\_. ‘ Z J I MMMMM E ‘C 2—.— i\\ - « .Nvg \ (\1» J; .\ ~k‘ ‘ . . , . x ’— A __ r r _ ‘1 «RV»! _ ______._>‘_ v___*__- _ ~ I ~ ‘ nmm___w_afiuhww. MAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ‘ $s " Entered 3; Second Clnu Matter .3 the New York. N. Y . Pout omce. Copyrighted 1895. by Bump: um ADAIS. NO $2.50 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS. Price, ‘ ' 8v Yelvr- N0. 98 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK. 5 cent!- I 1.1%! “ I ‘ \ “31!:ng 4;: ‘2‘ H.“ ‘ y K EHE‘:V Mr ‘ ' l;‘ ;% y; g: \«L §‘ W—Wfi- w 1 x I i lII J ‘ WWW“ WW " I‘IL ABMYOFm WILLY—WALLY WIPE-OUT. BY WM. PERRY BROWN. CHAPTER I. /4 *-—&Q /, ‘ 'rnr; DODGER AND THE (.ormm. ' DOT, the Dodger. was “ at home." ‘ “I HALF EXPECTED To GET ON 'nucx or THE STONES,” SAID BILLY, snuxmo As chief and director of a gang of _river AN A'I"l‘l'l‘L'l)E. rats and gamin wugbs, he had questlooed 2 Brooklyn Bob’s Bulge. -. them and sent them off on their several as- signments—as spotters, spies and reporters for crooks, who paid them for any infor- mation which might lead up to a good "strike" or lucky “lay.” The room which was their rendezvous and the Dodger’s lodgings; was in an East Side rookery, half-tenement and half-lodg— ing house, and among whose motley deni- Zens were to be found, at all times, a con- siderable number of suspects and “shift- ers," on whom the police and headquar- ter's shadowers kept a wary eye. The apartment had no outer window—mo light except that of the dirty kerosene lamp, perched on a packing case in one Corner, nearly opp0site the one door opell-‘ ing out into the dark corridor that led to the stairway. The door was the only source of en- trance and of ventilation, as Well, save the air shaft on one side, in which ran a dumb-waiter or lift for the series of dark rooms in the dingy and ill-favored house. .Havinlg dismissed his spies, the jauntin dressed Dodger proceeded to God his nob- by business suit, which he tossed into a trunk, and to draw from another trunk a grimy suit, which he donned at once, thus changing his appearance completely. The more perfectly to make this change effective, Dot proceeded to smear his face. tousle his hair, and then to cover his head with a very rusty felt hat. This done, the dude of sixteen was transformed into the street arab or must- about ’longshoreman of uncertain age. and drawing from amidst his rags a fine gold watch, he muttered: ~ “Neal-l ' four, an’ Gopher Pete‘ain't here yet. We 1, I'll wait five minutes more— d’en, if he don’t Show up I‘ll take hare of the swag myself)? and, lighting a cigar- cite, the Dodger flung hhnscl‘f on the one bed of the room to Wait. But a shadower even there; had him un- der surveillanco, for after the boys passed out of the dark hall and disappeared down the half-lit stairtvay, a youthful figure glided forward and placed an eye to'the- keyholeof the-door. , ‘ - Thus [he remained ‘for some. minutes, witnessing the. Dtflgerl's. transformation and seethineg understanding that the young .had an appointment with Some pal. That the shadower, youth as he was, had come to pny’; dangerous and" sharp role, w-assoon ma apparent, for when Dot cast himself upon the bed. and, with face half Named to the wan, proceeded to blow the smoke of his cigarette upward in a dreamy way, the door was noiselessly pressed open, the watcher glided silently in. bending low to the floor. and making his way to the big packing clue, on which stood the lamp, almost instantly disap- peared behind the box. V Five minutes elapsed. Then the boy on the bed sat up. threw away the stub offhis cigarette and.uttered an exclamation. f. “Philly gee! Who left that door open ?” . ‘ ‘ He rose and went to shut it, when it was suddenly pushed entirely 'open, and in walked a heavy-browed, muscular man, rather loudly, though nicely, dressed man who looked warily around. "‘ Alone, Dot?” “Yes. Pete. I thought you was never coming. Let‘s get to work and count out. divvy and stow away. Some of the kids may be in any time after five. The club meets here to—night, too.” “ Blast the kids and the club!” Gopher Pete looked disgusted as he looked the door and sat down. “Wot do you bother with these banners and swipe-lifters for. anyhow, Dodger? I’ve said before. that you have the making of a first-class, all- aroundhnan yourself.” ruption, as he was “I make money by 'em, see?“,and Dot proceeded to light another cigarette. The shadow behind the packing case began to 100k uneasily at the now locked door. “ Look what hauls we make!" said Gopher Pete. "TWenty thousand when we cracked the Fourth National. Half of it was mine.” ' “And you blew it in in about three months. That ain't my way. Bet ye’r life I salts away part of what 1 lags, for hard times.” “You orter, if you depends on leathers and the like. That haul of diamonts, now. Don’t that beat six months of what the gang does with all their buzzin'. swipin’ and sneakin'?" “That was a good haul, Pete." Dot’s eyes snapped greedily. “It's do only big one I ever helped in, as you say. Perhaps .l'll be pards with you yet. But let‘s get to work. We‘ll see how these diamonts pans out; then, mebbe you and I will make an- other strike together.” The two arose and procceded to make a search of the room, more for the sake of precautionary habit than from any sus- picion of their being overheard or seen. Presently, after both rogues became as- sured that their surroundings Were as pri- vate as they appeared to be, the Dodger unlocked a large iron-bound chest which? stood on one sidevof the room, disclosing inside another smaller box, also locked. Then I‘ete produced'a key and opened the second one, extracting therefrom a chain- ois-skin bag, partially filled with some- thing that rattled as it was'moved. “ Here we are at last 2" said Dodger, ' as l‘ *te opened the bag and poured out on the table what appeared to be a stream of blue and white fire in the gleam cast- by the lamp. “Ain't they beauts, Gopher?" _ The shadow, peering over the edge of‘the' packing case, saw a sight, so overpoWEr- ingly beautiful that he rose noiselessly._and: bent eagerly forward as-tho two fillléves. sat gloating over their spoil. .' - i 5' 'At that juncture there sounded‘a‘smrh ling knock on the door. i CHAPTER II. ,. A SLIGHT Mistmnnnsrmmmo. Down sank the shadow out jot i W Pete and the Dodger sprang to feet. . The young crook began hustling several: handfuls of diamonds back into the busy There were stones of various weights“ from the sizeof a pinhead to that of, a, small bird's egg. The collection was a flashing dream of brilliant color. _. l “There’s a cool fifty thOusand dollar's’ Worth, Dot," whispered Pete. “In with ’em—qulck!" ’ The jewels were hastily thrown into the‘ ' large iron chest. Before Dot could turn the key the door was pushed open anda fine—looking young woman entered. (1er after the manner of a Grand Street shop- ping glrl. ‘ ‘ “ Oh. Dot,” she exclaimed. eagerly, While both man and lad scowle‘d at the inter- l'uptlon. “I was afraid you Wouldn’t be in. That you, Pete?” . ,. “Course it's me. Dfis' is a‘ pretty _way for gals to do. ain’t it? Brehkin’ into boy's rooms with out invitation. What do ye mean, anyhow, Kate?” . “ What do I mean? I wanted to See Dot. If you don’t like that you can skip out yourself, Gopher Pete! I‘m no friend of yours. thank goodness!" . . ;Au the better. me." growlgd iPete, w owns nanasty’ f overt e nteru to v.2 his shale of. the booty in highway session. “Sf? what she wants. Doi' en fire her on . ’ “Fire :her out!" sneered Kate. as she drew Dot into the corner nearest the pack- I L ’ “Look! look!" she cried; ing case. “Look here, Dot,” she said, in a low tone, though her words were over- heard by the hidden shadow. “The trick is out. Brooklyn Bob is on your trail!” “What?” The Dodger looked startled, but instantly recovered. ND’at. can’t be. No one knows but you an’ Pete.” “And you are to give me one of‘the biggest stones to never split. Ha, ha!” She laughed merrily, then grew anxious again. “You know you are safe with me. But I tell you the job is discovered. The old man sent for Brooklyn Bob at once. He swore he would have back those dia- monds, or you and Pete should do a. ten- year stretch in Sing Sing.” “ Hang the old man! I‘ll do him up yet. Shall I tell Pete?" “Yes, after I’ gone. I don’t like Go- pher, myself. k out for him, Dot. He’ll do you a bad turn yet.” “ Guess he won’t yetch d‘e Dodger snooz— in‘. Now you skip, Kate. I'll be round to-niorrow wl’d d’at diamont. It’ll be a scorcher. it will!” But as Kate turned to go, Pete seized her by the arm and drew her, in spite of herresistanee, to the opposite end of the room from the door and packing case. “I got a bird to pick with you, Miss Kitty,” he growled. “I heard what you said ’bout Gopher doin’ some one a bad turn." “Let me alone!“ cried Kate, struggling ineffectually. ’ “See here, Pete!" interposed Dot, an. grilyq. “Let d’e gal alone. Kate belongs to the. she does.” - i = l "I don’t care who she belongs to. I’ll learn hot to clV‘illy about gents as wouldn’t fhetr , feet on the like of sucliiflohli)? 'VV as's'beps_,ln~her,‘shoes~. ”' 4 ' he Dod ., who. " ,1- lantern- pared, strugg’ Gopher "Pitt? sharp blows with ills fist that nedriygkeeled the jburlier soamp over. Kate screamed again. Pete, uttering a "fierce oath;~=.~rushed upon. "his younger V opponent, and a three-cor- ~.»Iiered’struggle ensued. ‘ - _.:«While the attention of the three was taken, the shadow darted noiselessly 7 from’liehlnd the packing case to the large ‘ Raising the lid slightly, he felt in- "initiator a moment, then swiftly ‘withdrew through the half-open door without being perceived. , ‘ - "fl/By this time Kate 'had thrust herself be- _.im,fthe cambatants more ~-than once, to be pushed aside. Dot, beingph '31- «may the weaker one. was getting ra the waist 01: it, when the girl ranatoward ' the door, pointing and screaming. , “I . did a not: leave the door like that." . ' A mutual alarm caused the two cemb‘at. outs to 100k around. The door was-now" wide open. - . 1 “Hold your diff. Dot,” exclaimed Pete. “I can do on with. one hand. but there are other t lugs to look after now.” “Did you'see any one. Kitty?” asked the Dodger. . ' , ' I. “No; but the door was nearly closed after I came in.“ It: might have swung opens though.” / ‘ “Now you git. Kit Glow“. You’ve made mischief, as it is." .. With‘ this Pete took her by the arm, thrust hér into the. entry. and closed and. locked the; door. Dot said nothing. He. too. was now realizing how foolish was their contention at such a time. also madehfi. , fly. The name of that noted younlr " K. source of dread 6 East Side mortality. “Don’t forget to one tomorrow.” called Kate through the keyhole to her . youthful sweetheart. “NOW you Bill). 01' I’ll come. tomorrow. \ Jr .me . .35... . _ .. Kate‘s concerning Brooklyn 1, _ .ve was always a ». 70.1-“; ..* \ . ' ;:.~,.;»_T:},~>w.v 9b. , ~A ‘ alone, Dodger, they’ll be the death of you - yet. r usually large rat. ; of Dot," growled Gopher Pete, im- “If you don’t let the women I never amounted to much until I give ’em the dead shake, see?” They heard Kate clatter petulanitly down-stairs. Then Dot, without replying, raised the lid .of the large iron-bound chest. Pete saw him bend over the smal- ler one. Both boxes had remained un- locked from the time the Dodger had 'hastlly thrown the bag of diamonds back into its place of concealment when Kate Clower appeared. The Dodger felt with" one hand. Then he hurriedly inspected the inner box. “Holy Moses! If d’at don’t beat d’e very Satan!" Dot began to‘execute a fren- zied war-dance of exasperation around the chest. “What’s the matter with the bloke?” Pete Jerked Dot rougth by the arm, but the lad released himself and capered about like one insane. . .“ What in thunderation ails ye ?” shouted ‘ Gopher Pete. But Dot only pointed at the chests and gasped in a stuttering sort of impotence. Seized with a. vague alarm, Pete rushed to the chests and looked for himself. Then he, too, was seized with a strange frenzy of exasperation. But suddenly he paused, eyed the Dodger malevolently, then seized the lad by the throat. “ Out with it!” hissed Gopher Pete, shak- ing the Dodger as a terrier would an un- “Shake ’em out! Give ’em up! Prejuce the goods! No shenani- gan, now, or I’ll paralyze ye with me fist!" “I ain’t got ’e111!",sh1'ieked the Dodger, tearing loose from Pete and continuing his mad dance hither and thither. “Don’t be such a chump! Didn’t I t’row ’cm in there when d'at gal knocked? And now they’re gone!” Once more Gopher Pete ransacked both chests in a hurried. yet thorough manner. \He kicked the smaller, box wra-thfully across the room, _ . . . a “I knowed yer was comin’."’.,<:l‘i