MAGNET DETECTIVE LIBRARY No. 106 10 CENTS
SHADOWED BY A DETECTIVE
[Illustration]
VIRGINIA CHAMPLIN
STREET & SMITH, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
[Illustration: MAGNET DETECTIVE LIBRARY]
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105--A Bite of An Apple, and Other Stories. By Nicholas Carter.
104--A Past Master of Crime; or, Detective Bush’s Clever Work.
By Donald J. McKenzie.
103--A Queer Case. By Nicholas Carter.
102--Bruce Angelo, the City Detective. By Judson R. Taylor.
101--The Stolen Pay Train and Other Stories. By Nicholas Carter.
100--The Diamond Button. By Barclay North.
99--Gideon Drexel’s Millions. By Nicholas Carter.
98--Tom and Jerry, The Double Detectives. By Judson R. Taylor.
97--The Puzzle of Five Pistols and Other Stories. By Nicholas Carter.
96--No. 13 Rue Marlot. By Rene du Pont Jest.
95--Sealed Orders; or, The Triple Mystery. By Nicholas Carter.
94--Vivier; of Vivier, Longman & Co., Bankers. By Barclay North.
93--The Adventures of Harrison Keith, Detective. By Nicholas Carter.
92--Van, the Government Detective. By Judson R. Taylor.
91--The Great Money Order Swindle. By Nicholas Carter.
90--On the Rack. By Barclay North.
89--The Detective’s Pretty Neighbor and Other Stories. By Nicholas
Carter.
88--The North Walk Mystery. By Will N. Harben.
87--Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men.
86--Brant Adams. By Judson R. Taylor.
85--A Dead Man’s Grip. By Nicholas Carter.
84--The Inspector’s Puzzle. By Charles Matthew.
83--The Crescent Brotherhood. By Nicholas Carter.
82--The Masked Detective. By Judson R. Taylor.
81--Wanted by Two Clients. By Nicholas Carter.
80--The Poker King. By Marline Manley.
79--The Sign of the Crossed Knives. By Nicholas Carter.
78--The Chosen Man. By Judson R. Taylor.
77--The Van Alstine Case. By Nicholas Carter.
76--Face to Face. By Donald J. McKenzie.
75--The Clever Celestial. By Nicholas Carter.
74--The Twin Detectives. By K. F. Hill.
73--Two Plus Two. By Nicholas Carter.
72--Sherlock Holmes Detective Stories. By A. Conan Doyle.
71--The Diamond Mine Case. By Nicholas Carter.
70--Little Lightning. By Police Captain James.
69--Detective Bob Bridger. By R. M. Taylor.
68--The Double Shuffle Club. By Nicholas Carter.
67--The Mystery of a Madstone. By K. F. Hill.
66--The Detective’s Clew. By O. L. Adams.
65--Found on the Beach. By Nicholas Carter.
64--The Red Camellia. By Fortune DuBoisgobey.
63--The Chevalier Casse-Cou. By Fortune DuBoisgobey.
62--A Fair Criminal. By Nicholas Carter.
61--The Maltese Cross. By Eugene T. Sawyer.
60--A Chase Around the World. By Mariposa Weir.
59--A Millionaire Partner. By Nicholas Carter.
58--Muertalma, or the Poisoned Pin. By Marmaduke Dey.
57--The Vestibule Limited Mystery. By Marline Manly.
56--At Thompson’s Ranch. By Nicholas Carter.
55--His Great Revenge, Vol. II. By Fortune DuBoisgobey.
54--His Great Revenge, Vol. I. By Fortune DuBoisgobey.
53--An Accidental Password. By Nicholas Carter.
52--The Post Office Detective. By George W. Goode.
51--The Los Huecos Mystery. By Eugene T. Sawyer.
50--The Man from India. By Nicholas Carter.
49--At Odds With Scotland Yard. By Nicholas Carter.
48--The Great Travers Case. By Dr. Mark Merrick.
47--The Mystery of a Hansom Cab. By Fergus Hume.
46--Check No. 777. By Nicholas Carter.
45--Old Specie, the Treasury Detective. By Marline Manley.
44--The Blue Veil. By Fortune Du Boisgobey.
43--Among the Nihilists. By Nicholas Carter.
42--The Revenue Detective. By Police Captain James.
41--John Needham’s Double. By Joseph Hatton.
40--The Mountaineer Detective. By C. W. Cobb.
39--Among the Counterfeiters. By Nicholas Carter.
38--The Matapan Affair. By Fortune Du Boisgobey.
37--The Prairie Detective. By Leander P. Richardson.
36--The Crime of the Opera House, Vol. II. By F. Du Boisgobey.
35--The Crime of the Opera House, Vol. I. By F. Du Boisgobey.
34--The Society Detective. By Oscar Maitland.
33--The Convict Colonel. By Fortune Du Boisgobey.
32--A Mysterious Case. By K. F. Hill.
31--The Red Lottery Ticket. By Fortune Du Boisgobey.
30--The Bag of Diamonds. By George Manville Fenn.
29--The Clique of Gold. By Emile Gaboriau.
28--Under His Thumb. By Donald J. McKenzie.
27--The Steel Necklace. By Fortune Du Boisgobey.
26--File No. 113. By Emile Gaboriau.
25--The Detective’s Triumph. By Emile Gaboriau.
24--The Detective’s Dilemma. By Emile Gaboriau.
23--Evidence By Telephone. By Nicholas Carter.
22--The Champdoce Mystery. By Emile Gaboriau.
21--A Deposit Vault Puzzle. By Nicholas Carter.
20--Caught in the Net. By Emile Gaboriau.
19--A Chance Discovery. By Nicholas Carter.
18--The Gamblers’ Syndicate. By Nicholas Carter.
17--The Piano Box Mystery. By Nicholas Carter.
16--A Woman’s Hand. By Nicholas Carter.
15--The Widow Lerouge. By Emile Gaboriau.
14--Caught in the Toils. By Nicholas Carter.
13--The Mysterious Mail Robbery. By Nicholas Carter.
12--Playing a Bold Game. By Nicholas Carter.
11--Fighting Against Millions. By Nicholas Carter.
10--The Old Detective’s Pupil. By Nicholas Carter.
9--A Stolen Identity. By Nicholas Carter.
8--An Australian Klondike. By Nicholas Carter.
7--The American Marquis. By Nicholas Carter.
6--A Wall Street Haul. By Nicholas Carter.
5--The Crime of a Countess. By Nicholas Carter.
4--Tracked Across the Atlantic. By Nicholas Carter.
3--A Titled Counterfeiter. By Nicholas Carter.
2--The Great Enigma. By Nicholas Carter.
1--A Klondike Claim. By Nicholas Carter.
STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 238 William St., New York.
_To the Reader_
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STREET & SMITH.
SHADOWED BY A
DETECTIVE
OR
THE WOMAN IN WAX
BY
VIRGINIA CHAMPLIN
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
STREET & SMITH, PUBLISHERS
238 WILLIAM STREET
Copyright, 1885,
By J. S. OGILVIE & CO.
Copyright, 1899,
By STREET & SMITH
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER. PAGE
I. The Kidnapping 5
II. What Became of the Heroine 12
III. Robertson Brothers & Co. 26
IV. Honorable Willie Saunders becomes Thoroughly Mad 43
V. Shakespeare’s Tavern 53
VI. The Morgue at Bellevue Hospital 62
VII. Saunders almost loses his Mind, while Captain Young loses
his time 74
VIII. Taking a Cast of the Dead 84
IX. What the Honorable Coroner Davis thought, and what
Robertson, Jr., was convinced of 92
X. A Mohick tells of a visit big Kelly receives which he
little expected, and how William Dow transforms
a visitor into a prisoner 100
XI. A Criminal Court in the State of New York 115
XII. How the worthy Mr. Midler exhorted his penitents to die
like Christians 127
XIII. In which James Gobson escapes the Gallows, and the
Honorable Coroner Davis’ remorse 137
XIV. In which Willie Saunders passes from despair to amazement,
and from amazement to anger 149
XV. William Dow’s Remorse 161
XVI. William Dow’s Revenge--seeking the unknown 169
XVII. A Souvenir of Love 184
XVIII. Two Villas at Jamaica Plain 196
XIX. What happened on leaving Barker’s 204
XX. A wife’s love and a maid’s love 217
XXI. The murderer of a Dead Woman 226
XXII. Kitty Bell’s Story 238
XXIII. Wharf 32 247
Shadowed by a Detective;
OR,
THE WOMAN IN WAX.
CHAPTER I.
THE KIDNAPPING.
One evening, in the winter of 1865, a grand ball was given at No. 17
East Twenty-third Street. It was at the house of Miss Ada Ricard, the
new star in the great American city, but a star whose brilliancy the
profane knew only by reflection, for her life was enveloped in mystery,
and she was never seen in any public place.
All that was known of her past was that she had been married to a
wealthy merchant in Buffalo, James Gobson, a brutal individual, whose
matrimonial yoke she had succeeded in throwing off, but who had left
her certain ineffaceable souvenirs of his affection.
Gobson, in fact, who adored his wife, and was very jealous of her, had
one day so abused her that after the violent scene she was left with
one ear torn and one tooth the less. It is true she concealed the cut
on her pretty ear behind a huge diamond, but she had always refused to
replace the pearl lacking in the jewel casket of her rosy lips.
“By this,” she said, “I shall never be likely to forget what a husband
costs, and if any mad ambition or foolish love is about to make me
forget it, it will be sufficient to smile at myself in the glass to
recall the past.”
Thus armed against her own weakness, she boldly launched herself into
a life of flirtations. Being worth from ten to twelve thousand dollars
through her husband, she made her _debut_ by expending them even to the
cents in order to establish herself in luxurious surroundings, knowing
that men, in their pride, attach as much value to the splendor of the
temple as to the charms of the idol.
Having done this, and having her beauty as her only capital, she was
careful not to waste it on the first comer; she waited patiently,
seldom showing herself abroad, absolutely refusing all homage until a
certain Thomas Cornhill, the proprietor of inexhaustible oil wells,
seemed worthy of her heart.
Unfortunately, three months after, Thomas Cornhill suddenly died, and
Miss Ada, though bereft, was left with one hundred thousand dollars in
ready money, and an equal sum in jewels.
Ada mourned him for a few weeks; then, having an essentially practical
mind, she changed her retinue of servants before the advent of Willie
Saunders, an immensely rich cracker-merchant, who soon succeeded poor
Cornhill.
When Willie Saunders found his homage accepted, he was greatly
flattered. He was a stout man of about fifty, sensitive, simple and
vain. He truly adored Ada, and believed himself tenderly beloved by
her. Therefore, ready to listen to all her caprices, he made only a few
remarks for form’s sake when she told him about the masquerade ball
she wished to give, but he was very jealous. He knew Ada was sought by
many adorers, among whom was a certain Edward Forster, a colonel in the
Union Army, and one of the most fascinating gentlemen in New York high
life.
However convinced the worthy cracker-merchant might be of Ada’s love,
he naturally supposed that her adorers, Forster first of all, would
profit by this evening to pay her more attention than agreeable to
himself, and it troubled him. But the pretty, wicked little creature
managed so artfully that Saunders did not long resist.
Besides, she was a wonderful creature, and the upstart-millionaire had
high stakes to play for. A blonde, with large, steel-blue eyes and a
tall, admirable figure, with the feet and hands of a child; with a
laughing mouth, bold-faced, and fearing nothing, Ada Ricard had every
attraction to lure the man of the world. The memory of her former
husband sometimes disturbed the young woman in her new life. Having
retained the recollection of his brutal love and jealousy, she also
remembered with terror that he swore to avenge himself for her leaving
him. But, since arranging the money settlements, she had not heard of
him, and even his friends in Buffalo did not know what had become of
him. One fine morning he made a fortune, and went West. He was last
heard from at San Francisco, where Saunders told her he was living a
fast life, evidently trying to drown recollection.
Ada’s mind was now at rest, and never had she been so gay as at the
masked ball. Many women in good society had ventured to attend in order
to get a near view of the mysterious and powerful beauty.
Toward eleven o’clock the parlors of the ex-Mrs. Gobson presented a
truly picturesque appearance. Every period, every class of society,
and every legend were represented, from the companions of Christopher
Columbus to the trappers of the far West, and from Mephistopheles to
the Venetian harlequin. Among the women there was a dazzling display
of precious stones and dominos of every color. Ada Ricard herself wore
the splendid costume of an Indian woman of the time of the Spanish
conquest. In her ears she had diamonds worth ten thousand dollars,
around her throat a triple necklace of pearls of at least equal value,
and on her arms and wrists very heavy bracelets of massive gold.
All the men who knew her only by sight, and the women who had heard so
much of her, literally devoured her with admiring eyes. Saunders, who
was to give five or six thousand dollars toward this ball, did not take
his eyes off of her.
Looking very grotesque in the dress of a Highlander, he tried every
moment to draw near her, but Ada reminded him by a word, look or
gesture that she wished to devote herself wholly to her guests, and he
docilely moved away, uttering a sigh which was charitably answered by
bursts of laughter by those of his friends who were acquainted with his
weakness.
The ball, which had been rather quiet for two or three hours, had
become very lively, even noisy.
Soon the buffets were pillaged, the champagne flowed in streams; a few
masks fell off, and Miss Ada Ricard, readily refraining from reminding
her guests of what was good form--for all this noise could only do the
greatest honor to her reputation--thought only of getting away as far
as possible from the hubbub.
She had just taken the arm of one of her adorers instead of that
which the unfortunate Saunders had offered, and was proceeding toward
a little boudoir where some quiet people had taken refuge, when a
formidable hurrah caused every head to turn toward the door.
It was the entrance of three Sioux Indians that had excited the
enthusiasm of the company.
They indeed deserved this reception, for they were really superb in
their horribly truthful costumes, in which nothing was lacking, neither
the head-dress of feathers, the tomahawk, nor scalping-knife, nor even
in the belt, half a dozen scalps, sinister trophies of late raids.
Ada Ricard turned and added her applause to that of the company; then,
like them, she tried to recognize those who had chosen this curious
disguise; but she did not succeed.
No doubt, not caring particularly to tattoo their faces, the three
mysterious personages wore masks which wholly concealed their features,
and to every question they answered only with guttural cries and
exclamations which completely changed their voices. After opening a
passage through the crowd, they reached the mistress of the house, and,
drawing her away from the friend who was accompanying her, they began
to perform around her in a circle a fantastic dance which gradually
brought her to the main hall.
Supposing, like every one else, that the Sioux Indians were three
admirers, Ada gayly watched their contortions and dance, and was the
first to burst into laughter, when the tallest of the three masks
seized her in his arms and, lifting her as if a child, bore her to the
threshold of the door.
Standing before her captor, his two companions chanted a war-song and
swung their tomahawks as if to protect his flight.
One would have thought him a great chief carrying away his squaw
according to the customs of the Indians of the plains.
This joke was so thoroughly American that the crowd accepted it with
ringing bravos.
Suddenly the warrior who bore the young woman faced about and, leaping
with one bound, sprang out upon the steps of the house, whose doors
were wide open, and then into a splendid landau which was standing
before the door.
The two Indians who had followed him had quickly climbed the box,
and the carriage, the coachman no doubt having received his orders,
immediately set off at a double-quick gallop.
This kidnapping had been so quickly performed, that no one would have
had time to prevent it if they had attempted it.
Of Ada Ricard’s guests, moreover, not one had thought seriously of it
excepting the unhappy Saunders, whose jealousy, always on the watch,
made him think the conduct of the three masks very queer.
He attempted to approach Ada Ricard, but his friends restrained him in
spite of his grotesque supplications; and, when she disappeared in the
arms of the Indian, he hastened to the balcony of the house, where the
enthusiasm reached delirium on the departure of the carriage.
A tremendous hurrah covered the silvery laugh of Miss Ada when she
found herself being enveloped in the fur pelisse which one of the Sioux
had flung over her shoulders, and the unfortunate cracker-merchant, who
was dragged away from the balcony, had immediately become the pivot of
a comical dance in the middle of the drawing-room.
What no one heard, was the cry of amazement or fright uttered by Miss
Ada Ricard the moment the carriage rattled along the pavement of East
Twenty-Third Street.