NELSON TO THE RESCUE.
On the same evening that Gertrude visited Sam Pepper's establishment,
Nelson, after closing up, determined to run down and call upon the girl
and tell her about the stand and how well they had done that day.
"She'll be pleased, I know," he told himself. "She wants me to make a
man of myself."
Arriving at the tenement house, he ascended the stairs to Mrs. Kennedy's
rooms and knocked upon the back door. To his surprise Gladys Summers,
the flower girl, let him in.
"Hullo, Gladys! you here?" he said.
"Oh, Nelson! I thought it was Gertrude," answered the flower girl. "Did
you bring her along?"
"Along? I haven't seen her."
"She went over to Sam Pepper's place to bring you here. Mrs. Kennedy is
very sick, and we didn't know what to do."
"I haven't been to Sam's place. I left there yesterday for good. What's
the matter with the old lady?"
"Her rheumatism has got up around her heart, and she's very bad. I think
she ought to have a doctor."
"She shall have one, Gladys. Was Gertrude going to get one?"
"No, she was going to get you to do that. She doesn't know anything of
doctors down here, so she said."
"I'll have one here in a little while," said our hero, and ran down the
stairs, two steps at a time.
Two blocks below the house there was a drug store, and a doctor had his
office upstairs. The physician was in, and listened to what Nelson had
to say.
"I'll go," he said. "But you know my terms to strangers."
"How much will the visit be?"
"A dollar."
"There's your money." And our hero handed it over.
The pair were soon at Mrs. Kennedy's bedside, and after an examination
the doctor wrote out a prescription and Nelson had it filled at the drug
store. The physician said he would call again the following afternoon.
"She's in a bad state," he said. "She has likely had this rheumatism
for years, and her age is against her."
"Don't you think she'll get over it?" asked our hero.
"I think she will. But she may be helpless for many weeks."
"It's hard luck. She hasn't any money."
"Then you had better send her to the hospital."
"No, she shall stay home, if she wants to," said Nelson. "I guess I and
the rest can take care of her. She was always good to me and the
others."
After the medicine had been administered and Mrs. Kennedy was a trifle
easier, Nelson began to grow impatient that Gertrude had not yet
returned.
"I guess I'll go out and hunt her up," he said to Gladys Summers. "Will
you stay here?"
"Yes; I promised to stay all night, Nelson."
Our hero was soon in the street again and making his way rapidly over to
the East Side in the direction of Sam Pepper's resort. It was now late,
but this part of the city was still bustling with life. Yet to our
hero's surprise, when he reached Pepper's place he found it locked up.
"Closed!" he muttered. "This is queer. I wonder where Gertrude went?"
He stood for a moment on the pavement, then went and rapped loudly on
the glass of the door.
For a minute there was no response, then, as he rapped again, Sam
Pepper appeared. His face fell when he lifted a door shade and saw our
hero.
"What do you want now?" he growled, as he opened the door for a space of
several inches.
"Was that young lady over here to find me?" asked our hero.
"Nobody here to see you," answered Sam Pepper gruffly.
"She wasn't? Why, she started for here."
"I haven't seen anybody. Is that all you want?"
"Yes. Why are you shut up so early?"
"I didn't feel very well and thought I'd go to bed and sleep it off,"
answered Pepper smoothly. "I'm going back again. Good-night!"
"Then you haven't seen her at all?" persisted the newsboy.
"Haven't I told you so before? Now, don't disturb me again." And with
this Sam Pepper slammed the door shut and locked it.
Nelson was nonplused, not so much by what Pepper had said as by the
man's manner.
"He wanted to get rid of me in a hurry," he mused. "Somehow, this affair
doesn't look right to me."
While our hero was standing near the curb, speculating upon where next
to look for Gertrude, he was surprised to see Paul Randall come down
the street.
"Why, Paul, how is it you are out so late?" he asked.
"Got stuck on some sporting extras and was bound to sell 'em," answered
Paul. "Say, I hear you've bought out a stand."
"George Van Pelt and I have bought out a stand."
"Hope you make lots of money. If you need a clerk, don't forget me."
"I won't forget you, Paul. We have a boy now who delivers papers for us.
He talks of leaving. If he does, I'll let you know. But, I say, have you
been around here long?"
"Most all the evening."
"You know that young lady who is stopping with Mrs. Kennedy, don't you?"
"Yes. Gladys Summers calls her 'the angel,'" answered Paul readily.
"She's a real lady, aint she, Nelson?"
"She is."
"I saw her go into Pepper's an hour or two ago."
"You did! I was going to ask you if you had seen her. You haven't made
any mistake?"
"Not much! I'd know her in a whole city full--she's so sweet and
beautiful."
"Did you see her come away?"
"No."
"Were you around so you could have seen her?"
"Yes; and I kept my eye on the door for almost an hour. I thought you
might be with her."
"No; Sam Pepper and I have parted for good, Paul. I've got a room
uptown, near the stand. I'd like to know what became of the young lady."
"If she came out, it must have been after I went away."
Paul knew that his mother, who was now getting better, would be anxious
about him, so, without waiting longer, he hurried on. Nelson remained on
the sidewalk, in deep thought.
Presently, as he was looking toward Sam Pepper's resort, he saw a corner
of a curtain lifted and saw the man peer out at him. Then the curtain
was dropped again.
"He's watching me," thought the newsboy. "Something is wrong here, and I
know it. He and that Homer Bulson are friends, and Bulson is bound to
make Miss Gertrude marry him. Perhaps they have hatched up some game
against Miss Gertrude."
Not to make Sam Pepper more suspicious, Nelson walked briskly away, up
the street. But at the first corner he turned, sped down the side
street, and then into the alleyway connecting with the rear of Pepper's
resort.
It took him but a minute to ascertain that the shutters to the rear room
were tightly closed, and held together by a wire bound from one catch to
the other.
The shutters were solid, but near the tops were several round holes, put
there for ventilating purposes.
Looking around our hero discovered an empty barrel, and standing on this
he managed to look through one of the holes into the apartment.
He saw Gertrude sitting on a chair, the picture of misery. The hot tears
were flowing down her cheeks.
The sight went straight to his heart, and without waiting to think of
results, he leaped from the barrel, pulled away the wire, and flung the
shutters open. Then he lifted the window, which had been pulled down,
but not fastened.
Gertrude heard the noise and leaped up in fresh alarm. But when she saw
our hero she gave a cry of joy.
"Oh, Nelson! will you help me?" she gasped.
"Certainly I'll help you, Miss Gertrude," he answered. "What are they
doing--keeping you a prisoner here?"
"Something like that. Mr. Bulson was here and went out to get a coach,
so that he could take me away. Mr. Pepper is on guard in his saloon."
"Just come with me, and you'll be safe."
Gertrude came to the window, and Nelson helped her into the alleyway.
Just as she leaped from the window Sam Pepper unlocked the door and
opened it.
"Stop!" roared the man. "Stop, I say!"
"Don't stop!" said Nelson, and caught Gertrude by the hand. Dark as it
was, the boy knew the narrow and dirty thoroughfare well, and soon led
his companion to the street beyond. Pepper came as far as the window,
and called after them once more, but did not dare to follow further.
[Illustration: "'STOP!' ROARED THE MAN. 'STOP, I SAY!'"]