The Safe Breakers' Gang — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

‘THE LOG CABIN LIBRARY. a But this man seized J epworth by the arm, and shoved | ries before I arrived here. You have heard of Hunt, Hall & ye him toward the end of the car. Hyde, of New York ?” — But a most unexpected thing happened. “Hunt, Hall & Hyde!—the three H’s—heard of them ae : The lantern was kicked from the brakeman’s hand, and|—well I should say so. Why, I believe they’re famous oo it fell in fragments to the ground. from one end of the country to the other. But you don’t hee Se The two men clinched. For an instant they swayed to| mean to tell me——” i ae and fro; then they fell upon the flat top of the car, and! Jules Jepworth smiled and bowed with a becoming a ee rolled over and over in rapid evolutions. modesty. ie \ ee But the struggle ceased as suddenly as it began. “Iam the one who is reported as calling himself the . ae Jules Jepworth sprang to his feet, and spurned the mo-/ sandwich of the firm—Mr. Hall.” | , oe tionless form of his foe with his foot, It may, or may not, have been fortunate that Quimby mI 4 “ He will be more cautious next time,” he said, through | Hall, the real “sandwich” of the firm, was not at hand to | : | Be his shut teeth. hear this bold declaration. | Be? In another moment the safe-breaker was upon terra-| Be that as it may, Jules Jepworth, the invincible safe- J al firma, and walking away from the spot with a resolute | breaker, uttered the fiction with an assurance that left no | - Swing, as though he were ready to defy all the officials oF room for doubt in the credulous mind of Wilson, the the great railway to their teeth, if occasion should require. | policeman. : The hour was past midnight, and he found himselfin| The copious, yet delicate flattery of the stranger had the main street of a large, straggling town. sufficiently befogged his perceptions to render him pre- } He passed a policeman who eyed him askance. Jep-| pared to “swallow” anything that the agreeable stranger | worth gave the officer one of his keen, penetrating glances, and hurried on. The policeman started to follow, impelled to do SO, per- haps, by the fierce glint which he caught from the stranger's eyes. Jepworth kept on until he reached the entrance to a national bank, which was situated in the middle of the principal business structure in the town. Here he paused and waited for the policeman to come up. The officer hurried out of his measured pace, as_he be- held the mysterious and suspicious behavior of the keen- eyed stranger. “Just a word with you, Wilson,” said Jepworth, in a low tone, touching the astonished officer on the arm. “Whew !—but you’ve got the advantage of me!” ex- claimed the policeman. Jepworth smiled. “Men in our profession get acquainted without know- ing it sometimes—by reputation, you understand. I’ve heard of you. You did some good work a month ago, pulling in some burglars who visited: this town. Those burglars were sharp men, and we officers in New York | have had dealings with them. That is why Mr. Hunt told | office in the city of New York; and the one he was ad- : me to enlist your assistance in this case.” dressing was the senior partner of the firm, Mr. Rexford Jules Jepworth could not have talked more fluently had | Hunt. 7 he been speaking the truth, instead of spinning acleverly| The latter had been rapidly pacing the floor for some concocted fiction. minutes and his, smooth, round, keen face wore a look of Wilson, the rural officer, who had in the case to which | unusual excitement. the other alluded merely acted a minor part in arresting} He paused abruptly, confronting the younger man in some very bungling burglars, was flattered by the words| response to the latter’s decisive announcement. of this keen-eyed stranger, until he actually began to| “I suppose you have some reason for making that de- think that he had, indeed, done a tremendously clever|claration, Quimby?” he returned, meeting the calm gaze might say. Ap “Mr. Quimby Hall!” exclaimed Wilson, extending a a welcoming hand. “Mr. Quimby Hall, of New York,” smiled Jepworth. “But,” he added, with a swift glance around, “this is ¢ no time nor place for a friendly chat, however agreeable dk it might be to both of us. Iam here to prevent a crime. | I shall depend upon you for the assistance which I shall require. We have a desperate crook to balk and arrest. Can I depend upon you ?” ‘*Who—who is the crook?” Wilson faltered. “ His name,” said the other, looking the policeman in the eye, “is Jules Jepworth, chief of the safe-breakers.” Was ever a bold scheme so boldly inaugurated ? What was to be the outcome ? aT esses CHAPTER IV. THE WOMAN IN THE CASE, “ ~ ie + . « - 4 on" : . - - 5 He Ww > ee ; - . —_ .* on a ~s G: on eS ~ = any ‘ : t " - . + ~", t ” a * 5 oeoUky, > es Ne ia ees t + » . ‘‘There is @ woman even in this case !” The speaker was Quimby Hall of the “three H’s.” He stood near the door of Hunt, Hall & Hyde’s private . Gon ~ Fogle 5 ec Mi Cenc ncnn nrc cc ccn cc cc nnn nnn nrc cr nnn nner err cnrceeeeeee ee reeeeeee lle oo oe os a Ae. 0 =. + ' 7; — > ! a wate . a < “gn ta Me eee ry > = i. e - ead ” «Ll >, A. F »e ° ee - cme - thing. of the other. i. h How else, he asked himself, could his name have be-| “You may gamble on it that I have,” was the reply. oy le come so familiar to this person? “Well, who is the woman this time? And to which par- a { 4 “Well, that was a pretty fair piece of work, if I do say | ticular case do you refer ?” me a it,” he admitted. “T refer to our little plan to break up the safe-breakers’ a | e Then he remembered that he did not know the name of | gang; and the woman in question, so far as I know, bearg a | 1% the admiring stranger. only the name of Lena. I saw her last night in Gopher’s - nn “But you intimated that we were known to each other | pawnshop, on the Bowery. She was there to redeem a gold | ee F | by reputation. I wish I could call you by name, but for} watch—and as both the girl and the watch were beauties ae the life of me——” I watched where they went.” , ng “a7. ‘3 SS «2 7 pee +> * Ge ved ’, “Don’t let that trouble you, Wilson!” smiled Jepworth.! “That is like you, Quimby—I mean, the keeping of a “You don’t know me personally, of course, as I shouldn"t| pretty girl in sight. But if she is the sort to go to Gopher’s e « » rey ad “. ~ : « P, . oe you if I had not been to the trouble to make some inqui-! very frequently my advice is that you beware lest your c se : . 4 - ~ a tad) as eh Seph e SUC-S. yt ~vLh€ 7 - . ef . 5 pa od Ms Wy oA Le LO i 7 - ¢ ‘ : ayy a3 .° + *’ * Fg . ae « . , i a p - rw wl ad ——— ont + +, its es ets, e% Y ae > ‘ - 1 ee ead nk tah eal ed lio” Pyat stht > oe A, d Sa ate ; Pf ate ee 2 oft ves Beh ve 4 + a : 7. 7 ca th “a - > : 7? 3, a> Fi pis i e oor" e804 . f =) - Fe 4& ve “— 7 “ ie fe . ‘ . c'< a y rd * 5 “i i 7 he tes . AX “a i ' ~ - ‘¢ ese) f | -! 4 4 < eh . .s . 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