Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 501 — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

-==<- * a ¢ ah! %- Die <ul . ‘. ’ - / Springsteel Steve. ” on - > = s os € ~ a * " La ll ‘ ‘ 25 carefully abstained from comment, or from a manifestation of undue interest in the presence of the couple. ‘** A handsome wallet. and just the sort I would like for my own use!” said he, after an uppar- ently listless examination, ‘*Tll give you ten dollars for the pocketbook and contents.” The offer was greedily accepted, and the bar- gain clinched upon the spot. But as the detective was slipping the purchase into his pocket, there was a suspicious move- ment behind him, at the little open window under which he was sitting, and he started to his feet. The next instant he was out of and around the cottage like a flash, but without making any discovery. “Do you ever have spies and listeners here- abouts?” he asked, on his return. ‘‘ Bless and save us, never!” exclaimed the shoemaker, while his wife seized a broomstick and darted out with something like fire in her eye; ‘“‘and there ain’t a neighbor within a quarter of a mile, neither.” ‘Tt was one of them stray cows from beyant the pastur’,” explained ‘ Marthy,’ returning with but half her broomstick, but with a trium- phant look. ‘‘She had been at my mornin’ glories under the winder-sill, but Pve drove her down the lots with a sore back!” Springsteel resumed his seat, though not with his back to the window, as before, and proceed- ed with his queries: **So you have not seen your son since that night of his hurried departure?’ ‘“No, sir; and we’ve only had two letters. The first was over a year agofrom Shanghai, where he was in a hospital, expectin’ to die.” ** And the next?” ‘Was from New York, a few weeks ago. He had partly recovered from his fever in China, but had only landed in New York to be taken down again, He thinks he’s at death’s point again, and begs us tosend him some money, But bless you, sir, we never have a dollar ahead fur ourselves!” ‘* Well, that’s settled now, and you shall soon have your wanderer bome with you again.” ‘**Oh, sir! only do that for us, and we'll pray for you every vight of our lives!” exclaimed the shoemaker’s wife, clasping her hands, with glistening eyes. ‘Yes, sir!” added te husband; ‘‘and we’ll thiok it heavenly good luck that ever brought your kindness to our door.” ** But ['m pot through with my questions yet, my friends. You must now tell me about the child and nurse,” * ‘* All there is to tell, sir,’ was the cheerful response. ‘* Who brought them here?” ‘* A man who had called to see us the day be- fore, to arrange for our taking care of them.” ‘** Ah! describe the man.” ‘* A strongly-made man of about thirty, well- dressed, with very dark complexion, piercing black eyes, and a big nose,” ‘* Ah!” thought Springsteel to himself; ‘*O’Meara’s confederate, and not the master- scoundrel himself. What would I not give to identify and lay hands on the pupil, in lieu of missing the master!” **Had you never seen the man before that?” he asked, aloud. ‘** Never, sir; though he seemed sort of familiar with the country and the folks hereabouts, too.” ‘* Would he give no name?” ‘No, sir.” ‘“What did he sayin making the arrange- ments?” “He pretended that the baby he wanted to bring to us was his own, and he wanted to have it kept in hiding away from its mother, who, he said, was a wicked woman whom he was getting a divorce from.” ‘Ah! alikely yarn.” ‘ ‘‘Still, he made us believe it, sir, he was so earnest about it. But, for all that, Marthy re- fused to agree to take the baby until the gentle- man had sworn that its own mother was so unnatural as to be bent on killing the little thing first chance. ‘“Then we came.to terms, and he gave us five dollars in advance, which was Just enough to stop the jaw of the grocer’s man, who had been on the point of refusing us any more credit, and that without a pint of lamp oil in the house. ‘“Then the gentleman went away, but with- out telling us exactly when he would be able to bring the child. He said it would depend on circumstances,” ‘‘] should say so! What about the nurse?” ‘He wasn’t certain whether he would have to bring the child’s nursealong, or not.” ‘* Ah! so he brought both along after dark on the following day?” : ‘“Yes; a good while after dark, and ina close-shut carriage, whose driver was swearing at the hard pulling his horses had been put to. “Se “ Would you know the driver again?” ‘*T think not. He never quitted the box- seat, and the night was dark at that hour: though I might know his voice again, specially if Ishould hear bim swear, ~, 4 ed vd P : ? “ =. ” * » > J = a te a ee TU, oA! de > < heh H ed, **'Was not the nurse ina pitiably dazed con- ditton?” “Yes, sir; all broke up, as if sort of stunned- like; and she got worse before Miss Raw took pee away ; but she hung on to the baby, for all at. ‘That she did, sir—poor thing! ‘‘ interposed the wife. ‘‘It was all Icould do to make her let me give the breast to the poor little thing, which was by that time crying dreadful.” ‘*f should think the condition of tbe nurse would have made you suspect the foul play that had been.” F ‘So it would, sir,” said the shoemaker, ‘ but for the gentleman’s explanations,” ‘** What did he say?” ‘*He said the young woman’s mistress was a rfect devil, who had tried to poison her, and 1¢ bad only at last succeeded in stealing both nurse and child away from their unhappy home with the utmost difficulty. : As there was evidently nothing more to be learned, Springsteel took the huspital address at which the sailor-son was supposed to be lying, and took bis departure, after promising that the couple should have word from him again at the earliest opportunity, which would probably be on the following day. Though now late in the afternoon, his horse was refreshed, there was a predominance of down-hill travel on the return trip, and, in spite of the miserableness of the Whippoorwill roads, he was confident of reaching home with what presumably murdered man, for the sake of a pocketbook or oa begs of the sort, which was not prornised to money-lined, and as their leader did not seem disposed to make the at- tempt in his own person, they presently with- drew into the woods on the upper side of the yon arguing and disputing as they disap- ar In the mean time Springsteel Steve, rather recuperated than otherwise from his cooling immersion in the pond, had clung under the low bushes overhanging the water’s edge, eagerly listening to every word, Making sure at last that the scoundrels had taken themselves off, but not sure at what mo- ment they might return to look for that red pocketbook, he at last crawled out on the bank, shook himself, and then began to skirt the water’s edge along the line of the road as well as the rocky and precipitous nature of the bank would allow, Darkness was fast coming on, but he presently perceived a bulky object floating near the mar- gin, which he proceeded to examine more _ closely. | & Much to his sorrow, it proved to be the dead body of the horse, with the submerged buck- board still attached. Springsteel ground bis teeth, ‘The best animal in Edgar’s stables, and as ood a steec as ever trod on iron!” he muttered. Oh, but it’sa big personal account that I shall have to settle with tbat fiend O'Meara be considered his cheering news, before Edna or | hereafter! though how he manages to keep such Asi husband could grow anxious as to his wel- are. But Springsteel had not forgotten the suspi- cious incident at the cottage window, and he was therefore on the alert for any chance treachery. This, however, did not prevent bis horse from shying violently at a certain dangerous turn of precipitous road, with a densely-wooded slope rising at one hand, and an almost unbroken steep descent on the other, ending with a sheer lunge into the sullen, hill-shadowed waters of Jampus Pond, twenty or thirty feet below. A quick, comprehensive glance discovered no suspicious object to explain the animal’s un- wonted action, so the detective brought him u sharply, administered an admonitory cut wit the whip and urged him on. But after a few steps the horse shyed even more violently than before, at the same time ashen rearing. hen it was that the detective noticed slight smoke issuing from the stones directly to the right of the road, on the edge of the descent, much as if some wayfarer had thrown away the stub of a still burning cigar in passing. ‘““What the deuce!” he muttered, avanting from the vehicle, after soothing the animal wit a kindly word or two. : But as he was advancing toward the spot whence the smoke was issuing, there was a deaf- ening explosion. Stones and earth flew into the air in a blind- ing shower, the ground quivered, horse and buckboard were sent toppling and plunging down the escarpment, and as the dazed detective staggered back against the wooded side of the torn- P road, maintaining his foothold with difficulty, he suddenly found himself murder- ously surrounded and assaulted by four power- ful masked ruffians. , ‘* Kill him!” ordered a deep, stern voice. ‘Murder him without mercy! but get back the red morocco pocketbook at any cost !” Weakened as he was, and too much dazed by the combined shock and surprise to draw his revolver, the old veteran had clubbed his driv- ing-whip and set about defending himself on the instant with the valor and address that he had shown in a bundred desperate emergencies of the checkered past, But a moment’s struggle convinced him that he must ultimately succumb if he persisted in facing such overwhelming odds. At last, when he barely held his own, with his back to the descent, there came a shot from the leading assailant, Though quite certain of having escaped the bullet, Springsteel gave a despairing cry, clap- ped his hand over his heart, and tumbled back- ward, head over heels, down the precipice. He rolled and tumbled as one stricken to the death, disappearing with a hollow plunge into the shadowy waters that had already received the borse and buckboard, and was not seen again. The ruffians peered down after him as well as Ae aes of the twilight’s dusk would ** After him somehow!” exclaimed the author- itative voice that had spoken before, **The deuce! what for?’ demanded one of the others. ‘‘He’s deader than a herring. That bullet of yours struck him square in the heart— I could almost see it strike!” ‘*No matter; the red pocketbook must be recovered,” CHAPTER XXXVIII. : SPRINGSTEEL’S ADVENTURE. THE minor ruffians continued to protest ‘against the folly of going down in search of a “geo fas a4, it, a2 OTs * PSPs Se b-' ae 4; 1S? hes nc ont rl » 4 f < S Sie e ‘ ‘ ) \ QO - ‘i y * 2 efficient confederates in bis service in his present financial straits is more thau I can imagine. Humph! I could almost admire the rascal’s ineffable boldness and disregard of consequences too, That the ruffianly assault, tk with the similar but less deadly one that had precede it by a week or so, should have been led or insti- gated by any one other than O’Meara, never entered bis mind for a moment. He was climbing back to the road when the sound of fresh voices caused him to pause and crouch hard against the face of the bank. It soon became evident that they belon to his recent assailants, who had reappea at a pvint lower down the road, and they were now provided with lanterns. From this fact the detective argued that they must have had a rendezvous—or perhaps a wai ing team—not far from the wooded spot at which the mine or torpedo had been exploded. He ground bis teeth again, for the fate of the. horse had incensed him even more deeply than the dastardly attempt against his own life. But for the thought that his revolver was doubtless temporanly useless irom the action of the water, be would have unhesitatingly ambus- caded the villains without mercy; and such a reprisal at that moment and 1m his vengeful © temper would have gone hard with them, As it was he remained quiet until they bad passed on up the road, obviously, from such ~ words as were let fall, in tardy pursuance of their leader’s desire that the body of their sup- posed victim should be examined in the hope of obtaining the tell-tale red pocketbook, The detective chuckled as he made sure of still possessing that article in bis breast-pocket. Then, the coast being clear, he regained the road, and hurried away in what he supposed to | be the direction of Armonk. But his bad luck seemed to cling to him in one form or another, First, a sharp wind struck through him soon | after getting back to the road line, and be was soon chilled to the bone by reason of his wet clothing, with the unpleasant consciousness that along and disabling sickness might bein store for him if be should not soon succeed in © reaching shelter, together with something to — counteract the chills. Case-hardened as he was, this thought was ra especially alarming to the detective. ‘*Great heavens! I must not, I murmured to himself, in a epee of panic. ‘What would those great babies, Edua and Edgar, do in such an event? And to-morrow is the last of the days of grace allotted by _ O’Meara, too!” ; He set out to run, in the hope that the brisk- ness of movement would ward off the oncoming _ chills, , But they seemed to grow more violent, and hs ‘ he Tice nfl. Heneae ae convinced that he had branched off upon some — add to his wretchedness, by-road by mistake. However, as it seemed to be conducting him — generally in the desired direction, he kept | steadily on, running when able to, and with the — chills growing more threatening with every mile — traversed. The road seemed to thread a desolate Be mostly wooded region, with no dwellings what- ever in its proximity. At last when nearly exhausted, and quite — satisfied that he had traversed more than the distance from the piace of his misfortune to. . Armonk, he was lucky enough to meet an old man driving an ox-cart. | ‘‘ Good-evening, my friend!” said th detective, with chattering teeth. ‘Be 4 ee. fae we *,": * i) ~~. dare not, I a can’t afford to be down sick at this juncture!” he _ \ the hapless — ve ' a el ee et ot f vax! + ¥ Le | - * _ 0 * i" SP ee eae Re toy