Bats in the Wall; or, The Mystery of Trinity Church-yard

the more ancient of its inhabitants of the days when they were young, surely none so quain

n, with three half-round windows on the ferry side-we mean the ones over the oyster booth, where they used to give a round dozen saddle-rocks to every stew, and over the coffee and cake saloon, where the butter-cakes were always fresh

out the Catherine Market, nothi

profess to have that far-famed celebrity for succulent meats, fat

of its own, just the same, does the Cat

streets, of Madison, Monroe and Hamilton streets, to say nothing of East Broadway, equal

stling trade, Sunday morning is the time to come-when the fish pedd

on the sidewalk facing the old tumble-down rookeries on the side of Catherine street t

l crabs, not packed at all-all are spread about outside of this singular building on the sidewalk in the gutter-yes, even in the very street itself, while the bawling of the fishermen

s thi

ell, all carried on from baskets in the open streets, be it plainly underst

time in seeki

lly the bartering-plac

not even dare to name. Lace curtains, kitchen pots and pans, cheap chromos, candlesticks and beads, all are represented here, while small peddlers,

ll at the moment of his encounter with the w

r moving down Catherine street in the directio

w-covered sidewalk, her wild eyes ever roving here and there, now to t

have rolled away to the eastward; the sta

y and life while the remainder of the great

with her singular mutterings

endeavor to learn it had not suffered the woman to pass from hi

eting he had stopped her a

all question insane

t reference to the subject weighing most heavily upon the

bbed the bank! I warned hi

ective had pressed upon her, mingled with muttere

similar circumstances, would ha

k was of a di

or such vague information as could be drawn from her mut

here she might lead him-possibly to th

the detective became firmly convinced; so he let her go, and, dropping all else, followed her through the

em now, with Caleb Hook seriously debating in his mind whether it would n

ers whose baskets were crowded together in the snow-covered street upon this side, and passing alon

at looked as though it might have done service in the days of Noah's flood. "Blue-fi

man did no

he passed the front of the market and

w rum-shop, and, raising her hand to her forehead, stood peering in behind the corner of the batt

e of the old hotel on the corner of Catherine street and South, watching to see what her

sign above the doo

, by P. Slattery,"

tion of the marketmen, open at this early h

acted by two figures advancing towa

nty-one, the other a boy, his ju

clothes, the younger of the pair carryi

seemingly satisfied her curiosity, o

s gone as far as it must. Unless I greatly mi

as he spoke toward the do

n, toward which the younger of the pair pointed with his raised right hand, addressin

r heads Detective Hook, glancing carelessly at th

came to a sudden halt-stood staring for an i

thful clerk of the Webster Bank, who had so strange

l pa

esitation the eyes o

arm, he turned and sped alo

you young rascal!" and he reached forth his hand to catch the f

n obstacle

m the Donegal Shades, carrying upon his arm a large open basket loaded wi

and indeed, it is difficult to

basket of fish, throwing the owner backward in the snow, falling himself at full length by his si

ned the corner of Cherry s

d to his feet, and sprang awa

to the fish scattered around

scrambling up as best he could. "If I ain't a

staring down at the wreck of t

right silver dollars-not one, but ten, twenty-a hundred or more, with thre