Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 475 — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

> » Se oe ee E et 5? | = —_—— - so that his departure from the saloon would not | be observed by the man upon whom he was to play the spy, the lad glided through the door to the street, crossed immediately to the other side of the way, and then sauntered slowly along in the wake of the Chinese, _ ** Yes, for it gave me a chance, thanks to this Of course, after the boy spy had got out of the wonderful American invention,” and the speak- saloon and across the street, it was impossible, er glanced toward the telephone, ‘to beat his even if the Celestial had chanced to look behind game before he had fairly begun it. and notice him, for the yellow son of the East ‘* He waits there, mind you, to see a certain to guess that a watcher was upon his track. But the idea that he in his turn might be watched never seemed to enter the head of the Chinaman, for he did not take the trouble to look behind him but kept his eyes fixed on the messenger-boy, At the corner the lad crossed over to proceed up the side street to Broadway and there the | Chinaman encotntered him. A few words were exchanged between the **Tf he had been wise, he would have aot in the background so that his mission would not have been suspected.” ‘**He was a great stupid to have so openly shown his hand,” Durange remarked. party. = it he waits until doomsday that party will not come.” ** Ha! ha! ha!” laughed Durange; ‘it is droll, is it not? ‘** How easily you will beat him at the very game of his own selection. ‘‘And to think that this yellow brute of a Chinaman should attempt to pit his dull wits against the brains of a man like yourself, who two, and then the Chinaman disappeared around has graduated from la belle Paris, the great | the corner in company with the boy. The spy quickened his pace, and when he ar- rived at the corner crossed over to the opposite side of the street to the one that the two whom he was watching so closely were on. The pair proceeded slowly along, busy in con- versation, and as far as the French lad could make out the Chinaman was urging the messen- | ger-boy to do something which the other was not inclined to perform, for he shook his head | ‘* My bright Henri will soon be here, and then repeatedly. _ we wili know what the Chinaman wanted with Then the Celestial’s hand went fumbling in | the boy. among his clothes and he gave something to the ** That Henri is a bright lad and as sharp as a boy, and from the gleam of satisfaction which | steel-trap. overspread the face of the lad the French boy | ‘‘Heis but a boy, but upon his shoulders he came to the conclusion that it was a piece of | carries the head of a man of sixty.” money. a Yes, yes, he looks like a sharp lad, one who After the coin was in the possession of the | is wise beyond his years,” Durange responded. messenger-boy, the Chinaman bent his head with | ‘‘ But see, mon ami!” exclaimed the son of an eager look evidently to receive some commu- | Guadalupe, suddenly, as an idea occurred to nication which the other whispered in his ear, | him; ‘‘is it wise to have Henri come openly into and when this was done it was the Celestial’s | the saloon while that yellow scoundrel is on the turn to shake his head. ' watch outside? Evidently he was not satisfied with what he ** Will he not be apt to suspect from the lad’s heard. tender years that he is not a customer, but one But from the actions of the boy it was evident | connected with the place, and so destroy the he was vigorously protesting that it was all | lad’s usefulness in case you wanted to ever right, and in a few moments the Chinaman nod- ' again use him for a spy upon this dusky ras- ded as much as to imply that he was satisfied, cal?” turned upon his heel and began to retrace his This expression of contempt applied to the ee ! Chinaman was like the pot calling the kettle t seemed likely that he was going back to his | black, for the skin of the speaker was fully as old post on the doorstep opposite Boloni’s sa- | dark as the complexion of the Chinese, loon. A cunning expression came over the face of The messenger-boy halted for a moment and | the saloon-keeper, and he nodded bis head gazed after the departing Celestial with a broad | sagely. grin on his dull face, and then putting his fin- | ‘Aha! trust me to take all possible precau- gers to his nose made the peculiar gesture so | tions,” he replied. common to the street-gamins of New York,| ‘‘ Henri will not return by the front door, but which in si language signifies a contemptuous | come in by the back way. ** No, you don’t!” or, ** Don’t you wish you may ‘“There is a rear entrance which we use on get it?” Sunday, when the miserable excise law and the Having thus relieved his mind, the messenger- | police forbid us to sell liquor. boy went on his way. ‘The yard of one of the houses on the side The French spy was quick to guess what had | street joins mine. There is a narrow passage- transpired. | way with a gate bythe side of this house, and ‘**Dull and stupid as the dolt of a boy is, he | my customers come in through the gate, pass has succeeded in tricking the Chinaman!” the | through the yard and enter my premises by lad exclaimed. means of a gate in the side wall of my yard. Then, the moment the Chinese disappeared ** Henri will return this way and so avoid the around the corner, the spy crossed the street | observation of this miserable yonder.” | city of the world.” the idea. A few more jokes at the expense of the Ce- _lestial followed, and then their attention was attracted by the figure of the spy slowly return- ing. He resumed his former position and became a statue again. directly to the mk ‘**'You bave a great head!” Durange remarked, The messenger-lad saw him coming, recog- | admiringly. nized him as having. been in the saloon when he Just as the observation fell from his lips the had delivered the letter, and the grin upon his | French bo face broadened. Seating himself at the table, he related with ‘* Did you see that yaller coon go for me?” he | great glee how neatly the messenger-boy, in asked. ‘* And didn’t I play him for a flat? Oh, | spite of alj his stupidity, had succeeded in fool- no, not much!” a ing the Chinaman. The other saw that the boy was inclined to be he three chuckled greatly over the matter, communicative and that there wasn’t any need | andthe host was careless enough to remark: of urging him to a recital. ‘* Peste! this Chinaman is not the cunning ** You fooled him, then?’ rascal that the newspapers make him out to be, “You bet I did! An’ I struck him for a dol-| or he never would have played this game in so lar, too, an’ got it. He wanted to know what I | clumsy a manner.” went into the saloon for, and when I told him a ‘‘Aha!” exclaimed Durange, with great in- letter, he wanted to know who it was for, an’I | terest. ‘‘ This yellow imbecile is not a stranger told him it would cost him a dollar to come in, | to you then—you have heard of him Fe an’ he shelled out the ducat, an’ then I told him | fore?” the letter was for—Mister Boloni—haw haw!” The saloon-keeper appeared to be a trifle con- ** A good joke!” cried the spy, with assumed | fused, while the thin lips of the boy were com- merriment. ‘‘I will tell Boloni of it, ha! ha!” | pressed ti htly together, and a warning look And then each went on his way. shot out of his sharp, black eyes. ** To that question, yes and no,”r nded Bo- loni, with an effort recovering himself. ‘*T have heard of him, but that isall. But this may not be the same man, for this appears to be a real Chinaman, while the man of whom I speak is one of the police spies, detectives as they are called here, whose favorite disguise is that of a Chinaman.” ‘**Oh, I feel certain that this miserable is a real Chinese,” Durange asserted. ‘* He’s not the man then I mean.” ‘* What do you think is best to be done now?” asked the boy, and it was plain to Durange from the way in which he put the question and the manner that the saloon-keeper received it, that the speaker was regarded as an equal, if not a superior, by the host. ‘Wait! that is all,” Boloni answered. entered the room. CHAPTER XXX. A STEADY WATCH, ‘““ THAT animal means mischief,” said the sa- loon-keeper, with a dark look upon his face, as he approached the table where Durange sat and helped himself to the glass of beer which he had brought for the boy. ‘“*'lhe letter I received notified me that a Chi- naman was on the watch to do me or some of my customers a mischief. ‘¢ The miserable!” And the saloon-keeper shook his clinched fist in the direction of the street. **T suspected that he meant mischief though, even before I received the note of warning. ‘*You remember I told you I thought he was rae se 2 9 eae wre eter ‘* The yellow miserable cannot do any hurt or e ° 2 . The yellow scoundrel! his wit is not equal to | gain any information if he perches on the door- his courage, for I tell you, mon brave, it takes a | step there until he growsinto thestone. __ man with a backbone to cross my path. ‘‘T have taken proper precautions, andit is as ' " Chin Chin, the Chinese Detective. And the two laughed heartily in contempt at | with common «hy Ave. ee i ~ ‘ uf “af Dat _ t iw. *. _ = = Bye i at , Dae wee > * a ae 21 good to have him waste his time here, for then he cannot have his eyes elsewhere.” ‘* A grand idea!” ejaculated Durange. The boy did not speak, only nodded. ‘*In time, of course, he will tire, and then when he goes away I propose that you two piay the spy upon him.” ** Aha! another immense idea!” exclaimed the son of Guadalupe, upon whom the beer seemed to be taking effect. The lip of the boy curled slightly, and a look which savored of contempt appeared in his shrewd, piercing eyes. ‘**Had I not better go alone?” ‘*No, for if the Chinaman should chance to discover that he wa: being spied upon he might lead you into a trap, and then monsieur here, who is as muscular as a giant, would get you out, ‘True, true, believe me, mon ami, although I cannot fell an ox with a single blow like the tron Man, Phi I am strong enough to play e lows as the conjurer plays wit —_———- -- - ee his puppets.” Again the boy’s lip curled and the disdainful look appeared in his eyes. It was plain he held in contempt the boast of the other. And so it was settled that they should wait: until the Chinaman departed, and then play the SPY upon him. ut this performance did not take place for the reason that the chief performer would not act the character assigned to him. The Chinaman did not go away. Statue-like he remained, and, as the saloon- keeper had suggested, it seemed as if he had grown into the stone. Minutes lengthened into hours, and then the hours with leaden-gaited feet began to chase each se away, but still the Chinaman kept his post. The shades of night descended, and the glare of the gas-lights flared through the darkness of the night. The Chinaman never stirred, The day approached its late: . hours, the lights began to disa r, and the people in the street grew few and far between. At midnight the Chinaman still squatted like a huge toad upon the doorstep. A few minutes past twelve the last customer of the saloon departed. Boloni closed up the place and put out the gas,. and with Durange and the boy retired to his. apartments, which were on the second floor, directly over the saloon. Peeping through the window, concealed by the curtains, and being careful to have the gas turned down low, so that no sign of light could be seen from the street to betray that the apart- ment was occupied, Boloni and the boy watched the Chinaman until the hands of the clock upon the mantle-piece showed that the morning was eanis: eee mnie Fue urange ain down upon the sofa, sayi that he would relieve the watchers when either one of them grew tired, immediately upon en- tering the room, und in five minutes had sunk into a profound sleep. In fact, as the boy had observed: , ‘*The pig! he has filled himself full of beer!” And it was the truth. But as Boloni observed: ‘**We do not need a man of brains, but a brute to use as a tool, and he will answer.” At three o’clock the two gave up the watch. In the morning the Chinaman was gone. But in the house opposite rooms were rented,. and the sharp-eyed Henri noticed that there was a curtain covering the window of the little hall room on the second story which had never been there before. The boy made it his business to spy into the matter. As both the saloon-keeper and Henri had sur- mised, a Chinaman had rented the room early on the previous morning, It did not require the skill of a prophet to guess that behind the curtain sat the Chinaman still on the watch, dogged as the bloodhound on the crimson scent. CHAPTER XXXII. ARRIVING AT A*CONCLUSION, As the reader will probably remember the railroad king and the chief of the great private detective system left the office of the criminal lawyer considerably disgusted at the complete failure of their attempt to obtain information from him. They discussed the matter in all its bearings’ as they rode back in the cab to Mr, Carrick- ford’s office. | ‘* To get right at the kernel of the thing,” Gen- eral Binkerton remarked in conclusion, ‘“‘ who- ever is playing this game is a master-hand. ‘“*It is no common, petty scoundrel, but a nius in his way. “*T thought perhaps we might get a chance to trip the lawyer up. If he had acknowledged that he was acting for the abductor of your child we might have had a fly at him. ‘* But you see that was thought of and pro- My for in advance. ‘* He is ignorant of any knowledge of the mat- Eomireboo “J 8 . e of rs You f a, a . i —- \ a | , — .*