CHAPTER II
Ike was a curious little fellow. We mean, he possessed the bump of curiosity to a great degree and he was constantly poking around in all manner of odd places. It had become a mania with him, and one evening he was walking along the street when he beheld a gentlemanly-looking man walking in company with two of the worst-looking characters to be seen anywhere. Our hero had knocked around the world long enough to know that strange and even tragic incidents were of constant occurrence. In support of the above opinions we will state that the writer was once asked where he got so many weird and tragic incidents to record, and the answer was a reference to a morning paper. In that paper there was a record of two abductions, one secret murder, a poisoning case, eleven assaults, seven cases of robbery, one case of illegal confinement in an insane asylum, the account of a trial for will forgery, four mysterious disappearances and several minor accounts of odd and strange occurrences. We called our friend’s attention to the several startling records and then said:
“This is our guidebook; we go to the detective bureau for further information. There are more strange, startling, and romantic cases occurring than we can follow, or possibly record.”
And this is true, if the municipalities of our great cities were to keep a history, follow to the end, and record the denouement of one year’s thrilling experiences in a great city like New York, more strange, marvelous stories would go on record than can be found in a dozen so-called works of fiction.
Ike had become quite a detective in one respect—in knocking around the world. He had become very observant; he was quick to notice anything unconventional or odd, and as stated, when he saw a gentleman walking along in company with men who looked like veritable rogues, he made up his mind that “something was up” and that he possibly had got on to a startling drama in real life. One who has observation and time can easily do so. The lad started to follow the men and saw them enter a hotel on a side street; he followed in by the side door. The three men went to the bar and had a drink, and then ascended to a room on the top floor of the building. Ike was not dismayed; when once starting in on a “lay” he followed by taking all the chances. He saw the men enter a room, and he entered the adjoining one, which happened to be vacant, and he muttered:
“If I am caught, I am in for it, but there is something going on, and I want to know what it is.”
Fortune favored the lad. The rooms were a sort of attic apartments and extended out on a projection. He crawled out and stationed himself by the window of the room in which the three men had assembled. He lay down, face forward, and was prepared to listen, having discovered that he could plainly overhear every word spoken above a whisper, and all his suspicions were verified in the most remarkable manner. The men had just finished a drink from a bottle of whiskey that they had brought upstairs with them when one of them said:
“Now, sir, we are ready to listen to your proposition.”
The man said: “I have an enemy; I want to get him out of the way.”
“You want him ‘dropped out?’”
“No, not that.”
“Well?”
“I want him to disappear.”
“For how long a time?”
“I’ll tell you, I have a house out on Long Island. He is a dangerous man. If I could have him abducted and taken to that house I could take care of him for awhile.”
“Ah, you merely wish to abduct him?”
“Yes; in a mysterious manner, so that it will appear that he is dead.”
“It is a dangerous job, sir.”
“Yes, but dangerous jobs earn big pay.”
“That is all we are looking for, but it is a state’s prison offense if there is a mis-go. We take all the chances.”
“There need be no mis-go; we can arrange our plans so well.”
At that moment a startling incident occurred. Ike heard a noise behind him. He rose suddenly and unthinkingly, and the next instant he was caught in a strong pair of arms and dragged into the room through which he had crawled out upon the projection. He was in the hands of a powerful man, who exclaimed:
“Ah! you little thief, I’ve caught you at last, and the mystery is explained.”
Ike made no outcry. He did not wish the men in the adjoining room to get on to the fact that he had overheard a part of their plans.
“What were you doing out there?” asked the man, who had seized, and who held Ike.
“I was out after that cat.”
“What cat?”
“Out on the roof.”
“You miserable little sneak thief, there is not a cat in the house, and surely there couldn’t be one on the roof.”
At that moment the mew of a cat was distinctly heard right by the window, and the next instant the spitting, snarling meows of two cats was heard.
The man gazed in amazement.
“I was up doing you a service,” said Ike, “how could you have slept with those cats there all night?”
“Where do you live?”
“Up the street. One of them is my cat.”
Even while the man was speaking the spitting and meowing of the cats was heard, and then there came a crash. It was evident that someone in an adjoining room had hurled a pitcher or washbowl, or some other piece of china at the night prowlers.
“Hang it,” said the man, “you may be telling the truth.”
The next instant the bark of a dog was heard right by the window, and then a series of screeches and snarls.
The man uttered an ejaculation of amazement and ran to the window, releasing his hold on Ike, and our hero improved his opportunity by darting from the room. The man turned to say something and saw that the boy had “skipped.”
“Well, hang it, he told the truth, and I must get rid of those infernal cats, or not a wink of sleep will I have tonight.”
The man crawled through the window and looked all over, but the cats had disappeared.
He crawled back with the remark:
“I reckon they have been scared off, but it is very singular, I never heard any cats around here before. Someone must have chased them onto that roof.”
Meantime Ike had made his way downstairs, and when he gained the street he laughed heartily and said:
“There’s tricks in all trades but ours; by joky poky, won’t that always be a mystery to that old fellow in that room? He doesn’t know that I carry a whole menagerie in my throat.”
Ike was a wonderful ventriloquist, equal to anyone who ever attempted vocal deceptions, and far better than a majority of public performers, and when it came to imitating animals and locating their growls, barks, and hisses at a distance, he could in that direction beat anyone in the world.
He did not walk off. He had gotten on to something immense, as he expressed the initial steps in a great crime, and he regretted that he did not have an opportunity to overhear all the details, and the outcome of the man’s proposition to the two abductors.
“I’ve heard enough,” he muttered. “I’ll bet a big apple I can locate the house on Long Island, so if anyone is missing I will be able to trail down to his prison, and what is more, I’ve seen all the three men. I can identify every one of them, and I am not through with them yet.”
The lad hung around the hotel until after midnight, when he saw the man who had made the proposition come forth. He followed him and located him at one of the most fashionable hotels in New York. He actually followed him into the hotel and located the man in his room. He had great luck in escaping observation, for he was such a nimble little “cuss” he was sure to succeed where many would have failed.
He succeeded, as stated, in following the man to his room, but when it came to making his way again to the street, he failed. He was stealing along when suddenly he felt himself in a strong grasp. Ike was like an eel, as nimble as a fish, but he thought it better to resort to stratagem to escape rather than try to wrench himself away.
It was the night watchman who had seized him, and who asked:
“What are you doing here?”
“I got in here by a mistake. I am a stranger and I got into the wrong hotel.”
“That won’t do; you are a thief and I shall take you down to the office, and have you taken in. I’ve been on the lookout for you.”
“I can prove my innocence,” said Ike.
“Oh, you can, eh?”
“I can.”
“You will have a chance, little sly thief. Yes, you shall have a chance, but I’ve been on the ‘lay’ for you all the same.”
Ike allowed himself to be led along. He knew what he was up to, and he went along as quietly as Mary’s little lamb. As intimated, Nimble Ike was what the boys call awfully smart, and he had the nerve of the very first quality. He just acted as meek as a little girl until they reached the great staircase, and were descending the last flight of steps leading to the office when suddenly a dog snapped at the calves of the night watchman’s legs. The man was entirely off his guard. He felt as safe as a ship floating on a smooth lake in midsummer, and the bark and snap came so suddenly that he released his hold on Ike, leaped into the air, and as he came down struck the carpeted edge of the step, fell over and rolled to the bottom. Ike was more nimble, however; the moment the man released him, he made a plunge down the stairs, went down the broad rails “belly gutters,” as the boys say, and away he went across the marble office floor, and out into the darkness and away. Meantime the watchman had rolled over and over and slid out on the marble floor, and one of the bellboys ran to his assistance.
“Where in thunder,” demanded the watchman, as he rose to his feet, “did that darn dog come from?”
“There weren’t no dog, Boss.”
“There weren’t no dog?”
“No, sir.”
“How dare you contradict me; didn’t he spring at me from behind?”
“There weren’t no dog. I was looking at you when you came down the stairs.”
“What do you want to lie for?”
“I was looking straight at you.”
“And you didn’t hear that dog?”
“I heard him, but I didn’t see him.”
“You heard him and didn’t see him?”
“No.”
“Why, he sprang right at my heels when I was halfway down the stairs.”
“Yes, I heard him, but there weren’t no dog there.”
“Don’t call me a liar.”
“I know what it was.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what was it?”
“You were tricked.”
“Tricked?”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
“That boy.”
“That boy?” repeated the man.
“Yes.”
“How could he trick me?”
“He was a ventrickulist, I guess, for there weren’t no dog there in sight, and yet I heard him.”
“Impossible.”
“No, those fellows can do wonderful tricks. You had him under arrest?”
“Yes.”
“Well, he fooled you, that’s all.”
“I’ll bet you ten dollars I saw a dog.”
“All right, sir, stick to it,” said the bellboy, and he walked away. The night watchman was mad. He had lost his prisoner and it did run through his mind that possibly he had been tricked, and then he had rolled down the stairs in front of all the other bellboys and the night clerk.
“Did you know that boy?” he asked, walking over to the bellboys' bench.
“No, but I’ve seen fellows like him at the show. You were fooled, that’s all.”
“I’ll bet there was a dog. It isn’t possible for a human being to perform an imitation like that.”
At this moment a second time, a dog barked at the man’s heels, and yelled, “There, there!” he leaped away and turned with a drawn club to strike, but there was no dog for him to club. He just gazed in amazement and muttered:
“Well, I’ll be hanged.”
The man meditated a moment and then went toward the door. As he did so he beheld a nimble little form dart from behind a column and dash away. He started in pursuit, but the trickster was too nimble for him and got away.
The watchman went out to the street and peered around for some time, but saw no more of the dog-maker as he called him.
In the meantime, Ike returned to his home, and it was after one o’clock when he arrived. Mrs. Pell was waiting for him. She had been worried, and Ike said:
“You must never be worried about me. I may sometimes be gone two or three days at a time. Here’s a quarter to get a meal tomorrow, and I am happy to say that I think I am on the way to making quite a big stake. I can’t tell, but it looks that way now.”
On the morning following the incidents we have recorded, Ike was out bright and early, and he went over to the hotel to which he had traced the man the preceding night.
It was late when he saw the man come forth, and he at once fell to his trail and followed the man downtown. He saw him enter an office over which was a sign, Fellman & Co., Bankers.
“I wonder if that is Fellman or the Co.?” muttered Ike as he walked past the office, and took a close survey as far as he could from the outside.
He was still gazing when he saw a fine-looking young man, evidently not more than five or six-and-twenty, enter the building, and a moment later he saw him enter the office into which the man he had been trailing had proceeded. Our hero could see into the office from the street. He saw the young man greet the elder one and he remarked:
“Well, that young fellow has a fine face. He is not a rogue, but I cannot say as much about the older man. If I didn’t know he was up to an underhand scheme, I should set him down as a mean sneak. He carries a map of the mean town on his face. I reckon I’ll find out which is which, and who’s who, and then I can lay out my course.”
A little later a lad whom Ike had seen flitting around the office came forth. Our hero followed him and when a chance offered went up and addressed him, saying:
“Hello, Tom.”
“You’re off,” came the answer.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“Ain’t you in Fellman & Co’s. office?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I thought so; don’t you remember me?”
“No, I don’t.”
“That’s funny, but let me see, maybe I’ve made a mistake; what is the name of the young man who is the junior partner in your place?”
“His name’s Burlein.”
“Oh, excuse me, I’ve made a mistake.”
Ike walked away and the lad stood and looked after him while our hero remarked:
“I’ve made a little progress, I’ve found out the name of the man who is putting up the job.”
Ike knew it was necessary to pick up a little money, and he didn’t know just how to do it. He had walked back to the vicinity of Fellman & Co’s. office when he saw the younger partner, Burlein, come forth. He stood looking at the young man, when the latter, singularly enough, advanced directly toward him.
“Are you busy?” demanded Burlein, addressing our hero.
“No, sir.”
“Can you carry a note for me?”
“I can, sir.”
“Our office boy cannot be spared and I wish to send a note uptown. Can you carry it?”
“I can, sir.”
The young man handed our hero an addressed note and told him to deliver it and wait for an answer. At the same time, he gave Ike a quarter to pay his car fare.
Ike wasn’t spending any money on car fares, and away he went like a young deer. He reached the house, a nice three-story brownstone house, located on a side street leading off from Fifth Avenue. He rang the bell, and to the colored boy who answered the ring he handed the note and said he was to wait for an answer. He was kept waiting on the stoop for fully fifteen minutes when the colored boy brought him a note and handed him twenty-five cents.
“Well,” muttered Ike as he walked away, “this is a great day’s business.”
He observed that the note was addressed in a lady’s fine hand, and in good season he appeared at the office and delivered the missive to young Mr. Burlein, who handed him a half dollar. As Ike passed over the note and received his pay, he observed that Fellman, the senior partner, was glancing out from under his shaggy eyebrows. A moment after Ike had left the office and was walking along in an exuberant feeling at the idea of having made one whole dollar when he felt a hand laid on his shoulder. He started, and on the instant, it shot through his mind that he had been recognized by one or the other of the two men whom he had run across upon the preceding evening, but instead, he recognized Fellman.
“Come with me, lad,” said the man.
Ike asked no questions. He was a lightning thinker, and in a few brief seconds, quite a volume of conjectures had run through his mind.
The man led our hero down a narrow side street, and then coming to a halt, inquired abruptly:
“Did you deliver a letter this morning?”
“Yes, I did.”
“To whom?”
“A young man in an office over there.”
“But did you carry a letter for him?”
“Did I?”
“That is what I asked you.”
“What business is it of yours what I did?”
“Hold on, lad, don’t get mad so soon.”
“It’s none of your business, sir, what I did.”
“I’ll make it my business.”
“You let go of me.”
Fellman had seized Ike by the arm.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I know you won’t, I don’t mean to let you hurt me.”
The man discerned that Ike was one of those bright boys, and many are to be met with the world over.
“You let go of me,” repeated Ike.
“I won’t hurt you, I say.”
“No, and I say I won’t let you.”
“Did you deliver a note?”
“It is none of your business.”
The man handed Ike a quarter; the lad refused to take it and saw his advantage at once.
“I don’t want your quarter,” he said.
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I’ll make it a half dollar.”
“What for?”
“I want you to answer my question.”
“I am not bound to tell you.”
“No, but I’ll pay you.”
“Why are you so anxious to find out what I did?”
“I have good reasons for wishing to know.”
“That don’t pay me.”
“I’ll give you a dollar.”
“What for?”
“To tell me if you carried a letter and where you took it.”
“You want to know?”
“Yes, I do, and I’ll pay you one dollar.”
“Only one dollar, eh! you must be rich.”
“How much do you want to answer me?”
“What will you pay?”
“I’ll give you two dollars.”
“Oh, raise.”
“You are a little ‘beat.’”
“I am?”
“Yes.”
“All right, go off and I won’t beat you.”
“How much do you want to answer my question?”
Ike considered everything. He finally made up his mind to tell if he received his price, and then he proposed to lay around and notify the young man, Burlein, so there would be no advantage on the part of Fellman. “I want a five-dollar bill, that’s what I want.”
The man handed the lad a five-dollar bill, and our hero was jubilant; here he was six dollars in hand, a big sum, enough to take care of his family for a couple of weeks in a pinch.
“Where did you take the letter?”
“Uptown.”
“Where, uptown?”
Ike named the street.
“The number?” demanded the man.
Ike told the number.
“What was in the note?”
“How do I know? I don’t open letters when I have them to deliver.”
“You brought back an answer?”
“Yes.”
“You are a smart boy.”
“Thank you.”
“Who wrote the letter?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was it a lady or a gentleman?”
“I should say it was a lady.”
“You judge from the handwriting?”
“Yes.”
“That will do. You were well paid.”
Ike stood and looked after the man and muttered:
“Well, I am getting into this matter pretty deep; that man has an enemy; he wants him put out of the way, ‘dropped out.’ Yes, I see, and now I know there is a woman in the case, and I have already picked up six dollars out of the adventure. A gold mine for me; good enough, I am on the side of the young man, Burlein, and I am against the old fellow. I begin to get on to things. I’ll know more later, and a big game is being played, and I am peeping into the mystery.”
Ike hung around the whole forenoon until he saw the young man, Burlein, come forth, and then he followed him. Our hero was fairly well dressed for a lad, and when he saw Burlein enter a restaurant he followed, and boldly took a seat at the same table. The young man stared, and then said, good-naturedly:
“Well, lad, are you going to spend your half dollar?”
“Don’t cost as much as that for a meal in here, does it?”
“I reckon the cheapest meal you can get here is half a dollar.”
The young man spoke good-naturedly, but as our readers will hear, he was of a very pleasant temperament, and yet withal, he was somewhat annoyed, as he suspected the boy was set to work him, for he had read Ike, and perceived that he was a very smart fellow.
“I reckon I can stand the meal today,” said Ike, and he added:
“Maybe you will treat me.”
Burlein did not like what he considered Ike’s boldness, in fact, he began to suspect that the lad was even smarter than he had supposed, and there were reasons why he was a little sensitive in one direction.
“If you expect me to pay for your meal, you are likely to prove a victim to great expectations.”
There came a peculiar look to Ike’s face as he said:
“It’s all right, you will change your ideas about me before you and I are through.”
Burlein gazed in amazement. This was not the language of a boy but of an experienced man of the world.
“Who are you, anyhow?” asked Burlein.
“I am Ike.”
“What is your last name?”
“We will get to that later on. Your name is Burlein.”
The young man started, for the address on the letter had been simply “Ed;” the name Burlein had not appeared on it.
“What do you do for a living?” demanded the young man.
“We will come to that by and by. In the meantime, I want to ask you a few questions.”
Burlein stared.
“You are a strange lad,” he said.
“Yes, I am odd, but I know what I am about.”
“It strikes me you had a purpose in coming and seating yourself here.”
“Yes, I had a purpose. I thought you might pay for my dinner.”
“That was not your purpose.”
“You have fallen to that first, eh?”
“Yes, I have.”
“All right, I want to ask you several questions, and I want you to answer me fair and square.”
The surprise of young Burlein was increasing at every word.
“You wish to ask me some questions?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, go on.”
“Is Fellman your partner?”
“He is.”
“How long have you been associated together?”
There was a singular directness in Ike’s questions which hardly accorded with his position as a mere lad.
“How does it concern you?”
“Is he your friend or your enemy?”
“That is a strange question, even impertinent, I should say.”
“Answer me.”
“I beg your pardon, boy; you are saucy, I will not answer your question.”
“Suppose I give you a reason why you should answer me.”
“Can you?”
“I can.”
“Do so.”
“He is inquiring into your affairs.”
The young man stared with a glare of blank amazement in his eyes.
“He is inquiring into my business?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Will you tell me what you mean?”
“I am telling you that he is inquiring into your private affairs. He may suspect that you are robbing him.”
The young man, Burlein, was taken all aback. It was the most extraordinary incident of his life. Here was a mere lad sitting down and coolly holding out the most startling suggestions.
“You are a remarkable lad,” he said.
“I am very observant.”
“Yes, you are, and your words imply something.”
“On my honor, they do.”
“Then talk right out.”
“I have talked out pretty plain. I tell you, your partner is inquiring into your private affairs. I believe he is a sneak. I believe you are a fair and square young man, so I’m telling you the fact.”
“Will you tell me how you know he is inquiring into my affairs?”
“Yes, I will tell. This morning you sent me with a note?”
“I did.”
“I brought you an answer?”
“Certainly.”
“When I delivered that answer, I noticed your partner, Mr. Fellman.”
“Well?”
“He was watching me very closely.”
The young man laughed in a relieved way and asked:
“Is that all, my lad? My partner is a very nervous man. He is always on the alert. He is always watching everything that goes on around him. Here, finish your dinner and I will pay for it. You are, I am afraid, a little too smart, but no doubt you mean well. I certainly am a very good-natured man to have permitted you to say all I have listened to.”
“But I am not through yet.”
“You will excuse me, I do not wish to hear anymore.”
“You are sure?”
“I am.”
Ike pulled a five-dollar bill from his pocket and holding it toward young Burlein said:
“You see that bill?”
“I do.”
“Your partner, Mr. Fellman, gave me that bill.”
Burlein suddenly turned deathly pale.
“My partner gave you that bill?”
“He did.”
“For what service?”
“If I were on the make I could demand another five from you for telling you.”
“And I might refuse you it, might look upon it as a game to ‘do’ me out of five dollars.”
“It would be bad for you in the end, possibly. You know the old adage, ‘Forewarned, forearmed.’”
“This is all very puzzling to me, lad.”
“No doubt it is, but your partner gave me that bill.”
“And you want me to give you another to tell me why he gave it to you?”
“No, I do not want you to pay me one cent.”
“Will you tell me why he gave it to you?”
“I will. After I had delivered your answer to you, and had left the office, what did Mr. Fellman do, can you remember?”
The young man was thoughtful a moment and appeared to recall, and finally, he brightened up and said:
“Oh, yes, I remember. He seized his hat and suddenly ran out.”
“You remember that?”
“I do.”
“Now I’ll tell you why he ran out. He followed me, caught me, led me to a side street, and asked me if I had not just delivered you a letter. I told him ‘Yes,’ then he asked, ‘Did you carry one?’ I answered, ‘Yes’; then he asked, ‘Where did you take it.’ I refused to answer, and he finally offered me five dollars to tell him. I did so, resolved to come and tell you all that had occurred.”
The young man listened with starting eyes and deep attention, and when Ike stopped, he sat for some moments lost in deep thought, but finally, he asked:
“Now, that leads you to think he is my enemy?”
“I thought I’d at least tell you what had occurred.”
The young man laughed—his laugh, however, was a forced one—as he said:
“It’s all right, lad; yes, it’s all right, but you have interpreted the little adventure the wrong way. Mr. Fellman is my friend, and that is why he asked you those questions. They were prompted by interest and anxiety on my behalf.”
“Oh, that’s all, eh?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Mr. Burlein, all I have got to say is, look out for his interest and anxiety on your behalf. You are not a fool, neither am I. You are greatly disturbed.”
“Oh, no—no, no; but see here; you have shown good sense and judgment. The circumstances are a little peculiar. Here is a ten-dollar bill for you. This has been a good day, for I will pay for the dinner. Now, tell me about yourself. Tell me who you are, what you are. Yes, tell me the whole story.”
The young man spoke in a very nervous tone, and his manner betrayed the fact that really he was very much disturbed.
“There is not much to tell, sir. I am a lad who keeps his eyes and ears open, that’s all, and I’ve put you on your guard. You employed me to go on an errand. I did so and your partner betrayed a desire to find out all about my errand. Yes, he cared five dollars’ worth, and it struck me as very peculiar; and I thought I’d tell you all about it.”
“You were right, yes, just right. And now see here; meet me tomorrow, be my guest. Say nothing to any one and tomorrow we will talk this whole matter over.”
“Yes, I will meet you tomorrow and you may have something to tell me and I may have something to tell you. And I tell you one thing now; put not your trust in princes or partners when they pay five dollars to find out who sends you letters. That’s all; you may trust them, but they do not trust you.”
Burlein paid for the dinner and separated from our hero. When they issued forth Ike went home with his fifteen dollars, and Burlein returned to his office to meditate, and as the sequel will show he had ample subject for meditation. But he was a brave, trusting, and noble young man and little dreamed of impending evil. He was surprised and annoyed, that was all. Alas! when he awoke to his real danger it was too late to avoid it.
Ike was quite proud when he handed Mrs. Pell ten dollars and said:
“That is for the present. I am on a big ‘lay’ and may make considerable money. I can’t tell, but I think I will.”
There came a thoughtful look on Mrs. Pell’s face. A weird suspicion ran through her mind. Fifteen dollars was a great deal of money for a mere youth in no regular business to earn in one day. Ike, who was quick and observant, saw the thoughtful look on his friend’s face and he said:
“You need have no fear. I get all my money honestly. I would neither hold nor receive money that did not come to me honestly.”
The lad lay around until night. He had a scheme in his mind. He believed he had fathomed the whole scheme of the man Fellman, and he also believed he had learned the identity of the intended victim.
When night came the lad issued forth. He had spent a part of the five dollars he had reserved for equipment, and he believed he was prepared for almost any kind of villainy. He proceeded directly to the hotel where the two men had gone with Fellman to hold their consultation, and he lay around until he saw one of the men approach and enter the place.
“So far so good,” he muttered. “This is their headquarters.”
A little later he saw the two men come from the hotel together, and he started to follow them again, muttering:
“I’ll be on hand to give an alarm, or follow them if I cannot do any more.”
The two men strangely enough went directly to the vicinity of the house to which our hero had carried the note, and again he muttered:
“Is it possible I am mistaken? Is it the girl they mean to abduct instead of the young man?”
The fellows lay around until nine o’clock when our hero saw young Burlein come along and enter the house, and he also saw the two men go through a sort of pantomime.
“Aha!” muttered the lad, “now I recognize their ‘lay.’ They will wait until the young man starts for his home about midnight, and then they will attempt their game, whatever it may be.”
The two men walked away. Our hero followed them. They entered a private house some distance away and Ike lay around to watch. After a time he saw several men enter the same house, and he put the question to himself:
“Is it a gambling den, or a resort of thieves, I’d like to know?”
Ike was, like many boys, full of enterprise and courage. He did not stop to think of danger—at his age probably did not appreciate the possibilities of peril as an older person would. He walked up and down several times before the house and finally went around to the street toward which the rear of the house faced and at once ejaculated:
“Eureka!”
He found an alleyway between two houses, one of them directly in the rear of the house he was “piping,” and watching his opportunity he scaled the iron gate and grating and landed in the alleyway. “Now,” he said, “I must go slow; it won’t do to be caught here.”
Noiselessly he stole along to the rear yard, intending to climb the rear fence between the two buildings. He had almost reached the line of fence when suddenly he heard a savage growl and a powerful animal sprang upon him. Certainly, the lad received a shock, but as stated he had equipped himself and he seized the dog ere the animal could bite. The next instant with a moan of pain and surprise the huge dog fell over helpless, and our hero remarked:
“That’s the way I serve everyone, doggy, who comes too close to me without a proper introduction.” Ike scaled the fence and found himself in the yard in the rear of the house he had seen the men enter, and he was on the lookout for dog number two as he cautiously stole along toward the porch of the house. He met no dog and the house appeared to be dark save a stream of light which shot through the blinds from the second-story room.
“So far so good,” said the lad. A moment he stood and considered, and then he made an effort to climb one of the columns of the porch, and he succeeded with the apparent readiness and ease of a trained acrobat or sailor boy. When he reached the roof of the porch he lay on his belly and slowly crawled forward, and in good time arrived at a position under one of the windows. Here he lay low for a few seconds before rising to his feet. When he did attempt to rise he did it very slowly until he had his eyes on a level with the lower blind opening, and then he peeped in. Several men were seated around a table; wine was before them and they were all talking in a very earnest manner.
“It may be a gambling house and it may not be,” muttered the lad, and he added: “I wish I could overhear what those men are saying.”
Ike considered it for a long time. Finally, he determined upon a bold and really desperate plan. The plucky boy resolved to enter that house. He was bent upon hearing the talk of those men. He crawled to the end window opening into the small hall bedroom or bathroom. He was equipped for business, as we have indicated, and it did not take him long to undo the fastening and pull the blind open. Then he tried the window. It was fastened, but the new-fangled catch was not in use and it did not take him long to slide the hammer and raise the sash. Only a moment he considered, and then boldly crawled in. He knew his peril. He knew they were desperate men and did they once suspected that he had overheard any of their talk and caught him his chances would be very slim, and yet he faced the peril.
There was no need for pretense and he removed his shoes and slipped across the room. He found the door unlocked and passed to the hall, and then along to the door of the room in which he had seen the men. Peeping through the keyhole he saw them still sitting there. They were not laughing and talking like men enjoying themselves but were evidently holding a very earnest consultation. Our hero was of keen hearing and could catch almost every word that was spoken—at least sufficient to know the sense of what was being said.
One man appeared to be in authority. He was asking a great many questions, and Ike heard the question put:
“Are you certain that they carry as much money as that in their safe?”
“According to my information, they do.”
“Who is your informant?”
“The typewriter.”
“Oh! you are soft on her, eh?”
“No, I am playing the good Sunday school teacher dodge on her. I’ve met her a great many times at church, got up a speaking acquaintance, and she thinks I am a model of good deeds.”
“Say, old man, women are dangerous to deal with.”
“Oh, yes, generally, but I am all right here.”
“They are very close observers. Do you know a woman can beat a man noting and giving descriptions?”
“Yes, I know.”
“This woman has talked to you and in case anything should happen she will give a clue to the cops. They are dangerous people to deal with—they are not afraid to talk up.”
“I’ve only worked on her for the information.”
“And they carry large sums overnight?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Sometimes sixty or seventy thousand.”
“Not as a rule?”
“No, but there are times.”
“If we knew one of those times.”
“That is just what I am getting on to. I will know one of those times. We can have our plans all laid and ‘nip’ the ‘swag’ easy.”
“Well,” was the thought that ran through Ike’s mind. “I am getting into a few complications by following those two men last night. I’ve opened up a nest of crime.” He lay low and heard considerably more talk; indeed, the full details of a plan to rob a safe of a great banking house, and he had about taken it all in when suddenly a heavy hand was laid on his shoulder, and a gruff voice with an oath demanded:
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s all up with me,” was the mental conclusion of our hero, who declined to make a reply to the inquiry. Indeed he had no time for replies. He needed his thoughts to meet the emergency.
The man’s voice evidently aroused the fellows inside the room, and the door was opened and Ike in his stocking feet was forced into the room and confronted the conspirators. The men stared with looks of amazement upon their faces when the man who had captured Ike demanded:
“What have you fellows been discussing here?”
The evident leader of the gang took in the situation and he was a quick-witted man. He answered:
“Oh, we have been discussing a new play we are going to bring out. We think it a good scheme to make it realistic and introduce a real burglar scene.”
The man who had asked the question laughed and said:
“You have had an audience during your rehearsal.”
He forced Ike into a chair and sitting opposite him as the others gathered around he asked:
“Who are you, lad?”
Ike made no answer but stared as though he were hard of hearing—a poor trick, indeed, for the man said:
“Oh, that won’t do; don’t come the deaf and dumb dodge on us. Mutes don’t stand in their stocking feet in a dark hall with their ear to a keyhole.”
Ike laughed; he saw that his dodge didn’t work and he came a more cunning one. He said:
“I am on to you men. You are not actors, you are robbers.”
The men all glared and exchanged glances.
The man who had captured Ike asked:
“Who sent you here?”
“No one sent me; I followed in here.”
“You followed in here?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Who did you follow?”
“No one.”
“Then what do you mean, you little rascal? Are you fooling? Be careful, we may hang you.”
“Oh, you will not hang me, but I was led in here.”
“You were?”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
“No one.”
The man drew a pistol, aimed at the boy, and said in a menacing tone:
“Stop fooling.”
“I ain’t fooling.”
“Then talk out straight what you mean, or something may be sent into you.”
“I was led in here.”
“Come, come, talk up. Who or what led you in here?”
“A cat.”
The men all laughed and Ike appeared as innocent as a kitten when he made the statement.
“A cat led you in here, eh?”
“Yes.”
“I reckon, sonny, it was a cat that chased you in here, for you are our mouse, and you are trapped.”
Ike laughed as though the conceit was very funny, but there came a change over his face when the man asked:
“Do you remember what they do with mice when they catch them?”
The lad did not answer.
“They kill ’em—strangle ’em,” said the man.
The boy laughed. His assumption of carelessness and innocence was immense.
“I reckon we will strangle you.”
“Oh, you won’t hurt me.”
“You are a smart lad. We’ve humored you, and now answer my question, What were you doing there?”
“I was listening.”
“Yes, I know that.”
“And that’s all.”
“And that’s all, eh?”
“Yes.”
“What were you listening to?”
“To these men.”
“And what did you hear?”
“I heard they were going to rob a house.”
“You heard that, eh?”
The boy answered so frankly the men really were for a moment deceived, and one of them said:
“He is an idiot.”
“Is he?” queried the man who had captured Ike.
“Yes.”
“He is the smartest idiot you ever struck;” and addressing Ike the man continued:
“So you chased a cat in here?”
“Yes.”
“How did the cat get in?”
Ike proved as keen-witted as the man who was questioning him.
“I don’t know,” was the answer.
“How did you know he was in here, my lad?”
“I saw him at the window.”
“And how did you get in?”
“I crawled in.”
“Crawled in where?”
“Oh, I climbed up on the porch and got in through the bathroom window.”
“You came after your cat?”
“Yes.”
“Go on.”
“When I got in I heard men in this room, and I peeped in and heard all they said.”
“You heard all?”
“I heard a good deal.”
“What did you hear?”
“I heard there was seven hundred thousand dollars in a safe on a steamboat.”
“Oh, you rascal!” exclaimed the man.
Ike did not wince, and the man finally said:
“We will hang you unless you prove your innocence.”
“How can I prove my innocence?”
“You say there was a cat here?”
“Yes.”
“Did the cat get out?”
“No.”
“Where is he?”
“He ran up the stairs.”
“You find that cat, or we will hang you.”
At that moment a cat was heard actually mewing in the hall, and there Ike sat in the chair under the gaze of all the men, and one of them said:
“By ginger, the lad tells the truth.”
Another of the men drew a club from his pocket and started for the hallway. He saw no cat and in a moment returned. In the meantime, the men appeared to be confused and the man who had captured our hero said:
“We must take care of this lad. Here, Martin, you take him upstairs, put him in the chain, and secure him so he cannot get away, and we will decide upon his fate. I vote for hanging him unless he tells the truth.”
Ike showed signs of great fear and one of the men whispered:
“Hold on; you will scare him to death.”
The man answered:
“He must talk or he is a dead boy, that’s all.”
The man who had been ordered to take Ike upstairs and bind him seized hold of the lad, and the latter began to plead. The man who appeared to be the leader said:
“No use, sonny, there is only one way out of this—talk.”
“I am talking.”
“Oh, you are smart. You know what I mean—who sent you here?”
“No one.”
“All right, take him upstairs and we will decide what to do with him.”
Ike was dragged from the room while protesting in the most earnest manner, and so he struggled all the way up the stairs.
After he had been led from the room, one of the men said:
“You are wrong, cap.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“That lad did follow a cat in here, and he was so frank.”
“Was he?”
“Yes; you heard all he said.”
“I did, and I’ve something to tell you. That is one of the smartest lads in New York. He holds the liberty of every man of us in his hands.”
“What do you mean, cap?”
“I am astonished you fellows are not on to him.”
“Who is he?”
“He is a detective’s ‘cub,’ that’s what he is, and he was sent here to ‘pipe’ us.”
“But we heard the cat, that part of his story was true.”
“You think so?”
“We heard the cat.”
“But you didn’t see him, did you?”
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