Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 454 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

The Night Raider. Smart Aleck was puzzled by the manner in which the cattle-thieves evaded and dodged him, and had some suspicions of his own concerning their performances, at which he hinted to the ranchman when he saw him alone. ‘*T don’t for a moment oat pest Mr. Jonas,” said he, ‘‘ that you would steal your own cattle or hire anybody else to steal them.” ‘Well, [ should say that [ wouldn’t. do you mean by that sort of talk?’ ‘*T mean to say that it is mighty quecr how those cattle-thieves manage to keep out of my way. When I came here they went to work on _ the Jackson Ranch, and when I got to Jackson's } they slipped back here. It looks to me as if there might be somebody about your place who keeps them informed of our intentions and my movements.” ‘* You are’way off, Sander. There is nothing at all in that notion. Everybody about my Jace is faithful and straight, and I can voudh for every man here. You don’t want to admit that I was right about it; but that’s just what’s ' the matter.. They went to Jackson’s to get our - attention drawn off from my ranch, and now they have let into me again. A!l you have to do is to keep on watching for them and trying tocatch them. I have not the least doubt about who they are, and all we want is positive ' proof.” ' Sander was not satisfied, and when he had . -watched two nights at the Jonas Ranch without ' . discovering any further attempt there on the _ part of the raiders, his suspicions were strength- <= What 5, M -~ oe — ° - . a =x" a ened. - Jt was true that they had not been heard of _ elsewhere; but there was something mysterious ' about the style in which they dodged him and suspended operations when he was present, and | the detective decided upon a change of tactics, ) _ The morning after his second fruitless vigil he informed Simon Jonas in the presence of his son and the foreman that he was going to give up ' the job and make no further effort to capture ' ~ those cattle-thieves. ' The ranchman, who was surprised and dis- , pleased at this statement, begged him to recon- » sider his determination, and reminded him of the terms of his employment. **{ mean to leave it alone for a while, any- how,” replied Sander. ‘‘f arm doing no good _ here, and [ have some important business that _ requires my attention. So I shall stay in Oro Fino to-night, and it may be three or four days before I get back here.” » -He rode away, but did not stayin Oro Fino _ that night. ' At the usual hour for beginning his watch on * the Jonas Ranch he was at his post, and he and . his borse were as carefully concealed as ever, / and he was, if possible, more wide-awake than + ever. What he wanted was to test the value of his ' suspicions concerning the complicity with the _ eattle-thieves of some person on Simon Jonas’s oo P If those suspicions were correct, the raiders ' might be expected to renew their operations _ shortly after his supposed absence was reported - to them. The result proved that he had been right in trusting to the old adage, ‘‘ When the cat’s away, the mice will play.” It lacked half an hour of midnight—very early for that style of busime:s—when he discovered that the cattle-thieves were at»work. - They did not begin the task as secretly and quietly as on the former occasion when he had caught them at it, but went about it more bung- ' ingly and carelessly, as if they felt that they _ hte tee sure of being left alone to pursue their pnt Lo cement as they pleased. When they started off with the bunch they had gathered up, and the detective got a clear view of them, he perceived that they were the game whom he had previously pursued—a man anda woman, mounted on a bay horse and a Sp -_ He would have been justified, in view of notorious performances, in shooting them down then and there, and he was near enough 7% to them to do so; but he felt aninvincible re- “&* me nee to that course. BEA Rs tho woman might bé'Vietoria Halsey, it ' would of course be imapomsibie for him to killher, ~ and it would be equally out of the question to - ‘shoot her brother. Besides, he was not on duty for Simon Jonas that night, and on a private scout of his own he had a right to re $0 he determined to follow them, as he wanted to know positively and without a doubt who _ they were and where they had come from, and oo he was convinced that they would not be able to play the cliff game on him again, or to deceive himin any other way. - _ Naturally he wished to follow them quiethy, so that they would not be aware of his pursuit; but _ this proved to be : ble. The night was quite dark, and he was obli to within hearing distance so as not to lose . sight of them, and before long he was both heard and seen by them. ate his actions to suit him- Then, as on the previous occasion, wet gave themselves no more trouble about the cattle, but - « Aas / - : + ‘ ‘ CeCe ee. ee put spurs to their horses and galloped away, with the detective in close pursuit. In the darkness and amid the intricacies of the hills which they shortly reached, he nearly lost them more than once; but, by pushing his horse hard, he managed to keep them in hearing, if not in sight, and was convinced after a while that they did not mean to separate. At least, thay had no intention of trying the cliff trick again, as they both turned to the right where the woman and the man had previously parted, and kept on steadily in that direction, When they got into better ground, the de- tective found himself decidedly at a disad- vantage, as they easily proved the superiority of their mounts by drawing away from him so rapidly that he began to fear that he would be distanved. He was then, also, too far behind them to do any successful shooting if he bad desired to, and nothing was left him but to follow out his origi- nal plan and continue the pursuit to the best of his ability. He urged his horse to its best endeavors for the sake of keeping them in sight, and got on fairly until they struck a road, into which they turned, and he followed them. It was evident to him that they were going direct to the Halsey Rarch, and he felt, if not easier in his mind, more certain of the ultimate result of the pursuit. Though they were still increasing their dis- tance, they were then not far from the Halsey Ranch, and the road was so straight and clear that the darkness did not prevent him from keeping track of them, e Halsey house came in sight, dimly per- ceived in the distance, and he saw the two fugi- tives draw up in front of it. The next moment his horse suddenly stumbled and fell, and he fell with the horse. When he rose and looked ahead, they had both disappeared. As it was not possible that they could have got out of his sight by keeping straight on and following the road, the natural supposition was that they had stopped at the Halsey house and were to be found there. He rode forward as rapidly as his horse could carry him until he was near the house, and then disrnounted and hitched the tired animal, propos- ing to continue his explorations and inquisitions on foot. : The house was dark and quiet—nothing to be seen or heard there; but that was to be ex- yected, and it would not be worth while to nock or to hail, as the two raiders would of course take time to put themselves in proper trim before permitting them to see him, and he had good reason to believe that they were cap- able offmaking a “‘ lightning change.” There was one other means of getting further proof, and that was by looking for the horses and noticing their condition, and with that view | he approached the grass lot carefully. There were the two horses—the bay and the black, and no other—quiet enough, and showing no evidence of excitement or weariness. He tried to get close to them, so that he might make a particular examination of them; but they were unaccustomed to strangers, and kept at such a respectful distance as to deprive him of the chance he sought. It would of course have been quite possible for the fugitive by quick work to turn their horses into the lot, hide the saddles and bridles in some convenient place, and conceal themselves in the house before he could get there. As he could find no further evidence against them, he returned to his horses, mounted, and slowly rode away. CHAPTER XVIII. PROVING AN ALIBI. THOUGH convinced that Simon Jonas would even have paid money for information of that night’s adventure, Aleck Sander did not seek that gentleman, and was not a bit crazy to give ints to anybody concerning the discovery he ad made, Besides, there was just the remotest possibility that he iy Soe be mistaken. , He had been sure of the identity of the raid- ers on the former occasion; but circumstances had shown him that he could:not believe the evidence of his senses, and even in this case plain and direct evidence might be somehow controverted. There was one puzzling fact which he could not pretend to understand, and which must be made the subject of future investigation. Whoever the raiders might be, it was then evident that they had a confederate in Simon Jonas’s household, who kept them informed of the detective’s movements and the plans that were laid to capture them. It was unlikely that the Halseys should have such a confederate there, and vet that seemed to be quite as likely as anything else in the tangled skein of affairs, As the case stood, he could scarcely have the slightest dovbt that Jack Halsey and his sister were the cattle-thieves he had at first supposed them to be, and the thought saddened him great- ‘ : eal + : fre he € L ” 4 - . - : att 14 ov ; « n de ? - . oa — ern eo eh eee ke 4 sa Of 41 - - - =e @ 7 |_| LT LS ye ly, as his admiration of Victoria bad been in. creasing daily and hourly. Supposing the worst to be proven against them, he was resolved that it should not be he who would bring them to justice, and it should not be he who would give Simon Jonas a chance to boast of bis better judgment and plume bim- self upon his predictions. Professional pride would prevent that, if there were no stronger motive, So Sinart Aleck settled it in his mind that he woull visit Victoria Halsey, and would bave an interview with ter, either alone or in the pres- ence of her brother, when he would tell her what he knew and bad reason to suspect, and would do his best to persuade her to quit the nefarious pursuits in which she was engaged. If this effort should prove a failure, it would be no feult of his, as he would make it fairly and faithfully. This was wkat he did. He went on to Oro Fino, where be got some needed rest, and the next day rode out to the Halsey Ranch, get- ting there in the afternoon, He had to confess as he approached the house that he did not know how to open his subject and express gently but firmly what he wanted to say. The style of remarks which he had heen meditating on the way appeared to be not at all the right sort of thing when he was confronted by the bright and smiling face of Victoria Halsey. Could he accuse that lady of being a cattle- thief? She received him with an impressive cordial- ity, and ushered him into a room where her mother and Jack were seated. When Mrs Halsey rose to leave the room, her daughter detained her. “Don’t go, ma,” entreated the young lady. ‘‘Mr. Sander is a particular friend of mine, and I want you to eat him better. He don’t mean any harm to us, though he is a detective, Quite the contrary, I assure you.” This was a warm enough welcome, but the niceness of that speech interfered seriously with Smart Aleck’s object, making it more difficult for him to say anything harsh. : After a while, however, he found his opening, and took advantage of it. ‘‘Where have you been for this ever so long, Mr. Sander?’ demanded Victoria. ‘‘ It seems an age since I have seen you, and I have really wanted to meet you.” “‘T was quite near you last night,” answered the detective—* that is, supposing you to have been at home—as I passed by this house.” “And you did not callin? That was shock- ingly mean of you. How did it happen?’ %¥ followed two cattle-thieves to this place last night,” ‘‘Of course they went by, then, and you kept on after them. Strange that we did not hear the racket,” That was not the way of it. They stopped here.” . , “Stopped here? That is strange, indeed! Who could they have been?” ‘‘One of them was a man, and the other was a woman,” replied the detective, with as severe a tone and look as he could assume, ‘* One rode a bay horse and the other a black.” ‘Why, Jack, that sounds as if the rascals might have been you andme! Did we go out cattle-stealing last night?’ The assurance of this young woman struck Aleck Sander as being the most amazing he had ever witnessed, : ‘“«] don’t remember taking a band in any such diversion,” answered Jack. “Did you miss us two last night, ma?” in- quired Victoria. “Of course I did not. This is some kind of a joke, I suppose, and I am not fond of jokes, particular y that kind of jokes. So I will leave you. Mrs. Halsey got up and sailed out of the room, apparently much offended, So it can’t have been Jack and I who were out stealing cattle,” observed Victoria, ‘‘ unless we did it in our sleep, and this morning there was nothing the matter with our horses, the bay and the black.” It seemed to the detective that those people were brazening out the thing remarkably well; but he would pin the fact upon them yet. ‘*What became of your cattle-thieves, Mr. Sander?” asked Victoria. “1 tell you that they did not pass this house and if you do not know what became of them, 1 do not.” “That settles it, then. It is a clear case o ignorance all around.” : ‘‘Miss Halsey,” said the detective, who was really getting ‘‘r’iled” by the coolness of the pair, ‘‘this is no joking matter. It is too seri- ous a business to be treated lightly. I tell you avain that I followed two cattle-thieves to this place last night, that they were a man and a woman, that one rode a bay horse and the other a black, and that they exactly answered the de- scription of you and your brother. I caught them stealing cattle on Simon Jonas’s Ranch, chased them, made them leave the cattle, an followed them here. As you told your mother, | ma es| Eomicbooks.com | —