Part 28 (2/2)
There was a tableau at that moment such as never has been equaled on the stage under all the complexity of colored lights. It was a scene never to be forgotten by any of the witnesses, a scene awful in its intensity of dramatic effect. The woman suddenly appeared to become frozen with horror. The men removed their masks in their excitement and their pale visages shone like so many corpses as all leaned forward and listened and looked.
In the doorway stood two men, armed with repeating rifles. Behind them crowded others, and at that instant every one of those wretches know that defeat and capture stared them in the face. All their labor, all their cunning and their skill had come to naught. All realized that the greatest detective feat on record had been accomplished. All knew that there was no escape, unless quickly with their own hands they freed themselves through the grave.
The detectives filed into the room, but the siren had recovered her nerve. She saw and realized that she had not played but had been played.
Quickly she drew a revolver, aimed at Oscar and fired, but our hero's quick eye detected her movement. It was not the first time he had dodged a bullet. The woman fired but the one shot. The next instant the darbies were on her tender wrists, and we will add that no resistance was offered. The men, as intimated, were well up in their trade. From the first instant they knew that in plain, vulgar language, their ”jig was up.” Every man quietly submitted. Life was dear to them. Every man had been behind prison walls. A surrender meant a return to jail; resistance meant death. They, as stated, all accepted the situation and quietly surrendered.
Immediately the detectives set to work to gather up their spoils and learn the full value of their wondrous victory. It proved to be a complete victory indeed. All the manufactured stock was secured, the flood of counterfeits was averted, for the well-being of the business community. The plates even that had cost thousands and thousands of dollars were captured. They were never buried in the cellar to be found by some future archaeologist. To conclude it was the greatest capture of counterfeiters' outfit ever made, and to Cad Metti and Oscar belonged all the credit; and from the profession and the government they received it. Dudie Dunne went up to the top as a great officer, and in a future narrative we will relate where these two wonderful people once more entered the field and accomplished great results. We will also tell the romance of the life of the bright, beautiful Italian girl who from choice became a female detective strategist.
THE END.
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5 MURRAY, The Detective.
6 OSCAR, The Detective.
7 KEFTON; or, The Wonder of the Age.
8 A LADY SHADOWER; or, A Detective's Stratagem.
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10 THE KING'S DETECTIVE.
11 A PUZZLING SHADOW; or, A Detective's Enigma.
12 SETH BOND. A Lost Treasure Mystery.
13 A WEIRD SEA MYSTERY. A Detective Story.
14 THE TWIN ATHLETES. A Detective Story.
15 A SINGLE CLUE. A Detective Story.
16 A ONE NIGHT MYSTERY. A Detective Story.
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