Beadle's Dime Library No. 509 — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

“I ae. a e ae 4 i * > PY a a Old Falcon, the Thunderbolt Detective. Oe ee em ee ee 27 CHAPTER XL. JOSEPH MERVYN’S CLEVERNESS, THE murderer had once more carried off one of the lanterns up-stairs, and Mayfield heard him moving around in the kitchen for some mo- ments longer, as though occupied with cleansing the blood-stains from bis bands, Then he heard the outer door open and shut, followed by retreating footfalls upon the path, after which all was dead silence. Then and then only did the appalled poane : man venture to creep away from the horri proximity of the tragedy, and grope his way up the steps. He was no coward, but his breeding and pur- suits had alike unfitted bim for famalarity with such ghastly scenes, and, as he reached the kitchen, in which the murderer had left the lan- tern burning, he was frightfully pale, the hand in which he still held the pistol, trembled like a leaf, and he also experienced the strange nausea that is sometimes found to accompany an ex- treme nervous shock with delicate and refined temperaments. He glarced but once around the neglected kitchen, while thrusting his revolver out of sight, in a dazed, half-stupefied way, as if un- certain whether what he had witnessed was not the result of some hideous nightmare dream, from which he might presently awake into more pleasing environments, But no; all was real—horribly, appallingly, paralyzingly real! Then from that chamber and that mansion he fled aghast. He did not come to a pause until he reached the end of the path at the roadway gate, There, under the sweet starlight, with the full moon just putting in a placid appearance over the eastern hills, and the cooling night-air fan- ning his throbbing brows, his self-possession gradually returned to him. He even felt disposed at last to deride his re- cent agitation, and yet felt that nothing on earth could induce him to enter that fateful cot- tage, unaccompanied, again, After a long rest at the gate, he decided to make a detour through the orchard to the mouth of the underground passage, but had hardly started to do so when the approach of wheels along the road arrested his attention. A moment later a buggy drew up at the gate, and Old Falcon and Therese—both in disguise, though the latter had retained the species of garments appropriate to ber sex—lightly de- scended from it, greeting the young man with cheerful welcoming words, ‘** Treasure all safe, eh?” queried the detective, after leading his horse under the deep shadow of a clump of trees on the opposite side of the road. ‘*Oh, yes!” ‘“*‘ And we are on time, eh?” ** Joseph Mervyn and Miss Henrietta have not come here together yet, according to their agreement, if that is what you mean.” ‘*Of course it is what I mean, Mr. Mayfield. But Joseph has been here alone, however, Eh?” ‘* Yes; how do you know that?” ‘“‘Gad! we met him in a dog-cart twenty minutes back. He was doubtless on his way back, with the intention of calling for Miss Mervyn. But be did not recognize us, though we did him, notwithstanding that he had also ot himself up for the occasion, and in the od- - pa shape!” Therese burstintoalaugh. . ** How any Kveryman trusted him with his equipage in that disguise I can’t understand,” she exclaimed. ‘‘ Parbleu! Professor che — lovking more like a tramp than anything else. Here she gave a little scream, for the mvon- light for the first time showed her the expres- sion of Mayfield’s face. ‘‘ mon Dieu! what is it, mon ami?” she cried. ‘* You look horribly!” Old Falcon had also perceived the young man’s excessive haggardness, and turned to him for an explanation. ; Mayfield bri fly, but graphically, related what there was to tell. Even La Travadeuse shuddered to listen, while the detective knitted his brows until those falcon eyes of his became but mere glistening specks in the moonlight. : ‘‘ Why, this man is a real monster!” exclaimed Therese. ‘‘Even in Paris, the home of ex- uisite ferocity, no less than of exquisite every- ing else, we do not have such finesse of butch- ering. Cvtel/ it sounds too horrible—even for the diablerie of a Gaborian or the invention of a Du Boisgebey.” ‘*We must not linger here, however,” inter- posed Old Falcon, ae ‘*Come. The fiend will doubtiess be back here in a few moments, with Henrette in his company. Our equipage is already disposed of over yonder in the shadows, We shall hardly have time to thoroughly place ourselves on watch and in concealment.” In the meantime, Joseph Mervyn, having re- - turned from the scene of the tragedy to the dog- cart, in which he bad driven down from Tarry- town late in the afternoon, made all speed over as silent road in the direction of Retta’s domi- e i nen a He had completely recovered his ircn nerve if indeed he had ever parted with any of it, an even experienced a feeiing of security, if not of positive exhilaration. as be tightened the lines of the fineand powerful borse he drove, and fairly burned up the road, as the Frenchmen would say. ‘“What a splendid animal!” he said to him- self, ‘‘ and how I wish that this whole rig were mine! The compartment under the seat on which I am sitting would comfortably stow away the entire treasure, boxes and contents, and then, with the darling Henriette, trusting and resigned at my side here on the springy seat, we could make our first dash off into the unknown, with nothing but love and pleasure before us, and the secrets of the red past com- fortably bebind. ‘“ Why may it not turn out so, any way? She can scarcely fail to be grateful for my gallantry and address, when the fortune is once placed fairly at her seeming disposal by my hands; from her evident insensibility of to-day, l can- not think that she will be so horribly shocked, after all, when we shall come upon the dead bodies of Mayfield and his companions in the cistern; the only others who were aware of the treasure—those escaped convicts that I did for so summarily—ure silenced forever: and I might easily send the liveryman a round price for this rig from some quiet, bill-folded nook in tbe interior of the country. Whoknows? who knows?" And, having met and passed the buggy con- taining Therese and Old Falcon without suspect- ing anything wrong, be actually began to whistle in his delusive self-confidence, It was not quite ten o’clock when he drew up before Mrs. Kelly’s cottage gate, where, to his undisguised satisfaction, he found Henriette awaiting his appearance. It had cost the young woman all the resolu- tion and force of character of which she was capable to keep this appointment, in view of what she knew of Joseph’s absolutely desperate and unscrupulous character, but, having once fairly screwed up her courage to the sticking point, there was no such thing as a back-down with her. ‘‘ We are again fortunate,” she said, lightly climbing up to the seat at his side, after an in- different response to his greeting words. ‘ Mrs, Kelly is again absent, probably for the entire night, at the bedside of her invalid friend, sO that I shall not be missed from the cot- tage. ‘‘ Nothing could be better,” replied Joseph seeing that she was comfortably settled, an once more putting the horse to his paces. “* Nothing could have turned out more for- tunately.” But now for the first time, as ae 4 entered an uninterrupted strip of moonlight, she perceived the uncouth change in his attire, ; ‘* Why, what have you been doing with your- self?” she exclaimed. ‘‘ Had I noticed this be- fore, I might have hesitated to trust you to- night.’ e What’s the matter, Cousin Retta?” he asked, with a grin. ** You look like a tramp!” ‘“*Ha! Nothing like disguising oneself fora night adventure, cousin?” * an is there occasion for disguise, think ou Ae hil not; but it is always well to be on the safe side, you know.” ‘**But I should have thought a young gentle- man of your tastes would have chosen something more seemly than this threadbare, tatterde- malion costume.” ‘* Nothing else was handy at Tarrytown. I had to take what I could get at a sort of river- man’s slop-sbop that I was ae enough to dis- cover near the boat-landing, This will answer, and bas already served me one good turn that I must tell you of.” But here, with a slight exclamation, she started skrinkingly away from him. ‘* What now?” he demanded. She pointed tremblingly at the breast and shoulder of the old coat he was wearing, ‘* There are slits like knife-cuts in it,” she ex- claimed, with a shudder. ‘‘ And look! are those not stains of blood? Yes; and not very old ones either, J should say. Oh!” But Joseph was quite equal to even this occa- sion, much as be bad been taken by surprise for the instant. “The deuce!” he ejaculated, examining the coat with amair of astonishment. ‘‘ The scoun- dre] who sold me the auds said nothing about these imperfections, and I certainly did not ex- amine my bargain very closely. However,” with a gay laugh, ‘‘I doubt if he would consent to receive back the suit as a misfit.” ** But the blood-stains?” “IT really can’t account for them,” coolly, ‘‘unless, indeed, a bad boil that I have on my shoulder may have broken unawares. That is doubtless the explanation, for I begin to notice a sort of uncomfortable stiffness all down my body on that side. Don’t give it another thought, I beg of you—scarcely an agreeable subject, at best!” She regained her composure, ie? 3 ea er bas ot Te nik, eal * ' | | i TE eee **'You were about to tell me of your odd dis- guise having already served you a good turn,” You vee! Well, I have already paid a visit to the old house this evening.” ‘* What, without me? But I thcughtit strange that you should be driving from that direction.” “You won't criticise me too harshly, I opine, when you learn my motive for making tbe pre- Bea ps visit. Do you ever have premonitions?” ret * ‘* Uncontrollable ones, that fairly force you into action, as if at the behest of a blind, yet overmastering, prompting?” **1 cannot certainly say as to that. Were you thus prompted to visit the cottage by stealth and without me?” ‘Most truly; and thereby hangs the adven- ture of which I would tell you and advise you to be prepared for, as it embraces a tragedy.” “A tragedy!” For a moment her heart stood still. Had there been an error in the calculations of Old Falcon, as to the time that Therese and he were to meet Mayfield at the old house, and had per- chance the entire trio fallen victims to this mur- derous villain’s revengeful rage at tie | the deception that was being attempted upon him? But she was speedily reassured. ‘Yes, a ps, repeated her companion, ‘* hut one of which I was only a witness—a fate- ful secret witness, you might say—and whose strange outcome can bardly be considered other- wise than decidedly fortunate for us. ‘‘Listen. This spanking team brought me from Tarrytown to Yonkers at a much earlier hour of the evening than [ had any use for. ‘* Suddenly I was aware of a mysterious ‘and overpowering impression that the treasure was in danger, and that I must rush without delay to its rescue. ‘*T have had such impressions before, though never quite so imperative as in this case, and I have never found them to belie their warnings, or had occasion to regret my yielding to their mysterious commands, ‘I set out at once for the old house, reaching it in the middle of the dusk, and then in obe- dience to the same prompting, concealed the turnout here in a little wood just back of where the orchard fence begins.” CHAPTER XLI. IN HIS OWN TOILS. Rett interrupted her companion by looking up at him in surprise. “You hid away this turnout in that little wood back of the orchard?” she queried, ce Yes,” ‘* Why did you do that?” **T cannot tell, save that it was in obedience to the general premonition of danger under which I was laboring. ‘* Something told me that there was reason for secrecy and caution, no less than for prompt action and expedition. ‘* After hiding away the rig, I returned to the road, passed silently along to the gate, and thence to the house, ‘* Entering the kitchen, without interruption, , I at once became aware of there being intruders in the vicinity of the buried treasure. ‘* Low voices came from the direction of the cellars, and, peering Rhee gi down the steps, I could see the reflection of a light. to be a knife, ‘* My only weapon chance This 1 took in my band ready for use, and be- — gan to creep stealthily down tbe steps,’ Naturally enough, Retta had become intensely interested, : ‘* What did you imagine?” she asked. “The truth—whbat turned out to be the truth! It came upon me like a revelation, ‘* Even before seeing the owners of those voices, I instinctively felt them to be escaped convicts, those that remained of the original purloiners of your father’s funds, now returned, after breaking jail, for the purpose of appropri- ating and dividing the property.” ‘What! you really divined all that, and yet you advanced singly to the treasure’s defense?” ‘** Certainly.” Impulsive admiration for physica] heroism in man was one of Henriette Mervyn’s weaknesses, if it may fitly be classified witb such, ‘*Cousin Joseph, you are a brave man!” she said, with much simplicity, ‘“Thank you, Cousin Retta; but I only thought 1 was doing my duty by you.” ‘** Go on, please,” ae ‘* Well, it was not destined that I should de- fend the treasure, after all. ‘*T was not balf-way down the cellar steps be- — fore the low voices suddenly rose to an angry piteb, and it was evident that thecriminals were — in a violent dispute over the division of the buried spoil—even before they had succeeded in ~ unearthing it, as the event afterward proved, ‘“*T came toa Lane at the bottom of the steps, and listened. The disputing voices continued to wax more violent, intermixed with oaths and epithets, and then it became evident that the owners bad joined issue in deadly combat. ‘“*So engr were the scoundrels in their struggle, that I was enabled to look in upon them without being discovered, mNicboo cS — Se ee - => \s