CHAPTER VI.
IKE RECOVERS THE BONDS THROUGH HIS FRIEND, DETECTIVE DU FLORE, AND HE AND HIS FELLOW VENTRILOQUIST FALL INTO NEW ADVENTURES.
The property was surrendered--the bonds, all the jewelry and all themoney to a cent--and placed in the hands of Ike, who, when he met his"side partner" at their home, said:
"Well, Jack, I didn't need you. I caught my fish easy."
"Yes, 'dead easy,' as the two robbers said."
"They missed, I won."
"You did."
"So much for this adventure. To-morrow I will return the stolen propertyto the owner, and then----"
"What then?"
"We will lie around for a new adventure. We're having a heap of fun."
"We are, and doing a heap of good even if I say it myself."
On the day following the incidents we have related Ike and Jack incompany called upon the young lady for whom they had done so great aservice. She received them in the little parlor, but she appeared veryanxious and careworn, and she said after the usual greetings:
"I am very unhappy."
"You are?"
"I am."
"Why?"
"I cannot remain here with this good lady when I am unable to pay for myboard."
"What will you do?" asked Ike, a pleasant brightness in his eyes.
"I do not know what I will do. I am already in her debt."
"You are?"
"Yes; she paid my board bill at the last place when she went with me toget my trunk."
"And you think you will not be able to pay her?"
"I do not know what I will do."
"You can pay her when you recover your stolen property."
"I will never recover that."
"Did I not promise that I would recover it for you?"
"Yes, in the goodness of your heart you did; but the lady here, withwhom I am staying, says the chances are very much against my everrecovering my property."
"And has she intimated that you had better find another home?"
"On the contrary, she has told me I can remain here as long as Iplease--until I find my uncle or secure a position that will enable meto earn my living."
"You can set your mind at rest; when I promise a thing I usually keep mypromise. I will not keep you in suspense. Here is your property restoredto you."
The girl almost fainted, so great was her excitement. She could notspeak for a full minute, but when she did find voice she exclaimed:
"And you really have recovered all my property?"
"You can recognize your own property; here it is."
"This is wonderful."
"It's jolly good, that's all. I said I would recover it and I've kept myword; and now you are independent."
"Oh, I am so grateful! How did you do it?"
"Well, we did it."
"Who was the thief?"
"One of the boarders in that house."
"Who was the guilty party?"
"Whom would you suspect?"
"No one; they all seemed good people."
"And you had no suspicion?"
"I did not suspect any one particular person."
"A young man named Goodlove was the thief."
The girl stared.
"He was the thief?"
"Yes."
"I never would have suspected him, he was so kind to me. He was the onlyone to whom I told anything about myself."
"Yes, and he took advantage of your confidence in him to rob you."
"I did not tell him I had any money."
"He evidently suspected you did have, but all's well that ends well; andnow you will remember I made you another promise."
"You said you would find my uncle."
"I said I would find him if he were living."
"And can you succeed as you have in recovering this property?"
"I can and will, if he is alive. And now can I advise you?"
"Yes."
"Make your home here for the present, until such time as we report asconcerns the whereabouts of your uncle."
"Now that I can pay my board I will gladly remain here. I propose totake music lessons and become a teacher. I shall be self-supporting. Iam pretty well advanced in music already."
"That is good. Can we call and see you occasionally?"
"I shall always be delighted to have you call upon me; you have provedyourselves my real friends. But will you tell me how you managed torecover my bonds?"
"Not to-day; some day we will tell you all about it."
"And Goodlove--is he in jail?"
"No, it was his first offense and we let him off. He will leave NewYork, however, and start afresh. I think he has learned a lesson andwill become honest."
On the day following Ike and Jack were at breakfast in a restaurant whenthey overheard the proprietor of the place and a customer discussing agreat robbery that had taken place under the most startlingcircumstances. Ike, after the meal, secured a paper and read theaccount. The robbery was indeed a very startling one. An old miser hadlived in a tumble-down house for twenty-odd years. No one knew that hepossessed one cent; indeed, his neighbors were not aware that he was theowner of the old tumble-down house in which he resided. He was seldomseen on the streets, then only at night. He never begged alms, lived inthe most frugal manner, as was supposed, as no one could tell where hedid procure his food. He occupied the little old house alone, and, asstated, had gone on for years, never attracting any attention until onemorning through the police the startling announcement was made that theold man was really a possible millionaire. Thieves had broken into hisold house, chloroformed him and ransacked his apartments, and accordingto the old man's statement had carried off gold, bills, silver bonds,and securities to an amount which under all the circumstances appearedincredible. Indeed, as it appeared, the police had been in possession ofthe facts of the robbery for several days, but they had doubted the oldman's story, doubted that he had ever possessed any property at all, butlater revelations established the truthfulness of the old man'sstatement beyond all question. As it also appeared, the old man had goneto South America when a very young man. He had returned to New Yorktwenty years previous to the time of the robbery, and had then purchasedthe old house where, for reasons of his own, he had lived seemingly thelife of a miser. The papers spoke of him in contemptuous tones as an oldmiser, and said by intimation that it served him right to be robbed. Itwas a just retribution visited upon a man who for the pure love ofpossession had denied himself the comforts of life just to accumulatehis hoards, which were useless to him and the thousands of needy peoplewhom he might have aided. The robbery had been a very mysterious one. Noone had been seen by any one lurking in the vicinity of the house, butsome time between midnight and morning three men, as the old miserdeclared, had entered his house, had chloroformed him and then haddeliberately gone all through his apartments and had taken everythingof value they could lay their hands on. After the robbery, as itappeared, the old man had refused to take any one into his house as aguard. He did not relish the visits of the police, but declared thateverything portable of any value had been taken. He had been verymethodical and had the numbers of most of his bonds, and the usualnotifications were sent to dealers; but it was well known that quite anumber of the securities were unregistered and negotiable. Indeed, as itproved later, the old man was mistaken; the bulk of them werenegotiable. Besides the securities, jewels of great value and hoards ofgold and silver were taken.
Ike and Jack read over the account and later met their friend, DetectiveDu Flore, who knew all about the case, and he said:
"I was coming to see you. I wonder if we can get in on this job with anyhope of success?"
"I don't know about the hope of success," said Ike, "but we can get inon the job."
"I will tell you something privately: there is an immense rewardoffered. It will be the job of our lives if we can run down thoseplunderers."
"We can try."
"Ike, you are a wonder, and hoping to h
ave your aid I have had myselfspecially assigned to the case. My reputation for life will be made, andwe will all receive a big sum of money. I owe my present reputation toyou. The capture of those two burglars has set me away up, and if I cansolve this mystery and run down the robbers I am a great man."
"We will see what we can do."
"It's a great case and some of the oldest men on the force are on it. Iwould like to prove a winner."
"We will do the best we can."
"You have a great head, Ike."
"Thank you; I'll do the best I can."
"What is your plan for a starter?"
"I must have a chance to think the matter over. It will take me two orthree days to make up my mind, but let me tell you, Du Flore, I have anidea that we can solve this mystery and get on the thieves."
"We are just made for life if we can. When will you see me again?"
"In a few days or in a few hours possibly," said Ike.
The detective and the ventriloquist separated, and as Ike and Jackwalked away the former said:
"Jack, we've got a big job on hand. Let's walk down and take a look atthe old miser's house, for to-night we may wish to play burglar."
"What do you mean?"
"I am going to take great chances. I am going to get into that house."
"Sneak in?"
"Yes."
"You will get into a scrape, I fear."
"Eh, Jack, do you fear? I did not think you knew what fear meant."
Jack laughed and said:
"Don't take me so quick, Ike. All I intended to convey was that weshould be cautious. That house will be under surveillance. It mightprove awkward if you were caught sneaking into the old man's place."
"Would you sneak in if you had a plan?"
"To own up square, I would."
"All right; we won't be caught, and if we do, with your brave aid we'llget out of the scrape. I've an idea--a very funny one. I won't tell itto you now, or even you might call me a crank. But I tell you, I amgoing to take big chances and get into the old man's house on the sly,in spite of the police, detectives and every one else. I've a scheme."
The two lads arrived in the vicinity of the house and scanned thesurroundings very carefully, and as they walked away Ike said:
"We have a chance for a joke on hand, Jack."
"Yes, I am on to it."
"What are you on to?"
"We have been spotted and a detective is on our track."
"Yes, a snide. We'll give him a lesson."
"When?"
"Oh, we'll shake him now, but to-night we'll show up again and have ourfun, and with our fun we'll do some business."
The ventriloquists were right. They had been spotted and a "snide"detective was on their track, and the youths did succeed in giving himthe "shake," and they just kept under cover until night, when, havingfully arranged for their adventures, they issued forth and proceededagain down to the old miser's house, and just as they suspected the"snide" detective got on to their track again, and the second time hestarted in to follow them he was satisfied he had struck something. AsIke and Jack walked away the former said:
"Now the fun commences. We will give that fellow a great steer."
Ike and Jack were both well posted all over the city of New York, andthey proceeded to a public-house which had been for years under thesurveillance of the police. It was a regular thieves' resort and many abad fellow had been trailed from that very house. Once in the house theysat down at a table and called for their beer, and, as both suspected,in a few moments the "snide" entered. He pretended to be looking ateverything else but the two youths, when in reality he was watchingevery movement. Ike had been revolving in his mind how to give thefellow a layout. He knew the man well. He was a real "snide"--adetective beat--in fact, not a genuine detective, but the agent of adetective agency. He thought himself, however, very smart. Ike, asstated, knew the house well, and knew that a number of very prominentpoliticians were in the habit of gathering in a back room on the secondfloor, where they indulged a little game of cards _for fun only_, anddiscussed their political plans. They were men away up politically, notthieves in the general sense of the word; at least, they were not liableto arrest, and they were very bold and resolute and had a very high ideaof themselves. Even while Ike sat there he saw two of these men enterthe place and pass through a rear side door to the hall.
Ike knew these men well. He was aware, as stated, that they met in thisroom to discuss their political plans. They were in session, and after alittle while the "snide" who had been watching the two ventriloquistscrossed over to the table where they were sitting and pretended to havemet one of them before.
"See here, mister," said Ike, "you are barking up the wrong tree."
The man gazed in astonishment.
"We are not under glances now, but there's bigger game in this house."
The "snide" recognized at once that the two young fellows were "on tohim," as the saying goes.
"Who are you fellows anyhow?" he demanded.
"Oh, we're just out, we are. You have no use for us, nor we for you."
"You say there's bigger game in this house?"
"Yes, there is."
"Give me the points."
"Oh, you can't work it alone."
"I can't?"
"No."
"You give me the points and we will see if I can."
"Go and get your pard. It will take two of you, and I'll let you on to abig call. I want to get square; that's how I stand."
"You put me on to a big lay and I'll make it worth your while."
"You will?"
"I will. You know me, don't you?"
"I only know you are a cop, that's all."
"Did I ever have any dealings with you?"
"Never; but I want to get square. There are a couple of men in thishouse who swore us away once."
Our readers will bear in mind that both the ventriloquists were under adisguise that permitted them to play the role they were working at thatmoment.
"What is the lay?"
"Oh, it's the old miser business. I knew the moment that thing came outwho did that job."
"It may be you did," said the detective wisely.
"Do you think we were in it?"
"You may have been."
"Then take us, and we'll have the laugh on you and the real game willskip. I say I can set you on to a dead sure game to prove your arrest."
"You can?"
"I can."
"How?"
"When I agree I can do it easy enough, but you had better get a pard.These villains are wild fellows; they might do you up."
"I'll take chances."
"You will?"
"I will."
"All right; I'll give you the points."