Beadle's Dime Library No. 628 — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

ed i | . > i’ <= oO" Joe Phenix’s Combine. Se -— 25 to extort some money from him on account of the old affair, but in this anticipation he had been disappointed, The young man had made up his mind though that he would not be forced into giving any money and resolved to show fight if any such came was attempted. And now that this disclosure was so unex- pected it made Maurice at once jump to the conelusion that the Englishman was at the bot- tom of it, and being rash and impulsive he ex- | | him to do. claimed: , “{ think I can guess who is at the back of this affair!” Mr, Brown assumed an expression of astonish- ment, ‘‘ Is that so?’ he asked, apparently very much interested, | ‘Well, that will undoubtedly help matvers for- ward a little if you know the party,” he con- tinued, ‘* For you will understand just how much credence can be given to bis statements, ‘* Of course the gentleman is an utter stranger to me. I never saw him until be made my arquaintauce and enlisted my services in this affairs,” ‘‘ His name is Lysander Somerdyke !” Mr. Brown assumed a wise expression and then he shook his head, slowly, ‘‘ That is not the name he gave me, but as this affair is one of those which must be conducted * under the rose,’ as the expression is—a little off- color, you understand, it is very likely that he did not reveal his right name to me,” the other explained, ‘**He said his name was Smith—John Smith, Of course there are a great many Smiths in the world, and a large number of the Smiths are also called John, but because a stranger declares that his name is a common one like John Smith it is no reason why he should not be believed,’ the smooth-spoken Mr. Brown argued in his oily way. ‘*! presume not,” the young man observed, showing by his manner that he was annoyed, ‘* But there is not much doubt in my mind though that your John Smith and my Lysander Somerdyke are one and the same,” “Very possible, of course, but as far as I am concerned [ have no means of telling anything about the matter ” ‘1 do not think there isany doubt about it,” young Engleburt asserted. ** Well, afterall, it isa small matter and does not amount to much,” the other remarked. ‘The man is a first-class rascal!” Maurice declared, **T should not be surprised if you were quite correct in that statement,” and Mr. Brown rubbed his hands together, softly, and smiled as though he considered the remark to be some- gira of a joke, * But you understand that in this matter you ‘will not comein contact with this Mr, Smith at all,” the bapa ps hastened to explain, ‘He told me right at the beginning of the affair that he did not wish to see you, and I must arrange the matter so as to transact the business in person.” ‘*Oh, it is this rascal, Somerdyke, sure enough!” peong Larlebure declared, ‘‘ He knows very well that [ would not have anything to do with him, and that is why be skulks under an assumed name,” ‘* And then the business too is a little off-color, rown remarked with as I said before,” Mr. B the air ofa man who was making a candid Lone then that ‘*T wonder then & man like yourself should become involved in such a paatiat? Maurice remarked, coldly, The promoter assumed a pathetic air and sighed deeply. “Ah, my dear Mr. Engleburt possible in this uncertain worl do just exactly as he would like, ‘ “ When this Mr, Smith explained this matter to me I said at first that I could not handle it, It was out of my line, and then there was a little crookedness attached to itthat I did not like; butI will fraukly admit that my objections were Overcome by the gentleman representing to me that if I succeeded in carrying the negotia- tions to a successful end I would beable to make a seed bit of money out of the matter, and | will have to confess that at present I am very much in need of funds for I have not been able to strike any very lucrative enterprises lately “| think your principal is mistaken in his cal- culations,” young Engleburt observed, coldly. *{ do not think that anybody will make any money out of this affair—that is, if it is expected that the money will come from me,” ** Well, as far as that goes, of course, I cannot say. I took the commission because this Mr, Smith seemed to be so sanguine that there was money in it, and as he was acquainted with all the facts, I thought he ought to know what he was about.” ‘You will find that there isn’t any money a oe it depends upon me!” Maurice declared, rmly. ‘Permit me to explain the matter and possi- bly you may see reason to alter your determina- “Very well, but I think you are wasting itis notalways d for aman to 4 if ie re f, mse r ~'s" iu /y? SAE Oey ee ee jimis Wha é 4 Lh Pe , your time!” young Engleburt declared, a trifle impatiently. ‘**Oh, I can afford it!” the other exclaimed in a cheerful way. ‘‘ A man cannot expect to make money without an effort, you know. ** And now to come down to solid business, ‘This Mr, John Smith asserts that when your father died he left a will, and in that will, after bestowing a small yearly income up- on your sister and yourself, he tied the rest of his property up as long as the law would allow ‘*Mr, John Smith also said that the existence of this will was known fo you before your father’s death, and that you had had the docu- ment in your bands and were acquainted with the contents.” “Your Mr. John Smith is Lysander Somer- dyke, sure enough, for to no other man living are these facts known!” Maurice exclaimed. ** Well, as I know nothing whatever about the matter [am not competent to form an opinion,” the promoter remarked, ‘*Such a will did exist; I am aware of that fact.” *““And if it had been produced after your father’s death it would have made a vast difference to you,” Mr. Brown suggested, with the air of a man who was making a profound study of the matter, ‘* Yes, that is true enough,” ‘Bat as no will was found If presume that ou came to the natural conclusion that it bad een destroyed,” ‘*T certainly did,” ‘* Well, this party asserts that the will was not destroyed by your father, but was in ex- istence at the time of his death—is in existence now, and can be produced at any moment,” Young Engleburt was taken anny leley, by surprise by this announcement, for he had not calculated upon any such being made, He was not a bright fellow, and evea after the will was mentioned bad not been able to guess what the game was, ‘* This statement seems to be absurd!” he de- clared, “That is exactly what I said to the party, and he replied that no matter whether it appear- ed to be absurd or not it was the truth,” ‘*How can it be possible that such an impor- tant paper could come into a stranger’s hands?” “ Exactly! that question came up in my mind too, and I did not hesitate to ask it!” Mr. Brown declared, ** And would you believe it? the man actually laughed in my face! *** Ob, come!’ he exclaimed, ‘ that is a point which does not concern you in the least and you must not trouble your head about it,’” ‘* Ab, yes, but this document could only have come into this man’s Pi nats. in one way—by theft, and the Jaw will have something to say in regard to that kind of business!” young Engle- burt declared. “That is what I suggested, and he replied that he did not see how the law was going to get hold of the matter. ** He described the situation thus: ‘** By his father’s death Maurice Engleburt came in for a clear half of his father’s property, amounting in round figures to ten or twelve million dollars, He inherited this amount be- cause there was no will, and therefore he and his sister were the only heirs, ‘**If this will is brought to light this prince. ly fortune will be taken away from him and he will be compelled to content himself with an income, which will not appear to him to be more than a beggar’s pittance, now that he bas had full control of a clear half of his father’s vast fortune. I will admit, Mr, Engleburt, that this statement did not appear to me to be overdrawn,” : Maurice merely nodded, his face gloomy with fhe lines of care, ***T do not see then why I should hesitate to | reveal to Maurice Engleburt that this will exists,’ he continued, ‘If he chooses to kick up a row about the matter, and to denounce me to the world, why then [ might get iutotrouble, if I was caught, for, undoubtedly, 1 would be ac- cused of stealing the document: but it would be a foolish thing for him to do, for by the act he would forfcit the millions that have come to him, and if Maurice Engleburt is as wise as I take him to be he will pot throw away a for tune just to satis!y a mere whim!’ And ' must say, Mr, Engleburt, this statement seems to be a pretty strong one,” CHAPTER XXIX, THE DEMAND. MAURICE: ENGLEBURT pondered over the mat- oe a good five minutes before he made a reply. he situation was such an extremely unex- pected one that he was like a man dazed by a heavy blow for a few moments, And when he came to reflect upon the mat- ter he comprehended that Somerdyke had planned the scheme “ith wonderful cleverness; there was no dount in his mind that the wily Englishman was the man in the bhack- proupa masquerading under the name of John mit é . - i -~ i, ° pin! ee ag , . at ¥™ a me, ‘ So Ane * AP “it * _ | wily Englishman ie le “a ye ~ pe af ae #7 » ~ “« 2 + st - b= 4 i ee \ r' _* y" > re . f = °'a0 Pa pls . vb» 2 oon t J Pi . a aE Dag trey rer pT. ae ee Ce... ea a ete Ao As he had not seen or heard of Somerdyke since the night when Joe Phenix surprised him- self and the Englishman in his father’s office, in the very act of robbing the safe of a large amount of money, with which they designed to fly to Canada, he had come to the con- clusion that Somerdyke had returned to Eng- land, thinking that the millionaire would en- deavor to have him punished in some underhand way for misleading bis son, But now he came to the opinion that the had merely bidden himself from sight and bided his time until a favorable SrperenEity came to him to make a strike, faurice knew that in the day when Somer- dyke acted as his father’s confidential secre- tary, and lived in the Engleburt mansion, that he had some of the servants in his pay, for Joe Phenix had discovered this fact and after the exposure came, the erring men had been dis- charged, But now the suspicion came to Maurice that one of Somerdyke’s confederates had escaped discovery and so bad not been expelled, This confederate had aided the Englishman to steal the will, for Somerdyke knew all about the document and could easily get at it. Young Engleburt’s brain was in a whirl, and he was so bewildered that he knew not what action to take, One thing was certain though. He could not make any movement to denounce the Eng- lishman unless ue was willing to make public the fact of the existence of the will, and that would cost him bis fortune. The stranger watched the countenance of the young man with the eyes of a hawk, and as e noted his indecision a gleam of triumph shone in his metallic-looking eyes, **As I remarked, in substance, is seemed to me that the position this Mr, Smith occupies is an extremely strong one,” he observed. ** You cannot call him to an account for being in possession of this document without makin the fact public that it exists, and the momen that is known then away goes your millions, and you will be reduced toan income hardly tayo ; than enough to pay your wine and cigar ills, The face of young Engleburt was dark indeed as he listened to the words of the other, It was truly a most unpleasant prospect that was brought to his view, Now he was one of wealthiest young men in New York,a popular fellow in all the leading clubs, his society courted, his views sought, a welcome guest almost everywhere, and though Maurice was not very bright yet he was intelli- gent enough to comprehend that this pleasant state of affairs was due more to the fact that he was wortha deal of money than to aught else, And to be reduced to a beggarly income of five thousand dollars a yeer, why it would put him on a par with a lot of nobodies for whose opinions and society none cared, There was no disguising the fact that to give up the money would be an extremely disagree- able thing to do, and the more that young Engleburt reflected upon the situation, the more awkward and ugly it appeared, “Tt is not a pleasant prospect to contem- plate,” Maurice remarked, after a long pause. ‘Indeed I should say that it was not!” Mr, Brown exclaimed. ‘And if you will pardon me for a suggestion, I should say that if I were ou I woul do all in my power to keep the mat- r quiet. ‘** Yes, but is that exactly the honest thing to do?” Maurice queried, evidently troubled by some qualms of conscience. ‘* Well, I should say so—decidedly so!” the promoter responded, briskly. ‘‘ You are acting perfectly correct in this matter. The only crooked work is on the part of my client, who has managed to get hold of this important paper, which he has no business with,” Yes, he has evidently stolen it, for other wise it could not have come into his pos on.” ‘*That sip, of course, is on his conscience an not on yours,” and Mr. Brown chuckled ina pleasaut way, as though he did not consider that it amounted to much, anyway. \2 ‘* Well, [ suppose this party bas some proposi- tion to make to me in regard to the will,” Maurice said, slowly. “OF course! the document is not of the slight- — est use to him,” Mr. Brown explained, ‘* Why did he steal it, then?” “So that he would be able tc make money mie out of it,” the other replied, “It is a crooked iece of work, of course, no doubt about that; A? ut, as [ said before, the sin of that lies at bis The will door, His idea was simple enough, only concerned two people, your sister and yourself, To you two the document is worth o good many millions of dollars, for if it was | a «> made public both of you would be reduced toa un small income, ‘* Now, this party made his calculations in 4 this way. ‘if I can get bold of this paper, and wait until the estate is all settled—give the heirs plenty of time to see how good it is to be © worth ten or twelve millions, and then come ~ forward with it, the chanres are that one of the — two will be pretty apt to be willing togivemea ‘ good round sum of money for the document,” 2 desk co m Cc 900) a \ »<* sve ,, a > * 4 : “ ? nail - . j