Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 475 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

26 *- - a Chin Chin, the Chinese Detective. — ‘True, but that is the kind of a man that is uired.” “Can he be trusted? I, for one, place little faith in him.” **Oh, no doubt he might be bought, but as he is a stranger in the country and without ac- uaintances, he will be more apt to prove faith- ul than a man who has some idea of how valu- able is the stake for which we ay ‘There is sense in that,” the boy observed, thoughtfully. ‘* But, somehow, I am not pleas- ed with this fellow. He is too much ofa t- er. **Do you not think it would have been prudent to set a spy upon his track in order to see if he was all right?’ The saloon-keeper laughed at the idea. ** Bah, you are too full of suspicion; but thou canst not help it, I presume, it is in thy nature. sie ag! gt your mind; this fellow isdulland boastful, but no doubt he is true to the back- bone and a good workman, if some one with a head on hisshoulders plans the job for him.” This ended the conversation on thesubject and nothing more was said, although it was plainly to be seen that the boy was not satisfied. The day wore away and a little before eleven o’clock Durange made his appearance. He had evidently been obra 983 to excess and one of his eyes wasslightly discolored. ** Hullo, hullo! what’s the meaning of this?” the saloon-keeper inquired. 7 Naught but a little quarrel in a saloon on the Bowery,” replied the other with a laugh. **Some of the gentlemen-sharpers picked me up forasimpleton. Iallowed them to win four or five games for small stakes, then pretending to be exasperated by my losses, I demanded re- venge and they gladly accommodated me. ‘* The stake was a good one and I won, by a scratch as it appeared; the scamps did not | smoke the game and they tried it a second time and for a good stake, but then their eyes were open when in spite of his endeavors I beat their | best player. “ce he fellow slapped me in the face—” called me cheat and rascal, and one | | **T did but close my eyes to get them accus- tomed to the darkness,” protested Durange, making a great effort to appear watchful and at the same time blinking like an owl. ‘You are not an old hand at the business, as I am, friend Henri, or you would understand that that is the Vga ‘ad way to go to work.” tance of the reader’s, for when he opened the An expression of contempt appeared on the | gate, the hatchet-like face and red head of Con- finely-cut features of the boy, but he understood | ke Bill appeared, well enough that it was only a waste of time to attempt to argue with a man whose brains were muddled with liquor. ‘*T had best let the brute sleep,” the boy mut- tered to himself, as the head of Durange again sunk back against the frame of the buggy-top. ‘*Then when we arrive at our destination he will be in a fit state to be seen.” Acting on this idea, the boy made no further attempts to keep the Frenchman awake, and soon from his heavy breathing it was evident that the potent liquor which he had swallowed had done its work, and he was bound in slum- ber’s chain. The boy drove along at a brisk e, not at- tempting to force the animal, which was a good one. The idea was to proceed so as not to attract any attention. he boy was keen of eye, and as he drove along he kept a bright lookout, but did not suc- | out for good and all. ceed in detecting anything calculated to excite | ‘‘I agree with you, and the sooner it is done suspicion. | the better.” roadway was soon reached, and the buggy | _ ‘‘ But the first thing on the peppergram now joined the many vehicles rolling northward up | is to git out of this ’ere,” said Bill. ew York’s great thoroughfare. : ** Another move?” questioned the boy. As the carriage rolled around the corner into ** Yes, afore the place is surrounded; the cap- Broadway, the boy ieaped out of the buggy and | tain thinks that it is gitting a blame sight too casta rapid glance to the rear, but nospy was | hot in this ’ere locality for comfort, and he has in sight. only been waiting for your coming to perform But the moment the buggy disappeared | the great vanishing act. around the corner a man darted out of a door-, ‘‘ Aha, thatis wise—it is always well to take way in the middle of the block, in which he had | time by the forelock,” momentarily concealed himself in anticipation ‘*The captain’s little yacht lies off the little of just such a movement, and hurried after the | dock, and when he is once aboard of her with solid wooden affair, which seemed almost strong enough to defy artillery, he gave vent to a shrill peculiar whistle, and in a few moments the h of a man Spear above the gate. ‘“*Itis all right, Bill, it is I,” said the boy. The guardian of the pare is an old acquain- Oo passed in at the gate, and then after the gate was again closed and securely barred, the French boy leaped nimbly to the ground. ‘* What is the matter? is anything amiss?” the other asked, anxiously. ‘* Yes, the captain is afraid that he has been shadowed from the city. ‘* He has an idea that spies have been on his track all day long, but the spotters have worked the job so well that with all his tricks he was not able to catch them at it.” ‘* It is this wretch of a Chinese Detective!” ex- claimed the French boy, clinching his fists to- gether, and with both force and voice betraying the anger he felt. ‘* He seems more like a devil than a man!” ‘*Right you are!” cried Conkey, ‘‘and I kin tell you w’ot it is, I, for one, don’t believe that we'll get a moment’s peace until we lay that cuss | vehicle. the girl and she spreads her wings, I reckon it A short distance up pimple a coupé with a | will be as hard for the spotters to track her as it liveried driver stood by the curbstone. | would be for them to follow a bird through the ‘He has discolored thine eye,” observed Bo- | lo window to pay for it,” responded the other, sen ‘There was a general fight and I escaped in the confusion, and here I am ready for duty.” **Drink no more or you will be amiss,” cau- tioned the saloon-keeper. ‘* Not another drop. Be not afraid, I am an old soldier and know when I have enough.” ‘* Hast thou been followed by any one?” ‘*Not bya soul, Oh, believe me, I kept my eyes about me,” ‘“*The yellow scoundrel has not stirred from his post all day long as far as I could see, and a couple of fellows who I am certain are police spies, for they were evidently disguised, have visited him twice to-day,” the saloon-keeper said. **The rascal will only have his labor for his pains, for he may watch here until he is gra without discovering anything worthy of notice,” he continued. And then addressing the boy, he said: **Go out by the back way, Henri. This fellow is but a novice at his e or he would guard every avenue.” Durange shook hands heartily with the saloon- keeper, after the Gallic fashion, and then fol- lowed the boy. A horse and buggy stood at the corner of the ‘This is for us,” said Henri, as he untied the horse from the hitching-post. ** Aha, that is delightful!’ exclaimed the other, who was walking rather unsteadily. ** The moon will soon be out, too; is it far we ride, mon ami ?” “T don’t; know; the journey I have never made,” the boy answered, as he climbed into the buggy. Tho Frenchman followed, but not without dif- ficulty, for the liquor which he had imbibed so sae had rendered him decidedly unsteady on The boy, who drove, sat on the left-hand side of the carriage and Durange on the right. The buggy was a common, old-fashioned af- fair, and as the horse started the boy made a discovery which annoyed him. There were no windows in either the sides or the back of the vehicle. ‘¢ Peste / that is a grand mistake!” he observed to Durange, calling his attention to the fact. ** We can only see what is in front of us.” ** What difference does it make?” Durange in- quired, settling himself back against the seat and endeavoring to arrange himself in a com- fortable position so he could go to sleep. ‘Why, if we cannot watch from the sides and in the rear, how can we tell that we are not - followed?” **Bah! you are too suspicious. There isn’t any danger of that; we are too cunning for these police rats.” ‘*1 am not so sure of that, and instead of go- ing to sleep, as you seem inclined to do, it would be far better to keep your eyes open and watch _ for the spies.” og ni. ‘** Tt doesn’t matter; I threw him through the | ee —————————————— —— —————————— ———— ‘ mai Peo ‘*That old-fashioned buggy!” said the man, | air. briefly, to the driver, pointing up the street to ‘** Ah, yes, the water leaves no trace.” the carriage containing the boy and man. ‘*The thing has come upon the boss so sud- The spy then sprung into the carriage, which denly though that he is kinder taken unpre- already contained four men, crowded in sardine | pared,” Conkey Bill explained. fashion. Away went the coupé after the buggy ‘** He tried to get word to some fellows whom and at a safe distance in the rear tracked it | he could trust to meet him here to-night, but through Harlem and across the Third avenue | the spotters kept after him so closely that he bridge, and out until the.open country beyond | was afeard to risk the racket, for fear they Mott Haven was reached. might spring some trap and nab him. Then the men dismounted from the vehicle and began to follow a plainly-defined trail. CHAPTER XXXVIII, A SURPRISE. THE buggy went on its way at a rapid rate after reaching the open country. The French boy had kept a wary eye behind him all the way, but the driver of the coupé, while steadily fol- lowing in the wake of the buggy, had lagged far enough in the rear to avoid Seuss , This was easy —a while the c led through the streets of the city, but when once the buggy got out of the shadow of the houses, the — were shrewd enough to understand that the chase could not be kept up by means of the coupé, and so they dismounted and proceed- ed on foot. Of course, as the horse attached to the buggy was not trotting at the rate of fully ten miles an hour, the men on foot could not hope to keep it in sight, nor did they attempt so to do, al- though they proceeded ata brisk pace, walking in the middle of the street with their eyes on the ground, and every hundred feet or so some one of them would call his companion’s attention to some article in the roadway. The moon was bright, so that all objects were distinctly visible, and these trackers were follow- ing a trail of smali white beans which had been dropped in the road some three or four hundred feet apart. That these beans had some connection with the chase they were upon was.evident, for when the men came to where a small road turned off abruptly to the right leading to the water, the spies, upon finding three beans dropped opposite to the road, turned into it without a moment’s hesitation. And the move was correct, for along this nar- row, apparently unfrequented road, the trail of beans ran. Leaving these trackers to follow up the trail like so many bloodhounds, we will return to the pair in the buggy. In less than two hours from the time of their departure they arrived at their destination. Tt was an old mansion with extensive grounds surrounded by a high stone wall, situated on a point of land which jutted out into the river. It was a relic of the oid days evidently, for everything about the place betrayed the wither- ing hand of Old Father Time. he mansion was built of stone, as was also the porter’s lodge which guarded the gate, but as" far as all outward inspection went, both were uninhabited. s This was not the case, however, for when the ‘*P’'m the only man on the place, and when it comes to the water I’m not much on that lay, so | the Cap is mightily short-handed.” ‘*Pve aman here whom Boloni secured; he’s a French refugee, and can be trusted, for he brings good credentials from across the water. ‘* He is a native of one of the French islands too, and as nearly all the islanders are as much at home on the water as on the land, it is more than possible that he is an expert sailor. ‘* T will question him!” : Laying his hand upon Durange’s arm he awoke him from his sleep. He was apparently refreshed by the nap, for he awoke in a moment and cried: ** Aha, mon ami, have we arrived?” ** We have; tell me, can you sail a boat?” ** As well as the best captain that ever ped foot upon a frigate’s deck!” he replied, de- scending from the buggy. ** Morbleu / I was born on the water!” ‘You are the very man for us then!” Conkey Bill exclaimed. ‘* The captain will be delighted to see you, so come along.” Bill tied the horse to the hitching-post in front of the porter’s lodge, and then led the way to the mansion, The French boy walked by his side, and Du- range brought up the rear, humming a pop operatic air. He was still a little unsteady in his walk, but the ride seemed to have cleared his brain, There was not a single sign to show that the house was occupied as the party approached it. All the window-blinds were closed, and the desolation and the dampness of death seemed to have settled upon the old mansion. Conkey led the way to a small door in the side of the house. He produced a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and then led the way down a short flight of steps which brought the party into the cellar of the mansion. “It’s mighty queer that this blasted, infernal detective should be able to hunt the captain out of two such nice hiding-holes as this and the old den among the rocks,” the guide remarked, ashe ushered the party into the ellar. ‘“‘Tf I believed in devils in human shape, I should be inclined to believe that this feller was one of that kidney,” he said, in conclusion. There was a table and a couple of chairs in the center of the cellar, and upon the table a candle burned, giving light to the ek No one was in the cellar, and the French boy looked around him inquiringly. Conkey unders a French boy drew rein at the gate, a massive, | glance, Ae he RS ee clee ' comicbooks.¢ ‘I’m glad you came,” said Bill, as the buggy - the meaning of the a | i : ri