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Joe Phenix’: Still Hunt.

A Ronnanm- of the Upper (run! and
Lower (‘rust 01‘ New York Life.

     

 

 

 

 

 

BY ALBERT \V. AIKEN,

AUTHOR OF “INJI‘N mrx.“ “THE nmmx DE—
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Kate" Scott, the Decoy TDetective:

 

 

 

  

passing over the airy way, enjoying the pleasant
promenade.
It had been a very warm day, and with the
coming on of the night a balmy ocean-breeze
’ had come up, laden with the ozone of the great
Atlantic sea, and nowhere could the refreshing
breeze be better enjoyed than on the spider-like
bridge which practically makes the two cities
one. '
- ’l The elevated pathway was a favorite resort
for young people of both sexes, and many a flirta-
, tion has been carried on there when the mantle
  of night covered the earth.
 And on this evening of which we write, two
young men made themselves conspicuous by the
'glances they cast at every attractive-looking
girl who came anywhere near them.
The young fellows, too, would have certainly
attracted attention by their peculiar appear—

" ‘ They were dudes in the fullest sense of the

 

"i

 

  

 

   fig Tooth-pick” shoes, the tightest of anta-
fp]  loom, white silk hats, with odd-sha bell-
 ;3; crowns and curling brims—in fact, r at up re-
, ‘ardless of expense, and swinging in t on hands
 ty little, switch-like canes with golden

   
   
   

 

s. n

" Both of them good—looking young men, too,
, 'well worthy to catch a woman’s eye, in spite of
x “the ridiculous style of their dress.

Curled and gilded darlings were these dainty

oung men, so careful of their precious persons,
, if there were any youths in great Gotham fit to
'f‘ ' be so termed.
 Scions of two of the oldest and best families
 '. in the metro lis, no modern upstarts, but an—
; ‘ cient Knicker ocker stock, who assumed to look
I; with contempt on the mushroom millionaires of
to-da

3%,, Th3 taller one of the two, a well-built young
in": , fellow with yellow hair, arted in the middle
“ '  i of the head, after the Eng 13!: ggyle, and slee y-

looking blue eyes, was call Charles an
. Tromp, the only son of a widowed mother and
the heir to a half-dozen millions, besides being
worth a couple in his own ht.

 

 

“ a 'so slighter in build, with brown ir and eyes
"and incipient side-whiskers, was the only de—
scendant of one of the branches of the great
 Clinton family, so renowned in the history of
 the Empire State. , '
 Alexander Clinton he was called, and though
 "" " he had no property he could call his own,
. for the family estates were all ed 11 for the
-‘ benefit of his heirs, a whim of his fat er, who
-' rather distrusted the ability ofthe son to take

‘ a life-income of twenty-five thousand
, gpllarsfia year, he managed to get along tolera-
we .
V he two were fast friends, and were seldom
' seen apart. ~ ‘
‘ ' This was the first time theyhad eVer conde-
scended to do the bridge, but asthe fellows at
" the club that evening had assured them that it
' was the proper thingth do, they had taken a
, cab and ridden to the rid entrance and then,
‘ or the novelty of the V g, had decided to
, cross the structure on foot. \ '
I  “We must reallyrgive the ladies a treat, me
,‘ ‘deah boy!” Van omp had exclaimed; he as-
med an English air as much as possible, and
it ere wasn’t anything pleased him better than
to be taken for a son of Albion’s sea-girt isle.
' .9“ Certainly —- the charming creatures -— the
dear little ducks! I fancy they don’t often at
. at chance to admire such perfectly 8 ng
- fcks as we are every day in the week,” his
mpanion replied. ,
- And so arm in arm the two had sauntered
over the bridge, feeling perfectly satisfied with
unselves and all the world.
,As we have said, they favored every good-
-  girl that passed with apatronizipg stare,
were duly stared at in return.
And just before reaching the center of the
structure, an incident occurred which gave the
pair something to talk about. . '
’A‘wellvda-essed girl, about the medium hight,

  
  
  
  
  
    
   
  
    
    
  
   
    
     
  
  
 

If
a
B‘
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a.

   
   
   
     
    
 
 

  

  

   
   
 

v ' fine] ro )rtioned figure, and an ex-
‘itreinely 511:ng ivxaIker, overtook the two and

pamd them as they were proceeding in a lan-

 

guid way. I , I,
. . “I say. AleX, .there’s a deuced fine creature.’
exclaimed Van Tramp, calling his compgmon’s
, attention to the lady in a tone intended reach
“I don’t really know, deah boy, I was not
lucky en’ , hte see her face, but her figure IS
flection tself!” Clinton replied. ,

. And‘then to the delight of the pair, the glrl
turned her head and smiled. ‘

v ,. The young1 man was ri ht; she was a fine
«creature, a1 ough she coul not be called strict-
, 1y beautiful aceording to the rules of art, for
"her features were rather irregular, although
. finely-cut, but there was an air of vivacity—of
"imartness to the face which was extremely
.1 charming. , .

' She had brown-black e es. and brown-black
hair worn short, and clu ring in little crigsy
' ringets to her shape] head, and she ha a
coquettish way about or which decidedly im-

pressed the two young men.

  
   
  
  

 

   

   
  

   
  

   
   

  

 
  
  

 
 

w...

 

His companion, younger y a ear or two, -

 

“ Deah boy, I believe you have made a con- '

quest,” Clinton hastened to whisper to his oom-
panion, as be perceived the girl’s movement.

But in matters of this kinr Van Tromp need-
ed no prompter, and he hastened to raise his
hat and bow in the most courteous manner to
the lady.

And to his delight she acknowledged the salu—
tation with a slight nod, accompanied by a
pleasant smile, and slackening her pace allowed
the air to overtake her.

“ ery pleasant evening for a promenade,”
lVain Tromp remarked, as he came up to the
a y.

“ Yes, very pleasant evening, indeed,” she
replied, without the least embarrassment, and i
just as if the two were old a naintances.

“ I don’t think I ever saw t c moon look more
beautiful,” Clinton hastened to observe, eager
to place himself on familiar terms with the
pretty unknown. “Just cast your eyes dowu
the bay too, and observe what a truly lovely
View you have from this elevated position.”

The three' were exactly in the center of the
bridge at the moment and, as with one accord
they halted and leaning against the rail surveyed
the Scene which, as the young man had observed,
was really beautiful.

“ It is perfectly superb!” Van Tromp ex-
claimed. ‘I don’t think I ever saw anything
handsomer in all my life, present company of
course excepted,” and he bowed gallantly to the
lady, who laughed merrily in return.

“ You are inclined to be complimentary, I
see,” she rejoined.

‘ Oh, no, honest truth, I assure you,” and Van
Tramp bewed again. ,

“0 , es, not the sli htest doubt of that,”
Clmton astened to ad , and he too bowed as
elsisboriptelly as the other. d dedl

at t e young men were eci y impremed’
by the girl who had been foolish enough to“ al-
low them to become acquainted with her in this
manner.

She was no common you , woman, no r-
ly-paid' working-girl, (lepen ing for her read

pen the labor of her do icate hands, no daugh-
Eer of the under—crust, ground down almost to
the dust by the pressure of untoward circum-
stances nor was she either a scion of the upper-
ten, a child of shodd , who had been sedulously
educated to believe t at she was something bet-
ter than the common herd.

In fact, although both of the young men

rided themselves with the belief that they were
‘ deuced knowing fellows, you know,” men
who had seen .a deal of life and were complete-
}; up to snuff,‘yet in the resent instance they
 not know exactly w t to make of the
gir .

In all their “ wide "experience they had never
encountered an one like her.

She was evi ently a lady, well educated and
used to good society, and yet she had permitted
them to make her acquaintance in this extreme-
lilreprehensible manner, still there wasn’t any-
t ‘ng forward about her, nothing to encourage
a flirtation.

“ By Jove! I think I could stand here for
hours and aze u’ n this beautiful view 1” Van
Tromp exc aim in admiration.

He was evidently referringto the moonlit face
of nature, but he had his eyes fixed upon.the
pretty features of the 'rl. ‘ '

“Oh, yes, it’s ,rea ly, strul , too awfully
charming,” Clinton observed, guidly- “but
I think a I had to spend much time here, 1
should” like a cigarette to while .the minutes
away.

» “ Allow me to offer you one ” said thqlady,
with a brisk, businesslike r, producmg a
dainty little cigarette case and proffermg l to

a the entlemen.

u kgrgcgms! on mung; easy that):
ousmoe! an amp pr nmg'
e horrified, while Clinton also mumod an air

of intense amazement. . .

. “ Oh, no, I don’t smoke myself. I only carry

a weed for the accommoda on of my friends,’

she replied / la hing. “ ake one; 'I’ll war-

rant ou will them as good as can be pro-
cu in the city. They are genuine Havana

and no mi take!” , .
It was quite an odd picture and none of the

parties to it noticed a mason arlz-built, stem-

faced lainlytdressed man who ad carelessly

halted n his promenade a short distance away, .

and, loaning on the opposite railing, was watch- ‘

ing them. ' ,

“ I am really too awfully pleased!” ejacu-
lated Van Tromp, as he helped himself to a
ci arette. , _ _

‘Yas, too awfully, awfully!” simpered ‘Clln-

ton.
The girl had made an impressidn.

CHAPTER II.

' THE nAvnsDROPPnR.

“ OH, don’t mention it,” replied the young

lady, in the most mattenof-fact way. ‘ I am

always glad to oblige a friend. Have a li ht?”

and then she produced a little ornamen box
containing some tiny wax matches,

The young men hastened to avail themselves

of the offer, and when their cigarettes were

 

lighted, Van Tromp resumed the conversation.

 

“It seems to me that I have met you some—
where ” he said, “for your face is very famil-
iar. sn’t your name— U n my word. I be-
lieve I can’t recall it,” and he beamed insinuat-
ingly‘ upon the girl.

‘ lora—Flora Muir,” the girl replied, and

.then she added, in the most innocent manner

possible:

“It seems to me that I have met you two
gentlemen, but I ,don’t remember ,where it
was. ‘,

“ch, there isn’t a... doubt of it 1” Clinton ex;
claimed. “I’m sure we’re old acquaintances,
but I never can trust my memory about any
such things; I never can remember places, but
when it comes to features they always stick by
me. \ ‘7

“ I think it must have been up in the Cats-
kills Where I live when I am at home.” the girl
remarked. “ I am only here on a visit. I live
in Tannersville.”

A perceptible shade passed over the faces of
both the young men, and they cast furtive
glances at each other.

It was evident that somethin in the speech
of the girl made them uncomfo able. .

f‘ Tannersvillel” . an Tromp dmwled, “yes, I
think I have been here, but I don’t remember
much about it. That’s near‘ the Catskill Moun-
tain House, isn’t it?”

“ Yes; on] a short distance.”

“ I think have driven through it,”.and then
Van Tromp looked askance at his companion,
and Clinton coughed slightly as though embar-
rassed and turned his attention to the view.

“It is a lovely place in summer time and is
always crowded with visitors, and as your faces

familiar, I thought perhaps I might
have met..yQu theroi’l’etho firl observed, appar-
ently not noticing t e slig t uneasiness of the
gentlemen. ’ 

“ Yes, it is possible'a‘, ut  '.. = be,
the circumstances;  :1le e‘ ‘hted .

to see you now, and if. you ‘ permit ac-
quaintance to continual am sure We will be
very good friends indeed,” Van Tromp remark-
ed in his most allant manner. ‘

‘ Well I can t really ask you to call upon me
because am stoppin with some friends in the '
city who are dreadf ly strict, and they would

k me off home to 111 friends in a twinkling
if I should be so impru cut as to have any gen-
tlemen callers, but I go out walking in Central
Park eve pleasant morning, and I general]
enter the ark at Fifty-ninth street and Fift
avenue, just about ten o’clock, so if you should
happen to stroll in that direction we should
meet beyond a doubt Mr.-—Mr.—?” " r

“ Thomas: Harry Thom at your service,”
replied Van Tromp with an hammers.
“And this is my ' friend, ,
he continuedyintrowh Clinton who could
hardly refrain from ‘ "am e at his chum’s auda-

-Cl . ‘ ‘ .
t3’1 should be pleased to see you to—morrow,

gentlemen, and no doubt we can have a delight-
ful walk. ,Pm only a country-girl, you know,
and need guidesnnd protectors, so 1 shall look
for on to-morrow.

“ am 011 my Way to 868 §0me friends of the
folks with whom I am staying, who live about

a. block from the end of the bridge on the”. .g "

Brooklyn side, and the are to see me home tea
$81121 do I am obhg to bid you good-by now.

a!

And with a charming smile she bowed and
went on her way. Ht;

The young men returned the salutation in the
most elaborate manner, and then when the girl’s
back was turned; wmked at each other sig-
nificantly. ,

“ What do you think of it, old chappie?” Van
Trcm asked.

“0 , ou’ve can ht the irl for all she is
worth,t ere isn’t t e least oubt about that,”
Clinton replied. “But, I say, old fellow, she
made a cold chill run allover me when she,
mentioned the name of that infernal place.”

“Yes;, it was as much as I could do to keep
my countenance. In fact, I never even ..-.,-
the Catskills spoken of in common con '
without wishing that I had never , _ ‘ i  h i ,'
enough to go there,” Van Tr  sane

 

turned, as also did the  3 mp?”  ‘ l ‘

began to retrace his

“But it wasn’t our  old fellow; we real... '

1y. didn’t have anything to do With it; we were
not to bla e Er what occurred.” . d

“ Yes, know that, but in a measure we'Were
mixed up in it, althoughreally as innocent as a,
couple of lambs: an if there should, ever be
anyrow kicked up about the matter, the chances
are about ten to one that it would cause us con-
siderable trouble,” Van Tramp observed and
from the earnest way in which he spokei was

 

. plain he regarded the matter as being a serious 

one.

der was not so much imp ..

, “ It would be deuced awkward, of course; 313:“ ; 
such things always are, and extremely di‘saglfiir ‘

able; but by the aid of the potential among,
cash,”We should be able to smooth thin "3
over. , 

“Perhaps,” replied the other, with a dubious
shake of the head. / 

    

es,” .

 

    
    
     
   
   

mimic“! being much more of the butterfly  

 
    
      
     
     
      
  
     
     
    
    
       
   

 

mwx i-"t’mr’  
‘ a  Left-w.

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«its, . l5: Q.
r’ ,“'.m
I

 

i Leaving this representative pair of the gilded
youthsof great Gotham to pursue their way, we
will follow in the footsteps of the girl.

After rting with her admirers she had hast-
ened witiialight and springy footsteps toward the
Brooklyn ShOl‘Q.,lleveI‘ noticing that the quiet-

 " looking, sober—faced man who had been leaning
. . . on the opposite railing, neartcnough to overhear
' ~ the Conversation indulged in by the three, was
' 5 following her. ,

‘ .. He came close behind her, and after she had
V passed through the archway formed by the
granite towers and began to descend the ap-
v proach on the Brooklyn side, quickened his pace,
5 then took advantage of the fact that no one was
:near enough to them on the footpath tonotice

wh Was happening, to address her.

/ “ beg your pardon, miss, for speaking to
you,” the stranger said, in the most respectful
manner, “ but as I have something important to
say to you, I trust you will pardon the in—
trnsion.”

It would have been impossible for any woman
not utterly and thoroughly a fool to take offense
at the man. and the girl was by no means de—
ficient in common sense, So, after rapidly sur-
veying the speaker with her sharp eyes, she re-

.ed.

 
 

 

, . ‘ p “ I shall be pleased to hear you, sir.”

9? ' 1 . “In the first place I overheard tho conversa-
1‘ r’.. tion between you and the two young men
' which took place on the bridge a few moments

 

‘ a o.” , ,
-,, a. l . g“Yes?” queried the girl, seemingly not at all
*i . sur rised.
' - 1‘» , ' 'l‘xiie two were now walking slowly along, side
 * i, by side. . '
‘ “The rt of aneavesdropper or spy is not a

'f  ic'ularly pleasant one to play,” he remarked,

, ' f > ‘ and if it were not for t 10 )eculiar circum-

' ‘1 stances of the case, most certain y I should have

"" v  been the last man in the world to listen to a con-

‘ V versation not intended for my cars. ‘ ,

I “ But I happen to know both of those young

men, and when I saw them accost you I knew

that they meant you no good, and so I thought
it was In duty to keep an eye upon them.

“I gat red from your conversation that you
are a country girl and possibly not aware of the
dangers that threaten an innocent maid in this

cat, over own city.

. “ Both 0 the names that those young men
, ‘ gave yen were false.” ‘

“ Is it possible?” she replied and yet she did

:not‘ seem to, be much am at the intelli-

ence. i
g “Yes, I am acquainted with the "r, although
neither of them know me .rsona y. They are
good representatives of a arge class common to
all our big cities, rich young men with more
A, money than brains, who stoop to follies which
‘ .if indulged in by a mechanic, would be term
crimes. .
g: “ I think that they have marked you forav1c-
'1 ‘tim, and so I deem it my duty to warn you
": against, them. I overheard you make an appoint-
‘7. 11191523033081} those gentlemen in the park; be
gui, ‘ by me do not keep that appointment,
, and not onl that, acquaint your friends with all
the particu ars of this affair; do not walk heed-
 wlessly, into the snare that these young wretches
. .,  design to lay to entra you.”
1 The face of the gir did not betray the least
emotion, for she listened with perfect calmness
to the rather startling explanatioge.
f' ‘ “I am very much obliged ind d to you for
your trouble,” she said. “ Indeed I am sincere-
y grateful, and I assure you I shalhheed your
; warning. Will you favor me with your name,
at; ‘, lease!“
,

   
   

«#1,; - 

 

 as»? effi‘x‘v

“ Certainly; Joseph Phenix.”

r,, And it was indeed the renowned detective
r.  ‘whose thrilling adventures and bah-breadth es-
. . i cafidwe have so frequently chronicled.

;  _ now for the first time a look of surprise

' "appealed u ‘the face of the girl and she gazed
eadrnestly Emilie features of the gentleman by her
. s1 e. - I 
l , “Phenix -" Joseph Phenix,” she repeated,
. "slowly; “ it Seems  a“ if your name was

familiar to me. It is odd a llation, and
tone”th'at‘when once heard 18 no soon forgot—
ten.
“ My name ets into the newspapers once in a
, , fwhile, althougfii I do my best to keep it on {for
in my business newspaper notoriety is abou the
‘ last thing to be desired.” .
‘ , “ And what may your business be, pray ?” and
l as she put the question it was evident from her
, “v” manner that she was dee ly interested.
~ j “I am a detective o r, and that is the
‘ ‘ *  reason why I made bold interfere in your
3 sense. Knowing these young bloods, and ascer-
taining from your conversation that you were

a sti‘ er, and probably not familiar with cit
.. wayfi, ‘, determined to spoil their little game if'
. .cou . , '
'j . “You are one of the police detectives?”

“ No, miss, not now, although the authorities,
do moths honor to ask my aid once in awhile

r ' - when. a difllcultcase comes up; I am in a pri-
. ' -_ 'vate line.” ‘
‘ ‘ “ You are
cried the girl, with sudden energy.
‘ has surely sent you to my aid. ~
bathe trapper, not these two silly tops!”

   

the very man I wish to see. then!”
“ Heaven

 

is I who will '

ecoy Detective. ‘

. ./ . .» . . ,1.   ,.; w \
v.p.,... .r,,.<. .r. ‘4

3

 

CHAPTER III.

KATE sco'r'r’s STORY.

As a general thing, it was not easy to surprise
a man like Joe Phenix; he had seen too much
of the werld, had been engaged in too many
startling adventures not to take with composure
whatever might occur.

Generally, too, he was able to make a shrewd
guess at the character of the people whom he
encountered; and it was seldom that he was far
from the truth, but in the present instance he
was wide of the mark to judge from the girl’s
exclamation.

He had taken her to be a country maid, a vil-
lage coquette, given to flirtation, and flattered
by the attention bestowed u on her by the two
well-dressed city bloods, am in order to save
the girl from their wiles he had interfered.

But 10! and behold! the dove had suddenly
turned into a hawk. Instead of a victim she
intended to become the executioner.

“ I must have played my part to perfection
to deceive such a wonderful 'udge of human-
kind as you are Mr. Phenix, ’ the girl contin-
ued, rapidly. “ am no country girl, sir, no
maiden inpocent of the tra sand pitfalls of this
world, for I have fough for my daily bread
and gained my own livn'ig ever since I was ten
years old, and not only supported myself, but
since the time I Was fifteen I have also taken
care of my youn or sister who has resided with
some of our role ives in Tannersville, a village
up in the Catskill mountains.”

Phenix nodded.

“I know the place. I visited it on business,
once. It is a charming country.”

“Yes, it was a Paradise in which my beauti-
ful sister dwelt until the serpent came and
tempted her away,” the girl remarked, with
bitter accent. ' .

“ But it is quite 9. Ion story and perhaps you
will not care 0 hear it, ’ she added.

. “ If ‘ ou cheese to honor me with your confi-
dence, shall only be too glad to listen,” Phe
nix replied. '

It was but seldom that the iron-hearted, stern-
minded detective ever took a fancy to any one,
but in the present case he had been attracted to
the girl from the moment when he had first be-
held her face, and now that she had abruptly
revealed she was capable of playing a part well
enough to deceive even such an experienced
'ud e of human nature as himself, his interest
in t e girl deepened.

“Oh, if I could only hope to arouse your in-
terest so that you would aid in the terrible task
,which I have undertaken!” the girl exclaimed,
her face flushin with an eager look born of the
hope which suddenly sprung up in her
heart.

“ I am not a man to make any rash promise,”
he said, in his sober, stolid way “but I am
ready to admit that I already ta 6 a great in-
terest in you, and if I can be of any service I
feel spre you will not have to call upon me in
vain.

“Oh sir if you would only aid me!” she ex-
claimed. 1‘ You are all-powerful, while I am
naught but a weak girl, and yet I have taken
upon my shoulders a task of vengeance which
mi ght appa l the stoutest—hearted man.

‘ It is t 0 old, old story, the tan of man’s
pcrfidy and woman’s weakness which has been
rehearsed so many times since the world was
young.

“You overheard the conversation between
m self and those two young men?”

he detective nodded assent.

l“ They gave me false names, and I lpaid them
in their own coin. I knew them we enough,
and was not deceived in their falsehoods.

“ The taller one is called Charles Van Tromp,
and his companion answers to the name of Alex-
ander Clinton.”

“ That statement is correct. I am well ac-
quainted with both of them by sight, although
not rsonally.”

“ y name is not Flora Muir, but Kate Scott.
I was born at Tannersville, in the shadows of
the Catskill peaks, just twent -one years ago.

“When 1 reached my ten h year I had the
misfortune of losing bot of my parents. With

only sister four years younger than myself I
as cast upon the mercies of a cold and often-
times crue world.

. “ We were not absolutely helpless, as we had
relatives. honest people enough, but poor, nar-
row-minded and grasping. '

“ it was in the summer-time when my
ents died; the mountains were full of vidgi':
and I was ucky enough to find favor in the eyes
of a rich ady, who, with her husband, was so-
journing at the Mountain House.”

“That was fortunate indeed,” observed the
detective, who was listening to the tale with the
deepest interest. .

“'Yes, she said I was a bright, sharp little
thing, and took me into her service as a sort of
lady’s-maid.

‘ I had received a good education for one of
my. age, and my mistress made a sort of
me. treating me more like a companion

a.“
men a]. a

  
 

 

i . V A .
“ She id me liberal'w besides roviding
all my c othes; she was ric , and cmfid affor

     
 

 

 

to indulge in her caprices. From my wages I
paid my sister’s boan .

“ll'ith the lady I remained for five years.
and then death removed my benefacti‘css, but
as a reward for my faithful services she be-
queathed me a thousand dollars. and her hus-
band exertod his influence and proeured a sit-
uation for me in one of the leading photograph
galleries of the city, where I remained until
about a month ago, when I gave up my position
to enter upon this task of vengeance which has
fallen to my share.

“ My sister, who was called Louise, grew up
to be a beautiful girl; she was ablonde. with the
most beautiful blue eyes and hair like threads
of beaten gold.

“She had artistic talent, and I spent my
money freely to develo her genius. ‘

“ All went well unt' about a year ago; she
was just sixteen then and oh! so beautiful. We
were accustomed to exchan e letters weekly. I
wrote every Sunday, and s e answered so that
I would get the letter either Friday or Satur-

da .

P‘YThe letters never failed to come by Satur—
day until one week; then none arrived.

‘I did not feel at all alarmed, for I imagined
the letter had miscarried, but when Monday,
Tuesda and Wednesday passed and no tidings
reach me, I became alarmed. I telegraphed
to Tannersville and received a reply that my
sister was not there.

“ In hot haste I took the first train for the
Catskills, and when I arrived at Tannersville
hurried to the house which had sheltered my
sister so long, and when I questioned my rela-
tives as to what had become of my Sister, I
found them as astonished as myself when they

learned that I did not know anything about my I .

beautiful Louise.

“ They had been led tosuppose that I knew all
about the matter.

“ One of the summer visitors, a young, hand~
some, rich New Yorker, had become '
with my sister, and it seemed to be a case of
love at first sight on both sides, and after a
courtship of a con la of weeks the two went to
a minister one nig t and were married; then
they departed to the city, where they were to
meet me. .

“My r. misguided sister had said I was
aware o the affair, but was so busily engaged
in the city that I was not able to come the
mountains. '

“ Henr Tappan was the name by which the
New Yor or was known.”
“ It is an old New York name,” the detective

observed. ‘ ‘

“ But it was a false appellation!” the irl ex-
claimed. “ I returned immediately to t city.
and set to work to discover what had become
of my Louise. I feared for the worst despite '
the fact that there was not the least doubt she
had been legally married but her keeping me in
utter ignorance of the entire affair I regarded as
bein a very bad Sign.

“ s I feared, I could not discover the least
trace in New York of the oung man who in the
Catskills had called himse f Henry Ta pan.

“None of the Tap who resi ed in the.
ciatz knew aught of him; both he and my sister
h disappeared and left no more trace behind
tgan if the earth had opened and swallowed
t em.

“I spent money like water, employed the de- \

tectives, advertised, but all to no purpose. For
a year now I have not wavered in my pu
but not the slightest clew haVe I gained an ‘
afternoon.
’ I attended 9. matinee at the Academy of
Music, and as I was comin out afterthe per-
formance, in the crowd I appened to be
mediately behind those two young men. ,
“A fragment of their conversation reached

y ears. .
“One said to the other, ‘ I saw that Catskill
fellow to-da .’ ‘Did behave the girl with him?
the other ed. ‘ No,’ was the reply, and then
from what followed it seemed as ifthey had a
knowledge of some wron which had been done
by a falst young man in Catskills tola coun-
tr gir .

Y‘ Of course it was but a chance that they re-
ferred to my sad affair, butI determined to fol-

In

low it up and ascertain beyond a doubt, and, - ‘

when I gathered from their. conversation that
they intended to visa the bridge, I managed to
meet and insnare them there.”

“ It was clever] done, and the claw is Worth .

follow' up. on ought to join the detective
force' t re is a dent of cod femaledobou
tives,” Phenix remarked. “ ~need adech .
tective m if. Often there comes a bit of N
which y a woman can do.” '
“Will on take me?” cried the 1, fly.
“It is the life beyond all others 1: I esire,
and I am sure. too, that I have natural talent
for such a vocation.” ,
“Yes, I will, and gladly, and vaill, give you
gay aid in solving riddle." 'Phenix answers
, promptly. ‘ have a ‘ on hand‘m-mor-
row night. Can you come my office—here is»
my cani—disgflaed as an Italian boy, one of the
street bootblack‘bfiyshyou know?”
“Oh, y I there, and I am sure
shallbepe ectlyathomeinalnydisgumh

   

 

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is

 

4

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

 

And so the compact was made which turned
Kate Scott, the avenger, into Joe Phenix’s De-
coy Detective.

 

CHAPTER IV.
ran ASSAULT.

The girl went on her way with light steps and
a cheerful heart.

The unexpected meeting with the detective,
and his assurance that he would aid her in the
task to which she had resolved to consecrate her
life, was a most welcome piece of good fortune,
and she felt greatly encouraged.

Siribe she ad begun her search for her sister
and had mingled with the detectives, she had
often heard Joe Phenix spoken of in the highest
terms.

In fact, there was hardly a man in the detec-
tive line who did not (1 the cool, quiet
massive-formed detective as bein the ea
tYhiefk-catcher who had ever do shed in New

or .

Some envious mortals would not admit this

y, but in their hearts they believed it all
same.

And now, since she had succeeded in forming
an alliance with the most renowned detective
of them all, she felt convinced she would suc-
ceed not only in discovering what had become
of her sister but in punishing the villain who
was responsihle for her flight, for Kate feit
sure that there was something wrong about the

matter.

True, hersister had been legallymarried to
the young man who called himself Henry Tap-
pan: there wasn’t any doubt about that matter,

or the was performed by a ly-
ordained min in the presence of themes,
but that there was somethng was evi-
dent, for if there wasn’t, why she been kept
in ignorance in to it; she who had toiled
that her sister might be comfortable ever since
shehadbeen bigenou htowork!

Then, if her suspi one were unfounded and
everghinigvas all right—if her sister had con-
trac a ppy marriage with the man of her
choice, why should there be any mystery about
the aflairl Why should both husband and wife
hide themselves so sedulously from all the world
that a year’s search by some of the most expert
detectives in the cit , urged by the inducement
of a large reward, 'd not result in a discovery
of their whereabouts?

No: the girl was sure her sisterhad been be-
trayed and foully dealt with.

'lhe villain who by the name of Hen
Ta pan—Kate felt satisfied it was a false appe -
lat on—had managed to fascinate the innocent
count girl unsuspicious of the villainy that
existe? this great world, and, not being
able to gain possession of her in any other way
had married her and taken her to the city,
and there probably tired of and deserted his

victim.

But, if this was the truth, why was it that
the unfortunate Louise had not sought out her
sister, the unselfish heart who had watched
over her since childhood with all a mother’s de-
votioni

It was a mystery, and the more the girl re-
flected upon it the more bewildered she became.

Only one explanation had occurred to her
during all these long months when she had been
as persistent in her search as the bound on the
scent of blood.

Her sister and the villain who had lured her
away had not remained in New York, perhaps
had not come there at all, but had fled to some
distant locality—to another country beyond
the seas, perhaps, and the unfortunate Louise
when deserted by the se at who had lured
her away, had not been ab 0 to either return to
the city or to communicate with her sister.

She might have died of grief and shame
when she discovered that she had been so ter-
ribi betrayed.

0 little consolation is the empty in
rite to a young 1 when she makes the terri le
discovery that e man to whom she has given
all that a woman can give, is a scoundrel who
has haser deceived her, a vile wretch, unwor-
th of the affection of any pure-minded woman.

to had almost given up all ho of ever
again seeing her sister: she f that she
had found rest from her miseries in the cold
damp grave, but even if that was true, a task
of vengeance yet remained.

The villain who was responsible for all this
wrong must be sought out and unished.

The girl had not deceiv the young men
when she had said she was on her way to visit
some friends in Brogkllgn.

It was the truth. after leavingethe bridge
gate proceeded directly toward r destina-

on.

She proceeded up Washington street to Nas-
sau and then turned into that thoroughfare, in-
tendin to 0 through it to Fulton, upon which
street er ends resided.

Nassau street between Washington and Ful-
ton is dimly ltighted and is not an inviting spot
after nine 0’ e 

The street is. bu little used by anybody, and

estrians are few and far between.

Into the street on the lower side two narrow

 

alleys empty, populated by an extremely poor
class of pie. _

The a e s are as dark as a pocket at mght,
and aifo a convenient lurking-place for any
evil-disposed person.

The girl went on without a thought of fear,
but, just as she crossed the first alley, out from
the darkness of the narrow thoroughfare bound-
ed two muscular fellows, and they seized upon
the girl in a twinkling.

One grasped her from behind, and in the most
dextrous manner passed his arm around her
neck, put one of his knees in the small of her
back and erked her from her feet.

It was e ruffianly trick known as garroting,
and when it is performed b an expert, as it
was in the present instance, or the moment it
renders the victim entirely helpless, so much so
that it is im ible for the person thus rudely
assailed to ut r even a single cry.

And the second too, was symmpt to
lay the part which had heen assign to him in
his evidently carefully planned outrage as his

companion.

He was provided with a sponge saturated with
chloroform, and simultaneously with the garrot-
ing of the girl by the first scoundrel he a. plied
the sponge to her nostrils, and then both 0 them
d the haplea maid into the dark recesses
of t e alley.

This movement occupied far less time in its
execution than we have taken to describe it.

All the surroundings were favorable, too.
There was not a single soul near enough to the
scene of the outrage to detect what had trans-
pired, althou h Fulton street, Brooklyn’s main
anew.th tsconstantstream of pedestrians,
and ashington street, the directmeans of com-
munication with the bridge, were only half a
block away.

But the tion was formed soqnickly
and with so ttle noise tha not the slightestdis-
turbance was raised.

Within the alley stood a hack, its lamps an.

ted, so as not to attract attention.
ate the carriage the now senselem girl was

placed.
The potent drug had done its work only too
well, and Kate Scott was ashelpless as an infant

in the hands of the villains who had so roughly
and un y assailed her.
The n who rformed the garroting oper-

ation was tall and bin, although extremely mus-
cular; his companion was short and stout.
“Now, Stingy Bill,” said the tall, thin man,
who seemed to be the leader of the two, after
the girl was safely bestowed in the coach,
“li ht the lamps, then et on the box. I‘ll go
in do with the gal. ive me the sponge and
the bottle, so I Will be able to give her another
dazzlilfyge gets her senses back and is inclined to

“ But that ain’t accordin to the peppergram,
Four Kin ,” remonstrategl the other. ‘ The
boa said t t she was to be blindfolded so she
would notbe able to see where she was going,
and have a gag put in her mouth.”

“ Blamed if didn’t forget all ’bout that,” re-
sponded the other. “ You’re right, you duffer,
for a thousand dollars. And I’ve got the gag in
my pocket, too, as well as the veil to go over
her eyes, so that she won’t be able to spy out
the lay of the land.

“ Durn me, if I see how I come to forget it.”

“ Oh, you ain’t got the head on you, for biz,
like your uncle!” exclaimed the stout man, com-

lacently.

“Ain’t got so much jaw, anyway.” retorted
the other. “But you get to your lamps, and
then h’ist onto that box and git, while I attend
to the gal.”

Then he entered the coach, drew the gag from
his pocket—it was a curious contrivance, about
the shape and sins of a large pear, made out of
a cork wound around with cloth, and with
strings attached to it so that it could be held in
the mouth after being laced there.

“ No use to gag or ad her until I see she is
coming to her senses ” the man muttered, as he
got the “ tools ” ready.

But he thou ht it necessary to securely bind
both her has and feet, so she was rendered
perfectly helpless.

By the time this operation was completed the
coach d started.

The seizure had been so adroitly performed
that the girl had hardly time to realize that she
had been assaulted before her senses fled.

How long she remained insensible she knew
not, but when she recovered consciousness again
she found herself in utter darkness, lying upon
what seemed to be a lounge.

She was evidently in a room, for the air
seemed close and musty.

Rising to a sitting posture, she endeavored to
discover where she was, but the darkness was
too intense.

Then a soft light began to illuminate the
room, and wheni partially dispelled the dark-
ness, she saw she was in an apartment without
either windows or doors and about twelve feet

uare by seven high.

e light came from a glass fixed in the cen-
ter of the ceiling.

The room was comfortably furnished with a
table, two chairs, the lounge, and in one corner

 

antairon sleeping—couch like those used in hos.
pi s. .

The girl sprung to her feet and advanced to
the center of this strange apartment, utterly be—
wrldered.

Then a sharp click fell upon her ears. She-
turned to ascertain the reason of the sound and
was confronted by a tall figure robed from head
to foot in a black cloak.

CHAPTER V.
A STRANGE DISCLOSURE.

 

THE black-robed figure was risin through the‘

floor, and when the girl turned on y about half
of him was Visible.

Kate started back in horror as her eyes fell
upon the strange Sight, for she guessed at once-
that she was in the power of a foe, completely
helpless, too, and yet she could not imagine why
any one should ta e the trouble to injure her, as:
she had never wronged any one in her life not:
ever made an enemy to her knowledge. '

It was little wonder that the girl was for the:
moment a prey to a sudden terror despite the
stout heart she carried within her bosom, for
the cloaked figure made its entrance into the
room with almost as much celerity as the de—
mon imp bounds through the stage in the panto—
mime.

And the machinery by means of which he
made his appearance was borrowed from the-
theatrical world.

N o yawning trap-door disclosed itself, but the
floor seemed to cling to him as he rose, merely
yielding enough to let him pass through.

Among the skillful stage artisans this clever
mechanical contrivance is known as a “vam-
pire trap.”

When the figure reached the level of the floor
he stepped forward, and the pointed sections of.
the trap shut again with a sna .

It was a man evidentli, althou h thorou h]
concealed from head to eel by e black cloa
which was arranged to fall in folds from his:
head, thus render-i it im ible for any one to
distinguish the outlines of is figure.

Through two holes in the head part of the-
cloak shone a it of brilliant e es, eyes so black
and iercing t t the ca tive feltsure she would

bealetor izetemagainnomatter
where she might hold them, nor how long the
lapse of time.

And now that the first moment of surprise
was over, the natural coolness of the girl came
to her aid, and she stood erect and faced the in-
truder, a questioning look upon her features.

f‘ Rather took you by surprise, I suppose?”
said the man, in a gruff voice, evidently assumv
cud for the purpose of disguising his own natural

nee

“ You didn’t expect visitors to make their ap—
rsnce in this unceremonious wa ,” be con-
inued, “ But this is a sort of Liherty Hall
here, and we don’t go much on style and cere--
monv.”

“What is the meaning of this outra e that
has been pe trated upon me? Why ave I
been assaul and brought here!” cried our
heroine.

“ Don’t t into a rage, for it will not do (you
the least it of good,’ the man respon ed.
coolly” “Just help yourself to a seat. for I’ve
something important to say to you, and I hate
to see on standing like a servant.”

“ Without a word the girl obeyed.

“There, that’s better,” the mysterious un-
known remarked, approvin ly. “Now we’ll get
right down to business. our name is Kate:
Scott, I believe?”

“ Yes, sir.”

“And you used to live up in the Catskills?”

“ I did—I was born there.”

“ You are the girl I want to see then. I
thought you were the party, but it is always
betterto be certain in such matters. If I un—
derstood on Correctly you complained in re-

ard to t e way in which you were brought

ere.”

“It was a foul outrage!” Kate cried, spirit»

edl .'

J There is an old adage that the end justifies-
the mains,” the unknown replied. “ and in this
case it most certainly does. I wanted to see
you on a little personal matter, and as I have
something particular] important to say to
{If}? it was necessary at t e interview should

e lace in a quarter where we could not pos-
sibl disturbed.

“ think on will admit that this cosey apart—
mentfills t 6 bill exactly in that re ct,’ and
he chuckled hoarsely, as though be t ought he-
had ven utterance to a good oke.

“ en, too,” he continued, ‘I wished to ar-
range the matter so that I could control all the
details of the interview. I did not intend that
you should have the power to either shorten or‘
engthen the duration of the conversation. I
have something particular to so to you and
you may not like it—you may me angry
and feel like kicking up a row, but, as you are-
Slmtfd at present, it will not do you much
g .

“What can you possibly have to say to me?”
exclaimed the girl, not knowing what to make
of this strange affair.

“ Your name is Kate Scott and you originally

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came from the to: of Tannersville in the
Catskills — you had a sister there named
L0uise—”

The girl started as though thrilled by an elec-
tric shock.

Imploringly she extended her hands toward
the disguised man.

“Oh, sir, can you tell me aught of my sister?”
.she cried.

“ Yes, yes; you are at the ri ht shop for in-
formation here,” he replied, an then he laugh-
ed—laughed in a manner that sent a chill to the
heart of the girl, for there was more menace
Ithan merriment in the sound.

“ There isn’t a person in the world who can
tell you more about Louise Scott than a gentle-
man about my size, for I was nearer and dearer
to her than all the rest of the world. In fact, I
am the man for whom you have been searching
so diligently—I am Henry Tappan.”

Kate gazed at the speaker with straining
e es. She had not ex ted this disclosure,
.a though when her sister 3 name was mentioned
tshe suspected that the man mi rht be an ac—
complice of the villain who had ured her idol
:awa .

Buyt the announcement that she stood face to

' face with the villain for whom she had searched

:so long and earnestly took her completely by
: rise.

appan, to give him the name which he had
claimed, noticed the surprise which his words
had produced and again indulged in the low,
jeering chuckle of which he seemed so fond.

“You are a little astonished,” he remarked.
"‘I suppose I am about the last man in the
world whom you ex ted to see. Here you
have been in search 0 me for about a year now,
wasting your money on detective-officers, who
are enerallyeéiothing but a lot of beats, and

on av’n’t n able to get the slightest clew
- my whereabouts. You see, I have been well
informed in regard to your movements.

“ I didn’t trouble myself much about the mat-
ter, for I reckoned that in time you would get
'tired of the thing and give it up.”

“Never, while life remains!” the girl cried,
impulsively. “I had made up my mind to
findiyou, and in the search I should never have
tII‘GN .”

“That is exactly the conclusion I formed,” he
replied. “ And that is the reason why I went to

the trouble of bringing ‘yéiu here. I thought

your desire might as we gratified since you
were so earnest in the matter.

“ Now, then, we are face to face; I am Henry
"Tap an; what do you want With me?”

“ Vhat have you done with my sister—my
beautiful Louise? ’ Kate exclaimed.

“ Of course it will be useless and only a waste
of time for me to pretend that I don’t know
anything about her; for I am aware you have

‘Rucceeded in gettin at the facts in the matter,”

he observed, slow y. “ Consequenth I will
tell you the truth about the matter. .Your s15—
ter and I fell in love: there were certain reasons
why it was not advisable to allow the matter
to become public, 80, owing to my solicitation,

our sister did not even take you into her con-

dence. ‘

“ We were married. taking care to keep
the marriage as secret as possible, and then
came to New York, intending to sail for Eu-

"rope, by the Inman Line steamship, City of

I noon.

Berlin.

“ The steamer was to sail at six in the after-
VVc went on board about twelve, and
then I was compelled to leave my bride to at-
tend to a little urgent business which I had
somehow neglected, and owing to my watch be-
in out of order I missed the steamer, and she
as ed without me.

“I immediately sent a cable message to the
agent of the line in England, detailing the cir-
CUmstances. and requesting that all possible at-
tention should be 'ven to my wife until I could

join her, crossing y the next steamer.

‘ /

v _ plied.

, date, and that Mr.

. .lished

" And this me I carried out, but upon
my arrival in England, judge of my consterna-
tion when I was informed that my bride of a
day had been lost overboard from the steamer
on the first night out. _

“ Whether it was an accident or because a
*sudden fear had taken {WE$IOD of her on ac-
count of my absence am she had yielded  the
belief that she was betrayed and deserted it is
im ible to sa .’

‘PXsnd was it 131,017 the truth?” Kate demanded.
“Is not this story of your missing the steamer
:all a lie from beginning toend?” .

“It is only natural that on should Jump to
that conclusion, but it is n t the truth,” he re-
“ The passen or lists of the steamer will
prove that Mr. and rs. H. Tap n were book-
ed to sail by the Cit of Ber] n on a certain
. Ta pan, alone, did sail
by the steamer which was ' tehed after that
one.

“ Then, too. an account of the death was pub-
in the daily journals at the time, although,
.as I had good reason for wishing to keep the
fact of my marriage secret, I furnished as few
particulars as pomible.”

" It is stran e I did not see it or that the de-

: itectivee I amp eyed did not discover it,” the girl

marked.

 

“ Not at all; the publication was just about a
month before on began your operations, and in
th; 1whirl of ew York life a month is a great
w i e.

“ Your detectives, blunder-ing fools! looked
forward, not backward. Here is the account,”
and he handed her an old newspaper.

It was only a brief item relating how a lady
passenger on the City of Berlin fell overboard in
the lower bay and in the darkness perished, al-
though every efi'ort was made to rescue her, and
the name was 'ven as Mrs. H. Tappau.

“ Dead! dea !" moaned Kate, in heartfelt

'eg, letting the newspaper fall from her listless

an

“Yes, ‘gone to that bourne from whence no
traveler returns ;’ the body was never recovered,
although on my return I tried to trace it.

“ I loved your sister, Kate, and truly mourned
her death, and until I saw you I did not believe
that I could ever find it in my heart to love any
other woman.”

 

CHAPTER VI.

THE CAPTIVE’S REPLY.

OUR heroine started in surprise, for this avow-
al was entirely unexpected.

“ I perceive you are astonished, and no doubt
you hardly know what to make of my h,

ut I am a plain, blunt man, and I believe it is
always best for a man to speak out when any-
thing important is at stake,’ Tappan replied.

“ I have been watching you now for nearly a
year; ever since the time, in fact, when I got
wind that you were here on my scent, and since
that discovery I have made it my business to
keep my eyes upon you.

“I had no idea that I was being watched,”
Kate observed, hardly knowing whether to place
credence in the statement or not.

“ Of course, it was not my game to allow you
to know it, You see, I play my cards much
better than the blundering detectives whom you
employed to hunt me down.”

‘ But I do not understand the reason for this
mystery!” the irl exclaimed. “ If the story
you have rela to me in regard to the death
of my unfortunate sister is true. and it seems to
bear the impress of truth, why did you not come
to me when you learned that was in search of

on?

“Why did you not come and tell me the story
of the death of my r Louise? It would have
lifted a terrible loa from my mind!”

“ Well, I had good reasons for acting as I
did,” the man replied, after a moment’s pause,
asiifi he was debating about the matter in his
in n .

“ In the first place as you have doubtless
guessed, Hen Tappan is not my real name.”

“ I did not t ink it was.”

' “I give you credit for being shrewd enough
for that. Now, if I came to you in my own
proper person you, of course, would know me if
you saw me again, and I have good reasons for
Wishing to remain unknown.

“ Money, you know, will do almost anythin
nowadays, and money, judiciously expendedg,
brought you here.

“ Two reasons actuated me: in the first place
I wanted to tell you the true story of your sis-
ter’s unaccountable disappearance, and in the
second to make known to you that you have in-
spired me with an ardent affection.

“ As I have told you, after the loss of your sis-
ter I was so deeply affected by the calaimty that
I did not believe I should ever meet awoman
whose charms could make my pulse quicken in
the least degree; but ,when my attention was
drawn to you by the earnest attempt you were
makin to discover what had become of the ill-
fated uise, after a time I suddenly realized
that you were he 'nning to occgpy the place in
my heart which s e once en 'oy . .

‘ I fought against this fee ing for some time,
but finally it grew so strong that I was obliged
to give way to it and so I planned to bring you
here, that might not only make known to on
the sad fate which had befallen your sister, ut
also reveal to you the passion w ich has grown
up in my heart.”

With all her shrewdness the girl was puzzled,
unable to guess the motives which animated the
man, and caused him to act thus strangely.

The mason he had assi ed, that of havmgbe—‘
come fascinated by her c arms, she did not be-
lieve was the true one.

It was possible that, finding she was not die-
posed to give up the chase, and fearin in time
she would hunt him down, he adop this de-
vice to make her give up the pursuit.

But if the story of her sister’s death was true,

and he was not to blame in the matter, why
should he fear?
' She was satisfied there was something hidden;
the man had not revealed all the particulars,
and immediately she gave utterance to her
doubts.

“ I do not credit this tale which you have
told,” she said.

“ The proof that I have told you the truth in
regard to the loss of your sister is in our hand,
and if yo: doubt the girth of it and lievle that

some 00119- 3 enewspa restore in
bdupon to pubmh a falsehood,p;ou can 

V ,1

satisfy yourself by visiting the office of the steam-
ship comlpany.’
“ Oh, have no doubt that the account you
give of the death of my poor Louise is correct;
ut the reason you give for the strange conduct
on your part is not at all satisfactory,” she re-
lied

“ If you had come to me in your own proper

‘ person, and required me to pledge myself to keep
‘ secret whatever you might reveal to me, I woul

 

ladly have iven such a promise; but after what

as occurrecf, my mind is tormented by doubt-
ful fears.

“ Who and what are you? Why do you as-
sume this strange disguise, and why was this
In terious apartment constructed? In fact,
al that has tran ired seems more like a leaf
torn out of an 01 -time romance than anything

else.”

“ Ha, ha ha,” laughed the masked man in his
disagreeable, jeering fashion, “ you are like all .
your sex, and can ask more questions in a
minute than any ordinary man can answer in a.
week.”

“You cannot e t me to walk blindfold in
an unknown path, she retorted.

“ I am afraid you will have to accomplish
that feat, for I am not at libe to reveal to
you any more than I have air y done. You
must take me blindly, and trust to luck.

“ One thing I will tell you, and that is that I
can give you a life of 1 such as few women
in this world are able to enjoy.

“Your slightest wish sha be gratified, and
you shalkpose as the wife of one who stands as
well in ew York as almost any man in the
metro lis.

“ I require in return is implicit trust and
exact obedience.”

“ Oh, you want me to take a leap in the dark
and shut my eyes besides!” Kate exclaimed.

“ Yes, that is about the idea; but by daring
the risk you will receive a rich reward.”

“ I at ve little faith in that assurance, and
I thi I am ' ' to understand what kind
of a man you are.

“ Your strange ' ' , the manner in which

I was brought here, t is mysterious apartmen
your incomprehensible offer, and the fact t
you say you have been able to keep a watch
on me ever since I came to the ci , Without
my having the slightest su icion o the fact,
all serve to convince me tha you are not a man
whose deeds can bear the sunlight, but on the
contrary you seek the shadow to hide evil pur-
ses

“ Not a very flattering estimate this that you

.have formed of my character!” he exclaimed,

seemingly more amused than affronted by the
girl‘s remarks. '

“What other opinion can I have under the
circumstances?” she asked. “If you are an
honest man, and there are good reasons why
you do not wish me to know who you are for
fear that in an unguarded moment I might
betray your secret, t e matter can be easily ar-
ran . ‘

“ our name is not Henry Tappan, of course;
I understand that appellation is an assumed one,
but on can be known to me by that name, and
I ' not trouble myself to discover what your
real name is. If on Wish to see me on can
come at night, an I will so manage t t you
will not meet any one; but I tell you fran ly.
right at the beginning, I do not think I shall
ever be able to bring myself to like you.

“ You ma be innocent of any guilt as regards
my sister’s eath, but I cannot f0 t that if it
had not been for you, she in 9.1 probability
would be alive and well today, safe and happy
in her mountain home.

“ You came between my sister and myself
stole her away from me, and that fact I
never be able either to forget or forgive.”

“ It is true enough: I did take your sister, but
she went of her own free will.” . ,

“ Lured by your dazzling promises, nodoubtl”
Kate exclaimed, bitterly. ‘Just as you have
tried to daze me with a brilliant prospect. I
may wrong
else but the
Holy One by promising a world which was not
his to give.

“Oh, I can make good my ofler,” Tappan as-

se . .

“Perhaps, and yet I do not believe it. Your
words are fair enough, but something whispers
to me that you are notto be trusted.”

“ Then you do noteboose toacoept me in the

ise of a lover!" ,,

“No, I donot.” ‘~ .

“Well, Pm sorry for that, for you are just
the woman for me——keen-witt:id(i sharp as a

alien Angel trying to tempt the

steel-tn and no doubt not dev of courage;
and in chase of me, too you have ' loved
the d detarminafion of a bloodho Oh!

decid y, Kate,Ishall have to haveyou, and
there’s no two wa about it.”

“Whether I wi or not?” andan angry 1i t
shone in the girl’s eyes, although she wt
question in the most matter-of—fact manner.

“ Yes, I suppose so,” heanswased, carelesl
“You see you forceme’toauch a course,

mustadoptit,althwghit certain] inmost div,
tasteful to me; but, under the W
what elsecanldo! Youtonmo‘thatm 

you, but I can think of nothing‘ '-

  
 

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Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

""‘i. "'w 

 

 

 

 

any hope for me. to win you, supposing I lay
siege in the rogula.‘ way, and so I am compelled
to try a novel kind of courtship. You are here
in my power, completely isolated from all the
work , and here you will remain until you con-
sent to become mine.”

“ And that I will never do under such de-
grading conditions!” Kate cried s iritedly.
" You may keep me here until I die, ut never
will I agree to say yes, when my heart tells me
that I ought to say no.”

“You think so now, but you may chan e
your mind after a week or a month clapses,” e
rejoined. “Solitary confinement, even in such
a cesey apartment as this, is not the pleasantest
thing in the world, as you will discover after a
week, a month or a year.”

“ A thousand years will not make me yield!”
the girl exclaimed.

“ We shall see; and so for the present adieu!”

Then he stamped his foot thrice upon the trap-
door.

There was a moment‘s interval, and then
Tappan sunk specter-like through the floor.

CHAPTER VII.
A BOLD AT TEM PT.
THE girl stood like a. statue until the man dis-
ap red and the tra closed over his head.
or the moment s e was bewildered; she (lid
not know what to make of,this strange affair.
Was she in the power of a wealthy young
man who took this strange mode of compelling

 

,her to accept his attentions, or was he a des—

perate and ( ctermined villain who had fixed his

, eyes upon her regarding her in the light of a

convenient tool? _
Possibly the man was not in his right mind, a
lunatic gifted with the peculiar cunning com-
mon to some madmen.
The assault upon her, which had resulted in
her capture, had been rformed so adroitly
that she had no idea of ow many had taken

' part in the attack.

For all she knew a single man might have ac-

! com lished it.

Ta e it for all in all it was the most mysteri-
ous affair, and the more she reflected about the
matter the greater became her rplexity.

One thing seemed certain t ough and that
was, no matter what the man might be, he in-
tended to kee her a. close prisoner.

The first t ing to be done then was to en-
deavor to escape. -

She looked around her carefully.

As we have said there were neither doors nor
windows to the apartment.

The only break in the room was where the
light in the center of the ceiling shone through
asmall pane of glass.

The glass was only about eight inches square
and even if the captive could succeed in reach-
ing it the aperture was not large enough to al-

‘low her to pass through.

Then she

proceeded to examine the trap
through whic

the man had ascended and de-

' scended. althou h she had very little hope that

she would be ab to make use of it, for it would,
in all probability, be securely fastened.

Now that she knew exactly where the trap
was situated she was able to locate it without
difficulty, although the contrivance had been
arranged with so much skill that the cracks in

, ' the carpet caused by the trap could only be dis-

covered b a most careful inspection.
, But, as ate had expected, the tra was fully
as solid as the rest of t 9 floor, and s 8 could not

‘ . oduce the slightest impression on it.

Prln fact, if she had not known that there was

v a trap therei’she never would have suspected it.

Rising to or feet, she proceeded to carefully

tment.

, Wt the walls of the a
' , ey were not like or 'nary walls composed

f of lathe and plaster, but solid wood, wainscoted

if shortof a crowbar or an ax would
‘ impression u
' Surely t

1, '  in the olden style, and the ring which the wood

we back when she pounded on the walls with
Er clinched hand, convinced her that nothing
9 any
n them. I
ere must be some other way of
g admission to this room besides the trap-
,” she murmured,” she retreated to t e

" center who apartment and gazed anxiously

“ is is evidently a very old house,” she con-
tinued, “for the wood is brown with age. This

I is no secret chainber latel arranged, but one of

the odd contrivances due olden times. I have
rend-of such things although I had no idea that
any of them existed in this country.

And all such secret apartments, originally
designed to hide the owner of the mansion from
secret enemies, tawny: had more than one mode
of entrance. 80 the pursue" chanced to hit
upon one, the fugitive might escape by another.

“ And now, since the trapdoor isone way, the

mbilities are great that a secret passage
gh one of the walls is another.

“ And in the old-time stories which I have

’ , read, such panels were operated by a secret

Spring concealed in the'wood-work.
“ Imust examine every inch of the walls, and

dfthcre inasecret sprinrlgie pressure of hands,
3

upon it ought to have s] 1y discolored the sur-
rounding wall so I will be able to discover it.”
Kate was as good as her word.

0

passage led to the cellar.

 

She examined the wall so thoroughly that not
asquare inch of it escaped her scrutiny, from
the floor to as high as her eyes could reach.

The girl reasoned that the spring would in all
probability be located about the hight that a
door-knob usually is, and so she devoted par-
ticular attention to that part of the wall.

Small discolorations were plentiful enough on
the walls. but none of them yielded to the power
of the girl’s eager fingers.

At last, just as she was about to despair—
having made the circuit of the room and re-
turned to the point from whence she started,
she caught sight of what looked like the head
of a small nail imbedded in the wood, six inches
from the corner of the room and about two feet
from the floor.

The head projected just a little, and there was
a thick coating of dust upon the up 1' side,
proving that no one had disturbed it or some

mie.
I Kate surveyed the nail with a. dubious expres-
sion.

It did not seem to be a promising discovery.

She tried her thumb u )n it, thinking that if
it was the spring which s e sought it would yield
under the pressure, but it (lid not.

It was only a common nail after all.

The heart of the girl sunk within her.

“Is it possible that I am doomed to remain
here a helpless prisoner?” she exclaimed. “Is
it fated that this villain, not content with the
ruin he has already wrought by luring my un-
fortunate sister away from her quiet country
home, will also be able to inflict misery upon
me?

“ It cannot be that a
mit such a thing.”

She was on her knees, her thumb still resting
on the head of the nail, and as she uttered the
last word of the sentence, she made a motion to
rise to her feet, and as she did so the nail of her
thumb catching upon the head of the iron frag-
ment seemed to stir it.

It was as much as the girl could do to repreSS
the loud cry of joy which sprung to her lips.

She had discovered the secret sprin , but the
wa to work it was not to press it m, but to
pu i it out. '

Quick was she to try this.

And it worked like a charm; out came the nail,
which was a small iron rod about six inches
long with a nail-head on the end, and then a
section of the wall, about two feet by three,
swung noiselessly inward, disclosing a narrow
passage about two feet square, only extending
downward.

The passage was as dark as Egypt, and a
stream of cold, damp air came pouring up from
it.

It was more like a well-hole than anything
6 se.

The girl peered down, not a ray of light could

be distinguished, and from the damp air which
ascended she came to the conclusion that the

just Providence will per-

The shaft was built of brick and in the side
opposite  the opening through which the girl
was peering, some strong iron spikes were driven
into the wall, one below the other, in regular
succession.

The reason why the spikes were driven into the
wall flashed upon the girl immediately. .

They were to serve as a ladder, so that any
one. sufficiently a '16. and with nerves stron
enough to attem t he feat, might either ascend
to the apartmen or descend from it.

Kate was no coward, and she had rfect con-
fidence that she could accomplish it e task, al-
though she was a little doubtful as to where the
passe e would lead.

“ ever mind!” she exclaimed, after debating
the matter in her mind for a moment. “ I will
risk it. I cannot very well be any worse of!
anywhere than I am here. .

‘Almost any change must Improve the situa-
tlon.”

Into the dark passage, then, she fearlessly
went. ' I

Her woman’s garb was an impediment, but,
she was strong-armed and le—footed.

The task was not so difficu t as it seemed, for

the e was so small that it was possible
for meer to rest and take, partially, the

weight from the hands and feet by pressing
ninst the wall.

is fact Kate discovered before she had

descended a dozen steps, and it cheered her ex-

ngl .

“No danger now but that I will reach the
bottom in safety” the muttered.

Hardly had he words left her li when she
felt the spike, on which she had 1 placed her
right foot give under her weight.
' An exc emotion escaped from her lips, and
she clun for dear life with her hands. .

The a rm was a false one, though, for the

11:0 only yielded a trifle; and. at the same time
t door above, through which she had ained
entrance to this mysterious shaft, cl noise-

lessly, plunging the passage into utter dark-

ness.
The girl immediately comprehended why the
spike had yielded.
It was connected by a wire, probably. with
the secret door, and when sufficient weight was

 

I .
blrought to bear upon it, tl‘oor was forced to
c ose.

“ Perhaps it opened in the same way, too,”
the 1'] murmured, as she resumed her down- .
war passage; “ but I am not sure of that, and It
now I must go on, for I may not be able to re- ‘
trace my steps.”

It was a long and weary climb and more than , 
once the glrl was forced to stop and rest, and. ‘
each tune she peered into the darkness beneath,
anx10us to behold the end.

The air seemed to grow damper and more-
de‘nSIef I t th '

‘ was a 8 ve to of the house, I m .
be near the cellar nowr?” shg soliioquizcd. uSt

The words were hardly spoken when to her' -
ears came the sound of hoarse voices apparently ' ti
raised in anger.

She halted, for she feared that danger was. 5,
near. 1“

r I.

 

 

 

CHAPTER VIII. ‘ ii
A TALE OF MURDER.

Ir was a fortunate circumstance for our hero—
ine that the voices reached her cars at the time
they did, for she was within four feet of the
ground. and her foremost foot rested u on the
last spike, as she s éedily discovered w on she
attempted to find t 1e one beneath it.

It was just at this moment that the coarse,
hoarse Voices fell upon her ears, and lancing
ilownward she saw the glimmer of a [fight he-

OW.

She had evidently descended to the cellar, and > '
now, that she took time to rcflcct upon the mat~ l
ter, she understood the nature of the secret pas- v
sage by means of which she had escaped from-
the prison pen.

. It was a chimney flue leading from a fire-place
in the cellar and some inventive genius had util-
Ized it so as to open a means of communication
With the secret chamber which was evidently at
the very top of the house, and the idea too came
into the mind of the irl that the secret passage
was not known to e people who were now in
possessmn of the mansion, for there were no signs.
hat the passage had been recently used. ,

The men in the cellar were so near that the
girl could )lainly hear every word that passed
between t em, and she was almost afraid to.
breathe lest it should lead to her discovery.

There were two of them only, and they had.
evidently just descended into the underground
apartment.

“ Look uhere, Four Kings, I don’t exactly git,
the rights of this thing through my hair,” said
one of the men.

“ Stingy Bili,tyou never did have any brains,”
responded the 0 er, in contempt. ,

As the reader will perceive the men were the»
same two ruflians who had captured the girl, but.
she was not aware of this fact, for the assault
had been Committed so admitly that she had not
been afforded a chance to identify either of they

 

 

men.

“ Oh, well,_ l’ve got enough to swear by, I
reckon,” rejomed the other, placidly. “It’s sich
smart cracks as you w’ot are allers gittin into,  .
masses. I knowcnough to get along, but must gl‘ 3.."
say this here busmess is too much for me. Of , " i; 3"
course, I s’pose the ca tain knows w’ot he’s up‘ ‘ 
to but I’m blessed if do.” i ' f i". ’

kate listened intently, for she perceived there i; .Y
was a chance that she might pick up some valu- ' ‘
able information.

The reference to the captain impressed her
particularly, for she had an idea that the ea in
was the man who had called himself Henryelgzp-

n.
“Don’t on make any mistake about that ”‘ '
observed the other. “ The captain warn’t hunt "I
yesterday, and you can bet all the money you i

l

 

' 

m
K

I
\

-“v .v

can get your books on that he knows the time of 2
day as well as an man oing.”

“‘But see here, our ings. It ’ ars to me
as If. the boss was takin’ a deal 0 trouble ton
nuthing. W’ot’s the use of all this bother ’bout
the stun—why not get rid of it in the usual

way? . .

' ‘ Stingy Bill 'ou’ve otathingthat lookalike
a head on your’shoulderss, but when it comes to
doing any thinking,‘it ain’t of much more use to .
you than a big pimple. ,
f “ T3??? money [this business, and don’t you '

or e .

‘FWeli, I’m blamed if I kin see it!” responded

Sting-y Bill. .
u can put it to you in a minute,” said Fem:
Kings, ‘ Do you ever read the newspapers!" .4.
thrnoé I can’t say u how I do, as a general,” ' ‘i'
11%. ‘ ’-
“ hen I suppose you don’t know that there is I ‘
a reward oflered for the recove of the ’ '. ' 
31%): isflthegee d um ry , my? , 
es— ve undred o ' and the . i i:
after thinking the matter over, came wiggtgg: I [q
clusion that he was just as good a man to collar" * -
that little five hundred as could be found' but?- '
the trouble was to deliver the body up so he to "
get the reward without betraying how the mam "

came to his death. _
“I see—I see! I’ve got brains enough to un» v_
" Wonderful x" the other retorted. “ Well, the "

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captain put on his thinking-cap, and at last hit
on a plan.

“ You know, it wasn’t in the programme for
this old dulfer to be put out of the way at all.
His death was an accident.

" lie was lured away and then drugged so we
could get at the five thousand dollars that he
very foolishly carried around with him, instead
of putting it in a safe place as soon as possible
afer he received it. _

“Through some mistake the dose was made
too strong, and it killed the man.

“ The captain reckoned that he must have
been troubled with heamdisease or somethingof
that kind or else it wouldn‘t have laid him out,
for .we hadn’t any idea of doing it, as there
wasn’t the least bit of use to kill the old fellow,
seeing that we could easily get at his boodlo with-
out taking much risk.

“But I reckon his time had come and so he
made a die of it. His folks took the alarm when
he was discovered to be missing, and, as 1 said,
offered five hundred for any information of him
if living, or the same amount for the recovery of
his body if he was dead.”

“ And the captain thinks he would like to get
his rip on the money,” Stingy Bill remarked.

“ ow you are shouting, Bill,” his companion
replied, “ and why shouldn‘t he go in for the
stamps? The old man’s body is of no use to us,
and of course we have to go to the. trouble of
getting rid of it. Now the captain’s idea _is, in-
stead of committing the stifl to the watcr 1n the
usual way, to take it in a box to some lonely
spot and then have one of the gang to acm‘rlcn t-
ally run across it so as to claim the reward offer-
ed for the discowry of the bod y."

“Ain’t it risky?” asked the other, in a doubt-
{ul sort of way, “ S‘pose the police take it into
their heads that the man who discovers the body
had something to do with the old cove‘s death?"

“ Don’t you worry ’bout that. I can just tell
you that what the captain don’t know ain’t
worth knowing. He’s as full of tricks as a
monke .

“ J ackey Candorson, J ackey, the Milkman, you
know, is the party who is to discover the body.
His record is just as square as can be; the police
never had reason to put their flippers on him

e .

“ That’s the captain’s little game, you see.
Jockey is a. mighty useful man in spying out
cribs worth cracking, and the Cap has always
mn’paretul not to have him mixed up in any

0

“ I See now, and I’ve often wondered wh
J ackey never took a hand when there was wor
to be done.”

“That was so the police should not be able to
get onto him. If he once fell under suspicion of
being crooked, his peculiar usefulness would be
destroyed. Now this little trick is Just assimple
as can be. t

J ackey lives on the outskirts of the city, near
his cow-stable, and it is quite a lonely spot, par-
ticularly after nightfall, for it is beyond the gas-
li ht region, and there’s no travel at all, to speak
0 1 after nine o’clock.”

‘That’s just the spot for such a job as this.” '

“Exactly. Well, five or six hundred yards
beyond J ackey’s place there’s an old barn that
he has been dickenng to buy for five or six
months. .

“ It hasn’t been used for a year or so, and has
been ti htly locked all the time.

“Jacie came to terms with the owner, and
bought e property this afternoon, and of
course, as is on y natural under the circum-
stances, he with a couple of his boys, will go to
examine t e pro rty tomorrow, and in the
barn they will fin the body, do you see?”

“It’s Jest fixed splendid, ain’t it?” cried the
other, in a burst of admiration.

. “ Oh, I tell ou‘, the captain’s tahead on his
Illouiders. 0 course, every will Wonder
how the old man ot into the , but in his
pockets Will be ound which will fit the lock
of the cor, and as there isn’t the least si
of Vlolence on his pawn, the thing will be ti:
biggest mystery “139 anybody has known for a
lon time.” .

“ ut how ’bout getting the Itifl to the horn?”

“ That will be the only diflcult and risky rt
of the job, but the captain has arr-Aged Raw

Inicel that it’s a hundred to one again failure.”

“ here’s a covered express wagon in the stable
a common-looking concern with the roan mare
hitched to it. That box yonder Will just about
hold the body.

“ We’ll put it in the box, carry it by the under-
ground to the stable undath it in the

then rive to the barn. e can cover
an hour easily enou h.”

“ I see, and if there isn’t any y ’round, we
h‘ist the thing into the barn.”

“Justooand bring the box hack, nonstocov-
or up the trail.”

“ don’t see why it won’t work.”

“ It will, union some unlucky accident occurs.
But come, we must 1; to work. Give mes. hand
toputthebodyin ebox, andthenwe’ll cover
it over with the cloth."

Kn heardthemen shuflingaboutthe cellar
were carrying a heavy burden.
afteraminuteorsothoman who bore the

 

“ Now, Bill, give me the hammer and nails for
it will be as well to tack the cover down, for fear
of accidents.”

“ Blame me if I didn’t forget the hammer!”

the other exclaimed. “ Here are the nails, ham-
mer ’em in with the butt of my revolver.”

“ Oh, no; do you want to spoil the tool? I‘ll
get the hammer and you take a look in the street
so as to see if the coast is clear.”

“ All right.”

Kate listened until the footsteps of the two ras-
cals died away in the distance, and then she de-
scended from her perch in the secret passage and
emerged from the fire—place into the cellar.

A means of escape from her present dangerous
position had flashed upon her mind.

 

CHAPTER IX.
THE ESCAPE.

THE girl had been thinkin deeply while lis-
tening to the conversation of t e strangers.

That she was in the secret haunt of a desperate
and determined band of outlaws was quite evi-
dent, and she suspected that the man whom the
two referred to in conversation as the “ captain ”
and who was clearly the master-. irit of the
criminal league, was no other than t e man who
had lured her sister away and who called himself
Henry Tappan.

And as this became evident to her-the darkest
thoughts filled her mind.

She had believed that the account he had iv-
en her in regard to her sister’s fate was true, “it
now she had learned what a consummate scoun-
drel he was she wavered.

The story might be all a lie; her sister might
be still alive. and—horrible thought !—in the pow-
er of this vile rnfiian.

At all hazards she must make her escape and
seek the counsel of the veteran detective.

Possessed of the clews which she would now
be able to give him, perhaps he would be able to
guess at the identity of the captain of this mur-
derous band.

It was a bold idea that had entered the mind
of the girl.

She realized that it would be an almost impos-
sible task to escape from the cellar Without en-
countering some member of the outlaw band
who would most certainly give an alarm that
Would lead to her recapture.

The scheme she had conceived was to take the
place of the murdered man in the box and per
{)nit the ruflians to transport her to the old

arn.

Then her idea was to rise 11 before them the
moment the box was opene< , enveloped in the
cloth, trusting to inspire them with a sudden
fright and so make them take to their heels in
the belief that the ghost of the dead man had
come.

Circumstances favored the bold girl.

The rufllans had left a lantern behind them, so
Kate had ample 1i ht to see what she was about,
and, what was stil more lucky, the man who
had proposed to hammer the nails with the butt
of h s revolver had left the wen. u on the rude
table where he had placed it for t e accommoda-
tion of his partner.

It seemed like inviting discovery to possess
herself of the weapon but the girl could not resist
the temptation.

It was a seven-shooter, a small, but serviceable
weapon.

The pistol secured,\ she removed the dark cloth
which the ruflians had flung over the remains of
the murdered man, exposinglto view the corpse
of an elderly gentleman; t e body was neatly
dressed, and from the ap rance was evidently
that of a respectable, we l-to-do citizen.

The girl was naturally stro and so she man-
aged to remove the body from e box and con-
cealed it in a dark recess under the cellar stairs.

Then she took its place, cOVering herself up
with the cloth, endeavoring to mine as near]
ungaible the exact position in which the body
h been ficed.

Hardly d she comfortably bestowed herself
when the footsteps of the returning rufilans fell
upon her ears.

Both of them were returning. one coming down
the cellar stairs, the other from the extreme end
of the cellar, where a secret underground pas-
:Jge led to the stable. They came up to the

x.

The cowar was placed upon it and a con la of
nails lightly driven in, held it in its place.p

“ We mustn’t nail it on too strongly, you
know,” Four Kings observed, “ for when we get
to the burn the cover must be taken of! so we
can get the stiff out. The box comes back
with us, for if we were to leave it there, it would
be sure to excite suspicion.

“ Now then, pick up your end and come on,”
continued the er.

“All right: but I say what did you do with
my revolver?” asked Stingy Bill, who had looked
on the table for his weapon and found it not.

“ I don’t know anything about your revolver,”

respondedtheother.
' Didn’t ywtakeitoflthe table?”
at we.” > ’
'“Iladitthere, on owforf outbusein
hammeflngthenafiinkgehhxj’y '
_ ,7 l i .

l
\.

.without any trouble, but the beast was on old” I '

 

fl

“ Yes. I know you offered me the weapon, but
I didn’t take it.”

‘* The blazes you didn’t!” growled Stingy Bill,
in amazement.

“ Nary time.”

f“ Well, if you didn’t take it, what did become
0 it?’

“ How on earth should I know f”

“ I’ll sw’ar I laid it on the table!" exclaimed
the rplexed ruflian.

“ If you did it would be there, unless the stiff
collared it while we Were absent,” replied the
other, with a grim attempt at a joke. 5

“ Blame me if this here don’t bother me!”

“ Oh, you took it up in the stable with you,
and you 11 find it there.” - ,

“ Mebbe so,” the other responded, although in '3
his own mind he felt certain that he had left the 9,",
weapon on the table, but it was poss1ble that he . ,
was mistaken. - in

The two lifted the box and carried it through v 'r 1—.
the secret passageway into the cellar of the sta—~
ble and then ascened to where the horse and the
covered express-wagon stood. ' ‘

They placed the burden in the wagon and then _
while Four Kings mounted to the seat and rock '7.’ - -
up the reins, the other opened the stable doors.

A

v ,
i" .

.4.

 

Kate within her hidj ng-place was able to over- 
hear all that passed. $39 .f'
“ All serene, not a soul about,” answered Stin‘ ‘2 ‘2 "7
gy Bill. '  1

 
    
   
  

, .
" The captain has looked out for that,” Four “3'
Kin s replied, as he drove out of the building. I
Stingy Bill closed the stable doors after the ”
wagon passed through and hastened on ahead to '
open the gate. ,,
\Vhen the wagon got into the road it halted ‘
until Bill closed the gate and mountedtotheseut '-.,
besude Four Kings. ‘ :
“ Go ahead!” said Bill. after he was fairly in . Ir
:ition. and Four Kings immediately gave the /
lilies a. slap on the horse’s back and away they
went. - ‘
ankil for the girl, cramped within the nar~ ‘
row con nes of the box, the ruflians had placed;  j“.
the box in the wagon right side up, and so she- «~27
was far more comfortable than she would hav '5‘“,
been if they had reversed it. - , 

Hardly a word passed between the pair during -'
the trip, which occupied about half an hour.

The time seemed terribly long though to  ,
imprisoned girl and she thought the journey , r. 
would never end. _ ‘ . .

At last, however, the wagon stopped, the (lee- K"
tination being reached. , '

“ We’ve had a regular streak of luck to-night,”i ,
Four Kings remarked as he jum out of the: 3‘
vehicle. “ We haven‘t- met a son . Now if we i if, '
can get the stiff into the barn and get off with— ' 
(Iréitnbeing noticed by any one we shall be all 0. \ 3C

“ Let’s hurry then for I reckon this is the pull _, " "
jest now I” Stingy Bill declared. » r  - f

The barn was a hundred feet or sofromthe' .
road, and in quite a lonely situation, the nearest " 
house being fully three hundred yards away' .3. 
and as there wasn’t any li hts visib o it seemed  ,,
probable that the inmates ad retired to rest. .  < 'v"

The night was dark, no moon shining, although   3
the heavens were liberal] Spangled with count-W‘s. wig
less stars, and as the con ederates had driventhe , *7;

 

   
 
     

 

 
  
   
  

     
  
    
  
  
    
  
   

I

wagon around to the rear of the barn there did. .3
not seem to be much danger of their being  -.

covered. , ,h, "
Four ' unlocked the barn door and 1713'
two carri the box into the building. Thong?»

being rovided with a dark lantern, and a hat-:52”. 2
chet, ur Kings proceeded to pry, open the, lid' if ‘ 
of the box. ‘ v 
But just as he loosened one end of the lid, an},
unforeseen event took place. a j ' , 1,.
Neither one of the two had taken may f
tion to fasten the horse. thinking she stand

and sagacious animal and did not at all relish}.
this ni ht work, and so, anxious to get homo-“to ,-
her sta le, when she discovered thatthehamm “ ‘
who had h in charge had  she,
turned quie y about and set 08 for ,. ‘

“ Blazes! there goes the horse!” cried Fonz
King‘s; dropping his tool ‘ 

“ e ought to have fastened the cursed bend ,
—‘tain’t the bust time the roan mare hastfledit‘l? ,
on; but we can catch her easin enough. for she: 7;. t ‘

  
    
   
   
 

 
  

t,
w
1%;

alien along on a little_ jog-trot, e other 1;;
repli , and then the two. in hot haste, ran out ';. 
of the barn and gave chase. to the horse. ‘ fr.
It really no if .Heaven itself washking - ' f,
thexpart of the caphvo girl.  
to, who had overheard every word of the f.

convention, wuquick to improve the oppor- j ' < .'

Thtg‘box cover being loosened at one end was  _
no her eacape,andsoonshewasat g,
liberty.

' tothedoor shecouldeasil disflno "
m to the stillness of the nIght the _
soundoftheretreatirghorseandtherumbh of z

the wagon-wheels, as well as the id footstcpl 5 ., _.
of the men in purmit. up 

.

Shooul used amomentonthethruhold,‘l
and thenytulxj-‘nodandfledintheoppodtedh'eo- ;
tionufastuuhecouldmyetatthoumo:
timetakingw'ethathcrfooutepsdiouldnotbo

Downthemodatew hundred yards  

r

 

..s
\.

 

8

 

. road crossed the first at right angles, and into
this she turned. Five minutes more and she
came to another cross~road.

This also she took, turning to the left this time
her idea being to baffle pursuit, if any should be
given, although it was not likely that the ruf~

ans, upon returning to the barn and discover-
ing that the body had disappeared, would be apt
to think it had run away and set out in chase.

Ten minutes of active exertion, and then Kate

. relaxed into a walk.
' She felt she was safe.

 

 CHAPTER X.
IN THE NIGHT.

THERE was not a sound stirring save the usual
. . , noises of the night which prevail in the neigh-
 ., borhood of a big citly—in the suburban districts.
" " " The distant cry 0 a watch-dog rose on the air
answered almost immediately by the longdrawn
howls of a dozen other curs, yelping they knew
not at what.
 x Then the distant whistle of a locomotive,
 “ iercing the night’s dull ear,” resounded.
.« i e shrill cry of the tree-toads, the crickets
 ‘ and the other little insects that hold high carni-
"  ya] when the dark mantle of night falls upon the
" earth, rose clear and full.
 0n went the girl with sturdy step through the
its; 1 - darkness, her heart full of gladness that she had
'i so fortunately escaped the trap which had been
i; set so cunningly for her.
‘ ’ There was not the least doubt in her mind in
regard to Mr. Henry Tappan now.
he man was a thorough-paced scoundrclvno
i doubt at all that he was the ca tain of a band of
desperate law‘breakers, band together to defy
the power of justice.
 And if her sister, the idolized Louise, had per-
:TE: ,lshed, as this arch-villain had described, it was
' . through the kindness of a merciful Heaven who
41' .t \‘ had removed her to a better world, so that she
‘ 3 might not endure the pangs that certainly would

.

I.“ ,u

.. K
,0;
11-1.

 . have racked her soul when she discovered the
 , truth in regard to the man to whose care she had
 committed all her young life.
is? , “I will avegge her—I will fearfullv aven e
 ‘ herg’ Kate cri as she walked along the lone y
'  roe .
 Busy. as she was in thought her senses were
i‘... keenly on the alert.
 -. She had not the all htest idea as to where she
,. was going. That s e was in the suburbs of
Brooklyn was probable, although it was possible
that during the temporary insensibility produc-
ed by the use of the drug upon her at the time of
the assault, she might have been transported to
 I the upper part of New York and that she was
.7" . now in the Westchester district, as the annexed
1., rtion of the great metropolis, north of the
5?” '~ ' rleni River is termed.

That she was in the neighborhood of some big
 city was apparent, although the country she was
, now traversing was as lonely as though it were
’  a bun lred miles from a pulous town.

-  But Kate had a stout eart and went on with-
out the least fear.

"T en, too, she was amply armed against dan-

ger, for she had not relin uished the revolver
3 ,which she had so fortunate y obtained.
, She was used to fire-arms and knew how to
" . handle such a weapon, and having tried its
._ workings, found it was in excellent order.
M Pursuit being distanced, although she did not
3‘"  think there was much danger that an attempt

2 in that direction would be made, all s e had to
do now was to find out where she was and then
turn her steps toward home.
, For all she knew she might be walking away
"i - , from the city instead of toward it.

A man came shufflin along the road.
‘ ~ A rather undersizer , thick-set fellow, with a
 somewhat disreputable look.
~ Kate’s eyes had by this time become accus-
. tamed tothe gloom, so she had no difficulty in

ascertaining the character of the new-comer.
and the impression he roduced was so unfavor-
able that most certain y if circumstances had
:- ‘ n different from what they were she would
at,” . never havo thought of accosting him for the pur-
:1]! 7 poeeof gainin information.
 , But it was This
$7,. _ man or none.
.  Way farers seemed to be few and far betwoen,

 

  

I

"7‘

3/

    
    
  
   
 

 

 

obson’s choice this time.

. and the 'rl felt that it would not do for her to
" - i go blind on in the dark for, although she was
, . not cer in regard to t e exact time, yet she

. felt sure it was quite late and she knew she could
w . ‘ not go wandering in this uncertain way all

ni ht.
 V So, despite the repugnance that the man in-
~  ‘ -' spired, she determined to address him.
".3; She took the precaution though to cock the re-
.5: ' volver which she carried concealed in the folds
 .' of thecloth.

We have ngglected to mention that upon tak-
ing her hurri d ure from the barn, she had
’carried off the clot which had served todieguise

_ g . her figure from the eyes of the rufiians.

i  The cloth, which was a good-sized piece of
 coarse dark stuff, she had wound around her

 head like a shawl, for she could not very well

 make her way through the open country bare-

 

l

Kate

 

'C‘ .4 4-
IJCO b o,

1
And now, thanks to its folds, she was able to 

prepare the pistol for inuncdiulo use, without
exposing,r the fact that she had :1 Weapon.
“ Will you have the kindness to tell me if this

road will lead me to Brooklyn?” she said, as the !

inzin approached.

The man halted, Kate followed his example,
and lie peered into her face in an insolentsort of
way.

“ W'ell no; it won‘t. You’re on the wrong
track. You’re howling now for Canarsie; but
{gou kin git a train thar, w’ot will take you to

rooklyn. It’s only a mile or so.”

“ Keep strai ht on?"

“ Oh, yes. ollow your nose, and you can’t
miss it.”

“Thank you,” and Kate made a movement to
go on, but the man got right in her wa .

“ Say, you ain’t ot no politeness! iii’t you
going to pay a filer something? You might
give me two or three kisses, anyway.”

“ Out of my path, you scamp!” cried the an-
gry girl, and she thrust the revolver under his
nose.

The man sta ered back demoralized: and it
was lucky for 1m that he did so, for in her ex-
citement Kate’s finger bore heavily on the trig-
ger, and the pistol was discharged.

Over on his back went the rascal with a bowl
of terror. He thought he was shot, although
the bullet did not come within a yard of him.

Kate felt sure she had not injured the man,
and so she hastened on her way.

It did not take her many minutes to walk the
mile. No one molested her and at Canarsie she
took a train which carried her to Brooklyn; and
in due time she arrived safely at her boarding-
house in New York, tired out but otherwise none
the worse for her strange adventure.

Our heroine boarded on Fourth avenue, near
Twenty-third street, in one of the old-fashioned
three-story brick houses so common in that 10-
cality.

Her room was a small, comfortable apartment
on the second floor, and the window in it looked
out on the rear yard.

There was a back piazza attached to the house
and on the roof of the piazza the girl kept quite
a collection of flowers in pots.

She had boarded there ever since she had been
cast u on her own resources and had come to be
refit? ed as one of the family.

ing provided with a latch-key she had no
difficult in entering the house and makin her
way to er apartment, although all the ights
were out and every y ap rently, in bed.

She knew it was late, or s e noticed that the
streets through which she had passed in coming
home were a most deserted, but she had not been
able to ascertain the hour, for she did not notice
any clocks while en route.

pon lighting her lamp though, after aining
access to her apartment, she was annoy to dis-
cover that it was nearly half—past one by the lit-
tle clock which ticked upon her mantle-piece.

“Why, I hadn’t the least idea it was any-
where near as late as that!” she exclaimed.

Despite the strange adventures through which
she had passed, she did not feel fatigued,.the ex-
citement seemed to have given her unusual
stren th.

An now that she was safely at home she sat
down to reflect.

After a ear of weary work and disappoint-
ment she fe t that at last she was on the thres-
hold of success. ' ~

As she had feared, the man, who, with his wily
ways and specious tongue, had enticed her sister
away was a villain of the dee t dye.

Her persistent search and Vigorous attempts to
discover his whereabouts had alarmed him and
he had concluded that such a tireless sleuth-
hound must be made to give up the chase, and
so hadxschemed to et her into is power.

The attem t b not only failed but it had
given her a c ew upon which she might work.

Then too, she bad faith that some good results
would be obtained from her meeting with the
two young bloods, the dudes, whom she had en-
countered on the bridge.

She believed that they were acquainted with
the arch villain, although not posted as to his
real character, for it was evident he was mov-
ing in ood societ , and so obtained a knowledge
of the irds wort plundering, for from what s 6
had overheard, when concealed in the cellar, it
was evident the betrayer of her innocent sister
was the captain of as desperate a band of men as
had ever been known. '

From the dudes she hoped to gain information
which would enable her to identify the man she
sought.

The threads of the mystery were in her hands
and although, no doubt, it would be a diflicult
task for her, unassisted, to accom lish much, yet
now that she had the promised d of the most
renowned thief-taker in the country, the famous
Joe Phenix, she felt sure that the moment the
information was made known to him he would
be able to hit of! the right trail, and in time re-
ven her wrongs in the most ample manner.

9 girl meditated over the matter until the
hands on the clock pointed to the hour of two,
and then, happenin to hotice how time was fly-
ing, slag arose, dlsnfbed, put out thelightand re-

,p.»,
,H‘

the Decoy Detective.

 

 

A Ml now at. lust llrlllii‘i‘ :issci'icd ll(‘l‘ rights and
\\ hm“ iz'u .Illl'i'ii‘S luulv nus "ust :islwp,

‘. thaws lultz'; s‘w :9 jlt: w ', n- .\ not, lilll it did not
[ SH‘JH to l‘i'l' us ii‘ Hill} i no law: :y closed her eyes,
when she was suddenly awakened.

Some one outside on the roof of the piazza had
knocka over one of the flower-pots and it had
{ rolled off the roof crashing into the yard be10W.

The moment she awoke she sat up in bed and
grasped the revolver which she had taken the
precaution to place under her pillow.

 

CHAPTER XI.
THE SPIDER CAPTAIN.

As the ruflians had anticipated the overtaking
of the horse was not a difficult matter.

The animal had not the slightest intention of
running away.

He was far too well trained and entirely too
lazytodo anything of the kind. He was merely
hastening along, homeward bound, at his usual
jog-trot.

And when he heard the men running after him
-—they did not dare to shout to the beast for fear
of calling the attention of any one who might be
in the neighborhood to their movements—the
animal kept on just the same, neither increasing
his speed or relaxing it, so they were forced to
chase him some hundreds of yards before they
succeeded in capturing him.

Stin Bill was proceedin to swear at the
brute or the trouble he ha caused, but Four
Kings, who was by far the shrewder of the two,
stopged him.

‘ h, come, shut u l” he said. “ It won’t do
any good to curse t e horse. He don’t know
guy better, and it serVes us right for not tying

1m.
“ I’d like to kick the stuffin’ out of him,
though 2” Stingy Bill cried, viciously, as the two
retraced their steps to the barn.

This time they were careful to tie the beast so
that he could not repeat the trick if he felt dis-
posed to be ugly.

Bfl‘lMighty nasty trick, I tell you,” said Stingy

i .
to come along and noticed the muss they might
be curious as to what we was a-doing in this
neighborhood, ’cos they would have spotted us
for strangers instanter.” . ..

“It would have been ugly; you can bet high
on that,” Four Kings remarked; “but luck is
With us tonight, for nary a soul. has been
slang. But let’s hurry up and get rough the

o . «

Then the two rte-entered the harm,

The girl had been careful to replace the lid of
the box so that eve thing looked exactly as it
was when they had eft. . ,

So it was without the slightest su icion of
the discovery that awaited them the the two
jerked off the lid of the box and peered into the
empty receptacle.

“ Blazesl’ exclaimed Four Kings.

“ Durn me for a sucker!” cried the other.

And then the two stared at each. other for a
moment in silent wonder. .p '

They were stupefled by this unexpected dis-
cOVer . u, .

“ at in thunder does this mean?” Four
Kin exclaimed at last. .

“ ell, I’ll never tell on, as they say in Ken-
tuck ,” replied Stin gill. . - ‘

“ an the old man ave come tolife and walk—
ed ofl? while we were after the horse?” was the
natural inqui of the other. H

“ Durn me i it don’t look like it.”

“ Oh, but the idea is ridiculous; the man has
been dead for three days, and he -' was cold and
stiff when we put him in the box.”

“That’s so—atifl as a red he ' _ .”

But in ite of these emphatic declarations the
two glare? about them as though they expected
to see the old man lurking in some dark corner
of the barn. .

“I say, Four Kings, he was in th box safe
enou h, wasn’t he?” Stingy Bill-o . ed, du-
bious y, as though he was not so certain about
the matter as he pretended. g: ' .

“ Of course! Didn’t we put himin ourselves?
There couldn’t be any mistake about that.”

“ Yes, it seems to me as if we certain] put
him in; but I say, suppose we made a in?

about the matter?” ,,

“Mistake how?” .'l . a .

“ We might have thought we put him in and
didn’t.” ,,. -

“ Oh, I am sure we put him. in: besides, lift
the box,” and Four Kings toe]: hold of an end
and tilted the case on one sidem, “ Can‘t on see
that it isn’t near as heavy as it was w en we
brought it in? And where’st cloth, too? I’ll
swear that the cloth was in ‘ box, whether
the body was or not.” . . < a ,

Stingy Bill tried the weight of the box, and
being on a contrary turn of mind, took: it. into
his head‘that it was almost as heavy as it was
when they carried it into the barn.

“I don t see that there is any difference in the
wei ht,” he remarked.  . a '

“edhe btlhazes you11 don’ttlzlgried Four Kings, en-

at e stupi ‘ty 0 ' com nion.
mg £1; time.” p. I

 

“ If any country chumps had happened-

stake '

,all I’ve got to say is that I #0111an

~ aw ““if. of

 

 

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eaoe testes:-  -

   

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ivc much for our udgment,” retorted the
Ether. “ To myythinkjing, there’s a big difler-

0e.” , ’

“ Mebbe there is, but I don't see it.”

“One thing is sure; the'stltf ain’t here now,
whether he was or not.”

“ There ain’t any doubt ’bout that.”

“ And the quicker we get back to the captain
and let him set his thinking machine to work on
this puzzle, the better.”

Stingy Bill shook his head in a doubtful sort of
wa .

“yHadn’t we better keep it dark?” he asked.
“ The captain is a regular tornado when he gets
going, and I reckon he’ll be mad enufif to cut as
u , body and boots, when he comes to know the
rights of the busincsa.”

“ The captain is a good, square man, though,
if you don’t try to play any games on him, but
if you do, then you had better keep your eyes
peeled,” Four Kings replied, slowly and With an
air of great deliberation.

“ Now I ain’t a-going to get the captain arter
me if I know myself, and I think I do. I don’t
see as we have done anything wrong and I’m
going to re wit the. thing just as it is.’

“He’ll blow the hull top of our heads off,”

tincy Bill grumbled.

“ If you‘re skecred and think you’re going to
get in over vou‘ head, you had better swim
out,” Four 'ngs Suggested. “ But one thi I
can tell you, and that is, you’ll have to m 9
good time and put considerable ground between
yourself and this ’ero section for to get out of
the captain’s reach.

“ He’s got a mighty long pair of arms when
he’s reaching for a man that he’s got a grudge
against." .

“ Oh, I was only talking-for the sake of hear-
ing myself talk,” replied Bill, evidently alarmed
by Four King’s ominous words.

“ I ain’t afeard but what the captain will do
as dusticc.”
bo‘ I’let’s travel then; lend a hand with the

x.

The two carried the box to the wagon then
got into it and drove to the house from w ence
they had come at the best speed of which the
horse was capable.

Leaving the vehicle and horse in the stable
they hurried into the house, using the secret
passage leading into the cellar.

It id not take them long to discover the
body of the old man and of course, when they
found it, they immediately understood what had
ha pened.

8r, at least, Four Kings made a shrewd guem
at the myst ry, for to solve any such puzzle
was altogethu' too much for Stingy Bills dun
brains.

. “ I see how the trick was worked I” Four
Kings exclaimed. “\Vhilo we went for the
tools some onc’ who was hiding here in the cellar,
took the bodv out of the box and got into it,
Then while wé were chasing the horse, he slipped
out of the hard.”

‘11} new light suddenly broke upon Stmgy

“ You’re right, Four Kings, jest as sure as you
are standing in sole-leather!” he exclaimed.
“ And that is ;cst where my revolver went.
The fellow lit 0( it, ’cos I’m certain I left it here
when we went into the stable.”

“I reckonrd you was a little off your base,
Bill,” Four Kings observed, “ but I see now that
you were right about it.”

“ W’ot’s to he done?”

“ Notify the captain at once.”

Then Four Kings went to the wall just at the
foot of the cel.arustairs and whistled through a
speaking-tube 'hich was there.

There was a moment’s wait and then a sharp,
imperative voice asked:

“ What is it?"

"That’s the ca ' l himself.” Bill remarked.

' “ Yes and it’s lucky he’s to the fore.”

Then our Kings answered through the pipe:

“an wro down here. Can’t you
come down and look nto it?"

:: I‘W'ho’k down thing?”

our in an tingy Bin,"

“ All rightdell  down in a minute.”

“‘ The captain W111 to the bottom of the
thin if any man can. Eour Kings remarked,
con dently, to his compamon. I .

And then the two sat down on the stairs side
by side- to wait for the master-spirit of the

g“Rheut ten minutes elapsed and then they
heard the key g: ate as it turned in the lock of
the door above. .
They row. to tl.:-ir foot, and a tall, well-built,
man, with a verr pale face and a short black
beard which Ci) 'cred the lower part of his

‘ countenance alin. st to the eyes, came down the

fie was rather y oorly dressed in a dark, rough
suit and wore a soft slouch hat pulled down ovor
his forehead, almost to the vmy large, bushy,
bristling eyebrows which overshadowed- his
piercing black eyes.

Take him for all in all, the Spider Ca )tain
for so the ca item of the band was tcrinei , had
an appearan e sovremarkahlo that no one who
had ever had the opportunity to get agood look
at him would ever be apt to forget his strange

 

looks, though years and years intervened be-
tween the first view and the second.

The lantern upon the floor of the cellar dimly
illuminated the scene.

“ Well, boys, what’s broke?” asked the out-
law leader, in a shrill, sharp voice, fully as pe-
culiar as his appearance.

Four Kings took it upon himself to explain
what had occurred, whic he did at length, in-
terrupted now and then by a sharp, short ues-
tion from his chief, and soon the Spider ap-
tain was in possession of all the facts.

 

CHAPTER XII.
A MURDEROUS DETERMINATION.

HE was puzzled to understand the strange af-
fair, and said as much as Four Kings finished
his recital.

“I don’t doubt that you have got the thing
straight enough,” he added “ There isn’t any
doubt in my mind that on have hit the truth
and the job was work just as you think, but
what gets me is as to the party that did the
trick.

“Who on earth could have been hiding in the
cellar?”

“ Mebbe it was a detective,” suggested Stingy
Bill, with a nervous glance around as though he
expected to see a police spy spring out of some
dark corner. -

“ If it was, the quicker we get out of this the
better,” the ca tain replied. “But I don’t see
how any sleut -hound could manage to pene-
trate into the place. '

“ Was everything locked and all right when
you entered?”

Both answered in the aflirmative.

“ Well, boys, it’s a conundrum, and as I’m
pretty good at that sort of thing I’ll try to
smell it out, and in the mean time, as I on’t
want to be surprised and taken here like a rat
in a trap, as there’s great danger of, if it was a
detective who layed it on you so nicely, you,
Four Kin ., ta e a scout out by the front 0 the
place, an Stingy Bill, put yourself on post in
the rear, and if anything suspicious occurs let
me know immediately.

" If it was a detective who got awa , and the
game is tonab us here, it will not be ikely that
the cops will come in force strong enough to
entirely surround the place, so if we are on our
guard we will be able to get out.”

Both of the rufilana protested that they
would be as watchful as foxes, and then de-

par .
After they were gone the captain picked up
the lantern and proceeded to examine the ce -

lar.

“The first thing is to find out where the fel-
low hid himself, and that bothers me, for there
don’t hardly seem to be room enough here any-
where for a good-sized cat to stow himself away
without being discovered,” he remarked, as he
stood in the center of the apartment and glanced
around him.

“If some infernal polico s y has got on the
Scent it will be extremely ,u ortunate,” he con-
tinued, “for if the police coino down on us it
may lead to the discove of the secret cage and
the pretty bird that'I ave insnared therein
although it is not robable that the secret would
be discovered un ess some one has a clew to it,
and it does not seem possible that such a thing
could be.

“Not a single one of the band suspects that
the room exists, so cunningly is it hidden, and
I should not have suspected it m self if I hadn’t
stumbled, just by accident, on e passage that
leads to it.

“ No, no, I do not think there is muCh danger
of that cubby-hole being discovered until the
old house is torn down.

“Bi Jove!” the exclamation came rapidly
from is lips. .

His eyes had just fallen on the old fire-place
at the extremity of the cellar.

“ There‘s a fine place there: I remember now,
I noticed it when I first examined the, cellar;
there’s aflue to the chimney, of course, and if
it is like the majority of the old-fashioned
houses, it is plenty big enough to shelter a
man. i

“There’s where the spy found concealment,
beyond the shadow of a doubt.”

he captain hastened to examine the chimney, '

flashing he lantern into the dark cavity.

“ Aha! there are the footprints. sure enough.”
he exclaimed, as he beheld the plainly visible
marks in the thick dust which had collected «on
the hearth.

And then another cry of amazement broke
from his lips. .

He had made a most unex cted discovery.

The footprints were not t ose of a man, but
the dainty imprint of a woman’s foot.

“ What does this mean i” he cried, for the dis-
covery made the mystery deeper.

Then he directed the rays of the lantern up the
chimney.

As he had expected, there was but a single
big fine, and it afforded ample room for a hu-
man to ascend.

Then his eyes fell upon the spikes drivenin the

wall.
“ Hallo,rhal_lo!” hepcried; “ that looks as if those

\

l
' had been driven in there so as to make the as-
cent of the chimney an easy matter.

“This old shell is a regular house of secrets,
for I thought I had explored it pretty thorough-
l‘yl, yet I hadn’t the least suspicion of this wrin-

e

“ The dust has been rubbed off the spikes, too,”
he continued, as he went on in his examination,
“ and that shows that seine one has made use of
them lately.

and see whither it leads.”

The purpose was immediater executed.

Thanks to the spikes the Spider Captain found
it an easy matter to ascend the chimney.

Uphe went, examining the wall carefully as
he progressed, for he ex -ted to find a secret
door somewhere, until e came to the spike
which communicated with the machinery of the
invisible door.

And the moment he put his weight on the spike
the door into the secret apartment, which was
just on a level with his head, opened.

A cry of rage broke from the lips of the outlaw
leader. as he ooked into the secret chamber, so
carefully hidden awa ' in the midle of the house,
and discovered that t e bird had flown.

“ The curse of all the fiends light upon this un-
luckv chance!” he cried.

“ What marvelous stroke of fortune revealed
to the girl the existence of this p which I,
who thought I knew all the secrets 0 the house,
never suspected?”

Then he entered the room and looked around
to see if he could discover aught that would be
of service to him.

The hat of the girl was on the table, but other—
wise there was no trace of her.

The Spider Ca .tain looked about the room for
a moment and t en knitted his brows fiercely

ether.

‘ This girl must die!” he exclaimed. “ She is
not like the other. I thought that like pliant
wax I could mold her to my purpose, but- it is
quite evident that for once in my life I have
made a Serious mistake.

“ Few women have ever made any particular
impression upon me, foolish, shallow creatures
the most of them, not worthy attention.

silenced. Her persevering chase of me pioves
that there is a good deal of bloodhound about
her, and in the end, if she is not put out of the
way, she may succeed in doing me serious dam-
age—perha succeed in accomplishing more
than the o cers of the law have ever bi en able

do.

“ It would only be the old story of David and
Goliath over again. Cunning succeeds where
strength fails.

mlipi’ster the blew, but strike the first one my-
se .

Then he rc—entered the secret passage and de-
scended to the cellar.

“ Mi hty s1 range that I never even suspected
the existence of this passage," he muttered, as
he made his way down the shaft, “and yet the
girl managed to discover it before she had passed
a day in the room.”

The existence of the secret chamber was known
only to the Spider Captain.

He had discovered the long-forgotten apart-
ment by accident, and perceived immediately
how useful the knowledge might be to him, and

ter from the rest of the ban

made, carefully, though, suppressing all mention
of the secret apartment. .

prise-partv, boys, this cvenin , that has, done
the trick.” he said. “ I had he
stairs, and she managed to get out, and in some
way get into the cellar.
somewhere, under the stairs robably, a
took the place of the stiff in the ox, and when;
on left the barn to catch the horse she made
icr escape.

for as far as I can see she couldn’t tell where she
was. unless one of you were careless enough to

fixing the box.”

Stingy Bill was the first to speak.

“ Blamed if I think we. said much of anything
at all ” he observed. ‘

“0 , yes, we did,” Four Kings added. “ Fill.
here, was curious to know what kind of a triik
we were up to, and I spit out the hull business;
like a dumed fool; there wasn’t a word said

still”

quicker we get rid of the body in one of the old
we s the better.” a

 

asked.
“Bury it; let the worms have a feast. -
‘long as we can’t collar the reward, I don’t see

\

9 ,

“ But this one is dangerous, and she must he ,

“DecidedlyI must not wait for her to ad; I

He understood now how t girl had ma ed :
to make her esca as well as though be ad.
been a witness to 9. whole proceeding. '

After he had arrived in the cellar he sum.”
moned Four Kings and Stingy Bill, and briefly ,
explained to them the discovery which he had' ‘

“ It was the girl whom you treated to a diur- 
r in a room up-lg.

Then she bid 11 ' .I ‘
“ It‘s an ugly business, but it might be worse, a. 
let out something while you Were talking in.
l

Both of the men immediately fell to thinking. , '

about the house, but I blowcd the trick with the ' 1‘

‘ Bury it or give it to the fishes?” Four King: I.

“ I guess I will have to try this novel ladder,

 

 

so had taken particular pains to hide the mat-C}

pg." 5.

“That upsets that little game then, and the “

 

10'

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.”

" '~ as; 

 

 

any use of puttin% the money in anybody else’s
way,” the Spider aptain replied. “ But I will

' attend to that. I have other work on hand for
you}; a;nd it must be attended to this very
ni t.

‘ All right; we’re on deck 1” Four Kings ex-
claimed.

“ This girl must be got at and silenced. She
knows too much now to be allowed to live. Be-
fore morning dawns she must join the ma-
jority and cross the dark river that sweeps
all around the world.”

CHAPTER XIII.
CRACKING THE cam.

Tm: Spider Captain was no common rascal'
the successful manner in which he had defied all
the efforts of the authorities to capture him and
to break up the criminal league which he had
formed, was ample proof of that.

He was well serVed, too, for he had a re lar

_ _ army of s 'es, and kept a far closer watc on
. , the authorities than the chief of police with all
 the detectives under his command was able to
‘ ‘ do on him.
 Some of the private detectives of .the city too
  were in his pay.
1 .' There are man honest and honorable men in
a , this new line of usiness, a product of our ad-
: .. .j vaneed civilization, and then, too, some of them
‘ are as big rascals as can be easil found. '

Men Without the least skill in the business
._ I which they pretend to follow but possessed of
2 an uncommon amount of a ility to extract
' . money from gullible clients without rendering
-£ _, . an service for the aforesaid.

 l he Spider Captain had contrived to let these

' ‘ ntlemen—whose sole idea of the detective
  , usiness was to get all the mone they could
. /for'as little work as ible—un erstand that
‘ any information of v ue would be liberally re-
warded.

And to the firm of private detectives most
V intimately connected with the Spider Captain
 > Kate Scott had applied for assistance, when she
had entered u 11 her persistent search.

  

i ‘ ,‘ " The chief oipghis desperate criminal band was
, alwa s careful to cover up his tracks as com-
L.‘ _"' lete y as possible, and not to a single soul had
‘ ' he confided the fact that he had inasqueraded
,. . as a rich New York blood up in the Catskill
 ’ P' re ion under the name of Henry Tappan

if  ‘

ut when the girl had entered u 11 her search
with such ardor, the detectives t ought it wise
 ~ , to send word to the Spider Captain in regard to
,' i ‘ the matter.
" The outlaw leader was not known personally
I to the detectives, and, in fact, few of his band
j" rwere ever honored with a sight of his face, for
  b thus keeping in the background he rendered
' identification iflicult, and put it out of the
, ‘power of any of his tools to betray him to the
 authorities.
In all such secret bands it is the traitorous
r, informer who is most to be dreaded, as the his-
to of the world am ly proves.
.. ~ 0 detectives ha an idea that the outlaw
a chief might know somethin of this Henry
* ‘ ?' Tappan, for they felt sure, mm the account
-, giVen by the girl, that he was some New York
,, crook in disguise.
 r If Tappan was one of the Spider Captain’s
band, he would be glad to know that there was
' an inquir afoot, in regard to him, and if he
;  was not, t 6 Spider Captain, if he knew the man,
, might 1possibly put the detectives on the scent.
4  he eader of the secret band professed igno-
l-r" ? rinse in the matter, but was careful to learn all
:1 , the particulars of the affair, and from that time
“ti, v. he caused a watch to be placed upon the girl.

 

   
  
   

     
   
   
  

. _ ’ He did not trouble himself much about the
’ f‘matter in the beginning, because 'he did not be-
 lieve it would amount to anything.
What chance was there for a single weak girl,
, - ,  ' alone and friendless, to damage a man like him-
”'  "self so securely intrenched.
5' ‘ But as days lengthened into Weeks. and weeks
" into months, and still she persevered, he awoke
;‘:i to the consciousness that if she succeeded by any
“ accident‘in hittin upon a clew she would be apt
a ~ to cause him cons durable trouble.
Then, too, he had taken ins to make him-
m. ‘ self acquainted with the girl, and had become
,3.  interested in her.
 ' She was altogether different from her sister,
, ’ 4 ing a dash and vivacity that was chann-
-, . ' ‘ing. and the idea came into his mind that she
’1'. could be made to prove almost invaluable to
 ' him in his criminal career if he could succeed in
bending her to his will.
The reader knows how signally the outlaw
chief failed in his attempt.
But thanks to the watch he. had caused to be
, \ laced upon her, he knew exactly where to find
i the fugitive.
His first idea when he discovered that the
~ , lthreatened to prove dan erous was to have
er put out of the way for t e Spider Captain
_ was a man who then ht no more of takinga
pf") , human life, if be con] profit thereby, than of
 “’ killing a worthless dog.l ,
 ‘ And so he had caused a careful examination
""L ‘ to be made of the premises where she resided,
' in order to ascertain if she could be “got at’

 

 

and put out of the way, in the silent watches of
the night when slumber chained the senses of the
great city’s denizens.

So, when he had come to the conclusion that
the girl must die, the method by which the deed
could be accomplished had already been decided

upon.

Four Kings and Stin y Bill had been the men
selected by the outlaw eader to watch the girl,
and they had made all reparation to murder
her when the S ider aptain had suddenly
changed his min and concluded to alter mur-
der into abduction therefore they were pre-
pared to carry out the original idea.

“The girl knows too much now to be allowed
to live,” the S ider Captain declared. “She
has a clew whic if diligently followed up, will
be certain to lead to our detection.

“ It is her life or ours, boys, and I don’t know
how you feel about it, but as far as I am con-
cerned, I prefer to let her take the jump into
eternity rather than try the lea myself.’

“ That’s me, every time!” our Kings ex-
claimed, emphatically.

“ You bet, it’s me, too!” added Stin Bill.

“ Go ahead on the old programme. t en,” the
leader commanded. “She’s a plucky little imp
and will not have any difficulty in finding her
way home, but you ought to be able to get there
about as soon as she can, for the girl has a long
distance to cover.

“Make a sure thing of the job—don’t half do
it, you know, for that would be a deuced sight
worse than to let the matter alone.”

“Don’t be alarmed about that, ca tain,”
Four Kings replied. “ VVe’ll do the wor up in
first-class style.”

“ Olitgges; we ain’t no slouches!” Stingy Bill
protes .

“ Awa with you then, for there’s no time to
be10st. he 'rl will be pretty well pla ed-
out after the a ventures she has encountereilto-
ni ht and ought to sleep like a top.”

‘No doubt about that. We ought to do the
job with a mighty little trouble, for we laid out
the hull business and know exactly where to go
and what to do,” Four Kings observed.

“ You kin bet all your wealth on that!” Stin-
gy Bill exclaimed. “The thing is jest as fine
as silk, and we kin send her kiting into the other
world afore she’ll have time to open her mouth
and 've a sin le peep.”

“ , carefuf you now, don’t leave any tell-
tale traces,” the outlaw leader cautioned. “ Let
it be one of those mysterious, bloody deeds
which puzzle the police and shork the public.”

“ Oh, it will be all right; we can et into her
room from the roof of the piazza. here’s only
a common catch on the window and we can
easil open it with a knife.”

“ t it at once then, for there isn’t any time
to be lost !” commanded the chief.

The two set out, after providing themselves
with the proper tools.

This business was no new thing for either one
of them, for there were no more experienced
“cracksmen” to be found in all the country
than Four Kings and Stingy Bill, as the police
records amply testified.

As luck would have it the two ruffians arrived
at the house in Fourth avenue, the “crib”
which they intended to “crack,” at the very
moment that the girl, their destined victim,
came up the street.

The rufiians were upon the opposite sidewalk.
as they desired to in t the house fully upon
all sides before proceeding to business, and they
recognized the girl the moment she came up the
avenue.

“We’ll have to wait for a couple of hours so
as to give her time to get asleep,” Four Kings
observed.

Bill immediately expressed his discontent at
this prospect, but the oth r reproved him by
asking if he expected “ ts get the earth every
time just for wishing?”

Satisfied from the darkness that reigned
within the house that all the inmates were
buried in slumber with the exce tion of the
belated girl, the two turned into t e side-street
and proceeded alon it until they came to the
end of the high boar fence which protected the
yard of the corner house. .

It was an eas matter for the two to scale
the fence and escend into the yard on the
other side, after being careful to ascertain that
there wasn’t any one near enough to observe the
movement.

Once they were inside of the first yard it was
not a difficult matter for the cracksmen to pro-
gress from yard to yard until they reached the
one which appertained to the house wherein the
girl resided.

At the back of this yard was a woodshed. It
was not locked, and there was a small window
in it that commanded a view of the easement of
Kate’s apartment.

The g mm of a light within showed that the
girl was there, for her shadow appeared every
now and then on the curtain.

The rufilans took refuge in the woodshed and
tzitelre made themseIVes as comfortable as pos-
S 0. .

In twenty .minutes the light was extin-
guished.

“Now then, we’ll give her about an hour to

 

t sound aslee and then we’ll do the job,” Four

ings observ to his companion. .

For a full hour the two waited, and then, sat-
isfied that all was favorable for the attempt.
they roceeded to the accomplishment of their
murderous design.

Their plan had been well digested, and they
knew exactly what to do. It was an easy mat-
ter to climb to the roof of the piazza. The
catch of the casement ielded to the knife of
Stingy Bill, and Four ' gs cautiously raised
the Window-sash.

CHAPTER XIV.
ONE BUFFIAN CAGED.

THE two were extremely skillful at this sort
of business, and the delicate operation was per-
formed in such an adroit manner that it would
have been a light sleeper indeed who could have
been disturbed by the slight noise.

But Stingy Bil was careless enough to strike
his feet against one of the flower-pots on the
roof and it rolled into the yard beneath.

The noise was a slight one, though—hardly
enough to awaken a sleeper well wrapped in
the embrace of Morpheus.

“ You’re a clumsy brute l”
growled.

“ I couldn’t help it; don’t make no difference,
anyhow, I ess.”

“I’ll tr the window and if she is awake,
she’ll how , and then well '13.”

The sash being raised, t e,two paused and
listened before they attempted to enter the
room.

They listened intently, but not a sound could
they hear.

It was plain that the inmate of the room had
not been disturbed, for, if she had been, most
certainly she would either have made a noise
Ely; stirring in the bed, or by calling out in

rm.

“ It’s all right,” Stingy Bill muttered. “ She’s
sleeping like a top, and we kin do the job with-
out any trouble.’

It was a noiseless and easy death that the ruf-
flans destined for the girl. '

She was to be chloroformed as she slept and
then a stron dose of pruss‘ic acid poured own
her throat w 'le in the insensible state, unable
to help herself.

The vial which contained the poison was to
be placed in the girl’s hand, so it might be found
there when the body was discovered; thus the
murder might be made to appear like an act of
self-destruction.

The S ider Captain had planned the opera-
tion in t 's admit manner in order to avert sus-
pIClOIl. '

The girl bein found dead in her apartment
the door secure y locked, the window fasten
—this was arranged by means of a fine. copper
wire attached to the catch, and operated from
the outside—an empty bottle which had con-
tained poison in her hand, it would be a shrewd
brain indeed to suspect foul play.

“ Oh, yes. she’s safe enough, and we shall be
able to settle her hash without giving her time
to 've a single squeak.”

he curtain was down—it was hung on a
ring roller that worked without a cord—and
Eur Kings drew it up, cautiously and as he
did so Stingy Bill ut his leg over the window-
seat and thrust ha] of his body into the room.

It wasa rather dark ni ht, the moon not be-
ing visible, yet there was ght enough to enable
one to detect large objects at a short distance
away, but when the two ruflflans peered into
the room, for a moment the could not distin-

ish the l,. although ere wasn’t any

oubt in the minds that she was lying on the

bed.

“Go ahead, Bill, everything is all serene,”
said Four Kings in a whisper to his companion,
but no sooner had the words left his lips than
the two were treated to a surprise that com-
pletely astounded them.

There was a flash of flame, which for a mo-
ment illuminated the apartment, followed by a
sharp report. ‘

Imagine the disgust and angerwhich filled the
breasts of the two midnight marauders when by
the aid of the powder’s flash the discovered the
girl, whom they fondly believ to be slee ing
the sleep of the righteous, sittin bolt uprig t in
the bed, with a revolver in her nd and a de-
tcrmincd look upon her face, just as if she felt
confident of her ability to cope with all the
sconndrels in the world.

And to add insult to in 'ury, Stingy Bill, too,
felt sure that the revo ver with which she
threatened their lives was the very one which
had been stolen from him in the cellar.

It was of a rather peculiar pattern. ml
Stingy Bill was certain that he could not be
mista en.

The first shot fired by the girl went wide of
the mark, passing high over the heads of the
two men. ,

“ Out with your pistol—kill her!” Four Kin
cried. infuriated at the failure of the caret y
planned attack.

The two men were desperate. The orders of
the Spider Captain had been to kill the girl atall
hazards.

Had not such been the case—if the two were

Four Kings

 

,‘ Ham v

 

FR}
«‘3. ' '

 

- _...’.’

 ’ ,w

I ' ‘ ' ‘Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

 

merely on a plundering excursion—they would
have retreated as uickly as possible the mo-
ment they discove that the girl was awake.

But in this instance, so eager were they to
carry out the commands of their leader, instead
of retreatin the pressed forward, determined
to kill the girl, though they knew they were
putting their necks in Jeopar y b; so deing.

Before either of the two coul get awaapon
out the girl fired ' , and this time with so
true an aim that the ullet struck Stin Bill in
the breast, and with a groan he fell bac ward on
the roof of the piazza.

Four Kings attempted to catch him as he
fell, but Stingy Bill was so bulky that he carried
the lighter man down with him.

“ Are you hurt, Bill?” Four Kin cried. The
two were old partners in crime; t ey had been
pals for many a year, and it was a severe blow
to the younger rufiian when he saw his compan-

> ion laid low.

“ Done for, I’m afeard,” the other murmured,
striving with all his power to refrain from
groaning at the acuteness of his ns.

“ I’ll murder the she-devil or this!” Four
Kings cried fiercely.

Just then a policeman, warned b the shots,
sounded the alarm with his club on t e sidewalk
in the cross-street.

“ The jig is up for the present, anyway,”
gas the stricken rufflan. .

“ on had better give leg-bail, Four Kings,
or else they’ll have you in limbo With the dar-
bies on your wrists afore you know where you
are.”

“ I hate to leave you!”

“ Oh, I’m all rig t, or all wrong, maybe, but
you can’t do me any good by staging, so git out
while you kin. P’haps I’ll pull t rough.’

There was sound sense in this, and Four Kings
was quick to perceive it.

The neighborhood had been alarmed by the
shots, and lights were beginng to appear in
quite a number of the windows.

“ All right then, I’ll moosey, but I’ll warn the
captain so that you’ll be looked after.”

“So long,” muttered the wounded man faint-
ly weak from the effect of his hurt.

The conversation had been a hurried one, and
had not occupied as many minutes as we
have taken to detail it, so little time had been
lost

“'Kee your spirits up, there‘s a good time
coming! ’ was Four Kingss parting salutation,

‘ and then he hurried away.

It was not the first time that the veteran
cracksman had been caught in just sucha scrape,
and he set about making his escape with perfect
Coolness.

He was a man of brains who, if he had di-
rected his energies into an honest channel, would
probably have acquired both fame and fortune.

In a second he had thought out a feasible plan
to escape from his perilous position.

The policeman was in the side-street b means
of which the two had gained access to t e back
yards of the houses which fronted on Fourth
avenue, so escape was cut of! in that direction.

The houses on the block were about the same
size and all of them had back p' the roofs
of which joined, therefore it was an easy matter
for the fugitive to pass along the piazza-roofs, in
the opposite direction from which he had come,
until he came to the end house in the block; then
he descended to the fence and from the fence in-
to the street.

The people in this direction were so far from
the scene of the disturbance that they had not
been disturbed by the sound of the shots, and
Four Kings reached the street without exciting
an alarm.

nce safe in the street, with that rare good
generalship characteristic of the master-seemi-
drel, he hastened along Fourth avenue to the
scene of the disturbance, as though, happenin‘
to pass that way by chance, he had been alarm
by the noise.

B the time he reached the spot there was a
sum 1 crowd gathered, and the licemen had
discovered the wounded man, a were waiting
for an ambulance, whichhad been summoned,
as Stingy Bill was so badly hurt as to be unable
to walk. _

The rufflan, with the cunning of his class, pre-
tended to be under the influence of liquor, and
swore roundly that it was a shame to shoot a
man just because he had dranka little too.much
and was tr ing to get into his house Without
waking any ly up.

“ Too thin!” was the policeman’s comment,
and when the ambulance arrived the ruflian was
carried off. ,

The police surgeon’s examination disclosed
that, although the rufilan had received an ugly
Wound, there wasn’t much danger of it proving
to be a fatal hurt.

.NeVerthel it was serious enough to warrant
his being taken to the hoqiital.

On the next day Kate’s evidence in regard to
the affair was taken and a formal complaint
entered against the ruil‘lan.

Of course there wasn’t the slightest doubt in
the minds of the authorities that the man was
attempting to enter the house for the purpose of

.plunderi the inmates.
The 

had expected to encounter Phenix

,into the dark shadows of some obscure pier,

 

during her visit to the temple of justice, but in
this she was disappointed.

Intelligence of the affair had reached him,
and be regarded it as unlucky that the girl
should have become mixed up in such a puolic
matter.

It was his idea that a detective could not
be too careful in keeping himself inthe back- ‘
ground. i

If Kate became well known to the criminal
classes, she would not be useful as a decoy. ;

Therefore, the girl did not meet Phenix until ‘
the time fixed by the appointment.

CHAPTER XV.
n o w N '1' n E B A Y .

THE night was not dark, nor yet could it be
called lig t.

We say night, although the hour of twelve
had lon since been marked by the clocks of the
city an the wee small hours of the morning
were close at hand.

Quite a fog had rolled in from the ocean and
hung heavily over the bay, and the air was
damp and disagreeable.

Hardly a breath of wind was stirring, and with
the exception of the all-night ferry-boats wheez-
ing and puffing through the heavy banks of
vapor asi it was awful hard work, there was
hardly a sign of life visible upon the river.

The police patrol—boat though, was making
the rounds as usual gliding through the inky
current like some dark, uncanny thing that
lWOllllld vanish into' thin air before a blaze of
ig t.

A spectral boat with a spectral crew.

But this was the game of the patrol.
They could not hope to surprise the ‘ river-
rats ”—as the thieves who operate on the water
and along the riverside are called—without due
caution. '

If the marauders had the slightest warning of
the approach of the police—boat, they would take
to their oars and row for dear life.

And as the thieves were invariably well-
boated and expert oarsmen, pulling, too, with
muffled cars so that the sound of the tools work-
ing in the locks was materially deadened, if
they secured anfything like a fag) start and
were aided by a og it was almost possible for
the lice<boat to overtake them.

T ese river-rats were desperate fellows, too,
and had been known when surprised with a
rich booty, to show fight, and cases are on re-
cord when the thieves were strong and skillful
eno h to beat oi! the patrol-boat and compel
the 0 cars to seek reinforcements.

Rarely though are the marauders disturbed
in their operations, for the police have an im-
mense amount of water-front to cover, and the
means placed at their disposal are entirely in-
ad uate to do good service.

the thieves have to do is to pull their craft

 

near to the vessel which they intend to attack,
remain concealed there until the patrol-boat
passes, which event takes places at about the
same hour every night, unless something im-

rtant occurs to alter the regular programme,
hen, after allowin a sufficient time for the
lice-boat to get wel out of the way, glide out
upon their mission of plunder.

None of the police care much for the patrol
service for it is disagreeable work at the best
besides involving considerable toil, and lad
enough are the crews general] when the rst
gray streaks begin to line the rn skies, her-
alding the coming of the dawn.

Not at all sorr are they when they can say;
inthe words of t e poet:

“ The moon, in russet mantle clad,

Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill:
Break we up our watch awh e "

On this articular ni ht of which we write,
not a sing 0 episode h occurred to break up
and enliven the monotony of the tiresome
round.

The patrol-boat had started out as usual, gone
on its accustomed way, the policemen mutter-
in;r in discontent every now and then as the dis—
agreeable dain air of the night seemed to cut
to their very ones, the men Ecering into the
dark recesses of the docks as t ey swept along
on the bosom of the tide, in search of skulking
water-rats, and ever and anon took a swee out
on the open water, where the moving lights,
dancing up and down with the action of the
swelling bosom of the troubled deep, shovved that
vessels were riding at anchor.

.The night were away and not a single suspi-
cmus craft did the patrol-boat encounter until
after three in the morning.

The patrol-boat had inst rounded the Battery,
as the extreme end of anhattan Island, which
is wholly taken g) by the t young monster
of a City, New ork, is ca ed, and was making
its way up the North River, when the vigilant,
cat-like eyes of the sergeant in charge of the
boat detected a small sail-boat coming down the
river, and the officer fancied that the strange
craft had just altered her course as if those on
board of her had detected the a proach'of the
patrol-boat and were anxious to cap out of the

 

wa .
'lyhis suspicion was ignite enough to make the
sergeant decide thati would be as well to ex-

11

amine the other craft and see what brought her
out on the river at such an untimely hour.

With the whispered command to his men:
“ Give way lively, lads!" the officer changed the
Course of the boat and headed it so as to inter-

 

] cept the strange craft, which, on the approach

of the police—boat had veered in quite a suspi-
cious manner over toward the Jersey shore.

If there had been any breeze worth speaking
about, the policeboat would not have found it
an easy matter to overhaul the other craft, but
as it was the sail was small benefit.

“ Hellg! come about I want to talk with you!”
the sergeant exclaimed as he came within easy
hailing distance of the t. And as the emcer
spoke he flashed the light of hisbull’s—eye lantern
upon the sus icious stranger.

“ W’ot wil I come ’bout for, an’ w’ot do you
want with me, anyhow?” asked a coarse voice,
coming from the small boat, evidently the voice
of an old man, and an illiterate one.

“ This is the lice patrol-boat, and I want to
have a little ting0 with you, so come about with-
out making an more talk. or I shall be under
the disagreeab e necessity of making it warm for

011.”

The officer spoke in a determined tone, and he
drew forth his revolver and allowed the ' t of
the lantern to play upon its polished

“I don’t see w’ot call you’ve got to trouble
yer head ’bout honest people, gomg their own
way an’ mindin’ their own business,” the man
grumbled, as be obeyed the command uf the
metropolitan officer and brought his boat up
alon de of the police craft.

‘* es, but I don’t know that you are honest,
and that’s what I want to find out,” replied the
sergeant, sharply. “ This is a rather queer
hour for a man to be out on the river, and your
business may consist of helping yourself toother
peo le’s property for an ht I know.” r

nks to the light orded by the lantern,
the police had a good view of the boat and its
occupants.

We say occupants, for there were two persons
in the boat.

The craft was a small keel-boat, considerably
the worse, for wear, and the sail was browned
by age, and patched in a dozen places.

There was a large open basket, half full of
soft clams, with a lot of fish-lines on top; this,
With a ir of oars. a small pnel for an an—
chor an a boat—hook, was all that the boat con-
tained, besides the two humans.

And these two were, first, the man who had
held the conversation with the sergeant; a
heavily-built, weather~beaten old fellow, some-
where between fifty and sixty, apparently,
with bristling, iron-gray hair, and a stubby,
matted heard of the same hue.

He was dressed like a fisherman, in rough,
woolen clothes, and wore a regular waterman’s
sou’wemr on his head.

The old man was at the tiller, which was
merely a broken oar.

Forward of him, attendin to t “sheet,”. '

was a dark-faced, bright-ey lad, a boy about
fourteen or fifteen, who had the monke fled ex-
ression liar to the lower class 0 I
boys, an with his bright eyes, black as '
shining like a pair of glassbeads when the
of ii ht fell upon them, he stared in stupid as-
toni. ment at the police-boat and it: occupants.

The sergeant was disappointed.

He expected to capture a prize.

From the mysterious movemt of the boat
he had 'umped to the conclusion that it was the
craft 0 a river rat returning from some suc-
cessful expedition, and he hoped
only the t ieves, but the “ boodle” also.

There wasn’t any doubt about the matter for
there was no 'ble place in the boat w
plunder could . concealed.

“ What are you doing out in the river at such . \

an hour as this?” the officer asked, sharply. He

really cherished an animosity against the pairin ‘

the boat because they had not turned out to be
rogues.
“Goin’ fishin’, don’t you see? Hain‘t bliml,

are ye?” responded the old man, fully as arro-I

gent as the the policeman. . _
“Say, on had better keep a an] ton

vour hea !” c' ied the emcer..angrily.

'nown men to get rich by being civfl.” .

sin

“I reckon you don’t stand much chance to 

git rich then,” retorted the old man.

“None of your impudence, or I’ll run you in
anyway, just for us!”

“ Well, if you do. I reckon it will be the bi -
gest joke of  season. Ho, ho!” and the OE}
man indulged m a hoarse laugh. “Mebbe the
rest of the boys wouldn’t poke fun at you, and
I guess the newspapers would crack a heap of
{takes at the expense of the keerful co w’ot run
b0a ’poor old cuss ofa fisherman and 's I-talian
v.
"‘ You shoot your mouth 01! too much 1” cried
the sergeant, sternly, feeling that he was fig
ting the worst of this encounter of wits. ’“
are you, and where are you goingfi”

“ My name is Gideon Turtle, and I’m

down the bay arter fish, as any fool might ' ..

know.” _

“ Mighty queer hour.”

“ No ’tain’t!” the other rejoined shm'tly. “ If
you’re arter fish, and mean business, tbr

‘v.

y. ,

to capture not 1 if?

“ have T"

. l'
.‘f, A

 

 

12

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

' ' ' -. 1" 1.. ‘V'S A ..4  .
i  v ‘r' . . ,i. r
,1. ,‘ ,4", .. Igglwrfiq, a, ,. ,
I ‘ '

 

 

 

earlier you git on the ground arter sunrise the
_ better. The fish are on the feed early in the
1 morning and they are hun , but arter the sun

'ts up and the surface of t e water is warmed
Rey go down into deep water so as to keep cool.
Do you see, I’m going for bluefish, and I reckon
I’ll 't some, tool”

“ s that boy your son?” the ofiicer asked, try-
ing to get a chance to give the old fellow a shot.

“ Not much. I ain’t no I-talian.”

“ What’s your name, boy?” the sergeant que-
ried.

" Me no k goot English mooch,” responded
the lad, wit an idiotic grin. .

“ Pablo is his handle, ut I calls him Bifly for
short.” remarked the old man.

“ Well, take care that I don’t run across you
some night when you’ve got a. ‘ boodle ’ aboard,
for I know you’re on the ‘cross,’ and I’ll run

I you in, sure. Give way, men I”
 - ' Of! went the police—boat, and then to the ears
"3 of the patrol came a remark from the old fel-

low:
. “Don’t take no great shuck of aman to be a
police sergeant, Bil y.” x

E: CHAPTER XVI.
‘ ' . wno THEY WERE. ,
4" ' Tm: remark coming plainly to the ears of the
:2 , .police t, irritated him, and he was pro-
 VOked into exclaiming:
,,.  “ I believe there is something crooked about
3'! ; that old man and boy! It don‘t seem reason-
 ablete me that anybody would be going after
, .., Ilflsh at such an hour as this.”
.‘ “Well, Idon’t know, ser eant, about that,”
 one of the licemen. ‘These old cranks
,'i".~who follow fishing for a living are upte all
 of queer practices. I shouldn’t be sur-
' if he has given it to you straight
”

 

 , h.
rip-5 “ e durned old rascal!” and the sergeant

I shook his fist at the fast-receding boat. “I
rould give a trifle to geta chance to run him
n.”

23".: I' “He was a cheeky old blackguard, too fresh
hfimly,” remarked one of the men.
Leaving the patrol-boat to go on its lonely

 wayawe will turn our attention to the other
. f

   

as",
‘e . ‘
.-,('

3‘! era
it The old man and the boy ke ttheir eyes on
' e police-boat until it was swa lowed up in the
g m, and then the man turned to t e boy,
,, '. and, in an entirely different tone of voice from
, ,  one he had used while conversing with the
police ofilcial, said:
,‘-“‘That was a retty good test of the com-
‘letenees of my 'sguise. That was Sergeant
1 urphy, and if there is a single man on the
lice force of New York who ought to be
fiquaipted with me, Tom Murphy is the

 

.
,vvx .
Jr!
'v

  
    
     
 
   
  
   
 
  
    
 
  
 
  
   
  
  

g)“ But he didn’t recognize you,” observed the
other with a laugh.
“ 0, not in the slightest degree, and al-
ough he had a suspicion that there was some-
wrong about us, he fell into the error of
we were abroad on crooked work in-
tent.”

“ Oh yes, there isn’t any doubt about that.”
" speaker had dropped the Italian boy
. .
and was using as good English as can

generally heard.

-: I’m lad the incident took place, for this is
’ first. ime I have ever tried a disguise of this
d, ad I was not quite sure it would be as

" went as some of my others," observed the old

n ' but there wasn t the sli htest trace of age
’tthe er ,now. ‘,‘ I I have succeeded

' '1; n 1 he wool over Tom Murphy’s ey

-- a - isn‘t much danger that any one else wi

_ , “able to recognize me, for Tom and I have

. .-  intimately acquainted for years and he

‘ ' me as well as though he was my own

own
1, is disguise is not bad either that’s plain,”
  the other, “ for none bf the officers
' :- that I was anything but an Italian

.
o. i

 

. ni‘
. ,» Oh, you are an a scholar, and if you keep
: intbe way you ve begun, I‘ve no doubt
‘ ‘ will be a credit to the profession.”

 bly by this time the reader has made a
. ibrewd see at the identity of the old man and

. Italiiun y.

 Worth; police sergeant had reason for
,bissuxpicion. The two in the boat were not
whhat they seemed but he was on a false scent
when he sus ted they were engaged in some
W“ crooked ” usiness, for the old man was Joe
,gPhenix, and the boy his Decoy Detective, Kate

f .

 

. tt.

 The nest they were on, and why they had
2'. -‘ hemmed such complete disguises, the reader will
,“-soon learn. - .
 i “ It ought not to take us over an hour to run
’z‘down the be. ,” mused Phenix, as the boat
1 ‘ ‘ ed onward, “even with this light. breeze;

waghadafairwindwecoulddoit inhalf the

time.
 , “ I am not cotapetent to jud , for you have
7". ‘ et inform me as to w ere we are go-

‘nfi.'l‘i-ne, I had forgotten that; but I did not
‘5}? in If until saw the superintendent of
 ' ," osPhenix answered.

)IL

    

  

 

“ The worthy chief was unusually mysterious
about the affair. He sent word yesterday morn-
ing that he wished to see me on particular busi-
ness, and when I waited upon him, he was care-
ful to assure himself that no one could possibly
overhear what between us, and the first
question he put to me was in regard to my abil-
ity to handle a sail-boat.

“ When I informed him that I was considered
an expert in the mana ement of all sorts of
small craft, he appear to think it was ex-
tremely fortunate, and then he came immediate-
ly to the business in hand.

“ It was an important matter, too. For some
months now the police authorities have been
satisfied that there is in existence in New York
and its vicinitdy an organization of desperate
criminals ban ed together for the purpoae of
defying the law.

“ These men are bound by the most fearful
oaths to be true to each other, and death is the
penalty of treachery.”

“ Such organizations of rascals are uite
common, too, I believe,” the girl remar ed,
eager to learn all she could in regard to the
scoundrels to whose destruction she had devoted

her life.

“Oh, es, it is on] natural for these men
who in e a living y preying upon society
to lea together, for in union there is

strengt ; and then, too, when it comes to a big
iob, it is impossible to work the trick without
hree or four men, for the ground cannot be
covered, and the details properly attended to,
otherwise.

“ But this organization is on a far more elab—
crate scale, and must not be confounded with
these e(petty bands of outlaws,” Phenix re-
mark . '

“ I (presume not, or else the lice authorities
woul be easil able to cope w th it.”

“Exactly; ut this lea e seems to be one
of the most elaborate an dangerous that has
evertoome to the notice of the police depart-
meu .

“ t was just by accident, too, that the super-
intendent got a clew to it, for he hadn’t an sus-
picion that such an organization exis , al-
though he has been puzzled to account for some
large robberies which have been committed late-
ly, the work being rformed in such an adroxt
manner that it has n impossible for the po-
lice to secure any clew to the perpetrators, and

et from the way in which the trick was done
it was clearly the work of experts.

“Two nights ago, though, one of the best-
known ‘cracksmen’ in the country was shot in
an up-tewn sportin -house in a quarrel with
some of his pals. an as far as the police could
ascertain, the trouble arose about the division
of the plunder obtained by some bold robber '.

“The wounded man was carried to the os~
pita], but his assailants managed to escape,
8.1111(1 the police Were unable to get any-claw to

em. ,

“In the hospital the wound was examined,
and the doctor expressed the op nion that it was
mortal, and that the man had not three days of
life left.

“When this fact was made known to him he
fell into an intense rage, declared he had been
assassinated by the gang to which he belonged
because he had evinced a disposition to kick
against the power which the master s .iirit of the
organization, whom he called the Spider, was
endeavoring to wield 0v er the others.

“He swore he would ‘give the whole thing
away. He did not know ersonaliy the men
who had forced the quarre upon him, cxccpt
that he felt sure thei were ‘crooked,’ and had
been set on to attack im 1) the Spider in order
to punish him for his rebell on.

‘ Strangers had been selected to inflict the
punishment so that the victim might not sus-

t that the secret organization was at the bot-
tpgicn of the matter and out of revenge beinduced
to betray the secrets of the band.

“ The man became so excited that the doctor
in charge was compelled to interfere.

“This disclosure took place in the wee small
hours of the morning, right after the man had
been carried to the hospital, so it was arranged
that the superintendent should be informed of
the important disclosure the wounded man pro-
posed to make, and an interview was appointed

or the following afternoon, the doctor prom-
isin to brace the man up with stren ening
cor ials so he would be able to tell his a ry.

“ But when the su rintendent arrived at the
hospital on the fo lowing afternoon, as per
agreement, the man was dead.”

“ Is it possible?” exclaimed the disguised girl,
who was listening to the recital with the utmost
interest.

“ The man had been poisoned,” continued
Phenix. “ The secret organization evidently had
a spy in the hospital, and when it was discover-
ed that the victim intended to make a clean
breast of it, measures were takeai to eflectually
stop his mouth.”

‘ And so no clew was obtained i”

“ A slight one only; he was out of his head at
the time-of his death, and raved incessantly;
and from his disjointed utterances it was get -
ered that the criminal league had a secret haunt
down the bay somewhere on the Long Island

\

\,

 

shore. and as near as could be learned, it was
between Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton.

“Before takin any steps in the matter the
chief did me the onor to ask my opinion about
it, and at the same time he was careful to keep
entirely to himself what the doctor had disclos—.
ed to him, for, as he frankly i‘cmarked to me:
hThere may be some leaks right in my own of-

co.

“ His idea was to set his detectives to work
examine every house in the suspected quart
but when I represented to him that such
course would certainly alarm the rascals, for it
is a well-known fact that the criminal class
know the detectives far better than the detec-
tives know them, he told me that he would
place the matter entirely in my hands and to
go ahead in my own way. Then he asked me
if I could manage a boat. and suggested to get
myself in some cunning disguise and sail along
the shore both by day and night.

“The neighborhood of the water had evident--
I been selected by the scoundrels so as to have

ouble access to the rendezvous.

“ The idea was a good one and here we are
hot on the scent, and if 1’ deceived my old
friend, Tom Murphy, b my dis uise, it is not
likelyethat the game 0 whom am in search
will able to detect that I am a wolf in sheep’s
clothing.”

“ It is not likely.”

“No; and if fortune favors me, I will hunt
this Spider Captain to his den.”

CHAPTER XVI.
rim MASTER or BLirnEwoon.

NEW YORK Bayl is truly renowned: well-in-«
formed travelers ave often remarked that it
was very little, if an , inferior in natural beau—
ty to the far-famed ay of Naples.

The shores are well-wooded; charming villas,
some of them perfect palaces, are scattered here
and there.

The Long Island shore is particularly attrac-
tive, and there is hardly a drive in America
more beautiful than the shore road which, at
an elevation of a hundred feet above the water
leads from Bay Ridge to Fort Hamilton, an
tlicn continucs, dro ping to a lower level, to
Bath and New Yor i’s famous summer breath—
ing)spot, Coney Island.

n this delightful bay view road, about half-
way between Bay Ridge to Fort Hamilton,
stands a massive mansion built in the Gothic
style, with a bewildering amount of wings and
gablcd roofs.

There are some ten acres of pleasure-grounds
attached to the house, which stands quitca ways
back from the road with an elaborate lawn in-
fi out, fringed by stately forest trees in the
Enlglish park style.

e public road cuts throu h the grounds of‘
the house, and that portion 0 the estate which
lies on the bay side of the drive, slopes from the
road to the water’s edge, along which is built a
massive stone wall. _

Resting on the wall is an extensive boat-house, '
with room below for half a dozen pleasure-craft.
while the upper part is utilized as a billiard and
card room. . .

A balcon two stories high, running complete—
ly around t e house afforded a pleasant, prome-
nade when the weather was suitable for such en-
joyment.

At anchor in the bay, a short distance from
the boat-house, were tw0 ele ant yachts.

Onc, sloop-rigged, of abou twenty-five tons,
the other a steam launch of smaller dimensions.

Take it all in all, Blithewood Hall for so this.
country place was named, compared favorably
with anythiiig of the kind in the neighborhood,
of the great ctropolis of the New World.

There were many larger places, estates which
cost a deal more mone , but few of them were
as perfect in all their eteils as this bijou conn—
trv place.

e owner of the propertyrwas a well-known
man in the lower portion of great Gotham, the
territory tributary to Wall street and the stock
exchange.

He was a. youn I
tall, handsome, o ive-faced, dark ey
haired fellow with a pro sing face, a musi-
cal voice, and an uncommonly gentlemanly ap-
pearance.

He was called Bernard Andrews and was,
comparatively speaking, a new-comer in the
great Metropolis. .

New York had only known him for some. five

man, not over 'thirt ~fiVc, a
, d8 rk~

ears.
y He had made his appearance in the use of
,a financial agent of a rather obscure rai road in
Texas, which am 11 itcd to very little actually,
although to read iis prospectus one Would havo
been apt to imagine it was destined to be the
trunk road of the world. 

The position secured him admission into a cor-
tain circle of operators who were supposed to be
about the sharpest men in Wall street, and
many wiseacres shook their heads and. prophet-
like predicted that the oung man would soon.
be sheared of all his go en fleece by these keen
wolves.

But Andrews, although new to the lairs of the ",
stock-exchange, soon proved to all who had the ~
curiosityto watch his career that he had long

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  " Kate

 

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Scott, the Decoy Detective.

13‘

 

 

 

ago cut his wisdom-teeth, and soon he convincod
the wise men of Gotham that he was fully fit to
wrestle with the best of them in a trial of wits,
although where he managed to procure the
money to back his enterprises was a mystery
until it leaked out that he was a scion of one of
the old cattle-kings who by the wondrous rise of
land and live-stock in Texas had suddenly be-

It was little wonder that Andrews succeeded
with a million or two of dollars at his back fora
“ starter,” to use the slang of the street.

And now after a brief five years the young
man was recognized as one of the leading men
in “'0.” street.

Andrews was a bachelor, much to the wonder
of all his act uaintances, who marveled that
such a deuced handsome fellow, with such a
takiii way with him, and so much money, did
not ta e a better-half unto himself.

It was not for want of an op rtunity, for
Dame Rumor, with her hund tongues, de—
clared there were at least a dozen of the dainty
belles of the “upper crust” who would be only
too glad to be wooed and won by this gay South-
ern gentleman.

But although Blithewood Hall did not possess
a mistress yet the establishment was kept up in
first-class style.

There was a housekeeper and a. butler, both
most excellent managers, assisted bya full corps

. come enormously rich.

«of well—trained servants, and as there was plenty

of money to grease the wheels of domestic econ-
om , everything went like clockwork.

'lqie young man was of a hospitable nature,
and never seemed so happy as when entertainin
a house full of company, and so it happened tha
Blithewood was rare] without visitors.

In'right royal sty 9 too the the master of the
domain assured his guests that his house was
Liberty Hall, and they must make themselves
perfectly at home.

There wasn’t any regular hour for either
breakfast or luncheon.

A repast was ready whenever a guest felt in-

,clined to eat, either in the morning or at noon,

but a regular ccremonious dinner was Served
daily at five in the afternoon, and this was the
only meal when it was understood that the mas-
ter of the house expected to meet all his guests
at the table. /

Another thing too about this hospitable man-
sion. The host expressly declared to each guest

upon arrival that it must not be expected that

he rsonally would provide amusement.

ere were books in the library for those
studiously inclined, a billiard-mom and a bowl-
ing-alley, horses and carriamin the stables,
and boats on the water—of a dozen differ-
ent patterns.

Any one who could not find means to pleas-
antly while away an idle hour with all these
methods of enjoyment at command must indeed
be hard to please.

At the time that we introduce the reader to
this pleasant mansion and its inmates there were
quite a number of guests enjoying the hospital-
ity of its princely owner.

First the two dudes whose acquaintance the
reader made at the beginning of our tale.

Chili‘lcs Van Tromp and Alexander Clinton.

This pair of inseparables, as they were com-
monly termed by their acquaintances, from the
fact that they were rarely seen apart, were
Andrews’s most particular friends, although
they were as different in every respect from the
master of Blithewood as daylight is from dark-
ncss.

Andrews was an elegant, polished fellow. but
with nothing of the exquisite about him, in fact,
a thorough-going man of the world, full of busi-
ness and as sharp as a steel-trap, for all his polish
and refinement.

Still he was a jovial good fellow, fond of all
sorts of fun, and from the moment he made the
acquaintance of the two young men, seemed to
take a fancy to them, and it was not ion before
the two came to the conclusion that mard
Andrews was about the nicest fellow that they
cvor had the good fortune to encounter.

Besides the young men four more guests en-
jo ed the hospitality of Blithewood.

r. and Mrs. Dominick Grinlifrlakin Miss
Sidonia (.lrimgriskin and young 1'. Alcibiades
Grimgriskin. .

New-comers to the great metropolis were
these Grim 'iskins, and in some respects they
were a rat er peculiar family, worthy to be
descrilxxl at length, and we cannot accomplish
that feat better than to relate a conversation that
took place between Bernard AndreWS and the
two dudes on the ample veranda of the house
waiting for the announcement that dinner was
served.

The young men had driven down with An-
‘ ws. leaving the city at the. close of busineSS
in Wall street, about three in the afternoon.

vAndrews had a stylish way of doing business.
be common, vulgar horsemrs for him.

He was driven from his country-seat tohls
ofiice every morning in his own carriage, a very
neat affair, with a coachman in a dark livery,

and drawn by 0{at/Keir of lug-stepping Kentnc
a coo

bty horses, w ound dollars ea
0 anybody’s money, and at the close of basins:
the same vehicle conveyed him home.

\

Some of the old heads nodded their pows
gravely at this display, and murmured of the
pride which goes before a fall. '

But these men were “ croakers,” who were al~ 3
ways predicting disaster.

Others thought it was a “ deuced good idea.”

“ Fine device to attract ‘ lambs,’ and inspire
confidence,” they remarked.

Andrews had gone regularly into the stock-
broker business, and althou b not a member of
the exchange, had manag to secure quite a
lucrative business.

The Grimgriskins had come by way of the Bay ‘
Ridge boat, and the host, upon their arrival, re .
ceived them in person. I

After seeing them to their apartments he i,
had returned to join the young men on the ve-
randa. ~

“ By Jove, old fellow, that’s a deuced fine girl
don’t yer know!” Van Tromp had exclaimed
upon Aiidrews‘s return.

“ Deuced fine, by George!” drawled the other
dude. “But the old fellow looks like a monkey
fro??? Central Park. Where did you pick ’em
u

“ That necessitates a tale, so I‘ll fire away at
once,” replied Andrews, seating himself.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE GBIMGRISKINS.

"IN the first place,” began Andrews, “per- ’
haps it is as well to introduce that elderly, dried-
up gentleman, whom you irreverently compare
to a monkey, with the remark that he is worth
about five millions of dollars.”

“What?” exclaimed the pair of dudes in utter
amazement.

Both of the gilded youths had a fair claim to
rank with the millionaires of Gotham, but even
in great New York five-million men are not
common.

“His name is Grim ' kin Dominick Grim-
griskin, and he hails rom liradford, Pennsyl
va‘i‘iié.” h ’t

as as, we were up t ere once wasn we,
Alex,” Vin Tromp remarked. “A friend of
ours thought he had a good thing in an oil well
up there, and wanted us to take a flyer with
him, so we went up and examined the roperty,
don’t you know, but the lace was together
too nasty, perfecth beast y, you know, eve -
thing smelt of the orrid 011, and it really ma e
us uite ill, so we got away as soon as possible.”

“ ell, Grimgriskin can thank that bad-smell-
ing oil for eve dollar that he has,” Andrews
remarked. “ en years ago he was keeping a
little coun store in what is now the city of
Bradford; t en-the place didn’t amount to any-
,thin , the oil discovery not having been made.

“ n the course of his trade a neighboring far-
mer got into his debt. The man owned about a
couple of hundred acres of the rest and
meanest land that ever a poor devi undertook
to make a living out of, one of those miserable
farms that like the ancient monster slowly
squeezes the life out of anybody who is unfor-
tunate enough to have anyt in to do with it.

.“ At last, unable to extricate imself from his
difficulties, the farmer, for a paltry sum, three
or four hundred dollars, I believe, just about
enough to take himself and family to the cheap
lands of the far West, made over the farm to
Grimgriskin, who reluctantly took it on a sort
of speculation, expecting to be able to strike
some greenhom with it, and so grt his own
money out of it, with a few extra dollars for his
trouble and risk.

“On that barren farm great oil discoveries
were made, and one morning the old man awoke
to find himself rich.

“His head was not turned by his sudden pros-
perit either, but he remained the same care-
ful s inflint as in the days of ore when he
traded groceries for eggs, wate his sugar and
bought potatoes with the largest half-bushel
measure that was ever seen.

“ As fast as the money came in be invested it
in real estate, and having the luck to come in
on the ground floor, every dollar be invested
returned him from a hundred to a thousand.

“ He is now one of the great moguls of the oil

ion, for he has been lWise enough never to
da ble in anything but oil, which lie lmows'all
about, and real estate in his own locality, a
monopoly which is to other monopolies as an
elephant is to a rat.”

“ It’s deuced funny that a mere nobody
should be so uncommonly lucky," remarked
Van Tromp, With all the contempt that the
scions of the old New York rammes feel for
these creatures of a (lay.

“ You have hit him exactly, he is a nobody,”
re lied Andrews. “ A little mean, grasping
is low With a soul no bigger than that of a flea,
and for all his enormous wealth he counts his
pennies as carefully as when his living depend-
cit upon his getting the odd cent in every trans.
a 101i. ‘

“ I’Ve do’ne considerable businem for him in
the last yea, and I think the old fellow has
takena fancy to me; at any rate he says I’m
the squarest business man he has ever had any
dealings with and that I shall have all his busi-
ness in future.”

 

 

' rabble?"

 

 

“ But how about the re‘st of the famflm
ticularly that lovely girl?” Clinton

\ I
. i ,

“She’s the old man’s daughter, I suppose, al-
though I can’t say that I detect any resem~
blance.”

“ Yes, she’s his daughter, and a perfectly
splendid girl, as different from the old folks as
can well be imagined, for the old woman, Mrs.
Grimgriskin, is as odd in. her way as the old
man is in his. ,

“Her name is Sally, a fact of which she is
utterly ashamed, for she has the highest and
most ambitious kind of notions, and the joke of

. the thing is that she always had them, even

when she was pinching along as the wife of a
country storekeeper.

“She always believed she was destined to}
great things, and when the windfall came, like
many another gocd wife she cried, triumphant-
ly, ‘ I told you sol‘

“ But with all her high ideas she is just as
mean and stingy as the old man.

“As an evidence of the kind of woman she
is, the names she bestowed upon her children ‘ ,
can be cited. " 7 j

“ The girl, who is the oldest, is called Sid ' ’
while the young man struggles under them 
of Alcibiades.” is;

“ A mean-looking customer he is, too,” Van.
Troni remarked. , .

“ on are quite right about that, and he is
just as mean and contemptible as he] "1%
Andrews observed. “He is a fellow utter 5;..-
without principle; he would steal in a minute”: 
I verily believe, if the boo was large enough, ’
and he wasn’t afraid of being caught, for he is
as cowardly as a rabbit. There isn’t really  3-3;

39’!

‘I 4"»? s

A l
u ,

more manhood about him than a five-year
boy. Not the slightest bit of backbone. . .,
like an eel; when on want to put your "
on him, you’ll find 8 isn’t there. ’ ’1 
“ A delightful family to encounter!” 
Tromp exclaimed. with a imace. “Why  ,.
earth did you invite us ere to meet ' 9‘;
“Good heavens! do you suppose I w luff“,
shoulder the entire burden of en ‘_ , I,"
them?” Andrews cried, in comic disma 
“Aren't you two my most rticuiar Q 
Haven’t you often rot your  j
to do anything to obl ge me and how can you, [:3
render me a greater service than to be me ii
when invaded by the ruthless horde, who ve:~;.:
descended upon me as the old-time 
flocked to Rome? ' ' (‘3,
“Besides, you’ll have some fun; all of 
three are odd characters and yOu’ll really m’ffi
jg: their peculiarities after you get used toil!
m. . 

“One caution, thou h: don’t lend Al I 

.any money, because t e chances are about. - 

 

hundred to one that you will never see it again
if you do. —

The young cub is of age and is in  bf 

a regular allowance from his father, whichjt“,
paid at stated periods, and as. he make- t’?‘ 1
int of honor to spend the money on dial-day", ,

e ts it, the rest of the time he sponges'upm“ .

 

c ulous acquaintances.” » y  
“The old gentlemanwill not foot the hi "1.4
then?” remarked Van Trom . ' 
“ Oh, no: there isn’t the slightest use okhit’
doing it. He's tried it twenty times and 
that it didn‘t do the least good. The more 
paid, the more there was to pay. It isle 
of disease with the youn man; he' does  
seem tobe able to help it; e hasn’t any 
bone, as I told you. . "V i '
“His intent is ood enou h; he’ll 
from you with t e firm i ea of repaying‘tbw,»
loan the moment he gets hold of is mason“;
but when that time arrives, he finds there ‘3 =
something he wants, so he lets your _
till the next time, and when that comes
just the same.” . , A -'
“Nice sort of a fellow!” Van hump-flax e,
claimed. ,3 ' ’f
“Oh, awfully nice,” remarked Clinton. . 5.‘ '3
“ He’s an inveterate gambler, too,” continual - a
Andrews, and is never so happhi as wheng ,
has the cards in his hands, but’ is about ‘ "7
worst player at an game you can u .-.-. "
that I ever met, an be generally has 0 ; u &
bad luck, too; but it doesn’t mama- :. 
though; even if the cards run in his favbr,’.1.
never, knows enough to play them to all
m .

  
    

 
  

 

   
 
   
  

2e. 
“He’d be a deuced good fellow to gum~
with-a man might make a good thing of it,” 
Van Tromp suggested. ‘ 33
“ Yes, if he hadanv money to back his, 
but he is seldom in funds and there wou “  
neither fun nor profit in winning his worth“?!
I. 0601’s.” . ' :' 1’“
i‘ 1' course the old man wouldn‘t. ’ " '
said Clinton. pony 
‘fNot a red: he will not even pay  ,
legitimate debts, such as tailor’s, hatter’s 
bootinaker’s bills. If the ('reditors comoflos:
him, he tells them sharply that his son is of 
and he is not responsible for his debit, and
{If ‘anybpdy is foo enough to wast him, 
e p i . " .:
“Cold consolation; but I should ‘5
creditors would make it warm for the young. 7,
" 9200an do!” And Mil-g?
“ we new: 
“ The old man has plenty of money to 

 
  

 

 

  
 

    
    
    

 

 

 

 

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14

1:.“',‘4....'. “LVN:

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

' L .s m e  -4. & “$41., _ .
, ,. .3 _ .

 

 

lawyers if not on his son, and neither the mother
nor daughter will quietly submit to the scape
grace being left in Jail.”

“ Oh, they have a better opinion of him than
the old man, eh?” questioned Van Tromp.

“Yes; he is his mother’s idol; his faults she
thinks are only venial ones, common to all
young men, and that with time he will outgrow
them,” Andrews replied. “And even Sidonia,
who is a 'rl without the least bit of nonsense
about her, ooks with a lenient eye upon his fol-
li s, and reallybelieves there is a deal of latent
{:00 l in the unlicked cub.”

“ Miss Sidonia, then, is the jewel of the fam-
ily,” Van Tromp remarked.

“You are ri ht there; she is a jewel beyond
price. Nature 065 some odd things sometimes,
and how it happened that such a sweet-tempered,
honest, thoroughly good girl should come of such
a breed is a m stery.”

“ Hallo! hal 01” exclaimed Clinton; “ by J ovel
deah boy, you speak as if you felt a personal
interest in the lady, don’t you know?”

“You have hit the mark exactly,” Andrews
re lied. “ Miss Sidonia has no more devoted

mirer than your humble servant.”

At this point dinner was announced.

CHAPTER XIX.
ALCIBIADEB PROPOSES A LITTLE GAME.

DINNER at Blithewood was an extremel

"elaborate affair; when rallied by his frien 3

~' upon his rather extrava ant bill of fare, An-
drews was wont to remar , quietly that it was

’ all the fault of his cock, and thati a man was
idiot enou h to en age a French “ chef,” he must
expect to ruined by the efforts of the “artist”
to maintain his reputation.

But for all that, Andrews was proud of the
name he had gained for givin as good a dinner
as could be had within a. bun red miles of New
York and that is sayioiig a gBood deal, when it is
considered that the in em abylon has of late

cars become the chosen heme of the great mil-

.. I io ‘res of America, and that almost every one

of $89 money-kings pride themselves upon the

style in which they live, no matter how poor or
lowly their origin. o

The enemies of the young man, for Andrews
had plent , as every man must expect who
climbs big above the shoulders of his competi-

. tors in the great battle of life—sneeringly re-

marked that there was a rest deal of policy in
aring speculator car-
ried sail.

'A good dinner has sometimes a wonderful in-

, fluence upon a man, and Andrews’s detractors

asserted that some of the best s iculations in
, 'which he had been engaged had t ieir origin in
an after—dinner siesta, when his pigeons—An-
drewa was compared to a hawk sometimes—
’ rly mellowed by the influence of a ood
dinner, washed .down b generous wine w ich

, at the young man’s tat. e flowed as freely as so
.' “much water, were ready to take a roseate view

oLalmost anything.
Andrews exerted himself to the utmost to

.j; I make the affair a success for as his guest had
‘ '. not had time to become f

amiliar, there was the
natural awkward feeling common to new ac-

" qimintanceship.
By the time the banquet was ended, for the

,1 lineal was furnished in such style that it really
’ulcserved to be so designated, all of the guests

5

 had got on excellent terms with each other.

The two dudes were thorough gentlemen,’ in
er-

‘ spite of their idiotic ways, and no fools ot

wise,.anrl before the dinner was over they dis-
 covered that the account Andrews had given of

'tbe Grimgriskin family was correct in every

cular.
, The old man wasamiserly old hunks, who
'thought himself to be one of the wisest and

 

i.

 

 smartest men in Christendom, and was by no

means bashful in letting people know his opin-
‘ion of himself.

The madam. i orant and pom us, made
herself ridiculous y the airs she disp yed.
’ Alcibiades was a lout of the first water, a

., mean-looking rascal, although dressed like a

 

 lord. Who ate like a ho , and drank twice as

much wine as was good for him; in fact, if it
had not been for a warning administered openly
‘ the pompous mother. without a rently
any thought of how ill-bred such a t ing was,

 

"‘ 'the young man would have become so drunk as

f her simple justice, so bo
decid

'to be incapable of rising from the table.

But the daughter—an! she was a jewel of a
girl. alady in eve respect, who seemed to be
mortaly ashamed o the coarse behavior of her

‘ relatives.

Andrews, in his description, had only done
h of the young men

ed.
Reanmeither of the two thought that due
weight been given to her many charms.
She was a blonde, about the medium hi ht.
with true golden hair, the loveliest dark- lue
eyes that were ever seen in a mortal’s head,

as though formed by a sculp-
 7 tor’s cunnin , and a complexion so perfect
 .that‘ it ed not the aids to beauty in the

tics, red and white, so common to

L shape of come
5 the toilet-table of the beauty of to-day

Bur voice, too, was rfect music, wonderful

 groontrast to the Iquea y tones of the old man,

 

 

the harsh voice of the mamma, who invariably
spoke in a high key as though she was yelliigg
at the hired man down at the barn a hundr
yards away, or the base, clownish utterances of
the dull-Witted Alcibiades.

Grapes row not from thistles, yet from the
mean, so id Grimgriskin race this perfect girl
had sprung.

It seemed like a miracle, yet nature, as if in
sheer sport, is continually doing such work.

After dinner the party adjourned to the par—
lor, where a couple of hours were spent in con-
versation, then as old Grimgriskin, who had
been asleep in an easy-chair for the better part
of the time, announced that he felt tired and
should retire to bed, the ladies decided to follow
his example.

Alcibiades declared, however—despite his
mother’s somewhat urgent suggestion that as
he didn’t look well he had better 0 to bed—
that he never slept any all night if e went to
bed early.

80 the father, mother and daughter departed,
leaving the son behind.

After they were gone Andrews suggested, as
there was a brilliant moon, and the night was
an extreme] balmy one it would be a good
idea to go own to the boat-house and enjoy a
ci ar on the balcony.

0th of the dudes and Master Alcibiades
thought the idea 8. ca ital one, and so the four
proceeded to the boat— ouse.

It was the first time that either of the cats
had visited Blithewood, therefore they a1 ex-
amined the boat-house with a great deal of
curiosity.

“ Upon me word, deah boy you have the
most perfect 'lpllace of the kind that I have ever
seen,’ Van omp remarked, after the party
had finished the inspection, lit their ci rs and
seated themselves upon the balcony; t e glori-
ous view of the moonlit bay with its vast ex-
panse of water, and Staten Island with its
myriad of lights, right before their eyes, the
broad Atlantic ocean to the left and New York’s

eat Metropolis on the right, flanked by Brook-
yn and Jersey City. -

“It is really a superb place, don’t you know?”
chimed in the other dude. “ It beats all the
show places that I have ever seen, and you’ve
always kept sodeuced quiet about it, too—in-
vited us down to your ‘httle box,’ just as if you
had some little six-by-nine shanty, not big
enou h inside to swing a good-sized cat.”

“ t’sa very tidy little ranch,” observed Al-
cibiades, in his rude, rough way, affecting the
free and breezy manner popularly supposed to
be common to the lar e-limbed big-hearted
sons of the boundless est, “ but you just
ought to see the old man’s shebang at Tarport,
that’s just outside of Bradford, ou know.
Well, I don’t want to boast, but i that don’t
knock the socks off of anything that you can
show”round these diggings I don’t want a red
cent.

The dudes elevated their eyebrows slightly as
they listened to this boast, but they were too
film to express the doubt they felt in regard

the matter for they were certain the speaker
was a colossa liar.

“You never saw the old man’s place at Tar-
port, I reckon, Andrews,” the young' man con-
tinued, addressing the host in the most familiar
manner. ,.

“No, I don’t think I ever had the pleasure,”
Andrews replied, “ but from the Well—known
taste of your father I’ve no doubt his mansion
and grounds are something out of the com—
mon.’

The New Yorkers looked significantly at each

other.

Although there wasn’t anything in the speak-
er’s voice or manner to betray it, yet they un-
derstood he was “ chaffing ” the boaster.

But Alcibiades was not keen-witted enough
:oBerceive this, but took the speech in good

ai

t .

“ Oh, the old man knows a thing or two i” the
young man exclaimed. “ If he didn’t, I reckon

6 would be scratching a poor man’s head about
this time instead of being worth twenty-fiVe or
thirty millions of dollars.”

“ Not much danger of his ever going to the
poor—house, eh?” Van Tromp remarked.

“Not much! on can bet your bottom dollar
on that. And 'des dad’s pile, the old woman
is well-fixed, too. I reckon she Could scare up a
million or two if she were put to her trumps.

“ You see, her dad lef her a farm which
turned out to be right in the heart of the oil
region, and she was smart enough to hold on to
it.

" And my sister, too, is worth a is of mil-
lion. She was a great pet of my fat er’s only
brother. His name was Sidney, and is sis had
been a boy she would have been named after
him; as it was, marm came as near to if as she

could.
“ Well, when uncle kicked the bucket he left
sis all he had. It wasn’t counted to be any great

shakes at the time. about fifty acres of might
mean land, but it is right in the heart of B -
ford now, and Biddle rakes in a big income
from it.

“ I’m the only one of the gang that isn’t W91]-
heeled. Just think, gents, all the old man is

 

willing to allow me is a miserable four thousand
dollars a year, and what is that to a 'cove with
my expensive habits; but the old bloke will peg
out one of these days and then I’ll have my
whack without any one to say me nay,” de-
clared the young reprobate, in the coarsest man-
ner.

“ I’ve no doubt you’ll make the money fly,”
Andrews remarked.

“ Oh, you can just bet I will! I’ll show the
boys a t in or two in the way of putting on
style. But say, Andrews, you’ve got a nice
quiet place here for a little game,” and the
speaker glanced into the cosey room within.

“ What do you say to flipping the pasteboards
for an hour or two just to pass away time?”

“ Well, I seldom pla : cards are not much in
my way,” the host rep ied.

“Ohol ou’re afraid that I will skin you, I
reckon!” lcibiades exclaimed, with a loud and
bantering laugh. “ And ou’re jolly well right
about that, too, for I’m a when it comes to
poker. I’ll bet you fifty you don’t dare to play i”

 

CHAPTER XX.
HIGH PLAY.

THE two dudes surveyed the host with con-
siderable attention. The were curious to see
how he would act under t e circumstances.

The coarse manner in which the banter had
been given was enough to excite the angry

.assion of even a man gifted with saint-like pa-

ience.

Both of the New Yorkers were counted to be

ex rt pla ers. .

rn wi silver spoons in their mouths, they
had become members of prominent clubs just
as soon_as they were old enough to be eligible
and as it is thought to be the “ proper caper,“
in the fast clubs of the metropolis, for the
younger members to indulge in a little uiet
gambling, as a natural con uence, bot of
{hem had got into the habit of p aying more or
ess.

They did not gamble for the sake of the
money, but because they were convinced it was
the proper thing for youn men of their posi-
tion to do. and then it he ped to pass away
time, which otherwise might hang heavy on
their hands.

Then, too, both of the young men really had
more money than the knew what to do with
and the loss of a few nndred dollars now and
then did not annoy them in the least.

Although a “ social game, just for amuse-
ment,” and for a trifle of monry, “merely to
make it interesting,” is permitted in quite a:
number of the prominent clubs of Gotham,
yet in few of them is there any high play al-
slowed.

If the players are ‘anxious to win or lose
thousands, they must select some other lace
to enjoy their game than in the club building.

And so it happened that both Van Tromp
and Clinton were-very good card-players, for
since the had arrived at the dignity'of being
clubites hey bad handled the steboai'ds every
week, more or less, and then. 00. both of them
had a natural talent in that direction.

But they were not gamblers, and would never
have dreamed of encountering professional play-
ers in professional rooms.

In regard to Andrews’s abilities in this line
thev knew absolutely nothing.

he speculator was a member of a couple of I

the most popular clubs but they had never
seen him andle a card, and were inclined to
believe that be neither knew nor cared much
for anything in that line.

Andrews took .the cigar from his mouth and
flipped the ashes from the end with his thumb
apd second finger, with an air of great deliber-
a 10!).

Then he looked in a dreamy sort of n ay, half
closing his eyes, out upon the moonlit waters,
and said:

“ You are willing to bet me fifty that I don’t
dare to lay you a game of poker?” I

“ Tha was my horn that on heard r-blow-
ing, and here is the solid sin to back up what
I said l”.Al.cibiades exclaimed, drawing forth
from an inside pocket as he spokes. thick roll
of bills, and flourishing them defiantly in the

am

“Well, I don’t see as I can make fifty dol-
lars in any easier wav than by covering your
bet.” Andrews remarked, languid] , and as if
1h: didn’t take the least interest in he proceed—

g.
“But are you in earnest in this matter, or
are you only executing that clever strategic
movement, native to the soil of the New World,
and which is pularly called ‘blufiing ’i”
“Money ta k and here’s in fifty,” and A].
cibiades t two twenties an a ten in Van
Tromp’s and. “Now then, put up your sugar
and {game up to the scratch f you mean busi-
ness
“1 really will have to take that fifty since
you press me so hard,” and in the some cool,
careless way that had characterised his action:
since the young man began to banter him. An-
drews drew out his pocket-book and sel
fr the bills it contained—and the book
a ly number—a fifty-dollar note, placedit

 

 

  

.18”,

 

I”. i, .r' ,

5

H Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

15

 

in Van Tromp’s hand on top of Alcibiades’s
wager. _

“ There’s your money covered, the bet is
made, and now I‘m. your man as soon as you
like,” he continued, rising as he spoke.

The rest followed hls example.

“ Han me if I don’t believe that you are 0—
ing to co lar that flf_t l” exclaimed the hope ul
scion of the Grimgrls '11) line, annoyed at the loss
of his foolish wager and yet delighted that he
had forced Andrews into a game.

Like many another man of like caliber, Alci—
blades flattered himself that he was a “card~
sharper,” and being satisfied that the host would
prove to be a pigeon worth the plucking he had
deliberately planned to draw him into gambling
so he would be able to fleece him.

Oh, sacred hospitality how thou art some-
times insulted!

“ Yes, yes, as you elegantly and terse] put it,
I’m going to ‘ co ar’ this fifty sure, w ether I
succeed in getting any more or not,” Andrews
remarked, leading the way into a snug a art-
nlcnt fitted up for a smoking-room at the ew
York end of the boat-house.

Andrews lit the gas, drew down the curtains,
at the same time requesting his guests to help
themselves to chairs.

There was a square table in the center of the
apartment which was exactly the thing required
for the ame.

“Eg , I forgot the cards!” exclaimed An-
drews, suddenly. “We can’t very well play
without the pasteboards. I must have some up
at the house though.” _

“ I’ve got half a dozen cks in my pocket,”
young Grim 'skin remar ed, in a rather sheep-
lsh way, an then from his coat-tail pocket he
drew out a neatly done up package.

“You see, I thought you mi ht not havea
stock on hand down here and so laid in a sup-
ply‘ in the city,” he explained.

he dudes looked at each other. If they had

not been previously warned by Andrews in re-
gard to the peculiarities of the young man, they
most certainly would have believed that by
mistake they had fallen in with some regular
card-sharper who went about with the painted
pictures in his pocket seeking whom he might
 .u i
ey are square, gents. 've cu m

word of honor on that,” Alcibng yadd ,
earnestly.

“Certainly, of course,” Andrews remarked,
in hisieasy way.

“ I spoke, you see, because I didn’t know but
what you might think I was trying to put up
some sort of a game on ou—tryin to ring in
a cold deal—lllarked 08.“ s or somet  of that
sort,” young Grimgrlskin explained, in a lame
sort of way.

“ My dear fellow, I am sure I should never
have even dreamed of such a thin I!” the host
re lied. “Only a low, miserable, t ieving ras-
ca would attempt such a trick as that. Among
genflemlen ,lm act of the kind would be an im-

bi 'ty.

Alcibiades looked a little dubious at this.

In his experience he had discovered that the
“ gentlemen” whom he had been accustomed to
associate with, would not only jump at a chance
to perform so skillful an operation, but if they
succeeded, would afterward boast of it as if
they had accomplished a meritorious act.

“Well, I didn’t know,” the oung man ob-
served. “ Of course I wouldn’t 0 such a thing.
but I thought, maybe, that some of you might
be a leetle suspicious.”

“ Oh, no!” exclaimed Andrews.

“ Certainly not,” said Van Tromp.

“ M dear sir, we wouldn’t be guilty of think-
ing 0 such a thing for the world,” Clinton
hastened to remark.

But as the two dudes spoke each had caught
the e eof the other, and from the peculiar ex-
pr on therein, judged that their opinion in
regard to tip hope of the Grimgriskin line was
exactly the same, and the words they uttered
did not in the least express it.

Both behaved the young man to be a rascal of
the meanest degree. who would not hesitate at
any trick to serve his end, if there was a pros-
pect of doing it without being detected.

Alcibiades had laid the package updn the
table and Andrews opened the wrapper and
took out the cards.

“ I do ’t know much about cards,” the host
remark , as he removed the individual wrap-
rs from a couple of the packs and pushed
hem toward the two dudes.

“ Here, {on ntlemen are experts in this sort
of thing, bel eve, ar’n‘t these the regular arti-
\0188?”

They were the common “ star-backed ” steam—
boat and were all right, as far as the
dudes coul see, and they said so.

‘Well, here’s for you then!” and Andrewa
took 11 one of the s and commenced to
shume e cards. “ an Tromp, have the kind-
ness to hand that hundred over to me. It’s
mine, I believe.”

“ All right!” Alcibiades exclaimed, “ but I’ll
skinyououtofit andafewt tbboot,
, are you are an older.”

‘ “ Oh, it’s to be thousands, eh i” said the host.

r. “You bet! That’s the kind of amanI am!

\

 

No tvrveczpenny game for me. Fix the ante at a
hund —”

“And the limit?” Andrews asked.

“ No limit at all till you’re bu’sted!” Alcibiades
cried.

“Well, well, you are going in wholesale!
Excuse the question, but are you financially
situated to stand such a racket?” the host in-
quired.

“You can bet high on that!” Alcibiades re—
plied, triumphantly. “ The old man came down
with a thousand, to-day, my uarterly allow-
ance, then the old woman tip me a couple of
thousand more to square off some urgent credit-
ors whom I pretended were after me, and, in
addition, I struck my beautiful, but idiotic sis-
ter, for five thousand to invest in a fpaying
speculation, and I reckon that a game 0 poker
With such a man as I am to manipulate the
cards is about as good a thing as a fellow can
scare up nowadays. So, you see, I am well-
heeled, and you can skin me out of eight thousand
dollars, if you can play poker better than I
can.

“You are just trying to scare us, I guess,”
Andrews said, with a laugh, “ but we are going
for you for all we know; so get your money
ready, gentlemen, and we’ll out for deal.”

CHAPTER XXI.
A MAGNANIMOUS OFFER.

YOUNG Grimgriskin out first, and he triumph-
antl displayed the kin of spades.

“ ow is that for big ’1?” he exclaimed. “I’ll
bet five to one that king captures the deal.”

“ I’ll have to take you up on that,” Andrews
said. “ I can’t really allow a Westerner to
frighten us New Yorkers clear out of our boots.
How will you have it in hundreds?”

“ No, thousands! I‘m ill for big‘play to-night,
I want you to understand!" Alcib' es exclaimed,
boast-fully.

“Put up your money,” was Andrews’s quiet
re 'oinder.

he young man counted out five thousand
dollars and placed it on the table, Andrews laid
two five hundred dollar notes on the top of the

 

pile.

“ I think, my dear Grimgriskin, that you were
rather rash in making that bet,” the host ob-
served. “The odds are not warranted by the
state of affairs. There are three of us et to
cut, and there are seven cards in the pac that
will either tie or beat your king;

“Oh, ou’re one of the calcu ting gamblers,
I see!” 0 rved Alcibiades, with a sneer.

“ Yes, I generally try to use my wits to the
best advantage in any enterprise in which I
may become engaged, card-playing not ex-
ce ted.”

‘ I’ve always noticed that the fellows who
are so smart in calculating are generally the
ones who come out at the little end of the horn,”
Alcibiades replied. “I never knew any gam-
bler who played according to a system who
dld‘nfi g?! brolltg atIthe end. posted

y ear , m not in regard to
that sort of shit ,” Andrews remarked. “ y
acquaintance wit amblers and their ways is
extremely limited. ut whether in card-plav-
ing or anything else I think that calculation
and science will beat tluir and dumb-luck in the
long run.

“But come, cut, gentlemen. Grimgriskin is
anxious to rake in my thousand.”

Van Tromp out next, and displayed a ten-

“ Aha!” cried the millionaire’s son, in high
delight, “ you’ll have to do a heap better than
that to beat me!”

“ By Jove! my deah fellow, you are giving us
as much talk as a boy over a ame of marbles!"

exclaimed Van Tromp, nettl by the boastful
wags of the other. ’
linton cut and displayed a qu

een.
A whistle escaped from the lips of Alcibi-
:‘ Hang me if that wasn’t a close shave!” he

on .

But the grin of exultation upon his face died
away when Andrews tried his fortune and the
king of diamonds greeth his eyes:

‘ A tie!” the dudes exclaimed. m a, breath,

“ But the money’s mine, anyhow!” Grimgris-

kin amorted.

“ Eh?” chorused the three, in a breath.

“ I said the money is mine. an how!” Alci-
biades repeated, getti red in t e {see and
showmg evident signs anger. “ And so it is,
too; I win the bet!”

“ How do you make that out?” asked Andre as,
an amazed look upon his face.

“ Yas, b Jove! I don’t understand !” Van
Tromp dec ared.

“ Neither do 1,” Clinton protested.

“ Why, .you bet that you could beat m king,
and you ain’t done it: that k' don’t bea mine;
giggly ties it, that’s all,” Algfinades responded,

y. ,
The dudes looked at each other in surprise,
as); unmixed with disgust, at thi preposterous

i.
But Andrewslaid back in hlschairand

laughed heartily.
“Oh, no, my dear GritgP’iskin; to use the
language dear to the heart the sporting-man,

\

'and

 

that cock won’t fi ht. You can’t get out of it
in that way. on offered to bet five to one
that your king would capture the deal; those
Were your exact words; I am willing to leave it
to these gentlemen who have no interest in the
matter.”

“ Most certainly!” Van Tromp exclaimed,
promptly.

“Exact words, deah boy!” chimed in the

other.

“ Well, I didn’t intend it that way; that wasn’t
what I meant!” Alcibiades protested.

“ Of course it is impossible for any one to
know what you meant outside of what you said,”
Andrews remarked, quietly. “ As the matter
now stands the money is in doubt; you have not
lost, neither have I won. It is a tie, and we
must cut again and the highest card takes both
deal and money.”

The small soul of young Grimgriskin by this
tune had become alarme . If he had not been
heated by the wine of which he had partaken so
copiously at dinner, he never would have thought
of making any such rash bet, and now he was in
agony to find some way to get out of the matter,
since his impudent claim to the stakes was not
going to be allowed.

He thought he had a sure thing or else he would
not have made the wager, but now that it was
apparent his opponent had just as good a chance
to win as himself, he was dreadful anxious to
get out of the hole into which his usual reckless-
ness had brought him.

“ Oh, well, as there is a misunderstanding

about the matter, suppose we call the thin a A

draw and let each man take his money,” A ci-
blades suggested, with an air of great frankness,
striving to make it appear that e was anxious
to do the square thing.

“ But there isn’t any misunderstanding,” An.
drews inter .

“ Decided y not,” remarked Van Trom , who
enjoyed the disconlfiture of the “cad,’ as he
mentally styled the son of oildom. .

“ Everything is as plain as can be, deah boy i”
added the other dude, delighted at the chance
to catch the boaster on the hi .

. “But I’ll tell you what I’l do, as you seem
to think you have ot yourself into a scrape,”
the host remarking “ The chances now are
even; you are as likely to win as I, and I stand
as g a chance as you. I will put up
dollar for dollar with you, and since we are
gomg in for big things to-night, let’s make the
stake eight or ten thousand a side. That will

be worth cutting a card for. What do you _

say?’

At this liberal offer the gambler’s frenzy seiz-
ed upon young Grimgl'iskin.

It was a stupendous chance; at one blow he
could clutch a small fortune if the blind goddess
deigned to smile upon him, and why should she
not?

“All right; I’m your man; but seven thou-
sand odd is all I’ve got.” _

“ We‘ll make the stakes seven thousand five
hundred apiece then. How will that suit?”

asked Andrews, producing his money and begin- .,

nin to count it out n n the table. '
“ 'rst rate!” and rimgriskin added bills to
the pile upon the table until the sum of the
wager was made up. r
“ This is a pretty big thing,” he added, as he
gazed upon the money with a longi look.

that fifteen thousand dollars”: depends upon the
turn of a card.”
“Not often, I presume, but then we’re all

high flyers here to-ni ht, true-blue sports, and  A
the host, lightly, his  ‘

no mistake,” observ
easy, good-humored manner a strange contrast

to the feverish anxiety which had seized upon.

youn Grimgriskin, whose face was flushed,

don’t strike an ace then may Mercury, the

of thieves and gamblers, have mercy upon ytfirlg’ V  

exclaimed Andrews, jovial] .

y .
Alcibiades’s hand fairly shook as he cut the" . v

“those hands trembled as he reached for the"
m .
“ Go ahead; take the first cut, and if you,‘

“I » f ',
reckon that it ain‘t often, even in Tew York, ‘

 

cards, and it was all he could do.to re ress a  ._ 
hollow groan when a miserable little. \ ve-spot _  

met his eyes. ,

Tohismind it was a million to one that he
would lose now.

“Curse the infernal luck!" he cried. “It
serves me right, though. for putting such a pot
of money on a single eyent.”

“I haven’t won. it yi-t,”the host observed.
“There are an and threes and twos in the
pack.”

“ I’d be willing to bet a million that you will
skin me!” Grimgrlskin cried, angrily.

“The chances are in my favor, of course; I
will admit that; but there is no telling who is
Governor until after election.” ”

Andwith the words Andrews cutthe cards '

and displayed a six-spot. .
The stak
eswmhiabutbyavegcloaeshavo

“Iknew you wouldwin whenlsawthat .-

cursed five-spot,” Alcibiades observed, gloomin
hisbrowsconu-acted with anger,”wa
his st gather

“ y have Ion mthuor-heny! lightest \
nd Grimgriskin sunk in‘ .

ispamhed!”

\

 

 

 
   

  

w

 

16

 

 

'his chair and glared around him in a manner '

which plainly showed it would delight him
greatly to have been able to pick a quarrel with }
somebody. ' I

" Oh, yes; what will you lidViH-hampagne or ,
brandy l” and Andrews, rising, unlocked a closet I
at one end of the room. 1

“Brandy! something to put some life in me '
after this infernal run of ill-luck!" Urimgriskin
cried fiercely.

“ l ill on try something, gentlemen.” the
host ask , , addressing the other two.

“If you had a little soda now. some brandy-
and-soda wouldn’t go badly,” V an Tromp re-
marked. l

“Oh, no, not at all. It would be decidedly *
the roper caper!” Clinton observed.

“ he soda is on hand !”

And Andrews drew a little table to the side of [
the one in the center apartment and placed the I

r
y

,vglasses and fluids upon it. I
I

Alcibiades took a huge horn of brandy, while
the other three indulged in a modest “ brandy- ‘
and-soda ” apiece. l

“Good-by to my fun to-night,” young Grim- l

griskin cried, “ for I am about cleaned out. No .

to accept my I. O. U.’s.”

I Egan for me unless you gentlemen will be will-

" play boldly.

say ten thousand dollars. I know you are per-

‘ Certainly: why not?” Andrews replied. “ 0f 
course you are a stranger to these gentlemen, 3
but I will back your I. O. U.’s with my name,
and that will be the same as cash.”

CHAPTER XXII.
- ANDREWS PLAYS A BOLD GAME.
“WILL you really, new!” exclaimed the
young man, amazed at this onerous offer, the
more so because it was entire y unexpected.
“ Certainly, to a reasonable amount of course,

 

fectlv good for it. ”

“ h, yes certainly, and if I ain‘t the old man
is!” young (:rimgriskin exclaimed, all his natural
swagger and bounce returning now he saw there
was a chance for him to take )art in the game,
backed by funds ample enoug to enable him to 1

 

Like many another Would-he fast young man,
Alcibiades imagined that he had a natural ,
genius for card-playin .

In fact, he believ he was a card-sharp of
the vilrst water, aiid felt perfectly satisfied of :
his ability to “get away,” as he commonly ex- I
mwd it, with the smartost gambler in the

One would have thought that after a man

1‘ 1' had tried for fifty or sixty times to accomplish

this font, and had been ingloriously unsuccess-
ful, the truth would be finally beaten into him,
and he would come to the conclusion he was not
so skillful as he had believed himself to be, but

. Grimgriskin was one of those thick-headed dolts

 against him—all the bystanders said they had
,. never witnessed any
 their lives, and all the time they were laughing :

whose self—esteem was so strong as to preclude
his admittin the truth.
It was all uck every time—the cards had run

such run of bad luck inl

in their sleeves at the credulity of the “ pigeon” *
who was being so handsomely plucked by the
‘f hawks.”

In fact, Grimgriskin had visited Blithewood I
for the express purpose of “ skinning ” the host ;

  of the mansion.

He did not know a great deal about Andrews, .
but as far as he had seen, he appeared to be a

vial, easy-going fellow, a sharp business man, i
t such men are often extreme ignorant as far i
as as of chance are concerned.
‘ ndrcws had pleat of mono and if he could ,
bolinduced to play, A cibiades clt sure he would
be able to win a goodly sum from him. |

True, he had made a pretty bad beginning, for 

i it was no joke to lose nearly eight thousand dol-

. hrs on a single bet, but that was just because ‘:

happened to favor his opponent; when it
_ me toa regular game where skill was needed, I
there wasn’t any doubt in his mind in regard to '

 v the issue.

Then, too, he realized that he had been care-

, less and hast in making the bet, and he inward- .
' 1y resolved t at he would not be caught napping i

, sight when you happen to get a little short of

. an
. Andrews opened the table drawer and passed

‘ llsheets into the proper s

 “a second time.

In spite of this ood resolution, though, he i
he] himself inali ralmanuortothe brandy, I
alt ongh he had already taken far more liquor
than was good for him.

Andrews laughed at the young man’s speech.

“1 tell you whatitis, gentlemen, it’sa danced
handy thingto have a father worth twenty or
thirty millions upon whom you can draw at

cash.”
" You can just bet it is!” Alcibiades declared.
And then they all laughed, although the others
felt perfectly sure that there wasn’t a grain of
truth in the statement.
a “ Here. I‘ll get my I. O. U.’s ready,” Alcibiades
continued. “ l’ll draw them out and, leave the
sum bldnk, then fill ’em in as I need them. Got

paper? I’ve a stylograph pen here.”

i the blind

 

Grun- ,

some sheets of note-paper over to you
r the

grlskin, who immediately rpceeded to
P
on

I

9088.
“All you need to do is to write the amour!t

VJ”,

 

| denier l

 

fi'l‘

Kate_gSucott,_~the Decoy Detective.

 

 

the face in fi urcs, and then when the game is
ended, if luc goes against you, you can give
'our 1. 0. U. for whatever amount you may
have lost,” the host suggested.

“That’s so, that‘s business, over time, ain’t
it?" exclaimed the young man, ta 'ing another
glass of brandy

I Andrews “saw” him and went ten thousand
‘ dollars better.

Alcibiades was in despair. To “call” his an-
tagonist he must put up ten thousand, and his
last dollar was on the board.

He groaned aloud.

“ This is a cursed shame!” he cried. “ I know

 

“ I think it is about the ticket, and now for I that I can skin you this time, for you are only

fun !”

I bluliing; you don’t hold the cards to beat my

Saying which, Andrews proceeded to deal the I hand!”

cards.
We will not weary the reader with the dry

ican, known as draw-poker.

Suffice to say that the game continued from
the time the party sat down until about four
o’clock in the morning—continued through the
long, long night until the cold gray light of the
morning began to line the eastern skies.

And never did Dame Fortune show herself to
be a more capricious jado than on this occasion,
for she veered about like a weather-cock.

For the first con 1e of hours Van Tromp won
largely and every yelse lost, then his luck
deserted him and perched u n Clinton’s ban-
ner, and that young gent eman’s pale and
watery e es assumed a saucer-like expression
when at t 9 close of a game he gazed upon apile
of bills and I. O. U.’s which represented about
thir thousand dollars.

“ y Jove, boys, I don’t know but what we
ought to stop!” he exclaimed, trembling with
excitement. “It really seems like robbery for
me to win your money in this wholesale way.”

“ Oh, yes, of course, draw out now when you
have skinned us of our last dollar!” Alcibiades
snarled, in a terrible bad humor and very much
the worse for the liquor which he had drank so
freely. “ But on Won’t do it, and I want you
to understand hat too! I, for one, won’t stand
any such infernal nonsense! I want a chanceto
win some of my money back, and I’m going to
have it too!”

And the young man
a ferocious way that be other became really
alarmed lest he should be forced into a personal
encounter with the son of oildom.

“ Oh, that is all right, Alcibiades,” Andrews
hastened to intor )096. “Our good friend here

{ hasn’t the least idea of doing anything dishon-

orable. He only thinks of stopping out of mercy
to our depleted wallets; but, old fellows, you
might as well go ahead and clean us out com-
pletely since you have got your hand in.”

“ Certainly, just as you please, anything to
oblige, you know.”

And at it again they want.

But the sli ht pause seemed to have afforded
the fickle g dose an opportunity to change her
mind, for from that time forth she smiled no
more upon the young dude.

And Andrews became as lucky as he had pre-
viously been unlucky.

Pot after pot—as the stake in the delightful
game of poker is called—fell to his share, while
guides; frowned so persistently upon
the unluc y Grim riskin that in nearly every
deal he was compel ed to throw up his cards and
“ pass,” not having anything worth risking any
monei upon.

At al past three Clinton made a brief men-
tal calculation, and as a result announced that
he believed he had got enough.

“ Ten thousand dollars, don’t you know, isa
pretty large sum for a fellow to get rid of in
one Sitting, ’ he remarked, ]just a trifle soberly.
“And, by Jove! it is rea ly more than I can
afford, for it will make me as short as the deuce
for a time, so you will have to excuse me.”

“All right, but you understand that I hol

myself ready to give on your revenge at any
time,” Andrews remar ed.
Clinton nodded, but in his heart of hearts he
id to himself that he hoped to be shot if any
one ever caught him playing poker for more
than a twenty-five cent ante ereaftcr.

“B George, I’m out seventeen thousand!”
Van rom exclaimed, abruptly. He had just
made the iscovery, and it astounded him.

“ I‘ll try one more hand though." _

Grimgrlskin had suffered less than therest for
he had only lost ei ht thousand in I. O. U.’s.

The cards were t calt.

“'ith an oath the Westerner threw his down;
nothing worth risking money on as usual.

Van Tromp ventured five hundred dollars
mien two pair only to be beaten by “three of a

nd ” in AndreWs’s hand.

” That settles me," the New Yorker remarked.

“ Keep on—keep on!” Alcibiades shouted.
“Luck must turn some time. and I reckon I
ought to stand a chance to win somethin now.”

One more hand ended the game thong .

Alcibiades got a pair 'yf queens and was lucky
enough to catch anothe in the draw, and so he
“ want in” for all he was worth.

A stood “ pat ;” that is, he was content
with his original hand and did not want any
cards, alth h Grimgriskin drew three.

This 0 ht have been a warning to Alcibi-
ades that is opponent had a hand of unusual
strength, but he was too rash to heed it.

He believed that fortune was about to smile
upon him at last, and so he ventured

8!!

ate . .
He bet ti; the limit fixed upon the I. 0. U.’s.

' .,l v if].

lared at Clinton in such ,

rashly—

‘ details of the scientific game, sopurely Anier- ‘

l

 

“My money says I do,” Andrews replied,
with a quiet smile.

“ And that is where you have the advantage.
Oh, if I only had ten thousand more! Ab!”
and the young man gave a quick, convulsive

gas ).

He seemed to hesitate; ’twas only for a mo-
ment though; then abruptly he. pulled a memo-
randum-book from an inner pocket in his vest,
and from it produced a slip of paper, evidently
a bank chec , and the rest who were watchin
him noticed that his hand trembled as he pin
the per on the table.

“ ere’s a check of the old man’s in my favor
for ten thousand dollars; if you’ll accept it as
cash, I’ll ‘ call’ you.”

“Certainl !. Indorse it; that’s just as good
as gold, a it may the turning point in
your luck,” Andrews answered, as cool as an
iciberg. l d

s eager y as rowning men at straws
Alcibiades wrote his name on ghzslback of thé
Shock, and threw it upon the money already
‘ up.

 

CHAPTER XXIII.
ran msnEaMAN.

“ Tim-Ric’s your ten thousand, and I ‘ call’
you; what have you got? Can you beat three

ueens?” And nervously Grimgriskin displayed
t e cards upon the table.

“Old fellow, I am really sorry for you, for I
hate to clean a man out, but your three queens
are not good. Here are four tens, with an ace
high.”

Andrews laid down the cards one by one, and
Alcibiades sunk back in his chair with a. hollow
groan.

“ Take a drop of brandy, old chappie,” sug-
gestsd Van Tromp, really feeling sorry for
young _Gr1mgriskin’s distress, although at the
same time he despised him. for it was only too
plain that he wasn’t anything but a vulgar cad
with none of the manliness of a true gentleman
about him.

Clinton, equally as ready as his friend ten-
der asmstance, although he felt fully as gr t a
('ontem t for the fellow, hastened to ur out a
glass 0 brandy and tendered it to A cibiades.

G1 imgriskin drained it at a draught, and the
stimulant seemed to ut new life into him, al-
though the princ1pal e ect of the liquor was to
completely intoxicate him.

But even in that state his low cunning did not
desert hi

is Oh,
thickened ton
man to lose as

m.
it’s all right, b0 3,” he said, with a
e, “but toll you, it hurts a
have lost to-night. .I’m about

twenty-eight thousand dollars out, and the old .

man would give me rats if he knew that I had
used that check of his, so, cats, I want you all
to pledge me your wordso honor that you won’t
let on to an body about it.”

“ Certain y not 1” Van Tromp replied, prompt-

y.
“Of course all the particulars of this little
afi'air are to be kept secret,” Clinton remarked.
“ It is all confidential, and none of us must re-
veal the details.” ,
“Decidedl not,” Andrews exclaimed. “It
would be a lack eye for all of us if it should
et out that we have been Blaying so recklessly.
little quiet game is a right, but we have
been goin it in re ar ambler style to-
night, and it would un ouht ly cause a great
deal of talk if the particulars should become
known. _

“ Then, gentlemen, just consider what a tit-
bit it would be for the reporters, and whata
fine account would be fixed up for the news-
papers, thh some attractive head-line, like

Gambling in high-life,’ to call every one‘s at-
tention ti it.” ‘

The dudes fairly shuddered; above all things
in this world, they dreaded the ubiquitous news-
paper-man. with his ready pencil and his unlim~
ited “ gall,” to use the Vernacular.

“ Oh, we mustn’t any of us breathe a word of
this night’s—fun.” Van Trom remarked. and
with all his sang-froid be con! n’t be] making
a grimace When he so characterizedp
formance which had cost the three losers so
heavily.

“ Not a word,” Clinton chorused.

“ The old man would make it hot for me, you
bet our life!” Alcibiades exclaimed.

“ t is understood that we are all to keep our
own counsel,” the host remarked. “And, of
course, on understandafentlemen, I hold my-
self rea y to give you your raven .e at any
time that it ma please you to demand it.”

“Oh! I‘ll go or you again—I
by a jugful!” Alcibiades cried.
understand that l dhn’t take a back seat when
it comes to poker-playing for any man in the

 

world 1"

the per- ‘

’t satisfied, ,
‘ I wantyouto v,

 

 

 

      
 
 

 

 

 

"brandy and then

‘ades, who,

V 'Kate Scott, the Decoy De

. i w
« ~—p , .
. t

l.“‘

tective.

 

 

The two friends nodded, but did not speak;
they were not generally supposed to be pos-
sessed of any extra amount of common sense,
but they were not fools enough to want any
more of the “amusement” for which they had
paid so heav‘illly. _

“It was luck to-ni ht,” young Grimgris-
kin continued. “ You ha an awful run of luck,
and that is all there is to it. The next time I go
for you, I’ll bet a farm that you don’t come out
ahead.” ‘

“Very likely not; there’s no telling about
that sort of thing,” Andrews answered, picking
up his winnings and stowiiig them away in his
pockets, as carelessly as though they were so
much waste—pa r, with the exception of old
Grimgriskin‘s c eck for ten thousand dollars.

This be folded up carefully and placed it in

his pocketbook. I
A cibiades watched the check disappear With
eager, hungry eyes.
‘See here, od fellow!” he exclaimed. “It

was a mi h foolish thing for me to part with
that check, or I believe the old man would take
my scalp if he found it out, so you’ll do me a
great favor if lyou’ll just keep that—don’t part
with it, and 1’] redeem it.”

“Oh! that’s all right; don’t trouble yourself
about that. I’ll look it up in my safe, and you
can have it at an time.” the host replied.

“ And as for t e I. 0. U.’s, I’ll square them
ed as soon as 1 make a raise out of the old wo-
man or sis. ” I .

“ Don’t worry yourself—any time Will do,”
Andrews replied, as if the matter was not of
the slightest concern to him. “ Suit yourself
and you will suit me.”

Andrews looked at his watch.

“B Jove! gentlemen, it is after four
o’cloc !” he exclaimed, in surprise. “ Why, I
wouldn’t have believed it. The time has passed
so quickly that I did not believe it was yet two.

“ Well, let's take a. parting drink, gentlemen,
and then we’ll adjourn to our beds.

“ Luckily I’vs a day ofl’, for it was my inten-
tion to remain at home and entertain my visit-
ors, although it is something rather out of my
line; but still, as there are adios in the case,
this time I was obliged to depart from my usual
ru e.

“ You need not hu yourselves about get-
ting up, gentlemen; this is Liberty Hall here,
you know, and you can have breakfast when-
e‘veriyou wish." .

And Andrews filled out a liberal allowance of
ushed the decanter toward
the dudes, but be ore they could help them-
selves Alcibiades seized in, exclaiming:

“Youth before beauty, you know!” and be
filled his glass to the very brim. .

The young men laughed, for Grimgriskin was
too much under the influence of liquor for them
to take offense at his insolence.

When the glases were filled—this was the
first time that the host had drank anything
since the game began—Andrews proposed a
toast.

“Here’s wishing you better luck next time,
gentlemen, and no worse luck for myself.” .

The toast drank, all rose, and then the discov-

ery was made that young Grimgriskin had taken
so much liquor as to be unable to stand, and if
Clinton, who was next to him, had not promptly
hastened to his support he would have fallen
headlon . '
“ Halfii, hallo, old fellow, you are conSiderably
under the Weather!” Andrews exclaimed, coni-
ing at once to the rescue and supporting AlClbl-
ades on the other side.

“ Yes, the brandy has got into my legs; never
affects my head though: I‘vo got too much
brains for that l” boasted the young man.

“ Well, that is rather odd,” the host admitted.

“It‘s always the way with me—infernal ir
of legs, alwa s disgrace me!” muttered A]. i-
espite his boast, was extremely
thick of utterance and beginning to talk in the
incoherent fashion common to the devotees of
Kin Alcohol.

“ a air here is foul for the room is close,”
said Andrews. “Let us go outside; the balmy
breezie of the morning will be apt to freshen us
up a bit.” .

“ Yesh, let’s go outSIde and go a-flshingl" ex-
claimed young Griiugriskin, as Andrews and
Clinton assisted him to the piazza.

In fact the two had absolume to carry him
there, for Alcibiades’s legs were not the least
bit of use to him; he could neither walk nor

stand.

By this time the eastern skies were streaked
with rays of rosy light, heraldin the coming
of the sun-god, and the breeze t t SWept in
through the Narrows, as the entrance to New
York bay is termed, came straight. from the
bosom of old ocean and was laden With balmy,
health-giving ozone. -

After the Party get outside, Alcibiades, after
the fashion 0 some drunken men, began to get
(1 his and noisy.

“ t‘s go a-flshing!” he bowled. “13th all
go a-flshing; I’m he boss fisherman from Kala-
mazoo, yigbyifi‘ wow!” and he yelled at
the top of nngs would
war-dance if be

his 168'.

have exemted a

t
yo
had retained any contml orer

 

Andrews was annoyed. The public road was
between the boat-house and the mansion, and
the early birds, in the she of milkmen, bakers,
grocery-clerks and butc er-boys in their wa-
gons, were beginning to pass along, and the
master of Blithewood would gladly have given
a good round sum rather than have the report
become current that he and his guests had been
indul ing in an all—night spree.

“ oldcyour tongue! don’t act like a fool!” lie
exclaimé . “Don’t you see the wagons on the
road?——and there’s some men in a boat below,
too!" he exclaimed.

“ Let’s go a-fishing with them, old fel’!” Al-
cibiades cried. “ I’ll stand the expense! what’s
the odds as long as you’re happy?”

An idea flashed upon Andrews. He had taken
aquick survey of the boat, and saw from the
lines and basket of bait exposed upon the deck,
that it was a fishing-craft.

If he could arrange the matter with the peo-
ple on board—there were only two on the
craft, a weather-beaten old man and a tawny-
faced lad—it would be an excellent lan to sail
down the bay for a few hours an thus give
young Grinigriskin an opportunity to “sober
u

Not for a great deal would he have been
willing that the peerless Sidonia should know
that her scapegrace of a brother had got drunk
in his company.
bOAtnd so he at once hailed the fisherman in the

a :

“Hello, don’t you want some passengers?"

CHAPTER XXIV.
PHENIx‘s iDEA.

AND now we must return to the two in the
sail-boat, in order that they may march up
abreast of the time when they were accosted
by the owner of Blithewood from the boat-
house, for, as the reader has doubtless guessed,
the two in the boat were the great detective and
his new ally.

The girl had not had an opportunity to re-
late to Phenix the particulars of the strange
adventure through which she had passed.

She had been warned by letter to meet him
ata certain place at a certain hour, and a dis-
guise sugglested. -

Throug her ignorance of the way—for it is
not an easy matter for a stranger unacquainted
with the wateroside to go directly to any par-
ticular point after mghtfall—she was some ten
minutes late in reachi the dock from whence
the start was to be ma e.

And at first she was really in doubt whether
to address the 'm and zzled old‘man who
was sitting on t e string-piece of the ier, smok-
ing a short pi , when she a roac ed, for he
wasasunliket emanwhoms eexpectedtosee
as could possibly be.

But Phenix, being posted in regard to her dis-
guise, recognized tlie girl at once.

“ You are late ” he said, speaking in his
natural voice, so that she might know who he
was.

She explained that she had had considerable
difliculty in finding her way.

Then they embarked, and for the first half-
hour or so the veteran was bu in instructing
her how she could aid him in sailing the boat.

Then they encountered the police patrol, and
with what happened after that the reader is
already acquainted.

The girl became so interested in the recital
by the detective of the difficult case which he
had undertaken that not until he had finished
did she attempt to speak of her own strange ad-
ventures. »

And to this her companion directly led the

 

wa .

‘yBy the by, you became mixed u in astrange
aflair last night,” he observed. “ happened to
be in the office of the supermtendent of police
when the particulars were receiwd

“I recognized your name at_ once, and from
the location of the house I perceived that it was
not a stranger by the same name

“ I am free to confess, though, that I am sorry
the thing occurred, for in. our business we can-
not be too careful in keeping out of the gaze of
the ublic. .

y“ ou perceive I haVe different ideas on the
subject from the average man in! our line, who
delights to conspicuously display himself, and
is never so ha y as when surrounded by a gap-
ing crowd an e hears the whi r passedfrom
one to another: ‘That’s him—mt’s the great
detective !’ _

“In reali , such men are of little use. To
catch the rstrclass rascal, the sleuth-hound
of justice should be as cunning as the fox
cree in upon its prey, and cannot be too care-
iul u eeping in the bac and until the
time ‘arrive/s to spring, pant er-like, upon the

re .
“There isn’t the least doubt but that you
have the true idea,” she remarked, thought-

full .

“yl‘o the crimi al, dreading detection, the
thought must be rrible that some unseen foe
is hovering, near, and gradually drawin closer
and cheer, but who will nevergreveal imself
until‘tlie final spring is made.” i

“It has been the theory of all/the greatest

I , b

' .,. »- \ i (I. :

1‘0 ,1
‘I .‘ .l. , |

rants, throu h whom he communicates w' :4"

 

17

and most successful thief-catchers, since the
world began, that the more mystery with
which a detective surrounds his operations, the
better he will succeed in not only capturing
criminals but in preventing cn'me,” Phem'x re-
marked. ' .

“ It certain] seems reasonable, but my ad-
venture with t e. ruffians who attcm ted to en-
ter mg window—there were two of t em, for I
saw t em distinctly, although only one was cap-
tured—is nothing to what happened to me ear-
lici‘ in the evening.”

“ After you parted with me on the brid e?” .

“ Yes, the events began not ten minutes ter.” 

“ That is odd; tell me the particulars.” "»

“ It sounds like a romance, but it is actual f
truth, and if I were to attempt to make up a
startling story, I am sure I should never be able ,
to think of anything one-half as strange or as. L‘.
improbable.” r I

‘ There is an old saying, you know, that truth
is stranger than fiction,” the detective observed.

“ In this case it most certainly is.”' ,1,
And then Kate proceeded to relate the  _,
adventures which had befallen her after lea ' . s,

the bridge and while ]proceeding to the house 0 "
her friends in lower rooklyn. «,2. ;

She described everything that bad Occurred 
as minutely as possi le from the time she was g2
attacked by the rufliaus in ssing the blind aI-g. ‘
ley until she escaped from t 9 old barn, situated I
on the outskirts of the city, somewhere near 

Canarsie. 4» L 

The detective listened with the utmost amen-g1.
tion. *3
' “ This is indeed a marveloussto ,”he observe 

ed, when Kate had finished her reCital. , _
“And does it not seem as if the hand of vai-  '.
dciice was in it?" she asked. , 7  
“ In attempting to make me his prey has not}. 
this scoundrel rendered himself vulnerable to an,- .’
attack?” ,5
.“Most assuredly,” the detective replied, im. .3,
mediately. “ Strange how fate sometimes are;
ran matters in this life. I ; 
“ f I had not chanced to be put 11 there,
trail of this outlaw band, and happened  yi
you utpon the bridge, then, taking an inte I Z; .3,-
you, ormed your acquaintance, the knowleQeggg
which you have gained Would not have been 
much use to ou, but, as it is, I believe you
in the strong old of the very man of whom Innis,
in search.” 
“Yes, that is what I thought when I listened ., ".
to your story of the Spider Captain,” she $3,:
ma‘r'i‘iid' h d1 (1 b r nless, 
‘ ereis ar ya on to itu " 
there exists two bands of des, rate rufiimh, ..
formed on the same model, and t is not 
l . How did the rumans term their leader—rmn
ey give him any title?” > . ‘ ,
“ I do not remember to have heard him called, ,
anything but the captain and the boss.”  7
‘ “ It’s a hundred to one that he is our 
the sleuth-hound exclaimed, decidedl . ‘  .
“ The location of the house and e peculiar»;-
way in which the conducted themselves 
conclusive, and t is attack upon you, was . . ‘
thatimtiidegiy sogie of the members of this we a ‘-
an , in on. A "a ‘.
“dth, yes, am sure of it,” the girl
rea i y.  V U
“ The ruffian that I wounded—” _ ., , f
“ William Crockcy, but known better to 
pals and the police as Stingy Bill,” said  
“ Yes; well he is one of the men who Win? "
the cellar, and who drove me in the v
old barn. It was his revolver that I took. - ‘f l»
“ And then used it upon himself. may“
turning the tables upon the rascal with Q h '
gcance.” * 
“.Yes, it was strange, wasn’t it?” ' ’ = " .
“ Altogether, as 1 before remarked, it is it;
strange an affair as I ever had anlything 
with," Phcnix observed, thoughtfu . . V ‘
“I do not think there is any (1011 t that: 
Tappan, as he calls himself—that isnot hfi, . ‘ a .
name of course—is the Spider Captain, the M,
cal we seek. a _ 3*“! “f;
“The uzzle now is to find out what he  ifi'
himself in the world—to discover what :4- - i 
is pla 'ing.” _ ' if”
' cs, I sume that Will be dimcult, u. _ 
we can trace ‘m through this capturedru is . 7 
she remarked. _ r t _ 
“That, of course, is the first move, but Ido . . 
think that much information can be gainedfront‘: 
him for as long as the gen sticks to him 
not apt to  his afi. ’ a»...
“ And then it is possib e that he could not 
myhisleader. even if heso wished. This i -  "
Capt!“n may be shrewd enough to sou-range  , 3
alga as to he his identity concealed from!!!“ 
rascals o the band, excepting his - '

  

 

    
     

 

e .3,"

   
 
  
  

2";le

       
 
  
     
   

   

 

 

 

  
 
     

rank and e.” '~ . . 
‘_‘ Doyou think this Stingy Bill is one 01%"
principal men?” ' - * ' 
“ No. I do not.” the detecti replied am
moment’s thought. “I kno him well  r ‘ 
by   I never a ozr c '. . 4'
have any business dealings with him"  
“ He is a desperate fellow W. a 

tool Twat!) noheadtu gnumytflne work.” ti
“ comes-see a drapes-locum 
“Four-KingsWPhenixuhad; “4‘ ,  

. 4‘3:
.’ r 12;

l' .3?
l _ ,- n1;
1

 
 

18

 

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

x

 

 

“ Yes, that is the name.”

“He is a different kind of a fellow altogether,
and rates as one of the few first-class rascals in
the country.

“ For some years now the two have traveled
together, and it is very likely that Four Kings

_ isin the confidence of this master-rascal for he
is of the right stam .”

“ The moment recognized that the man
whom I was obli ed to shoot was the same one
whose revolver I ad made free with in the cellar
I suspected that my escape had been discovered
and this scoundrellfV captain had made up his
mind to kill me at al hazards, thinkin that with
the knowledge I had acquired I might prove
dan erous.”

“ on are right beyond a doubt, and his
thought was correct too, for with the views we

' have it will be a wonder if we do not hunt him

1 down.

., r “Our game is now to cruise up and down

H, _' _ from Fort Hamilton to Gowauus, and keep our

‘3‘ ' eyes 0 n. I feel sure that the rascals have a
wayo reaching their haunt by means of the
water, and sooner or later we’ll run into them.”

. “But the story that this man told of my sis~

5 ter’s death, do you think it is the truth?” Kate

.,,' , asked, anxiously.

 _ “It sounds ‘p’robable enough, and yet it may

', ' . not be true. 6 will soon learn.”

-','  By this time the two were of! the Narrows,

i," ' then they “came about” and headed up by

g g , the Long Island shore.

91 V t

.__ -c. .

l.

 

A ~0~¢ ‘- “

A

' 1:33;-  ‘

chars... 

f .

 

,5  CHAPTER xxv.

f. ' - on run BOAT.

4; “HEY? w’ot do you say?” asked the fisher-
; ' man who seemed to be rather hard of hearing.
“I sa , don’t you want some passengers on
board 0 your craft?” Andrews repeated. “ My
\ trim and I feel as if a little trip on the water
woul do us 00d.” -

“ aal, I unno ’bout that,” replied the old
‘ man, who of course was the detective in dis-
guise. “We’ro arter fish, and I dunno as I kin
,  spare thetime.”

. ' “ Oh, I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll give
a .you five dollars for the use of your boat for
' about four hours, and I doubt if you can make
gas much as that by fishing.”

'- u “Waal, thar’s an old saying that a bird in
the hand ls worth two in the bush, so I reckon
‘; I’ll rake in that little five dollars of yourn,
' seeing as how you seem to have. plenty of money
W. to throw away,” the old man observed, with a

  
     
  
   
    
   
   
   
    
   
      
   
   
 
  
  
    
   
    
   
    
   
 
      
   
   
    
    
    
 
   
    
 
  
  
  
   
 
   
   
  
   
    
  
    
  
   
    
   
   
  
  
 

n.

Then, with a dextrous movement, he brought
' the boat up alongside of the landing float.
' “Come alon , gentlemen,” said the host; “a
’ -tri down the y will freshen us up,” and he
the way to the landing stage, the two dudes
following, su porting between them young
’Grimgriskin, owling:

. , “ ‘ A life on the ocean wave,
, ‘ I, A home on the rolling deep.‘ "
,‘ “For Heaven’s sake, stop your noise 1” An-
dreWs exclaimed, who did not relish this un-
seeml behavior.
; “' ait until we get out on the water, and then
-.4 you can sing to our heart’s content.”
" “All right, od fel‘i Wish I may die if I

' lany more, but I want on to understand
A, I am at the top of the cap when it comes

tosingi .
" “Sis lt‘ginks she is some pumpkins when she
dips into her high-flown opera trash, but she
rcan’t hold a candle to me, for Im the sweet
sin of oildom, I am, and don’t you forget
it

Andrews hurried the young man on board of

the craft as soon as possible, the young men as-

, listing ,to the best of their ability, and away
“i went.

E" ’Ptfi‘eyNow, skipper,” said the host, “run straight

Admin thehay, and when you have gone far
enough I will tell you.”
 t‘ right, sir.”

'The boat was what was called cut-rigged,

‘ only a single sail and no jib.

'  on a w ispered suggestion from An-
drews, the two young men took Alcibiades to

no how of the heat, while the host remained

with the old man in the stern, the Italian boy
bin curled up in the middle of the craft.

: L VVIth the coming of the morning the wind had
Whened so that there was now a good brceZe,

and as it was blowin straight down the hey,

the boat, which was li a a si cat, being far

better than it looked, lided rough the water

atzlfood rate of .
*‘ ‘ ' of the party, with the exception of An-
 were affected by the I! nor they had
drunk now that they had come rom the close
room into the n air, and, too, they began to
21601 the loss of s eep.
‘ Twiggy motion of thhgoubglt tabs it glided as
me. as a swan t e we er, was
conducive to slumber, and within twenty min-
utes after starting, the two dudes and young
Grimgriskin were fast asleep. stretched out at
full legal: upon the bare boards.
,, But host was seemingly a man of iron, for
 hodid not show the slightest trace that he had
zbeen up all night, nor of the exciting events

  

 

through which he had passed, but looked as fresh
as thou h he had just arisen from his bed aftera
ni ht 0 health- wing slumber.

he detective ad scanned his unexpected pas-
sengers closely, although not apparently taking
an particular notice 0 them.

1' course he had recognized the two dudes the
moment he had set eyes upon them, and was
delighted at this piece of good fortune which
had given him a chance to play the spy upon
t em.

Neither Andrews nor young Grimgriskin were
known to him, and he was lad of an oppor-
tunity to examine them at Eis leisure, for he
had not forgotten the information that the girl
had given him in regard to the two dudes.

From what she had overheard, she thought
there was a probability they knew somethin of
tfie mystery which began in the heart of the at-
s ills.

Phenix was perfectly certain that neither one
of the young men was likely to prove to be the
party who had deco ed the girl.

If the unknown cnry Tappan and the Spi-
der Captain were one and the same, as seemed
more than probable, it was likely that he was
mn.‘ nerading in good society under some false
appe lation, and might be an acquaintance of
the young men.

In the circle to which the two dudes belonged,
an adventurer of the Spider Captain’s stamp
would be able to secure pigeons well worth the
plucking.

So the sleuth-hound felt interesz in all the
associates of the dudes.

At the first lance this keen-eyed observer
detected that the gentleman who had hailed
him was no common man.

There was an air of superiority about him
which would have impressed a for less shrewd
observer than the veteran thief-taker, yet there
was nothing to suggest anything wrong.

As for Grimgriskm, Phenix dismissed him as
a fool at the first glance.

There wasn’t anything about Alcibiades to
suggest that he had the brains or the nerve to
successfully play the role of a commander of a
desperate band of outlaws.

he detective was thirsting for information,
and as the aracter he had assumed was that
of a talkative old man, he began operations the
moment the boat got out into the stream.

“That friend of yourn has been h’isting a
little benzine. I reckon.” he remarked.

“Yes; he’s naturally weak-headed, and it
doesn’t take much liquor to affect him,” An-
drews replied.

“ ’Pears to me it’s rayther ’airly in the mom-
in’ fur to go to h’isting," the seeker after know-
ledge remarked, innocently, and he looked in
the face of the broker with a smile that was
childlike and bland.

“ Yes; it is rather early.”

“P’raps you bin at it all night?” the other
suggested, with a in, just as if the idea had
but now presented tself to him.

“Very likely.”

“ Didn’t fetch any of the benzine aboard with
{3:1, I su pose?” and the fisherman wiped the

k of his hand across his mouth in a very sig-
nificant way.

“ There’s plent aboard, but stowed away in
such a manner t at (you can’t very Well get at
it,” and Andrews nod ed to where young Grim-
griskin had stretched himself out.

“ That cuss is no better nor a hog,” the boat-
man observed. “W’ot’s the use of a man’s
wasting ood licker by swilling it down by the
bucketfu . Say, do you live up in the bi
house thar?” and he )inted to Blithew ,
standing out prominent y from among the trees.

“ Yes, that is my place.”

“ I reckon you’ve ot about as nice a shunt
thar as tharis ’roun ?” the fisherman remarke ,
surveying the estate with a critical eye.

“It is general] considered to be as fine a
place as there is ong the shore.”

“No finer as far as I kin see, and I’d go my
bottom dollar on it, too. Say, are you one of
the Vanderbilts?”

“ Oh, no; not quite as well off as all that.”

“ W’ot might your name be?”

“ Andrews; Bernard Andrews.”

“ Are you a trader?”

“Well, yes' in a certain sense I am.
business in I all street."

“ I see, I see‘ ou’re one of those Wall street
fellows. Waai, all street is as good as a gold-
mine, I reckon, to a man who knows the ins and
outs of it. ”
hefigdrews contented himself with nodding his

Ido

“ Heap of money made thar, and a heap lost,
too, I reckon.”

Another nod b Andrews. _

“And your 1‘ ends-are they in Wall street
tool” the boatman continued. “ Don‘t look as if
they had it in ’em to wrestle with the bulls and
b’ars that I’ve hearu tell on in that air quarter.
No offense. you know but thar ain’t one on the
three w’ot looksas if he knew enough to go in
when it rains.”

“ No, they are not in business at all. They
are all gent emen of independent fortunes.”

“I reckon that air is a pretty lucky thing‘s;
them, for if they had to wrestle for their

i

 

 

without anybod to help ’em, the would be apt
to come out of t e little end of tlie horn, onless
appearances are dreadfully onsart’in,” the fisher-
man remarked with the air of a prophet.

“Oh, they are smart fellows enough in their
way. If they had to come right down to hard
work the chances are that in time they would
beabie to hold their own. You can’t always
Edge by a man’s appearance in this world, you

ow,” Andrews answered.

“Right you air: no mistake ’bout that. Now
take this hyer boat: she don’t look as if she was
worth over ten dollars, but I’m giving it to you
as straight as a string when I say that a bun-
dred of no man’s money couldn’t buy her!”

“ She certainly is domg well now. ’

“ Oh. she’s a bully boat. but she’s an odd fish,
like myself, I reckon. My name is Turtle—Gid-
eon Turtle—but all the boys call me Gid Turtle
for short. and that is the reason why I call my
boat the Sea Turtle.”

“ That is an odd name.”

“ You beti but. as I said, I’m an odd fish.
Say, that’s a nice house next to yourn, in among
the trees, but it looks awful lonesome—some of
those ducks live there?” and he nodded to the
youn men forward.

“ , no, that house is deserted; no one lives
there, and the folks hereabouts say that it is
haunted,” Andrews replied.

CHAPTER XXVI.
AN UNEerCTED OFFER.

THE house to which the boatman referred was
an old-fashioned, gloomy-looking pile, situated a
fewflhundred yards down the road from Blithe-
w0( .

It was a massive building, built in the old
Gothic style, with many wings and curiously
constructed peaked roofs.

It was surrounded by a regular thicket of
trees, so that only the peaked roofs of the house
were visible.

“Haunted! on don’t say so!” the boatman
exclaimed, an with open month he strained his
eyes to examine the marvel.

“ Yes, so I have heard, but I do not take any
stock in such stories,” Andrews replied, care-

lessly.

“ All old houses deserted and left to go to rack
and ruin are always declared to be haunted, but
as I have never encountered any ghost yet in my
travels, and I have not staid at home all my
life, I give no credence to hobgoblin stories.”

“Nobody lives thar!” the disguised man
asked.

. The sleuth-hound was not merely assuming an
interest in this matter.

The moment he heard of the haunted house,
the thought immediately suggested itself to him
if this stor was not a cunmng device, put into
operation y the lawless gang who had seized
upon the old house for a head-quarters, to keep
inquisitive peOple from examining the prermses
too closely. '

“No; and it has been deserted for years, I
understand.” .

“ Wm], that air is mighty stran e, now, for
it seems to  a right nice house, an all it needs
is a leetle fixmg up.”

“ The story goes that a couple of murders
were committe there some years ago—nearly
ten years back, I believe.

“ A son murdered his father and also mor~
tally wounded his sister who interfered to save
the old man.

f‘ He fled to escape the punishment due to his
crimes and nothing has ever been heard of him
snu-e.

“ The estate. which was a large and valuable
one, fell into the hands of the lawyers, and they
have been fighting over it ever since, so the
house and grounds have gone to ruin.”

“ Nobody but the ghosts to live in the old
Muse, eh ?’ questioned the fisherman, apparently
takiu a deep interest in the tale.

“ ell, as I have.told you, I don’t take any
stock in ghost-stones, but the people in the
neighborhood who have knowu all about the old
house for years, say there isn’t- mone enou h in

 

the world to induce them to pass a ght w thin
its walls.”
“ The ghosts walk, hey!” asked the boatman,

with eagler curiosity.

“Sot ey say.” _,

“What do they look like-did anybody ever
“2’32” .. , h .1

, yes: t eres ar yaperson in thenei h-
borhood who hasn’t a story totell about the
ghosts. and there’s scarcely one of them. man or
woman, who is willing to pass by the old house
anywhere around midni ht.”

“ W’ot do the ghosts
heartelli”

“Oh, yes: first. there’s the ghost of the old
gentleman, With his snow-white hair and beard,
all clotted -with blood, which flows from a
ghastly wound in his temple where his murder.
one son struck him. and then the sister. all clad
in white, but with frightful blood-stains upon
the otherwise spotless robes, wanders up and
down wringing her hands‘and moaning bit-
terly.” ‘

“Bakes aliVe!” the boatman exclaimed. “I
reckon a couple of ghosts like that would be
’bout shut! to scare a man into fits.”

\

ook like—did youiever ’

   

 

 

 

      
      
    
   
 

 

 
 

 

- 1i  '5v

1

' ’  Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

 

19

 

“ Yes, it wouldn‘t be pleasant to encounter the
pair on a dark night.” _

“ Pleasant!” the other ejaculated, “ waal, I
reckon it would be the north Slde of pleasant to
run across two sich critters.”

“ As far as I am concerned I think the stories
are all bosh,” Andrews remarked, with a slight
expression of contempt in his voice, “but there
isn’t any one in the neighborhood who agrees
with me. Why, I don‘t believe there’s a man on
my place who would be willing to risk a visit
to the ‘ haunted house,’ as everybody calls it,
after midnight, if a hundred dollars were offered
as a rewar .”

“ A hundred dollars wouldn’t do a man no
good if he was going to git the life scared right
out of him,” the old man remarked.

“ Yes, that’s the way the all look at it.”

By this time the boat h passed through the
Narrows and the open waters of the lower bay
were reached.

There was a good breeze, very little sea, and
the boat s onward like a sea-bird.

The Ita ian boy, happening to move a little,
attracted Andrews’s attention, and he surveyed
him with evident interest.
with his back to the gen-

The boy was lyin
d a partial view of the

tleman, so he only
youth’s face.

“ Is that your son?” he asked. ,

“9h, no; he’s no kid of mine; he’s an Italian
boy. .

“ Ah, yes; I see,” the gentleman remarked, in
a careless way, but all the time he was studymg
the face of the boy intently.

“ I noticed he was dark-complexioned, but
thought he was tanned.” '

“ NO' he’s one of them I-talian. He run away
from his folks 'cos they didn’t treat him well, and
while fooling around the docks he kinder struck
u an acquaintance with me. You see, boss, I
ain’t so young as I used to be, and he helps me
considerably.

.“ I’m all alone in the world, with neither chick
nor child and nary a'relation that I knows on, so
I wasn’t sorry when the boy said he’d like to
come along Wlth me.”

“ I should think it was a very gsod idea, in-
deed. What’s his name?”

“ Waal, I call him Billy, ’cos it’s an easy name
to handle, but his right name is Pablo something
or other.- He spits it out as easy as rolling off a
log, but I’m darned if I could ever git my tongue
’round it. It‘s one of those cussid I-talian names,
a regular jaw-breaker, you know, and about as
long as a man‘s arm.”

“He seems to be a bright fellow enough,.to
judge from his face,” Andrews obscrvod.

“ Oh, he’s jest as cute as they make ’em, as
spry as a grasshopper, and as bright as a new
dollar.”

“ Does he s k good English?” _

“ How?” as 'ed the fisherman, endently not
understanding the uestion.

“ Does he speak nglish—s ak so you can
understand what he says?” An rews ex lained.

“Oh! you mean, does he talk g Umted
States?”

“ Yes, that is it.”

“ Waal, pretty good: you kin allers make out
w’ot he is a-tryin’ to git at.” _

“ I have a vacancy in my household for just
such a boy as that.’ the other remarked, “ but
I suppose you Wouldn’t like to part with him ”

The sleuth—hound for a moment was puzzled
by this unexpected development, and hardly
knew what to think of it.

It was evidently a whim on the part of the
gentleman. He had taken a fanc to the boy.

Now, would it not be a good i ea to seize up-
on the chance to domicile his spy right in the
neighborhood of the haunted house to whose
story he had listened with the utmost interest?

He thought he could easily solve the mystery
of the old mansion.

There was not the least doubt in his mind
that the house was haunted, but not by specters
from another world.

The thief-taker was a sad skeptic in regard to

hosts.

g He had lived some time in this bustling world
._had passed through strange adventures, yet
had never encountered a ghost, nor met an
man of sense who had, so 1 was not strange e
was incredulous. .

His explanation of the mystery was simple:
the old house was the headquarters of the out-
law band of whom he was in search.

They had taken advantage of the dread with
which the mansion was- regarded by the dwell-
ers in the neighborhood, and had probably done
a little in the ghost line themselves, so as to add
to the terror.

No one in the vicinity would be apt to come
near the house, rticularly after nightfall,
and if anv bola wayfarer should happen to
see dark figures flitting about in the neighbor-
hood, he would most certainl innit: the
ghosts had appeared for his pa cnlar eflt.

Then, too, if the y was in the house, he
would be able to pic up some information in
re rd to the two dudes.

erhaps this very man who made the offer
was the one whom the trackers sought.

Thiswasa wild idea, of course, and one that
had not a particle of evidence to sustain it,

guests.

 

l
but sometimes these fanciful imaginings come 
near the truth; and for such a so r practical '
fillow, Joe 'Phem'x gave considerable heed to g
t em. ;

“Wa—al, I s’ggse I should kinder miss the
little cuss, ’ the atman replied, slowly, “but
then I ain’t the kind of man to stand in any- :
body’s way, and if the boy kin better himself {
I ain’t a-going to lift a finger to stop it.
s’pose there won’t be any objections for me to
come and see him once in a while?” ,

“ Oh, no, not at all. I’ll ive the (youngster
eight dollars a month and is boar , and he
can come right ashore with me on our return.
lVake him up and see how he likes it.” 7

This was done and the boy appeared delight-
ed at the chance, and so the matter was ar- ‘
ranged. i

Some four hours the arty spent on the wa- l
ter, and this afforded ime for Alcibiades to
sleep off the effects of the liquor, so, when the
Eartylfreturned, he was able to take care of .

imse . p

The boy landed with the rest and the old i
man sailed away, waving his hand in saluta-
tion.

 

CHAPTER XXVII.
A BUSINESS CONSULTATION.

THE trig had wonderfully refreshed all of the
party, an when they reached the house none
of them betrayed any signs that they had been
dissipatin all night long.

The Ita iau boy was turned over to the but-
ler, with instructions to see him fittingly at-
tired and comfortably bestowed, and then, as
they all protested that the were almost
starved, breakfast was immei iately and vig-
orously attacked.

None of the other inmates of the mansion had
yet made their appearance, with the exception
of Andrews’s confidential man of business, a
portly, well-preserved, middle-aged gentleman,
whose looks immediately mamfested that he
came of that ancient race which cannot boast a
country and yet has managed to more than
holdbits own with all the other nations of the
eart .

ng was a Hebrew, by name Abraham Good-
c 1 . t

A meek and prepossessing name, and yet
many of the Gentiles who had happened to
have business dealings with this oil and soft-
voiced financier declared vehemen y that the
name did not indicate the character of its
owner at all; in fact, instead of bein a good
child, he was a very bad one. a bar -hearted,
merciless skinflint, asfull of tricksas a mon-
key, apd as little to be relied upon.

at then business men do talk roughly about
one another sometimes, particularly the fellows
who do not succeed in getting the butt end of
every bargain. '

As far as the laws of trade went the genial
Abraham lived up to them and so it was not
easy for his enemies to ive him from the
marts where the cunning speculators amuse
themselves by cheatin each other and call it
business, but t was wel known that he was ut-
terly unscrupulous and an one who bad deal—
ings with him must be on t e lookout for sharp
practice or else he would be like] to suffer.

Personally, though, the fat, jo ly Jew seemed
to be one of the nicest men in the world, and
a better companion with whom to while away
a social hour could not be readil found, even
in so big a city as great New Yor .

But it was a noteworthy fact that the men
who indorsed the Jew as agony, good fellow,
Were not men who had b ness dealings with

1m.

The “ street ”—'-by which comprehensive term
the denizens of the Stock Exchange and its en—
virons are known—shrugged its shoulders and
looked wise when it was reported that the gen-
tle Jew had joined his fortunes to those of the
bold Southwestern speculator. _

There was hardly but one opinion about the
matter: it was the old story.

The Hebrew had the experience and the South-
westerner the. capital; in the course of a year or
two the ition of the parties would be revers-
ed, the ew would have the money and Andrews
the experience. _

In spite of them oracular sayings, however,
the two seemed to get along very well together,
and the chronic grumblers, men who never had
a word for anybody accounted for it by
declaring it was their beliei that in this partic-
ular instance the eWIhad met his master, the
Westerner being lly as colossal a mail as the
Hebrew.

.In this life evil tongues are forever wag-

gmg.

ISaint to refittiern tgiofiurhm

was qu a y astparty and after

the meal was over Andrews excused himnlf on
the, plea of having some rticular business to
which attention must be veu, as he did not in-
tend to go to New York as usual.

As he smilin ly exprmsed it:

“ I’m goin take a couple of days a! and

 

devote m f solelv to the amusement of my

t is something that I do not often do, 1

so you may consider yourselves fortunate.” ;
‘ I reckon if a certain young girl wasn‘t here

that you wouldn‘t trouble yourself much,” Alci-
biades remarked, in his coarse way.

“ I suppose I must plead guilty to the soft im-
peachment,” the host replied. pleasantly. “ It's
a man’s first duty to attend to the comfort of the
ladies.”

“ Particularly if they are young and good-
looking,” observed Alc1biades, with one of his

disagreeable leers. ;,

but goes without saying, to use the French ‘
expression,” returned Andrews, and he and the
Jew then departed.

The host ed the way to a little snuggery,
half library and half smoking—room, which was
sii uated on the ground floor in one of the wings
of the mansion.

This was Andrews’s favorite retreat.

There were three windows in the room, two
in the front looking out upon the lawn and com—
manding a view of the street and the bay be-
yond, while from the one in the end of the room
an outlook of the road leading to the city could
be had for fully a mile.

The lower parts of the windows were protect-
ed by curiously contrived screens so arr

I that while an ample view could be had from

the interior of the room of all that passed with-
out, it was impossible for any one on the outside
to see into the room.

Andrews sat down in the luxurious embrace
of a comfortable easy-chair, told Goodchild to
help himself to another, drew out his cigar-case,
selected a “ weed,” and passed it to the Jew, re-
marking as he did so:

“ Try a cigar? There isn’t anything in the
world, in my opinion, that will settle a man’s.
breakfast like a good cigar.”

“ Dot ish so,” observed Goodchild, who ke
with a decided accent, and he helped himse to
a Cl ar.

“ understood you to intimate last night that
you had some particular business to discuss,”“
Andrews said, tendering the burning match
Evith which he had ignited his own cigar to the

ew.

“ Yesh, and I tole you, mine friend, dot there
vas no time to be lost,” the other replied, a shade,
upon his fat face. ‘

“Last night we might hafe done somet’ing,
but now, mine gootnessl you cannot fight a bat—
tle mitout pre arations.”

“What kin of a battle is it to be, and how
do you know I am not prepared?” Andrews
asked puffing away at his cigar in a perfectly
placid manner.

“ Mine gootnessl I know how do bank-account
stands!” the Hebrew exclaimed. “We cannot ,

do anyt’ing mitnut der monish. I put up der ’ '

last dollar yesterday; you know we are short on
der market, and if there is anodder drop to-day
it vill be all up mit us.”

“Yes,i I but what makes you think that.
prices wi go down? There was a reaction just
at the close of- the market yesterday, and
about all the wise heads predicted that there»
would
to-day.
“ there would be—there isn’t the sli htest
doubt about dot, if der market was let a one I”
the Jew rejoined, in quite an excited state. ,

“ But I vas up—town mit der poys last night,
and I came across der mans who knows how
der cat jumps. He vas an old friend of mine--

Ihe knew how Istood,and he hatedtosceme "

smashed.

“Der ‘street’ is to be ‘milked,’ there is; 
large party who have bought for a rise; we are ~ t

not alone in dcr boat.

“ A drop of dree points this morning vill clean ,. \

us all out; der gang Will be bu’sted.”

be a general advance all along the liner 

r

 

 

‘ .

l.

 

“Very likely,” Andrews observed, just ‘33-." 3 '

calmly as ever, although he knew the full ex-
tent of the danger.

“Then, when we are cleaned out. der brices-i . -

vill go up again, so as to encourage derout-
siders to come in.’
“Give them a chance to walk up to the eap- "
tain‘s office and settle, eh?” -
“ Dot ish so.” _
“How much moneywill carry_us through!”

“ Oh, it ish not much, but der way things an M} %

now on der street, a dollar is as big as a cart,-

wheel.” 
“ How much money! Do you know the fig— .

ures

h“0h y’esh; dirty t’ousnnd dollars vill see us
rou '

t h.
“ Tgirty thousand, eh?”

“Dot ish dersum, and not a pennyless will-

do!” the Jew exclaimed, decidedly. ,
“Then if we mcceeded in raising thirty thou.
sand, we would be able not only to tide over
this crisis, but make a big stake when the reac-
tion takes place!”
“Oxactlyl dot ish der truth! In‘ der first -
place values are to be depressed so as to freeze

out der weak-kneed lambs, milk dem of (let ’ J

moneys which they have been foolish cue to
S‘tw‘sin‘é‘fii’nk’ "sigma? “fiifit‘ "
uy o , eve n to
sens mm there“ r *° “gab
. an er new
bu‘sted as bad as der old one.” m
.“A very nice little scheme—a douh
knife. in fact, warranted to out both ways.”
“0h, minegmmm Andrews, do a“

I

    
  

,» K

.,-c
I.

.3,

. ?:;\
. y
v, A


. s 
ugh.

/ 5.“

 

 

 

 

 

  
   

 -\ In the passageway

\' f‘i.
l' i

20

4 4
I, - .,
I l

1 Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective. ’ '

..- . a  ' r   "I.
. I, I mo, $7.53“? 543;“; i- 

If

 

 

joke about der matter—it is netting to lau h at l”
the Hebrew exclaimed, really distres. . “It
'may be dot it ish all right to you, but it ish

, all wrong to me. I hafe about all my eggs in
dot basket and I likes not to see them go to
smash.”

“Tranquilize yourself, gentle Abraham, we
are not bu’sted yet.”

And then Andrews produced his ocket-book,
which was a large and exceedingly )ulky one at
present, and drew from it a goodly pile of bills,
together with the checks he had received from
the young men in payment of their gambling
debts.

“ See how much there is there all together,
bills and checks,” he said, tossing the )recious
tokens of wealth carelessly into the Jew s la ).

Goodchild‘s eyes fairly bulged out from t ieir
sockets at this unexpected display, and he fell at
once to Work to count the money.

“ How much?” asked the host, as the Jew flu-
ished his task.

“ Forty-seven thousand and fifty-one dollars
to a cent," was the answer.

“ That check for ten thousand I do not Wish
to use, so we won’t count that but deducting it
We have thirty-seven thousand to the good.”

CHAPTER XXVIU.
THE SECRET CONFIDANT.

“ WONDERFUL! wonderful 1” muttered the Jew,
as he stroked the ile with his fat fingers, as
though he could har 1y believe the evidence of
his own eyes.

“ I vill gife you mine word, as I am an honest
man, I thought you Were bu’sted and der jig
vash u .”

“ Oh, no, not quite so bad as that,” Andrews

replied, in his easy, careless way. 'ust as if he
had a million or two of dollars at his back. “ I
.am a firm believer in the old Scotch roverb,
‘ Never stretch out your hand further t an you
can easily draw it. back.’ ”

“ Dot ish a good idea—dot ish a grand idea,
but we cannot always carry it oudt in dis
world ” the Jew remar ed, reflectiVely.

“ Well, we must live up to it as nearl as pos-
sible. I was on the lookout for just suc a trick
as this and held )art of my funds in reserve, so
instead of being orced to the wall by this move-
meat I stand a good chance of making forty or
fifty thousand dollars.”

‘ 0h yesh: there isn’t the least doubt about
dot. on vill do it as easy as turn your hand

' over,” Goodchild asserted. “ Oh! you hate taken

' .a weight from mine mind. “ I thought it Would

< be all up with us: and, Mister Andrews, I had so
much faith in your operations dot in dis matter
-I followed your lead and put all my leetle savings
into der t’ing.”

“ 3 there enough money there to cover you
?

 

6: Oh, y‘esh.”

“ Use it, then, and put on a bold front. Don’t
let‘anybody suspect that we were afraid of get-
ting squeezed."

‘ “ Oh, mine gootness, no!”
“ The checks are all indorsed, ready for use.”
“ I will be off then.”
Goodchild stowed the money away carefully

I in his capacious wallet, and with a parting sa

' utation withdrew.

The door closed with a spring lock, so that it
twas impossible for any one to open it from the
outside without using a key. '

The master of the house evidently did not
mean to be intruded upon without warning.

Hardly had the door closed with its sharp

 snap hchind the portly figure of the Jew, when
a seetion of one of the book-cases in the room
swung out clear from the wall of which it

w seemed a part, disclosing a secret stairway,

.gdark as a, pocket, leading to the lower regions.
stood an elderly-looking
man with iron-gray hair and a short heard of

. I, thesame hue.

He was neatly attired in a dark business-suit,

L ‘ 1 and looked like a sort of an upper servant, for

l   was evidently not a gentleman.

 

This

person was known as Michael Jones, and

 I be occupied the position of secretary and agent

as Andrews.

» Mr. Jones had a little room in one of the
wings on the second floor, although he was scl-
vdom at Blithewood, for his duties in attendingr

 -‘ to Mr. Andrews’s western business took him

away most of the time.
' He was a very quiet man, this Mr. Jones, mid
was not regarded with much favor by the rest

.‘I " ' . ,of the servants.

 

In fact. he had such ’a peculiar, ghost-like
a arance when least expected, that the ser-
vo ts got the idea he was a sort of a spy upon
them, and so they were always on the r good
behavior when the secretary was around.

“Hallo! are you there, Mikel” Andrews ask-
ed, turnin toward the sec Y
can detec ing the sli ht hir made b the
bookcase as it mov , otherwise noise essly,

‘ . ' Win the air. .
, . "‘ es, I’m here.” and the secretary advanced

into the room and helped himself to the chair
from which the Jew had risen, first taking the
precaution, however, to carefully, shut the

" .y .«secret door; and when the bookcase was re-

placed it would have been a shrewd guesser in-

door, his quick '

secret door behind it.

“ Did you hear what passed between the gen-
tle Jew and myself i” Andrews asked.

“Yes, I was just going to enter the room
when (you and he came in, so I kept back and
waite .

"He’s a smart fellow, that Jew, but for all
that he pretty near got his fingers pinched this
time. If you hadn’t been lucky enou h to have
made that big raise, where woul he have
been?”

“Among the missing, gone where the wood-
bine twineth, and you can bet all your wealth
on that too,” Andrews replied.

“He never would have stayed to face his
creditors in the world, but instead he would
have gathered all the funds he could get his
hands qun and skipped to parts unknown.

“In t e
ways room for a man like Goodchild to make a

strike.”
“And the call that business,” bled the
secretary. ‘Hang me! if it don t seem as if

the most of the business men are as big rascals
in their way as the poor devils who are ‘doing
time’ up the river.”

”‘ They are not like Caesar’s Wife, above sus-
picion, and between you and me and the bed-

t, I am getting a little tired of this life that

am leading; it’s mighty risky, and a man
never knows exactly how he is standing. It’s
like walking over a slumbering volcano which
may burst forth at any moment and hurl de-
gtifiiction around,” Andrews remarked, thought-
u y.
“ That’s so,” replied the secretary; “ but you
are in so deep that I don’t exactly see how you
are going to get out; but, I say, how on earth
did you make that haul? Where did you strike
so big a booclle?

“I thought the whole thing was goin to
smash when the Jew spun his yarn about ficw
the big spiders in Wall street intended to skin
all on little ones.

“ knew you had about reached low-tide
mark, for it was only yesterday when I spoke
to you about some little bills that ought to be
settled, you said you had less than a hundred
dollars in your pocket.”

“It was the truth too,” Andrews observed.
“ But I managed to make a raise of a couple of
thousand dollars in town.”

“ Out of this old Grimgriskin?”

“ He’s the man.”

“You must have played your cards pretty
well, for if I’m any judge of uman nature the
old fellow is about as sharp a skinflint as a man
would run across in along dav’s journey.”

“ You are right there, but I have been study-
ing him for some time, and to use the slang, I
think I have got him down ne.

“ He is one of the suspicious men who would
hava instant] taken the alarm if I had pso-
posed to him go into anything requiring 'm
to put up any funds.

‘ I played him as skillfully as an angler does
ahi fish.

“ never even hinted that I knew of any
good speculations. but at the same time
caused the fact to become known to him that I
had managed to do pretty well for some parties
who had suillment confidence to trust me with
their money, and so, at last, the old man, after

the conclusion that he would try a ‘ flyer.’
“ When he mentioned the matter to me, I

now of an thing good just now, the market
was» dull—t ere was too much money seeking
investment, and all the usual jargon of the
street.

“And at last—any one who knows the man
would hardly believe it—be brought me two
thousand dollars and insisted upon my using it
as I thought best.

“He had confidence that I could make a
° turn ’ with it to his advantage, and, Mike, al—
though I was as hungry for that money as a
starving man is for food, for I knew I had got
in too dee , and that a little depression of
Meet; wou d clean me out, yet I really made
in?) press me before I would consent to take
t

“It came in just in the nick of time; but
where did you get the rest?” Mr. Jones asked.

“I made the ‘ turn’ last night, or, to speak
more correctly, last night and this morning
i combined, for we commenced the wrestle about
ten last night and wound u at daybreak.”

” Aha, I begintocomprc end: you made your
guests pay for their entertainment,” observed
the secretary, with a chuckle.

“ Exactly, that was the little game I played,
and I think ”you’ll admit that I p ayed it forall it
was worth, Andrews remarked, complacently.

“The two dudes and young Grimgriskin I
presume were the victims?”

“ Yes, and the joke of the thing is that my
bold Alcibiades took me for a greenhorn.”

“ You don’t say so?”

“Fact! as sure as you are sitting there, he
played me for a sucker. My idea, of course,
when I invited the dunes here was to ease them
of a little of their surplus wealth, it the trick

could possibly be worked. I knew they Were in
. , l I ‘

 

. ‘ l ..
, ‘_ , .,.' I“ 'l.

Klaycd offlsh for a while: said I really didn’t I

5 them interested in a

deed who could have suspected .there was a the habit of playing at their clubs, although

not for any great sums, a thousand or two at a
sitting being the outside, and I calculated that
if I managed the affair shrewdly I could get
uiet game, and before it
ended I could make t em pay dearly for their

fun.

“ On young Grimgriskim I did not count be-
cause, as a general rule, the young donkey
never has any money and his I. ( . U. s are not

worth the paper on which thcy are written.

new cities of the for West there is al- .
‘ mediately. The marked cards were the“ old

 

pondering some time over the matter, came to .

 

“ But he came prepared for slaughter.”

“ Oh, he did?” and the secretary rubbed his
hands gleefully together and chuckled as he
thought how woefully the son of oildom had
been disappointed in his calculation.

“ Yes, came with money in one pocket and a
pack of marked cards in another.”

“ Well, well, that was cutting it rather fat!”

“Oh, yes, but I tumbled to the trick im-

style all played—out, the dealer knew his cus-
tomer was a greenhorn and so he stuck
him with unsalable tools.”

CHAPTER XXIX.
A DEEP PLOT.

“ Ho, ho, ho!” laughed the secretdry, “well,
now that is what I call a joke.”

“ es, and a mighty expensive one it was for
him too before he got through,” the other ob-
served. “ I saw what he was up to ri ht at the
beginning. He had provided himsel with the
marked cards and had deliberately set out to
fleece me.

“ Of course he took me for a greenhorn, and
never for an instant dreamed I was an expert
in handling the pasteboards.

“He felt so sure he could fleece me that he
tried to banter me into a game by offering to
bet me that I dared not lay with him.”

“ Oh, he was just hot or it, wasn’t he?”

“ He thought he had a sure thing, on know;
with the marked cards he imagine he would
have everything his own way.”

“Well, how was it that you flaxed him?”
asked the other, deeply interested in the re-
cital.

“In the easiest manner pOSSible. In the first
place he had been drinking freely so his head
wasn’t in a good condition; then, as I told on,
the marked cards were the old style, (1 cult
and complex, and sucba man as this lout would
require about six months’ constant practice to
be able to use them to advantage.

“Now my whole idea in getting the, party
down to the boat-house was to inveigle them
intoa game, and the h I did not expect to
get any money out o Alcbiades, yet I had
concocted a little schemeb means of which I-
could make his I. O. U.’s va uable.

“ So, when he proposed to play, it exactly an-
swered my purpose, as I was prepared for, just
such a thing.

“ I had a marked pack of cards in m pocket
too, but the modern article; star-bac 8 just'
the same in appearance as his ack, and the {ri-
vate marks upon them much t e same also, ut
much simpler and with jast changes enough to
bother a man who was not completely acquaint-
ed with the secret characters.”

“ I see, I Sec!” chuckled the secretary.

“ It was the easiest thing in the world for me
to substitute one pack for the other, and the
idiot never had the slightest suspicion, and as I
knew I must make hey while the sun shone as
it was not likely I would ever geta chance at
the two dudes again, I went in for a big stake.

“I caught one man for ten thousand and the
other for seventeen.”

The secretary gave utterance to a prolonged
whistle.

“ hat was a master-stroke!” he exclaimed, in
who i'at’on.

“ And not only that, but Alcibiades, in order
to make a bi strike out of me, had raised eight ,
thousand an some odd dollars and I scoorcd
that in also,” remarked Andrews, with a quiet
smile.

“I give 1you my word that this is the biggest
deal that evrr heard of!” the other exclaimed.

“Yes, but I havon’c got through yet- these
spoils that I hare told you of areall cus , and,
in addition, I have young Grlmgriskin’s ac-
kmiwledgmcnis for as many thousand more and
a check for ten thousand drawn by the old man
in his favor.” ,

“Well. you did skin lum completely 1"

“ Yes, the eontemptible scoun rel! and it real-
ly did me good for now I have the mean rascal
com letel no or my thumb.”

“ ut don‘t exactly understand why you
should care to have him there,” the secretary
observed.

“ Because unless I have him completely in my
power, he mi ht be apt to make me trouble,
Andrews repl ed. ~ , ,

“ I have laid out a certain game to lay and
if I am successful, there’s an end to in
the future.

“ I’m in for a big stake, and I mean to win it

if I can.” , >
“ What’s the game nOWI”
“ This girl, Sidonia Grimgriskin
ess in her own right toa couple of million dol-

lars. She is just the kind of girl to suit me, and ,4.  .4 i

, isanbéir- 

 
  

 

v"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

< A an m...“ L. .

 

 

/

: innocent holder for value.

 

 

 

 

if I can get her, I will be able to cry quits with
the world.

“No more risks—no more desperate adven-
tures, but a life of case and. luxury. I can go
into politics backed by a million, rim for Pres1—
dent. maybe, one of these days. Who knows?”
‘ “Durn me if you ain’t got the head for it!”
the other exclaimed, emphatically. .

“ Everything is poss1ble to a man With
brains and courage, if he has capital at his
back.”

“ That’s true enough. The only obstacle I see
is the girl herself,” the secretary observed,
thoughtfully. “How do you stand with her?
These women are such durncd peculiar cattle
that there’s no telling how to take ’em some-
times.”

“ She likes me well enough; has not exactly
fallen in love with me, but I fancy she thinks
more of me than of any other man whom she
has ever met; and if Circumstances arise so that
it would seem to her to be the proper thing to
wed me, I do not think she would object, and
at this point Alcibiades’s gambling debts to me
come in.”

“ You‘re too deep for me.” the other remark-
ed. “ I’m over my head, and shall have to swim

1:.

“It’s as plain as the nose on your face when
you get the hang of the matter,” Andrews re-

lied.
p “ In a day or two this miserable cur will
come whim ring to me about the notes. He
knew when e gave them that there wasn’t any
chance for him to pay them, or at least not for

ears.

y “ I shall suggest that if he made aclean breast
of it to his sister, she might be able to help him
out; let fall a covert suggestion that if she came
to me about the notes I would only be too glad
to find some way by means of which they could
be paid, and without letting the old folks know
anything about it.

“The rascal is deadly afraid of the news
coming to his father’s ears that he has been
fiamblin , for the old man has sworn he will

ave no ing to do with him if he persists in
playin cards.”

“ I 'nk I begin to see your game,” thesec—
rotary observed. “You will help the young
fellow out of the scrape, and so earn the grati-
tude of the girl.”

“ That is about the size of it; then I. O. U.’s,
mind on, will all be in my hands; I get short
of cas , yam understand, and I part With a few
of them a banker friend, who kindl accom-
modates ‘me with a loan, I indorsin t e paper.
Of c0urse it will be easy for me to ve up those
which I bold, but rather difficult to
ones which I have parted with until
of their redem tion comes.

“The frien is a Jew broker, ahard man to
do business with, and car.- must be exercised
not to allow him to susp3ct that the paper is
anything but gilt-edged and all right and regu—
lar ”

“Oh, yes, I understand; the old dodge; it is
ve convenient sometimes to have these
‘ friend‘s’ in the background who will do just as
you refluire. But sup-pose this don’t fetch the
girl? t ought to, I ow,” he hastened to add
“ but those women are so deueed uncertain.”

“Oh, I have yet another string to my how,”
Andrews replied, withameaning smile and a
peculiar light shining in his dark eyes.

“At the last moment, when it came to the
final coup in the game, the young scoundrel
had exhausted his resources, and produced a
check drawn by his father to his order for ten
thousand dollars; but he said that while he
would like to risk it upon the hand he held, yet
in case he lost he did not want the check to be
presented, for he had promised the old man not
to use it exce t fir actual necessities, so he
asked mewoul I agree, if Iwon the pot, to
hold the check for him until he could get a
chance to redeem it?” '

“ I see I see ” and the secretary laid his fore-

.

e period

‘ finger alongside of his nose, and then winked

in a knowi way.
' “It was shy 9! course: I-understood that
the moment the it of paper made its appear-
ance, and that made me determined to get it;
into my hands, for it would be a weapon which
would to me be invaluable.”
“I bet you!” cried the other, with decided
emphasis. . ' I
‘ I agreed immediately, anything to oblige
my dear friend, Alcibiades," and Andrews
laughed in a way that was anything but amus-

in .
IE I knew that the me was in my hands as
lirel _as though the aces of the cards were ex-
“ instead of the backs.

When the show of cards came of course I
raked the pile, and here is the forged check,”
thg host displayed the bit of per as he spoke.

My esteemed frierd put imself in a hole. I
told him I would hold on to the check until he
could redeem it, but I'm afraid I shall be so
much in want 'of money that I will be obliged to
raise some on it.

“ It goes into the hands of a third party—an
. . My same Hebrew
friend again who is a believer in the old Jewish
kw, an eye or an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and

t at the Ar

 

not at all the kind of man to compromise a
felony, unless subjected to a powerful pressure.”

“Beautiful!” and the secretary rubbed his
hands in glee. “ It is as fine as silk! To save
her brother from the State Prison the lady will
undoubtedly consent.”

“ Yes, for I shall have to almost ruin myself
to work the trick, and she surely will be willin
to reward my sacrifice,” and Andrews laugh

am.

“ But I say, about the Italian boy.” said the
secretar , abruptly, as if the thought had just
occurr to him. ‘ I heard a cou le of the ser-
vants talking about the be gar. t is your
idea in brin ing him into t e house?”

“Mil: , t e moment my eyes fell upon that
boy when I encountered him in the boat, a cold
chill ran all over me!” the master of Blithe-
wood exclaimed, his tone low and earnest.

“ I felt that in some mysterious way he boded
danger to me. I am a slave to my presenti-
ments, and in this case I acted promptly.”

CHAPTER XXX.
A CROSS-EXAMINATION.

THE secretary nodded his head.

“ I can understand a feeling of that kind, but
in this case I don’t really see what harm the boy
could possibl do you.”

“ Neither o I: yet in in heart of hearts, the
moment I caught sight of t e face of this Italian
boy, something whispered that he was fated to
prove dangerous to me,” Andrews remarked,
slowly and refiectively.

“ It is one of those odd things which cannot
be explained. There wasn‘t the slightest reason
in the world why I should take the least notice
of the boy.

“ Italian lads are common enough; I see,
probably, fifty a day. on the average, every
time I go to the city, and do not remember ever
seeing one whose face produced enough impres-
sion upon me to warrant a second glance.”

“ But this one did, eh?”

“ Mike, the moment I looked u n him. a sud-
den cold chill ran all over me. on know the
old superstition that when a man experiences a
sudden and peculiar chill, it is produced by
some one wal in over his grave?”

“Oh, yes, but hat’s all nonsense!” exclaimed
the other, who was evidently of a practical na-
ture and not at all given to such fancies.

“ Perhaps it is, but Some of the wisest and
most successful men that the world has ever
known believed in just such superstition,” the
otherre lied slowly.

“ Tha may be, but I don’t take any stock in
the me.” ‘

“ e are not all constituted alike in this world,
and what seems natural and reasonable to one
man will not so appear to his neighbor.

“ Take the gift of enius, for instance; here
and there comesa chil into the world who, with-
out the least training, is able to perform feats
that are impossible tasks to another, apparently
equal to the first in every way.

“ So it is with these strange presentiments.
Some men are born with natures so sensitive
that, as the mercury in the thermometer responds
to heat and cold, an evil influence makes an im-
mediate impression upon them.” _

“ Oh, you’re getting too deep for me now;
I’m over my head again,” the secretary re-
marked. } i

“ I sup you think that sort of thing is all
imagination, ch ?" the master of the mansion re-
marked with a quiet smile apparently not in the
least annoyed by the unbe ie of the other.

“ Well, yes, to put it plainly, I think that is
about the size of it.”

“ Of course, in a matter of this kind it is im-
possible for a man to oficr much proof outside

 

of his own experiences, and the world at large is ‘
apt to think that such evidence is not as reliable.

as it might be.”

" That is natural enough. isn’t it?”

“Yes, but then we might as well deny that
certain men have cnius for particular things.”

“ People don"t lieve unless the thin is
proved, ’ replied the other, in his abrupt, b unt
way.

The possession of the faculty of which I speak
is not so easily made manifest to the world at
large as may other peculiar gifts which might
be mention , but the men so favored by nature
are gositive enough on the point.

is ow,
as I am that I am in this room this minute.

“ A hundred times at least in the course of my
career I have escaped serious peril b being
timely warned by these uliar presentiments.

“ A face catches my, yes and immediately
something whispers to m that I must be on my
guard, for the owner of the face is a foe.”

“ And it has turncd out afterward that there
was something in it?” the secretary asked, in-
credulously.

“ Yes. and in not a solitary instance has the
presentiment failed to come true.” ‘

The other shook his head dubiously: he did
not know what to make of this positive state-

mont.

“ Well. all I’velgot to say is that it beats my
time; I’ve heard of such things, but I never too
the least bit of stock in them."

“\I’ve no doubt that you thoiight the fellows

7 . .

I am as Certain that I possess this gift

 

who made such claims were a little cracked in
the 11 per story ” Andrews suggested.

“ onestly, I reckoned their heads wasn’t
screwed on exactly right, and in this matter the
idea of your being troubled by this beggarly
Italian boy seems absurd.

“ :Yhat possible hurt can the tawny rascal do

on.

“ That is just exactlyr what I have got to find
out. I can imagine, t ough, a scheme in which.
he might be able to play an extremely prominent

rt.
pa“The fellow is a shrewd rascal, I can detect
that from his eyes, although otherwise he ap-
pears to be rather stupid.

“ Would not such a smart rat be just the one
to play the part of a spy?"

‘ Oh, yes, he won] do well enough for that,
but it seems to me that if you suspected anv-
thin of the kind you have made a great mistake
in ta ing the young scoundrel into your service,”
the secretary remarked, reflectively.

“Not at all; how could I watch the fellow
better than by having him right under my eyes?”
Andrews replied.

The other stared: such an idea had never oc—
curred to him.

“ Well, governor, you just take the cake, you
do!” he exclaimed, in admiration. “ This is
about the shrewdest dodge I ever heard of!”

“ The idea is a good one, I think myself. If he
is a Spy I will find it out before he has been in
the house a week.”

“ And then?” and a dark look came over the
face of the secretary as he put the question.

“ I think I shall be able to find some way to
deal with him."

A simple sentence, and yet there was a world
of fearful meaning in it as delivered by the
speaker. ‘

“ Have you had any talk with the boy yet?”

“ No, but I ordered John to. bring him here
after having him properly dressed, and it is
about time he made his appearance.”

Hardly had the words left the lips of the '

ak—

speaker when a whistle sounded from the s the

ing-tube which connected the room wit
servants’ quarters.

“ There’s John and the boy now, I guess; see!”
remarked Andrews,

The secretary went to the speaking-tube and.
asked what was wanted.

As the master of the mansion had anticipated,
it was the butler, who desired to inform his mas-
ger that the boy was in readiness to wait upon

1m.

“ Send him in,” commanded Andrews.

“ Shall I remain?” the secretary asked. I

“ Oh, yes, I want you to inspect the fello'vand
pass jud ment upon him. Just see what you
make of im, and after the inspection is over we
will compare notes.”

Five minutes later the butler introduced the
Italian boy, and then directly retired.

The lad’s measure had been taken and a mes-
senger diipatched to the city, who had returned
wit a nil suit of common dark cloth in
which the boy was now arrayed, and he 1 ed
qluite respectable, althou h. de its his new
0 othes, there was a wild, rigan ish air about
him, caused, no doubt, by his swarth skin, his
keen black eycs and the crispy ebon- ued curls
which adorned his head. '

He had come into the room, twirling his new
cap between his fingers, evidently abashed by
the situation.

Andrews reclined in the easy-chair, pufl

away at his cigar, and regarded the boy with L, 

lan uid sort of curiosity.

Tie secretary, on the. contrary, fastened his ‘ "

eyes upon the lad with a hawk-like glance.
“ \\ cll, they have dressed

mung,” the master remarfied.
“ i i, signer replied t e boy with a grin.
“ Do you liketo wear good c othes?”

“ Si, Signor,” again he responded, and they-in.  - 

increased. .
“ Like good things to eat, too?”

“ Si, si,” and the boy pressed both hands upom  1’
his stomach, and the grin widened until be ex-._ 3

posed every tooth he had in his head.

“ Did my people give you a good breakfast,  V-

I ordered?”
“ Si. si. nice-a break-a-fast.”

“ We will not starve you to death while your “ .

remain here.”
“ Oh, no, no, no starve-a!”
“ What is your name?”

“ Bills,” and the boy grinned again as  -.

he had given utterance to a good joke.

“No, no I don’t mean that one; 1 don-t moan _ 
hat the old fisherman gate you, but .

the name t
your own.”
“ Si, si, Pablo.”
“ That name. is fully as easy to remember and
renounce as the other, so We’ll have no more

P . . 
of the Billy, if you please,” Andrews observed. ~ ‘ '
i’ ‘ .

“ What is your last name ’
 ' -
n romw t rtofItal do oncomei”.
“ Ze citee of Naplg” y x

“ Ypu cannot speak very good English, I say» ‘ 

se?’ -
“No k mooch En 1ish,” re lied the b0 '.
shakingsl‘i‘ieschead. g p ‘ y

“ You nnderstani it pretty well, though!"

i

21

you up like a gentle; ; ‘

 

I

a.

 

.22

r .

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective. '

29.“-

.i ‘  "3k,

 

 

 

“ Si, signer, me—a understand ze English varra

“You’ll get along all right then; just do
what you are told, keep your eyes open look
.sllilarp, and you’ll havea good place here. That’s
a .'

Andrews run his bell; the butler made his
apyearance, an the youth de .

“What do you think of im?” the master
.asked. after the door closed behind the two.

" His face seems familiar,” replied the secre-
tarv. as if puzzled.

“ It ought to seem so, for it is Kate Scott dis-
guisod?’

 

CHAPTER XXXI.
THE NEW MAN.

“THE deuce you say!” the secretary cried, in
utter surprise.

“It is the girl!” Andrews exclaimed, posi-
tively. “ There isn’t the least doubt about it,
'30 you see my presentiment was not a false
warning.

“ If it had not been for the feeling that took

possession of me the moment my eyes fell upon

he face of this supposed Italian boy, I should

. not be as well situated as I am to cope with this
fee, the most dangerous by far that has ever
menaced me.”

“It‘s a mighty bold game,” the secreta re-
marked, with a grave face and an ugly loo in
his 6 es.

“ es, ‘ene would hardly think a Woman could
muster up courage enough to try such a des-
perate adventure; but what uzzles me is how

‘ he deuce she struck at me so irectly. By what
lucky chance did she come so near to the trail?
Have we been careless, and neglected to cover

. up 0 r traces as we oughoteto have done?”

“ b, no, we have u just as careful as
usual. It’s nothing but a piece of luck, that’s
a .

“Some of these women seem to have the
flfincé’s own luck sometimes,” the secretary re-
,p e .

“ You know my opinion about women pre
well, by this time, I reckon ” he contmu .

, “And if you remember I advised you notto

pay any attention to this woman. I was afraid
we would get into a snarl if we bothered our
heads about her.”
“ And I was equally afraid we would et into
a snarl if we did not. I tell you, Mike, is girl
has the perseverance and pluck of a blood-
hound,” Andrews rejoined.
' “ If we had allowed hen to go on unmolested,
' she would have certainly got as dead to rights in
the long run.
. “ I foresaw from the beginning that she was
likely to prove the most dangerous fee that
ever struck in our track, and that was the
reason why I was so anxious to silence her.”
i “ We’ve got the best of it now, anyway,” the
other suggested.
“ Oh, yes, a most decided advantage,” and a
dark smile came over the face of the speaker.
“ We know her, and she cannot be certain about

 '. ,9 us. At the worst she can only suspect; and it

5*? .
it,” '1'

1'1
. L

.5”-’:

  
 
   
  
    
  
   
 

'4, 7’

 

 

,.

as“?

t
.2.‘

, deliberating a

 

mayebe possible that she does not know how hot
’ t scent which she has struck.
“ It may be that she has only an inkling that
» the secret which she seeks is located somewhere
' in this nei hborhood, and jumped at the chance
which I e ered her in order to et an oppor-
tunity to examine this locali at or leisure.”
“I shouldn’tbe surprised i you have hit of!
'the right thin ," the secretary remarked, after
ut the matter for a moment.

' “ (1 now do yousee how wise I was to put

 faith .in the secret, incomprehensible instinct
" which warned me that danger threatened?”

“Oh. I give 11 heat in re ard to that. I
r wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t now it was so,
but then there’s a great many wonderful things

 f inthe world—things which a man can’t under-

stand at all, and it ain’t much use for a fellow

to bother his head about them.”

“That’s solid chunks of wisdom, Mike,” An-

draws observed. “Acce t the world as it is

make the best of it, and en’t worry your head

about things on can neither understand or alter.
“ Now, as at as this girl is concerned, I think

"  we have got the dead wood on her in the worst

.kind of a we. .
“ She has t rust her head into the lion’s mouth ;
I think it is probable that'she does not know it,
' but she will make the discovery when the teeth

 . ' close upon her.” and Andrews laid back in his

chair and la hed as if he had given utterance
to a leasant est.
“ ow soon will that little operation take
placc?” the secretary asked.
“ What is your idea about it?”
I "The quicker the better,” the secretary re-
plied, with savage accent, and he clinched his
' ‘ muscular hands as though he was longing to
cm the job there and then.

“That is in opinion; the girl is dangerous,
and I shall no rest quiet until she is placed in a
situation where she will not be able to do an
mischief ” Andrews remarked slowly, and wit
an air 0 deep reflection.

, “There’s only one thing to be done,” the

h' ' other observed, with a dark look upon his coun-
. tenance.
‘ ‘ “Oh, yes, there isn’t the least doubt about

 

that, and there mustn’t be any slip up inthe
proceedings this time.”

And then the two men put their heads to-
gether and engaged in a whispered conversa-
tion, the purport of which the reader will know
anon.

And new leaving the two to their dark medi-
tations, we will turn our attention to an inci-
dent, apgarently hardly worth the detailing,
{at whic has an important bearing upon our

e.

A huge buck negro, blackas the ace of s des,
had charge of the horses in the really e egant
stables attached to the mansion.

Pomp Johnson, he was called, and, like the
majority of mankind, he was not fond of doing
anfi work that he could avoid.

e was a well paid feIIOW, for he was a glib-
tengued chap, and was popularly supposed to
be a firstclass man in regard to horses, but
what he did know wasn’t a circumstance to
what he didn‘t.

Thirty dollars a month he get, and for some
time he had been on the lookout for an assist-
ant to aid him in his arduous duties.

He had complained to his master, alleging
that the work was too much for one man, but
that gentleman thought differently. ,

All the satisfaction he could et was that his
employer would be willing to d a man if
he the hostler, would pay im.

éo Pomp, acting on the principle that half a
leaf was better than no bread, had done his best
to pick up some cheap man upon whose shoul-
ders he would be able to put the greater part of
his work.

This was not so easy a matter as the darky
had anticipated for all the men who applied
for work set a fair value upon their labor, and
were not disposed to work for their board and
a trifle of money.

But on the morning that the interview oc-
curred between Andrews and his confidential
agent, the Iparticulars of which we have just
detailed an applicant made his appearance at
the stables who seemed likely to come up to the
ideas of the sable Mr. Johnson.

He was an Irishman of fort -five or fifty, a
powerfully-built, muscular fel ow, plainly ca-
pable of a deal of work yet in s ite 0 his age.

The clothes he were were 01 , and from their
texture and out had evidently neVer been fash-
ioned in the “land of the free and home of the
brave.” »

A new i rtatien, clearly, and one whose
lines had no n cast in pleasant places since
crossing the stormy brine.

He had a rather intelligent face, although it
was disfigured by a short stubby heard of red-
dish gray.
un'i‘he first word he spoke betrayed his nation-

y.

“ Arrah, new, boss, do yees be afther want-
ing a decent man to be] around the stables?”
he asked, and he took 0 his Well-worn hat and
bowed as respectfully to the negro as then b he
had been the greatest gentleman in the lan .

The deference of the man tickled the vanity
of the darky, and be fairly swelled with impor-
tance as he answered: .

“ Well, I doesn‘t ’xactl know ’bout dat,
white man. W’et kin you 0? Does yer know
an ’ing ’beut bosses?”

‘ Hesses, is it?” and a broad smile came over
the face of the man, while he winked in a know-
ing manner. “ Shure, ye might look the country
over, big as it is, and not find a man who knows
more about bosses than meself.”

“ Dat’s a retty big brag, fu’st t’ing, you knew,
white man. ’ Mister Johnson observed, with the
air of an oracle.

“Upon me word, sur, I’m the b’y that can
make it good if you’ll only be kind enough for
to ive me the least bit of a try.”

‘ Well, Ca , I dunno as we want a man as
big as yous is; now if yous was a right smart
cha of a bog—fl

“ hat’s t e difl’er, anyhow?” exclaimed the
old Irishman, eagerly. “ Shure. I’m able for a
b’y’s wourk, any day in the week.”

“ Oh, yes, indeed , dar ain’t any doubt ’heut
dat, but is you wi ling to take de wages dat a
boy would git?” the colored gentleman inquired,
shrewdly.

“ How can the likes of me tell till I hear phat
they are?” responded the Irishman. ‘

‘ Well, Cilifi) you see (10 way de matter is de
boss ain’t w' ing for to git any more help, cos
he’s like all de big-bugs and wants to git all he
kin for his money, so all he’s willing for to do is
to find de fodder, and de wages has got to come
out ob dis ere Chile’s pocket.”

“Oh di any mortal ever hear the likes of
that?” exclaimed the old man, in mingled horror
and indignation.

“ De boss will feed er—and we libs on de fat
ob de lan’ hyer, too, wants you to understand
-—yeus kin slee in de hayloft wid lenty ob
blankets and ufi’alo-robes fur to eep fyou
warm in the winter-time, and I’ll gib you our
dollars a month.”

“That’s a poor cry for an able-bodied man
like meself, but I’ll take it, please the pigs, for
it may l’ade to something better.”

And so the bargain was concluded, much to
J ohnson’s delight, particularly when, after a test

 

of the Irishman’s abilities, he found that his
helper was a handy man about the stable.

fter the cleaning 11 was performed the ne-
gro went to the mans10n for orders, and the
new man improved the opportunity to take a
look at the loft above. A window in it com—
manded a view of the house, and the Irishman,
taking up a position by it, drew a pair of opera-
glasses from his pocket.

“ Oh, this will do nicely,” he muttered.

 

CHAPTER XXXII.
SIDONIA’S BESOLVE.

A WEEK had ela sed since the Grimgriskin
family had entered t e portals of Blithewood as
the guests of its master.

And during that time Andrews had played his
cards in the most admirable manner.

He had managed by means of a lucky coup in
the stock market to land old Grimgriskin a win-
ner to the tune of over ten thousand dollars, and
as a natural result the great oil king became

of the idea that the youn man was a
genius, if there ever was one in this world, and
when his better half had suggested that if they
did not look out there might danger of a love
affair between their host and their beautiful
dau hter, the old man had looked wise and re-
mar ed that in his opinion Sidonia mi ht do a

eat deal worse than to become the m stress of
lithewood.

Andrews had not neglected to cenciliate the
old lady, but had devoted himself to her fully as
much as to the daughter.

He treated her with the utmost deference,
listened to her extravagant stories with the
greatest interest imaginable, and flattered her
in such a delicate manner that it uite won
the heart of the shrewd, yet unsep isticated
matron.

Then, too, Andrews made a great impression
upon her b the respectful manner in which he
conducted 'mself toward her uncouth cub of a

son. -

He spoke of and treated Alcibiades as though
he thought him to be one of the finest young
men in the land.

If he had been a prince and the heir to a king-

dom, the cunning adventurer could not have v

treated him with more rg'spect.

Mrs. Grimgriskin at fi did not know exact-
ly what to make of this, for she had generally
been accustomed to hearin some unpleasant
truths in regard to her rasca of a son from al.
most every one who came in contact with him,
but Andrews spoke in the lightest possible man-
ner of his “peculia' rities.” ‘

All young men were a. little wild, so he assert-
ed. It was only natural; with age would come
soberness, and, in fact, it was a well-known
thin that all the great men whom the world
has elighted to honor had more or less mischief
in them when callow youths.

By such specious pleading as this the wily flat-
terer made a doe impression upon the mother
and daughter w 0 were only two weak women
when Alcibiades was concerned.

At the end of the week Andrews felt perfectly
sure that as far as the father and met er were
concerned there would not be an objection to
his suit.

As for the lady herself, he did not feel so
sure, but she was a quiet, odd kind of a girl,
not one of those who wear their heart ppon
their sleeve that all the world may run and
read. ’

He felt certain that he was not disagreeable
to her: nay, more, if he was any iudge of we-
mankind—and he flattered himsel that he was
—the girl’s actions plainly indicated that she
liked him; but whether the liking was strong
enough to induce her to give ,a avorable an-
swer when he put the all-im rtant question
was something that could on y be settled by
actual trial. "

He felt sum enough of his ground to go
ahead upon the first favorable opportunity,
though.

One obstacle only qould he discern in the

we .

fixree members of the Grimgriskin family
were favorably inclined, but t e fourth, the
one who by rights ought to be his warmest
allv, he doubted. '

e felt certain that Alcibiades was not in-
clined to be friendly.

That individual had been in the sulks ever
since the night when he went for wool and suc-
ceeded in getting shorn.

He aveided everybody and general]
ducted himself as though he considered 6 was
a much-abused individual. .

Both the mother and sister had taken the alarm
and endeavored to discover what was the trou-
ble, but for a time Alcibiades was as close as an

o ster.

yFor a week he resisted all the persuasions of
his mother, and the hlandishments of his sister
but at last, in an uncautieus moment, he had
succumbed to the influence of Andrews’s good
liquor,- and before he hardly knew what he was
doing, confided his trouble to Sidonia.

She was amazed; for Alcibiades confessed to

. .2 as .-'V*«‘p}".:‘ , I.
- .v. . - -...

 

COD-

 

 

 

 

A Kate Scott

.tlw

, the  Detective.

23

 

 

her that he had lost a terrible amount of mone
at la , and the master of Blithewood held his
I. {L’s foran amount that he could never
bone to pay. _

lie was deep enou h in his cups to be honest
though for once in is hfe, and e bluntly re-
Vcaled to the astonished and disgusted girl that
he had eutra ped his host into laying, intend-
in; to “ skin m”—such was t e terse expres-

' Sicll he used—of every dollar he could be in-

duced to venture.
“But he Will not press you for payment of
the debt?” she exclaimed, hardly knowing what

to sa .

“13,0, I suppose not," he snarled, “ but it will
have to be paid some time, and then it is a debt
of honor, you know, and a fellcr is expected to
pay that sort of thing, even if it takes the last
shirt from his back.

“ Besides, suppose dad or marm should hear
of it?” he continued. “ These cursed thin 5 do
lieak out once in awhile, Wouldn’t my cake all

on hi

“ ang me if I believe the old man would
ever consent to look me in the face again."

A bright idea occurred to the girl as she med-
itated over the situation, and the idea was of
such a nature that the bare thought brought a
burning blush to her face. .

She cast a quick glance at Alcibiades to_see if
he noticed her agitation, for she was certain she
must be blushing furiously her face being as hot

as fire.

But Alcibiades had reached that pomt of
maudlin intoxication when all acuteness has
vanished. _ _ ,

“ Suppose,” she said, healtatingly, “ suppose I
seetabout the matter?”

“ Great Scotti” he cried, startled by the idea,
“ you don’t mean to say that you would be will-
ing to take up the I. O. U.’s? Why, Sid, it will
ecst 'cu a small fortune!”

“ 'ell, I have mone enou h,” she replied,
the color still in her 0 eeks, or her agitation
was too intense to permit it to subside.

“ Since I came into my property I have never
been able to spend even one—half of my interest,
to sa nothing of the rincipal.”

“th it’s a col sum—a fortimel” he re-

pea

“ I did not sa I would payr it, you foolish
boy!” she repli , lightl . “ merely said I
would see Mr. Andrews a ut it.”

“ Yes. but of course I know what you intend

I to do,” he observed.

“ You‘ll have topay it, of course. Andrews
is no fool for all his smooth ways and devilish

olitcncss. I picked him out for a igeon, but
ham me, if he didn’t turn out toga the wo
kimfof a hawk.

“ He’s no fool,” he re ted. “ He won’t ve
up securities calling or thousands and on-
sands of dollars without getting his money.” _

“ It will not do any harm for me to see him
so make yourself comfortable on the'lounge and
I will have a talk with him immediately,” she
remarked, risin and taking a look at herself in
the glass, in or er to see that she was in go r
trim to visit the man whom she knew to er

‘ devoted admirer.

Alcibiades extended himself upon the lounge.

“ I know, of course, that you’re going to pony
up the rhino, for that is the only way you can
get those infernal bits of papers, and I must say,

id, you are just ’the dearest old gal that ever
walked in shoe-leather.”

“Wait till I get the I. O. U.’s before you
praise me,” she remarked.

“ But kee it dark, Sid, for heaven’s sake!” he
exclaimed a ruptly, sitting bolt upright on the
loan e in his excitement. " Don’t breathe a
wor of it to a soul, or it will be my ruin!

“ If you have any love or your r, unfor-
tunate wretch of a rother, keep it rk.”

“ Don’t fear! I will be as silent as the

ve. ’

“And, Bid, if u do et those cursed rs,
don’t examine gin—that is, only enougpliut);a be
sure that they are an right.»

“ Certainly not!"

“ My Slgnaturejs at the bottom of all of them,
with the exception of o father’s check for
nlily quarterly allowance, 'it’s on the back of
t a .

His face was white as he uttered the lie, but
his tongue never faltcred.

“ That’s the important one,” he continued.
“ Be sure you get that for dad would  ready
to kill me if he knew I had gambled his chec
away.”

“ I will be careful.” ,

“ And the moment you get the cursed things
into your hands be sure and burn them up.

~ “ Don‘t let a soul see them, if you don’t want
to_drive me. into a lunatic asylum. There are
thirteen of them altogether.”

“ Do not be alarmed—I will be careful.”

And then the girl departed on her mission.

She went with hightened color and a rapidly
beating heart.

Why?

Because this was to be the touchstone to test
the love of Bernard Andrews.

By his behavior in this important matter she
believed she could tell whether it was wise to in-
trust all her future life into his keeping.

 

 

If he proved to be current gold, then herself
and fortune she would gladly give to him.

If he was but dross, why, it would be a
narrow escape for her.

 

CHAPTER XXXIII.
ALCmIADES TAKES A STAND.

ANXIOUS as was Alcibiades to learn the result
of his sister’s quest, yet he had drank so much
1i uor that he could not kee away, and in ten
minutes after Sidonia quit the apartment he
was fast asleep.

Just a short half-hour was the girl absent,
and when she returned there was a look of tri-
um h upon her face, which was flushed with
exc1tement.

“ Poor boy!’ she observed, gazing compassion-
ately upon the sleeper, who looked anything but
interesting, sprawled out upon the lounge with
his mouth open.

I suppose he must have worried terribl
over this matter,” she continued; "but, than
Heaven! it is all over now.”

At this moment Alcibiades opened his eyes and
stared around him with a vacant look.

Young Grimgriskin was one of those men so
constituted that it only required a small quan-
gfiy of liquor to upset him, and, as a general

e, be recomred as speedily as he was over-

come.

“ Hallo! hgye you got back, sis?” he said, ris-
ing to a sitti position, and looking question-
ingl at the ir .

“ es,” an she sunk into an easy-chair, while
a smile of satisfaction played over her features.

“Well, by your inning, I reckon you have
fixed the thing up a 1 right,” the young hopeful
remarked.

Strange anomaly that such loutish brutes as
this worthless wretch should be able to com-
mand the love and services of sympathizing and
sacrificing women.

Sometimes it seems as if the more worthless
the object, the greater the love and devotion in-
spired in the breast of womankind.

“ Yes, I have succeeded.”

“ Bull for oral” cried
his ban a toget er gleequ .

“ Oh, yes, there wasn’t t e least trouble about
the matter,” and a peculiar expression appeared
upon her face as she spoke.

“ Sis, you are the boss girl, and no mistake!”
the young man exclaimed, exultingly.

“Ah! you don’t know what a weight you
have taken of! in mind.

“ I s’pose you’ hardly believe it, sis, but I’ve
not been able to either eat or sleep during the
past week.”

“I have noticed that you seemed to be wor-
ried about somethin ,” Sidonia replied.

She could not wit truth say that she had no-
ticed that there was aught amiss in regard to
his eating and sleeping, a though she had fancied
he had been indulging more freely than usual in
strong drink, and both herself and mother had
repeatedly cautioned him to be careful, admoni-
tions which had not produced the slightest ef-
fect upon him.

“ I have been worryin over the infernal
thin ever since it occu l” he declared.

“ feel asif I had grown ten years older in
these few days.”

“ Make your mind easy now for everything is
all right,” she remarked.

“ And the cursed things are destroyed?” he
asked anxiously.

“ es, every one i”

“ Thirteen of them?”

“Yes, thirteen. Mr. Andrews counted them
into my hand and I held them while be lit the
match and only let go when the flames began to
scorch my fingers. ”

“Sid, you are just the
in l” Alcibiades cried. “
I s a’n’t forget this little affair.
right with you one of these days.

‘ You’re sure you saw the paper with my
name on the back? It was a note of the old
marge payable to my order and indorsed by
m

e.

“Yes, I noticed it.”

“ Did you observe the amount?” Alcibiades
asked, carelessly, and yet With a certain amount
of tre idation which he could not entirely con-
ceal es ite his efforts so to do.

“ iflo, was only too anxious to destroy the
horrid things to examine them particular] .’1

“ It doesn t matter,” the young man rep 'ed, a
great weight taken from his mind.

. ‘ But I say, Sid, don’t ever let on to anybody.
either marm or dad, and dad particular, that
you know anything about that check, ’cos it
might make a heap of trouble for me.

As long as it is destro ed it is all right.”

If the girl had been a tter business woman
than she was and had taken time to reflect $01!
the matter she would have been perplex *0
guess why the young man was so anxious for the

armless check to be destroyed.

“ This has cost you a ile of money, Sid, but I
s’pose he didn’t exact t 6 full amount, did he?”
Alcibiades continued.

Again the blush crept up in the face of the
girl ansgi: faint smile illuminated her features
as s e :

Alcibiades, rubbing

ayest girl that’s go-
nd y0u can just bet
I’ll make it all

 

 

“ It did not cost me a penny, Alcibiades.
When I told Mr. Andrews 0 the nature of my
errand, be promptly said the papers were at my
command, and when I hinted at payment, he
replied that he would scorn to accept money.
You had the gambling fever strong upon you
aggd thought a severe lesson might do you

“ Curse his impudence!” muttered the now
inde ndent Alcibiades between his teeth.

“ nd the best thing I could do was to apply
a match to the compromising documents as soon

as possible.”
:‘ ghigh you immediately did?”

es.
“Wer Andrews is a hi 1' fool than I
tho ht! the young man exc imed, coarsely.

“ Ca h me throwing away a fortune in that
style. The man is an idiot!’

“You mustn’t speak in that wa , Alcibiades,
of the gentleman who is to be my usband,” re-
plied the girl, with a smile and a blush.

“ What?" and the other started to his feet.

“I l resume Mr. Andrews perceived by in
face that I was deep] impressed by his nob
conduct, and he thoug t the opportunity a fit-
tilng gaie to declare his sentiments,” the girl ex-

am . ~
p “ And you accepted him?”

“ Yes; and I feel sure I have made a wise
choice,” Sidonia obwyed, slowly, for she Per-
ceived b the expression upon her brother’s ace
that he id not a rove of the match.

“ Wise fiddlestic s!” Alcibiades cried, in a
sion, for with his usual inconsistency he chose to
feel aggrieved because he had not been consulted
in regard to the matter, and had immediately
come to the conclusion to do all he could to
break up the arrangement.

“See here, Sidonia, this fellow has ulled the
wool over our eyes in the finest kin of le.
Blessed if don’t think he roped me into t
.game of poker just to be able to skin me so as to
get a chance at you. ' .

“ I guess I’ll have to see him and give him a bit
of in mind in regard to this riflle.

“ e can’t fool me; I’m no soft-headed gall”
And Alcibiades marched toward the door.

Sidonia was naturally mild, still she had a, ' 1

tom r when roused.

“ on had better mind your own business!”
she exclaimed, indignantly.
soft-headed as you are!”

“ Don’t get hufl'y, sis, you can’t help it, you
know, for on were born that wa ,” and with
this deci edly cool remark, cibiades de-

“ It serves me right for  ' to do an hing'
for himl” the ' l exclaim g ya But

he will notm
for, unless I am
able to attend to his own affairs, and Alcibiada
will be sent away with a flea in his ear.” ,
vmg Sidonia to her reflections, we will fol-
low the male heir of the Grimgriskin '
see how he fared in his attempt to bring his host

to a reckoning for his endeavor to win the aflecs -.

tions of Miss Sidonia.

Alcibiades, like all men of his stamp, had a "1

great idea of his Own im rtance, and now that
the papers were destroy , he felt full equal to
the task of expressing to Andrews is disap-
proval of his suit. '

“Iamnot halfso‘ - w

, in disgust. '
emuch by going to r. Andrews, ’ ,
greatly mistaken, he is fully  '5‘}

line, and '- " 

“Thou ht I needed a lesson, did he?   *

his impu ence!” the young man muttered, as he
proceeded in search of Andrews. ,

“I believe upon my soul that he was jest n-  ~

tryingtoropemeintoagamesoastobeabletof.,
skin me. ,. p
“ I’ll bet a hat that it was all a game on his

part to get me intoa fix jest so he could playfll  17

grand gentleman for Sid’s benefit.
“ I don’t s’pose that my speaking will domnch
good, but if I’m ugly I can make trouble, and

as Andrews seems to be so well fixed as not to -_ g V

care two pins for money—catch me burning up ‘I

I. O. U.’s calling for thousands of dollars—may-

“ He can spare the money well enough, for he»?
must have won pretty close to forty thousand
dollars that night.”

Alcibiades was proceeding on a well—defined plan,

and in his overweemng' vanity he fancied he was ,r 
smart enough to cope With such a man as Ber- ’

nard Andrews. . _

After his interview With Sidonia, the hOSt had
retreated to his snugger on the first floor of the
mansion, and thither eibumes sought him.

“Hallo, Alcibiades, old fellow, come in !” An. "

drews exclaimed heartin when. in answer to

the young man’s knock, he opened the door and

the apphcant for admission stood revealed.
From the sulky ex ression upon the face of

voting Grimgriskin, or Alcibiadeshad tried to i r

look as ugly and insolent as possible, Andrews
immediately. guessed that his visitor hadnot
come in a riendly mood and so was warned to.
prepare for war. " ' ‘

Almbiadee marched into the mom, helped
himself to the most comfortable chair in the

apartment, sat down and proceeded at once to ‘ ; 

business.
“ See here, Andrews, what have you beenmy-
ing to my sister?” he exclaimed.

     
 

be he’ll be inclined to come down and let men/2:»
have six or eight thousand ‘ chucks.’ 3,

3  I

From these utterances, it will be seen that ,

    

(I
“:2

er
,. .

 

   
   

A I Kate Scott, thie'YDecoy 'Detectivie: 

r. i .3». ~

~ "v ‘ ‘h ‘1 ' ' '
‘. .1,  ,iw‘j. «3.5 ,
i w.   .4  ‘

 

CHAPTER XXXIV.
AN EASY VICTORY.

ANDREWS lau hed, sat down, took out his
cigar-case, he] himself to a weed and prof-
fered the case to Alcibiades just as if the other
had approached in the friendliest manner pos-
sible.

" Have a smoke, old fellow?” he asked.

" No, I didn’t come here for any fun,” young
.‘ Grimgriskin snarled. “ And I want you to un-
. derstand that 1 don’t like the way things are
 going at all!”

“ Don’t you? Well. now, that is real] too
bad,” and the host lit his cigar and proceec ed to
smoke with the air of a man at perfect peace

~ ‘with himself and all the world.
Alcibiades was enraged; it was plain from the
manner of the other that he cared but little for
'  his 0 inion.
 “ as, and I must say I think there has been

.LV‘really indecent haste in this business, and I want
1.3”; '«you to understand that, as one of thgdprincipal
)5“? members of the family, I most decid . y object

 to the arrangement.”
 “ A union between your sister and, myself
fa'doesn‘t meet your views, then?” Andrews asked,
“ puffing out great clouds of smoke.

— M...”

f:  .

,5
 “No, it does not; the whole thing is too sud-
.  :‘,‘;»iden__n
 ,' “ I’m a little too previous. eh?"
' ' "Yes that expresses the idea exactly.”
.4}; {a  -'“ An this is your opinion?”
xv. lit ' “ It is!” snarled young Grimgriskin, defiantly.
,_ . , '“ By the way, did your sister tell you about
: “fifths destruction of the I. O. U33?” Andrews ask-
‘  abruptly.
;.,‘ " .I‘Yes, she did,” responded Alcibiades, with
i ,:{_._the air of a man who has suffered a grievous
., , .
K‘t- ~" TERI: Was a mighty smart trick of yours, too'
; ,s"pose you think I ain’t up to it, but I am. I
' on when you tackle me you ain’t ot a fool
_ {ordeal with. I’ve got the biggest ind of a
it} ‘ for all such games: I wasnt born yester-
 and don’t you forget it!”
.14, ‘Oh, you think I havo been playing a little
*" ' , oh?” and Andrews, as he ut the question,
,1 hack in his chair and fair y laughed in the
- , e of the angry Alcibiades, as much as to say,
' , .What are on going to do about it?”
 “ Why, I now it,” young Grimgriskin cried.
‘1.“ It's as plain as the nose on your face!
~  “You can fool Sidouia a right, for she’s a
naghg fool like all women, but you can’t pull the
“(Wool owr my eyes!

  
   
  
 

'3: ,  ."You let go of my I. O. U.’s because you had
a'é‘ 1,9 bi er thing. It was throwing a minnow to
' ' mate a whale. V\’ha‘.’s a few thJusand dollars
"Wheu you were playing for an heiress with a
" :Dbuple of million?"

9.5?- “As you justly observe, what is it? Nothing
, hat all. and I made the trick, ion. on fellow;
, “Spur I. 0. U.’s I gave to the flames, but I have
5.- .md your sister’s consent to marry me, and

 
  
 
 

_ . ‘ t was richly worth the sacrifice.”

4‘ ' f- 5",: “ But you ain’t married to her yet!” the other

1‘; .3' cried. exasperated by the coolness of his host.

I ' f; i.""”’Right again! I am not married to her yet,

- this I have her word there isn’t much doubt

2;.‘fthat he ceremony will soon take place.”

 .17 ~ i‘ 0t if I can prevent it!” Alcibiades ex-

, I, m ' lined, savagely.

' new} What! are you against me? Why I thought

a 3i i u were a friend, and after my letting you off
1:," w the-I. O..U.’s, too!” cried Andrews, in a

H, ay that lainlyvevealed even to the obtuse

4' i ' f oidom that the other was “chafilng”

       

 

     
 
   
   
  

   

 

 

 _.,'.,,.Yoqin have to do a deuced sight more than
‘1 it“, B {or me before you can count me in on your
.. ‘l‘~'., in Grimm-{skin declared, so much enraged

 
 

 w the coolness of Andrews as to lead him to
i” i, w c - the game he desired to play.
. "s -‘ ..Oh,'I must buy our consenti’

"35. all, I reckon will have something to say
' .-. I ‘the matter, and if you are wise you Wil

.rf,‘. Now you are dipping into the vulgate, and
- ’ "give you your answer in terms that on can-
4' misunderstand, allow me to say am not
,- vtldnd of a hai in l” Andrews replied.
.133“ You may be a le to bulldoze your mother
. _., , but you cannot scare me for a cent,”
‘n- “9.5% ~ he contemptuous manner in which the host
33*.” mwed how lightly he regarded the young
 .‘m ’3 eat.
‘7 "' “Oh, you want war, then, do out" and ,Al-

     
   
 

 

 

g»:

 

6”. ,é'dbiadesrose to his feet and glare at the other.

9‘3; ,k'rf ,“ War between you and a man like myself!”

, ; ndrews cried. “ Go hang yourself to the first

‘_  for a fool! v If you dare to attem t to inter-

‘ [rule with me, I’ll crush you as thong you were

‘ ‘Jm'anly a worm in my path!”

I  ‘ You will?” and the young man grew red

e ' ’ihith/anger. He had not anticipated any such

1 a ' of irit on the part of is host, whom
"  set 3%“ in his own mind for a milksop.

,  " I will. most decidedl .”

'  "‘We'will see!” cried lcibiades, threatening-

 , and he laid his hand on the door-knob.

J,  the way before you depart, I want to
know about t is check of yours!” exclaimed

y.

a Check I” responded the other. amazed.

. ‘3 Yes, that one for ten thousand dollars made

      
   
  
   
   
 
   

 

by your father to your order and indorsed by
you to me. When can I look for the money?”

Alcibiades stared, and his legs began‘ to trem-
ble. Could ,it be possible that he was in a
trap?

" Why—why, the check is burned. Sidenia
told me she saw it destroyed,” he stammered,
his voice trembling and uncertain.

“Nothing of the kind; she mistook seine one
of the I. 0. U.’s for it, if she said so,” Andrews
replied, pitilessly.

‘That check has been out of my hands for
three days. I was short of money. and I raised
a loan upon it from a Jew friend. I told him
not to attempt to cash it, but to hold the paper
and I would redcem it."

Alcibiades staggered against the door, and

E1116 affair. Listen while I unfold the particu-

rs. .
And then the two men put their heads to-v
gether.

CHAPTER XXXV.
ran srr.

IT was a bold move on the part of the acute-
detective to penetrate right into the heart of the

l enemy’s stronghold, but it was a maneuver just

but for its support most certainly would have '

fallen.

“What’s the matter with you? Are you go-
ing to faint, man? That check is all right, isn’t
it! Nothing crooked about it, eh? for if there
is, Heaven help you! for this Jew is like a wild
beast when any one attempts to trick him.

“ If there is anything wrong about the check
and he finds it out, he’ll put you in the State
Prison as sure as you’re a living man i”

A hollow groan came from Alcibiades’s lips,
and he sunk Own upon his knees.

“ For Heaven’s sake, spare mei” he stam-
mered, with thickened utterance.

“Spare you, old fellow? why, I wouldn’t hurt
a hair of your head for the world!” Andrews
cried. in the most jovial manner.

“ Ar’n’t you
and do you thin
you any trouble?”

The miserable Iyioung man tottered slowly to
his feet. He fu y understood now the nature
of the trap into which he had fallen.

“ Of course I know that you are my friend,”
he said, with whitened lips. “I know you
wauldn‘t do anything to hurt me for Sidonia’s
m V

e.

“ Certainly not!”

“ For Heaven’s sake, though, get that check
back in your own hands as soon as you can.”

“Oh, don’t be alarmed about that. The Jew
is the soul of discretion, and he will not attempt
to use the check until I tell him that it is impos-
sible for me to take it back.”

“ Get it back, then h—get it back!” pleaded
Alcibiades. groveling ike a whipped cur. '

“ That will be all right, don’t you worry, and
Alcibiades, I think you are wron to oppose in
union with your sister, for wi hin’ four—an -
twent hours after I am married to Sidonia, I
will ace that check in our hands.”

“ b, will you, thoug i” cried the other, ea-
gerly.
“ will, as sure as I stand here,
can to hurry the match forward. ’

“ You can de nd upon me. I’ll do my level
besté” cried Alcibiades, a Weight lifted from his
min . ‘

“ Did on tell Sidonia that you did not think
a union tween us would be advisable?”

“ Yeh—yes ” was the reluctant reply.

“ Better tell her now, as soon as you can,
that you have changed your mind, and you
think it is a good thing,” Andrews observed.

“ Oh, you can depend upon me!”

“ Go ahead then, and don’t worry about the
chelcéig, If you keep faith with me you are all
run .

Somewhat relieved in his mind b this assur-
ance young Grimgriskin retrea from the
a artment and seeking his sister told her that
a ter a talk with Andrews, he had come to the
conclusion that she couldn’t pick out a better
man.

Alcibiades was a thorough car, and having
once felt the lash of his master’s whip was not
anxious to provoke a second chastisement.

Hardly had the door closed behind the oun
man when he left Andrews, before Mr. ichae
Jones made his appearance from the secret pas-
sageway. ‘

“Wel. you settled him, captain, all right,”
the secretary observed, with a chuckle.

“ Oh, yes, he was inclined to be u ply, but

I would do anything to cause

so do all you

when he found that I had the ring in is nese
be weakened,” Andrews re lied, grimly].

“It seems to me that t e outlook mighty
geod ” Jones remarked.

“ Yes, everything is altogether love] . I have

secured the heiress, and the moment s e is mine
with her two millions I think I can bid good-by
to this life of adventure with all its desperate
risks. ’

“You bet!” the secretary exclaimed, decid-
edly. The moment that stroke is made you
mustn‘t be fool enough to take any more
chances.”

“Oh trust me to carry mil cautiously. I
think the best thing we can do, Mike, is to go
abroad, :1 wedding-trip for me, you know, and
We’ll stay away for five or six years until all
danger is past.”

“ at this ginl, Kate Scott—this spv. ri his in
your house? What is to be done with her ’ the
other asked, his voice growing low and his face

rk.

“Soon I will settle her. I have arranged a
plan so that she will disappear and the keencst
sleuth-hound Will not  able to connect us With

Eomg to be my brother-in-law, I

 

suited to such a man as Joe I‘henix.

The moment that his attention was directed to
the master of Blithewood be determined to learn
all he could in regard to him.

And there was no doubt that by securing a
position in the household of the suspected man

e could gain more information regarding him
and his doings than he could have pickcd up
in a month any other way. ,

“ I must have been born under a luck star "
the detective remarked as he settled imself
down to play the spy upon the mansion.

“ For i I had not been I would never have
been fortunate enough to secure this chance.
Now then. if there is any thing wrong about this.
Mr. Bernard Andrews, theodds are about a
thousand to one that I will be able to smoke it.
on .

“ Let the man be ever so much on his guard
he will not be apt to suspect that there is a spy
ri ht in his own omalns.”

he stable was about a hundred yards from
the house and the blind goddess, Danie Fortune,
always prompt to smile on the bold soul who
seeks her favors in a mental way, had so willed
it that the window in the stable loft commanded
a view of the rivate business apartment of the
master of Blit ewood.

There were screens to the lower part of the
windows and curtains to the upper, but as the
curtains were well rolled up, and the screens
were only a couple of feet high, there was a gap
fully two feet wide between the screens and the
curtains, so that by the aid of the owerfid
glass Joe Phem'x was able to see intot 0 room
and note all that occurred therein.

That Bernard Andrews, the master of Blithe—
wood, was a man with a wonderful head the
reader hasJirobably discovered long ere this.

But asi gnoes without saying that there isn’t.
any such th g in this world as a perfect man,
so there is a limit to the shmwdness and wisdom
of all humans.

Andrews had arranged his sanctum so that
while he could command a view of all that
transpired without, no one. on the outsule could
pla the spy upon those within.

at is, is intention had been to arrange the-
matter in such a way but. with all his shrewd-
ness, he had never 'en the distant stable into
his calculations.

The idea that a y might post himself in the
stable loft, and wit .the aid of a powerful glass
lfieep a watch upon his movements never entered

is l('n( .

All great men_are prone to neglect some little
detail of this kind, seemingly insignificant, but
upon gvhich, really, the fate of a nation may
depen .

And this hecdlessness on the part of the mas-
ter of Blithewood was fatal to cost him dear,
apparently unimportant as it was—but we will
not antici ate events.

Stern P enix could not sup recs a drychuckle
as he adjusted his glass ans
thanks to the favorable position he occupied—
he cguld command a view of the entire apart-
men .

The master of the‘ mansion was seated in the
room when Joe Phenix began his watch, smok-
ing a, cigar, and glancing every now and tnen
at a newspaper which he held in his hand.

It was one of the New 'York afternoon jour—-
nals, which'had just arriVed.

It was the “money article” which interested
Andrews.

There had been a “field da ” in Wall street.
The “bears” had attacked 11 force, and the
“ bulls " had been routed all along the line.

Stocks had dropped from five to ten oints,
and many a man _who had confidently ooked
upon himself as being worth a good round sum
when he awoke that morning, was suddenly
brought face to face with the unwelcome fact
that he was a beggar before the noenday sun
had reached its meridian. ,

Many of them never before realized how much
truth there was in the old saying:

“ Riches hath wings.”

The flu lasted until about one o’clock, and
then all the weak holders—men who had invested
all they could raise, and were unable to rcsjw nd
tothe incessant cry of the excited brokers for
more margin-being weeded out. and their
stocks transferred to the possession of the oily
schemers who had en neered the raid, the trick-
sters went in to real as on their profits, and at
the same time give a “ twist” to the uncautieus
speculators. men of small capital, who, encour-
aged by the belief that “ t e bottom had drop
out of the market,” Ven ured to sell “w at
they didn’t own,” in the hope of turning an
honest penny by a still further decline.

The market was " milked” in the most scion-
tific manner, to use the jargon ofthe “ street."

. / , .

perceived that— .

~xm4w a»: -. 4

 

'i

 

 

A

 

V,

‘ x
'l

.g}, v
i .,  '4‘. .

' liaise Seott, the Decoy'Detective.

 '.,.'_1'_'-'..,v:~. .13- :.’_ A1 . _.‘,_.

25

 

First, the speculators who  bo ht for a
rise were forced to sacrifice their hol ings and
cry enough and now the other ones who had
rushed in, thinking that the decline was the be-
ginning of a panic, were treated to a sudden
rally of four or five pomts which pinched their
pocketbooks in a most dreadful manner.

Andrews had 'ust finished reading the ac—
count when the ow broker made his appear-
ance, rubbing his fat hands together in a man-
ner indicative of complete satisfaction.

Joe Phenix, thanks to the aid of his powerful
glass, recognized the Hebrew the moment he
made his a pearance.

“Aha, brahain Goodchild, the jolly Jew
broker, eh?” the keen-e ed detective muttered,
as he caught sight of IV all street man.

“Well, he-is all right. There isn’t anything
crooked about him—that is, nothing that the
law can take hold of. He is too careful for

. that.

“ He wouldn’t ick a man’s pocket or steal
any of his value les for the World, but if he
could fleece him out of his money by inducing
him to bet that a stock would 0 u , when he
knew that all the arrangements ad 11 made
to at it down, he would do it in a moment.

‘ But that is not robbery—that is business!”
and a contem tuous sneer appeared on the stern
and massive ace of the detective as he uttered
the reflection. .

“You look happy, my dear Goodqblld,” An-
drews remarked, as he waved his. v151tor into a
chair, and then producing his Cigar-case, ten-
dered him a “ weed.” _ _

The Hebrew accepted the Cigar readily enough,
for ex rience had informed him that the
mas r of lithewood never carried anything
but the best of Havanas.

A cigar which could bepurchased for less than
a uarter he disdained.

’ here was no denying the fact that the ad-
venturer carried himself with the air of a
prince.

“ Mine gootness, mine friend, I am so happy
as der clam at high water!” the Jew respon
after he got his cigar well-lighted, and mttled
 comfortably in the embrace of the easy-
0 air.

“ You had a lively time in Wall street to—day,
I see,” and Andrews tapped the jOurnal which
he had in his hand.

“ Oh, yeah, it was lively for a while; der cold
types can’t do Justice to a. thing like this, you
know my fr’en .” '.

“ e pulled through all right, I suppOSe,”
Andrews observed in the most anguid wa pos-
sible, as though he took but little interest in the
matter.

“ Yesh, yesh, we got through, thank good~
nessl” and the Jew heaved a deep sigh of relief.

“ I supposed so, for I observe that neither your
name nor mine are given among the lame ducks,
although the financial man intimates, I see. at
the conclusion of his article that the end is not
yet, and that there are several prominent open»

rs who are supposed to be skating on extremely
thin ice, and that if there are any Violent fluctu-
ations in the market to-morrow the chances are

ood that a con le of dozen more victims may
compelled to t row up the sponge.”

“ Ali, yesli, dcr newspaper fellows must say
somet’ings sensational you know, or else der
bapers will not sell.“

‘ But how are things as far as you and I are
concernedl”

“Vell, we are all right. There was a rumor
dat we would be in troubles if der figures were
smashed, and der beasfiy banks were stiff as der
duyvel mit their loans.”

“They had a suspicion that we were in a tight
place, and, instead of being willing to do what

hey could to help us out. they adopted the oppo-
-s1te course and tried all they could to push us to
the wall.”

“ Dat ish der truth, so help me Christmas!”

. is was about as near to an oath as the wily
Hebrew ever came.

“ That is the we that banks and bankers act
the world over. heir gold dazzles their eyes so
that they can’t see beyond their noses.

“When the time of trouble comes, in endeav-
oring to protect themselves, they usually bring
disaster upon all who are unfortunate enough to
have ny dealings with them.”

“ That ish der truth—it ish always dat wav,”
Elbe Hebrew affirmed with a solemn shake of the

ead.

“I suppose we had plenty of kind friends. in
the street who looked joyously forward to seeing
us 0 broke?” Andrews remarked With a fine
tone of sarcasm.

, “0h. yesh; it is always dot way, you know.
But still there was not many of dem.

_“ You see, my dear fr’end, the storm was so
Violent, mit der lightning striking all around,
dot der most of der boys had all they could do
ter look out for themselves.”

“ When the fall began they called on us for
more margin of course?”

“ Yesh, yesh, and I ponled up der cash so
quick dot it made de‘r hehds swim.

'1 ex ted.
“ ow so?”

.1 {l‘ “If you remember, itmh my calculations

 

“ But, m dear fr’end, I did not do as well as,
Z

 

for to be able to hold back some stamps so ash
to go in for a profit when der tide turned?”

Andrews nodded.

“It could not be done; I could not make der
turn. Der dro was more than I expected and
it took about a 1 der cash to meet der margins.”

“ That was a pity.”

“ Yesh, yesh, and there will be a fine chance
for monish to-morrow. It is on der cards to ut
on der screws and lift der market four or ve
points and when der shorts are squeezed, let her
slump again.”

“ I see, a nice little scheme!”

“Ah, my dear fr’end Andrews, if you only
had twenty or dirty t’ousand dollars more—”
and the Jew rubbed his fat hands together,
smacked his lips and looked as if he saw a most
brilliant prospect ahead.

“ TWenty or thirty thousand dollars more?”
Andrews remarked in a tone of uestion.

“ Yesh, my dear fr’end; I believe dot if we
had dot money we could collar feefty t’ousand
before business closes tomorrow.”

“ Do you think so?”

“ Ah, yesh; de big guns t‘ink we are among
the lame ducks, not absolutely crippled, you un-
derstand, my dear fr’end, but hurt so badly dot
it ish all we can do to keep our heads above do
water.

“ In de calculations dot they have made for de
campaign to-morrow, they have not counted on
us at al .

“ \Ve are hurt badly, you understand; we are
not strong enough to take another dose and we
will not be in der game.”

6‘ I see- 7?

“ Now if we had twenty or thirty thousand,
we might be able to catch some of dese smarties
where de’r hair is short and make dem ueal.

“ Exactly; it would be a deuced g joke,”
Andrews observed in a careless sort of-way
blowing out a cloud of smoke.

“ But dot ish always de wayr de old t’ing
works in dis oncertain world,’ the Jew ob-
served regretfull . .

“'W en we strike a chance like dis, der money
is non est !”

“ Oh, no, not always.”

There was a tone in the voice of the adven-
turer which at once aroused the hopes of the
broker.

“ Mine gootness, my goot fr’end Andrews, do
you think you can raise der monish?” he cried,

eagerly.
‘I think so. I have wired to my a nt in
Texas to send me all he can raise, for I ad an

.idea that a few thousand more might come in

handy to-morrow, and as he knows that any—
thing under twenty thousand isn’t of much use
to me, the chances are that it will be over that
amount.”

The Jew was delighted at the prospect and
after a few more words withdrew to dress for
dinner as he was to be Blithewood’s guest for a
few days.

 

CHAPTER XXXVI.
PLANNING A GREAT scmmn.

NOT a. single detail of the interview had been
lost upon the acute police Spy, who by the aid of
his powerful glass had been able to observe
every expression which appeared upon the faces
of the two as distinctly as though he was seated
in the same room. ’

Of course the words of the conversation Were
lost, but as Andrews had the newspaper in his
hand, and chanced to nod to it during the inter-
view and the Jew also glanced toward it, the de
tective quickly came to the opinion that they
Were discussin the mOVements of the stock mar-
ket as repo in the financial column of the
journal. I .

“ Nothing crooked about that,” Phenix ob-
served, communin with himself._ .

“ The Jew is his roker and he is relating how
the market has gone to-day. N othing at all
wrong there. I _ .

“The J ow is a robber,«but in a legitimate way
so that it don’t count.

“If this dashing Mr. Bernard Andrews never
has any associates Worse than.th.e Jew broker,
he will not be likely to see the mode of a prison
cell, excepting as a visitor.”

Although it had been but a short time since
Joe Phenix had struck u n the track of Ber-
nard Andrews, “ piEin im off,” to use the ex-

ression dear to t e carts of the detective
raternity, yet he had become as fully ted
regarding his history as an ' man in the at .

All that was known of t e master of B ithe-
WOOd he knew) and when he came to sum the
matter up he came to the conclusion that the

ast hfe 0 Mr. Bernard Andrews was almost a
lank, as far as the public at large was con-
cerned.

He had made his appearance in the city as the
agent of an obscure Southwestern railroads a
concern so small that it hardly needed a New
York agent at all.

But when Phenix in his peculiar quiet way,
made inquiries with the idea of finding out how
it was that Andrews had become connected with
the railroad com y—asuming’the disguise of
a Texan stock-rs car, a cattle k with move
to invest, for this purpose—he ound the tra

 

was like the ancient one renowned in story,
which, after quitting the plain, went into a
wood, then ran up a tree and there ended.

The railroad company had “ bu’sted,” the ac-
tive oflicers of the concern had managed matters
after such a fashion that when the ex lesion
came they were forced to seek refuge in the con-
genial clime of Canada, the land so dear to the
hearts of the men of genius whose figures will
not stand the scrutiny of an expert.

The road itself had been swallowed up by a
big trunk line whose oflicials, of course, knew
nothing about Bernard Andrews.

So, when the detective came to the end of his
inquiries, he was as much in the dark in regard
to the gentleman whose history he was anxious
to learn as when he began.

Bernard Andrews might be all right—exactly
what he represented himself to be—or the big-
gest rascal in the world, for all anybody knew
to the contrary.

“ The Spider Captain would be a t to assume
just such a character as this fellow bears,” Phe-
nix observed, musing over the matter.

“ He is evidently a first-class rascal, as far
removed from the common herd of law-breakers
as the banker is from the man who keeps the
peanut—stand on the corner.

“ My Spider Captain would be apt to masque-
rade in some suc dis ' as this, and it will
probably be a difficult job to trap him, although
if I am on the right ,scent here, I have prospered
wonderfqu so far, for I have succeeded in not
only getting Kate into the house, but have se-
cured a footing on the premises myself.”

At this point Phenix’s reflections were. sud-
denly interrupted.

All the time that he had been indulging in
these reflections he had the glasses to his eyes
and was keeping the most careful watch upon
Andrews. ’

After the departure of the Jew the adventurer
had lain back in his chair and indulged in a.
heart laugh.

“ e has tricked the Jew in some way,” was
the detective’s muttered comment.

Then Andrews glanced over the newsgger
until he finished his ci er, and just as be t w
the butt from him, an tossed the journal upon
the table, some noise at the rear part of the room
seemed to attract his attention.

He listened for a moment, then cast his eya
upon the door through which the Jew had just
deplerted, as if to assure himself that it was
tig tly closed, and then his lips moved as though
he was s 'n .

And P enix Iancied from the movements of
the lips that he said:

“ Come in.”

Rapidly the detective moved his glass so that
he could command a view of he rearpart of the
room.

He guessed from the movement that Andrews
made that he spoke to some one in thatdirec-
tion, yet there wasn’t any one in the room, nor
was t ere a door there at which an applicant for
admimion might be.

Judge of the detecti ve’s astonishment and de- -
light then when a secret door in the wall 0 net!
and the secretary, the quiet, demure Mr. Michael '
Jones made his appearance. ,

Despite his disguise Joe Phenix recognized the
new-comer upon the instant. ‘

“ Aha, Four Kings as 1 am a living man!” ,
the detective cried. ' "

And it was the truth.

Complete as was the disguise which the noted 1
burglar had assumed, yet it did not for an in-

l

stant deceive the experienced eyes of the vetera’n '

thief—taker. , r
‘_‘ Now we are getting hotl” cried Joe Phenix, é’
usm g the old schoolboy expression. '
“I am on the right scent. There isn’t the
least doubt about it now.

“ Four Kings is just the kind of man to act as ”
the lieutenant of such a first-class scoundrel as
this Spider Captain.” , «

Leaving the detective to his watch, we will
proceed to relate the conversation which took‘,
place between the master of Blithewood and his :
“ secretary.” ' _‘

“ W'ere on at the door long enough to aver. :.
hear anyt ing of the conversation between\, that »
Jew and myself?” Andrews asked. after Four 
Kings had entered the room and helped himself '
to a chair. .

“ Yes, part of it,” the other answered.

“ About raising the twenty or thirty thousand

dollars?” _
“ Yes; and I say, captain, you carry the thing,
« You talk as free] of raising thousands or

08 with a fearful swagger.

dollars as though you ad a bank at your com-

mand.”

 

of them, for that matter.”

“ You’re too deep for me, captain." "

“And when I cal with my banks I den‘t' .
bother With any formalities, either. I don’t ,
draw an checks and put the cashier to the ‘T
trouble 0 examining his books to see whether
thereis a balance to in account snflcient to:
meet the draft 631' not. simply walk in and.

be] myself to hat I “Eh” ,.
our grinned; t pleaun m.“-
aotly to his W V l .

x

“80 I haven” responded Andrews, “ a doom : > ‘

his

 

V i

 

“uni, ._

.. .
.3-
4"

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

 

 

 

 

  

“And that is the way you are going to raise
the money, eh!”
“ That is my programme. I told the Jew, as
perhaps you overheard, that I was going to ar-
1 range the matter with my man in Texas, but
i then that requires the use of the wire, and tele-
§ ‘. ‘ graphing is deuced uncertain too, you know,
i and—”
f _ ‘ “And mebbe your agent couldn’t raise the
‘ stamps,” observed Four Kings with another
I
l

grin. ' w
“ PreCiselfyi I see, Four kings, that you have
a fine head or these. financial matters.

“ Now then, how much easier it will be for me
to walk into a certain bank I know of and help
myself to the twenty or thirty thousand dollars
of which I stand in need!”

“Oh, yes, there ain’t any doubt about that;
but I say, governor, twenty or thirty thousand
dollars is an awful pile of money, and it isn’t
eve bank that can be collared to that tune.”

“ isely observed!” Andrews exclaimed in his
light and airy way.

. “ There are plent of banks in all these big
" cities which Could . knocked down for more.
' v ' money than that—aly, for double the amount, but

it is no easy job to ( o the trick.

“ In fact, under the usual condition of things,
it is almost an impossibility.”

“ Yas, the trick can’t be done without run—
ning so much risk, that only a man anxious to go
, u the river to Sing Sing would be apt to try it,”
' ' our Kin s observed.

2 “Your cad is level about that, and as I am
not anxious to pay a visit to Sing Sing, I don’t
pro se to go for any city bank.

'2. ' .“gowant some nice little country institution,
' '. _ on know, in some quiet, sleepy village where

 {he inhabitants all ro to bed about nine o’clock.”

  
    
  
   
    
   
  
 
    
    
     
  
  
  
 
   
   
 
  
    
   
 
   
   
     
  
  
  
   
   
  
   
  
   
   
    
  
   
 
 
  
    
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
    
 
  
   
 
     
  
  
   
  

."

' ' “ Yes, I know, I 'llOW,” and Four Kings rub-
" bed his palms glccf'ully together.

.3 “I havedone some good strokes of business in

just such places.

5 “ Beautiful little villages where they don’t

 ' have no inquisitive police or thick-headed watch-
 men to bother strangers with impudent questions

3 I” as to what their business may lie.

. . “But, captain, as I said afore, the trouble will

.4 be to strike any country bank where you can get

."M‘ -~" awa with any large amount of money.”

‘3' I “ he bank is selected and the cash is there

" “ " now, I reckon,” Andrews replied, coniplacently.

' . Four Kings stared.

“ It is a fact, you needn’t stare, although I am

; ready to admit that it isn’t often that such a job
’ -  can be struck.”

 ’. “ But are you sure about it!”

 “ As sure as a man can be, when it is not pos-
 sible for him to see the money put there with his
  own eyes. a I
‘- s “ It is one of those odd things which sometimes
’ happens in this life, and it is just by accident
. that I hap ned to strike it.

i ‘ “ One 0 the Wall street kings is an odd,
~~ liar old fellow whose boast it is that the bu k of
: am his wealth is in ready money, not locked up in
"  real estate or in a dozen other kinds of invest-

merits where he cannot get at it when required.
_.  “ His home is in one of the little towns on the

‘ Harlem railroad, only a few miles from the city,
and in the little country bank there he has an

11.

 

, .“ In fact, to come right down to the truth, be
V i! the bank.

' 5.“A8 a rule, of course, he don’t keep much

. maney up there, but once in a while he has 9.
[#3111511 fortune in its old-fashioned safe.

 “Ha ha a peculiar hobby—being astrange
fldcustomer an way; in appearance a regular

countryman, an no stranger unacquainted with

him would ever believe from his personal ap-

‘ , that ho was one of the gr< at financial

. . ~, “A? man whose nod is sometimes potential
“7* h to shake Wall street to its very center.

’ . ‘ ,1'“ is hobby to whichhl have geferrea, consists

d for an thing e may uy in ie imme-

" ditptz‘yrigfghborhgm of his home in cash instead

dra‘ ' a check for it.”

.. “Oh I’ve heard of such a notion as that be-

‘ ”. Ii‘our Kings remarked.

"’ ‘3“ idea, I suppose, is to kinder dazzle the

of his nci hbors with the sight of the cash.

 on wouldn’t hlnk that a man who had plenty

of money would care for to do a thing 0 that

‘ but I have run comes just such odd old

‘ inm time.”

I,“ That is a ut the idea, I guess.

-' .“Well, he is going to bu a bi farm up there

. ' orrow, belongin to a ew orker who has
a cleaned out n all street.

’ “The lace is anexpemiive one—stands the

flow Yer er in eighty or ninety thousand dol-

I believe.” .

, “Goshnl” cried Four Kings in amazement,

,‘,' that’s bi money for a farm."

 “ Yes,  is one of the fancy ones where the

.£ W costs more than the champagne. The old

-.,~mu has got it at a bargain; no one knows ex-

  

   

how much, for the affair has been kept
~v , but aafar ascan be learned somewhere
around thi thousand dollars, either a little

“more or a l 9 less.
“,‘Now,then, as the money is to be
 marrow morning, the chances, as I estimate

 

paid to.

them are about a hundred to one that the cash
will lie iut in the little country bank to-night

for safe— 'ceping, and if it is, my venerable
friend will not pay it out to-iiiorrow, for I have
arranged the trick so that we can collar the
plunder to night.”

Four Kings was silent for a moment, reflecting
upon the matter.

He was admitted to be one of the most ex-
perienced cracksiiicn in the country, and of
course wcll calculated to judge of the feasibility
of any such game as this.

“ Well,” he said, at last, “it will work if this
country bank is like what country banks gener-
ally are—no bctter guarded, or better prepared
to resist an attuck—”

“ It isn’t ” Andrews added.

“ “'0”, t ion, it won’t be like cracking a crib: ;

it will be more like jest picking the money up in
the street.”
“That is about the idea of it.

“And now to arrange the programme. I ,

have made up a party to go to New York to-
niglit, to take in the last ball of the season.

“It is to be a sac“ all‘air; will commence
about ten and last until morning.

“ The Grimsgriskins are going, also the Jew
broker.

“ I have engaged rooms at the Fifth Avenue,
for our accommodation.”

“ The Filth Avenue!” exclaimed Four Kings,
after it whistle of astonishment.

“ Oh, yes I always do things in style, par-
ticularly when I am playing my cards for a
stake worth a million or two.

“ I shall start the party from the hotel about
half-past nine, and just as we are etting into
the carriage, a telegram will be ham ed me.

“ After glancing at it, I shall beg the party to
excuse me, and deputo Goodchild to do the
honors in my absence, as a little matter of busi-
ness has come up to which I must attend in
person.”

“ I see, I see, a beautiful device.”

“ I return to the hotel, ss throu h the
office, and slip out throu h t e side on rance,
where a cab will be in waiting to take me to the
Grand Central Depot, just in time to catch the
ten o’clock train on the Harlem road.

“ This ‘doublin ’ in the hotel is to prevent
any spy from true ing me.

“ ot that I think there is the least danger of
any such thing happening, but then there is a
chance, and against such chances I always take
precautions.”

“Why, you don’t think that any one is keep-
ing a watch on you i”

‘Oh, no; but still some smart Alex of a de-

'toctive might take it into his head tokeep an

eye on me, thinking he might be able to get
soinle points by means of which money could be
ma 6.

“At the depot I will meet you; no signs of re-
cognition between us,of course,and when our sta-
tion is reached—it is a slow train and takes over an
hour to do the thirty odd miles—we will not get
ofl.’ with the rest, if there be any passen ers, as
generally there is, but lounge on the atform
until the train gets under eadway. then dro
quietly off and go 11 the track to a little w ,
where we can find 5 alter till about twelve and
then we can crack the crib.

“After the job is done, I know a trick by
means of which we can be back in the city by
four or half-past at the latest. I can put in an
appearance at the ball in time for the wind~up
and it will be a mighty cute detective who Will
be able to smell out how the job has been work-

i

“The scheme is a magnificent one and bound
to win,” Four Kin . exclaimed, enthusiastically.

“Take out a ful set of tools, the best ones we
have, and et. yourself up as a countryman.”

“ All ri t, and Four Kings rose to his feet.
“ I will on hand, and we’ll do the job up
prime.” - ’

And then the cracksman took his departure,
ending the interview.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
CRACKING run cam.
bTHE plan engaged by Andrews worked to a
c arm.

The speculator escorted his guests to the Fifth
Avenue Hotel and then, after due tIflireparation,
the all descended to the street to c carria es
wh ch were in waiting, but as Andrews had is
foot upon the step, about to enter the hack the
messen r boy who was attached to his Wall
street o 09 came rushinglpp with a telegram.

Begging permission of '5 guests to o n it for
fear t t might be something i’mpo t, An-
drews drew out the dis tch, and after he had
perused it hastily, cri in a tone of vcxation:

“ How deuced unlucky! Here is a matter which

uires my instant attention.

‘ But it will not detain me long, although 1
must attend to it immediately. V

“ Mr. Goodchild, you must do ith'e honors in
my absence; so to leave you, but as you are
insuchgoodhan :1 am sure you will hardly
miss me," he said to the Grimgriskins.

They all expressed their concern at the safer
tunam occurrence, ho he wouldn’t be detain-
e'd long and then A ws hurried away, while

the  drove off.

The adventurer walked around the corner to
the main entrance to the hotel, entered it, pass-
? ed throu h the office and then with a quick,
I backwarc glance for the purpose of observing
‘ whether there were any suspicious personages
. lounging around who might have an idea of
kec ing an eye upon his movements, went out
of t e side entrance where a cab was in waiting,
, jinn ied into it and was, driven to the Twenty-
; thin street station of the Third Avenue Eleva—
: ted Road.

Although, as far as he Could see. there wasn‘t
the slightest danger of his being i'ollmwd. for as
no one in the hotel appeared to take the slightest
notice of him, et he did not neglecta single pre—
caution to eva( e the vigilance of a spy.

Ascending the ste s which led to the depot of
the Elevated road, e hesitated a few moments
until he heard 0. train approaching. then he hur-
ried on and gained the platform just in time to
get aboard the car.

If there had been a Watcher in his rear, lay-
ing the sp upon him, he would have con
“ eft ” in t e most complete manner.

Andrews too had taken advantage of his halt
upon the stairway, being secure from observa-
tion, to effect a decided change in his personal
ap )earance.

le removed the soft felt hat, semi-student
style, which he were and thrust it into the pock-
et of his loose dark overcoat, which completely
concealed the full—dress suit which he had on un—
dcrneath.

From an inner pocket he drew a shorthaired,
full, dark beard which he adjusted to his face,
and a cloth cap of the pattern so favorably re
garded b seafaring men and others exposed to
the weal er.

After the beard and cap were in place he but-
toned his overcoat to the chin.

Thus transmogrifled, it is' doubtful if Bernard
Aiidrews's most intimate acquaintance would
have recognized him in the foreign-looking,
sailor-like man who boarded the Elevated train.

As it happened in the depot were a couple of
the detectives who have a station in Wall street
fort be ex ress purpose of protectin the moneyed
men of t at locality from the ‘ sharks” who
would liken) prey upon them.

 

 

tain highly trusted entleman who had sudden-
ly been discovered have made some serious
mistakes in his cash account, and who. it was
supposed, would Come to the conclusion that the
air of Canada Would agree with his health bet-
ter than the climate of the United States.

These gentlemen had their office in close rox-
imity to Bernard Andrews’s place of business,
and were well acquainted with his personal ap-
pearance. ' - ‘

But so perfect was his disguise that he passed
the inspection of their vigilant- eyes without
either of the two having the slightest suspicion
that they had ever seen him before.

After he handed the train Andrews went for-
ward to the smoker, for he knew that Four Kings
would be more apt to ride in that coach than in
aux other.

5 he had expected, Four Kings was in the
car, gotten up in a countrified rig so that he
loolked like an honest, hard-handed son of the
s01 .

Another precaution both of these experienced
rascals had taken.

Neither one had bought a ticket for the sta-
tion at which they intended to stop, so that after
the “crib was cracked” the conductor of the
train might be able to remember that two
strangers got off his tra'm at that station a few
hours before the time of the robbery.

No communication took place between the
two, and when the station at which they intend~
ed to get ofl was reached, neitherone moved
until the train commenced to get under way,
and then one lounged carelessly out of one door
and his confederate out of the other, just as
though they had got up for the pur 089 of
stretching their legs; they then uietly r0 ped
of! the car on the oppoSite side‘irom which}: the
station was situated. i

There was really no need for all this' precau-
tion, for there was not a soul at the station or
near it. , A

No passen ers had got off the train and there
was no one a road.

The clump of woods to which Andrews had
referred when arran ing the details of the ex-

ition was near a hand, and there the two

refuge. ‘

“Well, I reckon we are doing this job up
brown,” Four Kings remarked, as Andrews
came up to him; .

“ Oh, yes; it is gomg to be one of the softest;
thin we ever struck.

“ on see, there is v
cracksman, who amount anything, troubling
a bank of this kind, for it is only on some rare
occasion like this one that the safe ever holds
mono enough to malteit worth the while of my

ass man to crack it.

“ 6 old fellow whose sugar we are after
coun
funds for a single night there.”

“ Thinking noone will know it, eh?"

“ That is his idea.”

“He will change his mind, mebbe, after we

 

   

These gentlemen were on the watch for a cer— ‘

little danger of any ‘

on that fact, and so is willing to risk his

:‘72~

Ania m. .

 

 

 

 
    
       
    
             
        

 

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Scott, theADe-‘chy De

tective.

27" -

 

 

get away with the plunder,” Four Kings re-
marked, with a grin.

“ It is very likely.” .

Andrews consulted his watch.

“ It is time for us to go for it,” he observed.

The two left their hiding-place and struck
across the fields toward the main street of the
village where the bank was situated.

The bank was a little one-story brick building,
the windows guarded by iron shutters and the
doors by huge locks.

There were two entrances to the building; a
large double door in the front and a smaller one
in the rear.

“ I am well posted in regard to the premises,”
Andrews remarked, as they approached in the
rear of the bank.

“I was 11 ) here once to see the old man on a.
little stock usiness, and as the bank is a'sort of
a hobby of his—he is the bank, really, preSident,
his son is cashier, and he and his family hold
almost all the stock—he showed me over the

remises.

“He thinks it is a model country bank, and
remarked that any burglar would have a. hard
time to get at the valuables.

“ I was very much interested—” .

“Of course!” chimed in Four Kings, With a.

n. ,
gr‘)‘ And he was fool enough to show me how the

locks and bolts were arranged.

\ “This back door, besides the lock, has a
couple of bolts on the top and bottom, and both
bolts and lock are connected with a burglar
alarm, so that any. attempt to tamper With
either will immediately set off the alarm.

“ Then the door, too, is sheathed with iron on
the inside. ”

“ Oh. that is burglar-proof. of course!” ex-
claimed li‘oanings. with u contemptuous laugh.

“ Soho thinks, but the wit of man cannot con-
trive a door so strong that the ingenuity of man
cannot find a way to get through it.”

By this time the two were at the rear door,
and Four Kings examian it.

The night was neither dark nor light, and so,
though the cracksmen had plenty of light for
their purpose, yet the gloom was thick enough
to secure them from observation.

“ Solid door, no panels,” observed the old
cracksman.

“ Yes, and they fondly flatter themselves
that it is impervious to all burgla s.”

“ Bosh! I’ve got the tools that will go through
it almost as easily as a knife through cheese.”

Then from the large, bailike kets of the
great-coat which he wore, e p need a brace,
curiously arranged so it could be folded into a
small compass.

A half-inch bit was adjusted in the brace, and
then the cracksmen set to work.

A circle of holes about fifteen inches in diam—
eter was bored through the center of the lower
part of the door.

The well—tempered steel, speCially arranged
for just such work as this, cut through both
wood and iron with perfect ease.

Then. with a ir of powerful saws, although

extreme] diminutive ones, both men 
work an out from hole to hole until the Circle
was complete and they were able to remove the
circular piece of wm .
- There’s an old adage that where a man’s head
can go his body can follow, and so the two ma-
rauders had no difficulty in getting through the
hole.

And once safely in the bank, these experienc-
ed workmen did not have the least trouble in
forcing the door of the safe open with their
really wonderful tools.

And they did not have their labor for‘their
pains, as Four Kings suggested might be the
case if the old speculator had changed his mind
abouttgying cash.

In safefiatlgiough, was a. common old-fash-

.°"P°t' -

And the moinent Andrews got his eyes on it
he exclaimed:
b0“ There is our mutton, as sure as you’re

rn. .

“That is the oldman’s bag and I’ve often
heard the boys on the street laugh about the
bag, for it is a common joke union the brok,
ers that the old man brings his lune with him
in it, so as to save the expense of going to 3, no.
taurant.”

Producing a bunch. of small keys from his
pocket Andrews speedily opened the. bag.

As he had expected it was filled With packages
of bank-bills and “ nbacks.”

And a memoran uni which lay upon the top
of the notes that there were exactly twenty-five

: thousand dollars in the carpet-bag

“ All in fifties and hundreds too so that I can
use them without don . ‘

“ If they had been t ousanddollar bills there
would be danger that somebod would be apt to
remember the numbers, but no y in the habit
of handling large sums of money ever takes
notice of the numbers of these bills.

“ Better clean out the hull thing, hadn’t ye?”
asked Four Kings.

“ Yes, such men as you and I never leave a

b unfinished. Take 0 ly the cash though. or

nited States bonds the. we can dispose of with-

" 3 outany trouble; don’t take any securities that

 

I
l

 

\

will be apt to get us in difficulties if we attempt knOW that it ought not to be there at such an. ‘

to dispose of them.”

Long experience had rendered the cracksman
a good judge in such matters, and it did not take
him long to rifle the safe of all the valuables
which could be readily disposed of.

Then the two retreated, and when they gained
the 0 )en air Four Kings remarked:

1
1

hour, and so lead to an examination which.
would materially interfere with his planS.

After the curtains were drawn the detective
produced a bull’s-eye lantern from one of his
capacious pockets, lit it, and by its aid proceeded
to search for the secret door.

He had taken particular care to note the. exact

“ ow what is the peppergram—going to hoof 5 point at which Four Kin 5 had made his ap-

it and catch some early train on the New Haven 5 pearance, and therefore

or Hudson River Railroad .(”

“ Oh, no, I know a trick worth two of that.
Besides the danger of attracting observation, it
will bring me in town too late to attend the
wind—up of the ball, and I intend to be on hand
there.”

“ What is the game than?”

“A really beautiful one!

“ The old man, whose property we have made
free with, has a trotter in his stable there "—and
Andrews pointed to the barn in the rear of the
elaborate mansion which stood next to the bank,
“ which can go twenty miles in the hour.

“ We are not quite thirty from the city and
if we borrow the trotter for a while I don’t see
any reason why the animal can’t put us in the
city in about two hours or thereabouts.”

“ Beautiful!” ejaculated Four Kings.

“ We can drive pretty near the One Hundred
and Fifty-fifth street station of the Elevated,
then turn the horse loose, and the chances are a
thousand to one that he will go directly home,
for he is noted for performing the feat.

“ At such an early hour no one will be apt to
interfere with him, and so we completely cover
up the trail.”

Four Kings remarked that it was an excellent
idea, and then the two proceeded to force an en-
trance into the stable.

Such experienced cracksmen of houses hadn’t
the least trouble in doing this.

The horse was harnessed, hitched to the buggy,
and inside of ten minutes the pair were safe out
of the town.

Three hours later they were on the Elevated
train and the horse was trotting away for home,
where be safely arrived.

Andrews had a resort up-town where the plun-
der was deposited, and at a little before five
Andrews made his appearance at the ball look-
ing none the worse for his night’s adventure. '

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ON THE TRACK.
J 01!: PHENIX, in his disguise of the Irish hostler,

had taken particular pains to make himself :

agreeable to the servants in the house, and all of
them regarded him as a remarkably “ dacent
man,” as the coachman expressed it.

Of course the servants gossiped about the
doings of the family, as is customary, and
therefore Phenix was soon' in possession of the
fact that Andrews was goin to a. ball and
would be awa all night, also tint the secretary,
the quiet Mr. ones, was to accompany him.

Phenix was quick to im rove the opportunity.

With the master of B ithew00d absent, and
Four Kings not in the house, it would be an easy
matter for him to penetrate into Andrews’s
private apartment and see where the secret door
ed through which he had beheld Four Kings

’ make his :ppearance.

Taking vantage of the absence of the master
and his guests, the servants went in for a jouifi—
cation to which the invited their friends who
resided in the neigh rhood.

They had a splendid time, and as the butler
contriVed to produco some li uid refreshment,
nearly all of the party imita their masters in
getting pretty well under the influence of the

uor.

henix was particularly overcome—or pre-
tended to be, and so itwas arranged that he
should pass the night on the lounge in the
kitchen.

At two o'clock the house was uiet: anhad re.
tired and were safe and sou in the arms of
Morpheus, the of sleep. _

And then 1: e drunken Irishman suddenly

arose.

Phenix had played ’posaum in the most power-
ful manner.

He was running some risk in this enterprise,
for if he had been discovered by any one they
wouldhave beencertaintosuspect hewason a
thieving expedition.

But he had resolved to face the danger, for he
felt satisfied that behind the secret door he
 able with}? some 018W}; which gould

unrave e m w ch env oped’
wisps? C‘th $7.. ‘

e e cautio u ' d haltin at
the door of Bernar Andrews’s'afuichim, «flew
forth a bunch of skeleton keys.

The acute detective was as well provided in
this respect as though he himself had been tho
leader of a band of lens. ‘

By the aid of the keys it was an 
for Joe Phenix to gain admittance to room.

Then, when hewas in then 35110
closed the door securely behind and new
down the curtains of the windows, for be needed
light in order to discover the secret door‘llnd he
feared that if a light wuseen gleaming through
the Windows it might him-act the attentionaf
some one, familiar withthe premised to.

 

.
' i
. 3.1. i

l
I

 

ad little trouble in,
discovering the secret passage.
The door was a spring one, and was worked.  .
by a button in the wall. ' 
When the button was pressed the door flew ‘L’

 
  
    
  
 
 
  
  
 
    
     

open.
Beyond the door was a narrow passage.
Phenix advanced without the slightest hesita—
tion, taking care to close the door behind him, ‘
so that if anyone slioul happen to enter the
room before he returned, the sight of the open' '7
door would not lead to the surmise that some;
thing was wrong]. , ;, _ ..
On through t e narrow passage went the
human blooohound, as stanch on the trail as the
brutpJ whom in this respect he resembled so»?
muc . , -*
Ten feet on, the passage ended, and two doom
appeared, one in the side of the paszagehtho.
other at the end. , .
Phenix opened the side door, and discovered a
narrow staircase leading to the upper part'of.
the house. I ‘
Then he examined the other. ‘ . ‘
There was a staircase behind this one too, but“
it ,went downward as though it descended into . v
the cellar. ‘ ' l , ; '~""
Both of the doors were provided with Strong'y: ‘
lhoclks, and on both sides of them were heavyf’
i ts. ' 

2’

      
   
 
  
   
  
   
   
   
    
    
   
    
  
   
  
     
   
   
 
 
   
   
   
  
  
   
   
   
   
  
  
   
 
  
 
  
   
  
  
  
   
    
  
  
 
    
   
   
    
  
   
  
   
   
   
  
   
   
         
   
  
   
    
  
  
   
  
  
  

This was evidently arranged with the idea of i
baffling pursuit in either direction.

Joe Phenix hesitated for a moment to deba .
in which direction he had best proceed, because.
it was possible that he would not have time 7"
examine but one of the passages in a thorough}
manner. ' _ '

“The upper stairway does not strike me n32},
being as important as the other,” he mused. ' ,  H. s -

“ It is the secret haunt of the rascals thatIu‘i ‘
after, and it is not robable that it is situated
tho‘arlglppetl; par; of t 1e house. t ' 7 »

.o t e ot er passage ism wa a m.
I have had a suspicion all algng that il’I ‘ ' '
struck the trail of the Spider Ca tain,  _
his associates are the ghosts who ve given
evil 9. name to the deserted house. ’
11; It would be theirkgame to la. 'tlfieir cards . '-
t tway,soas to co an romprymglgw”
into their secrets.” p y y . ' ‘

Acting on this idea, Joe Phenix descended-53:9:
stairs, and, as he had anticipated, found. ', ‘i
was an underground passage at the end of-
staircase. ' 3

He went fearlessly on, the lantern in one i -
and a revolver in the other, as he apprehen :.
that he might unexpectedly come upon some
the rascals.

Fortune favored him though, for he did ,
encounter any one, and soon he was in ”
of the secret of the outlaws’ hiding-place. ;'

CHAPTER XXXIX.
' nnrmrrnn. ‘ ,
KATE’S sojourn in the Blithewood 
the ise of an Italian boy had not profited .‘
in t 6 least, for not a single discovery of
slightest importance had she made. ' .
rue there was the old haunted  ~ > 
by, With its ghostly traditions, and the thb '1'“
had occurred to her that in this oldand r “l r
mansion the Spider Captain and his :2
might have their head-quarters.
A con le of secret inspections, though:
nightfal , had not resulted in any c A
and after five days she was on the ’n , .
abandoning the pursuit in this quarter,  ‘ .
to turn her attention to some other, when
received a message from Joe Phenix inn . p
to her by a scissors-grinder who came into 
yard to sharpen the cutlery of the establish vs ; a»
—the purport of whirh was that she N “j”
stick to her post at all innards. '35 ‘f
From this message it was evident that.
veteran detective was on the alert and . . I
the wereontherighttrack. ",9;
he with all her natural shrewdness, was
fault, for there wasn’t anything wrong . ...-
thehouseorenyofitsmmates,as faru.‘
could see. ' .
She resolved to double her exertions, so
a a suspicious circumstance should »
For a sleepin apartment the suppc cad I '
ghade givena little gnrret room 131'
wing of the buildin .andasthere '
Mt b0 t upon the door, to felt seem
.t was on night of the seventh d3
er the roof of Blithewood '

anu,listeni totheiridle i until Q

ten,d§aate wnogit up to her 

“i. “‘1” " ’ "
a measure of tion the

tective did not mopmr diguine' m" 

round rost,.for Phenix had warned

the must always keep herself ready 

1

 

an
i2

i

.

    
    
   
    
    

 

   
 

  
 

 

  
      
    
  
  
   
 

  
  

, w . ~~gl K.»

 

~ ,.  ~ .. .... .-. > _. .er I 

“‘1 ’... 7' '1
-,' V

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

"(I  as spar; " -

 

 

   

as she was liable to be called upon at any hour,
da or night.
he ret room and its furniture requires

'but litt e description.

% It was an a artment about nine feet by ten;
:11 dormer win ow afforded light, and the only
ifurniture in the room was a small iron bedstead

. with an extremely hard mattress, a scanty

:1 ‘ unificth of bed-clothes, and a broken-backed

.‘ ,, c 1r.

‘ 3 ' In the opinion of the servants, any sort of an

) . g' artment was good enough for the vagabond

, ,- I lian boy.

; Kate bolted the door securely, put out the

‘ small hand-lamp with which she had been sup-

lied, and after an earnest rayer—a supplica-

’ 'on that Heaven might be ind enough to per-

, mit her to unmask and unish the villain who

" i: so cruelly wronged er innocent sister, re-

; f,  to rest.

,_ :-. But not to sleep, for she was strangely ner-

i ’ Nous.

" She seemed to hear all sorts of strange noises

rte-night. I say “ seemed,” for the girl was sure

dt.wasn’t anything but imagination.

Her room being away from all the rest of the

g. ‘ Occupied apartments, at the very top of the

 no one else sleeping on the same floor, it
owns always as uiet as a tomb, with the excep-

. 'tion that the s ill cries of the wild, free deni-

i ii sens of the shrubs and trees without came in

‘throu h the window.

1,83}: on this night in uestion, after Kate had

v. ‘ ned upon the bed, t e chorus without of the

‘ linsects rose freely on the air.

, But there were other noises which appeared

2150 be nearer at hand and which the irl could

paying attention to, althoug she felt

,‘tolerab y certain that her imagination had mag-

nified somethin out of nothing.

There was a sight breeze, and the old timbers

f .the stater mansion creaked as the wind play-
around its corners.

-’ Strange fancies were in the rl’s mind.

She was working in the dar , for she had not

es htest conception of the plans of the vet-

 etective under whose directions she was

, .

  
   
  
  
   
   
     
  
    
   
  
   
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
    
    
   
    
   
    
   
    
   
  
  
   
    
     
  
  
  
    
   
  
   
  
    
   
   

  

' - And with the natural impatience of woman-
, .1th she chafed at being thus kept in ignorance.
‘ ,“ If he had only confl ed in meso that I would
able to understand why it is necessary I
, onld remain here,” she muttered, as she turned
.resflessly on the hard bed.
, ’Many times since she has received Joe Phe-
mixls message, so mysteriously conveyed to her,
Wshe uttered the sentence, and now having
moshing else to do but to think and ponder over
“the matter, she was decidedly inclined to blame
 detective for not allowing her to understand

 me.

VIII could only see him, I am sure I could

:gnvince him that it would be a great advantage

_‘: h allow me to understand the programme.

. I.  I could work to better advantage if I knew

' = I was doing.

T‘Yes, yes, I am sure of it.”

“:r Twenty times’ at least she expressed this idea,

varying the words, and at last, after

V 1 two hours hadyela . , she began to feel
tf‘slumber was beginning to Weigh down her

, ends.
And glad enou h was she when she became
‘ :: cm of this act, for she felt strangely rest-
and excited; if she had been a believer in
p :w iments, she would have ima ined that
. .: p , terrible dangerthreatened her, ut as she
" w not the least faith in anything of the kind,
' :. «strove to dismiss the idea.
And then, just as her senses reeled in the misty
, ha vi land which exists between wakefulness
" ‘  slag), a strange idea came to her.
_ tflh‘e ought that the veteran detective had
, u to the top of the reat oak tree which
" so near the house that its branches brushed
a“ .- her window and bendin over so asto
his face almost against 1: e glass, whis-

' H ,my girl, everything is goin
as right. am laying the deepest kind 0
-- 1am, and it is a luter necessary that you
,, " d not know what I am up to, for the
binfalse move on your part would ruin
i g.
e. rt on are playing isavery im rt-
one deal p0

You are the bait my girl, to attract the

I seek. You w lure them into the trap

eh. I have set and then I will capture all of

at one fell swoop. ~

..  Of course on are risking your life, but
’15 be afrai , the tra is as perfect a one as

, 'wlt of man ever p nned, and I shall not

- to make the haul.

r‘ “ They will attempt to kill you and I will nab

m.
In these strange sort of dreams all probability
flies to the winds.

»‘ sturally. it was an utter impossibility for a
mainly-built man like the detective to cling

 slender branch, not over half the size of his

. and whisper through the glass of a

shut casement. '

 Wham” "° m‘hm“ “foil:

, F ‘ ‘ as m o y as

 
  
  

  
   

 

No prosaic descendin of the tree, but he
simply let go his hold 0 the branch and van-
ished

And then the girl thought that she grumbled
a little to herself, saying:

“ You might as well at me know just what I
am doing if I am risking my life as you say.”

But this discontent was of short duration, for
a new event drove it from her mind.

She heard the stairs which led to the entry
without creak under the weight of footsteps as-
cending them.

The noise came as clear and distinct to her
ears as though she was standing at the head of
the staircase.

There seemed to be a regular army ascend-
ing, for she could distinctly hear the measured
tread of many footsteps.

“ Ah, well, it doesn’t matter to me,” she said.
“They can’t get in here anyway.”

The footsteps came nearer and nearer, and at
last they all halted just outside the door.

“ They can’t get in—they can’t et in!” she
kept re tin to herself, and she t ought she
laugh merrily when she reflected what a
stron bolt there was upon the door.

An then she heard the men without try the
door, and to her horror it yielded to their touch
and opened as easily as though the iron bolt
were but a wed e of putty.

Now she rea ized that she was in the em-
braces of that grim and horrid, yet not tangible
monster known as the nightmare.

She strove to wake herself, for now she un-
derstood she was fast in slumber’s chain, but
the effort caused her terrible suffering.

Her tongue clove to the roof of er mouth
when she attemgted to speak, and she felt as
though she won] suffocate before she could re-
lieve herself of the dread incubus.

But she felt that if she could o utter a
sound the monster would vanish into t ' air.

As she struggled, fighting this phantom of
the imagination, there came a sudden interrup-
tion.

From an intangible foe she came suddenly
upon a real one.

Rude hands were laid roughly 11
spoonful of some strange—tasting
forced into her mouth.

Waking to reality she attempted to revent
herself from swallowing the decoction, ut her
assailant was on his guard against this action.

The moment he squirted the fluid into her
month. he compressed her nostrils so that she
was obliged to swallow the drug.

Wonderful was the effect it produced upon
her, and almost instantaneous was the action.

She was thrown at once into a sort of trance,
conscious of all that was going on around her,
and yet unable to move a muscle.

Kate was as completely be] less as though
clutched in the cold embrace 0 death itself, but
the busy brain still worked steadily on.

Two men were in the apartment; a bull’s-eye
lantern which one of them carried revealed this
fact and also disclosed their identity.

The two were the master of the mansion,
'113ernard Andrews, and the secretary, Michael

ones.

11 her; a
iquid was

 

CHAPTER XL.
A FIENDISH PLAN.

“.THE job was more easily performed than I
had antiCi ated,” remarked the secretary, with
a hoarse c uckle.

“ Oh, I did not think there would be an
trouble about the matter,” Andrews replie .
“ When I plan anythin of this kind, I general-
ly arrange it so carefu y that in the execution
ever thing goes like clock-work.”

“ n this case most certainly everything has
worked to perfection.”

“ Yes; but come, we have no time to lose, for
midnight is near at hand.”

“ That was a capital idea of yours—the
loosening of the screw that held the bolt-
socket, so that while it looked to be firm, yet
the screw had so little hold of the wood that
a flnger's pressure woald force 0 n the door,”
the secretary remarked, as he vanced to the
bedside.

“ Yes; if the bolt had been all right we should
not have been able to get into the room without
making noise enough to wake this plucky girl,
who has so brave y thrust her head into the
lion’s mouth.” ' .

If the drug had not transformed the girl into
a marble-like statue incapable of moving, she
most certainly would have van a great start
when she heard these wo s, for they showed
hgtthat her ldi sighted beentpenetratsad, :23
t rom payin part 0 a spy, e
been transformed Into a Victim.

Andrews held the lantern, but the hands of the
secretary were not incumbered. \

So. when he ’came u to the beikide,he stooped
and lifted the motion ess form‘of the girl in his
strong arms without any trouble.

Then, with the master of the mansion leading
the way, the two (knitted the apartment, the
secretary carrying t 9 girl.

When the two gained the en without,
Andrews led the way to a door at he further
and of the passage which the staircase was
aituated.

I ‘ ‘

 

With a natural curiosity Kate had tried this
door when she first took up her quarters in the
garret, but as it was apparently fastened, she
concluded it was merely the door of some un-
used closet, as from the position in which it was
situated it did not seem possible that it could be
the door to a room.

But it stood open now, revealing that it led to

a narrow staircase.
The girl remembered now that there was a
flight o stairs in the rear of the house used by
the servants, but she had no idea that they led
into the garret.

Down this staircase went the two men, An-
drews taking care to carefully lock the door af-
ter him.

And before leaving the apartment which had
been occupied by the supposed Italian boy, he
had taken pains to shoot the bolt back and re-
store the catch to its normal condition, so that
it did not show any signs that it had been tam-
pered with.

Straight to the cellar went the two.

The house seemed to be wrapped in slumber,
and not a single sound gave evidence that there
was a soul in the mansion.

In the cellar, through a secret door, so care-
fully masked as to defy detection, they made
their way into an underground assage, a nar-
row way, damp and disagreeable, excavated
right through the solid earth. »

After this passage was traversed, and it occu-
pied some minutes, the two entered another cel-

ar, the secretary placed his burden upon a rude
sort of table an uttered a cry of relief. '

“Pretty solid gal, now I tell you, Capl” he
exclaime .

The voice of the man had sounded familiar to
Kate before now, and she had tried to remem-

ber where she had heard it. or a voice like it

yet had not been successful in the attempt; but

' at this speech all of a sudden the truth flashed

upon her.

The speaker was one of the ruflians from
whose power she had previous] escaped.

It was the notorious Four ings.

Oh! how blind she had been, but her eyes
were opened now.

Bernard Andrews, the polished gentleman,
the master of Blithewood, was the Spider Cap-
tain—the man who had lured her Sister away,
masquerading under the name of H Tap-

pan.

“ Well, captain, this is the last act in the
play, eh?” Four Kings remarked.

“ Yes, this is to be the wind-up, and a most
excellent one it will be, too,” Andrews replied.

“ In another hour the Sgder Captain and his
trusty lieutenant, Four ings, will disappear
from this world never to be seen again by mor-
tal man.
“ You are the only one of the band that knows
me in my real character—the link which con.
nects me with the gang.

“ Now that I have'secured the future b this
wealthy marriage, _It is not necessary t at I
should longer tread in the path of crime, and it
is desirab e that all who knew the Spider
Captain—paJs and detectives alike—should be-
lieve that he has cashed in his checks, and
gone to that bourne from whence no traveler
returns.

“ This old house and its secrets must vanish
from existence.

“ Under the stairs, yonder, are two bodies,
dressed in the clothes that we used to wear when
we met the gang, and with their faces disfigur-
ed b bullet-wounds.

“ ow take [your revolver and empty the con-
tents into the ody of this daring spy, and place
the empty was 11 under her.

“Then we Will set fire to the old house. The
room above is saturated with coal-oil so that it
will readily burn.

“ Amid the ruins the bodies will be found,
and no doubt the falling timbers will preserve
them so that they can be easilyl identified.

" The story of the tragedy t en will be plain

to all.

“This female decoy tracked the S ider Cap-
tain to his lair, succeeded in killing t e chief of
the gang and his lieutenant, but lost her own
life in the fight.

“Thus at one blow we destroy the sleuth-
liound and at the same time gull the world into
the belief that we are no more.”

“ Beautiful! couldn’t be finer!” and Four
Kin s drew out his revolver as he spoke.

“ as, at one stroke we obliterate the past!”
Andrews cried, in exultation.

“But you haven’t counted Joe Phenix in!”
cried a stern vmce. ' .

A cry of horror came the fli s of the
two, and, turning, the beheld the etective,
drawn revolver in ban standing in the mouth
of the secret doorway through which they had

come. ,
Behind him were four armed detectives.
“ Surrender! on are my prisoners 1" the

bloodhound cri .

But the two were me to the backbone.

With a Vigorous ick Andrews sent the lan-
tern flving into a corner of the room, while
Four gs discharged.his revolver at the in-

traders

But the detectives anticipated the movement

   

 

 

. v‘m." '
v

 

 

   
   

; 419..

  
 

 

     
       
     
 

i)

W?

 

 

and escaped the bullets by dropping to their
knees, while Phenix returned the fire as fast as
he could discharge his weapon, which was a
self-cooker.

The lantern fell into the pile Of waste stuff
saturated with coal-oil in the corner of the
room; there was an explosion, and in a twink-
lin the whole place was on fire.

y the li ht the forms of the Spider Captain
and Four ings, struggling in the agonies of
death could be plain] seen.

Phenix’s bullets h been fatal.

The chase was ended.

so rapidly the flames read that it was as
much as the detectives co d do to escape from
the burning building, and Phenix had his
clothes scorched in rescuing Kate, whom he be-
lieved to be in a swoon. .

The girl recovered, under a doctor’s skillful
care, from the effects of the powerful drug, but
it was a week before she was really well again.

Our tale is told for with the death of the
Spider Captain en the Deco .

The destruction of this bold rufiian and his
secret band, for the death Of Andrews and Four
Kings put an end to the l e of crime was
due rimarily to the clew orded by te’s
overhearing the chance remark made by one Of
the dudes to the other. .

This clew Phenix followed 11 dIligentlly, and
the dude when brought to bo acknow edged
that he had once met Andrews in the Catskills
In uerading under a false name, and that by
acci ent himself and friend were witnesses of
the departure of Andrews and his victim after
the marriage' .
The officers of the law seized upon Blithewood
andalllettbythedeadvillain.

Gnntvnuibedhmmtofflw demhkms
when the truth came out.

Sidonia had a lucky escape, and her h
can ht on the bound as it were, was captu
by an Tromp, who undertook to console her
in her mortiiication, greatly to the anno ance
of Clinton, who was puzzled to understan how
he was goin to get along without his “deah
old cha pie, on‘t you know i”

Old rimgriskin was obliged to take I: the
forged note to save Alcib' es from the tate

rison, and he was so much enraged that he
nished the rascal to the wilds of the far West,
allowing him only enough to live upon.

Phenix still continues in the man-hunting
business, and at some future time we may de-
tail some other adventures of his in company
with the brightest “pal” he ever had, hisDe-
coy Detective, Kate Scott.

THE END.

 

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1 DEADWOOD DICK. Bv Edward L. Wheeler..... 5c
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8 KANsAS KING. B B alo ill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5c
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8 SETH JONE. By Edward S. Ellis . . . .  . . . . ..
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10 NAT TODD. ByEdward S. Ellis. .  .
11 THE Two DE-I-Ecrrvns. By Albert W. Aiken...
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17 RALPH ROY. By Col Prentiss Ingraham. 
18 SINDHAD THE  
9 THE PHANTOH SPY. ByBuil'aloBm... 
20 THE DOUELE DAGGERs. By Ed. L. Wheeler....
Edward S. Ellis. . 

 

8‘8‘8‘8’8‘8‘

27
2‘3 BUFFALO BIN ByB CZLMIAWheeler .. 
y t. F. Whit 
30 ROARING RALPH ROCKwoo'D. By B. sgmggmg
31 KEEN-KNIEE. By 011 Coomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
32 Boa WOOLI'. By Edward L. Wheeler 
33 THE OCEAN BLOODHOUND. By s. W. Pierce. ..
84 OREGON SOL. B Capt. J. F. 0. Adams ...... ..
35 WILD IVAN, By ward L. Wheeler . . . . . . . . . ..
36 THE BOY meN. By Frank S. Finn ........ ..
37 THE HIDDEN LODGE. By T. C. Harbaugh .... ..
38 NED WYLDE. ByTexas Jack
39 DEATH-FACE, THE DETECTIVE B E.L. Wheeler 5c
40 ROVING BEN. By John J. Mars all . . . . . . . . . . .. be
41 Law JACK. B 011 Coomes... ..  5c
42 THE PHANTON INER. By Ed. L. Wheeler.  5c
43 DICK DARLING. B§Ca t. Frederick Whittaker 5c
44 RATTLING RusE. arry St. Geo

 
   

assasssssssssssssssssssxass

eeler.... be

45 OLD AvALANCHE. Edward L.
46 GLAss-EYE. B Capt. J. F. C. Adams . . . . . .. be
47 NIGHTINGALE AT. By T. C. Harbaugh . . , . .. be

48 BLACK JOHN, THE ROAD-AGENT. J. E. Badger, Jr 5c
49 OMAHA OLL. By Edward L. Wheeler... . .   be
50 BURT BUNKER. By CharlPsE.  5c
51 THE BOY RII'LEs. By Archie C. Iron ......... .. be
52 THE WHITE Ben-ADO. By Charles E. Lasaile... 5c
53 JIM BLUDGOE, JR. By Edward L. Wheeler.. . .. 5c
54 NED HAZEL. I? Capt. J. F. C. Adams . . . . . . .. be
55 DEADLY-EYE. y Buflalo Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

5c
56 NICK WHIEELEs's PET. By J. F. C. Adams..... 5c
57 DEADwOOD DICK‘s EAGLEs. By E. L.Wheeler" 5c

:3

Q

 

 

Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective.

 

58 THE BORDER KING. By 01] Coomes . . . . . 
59 OLD HICKORY. By Harry St. George . . . . . . ..
60 THE WHITE INDIAN. By J. F. C. Adams ..... ..
61 BUCKHORN BILL. By Edward L. Wheeler .. . ..
62 THE SHADOW SHIP. By 001. P. In ham... . .
63 THE RED BROTHERHOOD. By W. . Hamilton .
64 DANDY JACK. By T. C. Harbaugh.  
65 HURRICANE BILL. 1‘6;
66 SINGLE HAND. By . . _
67 PATENT-LEATHER JOE. By Philifi S. ..
68 THE BORDER ROBIN HOOD. 8% uffalo BilL...
69 GOLD RII'LE. By Edward L. heeler . . . . . . . ..
70 OLD ZIP’s CABIN. By J. F. C. Adams ........ ..
71 DELAWARE DICK. By 011 Coomes . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .
72 MAD TOK WEsTERN. By W. J. Hamilton. .... ..
78 DEADWOOD DICK ON DECK. By E. L. Wheeler..
74 HAWK-EYE HARRY. By 011 Coomes.  
75 THE BOY DUELIsT. By Col. P. Ingraham . . . . ..
76 ARE COLT, THE CRow KILLER. B A. W. Aiken.
77 CORDUROY LIE. By Edward L. Wheeler..
78 BLUE DICK. By Captain Mayne Reid.  . .
79 SOL GINGER, THE GIANT TRAPPER. A.W. Aiken
80 RosEDUD ROB. B Edward L. Wheeler... .
81 LIGHTNING JOE. lgy Captain J. F. C. Adams. ..
82 HARENOT. y T. C. Harbaugh. . . . . . . . . ..
83 ROLDO, THE BOY RANGER. B Oil Coomes...
84 IDYL. THE GIRL MINER. By .LWheeler ..
85 BUCK BUCKKAH. B  J. F. 0. Adam. .
88 DANDY ROCK. By . aldo Browne  . 
87 THE LAND PIRA-I'Es. By Capt. Mayne 
88 PHOTOGRAPH PHIL BiEdward L. Wheeler....
89 IsLAND JIIL By Brace ri eHem
90 THE DaaAD RIDER. By G.
91 THE CAPT-ADI or THE CLUE.
Hemynfifi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
92 CANADA . By Edward L. Wheeler ...... ..
ard 8. Ellis . . . . . . . .
94MIDNIGHTJACK. By .C.Har .. 
95 THE RIvAL Rovns. By Lleut. Co . Hueitine.
96 WATCH-EYE. By Edward L. Wheeler. H 
97 THE OUTLAw BROTHEEs. ByJ. J. Marshall...
98 ROEIN HOOD. By Prof. Stewart Guderaleeve...
99 THE TIGER or has. By George W. Browne...
100 DEADwoon DICK 1N LEADvIILE. 85 Wheeler.
' y Brace

101 JACK HARKAwAY IN NEw YORK.
bridgeHemfing...” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
102 DICK DEAD- YE. B 001. Prentiss In ..
108 THE LION OETHE EA. ByCol. eSara...
104 DEADwOOD DICK's DEvICE. B Ed. L. Wheeler.
105 OLD RUDE, THE HUNTER. pt. H. Holmes .
106 OLD FaosTY, THE GUIDE. y T. C. Harbaugh..
107 ONE-EYE!) SIM. By J. L. Bowen ............ . ..
10s DARING DAvY. By Harry St. Geo .
109 DEADwOOD DICK As D

88'

    

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117 GILT-EDGED DICK By color.

118 WILLSOMIBS, THE BOY Damn. 1? Morris.

119 MusTANGSAN. By Joe. E. er. 
120 THE BRANDED HAND. By F Dumont.-..
121 CINNAHON CHIP. By Edward L. Wheeler.... ..
122 PHIL HARDY, THE Boss BOY. By Chas. Morris. 5c
123 KIOWA CHARLEY. B T C.Har   be
124 ,THETEKAN. yGeorge Gleason”... be
125 BONANEA BILL. MEIER. B E. be
125 PICAYUNE PETE. By Ch esMorrls............ 5c
127 WILDFIRE. By Frank Dumont . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 50
128 THE YOUNG PRIVATEER. By H"? Cavendish. be
129 DEADwOOD DIOK‘s DOUBLE. By . L. Wheeler. 5c
1&1 DETECIjIYE DICK. By Charles Morris . . . . . . .. be
131 THE GOLDEN HAND. By Geo W. Browne.. be
132 THE HUNTED HUNTER. By ward S.  be
133 Boss BOD. By Edward L. Wheeler ....... .. be
134 SURE-SHOT SETH. B 011 Coomes ........... .. be
185 CAPTAIN PAUL. By .D. Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. be
136 NIGHT-Hwa KIT. By Joe. E. WP, Jr.  be
137 THE HELPLEss HAND. By Capt. ne Reid. be
138 BLONDE BILL. By Edward L. Whee er . . . . . .. be
139 JUDGE LYNCH, JR. By T. C. Harbaugh ..... .. be
140 BLUE BLAZES. B Frank Dumont . . . . . . . . . .. be
141 SOLID SAM. By ward L. Wheeler . . . . . . . .. 5c
142 HANDSOME HARRY. By Charles Morris ..... .. be
143 SCAR-FACE SAUL By 011 Coomes.  ..

 50
144 DAINTY LANCE, THE BOY SPORT. B Badger. be
145 CAPTAIN FERRET. B Edward L. Wheeler... be
146 SILVER STAR. By 01 Coomes ............... ..
147 WILL WILDEIRE. By Charles Morris. . . . . . . . 
148 SHARP SAM. By J. Alex nder Patten... .. . be
149 A GAME or GOLD. Bv ward L. Wheeler... be
150 LANCE AND By Capt. F. Whittaker.... 5c
151 PANTHER PAUL. B ose h E. Badger, Jr.... be
152 BLACK BEss. By C arles orris . . . . . . . . . . . ..
153 EAGLE KIT, THE BOY DEKON. By 011 Coomes
154 THE SWORD-HUNTERE. B ‘
155 GOLD TRIGGER. By T. . Harbaugh.... 
156 DEADwOOD DICK or DEADwOOD. By Wheeler.
157 MIKE MERRY. By Charles Morris . . . ..
158 FANCY FRANK or COLORADO. B Buflalo Bill..
159 THE LOST CAPTAIN. By Fred. ittaker.....
160 THE BLACK GIANT. By Jos. E. er. Jr...
161 N" YORK NEIL. By Edward L. eeler 
162 WILL WILDEIRE IN THE WOODs. By C. Morris.
183LITTLETmS. ByOllCoomes.. . ...
164 DANDY ROCK‘s PLEDGE. By Geo. W. Browne..
165 BILLY BAGGAGE, THE RAILROAD BOY. Morris.
166 HICKORY HARRY. By Ha St. 
13’s! 11;!“  Bygdyrvard b iélett... J . . . . ..
EADLY Asn. y ose Badger 
169 TORNADO TON. T. C.pHarba . .'. .. 
170 A Tam CARD. y Charles Morris.. ....... ..
171 EBONY DAN. Bly hank Dumont... . . . . . . ..
172 THUNDERDOLT 0M. By Harry 8t, Geo 
173 DANDY ROCK‘s RIVAL. By Geo. W. Browne..
1;: 1030:.rROCK‘m. By ChalilheislMgI-rlvg   
A AIN RJZONA. i . ame.....
176 THE BOY RUNAWAY.B§3y Light. H. D. PIER

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177 NOBBY NICK OE NEvADA. B E. L. Wheeler..
178 OLD SOLITARY. By 011 COOIynes. . 

179 BOD ROCKE’I'I‘, THE BANK RUNm By
180 THE SEA TRAILER. Lieut. H. D. Perry U. S. N.
181 WILD FRANK OE MONTANA. B E. L. Wheeler.
182 LI'I'I'LE HURRICANE. By 011 oomes . . . . . . . . ..
183 THE HIDDEN HAND. By Chas. Morris . . . . . . .. 5c

50
be
be
be
be
be

184 THE BOY TRAILERs. B Jos. E. Badger, Jr. .. be
185 EVIL EYE. By Frank umont . . . . . . . . . . .. be
186 COOL DEsNOND. B Col. Delle Sara . . . . . . . .. be
187 FRED HALYARD. lyChas. Morris ..  . be
198 NED TEMPLE. By .C. Harbaugh .  be
189 BOB ROCKE'IT, THE CRACKsHAN. By C. Morris 50

 

, 190 DANDYDARKE. Bme.R.E ster..... . 
191 BI‘FFALO BILLY. By Capt. A. . Taylor,U.S.A.
192 CAPTAIN KIT. By Lieut. H. D. Perry, U.S.N.
193 THE LADY ROAD-AGENT. By Phili S. Warne
194 BI'I-‘FALO BILL’s BET. Capt. A. B. aylor.U.S.A
195 DEADWOOD Dch’s DREAM. By E. L. Wheeler.
196 SHADOWED. By Charles Morris . .. ._
197 LITTLE GRIT. By Col. Prentiss lngraham....
198 ARKANSAW. By T. C. Harbnugh .. ..
199 FEATHERWEIGHT. By Edward Willeit 
200 THE BOY BEDOI'INs. By Capt. F. Whittaker ,
201 THE BLACK HILIs JEZEBEL. E. L. Wheeler.
202 PROSPECT PETE. By 011 Coomes. . .. . 
203 THE BOY PARDs. Jon. E. Badger, Jr . . . , . . . . .
$4 GOLD PLUME. By CO]. Prentiss Ingraham 
$5 DEADWOOD DICK s DOOM. By E. L. Wheeler.
206 DARK PAUL, THE TIGER KING. B C. Morris.
207 NAVAJO NICK. By T. C. Bax-bang; . .. 
23 THE BOY hEECULEs. By 011 Coomes . . . . . .,
209 mBOUND-BOY DETECTIvE. Wheeler.
210 FARO or HIGH PIN B W. R. E 'ster...
211 CROOKED CALE. By Jos. E. er, J’r . . . . . ..
212 DAsHING DAvE. By Charles Morris. . ..
213 FRI-r2 TO THE FRONT. By E. L. Wheeler.....
214 WOLIGANG. By Cast. Frederick Whittaker..
215 CAPTAIN BULLET. y T. C. Harbaugh 
216 BIsON BILL By 001. Prentiss I
217 CAPTAIN CRACK-SHOT. By E. L.
218 TIGER Ton. Oil Coomes  .
219 DEsPAHD, THE UEusT. B
as) TOM TANNER. By Charles orris . . . . . . . . . . ..
221 SUGAR-COATED SAIL By Edward L. Wheeler.
222 GRIT, THE BRAVO SPORT. By Col. Ingraham.
2230uRKALII' Wilett.......


heeler.. .

33$

8AM

CharlesMOrris ..    . . . . . . . . . .. .
m&lommBOYSHARP. ByELWheeler.5c
87DUEKY Dmm ..

l. Prentim Infaham ..
mTKEYAEKEE RAJAH. C.D.Clar 
231 PLUCKY PHIL. By T. C. arbaugh . . . . . . . . ..
232 GOLD-DUI'I‘ DICK. By E. L. Wheeler.. .  5..
283 JOE BUCK or ANGKIs. By Aiken. 5c.
234 BENITO, THE By

APOLLO BILL.  Edward  be
237 LONE STAR, THE CowDOY CAPT-An. ByCo

MOCYCDONE KIT. ...
941 BILL BRAYOAND Is BEAR PAEDI. By T. C.
Harbaugh . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . .. -
242 THE Two ‘BDOODE.’ ByCharles Morris..  be
243THEDIsOUIsED GUIDE. ByOllCoomes.  50'
NTIERFKRRET. ByEd-
miflhmfi" “shanghai:
LE,THE IDDY. D
246GIANT GEORGE. ByBuc skinSam ..  .. be
247 OLD GRIzzLY AND H '

mes . . . . . . . . . . ..
FEEGUE FEARNAUGHT. By George L. Aiken..
YOUNG SLEUTHs. By Charles Morris.
DEADwOOD DICK’s DIVIDE. By E. L. Wheeler.
THE FLOATING FEATHER. By Col. hmbam.
THE TIGER TANER. By Capt. F. Whittaker..
$6 Knu'AE. THE GUIDE. By Ens Charles
Warren (of the Engineer rps.)... . ..
UCKsKIN By Harbaugh.. ..
TRAIL. By Ed-

209 THE GOLD SHIP. By 001. Prenti In ham.
270 BumRD BEN. By Ca tain Mark W ton....
271 THE HUGE HUNTER. Edward S. 
272 MINKSKIN MIKE. E1(3ly0 Coomes...  
273 Juno JOE By ward L. Wheeler.........
274 JOLLY JnL By Charles Morris . ........ ..
275 ARIZONA JACK. Buckskin Sam . ...... . .
276 MERLE MONTE’s UIsE. By COL Prentiss
am . . . . . . ..  .. .......... 

277 DENVER DOLL. By Edward L. Wheeler... ..
278 THE THREE TRAPPEEs. By Maj. L. W. Carson.
279 3:!) YINCH, THE RIELE KING. By T. C. Har-
ug  .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

ago MERLE MONTE‘s FATE. By Prentiss lug-sham
281 DENVER DOLL‘s VICTORY. B E. L. color.
232 THE TYPO DETECTIVE. By ward Willett. . .
933 INDIAN JOE. By Major L. W. Carson . . . . . . ..
284 THE SEA MARAUDER. By Prentiss In am"
285 DENVER DOLL’s DEOOY. By Ed. L. heeler.
2w  THE BOY TENDEREOOT. By Capt. Mark
ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . , , , . ..

m7 BILLY BLDE-EYEs. By Col. P. IngraimmH _ ..
288 THE SCALP KING. By Capt. J. F. C. Adams.
289 JOLLY JIx’s Jos. By Charles Morris .... ..
290 LITTLE Four“. 011 Coomes . . . . . . . ..
mm By Edward L. Wheeler.

3.
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T. C. Harbaugh.. 
, . y Edward Willett . . . . . . ..
206 DENVER DOLL s DRIrT. B E. L. Wheeler. .

Tn TARANTULA or TAos. By Buckskin Sam.
A £0“ By‘ ChaTrles Mon'isa.
. . AsHING on.- ER. .
L. 'heeler . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 
THE SKY DEKON. By 011 Coomes...... 
LEADvILLE NICK. By Major E. L. St. Vrain..
THE hMOUNTAIN DETECTIvE. By T. C. Har-

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 
A new issue every Tuesday.

The Half-Dime Library is for sale by all

" Newsdealers, flve cents per copy, or sent by mail

on receipt of six cents each. BEADLE & ADAXS,‘
Publishers, 98 William street, New York.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Published in America!

 

 

 

i

..

Col. Prentiss Ingrnham,

 
 

5
3
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3
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Albert W. Aiken, ‘ Hon. Wm. F. Cody (Bufl‘alo Bill),
' Joseph E. Badger, Jr.,
f Capt. Fred Whittaker,
I Edward L. Wheeler,
\Vm. R. Eyster, '1‘. C. Hal-hunch, Eben E. Rexford,
.’ Wm. H. Manning, Frank Triplett, A. 17.. Holt,
' ‘ v n. H. Johnson, Wm. s. Gidley, K. F. mu,
Henri Montcalm, Al. W. Croweli,

He Se Keller,

@195 '50

  

Major Dangerfield Burr,

J. C. Cowdrick,

 
 

 
 
 
 

Jo Pieree,
Weldon J. Cobb,

93

  'etc., etc., 
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‘ i * g Pubu'shed at the Following Rates: * i

 

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a Two Copies for (he Year ~' - ,- — — 5.00
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SOLD BY ALL (NEWSDEALERS.

 

 

 

 

 Its Corps of Contributors Unrivaled V 

Almost all of whom write exclusively for its publishers—embrace the following popular authors:

Co]. E. 1. C. Judson (Ned Buntline),

Philip S. Warne,
Msjor Sam 3. Hall (Buckskin sam)‘,
Edward Willett, .

on Cooines,

Charles Morris,

   
   

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Border. Interior, and. Wild West Romance-—

Adventure, Exploration, and Sport—
Llfe on the Great Plains—-

Life on the Ranches—

Llfe in the Mines—
‘ Life in the Wilderness—

City Life Character, Courts and Ways—-
Detective and ‘Shadow’ Revelations—

Stories of the Great Deep, ete.

Hence, each and every number overflows with the moat,
interesting and exciting matter, While in its several SPECIAL
DEPARTMENTS‘ answering all the needs, and adding to the
general interest and usefulness of, the strictly popular

. journal, an. BANNER. WEEKLY is the paper of all
others for good reading and entertainment.

 

 

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w YORK. .

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

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:33; an. Lilli lisElfiJrglmlhlf

 

' 21 Th" Trap cr’s Daughter; or, The Out-
law-S 1.1m», v Gustave .Ainiard.
22 \l‘hltclaw; or, Name of the Lake Shore.
 By Dr. J. H. Robinson.
 23 The Bed \Varrior; or, Stella. Delorine’s
' (.‘ulllillll'ile Lover. By Red Burtline.
 24 Prairie Flou'cr. By G'. Aiinard.
25 The Gold Guide; or, Steel Arm. the Regu-
r later. By Francis Johnson. '
.l 26 The DcullI-Track ' or. The Outlaws of the
.5 Mountain. By Francis Johnson.
27 Thespotlt‘r Dctcctivc. By A. W. Aiken.
28 Thrcc- Fingcrcd Jack, the Road-Agent of
the Rockies. iiy Joseph E. Badger. Jr.
29, Tiger Dirk, the Firo King; or, The Cashier‘s
Crime. By Philip S. Warnc.
30 Gospel George; or. Fiery Fred. the Outlaw.
.- ‘ ‘ By_Joscph E. Badger, Jr.
31 The New York Sharp; or. The Flash of
. Lightning. Bv Albert W. Aiken.
B’hoys of Yale ° or. The Scrapes of a Hard
Set of L‘ollc ians. y John D. Vose.
Overlaiu Kit; or, The Idyl of \Vhite Pine.
Bv Albert \V. Aiken.
34 Rocky lVIountain Rob
Outlaw. By Albert W. Aiken.
35 Kcntuck. the Sport; or. Dick Talbot at
the Mines. By Albert W. Aiken.
36 In) un Dic ; or, The Death Shot of Shasta.
' By Albert W. Aiken.
..: '37 Hirl, the flu nchback; or The Sword-
‘ .5 maker of t c Santee. B ' Dr. J.  .Robinson.
{5:1 38 'clvet Hand‘ or, The Iron Grip of 11111111
 Dick. By Albert ’W. Aiken. ,
 '39 The Russian S y; or.The Brothers of the
 ' Starry Cross. By aptain Fred. Whittaker.
’, 40 The Long Haired “ Pards ;” or, The
_, 1' Tax-tars of the Plains. BK Jos. E. Badger, Jr.
2' :41 Gold Dan; or. The W ite Savage of the Great
' Salt Lake. By Albert W. Aiken.
42 The California Detective; or. The Witches
3-; ' of New York. By Ally-rt W. Aiken.
‘ r . .43 Dakota Dan the Reckless Ranger; or. The
,  Bee-Huiiti-rs‘ Excursion. By Oll Coomes.
. '5, 44 Old Du n llackback,the Great Extarmina-
 ' ' tor; or. The Triangle’s Last Trail. 011 Coomes.
'2'" «45 old Bull’s E 'c the Li htning Shot of the
‘ Plains. B ' Jos. ‘. Badger, %r.
.‘u, :46 Bow'ic- nit‘e Ben, the Little Hunter of the
,5 Nor‘-\Vest. By 011 Coomes.
47 Pacific Pete, the Prince of the Revolver. By
v): Joseph E. Badger, Jr.
 48 Idaho Tom, the Youn Outlaw of Silvei-land;
or. the Hunters of the \Vii West. By Oll Coomes.
£3 The “'oli' Demon. B Albert W. Aiken.

Jack Rabbit, the Prairie Sport. By Jos.
E. Badger. Jr.
51 Red Bob, the Boy Road-Agent. By 011
'  . Coomes. ’
,5Q Death Trailer. the Chief of Scouts; or. Life
’ and Love in a Frontier Fort. By Buflalo Bill.
-‘.. 3 Silver Sani' or, The Mystery of Deadwood
' By Col. clle Sara.
By Philip S. Warne.

32
33

..«,—

the California

  
 
   
   
  
   
  
  
   
   
 
 
  
  

Vi Cit/y.

 4 Always 0n "and.

{4. 5 The Scul p Hunters. By (‘apt Iayne Reid.

,. 6 The Indian Maze pa; or. e hian

’ of the Plains. By A. \ .Aiken.

57 The Silent fluntcr’ or. The Scowl Hall
Mystery. By Percy B. St. John.

.58 S lvcr Knife; or, Wickiifie, The Rocky

V ' Mountain Rano‘cr. By Dr. J. ll. Robinson.

.. 59 The Man firom Texas; or, The Outlaws
of Arkansas. By A. W. Aiken.

60 “1110 Awake the Robber King; or, The
Idiot of the Black Hills. By lfi‘ank Dumont.

.31 lg‘attiltain Seawall, the Privateer. By Ned

11" me.

3 62 Loyal ch rt; or, The Trappers of Arkansas.

. By Gustave Aiinard. ‘

r ~03 'l‘hc “'ingcd \Vhale. By A. W. Aiken.

: A 6-1 Double-Sight, the Death Shot: or. The Out-

. ' law of the Chaparral. By Jos. E. Badger. Jr.

 g? '85 The Red Rajah' or. The Scourge of the
5", Indies. By Capt. F. W’hittakcr.

3:, 66 The S cctcr Barquc. By Mavne Reid.

.‘ ‘67 The oy Jockey. By Jos. E. tiger. Jr.

~68 The Fightln Trapper' or, Kit Carson

‘ to the Rescue. y Captain J.  C. Adams.

69 The Irish Ca taln. By Capt. F.Whittaker.

‘70 llydrabad, t e Strangler or, Alethe, the

,’ Child of the Cord. By Dr. J. . Robinson.

. 71 Ca tain Cool-Blade; or. The Man-Shark

' of t e Mississippi. Bv Jos. E. Badger, Jr.

2, ‘72 The Phantonn Hand' or, The Heiress of

 «' Fifth Avenue. By A. W. Ai 'en.

g" 73 gag? Knlizhtu ot' the Red Cross; or, The

 

 

 

 

._,. p n of Granada. B Dr. J. H. RobinSon.
. L.  '74 The Ca lain ol'lho idea; or, The Queen
. »-. of the La es.~ By asphynayne Reid.

, ‘t ‘75 Gentleman George. B A. W. Aiken.
' .5 ‘16 The Queen}: Musketeerysa. or. Thisbe. the
:‘_ « Pl‘illCt‘SS Palmist. _ By George Albany.
, *17 The Frci-‘h oi rlsco. ByA. W. Aiken.
I ' ~78 The Mysterious S y. By A. M. Gralnger.
. '79 Joe Plicnix, tlicPol ce Soy. A.W. Aiken.
f .30 A Man of Nerve. Bl'Phlhi’ -W8me-
,1". . l 'l‘hp Human Tiger; 01‘. A Heart Of Fire.
‘  By Albert W. Aiken.
'82 Iron “'rist, the Swordmaster. By 00101191
Thomas HOvcr Monstcry. ,
p . ,_ _ '83 (.old Bullet S ort. By Buffalo Bl"-
. ,; ‘ :84 Hunted Do i; or, The League of Three-
' ' _r - . By Albert W. Aiken. ‘
 .85 'l'lic_ Cretan Rover; or. Zuleikah. the
Beautiful. By Col. Prentiss Ingrahani.
1 '86 The Big Hunter; or. The ueen of the
. Woods. y the author of “The Si ent Hunter.“

37 The Scarlet Ca tnl -
, . the Tower. By Cowbell: :2 The Prisoner of

 

 

 

88 Big George, the Giant of the Gulch; or, The
Five Outlaw Brothers. By Joseph E. Badger. Jr.
89 The Pirate Prince. By Col. P. Ingrabam.
90 \Vlld “fill, the Mad Raiiclicro; or, The Ter-
rible Texans. By Buckskin Sam.
91 The \Vinning Oar; .or, The lnnkeeper’s
Daughter. By Albert W. Aiken. _
92 Buffalo Bill. the Buckskin King; or. The
Amazon of the West. By Maj. Dangerfield Burr.
93 (‘a itain Dick Talbot, King of the Road;
or. he Black-Hoods of Shasta. By A. \V. Aiken.
94 Freelance, the Burcanecl‘; or. T-w Wait of
the Wave. By Col. Prentiss Ingraham.
95 Azhort, the Axnian: or, The Secrets of the
Ducal Palace. B Anthony P. Morris. .
96 Double-Dent I ; or. The Spy Queen of Wyo-
ming. By Capt. Fred. Whittaker.
97 Bronze Jack, the California Thoroughbred.
Bv Albert 1V. Aiken. . .
98 The Rock Rider; or, The Spirit of the
Sierra. By Capt. Fm-dericx Whittaker.
99 The Giant Riilcnian. By Oll Coomcs. _
100 The French Spy; or, The Bride of Paris.
By Anthony P. Morris.
101 The Man From New York; or. The Ro-
mance of a Rich Young Woman. Bv Aiken.
102 The Masked Band ' or. The an With-
‘out a Name. Bv George  Aiken.
103 Merle, the Mutinecr; or. The Brand of
the Red Anchor. By Col. Prentiss I ngraham.
104 Montezuma, the Moro-ilcn' or. The
Eagle and the Serpent. By Col. 1’. ngraliam.
105
1 06
107
1 08
109

Dan Brown 0! Denver the Rocky Moun-

tain Detective. By Joseph . Badger. Jr.

Sham us 0’ Brien, the 15on Boy of Glin-
gal. By Col. Delle Sara.
Richard Talbot 01‘ Cinnabar; or. The
Brothers ofthe Red Band. By A. W. Aiken.
The Duke oi‘Diainonds; or. The Flower
of Calcutta. By Captain Frederick Whittaker.
(‘aptaln Kyd, the King of the Black Flag.
By Col. Prentiss lngraham.

1 10 'l he Silent Bilicman. By H. W. Herbert.

1 l 1 The Smuggler Ca tain; or, The Skip.

er’s Crime. By Ned untline.

1 12 06 Phenix Private Detective: or. The
League of the S eleton Ke s. By A. W. Aiken.

113 The Sea Slip er or. he Amateur Free-
booters. By Pro . J. . Ingraham.

114 The Gentleman From Pikc' or. The
Ghost of the Canyon. By Philly} S. arne.

-1 15 The. Severed Head or. he Secret of
Castle Concv. By Capt. red. Whittaker.

116 Black Plume, the Devil of the Sea. By
Col. Prentiss lngraham.

1 1 7 Dashing Dandy the Hotspur of the Hills.
BylMajor Dangerfie Burr.

118 e Burglar Captain; or, The Fallen
Star. By Prof. J. H. Ingraham.

119 Alabama Joe; or. The Yazoo Man-Hun-
ters. By Jos. E. Badger. Jr.

120 The Texan Spy; or, The Prairie Guide.
By Newton M. Curtis.

1 21 The Sea Cadet; or. The Rover of the Rigo-

‘ letts. By Col. Prentiss ham.
1 22 Salt] Sabberdag, the l iot Spy; or, Luliona,

the Seminole. By ed Buntline.
123 Alapaha, the S um; or. The Renegades
124 Assowaum, the Avenger; or.
Doom of the Destroyers. By Francis Johnson.
England. By Harrison Ainsworth.
126 The Demon Duelist; or. The League of
127 So] Scott, the Masked Miner; or,
Brown's Double. By Jos. E. Badger. Jr.
By the author
of “ Merle the Mutineer."
129 Minsisnilhpi illoncév or, A Strong Man‘s
1 30 Captain Volcano° or, The Man oftheRed
Revolvers. By A. W. iken.
Bandits of the Bravo. By (‘01. P. Ingraham.
132 Nemo. King of the Tramps. By Capt.
133 Body the Bover the Ribbomnan of Ire-
land. By William Carleton. '
Mississippi Mystery. By Col. P. Inm'aliam.
135 The Bth Rangcr' or, The Half-Breed_
136 The Outlaw-Hunter; or, Red John, the
Bush Ranger. By Francis Johnson.

of the Border. By rancis Johnson.
The
125 The Blacksmith OutlaViv; or. Merry
Steel. .By Col. Thomas Hoyer Monstery.
Dan
128 The Chevalier Corsair.
Sacrifice. y Edward illett.
131 Buckskin Sam, the Texas Trailer; or.The
Frederick Whittaker.
l 34 Durkie Dan, the Colored Defective: or, The
Brigade. By Francis Jo nson.
137 Long Beard. the Giant Spy. By 011

Thief’s Trail. By Francis Jo neon.

139 Fig-0.15313, the Sea H ena' or. The Bride of
a Buccaneer. By Col. ntiss lngraham.

140 The Three Spaniards. Bv Geo. Walker.

1 4 1 Equinox Tom, the Bully of Red Rock; or.
Dan Brown’s Mantel-stroke. By Joseph. E.
Badger. Jr.

142 captain Crimson, the Man of the Iron
Face. By Mad. Dangerfield Burr.

143 The Czar’. Spy; or. The Nihilist League.

Bv Col. T. H. Monstery.

144 Ella chnchback of Notre-Dame.

v :- ugo.

1 45 Pistol Paras or, Soft Hand, the Silent
Sort from Cinna By Wm. R. Eyster.

146 The Doctor Detective; or, The M stery
of the Golden Coffin. By Geo e Lemuel:

147 Gold Spur the Gentleman rom Texas. By
Col. Prentiss ngraham.

148 one-A rincd Alf the Giant Hunter 01! the
Great Lakes. By Oil Coome‘s.

1 49 The Border Rifles. By Gustave Aimard.

 

ll_i_n_lx_ln_lnlAinslie:

El Rubin Bravo, King of the Swordsmen.
By Col. Thomas Hoycrlllonsterv.

The Freebooteru. By Gustave Aimard.
Captain Iron nerve, the (‘cnintert'eiier
Chief. By Marmaduke Dev.

'l‘he ‘l'hitc Scalpc r. By Gustave Aimard.
Joaquin, the Saddle King. By JOseph E. |
Badger, Jr. .

The Corsair Queen; or, The Gipsies of

the Sea. By Col. Prentiss Ingraham.

Velvet Face, the Border Bravo: or. Muriel,

ihc Dnnite’s Bride. By Dangerfield Burr.
Mourad, the Maincluke; or. The Three
Swordmasters. By Col. Thomas H. Monster-y.

The Doomed Dozen; or. Dolores. the i .
Danite‘s Daughter. By Dr. Frank Powell. .1
Bed Rudiger, the Archer; or. The Lady '?
Bertha‘s Treachery. By Capt. F. Whittaker. 2"
Soft Hand, Sharp; or, The Man \\ ith the
Sand. By Wm. R. Eyster. ~ ‘
The “'oiveu of New York ' or, Joe " .1 ,-
Pli<-iiix's Great Man Hunt. By A.  Aiken.
The Mad Mariner; or. Dishonored and v _' ,’ 
Disowned. By Col. Prentiss Ingraham. } \ “ '74.
Ben Brion, the 'J‘rapBer Calptain: or, Rcd- ;‘

path. the Awnger. By 1'. J. . Robinson. \

The King’s Fool ; or. The Knights of the
Clasped Hands and Red Branch. By C. D.Clark. 7
J oaq uln, the Terrible. By J. E. Badger. Jr.
Owlct, the Robber Prince: or. The Unknown,“
Highwayinan. By S piimus R. Urban

161
162
163
164

165
166

,.
--.T,.‘”
-;

'167 The Man ofStccl; or, The Masked Knight 3: g.”

of the White Plume. Bv A. P. Morris.
168 Wild Bill, n... Pistol Dead Shot; or. Dagger
Don's Double. By Col. Prentiss lngraham

1 69 Corporal Cannon, the Man of Forty Duels. .‘ ,.
By Col. Thomas Hoyer Monstery. 
170 Sweet “'illiam, the Trapper Detective. ' 4‘;

, E. Badger, Jr. A
171 Tiger Dick, the Man of the Iron Heart; '01-,
The Dumb Bandit. By Philip S. Warue. .
172 The Black Pirate; or. The Mystery 0
the Golden Fettcrs. By Col. P. Ingraham. . .
173 California John, the Pacific Thorough-
bred. By Albert W. Aiken.
174 The Phantom Knights. By Capt. F.
Whittaker. . ‘ v '
175 “'ild Bill’s Trump Card' or. Theth J
Heiress. By Major Dangerfield Burr. ‘;
176 Lady Jaguar, the Robber Queen. By Cap- .1 .f . .
tain Mark Wilton. . ,
1 77 Don Diablo, the Planter-Corsair; or, The
Rivals of the Sea. B ' Col. Prentiss Ingraham.
1 78
1 7 9

Bv Jos.

Dark DashWoo 9 the Desperate; or, The
Child of the Sun. By Major Sam S. Hall. _ 
Conrad. the Convict; or, Was He Guilty? .. ' ’
By Prof. Stewart Gildersleeve, LL. D. ,i I
180 Old ’49; or. The Amazon of Arizona. By "‘ I.
Jos. E. r, Jr. ’- ‘ r
l81 The Scar ct Schooner: or. The Nemesh
of the Sea. By Col. Prentiss Inng
1 82 Hands U 5 or, The Knights of the Canyon.
By Wm. B. yster. _ '
183 Gilbert, the Guide; or. Lost in the Wif-
derness. By C. Dunning Clark: .
184 The Ocean Vam ire; or. The Heiress of \
Castle Curse. Co Prentiss lngrabam. I '
185 The Mans 1 er' or, The Beautiful Sphinx. .
By Anthony . Mo 8. 
186 The Black Bruno; or. ,The Tonkaway’s .
Triumgh. B Buckskin Sam. - - "g
187 The cat ’3 Head Culranniers; or,
Brave of all Braves. By Capt. Fred. Whittaker.
188 The Phantom Machpa; or, The B one
of the Cha arrals. By Maj. Dangerfield . .
189 “'ild Bi In Gold Trail; or. The Deeper-j ?'
ado Dozen. By Col. Prentiss lngraham. .- ' 43
190 {he Three Guardsmen. By Alexandra ’
umas. ' " G
191 The Terrible'l‘onkaway' or.OldBocky ,  m
and His Pards. By Buckskin sam. 
192 The Lightning Sport. By W. R. Eyster.
193 The Man in Red. B Capt. F. Whittaker. a». ,' ",
194 Don Sombrero, the alifornia‘Boad Gent. ‘ a
By Capt. Mark Wilton. ‘ ..
195 The Lone Star Gambler; or, The  , _
cf the Magnolias. Bv Buckskin Sam. . x ’
196 La Marmosct. the Detective Queen' 01'. 
The Lost Heir of iiiorei. By Albert W. Aiken: 'i
197 Revolver Bob, the Red‘Hauded; or, Than -
B '116 of Nugget Camp. By Jos. E. . r.‘
198 The Skeleton Schooner; or. The Skim-M
trier of the Sea. B (‘01 Prentiss Ingraham.
199 Diamond Dic , the Dandy from Denver.
B Buckskin Sam. I-
200 eBiIle Bangers. ByCapt.MavneReld. _ .
201 The Pirate ol‘tllc Placer“; or. Joaquin}: Kw
Death Hunt. By Joseph E. Ba r, Jr. .  f
202 Cactus Jack, the Giant Gu . .By Cap-‘ '
tain Mark Wilton.
2.03 The Double Detective. By A. W. Aiken
204 Big Foot “’allace, the Kim: of the Lariat;
or Wild Wolf. the Waco. B Buckskin Sam. «
205 The Gambler Pirate. y Col. Ingraham. .
206 One Eye, the Cannoneer; or. Marshal Ney's , at?
Last Ifing. By Capt. Fred. Whittaker. ' t
207 (Did Hard Read. By Philip S. Warne. i
208 The “finite Chief. By Capt. Mayne Reid.
209 Buck Farley the Bonanza Prince; or. The ' .
Romance of DcaEh Gulch. By Edward wine“; ). w
210 Buccaneer Bean, the Lioness of the Sea; ;.~
The Red Sea Trail. By Col. P. lngrahani. 

or. ‘
21 1 Colonel Plunger' or. The Unk “
By Capt. Frederick W ittaker. no“ 39°F" .-

A new issue every Wednesday. U .
’Beadie’o Dime Librnr is to ‘
Newsdealers. ten cents per copyglccir. senlt gem!) m

on 
recei of twelve cents each. AD AMS.‘ '
rubiiiiizers. 98 William Street. New YOLI'E& AD I‘

it}...
.’ i’

 

.- ’  .

 

. I.
.I .
..i
5
.«r
. a r
' L.-

 

F .
' 243 The Plrgrim Sharg.
e

 

' 249 Elephant TonIIA,

 

 

=HBJBI'AIDIsmsHI)l1IMIEHailII,.B.I-RIA_IBIY5

 

____.——-_-

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212 The Brazos Tigers. By Buckskin Sam.

213 The War Trail. By Cagt. Mayne Reid.

2 l -i The Two Cool Sports. y Wm. B. Eyster.

21 5 Parson Jim, King of the Cowboys. By
Captain Frederick Whittaker.

216 The Corsair Planner; or, Driven to
Doom. By Col. Prentiss lngraham.

217 The Serpent of El Paso; or, Frontier
Frank, the Scout of the Rio Grande. By Buck-

skln Sam.

218 The “’ild .lluntress; or, The Big Squat-
ter 5 Vengeance. By Capt. Mayne Reid.

219 The Scorpion Brot ners: or, MadTom’s
Mission. By Ca tain Mark Wilton.

220 The Specter acht. By Col. P. Ingraham.

221 Des crate Duke the Guadeloupe “Ga-

' loot. By Buckskin .

222 Bill, the Blizzard. By Edward Willett.

223 Canyon Dave the Man of the Mountain.
B Ca tain Mark’wuwn.

224 lac Beard, the Buccaneer; or. The
Curse of the Coast. By Col. P. Ingraham.

225 Bock Mountain A1. BlyBuckskinSam.

226 The ad Bussars‘ or, he 0's and the

' Mac’s. By Ca t. F‘. Whittaker.

227 Buckshot n. the Man-Hunter of Idaho.
B Ca t. Mark Wilton.

228 he aroon. By Capt. Mayne Reid.

229 Cs tain Cutsleevelior Touch-Me—Not, the
Lit eS rt. By Wm. Eyster.

230 The l lug Dutchman or 1880; or,
Who was an erdecken. By Capt. Whittaker.

231 The Kid Glove Miner or, The Magic
Doctor of Golden Gulch. B . Infirsham.

2‘32 Orson Oxx. the Manet ron; or, he River
Mistery. By Isaac Hawks.

233 T e Old Boy of Tombstone; or.
Wagering a Life on a Card. By J. E. Badger.

234 The Bunters’ Feast. By Capt. Mayne

Reid.
235 Bed Lightni the Man of Chance. B
Col. Prentiss lugmsm. y
236 Cham Ion Sum. Bstl. T. H. Monstery.
237 Loni- aired Max. By Capt. M. Wilton.
238 “an Hound, the Crescent City Detec-
tive. By Anthony P. Morris.

239 The Terrible Trio. By Buckskin Sam.
240 A Cool Head; or, Orson On in Peril. By
Isaac Hawks.

241 Spitfire Saul King of the Bustiers. By
os. er. r.

242 The Fog Devil; or, The Skipper of the
lash By Capt. Fred. Whittaker.

liy Buflalo Bill.
244 Merciless Mart, t Man-Tiger of Mis-
souri. By Buckskin Sam.
245 Barranca Bill, The Revolver Champion.
By Captain Mark Wilton.
246 Queen Helen, the Amazon of the Over-
land. By Col Pren

i 247 A - ligator ikc or. The Secret of the Ever-

lade. By Capt. d. Whittaker.
ontsna Nat. the Lion of Last Chance

Camp. By Edward Willett.

0t Durango; or, Your
Gold-Dust or Your to. By Jos. E. l‘adger, Jr.

250 Tile Bough Riders; or, Sharp-Eye, the
Seminole Scourge. By 1 uckskin Sam.

25] Tiger Dick vs. Iron Despard; or,
Every Man Has His Match. By P. S. Warne.

252 The “In” Street Blood or. Tick Tick,the
Telegraph Girl. By Albert .Aiken.

253 A Yankee (‘ossack or, The ueen of the
Nihilists. By Capt. erick Whi taker.

254 Giant Jake, the Patrol of the Mountain.

Newton M. Curtis.

255 he Pirate Priest. By Col. P. Ingraham.

256 Double Dan, the Dastard; or, The Pirates
of the Pecos. B Buckskin Sam.

257 Death-Trap iggings' or. A Hard Man
from ’Wny Back. B Jose i: E. Badger, Jr.

258 Bullet Head, t e 00 orado Bravo. By

248

’ " ' Captain Mark Wilton.

259 Cutlass and Cross. By 001. P. lngraham.
260 The Masked Mystery. By A. .Morris.
261 Black Sam, the Prairie T underbolt; or,
The Bandit-Hunters. By Col. Jo Yards.
262 Fighting Tom, the Terror of the Toughs.
By Col. Thomas Hoyel‘ Monste .
\ 263 Iron-Armed A be, the unchback De-
stroyer. Captain Mark Wilton.
264 The Crooked Three. By Buckskin Sam.
,265 Old Double-Sword;l or Pilots and Pi-
rates. By Capt. Fred. W itta er.
.266 Leopard Luke the King of Horse-Thieves.
g; Ca tain Mark Wilton.
267 he hite Squaw. By Capt. MayneRold.

- 268 Magic Mike,l the Man of Frills' or. Bad
S

Ben Bad Briga e. By William. R. Eyster.
269 The Bayou Bravo. By Buckskin Sam.
270 A ndros, the Free Rover; or, The Pirate’s

Daughter. By Nod Buntline.

271 Stoneiist. of Big Nu g‘et Bend or Old

Ketchum‘s Tug of War. y Capt. Mar Wilton.
272 Seth Slocum Railroad Survevor' or. The

Secret of Sittin Bun. By Capt. r. Whittaker.
273 Mountasi: ose, the Gorge Outlaw. By

Buckskin m.
274 Flush Fred the Mississinpi S rt: or,
Tough Times in Tennessee" yEd. illett.

275 The Sum: ler Cutter. ByJ. D. Conroy.

276 Texas Ch ck the Southwest Detective.
By Captain Mark’wnwn.

277 ' he Sane Jane, Privateer. ByCapt.
Frederick W ittaker.

278 Hercules Goldsglu r, the Man of the Velvet
Hand. B Ca tain oward Holmes.

279 The Go 11- ra on. By Wm. H. Manning.

280 Black-Boss on; or, Tiger Dick’s Lone
Hand. By Philip S. Warne.

 

281 The Sea Owl. By Col. Prentiss lngraham.
282 The Merciless Marauders; or, Chap-
arral Carl‘s Revenge. By Buckskin Sam.

283 Sleek Sam, the Devil of the Mines; or, The

Sons of the Fiery Cross. By J 08. E. Badger, Jr.
284 The Three Fri ates; or, Old ironsides'
Revenge. By Capt. red. Whittaker.
285 Lightning Bolt the (.‘un on Terror; or,
The Mountain Cat’s Crud e. y .iiark Wilton.
286 Pistol Johnny. 13' oseph E. Badger, Jr.
287 Dandy Dave and is Horse. White Stock-
in ; or. Dncats or Death. By Buckskin Sam.
288 E ectro Pete, the Man of Fire: or The
Wharf Rats of Locust Point. B A. P. Morris.
289 Flush Fred’s Full “an ' or. Life and
Strife in Louisiana. By Edward Willett.
290 The Lost Corvette' or, Blakeley‘s Last
Cruise. By Ca t. Fred. Whittaker.
291 ank, the Man or Big Luck.
B Capt. Mark Wilton.
292 oke Horner, theBoss Roustabout. By
Joseph E. Badger. Jr.
293 Slam ode Steve. ByBuckskin Sam.
294 Broa cloth Burt. the Denver Dandy. By
Captain Howard Holmes.
295 Old Cross-Eye the Maverick-Hunter. By
Capt. Frederick Whittaker.
296 Duncan, the Sea-Diver; or, The Coast
Vultures. By George St. George.
297 Colorado Rube. the Strong Arm of Hot-
ur City. By Wm. H. Manning.
Lem; or. Life an Peril in the
ne . B Edward Willett.
299 Three of a ind. Ti er Dick,ImnDes-
pard. and the Sportive Spo . B P. S. Warns.
300 A Sport in Spectacles. Bianm. R. ster.
301 Bowider B ll; or, The from sea.
ll}; Buckskin Sam.
302 are Saul, the Hand eHercules' or, The
Grip of Steel. By Jose . Badger. r.
303 Top-Notch Tom, e Cowboy Outlaw; or,
The Satanstown Election. By Cant. Whittaker.
304 Texas Jack the Prairie Rattler: or The
Queen of the Wild Riders. By Buifalo Bill.
305 Silver-Plated Sol, theMontana Rover. By
Capt. Mark Wilton.
306 The Boughs of Richmond or, The
Myste of the Golden Beetle. B A. .Morris.
307 The hantom Pirate. By Lingraham.
308 Hemlock flank, Tough and True. By
Edward Willett.
309 Ba hold, the Battling Banger. By
Buc skin Sam.
0 'I he Marshal of Satanstown. By
Capt. Frederick Whittaker.
311 Heav Hand, the Relentless. By Captain
Mark ilton.
312 Klnkioot Karl, The Mountain Scourge;
or. Wipigg Out the Score. By Morris Redwin .
313 Mark agic, Detective. ByAnthony

Morris.
314 Lafitte}; or. The Pirate of the Gulf. By
Prof. J. lngraha

. m.

315 Flush Fred’s Double; or, The Squat-
ter’s e of Six. By Edward Willett.

316 Lafitte s Lieutenant; or Theodore. the
Child of the Sea. By Prof. J. n. 1 am.

317 Frank Lightfoot the Miner etective;
or. Followinga Blind Lead By J. E. Badger.

318 The Indian Buccaneer or. Red Rovers
on Blue Waters. By Col. Pren iss In whom.

319 Wild Bill, the Whirlwind of the Vest. By
Buffalo Bill.

320 The Genteel Spotter. By A. W. Aiken.

321 California Claude, the Lone Bandit. By
Ca tain Howard Holmes.

322 T e Crimson Coyotes. By Buckskin Sam.

323 flotspur Hugh; or, The Banded Brothers
of the Giant’s Arm. y Captain Mark Wilton.

324 Old Forked-Lightning, the Solit ;
or Every Inch a Man. By Jos. E. Badger r.

325 The Gentleman Pirate; or. The er-
mit of Casco Ba . By Col. P. in sham

326 The Whites Man in the ines; or,
The Dog-Town Crowd. By Ca t. F‘. Whittaker.

327 Terrapin Dick the Wil Woods Detec-
tive. Bi‘Edward Willett.

328 King cut; or, The Bandits of the Bason.
B Buckskin Sam.

329 he League of Three; or, Buflalo Bill‘s

edge. By Col. Prentiss Ingraham.
330 Cop Colt, the Quaker City Detective. By

Chas. o s.
33 1 Chis a Charley,the Gold Nugget Sport; or,
The k Mountain Masks. By J. E. get.
332 8 ring- eel Jack. Bv Col. Monstery.
33 errin er Deck, the Man with the Drop.
B Wm. Eyster.
34 he Cl her DeteetIVe. B A.P. Morris.
35 Flash an, the Nabob; or. he Blades of
3

Horseshoe

Bowie Bar. By Capt. H. Holmes.
6 The Magic Shl . By Col P. Ingraham.
337  tGabe, the ountain Tramp. By Ed.
e

t.
338 Jack Sands, Sport. By Philip S. Warne.
339 apread Es le Sam the Hercules Hide-
unter. By oseph E. Badger, Jr.

340 Cool Conrad. the Dakota Detective. By
Capt. H. Holmes.

341 ‘The Sea Desperado. By Col. Ingraham.

342 Blaneo Bill, the Mustang Monarch. By
Buckskin Sam.

343 The Head Hunter; or, Mark Magic in
the Mines. By A. P. Morris.

344 Double Shot Dave oi the Let! Hand.
By Wm. B Evster.

345 Masked Mark. the Mounted Detective.
By Jos. E. Badger. Jr.

939392“

 

346 Ocean Guerrillas; or. The Planter Mid-
shipman. By Col. Prentiss Ingrahnm.

347 Denver Duke, the Man With ‘Sard. or,
Centi le Sam’s Lone Hand. By Capt. How-
ard olmes.

348 Dan Dillon, King of Crosscut; or. A Wo-
man‘s Wild Work. By Edward u illett.

349 Lion-Hearted Dick the Gentleman Road-
Agent. By Albert W. ken.

350 Flash Falcon, the Society Detective. By
Weldon J. Cobb.

351 Nor’ West Nick theBorder Detective; or..

Dan Brown’s Fight {or Life. By J. E. Badger.

352 The Desperate Dozen. By Cap. Howard»
Holmes.

353 Barb Brennan, the Train Wrecker. By
John Cuthbert.

354 Bed Richard. ByAlbert W. Aiken,

355 Stormy Steve, the MsdAthlete. By JOLE.
Badger, Jr.

356 Three Handsome Sharps. By Wm. B.
Eyster.

357 Jack Simons, Detective. By A. P. Morris.
358 The Prince of Pan-Out. By Buckskin:

359 Yellow Jack the Mestiso- or Tiger Dick”
to the Rescue. By Philips. s'rne.

360 JumpingI Jerr , the Gamecock from Sun-
d0wn. By as. E. . r.

361 Tombstone Dick. By Ned Bumline-.

362 Bull'an Bill’s Grip. By Col. P. Ingrsham.

363 Crowningshleid, the Sleuth; or, Pitilessw
as Death. y Albert W. Aiken.

364 The Sea Fugitive. By 00]. P.1ngraham.

365 Been Kennard the Shasta Shadow; or..
The Branded Face. By Capt. Howard “0111108..

366 The Telegraph Detective & or. The Dy—
nsmite League. By George enry Morse.

367 A Royal Fluslr or, Dan Brown's Big-
Game at Freeze-Out. ByJos. E. Badger, Jr.

368 The Canyon King. By Edward Willett,.

369 The Coast Corsair. By Col. P. lngrahsm..

370 The Dusky Detective. By A. W. Aiken.

371 Gold Buttons; or, The Up~P.ange Pards-
By Buckskin Sam.

372 Captain Crisp; or.TheMan WithaBecord..
By 03.x. Badger. r.

373 The Sailor of Fortune; or, The Buc-
caneers oi Barnegat Bay. By Col. P. Ingraham..

374 Major Blister the Sport 0! Two Cities.
By Capt. Howard olmes.

?

375 lugs] George, the ThreeinOne. By Wm. I
B. y r.

376 The ack Bear s; or. The
on the Rio Grande. y Albert W. A en.

377 Afloat and Ashore. By Col. P. Ingraham..

378 John Armstrong, Mechanic. By Capt-
l". Whittaker.

379 Bowling Jonathan' or. The Terror from:
Headwaters. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr.

380 The Golden Serpent; or, Tiger Dick’s:
Pledge. By P. S. Warne.

381 The Gypsg Gentleman or, Nick Fox.
the Demon etective. By A rt W. Aiken.

382 The Bonanza Band or. Dread Don, ot‘
the Cool Clan. By Capt. award Holmes.

383 Silver Sam, Detective. By Maj. Daniel:-

ne Dumont oi the U. S. A.

384 lnjun Dick Detective' or. Tracde from:
t...e Rockiesto N‘ew York. By Albert W. Aiken.

385 Wild Dick Turpin, the Lion of Leadville.
By Wm. H. Manning.

386 Hawk Heron, the Falcon Detective. By
Jackson Knox, (Old Hawk.)

387 Dark Dara; or. The Ishmael of the Hills.
By Jos. E. Badger, Jr.

388 The Giant Buccaneer. By Collagrahnm.

389 Colonel Double-edge. the Cattle Baron’s.
Pard. By

Maj. Daniel Boone Dumont. U. S. A.

390 #1.. Giant Cupid; or. Cih‘uta John’s;
0

Great Jubilee. By J. C. Cowdri .

391 Kate Scott the Decoy Detective; or.
Joe Phenix‘s Still Hunt. By A. W. Aiken.

' 392 The Lost Bonanza; or. The BoptofSllent:

Hound. B Capt. Howard Holmes.
Ready Ap %.

393 The Convict Captain 01‘. The Battles of
the Buccaneers. By 001. ntiss lngraham.
Ready May 5.

394 White Beaver the Exile of the Platte; oi-r
a Wren ed Man’s Bed TraiL By Bunnie Bill.
Ready sy 12.

395 Dead] Aim the Duke 0t Derringers. 7‘
Jos. E. Badger. 1'. Ready May 19. J

A. new issue every Wednesday.
Beadle’s Dime Library is for sale by alt
Newsdealers, ten cents per copy, or sent by mail on
receipt of twelve cents each.

BEADLE AND ADAMS, Punusnsns.
98 William Street. New York

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