PAOLINA, OR THE MILLIONAIRE'S PLOT.
(OUR SERIAL..
By MARIPOSA WEIR, Author of •' Evadyhe's~Temptetkm,'' Round the World," etc.
CHAPTER lll.—Continued. As Grandin left the house he met a young man approaching from ihe direction of Washington Street. As they exchanged salutations and passed each other, a close observer would have noted something in the manner of both that indicated mutual dislike. The young man's bow was not as deferential as the rich man was in ihe habit of receiving. "That's a very airy young fellow for a deputy in the county clerk's .office,", he muttered, "with a-salary of a hundred dollars a month." As the subject of this comment ascended the steps of the house that Mr Grandin had just left, he turned and saw the latter looking back at him. "I believe that purse-proud Philistine has been here again," he soliloquised. "I must have some serious talk about him with Paolina."
CHAPTER IV. A TREACHEROUS DEED. On the same day when the events narrated in our last chapter occurred there was wild excitement in the neighbourhood of the newspaper offices of San Francisco. The various bulletins on Montgomery Street, Kearney Street, and California Street, contained brief but startling announcements of a mutiny by the prisoners at San Quentin, the California State Prison. It was reported that the prisoners, after mature planning, had arisen at a "signal from their leader, arid that 'twenty of them bad escaped after killing two of the guards and a keeper. One of these escaped prisoners, a tall and, muscular fellow of twenty-' tour, Seth Hagburn by name, had been confined in San Quentin over a year, on a charge of theft, brought against him by a stranger, on whose testimony he was convicted. He was occasionally irregular in his habits, like many young men of his age, but no one, before this charge was brought against him, had ever reason to doubt his integrity. The conviction was a cruel blow,to his aged mother, and his sister Hannah, a comely girl two years his junior. With them he had lived, contributing cheerfully to their support out of his scant earnings. We find him, on this memorable j evening, after his escape from San Quentin, once more in San Francisco. . He has made an appointment with his uncle, Mark Ptinderson,. a middle-aged' man of unpleasant aspect, and both are seated face to face, in the dim '' light of a kerosene lamp, in the back room leading from a grocery kept by one Richard Kinge. It is a rude twostorey frame building near the corner of Union and Dupont Streets, with a lumber loft over the main floor. It may be readily seen that the proprietor of the shop doesn't confine his trade to groceries. The rear room is fitted up with a T>ar, and there are the usual evidences of the various liquid refreshments to be obtained therein. Deeming it unsafe to meet Seth Hagburn at his mother's residence, Mark Punderson had hired the grocery for twenty-four hours, paying the man Kinge a liberal price for its use. That something mysterious was on foot Kinge had no doubt. He was curious to learn what it was. "I'd give fifty dollars to know so'me- , thing about Punderson's little game,'' he exclaimed, after he had left Punderson in possession. "It is something rascally, I am positive." In half-an-hour a bright boy of uncertain age-for in stature he appeared not more than fourteen, while in face he had the gravity of a. man of thirty—had adroitly and silently admitted himself into the loft, and now rested on his knees, gazing intently through a hole in the rude floor, and watching every movement of Marie Ptinderson, straining his ears to catch the conversation, which, to his amazement, was of:deep interest:to himself. This boy was a well-known character in San Francisco, and bore the name of "Zip, the Chickadee,' 1 the latter word being applied to him in allusion to his diminutivae stature, and because of his indomitable pluck and sprightly movements, which reminded one of the characteristics of that lively little bird. This was not the first time that Zip had been engaged to enact the role of detective, for, long before we introduce him, he was in the pay of
Doctor Geroninio Spiretti, who had tested his capacity, and found him a bright, prudent and courageous hoy, whom it would bo difficult to outwit. The old doctor had 'reason to suspect that tiding of the girl of whom he was in search could he gained In places where it would be risky to go himself—in some of the resorts frequented by the vile and the vicious. Therefore Zip became his detective, tn learn what ho could of the girl he was so anxious to discover. On this occasion, however, Zip is in the service of Kinge. Little did : he think, as he crept like a mo.use to his post of observation, that he was destined to witness a dastardly deed, as well as to learn something of importance to his aged patron, Doctor Gcronimo Spiretti. "Seth, my boy." said Mark .Viinderson, a alight gleam in his fishy eyes, as he fixed them on the young man, "I have a glorious scheme afoot. It will enrich both you and me. Beside ourselves all we need to carry it out will be some trifling assistance from your sister Hannah." Seth started as his sister was mentioned, and ejaculated: ? "My sister! In what way can she serve you?" "Listen, while I unfold the plot." Mark Punderson little knew that he had two attentive listeners. Zip heard every word he uttered. "There is an old Italian in this city who is searching for his grandchild, I think—some relation, at all events. She is an heiress. There is a much younger man, also an.ltalian, who would like to have this.girl out of the way, as in the event of her death he becomes the heir to her wealth." "Why does .not .the young, inan marry her?" Seth asked. "Because he is married already.! Speaking of marriage brings on the carpet the fourth and most import- ) ant character in the play—a millionaire" who wants to marry her, but she won't have him—absolutely detests him. j "Now the millionaire really admires her, as he does not know that she is an heiress. He owns a big and lonely ranch in Tuolumne County, and it is his intention to have her abciucted and conveyed thi- . ih<-r. He is willing to pay well lor the service. As 1 iincterson reached this point, of his urinative, Seth's face flushed , with manly indignation, his ha-vis,; which he he ii behind him, were -oh- ! vulsively working, as if anxious ' to rlirottle the scoundrel before him. Summo • ''-7,a)i his calmness h«-« e»nLf'ved to restrain the impulse D'li+r. which hevw':- labouring, and he a-Ji-ed: - ; i 'But tell me—what. part do rou \r ,-h w.y s'ster to play in this «<u-«s-' j tional pa- to- nance?" "Oh, yo-. Hannah; I was co'i.ng to that. The millionaire is rot desirous of humiliating the young wo man too much; so it is deemed be.u to have at the work a female; of about her own age, for a companion, and there can be no one more suitable for the position than your sister Hannah." "Villain," exclaimed Seth, springing to his feet, and clutching Punderson by the throat. "For the last ten minutes my fingers have .been itching "to choke the breath' out of you. I can control myself no longer. I believe it was you who suborned the testimony that sent, me to State's prison." : .. i : Punderson struggled against his powerful antagonist, but in vain. In two minutes both men were on the floor, Punderson underneath, Seth's right hand still presing his throat, his knees on Punderson's breast. When Punderson had ceased to struggle, Seth Hagburn's anger passed away, and he lose, leaving his antagonist, who war. panting, for breath, still lying on the floor, his face turned to the ceiling. For a few minutes he lay thus, Seth having taken his former'seat, with his back partially, turned to Pundersoh, of whom he, stood in little bodily fear, deeming ;hint too insignificant a foe for further, not-: ice. By this time Punderson had recovered somewhat, and with a malicious glance at the man who had so readily mastered him, he quietly drew from the breast pocket of his sack coat a small pistol. Zip saw the movement, and as the polished barrel of the pistol gleamed in the lamplight, he could not restrain an exclamation. I To be Continued.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAG19110117.2.3
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10139, 17 January 1911, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,432PAOLINA, OR THE MILLIONAIRE'S PLOT. Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10139, 17 January 1911, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Wairarapa Age. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.