Jack Harkaway in New York; or, The Adventures of the Travelers' Club

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  BEADLE'S

  HALF DIME

  Library

  $2.50 a year. Copyrighted in 1879 by BEADLE AND ADAMS. July 1, 1879.

  Vol. IV.

  Single Number.

  PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS, No. 98 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK.

  Price, 5 Cents.

  No. 101.

  Jack Harkaway in New York;

  OR,

  The Adventures of the Travelers' Club.

  BY BRACEBRIDGE HEMYNG, (JACK HARKAWAY,) AUTHOR OF "CAPTAIN OF THE CLUB," "DICK DIMITY," ETC., ETC.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER I. A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE TRAVELERS' CLUB. CHAPTER II. "THE DUEL ON THE SANDS." CHAPTER III. THE ASSASSIN AT WORK. CHAPTER IV. ADELE. CHAPTER V. THE VOYAGE. CHAPTER VI. THE ABANDONED SHIP. CHAPTER VII. THE MYSTERY OF THE DESERTED VESSEL. CHAPTER VIII. A LOVERS' QUARREL. CHAPTER IX. THE RACE. CHAPTER X. A RECONCILIATION. CHAPTER XI. FORTUNE-TELLING. CHAPTER XII. MRS. VAN HOOSEN SACRIFICES HER DAUGHTER TO HER AMBITION. CHAPTER XIII. "A BUFFALO-HUNT." CHAPTER XIV. MASTER AND SLAVE. CHAPTER XV. MR. MOLE PLAYS BASE-BALL. CHAPTER XVI. BAMBINO IN THE HOSPITAL. CHAPTER XVII. JACK MAKES A LAST APPEAL. CHAPTER XVIII. THE BRIDAL.

  CHAPTER I.

  A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE TRAVELERS' CLUB.

  "'Pears to me, Marse Jack, you done gone been quiet long 'nuff disspell," exclaimed Monday, Jack Harkaway's colored servant, as heentered his master's room at the hotel.

  It was a fine morning in the month of October.

  Jack Harkaway at the age of eighteen, well supplied with money, hadbeen leading an idle life in London for some time.

  This did not suit Monday's ideas at all.

  Looking up from the newspaper he was reading, Jack pushed back hiscurly hair from his ample forehead and smiled.

  "What would you like to be doing, my sable friend?" he asked.

  "Don't know 'zactly that I'd like to do anything in pertickler, MarseJack, but dis chile hasn't killed nobody lately."

  "You must learn to curb your savage instincts, Monday," said Harkaway."But this I may tell you. It is possible that we shall be on the movesooner than you expect."

  "Hooray! Golly, sah, dat's de good news, for suah. I'se been afraidI'se gwine ter rust out, 'stead ob wear out."

  "What have you got in your hand?"

  "Ki! What hab I got? A letter. I misremember dat I come in forsomet'ing."

  "Give it me."

  Monday handed his master a letter and retired, without venturing on anyfurther remark.

  The epistle was directed in a delicate lady's hand and was highlyperfumed.

  Breaking the seal, Jack muttered: "From Lena Van Hoosen. Wants to seeme at once. Something important to communicate. I'll go in half anhour. Lucky it was not this evening, as I have a special meeting of theTravelers' Club to attend."

  Miss Lena Van Hoosen belonged to one of the first families of NewYork city, and at nineteen years of age was the prettiest and mostaccomplished girl in London, which is saying a great deal.

  "'PEARS TO ME, MARSE JACK, YOU DONE GONE BEEN QUIET LONG'NUFF DIS SPELL," EXCLAIMED MONDAY, JACK HARKAWAY'S COLORED SERVANT, ASHE ENTERED HIS MASTER'S ROOM.]

  She had been making the tour of Europe with her mother and father,and was resting awhile, before returning to America. Jack had beenconsiderably struck with her grace and beauty, paying her muchattention, since his first introduction to her at a ball.

  He had every reason to believe that she also thought very well of him.

  Taking up his hat, he quitted the hotel, and hiring a cab, was drivento Miss Van Hoosen's residence in Belgravia.

  She received him cordially.

  "I sent for you, Mr. Harkaway, for a particular reason," she exclaimed.

  "Indeed!" replied Jack. "Whatever the reason may be, I feel very muchindebted to you for this mark of attention on your part."

  "In the first place, we are going home next week."

  "So soon?"

  "Yes, papa has business to attend to and we have already been absentnearly twelve months."

  "I regret that I shall lose your agreeable society."

  "The gap in the circle of your acquaintance, which our going away willcreate," said Miss Van Hoosen, "I have no doubt you will soon supply."

  "Not so easily as you imagine," he answered.

  "But that is not all I wanted to see you about," continued MissVan Hoosen as her face assumed a graver expression. "You are wellacquainted with Lord Maltravers."

  "Yes, his lordship is a member of the same club as myself--theTravelers'. I have no reason to believe that he likes me; in fact, acoldness has always existed between us."

  The young lady drew her chair closer to Jack.

  "Now," she said, "what I am going to tell you, must be received instrict confidence."

  "Certainly, if you wish it."

  "Yesterday, Lord Maltravers called upon me and did me the honor to askfor my hand."

  Jack's heart fluttered a little, for this was more than he had everdared to do.

  "What answer did you give him?" he inquired.

  "The same that I have given to others before him."

  "And that is--?"

  "Simply, that I have promised my parents that I will neither engagemyself to, or marry any one, until I am twenty-one. Thereupon, he mostunjustifiably made use of your name."

  "My name!"

  "He said that he knew you were his rival, and that I had refused him onyour account; he added that he would soon remove you from his path andthen he would urge his suit again."

  Jack Harkaway was astonished at this revelation.

  "He may have remarked that I admired you, Miss Van Hoosen," heexclaimed. "But he was quite unwarranted in saying what he did. If heattempts to pick a quarrel with me, let him beware."

  "That is precisely what I want you to avoid," she replied.

  "No matter; the days of dueling are not yet over. In France a man canseek satisfaction for his wounded honor."

  "Let me beg and pray of you, to keep away from Lord Maltravers."

  "I can make no promise."

  "Remember that people tell strange tales of him. He has resided much inItaly and I have heard that he keeps a Neapolitan assassin in his pay."

  Jack laughed heartily at this.

  "I am not a child to be scared by such stories as that," he answered."But if it will relieve your mind, I will undertake to be on my guard."

  This was all Miss Van Hoosen could obtain from him, and she was veryuneasy in her mind, when he rose to take his leave. He was muchgratified with the result of his visit. For Lord Maltravers he did notcare a snap of the fingers; but he was delighted to think that Lena VanHoosen thought enough of him to send for and warn him of a danger whichshe fancied he was menaced with.

  When he left the house, he walked slowly toward the club, where he knewhe would meet some of his friends.

  In the reading-room he encountered Dick Harvey, who had been hisschoolmate and had accompanied him in most of his wanderings by sea andland.

  In an arm-chair sat Professor Isaac Mole, his old tutor, who was fastasleep.

  "How do, Jack?" exclaimed Harvey. "You see the professor is a littleunder the weather. Will you come to the committee-room? The meeting isconvened for two o'clock and it is nearly that now."

  "With pleasure," replied Jack.

  Why the Travelers' Club was called by that name, no one had eve
r beenable to discover. Its members were men who knew nothing of othercountries, except what they read in books.

  The special meeting, on the present occasion, had been called by Mr.Oldfoguey, the President, to discuss the actual habitat of that noblebeast, the buffalo.

  When Jack and Harvey entered the committee-room, there were about adozen members present.

  Mr. Oldfoguey called the meeting to order.

  He was an elderly gentleman with a large bald head; he wore spectaclesand a bottle-green coat with brass buttons.

  "Gentlemen," he exclaimed, "you are assembled here to-day, for thepurpose of discussing the actual location of the buffalo. I am ofopinion that this gigantic beast is to be found in certain parts ofCentral Park, in New York city, and I am told that it roams at willover the plains of Jersey. It will be a valuable contribution toscience, if we can settle this vexed question, and I invite the viewsof members on the subject."

  Captain Cannon, a stout, plethoric gentleman, of a soldierly bearing,who had seen service in the Rifle Brigade, and was noted among hisfriends for being able to tell more wildly improbable yarns than anyone else, responded to the call.

  "The buffalo is a great fact," he exclaimed. "When in Canada West withmy regiment, I got lost in the Hudson's Bay territory, and subsistedfor six months on buffalo-meat. As far as I know, the buffalo is onlyfound east of the Missouri river, and is rapidly dying out. Buffaloesare, to my certain knowledge, sir, used in New York for drawingstreet cars. It is naturally a beast of burden and very tame. When inMontreal, I used to drive a buffalo to a sleigh; he went well and wasdocile. The buffalo's favorite food is peanuts; he will also thrive onpop-corn."

  The gallant captain sat down, after delivering this remarkablecontribution to natural history, and Mr. Zebadiah Twinkle rose to hisfeet.

  "Sir," he exclaimed, looking fiercely at the President, "I rise to apoint of order. There are only twelve members present, and according toby-law 27 it requires fifteen to make a quorum."

  Mr. Twinkle was tall and angular, and he glared defiantly around him.

  The character of Mr. Twinkle was a very remarkable one. He was agentleman of independent means, who had retired rich from the grocerybusiness. His ambition was to be considered a sporting character. Hewas a great boaster, but when put to the test, generally collapsed ina ludicrous manner. In fact he was in common parlance a fraud and ablower, but he caused great amusement to his friends.

  The entrance at this moment of five additional members of the club,effectually disposed of Mr. Twinkle's point of order.

  "Good!" he said. "Now that everything is regular, I will proceedwith my remarks. As my worthy and gallant friend Captain Cannon hasstated, it is a fact that buffaloes exist in the city of New York,for whenever the citizens of that vast commercial metropolis gosleigh-riding, they invariably take their buffaloes. The animal isby no means ferocious, and is frequently taught by the Indians ofManhattan Island to follow them about like a dog."

  Mr. Twinkle was followed by Jack, who could not help smiling at thedense ignorance displayed by the previous speakers.

  "Mr. President and gentlemen of the Travelers' Club," he exclaimed,"allow me to state that the buffalo is a wild animal, which is only tobe found on the plains of the Far West, where it ranges in herds in asavage state. It may be found as far south-west as Texas, and as farnorth as Montana."

  "Is my veracity called in question?" cried Captain Cannon.

  "Am I an ignoramus?" asked Mr. Twinkle.

  "Order, gentlemen!" said the President, rapping the table.

  "Allow me to make a suggestion," exclaimed Harvey. "As there is sucha diversity of opinion about the buffalo, and the members of the clubseem to be very hazy about the land in which he lives, I propose thata committee of--say five--be appointed to go to America and make areport."

  This proposition was received with favor.

  "Make it a substantive motion," said the President, "and I will takethe sense of the meeting on it."

  This was done, and the motion being put to the vote, it was carried,_nem. con._

  "Gentlemen," exclaimed Mr. Oldfoguey, "the power of appointmentbelongs, I believe, to me."

  "It does, by virtue of the office you hold," replied Mr. Twinkle.

  "Then I appoint as members of this investigating committee, Mr.Harkaway, Professor Mole, Captain Cannon, and Mr. Twinkle, with Mr.Harvey as Secretary, each gentleman paying his own expenses. Thecommittee will start within a month for New York and report to us oncea week."

  "On the subject of the buffalo?" asked Captain Cannon.

  "Precisely."

  No objection was made to this, and those named on the committeeaccepted the honor imposed upon them.

  Jack was willing enough to go to America, because Miss Van Hoosen wasalso going to that country, and he thought sufficiently well of her towish to enjoy her society.

  When all was settled, the meeting adjourned, and Jack went to appriseMr. Mole of his selection as one of the Buffalo Investigating Committee.

  The professor was still sleeping calmly, but he had attracted theattention of Lord Maltravers.

  This scion of the aristocracy was about twenty-five years of age, veryrich and extremely haughty.

  His father died when he was young. He was educated by a private tutorwho let him have his way in everything. His mother doted on and spoilthim.

  Young, rich, titled, handsome, what wonder was it, that he was arrogantand thought himself cast in a superior mold to his fellow-creatures,whom he despised and looked down upon. Maltravers hated Jack Harkaway,in the first place because Jack paid him no deference, and secondlybecause he fancied Lena Van Hoosen preferred the dashing Jack tohimself.

  Knowing that Professor Mole was a friend of Jack's he lost noopportunity of insulting him.

  Seeing him asleep, he twisted a piece of paper into what boys call a'jigger,' and lighting it at both ends, placed it on the old man's nose.

  He was accompanied by a young man who was his toady; his name wasSimpkins, and in consideration of many favors bestowed upon him by LordMaltravers, Simpkins was his most devoted servant.

  "Ha! ha!" laughed Simpkins, "what an excellent joke; that will wake theold boy up."

  "He's no right to sleep in a club, by Jove," remarked his lordship.

  "Certainly not; it is not the proper place."

  Presently the flame began to burn the skin of the professor's nasalorgan, and he awoke with a cry of affright.

  His hands instinctively sought his nose and he pulled off the 'jigger.'

  "Confound it," he exclaimed, "my face is burnt. Who has done this?"

  The two young men began to laugh loudly and were evidently enjoyingtheir practical joke.

  "I did it," said Lord Maltravers. "Is there anything else you want toknow?"

  Mr. Mole regarded him with indignation.

  "If I wasn't an old man, I would chastise you for your insolence," hecried.

  "Don't fall back on your age," replied Maltravers. "I am here to takethe consequences of anything I may have done."

  A quick step caused him to turn round.

  "Are you?" asked a voice.

  It was Harkaway, who, standing in the doorway, had been a silentspectator of the scene.

  Lord Maltravers folded his arms.

  "I am ready to answer you, or any one else," he said.

  The two men regarded one another sternly.