Beadle's Dime Library No. 628 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

Joe Phenix’s Combine. 11 The doctor tried to put himself in the position of a judge, and attempted to examine the matter as a stranger who was not acquainted with any of the parties would do, “There is no use of attempting to deny the truth!” he exclaimed after carefully reflecting upon all the facts of the affair, ‘The woman . certainly has a strong case, and if the evidence is as the lawyer states—and there is little doubt he has put matters exactly as he understands them to be—there is not one man out of a hun- dred who would not decide that the woman is really Abraham Engleburt’s widow, Se oe ' r | “The gentleman expressed his deep sympathy . cions were excited, and she paid a visit to the | and insisted upon ber taking ten dollars, asa | minister in Harlem to see if the pair were really loan he explained, which would enable her to | married, get along until he could find something for her! ‘That isn’t evidence, you know, because we to do, | have the minister to speak for himself.” ‘He explained that he wasa business man | The doctor nodded, with a host of acquaintances and there wasn’t | & Now the vital point in regard to thie womans any doubt he could obtain a pleasant and lucra- | testimony is, how can sbe testify that the Abra- tive position for her, ham Engleburt who engaged a room in her ‘* She gave lim her address, and he came to see | house for himself and wife is the Abraham En- her the very uext day; the nature of his atten- | gleburt who left so great an estate?” tions could not be mistaken; he had fallen in ‘** Yes, that is an important point.” love with her, but as he treated herin the most “We connect the two and prove that they respectful manner this fact did not cause ber any alarm; on the contrary her womanly vanity was pleased, and when after a week or so he vot her to go fora walk oue evening and took her for a ride on the Elevated Road to Harlem, and while on the trip proposed that they should get were one by means of a photograph of the , money-king. ‘** Tbe woman is prepared to go on the witness- _ stand and swear that the picture of the million- aire, Abraham Engleburt, is the Jikeness of the man who had the room in her bouse and intro- ‘If there is any fraud about the matter, it is so carefully covered up that I am not able to discover the slightest trace of it.” : The doctor had gone up the side street toward Broadway, after leaving the lawyer’s office, and by the time he had come to this conclusion he had reached the main avenue, ** T will consult Phenix,” Mairstone muttered, as be turned into Broadway. ‘He is used to dealing with these difficult, complex matters, and although, as far as I can see, the affair seems to be all right—no peg to hang suspicion on—yet he may be able to see some rays of light amid the darkness.” ' duced the woman to her as his wife.” “That certainly is strong evidence, yet it is | not impossible that the woman may be mistaken in regard to this matter,” the doctor observed. ‘‘She may believe that she is swearing to the truth while she isnot, Photographs are some- | times deceptive, and it is not a ways easy to | identify a man by means of a picture,” married right away, she was persuaded by him to consent; a minister was bunted up and the pair joined in wedlock. ‘The reason the gentleman gave for baste was that he would be obliged to leave the city | ou a business trip in a couple of weeks, and he was anxious to make her his wife before he went away. ‘‘ After the marriage he took his wife to a | small hotel on the Bowery conducted on the | European style, where he engaged a room, ‘“He was only at the hotel durivg a few hours in the evening, arriving after dark and going away about eleven o’clock. * The wife, simple and unsuspecting, believed that he told her the truth when he explained that he was very busy preparing for his trip, and had to be at his place of business s0 early | in the morning that 1t would not be possible for him to be on time unless he had a sleeping apart- ment in the immediate neighborhood. ‘** After a week or so the husband suggested that it would be a good idea to take a furnished room in some quiet neighborhood where she would be much more comfortable during bis | absence than at a hotel. The room was taken, and in another week the husband departed. ‘** He never returned, nor did the wife hear from him. He told her that he would be gone | for about two months, and left a good sum of | money for her support. ‘* When that was gone she sought work. The mistress of the bouse believed that her husband had deserted her, but the wife had faith in the man and feared some accident had wanes | him, ‘“Month after month passed and then, just by accident, a man took a room in the house who was acquainted with Abraham Engleburt, . aad the moment he saw the wife he was sure he had seen her before somewhere, so he inquired out of pure curiosity, in regard to her, an when he heard her story he remembered where he had seen her, ‘* This map was a stranger in the country, an , Englishman who was making a tour of America with the idea of writing a book about the coun- try, so he had made it a point to sees all the places of interest; he had not neglected a visit to Wall street, and the millionaire, Abraham Engleburt, bad been pointed out to him as one of the kings of the money market, ‘* Two nights after, when inspecting the sights of the Bowery by gas-light, he saw the great money-maker with a lady on his arm, and won- dering to see such aman in such a street, and at such a time, he took particular notice of the lady who was with him, so when he saw her again he recognized her,’ ‘‘ That seems to be strong evidence that the ‘pair were acquainted, but, of course, it does not prove they were husband and wife,” the doc- tor remarked, thoughtfully. ‘‘T am aware of that; it is only point number one, as you might say. ‘* All that there is to the Englishman’s evi- dence, apparently is, he knew Engleburt by sight—he saw Engleburt and the woman, who claims to be his wife, together on tbe public street arm and arm, ‘* As far as proof in regard to the marriage goes the Englishman’s avhienes does not amount to much; but for his accidental meeting with ‘the stranger it is probable that she never would have discovered that her husband was the great money-king, so that as far as the woman is con- cerned the Englishman has proved of the highest importance to her.” Yes, I see.” Jtivtys ** Now we come to the mistress of the lodging- house,” the lawyer continued. ‘*She did not know the great Wall street man from a side of sole-leather, to use the popular saying, ** All she can Swear to is that a man who called himself Abrabam Engleburt took a room in her house for himself and his wife, and when he went away he told her totake good care of his wife, “The landlady was not a newspaper reader, had never heard of the millionaire, whose name was in the public journals so often, and when the news of his mysterious death created such an excitement in the city the intelligence did not reach her ears. ; , “When the lodger’s husband did not return, | lor Have added. ‘*Very true, and that you see is where the Englishman’s evidence comes in strong, for he brings the two together, for according to his testimony the Abraham Engleburt who was with the woman was the great money-king.” ** Yes, I see,” ** Now we come to the testimony of the minis- ‘ter, and the two members of his household who acted as witnesses to the marriage. “The three identify the man by the photo- graph and swear that the marriage took place as the woman claims,” ‘“‘ It certainly does seem to be a strong case,” | Mairstone admitted, greatly puzzled by the de- velopments, for it did not appear to be possible to him that the hard-headed, sagacious, wily old money~maker could be so foolish as to indulge in a secret marriage of this sort at his time of life, ** And now 1 will show you where in his own handwriting Abraham Engleburt acknowledges that this woman is his wife!” the lawyer de- clared. ‘That is, [ will be able to show you if you are familiar with bis handwriting,” Counse- ‘“*Tf you are not, why the writ- ing will be no proof.” **T am familiar witb his writing,” the doctor observed, ‘* He wrote a clear, legible hand, and from some peculiarities about it | think I would be able to recognize his handwriting without any trouble,” The lawyer went to the safe and brought back a book, It was a small volume bound in morocco, | and contained Scott’s poem’ of ‘t The Lady of | the Lake.” The lawyer opened it and called Mairstone’s attention to an inscription on the first blank page, **To my wife, from ber affectionate husband, A. Engleburt,’” said the doctor, reading the writing: aloud, ** Well, what do you think of that?’ the eoun- selor demanded, a note of triumph in his voice, ** Was that line written by Abraham Engleburt or not?” **Upon my word, Mr. Have, if I was upon the witness stand I am afraid I should be obliged to declare that he surely wrote the words,” “Well, sir, there is the case!” Have exclaim- ed in a tone which seemed to say, ‘* dispute it if you can!” | Mairstone rewained silent for a few moments, meditating over the matter. There was no disguising the fact that this Was a serious affair, As far as Mairstone could 85 there wasn’t a weak point all along the ine, ‘Tam afraid this matter is a little too deep for me,” be observed at last. ‘If I understand zon aright, you are williug that [ shall have a lk with these witnesses,” _ ‘Certainly! for I know that if you examine into the matter you will soon be convinced that this widow is what she represents herself to be,” “Suppose I delegate the examination to one of the lezal gentlemen attached to Archibald, Douglass and Douglass, for I see that this is out of my line?” “That will be satisfactory to me. I do not fear the inspection of the keenest lawyer in New York!” Counselor Have declared. ** Very well, if you will send the necessar data to Archibald, Douglass and Douglass I wi have them attend to the matter.” This the lawyer agreed to do, and then the doctor took his departure, much perplexed. CHAPTER XIV. SHADOWED. Docror MAIRsTONE was in a‘ brown study,” as that Le ipee form of abstraction is termed, e le when he left the lawyer’s office, The more he reflected upon the matter the greater became the puzzle... The evidence that the money-king had con- trasted a secret marriage a short time before his death was so strong that it was no wonder OO LLLLLBBLBPBDBDL LLL LLL LLL LL LL LLL After coming to this determination, Mairstone went straight to the Astor House, and proceeded to the office, for the purpose of examining the register, that he might discover the room which the veteran detective had taken under an as- sumed name, There were a couple of gentlemen registering as the doctor approached, conversing with the clerk in regard to rooms, so he was compelled to wait for a chance to examine the book, And while Mairstone waited he happened to glance around him, It was a careless, aimless action; there wasn’t anybody in the neighborhood in whom he ex- pected to take any interest, but as he turned abruptly around, his gaze encountered that of a well-dressed gentleman, with a dark, foreign- looking face, who was right at the doctor’s elbow. The man moved to one side as though he expect- ed Mairstone was going to retreat from the coun- ter, and then after a moment’s pause, he pro- ceeded to the other side of the office, and busied = A in reading some placards affixed to the wall, There was something in the man’s face—a peculiar look in his eyes, which immediately aroused the doctor’s suspicion; but he was cun- ning enough not to betray by his face, nor by ay movement, that he bad noticed the man, e glanced around carelessly, as though witb- out any well-defined purpose, and ‘then turned his attention to the counter again, | ‘*Ho, ho!” muttered the doctor, under his breath, ‘it strikes me very forcibly that this fellow is shadowing me, to use the term com- mon to the detectives, ** [ think I understand the game.. Somebod knows that lam in the Engleburt household, and a watch being kept upon the lawyer's office my visit there was noticed, and the conclusion was natural that I had come to confer with the counselor in regard to the case, ** Now, the spy has been placed upon me in order to see what steps [ am about to take, ‘‘How extremely lucky that I happened to notice the man, for if I had not, the chances are great that the fact that Iam in communication with Joe Phenix would have been discovered, and that might bave materially interfered with the detective’s plans for getting at the bottom of this mystery, And now that Doctor Mairstone was satisfied that he was watched he set his wits to work to baffle the spy. , The gentlemen maved to one side and afforded bim a chance to examine the register, He speedily discovered the name which the detective had told him to look for, and noted the number of the room so be would be able to find it without baving to consult the book again, but in order to deceive the spy, who was now again at bis elbow, apparently waiting for a chance to examine the register, the doctor affected to be looking for a name which he could not find, He turned over the page and examined the list of arrivals for the preceding day, then he - turned to the hotel clerk and said in a perplexed way: “TI beg your pardon, I thought to find Mr. James Carlyle of Toronto, Canada. He wrote me that he expected to arrive either last night or this morning.” . fs No such gentleman here yet,” the clerk re- ied, ; ps Could you tell me if he has written asking that a room be reserved for him?” e ‘* No, sir, be has not written.” Then the clerk’s attention was claimed by a> guest, and be turned away, The doctor shook his head, as though puzzled, and left the hotel, **T will go to the lawyer’s office and chat there awhile,” he muttered as he descended the stairs, *‘then if my shadow is still on the track I will devise some plan to give hiin the slipso I can ; have an interview with Joe Phenix, and no one — 200! | a 3 though, and no word came from him, her suspi- the lawyer felt sure of winning the case, will be the wiser for it.” ” a=; | ‘a > (E(o) * : oe d¢ : ‘ ea ‘J te! 7 ‘ ¥ 7 ‘ m | SiG