FRITZ TO THE FRONT;
Or, The Ventriloquist Scamp-Hunter.
by
EDWARD L. WHEELER,
Author of "Fritz, the Bound-Boy Detective," "DeadwoodDick" Novels, "Rosebud Rob" Novels, etc.
Copyright, 1881, by Beadle & Adams.
The Arthur Westbrook CompanyCleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
FRITZ BEHELD AN OBJECT WHICH CAUSED HIM TO UTTER AGRUNT OF STARTLED ALARM]
Table of Contents
MADGE. CHAPTER I THE STRANGE MARRIAGE. CHAPTER II. THE BLUFF HOUSE. CHAPTER III. THE GHASTLY RELIC. CHAPTER IV. BILL BUDGE'S CONVERSATION. CHAPTER V. ON THE SCENT. CHAPTER VI. THE STRUGGLE. CHAPTER VII. ADRIFT. CHAPTER VIII. FRITZ'S DISCOVERY. CHAPTER IX. A DIVE FOR LIFE. CHAPTER X. A FATHER'S BRUTALITY. CHAPTER XI. A PITIFUL END. CHAPTER XII. CONCLUSION. CHAPTER XIII.
FRITZ TO THE FRONT.
CHAPTER I
MADGE.
One bright, hot August morning a cheap excursion was advertised toleave South Street wharf, Philadelphia, for Atlantic City--that livelylittle city by the sea, which is so fast growing in size andpopularity as to rival the more noted of the Atlantic coast summerresorts. A cheap excursion which is within the means of the workingclass is ever a success, and this one was no exception; it gave themasses a chance to escape from the overheated city for a small sum,and they grasped at it eagerly.
Bright and early the ferry-boat was crowded and still there was nocessation of the stream of humanity that surged toward the riverfront. There were representatives of every trade in the city, nearly,and likewise a mixture of several nationalities; there were youngfolks and old folks and little children; then there were roughs,bruisers, and bummers, an indispensable adjunct to summer excursions;and, all in all, a heterogeneous collection of humanity.
Just as the hot August sun peeped up over Jersey's sandy horizon, thebell of the boat rung, and the huge ferry-boat began to move outacross the Delaware, toward Kaighn's Point, where connection was to bemade with the railway.
It was a noisy crowd aboard the boat, there being a good many roughsamong the pleasure-seekers, who were more or less under the effect ofDock Street "soothing syrup," and who were disposed to have somethingto say to every one.
Among the passengers was a young lady of eighteen or nineteen years ofage, who sat in the stern of the boat, seeming to have no friends oracquaintances.
She was by no means unprepossessing in face, and was trimly built, anddressed rather stylishly, compared to the others of her sex aboard theboat.
It was not long before several of the roughs noted the fact that shewas unaccompanied, and determined to know the reason why.
Therefore, one lubberly, raw-boned young bruiser, with a freckledface, blood-shot eyes, and a large, red nose, approached her andtipped his hat with tipsy gallantry:
"'Scuse me, young lady, but (hic) may I ask ef yer got (hic) company?"he asked.
"Plenty of it, sir," the young lady replied, her eyes flashing. "I donot know you; you'd confer a favor by not addressing me."
"I'll do as I please, my gal; don't ye sass yer cuzzin. Don't ye knowme? I'm a 'full moon' solid Mulligan Muldoon, I am."
Greatly annoyed, the young woman turned her head away withoutanswering.
This, however, did not abash the "full moon," for he advanced closer,and laid one burly hand upon the railing beside her.
"Now, (hic) see here, my beloved Miss Moriarty," he began, but beforehe could proceed further, a foppishly attired young Jew, with red hairand a hooked nose, stepped forward and slapped the Fourth Ward man onthe shoulder.
"Yoost you bounce oud, mine friend," he said. "Der young lady don'dvas vant some off your attention."
"Hello! who in blazes are you?" Muldoon demanded, gruffly, notoffering to move. "I are Muldoon, ther solid man, I am, an' I allow Ikin lick any man on (hic) ther boat."
"That don'd make any difference. Dot young lady don'd vant you nearher, und uff you don'd vas gone away, right off quick, I'll throw yououd--dot's der style off an excursionist I am!" cried the Jew.
"Oho! you wull, wull you? You'll throw me out, hey?--me Full-moonMuldoon, ther solid man? I'll hev a kiss from the girl an' then I'llheave yer Israelite carcass overboard for the fishes."
And, making a drunken lunge forward, he threw his arms about the younglady's neck, amid indignant cries of a crowd of bystanders, andattempted to kiss her.
But he failed in his purpose, for she pluckily threw him off, and thenext instant the Jewish-looking young man came to her rescue.
Seizing the rough by the coat and trousers he jerked him away; thenwith the strength of a Hercules, raised him from the floor and hurledhim forward down the cabin stairway to the lower deck.
A cheer of approval at once went up from the larger share of thespectators, and the Dutchman became the hero of the hour.
Some of Muldoon's companions rushed to his rescue and found himdoubled up like a jack-knife, and groaning over severe bumps.
His rough usage, however, had evidently cowed him, for he made noattempt to show fight or create further disturbance.
The young lady thanked the Jew, but that was all, until the boatgrated up alongside Kaighn's Point wharf, when she caught his eye andmotioned for him to approach.
"If you will be so kind as to assist me in finding a seat in thetrain," she said, modestly, "I would esteem it a great favor."
"Vel, you bet I vil! Id is a purdy rough crowd for a young ladywithoud some company. My name ish Fritz Snyder; vot ish yours?"
"You may call me Madge," was the quiet reply.
Then Fritz took her little traveling-bag, and they left the boat withthe crowd, and boarded the excursion-train which was close at hand.
Being among the first to reach it, they had no difficulty in finding aseat, and made haste to occupy it, as the cars were fast filling.
"I reckon ash how you vas goin' to der sea-shore?" Fritz asked, havingsome curiosity to know.
"I presume so, if the cars take me there," the young lady replied,with a faint smile. "Is it a nice place?"
"Vel, I don'd know. I vas neffer there, but I hear id vas a niceplace. You see, I vas goin' there on pizness--I--I--don'd know off Istay long or not."
Little more was said during the overland trip to the ocean.
The young woman did not appear inclined to talk, and Fritz finallyexcused himself, and moved to another seat.
"Der ish somedings vot don'd vas right apoud dot vimmens," hesoliloquized. "She ish not goin' to der sea-shore for vone objectalone, I'll bet a half-dollar."
Just ahead of him, in the next seat, sat two old ladies, who werediscussing that topic uppermost in their minds--spiritualism. One wasa believer--the other an unbeliever.
"Pooh! you can't stuff such nonsense into my head, Marier," theunbeliever declared, taking a pinch of snuff. "Speerits don't troubleme."
"But, that is because you have no faith, Mehitable. Now, my Sammy'sspeerit converses with me, every day and night, and keeps me postedabout the realms of eternal bliss, and when I ax him to appear, hecomes before me as natural as life."
"Has he got that wart behind his left ear yet?" apparently asked a manin front of the ladies, though Ventriloquist Fritz was of course theauthor of the question.
"Sir-r-rh!" the spiritualist cried, indignantly, "I'll have you knowmy Samuel had no wart upon his person!"
"But he had bunions, though!" a portly old gent across the aisleseemed to declare.
"It's a lie--a shameful lie! I'd like to know how you dare cast yourinsinuations about one you never knew, sir?" and Mrs. Marier arose inher seat, excitedly. "My husband was a good moral gentleman."
"For the land's sake, Marier, do set down," the other woman cried,feeling embarrassed.
"No I won't set down!" Marier declared. "That old bald-headed, pussyfabricator said my Sammy had bunions!"
"My good woman, I never said anything of the kind," the portly partydeclared, getting red in the face.
"The old woman's crazy!" another man seemed to cry.
"Crazy, am I?" Mrs. Marier cried, snatching up a freshly baked pumpkinpie from the seat beside her, and holding it ready to hurl at theoffenders. "I'll show you if I'm crazy. Jest ye open yer mouths, aryone of ye, an' I'll show ye how crazy I am! Oh! I'll learn ye toinsult a respectable woman, who minds her own business!"
And the woman came off victor, for Fritz ventriloquized no further,and the passengers had nothing to say, having no desire to getplastered up with freshly prepared pumpkin pie.
In the course of three hours the train arrived at Atlantic City, andbefore the ocean's blue expanse, as it billowed away to meet thehorizon.
The grand stretch of level beach was thronged with people, despite thepouring heat of the midday sun, and many queerly costumedpleasure-seekers were buffeting about in the water for recreation andhealth.
Fritz was among the first to leave the cars, and he stationed himselfwhere he could watch the movements of the girl, Madge.
Some subtle instinct prompted him to do this, with the impression thatshe was--what?
That was an enigma. He could not, for the life of him, have told why,but he was impressed with an idea that there was some strange romanceconnected with her visit to the sea-shore--that she did not come alonefor pleasure, but for an object that might be worth investigating.
She left the cars, and at once took a carriage for the principalhotel.
Not to be balked, Fritz jumped into another carriage, and directed thedriver to take him to the same hotel.
His conveyance arrived first, and he was standing on the veranda, whenthe carriage drove up with Madge, and she got out.
She scarcely noticed him as she came up the steps and passed into thehotel; but, after she had registered, she came out, and touched him onthe arm.
"You are watching me--what for?" she asked, when he turned aroundfacing her. "Am I an object of suspicion to you, sir?"
Fritz flushed uncomfortably, and hardly knew how to answer.
"Vel, I--I--"
"There! don't make any apologies or excuses; I know you are, and shalllook out for you. Please understand I am no criminal!"
Then she turned around again, and swept haughtily into the hotel,while Fritz walked away toward the beach in meditation.
"She vas sharper ash lightning," he mused, "und dot makes me t'inksome more dot for some reason or odder she vil bear watching."
He took a bath in the ocean, and then went back to the hotel. He wasnot quite satisfied to drop the matter where it was. Something urgedhim to pry further into the affairs of this young lady, whose case hadstruck him as being singular.
On examining the register, he found that she was registered as MissMadge Thurston, and assigned room 43.
As nothing more offered, he sat down on the veranda, and watched thestream of people that surged in and out of the hotel, and to and fromthe beach--men, women, and children by the hundred, and yet therewere scarcely two faces alike.
During the afternoon an elegant close carriage, drawn by a superblyharnessed pair of high-stepping bays, which were in turn driven by aliveried negro, came dashing down the avenue, and drew up before theBrighton.
A man of some thirty-five years of age leaped from the carriage, andentered the hotel--a man with a sinister yet handsome face, ornamentedwith a sweeping mustache, and a pair of sharp, black eyes. He wasattired in spotless white duck, with patent-leather boots, and a white"plug" hat, and was evidently a person of some importance!
He soon came out of the hotel, accompanied by the young woman Fritzhad defended, and entering the carriage, they were whirled away downthe avenue out of sight.
"Dot settles dot! My game's gone und I don'd got some professionaldetective gase, there," Fritz growled, as he watched the recedingcarriage. "I'll bet a half-dollar I neffer see dem again."
But he was mistaken.
That evening when the moon was sending a flood of brilliant light downupon the long level beach, he was one of a thousand who took a strollalong the water's edge, over the damp sands of the sea.
He was thus engaged, and watching the great luminous moon which seemedto have risen out of the distant watery waste, when a man touched himupon the shoulder.
"Excuse me," he said, respectfully, "but are you Fritz, the young manwho took a young lady's part, on a ferry-boat near Philadelphia,to-day?"
"Vel, I dink I am, uff I recomember right. Vot of it?" Fritz replied.
"Well, sir, you are wanted to bear witness to a marriage ceremony,to-night, up the coast, and I was sent for you. Step this way, to thecarriage, sir."
Scarcely knowing what was best to do, Fritz followed, got into an opencarriage, and was driven rapidly north along the beach, through theromantic moonshine.
But, how romantic was his little adventure destined to turn out? Thatwas what he asked himself, as he gazed doubtfully out upon thegreenish blue of mother ocean.