Beadle's Half Dime Library (no. 563) (1888 05 08)
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SECOND EDITION. A Ty i | i / ; ‘ \\ uh jw | NUN \\ ' iz ={>| es ae \\\ MOS fe i —4 AP I Eas a4 rh —————| Roy : | il ' . " | i tk - Ne eee oe he he THE GANG OF THREE BY T. C. HARBAUGH, AUTHOR OF ‘* BUCKSKIN DETECTIVE,” “ TEXAS TRUMP,” “FELIX FOX,” “pHi, FLASH,” ‘*BOY SHADOW,” ‘*‘ BRANDED BEN,” ‘“DODGER DICK” NOVELS, ETC., ETC., ETC, CHAPTER I. A FALSE COP. - “Move along there wid ye now! Don’t yez know there’s a dyin’ man in the house, an’ the : = => least noise nearly sets him wild? Move on, an’ = SSS == = be spry wid yer legs, too!” - ME LEANED FORWARD AND HELD HIS LITTLE TORCH 8@ AS TO REVEAL MORE These words fell from the tongue of an Irish- ; THE MESSAGE HE BAD DISCOVERED. locking policeman, one summer night in the
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2 Dodger Dick, the Boy Vidocq. i ' : te Pe SF Fy 1 Rn is ee . ‘4, f} heart of New York, and were addressed to two boys who were talking together as they moved leisurely past the house guarded by the “‘cop.” One of the boys—a bright-eyed, well-built fellow—looked up at the patrolman, only to be again admonished to “ move on.” ‘Come along, Dick. We don’t want to dis- turb a man’s last moments.” “Of course not, Larry. I wouldn’t do that for the world. But I was looking at that cop.” ‘* What attracts you?” *T don’t like him.” “« An old enemy, eh?” “No; J don’t think I ever saw him before. Of course I do not pretend to know all the cops of New York, but that one puzzles me.” ‘‘ He has the brogue of the sod,” laughed the other. “Yes: but did you notice that a good deal of it seemed to be put on?” “Tt struck me that way. He talked rather | loud for the ‘guardian of a dying man. We | were not making one-half the noise he made. | Did you notice the number of the house, Larry? | The light struck the door, you know,” ‘‘T saw the number—I could not help it. It | was 332,” “That is right, and I happen to know who | lives at 332.” ** Do you, though?” “Tt is the home of a man named Manfred Moffat. He is the father, or guardian, I don’t know which, of a very beautiful young girl. I made his acquaintance in a very singular man- ner last summer.” ** At his house?” ‘‘No, in the Park. He is subject to vertigo. I happened to be the first person at his side when he had one of his attacks, and by following the directions of the girl, who was his companion, I rendered assistance which made him grateful. | T have met him several times since, but not for | a long time. Whenever I saw him he was ac- companied by the young miss whom ‘he called Fanny. Now, if it be true that Manfred Moffat is dying in his fine house, I know the girl must be very sorry, and I am sorry, too.” By this time the two boys had reached a | engl some distance from the Irish policeman’s at. They were both of one size, and, at a glance, resembled one another. The one called Dick was our old acquaintance, Richard Sly, or Dodger Dick, the young wharf- whe the city. is companion was Larry Long, a youth who had developed some talents as a boy shadow, and the two had worked together successfully on several short trails with which it is not neces- sary to bother the reader. he hour was verging onto midnight when the boy detectives separated on the corner. Dodger Dick was making for Mother Stur- geon’s, his old quarters, and when he bade Larry / pooeens with a promise to see him early the ollowing day, he’ walked rapidly toward his home quarters. “T can’t get that Moffat affair out of my head,” murmured the Boy Vidocq, slackening his gait. ‘‘ That cop seemed a little too anxious to keep people away from the house, and he pitched his voice in too high a key to accord with his business there— to keep the neighbor- hood quiet for a dying man.” The Dodger did not walk much further till he reek and hesitated. “Pm going back to survey the field, anyhow,” he continued. ‘‘ Larry is going home, and I everything all right. I'll just take a little ob- servation on my own hook, and nobody need be the wiser for it.” It was some distance back to the spot where the boys had encountered the policeman, and Dick was cautious enough to take the opposite side of the street when he neared the residence. He found the neighborhood exceedingly quiet. It was not a busy place at any time, but now the hour was late, and the only persons visible were occasional pedestrians who resembled flit- ting specters, only their tread announced that they were abroad, Dodger Dick’s shrewd eyes soon showed him that no one was then on guard before Manfred Moffat’s house. While he looked, two young roysterers went by with boisterous laughter, and nobody broke n their hilarity. as Manfred Moffat dead? The boy detective studied the house for a few in u - moments from the opposite sidewalk, then he the street and took a nearer observa- As far as he could see the house was dark. boy who ought to have had his neck twisted — ‘ The shutters were closely drawn, and there was 7 . . i long ago.” a: ’ 9 | assistance to her in the Park. need not tell him- about my return if I find | ed no light in the hall. Everything indicated that something unusual had taken place. Was it death? Dick did not like to linger about the place, yet he was eager to see beyond those closed portals. He knew that the putting of a guard before a house occupied by a person dangerously sick was a common custom, but he could not get the pretentious cop out of his head. As Dick had told Larry Long, he did not know all the police of New York; but here was one he ougbt to have heard of before. Once or twice the boy detective advanced to the very steps of the dwelling, but each time be drew back undecided, “Tf Manfred Moffat is dead, it wouldn’t be proper for me to intrude at this hour,” he ar- gued with bimself. ‘* He barely knew me, any- how, and the girl, Miss Fanny, probably has long since forgotten the boy who was of some I guess [ won’t try to getin. To-morrow will be time enough, and to-morrow isn’t far off, anyhow.” - Reaching a decision at, last, the street sleuth went home. ** You should have come a little sooner,” said Mother Sturgeon, whom he found waiting for him, in spite of the lateness of the hour. ‘“ Have I been wanted?” asked the boy. ‘¢ There was a call for you.” “By whom?” “*T did not know the man.” ‘Did he leave any word?” ‘‘ Nothing more than saymg that he would see you to-morrow.” F ‘* What was he like, mammy?” - ‘Like a good many men you see nowadays. He was rather large, had a smooth face and keen black eyes—one I thought was not quite as black as th: other, but that may have been fancy.” F ‘* Was he very eager to see me?” ‘* He appeared so,” ‘And went off without breathing a word about his business, nor where I could find him?” es Dick was puzzled. ‘“You were looking for nobody like him?” asked Mother Sturgeon, few days, something I never knew ber to do SS ‘“*T was not. When was he here?” \ therefore your ring may not bave been heard ty i, “He went away about half an hour ago.’ even if the old gentlemen is awake. Let us go ‘ i fn “Ho! a regular night-bird!” exclaimed the | up to the library. When he gets up he goes sy vs ; young Vidocq with a slight start. ‘‘ Only thirty | there directly. Re | ae minutes gone? ThenI missed him by going back The two ascended the steps together, the cook % Well, maybe I “Some of to the house on G—— street. did not miss much!” he laughed. these important visits—important in the eyes of the persons who make them, I mean—never amount to much. If the fellow wants to see me to-morrow, he can hunt me up,” and the Dodger disappeared in the little room where he slept. But it was uot immediate slumber for the young shadower. He lay awake a long time trying to connect the scene in front of Manfred Moffat’s house with the visit of the stranger dur- ing his absence, There was, of course, nothing tangible by which he could connect them, but, somehow-or-other, the boy could not help bring- ing them together. ‘1 should have pulled the bell at $32,” he ex- claimed, and as he went to sleep the sentence was the last thought he had: i ** T_should—have—pulled—that—bell !” While the Dodger slept in his little quarters a man ran lightly up a flight of dimly lighted stairs in another quarter of the city, and enter- a room where two men sat at a table beneath the soft light of a shaded jet. They both looked up at the man’s entrance. ““Well, what luck?” asked one. ‘He was not at home.” “Then, of course, you did not find him?” “*T did not.” ‘What did the portress say?” ‘‘Mamma Sturgeon? Oh, she did not know where he was, and said he was likely to stay out all night,” ‘ “She didn’t suspect anything?” - “c No " ‘Did you leave any word for the boy?” Nothing beyond the promise that I would see him to-morrow.” . ‘*Well, maybe we will!” and then all three laughed. ‘Of course you stick to it that it bam Dodger whom you saw with the other y “Tdo. DPve seen him often enough to know him when he is not in borrowed feathers. The other boy I do not know so well, though I think he is a ferret like that infernal Dodger. We don’tin- tend to let anybody get ahead of us, especially a ‘*Of course not. We have done exce@lently so far. All we have to do is to keep our eyes open and to play a cool hand. That wins, I tell you— it always wius!” Bright and beautiful the next morning broke on the spires of Gotham, and one of the first per- sons astir was Dick Sly. ‘** Now for the solution!” cried he as he step- ped forth from Mother Sturgeon’s comfortable rooms, He did not go to Number 382 G—— street, but to the police station of the district, The officer on duty opened his eyes wide at sight of his early visitor. ber —— last night,” asked Dick. ‘* Patrolman Burns,” ‘That settles it!” cried the Dodger. Trish policeman was a fraud!” CHAPTER II. THE MAN IN THE TOILS. Dick did not lose much time between the police station and Number 332 G—— street. He was very early for a caller when he ran up the steps and pulled the bell. The outside appearance of the house was as he had seen it the night before; the shutters were close drawn and there was an air of mystery and desertion about the place. To his ring, which he repettted at short inter- vals, there was no response, aud Dick got out of patience at last. As he was about to retire to report the strange affair to the police he was saluted by a voice, and the next moinent he founa himself face to face with a young mulatto who stood at the foot of the steps. “T think you're a little early for the folks inside,” the man said to Dick. ‘I am the per- son who sees to their breakfast, and if you must get in, we'll try the basement.” The Dodger assented willingly to this sugges- tion, and in a moment the young cook had opened a door which invited them into the low- est story of the house. .“ Mr: Moffat is a trifle hard of hearing,” apologizea the mulatto. ‘‘ Miss Fanny was talking yesterday of going out of the city for a “The leading the way, and mm a little time reached the first floor of the house. Everything seen by Dick told that Manfred Moffat was a man of wealth. He had surround- ed bimself with “ goods and chattels,” which only an outlay of much money could have secured, The boy detective saw the mulatto approach the litrary door on tiptoe, and open it softly as if fearful of incurring the displeasure of some one within. While the closed shutters did not let in any light from the outside, there was some artificial light in the library. ‘As the cook crossed the threshold his hand still on the knob, be stopped suddenly and gave vent to a sharp cry. r Dick was at his side in an instant, ‘Took! The master tied in a chair!” gaeped the cook, clutching one of the boy’s wrists while he yee excitedly forward, ‘‘My God! a terrible crime has been committed here!” It did not take Dick and the frightened cook chandelier in the middle of the room. There, beside it, in a chair with beavy oaken arms, sat Manfred Moffat, the very picture of eath., which held him completely @ prisoner, A rope kept his body upright against the back of the chair, and a gag which had probably been in his mouth all night keeping it open ren- dered the scene all the more ghastly. ; « Cut him loose, quick!” was Dick’s exclama- tion, and in a moment the mulatto’s knife was at work, As the last cord was severed the body of Man- fred Moffat pitched forward and fell at full length on the floor in‘presence of the two start- ed spectators. ‘ ae tt I had only investigated last night!” thought Dick, but it was no time for regre and he stooped over the body while his awe- stricken companion did not know what to do, “This man isn’t dead!” suddenly cried Dodger. ‘There is a ; and we may be able to fan it into a flame,” *T want to know who did duty on Beat Num- — long to reach the little table that stood under the — He had been lashed to the chair with cords the | ines rk of lifo, remaining |
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saa RR es al Ti a . . i ale ls ae SS ee ~~ ae 7 - paps nage eT ee The cook was off like a rocket, and almost before Dodger Dick could realize his departure, he heard him quit the house by the front door. The Boy Vidocq was thus left alone with Man- fred Moffat, and he used the simple means with- in his power to restore the unfortunate man to consciousness. Some water sprinkled over the face assisted in this direction, and the boy was at last rewarded by seeing an intelligent expression gradually assert itself in the glaring eyes. He dragged Moffat to a sofa at one side of the a and managed to get the limp body upon it. By this time there were footsteps in the ball, and the family doctor, accompanied by a policeman, entered the room. Dick recognized the officer at once. ‘‘ What have we here, Dick?” was the officer’s question. “A case of foul play of some kind.” “ What do you think?” “‘T have no opinion, sir,” and Dick’s look add- ed plainly: ‘And if I had one I would not be likely to give it to you.” Under the doctor’s hands Manfred Moffat pro- gressed favorably toward consciousness, an when he was able to sit up the officer began to ply him with questions: “in the first place, I want to know whether Bere. is safe?” said Moffat. ‘Fanny? echoed Dick starting forward. 4* Was she in the house last night? 1 thought—” “She intended to take her little trip to- morrow,” interrupted Moffat as if he guessed the unspoken part of the boy’s sentence. “* Where is her room?” “The second one to the right on the floor above.” The Dodger bounded from the room, leaving f ed Nottaway and the doctor to follow if they ed. A few springs carried him up the steps and the door designated by Manfred Moffat he found ajar. _ The following moment he was looking into an empty boudoir, whose stand and bureau had evidently been ransacked, for the drawers stood open. ‘*Miss Fanny isn’t here,” exclaimed Dick. “Tt will be a hard blow for the old gentleman down-stairs, but he’s got to hear it some time. And I want all he knows about the matter.” Tne young shadow went back to the library where he found Moffat awaiting him breathless and filled with anxiety. “You need not tell me anything; Fanny is =“ !" be said to Dick before the boy could eliver a report. ‘She is the prize for whom the villains came last night.” “ They stole a march on you, Mr. Moffat?” *« Alas!” groaned the man. ‘* Can I speak to the boy, doctor?” The family physician nodded consent. “They came in ou me about ten o'clock while I was waiting at yon table, I cannot tell how they succeeded in effecting an entrance without disturbing me. I heard the door vpen, but did not look up, for Fanuy often came in unan- nounced for a book, and she would retire with- out disturbing me. AJ] at once I was tapped on the shoulder by a hand which I knew did not belong to the girl, and when I looked up I was confronted by two masked men. In a moment I was in their hands. A stern voice commanded me to keep silence on peril of my life, and that silence was enforced by a revolver. I was lashed to the chair and sagged as you found me this morning. Not a word was spoken by the men during the process. The excitement of the moment and the pain occasioned by the stick in vo mouth, soon brought on unconsciousness which might have rasutted in death. Fanny, { know was in the house when the villains came, and I fear the worst when I realize that she is not here now.” Manfred Moffat’s words ended in a sigh. “Of course you can give us no clew to your assailants?” questioned Dick. ; ~ “Tonly wish I could. The bord yp black masks they wore entirely concealed their faces, _and during their stay they did not drop a word calculated to betray them,” That is bad,” said Policeman Nottaway. Dodger Dick did not speak. They must have entered the house by 4 skel- eton key, for the front door was locked as usual earl in the evening,” resumed Mr. Moffat. ve you any enemies who would be likely to seek revenge in this manner?’ put in Notta- way again. t ‘I hope not,” was the rather evasive reply of _ which the Dodger took particular notice. “These assaults on person and property are Dodger Dick, the becoming too common,” observed the doctor. ‘“The courts should deal severely with the of- fenders—” “ They can’t till they catch them,” broke in the policeman, with a wink at Dodger Dick, who was not yh humor for joking. “This affair shall be reported at once,” the officer continued, addressing Mr, Moffat. ‘‘ Tbe Department will do its utmost to gor the guilty to justice, The superintendent will put the best men under his command on the trail, and your child will be tracked down and re- stored.” ‘Do so and come to me for reward!” cried the afflicted man. ‘* Leave no stone unturned that might interfere with success. I am willing to beggar myself to find Fanny and to beat the villains vn invaded my house last night.” ‘Tt shall be done!” ‘ Officer Nottaway uttered this assurance with a ood deal of dignity calculated to impress Man- red Moffat and fill him with hope, and Dick saw that the words had such an effect, When the policeman withdrew, the doctor made Mr. Moffat as comfortable as possible, and then took bis departure. Dick remained behind, despite Nottaway’s look. A meanful glance from Moffat had held him back. ‘“‘T want you to take this case,” the gentleman said to the Dodger whom he called to his side with a beck. ‘They tell me that you are a good young ferret on the trail. I will give you all tie help I can, but there is a secret which I can’t divulge now. My keeping it will make you hunt in the dark, but I can’t help it. You will find a gang of desperate characters against you wherever you go—men who won't stop at anything. But go ahead. Can I depend on you, my boy?” Dick answered resolutely: “You can!” CHAPTER III, LITTLE SYLVA SEMPLE. ‘“ Tux first thing to be done,” said the Dodger to himself, when be reached the street after his interview with Manfred Moffat, ‘tis to get at that bogus policeman—the fellow who ordered Larry and I along last night. He made the third man of the party, though Mr. Moffat thinks there were but two. He knows nothing about the one who stood guard in official clothes on the outside, and kept the coast clear while the others did the real work. It was a cool game, well played, even to the minutest par- ticular.” d The young detective puzzled bis brains a long time over the false cop, and at the end of sev- eral hours be was no nearer a solution than when be began. As a matter of course the outrage at 882 G—— street soon became the sensation of the day. Within a sbort time after the discovery the house was besieged by people of all classes, re- porters, detectives, and the simply curious, Manfred Moffat’s neighbors could hardly be- lieve that such a thing had occurred under their very noses, and that while some of them were wide awake! It seemed incredible, yet they had to believe the facts when they were presented in the startling garb they wore. Officer Nottaway came back to the premises one officiously took control of things there. his man was above the medium hight, stout~ ly built, and had a florid complexion. He was not very well liked by anybody, because of his overbearing manners, and many wondered why he was kept on the force, But Nat Nottaway was fearless, and when- ever there was dangerous work—a bad gang to be broken up, or something of that sort—he was pretty sure to have a hand in it. He was not partial to reporters, and those who were sometimes compelled to go to him for information got very little. It was getting late in the day when the officer entered the yr: station which Dick Sly had visited so early that morning. ““ Here’s a letter for you” said the lieutenant in charge, as he took a small envelope from his pocket and extended it. Who brought it?’ asked Nottaway, who saw at a glance that it had not been intrusted to the mails, ec ss Sepcabont - hour ago.” r open } saat thd tellowtie ; the envelope, and then he ‘““CapTaIn Norraway:—We have heard of the strange affair on G— ately, Bp! not tell any one, and want some information about it, we may be able to help you out, Please come without your uniform, and don’t come before six o'clock, Boy Vidocq. | ro oy 8 HY oF Sat pie, perl pam he * 7 it 8 es, Blt ae | It may not be much news we have—it may not do you an good at all—but we are willing. to tell you ow. Please come as quietly as you can to “No, 1212 R—— street, ‘** Up the outside stairs, * To the left.” Nat Nottaway read the letter twice before he took his eyes from the paper. There was something honest about the word- ing of it, yet, he did not exactly like it. He knew the vicinity of the house to which he bad been invited, and its reputation was vone of the best. Several times he had been called thither in the line of duty, and while he had be- come acquainted with the inmates of some of the buildings there, he knew nothing about those at Number 1212. When he had read the letter a second time he looked at his watch. It was nearly six. “I'm going to see phat there is in it,” he murmured, ‘I don’t see how the people in 1212 can know anything about the Moffat mystery. If llearn anything I'll be getting abead of the boy, Dodger Dick, whg"thinks he will rake in the old gentleman’s ducats by a little secret work. The young rat has been getting in too much work of late. I don’t like bia, and I reckon he is aware of the fact, too.” It did not take Nottaway long to change his official garments for others'that would not be likely to betray him where he was going, and then he was off. He took the quietest route to R—— street, and a few minutes after six he mounted a flight of outside steps which ran up to the second floor of a frame building over whose door he had noticed the figures 1212, A gentle rap at the door on the landing caused it to be opened by a little girl, who darted out of sight the moment she discovered the burly figure of tbe officer. The next moment, however, another person appeared and bade Nottaway walk in. This last person was a thin-faced woman of thirty-five, and when tbe officer crossed the threshold he noticed that her face showed traces of recent tears, She shut the door carefully behind the police- man, and then turned to him in a half-timid manner. ‘‘Tam the person who received your letter, madam,” said Nottaway. “Nat Nottaway of the force?” ** Yes’m.” The little girl, who until that moment had been hiding behind her mother, casting sly glances at the officer, slipped into an adjoining room. “Tam glad you came, yet I can’t say that we can belp you much,” continued the woman when Nottaway had taken the first chair at his dis- sal. ‘It may get us into trouble, but I want the truth told. Come here, Sylva.” At mention of the name the little girl came timidly from the room and ran to ber mother, Officer Nottaway then noticed that the. child, who was about fifteen, though small fér her age, had an expressive face with a pair of bright blue eyes and a perfect wealth of flaxen hair. . “ This little child is sometimes compelled to be out at night,” the mother went on, ‘“ Durin the days she does an errand bere and there, an it is often late before she gets home. Her name is Sylva Semple; my husband is dead, and we live alone here. The child can tell ber own story, ——, cogs though [ believe she would rather let me do it,” ““T would prefer to hear it from the child,” answered the officer, with a benign glance at the little girl. ‘Come here, my child, and tell me all you know.” Thus encouraged, little Sylva seemed to gain assurance, and the next moment she was standing beside Nat Nottaway with his arm about her, and his gaze riveted on her face, ‘“T was out later than usual last night,” began the girl. “I was coming home after ten o’slock, and to reach mamma as soon as possible, I cut streets, as I sometimes do. All at once [ found myself in a street which I seldom visit, for L don’t like the people who live there. It was almost dark, only here and there a ent, and they seemed to be a long distance apart. 1 had reached a corner when I heard the noise of wheels, and ina moment a cab came in sight and turned into the street, 1 could see that the vehicle was closed up, and that the man who was driving had a large hat pulled down over his forehead. ‘‘When the cab entered the street it came straight toward me, and I backed up against the dark side of ‘a house. In a moment the horses were stopped in the gutter only a few yards all we ed | ee : 3 2 7. roy bans fi & re :
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_ Beyond that--nothing! Dodge 5 r Dick, the Boy Vid A ocq. aa from me, and two men gotoutof thecab. I could not see another soul besides myself on the walk. When the last man got out he leaned back into the cab and litted out a woman with the assistance of his companion. 1 could see that she mae no resistance, just as if sbe was anconscious, and that her head was covered with a sbawl or something of the kind. The twomen carried her into one of the houses, while the cab was driven away by the man in the slouch hat. I saw all this as plainly as it could be seen at the time, and when | got home I told mamma the whole story.” ‘* Yes,” added Mrs. Semple, ‘the child gave me the narrative just _as she has given it to you, Captain Nottaway. We did not intend to say anything about it, for so many strange things happen at night in this city, but when I heard about the affair of G—— street, I thought we might have a clew for the right parties.” at Nottaway bowed and looked at the girl. A few questions elicited from her the name of the street where she had had her adventure, and she could almost with positiveness give the num- ber of the house. ‘There is something in this,” thought the of- ficer to himself. ‘I believe I have struck the right clew. The mari was first seen on guard in front of the Moffat house a few minutes before ten; at half-past ten be was not there. Sylva says it was almost eleven when she saw the wo- man carried into the dark house from.the mys- terious cab, There is a connection here, I have stepped in abead of the Dodger, and I will now proceed to show him that he is not the shrewd ferret he thinks himself. If Fanny Moffat was in the cab Sylva saw she is doubtless in the house at this hour.” Then Nottaway told the Semples that what Sylva had seen was no uncommon occurrence in New York, and while it was not likely to have any bearing on the Moffat mystery, it might bring to Jight another crime. He thanked mother and daughter for the in- terest they had taken in the case, and bade them say nothing more about it to any one, a promise which was readily given. Ten minutes later Nat Nottaway was some distance from the little up-stairs room and on quite another street, Night had fairly settled down over the city, and the traffic of the day was dying out. Officer Nat, like an eager dog on the scent, turned into a street exactly like the one Sylva Semple had described. It was a street where the lamps seemed very far apart. He walked rapidly forward till he reached a certain point where bis gait became slower. Nottaway was where the girl had seen the cab, He looked closely at the houses as he walked along, and as their fronts were often in shadow he could not make out some of their numbers, ‘Tt must have been here,” muttered the offi- cer before a certain house with shutters closely drawn. ‘Ill mount the steps and make out the number.” He glided forward and put one foot on the first ste There were three of them—wooden ones. ‘‘ Where 1s the number? I don’t see any!” Nottaway went another step higher, then in his eagerness he mounted to the last one, As he leaned toward the door, set back a little from the last step, it opened in his face, and the next second he was caught in a clutch of iron and pulled into the house, It was the work of a second, and then the door shut on the unfortunate man! CHAPTER IV. TOILING FOR A CLEW. A preriop of four days has passed since the scene we have just witnessed. , The Moffat affair has been almost swallowed up in aaother mystery which affects and excites the Police Department of New York. This is the sudden and unaccountable disap- pearance of Officer Nottaway. He has not been seen by any member of the force since he walked out of the district station with the evident intent of investigating a letter which had been brought to the officer for him by a little girl whose identity was unknown. Thero is a belief among the police that the hand of the gang that perpetrated the Moffat outrage is in the mystery of the missing officer; but this is mere conjecture. Nat Nottaway has disappeared; thatis known, ‘'e return to the Boy Vidocq—Dodger Dick. The man who called Yor durnd Mother Stur- rr the night of the Moffat crime, did not his promise to return the following day. If he had come he would have been spotted by the boy who was watching the house froma sate place, and the result would have been that in going away he would have bad a tracker on his heels. Dick was not idle during the four days which followed his taking hold of the case. As we know, he wanted to discover the iden- tity of the man who bad played policeman in front of Manfred Moffat’s residence. He knew that mach depended on his finding this aR If he had known of little Sylva Semple’s ad- ventures, he might have been placed on a warm trail; but Dick had not yet made the acquain- tance of the girl. Several times he had called on Manfred Mof- fat who had begun to show the worry which was preying on his mind, and once or twice Dick thought he was about to divulge the secret he was keeping back. “The man was here again, Dick,” said Mother Sturgeon to the boy ferret’s surprise when he returned the evening of the fourth day. ‘What man?” asked the Dodger. | ‘The one who called for you the night of the Moffat affair.” ‘¢ What did he say?” “Oh, he did not come up this time,” was the rejoinder. ‘‘T think he must have changed his mind after he reached the house. I was looking out of the window, when I saw him cross the street, dressed like he was when he came before, I drew back and began to wait for him, but he did not come. When I looked again he was walking away from the house with another man somewhat smaller, It was barely two hours ago, or just before they lit the lamps.” odger Dick expressed a wish that he had been at home at the time. “Which way did they go?” he asked, eagerly. ‘* Down the street.” “Toward Carusi’s?” “Yes, but why toward Carusi’s?” ‘Oh, that little fellow sees everything, and nobody that smokes ever passes him by. Ex- cuse me, Mamma Sturgeon. I am off!” The young detective darted from the room and soon appeared on the sidewalk below. A few doors from the housc was a little room on the ground-floor occupied by an Italian cigar merchant named Carusi. The fame of his cigars was more extended than his own, and, as Dick had said, there were few smokers who passed the place without drop- ping in for a trade. Nobody knew the sharp-eyed son of Italy bet- ter than Dodger Dick. He hati steered more than one smoker and customer into the store, and Carusi was grate- ful. Whenever Dick appeared he was treated with distinction by the cigarist, and Carusi was always willing to give out any information in his power. On this occasion Dick had a strong motive for seeing the Italian at once, and a few mo- ments after leaving Mother Sturgecn he entered the store. Carusi’s black eyes emitted gleams of satis- faction when he saw the boy ferret, and Dick went to work at once. “You had two customers awhile ago, Leoni?” ‘“‘T’ve had many since sun-down.” ‘“‘ But two in particular. They came together +o, rather tall, well-built man, and one small- er. . ‘‘T know! I sold them the best cigars I keep. —'‘ILa Senora.” They would have nothing else, and I made them pay for their smoke, too!” and the Italian finished with a laugh. “That was right. When a transient gold mine drops in, work it well, Leoni. Now, tell me what the men were like. You gota good look at them; you had them here in the light of your shop for some time. And I know, Leoni, that when you see any one you see him all over.” Thereupon Leoni Carusi gave Dick an ac- curate description of his two customers, even to the minutest details. He could not have de- scribed them better i- they had stood for him an hour when, in fact, their trade had not taken five minutes. The Dodger felt bis gratitude to the Italian as he proceeded, and when he finished he could hardly contain himself, **Would you know them now?” asked Carusi with a smile, ; “ Would I” echoed Dick, ‘ Yes, among a thousand! You say the largest man had one eyo rake was darker than the other?” 0 “ Isn't that uncommon, Leoni?” “Yes, where both eyes are natural ones.” ** Then, do you think one was false?” ‘“‘T cannot say.” “The eves of the little man were all right, were they?” Yes,’ ‘‘ Had either one an Irish brogue?” “Not for me.” ** What do you mean?” ‘* Why, when they bad reached the door one of them said in exact mockery of an Irish open ‘Move along now wid yez!’ and oth laughed as they walked off.” “Ha! which man spoke thus?” ‘* The larger one.” A look of satisfaction seemed to overspread the Dodger’s face. ; ‘“‘T am on the trail at last!” he thought to himself. ‘The false policeman is no myth after ‘“Which way did they go, Leoni?” was the next question. *¢ Down town.” For a few moments Dodger Dick stood in the — cigar store weighing the discovery he bad made, It was something at last. He had obtained a free description, he be- lieved, of two of the men who had played the cool game at Manfred Moffat’s house—the one who had played policeman on the sidewalk and one of those who operated on the inside. He was sure he could not be mistaken, Now, if he could but follcw them up all would be well. Moffat bad told him that he was the victim of as desperate a gang of men as ever played a cool hand, and more than once he had cautioned him (Dick) to beware of their wiles. “They are playing desperately for high stakes, my boy,” he would say, “and if the suspect that you are on their trail, they will turn on you like a pack of tigers brought to bay.” Tie Dodger walked out of Carusi’s consider- ably elated over the fortunes which had befallen him there. He went to the next corner and sto While he looked down the street voice at his right. “Dick” He did not look till it had spoken again. “Dick, I say?” The boy turned in the direction of the sound and saw the figure of a policeman against one of the buildings. Tn a moment he was with the man, ‘‘No news from Nottaway yet, I presume?” asked the cop. Dick shook bis head. “Tm afraid they’ve dragged the fellow intoa trap,” the patrolman wenton. ‘“ Nat Nottaway was too well known by the rascals to be let run at large. That letter he got by the little girl did the business.” ‘Why don’t they find the girl?’ asked the boy with a smile. ‘ “Why don’t they indeed? Ah! that is it ex- actly. aven’t they scoured the city for her? She may bave a thousand counterparts in New York. ‘I tell you, boy, Nat Nottaway has done his last work.” y : ‘“*T hope not,” answered Dick, ‘The captain did not like me any too well. I don’t know why; but he was the last man to whom I could go fora favor. I don’t censure himforthat. If could find Nottaway to-night I would do it even though it took me from the business ’'m engaged in now.” t that moment a little girl flitted past the couple, but at mention of a missing police- man’s name she seemed to stop a few feet away. Neither Dick nor the patrolman seemed to notice her. “Find him if you ean, Dick,” the policeman said, as the boy detective backed off, and with a cheery “{ will,” he turned and walked away. _ He did not see the girl whose éyes were watch- ing him with a es deal of curiosity, and when he passed her, she followed bim swiftly and ap- parently on tiptoe. ‘ All at once the young detective was touched on the arm by timid fingers, and then he stopped and looked into the girl’s face, “ Pardon me, sir; but do you know Officer Nottaway?” she asked. “Tndeed I do! You mean the man who is missing?” ‘Yes, sir. I don’t like for people to think that I listen where I ought not to; but I thought I heard “1 say awhile ago that you would to find the policeman,” “T said so,” replied Dick. ‘What is your name?” pee e heard a A ae 2 ee - RK (es ain ey
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ay a a ae: a ae ree are — ee tater 0S ee es . 0 ° ety 0 My \e ’ “Richard Sly, sometimes Dodger Dick, the Wharf Detective,” smiled the boy. “Oh!” exclaimed the girl. Semple. t We have kept the secret too long already. Will you walk home with me, Mr. Dick?” Dick said ‘* Yes” with all eagerness. CHAPTER V. THE CLEW ON THE WALL, To walk home with the bright little girl thus strangely encountered on the street, was to hear a recitation of Sylva Semple’s adventures in the dark thoroughfare, as well as to gain an account of Officer Nottaway’s visit. The revelation was a surprise to Dick, and while he listened, he thought he could guess what had become of the missing policeman. “We have i the story back through fear,” the motber said. ‘‘The disappearance of the officer told us that he was Calton with bola, had people, who would not hesitate to turn on us if they thought we knew anything against them. Then, the police might suspect that we were in the plot to silence Officer Nottaway, and between the two fears we dared not open our mouths, I am glad now that Sylva found you when she did. I am sure you will not betray us in any way, and that you will try to discover the fate of the unfortunate man.” ; “T think I know what discretion means in a case of this kind,” smiled the boy, as he gave the promise. ‘‘At last I begin to see hght on the affair which has puzzled me these four days. If the trail comes to a good end, your daughter shall receive a handsome reward, It is a double trail just now, though before long it may lose that distincthess. How old is Sylva?” Dodger Dick asked the question almost uncon- sciously, Perhaps the prety face and expressive black eyes of the girl had something to do with it, but if he had been asked at that moment, he would not have confessed. ; “Sylva is going on fifteen,” answered Mrs, Semple. ‘* Almost there, mamma!” corrected Sylva herself, straightening with a proud smile. — ‘* She doesn’t look it, ’m sure,” said Dick, and when he had left the house he was in doubt whether he had said the proper thing or not. “So Nat Nottaway was set upon a trail by the Semples, was he?” continued the boy. “ If he carried with him the message that called him to Number 1212 the mother and daughter may feel the power of the gang. I hope for the couple’s sake that Nat did not have it on his person when ‘he disappeared. Now. let us see whether the same trap will catch Dick Sly,” The Dodger proceeded by the shortest cut he knew to the street where Sylva had seen the cab and its occupants. He knew that there Nat Nottaway, the police- man, had disappeared from view, and he doubt- ed not that he had fallen into the clutches of the men who had used the vehicle. ; The ne description of the physique of the man who had occupied the box that night tal- lied somewhat with what Dick had seen of the form of the bogus policeman, as well as with Leoni Carusi’s account of one of his late cus- tomers. : : Was he forging the chain of identity about the man who watched in front of Manfred Moffat’s house while the villainous work was done in- side? Dick triumphantly thought he was, At any rate he lunged bravely into the dark street which might yield much or nothing at all, It was not wholly unknown tohim. He had been there’before, and with the secrets of one or |* two houses he was tolerably weil acquainted, Sylva Semple had directed him as well as she could to the particular house in which she thought was to be found, if found at oll, the key to the two mysteries just then agitating the «great city. Dick approached the suspicious territory with his usual caution. ; ? The houses within it were much alike, long- built, gld-tashioned brick ones standing boldly up to the sidewalk, with clumsy shutters and a _ fifty-years-bebind-the-times look. or as he walked __erutiny than the others, _ “That is the place,” thought Dick to himself. The Boy Vidocq did not mount the steps of any one of these to make sure of the number as Nat Nottaway had done. He seemed to guess which was the right house, along he gave one a closer ‘If I am not mistaken, it looks like a trap. _3ut how did they get Officer Nat into it? He is 19 “T am Sylva | : I think mother and I can trust you. | street, but in a short time he came to the sur- Dodger Dick, the Boy Vidocq. chance of catching him.” After awhile the Dodger disappeared from the face again in the rear of the suspected house where everything was as dark as it was in front. With the nimbleness of a cat he scaled the | fence that met him, and dropped down into the | silent yard. ‘** Nobody at home!” laughed the young street sleuth. The next moment his figure as dark as the prevailing shadows themselves made its appear- ance close to the building, and for some time he carried on his operations without a pause. Dick became convinced that the house was re- ally untenanted. ‘* Maybe they thought that somebody else be- sides Nat Nottaway knew something of their whereabouts, and cleared out,” muttered the boy. ‘‘This house is as empty as a shell with- Fe the oyster, and I’m going to see beyond this oor, It was a common door, with a very common latch, and as Dick pushed it open he was con- fronted by the most intense gloom he had ever encountered, This did not deter him for he crept inside and found a second door unlocked like the first as if it was a standing invitation in his way. “Just as I thought; the place isempty. I am to find out whether or not it has been inhabited by the game I’m after. The inspection may not yield me anything at all, but we will see.” Dick had not entered the unknown place to back out before his inspection was corapleted. He very fully realized the risk he was running, but when he thought of the work before him he bravely went on. He passed from room to room on the lower floors in the dark, Soding the doors as réadily as the hound finds a trail. Here and there were pieces of stationary fur- niture, and several of the rooms were carpeted. Dic« went up-stairs at last. There it was safe to strike a light, so, produ his box of pocket tapers, he now lit his way, shading the light with his hands, but no clew was revealed. There were but two rooms on the second floor, to the right and left of the cramped landing. The Dodger took the right hand one first, He examined the apartment. It contained nothing that rewarded him. ‘*One more chance and then I’m done,” said Dick to himself, and he entered the last room. The blaze of a fresh taper lit up the gloom with a sudden brilliancy, and the next moment the boy ferret uttered a low cry, and was star- ing intently at the wall before him. ‘* What is this‘—writing on the wall?” he ex- claimed, as with keen excitement he leaned for- ward and held his little torch so as to reveal more clearly the message he had discovered, for message it was, written on the white wall of the room, and though it was uneven and coarse, as if it had been penciled in the dark, he easily read: “Must I perish? Iam Fanny Moffat, abducted by three men on the night of the 10th of July. Iam a prisoner. ITamin despair. It is three days, now, while I write. Must I perish here? * Fanny Morrar.” The reader vem imagine the feelings of the boy detective as he drank in every word of the writing on the wall, It was the most terrible revelation he had yet encountered, He wondered how it had escaped the eyes of the gang, but he did not lose any time in con- jectures. His match went out, but not till he had read the writing the second time and photographed it on bis mind, as it were, The room contained no other clew that he could see. In it the trail seemed to come to an end, and to leave the boy in the dark once more. Fanny Moffat had been there, but where was She now? She had traced the startling words on the wall, confirming Dick’s belief as to the humber of the men concerned in the deep game: but that was all. In ail probability she had been taken away without warning, and before she could add any- thing to the wall revelation. Well, the old house yielded something,” murmured the young sleuth when abc ut to leave the premises. ‘*But the mystery that shrouds the fate of Nat Nottaway is ‘still uobroken. Now, what next? This balt must not be the final one, No! Ihave a clew at last. I know something about the men who made the swaop. Leoni Cuarusi set me on the trail, and Sylva Semple has added a ray of light. The chase be- gins from this hour!” 2 t ’ ane, ee 3. ee no chump, and a well-laid plan stands but little Dick passed through the rear yard again and glided off. Three minutes later his figure reappeared on the ominous street, and as it did so one man | caught another’s sleeve and whispered: ‘**Look! the young imp of the wharf! He is on the scent!” ‘*T see him!” came through clinched teeth asa pee ot eyes took fire. ‘‘ Be will soon wish he ad never seen a trail!” CHAPTER VI, MOTHER STURGEON’S PLUOK. ‘* KEEP bim in sight. On no account lose the boy tur a moment. Do you see him yet, Wayne?” ‘*Of course. You don’t think I’m going to let a prize like that slip through my fingers, do you?” ‘** | hope not.” Thus spoke the two men who glided after Dick like a pair of shadows, When he turned out of the dark street into one where there was more light, the men became os cautious, but did not let their vigilance slack, ‘Let bim have string,” whispered one. “If he takes us to Mother Sturgeon’s, well and good. We shall then know where to find him. Hemay not be going thither, though, and we may dis. cover that he Knows more about our game than we think he does,” Down one street and up another went the Dodger, shadowed by the tireless trackers who = not intend to be thrown off the scent by any- thing. Much to their surprise the young detective went home. ot saw him enter the house and were near enough to hear him climb the stair that led to | the foster-mother’s apartments. For more than an hour they watched the building expecting Dick to emerge, but his figure was not seen. “Why not try a bold play?” suddenly exclaim- edone, ‘I know how their quarters are ar- ranged. Mother Sturgeon can ke silenced in a moment, and a swift exit wil] secure the success of the scheme.” ‘“*Come, then. I am as eager to muzzle the ycung sleuth as you are,” The two men entered the open hallway, It was dark there, ; They halted beyond the step and adjusted | false whiskers to their faces; then they went up- a one after the other toward Dodger Dick's abode, It was a hazardous venture for the two vil- lains if the keen young Vidocg of the city should be wide awake and ready to receive them, but they took their chances with the coolness of men trained to just such work, An bour had passed since Dick bad been tracked to the house. As he bad not been seen since, the men argued that he had gone to bed to catch some+leep for the work of another day and night. When they paused at the door that opened | into the room occupied by Mother Sturgeon, they applied an ear at the lintel and listened. ot a sound came from the room beyond. A mement later several slight raps were | given, and then a shuffling of feet was heard. | “Tt is the old Jady herself, Wayne,” whispered | the smaller of the night-hawks. ‘‘ Make sure work of it. Don’t give her any chance to raise the alarm.” The turn of a key in the lock was then heard, and in a second the door opened, disclosing the inquisitive features of Dodger Dick’s best friend as she j.eld the portal slightly ajar. Before Mother Sturgeon could distinguish either of her visitors, a band darted torward, and as it closed on her threat the assailant | crowded into the room, and the terrified woman saw the intense eyes that boded | er no good. The captor was followed by bis companion, and the woman found herself face to face with the villains who had undoubtedly come on an errand of misebief. ‘The door!” said the man who held Mother Sturgeon, ‘I have the old bird safe enough; make sure of the chick.” Before he had finished, his comrade was at the | door which led into the Dodger’s little bedroom, and the woman saw that one of his bands clutch- ed a revolver. Something like a triumphant smile passed over her face, despite her own situation. The following moment she was forced into the chair she had just left, and the band at her throat was loosened. “Is the boy in there?” asked the man, glancing at the armed guard at the door, EGR, ae, COUNT Seta. oY ae eee ee ai a Nil ata FT heey ae
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Dodger “Go in and see,” was the reply. ‘**Call him out.” Mother Sturgeon laughed a little, as she an- swered: ‘ “*T cannot,” : ** You mean you will not,” responded the man. ‘The nest is empty. You have come too late!” The pleasure it seemingly gave the speaker to utter these words was not concealed, It made the men look darkly into her face. Too late! Wasittrue that they had played their hand too late to catch the bird for whom they had set the trap? “Open the door!’ commanded the man who had Mother Sturgeon in charge. The order was obeved almost before it was spoken, and the light that entered Dick’s room revealing the interior confirmed the woman’s words, ‘* Choke the truth out of the old witch. She knows it!” growled the person who came for- ward, and then Mother Sturgeon was confront- ed hy both men. “*The boy came in awhile ago?” “He did.” ‘* He did not go out by the front way.” ** Ah! didn’t you see him?” ““He did not go by that way, I say. You know he did not. Silence was Mother Sturgeon’s only reply. * You cannot afford to meet our iuquiries with an untruth,” continued the spokesman, “**T shall tell you none.” ** Where is the boy?” **T do not know.” ‘“*Beware! You are dealing with men of nerve and purpose!” was the menace that fol- lowed. ‘‘ You know whither Dick went when he left the house.” ‘*T am no traitress!” Words more firmly spoken than these never came over the lips of age. They were accompanied by a look of calm de- fiance, and the two sharps must have seen that they were dealing with a person their equal in courage and coolness, “Tt will go hard with you if you do not an- swer us,” warned one of the pair. ‘‘Once-more, I say that we are not going to be baffled by an old woman. Come now!—the truth, Mother Sturgeon!” A look was all they got for their words. “Push her to the wall!” cried the man who had done but little of the talking since entering the house. ‘‘ She will open her mouth when she sees we mean what we say.” A moment afterward the foremost villain drew from his pocket a wide rubber band, and before Mother sargene could guess his purpose it was slipped over her head, and down over her arms. Ina second her arms were pinioned to her sides, and so terrible was the pressure that she could hardly suppress an exclamation of pain. Having secured her -in this manner she was next lashed to the chair, and then her head was thrown back, and her mouth forced open. “Once more before we go to extremes!” said the main operator. ‘‘Shali we have the truth about the rat who holes with you.” “T have nothing to tell!” “For the last time, beware! died under this treatment.” | “Go on. There comes a day of retribution for these things. Iam no traitress, I say.” Mother Sturgeon was almost ee gagged, and without a show of gentleness in the opera- tion, When the men stepped back they saw the old woman sitting bolt upright in the chair with her silver gray hair falling over her shoulders, and drops of blood trickling over her chin, the work of the merciless gag. It was a picture calculated to move a heart of stone; but the hearts of the disguised villains seemed harder than that, They saw the eyes of Mother Sturgeon fast- ened upon them, Her piercing orbs seemed to look beyond the masks they wore, an’ to see them as they really were. “The next time you'll impart information when you're asked!” heartlessly laughed one of the pair. ‘‘ We will find the rat in spite of your stubbornness, and that before he shows up here. You're rither old to serve in this manner, Mother Sturgeon, and we would like to have dealt easier with you. But you wouldnot. The toils you are in you wove yourself, so don’t blame us. Once more, bowever, and for the last time. Where did Dick the Dodger go? Will you answer?” The eyes of the old woman seemed to get a People have he . more defiant gleam, and her reply was a slight shake of the head—the only one she could give under the circumstances, ‘*Good-by! We had to silence you to find the chap we want. When he comes back—if he ever does—tell him we were here—if you can!” There was another heartless laugh, the door opened and shut and Mother Sturgeon was left alone, Unable to move and without power to make a single sound, her situation was terrible, and her agony intense, The clock that ticked on the shelf back of her chair was the only thing of- sound in the room, Its seconds were minutes of pain to the unfor- tunate woman, and its minutes seemed hours that were never to end, By and by a deathly pallor overspread Mother Sturgeon’s face. The cruel gag was doing its work in a manner calculated to end before long the misery it was inflicting. Oh! for strength to move her arms—to break the rubber band that seemed to bind her body! Where was Dick? Would the two scoundrels find him? Why did he not come? It seemed impossible for Mother Sturgeon to be held by the thrall of villainy when she want- ed to warn her protege. She must free herself from the toils, It was nearly midnight when a footstep came up the stairs from the street below. It had not the heavy tread of a man’s boot, but resembled the nimble footstep of a boy. It came on till it halted at Mother Sturgeon’s door. ‘‘There’s a light inside,” a voice said, and then the door was opened. In another instar t a strange wild cry was heard, and a boy with !\lanched face was staring at the sight before bi :—an overturned chair, and lashed to ita s.e.uingly dead woman with gray hair. CHAPTER VII. JUST IN TIME, THE boy was not Dodger Dick, but Larry Long, the young detective’s most intimate friend, and tbe youth who was his companion the night of the outrage and crime at Manfred Moffat’s. Instead of bolting from the room and soundin the alarm, the boy had presence of mind maith to go forward. He quickly cut the cords that kept Mother Sturgeon in the chair, and then he raised the woman from the floor, ‘* What villains did this work?’ he exclaimed. **T did not know that Mother Sturgeon had an enemy in the world, but this looks like it. When Dick knows of this there will be an oath to get even with the rascals,” A dash of water in Mother Sturgeon’s face told Larry that life had not fled, and when the old lady had recovered sufficiently to speak, the boy listened to a story that made his blooa i It was evident that he had come in the nick of time, for such was Mother Sturgeon’s enforced position on the floor, that in a short time death would have ended the scene. “Dick left just before the rascals came. He made an important discovery somewhere—some writing on a wall. If he had remained with me a little longer the two men would have met with a warm reception, Iam sure the larger of the two was the fellow who called here for Dick a few nights ago. I recognized his voice though he thought I would not. No; Iam not afraid to stay here alone. The cowards think I am done for, but they will learn that Mother Stur- geon is worth a dozen dead women!” ‘““Then you donot know where Dick went?” asked Larry eagerly. ‘He was going from here to Manfred Moffat’s to consult with that gentleman about something. A long time has passed since, and he may not be there now, Of course the masked men could not get from me any information about Dick’s visit,” Larry was forced to content himself with'this meager direction, and when he left Mother Stur- geon he fell into a deep study, J “Tecame too late to find the Dodger, but in time to serve the person who is dear to him,” murmured the boy. ‘ Mother Sturgeon had a tough experience with the gang, and the next time she will be on the alert, Her adventure tells me one thing—the villains have turned on Dick, who is endangering the success of their game. They will not stop at anything, for men who will treat an old woman as they treated Mother Sturgeon, will not hesitate to commit Dick, the Boy Vidocg. the blackest of crimes, Dick must be on the lookout. I think he has on his hands the most dangerous case he hasever undertaken.” The Dodger’s friend did not know where to look for him. ’ \ Of course the interview with Manfred Moffat had ended long before, and there was no telling where Dick was, 2 ; Larry could not imagine where the boy Vi- dvcq had found any important writing on a wall, nor how it affected the trail he was on. He could only conjecture, and this course was not satisfactory; therefore, he was obliged to give it up, which he did with reluctance, as he walked away from Mother Sturgeon’s abode, The empty house on the dark street wasa place unknown to Larry, for he bad never en--. countered little Sylva Semple, and knew noth- ig her somewhat thrilling adventures, he girl was pleased with the frank manner of Detective Dick; but when he had left her plain abode, her face suddenly became pale, and she upbraided herself for having divulged the secret. ‘“‘ That house is a trap of some kind!” she cried to her mother, “It caught the policeman who is missing, and it will catch the boy, too. wish I had never seen Dick, the dock ferret. I have given him information that may get him into a net from which there is no escape.” Mrs. Semple tried to calm her daughter’s fears, but with not very good success, and then . she resolved that Sylva shonld not be out on the street any more at night: If the gang knew what she had seen, would they not silence her in a manner that would rob a mother of her only child? It was a terrible thought for the widow in the plain house, But what has become of Dodger Dick? Let us see, ; Mother Sturgeon told the truth when she in- formed Larry that her shrewd young protege had gone to Manfred Moffat’s, / The interview there did not last long, for Dick soon reappeared on the street. . Well, it wasn’6 an wea visit, anyhow!” declared the boy ferret. ‘‘ Mr, Moffat is com- ing round slowly, and I will have him where I want him after awhile. Now, I will go to the rson who wants to know more than I nay tell im.” Twenty minutes later the Dodger rung the ‘door-bell of a house in a quiet quarter. The door was opened by a woman, who sj 8 back when she beheld Dick’s face. ‘* Ts he in?” asked the boy. ‘*-Yes, and waiting for you, I guess.” Dick returned a smile, and ran up the stairs to the third floor, where he enter a room without ceremony. ‘ He was greeted joyfully by a good-looking young man of twenty, who occupied a chair at a table in the middle of the apartment. In front of the youth lay a number of ledgers, and any person could have seen at a glance that he was a young accountant who was doing some work at home. “T am just through,’ be went on, shutting the book, whose pages he had just blotted. ‘“Now you have all my time, and I hope you have good news forme.” ‘Not very good, ’'m afraid,” answered Dick, at which the young man’s countenance fell. ‘‘What!. have you found nothing yet—noth- ing at all about Fanny” “T have a slight clew.” “That is something! It is much better than nothing atall. Tell me, Dick.” For the next'few minutes Dodger Dick ‘‘ had the floor,” and to a very attentive audience of one, be detailed his visit to the Semples, and his adventure in the empty house on the ominous street. “What do you think?” eagerly questioned the youth at the end of the narrative. * Tt isa slight clew.” , ‘But not too slight for you, eh?” Dick's face brightened. ‘* T hope not,” said he. : “ And so do 1?” was the quick exclamation, “Dodger Dick, you are working for me as well as for justice and Manfred Moffat. wrapped up in the young girl, who has been car- ried off for a purpose by the men who play the coolest game ever Played in New York, Tt is not a case of blackmail, as the police think, I am told, Those men will not come to Moffat for a compromise, though he is abundantly able to pay thousands for Fanny’s return, The game is dee r than that.” ‘¢- Yes, there is a secret back of it all.” an swered the boy ferret. keeping something from me. Once or twice he has approached it of his own accord, but all at My life is — “Manfred Moffat is aR Yr
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ee gues he changed the subject and. left me still in ay the dark. “You areright. Manfred Moffat hasa secret. If he divalee it, it would throw some light on our trail, but I am afraid he is going to let you unt in the dark.” : ‘* He has even told me as much, I can expect but little help from him beyond his description. of the men who visited him that night.” * Have you run the bogus policeman down re ‘“‘T am hot after him,” smiled Dick. “Take care that he doesn’t turn on you.” ‘Oh, he will do that if be can!” exclaimed the wharf spy. ‘I expect to have trouble before [ net the birds,” “That you will. But can’t you guess Man- ford Moffat’s secret?” — Dick slowly shook his head. “Tt is about Fanny?’ he ventured, looking the young bookkeeper in the face, “Tt is,” was the reply. ‘Have you been able to get near it?” ‘“‘Not very near, Dick. The men who made the swoop know what the secret is, and they are going to make the most of it. If Manfred Moffat would not tell you who are in his employ, much less would he divulge anything to Roland Rollins, a mere bookkeeper who works 0’ nights to add to his little store,” : “That is true,” said Dick. ‘Time will un- lock the treasury which contains the secret, I am willing to work in the dark, as it were, for os 5 victory will be the greater when it comes,” or a few moments there was no reply to these words, The young bookkeeper sat silent in Dick’s presence. ‘* Dick!” he suddenly cried, leaning across the table in his eagerness, while his eyes caught the excitement he felt, ‘* Dick, I want you to find Fanny Moffat soon—to clear up,the mystery, and to bring the rascals to justice, I can’t offer a big reward, but all I have saved is yours for success.” ‘*T don’t want a penny of your money!” re- lied Dick the Dodger. ‘‘I wouldn’t touch it or the world. I am going to the end of this trail because I like the people who want me to get there. They can’t hide Fanny from me much longer. tell you, I have marked two of the scoundrels pretty well. I know the big man who stood guard and played cop, and one of the couple that worked inside, I’ve got at them step by step. Within the next few hours I will know more, and then, unless they play a hand for which I am not prepared, Mr, Rollins, [ll close up the business!” “Good for you!” exclaimed the bookkeeper. “The time may yet come when I can enter Manfred Moffat’s house and proclaim the truth,” ‘What! have you a secret, too?” cried Dick. “Not much of one,” was the smiling rejoin- der. “There isa matter of love between Fan- ny Moffat and I, that is all.” ; “ Oh!” and then Dodger Dick broke out into a prolonged whistle of surprise. ‘* Well, we'll see that it comes out all right, Mr. Rollins. It is Dodger Dick against three sleek rascals of the town,” / “Tf you fail, I fail,” rejoined the young ac- countant, ‘‘{ see,” and then, as the Boy Vidocq left the room, & Voice said in ardent tones: ‘‘My fortunes and my life go with that young sleuth!” CHAPTER VIII. HOW A BIRD WAS CAUGHT. Tue next day at the noon hour a bright-eyed — but plainly dressed girl of about fifteen stopped as she was crossing one of the city squares to watch the gambols of two little dorathat were having a merry time on the grass. On every side of her people were moving to and Moth diner, and few of them saw either the girl or the dogs. ; It was evident that the little spectator had some time on ber hands, for she became inter- ested to such an extent that she took one of the vacant benches and continued to enjoy the scene, ~ By and by she was approached by a well- dressed man of past thirty. . He had been eying her for some time though she was unconscious of the espionage, and she did not see him till she heard bis voice, Those are pretty dogs, my child,” said the man, taking a seat on the bench beside the girl. She drew back with a movement of sudden aversion if not suspicion, but he did not appear to notice it. ih _. A moment after he whistled to the dogs, and - vats fa af " * ree poe raced toward him, each trying to outdo the other, “Would you like to have these little fellows?” the man asked, turning to the girl. “That I would; but we could not keep them very well if they were mine.” ‘Why not?” “* The oe where we live don’t like dogs.” * Ah! here is your home?” The girl hesitated. ; All at once she seemed to think that she had gone far enough with this man, a total stran- er. A The eagerness with which his last question was put—an eagerness which he had attempted to conceal, but without avail—had alarmed the girl. She left the Park settee and drew off. ‘“They don’t like dogs—your neighbors don’t, you en followed up the man, *No “They have nothing to do with what you choose to own. It must be a queer neighbor- hood that does not like little fellows like these,” and he looked down at the dogs wrestling at his feet, and then at the girl. ‘* Where did you say this funny neighborhood was?” ‘Tt is where I live!” was the reply that net- thd the mau no little. ‘‘I must be going new. I have been here too long already.” A shadow of disappointment. settled over the man’s face as he watched the girl move off. ‘* She’s a smart one if she hasn’t been coached,” he said under bis breath. ‘I am sure I have found the right person, Ah! there goes Wayne after her anyhow. He saw the signal, and will do his part.” By this time the girl had vanished on the opposite side of the square, and the man left the bencb and strolled away. — He had seen that the girl had somebody on her track. This somebody was a large man, who did not lose sight of her for a moment, and he con- ducted his espionage in such a manner as to give the victim no grounds for suspicion. One hour later the man who had questioned the little girl in the Park, and the une who had followed her, met near the spot where they had separated. ‘“ What luck, Wayne?” was asked the tracker. ‘*T got there at last,” was the answer. ‘‘ The trail was crooked, and tried my patience several times; but I am able to report success,” “Well?” ‘‘ The bird lives in G—— street.” ‘“Where they don’t like dogs!” laughed the other! ‘‘ She lives there, you say?” , ay Yes.” ‘* With her parents?” ‘* With her mother.” ‘* Wather dead, eh?” a“ Yes.” ‘* What is her name?’ ‘* Sylva Semple.” ‘Do you think she is the right person?” “T am almost certain of it.” - ‘You watched her home?” ** To the very door.” ‘* What was she doing down here?” “She is an errand girl, She runs errands for whoever will employ her. I got my information from a person who gave it without suspecting why [ wanted it in all its details, She is some- times out pretty late at night.” ae Therefore she may have been out a few nights ago?” ‘*She must have been,” ‘*Somebody was; that is certain!” laughed the questioner, but his face soon grew sober. ‘But she did not head you straight home, you intimated just now?” { ‘¢ She stopped several times like children will when they are not in a hurry, There is where she tried my patience.” “Having tracked ber home, you did not wait for her to come out?” “No, I know the house—Number 1212, R— street, up ap outside stair to the left.” ““That is definite enough surely,” was the re- ply. ‘The bird does not seem hard to catch.” e I could have ber to-day,” *So conld I, Wayne. She refused to tell me where she lived, as if she suspected I was not al- together square, I came back to the question as adrvitly as I could, but it wasno go, Sylva Semple, a8 you call her, is a wary bird, but that must not balk us,” “*Of course not.” The two men continued to talk in this strain for some time longer, and then they walked “away together, and were soon lost among the human sea of Broadway, XN Gai il es and SB Sa SN he Bis st ei) Oo ee Sa + Le ; TE re ree “Te bee: Ser eye Dodger Dick, the Boy Vidocgq. | og 0 The afternoon drew to a close and the long shadows of the city’s buildings cast the streets in shadow. At five o’clock a little girl came down an out- side stairway between two houses, and vanished up the street. She was seen by a man on the watch across the street, and ina moment he crossed and was at her heels, The girl was Sylva Semple, and the fellow who was dogging her footsteps had been at his post for three solid hours, It was the big, brusque man who had followed her home from the Park. He had come back to his work and success had rewarded his putience. Asif she feared pursuit, the girl looked once or twice over her shoulder, but evidently did not see the man by whom she was watched, ‘*On another errand, eh?’ chuckled the trail dog. ‘Maybe you won’t want to run any more for some time. I don’t think you will if you know what we think you do.” Sylva Semple did not lead the man a very long chase, Four squares distant from her home, and on another street, she received a small package at a door and started off again. ‘*T follow to the end, my bird of the dusk,” the man said to himself. ‘* The further you go the later you will be getting home, and the surer will be my catch.” The girl carried the package to another house a few squares further on, and delivered it at a door to a person whose face the man was not near enough to see, “‘T see it all,” he murmured, ‘The girl has a reputation for honesty, and people who are will- ing to help her let her turn an bonest penny by delivering messages, and so forth, for them. But this does not prevent ber from seeing sights she should not see, nor from giving detectives and such people information that can be turned against others.” | Sylva had evidently finished her work for the day, for while the man eyed her, she came trip- ping back on her way home. “She must not get home. If we are to catch this dangerous bird, it must be done pow. There is too much at stake to let Sylva Semple run at large with a child’s tongne in her head. The only wonder 1s that it has not wagged more than it has.” The man drew back into the mouth of an alley. He had to work swiftly if be bad to mature a plan for Sylva’s capture, but he bad one already planned. Entirely unsuspicious of the danger that men- aced her, the little girl came up eager to get home with the last fee of the day. All at once a hand darted out from the dark- ness of the alley and closed on her arm, — She started to run, as a cry welled from her throat, but found she could not take a single step. In a second she was jerked from the sidewalk, and then a hand fell upon her mouth, and she looked up into the triumphant eyes of the man who had caught her. “Youre old enough to know what a still tongue means in a case of this kind,” fell upon her ear, ‘‘ You will go with me quietly, or never go home any more. No harm is to come to you, and you may be free in a short time.” “Let me go now!” cried Sylva, as the hand was lifted as if to let her answer, ‘Not just yet,” laughed the man, ‘*T don’t know anything!” ** About what?” The girl did not answer, She seemed to feel that she had already said too much, for her eyes got a resolute expres- sion and her lips met firmly under her captor’s aze. Almost before Sylva was aware of what was taking place, she was out of tbe alley and in a cab with the man. - : The vehicle was moving rapidly across the city, and Sylva Semple looked at the lamps like a person ina maze. She could not see her com- anion, for the interior of the coach was dark; But she knew he was near, for she could feel his hand at her wrist. She could not tell how many squares she was carried over, nor bow many streets she travers- ed, Her mind was in too much of a whirl to fix it on anything. At last the carriage stopped, and she was aoe out. The grasp at her wrist did not re- x In a moment she was carried across the side- walk to an odd-looking house, and then into a well-lighted room, where she found two men.
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‘ Dodger Dick the Boy Vidocq. claimed her captor, and Sylva saw the two men Jean forward and eye her intently. CHAPTER IX. ON THE RACK. For a moment the girl stood bewildered, as it were, before the men into whose hands she had fallen, The situation was new to her, not only new, but startling as well. **So this is the person we have been waiting to catch, is it?’ suddenly laughed one of the three, as he leaned back in his chair and threw an inquiring glance toward the man who had brought Sylva in. ‘‘ Well, she does not look very formidable, though I see she has a pair of keen bright eyes.” Then he looked at the girl. ‘“You were out the other night, my child?” he went on. **T am out every night, more or less,” was the reply. E Was last Thursday night one of your nights out?” ‘Gyiva thought a moment, and all at once a thrill ran over her frame. In an instant she seemed to divine the cause of her arrest. The men saw her start. “Yes,” she answered, calmly. on errands rather late that night.” ‘You were ona certain street where there are few lights?” ‘Tt lay on my way home,” ‘¢Never mind that. You were there?” Sylva nodded. ‘“Did you see anything strange?” ‘Yes, I saw the cab and the people who were i¢ 1 ‘““We thought so,” smiled the examiner, ** Having seen this, you sent a certain policeman word?” There was no reply, and the,three men looked at one another. : ‘* Do you intend to answer?” continued Sylva’s questioner, with rising severity in his tone, ‘*T do not wish to betray anybody.” ‘*The firmness with which these words were spoken surprised the men. “It might be well for you to answer when you are questioned,” said one, ‘*T have answered you. You must not expect me to betray any person, for I cannot doit I will not!” Sylva’s figure seemed to increase in stature as she spoke. ** Tt is another Mother Sturgeon case!” laughed one of the three, and one of the others joined in with a light chuckle, * Aren’t you going to send me home?” asked Sylva.’ **So you can post another policeman?” “t How do you know I told one?” “That is very clear, child.” And to Sylva’s surprise the speaker took from his pocket the biagt 4 message she had carried from her mother to the police station for Nat Nottaway, the miss- ing officer. he girl lost color at sight of the paper; she could not help it. It seemed to her that she was looking ata brave man’s death-warrant. * This came from your house, eh?” And the vepee was held up before the girl’s eyes. yiva’s lips did not part. ** The oi who cannot talk cannot go home.” In a moment the little prisoner took a step toward the table and the next minute she had snatched the paper from the hand that held it. Then she sprung back before she could be caught, and the message was torn into pieces before the very eyes of the three scamps. **Thero’s a show of temper for you!” laughed one. ‘ You didn’t catch a dove abroad, Wayne —not by any means.” As adocument the message was utterly worth- jess when Sylva finished with it. **T see! we must cage you!” exclaimed the man who had.done the questioning, Sylva’s eyes flashed, ** Do just as you please,” said she, ‘‘ I see that I have fallen into the hands of people who have no mercy.” ‘“*When you are out 0’ nights, you must not keep your eyes open for sights not intended for them,” was the answer. That was the end of the inquisition. Ten minutes later a little girl stood at the emeperrpe window of a room barely eight by n. Beyond the bars there was strong, thick glass, and far beyond this still the countless lights of the great roaring city of her birth. ‘“‘T was kept *‘ Here is the bird that sees so much!” ex- Sylva Semple had paid dearly for what she had seen on the ominous street, and she wished during her moments of despair that she had never heard of Policeman Nottaway and his foes, She wondered what her mother would think about her absence. She sbould have been home ere this, but here she was cooped up she knew not where, and with some terrible fate impending over her, It is no wonder that her heart sunk within her when she tried the solid door of her prison and looked through the bars upon the city whose subdued noises reached her ears. ‘Am I lost from home?” the girl asked her- self. ‘‘ Would those men release me if I told them all I know about the message and the offi- cer? No! I will nct buy my liberty in that manner. I would have to tell them about Dodger Dick who is going to find Policeman Nottaway if he can. 1 will not do it!” As for the men into whose clutches the girl had fallen, they held a consultation in the room where we left them after Sylva’s imprisonment in the small apartment, ** Now let’s corral the boy, and then we will have all tbe cards in our hands,” said the big man who went by the name of Wayne. “That is not so easy,” laughed one of the others, ‘‘ Ere this he has peeped in on Mother Sturgeon and found things there topsy-turvy, It will make him warm after us—” ** Just hot enough to toss him into our hands,” **T’m not so sure of that.” Sylva Semple was left to her own meditations in a house of whose location she had not the slightest knowledge. She could think on her troubles or go to sleep, just as she liked; but she could not set herself ck, The three men went off down the street to- gether. By-and-by one, the giant of the trio, was seen alone in a quarter of the city where he was just the person to attract the attention of the boy who observed him. ‘*T have my bogus policeman now,” exclaimed the man’s observer. ‘‘ That is the big man who bought cigars at Carusi’s, and also the fellow who stood guard in front of 332 G—— street while his companions played the cool hand on Manfred Moffat.” The speaker was Dodger Dick, and if he had encountered the man a little sooner he would have seen him in company with his two com- panions, Wayne was not aware that he was watched. The Dodger kept at a safe distance, but not so far off that he could not use his eyes. All at once the big man disappeared. ; The Boy Vidocq bastened forward, and the next minute he came face to face with Wayne. It was almost a collision, and it seemed 1m- possible to avoid a mutual recognition. Wayne had merely stepped into a cigar store to gratify his appetite for a good smoke, and he was puffing vigorously when he came out and almost ran against the boy, The Dodger dodged ‘quickly to one side, but not quick enough to escape the vigilant look of the giant, ‘* Here!” exclaimed the man throwing out one hand and clutching Dick before he could slip away. “By Jupiter! You're just the young Tartar I want!” The heavy hand closed like metallic clamps upon the boy’s shoulder, and he was dragged forward by the very man jnto whose hands he did not want to fall. ; **You don’t want me, I guess!” laughed the Dodger, ‘Oh, no! ’'m not the shrimp you're fishing for. Tbe one you want just wriggled round yon corner and—” **T know what I want!” was the interruption. ‘“*Tf I didn’t, I wouldn't be holding you here. You’re one of the foxes I close on wherever I find ’em. Are you coming along like a boy of sense?” Dick, still holding back, looked up into the man’s face, He saw that his identity was well known by his captor, and that his shrewdest language would not loosen the clutch; therefore he would have to play another game to get free, rh oie your badge to-night?” asked Dick boldly. The man started. ‘*T thiuk you look best in uniform,” continued the boy raising his voice, ‘* You would soon be the handsomest Celt on the force if you would only parade in the plumage I saw you in a few nights ago.” ‘*Silence!” hissed the man, and then he at- tempted to move the boy toward the mouth of aan; aie a —-——__- — _me,” he exclaimed. an alley a few feet away, but Dick planted him- self so firmly that the task threatened to prove no easy one. ‘Look here! you don’t want to play with ‘“*T know a bogus cop when I see one, and the moment I saw the man who stood guard in front of 332, I knew I had treeda coon of that sort.” A scowl as dark as night almost settled over the man’s brows, and Dick felt the grip of the big hand relax, Tbe next moment he jerked back with all his strength, and lo! he went staggering across the gutter, and was barely able to keep his feet. The suddenness of the break on the boy’s part frustrated the big man, but in a second he sprung after his catch ‘** Not to-night!” cried Dodger Dick, bounding away in time to elude the eager hand, ‘* When you fet ahead of Dodger Dick, Mr. Bogus Cop, you'll know more than you do now!” A curse of disappointment was the answer which Dick heard as he lengthened the distance between bim and tho man, and when he looked again, his late captor was not in sight. ‘“‘The trap is always set for me; I see that plainly,” laughed the young detective to him- self. ‘It is my first active experience with one of the gang, and I’ve come out first best.” He did not know that experience number two was then not far off. CHAPTER X. THE NEW SPOTTER. MANFRED Morrat the occupant of 382 G—— street grew more restless day by day. He could not be made to believe that Dodger Dick was working up the case with his accus- tomed surewdness. The boy was doing his level best, and, as we have seen,-was making considerable headway. He bad pitted: against him as cool and desperate a set of men as ever played for high stakes in New York or any other city, and a reasonable person would not have expected him to make rapid headway against them. The outrage and abduction told heavily on Manfred Moffat. He grew impatient, then morose, then fear- ful, and Dick on his last visit saw that the man feared another visit from the band of three. | It was the day after the encounter with Wayne the bogus policeman that this visit was made. The man of G—— street was found in_his rocco 4 with pallid face and lps that trembled while he spoke, ‘‘T have employed another detective,” he said to Dick. ‘I thought it best to put anotber per- son on the scent, and I trust you won’t object.” ‘* When did you bire the man?” ‘* This forenoon,” “Did you send for him to Inspector Byrnes?” “No; he came here and offered his services,” A smile appeared at the boy ferret’s lips, “What is his name?” he asked. ** Gaspard Hood.” Dick said nothing. : ‘IT presume you do not know him as he has not been in the city long, suddenly continued Mr. Moffat. ‘‘He is a keen-looking man and just the person whom I would pick out fora successful detective. No success no pay. He made the bargain himself, and insisted on it against my inclinaticns. ‘* Well,” said Dick, ‘I trust the new sleuth will strike the trail at once; but because he bas been employed, I am not to quit the work?” “ Certainly not,” spoke Moffat quickly. “* Mr. Hood spoke complimentarily of you, aod advised me to keep you at work,” ‘“‘ He knows me, then?” ‘‘ He knows of you, at least.” 6s Lap Fk an his city address?” _. “He did not leave it, from motives of his own keeping, I suppose.” Just so, Mr. Moffat.” ‘ Dodger Dick left the house with his head full of the new sleuth, ““T did not like to ask for a description of the new detective for that would have been carry- ing my inquisitiveness & little too far,” be said to himself, ‘Gaspard Hood is a sleuth I don’t know, and I'll wager my head that he is un- known to Captain Byrnes and his lieutenants, Went to Manfred Moffatt and solicited the job did be? Has not been in the city long, and no success no pay. We'll see about that, Mr, ” Not far from the house on G—— street the Dodger was joined by Larry who for some time had been watching a man who in turn, seemed to be regarding Moffat’s residence with a pair of keen eyes. ; ¢ 2
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: " abig step,” the boy heard from the lips of the + ated eal i _Larry pointed him out to Dick without, as he thought, attracting the man’s attention, and the Dodger studied him attentively for a few min- utes. ‘That is not the fellow I had my tussle with last night,” murmured the Dodger. ‘He is lurking about here for something. You can see by the way he carries his cane, and by the way he conducts himself that he is somewhat of a swell.” Then a thought flashed through Dick’s mind. **Can that man be Gaspard Hood the new de- tective?” The two boys walked: off, and at length dodged into a narrow alley and disappeared. In a little while the suspicioned man came along and looked anxiously down the narrow passage. } Of course he saw nothing of Dick and Larry. He looked a little disappointed at first, but all at once he laughed to himself, and turning on his heel, walked off. By and by a well-built boy came out of a store and looked after the man. ‘You lost your game in the alley, now be careful that it does not watch you home!” ex- claimed the youth who was Dick in Larry’s coat and hat. ‘ You are not going back to Manfred Moffat’s, I see. Well, go where you will. I have a little time on my hands.” It wasno trouble for Dodger Dick to keep this man in sight, He went almost direct to one of the well- shaded squares, where he took a seat and lita cigar. “*I wonder if that’s one of Carusi’s best?” smiled the young sleuth, as he watched these proceedings from a secluded point of observa- tion. “It strikes me that my man is waiting for some one. Ah! there he is!” At that moment there came in sight a large man whose proportions were almost gigantic. Dick could hardly suppress an e.:clamation when he saw bim. It was Wayne, the fellow who had caught him under the gaslights! The two men = ly familiars, for when they had ten nods, the big one joined the other on the bench, and both immediately fell to talking. Dick was not near enough to hear a single Neh but then he could watch the pair, which he did. The smaller one answered the description given by Leoni Carusi, the cigar dealer, of the two customers whom he had had a short time before, and Dick believed he had found the ras- cals who had almost taken Mother Sturgeon’s bd because of her refusal to betray him to em. “Tf £ could only hear half a dozen words,” thought Dick. ‘They would be sufficient for my purpose, for I am sure they would throw some light upon a very dark subject.” Then he left bis station and began to make a wide circuit, with the intention of getting be- hind the two men. ; He had to be exceedingly careful, for if they were members of the gang of schemers they would be on the alert, and he did not want to be, seen at that time, Stealing cautiously to the rear, Dick began to approach the bench by degrees, The Park was well filled with people, for the day was hot and good shade was desirable. The two men still occupied the settee, and were keeping up their flow of talk, Dodger Dick crept nesrer and nearer, He knew that a swift glance might betray his - presence, and that the birds, watched with so much caution, might suddenly take flight, - At last the Boy Vidocq found himself bebind -— @ group of young trees, which, with a bench, protected him from scrutiny. — ‘ He could get no nearer without incurring - great risks; in truth, there was no more con- cealment between the men and himself. ‘Dodger Dick leaned forward with breathless interest, Vould the suspects talk loud enough for him? _ Six words, he thought, would be enough, Not more than twenty feet separated him from the objects of his attention. If the people passing on every side would keep Be quiet for a moment, he might strike a clew . aS _ which would give him the game. * We've got the entree at all bours, and that’s Ge “I know you must have played it " hor you never overdo anything of the bi 2 re a > k was not permitted to h th d r, Cc a ear another wor for a quick step sounded behind him, and as his 4 , Dodger Dick, the Boy Vido ee oi sie Pao nar ent +e : ae Fe ee pore arm was clutched, he turned to look into a woman’s face. It was a white, anxious face, and the young sleuth did not recognize it as his stare told. “Thank fortune I have found you!” exclaimed the woman. ‘‘ My child has fallen into the hands of the villains. Ah! I feared she had seen too much for our good.” “ Your child?” stammered Dick, and then. he seemed to realize the situation—it came to him like a flash. ‘You are Mrs, Semple, tbe mother of Sylva!” he cried. “What has become of your daugh- ter? “She was taken from me last night. She went out on an errand and never came back. Don’t I know that they followed her, and that they will put her out of the way because she saw the cab and the men on the'dark street that fatal night? Why didn’t we keep the secret? I wish now we had not opened our mouths about the matter to any ove.’ ; A strange thrill ran through Dick’s frame as he thought of the woman’s revelation. as it true that Sylva Semple had been dogged and captured by the gang? ad she gone to join Fanny Moffat in the realms of mystery and of fate? Dick glanced toward the bench upon which he had stolen with so much caution, when lo! it was empty. This discovery startled him as much as the woman’s revelation had done. The men had skipped away quietly and were completely out of sight. ““Come! can’t you help me find Sylva?” cried the widow, calling Dick back to the subject ever uppermost in ber mind by tugging at his arm. at haven’t slept a wink since I lost her. [ have reported to the police; but ever since I have been ransacking the city for you. You are looking for Fanny Moffat and for Nat Nott- away, the missing officer: but you will devote some time to my cause, I know you will.” It was an appeal hard to resist. “The three trails run together; don’t you see?” continued the woman. “Sviva saw the men with Fanny Moffat in their power, then we sent Officer Nottaway after them; now, for what she saw, my child is in the claws of the gang. It cannot be otherwise. I want you to find her, Dodger Dick. We have not the money Man- fred Moffat has—” ‘* Never mind the money!” interrupted the boy detective. ‘I see somebody just now— somebody I’m interested in. Don’t call Sylva lost while I’m on deck. J’ll see youlater. Good- by.” And Dodger Dick jerked away and hur- ‘ried off, leaving the woman to follow him with a look of astonishment. CHAPTER XI. IS IT A TRAP? THE boss boy detective of New York was out of sight in a jiffy, and Mrs, Semple, who had unexpectedly found him in the Park, was left to go back to the desolate home, The sight which had taken Dick off in such a hurry was nothing less than the figure of one of the men he had just been watching on the settee, _ He did not want the fe!low to get out of his sight again, and be resolved. not to lose him by inattention, as he had lately done. _ The Dodger was not long in reaching the par- ticular spot where he was certain he had seen the person supposed to be Manfred Moffat’s bogus detective: but though he looked every where, no person of his description was to be sighted. Dick was puzzled. Had the man seen him and vanished? “ That’s what I get for listening to a woman!” exclaimed the boy. ‘But I’ve picked up some more news, anyhow. Sylva Semple is missing. She has fallen into the same kind of a trap that caught Nat Nottaway, and the workers of the Tae would like to catch me,” he .young shadow was not disposed to give up his search for the man he had seen. He knew that Mrs. a had gone away, and therefore he did not go back to look for her, but ransacked the square pretty thoroughly for the other party be was after. But all in vain, Dodger Dick went home soon after this ad- ee ‘ , en be entered Mother Sturzeon’s presence, the old lady took a piece of dingy-looking paper -_ ber bosom, ana handed it to him as she __ ‘This came by a boy, Dick, He brought it in a little while ago, and didn’t want to leave it at all. But when I told him who I was, and te Glee ‘i - A cq. LC tt tt — ot ook ae ne NORE Si promised that you would get it just asif he delivered it himself, he reluctantly left it in my care. ‘**Meanwhile the boy spotter was unfolding the paper, and all at once Mother Sturgeon heard him utter a strange ery. ‘* What is it now?’ asked the woman. ‘This confirms the story I listened to in the Park awhile ago, By Jupiter! it is better than I dared hope for, The girl—Sylva Semple—has found means to communicate with me.” Mrs, Sturgeon’s look was a question which Dodger Dick did not deign to answer, for just then he was reading the letter he had received: ** Master Dick:—I have fallen into the hands of some men I do not like. My prison is on the second floor of Number 889, N—— street, West side. I am sure you can find me by night by the back way. I have made friends with a hoy who will deliver this, but who cannot help me in any other way. I want togo home again. Can you help me? I know you wil if you can. Sytva SemPie.”’ Dodger Dick read this strange missive over again before he looked up. ‘“What was the boy like who brought this letter?” he asked, looking at Mother Sturgeon whose face revealed the curiosity she had. ‘‘He was small for his age, was not at all well-dressed; but he had two very black eyes which I did not like.” * A street Arab, eh?’ “ He looked like one.” “Did be seem to fear that I would drop in while he tarried?” ‘‘Something made him uneasy. Maybe it was that. He got out of the house as soon as he gave me the letter, and I hadn’t time to ask him whether he was to wait for an answer. ‘“‘T don’t think he was,” smiled Dick, glancing at the letter he held in his band, and then his face assumed a serious expression while he read it again. “It is very important?” quietly asked Mother Sturgeon after watching the boy some time, ‘You should hear. I want youradvice some- times, and this may be one of those times.” Then Dick read aloud the letter, and at the conclusion looked up at Mother Sturgeon who had leaned forward in order not to miss a word. ‘* What do you think?” said Dick. “It’s very queer.” “What is?” **That Sylva Semple, if she is such an im- rtant prisoner, should be allowed to make riends with somebody on the outside,” ‘**Ha! that is just it!” exclaimed the boy. ‘This idea popped into my head the second time I went over the letter. Mamma Sturgeon, I guess this bait won’t catch the fox.” The old lady’s eyes dilated. “Do you think it is a trap, Dick?” she ex- claimed, ‘*T think it is nothing else,” was the re ly. ** Didn’t that letter come from Sylva Semple? Let me see the handwriting.” ; The boy detective passed the message across the table and watched the old lady while she adjusted her glasses and leaned forward to read “It looks like a girl’s band,” said she, “I used to make those kind of letters, but it was long ago, Dick.” ‘“‘T haven’t said Sylva didn’t write the letter,” replied the boy. ‘‘Iam not prepared to say so yet; but I am inclined to think that that letter fort Number 889, N—— street, with the knowl- edge of the very rascals who want to catch me. I may not be able to prove it to your satisfac- tion, Mother Sturgeon, but I believe it all the same.” “Then I would not go near the house.” To this the young sleuth made no satisfactory reply, and when the letter had been handed back to him he folded it carefully and hid it in his bosom. ‘“* Number 889,” said he. ‘It is a queer place for a prison, but it may be there. Sylva Sem- ple has disappeared as completely as Nat Notta- way has done. Her mother bas informed the police, and ere this every patrolman in the city has a description of the girl. You see that she tells me in this letter that I van reach her by the back way, throwing out the impression that ber prison is in the rear of the house. It may be.” “The boy who carried the message did not ” “Of course not,” and the Dodger smiled. ‘He looked like a west-side gamin, did he? Well, Imay see this gutter Mercury who car- ries messages from birds in their cages.” “Don’t run into danger. You know those men,’ and one of the tapering fingers of Mother Sturgeon fell warningly upon the Boy Vidocaq’s arm. ‘They are the wretches who thought
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Baa Ue ani: ota coe i hae Sates eo 7 mol at bee i Spee RS eS ‘s Pare they had silenced me because I would not betray you, and they will not hesitate to finish you by any means 1n their power,” “Never fear for me,” laughed Dick. ‘‘I am now pretty well acquainted with the wiles of the band of three. I think I can pick out Manfred Moffat’s new detective, Gaspard Hood, and I may doit ere long, much to that gentleman’s sorrow. In the first place, Sylva Semple knows the street Arabs of New York too well to trust any of them with an important mission, As ou say, she is not apt to be allowed the privi- ege of communicating with any one on the out- side. The handwriting is that of a girl brought up as Sylva has been; but my lad on a wager that the whole thing isa trap. But I will know before long.” Another night was falling over the city, and here and there the street lamps were resuming their accustomed duties, The viciuity of the house whose number was iven in the startling message received by odger Dick was quiet and inviting. The house itself, a rather large two-story brick, stood slightly apart from its neighbors, There was nothing suspicious about it beyond the fact that the shutters were closely drawn both above and below, and at first look one would have thought that its people were “ out of town,” Not long after dark this house was Guietly in- spected by two boys. These were Dick and Larry. Dressed in garments not usually worn by them, garments which strikingly altered their general appearance, the young spies inspected the house with a great deal of interest. bb gears, them, though they knew it not, from a safe distance, was a boy whose shoeless feet gave out no sound as he plied his calling. “Tt isa trap, Larry,” whispered the Dodger. ** And no doubt the fellows who set it are sitting back waiting for the game. I would like to see beyond the door, though.” - ** Are you going to run the risk?” ‘* T—don’t know.” Just then the boy who had been eying the YOUNG, friends turned on his heel and disap- ared, In less than two minutes he reappeared in the cramped yard back of the house, and a peculiar knock on the door admitted him. He was seized by a band in the darkness and conducted to a’room where a gas-jet was burn- ing just enough to let him see the figures of two men besides the ene who had let bim in. ‘¢They’re out there. I saw ’em,” reported the boy. ‘they? echoed two of the men at once. tig ‘They,’ I guess I said, and I stand by it, too. The three men exchanged glances of per- plexity. ‘“‘They’re takin’ in the house from eave to gutter,” the boy went on. ‘‘ One o’’em must be the boy I-carried the letter to, though [ don’t know just which is he.” ‘* Tf both come so much the better,” exclaimed a large man who did most of the talking. ‘‘ You will stay where you are, boy.” The next moment the speaker quitted the room, leaving the gamin spy with his com- panions, Nobody saw him steal through a dark hall to the rear of the house. His movements wero noiseless and catlike. When he stopoed he stood within reach of a door and a window, midway between the two, — then he said to himself, in tones just au- ible: ‘* Now let the Norways enter the trap, and cease to give us trouble!” CHAPTER XII. A HOLE IN A CEILING. TEN minutes passed; nobody came, Not a sound broke the stillness that enveloped the man in the,dark. He waited five minutes longer, and then rowling out an oath, went back to the persons 2 had left in the dimly-lighted room, ‘‘The rats have smelled the game!” he ex- claimed. ‘‘ We shall not catch them to-night,” and then there was an exchange of disappoint- ment ani chagrin. , It was true. Dodger Dick had guessed the nature of the decoy which had been sent him by the gang, through the medium of the street Arab, and in- stead of walking into the trap, where the rascals waited for him with so much eagerness, he had waiked away with a laugh of triumph. ** They must do better than that if they want to catch us,” be said, addressing Larry, his com- ; long as you want to use it. cs u tu ™® wt f ail Dodger Dick. the Boy Vidoc panion. ‘‘It was a neat decoy, but it would not work just as its inventors intended, would like to know what genius got up that let- ter, which, if Sylva Semple signed it, she did to save her life, We will kncw some time, Larry!” ‘* What next?” asked Larry. ‘‘T want to see Gaspard Hood at work.” ‘“You mean Manfred Moffat’s new detec- “ Yes.” ‘‘ What! don’t you intend to keep your prom- ise to Mrs. Semple?” ‘Certainly I do,” replied Dick, giving Larry a look of astonishment. ‘‘I don’t forget for a moment the toils the girl is in, neither do I let Nat Nottaway and Fans Moffat out of my mind for long at a time. e have to go a little slow on this trail, for we are dealing with the finest lot of villains that ever went unhung. From what I heard in the Park to-day, I believe that Mr. Moffat is going to receive another im- portant visit before long. ‘** From the three?” ‘‘ From one of them at least.” ‘* What do you intend to do?” “Tam gomg to become a guest at 382 G— street if there be no serious objections by the occupant,” answered Dick with a smile. “Tam going there now; the sooner the better perhaps, think I can persuade Manfred Moffat that it will be to his advantage to take a boarder of my size for a short time. He will wonder why, of course, but I will not have to explain.” Thirty minutes later Dodger Dick ran up the steps of the Moffat residence on G—— street, and jerked the bell. When the door was opened by a young colored man he walked into the library where he found the head of the house pale and nervous in the chair he seemed to occupy all the time. Manfred Moffat started visibly on seeing the boy detective before him at that hour. “Do you want a guest for a little while, Mr. Moffat?” asked Dick laughing. ‘‘T?_a guest?” was the answer. ‘‘ Who wants to visit me?” ‘*T am the person.” “You, boy?” Yes. ‘* That is very. strange.” ** Not so strange as you think, room have you above this one?” ‘*T sleep there,” The boy detective was nonplused for a mo- What sort of ment. “T thought it might be an apartment which I could occupy for a season,” ** How long?” *“‘ Three days at the furthest, I think.” ‘Tt is at your disposal,” said Moffat with an alacrity that astonished the young sleuth, and then the man’s lips seemed to twitch as if from fear. “Do you think I am to see more of those cool rascals in this house?” he hurriedly asked. ‘““We don’t know what may take place,” re- sponded Dick. ‘‘ Where will you sleep if you give your private chamber up to me?” “T will go toa room in the left wing of the house. I occupy it sometimes.” Dodger Dick glanced up at the ceiling. ‘‘The room above is directly over this is it not?” he asked. ‘It is, though it is not of the same dimen- sions.” ‘‘ There is no communication between the two rooms, I presume?” ‘You are mistaken, A caprice of the man who built this house put a little door in the ceil- ing. It was accidentally discovered by a fres- coer whom [ had at work here several years ago. It is yonder where the corners of the dark border meet. You cannot see it from bere. Open or shut, it is all the same. I intended to have it closed when it was discovered, but never did, and it exists. to-day as it did when found by the workman. You shall have my room for as You are in my em- ploy hunting for Fanny, and I am ready to render any assistance in my power.” “Thanks,” bowed the boy detective. _‘* What kind of a report does your new map, Mr. Gas- pard Hood, make?” ** He made one this afternoon.” ** Ah! was it encouraging?” “Decidedly so,” replied Moffat, with a smile that illumined his ashen face for a moment. “T am glad of that. It is a good thing that tt Wid is making progress on this perplexing rail. Manfred Moffat did not notice the slight tinge of sarcasm in the boy's tones. In a few moments the Dodger was the only occupant of the library, ———— eee 3 Se ee Now and then he heard noises overhead which told him that the gentleman of the house was preparing the room for his reception. ‘He doesn’t want my eyes to see some things maybe,” thought Dick. ‘‘There may be some papers he would not like to have me touch, I did not come here to pry into unybody’s treas- ury; I am here ‘o use my eyes and ears to ad- vantage, but not to the detriment of the honest.” “Your room is ready for you,” announced Manfred Moffat, appearing rather suddenly at the door of the pe a ab Dick left the chair he occupied, ** When do you retire?” be asked, ‘““My usual hour is nine. It is a little past that time now.” ‘* And what about the servant who let me in while ago?” ; ‘Henry? Oh, he has gone to bed.” ‘* Near the apartment I am to occupy?” ** No, sir.” Dodger Dick bade Manfred Moffat good-night ene climbed the stair to the room assigned to im, ‘He didn’t object, nor did he ask the ques- — tions I thought he would,” said the boy to self, when he had inspected the chamber. ‘TI ani in luck as regards the spy-hole in the floor, I may not have to use it at all; nobody knows. And I may need it the worst kind before very long. So Gaspard Hood reports progress, docs he? Well, that shows what a keen sleuth he is. Evidently Manfred Moffat thinks a good deal of the new sleuth he has put on the trail,” It did not take the city shadow long to find - the little trap in the floor. | lt was discovered by lifting the carpet in one corner of the room, and the point of his knife wont him to raise the closely-fitted piece of wood, By an arrangement of this kind he was en- abled to look into the room beneath which was the library. Already it was empty, but Manfred Moffat on retiring bad left the gas burning brilliantly enough to show the boy sleuth the different ob- jects of the room, Dodger Dick had never been in just the fix he was in now, 4 The house was quiet, and he could imagine that its other inmates had retired and were try- ing to catch some sleep. . As for himself he had no intention of doing so. Several hours passed. ’ The noises in the street grew still, and when midnight arrived, the quiet was almost sepul- chral. The boy spy of the city was wide awake. All at once there came up from below @ sound which slight as it was carried bim at once to the trap in the floor. 3 ad Manfred Moffat returned to the library? When Dick had adjusted his eye to the little opening, he saw a man in the room below, The gas had been turned on a little higher in order to better reveal the appointments of the place, and as the boy ferret looked, the man poe ion: cca! quietly in Moffat’s chair at the e, ‘‘The private detective has come!” mentally ejaculated Dick, after he had eyed the person a few moments, ‘‘That man is Gaspard Hood, the new sleuth to whom Moffat has given entree at all hours, I heard the two men in the Park congratulating themselves over an arrangement of this kind. The bogus detective isn’t here to report—not at this hour of the night. The game goes on, Now what is to be the next move?” ( ‘ The man in the library appeared to be waiting for some one. Dick watched him unceasingly- All at cnce he darted from the chair and went to the door. His footsteps sent forth no noise as if he wore stockings over his shoes. i ; He disappeared and remained away a few seconds, and when he came back into the library he was followed by another man a glimpse at whom nearly brought a cry from the young spy at the trap-door in the oe 9 The second person was Wayne the big man, pase oe policeman and the Ajax of the gang of three. ; “This is a pretty play!” smiled Dodger Dick. “TI think I am getting my money’s worth and more, too. The two men advanced to the center of the room where they held a consultation in ‘whis- , the purpose of which did not reach the — pee Vid ' ocq. When the council ended the giant stationed himself at the door leading into the hall while Cad other man began a systematic search of the rary. z ¢ i iy
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other. It was a scene that ssed a thrilling inter- est for the young sleuth at the trap. : He did not let a single movement of the pair escape him, He saw Gaspard Hood search every nook of the apartment. Drawers were opened with skeleton keys, and their contents swiftly but thoroughly examined. ~ The small iron safe that stood underneath a desk at one side of the apartment did not escape but it yielded nothing. At last the men stood together once more. ‘*We must go further,” said the false sleuth. “‘ Tf you are ready we will take another step.” ‘**T am always ready,” seemed to come through the teeth of the big man. “T know what that means,” cried Dick. * They are going to invade this room!” CHAPTER XIII. UNEXPECTED TREASURE. Ir was not Dodger Dick’s wish to be caught in a trap of his own setting and especially so soon after his escape from one which would have been his destruction had be tested it. He was certain that the two men were about to invade the upper room in search of some- thing which they had failed to unearth in the library. The. boy had but little time in which to make up his mind. It was evident that the rascals believed Man- fred Moffat to be asleep, and, that being the case, they would attempt to enter his usual sleeping apartment by stealth. * Dick stepped from the hole in the floor to the door, In a moment he slipped an inside bolt, and then turned out the gas which had been burning dimly up to that time. In‘a short time muffled footsteps approached the door, The Dodger awaited results with a smile at his lips. Presently there was a noise in the lock, The skeleton key!’ The boy detective ran his hand along up the door and felt the safety bolt still in its place, For some time the key was manipulated by the hand on the outside, but while the lock was . forced back the bolt remained the barrier that kept the rascals from their prey. t last the noise ceased as suddenly as it had enn, and after some silence the footsteps re- ce “The play wouldn’t win!” laughed Dick. ‘* A nea A detective is the man Manfred Moffat lets nto his house at all hours! I wonder what he would say if he could see Gaspard Hood play- ing burglar at his private room? Aha! Mr. Moffat, you are nicely caught by your own esti- mate of man.” 2 The young Vidocq did not draw the bolt till thirty minutes had passed since the visit of the two scamps. Observation told him that they bad not gone back to the library, and he was led to suppose that they had quietly left the house, When he opened the door with great caution, he saw no one, A fairt ght shone on the —— preenag Be oe floor below, and a strange still- ness filled the whole building. : Dick went out to reconnoiter. Bavig his shoes, he slipped down the steps without sound, and stood in the short ball that led to the library, The door stood ajar, left so, doubtless, by the two men on their retirement, A minute after, the boy spy was beyond the threshold, and on the scene of the thorough search for be knew not what. - “* Manfred Moffat ought to know just what kind of man he has trusted,” said Dick. ‘ Proba- bly he would not believe that Gaspard Hood is a fraud, and one of the gang of three. If he had Sor what I have seen, he would be convinced, ' The boy’s sentence was broken by the unmis- takable Mitra of footsteps in the hall, He stepved back involuntarily, and threw himself behind a curtain stretched across one corner of the room. ; Scarcely had he done so when be heard a voice, and then he saw two men under the library he big man was one, and Gaspard Hood the ‘* We must come again,” said the giant. “ To-morrow ?? ‘Yes, if to-morrow will reward us, Two need - notcome. You, in your capacity of private de- _tectiive, can i ; thet aaa? re — Gaspard non smiled, _“T think I am solid with the old fellow,” he Dodger Dick, the Boy Vidocq. answered, with a chuckle, ‘‘He thinks I am making brilliant headway in the case. I gave the boy a good send-off, so as not to raise sus- picion in his mind. He doesn’t think the boy the best ferretin the world.” “That is my opinion exactly,” was the an- swering laugh, and then the big man glanced about the room, i ye we go through this place again? he asked, Dodger Dick’s heart seemed to rise in his throat at this suggestion. He was not prepared to cope with the two cool men whom he could see from his place of concealment. If they should draw the curtain aside and. dis- cover him, his hunt might end where it began— in Manfred Moffat's house, ‘“‘ There’s nothing here,” replied the false fer- | ret to the suggestion that the library be in- spected again. ‘“‘ The documents we want are up-stairs, in the room we did not get to enter. We must let it go for this time, To-morrow I will come back. I am admitted here at all hours, as you must know from what you have seen. Come! to-morrow may give us prize number two, Then for the big play.” The boy spy behind the curtain breathed free once more, when he saw the two men turn their backs to him and steal from the room on tip-toe. He had had a very narrow escape, for the villains might have discovered him while he was returning to the library from the room overhead, Indeed, he had been very fortunate. This time he heard the coor that let the men out, and by springing to tbe window he caught their footsteps on the pavement, At last they were gone. Dodger Dick was glad to get rid of them. He had picked up several good links for the chain he was industriously forging for the Gang of Three, and he thought to himself that Gas- pard Hood might meet with a very cool or a very warm reception on the occasion of his call the next day. ‘‘T guess my discovery will keep till to- morrow,” said Dick to himself. ‘I don’t like to disturb Manfred Moffat, just to tell hima story that will trouble him. e will know soon enough, and then—” Dick checked himself suddenly, for the library door had opened, and Mr, Moffat himself stood before him! There was something startlingly striking in the pipe eyes and woe-begone features of the resident of Number 332, and when be advanced across the floor Dick mechanically recoiled, Manfred Moffat passed close by the Boy Vidoeq without bestowing on him the slightest notice. . ‘‘ He is walking in his sleep!” ejaculated Dick. ‘‘ Manfred Moffat is a somnambulist!” While the Dodger watched the man, he felt a strange chill sweep to his heart. He had never been in just such a predicament before. Manfred Moffat moved straight toward the ample bookcase, whick almost filled one side of the room, Dick watched him intently. He saw him open one of the glass doors and take down a large book. The following moment the man thrust his hand into the opening made by the removal of the book, and when it was withdrawn it clutched a paper carefully folded and having the appear- ance of a legal document, A man wide awake and in full possession of his senses, could not have acted with more rationality than did the sieep-walker. With the paper in his hand Manfred Moffat dame back to the table which he had _ just left, and dropped into a chair alongside. Then he lit a gas burner on tke table and opened the docu- ment, ‘ Surely he is awake now,” thought Dick, but the next momert he knew better. The paper all at once dropped from Moffat’s fingers and fellathisfeet. _ No effort was made to pick it up as if all recollection of it had passed from the somnambu- lis?’s mind in an instant, and when Dick saw him leave the chair and walk toward the door with no effort to reclaim the document, his won- der increased, Slowly and with noiseless tread, for he was in his sing 2 feet, Manfred Moffat glided from the room, leaving Dodger Dick in a state of mind impossible to be described. ‘‘In fortune’s name, what else am I to see in this house?” he exclaimed, ‘It is a place of mysteries and singular sights,” OE tee en be ee wt a+ oe -- — ns ~f, b SF oe Pe Es PELE cose! sia | 7 _s » cae = ian. wh “ero nen ¢ ees eg * <4 nog 38 1a Then his eyes fell — the paper lying at the foot of the chair by the table. He Woo “pe across the room and picked it up. Impelled by a curiosity he could not check, the young shadow opened the document and leaned toward the light. The first word struck him strangely, and then he read a whole line while he beld his breath. ** Last WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ALFRED OSWALD.” “Who is Alfred Oswald, and why does Man- fred Moffat keep this paper?” cried the boy spy- ““Can this be the document the two men were looking for?” He knew but little about wills, and the formal language of the one he held in his hand bad no charms for him. But still he held it—he hardly knew why—and the longer he looked at it the stronger grew his belief that be bad found the object of the secret search of the bouse. ** Maybe I had better put it back,” he said, at last, and actually started toward the bookcase. But in the middle of the room he stopped. - *“*Hold!” he cried. ‘* Alfred Oswald? That is the name of the man of whose disappearance the papers were full fifteen years ago. I’ve heard Nat Nottaway talk about it more tham once. Some of the detectives of New York are looking for him yet. I have found the will of the missing man, Is Manfred Moffat Alfred Oswald, or does he know something about him? I won’t put this paper back. I telieve it is my duty to keep it,” and the boy ferret ttrust the paper into bis bosom and buttoned his coat over it. CHAPTER XIV. THE DODGER CAUGHT. WHEN Dodger Dick left the Moffat residence early the next day without encountering Mr. Moffat, he was convinced that he had scored a victory. His first visit was to the humble quarters oc- cupied by Roland Rollins, the young bookkeeper and end Moffat’s lover, While the youth was sorry to bear that the girl herself had not been found, he opened his eyes with pleasure when the Dodger produced the will., The two went over it carefully, Roland read- ing every word aloud, and Dick following his finger as it moved from point to point, “T think I begin to see through Manfred Moffat’s secret,” said the bookkeeper. looking up into the young sleuth’s face when the signa- tures had been reached, **So do I,” was the response. ** Well?” ‘‘ Manfred Moffat is not Fanny’s father.” “hat is it exactly.” **She is the daughter of Alfred Oswald, the maker of this will.” ‘* Correct!” responded the bookkeeper as his eyes twinkled. ‘ The Gang of Three know this, but they want this important paper to play their hand through. Manfred Moffat, while ap- aring to be honest, and he may be, after all, as heen keeping this will in the dark, while the world believes that he is Fanny’s true parent. This must be the secret be bas in keeping, and which he has refused to disclose to any one. He knows the motives of the robbers, and sooner than tell the truth, he is willing to let you work in the dark. He hopes that Fanny will come back, and the gang be brougbt to justice without an exposure. Now, more than ever, Dick, the girl must be found and the rascals thwarted.” ‘What do you think Manfred Moffat in- tended to do with the will last night?’ asked the boy. “Most likely burn it,” was the quick reply. “Seeing it in danger, he evidently meant to de- stroy, and thus prevent a catastrophe of some kind in the future. It was your tuck that he did not seek to recover it when he dropped it on the floor, With this paper cut of the way, the child of Alfred Oswald mentioned in it would never receive a dollar of her own. Somehow or other, the Gang of Three know the true state of affairs, and having got possession of the girl, they must obtain this paper to complete their success,” ‘Then they will] strike, eh?” “Yes, Manfred Moffat will not dare to o pose them, for they will have the secret itself which they can hold over his head. It is a hold game, but the very men for it are at the helm. They have netted Officer Nottaway and the girl Sylva Semple, and now have the snare spread for you, Dodger Dick.” _ | The young bookkeeper seemed to reason like one who knew the ground like a book. The Boy Vidocq listened to every word and . ee, ee ne Et
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i 12 OO ETE AIS A Dodger Dick, the B oy Vidocq. approved the accountant’s observations with a nod. ‘You keep that document till it is needed, Roland,” said he ‘* The rascals won’t look here for it, neither will Manfred Moffat think it has fallen into our bands. If I recollect, Alfred Oswald’s disappearance was very sudden and mysterious—” ‘Yes. He was supposed to have been a pas- senger on a vessel which was lost at sea; but this is mere conjecture, Manfred Moffat knows what became of him, else why would he have the missing man’s property?” ‘Right you are, Roland!” cried the Dodger. **Now | am going to look after the two gentle- men I encountered last night, also after the three missing people—Fanny especially.” ‘** Be careful, gang.” Dick responded with a laugh that he would not, and was gone, .: Gaspard Hood will not call early on Manfred Moffat,” thought the boy. ‘I will make a move that may be productive of gouod results, and then Ill drop in on my employer and wait for his bogus detective. If I can only succeed to-day as I would like, Gaspard may be sur- prised when he calls at 332 G street.” But there was a decided surprise in store for the young shadow—one which he did not look | for, aunts one for which he was not very well pre- red, He went first of all to Larry Long’s quarters, which, by the way, were not far from the house into which the gang had tried to decoy him with the deceptive letter signed with Sylva Semple’s name. Larry was not at home, and the woman who had charge of the house told Dick that his friend would not be in for some time. “Til have to do it myself,” murmured the Dodger, as he moved off, and a few moments later he was near the house of the trap. All at once he ran across Larry, who caught his arm and whispered a piece of information which sent a thrill through his frame. “For once all the scamps are awa Sylva is in the house,” were Larry’s words, ** Can this be?” ejaculated Dick. ‘‘ Nothing was ever truer!” cried Larry. “With my own eyes I have seen the three leave the house one by one within the last hour, and 1 caught a glimpse of a girl’s face at one of the back windows.” The Dodger’s heart gave a great leap for joy. “Tf this is the case, we want to get into the cage,” he exclaimed. ‘‘ Your eyes never deceived you, Larry, and I am willing to stand by them through thick and thin,” ‘*Shall I prove my words by leading the raid?” ‘No. I want that honor. You will go and watch Manfred Moffat’s house. I want to know whether Gaspard Hood, the false detective, makes the call he promised last night to make, for I don’t want to run in upon any scene un- expectedly when I go back to the place,” A few minutes after Dodger Dick stood alone near the house with a daring plan pretty well matured in his mind. “The three out in town, and Sylva in the trap,” he thought. ‘‘ There is likely to be more than one bird in the cage. half a game. I want the success to be complete. Nat Nottaway is missing, and I want to include him in my victory over the coolest set of vil- lains I ever dealt with. Officer Nat never liked me, but I am always ready to help a brave man no difference who hesis,” The boy detective proceeded to the.rear of the house which he studied from a safe point of ob- servation. There was nothing very suspicious about the premises. The back shutters were closed with the exception of one that was broken off, It was probably at this window where Larry had seen the girl supposed to be Sylva Semple. and He could not have seen her very well at either | of the other windows, Dick kept his post as long as he dared without risking the return of the Gang of Three, He had discovered nothing by his inspection. If Larry had seen the little girl of R—— | street, she was not vi-ible to him, After awbile Dodger Dick began to approach | the house through the back yard. The back buildings were somewhat rambling in stvle, and ere long he found himself sheltered by them, and within a few feet of a door. Dick did not expect to find any portal unlock- ed for his accommodation. , He thought he would have to use a little force, and in this he was not disappointed. The door was found to be locked when he Don’t forget the traps of the | I don’t want to win | | to the left,” he said to himself, | stairs, and the rest will be easy.” | tried it, but he took a peculiar looking wire from his pocket and went to work on the lock, Five minutes of adroit work proved enough and when the boy removed his wire the door was at his service. Beyond the door stretched a dim hall, and be- yond 1t—what? Dodger Dick did not know. Nothing daunted the boy ferret of the me- tropolis. He had come too far to recede, and a retreat at that stage of the game was furthest from his thoughts. In a short time Dick was in the hallway of the strange house, and the door was shut be- hind him. Not a sound came to his ears. e the place was empty it could not have been stiller. Inu the semi-gloom of the corridor the boy ferret Jeaned against the wall and drew off his shoes. Then he went ferward. “The room of the window with one shutter is ‘*T must find the The boy went on down the hall till, all at once, to his utmost horror, the floor opened at his feet! A sharp ery burst from Dick’s throat when he found himself falling. It flashed across his brain that even though the gang was absent, the trap had been set for him. Suddenly his fingers struck the edge of the opening, and for them to touch anything was to cling to it with the nerve of a person in despair. It was a most fragile clutch, and one which the boy spy could not better, for his whole weight depended on his fingers, and his muscles — to have been torn in two by the sudden check, Dodger Dick did not know over what kind of an abyss he was dangling. A glance below showed him a pit of darkness which the eye of the night-hawk could not have fathomed. To the horrified boy it appeared without a bottom. Never before had such a trap caught him. The trap door bad fallen without any noise and his sudden cry was all that had proclaimed the success of the catch. Had voit’ betrayed him? Was he in the em- ploy of the Gang of Three? Impco sible! Dick rejected the thought the instant it entered his head. No. Larry Long was not capable of treach- ery! For several minutes the boy sleuth hung above the pit of gloom in awful suspense, His fingers were becoming numb under the dangerous grip; they would fail him soon, then— He dared not think of the result. **T am in the greatest peril of my life!” cried the boy. ‘‘ Shall I drop and trust to luck?” And there came up from the depths of the pit a startling reply: ** Drop |” CHAPTER XV. WHO WAS IN THE PIT? Tur Boy Vidocq could hardly believe that a human voice had come up from below. He inclined his head over kis shoulder and listened. The sound was not repeated till he spoke. ‘* How deep is this pit?” asked Dodger Dick. ‘Not more than fifteen feet, all told,” was the reply. ‘If you drop you will not touch me, for I will be out of your way,” ° While the voice was unnatural it had a tinge of familiarity that attracted the young sleuth. “Twocf us down here will prove too much for the Gang of Three,” resumed the voice in the pit. Dick at once loosened his grip and droppea. It was a short fall through pitcay darkness, and when he struck he was seized by a pair of hands he could not see, and a burst of joyful laughter rung in his ears, ‘““We meet under strange circumstances, Dodger Dick,” said the man in the toils, ‘ What do they say about me by this time? Have the boys given me up?” Then it was that the boy ferret realized whom he had found. “Lieutenant Nottaway!” cried he, piter! this is a find not down on the bills!” Another laugh answered Dick and then the two persons exchanged notes in a whispered conversation. “By Ju- The Dodger had unexpectedly discovered Nat Nottaway, the missing police officer, and the man whom we saw unwittingly lured to doom by Sylva Semple and her mother. It was, indeed, a singular meeting. ‘‘The trap has swung back to its place and is ready for another victim,” said the voice of the imprisoned officer. * Did it catch you?” _ ‘*Not in the manner it served you, my boy. I was conveyed to this house at night blind- folded. This is not the trap I ran into after hearing Sylva Semple’s story about her adven- tures the night the three cool-heads made their descent upon Manfred Moffat. ‘ This is the sec- ond dungeon I’ve been in since I saw you last. | It is the intention of the gang to getrid of me by and by, when they have won the game they are playing just now. I’m glad you’ve come to keep me company.” ‘* But we must get out!” cried Dick. ‘* Of course I’ve no wish to remain here, But what could I do without help? Feel the sides of this well. It was cemented many years ago, but dampness bas rendered the cement soft. It would yield toa knife; but the knife, Dick. Ah! there’s the rub.” ‘*T have one!” was the prompt exclamation. “T thought so. That is one reason why I told you to drop when I found you hanging above me by a frail finger-hold. Get out your knife and try the metal on the wall.” Dick was not slow to comply and a little work showed him that the blade was capable of making an impression on the cement, ‘‘We shall cut steps to liberty,” continued Officer Nottaway. ‘ You have brought with you the key to freedom, Now let us go to work.” Dodger Dick found the knife taken from his hands, and a moment later be knew that the lost policeman was cutting into the cement. While he worked the boy explored the under- ground prison with his hands, for eyes were of no avail amid the darkness that hemmed them in. When the policeman grew tired, and the task he had assumed was not a light one, the boy detective took the knife, and continued the work. In this way niche after niche was cut into the cement, and at last the officer could feel the covering of the dungeon. ‘* We are at the top,” he exclaimed dropping with a cry of joy at Dick’s feet. ‘‘ Now I shal have the pleasure of showing the three greatest scamps unhung that he surest way to deal with a dangerons prisoner is to kill him at once.” ‘I’m going to help you at that,” answered the Dodger. ‘‘ You must not torget that I have an interest in this strange plot for a young girl’s fortune. I’m always willing to sbare honors with any one, but I claim the right to move ahead just now.” “And you shall, You've done Nat Nottaway a service that can never be returned, and he is not the man to rob you of any laurels.” The policeman could tell Dick nothing about the house overbead. He did not know where Fanny Moffat was, and until be saw Dick he was unaware of Sylva Semple’s disappearance. . he had eid, he had been brought to the house blindfolded and closely guarded by two of the gang. The journey had been made through the streets of New York at night and in a closed cab, so that the policeman had no idea of the location of his dungeon, Dick thought it probable that Fanny was in the house. It might have been the young girl] of 332 G street, and not Sylva whom Larry saw at the window. , But of course all this was conjecture, More than once during the day the boy spy ascended to the top of the walled pit and listen- ed for sounds that might tell bim something, He wanted to know if Gaspard Hood and his | companions had come back to the house, but lis- ten as ke would, not a sound was heard, Then it was difficult to tell when night came, The pit was so dark and the trap fitted so close, that not a ray of light stole in to indicate the march of time. ‘‘T sha’n’t be on hand to see Gaspard when he calls on Manfred Mcffat,” thought the young spy. ‘Larry will watch the house, but to whom can be report when I am here?” “ Hark!” at that moment whispered Nat Nott- away. ‘“ Someborly is moving overhead.” In a second Dick was half-way up the wall straining his ears for a repetition of the noise, All at once the trap door moved, and before it could be opened the young ferret of New $$ shia
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~ York was crouching between the policeman and the cement, “It is my night meal,” whispered the police- man. ‘Sometimes when it is being lowered I hear a clock striking seven, Ah! there it goes now!” Sure enough there carne down into the pit the distant tones of a clock, and the Dodger men- tally counted the strokes, There were seven, In a little while a small tin bucket rested on the floor at Nottaway’s feet, and then the trap was closed without a word having been ex- changed between thc jailers and the jailed. **Come! there’s enough for two!” Jaughed the officer as Dick crept forward. “ This is not Delmonico’s, but there’s nothing bad about it after all. They don’t Fy a fellow a knife from obvious reasons. The men we are playing against are no fools, Dick.” an and boy divided the meal in the dark- ness and devoured it in silence, When it had been dispatched they waited quietly and the empty bucket wae drawn up by unseen bands, “Thanks!” smiled Dick with a gesture of ge goes as the trap was closed. ‘I can’t say hat I would be willing to inhabit this place just to get free meals, I prefer the sunlight, and a run now and then under the lamps.” Slowly the moments passed to the two prison- ers of the pit. They could not hear the clock, though they knew it must have struck several times. Above, the stillness of the tomb was abroad. er Dick wondered if the Gang of Three suspected that they had a new bird in the cage, It was evident that they did not, else they would have made an investigation that would ' have discovered him. ‘They must be gone,” said the impatient boy, when he had landed at the officer’s feet after listening a while near the top of the pit. “I am willing to risk it, anyhow.” “You can’t be more eager than I am,” was the reply. “Very well. I go first, you know.” A minute after, the boy ferret was using the niches again, and when he reached the top he —— his shoulder against the trap and lifted it a mite. The hall was dark beyond, but over the door where a transom was he could see the light of the streets, It was night once more, and, if he had calcu- lated truly, not far from eleven o'clock, Surely they had waited long enough, Dick was in the hall at last, and then he held the trap open till the burly figure of the missing policeman emerged from the ungeon of villainy. There was no time lost in congratulations, It was'an hour for action. The two ferrets stole from door to door, but discovered nothing which told them that the place had a single tenant besides themselves, “The second floor now!” whispered Dodger Dick. ‘‘ Larry said he saw Sylva at the window, I think I can go to the room.” The two crept up the steps and reached the landing at the top, “Now, which wer?’ asked the officer. Before Dick could reply a half-muffled cry rung in their ears, and the next instant a door flew open in their faces, barely ten feet away. Beyond the threshold the startled friends saw the reeling figure of a female, while between them and the door was the form of a man. “It is Wayne, the Samson of the Three!” said Dick. ‘ The last words were still on his lips when Nat Nottaway leaped forward, and the next second he had grappled with the man with a mad- man’s fury. CHAPTER XVL A COOL VILLAIN, For a brief period, reader, let us go back, Manfred Moffat sat alone in his spacious and elegantly-appointed library. 4S past the noon hour, and the house was |. closed to keep ont the dust and the heat. The boy went off this morning without giv- ing me notice,” said the man to himself. “I don’t know whether I acted prudently or not in feaving him in the house all night, I cannot und that he disturbed anything in the chamber he occupied. Well, there was nothing there for a pg of ‘satisfaction atended with a light chuckle e barely finished whe i of the door-bell echoed legouae “the hall onl Dodger Dick, the Boy Vido od. 12 then Moffat heard the step of the servant as he went to answer the ring. In a minute the library door opened, and Gas- pard Hood, the new sleuth, appeared to the man in the chair. At once Manfred Moffat’s eyes got a gleam of happy expectation as if he was almost certain that he was about to hear something of Fanny, the missing Figs Gaspard Huod came forward with the sleek countenance and oily ‘‘ good-afternoon” of the studied villain. He was presently seated near Moffat who in his eagerness to obtain information was throw- ing. out questions in rapid succession, he young man assured Moffat that the trail had been found, but he went on to explain that several difficulties lay in the way of Fanny’s rescue, Still, however, these would be over- come in time, and it would not be long anyhow before the mystery was cleared u Having raised Manfred Moffat's hopes by some adroit words, Gaspard Hood suddenly leaned forward and touched his arm, ‘‘One thing is essential to success,” said he. “Tam here to say that we cannot get along without it.” “Name it,” cried the eager man, who had drank in every word. ‘If it be in my power to furnish the one thing lacking, I am the man you’re looking for.” ‘** We must have the will!” In an instant Manfred Moffat’s face lost every particke of color. His lips twitched nervously, and he fell back into the depths of the arm-chair with a gasp. “I don’t understand you,” he Said, though his appearance belied his words. A sinister smile appeared at the shrewd ras- cal's mouth. ‘I will be plain, then,” was the reply, . “T want the last will of Alfred Oswald, the father of the girl known as Fanny Moffat.” Moffat’s face could get no whiter than it was, but these coolly uttered words could take his breath, which they did, He made no answer, ‘* No successful step can be taken without the secret,” continued Gaspard Hood. ‘‘ We must have it. [Iam here for it, Mr. Moffat,” Then Manfred Moffat started toward his tor- turer with an effort, and broke out with: “I have no such paper. Alfred Oswald, did you say? I know of no such man, I swear—” He checked himself, for Gaspard Hood was leaning back in his chair, and his intensely black eyes, full of accusation, were riveted on his face, ‘* Why don’t you go on?” grinned the rascal. “You would not believe me if I did, I can see that.” ‘Right you are, Manfred Moffat. I would not believe you if you were to swear on a moun- tain of Bibles that you don’t know anything about Alfred Oswald, and the will he made yearsago. Come! I am here on business, I want that document.” ; Moffat looked again at the man, Was this the private detective he had hired to unearth the gang by whom his house had been invaded, himself bound and gagged, and Fanny carried off?” “I thought you were in my employ,” he stammered. ‘‘You came to me and offered to rescue Fanny—” ** That is not the business on band just now,” broke in Gaspard Hood, ‘ What are you going to do, Manfred Moffat? Please do nut go into another denial. Don’t record a falsehood on the page that stands forever against us. We hap- pen to know that the wil] I have mentioned was not destroyed. It is one of the secrets that have | been in your keeping a long time. The other is that Fanny is not your child. You see we know something.” “We?” echoed the thunderstruck man, me- chanically. “That is the proper word just now,” was the response. ‘Do vou prefer exposure to surren- ah the paper?” “Then, you are not a detective “Tam what I am!” and the speaker laughed, ., - our boy spy will get at the mystery for you, if you give him time. You don’t seem to trust him altogether, That is why you took me into your employ, I presume. may have more names than one. but that is no matter, Manfred Moffat, e willis what we want. The will or & prison cell, if nothing worse.” The man in ‘the arm-chair sent a glance to- ward the book-case across the room. ‘If { had known this I would not be a bird in the net now,” said he. “It is @ pity we did not tell you beforehand,” “ laughed Gaspard Hood. rea] accommodation no doubt. But let us wave all preliminaries, Mr, Moffat. You will please hand over the bit of paper I want.” Manfred Moffat’s lips met firmly, and he seemed to grow into a statue in the chair. The false detective eyed bim curiously for a moment, “Don’t delay,” be cried clutching Moffat’s arm so wipe g Sajoon he drew a cry over the ashen lips, ‘‘ We want the will now, or we will spread the terrible truth before the eyes of this. great city.” With an effort Moffat left his chair, but hesi- tated still. nite Wait for me here,” he said to Gaspard *“No! Igo where you go till the document is placed in my hands,” was the quick response. The tortured man seemed tosbrink back de- feated. “Will nothing else satisfy you? Can’t you name an equivalent?” he cried. “There is no equivalent for what we want,” met him in stern tones, Manfred Moffat crossed the room to the libra- ry. Hedid not have to look over his shoulder “ gags that the merciless rascal was at his. eels, A footstep told him this. He opened one of the glass doors and removed a book with trembling band. ““T see!” inwardly ejaculated Gaspard Hood, ‘* A secret pocket in the wall behind the books. No wonder [ did not find it last night.” When Manfred Moffat had taken out the volume he buried his hand in the opening, all the while watched like a hawk by the remorse- less man at his elbow, “It is not there!” welled suddenly from his throat, and then he drew his hand back empty and wheeled upon Gaspard Hood. “No trickery!” said the villain in tones of menace, “Tt was there. I swear it was in yon secret treasury so late as yesterday.” “The will of Alfrea Oswald?” **'V’he will.” Gaspard Hood stepped forward, and his hand disappeared where Moffat’s had been lost a mo- ment before. Beyond the books he found a secret recess, which he searched till he was convinced that it was totally empty. “Very well,” said he, looking at the bewil- dered man who waited for bimn to speak. “ We will charge the loss up to you and act accord- ps “*To me?” was the instant echo. ‘You can- not do that. I did not remove the paper. I saw it last where it is not now.” “Mr. Moffat, don’t you sometimes enact the role of a somnambulist?” The tenant of Number 332 started. “‘T occasionally walk in my sleep,” he con- essed, “I thought so. You cannot say now that you did not remove the will.” There was no answer. ‘Who shared the secret of its hiding-place with you?” “No one,” ‘* Not Fanny even?” ‘*No, sir.” ““You say it was in the hidden recess yes- terday?” “Tt was.” “Who slept in your house last night?” ll at once a singular cry parted Moffat’s lips. He had thought of Dodger Dick! “Look here! you had a guest last night—one aries 5 who came without invitation, and who eft without good-by, What do you say to this, sir? ‘Tf I had a guest it was a person who could not know anything about yon recess,” ** Ah! let us see, Who crossed your threshold last night?” Again Manfred Moffat hesitated. _ He did not want to betray the Boy Vidoegq. ‘You will not tell, eh?” smiled Gaspard > ay **'You want to keep the name of your confeder- ate, do you? Keep it then; but don’t blame us when the blow falls.” With a look that spoke as much as his tongue had done, the villain walked toward the door. “It is all faise!” rung out behind him. ‘} have no confederate. I was robbed last night by somebody. Take me and expose me to the world, but for Heaven’s sake, let me have back the child who has twined berself about my heart even though she is not of my blood. Give me Fanny for one day, and then do your worst!” The look Manfred Moffat got was a look of ice. **Tt would have been a.
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CHAPTER XVII. MOTHER STURGEON’S CATCH. “T FETCHED him to terms, but after all lost the prize,” growled the man who went down the front steps of Manfred Moffat’s residence a short time after the scenes just described, It was Gaspard Hood, as he was called, and the rascal was in no good humor. Not far away Dodger Dick’s young spy Larry was watching the house with the zeal of a true sleuth, and when he saw Gaspard come out and walk away, he followed at once. Gaspard did not go back to the house which he was occupying with the other members of the gang of gold. He believed that the Boy Vidocq was the per- son who had been Manfred Moffat’s guest, and with this notion came the belief that the will had fallen into his hands. But not with Moffat’s consent, of course. Larry followed Gaspard Hood from place to place pretty much the balance of the day. At no time did the fellow join bis companions. He reminded bis young tracker of a dog that bunts alone, and it was plain that Gaspard was looking up something or somebody very im- portant. Atlast he popped into a building occupied then, as now, by a number of so-called attor- neys who never question the honesty of their clients, and who take any and every case they can for the fee alone. Let us follow Gaspard. He mounted a flight of very dusty steps to the second floor where he found the signs of these sharks of the law. He went straight to a certain door asif he had been there before, and in a moment he con- fronted a hatchet-faced man of forty-five. This individual greeted Gaspard with a famil- iarity that betokened intimate acquaintance, and the two men were seated close together at a, table. ‘Well, I failed,” began the false detective. This announcement threw the lawyer back and drew from him a stare anda cry. ‘¢ When did you play your nand?” he asked. “Just now, iam fresh from the field.” *Couldn’t you force the document from him?” “He could not deliver it.” ‘‘Pshaw! he has it in his possession—’’ “TI beg your pardon,” broke in Gaspard, smiling. ‘A man cannot give up that which he does not have at the time, He had the will, but he lost it last night.” “ Last night?” was the sudden echo. “* He did.” *“* How?” **1t was stolen.” ‘“ Impossible!” “‘T am satisfied of it.” “‘Then, in Heaven’s name, who is the thief?” *‘T have an opinion.” “ Out with it.” “You know we have not yet entrapped the boy ferret of the docks.” “What! has the document fallen into his hands?” was the lawyer's exclamation. ‘*T can think of nothing else.” For a few seconds the two men looked at each other with silence between them, ‘‘ Why haven’t we caged the young rat before this?” cried the lawyer at length. ‘“‘ But, after all, why would he want the paper? What does he know about Alfred Oswald and Manfred Moffat’s secret?” ““ You forget that the strange disappearance of Oswald is one of the current stories at police omg , though it happened years ago. The oy circulates among the coppers of New York; he knows them all. I believe he passed last night in Manfred Moffat’s house.” “And was there when Wayne and yourself ransacked the premises?” “This is simply astounding,” ejaculated the lawyer. ‘‘ What is to be done?” ‘* First, try to find the boy and the will.” ‘ Failing in finding the paper, what?” ‘Then your genius will come in play,” laughed Gaspard Hood, ‘That means a new will—one to suit our pur- — We don’t want to take this step till we ave exhausted all other means.” “No, The old will, if it can be found. A new one made old if we can’t get the genuine.” “That is it. But won’t Manfred Moffat fight us?” Gaspard fell back in bis chair and laughed in his companion’s face. “That fellow fight us? Not for the world!” he cried. ‘Ere this he has probably buried himself out of the world. He knows that we know everything, and I told him pretty plainly Dodger Dick, the Boy Vidocq. >a that he could keep his mouth shut or inspect the inside of Sing Sing. Of these two things you know what Manfred Moffat will do.” ‘‘T think I could guess,” was the response. It was now dark on thestreets where the light of the ys did not fall, and when Gaspard Hood left the little office the city clocks were striking eight. feted He had just left the third man of the villain- ous trio, a person who has not figured individ- ually in the course of our story. } He was one of the pair who did the work in Manfred Moffat’s house the night it was plun- dered of Fanny. His name was Nathan Noland, and he was ostensibly a small lawyer, but his legal cloak covered a multitude of petty rascalities, so that he was, in truth, a cool, shrewd villain, who was as deep as his comrades in the scheme against Manfred Moffat and his supposed child. If Gaspard Hood had gone from the office to the house where we last saw Dodger Dick, he might have prevented the scene we left there to go back to G—— street and its citizen. - He proceeded to that part of the city occu- pied by Mother Sturgeon and the Dodger. Larry, who still followed Gaspard, now knew that Dodger Dick was the person looked for, and he resolved to warn his young friend of the spy on his track. To do this he entered the house by the back entrance, and surprised Mother Sturgeon in her little room, Dick was away. ‘to my boy is wanted by one of the villains, is he?” cried the woman, as her eyes seemed to flash, \‘t Mebbe he is one of the two who served me the merciless trick a few nightsago, Where is he, Larry?” ‘“‘ Probably on guard outside,” said the boy. re Watching the house.for Dick, eh?” ene For a moment the woman did not speak. “T want that man!” suddenly cried she, ‘I want to show bim that age has not taken away my strength.” “You don’t want him to come in, do you?” asked the boy. ‘*T want him nowhere else! Right here would I turn the tables on the scamp! He must not find Dick. The gang is desperate—the boy has escaped it so long. ow, if I could only lay my hands on the wolf on guard outside!” Mother Sturgeon stood before Larry with her hands clutched, and the bey could see the workings of her lips in the excitement of the moment, “T am going to decoy that man up here!” she went on. “ He is a fox, Mother Sturgeon.” “‘ Foxes have been caught!” was the prompt retort. ‘‘Go down and find him on his post. Then come back to me.” Struck by the determination of Dick’s foster- mother, Larry withdrew, and in a little had sightedthe man he had dogged for half a day. ‘* He doesn’t want to see me again, I’m sure of that,” said the old lady when the boy bad re- rted, ‘‘He will want to look through my ,ouse, though, if he could know that I was not in, The Gang of Three knows that unless they silence Dick soon the game is up.. That is why one of them is down yonder now.” Five minutes later Mother Sturgeon in her usual dress emerged from the hallway that led to her abode, and walked away with no effort at secrecy. She passed a man who stood in the shadows of a building, a man whom she did not appear to notice at all. “Hello! the tigress herself!” exclaimed this rson as Mother Sturgeon flitted past. ‘* The ouse is clear for me now. If Dick has the document he has hid it on the premises. shrewd little play might get it, and then we would be armed for the last grand assault. The old woman isn’t coming back, either, that is, not soon. She has vanished round the corner. Good-night, Mother Sturgeon.” The man in the doorway occupied bis quarters for five minutes longer before he moved; then he left the place quietly and went up the dark stairway used so often by the Boy Vidocq. Once before, gh om rs e had climbed the same steps on another mission. f so, he knew just where to find the door lead- spe Mother Sturgeon’s abode. he door was shut but not locked—a queer oversight on the woman’s part, he thought, and after listening a few moments he opened it noise- lessly and walked in, Mother Sturgeon had left the gas burning, but not brilliantly. Still, there was light enough to reveal the room and its plain appointments. ‘““ Now, where shall I begin?” Gaspard Hood asked himself in audible tones as he looked over ‘‘ Maye I'd better try the boy’s room rst.’ He took one step toward the door of Dodger Dick’s apartment—no more, All at once the door opened in his face, and out of the room sprung witha cry of triumph Mother Sturgeon herself. “ Ha! the gudgeon took the bait!” she laughed. “) knew he would, ba, ba, ba!” and Gaspard Hood, bewildered by the startling apparition, was forced backward into a chair and held down by a pair of hands that seemed to possess the strength of the Queen cf the Amazons. CHAPTER XVIII. THE LOST FOUND. “‘ HOODWINKED like a ninny!” mentally ex- claimed Gaspard when he took in his situation and saw Mother Sturgeon victorious, ‘*The vixen won't let up now, and I will have to suffer for the trick I played on her some time ago; that is, if she identifies me, and I’m afraid she will,” Meanwhile he was held down in the chair by Dick’s foster-mother, and her looks again told him that he had been neatly tricked, and that the victor was proud of her achievement. ‘ Bring the ropes here, Larry,” suddenly call- ed out Mother Sturgeon,and to Gaspard’s surprise a boy appeared with a good stout cluthes-line on bis arm. “What are you going to do, woman?” cried Gaspard drawing back indignantly. ‘* Make sure Gf you till Dick comes home,” was the reply. ‘You have no right to detain me here. This isa high-handed outrage, and one that will be looked after by the proper authorities.” ** Of course!” ieogbod Mother Sturgeon. ‘‘ The proper authorities will soon investigate some- thing else. It was not a ‘ high handed outrage’ when two men entered my house and left me, as they supposed, to die a terrible death in my chair. That was a part of the game you will say, per- haps. Well, so is this.” Gaspard Hood subsided. He kuew be could not compete with tho cut- ting tongue of the woman he had fallen in witb, and with the best grace possible he submitted quietly while Larry bound him firmly in the chair. When the overation was completed he could not move, and was as much a prisoner as though iron walls surrounded him. : A few minutes later Larry quietly took his departure, and the false detective was alone with Mother Sturgeon. : Every now and then the pair would exchange looks in which there was not much friendship, and Gaspard tried several times to draw the woman into conversation, but without success, ““ 1f Wayne knew of this he would be here and get me out of pickle,” be thought. “I would like to see him walk in and throttle the Jezebel into whose trap I walked like a fool, This time it would be a throtding that would mean some- thing, But I’m.afraid Wayne won’t come.” Wayne, the Samson of the Gang of Three did not come. : 2 While Gaspard sat tied in the chair somo thrilling scenes were occurring at a certain place where we left Dodger Dick several chapters back. x The reader will recollect that when the Boy Vidocq and Officer Nottaway escaped from the it under the floor, they began to search the oust for Sylva Semple and Fanny Moffat, It was in the midst of this work when a sharp ery was heard, and the opening of & door ahead disclosed the figure of a stalw man— Wayne, the giant. Nat Nottaway sprung directly at this person, and Dodger Dick saw the two In close embrace almost before he could realize what had bap- pened, It was a close match between the two men. Wayne knew at once who his antagonist was, and perhaps he caught a glimpse of the boy sleuth. At any rate, be exerted all the strength he bad at command, but Officer Nottaway, stirred by the indignities he had suffered at the hands of the Three. could not be overcome. He forced Wayne against the wall, and there administered such a choking that the big man gasped for mercy. Before this victory Dodger Dick bad entered the room at hand, and there found the faroting form of a young girl on the floor. Bending over it with breathless excitemeut he uttered a startling cry, He had found Fanny Moffat!
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¢ ye Be ihe i ad a ey se roe is have fared bette long that I thought a com . The t y plish their purpose. They will win the cool Ps - y a % _ documents when the bell tin Dodger Dick, the Boy. Vidocq. _ This discovery was somewhat unexpected, but none the less welcome, for he had expected to fine Sylva Semple. ‘** We want the other girl, too,” he said, wheel- ing upon Wayne, who was closely guarded by Nottaway. ‘* What other girl?’ asked the man. “Come! no ie seeays ignorance now. Where is Sylva Semple?” A fierce look leaped up in the rascal’s eyes, ‘Find her!” he said, madly. ‘* We will, and if she bas been harmed, woe to the Gang of Three!” answered the boy. ‘‘She never penned the letter I received by the hands of the street Arab.” The prisoner gave him a look which was not hard to interpret, and turned suddenly to Nott- tne ‘* Why do you let a rat like that lead you?” he asked with a sneer. “He is a fox,” was the retort. ‘He has scented you fellows atany rate. Not only that, but he has solved the famous Oswald riddle. Did you ever hear of that, sir?” The man started violently. “The Oswald riddle? ‘What is that?’ he ~ asked. -“It affects the girl yonder,” and Nottaway glanced at Fanny who was coming out of the swoon. ‘The will of missing Alfred Oswald has come to light at last, and we police won’t look for the lost man any more.” ‘* Who found the will?’ cried Wayne. ** The young fox yonder.” In an instant Dodger Dick was the recipient of a look which Meabe: have killed if looks pos- sessed that power. P “Yes, I bave the document,” he said, coming toward Wayne. ‘‘You and Gaspard Hood failed to find it last night though your hands at one time were within a few inches of its hiding- place.” s Where were you, rat of the river?” ‘Nearer than you thought at the time,” smiled Dick. ‘Oh, well, we took the chances,” and Wayne fell back fg rtacngse at the young sleuth. ‘“‘ You must not think that by playing the hand you have, you can save one dollar for Manfred Moffat. The truth will turn him into the streets a beggar.” ‘* No one wants to save him if he is guilty.” “Guilty?” laughed the prisoner. ‘If that man is not guilty of a foul crime, then there is no guilt on earth.” __ Leaving Nat Nottaway to watch the chief of the Gang of Three, Dodger Dick began to search the house for Sylva Semple. In one of the upper rooms which was locked and bolted he heard a noise, and then a voice at the door. , “ That is the girl!” exclaimed the tective, and then he put his lips to the ee Sylva?” be called. An exclamation of joy was the answer. ‘* That is the boy detective!” cried a voice in- side. ‘‘ The fox has beaten the wolves. Now I shall see mother again!” And Dick promised deliverance and went away. oung de- teh. CHAPTER XIX. THE FINISH. __ ManFrreD Morratsat once more in hislibrary, but this time the door leading in‘o the hall was locked. P It was the same night of Fanny’s recovery, and the hour was late. On the table before the man lay and in the grate, within arm’s reach, a fire burn- ed, although it was a night in summer, Among the papers stood a’ small vial half- filled with a colorless liquid. The label had been partly scratched off, but enough was left to give dich = crea a ew to contents, . Man offat was looking Over one o ied in the hall, = a lot of papers, _ He started and looked up. ___“No admission to-night,” said he. “ This is bas ga They can have all of to-morrow in which to do their worst. I see wherein I have duped, I took into my employ as sleuth the moving spirit of the conspiracy—the very man whom T should have kept out of my house, If [ had told the boy allat the beginning I might rT; but I had kept the secret so it would be safe to keep it merciless men will accom- et ? rame they have been to the wall, pisying, and tig eb Il They shall not stand me before he Public as the possessor of another man’s ‘property, and another man’s child,” i Again the door-bell sent its music into the ! library. Manfred Moffat smiled as the sounds cied out | and went back to his work, but not without a glance at the vial on the table. Five minutes later there came a distinct knock on the library door. The man at the table sprung up with a quick cry. He stared wildly at the portal and stood like a statue in the middle of the room. “* Mr. Moffat!” came in a voice from the hall. “The boy, by all that’s holy! How did he get in?” And Manfred went toward the door as if some resistless force drove him forward. He unlocked the portal with quivering fingers, and as it was pulled open Dodger Dick stepped in. ‘*You keep things locked up now, I see,” he said, with a smile, as he caught Moffat’s eye. ““T had tocome at this hour because I am on important business. We have them all.” ** All?’ echoed Manfred Moffat, in a gasp. “Yes; Wayne Pollard, areas Hood, your sweet-scented detective, and Nat Noland, the law sharp of the gang.” ‘*But not Fanny?” ** And Fanny! The victory is complete, Mr. Moffat. Besides the men and those who have been in their hands, we have also the will of Alfred Oswald.” Manfred Moffat colored and then turned pale. Sinking into bis chair again, he remained silent for a moment. ‘Hear the words of a man who speaks the truth in the shadow of death,” he said, solemnly. ** Alfred Oswald, Fanny’s father, left his will in my keeping before he disappeared. I wanted money then. I saw my opportunity, and could not resist temptation. I broke my word of faith with Oswald. I kept what should have been his cbild’s, [raised her as myown. She is as near my heart as she could be to a father’s, All I am supposed to possess belongs to her. Her father’s wealth has increased tenfold. That is what the Gang of Three was playing for. Heaven knows how they knew so much, but they knew! Iam ready to go to the bitter end, Dodger Dick. There is no blood on my hands. To the best of my knowledge, Alfred Oswald was not murdered. You can show me up as the violator of a sacred trust, I will let Fanny judge me.” “*She shall,” was the boy’s reply. ‘‘ In the first place, we will deal with the Gang of Three. You must take your chances,” “*T will!” And Manfred Moffat caught the vial from the table and flung it into the fire. The stern law played part of the gameout. It dealt mercilessly with the Gang of Tiree, each one getting a long term in Sing Sing. It helped Manfred Moffat restore to Fanny her father’s fortune, and it finally made the young girl the bride of Roland Rollins, the book: eeper, Dick Sly, who had the pleasure of escorting Sylva Semple back to her mother, received a most handsome reward at Fanny’s hands, a ext of ‘adr he bestowed upon the little girl of R— stree Nat Nottaway went bazk to his duties, where he is to this day, while the Boy Videcq is wait- ing for “ something important” to turn up. BY MAJOR NENRY B. STODDARD, Ex-Scout. 806 Neck-Tle Ned; or, The Dug-Out Pards, B46 Rapler Raphael 3 or, The Swordsmen of Zacatecas. Kid-Glove Kit, the Dandy of the Rockies, {o-Glove Kit and Pard; or, The Gold King. Gulch Mad Man-Hunter ; — The Mystery of Golden 505 Powell's Parad; or, The One-Armed Giant. BY BRACEBRIDGE HEMYNG. go The Unemincbaee Tat st he Pam a Hf kaw: sor. The thlet 101- Jack Markaway in 5 ad Rival Athletes. BY HARRY MAZARD. 828 Arkansaw Jack; or, The Scourge of the Mines. 829 Red-Skin Tom; or, The Demon's Trail. 842 The Mountain Devil; or, Yellow Jack, the Outlaw. BY CAPT. MARK WILTON. 256 Young Kentuck; or, The Red Lasso. 270 ht d Ben; or, The Riot at K, ‘amp. 286 bony ‘the Boy ‘Tenderfoot. 5 ala : BY J. W. OsRon. 469 The Riyal Giants of Nowhar’, 498 Cact , the Man from Hard Le 587 Old Buskays, the Sierra Shadow, | Beadle’s Half-Dime Library. BY JACK FARRAGUT. ! 815 Ned, the Cabin Boy. 820 The Sea Sorceress; or, The Boy Skipper, BY COL, A. F. HOLT. 899 Black Buckskin; or, The Masked Men of Death Canyon. ' 419 Kenneth, the Knife-King. | 485 Little Lightfoot, the Pilot of the Woods. BY JAMES L. BOWEN 107 One-Eyed Sim; or, The Abandoned Forest Home. 110 The Black steed of the Prairies, A Story of Texas. BY C. DUNNING CLARK, 185 Captain Paul; or, The Boy Spy of the Mountains. 280 The Yankee Rajah; or, The Fate of the Black Shoreef. BY CHARLES E. LASALLE. 50 Burt Bunker, the Trapper. 52 The White Buffalo, A Tale of the Northwest. BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID. 78 Blue Dick; or, The Yellow Chiefs Vengeance. 87 The Land Pirates; or, The League of Devil’s Island. 18T The Helpless Hand; or, Backwoods Retribution, 2389 The Gold-seeker Guide; or, The Lost Mountain. BY EDWARD WILLETT. 167 Asa Scott, the Steamboat Boy, 199 Featherweight the Boy Champion of the Muskingum, 228 Ozark Alf; or, Featherweight Among the Outlaws. 282 The Typo Detective; or, Weasel, the Boy Tramp. 295 Fearless Phil; or, The King of Quarizville. 311 The Roving Sport; or, The Pride of Chuckaluck Camp, 822 Nemo, the Detectives or, Kit. Kenyon's Vendetta. 840 Clip, the Contortionist; or, The Montana Vigilantes. BY J, C. COWDRICK, 860 Silver-Mask, the Man of Mystery. 869 Shasta, the Gold King; or, For Seven Yeara Dead. 420 The Detective’s Apprentice; or, A Boy Without a Name. 424 Cibuta John; or, Red-Hot Times at Ante Bar. 439 Sandy Sam, the Street Scout. 467 Disco Dany the Daisy Dude. 490 Broadway Billy, the Bootblack Bravo. 506 Redlight male hy the Prince of the Road. 514 Broadway Billy’« Boodle. 524 The Engineer Detective 586 Broadway Billy’s ‘ Diffikilty.” BY ALBERT W. AIKEN, The Two Detectives; or, The Fortunes ofa Bowery Girl. Abe Colt, the Crow-Killer. ol Ginger, the Giant Trapper. oe Buck of Angels and His Boy Pard. 447 New York Nat. A Tule of Tricks and Traps in Gotham, 458 New England Nick; or, The Fortunes of a Foundling. 464 Nimble Nick, the Circus Prince. 498 ‘Tnos Ted, toe Arizona Sport. &10 Cool Colorado, the Hal!-Breed Detective. 515 Cool Colorado in New York. BY MAJOR E, L. ST. VRAIN, 292 Sancho Pedro, the Boy Bandit. 8014 Leadville Nick, the Bov Sport. 812 Redtop Rube, the Vigilante Prince. 888 Brimatone Bob, and His Lightning Horse Quartette, 852 Tombstone Tom, the Arizona Boy of “ Sand.” BSY Durausre tenve, the Youns Sur n Wrestler. 871 Kingbolt Chris, the Young Hard-Shell Detective, 880 Avalanche Alf, the Foothills Guide. 890 Jaguar Joe, of the Mountuin Mail-Line. MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORS, 4 The Wild-Horse Munters. By Capt Mayne Reid and Frederick Whittaker. 9 Adventures of Baron Munchausen. 12 Gulliver’s Travels. By Dean >wift. 14 Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp. 16 Robinson Crusoe, (27 Llustrations.) 18 Sindbad the Sailor. His Seven aa 22 The Sea Serpent; or, The Boy Robinson Crusoe. By Juan Lewis. 88 The Ocean Bloodhound; or, The Red Pirates of the Carribees. By S, W. Pierce. 86 The Boy Clown; or, The Queen of the Arena, By Frank S. Finn, “BS Ned Wylde, the Boy Scout. By Texas Jack. 51 The Bey Rifles; or, The Underground Camp. By Archie C, Irons. 95 The Rival Rovers; or, The Freebooters of the Mississippi. By Lient.-Col. Hazeltine. 98 Robin Hood, the Outlawed Earl; or, The Merry Men of Green- wood. By Prof. Gildersleeve. 105 Old Rube. the Hunter; or, The Crow Captive. By Captain Hamilton Holmes. 112 The Mad Hunter; or, The Cave of Death. By Burton Saxe. 124 Tippy, the Texan; or, The Young Champion. By George ePson. 128 The Young Privateer; or, The Pirate’s Stronghold. By Harry Cavendish. 148 Sharp Sam; or, The Adventures of a Friendless Boy. By J, Alexander Patten. 227 Dusky Darrell, Trapper; or, The Green Ranger of the Yel- lowstone. By Edward Emerson, 261 Fergus Fearnaught, the New York Boy. By George L. Aiken. : 266 Killb’ar, the Guide; or, Davy Crockett’s Crooked Trail, By Ensign C. D. Warren. 298 Red Claw, the One-Eyed Trapper; or, The Maid of the Cliff. By Captain Comstock. 817 Peacock Pete, the Lively Lad from Leadville. By Lien- tenant Alfred Thorne. 828 The Sky Detective; or, A Boy’s Fight for Life and Honor. By Maior Mickey Free. 850 Red Ralph, the River Rover; or, The Brother’s Re- venge. By Ned Buntline. 865 Baltimore Ben the Bootblack Detective. By A. P. Morris, 874 Gold-Dust Tom; or, Ben’s Double Match. “By George H. Morse, 876 California Joe’s First Trail. By Colonel Thomas Hover Monstery. 418 Biily Bombshell, the Cliff Climber. By F. S. Winthrop. Little Foxfoot. the Gold Bowie Kid. By Arthur C. Grissom, 475 The Black Ship. By John S. Warner. 484 Comanche Dick and His Three Invincibles. By Henrv J. Thomas. 528 Wizard-Arm, the Dandy Sport. By Arthur F. Holt, © Forrest. 582 The Cowboy Duke. By Edwin A New Issue Every Tuesday. * The Half-Dime Libr is for sale by all newsdealers, five ents per copy, or sent by mail op resell of six cents each, ty 4 BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers. 98 William Street, New Yer# !
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Published Every Tuesday. Each Issue Complete and Sold at tne Uniform Price of Five Cents. No Double Numbers, * BY EDWARD L. WHEELER. Deadwood Dick Novels. 1 Deadwood Dick, the Prince of the Road. 20 Double Daggers; or, Deadwood Dick’s Defiance, 8 Buffalo mons or, Deadwood Dick in Disguise, 85 Wila Ivan, the Boy Claude Duval. 42 Phantom Miner; or, Deadwood Dick’s Bonanza, 49 Omaha ous or, Deadweod Dick in Danger, 57 Deadwood Vicks Eagles; or, The Pards of Flood Bar. 78 Deadwood Dick on Deck; or, Calamity Jane, the Heroine, %7 Corduroy Charlie; or, Deadwood Dick’s Last Act. 100 Deadwood Dick in Leadville, 104 Deadwood Dick's Device; or, ‘I'he Double Cross Sign. 109 Deadwood Dick as Detective. 129 Deadwood Dick’s Double ; or, The Ghost ef Gorgon’s Gulch. 188 Blonde BIL; or, Deadwood Dick’s Home Base. 149 A Game of Gold; or, Deadwood Dick’s Big Strike. 156 Deadwood Dick of Deadwood; or, The Picked Party. 195 Deadwood Dick’s Dream; or, The Rivals of the Road, 201 The Black Hills Jezebel; or, Deadwood Dick’s Ward. 205 penewere Dick’s Doom; or, Calamity Jane’s Last Ad- venture. 217 Captain Crack-Shot, the Girl Brigand. 221 Sugar-Ooated Sam; or, The Black Gown. 282 Gold-Dust Dick, A Romance of Roughs and Toughe, 268 Deadwood Dick’s Divide ; or, The Spirit of Swamp Lake. 268 Deadwood Dick’s Death Trail, 809 Deadwood Dick’s Big Deal; or, The Gold Brick of regon. 821 Deadwood Dick’s Dozen; or, The Fakir of Phantom Flats. 847 Deadwood Dick’s Ducats; or, Rainy Days in the Dig- gings. 851 Deadwood Dick Sentenced; or, The Terrible Vendetta. 862 peenwecd Dick’s Claim; or, The Fairy Face of Faro ats. 405 Deadwood Dick in Dead City. 410 Deadwood Dick’s Diamonds ; or, The Mystery of Joan urter. 421 Deadwood Dick In New York; or, A “Cute Cave.” 480 Deadwood Dick’s Dust; or, The Chained Hand. 448 Deadwood Dick, Jr. 448 Nickel-Plate Ned; or, Deadwood Dick Jr's Defiance. 458 Sunflower Sam, o! Shasta; or, Deadwood Dick Jr’a Full Hand. 459 Pinsh Fan, the Ferret; or, Deadwood Dick Jr’s Big Ronnd- 465 Phito Fly, of Phenix; or, Deadwood Dick Jr’s Racket at Claim 10. 471 Bozeman Bill; or, Deadwood Dick Jr's Corral. 476 Humboldt Harry, tie Hurricane; or, Deadwood Dick Jr’s Dog Detective. 481 Moll Mystery; or, Dendwood Dick Jr. in Deadwood. 491 Prince Pistol, the King of the West; or, Deadwood Dick Jr’s Compact. 496 Monte Cristo, Jr.: or, Deadwood Dick Jr’s Inheritance. 500 Deadwood Dick's Dheeluice 5 or, Dr. Death-Grip’s Swoop. 508 Deadwood Dick’s Deliverance, 515 Deadwood Dick's Protegee, 522 Deadwood Dick's Three. 529 Deadwood Dick's Danger Ducka, 584 Deadwood Dick’s Death Hunt. 589 Deadwood Dick Jr., in Texas, 544 Deadwood Dick, Jr., the Wild West Vidocq. 549 Deadwood Dick on His Mettle. 554 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Gotham, 561 Deadwood Dick In Boston, 567 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Philadetphia, 572 Deadwood Dick, Jr., in Chicago. Other Novels by E. L. Wheeler. 26 Cloven Hoof, the Buffalo Demon. 82 Bob Woolf; or, The Girl Dead-Shot. 89 Death-Face, Detective; or, Life in New York. 45 Old Avalanche; or, Wild Edna, the Girl Brigand, 58 Jim Bludsoe, Jr., the Boy Phenix, 61 Buckhorn Bill; or, The Red Rifle Team. 69 Gold Rifle, the Sharpshooter; or, The Boy Detective. 80 Rosebud Reb; or, Nugwet Ned, the Knight. 84 Idyl, the Girl Miner; or, Rosebud Rob on Hand. 88 Phetograph PhH; or, Rosebud Rob’s Reappearance, 92 Canada Chet } or, Old Anaconda in Sitting Bull’s Camp. 96 Watch-Eye; or, Arabs and Angels of a Great City. 18 Jacek Hoyle the Young Speculator. Gilt-Edged Dick, the Sport Detective Cinnamon Chip, the Girl Sport. Bonanza Bill, Miner. Boss Bob the King of Bootblacks, Solid Sam, the Boy Road-Agent. Qaptate, Ferret,"the New York Detective; or, Boss Bob's ‘08s Job. New York Nell, the Boy-Girl Detective. Nobby Nick of Nevada; or, The Sierras Scamps, 81 Wild Frank, the Buckskin Bravo. 09 Fritz, the Bound-Boy Detective. 218 Fritz to the Front; or, The yankees: Hunter, 226 Snoozer, the Boy Sharp; or, The Arab Detective, 286 Apollo BAll, the Trail Tornado. 240 Cyclone Kit, the Young Gladiator. 244 Sterra Sam, tho Frontier Ferret. 248 Sierra Sam’s Secret; or, The Bloody Footprints, 258 Sierra Sam’s Pards or, The Angel of Big Vista. 258 Sierra Sam’s Sevens; or, The Stolen Bride. 278 Jumbo Joe, the Boy Patol; or, The Rival Heirs, 277 Denver Doll, the Detective Queen. 281 Denver Doll’s Victory. 285 Denver Doll's Decoy ; or. Little Bill’s Bonanza. 291 Turk, the Boy Ferret. 296 Denver Doll's Drift; or. The Road Queen. of cast n ps rfl fk kh fl ND pat > par QI J 299 A No, 1, the Dashing Toll-Taker, 808 ’Liza Jane, the Girl Miner; or, the Iron-Nerved Sport. B25 Kelley, Hickey & Co., the Detectives of Philadelphia. 880 Little Qu!ck-Shot; or, The Dead Face of Daggeraville. Kangaroo Kit; or, The Mysterious Miner, 889 Kangaroo Kit’« Racket. 848 Manhattan Mike, the Bowery Blood. 858 First-Class Fred, ‘he Gent trom Gopher. 868 Yreka Jim, the Gold-Guatherer} or, The Lottery Life 872 Yreka Jim’s Prize. 878 Nabob Ned} or, The Secret of Slab City. BS2 Cool Kit. the King of Kids; or, A Villain’s Vengeance. B85 Yreka Jim’s Joker; or, The Rivals of Red Nose, 889 Bicycle Ben; or. The Lion of Lightning Lode. 94 Yreka Jim of Yuba Dam, 400 Wrinkles, the Night-Watch Detective. 416 High lat Harry, the Base Ball Detective. Sam Slabsides, the Begzar-Boy Detective. 4 Jim Beak and Pal, Private Detectives. 8 Santa Fe Sal, the Slasher. 486 Sealskin Sam, the Sparkter. BY BUFFALO BILL (Hon. Wm. F. Cody), 8 Kansas King; or, The Red Right Hand. 19 The Phantom Spy: or, The Pilot of the Prairie. 55 Deadly-Eye, the Daksewn Scout, 68 Border Robin Hood; or, The Prairie Rover. 158 Fancy Frank of Colorado; ér, The Trapper’s Trust. BY CHARLES MORRIS. 118 WIILI Somers, the Boy Detective, 122 Vhil Mardy, the Boss Boy. 126 Picayune tcte 3 or, Nicodemus, the Dog Detective, 180 Detective Dick 3 or, The Here in Rags, 142 HMaudsome Harry, the Boothlack Detective, 147 WIHll Wildfire, the Thoroughbred. 152 Black Beas, Will Wildtire’s Racer, 157 Mike Merry, the Harbor Police Boy, 162 WIll Wildiire tin the Woods. 165 Billy Baggage, the Railroad Boy. 170 A Trump Card; or, Will Wildtire Wins and Loses. 174 Bob Rockett; or, Mysteries of New York. 179 Bob Rockett, the Baik Runner, 188 The Hidden Hand or, Will Wildfire’s Revenge. 187 Fred Halyard, the Life Boat Boy; or, The Smugglers. 189 Bob Rockett; or, Driven to the Wall. 196 Shadowed ; or, Bob Rockett’s Fight for Life, 206 Dark Paul, the Tiger King. 212 Dashing Dave, the Dandy Detective. 220 Tom Tanner ; or, The Black Sheep ot the Flock, 2% Sam Charcoal the Premium Darky. R85 Shadow Sam, the Messenger Boy, 242 The Two “ Bloods”; or, Shenandoah Bil) and His Gang. 252 Dick Dashaway ; or, A Dakota Boy in Chicago. 62 The Young Sharps: or, Rollicking Mike’s Hot Trail. 274 Jolly Jim, the Detective Apprentice. 289 Jolly Jim's Job; or, The Young Detective. 298 The Water-HMound; or, The Young Thoroughbred. 805 Dashaway, of Dakota; or, A Western Lad in the Quaker ity. é 824 Ralph Ready, the Hote! Boy Detective. 841 Tony Thorne, the Vagabond Detective. 858 The Reporter-Detective ; or, Fred Flyer’s Blizzard, 867 Wide-Awake Joe; or, A Boy of the Times. 87y larry. the Leveler; or, The Bloods of the Boulevard, 408 Firelly Jack, the River-Rat Detective. 428 The Lost Finger; or, The Entrapped Cashier. 428 Fred Flyer, the Reporter Detective, 482 Invinctble Lo an, the Pinkerton Ferret. 456 Billy Brick, the Jotly Vagabond, 466 Wide-Awake Jerry, Detective; or, Entombed Alive, 479 Detective Dodge; or, The Mystery of Frank Hearty, SEB talaga a | oots, the Boy Fireman: or, Too Sharp for the Sharper, 566 The Secret service Boy Detective. : = BY OLL COOMES. b Vagabond Joe, the Young Wandering Jew. 18 The Dumb Spy. 27 Antelope Abe, the Boy Guide. 81 Keen-Kuilfe, the Prince of the Prairies. 41 Lasso Jack, the Young Mustanger. 58 The Border King; or, The Seoret Foe. Fil Delaware Dick, the Young Ranger Spy. 74 Mawk-eye Harry the Young Trapper Ringer. 88 Rollo, the Boy Ranger. 184 Sure Shot Seth, the Koy Rifleman, 148 Scar-Face Saul, the Silent Hunter 146 Silver Star, the Boy Knight. 158 Eagle Kit, the Boy Demon. 168 Little Texas, the Young Mustanger. 178 Old Solitary, the Hermit Trapper. 182 Little Hurricane, the Boy Captain. 202 Prospect Pete ; or, The Young Outlaw Hunters. 208 The oy Mereules: or, The Prairie Tramps. 218 Tiger ‘Tom, the Texas Terror. 224 Poee Dick; or, Trapper Tom’s Cnatle. 228 Little Wildfire, the Young Prairie Nomad. 288 The Parson Detective; or, The Little Ranger. 248 The Disguised Guide; or, Wild Raven, the Ranger, 260 Dare-Devil Dan, the Young Prairie Ranger. 272 Minkakin Mike, the Roy Sharpshooter. 290 Little Foxfire, the Boy Spy. B00 The Sky Demon ¢ or, Ruinbolt, the Ranger, B84 Whip-King Joe, the Boy Ranchero. 409 Hercules; or, Dick, the Boy Ranger. 417 Webfoot Mose, the Tranp Detective. 422 Baby Sam, the Boy Ginnt of the Yellowstone. 444 Little Buckakin, the Young Prairie Centaur. 457 Wingedfoot Fred; or. Old Polar Saul. 468 Tamarac ‘Tom, the Big Trapper Boy. 478 Old Tom Rattler, the Red River Epidemic, 482 Stonewall Bob, the Boy Trojan. 562 Biundering Basil, the Hermit Boy Trapper. BY T. C. HARBAUGH. 28 Nick o’ the Nights or, The Boy Spy of 6. 87 The Hidden Lodge; or The Littl Hunter. 47 Nightingale Nat; or, Tne Forest Captains, 64 Dandy Jack or, The Outlaws of the Oregon Trali. 82 Kit Harefoot the Wood-Hawk. 94 Midnight Jack 3 or, The Boy Trapper. 106 Old Froaty, the Guide; or, The White Queen. 28 Kiowa Charley the White Mustanger. 89 Judge Lynch, Jr.: or, The Boy Vizilante. 55 Gold Trigger, the Sport; or, The Girl Avenger. 69 Tornado Tomy or, lajun Jack From Red Core, 88 Ned ‘Temple, the Border Boy, 98 Arkanaaw 3_ or, The Quen of Fate’s Revenge. 207 Navajo Nick, the Boy Gold Hunter. 215 Captain Ballets or, Little Tovknot’s Crusade, 2831 Plucky Phil; or. Rosa, the Rei Jezebel. 241 Bill Bravo; or, The Roughs of the Rockies. 255 Captain Apoli-» the King-Pin of Bowle. 267 The Buckskin Detectlye, 279 Old Wine} or, The Buckskin Desperadoes. 294 Dynamite Dans or, The Bowie Blade of Cochetopa. 802 The Mountain Detective; or, The Trigger Bar Bully. 816 OLA Eclipse, Tromp Card of Arizona, B26 ape Ten Pards? or. The Terror of Take-Notice. 836 Big Benson; or, The Queen of the Larso. 845 Pitileas Matt; or, Red Thunderholt’s Secret. BSH Oool sam ane Var’ yo: The Terrible Six. 866 Velvet Foot, the Indian Detective. 886 Captain Cutlass; or, | he Bccaneer’s Girl Foe. 896 Rough Rob: or. The !win Champions of Blue Blazes. 411 The Silken Lasso: or, The Rose of Ranch Robin. 418 Felix Fox, the Boy Spotter. 425 Texas Trump. the Border Rattler. 486 Phil Flash, the New York Fox. 445 Vhe City Vamplres; or, Red Rolfe’s Pigeon. 461 One Against Fifty; or, The Last Man of Keno Bar, 470 “he Roy Shadow; or, Felix Fox's Hunt, A777 The Exceistor Sport: or, The Washington Spotter. 499 Single Sight, the One-Byed Sport. 502 Branded Beny the Night Ferret. 5L2 Poder Dick, the Wharf-Spy Detective, 521 Dodger Dick’s Best Dodge. 528 Fox and Falcon, the Bowery Shadows, 588 Dodger Dick, the Dock Ferret. 5418 Dodger Dick’s Pouble; or, The Rival Boy Detectives, 558 Dodger Dick’s Desperate Case, 568 Dodger Dick, the Boy Vidocq. 5678 The Two Shadows. wee BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAHAM. 7 The Flying Yankee} or, The Ocean Outcast. 17 Ralph Roy, the boy Buceancer; or. The Fugitive Yacht. 24 Diamond Dirk bee The Mystery of the Yellowstone. 62 The Shadow Ship; or, The Rivel Lientenants. 5 The Boy Duelist; or, The Cruise of the Sea-Wolf. 02 Dick Dead-Eye, the Boy Smuggier. Il The Sen-Devils or, The Midshipman’s Legacy, 16 The Mussar Captain; or, The Hermit of Hell Gate, YT Little Grit; or, Bessie, the Stock-Tender’s Daughter. 04 Gold Plume; or, The Kid-Glove Sport, 16 Bikon BILL, the Prince of the Reins. 22 Grit, the Bravo Sport; or, The Woman Trailer, 229 Crimson Kate 3 or, The Cowboy’s Triumph, 287 Lone Star, the Cowboy Captain. 245 merle the Middy 3 or, The Freelance Heir. a 250 The } lidshipmun Mutineer; or, Brandt, the Baccaneer. 264 mee, Floating Feather; or, Merle Moute’s Treasure siand, 269 The Gold Ship 276 Merle Monte ip. Snip 280 Merle Monte’s Fate; or, Pearl, the Pirate’s Bride, 284 The Sea Marauder; or, Merle Monte’s Pledge. 2ST Willy Blue-Fyes, the Boy Rover «f the Rio Grande. 804 The Dead Shot Dandy ; or, Benito, the Boy Bugler. 808 keno Kit; or, Dead Shot Dandy’s Double. * 814 The Mysterious Marauder; or, The Boy Bugler’s Long rail. + 877 Bonodel, the Boy Royer; or, The Flagless Schooner. 888 The Indian Pilot; or, The Search for Pirate Isiand. 887 Warpath WILL, the Boy Phantom, Seawalf, she Bey tocnenent-4 02 Inodor, the Young Conspirator; or, The Fatal League. 407 The Boy Insurgent; on, The Cuban Vendetta. ™ 412 The Wild Yachtaman; or, The War-Cloua’s Cruise. 429 Duncan Dare, the Boy Refugee. _ 488 A Cabin Boy’s Luck; or, The Corsair, 487 The Sea Raider. ve 441 The Ocean Firefly ; or, A Middy’s Vengeance, 446 Maphazard Harry ; or, The Sespegrace of the Sea, 450 Wizard Will: or, The Boy Ferre: of New York, —* 454 Wizard Will's Street Scouts. 462 The Born Gulde; or, The Sailor Boy Wanderer. 468 Neptune Ned, the Boy Coaster. 474 Flora; or, Wizard Will’s Vagabond Pard. 488 Ferrets Affoats or, Wizard Will’s Last Case. 487 Nevada Ned, the Revolver Ranger. 495 Arizona Joe the Boy Pard of Texas Jack, 497 Buck Taylor, King of the Cowboys. 508 The Royal Middy ; or, The Shark and the Sea Cat. 507 The Hunted Midshipman. 511 The Outiawed Middy. 520 Buckskin BUI, the Comanche Shadow. 525 Brothers in Buckskin, 580 The Buckskin Bowers, 585 The Bue skin Rovers. 540 Captain Ku-Klux, the Marauder of the Rio. 545 Lieutenant Leo, the Son of Lafitte. 550 Lafitte’s Legacy; or. The Avenging Son. 555 The Creole Corsair. 560 Pawnee BIIIL, the Prairie Shadower 565 Kent Kingdon, the Card King. 570 Camille, the Card Queen. 575 The Surgeon-Scout Detective. 1 1 i 1 2 2 2 $ or, Merle, the Condemned. *® Cruise; or, The Chase of “The Gola LATEST AND NEW ISSUES. 577 Pavement Pete, the Secret Sifter, By Jo Pierce. 578 Deadwood Dick, Jr., Afloat. By Edward L. Wheeler. 579 The Chimney Spy; or, Broadway Billy’s Surprise-Party. By J. C. Cowdrick, ‘i 580 The Outcast Cadet; or, The False Detective. By Co}. Prentiss [ugrabam. 581 Double-Ourve Dan, the Pitcher Detective. By George C. enks. 582 Dodger Dick’s Drop. By T. C. Harbaugh. 588 Saffron Sol, the Man With a Shadow. By Lieut. A. K, Sims- 584 Deadwood Dick, Ir., in Denver, By Ed. L, Wheeler. BSS Will Waters, the Boy Ferret. By H. Enton. 586 The Buckekin Avenger. By Col, Prentiss Ingraham. 5ST Old Bombshell, the Ranger Detective. By Wim. G. Patten. 588 Jack-o’-Lantern, the Under-Sea Prospector. By Jo Pierce. 589 Tom-Cat and Pard; or, The Dead Set at Silver City. By Lieut. A. K. Sima. 590 Deadwood Dick, Jr's, Decree. By E. LU. Wheeler. 591 Delmonte. the Young Sea-Rover. By Col. P Ingraham, 592 The Boy Pinkerton. By J. C. Cowdrick. 598 Keen Clem, the Ranch Imp. By P. S. Warne. 594 Little Lon, the Street-Singer Detective. By T. C. Harbaugh. 595 Deadwood Dick Jr, in Beelzebub’s Basin, By F. neeler, 596 Jimmy the Kid; or, A Lamb Among Wolves, By. Chas. Orris. 597 The Young Texan Detective. By Col. P. Ingraham. 598 Flute, the Singer Detective. By Geo. C. Jenks. 599 Jim Dandy, the No-Name Sport. By P. §, Warne. 600 Deadwood Dick Jr. at Coney Island, By Edward L. Wheeler. Ready January 22. 01 Happy Mans, the Dutch Vidocq; or, Red-Hot Times at , it By Lieut. 4. K. Sins, Ready January 29. 602 The Vagabond of the Mines, By Col. P. Ingraham. Ready February 6- 608 Wide-Awake Bert, the Street-Steerer. By Jo. Pieree. Ready February 13- ; m, the Man of Fire. By Lient. Royal A. Swift, 004 Free Ae Rely February 9, DY Mout Revel A: Sx ' A New Issue Every Tuesday. ‘The Walf-Dime Library is for sale by all newsdealers, five cents per copy, oF sent by mail on receipt of six cents each, . BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers, pot 98 William Street, New Verh.