to arrest. Rose at the Charlestown prison were found by Dor- gan, They were would-be rather than real de- tectives, and had been working on a mere suspi- cion, It was correct, but they gave it up after one effort. Ty The want of unanimity of opinion between the first Mrs. Rose, Mr. Oates and their companions, did not surprise Dorgan. Some people remem- ber faces and others do not. Abe Benlow took Deep Duke’s advice and is now leading an honest life; and he isall the hap- »ier because Sam Loonsby is “ serving time” at ing Sing, for offenses in New York. Mrs. Rose, of Bangor, had her husband and her certificate, but as both were worthless, she went back to Maine and drop out of sight, but her condition was improved_by a gen- erous gift from the grateful Professor Woodside. Claudia is now fs py as the wife of Ralph Hathaway, and the latter's mother regards the Woodside family highly. She deeply regrets the injustice she once did the professor, but he has no blame for her, and they are good friends. Woodside is far happier than he ever expected to be. He sees his adored daughter blesse with all that makes life happy; he sees Philip settled down to practical effort; and, without a stain on the family name, he feels that the later years of his life are all that man could desire, Deep Duke, the Silent Sleuth, has retired from detective work, a result greatly facilitated by a handsome present from the professor, in connec- tion with the case which we have here treced in all its remarkable phases; but he has left hehind him the reputation of one without a rival in the records of the ro city in solving the mysteries of the deep-laid schemes of artful and desperate meu. THE END, ~Gomic o oie) S com