Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 580 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

ed: f Shadowing a Shadow. 5 Making their way through the undergrowth | carried by the men of the yacht, the dark- as best they could, the doctor and his companion | visaged doctor following them, carrying a valise. presently struck into a path, and finally came out upon the road, There they stopped and listened. ‘‘ Nothing to be heard,” the doctor observec. ‘‘ Nothin’ that we want ter hear,” was the re- sponse from the man with bim, They istened again, and then the doctor took a whistle from his pocket, and blew two short, quick notes, Again they listened, - In a moment an answer was heard, being a signalin the same manner, and a little later a vehicle was heard approaching, ‘‘They are coming,” observed the doctor. ** They ee not failed me. Now for the perilous part of our undertaking.” The vehicle, which proved to bea closed car- riage, drew up and stopped; the signal was given again,this time in a low whistle; it was answerel by the doctor, and he and his com- panion came forth and got into the carriage, which immediately started off. There wasa man already inside, aud as the carriage moved off the doctor addressed him, ‘* Ts it all right?” he asked, ‘‘ Yes, it is all right,” was the answer; “ or it ’ will be when we get there,” ‘*Good. There must be no failure in this case, you know. ‘** That has been understood.” The carriage was rolling away in the direction of Brooklyn, After a long drive it stopped at last, and the doctor opened the door and the three got out. They were in a lonesome place in the rear of Greenwood Cemetery. The man who had come with the carriage led the way now, the carriage moving away empty, and soon the three were inside the cemetery, having gained entrance by a secret course, They had a long walk then, but finally came to the place of their destination, where the mo- mentary light of a match revealed a new-made grave, ‘* You are sure this is the spot?” the dark-faced doctor qurstioned. ‘* There is no doubt on that score,” was the as- surance of the man who had led the way through the maze. ‘*‘ You stay here, now, and I will soon have the tools,” He went off, returning in about fifteen minutes with two spades, and he and the other man threw off their coats and began to dig into the grave. In silence and in darkness they worked, the doctor standing some distance away on guard. It wasa hard task, and it took time; but at last it was accomplished, and the top of the box at the bottom of the grave was laid bare, — men rested, then, before proceeding fur- ther. Presently they set to work again, took off the lid of the box, opened the coffin, passed a rope under the arms of the corpse, and soon after that the body of Sigbert Parmilye was lying out up- on the surface of tke ground, _ The work of filling up the grave occupied less time than had been consumed in digging it out, but that too was no easy task, and b the time it was all done and the men were ready to move away with their prize, nearly two hours had been spent. After a final look, with the aid of matches, to see that things were being left in proper sha the guide took the spades to the place where he had found them, and when he returned they wrapped their prize ina dark sack and carried it away. Back the way they had come they went, finally coming out upon the road at the place where they had left it, and there in the shadow of some bushes they waited, Their wait wasa long one, In order not to draw attention to itself, the carriage had had to keep on the move, and having been there once since leaving its passengers it could not come again immediately. ; n about half an hour it came along, the driver signaled, and the signal this time being answered, he drew into the bushes and the men and their ghastly prize were quickly taken in, No time was lost in getting back to the neigh- borhood of Bay Ridge and to the point where the skiff had been left, There the corpse was taken out of the car- riage, carried to the skiff and taken aboard the yacht, and the carriage, no longer needed, turned and went back the way it had come, its occu- pant carrying with hima neat sum of money for his part in the nefarious work, A little time later the yacht presented its sail hs the breeze and buffeted its way out into the bay. When outinto the bay it headed a little north of the Robbins Reef light, and pabain that Le continued on toward the New Sener shore, Finally it ran in at a point between Commu- nipaw and Greenville, the sail was run down and the anchor dropped, and there the body of the banker was put into the skiff again and taken ashore, Not far distant was a deserted house, a lit- tle, dilapidated affair, and to it the body was When the corpse was placed in the house the ‘doctor paid the men and dismissed them, and the yacht was soon on its way back to the city. | It may be remarked, en passant, that the men with whom he had dealt had no knowledge of who Dr. Gonsalvo really was, though this was clearly not the first time he had had dealings with them, Nor was it the first time he had visited this old house, His acquaintance with its interior proved that. He went around, saw that the windows were securely shut and boarded, and then lighted a lamp. By the light a startling eee a scene was revealed. On a rude table that had | every appearance of having been used before as a dissecting slab, lay the doctor’s ghastly prize. Dr. Gonsalvo removed his hat and coat, roiled up his sleeves, opened the valise he had brought and took out a scalpel. ‘*Ten thousand dollars,” he chuckled, a devil- ish smilo lighting up his handsome face as he stood and looked upon his prize with scalpel in hand; ‘‘ ten thousand dollars, and a chance to study the effects of the drug. [Taminluck, It will be a rich joke, though, if it has worked con- trary to my expectations; ha, ha, ha!” CHAPTER XI. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. ON the afternoon of the funeral the bank was closed, notice to that effect having been posted, Griffit and others of the employees attended the funeral, Mr. Blackwall’s family attended, too, and in their carriage accompanied the mourners to tbe cemetery. On the return to the city Mrs, Blackwall in- vited Essylt Parmilye to go home with her. Essylt declined on account of Mrs. Swann, whom, as has been said, she regarded with much affection. The invitation was thereupon ex- tended to her also, and it was finally accepted, Mr. Blackwali’s family consisted of his wife, a son and a daughter. Mrs. Blackwa!l was about forty-five years of age. She was a native of New Orleans, and was of French descent, First married at the age of sixteen, she was a widow at eighteen. Her husband having left her quite rich, and she being pretty, she was, at the age of twenty, one of the bella of thecity. It was about that time that Mancred Blackwall met ber, and in a little while he had won her hand in marriage. Blackwall was not rich at that time, but he was blessed with good locks and a vast amount of assurance, and those points carried him into the young widow’s affections, After their mar- riage they came to New York, where Black- wall, with his wife’s money, entered into the banking business in og yada with his friend Parmilye, whom .he had known for years—as he said. Their venture was successful from the start, and their bank was now looked upon as one of the solid institutions of the city. Mrs. Blackwall still retained much of her former comeliness, She was of average height, well formed, and did not look to be a day over forty. She was a pronounced brunette, had flashing black eyes, and her black huir was only just beginning to show threads of silver here and there, The son, Waldenrar, was about twenty-four ears old. He was sewickensa et | and was solid- y built. He greatly resembied his father, and was almost the counterpart of what his father had been at his age. But be had no inclination for business, was a little disssolute in habits, and chose company in which his taste and ideas found a fellow feeling. Giuletta, the daughter, much resembled her mother, and posse all of her mother’s maiden beauty. Her age was twenty-two, She was a brunette, but not of so pronounced a type as her mother. She was not delicate, but was small and slenderly formed, and did not look to be over strong. She was tender-hearted and sin- cere in everything, and in these respects was en- tirely unlike her brother. _Their home was in an aristocratic part of the city, and wasa handsome residence of brown stone, sumptuously furnished, Miss Parmilye had visited there quite a num- ber of times, and she and Giuletta were good friends, Mr. Parmilye had never been there but once, and on that occasion he went with Essylt, wanting tosee Mr. Blackwall, but did not find himat home. Mr, Parmilye’s home was much plainer than Mr, Blackwall’s, and it was surmised that he did not feel at ease in the house of his partner, which accounted for bis disinclination to visit him, Be that as it might, the fact remained that he had never been there but the once. Mr. Par- milye was peculiar, though, so nothing was thought of it. Then, too, he was away from the city more than half his time, and his peculiarity in absenting himself from his own home has been mentioned. lf it was true that Mr. Parmilye had been overawed by the splendor of his partner’s home, the same was not true of Essylt. Everything was far more grand than in her own home, she knew, but nothing in her manner betrayed the ee | 9 - having traveled extensively, she had moved in the best society of the leading cities, and if there was any room for question on the point, she was more fitted for the station of mistress of a palace than either of the Blackwalls—mother or daugh- ter. Miss Parmilye and Mrs, Swann accompanied Mrs. Blackwall home, and after a little rest they had a quiet tea in the sitting-room. Only the four—Mrs, Blackwall, her daughter, Miss Parmilye and Mrs, Swann were present, ‘*T suppose it is too soon to ask you what your intentions are with regard to the future, Miss Parmilye?’ Mrs, Blackwall observed at the table, ‘‘ Yes, for I have hardly been able to think about it yet,” was the reply. ‘“‘It will very much depend on what means [ find at my com- mand, of course.” ; ‘‘Certainly; but you bave no apprehensions that your fortune. will be small, I trust?” ‘‘On the contrary, I fear that it will be small.” ““Indeed! you quite surprise me. I thought your father was very rich. What reason have you for thinking as you do, if I may ask?” ‘‘Papa told me so himself on the night he died,” ‘Is it possible! Well, youcan rest assured that you bave friends, anyhow, if it turns out as you fear. lonce heard Mr. Blackwall say that Mr. Parmilye had requested him to take you in- to our home, if anything should happen to him, I had no idea that his fortune was small, how- ever. You will pardon me for speaking thus, 1 hope, my dear child.” ‘Oh! to be sure, Yes, papa mentioned it to me. When Mr. Blackwall returns we shall learn all about it, no doubt.” ‘*Oh! that will be grand!” exclaimed Giuletta, clapping ber hands in delight. ‘*‘ How delighted I shall be to have you live here, Essyit!” ‘* Have you any relatives living?” Mrs, Black- wall asked kindly, ‘* Not one in all the world that I am aware of, Mrs. Blackwall,” Essylt truthfully answered. ‘“* How sad! But, we shall try all the more to make you happy if you do come to our home,” promised Mrs. Blackwall, ‘‘ Indeed, yes!” exclaimed Giuletta. ‘* You and I will be just like sisters, Essylt!” Essylt smiled. ‘‘In saying. that I have no relatives,” she remarked, ‘‘ | said only what is true; and yet, I must not forget that [ have a mother, or at least a very dear friend who has been like a mother to me. Of course I refer to Mrs, Swann,” ‘“So I have certainly tried to be,” declarea Mrs. Swann. ‘* And I cannot fancy the thought of parting with her,” Essylt added. ‘*‘While I should enjoy sears | here, Mrs, Blackwall, and would very much like to be ‘ just like sisters’ with you, Giuletta, as you say, yet I must tell you plainly that I will not come into your happy home asa dependent. {[f—” ** Who would for one moment consider you as such?” asked Mrs. Biackwall. ‘‘ You would be one of us,” **T know that, but I should not feel myself so. If [find that my fortune is little or nothing, I think I shall cast my lot with Mrs. Swann. It would be better for metodo so, I am sure,” ‘*Ob, what an idea!” exclaimed Mrs. Black- wall. ‘* What would you two do, I would like to know?” ‘* What would wedo?” repeated Essylt; ‘* why, if it came to it Iam sure we could work. But, it will not be quite so bad as that. Bapa has rovided something for her, and when our house is sold I shall have something, however little. Oh, we could get along, eh, Mrs, Swann?” in a tone of lightness. ‘** Indeed, yes,” the housekeeper assured, ‘“*T can improve upon that plan,” declared Mrs. Blackwall; ‘‘ you shall both come bere, But, we will have no more tosay about it for the present. When we know more about the matter we shall be able to talk more intelligent- ly upon it. Will you not take some more tea, Essylt?”’ The subject was dropped there, and the con- versation took a turn. After tea they all went to the parlor, and both Mrs. Blackwall and Giuletta did all they cculd to brighten Essylt’s thoughts, and to take them off the great loss she had sustained in the death of her father. While they were there the front door ns ponboe and the voices of Waldemar Blackwa!! and some one else were heard in the hall, : “It is Waldemar,” observed Giuletta, “‘ and some one is with him,” ‘* Yes, it is he,” agreed Mrs. Blackwall; ‘‘I do not recognize the voice of his companion.” ‘* Nor I,” said Giuletta, In a few moments the door opened and the banker’s son ste into the room, followed by a person whom Essylt Parmilye, to her astonish- ment, instantly recognized. It was the man from whom she had sought ae a on the night of her coming from _ . : iladelphia. Waldemar glanced around, bowed to Essylt, fact that she noticed it. Educated abroad and ! and turning to his mother, said: €omicbooks.con